Surprise!!! Guess a misconception got me to thinking about this storyline again. Here we go!

Anyway,the story so far, since I know it's been a very long time. The mysterious Guru was revealed as Clef –who was formerly known as Zenosis– after he was hung in the gallows. Umi broke the Children of the Stars' spell with Ascot's help and announced her love for Clef just as the trapdoor opened beneath his feet. Though he was a walking corpse at this point, the Guru still managed to resurrect Lady Ryuuzaki, Lilia, and appear before Ryuuzaki personally. After nearly killing himself in the process, Ryuuzaki freed the Guru from Death, who came for him later anyway. Death, a.k.a. Sandara, broke Clef's spirit during a game of chess. Umi lived the match through her dreams and has no idea that her dream is what happened between two immortals "playing God" as Death put it. Before Death could claim him, Clef unraveled himself in the way that is tradition for the Eosye Kespa upon death. If they come to believe in their souls that their reason for living is forever out of their reach, they commit a form of suicide, but it is not death!!

Now the story continues…

Without the Mask II: Web of the Crystal

Chapter 1: The Rift

Death scowled, watching her prize fracture and shatter until only a tiny pinpoint of light survived, only to be devoured by the black hole.

"And then there were five," Death growled. She turned toward the chessboard then suddenly turned back as something flashed out of the corner of her eye. "What's this?" A tiny blip of light flashed by the gaping mouth of the black hole then zoomed away before the force pull could catch it. "A ship?" She cocked her head curiously. "I wonder… did they catch it? Is what's left of the sixth Eosye aboard now?"

A malicious glint turned her eyes jet black as demon creases bent the smooth lines of her brow into something black and twisted. "You must be the luckiest soul in existence."

"What is it Geo?"

Geo swiveled in his chair and locked eyes with his captain as Eagle entered the bridge. "Our scanners picked up something moving toward the black hole, but it wasn't space junk. It matched a Cephirian energy signature, so we grabbed it; you know, since we're on such good terms with Cephiro and all."

"But it's too small to be anything at all," Zazu chimed in as he carefully examined the debris in the dish in front of him. His eye was five times its size through the goggles over his face. "It has a Cephirian biological imprint alright, but it's almost like… I dunno how to explain it. Have a look." He handed the goggles to Eagle and leaned away as Eagle squinted at the trail of crystal dust.

The crystal dust somehow reminded him of living tissue, cryogenically frozen and pallid. Something in his chest gave a sickened twist and he tore his eyes away from the sample. He swept his gaze over the scanner and read out charts on the screen. "It's definitely something from Cephiro. The DNA strands are laced with the extra genome group, must be the element for magic. But this…" he paused and held his breath as he looked at the sample again. "This couldn't have come from Cephiro. It's too far away and the rate of disintegration." He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. Why do I feel like I did after Clef's execution? Like there's been a great loss? "Zazu, take this to the lab and preserve it. Run it through the DNA matches, I want to know who's this is. Maybe there's someone out there who can't send out a distress signal."

"It'd be impossible to find them Eagle!" Geo exclaimed. "Without some sort of signal we're not going to find anything!"

Eagle opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and bowed his head. "I know that, Geo."

"I'll run this through the program," Zazu said slowly as he moved out of the bridge, carrying the sample dish reverently as he went.

"Zazu," Eagle called after him.

Zazu jumped but the dish barely moved in his hands. "Yeah?"

"Contact Councilman Clef on Cephiro. Find out if any travelers have been reported missing."

Zazu and Geo dropped their jaws. "Clef??" Geo finally said. "I thought he was dead."

Eagle smiled and shook his head. "Oh no. Clef couldn't be killed by a simple hangman's noose."

Geo raised a thick eyebrow. "What do you mean? Most guys would die from that."

Eagle shook his head again. "Clef's not like most men. Do you remember the man who was in the mess hall with me? He had short brown hair and steely eyes."

Zazu shivered. "Yeah, I remember him. Something wasn't right about him."

Geo nodded curtly.

"That man's name was Zenosis," Eagle said. "He and Clef are the same person, yet both of them are the Guru of Cephiro."

Geo scrunched his brow. "I don't understand."

"The Guru of Cephiro is the one who truly lead the reformations. He's an immortal being who assumed the identity of Zenosis, and then Clef after Zenosis supposedly died. That way he could still be an active part of the reformations."

Geo was scratching his head through Eagle's explanation. "That… doesn't make much sense to me. But you lived there through that civil war era."

"How are those search results coming Zazu?" Eagle asked with a smile.

Zazu jumped again then quickly marched out off the bridge. Eagle took a seat at the head of the bridge and began charting the course for their next destination when Geo swiveled his chair toward him.

"One thing bothers me, Eagle," Geo said. "Why would an immortal be so interested in the Cephirian reformations?"

"I never really asked him," Eagle said with a soft smile. "I'd assume that he thought he could help. I believe I heard Lord Ryuuzaki mentioned once that he had met the Guru personally. I suspect there was a friendship between Lord Ryuuzaki and the Guru. Maybe that led to a personal investment for the Guru."

"Hmm."

"Something wrong?"

"I'm just trying to work out how that dust got out this far, given its deterioration rate. We are three hundred thousand light years from Cephiro. If it's from Cephiro, there's no way it could have made the distance. Even then, and I don't think Zazu mentioned this when you got on the bridge, but the sample transported itself onboard."

Eagle's eyes widened. "So it's a living entity."

"That would be my guess, definitely some sort of intelligence there."

The PA system breathed through the speakers, but Zazu didn't speak right away. "Well Eagle, I've got some good news."

"Okay."

"The good news is the dust has stabilized. When I put it in the scanner it turned to a small crystal. That made it easier for the scanners…"

"Go on Zazu."

"There's some bad news. When that explosion happened, I set the ship's computer to record as much of the data as possible. I didn't get the whole event but… well, see for yourself."

Eagle looked down at his screen as the data scrolled through the entire file. His eyes glanced over the information until he got down to the energy signatures. The electron emissions involved made his brow sweat. How could there be something like lightning in the vacuum of space? The readings were bordering the top of the charts. The thermal energy readings were exceedingly off the charts and the new data coming in showed that the energy was causing a rift in the space beside them, pinning them between the opening rift and the black hole. "Set a course for 67 Andrian and 48 Comaque."

"Right," Geo replied.

The ship had just started to pull itself when Zazu's voice came back over the PA. "The heat signatures left from the explosion all have the same Cephirian imprint as the crystal, even the energy trails left by whatever jettisoned itself from the explosion." He paused, "so I've got bad news, and really bad news. The bad news is I couldn't get ahold of Clef on Cephiro. But I found out who our… guest is."

Eagle gripped the arms of his chair and held his breath as the viewing screen flashed on and the pixels started taking colors and contours. The profile was the regular Autozam person profile, complete with expressionless mugshot, name in bold print, and bland facts. Cerulean eyes glanced uncertainly over a hurried smile. Eagle remembered what Clef had said when they forced him in the seat: "Am I supposed to smile?" The Recorder had flashed moments after Clef managed to quickly compose his features.

CLEF TENAGA

Cephirian Councilman

Age: 26 (by Cephirian calendar)

Origin: N/A

Training: N/A

Magic Level: N/A

Appointment: N/A

Current Status: Deceased

Eagle buried his face in his hands and slumped in his chair. "Run it again!" he ordered.

"I did, three times," Zazu responded quietly.

Eagle sighed, "Geo, set a course for Cephiro, get us there as fast as you can. Zazu, prepare that crystal for transport."

Geo and Zazu complied silently. The PA closed and Eagle leaned over his control panel. "Connect me with Lord Ryuuzaki."

"Transmitting…"

There were a series of soft beeps before a high pitched pop. Ryuuzaki's voice growled through the speakers on Eagle's panel. "I thought I'd destroyed all of these, but your trickery knows no bounds it seems."

"I apologize for the intrusion Lord, but-"

"I don't care!" Ryuuzaki snarled. "You are not welcome on Cephiro. Not you, or your crew and ship."

"I understand, and I know I won't be anymore welcome after the conclusion of this message."

"Consider it concluded!"

"We've picked up what remains of Councilman Clef."

"…"

"Are you there?"

"How did you know he was missing?"

"For how long?"

"My daughter just now returned from headquarters and could not find him."

"Who is that father?"

Eagle's stomach kicked as Umi's voice came through the panels. "It's me, Lady Ryuuzaki."

"Go to hell Eagle!"

Geo dropped his jaw. "What did she say??"

Eagle held up his hand to Geo and continued speaking to the panel. Geo reluctantly sat down in his chair and clenched his fists on his knees.

"Hush Umi," Ryuuzaki said. Umi grumbled something but Eagle couldn't make it out. "Continue Captain."

"The NSX was traveling toward Gyron when a spacial anomaly erupted near a black hole. The eruption gave off significant electronic and thermal emissions, neither of which are subsiding. It's opened a rift in space. A small substance transported itself onto our vessel. We've studied it as much as time has allowed and have found that it matches the biological imprint of Clef Tenaga."

"… I see." Ryuuzaki's voice was strained. "I will speak to King Ferio and see if I can't arrange a brief docking period for your ship. Cephiro will expect that you return whatever it is you found along with your information so our sorcerers can confirm."

"Understood. Thank y-"

The transmission severed.

"I thought you said this Clef was already dead," Geo said lowly, he was still fuming from Umi's words toward his captain.

"Clef did suffer the hangman's noose, but he's immortal. I don't understand… The Guru did survive! He was in our mess hall! And if the Guru survived then Clef must have. He wouldn't take a new identity because of Lady Ryuuzaki. He'd use 'Clef Tenaga' because that's the name the people knew. There would be a great celebration if the people knew he'd survived the execution! Why would he come all the way out here just to commit suicide??"

"But part of him survived didn't it?" Geo snorted. "Can't believe I'm talking about it like this. It's like we found an arm or leg and we're treating it like the heart."

"There's no way of knowing if the part is indeed alive or not," Eagle said as he massaged his brow in tired circles. "Even if it is, there's no use comparing it to the whole."

There's barely enough for a burial…

The ball's not rolling yet, but I do expect incentive to get the ball rolling. (wink) So at least 3 reviews please. You'll have time because I still have to get the last chapter of Quest for the Ardoneh up.

Signing off...

Silvanus16