New Blood
by Saber Alexander McConnell
Rated PG13

CHAPTER 30: Recovery

Cold. That was the only thing in Nohano's mind, the only thing he could remember. Cold...he remembered pain, but the cold was the most important thing. The cold numbed his body, slowed his mind, made his limbs clumsy. He remembered falling, remembered half-conscious sensations of damp, frigid snow, of the horrid chill sinking slowly into his muscles. He couldn't move, couldn't summon enough consciousness to get out of the snow, and the energy of his armor was fading...

The warmth puzzled him as he began to wake, his surroundings coming into focus bit by bit. The warmth was first, radiating in front of him, thawing his shivering body. The exhaustion was next, so profound that even lying still almost seemed unbearably taxing. Voices came to him next, familiar voices, talking of the Nether Realm and of Talpa.

Rashida's voice suddenly spoke as sight and sound began more rapidly to become clear to Nohano. "He's waking."

Finally, Nohano could open his eyes, blinking in the bright lights, looking down in confusion at the blanket that was wrapped around his body. "Huh?" he managed to articulate.

"Easy," said Rashida, kneeling down beside the strange cot Nohano lay in. She lay a hand on his chest, telling him to hold still for a moment. He did, bewildered, until she took her hand away and smiled. "No more injuries," she said to him. "I had worried I might have missed something. How do you feel?"

"Cold." Nohano didn't want to try and puzzle things out just yet. He just wanted to find the heat source and crawl into it. It turned out to be an industrial-sized oven, which only added to Nohano's confusion, but he didn't much care. Shaking, he crawled from his cot onto the open door of the oven, creeping inside and curling up. He felt only a moment of searing heat before his riot gear coalesced automatically around him, converting the dangerous heat into energy and comfort.

Nohano noticed distractedly that four of his friends were in the room, a kitchen of some sort, and that they all looked rather taken aback. Nohano closed his eyes and sighed as his shivering abated almost immediately, and the warmest contentment settled over him.

The surprise left Rashida's face then, and she gazed down at him with amusement etched into her face. "Better?"

Nohano nodded, lying his head down onto his bent arm. He knew he must look absolutely insane, curled up in an oven, but he didn't care. "What happened?" he finally asked, as Rashida sat down in an uncomfortable looking chair.

"Wow," said Xander, barking a stressed-sounding laugh. "That's a hell of a question. Better hold onto your hair for this one."

'Damn,' Nohano thought. That wasn't an encouraging answer.

And so the story was told. Nohano learned of how Xan had fought with Tai Shuang, and of how Amaya had escaped her two attackers by discovering a powerful gift of her armor; teleportation. She told of how Yasuo's presence in her mind had guided her to it, and of how she had found Xan, helping him back to San Francisco.

He learned of Suisei's fight with Venom—Sekhmet—and how he'd managed to defeat him with a lucky arrow shock wave strike. Rashida related her adventure in the labyrinthine caves, and the healing ability she had discovered, and of how Amaya had gone after Nohano, bringing him back nearly dead.

Suisei saved you, she said. He seems to be able to bring someone back from the brink of death.

Learning he had nearly died was unnerving, to say the least. Beginning to shake again, he looked out at Suisei, who was smiling at Nohano in a fond sort of way. Nohano didn't know how to put into words his gratitude, staring at Suisei for several moments before using the link: Thanks, Comet. The words were simple and inadequate, but the gratitude Nohano sent through the link was great, as great as Nohano could make it.

It seemed to have worked. Suisei came over and put a hand on Nohano's shoulder (only briefly; his riot gear was searing hot), and replied, Anytime, little brother.

"Little brother" sounded very odd to Nohano, who'd never had any siblings except for a few foster brothers, and he'd not grown close to any of them. It was sudden, too, coming from Suisei, and he had the feeling that a whole lot had happened among his four friends during his absence. "And this place?"

"A public shelter," said Suisei. "There wasn't anyone here, but it seems to be beyond the influence of the Dynasty. The electrical stuff works, anyway. It's as safe a place as we could find."

Nohano suddenly frowned. "Where're the others?" Certainly if Nohano managed to win his fight, the others would have, easily, wouldn't they? Nohano certainly wasn't the best fighter among them!

No one smiled, then, and no one answered for a few moments. Amaya sighed quietly. "We think the Dynasty has them."

"What?" Nohano exclaimed. He lurched up, cracking his head into the ceiling of the oven, and yelling in pain. He cursed at it, climbing out and rubbing his head. Rashida winced and motioned him to sit down, but he was having none of it. "The Dynasty! How? Why do you think they---how do you know?"

"We don't," said Suisei. "But wherever they are, Amaya couldn't get to them. They can't possibly be on Earth still."

Nohano's knees suddenly felt shaky, and he sat down hard on his cot, wincing at the smell of half-melted vinyl. He stood quickly, stumbling over to the oven and sitting on the stone floor in front of it. He listened to what had happened when Amaya tried to teleport to Killian, Demetrius, and Tarun, how it had physically blocked her, sending her violently back.

"I am certain they're alive," said Amaya finally.

"They'd better be alive!" Nohano snarled. "We've got to go after them—and woe to any jerk that tries to stop me!"

Amaya sighed again, and Rashida shook her head. "We cannot, yet, Nohano." When Nohano opened his mouth to voice a furious protest, Rashida held up a hand, switching to mind speech. We don't even know how to get to the Dynasty. Amaya had information we can use at our house. We must find a way there—and you must recover—before we can launch an assault.

Nohano stared, unable to believe it. It wasn't what he wanted to hear; he wanted to charge in there, now, he wanted to pound those rotten, loathsome, wretched jerk-offs into the ground! "Are you insane? We can't just—just leave them there! What if they've been hurt? What if Talpa kills them? What if--"

"Nohano, think!" Amaya hissed, impatience and urgency both in her tone. "You can barely stand, you wouldn't stand a chance!"

Anger flared at the girl's words, true as they might be, but Nohano didn't get a chance to reply. Suisei suddenly knelt in front of him, one hand on Nohano's head, looking at him with nothing but concern on his face. "Easy, little brother. We will get them out. They've got Tarun, remember? There's no way I would ever, ever leave him any longer than I absolutely had to."

Nohano blinked; it was easy to forget things like that sometimes in the blazing sheet of anger. But it went against everything at Nohano's core not to leave right that very minute to rescue.

He didn't answer them, sitting on the stone floor with his fists clenched, wanting so badly to argue, and knowing he could not. Eventually—far longer than it would have been if Killian had been there—Nohano did calm enough to listen to reason; they were right, and he knew they were, no matter how much he hated it.

"Okay," he said finally, his voice soft and unhappy. "Okay. Just...just tell me what we gotta do."

First on the list was to retrieve Amaya's belongings. The apartment was halfway across the city from the shelter, and they obviously couldn't use any motor vehicles, which meant they'd have to go there on foot. "It will take half the day," she grouched.

I don't see any alternative, said Rashida. We can get your things and be back by nightfall, and plan from there.

"Yes," sighed Amaya. "I know. But I do not like it much."

"There'll probably be a metric ass ton of those Dynasty soldiers, too," said Xander. "We'll have to avoid the jerks. We don't have time for a bunch of fights."

"Metric--" said Rashida, breaking off into a laugh, and even Nohano had to blink at that one. "The more interesting English words I hear from you."

Xan snorted, looking amused. "Yeah, I'm a font of crude terminology," he agreed.

"Nohano, I think you should stay behind for this," said Suisei cautiously. Nohano turned on him, his smile fading, indignation heating his face. "I know...I know," said Suisei. "I wouldn't be too thrilled, either. But you'll want to be in the best condition possible to fight the Dynasty when the time comes. You nearly died today, my friend. And you're suffering from a severe bout of hypothermia according to Rashida. And blood loss...look at you, you're shivering again."

Nohano looked down at himself and bit his lip, feeling suddenly feeble. How pathetic could he get? He suddenly felt the urge to cry, though he wasn't sure why. He never really stopped to think about the fear, or the pressure, or the other million things that seemed to come with being a warrior. But he felt the effects, even if he couldn't identify them.

"This is a no-brainer mission anyway," said Xander. "You wouldn't be missing much. You can warm up like the insane lava lizard you are--"

Nohano burst into a surprised guffaw, putting his forehead down on his knees. Xander was right, really. He was insane—he felt it—and the whole world had gone insane, too. He took a big breath and looked up, sighing, but capitulating. He still didn't like it. He wasn't someone who could just...stand by and let someone else put themselves in danger. He didn't like hiding out and waiting to hear what happened. Even if it was a "no brainer".

"Next, we will need to find a computer," said Amaya.

"Our apartment's not too far from yours," said Suisei. "If...if it's not wrecked, we can get my laptop. If not, I'm sure there are some computers down here. Why do you need one?"

"Well, I have papers of my information. But there is more to be found on the Internet. And...and I will try and contact my family, in Japan."

Nohano blinked, staring for a moment, as Amaya talked about contacting her family. Was that even possible? In the middle of the destruction and the desertion of the city, it was almost impossible to imagine there were people all over the world living their lives like they always had. Maybe they weren't as isolated as they had thought!

"Then what?" asked Xan.

"Then we find out how we get to the Nether World," said Nohano, climbing back into the oven. "That's what you said it was called, right, Amaya?"

"Yes. Nether World, it is Arago's domain."

"Right. We'll need to pack provisions, I guess. How long does it take to get there?"

Amaya shook her head darkly. "I do not know. Most of the legend is shrouded in mystery, though I do have stories from my great grandfather. He got into the Nether Realm once, but I never thought I would have to do so. But...but if we can contact my grandmother, she may know more."

"Sure wish your great-grandfather was alive," Xan muttered. "We greenhorns could use the help from someone who knows what he's doing!"

Everyone laughed a little in appreciation. "All right, then," said Suisei. "We should leave now. Nohano, we'll keep in contact through the mind link as much s we can—it'll be a good test as to just how far it goes, at any rate. We'll be back before sundown."

"Yeah, we hope," said Xan, and Suisei shot him a look.

Nohano watched them stand, feeling very unhappy. "Well, be careful," he said, trying not to sound too sulky. "Kick someone's ass for me on the way, huh?"

"Damn straight," said Xan with a crooked grin. "I'm all for that. Just wait for one of those jerks to start something with me."

"Just so long as the warlords don't come after us," said Suisei. "We'll be fine."

"Oh, great," said Xan. "Just jinx us, will you?"

"Just call me Jinx Kyoto," agreed Suisei cheerfully.

Nohano knew what was behind the levity; they were just as scared as he was. He watched them all leave, saying goodbye to him each in their own way—a casual wave from Xander, a slight bow from Amaya, and an almost hand on the shoulder from Suisei. I think I'd rather not burn my hand off, he chuckled through the link. Nohano smiled a bit, and when Rashida had told him to rest or face her wrath when she returned, Nohano was alone.

He fought a moment of panic once he heard the heavy doors above the facility bang shut. Feeling suddenly vulnerable, he crept out of the oven, turned it off, and climbed the stairs to latch the door shut, mentally telling the others he'd done so. Let me know when you're close, he said, and I'll unlock it.

'Rashida was right,' Nohano thought irritably, sitting down near the closed door. Weariness tugged at him from climbing the eight-zillion stairs that led to the doors. 'I'm in no condition to fight.' He frowned at the stairs, and then looked at the ramp that he assumed was for wheelchair use. He wished suddenly that he had a skateboard or rollerblades—that would make getting down far easier! As it was, he had to walk.

Nohano found he hadn't the energy to think about the Dynasty's realm just then, no matter how great his worry. He knew so little about the place that it wouldn't do him any good, anyway. He hoped the others were able to find Amaya's notes so they'd at least have something to go off of. He crept into a cot and surrounded himself with three blankets.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He was wakened several hours later by a sudden mental shout. He sat bolt upright, his heart suddenly pounding, and "listened" for what was happening. Amaya?

Soldiers! came the blunt reply. She sounded furious, and Nohano suddenly almost felt sorry for the soldiers. Amaya angry was a frightening thing!

We're all right, said Suisei a few minutes later, as Nohano sat, listening and worrying. They caught us by surprise, but we took care of them. The good news is that we've gotten to Rashida and Demetrius and Amaya's apartment. It's mostly intact, though there's no one still here. But we're gonna grab some belongings.

Okay, cool, said Nohano, lying back with relief. Damned soldiers. No warlord sightings, I take it?

Suisei's mental voice chuckled. Nope. None yet, anyway. You know, I wonder how they know to find us.

Beats me, said Nohano. Maybe we'll find out.

Nohano's stomach rumbled suddenly with hunger, and he realized he had not eaten in a very long time. He went back into the kitchen, searching the entire chamber until he found the food stores. Pleased, he snagged a hunk of meat from the cryo-storage bins, some canned vegetables, and a can of fruit. He fixed himself a large lunch and ate until he felt full.

The food gave him a brief surge of energy, and he decided he wanted to check out the facility. It really was a cool base of operations; there was food enough for decades if they ever needed it for that long (Nohano hoped to God that wasn't the case), and beds enough to house a hundred people or more. He found a sort of control room, where there were several computers and files and the like. A switchboard of some kind and phones, too.

There was a nursery with cribs and baby toys, and a playroom obviously for older children. There were also a few classrooms. There were bathrooms and showers, and Nohano made use of both, washing his filthy clothing and sitting in front of the ovens to dry off. His clothes he wrung out and hung nearby.

When he was clean and dry, Nohano lay down in the cot his friends had put him in, basking in the warmth and occasionally talking with his friends through the mind link. He knew they were several miles away, and the link was as strong and easy to maintain as ever. It was a highly useful thing, that mind link! It certainly made being alone a lot less miserable.

He fell asleep once more before his friends came back, and woke to Suisei's mental voice, overly cheerful and highly amused. Hey, rise and shine, Morning Glory...time to waaake!

Nohano, however, was not amused. He was never the type to enjoy great amounts of cheer when he'd been woken up. What?

Suisei laughed. Maybe it should be Morning Grouch, hmm? Nohano grunted. Anyway, we're at the front gates. Come unlock the door, willya?"

Oh yeah. Nohano told Suisei that he would, and hauled himself out of his cot. Mentally slapping himself awake, he climbed the exhausting flight of stairs and lifted the heavy latch that barred the doors. He was a little surprised to see that all four of his friends had backpacks on, and that Xan's looked awfully familiar. "Hey, isn't that Killian's?" he asked as they reached the door and filed through.

"Yeah," said Xander, smiling a bit. "We decided to surprise you and bring back some of yer stuff. We hit our apartment and Suisei's." His smile faded. "Suisei's wasn't accessible, though. The whole building's collapsed."

"Jeez...sorry, Suisei."

Suisei shook his head. "It's all right," he said. "We may be able to get under the rubble and retrieve some of our things later. But for now we don't have the time."

"You look much better," said Rashida as she latched the door and the group made their way back downstairs. "You're not so pale."

"I feel a lot better," agreed Nohano. "I ate and slept, mostly. I showered, too."

"That's not a bad idea," murmured Suisei. "We've not gotten a chance to bathe."

"I did find computers," Nohano said. "There's all sorts of stuff here. It really is meant for people to live in for years if they have to."

"It's s scary thought," said Amaya, shivering a little bit as she set her backpack on a cot and opened it up.

Nohano sat next to Xander, curious as to what he'd brought, and watched him take things out. He'd brought changes of clothing for himself and Nohano, and one for Killian as well. "He'll probably want it when we get him back," Xander explained. He'd brought a couple of Nohano's books, and the Nintendo Centurion's portable attachment, as well as a few games.

"Awesome!" said Nohano, briefly hugging Xander in thanks. "Hey—you brought one of my drums, too. Cool." He took up the hand-held drum and the stick that went with it, and smiled a little sadly. He remembered Robert, and hoped that the rest of the guys had made it out of the city. Or at least to a secure hiding place.

"All right," said Amaya, pulling out several notebooks. "I say we get some supper cooking and go over these notes."