Me: We're back! Say "hi!" guys!
Ahsoka: Hello! It's Ahsoka!
Arty: Greetings.
Captain Rex: Hello.
Me: Alright! Who's going to the you-know-what with who?
*awkward silence*
Me: C'mon!
Arty: I have a girl in mind, but I'm not sure if I'm going to ask her or not.
Me: Good! Anyone else?
Ahsoka: I have a guy who might, but I might just go with a friend.
Me: Well, Captain?
Rex: I don't go to you-know-what's.
Me: Hmpf. Fine. Be that way. On with the story!
I woke up, snuggled against a really very cold Jack and with my feet across Celia's lap. Her legs were splayed upon the arm of the couch in Jared's treefort. Jared himself was conked out on the floor atop some pillows and a sleeping bag, with Ahsoka and Hiccup to both sides of him, likewise situated. Luka snored lightly in the armchair near the couch. I shivered. It was time to get up. It would be time for classes soon, and I didn't even know what I was going to teach.
We had watched too many movies and stayed up too late. The television was, well, should have been, on. I turned at a noise to find Artemis staring at me, fully dressed for the day in one of his Armani suits. The Irish genius was giving me the popular girl stare-down.
I cleared my throat. "Can I help you?"
"I don't understand the need to stay awake watching those obnoxious films when we have work to be doing! In fact, I also question the snow festivities and ice cream eating...! Oh, not to mention the swimming in a dirty lake! How, in all the Earth, is this possibly a solution to fighting Opal? The most I have seen you do is send the villains a basket of your undergarments, of which I sent Butler to deliver!" Arty ranted, then straightened his tie. "Have you no leadership qualities? Where is your professionalism, woman?
"What's for breakfast?" I asked, smirking devilishly.
"I really do not like you," Artemis hissed. "Please vacate my treefort, and take Mr. Grace with you. If he's proving to be a disturbance, I will get rid if him." Then, the teenager strode to the kitchenette.
Butler, who had somehow (with SORCERY!) concealed his hulking frame in the shadows of the kitchen space, lit the stove, ready to cook a meal. Artemis began a conversation with his manservant, most likely about world domination and unicorns.
"Jared! Ahsoka! Luka! Guys, get up!" I called, shaking the arm of Jack, jiggling Celia with my legs, and getting up to shake the others not on the couch. The others teens sat up and blinked, groggy from their lack of undesturbed sleep.
"C'mon! We're escaping from Artymis!" I exclaimed. The others rose to their feet, clustered together. At my words, they followed me to the door.
Once outdoors, our little band of teens wandered towards the woods, where we passed Katniss and Gale hauling in their loads from the evening. I stopped them for a moment, imparting upon them that Arty was in a "Fowl" mood and that they should take their game to my tree fort to clean. Our newly expanded group jogged back to my place.
Katniss and Gale gutted the animals while Jack and Celia arranged the wardrobe for the others. For Jared, they selected dark, gray jean shorts, flip flops, and a black tank top. He slid on a pair of sunglasses as they moved onto Ahsoka. The Padawan was swathed in white shorts, a reddish-orange tank top, and a white and blue chevron scarf.
My mother strikes again, I thought at the sight of the pattern, of which was my mother's obsession.
For Luka and Hiccup, brown, green, and purple were used in shorts and T-shirts for their outfits, and for myself, I grabbed black shorts and a red tank top before I was tampered with. In the end, Celia and Jack had stuck us all in summer clothing, even Jack himself, who wore white shorts and a deep blue collared shirt with short sleeves.
"Now," Celia instructed us, handing Jack his white-rimmed sunglasses. "We go get revenge on Arty!"
I slipped on my own gold shades. "Awesome."
After acquiring Katniss and Gale into our entourage, we strutted towards Tree House Eight, where Jack banged against the door. Butler opened it, sending a few teens stumbling back. Jack glared at him in a sort of pouty face, while the bodyguard growled at him.
"Master Artemis!" The manservant called to his principal. "You have visitors!"
The Irish genius came to the door, filling the space vacated by Butler. "Yes? What do you want?" He demanded.
"Iiiiiiiiit's kidnapping time!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. "We're gonna help you have FUN, Arty!"
As I noticed Butler's eyebrow raise in interest, Jack shoved a sack over the genius's head, then he, Ahsoka, and Jared hoisted the Irish teen off his feet. Our swarm whisked him away to Hiccup's suggestion of riding dragons.
Hiccup called to Toothless, who was conversing with the other dragons, many of whom blinked in a sort of dazed fashion. It would appear that the dragons enjoyed late mornings.
Hiccup told his Nightfury our/his plan in Dragon Tongue, and the dragon seemed to agree. While Hiccup, with some help from Jack, shoved Artemis atop Toothless, Shardas and Feniul offered to carry the remainder of us.
"Sure!" Luka agreed, since the offer was directed to him. "We'd love to!"
"All aboard!" Feniul said happily, bobbing slightly. Luka, Gale, and Katniss clambered upon the green dragons back between the ridges in his neck, while Jack, Celia, Ahsoka, and I scrambled up on the Dragon King's back. I was, undisputedly, at the front.
"Dragooooooooooooooons!" I whooped, shaking my fists. "Let's BLOW this popsicle stand!"
After a brisk signal from Hiccup, the three dragons shot off. Their wings began to beat, until a rhythm settled over their (and my) minds. I cackled as effervescent delight rose from my stomach; simultaneously, I exhaled in relief, as if I had some huge burden that flying away had rescued me from. I laughed, again, at the thought of being "held prisoner" by my being in charge of the others. If anything, it just feels good (as anyone would admit) to run away from your problems and cares for a while.
I looked for a moment, sideways, at the riders on Feniul, who seemed, although a bit pale, to be enjoying the flight. Artemis, however, appeared to be nauseous, up to the point where he leaned to the right a little and puked.
I pushed away the thought of someone getting rained on by barf.
Ahsoka, who sat between the ridge behind me and in front of Celia, wrapped her arms around my neck as she leaned in to yell at me. Even being as close as she was, some of her words weren't as clear the first time. "ASK THE WAGON HAIR E IS FAKING GUS!"
"WHAT?" I demanded in an instant.
"I SAID, 'ASK THE DRAGON WHERE HE IS TAKING US!'" The Padawan repeated.
"OH!" I exclaimed. When Ahsoka sat back in her "seat," I leaned along towards Shardas's head. "CAN YOU TELL US WHERE WE ARE GOING?"
"I'm just following the lead," the gold dragon answered.
"Oh, okay," I said, slumping back. I twisted toward Ahsoka. "HE SAID HE WAS FOLLOWING HICCUP."
"OKAY!" The Padawan concluded.
The ride continued in relative silence. At one point, Hiccup steered Toothless around and we began the return flight. On the way back, Ahsoka and I chatted about Ahsoka's feelings about being a Padawan, the war between Republicans and Separatists, and the Jedi Order.
"Jedi are cool," I admitted. "Better than Sith, definitely. But I'm not sure I'd feel about BEING one, if I could. As cool as it would be... I don't know how I'd feel about the whole thing."
"It's not bad," Ahsoka assured me. "The training can be difficult until you get used to it, and, sometimes, I feel like there's a bit of uncertainty among many of the newer Jedi about some of the rules and principles, but in all, it's pretty good!"
"You wouldn't leave it, then?" I questioned.
"Well, no," she murmured. "Olivia? Why? Is there something you aren't telling me?"
Inwardly, a dark chuckle sounded in my head. There were so many things I wasn't telling her! Palpatine was corrupt and secrectly a Sith, she WAS going to walk out of the Order (for pretty good reasons), and lots of shippers pair her with both Rex and Anakin! Gross!
(Hey, I've got nothing against you guys, it's just... weird. Ahsoka is single as a Pringle!)
"No, I was just curious on how YOU felt about the Order. If it's going downhill or whatever," I lied, smoothing the awkward, 'I-stalk-you-by-watching-a-television-show' moment over. Though, I wondered if mentioning not to trust Palpatine would reveal enough without giving anything away...
"So!" I chirped, shoving that subject away for later. "Any plans tonight? Maybe after we drop Arty back off to Butler, we could hang out with Celia! And Katniss and whoever else! Do some girl... thingies or whatever."
"Girl thingies?" The Padawan echoed.
"Yeah, ya know... girl stuff. Paint your nails, go shopping, talk about boys..." I listed the sort of girly things I thought most teenage girls my age would enjoy doing. At Ahsoka's unenthusiastic glance, I suggested, "Or, we could invite some guys over to wrestle or play video games with!"
"I like that one much better, honestly," Ahsoka chuckled.
At our return, Butler waited with Anakin and Tobin to ensure Artemis's well-being. After checking that his charge was fine, if a bit rumpled, Butler followed his principal off to their tree fort. Anakin requested Ahsoka for training purposes, and Luka wandered off with Tobin for some princely... whatever.
Hiccup took Toothless out for a stroll to the lake, while Katniss and Gale returned to Katniss's fort to prepare lunch. Celia and Jack left separately, with Jack going to find Harry and Ron about some such or another, and Celia going off to read. Alone.
I sighed, then realized it was ten past nine. I scrambled to my meeting area, finding a grumbling crowd. I told them, "Sorry, guys! Classes are cancelled today in favor of independent study. Have the day off or work on your own projects. Sorry for the short notice." Mostly smiling, everyone began to wander away, although a few looked confused on what to do or annoyed at being held up.
I ensured everyone knew the day was a freebie, and then went into my room to write for an hour or so.
The sky was mottled with several grayed cotton balls on steroids as I emerged from my shared tree house. The thought of possible thunderstorms drifted through my mind. It was lunchtime, so I had brought a meatball sub and some cucumbers with blue cheese dressing to eat on the edge of the deck. As I munched on my lunch, a slight creak on the deck and a shift of the planks alerted me to the fact that someone approached me.
"Greetings, Miss Olivia," Artemis greeted me, sitting to my right.
"Hello, Arty!" I beamed to him. I ripped off another bite of sandwich. "Whatcha up to?"
"Nothing of your concern," he assured me, even though with a bit of a stiff collar. "I planned to ask you for a favor."
"Sure. What?" I agreed.
"Would you mind me asking why you were placed in charge?" Artemis inquired. "I feel as if you are here as a guide, but nothing more."
"Okay, Arty, I'm trying to eat a sandwich WITHOUT stuffing it down someone's clothes," I snapped. "Leave me alone about your control issues. I'm planning a meeting among our team, but I'm not going to invite your opinion if you keep bothering me!"
"Fine," he sighed, rising to his feet. "When is this meeting?"
"Tonight," I told him vaguely, before clarifying. "Probably about seven. I'll send Jack to tell you any details."
Nodding, the genius left. I kicked my dangling legs back and forth, mulling the notion over in my mind. I had decided, upon seeing Artemis, that a meeting with some of the "representatives" from the different stories would be a good way to make sure everyone was involved. And, as an added bonus, we could discuss the most appropriate way to deal with the threats we faced.
Works for me.
I lounged on the couch between Ahsoka and Jack in our treefort. Beside Ahsoka, Celia was staring at her book while we waited for a few more people to file in. Artemis was perched upon a stool, nibbling at a sausage muffin, while Harry, Katniss, and Jared were arranged in the various chairs and beanbag across from the sofa. On a stool one over from Artemis, Rapunzel was sipping some lemonade. Creel swayed on the stool in between them. Gandalf shuffled in.
"Hello!" I greeted the wizard. "Would you like something to eat or drink while we wait for about three or four more people?"
"Yes, my dear," Gandalf agreed, beaming. "A little red wine for me, I think!"
"Alrighty, then!" I exclaimed, popping up to fix a serving of the beverage. After pouring, Jared and Hiccup ambled in, and I offered them the same.
"Ah, no, thank you," Hiccup answered as I brought Gandalf his wine. Jared asked, "Got any Doritos?"
"Sure!" I agreed, searching the cabinets for snacks. After producing two bags, I hurled one at him.
"Thanks," Jared called to me.
We waited a few more minutes until Alex and Eragon finally walked in.
I set about, making sure everyone had a drink or snack (a pumpkin juice here, a bowl of ice cream there), before launching into my meeting. Once it had seemed all present were comfortable and content, I cleared my throat so I could launch into speech.
"Okay, guys! I've forced you all here together so we can discuss our predicament, share knowledge between each other, and otherwise throw out ideas to one another. Namely to me. So, our first bullet on the checklist is to share knowledge. Anyone want to go first?" I glanced around, making eye contact with a few people.
"I'll go," Jack said, standing up. We traded spots, as Jared had taken my previous seat on the couch. The Winter Spirit stood to the side of the stools where I had addressed the crowd.
"Should I state my name or are we good?" He began, ending with a look at me.
"Just tell us who you are comparatively to your enemy," I instructed, then added before he could be confused. "Basically, tell us you're a Guardian, what that means, and why."
"Okay," the spirit started, grinning. "My name is Jack Frost, and I'm a Guardian. We're protectors of children against, okay, don't pull a muscle, the boogeyman. Yeah, we fight the creepy dude that hides in your closet and under your bed. In actuality, he's MUCH creepier than that. He seeks to spread nightmares and fear to every kid in the whole world. Nobody can see him unless they believe or fear him. It's kinda sad, actually. He's not very nice, but I've heard he had a weird obsession with one of the other Guardians's friend, once. He wanted to make her his Nightmare Princess. Sorta lonely, I guess. But the most I can say is he was somebody else with a family before he went around hurting people. And now, we protect children against him." Jack scratched the back of his neck. "That's about it."
"Excellent! Who next?" I prompted, allowing Jack an escape.
"I believe I have collected myself enough to speak," Artemis declared, and then rose to claim the spotlight. "My enemy is Opal, a pixie genius of the underground collection of races known as the People. They, as fairy folk, have been hiding from humans, or Mud People, as they call us, for several generations. I happened to gather information about them, which in turn I used to create a plan to kidnap one of these fairies and hold him or her for randsom. After a few minor setbacks, I was able acquire the gold, and even later form a friendship with many of the People."
"How did he manage THAT?" Jack muttered to me.
"It was an incident with Opal that spurred this occurrence on," Arty continued. I wondered for a millisecond how many people were almost asleep."And I have had to face Opal many times over. She is a megalomaniac but she is cunning. The best way I've found to beat her is to use her anger and need for praise against her. It makes her much less rational. As far as why I've stood against her, it was for business purposes, and then later to protect my friends and family." The criminal mastermind nodded once. "That is all I have to say." He resumed his seat before I could offer, "Next?"
Ahsoka stepped up after Arty. "My name is Ahsoka, and I've only faced the Son once. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and I were meeting up with Rex and some other clones at the location of a distress call used by an older generation of Jedi. We ended up on some strange, Force-emitting planetoid, where we met a trio of some pretty weird beings known as Force Wielders. There was the Father, Daughter, and Son."
"No Mother?" Jack whispered to me as the Padawan continued. I rolled my eyes.
"The Son embodied the Dark Side of the Force, and he sought to return to the rest of the galaxy, bringing imbalance and the Dark Side with him. We had to confine him to the planet, and all three ended up dead. I don't know how he's returned, but I suspect it has something to do with the Sith. That is all."
The process continued, with Creel stepping up next to explain Amalia.
"Amalia's a snoot and a fussy princess who happens to to be a bit devious," Creel said. "I met her coming to King's Seat to find work at a Seamstress's shop. She fancied my shoes, which allowed the wearer to control dragons. I KNOW for a fact they were burned in the Boiling Lake, as was she. But maybe something happened. The Triune Gods intervened or someone saved her, but she's back... most likely for revenge."
"Or she's a ghost!" Harry piped up. "I was told once that people afraid to die or who want to stay can leave themselves behind in our world. Only wizards, though." The teen studied the floor in confusion.
"THEN SHE WAS A WIZARD!" Celia burst out, her face contorted in exaggerated shock.
The pair of us was sent into mad cackles, of which were added to by most of the others a beat later. Creel rubbed her face. "Okay..."
The dressmaker returned to her seat, leaving the spotlight open to Gandalf.
"We find an old enemy has returned," Gandalf rasped. "I've seen it, too. Saruman's presense is all around Middle Earth. Recently, it has been only echoes, but now, he fills this area. Something has brought him back... as they others mentioned, he IS a wizard, and has a reason to stay on this Earth. He must be bent on making some mischief. That mischief I do not know. We shall see."
The wise elder relinquished his spot to Harry, who stood, clasped his hands together and said, "Um..."
I spotted Artemis exhaling in annoyance.
"Well," Harry continued after grasping his confidence. "Our villain is Voldemort. He's the heir of Slytherin and is intent on conquering both the wizard world and your world, the Muggle world. He has a large army of dark wizards and other creatures of the dark arts at his command. He'll kill anyone who gets in the way, no matter what. The main thing is to never get the way of... me, I guess." He jumped to explain at the sudden arrival of several confused expressions. "His goal is to kill me. He'll kill anyone or thing in the way. So let me hold him at bay if he's around. Otherwise, watch out for his Death Eaters. They are almost just as powerful as he is, and can kill you in an instant. Let the wizards in our team fight them."
"Anyone next?" I asked as Harry resumed his seat.
"I'll go," Alex Stowe said, taking the usual position in the room. "My brother Aaron is an outcast. Our society was split into three different groups: the smart, brave Wanteds, the Neccessaries, who were just sort of in between, and the Unwanteds. The Unwanteds, us, were creative, talented people who could do things like sing or act. This lets us perform magic, but it was also dangerous because we were capable of thoughts that could disrupt the structure of Quill society. Aaron was a Wanted, and because of his ambition to one day become High Priest, he was okay with doing WHATEVER it took to get rid of people in his way. Now, I believe he wants to strike back in revenge to reclaim Quill."
We nodded and, as Alex sat down, Katniss took his place.
"Well, I'm Katniss and I'm not good at speaking in front of an audience, so please don't kill me if I stutter," the girl on fire began, earning several smiles and a couple chuckles from the audience. "I can't say what this may do to you, but your futures hold only nightmares. Eventually, a cruel government is going to take over you, what is left of you, and force you to watch as children slaughter one another! I live in a world where the Hunger Games are the Capitol's SICK way of keeping us in fear of one another! And we are FORCED to watch as if it's some kind of festive holiday or cheerful sporting event!" Katniss heaved a sob. "I was in the Games. I volunteered to save my sister. She was twelve and I had to protect her. I went in and messed up the rules entirely. We, my partner Peeta and I, had a strategy to be star-crossed lovers (Peeta's idea), and I decided, being as angry as I was at the Capitol, that since there could only be one winner, neither of us would live, the Capitol would have no victor, and the whole Games would backlash in their face. Because we were so popular in the Capitol, they had changed the rules to allow two victors, before revising it back to one when we were left. I had the idea to eat these nightlock berries so neither of us would live, ensuring there was no victor. Obviously, they allowed both of us as winners. And now, President Snow wants me dead, because I pose a threat to the Capitol's control over the Districts." Ahsoka stood, handing a box of tissues to Katniss, and led her back to her seat.
"I'm fine," Katniss assured everyone, sniffling.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'd say you were probably one of the most enthralling speakers to listen to," I said.
Katniss smiled. "Thank you."
"Well, has everybody gone? We can get to bed soon if-" I began.
"Rainbowcrystle, did you forget yourself?" A soft female voice questioned.
"Huh?" I blurted like a doofus, spinning to find Spottedleaf curled up on Harry's lap. The mottled she-cat seemed not to notice the boy scratching her behind the ears.
"You were StarClan's choice to represent the Clans to the twolegs," the StarClan warrior spoke, her voice clotted with squeaks and whistles from speaking a different tongue. "You and Celia."
"So that's why you gave us power-up!" I exclaimed. "And called us by our warrior names!" I took a exaggerated stance of strength. "WE ARE EARTHCLAN!"
"Olivia!" Celia said. "Calm down, child!"
"I AM PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF SUCH A FEAT!" I continued yelling. "TELL HER, JACK!"
"Yep. Pretty sure that's Liv," the Guardian reciprocated.
"JOIN ME, JACK!" I exclaimed. "FLY US INTO THE SUNSET WHILE WE YELL LOUDLY!"
"M'kay," the spirit agreed, against my prediction, scopping me into his arms and preparing to fly out the door. I erupted in cackles, flopping onto the floor with a, "OOF!"
"Jeez, Olivia!" Celia exclaimed while the entire room sputtered in laughter and inquiries of my state. "You're, like, the Chosen One, and you're falling out of Jack's arms like a nincompoop!"
"That's because I AM a nincompoop," I reciprocated, grinning.
Spottedleaf merrowed, "You three are as mischievous as kits! I don't know what to do with you!" A chuckle escaped her. "However, I must ask you all to be prepared tonight to face the DarkForest. I fear they ready themselves for an ambush as we speak."
"How certain are you?" I asked.
"Fairly so," the StarClan medicine cat reciprocated. "Do not let it worry you, but be vigilant."
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Celia yelled, causing most everyone to jump and even dripple in their pants.
I could see Spottedleaf smirk as an she remarked, "It appears none of you have your wits about you as of yet, as Waterdew has proven."
The she-cat shifted her front paws inward, staring at the floor for a few moments, befire returning her gaze to Jack. The StarClan medicine cat's amber eyes seemed to make Jack uncomfortable. However, he did not break eye contact as she instructed him, "Be wary of your fun, Guardian." And then she was gone in a blink of shimmering fractals of light.
Wait... is it really done? Am I actually finished with a chapter? SANDY! YOU BETTER NOT BE MESSING WITH ME!
Yay! I did finish this chapter! It's a Thanksgiving Miracle!