A/N
Hello again folks! Chase here, finally pulling her head out of her GBASP and stepping away from Rekka no Ken land long enough to post the next chapter! YAY! (I can't help it, I love Matthew/Guy, Legault/Heath, Raven/Lucius, Eliwood/Hector waaaaaay too much! XD )
Well, here we are on the next bit of this little ride into DJ MacHale's world of Pendragon. Hooray!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the computer upon which I type of my adoration of Pendragon and other great books. And I own myself of course. Well, actually, I sold my soul to Severus Snape years ago. But I own most of my body. (Well...Johhny Depp owns most of it really...)
Hobey ho, let's go!
Chapter 1: The End of Innocence
Press Tilton was running in full speed. Suddenly, he leapt forward with his arms out, pushing an Islander or Asian-looking teenage boy out of the way of the near-blinding lights before them. The teen skidded safely across the ground, landing a few feet away. Press however, was not so lucky. He scarcely had time to face the lights before the rattle of gunfire filled the small cavern. Bullets tore into his body, blood splattering across the ground and the wall. The lights faded away, and he staggered a moment before falling to the floor. Press "The Wild Man" Tilton was dead.
"DADDY!" Chase Ravencroft Tilton sat bolt upright in bed, panting and dripping with a cold sweat. The soon-to-be sixteen-year-old usually didn't cry out from her nightmares, but this one was different. Press Tilton, though not her real father, was the only father Chase had ever known. If she focused hard enough, she could just barely recall her birth father, Daniel. She couldn't remember anything about her mother. Press was the only parental figure she had. He had cared for her since the death of her parents in her infancy, raising her as though she were his own. The thought of losing him – even in a dream – made her sick to her stomach.
A knock at the door drew the now-shaking girl out of her thoughts. "Yes?" she called out quickly, trying to control the shuddering of her body.
"Chase, you okay?" Came the urgent inquiry. The voice behind it belonged to her adopted sister, Leila.
"Yeah...just a nightmare..." Chase called back.
Leila opened the door and entered, looking worried.
The pair looked almost nothing alike. Chase was paler despite being the more athletic of the two, and was tall and cat-like. She was slender with slight but pronounced curves, blue-eyed with jet-black hair to her lower back. She was often told by Press and his Traveler friends that she looked like a young, female version of her late father, Daniel.
Leila was a fair bit shorter and of slightly thicker build with less pronounced curves. Her beautiful almond eyes resembled those of her late mother's, and turned from light to dark depending on her mood and the season. Both girls looked to be at least partially Asian or Pacific Islander, but Leila had a decidedly Native American look to her eyes and skin tone.
Leila sat down on the edge of her sister's bed and looked at her. Chase met her gaze blankly. They had a miniature staring match for a moment, till she spoke. "Okay Chase, talk to me."
Chase proceeded to tell her about the nightmare. "But it was more like a vision than a dream, Leila…" she trailed off.
The sisters shared a look. They were both still learning to use their borderline telepathic and psychic abilities, but Chase's visions had a strange habit of often coming to pass.
Press had told them years ago when he first began training them as Travelers that there could only be one Traveler per territory at a time. Their cousin Bobby, whom they had never met, was to become the new Lead Traveler and the Traveler for Second Earth.
Though Press would not say anything about it, the girls had a horrible feeling they were going to lose their father sooner than later.
When Osa had died a few months before, Leila and Chase somehow knew deep down that their father's time was running out. They were generally kept informed of all his doings by their Uncle Tom, who received their father's journals while he traveled. After returning from his trips, Press always happily recounted his adventures. This time had been different. Since returning home from his journey on Denduron, Press had been rather quiet. He had barely seen the girls in the few days since he had returned, and there was an air of sadness about him – that wasn't normal.
Leila put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "It'll be okay." she whispered, comforting her sister as she had always done.
Chase for once accepted the comfort without complaint. "Let's go talk to dad." she whispered back, pulling off the sheets and standing.
The two teens walked out of Chase's room and went down the long hallway to the master bedroom. The door was slightly open, and they heard Press' voice as they approached. He was on the phone, it seemed.
Chase put up a finger to silence Leila, and stood close to the door.
"Yes, Tom, I know that!" Press sounded irritated and tired, not at all like the cheerful man who had raised them. "Look, I don't like leaving them any more than you do! But I have to do this...it's the only way Bobby will learn at this point. He is too stubborn and immature to do this job without a shock to the system. If that makes me a martyr, then so be it." He paused. "Yes, I know that too! Look, I don't want to do this, but I have no choice! Being a single father does not mean I get to avoid anything unpleasant. I have to do my job, Tom. You know that is the way it was meant to be." He paused again. "Please Tom...this is already hard enough." His tone had changed; now he sounded almost...sad.
"They are my daughters, Tom. They are closer to me than they could have been if they were my blood. I know how smart they are. They are both coming into their natural powers from their homelands, and they are both strong Travelers. They've gone through their training and have been on solo missions. Bobby hasn't got the maturity to do what they do. He needs it, or he's going to die, and then we will have lost everything we fought so hard for over the years. I can't have that. The girls need a strong lead Traveler, and they all must learn to work together if there is to be any chance to reverse what is going to happen to me."
Leila and Chase both felt sick. They couldn't be totally sure of what they were hearing, but their instincts were almost never wrong. Was their father admitting that he was walking off to his own funeral?
Press continued to talk. "Besides, Vo Spader is going to have to learn to control his emotions. I already talked to Jo and Ki; their boy is too emotional, and his emotion clouds his judgment sometimes. Something's dangerous about that. I can't have him messing things up."
"Look Tom, I will send you the new journal as soon as I get out of here, okay? Let me go spend time with my girls before I..." His voice twisted with emotion, and Press could not continue. "I need to be with them. I need strength, and they give me that. Bye Tom." He hung up the phone.
Chase and Leila shared a look once more. What the hell was going on? Leila reached out and knocked on their father's slightly-open door.
"Come in, girls." Press called, instantly sounding cheerful again. Was it an act put on for their behalf, they wondered this as they entered.
Press Tilton had aged quite a bit in the past thirteen years. Being a single father had not dulled his sense of humor, but it did mellow out the Wild Man. His once long brown hair was no longer in the infamous ponytail, but now rested just against his neck in a more mature cut. He still dressed in his leather great-coat and preferred jeans and concert tees to anything else, but no longer spent quite so much time on his motorcycles.
His daughters noted the aging as they looked him over. He seemed slightly paler than normal, and had somehow lost part of his air of calm.
"Good morning, dad." Chase said with a smile, hiding her fears. She reached for her adopted father and was greeted with a warm hug. Leila also said her good morning, and the three of them began to exchange breakfast ideas. It was a morning ritual in the Tilton house that Press made a big breakfast whenever he was actually home from his duties.
They went downstairs to the kitchen, and the girls sat at the dining room table as Press whipped up French toast and eggs. When the food was done, Press served it and sat with them. They all happily dug into their meals, and conversation ceased as they ate.
"Girls...we need to talk." Press said thickly minutes later, his mouth still full of scrambled egg.
Chase and Leila nodded, and looked at their father.
"I'm going on another mission with Bobby. We're going to Cloral this time. I'm going to introduce him to that boy I mentioned, Vo Spader. He's a bit older than you now." Press began.
"Am I ever going to meet this Spader guy, dad?" Chase asked eagerly. Leila rolled her eyes as she twirled her fork.
"Sis, get your head out of boy toy-land for a minute, will ya?"
Chase glared at her sister, but wisely stopped talking.
Press raised an eyebrow. "I may be gone a bit longer than normal this time. Instead of sending you two to Uncle Tom, you'll be on your own here. Can you handle the house while I'm away?"
"Sure thing, as long as Leila doesn't try to cook. Otherwise, you may not have a house to come back to!!" Chase muttered.
"Just cause I can't cook doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!"
"You'd have to catch me first, and then you'd have to jump to swing at me, shorty." Chase stuck out her tongue.
"That's it!" Leila stood up and took a fighting stance.
Chase sat calmly at the table, and held out her hands. They began to glow red, and a swirling, crackling energy bolt began to form.
Press merely sighed and looked at both of them.
"Here we go again..." he sighed. Another typical morning in the Tilton household. He loved them both, but they cost him so much in repairs!
Neither sister moved. They stared one another down, waiting.
"Girls, no destroying the kitchen. Not after the last time." Press warned, trying to sound stern but failing as he started to chuckle.
Leila sat back down, glaring at Chase. Chase smiled wickedly, and the power faded away. She resumed eating, still smirking at her elder sister.
After breakfast, Press and the girls went into the heart of New York City itself - Times Square. They went shopping together, enjoying the displays in the windows and looking at the strange tourists as they tried to navigate the crowded, fast-paced streets without getting too jostled.
That night, when they returned home, the trio curled up on Press' bed to watch movies together. They stayed up into the early hours of the morning, having a good time watching Star Wars Episode VI and The Boondock Saints, quoting them and munching popcorn. When the credits rolled for A New Hope, Press stood, stretched, and prepared to leave.
Chase gave a small whimper as he walked away.
"What's the matter?" Press asked, looking back over his shoulder.
"Daddy...do you have to go?" Chase asked timidly. She knew the answer from his eyes before he said a word. With a sigh, he sat back down on the bed between them. He smiled and opened his arms. "Come here."
The girls sat on either side of him and snuggled into his embrace. He took a deep breath, wrapped an arm around them both, and began.
"Girls...over the years, I've tried to teach you about Halla and being a Traveler, and what it means to do the right thing. We all have to do things in life that are hard. As the Lead Traveler, sometimes I have to do the hardest things of all. But I do it willingly in the hopes that kids like you two will have a better life when this whole crazy war is over."
"We know, dad. We know that this is the way it was meant to be." Leila said, nodding her head at her father's wise words.
"I still say if we just kill that Saint Dane bastard, this whole mess would be over and you wouldn't have to go dragging Bobby and Loor and others around the territories." Chase grumbled. "Or at least if you took us along with you, we could help in this war too!"
Press looked at her and laughed grimly inside. If she only knew how big a part she had played in this war when she was only a baby! And if she only knew the truth about the man she so despised as the villain of Halla. Her words would not be quite so harsh if she knew the truth. But nothing good could come of that yet, so Press decided it could wait.
"The bottom line here girls, is that I can't shirk my duties as a Traveler and a father. I have to do what I feel is best for you – and for Halla. Now listen to me. If you ever find yourself wondering what to do next, ask yourself what the easy thing is, and what the hard thing is. Chances are, the hard thing is the right thing. Remember that I love you, and I'm always with you. I am so proud of you, girls. I am sure your mothers would be too. It's been the greatest honor of my life to call you my daughters." His voice nearly broke as he hugged Chase and Leila tight. "Now, I've gotta go work. Goodbye, girls. Take care of each other." Press winked at them and left.
Behind him, he left two very worried girls. They said a small prayer to whatever god may have existed in Second Earth to protect their father, and went to bed.
A few days after Press' departure, Chase stood in the kitchen washing the dishes. Since Leila couldn't cook, it was always Chase's job to ensure they ate when their father was gone. It was the middle of the afternoon, fairly warm, and seemed very peaceful.
Leila was cleaning up her room a bit, moving around the various figurines and books that littered her room just like Chase's in an effort to bring some semblance of order to the house. It was a quiet summer day, and sunlight streamed in from every window.
The Tilton sisters enjoyed the day in a comfortable silence, going about their chores as they awaited the return of their father.
Press knew what was coming. He knew it. Every fiber of his being screamed out at him, and he knew. He could almost feel the bullets tearing at his body, but still he tried to reason with young Vo Spader. The boy had lost his father, and Press knew that his emotions would make Spader hard to reason with. But he tried. God did he try…
When Spader tried to give chase after Danny, Press ran after him. The entire time, his life flashed by his eyes. He saw himself at age thirteen, meeting Danny for the first time. He saw Eidra, Kaliska, himself, Danny, and Jo dancing at the Harvest Festival in Rillora. He saw Chase and Leila during their martial arts classes as toddlers, their first trips to their home territories to learn their customs and way of life, their first training sessions when their powers began to develop. He even saw Chase's first basketball game, which had taken place when she was four. Press' heart throbbed at the memories, all of which he now threw away in a heartbeat's worth of time.
Without ever looking back, Press shoved Spader out of the way of the activated flume. The sound of gunfire rattled through the cavern. Press stood and faced the lights, eyes wide. He had saved the boys, protected them from death's touch – now it was time to face his fate.
The next thing Press knew, Bobby was kneeling above him, and Spader was standing close by. He was on his back, and there was an earth-shattering pain all over his torso, spreading like fire through his body.
Press Tilton was dying.
He felt the blood gushing forth from his body, and slowly, as he talked with his nephew, he felt the pain begin to fade. Bobby was frantic now, trying to ask question after question, but Press felt his strength fading – not that he really could have answered some of the questions anyway – but he was too weak to answer at any rate. But he wasn't afraid at all. No, it wasn't as though this was the end. He would see Bobby and the others again. So long as they carried out their mission as Travelers, Press would live again. But for now, he had to part with this part of the mortal realm. As Press breathed his last, his sight blurred, and a vision was before him. In that moment, he saw something that he truly hoped would come to pass.
In this moment, Press could see himself and his daughters standing with Bobby, Spader, and Loor, as well as several others. They were all happy, and there was cheering all around. From the joyful crowd, Danny stepped forward. He and Press embraced, and everyone was in harmony. Everything had finally come full circle. That would be wonderful.
Press smiled as his eyes fluttered shut.
He knew this was the way it was meant to be.
Chase reached for a glass and felt a sharp stab of pain in her chest. Her arm jerked at the sudden sensation, and she knocked over the glass, sending it to the marble floor below. It shattered into fragments and rained upon her bare feet. Another jolt of pain rippled through her upper body, drawing a grunt of pain as she fell against the counter.
Leila heard the glass break and came walking down the stairs to check on Chase when she too felt a jolt of pain. She clutched at her side but fought the pain, stayed on her feet, and rushed to the kitchen, where Chase was leaning heavily against the counter.
"Sis, are you okay?" Leila asked, noticing the glass on the floor and her sister's bleeding feet.
Chase said nothing, but turned. Her blue eyes were now so dark they were almost black. Leila recognized the look of her sister's eyes - Chase was having a vision.
"Chase, tell me what you see!" Leila urged, gingerly stepping over the broken glass and rushing to her younger sister's side.
Chase swayed on her feet as her eyes changed back to their normal ocean blue. She gasped for air, and dropped to her knees on the glass-strewn floor. "He finally got him...oh god Leila he got him!"
Leila was now at her sister's side, trying to help her stand. "Who got who?" she asked, though she had a sick feeling she already knew.
"That bastard Saint Dane...he killed dad...my god he killed daddy!" Chase whispered. The tears poured down her face steadily, and slowly, she gave herself over to the grief. She began to sob, then, when her emotions could no longer be contained, she cried out, screaming in pain.
Leila was much more reserved in her pain, and held onto her sister to keep them both connected to each other. Now she too felt his life end. The thought pounded through both of their minds: they were the only family the other had. The man who had raised them, taught them, played with them – their father – Press "The Wild Man" Tilton – was dead.
Later that night, the girls lay curled like infants in their father's bed. They knew nothing in the moment but agony. Press was both mother and father, a trusted guardian and friend. He was all they had ever known of love, besides their Uncle Tom and Press' friend Corinthe on Neeanyah.
But this time to feel pain was the only chance they would get.
Their father was gone, and there would be no turning back now. It was time to grow up. They had to pick up the pieces quickly. After all, they had a job to do, and they knew that if they had any hope of finishing their father's work and avenging him, they had to be strong.
As Press would say, that was the way it was meant to be.
A/N:
Well that's that. Onward to chapter 2!
Comments welcomed and appreciated, but not required.
Till next we meet, dear friends,
-Chase
(dashes off to go play Fire Emblem for another four hours)
