Tonight was the night, I had to be ready. I was going to return to
Tatiana and finally get rid of this damn pendant that I now wore around my
neck. I wore it when I went to Hell, when I saved Mai, but it reminded me
too much of when Mai killed herself to give it to me.
"Joey, please, be careful. I'll wait in the garden, and if anything happens, call out for me." Mai said. Ever since we came back, she had lost her brashness and her attitude, or at least it was diminished.
"Don't worry. I'll be finished real quick." I said, shrugging off the worry. I was the brasher one now.
"Joey, I know how much you like to be the hero. I'm telling you now to be the wise man. Getting yourself killed again is not going to help us. I don't think I could go to Hell and bring you back like you did for me." I moved in and embraced her. Man, I wanted to do this so much before everything happened, and after my death, if I actually did die then, I resolved not to be timid anymore. Mai returned my hug, and I played with her white hair as we kept hugging for an extended minute.
"Ghost-touched." I said. "Both of us, ya know."
"Yeah, we've done a lot, and we're not even really lovers." She said.
"We're not? Mai, I..."
"I know what you're going to say, so listen good. I know you went to Hell for me. I would have done it for you. But that doesn't mean we are lovers, it means that we would defy gods and men for each other. That is something a hell of a lot deeper then love. There needs to be a new word for it."
I smiled. Maybe she was right. I had read stories of lovers who weren't meant to be, who in the face of danger they abandoned their love for their own lives or whatever. But we were more then that. If people like those were called lovers, then we were a shitload more loving then any of them.
I went to Tristan's before I left, wanting him to read the future about it. Serenity was also there, and she had been spending a lot more time at his place for some reason. I wanted to ask, but it was really none of my business. I would have never admitted it aloud, but Tristan and Serenity were good for each other. She could stop him from being stupid, and he could help her with...something.
Tristan shuffled the cards and tried to read them, but every card he drew was the black one, the Void. Tristan kept trying to draw something else, but after drawing it ten times, he looked extremely fatigued and sick. Serenity had him lay down.
"I guess I'm going blind." I said. Oh well, that just meant I had to be careful, something Mai had already asked me to do anyway. I rubbed the pendant as I left the house.
"You damn thing, you better be worth your price." I told it mentally. Almost immediately after I said this, I heard the woman's voice, the voice that sounded when the pendant took Mai's life. I clenched my hands immediately, still angry at the spirit.
"She gave her life willingly for you." The pendant said in my mind.
"Do you think that makes it all fucking better?" I asked.
"You went to Hades to save her." The pendant responded. It was speaking so calmly, so rationally, that I hated the voice, hated her with all my heart.
"Without any fucking help from you. You killed her then didn't offer one fucking iota of help."
"That's not true. I protected your life from the ghosts of Hades. Were I not there, you would have been drained of all of your lifeforce before you met Hades himself." I was stunned for a minute. She actually helped me.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I can't speak to you unless you speak to me first. Now, we can commune freely."
"Just because you protected me once doesn't mean I like you." I told it. "You killed Mai, and I'll never forgive you for that."
"Why are you so angry?" The voice was still fucking calm. "She was one woman, but together, we will save the world from the darkness."
"She's...she's not just one woman to me." I admitted.
"I...understand. She is important to you?"
"Yes, more important to me then the entire world. I just...I wish when this all ends, that I never have to see her go again."
"Well, I don't know very much about your human emotions, but I suppose I could make you a deal. If you'll trust me and work with me, then I'll do my best to protect her as well as you." The voice finally took a tone of sympathy, even if it was just because of the words she spoke.
"Okay, I think I can do that. But if she gets hurt, I'm throwing you in the largest pit of acid I can find." I told it seriously. I would not see her get hurt again, I swore it.
The night was dark, darker then I had ever seen a night to be. The cold air blew past me as the unmistakable presence of the faeries flitted around me. I saw Tatiana appear first, wearing the same flowery dress I saw her wear last time, first. There were also two faeries that flanked me; wearing clothes similar to Tatiana's but the Queene herself wore a crown of rose blossoms.
"The human has returned. Now, finally, we shall have what we've been searching for." The faeries to the side of me raised their hands, and wisps of light appeared at their fingertips. At their command, they surrounded me, trapping me in a magical cage of light. Tatiana extended her hand, and the pendant started levitating off of my neck.
"Pendant! I am your master now. I bind thee to my will, and you shall obey only me!" What was she planning? Did she lie to me as well? Well, I guess Tristan's prophecies were right, that she was deceiving me.
I then felt a surge of energy as the cage of light disappeared around me. It tickled a little, but then the pendant fluttered down and went back around my neck.
"I belong to this man, this hero. He is the hand of destiny, he suffered the loss of my awakening, and he shall restore the spirit of my body." The pendant's voice spoke aloud.
"So, the ghost-touched human has claimed the pendant as his own? Then by his death, it shall belong to me. Rosepetal, Appleseed, attack!" She ordered.
"Oh shit!" I cursed as the faeries raised their hands again. The three of them shot out balls of magical light that froze the air around me. I shivered, but the pendant started emitting a glowing light, warming the air around me. The faerie to my left shot out another blast, but the pendant's glow stopped the attack and sent it right back, disintegrating the faerie into dust.
"The human has his own magic!" Tatiana called out. Well, maybe I could bluff her. If she thought that I could use magic like her, maybe she'd stop attacking.
"Come on, witch. You ain't seen nothin' yet!" I taunted, provoking her into attacking me.
"Alright, pendant." I said in my mind, hoping the lady voice was listening. "Let's see what your made of."
"A ruse? I would have thought you would have destroyed them. But I can help you with this. Extend your arm towards the Faerie Queene on my count." The voice said. I nodded. She counted slowly, and on three I pointed towards the wretched Queene. A jolt of lightning shot from my hands, blasting into the faerie's shoulder. She stumbled.
"My Queen!" The other faerie called.
"We...cannot win, today, sister. Fall back. Congratulations mortal, you've defeated the Faerie Queene with your magic. But you have earned the hatred of all faeries. Watch your back." She commanded before disappearing.
"Do not fear." The pendant's voice told me. "You are triumphant. She who would use me for her own selfish desire is defeated. She will not dare attack you, she fears you too much. If she has any intelligence, which she does, she will know better then to invoke your wrath."
"Hey..." I said to it.
"Yes?" It asked with a sweet voice.
"Thanks." I said. Strangely, the voice chuckled a little.
"No problem. Now, your Mai is waiting in the...Wait, I sense some dark magic approaching."
"The Queene?" I asked, looking around. I couldn't see anything.
"No, something..." But then the voice was cut off.
"Pendant?" I asked fearfully. It wasn't responding.
Then I saw the hooded woman, Andrea. She no longer had the hood on, and her hair fluttered in the wind, which for some reason was raging wildly.
"I'll teach you what I do to people who betray me." She raised her hand again. I couldn't move. I couldn't struggle as she walked over to me, and I couldn't even wince as she struck me across the face with a stunning blow.
"Joey, please, be careful. I'll wait in the garden, and if anything happens, call out for me." Mai said. Ever since we came back, she had lost her brashness and her attitude, or at least it was diminished.
"Don't worry. I'll be finished real quick." I said, shrugging off the worry. I was the brasher one now.
"Joey, I know how much you like to be the hero. I'm telling you now to be the wise man. Getting yourself killed again is not going to help us. I don't think I could go to Hell and bring you back like you did for me." I moved in and embraced her. Man, I wanted to do this so much before everything happened, and after my death, if I actually did die then, I resolved not to be timid anymore. Mai returned my hug, and I played with her white hair as we kept hugging for an extended minute.
"Ghost-touched." I said. "Both of us, ya know."
"Yeah, we've done a lot, and we're not even really lovers." She said.
"We're not? Mai, I..."
"I know what you're going to say, so listen good. I know you went to Hell for me. I would have done it for you. But that doesn't mean we are lovers, it means that we would defy gods and men for each other. That is something a hell of a lot deeper then love. There needs to be a new word for it."
I smiled. Maybe she was right. I had read stories of lovers who weren't meant to be, who in the face of danger they abandoned their love for their own lives or whatever. But we were more then that. If people like those were called lovers, then we were a shitload more loving then any of them.
I went to Tristan's before I left, wanting him to read the future about it. Serenity was also there, and she had been spending a lot more time at his place for some reason. I wanted to ask, but it was really none of my business. I would have never admitted it aloud, but Tristan and Serenity were good for each other. She could stop him from being stupid, and he could help her with...something.
Tristan shuffled the cards and tried to read them, but every card he drew was the black one, the Void. Tristan kept trying to draw something else, but after drawing it ten times, he looked extremely fatigued and sick. Serenity had him lay down.
"I guess I'm going blind." I said. Oh well, that just meant I had to be careful, something Mai had already asked me to do anyway. I rubbed the pendant as I left the house.
"You damn thing, you better be worth your price." I told it mentally. Almost immediately after I said this, I heard the woman's voice, the voice that sounded when the pendant took Mai's life. I clenched my hands immediately, still angry at the spirit.
"She gave her life willingly for you." The pendant said in my mind.
"Do you think that makes it all fucking better?" I asked.
"You went to Hades to save her." The pendant responded. It was speaking so calmly, so rationally, that I hated the voice, hated her with all my heart.
"Without any fucking help from you. You killed her then didn't offer one fucking iota of help."
"That's not true. I protected your life from the ghosts of Hades. Were I not there, you would have been drained of all of your lifeforce before you met Hades himself." I was stunned for a minute. She actually helped me.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I can't speak to you unless you speak to me first. Now, we can commune freely."
"Just because you protected me once doesn't mean I like you." I told it. "You killed Mai, and I'll never forgive you for that."
"Why are you so angry?" The voice was still fucking calm. "She was one woman, but together, we will save the world from the darkness."
"She's...she's not just one woman to me." I admitted.
"I...understand. She is important to you?"
"Yes, more important to me then the entire world. I just...I wish when this all ends, that I never have to see her go again."
"Well, I don't know very much about your human emotions, but I suppose I could make you a deal. If you'll trust me and work with me, then I'll do my best to protect her as well as you." The voice finally took a tone of sympathy, even if it was just because of the words she spoke.
"Okay, I think I can do that. But if she gets hurt, I'm throwing you in the largest pit of acid I can find." I told it seriously. I would not see her get hurt again, I swore it.
The night was dark, darker then I had ever seen a night to be. The cold air blew past me as the unmistakable presence of the faeries flitted around me. I saw Tatiana appear first, wearing the same flowery dress I saw her wear last time, first. There were also two faeries that flanked me; wearing clothes similar to Tatiana's but the Queene herself wore a crown of rose blossoms.
"The human has returned. Now, finally, we shall have what we've been searching for." The faeries to the side of me raised their hands, and wisps of light appeared at their fingertips. At their command, they surrounded me, trapping me in a magical cage of light. Tatiana extended her hand, and the pendant started levitating off of my neck.
"Pendant! I am your master now. I bind thee to my will, and you shall obey only me!" What was she planning? Did she lie to me as well? Well, I guess Tristan's prophecies were right, that she was deceiving me.
I then felt a surge of energy as the cage of light disappeared around me. It tickled a little, but then the pendant fluttered down and went back around my neck.
"I belong to this man, this hero. He is the hand of destiny, he suffered the loss of my awakening, and he shall restore the spirit of my body." The pendant's voice spoke aloud.
"So, the ghost-touched human has claimed the pendant as his own? Then by his death, it shall belong to me. Rosepetal, Appleseed, attack!" She ordered.
"Oh shit!" I cursed as the faeries raised their hands again. The three of them shot out balls of magical light that froze the air around me. I shivered, but the pendant started emitting a glowing light, warming the air around me. The faerie to my left shot out another blast, but the pendant's glow stopped the attack and sent it right back, disintegrating the faerie into dust.
"The human has his own magic!" Tatiana called out. Well, maybe I could bluff her. If she thought that I could use magic like her, maybe she'd stop attacking.
"Come on, witch. You ain't seen nothin' yet!" I taunted, provoking her into attacking me.
"Alright, pendant." I said in my mind, hoping the lady voice was listening. "Let's see what your made of."
"A ruse? I would have thought you would have destroyed them. But I can help you with this. Extend your arm towards the Faerie Queene on my count." The voice said. I nodded. She counted slowly, and on three I pointed towards the wretched Queene. A jolt of lightning shot from my hands, blasting into the faerie's shoulder. She stumbled.
"My Queen!" The other faerie called.
"We...cannot win, today, sister. Fall back. Congratulations mortal, you've defeated the Faerie Queene with your magic. But you have earned the hatred of all faeries. Watch your back." She commanded before disappearing.
"Do not fear." The pendant's voice told me. "You are triumphant. She who would use me for her own selfish desire is defeated. She will not dare attack you, she fears you too much. If she has any intelligence, which she does, she will know better then to invoke your wrath."
"Hey..." I said to it.
"Yes?" It asked with a sweet voice.
"Thanks." I said. Strangely, the voice chuckled a little.
"No problem. Now, your Mai is waiting in the...Wait, I sense some dark magic approaching."
"The Queene?" I asked, looking around. I couldn't see anything.
"No, something..." But then the voice was cut off.
"Pendant?" I asked fearfully. It wasn't responding.
Then I saw the hooded woman, Andrea. She no longer had the hood on, and her hair fluttered in the wind, which for some reason was raging wildly.
"I'll teach you what I do to people who betray me." She raised her hand again. I couldn't move. I couldn't struggle as she walked over to me, and I couldn't even wince as she struck me across the face with a stunning blow.