Times Change, and we with Time
Holy cow, has it really been so long since I updated? Bad me. Anyway, yes, finally here with another chapter for anyone who cares. Life has been very interesting for me these past few months; it's hard work being Destiny. But that's beside the point.
First off, explanation about Jareth's Talk Show: It wasn't my idea to take it down! Ff.net did it, since they're not allowing 'Ask' fics anymore. I would have loved to continue on with it, but my hands are tied. Unless there's a whole bunch of angry letters to ff.net about ask fics and the other kinds that have been taken down, I doubt TJS will ever be back.
And a second apology about taking so long to write this chapter. Part of the problem is I can't decide on the ending. One idea is so sugary sweet and sappy I refuse to even entertain the thought. One is happy, with slight melancholy thrown in. And one is seriously depressing all around. As much as the depressing one would appeal to me to broaden my skills, fear not, I'll probably end up writing choice #2, I'd rather not have things thrown at me. Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter, and remember to review!
Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.
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Chapter 11: And it all begins to come into focus
As Mikayla walked through the woods outside the Labyrinth, she was starting to realize what a stupid thing she was doing. She couldn't change Rosethorn into what she was, even with her soul; she didn't know what Rosethorn could be capable of.
She couldn't keep the spell anymore. If it was found, it could pose great danger to everyone, if the LaCroix were to find it. But if she could figure out what happened, if she could find a way to make herself entirely human, no, she couldn't do it. To be so selfish. It tore her up to do so, but she had to sacrifice her own chance at becoming completely human again for the greater good.
That was how Mika found herself, putting out a small fire, where she had burnt the spell to ashes. She could almost see her chances of becoming human again going up with the flames. Ah, who was she kidding? She'd looked through the spell every which way from Sunday, and hadn't figured out a way to make herself human.
It was torture, not being one or the other. Not human, not vampire, but caught in-between, never knowing where she fit. She just wanted it all to end. Honestly, she didn't much care if when she went up against Rosethorn, that she could very possibly die. It didn't matter, what mattered what keeping everyone else safe. Dear Sarah, Jareth, Toby; even Kalani. She knew Kalani hated her for what she was, that was all right. Against her better judgment she had fallen for the copper haired Fae. Would she ever learn never to trust her heart's taste in women? First Rosethorn, and now Kalani, who could barely tolerate being in the same room as she.
"It's a very brave thing, giving up your own happiness for the greater good." Said a young male voice. Damn, she'd been so caught up thinking, she hadn't even heard him.
Mika looked up, seeing a young Fae sitting on the opposite side of the ashes. In human terms he couldn't have been more than 15, still gangly and not yet grown into his size of 5' 6" and a half an inch or so. He had a mane of tawny red-gold hair that must go to about his shoulders, tied up into a ponytail, and a pair of striking emerald green eyes, which looked very familiar. He was dressed, rather surprisingly, in Aboveground fashion of a black t-shirt and jeans.
"Let me guess, you're another one. Did Destiny send you?" Mika asked. Who else but another of the true immortals would bother talking to a stranger in the wilderness? And be dressed in Aboveground clothes, no less.
"Yes, actually, she did." The boy smiled. Such a cute lad, he'd definitely be a handsome one when he was grown. "I'm Leo Scarlet, Lord of Chivalry. Since Mom can't come back to talk to you, rules about only seeing Destiny so many times, she sent me."
"Chivalry? How charming.wait, Destiny is your Mother? I didn't know she had children."
"Neither did she, 'till recently." Said Leo. Seeing Mikayla's confused face, he explained further. "My sister Arista and I.she's Lady Sanity, were born from her previous life. I think she told you about it. When we were all reborn, a lot of places were still blank. To skip a longer story, Mom was looking through the book of true immortals for someone a while ago; that's basically statistics about all of us, she found out Arista was her daughter, born to her and my father, Adian, Lord of Bravery. Which made her think, 'Sanity from Destiny and Bravery? Odd combination. Chivalry would make a lot more sense.'"
"So she looked up you, and saw you were her son." Said Mika, shaking her head. "Merciful Mother Earth, you true immortals must have complicated family trees. So, since I'm stalling actually having to face what I set out to do, tell me, what's happening now?"
Leo knew he should be pushing Mikayla along to get to work, but being Chivalry and all, indulged her to finish his story. After all, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, right? "Well, I'd been living with Mom and Dad anyway, Mom's been tutoring me in my powers, since I was only re-awakened pretty recently. Which I'm glad, I didn't have any Fae family or anything, I've been an orphan for a long time. So they invited Arista over to dinner, and told us. I actually already knew, I'd looked myself up a while ago. I didn't think they wanted me for a son. Now Arista and I have both moved in, and we're all planning Mom and Dad's wedding for this December." (AN: I told you my life has been interesting these past few months!)
"It's a veritable soap opera." Mika said with a snort. "Well I'm happy things are working out for you. Now, lovely as this chat has been, Leo, I should go on with what I set out to do, before I chicken out. Suppose you could magic me to where the LaCroix are?"
Leo looked up for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not he should. A crystal ball, tinged in silver, appeared above his head, and floated down to settle in his palm. "All right, I'm allowed to take you. Just put your hand over the crystal."
Mika took a deep breath, and put her hand over the crystal. Her surroundings blurred for a minute, before settling back into place.
They were in an entirely different place than before. It was dark, except for a few streetlights casting a sickly yellow light on the sidewalk. All right, they were definitely Aboveground. And not in a very good part of whatever town this was. It was all abandoned warehouses, most of which had seen their better days.
"Lovely place." Leo said sarcastically. "Mikayla.you do realize you may not live if you go in there."
Mika's mouth quirked into a smile. "Frankly my dear Scarlet, I don't give a damn. One life isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. If I can take Rosethorn with me, that's all that matters. Oh, and Leo? Thanks for the story, helped keep my mind of things for a little while. Hope you all are very happy together, as a family."
"Sure. Good luck, Mikayla." Leo transformed into his anima form of a fox, and ran off into the night. His voice carried back to her, with a few final words. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Mika smiled again. "Frankly.so do I."
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It's true, you never know what you've got until it's gone.
This was what Kalani was thinking, as she paced the throne room. Jareth was trying, unsuccessfully to find Mikayla, Sarah was looking over his shoulder, and Koko and Faithful were arguing about something. The two had known each other before finding their respective 'owners', and were on none too good terms.
But I digress from the point. Kalani was angry with herself, because she hadn't seen what was right in front of her blue eyes all the time.
She was in love with Mikayla. She, in love with the half-vampire..no, it was wrong to think of her like that. Kalani had thought she'd hated her, for what she was. Or at least, what she thought Mika was. Then she had to go and do something so damnably heroic, that it made all the walls she'd built come tumbling down, all the racism she's shown against Mika. And she felt like a heel for it.
"Can't you find any trace of her?" Sarah asked.
"Wherever she is, she's not in the Underground." Jareth said, sighing. "And my crystals don't work very well for Aboveground. I don't know what we can do."
"Oh for the love of all things!" Koko chimed in crossly. "You idiots, do I have to do all the thinking around here? Go ask that Whistler woman, the one who owns the bar. That's where Mika and Kalani got the information before. She'll know where the LaCroix are!"
Faithful blinked her violet eyes in surprise. "Why Kokey! You actually had a good idea. Hell must be freezing over as we speak."
"Oh shut up you two." Kalani muttered absently. "Come on, we don't have a moment to lose."
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"Didn't think I'd see you back here, Kalani." Emma Whistler's thick brogue carried across the empty room, from her place behind the bar. It was only mid-afternoon in Japan, and the bar had just opened. "Who're your friends? And where's Mika?"
Kalani introduced Jareth and Sarah, and quickly told Emma why they were there.
Emma's jade green eyes narrowed. "You promised you'd protect her, Kalani."
Kalani winced, as if she'd been hit. It was true; she'd broken her promise to the Whistler. "I'm sorry Emma, I tried, really I did. Please, tell us where the LaCroix are. We still have a chance to save her."
Emma sighed, shaking her head. " I don't like this at all. It's stupid and foolhardy, if not simply suicide. But Mika is family, so all right, I'll tell you. I hope you folks know what you're getting yourselves into...."
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Bah, that was shorter than I wanted. But its where the stopping point is. Next chapter is the pivotal one, the way its shaping. Only about the next chapter left, and perhaps an epilogue if I'm feeling it fits. Or it might be two chapters, if it runs a bit too long. Anyway, sorry again about the long wait. I really will try to not let it happen again. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember....
"Please leave a contribution in the little review box"
Emerald, The Lady Destiny a.k.a. Emmy-chan
Holy cow, has it really been so long since I updated? Bad me. Anyway, yes, finally here with another chapter for anyone who cares. Life has been very interesting for me these past few months; it's hard work being Destiny. But that's beside the point.
First off, explanation about Jareth's Talk Show: It wasn't my idea to take it down! Ff.net did it, since they're not allowing 'Ask' fics anymore. I would have loved to continue on with it, but my hands are tied. Unless there's a whole bunch of angry letters to ff.net about ask fics and the other kinds that have been taken down, I doubt TJS will ever be back.
And a second apology about taking so long to write this chapter. Part of the problem is I can't decide on the ending. One idea is so sugary sweet and sappy I refuse to even entertain the thought. One is happy, with slight melancholy thrown in. And one is seriously depressing all around. As much as the depressing one would appeal to me to broaden my skills, fear not, I'll probably end up writing choice #2, I'd rather not have things thrown at me. Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter, and remember to review!
Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.
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Chapter 11: And it all begins to come into focus
As Mikayla walked through the woods outside the Labyrinth, she was starting to realize what a stupid thing she was doing. She couldn't change Rosethorn into what she was, even with her soul; she didn't know what Rosethorn could be capable of.
She couldn't keep the spell anymore. If it was found, it could pose great danger to everyone, if the LaCroix were to find it. But if she could figure out what happened, if she could find a way to make herself entirely human, no, she couldn't do it. To be so selfish. It tore her up to do so, but she had to sacrifice her own chance at becoming completely human again for the greater good.
That was how Mika found herself, putting out a small fire, where she had burnt the spell to ashes. She could almost see her chances of becoming human again going up with the flames. Ah, who was she kidding? She'd looked through the spell every which way from Sunday, and hadn't figured out a way to make herself human.
It was torture, not being one or the other. Not human, not vampire, but caught in-between, never knowing where she fit. She just wanted it all to end. Honestly, she didn't much care if when she went up against Rosethorn, that she could very possibly die. It didn't matter, what mattered what keeping everyone else safe. Dear Sarah, Jareth, Toby; even Kalani. She knew Kalani hated her for what she was, that was all right. Against her better judgment she had fallen for the copper haired Fae. Would she ever learn never to trust her heart's taste in women? First Rosethorn, and now Kalani, who could barely tolerate being in the same room as she.
"It's a very brave thing, giving up your own happiness for the greater good." Said a young male voice. Damn, she'd been so caught up thinking, she hadn't even heard him.
Mika looked up, seeing a young Fae sitting on the opposite side of the ashes. In human terms he couldn't have been more than 15, still gangly and not yet grown into his size of 5' 6" and a half an inch or so. He had a mane of tawny red-gold hair that must go to about his shoulders, tied up into a ponytail, and a pair of striking emerald green eyes, which looked very familiar. He was dressed, rather surprisingly, in Aboveground fashion of a black t-shirt and jeans.
"Let me guess, you're another one. Did Destiny send you?" Mika asked. Who else but another of the true immortals would bother talking to a stranger in the wilderness? And be dressed in Aboveground clothes, no less.
"Yes, actually, she did." The boy smiled. Such a cute lad, he'd definitely be a handsome one when he was grown. "I'm Leo Scarlet, Lord of Chivalry. Since Mom can't come back to talk to you, rules about only seeing Destiny so many times, she sent me."
"Chivalry? How charming.wait, Destiny is your Mother? I didn't know she had children."
"Neither did she, 'till recently." Said Leo. Seeing Mikayla's confused face, he explained further. "My sister Arista and I.she's Lady Sanity, were born from her previous life. I think she told you about it. When we were all reborn, a lot of places were still blank. To skip a longer story, Mom was looking through the book of true immortals for someone a while ago; that's basically statistics about all of us, she found out Arista was her daughter, born to her and my father, Adian, Lord of Bravery. Which made her think, 'Sanity from Destiny and Bravery? Odd combination. Chivalry would make a lot more sense.'"
"So she looked up you, and saw you were her son." Said Mika, shaking her head. "Merciful Mother Earth, you true immortals must have complicated family trees. So, since I'm stalling actually having to face what I set out to do, tell me, what's happening now?"
Leo knew he should be pushing Mikayla along to get to work, but being Chivalry and all, indulged her to finish his story. After all, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, right? "Well, I'd been living with Mom and Dad anyway, Mom's been tutoring me in my powers, since I was only re-awakened pretty recently. Which I'm glad, I didn't have any Fae family or anything, I've been an orphan for a long time. So they invited Arista over to dinner, and told us. I actually already knew, I'd looked myself up a while ago. I didn't think they wanted me for a son. Now Arista and I have both moved in, and we're all planning Mom and Dad's wedding for this December." (AN: I told you my life has been interesting these past few months!)
"It's a veritable soap opera." Mika said with a snort. "Well I'm happy things are working out for you. Now, lovely as this chat has been, Leo, I should go on with what I set out to do, before I chicken out. Suppose you could magic me to where the LaCroix are?"
Leo looked up for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not he should. A crystal ball, tinged in silver, appeared above his head, and floated down to settle in his palm. "All right, I'm allowed to take you. Just put your hand over the crystal."
Mika took a deep breath, and put her hand over the crystal. Her surroundings blurred for a minute, before settling back into place.
They were in an entirely different place than before. It was dark, except for a few streetlights casting a sickly yellow light on the sidewalk. All right, they were definitely Aboveground. And not in a very good part of whatever town this was. It was all abandoned warehouses, most of which had seen their better days.
"Lovely place." Leo said sarcastically. "Mikayla.you do realize you may not live if you go in there."
Mika's mouth quirked into a smile. "Frankly my dear Scarlet, I don't give a damn. One life isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. If I can take Rosethorn with me, that's all that matters. Oh, and Leo? Thanks for the story, helped keep my mind of things for a little while. Hope you all are very happy together, as a family."
"Sure. Good luck, Mikayla." Leo transformed into his anima form of a fox, and ran off into the night. His voice carried back to her, with a few final words. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Mika smiled again. "Frankly.so do I."
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It's true, you never know what you've got until it's gone.
This was what Kalani was thinking, as she paced the throne room. Jareth was trying, unsuccessfully to find Mikayla, Sarah was looking over his shoulder, and Koko and Faithful were arguing about something. The two had known each other before finding their respective 'owners', and were on none too good terms.
But I digress from the point. Kalani was angry with herself, because she hadn't seen what was right in front of her blue eyes all the time.
She was in love with Mikayla. She, in love with the half-vampire..no, it was wrong to think of her like that. Kalani had thought she'd hated her, for what she was. Or at least, what she thought Mika was. Then she had to go and do something so damnably heroic, that it made all the walls she'd built come tumbling down, all the racism she's shown against Mika. And she felt like a heel for it.
"Can't you find any trace of her?" Sarah asked.
"Wherever she is, she's not in the Underground." Jareth said, sighing. "And my crystals don't work very well for Aboveground. I don't know what we can do."
"Oh for the love of all things!" Koko chimed in crossly. "You idiots, do I have to do all the thinking around here? Go ask that Whistler woman, the one who owns the bar. That's where Mika and Kalani got the information before. She'll know where the LaCroix are!"
Faithful blinked her violet eyes in surprise. "Why Kokey! You actually had a good idea. Hell must be freezing over as we speak."
"Oh shut up you two." Kalani muttered absently. "Come on, we don't have a moment to lose."
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"Didn't think I'd see you back here, Kalani." Emma Whistler's thick brogue carried across the empty room, from her place behind the bar. It was only mid-afternoon in Japan, and the bar had just opened. "Who're your friends? And where's Mika?"
Kalani introduced Jareth and Sarah, and quickly told Emma why they were there.
Emma's jade green eyes narrowed. "You promised you'd protect her, Kalani."
Kalani winced, as if she'd been hit. It was true; she'd broken her promise to the Whistler. "I'm sorry Emma, I tried, really I did. Please, tell us where the LaCroix are. We still have a chance to save her."
Emma sighed, shaking her head. " I don't like this at all. It's stupid and foolhardy, if not simply suicide. But Mika is family, so all right, I'll tell you. I hope you folks know what you're getting yourselves into...."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Bah, that was shorter than I wanted. But its where the stopping point is. Next chapter is the pivotal one, the way its shaping. Only about the next chapter left, and perhaps an epilogue if I'm feeling it fits. Or it might be two chapters, if it runs a bit too long. Anyway, sorry again about the long wait. I really will try to not let it happen again. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember....
"Please leave a contribution in the little review box"
Emerald, The Lady Destiny a.k.a. Emmy-chan