Legends: Diversion

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is related, remotely related, or is in the game, Illusion of Gaia. It is owned by Enix and all related companies. All Original Characters, Stories, and anything that is not in, related to, or remotely related to the game, was solely created for creative and entertainment purposes. Thank you for your time.

Chapter One – Lateness Of Changes

The important thing is this: to be ready at any moment to sacrifice what you are for what you could become - Charles Dickens

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

The alarm clock suddenly went quiet on the cedar nightstand, a groan coming from the mess of blankets, sheets, and pillows. Yawning as she sat up from her slumber, Katherine Porter sat up, stretched, and stared at the clock she smacked to be silent. 7:35 am. For her this was a late rise, a late morning, but this was not like her previous summers where she'd be knee deep in some wild field looking for something or a cavern that hadn't seen a human in four centuries. No, here she was in a modest apartment and not in some camp with familiar faces getting up at the same time at the crack of dawn. Waking up to an alarm clock instead of a fire going, roasting whatever had been caught for breakfast that morning. Here she was waking up to a mattress and bunny slippers.

She didn't like that one bit.

Kat knew didn't have a choice, sliding out of bed and onto the carpet floor as she made her way to the bathroom to do her business. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, she asked herself – as she had every morning for the past year – what she had to have been thinking when she made the decision to stay within the confines of the city she now had to call home. It wasn't as though it had been one made by a head of the archeological cooperation her father had been a member of for six years, or some other quasi-famous explorer who 'mourned' the loss of her father along with Kat. No it was done by something entirely bigger than that, something she hadn't even been aware of until she had gone on that expedition with her father.

Two years ago Kat had gone on a trek with her father, Michael Porter, in the same island chain he had lived in. It had been a disaster from the moment the group had stepped on Kara's Keep, as the island was currently called since it was was rumored to have once been the location of Edward Castle. Her father had been acting strange in the days before they had left the main island and their guide, Crystal, had played a huge part in that. In fact, she was the whole reason why the trek had turned out the way it had been, Crystal had been obsessed with finding two other statues: one of a boy, another of a being made of pure essence. The boy's statue wouldn't be found, the supposed occupant had never turned to stone and was living somewhere in the mid-west; his memory had been modified so that he didn't remember who he unless there was a need. The other statue Kat had seen for herself and was intact.

The only reason she knew these things, was because she had put on her father's last birthday present: the Ring of Two Souls. This ring was supposedly a creation of a big battle that had raged above the Earth centuries before, but had fallen to the ground and had bathed in the light of the comet in the process. This had started a chain reaction of her finding out that Mother Nature really did exist, there was a world beyond what she knew of, and that the last master of the ring had abandoned it and wanted it back. That master had been Crystal, who hadn't known that the ring had been in such close proximity to her until she had come face-to-face with Kat and Freedan, another being who claimed to be an immortal knight. It was only then that Crystal turned her statue obsession around and found another obsession: get the Ring of Two Souls back at all costs.

Crystal had claimed to have nearly killed Michael, a fact that Kat had seen for herself when Crystal had lead her and Freedan to where Michael's body had been placed. In the simple act of nearly killing him, Crystal had supposedly placed herself in great risk of losing her own life; she had made a deal with the Underworld, a group of factions who operate in the shadows and the deepest, darkest places one would not think to look for shady people – even with the deeper explanation she had been giving of the Underworld by the Spirits, she still couldn't wrap her mind around it fully. That deal gave her a new form, longer life, but in return she couldn't kill so many people in such a short amount of time; Kat had only learned of how Underworld pacts work two months after she had come back from Kara's Keep. What Crystal's deal was, Kat didn't know except that Crystal would be at the very end of hers should Michael die.

Kat had made a choice then: let her father die so that Crystal could disappear from the face of the world and would not set foot on the surface again. Unfortunately even with the illusion of trying to find a Dark Space entrance that Crystal so wanted to find, and the battle between her and Freedan, Crystal had gotten away with Michael's body and, to Kat's limited knowledge, is keeping him alive by any means necessary so that she could use him as she saw fit. Kat controlled the rage to drive her toothbrush into the mirror at the thought of what Crystal may be doing to her father right now, just because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They all had been at the wrong place and there was nothing she could about it at the present time.

Since she had come back from Kara's Keep, Kat had been training with Spirits – those who had died and decided to serve those like Gaia as their afterlife – on how to use the ring. It had been hard at first to know how to command the ring, it was stubborn on what it wanted Kat to do first; she had to first believe that the ring was a sentient creature, a feat easier said than done. While it didn't speak nor had a mind of its own, it still could communicate with its current master and Kat only had to figure out how to 'listen' to it. One thing that she knew from the first time she had put on the ring, was how she could tell the ring still considered Kat its master: the warmth of the band. Even two years later did the ring still call Kat master, especially since she sometimes left it in a dresser drawer to be away from the temptation for a bit; this only told the ring that Kat knew she had to take a break from her new abilities.

During this time she learned more about the afterlife, the Spirits, the Underworld, and history, more than she could have in the few World History classes she took in college. She only took those so she could be satisfied with what the Spirits were telling her. Every professor she had in her classes, even the ones she didn't, knew that she was the daughter of the 'late' Michael Porter and expressed interest in her academic studies; Kat hadn't the heart to tell them she was no longer able to walk in her father's footsteps. Her short time on Kara's Keep had put a stop to that, despite her wanting, needing, to be out in the wide, open world and exploring what her father had not been able to show her as a minor and with shared custody between himself and her mother. Now that she had recently turned twenty she should have been able to go where she wanted to go.

Her time on the island was only part of the reason she couldn't go further than the local state park. A year ago there had been reports of heavy Underworld activity across the globe, so much that even Gaia was worried…or so Kat had heard. Since she had met the Earth Spirit that one time she had no direct contact with her despite being told Kat was the last master of the Ring of Two Souls and that Crystal could be at her doorstep at any given moment. She could only go by the messages sent to her through the Spirits; not even Freedan had come knocking at her door, but he had decided to stay penned up on Kara's Keep to keep an eye out in case Crystal returned there. This was the same frame of time that Kat had made her deal with a Spirit: don't go anywhere outside of the current city unless you are commanded to or someone comes to claim you.

Putting down her toothbrush and spitting the contents out of her mouth, she silently berated herself for making that deal although she knew it would keep her safely in one place. But wouldn't it be like me being back on Kara's Keep? She had thought to herself not long after the deal, since she had been told that Kara's Keep was not safe for her to be on. But so unlike the island, if something were to come hunt her down here, to take away the Ring of Two Souls, she still had other ways out; on the island she didn't have that luxury. Not even the Dark Space on the island could help her, since that was like a cage: one way out, one way in. But surely there had to be more than just that one Dark Space, right? Not even the Spirits bothered to tell her that much.

By the time Kat had taken her shower, dressed, and grabbed an apple, along with her keys and wallet, as she went on the way out the door, the time on her microwave read 8:38. Even if she drove the quickest way to her work, a mere fifteen to twenty minutes away, she'd still be considered early Her supervisor at the department store she worked at, a far cry from the jungles she was used to, wouldn't be there for another fifteen minutes and rarely acknowledged Kat's clock-in time. Unless Kat was late by more than ten minutes, Ann did not seem to care that her underlings were a few minutes late here and there.

As soon as Kat pulled into the parking lot, the ring grew hot on her finger for several seconds before it went back to a dull warmth. Freezing where she was, the hand with the ring on it by her keys in the ignition, she sat there and stared straight ahead. The ring had only done that once before and it had been nearly a year and a half ago when it had given her that sudden flare-up. It had scared her then and it was scaring her now, even as she turned the car off and leaned back in her seat to think of what this meant. Could it be she was in trouble and she couldn't see the problem? Or was there another reason?

The last time the ring had gotten hot like that, was when there had been two Underworld denizens a half mile from the college she had been attending. Had she not been in the middle of an hour and a half lecture, with a professor who made her parents look like saints, Kat would've excused herself and made a beeline for the nearest Spirit she knew was at the college. As it were now the closet Spirit wasn't even there yet and if there was a person from the Underworld, it wouldn't be like she wasn't defenseless. Kat understood the ring better now, more than when Freedan was first explaining it to her and she had the notion that she could test it against something other than a Spirit.

"Move," Kat told herself, picking up her wallet, keys, and apple as she opened the car door and got out. Looking around for the obvious signs of the Underworld - unexplained shifting of light, extended shadows, mutants from the dark - she slammed the car door and hurried to the store entrance. She hardly took notice that it was past opening time, her head down and eyes diverted elsewhere so that no one else could see the fear. It wasn't until she was nearly at the break room doors did she actually bump into someone.

Looking up as she took several steps back, Kat was surprised to see the person she bumped into was her supervisor, Ann. She appeared to be in her late forties with short blonde hair, green eyes, and a deep brown that creased her impossibly young-looking face. With her arms crossed over her chest, one booted foot tapping the tiled floor, Ann looked like a mother hen about the cluck her way around Kat. If it weren't for the fact that Kat knew Ann for as long as she did, the look she was being given would make her assume she was in serious trouble.

"You're late," Ann said in a neutral tone, her eyes not leaving Kat for a second.

"I'm not like you, I don't arrive fifteen minutes early," Kat snapped at her. "Besides, you told me to come in early as I can today. This is as early as I can."

"You can be motivated, Kat, in other things." Ann's lips tightened as she took a look around. "Why not your job?"

"It's only a few minutes, I'll be up shortly." Taking several steps forwards and around, Kat made an attempt to get past Ann but found herself in front of the woman again. This time Ann had put her arms by her side and was scowling at Kat. "What is it? You've never bothered to be concerned about my time before."

"Because there was never a reason to be before, now there is." Ann stopped when two of the store's employees walked past, shooting concerned looks towards Kat. For all they knew she was getting a stern talking-to about her tardiness. "Where were you this morning?"

"At home, asleep, until two hours ago. I got up, dressed, and came here." Now Kat's voice started to turn irritated. "Why?"

"And you weren't anywhere else besides at home and on your way here?" Ann's intent on knowing where Kat was and what she was doing was getting on her last nerve. Didn't she have enough people breathing down her back as it were?

"Why are you so damned concerned all of a sudden?" She growled through clenched teeth. "It's not like I'm able to go anywhere, you should know better!"

"Don't get all snotty with me young lady! And keep your voice down; you're not the only one who has better hearing around here." Ann looked around before she took Kat by the arm and lead her into the break room, all the while talking. "Look, I get concerned when I get morning reports of sudden spikes of Underworld activity less than a quarter mile from your apartment and you haven't shown up for work yet. And you can't do anything because of that damned ring of yours."

Kat, too, looked around the empty break room, partially glad that no one was there to listen in on her conversation. It had been a shock enough to have a sudden conversation about the Ring of Two Souls with her supervisor; it would be another to have to explain what they were talking about to someone else. From her experience with Spirits, some of the human race was not ready to fully understand concepts of certain parts of history and what went on around them. That was why Shadow had been put back into his statue first, or so Freedan had told her.

"What is this about my ring?" Kat asked once she was lead safely through another door and into the locker room just off the break room. This room had not been empty when they had entered, Ann shooing the others out before any complaints were raised. "I've been training with it for the last two years and still I can barely go out of my back yard!"

"Calm yourself." Something flickered in Ann's eyes, fear and a sudden flash of pain, but that disappeared as quickly as it had come. Kat shut her eyes rather quickly, holding them shut for a moment then opened them again. "I'm just saying that because of your ring, you never know what may happen, and the reports have only told me of the spike in activity, nothing more. Besides, there are others that are more willing to go after you then both the Spirits and Underworld care to have loose."

"Crystal," she breathed, feeling as though she could burst out of her skin in anticipation to face that one again but there was also an underlying effect of fear. Fear of what she had done to her father, fear what she would do to Kat if the two should meet again, fear of what would happen if Kat would actually use the ring outside of training – several possibilities swarmed through her mind. "So what faction are they? Where are they? Can they give information about my …?

"Slow down, Kat!" Ann held her hands up to divert any more questions; if this had been any other situation she would have laughed. "Yes there are Underworld-interested parties about but that's all the information I've been given. As soon as I get more I'll let you know although you'll probably find out before I do." She gave Kat a slight push towards her locker. "Now go put your stuff away, clock in, and meet me upstairs."

Patting Kat on the arm, Ann walked past her without another word as she left the locker room the same way they had entered. Standing there in a mild daze Kat wondered if she walked out of work that very moment how long it would take for a Spirit or two to locate her and bring her back into her workplace. She had half a mind to walk out at that moment, find anyone else besides Ann with a shred of knowledge about the Underworld and Spirits, and get any information she could about her father. It was bad enough she knew what he could be going through, it was worse that she couldn't do a damned thing about it.

No matter what she could do, no matter how much knowledge she possessed, Kat found herself putting her belongings in her locker and getting her badge from within. Forcing herself to go to work took will power, even as her hands shook and her legs wanted to sprint out of there instead of taking her to the elevator to the second floor. Kat was thankful that there was someone else in the elevator as well and hadn't taken the escalator up to the second floor where jewelry, cosmetics, and other clothing were sold. Had she been alone in the elevator she would have sat in the corner and cried, thinking it would have been better if Ann hadn't said a word about the Underworld activity to her today. She only took this job so she could 'afford' to live a few years without using more of her inheritance, she hardly needed anything sold in the store – how she would sell anything today would be a miracle.

As soon as Kat got out of the elevator she had the odd sense to go back in and not come out; the air had gone cold on the second floor. Glancing around she forced her body forwards, her eyes darting past the racks of children's clothing that soon gave way to rows of shoes, then around to the escalator and purses. Her area – the jewelry – sat near the wide doors that lead into the mall, of which already saw groups of people walking by and a few taking the stairs up and down between levels. If her father could see her dressed in nice shoes, pants, and shirt, while working in a place like this, he would have laughed at her. Kat had laughed at herself for taking the job; she was used to the forest of trees, not of clothing racks.

What ultimately made her stop at the long watch case that wrapped around a wall, with room behind it to walk behind and an entrance to Ann's office, was not the chill but rather a young man leaning over one section with his hands in his pockets of his blue jeans. He wore a black jacket over his blue shirt, blue sneakers, and had his shoulder-length red hair tied back. It only took a moment for him to realize he wasn't alone when he straightened up and turned partially towards her, his handsome face unreadable and light grey eyes cold and distant. He was a good foot or so taller than Kat was yet seemed much younger of about four to five years by her rough estimate; the smile he gave her did not reach his eyes. He did not offer much other than that, as they stared at each for a moment before Kat spoke up.

"Can I help you?" She asked him as she took several steps forwards. He didn't seem to be looking for anything particular and Ann was in her office, no less doing something in there like paperwork if she was there at all – the light was on and the door open. It was not like it took a long time to get up to the second floor and this man had to have been there before either one of them came upstairs.

"No, Ann is helping me already, thank you," he said with a slight nod as his smile faded. Kat returned the nod and was about to head into the office when Ann came out of it, having heard the voices and held a piece of paper and a pen in one hand.

"There you are, was wondering when you'd be up. Stay there for a moment," she said to Kat before turning to the young man. "Here it is, you'll need to sign this. I know it's a crude method but it's still easier."

"Shouldn't we be talking and doing this more privately?" He glanced over to Kat, who looked over at Ann. If she was in the process of hiring someone else to cover the times when Kat was in her classes, the last thing Ann needed was for her to be present during that process. Kat started to back up but Ann waved her to stay where she was.

"You're right." She turned to Kat with a slight smile. "As soon as Sage signs the paper the two of you need to have a little chat. He's got a lot of things to tell you."

"I don't know what you've been telling her but, um, there should be as few persons to know then there are already. Less to be involved so whatever you've been telling her needs to stop." Sage took his hands out of his pockets and folded them in front of him. If she didn't know who this Sage was, Kat would've laughed at the sheer absurdity of what he had just said – he suddenly reminded her of a similar conversation she had with a certain knight several years prior.

"Funny, I recall someone I know saying something similar." Kat looked to Ann, not once trying to hide her wide smile. If Sage was who she thought he was, and Ann wasn't telling her to run for the hills, then maybe he hadn't breeched the layers of protection the Spirits had put around the store. "What's that, a Spirit permission slip? Is he going on a field trip or something?"

Ann laughed at the questions while Sage glared at her with narrowed eyes. "You could say that, I think Mother Nature has a sense of humor sometimes. It's something that both of you need to look at."

"I didn't come all the way here to take on a Living Spirit apprentice. I came here for something else," Sage snapped, snatching the paper out of Ann's hands as he looked down at the paper and began to read it.

"And here is your something else," Ann said after she gave him several minutes to read and re-read the paper. When he looked up finally, his eyes were wide as he looked at Ann then to Kat and back again several times as he tried to process something that only the two of them seemed to understand. Kat, too, was confused: what did they mean by 'something else'? "The food court is down on the first floor of the mall, there's a small eating area down there that's across from the sub shop. The owner of said shop can make sure the two of you have some privacy."

"Wait, no one told me that there was a person attached to the ring. I thought I was sent here to take the ring back and give information to the person who was helping." Sage looked over at Kat. "Since when?"

Kat felt the pressure of his gaze bare onto her, what he had just told her added twenty pounds to her stomach. The world around her suddenly felt much colder, everything seemed to take on several shades of darkness; Ann reached out for her to hold her up and keep her upright. Sage looked sicker than she felt, her right hand going to her forehead; her skin felt clammy and hot, what was happening to her? The ring had not lost its warmth the slightest, Ann tried to get her to go into the office but Kat shrugged her off as she leaned against the counter and looked at Sage.

"Who the hell are you?" Her eyes found where Ann was standing, a foot away from Kat. "What's going on? What does he mean that he was taking the ring? It's still warm."

"That was one tidbit the reports hadn't told me, then again I hadn't been aware things changed until he showed up fifteen minutes ago." Ann gave Sage a passing look. "And you should've known better."

"Known better about what? That the Ring of Two Souls still had a master? I wasn't aware about that until just now." Sage waved the paper, glaring between Ann and Kat. "I'll talk to her on one condition: she leaves the ring here. Otherwise I'll send for someone else."

"No, the ring stays on me," she said firmly with more strength then she had in her body at the moment. "It does not leave my body, period. If you have a problem with that, go find a Dark Space to complain to Gaia."

"In your pocket then, I don't want to see it." Sage set the paper on the counter and pushed it away from him. "Half hour, then we'll talk."

With that Sage turned around, put his arms to his sides, and walked out the door, not even looking behind at the two women he left standing there. Ann was frowning at his retreating form while Kat just stared after him, confused and still wobbly; she had not a reaction like before and did not want that to repeat again. Her sight still had the shades of dark around it but it had gone from near darkness to somewhere around the grey spectrum. Sighing, Ann picked the paper up and faced Kat, who was at least now able to stand up without having to lean on the counter for support.

"He's a Spirit, Kat, but don't get him started on the how." For a moment Ann looked fearful, then that passed and she shook her head. "Poor thing. At least I'm thankful I can't remember certain things from before."

Kat held herself up on the counter, her hands had finally stopped shaking and her legs were somewhat strong again. She didn't feel as though she was about to pass out or fall face-first onto the floor, the warmth of the store returning to her. While Ann didn't seem affected by Sage's appearance or even the looks he had been giving her, Kat was shaken by it had and more questions than answers. Ann saw this and patted her on the arm, giving her a slight smile.

"What's going on?" Kat asked quietly. "Why is he here?"

"Things change and Sage is the best to tell you." Ann casually glanced around. "Best go clock out for the day, you are already not fit for work. You can come back if there's any need for clarification. Now shoo!"

Kat grumbled something under her breath then pushed herself off of the counter. It took only a few minutes to make sure her legs wouldn't go out on her before she started for the elevator, stopping briefly to turn around to say something to Ann. With the dark glare she was given, along with the shooing motion to tell her to get going, Kat turned back around and continued on. What she would find when she met up with Sage she didn't know but from what she had gathered with her first short interaction so far, she knew he didn't like her.

And it seemed to boil down to the ring she wore.

Until Next Time