Rose stumbled into her bedroom where 88 and 89 were waiting for her. They were sitting on her bed with a pack of playing cards, arguing over the rules of blackjack. The moment her door opened and they took in her appearance, their jaws dropped.
"What happened?" They yelled together.
"Shh," Rose urged, motioning with her hand. Her head was pounding. She fell into her armchair, curling up like a feline. Her body was aching. After she had defeated the Australian Dragon, Master had released wave after wave of magical creatures claiming that she 'needed to be ready for any challenge that came her way'.
Rose would like to tell him where he could put said challenge.
"What happened?" Kyle whispered, making sure to keep his voice down. The Huntsgirl looked as though she had just fought an entire war all by herself. There were bloody smudges on her face; her robes were ripped apart in places, her own blood still oozing from those wounds.
"Should you go to the Health Room?" Nicholas pressed. She looked as though she were going to throw up … or die.
"No. Fine." Rose insisted. She wouldn't dare go to the Health Room. They asked a lot of questions in that room; questions about everything. Just because she was the Huntsgirl wouldn't stop them from questioning her. She didn't like the feeling of being questioned.
"You don't look fine," Kyle snapped.
Rose lifted her head long enough to give him a glare before her neck gave out and she collapsed back into her chair.
"With all due respect," Kyle added quickly.
"Just looking out for your best interests," Nicholas jumped to his friend's defense, trying to explain Kyle's words.
"My best interests are a bathtub." Rose murmured. "With boiling hot water."
"I'll run the water," Nicholas offered, bouncing off of the bed, running for the adjoining bathroom door.
"Such a lovely boy," Rose managed, a small grin slipping onto her face. "You both are," she told Kyle, becoming more honest as her fatigue took over.
"Thank you Huntsgirl." Kyle replied. "Can I help you with something? Can I do anything else for you?"
"Andrew." Huntsgirl spoke his name with finality. "Find him for me, will you? I need to speak to him in an hour, after my bath."
"I'll find him, right away," Kyle promised her, rushing from the room.
Rose repositioned her aching body in the chair just as Nicholas reentered the room. "Your bath is ready."
(-.-)
Jake felt his mother's kiss on his forehead; his father's hug; Haley's small hand in his own. He had just left his family's Christmas celebrations, choosing to skateboard back to his grandfather's. His legs were shaky as he tried to remember where to place his feet on the board, how to move his arms and body to keep himself balanced and sure.
After two blocks of practicing with his new board, Jake's body remembered what to do. It was so easy to slip back into how he was; skateboarding around the streets of New York, always looking to meet up with Spud and Trixie. He doubted they would be out (it was cold and it was Christmas) but it still felt so much like old times that he expected it to happen.
It didn't and he was back at Gramps' home much too soon, it seemed. He was happy to be back, however. He was opening the door and he felt lighter to be home. He stepped inside and halted. The air was different. There was something in his house that hadn't been there when he left. It wasn't human but it wasn't any sort of magical creature he was familiar with either. Jake crept forward with caution, prepared to run if danger was lurking.
He found himself in the back of the shop. Fu was perched on the couch, next to Lao Shi. In front of them – standing – were the two oddest figures Jake had ever seen in his entire life. They were definitely not human, but, being this close, he could tell that they once were human. They were pale, not just their skin colour, but their hair, their eyes, their clothes, were all pale. The two figures were completely void of colour.
"Jacob Long," they said as one, turning their heads in sync.
Jake dropped his backpack onto the floor, his mouth dropping open. They were seeing into his soul; deep into the person he was. He met their colourless, seemingly glowing eyes, and instantly knew who they were.
Jacob Long.
The sound repeated but it was not out loud. It was from somewhere deep within his mind. They had reached inside of him, transporting their thoughts into his.
Not thoughts. We are communicating with you as best as we can. We know you will not speak aloud to us.
Jake blocked his thoughts so that he would not reply to the two of them. He didn't need to hear what the Oracle Twins had to say or why they were standing in the back room of the shop. It had to do with the prophecy. They were here on Gramps or Fu's urging – here in order to ensure that Jake won his fight.
"Jake, do you remember the Oracle Twins?" Gramps asked Jake, trying to get his grandson to come into the room, sit down, and have a serious conversation about the prophecy which was must closer than either party would like to admit.
Jake jerked his head in a nod, seemingly transfixed by the otherworldly creatures that had taken up residence in his home.
"We are only here to help," the Oracle Twins promised Jake.
Jake wasn't going to be convinced by the two of them but he went further into the room, accepting that, for better or worse, the Oracle Twins were now a permanent part of his life.
(-.-)
Rose clawed her way out of the bathtub, feeling as though she had not been soaking for long enough in the boiling water. She felt mildly better. Her limbs were not quite so sore and there was no blood (or other bodily fluids) clinging to her skin. She took a long few minutes to run a brush through her golden hair, tying it back tightly into the braid she wore as Huntsgirl. She slipped into fresh robes – her old ones having been sacrificed to the garbage can, beyond repair.
She stepped out into her bedroom. Kyle and Nicholas were sitting on the floor in front of the armchair where Andrew was perched, teaching them the exact nuances of blackjack.
"Heard you went through some kind of hell today," Andrew commented wryly, not looking up from his hand.
"She was covered in blood and ick," Nicholas added helpfully.
"She was too exhausted to move," Kyle slammed his fist down on the two cards in front of him. "Blackjack!"
Andrew double checked Kyle's cards. "You've only got twenty – that's not blackjack."
Kyle looked crestfallen. "So close," he muttered.
"So wanna tell me what happened?" Andrew asked Rose as she built herself a small nest out of the blankets on her bed.
"Master has started putting me through the paces. I am preparing for my fight." Rose revealed. "I must visit the labs as soon as possible, make sure they whip up – or have – exactly what I need for my hunt. I need to locate the last gems and continue to train."
"Should we go to the labs now?" Nicholas asked, checking and rechecking his cards. "Blackjack?"
Andrew took a look at the cards. "Blackjack," he confirmed.
"I give up," Kyle announced, kicking at the deck in Andrew's hand. Andrew retaliated by snatching Kyle's foot in his hand and twisting it up behind the younger man's head.
"Never kick at me again," Andrew warned.
"Okay, okay!" Kyle gasped, pulling his leg away from Andrew.
"Should we go to the labs now?" Nicholas repeated his question over Kyle and Andrew's quick altercation.
"No, they're closed today. We'll go tomorrow, at first light. I expect it will take them a week to properly prepare what I want, and I need to get special permission from Master in order to carry out this product."
"What is it?" Kyle asked, perking up to look at her. "Is it high-tech and confidential?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "It's only confidential from the rest of the Clan. 88 and 89 are officially part of my team and Andrew isn't officially a part of anything, as far as I'm aware."
"Nope," Andrew chimed in. "I have my assignment. I don't do much either way."
"What do you do on a regular basis?" Nicholas inquired of Andrew.
"Classified," Andrew told the boy with a wink.
(-.-)
"Hey, Trix," Spud nudged his girlfriend, who was dozing on his arm.
"Mmm?" She replied, voice heavy with sleep. She tilted her head so that she was looking at some of the shaggy brown hair that belonged to Spud. "What's up?"
"I just got a text."
"Congratu-fucking-lations," Trixie growled. "You have friends."
"Brat," Spud spat, tickling her ribs.
Trixie giggled, pushing Spud away. "No," she whined. "I don't like this."
She tried to put her sock feet up his nose, which he didn't take very kindly to. Spud planted his butt on her thighs, leaning so that his side ran along her chest, effectively pinning Trixie to her own couch.
"I'll bite," Trixie threatened. "I'll scream."
"Will you let me speak?" Spud demanded, his tone tinted with sarcasm and exasperation.
"Continue," Trixie replied with a sassy wave.
"Jake just texted me," Spud informed her.
He felt Trixie blanch underneath him. "Jake doesn't text anymore; doesn't reach out at all!"
"Well he wants to meet at the new indoor skate park. Apparently his parents got him a new board for Christmas and he wants to try it out."
Trixie was struggling to sit up, a smile breaking her features. "It's been so long since the three of us boarded together! Let's go; let's go right now. Tell him we'll meet him there – come on, Spud, get off of me!"
"You're cute when you get excited."
"Shut up, kiss me, get your board, let's go!"
"All at once?" Spud teased, rolling off of Trixie.
"Shut up."
"We both know I'm no good at that one," Spud teased, grabbing his board from behind the front door, tossing Trixie her helmet.
Trixie caught it with ease. "Kiss me."
"That one I am good at." Spud captured her lips with his own. "I've got my board." Spud buckled his helmet over his hair and hat.
"So let's go!" Trixie trumpeted, bolting out Spud's front door. She flipped her board under her feet with ease, leaving Spud scrambling in her wake.
"He's meeting us there?" Trixie confirmed, shivering in the sudden cold air.
"That's what he said," Spud replied, wrapping an arm around a telephone pole so that he didn't zoom into oncoming traffic. Trixie had stopped gracefully and was waiting for the light to turn.
"Good," she smiled. "I missed him."
"I wonder what his new board looks like. Do you think it's that one that we were all freaking out over from Don's?"
"Probably," Trixie shrugged as the light turned and they headed onward, down the city streets for the new indoor skate park.
"Lucky ol' Jake." Spud muttered under his breath, realizing how untrue they were the moment they left his mouth. Nothing about Jake's life was even remotely lucky, most of the time anyway.
He flipped his board up into his hand, opening the front door of the skate park so that Trixie didn't have to so much as jump off of her board to enter the building; she just rolled on in. Spud quickly followed. They rolled past the cafeteria and food stands, the path to the bleachers, heading into the pit where all of the tricks and other boarders were.
"Do you see him?" Trixie asked, eyes roaming the plethora of skateboarders that were using the equipment.
Spud didn't have to answer that. He had spotted Jake the moment he had entered the skate park. No one else rode like that.
I don't own anything recognizable. Thanks to my wonderful beta: noble6!
~TLL~
