Whoa… Tenth chapter! This calls for celebration…
…Some time later.
Say it with me now, I own mostly nothing.
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Chapter 10: A Lingering Sour Taste
"Aah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Diamond desperately clutched the edge of the seat.
"Josie!! Slow Down!" Aleena shrieked.
"Turn! Turnturnturnturnturnturnturn!! Turn!!" Willow eyes were about the size of your average basketball.
Sreeeeeeeeeeeeeeech...BAM!
"Aaaaaah!" Josephine rolled her eyes. Her friends could be so over-dramatic.
"Chill, would'cha? It's just a trash can…"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Um, it's just four trash cans…"
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
"Do you hate trash cans?!" Basil demanded as he more or less hugged the empty seat in front of him. "Is that it?! Do you really just hate trash cans?!"
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
"You're really not funny…" Josie sighed as she pulled the van to a stop.
"Not trying to be!" Basil spat. Josie just slapped her head into her palm. This was going to be a long trip.
The team half-climbed, half-scrambled, half-fell out of the van. And yes, we know that's too many halves.
Diamond rounded on Josephine. "You are never driving again!!" Basil, Monica, Aleena, and Arthur all nodded vigorously, and Willow clasped her hands together like she was begging, or praying.
Clarity smiled nervously. "Yeah. Even I've got to admit, you did kind of seem like you were trying to kill us all…" Josie rolled her eyes.
"Ingrates…"
"Anyhow…" Aleena started, attempting to draw the subject to something else. "Let's, um, do something…" Diamond sighed loudly.
"Maybe we should have come here with a plan." He glanced around and added, "Wherever here is…"
Clarity drew her scroll out from it's strapped around her back. "Maybe this'll help." She slid the ring off and pocketed it, and unrolled the yellowed square of paper. She looked it over, blinked, and looked at the other side. "Um…" she glanced nervously at the others. "It's… blank."
"What?" Josephine scurried over. "Lemme see!"
It was true. It was totally blank, not a single mark could be seen.
"How is that possible?" Diamond muttered.
That was when Josephine noticed the glow from Clarity's pocket; like fire burning out though. She jerked and grabbed Clarity's arm. "Clar!" She had dealt with fire before, after all.
Clarity jumped, and, very slowly, slid her hand back into her pocket and produced the jeweled ring from the scroll, which was glowing so brightly; it was like a bubble of fire-like light around. "Oh my…"
The golden jewel buzzed, and suddenly jerked and popped right from the metal around it. It shot right up into the air, and circled back around, stopping just a few inches before the parchment in Clarity's hands. It glowed even brighter.
And, then, lines sliced on the paper, trailing, and curling, doting and forming shapes, shading and outlining, until Josie realized how familiar it all was…
It was a map of Mobius. She recognized some many of the points it illustrated. There was Mobotropolis, Castle Mobius, Speedster Island, Flame Terminal, Resort Valley, Knothole, Whale Tail Island, Prison Tower, Anez, the Great Arctic, Mobodoon, the Floating Isle, and others.
"Wow…" Basil muttered.
"It's Mobius." Monica confirmed. "And that shiny point is…" Josephine blinked and glanced to the part of the map Monica had pointed to. It was an ocean, with a dot of beach beside it, leading up to a sheer cliff with a gaping cave. It was pulsing and shimmering a brilliant white.
"The Gate of Time…" Clarity was breathless as she spoke. "One of the Thirteen Seraphic Gates…" Josephine nodded numbly. The Oracle had said something about thirteen gates…
"What about these other five?" Willow asked timidly, and she pointed out five other spots on the map that also shown with a vivid glow. However, these pulsed a deep grey color, like an ominously dark fire.
"Space, Silence, Power, Fate, Hatred…" Clarity said impressed and worriedly. "Those five Moira has already opened…"
"So…" Aleena hazarded a guess. "White ones are normal, grey ones are Moira-fied?" That got a laughed out of everyone, and shattered the tension that hung in the air.
"Yes, that's about it." Clarity smiled a little. Diamond blinked.
"Wait… Aren't there thirteen gates? That's only six." He pointed out. "Why don't the other seven…"
"Knowledge, Life, Death, Darkness, Light, Love, and Music." Clarity put in. Diamond sighed.
"Yes. Why don't those show up?"
Clarity blinked. She looked back at the map, and then at Diamond. "I don't know."
He sighed. "You're real helpful…" And you thought Monica was the only one who could possibly ever say something with that much sarcasm.
"Hey, she's doing all she can!" Josephine jumped in. "Or maybe you know best, Smart One?"
"Well, at least I'm actually thinking, unlike the rest of you, who apparently think—"
Basil quickly stepped in between the arguing hedgehog and hedgechidna. "Stop it, you two. We've got better things to take care of than arguing with each other."
Willow nodded. "He's right. We have more important things to do." Arthur nodded, as did Clarity. Aleena grabbed Basil's hand.
"And you I know I agree with my chocolat sucré." Basil blushed slightly at the nickname. Josephine sighed and crossed her arms.
Without even looking at Diamond, she said "Fine, sorry…"
"Yeah… Sorry." Diamond mutter with no sincerity what so ever.
Josephine shook her head a little. What was with Diamond? Being a little upset about all this was understandable, but he didn't had to be so rude. She glanced over at her cousin, whom Willow had by the hand and was leading away.
Yes, this going to be a very long trip.
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Whoo, more of Basil's Sappy French Aleena-induced Nicknames.
I don't really have anything to say about this… Except that there's a hidden reference to Digimon Frontier and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Can any of you (assuming Beth isn't the only one reading this) spot it?
-Flames-the-Rabbit344, a.k.a Delaney, a.k.a Laney, a.k.a Heidi, a.k.a Spazz-girl
