Inheritage: Things Fall Apart

head> Chapter 3 /head>

Frozen

body>

Jusenkyo

Joketsozuko was adapting to the change quickly, as the society was educated in the dealings of magickal creatures. But it did have its hardships. Several of the newly lycanthropic amazons were flipping out, and Cologne, Mousse, and Shampoo were the ones helping out in that regard.

Much like Atlanta, Jusenkyo was experiencing frigid climates, but even more so. Cold seemed to be radiating from the east. Snow has covered the ground, and several of the buildings were being altered to accommodate the non-furred occupants.

Work was hard, and everyone had their own job. For the stronger, it was adding insulation to the bare stone buildings, and creating better fire pits. For others it was conversing with outsiders, and assisting China in their own problems. For still others, it was feeding and providing for the workers.

For Mousse and Shampoo, however, it was different. Being as they were now the two most powerful Amazon werecreatures, they had the job of being a contact between the Joketsozuko, the Jusendo Phoenix people, and the Musk. The Phoenix people had a wealth of raw metals and other things that they gain through Saffron's fires. The Musk didn't have any extremely important resource, but the peace between the three tribes was to be served with the utmost care and discipline.

A large amount of metal, primarily iron and copper, was needed in Joketsozuko. This was traded for a cache of herbs and spices, with a small jar of white phosphorous. The metal was holy to the Phoenix people, who called it the Burning Ore.

The exchange was uneventful. The metal was stored away in the two werecreatures respective displacements, and they began the long walk back to Joketsozuko.

As they left the warm aura of Jusendo, snow began to fall around them.

Shampoo was wearing a long, yet form fitting, white coat that had red-purple fuzz on the turtle neck collar and cuffs. Her pants were similar, white with fuzz. She had boots on to keep her feet warm. The outfit matched her snow white and purple fur excellently.

Mousse's fur had also turned gray, with his winter coat being similar to a winter wolf's. He wore a thicker version of his own white shirt, which had a high collar and blue cuffs. His traditionally black pants were now blue, and he had boots on as well.

The route from Joketsozuko to Jusendo was long, but not difficult per say. The mountain trek was tiresome for those without incredible stamina or the ability of flight. The area's paths used the area around Jusenkyo as a hub, with the paths to the Musk Territory, Jusendo, and Joketsozuko branching off from there. To get from one to the other, one had to pass by Josenkyo, which many people didn't dare do.

The pools, no matter how cold it got, never froze. The chaotic nature of the Magick in them kept them from freezing no matter what the temperature of the water was. One cannot get cursed from cursed ice. This didn't stop the uncursed springs, as few as they were, from freezing, creating pockmarks of ice in the watery area.

Night started to fall as they reached Jusenkyo. They walked, side by side, silently. That is, until Mousse stopped.

Shampoo stopped a few paces ahead.

"What is it?" She asks, turning back.

"There," Mousse said, pointing out into Jusenkyo, "There are a cluster of frozen springs over there. And they're marked as cursed."

"Some of the cursed springs are frozen?" Shampoo asked, looking out into the gray haze. Mousse nodded.

They both started to carefully weave their way around the still watery springs towards the frozen ones. The normally wet, muddy ground was frozen solid, and was easier to transverse than normal.

They eventually reached the frozen springs. Mousse started to observe the bamboo poles and the writing that was on their sides.

"The springs of drowned Elk, Nobel, Serpent," Mousse read, "Hawk, Leprechaun, Nucle… Nuclear Physicist? I didn't know there was a Spring of Drowned Nuclear Physicist."

"Go figure," Shampoo said, looking around, "Hey, look at this."

Shampoo was crouching near the uncursed that was in the middle of the cluster. The spring radiated coldness. Buried deep in the clear ice was what looked like a large blue stone. The stone was glowing, pulsing with a strange energy.

"Maybe we should get it out," Shampoo said, "Great Grandmother might be interested in it."

Shampoo clapped her hands, and placed them on the ice, pouring heat into it. The ice started to melt, but slowly. Shampoo started to pour even more heat into it. The ice groaned and cracked loudly.

Eventually, Shampoo could reach into the water. The ice became colder and colder as it got nearer to the stone. Being unable to melt the last three inches around the stone, she just removed the icy ball from the pool. The cursed springs around them instantly started to melt.

"I wonder what this thing is?" Shampoo asked, holding it up.

"We should head back, I have a bad feeling about this," Mousse said.

"Don't worry, nothings going to hap…"

Shampoo rocked forward; she suddenly gasped, and gripped the icy ball tightly, her claws sinking into it.

He just stared at Shampoo for a split second and the large spear like thing that had gone through her torso. She weakly started at it, collapsing soon afterwards.

"Shampoo!" Mousse said, running up to her. He grabbed her, and helped her stand. He looked at the spear, seeing that there was a long chain leading from it across the springs. It led to a giant shadow that loomed not far off.

Mousse whipped out a sharp blade, and cut the chain just as the chain started to whip back towards the shadow. With the spear pronged like it was, it would have dragged Shampoo back with it.

There was a loud boom and a flash. A second spear came zooming at them. Mousse ducked under it, and it ripped over him, nicking his back slightly. Gripping Shampoo's body, he turned and bolted, leaping across the pools quickly.

Joketsozuko

The Amazons merely blinked as a gray and blue blur entered the clearing, followed closely by a spear on a chain landing just behind it. The spear was then ripped from the earth as a monstrous figure entered the clearing.

The… thing… was made mostly of metal and wires. It walked on two huge legs that hissed as the hydraulic steam exited its gears. Its arms were as thick as tree trunks, and had huge cannons on them, which the spear quickly zipped into. It had no recognizable head; just a tinted glass covering that covered its front torso.

The machine stood there for a moment, its cannon trailing after the retreating blur. There was a loud bang, and the spear rocketed outwards again.

A well-educated Amazon could recognize that the cannons were rail guns, which were, as all rail guns were, very dangerous… and reusable.

The spear impacted the ground, causing the blur to tumble slightly. Shampoo was dropped to the ground, clutching her wound. The icy ball went rolling back towards the machine. Mousse rolled to the ground, his ankle hurt by the spear. He slowly managed to stand.

He staggered forward, standing in front of Shampoo, staring at the machine. The other amazons couldn't do much, it ignored them and its armor was too strong for their arrows or spears to penetrate.

The chain spear whipped back into its cannon, and it aimed. After a small while, the spear came ripping towards the two werecreatures again. Mousse's eyes narrowed and in a split second, he acted.

The creature didn't react when Mousse effectively redirected and caught the spear. The machine simply readjusted its footing and started to real the chain back in again. Mousse gripped the spear and was taken with it.

Using the momentum of the chain being whipped back in, Mousse released it, and flew towards its glass covering. With a mighty blow, the glass shattered as he slammed a large hammer into it. The machine reeled backwards, its metal denting slightly from where the hammer hit it.

Mousse landed, placing the hammer down and turning around; his ankle still wounded.

The machine's arms swiveled, and started to push it up back onto its feet. The amazons in front of it started to gasp and stare at it. Mousse just waited for it to do something.

It hissed its steam, and started to turn towards him. Mousse's expression of cold concentration was compromised when he saw what was under the glass.

The upper torso of a woman could be seen coming from the shattered glass. Some of the glass was jabbed into her pale skin. One eye was staring strait ahead; the other had been removed and had wired leading from the socket to the machines. Her jaw hung loosely, broken from the impact with the hammer. The spear was lodged in her stomach.

Her face didn't grimace or anything as the spear ripped from her stomach, spilling blood and oil from her body. A red light near her head started to flash on and off.

The woman, or what used to be a woman, raised the arm with the cannon on it. Instead of the spear coming out, the barrel spun quickly, and Mousse suddenly saw a blue glow appear in the barrel.

Silver.

He bolted to the side as round after round of silver chain gun ammunition ripped into the ground where he had been. He bolted towards the creature, and quickly climbed on top of it.

A sudden surge of electricity made him fly off as the creature activated a self-defense mechanism. He landed near Shampoo, directly on top of the icy ball. He grunted loudly as the icy broke under his chest, releasing the stone from it. He reached under him, and grabbed the small stone, taking it from out from under him. He spat the blood that was in his mouth, and stared at the machine.

The machine was looking at them, the barrel still spinning. The other barrel was now doing the same.

He saw the bullets flashing towards them. He reached up his arm, trying to do something.

Before his very eyes, the area in front of him glowed blue. Out of that blue energy came a solid wall of metal. The sound of the bullets striking the wall rang out as dents appeared in the metal.

Mousse struggled, but he stood, clutching his chest. The bullets stopped coming. An alarm type of sound rang out.

Mousse closed his eyes, trying to find out how he had summoned that wall. Something was different. It was hard to grasp. It was coming… from…

His hand.

The stone.

He cautiously slipped it into his displacement. A chill went through his body.

The creature came crashing over the wall. Mousse just stared at it as blue energy came from his hands. He dashed forwards, ignoring the pain from his chest, and leapt at the creature's midsection.

The woman's face showed no emotion as the machine suddenly was ripped apart. As she slid from the machine, her eye stopped staring ahead, and finally closed in death.

Mousse stood there as the blue energy finished forming into two long sabers.

Mousse stood there, before he dropped the swords. They clattered to the ground, and Mousse followed soon afterwards.

Finished

8:00 pm

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Stones? Ye. Powers? Ye.

Plot?

Ye.