(Dew): So Mia's caught in her own mind, right?
(Char): And... the others are either caught in battle or wandering.
(Dew): But Mia's caught in her own mind...
(Char): My drama-sense is tingling...
Hey! Watch the copyright infringements.
(Char): Hehe... sorry!
(Dew): ...Char was nice? And apologized?
Yeah, I'm freaked out, too... let's move on before something really weird happens...
Review Responses
Jupiter Sprite: Yeah, it's all fun and games until someone gets triple punished, hmm?
Midnight C: Apologies accepted, although scarcely necessary [smiley face, as Omniflyer grumbles at for removing emoticons], and the reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the sensory details point though... I've always been a more dialogue-based author, I think, so that seems like as good a place as any to start working at. With any luck, you should see a difference in this chapter.
Akachi: [intercepts the sugar] NO! Sugar is baaaaaad for Dew. Makes him crazy and gives him a British accent! ...don't try!!
Fire Dragons: Mia's not really... psychotic... just kinda... mad. Kinda very, very mad. Which, I suppose, can be the same thing...
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Feizhi sat perched on a rock, meditating on the strange events occurring to them and daintily brushing a strand of purple hair away from her face. The last few days had gone by so fast, and yet more had happened to them in that small stretch of time than any other she could think of. Though her outward appearance would suggest exceptional tranquility, it belied the turbulence of her mind as she struggled to gather her thoughts.
"Sean," she said after a half-hour of her self-induced soundlessness, "what do you make of it?" Sean blinked and stared at her, head slightly tilted with confusion. He folded his arms across his chest.
"About what?"
Feizhi gripped her staff nervously and fidgeted on her rock. "About... well, I'm not sure. About everything, I suppose." Sean nodded knowingly.
"I am confused about a lot of things, as well," he said slowly. "We have had much happen to us, but very few answers to explain it." He picked up a stick and started absent-mindedly drawing figures in the dirt, as though using it to sort out his own thoughts.
"What still bothers me is the sabotages," Feizhi admitted, furrowing her brow deeply. "I cannot understand how perfectly they were set. I'm positive that it was no one in our group, as myself, Ivan and Sheba have all ensured at least that much through mind reading." Sean moved uncomfortably, opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "Perhaps Shalex..."
Sean stopped drawing and started poking at the ground, instead. "I... can't remember."
"Hmm?" Feizhi mumbled by way of response.
"The sabotages. I can't remember any thing that happened before them," Sean confessed cautiously. "I can remember being there with you when we discovered them, but... nothing before them." He traced slower with the stick, as though his own conscience was slowly wearing down his mobility.
Feizhi shook her head as though to shake out a lack of understanding, and replied, "I'm confused... You shouldn't remember the boat incident, you were asleep. And-"
"And I should remember the carriage incident as we were all awake," Sean interrupted. "I can remember loading something onto the carriage, then going to get another bag to load, but then the next thing I remember is being on the carriage with you..." Feizhi clasped her hands together in thought, weighing all options and possibilities as only Jupiter Adepts can do. Finally, she sighed heavily and gazed gently at Sean, trying to avoid any gestures of incrimination.
"I wouldn't be too concerned about it," she said slowly. "After all, exceptionally traumatic events have a tendency to remove themselves from your mind, partially or totally. I should assume you've just forgotten it. Jupiter knows I'd like to," she muttered. She was about to continue, but the sudden sound of footsteps approaching from past a thick grove of trees that covered a bend in the path cut her off prematurely. Sean smiled.
"Good, you're back! We haven't heard from the Keunamians yet," Sean called out to Ivan and Sheba, but quickly turned to Feizhi before they approached closer. He lowered his voice and whispered to Feizhi, "I don't think that's it... I think I was-" Sean cut himself off at the sight of a unit of 10 Keunam Fighters appearing around the bend from behind the trees. "...not talking to Ivan and Sheba," he whispered. Feizhi swallowed and nodded.
"Can we help you?" she asked smoothly, running a hand quickly through her hair to try and look casual and calm. Sean tilted his body sideways to attempt making himself look smaller and less intimidating while slowly reaching his other hand for his sword.
"That depends," replied a woman smoothly, who seemed extremely comfortable with confrontation. She was wearing a blue ribbon to hold back relatively short blonde hair, and had a blue uniform with tall black boots. Her eyes were a deep, deep blue, so deep it felt as though every glance was one deep into your soul. Feizhi had no doubt she was an Adept as well, and Jupiter, at that. "Are you Sean?" Sean glanced at Feizhi, who merely gripped her staff tighter.
"Who's asking?" he grinned casually. The woman was not amused, and some of the others frowned heavily.
"I am Assistant-Commander Loretta, direct subordinate of Sir Mokol," she said importantly, drawing herself up to her full height and waiting for Sean to shrink in awe. She would be waiting a long while.
"I see. Is there something I can actually do for you, or are you just walking around trying to impress random people with your outrageously long title?" Sean replied sarcastically. She scowled.
"As a matter of fact, I have a message for you from Sir Mokol," she countered bitingly. She looked at one of the others and nodded towards Sean. He walked forward, handed Sean a letter and returned to his place.
"Read it aloud, Sean," Feizhi asked politely. He nodded assent.
"'Dear Ivan, Sheba, Sean and Feizhi,' Oh, that's nice, we're last..." he muttered.
"Just read it," Feizhi said, disregarding his complaints. Sean sighed.
"'Dear...' yadda, yadda... 'Thank you kindly for your efforts regarding the Keunam Fighters. However, we regret to inform you that your inability to foresee events, such as the ability of fellow Jupiter Adepts to Mind Read as you are scheming in their presence, has led to our decision to release you from our ranks. Consider yourselves fired.
'In addition, for attempting to scheme against the great Keunam Fighter Order and for previously working with non-Jupiter aligned heathens and continually showing devotion to the aforementioned heathens, Assistant-Commander Loretta and her unit will now oversee your deaths.
'Have a nice day.' Sonuva...!"
"So," Feizhi said, with no change of emotion," we are to be executed for our choice of friends, then?" Loretta grinned and brandished a long lance. The others behind her drew various weapons as well, some swords, some short daggers, and one brandished a shining axe.
"This is war. If you can't handle that, die," she said simply, preparing to advance. Sean drew his sword into a defensive stance, while Feizhi lifted her staff.
"We shall not die without a fight!" she cried. "Shine Plasma!" Arcs of lighting bolted from the tip of her staff and shot toward Loretta. She grinned, and deftly raised her lance.
"That's all? Deflection!" she cried, forming a Psynergetic barrier around her and her troops by waving her lance in a wide defensive arc before her. The attack bounced harmlessly off the barrier and crashed into Sean, dropping him heavily to the ground with a grunt.
"Sean!" Feizhi cried as he hit the ground, still lightly sparking with electricity. Loretta waved off her troops to signal them not to move and advanced on Feizhi menacingly, eyes flashing.
"Aww," she smiled, voice absolutely dripping sarcasm, "is the poor little traitor in trouble? Is she all alone?" Feizhi held her staff defensively, but Loretta started stabbing while staying at a fair distance, making it difficult for Feizhi to counter-attack.
"I will never surrender... not to you..." she answered simply between breaths, dodging the flurry of stabs. She shifted to the right of one stab, then danced to the left of another. As she dodged left, she clutched the lance under her arm, then spun clockwise to wrench it from Loretta's grasp. She was successful, but as she was facing away from Loretta, the Assistant-Commander quickly drew a light dagger and inserted it squarely in the centre of her back. Feizhi screamed in pain, and dropped to the ground, unmoving.
"Silly girl," Lorette answered, shaking her head. "You don't need to surrender when you can just simply... die. Troops," she said, raising her right arm for a moment to gain their attention and then lowering it as she ordered, "kill."
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'Sheba... I am here, Sheba...'
Sheba whisked around, jerking at the sound in her head. She grabbed onto Ivan for support as her knees felt like they would give way from the shock. He looked at her worriedly, eyes wide in surprise..
"Sheba? What's wrong?" Sheba stared back at her with unsure eyes, trembling ever so slightly. She moved to sit and he guided her gently to the ground. She took deep breaths to steady herself, but for whatever reason, solace wasn't coming to her easily.
"I... I don't know," she answered cautiously. "I just... heard something. I could swear I heard something in my... my mind." Ivan took her hand for support and tried to keep her as still as possible, but he was having a hard time keeping her from shaking.
"What did you hear?" he asked, exceedingly concerned. She shook her head.
"I thought... I thought I heard a voice from long ago. A voice I would never hear again..." Ivan tilted his head slightly and furrowed his brow, confused.
"Why don't we just wait here for a while, until we're sure you're okay?" he asked. "I think you should take it easy. It could be that a world full of Jupiter Psynergy is just... overwhelming you." She shook her head and tried to stand.
"No, I think I'll be okay," she smiled. "Thanks, but we should get back to Sean and Feizhi, in case something's wrong." Ivan didn't move.
"I'm sure they'll be okay. I can guarantee you nothing's wrong there right now," he replied, knowing full well that she was looking right through his guarantee. "I'm more concerned about you."
"But-" she began, but Ivan shook his head.
"You are my priority here. They will be okay." Sheba simply smiled and rested her head back on his shoulder and he held her closer.
"Thanks... That does make me feel a little better," she smiled. She took Ivan's hand and slowly stoked her thumb across the side of his forefinger.
"Whatever happens, we'll face it together, Sheba, right?" Ivan asked, returning her warmth.
"Definitely," she answered. She moved in closer to kiss him.
'Sheba! I'm here, Sheba!'
Sheba jerked back and would have fallen completely if Ivan hadn't caught her so quickly. He gazed at her with extreme concern in his eyes.
"What's wrong?!" he burst. "Are you okay?!"
"That... that voice... again..."
Suddenly Sheba found herself back on her feet, lifted either under her own power or some other's so quickly that Ivan was knocked back from the sheer force of it. She approached the Shrine door, but pulled back and gazed in the opposite direction, so the shrine was to her back. Looking at thin air, she started reaching for something that was not there, or at least, Ivan could not see.
"Sheba? Sheba!" he cried, now well past the normal limits of concern. "What's wrong?! What do you see?!"
But Sheba was so lost in herself that she was scarcely hearing him. She simply reached out to open air. To a woman that was hovering in the air, glowing pure white as an angel.
To a woman named Leia.
"...mommy...?"
- - - - -
"Ragnarok!" Felix cried, stabbing right through Shalex with a sword of pure Venus Psynergy, interrupting his duel with the Lemurian. Shalex flinched, but appeared no worse for the wear.
He growled. "That was just bothersome. Lose Hope!" Dark threads of Psynergy reached toward Felix and surrounded him, choking him and sapping his strength. Jenna noted Felix uncharacteristically not struggling in the midst of the attack, as though his will to succeed had been syphoned out of him.
"Felix! Snap out of it!" Jenna cried, hoping to reach her brother. A glimmer shined in his eyes for a second, but it was soon replaced by blackness and he collapsed limp to the ground. "No!"
"Jenna, stay focused!" Garet cried out. "I know its hard, but we have to worry about Shalex first! Felix is tough, he'll be okay," he reasoned, trying to spur Jenna on. She nodded and refocused on attacking. She waved her staff before her quickly and called up her reserves of Mars Psynergy.
"Dragon Fume!" she cried, launching streams of fire at Shalex. He called up waves of water and doused them before they struck. Hoping to catch him off-guard, Picard sheathed his sword and focused on concentrating Psynergy to his hand.
"Diamond-"
Shalex spun and blasted black Psynergy toward him. "Wrench Mind!" Picard stumbled and the light gathered to his hands dimmed to nothingness. He dropped to his knees and clawed at his head. Garet noticed.
"Picard, what's wrong with you?" he cried of concern. Picard strugged to answer.
"I can't... my spells, I've forgotten... I can't remember... my head...!" he stumbled as he clutched his head, collapsing to a twitching mess on the ground. Garet gripped his sword tighter and caught Jenna's attention.
"He can attack your mind directly, Jenna, be careful!" he cried, moving his sword to a defensive position to deflect shards of rock sent his way by Shalex. Jenna nodded her understanding. Shalex just growled at Garet.
"Let her figure it out for herself, oaf," Shalex rumbled at him. "Offering advice is scarcely fair when it's 2-on-1!" Garet simply chuckled, trying to show much more confidence than he felt.
"I thought you were a demi-god. What's fair compared to you?" he posed, maintaining his guard and trying to trick Shalex into dropping his. Shalex just grinned and gathered Psynergy again.
"Fair is your death. Soulscouring!" Garet cried out in pain as he felt the very depths of his being wracked with painful white light that ripped though him over and over again. Jenna cried out to him, but Garet couldn't hear her over his own screaming and the horrible ringing in his ears.
"How..." Garet gasped, falling to his knees when the attack subsided. "How many new spells do you know...?" Jenna ran over and quickly began to cast Cool Aura.
"More than enough," Shalex laughed, noting opportunity calling. "False Cure!" A black aura surrounded Garet, and when the Cool Aura of healing from Jenna touched Garet, the healing Psynergy turned offensive, ripping his body and dropping him into unconsciousness.
"Garet!" Jenna cried, horrified at the sight of her own abilities crushing her beloved. Shalex just laughed and rushed her, kicking her staff away and whipping black Psynergy at her.
"Oh, look. He's dead, and it's your fault. Lose hope!" Shalex laughed, wrapping Jenna in the same attack that engulfed Felix. Jenna muttered 'no' to herself several times, and only barely managed to note Garet's steady, but shallow, breathing, before succumbing to the darkness as well. Shalex looked over the battlefield and noted all the Adepts had fallen.
"How boring," he muttered to no one in particular. "They can't even stand against one little Adept. How weak are they?" He moved over to Mia, and lifted her hand gently. "Ah, dear, dear Mia..." He kissed the back of her hand and ran his hand through her hair slowly. "You are, so, so beautiful, still. It's a shame you will die..."
He shrugged and grinned. "Oh, well. There'll be others." He drew a small dagger from a pocket at his side and was poised to thrust it to her heart, but hesitated. "I think... I'd rather this be more interesting." He sheathed the dagger, and waved a hand over her face. "I think it's time to see what you're thinking... Mind Read!"
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(Char) I really hate him.
(Dew): I know. Shalex sucks.
(Char): Not Shalex. Omniflyer.
(Dew): Him, too.
...wonderful.
(Char): I think this can be counted as another triple cliff, can't it?
(Dew): Feizhi and Sean about to die, Sheba going crazy, and Mia's mind about to be intruded upon.
(Char): Yup. Triple.
(Dew): You know what this calls for.
(Char): [hands Dew a bag of sugar]
(Dew): Good times.
...umm... To the rest of you, please review. Sometime before I die at the hands of Dew... this is not good.