Me: SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! runs from bullets
Cs: Your fault for not updating!!!
Me: I never realized they would have been THIS mad!! Gomen everyone!
CS: sighs To the reviewers…
Lil Tanuki: You're in! Albeit, I'm sorry it took so long, but at least it's a good chappie! (I hope…)
Arashi Doragon: blushes These compliments have got to stop…look at the size of my ego! points to the swelling balloon You're in too! Hope you like it!
Midnight Wolf Angel Reborn: You're not in…yet. Wait 'til next time ok? Guarantee!
Morgana Magi Lady of Light: You will be. No one is excluded from this story!
White Dog: OO; I didn't realize you'd like it that much… Aw, so sweet. I'm glad you liked the way I portrayed you. Spike is my fave character in Cowboy Bebop. Now, if I could only get my hands on the movie….
Ao-sama: That's an interesting one. shakes your hand I'm proud of you! You gave me something original to work on! Saves me a lot of time!
nessi: Send the bio! I want to add, I really do!
Little Leila: OO I really didn't know! I just thought that would be the way you would handle knives. Very kick-ass, don't you agree? And update your Mortal Kombat fic!
asa-chan: You're in! shakes your hand Sorry for the fact that you don't show up in this chapter, but stay tuned for the next one!
Chapter Three
Obscure
We stared in shock. I'm pretty sure whatever we were expecting…
We certainly weren't expecting that.
"…God…." Arnar whispered, his eyes aching. I felt a jolt in my spine that made me feel queasy. Behind me, I heard Rumi let out a strangled gasp. Leila's eyes looked suspiciously watery.
Kai's form blurred as if it was fading and pretty soon there was nothing there. The hall began to roar with an inhuman howl and we clenched our eyes tightly.
"….How could this happen…" Rumi said finally.
I remembered the eerie laugh Kai gave us before. I shuddered.
I mean, we all have put him through some humiliating incidents, but I don't think that gives him reason to kill us….right?
And it had been Angy and I he wanted in the first place.
Spike shook his head, "This is wrong."
"Of course it's wrong!" Silver snapped at him, "Kai attacked us and we killed him!" Then she dissolved in a flurry of tears.
Spike blinked, "Doesn't anybody find it strange that he vanished just like that?"
Leila wiped her eyes furiously, "Maybe."
"Don't you think if it was the real Kai, he wouldn't have vanished like that?"
That was an interesting question. Why had he vanished like that?
Leila glanced at the gold dagger in her hand and slipped it into a bag.
"YOU TWO!!!!!!!"
Angevar and I winced. That was our welcoming committee.
The others winced as well. God, teachers can yell.
"Alia Henderson, you better explain yourself soon…" Mrs. Form said glaring at me. I nervously twiddled my thumbs behind my back. Angevar whistled some forsaken tune that I can't be bothered to remember.
"I think we should leave," Spike muttered. Silver looked aghast.
"But-But we can't leave Timmy and Angy to-to them!" She said.
"When the going gets tough, save your own skin," He said. I glared at him and he winced.
Rumi cleared her throat and sweatdropped as Mrs. Form aimed her glare at her.
If looks could kill…
"Ummm…" Rumi fiddled with her fingers, "If it was possible…we would like…" She began to shiver as the teacher's glare became more and more pronounced.
Arnar rolled his eyes, "Oh for Wyn's Grace [1]! We need them to come with us and discuss something. And if you refuse, we will inform the authorities!"
We stared at Arnar with dot eyes.
Temper, temper
Mrs. Form saw red, "You are a minor. You have no right to tell me what to do!"
"Yes, I am a minor," He said dryly, "But we're the only ones right now who can make things right. Unless you want an attack like that to happen again…"
Mrs. Form swallowed hard. I think she was still shaken by the experience. My mind saw Mr. Lyle fall down with a hole in his stomach. My eyes turned hard.
He's right.
We're the only ones who can make things right again.
"Alright," She said forlornly, "They can go. Just…take care of yourselves, ok?"
Sometimes, people amaze us. They are so ready to set what is real or not.
But doing the right thing is more important than what is real or not.
And for us, that's a good thing.
We took a few belongings that we had. It took a lot of convincing (and a lot of blackmail) to make Angevar leave her computer.
"NOOOO!!!!!!!!" She sobs, clutching my leg, "Please don't make me leave it behind!!!"
We sweatdropped.
"Come on Angy, it's not like you'll never see it again," Rumi said, trying to pacify the distraught girl.
Angevar just glared at her.
Rumi sweatdropped, "On the other hand…"
I sighed and shook my leg, "Come on Angy, we don't have all day."
"I'm not leaving it behind!!!"
My temper snapped, "Then we're leaving you behind!!" I growled at her.
Angevar was the picture of disbelief, "You wouldn't…"
"Try me."
Angevar huffed and got up, "Fine. The comp stays behind. Happy?" She grumbled.
I smirked and let it pass.
"It's not that bad anyway. Silver has a laptop we can use," Spike said.
Angevar lunged at him, "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Uhhh….You didn't ask?"
"You're dead Whitey!!!"
"Hey, it's White Dog!! Not Whitey!!"
"I don't care!!! Either way you're dead!!"
"Ack! Save me someone!!!"
We sighed. Rumi pulled Angevar off Spike and Silver dragged her brother.
Spike huffed, "Why did I volunteer coming anyway? Crazy onnas…"
Rumi just smiled sweetly. I just sweatdropped.
Most of our things were packed and after waving goodbye to Schez, we took off.
"Ummm….where exactly are we going?"
Okay, so we had a few difficulties…
We spent most of our time hitchhiking. Our boarding school was pretty desolate and we needed access to the airport if we wanted to get anywhere.
And I still didn't know where we were supposed to go.
Rumi rolled her eyes at me, "Well, the best person to go to would probably be Tasara."
I jumped at that, "You know how to meet Tasara?!"
Rumi blushed, "It's not that big a deal."
"Not that big a deal?" Angevar echoed, "No one has ever met Tasara face to face!!!"
Rumi turned a shade darker, "Well I just knew. I've never met her personally."
Spike scratched his head, "So, where are we going exactly?"
Rumi gave him a wicked smile, "Japan."
We leapt, "Seriously?!"
Rumi nodded.
I let out a whoop of joy. I've always wanted to go to Japan. The land of cherry blossoms and Anime [2].
Angevar was in a similar state. But then she thought hard, "How are we going to get there? We have no money!!!"
Arnar pulled out a gold card from his pocket. We glared at him in jealousy. He smirked at us, putting his card back into his jean pocket, "Credit card. Never leave home without it."
I rubbed his forehead, "That's good. I need a vacation."
Angevar shook her head sadly at me, "You really think this will be anything like a vacation?"
I grinned, "No."
"ONNA LET GO OF MY HAIR!!!"
"MAKE ME!!!!"
"GLADLY!!!! JUST LET GO ALREADY!!!"
"NOT UNTILL YOU GIVE BACK MY LAPTOP!!!!"
"BUT I WANNA PLAY!"
"GIVE. IT. NOW!!!!"
We sighed.
This is going to be a long trip…
It was dark and we had managed a pit stop at one of the local inns. I checked the flight schedules and reasoned it was better to go to Singapore and get a connecting flight there.
Rumi and I pooled out whatever money we had and knocked on the door of the inn.
The door creaked open and the lamplight poured through the entrance. There was a thirty-five year old man at the door. With his hand, he let us inside and closed the door.
Angevar shivered unconsciously. The place was…less than welcoming. The tables were decorated with moth eaten cloths and a few grimy looking men were eating on the table (not very neatly, I might add). The doors were creaky and cold wind blew though the partly shattered windows.
They all glanced at me. I shrugged.
"I never said it would be like a five star inn," I said.
Silver looked at the 'other guests' with something akin with fear, "You never said it would be this bad either," She said dryly.
I flushed sheepishly.
Rumi ran a hand through her hair, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Let's just get some sleep."
We glanced at the 'guests' and flinched.
Who bets no one is going to get any sleep?
"Is it working?" Spike peered at the screen with a frown.
Silver scowled, her good temperament lowering drastically, "The phone line is really slow so cut me some slack!" She snapped at him.
Spike backed away, "You didn't need to snap."
Silver cooled down, "Sorry, but this just won't work for me!"
I glanced at the screen. It was moving at a very sluggish pace. Leila paced around the room. I'm pretty sure she wore it down to the part it was undistinguishable.
"This isn't good. We needed to contact the rest," Leila said, stopping her pacing for a minute. Then started all over again. We sweatdropped.
Angevar closed the door and locked it. At my quizzical glance, she said, "It doesn't hurt to be safe."
We nodded and decided to get some sleep. Silver shut her laptop with a click.
Something crouched in the darkness. Her violet eyes widened.
"NO! Stay away!"
A guttural laugh was heard.
And the Gold Dagger moved.
I gasped, throwing my pillow on the ground. I felt my heart grow cold.
They're here!
"GET UP!!" I yelled, flinging my covers. Angevar woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"Good grief, what is it? It's," She glances at her wristwatch, "3 'o' clock in the morning!"
"They're here!" I repeated, shaking Rumi from her bed. Arnar's eyes lit up and he was instantly awake.
"Who's 'they'?" He queried.
"No time! We have to—,"
The door creaked.
We went deathly pale and the air hovered above us, thick with tension.
Spike thought faster than the rest of us this time. He raised his hand and the door glowed crimson.
"That will keep our company occupied for a while," He said grimly, helping his sister up.
"But how did they find us?" I said in frustration, "I took the least used route."
Arnar bent his head in thought. Leila pressed her lips together quizzically. Rumi snapped her fingers.
"The Internet! Silver was using it."
"But how did they get here so fast?"
The door vibrated. We made desperate glances at it.
"Right now, I suggest we leave," Arnar said tightly.
My eyes glowed and my katana appeared. Similarly, everyone's weapons solidified.
"What about the door?" I said, "We can't go through there!"
Angevar shot me a reckless grin, "Who needs doors?"
I followed her gaze to the…, "You're crazy."
I was right.
They were crazy.
And I'm stuck with them.
…
Oh Joy.
"You're nuts, the lot of you," I muttered from under my breath, my hair whipping across my face.
Rumi gave me an evil smile, "Of course we are Timmy. We have you to thank for that."
"That wasn't the kind of encouragement I wanted when we're planning to jump down from a window!"
Rumi shrugged, "If Neo can do it, so can we."
"Actually, Neo didn't have the guts to jump off. Plus, he was in the Matrix, so that doesn't count." Spike said.
Rumi glared at him, "Thanks for ruining that for me," She huffed.
He grinned, "You're welcome."
Angevar rolled her eyes upwards, "Can we get this done with?!"
"If I didn't know better, I would say you wanted to jump off," I said, growling at her.
If you hadn't guessed from the conversation, we were outside our room window, ready to jump for our deaths.
No wonder Neo didn't have the guts to do it.
BOOM!
We jerked.
Spike looked worried, "I think they broke through my barrier."
Leila smiled and jumped.
"Oh crap," I said, watching her plummet.
"Silver, now!" Rumi commanded.
Silver's eyes pulsed a beautiful shade of blue-green. A sphere of water appeared and Leila landed in water. She resurfaced and the water vanished.
"Good work Silver," Arnar said appreciatively. A brush of pink appeared on her cheeks.
"Who's next?"
I sighed, "Might as well get it over with."
I jumped.
Falling to Earth is a rather slow process. You think you're hitting the ground any minute, but you're actually farther away than you thought.
I didn't scream; I didn't yell.
SPLASH!
The water filled my lungs and I struggled to reach the brim of the sphere. Then, with a gasp, I surfaced, taking in deep breaths of air. The sphere vanished.
We did the same thing with everyone and I created an ice slide for Silver to slide down. She looked extremely tired from the effort. Spike helped her walk as we ran towards the road.
It seemed too easy.
It was too easy.
There were three men dressed in the same Ninja outfits that Kai wore when he attacked us.
We slowed down to a halt. I fingered the handle of my katana, but my mind was uneasy.
Who is it this time? Will it be Tyson? Rei? Max? Tala?
They glared at us. Rumi solidified her hand into a mace.
"They're not real," She said grimly, "That wasn't Kai we killed."
Killed.
My eyes grew dark.
Angevar cocked her head at them, "They have no weapons…"
I glanced at them and saw that this was true.
One of them stepped out; "Chosen," The word was so emotionless than it put stone to shame.
Silver shuddered unconsciously. Leila held her knives in front of her.
"Submit Chosen and you will be spared," The Ninja continued.
Spike rolled his eyes, "Even in real life, bad guys can't think of good clichés."
I smirked at that.
"Submit," The voice grated.
All Hell broke loose.
Angevar slammed her sword onto the ground, sending the guy flying. His companions caught him however. I twisted my katana in the air and dozens of sharp icicles flung themselves onto the Ninjas. They grimaced and covered themselves with their hands.
Arnar sent spirals of weirdly coloured energy at them and I saw odd burns on their faces.
I glanced at Arnar and he explained, "They are called mesmeric burns. They only affect the supernatural."
I grinned. That was a useful technique and glanced at the Ninjas. They seemed unfazed by the numerous cuts and burns on their bodies.
Silver groaned, her limbs shuddering. She looked pretty tired. I shared a look with Spike. He nodded and gently pushed her back and kept guard over her.
"Submit." They said again.
"You wish," I growled.
"Then let's make that a reality!" With they attacked.
I have been karate since I was five and considered myself a pretty good fighter, but their style was something I've never come across before.
They were like blurs.
I blocked one blow with my fist and something swept form under my legs. I staggered, but did not fall. I grimaced.
Definitely stronger than the first guy they sent. A kick was aimed for my stomach, but I grabbed the foot and twisted it. The other leg whacked my face and I barely managed to get back on track.
The others weren't doing so well either. There are only three guys, but they wiped the floor with us. Leila tried to decapitate one, but nearly ended up with a knife in her chest. Arnar tried to sweep them off their feet and then attack them with his axe, but we then noticed something odd.
Their feet don't touch the ground.
It's like they're levitating.
Spike tried to help, but he was too preoccupied with protecting his sister to offer much assistance. Rumi tried to help me and Angevar went to help Leila and Arnar.
It still wasn't enough.
I tried freezing the ground, but I realized that this would prove more of a disadvantage since they're floating. I tried icicles, but they were too fast and kept on dodging them. Angevar tried hurling boulders, Rumi tried her mallet, Arnar tried his mesmeric burns...
But it didn't work. We were slowly getting pushed back.
"Now what?" Leila asked, sweat trickling down her face.
Spike's eyes glowed and the familiar black fog surrounded us once more.
I pushed the damp hair off my face, "We can't keep this up. We—,"
Something pushed through the fog and embedded itself in Spike's arm. It was a knife. He cried out, holding it tightly. The fog faded out.
"Crap," Angevar swore, her eyes flickering.
"Nice knowing you'll," I said grimly as I held my katana in front of me.
Then a flicker appeared. I blinked and it vanished.
What was that?
The ground shuddered and the Ninjas exchanged incredulous looks. We on the other exchanged looks with Angevar.
She huffed, "Not me!"
"Not her. Us."
I knew that voice. How could I not know that voice? How could anybody not know that voice?
The Ninjas turned slowly to meet the grinning eyes of Arashi Doragon.
She smirked at them, "What, no warm welcome?" She pouted, "I'm so hurt, really I am."
Despite the blood and sweat trailing down my face, I still managed a grin.
"You're only one person," The Ninja spoke, "You cannot hope to take us alone."
She cocked her head at him, "Who says I'm alone?"
A flash of confusion filters through the Ninja's eyes.
"Tanuki!"
White-blue cloudy bonds shackled the Ninjas to the ground. They yelled and tried to pull free, but the bonds remained.
I cleaned the dirt off my face and glanced at Arashi. Suddenly three more forms appeared before her.
Arashi saw my questioning glance and shrugged, "Thought you might need reinforcements."
"Well, you couldn't have had better timing," Leila said grimly, cleaning her knives, "How long will those bonds last?"
Tanuki (I presumed) twirled her curly black locks, "As long as we want it to."
Another girl went up to Silver and helped her up, "What happened to her?"
"Escape attempt," I glanced at Silver. She was barely conscious.
"So, who may you be?" Angevar said, pointing to the girl who was helping Silver up. The girl beamed, "Oh, my name's Aquenze."
I blinked, "Hey, you're that MaRe writer!"
She blushed. Rumi grinned, "We need more MaRe on ff.net."
She blushed some more.
Arashi cleared her throat impatiently, "Are we killing these guys off or what?" She said.
That brought me down to Earth.
"Let's question first," Leila said, noticing the grim expression on my face.
We walked up to the Ninja's (after being assured by Tanuki that the bonds were 100% no attack free).
Arnar and Spike were behind us. I cupped one of the Ninja's chin tightly and forced him to look at me. He glared at me defiantly.
"Who is your master?" I asked.
He just glared.
"Lovely," I said muttering, "How the hell are we going to get them to co-operate?"
Leila hesitated and pulled out…
"By Freda [3]!" Arnar said, swearing, "You have that?"
I didn't say anything. My blood had just dropped a few degrees. That stupid Dagger…
Leila smiled and handed it to me. I nodded at her and glanced at the Ninja. His complexion had paled drastically and he was staring at the dagger, a touch of hysteria in his eyes.
"Now," I said quietly, "Who is your master?"
He gulped, "I-I don't know…"
I frowned and slid the dagger point on his cheek. He shook so badly he reminded me of an aspen leaf, "I'll repeat the question," I said as if I was talking to a two-year old, "Who is your master?"
"I swear I don't know!"
I frowned, but decided to believe him. It would be safer to make sure the minions didn't know your identity, so they can never go against you.
"Ok. Why were you sent to kill us?"
"You are the Bearers."
I turned to my companions. Rumi just looked perplexed, Arashi was scowling, Arnar was thoughtful and Spike hovered nearby, not sure what to make of this.
"Who are the Bearers?"
"I—I—,"
"Who are they?"
"They are…"
Suddenly, their cheeks turned ashen. Their mouths opened with a wordless scream. Then, they fell to ground like dust…
We stared at the ground, even after the dust floated away with the wind.
"Well, that got us nowhere," Angevar commented nonchalantly.
I winced, "I should have been more careful," I said despairingly.
"Nonsense," Arashi told me in a condescending tone of voice, "Apparently the puppet master of this whole episode must have gotten word of our victory. We should get going."
"But…Silver," Spike said protesting, "She can barely walk."
Arashi rolled her eyes, "Have you ever heard of a car? That's how we got here. We were planning on using that."
I snickered at the expression on Spike's face.
"So, are we going or not?"
"They failed."
"That's of little consequence. We have more of them."
"But now…they know of the Bearers."
"So? I warrant they still don't know what it means. They will more troublesome, but I can get rid of them."
"…They are heading to Japan…"
A frown, "What could they want there?"
"I'm under the impression they're looking for Tasara."
A wave of a hand. "Let them look. No one can find Tasara. We shall cut down the attack though."
"But the Bearers…"
"We'll save them for last. They still don't know, hence the positions are empty."
"Yes."
"You worry too much. They're just kids."
"Yes."
"Leave. We have much to finish."
The footsteps faded away.
Me: Announcement people! I have an important decision to make!
Audience comes closer to hear announcement
Me: I have decided on pairings, only among the authors themselves. No Beyblade characters will be paired up. Only authors. And since there are only two guys, Hades of Hades and White Dog are going to choose for themselves and I'll work on it!
For White Dog and Hades of Hades
Authors:
Rumi-chan
Angevar
Little Leila
Asa-chan
Tanuki
Aquenze
Silver
Arashi Doragon
Nanashi2
And Me…(though I don't think I should be counted, but it's upto you)
CS: …I can't believe you want pairings…
Me: I love fighting, but I need more angles in this story.
CS: I guess in that sense, it's okay….
Me: stares at her That vacation did you wonders…you're agreeing with me!
CS:
Me: Reviewers receive—
CS: Spirit bonds!
Me: Used to bind evil forces!
CS: uses her spirit bonds to trip Timmy Review!
[1] Wyn = Norse God of Nobility. Is famous for having his own day.
Wyn's Day = Wednesday. I know my Norse mythology well enough, thank you.
[2] Check Spy Diaries for reference. Though I'm sure most of you'll recognized it already.
[3] Freda: Norse Goddess of Beauty