Phoenixfire: Interlude chapter. You need to read it anyway. Plot will pick up in the next chapter.
YamiPhoenixfire: Mainly because I'll be writing it.
Phoenixfire: Yeah, yeah. There were things I wanted to happen in this chapter… but it would've been too long. (Dodges thrown objects) Hey, it's a really quick update! Be grateful!
Let's see... in this chapter we don't own Baten Kaitos or Evanescence. If you can guess the name of the Evanescence song, and you are one of the first three to do so, I'll give you a small part in an upcoming chapter.
Chapter 7: To wait
"…news today…"
Trees and houses rolled by in the pale twilight. It was really one of the prettiest times of day…
"…unknown man, approximately 5'10", with orange and blue hair…"
…not that she cared right now…
"…school bus. Several of the passengers were killed, several were critically injured…"
…she felt too empty to care…
"…If you see this man…"
…and she finally understood why Kalas had gone to the lengths he had for revenge…
"…please contact the hotline at…"
…When she found Ayme and Folon, she was going to kill them.
"…we thank you for your cooperation…"
Kalas awoke with a shuddering start and blinked several times, trying to shake his dream out of his mind. The details were already fading away, but what he could remember was disturbing enough…
"For your sins, I pass judgment upon thee…" Astarael snarled as she tore off one of her opponent's black wings…
Kalas shuddered again. That was easily the most disturbing dream he'd ever had, and he wanted to forget it as quickly as possible. He leaned over and shook Xelha awake.
"Mmm?" she groaned.
"We're going to the palace today," he reminded her.
"Huh? Oh, right. I bet Lyude'll be happy for an excuse to take a vacation from politics for a while. Where do you think Gibari and Savyna will be?"
"Oh, Gibari will probably be somewhere by the Ocean. Savyna, though… While we're in Alfard, we should probably stop in Azha and look for her there. Other than that, I'm out of ideas."
"I don't have any either," Xelha replied sadly. Savyna had dropped off the face of the earth after the defeat of Malpercio. Some people even whispered (while looking over their shoulders as if she would pop up and tear out their throats) that Lady Death had finally gone the way of her victims. If Kalas was around, this was the point where he bashed their heads in.
"Okay, so you go wake up Mizuti and I'll… what the hell! What in the name of the long-dead gods is this?" Kalas gasped.
"What's wrong?" Xelha asked, coming over to see. Numbly, Kalas held up the seven, not six but seven Spirit Magnus. "Aaah…"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I mean, these disappeared when Astarael did. Why are they back now? And what's with this new one?" he mused aloud, holding up the card that read 'Fallen Phoenix' to the light. "It almost looks like it's written in… blood…"
Kalas and Xelha looked at each other with identical expressions of horror before snatching up their decks and bolting as one for Mizuti's room. Neither of them needed to say that Astarael was in danger. That much was obvious.
Kalas's grip on the card tightened, and he focused his concentration on the card. As always, the incantation floated into his head…
("I am vengeance, hear my voice! Sword Style: Fallen Phoenix!')
…and crimson flame and turquoise wind flickered briefly across his vision. So the spell was… Wind and Fire? But that was impossible! Nothing had more than one element!
Then again, how much do we really know about Astarael's home? He reminded himself. Astarael's power was literally something not of this world. He turned the card over in his hand as Xelha woke Mizuti. Vengeance, hmm? Fits someone like me perfectly…
But for Astarael, sweet, naïve, slightly dorky at times Astarael to create something like this…
"Whatever's going on, we're running out of time," Kalas muttered.
"She's in critical condition," the doctor said for the second time. "I'm really sorry, but she can't have any visitors who aren't relatives."
Astarael considered bashing his skull in. They WERE in a hospital after all. The idiot would live. Probably.
But her parents were RIGHT THERE, standing behind her, and Rana was holding her hand and giving her The Look. Punching the doctor at the moment was not a good idea. It's not a good idea at all! wailed her conscience, an echo of the old Astarael, the one that was dead.
"Is… is Selih going to be alright?" Astarael asked, annoyed at the waver in her voice.
"…look, I'm not supposed to give out information like this to people who aren't family members…" he hesitated, looking straight at Astarael, with something more than nervousness in his eyes. It was almost as if he subconsciously realized how close he'd just come to a beating… "…but she's in really bad shape. We're trying our best… but we don't think she's going to last the night."
Don't think… what?
It wasn't happening. She'd heard wrong.It couldn't be. Alys and Kala, the only two other people she could really talk to, the only other two friends she had that she knew would keep her secrets… Kala was in Washington, and Alys was in Arizona. Miles and miles away at college. If… if Selih died…
I will not allow that to happen! she wailed mentally. Dozens of useful Magnus popped into her brain… or they would be useful if she lived in a world called Baten Kaitos. Sadly, she lived on Earth, where the only magic she did know of was useful solelyfor the purposeblowing things up…
Wait. There was one thing that might work. It was a long shot. It was risky. And… she was definitely going to do it.
"Does Selih's room have a window?" Astarael asked.
"Yes," the doctor replied automatically. "But why are you asking?"
"Well, I was curious," she replied with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. Her parents looked at her like she was crazy, and Rana gave her the 'we HAVE to talk about this' glare. She held back a smile. Finally, her powers were going to do something that was visibly useful….
"Okay," Kalas sighed. "We're going to split up. Mizuti, I want you to go on ahead to Azha."
"Okay. You'll see, the Great Mizuti will find Savyna without fail!" Mizuti happily bounded down the pathway heading for Azha, while Kalas and Xelha prepared to enter the palace.
"Do you think this is going to work?" Xelha whispered.
"If it doesn't, we're just going to have to leave without Lyude. You heard what Mizuti said this morning…"
"This spell, it be corrupted," Mizuti had said, fingering the Fallen Phoenix Magnus.
"What do you mean, 'corrupted?'" Kalas had asked.
"Well… we already know that the Guardian's magic has something to do with emotions, because the strength of your bond with her determined the strength of the Spirit Magnus. Well… whatever she's feeling now be really negative, and it be corrupting the spell. Compare it to the other six Magnus. Doesn't it feel…"
"Angrier. Darker," Kalas finished for her. When compared to the other six, Fallen Phoenix felt like it would rip apart anything, especially if the wrong person used it…
"I don't want Astarael ending up like me," Kalas said, sighing. "She deserves better than that."
"Kalas… Have some faith in Astarael. After all," Xelha continued with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Astarael's a lot smarter than you…"
"Hey!"
(Playground school bell rings…
Again…
Rainclouds come to play…
Again…
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello?
I am your mind.
Giving you someone to talk to…
Hello.)
"Maybe Evanescence wasn't the best choice of music right now…" Astarael muttered, but she made no move to turn off the boom box. She really liked this song.
(If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake
From this dream.
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken…
Hello.
I am the lie
Living for you so you can hide
Don't cry…)
The Phone rang. Once. Twice…
"Astra! It's Rob!" Azil shouted, her voice coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the front staircase.
"Tell him I died or something!" she shouted. Rob was the LAST person she wanted to talk to right now.
"No way! You tell him so yourself!"
Astarael turned off the boom box, inwardly fuming, and stomped gracelessly down the steps to snatch the phone from her sister. Oh, for something, anything to beat up… "Hello?"
"Hey, Astra!" Rob exclaimed, oozing cheeriness that she just didn't have the patience to deal with right now. "So… Battle of the Bands is this Friday. You wanna come with me?"
"No."
"But why not?" he whined.
"Listen up, and listen good. I. Do. Not. Like. You. In fact, I'm starting to hate you. You call at the most inconvenient times. I thought we could be friends last year, but I see quite clearly that you want more than that, or nothing at all, so you're going to be stuck with nothing. I… can't give you what you want."
"But why not?"
"I don't have to tell you that. If you're going to bother me, please do it some time when my best friend is not in the hospital hurt badly enough to die." She punched the 'off' button before Rob had a chance to respond, and managed to somehow check her impulse to throw the phone across the front hall like a two-year-old having a hissy fit.
"You know, he really does like you, Astra," Azil said gently. The tone put Astarael's teeth on edge… How DARE my little sister patronize me!
And yet, at the same time, it was all eerily familiar… as if she'd heard this conversation before…
"He's not a knockout, but he's decent looking, and he doesn't care about your past…"
"All he wants is to get into my pants," Astarael said bluntly. And, suddenly, her eyes widened. All he wants…
Oh, I AM going to kill him! I'll tear him to shreds! I'll…
Later. It's… 9:14 PM. Mom and Dad go to bed around eleven. I have to save Selih.
…besides, I can always beat the crap out of Rob at school tomorrow. Getting suspended wouldn't be the end of the world.
"Actually, much as it galls me to say this, thank you, Azil. You've been a tremendous help."
Azil smiled a small, cold, familiar little smile that Astarael couldn't remember seeing on her sister's face before. Who is she reminding me of? "Anytime, sister dear. Anytime."
"Anytime, dear Kalas, anytime…"
Why the hell am I thinking about Melodia? No, why the hell is Azil ACTING like Melodia?
…No. It can't be. Azil hates anything that has to do with magic. She barely tolerates going to CHURCH. She can't… she WOULDN'T…
Shit. I'm going to have to look into this. I don't WANT to look into this. Because…
…because if I have to kill Azil, it will make my death a waste of time. Shit!
Innocent until proven guilty. I'm going to heal Selih first. Then… then we can use Selih's ability to see people's wings to check Azil, and prove that I'm just being paranoid.
She checked her wristwatch again. 9:17.
Shit.
She was in for a looooooooong night.
11:45 PM. All the lights were off. It was finally showtime.
With a huge grin, she rolled out of bed and changed into street clothes (A dark blue pair of jeans to match her dark blue denim vest, a white tank top, a beat up pair of sneakers without socks, and the necklace Selih had given her, held together by scotch tape.) She fished her whip out of her purse and pulled on a black hat, but didn't bother with the mask. She just didn't feel like it. And then, as she was opening the window where the screen was missing…
"What are you doing?"
YamiPhoenixfire: Okay, Reviewer responses!
Seducer of Darkness: (looks at name) Hmm, have I brought someone over to my way of thinking? (Evil grin)(Phoenixfire buries her head in a pillow) Yeah, I didn't notice it was Melodia's voice until, like, the last Magnus, and it was just one of those 'duh' moments. (Stares) Eh, you'll sic Melodia on us if we don't continue? Arrg, a fate worse than death! We shall be sure to continue writing!
Vanya the Elven Maiden of the Valar: No, as you can see, I'm not going to kill off Selih. I can't. (Phoenixfire: And I can't either…) Selih's character was based off of a friend in my real life… a friend who is also reading this story. Actually, I had Selih get injured for several reasons… well, you'll see. My idiot good half will probably lock me in that damn closet if I tell you any more…
YamiPhoenixfire: Well, that's it. Be on the lookout for the next chapter, To Bleed, written by yours truly, in which Astarael will heal Selih, and… Kalas and Xelha will FINALLY meet up with Lyude, and Lady Death will make her appearance.
Flames are accepted because we simply rise from our own ashes when set on fire. So by all means, click the purple button and tell us how wonderful we are.
Phoenixfire: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaami!
YamiPhoenixfire: What?
Phoenixfire: You're not supposed to say things like that!
YamiPhoenixfire: Why not?
Phoenixfire: Because it makes us sound all rude and arrogant!
YamiPhoenixfire: But I AM arrogant.
Phoenixfire: Well, I'm not. So stop making me look bad.
YamiPhoenixfire: (Notices Phoenixfire's position in the room) Okay…
Phoenixfire: (suspicious) Really?
YamiPhoenixfire: Yes… (Shoves Phoenixfire into the closet) …AFTER I DO THIS! MWAHAHAHA!
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Erm, Maybe I should finish that next chapter before she finds a way out of there… yeah…