Other Worlds
Chapter 8
I finally got chapter 8 done! Hurray! It may not be as good as I wanted it to turn out, but it is all Heero and Nikita just as I promised. Well, except for one tiny little part. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Three guesses and the first two don't count.
…. = denotes thought
Nikita gasped at the sight that lay before them. She pushed the door further open and stepped into the room, excitement dancing in her eyes A happy grin broke out across her face and she turned back to Heero, who was still standing in the doorway.
"Heero, have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked in a soft excited whisper. The small room was filled with treasure, the kind you read about in storybooks. Mountains of gold and silver coins glittered in the yellow torchlight. Large rubies, emeralds, and various other polished gems sparkled against the gold and silver. Swords and daggers with ornate gilded hilts lay encased in jewel encrusted sheaths. Nikita's own sword and satchel were lying there, it's plain looks standing out amongst the wealth. Heero had to admit that all this treasure was indeed an impressive sight.
"How big are your pockets Heero?" asked Nikita while she picked up her sword and sheath. She buckled her longsword back around her waist. She started opening up various satchels on her satchel and cramming as many gold coins as she could into each one.
"Nikita, I really don't think we have time for this." said Heero. He wanted to get out of here quickly. Something about this place made him uneasy.
"Oh, relax Heero." said Nikita while she busily filled the pockets on her satchel. "We may need all this gold later. If we run into an inn, I want a warm clean bed. Maybe you should pick out a sword or something." She gestured towards a few swords lying off to her right. "We may have to fight our way out if Turk doesn't come through for us. He's not the most reliable person in the world."
Heero walked over to one of the swords Nikita had pointed to. It was huge with a silver hilt that had an ornate golden dragon twisting around it with a blood red ruby resting in its claws. Its sheath was made of black leather and had strange looking runes sown into it with golden thread. Heero grasped its hilt and lifted the sword. It felt heavy and clumsy in his hands. He didn't think he'd be able to fight with it.
"Heero, I think that broadsword may be a little too much for you." Nikita walked over to his side. "Hmm, it looks magical. Can I see it?" Heero handed her the broadsword. She took it from him and began studying the runes in the sheath. Heero marveled at the way she handled the heavy weapon with ease. She didn't seem to feel its weight at all. Nikita saw him looking at her strangely and laughed.
"Why are you looking at me like that Heero?" she grinned. "Don't let this delicate looking form fool you. I'm a lot stronger than I look and I've been training with a sword my whole life." Heero just crossed his arms and looked away, not saying anything.
"Here." Nikita handed him a longsword she had found in the pile of treasure. Heero took it and strapped it around his waist. Nikita strapped the broadsword onto her back. She picked up a large ruby from the pile and put it in her satchel.
"A little something for Turk, if we find him." she said as she slung her satchel onto her back as well.
"Can we go now?" asked Heero a little irritably. He really wanted to get out of this place. Nikita heaved and exasperated sigh and threw her hands in the air in a gesture of defeat.
"Fine, fine we'll go." She walked to the door, pausing in the doorway to look back longingly at the treasure they would be leaving behind before continuing on. Heero followed after her, shutting the door behind him so that no one would be able to tell they had been down this way. Then the two took off silently down the hall.
Turk stood in the middle of the dim hallway and scratched his head. He looked back down at the map in his hands, but it only served to confuse him more.
"I don't think I have the right map…" he mumbled to himself. He looked down the hall. It split off in two directions. Turk looked down the left hall then down the right, but found nothing to distinguish the halls from each other. They both looked the same to him. He needed to find the way out of here soon so he could deliver the book and collect his pay. He was also hoping to see Nikita again. He wanted to at least talk to her once more; it had been so long since he had last seen her.
"I hope she's all right." He thought back on that strange boy that was with her. Something had seemed a little off about him. Maybe it was his eyes, they were dark blue and cloudy, like a raging storm lurked behind those irises. It was unnerving the way they just drew everything in to be sucked down in their dark blue depths. Except when Nikita had smiled at that boy, something had flickered in them and he didn't seem so cold for a few moments. Turk smiled. Nikita could melt even the coldest of hearts. There was something about her; she was just so carefree and downright adorable when she was angry. Her cheeks would flush a pretty red, her aqua eyes flashing. It was part of the reason why Turk picked on her so. Turk shook his thoughts of Nikita out of his head and turned back to the task at hand.
"I guess I'll go right." The tall man pulled the hood on his cloak up a little higher and turned down the right hall.
"Looks like we've come to another door." said Nikita wearily. They had been wandering the halls for what felt like hours, finding just about everything but the way out.
"Should we open it?" asked Heero. His feeling of unease had increased when they had traveled down this hall.
"We might as well. Who knows, maybe this one leads out." Nikita replied. They pushed the heavy door open a few inches and Nikita peered through the gap. Heero looked in over her shoulder.
The room was lit dimly with torches. There were about five bandits there armed with short swords and three more with crossbows. They appeared to be guarding a door on the far side of the room. Four of the bandits were playing cards, one was asleep, and the other two were arguing about something.
"Heero, I think we've finally found the way out of this wretched place." whispered Nikita happily.
"How do we make it past the guards though?" asked Heero. He was wishing for his gun.
"I'm not sure…hey who's that?" asked Nikita. A tall figure in a dark cloak had just entered the room. He walked quietly along the edge and nobody seemed to notice him. He looked over in the direction of the door where Heero and Nikita were. The dark figure waved a little hello to them.
"It's Turk!" whispered Nikita. "Maybe he has a plan…" Turk pulled down the hood on his cloak and walked over to the guards. He started talking to them in panicked tones and gesturing towards the door he had just come through. The guards picked up their weapons and walked over to the door and disappeared into the hall behind it. Turk grinned smugly as he watched them go, then walked over to Heero and Nikita.
"You two can come out now, the coast is clear." He said. Heero and Nikita stepped out from behind the door.
"Turk thank you! That's twice I owe you now." said Nikita. Turk just grinned and ran a hand through his messy brown hair.
"Think nothing of it. How about we get out of here now? I don't know how long they'll be gone." he said.
"Yes, we should get going." Nikita took Heero's hand and started leading him towards the door. Heero noticed Turk frown a little at Nikita's action.
I wonder what's wrong with him? He thought. Maybe he has feelings for Nikita too… Heero tightened his grip on Nikita's hand a little and glared at Turk.
"Hey Turk, we didn't find anything in there…" a voice said. The trio jumped at the sound and turned to face the returning guards.
"Hey! What are you doing with the prisoners Turk?" asked the guard.
"Um…well, er…uh…" stammered Turk.
"You lousy traitor!" the guard roared and charged Turk with his sword raised. Turk jumped nimbly out of the way and drew his own twin shortswords.
"So much for getting out of here without incident…" mumbled Nikita. She let go of Heero and drew her longsword. Heero did likewise.
"Guess we'll be fighting our way out of here." said Turk as he joined Nikita and Heero at their sides. The five guards attacked and the trio fought them off expertly. Then crossbow bolts began to fly and they had to separate or risk being hit.
Two of the guards had Heero backed into a corner. They fought him fiercely, Heero barley being able to block one blow before another one was thrown. He was suddenly very glad for all those fencing lessons. Then one of the guards gave Heero the opening he needed. He kneed the man in the gut and drove his sword into his back when he doubled over. Now he was able to focus all his attention on the other guard. He attacked the other man with lightning fast blows. The guard managed to fight Heero off for about five seconds before Heero's blade was buried deep into his chest. Heero wiped at the blood that was trickling down his forehead from a cut he had received he looked up and saw Turk fighting off a guard and trying to dodge the bolts that were being fired at him at the same time. Heero then heard Nikita's voice cry out in pain and saw her pinned to the wall by a dagger through her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and pulled the dagger out and threw it back at the bandit that had thrown it at her, hitting him in the forehead. Another bandit came up behind her and she turned to face him, despite her bleeding shoulder. She didn't see the crossbow being aimed at her from behind as she fought the bandit.
The dream...
Nikita drew her sword back from the dead guard's body. She stood there, catching her breath and clutching her wounded shoulder. Blood was running off her arm and down her blade, forming a small red puddle on the dirt floor. A guard armed with a crossbow stepped out from the shadows he had been hiding in earlier and aimed his crossbow at Nikita's back.
"Nikita, look out!" shouted Heero, sprinting towards the blonde elf. She looked up at the sound of Heero's voice, a look of confusion crossing her face. She looked behind her too late though. The crossbow was fired and Heero knew he wouldn't be able to reach her in time to push her out of the way and she wouldn't be able to move quickly enough to dodge the bolt. Heero had to try and save her though. He forced himself to go faster, his entire being concentrating on the deadly projectile heading straight for Nikita. Without thinking, he suddenly reached out and caught it before it could strike Nikita. Heero stopped, staring at the bolt in his hand.
"Heero, how did you do that?!" asked Nikita with obvious surprise.
"I'm not sure…" replied Heero. They were both snapped out of their stupor at the sound of the crossbow guard crying out as Turk finished him off.
"Great catch Heero." said Turk. "Now, I think we should be leaving before their friends arrive."
"Yes, of course." said Nikita and she began walking towards the door with Turk following after her. Heero stared at the bolt a few minutes more before finally dropping it and following Nikita and Turk. The trio stepped out into the dark and disappeared into the night forest.
Well, I hope you liked it! Could there be a possible love triangle forming between Turk, Nikita, and Heero? Hmm, we'll just have to wait and see! Please remember to review!