Crossed Paths: Chapter 4, Hurting Memories (Sorry, I changed it)
They turned to the door. Not knowing if he was bad or good, their dæmons went in front of them and were ready if he was going to attack.
'Hi," the stranger started. "My name's Will."
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He walked up to them with a weird expression on his face. "Is that a dragon?" Will asked uncomfortably while pointing to Nataku.
"What's it to you?" she asked.
Will jumped at the sight of a talking dragon. This made Duo grin. "So... you're new too. Yeah, you have to get used to them talking to ya," Duo comforted as he put his hand on Will's shoulder.
Will could have cared less about what Duo had just said because he was eyeing the black jaguar, who followed the braided man, with caution.
"Oh. That's just Loki. She won't hurt you... often."
Loki showed him her teeth, all pearly white. Duo glanced behind him. "Looks like you've got yourself a dæmon too, Willy."
"Huh?" Will turned around to a tan tabby cat, coming through the door. "Oh, I don't know that cat. She ain't mine."
"Am I the only one in this room who gets DÆMONS!" cried Lyra.
"Look," she said while walking up to Will, "You ern't from this world, right? Well, you didn't have a dæmon in your world, but now you got one. Ok?"
"Ok. I guess."
"You've got a pretty one. Yours is a girl, oh and please remember it's not ok to touch another person's dæmon. It's just wrong. Got it?" Lyra added as she glared at Duo.
He nodded. Great, I'm stuck with a bug of loonies who believe in demons. "Where are we?"
"I was just about to ask you that," responded Heero.
"And you are...?"
"My name is Quatre Rabarba Winner," the blonde said. "These are my five other comrades and their dæmons. The falcon is mine. Her name is Shi. The long, braided one is Duo Maxwell and his jaguar, Loki. The tall, silent one is Trowa Barton and his fox, Talena. The Chinese man is Chang Wufei and his dragon, Nataku. The bored-looking, serious guy over there is Heero Yuy and his white wolf, Khaz. And this young lady here is helping us find our way home. Her name is Lyra Silvertongue and her dæmon, Pan."
"Will Parry. Are you sure you don't know where we are?"
"Didn't we just answer that, you baka!" growled Wufei.
"We just got here a couple hours before you," answered Pantalaimon. "Did you come through the forest?"
"No. I guess I was in my world when I slipped through this.. this... well, here let me eat before I say anything more and then I'll show you. It's a little hard to explain."
They all agreed and went in search for food. Will found some cook books and decided to make lunch, with help from Quatre of course. They others would have gladly joined in, but they can't cook. Well, the only one who could cook a little was Wufei, but you wouldn't want to put him in charge of lunch. Everything he makes is so darn spicy and it's always Chinese!!
While everyone was eating Will looked at Lyra. "So, if you don't know where we are, then what are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Dust."
"Well, how are you going to find it?"
She looked at him coldly. "I am in search of a Scholar.
"Just any scholar?" asked Quatre, who overheard their conversation. Now Heero, Duo, Wufei, and Trowa were interested.
"Well, I don't think you'll find any here," stated Heero. "It's obviously empty.
"In my world, Oxford, there are plenty of scholars," said Will while chewing slowly on his food.
"Oxford! That's where I come from," shouted Lyra excitedly.
"This is interesting. In your world you have an Oxford, and in his world he has an Oxford. And guess what, we have an Oxford too," Quatre calmly said.
"Yeah," added Wufei. "I've been there. It used to be this great city with collages and buildings. Now it's just this broken down piece of a dump."
Will stared at him. "What time do you live in?"
"Uhh.. about 195AC. Why?" said Duo.
"Tell me some of your historical cities." Will looked eager.
"Hmmm... there is Paris, Washington DC.."
"...there's also Miami. That place rocks," continued Duo.
".. and Rome. I've heard of that place," said Quatre.
Will looked at them with his mouth open. It took a minute to speak, but he finally managed. "Well. I know when your world is."
"You do! Do you know how to get us there?" All the pilots shouted at the same time.
"Yes I do. But it will be hard. Do you still want to know how?"
"YES!!!!!!"
"Ok. My world is your past. And your world is my future. So If you just wait about a thousand years in my world, then you will get to your world." Will chuckled.
"Smart Alleck," murmured Khaz.
"How does THAT help us, you baka?" growled Wufei.
Will smiled. Just then his dæmon leaped into his lap, and made herself comfortable. In no time, she was purring herself to sleep. "You know, you still have to name her," said Talena.
"Well, I've been thinking about it. So I'll call her... Kirjava."
"I like that name," Kirjava answered through a yawn.
Will jumped a little when he heard her talk, but calmed himself down enough to stroke her. Lyra sniffed. "At least you're taking this better then they were," she said as she nodded to the pilots.
"It wasn't our fault that we shook at the sight of five mice turning into different animals!" retorted Quatre.
"You mean these things can transform?" asked Will. In answer to his question, all of the dæmons transformed in the blink of an eye. He turned his eyes to Kirjava, who became something that looks like a large ferret.
Will was so startled that he almost knocked Kirjava out of his lap. "That's unusual," he mumbled under his breath.
"You can say that again," said Khaz.
"You heard that?" asked Will, who for a minute though he talked a little loud.
"Hello. Wolf ears."
Will nodded and laughed at his stupidity. "Baka," Khaz said as she shook her head.
"What's in the case, Willy?" questioned Duo.
Will looked down to the green briefcase in his hand. "It's nothing," was his answer.
Duo didn't like to wait. It wasn't one of his major characteristics. So he did the best thing he was good at: annoy till they surrender. For the next twenty minutes, there were mostly pleas of: "C'mon Willy, what in there? It can't be THAT important because it's green!"
"What's the color have to do with it?" asked the pilot of Sandrock, who was cleaning up everyone's plates and washing them.
"Well, because Heero's shirt is green."
Heero looked up at the braided pilot who had just signed a welcome invitation with death. "Did you just insult my.. shirt?" His eye twitched.
"Not exactly, I also meant to insult.... your SPANDEX!!!!"
Heero raced up to Duo, and both of them wrestled for a while. Both of their dæmons were next to them, but staying away far enough to keep from getting touched. Quatre sighed and drew his face into his hand. Trowa and Wufei immediately took their positions, and separated Heero and Duo. Lyra looked at Will and whispered, "You'll get used to it."
After everyone was calm again, Duo began to pester Will some more. "Please!? can I see it?! I won't tell."
Will remained calm. "Will you please tell me where you found that window thing?" Lyra asked impatiently.
Crap. I forgot about that. "I'll show you tomorrow." Will was tired and he really wanted to sleep.
"Alright, but you had better keep your promise." She went up to her room to take a bath.
"Let's get some sleep," Will said to the Gundam Pilots. "It looks like we all need some." He turned to leave, but hesitated.
His gaze turned to Heero and Duo. "Are they going to be ok?"
"Oh yes, don't worry. They always fight," reassured Quatre.
Lyra shuffled in her bed, trying to get comfortable. When she was, Lyra got out her alethiometer. Lyra didn't quite trust Will as much as she does with the Pilots, but she just wanted to be sure. Looking and listening to make sure no one was there, she asked the alethiometer:
Who is this boy? Is he a friend or an enemy?
He is a murderer, was the answer.
Lyra sighed with relief, and put the compass back under her pillow. She was satisfied now. He was good when it came to cooking food, and he also looked good with maps, but she needed to be sure that he could be trusted. As she stroked Pan, she thought to her self, He should be a very good companion. That boy reminds me of Iorek Byrnison, so I feel safe about being around him. The rest of the night she was sleeping sweetly with the mouse-form Pan underneath her chin.
Will thought back before he came here. He was at his home with his mother. They were both happy and at peace.. until they came....
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Because he mother was 'different' from other people, Will had to look after her around the age of seven. He first noticed this when they were in a super market. Each would play this game that would go something like this: When they each saw an item that they needed, they had to put it in their cart without being seen. It was the "enemies" they were hiding from. But once the items were in the cart, they became invisible and were safe. The especially liked to play on Saturdays when the market was full, but they worked together and were a great duo. They had nearly won the game when they walked up to the checkout place, but his mother had lost her purse. Being only seven, he thought this was part of the game too, but found out it wasn't. He saw his mother getting scared, and it was at that moment when he found out the truth. The "enemies" they were hiding from were real. Not outside real, but mentally. That didn't make a difference. She transformed her horrors into games like this, so Will wouldn't get scared as well. They put back all the items, and went home. Her purse was on the kitchen counter.
He helped his mother out a lot after that. It was hard enough to raise a child alone in her condition. Sometimes, Will would ask her question about his father. His name was John Parry. He was a brave man, and an adventurer. He mysteriously disappeared and was never seen or heard from again.
Will had learned that he must keep his mother's condition a secret. If the police found out, they would separate them, and that would kill both him and his mother. During school, he remained neutral and discrete. That's how he lived. Never attracting attention. He thought they would live in peace, but then the men came.
They weren't social security, police, or even criminals. The only wanted to talk to his mother. They asked her questions about his father. That distressed her deeply, and Will barged in and told them to leave. But they kept coming back. Mostly when he was at school though. He came home early one day and found one talking to his mom, while the other was searching upstairs. He kicked them out. Things were getting bad. They were looking for something, and he knew what it was.
The green leather case was Will's mother's most pride possession. He has never seen inside it before, but he knew they were letters from his dad. Why would they want that? Was he dad alive and in trouble? He needed to do something fast. Will safely left his mother to the one person he could trust, Mrs. Cooper. When he found the green leather case, the two men were back. Pushing one down the steps, he ran out of the door, and down the street...
Knowing instantly why the other didn't give chase, he stomach turned. That man he pushed was dead.... he killed a man. Slowing down a bit, he sat on the curb. Will noticed a tabby cat on the other side of the street, pawing at thin air. And than, almost as by magic, the cat leaped at the air, and vanished. Startled and curious, Will walked to the place where the cat had been. He searched all side of it, pawing just as the cat had done. In some spots, he could see a thin strip of air, but in others he couldn't. Taking his chances, he placed one foot into the air, followed by the rest of his body.
What he saw was amazing. It was another city, and deserted by the looks of it. It was right on the ocean, and solitary. He thought that he could bring his mother here. They will never bother them again. His stomach started to growl, and he went in search of food. He opened one door to this cottage-looking house, and was met with six pairs of human eyes staring at him.
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A/N: Well, that's my chapter. I hope you like it.
Wufei: It sucked.
Loki: Be quiet or I'll make you sing a song in the next chapter.
Wufei: O_o!!
Loki: Anyway, please R&R!!!!! I want reviews!!! Rori is already beating me!!! Help me!!! C'mon, I'll review yours (^-^!!) Please, please, PLEASE!!!!!!!!
Wufei: That's what I would expect from a woman.
Loki: OK BUB! You have a one way ticket to pain!
Wufei: You and what army.
Loki: *smiles* This army.
Duo: Hi Wu-Wu! I am here to annoy you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ((*Takes a deep breath*)) ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and...
Wufei: NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!