Chapter Five
Seto glared in irritation at the black screen of his laptop. They had electricity in this strange country, so why was it that he could not get his computer to work? It had not worked the previous night, either, but Sapphire had been ill then and he had not been able to ask her about it. And now today, she seemed to be dealing with a troublemaker on the grounds.
Seto leaned back, rubbing his forehead. He had definitely not been impressed with Juno so far, and he still did not see what good he and Mokuba would be able to do. Everything was ridiculous. And since Sapphire was ill, maybe all of this had been a delusion. That made sense. Yes, he and Mokuba could not have been meant to come along. Maybe it was the same for all of them.
We're only a few people who don't even live here, he growled to himself. How can we fix their problems? We shouldn't even have to. This is their world, and they should fix their own problems. I don't buy that nonsense about this place being dependant on where we live, and vice versa.
He glared out the window at the darkened sky. They've got problems alright, but no one can fix their weather. That's out of everyone's control. And finding some pendant won't make it suddenly be a sunny, clear day. Rolling his eyes, he stood up and turned away, intending to find Mokuba.
He did not have to go far. Suddenly the child was running into the room, excited about something, and crashed into him. Seto grunted in surprise, looking down at him. "What is it, Mokuba?" he asked.
Mokuba grinned up at him. "They have a really great library here!" he exclaimed. "There's all kinds of books about Juno, and the people, and even some books about how authors in our world wrote stuff about this place!" He was fascinated by the discoveries, and by Juno in general. He only wished that the land was not in such a state of devastation and dismay. It looked like the sort of place that he would enjoy exploring, and he was certain that his friend Leonhard von Schroider would love it as well. Maybe, if things were better some day, he could bring Leonhard here and they could explore.
Seto blinked in surprise. "A library, huh?" That could prove useful. If he could determine what was going on in this world, then perhaps he could figure out how to get back to the real world with Mokuba. He looked into Mokuba's eyes searchingly. "Where is it?"
Mokuba grinned, running out into the hall. "Come on, Seto!" he called. "I'll show you!"
Shaking his head in slight amusement, Seto followed after the enthusiastic boy. He was supposed to protect Mokuba. Others, such as Mokuba's friend Marik, were capable of it and even willing to do so, but Seto felt that it was his responsibility. And after all, what good was any world in which Mokuba was not present? Seto refused to let anything happen to his brother in this strange dimension, or hidden land, or whatever it was. There was plenty that could go wrong in a war, even if Seto refused to accept that magic was part of it.
Dartz stood at the large window, watching Colchis take his departure. The rebellion leader had stayed for a while following their conversation about Norse mythology, and Dartz had the bad feeling that Colchis was planning something that he did not even want to reveal to his so-called "partner in crime." But if that was so, then why? Colchis would not have a reason to suspect that Dartz was going to betray him. He had not wanted to tell Dartz about the Talisman's secrets, but Dartz had assumed that was a precaution he would take with anyone.
"Father?"
He heard footsteps approaching, but he did not turn around. Chris came over to him, looking out at Colchis as well.
"Something is going to go wrong," the girl said quietly, petting her wolf Skye. She had to feel certain that Colchis was smarter than he seemed, even though he was likely not as much so as his brother had been. And she could see that Dartz was having doubts himself about what to believe.
"Yes," Dartz answered slowly, "but exactly what it will be is something that I'm still trying to determine." He narrowed his eyes darkly. "I have to wonder if Colchis is planning to incite those rebels until they're ready for a full-scale war. In fact, I wonder what's taken him so long to do it. He's a very impatient man." Now he turned away from the window, facing Chris. "Maybe it has something to do with the Talisman," he mused, "and he didn't want to tell me because he wants to find it himself."
Chris nodded. "That's possible," she agreed slowly. "Maybe he'll have the rebels create some kind of diversion because he thinks he knows where the Talisman is, and he wants to be the first to get to it." Skye whined softly and she petted him again. This was an unstable land, in unstable times, and there were times that she admittedly wished that they had not gotten involved with its problems. But it was true that this dimension and the normal Earth dimension were irrevocably linked. Whether she liked it or not, it was that way.
Dartz narrowed his eyes in irritation. "I should have that trouble maker followed." But he did not know to whom he could possibly assign the job. Colchis had met Dartz's family, and he did not want to subject them to any unnecessary danger anyway. He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Chris thought about this. "Alexander would probably be happy to," she said then. "Colchis hasn't ever seen him, and if he saw him flying around, he'd probably just think that Alexander is one of the local creatures." Dartz had made certain that Alexander had stayed hidden when Colchis was around. Usually the strange being was happy to comply with whatever Dartz wanted. Both Dartz and Chris wondered if Alexander was truly aware of the danger that Dartz could be in by associating with such a person, and in trying to convince said person that he was an ally.
Dartz sighed. "I really didn't want him to get involved in this at all," he muttered, "especially not when my former warriors are here. If they happen to see him, then they will most likely suspect that I'm here as well." And that was something that he did not want to have happen. Of course, he did suppose that there was the chance that it would not disturb his cover. In fact, it might actually be able to be used to his advantage. Perhaps the bikers would suspect that he would be on the opposing side, and it would help to convince Colchis of that.
"Well, we need to try something," Chris replied, "and the longer we talk, the further away Colchis is getting."
Dartz sighed, knowing that his daughter was right. "Where is Alexander?" he asked, supposing that Chris would know. The girl was still close friends with the creature, and they often spent time together when Dartz was off trying to take care of business concerning his secret identity. He reminded Dartz of a proverb he had once read: "Simplicity of character is the natural product of profound thought." That truly described Alexander—and other children—perfectly. Alexander seemed so very simple at first glance, but there were so many layers and aspects of his personality that it was actually overwhelming.
Chris was about to reply when the doppelganger abruptly appeared in the room. "Hi!" Alexander exclaimed, smiling brightly and revealing his fanged canine teeth. His angel and demon wings protruded from his back, spread out as a sign of his bliss.
Dartz shook his head, still amazed by the child in the body of a twenty-year-old man. "I need you to do something for me, Alexander, and quickly," he said, and told of the need to follow Colchis. "He could be plotting some sort of uprising, and if so, I need to know about it." He narrowed his eyes sternly. "But you have to make certain that he doesn't know you're following him. He cannot see you come back here. Do you understand?"
Alexander nodded, blinking his ice-blue eyes at Dartz. "Okay!" he chirped in his soft voice. "I won't let you down." With that he went to the window, thrust it open, and jumped out. He did not even give a second thought to the request. He was simply ready and willing to fulfill it.
Dartz and Chris watched him as he spread his wings and soared through the sky. He was such a free spirit, unable to be contained. It was damaging to his soul for anyone to ever try to do so. And, Dartz realized to himself, he had never tried. He had always tried to give Alexander his freedom and only restricted him in cases where he was actually trying to help him, such as when he knew that if Alexander flew freely over Domino City in the daytime it would only cause a panic and be bad for the poor creature in the end.
"He'll be alright, Father," Chris said firmly, breaking into Dartz's thoughts.
"Of course," the turquoise-haired man replied as a breeze from the open window blew his bangs about. "I don't doubt his abilities. He can protect himself." He crossed his arms. Regardless of Alexander's skills in taking care of himself, Dartz still did feel apprehensive. He could sense that something was going to go wrong—and he wished he knew what it was.
Marik spent the better part of the afternoon with Kade, letting the child lead him around the castle and show him more of his favorite locations. Marik remembered many of them from his previous experience in Juno, and even though the situation was so vastly different now, he could not forget how it had been before.
There was the treasury, where he and his siblings had gone to retrieve the first part of the Talisman. He remembered that experience only too well. They had barely escaped being caught by an intruder who had also wanted the piece of the Talisman. The person had torn off part of the back of Ishizu's dress as they had fled out of a back exit.
There was the library, where he had gone at times to try to read about Juno and to understand what was happening. Rishid had taken him there sometimes, explaining to him what he had been told about his life and showing him books about the previous kings. Marik had been disgusted at the thought of Rishid being told that he was related to any of those wicked rulers. Later, after Ishizu had joined them, she had found some of the most informative books on Juno for them to study.
And of course there was the royal quarters. After Marik had been dragged into the palace, battered and bleeding, Rishid had remembered him in some part of his heart and had brought him to be laid in his own bed while the wounds were tended to. Marik still recalled waking up amongst the soft covers and realizing that Rishid himself was cleaning and bandaging the wounds, even though he was the ruling king and would certainly never be expected to do that. Marik had been so surprised and overjoyed. Rishid had treated him coldly then, but he had never meant to hurt his brother.
Kade stopped in front of Marik and looked up at him, beaming. "It's so much fun now that you're back again, Mr. Marik!" he declared. "I didn't really have anyone to play with before. Mommy's always really busy, and she gets those headaches too. . . ." He bit his lip and trailed off, worry for his mother obvious in his eyes.
Marik frowned in concern. "Do you remember when her headaches started, Kade?" he asked. A suspicion had started to form in his mind, but he was unsure of how possible it was.
Kade looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember. His young mind was not good with determining dates and measuring weeks, but he could do it by incidents. "I think it was right before the Talisman went away," he said at last. "It started acting mean, and then it went poof!" He demonstrated with his hands, and Marik watched in amusement.
"I see," the Egyptian said slowly. He wondered if it was possible that the Talisman itself had caused the headaches to begin. It certainly did not seem implausible, especially if they were going to consider that the object had vanished and had started deliberately causing all the trouble. Marik did not know what he thought, but it had been obvious that the device had been able to act for itself. What he did not understand was, Why would it turn against them now? It was supposed to have been created for good, and yet it behaved as if it was corrupted.
Abruptly the lights flickered and Marik frowned, looking up. "That's odd," he muttered.
Kade blinked up at the chandelier. "Maybe there's a storm outside," he suggested. "The sky always looks really dark, and sometimes we have really awful storms with hail and lightning!" Quickly he ran to the nearest window and looked out, then blinked in confusion. "Nope, no storm!" he announced as Marik walked over. "It's all cloudy and stuff, but it's all quiet."
Now Marik was even more suspicious. After all, surely all of the light bulbs wouldn't flicker at once—unless, perhaps, someone was tinkering with the fusebox. He wondered if someone could have somehow broken in.
Kade looked up at him, obviously not bothered by the strange occurrence. "What should we do now, Mr. Marik?" he chirped.
Marik smiled down at him. "Let's find your mother," he said calmly.
Kade nodded agreeably. "Okay," he grinned, hurrying back down the hall. Marik shook his head and followed him.
I hope I'm wrong, he said to himself as they turned the corner. If we have intruders, we don't even have an army to fight them. There's just us. Mokuba and Kade would certainly have to be kept somewhere safe, and Ishizu wouldn't really be useful in a physical fight.
This brought to mind recollections of Adelpha, who had led the rebel alliance when Rishid had ruled Juno as a figurehead, with Fafnir pulling the strings. She had formed an odd friendship with Ishizu, and even though they had been different in many ways, they had also had their similarities. They had both cared deeply about their siblings, and they had both strived to fight for righteousness. Marik still felt saddened to think of Adelpha being dead, but he supposed that he did not have a right to be. Now she was able to be with her family again.
He stopped short, coming back to the present as he heard Kade scream. Panic rising in his heart, he ran around the corner—and found himself staring down a silver blade. As he cast his gaze upward, he saw an unfamiliar, deeply scarred face looking back at him.
The face sneered. "What have we here," came a throaty voice. "One of Queen Sapphire's prized helpers?" The owner of the face and the voice touched the tip of the blade to Marik's neck. "I hate anyone associated with her."
Marik glared at him, feeling rage and anger boiling in his soul. "Where's Kade?" he demanded. "If you've done anything to him, I swear I'll . . ."
"You'll do what? Kill me?" The wicked man laughed. "Don't worry, Kade is fine. I just had one of my associates take him so that he wouldn't have to witness what we're about to do." He drew his sword back, as if intending to run Marik through. "After all, he's just a child and he shouldn't have to see such things. Don't you agree?"
Immediately Marik brought out the Millennium Rod, clanging it against the blade. "And what are you going to do?" He looked into the dark eyes searchingly, but saw only dark emotions to match. This was a man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Marik knew, for he recognized the emotions as being his own in times past.
"We," replied his attacker, leaning in close, "are going to overthrow the queen and set up a new monarchy." He grinned, and Marik almost gagged on his bad breath.
"Oh really?" the lavender-eyed boy snapped. "And who's going to be your ruler?"
"You'll find out," was the only answer he was given. The man advanced again as the lights flickered more violently and then went out.
Ishizu was standing on one of the highest levels of the castle, near a window, when she sensed that something was not right. Instantly she looked about, her blue eyes narrowed darkly. "Marik," she whispered, fearful for his safety, and Rishid's. She turned to go to the staircase, but then she felt a hand touch her back. She let out a small gasp.
A quiet, seductive laugh filled the room. "Now, now, Isis, don't run away." She recognized the evil voice of Colchis and felt her blood run cold. In the past he had often shadowed her, fascinated by her gift to tell the future and wanting to use it for his own purposes. He also seemed to have an unhealthy physical attraction to her, which highly disturbed her. She had hoped that she would never have to deal with him again. And yet, now here he was, behaving the same as he always had.
Of course, she would not let him know that she was apprehensive. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes perfectly calm and impassable. "I wasn't expecting that you would have the courage—or would that be, the audacity—to come back to the palace, Lord Colchis," she said, using the title "Lord" as a rebuke. "You realize, you are a wanted man."
Colchis took his hand off her shoulder and stepped around to face her, smirking wickedly. "Yes, I know," he replied, "but that won't matter now."
Ishizu frowned, studying him for any sort of clues as to what he could mean. "Why won't it?" she asked. "There are people here who would not hesitate to attack and even to kill you if they knew you had come back." Her words were not a falsehood. She was certain that the strange Volker, who had taken up residence in the palace by Sapphire's request, would be the type who would want to rid the world of such a tyrant in any way that he could. She could easily imagine him letting out a war cry and lunging at Colchis while firing his arrows.
Colchis just laughed. "They don't matter. They don't matter at all. You see, Isis, I have obtained knowledge of where the Talisman is." His eyes gleamed in an almost psychotic way, accentuated by a burst of lightning from outside the window. "Once I have that, then I can control life and death." He held his hand in front of him, the fingers extended and partially curled, as if reaching to grasp something.
Ishizu stepped back from him. "The Talisman's purpose is for good," she said quietly. "You cannot use it for evil, or you will suffer the consequences. It will destroy you!"
Colchis seemed to focus again, turning to look at her. A low chuckle rumbled in his throat. "The Talisman was created for evil," he answered. Ishizu was such a foolish, naive woman in his eyes, to believe that it could be otherwise. "It cannot go against its original purpose. Remember, the legend says that after Geates was betrayed, he forged the Talisman to wield his anger and hatred. Juno was tormented for many days and nights by it, until a great warrior arose and killed Geates and scattered the pieces of the Talisman." He smirked in a satisfied way. "What the legend probably didn't tell you is that the warrior was my brother, Fafnir."
Ishizu stared at him, stunned by this admission. But how could it be true? The legend had been circling for many centuries, according to the books she had read about the land. It was one of the most famous myths, retold time and again. Outside of gaining immortality, she did not see how Fafnir could have been the one to do as Colchis was claiming. And Fafnir could not have possessed immortality, for he had been killed during the last battle for Juno's freedom. Then his body had been torched on a funeral pyre so that there would not be any chance of his loyal followers trying to dig up the corpse to perform a dark ritual to revive him. Sapphire had told her this in secret the previous night, when she had been ill with her headache.
"And how could that have been possible?" she wanted to know now, watching the man suspiciously. "This legend is very old."
"So was Fafnir," Colchis said smoothly. From his eyes, Ishizu could see that some part of him admired, or at least respected, his older brother. "He knew exactly how to gain the people's trust, so he divided the pieces of the Talisman and bided his time until he was sufficiently powerful to be able to start retrieving him again." He turned to leave. "But I don't want to give everything away, so I won't tell you how he lived for so many years," he smirked. "The only other information I'll give you is that Fafnir was actually the man who betrayed Geates in the first place." Lightning flashed again, and in that split second, Colchis managed to escape.
Ishizu frowned darkly, looking to the area where the man had just been standing. She knew he must have vanished through one of the many secret panels that were spread throughout the palace, but she also knew it would be foolish to try to find it and follow him all on her own. She would find the others and inform them of what was going on.
Suddenly she recalled the premonition she had experienced right before Colchis had appeared. Perhaps that man was the least of their worries right at this moment. Marik could be in danger, and if he was in trouble, maybe everyone in the palace was as well. Feeling panic growing in her heart once again, Ishizu turned and hurried down the hall to the stairs, becoming aware of shouting and screaming coming from the lower levels. Something was, indeed, very wrong.
The palace was suffering a full-scale invasion. The rebel forces were everywhere, on nearly every level, and destruction and carnage followed them wherever they went. The queen's loyal servants were being easily felled, as they were not trained in combat and had not even been expecting something like this to happen. The guests, including Volker, were fighting the intruders to the best of their abilities, but were still being largely overpowered.
Ishizu ran through this scene of bloodshed, searching desperately for her brothers. Her heart raced every time she stumbled upon a fallen form, afraid that she would discover one of her loved ones—or one of the others who had come to Juno with them. When she did not find them, she would hope fervently for the best, praying for their safety as she sadly stepped over the broken bodies.
This was a nightmare! How had it happened so suddenly? It seemed to her as though the rebels had managed to slip in without any warning. Had she been so preoccupied with Colchis that she had not seen them through the window? Or had they already been in the palace then? Perhaps they had found a secret way in through one of the many tunnels. She and her brothers had escaped the palace from one such passageway, so that would make sense.
As she turned another corner, she found Valon running toward her. His eyes were flaming with outrage and his clothes were torn and bloodied, but whether it was his own blood or an opponent's, she could not say.
He slowed down when he saw her. "Where's Alister and Raph?" he demanded, not seeming to notice or care that his goggles were askew on his head. He had been taken completely by surprise, having been attacked by two rebels at once, and it had taken quite a bit of roughhousing before he had been able to defeat them. Now he was frantic to find his friends. They could be anywhere in the palace, perhaps being attacked, wounded . . . and killed. But no, he would not think about that. They could take care of themselves. They would still be alive. They had to be.
"I'm sorry," Ishizu told him softly, "I haven't seen them. Have you seen my brothers?" Quickly she stepped back as an arrow flew past and embedded itself in a pillar right next to where she had been standing. With a frown she turned to see who had fired, but there was too much chaos to be able to tell. She could only hope that Volker was not trying to shoot and discovering that he had a bad aim.
"Naw," Valon said, shaking his head as he also glared at the arrow. "Sorry." He looked at her, wanting to tell her that she should go somewhere away from the fighting, but he knew that she would not. Her determination to find Marik and Rishid was much too strong, and he could respect that. So instead he told her to be careful while she looked for them and that if he found them, he would inform them that Ishizu was looking for them. Then he ran past her and down the hall.
He had not gone far when a rumbling sound seemed to shake the entire floor, followed by a loud and cacophonous explosion. The floor erupted and Valon yelped as he was abruptly thrown through the air. He crashed down again, rolling over and over until he hit something hard and cold. Vaguely he registered that it was some sort of pillar, but he was too dazed to comprehend that he was now laying outside. His thoughts were in a jumble as he remembered the fighting, looking for his friends, and the explosion.
Are they blowing up the palace? he wondered, seeing several near-dead rose petals from one of the palace vases floating down over him. He wanted to get up, but his body did not seem to understand how to cooperate. Then he saw a spear flying towards him and everything went black.
A shadowy figure rode over the deadened plain on a brown horse. A cloak was tightly pulled over his shoulders and his golden eyes were grim. He snapped the reins to make the animal go faster, but he wondered if anything could get him there fast enough now.
Alexander had never returned from his venture in following Colchis. Whether this meant he had gotten in trouble or just that he was still shadowing the man, Dartz did not know. But he could see the fires from the palace, even all the way from his office window. It seemed that his suspicion about the rebels launching an attack had been proven true. Alexander could be at the palace, trying to protect Alister. Blast, that creature was so devoted to the gray-eyed man!
As he drew closer to the palace, he could see blood and bodies strewn about on the grass. The palace itself was at least half gone, due to what appeared to be an explosion. Pillars and walls lay in pieces on the ground, and the rest of the building was still in flames.
Slowly he climbed down from the horse, narrowing his eyes at the bloodshed before him. He kept the hood of the cloak pulled over far enough that his features were concealed, and walked forward. He tried to be careful to avoid stepping on the lifeless bodies, but it was proving difficult. Several times he nearly tripped and lost his balance, and would have to quickly catch himself before he would descend into the blood and gore.
It looked as though some of the rebels themselves had been killed in the explosion, and Dartz's eyes narrowed. So they did not care about keeping their own safe? They apparently were the type who would do anything to get what they wanted, and even though Dartz wanted to feel completely disgusted, he could not. His own crimes had been similar. He had to wonder if he had been any better at all than they.
A groan met his ears and he looked down to see Alister laying on his side in the grass. His crimson hair was ruffled and his eyes were closed, and Dartz determined that he was mostly unconscious. He leaned down, checking his former warrior's vital signs, and then straightened up. Alister did not appear to be badly hurt. More than likely, he was mainly stunned from being thrown due to the blast. He would recover.
As Dartz looked around again, he saw two of the remaining rebels lifting up a limp body. Not liking the looks of that, he walked over for a closer look. "What are you doing?" he asked, gazing to the form they were holding. Blood was everywhere and it looked as though the poor person was only barely alive, if that. What was more, the body was not that of any of the other rebels.
"Lord Colchis thought we should take a hostage," came the reply from the first, taller rebel. He stared Dartz down and then growled. "You weren't supposed to know about any of this," he said flatly, having recognized the Atlantean's voice.
"Excuse me for having noticed the palace in flames," Dartz answered sarcastically. "What are you going to do with this . . . hostage?"
The second rebel laughed darkly. "Stick with us, and you'll find out," he answered. Dartz was not pleased with that response.
