City in the Sky
A World After Thought
If dreams were clouds, we'd use them to step into the gates of heaven…
He looked silently up at the ceiling, wondering where life would lead him.
Looking upon the darkness accentuates the absence of light.
Unsure of the future, she silently hopes for a peaceful resolution.
Whispers of the night only shake the sleepless hearts of the brooding.
Uncertainty of the past leads him only to shrink from the future.
Heaven's gates only open when an ascendant knocks.
Life had taught him many lessons; and one of them, as he soon finds out, is that not all that glitters is gold.
Reality is but one color of existence.
Ünus
She sat up and smoothed out her shirt, knowing only that she was in yet another unfamiliar place with three very familiar people. The preceding fact filled her with dread, while the latter filled her with a strange, seemingly warm, comfort. She decided, quite a while back, that the powers that were predestined them to remain together.
But for how long? Surely my friends would like to return to the life that they had before all of this drama began… Why do I feel as if I am to blame? Why?
She quietly sat up and gazed out the dusty window; locking her eyes on the pale moons that hung lazily above the clouds.
The moon is so bright tonight; it looks as if it could envelop all of Filgaia with its gentle light.
Light was something that both comforted her and instilled her heart with an unspoken fear.
What would happen if I lost the "light" that I have held on to for so long?
She threw her legs over the side of the bed and caught a glimpse of her moonlit reflection; it stared hauntingly back at her and then flinched.
Afraid of my own shadow… How pathetic.
With a sigh, she stood up and looked away from the mirror, toward the door that was adjacent to the bed. She knew where it led; but she didn't know what it would lead to. Whom would she meet? What would she do if she met up with the unexpected?
Or am I just being paranoid?
She sighed with irritation and walked toward the door, her heart skipping a beat as she reached out to touch the moon-kissed, rusted knob.
I'll check on them. The ones I… love.
With that, she twisted the knob and existed out into the cool, damp, hallway.
Her shadow stretched across the adjoining wall as she made her way toward Jet's room, her lightly clothed feet barely making a noise against the cool, dry, wood.
I wonder if he's asleep?
She thought as she stopped outside his door, looking down at the doorknob with a hint of apprehension.
Regardless, I just have a feeling that I need to be here right now. Who cares if he's asleep?
She thought, adding the last bit with a half smile.
She slowly opened the door and watched as the dim light from the moonlit hallway fell across the sleeping young man in a sliver.
He's asleep, perhaps I should…
"What are you doing just standing there? Come in before we get a small audience." Grumbled Jet as he sat up in bed and pulled the covers bashfully over his bare chest. Virginia stopped herself from blushing by thinking of something little less savory, such as Leehalt in nothing but heart boxers. She thought of the last bit with a grin.
"Sorry," She whispered, stepping into his room and then turning around to shut the door, unaware that the young android was eyeing her in more ways then one. "I just had to make sure you were okay." She smiled as she turned around to face the still staring young man. Jet blinked to this; a small wisp of blush crossing his face.
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" He huffed, pulling the thin, white, sheet a little tighter around his bare chest. Virginia smiled to this question and alighted herself on the foot of his bed, extracting an annoyed sigh from the young android.
"I don't know, why wouldn't you be?" She giggled, tugging at one of his feet, receiving a Grade A Jet Scowl for her efforts.
"Don't answer a question with a question!" exclaimed Jet, pulling the cover all the way up to his chin and shivering. Virginia tilted her head to the side.
"Are you cold, Jet?" She asked, standing up and looking down at him with concern. Jet shook his head "no" although, in truth, he was somewhat cold.
"You know, Jet, you make a terrible liar." She smiled, walking in a cat like stride toward the small closet that housed extra blankets and toiletries.
Jet sniffed to this, looked out the window, and noted with a certain amount of disdain that it looked as if it was going to storm soon.
"Whatever… And, what are you doing?" He asked as she threw a blanket over his feet.
"Keeping you warm, what else?" She laughed, walking back toward the door and opening it.
"Why did you come in her anyhow? Just to bother me?" He snorted, laying back down in bed and peering up at her from underneath the sheets.
She glanced back at him, her smile now hiding in the shadows.
"I felt as if something was wrong, that's all." She sighed, walking out and shutting the door quietly behind her.
"Well… Shit." muttered Jet, standing up and looking around his room for some clothes.
Virginia proceeded down the hall in typical, cat like fashion, thousands of thoughts running through her head, and not one of them making sense.
Why do I feel so protective all of the sudden? Furthermore, why am I wandering around at three in the morning waking everyone up and…? All forms of thought were cut off when she ran into a solid form and suppressed the urge to scream. Two hands wrapped supportably around her shoulders and she blinked up at a half asleep Gallows dressed in a grey nightshirt and pants.
"Hey, what're you doing up so early?" asked Gallows, looking down at her with an apologetic smile on his face as he released her shoulders.
"Um, well…" She started, looking toward his half open door. "I was going to check on you to make sure that…"
"I was okay?" finished Gallows, tilting his head to the side and giving her an unreadable look.
"Yeah, that's the gist of it." She sighed, looking back at him and giving him a sheepish look.
"Funny, I was about to do the same thing… Something just seems so… OFF about tonight. Do you feel that too?" Asked Gallows looking out the window and then back at her.
"Yeah, and it's creeping me out to be honest with you." She concluded, following Gallows' example by looking out the window.
"Maybe it's the weather or something? Low pressure nights have always unsettled Shane for some reason." pondered Gallows, looking back down at her with one of his trademark smiles.
"Heh. You know about "low pressure systems"." giggled Virginia, giving his shoulder a playful punch.
"Huh? Ow! Yeah, I do. I'm not a complete idiot, you know. 'Sides, we had to learn about agriculture at some point, y'know? "He grinned, rubbing his now sore shoulder.
Virginia frowned and sighed, causing Gallows to giving her a worried look.
"What's the matter, leader, you don't look too good. I don't mean to say that you look bad physically, I mean… "Virginia silenced him with a light kick to the shin.
"Shaddup before you do more damage with that sentence." She said, a small smile crossing her face. Gallows rubbed the back of head sheepishly and closed his eyes.
"Sorry 'bout that. But, seriously," He continued, opening his eyes and looking at her with concern "What's wrong? You really do seem stressed out."
"I woke up feeling like this. My mind felt wired with negative energy. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't. What woke you up?" She asked, looking at the Baskar with a certain amount of perplexity.
"To be honest with you; my story is the same as yours… 'Cept, I wasn't going to check on everybody, I was going to check on you. You see, I had this weird… thought. I can't quite call it a dream because I wasn't asleep. Nevertheless, in my thoughts I saw you looking in the mirror with a very haunted look on your face. Heh, isn't that something? Never thought I would start having visions." he snickered, looking past Virginia and toward Jet's room.
"Well, who's to say that Shane's the only one with a gift" smiled Virginia, stepping in front of his line of vision, startling him a bit.
"Huh? Well, to be honest with you, I never really thought of that. My mind was more preoccupied with the feeling that went with that thought…," pondered Gallows, redirecting his gaze at Virginia.
"What "feeling"?" asked Virginia, raising an eyebrow as she searched Gallows' face.
"This feeling of cold loneliness tinged with fear and doubt." he finished quietly, looking solemnly at the floor. Virginia sighed and looked past his shoulder toward the stairwell.
"Well, those are pretty much accurate. Why don't you and I go and wake up Clive and then head downstairs for some hot cocoa?" asked she, offering a hand to the still distracted Gallows. Gallows stared vacantly down at her hand for a moment or two before finally accepting it with a sheepish grin.
"Sorry about that, leader, I just… I keep feeling as if something's off. It's bugging the hell out of me.," he concluded, shaking his head slowly from side to side, as he proceeded behind Virginia toward Clive's half-opened door. Virginia looked at the half open door with a look of half befuddlement, half concern.
"Do you think that Clive's already up and about?" inquired Virginia, stopping right in front of the door and looking back at her comrade, who was already looking at the door with an air of suspicion.
"I don't know. I really can't think of any legitimate reason as to why he'd be up so early. I know he's normally the first one to wake up out of the four of us but still…"
"Something seems wrong." finished Virginia, reaching for the doorknob and opening the door the rest of the way. Much to her relief and surprise the sniper was sleeping peacefully in his appointed bed, the moonlight washing tranquilly over his scruffy, handsome, face.
"Hm." smiled Virginia, opting to let her friend sleep a little bit longer before waking him up.
"I think perhaps we should just go downstairs and makes some cocoa. As soon as the cocoa is made we'll come back up here, wake him up, and then attempt to get Jet up as well." smiled Gallows, placing his hand lightly on Virginia's shoulder, startling her a bit.
"Huh? Yeah, cocoa, good… Fine." she mumbled, looking at him apologetically and then looking back at the sniper.
"Are we the only two that feel this way?" she whispered, looking back at the young Baskar as she shut the door and reached out for his hand again. Gallows removed his hand from her shoulder and took her hand into his own.
"Nah, I'm sure everyone feels like this every once in awhile." he smiled, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze as he nodded toward the darkened stairwell.
"Let's go get some of that hot cocoa into our systems. That may warm us up a bit." said Gallows when Virginia did not show any signs of movement. There were a couple of more moments of silence and then "Gallows, do you feel cold?"
Gallows shrugged and tilted his head a bit to the right.
"Now that you mention it, I do have a slight chill that I've yet to shake. Weird… That's why…" continued Gallows with a goofy grin. "I want to have some hot cocoa." Virginia chuckled to the young priest's comment and started to walk toward the stairs, her mind spinning a thousand, incoherent, thoughts as she made her way to the inn's kitchen.
"On the moonlit path we shall fly on our journey to the City in the Sky." whispered Gallows to no one in particular as he pulled the chair out for Virginia and then ambled over to pantry to get the necessary ingredients for their cocoa.
"Say what now?" inquired Virginia as she sat down and scooted the chair up to the table, giving Gallows a curious glance as he fumbled around with the pots.
"Hmm?" asked Gallows, pouring two cups of milk into a saucepan and lighting the old stove with a barely usable match.
"You just said something; what was it?" asked Virginia, tapping her foot unconsciously against the wooden floor. Gallows put out the match by flicking his hand once and threw it in the wastebasket.
"Oh, it was just something my grandma used to tell me and Shane." He smiled, turning his head to show his sheepish grin. Virginia laid her head down on the table and sighed.
"Would you mind telling it to me? I could use a good story to get my mind off of things." whispered Virginia, lifting her head from the table and looking at Gallows tiredly.
Gallows redirected his attention to the cocoa and stirred it a bit before he started to talk in an atypically quiet voice.
"There one was a place where Guardians and Humans lived in harmony. It was a place with no inhibitions and yet there were no problems and seemingly no sin. There were many names for this place. Some called it "Noth'ral" while others called it "Heaven". The thing was; heaven had already been named in the many manuscripts strewn across the sands of time; thus, Noth'ral was dubbed as the "Second Heaven". That mentality, it seemed, would change both the course of history and the overall aura of Noth'ral. Soon, the heavens darkened with bloody clouds and a steady, harsh, rain of tar fell upon all that dwelt there. It was said that the "Divine" had dubbed Noth'ral a brothel when compared to Its throne and cast Its darkened back to the masses of screaming people."
Gallows had Virginia's full attention now; she looked at his back and watched him silently as he continued to stir the cocoa in a rather mindless fashion.
"So, the Divine didn't approve of a second heaven and It turned Its back on it? How awful…" mused Virginia, looking down at her finger which was now tracing intricate designs on the table.
"Well, " said Gallows, ceasing the stirring for a moment or two, seemingly in thought. "I had a few theories as to why the "Divine" turned Its back… But, perhaps I should tell you the rest of the story before I continue."
"I'd hope that you would tell me the rest, this sounds interesting." smiled Virginia, stopping her finger from finishing the interlocking circles that she had been drawing and looking up at Gallows.
"Heh, thanks leader." chuckled Gallows, continuing his incremental stirring as he continued to relay the tale.
"It was rumored that the folks of Noth'ral, which, by the way, loosely translates into "City in the Sky", were outcasts from the original Heaven. They were too good to go to Ri'nthan, which is, if I remember correctly, the Baskarian form of what many call Hell, and yet, just below the standards to be allowed into the original Heaven. Funny thing was, Noth'ral, while still below heaven, was still perceived as "mysterious" and "astronomical". Many of the humans on earth looked up into the heavens to see if the could see the now darkened Noth'ral. How sad, that, through all of their peace and harmony, they were destroyed by, what many believed, created them. Noth'ral has been studied in length by many Baskarian scholars and some even believe that Noth'ral truly exists; although…" he concluded sadly "It's now in ruins and is home to many an embittered spirit."
"I see…," whispered Virginia, looking back down at the table, her eyes unfocused and a bit sleepy.
"Heh. I didn't mean to depress you, Virginia, it's just that nights like this, when the moon is shining the way that it is, invokes weird thoughts in my tiny little brain." He concluded, hissing a bit when a bit of chocolate milk splashed up and licked his hand.
"You don't have a tiny brain, Gallows; I don't know why you even say things like that." huffed Virginia, throwing a fork in his general direction. The fork bounced off his shoulder and he turned around to look back at her with a playfully pitiful frown on his face.
"Why do you wanna abuse me like that, leader?" He whined, picking up the fork and sitting it lightly on the counter.
"'Cause you're fun to pick on, Gallows." she smiled, standing up and walking up behind him, standing on tiptoe so that her chin rested on his shoulder. Gallows blinked and stopped stirring the cocoa.
"Huh? What's wrong?" he asked as she took in a couple of good sniffs of the chocolate goodness.
"Nothing, it just smells good." She sighed happily tilting her head to the side so that it rested on Gallows' neck. He fought the urge to drop the spoon into the saucepan and ask her if she was all right.
Gee, why's she leaning on me? Is she feeling okay? I hope she's not sick or…
"Hey, Gallows, I think the cocoa's done." she smiled, her whisper brushing past his ear and settling fragilely on the fragrant air.
"Nyuh? Huh? Oh, yeah, right." He mumbled, his words fumbling along with his actions. The spoon dropped into the cocoa and Virginia started to laugh, at a lack of anything intelligent to say.
"You may not have a small brain but you do have clumsy hands." She said, rocking back on to her feet and creeping to the side of him, reaching for the knob. Gallows chuckled and let her turn the stove off as he reached an arm around her to reach for the oven mitt.
"Well, I ain't denying that. I'm not the most graceful man in the world." Another chuckle escaped his lips as he picked up saucepan; "That's Jet's job, not mine."
"What's my "job", Romeo?" Came an annoyed voice from across the room, Gallows and Virginia turned around simultaneously.
"Hey, Jet, Gallows and I were just talking about you." smiled Virginia, walking over to him and taking his hand lightly in hers. "We're having cocoa, want some?" She asked, looking back toward Gallows to make sure he was fine with it. To this look, Gallows nodded his acknowledgement and added a bit more cocoa.
"Well, seeing as that Gallows is already making some I don't see why I shouldn't." shrugged Jet, sitting down at the table and looking at Gallows as he stirred more cocoa into the milk.
"I'm glad that you're awake, Jet, it saves me the trouble of waking your grumpy ass up." chuckled Gallows, continuously stirring the mix, not bothering to look back at Jet.
"Grumpy ass, hm? Well, I wouldn't be so grumpy if you didn't snore so loud." Retorted Jet coolly, picking up a spoon and tossing it up in the air with the intent to catch it as it fell.
"Jet, it's not nice talking about Gallows' snoring problem…" Blushed Virginia, catching the spoon as it fell back toward Jet's hand and throwing that one at Gallows too. Gallows, this time, somehow perceiving the object hurtling toward his head, turned around and caught it with one hand just inches before it smacked his head.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice, that's not nice. That's the second time, my dear Ms. Maxwell." He smiled, waving the spoon playfully. "One more throw and you won't be nice anymore." He concluded, setting the spoon beside the fork that she had thrown earlier and turning around to light the stove again. Virginia laughed quietly and looked at Jet, who was now pawing around on the table for reasons unknown.
"Gallows, if we counted all the time you've been made a fool of, there'd be a lot of "not nice" people in this world." sniffed Jet, picking up a dull butter knife and handing it to Virginia with an almost lopsided smile on his face.
Boy, is he feeling all right? Normally he's just really cold and dour. Now…
She balanced the knife on her thumb and watched as the dim candle light bounced off its dull, aged, surface.
"Hey Gallows, do you have an apple to put on your head?" snickered the young, female, Drifter. Gallows turned around and raised an eyebrow to Virginia's bizarre balancing act.
"If you wanna put a knife through it I don't. 'Sides, what'd the apple do to you?" inquired the Baskar, tapping the spoon on his thigh in his typical, playful, manner. Virginia drew her lips into a playful pout and leaned her head toward her right shoulder.
"It was taunting me all day! It was like "Oh, Virginia, put me on Gallows' head and then put a knife through me! C'mon, it'll be fun!" I mean, how could I refuse such a taunt?"
Gallows blinked to this and then turned back around, incrementally stirring the cocoa as his shoulders shook with a series of chuckles.
"I don't believe that I would listen to suicidal fruit at any rate." added Gallows after a couple of seconds of deliberating. Jet shook his head, an unintentional smile crossing his pale, candle lit, face.
"I doubt I would either. It's official; our leader is nuts and listens to fruit." Cackled Jet, for some reason, feeling uncharacteristically amused. Virginia had to, once again, refrain from laughing aloud.
"Oh Gallows, you're so silly." giggled the young woman, sitting the knife down and looking out the window, the moon's pale waves washing softly over her skin.
"I try to be." smiled the young priest. Jet sniffed, his face falling back into his customary frown.
"Is the cocoa almost ready?"
Gallows nodded his head to this and turned off the stove, once again reaching for an oven mitt.
"Gallows, tell Jet and I more about Noth'ral." mused Virginia as Gallows sat a cup of warm cocoa in front of her. Jet rested his elbow on the table and his chin on his outstretched hand as Gallows sat a similar cup in front of him.
"I'm completely lost, start from the beginning." quipped Jet, cringing inwardly at how close to demanding he sounded. Gallows sighed as he sat the mug down on the table and then lowered himself into the chair in an almost dejected manner.
"It's… kind of a long story. Do you mind listening?" inquired Gallows, pushing a streak of white hair from his face.
"As long as it doesn't involve your love life, I'm fine." simpered Jet, watching the flames dance hypnotically in front of him.
"Well, basically, Noth'ral is a second heaven if you will. It's said that those who were turned away from both the original heaven and Ri'nthan, which is, as I already told Virginia, the Baskarian term for what you all call hell, went there. However, the Divine did not see fit for Noth'ral to continue so It turned its back, and in doing so, caused Noth'ral to crumble into turmoil. You see, everything relies on balance and it just so happened that Noth'ral was the middle ground; so, when the Divine turned Its back, Noth'ral was thrown into despair." concluded Gallows, picking up the mug and taking a swig of cocoa.
"So, where is it?" asked Jet, taking a sip, cringing due to the heat, and putting in lightly back down on the table with a scoff etched across his face.
Gallows pointed up toward the ceiling.
"Somewhere up there. Historians are really sketchy about that, ya know." smiled Gallows, punctuating the last part of his sentence with a yawn. "For some, weird, reason, storytelling makes me sleepy." he said, stretching and standing up with a pop.
"Old man…" simpered Jet into his cup, trying to hide a grin. Gallows blinked down at the young man skeptically and then grinned.
"Oh yes, ancient, why, I even have the white hair to prove it. Really, Jet, if anyone looks old in this room it's…" He was interrupted by a glare from Virginia. "Huh? Wha? I was about to say Jet, my dear leader. Sheesh. You look far from old. You look just right actually." He grinned in a rather flirtatious manner. Virginia blushed and spun her cup around absently.
"It's not gonna take off and fly you know." quipped Jet, casually stirring the cup of cocoa with his finger and then plopping his finger into his mouth with an almost innocent look.
"I'm aware of that, Mr. Enduro, thanks for the heads up though."
"Jeez Louise…" chuckled Gallows, "already arguing like a married couple."
"Shut UP!" Jet and Virginia said simultaneously, extracting another amused chuckle.
"Err. Gallows thinks he's just soo cute…" huffed Virginia, standing up and walking lithely toward Gallows. Gallows looked to both his sides nervously.
"W-what?" He chuckled, taking a couple of steps back.
Virginia took one, big, step forward, grabbed the lapels of Gallows' nightshirt and gave him a playful shake.
Gallows closed his eyes and playfully lolled his tongue out the side of his mouth.
"She killed me! The cute one is DEAD!" he mourned as Virginia continued to shake him.
"If you're dead," she smiled between shakes, "how are you still talking?" she finished, letting go of his nightshirt and popping him smartly on the chest with the back of her hand.
"Umm, I'm a ghost maybe?" he asked innocently, rubbing what he knew was a red mark on his chest.
"Great, just great, what're we going to tell the inn master?" sighed Jet, finishing his cocoa with a content sip and looking at the shaken Baskar and the amused Drifter.
"Tell him I went to the city in the sky?" grinned Gallows, backing away from another hit aimed at his chest.
"You ain't going there for awhile, big guy." smiled Virginia reaching out once again, grabbing Gallows' arm and giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. "We need you after all."
"Nah. You all don't need me. I'll just pack my bags and…" he walked playfully toward the swinging doors when a small hand on his stopped him. He stopped, and looked down and back to see a very wide-eyed Virginia looking at him.
"Don't talk like that. Besides, if you go somewhere, we'll go too; right Jet?" she grinned, looking back toward the silver-haired Drifter, who was at that moment, looking down at his empty cup abysmally.
"Whatever…" he sniffed, picking up the cup and peering into it to make sure there was nothing left.
"Do you want some more cocoa, Jet?" smiled Gallows, walking back toward the table and extending his hand toward the young android. Jet shook his head and handed the mug to Gallows.
"No, actually, I just want to go for a brief walk." He mumbled, walking both Gallows and Virginia, extracting a puzzled look from both.
"Umm, Jet, not to be rude or anything; but are you sure you want to go out? I mean, we're still outlaws and we still have a bounty on our heads…" mused Gallows, the worry he felt creasing his face.
Jet shrugged to this question.
"I need some time to think. Some "me" time as it were." He quipped, lifting one arm to his side in a half-hearted wave. "If you want to come with me you had best get dressed…" He stopped in mid-stride and looked toward his comrades with a half smile "Unless of course you want to be caught in your undergarments…"
"I have you know I'm decent!" huffed Virginia, nevertheless tightening her arms across her chest in a self-conscious manner. Gallows cackled and tugged at his nightclothes.
"I'm dressed more than I normally am, what more can I say?"
"I am dressed out of convenience; what, exactly, is going on here?" Came a sleep muffled voice from the doorframe leading into the hallway.
"Clive! What're you doing awake?" laughed Gallows quietly, walking up to the older Drifter and patting him soundly on his back. Clive ran a hand through his unruly green hair and smiled a bit.
"I heard some very interesting dialog from the maids as they made their rounds, so I could only assumed that it was you three causing it all."
"Sorry if we woke you up." replied Virginia in a rather sheepish manner.
"Ah, don't be sorry, Leader, I'm sure he would've woken up eventually anyway, right Clive?" grinned Gallows, playfully elbowing Clive in his black clad side. Clive cringed and scratched his head.
"I suppose so. Regardless, what are we going to do now that we are up and about?" he inquired, smoothing out his black, cotton, nightshirt.
"Well, I guess we're all going for a walk. Jet said he wanted some "him" time, so it may be best just to hang a distance from him. Of course, we can't let him out of our sights but we can just let him be alone." she smiled, hoping that what she said made sense.
"You know, I'm still right here." grumbled Jet, his face twisted and a look of annoyance and perhaps a tinge of amusement.
"We know, punk, we're just making it so that you hear everything we're planning. Now that I think about it, it is somewhat redundant… Oh well. Heh, if we're gonna go for a walk we may as well get going. Oh, and Clive, if we're going for a little midnight stroll, perhaps putting on some pants would help." Gallows pointed out, making Clive look down at his underwear.
"O-oh dear, just one moment, please." With those words uttered with both haste and embarrassment, Clive rushed back up to his room to attire himself in a more fitting manner.
