I'M HOME!!! MUAHAHAHA! All my friends should now go cower in a corner because their maniacal friend SanraitaFang is back.
Many apologies for last chapter.
ONE: I took REALLY long to post that chapter, I'm really sorry. I'll hopefully have the eleventh up soon.
TWO: I got a review saying I copied MR4 with the whole 'Iggy falling in pit thing'. I suppose you have a point. I wasn't thinking of that book when I wrote that though. It was the only way I could think of to get Iggy to break his ankle. Other than tripping on a root. That's just stupid. Iggy wouldn't do that. And I also didn't feel like sitting there for 10 minutes when I had 20 minutes to type that chapter.
THREE: The whole fight between Serena and Shannon was kinda poorly done, in that Serena could have easily killed everyone with Wolverine. But I needed to get her to teleport, and I obviously couldn't kill off the flock.
FOUR: MaximumTwilightRider, I apologize for my misake. I hope you know what I'm talking about. Everyone else, it's not important.
I GOT FIFTY REVIEWS! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! This chapter is dedicated to Malabsorbent for giving me my fiftieth review.
I also apologize for the idiotic beginning Author's Note last chapter. I was very hyper and half out of my mind. Actually, more like all out of my mind.
I'll get on with it now. I bet you're all wondering what happens now that Serena can teleport.
Syzygy Chapter Eleven
Natalca POV
Serena can teleport.
That despairing thought circled around and around in my head as I watched Shannon straighten with wide eyes full of surprise and suppressed fury and frustration. This was not going to be good. If Serena could teleport, how could we ever kill her? She could always just teleport as Shannon or Max or me or whoever was just about to finish her off.
Shannon closed her eyes and clenched her hands. Iggy got up and went over to her. That's when I realized that the other cats and the horrible Wolverine thing had disappeared with Serena. Huh. How did that happen? I was beginning to notice a pattern. Every time I notice something, a question follows. Lovely. Solving problems is not my thing. I leave that to Shannon. Or whoever else happens to be with me.
"Shannon? I won't ask the cliché question, 'are you all right, because you obviously aren't. But it's okay. We're all alive and well. That's more than I was hoping for. We all thought we were dead, Shannon. You saved us. Or Serena's ignorance and your cunning saved us. Whatever." Iggy said, putting a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to sit down beside him.
Her face was even paler than before, as impossible as that sounds. Except her cheeks, which were flushed red, as they always were whenever she was either extremely angry or upset. I think it was a bit of both here, though mostly anger. It seemed she had gotten over her sister feelings for Serena, because I recognized the look in her eyes when she really wanted someone dead, and it had blazed furiously a few moments ago.
I slowly stood up and came over to sit beside Shannon, grabbing her other shoulder and shaking it gently.
"Hey. Don't blame yourself for her getting away. No. That's not what's bothering you, is it? I know you too well. It's her finding us that you blame yourself for. Don't you dare try to tell me that it is your fault. I'm here too, remember? She would find me as well as you, wherever we were. If you're blaming yourself that way, you can only blame me as well. And besides, even if neither of us was with these guys, she's second in command to Itex. She'd have to kill the flock anyway. We have nothing to do with that. So stop blaming yourself!" I demanded not-so-gently.
Iggy gave me a look. In short, it said, Watch it. She's still mad. She could blow at any moment. And be nice, could you?
I stuck out my tongue and gave him a look that said, I know her better. I know how to try to get her to see sense. And I am being as nice as I'll be at the moment.
He narrowed his eyes but said nothing. It was good Shannon had her eyes closed. She would have been irritated if she saw us conversing about her like she was a zoo animal on display or a four year old whose parents were arguing about her punishment.
But still she stayed silent. Even after I shook her again. Her eyes opened and she glared at me, but, frustratingly, she said zip.
Finally realization dawned. About time, idiot, I told myself.
"That's not what's bothering you. Or that's not all. You think she could have killed you. You think she wanted you to best her. You actually think you made a mistake just now. You know Shannon, sometimes I could just about throttle you. Like now, for instance." I hissed.
I was really angry now. She was suspicious that Serena had tricked her, that Serena had wanted Shannon to win so Serena could test her without killing her after. How could she not see that if Shannon had not played into Serena's hands, we would all be DEAD? Agh, Shannon, you're so difficult!
"I fell straight into her trap. Now she knows I can control fire and water! I have no hidden ace up my sleeve, Natalca! She knows my powers, and she knows my personality. She knows my weaknesses and strengths. She knows exactly how to arrange my end. I'm the only one who could ever defeat her, and I've failed! You can't tell me I haven't, Natalca. I swear, I will flip on you if you try." Shannon snapped.
Everyone else had followed me and was seated around us in a small circle, like a meeting of the government or something. Actually, considering our sanitation and outfits, it was more like a tribal council in a native tribe.
Max POV
Uh oh. Shannon was mad at Natalca, and she was blaming herself. Shannon had just spoken to, or more like exploded at, Natalca. I figured someone should step in now before Natalca made Shannon so angry that she couldn't see logic. Not that she could at the moment anyway, but I could always try. I was just opening my mouth, as was Iggy, when Fang of all people cut in.
"Stop it, Shannon. If you hadn't "fallen into her trap" we would all be dead. You did nothing you shouldn't have. In case everyone hadn't noticed, which many of you obviously didn't, Shannon was in Serena's list to 'give up, your powers won't work'. She already knew about Shannon's new power, and Natalca's, for that matter. And besides, if Max blamed herself for everything she's gotten us into, she'd be ready for a madhouse. And anyways, you have nothing to blame yourself for, so it's a moot point. We're alive." Fang tried to reason with her.
I almost made a snappy retort to the madhouse comment, but decided this wasn't the time.
"Fine. Fine. I don't feel like arguing with everyone. But you're not going to change my mind. Plus, I'm also worried about meeting her again. It probably won't be that soon, and by then I might have changed my views and she might be like my sister again. I might not be able to kill her. It's eating me alive." Shannon exhaled.
"I have no answer to that. If we stay and talk about this any longer, Natalca's going to blow a fuse. Oh, too late. We still have a school to blow up, remember?" I reminded them.
Smiles lit Gazzy's face, but Iggy was too irritated and worried about Shannon to be excited. Which was saying something. Together we all walked to the edge of the forest, where the School was, on the side of a mountain. Iggy walked with Shannon, his arms wrapped around his waist. J.J. had Natalca in a similar situation, but it looked almost more restraining than comforting. Then Angel and Natalca froze.
"It's another cat!" Natalca growled.
"No! I mean, it is, but it's Madysyn! She's back!" Angel explained hurriedly.
"Madysyn? I didn't think we'd ever see her again." I said.
"I didn't think you would either. But apparently we were both wrong. I have come to give you another piece of critical information, and tell you that I will be helping you along your journey. I will keep my distance, and travel differently, but I will be there every time a School is to be blown up. I will help as much as I can." Madysyn appeared from through the trees.
I studied her more closely this time. She had chestnut brown hair that hung straight down to her shoulders, with small waves. (Does that sentence even make sense? Oh well.) Her head was squarish, and her arms were thin but strong. Her panther tail waved back and forth wildly, and her almond shaped eyes darted from face to face.
Silence met this statement. We're not a 'dramatic gasping' group. Finally I spoke up.
"Okay…..I guess I can't object to another helping hand. But what's this information? And how'd you know where we were?" I asked.
"The information I have to tell you is another prophecy. The first one has been fulfilled. The apocalypse has been slowed down, thanks to you. One of the two" she looked at Shannon "has come together with one of the six." Madysyn pointedly looked at Iggy.
"Hmm. What's the new prophecy?" I wondered out loud.
Madysyn's voice grew chilling as she recited the lines she had obviously memorized from many hours mulling over them. "This one is much more cryptic and misleading. Do not expect to understand it until it has happened.
A great liability will be the beginning of the end,
Old relationships you will nurse and mend,
One shall be on death's door by the traitor's hand,
But shall be given a chance by the master of land,
Three months shall join and save you in your moment of need,
And when you lay dying, broken and bloodied,
Rely only on the greatest syzygy to give you life again."
Following that onslaught was a very long silence.
Then Natalca said slowly, "Okay, I was lost the third word. I think some of us need a dictionary. Shannon?"
Shannon turned to give Natalca a withering look before explaining. "A great liability would be a big weakness."
"Anyone have any idea what a syzygy is?" Madysyn asked hopefully.
"I do, actually. And that's the line that scares me the most. A syzygy is a conjunction of opposites. Two opposites coming together. Like an eclipse, with the sun and moon. Or even something simpler like hot air and cold air making steam. So I have no idea what the greatest syzygy could be. It could even be some kind of catastrophe." Shannon said quietly.
"That explains some things. But not everything. A traitor?" J.J. piped up.
"Yeah, that's worrisome too. Could it be Beth?" Nudge put in.
"I killed Beth. So unless she can come back to life, which would be really bad, it can't be her." Shannon said logically.
"Madysyn, you never answered my second question." I glanced at the cat girl, who was leaning on a tree.
"How I found you? That will be explained in time." Madysyn answered.
"Helpful." I complained.
"She sounds like Shannon when she wouldn't tell me her name." Iggy commented.
Shannon smiled but said nothing.
"Should we get a move on before the School gets an army together?" Natalca asked impatiently.
"I guess so. Let's go, guys." I ordered.
We finished our walk to the clearing, where Iggy and Gazzy began talking quietly about which bombs to use.
"We don't want to blow a hole in the mountain, remember, guys." I said.
"Way ahead of you, Max." Gazzy grinned, holding up a black device that looked quite destructive.
Gazzy launched it at the building. And when I say launch, I don't mean launch as in some fancy-shmancy launch pad and a big red button to push. I mean throw it. Just wanted to be clear.
"Duck if you value your life." Iggy stated calmly.
Then he grabbed Shannon and hauled her to the ground, shielding her with his body. J.J. pushed Natalca to her knees and enveloped her in stone grey wings. I was watching this with a skeptical expression, thinking that Shannon and Natalca probably didn't appreciate being treated like they were made of glass and couldn't take care of themselves. Then Fang pulled me down and forced me against him, my face pressed into his chest, his arms keeping me held tight to his body.
Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Madysyn huddled down behind us six, and then the building exploded. They must have had it on a timer. What's wrong with a good old bomb that explodes on contact? Jeez.
Finally the idiot I called Fang let me up. I faced him and snarled furiously, "What the heck was that for? You don't think I can take care of myself?"
I saw a familiar look in his eyes. I would have groaned out loud, but that would ruin my whole furious act. It was the look that said that I would not budge him and I might as well not even try.
"Yes, you can take care of yourself, Max. But I'm a guy, and guys have an overpowering instinct to shield their girlfriends. You can argue as much as you want. It's not going to change anything. I'm still going to protect you." He said calmly.
I hissed out a reply. "If you think I'm going to stand by and let you treat me like I'm some girly-girl who shrieks at a spider, you-"
"Drop it, Max. I'm the stubborn one, remember?" He interrupted me.
I clenched my hands but said nothing. I noticed Natalca and Shannon looked like they were having similar problems.
Shannon POV
"I know you can take care of yourself, Shannon. You've proved that many times. But I have instincts." Iggy said, trying to appease me.
It wasn't working.
I took a deep breath. "Iggy, please just try to deny that particular instinct, okay? At least a bit."
"I'll try. But no guarantees. Don't get mad, but what's so bad about me wanting to keep you safe?" he asked.
I almost moaned. How could he be so blind? Um, no pun intended…
"Iggy. It makes me, and Max and Natalca by the looks of it, feel useless, like we have to have someone look after us all the time. We feel like we're going soft. We've all had much worse than a bit of shrapnel fly at us. We've seen and felt and heard worse. And if your goal is to keep me safe, you're never going to succeed. This family is never going to be completely safe." I attempted to make him see reason.
Key word: Attempted.
"I'm afraid I don't understand, but I'll take your word for it. Will it make you feel better if I say that your not going soft? It's just your boyfriend getting overprotective." He grinned.
I shook my head and smiled. "I agree with the overprotective part. Look, I'll try not to get mad if you try not do it often."
Iggy nodded.
"Two down, nineteen to go!" Max yelled.
"Max, keep up pep talks like that, and we're all going to ditch you." Natalca called.
Max picked up half a brick and hurled it at Natalca's head. Natalca ducked and laughed.
"Well, Madysyn, I guess we're on to Mexico now. According to my all-powerful list, Monterrey harbours the next School. We'll see you there?" Max asked.
Madysyn had bee so quiet, I had forgotten about her. Now she spoke up again.
"Yes, I'll find you there. Goodbye for now." And with that, she shifted into a huge black panther and bounded off down the mountain.
"Okay, let's go find a hotel. Good thing the Max Ride card never runs out." Max jumped into the sky, her tan wings glinting in the setting sun.
Fang followed, his black wings looking purple. J.J. leaped up after them, his stone grey feathers…shining. That was the only word to describe them. Iggy pulled me up with him, never letting go of my hand the whole flight.
"We're staying in Jasper tonight. Let's land behind that hotel there." Max pointed, and we descended.
Gazzy POV (ooh, Fancy. Lol. Shutting up.)
I walked dejectedly into the room Angel, Nudge, and I were sharing.
"Gazzy? What's wrong?" Nudge asked me.
I guess I looked as sad as I felt.
"I guess I'm just sad that we have to leave and go save the world again. Why can't we just live a normal life? What's so hard about that?" I lied.
I thought I did a pretty good job of lying, but I had forgotten about Angel. Curse all mind readers.
"Gazzy, you can't lie to me. It's pretty easy for a mind reader to know when someone's lying, and you're lying now. Spit it out." Angel demanded.
I glared at her, but gave in. "It's Iggy. He used to be my best friend. He'd spend all his time with me. We'd talk about bombs or go blow something up when Max was gone. Now he spends all his time with Shannon. It's not just Iggy anymore. It's Iggy and Shannon. If he ever even comes to talk about bombs, he brings Shannon. I want the old Iggy back."
"Oh, Gazzy. I'm sorry. But you can't blame Shannon. He loves her, so of course he wants to be with her all the time. And she loves him, so she's not complaining. Maybe Iggy'll get over it. They are only fourteen. Maybe once they've been together for a long time, he'll stop following her around. I don't know." Nudge offered.
"I understand, I guess. I'm trying not to blame Shannon. It's not her fault, but…" I trailed off.
"Go talk to Natalca. She knows Shannon really well. Maybe she'll have some advice." Angel advised.
"Okay. I'll go try. If J.J.'s not there." I agreed.
"Deal." They said together.
I left the room feeling a bit better, but not a lot. Conveniently, J.J. and Natalca's room was right across the hallway. I knocked, and Natalca's voice floated out to me.
"Come on in."
I opened the door and stepped inside. Immediately I started looking for things to blow up out of habit. Then Natalca brought me back to earth.
"Oh, hi, Gazzy. What do you need?" She asked.
Natalca was lying propped up on the pillows on the bed, reading a book. I heard the shower running, so presumably J.J. was taking a shower. Perfect.
"Um, I just wanted to talk to you about something." I started, unsure how to continue.
"Hey, someone's coming to me? Now that doesn't happen often. I'm not exactly gifted with words." She laughed. "Here, come sit down."
I walked over and plopped down where she gestured, right beside her. I looked at my hands nervously.
"So what did you want talk about?" Natalca pressed gently.
"Well, Iggy hasn't really been the same since Shannon came. He's always around her, and he used to spend all his time with me, building bombs and stuff. We were always together. He was like my best friend, and now he barely ever comes to make bombs, and if he does, Shannon comes, too. He also kinds treats me like I'm younger now. I wish he'd be more like he was before." I told her, pouring it all out.
She was quiet for a minute, but then she laughed. "If Shannon heard that, she'd be horrified. She'd feel guilty and force Iggy to stop magnetizing to her. If you're worried that she's purposely keeping Iggy to herself, she's not. He just really likes being with her. And she definitely doesn't mind."
"What do you think I should do?" I asked.
"I think…you should tackle the problem head on. None of this skirting around it. Wow, I actually just gave a cryptic response. That's a first." Natalca smiled.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I groaned.
"I think you know. You just don't want to." Her eyes twinkled.
"Fine. I'll think about it." I grumbled.
I got up and left, thinking hard about what she had said. Tackle the problem head on. Shannon was the problem, right? Natalca obviously didn't mean tackle Shannon to the ground, though, being Natalca, she probably would love that. She was also right. I knew what I had to do, I just didn't want to do it. She meant that I needed to talk to Shannon herself. Fantastic. Hopefully she won't tear me to shreds when I get up the courage to talk to her.
Natalca POV
Well that was interesting. I'm still half in shock that he came to me, though. Weird. I was still wondering if I gave him the right advice, when J.J. came out of the bathroom, wearing his pajamas.
"Was someone in here? I could hear voices." He asked.
"Shannon. She just wanted to talk. Serena's still kind of haunting her. She hates the fact that 'that horrible witch of a person' is her sister." I quickly covered. I sensed that Gazzy didn't want anyone else to know about his problem.
"Oh. Yeah, that would be pretty bad. I don't blame her." J.J. agreed.
He climbed into the bed beside me, laid on his stomach, and put his arm over my waist, like he did every night. I was like his life size teddy bear. If Shannon was a mind reader, she'd be getting a hilarious mental picture right about now. But she's not. Thank God. I shudder to think the havoc she could wreak reading thoughts.
J.J. pulled me back to reality. He tightened his arm around my waist and brought my body closer to him. I looked at him.
"It's cold in here. You're nice and warm." He confessed.
"You only think it's cold in here because you just got out of the shower, and knowing you, you didn't make it very hot." I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever."
Then J.J. pulled me really close. He turned onto his side so he could reach my mouth with his. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. Then I felt his tongue in my mouth. I almost smiled thinking about how easy it would be to bite it right now. Then I lost coherent thought when his tongue touched mine. This was pure heaven. One of his arms was around my waist, keeping my body close. The other was on my face, caressing my cheek. My right hand was on the back of his neck, and the other was in his hair. Muahaha. No getting away now. Okay, I wonder if kissing makes everyone hyper. Probably not. That would be so typical of me.
My train of thought (if you could call it that) flew out the window when J.J. flipped back onto his back, bringing me onto his chest. Hallelujah. He turned his head so he could get closer, and I turned the other way. Then I started to feel the buttons of his shirt pressing into me. It hurt. Or at least that's my excuse. I started unbuttoning his shirt, and he shrugged out of it when I had all the annoying little buttons undone. Much better. I smiled involuntarily, and J.J. felt and laughed, pulling his head away from me.
"What?" I asked indignantly.
"I was worried you'd reject me, tell me to stop or something. And here you are." He gestured to me, lying happily on top of him.
"What? Why would I push you away? Who am I to do that?" I asked, not believing that he thought I didn't like him that much yet.
"I can see that now."
J.J. ended our little conversation by rolling over again. He gave me one last passionate kiss before rolling off and back onto his side of the bed. Then he laid his arm back over my waist where it belonged.
"I love you." I whispered.
"I love you, too, Natalca." He answered contentedly.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
And then I was happier than I'd ever been. I knew I loved J.J. more than anything else, and now I knew he loved me back. Things like that tend to make a girl happy.
I realized that I never had anything like that happen between Natalca and J.J., so I decided to fix that.
Let me tell you, making a prophecy is freaking hard!
I also realized that I got the birthstones messed up. I said that Natalca's birthstone was Zircon in April. Oopsie. It's supposed to be December. My bad.
Bubbles,
SanraitaFang