YamiPhoenixfire: Can I write the chapter now? Please?
Phoenixfire: No. You had far too much input in the last one.
YamiPhoenixfire: But you get to write all that sickening fluffy stuff! C'mon! Please?
Phoenixfire: Well…
YamiPhoenixfire: You'll love it. I promise.
Phoenixfire: Fine. You win.
YamiPhoenixfire: Yaaaay! Do the disclaimer so I can get started!
Phoenixfire: Okay. We don't own Mountain Dew. We don't own Baten Kaitos. You know the drill.
YamiPhoenixfire: Feh. My disclaimer was better… (Phoenixfire glares at her) On second thought, on with the story!
Chapter 6: To Cut
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…
Running home… why did she feel so anxious?
"Yeah, yeah…. You have fun going home… I'm going to join color guard!"
"Bah! You only want to join so you can go on the Disney World trip! I refuse to be sucked into the cult!"
"Hah…. Whatever. See you tomorrow, Astarael!"
"Bye, Selih!"
Now, why had she remembered that?
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…
She needed to figure out how to explain where three hours of her life had disappeared to…
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…
After all, what could have happened to Selih? The girl was more than capable of taking care of herself, especially when armed with one of those flags…
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud…
THUNK!
Astarael stopped dead in her tracks as a large piece of glass blossomed from her chest. She caught a glimpse of a black outfit and a flash of magenta hair before her vision went black.
Kalas and Xelha were sleeping peacefully in an inn in Mintaka, resting up for their interview with Lyude the next morning, which is why they missed the glow that infused Kalas's Magnus deck. When the soft, multicolored light died, there were now seven new cards in the deck that was lying face up next to Kalas's sword, dagger, and Winglet on the bedside table. Since the cards were still stacked in one neat pile (Xelha had organized them right before they had gone to bed), only one card was visible. It had a sky-blue background streaked with red, and what appeared to be a broken silver pendant in the shape of a bird with outstretched wings, shorn cleanly in half. There were also four words written on the card in reddish brown, slightly blotchy letters.
Spirit Card: Fallen Phoenix
"…Christ, that girl has the devil's luck! She's like a demon!"
One of the neighbors. What the heck was going on?
"Shut the hell up about my sister! Don't say things like that about her!"
"Rana! Don't use that sort of language!"
"But Moooom! People aren't allowed to say things like that about Astra!"
Huh? They were talking about her? Why? The last thing she remembered was…
"Ayme!" she snarled, sitting bolt upright. "Gonna kill her…!"
"Miss, don't strain yourself!" urged one of the neighbors who she thought was a doctor. "You're lucky to be alive. That necklace you were wearing slowed the projectile down enough that it barely nicked your sternum. If it hadn't been there, you'd be dead right now." He held up the silver phoenix pendant that Seilh had given her on her twelfth birthday, the one that she almost always wore. A piece of glass twelve inches long was sticking out of it. Huh? Why glass? Ayme fights with guns, why didn't she just shoot me? Unless… she was trying to prove a point…
And didn't the late busses come home around six?
"Oh, hell…" Astarael hissed, forcing herself to her feet. She wobbled for a few moments, then regained her balance and forcibly parted the small crowd of concerned neighbors as she dashed for her house.
"Astarael Victoria Sanders! Just where in God's name do you think you're going!"
"I need to make a phone call!" Astarael shouted over her shoulder at her bewildered mother.
The mudroom door was locked. With a scream of frustration, she fished around in her purse for her key, cutting herself on her whip. When she finally found the key, she jammed it into the door and turned it so hard that it snapped. But that didn't really matter that much, because the door was open. She threw her whole body weight into the act of opening the door, and it slammed into the wall, leaving a sizeable dent.
"Astra?" Rana asked hesitantly. Astarael chose to ignore her youngest sister as she sprinted into the kitchen and seized the phone and began to dial a phone number like it was her last hope for salvation.
"Astra? W-what's wrong?" Rana asked as Astarael listened to the phone ring and tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for someone to pick up. "Astra? Y-you're not going to… go away again, are you?"
Astarael's worried, angry glare softened for a moment. "No, Rana. If they couldn't get rid of me with an SUV, what makes you think that a whimpy piece of glass would work?"
"Heh, heh…. You're probably right…"
"Hello, Adnama residence, Joel speaking." The voice on the other end didn't sound strained or unhappy, which was a good sign.
"Mr. Adnama? It's Astra. Is Selih home yet?"
"Why no, Astra, she isn't. She should be any minute. I'll have her call you… what's wrong? You sound… very worried."
"Nothing's wrong with me!" she said too quickly.
"NOTHING'S WRONG WITH YOU?" Rana exploded. "Someone just tried to impale you with a piece of glass, and you think there's nothing WRONG with that!"
"What's this about a piece of glass and impaling people?" Mr. Adnama asked suspiciously.
"Just have her call me back as soon as she gets home, okay?"
"Well… I can give you her cell phone number. It's…" Astarael wrote down the number on a piece of scrap paper and thanked Mr. Adnama quickly before hanging up, and dialing the new number.
Ring…
'Honestly, Astra, what are you doing that you take being frickin' STABBED by a piece of GLASS so lightly!" Rana pressed.
Ring…
"So? What is it? Are you doing drugs? Are you drinking?"
Ring…
"No and no, Rana," Astarael almost snapped.
Ring…
"Are you pregnant?"
"Hell no!"
Ring…
"Then, are you the person that's been killing all the mutated animals? The one the police are looking for?"
We were unable to place your call. If you would like Sprint to leave a message, press 6 now. An 85 cent usage fee will apply.
"Damnit!" Astarael shouted, slamming down the phone. Several somethings cracked.
"You are, aren't you?" Rana whispered.
Astarael, for lack of the physical or emotional energy required to think up a convincing lie, simply said "Yes. Don't tell Mom, or she'll kill me."
"I…"
"Promise me."
"I… I promise…" Rana muttered as the other members of the family came in to grill Astarael.
One hour later, the phone rang. Astarael, for the first time in her life, actually beat Azil to the phone. "Hello, Sanders residence," She said automatically. "Astra talking," she added as an afterthought.
"Astra? It's Mrs. Adnama," said a shaky female voice that sounded like crying had occurred. Shit, shit, shit! Not good at all! "This isn't going to be easy for you to hear… but there's been an accident with the late bus. Selih is…"
These stupid brown ends… reminders of who I used to be… I'm getting rid of them tonight…
The sound of steel cutting through hair was the only sound that could be heard.
I should never have left her alone….
Blue and brown strands of hair littered the white tile of the bathroom floor.
This is MY fault…
"Astra! We're heading for the hospital now!"
Astra Sanders, the weak, naïve idiot…
"Astra!" Rana shouted, pounding on the door.
Is dead. Guardian Spirit Astarael is all that remains…
"Ast-Astra!" Rana gasped as her sister opened the door.
"What?" Astarael snapped, deliberately flicking her now chin-length, uneven, solidly blue hair and shoving her equally uneven bangs out of her eyes. "We're going to be late, aren't we? Get a move on!"
The black-winged girl smiled as she looked at her two newest creations. The test had been a success. This time, she would be able to finish off the meddlesome Guardian for good…
(A/n: He hee hee… does anyone remember Kalas's nightmare in chapter 4? Does Astarael's new look sound familiar?)
Phoenixfire: It's too short.
YamiPhoenixfire: So?
Phoenixfire: We made them wait while you lazed about…
YamiPhoenixfire: It's your fault for introducing me to Naruto scanlations!
Phoenixfire: Anyway… yes, well… Reviewer Responses!
YamiPhoenixfire: Heh, dodging the question…
Phoenixfire: Shut up, you….
Reviews for chapter five:
LighteningRae: Glad you're getting the game soon! Hurry up and beat it so I won't feel bad for the massive amount of spoilers in this story:)
Luna-Starr: Don't give up on AstaraelxKalas… I have this annoying habit of pulling a happy ending out of my hat somehow…
wingsofheart: Wow… if Astarael's life is anything like yours, you have my pity. (gives a cookie)
Reviews for chapter six:
xwoman2: Eh? I always assumed that room belonged to Geldoblame. Didn't they show Xelha stealing the pendant from that room? Although… Melodia's room… that would make sense… (YamiPhoenixfire: And Kalas's diary in that room supports my theory of how Melodia ran around seducing everyone! (Phoenixfire locks her dark side in the spare closet again.))
Luna-Starr: Heh… I'll try to update sooner next time. Certain EVIL older brothers of CERTAIN friends told me about a website where I could find manga scanlations… and most of my writing time vanished into a black hole. Yeah… (looks guilty)
Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: I don't know… there was plenty of in-game evidence for KalasxXelha… but who says they have to stay together? This is angst for a reason… and yes, Kalas and company are definitely coming to the 'real world'… eventually.
Memumbo; Yes… school DOES suck. I hate it. (YamiPhoenixfire: As if they couldn't figure that out by themselves!)(Phoenixfire: Being in the closet means that you have to be quiet!(kicks closet door)) I'll give you a school quote that I like… two, actually…
"School prepares you for the real world, which also sucks." – Happy Bunny
"If knowledge is power, and power is corruption, doesn't that make school evil?" – Someone on GameFaqs
Crazygirl306: Oooh! New reader! I hope you continue to like this story.
A/n: God, there were so many errors in the last chapter! I am never posting a chapter so shortly before I leave for someplace ever again! When (if) I go back and edit this story, I'm fixing that chapter first! ARRRRRRRRRRRRG!
Also, I cannot spell. If you see a game term spelled incorrectly or a typo, tell me!