Lots of character development again.keep reading, and please review!
Seventh Heaven
"It's great to be back home!" Zack exclaimed. "Can't wait to go see my old man, he must be worried sick about me! Bree, why don't you take Fuuko to your place for now and I'll meet you there in about half an hour, okay? I need to go spend time with my dad, 'cause I just left with no notice and he's probably fumin' mad outta his mind now," Zack jabbered, and dashed in the direction of his house.
Breanna motioned for Fuuko to follow her, and led Fuuko to her mansion, which was at the edge of the small metropolis of Mydele, and right next to a tavern. Maybe that was part of the reason that Breanna had ended up as a bartender, Fuuko thought, because by the looks of Breanna's mansion, it seemed like her parents had enough money so that Breanna wouldn't need employment.
It was a large house, almost as lavish as Fuuko's own, except that it was all made of bricks, as was every other structure in Mydele. As they entered, Breanna turned to Fuuko. "My parents won't be here," she said wryly, "they're never here. I virtually raised myself, you see."
Fuuko completely identified with her. After all, wealth couldn't buy happiness or love.
"We'll be staying in Mydele tonight, so you can sleep in the guest room," said Breanna, opening the door to a bedroom and gesturing for Fuuko to go in.
"There's a bathroom and all, so you can freshen up and stuff and I'll come and get you in fifteen minutes," Breanna said, and closed the door and left.
Meanwhile, Zack had gone back to his own house. As he approached the front door, he could hear his father bustling about doing chores around the house. He braced himself for the reprimanding he was in for, and entered his residence. His father heard him enter and turned around to face him. Zack was shocked to see that his father looked worn and disheveled, not at all like his energetic, spirited self. His father's enervated face broke into a strained smile, as if he hadn't the strength. He had never seen Ash Strife looking so worn-out in his entire life.
"Oh, Zack, I was so worried! Where were you, son?"
"Dad! What happened to you?" Zack asked in dismay, running over to his father.
His father looked at him. "I'm so glad you're all right, son. Where did you go?"
"Don't answer my question with a question!" Zack demanded. "What happened to you?"
Ash looked at his feet. "I thought you were dead, Zack. I felt like I hadn't fulfilled my responsibility as a father to you, so you ran away, and something happened to you. I guess I started neglecting myself. Your mother is gone . . . then you disappeared . . . I didn't know what to do with myself. I kept on asking myself, why didn't I take care of Elle and Zack well enough?"
Zack stared at his father. Saying that he had neglected himself was an understatement. He hadn't looked this frail since the day his mother had died.
Zack led his father to the sofa and helped him sit down, and then plopped down by his father. "Dad, I didn't run away. I had to go on a mission with Miss Zaria; you remember her, right? She was rejuvenated, and now I made some new friends. We're on a very important mission, a mission that concerns the welfare of the entire planet. I promise you, Dad, that I will come back and live with you and keep you company in your old age. Nothing will happen to me. I can take care of myself. After all, I inherited the wonderful Strife combat skills, right Dad?" Zack said impishly.
Color returned to his father's face, and he looked reanimated. "Well!" he sighed. "So there is a rational explanation for all of this @#$% that I was so worried about," he said, relieved.
"Yeah, Dad, don't worry too much," said Zack, giving his father a soft smile. "Have faith! After all, you were the one who taught me how to fight, and you're the best," he said proudly.
Mr. Strife smiled. "Yeah, and when you come back, I wouldn't mind you bringing a woman. There needs to be some children in this house! I want to hear the sound of loud little creatures running about making mischief, because after all, you were pretty loud yourself, son!" he said, laughing. Then his eyes turned yearning. "Yes, Elle always wanted to have grandchildren running around the house."
Zack smiled, gazing at his father with tears in his eyes. "I love you, Dad," he said.
"I love ya too, son," replied Mr. Strife. "Elle would be damn proud of the man you have become."
"Finished, Fuuko?" Breanna called from outside the door.
"Almost," Fuuko replied, and she quickly dried herself off with a towel and donned shorts and a shirt. At least she didn't have to wear her armor here. Today she would go see Faye. Was she ready? She didn't know, but she knew that she missed her sister more than anything in the world.
She opened the door and stepped out. Breanna was tapping her foot on the ground brusquely. "Wow," Fuuko said when she saw what Breanna was wearing.
"Exactly where are we going, Breanna?" Fuuko asked askance.
Breanna raised her eyebrows. "Just hanging around. Why?"
Why? Why? How could she ask why? Fuuko thought. She looked like she was ready to stay out all night in her tight leather miniskirt, black boots and tight white tank top. She looked like she intended to pay a visit to Werin.
"Nothing," Fuuko muttered in reply. What Breanna wanted to wear was her business, and no one else's. Fuuko had no right to criticize, especially after Breanna had been so sympathetic and understanding to her earlier.
"We're going to the tavern to wait for Zack," Breanna said, skipping down the stairs.
Fuuko grimaced and followed Breanna. Inside the tavern the atmosphere was musty and dim. Fuuko wrinkled her nose in repugnance and sat down at a table by herself while Breanna went to socialize with tough looking people, people whom Fuuko never usually went near.
She sat there, watching people get intoxicated, play pool, and talk. It was really fatuous. When was Zack going to get there? She really wanted to see Faye. She remembered the night that Faye had left home.it had been a dark stormy night. Fuuko's father had been very violent and had been spewing insults at Faye. Fuuko could still recall that event in detail.
"Why have I been cursed to have such an insolent child as one of my offspring?" Fuuko's father howled at Faye. Faye's face was stony. Fuuko cringed. The whole town was probably hearing all the clamor going on in the Takano mansion, but no one would do a thing, for no one would dare do anything against President Takano's wishes. How could such a callous man be president? Especially the president of such a prestigious town, such as Nakano. Even though he was her father, Fuuko loathed President Takano. He emotionally abused Fuuko and Faye, and treated his other three daughters like princesses.
Probably because they were such two-faced suck ups, thought Fuuko in abhorrence. Fuujin and Finn were fair of face but vile of heart, and while in front of their father they were obedient, agreeable girls, when they were away from him they were the most sordid creatures imaginable. Yukiko was all right; although since she wasn't Fuuko's full sister they didn't communicate much.
"I never want to see your face again! Do not call me father! Unless you change your depraved ways, you shall be exempt from the Takano family name!" Fuuko's father bellowed, his face turning tomato red. Faye gave him an hateful look and ran upstairs to her room. Fuuko ran up after her.
"You defile your sister's mind!" yelled President Takano up at Faye, but she ignored him. She ran into her room, slammed the door, and Fuuko could hear the creaking of bedsprings and then muffled sobs. Fuuko quietly opened the door. "Faye?" she called her sister.
Faye lifted her tear-stained face from her pillow. "Oh, Fuuko," Faye said, and a fresh batch of tears came pouring out. "I'm so sorry that you have to see this at such a young age."
"Faye, just ignore Father, and I'll take care of you," Fuuko said, concerned. Faye smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Fuuko," she whispered. "I'm going to run away from all this, and one day I'm going to come back and get you. When I can, I will come back and get you, Fuuko."
Fuuko silently watched while her older sister packed an overnight bag and put on her raincoat. "You're leaving now, in the rain?" Fuuko asked. Faye nodded.
"Yes. Fuuko, promise me that you won't tell anyone that I ran away. Okay?" Fuuko nodded obediently.
Faye had left Nakano forever on that stormy night and Fuuko had kept her promise, even though she had been thrashed, and deprived of supper for many, many nights. Fuuko had waited, waited for four years for Faye to come and get her. But Faye never came.
Fuuko eyes clouded over. She had loved her sister so much, and she had never broken her promise. But why did Faye break her promise to Fuuko, the promise that she would come to get Fuuko? It didn't matter now, but whenever Fuuko thought of that, it made her even sadder, to think that the person she looked up to most in the world had not cared enough to come and get her, to whisk her away from the inferno she had to call home. If she hadn't found out about Arrow, Fuuko was sure that by now she would have either killed herself or run away somewhere else, ending up with a fate worse than death. Yet here she was, completely unprepared, about to meet her sister for the first time in seven years.
She looked up abruptly and saw Zack, a wide smile on his face. "Hey Fuuko," he greeted. "Where's Breanna?"
Fuuko pointed in the direction of the bar broodingly. Zack looked at where she was pointing and laughed. "She's occupied, I can see. Let's go see Faye now. Is that okay with you?"
Fuuko slowly nodded, and followed Zack out of the pub. He led her down the street. It was evening now, and the sun was setting. The purples and pinks in the sky were breathtakingly magnificent, but at the moment Fuuko just couldn't bring herself to appreciate the beauty of the world. She kept her eyes cast down and answered Zack's questions with one-syllable words.
Zack gave her a withering look. "Look, if you don't want to go today, then that's fine with me. We can go tomorrow morning," he said, sounding slightly annoyed.
Fuuko shook her head and forced a smile on her face, concealing her anxieties. What she really wanted to say was that she didn't want to go at all, yet she wanted to see Faye. "I want to go now," she managed to say. Zack pursed his lips, nodded and then kept on walking. His mood seemed to have darkened considerably. Fuuko saw this and felt a wave of solace go through her. She ran to catch up with him, and grabbed him arm and turned him around to face her.
"Zack, I'm really sorry," she said, looking up at him eloquently. "I can't believe I'm treating you so heartlessly, especially after how wonderful and protecting you've been towards me, but I'm just really nervous," she admitted. "My whole life, I've been used to having people not care about me and me not caring about them, and this is the first time that I actually care about someone, and they care about me, so I just don't know how to handle it well. I'm sorry."
A small hesitant smile appeared on Zack's face. "Hey, I don't mind he said, waving it off. "At least I got you to talk again," he said grinning impishly. He continued to walk, and Fuuko followed him. She still felt nervous, but talking to Zack had released a lot of the tension and stress that had been weighing her thoughts down earlier.
As they approached Faye's door, Fuuko's heart began beating faster and faster. Zack reached up and knocked on the wooden door, and Fuuko could hear footsteps. She was about to see Faye's face any second.
Surprisingly, a very tall, very slender yet broad-shouldered young man with ebony hair and a burn scar underneath his eye opened the door. He was very handsome, and his scar gave him a unique kind of attractiveness.
"Hi Hyde," Zack said cheerfully. A small smile appeared on the guy's face and he greeted Zack. His eyes wandered over to Fuuko. "So Zack, who is this enchanting lady? I see you've found yourself a girlfriend, am I correct?"
Zack actually blushed, and he shook his head vigorously. "No, no, this is not my girlfriend. This is Fuuko Takano, and she's here to see Faye."
The man turned around to Fuuko and raised his eyebrows. "Well, hello Fuuko, I'm Hyde. Please come in."
He opened the door wide for Fuuko and Zack to go in. He then shut the door softly and walked ahead of Fuuko and Zack. "Follow me," he said.
Fuuko and Zack walked after him, and Fuuko leaned over to Zack and asked the question that had been vexing her the moment she saw Hyde. "Who is Hyde?" she whispered forcefully.
Zack raised his eyebrows, a surprised expression on his face as if he couldn't remember that he had never told Fuuko about Hyde. "Um, Hyde is Faye's husband," he said meekly. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you."
"Well, thanks for leaving out that tiny little detail," Fuuko said, shaking her head.
"Please forgive me," Zack pleaded with a ludicrous grin on his face.
Fuuko couldn't help but smile and then nodded and kept on walking after Hyde. Hyde led them into the living room. Faye was lying on the sofa, taking a nap. Fuuko stood there, in awe, seeing the sister that she had been waiting for seven years to see, while Hyde went over and woke her up. Faye slowly opened her eyes and sat up and yawned.
Tears streamed out of Fuuko's eyes. It was her sister, her beloved, beautiful sister sitting right in front of her. Faye was exactly the way she had looked seven years ago, just like a teenager, with her light brown, long, beautiful hair, her long bangs, and her bright cerulean eyes, the same eyes that Fuuko had. She was wearing a light green turtleneck long- sleeved shirt and a mid-calf length pleated skirt. She shifted her radiant eyes to Fuuko, and they widened. Faye gasped and stood up. "Fuuko, is that you?" she asked in amazement.
"Faye," Fuuko sobbed, her nose and eyes all red, her cheeks covered with tears.
Faye started to cry, and ran over and hugged Fuuko tightly. "Fuuko!" she cried. "I can't believe it's you.after all these years.I never went back and got you.I'm so sorry, Fuuko."
Faye grabbed Fuuko's shoulders and gently pushed Fuuko back so she could get a good look at her. "You're so beautiful," she said through her tears, and she wiped a tear away from Fuuko's cheek.
Zack smiled at the sisterly reunion they were sharing. He turned to look at Hyde, and saw that his eyes were shining as well. Hyde caught his gaze and motioned that they should leave the room. Zack followed Hyde out of the room into the kitchen.
In the meantime, Faye and Fuuko were still crying.
"Sit down," Faye said, and they both sat down on the couch. Faye looked into Fuuko's eyes. "Fuuko, you don't know how much I wanted to come and get you," she began. "But I knew that you would somehow find your way out of there, and here you are," Faye said, smiling through her tears.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Fuuko whispered. Faye smiled at Fuuko. "I'm here now, and I'll always be here for you now, Fuuko. If you ever need anything, come here, you understand? I will always take care of you."
Fuuko nodded, smiling. Faye's smile turned into a roguish grin. "So Fuuko, how did you meet Zack?" she asked. "I used to take care of him when he was younger."
"I work with the anti-government organization Arrow," Fuuko said, "and one day I just happened to have an assignment with Zack. We had an assignment in Nakano. I went to see our father, and he threw me out of the house. I almost wasn't able to complete the assignment, but Zack helped me get through it, and he's been special to me ever since," Fuuko finished, smiling.
Faye had a sly look on her face. "Someone special, I see," she said knowingly.
Fuuko blushed and then turned the tables on Faye. "How did you meet Hyde?" she asked surreptitiously. "And, how did you end up becoming Mrs. Faye Kurenai?"
A sweet smile appeared on Faye's lips, and her expression turned dreamy. She began talking softly, her eyes full of life.
"When I left home, at first I didn't know where to go. I was lost. I wandered aimlessly, searching for a place I could call home. I wanted to find a nice place to live quickly, so maybe I could come and get you. I happened to stumble into the town of Werin, and I'm sure you know how notorious Werin is. It's not a good place for any female. Anyway, I was wandering around there, and a middle-aged man, about our father's age, named Kieran Marx found me. He was very kind and offered to adopt me. I was ignorant and in desperate need of shelter, so I accepted. Kieran Marx took me to his home, and I found that he had also adopted another child, but this child had been adopted at the age of six. This child was a boy, one year older than I was. He was Hyde. Back during those days, Hyde never smiled. All the servants whispered about him, and I happened to overhear. They said that ever since he had been brought to the Marx Mansion, he had never smiled, not even once. At the time, I just avoided Hyde."
Fuuko could just imagine what happened, as Faye told the story, projecting her memory to Fuuko.
The young Faye stood in the garden of the Marx Mansion, picking roses. All the servants agreed that no one was better suited for roses than Faye, and Faye loved the roses very much. She tended to them everyday, and some days she gathered them in baskets. Hyde was observing her from the corner of the garden, leaning against the marble column, arms crossed over his chest. He always watched Faye, never uttering a word, never showing any sign of emotion. Sometimes it intimidated her, but she tried to disregard him, even though he seemed to follow her around like a shadow. On that day, she had been walking back to her room with bunches of roses in her arms, holding them tenderly, as if they were living creatures who needed warmth and comfort.
"Why do you care about those roses so much? They're just stupid flowers," Hyde said harshly one day.
Faye gaped at him. Hyde had never spoken to her before, even on the day she had arrived at the Marx Mansion.
She looked down at the roses in her arms. "Well, I treasure these roses. They are beautiful, and they symbolize love," she explained.
"Love is ridiculous," Hyde scoffed. "Who needs it?" He reached out and knocked the roses out of Faye's arms, and rose petals were scattered everywhere, hovering in the air. Faye was appalled and enraged so she took her free arm and slapped his face solidly. He put his hand on his cheek and gave her a baffled look.
"Love is not ridiculous!" Faye admonished sternly. "Everyone needs love, even spiteful rogues like you!"
Hyde stood there, absorbing her words. His lips curved up slightly. A small smile appeared on his lips and it broadened. All the servants who were nearby during the scene gawked at Hyde in sheer awe. This was the first time that Hyde had an expression other than disdain on his face. Faye was shocked to see Hyde smile, but a small smile appeared on her face as well. The rose petals still hovered in the air around them, perhaps symbolizing the beginning of love.
"Faye . . . " said Hyde, "you're different from the other fierce, hypocritical creatures of this world . . . you're refined and honorable, and need to be safeguarded from the evil of this world. You're too pure and gentle to fight them. I promise you one thing. I promise you I will never kill you, even if I become the maddest assassin in the entire world. I will never harm you."
Faye was taken aback, but she simply smiled at Hyde and handed a rose to him.
"Thank you," she replied simply.
From then on, whenever Hyde was near Faye, he had a smile on his face, and she had a smile on hers. There was a lot of talk about them, and the gossip reached the ears of Kieran Marx, and he was enraged, for he actually was a man with an evil heart, and he had been raising Hyde to be a heartless assassin. He had only brought Faye into his home to test the frigidity of Hyde's heart, and it seemed like Hyde had failed the test. He would have to get rid of Faye and start over, this time truly transforming Hyde into a vengeful demoniac.
As soon as Kieran Marx had returned from his business trip, he brought his henchmen and confronted Faye and Hyde.
"Hyde!" he shouted grimly. "You have failed me!" He instructed his henchmen to beat Hyde. They started kicking him and punching him, and he doubled over in pain. Two henchmen seized Faye by each arm and held her back, but when she saw Hyde being attacked so cruelly, she could take it no more. She wrenched herself out of the henchmen's grasp and ran over to Hyde. She threw her body over his, shielding him, holding him in her arms.
"Please, don't hurt him anymore!" she cried. "If you must beat anybody, then beat me!"
Kieran Marx was even more enraged at this act of tenderness from Faye towards Hyde. "Hyde!" he boomed, his pupils shrinking. "You have become weak! You have allowed yourself to become vulnerable! You have allowed yourself to LOVE!" he spat.
Hyde managed to sit up, still in great pain. "NO!" he rasped. "I have not become weak, father!"
Kieran Marx sneered. "Then why is it that you still care for this girl? The only one who ever brought a smile to the rigid face!" he said mockingly, brutally striking Hyde in the side. Faye cried out as if she were the one in agony and held him tightly to her. "Stop, please!" she cried, but it was to no avail.
"No," Hyde repeated feebly, his voice becoming smaller.
"If you have not become weak, then prove it to me! Kill the girl now!" Kieran Marx shouted. "Kill her with your bare hands! Cut off her breath with your own fingers, feel the life being drawn out of her!
Hyde had been panting and huffing, and when he heard Kieran Marx's orders, his eyes widened and his pulse quickened. "But Father!" he yelled. "I do not need to kill her to show that I have not weakened," he protested. "Please, don't make me hurt anyone right now, please..." he begged.
"Kill her or I shall kill her myself, you sniveling fool!" Kieran Marx shouted hysterically. All the servants looked on in horror, wondering whom Hyde would choose. They knew the one he truly cared for was Faye.but no one ever dared go against Kieran Marx's wishes.
Hyde took out his dagger and looked at Faye in the eye, and at first Faye drew back in fear, thinking he would actually kill her, but as she kept her eyes locked on his she managed to fathom the true meaning of his gaze. He was not going to kill her. He wouldn't harm her. He had promised her that. He came close to her and put his dagger on her neck, and put his lips by her ear.
"Faye," he whispered. "Run away. Go far from here, and never return. I will not kill you because . . . I . . . just can't. Go and live happily and forget me, forget all that has happened here. Go, Faye."
Tears were streaming down Faye's cheeks, and Kieran Marx had a satisfied look on his face, thinking that Faye was weeping because her beloved Hyde was uttering threats to her.
"Go!" Hyde whispered firmly. He pushed her away roughly, and after looking at him one last time, openly wailing now, she got up and ran, ran out of the Marx Mansion.
She looked back one more time to see Kieran Marx shrieking in rage, grasping Hyde by the hair and flinging him down onto the ground. He took a match and set it alight then tossed it on the ground, and the flame scorched Hyde's face. Even more tears streamed down her cheeks. Hyde, her Hyde was getting hurt. But then, she had to do what he told her.
Maybe she was only following his orders out of selfishness, but she followed them. She ran out into the streets of Werin, screaming for help.
Police ran into the Marx Mansion, and Faye promptly left the city. She stopped by the outskirts of Werin, fell down to her knees, and sobbed sorrowfully. She hoped Hyde somehow was all right.
She traveled around the continent, seeking to uncover a peaceful village to live in, a place where she could forget all that had happened to her. She finally settled down in Mydele and got a job selling supplies to the travelers who often passed through Mydele. She changed her surname to Kurenai, which had been Hyde's authentic surname, although Kieran Marx had adopted him. In her free time, she took care of the child next door, Zack Strife, who was about the same age as her dearest younger sister, Fuuko. She tried so adamantly to disremember, but she couldn't forget about Hyde. Sometimes she would just sit and begin weeping, and little Zack would come up to her and innocently ask her what was wrong. She could never tell anyone what had happened, but she just regretted that she hadn't gone back to Hyde on that day. Why, why hadn't she gone back to him? It showed that she was being selfish, and now she didn't even know if he was alive or dead.
She was alone like that for a few years, but then one day there was a soft knock on her door, a knock so soft she scarcely could hear it. She got up and answered the door, and there was Hyde, who had grown considerably. He had a burn scar beneath his eye.
"H-Hyde," she breathed, stumbling on the name she had so yearned to utter for so long. She stood there staring at him, and tears of rapture streamed down her cheeks.
"Faye," Hyde murmured, and embraced her closely. She cried onto his shoulder, her tears soaking Hyde's shirt. They had found each other again at last.
"He had been searching for me all over the continent after he had managed to escape from Kieran Marx," Faye continued, "although it took him many years of incessant pursuit, he found me in Mydele at last. We got married soon after that and we have been here ever since," she finished, smiling.
Fuuko's eyes were glistening with tears. The story was so . . . sad, yet it had a happy ending. Her sister had been through so much to be happy, and it seemed like Faye was truly blissful now.
"Faye, you're so fortunate to have someone that cared about you enough to search for you like that," she finally managed to say.
Faye nodded. "Yes, and now you can reside with us if you want, Fuuko," she said. "You'll always be welcome in this home."
Fuuko had a gentle smile on her face, a genuine smile, a smile that made her intense blue eyes soften.
"Well, so, Fuuko!" Faye said, her eyes sparkling. "What have you been doing lately? Did I hear something about a mission?"
Fuuko twisted her fingers in her lap. "Well, I am in the anti- government group Arrow, if you've heard of it," she said demurely, "and I'm going to be traveling with Zaria Locke, the girl who the government is after. She is said to be the key person in destroying the Black Hole project."
"Zaria Locke," Faye nodded, "yes, I knew her as an elderly lady that I could always rely on. She's been rejuvenated, yes?"
Fuuko bit her lip and nodded. "I haven't seen her, but I know she's a very likable person. There is also another person from her generation named Zeth Lanier who has been stuck in a time warp for sixty years, so he hasn't aged at all. He and Zaria seem to have known each other from way back."
"Yes," Faye agreed, "Zaria did use to talk about her lost beloved who had supposedly died a very long time ago. I felt so bad for her. I only wish I could see her in her youth."
"Maybe Zaria will come here after visiting the city of Mage, you know, the city that the war originated in," Fuuko wondered aloud.
Faye glanced at her. "That would be delightful," she said. "It would be great to see how Zaria is now."
They stopped talking, for they heard a loud knocking at the door. Faye looked perplexed. "I wonder who that is," she said, her eyebrows furrowed. "Nobody comes by at this time."
She got up and went to answer the door.
"Oh, hello! Hello, hello, come on in! I can't believe it's you! Come in, come in and have a seat . . . oh really? Is that so? How wonderful!" Fuuko heard. There were footsteps and Faye reentered the room, along with two other people.
"Fuuko, this is Zaria and Zeth," Faye said, a wide smile on her face. She turned to Zaria. "I don't believe you've met my sister Fuuko. She works with the Arrow establishment as well, and she's been traveling with Zack! I think you guys will be traveling together for some time."
Fuuko stood up. Finally, she got to meet the famed Zaria Locke. "Hello, Zaria, hello, Zeth," she said affably with a pleasant smile on her face. "Hi, Fuuko," said an effervescent Zaria. "Hey, doesn't your name mean child of wind or something?"
Fuuko nodded, surprised that Zaria would know something like that. "Yes, in fact. I also have the ability to use the Claw of Wind and generate any kind of wind formation by magic. How did you know?"
Zaria smiled. "Well, I've lived for a long time, so I had plenty of time to study astrology, and look at many magic and legendary texts," she said.
Fuuko turned to Zeth. "Are you Zaria's long lost love?" she asked bluntly. Zeth's face grew heated and he looked down at his feet.
"If that's what Zaria wants me to be known as, then yes," he said softly.
Fuuko whistled and turned to Zaria. "He's so adorable!" she exclaimed. Zaria turned to Zeth, blushing. Faye laughed. "Fuuko, stop embarrassing them," she chastised. She turned to Zaria. "Zaria, you look great!" she exclaimed. Zaria smiled. "I don't really think so, and Zeth here, has seen me at my worst," she said coyly, turning to Zeth and whacking him on the back.
"Tell them, Zeth," she said in a throaty voice that was quite uncharacteristic. "Tell them how I look in the morning."
Zeth face was steaming, and he looked down at his feet.
"."
Faye and Fuuko laughed again. "Sit down, Zeth and Zaria," Faye said, making a place for them on the couch. Zaria sat down but Zeth remained standing.
"Zeth! Is that you?" Zack shouted as he entered the room. "I thought I heard you come in! When did you get here?"
He strode over to Zeth and whacked him soundly on the back. Zeth rubbed his back, his face pinched into a grimace. Why was everyone whacking him?
Zack laughed and pulled Hyde over. "Zeth, this is Hyde, Faye's significant other. Hyde, this is Zeth, I told you about him."
Once they had all finished their introductions they decided to leave Faye's house and go back to Zaria's residence to have an Arrow conference.
Zaria volunteered to go retrieve Breanna at the tavern, and Zack insisted on going with her. Zeth went to Zaria's house with Fuuko.
"Zack, something amazing happened," Zaria started as they walked towards the pub.
Zack gave her a sly glance. "Zeth remembered, didn't he," he said. Zaria turned to him with a flabbergasted look on her face.
"How did you know?" she demanded. Zack laughed.
"Zaria, I knew just by looking at you two! You two didn't look like the two confused strangers who had started on a journey together anymore, you two looked like a couple that has known and loved each other for a long time. So long . . . that it seems like . . . well, I don't know . . ." he trailed off, a smirk on his face.
"What? What?" Zaria screeched, scratching Zack on the arm. Zack pulled away.
"If I tell you, you'll kill me," he protested honestly. Zaria glared at him.
"Zack, you're pretty much running that risk either way, so mind your own business!" she screeched, clawing at him.
"Peace, peace!" Zack exclaimed, putting his hands up in the air. His expression turned serious. "But somehow, it feels strange for me to call you Zaria. I'm so used to calling you Miss Zaria. I'm used to seeing you as an elderly, humorous, yet wise woman whom anyone could confide in, and seek help from. It feels strange seeing you in your old-fashioned fighting clothes walking around with Zeth with his old-fashioned fighting clothes . . . I mean, since he and I are friends and all. Don't you feel that way?"
Zaria's expression became placid and she turned towards Zack, a soft smile on her lips. "I'm nevertheless the Zaria you have known, regardless of age," she said simply. "I know you, you know me, isn't that enough, Zack?"
Zack looked at his feet. "I guess . . . the appearance thing really is kind of startling, though. I mean, you're a lot prettier than I thought you would be!" he teased. Zaria reached over and smacked him on the head.
The silly grin left Zack's face, and was replaced by his previous serious disposition. "But I'm glad that you're have a great guy like Zeth to take care of you. You two really go well."
Zaria's mood instantaneously brightened. "I know," she said flagrantly. "Although sometimes I feel like I'm not worthy of him. Even though he does have his faults, I feel like the goodness of my soul does not equal his, and I'm afraid that I will somehow bring harm to him." Her expression darkened. "And before he never let me forget that he's five years older than me. Sometimes I felt like such an immature child around him."
Zack patted her back sympathetically. "Zaria, you may think that, but if Thanatos himself were to come down and measure the goodness in each of our souls, yours wouldn't be any lesser than anyone else. You are blessed, you know," he said, a half-smile on his face. "To have a love as genuine as that."
She nodded, and then looked up and beamed at Zack. "Is there someone in your life, Zack? Someone who perhaps uses the power of wind?"
Zack's face instantly flushed. "What in the world are you talking about, Miss Zaria?" he said quickly, too quickly.
Zaria laughed. "Zack, I do know a lot of astrology, and the stars know all. They know past, present, and future, so they certainly know whom the Wind warrior is. And I can tell that the Apocalypse and Wind are somehow drawn to each other.like a moth is drawn to a flame.it's mutual. Anyhow, I can see right through you, Zack. Ever since you were little, I could tell whether you liked a girl or not. Let's see, there was Jade, Ruby, Pearl, Crystal, and Garnet.hey Zack, when did you break off the chain of girls who had precious gem names?"
Zack gave her a withering look. "Okay, I know that first part about astrology was all fabrication." Zaria shrugged in response.
"If it works, it works. Anyways, the part about all those girls was true."
"Zaria." he whined.
"Personally, I liked Garnet the best. She was certainly the prettiest, and I think the one with the finest personality, almost like royalty.do you still keep touch with her? I'd like to talk to her sometime. Come to think of it, does she still live in Mydele?"
"Whatever," he said, shaking his head. Then he stopped and looked up thoughtfully. "Zaria, do you think that you can explain this Warrior stuff, and explain what each magic element does? I really want to know. Tell me everything about it."
Zaria's eyes widened in mock surprise. "You, out of all people, want to know," she said dubiously. He nodded. She sighed. "Yeah, I'll tell you." They plopped down on a bench outside the tavern and Zaria took a deep breath.
"First, I'm going to explain how I got into astrology. Over the years, I didn't have that much to do, so I had plenty of time to study astrology and other mysteries of the universe. I felt like I was wasting my life, so I might as well gain some knowledge that might someday be useful. I considered taking the youth elixir, but then I thought why waste such valuable elixir just to prolong my ennui with life? There was not much point, and there are and will be more knowledgeable people in this world. I had planned to bestow the elixir upon one who I thought worthy, and that person was probably going to be you. Before I saw you as a child who would grow up to be a warrior, a warrior with a virtuous heart who would be able to make the right choices about things. Now I see you in different eyes, I see you as a peer, an equal, as a fellow warrior whom I can confide in as a friend. Anyway, I began studying the stars more and more, trying to find answers about life. Of course, I tried to see if the stars knew anything about Zeth, but that information was obstructed, it was as if there was a dark clouding covering that area so I could not see it. It was as if I was not supposed to know. I guess that is so, for the stars are very wise, and they know all. What they choose to reveal to us humans through constellations and other things is their decision. Sometimes, they grant the gift of knowledge to people, to people like me. These people have to spread the knowledge to those who must know, those like you, Zeth, and the others. The stars can see into the future, have seen many of the alternate scenarios, so they do whatever they can to keep the universe in balance, to keep every creature, animate or inanimate, content. That's why we all still exist.
"After the years, I deciphered a message, a message that was a cry for help. There would be disaster from a human creation. That creation would be a black hole in the universe, and it would cause many imbalances, for many things would end up where they are not supposed to be. Later on, I heard that the Toki government was planning to do a Black Hole project, making it by using magic, very powerful magic, so powerful that no one creature may wield it alone. I then knew what the stars had been saying. Yet, that was not to be the biggest threat. Of course, there would be many menacing and powerful creatures that would travel through the black hole, which would cause oscillations in the entire cosmos. Even though the Toki government thinks that with their efficacious magic they can prohibit such creatures from entering, they won't be able to, for these creatures will be powerful beyond the control of that magic. Many magic powers put together are the only force that may prevent them from destroying the world. The greatest threat of all would be waiting in another planet, far, far from here. So far, it could even possibly be in another dimension. There is only one way to keep this planet from falling under the control of some other force that is not Mother Earth. It would be to bring forth the eight warriors of Mage and have them summon the Ultimate Blessing. All must be descendants of Mage warriors, and that is not hard to find, for almost all the people on this continent participated in the war during that time, so most people here are descendants of Mage warriors, may they be eminent warriors or insignificant mercenaries. The eight warriors of Mage are each able to control one of the elements of Magic. There are eight basic elements. Those elements are Ultima, Apocalypse, Holy, Earth, Wind, Ice, Fire, and Thunder. There is also Cure that is not an element, but a magic tool that anyone can use. Some people have the ability to use cure without any magical tool, such as I can.
"Ultima and Holy are kind of opposites. Ultima is the magic element of destruction, while Holy is the element of creation. It's not like black and white, good and evil. They're just the opposites, like the positive and negative side of a magnet. They can both be used for good. While Holy can banish evil, Ultima can fight evil. Apocalypse is very similar to Ultima. Holy and Ultima are the most powerful two elements, the heavenly elements, and the rest are called earthly elements. Out of all the earthly elements, Apocalypse is the most powerful. The power of Apocalypse is a mysterious power that even I can't read from the stars. The rest are what they are called. Each magic element has different levels, and as we progress, we must develop higher levels of magic. It is vital, or we will not be able to create the barrier. The barrier must consist of all the highest-level magic of each element; only then will the black hole be blocked. Once I have encountered a possible Mage warrior, by studying the stars I can see if they are truly one of the chosen ones. I know that I am one, and my magic is Cure and Holy. I must develop the ability to use Holy, because I am not capable of using it yet. I haven't mastered the technique . . . I don't even know where it's hidden inside of me. Zeth's magic is Ultima, and he can already use it, but it is not up to the full potential yet. He hasn't found the true power of Ultima, similar to your situation with Apocalypse. Breanna has Earth magic, Fuuko has Wind magic, Cat has Thunder magic and Adrian has Fire magic. So far we have assembled seven of the eight warriors of Mage. We have yet to find the warrior who can wield the power of Ice."
Zack nodded, intrigued. He had never known that Zaria was this knowledgeable, especially about things like astrology and stuff. "Whoa, you know a lot," he whistled. Zaria smiled. "I had a lot of free time on my hands over the years," she said modestly. "That's pretty much all I know about the subject, but I think that we'll be needing to know more. I heard that there's an elderly elf named Bink who knows a lot about the stars, a whole lot," she said thoughtfully, gazing into the night sky. All of a sudden, Zack and Zaria heard a rustling in the bushes, and they abruptly turned to see Zeth's dark honey-colored tresses moving around in the bushes.
"Oh no, they're looking this way!" said an inaudible female voice, a voice that sounded very much like Fuuko's.
Zaria laughed and stood up and walked over to the bushes. "Zeth," she said sternly. His head popped out of the bushes, and he had a sheepish grin on his face. "Zaria," he said innocently, giving her a lost puppy look. Zaria tried to look angry, but she couldn't help but laugh at him. "Get up," she ordered. "Have you been listening the whole time?"
Zeth widened his grin. "Yes."
Fuuko's head popped up out of the bushes. "We heard everything," she said, a wide smile on her face. "Everything. From what you said about Zeth to the evidence of Zack's ignorance to his position."
"Um, hi Fuuko," Zack said sheepishly.
Zeth and Zaria laughed, Zaria going into such hysterics that she fell over, and Zeth caught her. "And I heard everything about what you know about the stars," he murmured to her, his expression turning serious. "I never knew that you knew so much about this subject. So now, we know what we have to do. We have to go see Bink, right?"
Zaria slowly nodded. "Yes," she said. "I should have known that if only the two of us had gone to Mage, then nothing would happen. I should have remembered what the stars told me, that all eight warriors need to be assembled, so then there would be a sign."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Zaria," Fuuko said. "Everybody forgets things. Tomorrow we have to go back to Najida to meet Cat and Adrian, and then we'll decide where to go next."
Everyone nodded in agreement. "Let's go sleep now," Zack said. Then all of a sudden his eyes opened wide. "Wait! I totally forgot about Breanna!"
He ran into the café, and Zaria quickly followed him in. "Go to my house," she called back to Zeth. "Fuuko, wait here for me!"
Zack and Zaria disappeared into the bar, and Zeth shrugged and turned to Fuuko. "Will you be all right?" he asked. Fuuko nodded and Zeth ambled towards Zaria's house.
Fuuko smiled to herself. She felt pleased and exhilarated after what she had heard. She was glad that she and Zeth had decided to eavesdrop on their conversation, no matter how silly it had been to do so.
A few moments later, Zaria and Zack came out of the bar, both trying to keep Breanna standing up between them. Breanna was obviously very drunk. Zaria made a face. "I should have told Zeth to stay," she complained, struggling to keep Breanna from falling over. Fuuko rushed over to help them support Breanna. "She's smashed!" Fuuko exclaimed, who had just caught a whiff of Breanna's breath, which very heavily reeked of liquor.
Zaria nodded, looking sick. "We have to get her home," she said, huffing and puffing. "You can stay at my house, Fuuko."
"Or you can stay at mine!" Zack exclaimed brightly. Fuuko laughed. "I think I'll stay at Zaria's house," she said, smirking. "Thanks, Zaria."
The three somehow managed to get a raving Breanna up to her home and into her room, and as soon as Breanna's head hit the pillow, she went out cold and started snoring loudly.
"I didn't know that Breanna snored," Zaria giggled. Zack laughed.
"Me neither. She must be having a good sleep, but I don't envy the hangover she'll get in the morning."
As they left Breanna's house, Fuuko remembered that her things were in Breanna's guestroom, and retrieved her belongings. She came down to the hallway where Zack and Zaria were waiting for her. "Let's go, Zaria," Fuuko said, smirking at Zack. Zack turned in the direction of his home with a sad puppy look on his face.
Fuuko turned to Zaria. "Thanks for letting me stay with you, Zaria," she said. "Are you sure I'm not getting in the way of you and Zeth? I mean, since you two are akin to being betrothed, shouldn't you two sleep in the same room? I could always go stay with Faye, you know."
Zaria laughed and waved it off. "Sixty years ago, I spent enough nights sleeping in the same tent as him. He snores louder than Breanna! We're not really betrothed yet, anyway. We just sort of made a pledge to be wedded someday," she said diffidently. "He can sleep on the couch."
"If you say so," Fuuko said, and they entered Zaria's home. "Wow!" Fuuko exclaimed. It's so nice and cozy in here! I love the atmosphere of this house!"
"Me too," replied Zaria, grinning. "I had to make it as cozy as possible . . . for I was lonely for sixty years," she finished, shrugging. "Let's go to my room and get some sleep."
"Um, Zaria," said a voice, and Zaria felt a tapping on her shoulder.
"Zeth, you sleep on the couch," she implied, not even turning around. "See ya in the mornin', homeboy," she quipped, Zack style.
* * *
The next morning Fuuko woke up feeling refreshed. She had slept very comfortably next to Zaria on Zaria's bed. The rays of light from Zaria's window lit the whole room up with warm sunlight. Fuuko turned around to look at Zaria, sleeping peacefully with her hair fanned out over the pillow.
She's so adorable, Fuuko thought. If you looked at her, you would never know how much she had been through. The only thing that subtracted from how precious she looked was that her mouth was wide open and she was salivating on the pillow. It left a large wet spot on the pillowcase. The skin on her face was somewhat oily, a problem that Fuuko never had in the morning when she woke up. Fuuko got up, went to the bathroom and took a shower and got dressed in her warrior attire. By the time she got out of the bathroom, Zaria was gone. Where could she be? Fuuko looked around the room, but still couldn't find Zaria. Finally, she went to the living room where Zeth was sleeping on the couch. There she found Zaria, watching Zeth sleep with a fond look on her face.
"Good morning, Zaria," Fuuko whispered loudly. Zaria turned around and smiled.
"Good morning, Fuuko. If you're ready, then you can go to the café and get some breakfast, and Zeth and I will follow you there shortly. I'm sure Zack's already awake, so you can go call him if you wish."
Fuuko nodded, and left Zaria to have some time alone with Zeth. She walked over to Zack's house, which was next door and rapped on the door. A few moments later Zack appeared dressed in his pajamas, his spikes in disarray, sticking out in every which way. "Hey . . . Fuuko," he said lethargically, struggling to keep his eyes unclosed.
Fuuko giggled uncontrollably, while Zack had a dazed look on his face. "Just meet us at the café in half an hour," she gasped, clutching her stomach. She couldn't stop laughing, not even after Zack had shut the door in her face. Finally, Fuuko managed to calm herself down. Where should she go next? She decided to go to Breanna's house, and help Breanna get prepared, for Breanna was in no condition to be moving about unaccompanied. And, Fuuko had a healing elixir that could cure hangovers as well.
She walked over to Breanna's mansion, next to the tavern, and loudly knocked on the door. One of Breanna's servants answered the door, and immediately recognized Fuuko.
"Oh, Miss Fuuko, Miss Breanna refuses to come out of her room!" the maidservant exclaimed, distraught. "She keeps on moaning and groaning, and I don't know what to do!"
"Calm down, Jolie," Fuuko said. "Take me to Breanna's room and I'll take care of it." Jolie led Fuuko up to Breanna's room, and pushed the door open. Breanna was lying on the floor, moaning loudly.
"My head," she grunted, curling into fetal position. Fuuko shook her head and brought out her elixir. "Drink this, Breanna," Fuuko ordered, holding it out to her.
"Ugh . . . my head!" Breanna howled, thrashing her bedspread around. She reached for the elixir but didn't get a good grip on it, and it fell to the ground, all the precious liquid soaking onto the carpet. Fuuko sighed and rolled her eyes. This would be a long morning.
* * *
Zeth was slumbering peacefully although Zaria imagined that he was in quite an uncomfortable position, slumped over the couch like he was. She stood over him, peering down at his face. "Wake up, dolt," she demanded, waving her hands in front of his face. He didn't move at all, but continued to snore. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "WAKE UP!" she shouted. Yet even then, he continued to sleep. She threw her hands up in aggravation and glared at him.
She sighed again and diminished her tone. "Zeth," she said sweetly. His eyes fluttered open.
"Zaria?" he said drowsily, trying to focus his eyes on her.
"Get up," she snapped, and left the room. Zeth sat up, confused. How come the tone she had woke him up with was so saccharine, and that tone had changed so abruptly? He shrugged and got up and changed his clothing, and walked to Zaria's room and tapped on the door.
"Zaria," he called, ceaselessly tapping his knuckles on the wood. Finally, Zaria emerged from the room, looking refreshed, with her hair tied the usual way, loosely in a small knot right underneath her shoulder blades. "You wear you hair like that all the time. What kind of outlandish hairstyle is that?" Zeth asked her, tugging at her mane. Zaria gave him a withering look.
"I like it this way, if you don't mind," she snapped. "What kind of hairstyle do you have? The hair around your neck is too long! It almost reaches the base of your neck! You look like a vain-"
They continued to bicker and tease each other, doing so continuously until they had reached the entrance to the café.
"Stop irritating me!" Zaria shrieked, balling her hands into fists.
"How can I, when you get wound up so easily?" Zeth shot back, grabbing her fists. She stuck her tongue out at him and stomped into the bar, where Zack was sitting alone, looking very drowsy. "Zack!" Zaria exclaimed, rushing over to him. "You agree with me right, that Zeth is an irritating idiot with an asinine fixation with his vanity? Sheesh, in the morning you should see how long it takes for him to fix his hair. He's so narcissistic!"
Zack blinked, confused, and stared at Zaria. "Huh?" Zaria groaned and repeated her question loudly. Zack seemed to wake up and his bland expression was exchanged with one of amusement.
"Well, that's Zeth, has to have perfect hair to go with his perfect everything else," he chuckled, slapping Zeth on the back. Zeth laughed and sat down next to Zack, and they started talking, completely disregarding Zaria.
A second later, Fuuko walked in looking impatient, and following her was a very wobbly Breanna. She was swaying back and forth, bumping into things. As soon as Fuuko spotted Zaria she rushed over. "Zaria," she panted. "Do you have some elixir for Breanna's hangover?"
Zaria shook her head. "No, but I think I can heal her myself," she said with caution.
Fuuko nodded gratefully and gestured towards Breanna. "Do your sorcery," she said, and then slumped down onto a chair.
Zaria walked over to Breanna and held her securely, and focused on all her healing magic to be directed towards Breanna's head. The white light of the magic illuminated throughout the entire tavern. The few people in the café who were sipping their coffee stared at Zaria. Zaria smiled winsomely. "You're fine now, Breanna," she said. Breanna looked at Zaria appreciatively, and smiled at her, a gesture of gratitude that she had rarely directed towards Zaria even though Zaria had healed her countless times in the past.
They all sat down at the table and ordered their breakfast. As they ate, they discussed what they were going to do.
"So this is today's agenda," Breanna said. "We go to Najida to meet Cat and Adrian, and then we start searching for the eighth Mage warrior, starting at the town of Icicle, right?" She looked at Zaria for her approval. Zaria nodded.
"Yeah," she said enthusiastically. "I thought that we would start looking up north, because none of us have ever been there and we most likely will find an Ice Warrior in a cold place!"
Fuuko nodded. "I've always wanted to see that winter resort in Icicle!" she exclaimed. "I want to go skiing there!"
"So we're going there," Zeth confirmed, glancing at everyone. They all nodded. "So let's go to Najida now," he said.
They all got up and left the café. "Wait!" Zack said, stopping short. "I want to show you our latest mode of transportation!" he exclaimed. "It's my old man's, and he said we could borrow it!"
Zack pulled them to his backyard, where a small jet was parked. Although it had been used sixty years ago during the Mage war, it looked much better than Zack's previous plane, the Windbird. He smiled with glee. "This is the Firebird," he said loftily. "Go get your stuff and meet me here in five minutes, and then we're off to Najida!"
Too tired to argue and not wanting to spoil Zack's good mood, they all followed his orders. They brought their belongings to Zack and he started loading them onto the back of the plane. Although it looked small on the outside, it was quite large and nice on the inside. "Wow!" Zaria exclaimed, as she climbed into the plane, "this is like a private jet!" Zack nodded, bubbling with pride. As soon as they all were in the plane, Zack started the engine, preparing to lift off. Luckily, Zack's backyard was very big, and they had enough space to lift off safely.
"This is #$%^ awesome!" Zack shouted, and zoomed off in the direction of Najida.
I'm going deeper and getting into more technical lingo but still, this story has light and dark elements! Keep on reading, and please review!
Seventh Heaven
"It's great to be back home!" Zack exclaimed. "Can't wait to go see my old man, he must be worried sick about me! Bree, why don't you take Fuuko to your place for now and I'll meet you there in about half an hour, okay? I need to go spend time with my dad, 'cause I just left with no notice and he's probably fumin' mad outta his mind now," Zack jabbered, and dashed in the direction of his house.
Breanna motioned for Fuuko to follow her, and led Fuuko to her mansion, which was at the edge of the small metropolis of Mydele, and right next to a tavern. Maybe that was part of the reason that Breanna had ended up as a bartender, Fuuko thought, because by the looks of Breanna's mansion, it seemed like her parents had enough money so that Breanna wouldn't need employment.
It was a large house, almost as lavish as Fuuko's own, except that it was all made of bricks, as was every other structure in Mydele. As they entered, Breanna turned to Fuuko. "My parents won't be here," she said wryly, "they're never here. I virtually raised myself, you see."
Fuuko completely identified with her. After all, wealth couldn't buy happiness or love.
"We'll be staying in Mydele tonight, so you can sleep in the guest room," said Breanna, opening the door to a bedroom and gesturing for Fuuko to go in.
"There's a bathroom and all, so you can freshen up and stuff and I'll come and get you in fifteen minutes," Breanna said, and closed the door and left.
Meanwhile, Zack had gone back to his own house. As he approached the front door, he could hear his father bustling about doing chores around the house. He braced himself for the reprimanding he was in for, and entered his residence. His father heard him enter and turned around to face him. Zack was shocked to see that his father looked worn and disheveled, not at all like his energetic, spirited self. His father's enervated face broke into a strained smile, as if he hadn't the strength. He had never seen Ash Strife looking so worn-out in his entire life.
"Oh, Zack, I was so worried! Where were you, son?"
"Dad! What happened to you?" Zack asked in dismay, running over to his father.
His father looked at him. "I'm so glad you're all right, son. Where did you go?"
"Don't answer my question with a question!" Zack demanded. "What happened to you?"
Ash looked at his feet. "I thought you were dead, Zack. I felt like I hadn't fulfilled my responsibility as a father to you, so you ran away, and something happened to you. I guess I started neglecting myself. Your mother is gone . . . then you disappeared . . . I didn't know what to do with myself. I kept on asking myself, why didn't I take care of Elle and Zack well enough?"
Zack stared at his father. Saying that he had neglected himself was an understatement. He hadn't looked this frail since the day his mother had died.
Zack led his father to the sofa and helped him sit down, and then plopped down by his father. "Dad, I didn't run away. I had to go on a mission with Miss Zaria; you remember her, right? She was rejuvenated, and now I made some new friends. We're on a very important mission, a mission that concerns the welfare of the entire planet. I promise you, Dad, that I will come back and live with you and keep you company in your old age. Nothing will happen to me. I can take care of myself. After all, I inherited the wonderful Strife combat skills, right Dad?" Zack said impishly.
Color returned to his father's face, and he looked reanimated. "Well!" he sighed. "So there is a rational explanation for all of this @#$% that I was so worried about," he said, relieved.
"Yeah, Dad, don't worry too much," said Zack, giving his father a soft smile. "Have faith! After all, you were the one who taught me how to fight, and you're the best," he said proudly.
Mr. Strife smiled. "Yeah, and when you come back, I wouldn't mind you bringing a woman. There needs to be some children in this house! I want to hear the sound of loud little creatures running about making mischief, because after all, you were pretty loud yourself, son!" he said, laughing. Then his eyes turned yearning. "Yes, Elle always wanted to have grandchildren running around the house."
Zack smiled, gazing at his father with tears in his eyes. "I love you, Dad," he said.
"I love ya too, son," replied Mr. Strife. "Elle would be damn proud of the man you have become."
"Finished, Fuuko?" Breanna called from outside the door.
"Almost," Fuuko replied, and she quickly dried herself off with a towel and donned shorts and a shirt. At least she didn't have to wear her armor here. Today she would go see Faye. Was she ready? She didn't know, but she knew that she missed her sister more than anything in the world.
She opened the door and stepped out. Breanna was tapping her foot on the ground brusquely. "Wow," Fuuko said when she saw what Breanna was wearing.
"Exactly where are we going, Breanna?" Fuuko asked askance.
Breanna raised her eyebrows. "Just hanging around. Why?"
Why? Why? How could she ask why? Fuuko thought. She looked like she was ready to stay out all night in her tight leather miniskirt, black boots and tight white tank top. She looked like she intended to pay a visit to Werin.
"Nothing," Fuuko muttered in reply. What Breanna wanted to wear was her business, and no one else's. Fuuko had no right to criticize, especially after Breanna had been so sympathetic and understanding to her earlier.
"We're going to the tavern to wait for Zack," Breanna said, skipping down the stairs.
Fuuko grimaced and followed Breanna. Inside the tavern the atmosphere was musty and dim. Fuuko wrinkled her nose in repugnance and sat down at a table by herself while Breanna went to socialize with tough looking people, people whom Fuuko never usually went near.
She sat there, watching people get intoxicated, play pool, and talk. It was really fatuous. When was Zack going to get there? She really wanted to see Faye. She remembered the night that Faye had left home.it had been a dark stormy night. Fuuko's father had been very violent and had been spewing insults at Faye. Fuuko could still recall that event in detail.
"Why have I been cursed to have such an insolent child as one of my offspring?" Fuuko's father howled at Faye. Faye's face was stony. Fuuko cringed. The whole town was probably hearing all the clamor going on in the Takano mansion, but no one would do a thing, for no one would dare do anything against President Takano's wishes. How could such a callous man be president? Especially the president of such a prestigious town, such as Nakano. Even though he was her father, Fuuko loathed President Takano. He emotionally abused Fuuko and Faye, and treated his other three daughters like princesses.
Probably because they were such two-faced suck ups, thought Fuuko in abhorrence. Fuujin and Finn were fair of face but vile of heart, and while in front of their father they were obedient, agreeable girls, when they were away from him they were the most sordid creatures imaginable. Yukiko was all right; although since she wasn't Fuuko's full sister they didn't communicate much.
"I never want to see your face again! Do not call me father! Unless you change your depraved ways, you shall be exempt from the Takano family name!" Fuuko's father bellowed, his face turning tomato red. Faye gave him an hateful look and ran upstairs to her room. Fuuko ran up after her.
"You defile your sister's mind!" yelled President Takano up at Faye, but she ignored him. She ran into her room, slammed the door, and Fuuko could hear the creaking of bedsprings and then muffled sobs. Fuuko quietly opened the door. "Faye?" she called her sister.
Faye lifted her tear-stained face from her pillow. "Oh, Fuuko," Faye said, and a fresh batch of tears came pouring out. "I'm so sorry that you have to see this at such a young age."
"Faye, just ignore Father, and I'll take care of you," Fuuko said, concerned. Faye smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Fuuko," she whispered. "I'm going to run away from all this, and one day I'm going to come back and get you. When I can, I will come back and get you, Fuuko."
Fuuko silently watched while her older sister packed an overnight bag and put on her raincoat. "You're leaving now, in the rain?" Fuuko asked. Faye nodded.
"Yes. Fuuko, promise me that you won't tell anyone that I ran away. Okay?" Fuuko nodded obediently.
Faye had left Nakano forever on that stormy night and Fuuko had kept her promise, even though she had been thrashed, and deprived of supper for many, many nights. Fuuko had waited, waited for four years for Faye to come and get her. But Faye never came.
Fuuko eyes clouded over. She had loved her sister so much, and she had never broken her promise. But why did Faye break her promise to Fuuko, the promise that she would come to get Fuuko? It didn't matter now, but whenever Fuuko thought of that, it made her even sadder, to think that the person she looked up to most in the world had not cared enough to come and get her, to whisk her away from the inferno she had to call home. If she hadn't found out about Arrow, Fuuko was sure that by now she would have either killed herself or run away somewhere else, ending up with a fate worse than death. Yet here she was, completely unprepared, about to meet her sister for the first time in seven years.
She looked up abruptly and saw Zack, a wide smile on his face. "Hey Fuuko," he greeted. "Where's Breanna?"
Fuuko pointed in the direction of the bar broodingly. Zack looked at where she was pointing and laughed. "She's occupied, I can see. Let's go see Faye now. Is that okay with you?"
Fuuko slowly nodded, and followed Zack out of the pub. He led her down the street. It was evening now, and the sun was setting. The purples and pinks in the sky were breathtakingly magnificent, but at the moment Fuuko just couldn't bring herself to appreciate the beauty of the world. She kept her eyes cast down and answered Zack's questions with one-syllable words.
Zack gave her a withering look. "Look, if you don't want to go today, then that's fine with me. We can go tomorrow morning," he said, sounding slightly annoyed.
Fuuko shook her head and forced a smile on her face, concealing her anxieties. What she really wanted to say was that she didn't want to go at all, yet she wanted to see Faye. "I want to go now," she managed to say. Zack pursed his lips, nodded and then kept on walking. His mood seemed to have darkened considerably. Fuuko saw this and felt a wave of solace go through her. She ran to catch up with him, and grabbed him arm and turned him around to face her.
"Zack, I'm really sorry," she said, looking up at him eloquently. "I can't believe I'm treating you so heartlessly, especially after how wonderful and protecting you've been towards me, but I'm just really nervous," she admitted. "My whole life, I've been used to having people not care about me and me not caring about them, and this is the first time that I actually care about someone, and they care about me, so I just don't know how to handle it well. I'm sorry."
A small hesitant smile appeared on Zack's face. "Hey, I don't mind he said, waving it off. "At least I got you to talk again," he said grinning impishly. He continued to walk, and Fuuko followed him. She still felt nervous, but talking to Zack had released a lot of the tension and stress that had been weighing her thoughts down earlier.
As they approached Faye's door, Fuuko's heart began beating faster and faster. Zack reached up and knocked on the wooden door, and Fuuko could hear footsteps. She was about to see Faye's face any second.
Surprisingly, a very tall, very slender yet broad-shouldered young man with ebony hair and a burn scar underneath his eye opened the door. He was very handsome, and his scar gave him a unique kind of attractiveness.
"Hi Hyde," Zack said cheerfully. A small smile appeared on the guy's face and he greeted Zack. His eyes wandered over to Fuuko. "So Zack, who is this enchanting lady? I see you've found yourself a girlfriend, am I correct?"
Zack actually blushed, and he shook his head vigorously. "No, no, this is not my girlfriend. This is Fuuko Takano, and she's here to see Faye."
The man turned around to Fuuko and raised his eyebrows. "Well, hello Fuuko, I'm Hyde. Please come in."
He opened the door wide for Fuuko and Zack to go in. He then shut the door softly and walked ahead of Fuuko and Zack. "Follow me," he said.
Fuuko and Zack walked after him, and Fuuko leaned over to Zack and asked the question that had been vexing her the moment she saw Hyde. "Who is Hyde?" she whispered forcefully.
Zack raised his eyebrows, a surprised expression on his face as if he couldn't remember that he had never told Fuuko about Hyde. "Um, Hyde is Faye's husband," he said meekly. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you."
"Well, thanks for leaving out that tiny little detail," Fuuko said, shaking her head.
"Please forgive me," Zack pleaded with a ludicrous grin on his face.
Fuuko couldn't help but smile and then nodded and kept on walking after Hyde. Hyde led them into the living room. Faye was lying on the sofa, taking a nap. Fuuko stood there, in awe, seeing the sister that she had been waiting for seven years to see, while Hyde went over and woke her up. Faye slowly opened her eyes and sat up and yawned.
Tears streamed out of Fuuko's eyes. It was her sister, her beloved, beautiful sister sitting right in front of her. Faye was exactly the way she had looked seven years ago, just like a teenager, with her light brown, long, beautiful hair, her long bangs, and her bright cerulean eyes, the same eyes that Fuuko had. She was wearing a light green turtleneck long- sleeved shirt and a mid-calf length pleated skirt. She shifted her radiant eyes to Fuuko, and they widened. Faye gasped and stood up. "Fuuko, is that you?" she asked in amazement.
"Faye," Fuuko sobbed, her nose and eyes all red, her cheeks covered with tears.
Faye started to cry, and ran over and hugged Fuuko tightly. "Fuuko!" she cried. "I can't believe it's you.after all these years.I never went back and got you.I'm so sorry, Fuuko."
Faye grabbed Fuuko's shoulders and gently pushed Fuuko back so she could get a good look at her. "You're so beautiful," she said through her tears, and she wiped a tear away from Fuuko's cheek.
Zack smiled at the sisterly reunion they were sharing. He turned to look at Hyde, and saw that his eyes were shining as well. Hyde caught his gaze and motioned that they should leave the room. Zack followed Hyde out of the room into the kitchen.
In the meantime, Faye and Fuuko were still crying.
"Sit down," Faye said, and they both sat down on the couch. Faye looked into Fuuko's eyes. "Fuuko, you don't know how much I wanted to come and get you," she began. "But I knew that you would somehow find your way out of there, and here you are," Faye said, smiling through her tears.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Fuuko whispered. Faye smiled at Fuuko. "I'm here now, and I'll always be here for you now, Fuuko. If you ever need anything, come here, you understand? I will always take care of you."
Fuuko nodded, smiling. Faye's smile turned into a roguish grin. "So Fuuko, how did you meet Zack?" she asked. "I used to take care of him when he was younger."
"I work with the anti-government organization Arrow," Fuuko said, "and one day I just happened to have an assignment with Zack. We had an assignment in Nakano. I went to see our father, and he threw me out of the house. I almost wasn't able to complete the assignment, but Zack helped me get through it, and he's been special to me ever since," Fuuko finished, smiling.
Faye had a sly look on her face. "Someone special, I see," she said knowingly.
Fuuko blushed and then turned the tables on Faye. "How did you meet Hyde?" she asked surreptitiously. "And, how did you end up becoming Mrs. Faye Kurenai?"
A sweet smile appeared on Faye's lips, and her expression turned dreamy. She began talking softly, her eyes full of life.
"When I left home, at first I didn't know where to go. I was lost. I wandered aimlessly, searching for a place I could call home. I wanted to find a nice place to live quickly, so maybe I could come and get you. I happened to stumble into the town of Werin, and I'm sure you know how notorious Werin is. It's not a good place for any female. Anyway, I was wandering around there, and a middle-aged man, about our father's age, named Kieran Marx found me. He was very kind and offered to adopt me. I was ignorant and in desperate need of shelter, so I accepted. Kieran Marx took me to his home, and I found that he had also adopted another child, but this child had been adopted at the age of six. This child was a boy, one year older than I was. He was Hyde. Back during those days, Hyde never smiled. All the servants whispered about him, and I happened to overhear. They said that ever since he had been brought to the Marx Mansion, he had never smiled, not even once. At the time, I just avoided Hyde."
Fuuko could just imagine what happened, as Faye told the story, projecting her memory to Fuuko.
The young Faye stood in the garden of the Marx Mansion, picking roses. All the servants agreed that no one was better suited for roses than Faye, and Faye loved the roses very much. She tended to them everyday, and some days she gathered them in baskets. Hyde was observing her from the corner of the garden, leaning against the marble column, arms crossed over his chest. He always watched Faye, never uttering a word, never showing any sign of emotion. Sometimes it intimidated her, but she tried to disregard him, even though he seemed to follow her around like a shadow. On that day, she had been walking back to her room with bunches of roses in her arms, holding them tenderly, as if they were living creatures who needed warmth and comfort.
"Why do you care about those roses so much? They're just stupid flowers," Hyde said harshly one day.
Faye gaped at him. Hyde had never spoken to her before, even on the day she had arrived at the Marx Mansion.
She looked down at the roses in her arms. "Well, I treasure these roses. They are beautiful, and they symbolize love," she explained.
"Love is ridiculous," Hyde scoffed. "Who needs it?" He reached out and knocked the roses out of Faye's arms, and rose petals were scattered everywhere, hovering in the air. Faye was appalled and enraged so she took her free arm and slapped his face solidly. He put his hand on his cheek and gave her a baffled look.
"Love is not ridiculous!" Faye admonished sternly. "Everyone needs love, even spiteful rogues like you!"
Hyde stood there, absorbing her words. His lips curved up slightly. A small smile appeared on his lips and it broadened. All the servants who were nearby during the scene gawked at Hyde in sheer awe. This was the first time that Hyde had an expression other than disdain on his face. Faye was shocked to see Hyde smile, but a small smile appeared on her face as well. The rose petals still hovered in the air around them, perhaps symbolizing the beginning of love.
"Faye . . . " said Hyde, "you're different from the other fierce, hypocritical creatures of this world . . . you're refined and honorable, and need to be safeguarded from the evil of this world. You're too pure and gentle to fight them. I promise you one thing. I promise you I will never kill you, even if I become the maddest assassin in the entire world. I will never harm you."
Faye was taken aback, but she simply smiled at Hyde and handed a rose to him.
"Thank you," she replied simply.
From then on, whenever Hyde was near Faye, he had a smile on his face, and she had a smile on hers. There was a lot of talk about them, and the gossip reached the ears of Kieran Marx, and he was enraged, for he actually was a man with an evil heart, and he had been raising Hyde to be a heartless assassin. He had only brought Faye into his home to test the frigidity of Hyde's heart, and it seemed like Hyde had failed the test. He would have to get rid of Faye and start over, this time truly transforming Hyde into a vengeful demoniac.
As soon as Kieran Marx had returned from his business trip, he brought his henchmen and confronted Faye and Hyde.
"Hyde!" he shouted grimly. "You have failed me!" He instructed his henchmen to beat Hyde. They started kicking him and punching him, and he doubled over in pain. Two henchmen seized Faye by each arm and held her back, but when she saw Hyde being attacked so cruelly, she could take it no more. She wrenched herself out of the henchmen's grasp and ran over to Hyde. She threw her body over his, shielding him, holding him in her arms.
"Please, don't hurt him anymore!" she cried. "If you must beat anybody, then beat me!"
Kieran Marx was even more enraged at this act of tenderness from Faye towards Hyde. "Hyde!" he boomed, his pupils shrinking. "You have become weak! You have allowed yourself to become vulnerable! You have allowed yourself to LOVE!" he spat.
Hyde managed to sit up, still in great pain. "NO!" he rasped. "I have not become weak, father!"
Kieran Marx sneered. "Then why is it that you still care for this girl? The only one who ever brought a smile to the rigid face!" he said mockingly, brutally striking Hyde in the side. Faye cried out as if she were the one in agony and held him tightly to her. "Stop, please!" she cried, but it was to no avail.
"No," Hyde repeated feebly, his voice becoming smaller.
"If you have not become weak, then prove it to me! Kill the girl now!" Kieran Marx shouted. "Kill her with your bare hands! Cut off her breath with your own fingers, feel the life being drawn out of her!
Hyde had been panting and huffing, and when he heard Kieran Marx's orders, his eyes widened and his pulse quickened. "But Father!" he yelled. "I do not need to kill her to show that I have not weakened," he protested. "Please, don't make me hurt anyone right now, please..." he begged.
"Kill her or I shall kill her myself, you sniveling fool!" Kieran Marx shouted hysterically. All the servants looked on in horror, wondering whom Hyde would choose. They knew the one he truly cared for was Faye.but no one ever dared go against Kieran Marx's wishes.
Hyde took out his dagger and looked at Faye in the eye, and at first Faye drew back in fear, thinking he would actually kill her, but as she kept her eyes locked on his she managed to fathom the true meaning of his gaze. He was not going to kill her. He wouldn't harm her. He had promised her that. He came close to her and put his dagger on her neck, and put his lips by her ear.
"Faye," he whispered. "Run away. Go far from here, and never return. I will not kill you because . . . I . . . just can't. Go and live happily and forget me, forget all that has happened here. Go, Faye."
Tears were streaming down Faye's cheeks, and Kieran Marx had a satisfied look on his face, thinking that Faye was weeping because her beloved Hyde was uttering threats to her.
"Go!" Hyde whispered firmly. He pushed her away roughly, and after looking at him one last time, openly wailing now, she got up and ran, ran out of the Marx Mansion.
She looked back one more time to see Kieran Marx shrieking in rage, grasping Hyde by the hair and flinging him down onto the ground. He took a match and set it alight then tossed it on the ground, and the flame scorched Hyde's face. Even more tears streamed down her cheeks. Hyde, her Hyde was getting hurt. But then, she had to do what he told her.
Maybe she was only following his orders out of selfishness, but she followed them. She ran out into the streets of Werin, screaming for help.
Police ran into the Marx Mansion, and Faye promptly left the city. She stopped by the outskirts of Werin, fell down to her knees, and sobbed sorrowfully. She hoped Hyde somehow was all right.
She traveled around the continent, seeking to uncover a peaceful village to live in, a place where she could forget all that had happened to her. She finally settled down in Mydele and got a job selling supplies to the travelers who often passed through Mydele. She changed her surname to Kurenai, which had been Hyde's authentic surname, although Kieran Marx had adopted him. In her free time, she took care of the child next door, Zack Strife, who was about the same age as her dearest younger sister, Fuuko. She tried so adamantly to disremember, but she couldn't forget about Hyde. Sometimes she would just sit and begin weeping, and little Zack would come up to her and innocently ask her what was wrong. She could never tell anyone what had happened, but she just regretted that she hadn't gone back to Hyde on that day. Why, why hadn't she gone back to him? It showed that she was being selfish, and now she didn't even know if he was alive or dead.
She was alone like that for a few years, but then one day there was a soft knock on her door, a knock so soft she scarcely could hear it. She got up and answered the door, and there was Hyde, who had grown considerably. He had a burn scar beneath his eye.
"H-Hyde," she breathed, stumbling on the name she had so yearned to utter for so long. She stood there staring at him, and tears of rapture streamed down her cheeks.
"Faye," Hyde murmured, and embraced her closely. She cried onto his shoulder, her tears soaking Hyde's shirt. They had found each other again at last.
"He had been searching for me all over the continent after he had managed to escape from Kieran Marx," Faye continued, "although it took him many years of incessant pursuit, he found me in Mydele at last. We got married soon after that and we have been here ever since," she finished, smiling.
Fuuko's eyes were glistening with tears. The story was so . . . sad, yet it had a happy ending. Her sister had been through so much to be happy, and it seemed like Faye was truly blissful now.
"Faye, you're so fortunate to have someone that cared about you enough to search for you like that," she finally managed to say.
Faye nodded. "Yes, and now you can reside with us if you want, Fuuko," she said. "You'll always be welcome in this home."
Fuuko had a gentle smile on her face, a genuine smile, a smile that made her intense blue eyes soften.
"Well, so, Fuuko!" Faye said, her eyes sparkling. "What have you been doing lately? Did I hear something about a mission?"
Fuuko twisted her fingers in her lap. "Well, I am in the anti- government group Arrow, if you've heard of it," she said demurely, "and I'm going to be traveling with Zaria Locke, the girl who the government is after. She is said to be the key person in destroying the Black Hole project."
"Zaria Locke," Faye nodded, "yes, I knew her as an elderly lady that I could always rely on. She's been rejuvenated, yes?"
Fuuko bit her lip and nodded. "I haven't seen her, but I know she's a very likable person. There is also another person from her generation named Zeth Lanier who has been stuck in a time warp for sixty years, so he hasn't aged at all. He and Zaria seem to have known each other from way back."
"Yes," Faye agreed, "Zaria did use to talk about her lost beloved who had supposedly died a very long time ago. I felt so bad for her. I only wish I could see her in her youth."
"Maybe Zaria will come here after visiting the city of Mage, you know, the city that the war originated in," Fuuko wondered aloud.
Faye glanced at her. "That would be delightful," she said. "It would be great to see how Zaria is now."
They stopped talking, for they heard a loud knocking at the door. Faye looked perplexed. "I wonder who that is," she said, her eyebrows furrowed. "Nobody comes by at this time."
She got up and went to answer the door.
"Oh, hello! Hello, hello, come on in! I can't believe it's you! Come in, come in and have a seat . . . oh really? Is that so? How wonderful!" Fuuko heard. There were footsteps and Faye reentered the room, along with two other people.
"Fuuko, this is Zaria and Zeth," Faye said, a wide smile on her face. She turned to Zaria. "I don't believe you've met my sister Fuuko. She works with the Arrow establishment as well, and she's been traveling with Zack! I think you guys will be traveling together for some time."
Fuuko stood up. Finally, she got to meet the famed Zaria Locke. "Hello, Zaria, hello, Zeth," she said affably with a pleasant smile on her face. "Hi, Fuuko," said an effervescent Zaria. "Hey, doesn't your name mean child of wind or something?"
Fuuko nodded, surprised that Zaria would know something like that. "Yes, in fact. I also have the ability to use the Claw of Wind and generate any kind of wind formation by magic. How did you know?"
Zaria smiled. "Well, I've lived for a long time, so I had plenty of time to study astrology, and look at many magic and legendary texts," she said.
Fuuko turned to Zeth. "Are you Zaria's long lost love?" she asked bluntly. Zeth's face grew heated and he looked down at his feet.
"If that's what Zaria wants me to be known as, then yes," he said softly.
Fuuko whistled and turned to Zaria. "He's so adorable!" she exclaimed. Zaria turned to Zeth, blushing. Faye laughed. "Fuuko, stop embarrassing them," she chastised. She turned to Zaria. "Zaria, you look great!" she exclaimed. Zaria smiled. "I don't really think so, and Zeth here, has seen me at my worst," she said coyly, turning to Zeth and whacking him on the back.
"Tell them, Zeth," she said in a throaty voice that was quite uncharacteristic. "Tell them how I look in the morning."
Zeth face was steaming, and he looked down at his feet.
"."
Faye and Fuuko laughed again. "Sit down, Zeth and Zaria," Faye said, making a place for them on the couch. Zaria sat down but Zeth remained standing.
"Zeth! Is that you?" Zack shouted as he entered the room. "I thought I heard you come in! When did you get here?"
He strode over to Zeth and whacked him soundly on the back. Zeth rubbed his back, his face pinched into a grimace. Why was everyone whacking him?
Zack laughed and pulled Hyde over. "Zeth, this is Hyde, Faye's significant other. Hyde, this is Zeth, I told you about him."
Once they had all finished their introductions they decided to leave Faye's house and go back to Zaria's residence to have an Arrow conference.
Zaria volunteered to go retrieve Breanna at the tavern, and Zack insisted on going with her. Zeth went to Zaria's house with Fuuko.
"Zack, something amazing happened," Zaria started as they walked towards the pub.
Zack gave her a sly glance. "Zeth remembered, didn't he," he said. Zaria turned to him with a flabbergasted look on her face.
"How did you know?" she demanded. Zack laughed.
"Zaria, I knew just by looking at you two! You two didn't look like the two confused strangers who had started on a journey together anymore, you two looked like a couple that has known and loved each other for a long time. So long . . . that it seems like . . . well, I don't know . . ." he trailed off, a smirk on his face.
"What? What?" Zaria screeched, scratching Zack on the arm. Zack pulled away.
"If I tell you, you'll kill me," he protested honestly. Zaria glared at him.
"Zack, you're pretty much running that risk either way, so mind your own business!" she screeched, clawing at him.
"Peace, peace!" Zack exclaimed, putting his hands up in the air. His expression turned serious. "But somehow, it feels strange for me to call you Zaria. I'm so used to calling you Miss Zaria. I'm used to seeing you as an elderly, humorous, yet wise woman whom anyone could confide in, and seek help from. It feels strange seeing you in your old-fashioned fighting clothes walking around with Zeth with his old-fashioned fighting clothes . . . I mean, since he and I are friends and all. Don't you feel that way?"
Zaria's expression became placid and she turned towards Zack, a soft smile on her lips. "I'm nevertheless the Zaria you have known, regardless of age," she said simply. "I know you, you know me, isn't that enough, Zack?"
Zack looked at his feet. "I guess . . . the appearance thing really is kind of startling, though. I mean, you're a lot prettier than I thought you would be!" he teased. Zaria reached over and smacked him on the head.
The silly grin left Zack's face, and was replaced by his previous serious disposition. "But I'm glad that you're have a great guy like Zeth to take care of you. You two really go well."
Zaria's mood instantaneously brightened. "I know," she said flagrantly. "Although sometimes I feel like I'm not worthy of him. Even though he does have his faults, I feel like the goodness of my soul does not equal his, and I'm afraid that I will somehow bring harm to him." Her expression darkened. "And before he never let me forget that he's five years older than me. Sometimes I felt like such an immature child around him."
Zack patted her back sympathetically. "Zaria, you may think that, but if Thanatos himself were to come down and measure the goodness in each of our souls, yours wouldn't be any lesser than anyone else. You are blessed, you know," he said, a half-smile on his face. "To have a love as genuine as that."
She nodded, and then looked up and beamed at Zack. "Is there someone in your life, Zack? Someone who perhaps uses the power of wind?"
Zack's face instantly flushed. "What in the world are you talking about, Miss Zaria?" he said quickly, too quickly.
Zaria laughed. "Zack, I do know a lot of astrology, and the stars know all. They know past, present, and future, so they certainly know whom the Wind warrior is. And I can tell that the Apocalypse and Wind are somehow drawn to each other.like a moth is drawn to a flame.it's mutual. Anyhow, I can see right through you, Zack. Ever since you were little, I could tell whether you liked a girl or not. Let's see, there was Jade, Ruby, Pearl, Crystal, and Garnet.hey Zack, when did you break off the chain of girls who had precious gem names?"
Zack gave her a withering look. "Okay, I know that first part about astrology was all fabrication." Zaria shrugged in response.
"If it works, it works. Anyways, the part about all those girls was true."
"Zaria." he whined.
"Personally, I liked Garnet the best. She was certainly the prettiest, and I think the one with the finest personality, almost like royalty.do you still keep touch with her? I'd like to talk to her sometime. Come to think of it, does she still live in Mydele?"
"Whatever," he said, shaking his head. Then he stopped and looked up thoughtfully. "Zaria, do you think that you can explain this Warrior stuff, and explain what each magic element does? I really want to know. Tell me everything about it."
Zaria's eyes widened in mock surprise. "You, out of all people, want to know," she said dubiously. He nodded. She sighed. "Yeah, I'll tell you." They plopped down on a bench outside the tavern and Zaria took a deep breath.
"First, I'm going to explain how I got into astrology. Over the years, I didn't have that much to do, so I had plenty of time to study astrology and other mysteries of the universe. I felt like I was wasting my life, so I might as well gain some knowledge that might someday be useful. I considered taking the youth elixir, but then I thought why waste such valuable elixir just to prolong my ennui with life? There was not much point, and there are and will be more knowledgeable people in this world. I had planned to bestow the elixir upon one who I thought worthy, and that person was probably going to be you. Before I saw you as a child who would grow up to be a warrior, a warrior with a virtuous heart who would be able to make the right choices about things. Now I see you in different eyes, I see you as a peer, an equal, as a fellow warrior whom I can confide in as a friend. Anyway, I began studying the stars more and more, trying to find answers about life. Of course, I tried to see if the stars knew anything about Zeth, but that information was obstructed, it was as if there was a dark clouding covering that area so I could not see it. It was as if I was not supposed to know. I guess that is so, for the stars are very wise, and they know all. What they choose to reveal to us humans through constellations and other things is their decision. Sometimes, they grant the gift of knowledge to people, to people like me. These people have to spread the knowledge to those who must know, those like you, Zeth, and the others. The stars can see into the future, have seen many of the alternate scenarios, so they do whatever they can to keep the universe in balance, to keep every creature, animate or inanimate, content. That's why we all still exist.
"After the years, I deciphered a message, a message that was a cry for help. There would be disaster from a human creation. That creation would be a black hole in the universe, and it would cause many imbalances, for many things would end up where they are not supposed to be. Later on, I heard that the Toki government was planning to do a Black Hole project, making it by using magic, very powerful magic, so powerful that no one creature may wield it alone. I then knew what the stars had been saying. Yet, that was not to be the biggest threat. Of course, there would be many menacing and powerful creatures that would travel through the black hole, which would cause oscillations in the entire cosmos. Even though the Toki government thinks that with their efficacious magic they can prohibit such creatures from entering, they won't be able to, for these creatures will be powerful beyond the control of that magic. Many magic powers put together are the only force that may prevent them from destroying the world. The greatest threat of all would be waiting in another planet, far, far from here. So far, it could even possibly be in another dimension. There is only one way to keep this planet from falling under the control of some other force that is not Mother Earth. It would be to bring forth the eight warriors of Mage and have them summon the Ultimate Blessing. All must be descendants of Mage warriors, and that is not hard to find, for almost all the people on this continent participated in the war during that time, so most people here are descendants of Mage warriors, may they be eminent warriors or insignificant mercenaries. The eight warriors of Mage are each able to control one of the elements of Magic. There are eight basic elements. Those elements are Ultima, Apocalypse, Holy, Earth, Wind, Ice, Fire, and Thunder. There is also Cure that is not an element, but a magic tool that anyone can use. Some people have the ability to use cure without any magical tool, such as I can.
"Ultima and Holy are kind of opposites. Ultima is the magic element of destruction, while Holy is the element of creation. It's not like black and white, good and evil. They're just the opposites, like the positive and negative side of a magnet. They can both be used for good. While Holy can banish evil, Ultima can fight evil. Apocalypse is very similar to Ultima. Holy and Ultima are the most powerful two elements, the heavenly elements, and the rest are called earthly elements. Out of all the earthly elements, Apocalypse is the most powerful. The power of Apocalypse is a mysterious power that even I can't read from the stars. The rest are what they are called. Each magic element has different levels, and as we progress, we must develop higher levels of magic. It is vital, or we will not be able to create the barrier. The barrier must consist of all the highest-level magic of each element; only then will the black hole be blocked. Once I have encountered a possible Mage warrior, by studying the stars I can see if they are truly one of the chosen ones. I know that I am one, and my magic is Cure and Holy. I must develop the ability to use Holy, because I am not capable of using it yet. I haven't mastered the technique . . . I don't even know where it's hidden inside of me. Zeth's magic is Ultima, and he can already use it, but it is not up to the full potential yet. He hasn't found the true power of Ultima, similar to your situation with Apocalypse. Breanna has Earth magic, Fuuko has Wind magic, Cat has Thunder magic and Adrian has Fire magic. So far we have assembled seven of the eight warriors of Mage. We have yet to find the warrior who can wield the power of Ice."
Zack nodded, intrigued. He had never known that Zaria was this knowledgeable, especially about things like astrology and stuff. "Whoa, you know a lot," he whistled. Zaria smiled. "I had a lot of free time on my hands over the years," she said modestly. "That's pretty much all I know about the subject, but I think that we'll be needing to know more. I heard that there's an elderly elf named Bink who knows a lot about the stars, a whole lot," she said thoughtfully, gazing into the night sky. All of a sudden, Zack and Zaria heard a rustling in the bushes, and they abruptly turned to see Zeth's dark honey-colored tresses moving around in the bushes.
"Oh no, they're looking this way!" said an inaudible female voice, a voice that sounded very much like Fuuko's.
Zaria laughed and stood up and walked over to the bushes. "Zeth," she said sternly. His head popped out of the bushes, and he had a sheepish grin on his face. "Zaria," he said innocently, giving her a lost puppy look. Zaria tried to look angry, but she couldn't help but laugh at him. "Get up," she ordered. "Have you been listening the whole time?"
Zeth widened his grin. "Yes."
Fuuko's head popped up out of the bushes. "We heard everything," she said, a wide smile on her face. "Everything. From what you said about Zeth to the evidence of Zack's ignorance to his position."
"Um, hi Fuuko," Zack said sheepishly.
Zeth and Zaria laughed, Zaria going into such hysterics that she fell over, and Zeth caught her. "And I heard everything about what you know about the stars," he murmured to her, his expression turning serious. "I never knew that you knew so much about this subject. So now, we know what we have to do. We have to go see Bink, right?"
Zaria slowly nodded. "Yes," she said. "I should have known that if only the two of us had gone to Mage, then nothing would happen. I should have remembered what the stars told me, that all eight warriors need to be assembled, so then there would be a sign."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Zaria," Fuuko said. "Everybody forgets things. Tomorrow we have to go back to Najida to meet Cat and Adrian, and then we'll decide where to go next."
Everyone nodded in agreement. "Let's go sleep now," Zack said. Then all of a sudden his eyes opened wide. "Wait! I totally forgot about Breanna!"
He ran into the café, and Zaria quickly followed him in. "Go to my house," she called back to Zeth. "Fuuko, wait here for me!"
Zack and Zaria disappeared into the bar, and Zeth shrugged and turned to Fuuko. "Will you be all right?" he asked. Fuuko nodded and Zeth ambled towards Zaria's house.
Fuuko smiled to herself. She felt pleased and exhilarated after what she had heard. She was glad that she and Zeth had decided to eavesdrop on their conversation, no matter how silly it had been to do so.
A few moments later, Zaria and Zack came out of the bar, both trying to keep Breanna standing up between them. Breanna was obviously very drunk. Zaria made a face. "I should have told Zeth to stay," she complained, struggling to keep Breanna from falling over. Fuuko rushed over to help them support Breanna. "She's smashed!" Fuuko exclaimed, who had just caught a whiff of Breanna's breath, which very heavily reeked of liquor.
Zaria nodded, looking sick. "We have to get her home," she said, huffing and puffing. "You can stay at my house, Fuuko."
"Or you can stay at mine!" Zack exclaimed brightly. Fuuko laughed. "I think I'll stay at Zaria's house," she said, smirking. "Thanks, Zaria."
The three somehow managed to get a raving Breanna up to her home and into her room, and as soon as Breanna's head hit the pillow, she went out cold and started snoring loudly.
"I didn't know that Breanna snored," Zaria giggled. Zack laughed.
"Me neither. She must be having a good sleep, but I don't envy the hangover she'll get in the morning."
As they left Breanna's house, Fuuko remembered that her things were in Breanna's guestroom, and retrieved her belongings. She came down to the hallway where Zack and Zaria were waiting for her. "Let's go, Zaria," Fuuko said, smirking at Zack. Zack turned in the direction of his home with a sad puppy look on his face.
Fuuko turned to Zaria. "Thanks for letting me stay with you, Zaria," she said. "Are you sure I'm not getting in the way of you and Zeth? I mean, since you two are akin to being betrothed, shouldn't you two sleep in the same room? I could always go stay with Faye, you know."
Zaria laughed and waved it off. "Sixty years ago, I spent enough nights sleeping in the same tent as him. He snores louder than Breanna! We're not really betrothed yet, anyway. We just sort of made a pledge to be wedded someday," she said diffidently. "He can sleep on the couch."
"If you say so," Fuuko said, and they entered Zaria's home. "Wow!" Fuuko exclaimed. It's so nice and cozy in here! I love the atmosphere of this house!"
"Me too," replied Zaria, grinning. "I had to make it as cozy as possible . . . for I was lonely for sixty years," she finished, shrugging. "Let's go to my room and get some sleep."
"Um, Zaria," said a voice, and Zaria felt a tapping on her shoulder.
"Zeth, you sleep on the couch," she implied, not even turning around. "See ya in the mornin', homeboy," she quipped, Zack style.
* * *
The next morning Fuuko woke up feeling refreshed. She had slept very comfortably next to Zaria on Zaria's bed. The rays of light from Zaria's window lit the whole room up with warm sunlight. Fuuko turned around to look at Zaria, sleeping peacefully with her hair fanned out over the pillow.
She's so adorable, Fuuko thought. If you looked at her, you would never know how much she had been through. The only thing that subtracted from how precious she looked was that her mouth was wide open and she was salivating on the pillow. It left a large wet spot on the pillowcase. The skin on her face was somewhat oily, a problem that Fuuko never had in the morning when she woke up. Fuuko got up, went to the bathroom and took a shower and got dressed in her warrior attire. By the time she got out of the bathroom, Zaria was gone. Where could she be? Fuuko looked around the room, but still couldn't find Zaria. Finally, she went to the living room where Zeth was sleeping on the couch. There she found Zaria, watching Zeth sleep with a fond look on her face.
"Good morning, Zaria," Fuuko whispered loudly. Zaria turned around and smiled.
"Good morning, Fuuko. If you're ready, then you can go to the café and get some breakfast, and Zeth and I will follow you there shortly. I'm sure Zack's already awake, so you can go call him if you wish."
Fuuko nodded, and left Zaria to have some time alone with Zeth. She walked over to Zack's house, which was next door and rapped on the door. A few moments later Zack appeared dressed in his pajamas, his spikes in disarray, sticking out in every which way. "Hey . . . Fuuko," he said lethargically, struggling to keep his eyes unclosed.
Fuuko giggled uncontrollably, while Zack had a dazed look on his face. "Just meet us at the café in half an hour," she gasped, clutching her stomach. She couldn't stop laughing, not even after Zack had shut the door in her face. Finally, Fuuko managed to calm herself down. Where should she go next? She decided to go to Breanna's house, and help Breanna get prepared, for Breanna was in no condition to be moving about unaccompanied. And, Fuuko had a healing elixir that could cure hangovers as well.
She walked over to Breanna's mansion, next to the tavern, and loudly knocked on the door. One of Breanna's servants answered the door, and immediately recognized Fuuko.
"Oh, Miss Fuuko, Miss Breanna refuses to come out of her room!" the maidservant exclaimed, distraught. "She keeps on moaning and groaning, and I don't know what to do!"
"Calm down, Jolie," Fuuko said. "Take me to Breanna's room and I'll take care of it." Jolie led Fuuko up to Breanna's room, and pushed the door open. Breanna was lying on the floor, moaning loudly.
"My head," she grunted, curling into fetal position. Fuuko shook her head and brought out her elixir. "Drink this, Breanna," Fuuko ordered, holding it out to her.
"Ugh . . . my head!" Breanna howled, thrashing her bedspread around. She reached for the elixir but didn't get a good grip on it, and it fell to the ground, all the precious liquid soaking onto the carpet. Fuuko sighed and rolled her eyes. This would be a long morning.
* * *
Zeth was slumbering peacefully although Zaria imagined that he was in quite an uncomfortable position, slumped over the couch like he was. She stood over him, peering down at his face. "Wake up, dolt," she demanded, waving her hands in front of his face. He didn't move at all, but continued to snore. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "WAKE UP!" she shouted. Yet even then, he continued to sleep. She threw her hands up in aggravation and glared at him.
She sighed again and diminished her tone. "Zeth," she said sweetly. His eyes fluttered open.
"Zaria?" he said drowsily, trying to focus his eyes on her.
"Get up," she snapped, and left the room. Zeth sat up, confused. How come the tone she had woke him up with was so saccharine, and that tone had changed so abruptly? He shrugged and got up and changed his clothing, and walked to Zaria's room and tapped on the door.
"Zaria," he called, ceaselessly tapping his knuckles on the wood. Finally, Zaria emerged from the room, looking refreshed, with her hair tied the usual way, loosely in a small knot right underneath her shoulder blades. "You wear you hair like that all the time. What kind of outlandish hairstyle is that?" Zeth asked her, tugging at her mane. Zaria gave him a withering look.
"I like it this way, if you don't mind," she snapped. "What kind of hairstyle do you have? The hair around your neck is too long! It almost reaches the base of your neck! You look like a vain-"
They continued to bicker and tease each other, doing so continuously until they had reached the entrance to the café.
"Stop irritating me!" Zaria shrieked, balling her hands into fists.
"How can I, when you get wound up so easily?" Zeth shot back, grabbing her fists. She stuck her tongue out at him and stomped into the bar, where Zack was sitting alone, looking very drowsy. "Zack!" Zaria exclaimed, rushing over to him. "You agree with me right, that Zeth is an irritating idiot with an asinine fixation with his vanity? Sheesh, in the morning you should see how long it takes for him to fix his hair. He's so narcissistic!"
Zack blinked, confused, and stared at Zaria. "Huh?" Zaria groaned and repeated her question loudly. Zack seemed to wake up and his bland expression was exchanged with one of amusement.
"Well, that's Zeth, has to have perfect hair to go with his perfect everything else," he chuckled, slapping Zeth on the back. Zeth laughed and sat down next to Zack, and they started talking, completely disregarding Zaria.
A second later, Fuuko walked in looking impatient, and following her was a very wobbly Breanna. She was swaying back and forth, bumping into things. As soon as Fuuko spotted Zaria she rushed over. "Zaria," she panted. "Do you have some elixir for Breanna's hangover?"
Zaria shook her head. "No, but I think I can heal her myself," she said with caution.
Fuuko nodded gratefully and gestured towards Breanna. "Do your sorcery," she said, and then slumped down onto a chair.
Zaria walked over to Breanna and held her securely, and focused on all her healing magic to be directed towards Breanna's head. The white light of the magic illuminated throughout the entire tavern. The few people in the café who were sipping their coffee stared at Zaria. Zaria smiled winsomely. "You're fine now, Breanna," she said. Breanna looked at Zaria appreciatively, and smiled at her, a gesture of gratitude that she had rarely directed towards Zaria even though Zaria had healed her countless times in the past.
They all sat down at the table and ordered their breakfast. As they ate, they discussed what they were going to do.
"So this is today's agenda," Breanna said. "We go to Najida to meet Cat and Adrian, and then we start searching for the eighth Mage warrior, starting at the town of Icicle, right?" She looked at Zaria for her approval. Zaria nodded.
"Yeah," she said enthusiastically. "I thought that we would start looking up north, because none of us have ever been there and we most likely will find an Ice Warrior in a cold place!"
Fuuko nodded. "I've always wanted to see that winter resort in Icicle!" she exclaimed. "I want to go skiing there!"
"So we're going there," Zeth confirmed, glancing at everyone. They all nodded. "So let's go to Najida now," he said.
They all got up and left the café. "Wait!" Zack said, stopping short. "I want to show you our latest mode of transportation!" he exclaimed. "It's my old man's, and he said we could borrow it!"
Zack pulled them to his backyard, where a small jet was parked. Although it had been used sixty years ago during the Mage war, it looked much better than Zack's previous plane, the Windbird. He smiled with glee. "This is the Firebird," he said loftily. "Go get your stuff and meet me here in five minutes, and then we're off to Najida!"
Too tired to argue and not wanting to spoil Zack's good mood, they all followed his orders. They brought their belongings to Zack and he started loading them onto the back of the plane. Although it looked small on the outside, it was quite large and nice on the inside. "Wow!" Zaria exclaimed, as she climbed into the plane, "this is like a private jet!" Zack nodded, bubbling with pride. As soon as they all were in the plane, Zack started the engine, preparing to lift off. Luckily, Zack's backyard was very big, and they had enough space to lift off safely.
"This is #$%^ awesome!" Zack shouted, and zoomed off in the direction of Najida.
I'm going deeper and getting into more technical lingo but still, this story has light and dark elements! Keep on reading, and please review!