Disclaimer: DL and anything recognizable is not mine.
A/N: This will be my last chapter in this story. While I'm not too happy with middle bits, I think I've found proper closure to it. Thank you to my reviewers—you all have given me good comments (helpful and constructive and ego-boosting!). As a final review, I was wondering if you guys would think back over my story and comment upon the content, where the story went, what you liked/ didn't like, etc; just a general all-over review. It would be very helpful in cleaning up this work and also in my future endeavors. Thank you, again!!
Ch 12: I Want Him
What was supposed to only take a couple of hours over lunch, ended up in taking up the remainder of the working day. Ariana emerged from the conference room at six p.m. fairly exhausted. About five hours of talking and wheedling and coming close to bickering, an agreement of sorts had been arranged. There were more meetings lined up for the week, all were vital in the steps of corporate takeover. For a small group of underground scientists, the Ozman Corporation was not to be taken lightly.
There was paperwork to be done for tomorrow, rereading the agreement, reevaluating the promises and points made, then a report to be filed to the 'powers that be' of the Centre. Adjustments would be made tomorrow to fit everyone's liking and the whole process would continue—that is if the changes were appropriate. If someone felt like their toes were being crushed well before they needed to be, tempers would flare and there would be several meetings of consolation.
Thoughts of Raistlin were pushed to the back of her mind. If she even dared to think about him for two minutes she would fall behind in her paperwork for tomorrow and that could potentially screw up their relations with the Ozman Corporation. Needless to say, if that happened, she would probably die. Family or not, they needed little excuse to kill her. It was nice to be loved.
By the time she was done with everything she had just enough time to run home and grab a fresh set of clothes, eat a little, and come back for another grueling day. She made her way down the hall to where her cousin's office was. At this early hour she figured Alysa would either still be in, or would have arrived early for a new day. Alysa took after her mother and grandfather—they were both workaholics and practically lived at the Centre.
As expected, Alysa was still there, zoning out in front of her computer to what sounded like a game of War Craft-- the telltale signs that she had pulled another all-nighter. Ari knocked at the doorframe, startling the young woman.
Bright blue eyes flashed from the computer screen to meet hers. "What?" Alysa snapped, turning back to her computer as sounds of a battle raged on.
"Can I borrow your car? I need to get home and change." Ari leaned wearily against the frame of the door. She didn't know how Alysa could function on only a couple hours of sleep that were probably spent on the couch in her office.
The young woman snorted and pushed her shoulder-length honey blond hair out of her eyes, "Yeah, no problem. I won't need it until tonight."
"Trust me, I won't need it for that long. It looks like another long day ahead."
"Ozmans, eh?"
"Unfortunately," Ari righted herself and stepped forward to claim the keys.
"I don't know what we're thinking. It's not like we don't have enough people here doing research." Alysa sighed, standing up to rummage in her skirt pocket for her keys. Alysa was much taller than Ariana, standing at about 5' 8" where Ariana was only about 4' 5".
"They're fresh blood. Besides, I don't think the Centre can turn from a potential conquest." She took the proffered keys, "Thanks. I'll see you in an hour or so." Ari gave her cousin a quick hug before heading home.
The short reprieve was a welcome one as were the subsequent ones that occasionally occurred that week. Ari was kept busy enough to prevent her from doing much thinking other than her case and clients. Negotiations proved to be difficult and only eased up with the final day of talking. Both sides were content with the agreement and showed their approval with a celebratory dinner.
Ariana was expected to attend, and show up she did, but she managed to slip away before things got too terribly roaring drunk. There was really no need for her to remain and she figured no one would miss her after a couple of rounds with the wine bottle. Since the dinner was held in one of the banquet rooms in the Centre, she went to visit her father who lived on the lower levels.
They had a proper room for him there, where the staff could keep an eye on him though she knew she would find him in the air ducts of the subbasements. It was his favorite place to be and somewhere where she felt safe and secure. She had practically grown up in the air ducts of the Centre and learned about the company while observing its most powerful people through the vents, listening to secrets she had been too young to comprehend.
She slipped off her high-heeled shoes, her favorites for they increased her stature a few inches, and climbed onto a chair so that she could reach one of the air vent grails. She slipped it out of the wall and hoisted herself up into the metal passageway. From the map in her mind, she knew that she was only a few minutes away from where the vents opened up into a kind of chamber where her father would surely be.
As foreseen, he was there, curly auburn hair bent over a bit of cardboard in his hands. It was a crackerjack box that had been disassembled and was not in the process of being reassembled into a small chair.
"Hi, Daddy," Ari called out softly as she slipped into the 'room'.
He glanced up, a long smile spreading across his face. "Pretty," he told her.
"Thanks, I cut it when I was on vacation. Officially, I'm not supposed to be back yet, but they needed me, and since I was here I thought I'd say 'hello' to you." She sat down next to him. "How's the doll house furniture going?"
Angelo gestured to a low shelf that contained a nearly complete set of dining room chairs and long table, several kitchen appliances and two complete furnishings for bedrooms. They were all neatly painted and looked exactly like a small duplicate of what they were supposed to be.
"Hey, you're getting there. I should help you when I get back. I've got to go and say goodbye... or something. Maybe I'll stay there longer. I'm not sure. It depends on, um, things," she shifted slightly, a little uncomfortable of saying too much. Ari wasn't sure how much he really understood some of the things she wanted to talk about. Her grandfather would psychoanalyze her, should she bring up her concerns, which left her cousin to talk to. That would happen after everything played itself out.
Her father took her hand in his larger one, "Confused happy?"
"And then some," Ari responded. She looked up at him, "I'll get through it. That's why I'm going back. Then I can be one thing and be content with it." At his furrowed brow, she reassured him, "I'll be fine. It's just a 'boy thing'."
He nodded, patting her hand gently.
"Well, I'll leave you to your work. I've got to go before he thinks I've ditched him for good." Ari leaned over and kissed his warm cheek. "Love you,"
She had barely closed up the grate before she yanked out the slip of a note that Raistlin had given her earlier and crumpled it. A little flutter of anticipation surfaced in her stomach as she was whisked out of the hallway, eyes tightly shut. It felt like her bones were being pulled from her skin while there was a fierce wind whistling in her ears and chilling her to the bone. As soon as the sensations stopped, she tumbled to the ground in an undignified heap.
"You!" gasped a voice behind her. Ari stood, dusting off her cream colored suit and turned around to find Dalamar, pale as death and propped up in a chair.
"Hi. Is Raistlin here? He gave me this little paper to crumble that would take me to him but I guess it didn't work, because I don't see him."
"Where he is you cannot follow," Dalamar replied gravely. "Now move, you will block his return."
"Wha—"she began, but was pulled away into a corner by Tarrant; he had been lurking there from the beginning.
At her protest, he hushed her, "Quiet. You've been gone for a long time. Things have changed."
"A week—"
"No, quite a few months, actually. Now close your mouth so that I can explain." Tarrant leaned down and began to whisper the account, so as not to disturb the waiting mage. "I am here to aid Raistlin, should he re-enter Krynn." No sooner had he spoken those words, than Caramon stepped through the portal in front of Dalamar. Tanis leapt from the shadows to take the woman from Caramon's arms and allow the warrior to move unhindered.
It seemed to happen in slow motion, what happened next. When given time to reflect upon it later, Ari would compare it to a cheesy moment in a movie when everything was slowed down to accentuate the supposed drama. Later, she would laugh, but for the present, all she could do was watch the events in horror. Someone was yelling for Caramon to close the portal as an enormous hand was reaching towards it. No Raistlin, just a malevolent hand. She began to struggle to do something, drew in a breath to protest, but Tarrant's cold hand clamped over her mouth and one steel arm wound around her shoulders, making movement impossible. All she could do was watch with sinking despair as Caramon held up Raistlin's staff to close the portal on his twin.
The lights from the portal went out with such a suddenness that little after-images glowed in everyone's vision. It took a minute for wounded eyes to adjust to the scant candles dimly lit.
Ari's struggles were growing fainter as the realization of what had happened sunk in. The tears on her cheeks were scalding in comparison to the cold hand still on her face. As soon as Tarrant released her, she choked out, "Is he coming back?"
"No. He had sacrificed himself so that Krynn would be safe from the Dark Queen," Dalamar intoned gravely, rising with the help of Caramon.
"You can't open that door-thing again?"
Everyone looked at her in silence.
"Well... how can I get to him?"
"Only the gods can reach him now," Tanis mumbled, shifting the woman he held into a more comfortable position. Ari supposed this was Lady Chrysania.
"Where is the nearest temple then?" she persisted.
"There is one, outside of the Grove in the city, but it will most likely be in ruin. A battle has been raging," the dark elf informed her, moving out of the room with Caramon.
Ari took up Tarrant's hand, "Come on, then. Magic us to the temple."
He looked coldly down on her, "Us?"
She glanced up at him, gathering up her nerve to continue to hold his hand. "Yes, 'us'. You helped get him into this mess, what with all of your scheming, so you can help get him out. All I want you to do is help me find this temple, then you can go back to whatever world you came from."
He thought a moment. He had promised not to turn on Raistlin until their mission was accomplished. Seeing as how their plan had failed, he wasn't sure if his oath was still viable, but if it was, he had better go along and try to help Ari. A promise was a promise after all.
They looked around at the ruin that surrounded them. Ari eyed the crumbled building in front of her skeptically, "Are you sure this is the temple? Everything looks the same to me."
Tarrant nodded. "Of course. I can feel the energy coming off of it, which means that this is no building like the rest. Go on and see if there's an altar or something inside."
"You're not coming with me?"
"I... can't. It won't let me. Apparently, this is a temple dedicated to the gods of good. I happen to be evil. Even in its ruined state the temple is guarded against me."
"Oh. Pity. Well, wait out here for me, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, she ducked into the wrecked building. Around her there were dirty white-robed figures picking up the large pieces of pottery, sweeping the debris, and gathering together to pray. Off of the corridor she found several rooms that had not collapsed completely. In the second one she looked into she found what she was looking for.
Once a marvelous, complete piece of marble, the altar was now reduced to a shadow of its former beauty. Large chunks of the carved marble were gone and most of the carefully carved figures were missing appendages of some sort. A massive crack ran down the middle, spider-veining into little troublesome tributaries. It was before this that she knelt, heedless of the filth and dust around her.
"Look," she whispered, feeling quite a bit foolish, "this isn't how I talk to my god, but you guys are a lot more interactive with your people, so I figured this is the best way to do it. I don't know if you hang around your alters, waiting for people to talk to you, or if you're the omniscient kind or what, but I'm going to give it my best go." Ari paused. "You know, you would make this a whole lot easier if you'd just talk back a little."
She got to her feet and dug around in her pocket; finding a safety pin, she dug it into the palm of her hand. The blood that trickled from the wound she smeared on the top of the altar. When no more blood came she made gash after gash in other places, keeping up a steady flow of her fluid. "I hope this gets your attention because I don't know how long I can keep this up. Maybe if I'm here long enough you will hear my prayers. I want Raistlin Majere. I will take him back with me. He will never disturb you again. I will keep him safe and secure. Just end this needless absence from life. He is too full of potential and dreams for you to take him away. Let him live a little longer." She swayed a little bit, made dizzy by watching her blood leave her.
"Do you hear me?! Answer me!" Ariana screamed, "I will not leave until something happens. I will stand here until I fall, and when I fall I will lie here until I die. Even in my death will I plague you with my decomposing body; you will have killed an innocent. If you don't believe me, wait around. I will be here forever until you speak to me and give me what I desire. You don't know me, and I don't know you. Just give me what I want and I will bother you no longer." She continued to furiously gouge her hands until she felt a warm darkness tinge her vision. It was really amazing, she thought, to float so gently to the ground. She didn't even feel her forehead strike the bloody crumbled altar, though it did make such pretty colors that faded to white in her delirium.
The white didn't fade away to blackness, but remained white and grew even brighter, if such a thing was possible.
"She's made a mess on my alter, as if my clerics weren't busy enough cleaning the rest of the temple. It had better not stain," grumped an older man's voice.
"Hush, dearest," replied a woman's soft voice. "She did what she thought was best. It did get your attention."
Ari blinked a couple of times, but the whiteness would not go away. She sat up and beheld a chamber not unlike the one she had just been in. The difference was that this room was how it must have looked before it was ruined. Everything was pristine and white except for the altar where a man and a woman were standing; it was drenched scarlet. Ari looked down at her hands. They were whole, without a trace of a wound. She looked back up and found them looking at her.
"Well, we're listening now. What do you have to say for yourself?" the man demanded.
As much as she focused on him, she could not decide what he looked like. One minute he appeared an aged man, the next a young warrior. The woman beside him also fluctuated in appearance. "I want him, please, sir."
"Now she asks politely," the man raved to no one in particular. "What would you do with him, little girl?"
"I would love him and take care of him. I would make sure he didn't come back to Krynn to bother you."
"How would you do that?"
"Any way that I could manage, sir. I don't really know." She stood up to face the couple.
"I don't see the harm," the woman said to her companion. "We could seal Krynn from her world and insure that he never finds his way back. Let him have this, he did save the world."
"He would have conquered it if he could have," the man argued.
"Please? Do it for her, love," she coaxed. At his assent, the woman took Ari by the hand and guided her to another room. This room was just as white as the last one, and plain, save for the four-poster bed in the middle. Under the covers slumbered Raistlin. His golden skin was gone, restored to a human pallor, but his hair remained bone white. A small smile touched his lips, one that had rarely been seen by any. He seemed at peace.
"Would you disturb his rest?" the woman asked, softly.
Ari brushed her fingers across his cheek. "I would. This inactivity does not do him justice. His mind is so sharp and alive, he needs to be conscious."
"I do not know if he will appreciate being banished from his world to stay with you."
"He needs to live. If he does not choose to live with me, then I will not force him to. I will help him find living and then leave him, should he desire it. I really believe this is the best course." She sat on the edge of the bed and gathered the sleeping mage into her arms.
"As you wish. I will send the two of you immediately."
"Wait. There is a man outside your temple waiting for me. Can he come, too?"
"Do you always take in strays?" the woman asked, bemused.
"He's been so helpful to me. I wouldn't feel right abandoning him like this."
The woman smiled. "Good luck to you."
The white faded down into gray. The familiar gray of the Centre walls. Home.