Crystal Haze
The Long-awaited and Anticipated Sequel to Crystal Rain, by Kyukutou Sakura
Disclaimer: FINALLY! I've gotten inspired enough to write a sequel. Hoorah! Come, everyone, we salsa! -Salsa dances- -coughs- Anyhow, enough of that. For now. I'm just so excited that I actually feel like writing! And by writing, I mean writing something that'll knock your metaphorical socks off. 3 But don't let me ruin it for ya…and without further ado or deliberations, I give to you…the Sequel to Crystal Rain….Crystal Haze!
Chapter One: Skies of Blue, Clouds of White
The world teemed with life, the bustling traffic of a busy city's streets flowed, much akin to blood pumping through a major artery. The sun shone down from above, with no reminder of the horrors faced again and again throughout the past billion years. The world had come so close to ending, but a lone miracle had prevented it…the sacrifice made of a single entity.
Depicted in the fabled Book of the Moon, this entity was a white Wolf, a creature who would lead the ruined world to Paradise, A Place of Ultimate and Never-Ending Happiness.
In a laboratory hidden from the rest of the world, an attractive blond woman in her early twenties documented the progress of her experiments. She watched in caffeine-deprived awe as a single, cream-colored flower opened in a slow bloom. The flower radiated a pure, gentle aura, a slowly pulsating white color.
The scientist, Cher Degre, took torrid notes in her journal, before administering the growth serum created from an arcane form of alchemy that died out centuries before her time. The serum mixed in the tank that held the flower, a huge glass ball that was filled to the brim with pale green, glittering fluid.
The serum melded with the green fluid, changing it to a transparent emerald tint. The flower reacted almost immediately, growing in size until it closed its great petals to 'sleep'. Cher looked at her watch. "Damn, is it morning already?" she frowned, before watching the flower sleep. Inside the petals she knew what grew, and knew that the flower acted as a womb for the Flower Maiden of Legend. The Maiden that would lead the Wolves to Paradise on the night of a Red Full Moon.
"Soon…" his voice was breathy and mechanical, and eerily empty. "We'll do it right, this time," he continued, the life lines connected to his body began to hiss, snapping off with a squelching pop! "Yes…Lord Darcia," A petite, graceful female bowed, helping him to his feet. "Evil grows yet in this world. We've been given a second chance," the man identified as Darcia hissed out, as his maidservant seer assisted him with his clothing, placing the eye patch over his left eye…his Wolf's eye.
"So lucky that we made such accurate notes last time, hmm?" Darcia chuckled maliciously, before opening the windows to the new world.
The new world that would soon end, and allow him to enter Paradise. He remembered a name from his past life…Cheza. The Flower Maiden. The Key to opening and entering Paradise. His grandfather's alchemic creation. "It is time…once more," he murmured, and drew the windows shut.
-x-x-x-x-x-
High school was such a pain, she decided, tugging on her cotton-blend uniform. The white-collared shirt was a pain, the knee-high white socks were a pain…the saddle shoes were most definitely a pain.
She let out a gusty sigh, before trudging from her bedroom to kiss her mother goodbye. "Mama, I'm going to school now," Suzette announced, injecting a false joy into her voice.
"Lovely, ma petite! Stay safe, and remember! We're going out for dinner tonight!" Sarah appeared from behind the kitchen counter, smiling cheerfully. "How could I forget, Mama?" Suzette's dry elation was replaced by true delight, it was her birthday, after all.
The teenaged girl gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek, and left their cozy little apartment with a noticeable spring in her step.
-x-x-x-x-x-
The day came and went, and soon Suzette was strolling down the concrete sidewalks that led to her apartment complex. Passing a gaping alleyway, Suzette froze when she picked up a soft mewl, emanating from said alleyway. She became increasingly cautious, sidestepping to the edge of the brick wall before speaking in a voice cracked with vigilance.
"Is anyone there?" Suzette flinched when her inquiry echoed before lapsing into silence, a reply reaching her ears just as quickly. "Yes," a voice replied, she couldn't determine if the owner of the voice was male or female. "Are you okay?" she asked again, stepping closer to the mouth of the passage.
There was a pause, then a noise not unlike bones crunching. Suzette swallowed a lump of fear, and stepped into the opening. Squinting her eyes in the sudden shadow of the alley, she managed to see the outline of someone or something crouched against the wall before her.
"H-hello?" the freshman was scared now. She couldn't see very well, and was growing increasingly frightened. "Hi," the figure began, slowly standing up, extending something towards her. "My name's Toboe. What's yours?" Suzette blinked, she could barely discern Toboe's features, but she assumed that it was a he.
"Suzette," she responded, noticing that he had extended his hand to her, so she might shake it. And she did, noting that he had a gentle grip for someone who she guessed lived in an alley. "And this…" he stooped over to pick something up of the ground. "…is Riceball," he finished cheerfully, holding out a small white kitten.
The kitten mewled at her, and Suzette's heart melted a bit. "Cute!" she smiled, lightly rubbing the kitten behind a velvety ear. The girl glanced down at her watch and gasped. "Oh damn," she swore, looking around. "Toboe, I have to go! I'm late for dinner!" she exclaimed, curtsying once in farewell before darting towards the exit.
"Wait!" he called out, and she slid to a quick stop. "Will you come visit me again tomorrow?" he asked, his golden-brown eyes glowing with hope. Suzette felt her heart melt at the sight, and she nodded. "Yeah, I will…but I've gotta go now…bye!" she called out her farewell, waving as she raced off.
Toboe watched the girl run, cuddling Riceball next to his faded sienna shirt. "Do you think she'll come back?" he asked the kitten, stroking under her chin with a slim finger. Riceball mewled in response, purring fiercely. "Me too," Toboe grinned, retreating back to their makeshift home.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Sarah welcomed her daughter home with a hug, wrapped in her rarely-used cocktail dress. "Get changed into your party dress, ma petite…I'm treating you to someplace special!" Sarah bubbled, busying herself with the golden bangles that glittered on her wrists.
Suzette stripped her uniform off and tossed it into the clothes hamper, allotting herself a five minute shower to rid herself of the day's grime. Once she was toweled dry, the birthday girl tugged on black panties and a matching bra, and smoothed on her black pantyhose. Pulling the black and scarlet dress from the dry-cleaning bag, she carefully pulled it on and tied the front corset string.
Slipping on her black heels, Suzette sped from her room and into the living room, where Sarah waited. "Ah! A vision of loveliness as usual! But something's missing, ma petite…aha!" her mother exclaimed, thinking a moment before pulling off an armful of golden bangles and slipping them over her daughter's slim wrist.
"Voila!" she grinned, and the two rushed out to the car, piling inside and driving off.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Darcia pored over his notes, stopping on a name. "Suzette…" he murmured, remembering. "Ah…the little pregnant bitch…of course she's been reborn, as well as the others…" his smile was snide, his maidservant entering the room with his requested meal.
"Your evening meal, Lord Darcia," she curtsied, reverently sliding the silver tray onto the magnificent wooden table where he toiled. "Thank you, Maia," he replied, moving his paperwork to the side in order to partake in his meal.
"Maia, be a dear and locate the Wolves for me while I eat?" Darcia needn't have wheedled, Maia thought, but curtsied low anyway. "Of course, my Lord," she murmured, padding from the ornate dining hall to the Seeing Room.
The Seeing Room was just as she left it, when she had died in her previous life. The crystal ball clasped in the Gothic-themed fitting, black metal claws clutching the volleyball-sized orb. Maia smiled in spite of herself, gently prying the Orb free of its holder and balancing it on the Seeing Platform.
Arcane symbols burned an acid green across the black Platform, spiraling out to the edges of the table and onto the floor, up and across the walls to meet at the very center of the ceiling. Green light pinpointed down to the Orb, filling it with images and sounds of the city below their Hold.
"…ma petite!" Maia froze the images, selecting the image of a mother and daughter enjoying an expensive dinner. The golden bangles on each woman's wrist were the click that the gears needed, and Maia nearly cried aloud with elation. She pressed the red button that opened the circuits, and spoke into the microphone.
"Lord Darcia! I've found the whelp!" she cried, closing the circuits as Darcia raced to her side. He leaned close, and nodded. "Excellent, Maia. That is indeed the whelp," he could have kissed the maidservant. Everything was falling into place…Now all he had to do was find the Wolves, That foolish Scientist had already recreated Cheza.
His echoing laugh of pure, unadulterated malice ricocheted throughout his Gothic Keep.
"Soon, Harmona. Soon we shall be together once more!"
-x-x-x-x-x-
Yes! I'm back, baby! -cheers- Let me know what you guys think, okay? Love muchly,
Sakura