Flashing Lights and Sounds
By Jedi-and
Disclaimer: I do not own TT, nor do I own Mr. Noel Collins but I DO own some of my own characters.
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Chapter 8: Having a Blast...
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SHIIK
"Hey, big brother!"
A young man was sprawled across the plains that rested on the surface of a far away moon. The grass like substance blew in the wind. I'll just call it grass, even if it was purple. His deep blue eyes looked up to see a young girl running towards him, her traditional dress getting tangled here and there with the fast pace she was using to make up the hill side. No, not a dress...some form of priestess robe. And only the kind the highest of religious members in training got to wear.
It is very complex to describe, but we shall try. It consisted of lots of layers, over lapping each other, with scroll-like objects flowing from her shoulders and long hair. A high collar on the outer jacket covered her chin, which was red, while the inner jacket was of a green colour. Her headdress was like a tall hat, with a visor to protect her eyes. It too had many layers. only showing the bottom half of her face and her long hair.
"Sister!" He called back. He is not speaking English, but rather a snarling alien tongue which we have conveniently translated. In comparison, his clothing was simple: just a strange shirt and trousers. And an all too familiar toothy grin coming across his face.
She stopped in front of him, panting. It was a very steep hill after all. He placed a talon-like hand on her shoulder.
"Breath little sister, breath."
She took a few deep breaths and started again.
"Big brother! I did it!" She said, finally managing to compose herself and remove her mage-like hat to reveal long silver hair and soft green eyes. "They have accepted me! I will go to the home world! I'm finally a priestess!" She beamed, almost jumping up and down for joy. Her grin was oddly familiar: it perfectly matched her brother's.
"That's wonderful!" He replied. "We must celebrate! I'll race you to the party!"
Laughing, he sped off down the hill. He was so proud of her, and he wanted to start the party preparations right away.
"No fair! Wait up!" She shouted after him, laughing as she chased him. This was a small moon, orbiting a much larger planet, with a red sky and the previously mentioned purple grass-that-was-not-really-grass-but-we-will- call-it-grass-because-any-attempt-for-you-to-pronounce-its-real-name-would- require-some-major-surgery-on-your-mouth. It may seem a little odd to you, but it was home for the members of the Empire that occupied it.
There was only one large-scale city on the entire planet, and that held the spaceports, dockyards and military barracks for the entire moon. The rest was sea-based towns and farmland, a safe haven for the folk that lived there. This happened to be the home of Nigicalnack Hastionfarlock, also known as Nigel Hastings, a young Blacktrinian man, who was at the time working as an assistant at a local doctor's practice. His sister, whose real name is even worse the HIS, to the point where it cannot be spelt in English, was Kathy Hastings, a teenager and Nigel's younger by a year and a half. The pair lived with their father, who owned a small fishing and farming business in the bay of their village known as Uintoe [Yin-t-ow].
Life was surprisingly peaceful for this off branch of the war-like race known as the Blacktrinians. No one cared for battles here and just wanted to get on with their lives. Most of the people provided food or priests and priestess' for the Royalist Empire instead of soldiers, which was rare. It was very hard to become a member of the cloth when it came to their religion, as you had to be very strong in mind, while most Blacktrinians were stronger in body. But Nigel's sister had done it, and not just that, she had come in the top of her class. Nigel was proud of her for doing it, for her sake, and for his own sorrowful reasons, as he, in the end, could never really amount to anything.
"So, when do you leave?" He asked, waiting for her at the base of the hill before the pair walked into town.
"I leave soon, probably tomorrow or the day after." She laughed. "I never dreamed that I would make it." Placing her hat with the visor on, she walked next to her casually dressed brother.
"Does this mean I will have to provide an heir to our family name?" He joked, notorious for having a terrible track record when it came to women.
"Big brother! You are too much sometimes! And far too hard on yourself." She laughed quietly, taking her time for an answer. "Really. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You can do amazing things."
"Even if I'm not strong enough?"
"Now stop that! What did I just say?" Kathy asked, looking over to him in a tone that indicated that she was the more mature one out of the two, as she became serious for the first time that day.
"You're right, as usual."
The pair came to a small house on the grass lands. Crops were in the fields, and a mid-afternoon meal was on the table. Nigel opened the door and spoke in a proud, yet ringing voice, still in the grating tongue. "Introducing to you all, the new and improved; priestess Hastionfarlock!" He clapped together his claws as she entered, a blush across the visible parts of her cheeks.
"You always know how to make an entrance." Their father said, as he walked over to her and placed one hand on her shoulders. She placed her claw on his forearm, and then they laughed and hugged.
"It's good to see that you made your dreams come true, unlike some, who have no dreams." He looked over to the pale blue haired male by the door.
"I have dreams too! I'm going to save the day at least once!" He said. "But not before I have had some food." Nigel added as he snuck over to the cooking pot and tried to grab a piece.
"Hastionfarlock, Nigicalnack?"
The deep voice came from the door, and a foreboding sense of dread came over the young man as he turned to see a man dressed in full Blacktrinian armour, a thin sword strapped to his back and a clipboard in his hands.
"Can I h-help you?" Nigel asked, walking over slightly.
"By order of the Blacktrinian military, you have been chosen to go to the Great War as a surgeon and medic on the field of battle that has now become Tamaran."
The room fell silent; this time of joy had turned into a time of mourning. There was a high chance that Nigel would never be coming back to their home, but no one dared to fight with the military. In their culture they had more power than the senate, abet not quite as much as the sovereigns. It didn't matter though. For virtually everyone, when the military said jump of a cliff, the answer was which one?
And with that, Nigel left his home world, his family and his life to fight and die for the Empire.
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But he didn't die, at least not yet, abet not for life's lack of trying, as his body slowly gave up the ghost against his far stronger opponent, the spirit willing but the flesh too weak....
And then he found his release, abet in the worst way possible, as Noel finally made his decision and stepped forward, stabbing with his Shimmer blade with a growl of regret. The sword-shaped energy stabbed through his and Myth's body. Savior had decided. In an attempt to stop the mad man from hurting anyone else, and Nigel's willingness, Savior had made the choice to kill.
Poor choice.
It hadn't worked. Myth was still standing, and Nigel was starting to fall, his body sliding off the blade and falling, the blade piercing him all the way through, abet not enough to cut his cape...
Savior pulled the Shimmer blade out and stepped back as Myth turned around, seemingly none the worse for wear.
"Why are you not..." Noel said.
"Dead? You think a dragon can fall by a simple swipe of a sword? A sword as blunt as THAT?" Myth laughed, and then he lunged forward with such speed even Savior couldn't mount a defence. The side of Noel's face was brutally smashed with a hard blow with the back of Myth's hand, sending Noel flying, knocking over a tray of surgical equipment. For Savior, the only favour was that there was little pain: his head struck a metal bar on the side of the hospital bed, rendering him unconscious. And not just because he hit his head hard. At the same time, he also cut his arm on a broken sedative bottle, the liquid instantly entering his bloodstream. A double whammy. Good night Noel.
Myth then spun and lashed with a vicious kick to the side of Nigel's face, shooting him across the room as well. He hit the wall hard and went limp.
Myth laughed at his own good fortune. The 'villains' had knocked themselves out trying to get to him. But the thoughts on good and evil slipped away quickly. Now there was only the thought of saving his sister. Now.
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After a few more minutes of struggling, the Titans on the outside had managed to 'hack' their way through the magic barring them from the room. And they did not expect to see what they saw when they reached the other side.
"My god..."
The room was decimated; everything had been damaged or destroyed, seemingly each container smashed, and anything that could be moved was either on the floor or imbedded in the walls. Never mind how strong said walls were.
"NOEL!" Raven cried as she ran over to him, letting her emotions slide just this once to tend to her battered other half, who seemed to be in a very uncomfortable position, as well as having a large cut across his face. While the sorceress healed his wounds, the others looked around for Nigel, unsuccessfully.
"Where...is...he?"
Slowly but surely, Noel opened his eyes, only to have his vision swallowed by darkness again as Raven hugged the life out of him in a brief moment of affection.
Before realizing everyone was looking at them. She pulled away, returning to her serious appearance.
"What happened Noel?"
Noel, still trying to regain his bearings, explained to them what had happened, with one or two shocked expressions in the group.
"If that is true, then where the hell is he?!" Robin asked, by now highly irate.
"Yo, what is this stuff?" Cyborg said, as he knelt down by a pool of what looked like ink on the floor. He reached out...
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Raven yelled, but it was too late: he had done so and his hand had burst into flames. Panicking, he shook his hand violently, but it did nothing. In fact, this only seemed to make it worse, as he stumbled around trying to put it out.
Black energy encompassed the blaze, making an air tight barrier around it and forcing the flame to die. Remember science? Fire is a three sided triangle: it needs sustenance, heat and oxygen. Remove just one of these sides and fire cannot exist... or something like that. Cyborg sighed in pure relief as the fire finally went out.
"What was that?"
"..."
Raven did not speak, though she had a feeling about something. Was this 'part' of Nigel, and if so were her suspicions actually true? Whether it was or not still remained to be seen, but wherever Nigel was, his opponent might have a harder time than he thought to keep him down.
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As for said opponent, he was making his way quickly up to the final challenge. Though he hardly thought so: the final obstacle in his path was one Garfield Logan, the animal based shape shifter. What could this changeling do against the power of the dragon, the most feared of all mythical beasts? Change into a dog and annoy him?
Please, a little respect for a warrior. They should have put that colourful human on top. Myth had gotten a good vibe from him...
He finally managed to reach the top with the elevator, which opened up on the roof. It had been pre-programmed to lead him up this way, as all the stairwells were blocked, and when he got into the lift it just kept going, despite his verbal and physical protests. Apparently the Titans had been planning to use it once their defence had succeeded. Only it had not, and had served him instead. Stupid children.
Not that he hadn't been annoyed at first. Let's just say the Titan lift now has a new 'fist shaped' centre piece.
But when he reached the top, he saw what he wanted. His sister was there, standing at the top of the tower, dressed only in a morning robe and a light medical gown, her hair down and fluttering in the wind as her red eyes stared meaningfully into her monster brother's. He smiled with joy, but she did not smile at all, her bare feet softly hitting the cold hard surface of the tower. His smile faded as he walked closer, pure curiosity filling the dragon hybrid.
"What is wrong Sis?"
"Well, apart from being on the top of a stupidly tall building, I think you are fighting for the wrong side." Shield replied plainly, her expression never changing. She wrapped the dressing gown closer to her body as the wind picked up, hoping for dear life it didn't get strong enough to carry her over the edge.
"What?!? We have heard of their crimes!" Myth bellowed, confusion starting to rear in his mind once more.
"They were make-believe. I realize that now." Shield said. Tilting her head, she addressed him with the same question that the Titans had addressed her with. "If they were so villainous, do you think they would have taken care of me? Would I be standing here fully healed? Or imprisoned here, battered and bruised in a cage waiting to die?"
There was a pause, as she silently hoped that her brother would understand.
Her pleas were unanswered.
"You lie! They have you sister! It must be some form of mind trap!" He stepped back, getting ready as he looked for someone to attack.
And find someone he did, as a green gorilla landed on him from afar (probably from the top of the roof access lift) and ploughed him into the hard surface off the roof before he leapt off and changed back to human form.
"So much for talking." Beast Boy sighed, wondering what to do now. The guy was already getting back up.
"Please don't hurt him too much. After all he is my brother." Shield asked.
"Hurt HIM too much?" Beast Boy stammered. He was in a real fix. Beast Boy knew that even though he would be restraining himself, the foe would not. And this was evident when Myth clambered to his feet and ran forward, taking out Beast Boy with a drop kick that sent him flying back. And then he was just flying as he changed into a falcon. The changeling countered, attempting to claw the face of his aggressor.
"You rat with wings! Get away from me!" Myth shouted, trying to smack away the falcon, and unfortunately for Beast Boy, he connected with a backhanded blow that sent the green Titan flying through the air, but he had succeeded.
Myth was now blind.
He stood there, struggling to open his damaged eyes, the soft optic orbs probably his only weak spot. He stumbled around, his growls becoming louder and his form changing a little more with each growl. With every breath, he blew a little fire. A tail had formed on his rear, and fully-fledged scales now covered his body.
It was his anger. His sister knew this. The angrier he got, the more he changed, and she didn't want to know what would happen if his totally lost control of his rage.
But she was lucky, as his transformation was halted as two clawed hands went around the creature, and with a feat of great strength and leverage, Myth was German suplexed into the hard covering of the roof, the barrier that protected the Titans from many things, but mostly rain.
"Doctor!" Shield said, seeing the Blacktrinian stand back up, with a slight hole in his chest and an inky substance covering his red suit.
"Yes?" He replied. The black stuff was obviously Scalpel's blood. And now he stood there, with dark rings under his eyes. Not for long though, as, breathing heavily, he fell to one knee. Beast Boy, who had finally returned, flew to them both and landed, shifting back to normal again. He was now sporting a large black eye.
"Thanks bud, I'm glad you decided to..." He paused and saw the state of the Blacktrinian. "Damn! What the hell happened?!?"
"A tactical error. I will be fine." Nigel replied, rising to his feet and nearly falling right back down. This battle was taking its toll on all the Titans, and unless they found a way out of it soon, they might not be here to celebrate tomorrow.
As per usual, fate spat in their face as Myth rose from where he had fallen; using the incredible power of his legs to lift him from his horizontal position. What they saw wasn't what they wanted. He was growing larger, much larger, at least twice the size he had been, and that wasn't it. His skin was nearly jet black, and his face had started to form the lizard-like features that the mythological dragons had possessed The V on his forehead was even more prominent and elongated, very imposing indeed. He was at least halfway to his full transformation.
"Now THAT is a development." Beast Boy commented, looking up at the monster that was staring down at them. Unlike its human counter part, its eyes were perfectly fine, and they looked pretty angry.
"Indeed." Nigel replied to his friend before they backed up...and hit the edge. They had run out of places to go to.
"To coin a phrase 'whoops.'" Nigel said. The dragon had blocked off their only escape route.
Myth, or at least the creature that he had transformed into, raised its head, the beast's neck much longer than it used to be, and it stared down at them before opening its mouth wide. Beast Boy and Nigel wondered what was happening, until a faint glow started to come from the throat.
At that sublime moment, the master of animals, Beast Boy, had realised that Myth was going to have a barbeque, and that the people standing in front of him were on the menu.
"WHOA! NOT GOOD!"
The blast came; intense heat erupted from the belly of the beast and engulfed the group, setting alight the harsh, cold surface of the roof, which managed to ignite without any fuel but the metal on which they stood. The attack had come far too swiftly for them to do anything.
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Far away, in a make shift row boat made out of Mammoth's frozen form, a charcoal coated and flavoured Gizmo and a battered Jinx looked back at the flame.
"Crazy mother fucker..." She said, staring at their 'boss' in disbelief.
"Best keep rowing, before Ice-zilla here wakes up. Let the snots fry!" The short Techmaster replied, continuing to row. She shrugged.
"Not our problem."
They rowed away to the proverbial sunset, licking their wounds all the way home.
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The flames stopped, and the fiend laughed at the thought of the destruction of his foes. When the flames died, he would see the damage that he had wrought.
"Sorry, but they are not on the menu today." A female voice came from the flames, before the burning wall of fire shot forward and pushed the dragon back off the edge. Going from victor to near-vanquished in a second, its claws dug into the side for dear life.
What happened, you might ask? Well, the shield that Charm had placed up at the last second had managed to keep the flames back. She had managed it because she had seen her brother reach this stage before. It was not always a pretty sight. Hell, it was NEVER a pretty sight.
Knowing what was going to happen next, she countered by throwing up a powerful, though draining force field.
Nigel, who was praying intensely, with both feet touching and with one hand up and the index claw of the other resting parallel on the palm of the open hand, opened one eye and looked around. A little stunned that he was still here and that the ring of fire that had been created was kept away from him, he thanked everyone he had prayed to. He stood back up, trying to regain his composure while brushing bits of ash from his suit and wound. He needed to find out what had happened.
"Have I expired?" He asked. He double-checked just to be sure.
"I don't think so." Beast Boy replied, looking around. It wasn't long before he spied the dragon hanging off the building. In a bit of Super Smash Brothers Melee-inspired action, Beast Boy had an idea.
"But I KNOW dragons don't like water!"
Beast Boy turned into a bull and rammed the creature square in the face, which knocked him off balance but not off the edge. His claws were dug in far too deep for that. So Nigel decided to jump in and distract the beast by slashing at its claws with his own, while Beast Boy reared back and took another charge at him This time it was enough to knock him off the edge.
Myth realised he was falling and tried to right himself, but by the time he had, he had struck the water like a sack of brick tied down with a few lead weights.
That's the problem with being larger...
Less distance to fall.
There was silence for a moment or two, before Nigel fell back down, exhausted and suffering from loss of blood. He promptly fell asleep.
Beast Boy sighed in relief, knowing now that Myth won't be coming back. Well, knowing their luck, not until the Titans were all injured or at some other really inappropriate time. Charm herself smiled, she could read his doubts.
"That will not have killed my brother." She said, as she shook her head lightly, her hair swaying slightly in the wind. "But it will have slowed him down. I had best go find him."
This announcement stunned Gar.
"When are you going?"
"Right away. I had best search the banks to see if he crawls up on one of them, and try to persuade him to leave you be." A sigh escaped her lips. She loved her brother, as family of course, but sometimes she didn't like having to sit such a powerful man down and tell him what was right and wrong. She started to walk to the lift access, but a gloved hand grabbed her wrist. She looked back and her eyes met the eye (the other was blackened and swelling shut) of Beast Boy, whose green cheeks were a little red.
"But... I haven't found out what it is about you..." He stammered.
She almost knew what he meant; there was something about him as well. His confidence, his humour and his ability to see every angle including the one he wanted most.
She couldn't explain it, but sometimes love had a funny way with people. Smiling, she rubbed her hand against the unharmed side of his face.
"Perhaps one day we can find out?" She asked, giving him a peck on the cheek and walking away, playing it cool. Garfield was a little stunned, holding the now 'sacred' cheek.
"Oh, by the way."
She turned back to him and threw him a card. "This has my number on it, ask for Elisa Ashton." She gave another quick grin and turned away, leaving Beast Boy to beam for himself.
"Oh yeah, go Beast Boy! Who's the stud? Go Beast Boy! You got the girl!" He chanted, as he did the 'Go Beast Boy' happy dance and nearly tripped up over the sleeping doctor, who had started to murmur in Blacktrinian in his sleep. Beast Boy gave him a glance and laughed to himself.
All was good in the world.
For now anyway.
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Later that night, when the moon was bright and the stars were out, and while everyone rested, recovered or slept, two figures were at the doctor's door, opening the lock slowly without a key.
Or in plain English, breaking in.
They were there for one purpose and one purpose only, to take a look at some of the private papers inside his locked cabinets. The room was eerie to say the least. In the few hours of daylight the Titans had left, they had gotten their newest member some furnishings, and a hand made bed, just like the others had, near the medical bay. Which was pretty damn hard considering how sore they all were.
It seemed very demonic indeed as the alien lay there, motionless and still, the bandage covering his middle. Spikes shot out from the edge of the bed and almost wrapped upwards and around the Blacktrinian, making an open cocoon with a gap in the middle that was just large enough for a person to sleep in. Each part of the room seemed a little dark and twisted. Books and artefacts from alien races and cultures, weapons and a strange, sadistic looking long blade attached firmly onto a base with a low chair attached to the same pedestal. Scrolls with strange characters on them that seemed to reach the floor; all lined up like the suits in his closet. It looked more like a temple to some sick cult than a room.
For someone who had nowhere to go, he sure had a lot of things.
One of the pair who had broke in lifted up a book. It was large and thick, and on it was a large crystal in the shape of a star, with silver corners.
"Why do I get the feeling we are not suppose to be here?" One of them whispered, a tall man with a broad chest, but a relatively relaxed tone.
"Maybe because the door was locked." The smaller, more controlled one said. He was already working on the lock to the file cabinet. With a slight click, the leader pulled out the drawer and started to search through.
"Subject: Raven. Apart from being a little overly worried about the size of her hips and a little undernourishment, Raven is in perfect physical health. Remember to keep regular exercise, yadda-yadda-yadda." He continued to scroll through.
"I always thought her hips were quite large, but I didn't think she would be so bothered..." The larger man pondered, thinking out loud, abet still in a whisper.
"I know. Listen to this one. Subject: Beast Boy AKA Garfield Logan. Beast Boy is a very lean individual, however his pure tofu diet can cause irritation as the level of some minerals and vitamins in his blood are dropping. Best advice would be to prescribe vitamins and a tonic to replace the lost necessities."
"I knew it, I just knew it."
There was a pause as they finally found what they were looking for.
"Subject: Starfire, AKA Koriand'r, Kory Anders."
They pulled the file out and placed it on the side, moving the books and journals around to have more room.
"Height: approximately 5ft 4 inches, weight: 100 lbs, eyes green, hair red, etc, etc, etc." There was a pause as they read through. Like all the other files, it had a lot of info on it, and unlike the others they couldn't look out for the main points, they had to read everything.
"A 'C' cup?" The outsized man asked, leaning a little closer.
"Do you mind?" As the smaller, more competent assailant glared, his companion laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry, I just happened to notice it."
There was another short space of silence, and he knew he was forgiven, so he started to read a little more. "With wonderful reflexes and muscle tone she is more likely then not the healthiest of the titans?" The bulkier one asked, leaning over.
"And that's not all. This is last week's entry. 'Starfire has been complaining of stomach pains and slight nausea. I am unsure of what has caused this or what may have caused it. I can only assume it was the food she ate, however that would not account to it happening all day. Doing some tests I have come across no real evidence. I there for must conclude one of two facts, either Starfire is having an adverse affect to something I or the others have made for her to eat or the rare possibility of her being...' I can't make that out..." The smaller one asked, holding it closer.
"Looks like the word... Page? Pageant? Pregnant? Promoted? No, it looks like pregnant."
"Right, pregnant."
A pause.
"WHAT?!"
Then, the alarm sounded, and the pair ran as fast as they could from the room.
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Nigel, looking very annoyed with the panic button in one hand the other holding his bandaged torso as he sat up from his merciless-looking bed. Raven and her other half Savior ran in, armed and ready with the Shimmer and mind powers. Both were in their evening wear. Raven was even in evil- looking slippers.
"What happened?" Noel asked Nigel as he staggered up from his bed. Raven turned the lights on to see the room in full view. In this light, which happened to be an electronic flame on the ceiling, it looked even more like some kind of temple.
"And what are you doing out of bed?" Raven said, as her 'Rock muscle' kicked in, one of her brows arching.
"Someone has violated my privacy and yours, as they searched through my records of your health."
"Was it Myth again? Please tell me it was Myth. I didn't much cotton to his dull sword comment, especially considering the agony I went through to make that decision. Let's see how dull he thinks my Shimmer is after I shoot it down his throat and pull his guts out to stuff in his..."
"Cool the wounded male ego Noel. The records. Aren't they suppose to be in a locked cabinet?" The resident Goth asked, floating over.
"They were." He pointed to the small but useful treasure chest-like item that had housed the files and documents, before it had been broken into not five minutes ago. Noel picked one up.
"Concerned about the size of her hips?" Savior read aloud, before being hit with the face with the first big book Raven found. Which happened to be the large one from before, you know, the one with the jewel? The one that was sharp and hard? That, as I will remind you, hit him in the face? "OW!"
With a sigh, and a bruise from Raven, Nigel cleared up all the files and portfolios. Who would want such information? And why?
Looks like another day in Titan Tower.
"I like your legs."
WHACK!
"OW!"
Yep, just another day.
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La-la-la-LAAAA!
Nigel: We really do need a theme song...
By Jedi-and
Disclaimer: I do not own TT, nor do I own Mr. Noel Collins but I DO own some of my own characters.
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Chapter 8: Having a Blast...
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SHIIK
"Hey, big brother!"
A young man was sprawled across the plains that rested on the surface of a far away moon. The grass like substance blew in the wind. I'll just call it grass, even if it was purple. His deep blue eyes looked up to see a young girl running towards him, her traditional dress getting tangled here and there with the fast pace she was using to make up the hill side. No, not a dress...some form of priestess robe. And only the kind the highest of religious members in training got to wear.
It is very complex to describe, but we shall try. It consisted of lots of layers, over lapping each other, with scroll-like objects flowing from her shoulders and long hair. A high collar on the outer jacket covered her chin, which was red, while the inner jacket was of a green colour. Her headdress was like a tall hat, with a visor to protect her eyes. It too had many layers. only showing the bottom half of her face and her long hair.
"Sister!" He called back. He is not speaking English, but rather a snarling alien tongue which we have conveniently translated. In comparison, his clothing was simple: just a strange shirt and trousers. And an all too familiar toothy grin coming across his face.
She stopped in front of him, panting. It was a very steep hill after all. He placed a talon-like hand on her shoulder.
"Breath little sister, breath."
She took a few deep breaths and started again.
"Big brother! I did it!" She said, finally managing to compose herself and remove her mage-like hat to reveal long silver hair and soft green eyes. "They have accepted me! I will go to the home world! I'm finally a priestess!" She beamed, almost jumping up and down for joy. Her grin was oddly familiar: it perfectly matched her brother's.
"That's wonderful!" He replied. "We must celebrate! I'll race you to the party!"
Laughing, he sped off down the hill. He was so proud of her, and he wanted to start the party preparations right away.
"No fair! Wait up!" She shouted after him, laughing as she chased him. This was a small moon, orbiting a much larger planet, with a red sky and the previously mentioned purple grass-that-was-not-really-grass-but-we-will- call-it-grass-because-any-attempt-for-you-to-pronounce-its-real-name-would- require-some-major-surgery-on-your-mouth. It may seem a little odd to you, but it was home for the members of the Empire that occupied it.
There was only one large-scale city on the entire planet, and that held the spaceports, dockyards and military barracks for the entire moon. The rest was sea-based towns and farmland, a safe haven for the folk that lived there. This happened to be the home of Nigicalnack Hastionfarlock, also known as Nigel Hastings, a young Blacktrinian man, who was at the time working as an assistant at a local doctor's practice. His sister, whose real name is even worse the HIS, to the point where it cannot be spelt in English, was Kathy Hastings, a teenager and Nigel's younger by a year and a half. The pair lived with their father, who owned a small fishing and farming business in the bay of their village known as Uintoe [Yin-t-ow].
Life was surprisingly peaceful for this off branch of the war-like race known as the Blacktrinians. No one cared for battles here and just wanted to get on with their lives. Most of the people provided food or priests and priestess' for the Royalist Empire instead of soldiers, which was rare. It was very hard to become a member of the cloth when it came to their religion, as you had to be very strong in mind, while most Blacktrinians were stronger in body. But Nigel's sister had done it, and not just that, she had come in the top of her class. Nigel was proud of her for doing it, for her sake, and for his own sorrowful reasons, as he, in the end, could never really amount to anything.
"So, when do you leave?" He asked, waiting for her at the base of the hill before the pair walked into town.
"I leave soon, probably tomorrow or the day after." She laughed. "I never dreamed that I would make it." Placing her hat with the visor on, she walked next to her casually dressed brother.
"Does this mean I will have to provide an heir to our family name?" He joked, notorious for having a terrible track record when it came to women.
"Big brother! You are too much sometimes! And far too hard on yourself." She laughed quietly, taking her time for an answer. "Really. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You can do amazing things."
"Even if I'm not strong enough?"
"Now stop that! What did I just say?" Kathy asked, looking over to him in a tone that indicated that she was the more mature one out of the two, as she became serious for the first time that day.
"You're right, as usual."
The pair came to a small house on the grass lands. Crops were in the fields, and a mid-afternoon meal was on the table. Nigel opened the door and spoke in a proud, yet ringing voice, still in the grating tongue. "Introducing to you all, the new and improved; priestess Hastionfarlock!" He clapped together his claws as she entered, a blush across the visible parts of her cheeks.
"You always know how to make an entrance." Their father said, as he walked over to her and placed one hand on her shoulders. She placed her claw on his forearm, and then they laughed and hugged.
"It's good to see that you made your dreams come true, unlike some, who have no dreams." He looked over to the pale blue haired male by the door.
"I have dreams too! I'm going to save the day at least once!" He said. "But not before I have had some food." Nigel added as he snuck over to the cooking pot and tried to grab a piece.
"Hastionfarlock, Nigicalnack?"
The deep voice came from the door, and a foreboding sense of dread came over the young man as he turned to see a man dressed in full Blacktrinian armour, a thin sword strapped to his back and a clipboard in his hands.
"Can I h-help you?" Nigel asked, walking over slightly.
"By order of the Blacktrinian military, you have been chosen to go to the Great War as a surgeon and medic on the field of battle that has now become Tamaran."
The room fell silent; this time of joy had turned into a time of mourning. There was a high chance that Nigel would never be coming back to their home, but no one dared to fight with the military. In their culture they had more power than the senate, abet not quite as much as the sovereigns. It didn't matter though. For virtually everyone, when the military said jump of a cliff, the answer was which one?
And with that, Nigel left his home world, his family and his life to fight and die for the Empire.
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But he didn't die, at least not yet, abet not for life's lack of trying, as his body slowly gave up the ghost against his far stronger opponent, the spirit willing but the flesh too weak....
And then he found his release, abet in the worst way possible, as Noel finally made his decision and stepped forward, stabbing with his Shimmer blade with a growl of regret. The sword-shaped energy stabbed through his and Myth's body. Savior had decided. In an attempt to stop the mad man from hurting anyone else, and Nigel's willingness, Savior had made the choice to kill.
Poor choice.
It hadn't worked. Myth was still standing, and Nigel was starting to fall, his body sliding off the blade and falling, the blade piercing him all the way through, abet not enough to cut his cape...
Savior pulled the Shimmer blade out and stepped back as Myth turned around, seemingly none the worse for wear.
"Why are you not..." Noel said.
"Dead? You think a dragon can fall by a simple swipe of a sword? A sword as blunt as THAT?" Myth laughed, and then he lunged forward with such speed even Savior couldn't mount a defence. The side of Noel's face was brutally smashed with a hard blow with the back of Myth's hand, sending Noel flying, knocking over a tray of surgical equipment. For Savior, the only favour was that there was little pain: his head struck a metal bar on the side of the hospital bed, rendering him unconscious. And not just because he hit his head hard. At the same time, he also cut his arm on a broken sedative bottle, the liquid instantly entering his bloodstream. A double whammy. Good night Noel.
Myth then spun and lashed with a vicious kick to the side of Nigel's face, shooting him across the room as well. He hit the wall hard and went limp.
Myth laughed at his own good fortune. The 'villains' had knocked themselves out trying to get to him. But the thoughts on good and evil slipped away quickly. Now there was only the thought of saving his sister. Now.
-------------------------------------------
After a few more minutes of struggling, the Titans on the outside had managed to 'hack' their way through the magic barring them from the room. And they did not expect to see what they saw when they reached the other side.
"My god..."
The room was decimated; everything had been damaged or destroyed, seemingly each container smashed, and anything that could be moved was either on the floor or imbedded in the walls. Never mind how strong said walls were.
"NOEL!" Raven cried as she ran over to him, letting her emotions slide just this once to tend to her battered other half, who seemed to be in a very uncomfortable position, as well as having a large cut across his face. While the sorceress healed his wounds, the others looked around for Nigel, unsuccessfully.
"Where...is...he?"
Slowly but surely, Noel opened his eyes, only to have his vision swallowed by darkness again as Raven hugged the life out of him in a brief moment of affection.
Before realizing everyone was looking at them. She pulled away, returning to her serious appearance.
"What happened Noel?"
Noel, still trying to regain his bearings, explained to them what had happened, with one or two shocked expressions in the group.
"If that is true, then where the hell is he?!" Robin asked, by now highly irate.
"Yo, what is this stuff?" Cyborg said, as he knelt down by a pool of what looked like ink on the floor. He reached out...
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Raven yelled, but it was too late: he had done so and his hand had burst into flames. Panicking, he shook his hand violently, but it did nothing. In fact, this only seemed to make it worse, as he stumbled around trying to put it out.
Black energy encompassed the blaze, making an air tight barrier around it and forcing the flame to die. Remember science? Fire is a three sided triangle: it needs sustenance, heat and oxygen. Remove just one of these sides and fire cannot exist... or something like that. Cyborg sighed in pure relief as the fire finally went out.
"What was that?"
"..."
Raven did not speak, though she had a feeling about something. Was this 'part' of Nigel, and if so were her suspicions actually true? Whether it was or not still remained to be seen, but wherever Nigel was, his opponent might have a harder time than he thought to keep him down.
---------------------------------------------------
As for said opponent, he was making his way quickly up to the final challenge. Though he hardly thought so: the final obstacle in his path was one Garfield Logan, the animal based shape shifter. What could this changeling do against the power of the dragon, the most feared of all mythical beasts? Change into a dog and annoy him?
Please, a little respect for a warrior. They should have put that colourful human on top. Myth had gotten a good vibe from him...
He finally managed to reach the top with the elevator, which opened up on the roof. It had been pre-programmed to lead him up this way, as all the stairwells were blocked, and when he got into the lift it just kept going, despite his verbal and physical protests. Apparently the Titans had been planning to use it once their defence had succeeded. Only it had not, and had served him instead. Stupid children.
Not that he hadn't been annoyed at first. Let's just say the Titan lift now has a new 'fist shaped' centre piece.
But when he reached the top, he saw what he wanted. His sister was there, standing at the top of the tower, dressed only in a morning robe and a light medical gown, her hair down and fluttering in the wind as her red eyes stared meaningfully into her monster brother's. He smiled with joy, but she did not smile at all, her bare feet softly hitting the cold hard surface of the tower. His smile faded as he walked closer, pure curiosity filling the dragon hybrid.
"What is wrong Sis?"
"Well, apart from being on the top of a stupidly tall building, I think you are fighting for the wrong side." Shield replied plainly, her expression never changing. She wrapped the dressing gown closer to her body as the wind picked up, hoping for dear life it didn't get strong enough to carry her over the edge.
"What?!? We have heard of their crimes!" Myth bellowed, confusion starting to rear in his mind once more.
"They were make-believe. I realize that now." Shield said. Tilting her head, she addressed him with the same question that the Titans had addressed her with. "If they were so villainous, do you think they would have taken care of me? Would I be standing here fully healed? Or imprisoned here, battered and bruised in a cage waiting to die?"
There was a pause, as she silently hoped that her brother would understand.
Her pleas were unanswered.
"You lie! They have you sister! It must be some form of mind trap!" He stepped back, getting ready as he looked for someone to attack.
And find someone he did, as a green gorilla landed on him from afar (probably from the top of the roof access lift) and ploughed him into the hard surface off the roof before he leapt off and changed back to human form.
"So much for talking." Beast Boy sighed, wondering what to do now. The guy was already getting back up.
"Please don't hurt him too much. After all he is my brother." Shield asked.
"Hurt HIM too much?" Beast Boy stammered. He was in a real fix. Beast Boy knew that even though he would be restraining himself, the foe would not. And this was evident when Myth clambered to his feet and ran forward, taking out Beast Boy with a drop kick that sent him flying back. And then he was just flying as he changed into a falcon. The changeling countered, attempting to claw the face of his aggressor.
"You rat with wings! Get away from me!" Myth shouted, trying to smack away the falcon, and unfortunately for Beast Boy, he connected with a backhanded blow that sent the green Titan flying through the air, but he had succeeded.
Myth was now blind.
He stood there, struggling to open his damaged eyes, the soft optic orbs probably his only weak spot. He stumbled around, his growls becoming louder and his form changing a little more with each growl. With every breath, he blew a little fire. A tail had formed on his rear, and fully-fledged scales now covered his body.
It was his anger. His sister knew this. The angrier he got, the more he changed, and she didn't want to know what would happen if his totally lost control of his rage.
But she was lucky, as his transformation was halted as two clawed hands went around the creature, and with a feat of great strength and leverage, Myth was German suplexed into the hard covering of the roof, the barrier that protected the Titans from many things, but mostly rain.
"Doctor!" Shield said, seeing the Blacktrinian stand back up, with a slight hole in his chest and an inky substance covering his red suit.
"Yes?" He replied. The black stuff was obviously Scalpel's blood. And now he stood there, with dark rings under his eyes. Not for long though, as, breathing heavily, he fell to one knee. Beast Boy, who had finally returned, flew to them both and landed, shifting back to normal again. He was now sporting a large black eye.
"Thanks bud, I'm glad you decided to..." He paused and saw the state of the Blacktrinian. "Damn! What the hell happened?!?"
"A tactical error. I will be fine." Nigel replied, rising to his feet and nearly falling right back down. This battle was taking its toll on all the Titans, and unless they found a way out of it soon, they might not be here to celebrate tomorrow.
As per usual, fate spat in their face as Myth rose from where he had fallen; using the incredible power of his legs to lift him from his horizontal position. What they saw wasn't what they wanted. He was growing larger, much larger, at least twice the size he had been, and that wasn't it. His skin was nearly jet black, and his face had started to form the lizard-like features that the mythological dragons had possessed The V on his forehead was even more prominent and elongated, very imposing indeed. He was at least halfway to his full transformation.
"Now THAT is a development." Beast Boy commented, looking up at the monster that was staring down at them. Unlike its human counter part, its eyes were perfectly fine, and they looked pretty angry.
"Indeed." Nigel replied to his friend before they backed up...and hit the edge. They had run out of places to go to.
"To coin a phrase 'whoops.'" Nigel said. The dragon had blocked off their only escape route.
Myth, or at least the creature that he had transformed into, raised its head, the beast's neck much longer than it used to be, and it stared down at them before opening its mouth wide. Beast Boy and Nigel wondered what was happening, until a faint glow started to come from the throat.
At that sublime moment, the master of animals, Beast Boy, had realised that Myth was going to have a barbeque, and that the people standing in front of him were on the menu.
"WHOA! NOT GOOD!"
The blast came; intense heat erupted from the belly of the beast and engulfed the group, setting alight the harsh, cold surface of the roof, which managed to ignite without any fuel but the metal on which they stood. The attack had come far too swiftly for them to do anything.
------------------------
Far away, in a make shift row boat made out of Mammoth's frozen form, a charcoal coated and flavoured Gizmo and a battered Jinx looked back at the flame.
"Crazy mother fucker..." She said, staring at their 'boss' in disbelief.
"Best keep rowing, before Ice-zilla here wakes up. Let the snots fry!" The short Techmaster replied, continuing to row. She shrugged.
"Not our problem."
They rowed away to the proverbial sunset, licking their wounds all the way home.
--------------------------
The flames stopped, and the fiend laughed at the thought of the destruction of his foes. When the flames died, he would see the damage that he had wrought.
"Sorry, but they are not on the menu today." A female voice came from the flames, before the burning wall of fire shot forward and pushed the dragon back off the edge. Going from victor to near-vanquished in a second, its claws dug into the side for dear life.
What happened, you might ask? Well, the shield that Charm had placed up at the last second had managed to keep the flames back. She had managed it because she had seen her brother reach this stage before. It was not always a pretty sight. Hell, it was NEVER a pretty sight.
Knowing what was going to happen next, she countered by throwing up a powerful, though draining force field.
Nigel, who was praying intensely, with both feet touching and with one hand up and the index claw of the other resting parallel on the palm of the open hand, opened one eye and looked around. A little stunned that he was still here and that the ring of fire that had been created was kept away from him, he thanked everyone he had prayed to. He stood back up, trying to regain his composure while brushing bits of ash from his suit and wound. He needed to find out what had happened.
"Have I expired?" He asked. He double-checked just to be sure.
"I don't think so." Beast Boy replied, looking around. It wasn't long before he spied the dragon hanging off the building. In a bit of Super Smash Brothers Melee-inspired action, Beast Boy had an idea.
"But I KNOW dragons don't like water!"
Beast Boy turned into a bull and rammed the creature square in the face, which knocked him off balance but not off the edge. His claws were dug in far too deep for that. So Nigel decided to jump in and distract the beast by slashing at its claws with his own, while Beast Boy reared back and took another charge at him This time it was enough to knock him off the edge.
Myth realised he was falling and tried to right himself, but by the time he had, he had struck the water like a sack of brick tied down with a few lead weights.
That's the problem with being larger...
Less distance to fall.
There was silence for a moment or two, before Nigel fell back down, exhausted and suffering from loss of blood. He promptly fell asleep.
Beast Boy sighed in relief, knowing now that Myth won't be coming back. Well, knowing their luck, not until the Titans were all injured or at some other really inappropriate time. Charm herself smiled, she could read his doubts.
"That will not have killed my brother." She said, as she shook her head lightly, her hair swaying slightly in the wind. "But it will have slowed him down. I had best go find him."
This announcement stunned Gar.
"When are you going?"
"Right away. I had best search the banks to see if he crawls up on one of them, and try to persuade him to leave you be." A sigh escaped her lips. She loved her brother, as family of course, but sometimes she didn't like having to sit such a powerful man down and tell him what was right and wrong. She started to walk to the lift access, but a gloved hand grabbed her wrist. She looked back and her eyes met the eye (the other was blackened and swelling shut) of Beast Boy, whose green cheeks were a little red.
"But... I haven't found out what it is about you..." He stammered.
She almost knew what he meant; there was something about him as well. His confidence, his humour and his ability to see every angle including the one he wanted most.
She couldn't explain it, but sometimes love had a funny way with people. Smiling, she rubbed her hand against the unharmed side of his face.
"Perhaps one day we can find out?" She asked, giving him a peck on the cheek and walking away, playing it cool. Garfield was a little stunned, holding the now 'sacred' cheek.
"Oh, by the way."
She turned back to him and threw him a card. "This has my number on it, ask for Elisa Ashton." She gave another quick grin and turned away, leaving Beast Boy to beam for himself.
"Oh yeah, go Beast Boy! Who's the stud? Go Beast Boy! You got the girl!" He chanted, as he did the 'Go Beast Boy' happy dance and nearly tripped up over the sleeping doctor, who had started to murmur in Blacktrinian in his sleep. Beast Boy gave him a glance and laughed to himself.
All was good in the world.
For now anyway.
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Later that night, when the moon was bright and the stars were out, and while everyone rested, recovered or slept, two figures were at the doctor's door, opening the lock slowly without a key.
Or in plain English, breaking in.
They were there for one purpose and one purpose only, to take a look at some of the private papers inside his locked cabinets. The room was eerie to say the least. In the few hours of daylight the Titans had left, they had gotten their newest member some furnishings, and a hand made bed, just like the others had, near the medical bay. Which was pretty damn hard considering how sore they all were.
It seemed very demonic indeed as the alien lay there, motionless and still, the bandage covering his middle. Spikes shot out from the edge of the bed and almost wrapped upwards and around the Blacktrinian, making an open cocoon with a gap in the middle that was just large enough for a person to sleep in. Each part of the room seemed a little dark and twisted. Books and artefacts from alien races and cultures, weapons and a strange, sadistic looking long blade attached firmly onto a base with a low chair attached to the same pedestal. Scrolls with strange characters on them that seemed to reach the floor; all lined up like the suits in his closet. It looked more like a temple to some sick cult than a room.
For someone who had nowhere to go, he sure had a lot of things.
One of the pair who had broke in lifted up a book. It was large and thick, and on it was a large crystal in the shape of a star, with silver corners.
"Why do I get the feeling we are not suppose to be here?" One of them whispered, a tall man with a broad chest, but a relatively relaxed tone.
"Maybe because the door was locked." The smaller, more controlled one said. He was already working on the lock to the file cabinet. With a slight click, the leader pulled out the drawer and started to search through.
"Subject: Raven. Apart from being a little overly worried about the size of her hips and a little undernourishment, Raven is in perfect physical health. Remember to keep regular exercise, yadda-yadda-yadda." He continued to scroll through.
"I always thought her hips were quite large, but I didn't think she would be so bothered..." The larger man pondered, thinking out loud, abet still in a whisper.
"I know. Listen to this one. Subject: Beast Boy AKA Garfield Logan. Beast Boy is a very lean individual, however his pure tofu diet can cause irritation as the level of some minerals and vitamins in his blood are dropping. Best advice would be to prescribe vitamins and a tonic to replace the lost necessities."
"I knew it, I just knew it."
There was a pause as they finally found what they were looking for.
"Subject: Starfire, AKA Koriand'r, Kory Anders."
They pulled the file out and placed it on the side, moving the books and journals around to have more room.
"Height: approximately 5ft 4 inches, weight: 100 lbs, eyes green, hair red, etc, etc, etc." There was a pause as they read through. Like all the other files, it had a lot of info on it, and unlike the others they couldn't look out for the main points, they had to read everything.
"A 'C' cup?" The outsized man asked, leaning a little closer.
"Do you mind?" As the smaller, more competent assailant glared, his companion laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry, I just happened to notice it."
There was another short space of silence, and he knew he was forgiven, so he started to read a little more. "With wonderful reflexes and muscle tone she is more likely then not the healthiest of the titans?" The bulkier one asked, leaning over.
"And that's not all. This is last week's entry. 'Starfire has been complaining of stomach pains and slight nausea. I am unsure of what has caused this or what may have caused it. I can only assume it was the food she ate, however that would not account to it happening all day. Doing some tests I have come across no real evidence. I there for must conclude one of two facts, either Starfire is having an adverse affect to something I or the others have made for her to eat or the rare possibility of her being...' I can't make that out..." The smaller one asked, holding it closer.
"Looks like the word... Page? Pageant? Pregnant? Promoted? No, it looks like pregnant."
"Right, pregnant."
A pause.
"WHAT?!"
Then, the alarm sounded, and the pair ran as fast as they could from the room.
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Nigel, looking very annoyed with the panic button in one hand the other holding his bandaged torso as he sat up from his merciless-looking bed. Raven and her other half Savior ran in, armed and ready with the Shimmer and mind powers. Both were in their evening wear. Raven was even in evil- looking slippers.
"What happened?" Noel asked Nigel as he staggered up from his bed. Raven turned the lights on to see the room in full view. In this light, which happened to be an electronic flame on the ceiling, it looked even more like some kind of temple.
"And what are you doing out of bed?" Raven said, as her 'Rock muscle' kicked in, one of her brows arching.
"Someone has violated my privacy and yours, as they searched through my records of your health."
"Was it Myth again? Please tell me it was Myth. I didn't much cotton to his dull sword comment, especially considering the agony I went through to make that decision. Let's see how dull he thinks my Shimmer is after I shoot it down his throat and pull his guts out to stuff in his..."
"Cool the wounded male ego Noel. The records. Aren't they suppose to be in a locked cabinet?" The resident Goth asked, floating over.
"They were." He pointed to the small but useful treasure chest-like item that had housed the files and documents, before it had been broken into not five minutes ago. Noel picked one up.
"Concerned about the size of her hips?" Savior read aloud, before being hit with the face with the first big book Raven found. Which happened to be the large one from before, you know, the one with the jewel? The one that was sharp and hard? That, as I will remind you, hit him in the face? "OW!"
With a sigh, and a bruise from Raven, Nigel cleared up all the files and portfolios. Who would want such information? And why?
Looks like another day in Titan Tower.
"I like your legs."
WHACK!
"OW!"
Yep, just another day.
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La-la-la-LAAAA!
Nigel: We really do need a theme song...
Okay, allow me to explain that ending... sits in his big chair with his hands Gendo style Well the original story line had entailed for Starfire to have Cancer from living on earth for too long and perhaps if (note that IF) she got better; she could have helped cure cancer...
Starfire: whimpers
But my partners in crime, Legend Maker and Bobcat didn't really like it, and the fact that I didn't know too much about it either didn't help. However now we needed something to fill the gap. I had suggested many things, but none of them worked too well. I then joked about having Starfire Pregnant, as someone said I can 'write pregnancy' quite well or something like that.
They didn't think I was joking...
And so they persuaded me to use it as a plot device. Why? Well later on in one of Legend Maker's fics she may explain why, but for now I have to try and continue on. Oh the life of an author...