Hey to all. Phoenix here again with my latest installment of my first time ever fanfic. Recap, ne? Bloodberry, Cherry, Panta, Luchs, Tiger and, of course, Lime were all born a long, long time ago as humans. Using a basic female gene code found in the broken data core of The Mesopotamia and broken down DNA bases man was able to create woman. But as time went by things were all but good for the women. They were sold to high nobles of the kingdom that created them. There most of them faced the worst conditions at all. They were no longer regarded as humans but as things.
A man by the name of Kaiser rescued these maidens from the hell they lived in and, using his high rank in the Kingdom he worked for, managed to send the women away into the future before anyone knew what was going on. However doing this came to a great price, Kaiser was killed in his endeavors.
Fast forward to present day Terra II; (A.C. 1029), Lime, Bloodberry and Cherry (three of the women who were born in the past) are living under a new, kinder master by the name of Otaru. One day they are targeted by a pair assassins. A man passing by on the street who heard the assassins planning their job prevented the three women from being murdered. When they took him home they discovered that he was a soldier sent from their past to retrieve them for his leader. The man went by the name Keinaro. Cherry, in a fit of rage knocked the man unconscious. When Otaru came home he discovered the man and demanded to know what was going on. Sending Lime out on an errand that would take her three days, Cherry and Bloodberry sat Otaru down and began to explain their past to him. They revealed everything about themselves to their master. Their story ended with their traveling through time to the present.
As always I don't own SMJ or all the SMJ characters owned by who ever owns them. K? Y'all know I'm broke and in grave fear of a lawsuits, there fore lemme state again that I have about as much money as a beggar in the streets of India. Yup. I am penniless. So there. XP Comments and shtuff can be sent to The_Dark_Phoenix@hotmail.com. Oh, If anyone complains that this is too long I say shoo to you. I'm writing this for myself. I'm just posting it to see what people think of my (apparent lack of) writing skillZ. Yes, that is right. Skillz with a Z. haHA!! Kk, story tyme!!
[NOTE] Version 1.1.- Dated: 17 October 2002; I went through the whole 'fic and repaired some stupid problems that were made. The most noticeable mistakes were made at the start of Chap. 3 and the radio transmission in Chap. 4. Now I think you guys will be able to at least understand what was going on. On FF.net using "" "" to indicate actions makes the damn server think it's a set of link instructions and erases the whole line. I fixed most all of them so you can read them now. I'm sorry about the mix up. Take care and Enjoy!
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Bloodberry paused. Wiping her eyes for the last time, she finished her glass of sake. Turning the cup face down she took a deep breath. It had been two days since they started their story. Otaru sat by somberly saying nothing. Hanagata, for the first time in his life, felt for the woman. At first he was skeptical; what she was telling him was, indeed, very far-fetched. But as the story weaved it self out and those very real tears came to her eyes he began to think differently. Tears weren't easy to fake, and coupled with the intriguing story they made for a very real performance. He was convinced.
"When we woke up," she slowly. "We were in your room, lying on those futons. From there on you know how the story goes. Lime awoke as the woman you know today. Around you she seems so innocent and ready to please. She changed. We think the bullet that grazed her skull was what did it, that coupled with the shock of having her physical form flung through time."
Otaru shook his head. "I find it hard to believe that the warrior who Aisha once was is the same, sweet child who I know and adore today."
Cherry spoke up. "There are two different people living in that body. Aisha and Lime. Aisha is a woman scarred by a life pain and suffering trying to do the right thing and follow her heart. Lime is a child, sweet and innocent. When we were escaping and Aisha was shot she suffered a mild concussion. How ever that coupled with the shock of having her body flung across time and space did something to do. Deep down I think she remembers everything. Deep down she knows who she was and what her past is.
"But I think Aisha is trying to keep her promise to Kaiser. To be happy. Lime is the product of that urge to be happy and the shock of being flung across time. Right now she's fine. She's suppressed Aisha, she's suppressed her past. You don't see the scars on her soul- she keeps them covered up. Lime is sweet, innocent and pure. She's the happiness Kaiser sought her to be.
"Otaru-sama, you don't see this, but at night Lime still has nightmares. She still dreams about her past. She still dreams about Kaiser. She went through a year of torment. Something like that leaves wounds that don't quickly heal."
She smiled up at him gently. "However, since we've been here under your care, Lime has become so much better. You've helped to heal her better than anybody. The love you show us gives Lime her happiness and strength. Everyday she gets just a little bit better, and it's thanks to you Otaru-sama."
Otaru smiled slightly and folded his legs up. He was healing Lime... Hanagata cocked an eye over to Otaru.
"Geh, I still don't see how she could be so blindly in love with you Otaru."
Bloodberry pressed her fist-of-destruction onto the blonde's head and glared. "What are you talking about? You're just as bad as the rest of us."
Hanagata slipped out from under her hand and straightened his hair.
"Yeah, but I've known Otaru my whole life. Lime's only known him for a few years. Ever since I first remember seeing her she's fallen head over heels for him."
Bloodberry met the little man's face and grinned.
"We've all been head over heels for Otaru. He's kind and sweet, he takes care of us, feeds us, clothes us..."
Otaru began to blush a little bit every time Bloodberry listed why she loved him.
"...takes us to the movies, pays for our room and board and is always so understanding!"
Hanagata still shook his head. "Yeah, but from first sight?"
Bloodberry looked up from Hanagata to Cherry. For a moment they exchanged glances.
"Well... Actually..." She said trailing off slightly.
Otaru looked to Bloodberry.
"Actually what?"
The woman looked indecisive for a moment. "Well...the thing is..."
"...Is?"
Cherry folded her hands and took over. "Otaru-sama, you look almost exactly like Kaiser-sama."
Otaru sat there a moment with a completely blank look on his face. Cherry slowly refilled her glass of tea and sat back calmly waiting for him. The man slowly turned to Bloodberry and met her eyes.
"B-Bloodberry..."
"Yes, Otaru..." she said shifting uncomfortably. "It's true. You do remarkably like Kaiser. While you look a little too young to really be him the resemblance is most definitely in there..."
Finally a look of surprise and shock stamped itself onto his features. The young man groaned, and sat back running his fingers through his hair.
"I don't believe this..."
Cherry spoke up once more.
"Please, understand, Otaru-sama, We love and live for you, not Kaiser. It's who you are in your heart that we care about. Not just who you look like. Kaiser's dead, we've long since come to realize that. He's never going to come back to us. We know this and Lime knows this. You're not a replacement for him, Not in the least bit Otaru-sam-"
She was cut of when, to the surprise of everyone at the table, Otaru began laughing. Hanagata leaned forward and put his hand on his shoulder.
"O-Otaru? Are you ok?"
The man shook his head in between the chuckles.
"You guys are telling me that I look just like the very man who saved you three? The Arch-Bishop who raised and watched over you three?"
Slowly the women nodded. Otaru grinned. "That explains everything. No wonder Lime was so attached to me at first sight. No wonder you two were the same as well. It ALL makes sense to me now."
Bloodberry smiled a bit herself and shook her head. Otaru seemed fine. They all sat there a moment letting everything sink in. Hanagata was the first to speak up. He stared down at his belly and rubbed it. It responded with a gurgle.
"Ne, Otaru, I'm hungry."
Bloodberry looked over at Hanagata with an annoyed expression on her face. "You're always hungry."
For once Otaru came to Hanagata's defense. "Bloodberry... He has a point. It's been a while since I've last eaten as well. Cherry, let's say we take a break and have a real meal. I'm sure we all could use it."
The maiden smiled and nodded. "Of course Otaru-sama. I will get right on it."
The man chuckled. "No, Cherry, there's no rush. We have all the time in the world, ne?"
Both of the women smiled and chuckled. Hanagata prodded his stomach and slumped his shoulders. If Cherry was going to take her sweet time...
Suddenly a voice spoke up breaking the mood in the room. It was sad, almost regretful.
"Five days..."
Everyone stopped and turned. It came from Otaru's door. There standing slightly disheveled and rather unshaven was Keinaro. His eyes were sad and downcast and his shoulders slumped. Almost immediately Bloodberry and Cherry bristled. Once again, Keinaro spoke very softly.
"Five days... It's been two since you returned me here, right?"
Otaru furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about Keinaro?"
The Gray Eye swallowed and shook his head. "I had no idea. I really had no idea what you three went through. They never told us what happened. When Kaiser died they said he died defending the Rocket Shot and nothing more. I- I was told that by bringing you three back we would be saving all of man kind and honoring Kaiser's name. All I... All I've just done was just undo what he fought and died for. I'm so... I'm so..."
Bloodberry watched the man dig his hands into the wooden door frame gouging deep marks into it. Cherry saw his body trembling softly as if he were crying. She calmed a bit and unclenched her fists.
"Naro what do you mean by five days?"
The man didn't look back up. Instead he shook his head and trembled more.
"I'm so sorry, all of you. Please... I'm so sorry..."
Bloodberry began to become alarmed. Gray Eyes don't usually act this way... Her voice was firm but filled with concern.
"Naro?"
The Gray Eye looked up and met the maiden's gaze. She could see tears along the brims of his eyes. His face was that of a man who committed a crime too serious for death alone seeking repentance from those who he hurt.
"You guys... have only five days left together. After that, Lord Ghenna comes here and takes you away back to his home. I already reported where you six were two days ago after I left here, but before Otaru stopped me... Ghenna's coming, and there's nothing I can do stop it now..."
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Saber Marionette J
[Dark's AU] Human
Eps. 5 - The Calm Before The Storm
"We'll Prepare for the worst"
She calls me from the cold
Just when I was low, feeling short of stable...
And all that she intends,
And all she keeps inside isn't on the label...
She says she's ashamed.
Can she take me for awhile?
Can I be a friend?
We'll forget the past!
Well, maybe I'm not able,
And I break at the bend...
We're here and now,
Will ever be again?
'Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade...
Away...
Again...
She dreams a champagne dream!
Strawberry surprise, pink linen on white paper...
Lavender and cream!
Fields of butterflies, reality escapes her...
She says that love
Is for fools that fall behind.
And I'm somewhere between!
Never really know
A killer from a savior...
'Til I break at the bend...
We're here and now,
Will ever be again?
'Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade...
Away...
Again...
It's to far away for me to hold!
To far away....
It's to far away for me to hold!
To far away....
Aaaaaaawwww...
Yeaaaah,
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away....
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away...
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away....
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away....
...Guess I'll let it go....
Shimmer
~Fuel
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All four of the people fell silent. With looks of shock and horror Bloodberry and Cherry gaped at the man. Hanagata forgot about his hunger. Otaru became pale. This means that in less than five days he is going to lose... Keinaro shook his head despairingly.
"I had no idea you sacrificed so much. I had no clue you the hell you went through. I acted thinking it was the best thing to do at the time. I ignored that little voice in my head and now I'm paying for it. I heard everything. I woke up right about the time Cherry was talking about meeting Lime for the first time. I heard your entire story. I heard all of what happened. Kaiser..."
Naro swallowed and dug his hands even deeper into the door frame.
"Kaiser was the man I looked up to. He was the greatest warrior that ever lived. When he died I was devastated. Completely and utterly. The only comfort I had was that I wasn't the only one who cried that time. Almost all of Mesopotamia wept for the fallen Arch-Bishop. I don't there was a single man who didn't mourn for him. I had no idea he died for you three. I had no idea..."
He stopped and lowered his face hiding it from the four people. Hanagata shook his head slowly.
"So you betrayed us. You betrayed these women to the devil and now you want us to forgive you?"
Bloodberry looked up surprised at the blond man. "Hana..."
He turned to her and pointed his finger. "Don't get me wrong! I still hate you three. You're still out for the love of my blessed Otaru! But what you three women went through, no one should have gone through. Naro, you betrayed these maidens to Satan himself! How dare you stand there and beg for our forgiveness!!"
Bloodberry's expression softened toward Hanagata. He'd called them women and maidens for the first time in their lives. Keinaro, on the other hand, did nothing. His head down turned, body trembling and fingers buried deep into the wall he said nothing. Everything Hanagata said had been true...
Slowly Cherry rose. Her eyes were burning brightly in their sockets. Otaru watched her move toward where Keinaro was standing in despair.
"Cherry..."
She came close and stood next to the man seething. Keinaro knew who it was even without looking up. He could hear her ragged breathing, smell her sweet perfume. He stood by and trembled with sorrow and self-remorse. He dared not look up.
Cherry raised her hand high and prepared to strike down the Gray Eye. Naro could hear the noise of her arm being raised and tensed. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow. Cherry's eyes narrowed as she glared at the man standing before her. Slowly, very controlled, she moved her lips.
"Why...Why did you do it..."
Naro shuddered and shook his head. "I thought it was the right thing to do. Your safety would have been guaranteed. Lord Ghenna needs the DNA codes locked in your hearts to begin mass-producing women for the public. He's only got two codes. In order to g-get the genetic variety he needs he'll need the other six of you."
Bloodberry spoke slowly as well. "What about those data cores and all the notes the science teams took?"
"T-they were destroyed in an explosion at the science labs. He doesn't have any other records of what-"
"Wait a minute..." Cherry interrupted him. "You said he already had some. Where'd he get those samples from?"
Hanagata narrowed his eyes. "He said the other six of you... You three never saw Jade and Rose leave the station, did you?"
Cherry and Bloodberry exchanged worried glances. Hana was right. The smaller maiden turned to Naro.
"Naro..."
Slowly the Gray Eye nodded. "Lord Ghenna has them."
With a cry Cherry slammed her hand into the wall splintering it not three inches from Naro's head.
"What do you mean?"
Naro's trembles began to get worse. "Th-they never made it out of the l-labs. The explosive they a-armed to erase the data of where you s-six went w-went off prematurely. Th-they were halfway through the launch s-sequence when it went off. It destroyed all the equipment in the l-lab and shut down th-the time sequence. They never escaped..."
The rage in Bloodberry's eyes faded and was replaced by something deeper. Her shoulders slumped and she turned her head away. They never escaped... They never made it out... Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry had been living happily and peacefully all this time while Jade and Rose were both caught in the torment of Ghenna's hell...
Cherry rose her hand high once more. Naro flinched as he heard the heavy hand raise itself into the air above him. He held his breath and waited for the blow.
Naro, more than anyone else, was surprised when it never came. Gently Cherry placed her hand on the Gray Eye's shoulder. Her eyes softened and her breath slowed.
"You did it because you wanted what was best for mankind, ne?"
Slowly Naro nodded. Cherry swallowed and continued.
"I'm tired of feeling angry. I'm tired being mad. There are things more serious than my hatred toward you. Ghenna is coming, Jade and Rose are still trapped under him and we are running out of time. I can't be angry anymore. I hate being mad."
She turned to Bloodberry. "Ne, Bloodberry-chan?"
The woman with the fiery hair looked up and met her sister's eyes. She swallowed once and turned away. Looking out the window she silently nodded. Cherry turned back to Naro and lifted his chin. They met face to face.
"We can't change what's been done. Our actions can't be taken back. But we can try to amend the damage we've done. I can't take back what I've said and done to you. I've acted blindly. I let my own personal feelings cloud my judgment. I remember someone else who did the same. His name was Kaiser."
Bloodberry silently listened to her sister as she spoke. Otaru brought his legs up and did the same. Naro was their enemy. He'd betrayed them to Ghenna. But if anyone had the right to forgive the man it would be Cherry and Bloodberry. Otaru decided to go upon whatever his Maidens decided.
"Now if Kaiser can forgive and be forgiven..." Cherry continued. "...so can I. We can put our pasts behind us and move on only under one condition."
Naro met her gaze and swallowed. "...Yes?"
Cherry's eyes narrowed. "Who's side are you on, Keinaro? Ghenna's or ours?"
The Gray Eye was silent as he stared at Cherry. Her eyes, her soft, purple eyes bored into his. Now there was a descision to be made. Follow his heart and the little voice in his head, or follow the leader he pledged his life to. What was the right thing to do... He shook his head and averted his gaze. What did his heart tell him...
The heart of man is corrupt. It is filled with deceit and lies, greed and lust. Naro knew this. More than anyone else there he knew. He'd seen his friends, good and strong people grow up and become corrupted by the power one gains by becoming Gray Eye Elite. He knew himself, that some of that power tainted his heart and mind. He was the only one from his entire clan who made it as high as he did. He was specially chosen for this mission along with three other individuals because of their loyalty to Mespotamia and the fatherland and one other special trait. Keinaro sought to follow in the footsteps of his fallen Arch-Bishop. He acted because he felt that was how Kaiser would have acted.
But now he learned that in the time of his death, Kaiser died not for his country, but for these women. Not for the fatherland, but for eight would be mothers. Naro had seen Kaiser's kindness. He remember the speech he had given him as a little boy, about tears and the significance of honoring those who had fallen whom you loved.
...Honoring the fallen of whom you loved...
Corrupt or not, he would follow his heart. He raised his head and met Cherry's eyes.
"Kaiser was one of the greatest men I have ever known. In his final years he became a just and good man. He came back, you know, that day after he talked to me in the hallway. Ryken ignored what I had told him and Kaiser came back. He was so utterly humiliated by the Arch-Bishop that he applied for and was sent away to some back woods post where we never heard of him again. I received the respect and admiration of my clanmates. The Arch-Bishop was stood up right behind me and backed me up right in front of the whole group.
"When he died I made a pledge to myself that I would continue to honor him and the legacy he left behind. You eight are his legacy. If he was willing to die and sacrifice his life for you, then so am I. I will do whatever it takes to defend you three no matter what you choose to do."
Cherry smiled and nodded her head once. Otaru also nodded. They needed all the help they can get. Hanagata saw his love nod and in turn did the same. Otaru could never be wrong, except about love- he was just misguided there. Bloodberry scowled and turned back to Naro and Cherry.
"Oh, that's all nice and dandy Gray Eye. But can you fight as good as you talk? Aisha is a Gray Eye as well. She's got their training and skill, she passed the test!"
Naro frowned slightly. "I'm no Bishop, Bloodberry, but I am an elite."
"Which means what?"
Naro raised his shirt and revealed a tattoo on his other arm. It was of a phoenix, dark and awesome, rising from ashes in a glorious array of fire. To Otaru, it was one hell of a tattoo. It seemed to shine on his arm catching the light. He'd never seen anything like it before. However when Bloodberry saw it and her eyes grew large. Naro smiled softly.
"I'm a Black Legionnaire." Otaru, Hanagata and Cherry all stepped back in surprise. Naro chuckled a bit. "I told you I was elite."
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While Cherry bustled about in the kitchen, Naro and the rest sat at the table. The Gray Eye felt a little better and became more at ease. Otaru began to take a liking to the older man. While he was shy and really didn't speak unless spoken to, what he had to say was almost always useful. Otaru saw a light in his Gray Eyes that he'd never seen before. Every time he saw the man before he was saddened and gloomy. This was the first time Otaru'd ever seen him at relative peace. Hanagata, on the other hand didn't take such a liking to him. Being sent into low orbit into a plasma cloud wasn't something one soon forgets. He put up with him only because Otaru'd seemed to have taken a liking to the man.
"So we have less than five days, correct Naro?"
"Yes."
"Alright..." Otaru said rubbing his forehead. "Five days... What happens then?"
Bloodberry spoke up. "I'll tell you what happens. Ghenna comes and takes us back. You never see us again, we never hear from you again. That is it. That is all."
Otaru blinked. "It can't be as cut and dry as that!"
Naro shook his head. "Yes it can be."
Bloodberry slammed her fist into the table. "Do you really think Ghenna gives a crap about you or about us? Do you think he really cares about how we feel?"
The young man paused. "Well... no I guess not. That's why I'm not going to let him take you three from me!"
"Otaru, I don't think there's a force on this planet that will keep us from Ghenna's rage now. We can't run! There's no place where we can hide."
Otaru turned to Naro. "What do you think?"
The Gray Eye took a sip of some of the sake that had been left out. "We need to look at our options here. We can wait for Lord Ghenna to come and just accept fate, or we can fight it and resist with everything we have in ourselves. If we resist what are we going to do? We obviously can't fight the entire Mesopotamian fleet."
Bloodberry chugged some drink herself. "We can try."
"We will die. Going against an entire armada is a pointless end to a wasted life. We need to think about this. I'm going against everything I've ever been taught right now. Mesopotamia is the fatherland and should always be protected from invaders. I am sitting beside you collaborating about mounting an assault on that country. I don't like the idea myself. I'm going against rational thought by doing this. If I don't like it how do you think a Bishop's going to feel about it? Or an entire squad of legionnaires? They will destroy us."
"Well we're not going to wait for the end to come and just accept it!"
"Of course we aren't Bloodberry, which is why we're talking about his right now. Naro isn't there anything we can do to resist this?"
"There's always something we can do... I just can't think of it right now..."
"Well, wait. Otaru-kun..." Hanagata said speaking up. "I remember, in old history texts, about how back on Earth cultures used to describe invading armies like snakes. One long slithering snake."
"Yeah..."
"Well, what is one thing every snake has?"
Bloodberry took another drink. "Gray Eyes?"
Naro snorted while Hanagata went on.
"No, they have a head. What would happen if we chopped that head right off? The body dies..."
"...Killing the snake." Otaru nodded. "Well what's the head of this snake?"
"Ghenna." Bloodberry grunted. "So all we have to do is kill him."
Naro spoke up. "Now wait a minute!"
"No, hold on Naro." Otaru said taking some tea. "Hana has a point. Bloodberry, you said yourself that Kaiser told Aisha that in the future Mesopotamia isn't around, that something happened to Ghenna."
"Yeah..."
"Well, what if we're the ones that happen to Ghenna? This could be all fate! All we have to do is kill Ghenna and we'll be safe."
Naro shook his head. "I'd be easier to fly with only your arms Otaru. Lord Ghenna is always protected by a Bishop or two or..." He trailed off.
"...Or?" Bloodberry pushed.
The Gray Eye took a deep breath. "Remember Leska-chan?"
"Jade."
"Yes, Jade... Well, when she didn't escape Lord Ghenna put her back into her psychic training. It's been twenty years since you've left that world. She's come further than Kaiser ever imagined."
"What do you mean?" Otaru leaned forward.
"She's a killing machine..."
"What?!" Bloodberry stood up. "What?! Jade-chan?! She'd never kill ANYTHING! She wouldn't even hurt insects! There's no way that she could be a killer."
"You remember what happened to Aisha, didn't you? Her year with Lord Kisa. Now stick Leska-chan in Aisha's place, Lord Ghenna in Kisa's place and multiply the years by twenty!"
Bloodberry fell silent.
"I've never seen her before, myself, but I've heard the horror stories. They describe her like a demon. Half her face is covered in some sort of mask. There was an explosion or some misfire and she was horribly scarred on the right side of her face. They say her eyes are completely and totally flat. That when she kills you they look almost dead. She's got powers unmatched by any other living thing. She's a demon. A walking piece of terror. She can kill a Bishop without even so much as batting an eye. She never says anything. Never talks, she's totally silent. She uses her mind! She can burrow into your head and turn you insane or read whatever thoughts you choose to keep hidden from the rest of the world. It's because of her that we haven't had another Arch-Bishop after Kaiser. We've never needed one. She's a terrible force."
Everybody became silent. Bloodberry couldn't believe her ears. Not Jade-chan. Not her. There was no way she could ever kill anything. She'd never hurt anyone before... Naro continued.
"But... I think there is one person we can go to who may help us. In fact, we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone with hi..."
"What do you mean? Who's this man?" Otaru said.
Naro looked and smiled slightly. "Oh yeah... I never told you." He leaned over his shoulder and called into the kitchen. "Cherry! Come out here. This is important!"
The maiden walked out of the kitchen drying her hands on a towel she had slung over her shoulder. "Yes? What is it?"
Naro motioned to her seat. "Sit down. You're going to want to hear this." Silently she did as she was bidden. Bloodberry saw Naro's eyes light up as he spoke.
"There's one man who might be able to help us. Technically he's the oldest man alive. He's been with us since the original six crash landed on this planet. He's died countless times, but his memories have been sent into clone after clone of himself down the ages. He's the only man on all of Terra two who has memories of Earth and what life was like on it."
"Who is this man?" Cherry asked.
The Gray Eye smiled. "He's the leader of Gartlant. He goes by the name 'Faust'."
Otaru sat back. "Faust? That old coot?"
Naro chuckled. "That man is the wisest one on all of Terra II. He's seen and done almost everything. He would know what to do in our situation."
Cherry scratched her head. "Well, this is all nice and everything, but why do I need to hear it right now?"
"This is what's important," The Gray Eye said raising his finger. "I was sent into this time because apart from the time scarring, there were rumors of odd marionettes roaming around. Rumors of marionettes who could think and act for their own, even smile. Three of these marionettes are here in Japoness... and another three are said to be living somewhere else. Since, I've been able to pinpoint where they were. They live in Gartlant"
Cherry narrowed her eyes a moment processing what had been said.
"Y-you mean..."
The man grinned and sat back. "Faust is living with three other women..."
For the first time that night Bloodberry heard some news she wanted to hear. She exchanged glances with Cherry and smiled widely.
"Tiger, Panta and Luchs! They landed in this time period!"
Cherry stood up and clapped her hands. "They made it, they made it!!"
Otaru watched the two sisters clasp their hands and begin to spin wildly around the room. Their faces were lit up brightly as they chanted in unison.
"They made it! They made it! They made it! They made it!"
When they finally became too dizzy to continue they fell to the floor and landed giggling helplessly. Bloodberry flipped herself over up onto her hands and knees.
"Otaru! We need to go see them!! Let's go tonight!! Let's go, let's go!"
Their master almost did a double take. "W-what?! Bloodberry! Do you know how far away Gartlant is? It's a seven day journey on foot! We'd never be able to make it there in time!"
As Bloodberry's face fell Keinaro's smiled widened.
"Now, now Bloodberry-chan, don't look so down. Do you think I would recommend we go out and do something if we didn't even have the time to arrive there?"
"Huh?"
Naro crawled over to her and lay flat on his belly. Kicking his legs into the air he was almost nose to nose with Bloodberry. "How do you think I got to Japoness? I landed inside the wasteland just outside the walls during a fierce plasma storm. Now you know that plasma storms are the side effects of time travel, they almost always mark a coming and going. But still, traversing that wasteland during a plasma storm isn't any fun. You'll get struck by every plasma bolt that forms out there, and we all now how much they can burn."
She narrowed her eyes. "I thought we had plasma diffusion systems built into our skeletons."
"Doesn't make it hurt any less when you're struck by one. Those suckers sting!"
Cherry interrupted. "Yeah, yeah where are you going with all this?"
Naro looked over to her and met her eyes. "We Gray Eyes almost never travel anywhere on foot unless we need be or we are undercover. Time traveling is no different. Out in that wasteland, about twenty miles from the wall, I came out of the time slip and into this place in a plasma storm. I didn't walk that twenty miles. I came with a star craft. One that was built to go through time and space as well as the skies. What would be a seven day journey on foot would only take us about twelve hours using my ship. We could be there and back long before Lord Ghenna arrives!"
Bloodberry's face lit up. "Then we CAN go tonight, Otaru!! We can go!!!"
The boy smiled and shook his head once more. "No, Bloodberry, we can't. I'm not leaving here until Lime comes back. Even then one of us must stay behind to watch over her."
Hanagata snorted. "S'not going to be me."
"Who said you were going in the first place?!" The fiery woman growled.
Otaru groaned "Please you two..."
"Gomen, Otaru-sama..."
"Ugh, Gomen Otaru."
Turning to the Gray Eye Otaru spoke. "Well, it looks like it's you, me, Hanagata, and either Bloodberry or Cherry." He turned to them. "Which one of you two is willing to stay behind and watch over Lime?"
The sisters exchanged glances and began to talk at almost the same time.
"I will Otaru-sama, Bloodberry really wants to go-"
"I'll stay behind, Otaru. I made a promise to watch over Lime-"
They stopped and once more stared at one another. Otaru groaned once more. He would have to make a decision then... Looking back and forth he sighed and shook his head.
"All right, Bloodberry, you were the first to ask, you'll come with us." The maiden nodded fully aware of her sister's slumping shoulders at her side. Cherry nodded slowly. She wanted to visit them... Maybe another time. Naro straightened himself up. He looked out the window and saw the sun had totally disappeared from the horizon. It was full night outside.
Hanagata, (who had been making faces at Bloodberry until he heard she was to join them), laid down with a thump and groaned. "Well if that's done may we eat? I'm hungry!"
Cherry suddenly shot up like a cat with it's tail on fire. "Oh my god! I forgot the food!! It's going to burn!!" And she rushed into the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the meal (which, luckily, turned out fine) the five sat around the table silently. Naro, for the first time in his life, had a real home cook meal. Most food was either produced in a factory or mass produced, like a McDonalds, where he came from. Fresh ingredients, much less food cooked at home were an extreme rarity where he lived.
Leaning back he patted his belly. "Cherry, I have to admit, that's the best meal I have ever eaten in my entire life."
The maiden smiled. "I hear that a lot. Thank you Naro."
Hanagata, picking at a small pile of rice on his plate groaned. "How come the enemy gets more food than me?"
Cherry sniffed. "That's because the enemy is a guest. He doesn't live next door with his own food to eat." She leaned over grinning maliciously. "He also doesn't make fun of the cook's work..."
Sighing the blonde little man shoved what little was on his plate into his mouth and chewed.
"[munch][munch] Y'still shouldn't be so mean..."
Otaru took a deep breath and sat back once more. "All right. Whenever Lime gets back is when we go. I'm not going to take off without telling her goodbye."
"We understand, Otaru-sama. Please hurry on back after you do leave though. I don't want Ghenna to return while you're out in Gartlant."
"Don't worry about that, Cherry. I promise I'll be home long before that dictator comes for you!"
Naro winced when Otaru called his former Lord a dictator. It still hurt to be going against the man he was taught to be like his father. Some part in his brain wailed and screamed whenever he thought about their plans to keep the six maidens from Ghenna. It would take some getting used to. He was following in Kaiser's footsteps in a more true fashion than he ever imagined. He too was casting everything away for the safety of these females. Unlike Kaiser, he was worried he would have to take this new dedication a step farther- actually going out and killing his Lord and Father; Ghenna.
Bloodberry, lounging with one knee brought up and her arm resting on it casually, turned to her sister. "Do you know when Lime will be back?"
Cherry nodded. "I sent her out to get only, maybe a pound of Maiden's Heart. She should be on her way back by now. I think we can expect her back sometime tomorrow."
Bloodberry turned to Otaru. "So tomorrow evening?"
"Maybe the day after, depending on when she gets back."
"Shit. I hope she gets back early tomorrow then. We don't have the time to wait for her."
Otaru stood up and stretched his back. "Well, I'm not sure about the rest of you, I am exhausted. I really need to sleep. Physically I'm wasted."
Saying his good nights he turned to enter his room. He stopped when Cherry called to him. Turning he met her gaze. Knowing this would be one of the last times she would ever be able to do this she walked over to him. She took his hands into her and met his eyes.
"Sweet dreams, Otaru-sama..."
Her master looked surprised for a moment. Realizing what she was doing and what it meant his expression softened. He squeezed her hands gently in return. "Until the morning Cherry."
He turned, entered his room and slid the door closed behind him. Cherry stood out side the door a moment, downcast. She didn't move until her sister came up behind her and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Cherry-chan?"
Looking hastily away Cherry wiped her eyes. She turned back smiling at Bloodberry.
"Onee-sama?"
Bloodberry shook her head back and forth slowly. "Cherry... If you really want to, you can go in my place. I can stay here and watch over Lime for you."
Her sister shook her head. "No, Bloodberry. You're the one who wanted to go the most. Otaru-sama decided for us. I'll stay behind and watch our Lime."
Hanagata rose and approached the smaller maiden.
"Now, now don't get me wrong here. I still hate you three and all but... but Cherry, while we're gone, you'd better take good care of Lime for me- I mean Otaru- If she gets hurt, Otaru will get sad and depressed, and I don't think I'll be able to stand it. Alright?"
Cherry met his eyes and for a moment saw a flash of sincerity in them. She smiled. "Alright, Mitsurugi. I will."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost three hours later everyone was asleep except for Naro. He had no idea how five people who's lives were going to be dramatically changed in such short notice were able to sleep at all. He leaned against the wall of the main room of the house where the four occupants spent their past two days revealing the past. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. It was warm in here. The air was thick with the musty odor of sweat and body odor. They'd locked themselves in the same room for two days straight, it would make sense things would smell. Walking to the far door he softly opened it and stepped outside.
The cold, Japoness night air felt good on his face. It had a slight bite in it, but Naro didn't mind. The crisp air was cool and fresh. The stars were brightly shimmering above. It never ceased to amaze him. Despite all the years, almost three-quarters of millennia, the stars were almost exactly the same as they were back home. He could see Poseidon up there, and Gaine. Off in the far distance there was a small cluster of stars with Orion was nestled in amongst them. Weren't people on Earth able to see that same constellation as well?
Naro always liked Orion. It was a noble warrior standing guard in a sky full of beasts and gods, like a lone guardian keeping all the other stars safe. Taking a deep, cleansing breath he started to walk. Keinaro had always been attracted to the stars. They were small points of light and sanity set atop darkness and infinity. They represented all that was and all that could be. He could see so many hopes and dreams up in those soft points of light. It was no wonder man chose to traverse their great depths. It was no wonder...
He heard someone coming down the street and stopped. His eyes, despite having adjusted to the light, picked up nothing in the shadows. Moving under cover himself he waited. There, he heard it again. It was the sound of footsteps. Peering as best he could into the darkness he saw something move. A... 'thing' detached itself from the shadows down the street and moved swiftly in Naro's direction. It seemed to be big and bulbous with two small feet peeking out the bottom. It padded softly on the ground making a peculiar noise. It wasn't until the thing got close enough for Naro to discern what it was that the noise made sense. It was making the same sound, like a squeaky toy, every time it stepped.
Naro watched Lime approach with a small smile. The child had a humongous sack on her back. That's what confused him. As she approached he could hear her humming softly to herself. Stepping out from the shadows he made his way toward her.
"Lime." He said softly. The woman stopped and turned to him. She blinked twice and suddenly realized who was calling her.
"Naro!! Keinaro!! You're ok!!"
The Gray Eye smiled. "Yeah, I'm feeling much better now, especially to see you!"
Lime deposited the sack onto the ground and giggled. "Naro-kun! I didn't know how much Cherry would need so I found as much as I could. It's all in here." She said patting the bulging sack proudly. "But I don't think Cherry's going to need them any more now that you're ok..."
The man chuckled. "Nonsense Lime! I'm sure she'll find a use for them! You did a great job!"
Lime smiled once more. "Otaru was counting on Lime! He'll be happy, ne ne? Do you think he'll be proud?"
Naro leaned back and began to laugh. "I know he will be! I don't think you'll ever make him ashamed child. Need a hand?" He reached down and picked up the large bag. They started to walk slowly back to Otaru's home taking their time and enjoying the night. Naro grinned at the woman. She seemed so much like a child; she even had a little hop-skip in her step.
"Lime, do you mind if I tell you some thing?"
"Huh? Sure. What is it?"
Naro looked straight ahead as he spoke, trying his best to hide the emotions behind the words that were going to come out.
"You love Otaru, ne?"
She nodded vigorously. "I love him more than anything in the whole word!!"
Keinaro nodded. "Then can you promise me something?"
"Oro? What is it Naro-kun?"
The man paused a moment before answering. " Lime-chan, the time may come when you will be separated from Otaru for a very, very long time. It won't be your fault, mind you. It will just be fate, I guess."
"Huh, Naro-kun, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the future Lime. There may come a time when you and Otaru will be separated. I can' tell you when, or why, but it might happen." He turned his head to her. "You gotta remember your love for him Lime. You gotta remember your feelings you feel for him right now. You gotta remember that he would never leave you unless he had no choice what so ever in the matter. He loves you, Lime. That boy `loves you deeply. Just remember that he'll always love you, no matter where you are, and that he'll do everything in his power to keep you safe and by his side. Whereever you may go he will follow. Do you understand, Lime?"
The little woman turned her Jade eyes to Naro's Gray ones. "I...I guess... But why would I be taken away from Otaru? I dun wanna leave him."
Naro chuckled. "I know you don't. Just maybe fate will be kind to you and you'll never have to leave his side. But just in case, remember to always remember him. Keep him close to your heart and you'll pull through."
Lime furrowed her eyebrows. "Ok Naro-kun... what ever you say."
"Promise me?"
"Promise!"
"Good!" Naro smiled under the load. "Come on Lime-chan! Let's get inside. Otaru's already gone to bed, but I'm sure he won't mind if you wake him up!"
Lime immediately brightened at the thought of seeing Otaru again. She nodded. "Hai!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cherry stood in amazement, the next morning, in front of the massive sack full of Maiden's Heart. The thing was bigger than she was! Where on Terra did Lime even find a sack that large?!
"I didn't know how much you wanted Onee-chan." Lime said shrugging her shoulders. Cherry continued to stare in disbelief.
"Lime, you've picked enough Maiden's heart to heal the entire city of Japoness!!"
Lime giggled and rubbed the back of her head. Otaru reached around her from behind and held her tightly. She smiled in his embrace and cuddled up against him.
"It's Ok Lime, you did me proud! No one on all of Terra II could pick so much and get it back here so fast!"
She giggled again. "Otaru!"
Naro stretched his back out and heard it crack. "You're telling me that's a lot. I moved it closer to the building this morning and re-set it down to right where you see it. That thing's heavy. It's kinda lopsided as well."
Cherry turned. "Lopsided?"
"Yeah, it landed funny when I set it down. Must be a few rocks in it or something."
Just then Bloodberry walked up. "Hey, has anyone see His Hana-ness around? I haven't seen him all morning. He's usually up and about begging for food about now."
Cherry giggled. "I wouldn't worry about him. I'm starting breakfast right now. The smell of the food will lure him out soon enough. He's like a vulture; always knows where the next meal is!"
Everyone laughed and turned to walk back inside the house leaving the large sack where it was on the ground. No one noticed the frantically waving hands, or the white tights peeking out from underneath it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"But Otaru, why can't I come?"
"I told you Lime, you need to stay here and rest up. This is an important business trip and I'm going to need Bloodberry's and Naro's strength."
Lime's eyes started to mist up. "But Otaru, I just got back last night."
Her master slumped his shoulders. Taking a deep breath he turned and embraced the little woman.
"I know Lime. I don't want to leave myself, but I don't have much choice. I need to do this before it is too late. It's for our future."
"Business trip or not, why can't I at least tag along, Otaru?"
Bloodberry put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Lime-chan, we're going to be hiking this on foot. It's a solid three day trip both ways. It would be murder on your body to travel that distance with out some rest."
"But Otaru~"
"Don't Otaru, me Lime. I'm sorry but you have to stay here. It's just the way-"
He fell silent when he felt Naro's hand descend onto his shoulder. Lime was on the verge of breaking into tears, being short tempered wasn't the thing to do. His expression softened and he walked over to her. Meting her jade eyes into his own he smiled.
"Lime, I really care for you, and I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want you to die of exhaustion on me. I don't want you to get sick. I'm not doing this because I don't like you, or I want to leave you here, it's for your own good."
Cherry could see her little sister's lower lip quivering. She was quickly blinking back tears.
"Otaru..."
The young man smiled. "Lime, don't you worry. I'll be back as fast as my legs will carry me. I promise!"
Slowly the maiden in his hands nodded. Otaru lifted her chin up and smiled.
"Lime, you be safe while I'm gone, all right?"
"Yes, Otaru..." Her voice sounded small and lonely. Bloodberry remembered when she was abandoned once back when she was younger. It left her in a year of hell and torture. That fear of being left alone and having her love walk away was still in her small body.
Her master clapped Lime on the shoulder. "Good girl. I love you Lime. We'll be back as soon possible! No way I'm leaving my favorite, green eyed little girl alone for too long! Ok?"
Lime swallowed and looked up smiling weakly. The tears were in her eyes but Cherry could see she was feeling slightly better.
"Hehe, Ok Otaru. I love you too."
Bloodberry cocked her eyebrow and turned her head. Did that sack of Maiden's Heart just groan?
The two embraced a moment longer until Otaru finally broke off. He turned to Cherry.
"You take care of her as well, all right Cherry?"
The woman nodded. "Of course, Otaru-sama." She reached out and straightened his clothes. "And you take care of yourself as well. I want to see you again some day." She added with a slight smile. Otaru reached out and embraced her as well.
"I'll try, Cherry-chan. I love you."
Lime turned and waved to her sister. "Ja ne, onee-sama. Take care of Otaru for me."
The fiery haired woman grinned back. "Onee-chan, don't worry! I'll get him back here before long. He'll be safe, don't you worry about it, none!"
Lime giggled. "I'm not 'cause you're with him Onee-chan. Be careful."
Smiling widely to her sister Bloodberry nodded.
Naro took a step out side and looked up into the sky. It was fast approaching noon. A few more hours and the sun would pass directly over head. It looked to be about nine according to the clocks on Otaru's wall.
"If we're all set, then I think it's about time we took off, Otaru-kun." He turned and met the younger man's eyes with a sly smile. "We have a date with destiny."
Otaru shook his head and smiled. "Let's push off then."
He took hold of his stuff and hefted it over his shoulder. The trio stepped of the landing and into the road. Just as they were turning to say their final goodbyes Cherry stepped off and called to Naro.
"Keinaro-sama, Keinaro! Would you mind doing me a quick favor before you go?"
Facing her the Gray Eye smiled. "Sure, What is it?"
Cherry turned and pointed to the huge sack of Maiden Heart. "Would you mind moving that behind the house. It would be easier for me to work with behind there in the shade."
With a grin Naro nodded. "As M'lady wishes."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lime sadly watched as the three men and lone woman slowly made their way down the street away from her. Hanagata was almost bent over double carrying all the supplies and equipment on his back. He was still sore from being smashed under that giant sack of Maiden's heart and then being almost left behind. It was a good thing Cherry asked Naro to move it, otherwise he might have been stuck under there for days!
Cherry stood by her side and wrapped her arm around her sister. This was the very first person she ever knew in her entire life. This woman standing beside her. Looking up into her eyes, she smiled slightly. Lime looked so lost watching Otaru walk away. Sniffing and blinking back tears the Jade eyed maiden leaned against Cherry.
"Onee-sama..." her voice sounded so small and tiny. Cherry bent over.
"Yes, Lime?"
"I already miss Otaru..."
"Aww..." Cherry held her sister tightly. "I do to Lime. We'll just wait. He'll come back to us, I know he will..."
She turned and saw the four of them turn the corner and disappear from view.
"...He always did..." she added under breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Out in the wasteland, for the first time in a long time, there wasn't a plasma cloud to be seen in the sky. They moved quickly anyway. Plasma storms had a bad habit of appearing out of nowhere. Otaru talked with Naro as they went along.
"...So you're telling me that the plasma bolt I saw when Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry appeared was from traveling through time?"
"Yeah. Plasma storms are side effects of time travel. The landing point is always wracked with severe plasma bolts. Generally the larger the object moving through time the more severe the storm. When I landed there was a veritable Plasma typhoon out here. I scared the crap out of the guards when I walked into the city from it."
"And your endoskeleton protects you from plasma?"
"Yup. Bloodberry, Cherry and Lime also are protected. In fact you could say they probably rode that bolt down to the planet's surface that night."
Bloodberry shook her head. "I don't remember much of that, One second we were flying through chaos and insanity and the next I'm waking up in Otaru's bed. It was some shock, I'll tell you. I don't remember any plasma bolts at all."
"Well, I can't help you there. I'm no guru on the effects on time travel. I'll tell you though, had you not had that plasma diffusion system built into your bodies you might have, very likely, died on that trip. That bolt would have turned you into crispy critters."
Hanagata, who had been silent the entire time was on the verge of collapsing under his load.
"Hey, when are we going to get to this thing of yours anyway Naro?!"
Bloodberry grinned wickedly. "Aww, come on. Does his Hana-ness feel slightly fatigued under his noble load?"
If he could have been able to raise his head he would have shot liquid venom from his eyes to the woman. "What have I told you about calling me that?!"
Naro chuckled. " Don't worry Hanagata. It's not much further,"
"You said that ten minutes ago!"
Bloodberry pursed her lips. "Five minutes."
"Whatever!! Why don't you carry this thing?!
The woman chuckled and pulled her lower eyelid down at him. "'Cause it's against proper etiquette for women to carry such large loads."
Hanagata spat and cursed while Otaru broke out laughing.
"We'd better find that ship of yours soon Naro otherwise we may lose Hanagata."
Finally Slowing to a stop Naro looked around. "We're here."
Quickly shedding hid load, Hanagata collapsed on top of it. "BAH! Finally!" He raised his head and looked around. "Er... where is it Naro?"
Bloodberry and Otaru looked around as well. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but desert wasteland and clear skies.
"Yeah, Naro. Where's the ship?"
He turned to Bloodberry and smiled. "Right here."
She looked back at him with a puzzled expression. "Huh?"
Otaru turned. "Is this some kind of joke?"
Laughing, the Gray Eye reached into his pocket and pulled out a small little box with a flat button on it. He pointed it straight ahead and pressed. In a flash of electricity and light a large object suddenly appeared before them. From fantail to foc'sle it measured almost thirty feet. It was a large, round star ship. It hovered almost ten feet off the ground attached to the planet by a long thin anchor buried into the earth. As Bloodberry stared up at the ship she couldn't help but be reminded of a large bird of prey, like a hawk or maybe even an eagle. It had large wings that extended out from the fuselage that spanned almost fifty feet from tip to tip. The large nose of the ship jutted forward like a head out from the main body. Behind a massve tail jutted outwards with the fins angled downwards. It was quite a sight.
"It looks like a giant airplane..." Bloodberry breathed. Naro shook his head.
"No, it's a ship all right. Up top is a deck where you can walk about when we're in motion. It's got a bow and stern, fantail and foc'sle and everything else a ship has. It's designed to sail through time."
Bloodberry looked confused. "Fantail? Foc'sle?"
Hanagata answered. "It's ship lingo. Fantail is the stern and the foc'sle is up front where the anchor is stored. I've been through my fair share of sailing books. I still don't see how this is a ship though. It seems like a jet more than anything else."
Naro pushed the button once more and watched the ship descend slowly. "It's designed to travel through time. Time is considered a stream or a river. What do you call a craft designed to sail down a river?"
The blonde man nodded slowly. "A ship..."
"Exactly. She ain't the fastest vessel in the fleet, but she'll get us to Gartlant. She's built to cruise through time not air."
The ship lowered its landing gear and settled itself onto the earth. With a slow hiss a hatch opened up and a landing ramp lowered itself.
Naro turned to the three others and grinned. "All aboard."
Inside, Otaru, Bloodberry and Hanagata found the ship to be nice and cool. It felt good to be out of the hot wasteland sun. It was surprisingly roomy inside as well. Although you couldn't tell from the outside there was a lot of space inside the main compartment itself. Hanagata set all the junk he'd been carrying on his back onto the deck of the cabin. Naro motioned for everyone to head up front. He took them to the cockpit. It, too, was surprisingly roomy. Naro had them sit in a few seats positioned behind the captain's chair and buckle themselves up.
"It's going to be a bumpy ride until we get into cruising altitude. Then, if y'want, you can relax on the deck up above until we arrive in Gartlant."
Otaru buckled himself in and tightened the straps. Bloodberry did the same while she watched Hanagata struggle with his. She smiled as the little man cursed and spat at his troubles. In the end he resorted to tying the whole thing into one big knot. Whatever worked...
Naro took his seat up front and looked over his shoulder at the trio.
"Are you guys all set? Bloodberry-chan, you comfortable?"
She nodded and Naro smiled. He turned back around and began to type into the console in front of him. The ship had been in a low power state and was now coming back to fully online. Flipping a switch here and typing a command in there Naro began to coax the ship into life. Below and behind themselves Otaru, Bloodberry and Hanagata could hear the muffled sound of the engine starting up. Hanagata swallowed nervously. He'd never been in a flying machine before.
"A-a-a-are you s-s-sure this things is s-safe?"
"Of course she is. Spera's solid as a rock. Would I take Bloodberry-chan anywhere in a ship that wasn't 100% safe?" he called back not even looking up.
Otaru called out. "Spera?"
"Yeah. It's her name. It's Latin for hopes. Don't worry, you'll be safe."
Slowly the ship powered up. With a jolt it lifted itself free from the ground. On the monitor in front of Naro a flashing windows logo appeared.
'When would you like to go today?'
Slowly the ship rose itself up from the face of Terra II. Flipping a few more switches the entire ship made a crackling, electric sound. Hanagata freaked out.
"What was that?!"
"Calm down boy, that was the cloaking device re-engaging itself. We don't want half of Japoness watching us take off."
Gripping his seat handles tightly Hanagata began to sweat. Then, softly, over a few speakers hidden in the ship music began to play. Otaru looked around curiously.
"Naro, what is that?"
"It's music. Helps keep me calm during lift off."
Bloodberry tried to discern where it was coming from. "Where's the speakers?"
"Hidden around." Naro grinned. "I like this song. Holds so much meaning for me. Listen to it."
Otaru listened as the tempo and beat began to pick up. It sounded like guitar.
"Where did you get this song from?"
Naro's grinn widened. "It was originally composed on earth. It came all the way from our home world a long, long time ago. I'm not sure if you'll like it much, but I know I do. Listen to it while I prepare the systems."
Otaru sat back and opened his ears. The song did seem a little mellow, despite sounding so different from what he was used to. He caught the lyrics and started to smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So close no matter how far...
Couldn't be much more from the heart...
Forever trusting who we are...
And nothing else matters.
Never opened myself this way...
Life is ours, we live it our way...
All these words I don't just say...
And nothing else matters.
Trust I seek and I find in you,
every day for us something new.
Open mind for a different view...
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
But I know...
So close no matter how far...
It couldn't be much more from the heart...
Forever trusting who we are...
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they do!!
Never cared for what they know!!
But I know...
The words reminded Otaru of his maidens. The words reminded him of the relationship they had. He didn't care what anyone else thought about them. He didn't care what they knew about him and his girls. He simply didn't give a damn. Each one of them were special to him in their own way. Everyday they always found something new. Life was theirs, they would live it THEIR way and no one else's. Forever trusting who they were... The lyrics shifted his thoughts to Lime, and then slowly to Cherry, and then finally Bloodberry...
I've never opened myself this way.
Life is ours, we live it our way!
All these words I don't just say....
And nothing else matters!
Trust I seek and I find in you,
Every day for us something new!
Open mind for a different view...
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they say!
Never cared for games they play!
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
And I know!!
Bloodberry listened as the tempo picked up and the beat increased. She didn't much care for the music, but the words were something else. For some reason she could see Otaru saying them, like he was speaking to all of them, letting them know how he felt about each and every one of them. She looked over to him and smiled slightly. He turned to her and started to smile a little as well. They were both thinking the same thing. Naro sitting up front gazed at their reflections in his screens and smiled. He thought this song would be good. Slowly Naro's ship reached cruising altitude and began to blast off toward Gartlant.
...So close no matter how far...
...Couldn't be much more from the heart...
...Forever trusting who we are...
...No nothing else matters...
~Nothing Else Matters
Metallica
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was different way up in the sky. Out on the top deck Otaru could see everything below. The entire land seemed to stretch on for as far as his eyes could see. The sun had fallen and everything shined in the moonlight. The entire country shot past below them in shimmering waves. Above the stars seemed to be less distant. They shimmered up in the sky. He couldn't tell if it was because they were away from Japoness and all the lights or if it was because they were so much close to the shimmering points of light, but they seemed brighter than he remembered.
Bloodberry stood by his side gazing into the heavens herself. It was indeed an inspirational sight. Below, the wasteland shot past with incredible speed. The breeze was gently flowing through her hair and around her body. It kicked and played with the long fiery strands casting them up and about. He turned to her and became aware of how she looked. The moonlight shimmered on each and every strand that blew softly in the wind. Her face was complete calm as she surveyed the land moving past below them. She smiled and breathed in the fresh air enjoying it's taste. Otaru slowly began to smile. Bloodberry looked over and saw her master's soft expression.
"Something wrong, Otaru?"
He shook his head gently. "No. Everything's perfect, ne?"
"Perfect?" Bloodberry turned and surveyed the landscape once more. A small smile came to her lips as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Everything is perfect..."
Otaru leaned on his hand and continued to smile at his maiden. "You look beautiful, Bloodberry."
The woman arched her eyebrows and turned. "Otaru?"
"I mean it. I can see the moon shining off your hair. I can see it's light accenting your face. The shadows are playing beautifully across your features. You look gorgeous, Bloodberry-chan."
The woman blushed and turned away. "Otaru... You embarrass me. It's a good thing Hanagata isn't here. He'd blow a blood vessel hearing you say that."
The young man chuckled. "Yes, I know what you mean. He's still down below strapped to that chair of his. He wouldn't come up here if his life depended on it. He's scared of us falling to our deaths."
Bloodberry began to laugh as well. "Yeah, that sounds like him." They trailed off and watched the countryside pass by silently. Otaru silently watched the landscape below them. It really was beautiful. Bloodberry turned around and leaned against the railing.
"Otaru..."
"Hmm?"
He looked over at him somberly. "Otaru...I...I don't mind telling you this because it's true..."
"Bloodberry?"
The maiden took a deep breath. "I'm scared, Otaru."
The young man immediately became serious. He let her continue.
"For the first time, I'm scared. I...I'm almost terrified. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose you. I'm afraid I'm going to lose everyone. All my sisters, and my family, everyone I know, this time maybe forever. I'm terrified that this will become like some blissful dream, a brief respite from the hell and carnage that bore me into this world." She turned to Otaru and shook her head.
"Do you know what we are, Otaru? We're a broken dream. We are one man's vision that may never come to pass. Naro told us he wanted us back for our genetic coding and then he so quickly turned around and said that he would help us fight against Ghenna. I hope and prey he's sincere. The decision he made wasn't one most people could make on such a short notice. He may be our last hope. He's a Gray Eye. He'll be able to do things no other person will be able to do because of that.
"Something inside of my head is telling me that Ghenna will come. That he will arrive in the most terrible of fashions and take me away from everyone. We've all said bold words and made bold promises, but in the end I'm afraid that nothing we will do will keep us from getting reclaimed by that man. I'm so scared, Otaru. I'm so afraid..."
She brought her arms up and clasped them in her hands. Otaru watched her head drop as her hair spilled away in the wind. Truth be told he was afraid as well. That same little voice in his head was saying the same thing. He knew that despite all their would fight against it the old man would win. The old man with the glittering eyes. The old man with the terrible smile.
Otaru leaned close to his maiden and put his arm around her. Wordlessly he held her, giving her as much comfort as he could. They both knew what would be the outcome. They held each other knowing that would be one of the last times fate would allow them to do so. Bloodberry leaned against her master and closed her eyes. Otaru finally spoke softly.
"That doesn't mean we can't keep fighting on."
She slowly let a small smile creep across her lips and nodded. Long minutes passed while the two people held each other. The wind softly went by stirring their hair and clothing. They basked in the moonlight, savoring the moment, perhaps one of their last. The ship carried on shooting across the landscape, quietly humming on toward its destination, while the world around them fell at peace. Life slowly came to a pause for them.
That peace was shattered a few minutes later when there was the familiar crackle of the deck's loud speaker system. It was Naro.
"ALL RIGHT, IF YOU ALL WOULD TURN YOUR DIRECTION TO THE NORTH YOU WILL SEE THE LOVELY CITY OF GARTLANT. THAT'S OUR DESTINATION. Y'NEED TO COME BACK DOWN SO WE CAN LAND SAFELY."
And with another crackle of the mike system fell silent. Looking over their shoulders they saw the city sliding by. Naro was circling the ship around to find a suitable landing zone. The lights shone brightly from all the towers and neon signs all over the place. Gartlant was known for its booming industry and commercial districts. It was the place where people had dreams of being rich went. If you couldn't make it there, you wouldn't be able to make it anywhere. Faust was renowned for nurturing this city to what it was today. It was a center of a cultural melting pot. It was seen by many as the center of growth in all of Terra II. With Japoness ideals and the New Texan sense of progress it flourished.
Bloodberry smiled. "I always wanted to see this place..."
Otaru joined her smile. "So beautiful. You see that tower right there? Right in the center there?"
She nodded. "Yeah?"
"That's where Faust lives. It's his home. From there he watches over his entire city. My bet is that your sisters are safely living inside there."
Bloodberry's eyes grew wide as she looked up and down the mighty tower. It was brightly lit with many windows and lights. It looked like a magnificent tower of Babel hoping to stretch itself high into the sky and touch with heaven.
"They're living in that?" She said breathlessly. Otaru was about to nod when the mike system came back on.
"HELLO YOU TWO. Y'NEED TO COME BACK DOWN BELOW DECK. I'M BEGINNING THE LANDING SQUENCE RIGHT NOW."
Taking one last glance at the magnificent city and the massive tower in the center the two headed below deck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Spera landed almost half a mile from the front gates of the city. Naro re-cloaked the ship as they left and his winged starcraft disappeared from sight. The four made their way straight for the main gate. According to Naro it was close to ten at night.
"I wonder if the old man will even be awake..."
Hanagata (who was glad beyond words to have his feet planted once more firmly on the ground) trudged behind the main group.
"Remind me again why we're here."
Otaru tuned an annoyed eye to the little man. "Bloodberry has family here and we've come to ask the oldest man on the planet for help regarding our situation."
The woman in question walked up along side Naro. She was covered, head to foot, in an over cloak very similar to the one Naro wore the first day he arrived. They decided that a brightly colored, happy, smiling marionette would attract too much attention. Under the coat she would be a lot less conspicuous.
As they came closer to the main gates the lights became brighter and brighter. Some said the city was more alive at night than in the day and by the degree of noise coming from the streets they could have been correct. Naro's face was lit up brightly by all the night lights. Bloodberry turned and was about to ask him how they planned on getting to Faust inside the tower when she saw his eyes. They were blue. She had to look twice to make sure she was really seeing them. It wasn't just the reflection of the city lights, his eyes were genuinely blue.
"N-Naro, your eyes! What happened?"
Hanagata looked up irritably. "What about his eyes?"
"T-they're blue!"
Otaru stepped forward. "What?"
The not-so-gray-eyed man turned to Bloodberry and smiled. "It's my system working for me again. I don't want Faust to know what I am until we get our plea out to him. I think that perhaps my eyes should remain a secret until the proper time, ne?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They passed the main gates and the friendly guards standing there and moved into the city. Bloodberry was dazzled by all the bright lights, pretty signs, happy people and busy streets. Hanagata was blinded. Otaru pointed things out here and there to the woman that he knew about the city. He visited the place once or twice himself a long time ago.
"Otaru, Otaru! What is that?"
"It looks like a dance club to me, can't you hear the music?"
"So that's where it was coming from. Oooh, what's he selling?"
"Those are bead necklaces, apparently those are all the rage now-a-days."
"Ahh! Kawaii!!! Are those what I think they are?!"
"Heh, yup, ponta plushies."
"Ooh, Otaru can we buy one!? Can we? Can we? Can we?"
"Err... I'm sorry Bloodberry, I didn't bring any money."
"Wait a second, Bloodberry. I think I might have some. Lemme check my pockets here... Yup! Give these coins to the guy at the counter and see if he accepts them."
"Hah! Thank you Naro-kun!"
"Wow, look at her go. Hey where'd you get that money Naro?"
"Huh? Err, a few days ago when those men attacked Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry I was sitting next to them at a bar. They didn't buy anything but left money anyway, so I figured I might need some currency and took it off the counter."
"Hah hah, very good. How much did you give her?"
"Beats me. I don't know how much I took."
"Yay! Otaru!! He accepted Japoness Curency!! Lookie, Lookie!!"
"Haha, that's a big one, Bloodberry. It's color matches well with your hair."
"Y'think so?"
"Mmmhmm."
"Psh, how come you're acting so childish?"
"Well look who's Mr. Grumpy. Would his Hana-ness like a nap."
"As a matter of fact I would... And don't call me that!!"
They made their way through the city slowly making their way to the tower. Bloodberry saw many things along their trip. The entire city was new and fascinating for her. She'd never been to anyplace like this before. Gartlant was bright, happy and wonderful.
When they finally came close to the tower Bloodberry had a small sack full of goodies and trinkets she'd purchased along the way. Naro's money went a long way. He loaned her a few of his gold coins when she ran out of the Japoness currency. Making their way to the front of the tower they stopped and took full view of majestic sight before them. For Bloodberry the tower seemed to extend hundreds of miles into the sky. It was like a giant, shining beacon on all the face of Terra II.
The front lobby of the tower was lined by giant, glass walls. The doorway rotated on its axis, much to Bloodberry's amazement, instead of sliding open. Inside the building was cool and temperate; everything a nice 68°. The long, open lobby had a dark blue tiled floor dotted with the occasional potted palm plant. The walls were the same color as the floor; everything lined and edged in silver. At the far end, past the occasional bench was a long desk. A single marionette was placed behind it. They approached it conscious of the loud click-clacking their feet made on the tile. There was a stark difference inside here than outside- noise. Outside it was loud and like a celebration. Inside it was quiet and ambient.
Upon sensing them the Marionette came alive. She smiled her automatic smile and fixed its dead gaze upon the four.
"Good Evening Sirs. How may I help you?"
Her voice was blank and robotic. Naro smiled anyway at it.
"Yes, we need to see Lord Faust right away, it is urgent."
The machine twitched. "I am sorry but Faust-sama is not open for meetings and interviews now."
The Gray Eye frowned. "Do you know when he will be?"
"You [twitch] have to make an appointment with him."
Naro leaned back and whispered to Otaru. "Are all marionettes so buggy and twitchy?"
"No, she's an older model, a very old model. Heavy as hell."
"Hmmm." Naro nodded. He turned back to the robot and smiled once more.
"Ma'am, I am afraid that we can not wait for an appointment. This is a matter of most importance!"
"You [twitch] have to make an appointment with him."
The Gray Eye clenched his fist. "Now listen here. I'm losing my patience with you-"
"Threats can be construed as a form of violence. [twitch] Please desist."
"Well then let me in! I'll quit when you let me see Lord Faust!"
"You [twitch] have to make an appointment with him."
Otaru smiled in amusement as the Gray Eye began to knash and grind his teeth together. This was almost funny.
"Ok, ok..." He said finally relenting. "Can we get in to see him tomorrow?"
"Let me scan appointments... ... ..."
"...Well?"
"... ... ...Negative. All appointment slots are filled. If you like I can schedule one for you."
"No, how about the day after?"
"Let me scan appointments... ... ..."
Naro pursed his lips and stood by silently.
"... ... ...Negative. All appointment slots are filled. If you like I can schedule one for you."
"Grrr... Fine, when's the earliest you can get me in?"
"Let me scan appointments... ... ..."
"God dammit! Hurry up you piece of junk!!"
"... ... ...The next available appointment is on... JULY 2ND..."
"Not too bad, the day after next."
"...1031."
"THE HELL!?! THAT'S TWO YEARS FROM NOW!!"
"Would you like me to schedule the appointment?"
"I'll schedule your ass!!"
The Gray Eye leaped upon the marionette and began furiously throttling it. The machine beeped, whirred and twitched under him.
"Bzzt. [twitch] Threats can be, [whrrr] Warning! You are violating- [twitch] construed as violence. Please- Bzzt. WARNING! WARNING! WAR[twitch]NING!"
Naro unknowingly activated the building's security alert, but he was so busy trying to strangle the helpless doll that he failed to notice the red, flashing lights and the klaxons that went off. A second later ten saber dolls stormed into the lobby. They formed up around the stupid little man and raised their guns.
"Freeze! Take your hands off the marionette and raise them high into the air! Be advised: we are authorized to use lethal force!"
Naro paused his violent administrations on the doll in front of him and turned. The saber dolls behind him raised their weapons. Just out side the ring, Otaru and Bloodberry stood watching him anxiously.
"You'd better do as they say Naro!" Otaru called over. "These are saber dolls. They're savage fighters!"
Dropping the half broken marionette behind him, the Gray Eye rose and turned. He grinned like gargoyle. "Only ten? You guys forget I'm elite! These are robots, ne?"
"Y-yes, Naro, but still you need to-"
Naro rose to his full height on the long desk and unsheathed the knife on his shoulder.
"Bring em on then..."
Pressing a small button the dagger lit up. A translucent beam shot outwards from the body of the dagger turning it into a beam Katana. Giving the most avatarish of smiles he laughed and leapt into the midst of the Saber Dolls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robot parts were strewn all over the lobby. A head here, an arm there, all over the desk and floor broken junk could be found. Naro sat to the side nursing his aching head. Bloodberry wiped her hands and nodded. Naro was right, they were easy kills. She grinned down onto him.
"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it Keinaro?"
The Gray Eye shot death from his eyes up to her. The first thing he did was slip and knock his head on the counter. Bloodberry and Otaru had to beat back the Saber Dolls and pull Naro's body out of the fray. Bloodberry quickly dispatched what was left with nary a scratch. She should have known. These were the same types as the ones she fought in the arenas for Otaru.
Rising to his feet he did his best to dust himself off.
"Well... Be that as it may, that takes care of the guards..." He paused. Hanagata was rolling on the ground laughing as hard as his body would let him. Trying to ignore the annoying little man he continued. "...And...It looks like the rest of the tower is wide open to us. My money is that Faust is on or around the top floor of this building. We can probably take an elevator all the way up- WILL YOU CUT THAT LAUGHING OUT MITSURUGI!!!"
A voice behind him made them all turn. "You're not going anywhere. You're little party ends here."
Everyone turned. There was another marionette standing behind the counter. Naro couldn't see her eyes; her short-cut blue hair fell over them concealing them from the group. The Gray Eye couldn't help his wandering eyes. They went all over her body. From the pair of soft, creamy thighs to the wide hips up past her soft, round voluptuous...
Naro swallowed. If this was a newer marionette model, he was going to pick up one of his own when this was all over with. The doll frowned and raised her hands into a fighting stance. Naro groaned and rose to his feet. Raising his hands as well he sighed. He didn't want to fight this one, she was pretty.
"You don't know what you're getting into, Man. I am not some helpless doll."
Naro smirked. "And I am not just any old 'man'."
"We'll see. En Garde!"
Just as the Gray Eye was about to lunge forward Bloodberry stepped in his way. The woman cocked her head and peered at the new Marionette.
"...L-Luchs?"
The Marionette's guard dropped for a moment. She looked taken back. Otaru stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. Did Bloodberry just call her...
"L-Luchs! Is it really you?!"
The marionette seemed to become confused. "W-who's asking? How do you know my name?"
Bloodberry smiled and lowered her hood. "Krysta! Krysta it's me! Aiko! Bloodberry!"
Luch's guard dropped completely. "A-Aiko... is that really you?"
Bloodberry quickly stepped forward and opened her arms. "Luchs!!"
The sisters ran up to one another and for the first time in many years they embraced.
"Oh my god, Bloodberry! It's really you! I don't believe this!! You made it out alive! You're ok! You're ok!!"
Grinning from ear to ear Bloodberry held her sister tightly. "Luchs! You look so much different! You cut your hair, you look like a totally different woman now!"
The blue haired maiden began to sniff back a few tears. "I know! It's been a long time! My god, you haven't changed a bit!"
"Hehe, I know. My master seems to love me just the way I am!"
The three men stood by almost dumbly as the woman chattered and talked excitedly. This was Luchs?! No one ever told them she was down right gorgeous! Even Hanagata couldn't swallow all his latent instinct. He found his eyes wandering up the long, silky legs of the woman. Catching himself he shook his head and turned to Otaru. What was he thinking?! The only love in his life was Otaru! How dare his eyes wander so blatantly up the legs...of...such a....beautiful...
Bloodberry pulled back and kissed her long lost sister on the cheek. "How is Tiger and Panta? Are they safe and well? Did they make it too?"
"I should be asking you the same thing! Yes, we all made it safely here. Everyone's fine! How about on your end? Is Lime Ok? Did Cherry make it through all right?"
"Cherry's safe. She and Lime are both Ok. They made it."
Luchs smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear this. How is Lime today? Did she ever get over Kaiser's death?"
Bloodberry's smile faded as she became somber. "Maybe we should all sit down and talk about this. I'd love to meet my other sisters again."
Luchs saw her sister's face and nodded. "All right, Bloodberry-chan. Let's head on up."
Bloodberry held back a second. "Oh! Wait a minute Luchs. I forgot to introduce you to my companions."
"Huh?" The Blue haired maiden turned as Bloodberry stepped back.
"This is Otaru, he's our new master. He's taking care of all three of us. This is Keinaro. Uh, We'll have to talk about him once we get up with Lord Faust. Um, this man, kinda is why we're here."
Luchs nodded slowly. "A-all right. Who's the blonde one?"
"Oh him?" Bloodberry said offhandedly. "He's Hanagata. He's just along for the ride. Come on, let's go see your sisters!!"
She ignored Hana's snort and beckoned everyone to follow Luchs. Keinaro held back for a moment and looked down at the mess all over the floor. There were marionette parts strewn everywhere.
"Ummm, Luchs, ma'am? Uhh, what do you want us to do about this mess?"
The new Maiden turned and simply waved her hand. "Don't worry, the janitor dolls will take care of it for us. Please, all of you, follow me."
Bloodberry and Luchs chatted away happily as the elevator rose up from the ground floor. Naro did his best to hold back his wandering eyes. This new woman was very pretty. She had a sparkle in her smile he was especially attracted to. Waiting patiently as the lift took them from up higher into the tower Otaru also watched the two women eagerly. He'd never seen Bloodberry so happy before in his entire life. Toting the bag of goodies she had purchased she talked and laughed like she didn't have a care in the world. It was a stark change from the Bloodberry he had seen on the deck of the Spera. The numbers on the dial slowly ticked away.
"So where is Cherry and Lime? Didn't they come with?"
"No, we had to leave Lime behind. Cherry was chosen to stay back and watch over her."
"Oh? What was wrong with Lime?"
"Oh, nothing. There's nothing wrong with Lime physically. We couldn't bring her for another reason."
"Really? What is it?"
"I'll tell you once we all get settled down. How has life been treating you since you've left?"
"Dear Lord, Life has become a blessing. For the first time in a long time we're all so happy. Faust has become a second father to us. He treats all of us so well. Life has completely turned around!"
"Yeah, we know! It's the same for us. Otaru has been so kind to us as well. The only thing missing from our lives were you three."
"Mmm, the same with us. My god. Otaru-kun, Has anyone told you that you look so much like Kaiser?"
"Yes, that's what I've been told."
"Wow, Lime must be all over you then!"
"Oh yeah, Miss Luchs, indeed she is. Indeed she is."
The woman smiled and looked up to the floor dial. For the first time that night Naro saw her hair fall away from her face and her eyes peeked out. He found himself smiling slightly. They were blue! Such a deep, and beautiful shade as well. It was like gazing into two deep whirlpools. He almost fell head long into them...
The elevator came to a sudden stop and the door came open.
"We're here!" She said happily and stepped out of the elevator. "Tiger! Panta!! Come here, you wouldn't believe who's here!!"
Otaru's ears picked up another voice a little softer than Luchs.
"Shh, Faust-sama's gone to bed already Luchs. Who is it?"
A woman with bright, yellow hair stepped around the corner and Naro's and Otaru's jaws dropped.
"Panta! Look, It's Bloodberry!! It's our sister!"
The new woman narrowed her only eye; the other was covered by a star shaped eye-patch.
"B-Bloodberry?! Is that really you?!"
The sisters ran forward and a scene similar from the one down in the lobby began to play out.
"Bloodberry! You made it!!"
"Panta! Look at you! You made it as well!"
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you! It's been so long!"
"Hai, you too Panta-chan! Look at yourself! What happened to your eye?! What's with the eye patch?"
"Haha, it's purely cosmetic. It's really a lens. It's a sensor system Faust-sama built for me! But you Bloodberry! You haven't changed a bit!"
"Haha, I've had no need to..."
The men stared slack jawed at the second goddess that appeared. This one, as well, was tall, sensuous and stunningly beautiful. Her long golden hair came down her back gently tied into a loose braid. Her close fit much like her sister's. Every curve, smooth patch of skin... Hanagata slapped himself yet again for his wandering eyes, Otaru shook his head and did his best to avert his gaze while Naro tried his best to sniff back an on coming nosebleed. Faust, indeed, had beautiful women. Naro heard a third voice come from the hallway.
"What was wrong Luchs? Who's there?"
From around the corner, Tiger; her hair snipped short and wearing a large, floppy hat, stepped in. All three of the men passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Half an hour later they had recovered and sat around the table discussing what had happened since the women last parted. Apparently, when the three woman finally landed they touched down just out side of Gartlant. Faust sent a few surveillance marionettes out there to investigate what had caused such a vicious plasma storm. Instead of discovering what caused the violent storms they, instead, found the three women. That was almost five years ago for them. Ever since they've been living strong, happy lives under their new master. Faust was a kind and generous man, one who rarely went into fits of anger and rage. Under his guidance life had been good for the three woman. They even darkly hinted that Faust had also been great lover in bed. All three of the men present at the table did their best to banish the dirty thoughts from their minds. That was NOT jealousy they were feeling...
Bloodberry sat down and began to explain as best she could what had happened to themselves. She was careful to avoid Keinaro's secret, she didn't want her sisters to adopt her previous attitude about Naro before he had a chance to prove himself to them. She received quite a few questioning glances from them anyway. Her story didn't add up in many parts. All four of the guests knew. Many times Tiger or Luchs interrupted with questions about things that didn't make sense. Bloodberry did her best to brush them off and move on with her story. In the end her sisters shook their heads doubtfully.
"Bloodberry-chan, you're not telling us everything. How did Naro know we lived here in Gartlant? How were you able to get here from Japoness of all places so quickly? What is it you're not telling us?"
Bloodberry swallowed and turned her eyes to Otaru. Wincing the young man turned his to Naro. Sagging his shoulders sadly and taking a drink from the glass of alcohol he had been given he spoke.
"You... You three women don't have much time left here..."
Panta cocked her head. "What do you mean by that?"
Naro paused and swallowed nervously. He prepared for the oncoming explosion.
"Lord Ghenna is coming for all of you..."
All of the three pairs of eyes turned to him went wide. They rose quickly with shocked expressions stamped onto their features.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"How do you know about this?!"
"Where'd you discover this?!"
Under their gaze Naro began to wilt. He did his best to shrink away from them as they leaned over and began to scream. Just as he was starting to shake from their outcries a voice carried over all of them and saved him.
"Tiger, Panta, Luchs! Stop this immediately, he is a guest."
Almost immediately the women jumped to attention and fell silent. From their left a tall, old man with long, faded blonde hair limped into the room. He walked leaning heavily on a cane in his right hand. He was clean shaven and especially well built for one his age. When Naro saw him he rose quickly to his feet. The man smiled weakly and motioned for him to sit.
"Now, now. You are a guest in my home. There is no need for that." Walking over to the head of the long table they sat at he took a seat with a small grunt. The long, black clothing he wore folded away revealing his thin, but strong frame.
"I thought I heard guests. It's been a while since anyone arrived up here on such short notice. My maidens usually go a good job of keeping all the people away from here." He leaned over to Tiger and whispered in her ear. She nodded and went to a side cabinet and began to reach in. The old man turned to his remaining maidens, still standing an softly told them to sit. He turned back to the four new comers and smiled, especially to Naro.
"You must excuse my maidens, sometimes they can be so very quick tempered. I am who they call Faust von Gerhart, Lord of the great kingdom of Gartlant. Who might be here to make my acquaintance?"
"I am Bloodberry, Lord Faust. This is my master, Mamiya, Otaru. This is our traveling companion Hanagata and to your left his Hajima, Keinaro. He's the bearer of our bad news."
Faust cocked an eye while Tiger returned handing him a small glass of wine. "You're a woman, aren't you? Not just another marionette?"
She nodded. "Yes. I'm Tiger, Luchs' and Panta's sister."
"Weren't there four others as well?"
"Yes, sir. Two are back home and two..."
Bloodberry's sisters leaned forward. They weren't told this in the story.
"...Two are?"
Naro saw Bloodberry's inhibition and took over. "They didn't make it."
Tiger turned to Panta and Panta to her sister Luchs. She turned to Naro intently.
"W-what do you mean by that? How do you know where they are?"
Naro took a deep breath and frowned. "They never left the lab. Their explosive went off before they had any chance to escape. They're still under Lord Ghenna."
The woman sat back in shock. "H-how do you know this?"
Faust stood up slowly leaning heavily on his cane. He was smiling. "It seems Mr. Hajima is the bearer of so much bad news." Slowly he limped over to Naro's seat.
"You also were the one to tell us that Ghenna was on his way, ne? Heh heh, good, I'm not losing my hearing." He stood beside the man and smiled. "You seem to be a very honest man. Tell me something, you're not from around here, are you?"
Naro went on his guard. "Y-yes, you can say that."
Slowly Faust nodded. Without warning he whipped his cane out from under him and struck out at Naro. Faster than anyone could follow the Gray Eye snapped his arm up and caught the long, black object inches from his face. Faust's smile deepened/
"I thought so. You don't need to hide yourself any longer. You can't fool my eyes, I'm far too old."
Naro narrowed his. "What... How did you know?"
Faust turned around and began to head for a far door. "No one, and I mean no one in this day and age refers to Ghenna as 'Lord'. He is merely a ghost of the past. He isn't anyone's Lord any more." He paused and turned back to Naro. "Come with me Gray Eye. Tiger, Panta, Luchs, take care of the rest of our guests. Mr. Hajima and I have many things to go over."
The maidens rose and gaped at Naro. Did their master just call him 'Gray Eye?! Quickly pushing himself away from the table Naro made a hasty retreat towards Faust. They both entered a small room and locked the door behind them. Bloodberry spent the next few hours explaining everything to her sisters leaving out nothing this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naro entered a small study. The ceiling was high and reflected the flickers of the small fire burning in the side fireplace. There were many, many books lined along the walls stretching from the floor up to the ceiling. There were two, plush, high backed chairs centered around a small table upon which sat a small tea set. Faust motioned to one of the chairs and made his way over to the fireplace. Naro took a seat and watched was Faust reached for a poker and stirred the dying embers into life once more. Tossing in a log he turned to Naro.
"I hope you don't mind, but I find the chairs in here much easier on my back." With a groan he took a seat and smiled. "I'm sorry I cannot offer you any tea, this set here before you is empty; I wasn't expecting company. "
Naro nodded and settled himself into the large chair. Faust leaned back with a groan himself and smiled. He reached around and pushed a small button on a phonograph resting on a small table. Music, similar to a Russian chant began to drift across the room setting the atmosphere.
"There. Now, we can finally talk."
"About what?"
Faust raised his eyebrows and opened his hands. "About everything. Tell me...Tell me about yourself Gray Eye. Tell me about who you are."
Naro paused and narrowed his eyes. "U-um, well... I am Hajima, Keinaro. E-everyone I know calls me Naro. I am a former Gray Eye previously working under the direction of Lord Ghenna of the kingdom of Mesopotamia."
" 'Former' Gray Eye?"
"Yeah..." The man nodded slowly. "I'm betraying my country and my father by helping these women. I'm undoing everything I've ever woven about my life. I'm casting my past and my future away."
"Not an easy decision."
"I had two, solid days for which to think about it. I learned that an old mentor, my role model for life, gave his life to save these women."
"Kaiser?"
"Yeah. I learned that I mistakenly reversed everything he died for. I've always lived my life trying to follow in his footsteps, and now I'm trying to undo what I've done. I've always tried to live like he once did and, if in his moment of glory, died trying to save these women then I feel it is my duty to follow in his step."
"Those are bold words Naro. They seem to come from your heart. I've never seen a Gray Eye say such things before. It's almost surprising. However, they are only words. Words never amount to anything unless action follows. You made a decision that will dramatically turn the course of your life. I don't think that two days was really enough time for you to make that decision in a rational manner, boy. The time will come when you will have to stand behind them. Then we shall see your true mettle, ne? We shall see how true your words really are."
Naro sat silently while Faust moved to reposition himself in his chair.
"Now, there is one thing that I don't know about you. You mentioned, just a moment ago, that you did something to undo what Noble Kaiser died for. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this coming of Ghenna, would it?"
The Gray Eye turned his head and sighed.
"Indeed. I, I..." He swallowed. "After I first came here and discovered who the women really were, I ran from them. I saved the one called Lime's life. They took me in not knowing who I was. When they found out the one called Cherry struck me down and knocked me out. I regained consciousness to find Otaru with them. He beckoned me to share a meal with them while behind his back the two women shot fire at me from their eyes. I wilted under their stare and fled the house.
"My orders were to call Lord Ghenna when we discovered the women. He wanted to recollect their DNA and use it to spawn many generations of women. Each of them have a maiden's heart inside their bodies-"
Faust interupted. "Yes, I know about this. It is the key to who their being is. To the likes of me it is a safe for which I have no key. Plugging them in and tinkering around is far too risky. I cannot obtain their DNA any other way- the cells die and destroy themselves the second they leave the body."
Naro nodded. "Yeah. Lord Ghenna knows how to retrieve the data with out killing them."
Faust smirked and shook his head. "And you believed his story and called home right after you left?"
"...Yes."
The old man chuckled and rose from his chair. "And you believed such a blatant lie. Oh, wait, I forgot. You are a Gray Eye and Ghenna is your father. Only true tones does that old windbag blow. He could never lie to you sheep, ne?"
Naro bristled. "Sheep?"
"Yes, sheep." He turned and started to limp away slowly. "You are all sheep. Everyone of you Gray Eye. Granted you are sheep designed into perfect killing machines you are sheep none the less. The wool he has pulled over your eyes is thicker than your sense!"
"Now wait a minute-"
Faust raised his hand and Naro stopped.
"Naro, you and Kaiser seem to be the only ones out of that entire legion that sees Ghenna for what he truly is. You have opened your eyes and are struggling to pull the wool free from your vision." Slowly turning the aging leader of Gartlant gave a soft smile. "We shall see how badly you wish to view what is the truth."
Naro frowned and shook his head. "Yeah..."
Faust chuckled. "Oh, you are such a typical Gray Eye. Around your elders you change. Everything from your attitude to the way you talk to your very mannerisms change. I guess all that conditioning amounts to something, ne?"
Naro fell silent once more as Faust carried on.
"Dear God on high I regret ever creating that creature. At the time he was our hopes and dreams, the one that would carry on our work. Now he is just a scar of our past. Some terrible demon long since dead. You say he's coming back. That means that he really did figure out how to travel through time. Well of course he did, I am here talking to you, correct?"
Faust approached a thin, broad leafed plant and began to examine it.
"Sometimes... Sometimes I wonder, Keinaro. I think about that night when Mesopotamia, the ship mind you, not the empire, went berserk. I remember those alarms going off and the screams of the crew, everyone rushing to their stations. Me and five others, the cowards we were, made for the escape shuttle almost right away. I suppose that is why we were the only ones to escape. As the ship began to destroy itself we ejected ourselves from the ship toward the planet below taking what data we could with us. Somehow we overlooked female, human DNA. Mesopotamia fired her thrusters hours after we touched down and dashed herself across the face of Terra II.
"Do you know what we found out, Naro? An experimental artificial intelligence system onboard the ship had gone berserk and taken over the whole starcraft. A young, 'child' genius by the name of Lorelei had been working on that system designing the AI. Lorelei and I were in love."
Faust stopped examining the plant and a dreamy look came to his eyes. "We wanted so much to live out the rest of our lives together. After the new AI system worked we were going to start a new paradise of our own and live out our days in happiness and joy. The AI was the springboard to our success, she would tell me. She said that using that AI she could revolutionize all computer AI systems. That a smart system that could think and feel would eventually replace all the AI standards at that time. She even had a way to give that computer emotions of its own. She broke down her own memories and emotions into three parts that would cover the three main aspects of her own personality, it was quite genius. It would give the computer life and feelings of its own."
Naro saw the old man's face suddenly fall. "She never got a chance to test that system. The AI went insane one day and destroyed everyone on board. Us six original men were the only ones to escape. Lorelei...died when the ship crashed itself on the planet. We were able to recover some of the data cores from the wreckage and do you know what we found? Do you know what we discovered? Do you know why you are sitting here, talking to me over one thousand years after it happened?"
Faust raised a finger. "One, little, mistake, boy. One little slip caused everything. One little flaw that made its way past Lorelei. In the computer's AI code we discovered what caused it to go berserk. It wanted Lorelei for itself. It had fallen in 'love' with the woman and wanted to keep it for its own. We also found out what caused the ship to ram itself into the planet. In the line of code Lorelei had hand typed there was a mistake in the AI logic programming. A period was missing from a critical string. Where there should have been a dot there wasn't.
"Just one period. The AI code crashed itself and made an attempt to recover itself from scratch. The code, somehow, worked its way into a viscous loop. That little dot in the code was the command to terminate after it ran the cycle. It wasn't there so it didn't; it couldn't! The computer cycled it self until it fried all its logic circuits. It took a couple good hours until it finally did so. When it did it saw no reason not to fire its thrusters and drive itself into the planet. Lorelei died shortly after it made that choice.
"Can you believe it Naro? Just one little mistake my little Lorelei made is the reason we are all down here. Just one. A little slip, maybe? Perhaps she was tired and just missed the dot and unknowingly continued on. Maybe her hand just casually fell off the board instead of punching the key? Or maybe someone entered her lab and distracted her, we'll never know. All I can tell you is that one, little mistake is why we are all here."
Faust pursed his lips a moment before turning back and walking to his seat. Naro sat silently. Was that it? Just one slip of a finger was why everyone was all here? That's it?! He'd always seen it as a much more great and grandiose thing, something of epic proportions. This was shocking!
Faust settled himself into his chair and leaned back once more.
"I often wondered what would have happened if Lorelei had typed that single keystroke. The AI system would still have gone insane killing everyone, but Lorelei would have lived, I know it! The computer was after her, after all. The system was inherently flawed, something on a much grander scale than a single dot at the end of a line. It was bound to happen.
"Now I often wonder how would have things been different had that single press of a button had been there. How different do you think life would have been? Would any of us still be here? I wonder about myself. How different a man do you think I would have become had Lorelei lived. I know I would have devoted every waking moment of my existence into finding her and bringing her home, down here, freeing her from that machine. I lay awake at night sometimes wondering, myself, how different things would have been." He trailed off and shook his head. "Life is such an unbelievable thing, isn't it? The course of billions of lives altered and changed because one woman made one tiny mistake. It's almost like the Gods out there are punishing all women for that one's mistake buy destroying everyone that ever came with her on that cursed journey. One key, Naro, one key..."
Faust looked over and saw the look on Naro's face. It was one of astonishment mix with a healthy dose of disbelief. "What do you think, Naro?"
The Gray Eye chuckled and shook his head. "I think you think too much."
Faust returned his smiles with a toothy grin and few chuckles himself.
"Just like a Gray Eye. Maybe you are right. Maybe I do think too much, but in my age it's the only thing that keeps me sane apart from Tiger, Panta and Luchs.
"Pardon me, Naro, for digressing so. Please, continue on with what you were saying. You, uhh, told Ghenna where all our women are and came here? Please, I'm still a little unsure about what exactly you are saying. Start over, from the beginning. Tell me about yourself. Everything."
Naro nodded and began. He started from the very beginning. Mentioning Kaiser and his childhood he told Faust everything. He went through his arrival on the planet's surface, wandering the streets of Japoness, finding the marionettes, his self inflicted exile, waking up to hear Cherry explaining everything to Otaru and the realization that Kaiser, the man whom who's life he did his best to live by died sending those women to a better life. He told Faust it was from then that he promised himself and the women that he would do his best to forsake his past and his life, much like Kaiser had done, to protect them from what he could. He finished with the explanation of why they came to Gartlant.
Faust nodded slowly. He was silent through out the entire narrative allowing Naro to relate his story without any interruptions. When he finished Faust shook his head and sat back. They both fell silent for a minute while the leader of Gartlant thought. Naro came to attention when he heard the old man chuckle.
"Well this is one hell of a mess you've gotten all of us into. The smart thing is to simply let Ghenna take the women and have his way with them. However we both know that this is completely unacceptable. We've both fallen in love with the ones we have. I don't think either of us wants to lose what we have gained."
Naro stood up and began to pace around his chair. The weight of the problem at hand settling heavily on his shoulders. Faust cupped his chin between his two fingers and pursed his lips.
"Ghenna doesn't use the women to repopulate the world. If he did then where are they all now today? No I think he has something else in mind..."
"Like what?"
"Hmm, If I could tell you that, boy, then we'd be able to solve this problem. All we know is that he's coming back for whatever personal reasons he has. We have to stand against him some how. Hanagata was right when he mentioned the snake. I believe that Ghenna is the key to this entire puzzle. Take him out of the picture and everything will work out in our favor. We must destroy him one way or another, however the only one who could really get close enough to him would be yourself."
Naro sighed and gripped the tall chair. "Sometimes I wonder why we're even bothering..."
Faust sat up. He looked slightly alarmed. "Why? Boy is your resolve that weak? Is this the measure of what you promised? I'll tell you why; It's the right thing to do. If for no other reason we are doing this because it is the right thing to do, damned be to all other logic. We have eight innocent people who could be the hope of all mankind who are suffering under the reign of an oppressive tyrant. We are fighting to save those people. If you are serious in what you promised you will not ask yourself 'why' any more. You will never ask yourself 'why'. You will only do it. You should be asking yourself only one thing. How. How can we save these women, how can we kill Ghenna, how will I prove myself when the time comes? There are no other questions. Watch what you think Naro, your thoughts betray you."
The man bowed his head. It wasn't often when he was chided. Faust sat back and his voice became more gentle.
"Now, because I have put so much thought into this I've decided what we should do."
Naro looked up. "Yes?"
Faust smiled slyly. "We will truly follow in Kaiser's footsteps."
Naro looked confused. "What?"
Faust smiled and turned around. He called out seemingly to no one.
"Please come out. You will need to be here. Everything will fall upon your hands."
A bookshelf slowly slid open and a man who had previously been in hiding stepped out. Naro's mouth fell open and he rose in Shock.
"Hajima, Keinaro meet my successor."
Naro's eyes narrowed. What the... He was staring at Faust! Only... He was younger...
The old man smiled even more broadly. "This is my sucessor Naro. My clone. He has all my memories. He is me. I shall have him accompany you on your journey to help safeguard my plan." He turned to his younger double. "Do you know what I am thinking?"
"No, but I assume you'll let me know."
Then the younger man turned to Naro and bowed. "Good evening Keinaro. I have heard everything about you. I am Faust von Gerhart the fifteenth. It appears you and I will be traveling together."
Naro's astonishment began to fade and he started to smile. They could use all the help they could get. This Faust looked to be about the same age as Naro. His long, golden hair was bright and shimmered in the light. His frame was muscular and fit. He seemed healthy and strong.
"He is one of the best fighters on all Terra II. One thousand years is a lot of time to train, ne? I'm sure he will be invaluable to you. Besides, I think he needs to go out and see the world with his own eyes and see things for himself for the first time."
The Gray Eye nodded. "I hope he's as good a fighter as you say."
"We know how good I am." The younger Faust said proudly. "Don't worry about that. Now, Faust, would you mind telling us what this grandiose plan of yours is?"
The older Faust nodded and continued. "Naro, I believe this is the best way to go about toppling Ghenna and with 'me' at your side we actually stand a chance at pulling it off. This will be a test of your word, I am counting on you. The plan will follow as such..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hanagata leaned back in his chair and exhaled loudly. "Pshhh, what is taking them so long? It's been almost twelve hours."
Otaru stretched luxuriously at Bloodberry's side on a large, plush sofa. While he enjoyed the luxuriousness of his surroundings he was fast becoming anxious. Naro had been in that study for quite some time now. The woman at his side leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder savoring his presence. Otaru had his arm looped around her body holding her close. Hanagata watched on with envy.
Tiger, sitting across from the two in a large seat shook her head. "Who knows. Lord Faust has been known to go missing for days."
"I hope he doesn't." Panta said reclining in an adjacent seat. "According to you three we don't have that much time left."
"Huh. What gets me is that you actually believed that Gray Eye." Luchs turned to her sister in disgust. "He's a Gray Eye and nothing more! You know how they are."
"Kaiser was a Gray Eye." Bloodberry said calmly.
"Kaiser was different!"
The fiery haired woman snorted. "Hardly! Like Kaiser, Naro went over the same training protocols. Also like Kaiser Naro's proven himself."
"How?"
Bloodberry paused a moment. "Well...well you see..."
Luchs waited a moment before shaking her head. "Exactly Bloodberry-chan. He's going to betray us. No one can make such a sudden decision like that. You can't betray years of mental conditioning. It would be like one of us switching over to Ghenna's side all of a sudden."
"Jade-chan has..."
Everyone fell silent and turned to Otaru. He was staring at the floor seemingly lost in thought. Tiger scoffed.
"You heard that from a Gray Eye. You can't trust what he says."
Otaru looked up at her, almost in shock. "Lime trusts him. Is she wrong? Can I trust her?"
She fell silent and the room settled back into an uncomfortable silence. Otaru shifted under Bloodberry's head. The air began to get more and more decidedly gloomy. Hanagata leaned further and further back in his chair, Otaru began to stare off into space, deep in thought, once more, Bloodberry started to doze on his shoulders and her sisters went back to waiting once again. No one looked up when Hanagata leaned too far back and tipped his chair over.
When the bolt on the study door turned everyone sat up and came to attention. The door opened and Faust limped slowly out followed by Naro. Bloodberry's sisters jumped up excitedly.
"Faust-sama!"
"Lord Faust!"
"Master!"
The old man grinned. "Yes, we have decided on a plan."
"You have, Faust-sama?" Tiger smiled excitedly. "We knew you would work something out!"
"Indeed." He nodded. "We have decided that you are to accompany Naro and his companions back to Otaru's home and wait for instruction there."
The face of everyone present fell. Hanagata jumped up.
"W-what?! How has that solved anything?!"
Faust frowned. "Do not question your elders. You must all trust us on this one."
Panata looked almost betrayed. "F-Faust-sama! You're asking us to leave you and run away in such a time? W-What happens if we never see you again? Lord I cannot bear the thought of living with out you!!"
The old man watched as each of his maidens spoke up. They were all worried. Why was he sending them away? What was he planning for them? Did he want them to be captured?!
At this last question he began to laugh.
"Hardly! That would be the last thing I would ever want of you three, or any of you! It seems, one way or another, we are all in this as deep as the next person. We must help one another out in order to survive. Trust is the basis of this fight. If we do not trust one another then we will fall apart when the time arrives.
"Now I am too old to accompany you on this fight. No! No, my maidens do not say anything. I am not abandoning you. I will be with you every step of the way. I would like to introduce the man who will take my place. I give you myself..."
He stepped aside and the younger Faust came out from the study. He turned to each of the maidens present and bowed.
"It is a pleasure to make all your acquaintances."
The jaws of Tiger, Panta and Luchs hit the floor. Otaru stepped back in shock while Bloodberry's eyes widened. Hanagata passed out once more, this time with a slight nosebleed...
The older Faust smiled once again. "This is my successor. Please, do not stare in such a manner. He is me. He is my clone. All my memories are his. He and I are the same man. He is much more suited for this endeavor than I am. Trust in him and in Naro and we shall see how things will fall into place."
Tiger's face softened a bit and she nodded slowly. "Hai, Faust-sama. As you will..."
Panta and Luchs, upon seeing her sister give her consent, followed in suit a moment later. Otaru and Bloodberry met eyes. They were both thinking the same thing.
"What do you mean by 'wait for instruction'?"
Naro answered for the Fausts. "We can't tell you our plan. Jade-chan is not on our side, she has been subdued by Lord Ghenna. She is a psychic. If she ever delved into the thoughts of any of you and found out what our plans would be we would be exposed. We cannot allow this to happen. We have to keep you in the dark about this. Gomen."
The younger Faust was about to put in a few words himself when a small cellular phone began to ring. The elder Faust reached down to his hip and pulled the device free. Flipping it open he held it to his ear.
"Hello...Yes...What?" Everyone saw his face turn grave. "Are you sure of this?! ...How many? Oh Lord. What, Where are they... Hai...Hai...Hai, thank you! We will!"
He flipped the device closed and turned to Otaru. "Otaru, it appears the time has come. Large warships were seen appearing in the skies of New Texas thirty minutes ago. They said they all came out of portals during a violent plasma storm."
Naro's eyes went wide. "W-warships?! In the sky!!"
Otaru felt his stomach twist as Bloodberry squeezed his arm. "Oh no... That means..."
The younger Faust folded his arms and shook his head. "My friends, Ghenna has arrived early! He is here! Old man, where was he headed?"
The old man shook his head. "The war carriers were heading for Japoness..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"NAARO!! CAN'T YOU MAKE THIS THING GO ANY FASTER?!" Otaru had to shout over the din outside the hull of the Spera.
"I TOLD YA ONCE BEFORE, OTARU, SHE ISN'T BUILT FOR SPEED!"
"God dammit..." In frustration he turned away from the cockpit compartment and began to pace the rear area. Everyone was seated along the walls trying their best to keep themselves from being tossed around in the storm. Naro had told them that the sheer number of starships that came through at once probably caused the severe plasma storms they were feeling. The wasteland skies were thick with the deadly clouds. Every once and a while a bolt with enough power to destroy an entire building struck the ship. Naro prayed that nothing would happen to the diffusion system. It was all that was keeping them alive.
In the hold Hanagata was becoming violently ill. As it turned out he was one very prone to airsickness. Vomiting into a bag he groaned out loud. Things were going to hell and it didn't look like they were going to be any better once they landed. Naro said the fleet would probably reach Japoness before they would.
The little blonde man looked up at his Otaru. He was pacing furiously back and forth despite the rocking and jolting of the ship. Otaru was on the verge of exploding. While Faust had all his women safely with his clone on the ship, Lime and Cherry were still in Japoness. Otaru didn't have the privilege of knowing all his maidens were ok. His worry was eating away at him from the inside out.
Swallowing the bad taste rising in his throat he turned away from his love. Poor Otaru. He was on the verge of losing his mind. The guilt must have been terrible. As he shook his head, Hanagata found himself worrying as well. He knew he was supposed to hate them. That he should be glad that they were being taken away. But something inside of himself said no. He knew he didn't really hate them. He didn't LIKE them, not HATE them. He'd never wanted any one of them to die. Sure he was angry that they threatened to take Otaru's love from him, but getting rid of them was not the thing to do. If he wanted Otaru's love, he wanted to earn it in competition with these women. Them being stolen away was like cheating and he knew it was wrong.
The man turned to Bloodberry who was sitting beside him. She had her knees drawn up to her chin and appeared to be on the verge of crying. Hanagata stared at her a moment. He found himself looking up and down her features, across her eyes and through her hair. He could see why Otaru was attracted to these women. He smiled slightly. Understanding was half the battle, ne?
Reaching out with his hand he placed it on her shoulder. The teary eyed maiden turned and looked at him. Swallowing another upwards surge of stomach fluid he did his best to smile at her.
"Usually we're enemies. I don't like you and you don't like me. We're both after the same thing and we know what it is. But right now things have become very grave. Don't get me wrong here, we're still in competition but I think it's time we put it aside 'till this is over. Otaru doesn't need it and neither do we."
He squeezed her shoulder gently. "Let's call a truce. I don't want to fight you. If we're going into this together let's go into as friends."
His smiled widened slightly. "I want to be in competition with you three for many years to come."
Bloodberry's face formed into a weak smile and she started to softly chuckle. "All right. We'll work together. We're allies until this is over."
The gay, little man nodded and was about to say something when the entire ship shook violently. Otaru was thrown off his feet while the entire craft pitched hard to the left.
He cursed on the floor. "Naro! What the HELL are you doing up there?!"
As the craft began to straighten itself out Naro came leaned out of the cockpit compartment.
"We've reached Japoness. The fleet has beaten us here and they've blanketed the skies. I'm not going to land anywhere near the wasteland- some of us would never be able to make the trip and survive. I'm landing this thing right on Otrau's front doorstep! Get yourselves ready, the landing is going to be anything but smooth. Now hurry up we're coming in for the final approach now!"
Taking hold of each other and what ever they could grab along the wall they braced themselves. Naro disappeared back into the cockpit and took over the controls from the computer once more. It was already too late for Lime. If she hadn't seen the star craft up in the skies by now she was either blind or dead. Naro was going to land this thing right at the front door either way.
The cloud cover was as thick as it was low in the sky. It was like looking into pea soup. Through the canopy he could see the plasma bolts flashing across the clouds. It was as beautiful a sight as it was dangerous. The bolts were gigantic in size easily dwarfing the small spacecraft.
In a rush the clouds fell away and Naro found himself directly over Japoness. Hovering just below the cloud cover he could see the fleet. It was a terrible sight. The plasma storm was so thick very little light shown through. The city was enveloped in a terrible half-light broken only by the gigantic spotlights on the war cruisers. They were absolutely massive. It was amazing something their size was able to stay up in the air. At almost three quarters of a mile in length the long, slim cruisers dominated what could be seen of the skies. Plasma bolts regularly struck the hulls of these massive behemoths doing nothing more than lighting up the hulls of the ships and making them all the more terrifying. They resembled dragons floating in the sky like they did. Huge, angry dragons with their wings opened wide searching for their prey.
Naro ducked out of the way of one that was coming up just on his starboard bow. He wasn't worried about them firing at him; he was transmitting a friendly IFF. Pulling away he began to approach the city and the ground. His eyes began to scan for the district Otaru lived in. Passing under another one of the cruisers he shot through one of the massive spotlights.
"God-damn it, this place is scary." Naro said softly. The entire city was dim while the ships hovered overhead. The plasma clouds blocked almost all the light and the streets were deserted. The massive search beacons that scanned the grounds lit up the surface brighter than day wherever it hit.
He caught sight of a familiar group of buildings and moved over to them. Otaru's home was close by. Looking up he could see one of the cruisers parked directly overhead. Naro scanned the ground as quickly as he could. This was so much different up in the air, it wasn't like on ground level. Catching sight of a familiar street he followed it. It made directly for the cruiser parked up high. Search beacons scanned the area hard and thoroughly. Suddenly he caught sight of familiar territory. Otaru's appartment!
He rose up slightly and made straight for the little abode. Swinging the craft around he illuminated his landing area. The air was rough and turbulent as it was and the craft began to shake and rock as the ship lowered itself to the ground. Outside on the ground he saw some figures move about under the ship. He exhaled loudly. Here I go...
The Spera descended and landed very heavily onto the ground. He could hear a few of his passengers in the back area curse as a few were thrown about. Cutting power to engines he jumped free from the pilot's chair and headed back. Otaru was already up on his feet. Naro watched him walk over to the hatch and hurriedly press the open button. The hatch slowly began to open, too slow for Otaru. When it was not halfway up he ducked under the door and ran outside calling out.
"LIME!! CHERRY!! LIIIIIIME!!!"
"Otaru!" Bloodberry called out behind him ducking under the door as well. Naro walked over in front of it and waited. Now was the time.
As Hanagata tried to push his way past, the Gray Eye grabbed him and and held him back. Tiger looked up at him hurriedly.
" Well? What are you doing!? Move Naro! Let us through!"
His answer surprised almost everyone there.
"Shut up."
Tiger took a step back in shock. "W-what?!"
The door finally finished rising and revealed Otaru and Bloodberry. They were at the edge of the landing ramp held at gun point by a few men dressed in black fatigues. Hanagata dashed out.
"O-Otaru!!"
He stopped when seven other guns raised themselves and pointed at him. Slowly, Hana raised his hands. Naro walked stiffly out down the ramp. A soldier at the base began to raise his gun but stopped when he recognized the Gray Eye.
"Hajima, sir!"
Naro saluted and came to a stop. Slowly, Faust, Tiger, Panta and Luchs came out of the ship. They too found themselves at gun point. Faust called out angrily.
"Naro! What's the meaning of this?!"
The Gray Eye ignored the man and began to talk with the soldier.
"Did you get the other two in the house?"
"Yes, sir! We have them all in custody sir. It appears you have the other three as well."
"Indeed. Let me see the two you captured earlier."
Otaru turned to Naro worriedly. "N-Naro?! What are you doing? Call these men off!!"
He turned to Otaru and scowled. "Now why the hell would I want to do that?" He turned and addressed the prisoners.
"Ok, listen up! You are all prisoners of the great kingdom of Mesopotamia! All you women are to be held until Lord Ghenna see's fit that you should be released. All you men shall be tried for grand treason against our mighty empire. You have conspired to overthrow our government and assassinate out leader and lord. In the space of a month you shall all be tried, convicted and sentenced to death."
Bloodberry shot up. "N-NOO!! NARO!! What do you mean?!"
He turned to her and scowled. "I mean to say your master is going to die." He turned swiftly away. Bloodberry watched him go with a mix of shock and rage shimmering in her eyes. Clenching her fists and throwing caution to the wind she knocked the guard infront of her aside and rushed Naro. He raised her hands and prepared to strike him down.
"NARO!! YOU BASTARD!!"
Whirling on the woman, faster than she could react he grabbed her arms. Using her own momentum against her he sidestepped her allowing her to pass. Her arm twisted around as Naro held it in place. Yanking viciously on it he popped it free from it's socket and pulled her back to himself. He threw her to the ground and fell on top of her pinning to screaming woman to the ground. Otaru called to her as Naro, pulling out a pair of handcuffs, twisted her other arm up and around.
"Don't test me bitch! I will tear you limb from limb. Stay here!" Mashing her face into the dirt he rose. He brushed his hand and turned to the nearest guard.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE THE TWO FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE?!"
"T-t-t-t-they're coming s-sir!"
As if on queue a pair of guards came around back each dragging one of the women in front of them. It was Cherry and Lime. Otaru's eyes went wide open with shock.
"L-LIME!!"
Hearing his voice the smaller, innocent maiden rose her head. He saw him and smiled slightly.
"Otaru..."
Cherry looked up as well. "Ota-OTARU!!"
Naro walked up and knelt down in front of each of the women. Cherry looked imploringly up at him.
"N-naro? What's going on here?! Tell them to let us go!!"
The Gray Eye met her blue ones and scowled contemptuously down at her.
"Shut up. You're vacation is at an end."
He walked over and knelt in front of Lime. The little maiden looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"N-naro? Why are you doing this?"
The Gray Eye smiled maliciously to her. Lime began to become terrified. There was no compassion on those smooth, gray orbs.
"Long live Lord Ghenna, Aisha. I believe he has something planned for you and what you did to Lord Kisa."
Lime's eyes went wide. The memories she always sought to bury rose once again. Old feelings, old faces, an older life bubbled up from the depths of her mind. Aisha was being unleashed. Lime's eye filled with tears as Naro rose and turned away. Above a small space ship lowered itself in the sky. It came to a stop twenty feet from the ground and lowered a large platform. It hit the ground hard just behind Lime. Naro motioned to the guards.
"Take them away. I'm sick of this shit hole. Take them all away and pull out."
Otaru turned and began to scream.
"No! NO! Naro!! Naro what are you doing?! Naro I trusted you!!"
The Gray Eye smiled and turned to him. "There was a reason why Lord Ghenna sent me. I guess I'm a very trustworthy kind of guy, huh?"
Faust's face became a mask of fury. Tiger seemed to growl. Luchs and Panta glared at the traitor with looks of pure rage in their eyes.
"You betrayed us Naro! YOU BETRAYED US!!"
The man just laughed as Lime and Cherry were loaded onto the platform. She began to kick and cry against her captors.
"Otaru!! OTARU, Don't leave me!! Please Otaru!!"
The young man turned up to his maiden slowly rising into the sky, his voice becoming shrill. This was not happening, NO, it was NOT happening!!
"No! LIME! LIME!! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU LIME!! I'D NEVER LEAVE YOU!! LIME!!"
She cried out one last time before her voice was drowned out by the sounds of the plasma storm.
"OTARUUU!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Satan!!
You know where I lie...
Gently I go into that good night...
All our lives get complicated.
Search for pleasures overrated...
Never armed our souls,
For what the future would hold,
We were innocent...
Innocent...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angels!!!
Lend me your might!!
Forfeit all my lives to get just one right!
All those colors long since faded...
An' all our smiles are confiscated...
Never were we told,
We'd be bought and sold,
When we were innocent!
Yeaaaaaah!!
This prayer,
Is for me tonight!!
This far down that line and still ain't got it right!!
Noo,
And while confessions not yet stated,
Our next sin is contemplated!
Never did we know...
What the future would hold...
Or that we'd be bought and sold...
Noooo...
We were innocent...
Innocent...
We were innocent...
mmMMMmmm...
~Innocent
Fuel
Contact: The_dark_Phoenix@hotmail.com
[To be continued...]
A man by the name of Kaiser rescued these maidens from the hell they lived in and, using his high rank in the Kingdom he worked for, managed to send the women away into the future before anyone knew what was going on. However doing this came to a great price, Kaiser was killed in his endeavors.
Fast forward to present day Terra II; (A.C. 1029), Lime, Bloodberry and Cherry (three of the women who were born in the past) are living under a new, kinder master by the name of Otaru. One day they are targeted by a pair assassins. A man passing by on the street who heard the assassins planning their job prevented the three women from being murdered. When they took him home they discovered that he was a soldier sent from their past to retrieve them for his leader. The man went by the name Keinaro. Cherry, in a fit of rage knocked the man unconscious. When Otaru came home he discovered the man and demanded to know what was going on. Sending Lime out on an errand that would take her three days, Cherry and Bloodberry sat Otaru down and began to explain their past to him. They revealed everything about themselves to their master. Their story ended with their traveling through time to the present.
As always I don't own SMJ or all the SMJ characters owned by who ever owns them. K? Y'all know I'm broke and in grave fear of a lawsuits, there fore lemme state again that I have about as much money as a beggar in the streets of India. Yup. I am penniless. So there. XP Comments and shtuff can be sent to The_Dark_Phoenix@hotmail.com. Oh, If anyone complains that this is too long I say shoo to you. I'm writing this for myself. I'm just posting it to see what people think of my (apparent lack of) writing skillZ. Yes, that is right. Skillz with a Z. haHA!! Kk, story tyme!!
[NOTE] Version 1.1.- Dated: 17 October 2002; I went through the whole 'fic and repaired some stupid problems that were made. The most noticeable mistakes were made at the start of Chap. 3 and the radio transmission in Chap. 4. Now I think you guys will be able to at least understand what was going on. On FF.net using "" "" to indicate actions makes the damn server think it's a set of link instructions and erases the whole line. I fixed most all of them so you can read them now. I'm sorry about the mix up. Take care and Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bloodberry paused. Wiping her eyes for the last time, she finished her glass of sake. Turning the cup face down she took a deep breath. It had been two days since they started their story. Otaru sat by somberly saying nothing. Hanagata, for the first time in his life, felt for the woman. At first he was skeptical; what she was telling him was, indeed, very far-fetched. But as the story weaved it self out and those very real tears came to her eyes he began to think differently. Tears weren't easy to fake, and coupled with the intriguing story they made for a very real performance. He was convinced.
"When we woke up," she slowly. "We were in your room, lying on those futons. From there on you know how the story goes. Lime awoke as the woman you know today. Around you she seems so innocent and ready to please. She changed. We think the bullet that grazed her skull was what did it, that coupled with the shock of having her physical form flung through time."
Otaru shook his head. "I find it hard to believe that the warrior who Aisha once was is the same, sweet child who I know and adore today."
Cherry spoke up. "There are two different people living in that body. Aisha and Lime. Aisha is a woman scarred by a life pain and suffering trying to do the right thing and follow her heart. Lime is a child, sweet and innocent. When we were escaping and Aisha was shot she suffered a mild concussion. How ever that coupled with the shock of having her body flung across time and space did something to do. Deep down I think she remembers everything. Deep down she knows who she was and what her past is.
"But I think Aisha is trying to keep her promise to Kaiser. To be happy. Lime is the product of that urge to be happy and the shock of being flung across time. Right now she's fine. She's suppressed Aisha, she's suppressed her past. You don't see the scars on her soul- she keeps them covered up. Lime is sweet, innocent and pure. She's the happiness Kaiser sought her to be.
"Otaru-sama, you don't see this, but at night Lime still has nightmares. She still dreams about her past. She still dreams about Kaiser. She went through a year of torment. Something like that leaves wounds that don't quickly heal."
She smiled up at him gently. "However, since we've been here under your care, Lime has become so much better. You've helped to heal her better than anybody. The love you show us gives Lime her happiness and strength. Everyday she gets just a little bit better, and it's thanks to you Otaru-sama."
Otaru smiled slightly and folded his legs up. He was healing Lime... Hanagata cocked an eye over to Otaru.
"Geh, I still don't see how she could be so blindly in love with you Otaru."
Bloodberry pressed her fist-of-destruction onto the blonde's head and glared. "What are you talking about? You're just as bad as the rest of us."
Hanagata slipped out from under her hand and straightened his hair.
"Yeah, but I've known Otaru my whole life. Lime's only known him for a few years. Ever since I first remember seeing her she's fallen head over heels for him."
Bloodberry met the little man's face and grinned.
"We've all been head over heels for Otaru. He's kind and sweet, he takes care of us, feeds us, clothes us..."
Otaru began to blush a little bit every time Bloodberry listed why she loved him.
"...takes us to the movies, pays for our room and board and is always so understanding!"
Hanagata still shook his head. "Yeah, but from first sight?"
Bloodberry looked up from Hanagata to Cherry. For a moment they exchanged glances.
"Well... Actually..." She said trailing off slightly.
Otaru looked to Bloodberry.
"Actually what?"
The woman looked indecisive for a moment. "Well...the thing is..."
"...Is?"
Cherry folded her hands and took over. "Otaru-sama, you look almost exactly like Kaiser-sama."
Otaru sat there a moment with a completely blank look on his face. Cherry slowly refilled her glass of tea and sat back calmly waiting for him. The man slowly turned to Bloodberry and met her eyes.
"B-Bloodberry..."
"Yes, Otaru..." she said shifting uncomfortably. "It's true. You do remarkably like Kaiser. While you look a little too young to really be him the resemblance is most definitely in there..."
Finally a look of surprise and shock stamped itself onto his features. The young man groaned, and sat back running his fingers through his hair.
"I don't believe this..."
Cherry spoke up once more.
"Please, understand, Otaru-sama, We love and live for you, not Kaiser. It's who you are in your heart that we care about. Not just who you look like. Kaiser's dead, we've long since come to realize that. He's never going to come back to us. We know this and Lime knows this. You're not a replacement for him, Not in the least bit Otaru-sam-"
She was cut of when, to the surprise of everyone at the table, Otaru began laughing. Hanagata leaned forward and put his hand on his shoulder.
"O-Otaru? Are you ok?"
The man shook his head in between the chuckles.
"You guys are telling me that I look just like the very man who saved you three? The Arch-Bishop who raised and watched over you three?"
Slowly the women nodded. Otaru grinned. "That explains everything. No wonder Lime was so attached to me at first sight. No wonder you two were the same as well. It ALL makes sense to me now."
Bloodberry smiled a bit herself and shook her head. Otaru seemed fine. They all sat there a moment letting everything sink in. Hanagata was the first to speak up. He stared down at his belly and rubbed it. It responded with a gurgle.
"Ne, Otaru, I'm hungry."
Bloodberry looked over at Hanagata with an annoyed expression on her face. "You're always hungry."
For once Otaru came to Hanagata's defense. "Bloodberry... He has a point. It's been a while since I've last eaten as well. Cherry, let's say we take a break and have a real meal. I'm sure we all could use it."
The maiden smiled and nodded. "Of course Otaru-sama. I will get right on it."
The man chuckled. "No, Cherry, there's no rush. We have all the time in the world, ne?"
Both of the women smiled and chuckled. Hanagata prodded his stomach and slumped his shoulders. If Cherry was going to take her sweet time...
Suddenly a voice spoke up breaking the mood in the room. It was sad, almost regretful.
"Five days..."
Everyone stopped and turned. It came from Otaru's door. There standing slightly disheveled and rather unshaven was Keinaro. His eyes were sad and downcast and his shoulders slumped. Almost immediately Bloodberry and Cherry bristled. Once again, Keinaro spoke very softly.
"Five days... It's been two since you returned me here, right?"
Otaru furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about Keinaro?"
The Gray Eye swallowed and shook his head. "I had no idea. I really had no idea what you three went through. They never told us what happened. When Kaiser died they said he died defending the Rocket Shot and nothing more. I- I was told that by bringing you three back we would be saving all of man kind and honoring Kaiser's name. All I... All I've just done was just undo what he fought and died for. I'm so... I'm so..."
Bloodberry watched the man dig his hands into the wooden door frame gouging deep marks into it. Cherry saw his body trembling softly as if he were crying. She calmed a bit and unclenched her fists.
"Naro what do you mean by five days?"
The man didn't look back up. Instead he shook his head and trembled more.
"I'm so sorry, all of you. Please... I'm so sorry..."
Bloodberry began to become alarmed. Gray Eyes don't usually act this way... Her voice was firm but filled with concern.
"Naro?"
The Gray Eye looked up and met the maiden's gaze. She could see tears along the brims of his eyes. His face was that of a man who committed a crime too serious for death alone seeking repentance from those who he hurt.
"You guys... have only five days left together. After that, Lord Ghenna comes here and takes you away back to his home. I already reported where you six were two days ago after I left here, but before Otaru stopped me... Ghenna's coming, and there's nothing I can do stop it now..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saber Marionette J
[Dark's AU] Human
Eps. 5 - The Calm Before The Storm
"We'll Prepare for the worst"
She calls me from the cold
Just when I was low, feeling short of stable...
And all that she intends,
And all she keeps inside isn't on the label...
She says she's ashamed.
Can she take me for awhile?
Can I be a friend?
We'll forget the past!
Well, maybe I'm not able,
And I break at the bend...
We're here and now,
Will ever be again?
'Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade...
Away...
Again...
She dreams a champagne dream!
Strawberry surprise, pink linen on white paper...
Lavender and cream!
Fields of butterflies, reality escapes her...
She says that love
Is for fools that fall behind.
And I'm somewhere between!
Never really know
A killer from a savior...
'Til I break at the bend...
We're here and now,
Will ever be again?
'Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade...
Away...
Again...
It's to far away for me to hold!
To far away....
It's to far away for me to hold!
To far away....
Aaaaaaawwww...
Yeaaaah,
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away....
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away...
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away....
It's to far away for me to hold!
...To far away....
...Guess I'll let it go....
Shimmer
~Fuel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All four of the people fell silent. With looks of shock and horror Bloodberry and Cherry gaped at the man. Hanagata forgot about his hunger. Otaru became pale. This means that in less than five days he is going to lose... Keinaro shook his head despairingly.
"I had no idea you sacrificed so much. I had no clue you the hell you went through. I acted thinking it was the best thing to do at the time. I ignored that little voice in my head and now I'm paying for it. I heard everything. I woke up right about the time Cherry was talking about meeting Lime for the first time. I heard your entire story. I heard all of what happened. Kaiser..."
Naro swallowed and dug his hands even deeper into the door frame.
"Kaiser was the man I looked up to. He was the greatest warrior that ever lived. When he died I was devastated. Completely and utterly. The only comfort I had was that I wasn't the only one who cried that time. Almost all of Mesopotamia wept for the fallen Arch-Bishop. I don't there was a single man who didn't mourn for him. I had no idea he died for you three. I had no idea..."
He stopped and lowered his face hiding it from the four people. Hanagata shook his head slowly.
"So you betrayed us. You betrayed these women to the devil and now you want us to forgive you?"
Bloodberry looked up surprised at the blond man. "Hana..."
He turned to her and pointed his finger. "Don't get me wrong! I still hate you three. You're still out for the love of my blessed Otaru! But what you three women went through, no one should have gone through. Naro, you betrayed these maidens to Satan himself! How dare you stand there and beg for our forgiveness!!"
Bloodberry's expression softened toward Hanagata. He'd called them women and maidens for the first time in their lives. Keinaro, on the other hand, did nothing. His head down turned, body trembling and fingers buried deep into the wall he said nothing. Everything Hanagata said had been true...
Slowly Cherry rose. Her eyes were burning brightly in their sockets. Otaru watched her move toward where Keinaro was standing in despair.
"Cherry..."
She came close and stood next to the man seething. Keinaro knew who it was even without looking up. He could hear her ragged breathing, smell her sweet perfume. He stood by and trembled with sorrow and self-remorse. He dared not look up.
Cherry raised her hand high and prepared to strike down the Gray Eye. Naro could hear the noise of her arm being raised and tensed. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow. Cherry's eyes narrowed as she glared at the man standing before her. Slowly, very controlled, she moved her lips.
"Why...Why did you do it..."
Naro shuddered and shook his head. "I thought it was the right thing to do. Your safety would have been guaranteed. Lord Ghenna needs the DNA codes locked in your hearts to begin mass-producing women for the public. He's only got two codes. In order to g-get the genetic variety he needs he'll need the other six of you."
Bloodberry spoke slowly as well. "What about those data cores and all the notes the science teams took?"
"T-they were destroyed in an explosion at the science labs. He doesn't have any other records of what-"
"Wait a minute..." Cherry interrupted him. "You said he already had some. Where'd he get those samples from?"
Hanagata narrowed his eyes. "He said the other six of you... You three never saw Jade and Rose leave the station, did you?"
Cherry and Bloodberry exchanged worried glances. Hana was right. The smaller maiden turned to Naro.
"Naro..."
Slowly the Gray Eye nodded. "Lord Ghenna has them."
With a cry Cherry slammed her hand into the wall splintering it not three inches from Naro's head.
"What do you mean?"
Naro's trembles began to get worse. "Th-they never made it out of the l-labs. The explosive they a-armed to erase the data of where you s-six went w-went off prematurely. Th-they were halfway through the launch s-sequence when it went off. It destroyed all the equipment in the l-lab and shut down th-the time sequence. They never escaped..."
The rage in Bloodberry's eyes faded and was replaced by something deeper. Her shoulders slumped and she turned her head away. They never escaped... They never made it out... Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry had been living happily and peacefully all this time while Jade and Rose were both caught in the torment of Ghenna's hell...
Cherry rose her hand high once more. Naro flinched as he heard the heavy hand raise itself into the air above him. He held his breath and waited for the blow.
Naro, more than anyone else, was surprised when it never came. Gently Cherry placed her hand on the Gray Eye's shoulder. Her eyes softened and her breath slowed.
"You did it because you wanted what was best for mankind, ne?"
Slowly Naro nodded. Cherry swallowed and continued.
"I'm tired of feeling angry. I'm tired being mad. There are things more serious than my hatred toward you. Ghenna is coming, Jade and Rose are still trapped under him and we are running out of time. I can't be angry anymore. I hate being mad."
She turned to Bloodberry. "Ne, Bloodberry-chan?"
The woman with the fiery hair looked up and met her sister's eyes. She swallowed once and turned away. Looking out the window she silently nodded. Cherry turned back to Naro and lifted his chin. They met face to face.
"We can't change what's been done. Our actions can't be taken back. But we can try to amend the damage we've done. I can't take back what I've said and done to you. I've acted blindly. I let my own personal feelings cloud my judgment. I remember someone else who did the same. His name was Kaiser."
Bloodberry silently listened to her sister as she spoke. Otaru brought his legs up and did the same. Naro was their enemy. He'd betrayed them to Ghenna. But if anyone had the right to forgive the man it would be Cherry and Bloodberry. Otaru decided to go upon whatever his Maidens decided.
"Now if Kaiser can forgive and be forgiven..." Cherry continued. "...so can I. We can put our pasts behind us and move on only under one condition."
Naro met her gaze and swallowed. "...Yes?"
Cherry's eyes narrowed. "Who's side are you on, Keinaro? Ghenna's or ours?"
The Gray Eye was silent as he stared at Cherry. Her eyes, her soft, purple eyes bored into his. Now there was a descision to be made. Follow his heart and the little voice in his head, or follow the leader he pledged his life to. What was the right thing to do... He shook his head and averted his gaze. What did his heart tell him...
The heart of man is corrupt. It is filled with deceit and lies, greed and lust. Naro knew this. More than anyone else there he knew. He'd seen his friends, good and strong people grow up and become corrupted by the power one gains by becoming Gray Eye Elite. He knew himself, that some of that power tainted his heart and mind. He was the only one from his entire clan who made it as high as he did. He was specially chosen for this mission along with three other individuals because of their loyalty to Mespotamia and the fatherland and one other special trait. Keinaro sought to follow in the footsteps of his fallen Arch-Bishop. He acted because he felt that was how Kaiser would have acted.
But now he learned that in the time of his death, Kaiser died not for his country, but for these women. Not for the fatherland, but for eight would be mothers. Naro had seen Kaiser's kindness. He remember the speech he had given him as a little boy, about tears and the significance of honoring those who had fallen whom you loved.
...Honoring the fallen of whom you loved...
Corrupt or not, he would follow his heart. He raised his head and met Cherry's eyes.
"Kaiser was one of the greatest men I have ever known. In his final years he became a just and good man. He came back, you know, that day after he talked to me in the hallway. Ryken ignored what I had told him and Kaiser came back. He was so utterly humiliated by the Arch-Bishop that he applied for and was sent away to some back woods post where we never heard of him again. I received the respect and admiration of my clanmates. The Arch-Bishop was stood up right behind me and backed me up right in front of the whole group.
"When he died I made a pledge to myself that I would continue to honor him and the legacy he left behind. You eight are his legacy. If he was willing to die and sacrifice his life for you, then so am I. I will do whatever it takes to defend you three no matter what you choose to do."
Cherry smiled and nodded her head once. Otaru also nodded. They needed all the help they can get. Hanagata saw his love nod and in turn did the same. Otaru could never be wrong, except about love- he was just misguided there. Bloodberry scowled and turned back to Naro and Cherry.
"Oh, that's all nice and dandy Gray Eye. But can you fight as good as you talk? Aisha is a Gray Eye as well. She's got their training and skill, she passed the test!"
Naro frowned slightly. "I'm no Bishop, Bloodberry, but I am an elite."
"Which means what?"
Naro raised his shirt and revealed a tattoo on his other arm. It was of a phoenix, dark and awesome, rising from ashes in a glorious array of fire. To Otaru, it was one hell of a tattoo. It seemed to shine on his arm catching the light. He'd never seen anything like it before. However when Bloodberry saw it and her eyes grew large. Naro smiled softly.
"I'm a Black Legionnaire." Otaru, Hanagata and Cherry all stepped back in surprise. Naro chuckled a bit. "I told you I was elite."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While Cherry bustled about in the kitchen, Naro and the rest sat at the table. The Gray Eye felt a little better and became more at ease. Otaru began to take a liking to the older man. While he was shy and really didn't speak unless spoken to, what he had to say was almost always useful. Otaru saw a light in his Gray Eyes that he'd never seen before. Every time he saw the man before he was saddened and gloomy. This was the first time Otaru'd ever seen him at relative peace. Hanagata, on the other hand didn't take such a liking to him. Being sent into low orbit into a plasma cloud wasn't something one soon forgets. He put up with him only because Otaru'd seemed to have taken a liking to the man.
"So we have less than five days, correct Naro?"
"Yes."
"Alright..." Otaru said rubbing his forehead. "Five days... What happens then?"
Bloodberry spoke up. "I'll tell you what happens. Ghenna comes and takes us back. You never see us again, we never hear from you again. That is it. That is all."
Otaru blinked. "It can't be as cut and dry as that!"
Naro shook his head. "Yes it can be."
Bloodberry slammed her fist into the table. "Do you really think Ghenna gives a crap about you or about us? Do you think he really cares about how we feel?"
The young man paused. "Well... no I guess not. That's why I'm not going to let him take you three from me!"
"Otaru, I don't think there's a force on this planet that will keep us from Ghenna's rage now. We can't run! There's no place where we can hide."
Otaru turned to Naro. "What do you think?"
The Gray Eye took a sip of some of the sake that had been left out. "We need to look at our options here. We can wait for Lord Ghenna to come and just accept fate, or we can fight it and resist with everything we have in ourselves. If we resist what are we going to do? We obviously can't fight the entire Mesopotamian fleet."
Bloodberry chugged some drink herself. "We can try."
"We will die. Going against an entire armada is a pointless end to a wasted life. We need to think about this. I'm going against everything I've ever been taught right now. Mesopotamia is the fatherland and should always be protected from invaders. I am sitting beside you collaborating about mounting an assault on that country. I don't like the idea myself. I'm going against rational thought by doing this. If I don't like it how do you think a Bishop's going to feel about it? Or an entire squad of legionnaires? They will destroy us."
"Well we're not going to wait for the end to come and just accept it!"
"Of course we aren't Bloodberry, which is why we're talking about his right now. Naro isn't there anything we can do to resist this?"
"There's always something we can do... I just can't think of it right now..."
"Well, wait. Otaru-kun..." Hanagata said speaking up. "I remember, in old history texts, about how back on Earth cultures used to describe invading armies like snakes. One long slithering snake."
"Yeah..."
"Well, what is one thing every snake has?"
Bloodberry took another drink. "Gray Eyes?"
Naro snorted while Hanagata went on.
"No, they have a head. What would happen if we chopped that head right off? The body dies..."
"...Killing the snake." Otaru nodded. "Well what's the head of this snake?"
"Ghenna." Bloodberry grunted. "So all we have to do is kill him."
Naro spoke up. "Now wait a minute!"
"No, hold on Naro." Otaru said taking some tea. "Hana has a point. Bloodberry, you said yourself that Kaiser told Aisha that in the future Mesopotamia isn't around, that something happened to Ghenna."
"Yeah..."
"Well, what if we're the ones that happen to Ghenna? This could be all fate! All we have to do is kill Ghenna and we'll be safe."
Naro shook his head. "I'd be easier to fly with only your arms Otaru. Lord Ghenna is always protected by a Bishop or two or..." He trailed off.
"...Or?" Bloodberry pushed.
The Gray Eye took a deep breath. "Remember Leska-chan?"
"Jade."
"Yes, Jade... Well, when she didn't escape Lord Ghenna put her back into her psychic training. It's been twenty years since you've left that world. She's come further than Kaiser ever imagined."
"What do you mean?" Otaru leaned forward.
"She's a killing machine..."
"What?!" Bloodberry stood up. "What?! Jade-chan?! She'd never kill ANYTHING! She wouldn't even hurt insects! There's no way that she could be a killer."
"You remember what happened to Aisha, didn't you? Her year with Lord Kisa. Now stick Leska-chan in Aisha's place, Lord Ghenna in Kisa's place and multiply the years by twenty!"
Bloodberry fell silent.
"I've never seen her before, myself, but I've heard the horror stories. They describe her like a demon. Half her face is covered in some sort of mask. There was an explosion or some misfire and she was horribly scarred on the right side of her face. They say her eyes are completely and totally flat. That when she kills you they look almost dead. She's got powers unmatched by any other living thing. She's a demon. A walking piece of terror. She can kill a Bishop without even so much as batting an eye. She never says anything. Never talks, she's totally silent. She uses her mind! She can burrow into your head and turn you insane or read whatever thoughts you choose to keep hidden from the rest of the world. It's because of her that we haven't had another Arch-Bishop after Kaiser. We've never needed one. She's a terrible force."
Everybody became silent. Bloodberry couldn't believe her ears. Not Jade-chan. Not her. There was no way she could ever kill anything. She'd never hurt anyone before... Naro continued.
"But... I think there is one person we can go to who may help us. In fact, we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone with hi..."
"What do you mean? Who's this man?" Otaru said.
Naro looked and smiled slightly. "Oh yeah... I never told you." He leaned over his shoulder and called into the kitchen. "Cherry! Come out here. This is important!"
The maiden walked out of the kitchen drying her hands on a towel she had slung over her shoulder. "Yes? What is it?"
Naro motioned to her seat. "Sit down. You're going to want to hear this." Silently she did as she was bidden. Bloodberry saw Naro's eyes light up as he spoke.
"There's one man who might be able to help us. Technically he's the oldest man alive. He's been with us since the original six crash landed on this planet. He's died countless times, but his memories have been sent into clone after clone of himself down the ages. He's the only man on all of Terra two who has memories of Earth and what life was like on it."
"Who is this man?" Cherry asked.
The Gray Eye smiled. "He's the leader of Gartlant. He goes by the name 'Faust'."
Otaru sat back. "Faust? That old coot?"
Naro chuckled. "That man is the wisest one on all of Terra II. He's seen and done almost everything. He would know what to do in our situation."
Cherry scratched her head. "Well, this is all nice and everything, but why do I need to hear it right now?"
"This is what's important," The Gray Eye said raising his finger. "I was sent into this time because apart from the time scarring, there were rumors of odd marionettes roaming around. Rumors of marionettes who could think and act for their own, even smile. Three of these marionettes are here in Japoness... and another three are said to be living somewhere else. Since, I've been able to pinpoint where they were. They live in Gartlant"
Cherry narrowed her eyes a moment processing what had been said.
"Y-you mean..."
The man grinned and sat back. "Faust is living with three other women..."
For the first time that night Bloodberry heard some news she wanted to hear. She exchanged glances with Cherry and smiled widely.
"Tiger, Panta and Luchs! They landed in this time period!"
Cherry stood up and clapped her hands. "They made it, they made it!!"
Otaru watched the two sisters clasp their hands and begin to spin wildly around the room. Their faces were lit up brightly as they chanted in unison.
"They made it! They made it! They made it! They made it!"
When they finally became too dizzy to continue they fell to the floor and landed giggling helplessly. Bloodberry flipped herself over up onto her hands and knees.
"Otaru! We need to go see them!! Let's go tonight!! Let's go, let's go!"
Their master almost did a double take. "W-what?! Bloodberry! Do you know how far away Gartlant is? It's a seven day journey on foot! We'd never be able to make it there in time!"
As Bloodberry's face fell Keinaro's smiled widened.
"Now, now Bloodberry-chan, don't look so down. Do you think I would recommend we go out and do something if we didn't even have the time to arrive there?"
"Huh?"
Naro crawled over to her and lay flat on his belly. Kicking his legs into the air he was almost nose to nose with Bloodberry. "How do you think I got to Japoness? I landed inside the wasteland just outside the walls during a fierce plasma storm. Now you know that plasma storms are the side effects of time travel, they almost always mark a coming and going. But still, traversing that wasteland during a plasma storm isn't any fun. You'll get struck by every plasma bolt that forms out there, and we all now how much they can burn."
She narrowed her eyes. "I thought we had plasma diffusion systems built into our skeletons."
"Doesn't make it hurt any less when you're struck by one. Those suckers sting!"
Cherry interrupted. "Yeah, yeah where are you going with all this?"
Naro looked over to her and met her eyes. "We Gray Eyes almost never travel anywhere on foot unless we need be or we are undercover. Time traveling is no different. Out in that wasteland, about twenty miles from the wall, I came out of the time slip and into this place in a plasma storm. I didn't walk that twenty miles. I came with a star craft. One that was built to go through time and space as well as the skies. What would be a seven day journey on foot would only take us about twelve hours using my ship. We could be there and back long before Lord Ghenna arrives!"
Bloodberry's face lit up. "Then we CAN go tonight, Otaru!! We can go!!!"
The boy smiled and shook his head once more. "No, Bloodberry, we can't. I'm not leaving here until Lime comes back. Even then one of us must stay behind to watch over her."
Hanagata snorted. "S'not going to be me."
"Who said you were going in the first place?!" The fiery woman growled.
Otaru groaned "Please you two..."
"Gomen, Otaru-sama..."
"Ugh, Gomen Otaru."
Turning to the Gray Eye Otaru spoke. "Well, it looks like it's you, me, Hanagata, and either Bloodberry or Cherry." He turned to them. "Which one of you two is willing to stay behind and watch over Lime?"
The sisters exchanged glances and began to talk at almost the same time.
"I will Otaru-sama, Bloodberry really wants to go-"
"I'll stay behind, Otaru. I made a promise to watch over Lime-"
They stopped and once more stared at one another. Otaru groaned once more. He would have to make a decision then... Looking back and forth he sighed and shook his head.
"All right, Bloodberry, you were the first to ask, you'll come with us." The maiden nodded fully aware of her sister's slumping shoulders at her side. Cherry nodded slowly. She wanted to visit them... Maybe another time. Naro straightened himself up. He looked out the window and saw the sun had totally disappeared from the horizon. It was full night outside.
Hanagata, (who had been making faces at Bloodberry until he heard she was to join them), laid down with a thump and groaned. "Well if that's done may we eat? I'm hungry!"
Cherry suddenly shot up like a cat with it's tail on fire. "Oh my god! I forgot the food!! It's going to burn!!" And she rushed into the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the meal (which, luckily, turned out fine) the five sat around the table silently. Naro, for the first time in his life, had a real home cook meal. Most food was either produced in a factory or mass produced, like a McDonalds, where he came from. Fresh ingredients, much less food cooked at home were an extreme rarity where he lived.
Leaning back he patted his belly. "Cherry, I have to admit, that's the best meal I have ever eaten in my entire life."
The maiden smiled. "I hear that a lot. Thank you Naro."
Hanagata, picking at a small pile of rice on his plate groaned. "How come the enemy gets more food than me?"
Cherry sniffed. "That's because the enemy is a guest. He doesn't live next door with his own food to eat." She leaned over grinning maliciously. "He also doesn't make fun of the cook's work..."
Sighing the blonde little man shoved what little was on his plate into his mouth and chewed.
"[munch][munch] Y'still shouldn't be so mean..."
Otaru took a deep breath and sat back once more. "All right. Whenever Lime gets back is when we go. I'm not going to take off without telling her goodbye."
"We understand, Otaru-sama. Please hurry on back after you do leave though. I don't want Ghenna to return while you're out in Gartlant."
"Don't worry about that, Cherry. I promise I'll be home long before that dictator comes for you!"
Naro winced when Otaru called his former Lord a dictator. It still hurt to be going against the man he was taught to be like his father. Some part in his brain wailed and screamed whenever he thought about their plans to keep the six maidens from Ghenna. It would take some getting used to. He was following in Kaiser's footsteps in a more true fashion than he ever imagined. He too was casting everything away for the safety of these females. Unlike Kaiser, he was worried he would have to take this new dedication a step farther- actually going out and killing his Lord and Father; Ghenna.
Bloodberry, lounging with one knee brought up and her arm resting on it casually, turned to her sister. "Do you know when Lime will be back?"
Cherry nodded. "I sent her out to get only, maybe a pound of Maiden's Heart. She should be on her way back by now. I think we can expect her back sometime tomorrow."
Bloodberry turned to Otaru. "So tomorrow evening?"
"Maybe the day after, depending on when she gets back."
"Shit. I hope she gets back early tomorrow then. We don't have the time to wait for her."
Otaru stood up and stretched his back. "Well, I'm not sure about the rest of you, I am exhausted. I really need to sleep. Physically I'm wasted."
Saying his good nights he turned to enter his room. He stopped when Cherry called to him. Turning he met her gaze. Knowing this would be one of the last times she would ever be able to do this she walked over to him. She took his hands into her and met his eyes.
"Sweet dreams, Otaru-sama..."
Her master looked surprised for a moment. Realizing what she was doing and what it meant his expression softened. He squeezed her hands gently in return. "Until the morning Cherry."
He turned, entered his room and slid the door closed behind him. Cherry stood out side the door a moment, downcast. She didn't move until her sister came up behind her and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Cherry-chan?"
Looking hastily away Cherry wiped her eyes. She turned back smiling at Bloodberry.
"Onee-sama?"
Bloodberry shook her head back and forth slowly. "Cherry... If you really want to, you can go in my place. I can stay here and watch over Lime for you."
Her sister shook her head. "No, Bloodberry. You're the one who wanted to go the most. Otaru-sama decided for us. I'll stay behind and watch our Lime."
Hanagata rose and approached the smaller maiden.
"Now, now don't get me wrong here. I still hate you three and all but... but Cherry, while we're gone, you'd better take good care of Lime for me- I mean Otaru- If she gets hurt, Otaru will get sad and depressed, and I don't think I'll be able to stand it. Alright?"
Cherry met his eyes and for a moment saw a flash of sincerity in them. She smiled. "Alright, Mitsurugi. I will."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almost three hours later everyone was asleep except for Naro. He had no idea how five people who's lives were going to be dramatically changed in such short notice were able to sleep at all. He leaned against the wall of the main room of the house where the four occupants spent their past two days revealing the past. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. It was warm in here. The air was thick with the musty odor of sweat and body odor. They'd locked themselves in the same room for two days straight, it would make sense things would smell. Walking to the far door he softly opened it and stepped outside.
The cold, Japoness night air felt good on his face. It had a slight bite in it, but Naro didn't mind. The crisp air was cool and fresh. The stars were brightly shimmering above. It never ceased to amaze him. Despite all the years, almost three-quarters of millennia, the stars were almost exactly the same as they were back home. He could see Poseidon up there, and Gaine. Off in the far distance there was a small cluster of stars with Orion was nestled in amongst them. Weren't people on Earth able to see that same constellation as well?
Naro always liked Orion. It was a noble warrior standing guard in a sky full of beasts and gods, like a lone guardian keeping all the other stars safe. Taking a deep, cleansing breath he started to walk. Keinaro had always been attracted to the stars. They were small points of light and sanity set atop darkness and infinity. They represented all that was and all that could be. He could see so many hopes and dreams up in those soft points of light. It was no wonder man chose to traverse their great depths. It was no wonder...
He heard someone coming down the street and stopped. His eyes, despite having adjusted to the light, picked up nothing in the shadows. Moving under cover himself he waited. There, he heard it again. It was the sound of footsteps. Peering as best he could into the darkness he saw something move. A... 'thing' detached itself from the shadows down the street and moved swiftly in Naro's direction. It seemed to be big and bulbous with two small feet peeking out the bottom. It padded softly on the ground making a peculiar noise. It wasn't until the thing got close enough for Naro to discern what it was that the noise made sense. It was making the same sound, like a squeaky toy, every time it stepped.
Naro watched Lime approach with a small smile. The child had a humongous sack on her back. That's what confused him. As she approached he could hear her humming softly to herself. Stepping out from the shadows he made his way toward her.
"Lime." He said softly. The woman stopped and turned to him. She blinked twice and suddenly realized who was calling her.
"Naro!! Keinaro!! You're ok!!"
The Gray Eye smiled. "Yeah, I'm feeling much better now, especially to see you!"
Lime deposited the sack onto the ground and giggled. "Naro-kun! I didn't know how much Cherry would need so I found as much as I could. It's all in here." She said patting the bulging sack proudly. "But I don't think Cherry's going to need them any more now that you're ok..."
The man chuckled. "Nonsense Lime! I'm sure she'll find a use for them! You did a great job!"
Lime smiled once more. "Otaru was counting on Lime! He'll be happy, ne ne? Do you think he'll be proud?"
Naro leaned back and began to laugh. "I know he will be! I don't think you'll ever make him ashamed child. Need a hand?" He reached down and picked up the large bag. They started to walk slowly back to Otaru's home taking their time and enjoying the night. Naro grinned at the woman. She seemed so much like a child; she even had a little hop-skip in her step.
"Lime, do you mind if I tell you some thing?"
"Huh? Sure. What is it?"
Naro looked straight ahead as he spoke, trying his best to hide the emotions behind the words that were going to come out.
"You love Otaru, ne?"
She nodded vigorously. "I love him more than anything in the whole word!!"
Keinaro nodded. "Then can you promise me something?"
"Oro? What is it Naro-kun?"
The man paused a moment before answering. " Lime-chan, the time may come when you will be separated from Otaru for a very, very long time. It won't be your fault, mind you. It will just be fate, I guess."
"Huh, Naro-kun, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the future Lime. There may come a time when you and Otaru will be separated. I can' tell you when, or why, but it might happen." He turned his head to her. "You gotta remember your love for him Lime. You gotta remember your feelings you feel for him right now. You gotta remember that he would never leave you unless he had no choice what so ever in the matter. He loves you, Lime. That boy `loves you deeply. Just remember that he'll always love you, no matter where you are, and that he'll do everything in his power to keep you safe and by his side. Whereever you may go he will follow. Do you understand, Lime?"
The little woman turned her Jade eyes to Naro's Gray ones. "I...I guess... But why would I be taken away from Otaru? I dun wanna leave him."
Naro chuckled. "I know you don't. Just maybe fate will be kind to you and you'll never have to leave his side. But just in case, remember to always remember him. Keep him close to your heart and you'll pull through."
Lime furrowed her eyebrows. "Ok Naro-kun... what ever you say."
"Promise me?"
"Promise!"
"Good!" Naro smiled under the load. "Come on Lime-chan! Let's get inside. Otaru's already gone to bed, but I'm sure he won't mind if you wake him up!"
Lime immediately brightened at the thought of seeing Otaru again. She nodded. "Hai!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cherry stood in amazement, the next morning, in front of the massive sack full of Maiden's Heart. The thing was bigger than she was! Where on Terra did Lime even find a sack that large?!
"I didn't know how much you wanted Onee-chan." Lime said shrugging her shoulders. Cherry continued to stare in disbelief.
"Lime, you've picked enough Maiden's heart to heal the entire city of Japoness!!"
Lime giggled and rubbed the back of her head. Otaru reached around her from behind and held her tightly. She smiled in his embrace and cuddled up against him.
"It's Ok Lime, you did me proud! No one on all of Terra II could pick so much and get it back here so fast!"
She giggled again. "Otaru!"
Naro stretched his back out and heard it crack. "You're telling me that's a lot. I moved it closer to the building this morning and re-set it down to right where you see it. That thing's heavy. It's kinda lopsided as well."
Cherry turned. "Lopsided?"
"Yeah, it landed funny when I set it down. Must be a few rocks in it or something."
Just then Bloodberry walked up. "Hey, has anyone see His Hana-ness around? I haven't seen him all morning. He's usually up and about begging for food about now."
Cherry giggled. "I wouldn't worry about him. I'm starting breakfast right now. The smell of the food will lure him out soon enough. He's like a vulture; always knows where the next meal is!"
Everyone laughed and turned to walk back inside the house leaving the large sack where it was on the ground. No one noticed the frantically waving hands, or the white tights peeking out from underneath it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"But Otaru, why can't I come?"
"I told you Lime, you need to stay here and rest up. This is an important business trip and I'm going to need Bloodberry's and Naro's strength."
Lime's eyes started to mist up. "But Otaru, I just got back last night."
Her master slumped his shoulders. Taking a deep breath he turned and embraced the little woman.
"I know Lime. I don't want to leave myself, but I don't have much choice. I need to do this before it is too late. It's for our future."
"Business trip or not, why can't I at least tag along, Otaru?"
Bloodberry put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Lime-chan, we're going to be hiking this on foot. It's a solid three day trip both ways. It would be murder on your body to travel that distance with out some rest."
"But Otaru~"
"Don't Otaru, me Lime. I'm sorry but you have to stay here. It's just the way-"
He fell silent when he felt Naro's hand descend onto his shoulder. Lime was on the verge of breaking into tears, being short tempered wasn't the thing to do. His expression softened and he walked over to her. Meting her jade eyes into his own he smiled.
"Lime, I really care for you, and I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want you to die of exhaustion on me. I don't want you to get sick. I'm not doing this because I don't like you, or I want to leave you here, it's for your own good."
Cherry could see her little sister's lower lip quivering. She was quickly blinking back tears.
"Otaru..."
The young man smiled. "Lime, don't you worry. I'll be back as fast as my legs will carry me. I promise!"
Slowly the maiden in his hands nodded. Otaru lifted her chin up and smiled.
"Lime, you be safe while I'm gone, all right?"
"Yes, Otaru..." Her voice sounded small and lonely. Bloodberry remembered when she was abandoned once back when she was younger. It left her in a year of hell and torture. That fear of being left alone and having her love walk away was still in her small body.
Her master clapped Lime on the shoulder. "Good girl. I love you Lime. We'll be back as soon possible! No way I'm leaving my favorite, green eyed little girl alone for too long! Ok?"
Lime swallowed and looked up smiling weakly. The tears were in her eyes but Cherry could see she was feeling slightly better.
"Hehe, Ok Otaru. I love you too."
Bloodberry cocked her eyebrow and turned her head. Did that sack of Maiden's Heart just groan?
The two embraced a moment longer until Otaru finally broke off. He turned to Cherry.
"You take care of her as well, all right Cherry?"
The woman nodded. "Of course, Otaru-sama." She reached out and straightened his clothes. "And you take care of yourself as well. I want to see you again some day." She added with a slight smile. Otaru reached out and embraced her as well.
"I'll try, Cherry-chan. I love you."
Lime turned and waved to her sister. "Ja ne, onee-sama. Take care of Otaru for me."
The fiery haired woman grinned back. "Onee-chan, don't worry! I'll get him back here before long. He'll be safe, don't you worry about it, none!"
Lime giggled. "I'm not 'cause you're with him Onee-chan. Be careful."
Smiling widely to her sister Bloodberry nodded.
Naro took a step out side and looked up into the sky. It was fast approaching noon. A few more hours and the sun would pass directly over head. It looked to be about nine according to the clocks on Otaru's wall.
"If we're all set, then I think it's about time we took off, Otaru-kun." He turned and met the younger man's eyes with a sly smile. "We have a date with destiny."
Otaru shook his head and smiled. "Let's push off then."
He took hold of his stuff and hefted it over his shoulder. The trio stepped of the landing and into the road. Just as they were turning to say their final goodbyes Cherry stepped off and called to Naro.
"Keinaro-sama, Keinaro! Would you mind doing me a quick favor before you go?"
Facing her the Gray Eye smiled. "Sure, What is it?"
Cherry turned and pointed to the huge sack of Maiden Heart. "Would you mind moving that behind the house. It would be easier for me to work with behind there in the shade."
With a grin Naro nodded. "As M'lady wishes."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lime sadly watched as the three men and lone woman slowly made their way down the street away from her. Hanagata was almost bent over double carrying all the supplies and equipment on his back. He was still sore from being smashed under that giant sack of Maiden's heart and then being almost left behind. It was a good thing Cherry asked Naro to move it, otherwise he might have been stuck under there for days!
Cherry stood by her side and wrapped her arm around her sister. This was the very first person she ever knew in her entire life. This woman standing beside her. Looking up into her eyes, she smiled slightly. Lime looked so lost watching Otaru walk away. Sniffing and blinking back tears the Jade eyed maiden leaned against Cherry.
"Onee-sama..." her voice sounded so small and tiny. Cherry bent over.
"Yes, Lime?"
"I already miss Otaru..."
"Aww..." Cherry held her sister tightly. "I do to Lime. We'll just wait. He'll come back to us, I know he will..."
She turned and saw the four of them turn the corner and disappear from view.
"...He always did..." she added under breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Out in the wasteland, for the first time in a long time, there wasn't a plasma cloud to be seen in the sky. They moved quickly anyway. Plasma storms had a bad habit of appearing out of nowhere. Otaru talked with Naro as they went along.
"...So you're telling me that the plasma bolt I saw when Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry appeared was from traveling through time?"
"Yeah. Plasma storms are side effects of time travel. The landing point is always wracked with severe plasma bolts. Generally the larger the object moving through time the more severe the storm. When I landed there was a veritable Plasma typhoon out here. I scared the crap out of the guards when I walked into the city from it."
"And your endoskeleton protects you from plasma?"
"Yup. Bloodberry, Cherry and Lime also are protected. In fact you could say they probably rode that bolt down to the planet's surface that night."
Bloodberry shook her head. "I don't remember much of that, One second we were flying through chaos and insanity and the next I'm waking up in Otaru's bed. It was some shock, I'll tell you. I don't remember any plasma bolts at all."
"Well, I can't help you there. I'm no guru on the effects on time travel. I'll tell you though, had you not had that plasma diffusion system built into your bodies you might have, very likely, died on that trip. That bolt would have turned you into crispy critters."
Hanagata, who had been silent the entire time was on the verge of collapsing under his load.
"Hey, when are we going to get to this thing of yours anyway Naro?!"
Bloodberry grinned wickedly. "Aww, come on. Does his Hana-ness feel slightly fatigued under his noble load?"
If he could have been able to raise his head he would have shot liquid venom from his eyes to the woman. "What have I told you about calling me that?!"
Naro chuckled. " Don't worry Hanagata. It's not much further,"
"You said that ten minutes ago!"
Bloodberry pursed her lips. "Five minutes."
"Whatever!! Why don't you carry this thing?!
The woman chuckled and pulled her lower eyelid down at him. "'Cause it's against proper etiquette for women to carry such large loads."
Hanagata spat and cursed while Otaru broke out laughing.
"We'd better find that ship of yours soon Naro otherwise we may lose Hanagata."
Finally Slowing to a stop Naro looked around. "We're here."
Quickly shedding hid load, Hanagata collapsed on top of it. "BAH! Finally!" He raised his head and looked around. "Er... where is it Naro?"
Bloodberry and Otaru looked around as well. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but desert wasteland and clear skies.
"Yeah, Naro. Where's the ship?"
He turned to Bloodberry and smiled. "Right here."
She looked back at him with a puzzled expression. "Huh?"
Otaru turned. "Is this some kind of joke?"
Laughing, the Gray Eye reached into his pocket and pulled out a small little box with a flat button on it. He pointed it straight ahead and pressed. In a flash of electricity and light a large object suddenly appeared before them. From fantail to foc'sle it measured almost thirty feet. It was a large, round star ship. It hovered almost ten feet off the ground attached to the planet by a long thin anchor buried into the earth. As Bloodberry stared up at the ship she couldn't help but be reminded of a large bird of prey, like a hawk or maybe even an eagle. It had large wings that extended out from the fuselage that spanned almost fifty feet from tip to tip. The large nose of the ship jutted forward like a head out from the main body. Behind a massve tail jutted outwards with the fins angled downwards. It was quite a sight.
"It looks like a giant airplane..." Bloodberry breathed. Naro shook his head.
"No, it's a ship all right. Up top is a deck where you can walk about when we're in motion. It's got a bow and stern, fantail and foc'sle and everything else a ship has. It's designed to sail through time."
Bloodberry looked confused. "Fantail? Foc'sle?"
Hanagata answered. "It's ship lingo. Fantail is the stern and the foc'sle is up front where the anchor is stored. I've been through my fair share of sailing books. I still don't see how this is a ship though. It seems like a jet more than anything else."
Naro pushed the button once more and watched the ship descend slowly. "It's designed to travel through time. Time is considered a stream or a river. What do you call a craft designed to sail down a river?"
The blonde man nodded slowly. "A ship..."
"Exactly. She ain't the fastest vessel in the fleet, but she'll get us to Gartlant. She's built to cruise through time not air."
The ship lowered its landing gear and settled itself onto the earth. With a slow hiss a hatch opened up and a landing ramp lowered itself.
Naro turned to the three others and grinned. "All aboard."
Inside, Otaru, Bloodberry and Hanagata found the ship to be nice and cool. It felt good to be out of the hot wasteland sun. It was surprisingly roomy inside as well. Although you couldn't tell from the outside there was a lot of space inside the main compartment itself. Hanagata set all the junk he'd been carrying on his back onto the deck of the cabin. Naro motioned for everyone to head up front. He took them to the cockpit. It, too, was surprisingly roomy. Naro had them sit in a few seats positioned behind the captain's chair and buckle themselves up.
"It's going to be a bumpy ride until we get into cruising altitude. Then, if y'want, you can relax on the deck up above until we arrive in Gartlant."
Otaru buckled himself in and tightened the straps. Bloodberry did the same while she watched Hanagata struggle with his. She smiled as the little man cursed and spat at his troubles. In the end he resorted to tying the whole thing into one big knot. Whatever worked...
Naro took his seat up front and looked over his shoulder at the trio.
"Are you guys all set? Bloodberry-chan, you comfortable?"
She nodded and Naro smiled. He turned back around and began to type into the console in front of him. The ship had been in a low power state and was now coming back to fully online. Flipping a switch here and typing a command in there Naro began to coax the ship into life. Below and behind themselves Otaru, Bloodberry and Hanagata could hear the muffled sound of the engine starting up. Hanagata swallowed nervously. He'd never been in a flying machine before.
"A-a-a-are you s-s-sure this things is s-safe?"
"Of course she is. Spera's solid as a rock. Would I take Bloodberry-chan anywhere in a ship that wasn't 100% safe?" he called back not even looking up.
Otaru called out. "Spera?"
"Yeah. It's her name. It's Latin for hopes. Don't worry, you'll be safe."
Slowly the ship powered up. With a jolt it lifted itself free from the ground. On the monitor in front of Naro a flashing windows logo appeared.
'When would you like to go today?'
Slowly the ship rose itself up from the face of Terra II. Flipping a few more switches the entire ship made a crackling, electric sound. Hanagata freaked out.
"What was that?!"
"Calm down boy, that was the cloaking device re-engaging itself. We don't want half of Japoness watching us take off."
Gripping his seat handles tightly Hanagata began to sweat. Then, softly, over a few speakers hidden in the ship music began to play. Otaru looked around curiously.
"Naro, what is that?"
"It's music. Helps keep me calm during lift off."
Bloodberry tried to discern where it was coming from. "Where's the speakers?"
"Hidden around." Naro grinned. "I like this song. Holds so much meaning for me. Listen to it."
Otaru listened as the tempo and beat began to pick up. It sounded like guitar.
"Where did you get this song from?"
Naro's grinn widened. "It was originally composed on earth. It came all the way from our home world a long, long time ago. I'm not sure if you'll like it much, but I know I do. Listen to it while I prepare the systems."
Otaru sat back and opened his ears. The song did seem a little mellow, despite sounding so different from what he was used to. He caught the lyrics and started to smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So close no matter how far...
Couldn't be much more from the heart...
Forever trusting who we are...
And nothing else matters.
Never opened myself this way...
Life is ours, we live it our way...
All these words I don't just say...
And nothing else matters.
Trust I seek and I find in you,
every day for us something new.
Open mind for a different view...
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
But I know...
So close no matter how far...
It couldn't be much more from the heart...
Forever trusting who we are...
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they do!!
Never cared for what they know!!
But I know...
The words reminded Otaru of his maidens. The words reminded him of the relationship they had. He didn't care what anyone else thought about them. He didn't care what they knew about him and his girls. He simply didn't give a damn. Each one of them were special to him in their own way. Everyday they always found something new. Life was theirs, they would live it THEIR way and no one else's. Forever trusting who they were... The lyrics shifted his thoughts to Lime, and then slowly to Cherry, and then finally Bloodberry...
I've never opened myself this way.
Life is ours, we live it our way!
All these words I don't just say....
And nothing else matters!
Trust I seek and I find in you,
Every day for us something new!
Open mind for a different view...
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they say!
Never cared for games they play!
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
And I know!!
Bloodberry listened as the tempo picked up and the beat increased. She didn't much care for the music, but the words were something else. For some reason she could see Otaru saying them, like he was speaking to all of them, letting them know how he felt about each and every one of them. She looked over to him and smiled slightly. He turned to her and started to smile a little as well. They were both thinking the same thing. Naro sitting up front gazed at their reflections in his screens and smiled. He thought this song would be good. Slowly Naro's ship reached cruising altitude and began to blast off toward Gartlant.
...So close no matter how far...
...Couldn't be much more from the heart...
...Forever trusting who we are...
...No nothing else matters...
~Nothing Else Matters
Metallica
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was different way up in the sky. Out on the top deck Otaru could see everything below. The entire land seemed to stretch on for as far as his eyes could see. The sun had fallen and everything shined in the moonlight. The entire country shot past below them in shimmering waves. Above the stars seemed to be less distant. They shimmered up in the sky. He couldn't tell if it was because they were away from Japoness and all the lights or if it was because they were so much close to the shimmering points of light, but they seemed brighter than he remembered.
Bloodberry stood by his side gazing into the heavens herself. It was indeed an inspirational sight. Below, the wasteland shot past with incredible speed. The breeze was gently flowing through her hair and around her body. It kicked and played with the long fiery strands casting them up and about. He turned to her and became aware of how she looked. The moonlight shimmered on each and every strand that blew softly in the wind. Her face was complete calm as she surveyed the land moving past below them. She smiled and breathed in the fresh air enjoying it's taste. Otaru slowly began to smile. Bloodberry looked over and saw her master's soft expression.
"Something wrong, Otaru?"
He shook his head gently. "No. Everything's perfect, ne?"
"Perfect?" Bloodberry turned and surveyed the landscape once more. A small smile came to her lips as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Everything is perfect..."
Otaru leaned on his hand and continued to smile at his maiden. "You look beautiful, Bloodberry."
The woman arched her eyebrows and turned. "Otaru?"
"I mean it. I can see the moon shining off your hair. I can see it's light accenting your face. The shadows are playing beautifully across your features. You look gorgeous, Bloodberry-chan."
The woman blushed and turned away. "Otaru... You embarrass me. It's a good thing Hanagata isn't here. He'd blow a blood vessel hearing you say that."
The young man chuckled. "Yes, I know what you mean. He's still down below strapped to that chair of his. He wouldn't come up here if his life depended on it. He's scared of us falling to our deaths."
Bloodberry began to laugh as well. "Yeah, that sounds like him." They trailed off and watched the countryside pass by silently. Otaru silently watched the landscape below them. It really was beautiful. Bloodberry turned around and leaned against the railing.
"Otaru..."
"Hmm?"
He looked over at him somberly. "Otaru...I...I don't mind telling you this because it's true..."
"Bloodberry?"
The maiden took a deep breath. "I'm scared, Otaru."
The young man immediately became serious. He let her continue.
"For the first time, I'm scared. I...I'm almost terrified. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose you. I'm afraid I'm going to lose everyone. All my sisters, and my family, everyone I know, this time maybe forever. I'm terrified that this will become like some blissful dream, a brief respite from the hell and carnage that bore me into this world." She turned to Otaru and shook her head.
"Do you know what we are, Otaru? We're a broken dream. We are one man's vision that may never come to pass. Naro told us he wanted us back for our genetic coding and then he so quickly turned around and said that he would help us fight against Ghenna. I hope and prey he's sincere. The decision he made wasn't one most people could make on such a short notice. He may be our last hope. He's a Gray Eye. He'll be able to do things no other person will be able to do because of that.
"Something inside of my head is telling me that Ghenna will come. That he will arrive in the most terrible of fashions and take me away from everyone. We've all said bold words and made bold promises, but in the end I'm afraid that nothing we will do will keep us from getting reclaimed by that man. I'm so scared, Otaru. I'm so afraid..."
She brought her arms up and clasped them in her hands. Otaru watched her head drop as her hair spilled away in the wind. Truth be told he was afraid as well. That same little voice in his head was saying the same thing. He knew that despite all their would fight against it the old man would win. The old man with the glittering eyes. The old man with the terrible smile.
Otaru leaned close to his maiden and put his arm around her. Wordlessly he held her, giving her as much comfort as he could. They both knew what would be the outcome. They held each other knowing that would be one of the last times fate would allow them to do so. Bloodberry leaned against her master and closed her eyes. Otaru finally spoke softly.
"That doesn't mean we can't keep fighting on."
She slowly let a small smile creep across her lips and nodded. Long minutes passed while the two people held each other. The wind softly went by stirring their hair and clothing. They basked in the moonlight, savoring the moment, perhaps one of their last. The ship carried on shooting across the landscape, quietly humming on toward its destination, while the world around them fell at peace. Life slowly came to a pause for them.
That peace was shattered a few minutes later when there was the familiar crackle of the deck's loud speaker system. It was Naro.
"ALL RIGHT, IF YOU ALL WOULD TURN YOUR DIRECTION TO THE NORTH YOU WILL SEE THE LOVELY CITY OF GARTLANT. THAT'S OUR DESTINATION. Y'NEED TO COME BACK DOWN SO WE CAN LAND SAFELY."
And with another crackle of the mike system fell silent. Looking over their shoulders they saw the city sliding by. Naro was circling the ship around to find a suitable landing zone. The lights shone brightly from all the towers and neon signs all over the place. Gartlant was known for its booming industry and commercial districts. It was the place where people had dreams of being rich went. If you couldn't make it there, you wouldn't be able to make it anywhere. Faust was renowned for nurturing this city to what it was today. It was a center of a cultural melting pot. It was seen by many as the center of growth in all of Terra II. With Japoness ideals and the New Texan sense of progress it flourished.
Bloodberry smiled. "I always wanted to see this place..."
Otaru joined her smile. "So beautiful. You see that tower right there? Right in the center there?"
She nodded. "Yeah?"
"That's where Faust lives. It's his home. From there he watches over his entire city. My bet is that your sisters are safely living inside there."
Bloodberry's eyes grew wide as she looked up and down the mighty tower. It was brightly lit with many windows and lights. It looked like a magnificent tower of Babel hoping to stretch itself high into the sky and touch with heaven.
"They're living in that?" She said breathlessly. Otaru was about to nod when the mike system came back on.
"HELLO YOU TWO. Y'NEED TO COME BACK DOWN BELOW DECK. I'M BEGINNING THE LANDING SQUENCE RIGHT NOW."
Taking one last glance at the magnificent city and the massive tower in the center the two headed below deck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Spera landed almost half a mile from the front gates of the city. Naro re-cloaked the ship as they left and his winged starcraft disappeared from sight. The four made their way straight for the main gate. According to Naro it was close to ten at night.
"I wonder if the old man will even be awake..."
Hanagata (who was glad beyond words to have his feet planted once more firmly on the ground) trudged behind the main group.
"Remind me again why we're here."
Otaru tuned an annoyed eye to the little man. "Bloodberry has family here and we've come to ask the oldest man on the planet for help regarding our situation."
The woman in question walked up along side Naro. She was covered, head to foot, in an over cloak very similar to the one Naro wore the first day he arrived. They decided that a brightly colored, happy, smiling marionette would attract too much attention. Under the coat she would be a lot less conspicuous.
As they came closer to the main gates the lights became brighter and brighter. Some said the city was more alive at night than in the day and by the degree of noise coming from the streets they could have been correct. Naro's face was lit up brightly by all the night lights. Bloodberry turned and was about to ask him how they planned on getting to Faust inside the tower when she saw his eyes. They were blue. She had to look twice to make sure she was really seeing them. It wasn't just the reflection of the city lights, his eyes were genuinely blue.
"N-Naro, your eyes! What happened?"
Hanagata looked up irritably. "What about his eyes?"
"T-they're blue!"
Otaru stepped forward. "What?"
The not-so-gray-eyed man turned to Bloodberry and smiled. "It's my system working for me again. I don't want Faust to know what I am until we get our plea out to him. I think that perhaps my eyes should remain a secret until the proper time, ne?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They passed the main gates and the friendly guards standing there and moved into the city. Bloodberry was dazzled by all the bright lights, pretty signs, happy people and busy streets. Hanagata was blinded. Otaru pointed things out here and there to the woman that he knew about the city. He visited the place once or twice himself a long time ago.
"Otaru, Otaru! What is that?"
"It looks like a dance club to me, can't you hear the music?"
"So that's where it was coming from. Oooh, what's he selling?"
"Those are bead necklaces, apparently those are all the rage now-a-days."
"Ahh! Kawaii!!! Are those what I think they are?!"
"Heh, yup, ponta plushies."
"Ooh, Otaru can we buy one!? Can we? Can we? Can we?"
"Err... I'm sorry Bloodberry, I didn't bring any money."
"Wait a second, Bloodberry. I think I might have some. Lemme check my pockets here... Yup! Give these coins to the guy at the counter and see if he accepts them."
"Hah! Thank you Naro-kun!"
"Wow, look at her go. Hey where'd you get that money Naro?"
"Huh? Err, a few days ago when those men attacked Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry I was sitting next to them at a bar. They didn't buy anything but left money anyway, so I figured I might need some currency and took it off the counter."
"Hah hah, very good. How much did you give her?"
"Beats me. I don't know how much I took."
"Yay! Otaru!! He accepted Japoness Curency!! Lookie, Lookie!!"
"Haha, that's a big one, Bloodberry. It's color matches well with your hair."
"Y'think so?"
"Mmmhmm."
"Psh, how come you're acting so childish?"
"Well look who's Mr. Grumpy. Would his Hana-ness like a nap."
"As a matter of fact I would... And don't call me that!!"
They made their way through the city slowly making their way to the tower. Bloodberry saw many things along their trip. The entire city was new and fascinating for her. She'd never been to anyplace like this before. Gartlant was bright, happy and wonderful.
When they finally came close to the tower Bloodberry had a small sack full of goodies and trinkets she'd purchased along the way. Naro's money went a long way. He loaned her a few of his gold coins when she ran out of the Japoness currency. Making their way to the front of the tower they stopped and took full view of majestic sight before them. For Bloodberry the tower seemed to extend hundreds of miles into the sky. It was like a giant, shining beacon on all the face of Terra II.
The front lobby of the tower was lined by giant, glass walls. The doorway rotated on its axis, much to Bloodberry's amazement, instead of sliding open. Inside the building was cool and temperate; everything a nice 68°. The long, open lobby had a dark blue tiled floor dotted with the occasional potted palm plant. The walls were the same color as the floor; everything lined and edged in silver. At the far end, past the occasional bench was a long desk. A single marionette was placed behind it. They approached it conscious of the loud click-clacking their feet made on the tile. There was a stark difference inside here than outside- noise. Outside it was loud and like a celebration. Inside it was quiet and ambient.
Upon sensing them the Marionette came alive. She smiled her automatic smile and fixed its dead gaze upon the four.
"Good Evening Sirs. How may I help you?"
Her voice was blank and robotic. Naro smiled anyway at it.
"Yes, we need to see Lord Faust right away, it is urgent."
The machine twitched. "I am sorry but Faust-sama is not open for meetings and interviews now."
The Gray Eye frowned. "Do you know when he will be?"
"You [twitch] have to make an appointment with him."
Naro leaned back and whispered to Otaru. "Are all marionettes so buggy and twitchy?"
"No, she's an older model, a very old model. Heavy as hell."
"Hmmm." Naro nodded. He turned back to the robot and smiled once more.
"Ma'am, I am afraid that we can not wait for an appointment. This is a matter of most importance!"
"You [twitch] have to make an appointment with him."
The Gray Eye clenched his fist. "Now listen here. I'm losing my patience with you-"
"Threats can be construed as a form of violence. [twitch] Please desist."
"Well then let me in! I'll quit when you let me see Lord Faust!"
"You [twitch] have to make an appointment with him."
Otaru smiled in amusement as the Gray Eye began to knash and grind his teeth together. This was almost funny.
"Ok, ok..." He said finally relenting. "Can we get in to see him tomorrow?"
"Let me scan appointments... ... ..."
"...Well?"
"... ... ...Negative. All appointment slots are filled. If you like I can schedule one for you."
"No, how about the day after?"
"Let me scan appointments... ... ..."
Naro pursed his lips and stood by silently.
"... ... ...Negative. All appointment slots are filled. If you like I can schedule one for you."
"Grrr... Fine, when's the earliest you can get me in?"
"Let me scan appointments... ... ..."
"God dammit! Hurry up you piece of junk!!"
"... ... ...The next available appointment is on... JULY 2ND..."
"Not too bad, the day after next."
"...1031."
"THE HELL!?! THAT'S TWO YEARS FROM NOW!!"
"Would you like me to schedule the appointment?"
"I'll schedule your ass!!"
The Gray Eye leaped upon the marionette and began furiously throttling it. The machine beeped, whirred and twitched under him.
"Bzzt. [twitch] Threats can be, [whrrr] Warning! You are violating- [twitch] construed as violence. Please- Bzzt. WARNING! WARNING! WAR[twitch]NING!"
Naro unknowingly activated the building's security alert, but he was so busy trying to strangle the helpless doll that he failed to notice the red, flashing lights and the klaxons that went off. A second later ten saber dolls stormed into the lobby. They formed up around the stupid little man and raised their guns.
"Freeze! Take your hands off the marionette and raise them high into the air! Be advised: we are authorized to use lethal force!"
Naro paused his violent administrations on the doll in front of him and turned. The saber dolls behind him raised their weapons. Just out side the ring, Otaru and Bloodberry stood watching him anxiously.
"You'd better do as they say Naro!" Otaru called over. "These are saber dolls. They're savage fighters!"
Dropping the half broken marionette behind him, the Gray Eye rose and turned. He grinned like gargoyle. "Only ten? You guys forget I'm elite! These are robots, ne?"
"Y-yes, Naro, but still you need to-"
Naro rose to his full height on the long desk and unsheathed the knife on his shoulder.
"Bring em on then..."
Pressing a small button the dagger lit up. A translucent beam shot outwards from the body of the dagger turning it into a beam Katana. Giving the most avatarish of smiles he laughed and leapt into the midst of the Saber Dolls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robot parts were strewn all over the lobby. A head here, an arm there, all over the desk and floor broken junk could be found. Naro sat to the side nursing his aching head. Bloodberry wiped her hands and nodded. Naro was right, they were easy kills. She grinned down onto him.
"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it Keinaro?"
The Gray Eye shot death from his eyes up to her. The first thing he did was slip and knock his head on the counter. Bloodberry and Otaru had to beat back the Saber Dolls and pull Naro's body out of the fray. Bloodberry quickly dispatched what was left with nary a scratch. She should have known. These were the same types as the ones she fought in the arenas for Otaru.
Rising to his feet he did his best to dust himself off.
"Well... Be that as it may, that takes care of the guards..." He paused. Hanagata was rolling on the ground laughing as hard as his body would let him. Trying to ignore the annoying little man he continued. "...And...It looks like the rest of the tower is wide open to us. My money is that Faust is on or around the top floor of this building. We can probably take an elevator all the way up- WILL YOU CUT THAT LAUGHING OUT MITSURUGI!!!"
A voice behind him made them all turn. "You're not going anywhere. You're little party ends here."
Everyone turned. There was another marionette standing behind the counter. Naro couldn't see her eyes; her short-cut blue hair fell over them concealing them from the group. The Gray Eye couldn't help his wandering eyes. They went all over her body. From the pair of soft, creamy thighs to the wide hips up past her soft, round voluptuous...
Naro swallowed. If this was a newer marionette model, he was going to pick up one of his own when this was all over with. The doll frowned and raised her hands into a fighting stance. Naro groaned and rose to his feet. Raising his hands as well he sighed. He didn't want to fight this one, she was pretty.
"You don't know what you're getting into, Man. I am not some helpless doll."
Naro smirked. "And I am not just any old 'man'."
"We'll see. En Garde!"
Just as the Gray Eye was about to lunge forward Bloodberry stepped in his way. The woman cocked her head and peered at the new Marionette.
"...L-Luchs?"
The Marionette's guard dropped for a moment. She looked taken back. Otaru stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. Did Bloodberry just call her...
"L-Luchs! Is it really you?!"
The marionette seemed to become confused. "W-who's asking? How do you know my name?"
Bloodberry smiled and lowered her hood. "Krysta! Krysta it's me! Aiko! Bloodberry!"
Luch's guard dropped completely. "A-Aiko... is that really you?"
Bloodberry quickly stepped forward and opened her arms. "Luchs!!"
The sisters ran up to one another and for the first time in many years they embraced.
"Oh my god, Bloodberry! It's really you! I don't believe this!! You made it out alive! You're ok! You're ok!!"
Grinning from ear to ear Bloodberry held her sister tightly. "Luchs! You look so much different! You cut your hair, you look like a totally different woman now!"
The blue haired maiden began to sniff back a few tears. "I know! It's been a long time! My god, you haven't changed a bit!"
"Hehe, I know. My master seems to love me just the way I am!"
The three men stood by almost dumbly as the woman chattered and talked excitedly. This was Luchs?! No one ever told them she was down right gorgeous! Even Hanagata couldn't swallow all his latent instinct. He found his eyes wandering up the long, silky legs of the woman. Catching himself he shook his head and turned to Otaru. What was he thinking?! The only love in his life was Otaru! How dare his eyes wander so blatantly up the legs...of...such a....beautiful...
Bloodberry pulled back and kissed her long lost sister on the cheek. "How is Tiger and Panta? Are they safe and well? Did they make it too?"
"I should be asking you the same thing! Yes, we all made it safely here. Everyone's fine! How about on your end? Is Lime Ok? Did Cherry make it through all right?"
"Cherry's safe. She and Lime are both Ok. They made it."
Luchs smiled brightly. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear this. How is Lime today? Did she ever get over Kaiser's death?"
Bloodberry's smile faded as she became somber. "Maybe we should all sit down and talk about this. I'd love to meet my other sisters again."
Luchs saw her sister's face and nodded. "All right, Bloodberry-chan. Let's head on up."
Bloodberry held back a second. "Oh! Wait a minute Luchs. I forgot to introduce you to my companions."
"Huh?" The Blue haired maiden turned as Bloodberry stepped back.
"This is Otaru, he's our new master. He's taking care of all three of us. This is Keinaro. Uh, We'll have to talk about him once we get up with Lord Faust. Um, this man, kinda is why we're here."
Luchs nodded slowly. "A-all right. Who's the blonde one?"
"Oh him?" Bloodberry said offhandedly. "He's Hanagata. He's just along for the ride. Come on, let's go see your sisters!!"
She ignored Hana's snort and beckoned everyone to follow Luchs. Keinaro held back for a moment and looked down at the mess all over the floor. There were marionette parts strewn everywhere.
"Ummm, Luchs, ma'am? Uhh, what do you want us to do about this mess?"
The new Maiden turned and simply waved her hand. "Don't worry, the janitor dolls will take care of it for us. Please, all of you, follow me."
Bloodberry and Luchs chatted away happily as the elevator rose up from the ground floor. Naro did his best to hold back his wandering eyes. This new woman was very pretty. She had a sparkle in her smile he was especially attracted to. Waiting patiently as the lift took them from up higher into the tower Otaru also watched the two women eagerly. He'd never seen Bloodberry so happy before in his entire life. Toting the bag of goodies she had purchased she talked and laughed like she didn't have a care in the world. It was a stark change from the Bloodberry he had seen on the deck of the Spera. The numbers on the dial slowly ticked away.
"So where is Cherry and Lime? Didn't they come with?"
"No, we had to leave Lime behind. Cherry was chosen to stay back and watch over her."
"Oh? What was wrong with Lime?"
"Oh, nothing. There's nothing wrong with Lime physically. We couldn't bring her for another reason."
"Really? What is it?"
"I'll tell you once we all get settled down. How has life been treating you since you've left?"
"Dear Lord, Life has become a blessing. For the first time in a long time we're all so happy. Faust has become a second father to us. He treats all of us so well. Life has completely turned around!"
"Yeah, we know! It's the same for us. Otaru has been so kind to us as well. The only thing missing from our lives were you three."
"Mmm, the same with us. My god. Otaru-kun, Has anyone told you that you look so much like Kaiser?"
"Yes, that's what I've been told."
"Wow, Lime must be all over you then!"
"Oh yeah, Miss Luchs, indeed she is. Indeed she is."
The woman smiled and looked up to the floor dial. For the first time that night Naro saw her hair fall away from her face and her eyes peeked out. He found himself smiling slightly. They were blue! Such a deep, and beautiful shade as well. It was like gazing into two deep whirlpools. He almost fell head long into them...
The elevator came to a sudden stop and the door came open.
"We're here!" She said happily and stepped out of the elevator. "Tiger! Panta!! Come here, you wouldn't believe who's here!!"
Otaru's ears picked up another voice a little softer than Luchs.
"Shh, Faust-sama's gone to bed already Luchs. Who is it?"
A woman with bright, yellow hair stepped around the corner and Naro's and Otaru's jaws dropped.
"Panta! Look, It's Bloodberry!! It's our sister!"
The new woman narrowed her only eye; the other was covered by a star shaped eye-patch.
"B-Bloodberry?! Is that really you?!"
The sisters ran forward and a scene similar from the one down in the lobby began to play out.
"Bloodberry! You made it!!"
"Panta! Look at you! You made it as well!"
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you! It's been so long!"
"Hai, you too Panta-chan! Look at yourself! What happened to your eye?! What's with the eye patch?"
"Haha, it's purely cosmetic. It's really a lens. It's a sensor system Faust-sama built for me! But you Bloodberry! You haven't changed a bit!"
"Haha, I've had no need to..."
The men stared slack jawed at the second goddess that appeared. This one, as well, was tall, sensuous and stunningly beautiful. Her long golden hair came down her back gently tied into a loose braid. Her close fit much like her sister's. Every curve, smooth patch of skin... Hanagata slapped himself yet again for his wandering eyes, Otaru shook his head and did his best to avert his gaze while Naro tried his best to sniff back an on coming nosebleed. Faust, indeed, had beautiful women. Naro heard a third voice come from the hallway.
"What was wrong Luchs? Who's there?"
From around the corner, Tiger; her hair snipped short and wearing a large, floppy hat, stepped in. All three of the men passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Half an hour later they had recovered and sat around the table discussing what had happened since the women last parted. Apparently, when the three woman finally landed they touched down just out side of Gartlant. Faust sent a few surveillance marionettes out there to investigate what had caused such a vicious plasma storm. Instead of discovering what caused the violent storms they, instead, found the three women. That was almost five years ago for them. Ever since they've been living strong, happy lives under their new master. Faust was a kind and generous man, one who rarely went into fits of anger and rage. Under his guidance life had been good for the three woman. They even darkly hinted that Faust had also been great lover in bed. All three of the men present at the table did their best to banish the dirty thoughts from their minds. That was NOT jealousy they were feeling...
Bloodberry sat down and began to explain as best she could what had happened to themselves. She was careful to avoid Keinaro's secret, she didn't want her sisters to adopt her previous attitude about Naro before he had a chance to prove himself to them. She received quite a few questioning glances from them anyway. Her story didn't add up in many parts. All four of the guests knew. Many times Tiger or Luchs interrupted with questions about things that didn't make sense. Bloodberry did her best to brush them off and move on with her story. In the end her sisters shook their heads doubtfully.
"Bloodberry-chan, you're not telling us everything. How did Naro know we lived here in Gartlant? How were you able to get here from Japoness of all places so quickly? What is it you're not telling us?"
Bloodberry swallowed and turned her eyes to Otaru. Wincing the young man turned his to Naro. Sagging his shoulders sadly and taking a drink from the glass of alcohol he had been given he spoke.
"You... You three women don't have much time left here..."
Panta cocked her head. "What do you mean by that?"
Naro paused and swallowed nervously. He prepared for the oncoming explosion.
"Lord Ghenna is coming for all of you..."
All of the three pairs of eyes turned to him went wide. They rose quickly with shocked expressions stamped onto their features.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"How do you know about this?!"
"Where'd you discover this?!"
Under their gaze Naro began to wilt. He did his best to shrink away from them as they leaned over and began to scream. Just as he was starting to shake from their outcries a voice carried over all of them and saved him.
"Tiger, Panta, Luchs! Stop this immediately, he is a guest."
Almost immediately the women jumped to attention and fell silent. From their left a tall, old man with long, faded blonde hair limped into the room. He walked leaning heavily on a cane in his right hand. He was clean shaven and especially well built for one his age. When Naro saw him he rose quickly to his feet. The man smiled weakly and motioned for him to sit.
"Now, now. You are a guest in my home. There is no need for that." Walking over to the head of the long table they sat at he took a seat with a small grunt. The long, black clothing he wore folded away revealing his thin, but strong frame.
"I thought I heard guests. It's been a while since anyone arrived up here on such short notice. My maidens usually go a good job of keeping all the people away from here." He leaned over to Tiger and whispered in her ear. She nodded and went to a side cabinet and began to reach in. The old man turned to his remaining maidens, still standing an softly told them to sit. He turned back to the four new comers and smiled, especially to Naro.
"You must excuse my maidens, sometimes they can be so very quick tempered. I am who they call Faust von Gerhart, Lord of the great kingdom of Gartlant. Who might be here to make my acquaintance?"
"I am Bloodberry, Lord Faust. This is my master, Mamiya, Otaru. This is our traveling companion Hanagata and to your left his Hajima, Keinaro. He's the bearer of our bad news."
Faust cocked an eye while Tiger returned handing him a small glass of wine. "You're a woman, aren't you? Not just another marionette?"
She nodded. "Yes. I'm Tiger, Luchs' and Panta's sister."
"Weren't there four others as well?"
"Yes, sir. Two are back home and two..."
Bloodberry's sisters leaned forward. They weren't told this in the story.
"...Two are?"
Naro saw Bloodberry's inhibition and took over. "They didn't make it."
Tiger turned to Panta and Panta to her sister Luchs. She turned to Naro intently.
"W-what do you mean by that? How do you know where they are?"
Naro took a deep breath and frowned. "They never left the lab. Their explosive went off before they had any chance to escape. They're still under Lord Ghenna."
The woman sat back in shock. "H-how do you know this?"
Faust stood up slowly leaning heavily on his cane. He was smiling. "It seems Mr. Hajima is the bearer of so much bad news." Slowly he limped over to Naro's seat.
"You also were the one to tell us that Ghenna was on his way, ne? Heh heh, good, I'm not losing my hearing." He stood beside the man and smiled. "You seem to be a very honest man. Tell me something, you're not from around here, are you?"
Naro went on his guard. "Y-yes, you can say that."
Slowly Faust nodded. Without warning he whipped his cane out from under him and struck out at Naro. Faster than anyone could follow the Gray Eye snapped his arm up and caught the long, black object inches from his face. Faust's smile deepened/
"I thought so. You don't need to hide yourself any longer. You can't fool my eyes, I'm far too old."
Naro narrowed his. "What... How did you know?"
Faust turned around and began to head for a far door. "No one, and I mean no one in this day and age refers to Ghenna as 'Lord'. He is merely a ghost of the past. He isn't anyone's Lord any more." He paused and turned back to Naro. "Come with me Gray Eye. Tiger, Panta, Luchs, take care of the rest of our guests. Mr. Hajima and I have many things to go over."
The maidens rose and gaped at Naro. Did their master just call him 'Gray Eye?! Quickly pushing himself away from the table Naro made a hasty retreat towards Faust. They both entered a small room and locked the door behind them. Bloodberry spent the next few hours explaining everything to her sisters leaving out nothing this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Naro entered a small study. The ceiling was high and reflected the flickers of the small fire burning in the side fireplace. There were many, many books lined along the walls stretching from the floor up to the ceiling. There were two, plush, high backed chairs centered around a small table upon which sat a small tea set. Faust motioned to one of the chairs and made his way over to the fireplace. Naro took a seat and watched was Faust reached for a poker and stirred the dying embers into life once more. Tossing in a log he turned to Naro.
"I hope you don't mind, but I find the chairs in here much easier on my back." With a groan he took a seat and smiled. "I'm sorry I cannot offer you any tea, this set here before you is empty; I wasn't expecting company. "
Naro nodded and settled himself into the large chair. Faust leaned back with a groan himself and smiled. He reached around and pushed a small button on a phonograph resting on a small table. Music, similar to a Russian chant began to drift across the room setting the atmosphere.
"There. Now, we can finally talk."
"About what?"
Faust raised his eyebrows and opened his hands. "About everything. Tell me...Tell me about yourself Gray Eye. Tell me about who you are."
Naro paused and narrowed his eyes. "U-um, well... I am Hajima, Keinaro. E-everyone I know calls me Naro. I am a former Gray Eye previously working under the direction of Lord Ghenna of the kingdom of Mesopotamia."
" 'Former' Gray Eye?"
"Yeah..." The man nodded slowly. "I'm betraying my country and my father by helping these women. I'm undoing everything I've ever woven about my life. I'm casting my past and my future away."
"Not an easy decision."
"I had two, solid days for which to think about it. I learned that an old mentor, my role model for life, gave his life to save these women."
"Kaiser?"
"Yeah. I learned that I mistakenly reversed everything he died for. I've always lived my life trying to follow in his footsteps, and now I'm trying to undo what I've done. I've always tried to live like he once did and, if in his moment of glory, died trying to save these women then I feel it is my duty to follow in his step."
"Those are bold words Naro. They seem to come from your heart. I've never seen a Gray Eye say such things before. It's almost surprising. However, they are only words. Words never amount to anything unless action follows. You made a decision that will dramatically turn the course of your life. I don't think that two days was really enough time for you to make that decision in a rational manner, boy. The time will come when you will have to stand behind them. Then we shall see your true mettle, ne? We shall see how true your words really are."
Naro sat silently while Faust moved to reposition himself in his chair.
"Now, there is one thing that I don't know about you. You mentioned, just a moment ago, that you did something to undo what Noble Kaiser died for. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this coming of Ghenna, would it?"
The Gray Eye turned his head and sighed.
"Indeed. I, I..." He swallowed. "After I first came here and discovered who the women really were, I ran from them. I saved the one called Lime's life. They took me in not knowing who I was. When they found out the one called Cherry struck me down and knocked me out. I regained consciousness to find Otaru with them. He beckoned me to share a meal with them while behind his back the two women shot fire at me from their eyes. I wilted under their stare and fled the house.
"My orders were to call Lord Ghenna when we discovered the women. He wanted to recollect their DNA and use it to spawn many generations of women. Each of them have a maiden's heart inside their bodies-"
Faust interupted. "Yes, I know about this. It is the key to who their being is. To the likes of me it is a safe for which I have no key. Plugging them in and tinkering around is far too risky. I cannot obtain their DNA any other way- the cells die and destroy themselves the second they leave the body."
Naro nodded. "Yeah. Lord Ghenna knows how to retrieve the data with out killing them."
Faust smirked and shook his head. "And you believed his story and called home right after you left?"
"...Yes."
The old man chuckled and rose from his chair. "And you believed such a blatant lie. Oh, wait, I forgot. You are a Gray Eye and Ghenna is your father. Only true tones does that old windbag blow. He could never lie to you sheep, ne?"
Naro bristled. "Sheep?"
"Yes, sheep." He turned and started to limp away slowly. "You are all sheep. Everyone of you Gray Eye. Granted you are sheep designed into perfect killing machines you are sheep none the less. The wool he has pulled over your eyes is thicker than your sense!"
"Now wait a minute-"
Faust raised his hand and Naro stopped.
"Naro, you and Kaiser seem to be the only ones out of that entire legion that sees Ghenna for what he truly is. You have opened your eyes and are struggling to pull the wool free from your vision." Slowly turning the aging leader of Gartlant gave a soft smile. "We shall see how badly you wish to view what is the truth."
Naro frowned and shook his head. "Yeah..."
Faust chuckled. "Oh, you are such a typical Gray Eye. Around your elders you change. Everything from your attitude to the way you talk to your very mannerisms change. I guess all that conditioning amounts to something, ne?"
Naro fell silent once more as Faust carried on.
"Dear God on high I regret ever creating that creature. At the time he was our hopes and dreams, the one that would carry on our work. Now he is just a scar of our past. Some terrible demon long since dead. You say he's coming back. That means that he really did figure out how to travel through time. Well of course he did, I am here talking to you, correct?"
Faust approached a thin, broad leafed plant and began to examine it.
"Sometimes... Sometimes I wonder, Keinaro. I think about that night when Mesopotamia, the ship mind you, not the empire, went berserk. I remember those alarms going off and the screams of the crew, everyone rushing to their stations. Me and five others, the cowards we were, made for the escape shuttle almost right away. I suppose that is why we were the only ones to escape. As the ship began to destroy itself we ejected ourselves from the ship toward the planet below taking what data we could with us. Somehow we overlooked female, human DNA. Mesopotamia fired her thrusters hours after we touched down and dashed herself across the face of Terra II.
"Do you know what we found out, Naro? An experimental artificial intelligence system onboard the ship had gone berserk and taken over the whole starcraft. A young, 'child' genius by the name of Lorelei had been working on that system designing the AI. Lorelei and I were in love."
Faust stopped examining the plant and a dreamy look came to his eyes. "We wanted so much to live out the rest of our lives together. After the new AI system worked we were going to start a new paradise of our own and live out our days in happiness and joy. The AI was the springboard to our success, she would tell me. She said that using that AI she could revolutionize all computer AI systems. That a smart system that could think and feel would eventually replace all the AI standards at that time. She even had a way to give that computer emotions of its own. She broke down her own memories and emotions into three parts that would cover the three main aspects of her own personality, it was quite genius. It would give the computer life and feelings of its own."
Naro saw the old man's face suddenly fall. "She never got a chance to test that system. The AI went insane one day and destroyed everyone on board. Us six original men were the only ones to escape. Lorelei...died when the ship crashed itself on the planet. We were able to recover some of the data cores from the wreckage and do you know what we found? Do you know what we discovered? Do you know why you are sitting here, talking to me over one thousand years after it happened?"
Faust raised a finger. "One, little, mistake, boy. One little slip caused everything. One little flaw that made its way past Lorelei. In the computer's AI code we discovered what caused it to go berserk. It wanted Lorelei for itself. It had fallen in 'love' with the woman and wanted to keep it for its own. We also found out what caused the ship to ram itself into the planet. In the line of code Lorelei had hand typed there was a mistake in the AI logic programming. A period was missing from a critical string. Where there should have been a dot there wasn't.
"Just one period. The AI code crashed itself and made an attempt to recover itself from scratch. The code, somehow, worked its way into a viscous loop. That little dot in the code was the command to terminate after it ran the cycle. It wasn't there so it didn't; it couldn't! The computer cycled it self until it fried all its logic circuits. It took a couple good hours until it finally did so. When it did it saw no reason not to fire its thrusters and drive itself into the planet. Lorelei died shortly after it made that choice.
"Can you believe it Naro? Just one little mistake my little Lorelei made is the reason we are all down here. Just one. A little slip, maybe? Perhaps she was tired and just missed the dot and unknowingly continued on. Maybe her hand just casually fell off the board instead of punching the key? Or maybe someone entered her lab and distracted her, we'll never know. All I can tell you is that one, little mistake is why we are all here."
Faust pursed his lips a moment before turning back and walking to his seat. Naro sat silently. Was that it? Just one slip of a finger was why everyone was all here? That's it?! He'd always seen it as a much more great and grandiose thing, something of epic proportions. This was shocking!
Faust settled himself into his chair and leaned back once more.
"I often wondered what would have happened if Lorelei had typed that single keystroke. The AI system would still have gone insane killing everyone, but Lorelei would have lived, I know it! The computer was after her, after all. The system was inherently flawed, something on a much grander scale than a single dot at the end of a line. It was bound to happen.
"Now I often wonder how would have things been different had that single press of a button had been there. How different do you think life would have been? Would any of us still be here? I wonder about myself. How different a man do you think I would have become had Lorelei lived. I know I would have devoted every waking moment of my existence into finding her and bringing her home, down here, freeing her from that machine. I lay awake at night sometimes wondering, myself, how different things would have been." He trailed off and shook his head. "Life is such an unbelievable thing, isn't it? The course of billions of lives altered and changed because one woman made one tiny mistake. It's almost like the Gods out there are punishing all women for that one's mistake buy destroying everyone that ever came with her on that cursed journey. One key, Naro, one key..."
Faust looked over and saw the look on Naro's face. It was one of astonishment mix with a healthy dose of disbelief. "What do you think, Naro?"
The Gray Eye chuckled and shook his head. "I think you think too much."
Faust returned his smiles with a toothy grin and few chuckles himself.
"Just like a Gray Eye. Maybe you are right. Maybe I do think too much, but in my age it's the only thing that keeps me sane apart from Tiger, Panta and Luchs.
"Pardon me, Naro, for digressing so. Please, continue on with what you were saying. You, uhh, told Ghenna where all our women are and came here? Please, I'm still a little unsure about what exactly you are saying. Start over, from the beginning. Tell me about yourself. Everything."
Naro nodded and began. He started from the very beginning. Mentioning Kaiser and his childhood he told Faust everything. He went through his arrival on the planet's surface, wandering the streets of Japoness, finding the marionettes, his self inflicted exile, waking up to hear Cherry explaining everything to Otaru and the realization that Kaiser, the man whom who's life he did his best to live by died sending those women to a better life. He told Faust it was from then that he promised himself and the women that he would do his best to forsake his past and his life, much like Kaiser had done, to protect them from what he could. He finished with the explanation of why they came to Gartlant.
Faust nodded slowly. He was silent through out the entire narrative allowing Naro to relate his story without any interruptions. When he finished Faust shook his head and sat back. They both fell silent for a minute while the leader of Gartlant thought. Naro came to attention when he heard the old man chuckle.
"Well this is one hell of a mess you've gotten all of us into. The smart thing is to simply let Ghenna take the women and have his way with them. However we both know that this is completely unacceptable. We've both fallen in love with the ones we have. I don't think either of us wants to lose what we have gained."
Naro stood up and began to pace around his chair. The weight of the problem at hand settling heavily on his shoulders. Faust cupped his chin between his two fingers and pursed his lips.
"Ghenna doesn't use the women to repopulate the world. If he did then where are they all now today? No I think he has something else in mind..."
"Like what?"
"Hmm, If I could tell you that, boy, then we'd be able to solve this problem. All we know is that he's coming back for whatever personal reasons he has. We have to stand against him some how. Hanagata was right when he mentioned the snake. I believe that Ghenna is the key to this entire puzzle. Take him out of the picture and everything will work out in our favor. We must destroy him one way or another, however the only one who could really get close enough to him would be yourself."
Naro sighed and gripped the tall chair. "Sometimes I wonder why we're even bothering..."
Faust sat up. He looked slightly alarmed. "Why? Boy is your resolve that weak? Is this the measure of what you promised? I'll tell you why; It's the right thing to do. If for no other reason we are doing this because it is the right thing to do, damned be to all other logic. We have eight innocent people who could be the hope of all mankind who are suffering under the reign of an oppressive tyrant. We are fighting to save those people. If you are serious in what you promised you will not ask yourself 'why' any more. You will never ask yourself 'why'. You will only do it. You should be asking yourself only one thing. How. How can we save these women, how can we kill Ghenna, how will I prove myself when the time comes? There are no other questions. Watch what you think Naro, your thoughts betray you."
The man bowed his head. It wasn't often when he was chided. Faust sat back and his voice became more gentle.
"Now, because I have put so much thought into this I've decided what we should do."
Naro looked up. "Yes?"
Faust smiled slyly. "We will truly follow in Kaiser's footsteps."
Naro looked confused. "What?"
Faust smiled and turned around. He called out seemingly to no one.
"Please come out. You will need to be here. Everything will fall upon your hands."
A bookshelf slowly slid open and a man who had previously been in hiding stepped out. Naro's mouth fell open and he rose in Shock.
"Hajima, Keinaro meet my successor."
Naro's eyes narrowed. What the... He was staring at Faust! Only... He was younger...
The old man smiled even more broadly. "This is my sucessor Naro. My clone. He has all my memories. He is me. I shall have him accompany you on your journey to help safeguard my plan." He turned to his younger double. "Do you know what I am thinking?"
"No, but I assume you'll let me know."
Then the younger man turned to Naro and bowed. "Good evening Keinaro. I have heard everything about you. I am Faust von Gerhart the fifteenth. It appears you and I will be traveling together."
Naro's astonishment began to fade and he started to smile. They could use all the help they could get. This Faust looked to be about the same age as Naro. His long, golden hair was bright and shimmered in the light. His frame was muscular and fit. He seemed healthy and strong.
"He is one of the best fighters on all Terra II. One thousand years is a lot of time to train, ne? I'm sure he will be invaluable to you. Besides, I think he needs to go out and see the world with his own eyes and see things for himself for the first time."
The Gray Eye nodded. "I hope he's as good a fighter as you say."
"We know how good I am." The younger Faust said proudly. "Don't worry about that. Now, Faust, would you mind telling us what this grandiose plan of yours is?"
The older Faust nodded and continued. "Naro, I believe this is the best way to go about toppling Ghenna and with 'me' at your side we actually stand a chance at pulling it off. This will be a test of your word, I am counting on you. The plan will follow as such..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hanagata leaned back in his chair and exhaled loudly. "Pshhh, what is taking them so long? It's been almost twelve hours."
Otaru stretched luxuriously at Bloodberry's side on a large, plush sofa. While he enjoyed the luxuriousness of his surroundings he was fast becoming anxious. Naro had been in that study for quite some time now. The woman at his side leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder savoring his presence. Otaru had his arm looped around her body holding her close. Hanagata watched on with envy.
Tiger, sitting across from the two in a large seat shook her head. "Who knows. Lord Faust has been known to go missing for days."
"I hope he doesn't." Panta said reclining in an adjacent seat. "According to you three we don't have that much time left."
"Huh. What gets me is that you actually believed that Gray Eye." Luchs turned to her sister in disgust. "He's a Gray Eye and nothing more! You know how they are."
"Kaiser was a Gray Eye." Bloodberry said calmly.
"Kaiser was different!"
The fiery haired woman snorted. "Hardly! Like Kaiser, Naro went over the same training protocols. Also like Kaiser Naro's proven himself."
"How?"
Bloodberry paused a moment. "Well...well you see..."
Luchs waited a moment before shaking her head. "Exactly Bloodberry-chan. He's going to betray us. No one can make such a sudden decision like that. You can't betray years of mental conditioning. It would be like one of us switching over to Ghenna's side all of a sudden."
"Jade-chan has..."
Everyone fell silent and turned to Otaru. He was staring at the floor seemingly lost in thought. Tiger scoffed.
"You heard that from a Gray Eye. You can't trust what he says."
Otaru looked up at her, almost in shock. "Lime trusts him. Is she wrong? Can I trust her?"
She fell silent and the room settled back into an uncomfortable silence. Otaru shifted under Bloodberry's head. The air began to get more and more decidedly gloomy. Hanagata leaned further and further back in his chair, Otaru began to stare off into space, deep in thought, once more, Bloodberry started to doze on his shoulders and her sisters went back to waiting once again. No one looked up when Hanagata leaned too far back and tipped his chair over.
When the bolt on the study door turned everyone sat up and came to attention. The door opened and Faust limped slowly out followed by Naro. Bloodberry's sisters jumped up excitedly.
"Faust-sama!"
"Lord Faust!"
"Master!"
The old man grinned. "Yes, we have decided on a plan."
"You have, Faust-sama?" Tiger smiled excitedly. "We knew you would work something out!"
"Indeed." He nodded. "We have decided that you are to accompany Naro and his companions back to Otaru's home and wait for instruction there."
The face of everyone present fell. Hanagata jumped up.
"W-what?! How has that solved anything?!"
Faust frowned. "Do not question your elders. You must all trust us on this one."
Panata looked almost betrayed. "F-Faust-sama! You're asking us to leave you and run away in such a time? W-What happens if we never see you again? Lord I cannot bear the thought of living with out you!!"
The old man watched as each of his maidens spoke up. They were all worried. Why was he sending them away? What was he planning for them? Did he want them to be captured?!
At this last question he began to laugh.
"Hardly! That would be the last thing I would ever want of you three, or any of you! It seems, one way or another, we are all in this as deep as the next person. We must help one another out in order to survive. Trust is the basis of this fight. If we do not trust one another then we will fall apart when the time arrives.
"Now I am too old to accompany you on this fight. No! No, my maidens do not say anything. I am not abandoning you. I will be with you every step of the way. I would like to introduce the man who will take my place. I give you myself..."
He stepped aside and the younger Faust came out from the study. He turned to each of the maidens present and bowed.
"It is a pleasure to make all your acquaintances."
The jaws of Tiger, Panta and Luchs hit the floor. Otaru stepped back in shock while Bloodberry's eyes widened. Hanagata passed out once more, this time with a slight nosebleed...
The older Faust smiled once again. "This is my successor. Please, do not stare in such a manner. He is me. He is my clone. All my memories are his. He and I are the same man. He is much more suited for this endeavor than I am. Trust in him and in Naro and we shall see how things will fall into place."
Tiger's face softened a bit and she nodded slowly. "Hai, Faust-sama. As you will..."
Panta and Luchs, upon seeing her sister give her consent, followed in suit a moment later. Otaru and Bloodberry met eyes. They were both thinking the same thing.
"What do you mean by 'wait for instruction'?"
Naro answered for the Fausts. "We can't tell you our plan. Jade-chan is not on our side, she has been subdued by Lord Ghenna. She is a psychic. If she ever delved into the thoughts of any of you and found out what our plans would be we would be exposed. We cannot allow this to happen. We have to keep you in the dark about this. Gomen."
The younger Faust was about to put in a few words himself when a small cellular phone began to ring. The elder Faust reached down to his hip and pulled the device free. Flipping it open he held it to his ear.
"Hello...Yes...What?" Everyone saw his face turn grave. "Are you sure of this?! ...How many? Oh Lord. What, Where are they... Hai...Hai...Hai, thank you! We will!"
He flipped the device closed and turned to Otaru. "Otaru, it appears the time has come. Large warships were seen appearing in the skies of New Texas thirty minutes ago. They said they all came out of portals during a violent plasma storm."
Naro's eyes went wide. "W-warships?! In the sky!!"
Otaru felt his stomach twist as Bloodberry squeezed his arm. "Oh no... That means..."
The younger Faust folded his arms and shook his head. "My friends, Ghenna has arrived early! He is here! Old man, where was he headed?"
The old man shook his head. "The war carriers were heading for Japoness..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"NAARO!! CAN'T YOU MAKE THIS THING GO ANY FASTER?!" Otaru had to shout over the din outside the hull of the Spera.
"I TOLD YA ONCE BEFORE, OTARU, SHE ISN'T BUILT FOR SPEED!"
"God dammit..." In frustration he turned away from the cockpit compartment and began to pace the rear area. Everyone was seated along the walls trying their best to keep themselves from being tossed around in the storm. Naro had told them that the sheer number of starships that came through at once probably caused the severe plasma storms they were feeling. The wasteland skies were thick with the deadly clouds. Every once and a while a bolt with enough power to destroy an entire building struck the ship. Naro prayed that nothing would happen to the diffusion system. It was all that was keeping them alive.
In the hold Hanagata was becoming violently ill. As it turned out he was one very prone to airsickness. Vomiting into a bag he groaned out loud. Things were going to hell and it didn't look like they were going to be any better once they landed. Naro said the fleet would probably reach Japoness before they would.
The little blonde man looked up at his Otaru. He was pacing furiously back and forth despite the rocking and jolting of the ship. Otaru was on the verge of exploding. While Faust had all his women safely with his clone on the ship, Lime and Cherry were still in Japoness. Otaru didn't have the privilege of knowing all his maidens were ok. His worry was eating away at him from the inside out.
Swallowing the bad taste rising in his throat he turned away from his love. Poor Otaru. He was on the verge of losing his mind. The guilt must have been terrible. As he shook his head, Hanagata found himself worrying as well. He knew he was supposed to hate them. That he should be glad that they were being taken away. But something inside of himself said no. He knew he didn't really hate them. He didn't LIKE them, not HATE them. He'd never wanted any one of them to die. Sure he was angry that they threatened to take Otaru's love from him, but getting rid of them was not the thing to do. If he wanted Otaru's love, he wanted to earn it in competition with these women. Them being stolen away was like cheating and he knew it was wrong.
The man turned to Bloodberry who was sitting beside him. She had her knees drawn up to her chin and appeared to be on the verge of crying. Hanagata stared at her a moment. He found himself looking up and down her features, across her eyes and through her hair. He could see why Otaru was attracted to these women. He smiled slightly. Understanding was half the battle, ne?
Reaching out with his hand he placed it on her shoulder. The teary eyed maiden turned and looked at him. Swallowing another upwards surge of stomach fluid he did his best to smile at her.
"Usually we're enemies. I don't like you and you don't like me. We're both after the same thing and we know what it is. But right now things have become very grave. Don't get me wrong here, we're still in competition but I think it's time we put it aside 'till this is over. Otaru doesn't need it and neither do we."
He squeezed her shoulder gently. "Let's call a truce. I don't want to fight you. If we're going into this together let's go into as friends."
His smiled widened slightly. "I want to be in competition with you three for many years to come."
Bloodberry's face formed into a weak smile and she started to softly chuckle. "All right. We'll work together. We're allies until this is over."
The gay, little man nodded and was about to say something when the entire ship shook violently. Otaru was thrown off his feet while the entire craft pitched hard to the left.
He cursed on the floor. "Naro! What the HELL are you doing up there?!"
As the craft began to straighten itself out Naro came leaned out of the cockpit compartment.
"We've reached Japoness. The fleet has beaten us here and they've blanketed the skies. I'm not going to land anywhere near the wasteland- some of us would never be able to make the trip and survive. I'm landing this thing right on Otrau's front doorstep! Get yourselves ready, the landing is going to be anything but smooth. Now hurry up we're coming in for the final approach now!"
Taking hold of each other and what ever they could grab along the wall they braced themselves. Naro disappeared back into the cockpit and took over the controls from the computer once more. It was already too late for Lime. If she hadn't seen the star craft up in the skies by now she was either blind or dead. Naro was going to land this thing right at the front door either way.
The cloud cover was as thick as it was low in the sky. It was like looking into pea soup. Through the canopy he could see the plasma bolts flashing across the clouds. It was as beautiful a sight as it was dangerous. The bolts were gigantic in size easily dwarfing the small spacecraft.
In a rush the clouds fell away and Naro found himself directly over Japoness. Hovering just below the cloud cover he could see the fleet. It was a terrible sight. The plasma storm was so thick very little light shown through. The city was enveloped in a terrible half-light broken only by the gigantic spotlights on the war cruisers. They were absolutely massive. It was amazing something their size was able to stay up in the air. At almost three quarters of a mile in length the long, slim cruisers dominated what could be seen of the skies. Plasma bolts regularly struck the hulls of these massive behemoths doing nothing more than lighting up the hulls of the ships and making them all the more terrifying. They resembled dragons floating in the sky like they did. Huge, angry dragons with their wings opened wide searching for their prey.
Naro ducked out of the way of one that was coming up just on his starboard bow. He wasn't worried about them firing at him; he was transmitting a friendly IFF. Pulling away he began to approach the city and the ground. His eyes began to scan for the district Otaru lived in. Passing under another one of the cruisers he shot through one of the massive spotlights.
"God-damn it, this place is scary." Naro said softly. The entire city was dim while the ships hovered overhead. The plasma clouds blocked almost all the light and the streets were deserted. The massive search beacons that scanned the grounds lit up the surface brighter than day wherever it hit.
He caught sight of a familiar group of buildings and moved over to them. Otaru's home was close by. Looking up he could see one of the cruisers parked directly overhead. Naro scanned the ground as quickly as he could. This was so much different up in the air, it wasn't like on ground level. Catching sight of a familiar street he followed it. It made directly for the cruiser parked up high. Search beacons scanned the area hard and thoroughly. Suddenly he caught sight of familiar territory. Otaru's appartment!
He rose up slightly and made straight for the little abode. Swinging the craft around he illuminated his landing area. The air was rough and turbulent as it was and the craft began to shake and rock as the ship lowered itself to the ground. Outside on the ground he saw some figures move about under the ship. He exhaled loudly. Here I go...
The Spera descended and landed very heavily onto the ground. He could hear a few of his passengers in the back area curse as a few were thrown about. Cutting power to engines he jumped free from the pilot's chair and headed back. Otaru was already up on his feet. Naro watched him walk over to the hatch and hurriedly press the open button. The hatch slowly began to open, too slow for Otaru. When it was not halfway up he ducked under the door and ran outside calling out.
"LIME!! CHERRY!! LIIIIIIME!!!"
"Otaru!" Bloodberry called out behind him ducking under the door as well. Naro walked over in front of it and waited. Now was the time.
As Hanagata tried to push his way past, the Gray Eye grabbed him and and held him back. Tiger looked up at him hurriedly.
" Well? What are you doing!? Move Naro! Let us through!"
His answer surprised almost everyone there.
"Shut up."
Tiger took a step back in shock. "W-what?!"
The door finally finished rising and revealed Otaru and Bloodberry. They were at the edge of the landing ramp held at gun point by a few men dressed in black fatigues. Hanagata dashed out.
"O-Otaru!!"
He stopped when seven other guns raised themselves and pointed at him. Slowly, Hana raised his hands. Naro walked stiffly out down the ramp. A soldier at the base began to raise his gun but stopped when he recognized the Gray Eye.
"Hajima, sir!"
Naro saluted and came to a stop. Slowly, Faust, Tiger, Panta and Luchs came out of the ship. They too found themselves at gun point. Faust called out angrily.
"Naro! What's the meaning of this?!"
The Gray Eye ignored the man and began to talk with the soldier.
"Did you get the other two in the house?"
"Yes, sir! We have them all in custody sir. It appears you have the other three as well."
"Indeed. Let me see the two you captured earlier."
Otaru turned to Naro worriedly. "N-Naro?! What are you doing? Call these men off!!"
He turned to Otaru and scowled. "Now why the hell would I want to do that?" He turned and addressed the prisoners.
"Ok, listen up! You are all prisoners of the great kingdom of Mesopotamia! All you women are to be held until Lord Ghenna see's fit that you should be released. All you men shall be tried for grand treason against our mighty empire. You have conspired to overthrow our government and assassinate out leader and lord. In the space of a month you shall all be tried, convicted and sentenced to death."
Bloodberry shot up. "N-NOO!! NARO!! What do you mean?!"
He turned to her and scowled. "I mean to say your master is going to die." He turned swiftly away. Bloodberry watched him go with a mix of shock and rage shimmering in her eyes. Clenching her fists and throwing caution to the wind she knocked the guard infront of her aside and rushed Naro. He raised her hands and prepared to strike him down.
"NARO!! YOU BASTARD!!"
Whirling on the woman, faster than she could react he grabbed her arms. Using her own momentum against her he sidestepped her allowing her to pass. Her arm twisted around as Naro held it in place. Yanking viciously on it he popped it free from it's socket and pulled her back to himself. He threw her to the ground and fell on top of her pinning to screaming woman to the ground. Otaru called to her as Naro, pulling out a pair of handcuffs, twisted her other arm up and around.
"Don't test me bitch! I will tear you limb from limb. Stay here!" Mashing her face into the dirt he rose. He brushed his hand and turned to the nearest guard.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE THE TWO FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE?!"
"T-t-t-t-they're coming s-sir!"
As if on queue a pair of guards came around back each dragging one of the women in front of them. It was Cherry and Lime. Otaru's eyes went wide open with shock.
"L-LIME!!"
Hearing his voice the smaller, innocent maiden rose her head. He saw him and smiled slightly.
"Otaru..."
Cherry looked up as well. "Ota-OTARU!!"
Naro walked up and knelt down in front of each of the women. Cherry looked imploringly up at him.
"N-naro? What's going on here?! Tell them to let us go!!"
The Gray Eye met her blue ones and scowled contemptuously down at her.
"Shut up. You're vacation is at an end."
He walked over and knelt in front of Lime. The little maiden looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"N-naro? Why are you doing this?"
The Gray Eye smiled maliciously to her. Lime began to become terrified. There was no compassion on those smooth, gray orbs.
"Long live Lord Ghenna, Aisha. I believe he has something planned for you and what you did to Lord Kisa."
Lime's eyes went wide. The memories she always sought to bury rose once again. Old feelings, old faces, an older life bubbled up from the depths of her mind. Aisha was being unleashed. Lime's eye filled with tears as Naro rose and turned away. Above a small space ship lowered itself in the sky. It came to a stop twenty feet from the ground and lowered a large platform. It hit the ground hard just behind Lime. Naro motioned to the guards.
"Take them away. I'm sick of this shit hole. Take them all away and pull out."
Otaru turned and began to scream.
"No! NO! Naro!! Naro what are you doing?! Naro I trusted you!!"
The Gray Eye smiled and turned to him. "There was a reason why Lord Ghenna sent me. I guess I'm a very trustworthy kind of guy, huh?"
Faust's face became a mask of fury. Tiger seemed to growl. Luchs and Panta glared at the traitor with looks of pure rage in their eyes.
"You betrayed us Naro! YOU BETRAYED US!!"
The man just laughed as Lime and Cherry were loaded onto the platform. She began to kick and cry against her captors.
"Otaru!! OTARU, Don't leave me!! Please Otaru!!"
The young man turned up to his maiden slowly rising into the sky, his voice becoming shrill. This was not happening, NO, it was NOT happening!!
"No! LIME! LIME!! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU LIME!! I'D NEVER LEAVE YOU!! LIME!!"
She cried out one last time before her voice was drowned out by the sounds of the plasma storm.
"OTARUUU!!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Satan!!
You know where I lie...
Gently I go into that good night...
All our lives get complicated.
Search for pleasures overrated...
Never armed our souls,
For what the future would hold,
We were innocent...
Innocent...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angels!!!
Lend me your might!!
Forfeit all my lives to get just one right!
All those colors long since faded...
An' all our smiles are confiscated...
Never were we told,
We'd be bought and sold,
When we were innocent!
Yeaaaaaah!!
This prayer,
Is for me tonight!!
This far down that line and still ain't got it right!!
Noo,
And while confessions not yet stated,
Our next sin is contemplated!
Never did we know...
What the future would hold...
Or that we'd be bought and sold...
Noooo...
We were innocent...
Innocent...
We were innocent...
mmMMMmmm...
~Innocent
Fuel
Contact: The_dark_Phoenix@hotmail.com
[To be continued...]
