Chapter Eight; Exchange of stories
Holly and the others walked over to the wagon after burying the dead, it was setting on to dusk. They found Genki, Senki, Mocchi and Colt setting in it. Somehow the horses had escaped death yet again. Colt and Senki were conversing, while Genki looked as though he had fallen asleep, Mocchi was cuddled up beside him.
"Hey guys!" Colt called to her friends as she say them approaching. "I translated some more of the ancient text!"
"That's good." Holly wondered over to her, climbing into the back of the wagon.
"It's not much, but listen to this. The soul mirror is the key to the ritual of the soul. There are a few parts hear I can't make out, but it seems to me that the ritual involves both an ancient monster and twin children."
"Twin children?" Hare glanced over at Senki and Genki. "You two were captured by Deyarteb, right?"
"Actually we were brought hear by him." Senki explained. "We were just setting in the park talking when this portal opened up and we were pulled through. We woke up in his dungeon."
"Did he do anything to you?' Tiger took a worried glance over at Genki whom seemed to be having a troubled sleep. Senki glanced over at his brother with a frown.
"Oh... well..."
"When we got to the wagon and Genki wasn't there." Alan began, jumping onto the wagon and began to steer the horses out of the village going down a calm road, everyone looked glad to leave the carnage behind them. They would be stopping for night soon of course, but no one in their right mind would want to sleep in that village. "You said that he couldn't wander far, why is that?"
"Yeah, the Genki we knew had tons of energy to spare." Suzo added. "What happened?"
"Did Deyarteb do something to him?" Hare looked concerned.
'Yes. Well, um, no..." Senki sighed pushing his hands shyly into his lap. 'Well, you see...since Gen-chan got back from this world nearly three years ago he hasn't really been the same. "
"What do you mean?" Holly asked worriedly.
"Well. He took sick, and he never really recovered from it." He told them, but left out the fact that his brother's sickness had been caused by depression. He had a feeling that Genki would not be too happy if he told them that. "His body stayed weak, and just walking has become a great strain on him. The most he can walk for is ten minutes at a very slow pace and even that exhausts him. Mostly he is bed ridden..."
"Oh my god.' Holly put her hands to her mouth alarmed. "That's terrible!"
"Poor kid..." Hare breathed. "That must be a living nightmare for someone like him."
"No wonder he's acting so gloomy."
"I think that is enough to make anyone depressed." Colt looked sympathetic. "Poor Genki..."
"I just can't picture him bed ridden." Tiger looked at Genki with a pained expression. "Do you think it's a disease he caught from our world?"
'No rather because of your world.' Senki found himself bitterly thinking, though he did not think it was *his* thoughts. He took a glance at his sleeping twin. Did Genki feel that way?
"Did anything else happen to him Senie?"
He looked over at Colt whom had been flirting with him for hours, slightly blushed by the nick name. "Well...he kind of stopped...well, he did not like being with other people. He became anti-social, and reclusive. He was bittier to others, but not to me. He always stayed the same with me, but then again...we are twins."
"Sounds like your close." Tiger commented.
"We are. Sometimes we can hear each others thoughts or feel each others feelings. Genki does not mean to be cold, he's just sad. I am sure that deep down he is happy to see you. Maybe he's just embarrassed because he's so sickly."
"So, what did Deyarteb do to you?" Holly asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"After we woke up in the cell, he took Genki down to the bottom of his tower. I did not know what to do, I could not get out of my cell until..."
"What is it?"
"The boy that killed everyone...he came to my cell and opened it. He grabbed my hand and...' Senki looked down at the white stone. "I saw a vision of twins making a silent promise in front of an alter, then I saw one twin laying on the alter. Lots of blood, then a scream, and then one of the twins covered in blood, laughing. He was one of those twins, I don't know if he was the blood covered on or not. When the vision was over, he was gone and this stone was embedded into my hand."
"Hey, now that you mentioned it, Pixie.." Colt choked saying the name of their dead friend. She had told Genki about the death but he did not have that great of a reaction to it. "And I...we saw a boy crying in front of the house apologizing to someone named Rion, then we saw the bloody boy whom looks just like him. I ran from the bloody boy but when I tripped and looked behind me I saw the boy that had been crying standing over me and he whispered the words, soul ritual."
"Didn't you whisper the name Rion when the darkness came?" Alan asked in a slightly accusing tone. He did not seem to like the twins very much, Holly noted with discomfort.
"Yes I did." Senki confessed. "But I don't know why I did. It just popped into my mind."
"Can you tell us what happened to Genki in the tower?" Holly asked quickly before Alan could start something, he looked itching to start a fight.
"I'll tell you." Genki startled them. He sat up, careful not to wake Mocchi. "He dragged me down to a room where there was a huge monster. It was so big that I could only see it's head. Underneath it's head was glowing purple stones, and directly under the mouth was a blood stained alter. The mirror was in the alter. I demanded to know what Deyarteb wanted with us, and what that monster was." Genki's eye brows creased. "He just laughed, and caressed me, telling me to call it slaughterer because it would slaughter everyone when he wakes it up. He tried to convince me to work together with him. Of course I refused but then he..."
"He did what Genki?" Holly looked at her friend with great concern shining in her eyes, Alan huffed a little jealously as he continued driving the horses.
Genki raised up his shirt, revealing the stone embedded in his chest. Holly and the others drew back looking at it in disgust, it looked like it had hurt like hell. "He shoved this r inside of me. It hurts a lot. The energy from it burns me. It looks just like the stones that were under the head of that monster."
"This looks like a good camping site." Alan stopped the wagon as they came to a clearing in the woods. It took only a few moments for most of the group to pile out of the wagon. Mocchi stayed sleeping inside, and Genki looked as though he'd be very comfortable just staying in the hay, and Senki looked equally comfortable with the idea of just staying close to his brother.
"So, can you tell me what's been happening hear?" Genki requested.
"A few months ago Deyarteb and his five followers showed up and then just began to kill massive amounts of people. We learnt from ancient texts that the soul mirror holds the power to defeat something called the 'Legendary monster.' So it should have the power to defeat Deyarteb."
"With the little bit more I was able to translated and according to your story, we have found out that the mirror is a key item in something called the soul ritual, and that the ritual is performed by twins and it has something to do with the legendary monster. Judging by what you have told us I think that the monster that Deyarteb called Slaughterer is actually that ancient monster. I think that he wants to bring about that monsters revival." Colt looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know just what this soul ritual is yet, but it is performed by twins, maybe he brought you both hear to perform that ritual...maybe the ritual is key to reviving it..."
"I refuse to take part in any ritual." Senki whispered. "I just want to go home..."
Genki nodded at his brother. "Me too."
The friends whom knew Genki well exchanged baffled looks. Last time Genki came hear the very thought of going home had been a nightmare now he wanted to go home and they hadn't even been together for a day. It kind of hurt. Didn't he want to be part of the team anymore? Did he abandon their friendship? If so why? Why would he do that?
"Holly, I thought stone was destroyed." He suddenly spoke gesturing towards the magic stone around Holly's neck.
"It was, but when Deyarteb showed up...I had a dream that night of two little girls...twins girls. They held the stone out to me and when I woke up I had it. It no longer points out mystery disks but pieces of the mirror or as it would seem, when...when we're around that negative energy, the kind that was in that village."
"Did you find much of the mirror?"
"Well thanks to you and Senki we now have the power plate and two pieces of the mirror. We had came to the village thinking that there was a mirror there but we were just picking up the one you had."
Genki glanced over at the group, his eyes were cool and calm. He noticed that the others were staring him as with confusion and hurt, wonderment and puzzlement, except for Mocchi whom was still asleep at his side. Holly, Suzo, Mocchi, Tiger, Hare, Golem, and Colt. Pixie was dead. He never thought that he'd see any of them again....he didn't want to see any of them again...
Holly just finished checking the magic stone. "I think that there is a mirror piece three villages from hear. It should not take long at all to get to if we use the wagon."
"Your coming with us right kid?"
"Yeah!" Hare pipped up. "It'll be like old times again!"
'Old times...' Genki repeatedly bitterly to himself but forced a smile. "But of course. I would never miss out on a journey with you guys."
Senki frowned, he did not think that the others had hear it but there had been a venom behind his brothers words and a bitterness to both his smile and eyes. He did not know what was making his brother so angry...it wasn't like him... "Genki, I am glad that your back." Holly smiled at him, believing that his smile had been genuine. "I want you to know that we did look for you and that we never stopped missing you."
"............."
"Well..." She smiled, a little blushed. "I...I just wanted to say, it's nice to have you as part as the team again."
"Hm."
The group settled down for sleep not longer after that, and exhausted by the days events the majority of them quickly feel asleep except for Golem whom took a worried glance at their old friend whom had curled himself up in the hay.
'Clear eyes, no more...' He thought as slowly he too drifted off into sleep.
Holly and the others walked over to the wagon after burying the dead, it was setting on to dusk. They found Genki, Senki, Mocchi and Colt setting in it. Somehow the horses had escaped death yet again. Colt and Senki were conversing, while Genki looked as though he had fallen asleep, Mocchi was cuddled up beside him.
"Hey guys!" Colt called to her friends as she say them approaching. "I translated some more of the ancient text!"
"That's good." Holly wondered over to her, climbing into the back of the wagon.
"It's not much, but listen to this. The soul mirror is the key to the ritual of the soul. There are a few parts hear I can't make out, but it seems to me that the ritual involves both an ancient monster and twin children."
"Twin children?" Hare glanced over at Senki and Genki. "You two were captured by Deyarteb, right?"
"Actually we were brought hear by him." Senki explained. "We were just setting in the park talking when this portal opened up and we were pulled through. We woke up in his dungeon."
"Did he do anything to you?' Tiger took a worried glance over at Genki whom seemed to be having a troubled sleep. Senki glanced over at his brother with a frown.
"Oh... well..."
"When we got to the wagon and Genki wasn't there." Alan began, jumping onto the wagon and began to steer the horses out of the village going down a calm road, everyone looked glad to leave the carnage behind them. They would be stopping for night soon of course, but no one in their right mind would want to sleep in that village. "You said that he couldn't wander far, why is that?"
"Yeah, the Genki we knew had tons of energy to spare." Suzo added. "What happened?"
"Did Deyarteb do something to him?" Hare looked concerned.
'Yes. Well, um, no..." Senki sighed pushing his hands shyly into his lap. 'Well, you see...since Gen-chan got back from this world nearly three years ago he hasn't really been the same. "
"What do you mean?" Holly asked worriedly.
"Well. He took sick, and he never really recovered from it." He told them, but left out the fact that his brother's sickness had been caused by depression. He had a feeling that Genki would not be too happy if he told them that. "His body stayed weak, and just walking has become a great strain on him. The most he can walk for is ten minutes at a very slow pace and even that exhausts him. Mostly he is bed ridden..."
"Oh my god.' Holly put her hands to her mouth alarmed. "That's terrible!"
"Poor kid..." Hare breathed. "That must be a living nightmare for someone like him."
"No wonder he's acting so gloomy."
"I think that is enough to make anyone depressed." Colt looked sympathetic. "Poor Genki..."
"I just can't picture him bed ridden." Tiger looked at Genki with a pained expression. "Do you think it's a disease he caught from our world?"
'No rather because of your world.' Senki found himself bitterly thinking, though he did not think it was *his* thoughts. He took a glance at his sleeping twin. Did Genki feel that way?
"Did anything else happen to him Senie?"
He looked over at Colt whom had been flirting with him for hours, slightly blushed by the nick name. "Well...he kind of stopped...well, he did not like being with other people. He became anti-social, and reclusive. He was bittier to others, but not to me. He always stayed the same with me, but then again...we are twins."
"Sounds like your close." Tiger commented.
"We are. Sometimes we can hear each others thoughts or feel each others feelings. Genki does not mean to be cold, he's just sad. I am sure that deep down he is happy to see you. Maybe he's just embarrassed because he's so sickly."
"So, what did Deyarteb do to you?" Holly asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"After we woke up in the cell, he took Genki down to the bottom of his tower. I did not know what to do, I could not get out of my cell until..."
"What is it?"
"The boy that killed everyone...he came to my cell and opened it. He grabbed my hand and...' Senki looked down at the white stone. "I saw a vision of twins making a silent promise in front of an alter, then I saw one twin laying on the alter. Lots of blood, then a scream, and then one of the twins covered in blood, laughing. He was one of those twins, I don't know if he was the blood covered on or not. When the vision was over, he was gone and this stone was embedded into my hand."
"Hey, now that you mentioned it, Pixie.." Colt choked saying the name of their dead friend. She had told Genki about the death but he did not have that great of a reaction to it. "And I...we saw a boy crying in front of the house apologizing to someone named Rion, then we saw the bloody boy whom looks just like him. I ran from the bloody boy but when I tripped and looked behind me I saw the boy that had been crying standing over me and he whispered the words, soul ritual."
"Didn't you whisper the name Rion when the darkness came?" Alan asked in a slightly accusing tone. He did not seem to like the twins very much, Holly noted with discomfort.
"Yes I did." Senki confessed. "But I don't know why I did. It just popped into my mind."
"Can you tell us what happened to Genki in the tower?" Holly asked quickly before Alan could start something, he looked itching to start a fight.
"I'll tell you." Genki startled them. He sat up, careful not to wake Mocchi. "He dragged me down to a room where there was a huge monster. It was so big that I could only see it's head. Underneath it's head was glowing purple stones, and directly under the mouth was a blood stained alter. The mirror was in the alter. I demanded to know what Deyarteb wanted with us, and what that monster was." Genki's eye brows creased. "He just laughed, and caressed me, telling me to call it slaughterer because it would slaughter everyone when he wakes it up. He tried to convince me to work together with him. Of course I refused but then he..."
"He did what Genki?" Holly looked at her friend with great concern shining in her eyes, Alan huffed a little jealously as he continued driving the horses.
Genki raised up his shirt, revealing the stone embedded in his chest. Holly and the others drew back looking at it in disgust, it looked like it had hurt like hell. "He shoved this r inside of me. It hurts a lot. The energy from it burns me. It looks just like the stones that were under the head of that monster."
"This looks like a good camping site." Alan stopped the wagon as they came to a clearing in the woods. It took only a few moments for most of the group to pile out of the wagon. Mocchi stayed sleeping inside, and Genki looked as though he'd be very comfortable just staying in the hay, and Senki looked equally comfortable with the idea of just staying close to his brother.
"So, can you tell me what's been happening hear?" Genki requested.
"A few months ago Deyarteb and his five followers showed up and then just began to kill massive amounts of people. We learnt from ancient texts that the soul mirror holds the power to defeat something called the 'Legendary monster.' So it should have the power to defeat Deyarteb."
"With the little bit more I was able to translated and according to your story, we have found out that the mirror is a key item in something called the soul ritual, and that the ritual is performed by twins and it has something to do with the legendary monster. Judging by what you have told us I think that the monster that Deyarteb called Slaughterer is actually that ancient monster. I think that he wants to bring about that monsters revival." Colt looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know just what this soul ritual is yet, but it is performed by twins, maybe he brought you both hear to perform that ritual...maybe the ritual is key to reviving it..."
"I refuse to take part in any ritual." Senki whispered. "I just want to go home..."
Genki nodded at his brother. "Me too."
The friends whom knew Genki well exchanged baffled looks. Last time Genki came hear the very thought of going home had been a nightmare now he wanted to go home and they hadn't even been together for a day. It kind of hurt. Didn't he want to be part of the team anymore? Did he abandon their friendship? If so why? Why would he do that?
"Holly, I thought stone was destroyed." He suddenly spoke gesturing towards the magic stone around Holly's neck.
"It was, but when Deyarteb showed up...I had a dream that night of two little girls...twins girls. They held the stone out to me and when I woke up I had it. It no longer points out mystery disks but pieces of the mirror or as it would seem, when...when we're around that negative energy, the kind that was in that village."
"Did you find much of the mirror?"
"Well thanks to you and Senki we now have the power plate and two pieces of the mirror. We had came to the village thinking that there was a mirror there but we were just picking up the one you had."
Genki glanced over at the group, his eyes were cool and calm. He noticed that the others were staring him as with confusion and hurt, wonderment and puzzlement, except for Mocchi whom was still asleep at his side. Holly, Suzo, Mocchi, Tiger, Hare, Golem, and Colt. Pixie was dead. He never thought that he'd see any of them again....he didn't want to see any of them again...
Holly just finished checking the magic stone. "I think that there is a mirror piece three villages from hear. It should not take long at all to get to if we use the wagon."
"Your coming with us right kid?"
"Yeah!" Hare pipped up. "It'll be like old times again!"
'Old times...' Genki repeatedly bitterly to himself but forced a smile. "But of course. I would never miss out on a journey with you guys."
Senki frowned, he did not think that the others had hear it but there had been a venom behind his brothers words and a bitterness to both his smile and eyes. He did not know what was making his brother so angry...it wasn't like him... "Genki, I am glad that your back." Holly smiled at him, believing that his smile had been genuine. "I want you to know that we did look for you and that we never stopped missing you."
"............."
"Well..." She smiled, a little blushed. "I...I just wanted to say, it's nice to have you as part as the team again."
"Hm."
The group settled down for sleep not longer after that, and exhausted by the days events the majority of them quickly feel asleep except for Golem whom took a worried glance at their old friend whom had curled himself up in the hay.
'Clear eyes, no more...' He thought as slowly he too drifted off into sleep.