Domino and Reiganna pushed their way through the regrowing trees, jumping over roots which writhed along the ground like snakes, Domino daren't use her teleportation skills with this many moving objects, she was likely to teleport into one.
Several times a root curled around Dominos leg and almost pulled her down, several times Reiganna was forced to break the root to save her sister. It was tough going.
After about fifteen minutes of walking they emerged into a massive clearing…around them in almost a perfect circle was the forest but this clearings radius had to be all of three miles.
"That's strange…the forest isn't growing back here." Said Reiganna
"This is the epicentre of the explosion, just look at the fallen trees." Said Domino
Reiganna looked around, her sister was right, all of the fallen trees as burnt as they were, all of them pointed away from a central point about two miles away, she could see the ruins of the trees on the other side of the clearing doing the same.
Domino ran forward, jumping over the wreckage of fallen and blackened trees towards the centre of the explosion, she knew what she would find there…it had to be.
They did find him…exactly in the centre of the circle of devastation. He was lying crumpled on the ground, eyes closed and with trickles of blood coming from through his nose and mouth.
"Thunderchild! What have they done to you!" screamed Domino
Reiganna knelt beside him and felt for his pulse and then checked his breathing.
"He's still alive…but only just. His breathing is shallow and his pulse very weak….I have to get him to the crystal cave."
"I don't care what you do Reiganna but don't let him leave me!" warned Domino
Reiganna stood up and turned back towards the forest, she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled very sharply once and then she knelt back down next to Thunderchild.
Domino…? asked a weak voice
Thunderchild….are you ok?
I dunno… came the strained reply
Stay there…Reiganna's getting help…just stay with us!
I'm not going anywhere fast…. he replied
A loud whinny made Domino look up, both Gallion and Rupee had entered the clearing, followed of course by Sovereign their foal.
When the three unipegs arrived, Reiganna showed a tremendous strength hidden within her when she lifted Thunderchild up and placed him on Gallions back.
"Be careful with him….take him back to the crystal cave…I will be along in a moment."
Gallion whinnied and nodded his head, turning he moved off at a slow trot, being careful to keep his back as still as possible during his movements.
Reiganna walked over to Rupee and ran her hand down the side of her neck…Rupee was the more wild of the two adult Unipegs and it was a rare occasion when Rupee would let Reiganna ride her, but today it would appear was one of those occasions and Rupee nuzzled Reiganna as if to encourage her to get on.
Reiganna raised her eyebrows and leap on the back of the Unipeg, she looked back down at Domino and nodded, with an unspoken command to Rupee they set off after Gallion with Sovereign following.
This left Domino on her own in the midst of the destruction…looking around she teleported over to the edge of the clearing and looked into the forest…the trees didn't seem to be growing any more so she assumed it was safe to continue and teleported further into the forest.
She teleported in stages across the forest until she arrived at the crystal caves, it took her a while as her directional instinct was slightly off-sync in the new forest and she nearly teleported into a tree twice.
Reiganna was already there with Thunderchild, she had laid him down on a crystal table and was frowning at him. She looked up when Domino entered the cave.
"This is strange." She said
"What?"
"He's healing himself."
Domino frowned and walked over to her husbands body, sure enough the bleeding from his mouth had stopped although there was still some bleeding from his nose.
"Strange…maybe the forest spirit is healing him from within?" Domino suggested
"Maybe…for now all we can do is wait for the healing cycle to complete itself."
And so they waited…they waited for two days, in those two days Thunderchild never stirred, never so much as uttered a word not even telepathically.
Domino did not leave his side day or night, Reiganna brought her food and water but she ate and drank little, worried about the state of Thunderchilds health. During the night of the second day she fell asleep across him, her head resting on his gently rising and falling chest. The next morning he awoke, slowly but surely. His eyes opened and he looked around, feeling a slight weight on his chest he looked down to see Domino sleeping, he smiled and stroked her hair with his hand. She stirred and opened her eyes, seeing him looking back at her she jumped and stood up.
"You're awake!" she shouted
"Guilty as charged." He replied with a smile.
"Don't ever do that to me again!" she demanded, hugging him as tears of happiness and relief fell down her face.
"I'm sorry Dom…I didn't even know I was doing it, the forest took over."
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table, his head hurt a little but other than that he felt fine.
"Well it worked Thunderchild, Jara is dead and her army destroyed." Said Domino
Thunderchild winced and shook his head slowly.
"No….she's not dead and that was only a part of her army."
"But that explosion, it had to have killed her! It vaporised her army!"
Thunderchild again shook his head
"No…she teleported out just before the explosion, she's still alive. It doesn't matter to her that the army she had is gone, it's only a part of her main army."
"Well, where's she gone then?" asked Domino
"I'm not sure…but it's probably Ankh-Morpork. It's one of her main strongholds now."
Domino sat on the table next to him and put her arm around his shoulders.
"Well…as soon as you're ready to go we'll get back to Gaia and get to Black Mage Village, and then to your Discworld."
Thunderchild nodded and kissed Domino.
"Yes…I'm worried about the Disc…I mean, I know it isn't my home any more…but I have many friends there and I do worry about them."
Domino nodded
"I understand…I understand, we'll get there as soon as we can."
Reiganna walked into the cave then, jumping in surprise as she saw Thunderchild sitting up on the table.
"You're healed!" she exclaimed
"Yep! Totally fixed!" said Thunderchild, and to prove it he leapt to his feet…and promptly fell over.
"Ok…maybe not totally but well on the way." He said as he clawed his way back up onto the table.
Domino helped him up and then turned to him.
"So…what the hell happened to this place then?" she asked
Thunderchild sighed and leaned back slightly
"Well….when I left you in the forest I went into a cave which was massive and inside was millions of crystals…each one represented a lifeform in the forest…be it tree or animal. I spoke to them about Jara…they said that their power was too fragmented to be of any use…too disorganised, so I suggested they channel the power into one object. Shortly afterwards there was a bright flash of light and I was teleported straight into a patrol of genomes…"
"That's how you got captured…I didn't think you'd be that careless." Said Domino
"Yeah…anyway, they took me back to the camp and that's where I met Jara…you know what happened next."
"Yeah," Domino agreed "But…what actually happened, I mean I saw you go…..strange, almost like reports I've heard of Kuja when he blew up Terra…"
"Pardon? Kuja did what?"
Domino sighed having just let slip something she'd wanted to explain later.
Oh well she thought no time like the present
"Well….after Kuja learnt how to go into Trance he demonstrated his power by destroying Branbul and part of the surrounding area."
"Branbul…I recognise that, it's Terran…it means…Soul-less."
Domino nodded
"Yes," she said "It was a miniature city built up around the genome laboratory by the genomes after the Borg left Terra. They were unfocused…they needed something to direct them, so they built Branbul and then after Lawrence left they built Garland to be their leader."
Thunderchild raised his eyebrows
"Sounds like a lot has happened on Terra since I left…not just with the Borg."
Reiganna nodded
"The attack of the Borg was only the beginning, Terra has been faced with destruction many times and no doubt it will again."
"Well, I'll be damned if I'm gonna let it be destroyed again Reiganna, Terra is my home and it's suffered too much already, this time it's going to be different. Jara is going to be stopped…I will stop her."
Domino was slightly frightened by the steeliness and determination in Thunderchilds voice, he had a personal vendetta now and Domino was afraid that he would destroy himself trying to accomplish his goal.
"Well, at the moment you're not going anywhere…lie down and get some rest, I know you're tired and need it."
"Ha, tired, I've been sleeping for ages…why do I need sleep!" he protested but he let Domino lay him down on the table and was asleep before his head reached the pillow.
"He has a tormented soul Domino…he is troubled greatly by Jara." Warned Reiganna
"Tell me something I don't know."
"Watch over him sister, he will destroy himself trying to stop her."
"I can't do this alone Reiganna, it's too much for me."
"Help you I will." Said Reiganna, then she frowned as she thought of what she had said
"Thunderchild is right, you do talk in riddles all the time Reiganna."
Reiganna smiled
"It is the way I am…I cannot change myself."
Domino smiled back at Reiganna
"Don't….you're the perfect sister, and thank you for all of your help."
"Thank me? Domino, I have you and Thunderchild to thank for saving my home….albeit in rather strange circumstances. I am still puzzled as to what caused him to explode like that, I guess the forest combined has more power than I thought."
"I guess so."
Reiganna nodded and then turned to walk back out of the cave, but before she left she said
"I will send you and Thunderchild back to Magdelene forest when you're ready." She said
"Thank you Reiganna." Replied Domino
Reiganna smiled and bowed to Domino before leaving.
A few hours later Reiganna returned to the cave to find both Domino and Thunderchild both lying on the crystal table, both fast asleep. She smiled, glad that her sister had finally found the soul companion that she had longed for.
When Reiganna had first met Domino she had sensed something of the genomes troubled past, that something was missing…and now she knew exactly who had been missing.
Domino sighed in her sleep and put her arm around Thunderchild who at first flinched and struggled but then gave up and let her hug him in her sleep.
Reiganna knew how troubled Thunderchild was by Jara, she had seen some of Jaras power…it wasn't exactly easy to find your way into the Twilight Forest…and for her to transport an entire army across took a lot of power, Reiganna just hoped that Thunderchild had enough strength to defeat her and return peace to this world.
She also knew that this was just the beginning of the struggles, that the future held much more trouble for the both of them…but as she had advised Thunderchild when she had first met him, you had to take the bad things with the good and keep on going.
"Goodbye Domino." Said Thunderchild in his sleep, causing Reiganna to jump in surprise…why was he saying goodbye to her? What was he dreaming?
Reiganna could only speculate at his dreaming but she felt an extreme wave of sorrow from Thunderchild as he said goodbye…almost as though he knew that he wouldn't be seeing her again. Reiganna had to fight back tears caused by the sorrow and she turned around and left the cave, walking outside to look at the forest. The birds were softly singing…and even their song sounded muted and sorrowful as though they knew something Reiganna didn't.
She looked back to the cave entrance and a tear slowly fell down her face as she thought of Thunderchild saying goodbye to Domino and the sadness he had felt.
Thunderchild awoke from a disturbing dream involving a plummet to a fiery doom…for a time he lay there wondering if it was really a dream or whether he had had another vision, he really, really hoped it wasn't a vision because it's outcome was not in his favour at all. He felt Domino lying next to him and smiled, at least she was still there…in his dream/vision he had fought alone.
He didn't move, he didn't want to disturb her and so he lay there too, thinking of what lay ahead. When they returned to Magdelene Forest they would carry on to Black Mage Village and then get a Mage teleport to the Discworld.
Thunderchild knew that the final confrontation with Jara had to come soon, she was becoming stronger by the day as she leeched the power from the Discworld…she was right, the magic field of the Disc was very strong and if she had managed to tap into that as a source of power then Thunderchild feared for the safety of the peoples of Gaia and the Disc because it would truly be an awesome power. Thunderchild assumed she hadn't gained full control over the power yet or she would have vaporised him when she had first set eyes on him.
And yet…she doesn't want to hurt me thought Thunderchild if anything she still loves me…but why, why is she like this…unless the personality transfer was two way and Jara got a lot of Dominos original personality and killer instinct.
If I could appeal to the part of Jara who still loves me…maybe we can stop this without further bloodshed he hoped
In his mind he pictured the Crystal Palace towering over the city of Ankh-Morpork, innocent people fearing death day by day…it had to stop, one way or another it had to stop. And then he remembered Domino and the vision he had had where she had turned on him, and he hoped, he prayed that this wouldn't happen…that Dominos will was too strong to be controlled, even by Jara.
At least I have Dragon Trance up my sleeve as a last-ditch hope he thought
As he was thinking about Domino she awoke, pushing herself up from beside him.
"Oh…you're awake." He said
"Yeah…I don't even remember falling asleep."
"It's been a long time since we slept properly…a lot of things have happened."
Domino nodded and stretched her arms.
"Right…well, we'd better get going." She said sliding herself off the table and standing up.
Thunderchild stretched as well and sat up swinging his legs across so they dangled off the side of the table.
"Domino?" he asked
"Yes?"
"If…if I were to…leave you, what would you do?"
"Leave me!" she asked, panicking
"I mean die…"
Domino stared at Thunderchild, why was he asking this, why now?
"I dunno…I wouldn't be able to go on without you."
"But you wouldn't have a choice."
Domino sighed
"Look…let's not talk about this, it's a sad subject and we've got to be strong for what's coming ahead Thu."
Thunderchild nodded, quickly withdrawing his thoughts and feelings on the subject away. Then he stood up and walked around to Domino.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere just yet."
"Good…don't go anywhere without Me." She tried to make him promise but Thunderchild said nothing in reply, he knew what he had dreamt, he wasn't going to commit himself to anything.
As they were walking out of the room to meet Reiganna they bumped into her coming the other way.
"Ah…I was just coming to see you," she said "Are you ready to go?"
"As we'll ever be." Replied Thunderchild
Reiganna nodded
"Ok…if you would follow me."
Reiganna lead them to a small clearing outside the cave, there was a familiar bright white circular light on the ground.
"If you step into the light you will be transported back to Magdelene Forest and Zidane, who would never know anything happened…if you could try to keep it that way…?"
Thunderchild nodded
"Yes, we respect your privacy."
Reiganna nodded in return with a smile and then walked over and embraced her sister
"It's been good to see you again Domino…I hope our next meeting is under less…difficult…circumstances."
"It has been good to see you too Reiganna, if ever you need a hand again, let me and Thu know, we'll only be too glad to help."
"Thank you…now you must go, it takes a lot of energy to keep the teleporter open for this long."
Domino nodded and walked into the circle of light waving a goodbye to Reiganna.
Thunderchild was about to walk through but Reiganna stopped him.
"Take Care of her Thunderchild, walk the path that has been chosen for you but watch over her…she's easily hurt."
Thunderchild nodded in agreement with Reiganna
"I will…she means everything to me and I will take good care of her." He promised, trying to put the memory of his dream behind him.
Reiganna smiled and embraced Thunderchild
"It has been good to meet you…and thank you. Thank you for saving my forest."
Thunderchild smiled too
"It's ok Reiganna, it had to be done and I was chosen to do it by the forest."
Reiganna nodded and then waved goodbye to Thunderchild as he stepped into the circle of light and disappeared.
Both Thunderchild and Domino rematerialised in Magdelene Forest and time returned to normal…it was as though nothing had happened, that the whole incident in Reigannas forest had been a dream. For one horrifying moment Thunderchild began to think that was all that it had been…but then he looked over to Domino and she looked back at him with a knowing look that told him that it had happened and they hadn't been dreaming.
Zidane stopped and looked around at them.
"Did you guys just feel something….strange?" he asked
Thunderchild and Domino both shook their heads in unison.
"No...didn't feel a thing." Lied Domino
"Hmmm, weird." Concluded Zidane and then he kept on walking.
He isn't kidding, even what he doesn't know. thought Thunderchild to Domino who giggled slightly
Well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him.
True…true
And so they came to the edge of Black Mage Village, nestled deep into Magdelene Forest, far from civilisation where hopefully they could get a transport onto the Discworld and from there….who knows?