Crystal Magicians
By: Anime's Angels
Part Eight
Aurora stared at the spot.... it was... JJ had been....
"That's it!" she screamed. "I can't *TAKE* it any more! Don't you get it?
Instead of being
pulled back together, these... these things are pulling us apart! WE can't
survive her with out
each other. Together we stand, united we fall. No other way. You guys do
what you wish, I'm
finding Cherri then Jay."
Aurora bent down and grabbed her stuff, shoving her items into her knapsack
and preceded away
from the fire. Ariel looked at Cat, crystalline tears in her eyes. *This
isn't happening... it can't be
happening....*
Cat got up as well. "No, Rora, We'll find JJ. Heck it's partially our
fault as well. You find Cher.
We'll meet up again, I'm sure of it."
Ariel, nodded. She was sure that they would met again. This wasn't
goodbye. Not now not ever.
"Bye Ro-chan"
"Bye mermaid, bye kitty."
"Seeya later, alligator!" Cat called dragging Ariel in the other direction.
"After a while, crocodile," Aurora replied, looking towards her own
path, setting out across the plains.
~~~~~~~~
She was running... fast... *No... I can't let them get me.... I've got to
get away... got to run away....
No! No! Don't please! Leave them alone! Rora! Jay! Cat! Ariel!
NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!*
Cherri woke up, frightened. They... they where here.... It... it was after
her....
The black, spider-like creatures made little sounds, there red eyes glaring
and cannon's
charging....
Cherri could still see them, even in the night. The fire had long ago burnt
out but dawn was
hours away. She heard them slither... coming closer to her new found
friends. She wouldn't let
them.
Up, she flipped, landing on her feet, scanning each one. They stopped,
almost to easily. She
tried more... flinging them into one another...tearing them apart... one got
away.
The violet energy sizzled her right shoulder, just barely. She hissed out
in pain, directing her
mind to it, having it sear apart it's own ships. One seemed to scream.
Craftily, Sage opened on eye, looking across to Rowen and Ryo which where
doing the same
thing, studying the girl. Kento lifted his head up and Cye did the same.
Cherri didn't notice.
A smaller one, snuck up and grabbed her from behind. Cherri struggled,
kicking, shifting...
anything. A wounded one came at her, but she tossed it into a large tree.
"LET... GO... OF... MEEEEEE!" she screamed, her ring lighting, a steady
stream of lightning
blue energy gradually working from navy to white. Then, dying.
"Now, now, Sapphirine! Is that anyway to talk to your friend? We are only
trying to protect
you!"
*Friend?* Kento mouthed worriedly
"Your no friend of mine!" She shouted, still struggling. "And my name is
CHERRI!! And... I
don't need PROTECTION!" she said removing the creature with her psi powers.
'Finally'
"Sapphirine, you really don't remember do you? How bout some names then?
Rubia, Amethy,
Emara, Amber? No? Opal, Dia, Jade? No? How bout Kwena?"
"Kwena?" she asked confused, still uncertain from the voice's owner.
The lady stepped into the moonlight of the night. Darkness shadowed her.
Her pale body
seemed covered in black, sucking in the night time. Her wild dark hair had
silver streaks and her
ebony eyes glittered with recognition.
"You still don't have her eyes... such a shame... but, you are her...."
Cherri held her head... she knew... from that monster at school... she
knew....
"Onyxy Jet Kwena... no... no... it can't be...."
"But I am! Midnight!"
A huge black panther jumped out of some opening. The fangs gleamed in the
night, white as
ivory and dripping with red blood. The claws unsheathed, and the hunter
looked at the sixteen
year-old with a hungry gleam.
Cherri couldn't go much farther, she was far away from camp as it was.
And she was terrified.
White blaze came up in time, slashing and growling to protect his new best
friend. The tiger was
much larger, and much fiercer than the panther had anticipated. The other
Ronin Warriors (now
fully awake and in armor) came up. Kento and Cye flanked Cherri where Rowen
guarded the
back and Sage and Ryo approached the woman.
"And you said you didn't need protection! You are a wimp Sapphirine! You
have and always
will be. Opal will be mine. Oh, and you know your little secret? To bad
they know too... here...
have a little some thing to take your defeat off your mind!" The black
nails opened and Cherri
gripped her head... tears flooding out.
"Stop.... make it stop...." she blubbered, where Cye and Kento caught her on
her descent to her
knees.
"Come with me, Sapph. You'll be on top of the world. Morkela wants *you*
by his side. You
could rule the stars. Come on...." Kwena said, drawing near, near enough to
take the silver and
sapphire ring from Cherri's fingers.
"No..." she choked out, her eyes glazed and puff cheeked, "you only want my
ring. Here... take
it!"
The gem lit again, going directly full force as Cherri aimed it at the
woman's face.
Kwena shrieked in pain... it was blinding her. She took herself back to her
beloved darkness
where Cherri's light could harm her no more. She failed....
Cherri slumped down wards, trying to lay down, White Blaze coming up to
carry her back to
camp.
Ryo came up to her, more than a little concerned, to the amusement of the
other guys. "What
happened? What did you do?"
"I don't know...." she said crying into the tiger's fur, "I just don't
know."
~~~~~~~~
Cat looked at Ariel, then back to the fork in the road. "I guess this is
where we part ways."
"I guess so. Good luck, Cat."
"Good luck, Ariel."
And that was all that was said between the two.
And all that was needed to be said.
************
Cat walked in silence. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt free. She
had grown weary of
always being around others. She thrived on independence. On now she was on
her own again.
She was content.
She walked for a good half hour, just enjoying the cool night air. She was a
night person. She
always had been. She remembered when she lived with her grandmother in
Scotland, spending
the summer nights sitting in her wild flower field and watching the
fireflies dance in the night
sky. It had been her favorite thing in the world. It always would be.
After the thought came the familiar pain of loss. Her grandmother had died
three years ago. Her
farm had been sold to some major cooperation. The fire flies were long gone
now.
Her grandmother had always said that the fire flies were the fairies of
Scotland and that
everywhere they went they spread a magical song. The thing about it was that
it was very hard to
hear because you couldn't hear it with you're ears. You heard it with you're
spirit. Cat had never
been able to hear it, no matter how she tried. After almost two weeks, she'd
given up. She'd been
5, two weeks were a very long time.
She remembered the day like it was yesterday....
***Begin Flashback***
Cat was sitting in the field. She'd sat in the very same spot every night
for the last _two weeks_.
She wanted desperately to hear the song of the fairies. She loved stories of
magic. She tried and
tried to no avail. Slowly, tears came to her eyes and she started to cry.
Suddenly she felt warm arms wrap themselves around her. She was engulfed in
the sweet smell
of wild raspberries.
"What's wrong, lass?" her grandmother had asked in her Scottish brogue. Cat
had always loved
the sound of that brogue, just something about it made her feel at peace.
"Nana, I can't hear it," the child sobbed quietly.
"Can't hear what, sweetling?" the old woman asked sympathetically.
"I can't hear the fairies song... they don't want me to hear them, I'm not
worthy...." The girl cried
some more. It was the most disappointing thing that had ever happened to
her. Her beloved
fairies didn't love her back.
"Now child what makes you think that? I told you, the fairy song is magical.
They don't sing it,
they can't," the old woman said with a mysterious smile.
"Huh?" the child said, completely muddled.
"The fairies can't sing so they ask someone they trust to sing the song for
them. Long ago, it was
taught to me by me grand-mum. Now, I'll teach it to you," she said. She
reached into the pocket
of her skirt and pulled out a pan flute.
Cat gasped as she saw this. "A fairy flute!" she said with a mixture of awe
and excitement.
The old woman put the flute to her lips and started to play. It was the most
beautiful melody Cat
had ever heard, it truly was a song that only a wonderful fairy could
produce. As the music
played on, the fire flies danced and the girl and her grandmother became
closer than ever.
***End Flashback***
As Cat continued her walk she started humming the beautiful melody of the
fairies.
She soon came to a field filled with wild flowers. She stopped, savoring the
memories it brought
when she saw something flash in the dark night. a firefly! Then she saw
another and another, just
like back home! She continued to hum and to her it appeared as if the
fairies were dancing. She
put her hands in her pocket and watched for a moment. Then she realized that
there was
something in her pocket... a pan flute! She took it out and started to play
and soon, she was
dancing with her beloved fairies, lost in the shear joy of all the happy
memories that assailed her
mind.
~~~~~~~~
*What was that?* Sano's sleep slugged mind thought as it attempted to
process the new sound. It
was different, not an animal... nothing he'd ever heard before.
'Guess I'll investigate' he thought as her got up.
He followed the sound, as he got closer, the sound became clearer and
clearer until he heard the
melody in all it's splendor. It was coming behind from behind the tree line.
He made his way up to the line and looked through. He saw the most
incredible thing... It was a
girl playing a pan flute and dancing with the fireflies to the melody. She
was wearing a shear,
iridescent sleeve-less dress that was slit up the sides to the hip over a
black sleeveless "v" neck
shirt with black pants that reached mid calf and were slit to just above the
knee. The slits in the
pants were then loosely tied back together. Her eyes were closed and her red
hair was lose and
shimmering in the fireflies light as her shirt danced with all kinds of
colors.
*Wow....* was the only thought he could conjure.
Unthinking, he headed blindly towards the girl. Since he wasn't paying
attention, his foot
snapped a twig rather loudly. The girls eyes snapped open. The melody
stopped. the fireflies
vanished. The girl turned towards the sound, instinctively sinking into a
defensive position, ready
to defend herself if the need be.
"Show yourself!" she commanded in a powerful voice that revealed a slight
brogue.
Sano stood to his full high and raised his hands so that she could see them.
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," he said as he walked slowly towards
her. The girl didn't
respond.
"It's dangerous for a girl to be wandering around at night you know, very
dangerous. You could
get hurt with no one here to defend you," He continued nonchalantly.
"I can take care of myself," she said, frost coating her voice.
"I don't doubt that but people here tend to be a lot stronger than they
look. There also tends to be
a lot more than you'd originally think," he continued.
"And how do you now I'm not one of those people?" she said as she cocked an
eyebrow.
"I know...." he said, his chocolate eyes taking on a mysterious gleam.
He was about two feet in front of her now. Finally, he got a good look at
her face and her eyes.
She had a beautiful face, different from the girls around here and her eyes
were green. A dark
forest green that gleamed with warning.
"I offer you my services," he said with a smug smile.
She lifted an eyebrow at this.
"As a bodyguard," he continued.
"And why, pray tell, should I trust you?" she said her eyes shooting icy
daggers.
"Because you don't have a choice," he said crossing his arms.
Cat stood to her full height now and put her hands on her hips. "Oh really?
And what makes you
think that?" she asked, looking down her nose at him.
*Feisty....* "The fact that we have now been found by at least four Queits
that you attracted with
you're flute."
The girls eyes opened wide and she looked around. Sure enough in the
clearing there were four
Queits.
"Damn you!" She said. He laughed at that.
"My name's Sanosuke Sagara by the way, but you can call me Sano," he said as
he struck a
defensive pose.
"I'm Cat MacLaren, nice to meet you bodyguard," she said with a half grin.
With that the Queits attacked.
Hits were thrown left and right. Sano was impressed by the girl. She wasn't
doing half bad. they
had only been attacked by a small group so they finished of the creatures
rather quickly. When
the battle was done, Sano turned to look at the girl.
"Well, that was refreshing. How about we return to my camp and call it a
night." With that he
turned around and Cat saw a symbol on his back. She looked at it for a few
seconds and suddenly
recognized the kanji symbol. It meant "bad".
Sano turned around to look at her and she met his eyes.
"Sure thing," she said as she caught up with him. "Bad boys sure do come in
handy every now
and then don't they?" she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
********
Mia looked at the situation at hand. It was... a mess. A group of three
ten year olds decided that
they could fight with little rat like things.
When she calmly explained that, No, they would only DIE, they didn't seem to
give up. Luckily,
another group with similar animals (yet older kids) had came in and taken
them off, down
towards the bunkers, out of harms way.
She'd have to thank that Tai kid later.
"Next!"
"Mia. You need a rest. Kay and Cale will do the next shift. Come on,
love."
Mia looked up to her boyfriend. She wanted to go, really. She also wanted
to finish sorting so
she could find Yulie... she just KNEW that that boy had snuck off some
where, probably down to
Earth to see the guys. And get him self in a whole pack of wacky trouble.
Himf. And Relena
was late calling... HQ had gone out, but they were late coming back... she
was worried.
And she couldn't leave. Not now.
Anubis wasn't to be dissuaded, though. "Come on Mia! Come on... At least
eat lunch. You
gotta eat."
Just as it looked like she was going to relent, a 5'4" JJ fell, into the
room.
~~~~~~~~
Ariel didn't like this. Some thing didn't FEEL right....
Before she knew what was happening, she was captured.
*Rubia... you will be a fine edition.... Lady Kwena will be pleased. One
down, four to go....*
~~~~~~~~
Cat looked at her surroundings, a girl, a boy, another young man, and Sano.
She felt...
comfortable with them... yet tired. As much as she loved her freedom, she
still missed her
'friends' she loved being able to do what she wanted, when she wanted...
but a sense of dread
washed over her. Something was wrong...very wrong....
~~~~~~~~
Aurora walked... entering a small forest. Soon, she was walking on a rocky
path. Her footing
slipped, having her fall down a small hill, she managed to slow herself
before she fell into a
cataclysm. The smell of rotting flesh was all in closing, and she felt
sick.
As she rolled out of the way, she noticed a small bit of raspberry cloth...
Cherri's sweater.
Looking back at the pit, a wave of nausea hit her again....
This wasn't happening... it couldn't be... Cherri can't be dead. She can't
be.... Tears formed in her
eyes... noo....
She clamped her eyes shut and cried out into the night...
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
By: Anime's Angels
Part Eight
Aurora stared at the spot.... it was... JJ had been....
"That's it!" she screamed. "I can't *TAKE* it any more! Don't you get it?
Instead of being
pulled back together, these... these things are pulling us apart! WE can't
survive her with out
each other. Together we stand, united we fall. No other way. You guys do
what you wish, I'm
finding Cherri then Jay."
Aurora bent down and grabbed her stuff, shoving her items into her knapsack
and preceded away
from the fire. Ariel looked at Cat, crystalline tears in her eyes. *This
isn't happening... it can't be
happening....*
Cat got up as well. "No, Rora, We'll find JJ. Heck it's partially our
fault as well. You find Cher.
We'll meet up again, I'm sure of it."
Ariel, nodded. She was sure that they would met again. This wasn't
goodbye. Not now not ever.
"Bye Ro-chan"
"Bye mermaid, bye kitty."
"Seeya later, alligator!" Cat called dragging Ariel in the other direction.
"After a while, crocodile," Aurora replied, looking towards her own
path, setting out across the plains.
~~~~~~~~
She was running... fast... *No... I can't let them get me.... I've got to
get away... got to run away....
No! No! Don't please! Leave them alone! Rora! Jay! Cat! Ariel!
NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!*
Cherri woke up, frightened. They... they where here.... It... it was after
her....
The black, spider-like creatures made little sounds, there red eyes glaring
and cannon's
charging....
Cherri could still see them, even in the night. The fire had long ago burnt
out but dawn was
hours away. She heard them slither... coming closer to her new found
friends. She wouldn't let
them.
Up, she flipped, landing on her feet, scanning each one. They stopped,
almost to easily. She
tried more... flinging them into one another...tearing them apart... one got
away.
The violet energy sizzled her right shoulder, just barely. She hissed out
in pain, directing her
mind to it, having it sear apart it's own ships. One seemed to scream.
Craftily, Sage opened on eye, looking across to Rowen and Ryo which where
doing the same
thing, studying the girl. Kento lifted his head up and Cye did the same.
Cherri didn't notice.
A smaller one, snuck up and grabbed her from behind. Cherri struggled,
kicking, shifting...
anything. A wounded one came at her, but she tossed it into a large tree.
"LET... GO... OF... MEEEEEE!" she screamed, her ring lighting, a steady
stream of lightning
blue energy gradually working from navy to white. Then, dying.
"Now, now, Sapphirine! Is that anyway to talk to your friend? We are only
trying to protect
you!"
*Friend?* Kento mouthed worriedly
"Your no friend of mine!" She shouted, still struggling. "And my name is
CHERRI!! And... I
don't need PROTECTION!" she said removing the creature with her psi powers.
'Finally'
"Sapphirine, you really don't remember do you? How bout some names then?
Rubia, Amethy,
Emara, Amber? No? Opal, Dia, Jade? No? How bout Kwena?"
"Kwena?" she asked confused, still uncertain from the voice's owner.
The lady stepped into the moonlight of the night. Darkness shadowed her.
Her pale body
seemed covered in black, sucking in the night time. Her wild dark hair had
silver streaks and her
ebony eyes glittered with recognition.
"You still don't have her eyes... such a shame... but, you are her...."
Cherri held her head... she knew... from that monster at school... she
knew....
"Onyxy Jet Kwena... no... no... it can't be...."
"But I am! Midnight!"
A huge black panther jumped out of some opening. The fangs gleamed in the
night, white as
ivory and dripping with red blood. The claws unsheathed, and the hunter
looked at the sixteen
year-old with a hungry gleam.
Cherri couldn't go much farther, she was far away from camp as it was.
And she was terrified.
White blaze came up in time, slashing and growling to protect his new best
friend. The tiger was
much larger, and much fiercer than the panther had anticipated. The other
Ronin Warriors (now
fully awake and in armor) came up. Kento and Cye flanked Cherri where Rowen
guarded the
back and Sage and Ryo approached the woman.
"And you said you didn't need protection! You are a wimp Sapphirine! You
have and always
will be. Opal will be mine. Oh, and you know your little secret? To bad
they know too... here...
have a little some thing to take your defeat off your mind!" The black
nails opened and Cherri
gripped her head... tears flooding out.
"Stop.... make it stop...." she blubbered, where Cye and Kento caught her on
her descent to her
knees.
"Come with me, Sapph. You'll be on top of the world. Morkela wants *you*
by his side. You
could rule the stars. Come on...." Kwena said, drawing near, near enough to
take the silver and
sapphire ring from Cherri's fingers.
"No..." she choked out, her eyes glazed and puff cheeked, "you only want my
ring. Here... take
it!"
The gem lit again, going directly full force as Cherri aimed it at the
woman's face.
Kwena shrieked in pain... it was blinding her. She took herself back to her
beloved darkness
where Cherri's light could harm her no more. She failed....
Cherri slumped down wards, trying to lay down, White Blaze coming up to
carry her back to
camp.
Ryo came up to her, more than a little concerned, to the amusement of the
other guys. "What
happened? What did you do?"
"I don't know...." she said crying into the tiger's fur, "I just don't
know."
~~~~~~~~
Cat looked at Ariel, then back to the fork in the road. "I guess this is
where we part ways."
"I guess so. Good luck, Cat."
"Good luck, Ariel."
And that was all that was said between the two.
And all that was needed to be said.
************
Cat walked in silence. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt free. She
had grown weary of
always being around others. She thrived on independence. On now she was on
her own again.
She was content.
She walked for a good half hour, just enjoying the cool night air. She was a
night person. She
always had been. She remembered when she lived with her grandmother in
Scotland, spending
the summer nights sitting in her wild flower field and watching the
fireflies dance in the night
sky. It had been her favorite thing in the world. It always would be.
After the thought came the familiar pain of loss. Her grandmother had died
three years ago. Her
farm had been sold to some major cooperation. The fire flies were long gone
now.
Her grandmother had always said that the fire flies were the fairies of
Scotland and that
everywhere they went they spread a magical song. The thing about it was that
it was very hard to
hear because you couldn't hear it with you're ears. You heard it with you're
spirit. Cat had never
been able to hear it, no matter how she tried. After almost two weeks, she'd
given up. She'd been
5, two weeks were a very long time.
She remembered the day like it was yesterday....
***Begin Flashback***
Cat was sitting in the field. She'd sat in the very same spot every night
for the last _two weeks_.
She wanted desperately to hear the song of the fairies. She loved stories of
magic. She tried and
tried to no avail. Slowly, tears came to her eyes and she started to cry.
Suddenly she felt warm arms wrap themselves around her. She was engulfed in
the sweet smell
of wild raspberries.
"What's wrong, lass?" her grandmother had asked in her Scottish brogue. Cat
had always loved
the sound of that brogue, just something about it made her feel at peace.
"Nana, I can't hear it," the child sobbed quietly.
"Can't hear what, sweetling?" the old woman asked sympathetically.
"I can't hear the fairies song... they don't want me to hear them, I'm not
worthy...." The girl cried
some more. It was the most disappointing thing that had ever happened to
her. Her beloved
fairies didn't love her back.
"Now child what makes you think that? I told you, the fairy song is magical.
They don't sing it,
they can't," the old woman said with a mysterious smile.
"Huh?" the child said, completely muddled.
"The fairies can't sing so they ask someone they trust to sing the song for
them. Long ago, it was
taught to me by me grand-mum. Now, I'll teach it to you," she said. She
reached into the pocket
of her skirt and pulled out a pan flute.
Cat gasped as she saw this. "A fairy flute!" she said with a mixture of awe
and excitement.
The old woman put the flute to her lips and started to play. It was the most
beautiful melody Cat
had ever heard, it truly was a song that only a wonderful fairy could
produce. As the music
played on, the fire flies danced and the girl and her grandmother became
closer than ever.
***End Flashback***
As Cat continued her walk she started humming the beautiful melody of the
fairies.
She soon came to a field filled with wild flowers. She stopped, savoring the
memories it brought
when she saw something flash in the dark night. a firefly! Then she saw
another and another, just
like back home! She continued to hum and to her it appeared as if the
fairies were dancing. She
put her hands in her pocket and watched for a moment. Then she realized that
there was
something in her pocket... a pan flute! She took it out and started to play
and soon, she was
dancing with her beloved fairies, lost in the shear joy of all the happy
memories that assailed her
mind.
~~~~~~~~
*What was that?* Sano's sleep slugged mind thought as it attempted to
process the new sound. It
was different, not an animal... nothing he'd ever heard before.
'Guess I'll investigate' he thought as her got up.
He followed the sound, as he got closer, the sound became clearer and
clearer until he heard the
melody in all it's splendor. It was coming behind from behind the tree line.
He made his way up to the line and looked through. He saw the most
incredible thing... It was a
girl playing a pan flute and dancing with the fireflies to the melody. She
was wearing a shear,
iridescent sleeve-less dress that was slit up the sides to the hip over a
black sleeveless "v" neck
shirt with black pants that reached mid calf and were slit to just above the
knee. The slits in the
pants were then loosely tied back together. Her eyes were closed and her red
hair was lose and
shimmering in the fireflies light as her shirt danced with all kinds of
colors.
*Wow....* was the only thought he could conjure.
Unthinking, he headed blindly towards the girl. Since he wasn't paying
attention, his foot
snapped a twig rather loudly. The girls eyes snapped open. The melody
stopped. the fireflies
vanished. The girl turned towards the sound, instinctively sinking into a
defensive position, ready
to defend herself if the need be.
"Show yourself!" she commanded in a powerful voice that revealed a slight
brogue.
Sano stood to his full high and raised his hands so that she could see them.
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," he said as he walked slowly towards
her. The girl didn't
respond.
"It's dangerous for a girl to be wandering around at night you know, very
dangerous. You could
get hurt with no one here to defend you," He continued nonchalantly.
"I can take care of myself," she said, frost coating her voice.
"I don't doubt that but people here tend to be a lot stronger than they
look. There also tends to be
a lot more than you'd originally think," he continued.
"And how do you now I'm not one of those people?" she said as she cocked an
eyebrow.
"I know...." he said, his chocolate eyes taking on a mysterious gleam.
He was about two feet in front of her now. Finally, he got a good look at
her face and her eyes.
She had a beautiful face, different from the girls around here and her eyes
were green. A dark
forest green that gleamed with warning.
"I offer you my services," he said with a smug smile.
She lifted an eyebrow at this.
"As a bodyguard," he continued.
"And why, pray tell, should I trust you?" she said her eyes shooting icy
daggers.
"Because you don't have a choice," he said crossing his arms.
Cat stood to her full height now and put her hands on her hips. "Oh really?
And what makes you
think that?" she asked, looking down her nose at him.
*Feisty....* "The fact that we have now been found by at least four Queits
that you attracted with
you're flute."
The girls eyes opened wide and she looked around. Sure enough in the
clearing there were four
Queits.
"Damn you!" She said. He laughed at that.
"My name's Sanosuke Sagara by the way, but you can call me Sano," he said as
he struck a
defensive pose.
"I'm Cat MacLaren, nice to meet you bodyguard," she said with a half grin.
With that the Queits attacked.
Hits were thrown left and right. Sano was impressed by the girl. She wasn't
doing half bad. they
had only been attacked by a small group so they finished of the creatures
rather quickly. When
the battle was done, Sano turned to look at the girl.
"Well, that was refreshing. How about we return to my camp and call it a
night." With that he
turned around and Cat saw a symbol on his back. She looked at it for a few
seconds and suddenly
recognized the kanji symbol. It meant "bad".
Sano turned around to look at her and she met his eyes.
"Sure thing," she said as she caught up with him. "Bad boys sure do come in
handy every now
and then don't they?" she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
********
Mia looked at the situation at hand. It was... a mess. A group of three
ten year olds decided that
they could fight with little rat like things.
When she calmly explained that, No, they would only DIE, they didn't seem to
give up. Luckily,
another group with similar animals (yet older kids) had came in and taken
them off, down
towards the bunkers, out of harms way.
She'd have to thank that Tai kid later.
"Next!"
"Mia. You need a rest. Kay and Cale will do the next shift. Come on,
love."
Mia looked up to her boyfriend. She wanted to go, really. She also wanted
to finish sorting so
she could find Yulie... she just KNEW that that boy had snuck off some
where, probably down to
Earth to see the guys. And get him self in a whole pack of wacky trouble.
Himf. And Relena
was late calling... HQ had gone out, but they were late coming back... she
was worried.
And she couldn't leave. Not now.
Anubis wasn't to be dissuaded, though. "Come on Mia! Come on... At least
eat lunch. You
gotta eat."
Just as it looked like she was going to relent, a 5'4" JJ fell, into the
room.
~~~~~~~~
Ariel didn't like this. Some thing didn't FEEL right....
Before she knew what was happening, she was captured.
*Rubia... you will be a fine edition.... Lady Kwena will be pleased. One
down, four to go....*
~~~~~~~~
Cat looked at her surroundings, a girl, a boy, another young man, and Sano.
She felt...
comfortable with them... yet tired. As much as she loved her freedom, she
still missed her
'friends' she loved being able to do what she wanted, when she wanted...
but a sense of dread
washed over her. Something was wrong...very wrong....
~~~~~~~~
Aurora walked... entering a small forest. Soon, she was walking on a rocky
path. Her footing
slipped, having her fall down a small hill, she managed to slow herself
before she fell into a
cataclysm. The smell of rotting flesh was all in closing, and she felt
sick.
As she rolled out of the way, she noticed a small bit of raspberry cloth...
Cherri's sweater.
Looking back at the pit, a wave of nausea hit her again....
This wasn't happening... it couldn't be... Cherri can't be dead. She can't
be.... Tears formed in her
eyes... noo....
She clamped her eyes shut and cried out into the night...
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"