back from the dead
I'm back. Holy shit, I'm back. After just over two months of dormancy on this fic, I was finally able to punch out a nine-page chapter. You see, the first and second pages took me two months to write, and I spent the other three days writing the other seven. Hopefully, my lull hasn't affected the quality of my writing that much. But I'll leave that decision up to you.
And now for the review responses. Thank you for reviewing. I hope you recommend.
Great Saiyaman: You are quite welcome. And thank you about the names, I try to think of names that are unique, not that common. It wouldn't be too great if I named them Fred, Ted, Ned, and Jed. Not very convincing.
BlackDemon567: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. enjoy this one!
khmerboi919: You'll find out what his element is. And I don't know if the missing characters get a POV, but they definitely get some dialogue.
Anime-Master7: I can. I hope you like this chapter.
NintendoGamer: I thought that's what you meant, I just wasn't sure. Thanks for clearing that up. And the news is very depressing. But I still watch and listen to it anyway. Enjoy this chapter!
Ssonic: Now let's not start that again. And the bill will be high, trust me.
RalKirGard: I've seen you around from time to time. Thanks for checking this out. Here's another chapter for you.
0==l=R=a=g=n=a=r=o=k=: The Phillipines . . . mm. And this was a very . . . um, spiritual review. Thank you for telling me I'm good at what I do. An evil guy in a tuxedo? Maybe in a parody, but not here, I can assure you . . . Enjoy this chapter.
Lord isacc: Hey moon man. I'm glad you like my stuff. And I have a few cats myself, and my geckos have learned to get along with cats. So don't worry. They'll stay away.
Dragoon knight: Hey you're back! Great! Well, read on and find out. I hope you like it.
dragons tear: Well, I've never rendered anybody speechless with writing before . . . maybe I'm better than I think I am. Anyways, I'm glad you like my work, and the pairings. Enjoy this chapter!
Well, that was quite a few reviews. Anyway, onto chapter 5!
Chapter 5: Rescue Piers, Part I
Boring.
That was the one word that could describe, in full, what the ride down the interstate from Seattle was. Both Solaris and Garet had tried to sleep on the way down, but to no avail. They were not used to the sound of cars roaring by on the lanes opposite, or the bumps as they went over bridges, or the blare of the driver's rap music. No, they were used to the subtle, yet soothing sounds of crickets chirping, or of the wind rustling through trees in the fall.
All this was alien to them, and Garet didn't like it one bit. It was not his way. He was a simple man. A bit dim, but always appreciating the uniqueness of nature. On Weyard, this was evident. Nature was all around. Nature talked to him.
But not here. Nature was ignored, stomped down, tossed aside for these new technologies. The road system, the cars, the noise . . . in Garet's opinion, they distracted from the uniqueness nature and the environment had to offer.
"We'll be in Portland soon," said the driver. "Any place in particular that you wanted to go?"
"We need to think about it for a minute," said Solaris immediately. Garet looked at him.
"What for?" he asked.
"Well, we need to find some way of narrowing down where Piers might have ended up in Portland. It's the largest city in this Oregon, and it's going to be difficult as it is."
"Then what should we do?" asked Garet, thinking hard.
"Well, we should probably ask the driver for some popular destinations in Portland," said Solaris slowly. "That might help."
Garet turned to the driver. "Hey, where's a popular place in Portland?"
"Don't ask me," said the driver rudely. "I normally drive in Seattle. I hardly ever come out this way."
Garet looked at Solaris, torn between disdain for the way the driver was acting and worriment at the fact that the driver was, basically, just as clueless as they were about Portland. Solaris had his head in his hands. Garet couldn't tell whether he was exasperated or just thinking even more deeply than before.
"Well then, drop us off once we get inside the city limits," said Solaris. "We'll be able to go from there."
"Fine," said the driver shortly, and he sped up, cranking up that horrid music blaring from the radio.
Garet and Solaris stared out the window, watching tall building after tall building go by. It was much prettier than what they saw of Seattle, actually. Trees were scattered here and there, and bushes grew along the sides of the roads. It was still fast-paced and somewhat polluted, but not nearly as bad as Seattle was.
All of a sudden, the traffic started to slow down. Traffic jam, the driver said, swearing under his breath. At one point, the car wasn't moving at all. Both Solaris and Garet were looking out the window, wringing their hands slightly with anxiety. The longer this traffic jam lasted, the harder it would be to locate Piers.
Eventually though, the traffic thinned as they headed on, though the time dragged on for the taxi's two passengers. They passed billboard after billboard advertising everything from lotion to motels to wallets. The dots between the digital clock on the front panel of the taxi seemed to blink more slowly than they did on the way down.
Then Garet was struck with an idea. "Hey. Piers seemed to like books a lot."
"Yes, he did," said Solaris slowly.
"But what if that was just a coincidence?" asked Garet.
"Well, we have nothing else to go on," said Solaris. "Hey. Is there anyplace in Portland with books?"
"How should I know?" snorted the driver. "I'm a Seattle cab."
"I've had enough of this," muttered Solaris. "This guy's an asshole."
"Let us off at the next stop," said Garet, after silently agreeing.
"Right," said the driver. "We're coming up on it now."
The cab pulled up on a curb, and stopped. The driver demanded his money, and Garet gave it do him just before the driver turned around and sped off. Garet and Solaris began to walk down the sidewalk, soon after the driver left. They watched the other passerby warily, trying to catch any word of where they might be.
"This is pointless," said Garet.
"We should get another taxi," said Solaris thoughtfully. "If it's local, I'm sure the driver knows where a bookstore is."
"Well . . . okay," said Garet after awhile. "But if he's like that last driver, I'm gonna give him and his car a taste of my Pyroclasm."
"No. Remember what the Wise One said about Psynergy in this world," Solaris warned. "We can't do anything about it except mention it to him."
"Here comes one now," said Garet, flagging down a passing taxi.
The taxi stopped and Garet and Solaris climbed in. The driver of this cab was a woman, which surprised them slightly. They figured it'd be another man.
"Are there any good bookstores here?" asked Solaris politely.
"Oh of course!" she said just as politely. "Powell's books just up the road from here. It's one of the largest bookstores in the country."
"Great," said Solaris. "Please take us there."
"Okay then!" she said, and they drove off.
They were in the car for no less than five minutes, at which time the driver shared some information with them on the city. Garet and Solaris listened to her talk about the different sports teams, that Portland was the largest city in the state, and that it was a popular spot for tourists.
By the time she had finished explaining the city to the, they were at the place where they needed to be. The bookstore was huge, they could tell already. Thanking and paying the driver, they walked into the bookstore.
Looking around, they noticed a shelf which was full of maps of the bookstore. Garet walked forward and took one. He opened it and saw that the bookstore was indeed as big as the taxi driver had described it. It covered a whole city block and was four stories tall. This was going to make things a bit difficult, assuming they were in the right place to begin with.
"Okay," said Solaris, looking around and sighing. "I say we meet back here in fifteen minutes. We'll search the first floor first, and then go up to do the second, and so on."
"Right," said Garet.
They split off and searched the whole of the first floor, but there was no sign of Piers. So they took the stairs to the second floor. He wasn't there either. Then, they made their way up to the third floor, where they noticed a place in the store that looked promising.
"The rare books room," said Garet and Solaris together.
"If he's not there, than I don't know where he could be," said Solaris. "Let's check it out."
They walked over to the rare book section and opened the door. They scanned the aisles one by one. So far, there was no sign of Piers, however they did see some books totaling over $2000. Then, they made it to the second-to-last row . . .
"Solaris? Is that you?"
Piers came walking quickly out from behind a bookshelf. He looked terrible, but her had one of the books clutched in his hand. His hair was disheveled, and he looked very tired.
"Well well Piers, long time no see," said Garet sarcastically. "But, it's good to see you man. We've come to get you."
"Thank the Gods," said Piers. "I felt like I was in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. They have interesting literature here though. But to be honest . . . I was scared stiff."
"Maybe if you knew what was going on . . ." said Solaris, stepping closer to Piers. He and Garet explained what had happened so far.
"Okay, let me get this straight," said Piers, holding out a hand. "Isaac, Ivan, Mia and Lunora are here too, but miles and miles away looking for the others? And we're on a different planet, a different world?"
"Yes, that's right," said Solaris. "I still have a little trouble believing it when I think about it."
"Now let's get the Hell out of here," said Garet. "We have to get back to Seattle."
"Let's spend the night here, and we can find a way back to Seattle in the morning," said Solaris.
"Where are we going to find an inn?" asked Piers, looking out the window.
"I believe the Wise One told us they call them motels here . . . but I saw one on the way here. We'll hail a taxi and go there now. We can get back to Seattle tomorrow."
-------
There was no problem.
Their taxi pulled up to the Double Tree Hotel well past dark. It was raining hard outside, a common occurrence in Portland, so they were told. They got out, paid their driver, and walked towards the entrance. They passed a few people, some smoking a cigarette, and entered the hotel.
At first glance, they could easily tell that this was definitely a classy hotel. To the right, there were comfortable chairs and couches surrounding a fireplace, a small fire dancing merrily. Straight ahead, there was also four sets of weird doors in which people went into and different people came out. The doors were silver and there were two buttons next to each door.
And to the left, they spotted the receptionist's desk and made their way over to speak to her. She was talking on a telephone, one thing that the scrolls the Wise One had given them went into great length describing. She was done in a moment though, and she looked up at them, smiling.
"May I help you?" she asked.
"Yes, we'd all like a room for one night," said Solaris, stepping forward.
"Okay. Would you like a view of the Columbia River or the Jantzen Beach shopping center?" she asked.
They looked at each other and silently agreed on the Columbia River. "We'll take the Columbia," said Piers.
"Great, and will you want a regular room or a suite?" she asked, as she typed furiously on a keyboard in front of her.
"We have enough money," muttered Garet into Solaris's ear.
"We'll take a suite then," said Solaris.
"Great. For three of you, one night, it will total to $248.61. Cash, check or credit?"
"Cash," said Garet, handing her three hundreds. She tallied it up and handed them their change.
"$41.39 is your change, your floor number is 6, and your room number is 639," she said cheerily, handing them a card key. "You can get to your room by using the elevators over there, or the stairs to the left. Enjoy your stay with us!"
"Thanks much," said Garet.
"So that's what those things are," Piers muttered, motioning toward the elevators.
Above the doors, there was a set of numbers in a horizontal row, numbered 1-13. The light currently lit up was thee, but then two was lit up and three went off, and then one. A split-second later, the doors opened and a few people came hurrying out of the elevator. As Piers was still in dress style from Weyard, a couple of the passerby glanced at him curiously.
Once the elevator was clear, Garet, Solaris, and Piers stepped into the elevator. Piers, who thought he knew how these things worked by now, pressed the button labeled six. The elevator doors closed as soon as he pressed it, and the elevator then started to rise.
The same set of numbers as above the elevator doors on the outside were also above the elevators doors themselves. They watched the numbers light up successively, but then, the elevator stopped when the number four glowed.
"What the Hell!" shouted Garet, punching the number six button a few more times.
"I think it's just letting more people on, Garet," said Piers calmly, putting his hand over the button so that Garet missed and jabbed Piers's hand instead.
He was right. The doors opened and a few people filed onto the elevator, some toting suitcases behind them. They pressed the number one button, and the doors closed again. However, the elevator continued up to floor number six, where the doors opened and Garet, Solaris and Piers exited and read the sign that faced them.
"Rooms 600 to 620 are to the left," said Garet. "Which means ours is to the right."
They walked down the hall to the right, all the way to the end where room 639 was, on the left. Piers inserted the card key into the slot, and the lock clicked. They opened the door, and stepped into one of the nicest rooms they had ever been in.
All of the counters were made of polished marble. A refrigerator was set against the far right corner, which Garet went immediately over to look at. To the right of the refrigerator, chairs sat in a circle surrounding a small table over by the window which revealed the Columbia River. A sliding glass door set in the far left corner led out onto a porch, where there was more chairs and a table with an umbrella over it.
The next room was the bedroom, where there was a large, regular bed and a bunk bed. A TV was set in front of the two beds, another item which the scrolls went into great length explaining. A nightstand rested between the two beds, with a lamp and telephone resting on to. On each of the pillows lay a mint with the Double Tree logo on it.
"Ah, I get it now," said Garet, chuckling sardonically. "We pay 250 bucks for a room and they give us a couple of free mints in return? What a bunch of cheap-asses . . ."
"Well it's better than sleeping in a car," said Solaris evenly. "Now, we have to figure out how we're gonna get back to Seattle."
"Let me see those scrolls," said Piers, jumping onto the large bed. "I need something to read and I might as well find out a little bit more about this place."
Solaris dug the scrolls out from his pocket and handed them to Piers, who took them and unrolled them. While Piers engaged in his thoughtful reading, Solaris picked up the telephone. Looking at a list of phone numbers, he found the one for the front desk. He punched in the number, and listened for the ringing tone. In a second, the receptionist picked up.
"May I help you?" she asked.
"Yes, do you know of any means that we could use to get to Seattle?" Solaris asked, wording the question carefully.
"Well, there's a greyhound bus that comes by tomorrow at eleven," she said slowly, and Solaris could hear her shuffling papers in the background. "It's running up to Fairbanks, but it stops in Seattle. So, I think if you call their office and get the paperwork figured out, you could go on that one. Would you like the number?"
"Yes please," said Solaris. "Garet, find me a pen," he said with his hand over the mouthpiece. When Garet returned with a pen, he said to the receptionist, "Right. I'm ready."
"Okay, it's 541-333-5634. Anything else?"
"No, that will be all. Thank you," said Solaris, hanging up the phone.
"Did you get something?" Piers inquired, not looking up from his reading.
"Yeah, I just have to call Greyhound Bus Lines and get a few things straightened out," said Solaris. "I'll do that now."
He thought for a moment about why everything needed paperwork. He noticed that after Isaac had had to fill out all those forms at the bank when they exchanged their gold coins for cash. But as long as he was able to get them on that bus, everything would work out.
Sighing resolutely, he dialed the number. "Yes, my name is Solaris and I wanted to take the Greyhound Bus that comes through Portland and goes to Fairbanks, but Stops in Seattle . . . right . . . two others . . . Solaris, Garet, and Piers . . . last name?" He covered the mouthpiece with his hand again. "Shit. What's a last name?"
"How the Hell should I know?" asked Garet. "I only have one name. If people want to know who we are, we just name our family after the head of the house."
"I've been called Piers all my life," said Piers, brow furrowed as he was studying something on the scrolls.
"Yes, we go by our last names," said Solaris, returning to the conversation with the person at the other end of the line. "Yeah, Solaris, Garet, and Piers . . . okay. How much . . . $58.22 . . . right. We need tp be picked up at the Double Tree just along the Columbia River . . . that works . . . yes, that's fine . . . alright. . . . .Yes, we'll be on the bus, and dropped off where in Seattle? . . . The Space Needle? . . . great. Thank you very much." He hung up the phone.
"We've got to be at the front door at a quarter to eleven o'clock," said Solaris to Garet and Piers. "Otherwise, we're outta here!"
"Alright!" shouted Garet, punching his fist into the air. "Now, let's check out this TV thingy that's so popular here."
-------
They hated that bus ride.
It was loud, long and very uncomfortable, due to the fact that the bus held about twenty other people, three of which were constantly screaming toddlers in the back that almost drove Garet bonkers. Solaris was fed up too, but Piers was merely impatient with them. He was a very easygoing man, and rarely got really angry for anything.
"Shut . . . up . . . shut . . . up . . ." mumbled Garet, hands clasped over his ears.
"We're almost to Seattle, so don't go crazy on me yet," said Solaris. At this moment, one of the toddlers gave a particularly loud piercing scream.
"MmmmmmmSHADDUP!" shouted a passenger behind them who was trying to sleep. A few people started to applaud.
The rest of the trip, now that they were a little bit closer to Seattle, went by a little bit faster for the three, despite the toddlers, the laughter and chatter, and the bouncing and jouncing of the bus. Soon enough, they were approaching Seattle's city limits.
"Finally!" muttered Garet. "We should be there in about ten minutes."
The bus rolled into the exit lane and up a ramp. After turning, stopping, and moving for at least twenty minutes, which left Garet most unhappy, they finally reached the street that would take them to the Space Needle.
"Next stop, Seattle Space Needle," the driver announced over the bus loudspeaker. A minute later, the bus pulled into the stop, and Piers, Garet, and Solaris stepped off.
The bus doors closed behind them, and then rumbled off down the street. Garet, Piers and Solaris then looked around. They knew that the Space Needle was the landmark in Seattle, a nice sight to see. But they didn't care. They just wanted to get back to the Safehouse.
"Taxi!" Piers shouted, remembering about this process from the Scrolls.
A taxi pulled up soon afterward. Garet and Solaris thought he was making a mistake, due to their encounter with the last cab driver. But they didn't say anything. The cab pulled up and Garet, Solaris, and Piers climbed into it. The driver was man with a New York Accent, though they didn't know that.
"Where to, boys?" he asked.
"Um, it's not exactly a fixed place, but . . . do you remember seeing a golden statue of an eagle around anywhere?"
"Oh yeah, that one," said the driver, nodding. "Right. I'll take you there. I know right where it is."
They were quite happy that this driver was polite, plus the fact that he knew exactly where he was going. He must have been a veteran, because he knew how to expertly dodge the traffic and take the best shortcuts. Within ten minutes they saw the statue.
"Let us off here, at this parking lot please," said Piers.
"Right," the driver responded, pulling up next to the parking lot.
"Thank you very much," said Solaris, paying the driver his money. The driver nodded and sped off.
"Why did you have us dropped off here, Piers?" asked Garet.
"Well, I figured it'd look pretty awkward to passerby if we got dropped off at that statue, because all that's in front of it are old buildings," said Piers. "I assume that's where the Safehouse is, right?"
"Right," Solaris nodded. "Let's go."
They walked across the street and right to the Safehouse. They expected to see Isaac and Mia there, but were surprised when there was no sign of them.
"It's been over a day!" said Garet. "They couldn't have been that unsuccessful, could they?"
"I don't know, Garet," Solaris replied, shaking his head. "I just don't know. Let's just get in and wait for them."
They walked up to the door, and Piers reached out his hand to open it. But they were shocked when it opened for them and they saw a man they had never seen before. A man dressed all in black with a wide, brimmed hat. He was holding a black sword, and he had a very nasty smirk on his face.
"Well," he said. "So nice of you three to join me."
-------
It was done.
The fortress was finished in record time, due to the unrelenting efforts of the people of Shaman Village, who now realized that joining the ranks of the Wise One was a big, big mistake. Butch, Cassidy, Coursair, and Cassandra were ruthless, making sure that nobody slacked off while they worked, torturing them with their overflowing Psynergy if they did something wrong.
But that was the past. Don't dwell on the past.
Coursair, the infamous Jupiter Adept, was dressed in a combination of decorative gray and purple garments, but he had a layer of mythril under all his clothing to protect him. He had had that mythril since he could remember, and it had helped defend him against many a beast. He also had a scarf around his neck that jutted out a odd angles on either side of him, only the scarf was gray. His hair was straight and gray as well, similar to Ivan's but lying flat on his head. His weapons: two Katanas. They, along with his Psynergy, were the most feared attributes of Coursair. His gloves were black though, and his boots were brown.
Cassidy, the Mars Adept, had some of the thickest hair anyone had ever seen. She wore it bushy, and pointed each tip of her fiery red hair into tips shaped like a bullet. She liked the simple, inexpensive armor; she wore platemail under a tight orange jumpsuit that covered her silver boots. She had always used broad swords, her favorite being the flaming Claymore she had sheathed to her side.
Butch, the Venus Adept, wore a golden shirt over his half-platemail. His pants were brown and simple. He was a simple, yet merciless man who sought control and glory. His gloves were brown, and his golden hair was stuck upward, resembling a feather headdress worn by an Indian leader. The strongest of the four, he was able to wield not one, but two large, Venus axes.
Cassandra was the Mercury Adept, and she fully defied the "rule" that the Mercury clan was the gentlest. She was the craziest of the four, behind their leader Coursair all the way to the death. Her hair was long everywhere. It fell all the way past her back, and her bangs fell past her chin. How she managed to see through it was a mystery to the other three, though she could do so quite well. Her metal boots were tinted blue, and she was the only one who also wore full-plate gloves. Her clothing was blue and white, the clothing's colors criscrossing in no peticular pattern.
Currently, the four were sitting in the center of the fortress, going over a report sent to them by the Wise One himself, who had gone down to Tundris personally to oversee the first takeover. Coursair held the letter and was reading it to the other three.
"It's my pleasure to inform you that the takeover was successful. None of our people were killed, though some sustained serious injury. Those who resisted are now being held by my forces in a secluded location and are being treated well; word of its whereabouts will be sent to you shortly.
Currently my forces are sealing off the Luna Lighthouse. Your job is to decide what to do with it. No decision can be carried out until all the other lighthouses and their outlying towns have been captured by our forces, however. But that buys you a lot of time.
Choose wisely and in my favor. You will receive another letter when we start to move against the next town, which will be Contigo. Good day to you all."
"Well then, any suggestions?" asked Coursair, leaning back in his chair with his hands clasped together.
"We obviously have to take it down. It's the Wise One's eventual plan, isn't it?" Butch recalled.
"Very true," said Cassidy. "But, how do we want to take it down?"
"The people of Tundris obviously look at the lighthouse as an important, sacred symbol. We could make them take it down themselves," said Coursair.
"And those that won't will be beaten and forced to watch!" Cassandra volunteered, slamming her fist down on the table. Her metal glove put a dent in it.
"Very good people," said Coursair. "Butch, you write the letter explaining our plan of action to the Wise One. I have to go talk to that morbid fool who runs Shaman Village."
"Okay Coursair," said Butch, grabbing a piece of paper and quill.
-------
"'Those who resisted are now being held by my forces in a secluded and are being treated well . . .'"
Grunts and cries were heard and blood was spilled that night as each individual prisoner was tortured.
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Um . . . . please review. Have a good day.
SirGecko