(Dew): You know what I think?
(Char): uhh.... no.
(Dew): I think we need something to spice up the muse section. It's been the same old tired bit for way too long.
(Char): Point taken. What do you suggest?
We could eliminate the muses altogether!
(Dew): ... ... ...
(Char): ...no.
Rats...
(Dew): I say we take the muse section in a new direction.
(Char): ...like?
(Dew): Film noir style.
(Char): ...
(Dew): Well?
(Char): I think we should move on to the reviews...
Review Responses:
Midnight C: Yes. You should be very, very worried. Worried like if Crystal on pixie stix. Worried.
Caster of Chaos: Mark my words, we will get the slugs. We will.
Akachi: Consider it updated. ...uhh... soon-ish...
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A few hours had passed since the initial incident at the Mars/Jupiter Shrine. Ivan and Sheba had somehow forced themselves to get up and make lunch for the three of them through the pain of loss. Feizhi wanted to help, but somehow found herself unable to concentrate on the task.
She's... really down, isn't she? Sheba thought towards Ivan. He replied slowly.
Aren't you?
Sheba didn't reply right away, and when she finally did, her voice sounded distant and small, as though coming from places far away. I can't quite... bring myself to understand it all, yet, y'know? I don't understand much about this world, the politics of it, the places and people, I just...
Want to go home, huh? Ivan said, with no lack of Jupiter prediction finesse.
Definitely.
Ivan started to speak, but cut himself off quickly as a familiar twinge went through his mind. Sheba, linked to him, felt it as well, and when images started flowing in his mind's eye, they were reflected in hers, as well.
Images of a city, distant and yet feeling so close, bounced around their minds. The city was large and developed, as though it existed in a place that hadn't been attacked by levelers in so long. The gates of the city were held in place by twin towering golden pillars. It was so well decorated that the name of the city was even carved into a golden arch supported by the pillars: 'Chefru'.
And as soon as it had started, it had ended, leaving their minds racing with questions and longing for answers. One thing they had felt, though, was an irresistible pull, calling them south.
"Did you feel...?" Ivan started, but Sheba's reply cut him off totally.
"I did. That city, and... that feeling," she said quietly, a distant look in her eyes.
"There's something there," Ivan replied. "It feels like... Mia and the others. But how-"
"Our abilities are developing," Sheba reminded him. "And we are sitting in a Jupiter-realm, right?" He nodded, smiling slightly despite all their hardships. "They're close. I can feel it."
"Me, too. Let's get Feizhi," he said decisively. Sheba shook her head.
"Why don't we eat first?" she said meekly, one hand resting delicately on her stomach. Ivan smiled.
"With you here, who needs Garet, huh?" Sheba beat him over the head with the Salamander Rod. Later she would argue that she was looking out for Feizhi's best interests, but she was too hungry to tell him at the moment. Ivan, rubbing his head, went back to his thoughts, duly aware of Feizhi joining them to eat, thinking merely of the city with the bright golden arch.
- - - - -
"Ooh," Garet said, looking up. "A bright golden arch," he commented, staring at the golden doorway that stood before the city of Chefru.
"Amazing," Picard said in awe. "It's an awesome achievement... look how high it stands! It's an incredible accomplishment to engineering!"
Garet simply kept looking at it. "Heh... shiny..." Picard smacked him across the shoulder. "Ow! You know, my arms are gonna fall off at this rate."
Felix walked past him towards the gates, muttering just loud enough for them to hear, "Why couldn't it be your mouth?" Garet crossed his arms and fumed, following him into the city.
If the city looked to be anything from the outside, then it was even more impressive from the inside. The streets were lined with people going about their business through pristine streets and clean-cut lawns, children running around playing, and effectively just people enjoying their lives. Mia stood in awe at how a city that could be so strong would refuse to lend aid to their neighbouring village when it was just a few hours walk away. Her thoughts were soon beaten out of her head, however, when a group of children ran past them, laughing and playing.
"Kinda makes you long for the good old days, huh?" Jenna smiled at her, holding the rock strangely protectively. Mia smiled.
"I didn't have the good old days, actually. I was always studying to be a healer," she admitted.
"Well... it paid off," Jenna complimented. "Now, come on... let's go shopping; there's gotta be some stores here somewhere!" Mia chuckled and the two walked casually to Felix. Jenna took the bag of gold in her free hand and ran off into the crowd.
"Just meet us at the... inn," Felix called to them, unsure if they heard him (or if they cared). The two disappeared into the distance, in search of good times (or at least, good bargains). "Wonderful..."
"If you'd like, I could go to keep an eye on them," Garet offered, smiling. Felix smacked his arm.
"Over my dead bo-"
"Stop doing that!" Garet exclaimed, rubbing his arm.
- - - - -
"So, what should we try and find?" Jenna asked, remotely giddy at the shopping experience.
"When did we turn into shopping freaks...?" Mia wondered.
"Somewhere in the middle of the whole 'Saving the world' thing, probably," Jenna admitted.
"Sounds about right," Mia agreed. "So, where to?" Jenna shrugged. "Do you need a new weapon?" Mia posed.
"Actually, Garet just gave me this," she said, unsheathing the Masamune. Mia gasped.
"I didn't know you could use light blades!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"I don't," she admitted. "He said he'd help teach me." Mia giggled, despite herself.
"A lot of teaching going to happen there, I suppose," she laughed. Jenna flushed furiously, but didn't reply.
The two came across a marketplace set in the centre of the city and walked around, stopping at various shops and checking prices. They came across the weapons shop, but the only weapons being sold were maces that even Mia couldn't use, so they ended up settling for a pair of gloves for both of them.
After several hours of shopping, the two decided it was time to head back to the inn where they hoped the others would be waiting for them. On the way, a cloaked individual stepped out from the shadows of the alley and motioned to them to come closer. Jenna shot a quick glance at Mia, and the two slowly approached him, entering the alley cautiously.
"Hold onto the rock, please?" Jenna asked Mia, handing her the valueless stone and moving her right hand to take the hilt of the Masamune. "Can we help you?"
The cloaked figure moved strangely, swaying on his feet, wavering back and forth. When he spoke, the voice was rasp and distant.
"That," he said simply, pointing at the stone cradled in Mia's arms. He jerked a thumb back to himself. "Give it to me." Jenna's eyes flew over Mia again, resting momentarily on the stone, then returning, cold and fixed, toward the stranger.
"The stone is ours," she said quickly. "We aren't giving it away." The stranger swayed as though to move on them, but stopped.
"I must insist," he said, taking a step toward Mia, slowly. Jenna sidestepped into his path.
"I said it's ours," she said, her voice rising. "Now get out of here. Please," she added. Mia arched an eyebrow. Jenna had grown since they'd met; Mia could remember a time where an incident like this would cause Jenna to be in full pyromaniac mood, but her resolve had improved. The stranger either didn't notice Jenna's words or didn't care, for he suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm harshly, forcing her back a step.
"Give it to-"
"Remove your hand from me," Jenna growled, her free hand already having drawn the Masamune, "or I will remove it for you." Mia sighed slightly.
So much for resolved, she smiled. I hope she really means for and not from...
The stranger didn't care about her threats. With a swish of the cloak, he swung his free arm around like a hammer, intending to come down on Jenna hard. She agilely dodged it by stepping off to the side and raising the arm that he clasped, forcing him to block his own attack, and causing him to release her. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Jenna kneed him as hard as she could in the stomach (which, all in all, wasn't that hard, but considering it was an unexpected stomach shot, even a tap from Feizhi would ground someone). He recoiled, and, sensing a golden opportunity, Jenna called out, 'Unleash Cannon!' which sent him flying upside-down to the back of the alley. Cannon hopped onto Jenna's head and rested awhile in her auburn hair.
"Can we go, now?" Mia asked. "Have you gotten that out of your system?" Jenna took a deep breath and then relieved her of the stone, then nodded, smiling. A groan from the back of the alley signaled that they should make their escape quickly, so they took off at a quick pace toward the inn.
"D'you ever get to thinking that our lives are way too complicated?" Jenna wondered aloud.
"Just another day in the life of your average heroes," Mia pointed out.
"Heroines," Jenna corrected.
"Naturally."
- - - - -
"Man, I am so tired," Garet moaned, resting his head on the table. Picard sighed and leaned back in his chair. It was early evening, and the girls hadn't returned yet. The three of them were sitting around a table at the inn, the room starting to be illuminated by a fire burning in the fireplace. Garet sat with his back to the door and the innkeeper's desk so he could stare into the fireplace without having to turn. He liked watching the flames dance; it reminded him of his own power, and, of course, of Jenna.
"Has there ever been a time that you didn't complain about... everything?" Picard asked him casually. Garet frowned.
"Maybe there was this one time... no, no, never mind. Never," he said, scratching his head. Felix's eyes suddenly darted to the doorway.
"They're here," he said, pointing at a figure facing away from them with a familiar head of brilliant aqua hair at the entrance. Garet turned around to greet them.
"Hey, Mia!" Garet cried, to get her attention. She didn't reply. "Mia! Jenna!" No answer. "All right," he said, taking a wrapped straw from the table and unwrapping the end. "Now I'm annoyed. That's the last straw..." Picard looked puzzled.
"Are you honestly that angry?" he wondered.
"Huh?" Garet asked. "No, it was the last straw," he said, pointing at the table, where no more straws lay. "It bugs me when we don't have enough..."
Felix groaned. "There are days I hate you..."
"Told you I'd grow on you one day," Garet grinned, drawing a deep breath and aiming the straw at Mia. He blew heavily to shoot the wrapper off at her. A few seconds and an "Ouch!" later, she whirled at him and Garet found himself deposited on the floor, care of a well placed burst of Wind Psynergy.
"Well, would you look at that?" Felix smiled. "That's not Mia at all..."
The woman marched toward them, and other than resembling Mia remotely from the back and wearing similar clothes, they could all tell easily that it was certainly not Mia.
"Where do you get off?!" she exclaimed. "You think you can just shoot things at random passerby? How dare you-"
"I'm sorry!" Garet pleaded. "We thought you were someone else. Honestly!" She took a step back and casually took a deep breath, so as not to show she was as annoyed as she was.
"It was an accident," Picard said, using all his diplomatic flair to appease her. "Can you leave it be?" Her expression softened.
"Well... I guess so," she said, a hint of annoyance still in her voice. "That doesn't mean you can get up!" she said quickly, blasting Garet back to the floor with more wind as he tried to rise. Garet fumed, but Felix was doing his best to hold back waves of laughter.
"Please, join us," Picard offered. "At least for awhile, so you can see that we didn't mean to impose too much," he said genuinely. She smiled and sat at Garet's place, satisfied.
"I won't stay long, I'm just stopping by," she informed them. "I'm heading east, myself, across the Doango mountains."
"What's the rush? Why are you heading there?" Felix asked curiously.
"Well, to be honest," she said, lowering her voice so that none would overhear, "I've heard there's a dreaded Shrine to the south... I can't stand those things."
"A Shrine, you say?" Picard said, his eyebrows raised. She nodded.
"I'd like to get as far away from them as I can... the propaganda of them scares me," she said. "But I'd also like to stay away from Keunam, and that's due north from here. East seems like the best option. Right across the mountains, and then I'll see what's beyond..."
"Due south to a shrine," Felix muttered under his breath. "First thing in the morning... we're ready to go."
- - - - -
"Oh... my..."
Death and destruction, wreaked across a large area, outside what used to appear to be a village. The stench of prone bodies and carcasses tore through the nostrils of the three Jupiter Adepts. It was a nightmare.
But no one was asleep.
Nor would they be for a long while.
"Night is coming," Sheba said worriedly. Feizhi shuddered.
"We're not camping here," she said solidly.
"I agree. Let's get some distance, first," Ivan whispered loudly. Feizhi shuddered even harder.
"Forward... or back?"
"Let's go through. The faster we get past this, the better," Ivan said resolutely.
"If the smell makes me pass out, don't leave me here," Sheba said, with a hint of illness in her voice. Calling up whatever reserves of power he had through the stench, Ivan raised his hands.
"Unleash Zephyr!" he called, summoning the little Jupiter Djinni to boost their speed dramatically. The effects would last long enough for them all to run through the wasteland quickly, without spending too much more time in it. It was all Ivan could do to run past it and try to keep his thoughts away from it all.
But no matter how hard he tried, he would always wonder if his fate was somewhere here, laying among these broken shards of bone and weapon.
If this was his fate.
- - - - -
It was late. Felix was sound asleep in his bed. The Mia-lookalike had left already, not wishing to stay the night in the city for whatever reason, and the girls had returned back from their shopping spree (with, much to Felix's surprise, a heavy coin purse). The group had settled for a relaxing meal in the inn, then sat around the fireplace for a little while talking. Eventually, they had all decided together to travel south, towards a shrine that was supposed to be there. That, ultimately, was the problem with adventuring. Everything was supposed to be somewhere. It very rarely was.
Nor were cities as inviting as they seemed.
A knocking at the door of the boys room shook them right out of their slumber (or in Garet's case, a Quake, care of Felix, shook him out of his slumber...). Picard opened the door to a distressed Mia, who welcomed him in the depth of night merely with the words, "The plaza's on fire!"
"What...?" Garet moaned, stumbling awake. "Did you make Jenna really mad, or something...?" A solid thwap across his head from Felix silenced him.
"It's another leveler... but it's Mars-Aligned," Jenna said quickly, appearing behind Mia.
"Oh, good," Garet said, yawning. "Picard and Mia can take care of it, then," he said.
"No, we're going to help," Jenna said, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him off to help. Garet moaned.
"What do you expect me to do?"
"We," Jenna said as though it should be obvious, "are going to be the bait."
"...what?!"
- - - - -
(Char): ...I really hate the way you leave these things off.
(Dew): (in black and white)(aside) It was a cliffhanger. A bad cliffhanger, at that. One of those cliffhangers that left you wondering whether or not it was worth it to come back. I knew a cliffhanger like this once. Her name was Sue.
...what are you doing?
(Dew): (same) He wanted to know. Sure, the truth is here and waiting for him to listen, but I didn't know if he could take it. It's a bad town, sweetheart. It's a bad, bad town.
(Char): ...I think he's film noir-ing the muse section...
I'm scared.
(Dew): (same) Fear. Something I can't afford myself. There's something about this life that just makes me want to scream, but... that's not my job. I'm the responsible, respected one. It's not my place to do that. Maybe... it's yours. It wasn't Sue's...
(Char): Stop... talking...
I agree.
(Dew): (same) They wanted to silence me, but I couldn't let myself- (drops from being hit in the head by a flying brick)
o.O
(Char): (smiling and holding another brick) Anyone else want a piece?
...no ma'am.
You really don't want to make her angry... you should review, just in case!