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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 9 2007, 04:17 PM (588 Views) | |
| Deleted User | Dec 9 2007, 04:17 PM Post #1 |
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London, England Two days ago "This case is an entire crock of bull-" "Shaddup Grimwald. The prosecutor already said we ain't pushin charges, and it's outta our jurisdiction now.." "God damned Special Forces even cut us off from talkin to em'. I mean, wut kind of brute wit those clothes and a sword bigger ten any gun we got here." "Quiet! Here comes the bloody talon." Inside the dank and simple room those two officers were guarding sat a man who looked something between a mixture of tired, bored and angry. He frankly had not rested in weeks, constant combat and constant running... an endurance test no mortal had been made to withstand. His body held none of the burn marks, none of the brutal whip lashes, sword cuts or bullets that had laced themselves across his entire body. Each wound still had a fresh memory though, and his nostrils swore that sulfur was still in the air. Violet eyes seemed to stare off into nothingness, thinking of whether or not he still had the strength to try anymore. Part of him wanted to break free here and now. Police officers stood no chance against the General of Progatha, the man that had single handedly held back the armies of the Unified Hands, torn a path through hell to save a soul, and upon arriving back on earth, found a person whom had apparently been missing for weeks. Had it been just weeks since he had left? Hell gave no hint of how long you were there, it merely felt like the consistently of eternity. Truth be told, Kazura was not even certain that he had come back to earth, or what year he had come back. Seeing the childlike shape of his roommate and two other bodies in the middle of the forest worsened that fear. To make things even better, the scene that he had reappeared at was the scene of a crime. Though it took him some time to figure out what was going on, Kaz observed that one of the bodies on the ground was an adult male brandishing a gun, looking as though he were unconscious. Upon a heat scan, Kaz discovered that he was truly dead. X-ray and bone marrow scans were done, confirming that his body had in fact been bludgeoned to death. This man, whomever he was, had died in a painful mannerism of internal bleeding. The next body was that of a teenager, who's hair and face Kaz mistook for Quilyn's own. Was this Quilyn with a childhood version of himself? How? When and where were they? Oddly enough, the giant nasty tree that the two Quilyn's were leaning against seemed to be trying to pull the teenager back in. Without giving a second though, Kaz ripped up the tree roots and pulled the body away. It was at this point that he managed to smell blood... The boy had been shot. No where fatal (just in the arm), but still a bullet wound that was bleeding all the same. Kaz, for all his useful knowledge, was not qualified to remove a bullet here in the middle of the forest. Slowly, gently, he lifted up the boy over his other shoulder to carry him as well. Niether of them had awoken by the time Kaz managed to locate some sort of civilization. He had spent hours wandering through the forest, attempting to keep compass direction and praying that he found something sooner or later. Eventually, they came upon something... a two way road leading through the forest. Kazura had followed that for another 2.4 kilometers, finally finding an emergency telephone located for road side assistance. He had been quite gentle about setting down the two boys, but his metal fist punched through the sign that read 'For your convenience' while he picked up the phone. There was no dial tone. In fact, the only voice he heard was a recording of a female's voice issuing an apology that the phone was out of order. The next phone was supposedly only another 5 kilometers away reported the voice. Five kilometers later, Kazura found a proper pay phone. Again, he set the boys down gently, only this time he refrained from punching anything before picking up the phone. A dial tone, perfect. His first call had been placed to the emergency services. After all, the boy was still bleeding from the bullet wound, and a murder had taken place in the forest. The next call had been an international collect call, a prayer that hoped at least one of his friends was still alive. There had been no answer, removing the majority of Kaz's hope that anyone else had escaped the Heavenbreaker. Finally, he placed a call to Anime High School itself, attempting to obtain emergency contact information for Quilyn. Surprisingly enough, AHS gave him the private number for Quilyn's step father, who was apparently his caretaker. Kaz dialed the next number without hesitation, only to be agitated that he got an answering machine. He left a detailed message of his location and the details over the dead body. For a final note, he guaranteed the answering machine of that step father that he had contacted the police to get Quilyn some help. One day later, the police still had him in this dank cell, still had not told him anything more than that he was the prime suspect. Even after the lead investigation team had found no proof or motive or Kazura being the killer, the police still held on, unhappy with the answers he was trying to give them. Now, some big wig was going to come in the room and question him apparently. Kaz's body flexed in the chair he was seated in, damn near ready to preform a breakout from the prison they had made him. After all, every second they stalled him was another second he had to be without her. He had everything he needed to bring her back, so why the hell was all of this happening now? If progress did not start happening soon with this case, he would take his leave. The door opened, and a new man stepped through. This one was dressed differently from 'London's finest', most notably due to a double breasted black pin strip suit that he was wearing. Beneath that was a dark gray dress shirt and a crimson red tie. The most notable object on the entire suit, however, was the red talon shaped lapel pin that this individual was wearing. Kaz bothered to look up at his face, his eyes widening in moderate surprise to see what looked like an older Trinis with graying black hair. "I suppose you know why I'm here... Kazura of Progatha. Police report says that your a legal alien seeking citizenship within Japan, attending Anime High School for your senior year. Registered as a cyborg with what Japan would consider to be a moderate potential of danger. Has not attended any classes since spring semester, has not yet reported for fall semester. Roommates with Quilyn Ru'Avren who was recently reported as kidnapped. Two weeks later, here we are in England and you appear out of nowhere, finding him and someone a lot like him in the middle of the forest. You drag the two living bodies with you to a telephone, and place a call to us. That summarize the situation well enough?" "You missed the part where the London Police are accusing me of murder Mr. Alastair." Kaz's monotone voice made a comment that gave Trinis Callum Alastair II quite a start. "You know my son then hmmm? Has he told you anything about the people he works for?" "I never asked." "Well, simply put you might have noticed that your roommate is not among the most common races found around the world. Unfortunately, they are on the brink of extinction due to being both hunted down and an incident that occurred some years ago. Sense they are magical creatures, our department watches over them and has been attempting to help hide them. Trinis did not know that Quilyn was already under protection when he requested more for the lad, but that transmission was intercepted by the very people that kidnapped Quilyn." "You believe me then?" Kaz allowed himself just a glimmer of hope in his voice. "Completely. Despite the fact that you left out how you got in to Sherwood, we know you are telling the truth and in fact helped to save the boy's life. I'm sorry that the London police forces are... challenged when it comes to understand matters with mystic properties, but rest assured you have a hearty thanks coming from us. Oh, and the boy's father- I mean step father would like to have a word with you when possible. Quilyn and the unidentified individual that you found are both being transported back to Japan so that advanced research can begin on them." Kaz's right eyebrow lifted. "What kind of-" "Both boys are in a coma I'm afraid. Until either of them wake up my people are at a standstill on this investigation. We tried some magic on them, but no progress has been made. Therefore we are transfering them over to Tokyo, which now claims to have the ability to help them more than we can..." Alastair sounded guilty about having to let the boys go, almost father like himself. Kaz pondered why exactly Mr. Alastair would seem so protective over people he did not know. "Am I free to go then?" "Yes and no. Mr. Ru'Arevn is personally going to take the boys, and we would prefer you left England in his company, seeing as how technically you have no passport or reason to travel in this country at this time." Alastair gave him a bow, leaning over in an expression of gratitude and wishing he could do more for Kazura. "Thank you Mr. Alastair, I will take you up on that offer." Kazura's violet eyes refocused. Alara was back in Japan. The sooner he could get back to Tokyo, the sooner he could try at long last to save her. It was an oddity that Trinis was helping him again, even if indirectly. After all the favors that Trinis III had pulled for him, it was a true irony that Trinis II should seek to help him as well. Today... "Seraph, you cannot hide from these people forever. We both know that Teo is a well qualified healer and a doctor, just like you are. We both know that Winter can match that. There is no way we can afford to skip out on having them here to help us for this..." Trinis's British accent still sounded off within his Japanese, and this morning it sounded rougher than ever. Seraph's blue eyes looked up at Trinis with a grim smile. "What do you think is going to happen when they see me? They'll be truly happy for a half a second right up until they realize I am not Caleb. Then..." "Who the bloody hell cares if they lack the ability to differentiate between your soul and the soul that was built from sacrificing yours? You are not inviting them for tea, you are inviting them to help with QUILYN!" Trinis shouted the last word a little louder than he had intended, leaving his voice ringing throughout the office. "I've done everything I can to prepare you sir, I've got the blood samples and I've got the bloody scientists to map his DNA as you requested. But I am not a doctor, I cannot save him while you play shadowy company owner with me. I sold this company back to you-" "Trinis, I know." Seraph rose up from his desk slowly, giving a solemn nod toward the man that had helped him turn a weapons manufacturing company into something better. Prometheus Corp was now attempting to unite technology with magical potential and meta human abilities to further the medical industry. All metas were here on a voluntary basis, and the company was preparing to go public in the fall. "So that we could help heal the world after Caleb saved it. I know. At the same time though, you are not to feel as though this was your fault. Your email being intercepted did not cause this-" "Sure as hell didn't help. I'm calling Teo and Winter, and I'm also calling the grouch. If nothing else, he can knock sense into your collective heads while I keep your day to day stuff in line." "Actually, I have a job for you Trinis. Call Mim and ask her to come here as well, tell her everything. You'll see why soon enough, just do it." Trinis muttered something about empathic abilities being the ban of his existence while he walked into his own office, picked up the phone, and dialed for Teo first. Frankly, he was not even sure what should be said... Other than that he needed Teo, Winter and Ixiar down to the Prometheus Corp building. * * * In the meantime, a medivac helicopter arrived in the lower court yard of the Prometheus Corp building. Two crews of EMTs worked to pull out the boys, each on a gurney, and bring them in to the private rooms that had been prepared. Next, a man that had to have been close to seven feet tall stepped out, looking worried beyond belief. Shorty after him, a well built individual with dirty blond hair, tan skin, and violet eyes walked out of the helicopter, more determined and more tired than he had been ever before. For now, Kazura would follow them into the building, and at least wait awhile to see if anything could be done for Quilyn. He at least owed his roommate that much right? All the same, his heart yearn to try and save her. He felt just as empty and cold now as she had temporarily gotten in his arms two weeks ago, and winter before that. The sound of the helicopter simply seemed like a dull background roar as he slowly walked away from it. Alara, I'm coming... I promise... |
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| Deleted User | Dec 9 2007, 11:44 PM Post #2 |
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Captain Ru'Avren was generally considered an intelligent man, careful in business, politics and traditions. In spite of being Scottish born and raised, he understood the customs and lifestyle of the Japanese to where he occupied a home in Okinawa, undetectable from the locals by even the foreigners that noted his fiery red hair and beard. He was courteous to his neighbors, dutiful as a citizen, and honorable as a father figure. The last had surprised the locals. Unmarried and childless on his own, many hypothesized what was to become of his estate and, more speculated by the media, his company. Owner of the Starlight Line transportation and cruise lines, Ru'Avren had taken the struggling shipping company from his father after his passing and had renovated it into the pinnacle of tourist transport. Elegant ships, safe conveyance, and prime destinations were the hallmarks of the Starlight Line. He also ran a profitable transport line for medical supplies. With his renown rising, it came as a shock to the share holders when he arrived in Okinawa with a small boy barely eight years old. At first, the news media was anxious to see the tenderer side of the business world's 'Great Scot', but were sorely disappointed when the shrewd housekeeper managed to keep the child from the public eye. To Ru'Avren, his adopted son was his own business. It's always been for Quilyn to decide on his own if he wants the same as I had, Captain Ru'Avren thought solemnly as he tried to read the magazine through the deafening beating of the helicopter blades. I'm not telling him who to be, and the vultures aren't going to, either. I'm only telling him to live... Worry creased his reddish brow as he glanced over at one of the cots strapped securely in the helicopter. The figure, nestled deep in the pristine, white sheets, dozed quietly. It was the most peaceful he had seen his adopted son in a while. Even as a child, Quilyn had too much worry in his rest. Now, he looked like a real child, his eyes shut lightly while his chest rose and fell with each breath. Without realizing it, Captain Ru'Avren's enormous hands were crumpling the magazine. He was worried. The lad...both lads...had started breathing on their own steadier, but why couldn't they wake? What was he missing? What was the doctor in England hiding from him to insist that both figures be transported to the top meta medical facility in Japan? A bit of turbulence from the helicopter brought the Captain's attention back to himself in a snap. He hated flight. He was a seaman, not a flier. Damn unnatural for a man to fly...As his heart hammered in his chest, Ru'Avren's eyes caught the violet ones of the young man that had accompanied him. Kazura...He owed him his entire company over and again if the young man asked for it. How could he even start to thank Kaz for so much? Of course he had said thank you, had offered him every luxury available on the first plane ride down to Beijing, and from there, anything the young man could wish for only to be politely turned down each time. He would find something to give the lad, and he only hoped it could never be enough to him. Smiling at Kaz, Ru'Avren didn't say a word. The first time he had been silent in a while. Instead, his attention turned to the window. A huge building loomed ahead, and as the helicopter drew nearer, the markings of a landing pad indicated their destination. Swallowing back a wave of sickness, Ru'Avren made a mental note to never journey to the roof of a skyscraper if he could avoid it. He held Quilyn's hand as they descended, trying not to squeeze the blood out of it. Never a helicopter again. Ever. If he had to walk from England to Tokyo, so be it. The doors opened before the blades stopped spinning to Ru'Avren's horror, and a team of EMTs came forward and removed the two cots with the boys on them. Stunned, he could only loosen his grip on the small hand before it was whisked away through the metal door amid the thundering of the helicopter blades. The pilot had shouted something over the noise, but Ru'Avren didn't need to hear it. He was already moving toward the door, following the disappearance of the cots with his green-gray eyes. About six foot-seven, Ru'Avren had to duck under the blades of the copter, and his fear of them only spurred him to half his enormous size as he scuttled beneath them like a crab. He was the first at the metal door, pushing on the crash bar and only straightening after a few steps into the shelter of the building. "Nev'r agin," he muttered. His breath and head regained, he charged down the stairs, unaware of Kaz behind him, simply attuned to the noise of the stretchers and chat of the EMTs echoing up the stairwell. He caught them at the elevator, breathing like an ox after pulling a stump. "What floor?" Ru'Avren managed between breaths. "Twelfth, sir," replied one of the EMTs, a young girl with her blond hair pulled into a pigtail, girlish in spite of the dark blue uniform she wore. "We'll check them into the room, but you cannot enter until the doctor has seen them, especially the one with the bullet wound." Ru'Avren nodded, pale as he watched the elevator open. Too small for the two stretchers and the giant of a man. He would take the stairs, then. As the elevator door slid shut, its steel outer door painted green to indicate the level, the girl stretched out a hand and stopped it. Such a gentle gesture, but it might as well have been Moses parting the Red Sea. "Sir. There's a guest area with a gift shop a few floors down, and I believe, the mail room. The boys' effects should have arrived there by now." With that, she let the doors slide shut, and Ru'Avren sighed and started down the stairs. His progress was slower than the first spurt of energy he had, his head hung low like a workhorse as he made his way down the sets of stairs, pausing only to check the floor level and the description beneath. He was surprised to find so many laboratories in the hospital building, but if he remembered his dealings with Promethius Corp, this was a recent change over. A half hour later, Captain Ru'Avren had found the room indicated by the receptionist. His arms held an odd assortment of items: a pair of blue jeans far too baggy for Quilyn, a teeshirt, a fistful of daisies the Captain had purchased in the gift shop trying to kill time, a set of strange clothes that seemed almost like a tunic and breeches, and a walking stick about six feet long that sprouted flowers and almonds from the end. The last item puzzled Ru'Avren. He knew about Quilyn's Ropebridge Staff, but this was something entirely different. It had been found in one of the boys' hands, grasped though the body was completely unconscious, and carted with them until the police inspectors pulled it from his grip. They must not have deemed it a clue to send it already with the boys' clothing. The bullet, however, they kept, and Ru'Avren was glad to be rid of it. He didn't know how he would handle it if that had been sent. Now, he waited outside the hospital room door, his eyes locked with it while his shoulders sagged like a dog too far gone from his master. The chairs beside the door were ignored, only the hushed voices within occupying his attention. |
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| dancingcrane -New! | Jan 1 2008, 07:22 AM Post #3 |
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Teo, Win, Xan, Pete, Kounei ...currently offworld...
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I'M NOT GOING! Teo still had the cellphone, waving it like a flag of truce. ...But, Winter, you heard me, it's Quilyn. Quilyn, Winter, back and alive! Kazura found him in Scotland, and is still with him. They are waiting for us at the hospital. We're needed, you're needed...I thought you'd be -... Winter spared a venomous glare in his direction, looking anything but the happy Teo had hoped for. It was hard to get past his pale twin's vehemence, to what writhed beneath. Grief, the pain of loss, the odd emptiness that Winter had filled with the feral heat of battle in Iraq. He looked more than ready to start something, anything to fill the aching space. They hadn't won, so much as survived. There had been too much sorrow there to call it winning. Worse and worse. Two of them who won't want the sight of me, anymore than Brian wants to see you. I abandoned them, remember? Like you did Brian. Let my own choices break a promise, an oath! They showed me - did they show you too? How they used the sight of you to turn Brian away from fighting them? They showed me - they showed - ....As if I could ever forget. Not your fault, anymore than when Liliana was taken. Mine, if indeed anyone's. You had to protect me near the Heavenbreaker, my death would have meant your own. You know that, Kazura knows. Do you think the real Quilyn would be less understanding? Do you trust him so little? Look, you - If Brian needed me, I would go to him, despite everything. Even - even to Scotland, if I had to! Surely you can go to Tokyo.... Had it been only two days? Exhaustion gripped them both, still, even after Teo's long sleep and Winter's unsleeping and stony dormancy. Tiny Silence had insisted Winter stay manifest, and had hardly left his lap as he had sat unmoving, unable to even pretend his usual drily indulgent indifference, holding her as tightly in his own fierce silence as she had clung to him. Even Keo was torn between her father and his brother, knowing instinctively her uncle's greater need. Only now had they send the children away with an equally reluctant Cyra. This was not something to burden children with, and with their growing abilities, and Kounei's absence, it would take all her cleverness to reign the two girls in, and guard their young empathic minds from grown-up anguish. Teo's pale twin was turned away from him, keeping his mind blocked. His mental voice an icy whip, holding at bay the comfort that might unravel his last shreds of brittle strength He doesn't need me, don't you see that! I did nothing for him ever, and kept my distance besides, for six months left him wondering if I even gave a damn besides the selfish satisfaction of making him stay where he could be found and hurt... Teo sighed, wondering how it was that a telepath could be such a poor listener. Or, perhaps he had listened too well. He had been thralled before, they both had. They got to you, the White Hand, as they got to me. Showing the hatred of loved ones, friendships rent beyond mending. It's over, Winter, and those were lies..they counted on you to believe them...for the doubts to linger and destroy you from within.... Teo knew the most terrible weapon was the lie it's victim knew was true...More talk was meaningless. Winter would have to face them, soon, just as Teo knew he would have to face Brian again one day. ....He's not going to attack you, Winter. He is in a coma, and may never know you were there. If you even want a chance to say good-bye - .... "- Good-bye?!! -" The word was a hissed explosion, verbal as well as mental, the first word Teo had heard him speak aloud in the past two days. Winter vanished abruptly. Teo knew where, and also knew that Winter beating him to the hospital might not be the best idea. "Father, please, the ravens?" It wasn't long, but long enough. Teo stepped through the ravengate nearly on Winter's heels. The massive bi-color wings were still flared from where Winter had lit a moment before, spread from wall to wall of the hospital corridor, the feathers wild, unkempt, some splayed in directions that had no human names. The echo of mental insistence that someone, anyone, tell him where Quilyn was, still thrummed through Teo's own head. As if that had been needed He knew there were a few here, who knew neither of them, and more than a few who knew him but not his reclusive brother. Teo ran his left hand through his hair in embarrassed agitation. Winter wasn't making this easy. He bowed, wincing slightly, addressing the nurses on the floor, and the unfamiliar , but worn and worried looking man near the door. "Um, hello? We are both cleared to go in, please excuse us..." Not a request to move aside, but an unspoken apology. Winter barely acknowledged him, his voice like sandpaper, like sleet in the fury of his own emotion. Fear was blinding to both telempaths, more so here in safety than in Iraq where the constant pressure of danger precluded thought of anything beyond. Neither felt the Allu's presence, and his death was as likely an explanation as any to those who had seen too much death too recently, and had hoped in vain too many times. A frightening possibility that ignored the more reasonable fact that neither 'path could feel the merely unconscious. Winter's ice-chip hawk-sharp eyes raked the people there. He didn't want to face these people, didn't want them to see what happened when he went in to face his worst fear. "I alone will enter. There will be no monitoring of the room of any kind, especially from you, Teo. Am I clear?" Teo stepped back with a calming gesture. "Far be it for me to interfere..." He looked about, trying to keep the silly apologetic grin off his face. "I'll vouch for him...Quilyn would be in no better hands - " his wide-eyed gaze spoke what he had decided was better left unsaid. ...despite what you see on the surface... |
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| Deleted User | Jan 1 2008, 12:31 PM Post #4 |
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"Allegria, this is Trinis. Seraph asked if you could come down to the Prometheus Corp. building as soon as possible. He did not tell me why, but Quilyn just arrived... he's in bad shape love. I love you, take care." Trinis's hands trembled and fumbled to close his razor cell phone. After a year of attending AHS, few things are supposed to shake a person. Trinis supposed that it was the mind and body feeling the fault he had created here and now, but amount of shear dread mixed with pain in his stomach matched what he had faced upon the Heavenbreaker. The concept of facing an angel alone had been frightening, just as the concept of seeing a friend he had gotten kidnapped was also. At least Teo had been nice about it on the phone, but Trinis could not help to wonder if the empath could feel the betrayal in the younger man's voice. Right now, everything felt hollow and wrong. His own office was something of a cage, one that he simply could not tolerate any longer. Come heaven or high hell he was going to help Quilyn, even if the Allu hated him forevermore. Short, shallow breaths were the key to making it down to the elevator. As he pushed the button to close the doors to the machine, Trinis realized that Seraph must have surely been enduring this exact fear at the moment. Would Teo and Winter still regard him as Caleb, and hate him for not being the original white head? Even more pressing had to be knowing that two lives hung in the delicate balance of his care. With a shake of his head, Trinis quickly decided to never be a doctor. Vice President and Head of Public Relations/Marketing Management was nothing compared to that. Seraph was cut from a different mold indeed. * * * Kazura followed the boys straight up until he was locked out from the preparation room. The moment the nurse spoke, his mind immediately wondered about why exactly the doctor had to see them first. Those two were in a coma after all, and all the blood work had been done in England. Another thing that caused him pause was the name on the outside of the building. Prometheus Corp... Caleb had once held the right over this place. Caleb was long dead though, so who was this new person pulling the strings? Despite the world still being alive, Kazura continued to feel more and more displaced from it all. Without Alara, he felt just as cold as when his body had been failing. Dead from the inside out indeed. Their father, well, Quilyn's father; was standing beside the door like a puppy who had been locked out of a room. For a moment Kazura wondered if Quilyn's sometimes puppy like expressions came not from his own dog ears and tail... but this Captain. If they were going to be waiting any longer, Kazura would make some desperate attempts at idle conversation just to get that man's mind off of things. The least he could do for the soul whom had gotten him back to Japan was bring him some sort of comfort. Perhaps he could ask why Ru'Arven still called himself Captain instead of Admiral? The man did have a fleet of ships from how he had explained it... Thankfully, something happened that Kazura did not expect. A figure came crashing down the hallway that he did not expect, someone who made his heart jump to say the slightest. Ixis Sage standing in this very doorway with Teo! Wait... it was Winter. Kaz let out an internal sigh, the simplicity of mistaking someone for something else was after all human. In a situation so void of hope, it was understood that the mind would seek for any small token to bring back happiness. Still though, those two had joined the main group outside the Heavenbreaker and taken part in a much larger battle. Their survival meant... no, he would not allow himself to assume that yet. Still though, there was joy to see the both of them alive. He rose softly, standing and staring between the boys. "You are not cleared to enter that room yet, friends." Kaz's eyes held them in the regard of a hug, his face even managed a thin smile. "And this is Quilyn's father, Captain Ru'Arven. It's good to see you both alive..." Kazura left it at that. * * * Seven intercom calls had rang out during the elevator ride. Seven. Seven different security levels had been breached to the point where they felt it necessary to call up the VP of the company. Granted, he had been the one to clear them both, but how in the hell had Winter managed to piss off the security guards despite the level of clearance Trinis had granted him? He shook his head, no longer nervous so much as wanting to rip Winter a new one about how he made an entrance in a hospital and research building. What he did not expect to see were the other two very familiar faces standing outside the door to the boy's room when the elevator dinged open. From the right side of Teo and Winter, an elevator door gave a cheery electronic chirp and opened its doors to expose Trinis in his regular dress suit attire. Quiet frankly, he looked almost as empty and depressed as Kaz seemed, his tone only a defense mechanism to keep nerves at bay. "Winter, I swear to God that if you ever lace through this building like that again; I'll have you-" His voice cut out upon seeing Ru'Arven and Kazura. Ru'Arven should have scared him here, being the father of the boy Trinis was responsible for getting kidnapped. Instead, raw joy filled his heart. Everyone including him had thought Kazura for dead. After all, Kaz had made the sacrifice to lock himself outside the tower and defend the gate, allowing the small strike team to pass without fear of soldiers following them. He had everyone he could search the wreckage of the Heavenbreaker, he had them check every bit of rubble he could... but still no body nor living Kazura had been found. Now though, one of his first friends at AHS was back alive and here today. That made today already so much better than any of the others since the end... "KAZURA!" Trinis for once lost all forms of tact and literally sprinted to hug his friend. "Trinis!" Kaz, for once, showed just as much exhilaration at the site of the British teen. He even laughed a little as Trinis collided into him, the joy was so overcoming. "Are you alright? Is Mim alright? What happened up there?" "What the hell happened to you? We looked and looked but never found any trace! Everyone thinks you're dead! How'd you wind up in England?!" Kazura literally had to pull Trinis off of him, which was somewhat comical considering the grim situation around them. "I'm not dead Trinis, I'm fine. I think we may want to put these questions off for later though..." Trinis gave a quick nod, all too eager to explain everything he could to the violet eyed man in front of him. He was certain Kaz was also going to be asking about Alara, who's location only he and Mim currently knew. That realization helped him to figure out why Seraph wanted Mim here in the first place. Seraph must have wanted Mim to tell Kazura about Alara... As if the good doctor had been timing this, the doors to the room where no one could enter were quite suddenly opened. Standing in between them was a young man with snow white hair and sharp blue eyes, wearing blue green scrubs and a white lab coat. The only armor he wore was a black stethoscope hanging around his neck. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but both boys are now ready to be seen. Teo, Winter... I would like to speak to you after I speak to their father, if that is alright. Please refrain from doing anything unnecessary until after we have spoken." Seraph was nervous about those two, but right now lives were at stake. He held no care over what they thought of him so long as they helped Quilyn and the other boy come out of this place alive and well. The unnecessary part of his speech had only been to keep Winter or Teo from trying to Soul Communion with everything or anything in the room, especially the older looking boy. |
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| Deleted User | Jan 2 2008, 01:31 AM Post #5 |
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Ru'Avren watched the door like a dog waiting for his master to return, his shoulders slumping as he clutched the assorted items in his massive but gentle hands. Not even the daisies would bruise in his grip, so careful was he. He had been a father for at least eight years, now, but before, he had known the gentleness of touch. A secret he locked in his heart, far from even the revelations to Quilyn, was that he had held the boy on his birth, had gently guided him through his first steps until the baby wobbled and fell on his diapered rump. For a whole year, he had treated the infant Quilyn as his own son, and even when their lives had been parted, he had been the last to hold the child before he was whisked away into unfamiliar arms, crying the shrill sobs of a child separated from its parent though Ru'Avren held no claims to such love. Now, he was watching his adopted son being taken again, the cold, loveless face of a door staring back at him as it had once before. Eruptions across his mind and through the hall snapped the old Captain out of his reverie. Had he not been more concerned for Quilyn behind the door, Ru'Avren might have jumped in fright, may even have readied himself for fight or flight, but as it was, he was far too distracted to pay it total mind. His gaze turned blankly in the direction of the sound for no one could trace the source of mental disruption. A boy stood in the hall, his pale skin reddening with hatred as he barked out commands left and right to any of the startled nurses that seemed not to have found cover or embarrassed distractions. A bizarre sight, truly, his hair shone pure white, and behind him, a pair of wings flexed angrily. Black and white. Certainly no angel Ru'Avren had ever heard of. He was soon joined by a darker young man who seemed unsurprised by the outburst and more apologetic. Respectful and calm, he seemed the polar opposite of the wild, pale youth. Without an introduction, the white hair was barking instructions to a stunned Ru'Avren. Though shorter than the towering giant of a Scotsman, the boy had an alarming sense of presence. At any other time, the old Captain might have admired it, but right now, bewilderment was creeping through him. "Now, wait just a minute, lad..." Ru'Avren returned in Japanese, but the youth gave him no chance to argue. Why did he want access to that room? Was this some sort of bizarre mistake? The darker youth approached, his hands almost in a surrendering gesture to the white hair as he made an embarrassed grin toward Ru'Avren. "Quilyn?" Finally, someone had said something to peak his interest. "You lads know him?" After seeing Quilyn's lonely years after his first betrayals, Ru'Avren was eager to hear of Quilyn's friends, almost thirsty of it, but before anything could be addressed, a voice startled him from behind. Having been snapped out of the reverie of his memories already, he was in no condition to have people sneaking up on him. Breathing deeply, Ru'Avren nodded toward Kazura. He was as glad to see the lad again as meeting these two. They were Quilyn's friends, Kazura had saved him and shared a piece of that friendship. He couldn't have been more delighted than if he found a colony of pixies nesting in his beard. His adopted son had friends by the handful here. It made sending him to AHS well worth the tuition and again. Unfortunately, Kaz could do little more than introduce the Scotsman when another voice erupted down the hall. The final addition to their camp out of the door came pelting down the hall and showered Kazura in embraces. Honestly, Ru'Avren might have done the same thing if he wasn't worried about offending the young man. One thing did catch his eye, though. The red talon earing on the new youth. This couldn't be...? Of all the media conferences and personal dealings, Ru'Avren had forgotten Trinis Alastair was still just a high school student. In business, he acted beyond his years, but joy has the strength of youth and is just as wild. Many things about the lad instantly reminded Ru'Avren of his own wasted youth, and he chuckled heartily, turning to the shorter boys to try to drag up a conversation. He wanted to know everything about their relationship with Quilyn. That all ended when the door opened. Another young man, making Ru'Avren feel as ancient as the sun, stood in the narrow frame of the doorway. He wore scrubs that looked more like surgical gear than a normal white lab coat, alarming the old Captain. His hair was white, as the winged young friend of Quilyn's, but their faces were hardly similar, eliminating the possibility of relatives. Where the winged youth's face was lined with anger, this one was lined with worry. All his joy melted to the pit of his stomach at seeing the doctor's face, and quickly, he peered over the man's shoulder at the two figures in the hospital beds. He knew them well enough to draw them from memory. A young lad, barely eight, the age Quilyn had been when he had returned back to Ru'Avren's care, had reddish puppy ears and a curled tail like a Shiba Inu dog. Multi-colored hair flew out in messy tangles and twin birthmarks dotted his left cheek beneath the eye. Captain Ru'Avren knew this boy was Quilyn without a word from anyone or tests run. Parental instinct had overwhelmed him at seeing the younger version of his son once more, but his son, he remained. It was the child's hand he had clutched on the cursed helicopter ride. The second figure, though, was a different story. Found with Quilyn, this youth bore the age Quilyn should be physically. His hair had the same golden, red and brown strands Quilyn had, but these were better mixed to an auburn-highlighted hue that touched his shoulders and sat neatly. The same face was angled up at him. Identical to Quilyn's and just as unconscious. If the boy had the ears and tail of the Allu, he would have mistaken them both. Perhaps, an older relation? A cousin, he would have to be, but to so closely resemble Quilyn, the theory bordered on the impossible. Both boys still lay silently in the room, and Ru'Avren let out a sigh of disappointment. Quilyn wouldn't lay there. He'd be up, peering about the room curiously and secretly delighted to see all of them there for him. Was this the last of the lad he would ever see? A hollowed, lifeless body in a hospital bed? The thought was unbearable, and his fear rose to panic when the doctor said he wished to speak with the old captain. Faintly, he sidestepped to allow the doctor into the hallway, his arms holding the items feeling weighed down and heavy. Clearing his throat, he forced his gaze to meet the blue eyes of the doctor. "Yes, sir?" It can' be good. Thunders of Heaven! * * * Trinis's voice was hollow as it echoed through the phone to Mim's ear. Without a word, she listened to him hang up and sighed dejectedly. She was glad to hear Quilyn was back, but impending news weighed her down. She had to deliver it, and if things were as bad with the Allu as Trinis hinted at, she would have to receive it. Silently, she prayed as her fingers moved over the touch pad of the phone. International call, but she had been making many of these of late. The price of them no longer bothered her as when Alara had called back to her home in Greece. Now, she wished the half-Whin was here to drive up her phone bill. Maedos. It was such a small island, they only had one phone in the hospital and barely any in the residences. She had secured this number at a great length of digging around. The ring of the receiver echoed twelve times before anyone answered. Lazy, careless island dwellers by the lot, the few humans that lived there were hardly more responsible than the Whin. The accent was heavy and rang of Greek before Mim managed to get a word in explaining that she knew no Greek. Instantly, the voice changed to English but with the same unnerving pleasantness that was entirely inappropriate for a hospital. Patiently controlling herself, Mim managed to explain what she needed, and the man calmed significantly. "Yeah. She here. She still alive. Not on her own, though, girl. Her mother at her side day and night. Never seen Whin behave like that. Weird." Thanking the man, Mim hung up and sighed. So, she was still on life support. This did not bode well for Mim's spirits. How could she keep telling her love the worse and worse news? At the very least, her mother was there with her. It was appropriate for family to be with their loved ones, and Mim found herself hating the man over the phone. What was so strange about family being their for their daughter? Rising from the futon, Mim turned toward the door of her dormitory and gathered her purse. Pulling a few wayward strands of white hair from her gaze, she sighed again. It was getting worse. Where her natural, golden and red highlights had darted through brunette curls before, there was only white. At first, the progression had been slow. A few strands of white laced in with the highlights. After all, who could walk down from the Heavenbreaker and not suffer some sort of trauma? What was more, she was the weapon they had used, her soul fused with the tower. Now, her hair shone with the reflected light of snow. She hated it, worried over it, but not once so far had Mim managed to cry over it as she had for Alara and would for Quilyn. There was no time to dye it back. She had to move quickly. "If you wouldn't mind..." Mim started, smiling a little soberly at the thin air. It was a summon for Ixiar and a sort of joke all in one. Mim had patiently understood that the crotchety old man went where he was needed when he was needed, and right now seemed like a good time for his brand of divine intervention. Would the old man get the joke? She didn't doubt that he would. After all, speaking was unnecessary for him to know what she needed, and she was rewarded for the half-effort. An explosion of ethereal ravens, creatures hardly more than shadows of birds, burst from the spot she was watching in front of the door. Their wings and voices cracked and stirred a harsh wind that blew the white curls about Mim's head and sent her slip of a dress billowing around her. In the time it took for them to arrive and with just as much theatricality, they reformed into a looming, bright door. As if going out her own door, Mim strolled through and landed in the hallway of the Prometheus Corp. The fluorescent lighting accounted for how bright it had seemed, almost like stepping into the hallways of Heaven, but beyond that, there was only despair ahead. Mim saw the group standing before the door and clutched the strap of her purse impulsively. Kaz was there. It was enough to make her want to dance until she remembered the news she had to deliver to him. One alive for one near dead. It hardly seemed fair in comparison to the joyful reunions movies portrayed. She wanted to be selfish and put off the news so that she could hug him and be glad he was alive. How long would he continue to live if you didn't tell him and he assumed the worst? Mim thought darkly. She wanted to curse herself for thinking of it, but it was true. There was nothing that would keep Kaz's mind from Alara. The others were also a disturbing sight, though nowhere nearly as stressful as she imagined a confrontation with Kaz to be. A giant stood amidst them all, turning this way and that to give everyone their due attention. She didn't know who he was and was privately relieved at that. He wouldn't notice her hair or understand that she wasn't like this always. The others, though. They most certainly would. Mim hadn't seen Teo in a little while, but there was no mistaking the dark-haired empath and his brother. Would he accept her apologies for their last encounter? Surely, he could feel her regret, but she wanted to pull him aside and apologize formally when she could. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Mim strode toward the group, her hands gripping the shoulder strap of her bag until the knuckles turned white. |
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| dancingcrane -New! | Jan 9 2008, 06:26 AM Post #6 |
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Teo, Win, Xan, Pete, Kounei ...currently offworld...
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Winter felt Kaz's joy as he approached. He had felt that far too many times, and knew the drill. In the beginning of his awakened life, as Morgana's rebellious thrall, Teo's form was the only one he could take. Joy at his presence, Teo's presence, vanished all to soon into fear and distrust when the mistake was recognised. Not-Ixis, just as not-Teo. The joy, diminished. Not the lost friend Kazura mourned, but only the one who's false face he wore, against who's memory he was nothing... Winter steeled himself against what would follow. He had left before, when he had encountered Kazura in the dorms, finally unable to face the memory of a friendship that he would never know, never have. He had come to see Quilyn, then as now. But this time, he had to stay. But...to face this too? Could it get any worse? He and Teo had not believed him dead, they had not felt it. Yet, they had been wrong before, wrong about Caleb. Certitude had dwindled to doubt, and then despair, the Heavenbreaker's last lingering gift...... No. Kaz' happiness was for him, Winter, as well as Teo. Unaccountably, but, there it was. The twins moved forward, responding instinctively to the kind regard. Unalike as they seemed, they were both empaths, first and foremost, and equally in need of the promised comfort of friendship, even if only one admitted it openly. The effect it had on Teo was obvious - his eyes shone with unshed tears over a widening grin, made even wider by the unwitting sharing of the memory and love of Ru'Avren for Quilyn. The depth of what Kaz's regard meant to Winter, the Progathan would never know. Nor perhaps that between Kazura and the Captain, they had disarmed him, as seven levels of security hadn't managed. He wanted to know more of them...the yearning as unexpected as it was inescapable. "Winter, I swear to God that if you ever lace through this building like that again; I'll have you-" "Torn a new one, would you, Trinis?" Winter hissed with a nasty 'let me demonstrate the best way to do that' smirk. "I'd have to have one to begin with, you nit - " Plucking the surface thought from Trinis' mind was as trivial as bypassing his security had been. Winter had had zero patience for checkpoint protocol even where he'd been cleared, and a life at stake had put that patience into the negative numbers when they'd tried to even make him go thru the motions. By the seventh try it was no wonder he'd made people scatter before him. Now, provoked was a mild understatement. He stopped, sharply curious at why Trinis' thoughts of Quilyn seemed so twisted with regret. It seemed Trinis' need to help Quilyn carried the same guilt-ridden urgency as his own. He would have pried further but for the explosive joy that pushed the rest deeper, and the action that woke a sudden aching longing that earned the young British warrior a glare of sullen hate. The first and last time Winter had ever hugged someone like that, it had not even been joy, but grief. It had been Caleb, the moment before the Avian had lifted the waiting Soulraven from Winter's back, and taken the sword to its destruction and his own death. How dare Trinis remind him, and worse, show him a joy he could never have? Anger's rigidity kept him from breaking down right there. There was no way this could get worse. Then the door opened. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but both boys are now ready to be seen. Teo, Winter... I would like to speak to you after I speak to their father, if that is alright. Please refrain from doing anything unnecessary until after we have spoken." Seraph was right in what he expected. A sudden wild and skirling joy radiated from two linked minds. A second set of wings flared like a sunset or a bright dark dawn. It was...it was! Then, confusion, a keening grief, anger, silence, before an almost palpable mental barrier fell, cutting all off. All wings vanished, leaving two boys, somehow looking even smaller than they were, their eyes sliding down and away at Seraph's words, yet aware of nothing and no one else, even as Mim approached. Nodding stiffly. No fear there...there was no way in Heaven, Earth or Sanctuary, that they would do a Soul Communion anywhere near him. At Seraph's leave, both vanished, each in their own way, to reappear a moment later within the room. Silent still, eyes locked in shock. ...Winter...it...he...what do we do?.... Winter looked at him wide-eyed, as if expecting Teo to be the strong one here. He had comforting friends, the arms of family. Surely...for himself, he wasn't sure he could handle much more without exploding. Focus. Like in battle. Like in Iraq, Teo. ...It's all we can do... The others...are fine. These are in danger. ...only they exist... The two telempaths fell into the trance-like gestalt, words interleaving like a mantra, each strengthening and supporting the other. Not a Soul Communion, but a simple blocking out of anything but the ones in need. Winter had no enemies to fight this time, save his own demons, so it was a source of needed calm. They moved as one between the beds. A healing scan, a simple bodily awareness of both, revealed a gunshot wound in the larger boy's arm. Teo brushed at it almost as an afterthought, and it vanished. Teo. His hair, it's not right. ...yes.....it should be....yellow...... What? No, multicolored, like the little one here. And, where's Moon? Teo? The gestalt was broken, and Teo looked uneasy. No less than Winter, who harbored a hidden fondness for the dog who had once made such fun of his grouchy ways. ...You will think I'm crazy... I always think you're crazy, Teo. What is it this time? What was meant to sound snide came out a little shaky. Teo shrugged, unwilling to speak. Both desperately wanted to probe the unconscious minds, but there were not even dreams. Where was the border of unnecessary? Seraph was taking long enough, and both were nervous enough to almost wish he'd take longer still. The room had been utterly still, til Winter, standing between the two beds, broke the silence, unable to bear it a moment longer. His voice was hoarse but quiet, as if he spoke to Keo or Silence. "Quilyn. Quilyn, wake up. Please." |
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| Deleted User | Jan 9 2008, 12:52 PM Post #7 |
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There are times when empathy is necessary to know what someone else is feeling or thinking. Winter, for all his empathic gifts, was quite possibly the most accidentally open empath whenever he saw something that he hated or did not like. Trinis did not even have to look at him, even he could just sense the shear malice over something he had done. In the old days, Trinis would have thrown a verbal gauntlet, said whatever nasty thing came to mind and openly attempt to make Winter look like an idiot. Right now, there was Quilyn, and only Quilyn who was important. No, wait... he was responsible for Alara too, and Mim. Hatred was understood, even reflected against himself. He made a silent vow at that moment, to work as hard if not harder than Seraph himself in order to help these people. Though he was no healer, Trinis would have the Prometheus Corporation rise from the ashes as the herald of medical technology and genetics research. Pity was for the weak and selfish, Trinis wanted to atone. His only reaction toward the Captain was the deepest of bows, a Japanese courtesy turned into something of an apology. Another person who would probably wind up hating him before the day was out. It would be alright if the head of their shipment department hated him, so long as he still liked Seraph. To make things worse, the raven gates exploded into reality and expelled another person he felt he had faulted. Trinis stole a glance at her beauty before looking down directly at the ground, excusing himself with but a whisper to Kazura. "I have some reports to grab, Seraph still hasn't seen everything. I will be back shortly..." With that he walked through the doors, bypassing all conversations and journeyed into the back office. Just please Seraph, be strong... work things out that way we're not both stuck on this same boat... Kazura, in the meantime, was entirely distracted by Mim herself. "They... are you... I'm sorry..." He stammered through the statements while his mind figured out why she had a new hair color. "I'm glad to see that Trinis reached you Mim..." Now how to ask that one little question. Should he be blunt, just like the rest of the Sage family always was? Did he even dare to ask with how nervous she looked to see him? No, Caleb had done his job to prevent Alara's death. Kaz had obtained the power he needed to bring her spirit back from the shadows. He had nothing to fear but the humanity of his mind worrying over absolutely nothing. "Mim, can you tell my where Alara is? I'm sorry to be so brief..." Seraph in the meantime was handling things much better than Trinis or Kaz. For starters, he knew how Teo and Winter would regard him, what they would think. It was also easy for him to put up mental blocks and make sure they did not detect what he was thinking. Even if those two somehow managed to squirm through the blocks, they would find a mind concerned about awakening Quilyn. Be it better or worse, he had taken Trinis's advice seriously. Their thoughts and emotions toward and about him counted for beans in comparison to doing the job that was now his life. Those brilliant blue eyes met the Captain, staring for a moment before asking the questions. "I want you to know that we will bring your son back, hence why Tateo and Winter are present. They are quite possibly the two best living authorities on spiritual healing and detection that I could ask to come. However, what we need to talk about is Quilyn himself. For starters, he is currently in the body of an eight year old version of himself... but... "...His genetic code has been played with. Oxford did scans of his DNA for us while he was in transit, and it is almost as though someone rewrote Quilyn's DNA. I am frankly not certain of why or how this was done, but I do intend to find out as soon as Quilyn is revived. Please make yourself comfortable as possible, and you are welcomed to stay by his side as long as you want. If you'll excuse me..." Seraph walked over toward Teo and Winter, not with confidence so much as determination. Telling the Captain what had happened was the easy part. Formulating a strategy with these two was going to be a task he did not know if he was prepared for. "I think right now, for Quilyn, it is best we put any thought or emotion aside other than ones that have to do with bringing him back. I'm certain you can see that his soul is basically not there at all, but the body is still barely alive. What frightens me is that it is not his genetic recoding that did this. The other, the teenager built similar to how Quilyn is, he too seems like his spirit is just not there. What Oxford and the doctors in England suspected was that his brain shut down to the point of little to no activity, as revealed by a CAT scan. Even some subconscious activities are not functioning at all, like they've been forgotten. We're frankly lucky he did not suffer a total shut down, but I'm temporarily at a loss as for how to revive him. What are your thoughts?" He looked between the two, honestly waiting for them to give a response. Right now, Seraph could only hope that one of them had something more to bring to the table. They could not detect the spirit, connect to it or communicate to it... but why? In the meantime, Trinis reappeared in the room, holding the Oxford report concerning Quilyn's CAT scan. He stayed at the very edge of the room, as if afraid to come one step closer to any of the other souls there. * * * That raven gate never went away. Shortly after Mim appeared, a man whom Teo and Winter thought of as a father stepped out, same ever grumpy look on his face. For now though, he would not interfere. So help him God if Winter tried to run away, he'd drag that son of his right back into the room until his friend was alive again. Door guard was a suitable position while the 'boys' attempted to get along. Besides, if he just gave them every answer then nothing could be gained here. The Heavenbreaker and Aaron had shattered almost every single relationship in this room. Undoing that damage had to, for the most part, come from those who were damaged. After all, if they could over come what the White Hand had done, their bonds would be too strong to be shattered like this again. A small grin crept over Ixiar's face. That was why Caleb was not contacting any of them... Caleb wanted to forge a new hope. "Let the living live, and the dead rest... Well done old student of mine." |
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| Deleted User | Jan 9 2008, 03:03 PM Post #8 |
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As Mim strode toward the group, she saw Trinis beat a hasty retreat. Was she really that different? It hurt her, causing her mind to race with questions spurred by anger and confusion. Did he not want to have to help her explain to Kaz what had happened to Alara? Was he repulsed by her hair? Embarrassed? Her love was nearly gone by the time she reached Kazura's side. As expected, the cyborg's violet eyes widened at the sight of her hair. For all their reactions, Mim might have expected to return home and find every strand had fallen out. She knew it hadn't though. Knew it and hated every snow white strand of it. Still, for all the distractions, it spared her even just a moment to relax before the dreaded inevitable question followed. "Thank you, Kaz," she mumbled, her hands loosening on the purse strap. "Kaz...Alara is...She's not well. After the wounds closed, she was breathing and maintaining her normal functions well enough, but she remained unconscious. The hospital admitted her, but within a few days, she started to fail. They...they sent her back to Maedos to be with her mother and family." Now, for the worst part...What I wouldn't give to be elsewhere right now. "She's on life support and failing considerably more." Except for the machines, she's dead. Their silence hung in the air as Mim lowered her gaze from the tall cyborg. She tried to focus on something, anything, that would distract her from the seriousness and keep Kazura from despairing utterly. Was he slightly more blonde and tan? The odd color change, unfortunately, was not as distracting as her own, and so, the ruse only lasted a moment before the sorrow and pity fell back on her expression tenfold. "Kaz...I'm so sorry," Mim whispered, unable to keep the silence between them. * * * It took every ounce of willpower Ru'Avren possessed to not shove aside the doctor and run wildly to his adopted son. As it was, his hands were shaking and his knees weakened. How long could a man stand this sort of torture? At Quilyn's birth, the anticipation had been joyous, tinged only slightly with worry for the lad's mother. Now, at the threshold of death, the anticipation was thick with apprehension. Help! The wild angel and his brother are help? Hope flared as the wings of the twins within him. Fiery, irrepressible and warm, it glowed within him and brought out a fondness for the wild youth that had threatened to bring the wrath of the hospital's security down on his white head and the dark brother that seemed like he could impress the Queen with his charm. If he could have, he would have run to their sides and enveloped them both in one of his massive but gentle embraces. There was no doubt that one would fit neatly under each arm. So, this was the reason Oxford had sent the boys back to Japan. Unfortunately, the doctor had more to say, sobering the Captain's wild joy. This news was dreadful, but it hardly did anything to dampen Ru'Avren's spirits. As long as the boy was happy, safe and on the road to recovery, he would have accepted that all his appendages had to be amputated. There was hope. The future complications of the DNA might prove a battle, but for now, Ru'Avren had the chance to speak with his adopted son again. Words failed him as he nodded graciously to the white-haired doctor. The doctor had disappeared into the room, and without hesitation, Ru'Avren followed behind. A small chair beside the younger Quilyn's bed barely fit him. His knees rose above his lap almost comically, but Ru'Avren was determined to be there, if only to offer some sort of help. The DNA had not come as a shock, he reflected, watching the twins as they glanced at each other and studied the boys. Alluvindae held the genetic structures of their human form and the animal form when they reached maturity. But surely, Oxford would have known that. When the Red Claw was rounding up the Alluvindae children to hide, they used the hospital to store samples. Quilyn's wouldn't be on file there, though. Ru'Avren had made special arrangements with Quilyn's mother. Was that conundrum part of Quilyn's normal being or something new? He studied the room thoughtfully, trying not to appear as if he was hanging on every word the doctor spoke. He was, though. The details of the room eluded him completely. The little oaken side table with wide drawers for extended stay patients held a pitcher with water and no flowers, but Ru'Avren didn't connect it with the bunch of daisies now withering in his great fist. The curtains were shut, sending the room into the cool half-light of midday and casting a blue glow about everything. It was light, but barely as he pretended to study the modern artwork decorating the walls. Then, Doctor Seraph said something that caught his attention. No bodily function...no subconscious functions...It sounded vaguely familiar, and immediately, Ru'Avren's mind was searching through what he knew of the Alluvindae. The DNA fact...Where had he heard it? That was where he would find the information that he needed. He was sure of it as he poured through year after year of memories. Before it could slip, he quickened his thoughts, sorting each one with the wild abandon of the white-haired youth. It hurt his heart when he remembered the source. How could he even dare to forget that name for even a moment? Angelica... It was Quilyn's mother's name. Immediately, memories of the young woman came flooding back to him. She had asked for a job aboard one of the cruise ships that catered to metahumans. While Ru'Avren's father had insisted on segregating the cruise lines, the young captain had seen no reason to deny them any luxury offered to the pure human ships. That included personal maids for the cruise, and Angelica had asked for such a position provided her daughter, a young child of about five, could come along. Ru'Avren had given the wolf-eared and tailed woman the job, delighted with her fiery personality and beautiful looks. Their friendship grew swiftly aboard the ship with each trip. Angelica was courteous and polite to the guests and crew alike, and her daughter was a perfect angel, loved by the crew as their own little pet. Ru'Avren adored her, and soon enough, they were sharing time away from their respective duties. She taught him about the Alluvindae, a gentle race barely known to the world because they existed mostly in dreams... "Dreams," Captain Ru'Avren whispered to himself in the confines of the hospital room. "Excuse me, doctor...Is it possible...? Well..." He seemed suddenly abashed in front of the doctor. Would his suggestion sound foolish? Then again, this was a doctor that took full confidence in two psychics. How bizarre could his idea sound? "I've heard it told once that an Allu bonds with one person. They can communicate through dreams and sort of help that person." His face was turning red with frustration. How did one describe this sort of bond? "Sort of like a spirit guide. Is it possible that the reverse could happen?" As if he needed to justify his idea, he raced ahead, not waiting for an answer. "It would only take a simple nap to connect to the lad. He may have already met him...or her..." It has to be Kazura. The lad found him. He must share that bond with Quilyn. He's also his room mate. He told me on the damned helicopter. I would be more indebted to that lad than money could afford...beyond grateful for it, though... The idea sounded rough and silly even to him, but Ru'Avren was too excited to know any difference at this point. He would get Quilyn back if he had to scour the world for the person his adopted son was bonded to, but he had a lurking suspicion that person wasn't too far. Hopefully, he looked around at the others, begging their opinions with just a look. |
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| dancingcrane -New! | Jan 17 2008, 04:38 AM Post #9 |
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Teo, Win, Xan, Pete, Kounei ...currently offworld...
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There was no answer from either sleeper, not unexpected, but still...seemed little else to do besides make sure the sleeping boys were as physically well as possible, and simply observe for changes. That was easy, and comforting, to ensure that the boys would not even wake up hungry, or in any physical need. Thinking about them not waking up was not an option. Waiting to do anything else was hard, but so was expecting Seraph's imminent return. There was so much to face...and now was the worst possible time to face it. Teo had thought nothing could be worse than Newos, until the enormity of being present at Earth's near eradication. Averting that had not even been a cause for celebration, but only evoked the need to put the event, and all the memories surrounding it, far far behind him. Behind all of them. And now, the most painful part of that past was once again a presence among them. Would be close enough to touch.... Teo sighed, or more precisely, cut off the sob that threatened. He didn't even have to look to see the lowering almost-snarl that Winter was holding back with effort. Prayer was all that was left, and he was, had been since his arrival, asking for peace, for strength, forgiveness, anything, however small. His hands rested deceptively calmly on his chest, but he had never ever been so aware of the crucifix, the Tau cross, and Caleb's tear shard in its pouch, that rested underneath his curled fingers. Never been so grateful for the twining leaf patterned ring around one of them, the physical signs of love that he had sorely needed... At least his brother had had his shard, but it, like his own, had been silent, too silent, too long. And to hear that voice, so unexpected....still the last voice he heard, low in the hallway speaking to Ru'Avren, matter of factly, as he had spoken to them, as if he had never been gone, had never left them grieving....Seraph knew what they thought of him, or rather, knew what Teo knew he knew... Oh, Light, it was too silent, too silent, in here... ....You...you haven't.... Exploded yet? And that would help Quilyn how? Even mentally, the words seemed bitten off, as if Winter dare not say another word. His eyes never left the beds, darting from one to the other in irritated confusion. He knew which one was Quilyn, yet the small one had a pull on him he could not explain, and not knowing why set him more on edge than ever. Winter had felt an emptiness since Quilyn's capture, that seemed deeper somehow than that after losing Autumn, then losing Caleb. As if a part of him he'd never known was there was suddenly not, and it frightened him. And what frightened him, angered him. He realised now that he had expected the emptiness to be gone, upon finding the dog-boy, and that it remained, even in Allu's presence felt like a fire dying in a drizzle, hopeless...and though every instinct told him to drive himself into the empty mind, he dare not do anything that might risk Quilyn further. The worst part of the battle in Iraq had been easier than this. There, he could vent. Now, he had to be stronger. "I think right now, for Quilyn, it is best we put any thought or emotion aside other than ones that have to do with bringing him back." How deeply both of them agreed with him. Blocks locked down all the tighter. Business, a consultation of doctors, no more. The present problem was more complex than they had imagined, and other issues had no place. Winter's eyes widened, then narrowed. The younger was Quilyn? That explained...what? "Your information raises more questions, and gives no answers." Winter's voice was tight, but cool. "They are questions we need." Teo followed up smoothly, bowing also to acknowledge and soothe Ru'Avren. "Seraph, I can verify your findings by our own experience. The bodies at least are no longer a worry, but are stable. I have seen to that much. What we need is access to the mind. You were correct in disallowing soul connection, as there is risk to both souls. It is possible that even a simple telepathic probe could disrupt what still functions. The CAT scan itself might suggest a safe course, and even serve as a guide, a blueprint, perhaps, to follow. Trinis, thank you, I need to see those now." He'd put as good a spin on it as he could, especially regarding the Captain's obvious distress. Seraph had done as much, he noticed, introducing them as a source of hope. The older man's reaction was as good as his own strengthening power in its feedback, his affection and joy washing over them like a cleansing flood. Even Winter glanced at him surprised, not used to fondness aimed at him, and visibly settled. His gaze sharpened moments later, and the Captain's sudden ability to sort through memories so completely was aided and abetted by the wild abandon of the white-haired youth. Here was hope, here were answers, here - "It would only take a simple nap to connect to the lad. He may have already met him...or her..." It has to be Kazura. The lad found him. He must share that bond with Quilyn.... Words, spoken and thought. Hope's beginning, and hope's end. But it wasn't about him. It was about Quilyn. Winter turned to the man, his full attention on him, even as his mind flew ahead, remembering Quilyn's memories for any person he knew that could have any chance of a bond. "Captain Ru'Avren. I am best qualified to seek and detect who this chosen one may be. I will not cease til the one is found. Only continue remembering what you can. I can take it from your mind faster than you can speak it." Winter's voice was quiet, but so blazingly intense, Teo's eyes widened. Then, for a brief moment, there it was, like a bright light tearing its way thru the weave of a basket. How like Winter, this image. Hiding his light...How could he not have seen this before? The three things Winter wanted so much, it staggered the both of them. It nearly drove Teo to his knees, so great was the weight of it. How could Winter have lived like this, and functioned at all? No prayer Teo had uttered came close to the steady hopeless echoing pounding on heaven's door that was the center of Winter's being. Why would the Lord burden him with those things that were the most impossible... To see Caleb alive...to see Autumn return...to see himself the one that Quilyn had chosen.... Teo had had his adopted brother, his beloved, and a school full of guardians. Winter had lost all those things... And Teo had once thought himself better...when he had only been better off....a flashing memory of Brian's dreams and his own nightmares made him cringe... ....there but for the grace of God... GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD DAMN YOU! What gave you the right to probe so deep? Trying to get you own back for my trying to rape your wife, are you? Indeed, the clawmarks on Winter's left cheek had returned, as raw and vlivid as the moment Cyra had delivered them. It was a bad time for an argument of this magnitude, a worse one for a pitched battle of wills. Teo wondered, bewildered that the situation had gone so bad so quickly. All the others would see was Winter suddenly shoving Teo against the wall as if he really had wanted to shove him through it, his face a mask of loathing, the permanent link between them roaring with pain and fury. ...No, I didn't pry, it was right there on the surface, I swear! Winter, that was over long ago... you were forgiven all that, you were being controlled too, whatever the White Hand told you... My desires are selfish, selfish to the core, proof that I care only for myself! - I protected you at the Heavenbreaker to save my own damn life, you like that truth? Want more, do you? Surprise turned to rueful calm. Teo remembered having thoughts like this, right before Caleb had purged his unjust hatred of Winter with Soulraven. Winter had rejected the evil controlling him, long before Teo had rejected his hatred. He had begged God for the gift of release, unable to do it alone.... ...Are you so sure? Why do you want them here, me here, why? So that we will love you?...Caleb your brother like I could never be, Autumn your love like Cyra never will be, Quilyn your guardian as Gengoro was to me? Why?... BECAUSE I FAILED THEM, TEO! Failed them, and I want to make it right and never can. NEVER! CAN"T YOU SEE THAT! I don't deserve their love, I could have had - I drove them away - ...you want to love them, Winter. You love them, can't you see that? Why are you keeping this between us, now, quiet without, war within? You're protecting Quilyn even now, protecting him from you like you have for six months. You've never run from an enemy, but always from your friends. Father thinks you'll run again, he's blocked your way. But you won't run, because it is Quilyn. Why does everything come back to him? Do not answer me, answer yourself. Enough, Winter, enough... It can't be me! How can it be me? I've never had dreams for him to guide! I was - nowhere - for 17 damn years, and never asleep since! I can't sleep, Teo, I don't know how, I'll dissipate, my soul - .....I will take care of that, I'll find a way...sleep, Winter..... NO! You can't! ...I can. Quilyn needs this, and you will not withhold it from him.... Winter fought, caught in the soothing paralysis that was the form of Teo's coercion. Sweet, gentle and inexorable as Winter's was whiplike and entangling. Evenly matched, the ungraspable object and the inescapable force.... TIl Teo was blind-sided from an unexpected source. Winter was not the only one who had lost everything. Except for the machines, she's dead |
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| Deleted User | Jan 18 2008, 02:12 AM Post #10 |
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"..." His mouth opened, dry and completely incapable of a word or sentence to describe what he felt. The sleepless drive he had put himself through, the faltering hope of being able to restore his love, and now to know that he had come this far, only to realize that she was back in Greece. Worse, if her situation was as dire as Mim described, Kazura needed to make a choice. Quilyn was his roommate, a good friend and someone whom Kaz did not have to explain himself too. The Allu had helped him grow as a humanoid rather than some machine; but Alara was everything to him. Meeting her, witnessing how she had almost gotten herself killed trying to save Caleb... and then falling in love with her. Was it all just a dream, their dancing and joy? Was he now awakening to the real hell... a torment that he was too late? Fire and ashes could do no harm in comparison to that emotion, Mim's hidden thought held nothing to the wave of sorrow that Kazura now felt himself buried in. For the first time in days, he lost control of his body... it fell back into the wall with a solid thunk. His eyes focused on Mim, for once in his life helpless and looking toward someone else for hope. Damn you Aaron... If your soul wasn't already in hell, I'd rip you limb from limb here and now. Your damned plot will not be some eternal torment of the survivors, even if I can't save her. "What do I do?" It was far more a plea than an actual question, and though he was looking in Mim's direction, Kaz had frankly asked that question to anyone willing to answer. Seraph, in the meantime, was blocking his soul from being read so that he could silently lament Trinis's idea to have the twins here. Call it a premonition of probability, but something told him that one way or another Teo and Winter would wind up fighting. Here, despite the truce flags and the need to work together, they would be childish and have some sort of debate. Winter's cool tone about raising more questions confirmed that it was only a matter of time. Seraph kept his tone low,low but very stern. "Did you believe that I had all the answers and was simply awaiting your arrival to wake him? I ask you here because Trinis begged me... because we mutually agree that working together toward a solution is the only way to have the kind of resolution that we seek-" He was cut short of continuing his rant, because the Captain stated something that Seraph had... for lack of a better word, missed. Dreams... the CAT scan... "Teo... the CAT scan stated that both boys were in a sleep like state, deeper than normal levels. Not comatose in the normal mannerism of it all-" "And Captain Ru'Avren's idea is the best thing we have to go on. An Allu does form a bond with someone, they act as a dream messenger to guide another soul. As far as who it could be... age nor destiny are of any importance, but there are a few ramifications-er... rules I should say." Trinis had finally decided to speak up, his mind so focused on the past that his sentences would make little sense. Just thoughts, popping up as he scribbled them down to help fill in what the Captain had said. It was at this point a rather distracting moment occurred. Teo was now attempting to become one with the wall thanks to the efforts of his twin brother. Trinis openly sighed, and walked over to where Mim and Kazura were... merely wondering how long this spectacle was going to take. Besides, if Mim was trying to explain Alara's condition, then she should not have to do it alone. After all, I'm responsible for that one too... If I had just been there, I could have helped, I could have at least saved one of them! But no, always thinking of making money... always trading and negotiating my friends off. No more dammit, never again. I've got a good job, I can take time off whenever I want. Soon as those two are done fighting, I'll give them the bloody rules... till then. Call it a trick of the trade, but Trinis knew something of how to throw off an empath thanks to being around Seraph so much after the Heavenbreaker. There were the tiniest things one could do, like thinking of a focus word of thinking in another language that would throw an empath on a temporary loop. In this case, Trinis focused his thoughts upon Mim and Kaz, his gratefulness for still having them and his determination to defend either of them. In fact, he did not stop until he was holding Mim in his arms, if only for a second. "Don't worry Kaz, we can go to her soon. All of us..." He held Mim tighter. Trinis's boss in the meantime, nearly exploded at the fight that had almost turned into sleepy time for Winter. Until Trinis had spoken, he had been considering coercing the whole damned room (himself included) into a temporary nap just to guarantee a chance at finding Quilyn. But now, so close to the answer... and these brats were acting in a mannerism he would not tolerate. The locks to his spiritual power undid themselves in an instant, almost happy to let his soul be free and whole rather than guarded secretly. In the moment of Teo's distraction, the energies of his own communion hit them both, A tidal wave released upon tug boats in a harbor. Seraph's soul might have felt similar to Caleb's, it even drew in and around Teo and Winter with the welcome and the fierceness of a brother, but this was an older brother. This was someone who would not tolerate adults acting like bickering children in his domain. HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE THIS!!! BOTH OF YOU! DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU THAT CALEB SAVED THIS WORLD SO THAT WE COULD FORGIVE EACH OTHER AND REBUILD WHAT AARON TRIED TO TAKE AWAY?! IN THE PASSING WEEKS, HOW COULD YOU NOT HAVE GROWN THE SLIGHTEST BIT MORE MATURE WHEN IT COMES TO HANDLING THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE? HOW CAN YOU CLAIM TO WANT TO HELP SO BADLY YET ACT LIKE THIS WHEN WE NEED YOU MOST?! COERCION AND EMPATHY BE DAMNED, YOU ASK, YOU INVOLVE, YOU INTERACT WITH THESE PEOPLE WHO NEED US!!!! His thoughts were a choke hold expressed only in the ferocity of his cold blue eyes that were now glowing a soft white. Whenever Caleb used the communion, his eyes normally shone a brilliant color... but Seraph could do things like this without drawing that much energy of his soul. Communion was the tip of the iceberg to his now fully awakened spirit. If Teo and Winter wanted to play games, he could play. "Ru'Arven, Trinis... please finish what you were saying. The rest of us need to be enlightened." Kazura gave his own sigh at the brother's toil, reminded far too much of him and Ixis. Though he might have been the only person in the room that felt this way, Kaz prayed that it was not himself whom Quilyn was to guide. Falling asleep now was something he absolutely could not allow his body to do. Yes, he was tired and on the brink of collapse, but if he slept now... Alara could not be risked with such an idol state. If he fell asleep, Kazura's body would need at least an entire day's worth of rest to catch up on what he was missing. "They would need to be born of this planet, and you would need to have seen him in a dream already." Trinis all but muttered the answer, not certain it was going to help by much. "Though... most of us have slept in the past couple of days. It would need to be someone who hasn't slept at all hardly..." |
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| Deleted User | Jan 19 2008, 02:35 AM Post #11 |
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Ru'Avren sat behind the psychics and doctor like a child in the time-out corner. The chair was far too small, jutting his knees out, but he compacted them without touching the bed with the child asleep upon it. The clothes he deposited in the little dresser, the drawer seemingly larger compared to the few items the two owned, and the staff, he propped against the wall, studying its flowers while he tried not to appear so awkward. How was it that they grew from dead wood? And what were those markings along the haft? The lads all seemed to process the information he had given them while he delved deeper into his memories to pull up more. There really wasn't much that he could think of, but that was more a product of the pressure placed on him to deliver. He wanted Quilyn to recover, he fervently did, but his memory was as rusty as ever. The white-haired, winged lad was a pleasant surprise. He spoke with an authority that only bellied his eagerness. He didn't simper and plead with a smile like the other, not that either really had any faults he could detect. Truthfully, the idea of having the young psychic rummage through his memory didn't balk him at all. After decades of employing psychics and metas, Ru'Avren had formed a strict policy of trust with his crew. Because he could do nothing to stop them from checking his mind anyway, Ru'Avren had never cared about whether he was being spied on. Many of the psychics had respected him for that, feeling release from the normal paranoia that came from the people that knew what they were, and even more reciprocated his trust, earnestly serving the Captain to their fullest. Reassurance washed over Ru'Avren like a warm wave when Trinis reappeared. That lad was on top of everything, and more, he was agreeing with Ru'Avren's theory. Things were looking much better, now. Mentally checking each note the young business tycoon listed, Ru'Avren was startled to find that he was turning up his memory. With a reference point, it made the information much easier to comprehend. "The lad's right...well...about the age part," the Captain's voice grew steadier as he pulled up the memories. "An Allu appears to his bond exactly how he needs to to guide him. Age, height, weight, even disposition are perfect compliments to their bond. Destiny, however, is exceptionally important. Because there are so few Allu, they can only guide those that will influence the world..." He cut off on that, slightly embarrassed. It had been found out that Angelica had been his guide, a faithful companion through dreams that led him to a broad acceptance of the meta population and brought him to Japan to trade more with the often feared race. Simply knowing her had drawn him to treat metas fairly, and now that he owned the Starlight Line, the ships were no longer segregated, a first for world dealings. Each incident had been accidental. Her child, Quilyn, had been born earlier than expected, forcing them to dock in Okinawa where Ru'Avren found the home he loved as his own and a large interest in meta transport. She had received many compliments from the normal human passengers while serving them, reassuring Ru'Avren that perhaps his idea to mix the ships wasn't a bad one after all. Everything with her had been accidentally blessed. "OY!!!" It was the unexpected crash of Teo's head against the wall that startled Ru'Avren from his embarrassed musings. With the reflexes of a trained sailor, he was on his feet, tall and imposing to the two shorter brothers, but there, he stopped. This wasn't his crew. He couldn't stride over, grab them with his dinner plate-sized hands and crash their heads together. Less so did he want to. These odd brothers were his only hope for Quilyn and the other lad. They sure could squabble, though. Ru'Avren contented himself with glaring helplessly at the two of them. They could feel his silent pleads to get a hold of themselves, couldn't they? Please, lads. He was shocked, angry, and frustrated. Was their fight over a hopeless situation? Please. The white-haired lad was sagging, possibly doused with some return fire from his brother before the doctor broke through the tense quiet of the room. He beckoned Trinis and Ru'Avren on, but the Captain continued to watch the two warily. Violent lads. Could Quilyn be mixing himself up with more violent friends? A flash of Quilyn in the hospital after his last painful friendship's end cut at his heart like a razor. If these two hurt his adopted son like that, he wouldn't hesitate to crack their skulls together, and that, he made abundantly clear to the two of them, projecting images through his mind. "Once again, lad, you're right about one thing." He was growling. He didn't mean to sound like that, but with the two psychics behaving as they had, his calm was damaged. "They do have to be born on Earth." Kaz seems like a normal lad, though the arm aside... "This world is considered the nexus of destiny. One reason why so many travel to here. However, it's not unheard of for an Allu to miss connecting with their bond until adulthood. As I said, they appear exactly how and when they are needed." I didn't know until I started dreaming of Angelica on the ship. Thoughts of the wolf Allu took the bite out of his words and he relaxed visibly. "The lad can connect any time during a dream, but it's best if their charge needs it. Long periods without sleep prove stronger connections, though. Less distractions." I'd do with a nap, myself, if I wasn't already bonded to his mother. With that, the Captain relaxed the rest of his frayed nerves and sent apologetic thoughts to the boys. He wouldn't hurt a hair on their heads, but he begged them to be good friends to his adopted son. All this, he could send without needing confirmation as he sagged back into the chair on the verge of tears. All he wanted was Quilyn back. All he needed was the boy's smile again. The fact that another boy depended on them only strengthened that want. A hostage to his emotion, he begged some more before reaching over and stroking the sleeping child's hand. * * * Mim felt small under Kaz's gaze, helpless. I could die here now and feel no worse, she thought darkly. What could she say to reassure him? Alara certainly wouldn't come back at her little well-wishes and half-hearted cheerings. If anything, her borrowed time on the machines was running out as the doctors drew closer to the inevitable conclusion. Traia, Alara's mother, had at least been stolid and kept her as long as her Whin denial of death would allow. But how much longer would that last? Ignorance was bliss, but faced every day with that sort of hopelessness, Mim didn't doubt she would eventually agree with the doctors. Trinis's arm around her shoulders, so warm and loving, did little to reassure her. If anything, it brought a heat to Mim's face as she tried not to enjoy the rare contact with her love. How could she enjoy this with Kaz thinking so heavily on his own loss? She felt like a pig gloating in front of him even though her misery was shared with Kazura's. Part of Mim was relieved when Trinis went to investigate the crashing in the other room, and the other part was awkwardly sorrowed, standing quietly, tinily in front of Kazura. A weight seemed to fall on the young man, though, as he sagged against the wall. Bowing her head a little, Mim gave Kaz one last, sympathetic glance with her red-gold eyes before disappearing into the crowded hospital room. She listened to the large Captain, startled at his tone, but Mim's thoughts were bent toward Kazura. They would all go, no matter how much it pained Mim to see Alara like that. * * * A dark path, it stretched ahead of them and behind them, never leaving their feet but always going somewhere they could not guess at beyond the muted horizon of trees. The boys and the dog walked down the path, their eyes filling with soot from a fire that had left the trees blackened and dead, their noses smelling nothing but the ash. Every once in a while, the dog stopped, sniffing the air before sneezing in disgust. Here, even the massive fire that had created this desert was long dead. His fur was matted and gray with the soot, but a soft glow permeated the layers. He chose how swiftly they would travel, stopping to rest when they needed it, but he never chose where. The path chose for them, and they were all at its mercy. They had walked for days without a word between them, but suddenly, both stopped. Gazing up at the heavily clouded sky, something new had entered their dark world. Down onto the twin faces, it descended, cooling the air and calming their wearied nerves. For the first time, they smiled. One bore such open joy at this recognition; the other only slightly bemused as he said the first word between them. "Winter..." The snow poured down on them, and where the land had been gray, it was now white, gnarled branches of black the only contrast to the wonderland around them. They had stopped their trek, but their energy was restored, happily basking in this new delight. Flake after flake washed away the dog's sooty fur and cleaned the boys' faces. It bit at their noses and frosted their breath, but the change was welcomed and delightful. Laughing, one of the twins darted through the trees, the dog barking and chasing him. The other took refuge at the base of a trunk, his eyes glowing blue while he watched them. Should danger arrive, he would be ready, but for now, they were happy. |
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| dancingcrane -New! | Jan 21 2008, 07:31 PM Post #12 |
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Teo, Win, Xan, Pete, Kounei ...currently offworld...
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"You hate coercion, do you? You lose no chance to use it on me! Stop telling me lies, Teo!" "I DON'T LIE! - " Seraph's tsunami hit, but even caught, Winter fought, reacting instinctively to protect the one who a moment before had had all his hostile focus. Turning defiant against the massive force, a diamond barrier exploded outward - - swept away in the fierce embrace of brother's love - - which met, itself, not hate, but sorrow and shame, the hopeless despair of another chance...a chance to honor Seraph as Caleb's memory would wish, as Teo had learned to honor Cypher when he was all that was left of Gengoro...not only from Teo, but more poignantly, and fiercely, from Winter. Forgiveness desired as ardently as they were certain that Seraph's pure justice would not give it. ......You don't hate us...we thought that hate and disgust were all you could feel for us now. We had to hide that, to try to help Quilyn. I...- we - weren't supposed to have a meltdown, to beg for forgiveness that could never come...we had to be strong..." The communion was instant from both, with no resistance. Each burdened to breaking by the revelations driven home by enemies whose strongest weapon against them, was truth without mercy. Winter had been a swift and discerning protector, preserving their physical lives, but both had fallen. In the light of Seraph's soul communion, just how damaged they were became swiftly apparent. Aaron would have insured that even if he failed, there would be enough poison left in his enemies' hearts, to finish his work. This was a chess game after all, and all of them only pawns. In truth, if Seraph had had his way, this would have been hidden longer, festered more deeply - and created more collateral damage. Seraph would see that there was much more going on than a petty immature squabble of brothers. The war was not over, it would never be over. "But...but I'm not strong, Seraph, I am a child, God help me...! The white hand showed me my life, and all of it true! Nothing I have ever attempted has come to fruit, I have fled from crisis to crisis, with nothing accomplished except through the intervention of others, and friends left bereft because I couldn't be in one place long enough...I had my heart's desire in my grasp, I was a counselor, and I helped no one...distractible, foolish...to Caleb I was a hopeless welter of second-guessing and self-doubt...I can't even help Winter, my own brother! ....Ru'avren even sees it...to him I am a simpering weakling, giving no offense because I cannot give anything at all! " I am free to die." Spoken with a sort of sad joy, a weary relief totally at odds with the persona Winter usually showed. His masks were all shredded away, and there was nothing left but the immutable truth of what he was. "See the truth as Seraph does, Teo. I am free. I don't have to worry about taking you with me, Seraph can preserve your life without me, he has both the power and the knowledge." The tiny embryonic body that lay against his brother's heart was still his, and within his grasp. It would be such a trivial thing to stop its heart, to see the candle flame of its crystal extinguished. "I remember now. Aaron told me, that they let us, Teo and I live. That they were toying with us to distract us from the truth, that no matter how the battle fared, that I would be to him as I was to Morgana, a pawn, a timebomb. That I would be the final undoing of all Caleb had tried to build. That I would have to become the Puppetmaster, and that no one could stop me, because they would have to kill Teo to do it." "He told me that I was incapable of love - that all I did was merely the seeking of my own benefit. He has been proven right, over and over, Seraph! Even in coming here, to find Quilyn - to find him like this - I thought he could help me - but if I am his bonded, I am also his hell! I came to him for my own sake, haven't I? That's why it can't be me, it can't ever -" ...Winter... With the eyes of his flesh, Teo could see Winter's eyes widen. The elemental energy-body was gone, as Winter had lost control of it in the shock of Seraph's soul-connection, and yet, impossibly, he still stood there. It took a moment for Teo to recognize the pure soul-flame for what it was, and realized why he hadn't seen it or anything else for a moment. It was too bright, and morphing uncontrollably, like Proteus in the choke-hold of Hercules. But not to try to get away, rather the revelation of all that he was, all at once...from 20 year old to blastocyst and back, then at random, all the forms he would have had had he been born alive. Every facet, without the anchor of a physical body. Every evil he knew himself responsible for. Every form reaching for the welcoming love, Seraph's, Teo's Quilyn's - that he knew, despairing, that he did not deserve, and could only betray. "No. I - I can hear him calling me, and I can't go, Seraph, you can't make me, you can't let me, I'll only hurt him - finish this Seraph, you know how, purge me of this destiny - " Soulflame's touch. Winter could feel the tiny form in Teo's chest, under his insubstantial hand. Soulraven was one of the only weapons that could kill him. He was so tired - if he slept, even for a moment, all was lost. Aaron had told him, and it was so easy to believe, because he had always believed it. He would be their Judas. A memory, a curse, in a voice that sounded like Aaron. "The unraveling of all Caleb's hopes begins now." ************ The young healer was still shaken by the images that he would have given sight itself to erase. His brother, leaning against a jutting spire of rock, screaming in raw panic, his one wing flailing useless, as the enemy dove against him. He grieved even now, that he could not have protected him then. He could not have even gone near him, his task to protect their allies from him. Watching, shuddering, as the sickly pulsing invisible nimbus of coercion grew around the maimed invalid, with the driving force of his own terror. DIEdiediediedieDIE!! Saw their enemies fall like dust in myriad ways, struggling himself not to follow them. For days after, his little brother clung to him unsleeping, trembling, hair stringy from sweat and tears. Begging to not be taken to hospital as they had had to after Caleb's death, promising anything to keep his brother with him. Finally, finally, blessed sleep, a gift to both of them. Where had the snow come from? He stepped into silent whiteness. He laughed with shaky joy and vaulted, glowing wings spread to meet the falling tiny glories. For now, their touch washed him clean of his losses. For now. ...Winter.... Winter was his freedom, but also his bane. His brother would not follow him outside, hating the cold and the icy danger to wheelchairs and their crippled passengers, and he wondered with a pang of remorse if he loved the cold at least in part for that. Was he as mean as that in his secret heart? He watched the puff of steam from his mouth and felt suddenly sad. Caleb was not the only one lost... Below him, a pinpoint of agony drew him down like moth to flame. He spiraled down and knelt by the crumpled figure, buried in the snow as if it had pulled it close like a mantle. He knew instantly why the snow was no threat. He was confused mightily...he had become used to the solemn, intense dreams, the unsmiling face....but...asleep? |
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| Deleted User | Feb 1 2008, 01:11 AM Post #13 |
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Some debates could be won simply by charisma and honesty. Evidence normally was not needed amongst close family or friends, after all, they had faith. Aaron, the serpent personified to them all, had seen his poison break their faith. In themselves, in each other, perhaps in the entire world itself. Was that why Quilyn and this other soul could not be awakened? Would they ever wake up to a broken world, the same mold only worse since they left it? No. He would not have that for anyone, Seraph would stand against this and present a case that no one could refute. A doctor had an oath to cure and treat anyone, everyone that they could. Thusly, he would treat Teo and Winter, here and now. Against the tsunami of all the emotions, he held the briefest twinge of regret that poor Trinis, Mim and Kazura could not be helped in this instant. This was going to take literally everything he had... possibly more. A small, temporary connection was sent out to the Captain, the briefest and most subtle warning he could give. Please sir, do not worry... We will save your son within the next few minutes. Right now though, I must end a poison that is eating at the hearts of my brother's closest family... Without the entire perspective of Seraph himself, the comment about family made no sense what so ever. For he did not hate or loath Teo and Winter, in fact he had feared them. Feared the reaction they would and did have upon seeing him. If either of them thought it was pain beyond pain to be tricked for half a second that Caleb was back, they could try standing in his shoes. He wanted his brother back worse than anyone, and if not for Caleb's words than he proudly would have traded his life to bring Caleb himself back to them all. Now though, even Caleb being here would not cure this. Their crying and pity was simply met with almost a blank denial, a refusal to buy into this faithlessness that these two suffered. But patience was required, each of the brothers needed a chance to speak their minds... but then Winter said it. Winter said something that made him literally angry. His face showed it, his soul spoke volumes of it. The unraveling of all Caleb's hopes begins here... NO! Seraph's entire soul flared in that instant the connection that had been silently denying their thoughts just erupted in an instant. His eyes no longer were blue, golden flames crackled and engulfed his body with brilliant light, straight into his back. From there, eight wings of pure golden light sprung out from his body, soulfire manifested to its most powerful form. Caleb's hopes WILL be realized, not unraveled. Did you think of yourselves as the only ones who lament the loss of my brother? Did you think of yourselves as the only ones whom Aaron attempted to poison? Aaron's little game is over, no one ever again will make us emotional pawns to faithlessness like he did. Clearly, all of us have different perspectives over what happened in Iraq. I think it is time you played witness not just to your testimonies, but everyones... With that, Seraph's soul weaved something new through the connection. Caleb had been learning how to do this shortly before his death, but Selah had taught Seraph mastery over it during their own fight inside the Heavenbreaker. * * * They were now standing together in another hospital room, the nurses office where Alara's sleeping body had been taken. There were three individuals in the room currently, including Alara's sleeping form. One was Kazura, standing at the edge of the bed with tears openly pouring from his eyes. The last individual was the spirit of Caleb himself, with a hand on Kazura's shoulder. "Kazura... I am not strong enough to bring her back. These little shards only hold so much spiritual power, but even the entirely of myself, even with all the Avian knowledge I have gained. Healing her was easy enough, but you know well enough what the Onyx Angel was meant to do." Kazura's hands all but dug into the steel frame at the bed's end, and the frame itself bent to both his hands. "To bring a shadow into a soul so potent, so twisted, that even vile devils held no chance against its poison. You cannot stop me from avenging this Caleb. I will bring the White Hand to its knees..." "I read your intentions farther than you can ever know Kazura. I need your help to fight not just the White Hand, but the Black Hand as well as the remnant souls of the Avians. You knew this was coming, General of Progatha." Caleb withdrew his spirited hand, looking at Kazura in a pained and sorrowful matter. "Fine. You keep Alara alive Caleb, do you hear me? That is within your power. I'll find the rest of what is needed to bring her back, and I'll make sure this Aaron never harms the world again. Just keep her spirit in this body... please." A begging dog held more pride in its mannerisms than what Kazura held in his voice. He was still crying, but he took a moment to softly kiss Alara on the forehead before exiting the room. * * * The vision jumped, they were now in the common area just outside the Nurse's Office, a few souls who were desperately trying to decide what exactly to do. Teo and Winter would see their own silent selves here, in addition to a shadowy figure of Seraph covered in thick bandages and hiding his spiritual energy. Others from the White Hand, the traitors that Caleb had saved, were here also. Ixiar Sage had just arrived out of a raven gate, followed by Reign and Trinis. Even Brian Ronin was here, silently staring daggers toward Teo. The only reason he was here was due to finding Alara on the mountain... and Kazura joined them, walking out of the building looking less like either student or cyborg, and far more like a general should. Perhaps the most surprising reaction was Ixiar's immediate and unquestioned kneel toward someone who looked much younger than him, and Trinis's sudden movement closer to his cybernetic friend as if to comfort him. Kazura nodded toward Ixiar, and looked at Trinis in such a way that the Brit halted his steps. "Have you developed a plan of attack yet?" The Storm Mage was the first to speak. "We cannot get close to the tower with a force the size the one Caleb has built. We need to attack from the outskirts and run a brutal line drive to the tower." Most of the others nodded in agreement, but the General of Progatha gave a rather bitter and nasty smile. "This Avian leader, this Aaron, where has he put this most of his security?" "Directly in front of the tower entrance General." It was the candle mage that spoke this time, her voice mixed in awe and fear. "Then that is where we strike. Avian leaders do not plan battles according to an individual, they calculate losses and victories on the large scale. The majority of his troops are there because he must hold that tower in order to achieve victory. Knowing that train of thought, he doesn't have much protection inside the tower... just around it. Correct?" La'Roe this time took a turn to respond. "Yes, there is almost no one in the tower... but they would destroy any sort of portal we opened at the base. Unless they all got distracted by something..." "Exactly. Teo, Winter. The majority of the souls that Caleb rounded up, along with these people from the White Hand... We need to utilize this line drive tactic while sending a small, stealthy force to the base of his tower. I need one of the White Hand, Ixiar, You..." He pointed toward Brian, "And you too." His finger fell upon Trinis, who gave a nod. Objections were raised from all sides, but Ixiar's rang the loudest. "This boy will do nothing but get us caught Kazura. They will have empaths at the stairs, and he has no training to hide himself from them. Not to mention, he holds no current power that can help us outside or inside the tower. He should stay here, and watch over-" "YOU WILL NOT QUESTION ME!" Kazura's gravely tone instantly became the lion's roar, a thunderous shout that silenced all protests. "He comes. Aaron took his love, he has just as much of a debt to pay this Avian as I do." At that moment, Kazura let out a single thought to silence any empathic protests. A human is something Aaron will have no respect for, something that he would not even consider a threat. That makes a regular, powerless human the most dangerous thing I can throw at him. The world started fading again, and this time Teo and Winter would most definitely recognize their location. They were here, at the staircase, the very base to Aaron's tower and grandmaster piece! Thousands of soldiers were at the base of the stairs and around the tower, while over four hundred stood on the wide silvery staircase itself. The soldiers were cheering, cheering for the return of their legendary general, and the return of Odin's strongest servant. Seraph was receiving a number congratulations for bringing these (apparently) living legends to their side just in time. Everyone was attempting to explain that a large scale battle had begun on their outer proximity, everyone wanted to bring them straight up to Aaron himself. They kept walking, so blissfully close to the tower's entrance. The main control panel was activated, extending a bridge of solid energy out to the tower's now open entrance. At that moment, everything went wrong. Accusing fingers of empaths were pointed toward Trinis, fire and bullets began raining down upon them from every location, or rather would have if Ixiar did not deflect them all. Seraph gave a shout, urging them to cross... but Kazura did not budge. The rest of the party was across the short bridge, shouting back at Kazura to join them. The General of Progatha merely turned, and stated one last thing toward Trinis himself. "Trinis, get her back. Do not ever let go of the one you love!" With that, the General threw the Onyx Angel into the control panel, poisoning the spiritual power of the bridge and trapping the party inside of the tower itself. He turned toward the gathering soldiers around him, turned with such malice that it gave those troops pause. Instead of attack him, they shouted at him. "Traitor!" "False-one!" "Betrayer" The senior officer, the younger sister of Judha... looked at him with the same level of malice. "How could you forsake us? Where is your pride in your people?" "My people are no longer of my caliber." With that, Kazura attacked in a fluid motion, fighting wave after wave of troops entirely alone. * * * They were now atop the tower, staring at two figures. One they would instantly recognize to be Aaron, standing so proud in his blue and silver full plate armor, a hidden smile beneath the cloak that covered his mouth. This day was already his, but seeing the 'army' of those that apposed him was gathering only in futility. He already had his weapon, the tower, the earth, and the girl. Allegria would soon become one with the energies of the tower, sealing the fate of Earth and Scythexious. When the tower drained out the energies of earth itself and poured out in a spiritual blast of physical kinetic energy, it would be enhanced and tuned to Allegria's anti spiritual meta powers. The result? Negatively charged energy that would blast spiritual power stronger based on the output. In essence, Scythexious's strength (all the souls of the Avian afterlife, and even the ones the council had sacrificed) would be his undoing. "It really is a pity that you cannot understand the glory of your martyrdom little girl. I even went so far as to damage your memory, to strip you of unnecessary love and lust, but you still cling to this idiotic and greedy need for life. You could have kept those memories if you only accepted the importance of this role... but no. Perhaps I should not blame you though, the churches of this world have so utterly and distastefully given man a sense of importance. You my dear, you are important. You will be the very edge of the knife that cuts down a being that might as well be Satan himself. The rest of this world? A sinful little blemish on the universe soon to be remembered heroically for its death." Aaron chuckled at that. Life in itself, especially to mortals, seemed to always be defined by their deaths. How did they die, what did they feel, where did their soul move on to... Why could everyone not seek to live perfectly? Allegria, chained to a helix shaped device at the center of the tower looked as though she were barely alive. She was not wounded on the abdomen, but a small amount of blood was running down her pinned up arms, it source seeming to be the cuffs she was in. Was she sobbing in pain, despair, or hatred? This was what the soul of a victim who had been literally robbed of memories and tortured for pleasure looked like. Though many were aware of Brian Ronin's accusations about empathic rape, he was inexperienced to the true extent that Mim's spirit had been put through. Hope was something she no longer held, only spite toward Aaron and his smugness... * * * Another flash, another location. They now stood inside the tower, where Brian. Ixiar, Seraph and Trinis had just entered. All the grand silver lining of the room was chilled to the bone, an icy core of the dark plot. Could they stop it here? None of the people on the small strike team knew where the megalomaniac Avian was currently, but each wanted to find him. There were stair cases, columns of light that seemed to be elevators, so many separate paths to choose. "So few? Aaron wastes my time..." A voice that seemed to define the word malicious echoed throughout the chamber, yet no presence at all showed itself. Worse yet, in the blink of an eye, the silvery tower was all but gone, faded into a sort of timeless dull gray. "Why didn't you just stay outside fools? Dying in the hands of an army is so much better than this fate..." A single black robbed shadow appeared in the room, hissing at them in the tone of that same voice. Brian and Seraph both readied attacks, but Ixiar held up his arms as if to stop them. "We'll waste time if we all stay down here... Aaron obviously is looking for a nice vantage point. Besides, this soul needs to be broken of its darkness, something that none of you are experienced in. All of the elevators go in the same direction, to the same place. When you become free of this nightmare, run to the nearest elevator and simply wait for it to take you..." Ixiar snapped his fingers. Just like that, the room blinked back into its original existence, leaving only the trace images of the gray haired adult fighting an explosion of shadowed blades and claws. In another instant, whatever realm that Malfestious had attempted to trap them in was completely gone. The only thing the group had to do now was move... up. * * * Once again they could feel the light of the sun. The heat of the day was being thrown off by the burning and clouded Avian capital beginning to enter the atmosphere. Chaos was all around them, for the souls of the Unified Hand kept getting right back up every time they were struck down. The tanks and jets of the United Nations met unfavorable conditions of an army well prepared to defend itself, and the meta human charge faired no better. Though La'Roe had sacrificed her entire mindset in order to summon an army of silvery Golems, those creations had been almost entirely wiped out inside of a raging sandstorm. That sandstorm was where Eona and Lance battled the ground forces commander, a soul that Aaron had empowered to control sand itself. Others were trapped in there with the two, but the fight was not going well at all. As if things could not get worse, the black clouds let loose a thousand black winged creatures, Scythexious's own army. Today, the Kanaphdam in their darkest form would bring terror to the world again. Though the Unified Hand faired well against all other odds, these new forces overwhelmed them in what seemed like an instant. The battlefield was now filled with screams of absolute terror, cries to God and prayers of the dying. The only thing that the blackened spirits did not seem to be touching were the meta human students, and the UN's army. Odd indeed that it was creatures that seemed evil who were attempting to help the cause of earth... An explosion beyond the power of any nuclear weapon rang out against the sky. The clouds and fire of the Avian city parted, and the once proud golden city shattered like glass against the sheer force of what a few souls had wrought. Though few would remember, Caleb had specifically called Jake, Fait and Kartz to stop the Avian meteorite from colliding with earth. They had preformed spectacularly. The students began to cheer, their rush continued amidst the chaos of it all. For despite the victory over something that could have ended the world, the silver tower was beginning to glow at its very tip, so brightly that even a mile below its white light could be witnessed. * * * The cold steel of the tower greeted them again. One of the light shaft elevators was running quite effectively, literally hurdling its riders toward their destination. Or at least, it had been... until one focused strike of a fist brought the whole thing crumbling down. The three fell at least a ten feet, with Brian and Seraph landing on their feet but Trinis hitting the floor with a hard thump. He stood up rather instantaneously, not allowing for the adrenaline rush to be interrupted. They had been so close, so damned close to the top... The crystal roof was even in sight from where they stood. However, the other thing in sight were the synthetic souls of Selah and Solomon. They grinned in a rather twin like fashion, though aside from white hair neither brother looked like the other. "Sorry, but Aaron sealed our souls with the promise that no threat could pass. Much as we would love to see our little leader face this strike force... We have to fight." Brian held his spear at the ready, Seraph drew his guns and Trinis delayed. The brit gained a cold smile of his own, seeing a clear loophole. "So, would a regular, powerless human be considered a threat?" "Wait... are you... just a regular human?" Selah pointed at Trinis. Both twins laughed, looked at each other, and then laughed again. "Well... he did say we couldn't let any threats pass..." Solomon gave a nod, "And a human being certainly could never be a threat to our egotistical leader..." "Alright kiddo, you go ahead and use the elevator behind us. Seriously, you don't have the time to argue. We will not harm you in any way." Trinis obviously lacked belief in them, but Seraph gave a nod. "They are telling the truth, but you should wait for us to finish this. We can easily stop Aaron together.." Trinis ignored Seraph completely after the word 'truth' was heard and now looked to Brian, almost apologetically. "I guess this fight I can't help you with mate... but I've got to try to save her." With that, he sheathed his blades and sprinted into the next elevator. With a white flash, Trinis's body was sent up into and through the ceiling. "Well," Selah chuckled, "Guess we clearly have to do something about this threat here... * * * The air was so thin... too thin. What could one expect from a tower that stretched over a mile in height? For now he could breathe, but it felt like Trinis's lungs were drawing a blank every time they gasped for air. Despite managing to be teleported in a standing position onto the rooftop of the Heavenbreaker, Trinis immediately trembled and only just caught himself from tripping. A cold prideful laugh sounded off nearby him. It's pitch and tone eerily reminded him of England so long ago, when that stupid white head who had something to do with all this had beaten the crap out of Trinis. The Brit had spent two days recovering in the hospital, while Caleb Prometheus got a step father and a free ride scholarship to AHS. From there, the white head had known nothing but a pampered life... a life that Trinis had never gotten to take his revenge on. It was a sick irony that here, on this rooftop where Mim had been taken, that laugh had come back to haunt him. "Selah and Solomon must think this as some sort of joke. I engraved their souls with the order not to let a single threat to this roof, so they send a pitiful mortal instead... You don't even have the meta gene, do you mortal?" Trinis at last looked up to meet the face of this individual that made his blood boil. White hair parted just left of the middle, eyes of pure silver with no iris in the middle. Though his mouth was hidden by a cloak, though his body was covered in blue robes and silver armor... Trinis imagined a little sixteen year old Caleb wearing a stolen trench coat and a sinister smile. "I asked a question mortal. You will answer the questions of an angel." It felt as though a white hot shard had pierced his mind and body at once. Trinis could not fight it, he had to answer in order to make the pain stop. "Yes... I am only human- I have nothing spec-" Though a soul of a human can be easily coerced, a lie so fundamental as the one Aaron attempted to make him say could not be forced out. Whether it was a power that could be wielded against an angel or not, Trinis did hold something special to him. The reason he had come to this tower was for her, the reason he would not give into this lie was his love. Allegria was his as he was hers, and neither heaven nor hell would have a say in that. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU ASSHOLE! LET HER GO THIS INSTANT!" "Oh dear. That will not do little mortal. She learned struggling was useless when I started stripping her memories of you. Even if you defy the laws of this universe and manage to defeat me... She will not even recognize you, let alone be capable of reciprocating your feelings." The air seemed to now be thick with Aaron's smugness. One way or another, Trinis was going to wipe that stupid grin hidden beneath his cloak right off his face. Aaron went so far as to point to the center of the tower, laughing again as Trinis stared in horror of his love’s barely conscious form being chained into the elaborate helix shaped structure. Crown and Blossom seemed to almost draw themselves into his hands, it felt as though they too wanted to wipe out this idiot. Trinis continued to glare, his mouth now an open snarl. Had it not been for the fact that he was still wearing a dress shirt and slacks, this site would have been almost frightening to Aaron. "So you wish to challenge me then? Fine, I'll strike out that pesky spirit of yours with the soul of your old friend..." Aaron chuckled again as he reached to his sword belt and drew out a blue double edged long sword. Trinis could not tell for certain, but it seemed to be made of a crystal. The very same color and style as the crystal he had been given on his first day at AHS. Alas though, Aaron did not stop there in effort to send shivers down Trinis's spin. Beneath the white cloak, a silver exoskeleton of wings shot out, each roughly six feet in length with multiple spines of extended metal to look like bone. In an instant, Aaron's gaze became a silver-blue glare, and that same color of energy erupted through the exoskeleton and filled the bones into true wings. Now in his full Avian form, Aaron could not help but laugh again. "Come child, fight your last battle against an angel of God himself. Die upon the very blade of the Paradise Weapon, and join the rest of your world in its final judgment." Trinis did not even wait for Aaron to finish his words. He charged with everything he had, the cross shaped formation of Blossom and Crown suddenly became a double step twirl attack that he unleashed with a roar. Aaron’s face lost its smugness in that instant, a new look of concentration replaced the hidden smile and confident eyes. He sidestepped and whirled about his energy lined wings in a counter attack, but Trinis had already ducked beneath those rushed in with his blades in an x shaped slash attack. Surprise now covered Aaron’s face as he rose the paradise weapon in effort to block Trinis again. Trinis, on the other hand, had fully intended on having Aaron block the x slash. As their swords drew together, Trinis temporarily parted them and stepped closer to Aaron and his own blade. In a move that should have resulted in suicide, Trinis was able to bring his own blades back together across Aaron’s gauntleted hands, and then thrust them out into his chest piece. Alas though, the silver full plate that Aaron wore held against both attacks, leaving Trinis with a shocked look and the Avian with renewed confidence. “You fought well for a mortal. I shall honor your death long after this day…” Aaron wasted no time to brutally drive the crystal sword he held into Trinis’s heart. Trinis felt the incredible shock of the blow due to Aaron’s strength, both of his own swords dropped from his hands as his body staggered back. For whatever reason, he felt no pain… in fact, the light that was taking over his vision seemed almost welcoming. “Trinis, I am sorry for what I did all those years ago.” Trinis was now standing on an area that seemed to be made from a plain white bed sheet. Why was that voice familiar again? Oh right, it was the white head himself, finally bothering to speak up. “Hope you’re happy mate, you just got stabbed through my chest. Want to start apologizing for that one? I think I’ll forgive you for the beating thanks to Aaron ending my life…” “Really? I was unaware of the fact that Aaron managed to end your life. Right now, Aaron is nothing to you or me. Allegria is everything that he needs to end this world, and everything you need to save it. Trinis, I can lend you the power to take him down, but you must be quick about it…” “Lend me some power? How bout you lend me some goddamned anti empathic ability so Aaron doesn’t get to play his cheap games? Oh wait, how bout a new heart also? Can I have a pony?” Needless to say, Trinis was not taking Caleb seriously at all. “Aaron did not stab you in the heart Trinis. That sword is my soul, it stabs what I want it to stab. Right now, I needed to communicate to you in your soul, so thusly I let him stab you. Notice how he moved slow enough to where you could out fight him? How do you think that happened Trinis? I inhibited his abilities and strength while he wielded me.” “And you did that ever so nicely up until the point you fell in my soul. How are you going to enfeeble him now?” This time, Trinis was far more curious than sarcastic. Caleb was beginning to get through. “We could blind him. Your power… That’s it! Aaron depends upon his ability to see what a soul he is combating with is about to do. Your magical energy guided by my hand can craft armor that will leave him blind to you. With my soul in your hands, strike him down and then cut Mim free!” Before Trinis could manage a witty retort, his eyes blinked and he was standing in front of Aaron again. This time, it was the Avian who looked on in fear, for Trinis’s body soon realized that something new had been placed on it. He glimpsed down for just a second, and smiled. Crimson armor like the knights of Red Claw, light metal made to give a dualist very little restriction on movements and speed. It felt a little awkward wearing any sort of red garb again, but seeing Aaron’s face made that awkwardness just slide away. His hands indicated they were each holding something, and another glance revealed that two blue crystal rapiers with golden handles had appeared in his hands. The guard on each blade was composed of four golden wings bending and stretching to form a solid and secure place for his hand to navigate the blade. A grin of sheer malice toward Aaron appeared on his face, and though a retort toward the blinded Avian was tempting, Trinis simply took the opportunity to make a move. He charged again, but this time Aaron raised and readied an outstretched energy wing to block him off. The avian gave a chuckle of false confidence. “Nice trick mortal, but that blade only slowed me down anyways. How exactly do you plan on getting through a blast of pure energy?” Trinis’s response was a rather brutal upswing of the sword in his left hand. It’s blade effortlessly cut straight through the energy Aaron was projecting, and barely gave any resistance as it tore through the steel exoskeleton that was holding the wings together. Aaron gave a cry of alarm and pain as his now stunted wing flickered and faded, but before he could make another move, Trinis finished his charge and drove the blade in his right hand straight through the breastplate and into the Avian’s heart. What Trinis would never know was that he had pierced the heartcrystal itself, instantly stripping Aaron of all his Avian power and leaving his spirit for dead. Without a second thought, Trinis torn the blade out of the falling angel’s chest; and ran toward the helix device that held his love. The helix had been glowing before, but now it was almost blinding with ferocious light. That light seemed to be pouring into Allegria, turning her body into some sort of candle wick to prepare for a final attack against the city in the sky. Trinis wasted now time in swinging both blades up and over his head in a circular motion, instantly cutting through the chains that bound her to the helix. Her body fell free, and his hands threw each of Caleb’s soul blades without thinking in order to catch her. There in that instant when he held her, a voice called out to Allegria, the unified voice of all the spirits the tower had been built from. It welcomed her into its arms... a warm healing light that connected and swam through her spirit like a river. Allegria... you have been granted our power, we will see no lasting harm to your spirit this day. While Aaron stripped your soul, we held on to everything he removed. Remember who you are, who you love. Take our power now, put it toward good use rather than destructive means... With that, Mim's soul was healed, and she remembered her love who now held her. * * * Everything went white for an instant. Seraph was standing there with Teo and Winter, clearly already drained from what he had shown them Due to the connection, both twins would hold the knowledge that there was more information Seraph had about the events, but he was holding back, if only for this instant. He spoke, openly pained. "What I show you now... No one aside from Trinis knows. And Trinis will never know this to the extent you will. I am going to show you Caleb's will, our last moments together. I want you to understand why I will never allow his hopes to be broken... why our hopes should never break. Seraph picked up the single blade of Caleb's sword, smiling as its blue turned instantly to a gold within his hands. Brian and he had triumphed over Selah and Solomon only due to Brian being there, but now it was time to end the final threat. Caleb's spirit and knowledge greeted him, informing him of Scythexious's true purpose and furthermore the danger of the tower itself. There was one final task for these two souls working as one to accomplish, one final mission that they had to succeed in. Eight golden wings of fire erupted from his back, and Seraph unleashed his and Caleb's spiritual power to propel the now unified soul high up into the atmosphere, straight at the giant black wings of Scythexious himself. "Welcome Caleb, welcome Seraph..." Scythexious's voice boomed, but held an unexpected gentleness. His soul and spiritual power were beyond measure, yet he was clearly showing no intention of harming them. It truly was as Caleb had said, Scythexious no longer was demon possessed. "I would bid you welcome and champion both of you, but alas we are short on time. Caleb alone destroyed the sin and evil within me, but I now hold the sins of our entire race... They must be purged. And that tower... Aaron has given the order for it to fire. Cutting his plan loose from it will not stop it." "Then we must match it with a force great enough to drive that energy back into the earth itself. Such a clash would cause a severance within reality though, heaven and hell would meet earth where such energies collided." "I will seal hell itself. Caleb, Seraph, you must seal the earth and halt any further leak. The Kanaphdam will carry the living to safety. Now..." The black wings of Scythexious twisted, flying beneath Seraph and placing himself between them and the tower. "Strike us and bring forth paradise." Seraph and Caleb did not delay, they swept down and struck the blade directly into Scythexious's chest. His eyes rolled back in shock, but a small smile formed across his face, a silent and permanent thank you. Together they plummeted back toward the tower, which now erupted in an attempt to expel the very life of Earth itself. Together, they struck that light and plummeted through it, forcing back all the energies that had been unleashed upon them. Scythexious at last cried out, for he had been using his own body as a shield for Caleb and Seraph. All the energies within him began to leak, exploding out in multiple colors and directions, a final show of lights for the finished soul. The collision of energies rocked Caleb and Seraph so hard that Seraph lapsed from consciousness momentarily, just as their bodies flew into the tower itself. Everything went white again, but this time, when the lights faded, Seraph found himself lying on the ruins of the tower, staring at his brother's sword stabbed deep into the earth. "I'm... alive? But the seal... our three souls..." "The seal only needed the power of Scythexious and myself Seraph." Caleb appeared in front of Seraph, standing in white robes and smiling upon him with an opened hand offered to help his brother stand. Seraph took the outstretched hand, rising slowly and curiously. Caleb continued to beam at him, and spoke again. "Over 18 years ago, the life that should have been yours was ended to create me. The least I could do for the spiritual brother who helped to carry me is spare him from an unnecessary sacrifice. "Seraph, today we saved this world. Our friends and family for once united and accomplished what no military force ever could... but they will not see it like that Seraph. Their victory here will be perplexed by the complications Aaron so perfectly sowed into their spirits... more than anything, one of us had to live in order to end his plans to undo the earth." Seraph's eyes filled with tears, aware at the direction his brother was going with this. "Caleb... take back this body. Trade me, I'll join into the earth and you come back. You are the one they will want, the healer they will need! Teo, Winter, the whole lot of them will hate or loathe me for not being you, just as they did when my soul first regenerated!" "No." Caleb's voice became stern. "Life and Death mean something to this world, and my return would lessen that meaning. Teo and Winter would become dependent on me just as badly as they were. I love them, they are my family, but I cannot help them grow as you can. Think of the knowledge you have gained Seraph. You have studied healing techniques that this world has never seen, and now you also hold the memories of human doctors. Allegria will need someone to help her, Trinis needs someone to believe in him, Ixiar needs... well, he needs to settle down. Do you not see? Things do not need to return to how they once were. Life is meant to move, to grow. Help our family grow Seraph, and live for me brother." Caleb hugged Seraph tightly, his spirit finally began to fade. "Take my blade, take Harmony. If you should ever truly need me, my spirit will come to those who hold my tears." With that, they were back in time. Barely a moment had passed, Seraph's energy retreated and his communion withdrew from exhaustion of recreating everything for them to understand. His words came out slowly, and he frequently stopped to breathe. "You... are not children, not anymore. You, as I... are responsible to care for this world, for these people. Prove to the brother we have lost that we can help the ones we love, that we can save them." Trinis had almost lost his sanity in that moment. He swore that Aaron's voice had filled the room, every nerve in his body had tensed. "Aaron is dead!" He yelled with enough venom to even make Kazura, whom had been standing just at the doorway beside Ixiar, jump. "His empathic power was stripped from him, his spirit will never again be strong enough to haunt us! Which ever one of you thought it would be right to impersonate him.... cut it out now." He wanted to curse. Teo and Winter would probably here words that not even seasoned sailors knew how to string together sounding off in his head, in both English and Japanese. But beneath that, the soul focus and reason for all the venom? That voice was the one that had tortured Mim. How would she handle this? He wanted to hold her, to grasp her and never let go ever again. How could he protect his love if that damned bastardizing angel kept haunting her? |
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| Deleted User | Feb 1 2008, 02:02 PM Post #14 |
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Captain Ru'Avren settled his tone to Mim's relief. He was such a gentle man, she was reminded immediately of Quilyn, but the shock of hearing him growl like that had almost rocked that assumption. Almost at once, the tone settled, and the giant of a man sat back in the chair. All of his attention was being heaped on the younger figure in the hospital bed. Just how had that occurred? Had Quilyn somehow regressed in age because of this bond Ru'Avren had described? If so, who needed a child to guide them? Mim's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden flash of soul connection. Though she recognized it from her association with Teo, this was different. Her soul felt cold, frost-bitten, as she accepted the touch. Clearly, this was Winter's doing. The voice that crept in, however, was not Winter. Panic seized her as Mim felt the connection being severed and a flash of anger echoing through the hospital. Her heart was beating rapidly, too rapidly, desperate in its fear to move her to run, but Mim stood there, stunned as she tried to understand what was happening. Fiery wings had erupted from the good doctor and disappeared so quickly, Mim was almost sure she had been the only one to see them. Her hands ached where the scars were etched, burning with a fire that was warm and angry at the same time. Terrified, she rubbed them compulsively and looked down to find that nothing was really burning her. Her pale skin was still perfect but for the blistered, red scars that etched a pattern around the wrists. Seeing them safe did little to ease her terror, however. That voice...She knew that voice... Without a word, Mim slipped from the room and pelted down the hall, her thin dress and white hair billowing behind her. Tears streaked her face as she collided with the one figure that finally made sense in her confusion. Stumbling backwards, she gripped the strap of her purse as she started to lose feeling in her fingers. Tingling needles were now the only things they could manage, but her vision was still blessedly clear. Ixiar stood between her and where the raven gate had stood not too long ago. Though he was tall and imposing in the blinding light of the hall, Mim's fear was not for him. If anything, she understood the man well. Now, his arms were crossed, more of a bar in her way than the lack of a raven gate. Without words, he gave her the slightest of head shakes. No, he would not open a portal to her dorm. He didn't think she should run right now. After all, she had promised herself that she would follow Kaz and make sure he was safe... Torn between anger and that numbing terror, Mim did the only thing she could. She sank against the wall and sat on the floor. Her tears still ran down her burning cheeks, but not one sob sounded down that long, echoing hall. In her chest, her heart was finishing its gallop, slowing itself gently to normal. Odd how she had not felt faint this time. Was she getting better health wise? Her thoughts didn't allow her the hope. For now, they raced with memories of that horrid voice that Winter had echoed through them all. Aaron. He had been the only thing recognizable in that dark despair where her memories had been. His cruel laughter, his words that stung worse than the metal cuffs that cut into her wrists. With her memories gone, she had been reborn into a consciousness held hostage to pure hate. He had left enough to fuel that hatred, and more and more, she sagged against the cuffs, desperate to die but knowing it would only satisfy him. It was a slight mercy that Seraph had interrupted Winter from saying more. Those wings. She recognized them vaguely, and it brought a slight comfort. Aaron had died brutally, defeated by the person she loved, a fitting end. Then, Seraph had finished ending his work, had destroyed the tower and set them all free. Winter had been a fool to believe that Aaron's work had survived even in fragments, but was he really? She had been so afraid a moment ago of his mere memory. Who knew what scars they all carried from that fight? Would they show in different ways than the stinging of her wrists? As the last of the fear settled away, Mim felt the cold linoleum beneath her and the bright lights around. Breathing deeply, she let her body relax entirely and rubbed the remainders of the tears from her eyes. They would be swollen and red, so she stopped, ever the princess and diva. Finally, she crossed her legs as if she had meant to sit there to begin with, peering up at Ixiar with her normal, quaint look but for the streaks beneath her eyes. "Do you think we'll learn?" she whispered, barely audible more than the few feet between them. Realizing that the statement was dangerously personal, she forced a different topic. "Kazura will need a gate." She didn't need to ask a full question. Ixiar would do whatever he chose, but she didn't doubt that he would help as best he could. For all his gruffness, he was really quite understandable. If she had to boil it down, Mim would say he was the 'Actions speak louder' type, meaning he didn't tolerate redundant questions, and she was fine with that. Standing, Mim back down the hall and made her way back. It was amazing how much space she had covered in her flight. She reached the doorway again, glancing apologetically at Kaz before Trinis snapped, making her jump. Aaron is dead...That's right, love... As Trinis settled, she put her hand on his shoulder, the fingers regaining enough to feel the stiff fabric of the suit beneath them. There was warmth in that touch, however. Human warmth flooded through her, glad to see him as she had been on the tower. Gently, she withdrew her hand and peered into the room. Ru'Avren seemed surprised, but if he had anything to say, he was saying it for the benefit of the empaths as he turned his attention back on Quilyn. Mim doubted it though. Seraph seemed to drained to do much more than glare at the twins, and the others would no doubt be abashed by his abusive cut off. Sighing, Mim withdrew her gaze and leaned against the wall with Kaz. "Darling," she whispered. "Come." She didn't want him watching them all, growing more and more upset. Mim just wanted her love to relax. Delicately, she laced her fingers through his and guided him toward the wall. A soft stinging still bit at the scars, but she ignored it pointedly. |
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| dancingcrane -New! | Feb 14 2008, 02:10 AM Post #15 |
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Teo, Win, Xan, Pete, Kounei ...currently offworld...
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It was only moments, during which Teo and Winter stood against the wall as Seraph glared at them. Winter m matched him glare for glare, with Teo face a mask of bewildered astonishment. Enveloped surely, Seraph lent his power to stabilize Winter's form, so that the watchers without would see nothing change in their tableau. The outside world was nothing. Only the strong soul-connection embrace against the storm Seraph had been forced to unleash upon them. Triage, a word Teo loathed. He would have done anything to hide all this, for Quilyn's sake, but that would have been the worst thing. Seraph had to heal them first, had to make them see. See they did, the griefs and burdens, the weaknesses, the promises, the vows. The strength of those whose pains were as bad or worse, but who had not sucuumbed to Aaron's plans for them. Moments flashed, Alara's bedside, the plans of battle. Teo and Winter wanted to go with them, and only now in memory realised the disaster that that would have been. Aaron's miscalculation, that they would not be in the heavenbreaker. He simply modified his plans according to his own psychics' intel. The betrayal was a dreadful thing, and not one they could have been a part of, without betraying Kazura in turn. Their leaders had been wise, far wiser than they. Chaos, panic, pain and prayer and death were all their world, and they could not close their eyes, turn away, or rest. Now as little as then. Meteors rained upon the earth, a shattered city falling. And in the heaven breaker itself, hell growing. Teo rememberd feeling Mim's power, knew only now what it would have meant. The warriors each chosen according to their strength of heart, more than any other thing... How bout you lend me some goddamned anti empathic ability so Aaron doesn’t get to play his cheap games? his cheap[ games...oh yes, they knew those games, that cost so dear...played with, like his toys, his pawns... It was harder to see the part they'd lived through, their own mistakes, their own lacks so evident... To feel Caleb again was the hardest memory, and what both had begged to not relive....to have just felt him for those moments, unable to go to him, had been the worst agony of the entire battle. Both of them had been given the task. Protect the school, protect the students. It had taken more than they could give, to obey, to not fly to his side. They gave that, and more, and succeeded, not a one was lost, thanks to Winter, nor even suffered lasting harm, thanks to Teo. And yet, they themselves fell, in heart and mind poisoned with despair, their last lingering memory, Aaron's faint fading laughter, even in death, sure of his own success through them... Once, it had taken Ixiar and Reign working in concert, to keep Winter sane and out of Morgana's hands when he first realised Caleb's death. In Seraph's memory, Winter saw himself again with Teo affirming their obedience, turning away pride of place, taking their stand far from the central battle. Protect the students. In this memory, Teo saw again why he could not be trusted to be closer. Even at the edges of Aaron's sphere of influence, he heard him. Surrounded by those motivated only by love of Aaron, convinced of the rightness of their calling, even as he was convinced of his. How could he bear to see them die again? The Sword of Destiny was useless to him. None they fought were evil. He could parry their blows, but not drive them away for long. That was Winter's task, to drive them away by permanent and lethal means, when Teo faltered and left himself open. Immune to Teo's entreaties, they plagued the healer without mercy, knowing the two of them the last defense of the student contingent. Winter was as an electron around an atom's nucleus, exploding into appearance the moment of an enemy's intention. The more enemies the better, as he would at times wait til they were surrounded, and viciously unleash a shockwave barrier of diamond to blast them outwards, broken. His obedience was of unmatched vehemence. Disdaining even the half-mask, he wanted them to see an Avian in full fury, wanted to see them die with the twisted image of what his obedience to Caleb had cost him burned into their minds. With no flesh to scream hoarse, his howls of rage and pain filled the air, yet still did not blur Aaron's laughter, or hide from him Caleb's presence, or worse this time, his last words. To see him in his last moments, both heaven and hell to them, gift embraced with whole hearts, pain beyond imagining. Teo's sorrow was deep and painful, but nothing compared to the shivering agony of Winter's. Aaron had not even had to implant a desire for death. It was already there, an aching need to follow where Caleb had gone. The last selfishness, stayed only by the will of Caleb himself, who gave him a task that for love he could not refuse. Even knowing that Seraph stood before him he felt that hopeless hope again, screaming Caleb's name, denying his intention, suffering again the realisation that for the world to live, three who had renounced all evil would die. Then the truth that Seraph had brought them to see...the worst and best truth, the hardest to bear. "Over 18 years ago, the life that should have been yours was ended to create me. The least I could do for the spiritual brother who helped to carry me is spare him from an unnecessary sacrifice." "Caleb... take back this body. Trade me, I'll join into the earth and you come back. You are the one they will want, the healer they will need! Teo, Winter, the whole lot of them will hate or loathe me for not being you, just as they did when my soul first regenerated!" "No.....Teo and Winter would become dependent on me just as badly as they were. I love them, they are my family, but I cannot help them grow as you can...." Protest died aborning in Teo. He had been dependent. Realised instantly, why his Lord had had to leave his disciples. It had been the only way...Knowing the truth made it no easier, and his face was awash with tears before Seraph was done. He clutched his tear shard, but found himself more consoled by Seraph's presence, than the promise of Caleb's spirit. And more wondered that such a soul as Seraph had ever thought that he would hate him. Then he remembered hating Cypher for not being Gengoro, and was ashamed and silent. Winter did protest, true to his nature, but his words were unexpected. Caught in this moment, he had forgotten the moment was memory. To him, it was now, and the pain of it rent him. Twenty years ago, he had given his conscious life to save Teo, and there were many reasons why he should have been dead before this. Yet, there were those who thought him deserving of life. Caleb and Ixiar. And Seraph. "You shall call me Winter-sama!" "And you shall call me Seraph!" He had dared to scorn him, who was most like him in all the world. no, NO! He must not go down to the earth, all he has done forgotten, unknown! He deserves to live! Oh Caleb my brother, say goodbye to me, forgive me from turning away from you when you tried! Seraph, brother, live! It had been in the gravity chamber, when Teo had accepted solace, and Winter had turned away, afraid of shattering in front of all of them. It would have been better if he had then, better for all of them, and he was on the verge of knowing why. It had been then, that Aaron had gained his foothold. Quilyn had been there, his first meeting with Winter, it was supposed to have been then, had Winter only - oh, God forgive me, Quilyn, Caleb, Seraph forgive me, you were there in my darkness searching for me, I knew and did not know, if I had seen what was before my eyes, it would have been different all of it - The thought cut off, the break of connection almost gasp-audible, with the physical gut-wrench of a new-broken heart. It had only been moments, out of the connection soon enough to hwear Trinis' enraged voice. Aaron's dead! Winter could not bear being misunderstood again, after a life of nothing but misunderstanding and hiding. His mental voice strained, unhappy, broken. He had less desire to hurt Mim even than Teo. Mim had accepted him, even as he had been distant. Impersonate? God no, never that, tell him, Seraph, please! It's over, it's over...Aaron's dead! Teo echoed his cry. The force of those words so soon after the soul connection seemed like a last knell, a sledgehammer against the Aaronic tomb that had trapped them and their souls rang with the crash of it. Minds and souls echoed it, not on a note of triumph, but in aching gratitude of the release from pain, of the finality. And grief, still, at the cost of it, not only to them, but all, even Aaron himself. "...No, no longer children..." They were in truth, nearly 21, yet both recognised a sacrifice they had not faced til now. The price of their great power, come so soon, had been the loss of childhood. How had the time since 13 gone so fast? Teo could no longer remember a time where he hadn't been stumbling under responsibilities too great for him. And Winter, awakened with a 17 year old's memories, had watched children play but never joined them, never let himself feel his own envy, but only a loss he did not know how to remedy. World weary, lanced to the core with bitter grief, drained of all they had, drained of the poison placed within them....Yet saw in Seraph a weariness and grief far greater than theirs. What he had given through memory, he had held in his soul far longer, and the burden of being hated by those he sought to teach for his brother's sake, and had allowed here for Quilyn's sake, had only in these moments lifted. ...Seraph...not his brothers only, but yours, always, forgive us... I - dared to scorn you, for not being Caleb - as I was scorned for not being Teo, and feared scorn for not being Ixis - now I know you are Caleb's brother, that you can bear with the ass I've been. The apology held grief, but also a wondering joy within it, and it was Winter, not Teo, who was the first at Seraph's side, to bear up, to heal, the source of their own healing. That which Teo had acquired through sincere love and long-suffering and prayer, and gave freely and joyfully, all but exploded from the wild white youth. The rigid surety of what he was and wasn't shredded away from him almost visibly through the force of a reflected tsunami of long-held-back love, wild, intemperate, and true, It flooded through them and into Seraph. From Teo, warm and soothing and sweet and calm, from Winter, sharp and bracing as snowmelt, both needed and welcome into a flint-sharp desert of exhaustion. The three bathed in soulflame that minded the others watching of a waterfall flying upward, spark-spray dancing above their heads. "I'm not hugging him, I'm just holding him up." Teo blinked, puzzled, the hard embrace that included him giving the lie to the words. Above the familiar unsmiling mouth, sapphire eyes intense, alight with joy. Winter...joking? At his own expense? Teo chuckled, then stopped, his breath caught. The hand that gripped his arm was warm, the wrist throbbed with the fast beat of a heart not his. Soulflame still wreathed them both, but past that, he could sense muscle and sinew and bone, and the same fatigue as Seraph's. Winter had rested in others' flesh, but now, the flesh was his... "Winter, oh Winter, what a gift -" Surprised into speaking aloud, Teo grinned and began to laugh, the soft bright sound of seeing a heart's desire fulfilled without warning, without asking. Reaching under the wild white hair, he touched lightly the ebon earring on Winter's left ear, invoking the soft red haori and hakama of his armor. I am so tired, Teo. Seraph, brother, why am I tired? The words in the dreamy cadence of a sleepy child. Teo was still laughing in joyous relief when Winter fell asleep standing up, safe at last in the arms of brothers who loved him... ____________________________ ...only to find himself not in the darkness he had feared, but laying under snowcover in an expanse of white, a field of brightness bordered far by a forest, more beautiful than Sanctuary. Looked up into puzzled azure eyes, a face he'd never seen before, yet seen every day in reflection...eyes that knew him as intimately as if they windowed a soul that had lived his whole conscious life with him. "Winter." |
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| Deleted User | Feb 24 2008, 03:16 PM Post #16 |
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There was an empathic flourish of sorts going on, the rightfully crying princess who sat beside him, and one retired general who looked like he was on the verge of collapse. The smallest of sighs escaped Ixiar, standing there with his arms barred toward Algeria, giving the smallest of head shakes. Inwardly, he frankly adored her like a daughter even before the events of the tower. She had saved Teo's life, therefore saving Winter's at the same time. Granted, she had also hit one of his 'sons' with a rather sturdy shield... but Teo had that coming. Pineapple indeed. The tower had changed her though, body and soul both. Pure avian lineage and formed over her old body and soul, thusly making Mim into one of only four known living pure bloods. Ixiar had taken an oath long ago, a spirit binding pact to prove his redemption to the real Odin. Technically speaking, he was now her servant... just as he was Seraph's. A shiver traveled down his spine, a reminder that he was forced to serve all Avians. That had been his own reality at the Heavenbreaker, the one Nightmare Malfesteous hadn't dared to produce. Bowing to Aaron would have forced Ixiar to take his own life... hence why he remained on the bottom of the tower to dual with Morpheus's dark side. Poor Morpheus, Eona's godfather was once again lost into the dream realm. Though he might have endured being broken of the nightmarish powers that had consumed him, there were no certainties. Ixiar personally suspected that Morpheus had joined in Caleb's and Scythexious's final sacrifice, but it was far too painful for him to look at that situation in any more detail. Allegria asked him a question, one that if she was not crying he would have given a rather grouchy response. Would they ever grow? Of course they were growing! At the rate of a snail's velocity for the most part, but occasionally a leap or bound made a difference. Better not to let them know that though... lest they all start patting themselves on the back. But the second statement, the raven gate? No. That would send Kazura to his death. That thought sent another shiver down his spine. The General of Progatha stood before him, alive... this man was part of Black Hand mythology. He was practically worshiped amongst the tribes, the battle techniques Kazura had developed were still religiously used by his people. As every other child, Ixiar had hoped to grow up an be like Kazura... As every member of the Sage family, Ixiar had been taught to remember his adopted ancestor with each passing day. Though the General of Progatha had no passing lineage of his own, the Sage family had overtime considered themselves to be the closest thing to Kaz's descendants. Thusly, dealing with the teenage living Kazura of Progatha was a complete enigma to him. "The General must rest first. Even then, it would be better to accept the gratitude of the Great Scot" For Allegria, he spared his grouchiness. She would accept his reasons, and either not question or come up with a comparable suggestion. At this point, her boyfriend snapped with some justified words of his own. Seraph... hurry up and cure my sons. This hatchet needs to be buried. "It's really too bad the logic of a young lady is stuck out here while things go haywire in there..." And she was up, dignified as ever and walking back into the room as though nothing had happened. For a brief second, he smiled. Everything was almost done, at last. At last he would be able to settle down and just be a father instead of some far away source of knowledge and power. * * * So this was the pain of being human. Flawed, fallible, weak... each was a word that meant something on its own, but a culmination of those feelings within his heart was something that he had not yet come to understand. It had been thousands of years since he had felt this heaviness, this beat down of a spiritual manner. Endless calculations and questions looped through his mind, which upon obtaining solutions opened only new questions or answers that he did not want to suggest. The truth of the matter was that he was running low on energy. He had been fighting, running, and waiting for what now felt like an eternity... all for her. Caleb had kept his promise only so much it seemed, and time was of the essence to get back to her... yet he could not abandon the two from the forest. Quilyn was his roommate and friend, something Kazura was very short on. Hell, today was the first affirmation that any of his friends were alive. Winter, Teo, Quilyn, Mim, Trinis... nothing had been certain about any of them until today. Yet, with her still gone, his heart still felt so wretched... so defeated... Trinis's shouting gave him a start, Kazura accidentally jumped. That shout peaked his curiosity though, and he found himself re-entering the room along with Mim. Her glance at him had been almost awkward, like a late apology for something she had done wrong. What was wrong with running out into the hall in desperate fear over that voice? Kazura placed no blame on her, but noted that if he were in Trinis's shoes, he would have been chasing after her. What was wrong between them anyways? Never mind, that situation would be to perplexing to even start to figure out. Right now, Kazura needed to sit down and rest. While he listened to the conversation that Seraph, Teo and Winter were having... he found it more important right now to remind Quilyn's father that everything would be all right. "I think... Mr. Ru'Avren, that I do have a favor to ask of you. When your son is better of course..." Kazura would not force Ru'Arven to pay up until Quilyn was at least pronounced stable. It would be unfair to make such demands at this time. Thusly, Kazura leaned back, listening at first yet slowly loosing his consciousness. * * * They were hugging him. Well, one of them was going to claim he was just holding him up, but still. Seraph was not quite certain how to handle this whole forgiveness thing to be honest. He had passed on talking Trinis down from his anger over Aaron's death, mostly because he noticed Mim back in the room. She was certainly the most justified of all of them to either talk him down or support his rant. There were more important things to be discussed anyways, things like how were they going to help Quilyn? "Yes, yes, don't worry either of you. Can we all just agree that we've fussed over those events enough, and right now working as a family would be the important thing. It was, at this point that Teo made a comment that finally snapped Seraph's mind back to reality. Winter was... real? No, real was not the right word... physically present? Actually a body mind and spirit? Teo's laughter almost drown out Winter's comment. Seraph heard it, pondered, and then knew the solution had presented itself. At last, it was time to help the dream guide find whom he was guiding. "Winter, you've never slept before have you? You need rest. Rest at last dear brother, sleep well." With that, Winter fell unconscious. Seraph wasted no time in literally lifting up his newfound body and placing it on a third hospital bed. With a quite signal to Teo, Seraph moved the gurney closer to Quilyn's bed. At last satisfied with his work, Seraph turned back to the Captain. "Any minute now sir... we could not have done this without your knowledge. You or-" Seraph looked up in an attempt to thank Trinis, but stopped upon noticing that Trinis was not still watching them all like a hawk. He hoped that Mim and Trinis would recover all right, but that was truly up to them. "Teo, would you go grab Ixiar? I've been needing to talk to him also..." * * * He almost jumped when her hand touched his shoulder. It was warm, soft and welcoming, just as the way things used to be. Before the tower, before the bloody school even. They used to have fun together, running away from parents and responsibility, from adulthood and reason itself. He loved her with all his heart, no question about it... but things in Japan had been different. In truth, he blamed himself. If he had only been able to attend her goodbye ceremony, if he had only been able to secretly kiss her and tell her he was coming to rescue her, like a knight in shining armor- Alright, she probably would have mocked him about the knight part, but been grateful all the same. Even when he had rescued her though, had it been too late? That was one of the questions that had been plaguing him for a week. When she beaconed him to come away from whatever was going on between Seraph, Teo, and Winter; he complied. To hold her hand again was a joy. Trinis had not touched Mim since the tower, not since her wounds had been dressed and she returned to her dorm. He had offered to stand outside the door all night if necessary, but that was met with a firm no. In the end, he had requested of Kou that he watch over her for the night. The kitsune had been perfectly all right with that, merely worried about the both of them. In the meantime, Trinis had gone to bed, found himself unable to sleep, and therefore went to work. Well, work was researching what had happened to Quilyn, and apologizing profusely to his own father. That was how he learned of his responsibility over the entire situation. That was when his heart sank in the fear of what he had caused to happen. The next morning was supposed to be better. He had brought fresh red carnations, dressed himself nicely and even bothered to use eye drops to cover for his lack of rest. He had also purchased fresh groceries and was fully intending on making breakfast in bed for Mim... well, Kou also, but he didn't want another male of any sort in the same bed as his lady. He arrived at the front door of the dormitories with a smile on his face and hope in his gray blue eyes, only to find Kou standing outside looking just as shocked as he now was. "What happened mate? Why are you outside the dorm?" "She threw me out! Said that she did want anyone to see her...or to try anything empathic on her." Kou sounded disappointed, as though he were at fault again. That caused Trinis pause. Kou was the least likely of either Teo or Winter to remind Mim of anything Avian, so what had happened? He knocked on the door polietly, no answer. Knocked again, a little harder... still no answer. "Mim! Are you alright? Please come and open this door sweetheart!" "Don't come in! Just GO AWAY!" The response to his call was so quick and cold that for a moment Trinis wondered if Aaron really had been lying on top of the tower. No, they had clearely hugged each other, and even kissed each other goodnight yesterday... what the hell was going on? "What is wrong sweetheart? Why are you locking yourself away?" No response. Kou looked at him with a sadness in his eyes, one that Trinis did not understand. At this point, Trinis's non empathic mind assumed that Mim must have found out that he caused all this, and she now hated him for it. "Mim... I'm sorry- It's all my fault, and I was just going to walk away like nothing happened. I didn't mean for you to be taken on that day, I swear I was on my way, if I would have know I wouldn't have been in some stupid meeting-" He was quickly attempting to offer a million explanations and excuses for his actions. He really wanted to hold her in his arms right now, to hug and kiss her and never let her warmth out of his reach again... but did he deserve to? Killing Aaron did not exempt him of his sins, that much he knew. At long last though, he started to ponder about her white hair. How had her entire head turned white in less than a week? Perhaps it could be stress related, he would need ask Seraph about that. But right now, she had to know something. "I love you darling, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm never around due to all this working... but I'll be better, I promise. Please take me back, please." Even puppies were incapable of matching the sweet plea Trinis's face now had. |
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| Deleted User | Feb 24 2008, 08:24 PM Post #17 |
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At Trinis's soft pleas, Mim felt a heat rising in her cheeks. She had behaved like a child, shamefully. Even Kou, a confidante in his own way, had suffered her sudden change, and on reflection, none of it had been her hair color. Mim had been terrified of what she was becoming...had become in such a short time. Her reaction had only been to withdraw into herself, locking the dormitory door and trusting on the empaths' vows that her mind would stay bolted shut as well. She had always been weak in the heart, and she used that to buy herself a few days from schoolwork, calling into the main office. Perhaps, that had been the first true change. Mim was respectful and prim to a fault. Neglecting schoolwork to sulk was simply not like her, but she had felt a rebellious strain and rather than ask a classmate to drop the homework assignments at her door, she had turned away from it entirely. Then, she stopped making excuses and calling the others to cancel socializing opportunities. There was only Trinis, anyways. While she loved him, she felt a chasm growing between them with his business and her lethargic denial. Kou had not attempted to contact again, respecting her wishes, and even clingy Teo had all but disappeared from Mim's world. "I'm sorry that I seemed to throw you out, love," she whispered in English, her long fingers closing around his. "Forgive me." Not a question, not a plea, it was simply Mim touching the former properness of herself. She wanted so much to just relax after her days of reclusion. Even now, she had let the barricades in her mind dissolve while she held him there. Then, guiltily, she remembered Kazura. Ixiar had said something about him needing rest first. She hated to seem so self-indulgent at the moment near enough to touch him, but would that mean that she and Trinis could spend some time together? If something went right before they faced the grim truth that was Alara's fate...Compulsively, she squeezed the fingers of Trinis's hand in her own. "If...Well, when...Quilyn wakes, do you want to grab a quick bite, love?" Again, in English, but this time, she meant it to hide from Kaz's ears, not loving murmurs. She felt like a betrayer, enjoying her love while Kazura stood in a hospital hallway without his. That Ixiar wanted him to rest first only led her to believe the worst would come of Alara's condition. * * * Captain Ru'Avren had thought he had seen the last of their bickering when he returned to the tiny chair by the bed. He had prayed it was and had even forgiven them of the rude action in such a circumstance, but when the good doctor had them both pinned, his nerves had been exhausted. Golden wings had erupted and disappeared so quickly, Ru'Avren didn't even connect them to Seraph's rigid form. The three were sharing a psychic conversation much more intense than anything he had witnessed between his crew mates before. It bordered on palpable in the air between them, and then, Seraph was sagging, his white head leaning toward the odd lads. Ru'Avren's hand clenched the unconscious child's as he watched them. He wanted to get up and support the doctor, but something seemed vulnerable about their moment even though it was guarded by their own abilities. Ru'Avren wasn't the one to help any of them. Not right now, so he contented himself to watch helplessly, his coarse fingers playing with the soft, limp ones of the child in the bed. They were talking, and allowing them their privacy, Ru'Avren turned his gaze away. He could still hear them, though, but he disconnected the words from actual form. He heard them as one hears a busy street, garbled yet symphonic, as if he should be paying attention. Then, another bright flash caught his eye. This was red. The short white-hair was asleep on the doctor's chest. Some fat lot of good he was doing! These were the experts Seraph had requested? Then again, they were Quilyn's friends. No matter how odd, they had treated his son with dignity and no amount of dropping off on the job or bickering could tear down the pedestal he had placed them on. So much swam in his head as he stared at the doctor gingerly moving the limp form of the young psychic to the last gurney. Where had that red outfit come from? Why had he collapsed when the doctor had seemed glad to? The gurney's wheels sliding against the linoleum finally brought one question through the haze as the young man's sleeping form was deposited between the unconscious figures. "THAT'S him?!" Ru'Avren barked. Wincing, he relaxed visibly and continued in a whisper. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like that. I was sure it was...Ne'ermind. Him?" The doctor reassured him that they would only take a minute or so, but Ru'Avren brushed it aside. "They can have the rest of the week, if they want it. The bond...contacting with their bonded...It's an indescribable thing." He was staring; he knew, but he couldn't stop it. That red garb was distracting, even from the two sleeping figures of his son. Where anger had creased the young psychic's brow on their first meeting, there was only smooth, pale skin. He wasn't clammy or sweating, just naturally pale like a porcelain doll. White hair that was so smooth, it rivaled Quilyn's downy soft locks, spread around him on the pillow. This was his son's bonded? An angel that needed a guardian? The irony was sharp, but it softened his heart on the young psychic as he watched them all sleeping. Kaz announced through a haze of sleepiness that he was going to ask for that favor. "Of course, lad. Whenever you need it, too. You've already delivered my son to me. It would be an insult not to return..." Kaz hadn't heard him, he guessed by the way the young man was drifting off. Even though he wasn't Quilyn's bonded, he still felt affection for the lad. Getting up from the chair, he offered it to him, threatening to guide him with his plate-sized hands. "I'll watch from the side." * * * Through the white snow, the burned trees jutted up and scratched at the belly of the sky. Here, there were elms, and there, the remnants of birches. All were burned and blackened, but the shapes pressed the differences against the stark background of snow and gray sky as the young man and dog ran through the trees. They were clean, now, but though the snow had washed away the soot from every layer of them, they were dry and warm. Even the dog continued to roll in the glorious change, barking as one of the lads chased him. Now, clean and active in their own ways, differences could be seen in the lads like the trees. The lad that leaned against the trunk of an oak had blue eyes, pale and clear, glimmering with a smile as he watched the open joy of the other and the dog. His clothes were odd, a tunic of purple velvet and brown trousers, but they complimented the running lad's green tunic with red triangles slashed through the sleeves. His eyes, when they weren't squinted with laughter, were a golden red that sparkled with as much intensity. Aside from the odd eyes, though, they were physically the same. Did they even know the differences, though? Here, they knew nothing. No dreams or memories. No names echoed in each other's ears. They spoke without words or gestures, understanding completely as they followed the path, but with the snow, the path had vanished, setting them free to choose where they wandered. The dog was the only thing that reminded them that there was 'different'. The dog communicated through that same, invisible bond they shared, and yet, it also seemed to know more. It knew to move forward when they had awoken in this place, following an instinct that the others were merely tugged along by. Did it know where they had been? As if hearing this thought, the dog suddenly stopped, his breath coming in foggy pants but his eyes rooted to the tree. Golden eyes, much like the lad that had chased him through the trees. It was no wonder they seemed somewhat closer. Now, the other lad stopped, seeing the same thing as the dog. Tilting his head, the final part of their trio followed their gazes to the spot right beside him. Something new was here. It slept for a moment under the branches of the burned trees, alien and different. It was...like them? Definitely not a dog, but the differences were rampant on the face of the newcomer. White hair, fair skin, shorter than both. In a flash, the lad stood and barred the dog and other lad from the newcomer. His hand gripped a sword that had not appeared before, but it was not so strange and alien as the sleeping figure. If anything, the sword felt familiar, comfortable, as the dog had felt to the golden-eyed lad, and he knew that it would protect him if this creature should be a threat. "Winter..." said a voice behind him. The golden-eyed lad was advancing toward the figure as it stirred and woke, the dog close at his heels. For a moment, he protested, barring both their advances to protect them, but a reassuring hand calmed the pale blue eyes from chips of ice to curiosity. The sword vanished without effect, gone as if it had never been, and the red-gold eyes continued to stare at the new figure. Who was this? Neither could dredge up a shred of a memory and neither had missed memories until now. Slowly, the lad with red-gold eyes knelt in the snow and reached forward. He knew this person. He could feel it like the bond he felt with the dog. It wasn't the blue eyes that matched his twin of sorts. They were set in a different face. Without a word, the fingers of his right hand connected with the warm flesh of the new figure, just below one of those startling eyes. As if a dam had been broken, memories flooded through the lad with alarming clarity and brilliance. Everything was lovingly poured over again and again while the lad seemed to only hold on to this world with the tips of his fingers touching the new person's cheek. This was Winter, and winter was the snow around them. Detail after detail of a world unknown unfolded before him, smells and colors overwhelming his senses...and music. They were every day sounds. The deafening tattoo of the city to the maddening quiet of thoughts. Everything painted a picture into the quiet dullness that had been the void where memories should have been, and around them, the snow was melting and the trees were blooming to life. Then, the memories turned more personal as the lad regained the labels and shapes of things. This was Winter...Winter wasn't Teo...He had started his existence determined to show that he was not someone. What was so bad about being the same? His senses were assaulted with memories. A woman that screamed and clawed his face, showing hatred to one that was not whom she loved. That same woman showing affection toward him but different from what she showed Teo...Dark-light...different...That was where individuality was born. Should the lad with the golden eyes be different? Was it good to be different if people hated you for it? He wasn't Winter. He knew this but barely as the memories thrummed with the feeling of familiarity. He started to want to be different even as all these memories flooded through his senses. The memories gained an order to them as the lad recognized time, realized that there was such a thing as time. One couldn't be shown time. They had to feel it passing, and here, it did rapidly as he pulled at every memory that flooded into him. Time passed quickly and slowly, and it only seemed different when one was watching it while caught in it. Time passed and showed the relationships rend and repair themselves, and then, something made the flood of memories halt. It was unnoticeable to the other lad and the dog, staring at the two before them, but to the lad with red-gold eyes and Winter, it was a lifetime between them. A memory showed him standing down the hall of a place known as gravity chambers. In his hand, he clenched medical supplies and looked with terror at Winter staring him down. Dog ears? Tail? Suddenly, the lad with red-gold eyes was pelting at Winter...Then...The lad gasped as he felt a memory sink into him and another...This was him...This was his identity. Quilyn... Where the memories had simply washed into him before, he now drank at them, pulling them faster and eagerly. Odd how he didn't remember being a child, the same as Winter. His memories, his identity, had started at eight and had tumbled into clarity like a snowball. His father was stern, unforgiving of faults, a fact that had been no more merciful on his deaf sister. He remembered speaking with gestures to her and sharing with her in her delight that someone approved and loved her. His older sister was like his father, but even that didn't earn her favor. She was cold and tired. His family had sent him away because of a danger he didn't understand but felt deep within his soul. Everything flew by but left no detail behind. Ru'Avren, a father and yet, treated distantly because he didn't understand how a father was supposed to act. More flew by. Years of shaky trust rocking and finally breaking. These were all his memories! He pulled on more of them, knowing that every time he appeared in Winter's memories, the empath had faithfully and subconsciously stored them away. It ended with terror. Pure terror of being caught, kidnapped, and drugged with some substance that he knew had destroyed his prior batch of memories. Only in Winter did a shred of them exist, and he felt grateful beyond his humiliation. Winter had quite literally saved Quilyn's life. He remembered everything because of him, but what had happened beyond their parting? Suddenly remembering tact, Quilyn broke his contact with Winter. He had found nothing beyond that. There was a figure in a hospital bed. Two of them, in fact, but no reason as to how they came to be there. Glancing behind him, Quilyn guessed the second figure was this odd twin of sorts. Why was he suddenly uncomfortable with that? He eased the fear with reassurance that Winter had started as 'Not-Teo'. Could this lad find himself in being 'Not-Quilyn'? Winter had found truth to the conviction. The same could happen for him, couldn't it? Then, there was the matter of the White Hand, the tower, and the reason he had been sent to this place. Seraph was alive. He was relieved that their meeting and awkwardness had been resolved before Winter had fallen asleep, but he felt he had intruded. With his legs beginning to cramp, Quilyn lowered himself to sit cross-legged in the warm grass that had spread from the wave of memories. He tucked his hands neatly in his lap and lowered his gaze from Winter's icy stare. "I...Th-Thank you, Winter," Quilyn whispered. "I didn't know...I'm sorry...I couldn't do this before. If I knew, I would've asked..." I didn't mean to take everything...I didn't know I could. It just happened. "It helped, though." Moonshadow, what he now knew the dog's name to be, actually remembered giving him that name...remembered that he could speak and could reason better than Quilyn himself because he was Quilyn himself in an odd way. "Whether it's a new power or a fluke of Winter's empathy, it helped." Quilyn winced at the word 'power'. From the two memory sets he bore, it meant two different things. Winter knew it as the strength to help people he loved. Quilyn knew it as others' strength to hurt him. Moon thought of it rationally. It was simply a gauge of ability and potential. In a way, it reflected all of their personalities. What of the odd one not privy to their bond? Would he develop as Winter had? No. He had already started to manifest himself in a way. There had been no clear 'This is Teo-This is Not-Teo' comparison. Back when neither of them had memories or definition, he had chosen to sit under the tree while Quilyn had chosen to play with Moonshadow. He had his own personality before Quilyn had recovered the meaning of his. He would be fine. Turning his attention back on Winter, Quilyn cocked his head slightly. So, all of this meant that he was bonded to Winter? What exactly did that mean? He had the memories of Ru'Avren fumbling through explanations and even memories that Winter had pulled from him. His mother...Even Quilyn hadn't known about that. She had known Ru'Avren? It made the affection Winter had felt from the Captain ache in Quilyn's heart. He would have to apologize to him later, tell him he did love him as a father, and for once, he wasn't afraid to. Something about the torrent of memories had weakened the wall of fear he had kept himself behind. Even with that fear gone, though, ignorance could prove harmful. I don't know how to be an Allu guide. What if I mess up? Ru'Avren said it was accidental how events worked out, but I know I'll make a blunder of it...I... Then, he remembered that aching want Winter had felt at the mere mention of the bond. He didn't know or care about the depth of it, he just wanted to be special to Quilyn. I...I'm sorry. I do appreciate it, Winter, but I don't think it's right... Even with both their memories and the perspective of time, he was falling into one of their classic traps. He was denying what was important to them both. "Still scared," Moon muttered in disappointment. |
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| dancingcrane -New! | May 15 2008, 03:52 AM Post #18 |
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Teo, Win, Xan, Pete, Kounei ...currently offworld...
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Teo left to get their father Ixiar, too full to speak. Whatever happened, this was good. Wait... Teo tried to put it delicately, to not provoke more grief. He knew the one he addressed would know who 'she' was... "If...she...is in trouble, please, let me go try, at least...the risk I bear is nothing compared to a life - " ********************** The white-haired boy was awake, watching in confusion the cool whiteness around him. Not darkness, not the quiet dull, maddening nothingness, but something with the touch of Sanctuary. He thought that he had seen someone. Where were the startling sky-colored eyes that gazed at him a moment ago, from a snow-limned face against a gray sky? Had he merged into the other's body that unconsciously? And if so, where was the other mind, that double awareness he was so used to when merged, that sense of being an interloper? Of riding along, but never belonging? He only felt himself, and more himself at that, than he ever had. Was this what it was like, to own a body of one's own? If it was, and he was dreaming, he wanted to dream forever, and never wake. Never wake. That had been his beginning, but this was nothing like that darkness, that long nothingness that he sharply remembered being afraid to re-inter. For almost four years that fear had ruled him, as he fled the growing deep weariness that only fear and anger could ward him from. If he slept, he would vanish from the world, a conviction made doubly irrational for that the conscious life that he had, had been such hell at the start. Why had he even wanted to continue, why the need to escape death, fight his cessation? For others' lives. One who needed him and accepted the little he could give. One who saw his destiny, and drove him to be greater. One who befriended him, seeing his own darkness redeemable. One who gave him his life, who would die but for his continued presence. One who gave him love, whom he drove away for fear the love was only his own selfishness given form. For them, for more, and for the world, even when he felt he could never deserve to belong to any of them. "Brother". Seraph's word, Teo's obsession. More than a word, that finally meant more to him than to anyone. Finally, at the moment of what he had thought would be certain death, he had felt neither fear nor anger, but only acceptance of what would come. He had felt safe for the first time since he had become aware, and for the first time, surrendered, utterly. He was right about the death. Just wrong about what it was that died... He watched three figures approach. He knew them all, yet could not explain how he remembered, for it seemed that the part of him that remembered one, did not know the other two, and the part that remembered the two, did not know the one. Memory did not work that way, he knew, unless there was something wrong. "Winter" A wild joy, a sharp ache, at the first sound. A name, his name, not his name... (...Shino...) His name, his self-chosen name, Winter, in lieu of the name ungiven, for a boy unborn...His name, spoken in love and...expectation? He was surprised, yet not surprised to see the sword appear, the wary gaze. This he knew well, having faced threats and been one. He sat up smoothly, silent, his gaze as sharp, unwavering. Watching someone he would protect with his life, protected from him. By someone who should have known... (...Tiras?...) The name had no meaning...and all the meaning in the world. Recognition without memory...he could tell already, that the two, the gold-eyed, knew him, but that they didn't know why. That he knew the one, who's eyes mirrored his, but didn't know the part of himself who knew him. There was a connection between them all, and they were all fragmented. He saw, that a touch was enough to calm wariness into curiosity, and make the sword vanish like the vanishing snow. Touch. Another ache. There had never been flesh to be touched for him, and the sudden need for what he could never have kept the snow cold around him. But the gold-eyed boy knelt in it, reaching, as he was afraid to do. ...If you could touch me, I would give you everything...if only... Warmth upon warmth startled him. He stared, icy in shock, as he felt barrier after barrier within him shatter, all his protections, his self-made prison, gone. Everything he was, everything he knew...the boy was taking it all. Had this been anyone else, he would have fought it. He'd near shoved Teo through a wall for less, moments ago. And here was someone out-Wintering Winter, more thorough than Jinsei. Laying his mind open, every memory he had ever had, not only those carried with him from their merging in the gravity chambers, but all those from Winter's long self-emposed guardianship of the dog-boy whose loneliness was his own. He knew now, who had truly been the guardian, and the why of the fragmentation of Quilyn's mind, and why Winter's mind and powerful coercive powers were the only remedy. Quilyn had been in the long darkness with him, trying to be what he had never had the chance to be trained for, trying to save Winter as once Winter had tried to save Teo. In the darkness, his memories had lost cohesion. Anchorless, dimmed. Winter relived every moment as they tore past, buffeting his mind in a tsunami of pieces...he cast a net only he could fashion, shaping the formless, mending the broken, bringing clarity, order and illumination to the flotsam and jetsam. Lending control to the uncontrolled. Making sense of the senseless. Painting pictures to fill the void that scared them both. Time passing, 17 years of nothing, one of hell and 3 of struggle...finding at long last, an anchor. A bond that had saved Teo's life, at the cost of his own, and another, that had saved his mind and soul, at as dear a cost. Hard sacrifices, willingly made, remembered, finally, by both of them. And in so doing, being given his own life back, shedding light on the shards of pain and knowing that even his suffering had had purpose. In facing Quilyn's memories, he was forced to face his own - an examination of conscience of a most brutal sort. He could never have faced it alone, or for a less urgent reason than Quilyn's life. Yet, with Quilyn's presence and his touch, he found it bearable, and finally, healing. Even as Quilyn pulled eagerly, just as intensely did Winter give, to their parting and his grief, and the intense regret and love that Quilyn's absence had revealed. Winter leaned unconsciously into Quilyn's withdrawing touch, not wanting to break it yet, knowing from Quiln's lowered gaze that he must have looked angry. Even now, his mask for the grief and worry he felt. He had caught Quilyn sliding into second-guessing himself, and the crippling doubt that had been their downfall. His voice, mediated through flesh, rough with emotion, was what betrayed him. "Dammit, don't apologise! None of that matters! After all this, would you deny me now - " |
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