Spirit of the Sphere has finally resumed! Prepare for swashbuckling action in this arc. Review Q and InterCom below!

Spirit of the Sphere

Chapter Three: Mainiacs Attack

She could still smell Kei's honey scent; the fact that she liked it angered her. Solo felt angry, ashamed, and violated all rolled into one giant ball of emotions. She wanted to slap Kei and kiss her all at the same time, and this frustrated her.

Hidden beneath her covers, she'd been too afraid to confront her feelings.

Or Kei.

When she heard Kei come back in, Solo knew she had paused outside her door, deciding whether or not to open it and come in.

Kei never did. And Solo wished she had.

Around dawn, Solo finally got the urge to go to Kei and explain herself. She'd never meant to react so strongly to Kei almost kissing her, and she knew it had upset the girl.

Maybe I should go apologize, she thought.

She shrugged off her covers, shuffling down the hall to Kei's bedroom. Hesitating in front of the door, Solo thought she could hear quiet sobs coming from inside.

Dear god, she thought ashamed, I hurt her bad.

Feeling more and more like a monster, Solo quickly resolved to fix what she had done. She knocked lightly on the door and, when there was no response, she pushed the door open.

Kei's bed was empty.

Solo stepped in so her eyes could adjust to the darkness. When they did, she noticed that Kei had definitely been lying on the bed; there was an indentation on the sheets.

A cold breeze came from her left; the window was wide open, the curtains flapping in the wind. She rushed to them and peered out into the night, but she didn't see anything.

Turning back to the bed, she noticed a sheet of paper by the pillow. She picked it up and read:

We have your friend, the blue woman. We know she came from the Sphere of Varrock when it was broken by that bumbling thief, and we have every intention of using her power for our own goals. You didn't honestly think you could hide such a creature in your house, did you? If you ever want to see her alive, meet us on the docks of Port Sarim in three days.

Signed,

The Mainiacs

Solo felt panic begin to set in as she recognized the name of the group who had stolen Kei. The Mainiacs were a vicious group of seafaring pirates known throughout all of Gielinor and the lands to the east. They've stolen everything from cargo to human lives in their quest for more and more riches. If they had somehow kidnapped Kei, then Solo was in serious trouble.

Rereading the note only reinforced that she would need to pack everything up and travel to Port Sarim. The trip itself was a two day journey, and she needed to be there soon or else the Mainiacs were going to do something unbelievably horrible to Kei.

First she would need to get a friend to cover for her at work.

If I even have a job, she thought.

Solo sat across from her friend at one of the café's tables. She was in the process of begging her best friend to cover for her, but she wasn't relenting. "Noodle, will you just do me this one favor?" Solo begged.

Her friend rolled her eyes. "First of all, don't call me Noodle. My name is Willow, okay? Secondly, I'm not going to take the fall when our boss finds out you've taken off for Port Sarim for who knows how long."

Willow, or Noodle as she was affectionately called by most, was a sweet girl with dark brown hair and noticeable curves. She had lived in Varrock her whole life, working at the Rust Bucket Café, never making any waves. Underneath her sweet exterior, however, lay a fighter.

Solo had been in enough fights with Noodle to know she would kick your ass up and down the street, then serve you a slice of pie without even blinking.

"A friend of mine is in trouble," Solo explained. "I need to be in Sarim in three days or things are going to get messy for her."

Noodle let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, I'll cover for you."

"Yes!" Solo exclaimed.

Her friend held up a hand. "Only if you tell me what the hell is going on. The White Knights, the bastards, were kind enough to reopen the shop, but now they're investigating all the employees. And now you're running off? Something doesn't add up."

"I'm sorry, Noodle, I can't tell you," Solo said. "It's complicated."

"We tell each other everything, Solo!" Noodle yelled. "What's so damn complicated about that?"

Solo brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, then reached for Noodle's hands, taking them in hers. Looking her friend straight in the eyes, she asked, "Do you trust me, Noodle?"

"What?"

"I need to know if you can trust me."

Noodle sighed and looked away. "You know I do, Solo."

"Then trust me when I say it is better for both of us if I don't tell you what's going on," Solo said.

Noodle reluctantly nodded. "But what are you going to tell Kook? Aren't you guys still dating? Wouldn't he be upset if you just took off without telling him?"

Solo groaned. She had completely forgot about her recent boyfriend Kook. The two had met a few weeks ago when he had come into the café. Kook had been so charming, not to mention handsome, that Solo felt it would have been crazy to ignore his advances.

"I don't even know if he's home," she tried to explain.

"Don't even try," Noodle said, grinning conspiratorially. "I know for a fact he irritates you with his annoying magic tricks."

It had taken only a few days for Solo to realize that Kook was a bit eccentric. In love with magic since he was a kid, Kook had spent years trying to become a mage, but only certain people were capable of that; not since the destruction of all runestones had a mage been born.

That made Kook nothing but a grown man doing parlor tricks.

"He doesn't annoy me," Solo stated. "I think the tricks are…cute."

Noodle rolled her eyes.

"Tell him for me?" Solo asked sweetly.

"I will, but you're going to have an angry Kook when you get home."

Solo scoffed amusingly. "I think I can handle his tantrums by now."

Her friend laughed. "I suppose you can."

Noodle gazed across the table at her best friend, even now her hair falling back into her face like it always did. Solo noticed the silence and coughed awkwardly.

"I love you, Solo," Noodle said at last, a slow grin sneaking onto her face.

Solo smiled back. "I love you, too, Willow."

They hugged and then Solo bade her friend goodbye. She had a long journey ahead of her and a few hours of packing in which to prepare. Uncertain as to why exactly she was risking her life for a perfect stranger, Solo only knew one thing: She would rescue Kei and kick the ass of whoever got in her way.

The Mainiacs may have won the first battle, but this war was far from over, she though grimly.

Review Q: What do you think of Spira's new name? I thought Kei sounded better. And what other characters would you like to see getting the Spirit of the Sphere treatment?

InterCom: This section means Internet Comments, a place where the reader may ask of me any question they can think of, and I'm sworn to answer it. Unless it is a major spoiler to the story.

Comments: This universe's Willow is the combination of Willow and a certain reviewer of mine ;). Oh, and Kook is, well, Kook lol.

Ok, to dispel any thoughts you may be having, Kei (Spira as she was called before I edited it) is not a lesbian. What she did will be explained in time.

Until next we meet, adieu!