Wishes, part 2
Difficult to think. Hard to remember...remember? What to remember? Why
bother trying? Hurts to remember. Easier to just drift...No. Remember.
Eyes...something about eyes. Blue eyes. Crying. Were crying. Don't cry! Please don't cry. I'm sorry. I don't know why, or who, or what, but I'm sorry. I'll make it better! Don't cry, please...The Other. The Other was making them cry. Making her cry. Her! She...I'm supposed to remember! My Lady...Mine! The Other would pay for making her cry! Aristan!!
***
Deep in the scarlet darkness, a figure sits. The Darkness didn't sleep, but he did occasionally slip into meditation. He was in such a state now. The room was empty and warded. The Darkness trusted no one. However, had there been someone present, they would have seen the red-haired figure stir in the chair, a surprise after hours of non-motion. They would have seen the figure's lips shape a single word, uttering the barest whisper of sound...
"Aristan..."
***
Missy sat huddled in her lair, studying the old manuscripts scattered about her home. 'Dammit! Where did the original Nine Rings, the original Ronins, hide the damn sword! Rekkian! Did you have to give the damn sword to people who would hide it so damn well?!'
She sighed. 'Yes, he did. If it had been easy to find, it would have been
found a long time ago. Okay, Missy. Think. If you were an ancient magical samurai, what would you do with an evil cursed sword?'
She picked up a scroll at random and idly scanned it. Then she paused as
something written there pinged on her mental radar. The scroll was actually
a collection of old children's songs and rhymes. She wasn't even sure what it was doing in with her research. 'Hmm. "Neither here nor there, but somewhere in between..."'
A light bulb might as well have flashed above her head. She grinned. "That's it! Neither here nor there, but somewhere in between! That's where they hid it! It's in Elsewhere! Damn! That's clever! There's no way anything evil could get in there to get it! They'd never get past the fringes! Ha!"
The excited kitsune rushed off to gather a few troops. 'This is gonna be
easy! All we have to do is get in, get past the guards, avoid the traps, not go insane, and pick up the sword. Impossible for anyone else, but easy for a kitsune! Those guys were so ingenious!'
She was so excited, she didn't notice the slightly darker than normal
shadow that detached itself from her wall and followed her.
Far away, Akenti gazed into a scrying bowl and grinned at the image of the
joyful kitsune. "You're right, General. I'd never be able to retrieve the Darksword from Elsewhere. I'll let you do that. Easy enough to take it from you later."
Her mocking laughter echoed through the air.
***
Madoka shot a nervous glance at her twin. "Ari? Are you sure this is a good idea? I feel kinda guilty. He is our brother, after all. You know what they say about blood being thicker that water...?"
"They also say 'All's fair in love and war', sis."
"Yes, but are you sure which of these you are engendering here?"
Aristan shot an irate glance at her sister. "How long have you been trying
to matchmake these two? On your own?"
"Umm, seven months?"
"Right. Do they seem deliriously happy to you?"
"No..."
"So, obviously, a change of strategy is required. Those two are going to
admit they love each other if it kills them."
"Don't you mean, 'if it kills us?'"
"No."
"Oh dear."
***
Aristan grabbed her sister by the wrist and literally dragged her out the
door. "We'regoingshoppingdon'twaitupseeyoulaterbrotherSagebyenow!" she said without taking a single breath.
Rowan stared at Sage. Sage stared at Rowan. The silence almost seemed to
echo, it was so loud. Finally, Rowan spoke.
"Sage?"
"Yes?"
"What on earth was that about?"
"I have no idea."
***
Aristan and Madoka stood on the roof of the apartment. "Ari? Do you think just being alone is going to work? I mean, I've been trying that method for
months and it never helps!"
Aristan shot her twin a disgusted look. "Of course it isn't going to help.
However, we can hardly plot with those two standing right there listening, can we? Besides, we need to talk with someone."
"Who?"
A new voice entered the conversation. "Hello, Madoka. Miss me?"
Madoka spun around and glomped onto Damiet, who had landed on the roof
behind her. "Dream boy! What are you doing here?"
"Well, Ari decided that, since I was Lord of Dreams, I might as well make
myself useful."
Madoka blinked, then comprehension flickered across her face. She spun to
face her sister. "Oh, sis! That's evil! Why didn't I think of that?!"
Aristan smirked. "You're a dink. Well, to be honest, you didn't exactly
have Damiet at your disposal before now..."
"Could you please not talk about me as if I weren't here, ladies?"
Madoka shot an apologetic look to her fiancée. "Sorry, love. Shop talk, you know..."
He rolled his eyes, leaned against the wall, and settled himself down for a long wait. This could take a while. Not that he minded. He enjoyed just looking at his fiancée...
"So, sis. What kind of dreams are we talking about here?"
"I was thinking we'd start out gradual. We just want them to realize
they're in love with each other, not shock them half to death..."
"Right. Start out simple and work up the intensity over time?"
"Something like that, yes."
Madoka grinned. "Sis, much as I hate to admit it, you're a genius."
Aristan grinned back. "Yeah. I know."
***
Missy watched anxiously as the three kitsune thieves she had hired, bullied, and blackmailed respectively carefully slipped through the rent she had created in reality. 'Damn, I hope these guys are as good as Boss Lady's records say they are...Elsewhere is no place for amateurs.'
She sidled in after them, and the four invaders found themselves in the
fringes of Elsewhere. At the moment, their surroundings looked like an ancient pine forest, but that could change at any moment. There was a foggy gray light permeating everything, and the edges of objects didn't look as sharp as they ought to. Missy sighed. 'I hate this place. Next thing you know we could be in the middle of an ocean, or a volcano, or anything.'
As if summoned by her thoughts, the scene changed, and they were on a flat
plane. The waist-high grass was violet, and, for some reason, the sky was a burnt orange color. The combination was not aesthetic. Missy clapped her hands. "All right, people. Enough staring already. We have a sword to recover!"
The other three kistune shook themselves out of their shock and followed
the General. One of them glanced at her. "Is this place always like this?"
Missy scowled. "No. Usually it isn't this pleasant."
***
The Darkness was most displeased. He glared down at the two trembling Shades standing before his throne. "And she has not yet found the sword? It has been two months..."
#she-said-she-needs-more-time-lord-darkone-zaren-master#
"Hmm. Very well. She has two more days. Then I shall punish her, in
person."
He casually blasted one of the Shades into nothingness. "It only takes one
to carry a message. Now go."
The Shade left the throne room as fast as it could. The Darkness leaned his chin in his hands and considered. 'I need to regain the last piece of myself. I need my full powers back, or I can't hope to defeat HER. I need the sword to kill the Seal...'
Somewhere in the dark limbo of his mind that he had been banished to, the
being who had been Zaren stirred. ~MINE! My Lady! No! Can't kill! No! I won't--~
The faint voice in the back of his head was becoming irritating. He shoved
it back into the dark depths of his mind. 'I also need to get rid of the damn
persistant personality that came with this host! I didn't have nearly this much trouble with the other two...If I were whole, he wouldn't even have this much a hold on this body...I need that sword!'
***
Akenti stared numbly at the terrified Shade. "Very good. Be gone."
The Shade gratefully fled her makeshift command room. 'He is getting impatient! I have to get him that sword or else he'll kill me.'
She shuddered. 'He might kill me anyway. He is not sane. He's worse than Father. Much worse than Zaren...Oh, brother! I...I miss you!'
The room was empty but for herself, so none saw the tears that traced down
her cheek.
***
Missy grinned and shook her head slightly as she gave the lockpick one
last twist. 'Whoever the original Nine Rings were, they were damn good at hiding things! The sheer amount of effort they put into this is mind-boggling!'
The lock gave a slight click, and a small needle sprang out and slammed
into the board that Missy had placed there for that purpose. 'Wow. Needle trap. Bet that was the previous Halo's idea.'
She carefully eased the door open, one furred ear cocked to catch the
slightest click or creak that would indicate more traps. None were forthcoming. She opened the door fully, and gestured to the rest of her team. "It's clean."
The windowless room was dark, not surprising since no one had used it in
hundreds of years. Missy lit a lamp and surveyed the surroundings.
The room was about the size of a theater, and was full of swords. Big ones, small ones, exotic and prosaic. Any and every type of sword Missy had ever heard of and several she didn't recognize were represented in the hundreds. She blinked.
"Oh man! Those guys were good!"
The other three groaned. Over the last few days, they had learned that statements like that usually meant more work for them. One stepped forward. "Umm, General? Which one is the Darksword?"
Missy grinned and shrugged. "I have no clue. There must be some way to
tell, so I guess we just look."
The other three exchanged a long glance. "At every sword?"
"Yup. We'd best get cracking, eh?"
The other three kitsune sighed. They were going to be here for a long time...
***
It was a Saturday afternoon. The gang had all gone to Mia's and were having a fine time. Ryo, Yuli, Whiteblaze, and amazingly enough Damiet, were rough-housing in the yard. Sage was off somewhere meditating. Just as well, as he hadn't been sleeping well lately. Rekkian was in his workroom in the attic, Sai was making lunch, Rowan hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, and everyone else was watching TV. Kento and Madoka were watching some new anime and giving scathing commentary on the battle tactics.
"Jeez. As if that would work in real life! No bad guy is that stupid!"
"As if! And even if they were, the sheer danger of the maneuver would
guarantee that you'd lose half your force before even getting through the damn door!"
Aristan rolled her eyes. "Come on. These are producers, not warriors. You
can't expect the poor guys to have a working grasp of battle maneuvers!"
Mia laughed. "Honestly. Battling demons for the last three or four years
has spoiled you lot! Not everyone know the best way to attack a heavily defended castle, you know! Be realistic!"
The show was interrupted by a commercial break. A very sappy commercial
involving lots of puppies, children, and saccharine dialogue. The twins and
Kento groaned. Alex on the other hand started sniffling. "That's. So." *sniffle* *sniffle* *sob* "Sweet!"
The others watched in surprise as she burst into sobs.
Mia handed Alex some tissues. "Umm, girls? Is your mother going to come
back any time soon? She is so good at handling this sort of thing."
The two girls were watching in a sort of sick fascination. Madoka shook her head. "If this is what it's like, I am never having a baby."
Aristan nodded. "I couldn't handle the hormonal overload."
Alex was too busy sobbing to give them the smacking she thought they
deserved. 'Honestly! You'd think they'd never cried at anything...'
***
"So, have any of you ever heard anything about what this sword was supposed to look like?"
"No, General."
"Sorry, General."
"Didn't Madoka-sama tell you?"
"Nope. Forgot to ask."
"You forgot to ask?!"
Missy shrugged and looked sheepish. They had been looking for what seemed
like forever, taking the occasional break for unimportant things like sleeping
and eating, and they still hadn't gotten through even half the swords in the room.
"Okay. We should have made more progress than we have. Therefore, there
must be something preventing us from doing so."
"You're suggesting...?"
"I think that there's some kind of spell that changes the swords' appearances so that we think we're looking at something different when we're really just looking at the same swords again, and again, and again."
"So, what you're saying is that, instead of there being half a billion
swords here, there's really only a few, and we're just fooled into thinking they're there?"
"Umm. Yeah. I think so."
"So what do you suggest we do about this, General?"
"I'm still working on that bit, actually..."
"With all due respect, ma'am, are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Missy stuck her tongue out at him. "I never said I knew what I was doing. I just said I'd been to Elsewhere before. You have to learn not to take things for granted...Hey! That's it!"
Missy leapt up and started wandering around, looking at walls. The other
three thieves once again exchanged dubious glances. "Umm, ma'am? What are you looking for?"
"Something that isn't a sword."
"Oh." The man's expression brightened as he caught on. "O-h-h-h-h-h. I see!"
He too started searching the room. The other man and the woman sighed. The
woman raised a hand. "Excuse me. I don't seem to be as bright as him. What
do you mean by that?"
Missy answered absently, poking about in a shadowed nook. "Well, if all
these swords look like other swords, who's to say the sword looks like a sword?"
"Oh. So we're looking for something that is a sword, but looks like it
isn't, as opposed to swords that look like swords, but aren't?"
Missy grinned, and held up what looked like a broken table leg. "No need. I found it."
She chanted briefly, and the splintered wood-ish appearance
gave way to the blue-silver of tempered steel. "Here it is. This is the
Darksword."
The four kitsune stared gravely down at the blade. Missy sighed. "This was
the easy part. Now we have to make sure that the Darkness never gets His hands
on it..."
***
After they'd gotten Alex calmed down, which had required Sai's assistance,
the whole group settled in for lunch. Alex surveyed the table with slightly
blurry vision. "Where's Blue?"
Sai raised an eyebrow. "Rowan? He's still in bed, I think. And I couldn't
find Sage. I guess he'll come in when he's good and ready. It's better not to
interrupt Sage when he'd meditating. He gets grumpy."
Alex blinked. "Sage has been disappearing into the woods quite a lot
recently. I wonder why?"
Madoka, Aristan, and Damiet exchanged rather guilty smirks. Alex watched
them with a slight smirk of her own. 'So. You three got sick of the whole "angst-fest" those boys have been wallowing in as well, eh? God knows, they've been driving me nuts! As a pregnant empath, the last feelings I need to be inundated with are angst and depression. I'm getting enough of that from my own hormones, thank you very much!'
"I'll go get him. He needs to eat sometime."
"Who? Sage?"
Alex rolled her eyes at Kento. "No. He was up for breakfast, at least. I
meant Blue. He needs more than one meal a day, you know! He is not taking very good care of himself lately, and I mean to give him holy hell for it!"
Alex got up from the table, slightly awkwardly, as she wasn't used to the
extra weight she was carrying in front, and marched up the stairs.
She knocked lightly on Rowan's door. "Blue? If you don't get up this
instant, I'll wake you up the hard way! You don't want to go through that again, do you?"
A muffled voice came through the door. "I'm not asleep, Alex. You can come
in, if you like."
Alex flinched a little at the sheer tumult of emotions that she was getting from the boy. 'Damn. This is Sage-related, or I'll eat my wedding ring!'
She slipped through the door as best as she could with her now-bulging
middle, and glanced around. The room was the usual conglomeration of books, clothes, and general mess that was typical for Rowan. The boy was flopped on his bed and staring at the ceiling. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he had more bags under his eyes than the luggage room of the HMS Titanic.
"Blue? Rowen-honey? What's the matter?"
Rowan sighed. "I just haven't been sleeping well lately. That's all."
Alex blinked and nodded slowly. 'Aristan, Madoka, and Damiet. I bet those two dragged the poor winged schmuck into this...Oh, poor Blue. His dreams were probably Sage-haunted before they started meddling! Now it must be...'
Alex had to suppress the urge to giggle. 'I know it's cruel of me,
but...Those girls are pure genius! I never would have thought of that...'
She decided to assist a little. Out of the goodness of her heart, and to
save her poor frayed nerves. "Oh! Poor Blue. It's strange, Sage hasn't been sleeping all that well lately either. He's off hiding in the forest at the moment. Wouldn't even come in for lunch. Hey! You're his best friend! Do you think he'd eat if I sent you out with some food! You know how I worry about you boys! The only one of you guys who doesn't starve himself half the time is Kento. And he's too far in the other direction..."
Somehow, Rowan found himself dragged out of bed, equipped with enough food
to feed a small country, and shoved out the door. He shook his head. 'How
does she do that? And what did we ever do without her...' Smiling and shaking his head over the strangeness of Fate, he went to face the man of his dreams.
***
Missy closed the rent in space behind the last of her fellow thieves.
"Well, that was unpleasant in the extreme."
"Where did all that fire come from?"
"And the snow?"
"And the rain of frogs?!"
Missy shrugged. "It's Elsewhere. The weirdest place anywhere. Totally random chaos given form. Who knows where it all came from? And who cares? The important thing is to get this back to Boss Lady."
A new voice entered the conversation. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, General. Sorry to inconvenience you..."
Missy whirled, to find her small force surrounded by Shades and
Shadow Soldiers. Akenti hovered over them, smiling smugly. "I'd promise you
safety if you hand over the sword, but I'd be lying."
Missy held the sword before her as the other three drew their weapons. "You aren't going to take us without a fight, Akenti!"
Akenti's laughter rang out. "My dear General, I don't intend to!" She
turned to her forces. "Kill them and bring me the sword."
***
Rowan gazed at Sage. Between his own suppressed feelings and the dreams he
was having every night, he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand this.
'Something is going to have to change, because the way things are going, I'm going to go completely insane before I'll ever have to worry about fighting the Darkness!'
Sage was watching Rowan watch him from the corner of his eye. 'What is he
thinking? Does he know? Has he realized how I feel? He'd hate me if he knew
the truth...'
Rowan sighed. 'That's it. It's just too much. If he hates me...I'll just
collapse into madness. Since I'm about to do that anyway, it's not like I can lose here!'
"Umm, Sage?"
Sage winced internally. 'He's figured it out! I'm doomed. He'll hate me,
and I'm not sure what I'd do without him! Madoka was right. I am an idiot."
"Yes? What is it, Rowan?"
Rowan took a deep breath, and stared deeply into his friend and beloved's
eyes. 'I just wish he'd give me some clue what he's thinking!' Looking into Sage's eyes was like staring into a mirror. All Rowan could see was his own slightly desperate expression reflected back at him. 'It's now or never, Rowan. Just tell him!'
"Sage? I just want to tell you...that is...I want you...I want you to know
that I..."
"Yo! Guys? Where are you?"
"Bro? Sunshine? Where are you two?"
Rowan suppressed the urge to bang his head against the nearest tree until
he felt better or passed out. At this point, he was willing to go with either one. Kento and Madoka. He loved them both, but their timing sucked!
Sage released the breath he had been unaware of holding. 'What was Rowan
trying to tell me? Could it be...he was saying...No. I'm just imagining things. There is no way in hell that Rowan would love me. Not that way. He believes we're just friends, and if that is all I can ever have of him, it will have to be enough.' He steadfastly ignored the tiny voice of Reality that was making rude scoffing noises about that particular bit of silliness.
Alex's voice rang out. "I told you lot that they're probably off practicing or something! Why do you never listen to me? Just because I'm three months pregnant does not mean I'm an idiot!"
Rowan and Sage watched as Kento, Aristan, Madoka, Alex and Rekkian walked
into the small clearing. Madoka and Aristan took one look at the two boys and
started blushing and mentally cursing themselves. ~Damn it! They were about to 'fess up! Why'd you have to interrupt them, sis!~
~Me?! You were the one who just had to find them now!!~
Kento blinked in confusion. Rowan looked about ready to break something.
Sage was pulling one of his 'I'm untouchable' mental retreats, the twins were
glaring daggers at each other, and Alex looked ready to cry.
Alex leaned back against her husband with a groan and buried her face in
her hands. She had been putting up with those two and their 'angst-fest' for
more that two years now. She was severely irked that they had been interrupted at this particular moment! Not to mention that the tension she was empathetically picking up from those two was giving her a major migraine! "Oh, damn! So close and yet so far..."
"What?"
"Nothing, love. Just trying to convince myself not to kill the children..."
Rekkian grinned and shook his head. "You've gotten a lot more impatient
lately."
Alex looked from her now substantially bulging stomach to her beaming
husband with a dark frown on her face. She sniped sarcastically at him, "Oh, gee, I wonder why?!"
Suddenly, there was a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, like a dagger of ice. Someone had opened a gate nearby. "Guys! Heads up, company's coming!"
Everyone turned in the direction Alex was pointing in. They were greatly
surprised when a small pink blur flashed from the woods and collapsed at Kento's feet. It was Missy. She shifted back into her human form, and lay there, bleeding, broken, and just generally mauled. Kento gasped. "Missy!"
Aristan was at the General's side, already glowing the soft silver color
that indicated her healing powers. Mischief's deep green eyes fluttered open. She tried to speak, but only a moan came out. Aristan glared. "Don't try and talk, furball. You have a punctured lung, several broken bones, and probably massive internal injuries. This is going to take Sage and I, working in shifts, to heal. So don’t go making it worse!"
Missy shook her head. She managed to croak out the barest whisper of sound. "'Doka! Need to tell..."
"Madoka! Come here and receive her report before she kills herself trying
to give it to you!"
Madoka half-knelt, half-collapsed at her best friend's side. "What
happened, Missy?"
The woman gazed up at her Queen, desperation in her gaze. "Found sword.
Akenti followed. All dead. Only one left. Lost it. Lost it! Failed you...Boss Lady. Darkness...has...sword. Failed..."
The woman's strength gave out and she slumped into unconsciousness. Alex
stared at the stunned group. "That's it, then. Our break is over. The
Darkness has the Darksword. He has all he needs to break the Seal. He'll be coming for Aristan. Soon."
The group quietly moved Missy to the house, all feelings of levity gone.
Alex was right. The eye of the storm had passed. Soon the battle would begin again. They could only pray that they were ready.
Wishes, part 1
Wishes, part 3
