___Chapter 38___
Outside, the cool air was beginning to change, the sun's rising warming the cool ground, causing the sleeping to stir.
Tern opened his eyes first, and stepping over the others carefully, made his way toward Ratal's sanctuary. Something told him he was needed there.
"Ratal?" he called out softly upon reaching the door. No answer. He knocked again. This time the door opened. But Ratal wasn't the one to do it.
"Hello Triin." it said softly.
Tern stood in absolute silence for a few seconds, before yelling out in a whisper "Katass!! What are you DOING here?"
Katass smiled, shaking his head as he said "You have changed, haven't you? The Triin I knew would have said hello before asking questions about what my business is in a place I lived for seven years."
"It's Tern now."
"I know. And I was Fife. But let's not stand in the doorway arguing. Come in." he finished as he stepped to the side, allowing Tern to come in.
"What IS your business here?"
"To check up on my son. And you."
"You heard?"
"How could I not? You were my closest friend for quite a few years there."
Tern nodded.
"And about the only one I have left, I suppose."
"None of us hate you! Only Rager, and that's not so much hate as it is...."
"Is what Tern? He detests me with a vengeance."
Tern tried to think of something to say, but could find none.
Ratal broke the stillness in the air by speaking, saying "Rager fights with a heavy heart. I think his original purpose is lost to even him, now, for everything he holds inside merely blinds him more. That one will drive himself to an end someday, and only then will his soul have peace. It's not about you anymore, Katass, he merely uses you as a vent for his frustration."
He allowed his words to sink in, and continued "Rager's soul has always been troubled, ever since he was a child. There's a demon living inside him, and it's slowly tearing him apart, piece by piece, his pain fueling it's strength." Then Ratal looked his former student right in the eyes, and said, dead serious "Just like your son."
Katass' eyes were wide, and his hands curled into fists.
"I have always felt a likeness between the two, but when I saw his reaction when Arcos hurt the girl..... It's certain. Sanchiro has felt it as well. The child's been faring well so far, but I fear that it will rip his soul in two one day." Ratal finished silently (not knowing how true his words were)
Katass left shortly after.
---
It is now five (namekian) years later. They have all grown- in mind, in body, in spirit, in strength, and in friendship. Oboe and Damaiou have been given the same knowledge as the others, and true to prediction, were twice as fast as Arcos at their age *everyone points and laughs at Arcos* .
But not everything was perfect. Rager's problems had begun progressing to dangerous levels. Comet, who had been the only one to witness the accident beside the three themselves, had been growing more and more subconsciously paranoid. Damaiou's darkness had not risen, thankfully, but he was too busy with other things to worry about that. Oboe's dreams were unpredictable, violent, and often life-threatening. More than once, the blackness had struck her from the sky, and would have caused her to plummet to her death if Damaiou had not been there to catch her.
---
"Come-on, you can do better than that!!" Damaiou laughed out as he spun to the side, dodging the ki-blast Oboe had thrown at him. She growled, and hurtled another at him, which he didn't bother to dodge, but merely jumped over.
They were sparring together on a remote piece of shoreline on the island, headed by five-foot tall grasses on the cliff face high above, backed by the sea. The wind was whipping through the beach faster than usual, but the solitary duo barely noticed it, too focused on each other to pay attention to anything else, even when a wave would break over their forms dashing through the surf.
A pair of eyes tried to keep up with them- barely. The watcher exhaled noisily, shaking his head. "Damnit...." he mumbled, smiling from his seat on the high cliff, astonished at how they seemed to have grown, and at only 14 (namekian) years old, they looked around twice their age. He smiled again, and laughed out loud.
The two below's eyes snapped open as their ears caught the sound, and tilted their heads up to glimpse a broadly grinning Palidor looking down at them, his orange eyes shining.
"Aeco! What are you doing here?" Oboe asked as she jumped up in the air, Damaiou hovering beside her.
"Watching! What else?" Palidor smiled. The two just looked at each other, and fell down with their legs in the air, anime style.
Then Damaiou popped back up, and said "Ok, is there anything you wanted to tell us?"
"Not really. So, how can you keep this up all day? I've been watching since last night, and it's up in the sky now!" he said, gesturing to the star off the horizon. Not waiting for an answer, he kept on with "I don't get to see you guys so much anymore. How about we go out for a spin?"
Damaiou glanced at Oboe, who nodded. "Sure Palidor!" Damaiou said, jumping airborne once again. "Let's go!"
"Ok.." Palidor whispered, smiling evilly as he jumped up, tackled him, and yelled "TAG YOU'RE IT!!!!"
Damaiou stared in astonishment for a few seconds, his face buried in the dirt, before laughing and yelling "You are SO dead!" as he chased after the retreating blue shape.
---
A couple hours later, three nameks landed in the big tree, laughing in giddy exhaustion. They'd chased each other through the skies, frightened their more irritating siblings, gone for a swim, argued who could catch the most frogs that could jump far, caused a dinosaur stampede, and countless other things, all before noon. Now was time for a rest, but they'd just gotten to drifting off when a shadow passed over the three.
"Anoco!" Oboe called happily as she saw who it was.
He smiled, and commented on the fact that he hadn't seen them in so long. The two got up, and glanced at Palidor, who was still yawning. "You coming?" Oboe asked.
Palidor glanced up, one eye still half-closed, and answered "Nah." as he walked over to the tree, jumping onto his branch.
Oboe shrugged, and was about to turn around and jump off when he said "Yo, wait!" She glanced up, seeing him half-way hidden in the leaves, yelling at a bird that flew away quickly when he kicked it. Then he pulled himself out of the branches, a bundle wrapped in adjica petals in his arms, and jumped down to the ground.
"Here." he smiled, handing it to her. "A present."
Oboe stared at it, glancing up to ask "Why?"
"Because you're my sister, silly! I love 'ya! What's wrong with giving you a present?"
She smiled, and looked down as she pulled the petals back to reveal....
A little, hand-sewed chibi doll, with big blue eyes and a happy smile.
Oboe just stared at it in shock, her mouth wide. Then she shrieked, gave her brother a huge hug, and started laughing brightly. "I LOVE it! Is it suppose to be me?"
Palidor nodded, laughing as he pushed his sister away so he could breathe. Her eyes were bright sapphire as she said "Thank you Palidor!"
Damaiou walked up to her, and held out something he'd pulled out of it's own hiding place. "I was in on it- so I made you this to keep it in." he said, holding out a tiny oval shape that fit in the palm of his hand. Oboe gave him a critical look, glancing from the chibi doll to it, as if showing him the size difference, but he just smiled, picked up her doll, pushed a button on the thing in his hand, and the doll was gone.
"W.....WHAT?!??!?!??!?" she yelled, about to go pound him, but then he pressed a button on the thing, threw it, and after a big 'poof!' of smoke, her doll appeared on the ground.
Damaiou just laughed at her bewildered look, and said "See? It took me a long time, but I got it to work without TOO much aggravation."
Oboe took his gift, and pushed the button to see if it worked. When it did, she mumbled "Weird little capsule..." and put it in her pocket. With a smile to Palidor, she ran back to their father, and the three went, leaving a rather happy Palidor behind to sit around and smell the flowers.
---
Ten minutes into their conversation it happened. In mid sentence, Oboe stopped dead, her eyes glazed over. Damaiou was about to run over when she snapped out of it, breathing heavily.
"Oboe? What's going on?" Sanchiro asked quietly, brows furrowed.
"It's.... happening. Now." she whispered, hands shaking.
Damaiou's eyes cocked slightly as he questioned "Huh? Oboe, what's going on?"
She jerked her head up, and eyes on the verge of tears, whispered "The final day........"
"What's that suppose to mean?"
Now she was literally shaking, eyes wide in fear, crouching on the ground with her hands clutching the sides of her head. "It means that that dream, that prophesy, that I've been having, about our planet, I just know it's going to happen. Now. Today."
Damaiou's face was a mask of abject horror. And Sanchiro knew it was true. He had known this day would come, when her prophecies came true, but said otherwise so as to not frighten the children. Only one other person knew- Ratal. And even as he chose his next words, he knew he was lying to them, in order to save at least one life.
"Damaiou, listen to me. You are to leave this place, this planet, and search for help. Take the ship behind the back wall of this room. Ratal set the coordinates for me long ago." {{And you'll be safe on earth. At least one you will survive.}} he thought to himself as Damaiou looked at him, stunned.
Damaiou opened his mouth to speak, but Sanchiro raised his hand to silence him. "Do as I say, boy." and then more gently added "Please Damaiou....."
Damaiou knew he wasn't asking. "Yes, Sanchiro-sama." he said sadly, shoulders hunched, as he walked away. Sanchiro closed his eyes as the boy disappeared out the door, thinking about what he had just done. But not even he could know of the magnitude his decision would bring upon the fate of so many. When he opened his eyes again, Oboe was gone, and ran outside in time to see the small ship fly off. The last thing he ever saw of Damaiou was his forlorn face staring out at him from the small window of the ship, before it disappeared.
Outside, the cool air was beginning to change, the sun's rising warming the cool ground, causing the sleeping to stir.
Tern opened his eyes first, and stepping over the others carefully, made his way toward Ratal's sanctuary. Something told him he was needed there.
"Ratal?" he called out softly upon reaching the door. No answer. He knocked again. This time the door opened. But Ratal wasn't the one to do it.
"Hello Triin." it said softly.
Tern stood in absolute silence for a few seconds, before yelling out in a whisper "Katass!! What are you DOING here?"
Katass smiled, shaking his head as he said "You have changed, haven't you? The Triin I knew would have said hello before asking questions about what my business is in a place I lived for seven years."
"It's Tern now."
"I know. And I was Fife. But let's not stand in the doorway arguing. Come in." he finished as he stepped to the side, allowing Tern to come in.
"What IS your business here?"
"To check up on my son. And you."
"You heard?"
"How could I not? You were my closest friend for quite a few years there."
Tern nodded.
"And about the only one I have left, I suppose."
"None of us hate you! Only Rager, and that's not so much hate as it is...."
"Is what Tern? He detests me with a vengeance."
Tern tried to think of something to say, but could find none.
Ratal broke the stillness in the air by speaking, saying "Rager fights with a heavy heart. I think his original purpose is lost to even him, now, for everything he holds inside merely blinds him more. That one will drive himself to an end someday, and only then will his soul have peace. It's not about you anymore, Katass, he merely uses you as a vent for his frustration."
He allowed his words to sink in, and continued "Rager's soul has always been troubled, ever since he was a child. There's a demon living inside him, and it's slowly tearing him apart, piece by piece, his pain fueling it's strength." Then Ratal looked his former student right in the eyes, and said, dead serious "Just like your son."
Katass' eyes were wide, and his hands curled into fists.
"I have always felt a likeness between the two, but when I saw his reaction when Arcos hurt the girl..... It's certain. Sanchiro has felt it as well. The child's been faring well so far, but I fear that it will rip his soul in two one day." Ratal finished silently (not knowing how true his words were)
Katass left shortly after.
---
It is now five (namekian) years later. They have all grown- in mind, in body, in spirit, in strength, and in friendship. Oboe and Damaiou have been given the same knowledge as the others, and true to prediction, were twice as fast as Arcos at their age *everyone points and laughs at Arcos* .
But not everything was perfect. Rager's problems had begun progressing to dangerous levels. Comet, who had been the only one to witness the accident beside the three themselves, had been growing more and more subconsciously paranoid. Damaiou's darkness had not risen, thankfully, but he was too busy with other things to worry about that. Oboe's dreams were unpredictable, violent, and often life-threatening. More than once, the blackness had struck her from the sky, and would have caused her to plummet to her death if Damaiou had not been there to catch her.
---
"Come-on, you can do better than that!!" Damaiou laughed out as he spun to the side, dodging the ki-blast Oboe had thrown at him. She growled, and hurtled another at him, which he didn't bother to dodge, but merely jumped over.
They were sparring together on a remote piece of shoreline on the island, headed by five-foot tall grasses on the cliff face high above, backed by the sea. The wind was whipping through the beach faster than usual, but the solitary duo barely noticed it, too focused on each other to pay attention to anything else, even when a wave would break over their forms dashing through the surf.
A pair of eyes tried to keep up with them- barely. The watcher exhaled noisily, shaking his head. "Damnit...." he mumbled, smiling from his seat on the high cliff, astonished at how they seemed to have grown, and at only 14 (namekian) years old, they looked around twice their age. He smiled again, and laughed out loud.
The two below's eyes snapped open as their ears caught the sound, and tilted their heads up to glimpse a broadly grinning Palidor looking down at them, his orange eyes shining.
"Aeco! What are you doing here?" Oboe asked as she jumped up in the air, Damaiou hovering beside her.
"Watching! What else?" Palidor smiled. The two just looked at each other, and fell down with their legs in the air, anime style.
Then Damaiou popped back up, and said "Ok, is there anything you wanted to tell us?"
"Not really. So, how can you keep this up all day? I've been watching since last night, and it's up in the sky now!" he said, gesturing to the star off the horizon. Not waiting for an answer, he kept on with "I don't get to see you guys so much anymore. How about we go out for a spin?"
Damaiou glanced at Oboe, who nodded. "Sure Palidor!" Damaiou said, jumping airborne once again. "Let's go!"
"Ok.." Palidor whispered, smiling evilly as he jumped up, tackled him, and yelled "TAG YOU'RE IT!!!!"
Damaiou stared in astonishment for a few seconds, his face buried in the dirt, before laughing and yelling "You are SO dead!" as he chased after the retreating blue shape.
---
A couple hours later, three nameks landed in the big tree, laughing in giddy exhaustion. They'd chased each other through the skies, frightened their more irritating siblings, gone for a swim, argued who could catch the most frogs that could jump far, caused a dinosaur stampede, and countless other things, all before noon. Now was time for a rest, but they'd just gotten to drifting off when a shadow passed over the three.
"Anoco!" Oboe called happily as she saw who it was.
He smiled, and commented on the fact that he hadn't seen them in so long. The two got up, and glanced at Palidor, who was still yawning. "You coming?" Oboe asked.
Palidor glanced up, one eye still half-closed, and answered "Nah." as he walked over to the tree, jumping onto his branch.
Oboe shrugged, and was about to turn around and jump off when he said "Yo, wait!" She glanced up, seeing him half-way hidden in the leaves, yelling at a bird that flew away quickly when he kicked it. Then he pulled himself out of the branches, a bundle wrapped in adjica petals in his arms, and jumped down to the ground.
"Here." he smiled, handing it to her. "A present."
Oboe stared at it, glancing up to ask "Why?"
"Because you're my sister, silly! I love 'ya! What's wrong with giving you a present?"
She smiled, and looked down as she pulled the petals back to reveal....
A little, hand-sewed chibi doll, with big blue eyes and a happy smile.
Oboe just stared at it in shock, her mouth wide. Then she shrieked, gave her brother a huge hug, and started laughing brightly. "I LOVE it! Is it suppose to be me?"
Palidor nodded, laughing as he pushed his sister away so he could breathe. Her eyes were bright sapphire as she said "Thank you Palidor!"
Damaiou walked up to her, and held out something he'd pulled out of it's own hiding place. "I was in on it- so I made you this to keep it in." he said, holding out a tiny oval shape that fit in the palm of his hand. Oboe gave him a critical look, glancing from the chibi doll to it, as if showing him the size difference, but he just smiled, picked up her doll, pushed a button on the thing in his hand, and the doll was gone.
"W.....WHAT?!??!?!??!?" she yelled, about to go pound him, but then he pressed a button on the thing, threw it, and after a big 'poof!' of smoke, her doll appeared on the ground.
Damaiou just laughed at her bewildered look, and said "See? It took me a long time, but I got it to work without TOO much aggravation."
Oboe took his gift, and pushed the button to see if it worked. When it did, she mumbled "Weird little capsule..." and put it in her pocket. With a smile to Palidor, she ran back to their father, and the three went, leaving a rather happy Palidor behind to sit around and smell the flowers.
---
Ten minutes into their conversation it happened. In mid sentence, Oboe stopped dead, her eyes glazed over. Damaiou was about to run over when she snapped out of it, breathing heavily.
"Oboe? What's going on?" Sanchiro asked quietly, brows furrowed.
"It's.... happening. Now." she whispered, hands shaking.
Damaiou's eyes cocked slightly as he questioned "Huh? Oboe, what's going on?"
She jerked her head up, and eyes on the verge of tears, whispered "The final day........"
"What's that suppose to mean?"
Now she was literally shaking, eyes wide in fear, crouching on the ground with her hands clutching the sides of her head. "It means that that dream, that prophesy, that I've been having, about our planet, I just know it's going to happen. Now. Today."
Damaiou's face was a mask of abject horror. And Sanchiro knew it was true. He had known this day would come, when her prophecies came true, but said otherwise so as to not frighten the children. Only one other person knew- Ratal. And even as he chose his next words, he knew he was lying to them, in order to save at least one life.
"Damaiou, listen to me. You are to leave this place, this planet, and search for help. Take the ship behind the back wall of this room. Ratal set the coordinates for me long ago." {{And you'll be safe on earth. At least one you will survive.}} he thought to himself as Damaiou looked at him, stunned.
Damaiou opened his mouth to speak, but Sanchiro raised his hand to silence him. "Do as I say, boy." and then more gently added "Please Damaiou....."
Damaiou knew he wasn't asking. "Yes, Sanchiro-sama." he said sadly, shoulders hunched, as he walked away. Sanchiro closed his eyes as the boy disappeared out the door, thinking about what he had just done. But not even he could know of the magnitude his decision would bring upon the fate of so many. When he opened his eyes again, Oboe was gone, and ran outside in time to see the small ship fly off. The last thing he ever saw of Damaiou was his forlorn face staring out at him from the small window of the ship, before it disappeared.