Crossed Paths: Chapter 2, Crazy Reunion
"WHAT!" They all cried in unison, but were too late to move. For they disappeared into a world where monsters are real, and adventures are a part of everyday life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh Pan, I have no idea where we are. And this fog isn't making it any better," said Lyra Silvertongue to her dæmon. Pan, or Pantalaimon suddenly changed from a mouse in her shirt pocket to a cream colored barn owl on her shoulders. "Good idea, Pan! Owls have really good eyesight." They walked on for a couple of minuets then Lyra said, "Pan, this place gives me the creeps, if you see someone can you change into something scary if they're not good?"
As an answer to her question, Pantalaimon changed into a snow leopard. "That'll do," she said.
"Where the heck are we!" cried Duo.
The pilots had all survived the transportation, but now they were stuck in this forest.. or they thought it was a forest. They couldn't tell because of the fog. "I have no idea, but when we get back I'm giving doc a piece of my mind!" growled Heero.
"INJUSTICE!!! How can that insane doctor put us in a machine that he hasn't even tested yet!?!?" yelled Wufei who was full of rage.
"I don't know, but what he did was evil and wrong!" added Quatre.
The four Gundam pilots continued to pour their hatred over the evil Dr. J, while Trowa sat down on a stump and was petting a tiny gray mouse in his lap. Duo was the first to notice this. "Hey! Tro-man has a pet mouse!" Everyone stopped where they were and went to look at the tiny varmint.
"Pan, I think I hear people up there. Change into a minx and see if they're friendly or not."
The dæmon nodded at her and went to investigate. He swiftly passed through the bushes and crouched down into a comfortable spot where he could have a perfect view of the strangers.
"Hey guys look behind us. More mice!" exclaimed Duo.
Just as Duo had said, four more mice came out of the fog. "This place must be infested or something," said Heero as he eyed this one mouse with orange eyes. Creepy.
"Let's leave this place. It gives me goose bumps," said Quatre who crossed his arms over his stomach.
"I guess you're right," replied Wufei. "Hey baka! Stop playing with the mice and let's go!"
Duo looked up and frowned. "Oh, ok."
They continued to walk, but surprisingly the mice followed them.
Quatre was the first to ask. "Why are they following us?"
"I don't know!" retorted Heero. He was slightly irritated.
"Finally! The Perfect Soldier admits that he's not perfect!" chimed Duo. He was met with Heero's arms around his throat.
"Cut it out! Trowa help me!" cried Quatre. Trowa grabbed Heero and kept him from hurting Duo anymore. "Now if we want to find our way home, we have to work together. Agreed?"
"Agreed," said Heero and Duo. They walked on a while more then.., "I still want to know why those mice are following us."
"SHUT UP!!!" they yelled.
Pantalaimon thought that it was safe enough to show himself, so he did. Quatre first notice him. "Is... is that a... a minx? Those are really rare!"
"Hello little doggie!" said Duo. "Come here and let me pet you."
At that instant Pan turned from a harmless little minx to a ferocious
orange-stripped tiger. No sooner was Lyra out beside him too.
"How dare you even try to touch my dæmon? That is sick! You disgust me!"
But, while Lyra was talking the five mice came running up in front of the pilots and transformed into brave predators.
Protecting Duo was a deep, jet black jaguar; protecting Heero was a snow-white Wolf with orange eyes; protecting Quatre was a majestic falcon perched on his right shoulder; protecting Wufei was a crimson, winged dragon, about the height of his hips; and last, but not least, protecting Trowa was a red fox, ready to kill.
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!" They all cried as they jumped back.
"DID THAT MOUSE JUST TURN INTO A WOLF!" yelled Heero.
The wolf looked at him. "Yes I did," she said.
"GOOD LORD IT TALKS!" screamed Wufei.
"I am not an it you baka!" she responded.
While all the pilots were having a spaz attack, Lyra was trying to put two and two together. So was Pantalaimon. "What's the matter with you guys? You act as if you've never seen a dæmon before."
"These things are demons! Back away everyone!" screamed Duo. He and the others were totally freaked out!
"Guy's calm down," said Trowa. He was the only one who wasn't freaking out.
"CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN I JUST SAW A MOUSE TURN INTO A FALCON!" yelled Quatre.
The falcon glanced at him. "There's not need to be alarmed," she said.
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Quatre had lost it.
"No, she's right. You need to calm down. I think I've got it. You must of come into this world by crossing a bridge or something like that. In your world you may not have dæmons, but when you stepped into this one, you got some. Sit down and I'll tell you about them," explained Lyra.
When Lyra finished her speech on dæmons she looked at the pilots. They were all in awe, well..., all except for the tall and silent one. "Any questions?"
Duo's hand was first in the air. "So, you said that everyone's demons.."
"Dæmons," corrected Lyra.
"...right, dæmons, um they are the opposite sex, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's silly. Is it always like that?"
Lyra laughed. "Sometimes on rare occasions, the dæmon will be the same sex. Does anyone here have the same gender as their dæmon?" The rest shook their heads as a no.
Quatre's hand was the second to go up. "Do we name them or do they have a name themselves?"
"You give them their names, but sometimes they might have a name that they especially want, so they call themselves that," she answered.
Quatre nodded. Wufei was next. "Yes?" asked Lyra.
"Why does mines have to be a weak onna?"
The insulted dragon nipped him hard on the hand and gave him a long, blank stare.
"Just think of it as getting in touch with your feminine side," stated Quatre. Wufei was ready to kill the innocent blonde.
"You're such a pretty wolf. Yes you are, yes you are," came a voice from behind Wufei.
Lyra turned to see who was saying that. It was Duo; he was petting Heero's dæmon while she was trying to get away. But, while Duo was petting the wolf, he didn't notice Heero falling over, gasping for air, and writhing in pain. Lyra felt sick; then outraged. She ran up to him and smacked him in the face, hard. "YOU SICK PERSON! YOU NEVER TOUCH SOMEONE'S DÆMON! DON'T EVER LET ME SEE YOU DO THAT AGAIN!!!!!"
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" yelled a VERY angry Duo.
He ran up to strangle her, but Trowa kept him back. Heero was breathing heavy, recovering from the incident. After Duo had calmed down a little Trowa looked coldly at Lyra. "Look. I'm sorry that Duo did that. But that does not mean that you have a welcomed invitation to yell at him, or hit him. WE ARE NOT FROM HERE! WE DO NOT HAVE THE SAME RULES AS YOU DO, OR KNOW THEM FOR THAT MATTER! SO IF YOU WANT TO STAY IN ONE PIECE THAN EXPLAIN THINGS TO US BEFORE YOU GO JUDGING. OK!"
The pilots had never seen Trowa so mad before. In fact, they have never heard him yell, or talk, that much before. Lyra looked down at Pantalaimon. He was on his feet, ready to pounce. But when he saw her looking at him, he settled down and said, "He is right Lyra. They aren't from here. It will take them a while longer to get used to the rules. Be patient."
Lyra nodded in defeat. She walked up to Duo, held out her hand, and offered it to Duo. "Friends?"
Duo looked from her to her hand. Back and forth, back and forth. He smiled. "Sure." But, the moment they shook, a buzzing noise appeared and Lyra took back her hand. "What was that for!"
Duo showed her his hand. "Electric hand Buzzer. Gets 'em every time."
Lyra looked suspiciously at him. She was about to yell again, when the Noble in the Desert interrupted her before she said anything. "In the language of Duo, that means that he will be friends."
"Yeah! Don't worry, Lira," said Duo.
"Lyra." corrected Lyra and Pantalaimon at the same time.
"Sorry, Lyrre." Lyra's blood boiled, but calmed herself down.
"First off. Before we do anything, let's get properly acquainted. My name is LYRA Silvertongue," she said, looking at Duo, "and this is Pantalaimon. But, you can call him Pan."
The pilots nodded and one by one they introduced themselves. And guess who goes first. "Hello. My name is Quatre Rabarba Winner, the Noble in the Desert."
He jabbed Heero in the arm and Heero went, "Oww.. um, my name is Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier."
"Chang. Chang Wufei, the Solitary Dragon, but call me Wufei or else." He showed her his pretty, shiny katanna. Lyra gulped.
"Duo Maxwell, the God of Death!"
Lyra chuckled. He looked at her. "What? What so funny?"
"Shouldn't you be called the Goddess of Death? Being a girl and all."
Wufei and the others broke into a barrel of laughter, except for Duo, who was really mad. "I'M A GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK THAT I'M A GIRL. GIRLS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES WITH PONYTAILS, YA KNOW!"
Lyra blushed really hard. "I'm sorry. I thought you were a girl." She said this without showing her laughter, and looking as sorry as she could be.
He shrugged. "I'll sake it off. You're not the first. I forgive."
Lyra thought to herself that she was finally getting a nice friendship with him. She nodded at the silent one. "What's your name?"
"Trowa Barton, or No Name. I'm the Silent Warrior."
He talked so quietly that Lyra had to go, "What?"
"He is Trowa Barton, the Silent Warrior," answered Quatre.
"OK, I guess."
She turned to all of the pilots and said, "Ok. I am really sorry that I yelled at you. The reason why you can't touch a person's dæmon is because it's just like someone touching another person. It's just wrong. Second is because when you do touch the dæmon, it's partner falls over in pain. Got it?"
They nodded their heads as an answer. Pantalaimon was next to speak. "How did you get here and why are you here?"
"My professor, Dr. J has been working on this type of matter. He calls it SPECs, or Scientific Particles Electrically Combined. Have you heard of it?"
"No, we haven't, but that sounds exactly like what I am searching for. Where I come from its called Dust," said Lyra.
"Well, he said that we could only see it if we concentrate really hard, and make our minds clear. He knew that none of us could reach that state, so he put on this type of machine, that will allow us to go into this concentrating state, and we will be able to see SPECs, ...err, Dust. But, instead of seeing it, he sent us to this world and, well, here we are!" continued Quatre.
"Hmmm. interesting. Wait right here. I'll be back shortly."
Lyra wanted to consult with the alethiometer before she did anything else. So, she went behind the tree, opened up her rug sack, and took it out.
Are these people friends or foes? Should I help them with their quest for it's the same as mine?
She waited a couple seconds for the answer to come through.
It replied: They are friends. You must help these five find their way home. Guide them through the worlds you go through until the journey is complete.
Knowing that the alethiometer always gave her more information than needed it continued...
Search for the boy with the knife and the woman with the spyglass. Help them too.
Lyra had no idea what it meant, but she knew one thing: she must help the strange visitors. She rejoined the group, not knowing that the braided pilot was watching her the whole time from up in a tree. "I wonder what that shiny thing was that she holding." (The pondering continues.) "I want one too!" complained Duo to his dæmon.
The mischievous jaguar mulled it over and finally said, "Let's grab it in the middle of the night!" He smiled. "Good plan."
Duo and the jaguar scrambled down the tree and back to the others. "What were you doing back there?" asked a curious Quatre.
"Uhhhhh... taking a pee?"
Quatre looked away in disgust. "Duo, was that really necessary?"
"Well, you DID ask!" exclaimed Duo.
The night continued on. Trowa had started a fire, to warm everybody up. They were all bored. "Trowa. Do something funny," requested Duo.
"Like what?'
"I don't know. Make us laugh."
Trowa gave him a look that said you have to be kidding. "I just asked!" answered Duo.
"I know what you five can do. You can give names to your dæmons. Duo why don't you start."
Duo looked at her, and then his dæmon. "I know! I once saw this movie called "The Mask", you know the one with Jim Carrey. Anyway the gods trapped Loki, the God of Mischief into the mask, so I'll call you Loki. Being the mischievous little jaguar you are."
Loki blushed. "Quit bragging."
"But Loki means the GOD of Mischief. She's a girl," stated Heero.
"What's your point?"
They all sighed. "Well, for MY dæmon, she will be called Shi," said Quatre.
"Is Shi a name of royalty?" asked Heero.
"Why yes it is!" he replied. "You're turn."
Heero glanced at the wolf. "Look, I'm not good with names. So.."
"Don't worry. I already have a name. It's Khaz," she interrupted.
Heero leaned against a tree. "That solves that problem."
Wufei closed his eyes. "I will call this large winged lizard.. (Yells of, "I'm a dragon!", could be heard in the background.)
"...Nataku."
"How did I know," mumbled the other pilots together in a mocking tone. "Am I THAT predictable?" Wufei asked.
He looked at Nataku. "Does that name suit you?"
She shrugged. "It will do."
All eyes were on Trowa. He mumbled something. "What was that?" asked Duo. Trowa mumbled some more. "Speak up will ya!" yelled Loki.
"My name is Talena," answered the fox.
"How could you understand what he was saying?" asked Pantalaimon.
Talena didn't answer. "I can see where she gets the silence from," teased Nataku.
The comment made Wufei laugh. "This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"Alright let's get some sleep. We will need it," ordered Heero.
"Could you not act like soldier-boy for one night Heero?" asked Duo.
"Just do as he says!" scolded Khaz. Heero smiled.
As everyone was tucking themselves in, Quatre turned to Lyra. "Are you going to help us get back home, Miss Lyra?"
She looked at him. "Yes I will, cause I am searching for the same thing as you are." She turned her back to him. "And call me Lyra, not Miz Lyra."
'Ok, Lyra."
They soon were all asleep. All but two. "When are we going to make the magic happen?" asked Loki. "Soon. Very soon." answered Duo.
A/N: This Chapter is DONE!!! So long! The next one will be up to speed in no time! Next Chapter: Fishing and Shopping!
^-^!