It's only a matter of Time
Ok, due to popular demand, this fic is back in business! Waits for fans to stop jumping for joy. And I got another chappi for ya! Any questions about this fic can be emailed straight to me and I'll do my best to reply. Before I start, though; I'd like to say a big huge thank you to my reviewers!
!THANK YOU!
And a special Thanks to those who reviewed Ch 8;
Missy K: I am very grateful to your faithful reading and hope that you continue to enjoy this fic. I really like writing it but with the lack of reviews and feedback I thought that no one was reading it and I was just taking up valuable space in the FF database…sorry if I scared ya!
Nekoian: Don't worry about the Minushions or whatever they are, some people use it in their fics and others don't, I'll be different and use both so it's no biggie! Any ways thanks for the heads up and for reviewing!
Silver Mirror: In a way yeah. See it's supposed to symbolise his freedom of years of guilt for killing those children when he was taken prisoner last time, it's like he can finally leave the weight behind him! Glad someone picked that up!
Kiki: Thanks and don't worry, I will!
Any ways…on with the Fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of Shaman King I'm just borrowing them for a bit of twisted fun.
Summary/Blurb: What if HoroHoro and Pilika had a tougher past than Ren? And what if that past came back so soon?
Warning: This is my first fan-fic on shaman king so excuse all the ooc-ness…oh and there's a few bad words…not much else really so I'll leave ya to it. Enjoy!
Ch 9 Shock after Shock
HoroHoro ran through the snow but didn't seem to moving very fast. He knew the people behind him weren't very far off his trail but he just didn't seem to have the energy anymore. Slowly he came to a halt just inside a large pine tree forest and collapsed under a tree. Exhausted.
He ached all over and even in places he didn't want to mention or know about. He managed to move his arm into his sight then cast an inspective look at it. There were dark bruises all over but the angry deep bruises looked awful. God what had happened to him? Why couldn't he remember who he was? Slowly he became aware that his back was slowly becoming more painful by the minute, he moved so he wasn't in so much pain. But the rest of him felt numb, as though everything had frozen over.
He was just swooning into a conscious sleep when a shout woke him suddenly. Recognising the voice immediately, HoroHoro jumped up, forgetting about his injuries, ignoring the pain, and ran for his life, deeper into the forest, further away from the pursuing enemy, and far behind them; a pursuing friend.
Ren had been walking for hours, following a copy of the map Anna had photographed yesterday. He trudged through the snow stumbling every now and then on a hidden stone or fallen branch.
"Grr who put that there!" he yelled as he let his frustration take over. This was getting him nowhere. Not only did the snow plough decide not to work but he'd forgotten to pack his milk too. "Why did he have to go and get kidnapped anyway?" he grumbled to himself as he once again stood and made his way through the snow towards HoroHoro's last known location: the Phoenix Corporation…well outside it at any rate.
On he trudged, through snow and ice, closer to the buildings that had eluded him thus far. Suddenly he was aware of the brilliant sunlight glaring down from the clear blue sky above him, adding to his sour mood.
"How can the sky look so…sunny when it's so damned cold!" he half yelled as he pulled his clothing tighter around his frame, warding off the chill that attacked him. On he ploughed, aiming in the general direction of the Corporation, hoping he wasn't too late, or that he'd find HoroHoro's body lying on the floor with blood red snow around him.
"No!" he yelled, stopping in his tracks, denying HoroHoro's demise. "He is not dead!" he said storming onwards again, "yet!" he added as he quickened his pace, determined to make HoroHoro pay for the emotions he was forcing on Ren.
Yoh was stood with his team outside, going over the plan once more with the others.
"Remember, we are very few, and they have a lot of them so we have to have the element of surprise!" he said as Ryu, Faust, and Manta listened intently. Anna was staying behind because those men could come back for Pilika; she was to defend the female Ainu to the end.
Yoh had already explained to Manta why it was important that he come, because he was the only one who could hack into computer systems and the like. Ryu was there for combat support and Faust just knew how say the right things. Plus he could fight if it came down to it. Yoh needed no explanation for going he was fulfilling a promise he'd vowed to a friend. And he was gonna do it even if it killed him.
Soon they were following Ren's earlier tracks on their way to the Phoenix Corporation, hoping they weren't too late like Ren had feared they were.
Pilika watched as the boys disappeared over the horizon, all geared up and ready for battle. She knew they bring him home but deep down inside she dreaded that moment. The moment when she'd look into HoroHoro's eyes and find no recognition of her, no love for her; no emotion but confusion and fear. An empty shell of what he used to be.
She began to mourn her brothers death, because to her; he might as well be.
HoroHoro ran as fast as he could run, his legs buckling sometimes as he went. He didn't aim for any particular direction, he just ran, away from those people, away from his 'Father', away from that building, away from all the hurt that was welling up inside his heart and soul.
He found his way to the brink of a vast open area that could have been passed off as a large lake. Little did he know; that this was a large lake covered in a thin layer of ice due to the warm weather fronts that had helped cause the recent storms.
He heard a shout from the enemy, it sounded close…too close. Taking his chances, he ran out on to the ice, slipping here, tripping there. He was going to make it! Faster he ran, pounding his tired feet faster across the thinning ice plate, closer…closer…crack! He suddenly plunged into the freezing water shocking his body into an instant shivering spasm attack, jolting fresh agony through his body. He was dimly aware that he was under water now, unconsciously holding his breath in the numbing liquid. He heard muted shouts above him. Looking up he could see the outlines of people on the ice looking for him, then he heard a distinct, "he's gone under!"
The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor with a warm blanket wrapped around him. Voices hovered just outside his conscious understanding, fading in and out of his thoughts. Slowly he opened his eyes and distantly wondered how many times he'd been knocked out in the last few days.
"He's waking up! Somebody, get the Director!" an unfamiliar voice said. It sounded young and genuinely concerned. When he was able to focus, HoroHoro saw a young boy, no older than he was, looking straight back at him, smiling a relieved smile.
"Welcome back," he said, "you gave us quite a scare." He spoke as though they were old friends, but HoroHoro had never seen this kid in all his life; at least he thought he didn't.
"Sorry, who are you?" he croaked, confused.
"I am Derrick, head of the Shamanic Army for the Phoenix Corporation." He said. At the words Phoenix Corporation, HoroHoro panicked.
"What!" he yelled "You're with them?" he shrieked standing up stripping off the blanket. The boy was startled and at a loss of what to do.
"Trey!"
'That voice! That name! No!' HoroHoro turned to see Ethan running over to him. Instinct kicked in and HoroHoro ran in the opposite direction.
"Trey! Stop!" Ethan called out, trying to reason with the hysterical boy. HoroHoro ran straight past the surprisedguards and deep into the surrounding forest that the enemy had made camp in. Ethan ran after HoroHoro, easily keeping him in sight, a few soldiers from the Shaman Army followed him, thinking that the less intimidating they were, the more chance of him trusting them. Derrick was among them, sweeping the direction HoroHoro had run in.
Ren had come to his wits end. He had also come to the end of the mapped routes. Which was why he was so frustrated too.
"I cannot believe this!" he yelled into the darkening clouds. "Come on HoroHoro! Give me a sign! A pointer! Help me!" he called out, listening to his echo in the trees that surrounded him.
Suddenly Koloro called out in her annoying way. Ren turned to Bason for an interpretation;
"She says that the Phoenix Corporation is that way," Bason said pointing to Ren's left.
"Right then lets go." Ren said but was stopped by Koloro who squeaked at him urgently. Again Ren turned to Bason for Answers.
"She says 'but HoroHoro is this way.' I can feel him and he is weakening as we speak." Bason said hovering faithfully by Ren's shoulder.
"Then let's go this way!" Ren sighed in annoyance and once again wondered why Koloro hadn't already rushed off to her shaman. He began walking in the direction Koloro had pointed out.
He wandered for a few hours before hearing a slight rustle in the distance, 'a squirrel? Bird?' he thought then kicked himself for being stupid; there were no birds or squirrels that could survive this weather! He decided to check it out.
Slowly, they closed in on him, cornering him as they tried to talk some sense into him. HoroHoro backed away, to the edge of a very large canyon, or snow cliff.
"Trey, listen to me, I don't want you to fall off that edge so just come away please." Ethan whimpered as HoroHoro took another step towards the cliff's edge. "Don't make daddy's hair go grey yet." He said to try and lighten the mood but it didn't.
"You're not my father!" HoroHoro yelled almost losing his balance but regained it, albeit a little unsteadily.
"Trey. Please, no one wants to hurt you. We want to help." Ethan said as he took a step closer to him. HoroHoro seemed to relax a bit, slowly building his trust again, but he was still hesitant in giving his trust to this man.
Ethan decided to use his psychic abilities to aid him in bringing HoroHoro home safely. He reached out with his mind and planted a false memory in HoroHoro's mind. But this had a horrifying effect. HoroHoro suddenly tensed as Ethan entered his mind, sending him toppling over the edge.
"No!" a voice yelled out as a figure jumped out of the trees and leaped over to the edge, grabbing HoroHoro's hand just as he was falling down to his doom. HoroHoro grasped this hand not caring who it was who'd caught him. He squeezed his eyes shut hoping and praying he'd get out of this alive.
A/N: Sorry but I'm gonna have to leave this on a cliff hanger, literally! My sister is booting me off the computer so she can do her homework. Yeah I know she's a spoilt sport. Any ways keep them reviews coming if ya wanna know what happens next! he he