Disclaimer: I give up. Referred to the last 22 chaps for it.
Author's Note: So if anyone's noticed, there's a QuickView feature that added. It's really useful but completely annoying. The format of most stories get messed up so… bare with me as I try to figure out a way to separate things, okay? Anyway, we're really getting this story on a roll! I know it's hard to keep up with all the characters (well, at least it is for me and I'm the writer! Be scared, be very scared) so…. I posted characters somewhere in this story at the end of one of the chaps. It's very helpful.
Freemagicmogget: I'm glad you like my stories… or at least my "Story of Three Girls"! Yes there are cookies. Have some! throws cookies at her Have fun and thanks for reading!
Siellatheanamorphicmage: Yay! A new reader! Thanks so much for reading my fics and I'm super ubber excited that you liked them! I do edit my stories-my first three just went under recent editing and revisions. Usually I write them up and then later make revisions. blushes Your compliments are too much! Thanks again for reading!
f-zelda: Thanks so much for reading my first chapter! I'm glad you like it and I hope you keep reading (so then you'll see this)!
Magicman/Smokegirl: Don't you love it when you're sitting up at three in the morning and you get the most random idea for a title? Wow, I just realized you get a whole lot of the cookies. How do they taste? . I'm not well versed in Baldurs gate-in fact, I've never even heard of it sadly. But I'll take it that being a high-level monk in a cave full of kobols isn't much fun. laughs You guess my plan! How'd you do that?
Neithan02: I hate filler chaps to and I try so hard not to write one but… the story sorta needed it. More correctly, I needed it to remove my writer's block so… I just kept it in there. This isn't a filler chap so I hope you like it better!
Lalapad: Thanks for the advice! I was trying out a new style, which sorta got oblivated by my previous style. I don't think I meant to switch POVs, so I apologize for that. Keep on rocking and I hope you read this!
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Sisters till the End
This is dedicated to Pablo/Cecil because he is such an awesome writer and he has inspired me to go farther. Thank you Pablo/Cecil for your awesome story and your awesome talent!
Chapter Twenty-Three: No More Simple PlansA few days later, Kat had returned to Alex and Nicole, who surprisingly had stayed in the area, beaten and broken. "I'm… I'm sorry," she whispered, her dirt-covered face hiding the true emotions flowing through her. "I… Just can't handle it."
"Of course you can," Nicole had said, standing up and hugging her friend. "We know it's hard, Kat, but you can get through this."
"He… He was the only one…"
"We know," Alex said, shushing her friend. But they didn't know. Dilandau wasn't the first one to love her-others had and she had broken them. Nor was he the first that she loved-her mother and her best friends were proof of that. He wasn't the first one to accept her for what she was, care for her or to make her feel special. Instead, he was the first one in a long time who could protect her from all the evils of the world. That was what she needed, to be sheltered for a while, to have someone else hold up the brick walls around her, so she could let go and cry for a while.
That was gone and she was back to protecting everyone else from the evils. What brought her back to her friends was the ring she still wore… she had glanced down at it for a second while washing her face and it had reminded her of a commitment, not to Dilandau, but to her friends. That memory had sprung up in her head and she had then decided that isolating herself from the only people that cared about her was wrong. Just because she was hurt about Dilandau didn't mean she couldn't find solace in the arms of her friends. So she had come back.
Kat didn't dare finish her sentence to her friends. They didn't have time to sit around and be sorry for all the things they could've done. They had a job to do. "Kat, we know you're back and everything but…" Alex started, looking nervous. She had been the one to pick the fight but no one blamed her for what had gone down. Still, she was cautious. "It's just that we found something before we left," Nicole finished, handing Kat a small rectangular piece of metal that looked like a flattened TV screen. Upon her touch, the black screen began to display text at a rapid speed.
Reading it, Kat looked up at her fellow Protectors. "So this is why Kalirice came to Zaibach," she said, dully staring back at the screen. "Why didn't we know?"
"Because we were too busy with life," Nicole said.
"Maybe if we hadn't been we would've caught it," Alex added.
There were a few seconds of guilty thoughts that passed through her head before Kat stood up. "We can't think like that!" She said determinedly. "I've had enough of guilty thoughts. What's done is done, people, so we should deal with it. So let's go over what we know."
"Kalirice is using Zaibach to unite Gaea under her power, with the help of the Second," Alex said.
"While Austruria and Freid have joined forces to defend against powerful enemies. They want the Second gone because they consider him a threat," Nicole added.
"Fanellia wants all the evil to be one and peace to rule via the Second."
"And the Dark Stars want the Second on their side to stamp out impurities of the universe," Kat added.
"So we're facing four different agendas that we have to defend against?" Nicole asked, realized the potential of the Second. Kat nodded. "There are so many different things…"
"I think this is our biggest problem ever," Alex said, leaning back.
"So many different avenues for people to go."
"To attack from."
"To plan from."
"For us to defend against."
Silence followed the three as they thought. Kat had known this was big but now that she knew all motives, or at least those that are known, she had no clue as to how to approach it. Now I wish I had gotten Coran to get more people, she thought. Things were looking hopeless…
"Well, we have to start somewhere. So why not get the Second away from Hitomi's Protectors?" Nicole questioned.
"Then what?" Alex asked.
"Then we get him to the Temple of Artemis as fast as we can to send him back to Earth."
"Racing against four different armies?"
"Doesn't sound so hard," Nicole smiled.
Kat's face lit up in a smile they hadn't seen in a long time. "You're right, it doesn't."
OoOoO
Choosing his words properly was always more of a daunting task then a simple game for him. All of his life words had never come to him properly, causing him to stumble and crumble under the gaze of awaiting people. Frustration was always fresh in his mind whenever he spoke and caused his words to become heated and mean. His temper rose and he tended to lash out at random points when trying to speak and calm when the words were already decided for him.
If someone were to ask him to describe a form of attack in precision he'd lash out at that person. If someone were to ask him for a brief explanation of a certain attack he'd calm and give them the answer without much thought. The more of the details needed the more he resented words-and math for that reason.
Yet this was no problem. He just learned to let others talk for him or kept quite. Silence was usually the most prized key to the inner thoughts of people's minds. When someone refused to answer them they kept talking, hoping, wishing that whatever they said would spark your voice. Of course in the act of trying to strike up a conversation they tell you all you need to know.
Grumbling, he wondered how he would will the right words to come to him when talking to these people. His problem with words would be a large thing to overcome because in this situation you needed to say the right thing or else risk loosing opportunities. Why did he say he would do this again?
Because she asked you, you moron, he told himself as he crossed his arms. Being the fool you agreed. Slight resentment flared up in him but was quickly quenched by her words. "We-I-really need you on this," she had said. "We don't have a lot of allies and right now we need a lot more. You're the one who I know can handle this. I know you can do it."
Yeah, I'd really like to do you instead.
Suddenly a sound caught his attention, breaking him from his thoughts of the woman who worked alongside him. She would have to wait for another night. Footsteps were coming towards him at a fast pace; light and brisk yet when they stroked the ground there was no heavy heel. It was a woman's pace, a woman in a very bad mood. Shit, just what I need. A woman on P.M.S.!
Preparing himself, he rested his hand on his Hate katana, ready in case that this woman decided to attack rather then listen. That'd make the evening, he thought sarcastically. "All right Deadeye, what do you want?" Her voice rang out loud and clear across the forest. Stupid, he thought, she could easily be walking into one of my traps!
Stepping out from behind a tree, her materialized into her field of vision, causing her to draw an arrow into her bow. "Do you want your friends to hear?" He sneered, hand still resting on his katana just in case. The woman was young, barely even a woman, but came off as one who knew things. She was short with long mahogany hair and green eyes that pierced through the night to find him and stare him down in a contest of wills. He defiance at his being made Coran want to laugh out loud. Yes, she was indeed almost a woman.
"I came here because you said you had a better offer for me," Valkerie said, eyeing Coran with strong eyes. She knew this could be a trap but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. "I'm here so tell me."
Coran smirked and put his free hand on his hip. "First, tell me if you swore allegiance to the Fanellian bitch."
"Hey, I might not like her but I am from Fanellia so at least show a little respect!" Slight anger flared up in her as she glared at Coran. She had half a mind to shoot him! "I sort of swore my allegiance but I'm willing to break that."
This seemed to please Coran for his smirk turned into a grin and his words were filled with boyish excitement. "Then you'll love this offer. You obviously are one for danger and adventure, so this is what I have to say. There's a large battle coming up and you want to be on the side that will defy all odds and win. The side that offers a lot more excitement then following some Queen's orders can offer.
"This side is in a race against four different groups of people all bent on capturing and destroying them. It's not only a race against time but wit and strategies."
Valkerie was also smiling now. She loved odds against her. It made the game much more interesting and it was true that following the Queen's orders were extremely boring. "Alright," she said, nodding her approval. "I'm interested. Any details you want to mention?"
"Just wait for me to contact you."
"Very good. You've got my number if you need anything else." Thinking only of how much fun she was going to have, Valkerie sauntered off. Coran grinned-that was certainly easy. However, the next subject showed up minutes later and he knew this wasn't going to be so easy. She was short, shorter then the first, with curves that could kill, green eyes that could do the same, auburn hair swept back from her pale, tattooed face. The only thing more unnerving then her curves and eyes was the fact that she had a henna colored diamond on each cheek, right below the outer corners of both eyes. "Well, Deadeye, what a surprise," she said, her voice cool and indifferent. It was like she was used to seeing old acquaintances all the time.
"Gwyn," he nodded, showing the female respect. He was well known but he knew from past experiences that Gwyn could hide many faces under those captivating green eyes. "It's Mimic now," she said, waving her hand as if to ward off a fly. Suddenly a rock emerged from the soil behind her and she leaned back against it. Coran nodded, mostly at the amazing skill in which she controlled her powers. He remembered a time when they were so chaotic that it was dangerous to be around her.
"Impressive," he said, making sure his voice didn't note the true feeling behind it. "But did you really come out here to show me your magic tricks?"
"Of course not," Mimic said, waving her hands around, slightly annoyed. "I came out here because you said you had a nice proposition for me."
"You're interested?"
"My dear Coran! You sound surprised." An evil glint came into her eyes. "Just because our last mission you betrayed me doesn't mean I wouldn't still be interested in working with you. It just depends on what the conditions are."
Huffing slightly at the memory, Coran crossed his arms. "You always have to bring that up, don't you?"
Her laugh penetrated the air like music through a dull party. She seemed genuinely touched by his words. "Never give someone dirt that they can use on you, Coran," she replied as if telling a three year-old not to play with fire. "It'll come back to haunt you. Now, this proposition, who are you working for?"
"Someone who can use a lot of help."
"Are they paying you?"
"Refined, aren't you?"
"Yes or no."
"There is no pay except for what you can do in this job. You follow the main idea and they're happy. Other then that, feel free to do whatever you want."
"Interesting… What does it entail?"
This was where Coran lost his edge just a little. Valkerie had been happy to accept his vague description but he knew Mimic-she would question him until he gave up everything, then with that information probably walk off and join someone else. Then again she wouldn't join if he didn't give her the information. At a crossroad, he decided to do his own negotiating. "Random work, mostly using our contacts to protect our employer. It varies according to the situation."
"They must be transporting something important." The undeniable hint in her voice was hard to miss. "Something very important, especially if they're looking for assassins to help them out. Rogues, I would guess, or a nation not wanting to contradict their reputation. But what could this precious item be?"
The red flag went up in Coran. She knew something. Mimic saw this and laughed heartily, her musical laugh turning into something hard and rough. "Yes, that's right Coran. I've been keeping my eye on the situation at hand. I know that the Second is currently in the Queen of Fanellia's Protector's grip, and I know what he is needed for. I also know that Zaibach, the Dark Stars, and the Protectors want him. The only thing I can't figure out is who you're working for."
Damn! Coran thought, his hand gripping his katana. Before he could do anything vines sprang forth from the earth and wrapped around him, tightening enough that he couldn't move. "No, no, Coran. You have it all wrong," Mimic said, standing up and walking over to him. "I wouldn't attack you, not unless you had something I want. As far as I can tell, you don't. I just want to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
Coran glared at her. "Look, I only came here for the proposition. So either accept it or don't. I don't care which you choose!" He yelled. Mimic seemed slightly taken aback, but slowly nodded. "Yes, of course… I accept Coran," she said as the vines disappeared and slunk back into the earth. "I'll work along side you. Just tell me when you need me."
"I need you right now."
With that Coran had completed his mission.
"My master," Shadow said as he bowed in front of Dilandau. "I have returned with promising information."
Dilandau looked at his assassin while swirling a glass of red wine in his hand. He had set the boy out to follow Kat to keep an eye on what she was doing, just in case she tried something stupid again. "Well?" He asked impatiently.
"The Protector of the Dark Moon has sent out her ally to recruit more people for their cause. The ally succeeded in recruiting Valkerie from Fanellia and the fabled Mimic. They are to attempt to recapture the Second from Fanellia."
Anger rose up in Dilandau with ease for he was by far half way through a bottle of wine. Acting irrationally, he threw his glass against the wall, barely missing Shadow but the boy didn't even flinch. "That bitch!" He roared, standing. "Shadow, leave! I need to think up a plan worthy of my stupid wife… yes… one that she deserves…"
Author's Note: Wow, that was freaky. shivers So who's in the mood for another challenge? dead silence Alright, fine. Cookies to the next three who review!
The Shadow That Takes Form as a Kat
ShadowKat