Author's Notes: Oh my; no reviews yet so I don't have anything to adress, oh well that won't stop me from updating and giving you more pieces to the puzzle. I suppose I'd better do as promised; ah well... Ok; in the last chapter when our hero first spoke to the apparitions in his mind the three were the G1 Decepticons Soundwave, Starscream and Megatron. Though I must admit Megatron didn't get as much to do as Starscream; he's always been one of my favorites and so much more challenging/fun to write then Megatron, who was really your basic run of the mil evil villain. Although he did have his moments; and a pretty killer laugh, anyway... Oh and of course, though it is obvious I'll say it here too just because I have nothing else to add, Apparition group two involved Alain's Grandmother, Yoda and Jackie Chan's Uncle, who I really don't think even has another name.
I'll put one more disclaimer up here just to be on the safe side; Xena doesn't belong to me I only borrowed her, none of the apparations inside Alain's mind belong to me either except his Grandmother and other family members that will appear later on. On a side note; I trust all of this internal stuff isn't going to cause massive confusion until the explanation get's revealed, which if I'm very much not mistaken occurs in chapter three. And now; on with the story.
Alumni appeared before Hephaestus; he tossed the broken hilt he'd kept and Damocles' sword to the ground in annoyance.
"Problems?" The forge master asked.
"I do not have a weapon suited for a God." He hissed glaring at the two pathetic objects in question; Hephaestus nodded and took a closer look at the broken hilt, something yet lingered there.
"It'll take me a day to make you a sword." He returned; sweeping his hand out to indicate his workshop. "There being so many other tasks and items to be made." He added.
"Then I shall wait; you can find me on Olympus when it's finished." Alumni stated before vanishing once more; Hephaestus smiled as Zeus himself graced his presence, a rare occurrence indeed.
"You're certain this will work?" He wondered taking the hilt and examining the light remaining there; Hephaestus nodded and moved back to his forge.
"The aura tinted the blade; his human half may be lost inside, but a piece is left outside." Hephaestus explained beginning to heat it up. "It will help when the time is right."
"The question I have is; if he is a God, why does he not see what has truly happened?" Hera wondered appearing without warning and also examining the hilt; she smiled softly when she eyed the aura clinging to it, a part of it seeming to bring her peace of mind.
"Simple; he can no more see that he has fragmented then he can know why his memories have not fully returned." Zeus returned; Hera nodded in understanding, and then she and Zeus left Hephaestus to his work.
Gabrielle nearly cried out as someone appeared before her; fortunately she readily recognized the arriving individual, with a scowl she turned to Xena.
"We have company." She stated; Ares ignored the hidden implications in her tone and strode forward.
"I thought you'd like to know; Alumni is on Olympus for a day, he's having Hephaestus repair his sword." Ares explained; Xena eyed the war god with suspicion.
"Why tell us?" She wondered.
"It wasn't my idea." He returned sounding less then sincere; then he took a careful look around as if afraid of being detected. "Just thought you could use the heads up." He added before quickly vanishing; Xena shook her head briefly and turned back to the others.
"Joxer; we'll need help, you think you can find Hercules in a day?" She asked with a note of urgency to her tone.
"Uh… Sure; no problem." He returned looking less than enthused; picking up his sword he quickly took off.
"How can he help?" Gabrielle wondered her tone denying the truth she knew in her heart.
"He's the only one who can fight Alumni." Xena returned in a soft voice; Gabrielle turned her gaze in pain, Xena approached her friend. "I know… I've come to care for Alumni as well, but right now."
"It's ok." Gabrielle cut her off. "I just keep wondering… Could we have done something to prevent it?" She asked turning a teary gaze back on her best friend; Xena was taken aback by the amount of pain lying within her friend and she gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't think anyone could; it feels… As though this is all part of some test, I just hope he can pass it." She admitted glancing briefly to the heavens; as if awaiting this gesture a shooting star chose that moment to fall.
Elsewhere; the unnamed creatures sent by the Mistress eyed the pathway of the Gods in vain; it was here that certain immortals had to enter the hallowed realm of Olympus, but they alone could not pass uninvited and they knew their orders well.
"We must wait I'm afraid." The male stated; his companion sighed as she sat upon a large boulder, which materialized from nothingness.
"Time is of the essence; if he is permitted to remain a God much longer there could be no going back." She remarked; he nodded and moved to comfort her, they both knew he was the last hope for survival.
The child now hollered with joy as he rode his bicycle down the hidden paths of the large park; a campsite if I was not mistaken, a place I'd enjoyed often in my youth before I lost interest.
"You used to adore this; why did you ever give it up?" A young girl asked; I shook my head.
"I don't know." I admitted. "Perhaps I just let my fears control me too much." I added feeling slight fear as a tiny wasp flew up to me; it vanished quickly enough.
"We all had fun together; don't you miss those carefree times?" A slightly older girl asked; I closed my eyes as tears escaped.
"Constantly." I replied softly.
"Crying over lost youth won't help your current predicament." A new voice snapped; the girls eyed the uniformed man angrily, my cousins' weren't much of a fan of this one.
"He has a point." A tall woman with pink hair; an odd fashion sense and strange star-shaped earrings added. "You've got to face facts… You grew up."
"But he never lost his child-like qualities." My younger cousin; Diane, snapped. "He forgot all about you two until the DVDs." She pointedly added smugly placing her hands on her hips.
"We're not here to make him forget that." The woman shot back. "But he has got to learn; being safe is noting if he dies a lonely old man."
"Yes; we're only two dimensional." The man added his facial expression lost behind the silver mask; I clutched the hilt tighter and glared at him.
"And what pray tell would you have me do my dear commander?" I snapped adopting a deeper baritone momentarily. "He; it… Whatever is a God." I reminded vehemently; my older cousin, Jody, nodded in agreement.
"True; that is why you still need a little more time." She stated. "To help you figure it out, but also to gather more aid." She elaborated even as the laughter of the children began to fade; the woman smiled her eyes dazzling as she touched my shoulder. The man clasped my opposite shoulder and turned me around; my cousins vanished, as they began to go transparent.
"It must go faster now." He stated. "For…" And then he was gone; the woman as well and instead I was surrounded by darkness. Though surprisingly it did not last this time; instead I found myself in a very familiar location.
A teenaged girl was shouting at a lost looking boy; he was decked out in a long sleeve jacket and a baseball style cap despite the afternoon heat, he could be no older then fifteen. I'd worn that get up to supposedly keep Wood ticks off; as I recall it worked marvelously.
"Your first rejection." A new voice remarked as someone came to stand beside me.
"It was a stupid crush; I was only fifteen." I returned; I watched as the boy ran off, though there weren't many places to go on an island camp away.
"Do you understand yet why we show you these particular memories?" A woman asked; I let out a tiny sigh.
"They are to show me moments where I felt isolated." I replied in a soft and tired voice; I just wanted this to end.
"He can be taught." The man standing beside me exclaimed; I shook my head in wonder at that and allowed a small smile.
"No fictional characters to help?" I asked; mom grimaced slightly and dad smiled.
"We felt this moment should remain between us." He returned clasping my shoulder a hint of pride entering his voice as we appeared to at last be getting somewhere.
"Since we're only parts of your soul in guises it really doesn't matter." Mom grumbled in a barely audible tone.
"Still got a few more things to show; one or two big things if I'm not much mistaken." Dad stated and then everything vanished; much quicker this time, I waited for something new to appear, but it did not come.
"So I must wait once more… I suppose he is performing some horrendous deed once again." I muttered and I settled back to wait; the waiting was the hardest part, because it meant he slipped further and further away.
Hephaestus presented the blade to Alumni; he smiled as he tested his new weapon a most fitting weapon indeed, Hephaestus smiled as well, but for an entirely different reason.
"This weapon is made of the finest Olympian steel." He boasted. "It knows its master and will come when you wish it." He added in a cryptic vein; Alumni nodded satisfactorily and left the realm he'd usurped from Discord.
"He is on the plane of Earth." The female stated rising swiftly to her feet.
"Then we shall face him now." He returned; and together they disappeared.
Alumni was just about to resume the destruction of the tiny villages when a great clap of thunder shook the air; he glanced skywards' in confusion thinking Zeus was trying to get his attention, which is why he missed the lunging brute. The two fell to the ground; Alumni toppling one way, his attacker another. He leapt quickly back to his feet bolts of energy licking at his fingertips; and crackling about his pupils. The strangest of creatures stood before him; it was a man shape of seven feet tall, but resembling slightly the creatures Ares had conjured for Damocles. Yet it had flowing black hair and pointed ears; and its' flesh was not as sickly or distorted.
"You dare to attack a God!" He bellowed. "I shall teach you the folly of your ways." He vowed and blasted the creature through the air; it slammed into a tree and seemingly crumpled lifeless to the ground.
Alumni turned back to his own little plan; only to feel a sudden and sharp pain in his arm, glancing down in shock he found three long gouges, though not deep. Looking back up he found his attacker clutching a strange looking weapon; it possessed three prongs on one end of a long shaft, reminiscent of a trident, but the other end held a sickle like blade.
"Now this may actually provide a challenge." He remarked unsheathing his newly acquired blade with a glint of hunger in his eyes.
To Be Continued: Ah joy; more wonders, I'm afraid the scenes with Alumni aren't as long as some might wish, but alas when I was working on this I chose to keep certain things simple. There really wasn't much to do outwardly; this journey was more inwards dealing with Alain and what he's going through. Alumni as a character became secondary; so for that I must appologize to any readers who feel that I've let his character slip away. But fear not; he is someone I couldn't just destroy and leave it at that, oh no there are a great many plans for this one.
In our next exciting chapter Xena and company will encounter a creature of unknown origins; she will guide them in their desire to help the man they have known as Alumni, and in so doing certain remaining questions may in fact be adressed. This time it was mostly Alumni's family members that showed up, but I'll give one of the famed Marvel No-Prizes to anyone who can guess the two fictional characters who appeared as guides in this chapter. (Disclaimer: I make no claims to owning the concept of the No-Prize, it and all of it's subsideries belong to Marvel Inc. makers of fine Comics and wonderous tales, Hats off to Stan 'The Man' Lee for creating so many heroes that I find myself eager to play with yet again in fictional settings.)
