Chapter 11: Over the desert lies the Promised Land
Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward.
Soren Kierkegaard
Danny turned around only to see…his reflection? Funny he didn't remember there being a mirror right there. Danny suddenly realized that there was no mirror right there. He was looking at himself. But as soon as he realized this, with a flash of lightning outside, the reflection disappeared. Was he seeing things? What was going on? A gust of wind entered into the tower. The wind whirled in the corner near where Danny saw his reflection and from in the middle of the wind, a young woman appeared and stepped out of the now dying whirlwind. She was first looking around with tenseness but then turned her attention on Danny. As soon as he saw her face, a wave of terror fell over him. Danny's eyes grew wide and he dropped to his knees with an uncomfortable sensation in his body was now making itself known, as if he knew this woman from a negative experience and as if something inside of him was urging him to attack this woman. As the moments passed, this urging became stronger and stronger, until Danny finally snapped "SAKURA! I MUST HAVE YOU!" yelled Danny as he leaped toward the woman. Sakura calmly loosened a ribbon from her outfit and threw it at Danny. It then magically wrapped around him and bound him to the floor. "SAKURA! SAKURA!" Danny continued to yell as Sakura kneeled down and put her hand on his forehead. She then said an incantation which put Danny to sleep.
Curtain was perching herself on the rooftop whistling a charming song, waiting for her sisters to come back from their hunting. She wasn't that hungry, so she stayed behind. "SAKURA!" Curtain looked up quickly. That sounded like Danny. She scampered to the direction of the nose to see if the king was in danger.
"A letter? That's your excuse for not bringing dinner?" scolded Paul. "I said I was sorry!" snapped Zaku right back. "Who is this letter from? You been messing around?" asked Paul, still scowling. "It was from that brat Lindsey. She wanted us to visit" announced Zaku. Paul turned and paused for a second. "Do you want to visit her?" he asked. "If you are implying that I like that nimrod back, you must be mad. She's just like that overly hyper shadow tamer, Mimi. I am above such foolish displays of affection!" said Zaku with a smug smile. Paul closed his eyes and sighed. Demetra flashed in his mind as well. "I don't know Zaku. Perhaps if love were in our lives, we would have been much better men." "Say what? Did the most feared warlord in Tornel just praise love?" said Zaku with a teasing smirk. Paul blushed slightly with embarrassment. "Forget I said that, just leave again to find supper or else I'll beat you to dust!" "Sure, whatever you say, love monkey!" laughed Zaku hysterically as he left again. As soon as he was out of sight, Paul thought again of Demetra. He couldn't' deny he missed her and he did always blame himself a little for Demetra leaving Danny in the first place. "Maybe just to see if she is okay" said Paul to himself. He walked inside his shack. Once inside he looked into his cauldron and spied out Noma. He first checked its palace. He felt a disturbance in one of its towers. As soon as the image in his cauldron showed what was going on he gasped. Was Danny in some kind of trouble? He listened to what was going on…
Danny found himself walking around an endless white environment. No matter how much he looked around, he didn't see anyone or anything, but to his surprise, that very same red haired woman quickly appeared to him. Danny stepped back as he saw her. "You… who are you? Why do I feel I met you?" "You still remember me huh? It's me Sakura. I'm so glad Ash didn't hurt you. I came just in time." "What do you mean? Who is Ash?" asked Danny with alarm in his voice. "Danny, he is coming for you. He is coming to avenge the crimes done by you and your family. "My family? You mean Jack, Jacob? Me? Sakura, what are you trying to tell me?" "No Danny, I'm afraid its not Jack or Jacob. It was your demonic brothers and sisters. Ash has already gotten to Jack and your brother and he will strike again." "Jack! What do you know about Jack's and Jacob's murder? "Do you know why you can remember your childhood or anything else from the distant past? Do you also know why Shinato won't tell you any of that information either?" Danny was getting frantic, almost fearful at this point. "It's because you are not who you think you are. You are not paladin Daniel Chambers. You are a demon god named Euu and you are also not of this world either." Those words stabbed Danny heard and nearly made him collapse again. "You're lying. I'm not a demon. I'm a human. I was a young boy adopted by Jack. I have to be human! I have a brother named Jacob! "Also false. Jacob is not your brother. He used to be a small time crook named Steven Townsend." Sakura heard someone coming. "I must leave now Danny, but be assured; we will be in contact again. Sakura released Danny from the trance and disappeared just as Curtain flew in through the window. "Mu…Ma..ster, you okay?" asked Curtain as she struggled with the words to say. Curtain noticed how pale and how sweaty Danny was. Come to the Bangor wasteland. Your questions will be answered there Danny heard those words in his head before Sakura's presence vanished completely. "Lord, please answer" Curtain slurred. Danny came to his senses and saw Curtain's worried expression. "Curtain, get your sisters. We are going to take a little trip…"
Paul scowled at the sight shown in the cauldron. "The Bangor Wasteland you say. Interesting. Now I really want to pay a visit." Zaku just happened to walk though, carrying a great angus on his shoulder. "Let us go Zaku. We are going to the Bangor Wasteland." "What? Why are we going to take sorry excuse of a place? I'm hungry" complained Zaku."Stop your complaining. Get your ass in gear!" Paul responded as he left the shack.
Unbeknownst to everyone in the castle, a strange shadow was right at the palace window where Danny was. This shadow then seemed to come to life and shape into a purple skinned woman with ebony hair. "The Bangor Wasteland? That fits just perfectly. I'm pretty sure the grave keeper's living there will greet Danny appropriately once I leak my aura about." The woman then morphed into a male, who was Ash Avalon. By turning into a shadow by his physic sister, Demonia's powers, he avoided her detection. "There is much work to be done." Said Ash to himself as he split himself into two separate but identical beings. "I'll go to Bangor first and get the grave keeper's attention" "And I'll have a little chat with the first lady of Noma" said the other Ash. As one Ash made his way to Alice's room over the roof, his clone teleported himself to the Bangor Wasteland.
Danny was in another part of the castle, gathering some supplies for the trip to the wasteland. He was already joined by the four harpie sisters. "Master, should you not tell Alice where you are going? She worries about you know" commented Lola. "I would, but this journey is going to be perilous and perhaps give me the answers I've been searching for all my life. I want you guys to watch my back while I am there." All three of the other harpie sisters chirped with excitement. "I may also need this" said Danny as he reached for his dueling deck. It's been so long since he dueled. He hasn't had much need to. He almost released his spirits. It was only their loyalty to him that they still remained with him. When everything was packed, Danny prepared to head out with his loyal harpie companions. He wasn't sure what exactly was going to happen in the wasteland. All he knew was that it was going to be spectacular.
Meanwhile in the Bangor Wasteland, a group of magicians gathering to combat an impending threat that seemed to be lingering and advancing closer and closer. "My friends, we must now go and stop this evil aura that is plaguing this already troubled land. Whatever evil has made itself known is now coming here. I have had visions about this evil and it's none other then Danny Chambers!" The other grave keepers murmured with confusion. "I know this is shocking friends. But the visions I saw about this evil do reveal his image to me. I don't know how or why Danny is emitting an evil aura, but we will not give him the chance to wreck havoc in Tonal no longer! The other grave keepers cheered and roared with unison. "Hey old man, so can me and my bro head out to meet this great evil of yours?" said a muscular and hairy man coming from behind the corner. "Yes Bronson. Go and greet Danny. I'm sure you and your brother can take him apart before we even get there." said the grave keeper's chief. "Damn straight we can!" added his brother Bandini as he joined his brother. "Be assured, the Rhox brothers will take that turncoat out before nightfall!" As the two mercenary shamans headed to intercept whatever was coming the grave keepers' way, the attention of the others returned to the chief. One of them spoke. "Why do we have to pay those morons? We can defeat Danny much easier." "True, but I'm using them to test Danny and to possibly tire him if he is truly turning evil. It cannot be denied that this evil aura is formidable, and we may need Bandini and Bronson to help us take him out if needed. Let's gather in my chambers. We'll witness the results of this escapade there"