Author's Notes

Okay. This is the end of the Ceres, Celestial Legend (or Ayashi no Ceres in Japanese) arc. Next comes Angel's Sanctuary, which you might need to look up to understand so I'm giving you a heads up.

BTW, the Mikage family (or try to) kill the reincarnation of Ceres.

Be glad I wrote this straight after last chapter. :)

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

AutoCycle

It's set on automatic. It's set on random. They can't get it off, and it sends them to places they know little or nothing about. 20 cycles, then they're home free...if they're still alive.

Digimon& Anime x-overs

Chapter 38

Ceres

Koichi had only managed a third of the bowl of ramen, so luckily Koji had had the foresight to only purchase one. As it was, the two-thirds that remained was enough to satisfy him for the moment; warmth stole through his body his pallet lapped up the quick nutrition. Granted, it wasn't a sugar-fix like chocolate for instance, but it was okay when they lounged around the ramen stand as the rain came, on and off.

It took more than an hour before the sun came out again and Koichi lifted his head from where he'd let the weight limply drop.

'You two done?' the boy who manned the stall asked.

Koji nodded and handed the bowl over.

'The two of you with just one regular sized bowl?' A pert eyebrow flew up.

The younger twin matched the stare coolly. Stinginess was not a reason in that instance. 'My brother's been sick for awhile and he hasn't had solid food for…' He paused, realising that ramen probably wasn't the best option. There was a fairly good chance Koichi would just throw it up. 'A month,' he finished, feeling somewhat lame.

'A month?' the other repeated incredulously. 'And you're wandering around in this weather? And getting food from a take-away…although our ramen is quite fine in more ways than one –' The last bit was said with pride but there was still an unusual level of concern in the eyes of the stranger.

At least, until he turned to glare at Koji.

'We were on our way somewhere and got separated,' Koji replied defensively, thinking up a more elaborate tale on the spot. Honestly, Koichi was better at coming up with stories and covering the plot holes; he simply failed at making it sound believable. Writing the story was no problem. Or drawing for that matter.

'On your way where?'

'A shrine.' Koichi, rather unexpectedly, raised his head. He had been so quiet and still that the other two boys had thought him asleep. Actually, Koji had thought him to be unconscious. The name that followed came out somewhat garbled, but evidently the server recognised it anyway; Koji certainly did not. And it was an extra stroke of luck that the boy, now scrubbing away at the ramen bowl, knew the fastest way to get there.

Koichi stood up and stumbled, causing Koji to catch him in slight alarm.

'Hurry,' the elder twin urged. 'You need to go, now!'

'Why?' Koji whispered back. 'What's there?'

'The others.' Like his brother, Koichi kept his voice low. 'Don't let Zoe touch the wooden box or the hand inside. I'll catch up.'

He sounded desperate, even with the effort to remain calm. So Koji left his brother and followed the path outlined to him by his brother…and presumably the medium he thought he spied along the way.

So Koichi had found the others. He hadn't been able to at first; maybe he had simply needed more concentration.

After a few minutes, he realised he needed more concentration. The shrine was farther than he had originally thought, the rental property that was his destination even more so. As it was, he crashed into the door not a moment too soon, garbling his shout of caution as he saw Zoe's naturally pale hand reaching for a wooden box –

'Don't touch that box! Zoe!'

Every occupant of the room stared incredulously at him, Zoe's hand frozen mere inches from the box.

It took another frozen moment before the heat rose to Koji's face and he quickly bowed. 'I'm sorry for the intrusion,' he said quickly. 'But that box-'

He was in no way prepared for the gun that suddenly appeared in the free hand. In fact, if something hadn't knocked him off his feet, he would have winded up with a nice little hole through his skull.

There was a shriek; high and panicked, it was difficult to tell whether it came from a male or the only female in the room. The box went flying; Takuya thankfully had caught enough of the situation to attempt to catch it. He missed sadly, but it bounced into JP's extended grip and he caught it safely.

This time it was definitely Tommy who screamed, causing both twins to scramble to their feet and the inhabitants of the room to freeze for the second time.

'Good timing,' Koji said weakly to his brother eventually.

'I think it was Espeon,' Koichi responded, breathing almost drowning out the reply.

'Watch out!'

That was Zoe who shouted the warning, just in time for the unseen vectors to halt the next bullet.

The man went pale. 'C-Genomer,' he muttered. The next readied-shot was indisputably targeting the elder twin – except it failed to fire as Koji lashed out with a whip of light.

The quarter watched the twins grapple with the Mikagi man. Koichi wasn't quite up to snuff, but it seemed his vectors and Espeon's speed and precognition were a huge help. Koji was just naturally agile from years of martial arts and a single day without decent meals wasn't going to get him down. Of course, it helped that Takuya practically forcefed him before. Not that he was going to quite admit to the fact at that point in time.

As for the other four, they were more than a little confused. Takuya's empty fists were clenched; JP firmly clutched the box. If Koji said to keep the box away…hang on? He froze suddenly, looking at the object. Had Koji called Zoe's name simply because she had been the one reaching for it, or because it was her specifically.

He hoped for the latter, for both himself and Takuya had touched it. Heck, he was still touching it!

Koji danced around another blow. The gun had easily been dismantled; it seemed almost reflective on Koichi's part but it certainly made their fight safer. He could see what was so urgent now – although he wouldn't say no to information. But for the man to pull a gun on him for stopping Zoe from touching that box –

He suppressed a shudder, ducking away from the knife and parrying from his own sword. The blade's twin swung for the ex-warrior of darkness, but Koichi used his vectors to jump high and out of reach.

But the man was wild, fighting as if he was possessed, and two teens, despite being rather experienced and possessing powers the other lacked, were slowly succumbing to the restraints of their own bodies.

In fact, it if hadn't been for Tommy changing the battlefield and icing the ground, one of them would have gotten hit.

Unfortunately, that turned the attention towards the four that remained and something – they weren't sure what – flew towards them. All of them dodged; the box splintered in JP's hold and he howled in pain as the sharp fragments dug into his fists. The contents went flying too; he didn't see where as there was a fine layer of dust and other things.

Tommy was closer; he gagged, but couldn't see either. He heard JP's shout – nothing from the twins though and that worried him. Had one of them gotten hit? He could hear Takuya too, muttering about on the same side as JP and cursing to himself, and a small cry of surprise from Zoe –

Who had the misfortune of taking the mummified hand to the head. Literally. The surprise quickly turned into a frozen shriek as flashes flew by his eyes: blood, anger – there was so much –

Something was cracking. Someone was screaming. She couldn't tell who or what or where though. She was angry; at what, she didn't know.

She simply lashed out to expel that anger.

Every male in the room felt the air change. The sky roared outside; the roof was leaking now from their reckless fighting and rain was quick to slip through the gaps. The man froze before gabbling something incoherent All they (or the twins rather, being the only ones close enough) could make out was the repeated words: 'I – must –!'

Koichi in particular wondered if his hearing was spinning around in a centrifuge as much as his vision was. It would make perfect sense; his body simply wasn't used to the sudden onslaught of movement. As it was, adrenaline was the main reason he hadn't already collapsed – and of course the danger that triggered it. His medium was completely useless; even though there was plenty of shadow, he was simply too tired to concentrate on the sensory information fed back to him, or even exercise control. The consequence left his brain even more muddled.

He hoped there would be a way to get it under control. It was useful, certainly, but it seemed to have as many side-effects as benefits.

That was before his numbing skin realised the change in air currents. And if it hadn't been for Espeon's predisposition, he may have missed it entirely.

Still, he didn't know what it meant. None of them did. Except the man who was praying now, mumbling, drawing something with the grate of metal –

Koji heard it first and even Espeon's precognition fell short to Gallade's guard abilities in that instance. They both moved, but it was the younger twin who threw himself into a grapple with the knife. His own light-weapon was gone; he was getting as tired as his brother, even if his stamina was in better shape. He had been handling more of the strength aspects of the fight after all. Even if he was still a little lost.

For Koichi, it was too late to stop moving, but he was in a good position to pitch in if Koji needed it. Granted, it was quite a large "if"; Koji had more experience than him –

He had not seen the needles of power ripping through the air behind him. Behind them. Too fast to be seen, to be pre-empted – too fast to even scream as they tore through his body.

The thought barely dashed across his mind: thank goodness he had been behind his brother…

And then something literally exploded behind his eyes.

He missed another scream. Koji's. Then the man's; Koji had pulled them out of the way – but something had seized his vectors with a frenzy, and there were pulling at them viciously. Pulling at his mind as it unconsciously leaned to them –

For some reason, he was getting the sense of déjà vu. As if something of the sort had happened before. Just not to him…

JP decided then and there he would forever curse the moment he let go of that damned box. He hadn't seen it land atop of Zoe, but he could see it now, glittering strangely as the girl herself stood in a trance. One hand was outstretched; her eyes were white, her face pale and blank.

And the air…was shrieking and tearing at itself.

Tommy pulled his hat over his eyes to shield them. Takuya tried to do the same with his cap. JP had neither luxury – and that's how he remained the sole witness of the next events, because Koji had his back to the beginning of them.

Something literally cut the air. He couldn't see what but he definitely saw a shift in the space around them. It could have been cool: fascinating, a scientific observation of high quality – if it hadn't been for where it had aimed. Straight at the twins and the man who'd so suddenly attacked them.

They dove into the elder twin before he could so much as blink. There was a pause, a fragile tethering, and then Koichi was screaming out in raw pain as the power tore through his body, his mind and God knew what else.

He was reminded of how Mariko's vectors had slashed through Tommy's stomach. How the blood had flown through the air. How the raw anger had erupted –

The only difference was that it had erupted first this time. Right beside him. Inside Zoe, eyes still blank but aura raging fiercely enough to command the wind hurtling through the world outside.

That, he presumed from what the Mikage told them, was the reincarnation of Ceres. The one who had sworn to kill the Mikage family in her revenge.

And the twins were in the way.

Eventually – or so it felt – Koji dragged his brother out of the way and the other collapsed limply, like a marionette cut off his strings. With nothing left to obscure, the Mikage was left to face the full power of Ceres' rage – and JP couldn't really find it in his heart to be sorry, because he'd tried to kill at least three of his friends. Four perhaps, if it was a bullet that had knocked the box from his hands. Unless he himself was the fourth.

Still, it was a mercy when the blue light appeared around them before the man fell. Maybe he would live, so poor Zoe would have no blood on her hands.

But it was for a selfish reason as well, for if he could passively wish a man dead, did that make him worse?

The light swallowed the question as well as him.