Nineteen year old Josh rolled over onto his back before opening his eyes. Blue sky and white clouds greeted him. He sat up and looked around his room. It had been three years since that final battle with his sister Sophie after Dee's Elder master had used the Final Summoning to raise Danu Talis, better known to the rest of the world as Atlantis. Josh and Sophie had done battle at the top of the palace, and Josh had won. To a point. He had Sophie on the ground, powerless before him. But before he struck the final blow, she had reminded him of their bond, of the fact that they were family, and reminded him of his feelings for the two thousand year old warrior Scathach. It brought him to his senses, and together, they closed the portals to the shadow realms, and erected a shadow realm around Danu Talis to keep the public unaware.
It had been a pain explaining to their parents what had happened, but they eventually got them to let Sophie and Josh stay in Atlantis for the time being. Throwing the blanket off of him, he took a quick shower before he quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans, a plain white shirt, and a black combat vest with three empty sheaths, two on the back, in which he placed two short swords, and one on the left shoulder, which he placed an iron combat knife. As he walked out the door he passed by the full body mirror and did a double take. He looked at himself in the mirror. "Holy crap, I look like her.", he said to himself, thinking of the red haired warrior.
He headed down the insanely long flights of stairs before entering the grand dining hall, where his sister was already eating. "Mornin' Soph.", Josh said, grabbing an apple and a pear from the table before taking a seat next to his sister. "Morning. How'd you sleep?", Sophie asked. Josh smiled. "Like a newborn baby. Which is to say, somewhere between lightly to not at all.", he said with a laugh, which Sophie joined in. "What's your plan for the day?", Sophie asked. "Might visit Saint Germaine and Joan, maybe track down Shakespeare, then visit Nick and Perry's graves.", Josh said, his tone softening at the mention of their friends and guardians. Nicholas and Perry had tried to fight Dee to buy time for Sophie to talk some sense into Josh, but their bodies finally gave in to weakness and Dee ran them through with his sword. Josh had indulged his darker side and literally turned Dee inside out when he found out about it. Sophie and Josh created diamond tombs for both of them that preserved them as they were.
"What are you doing today?", Josh asked. "Oh you know me. Meditation, peaceful music, all that good junk.", Sophie said with a laugh. "Alright, I'm off. Be good.", Josh said, ruffling Sophie's hair like their dad used to. Walking into the leygate room, Josh found the one that lead to Paris and activated it, his aura glowing gold and filling the air with the scent of oranges as he passed through. He was welcomed with open arms by both Joan and Saint Germaine, who immediately dragged Josh to his new sound booth and played select songs from his newest album, which Josh approved of, much to Germaine's delight, and gave Josh an MP3 player with all his albums on it, including the newest one, which Germaine confirmed wouldn't hit store shelves for another three months.
After he left Joan and Germaine's, Josh set out tracking down The Bard. Josh checked all over London, looking high and low, with no success. The poet had disappeared after the events at Stonehenge, and Josh was starting to think that he had been killed, until he walked past a homeless man reciting lines from As You Like It. Josh pulled a two ten pound notes from his wallet and handed them to the homeless man, and as he reached out for the money their fingers touched, and Josh swore he smelled lemon, and the homeless man looked right into Josh's eye and winked before thanking him in a raspy voice and going back to reciting lines. Josh smiled to himself as he recited a line. "All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players.", Josh said.
The mans eyes twinkled and he picked up where Josh left off as he walked away. "They have their exits and entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…", the voice faded as Josh walked through the crowd. Josh went through the leygate at Stonehenge and spent the rest of the day practicing his swordsmanship in the training field in Danu Talis. He let his mind sink into the memories of Mars Ultor, letting his experience guide his blades while spacing his own memories into the slideshow in his head so he didn't lose himself in those memories. By the time he was finished, the sun had set and several of the special crystals that served as a light source glowed bright enough to let him see but not bright enough to distract others. Drenched in sweat, his hair clinging to his forehead in damp clumps, he made his way back to his room.
When the door to his room opened he realized the glow crystal next to his bed was active, and cast in its faint blue glow was a woman with bright red, spiky hair. She was staring into the night sky. Josh focused his aura so that the smell bathed the room in the tangy smell of oranges. Scatty sat up and looked towards the door where Josh was standing, and smiled. "Hey Golden Boy, haven't seen you in years.", she said, her voice like the sweetest music to his ears. "Was watching you practice down there, you looked good. You've improved since Joan's basement.", she said, bringing up their sparring match. Josh's swords had barely hit the floor before Josh had wrapped the Warrior in a bear hug that knocked them both back on the bed.
"Wow. If I'd known you'd be this happy to see me I'd have waited an extra day.", she said with a laugh. Josh sat up, letting Scatty sit up as well. He cupped her face with his hands, letting his love for her pour through to her. "I missed you. So much.", Josh said, letting go of her. Now it was Scatty's turn to cup Josh's face with her hands. "I know Golden Boy. And I missed you.", the Warrior said. Josh leaned forward and kissed her. Scathach returned the kiss for a moment, then her nose crinkled and she pulled away. "No offense, but you stink. Go shower up.", Scatty said, pushing him off the bed.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Shadow.", Josh said in French, before walking into his bathroom and washing the days smells off of him. When he walked out, toweling his hair, he saw that Scathach had changed into a red silk chemise and was laying in an erotic way on the bed. "Going to be a lot of touching tonight I take it?", Josh asked, throwing the towel aside. "Prove how much you missed me Golden Boy.", gesturing with her finger and puckering her lips. Josh didn't have to be told twice. Using his aura, he jumped the length between the bathroom and his bed, landing just in front of it. He slid forward on the bed and kissed Scathach passionately, sliding the straps of the chemise down her slender shoulders, revealing her naked form. Scatty giggled and touched the glow crystal, leaving the room in darkness.
They spent the entire night together, making love until the sky turned pink. Utterly spent, Josh finally fell asleep, Scatty nuzzling into his neck. As Scatty lay there, she felt the warm glow of love that Josh had given her from his many touches, and realized that it hadn't faded. She realized then that something from her union with Josh allowed her to experience emotions the way the Humani did. Golden boy, you are a wonder, she thought, nuzzling deeper into Josh's neck.