Disclaimers: All the usual stuff. Don't own, don't sue. And, if the show isn't around anymore, are we really still infringing upon it anything?
Summary: Exactly as the title says. Sequel to "The Return."
Note: Since this is a sequel, it would make infinite more since if you read the first story. Don't worry; it was a short one-chapter thing. You'd be done with it in a jiffy.
Author's Note: Okay, I'm writing this cause… there were too many people demanding it. I hope you enjoy this as much as the first one. And please, no booing if you're disappointed. I'm giving warning beforehand that I suck at sequels.
Warning: Grade A cheese on the action. (We're talking about as bad at the CG stuff on the show itself. ) I don't do actions well and… okay, I just plain suck at them so let this being a warning to you all. And by all means, get a good laugh out of it.
Time seemed to have stood still in light of something that was so miraculously wonderful that it was painful to attempt to describe. The world held its breath as two that were parted for what seemed a lifetime met once more. Green eyes that glowed with as much surprise as pleasure kept themselves fixed on the man before her, the man that has haunted her one too many nights. For one horrifying moment fear that it was but a cruel nightmare and elated joy warred within. Yet there he stood, the captain of the Nomad, the wind mussing the overly long hair around his collarbone, "Sinbad."
Sheer unadulterated joy fill those dark sensual eyes, too pretty to be on a man's face as they drank up the sight of her. He stood there, stock still, too stunned by this oh-so-real dream… or nightmare that would leave him aching for days to come as it had so many restless nights before. Believing meant chancing disappointment. But he could not allow himself not to believe. "Maeve." There was a kind of reverence in the whispered word, as if he still couldn't quite believe he was seeing her in the physical realm. How many nights have she visited his dreams, tormenting him until he awoke with a heavy heart knowing she wasn't going to be there when he came up on deck. "It's you. It's really you."
The smile grew as she got slowly to her feet, sending her feather friend to flight, eyes only for the man that have occupied her mind for so long she no longer knew how she got along before their chance meeting. "I should hope so or you'd be in a pretty bad spot about now."
It was the sassy tone that convinced him. No one could get under his skin the way she did.
The laugher from the captain was a sound that Bryn has never heard since her arrival on the ship oh so many months ago. It had never been so wondrous, so joyous, so carefree… so alive. There was always something almost surreal about the way he softened and hoped just at the mere mention of the sorceress's name. And now… He was like a new man; basking in the purity and wonder of the Celtic princess's presence. If Bryn weren't so happy for him, she'd be green with envy.
"By the great lord of the sea!" Sinbad's voice hit a tone that was impossible to describe as he swept the firry redhead whose appearance in his life has been both a curse and a blessing. "You're alive."
Twinkling laughter cascaded over the crew as they stood in watch of the reunion. "When was the last time you've hugged a ghost, I'd be wanting to know." She leaned back, not quite yet embarrassed by their close proximity; she felt only overwhelming delight at being in his arms. "What have ya done to your hair, you dirty knave?" running nimble fingers through the soft tresses.
Sinbad felt his heart swell and nearly burst.
Doubar let out a roar of laughter that drown the reply Sinbad might have made had his brother not sudden caught both in a hug that was worthy of a bear, bringing forth of squeal of happiness from those cherry lips as she was swept off her feet by the giant of a man. "Maeve! Maeve! How good it is to see you?"
"Doubar, your great oaf, you're breaking mi ribs!" Maeve managed to gasp out as she was set on her feet and released from both brothers. Panting for air, she leaned over and hugged Doubar back properly as Firouz moved in awkwardly, hand extended.
"It's so…so…" the babbling inventor was having a difficult time coming to terms with his own jubilation at seeing the one that had stolen Sinbad's heart right out from under the captain's nose. It was quite something to see his good friend so completely lost in … oh what was he saying? He was glad that she was back in their lives once more. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"
Smile bright as the sun, "Come here, you silly man," and pulled him unresistingly into her arms. She clung to him as a returning sister would, full of love and reassurance. She pressed her cheek against his, "I've missed you."
"As we have missed you," Firouz managed to whisper as he buried his face into the masses of curls about the woman's shoulder. No one on the ship understood him the way Maeve did, with quiet respect for things she didn't understand but trust that he knew what he was doing. "As I have missed you."
"Rongar," Maeve called forth over Firouz's head, her hand extended to him as she moved into him embrace next. "Keeping these savages in tow, have you?"
The Moorish man accepted the hug with his usual silent dignity and nodded his answer to her. Those usually stoic eyes bright with the kind of pleasure that would have been boisterous had he been able to speak. The two understood each other as only those that have seen too much of the world could.
"Ah… Now this is what I would like to see more," came the quietly distinguished voice from along the rose filled path. "Welcome my friends; welcome. Welcome back to the Isle of Dawn."
"Master DimDim!" Sinbad and Doubar raced down the path toward their childhood mentor full of the delights boys would display at being presented a great and wondrous present. "Look at this place. It is as beautiful as if Turok had never sunk it. How did you ever raise it from the sea?"
"The credit to that little feat would have to go to Maeve," Master DimDim replied with a smile as he allowed the boys to hug him with more care than they showed the sorceress earlier. The gray hair had turned a silvery white in the past two years since they've last seen him attesting to what must have been difficult times in exile. But that smile, bright with the vitality of a man with a mission, was as full of life as ever. "It was she that did the impossible."
"So it was you," Bryn murmured softly. "I had thought it was." And until Master DimDim had confirmed it, she couldn't really say for certain. Yes, she may have told Sinbad and the other that she thought it was Maeve drawing up on the energy of the world; but a part of her could never fully confirm it until now.
Maeve turned to look at the brunette, who until now had not said a word. Bryn had quietly distanced herself in the reunion that did not include her. She was pretty, Maeve will admit, in that dark exotic way that Rumina had been. Sinbad was always very good at finding the beauties, one of his many talents. Trampling down the sour taste of jealousy, Maeve held out her hand graciously for she knew that this woman had protected her friends when she could not. "You must be Bryn. It's good to finally meet you."
Dermott chose that moment to let his presence be known once more. "Be nice, sister mine."
Maeve glanced at the tawny golden eyes trained on her. "I'm trying, aren't I?"
"Try harder. She's been good to us."
Nodding her acknowledgement, "I hear very good things about you."
Bryn's dark eyes turned to look at Dermott for a moment then turned back to the slender graceful hand that was extended to her. She didn't need magic to see the communication between master and pet. "I have heard many great things of you as well. I assure you, your place among the crew is impossible to fill."
The olive branch was offer quietly as only two women could understand and accept in the same manner. "Thank you for caring for Dermott when I could not."
"He is a good companion."
Smiling, Maeve reached out and took Dermott from his perch, stroking his breast feathers gently with her fingers. "Yes, he certainly is." One can not miss the fondness in her voice, her the softening of her eyes as she gazed upon the beautiful bird.
"Come, come," Master DimDim called to their attention, waving his arm expressively, beckoning them toward the small cottage on the hill. "We shall have tea before you are on your way."
"On our way?" Sinbad asked incredulously, his eyes turning to search out Maeve once more. They held for a moment before Sinbad turned back to his old mentor. "But we've only gotten here."
"Yes," Master DimDim nodded his head wisely. "But one must not linger if one is to accomplish what one sets out to do. And I, my dear friends, have much to do to right certain things."
Confusion was in the eyes of the crewmembers that looked to Maeve for answers. A sly grin graced her mischievous face. Her eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter as she replied, "What Master DimDim means is that he misses his wife."
That was certainly understood by the men. "Why Master DimDim, you old seadog, why didn't you tell us that Caipra was your wife? Quite embarrassing to have found out the way we did. If she hadn't rescued me and…"
Maeve smiled and tuned out the teasing tones as Master DimDim and the crew bantered lightly as old acquaintances were wont to do, instead she turned to her feathered companion with intent. It was he that started this chain of events that lead to this day. "How are you, my brother?"
"Well now that we are together again. I have missed you since you've been gone."
"As I have missed you."
He beak bobbed for a moment. "Has Master DimDim made any mention as to what will happen now? Rumina will have figured out that someone has raised the isle once more."
She knew that this would be his first concern. Maeve was convinced that he will always think of her first and foremost. "Yes, that witch is certainly her father's daughter. But it matters not; I shall deal with Rumina when the time is right."
"And is it?" Even as a hawk, Dermott expressed much with those all-seeing eyes of his. "I do not wish to see you hurt, Sister. If I must live as I am, I am content."
"But I am not," the tone brooked no arguments. It is a disagreement of old but appears to need reiteration once more. The time apart has not softened her on this all-important topic. "She must pay for what she's done, not just to us but for all those that have fallen under her vindictive nature. I promised you that."
There was almost an odd resignation in Dermott's eyes. "Do not allow your anger to cloud your judgment, sister of mine. You have much to live for. Rumina is powerful enough to take all that from you should she choose."
"I am not the weakling that I once was."
"You were never weak, Maeve. Anything but that."
She acknowledged the compliment with a smile knowing that he meant it as both as a good quality and one that he had always felt would be her downfall. "I will deal with Rumina, Dermott. Make no mistake, I have not forgotten."
"That is what I fear." He let out a squawk that was sharp and piercing before taking flight to follow Sinbad and Master DimDim to the cabin.
"He's upset," Bryn said quietly from just behind Maeve's right shoulder, startling the sorceress who had been so involved in her conversation with the bird that she had forgotten Bryn's presence. "It takes a great deal to upset him these days."
"Not when he's with me," she answered with a sigh. "I seem to have a gift for ruffling his feathers… literally." The subject of Rumina will forever be a contention between the two, despite their common goals.
"Were you arguing?" though she already knew that answer to that question.
"Just repeating the usual stuff," she shrugged her shoulder and looked over at the laughing crew and smiled. Something big and immeasurable seemed to have settled on her chest, making breathing a little difficult. "It's so good to see them again."
Bryn turned to follow her gaze, noting that Sinbad's eyes continuously strayed toward them… no, toward Maeve. It didn't take magic to know that he feared she would disappear once more from him if he didn't keep her in his sights. Telling herself that there was nothing to be jealous of; it's not as if Sinbad was ever hers to begin with, not when the handsome captain pinned after the ghostly memories of a woman Bryn hadn't seen until now. "They've missed you. He's missed you."
"Who?" she asked even as the blush rosied her cheeks.
"I think we both know who."
Maeve said nothing, her mind wondering to places she had no right to wonder to. "The man is a rogue. Women come easily to him."
"But he only wants one." And that was perfectly true. He only truly ever wanted one; the one he could not have. But now…
Heart pounding, not daring to ask but nevertheless wanting to know, "That's what they always way."
Though it hurt her to say it out loud, Bryn knew that she deserves to know. He deserved happiness. "No, he means it. You are all he ever talks of though he says little of anything when we are at sea. This past year has weighed heavily upon him, and every member of the Nomad knows why. The others, they tiptoe around your name in hopes that they do not stir his pains." And lord knows they try never to upset their usually easy-going captain. But whenever her name was mentioned, it was as if a dark mask fell over his face. "I don't think you realize how important you are to him."
Hesitating, Maeve sat down on a stone bench just within view of the cabin doorway, where the men had stopped to await them. With a quick wave of her hand, she motioned them in and patted the seat next to her, asking Bryn to sit. "You were sent to replace me on the ship because Master DimDim knew that…"
Letting a soft chuckle of amusement escape, Bryn shook her head at the other woman's naiveté. "Replace you? Weren't you listening to me at all? Poseidon's teeth girl, did you honestly think your shoes could be filled when you've stole the heart of every man on that ship?" She watched the sky, blue like the ocean but so much gentler. "Every time I step foot on that deck, everyone turns to me and expects you. I see the disappointment on their faces though they try to hide it." She acknowledged it without bitterness.
There was a long silence as Maeve absorbed what was being said to her. "I miss the sea," Maeve said quietly.
Acknowledging Maeve's need to let the subject of their captain go, Bryn nodded. "She is a hard mistress to serve."
"Yes, but her temperament suits me well."
"Are you returning to the Nomad then?"
Green eyes told nothing. "I have much to learn if I wish to fulfill my mission."
"Learn from Master DimDim?"
"Yes." She smiled at the name. "He is a great sorcerer," and an even better friend to have kept her secret and her safety for so long. It has cost him much she was sure.
"I can see that. But then, so are you."
She shook her head slowly. "Not good enough."
"Not good enough for what?" Bryn asked.
Maeve lifted her eyes and watched Dermott in the sky. "To right a wrong."
Long has Bryn known that Dermott was no ordinary pet. There was too much intelligence in those golden eyes for a mere bird. And though she does not speak to Dermott as she suspected Maeve does, Bryn knew a being trapped when she sees one. "What is he to you?"
"The only thing that matters," came the response that was so practiced and natural that she hadn't even given it a thought.
"Is he?" her eyes straying to the cabin. Maeve was either too blind to see or just simply outright lying to herself. "I would say different."
Maeve's eyes followed the dark haired beauty's gaze just as Sinbad's head popped through the doorway. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?"
Grinning because she wanted to, "Trading horror stories of your exploits!"
"And there are plenty!" Bryn added.
The girls traded looks before bursting into laughter.
"She looks happy," Sinbad murmured as he watched the two women giggle hysterically. The contrast between the two was astonishing. Bryn was mystical moonlight while Maeve was the firry sunset. Bryn knew nothing about her past while Maeve lived each day trying to forget the pains of hers. But both were towering strengths and both searched for answers that they may not find. And while he cared for both, he knew there was only one. "Is she staying?"
Master DimDim's eyes searched Sinbad's face. This young man, with his lusty appetite for life and his insatiable search of adventure, had been all but a son to him. And in him, DimDim was reminded that there was more to life than simply living it. A missing part of Sinbad's life was now in his hand. "Do you want her to?"
"Master DimDim," Doubar's voice held astonishment. He may lack his younger brother's good looks, charm, agility and way with the ladies, but he was no dummy. Any fool can see that Sinbad's heart has not been with him for longer than he cared to remember.
"I cannot help but notice that you have a new woman in your life, Sinbad," he pointed out quietly as he too watched the women outside. "And while others may willingly share your affections, I fear that Maeve cannot." She was like the daughter he never had the privilege of having. Perhaps the Gods had hoped that by keeping him childless, he will share his knowledge with the world at large. "I do not wish to see her hurt."
Sinbad's dark eyes read the warning on his mentor's face. "I miss her. But I will not pull her away from her studies if her life will be placed in danger because of it."
DimDim understood the man's willingness to give up his own happiness; it gave him great hope for the future. "Rumina will do well to give Maeve a wide path. The child has learned much this past year, and taught me a thing or two as well."
"So, she is ready then?" Firouz asked hesitantly. He may be a man of science but he easily bow to the forced that he had no understanding of.
Looking out at the woman, DimDim nodded. "Yes, she is as ready as she can be under my tutorage. With myself by her side, she shall always be reliant upon my and will grown no more. It is time she be free of her own restraints and bloom like that flower that she is." He smiled as he watched her stand, reaching into the sky for her feathered friend. "And she will have you all to watch over her."
"So she is coming?" Doubar asked, unable to hide his grin as he nudged his little brown. "Hear that, Sinbad? Hear that?"
Shoving his brother's less than subtle hints away, Sinbad took a deep breath and attempt to calm his thundering heart. Maeve was coming home. She was finally coming home. That thought resounded in his head as he vainly tried to suppress the giddy grin blossoming across his face. He wasn't sure what his feeling that made him want to shout at the world is, but he knew that it was a good kind of emotion as he turned and looked through the window… just in time to see something that wasn't suppose to be.
"Sinbad." The name was expressed with a mixture of utter disgust and blatant want. The man had the singular ability to make a woman want and hate him all at he same time, part infuriating, part charming, he's been a thorn at her side one too many times. But still, life would be so much less interesting with him gone.
Rumina stared into the gazing pool and pursed her prettily paint lips of ruby red. "He's finally rid of himself of that silly red headband, looks like that boy has finally grown up," she muttered with a curling of her lip. To say that she was enjoying the new look upon Captain of the Nomad was the understatement of the century. "Nothing like leather to bring out a man's good looks," she tilted her head and smiled at the picture that reflected up at her. If only the man wasn't so annoyingly stubborn… of course, that was only one of the reasons that made him so irresistibly fascinating.
Breaking such a wild spirit would be a terrible shame. If there were more men in the world as daringly annoying, Rumina was sure she won't be so bored all the time. But being that there is only one, it made him all the more enjoyable to have.
And that smile… she could certainly see why other women adore that horrid man. What a woman won't do to put that radiant smile on that pretty face?
"But we must allow you to be too happy Sinbad," she cooed as she leaned forward to wave her hand over the water, expanding the picture out. What the pool showed her almost unbalanced her. "What's this?"
Eyes wide with disbelief, a winkled formed upon her forehead as she waved her hand over the water once more to show her more of what she wasn't sure she was seeing. "It can't be!" standing somewhat awkwardly, hindered by the heavy embroidered dress she wore. But sure enough, full picture of the Isle of Dawn was thrown back at her. "NO!"
Red hot fury consumed her. That isle had been destroyed, destroyed by her father over two years before. How could it now be sitting… wait! Rumina's eyes fixed itself to the gazing pool once more.
It was not so long ago that she had been fell by something that drew power all around, something that concentrated energy to a single focal point to… she never did learn what all that power was for, too weak for the week that followed to do no more than sit up. But apparently, the answer had made its way to her. It would appear that it was staring her right in the face. "DimDim must have resurrected that island once more," she muttered, her face screwed into something horrifying ugly. "But for what purpose?"
That question didn't linger long as she watched the joyous reunion between mentor and student. There was chattering she couldn't hear but could guess by the delight in their face. "So DimDim brought the island back to call to Sinbad," she mused softly. It would stand to reason; the magician had never made it a secret of his fondness for the adventurous sailor. "What are you planning, old man? What do you have in…"
The picture had shifted to show Rumina the rest of the occupants of the isle. "The redheaded wench," she muttered watching as the women raised her hand to the sky, waiting for the descent of the majestic bird that came to her. "And her feathered friend," she finished with narrow eyes. She didn't understand the connection of the woman, who has never once hide the fact that she knew Rumina from a time in her past. Who she was, Rumina knew not. Only that she doesn't recall anyone such person in her life. But the woman had the added advantage at the moment of being important to both DimDim and Sinbad; which made her a perfect player in this game.
"Let's see what they'll do if they were to lose you?" Rumina asked with smile that was pure and unadulterated evil.
"MAEVE!" Sinbad's voice shot through the stillness of the day, echoing over the garden.
Rolling her eyes, Maeve turned toward the cottage. "What are you…"
"Get back!" Bryn cried out as she crashed into Maeve, shoving the woman out of the way of a fold of darkness that had suddenly descended upon them. She didn't think, didn't had the luxury of time to think things through before she was rolling onto her back and away from the sweeping darkness in space. It was like a giant black hand had swept the place where the two women had just been.
Dermott screeched his own fears as he dove from his flight toward Maeve and Bryn.
"Look out!" Firouz shouted as he followed Sinbad and Doubar out the door. They had all seen it once Sinbad made a mad dash for the window, where he had first spotted the beginnings of a spell. "It's coming back!"
The sun reflected on the dagger that left Rongar's practiced hand. The wicked blade disappeared into the darkness, never to be seen again.
From the other side of the vortex, Rumina wasn't quick enough to duck the dagger that caught her shoulder at its way to the wall. "Ouch," feeling her skin break and the blood ooze from the lesion. She glanced at her shoulder, staring in disbelief as her wound. "Oh, the wretched man!" turning back to the looking glass. Bring her hand back, she let loss a fireball of a brilliant blue.
"Duck!" Doubar shouted as the blue ball of flames appear through the opening in the sky and hit the cottage, nearly taking himself and Rongar with it. Coughing up the dirt that had been kicked up by the explosion, he turned to his silent and now dusty friend, "I think you made it mad."
"Everyone scatter, don't let it have a concentrated target to hit," Firouz suggested as he ran away from the rest of the group.
"What the hell is that thing?" Sinbad asked to no one in particular as he watched it turned in mid air and hovered for a moment. His heart flew to his throat as the black hole in the sky made another sweep at Maeve, who wasn't ducking. "Get down!" sprinting toward her, fear spurring his feet on.
The red fireball left her hand just a blink of eye before Sinbad's body crash into hers, sending them both tumbling into the bushes by the elegant red perfume roses that DimDim has so lovingly restores only the day before. Stunned at having been thrown in that manner, it took her a minute to figure out what had happened. "What are you doing?" she shouted at him, pushing none too gently on his shoulder.
Grunting, "Trying to keep you alive, though why I bother," he replied hotly as he rolled to her side but didn't let go right away. His heart was pounding something fierce as he took inventory of her. "Are you all right?"
"I was perfectly fine until you decided to…," she argued with heat in her eyes and touched by the fact that he had been afraid for her.
"Maeve…" he began to warn.
"Sinbad…"
Neither of them got to complete whatever it was they had begun to say when a screech rendered the stillness of the air. For a moment, neither one knew what had caused the disturbance. Then…
"Dermott!" Bryn stared in helplessness as the darkness chased the bird through the air. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched her faithful companion of the last year desperately flapped his wings as he made a mad dash around several taller trees. "Someone do something!"
"Rongar!" Sinbad called out a second before the moor had let loose another dagger that was swallowed by the hole. "That didn't work the first time either!"
Rongar shrugged his shoulder at that.
"A little magic would be nice right about now!" Sinbad suggested at his former mentor, who had been watching with stunned disbelief.
Having never considered that anyone would attack his island once more now that Turok was gone, the old sorcerer had been stunned still for a moment. But shaking himself off, he retrieved his magic staff from the rubbles of his ruin home. Yet something else that will have to be rebuilt once more.
"Be gone!" DimDim shouted as he raised his staff, a bolt of red lightning erupted through the space, hitting the rip in space just as he closed around Darmott's in-flight body sending another screech of panic through the air. "Release!" he called through the air, as a shaft of blue replaced the red spark of power.
But it was too late. Darmott was gone, along with the hole in space.
"NO!" Getting to her feet, Maeve swept the garden with her eyes, catching the tale tell signs of a fading spell. Bringing her hand up, "Tractus!" feeling the white hot magic burst from her fingertips, catching the tail end of the rapidly dissipating spell and latching on for what she was about to do next. Bracing herself for what is to come, Maeve's hand came up once more, a sliver of something unknown appeared between her palms. "Retournen Incantatus."
From the tips of her finger came a curl of smoke that snaked its way across the plain that was hidden from the naked eye. Invisible fingers pulled on the remnants of a spell that had once been there and tugged at it, bring forth what had once been. The rip in space appeared once more, only this time Maeve was in control of it. From somewhere within that gloom, her beloved Dermott called out to her. "Maeve!"
"Dermott!" her eyes wide with fear. "I'm coming," and she leapt without thought, disappearing into the darkness.
"No, wait…" Sinbad's hand belatedly reached out to catch hold of her but she was already gone. "Maeve!" His heart in his throat as he watched her slipped through the darken portal of nothingness and away from him once more. "Not again. Not this time," and leapt into the unknown after her.
"Little brother!" Doubar's voice was all that carried through before the rip disappeared once more, taking two more of their own with it.
"Master DimDim…" Firouz's face reflected everyone's concern.
"They're on their own now," DimDim replied quietly, impressed by Maeve's ingenious use of spells that he had long since forgotten in his old age. "But I think it is safe to say that it would be difficult for anyone to combat those two together. Indeed, they make quite a formidable force."
"I hope you're right," Bryn murmured softly as she glazed at where the two had disappeared to. "And at least their together," she said with a smile and then added to herself, "As they were meant to be."
Fin… (kind of)
Not how I envisioned this sequel going but hey, I gave it a shot and let Sinbad and Maeve be together… kind of.