¡Los pixies homicidal me están persiguiendo!
Amazing that I'm failing Spanish, isn't it? Then again, that might be because I write this during said class. Sad, isn't it, how little a life I have... Well, after a short delay I am back! Better and cornier than ever, maybe because I've been eating too many Fritos. Before I start, I'd like to thank the people that reviewed. (Hee hee, nice people)
Mizura Volphen- Why would I not like your review? You pointed out some very interesting stuff I need to work on. I must have been a little out of it to not notice that Rin gets up without ever falling down. Or maybe I assumed that people would figure it out. Since you are the only person to point out that mistake, maybe it's not that confusing. Or maybe there are a lot of people scratching their heads wondering why Rin was scooting alone the hallway on her butt. (boy, that's a lot of maybes) And I should go back and add more description to the shadow. Thank you for the helpful words for that! I'm glad you like Yubaba and the spelling of Rin. And yes, exhaustion would be a better word. Please forgive, I was tiredness when I wrote most of these chapters. I'll work on the Chihiro/Sen thing too. I don't really think Wren is schizophrenic. *watches Wren hold a conversation with herself* Then again, maybe you're right.
I hate it when the author bumps into the middle of the story to tell you something too. I promise never to do that, and if I do you have my permission to hunt me down and kill me. I hope you like later chapters in this fanfic, although (yes, it's true) this is not the most original of plots. Please keep reviewing. Even if it's just to tell me why you don't like it. *sniffs, and eyes well up*
Red-Rose87- Yep, it is hard to turn pages on a computer. I've tried it many times, but to no avail. Don't let that damper your reading enjoyment, though. That's what the aliens want...
KonekOniko- I didn't WANT Rose to be a potty mouth! Honestly! She just does it on her own! *tries to fend off mob of potty mouth haters* No! Nooooooo! (I'm trying to work on the speling thyn. Butt I condn't spel mi wae oute of a elefant...)
Accalia3- I'm glad you think this is funny. So does my Great- Grandma. But she is nearly a hundred, doesn't know where she is, and keeps trying to feed me her peas. Hmmm, the universe is trying to tell me something. (Rose: "Psst! It's telling you not to quite your day job and become a comedian.")
I'm glad you like Wren, cause I do too. She's my favorite out of all my multiple personalities. (oops, did I say that aloud?) What I like is the close relationship Wren and Rose have. *watches as Rose attempts to beat the shit out of Wren* It's really quite, *Wren grabs a butcher knife and tries to gut her red-haired companion* er, touching.
Pyro-Panda- Yes, yes! I'll keep updating! I promise! HERE! *shoves computer in Pyro-Panda's face* READ! READ IT! *Rose and Wren exchange looks* Rose: "Why are we working for you again?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. I do own Haku. I keep him in my closet as my sex toy. (Okay, so not really)
Thank you for allowing the author this time to get rid of some of the looniness that resides inside of her. I'll write the story now, how 'bout that.
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Chapter 4: Zeniba's house and the swamps of insanity
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Chihiro listened as Wren told her story. It was about how Wren was sucked into an alternate dimension during algebra class where a purple hawk told her to travel to a great wizard's house in order to get her cat back. So that's what Wren did, coming across a lonely dragon with allergies, a lost baby griffin, and a swamp thing that had trouble remembering his own password. Finally, Wren made it to the wizard's house and was, as she put it, "Ready to kick that wizards butt for stealing my cat!" But the wizard (his name was Alfred) turned out to be a pretty nice guy, and he was more than happy to return Snickerdoodle. Of course, Snickerdoodle had torn up some pretty important manuscripts in said wizards office. Wren learned that Alfred had made a bet with a sorceress to see if someone from the human world could complete quests better than a native of that dimension. Wren got her cat back and Alfred got a new crystal ball, so everyone was happy, except maybe the sorceress who lost the bet.
"And that's how I met Alfred." Wren finished, yawning loudly. Their long day was catching up with all of them.
"Thanks Wren." Chihiro said, scrunching up closer to her for warmth. It was night again, and they were still traveling by train. Although judging by the scenery they would be reaching Swamp Bottom any time now.
"You shouldn't encourage her." Said Rose in a mock whisper. Wren frowned. "It happened. I don't care what you think." She said, even though Chihiro knew that Rose's opinion meant everything to Wren.
"Wren! It didn't happen! Deep down you know that, you little crazy."
"It did happen! I have the amulet Alfred gave me to visit him as proof!"
Chihiro glanced at the necklace that Wren never took off. It was only a little bronze disk with a dragon on one side and a castle on the other. But it wasn't like her hair-band was that special either, Chihiro remembered. Just because something was plain didn't mean it wasn't magical.
"Oh yeah? Then why haven't you gone to visit Alfred before?" Rose asked, her voice taunting. Chihiro knew that when Rose was tired she wasn't the nicest person, but she was really upsetting Wren. Chihiro opened her mouth to interrupt when Wren suddenly burst into tears.
"It...it doesn't work!" She sobbed. Rose finally realized that she'd gone too far.
"I'm sorry Wren." Rose said, trying to comfort her twin. "I'll never diss one of your Alfred stories again. I promise."
"I believe you, Wren." Chihiro put in. Inwardly she sighed. As much as she loved her two friends they could be worse than a soap opera.
When the train pulled in to Swamp Bottom, Chihiro and Rose had gotten Wren to pull herself together, although she still wasn't speaking to Rose. After they walked a little ways down the dirt path, Chihiro stopped.
"There should be a guide now to show us the way to Zeniba's house." Chihiro explained when Rose asked why. Sure enough, Chihiro soon saw a familiar bobbing light and heard an annoying squeaking sound. The foot lantern came into view, bouncing along.
"Well, I've never seen that before." Wren commented.
"It's a foot! A freakin' foot!" Rose practically yelled at the same time. Chihiro grinned. She had been waiting all day to see Rose's reaction to the foot lantern.
"Come on!" She called, already following the bouncy foot. "It'll light our way!"
Thanks to the foot lantern they made it to Zeniba's house in record time, although Rose swore a tree tried to attack her.
"That's cause I sicced it on you." Wren said acidly. She still had not forgiven Rose.
"Great! Now she thinks she controls trees." Rose commented offhandedly to Chihiro.
As the door of the house opened and Zeniba's voice called "Come in dears! Don't stand there letting in the cold air!" Chihiro reflected on how much she hated being caught in the middle of this sibling lovefest. Snickerdoodle pranced in first, anxious to get to the warmth of a fire. (Despite the protests that Rose and Chihiro made, Wren insisted on smuggling the cat aboard the train instead of leaving him at the boiler room where Kamajii would have looked after him.) The three girls followed him, and the door closed behind them.
"Granny!" Chihiro shouted, running over to hug Zeniba.
"You make grandparents in the strangest places." Said Rose, walking over to greet Zeniba too.
Wren's attention, however, was directed at the other end of the room where a man Chihiro had never seen before was sitting on a chair near the fire.
"Alfred!" Wren virtually screamed, the most excited Chihiro had ever seen her. She rushed over to hug the man she called Alfred, who seemed just as happy to see her in return.
"Alfred?" Chihiro looked at Zeniba for an explanation. Rose just stood there with her mouth open wide enough to catch flies.
"Yes, dear, Alfred. He used to be a pupil of mine before he decided to apprentice himself to a wizard. Too bad, really. He would have made such a good sorcerer." Zeniba answered, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "You didn't think she was making it all up, did you?" She addressed Rose.
"Um, well, yes I did." Rose replied, looking Zeniba straight in the eye. Chihiro couldn't help but be impressed with how Rose always admitted when she was wrong. "You were the sorceress whom Alfred made the bet with, aren't you?"
"Yes I was. I'm still a little miffed at that. It was my best crystal ball, you know."
"Then why did her necklace thing never work?" Rose demanded almost rudely.
"There must not have been enough magic where you live to make it work. I told Alfred he should have just taught her a portal spell."
Eventually Wren and Alfred were caught up, and Rose apologized to Wren. Then Zeniba sat them all down and fed them while Chihiro asked her if she had any idea of what might have become of Kohaku. The explanation Zeniba had wasn't pretty.
"My dear, I'm not entirely sure where Kohaku is. All I know is from time to time powerful spirits with magic at their disposal go missing. Over the past three years this has happened more frequently, and the spirits that go missing are always powerful magic users. I asked Alfred to come here, hoping that together we could scry and discover who was doing this. We saw different things, which is extremely rare. I saw a dark shadow seeking out young spirits who's power is still plentiful. Alfred saw the Swamps of Insanity, a place where few people come out. And those that do come out are insane, of course, hence the name. Oh, thank you, No Face." Zeniba ended as No Face poured her another cup of tea. Alfred chose to continue where Zeniba left off. Chihiro took advantage of this to study Wren's longtime friend. Alfred was tall, around six feet, and had messy dark blond hair. His eyes were usually far away, and he seemed extremely absentminded until you talked to him and discovered how very intelligent he was. Chihiro thought he was in his mid to late twenties, and probably would have continued examining him if Wren hadn't kicked her from under the table.
"I believe that a spirit or demon has discovered a way to drain magic from another and add it to its' own power." Alfred said, grabbing the attention of the three girls. "What it is planning to use this power for I don't know. But if we find where this shadow is keeping its' victims and manage to free them, it will be a step in the right direction."
"So Kohaku is probably alright?" Chihiro asked excitedly.
"Well, he could be. It depends on how fast the shadow drains him. It takes time for magic to regenerate itself. If the shadow took it all at once, Kohaku could very well be dead." Alfred looked at Chihiro apologetically while saying this. Chihiro felt her will harden. She had to get Kohaku out of there!
"I don't think Wren should go with you." Zeniba said quietly, surprising everyone. "We know this shadow targets young people with magic. They don't have to be spirits, or even half spirit. I've sensed a small bit of magic in you." Zeniba addressed to Wren. "I think being here in the Spirit World brought it out."
"I don't care if I can conjure pink elephants from thin air!" Said Wren, outraged. "I started this adventure with Chihiro and my sister and no one can cut me out now!"
"It's just a tiny bit." Said Alfred to Zeniba. "The shadow probably won't even notice it. I could even train her if your worried about her losing control."
"You make me sound like a dog that needs to be potty trained." Groused Wren. Rose sniggered under her breath as Alfred shot Wren an apologetic grin.
"Fine, don't listen to me." Zeniba said, looking exasperated. "Do you at least want me to keep the cat so he won't get in the way?"
"Nope! Snickerdoodle goes wherever I go!" Sang Wren, happy again.
After a good night's sleep at Zeniba's house, Chihiro felt like she could take on the world, or at least the Swamps of Insanity. Alfred in the lead, the four (five, actually, if you count the cat) started their journey.
"So, Alfred, why do you live in the Spirit World? You are human, aren't you?" Rose asked as they reached the border of the Swamps of Insanity.
"Well, I'm half human, half spirit. I could live in whichever world I wanted, human or spirit. I do travel between the two a lot..." Alfred continued to tell the girls funny stories of his childhood as they passed through the fringes of the swamp.
"Rose?" Chihiro asked after a while, when Alfred was examining his map.
"Yeah?" Rose answered.
"Do you really think we'll go insane in here? And how will we know when we do?"
"Well, the way I see it, we have Wren. Probably the best buffer against insanity is an insane person. Don't worry about it."
"Um, where's Alfred?" Wren asked.
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The plot is now pea soup. Maybe you shouldn't review this chapter, even I think it's pretty bad. I hope the next one is better... Wren: "You mean you're going to let me write it?" Author: "No, you twit!" Wren: "OK. Everyone, don't bother to read the next chapter, it's going to suck!" Author: "HEY!" *chases Wren around screaming like a banshee* "I'll *pant* update *pant* soon."
Amazing that I'm failing Spanish, isn't it? Then again, that might be because I write this during said class. Sad, isn't it, how little a life I have... Well, after a short delay I am back! Better and cornier than ever, maybe because I've been eating too many Fritos. Before I start, I'd like to thank the people that reviewed. (Hee hee, nice people)
Mizura Volphen- Why would I not like your review? You pointed out some very interesting stuff I need to work on. I must have been a little out of it to not notice that Rin gets up without ever falling down. Or maybe I assumed that people would figure it out. Since you are the only person to point out that mistake, maybe it's not that confusing. Or maybe there are a lot of people scratching their heads wondering why Rin was scooting alone the hallway on her butt. (boy, that's a lot of maybes) And I should go back and add more description to the shadow. Thank you for the helpful words for that! I'm glad you like Yubaba and the spelling of Rin. And yes, exhaustion would be a better word. Please forgive, I was tiredness when I wrote most of these chapters. I'll work on the Chihiro/Sen thing too. I don't really think Wren is schizophrenic. *watches Wren hold a conversation with herself* Then again, maybe you're right.
I hate it when the author bumps into the middle of the story to tell you something too. I promise never to do that, and if I do you have my permission to hunt me down and kill me. I hope you like later chapters in this fanfic, although (yes, it's true) this is not the most original of plots. Please keep reviewing. Even if it's just to tell me why you don't like it. *sniffs, and eyes well up*
Red-Rose87- Yep, it is hard to turn pages on a computer. I've tried it many times, but to no avail. Don't let that damper your reading enjoyment, though. That's what the aliens want...
KonekOniko- I didn't WANT Rose to be a potty mouth! Honestly! She just does it on her own! *tries to fend off mob of potty mouth haters* No! Nooooooo! (I'm trying to work on the speling thyn. Butt I condn't spel mi wae oute of a elefant...)
Accalia3- I'm glad you think this is funny. So does my Great- Grandma. But she is nearly a hundred, doesn't know where she is, and keeps trying to feed me her peas. Hmmm, the universe is trying to tell me something. (Rose: "Psst! It's telling you not to quite your day job and become a comedian.")
I'm glad you like Wren, cause I do too. She's my favorite out of all my multiple personalities. (oops, did I say that aloud?) What I like is the close relationship Wren and Rose have. *watches as Rose attempts to beat the shit out of Wren* It's really quite, *Wren grabs a butcher knife and tries to gut her red-haired companion* er, touching.
Pyro-Panda- Yes, yes! I'll keep updating! I promise! HERE! *shoves computer in Pyro-Panda's face* READ! READ IT! *Rose and Wren exchange looks* Rose: "Why are we working for you again?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. I do own Haku. I keep him in my closet as my sex toy. (Okay, so not really)
Thank you for allowing the author this time to get rid of some of the looniness that resides inside of her. I'll write the story now, how 'bout that.
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Chapter 4: Zeniba's house and the swamps of insanity
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Chihiro listened as Wren told her story. It was about how Wren was sucked into an alternate dimension during algebra class where a purple hawk told her to travel to a great wizard's house in order to get her cat back. So that's what Wren did, coming across a lonely dragon with allergies, a lost baby griffin, and a swamp thing that had trouble remembering his own password. Finally, Wren made it to the wizard's house and was, as she put it, "Ready to kick that wizards butt for stealing my cat!" But the wizard (his name was Alfred) turned out to be a pretty nice guy, and he was more than happy to return Snickerdoodle. Of course, Snickerdoodle had torn up some pretty important manuscripts in said wizards office. Wren learned that Alfred had made a bet with a sorceress to see if someone from the human world could complete quests better than a native of that dimension. Wren got her cat back and Alfred got a new crystal ball, so everyone was happy, except maybe the sorceress who lost the bet.
"And that's how I met Alfred." Wren finished, yawning loudly. Their long day was catching up with all of them.
"Thanks Wren." Chihiro said, scrunching up closer to her for warmth. It was night again, and they were still traveling by train. Although judging by the scenery they would be reaching Swamp Bottom any time now.
"You shouldn't encourage her." Said Rose in a mock whisper. Wren frowned. "It happened. I don't care what you think." She said, even though Chihiro knew that Rose's opinion meant everything to Wren.
"Wren! It didn't happen! Deep down you know that, you little crazy."
"It did happen! I have the amulet Alfred gave me to visit him as proof!"
Chihiro glanced at the necklace that Wren never took off. It was only a little bronze disk with a dragon on one side and a castle on the other. But it wasn't like her hair-band was that special either, Chihiro remembered. Just because something was plain didn't mean it wasn't magical.
"Oh yeah? Then why haven't you gone to visit Alfred before?" Rose asked, her voice taunting. Chihiro knew that when Rose was tired she wasn't the nicest person, but she was really upsetting Wren. Chihiro opened her mouth to interrupt when Wren suddenly burst into tears.
"It...it doesn't work!" She sobbed. Rose finally realized that she'd gone too far.
"I'm sorry Wren." Rose said, trying to comfort her twin. "I'll never diss one of your Alfred stories again. I promise."
"I believe you, Wren." Chihiro put in. Inwardly she sighed. As much as she loved her two friends they could be worse than a soap opera.
When the train pulled in to Swamp Bottom, Chihiro and Rose had gotten Wren to pull herself together, although she still wasn't speaking to Rose. After they walked a little ways down the dirt path, Chihiro stopped.
"There should be a guide now to show us the way to Zeniba's house." Chihiro explained when Rose asked why. Sure enough, Chihiro soon saw a familiar bobbing light and heard an annoying squeaking sound. The foot lantern came into view, bouncing along.
"Well, I've never seen that before." Wren commented.
"It's a foot! A freakin' foot!" Rose practically yelled at the same time. Chihiro grinned. She had been waiting all day to see Rose's reaction to the foot lantern.
"Come on!" She called, already following the bouncy foot. "It'll light our way!"
Thanks to the foot lantern they made it to Zeniba's house in record time, although Rose swore a tree tried to attack her.
"That's cause I sicced it on you." Wren said acidly. She still had not forgiven Rose.
"Great! Now she thinks she controls trees." Rose commented offhandedly to Chihiro.
As the door of the house opened and Zeniba's voice called "Come in dears! Don't stand there letting in the cold air!" Chihiro reflected on how much she hated being caught in the middle of this sibling lovefest. Snickerdoodle pranced in first, anxious to get to the warmth of a fire. (Despite the protests that Rose and Chihiro made, Wren insisted on smuggling the cat aboard the train instead of leaving him at the boiler room where Kamajii would have looked after him.) The three girls followed him, and the door closed behind them.
"Granny!" Chihiro shouted, running over to hug Zeniba.
"You make grandparents in the strangest places." Said Rose, walking over to greet Zeniba too.
Wren's attention, however, was directed at the other end of the room where a man Chihiro had never seen before was sitting on a chair near the fire.
"Alfred!" Wren virtually screamed, the most excited Chihiro had ever seen her. She rushed over to hug the man she called Alfred, who seemed just as happy to see her in return.
"Alfred?" Chihiro looked at Zeniba for an explanation. Rose just stood there with her mouth open wide enough to catch flies.
"Yes, dear, Alfred. He used to be a pupil of mine before he decided to apprentice himself to a wizard. Too bad, really. He would have made such a good sorcerer." Zeniba answered, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "You didn't think she was making it all up, did you?" She addressed Rose.
"Um, well, yes I did." Rose replied, looking Zeniba straight in the eye. Chihiro couldn't help but be impressed with how Rose always admitted when she was wrong. "You were the sorceress whom Alfred made the bet with, aren't you?"
"Yes I was. I'm still a little miffed at that. It was my best crystal ball, you know."
"Then why did her necklace thing never work?" Rose demanded almost rudely.
"There must not have been enough magic where you live to make it work. I told Alfred he should have just taught her a portal spell."
Eventually Wren and Alfred were caught up, and Rose apologized to Wren. Then Zeniba sat them all down and fed them while Chihiro asked her if she had any idea of what might have become of Kohaku. The explanation Zeniba had wasn't pretty.
"My dear, I'm not entirely sure where Kohaku is. All I know is from time to time powerful spirits with magic at their disposal go missing. Over the past three years this has happened more frequently, and the spirits that go missing are always powerful magic users. I asked Alfred to come here, hoping that together we could scry and discover who was doing this. We saw different things, which is extremely rare. I saw a dark shadow seeking out young spirits who's power is still plentiful. Alfred saw the Swamps of Insanity, a place where few people come out. And those that do come out are insane, of course, hence the name. Oh, thank you, No Face." Zeniba ended as No Face poured her another cup of tea. Alfred chose to continue where Zeniba left off. Chihiro took advantage of this to study Wren's longtime friend. Alfred was tall, around six feet, and had messy dark blond hair. His eyes were usually far away, and he seemed extremely absentminded until you talked to him and discovered how very intelligent he was. Chihiro thought he was in his mid to late twenties, and probably would have continued examining him if Wren hadn't kicked her from under the table.
"I believe that a spirit or demon has discovered a way to drain magic from another and add it to its' own power." Alfred said, grabbing the attention of the three girls. "What it is planning to use this power for I don't know. But if we find where this shadow is keeping its' victims and manage to free them, it will be a step in the right direction."
"So Kohaku is probably alright?" Chihiro asked excitedly.
"Well, he could be. It depends on how fast the shadow drains him. It takes time for magic to regenerate itself. If the shadow took it all at once, Kohaku could very well be dead." Alfred looked at Chihiro apologetically while saying this. Chihiro felt her will harden. She had to get Kohaku out of there!
"I don't think Wren should go with you." Zeniba said quietly, surprising everyone. "We know this shadow targets young people with magic. They don't have to be spirits, or even half spirit. I've sensed a small bit of magic in you." Zeniba addressed to Wren. "I think being here in the Spirit World brought it out."
"I don't care if I can conjure pink elephants from thin air!" Said Wren, outraged. "I started this adventure with Chihiro and my sister and no one can cut me out now!"
"It's just a tiny bit." Said Alfred to Zeniba. "The shadow probably won't even notice it. I could even train her if your worried about her losing control."
"You make me sound like a dog that needs to be potty trained." Groused Wren. Rose sniggered under her breath as Alfred shot Wren an apologetic grin.
"Fine, don't listen to me." Zeniba said, looking exasperated. "Do you at least want me to keep the cat so he won't get in the way?"
"Nope! Snickerdoodle goes wherever I go!" Sang Wren, happy again.
After a good night's sleep at Zeniba's house, Chihiro felt like she could take on the world, or at least the Swamps of Insanity. Alfred in the lead, the four (five, actually, if you count the cat) started their journey.
"So, Alfred, why do you live in the Spirit World? You are human, aren't you?" Rose asked as they reached the border of the Swamps of Insanity.
"Well, I'm half human, half spirit. I could live in whichever world I wanted, human or spirit. I do travel between the two a lot..." Alfred continued to tell the girls funny stories of his childhood as they passed through the fringes of the swamp.
"Rose?" Chihiro asked after a while, when Alfred was examining his map.
"Yeah?" Rose answered.
"Do you really think we'll go insane in here? And how will we know when we do?"
"Well, the way I see it, we have Wren. Probably the best buffer against insanity is an insane person. Don't worry about it."
"Um, where's Alfred?" Wren asked.
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The plot is now pea soup. Maybe you shouldn't review this chapter, even I think it's pretty bad. I hope the next one is better... Wren: "You mean you're going to let me write it?" Author: "No, you twit!" Wren: "OK. Everyone, don't bother to read the next chapter, it's going to suck!" Author: "HEY!" *chases Wren around screaming like a banshee* "I'll *pant* update *pant* soon."