Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. The characters from Doctor Who are the property of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). I do not own them and do not make any profit from this fiction except for my own enjoyment in spending time with them.
However, all original characters in this story, as well as the plotline, DO belong to me and may not be used elsewhere without my permission.
Musical Selections: "The End of Sadness" from the Inuyasha television series, First Season Soundtrack, copyright 2002.
"Greenwaves" by Secret Garden from their CD "Once in a Red Moon," copyright 2002, Universal Music AS, Norway; Composed by Rolf Lovland, Lyrics by Anne Hampton Callaway.
"Elegie" by Secret Garden from their CD "Once in a Red Moon," copyright 2002, Universal Music AS, Norway; Composed by Rolf Lovland, Lyrics by Rolf Lovland.
Strong recommendation to my music-loving readers: Get hold of the song "Elegie" by any legal means you can ( I highly recommend the Secret Garden CD "Once in a Red Moon" - many selections from this CD are in the soundtrack to "Bridge"), and start playing the track at the "revelations outside the monastery" scene. When the vocal chorus comes in with "Miserere nobis," (Latin for "Have mercy on us"), it coincides with the line "Get out of my way." Now really crank the volume at this final, tension-building minute of the song, picturing the final reverberating "gong" of the last note coinciding with the slamming of a huge door.
All right, I know that I've whetted your appetite for the chapter to come, impulsively promising "my best chapter ever." However, I have since realized that "best chapter" is a judgment that is not mine to bestow. I will tell you, however, that this chapter has been the most difficult piece of writing I have ever tackled to date--and the fact that I've posted it means that I am satisfied with its quality. Thank you.
One final acknowledgement:
This chapter is dedicated to Ryuen, in deepest gratitude for her unflagging enthusiasm for this story, her strong support and insightful critiques, for the sacrifice of her own free time in the cause of beta-reading, and finally, for being such a magnificent friend. Ryu-chan - this one's for you.
XxX
Chapter 17. Suzaku no Seishi Chichiri
In those final moments, as she watched the mystical arrows hiss through the air on their unwavering path to her heart, she was amazed at the myriad thoughts that flashed through her mind. It was different than she had imagined it would be, these seconds before her death. It wasn't the old cliché of time slowing down; rather, it was as if she sped up, the rapidity of her thoughts easily outstripping the speed of light. Yet instead of becoming entangled in a tedious review of her life's highlights, she was caught in the moment, experiencing every single sight, sensation and emotion with breathtaking clarity.
The dull blackness of the arrows caught her eye, no glint of metal visible in the dim light, for they were not made of solid substance but rather the malignant absence of light. Strange to be killed by something that wasn't there.
No barriers, no place to run…no time to duck, anyway.
The anguish in the Doctor's eyes.
Now was the first flash of grief and pain. It wasn't fair that he should have to bear the burden of her death. It wasn't fair that she should be the one to do this to him, when she loved him so much - more than anyone in her life except for one other. It wasn't fair that he would now try to erase his memories of her because of the pain, instead of remembering their time together with laughter and love.
It wasn't fair that she wouldn't get the chance to say good-bye.
A surge of rage at the injustice. Bringing up the ash staff in a defiant last gesture…
...but feeling it twist from her grasp, spinning mystically in the air before her as a hoarse voice cried out, "Fusege!"
And then--it was over.
XxX
His throat burned, aching from the desperate cry that had been wrenched from him--but none of that mattered, for it had worked. The staff had spun under his command, deflecting the death arrows and sending them back into the darkness from which they had sprung.
Across the room, he saw Joss bend over, grasping her knees for support, gasping in relief at her narrow escape. However, the person who now held his attention stood right in front of him, her hazel eyes wide in disbelief as she turned and met his gaze.
Kouran. Whole and perfect once more. Staring at him as if he were the ghost.
He understood it now: all of the nightmare images, all of the horror and grief that had forced him to face his guilt and responsibilities…
It was all about second chances. Rarer than diamonds, more ephemeral than morning dew, second chances were precious beyond reckoning--and he wasn't about to waste this wondrous gift. Now, for the last time, he would have the chance to tell her what was in his heart…what had been in his heart all along, even on that last day when he had fled her presence in bitter pain.
He tried to go to her, but something restrained him. Impatient with the hindrance, he rasped, "Hanase, ima!" Something metallic at his wrists cracked and fell away, allowing him to stagger forward.
She stood frozen in place, her eyes dark with some unfathomable emotion as she stared at him. She held something small and luminescent in her right hand…a pearl? It had to be some kind of magical object that gave her the power to cast deadly spells, like the one she cast at Joss.
He couldn't allow that to happen again; he had to tell her--
Swallowing hard, he tried to form words in his dry mouth. "Please," his voice was hoarse but clear, "please don't try to hurt her again. She's my friend, and she was there for me when you couldn't be."
Her eyes widened, so that she looked almost frightened of him. That wasn't right; he had to reassure her, to let her know that he understood everything.
"You don't have to be jealous. You're the one I love." He reached up a shaking hand and gently cupped her smooth cheek. "And although I know…I know that you're dead," his lips trembled with emotion as his eye filled with tears, "I'll always love you."
There was a stillness, a silence so profound that Time itself seemed to hold its breath. In that silence, two crystal drops welled up before falling from Kouran's green eyes. Suddenly shy, she lowered her glance, her long lashes veiling her brimming eyes. She leaned into the hand that cradled her cheek, her expression turning tender, vulnerable…loving. He looked down at her and softly brushed her long, dark hair from her face, holding onto this last moment with her, wishing with bittersweet longing that it would never end.
"Break it!" rasped a voice, raw with pain. "Break the goddamn illusion before I break your fucking head!"
Kouran jumped, and Houjun looked up, shocked to see Joss standing with the staff poised over Kouran's head. Her expression was twisted in grief, waves of anguish surging through her so strongly that they crashed against his own ki like breakers on a beach. His heart dropped, and he choked, "Joss, no!" not wanting to raise his hand against her.
"Do it!" Magus' deep tones boomed through the small, dark room. "I won't protect you, so I recommend that you do as she says!"
Houjun turned to see Magus and the Doctor standing on the far side of the room. He shook his head in confusion, wondering why Magus was barking orders at Kouran. At that moment, Kouran's hand tightened on his arm, and he looked down to see her gazing into his face with passion and longing--before closing the shell that held the pearl with a soft click.
Kouran's delicate features blurred before his confused gaze, and he blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. Suddenly, the face in his hand came sharply into focus. To his shock, he found himself staring down in Maboroshi's distinct features. He flinched, pulling his hand back as if it had been burned. "What…what is this? Where is she?"
Maboroshi closed his eyes, tears escaping him as his lips parted in a soundless cry of loss. Houjun stared at the faces surrounding him: Joss, blinking rapidly as she lowered the staff, refusing to meet his gaze; the Doctor, his expression grim and closed; Magus, his masked visage enigmatic as ever--and finally, Maboroshi standing where Kouran had stood, his head bowed as he sucked in his breath in soft sobs.
"So it was all a lie? She was never here?" Houjun's voice trembled in disbelief. "I never held her--or told her--? Oh, gods!" He brought his hands up to his face as the tears came, as they always came in his bitter life. Sinkng to his knees and rocking himself in grief, he realized that there were no second chances--not for him, not ever again. She was gone forever, and she would never know…
A few steps away, Joss stood with her arms tightly crossed, hugging herself, her tears now falling freely. She bit her lip and shifted from foot-to-foot in indecision--then, grimacing, she stooped beside Houjun, wrapping her arms around him and murmuring soft words of comfort.
The Doctor raked a weary hand through his hair, feeling the heartbreak of three young humans as they wept before him, and once again, for the millionth time, he wondered why. His dark reverie was interrupted by Magus' authoritative tones.
"Maboroshi, approach!"
The boy straightened, wiping at his eyes with one sleeve, tensing as if he were about to defy Magus, but habit born of long years of servitude brought him with dragging steps to answer his master's command.
The obsidian mask stared down at him in imposing silence, but Maboroshi was too lost in his own grief to be intimidated. Finally Magus sighed. "There are no words to sufficiently describe my disappointment in you, Maboroshi--in both you and Kurayami. Nor, in your current state of mind, would it be worth my while to try to enlighten you to the magnitude of the disaster that you have wrought. Therefore, I command only this: that you and Kurayami be confined to your quarters until I have time to deal with you both. You are dismissed. Take the body of your confederate with you as you go."
Maboroshi turned away, his expression dull and lost. He lifted the body of Kurayami easily over one shoulder, as if she had no more substance than a bag of bones, and walked out of the secret room without looking back.
Magus walked over and stood contemplating Houjun in his misery, the mage's eyes sparking with anger but his deep voice gentle with concern. "How is he?"
Joss released Houjun, interposing herself between him and Magus. "What do you care, you bastard? Want to know how effective your torture was, want to see up close? I'll give you fair warning: I took down Kurayami and I'll do it to you, you arrogant son-of-a-bitch!"
Amusement wafted from the enigmatic figure. "Technically I don't have a mother, but I take your meaning. However, please believe me when I tell you I had no idea of Kurayami's machinations nor of Shouryuu's confinement here. I would never condone any abuse of him."
"Fuck that, and fuck you!"
"Joss," warned the Doctor, feeling the situation escalating out of control. "He is telling the truth--at the moment, that is."
"Oh yeah? Well, he's still responsible for bringing that mega-bitch here in the first place and helping to set up Houjun in the exorcism!"
"Joss, this isn't helping."
"She's quite right, Doctor," interrupted Magus. "The final responsibility lies with me. I chose to bring Kurayami here because of her advanced abilities, but I utterly failed to take into account her aptitude for evil." The mask turned towards Joss once again. "My plan was for Shouryuu to succeed in a very difficult exorcism with no help from me, thus strengthening his resolve to remain with the school, but Kurayami's plan was obviously quite different. However, she claimed that he had staged the disaster so that he could escape with his new friend," the mask swung back towards the Doctor, "and until I had the chance to question him myself, I could not prove otherwise."
"Bull! You expect us to believe that you knew Houjun for over eighteen months and still thought him capable of cold-blooded murder? I'm not buying it! You've got some other plan up your nasty sleeve, and you might as well spit it out, 'cause if I don't get to the bottom of it," Joss jabbed a finger at the Doctor, "he will!"
"Her crudeness is regrettable, but her perceptiveness provokes admiration," Magus addressed the Doctor, ignoring Joss. "Very much your type of companion, if I remember correctly."
"Indeed," replied the Doctor smoothly. "Joss values honesty above all else and has a low tolerance for lack of the same in others. Also, being a sentient, intelligent person, she deserves the respect of being addressed directly--if you have the courage, that is."
"Point taken, Doctor." Magus fixed his glittering gaze on Joss. "You are correct in your assumptions, young woman. I'd strongly suspected that Kurayami had taken action to dispose of one whom she regarded as a possible competitor, and knew when Shouryuu broke his word to me and failed to return to the school, it meant he had been severely damaged. I had also suspected that this mysterious traveler, whom Kurayami subsequently reported that Shouryuu addressed as 'Doctor,' would do more to heal the trauma he'd suffered than anything I could achieve. So I decided to wait, expecting that the endless curiosity of both Shouryuu and the Doctor would bring them back here in due time. I did not, however, foresee that Kurayami would bring Shouryuu back sooner for her own purposes: purposes that I intend to uncover shortly."
"Okay, I get it now," retorted Joss. "So you're a good guy, stupid but well-meaning. Fine, my bad. In any case, we're blowing this joint. See ya around, don't wait for a call."
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that." The menace beneath the calm tones was unmistakable. "You may leave, but Shouryuu must remain. He has an important role to play, a critical mission to fulfill."
"You can take that 'critical mission' and shove it up your critical--!"
"Joss, wait." The voice was low and hoarse. Houjun had pushed to his feet behind Joss, pale and visibly trembling yet holding onto his reason despite all that he had suffered. "You're right, Magus. I did intend to return here for the answers you are now offering." He grasped Joss' arm, both restraining her and drawing on her strength.
Magus fixed a long look upon the bloodied, shaking figure. "Admirable as always, Shouryuu; even now, in spite of all of your grievous wounds, you seek enlightenment." The rumbling tones deepened in genuine concern. "But I recommend that you return to your chamber and rest; it will be a while before you are mentally ready to reassume your role in this great undertaking."
"What undertaking? After all of this, why should your mission matter to me?" Houjun was genuinely bewildered.
"It matters to everyone here, Shouryuu--everyone in this room, in this school, in this world!" Magus' voice intensified as he fixed Shouryuu with a hypnotic stare. "The fate of millions rests upon your shoulders; this is not a responsibility you can ignore! I need you to--"
"No, you don't." The Doctor grasped Magus' arm, pulling him away so that they could confer in private. "Let the boy go," he urged softly, so that Joss and Houjun could not hear. "He's too damaged to do you much good in any case. Who knows how long it will take him to regain the psychic strength you require?"
Magus shook his head. "I have no choice, as well you know, Doctor; Shouryuu is all that I have! I need him."
"No, you don't," interrupted the Doctor for the second time. "You don't need him...when you have me."
Magus glared at the Doctor. "I've already told you that I need a human prism to focus the psychic energies of my human students. You lack the attributes I require."
"No, you lack those attributes," retorted the Doctor calmly. "Look into my eyes, Magus."
Magus sighed wearily. "Doctor, you disappoint me with these tired cliches."
"You misunderstand me. Look deep into my eyes, Magus--all the way to the retinas."
Magus regarded the Doctor warily, then, catching the smaller man's chin in a strong grip, he turned the Doctor's face to the lamplight. He leaned in, his gaze focused tightly on the Doctor's widening pupils, then drew back with a gasp.
"You have…your retinal pattern…you're half-human! I never knew!"
"Not many do. It's not information I spread around…usually. But getting back to the point, you can see that I have what you require."
"I…I don't know," Magus muttered uncertainly. "I don't know if this will work--and I'm fairly certain that I can't trust you!"
"With the fate of an entire world at stake? I thought that you had studied my history, Magus."
"Yes, I have, and that's exactly why I don't trust you," retorted Magus, drawing back from the Doctor and pacing in unaccustomed agitation. "You're a liar, a trickster, a manipulator of minds--"
"And I'm all that you've got," finished the Doctor. "Think about it, Magus. Houjun may recover, but it will take time, a commodity that we may not have. I'm ready right at this moment, and furthermore, I understand exactly what it is that you require me to do. In fact, I daresay that I understand it better than you."
Magus stopped and straightened, regaining his equanimity. "Circles within circles," he murmured to himself. "Yes, there is a symmetry to this that I cannot deny…" He raised his voice so that the others could hear. "Very well. I accept your offer, Doctor." He turned his mask toward Joss and Houjun. "You two may leave."
"NO!" Houjun pushed away from Joss. His hands fisted at his side as he glared wildly at the two men. "I don't understand everything that's going on here," he rasped, "but I know this much! I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself in my place, Doctor! I've already told you: you have no right to fight my battles for me! I won't have it!"
"And I've already told you," intoned the Doctor in a strange, bloodless voice, "this situation involves more than just you." His eyes flared with an abstruse green light, making Joss step back involuntarily.
Houjun was not so easily unnerved. "It doesn't matter what you say!" His hands trembled with fatigue, yet he stretched them out to the Doctor, palms up. "Please," he pleaded, "don't do this to us. We agreed to stand together, remember? Joss said that we're a team." His eye filled with tears. "There's so much that I've lost this day, so much that I can't understand…but the one thing in my life that's true--is you."
Silence fell once again like an avalanche of soft snow, trapping them all in a strange stillness…a stillness in which the Doctor inexplicably failed to move toward Houjun, leaving the reaching hands empty, yearning…
"How very touching." Magus' voice crackled with sarcasm, breaking the silence like an axe driven into ice. "And how sad, Shouryuu, that you should have placed your trust in one such as him. But the question is--did you really, of your own accord, place your trust in him? Or did he manipulate you into doing so?"
Houjun shot an angry glance at Magus. "What are you talking about? What would you know about trust--or about us?"
"Such disrespect," sighed Magus, shaking his head. "Yet we have a history between us, a relationship in which I've always told you the truth. I've never concealed from you the fact that we were embroiled in a great undertaking, a mission that might call for the sacrifice of all you have. Yet you had wisely remained wary, keeping your secrets to yourself--until you met him."
He moved forward until he stood behind the Doctor, facing Houjun and Joss, the mystical eyes behind his mask seeming somehow less strange than the Doctor's cryptic stare. "How long did it take for you to trust him, Shouryuu? Five minutes…ten? How long was it before you were blurting out secrets that you had never told anyone?"
Houjun blinked and stepped back.
"Don't be ashamed," Magus' voice was condescendingly reassuring. "He works that way with everyone: invading their minds, manipulating them to trust him. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that he's famous for it! Haven't you ever noticed how he slips past nearly everyone's guard?"
Houjun expelled a breath, trying to force away the memory of how quickly Saihitei and his Imperial advisor had trusted the Doctor, how easily Ryuuen had obeyed him--how he himself, with all of his wariness born of experience, had almost immediately opened up to the stranger. "No." He shook his head slowly from side-to-side, uncertain of what he was denying. "No."
"No?" Magus mocked.
"It wasn't like that!" Houjun burst out. "Tell him, Doctor!"
But the Doctor continued to stare silently past Houjun, denying nothing. There was nothing remorseful or abashed in his stare--only cold indifference.
"No, you can't fool me, Doctor! You helped me…held me…forgave me for my crimes!"
"Did he now?" Magus purred. "What crimes might those be? The accidental death of your friend? How very charitable of him to bestow absolution--he, who has killed millions!"
"You're lying!" Joss shouted furiously, unable to keep silent any longer. "He could never hurt anyone! You're the liar, you're the manipulator!"
"Another deluded soul," sighed Magus. "Well, Doctor, what do you have to say? Am I indeed a liar?"
The Doctor settled his gaze on Joss and Houjun, his eyes empty of anything but a sort of distant contempt. "What is there to say? These…children are not capable of understanding."
"Yes, we are!" begged Joss. "Just tell us, Doctor! We know that Magus is lying; we know that you aren't that way!"
"Then you must go out into the galaxy and re-educate various species." Magus retorted, savagely amused. "Do you imagine that you know him? You don't even know his true name! Of course, he reveals it to no one, so the races he encounters must make up their own names for him." His voice darkened, growing serious so that his tones rang ominous and true. "The Daleks call him, 'Ka Faraq Gatri,' 'the Bringer of Darkness.' The Draconians' name for him means 'The Oncoming Storm.' He has destroyed entire planets, watched coldly as millions have perished by his hand--and all know that when the Doctor appears, death and destruction follow in his wake!"
"You're lying!" screamed Houjun, losing control. "Doctor, tell him!" He lunged forward and grasped the Doctor's velvet lapels, staring desperately into the cold emerald eyes. "Tell him that he's lying! Don't let him do this to us! Don't LEAVE ME!"
The Doctor reached up and covered Houjun's hands with his own. Houjun closed his eye in relief at the simple touch. He knew it! He knew that the Doctor would never--
"Leave you?" The voice was soft and contemptuous. Houjun frowned in confusion and opened his eye to meet a glittering blue-green gaze as complex and detached as the eyes of a dragonfly. "I'm not leaving anything. You are. Go." With that, the Doctor plucked Houjun's hands from his lapels.
Houjun stood and stared at the Doctor, grief surging through his heart--then looked down at his empty hands. "How can you do this to me?" he whispered. "Aren't we the same?"
"The same?" Magus laughed. "He's not the same as you; if anything, he's more like me than anyone else in this room."
"You're a lying bastard!" hissed Joss. "He's nothing like you!"
"Oh, no? Then feel this!" He shot his sleeves back and reached out his arm to Joss, turning it palm upward so that his wrist was exposed. "Go on; take my pulse."
Joss moved forward suspiciously, taking the proffered hand as if it were a dead reptile. She pressed her fingers to his wrist, then frowned. She moved her fingers all around his wrist, checking and rechecking. "You have two pulses!" she gasped.
"Yes. It's an inevitable side-effect of having two hearts."
"But no human has--!"
"Exactly correct." He turned his mask toward Houjun. "Now it's your turn." Houjun stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Magus. "Oh, very well. Doctor, would you mind?"
The Doctor extended one arm. Magus pushed back the velvet sleeve, then undid the diamond links on the silk cuff, pushing that up as well. "Shouryuu, if you please."
Houjun remained still for a moment before pushing forward and grasping the Doctor's wrist. He clung desperately to his friend's arm, hoping to somehow reach him, shake him, make him listen, make him feel.
But the Doctor remained motionless in his frantic grasp. The seconds ticked by, and Houjun tightened his grip--then felt it. Repeating patterns of double beats fluttering beneath his fingers, tiny traces of the powerful organs that drove blood through the Doctor's body. Throb-throb. Throb-throb. Each time, one beat too many. The skin strangely cool, like the skin of some loathsome, lidless creature.
Different. Foreign.
Alien.
He looked up into the chill green-blue eyes, the color shifting in the spectra of strange and distant stars--and felt his own heart stop in dread. "What…" he choked, nearly overcome by feelings of rage, betrayal, and primal fear, "what in all the hells are you?"
XxX
The Doctor stood at the narrow window high in the rear tower, gazing down at the small loop of road that glimmered like a silver ribbon in the moonlight. To his relief, he saw two tiny shadows moving rapidly along the road: riders on horseback appearing and disappearing from his view as they galloped away from the mystical castle.
It had taken a strong mental message to compel Joss to pull the shaken, angry Houjun from the chamber and set out eastward for the monastery of Suzaku. Her mind had flared up in protest at leaving him, but he had forced his will upon her, invading her mind and playing upon her fears for Houjun's life. He winced inwardly. What he had done to her was bad enough, but it paled in comparison to how he had violated Houjun's trust. The Doctor felt a lump rise in his throat as he remembered the look of betrayal on Houjun's face. "Needs must," he whispered to himself, firmly pushing away the thought of how many times he had used that phrase in his last incarnation.
"Shall I offer you a penny?" Magus' deep tones startled him out of his reverie.
The Doctor turned to face his rival, reassuming his air of casual insouciance. "They're hardly worth the price. Shall we go on?" Turning back, he resumed climbing the winding stairs.
"You needn't worry. Shouryuu and your young woman are quite safe for the moment…well, as safe as anyone on this planet."
The Doctor shrugged, stopping before the huge metal alloy door to the crystal chamber. "The important thing is that they're no longer underfoot."
Magus sighed and pushed past the Doctor. "How many times must I remind you I have studied your ways? Your companions are never just casual acquaintances to you, Doctor, so you may as well curtail your increasingly wearisome attempts to deceive me." He raised one hand vertically to his face as he focused his psychic power by muttering soft, sibilant words. The Doctor recognized the same spell-casting technique that Houjun used, no doubt learned under Magus' instruction.
The door groaned as it yielded its great weight to the power of Magus' command, inching slowly open as if reluctant to grant them access. The Doctor lightly touched its brushed metal surface. "Dwarf star alloy? Isn't that overkill in this low-tech world?"
"I prefer to err on the side of caution. The density of the dwarf star composite will hold against nearly any assault. This makes it an effective first-line defense for the chamber below, which will serve not only as the focal point of my psychic signal enhancement, but also as the control center when the initial attacks commence." Magus politely waved the Doctor past, indicating that he was to precede him down the floating staircase.
"Ah, yes, the initial attacks." The Doctor's voice took on a distinct chill as he made a leisurely descent into the vaulted chamber, pausing every so often to examine the entire psychic focusing arena, and staring especially hard at the crystalline array above the raised dais. "I suppose you realize that no matter how successful your counterattack, there are certain to be a significant number of deaths once the Swarm makes its appearance. But then again, I believe that your sort has a name for this eventuality. Collateral damage, isn't that right?"
Magus brushed past him once they reached the chamber floor. "I've never used that term myself, but I suppose it applies under the circumstances."
The Doctor wandered around the chamber, trailing a finger across blank marble-like slabs, watching as control panels appeared magically in their depths to request pass codes in classic Gallifreyan. "How much do you really know about the Swarm?"
"I would venture to say that I know more about the ways of the Swarm than you do." Magus' voice remained steady, but the Doctor noted the slight tremor in his hands. "For example, general knowledge holds that the Swarm enters a new situation in a methodical and cautious way for the protection of the Hive. The intelligent half of the symbiote, the ones known as the 'Controllers,' do not even set foot on a target planet until their non-sentient, bioengineered cohort species, the 'Shadow-Beasts,' make a series of initial forays to determine the capabilities of their prey. Only if the prey is unlikely to pose a threat to the Hive will the Swarm proceed with the decisive attack protocol. However, I happen to know that they are capable of modifying their behavior to move quickly into a favorable prey environment should the opportunity present itself."
"Really?" The Doctor's interest was piqued. "And how did you come by this piece of information?"
"No."
"It wasn't a yes-or-no question."
"It is now. I have no interest in enlightening you at this time. Please remove your coat and waistcoat and step up to the dais, Doctor."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "So soon? Your students haven't even arrived yet."
"It's a few hours until dawn. Talented as they are, I would prefer they get as much rest as possible before this strenuous task. After all, they're only human." Magus smiled a grim, humorless smile.
"So you need me at this moment to--?"
"Let's just call it an initial fitting session."
The Doctor shrugged off his garments as requested and stepped up to the dais. Suddenly, Magus leapt at him and slammed him back against the crossbar structure, snapping the restraints quickly around his wrists and ankles.
"Ouch!" complained the Doctor. "And how rude!"
"I have told you that I prefer to err on the side of caution, especially when it comes to you, Doctor. I'm well aware of your talent for escaping the most elaborate of prisons, so I've decided to keep it simple. A few restraints, and myself as honorary guard."
"Overkill again, Magus; why should I attempt to escape when I worked so hard to get here?"
"Ah yes…it was interesting to watch your mental manipulation of your trusting associates. You certainly did nothing to refute the accusations I brought against you. However, it was all for naught; you may have pushed Shouryuu away for the present, but I shall merely fetch him back when I have need of him."
"That may not be as easy as you think. He will be beyond your reach--"
"Hiding out at the monastery of Suzaku," Magus interrupted, his voice an amused rumble. "Really, Doctor, you disappoint me with your continual transparency. I'm beginning to think that I should re-examine the sentience scores of all of the enemies you have defeated. Did you truly believe that Shouryuu would be safe behind a shield of worshippers of an imaginary god?"
"Imaginary, is that what you think? At least that explains your careless attitude towards this world, but," the Doctor leaned forward, pulling against his restraints. "why do you still want Houjun? I have all the abilities you require."
"Perhaps…or perhaps not. In any case, I know you too well to trust you. It is also evident that I cannot trust Kurayami or her pawn Maboroshi. The ultimate psychic weapon must have more than power, Doctor; he must have faith in the mission and the desire to fulfill it. Your intention is to thwart me, whereas Kurayami…well, her motives are murkier, but I feel certain she does not wish me success. Therefore, the responsibility shall fall to Shouryuu once again. With the right manipulation, especially after you so brutally destroyed his faith in you, it will only be a matter of time."
"I thought you had no more time. You said the Swarm could arrive at any moment!"
The man behind the mask regarded him calmly. "I lied. Without the focusing power of the psychic prism, my students did not have the power to send a transdimensional signal."
The Doctor fisted his hands in frustration. "So once again, what's it all for?"
"Ah, the purpose of this array remains the same; the timing is just a bit different. Instead of being the defense against the enemy, your purpose shall be to draw them here." Magus hesitated, then spoke very softly, as if to himself, "I can't begin to describe how steeped in irony that is." He seemed lost in thought for a moment but suddenly shook his head and continued to attach fiberoptic lines to the Doctor's temples. "When you offered yourself in Shouryuu's place, you presented me with a perfect solution to the problem of his mental trauma. You gave me a psychic prism that I could utilize while waiting for him to recover, thus eliminating a tiresome delay. However, there is a significant complication."
Magus looked up and met the Doctor's curious gaze. "You rebuked me earlier, asking why I hadn't volunteered myself as the psychic prism. What you do not realize is that long before I found Shouryuu, I did attempt to execute that role--and succeeded in nearly executing myself. In spite of the many similarities between human and Gallifreyan physiologies, there appears to be a definite incompatibility in the interface of their psychic energies. It seems that the concentration of human psychic wave forms in the Gallifreyan brain results in the destruction of Gallifreyan neural tissues. In other words, although Shouryuu would have survived this first psychic focusing experiment, it is unlikely that your half-Gallifreyan physiognomy will allow you to do the same. It will be a definite race against time for me to fully utilize your focusing abilities before your cerebral cortex is, shall we say, compromised. I could almost feel pity for you--if I hadn't lost my capacity for pity long ago."
He stepped back to critically survey his handiwork. "Once you have been spent, I will bring Shouryuu back to play the role for which I have groomed him. Then the Swarm will be eliminated for all eternity, and everyone will live happily ever after. Except for you, of course."
The Doctor snorted. "Nor Houjun, either, don't forget. In any case, that's a terribly linear way of thinking. Your presumption of success is premature, considering the nature of your enemy. How can you conceive of such an undertaking without a contingency plan?"
"Oh, I have contingency plans." Magus' voice grew soft with menace. "But they are of no concern to you, Doctor, since you will not be around to appreciate them. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."
The Doctor subsided into silence for the next hour or so, using the opportunity to observe Magus as he moved around the chamber. His gaze sharpened as he took in Magus' increasingly unsteady hands and occasional stumbles. Finally he decided that it was time to draw Magus' attention back to himself.
"You haven't slept in a very long time, have you?"
Magus didn't look up from the control console. "You know very well that our species does not require much sleep."
"True…but even a Gallifreyan must sleep for at least an hour or so every two diurnal cycles." The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "My guess is that you haven't closed your eyes for at least three weeks."
Magus sighed with exaggerated patience, but the tremor in his hands increased. "Sleep is highly overrated; you yourself expound that belief. In any case, I grow weary of explaining myself to you. Can't you find something else to occupy your mind?"
"As a matter of fact, no. I'm terribly bored just hanging around here, and since the only other thoughts that come to mind involve my painful and inevitable demise, I'd much rather talk about you. For example, all of your cryptic remarks about the Swarm seem to hint at some connection with me. I can't help but feel that there is something personal between us, something I know nothing about--but you do."
Magus clutched the console, his knuckles white from the pressure, then slowly relaxed his grip before replying. "Why don't we talk about you, Doctor?" His tone sharpened. "Your genetic makeup is quite unexpected. Considering the rank and class of your Gallifreyan ancestry, I must say that your father's choice of a human mate is surprising."
"Careful, now." The Doctor's voice was soft but cold. "Although my physiognomy is Gallifreyan, I am no more tolerant of insults to my mother than any other human."
"I meant no disrespect," Magus replied honestly. "In fact, I feel nothing but admiration for the way your father flouted Gallifreyan convention to make his own choice. I myself--" He stopped suddenly.
"You yourself what? You're full Gallifreyan, so you can't claim alien ancestry--Ah. I see it now. It's not me that you identify with; it's my father." The Doctor pressed his advantage. "So you decided to participate in a little cross-species experimentation?"
"I did not insult your mother, Doctor; do not insult my wife!" Magus snarled--then stopped once more. "I can't believe it! You're doing it again!" He brought a hand up to one temple, as if he were in pain.
"Doing what?" The Doctor deliberately added a mocking note to his voice. "I merely wished to discover what manner of time lord I'm dealing with--and now I know. It's as I said before: you're nothing but a rank amateur, a one-time fanboy who thought he could follow in my footsteps--up until he stumbled, that is." He could see that Magus was visibly trembling and pushed it as far as it would go. "Just look at you, hiding out in this back corner of the universe, playing your pathetic genocidal games! Why did you even bother dallying with a female from another world, if all you were going to do was abandon her and any of your unfortunate progeny in favor of pretending to be me?" He leaned forward as far as the restraints would allow.
"Shut up!" roared Magus, goaded to the breaking point. "You arrogant, superior--you know nothing of my family, so just shut UP!"
The Doctor's eyes gleamed with contempt. "I know they're not here, so obviously they mean much less to you than your fantasies of cross-dimensional domination!"
Magus leaped up onto the platform and shoved the Doctor back, knocking his head hard against the crossbar. "Yes, they're not here!" he screamed into the Doctor's face. "They're not here, because they're not anywhere! They're DEAD, Doctor--and YOU--! He choked off his words, then grasped the Doctor's silk shirt and tore it down the middle, grabbing up a handful of fiberoptic lines and attaching them wildly, randomly to the Doctor's chest.
The Doctor blinked rapidly, trying to regain his focus. "And I what? What are you getting at, Magus? How am I supposed to understand your ravings?"
Magus grabbed the torn edges of the Doctor's shirt, pulling him up as if he were about to shake him or strike him. His mystical eyes blazed with fury, but he suddenly pushed away from the Doctor and spun around, returning to his control console. His fingers flew rapidly over the surface with jerky, agitated movements.
"You've asked so many questions this night," he hissed. "You've stood there with your immutable sense of superiority and passed judgment on me, as you have passed judgment on so many other species. Well, I'm going to shock you out of your calm conceit." He paused and glared up at the disheveled figure on the dais. "You've tried again and again to get me to divulge our common history, and at last you shall have your way. But there is a condition, Doctor: each time that I feel pain in relating my story--so will you."
He jabbed one finger at a control on the panel. The fiberoptic lines attached to the Doctor's chest glowed with transmitted energy, and the Doctor cried out and jerked against the restraints. Magus drew the back of one shaking hand across his mouth. "Yes," he murmured, "that is only level four on a scale of ten--just a slight taste of what is to come. I believe you're ready now."
He turned and faced the Doctor, keeping one hand on the control console. "As usual, your guesses as to my story were not far off the mark, although I don't feel that my past deserves your contempt. Yes, I had been part of a group of rebellious young Gallifreyans who found a common interest in your carefully shrouded history, a history that we took delight in uncovering. We hacked into the sealed records at the Capitol and spent many an afternoon vicariously experiencing the universe through your numerous, varied--and always officially denied--adventures on behalf of Gallifrey. You had also appeared to continually intervene for the good of Earth and her human colonists, although I didn't understand why, until now. My friends eventually settled down, as good little Gallifreyans were expected to do, but I could never resign myself to that life. I remained unsettled, dissatisfied, longing for adventure--and perhaps part of that was your fault, although I feel most of it was due to my own intrinsic nature. However, unlike you, I never rebelled openly; I just bided my time, going through the motions of being a proper time lord--until they awarded me my first TARDIS."
The Doctor listened attentively, noticing that although Magus seemed calmer, he also seemed wearier, less in control of himself with each passing minute.
"Unlike you, I am a patient man, Doctor. I played the game, staying firmly within the rules during my time of probation: never straying off course or too far from current time. When I finally became firmly established in one of those paralyzingly boring historical survey positions, I made my move. I detonated a decoy artron bomb, sent up an aborted distress signal, then disappeared through a collapsing neutron star into an alternate dimension that I had detected during one of my surveys. I assumed the High Council gave me a respectable funeral, despite the absence of a body."
Magus gave a soft, rueful laugh, so deep into his memories that he seemed to have forgotten the Doctor's presence. "The first world I stumbled across in that dimension was a peaceful, green planet inhabited by a race of ultra-sensitive telepaths who called themselves the Ni-fal-rlan, and the first Ni-fal-rlan I encountered was a tall, graceful woman of few words, like all her people, but imbued with immense curiosity and humor. And so began--and ended--my career in galactic intervention. I lost all interest in your history, Doctor, in your adventures and philosophy and companions, for I had finally found a companion of my own: Ki-eyrin-ciel, beloved poet of the Southern shores of Ni-fal."
"Ki-eyrin-ciel," repeated Magus, and her name was like a poem on his lips. "I called her 'Eyrin' for short, and she laughed at our strange custom of alternate names. She laughed at many things, at everything--our differences, our similarities--and I spent my days dreamily contemplating the next time I would hear that musical laugh. We were joined officially in the rites of her world: a huge and joyful celebration, for Eyrin was revered and loved throughout the world for her skill as a poet and songwriter.
"We had resigned ourselves to childlessness, for we were of two different species--but somewhere in the mists of time we must have shared a common ancestry, for we were gifted with the miracle of a son. He had her long, narrow features and throaty laugh, and my inquisitive eyes and restlessness. We named him, "Ciel-kei-ama," 'Child of the Land and Sky.'" The lips beneath the mask curved in fond memory. "For the next eight solar revolutions, I lived a life of thrilling adventure, the adventure of falling deeper in love with the most extraordinary woman I had ever met and of being part of the wonder of life that was our son. I thought I would have that happiness forever.
"But one day, Doctor--one day, strange and terrible beasts came tumbling into our atmosphere as if they had been flung from a celestial catapult. They were disoriented at first, and we killed many of them, but they regrouped quickly under the command of their masters. That was when the carnage began." The glittering eyes lifted and fixed on the Doctor with a steady, terrible stare. "You might wonder why a planet of peaceful telepaths attacked and killed seemingly helpless creatures, but we were not ignorant of what they were. We knew of the Shadow Beasts of the Swarm--how could a psychic race hope to survive in the same dimension as those vicious predators without developing survival skills? The Ni-fal-rlan had over the course of millennia erected a psychic shield of vast proportions, a shield that commenced at their nearest moon and extended outward for light-years, behind which they had remained safely hidden for thousands of years. They had erected offworld outposts and guard asteroids; they had never expected the Swarm to somehow bypass the shield and end up within our atmosphere with no warning whatsoever.
"I'll never forget those first hours of confusion and death." Magus' hand twitched spasmodically on the panel, and the Doctor felt a growing heat in his chest. "The screams, the dust, the blood--we fought with whatever weapons we could find, but they broke like matchsticks in the jaws of those demon beasts. It wasn't until a group of civilian militia trained a high-powered sonic signal on the creatures that we were able to kill some and force the rest to retreat. However, we knew their masters, the Controllers, could not be far behind--and that the evil of these engineered creatures would pale in comparison to the ruthlessness of their hell-born leaders."
Sweat began beading on the Doctor's temples as the heat in his chest intensified. "Magus!" he gasped. "Why are you doing this to me? I still don't understand!"
"Oh, you will, Doctor; be patient." He released the switch, and the heat subsided. The Doctor leaned his head back against the crossbar, closing his eyes in relief. "Listen to the story you so desperately wanted to hear. We knew our world was in intense, perhaps fatal peril. I was no hero, Doctor; I could only think of the welfare of my own beloved family. I begged Eyrin and Kei to get into my long-unused TARDIS and escape with me, but Eyrin refused. She was a symbol of hope for her people, and she would not desert them in their darkest hour. However, she begged me to take the TARDIS back to Gallifrey and plead for help from the time lords. Some demon of desperation made me comply, for it was not my own death I feared so much as hers and Kei's. I tried to take Kei with me, but he refused to part from his mother, saying that she needed him to defend her until I returned."
The Doctor cried out as pain suddenly flashed through his body.
"No, Doctor, hold on--much lies ahead before we are through with this tale! I kissed my beloved ones hastily, for we knew time was short, then I steered once more through the dimensional gate to a star system I had hoped never to set eyes upon again. I shocked Gallifreyan planetary defenses into granting me access, and burst wildly into the meeting chambers of the High Council. And what, Doctor, what do you suppose the Council had to say to their prodigal child?"
The pain spiked, burning through every nerve in the Doctor's body--and just as suddenly stopped. The Doctor sagged in his restraints, panting for a few moments before regaining his breath. "The same--the same as always! Their relentless policy of non-interference, especially in another dimension. What did you expect?"
"Ah, but there was something I did not expect. One of my old friends had become a top aide to the newest Cardinal. He was the one who led me as I cursed, weeping with despair from the Council chambers, hustling me out before they decided to arrest me. Out of kindness, he told me something in confidence, something I would never have otherwise found out. The High Council was even further disinclined to consider my request because their renegade agent, the Doctor, had just recently repelled the Swarm from an invasion of our home galaxy, and they did not want to compromise the results of his success!"
The Doctor screamed as lightning bolts of energy flashed through his torso, making him arch against the crossbars in agony until his vision went dark. Magus pulled back on the control and walked over to the Doctor, pulling his hair back and slapping him lightly across the face to bring him back to consciousness. "Stay with me, stay with me now," he crooned, his previously steady tones wavering with madness. "I need you to hear this next part, Doctor, so do try to keep up."
The Doctor breathed shallowly and rapidly, his eyelids fluttering as he fought to hold onto consciousness. Magus smiled a demented, satisfied smile and returned to the console. "I escaped Gallifrey with the help of my former friend and returned to my adopted home to stand with the Ni-fal-rlan in one last battle. I hoped to talk Eyrin and Kei into fleeing with me once they realized that all was lost--but I was too late."
His deep voice grew deeper, harsher, so that it tolled through the chamber like a bell calling mourners to a funeral. "I had miscalculated the time of my return by two diurnal cycles--and in that time, the Controllers had landed, pillaged the populace of their psychic energies, and departed once more. I walked through the smoking ruins of what had once been a city of light, art and beauty, calling for Eyrin and Kei, calling…calling…until at last I heard an answer."
Magus' voice grew soft and cold as he looked up at his captive. "You know some things about the Swarm, Doctor, but there are many things that you could not know and yet defend their right to exist. I cannot tell you much about their culture, even after studying them for years, but there is one thing I know for certain. They can effect a type of rough and rapid mutation between members of their race by recombining body parts. If a dominant Controller drone feels that a lower-ranking drone has some physical advantage, let's say longer limbs, the dominant drone will attack and overcome the lower drone. It will then either sever and re-attach the desired limb to its own body, or conversely recombine with the body of the lesser drone to form a composite being. This is regarded as beneficial to the Hive, so it is a common practice among their kind."
"However," the deep voice darkened once again, "they sometimes attempt to effect this transformation on their prey. I am uncertain if they do it as a scientific experiment or as a cultural expression or just for enjoyment. The one thing that does not matter to them in the least is the fact that their prey species are seldom adaptable to this kind of recombination."
The Doctor sucked in a hissing breath as the burning started up in his chest once again. He squinted through pain-blurred eyes at the tall figure now hunched over the console, trembling violently.
"Now where was I? Ah yes--the answer!" Magus' voice sounded harsh, strained, crackling in the Doctor's ears like breaking glass. "I heard her cry out, saw something move in the curling smoke, and then I saw…I saw them!" He drew in ragged breaths as his hands clutched convulsively on the cold surface of the console. "Those unspeakable abominations had taken my wife and son and combined their bodies into one! They had somehow melded them through their torsos, and my son's small body hung crossways to his mother's as she dragged them towards me!"
The Doctor cried out as the pain spiked and stopped, spiked and stopped. Magus kept clutching at the controls as his voice rose in anguish. "My son was too young, not strong enough to survive this…this… He had gone mad and hung gibbering and drooling, clutching at the empty air. But my wife--she knew! She knew me and called my name, and I…I didn't even know how to hold her around my son's flailing limbs! She cried out to me and begged me to kill her, to kill them! She saw the horror in my eyes and screamed that if I ever loved her, I would end their torment right then! I didn't have anything with me, nothing humane or clean or--but she just kept screaming and screaming, until I picked up a thick board and I…I…I--!"
Magus howled in anguish, and the Doctor screamed with him as bolt after energy bolt shot through him, flinging him back against the crossbars over and over again. His hands jerked helplessly in the restraints, grasping at empty air in a mindless attempt to escape the agony, until finally, mercifully, all went dark. He retreated into the darkness, feeling its soft nothingness surround him…until a hiss sounded in his ear, jerking him suddenly, brutally back into agonizing consciousness. He forced open his tearing eyes to see Magus standing before him, an air hypo in his shaking hands, his chest still heaving with suppressed sobs.
Magus clumsily grasped the Doctor's shoulder and shook him roughly. "Can't do that!" he gasped. "Lost control--almost killed you--and we can't have that! You still have a role to play, Doctor, so wake up!"
"Why?" The pained whisper was soft and weak. "I still don't understand…what I…have to do with…"
"Haven't you guessed, Doctor? Has the pain fogged your brain into complete insensibility? How do you think the Swarm ended up so unexpectedly within our space? What force could have catapulted them past our outposts and defenses, as if they had been flung from another dimension?"
"Oh, no. No!" The Doctor let out a soft, grief-stricken exhalation.
"Oh yes, Doctor. You. You and your incompetent, interfering ways!"
The Doctor grimaced, his gaze still clouded with confusion. "Incompetent?"
"Yes! When I finally regained my sanity, I went back to find out whatever I could! I discovered the little human colony that you had defended from the Swarm. For the sake of a few hundred lives, you destroyed an entire planet!"
The Doctor shook his head as if to clear it, then pulled himself up in his restraints, in possession of his faculties once more. "How could I know that? Even you must realize how unjust that accusation is!"
"Is it? I found out something else from that group of colonists: you could have implemented a strategy that might have utterly destroyed the Swarm, but you held your hand, content to merely force them back to their own dimension. What sort of insanity compelled you to let such a vicious species escape?"
"They were sentient, and we didn't know enough about them. I don't go around destroying intelligent species out of hand!"
Magus snorted. "When has sentience ever stopped you before?"
"I was tired of it!" shouted the Doctor. "Sick of the judgment, sick of the killing, sick of the eternal stench of death!"
"So by your negligence, you bestowed death upon an innocent, sentient civilization!"
"I'm sorry," murmured the Doctor. "I'm sorry for their suffering, I'm sorry for your loss--but I will not bow down and take all the guilt onto my own shoulders. I spent the last part of my last life suffering over all of the choices I had made, all of the lives I couldn't save, and I nearly guilted myself into paralysis." He raised his sad, blue-green gaze to meet Magus' unhinged glare. "I too have lost people I've loved, Magus. I almost died from the grief. I crawled into myself and refused to get out of a wheelchair for weeks, until my friends shook me out of it and told me I had to go on. Someone has to do the job that I do--someone has to make the hard choices and find a way to live with it--and right now, I'm the only one who's qualified to do so. I've learned to accept my limitations and go on. I've chosen life over death."
Magus stared at him for a moment before applauding slowly. "Congratulations, Doctor, on finding your 'inner peace.' We lesser beings are happy to know that our mangled lives do not intrude upon your conscience."
"Your mockery does nothing but expose your relative youth and inexperience. Yes, you have suffered, Magus, but there is so much more to life than painful introspection and dreams of revenge. Cynicism is truly a luxury that only the young can afford."
Magus glared at him with something close to violence. "Simple words!" he hissed. "All this time I've wasted on you, and still you spout your simplistic platitudes! If I didn't need you, I would strangle you where you stand!"
At that moment, the vaulted chamber grew brighter from the glow of windows set high in the walls. The crystal arrays glowed in the dim light as if gathering energy from the rising sun.
"Daybreak!" Magus closed his mystical eyes for a moment, visibly pulling himself back under control. He turned and faced the Doctor once again. "It's time to wake my students, Doctor, and time for us to begin our task."
He approached the Doctor, holding up a small flask with a drinking tube protruding from one side. The Doctor drew back distrustfully.
"It's only water, Doctor. I cannot afford to have your mind fogged by drugs during this procedure."
The Doctor drank deeply of the cold fluid. "Thank you," he murmured gratefully.
"Enjoy it, Doctor." The black mask lifted toward the windows. "And enjoy the sunrise as well. It is the last one you will ever know."
XxX
As the morning sunlight broke through the trees overhanging the road, swirling mists rose off the dew-drenched grass, dissolving slowly in the gentle radiance. Houjun absently noted the dissipation of the mists, the soft, rhythmic thud of the horses' hooves, the creak of the saddle leather and reins. At the same time, he vaguely registered the thinning of the soft, white fog in his head, the fog that had held him and comforted him, keeping him quiet and pliant in its soothing embrace. He gradually became aware that somewhere deep inside, muted echoes of strong emotion drifted gently past his subconscious, while waves of agitation and frustration flowed to him from his companion's ki. Yet the remaining fog continued to diminish all incoming sensation, a hypnotic voice seeming to whisper, Rest, don't worry, don't think…
Houjun frowned to himself. Something was wrong--he knew that he was forgetting something important, but each time he tried to focus on it, the thought slipped nimbly away. Something essential, something vital. He finally released his conscious mind, allowing his subconscious to wander unchecked…and there it was.
A far-off yet distinct voice, singing in the dim reaches of his memory.
I remember a meadow one morning in May
He shuddered as the melody reverberated deep within him, touching him deep within his heart.
With a sky full of dreams that sailed in that day
The voice grew clearer, a lilting, velvet-burred tenor vibrant with emotion.
I was dancing through green waves of grass like the sea
Houjun's heart hammered as he reached desperately, fiercely pushing back the mental fog, knowing somehow that what he was reaching for was the truth: unsullied, pure…and real.
For a moment in time I could feel
I was free...
"Free!" he gasped , the last of the fog blowing away, the thoughts and memories crystallizing sharp, brilliant, clear. He saw it all for the first time: the strategems and schemes, circles within circles, his own place at the center--and he could almost scream at the revelation of how he had been so blind, so willfully, obediently blind!
A voice interfered with his inner turmoil, recalling him back to the outside world. He startled as he realized that they had reached their destination, the last of the open road curving in the distance as it rose to meet the scarlet-painted arch before the monastery gates. Joss was speaking to him, her features dark with grim purpose, her voice uncommonly harsh. "So okay, I did what he wanted and brought you here to the monastery of Suzaku--and now I'm leaving, Houjun. I'm going back for him, 'cause I'm not leaving him in that bastard's clutches, no matter what he says! So you just stay here safe, and if I don't come back…if I don't… Well, in any case, you just stay--"
Houjun stared down the road, his gaze wide and shocked. "He lied to me. He deceived me!"
Joss' eyes flashed, and she tightened her grip on her reins. "Listen, Houjun, you know that I love you, so understand where I'm coming from when I say, GET OVER IT!" Her enraged shout startled the birds out of the nearby trees and sent small animals diving for cover. "He's the Doctor, he's our friend, our savior; what difference does it make what planet he's from, or what's in his past?"
"You don't understand!" Houjun interrupted, his voice trembling. "It makes no difference at all! But he invaded my mind and tampered with my thoughts, making me see him as something foreign, something alien--when all along, he knew, as I know, that we are one!"
He focused on Joss, his eye bright with unshed tears, his voice vibrating with passion. "We are one: I have slept on those hearts; in those arms, I have found comfort and warmth. He has been my salvation in every way possible--and even now, he's pushed me away to protect me, shielding me as if I were a child, as if I were his--!" He caught his breath, his jaw tightening as he fought for control. "But I'm no child. For the first time, I know exactly who and what I am, and I know who is pulling the strings here--as do you!"
He leaped off his horse and pulled Joss off her mount, grasping her by the shoulders. "All this time--all this time, I thought that my god had denied me, when in truth it was me who was denying him!" He shook Joss in agitation. "Tell me! Tell me the truth! Suzaku is the one behind all this! He's the one who brought the Doctor here, isn't he? ISN'T HE?"
"Yes!" Joss shouted back. "Yes, he's the one! But the Doctor insisted that I keep it from you, though I don't understand why."
"I know why! It's because Suzaku was afraid that I would do this!" He released his iron grip on Joss' shoulders and raised his hand to the sky, pointing defiantly into the heavens. "I won't accept this, Suzaku! I won't accept his life in exchange for mine! If I'm so damn important to you…if I'm so necessary to your celestial schemes that you would bring him in to rescue me, then you can damn well give me the power I need to rescue him! Do you hear me, Suzaku? I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS SACRIFICE!"
The sky was clear and cloudless, yet suddenly it seemed as if lightning arced across its azure dome. A faint scent of ozone wafted down to the two figures below. Houjun's eye grew bright with determination. "It's time!" He tossed Joss back up into her saddle and grabbed her reins.
Scant minutes later, they galloped through the gates of the monastery into the wide courtyard, sparks flying from their horses' hooves as they clattered against the paving stones. Groups of monks and acolytes looked up from their morning tasks and lessons, startled at the harsh intrusion into their quiet morning routine.
Houjun swung off his horse and grabbed the nearest monk, a thin, nervous sort clutching an armful of scrolls. "Send your acolytes to bring out your two fastest horses! Hayaku, shiro!"
The monk nearly dropped his scrolls in agitation. "But…but…I must consult the Master!" He signaled two young shaven-headed acolytes, who promptly ran off toward the dim interior of the main building.
"I have no time for this!" Houjun roared, shaking the terrified monk. "Horses, ima!"
Joss jumped off her mount and laid a restraining hand on Houjun's arm. "Houjun, you're scaring the shit outta him! We're never gonna get the horses if he keels over from a heart-attack."
The other monks and acolytes were gathering around, drawn by the shouts. One of the older monks took in Houjun's slashed face and simple peasant clothes, as well as Joss' rough appearance. "You there, bandits!" he called. "We are men of peace, in service to Suzaku. Be on your way!"
Houjun drew himself up with intimidating dignity. "It is in the name of Suzaku that I call upon you! Do you know what this means?"
Pulling his dagger out of his belt, he slashed at the knee of his trousers, parting the material. The sign of cho blazed out, the brilliant scarlet kanji piercingly bright even against the glow of morning light. Some of the acolytes held up their hands to shield their eyes, murmuring in wonder and disbelief.
"Yes, we do, Celestial Warrior Chichiri." The voice was rich and full of laughter.
Houjun whirled around to see a man standing behind him, leaning heavily on his shakujou. He was prematurely aged, clutching the staff with hands knotted with arthritis. Although he was stooped, his back curving from the disease, Houjun could tell that he had been a tall man. The man's face was brown and weathered with deep lines of both laughter and pain, yet his eyes were bright and lively, snapping with youthful interest.
Houjun flushed, suddenly mindful of his coarse manners in the presence of one whose ki glowed with deep wisdom. He bowed deeply before the Master. "Gomen nasai," he began.
"There is no need to apologize," interrupted the Master, his eyes tilted up in amusement. He waved a hand at the two young acolytes who escorted him, and they took off at a run toward the stables, their sandals slapping against the smooth grey stones. "Nor did you need to damage your clothing. Our assistance is available to the worthy traveler in need; it is not necessary to be one of the Chosen of Suzaku."
Houjun bowed deeply again, in gratitude for the Master's generosity and also in acknowledgement of the gentle rebuke. The nervous monk whom he had assaulted crept up, seeking shelter behind the Master's robes.
Less than ten minutes later, the travelers were mounted on fresh horses and galloping west as if they were racing the sun itself. The Master gazed after them, raising one hand to his face in a silent blessing. The nervous monk still hovered near him, clutching the scrolls to his chest. "It's difficult to believe," he ventured hesitantly.
"Hai, very true, Yutaka-san. Faith is the end of a long, hard journey, not the gift given freely at the beginning."
"No, Master, I didn't mean it that way. I meant that it's difficult to believe that one such as he," Yutaka gestured jerkily at the clouds of dust rising from the road, "is destined to…to become one of us."
The Master's eyes crinkled. "Ah, Yutaka-san, I recall another young man who many years ago strode boldly through these very gates, a young man just as impulsive, outspoken and passionate as Suzaku no Chichiri."
Yutaka-san gaped in shock. "Surely you are not speaking of me, Master!"
"No." The Master grinned widely, the years suddenly falling away from him, so that he looked as vital and vibrant as a man in his prime. "I was speaking of myself!"
XxX
The horses pulled up at the last rise before the school, their sides foamy with sweat and heaving from exertion. Joss stood in her stirrups, her hand shielding her eyes against the gold and crimson beams of the setting sun. "There!" She pointed to a copse of trees slightly northeast of the shimmering cloaking shield. "We'll leave the horses there and approach the rest of the way on foot."
Houjun looked at her grinning at him, her cheeks flushed from their long, frantic ride, her hair dancing in wild unruly waves around her face--and felt something catch in his heart. Where did she find the strength to smile at him, after all that he had done to her? He caught her reins as she began to turn away. "You really are the most extraordinary woman."
She flashed another grin at him. "'Bout time you noticed me again," she retorted boldly, hiding the pain that lurked behind her eyes.
Houjun swallowed. "No, I mean it. Here we are about to walk into mortal danger--and I can feel all this energy, all of this joy radiating off you." His admiration vibrated in his tones. "Your courage is unbelievable!"
Joss laughed, this time without any shadows in her eyes. "It's not courage, Houjun; I'm really, truly happy right now. For the first time since they took you from me, I know that I'm on the right path. Because no matter what happens in there, in the end we three will be together again--and as the Doctor says, 'That's as it should be!'"
His glance returned to the mystically hidden school, as he once more focused on their objective. "Yes, that's as it should be--and that's as it shall be," he vowed softly, his gaze dark with intent.
Not long afterward, he and Joss were moving swiftly through the strangely deserted corridors of the school, clad in student cloaks that they had taken from an open classroom. Houjun kept his focus turned inward, tracking the faint ki forces he could feel emanating from some far distant corner of the compound, while Joss peered anxiously around the edge of her hood for possible ambushes. They reached a large vaulted antechamber far at the back of the school, with several doors leading from the room, one of which was set in a rounded wall at the far end. Houjun frowned at the access to a tower he had never seen before.
"I don't know," he murmured, troubled. "This seems almost too easy."
"Perhaps not as easy as you think."
Joss whirled around at the familiar mocking tones. Kurayami glided into view from the shadows at one end of the room, the last rays of the sun shining though the windows and staining her pale, unmasked features with blood-red light. Farther back in the shadows a figure stirred, and Joss realized Maboroshi lurked in the darkness there.
"Back so soon, Shouryuu? Did you miss Maboroshi that much?" Kurayami's rasping voice dripped with false solicitude. Maboroshi moved forward, helplessly drawn into the open, his dark-encircled eyes fixing on Houjun with a yearning, hungry light. Houjun ignored him as he pulled back his hood, lifting his ash staff before him and fixing Kurayami with a cold and silent stare.
"I'm sorry to tell you," Kurayami continued, licking at the words like poisoned honey, "that I've found him a replacement plaything: your friend, the Doctor. However, considering the mindless husk he'll be once Magus is finished with him, I'd say that your chances with Maboroshi are still fairly good." Her feral smile exposed her small, pointed teeth.
At that moment, something echoed faintly in the distance. Joss couldn't make out what it was, but Houjun went rigid with rage, his eye growing dark and his jaw twitching.
Kurayami crowed in delight. "Did you hear that? After all these hours, I didn't think that he had any screams left! But don't worry," the predatory smile widened as she glided closer to Houjun, "I'm certain that it's his last one!"
"Get out of my way." The words were icy calm, crystallized rage.
"Or you'll do what? Scream? Cry?" Kurayami abandoned her mockery, her voice sharpening into viciousness. "Make love to a corpse?"
"Fuck you, BITCH!"
Kurayami's attention snapped to her one-time attacker. "You die now!" she hissed, sending mystical black spears blasting toward Joss.
The ash staff spun before Joss, easily deflecting the attack. Houjun spoke once again in that eerily calm and icy voice. "I am your opponent, Kurayami--and you have just forfeited your life." He raised two fingers vertically before his face, chanting in an arcane, guttural tongue.
"We'll see whose life is forfeit!" sneered Kurayami, but she quickly raised her own hand, chanting her own spell.
The two magicians circled the room slowly, constantly keeping the other before them as they moved in a strange, ominous dance. The last of the daylight retreated from the chamber, and magical torches flared in its absence, illuminating the room in a flickering yellow glow. As the chants progressed, Joss saw darkness snaking up through Houjun's form, threading through his clothes, his hair, his face until his features were lost in shadow. Only his eye was visible, aflame with a fiery scarlet light, while more scarlet flames began dancing along the outlines of his form.
Joss fought down her shudders. It was one thing to read about his dark powers in a book and quite another to see them with her own eyes. There was something terrible about witnessing the transformation of the gentle, strong man she loved into this inhuman, demonic thing that muttered in strange tongues as it summoned its killing power. In a way she was less frightened of Kurayami, who had undergone the same transformation; demonic killer seemed her natural state.
Suddenly she saw Kurayami gesture to the shadows, beckoning Maboroshi. He moved forward reluctantly, his green eyes bright with tears, yet he obediently lifted one hand to his face and began muttering the same spells. A stream of darkness began to flow from him to join that surrounding Kurayami.
"No fair! Two against one!" shouted Joss. The darkness that was Houjun raised one hand to silence her--then began rotating the ash staff in a figure eight around his form. His guttural tones grew stronger, darker, and a mystical wind sprang up, ruffling his shadowed cloak and hair. The darkness began to move, swirling around him in a slow vortex. His scarlet eye suddenly blazed at Maboroshi, and the ash staff swung toward the boy in a hooking motion, catching his darkness and drawing it away from Kurayami into the growing black vortex.
The expanding cyclone began growling in a low roar, and Joss shrank back against the stone walls as she felt its evil winds brush past her. Suddenly, Kurayami darted at Houjun, her shadowed hands clawing at the power flowing from the staff, but he was ready for her, twisting easily out of her reach. She backed away in frustration as the darkness around Houjun grew more intense. Joss could see the rage written clearly on her exposed features, and blinked as she realized that the shadows were pulling away from Kurayami, flowing out to join the cyclone spinning in time with Houjun's staff.
In the next moment, Kurayami realized that she was being stripped of her powers. She lifted her hand to her face, her yellow eyes widening in terror--then turned and tried to run from the room, her feet thumping awkwardly on the floor.
It was too late.
Houjun caught his ash staff, stopping its rotations and flinging the black cyclone at the fleeing form of Kurayami. The darkness was pulled from his features, caught in the evil winds of the killing force as it roared toward the terror-stricken sorceress. "Shi NE!" His voice rose in a rasping snarl thick with hatred, mystically rising above the deafening roar of the cyclone as it caught Kurayami up in its savage embrace.
Joss covered her ears at the inhuman shrieks, howls and yelps that issued from the demonic magician as she was cut again and again by the sorcerous razor winds. Blood spattered on the ceiling of the chamber, and she looked up, her eyes wide as she thought she saw a sapphire light descending out of nowhere into the vortex. But she couldn't be certain, for in the next moment, Houjun snapped up his staff, and the vortex disappeared.
The small form of Kurayami thumped down onto the cold, grey floor, her flesh and clothing in tatters. Houjun spared her not a single glance as he turned away. The shadows had disappeared from his body, but his eye and form flared bright with scarlet fire. He stalked over to Maboroshi, who cowered fearfully against one wall, and yanked the boy out into the open by the collar of his cloak.
"As for you," he intoned, his voice still reverberating with icy rage, "run far and run fast--for if I ever see you again, I will kill you!" With that, he spun on his heel, his cloak swirling around him as he strode toward the tower door.
Maboroshi stood in place for a moment, his features crumpling in grief, before running sobbing from the room. Joss turned to follow Houjun but hesitated one moment longer, darting over to look down at the crumpled, pathetic form of Kurayami.
She turned the body over with her foot, noting that the narrow yellow eyes had rolled up into the woman's head, then knelt before the tattered form, bending close as if to breathe a prayer. "Sucks to be you, bitch!" she whispered…then turned and left the room.
XxX
In the vaulted chamber cut deep into the hillside, a chorus of chants rose and fell from the students gathered beneath the array of crystals. Magus moved from one instrument to another, checking the level of psychic power flowing toward the focusing dais, being drawn together and amplified by his half-human prism.
He glanced up at the form of the Doctor where he hung in his restraints, his silk shirt torn nearly off his shoulders by the force of his futile struggles. It was nearing the end, and after that final scream, the Doctor hung quiet and motionless, a single drop of blood trickling from one ear, then stopping. His head drooped, the brown-gold waves hanging lifelessly before him, veiling his pale face.
Magus breathed out a sigh of relief, wiping absently at drops of moisture that trickled from beneath his mask. It was better this way; with the Doctor unconscious and near death, his students would no longer be unnerved by his screams.
One more--just one more blast of psychic energy from the focal crystals above the Doctor's head, and all signals would be on their way to the other dimension, bursting like fireworks in the detection systems of the Swarm. The power surge would be the final step in the destruction of the Doctor's cerebral cortex, of course, but that was only what he deserved…wasn't it? Magus frowned at his trembling hand as it hesitated over the control. What was wrong with him? Wasn't this the moment he had planned for, schemed for, imagined for more years than he wanted to remember?
At that moment, an alarm sounded in one of his psychic flow meters. He looked up at the display, stunned to see that the flow of background psychic energy was growing, expanding, becoming more and more intense with each passing second. He looked over at the group of students in confusion, but their chants remained unaltered. Could it be one last surge of energy from the Doctor? The time lord appeared to be spent, but--no. No, that wasn't it. The Doctor's thin trickle of psychic energy still registered on the analog wave detector, twisting in its helical pattern in the glass vessel,but now the entire vessel was glowing, awash with power beyond any that Magus had ever seen before. The needles on the psychic flow meters chattered, vibrating wildly as they went off scale.
At that moment, the glass vessel exploded--and the alloy door at the top of the chamber slammed open with a reverberating, gonging boom. Magus held up a hand to shield his eyes from the scarlet fire that streamed into the chamber from the doorway above.
A figure stood in the midst of the blazing light, a mystical wind ruffling his bangs so that the hair stood up like the crest of a phoenix. A staff was thrust out before him, and a cloak swirled about him--and strangest of all, two huge feathered wings of scarlet light lifted from his shoulders, glowing as they spread wide in fierce challenge.
"Shouryuu?" Magus choked in disbelief.
"I am Suzaku no Seishi Chichiri!"
The voice reverberated through the entire chamber, ringing with the celestial wrath of an avenging angel.
"And I Have Come
For
My
Friend!"
XxX
XxX
Glossary of Japanese Terms:
Fusege! - Block it!
Hanase, ima! - Release, now!
Hayaku, shiro! - Do it fast!
Gomen nasai - I'm sorry (polite form)
Shi NE! - DIE!
XxX
Author's notes: (1-20-04) Roku pushes back from the keyboard…and smiles.
