Wow! I'm back, and I'm on a roll! We could be finished by Christmas, at this rate! 8D

Finally, we're going somewhere. I've tried not to bore you with long, tearful, reunions, mainly by giving you too much filler. Its just so nice to be writing from Star's point of view again, I've indulged myself a bit with a little rambling.

On an unrelated note, my own baby brother – the one for whom I began writing Star's Journey for in the first place nearly six years ago – turned 12 today. There are as many years between he and I as Evan and Star, which is a large part of the reason Evan happened at all. Happy Birthday, lil' bro!

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Chapter 10: Reunited

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Not ten minutes later, Star emerged from her resting place. She had left her ruined habikule behind, and dressed in the things Lucy had offered which suited her best. It had been another strange assortment of odds and ends, few of them really fitting for the tasks at hand. But there had been a simple, if not frilly tunic, and a belt, and stained, patched leggings. There had even a pair of nearly new boots; Star wondered if the other girl was now going around barefoot and thought of insisting she keep them, but knew it would do no good. Lucy wouldn't have donated them, only to have them given back.

Besides, who knew if her old, worn ones were still waiting for her at home? There was certainly another battle coming, and it was nice to have shoes that weren't threatening to fall apart at any moment. Aside from Ash's jade knife, thrust into her belt, the boots might have been the best defense she had.

After that, it didn't take long to find the rest of her family. She turned a corner and suddenly found them all, sitting together in a sad, waiting silence. As soon as she appeared, they jumped up and ran to embrace her all at the same time – her cousins, her godfather, her uncle, all just glad to see her alive and awake.

The pirates had clothed and armed them, too, while she had slept. Alanis, Forley, and Leah all looked more like the crew than trustworthy sons and daughters of Rin, but she thought it suited them well for the occasion. Someone had even found Leah a new pair of spectacles, and her frizzy hair was pushed back with a set of goggles to protect them in the future.

So it was odd, by comparison, to see Allun and Norriss in the plain, sturdy clothes of their homeland. Star had nearly forgotten what such clothing looked like. The only items they seemed to have taken from the pirates were extra belts, bracers, and pouches to carry tools in. Useful, practical things.

Who cared, though? It was just so good to see their faces, and hear their voices saying how much loved and missed and had worried over her.

"We have some good news," Alanis announced when the moment had lasted too long for her. "A while ago, Keids said the radios went live again. He said he could feel it, and who could doubt him? We have no way to know from here what's being broadcast, of course; but it must mean that the winds are changing, up there."

"Weird, though," Leah mused. "It's the middle of the night, just now. No station should be sending anything out so late. It must be of terrible importance – and we're missing it!"

Her father laughed lightly and put his arm around her. "Never mind that, my lovely. Remember, your small friends at Bhlai House are probably keeping an eye on things. If recall correctly, your Vivi was worried her radio might be broken; but Ofelia told her otherwise and left it on, waiting for something of use to come of it."

"Yes, other than that wretched crackling noise it was making," Norriss added with a huff. "I can't wait to see what all this is about. I hope its something good."

Plainly, he was fascinated and curious; Star could tell, and it hardly surprised her. It was nice to see them acting as always, in spite of all the griefs and wonders of the previous night and day. The only one behaving strangely was Forley. At the mention of Vivi's name, he had frowned and clenched his fists.

"And I hope that crazy kid is nearby when we get back," he growled. "I still can't believe she abandoned us like that! I mean what I said – when I get my hands on her, I'm going to paddle the living hell out of her ungrateful hide!"

For the first time in her life, Star found herself flinching away from him. She had never seen him so angry before. Indeed, not terribly long ago, she hadn't believed he knew what anger was. He saw the look on her face, though, and that anger was replaced by something like shame.

"Forgive me," he said quietly, tiredly rubbing his face. "I didn't mean to snap like that, but its been a rough time since last night, to say the least. And I was so scared for her. You know how us grown folk can be at times, yelling and threatening our youngsters when they get themselves in trouble, when all we mean is that we're happy to see them in one piece. How I wish I knew why we all become that way..."

The rest all hummed in agreement, not at all surprised by his outburst. Star just went on peering at him in amazement, almost unsure if she was looking at her cousin, after all.

"I've never seen you so serious before," she commented, speaking for the first time. "Once upon a time, I didn't think you had a serious bone in your body."

To that, Forley smiled without humor. "Did you ever think that's how I wanted it to be?" he asked. "I've always taken you very seriously – too seriously, some have said. In fact, I've been just as furious with you before, many times. I just didn't want you to see it. I always waited until I was safely home, and raged about it to someone else, but never where you would know of it."

Star gazed at the other members of her family in astonishment. She could see in all their eyes that this was the cold truth, and that it had happened so often that they had grown annoyed with it in the past. Yet they had understood and allowed it to go on, perhaps far longer than it should have.

"But... But why?" she begged.

Forley shrugged sadly. "People were always so rotten to you, growing up. I suppose I couldn't bear to add my own frustrations to that. Not long after you were born, I made a promise to myself to protect you. You had no older brothers to do that for you, and it seemed so unfair to me. I swore to fill that void, and did so in the only way I really knew how – by filling your life with fun and as many happy memories as I could. It's what you deserved, even in the moments I was angry with you."

It was a cold truth, to be sure. So many moments from her childhood suddenly made sense. Whenever she had been sad or scared or lonely, Forley had always been the first to run to her side, telling jokes and pulling pranks to cheer her up, only to end up in trouble. When other children had bullied her, Forley had stood up for her, and earned many a bruise for it. As she had grown older, he had taken to following her closely and keeping an eye on her at all times; it had annoyed her, then, but now she saw that he had been trying to shield her from very real dangers.

All of that effort had taken time from his own life, and a great deal of punishment. Through it all, she had only ever seen him laughing and smiling, as if none of it had bothered him. As if it had all been one enormous joke to him. He had always seemed to take it so lightly, she had never guessed that was he living his life in real pain of his own, all for her sake. From her point of view, it had been impossible to tell.

Which was exactly how he had wanted it all along. Not unlike his own father, he had lived his whole life wearing a clever mask, only taking it off among people he really trusted. It almost hurt her that she had never been one of those precious few, and to only learn of it now.

"I wish you had told me," she mumbled. "Things could have been so different."

Leah laid a hand on her shoulder. "It changes little, then or now," she told her. "For what its worth, we've all had our own ways of protecting each other. They've never been the usual ways; but we've never been the usual people, either. And its kept us alive, hasn't it?"

That was a much warmer truth, with which they could all be pleased. Star stole a glance at Allun, and saw him glowing with pride over how strong and wise his beloved children had grown. Or perhaps over how strong and wise they had always been, and how good it was that they were free to show it here.

Stomping feet interrupted them, and a band of stern, familiar faces came around the corner. The one that stood apart was John, the only member of her family she hadn't seen and hugged yet. There was her mother, too, and Zamiel and Keids. She could see clearly that the four of them had been arguing bitterly for some time, for none of them looked happy with each other. Just now, they mostly looked happy to see her awake and ready to move on.

"We are going back to Bhlai House," Zamiel informed them after a pause.

"So its been decided?" Alanis asked, excited.

"After some discussion, yes," he agreed tensely, narrowing his eyes at her father, who narrowed his back. "The rest of both our parties are waiting there for us. We have to regroup as soon as possible."

John just scowled and crossed his arms, pinning his gaze at the floor. "I don't like this," he grumbled. "We have enough force right here, in these reeking sewers. I still say that now is as good a time as any to mount our attack."

Zeel made a face at him. "Are you mad? We have no clue what is going on up there! That aside, these people are unorganized and barely armed. They wouldn't last two minutes, storming the palace."

"Pah," Keids spat. "All de more reason, I says, dat all y'all Arin folk stay right down 'ere wit us. We been needin' some d'rection, some sort o' hope an' de like. De crew and all dem sewer folk be needin' ye, if we 'ere gon' come up in de light and fight agains' de foul Dragon Lord."

Before they could start fighting again, Allun jumped between them all and held out his hands.

"Peace, peace, peace, friends, there's no need for more of this, you've been at it for hours," he insisted. "We're all tired and afraid, and at our wits' end with each other; but fighting won't solve any of it. If its decided to return to Bhlai House, then so be it. We have people awaiting us there, including the little Titan. That should be reason enough."

"Not to mention Annad – my wife, by the way – stayed behind to plan the next steps of our mission," Norriss added helpfully. "With any luck, she has the whole thing already mapped out for us. It's more than we have down here, and we certainly can't move forward without it."

Star looked between her uncle and grandfather, and the pirate captain. How did they dare defy the Master of Tides so plainly? Didn't they understand who he was? Apparently not, or they would have been more wary of refusing him anything, or at least been more polite about it. Likely, the only reason he hadn't frozen them solid, or drowned them in midair, was because he hadn't found the time to get their autographs yet.

For that reason and others, she could understand why Keids wanted them to stay. The sewers were always in a state of organized chaos, but the city above them was burning to the ground and crawling with monsters. He was afraid for those of them he idolized, and terrified for those he knew and cared about. And he couldn't join them just now – his own people needed him more than ever. Surely he knew they couldn't stay forever; but he wanted to keep them close for as long as he could. It was his own way of trying to protect them.

"Bhlai House is our base," Star added. "Its our headquarters – our home. I think its right to return, to get our bearings back in a familiar place, and to be together again. Without unity, we have nothing."

The rest all shifted uncomfortably. Looking sheepish and wounded, Zamiel cleared his throat.

"We already have trouble, then," he said flatly. "Not long after we arrived here, Zane and Zirita struck out on their own. It was against my wishes, but they couldn't be persuaded to stay. They both have families lost in the mess up there, and were desperate to know what had become of them. I can't say I blame them; at least I know where my family is..."

So now his squadron of ten numbered only six. Star felt the loss keenly, as she knew her mother and cousins had for a while. Surely the rest of her family sensed it, too, though they hardly knew them. Even John couldn't close his heart to that; he knew especially what it was like to lose beloved comrades, one by one, and be unable to help it.

She didn't have to wonder how her father was feeling about that. She already knew that he must be aching for the squad, who had lost so much of itself in so little time.

It was clear that some members of their now large party still didn't care for the decision; but once Star had voiced her own opinion, it seemed that the final say had been made. Guided for long by Deep Magic, they had come to rely on her for direction, and she had never been wrong about it before. It had even convinced Keids to stop grumbling to himself over not having his way, though he must have known by then that the source of her usual knowledge was gone.

All the same, as they picked up their few things and filed out of the den, Star felt a great rightness in returning home. A sense that Bhlai House was the place they must go, as soon as possible. That it was simply the way things had to be, if they were to reach the final destination in good time. She wondered if she could still reach that deeper, bigger part of herself where that magic had lived. If, after carrying it for such a long time, it had left a mark in her that would never fully fade.

A few days ago, it would have been a relief. Now, in the face of all she had lost and all that remained to be done, it only seemed the bother she had always feared it would be.

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In the past, Vivi had led them to and from the pirates' den many times. In perfect truth, Star and Forley both knew exactly where they were, and the best ways to get home. Forley had even made the journey on his own, once or twice, looking in on rebel he had helped rescue and bringing them news. He had gladly taken the lead, keeping his trembling sister close at all times. More than ever, the narrow sewer streets were filthy and crowded with frightened people.

Star knew very well, then, that a point was coming where they would have to ferry across the murky gap between the streets. It was simple enough, with only a few people crossing. Their party had suddenly grown, though, and now the crossing would take some time. She wasn't sure if they had anything to pay the demanded toll, either.

And she had noticed that some of the usual ferries on their way were abandoned. Who knew if the one they were counting on would be waiting for them?

Sure enough, they came to the place, and a welcome sight met them. Not just one, but three ferry rafts were anchored there, each one captained and ready to take passengers. One was the ill-tempered old man who had ferried the Crusaders on their very first mission together. Another was the younger man he had taken on for help, who they saw more often these days. The third, and her raft, were a new sight.

In any case, they were enough to let the whole party cross at once. Better yet, the younger man had lit up at the sight of them, and began ushering them aboard the crafts without mentioning payment.

"Yeah, Kisa was my idea," he explained to Star and her cousins as he paddled them across. "A while back, this strange old man paid for his crossing with a handful of coins – nearly triple the toll. It let us put some money aside, for once, and we started to save a bit. Soon, we could pay for another raft, and another hand. And now business is booming! We run a better service than most around here. I wish I knew who that man was, and where he is, so I can thank him."

And so it was that their service was the only one fit enough to still be running, using the present chaos to its clever advantage, rather than letting it frighten them into hiding.

Star glanced down at the raft, grateful that this service had the means for decent equipment. The planks and rope under her feet looked fresh, and in good repair. A thought came to her, of a girl named Brenna who the Crusaders had rescued, one fateful night. The girl had mentioned then that her family had been rope makers, before their lives had gone so badly, and had thought to ply that trade right here in the sewers. Star had thought of her often, and hoped she was getting along alright with that idea. Maybe these fresh, new ropes were here because Brenna was here.

It all reeked of destiny. Despite her doubts about her many burdens, Star had to smile over it.

The crossing was unremarkable, and free, besides. Even the shrewd elder refused to think of asking the rebel leader or the Titan of Earth to pay for his service. After that, the journey was straight ahead, and uneventful. The most trouble they had was trying to ignore the sensation their strange-looking company was leaving in their wake. More than once, people reached out to touch them in wonder, and even tried to follow them; but these were always quickly left behind in the crowd and lost, for there was no time to stop and indulge them.

"If you can believe such things," Forley called to the company after a time, "we've just walked right beneath Bhlai House's plumbing. Look up. See all those pipes above us? If you look hard enough, I think you'll see a shiny dangling from one of them. Vivi got all the way up there somehow and hung it there, to mark the way. It seems forever ago, now..."

Star could see that jeweled pendant, winking in the dimness like – well, a star. She had often been thankful in the past that the girl had put it there for them. They had come and gone form this place many time, but the landmarks on the sewer streets were forever changing, and so it all still looked alike to her. If not for that constant guide to watch for, they might have passed their exit to the street above right by, wandered for pointless hours.

As was his custom, Forley ducked first into the little space in the wall and scrambled up the metal rungs there. It must have frustrated him that his dear sister went right after him, desperate for space and fresh air, when anything might have been lurking nearby to catch them. Besides, with that danger present at the best times, it was always Zan who had followed next. Still feeling like she was holding his place, somehow, Star decided to climb the ladder after them, herself.

Seeing how it was, the rest began anxiously forming a line. Zamiel and John naturally jumped for the next place in that line, frowning at each other all the way; but Alanis stepped in front of them, first.

"We'll check to see if the coast is clear," she informed them as she began to climb. "If its safe, we'll call you."

"But why?" Star heard Zamiel demand. When Alanis answered, there was coolness and a sly smile in her voice.

"Because we are younger, stronger, and far less valuable than either of you, just now."

And without another word, she went on climbing. Above, the air was growing cooler and better smelling, but no brighter. As Star knew, it was so early morning that it was still night. The sun wouldn't rise for another several hours. Thank goodness for that; in darkness, the large company could complete their journey easily.

Above her, Forley had pushed the manhole cover away and crawled into the street, pulling the girls up one by one after him. Even in the dark, the sight of the alleyway they knew so well was shocking. Shattered glass and crushed bricks crunched under their feet, and Star quickly found a few splinters in her hand. Though the night air was easier to breathe, it tasted of gunpowder and burning tar, and something foul that reminded her of sulfur. The garbage bins lined up behind the grand houses had all been thrown aside all over the alley, leaving a maze of toppled crates and rubbish to stumble through.

But the place was quiet, and no gray monsters loomed out of the darkness to catch them. Satisfied that they were alone, Alanis leaned back into the hole and whistled a signal to the rest. Slowly, squinting to see their way, Star and Forley began picking their way through the alley, moving the rubbish aside as quietly as they could, making a path to their backdoor.

When the reached it, Forley tried at once to open it. He pushed at it and and the door barred shut. He tried the knob and found it locked fast. For a moment he went on jiggling it uselessly, unwilling to just knock or call out for someone to answer; but when the knob refused to budge, he saw there was no choice. Star reached for her knife, ready for danger, as Forley knocked sharply on the door.

Through the cracked, dirty kitchen window, Star someone stirring. It was only a shadowy figure in the darkness within, and she nearly missed seeing it at all. There came the sound of something heavy being moved away from the door, and the knob being unlocked, and the latch above it being loosened. Then the door opened, and not one but two figures stood there in glad amazement.

One was Ofelia. The other, brandishing an armed bow, was Shaaran. Two of the most blessed faces Star could have hoped for.

"Get inside," Shaaran commanded them at once, stepping out to stand watch. "Get inside, and get upstairs. Quickly, now! Your mother is upstairs, waiting on the edge of her seat to smack you, young man."

"We heard you were coming," Ofelia added as she herded them into the ruined kitchen. "We've been watching and waiting ever since."

Neither of them had to wonder how that was possible. Of course Rowan and Zizi had been talking in their sacred way the whole time. Their friends had probably known the moment when they began climbing out of the sewer. Suddenly, all Star could think of was that Marlie was certainly at the top of the stairs, like a lioness stalking her prey, waiting to pounce and kill them both with all her love.

It was terrifying, at the same time as it was always welcome. She felt that neither she nor Forley were blamed for standing around in the kitchen, watching to make sure their whole company made it safely indoors, before thinking at all of climbing those stairs.

What came next was a long blur of joyful, teary reunions, which Star found that she had been longing for. It was the welcome home she had been so painfully cheated of those years ago, when she had returned from Maris to find her life turned upside down. Somehow, it was better than that homecoming would have been. It was because, she realized, there were so many more people who were happy to see her again, and so much more than just next year's trip to plan for.

She found herself and her cousins being passed from one family member to the next, being hugged and kissed and wept over yet again, and scolded for their recklessness. At long last, her father held both his children in his arms, perhaps tighter than he had held anyone in his life. Forley and Leah quickly found themselves crushed between their parents, happy to be threatened with beatings they were too old for. Then Vivi came running out, a little too unharmed and cheerful for all the worry she had caused; Forley snatched and shook her, screaming nearly word for word every threat his own mother had just shouted at him. That she had scared him just about to death, and how dare she be so foolish, and that he ought to strangle her.

None of those threats were realized, of course. He was too busy weeping over his own little one, overjoyed that she was alive and safe, and even marveling at her foolishness. She promised repeatedly that she had learned her lesson – really, she had – and that she would never do such a thing ever again – really, she wouldn't. Star doubted that greatly, and sensed that her cousin did, too; but for now, it was enough.

This part of the adventure was done, Star realized. The Central Dungeon was empty, and the leaders of the rebellion had escaped with their lives. Her family was reunited, against all odds, and ready to fight alongside the rebels. They had made it back to their base, to pick up where they had left off and start over. All of this had happened before, after all. It could all be done again.

A night, a day, and nearly another night had passed. Yet another day was coming on fast. When it arrived, she knew they would be ready for it.