Tohru's Demons
Chapter Thirty-Three: It Was Fate
There was something disturbing about the Angel that did not step through a window from another sky but materialized out of nothing as if she were there all along. Something other than the fact that she looked like a winged child dressed for a christening holding a small white crossbow in her small babyish hands, or that the white braids hanging below her ears framed a face that wasn't there. Perhaps what Kyo didn't quite like was that she had no presence he could sense, not even when he was staring straight at her, as if she simply did not exist at all. But it was more likely because the moment he set eyes on her he suddenly felt vulnerable. Not physically, of course, but it was as if she was a destructive child and his mind was an open toy chest…
Kyo shook his head in disgust at himself, glaring up at the Angel. He was not about to be intimidated by some brat and her playthings, and definitely not when that brat looked like she was dressed for a Christmas play. To be sure, he'd seen far worse.
-youve looked worse- a small, strange voice giggled in his head, making his guts twist themselves into tiny knots. And then he jumped as a barrage of explosions bombarded his eardrums and he was engulfed in a thick fog of smoke. Coughing, he staggered back into a stunned Haru.
"Hey…" Kyo said in surprise, steadying himself against Haru's large black and white bovine body. "You transformed… But how…?"
"REN, MOVE!" Artemis suddenly shouted frantically, pushing past Kyo to seize a stunned Tohru by the waist and leap out of the way as a crossbow bolt buried itself in the ground where Tohru had been standing just a few seconds before.
"NOOO, ARTEMIS, YUKI'S—!!!" Tohru screamed. Kyo jerked back with a surprised cry when the Angel was abruptly at his side, crouching down in the grass to pick up something small and gray, and, for a moment, the world ground to a halt as his body went numb with the realization that the something was Yuki. And then the agonized cries began, cries that rapidly turned to a high pitched screaming as the Angel slowly pulled Yuki's limb from its socket.
Those screams pounded at Kyo's ears, and were drowned out by the screaming in Kyo's own head… the outraged screaming pain of a small red-haired, red-eyed boy warring against his own fate… driving him crazy…
It's his fault! It's all his fault my life is cursed! The Rat's dirty and sneaky and if it hadn't tricked the Cat, none of this would have happened!
It's his fault my life was worthless the day I was born! It's his fault everything I do is useless!!!
It's his fault for everything!!!
I hate him!!!
I hate him, and I'll kill him!!!
I'LL KILL HIM AND THEN I'LL KILL MY SELF!!!
IF I'M DEAD YOU'LL BE SATISFIED, RIGHT?!
YOU'LL BE SATISFIED THEN, RIGHT??!
-yes-
Kyo snapped back to reality and stared into the Angel's missing face, and in his mind's eye could see her smiling up at him with the sort of meaningless cruelty only children possessed.
-here- said the Angel, holding Yuki's limp form out to Kyo. –do you want to play too-
Something cold and dark settled in Kyo's mind. More than once he had imagined squishing that little rodent, pulling him apart limb by limb as she was doing, and just relishing in his pain…
-look its easy-
More than anything he had wished Yuki dead… Had imagined him dying thousands of different ways, over and over and over…
-come play with us kyo-
It was his fault! It was his fault! It was his fault Kyo's life had ended the day he was born, his fault the Cat was ostracized and despised and hurt, his fault Kyo was an outcast and a criminal for something he had no control over!
-come on kyo-
"Come on, Kyo!" called Tohru as she stretched out her hand for him…
But then… If Kyo could not help being born the Cat… that meant Yuki could not help being born the Rat…
-come on kyo-
…Wasn't it his fault…?
-come on kyo-
"STOPPIT, YOU BITCH!!!"
And Kyo could feel something breaking deep within the dark recesses of his mind as he slapped Yuki out of the Angel's hand, catching his small body before it hit the ground.
"Wake up, damn you!" Kyo snarled at the frighteningly lifeless body. Yuki slowly opened his eyes and stared uncomprehendingly up at him, trying to say something, before his lids closed again.
"Damn Rat, it's only your stupid arm! Don't pass out just because of that!" Kyo shouted angrily.
-give it back i want my toy give it back to me now- wailed the Angel's voice in his mind in an angry fit of temper as she grabbed for Yuki, her small hands clutching at his body possessively.
"GET AWAY!" Kyo roared, throwing her off and running, clasping Yuki to his chest.
"Kyo, this way!" called Tohru and Kyo skidded to a halt beside her.
"Here, take him," Kyo said, putting Yuki in her hands. "I'm going to kill that thing…!"
"Wait," Artemis said, putting a restraining hand on Kyo's chest as he moved towards the Angel. "I want you to stay here and protect Tohru and your cousins, as they seem incapable of combat at the moment." At this Artemis eyed the other Sohmas pointedly. It was then Kyo realized all of them, excluding Akito, had transformed.
"But… what happened? Nobody was hugged," Kyo protested, staring from one person, or animal, to the next in bewilderment. They stared back at him with much the same manner.
"We don't know," Hatori said from a tin cup of water Tohru had dropped him in. "I think it was something to do with the Angel."
"But why didn't I transform, then?" Kyo demanded. "It even touched me!"
"Can we ask questions later?!" Inu-Yasha snarled urgently.
"Right," said Artemis. "Kagome, Valery, I request that you stay with Kyo. Sango, Miroku, I need you to play decoys. Inu-Yasha, Koga, and Malacoda will assist me on offense. Questions? No? Then move!"
"No!" Kyo objected angrily. "I want to fight—!"
"You stay here with Kagome and watch Tohru's back! That's an order!" Artemis barked without a second glance at the boy as he leapt away, the other demons just a step behind.
"But…!" Kyo said furiously, and stopped short when he felt Tohru's hand on his arm.
"Kyo…" she whimpered, her voice small and shaking. "Please, help, it's… it's Yuki, he's…"
Kyo's eyes fell on Yuki in confusion, and knew immediately what was wrong. Perhaps it was the shock of having his arm almost ripped off, or maybe it was because the Angel had stopped just short of crushing his ribcage in her iron-like grip, but, whatever the reason, something had set off the weak bronchial tubes in his throat.
Yuki was having a massive respiratory attack, his breath coming in short ragged gasps, and Kyo was caught completely unawares when a strange feeling settled in his chest. Just a moment ago, perhaps it had been the influence of the Angel, he had wanted nothing more than the death of his most hated adversary, but now, watching Yuki fight to breathe, he dreaded it. He then recognized the feeling squeezing at his heart as helplessness that he could do nothing at all but watch, and wait, and hope Yuki could survive…
…
Hiro and Kisa settled themselves back on the couch and Hiro picked up the remote and pressed Play.
They found Artemis standing before the glass sphere, his head bowed and his eyes hidden beneath his bangs. He appeared to have found a set of clothes, though they were several sizes too large. The white button up shirt draped loosely from his shoulders, and his pants were so big he had to roll them up to his knees.
Tohru was motionless; her head slumped forward on her chest. Artemis did not move either for a long time, but he was shaking and his fists were clenched at his sides. And then suddenly his head snapped up, his eyes blazing rage, and he leapt into the sphere to stand just below Tohru and seized her by the front of her shirt, and screamed at the top of his lungs straight in her face, "WHAT-THE-HELL-DID-YOU-DO-TO-ME????!?!!!?!?"
Much to his chagrin, Tohru gave no sign she had heard him. Artemis let out a stream of furious curse words under his breath, wrapped his arms around her waist and wrenched her down, snapping the wires holding her up. His arms still clamped around her middle, he jumped to the floor, where he unceremoniously dumped her.
Tohru stirred faintly and opened her eyes.
"S-something…" she muttered hoarsely.
"GET UP." Artemis intoned dangerously, looming over her with an aura of doom.
"Something… Wh-what was it…?" Tohru murmured, pushing herself to her knees, shaking uncontrollably, and utterly ignoring the demon. At this, Artemis once again grabbed her front and jerked her up.
"WHAT. DID. YOU. DO. TO. ME?" He bit out in a strained voice through clenched teeth.
"Huh…?" Tohru asked, staring at him in bewilderment. Artemis let her go and waved a hand at his body.
"THIS, YOU STUPID, SNOT-NOSED BRAT!!! LOOK AT ME!!!"
Tohru looked at him.
"Ummm…" she said confusedly, unsure of what she was supposed to be looking for.
"I'M TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD, YOU IDIOT!!!" Artemis exploded. "I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE A TEN-YEAR-OLD!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO????!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!?"
"I…! I don't know…!" Tohru cried desperately, cringing away from him. "Who are you?"
Artemis stared at her for a moment, his dilated eyes wide and white with fury, and his chest heaved as he panted for breath. Then he stepped back and closed his eyes and attempted to relax a little. Then his eyes snapped open again and gave Tohru the iciest of glares, and she braced herself for another screaming tirade.
"Are you telling me…" Artemis said in a very quiet voice that was somehow much more frightening than any amount of yelling would have been. "That you don't know anything about what happened?"
"Y-yes…" Tohru gasped. "I… I can't … remember anything. Not anything. It's… it's just gone, I can't remember my name…"
She stopped. I don't know my name… the thought drifted through her mind and lodged itself in deep. And with it she found the yawning hole in her mind, just beneath her thoughts into which all memories of her self had fallen.
"Alright, alright," Artemis was saying. "It's no reason to have a meltdown."
"But who am I?" Tohru cried, her voice taking on a hysterical edge.
"Who cares?" Artemis replied scathingly. Tohru looked at him for a moment, blinking back tears, and then dropped her eyes to the ground, her thin frame shaking.
"Damn it, don't cry!" Artemis burst out, a look of panic in his eyes. Tohru's head snapped up, her blue eyes burning fury and bright with unshed tears.
"I'll cry if I want to!" she shouted at him angrily, squaring her shoulders with her fists straight at her sides and her feet spread. Artemis actually almost took a small step back, but caught himself and stepped forward instead, trying to glare her down and intimidate her with size. Once he'd done this, however, he realized it was a mistake. Tohru was about an inch taller than he was. For a moment he'd forgotten he was no longer in his twenty-eight year old body, but in the body of a scrawny, and rather short, ten-year-old.
Artemis's scowl deepened considerably. He opened his mouth, about to lash out with some vicious retort, and then froze. His wolf ears twitched, listening, and caught Tohru's attention. She stared at them in dumbfounded bewilderment for a few tense seconds, watching them flip back and forth, her eyes trying to tell her brain what they were, but her brain seemed incapable of comprehending, so it just told her eyes that they were seeing things that simply were not there. But her eyes persisted, insisting that they were right, and eventually, her brain finally got it and reluctantly agreed.
But she had to make sure, anyway. Without a moment's hesitation, she reached up, grasped both ears in her fingers and gave them a good yank.
"OUCH!" Artemis cried, more in indignant outrage than in actual pain, and clapped his hands over his ears. "Don't touch them!"
Tohru barely heard him. She'd just noticed that his fingernails were sharp like claws.
"Sorry…" she muttered half-consciously as she reached out and touched one of his hands. Artemis snatched it away and retreated.
"Quit touching me, damn it!" he snarled, the blood rushing to his cheeks, his ears flattened against his skull.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it…!" Tohru replied, her eyes wide. "Are… are they real?" she asked, breathlessly. Artemis let out a snort.
"Of course, idiot," he answered, more unsettled than annoyed. "What, did you think I had time to glue them on before you summoned me here?"
A look of confusion passed over Tohru's face, and she opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about, but at that moment precisely he suddenly grabbed her and threw her bodily and unceremoniously into a dark corner behind the strange machine, in which Tohru had been released.
"What are you—?!" Tohru started angrily, but Artemis clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Be quiet, someone's coming," he murmured. Tohru stopped trying to shake him off and paused to listen, and after a few seconds, she heard footsteps approaching. Her first instinct was to bite Artemis's hand and shout for help, but something written on the side of the machine caught her eye.
It read:
The Hellena Device
For whatever reason Tohru couldn't fathom, the sight of those words made her skin crawl and her stomach twists itself into myriad of hard knots.
Tohru stayed very still and quiet, waiting breathlessly as the footsteps approached, passed, and faded away. Artemis relaxed his grip and stood up, pulling Tohru up with him.
Then he thrust his hand down the front of her shirt.
Tohru let out a yelp, and shrieked, "JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" before she slapped him across the face as hard as she could.
"OUCH! No, I was just looking for your identification!" Artemis cried as she raised her hand to hit him again.
"Well you didn't have to reach down my shirt, you could've told me, you sick pervert!"
"Excuse me?!" Artemis snarled. "Tell me how I can be a pervert when there's nothing down there to feel up in the first place?!"
Tohru glared daggers at him, but chose not to respond. Instead, she reached into her shirt and pulled out a small metal dog tag on a chain around her neck, on which the words "REN PTOLEMY, #34586, RAHALLION" were imprinted.
"What is this…?" Tohru murmured, more to herself than to Artemis.
"What, can't you read?" he replied derisively.
"I can read!" Tohru snapped back. "But what does it mean?"
Artemis took the tags in his hand and looked them over briefly. "The first two words make up your name," he said. "The number is your identification number, and also delineates you as the 34,586th Companion, and the last word is the name of your familiar."
Tohru, or rather Ren at this point, stared blankly at Artemis in utter confusion.
"What?" she asked. Artemis sighed in aggravation.
"Look, I don't have time to explain all that to a brat. Now I need to get out of here, and you're going to help me."
"What?!" Ren yelped.
"The Angels will figure out what happened sooner or later and will be coming to investigate, and I don't want to be here when they come. Neither do you, for that matter. Particularly," Artemis's eyes looked over her shoulder at something, "when there's blood everywhere."
"Blood…?" Ren asked, turning to see what he was talking about, and then saw, quite clearly, what.
"What did you do?" she asked, her voice suddenly strained and hushed.
"When you summoned me, I used the transmutation spell those two men used to create your familiar to deconstruct their bodies and reconstruct them into my body. What I didn't need," Artemis cast another brief glance at the sea of blood, "I discarded. I'd explain the physics of it, but we're running out of time, and I doubt you'd understand anyway."
Ren gazed at the demon with a mixture of shock and horror. Her eyes glanced back at the dark mess—there were chunks of what looked like pinkish globs, undoubtedly bits of flesh, swimming half-submerged in the pool—and felt like she was going to be sick.
A monster of revulsion and loathing and guilt was stirring in her stomach and began to howl as it attempted to claw its way to her heart. She forced it back and chained it down and kept a tight grip on its scruff, because if it got loose it would tear her apart. It raged and thrashed but she held on tighter and ignored it.
But she could not ignore its bloodthirsty wails that reverberated through her mind.
"…It's your fault… it's your fault… You summoned the demon, if he kills it's all your fault…"
Suddenly, something entirely different, but not unfamiliar, awoke in her mind and the kicking monster in her gut hunkered down at once and shut up, only occasionally whimpering fearfully to itself in the dark.
Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, or are you going to let me out of this damned cage? a sharp voice demanded clearly.
"What?" Ren gasped, and looked about in surprise.
"I'm not repeating myself," Artemis snapped. "We're leaving now."
"No, wait… I heard a voice."
Artemis lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "I didn't."
Fool. Of course you didn't, the voice snorted scathingly.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear that," Ren said.
No, he didn't. Now will you please hurry up and let me out? the voice continued with an edge of eager urgency, drowning out whatever reply Artemis had given. Ren was beginning to panic as she stared about in confusion, and wondered if she was going crazy.
Dammit… the voice muttered, and then a shrill whistling cry rent the air. Artemis's ears perked forward and he whirled towards the Hellena Device.
"Oh…" he murmured, and then looked back at Ren with a strange, unreadable expression. "…You can understand your familiar."
Hiro and Kisa's eyes widened as they realized what Artemis had just said, and they glanced at one another wordlessly, realizing who had been the third speaker.
"Wha…?" Ren started, but Artemis waved her off.
"Get him out," he said, indicating the Hellena Device with a vague gesture. "And hurry, we're running out of time."
Ren hesitated in confusion and then haltingly made her way towards the Hellena Device, unsure of what she was expected to do.
And then she saw it. A small glass cage set with steel bars set in the middle of a large, intricate design etched into the floor below the shattered glass sphere, and within it… a pair of blood red eyes glinted out at her from the dark.
Ren, half-knelt by the cage, froze at the sight of those eyes and immediately felt like she was drowning, she couldn't breathe…
Hurry, hissed the voice. Hurry, hurry, hurry… let me out… LET ME OUT OF HERE…
Ren trembled. Her fingers were mere inches from the latch, but she didn't open the door. For a brief moment she felt as if she were teetering on the brink of a huge chasm, and if she opened that door… it would swallow her whole.
"HURRY UP!!!!" Artemis bellowed.
And quit panicking, stupid! the voice added snappishly. It's not a chasm, it's just the gaping void in your mind where your subconscious used to be.
"My subconscious…?"
That's me. Now, OPEN THE FRIGGIN' DOOR AND LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!!
Ren jumped from the force that voice carried, and without any more delay, wrenched the door open. The thing inside surged forward, a monster of claws and teeth and glowing red eyes, and—
Collapsed into her lap.
Slowly, Ren's wide, fearful eyes softened to those of pity as she put her hands on the creature's back and ran her fingers over his sunken eyes, along his feathered wings, the ridges of his spine, his protruding ribs and pelvis…
Ren's mind was clouding over with fury. If what he said was true, then this creature was a part of her. And they were starving him…
How dare they treat a defenseless creature like that? Ren thought indignantly. Not to mention that he was hers.
Don't look too much into this… the creature informed her icily, but he did not object to her caress. Though, he may have been to emaciated and weak to do much about it anyway. Now, let me formally introduce myself. The name's Raha. I am not a "creature", I'm your familiar, and I don't like being touched there. Remove your hand or I'll remove it for you.
Ren quickly snatched her hand back from his flank.
"S-sorry…" she stammered. "I didn't mean to be rude… B-but I never called you a…"
I can read your thoughts. I am part of your mind, after all.
"Will you stop playing with it so we can go?!" Artemis demanded furiously.
Pick me up. Raha ordered flatly. The fool's right. We need to get moving.
Ren gingerly picked up her familiar and hurried over the Artemis, in somewhat of a daze.
"Stay close, we're going to make a run for it," Artemis murmured, cracking open the door and glancing right and left down the hall. And then—
"Let's go!" he yelled, seized her hand, and they tore out into the hall at full speed, their bare feet hitting the cold tiled floor.
Almost at once, they rounded a corner and practically slammed into two armored men. They whipped about, the muzzles of their guns coming up to point at Artemis's chest, and he shoved Ren to the floor, and—
Suddenly he was not there anymore. The men jerked back, looking about in alarm and confusion, but failed to see the demon in time as he tore down at them from above and smashed his elbow into one man's head, snapping his spinal chord. Artemis's foot went through the other man's teeth into his mouth. The man fell backwards with a strangled, gurgling cry as blood ran down his chin.
Artemis grabbed the man's gun and yanked off his gun belt, making sure the weapon was loaded, cocked, and that there were extra magazines.
"Get up," he ordered, shifting the gun to his shoulder and grabbing Ren's wrist with his free hand and all but jerked her to her feet, which she'd just barely gained before they dashed past the two men lying prone on the floor. The monster of guilt and repulsion began to stand up again as the men's eyes, glazed over with pain, flashed past her vision, and it opened its jaws to feed…
There's no time for your sentimentality! Raha snarled, and the monster sank back down with a reluctant grumble. It was hungry, but it would wait.
An alarm sounded. Its long, keening wail rose and fell like that of some tormented animal, and Ren could hear running footsteps in the floor above them.
"Damn…!" Artemis cursed, glancing up at the ceiling. "I'd hoped we would have more time!"
"Where are we going?" Ren cried over the resounding noise of the alarm.
"You'll see!" Artemis shouted. "Just keep running!"
Ren kept running; she had no choice. Artemis took her down corridors, around corners, up stairs. Several times, they heard footsteps ahead and Artemis backtracked, and once they crouched in the shadow of a doorway while a troop of armored men rushed past.
Finally, they came to a large steel door that Artemis could only force open just enough to allow Ren and himself to slip through before it slammed shut once more. The second Ren stepped through the door she was struck by a powerful blast of wind and reeled back into Artemis.
"Careful," he said, shoving her back on her feet. Ren barely heard him as she stared about in incredulous awe. They were outside on a narrow stairway that wound up what appeared to be a cliff, and below them, a few feet from her toes, there was nothing but sky and clouds.
Artemis gave her a small push and she moved ahead of him up the stairs, staying very close to the wall, her eyes on her feet. And then the stairs ended and she looked up.
The place was enormous, so much that no less than ten cathedrals could have stood comfortably in the center. It was circular, with no walls or ceiling, just four gigantic stone pillars set facing all directions, north, south, east, and west. A stone ring ran across the tops of the pillars, connecting them.
And strewn across the floor was every flying device know to man: towering zeppelins, hot air balloons, planes, even a few crude helicopters, and several strange winged metal devices Ren could not begin to understand.
But the most incredible things of all were the clouds. They moved slowly and gently over, around, under, and through the platform Ren was standing on, and all around them the vast expanse of deep azure stretched out in every direction. This place, Ren realized, was floating.
"What is this…?" Ren whispered.
"It's the hangar," Artemis replied with a shrug as he made his way towards one of the strange metal contraptions, the one with the cannon on top.
"That's not what I meant," Ren said, a little exasperatedly. "Where are we? Where is this?"
"Look I don't have time for—" Artemis was replying snappishly, and then stopped, his body stiffening. And then something quite unexpected happened. Artemis wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her close, and then she felt something cold press against her temple, and realized with a jolt it was the muzzle of Artemis's gun.
"Don't come any closer!" Artemis roared.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Ren cried, her voice shrill with fear. She could see blood in her mind's eye, and the faces of those two armored men lying breathless in the brightly lit hallway. Artemis ignored her.
"I mean it!" he shouted, his voice fierce and furious. "Any closer and I'll blow her brains across the floor, I swear to the Angel of Death I will!"
It was then Ren noticed the figures standing in the shadow of the towering pillars, their faces obscured. They had Artemis and her surrounded.
But wait… Ren thought, her mind a maelstrom of erratic bewilderment. There's something wrong with them… They can't… they can't possibly be human…
Not anymore, Raha said quietly, his statement accompanied by a tide of fury and disgust.
"I'm warning you!" Artemis barked dangerously. "Get out, or she dies right here!"
The figures hesitated and then, slowly, began to step forward. Ren opened her mouth in surprise and it felt like her heart was thudding in her throat.
"This girl can speak with her familiar!" Artemis shouted. The figures stopped in their tracks, just beyond the light, and glanced uneasily at one another. "If you don't want me to blow a hole through her head, then get out!"
The figures paused and stood completely still, their heads slightly cocked as if they were listening to something. And then, one by one, they turned and—Ren couldn't believe what she was seeing—stepped off the platform and disappeared.
Artemis released his arm and turned his back, occupying himself with the aircraft. Ren stood motionless and waited for her breathing to calm down, for her fear to replace itself with fury.
That did not take long.
Balling her fists, she whirled on Artemis and glared at his back.
"You—" she started angrily, but Artemis cut her off.
"I'm not going to apologize," he said curtly. He glanced at her over his shoulder, and, perhaps it was just Ren's imagination, but his tone seemed softer. "Trust me. If I hadn't… you would have gone through something much worse than a gun to your head. And…" his voice was very quiet now, "…I don't want to die again."
And for a moment, Ren caught a glimpse of profound sadness lying just beyond those cold, metallic eyes, and, despite herself, she felt a wave of sympathy for him. And then the sadness was beaten down and locked away, and a look of cussed fury replaced it.
Suddenly, Artemis turned and in one swift strike, smashed the lock sealing the aircraft's hatch, wrenched it open and pulled down a small stepladder.
"Get in," he ordered, looking at Ren.
"What?" Ren asked, surprised.
"I said, get in. You're driving."
"What?!" Ren yelped, taking several steps back this time. "What are you saying?! I can't drive something like that! No, I can't drive, period!"
Suddenly Artemis's nose was mere inches from her face. He'd moved so fast it looked like he'd teleported.
"Get in, or I'll leave you here," he growled. "But are you sure you want to find out what else they'll do to you?"
Ren hesitated. Her mind went back to the Hellena Device and the horrible, jolting feeling it gave her. She remembered with unease the strange, inhuman figures that had stepped off the platform into nothing. She was aware of the gaping loss of her memories, and of the piece of her mind now lying in a decimated body in her arms.
But Artemis… he was a murderer… who could say he would not kill her, too, in the end?
He won't, trust me, said Raha. Now get in there.
Without another word, Ren scrambled up the ladder, plopped down in the pilot's seat, and stared at the endless buttons in front of her in blank silence.
Artemis reached over her and hit a few keys and flipped switches and suddenly Ren could feel the aircraft rumble to life through the bottom of her seat.
"Here, take these," Artemis said, indicating two joysticks on either side of her seat as she strapped herself in. Ren took hold of the joysticks.
"How do I…?" she began, but Artemis cut her off impatiently.
"Pull those in the direction you want to go, up to gain altitude, down to descend. Got that?"
Ren nodded wordlessly as she listened to her heart hammering in her ears. Th-thum… th-thump… th-thump…
"Right. Wait until I tell you to go."
Artemis stepped back and jumped into the tiny compartment above Ren's head, where he could operate the cannon.
"Ready!" he called.
Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump, th-thump…
"Steady!"
Th-thumpth-thumpth-thumpth-thumpth-thump…!
"GO!"
Ren thrust the joysticks forward with all her might and the aircraft surged ahead, thundering and shuddering. She could see the edge of the platform coming, it was only a few meters away, and beyond there was nothing between her and the ground far below…
And then the horizon tilted and Ren felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as her heart leapt to her throat and it felt like the entire world had flipped on its axis as the aircraft dropped off the platform and fell into the sky.
To be continued…
Disclaimer: I have never owned Inu-Yasha, Fruits Basket, or anything I even remotely alluded to. Which is practically nothing in this chapter.
YYYYYEEESSSS!!!!!!!! Finally, chapter thirty-three is finished!!!! I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry for the incredibly and excruciatingly long delay!!!! There really is no excuse (except getting into college and the fact that I really wanted to get the first chapter of the original novel posted on fictionpress) so please, I beg of you, forgive me!
Alright, now that adamant apologies are out of the way, Guardian Reign99 you asked me if I got the idea for the story from nadeshiko-archer. First of all, WHHHAAAAATTTT?!?!?!?!?! I certainly hope not! I did try to make this as outrageously original as possible… And I went looking for this nadeshiko, but couldn't find the story, so I can't make absolutely sure… What's her (is it a her?) story about, and exactly how similar is it? Ominous voice…Was it realeased after mine?
Okay, I'm cool, I'm cool…
Now, I believe I confused some people with the Inu-Yasha thing, where Kagome was having her meltdown. You know, when she's talking about what happened when she and Inu-Yasha met the Angel? I pretty sure, though I could be wrong, that what was confusing was the italicized dialogue inserted into her crazy breakdown sob story. The italics are in the past and are what she'd said to Inu-Yasha when she and him first fought an Angel. That Angel had been messing around a lot in poor dog-boy's head and drove him crazy so much he tried to beat the living bajeesus out of her, although she definitely wasn't helping the matter. As usual. And the "kagome… kagome… please stop…" thing was pretty much Inu-Yasha begging her to stop.
Also, purtymanagirl58, you said Artemis would not say so easily that he had no feelings for Tohru (or Ren, whichever you prefer, it doesn't really matter at this point anyway). My answer to that: HE'D JUST KISSED HER! I'd think that would have helped him out a lot. Plus, he's the type that is in complete denial of his true feelings, and is the type that believes the more he says it, the more it makes it true. Even it hurts him.
Inuficcrzy, I'll take it you're referring to the part about Inu-boy's Tetsusaiga (I know, it could be spelled Tessaiga, but I think Tetsusaiga looks prettier) being some sort of phallic metaphor. Although I would love to take all the credit, I have to admit the basis for that would be from another fanfic called One Tenth of a Picture by Kristine Batey, when Hojo (I don't care how you spell it) is asking Kagome about Inu-Yasha's sword and gets all… excited about it. Come on, we all know Hojo is gay, gay, gay, gay, gay! Anyway, it's quite funny. I suggest you all read it.
Kitsunedemon, you're forgiven. Really, you don't gotta go all Ritsu on me, now. I'm usually the one that does that!
Also, YES I AM SO TOTALLY GOING INTO CHOBITS!!!!! I got like a thousand people asking me… Jeez, people must really like it… And yet, I saw no one dressed as Chi or Freya or anyone at Ushicon…
Ushicon… USHICON OH MY GOD USHICON IS THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER TO EXIST IN THE ENTIRE UUUNNNIIVVVEEERRRSSSSSE!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, it was my first anime convention EVER and it so, so COOOOOOLLLLL I cried! I am so going back as White Mage next year, I can hardly friggin' wait! Yes, I've been reading an extensive amount of 8-bit theatre, so…
Oh, 8-Bit Theatre, go to www . nuklearpower . com. It's the best web comic EVER. 'Specially if you're into RPG games and such.
Well, I think that's all for now. Phew! I promise, I'll try to update soon, and please forgive any mistakes. I'm way too lazy to go back and find them.
Exit, stage right!
-Raha-
