Devil's Masks

by ariescelestial

AU Shadow Hearts timeline. Alice returns to Rouen, only to find tragedy once more...one man's whim has a drastic effect. [Covenant Spoilers]

3. Dalian: In Memory of Those Still Lingeri...

Disclaimer:  I don't own Shadow Hearts…I do own Lyssa?  Maybe?  .

**

            The plane collided with the water, shuddering violently at each impact.  It flipped over, throwing us into the water.

            I plunged into the cool water, still confused how I had got there, but the lack of oxygen quickly convinced me to swim to the surface.  I grasped along the plane to help pull myself up.  It was hard to see anything in the murky waters.

            Finally I reached the surface and held onto one of the wings.  Margarete was sitting against the underside of the upside down plane.  She quickly stood to help me up.

            "You alright Alice?  Got your stuff?  No?  Hold on."

            The spy tossed her gun to me, scaring me, before she dove in the water.  I began looking around, wondering where Sasha was.  He wouldn't drown, would he?  No, Margarete should find him.

            Margarete resurfaced with my satchel and bible.  Sasha still hadn't come up.  He'd been under for at least two minutes now.  He must be unconscious.  "Did you see him?" I asked.

            "The kid hasn't come up yet?  Maybe he's on the other side.  I'll check this one again."

            That meant I'd have to check the other side.  I nodded and kicked off my shoes, then climbed over the airplane to the other wing.  I was about to jump in when I felt a Water aura approaching me.  Margarete was in the other side, and she couldn't have possibly swam that fast.  Was it a person or a monster?  I panicked when I sensed a monster's aura.  I grabbed my bible, raised it over my head, and edged out over the wing, ready to strike.

            The monster rose up, its scaly blue arms grabbing the edge of the wing.  The plane started to tip, water sloshing over my stockings.  I swallowed, but waited.  When a reptilian head emerged, I beat it down.  A good whack and the monster went back into the water. I was breathing hard as I watched the water's surface.  That couldn't have killed it.

            Again the monster tried to get on the plane.  This time I really let him have it, hitting him three times.  The monster sank down--I must have knocked it out with the last blow--and I was feeling a bit proud of defending myself when there was a bright flash in the water.

            I'd just knocked out Sasha.

            With a startled exclamation I dropped into the water.  The fighter was sinking quickly and I had to swim as fast as possible to catch up to him.  Once I reached him, I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him closer.  Hooking my arms underneath his, I began swimming back up through the dark green waters.  I almost went down under Sasha's weight.  His muscular build made him heavy and awkward in the water, but I persisted until we reached the surface.

            Margarete turned to us as I kicked furiously, trying to keep Sasha above the water so he could breathe.  She lifted the burden of his weight and laid Sasha out on the plane's wing, then slid off so as to not throw the plane off-balance.

            "I found your other book," she said, nodding to the haphazard pile of my belongings.  Looking at the unconscious man, she tsked.  "Must have gotten knocked out when the plane flipped."

            "Actually…I knocked him out with my bible," I said.

            She stared at me, her lips twitching into a smile.  "Violent woman, aren't you?"

            "It was an accident!" I protested.  "I didn't know he was fused!"

            "Fused?  You mean when he's the tiger?"

            I nodded as I sat on the wing and stripped off my soaked stockings.  Realizing that my white shirt was now transparent and showing my pink bra, I slipped my wrinkled jacket back on.  "But he wasn't the tiger.  He looked like some sort of serpent."

            "Now he looks like carrion," Margarete said, "But he smells worse.  Sewer water and salt water.  Someone needs a bath."

            I agreed.  Sasha smelled almost as bad as Zhuzhen's catnip had.  I knelt by the Eurasian man as Margarete swam off and placed my hands on his head.  I felt more the four bruises and realized Sasha must have hit his head in the collision—no wonder it had taken him so long to swim up.  And then I had hit him!  Feeling ill in my stomach, I murmured the healing spell.  Sprinkling water on his face helped wake him up.  His dark eyes were unfocused at first, and they only narrowed as he came to his senses.

            "Alice…" Sasha tried to growl.  It came out as a rasp.  He turned his head aside as he coughed.  The coughs lasted for well over a minute.

            "Are you alright?  I'm really sorry.  I didn't know it was you."  The words spilled out as I tried to apologize.

            "How the hell could you not know?  You're a Demon Eyes."

            He was right; I'd been able to sense him when he was fused before.  "I know.  I really am sorry.  That's why I'm trying to apologize.  You can hit me back if it'd make you feel better."

            "No, it'd make me feel low for hitting a girl," Sasha mumbled.  "Never mind.  I'm alive, that's all that matters.  Just don't try to kill me again."

            "I won't."

            He smiled.  It was a lopsided grin, and I was glad to see it.  He really wasn't mad.  "Good."  Sasha stood and looked around, to where Margarete was searching her jacket's pockets on the other wing.  There were only two on the outside, but there must have been a dozen of inside pockets.  "What are you doing?"

            "Looking for my map," she said, opening more of the tiny pockets.  "Maybe I can figure out where we are—oh, it's soggy!" she said in dismay.  The yellow paper had been reduced to bits of pulp.

            "Hey!"

            We turned as a man hailed us.  He was standing in his small boat, waving to us.  I stood up and waved, then felt Sasha pull me down.  The airplane teetered back and forth as it regained its balance.  "Hello, sir," I called.  "Can you tell us where we are?"

            "Saw your plane crash.  Pretty awful, huh?  You're just off the shore from Dalian.  Need a ride?"

            Sasha quickly hid his bladed knuckles, and Margarete was probably concealing her gun and grenades.  "If it's not too much trouble."

            "No, no, course not!  As long as you're willing to share room with the fish.  I wouldn't leave anyone out on the water, not so close to sundown."

            We gave him a chorus of thank you's as the fishing boat drew near to us.  I rolled my wet stockings into a ball and slipped my shoes back on.  The plane rocked a bit as the boat pushed into it.  I climbed in, noting the fishing equipment and pile of fresh fish.  It didn't smell any worse than Sasha.

            "Do you know where Dalian is?" I whispered to Sasha.

            "The middle of nowhere."

            As the man pushed off from the boat, one of the fish fell off the pile and flopped at my feet.  It stared up at me with a wide eye and open mouth, still flabbergasted that it had died.

            "Gave me a scare when I saw your plane comin' down," the man told us.  "I wasn't sure what it was, first.  Thought maybe a monster."

            "Monster?" Sasha echoed.  He nudged the dead fish with the toe of his shoe.

            "We get 'em sometimes.  Specially after dark.  Li Li sends them."  There were lines of worry all over his face as he spoke.  His eyes roamed the ocean, lingering on the lowering sun.

            "Should we help them?" I asked Sasha.

            "Why should we?"

            "He's right," Margarete said.  "I can't stop anywhere.  I'm already behind schedule horribly.  My supervisor is going to have my head."  Her cool, focused gaze was on me.  "The sooner I get there, the better mood he'll be in and the better the chance I have of getting a few favors from him."

            So it was either help a village or get a ride home.  Except it wasn't as simple as that.  If I stayed, Margarete would leave—and Sasha might not even let me make the decision.

            "Have you gotten anyone to help with the monsters?" I asked, raising my voice to talk with the fisherman.

            "Sea Mother says a Taoist Adept is coming.  He should be coming today.  Might even be there now."

            "Oh, that's good," I said.  So we didn't have to worry.  It was already taken care of.  We could continue on our way—wherever our way was.  I didn't bother asking Margarete what her destination was.  It would be another city or village that I knew next to nothing about.

            We thanked the man again as we docked.  Margarete asked where we could find a place to rest and he gave us directions to an inn.

            "Fish," Sasha muttered.  "Almost made me throw up.  Just nasty.  I'm never eating fish again."

            "Look who's talking.  Or is it smell who's talking?"

            "Ha ha, funny," Sasha said.  "Regular riot."

            "Well, we all need a bath after that little dip," I said.

            "'Dip' is much too nice, Alice."

            "What a gutless plane that was," Margarete muttered, casting a dark look at the sea.  "I thought it'd at least get us past Dalian."

            "Forget Dalian!" Sasha yelled.  "You almost bought us a one-way trip to hell!"

            It had been rather close.  What had possessed her to fly over water when she knew the plane was unreliable?

            "Ah-ah, don't glare at me you two," she said.  "We're in one piece, aren't we?  And I got all your stuff back."

            "Yes, but my books must be ruined," I said sadly.  I opened the Shooting Star Tome and stared, then flipped to another page.  There was no water damage, even though it had been submerged in seawater!  I found that the same was true of my bible.  "How…?"

            "Books as weapons are usually made knowing they're going to go through a lot of wear," Sasha told me.  "They can resist water and fire spells to a certain degree."

            "Really?"  Even the pictures in the tome were still perfect.  I smiled and shut the books.  "Never mind then."

            "See?  She's happy," Margarete said.

            "She," said Sasha, "is a nut."

            "So are you."

            "Yeah, but I'm more of an almond.  She's a pecan."

            "What the hell?  That was the lamest joke I've ever heard.  Wait, was that even a joke?"

            Sasha shrugged, his eyes roaming around the town.  True to his report, Dalian seemed the type of town to be in the middle of nowhere.  People stared at us; they had probably never seen two European women before.

            "Stunned by our beauty," Margarete whispered to me.  I wondered if it might have been the mismatch of my blue jacket and brown skirt.

            All the buildings could have used some new paint.  One building had a faded sign with a turtle on it, but it was a restaurant, not the inn we were looking for.  We turned right and stopped in front of one of the buildings.  "This is it," he remarked, and reached for the handle.  Before he could open the door, a woman's voice called out to us.

            "Are you going to the inn?"

            The speaker was a plain woman, standing in front of rows of drying fish.

            "Don't bother Sea Mother.  She's busy."

            "Huh?"  I looked at Sasha and Margarete to see what they thought.  Sasha shrugged and entered the inn.

            An old man standing next to the inn's counter sighed.  "Another victim…it's so awful…"

            I looked to where his sad gaze rested.  Through the criss-crossing pieces of wood that made a window I could see a boy laying on a bed while a man, probably his brother, and an old woman stood over him.  The woman was praying.  I could sense some magic from her.  "Is she Sea Mother?"

            "Looks like it," Sasha answered, his eyes locked on the woman.

            "Oh almighty god, I beseech you, prolong this boy's life.  I beg of thee…" she called.

            Her healing magic didn't seem to be helping the boy.  He moaned in pain as a darker, stronger magic wrapped around his body.  "Br-brother, ask…Sea Mother to…" he trailed off weakly.

            "Hang in there, Yen Yen!  Don't give up!"  I could see how desperate the older brother was as he said reassuringly, "You're going to be alright!"  He turned to Sea Mother.  "You've got to save him, please!  He's the only family I have!"

            But then the woman stopped praying.  "Yen Yen…I can't help you."

            My heart froze at the words.  She was giving up on him.

            "You fought very hard.  You're a brave, brave boy…"

            "You can't say that!" the brother said fiercely.  "Oh, God, Yen Yen!"

            "It was very hard…but it will all be over soon," Sea Mother said, as if it made things any better.  His life was already slipping away.  Just like my father's had…his last moments were going to be of overwhelming pain.  How could she give up on him like that?  If there was even a chance…I reached out with my magic, trying to heal him if it was at all possible.

            The boy moaned louder, his hands gripping the blankets.  My magic paled next to a curse of such determined hate.  His spasms worsened.  I was prolonging his agony by trying futilely to preserve his life.  He was so far gone in the pain he only wanted the quickest end.  That was what he'd asked of Sea Mother…and she'd given it to him.  I stopped my efforts, turning my face away.  It didn't matter.  I could still feel his life slipping away, like drops of water…

            She was right.  It had not taken very long; he was already gone.  The brother cried out in grief.  More pain and another death…just like my father and the missionaries.  How could people think I was powerful when I could never save anyone?

            "Spirits in the heavens!  Spirits in the heavens!" the woman said, beginning a prayer.  My hands rose to catch the tears falling from my eyes.

            "Alice?  You alright?"

            I rubbed my eyes with my palms and looked up at Sasha.  He was watching me, both concerned and nervous.  I nodded despite the fresh tears welling up, waiting to spill over.

            There were soft footsteps as the old woman walked past us.  For a moment, she paused and looked at me.  Her eyes initially held reproach, but they softened into sympathy as she watched me.  I tried to smile politely and the tears finally crept over, cascaded down.  I turned my face to the door, away from her and the others.  The brother was still sobbing in the other room.

            I rubbed my eyes again when the door closed.  Both Margarete and Sasha were watching me.  Why?  Was it wrong for me to cry?

            "That was horrible," Margarete said.  Her face was a little pale.

            "Y-yeah," I agreed.  "Cursed and killed by someone's hate…"

            "Must have been Li Li," Sasha said.  He didn't seem affected by the death.  Maybe he never had been affected by anyone's death.  Yet in his dreams, he had been screaming…  "Do you need anything, Alice?"

            "Some fresh air would be good," I said.  The brother's shoulders were shaking as he murmured in a broken voice.  The innkeeper was also grieving, though tearless.  "We shouldn't be here."

            Outside the sky was dark, the last rays of light disappearing.  I took in the cool, salty breeze, letting it sober me.  I did feel a bit better now, at least physically.  My clothes had dried and I removed my jacket, folding it over once.  I held it tightly.  "Rest in peace, Yen Yen…"

            Margarete nodded in agreement, but the one who caught my attention was Sasha.  He had a pensive expression as he gazed up at the stars.  What was he thinking?  The fighter had a very slight smile as he dropped his eyes.  "Feel any better?"

            "Yeah."

            "Feel like eating?  I'm starved."

            His mind was on food.  How…I shook my head, discarding the thought.  I was hungry too; my stomach felt like it was digesting itself.  "Yes, a bit."

            "Oh, you're buying?" Margarete asked.  Sasha scowled at her.

            "You can pay for your own meal."

            She pouted.  The lit torches played on her light blonde hair.  "But the man's supposed to pay for the dinner."

            "I'm only buying for one girl."

            "Aren't you a gentleman?"

            "Not really."

            "Please?" Margarete grabbed his arm as he tried to walk to the restaurant.  "Pretty please?"

            Sasha sighed.  "Fine.  Just let go of me already."

            "Thank you."

            "I get the feeling you're going to bankrupt me…"

            She whacked him lightly on the head.  "I don't eat that much!"

            I heard a man giggle.  It was an odd sound, gruff and low, and much too low to have been Sasha.  I looked around but only saw a lone girl, dressed in white, standing near the skeleton of an unfinished building.  Her shoulders were hunched over and she wavered, as if the sea wind could knock her down.  Something was wrong with her.

            Sasha walked towards her, calling out, "Hey!  It's after sundown, shouldn't you be inside?"  The girl's body shook with laughter, but what sounded was a man's laugh.  It tried to be lighthearted, but there was no joviality in it.  She was angry and hurt.  My eyes widened when she turned to us.

            She met my horrified gaze evenly, a smile curling pale lips.  Her eyes were bulging from their sockets, her flesh hanging loosely from bones.  She laughed again, the small, deep, rough giggle.  "Everyone's so scared of me…they won't open their doors," she told us.

            "You're…Li Li," I said in amazement.

            "Should've known there was something funny about you," Sasha said, bringing up his fists.  "You want to fight?"

            Li Li slowly shook her head.  "Why should I?  My business is with her."  Her dark eyes returned to me, and she smiled.  "So, the sacrifice for tonight," she said hoarsely, "is you…"

            Magic gathered around her.  It was the same dark magic that had stolen the boy's life.  She was going to put a curse on me!  I tried to shield myself with my magic, but again I was too weak.  The curse tore through my defense as if it was paper and coursed through my entire body.  Every one of my nerves responded with a feeling of pain that completely overwhelmed me.  I screamed before it was too much, and then I fainted.

            My nerves were still on fire when I awoke.  I was lying on a wood floor.  A slender, gnarled staff drew my attention to the person holding it.  "Oh!  Hello…Zhuzhen."  Each word took so much strength to utter.  I had never been in pain like this before, except when I had dreamed of the witch.  Was she always in pain like this, too…?

            The Adept knelt next to me when he realized I was awake.  He had a forlorn smile as he said, "I didn't want us to meet in these circumstances either."

            I laughed, remembering his parting words in Zhaoyang, then cried out as the dark magic assailed my body again.  I curled up as Zhuzhen tried to comfort me.

            "I know it must hurt, but just hold on…it'll be alright soon…"

            "Are you going…to exorcise…Li Li?" I asked.  "She's in pain, too…someone forced her back…"

            He nodded gravely.  "I think I know who's responsible.  Don't worry, we'll take care of her."  Behind him I noticed for the first time the others standing behind him, Sasha and Margarete and Sea Mother.  All of them were watching me with such concern, even Sasha.  His eyes were full of concern and fear and guilt.  They were the same emotions he'd had when his talisman was red.  I remembered the words Margarete had translated, about the other girl Sasha had tried to protect.  No, he shouldn't feel guilty…it was my fault for being weak…but, please God…if he could save me…

            My thoughts led somewhere, but I lost hold of them; I could only remember my thought at the fireside, when Sasha had seemed a gentleman…that we might have met in Rouen…

            I was walking along a street, wide enough for two automobiles.  The gray stones were smooth and even. This was one of the newer streets in Rouen.

            "Alice!" my father called.  He was sitting at a cafe table with two other gentlemen.  He waved me over.  I sat between him and Father Doyle, who greeted me by crossing himself.  "Bacon, you remember my daughter, Alice?"

            Opposite me, the warlock nodded to me, his bright blue eyes shining.  "Yes, I remember."

            "Bonjour, messieurs."  A waited stepped up to our table.  "What would you like?"

            "Some tea."

            "Same for me," Bacon said, "But extra sugar."

            "W-water," Father Doyle requested, his wide eyes flitting all over the street.  I looked up at the street sign, Dumble Street.

            "Et vous, mademoiselle?"  Brown almond eyes lingered on me as I picked up the menu.  The items' names flickered from French to English to French.

            "Une l'eau de menthe," I told Sasha.  He nodded and made a note of it, then walked off into the darkened cafe.

            "Is he really going to come, Father?" I asked.  It was rather late in the evening.  Why hadn't the Cardinal come yet?

            "I hope so."

            Doyle reached across and touched my hand with his icy ones.  "Don't worry, Simon will come.  Simon will come."  His eyes flickered to Roger Bacon.  "Won't he?"

            The warlock laughed.  "Perhaps even he is afraid of me."

            Another waiter came to our table.  He had the same black slacks and white shirt Sasha had worn, but he had narrow slits for eyes and a painted smirk for a mouth.  "Your water," he said, serving Doyle and me our drinks.  Doyle quivered at the mask's appearance and did not drink.  I lifted the glass to my lips and took a small sip.  The minty taste was refreshing.

            "So, Bacon, what did you do with those books?" my father asked.  "James sent a letter that he believed the Emigre document was in the Nemeton monastery.  But when I went, there was no monastery!  But a lot of monsters, and Jame's grave," he said sadly.  "Poor old James.  How old were you, Alice?"

            "Five or six."

            "That's right, it was about fifteen years ago."  My father shook his head.  "Poor old James.  He was a fine man.  An upstanding member of the Christian faith."

            Bacon turned his head aside when he coughed.  It sounded like a laugh.  Sasha came back from the cafe, bearing two more drinks.  He served Bacon first and then my father.

            Bacon drank his sweet tea and sighed.  "Well then, Simon's not coming. Sasha?"

            "Yes."  Sasha nodded and took up my drink.  He seized my wrist as Bacon began an incantation.  Doyle trembled and dove under the table.  I could hear him praying.

            "What are you doing?" I asked Sasha.  "Let me go!"  I tried to wrench my hand from him, but I couldn't.  He led me to the cafe, and when his grip vanished for a moment, the masked man appeared in the doorway and dragged me inside.

            There was a click as the door was locked.  There were no lights inside, and all I could see were the lights outside--black and white, the black so much greater as Bacon's dark magic overwhelmed my father.  There was a horrible scream, and then the lights faded.  I gasped when I saw the blood splattered on the gray stones.  There wasn't even a body left. Bacon had disappeared, and the only person left was Father Doyle, still kneeling under the table in prayer.

            "Aren't you glad you're in here?" the masked man asked softly.  He vanished.

            Sasha appeared.  I could tell it was him from the light that reflected off his eyes, brown and yellow.  "Your water, mademoiselle."

            I took the glass subconsciously, staring at him.  "My father just died...don't you even care?  How can you not care about someone's death?!"

            "I saw a woman killed by monsters when I was nine.  And after that...it doesn't affect me much anymore."  He shuddered suddenly, violently.  "No...Dad, help...they're coming to kill Mom..." He clutched his head, seeming in pain.

            "Sasha?"

            His eyes glittered yellow in the dim light.  "Why are you calling me that, Mom?  That's not my name."

            "Then what is?"

            "On-tei-naa...On-tei-naa..."

            I stared up at the brown ceiling as Sea Mother recited an incantation.  The dark magic had been dulled by her incantations, but only a bit.  It still hurt so badly.  But the nightmare had been worse.  Maybe it was better to be awake and aware.

            And in the nightmare, Sasha...I shivered at the thought my dream had brought: had Sasha helped Bacon in Rouen?  Oh please, God, let it not be true.

            A Chinese man, maybe the restaurant owner, covered me in a blanket as I shivered.  It didn't make me warmer, but I took some comfort in the softness.  As Sea Mother prayed, I began to sink unwillingly into sleep again...and with it came more dreams, presenting themselves in jumbled memories, each less coherent than the last...

            When I woke up again, it took me a few seconds to realize the pain had gone.  Or so I thought until I tried to sit up.  The movement made my body ache and my vision became hazy.

            "Lie still.  The curse has weakened you," Sea Mother told me.  "You'll be well by morning, but until then you should rest."

            I still struggled into a seated position, resting against the wall.  "Where is Zhuzhen?  And Sasha and Margarete?"

            "They'll come back soon."

            I nodded and pulled the blanket more tightly around me.  My eyes were starting to flutter when the door banged open.  Sasha strode in and immediately headed to me.  "Are you all right?" he asked, kneeling so our faces were level.  I nodded.  "You're sure."  His eyes cleared when I nodded again, his relief washing over both of us.  Something was different about him—something about his appearance, although everything was too blurry for me to figure it out.

            "Okay, kid, she's fine," Margarete said sternly.  "Now turn around and take your medicine."

            His sleeve was stained with blood.  He laughed when I gasped.  "It's only a flesh wound."

            "Bullshit!" Margarete roared.  "Take the damn Thera leaf before I ram it down your throat!"

            Zhuzhen laughed as Sasha turned contritely for his medicine.  Apparently I'd missed something earlier, but I didn't mind.  Their laughter and relief was soothing.

            "I think we've taken care of the monsters.  But Li Li didn't appear, which concerns me," Zhuzhen told Sea Mother.

            "Hey, you said you knew who brought her back," Sasha said.  "So who?  Can't see how you could tell, that seal was pretty generic."

            Zhuzhen shook his head, the long ponytail following the motion.  "No, no, that's not how.  But I knew there was an underwater shrine for the Dragon god just off the shore, the same as how Zhaoyang had a shrine for the Tortoise god."

            "Dehuai," Sasha growled.  "That idiot!  He almost killed Alice, when his entire—" He stopped suddenly.  He had almost said something he didn't want to reveal.

            "Go ahead," Zhuzhen said.  "He's planning another Valorization rite, isn't he?  One that needs a powerful Key."

            "Key?" Margarete asked.

            "A person with powerful magic.  Such as Alice," he said, looking at me.  Seeing my disinterest, he turned to Sasha.  "You've already told her?"

            "Yes, I did," the fighter answered.  "I just didn't want to get you two in this."

            The Adept laughed.  "Well, too late.  If he's planning a repeat of what happened fifteen years ago, I'm going to stop him."

            This sparked my interest.  This had happened before?  "What happened fifteen years ago?"

            "Dehuai tried to use one of the Valorization rites, the Invocation.  Even though it was stopped in time, it still killed countless people in the floods and earthquakes that followed."  Zhuzhen shook his head.  "If it had succeeded, it might have destroyed the entire world."

            "Master Zhuzhen," Sea Mother said, "if he's planning another, then…"

            Zhuzhen nodded.  "He's got to be stopped."  He turned to Sasha.  "You're protecting Alice, aren't you?  Defeating him would mean her safety."

            "On the other hand, Shanghai is the most dangerous place for her to be," Sasha said, folding his arms.  "She could easily be captured there.  If that happens, I've just helped Dehuai."

            "I want to go," I said.  Sasha turned to me.  He was clearly surprised by my answer.  "I'm going," I said again, my voice a little stronger.

            "Why?"

            "You have your reasons for what you've done.  And I have my own."  I would never be safe anywhere if those two warlocks were still pursuing me.  I would endanger everyone around me, just as I had caused my father's death.

            "Alice, this isn't a smart idea.  If Dehuai gets you, the whole world may be destroyed.  You don't want that, do you?"

            "You're not going to change my mind."  I wasn't worried about that possibility.  If I couldn't save my father—if I couldn't stop a ghost's curse—how could my magic possibly destroy the world?

            Sasha sighed and shook his head.  "Fine.  We'll go," he told Zhuzhen.

            "Oh, that means I'm outnumbered," Margarete said.  "Hm…well, Alex will have my head, but I'm probably already in trouble anyways.  Let's go to Shanghai."

            "That's all fine and well," Sasha said, "but how will we get there?  We go on land, the Japanese army will catch us.  We let Margarete fly us there and we'll definitely get killed this time."

            "That wasn't my fault!" Margarete protested, looking scandalized.

            "You can use my boat."

            I started and then looked at the door as a woman walked in.  She was dressed in shirt and pants, with a jacket over.  Her androgynous attire gave her a masculine air.

            "I just came in.  There was such a racket in the harbor, it was all I could do to save my goods from those monsters!"

            Zhuzhen eyed her suspiciously.  "And what business would you be in?" he asked.  "It seems rather late for honest traders to be out and about."

            She giggled.  "The same could be said of you, no?  At any rate, I'm a courier."  She paused deliberately for effect.  "Of course, 'courier' is a bit euphemistic.  To put it bluntly, I'm a smuggler."

            "And you think you can get four people into Shanghai?" Sasha asked skeptically.

            "We have an old boat.  The Army thinks it's a fishing vessel and lets it right through checkpoints.  They never suspect there's contraband under the floorboards…even when it's human."

            To my surprise, Zhuzhen was considering the offer.  "What would you want in return?"

            "You tell me," she said.  "You could say I'm a little short for cash…"

            Zhuzhen thought for a moment, and then nodded.  "Alright."

            "Great.  We'll see you in the morning," she said, and walked out of the restaurant.

            There was silence for a moment.  "I don't like this…and I don't like her," Margarete said darkly.

            "Why not?" Sasha asked.

            "She just didn't sound right to me."

            "I agree," I said.

            Sasha shrugged.  "She tries to trick us, she'll find how painful it is to cross a harmonixer."

            "Of course," Zhuzhen said.  "Your first response is violence."

            "Tried and true," Sasha said proudly.  He noticed my glare.  "What?"

            "You are horrible," I said flatly.

            The Adept postponed any argument by announcing, "We still have a few more hours before morning.  Why don't we get some sleep at the inn?"

            This was a wonderful plan to everyone, and after I thanked Sea Mother for her care, we walked outside.  I trailed behind the others, still feeling weak, until Sasha impatiently scooped me up and carried me in his arms.  Too sleepy to protest, I rested my head against his chest and fell asleep.

**

            Margarete shook me awake in the morning.  "Come on, sleepy."  I yawned and sat up, rubbing my eyes.  "You coming?"

            "Yes."  I staggered out of bed after she left, looking around tiredly.  My stomach was so empty I was starting to feel sick.  It took me a moment to realize that I had been sleeping in the same room that Yen Yen had died in—the same bed, even.  I wasn't normally superstitious, but the discovery made me shiver.  My hand reached up to the gold cross around my neck, rubbing the reassuring metal.  God would protect me, He would…

            I exited the room and found Sasha and Zhuzhen talking with the innkeeper.  More awake now, I realized what had bothered me about everyone's appearance the night before.  I giggled.

            "What's so funny?" Sasha asked, turning around.

            "You all look so silly," I said, laughing when I took in Sasha's appearance.  The orange bandanna was gone from his neck, and instead he wore a brown leather cap with a black bill.  Along with the new, slimmer belt, he had a very boyish appearance.

            "I told you we look stupid," Margarete grumbled.  Her hair was down and she was also wearing the leather cap and belt, which simply did not go with her blue skirt and black top.

            As for Zhuzhen, he had lost his Adept hat for the cap and was wearing a black vest over his robes.  He looked the funniest, an odd assortment of traditional and stylish clothing.

            Sasha growled.  "I am never traveling with women again.  Whining about your clothes.  And you shouldn't laugh Alice, you have to wear it too."  He tossed the cap and belt to me.

            I took the bandanna out of my hair, letting it fall freely about my waist, and put on the cap.  I traded my bulky belt for the thinner one, and then looked up at them.

            Margarete was very sour.  "But her clothes actually match."

            I considered this and found she was right.  I was wearing a white cotton blouse, and brown leather skirt and hat.  It was hard to go wrong there.  The slim, casual belt looked rather nice with my skirt.  The only things out of place were my black shoes and gold cross, but it was not as bad a contrast as Margarete's or Zhuzhen's.  Sasha didn't actually look bad, it was simply odd how youthful the cap and belt made him look.

            Sasha rolled his eyes.  "Let's just go."

            "Wait!  Wait!"  The voice came from downstairs.  We turned as a small boy ran up the stairs.  He was grinning broadly.  "You guys got rid of the monsters, right?  Just like you said?"

            "What?"

            "There's a store downstairs," Margarete told me.  "We had to go there for Zhuzhen's equipment."

            "Yeah, we did," Sasha told the boy.

            "Come downstairs, there's something I want to show you."  He ran back down.

            Margarete laughed.  "He's sure excited, isn't he? You guys go see what he wants, I'll check on our smuggler friends."  She walked out.

            Sasha, Zhuzhen, and I followed the boy downstairs.  He was standing where the store's inventory was kept, in front of a chest.  "Go ahead and open it!"

            "Alright."  Sasha passed the satchel to me so he had both hands free to open the chest.  I shifted the satchel in my hands, realizing it was quite heavy for only leaves.  But Sasha had taken the money out, so what could it be?  Curious, I opened the satchel and searched around.  There were some accessories inside, a brooch, shoes, two bracelets, a lariat necklace, and some strange device—even a little figurine of wood.  "It's a brooch?"

            I looked up at him and saw he was holding a brooch engraved with a crest, and glowing with a red light.  The boy seemed excited.

            "It's never glowed before!  Maybe that means you're supposed to have it!"

            "You think so?" Sasha said.  He put the brooch down, and it stopped glowing; took it up again, and the flare came back as strong as before.

            "Yeah.  Go ahead, you can have it!"

            "Thanks."  Sasha was smiling until he saw the accessories in my hand.  "What are you doing, Alice?"

            "Why aren't we using these accessories?" I asked.  "These seem pretty good."

            He started to walk out of the store, giving the boy a brief goodbye.  "Because they're worth a lot of money."

            I frowned at this logic.  "But wouldn't it be better if we used them…?"

            "I don't need them."

            "I said 'we'."

            "You're not using them, they're mine," Sasha said, annoyed.

            So he wouldn't let us use something that would help us fight better?  "Scrooge."

            "What?" Zhuzhen said, thinking he had misheard.

            "It means he's a miser."

            "I am not a miser.  I've bought a weapon and armor for you, and I've bought accessories for both you and Margarete."

            "I helped pay for Margarete's," Zhuzhen interjected.

            Sasha acknowledged this.  "I've still paid for one girl's stuff and half of another girl's, on top of my own equipment.  The accessories are mine."

            "Well, if you're not going to use them, and if you're not going to let us use them, why'd you buy them?"  I paused as I figured the answer out myself.  "You didn't buy them, did you?  …Are these stolen?"

            "Why do you assume the worst?  I found them.  Well, I won the lariat, and a peddler gave me the pedometer, but the others I found."

            "He gave you the pedometer?"

            "Why would I steal a pedometer?" Sasha complained.  "I'm not a petty thief."

            "Where did you find these?" Zhuzhen asked, looking at the brooch and figurine.

            "One was in Yamaraja's shrine, some were in the sewers," he said.

            I glanced down at the accessories, then looked up at Sasha.  "We're using these."

            He grumbled a bit and then sat down on the inn floor.  "Fine.  Everyone gets one.  And someone should use the pedometer, because I'll—we'll get rewards for walking."

            "Does it do anything else?" I asked, looking at its '0000' display.

            "No, it's pretty much useless otherwise."

            "Well, since Margarete's not here, maybe it should be her," Zhuzhen suggested.

            "That seems unfair," I said.  "Just because she's gone…I'll wear it."

            Sasha shook his head.  "No.  I want you to use the voodoo doll."  He held up the small figurine, which was smiling at me.

            "That's a voodoo doll?"  I was extremely hesitant about touching it now.  Weren't they used for curses?  It didn't seem malicious, but…

            "Don't worry, it's not bad.  It'll keep you from getting knocked out once, then it'll break."

            He seemed sure, so I took the miniature figure.  Zhuzhen was looking at the other items, but Sasha also chose for him.  "You should take this," he said, handing Zhuzhen a blue brooch with Greek engraved on it.  "Alice goes berserk pretty fast in a fight."

            "I do not," I said indignantly.

            "She does," Sasha affirmed.

            I scowled at Sasha and scooped up the small voodoo doll.  "I'm going to check on Margarete."  I stood just in time for my stomach to growl, making me feel more ill, almost faint.

            "Ooh, you haven't eaten since last morning, have you?" Sasha asked.  "Knew I was forgetting something.  Why didn't you say anything?  C'mon, I'll get you breakfast at the restaurant."

            "You already ate?" I asked him as I followed him out of the inn.  My stomach had easily won out over what little temper I had.

            "Last night.  Sea Mama was telling us about Li Li and it was a pretty long story, complete with sound effects."

            "Sound effects?"

            "'Schloop, schloop' and 'skree, skree'!  I think she's a bit mental," Sasha said.  "Then again, everyone I know is a bit mental.  If they weren't they'd be abnormal."

            I laughed.  "So, is this all normal for you?  Kidnapping girls and fighting monsters?"

            "Fighting monsters, yes.  Kidnapping, no.  And I don't think I'll be doing it again.  Way too much trouble.  Girls are too high maintenance.  You have to feed them, get them armor, weapons…"

            "You could have just given me to Dehuai."

            Sasha stopped and looked at me.  "Yeah, I could've."

            "Why didn't you?"

            "You ask too many questions for a prisoner," he groused.

            "But I'm not your prisoner."

            "Oh?"  He smirked, rather lazily, in accordance with the early hour.  "And what makes you think that?"

            "Because you're trying to keep me happy," I said.  "If I was really unhappy, if I really wanted to get away, Margarete and Zhuzhen would help me.  You haven't kept me secluded.  Either that was a mistake on your part, or you never really meant for me to be your prisoner."

            "So then what did I want you to be?"

            "I-I don't know."  What could he have wanted me for?  "Maybe I'm just your way of getting even with Dehuai.  But I'm not your prisoner.  I'm not, because you need me."

            He shook his head.  "I need you?  All I do is show you some kindness and you think I need you?"

            He didn't deny it either.  Instead he led me into the restaurant and ordered for me, knowing I couldn't read the Chinese menu.  I couldn't tell what was in the soup they gave me, but I gulped it down anyways—I was famished.  Sasha ate a light breakfast and then walked off.  He was talking to a man in the back; I saw a piece of paper exchange hands and then they were both huddled over something.  I craned my neck to see in vain.  Sasha let out an exclamation of delight and came back swinging a gold pocket watch.

            "Okay, this one I'm selling," Sasha told me as he sat down.

            "Why, what's it do?" I asked, tapping it.

            "He said it's supposed to help time your attacks or something.  Which is the silliest thing I've ever heard, but it looks valuable."

            I sighed.  "Is money all you care about?"  It certainly would explain his criminal ways.

            "That, and sex.  I just don't talk about sex with you because I figured you'd have nothing to add to the conversation."

            I had often wondered if there was ever a thing as being too candid.  Sasha had just given a wonderful example.  "Lean a little closer," I said, "there's something in your hair."

            "You want to hit me, don't you?"

            "The thought crossed my mind."

            He laughed.  "I told you I was a pain to get along with."

            "You underestimated yourself."

            "Hey!" Zhuzhen called, stepping into the restaurant.  "You two done eating yet?  We should be leaving soon."

            Sasha nodded.  "We were just chatting about sex."

            I hit him with my hand.  "Don't say it in Chinese!"  The whole restaurant could have heard.  I turned to Zhuzhen, my face turning red as all the blood rushed up.  "He's lying.  He's just being a nuisance."

            "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Sasha said, chuckling since he knew it'd irritate me.  He dodged when my hand came down to hit him again.

            "You shut up," I told him, nearly upsetting the broth remaining in my bowl as I continued to whack at him.

            "Alright, alright!  We were talking about money," he told Zhuzhen.  "Alice can't talk about sex, since she's a good little Christian--what the hell are you hitting me for now?"

            "You say it as if it's a bad thing!"

            "I didn't mean to!"

            "Right," Zhuzhen said as he watched the fight progress.  He took the bowl of soup out of harm's way and returned it to the front.  By now Sasha was evading most of my hits, so I sat down and glared at him.  He smirked.  Then I kicked him in the shin, as hard as I possibly could.

            "Owie...I'm sorry..." he said, wincing.

            "Better," I said, folding my arms.

            "If you two are done, we should go."  Zhuzhen was apparently anxious to go, so Sasha paid for my meal.  Sea Mother was eating an early breakfast of dried fish and rice.  We said goodbye to her before leaving the restaurant.

            "Don't be mad," Sasha said as I sulked a bit.  "Today's been good so far.  We got to sleep on beds this time."

            I shook my head in disbelief.  "That's your measure of a good day?"

            "That, and whether I've been hit or not.  You don't count since you don't hit hard."

            "You are pressing your luck," I grumbled.

            Margarete was also in a foul mood when we found her.  She was standing at the harbor with a man whose face was as impassive as stone.  When he spoke though, his voice belied his agitation.

            "O-oh, the boss told me about you guys!  Are y-you ready to leave?"

            "He's as bad a liar as you are," Margarete told me, eyeing the broad-shouldered man with dislike.

            "Yeah, we're ready," Sasha said.  We all filed on board.  He looked around, then shrugged at the slime on the deck.  "It'll do."

            "We're setting off," the man with the prominent chin said.

            "Alright," Sasha called back.  He turned to us.  "We're going to Shanghai, which is practically owned by Dehuai.  And the Japanese army's also going to be there.  We all look kind of suspicious.  Well, except for Zhuzhen."

            "It'd be easy for you to pass yourself off as a full-blooded Japanese," Margarete said.  "I think it's just us girls who'll be in trouble."

            "Yeah…the worst part is you're both blue-eyed blondes, which just screams foreigner."  Sasha shook his head.  "The only thing I can think of would be to hide Alice's cross, and that doesn't even begin to cover it."

            I still slipped the golden cross in my blouse.  I knew he was right; there weren't many Christians in China, so a cross would attract undue attention.

            "There's not much we can do about it," Margarete said.  "Our eyes are wrong, our hair is wrong, our skin is wrong.  We'll just have to lie low."

            Zhuzhen nodded in agreement.  "Sasha and I will look for leads on Dehuai.  I already know where we might find some information."

            "But shouldn't Sasha know where he is?"  I turned to the fighter and found he was covering his face.  "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah."  He took his hand away and answered the other question.  "I know where he is, but I've never forced my way in there before.  Also…I don't have too many details on the ritual Dehuai is preparing.  He didn't trust me that much.  Never did, since I'm half Japanese.  He doesn't like Japanese."

            "So we need to find a way to get in, and we should have more info on just what he's doing," Margarete clarified.  "You know anything, Zhuzhen."

            The Adept considered.  "I would think the rite is the same as last time—a spell with the effect of turning the world upside-down, into absolute chaos.  But then, Sasha—Sasha?"

            Sasha had covered his mouth and was starting to look quite green.  "Y-yeah?"

            "Are you ill?" I asked.  He certainly did not look well.

            "I'll be fine.  When's the boat going to stop rocking?"

            "Uh…kid, it doesn't stop rocking until we're in Shanghai," Margarete told him.  We all watched as his face became greener at the news.

            "Oh, sh—"  Sasha stopped mid-swear, his chest heaving.  We all stepped back, realizing he was about to throw up.  The harmonixer dashed for the side of the boat.

            "Seasick," Zhuzhen commented right as Sasha retched.  The sounds of vomiting continued for a while.  Sasha would stop, rest his head on the wood for some time, then abruptly straighten up and vomit again.

            "Is he ever going to stop?" Margarete asked, wrinkling her nose.

            Cautiously I approached Sasha.  The fighter looked sick as a dog, his face paled as he rested.  His leather cap was dangling precariously over the side from one hand.  "Today's going to be a shitty day," he complained.  "Just my luck."

            "Maybe you should lie down," I suggested.  "Is this your first time on a boat?"

            "I was fine on that other boat."

            "You were sitting down."  Looking around, I noticed stairs heading down near the center of the boat.  "Listen, you shouldn't feel the rocking as much if you're in the middle of the boat.  You want to go downstairs?"

            He turned around to see the stairs and morosely shook his head.  "I don't think I can make it that far."

            "Don't be silly.  I'll help you.  Come on."  I took his arm and slung it over my neck.  "Come on, stand up."

            "I think I'm gonna hurl."

            "Wait until you're downstairs."

            We edged our way down the stairs, Sasha stumbling one step behind me.  There were four beds downstairs, in various states of filth.  I laid him down on one of the lower beds only for him to moan a moment later and roll over, off the bed and onto the floor.  He landed on his face.

            "Um…are you alright?"

            He groaned in the affirmative.  At least, I thought he was affirming that he was fine.  He didn't seem too bad.

            "I've never seen anyone this seasick before," I said, considering.  "You want me to try healing you?"

            He nodded, apparently unable to speak.  I knelt by him and placed my hands on his back.  "Cure."  The healing magic entered his body.  I watched him closely, but nothing seemed to be happening.  Finally I looked him in the face.

            "Any better?"

            He moaned, a clear no.  Well, he wasn't exactly hurt, so there wasn't much for a Cure spell to do.  I couldn't heal him.  Sasha would just have to wait it out.

            "You want a blanket?  And a pillow?" I asked.  Both questions received nods, so I retrieved the cleanest pillow and blanket.  If he had to be sick, he might as well be comfortable.  Sasha took the pillow gratefully, sinking his head of spiky brown hair into it.

            Zhuzhen came down just as I had finished Sasha in.  "Is he feeling any better?"

            "No, he's still sick," I told him

            He tapped Sasha with the small ball on his metal staff.  "Don't mess up the pillow."  The young fighter moaned in response.  "How are you doing, Alice?"

            "I'm doing well.  And you?"

            "Fine, fine.  Margarete showed me that spell you made last night."  He smiled.  "I didn't know you could figure out spells that quickly."

            "Well, I had a good reason to," I said.  "But I need to work on my magic more still."

            Zhuzhen considered this.  "How many do you know?"

            "For fighting, only three.  One to heal, one to change auras, and one to attack."

            "One to attack?"

            "Yes, Blessed Light…that's what it's called.  My father showed me how to use it…"  I trailed off uncertainly as I recalled what little good the spell had done him.  It hadn't even touched Roger Bacon…not even a spell blessed by God could stop him, but…why?  Sasha's dark brown eyes were watching me.  I met his gaze and he opened his mouth, then closed it again.  He was still too sick to speak.  "But I'm not really thrilled about attacking."

            "Well, at least you have something to fend an enemy off with," Zhuzhen said.  "And Margarete and I can take care of monsters if Sasha's still down."  He chuckled and poked Sasha again, lightly.  He seemed to enjoy ribbing Sasha about his seasickness.  "You can focus on healing.  Is that what you like?"

            "Yes," I admitted.  It was so much fun talking to Zhuzhen.  It seemed like we could understand each other better, if not because we were both exorcists, because we were somewhat similar in disposition.  Margarete and Sasha were both more brash, sometimes much too bold for my liking.  Although I was being unfair to Margarete in comparing her to Sasha.  Sasha was much worse.

            "So to improve your magic, maybe you should focus on spells to increase defense," Zhuzhen advised.  "There are also spells to remove toxins from a body…healing is not limited to simply the restoration of energy."

            I nodded.  So I should learn spells to protect myself and others.  I thought of the spell Sasha used in his tiger form.  It strengthened his defense physically, but magical defense would be good as well.  If Dehuai was attempting such a powerful ritual, his magic must be very strong.  I'd have to think about that.  "I'll do that," I told him.

            "Who's your teacher?" he asked.

            "Who…?  Well, my father was, but…"

            "But?"

            "He died.  Six months ago."  Zhuzhen was silent in respect—but I couldn't bear the quiet.  I had already heard too many moments of silence.  So I broke it.  "But I'd be very grateful if you could teach me, Zhuzhen."

            "I'm not sure if that would work out.  We're different classes, and we use very different styles."  The metal staff tapped against the rotten wood as he pondered.  "Still, we could probably learn from each other—help one another."  He was very humble when he said it, even though he had so many more years of experience than I did.

            Sasha snorted.  I wasn't sure what he thought was so funny, but Zhuzhen still looked irritated.  "You shut up," he told Sasha.

            Sasha still had a smirk when the Adept left.  "Well, you must be feeling better if you can laugh at people," I said, none too pleased.

            "Not really…just too funny."

            He could speak now, too.  "What was so funny?"

            "Kappa and him…he mixed up incantations…should've seen."  His almond eyes glanced up at me.  "Last night…must've been really bad."

            "It hurt," I admitted.

            "Course it hurt.  Wouldn't be a curse if it didn't."  His voice was stronger, and he risked propping himself up with his elbow.

            "What does it matter?  I'm fine now."

            Sasha shook his head.  "Do you just do that all the time?"

            "What?"  He shook his head again.  His face was turning a bit green and he rested again on faded blue cloth.  He was seasick again.

            I sighed and rummaged around my few belongings.  I felt my bible and realized with a sharp regret that I had not read yesterday.  I should read more today.  Although on normal days I might read anywhere from ten to twenty-five pages, so 'more' was quite vague.  I opened to Isaiah, my favorite prophet, and began to read.

            Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

            I glanced up at Sasha.  For a moment I was tempted to read the scripture aloud, but it would only either confuse him or anger him.  There was no point in doing that.

            He was distracting me.  Shaking my head, I returned to reading.  But only a few chapters later, I ran across another scripture.

            The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb…

            Sasha could be the wolf, and I the lamb.  Although it was not the peaceful coexistence that the scripture described.  It pretended to be that, but there was always the uneasy feeling that he knew so much more than I did.

            Actually, he wasn't quite a wolf.  He was too light-hearted, more of a trickster.  Like a fox.  I looked at his mess of brown hair and imagined it as fur.  Exactly like a fox.  I laughed at the thought.

            "What is it?"

            "Oh, you can talk again."

            Sasha seemed annoyed by my observation.  "What were you laughing about?"

            "You," I said truthfully.

            He shook his head.  "Great.  Just great."  He rolled over so he was on his back.  "Well, I feel a bit better now."

            "That's good," I said.  Before I could return to my scriptures, however, he drew my attention again.

            "Are you sure you're fine…after what happened last night?"

            Why did he keep asking?  I nodded.  "You probably had it worse than me, fighting monsters and all.  I had some nightmares, but…"  I bit my lip.  "Um, Sasha?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Were you…have you…"  How would be the best way to ask?  If I asked directly, he would think I was accusing him.  If I was wrong—and I prayed I was—he would be upset.

            "Just say it, Alice."

            "In one of my nightmares, I-I dreamed you pulled me away from my father so Roger Bacon could murder him.  And, I know it was just a dream but I've been so worried that—that—"

            "I wasn't involved in your father's death.  I've been in China for the past year, aside from a few trips to England.  And for those I was teleported."

            His tone was frank and concise.  There was no anger or hurt in his voice.  For some reason that bothered me.  Shouldn't he be a tiny bit upset that I had wrongly thought him an accomplice to murder?

            "That answer your question?"

            "Yes.  But I have another question."

            He chuckled.  "The prisoner interrogating her jailer.  You are bold."

            Sasha was so calm about everything important to me.  And now I thought I might have an idea why.  "You said you saw a woman murdered when you were a child.  Was that woman…your mother?"

            He did not answer at first.  When I looked at him his dark eyes were wide, gazing at the ceiling.  They were curiously flat.

            "Why do you ask?"

            "Yesterday, you were saying things in your sleep.  About how someone was coming to kill her."

            The young man remained silent, so silent it stilled my own breath.  Why had I asked such a callous question?  It had made me curious, but now…now…why wouldn't he say anything?  He must be so angry with me.  I opened my mouth to apologize, but all the words were woefully inadequate.

            His voice was monotone: "Yes, she was."

            "I shouldn't have asked."  No, that wasn't right.  That was an observation of my foolishness, not an apology.

            He made no response to my statement.  I don't think he even heard me.  "She was a really pretty lady.  Russian.  She was a good mother."

            "A good mother?"

            "She died because she was blocking me from the monsters."

            So Sasha's mother had died protecting him.  Just as my father had given his life to save me.  "I'm really sorry," I whispered.  I shouldn't have asked.

            To my surprise, I heard a chuckle.  Sasha rested his elbows on the bed I sat at, watching me.  "How can you cry for a woman you never met?" he asked.  "Or are you crying for me?"

            I reached up to feel the tears that had run down.  "I don't know."  Maybe it was only for myself and my father.

            "Li Li must like you for that."

            I paused in wiping my eyes.  "What?"

            "Sea Mama said you two had similar powers.  Maybe she thought you would show your pain more…or maybe she was hoping you'd cry for her."

            She had the same powers as me?  I had sensed some strength from her, but I hadn't expected anything like that.  "What do you mean, cry for her?  What happened to her?"

            "You remember how she had a man's voice?"  I nodded, remembering the rough giggles she had made.  "It was her father's voice.  He was in a storm fourteen years ago, and it didn't seem he would return home alive.  So she offered anything to anyone that would help him.  The storm stopped, but whoever had done it had a sick sense of humor.  They switched her voice with her father's."

            "So he had her voice?"

            Sasha nodded, resting his head on the lumpy bedding.  "Sea Mama said he never talked it again.  There was no way to undo the curse, except to kill her father.  And then Li Li had to fall in love, with a man she could never talk to because of the curse.  So then she had to choose between her love and her voice or her father."

            That was so horrible.  I was starting to see why she had become a ghost, if she had had such a tragic life… "And she chose her father?"

            "I'm not sure.  She tried to kill him a few nights but she couldn't bring herself to do it.  Until there was another storm, and he was fishing again.  This time no one stopped the storm."

            "So he died?"

            Sasha nodded, his eyes the color of petrified sap.  "They found little bits of his boat on the shore.  But the biggest problem was that since she didn't kill him, Li Li didn't get her voice back.  She lost her father and any chance of having a normal life.  After that, she shut herself up in her house and mourned."

            "No wonder her soul can't rest," I said sadly.

            "I'm not done yet," Sasha said. "A few days after he died, the father came back from the dead as a zombie. He came back to let Li Li kill him and get her voice back."

            "But...she still has a man's voice."

            Sasha nodded. "I know. She chose to kill herself instead. They think she drowned herself with her father's corpse." He paused as this all sunk in, this horrible, gruesome story, and then commented, "She was an idiot. She should've just killed him and gotten her voice back."

            I was shocked at this. How could he blame someone for not wanting to harm their parent? "How can you say that?"

            "Because that's why he couldn't rest in the first place, because she wasn't happy. If she had killed him he'd at least have known he'd done everything he could. Now that she's a ghost, he's probably not at rest either."

            Sasha had a point. It was hard to see how the father could be at rest when his daughter was so miserable in her existence. But I empathized with Li Li, wanting to be with her father. I couldn't blame her for that.

            "Well, I'll let you get back to your reading," Sasha said as he staggered to his feet. The bible still laid open in my lap. "I'm gonna go upstairs...see what the others are up to." He was shaky as he climbed the stairs, gripping the rails tightly. I shook my head in exasperation. He was going to make himself sick all over again.

            I tried to continue reading but my mind wasn't on it. I kept seeing Li Li walking to the harbor, arduously dragging a man's corpse behind her. The thought brought shivers to me. Poor Li Li. She had only wanted her father's life spared...and instead, someone had made both their lives hell...what demon would do such a cruel thing?

            And now she was a ghost...but why was she killing people? Was she angry that no one had been able to help her? Or did she want someone to be sympathetic to her pain? Was it both?

            Zhuzhen hadn't seen her last night, so he hadn't been able to put her soul at rest. She must still be lingering in this world, unable to move on. If I prayed for her...would it help her?

            I closed the bible in my lap and clasped my hands. I prayed to God, asking him to guide her wayward soul. If there was any way I could save her, I would be a willing instrument in His hands. She shouldn't suffer because of a pure-hearted desire to save her father.

            As I prayed, I felt the cross beneath my blouse grow warm, almost hot. I tried to continue praying, but the heat increased until it was almost burning me. I ended the prayer quickly and drew the cross out. The golden cross was glowing a brilliant white as it lay in my hands. It wasn't so bad now that I was holding it; the warm feeling was rather nice.

            "Are you asking Him on my behalf?" I asked. "Father?" I held the cross close to my chest, feeling the heat it gave off. He must be watching over me from heaven, still protecting me. "Thank you."

            "Who…are you talking to?"  Sasha looked ready to collapse as he came down the stairs.  The tired fighter sank down on the stairs.  "The damn spy's plotting something and Shanghai's a day away.  I hate my life."

            "Shouldn't you lie down?"

            "No, I want to die on the stairs.  That way those morons will only get to their beds over my dead body."

            He certainly knew how to ruin a contemplative mood.  I tucked the cross away as he continued to complain.

            "Margarete's writing a memo to her government about us.  I got a look at it before she stuffed it down her shirt.  It says our abilities might be useful."

            "That's bad, isn't it?"

            "Yes.  She sends that and we'll have a second army after us.  I'm going to rip it up tonight while she's asleep."

            "But it's in her shirt."

            "All the more fun for me," he said, grinning slyly.

            This was beginning to resemble our fruitless conversations, where I ended up inevitably being annoyed.  Still, it was better than before, when he had seemed so distant about his own mother.  I smiled at the wrong time: he saw.

            "Why are you smiling?  I swear, it's like you're always laughing at me."

            "You're just nice to be with," I said.

            "I thought I was a pain."

            "You're both."

            "The hell," he stated flatly.  "I think you're more messed up than I am."

            "But it's nice being around someone my age for once.  How old are you?"

            "Twenty-four."

            I nodded.  That seemed about right, although I had thought he might be younger.  "Four years older than me.  Most of the missionaries were at least twenty years older than me.  It felt a bit strange."

            "Lonely?"

            "Maybe."  It might have been lonely for different reasons; they had been fearful of the Japanese army finding me, and had never let me go outside.  They had good reasons not to, but it meant that after a month there was nothing to distract me from remembering my father's death.

            Sasha nodded in agreement.  "It does get boring sometimes.  Older people are too reserved."

            "Maybe you're too forward."

            "Hey!"  He lifted his head so he could glare at me more effectively.  "I thought you were on my side."

            "I never said they were too reserved."

            "That's right, you get along with that geezer.  I forgot you have the temperament of an eighty-year-old."

            I picked up a pillow and flung it at his head.  He caught the projectile easily, laughing.  "Sasha!"

            "Hey, you two!  Something's going on!"  Combat boots thundered down the stairs as Margarete rushed in, stopping just above Sasha's head.  The spy looked at us curiously.  "Am I interrupting something?"

            "Nothing important," I answered.  "Is something the matter?"

            "Something big!  You'd better come see…come on!"

            From the urgency in the spy's voice I knew it was something important.  I immediately rushed outside, stepping over Sasha as carefully as possible.  Zhuzhen and the two smugglers were out on the deck, looking quite concerned.  Although I couldn't see anything wrong, I sensed a dark presence that made the air suffocating.

            "What's wrong?" Sasha called as he straggled behind me.

            The woman turned to us and quickly explained, "The boat's turning circles in the same place, over and over."

            "Turning circles?" I echoed, not understanding.

            The male smuggler nodded.  "There's nothing wrong with the motor, but the boat won't move forward.  It's like…the boat's being held by something underwater…"

            An uneasy feeling gnawed at my heartstrings as I heard a gruff man's voice.  "You should die…"

            "Li Li…" I whispered.  "It's Li Li."

            "Li Li?" Sasha demanded.

            The female smuggler saw her first.  I followed her wide-eyed gaze to the corpse that stood on the ship's railing.

            "Die!" Li Li shouted. "Let the stinking saltwater fill your lungs and die!  The mindless fish will pluck and poke at your rotting corpse, at your bulging eyeballs!"  Just like they had at hers.

            Oh God, this isn't right…

            Zhuzhen turned to the smugglers.  "You two take cover!" he snapped.  "She's likely to give us some real trouble."

            "A-all right!" the boss said. She and her subordinate made a hasty retreat, but I didn't pay them much mind.  Li Li was the only one who mattered.

            "Li Li!" I cried out, drawing her attention to me.

            The corpse laughed slowly, her whole body shaking.  "So nice you remembered.  I've been waiting for you…"

            "Li Li, please, tell us what you want us to do.  What can we do so that your soul may rest in peace?" I asked.  If I could help her in any way, then it was my duty as an exorcist to give aid.  "What do you want from us?"

            She disappeared from the railing and reappeared, much closer to me.  The stench of rotting flesh was overwhelming.  "I want you to suffer and die!  That's what I want!" she bellowed.  "My friends are coming to greet you!"

            Wasn't there any way I could help her?  She moved away, back to the railing.

            "Damn bitch still hasn't moved on yet," Sasha said angrily.

            "On-tei-naa…Kai-zei-chii-fuu-motsu-gyaku…on-tei-naa…on-tei-naa…"

            "You…?!" Li Li exclaimed as the chant continued.  Light began to flash around the corpse.

            Zhuzhen laughed.  "When did you get here, Sea Mother?  You must have masked your presence."  I felt she was beneath us…but we would have seen her downstairs…a metal well to store fish in caught my eye.  Had she hidden in there?

            "You think you can suppress me?" Li Li snarled.  "Die!"  She summoned her magic and struck too quickly for us to react.  The lightning hit the well and I heard Sea Mother scream in pain.  Zhuzhen rushed to the well and opened it, helping the elderly woman climb out.

            Despite the blow she had been dealt, Sea Mother stood on her shaky legs and turned to the rotting corpse.  "Li Li!  I will save your soul!  You will not be made to suffer anymore," she said, her voice nearly breaking with sorrow.  "Calm your spirit!"

            "Silence!" Li Li yelled, again striking the woman with magic.

            "Stop this!" I said, horrified at the pain she was inflicting.  I knelt by Sea Mother as she resumed her chant.  However, it was far from pacifying Li Li.

            "The pain," the rough, male voice rasped.  Li Li glared at us with nothing but hatred in her bulging eyes.  "Creatures of the deep, attack!  Drag these fools to the bottom of the ocean!" she screamed before disappearing.

            Zhuzhen turned to Sea Mother.  "Are you all right?  Why on earth did you do that?"

            "Forgive me, Master Zhuzhen," the old woman said slowly.  She rose gradually to her feet.  "I…I just wanted to send Li Li off to Nirvana…"  Tears rose in her cloudy eyes as she spoke, her voice tremulous.

            Zhuzhen nodded sympathetically.  "Let me lend you a hand.  Why don't we place seals on the boat to help Li Li's spirit calm down?"

            "Master Zhuzhen!" she said with surprised gratitude.  "Are you sure?"

            He nodded.  "Think nothing of it.  Let's go to work."  He turned to Sasha, tapping his metal staff decisively.  "Sasha, you help Sea Mother rest until I've got a seal up.  And if monsters start coming, I'll need you to back me up."

            Sasha nodded, clearly comfortable with his role.  "Got it."  He seemed much less seasick now that his mind was on something else.  As he led the way back down, I walked behind Sea Mother and watched closely for any signs of weakness.  She faltered in her steps and I nearly panicked.  But she was strong for her age and made her way down the stairs before sinking with obvious relief into one of the beds.

            She was still weak from the ghost's curse, so I began a Cure spell to heal her.  "Save your strength," Sea Mother told me.  "You will need it the most."

            "Are you sure?" I asked.  Her body was still trembling.  The elderly woman nodded.

            "Why were you hiding in there?" Margarete asked.  "What, did you know this would happen?"

            Sea Mother nodded.  "I suspected that because Alice had escaped the curse, she would pursue you."  Her eyes gazed up at me, wide yet veiled by her sadness.  "You are the most like her, and for this…she seems even more eager to see you suffer."

            I bit my lip.  I was both worried that Li Li hated me so much, and that Sea Mother thought we were so much alike.  "Don't worry, Zhuzhen will put her soul at rest.  And we'll help him."

            "Thank you," she said.  "I owe it to Li Li to send her to Nirvana…"

            "Did you know her well?" I asked.  They seemed to be closely intertwined, and I had noticed that their white clothes were similar.

            "She was my apprentice," Sea Mother said.  "She had so much faith that I could help her…and I failed her…"

            "Don't worry about it," I said reassuringly.  "Li Li's soul will be at peace soon.  Just rest."  I took the blanket from the bed and draped it around her shoulders, hoping to ease her shivers.

            She gripped the blanket's edge tightly, pulling it closer around her frail frame.  "I hope she will be," she prayed.

            "Come on," Sasha told me.  "The monsters are probably coming now."

            Margarete and I followed him upstairs.  There didn't seem to be anything wrong, although I had an awful feeling of foreboding—and then screams, both male and female, burst from the wheelhouse.

            "That must be the smugglers," Sasha said.  "I guess we have to help them."  I ignored his deliberation, already running to the door.

            "It's locked!"  The handle refused to turn, no matter how hard I pulled.

            "Stand aside."  Sasha stood behind me, waiting for me to move.  As soon as I did, he lifted his foot and broke the door off its hinges with a side kick.

            "I could have just shot the lock," Margarete murmured, surveying the damage Sasha had done.  There were pieces of wood everywhere in the cabin.

            The two smugglers were both down, still conscious to tell by their moans.  Floating over them were a dozen of ghostly skulls, grouped in threes.  Somehow a group of three skulls was one entity, I saw when they turned to attack us.  They moved as one, charging forward with wisps of flame trailing behind them.

            Margarete was immediately shooting, one bullet after the other.  The creatures screeched, a high, piercing noise.  I raised my Shooting Star Tome and tried to fight off the skulls charging me.  I bit my lip in pain as the skin on my fingers felt like it would burn from the flames' proximity.  When the skulls backed away, I scanned the room.  Both Margarete and Sasha had killed a group of skulls.  It was a bit embarrassing that mine were still alive.  The spy seemed a bit hurt, but not enough to warrant a Cure spell.  She aimed at my skulls and fired only once.  The middle skull burst, spewing a gelatinous substance over the room, and all three sank down.  Sasha polished off the last group with fluid punches and kicks.

            "Just what are these?" I wondered, looking at the liquid they had left behind.  Ghosts shouldn't do that…

            Margarete poked the deflated skull.  "Call me crazy, but…it looks like a jellyfish now."  She started as the creature faded.

            "Jellyfish?"

            "I'll just call you crazy," Sasha said.

            The fallen woman groaned, bringing my attention to the two smugglers.  "Cure!" I called twice, healing both the woman and the man.  They began to stand as I heard another voice, Sea Mother's.

            "I'm not about to lost to the likes of you monsters!"

            I turned to Sasha, startled.  "Looks like we gotta go save Sea Mama's ass," he muttered.  We ran out of the wheelhouse and stormed the stairs.

            Sea Mother was down on her knees when we found her.  I shivered at the fiends that surrounded her.  Three large, aqua snakes looked at us, with a single eye for each.  They slithered forward, every coil of their body a menacing action.  A bullet from Margarete split the eye of one.  It moaned in pain but continued its advance, crawling unerringly to Margarte.  She continued shooting, but she cried out in pain when the creature struck.  It sunk its fangs into her thigh and refused to let go even after I brained it with my tome.

            With shaky fingers, the spy pried the monster's mouth open and then dropped it.  Her fishnet stockings were torn and blood dribbled from the fang marks in her skin.  I was about to heal her when there was a gagging sound from behind.

            The other two snakes had gone after Sasha.  The fighter was now down on his knees, his face turning blue as one serpent tightened its vise around his neck.  One hand tried desperately to wrench the monster off; the other arm was made useless by the second snake coiled about.  Margarete aimed carefully and shot one, two, three times into this one, since there was less chance of a miss being lethal.  Struck repeatedly in the head, it dropped off of Sasha.  With both his arms free, Sasha tore the snake off of his neck and flung it into a bed.  I quickly cast Blessed Light, trusting it to take care of the monster.  I didn't want to come anywhere near it now.  The serpent writhed in pain before falling and slowly fading.

            Sasha rubbed his bruised neck as he coughed hard.  I healed both him and Margarete before turning to Sea Mother.  She was beginning to regain her own strength and cast a healing spell on herself.  "Are you all right?"

            "I'll be fine," she said.  "Please, could you check on Master Zhuzhen?  He's in the middle of a ceremony…if he is attacked…"

            "Don't worry, we'll go check," Margarete assured her.  She tested her healed leg, resting some of her weight on it.  Her shoulders fell as she relaxed.  I smiled, at least my healing was good.

            Though there was no screaming or panic, we proceeded with haste to the deck, where Zhuzhen was preparing for the exorcism.  He was kneeling in the middle of four candles, which shone brightly in the night, his aura rising as he chanted.  And yet, all of his strength was being channeled, weakening him.

            Four of the red skull groups appeared, one by each candle.  As the sounds of gunfire commenced, I held my tome tightly and concentrated.  "Blessed Light!"

            One of the groups fell, but another came together, all three skulls quivering.  The flame around them grew stronger, and I screamed as the same flame wrapped around my body.  The odor of burning flesh was nauseating; the feeling was agonizing.  Margarete shot at them to make them leave me alone.  I gasped a thanks and mumbled the Cure spell.

            Luckily, Zhuzhen was still fine.  His aura was still growing, but with some quick hand motions, the energy dispersed—replaced by a large, golden pentagram on the floor.

            I gasped at the design's power.  "This is…"

            "…Not too shabby," Sasha said.  His tone tried to mask how impressed he was.

            "Oh, can it," Zhuzhen told him.  "This pentagram will help contain her spirit.  I'll keep her weakened as you fight her."

            So we had to fight Li Li.  There was no peaceful way to put her at rest…

            "I'll help," Sea Mother called.  She made her way from the head of the stairs to stand in the pentagram, opposite Zhuzhen.

            The Adept nodded and looked at us.  "Give me a shout when you three are ready."

            "You have the leaves, Alice?" Sasha asked.  I nodded and held up the satchel.  I had started to learn how to distinguish the types of leaves and distributed Thera leaves before taking a Mana leaf.  "Remember to use the Pure leaves if you feel like you're going to lose it."

            "I will."

            "You need any time?" he asked Margarete.

            "No, I'm fine," the spy said.

            "Alright then, let's go," Sasha told Zhuzhen.

            "Let's begin, Sea Mother!"

            "Yes, let's," she said.  "On-tei-naa…on-tei-naa…Li Li, come before me!"  Both of the exorcists focused their energy and the pentagram glowed more strongly.

            "H-here she comes," I said nervously.

            Li Li's corpse appeared in the center of the pentagram.  "Damn you mortals," she snarled.  "How dare you invoke that wretched chant!"

            She charge at us, startling me into action.  I raised the tome as she struck with all her ferocity.  Her attacks knocked me down to the wood floorboards but Sasha quickly threw her off of me.  My chest ached from the hits dealt.

            Margarete pulled out a grenade but paused.  There were five people in the pentagram, making it too risky for explosives.  The spy swore in French and settled for using her gun.

            I held my tome close, ready to use magic.  We had to weaken Li Li.  Should I use Blessed Light?  She was a Dark class, so it would be effective…maybe too much so.  I didn't want to harm her more than necessary.  I chose instead to heal myself.

            Li Li, however, had no qualms about using her magic in an offensive manner.  She lifted her arm slowly, black mist wrapping around it.  She looked at me and smiled as she recited a chant.

            The black mist flowed from her arm to me, piercing my chest.  I think my heart stopped for a few seconds.  Everything faded before my eyes, and I heard wood clatter against the deck as the voodoo doll broke.  Fumbling, I found the satchel and a Thera leaf.  I chewed only once before swallowing.  The attack had made me fall to the floor, but I was still conscious—and now much more willing to use my own magic for an attack.

            Sasha was in front of me, and I could tell from the way he moved between Li Li and me that he was trying to block her from attacking me again.  I was grateful for the gesture, but I needed a free path for a Blessed Light.  Now it was obvious I couldn't hold back.

            Margarete was continuing to fire into Li Li.  The spy was spouting fierce invective about how things should just die when they were shot in the head.  There were three shots in Li Li's forehead, forming a triangle, and two in her chest.  Margarete was searching for some vital point, but I was sure it would continue to elude her.

            "Sasha!"  He turned back and saw the magic gathering in my hands.  Realizing my intent, he quickly stepped aside.  "Blessed Light!"

            Just as her spell had been devastating to me, mine knocked the corpse down in a flurry of lights.  As she was down, Sasha took the advantage to drive the bladed knuckles into her abdomen.  She moaned from the pain in her father's voice and swiped furiously at Sasha's face.  He cried out as blood dripped from his eyes and I healed him as soon as I could.

            The pentagram was taking effect on Li Li's spirit.  She seemed a little unsure as the fight continued.  She stopped using her magic, instead attacking.  Margarete shot, and Sasha tore away at the rotten flesh, and I cast Blessed Light.

            After the third spell, Li Li fell on her back.  She moaned, clearly in agony, but her malice was fading.  Her anger was dying…for the first time, she seemed truly aware of who she was, what she was.  "Help me," she begged, "The pain…Sea…Mother…"  Her eyes went to the elderly exorcist, pleading.  Sea Mother nodded, almost crying with tears of relief.  Li Li's pain would soon end.

            My eyes widened as I sensed a new aura on the boat.  One filled with vengeance…was this the person behind Li Li's return?  Why…was it coming here?  Li Li was so close…

            "This doll's just about served its purpose."  The speaker was an old Chinese man, dressed in clothes styled similarly to Zhuzhen's age and just about the same age as him.  However, he wore an ugly expression, a cruel smirk.  He was indeed the owner of the vengeful aura.

            "Dehuai, you moron," Sasha said.  "You know you almost killed your Key with this 'doll'?"  He folded his arms.  "Dumbass."

            Dehuai chose to ignore him for the moment, which made me suspect Sasha might be correct.  He chose instead to focus on me.  "Ah, Alice…you're even more beautiful in person…"

            My fists clenched at the impertinent remark.  Here was Li Li, on the floor in agony, and he was discarding her like—like some broken doll!  "You were the one who brought Li Li back!  You were using her!"

            "So I was."

            Zhuzhen shook his head in disgust.  "You'll do anything to get your way, won't you?"

            Dehuai laughed.  "You still don't understand, Zhuzhen.  But I'm sure you two," he said with a dark glare to him and Sasha, "will make excellent food for the crabs."  He turned to Li Li.  "Now, Li Li, I will unleash your full power!  Hate everything!  Devour them with your hatred!"

            "No!" I said.  She was so close to finding peace, he couldn't do this to her again!  In the same manner of Zhuzhen's incantations, he performed his, revealing the metal claw that replaced a left hand and the peg for a leg.  Flames surrounded Li Li and her body contorted as they engulfed her.  They lifted her to her feet as she continued to writhe, her father's voice screaming.

            Her rage was building again.  The two Chinese exorcists began praying again, redoubling their efforts.  Both were sweating from the exertion, but Sea Mother trembled like a leaf in the late autumn wind—I couldn't see how she was even standing.

            Not even the pentagram could contain Li Li's fury now.  It was affecting her body, as the ashen skin took on a purple hue and the black of her hair turned to a shock of white.

            "Wait, Li Li!" I cried out.  But it was too late, I could see; her arms were changing into tentacles, her lower body encased in a darker shell.  As she had died in the sea, she was becoming a creature of the deep in her wrath.  We would have to calm her spirit again.  We would have to fight her again and inflict more pain.  "I promise," I said fervently, "I promise I'll deliver you to your eternal rest!"

            But Li Li only laughed scornfully.  Margarete shook her head.  "I don't think she's in a mood for reasoning."

            "I know."

            Li Li spread her scythe-like tentacles apart.  A dark fog gathered at our legs, working its way up.  It prickled painfully, like I was being stabbed with hundreds of needles, but it wasn't as bad as last time.  Sasha was the least hurt, being attuned to darkness himself.  Margarete was not badly off either; in fact, the spy was already shooting at Li Li, adding to the bullets in her body and head.

            Sasha charged at the monstrous shape.  He dug the bladed knuckles, making some black fluid—blood?—spurt from the open wound.  Li Li howled and knocked him aside with her oily tentacles.  In turn, I unleashed a powerful Blessed Light.

            With Margarete unable to use her grenades and Sasha reluctant for some reason to use his fusion, the fight became a flurry of gunshots and punches.  I alternated between casting Blessed Light and curing when it was needed.  Slowly we were wearing Li Li down, under the eyes of Dehuai, Zhuzhen, and Sea Mother.  Why wasn't Dehuai doing anything?  He was simply observing us, curious…was this a test?  Startled by my glimpse of understanding, I looked up at the sinister Adept.  He was testing me…through Li Li!  He wanted to see if I could survive—he didn't expect anyone else to.

            The realization gave me a fresh surge of determination.  If this was a test, I would exceed his expectations, and help everyone else survive.  That was why I had been gifted with these healing powers.

            Li Li used her magic again, in the same attack as before.  In rapid succession, the three necessary Cure spells were cast to heal everyone.

            Both of the exorcists seemed so exhausted.  I hoped they would be alright, especially Sea Mother.  She seemed to be completely drained of her strength, only still standing because of her determination to save Li Li.  She'd have to rest soon.

            I found a Pure leaf and chewed on it.  I had to stay focused on the fight.  Sasha attacked Li Li again and the effects of the pentagram became more apparent as she began to sway, weakened.  There was a sharp twinge of surprise from Dehuai.  He had either overestimated her or underestimated us.

            Margarete continued firing and I cast Blessed Light.  Just a little more, and Li Li would finally rest…as Sasha and Margarete continued to pound away at her, I focused my energy for one last spell.  "Blessed Light!"

            As the stream of lights hit her, Li Li moaned and slumped forward.  Her arms dropped and she fell forward, her body slowly changing back into its original form—though now riddled by bullet holes and blade marks.

            As she laid on the floor, I could feel all the vengeance seeping out of her, that spark of hatred finally dying.  Very slowly, her lips moved.  "Th-thank you…"

            I sighed, gripping the tome tightly to my chest as she faded away.  Li Li was at rest.  Both she and her father could go to heaven.

             Sasha smirked and turned to Dehuai.  "Now it's your turn."

            Dehuai only laughed.  "I'll kill you soon enough, pest."  He disappeared and I heard a body drop to the floor.  Sea Mother had fallen.

            "Sea Mother!" I cried out.  She must be exhausted, she needed rest!  But I paused when I reached her side.  There was…something empty about her.  Just like…a corpse.  I knelt down, reached out, brushing aside her white sleeve, and held her wrist.  There was no pulse.  "Sea Mother…"

            "You're really something, Sea Mother," Zhuzhen said.  His voice was shaky, as he was still weak from the exorcism.  "You gave everything you had to save her…it was the finest exorcism I've ever seen…"

            Her skin was aged and leathery, worn from many years of aiding her town.  Her arm fell back to the deck as I stood and walked to the front of the ship.  The last rites needed to be done, and yet, no Christian prayer would do.  I remembered the prayer she had used for Yen Yen and lifted my voice.

            "Spirits of the heavens!  Spirits of the heavens!" I called.  "Our beloved exorcist will be coming under your care."  I clasped my hands as the last night flooded back to me, how she had watched over me so diligently to keep me from dying.  And I—I had done nothing for her.  "Our wonderful, wonderful exorcist…please be good to her."

            Zhuzhen laughed and I turned to see that Sea Mother's body was gone.  She had indeed found rest.  "A fine send off.  Sea Mother will be most pleased."

            From the wheelhouse, the male smuggler emerged.  He was clearly nervous as he looked around wildly.  Spotting us, he ran towards us.  "The monsters are gone now, aren't they?"

            Margarete answered him.  "Yes, they're all gone."

            He nodded and then walked back to the wheelhouse, probably to report to his boss.

            Zhuzhen sighed.  "I wish I could say they're gone, but there's always the off-chance…"

            "Forget it.  Li Li was bringing them,, there's no reason for them to come anymore."  Sasha shook his head.  His eyes closed and he covered his face.

            "You getting seasick again?" Margarete asked.  "I swear kid, you've been fine for the last hour—it's all in your head!"

            "Then why is it in my stomach?" Sasha grumbled.  He stumbled over to the side of the ship and I heard the sounds of retching begin.

            "Anyway," Zhuzhen said, "I'll stay up here for a while, to make sure.  You three should go get some of that food the smugglers promised…"

            "Sounds good to me," Margarete said.

            "I want some too."

            "Forget it, you'll just throw it up."

            "No I won't!  You said it was all in my head, right?"

            Margarete and Sasha were already on food.  Just minutes ago a woman had died…did they not care?  Even Zhuzhen did not seem affected by the night's events.  Was it only me?  Why…?

            I don't belong here.

            "Come on Alice, you hungry?" Margarete asked.  I nodded, though my appetite had left me a while ago.  Was something wrong with me?  I hadn't eaten since morning, I could be hungry…how could I be when I had just seen a woman die?  "Alright, let's go downstairs.  Sasha can get the food."

            "Goddamn it, why do I have to do all the work?"

            "Go on, get it if you're not too seasick," Margarete taunted.

            Irritated, Sasha made a rude gesture with his hands.  Margarete only laughed in amusement.

            How can they just laugh? I wondered.  Everything seemed unreal now.  It didn't make sense that a person could die and others could see and not care.  It was like a bad dream.  Oh, there I was again, thinking things must not be real because I didn't like them.  Maybe I was just a fool.

            My legs followed Margarete down to the cabin.  She frowned when she looked at me.  "You alright, Alice?"

            "Yes."

            She didn't believe me.  "Hey, we did pretty good tonight, didn't we?  Now Li Li's at rest and Dalian doesn't have to worry about monsters or ghosts."

            But now Dalian had no Sea Mother…everyone had seemed to rely on her so much.  What would they do without her?  What would they do when someone needed a healer or passed away?  They must already be wondering where she was…

            "All right, time to dig in," Sasha announced as he came down.  The food was plain, rice and vegetables without any meat.  It did not look at all appetizing.  I took the bowl he gave me with a polite smile.

            "So those smugglers are good for something," Margarete said.  She brought the bowl close to her mouth as she ate, using the chopsticks quickly and efficiently.

            Sasha shook his head.  "Jumpy though.  Those guys are suspicious."

            "Told ya so."  Margarete's voice was muffled, probably because of her food.

            "Don't…that's just disgusting, Margarete."

            I played with one of the rice grains before trying a small bite.  I couldn't taste anything.  I poked around in the bowl with my chopsticks.  My mind was still on Sea Mother and Yen Yen and the missionaries and my father.  How many did that make it?  Five.  Five lives that passed away, that I didn't do a thing—

            "Alice?  What's wrong?"

            "Mm?"  I looked up and started when Sasha's face was only a breath away from mine.  His brown eyes were boring into mine even after he sat back.

            "What's wrong?"

            "Nothing."

            "Then why aren't you eating?"

            "The food doesn't taste good," I said.  He would probably laugh if I told him what was really wrong.  No, Sasha would not be that callous.  Would he?

            Sasha's eyes narrowed in irritation.  "It's not like we're on a cruise ship.  It's that or it's nothing."

            "I know."  I didn't really care.  I took a small morsel of rice and then dropped my chopsticks in the bowl.  "I'm just not really that hungry."

            His hand touched my forehead.  I backed away from the touch and he frowned.  "Well, you don't feel hot, but you didn't give me much chance to check."

            "I'm not ill."

            "The what the hell is wrong?" demanded Sasha.  "I'm not in the mood for Twenty Questions."

            "Then just leave me alone!" I said, losing my patience.  Was it so hard for him to see I didn't want to be bothered?

            His expressive almond eyes rolled.  "What did I do now?"

            I thrust away the bowl.  I was letting my bad temper start quarrels.  I shouldn't be down here.  I grabbed a pillow and blanket before heading upstairs.  It was then I realized I was crying.  The tears made me both ashamed and angry.  Why was I the only one who ever cried?  What was wrong with me?

            Zhuzhen was coming down the stairs, though he stopped when he saw me.  "Alice?"

            "I'm going on the deck," I murmured, ducking my head away as I brushed past him.  I hoped he wouldn't follow me.  He didn't.  Thank God.  I walked past the wheelhouse and chose a spot near the barrels.  I tossed the pillow and blanket down, then tossed myself down on them, and tried to calm down.  But it simply didn't work.

            I pulled the blanket over my head in the vain hope that no one would see me crying. But if they didn't see me, they would certainly hear me.

            Why was I so helpless? Why couldn't I save anyone? Everyone seemed to die around me. Why did people think I had powers when I couldn't do anything? Ever since Father died...

            No, even before that. It had started eight years ago, with Lyssa...Alyssa...when I first heard her voice. When I found I wasn't a normal child, that I had 'powers'. But then it had been okay. People did not expect much of me, and when I exceeded their low expectations, I was met with praise and encouragement.

            But now everyone required too much of me. Or maybe I had reached my limits and no one had realized it yet. But their claims and expectations kept rising, and every time I came up short, another person died. Why did this keep happening to me? Had I done something wrong? But then...why did others get hurt, and not me?

            I heard shoes on the floor of the deck and tightened the blanket around my head. Hopefully the smugglers would think I was sleeping, not crying. The sound came closer and then stopped.

            "I hope you're not planning on sleeping out here."

            It was Sasha's voice. I shut my eyes, glad that I was facing the barrels. If I was just quiet long enough, he'd think I was asleep and leave me alone.

            "You're not asleep, Alice. I heard you sniffling." With a thud Sasha sat down and sighed. "Could you just tell me what's wrong?"

            I was sleeping now. If I talked to him I was sure I would start crying again. The tears were already building up and a headache was raging, turning my brain to mush. I felt so awful. Sasha must think I was such a crybaby, and I was.

            "Say something. Please." Sasha groaned when I didn't respond. "Please, Alice? I'm really desperate here." His voice had taken on a wheedling tone. "I've got Zhuzhen bothering me to be a gentleman and apologize and Margarete threatening to string me up and use my manhood for target practice if I don't."

            A short laugh burst from me at the humorous idea.

            "See? I knew I could get a response with that," Sasha said.

            I was starting to cry again, now that the silence was broken; I could either feel nothing or feel sorry for myself, and Sasha insisted on bothering me. "You're such a jerk," I muttered.

            "Jerk? You can't think of any better insults?" I clutched the blanket even tighter, shutting the salty breeze out completely. "Come on, be a little creative. You're like a nun."

            "Bastard." It was the worst word I could think of.

            "Ah, but I'm a stubborn bastard," Sasha said cheerfully, "and I'm going to stay here until you tell me what's wrong."

            "Nothing's wrong."

            "No?"

            "No," I said in a final tone.

            "Then come downstairs and eat."

            "I'm not hungry."

            "Then come downstairs and sleep."

            "I'm not sleepy."

            "Then why are you covering yourself with a blanket?"

            "I'm cold."

            "You're crying."

            "I'm cold."

            I heard his shoes scrape against the deck as he stood. He was going away. Good. My headache was going down a bit; if I could have fifteen minutes to myself I could make myself presentable and come back down and explain that I had been in a bad temper and apologize for my rude behavior.

            Then the blanket was torn away. I rolled over as I tried to hold on, but Sasha succeeded in taking the blanket from me.

            "Wow," he said in surprise, "You're really red."

            I yanked the blanket back and buried my face in the green cloth. I already knew I looked horrid, why did he have to tell me that? My face was red, and probably my eyes too, and my hair was all messy. I must look so stupid to him.

            "I know you're crying, Alice, for the love of God, will you tell me why?" He was beginning to be exasperated again. "Is this about Sea Mother?...Hold that thought."

            With that, he walked a bit to the side and vomited.

            "You're making yourself sick," I murmured.

            "I don't care. I told you I'm a stubborn bastard, and I'll warn you now I'm more stubborn than you are." He was silent for a moment. "Is it my fault?"

            "No."

            "Okay, whose fault is it?"

            "It's mine. I'm in a bad mood."

            "Why the bloody hell are you in a bad mood?" His pacing was almost storming across the old deck. Margarete and Zhuzhen could probably hear him in the cabin.

            "Because I've seen five people die that shouldn't have, and they wouldn't have if I could actually do what everyone wants me to, and--" I burst into tears again and turned back to the pillow.

            "God damn it, Alice," Sasha said emphatically.

            I didn't care.  He already knew I was a baby, what was the point of hiding it anymore?  It gave me a spiteful satisfaction to think how dismayed Sasha must be.  He was risking his life in taking me from Dehuai, and what a disappointment I was.  Change the world…determine man's fate…when I couldn't change the fate of one…

            I heard Sasha slide down.  His pants were brushing against my hair.  He leaned over me and I tensed when I felt his hands on my waist.  "Relax," he whispered, "I'm not going to hurt you."  He carefully drew me up so my head was against his chest.  I turned and placed my face against the cool leather vest.  I was still crying hard, and I felt Sasha's arms wrap around my small body in…a hug?  "You're only human.  It's not your fault."

            Why was he comforting me?  I thought he was mad at me.  I opened my mouth but couldn't think of anything except the obvious: "You need a bath."

            Sasha chuckled, his chin resting on my head.  "You don't smell so pretty either."

            I probably didn't.  I sniffled and he laughed quietly again for some reason.  Was he laughing at me?  "Why can't I do anything?"

            'You've done plenty.  Don't worry about anything.  Sea Mama's sure not upset about being dead, or she'd be raising cain right now."  I laughed, even as the tears continued to well up.  "They're all at rest now.  They're fine."

            "You think so?"

            "Of course."  His grip on me tightened a bit, but by now I was completely relaxed.  For some reason, all of Sasha's usual agitation had vanished.  He was even…humming.  It sounded like a lullaby, so soothing.  But what could have calmed him?  Was it because…I was upset?

            But I wasn't so upset now.  His touch was rather comforting, a reminder that he would protect me.  The blanket was still draped over my legs.  Both were warm.

            "You feeling sleepy yet?"

            "Mm-hm."

            "You want me to take you downstairs?"

            "You'll get sick if you stand up," I reminded him.

            "Well, I'll let my stomach settle down first."

            I nodded, my head rubbing against his chest.  "Good."  Knowing that I would get to bed anyways, I settled in his hold, too tired to move.  I closed my eyes as Sasha paused in his humming to sigh.

**

            "My, don't you two look cute."

            Margarete was standing in front of me, along with Zhuzhen.  The male smuggler was trying to glance indiscreetly at me—or at us, I corrected myself, realizing I was still on Sasha.  We were still on deck too.  The sun glared in my eyes.

            "I'm guessing you did a little more than apologize…"

            "Wha?" Sasha croaked groggily.  I had already looked down and seen where his hands had snuck to.  One was a little too high on my waist, while the other kept me up on his lap by holding my rear securely.  "Ah…heh heh…please don't hit me, Alice."

            "Kindly let go of me," I requested.  I didn't know how to move away on my own without making things more awkward, since his arms were wrapped around me.  The Eurasian man quickly let go and I stood up.

            Margarete was still grinning broadly, enjoying our discomfort.  "We were wondering where you two were all night…"

            I glared at Sasha, wondering myself why he had taken me downstairs like he had said he would.  "My stomach didn't feel good," he said defensively.

            "You could have woken me up."

            "But you looked really comfortable."

            "In your arms?" the blonde teased.

            Sasha folded his arms.  "I'm not saying anything, because I know you're going to twist it around."

            "Pervert," she muttered.

            "I was asleep!"

            My stomach growled, complaining at the lack of food.  I covered it hastily, but everyone on deck must have heard.

            "I suppose we should have our breakfast now," Zhuzhen said.

            "God, Alice, you need to eat more," Margarete said.  "I keep thinking you're going to wither up and blow away."

            "I am rather hungry," I admitted, turning red.

            Sasha rolled his eyes.  "This is the second day in a row you've had only breakfast.  You're going to starve yourself."

            "I don't mean to—"

            "Let's just eat," Zhuzhen interrupted.

            We all sat down in a circle for breakfast.  Even the two smugglers joined us, the man sitting between Margarete and Sasha and the woman sitting by me.  I edged away from her slightly, towards Zhuzhen.

            This time there was some meat in the rice, fish I discovered when I put it in my mouth.  Despite his declaration of never eating fish again, Sasha was devouring the food.  Margarete was chuckling at him; he frowned when he realized what the joke was.  "Shove it, I'm hungry," he said, and went back to his food.

            I also had a voracious appetite.  I had four bowls, and stopped when I felt that anymore would make my stomach explode.  I leaned back against a barrel and sighed.  Now that it was daylight, everything about last night seemed so distant.  Except for Sasha.  I remembered his kindness and his serenity; his bad smell too.  I giggled, attracting everyone's attention.

            "Are we near Shanghai?" I asked.

            "Two or three hours," the man responded.  He was still eating, slowly and methodically.

            I nodded.  "Well, then, I'm going to go downstairs.  I want to finish reading my tome."

            Down in the cabin, I sighed as I sank down into one of the lower beds.  I felt stuffed like a goose.  My stomach felt hard with the rice and fish and vegetables packed in.  I rolled over and picked my tome up off the floor, where I had left it last night in my tantrum.  A soft breath escaped me.  It wasn't something I should think about now.  Sasha was right; as long as their souls were at rest, it wasn't so bad…  I just needed to become stronger, so it wouldn't happen again.

            I read to the end of the tome, when the once beautiful, now desolate, continent sank into the ocean.  And as it did, a small boy made a wish…upon a shooting star…that the continent would be reborn in its full glory, moments before the flooding waters had swallowed him up.

            The tome dropped from my hand, landing on the floor.  I rolled over onto my back and stared at the loose stuffing of the mattress above.  It was so sad.  I shouldn't read sad things anymore.  Now I felt like crying again.

            Zhuzhen's staff, tapping on each step, announced the Adept's entrance.  "I thought you were reading, Alice."

            "I finished the book."

            "Did you like it?"

            I nodded.  "It was very poetic.  Lots of symbols.  I think I missed some."

            "Are you feeling better?"

            "Yes."  I gave him a genuine smile.  "Sasha cheered me up.  You were right about him, Zhuzhen, I can trust him."

            Sasha had shown so much concern for me in Dalian when Li Li had cursed me…and then on the boat last night.  He wasn't concerned for only my physical well-being; he seemed to truly care about me.  Whether he wanted to admit it or not, I was more than a prisoner to him…now the question was…what was I?  Did he…fancy me?  No, that was ridiculous.  Maybe he felt sorry for me.

            The Adept had a smile that resembled a grimace.  He looked very uncomfortable.  "About Sasha…there's something I think you should know…"

            I frowned at the wary tone in his voice.  Had Sasha done something bad?  "What is it?"

            "Hey Alice, Zhuzhen, Sasha wants you guys up here," Margarete called.

            "Can it wait?" Zhuzhen asked.

            "Well, he says he's going to croak any moment now, so he wants someone to do the last rites."  It was impossible to miss the spy's tone of amusement.

            Zhuzhen rolled his eyes.  "Big baby," I was surprised to hear him mutter.

            On the deck, Sasha was busy tossing up breakfast and whatever supper he had left.  Both of the smugglers were back in the wheelhouse.  Margarete shook her head.  "Why do we feed you, anyways?"

            "I didn't think I was gonna get sick again," he moaned.

            "Turned green as soon as he stood," Margarete told us.  Zhuzhen sighed.

            "Then why doesn't he sit down?"

            "Well, he did try, but then it was either throw up on the deck or stand."

            "Sasha?  You want me to help you downstairs?" I asked him.

            "I don't think it'll do much good," Sasha groaned, but he gave me his arm and leaned on me.

            I took small steps, trying to keep Sasha steady, but we had only reached the wheelhouse when he broke away from me.  He staggered to the side of the boat, barely making it before he threw up again.  His face was pale as his chest heaved.

            My hand patted Sasha's back.  "Are you going to be alright?"

            "…No.  Damn, now I'm dry-heaving.  Fuck this," Sasha growled suddenly.  He moved back from the railing and put one foot on it.  Before I could ask what he was doing, Sasha stood on the railing and dove in the water.

            "Sasha!"

            "What's he doing?" Margarete demanded.  Together we leaned over the edge, searching the dark waters.  Where was Sasha?  What was he thinking?  How was he going to get back on the boat?

            "There's a monster in the water," Zhuzhen said, pointing.  He gripped his staff tightly, but then I grabbed his hand.

            "That's Sasha," I said.  It was the blue reptile, an odd lizard-like creature.  He looked directly at us and smiled with the monstrous jaws.  It wasn't very pretty.  "You're not going to swim the rest of the way, are you?" I called out to him.

            As response, he dove under, hiding himself from view should the smugglers have come back out.

            "That's one way to not get seasick," Zhuzhen said, shaking his head.

            "Hey," Margarete said, "Whatever floats his boat."

**

Author's Note:  Okay, hopefully none of the chapters will ever be this long again.  Coming in at thirty-six pages…wow.

Some notes about this chapter:

I don't know where I heard 'raising cain' from, but it's the same thing as raising hell.  It seemed like something Sasha might say.  And Sasha's first line to Dehuai is something I've always wanted to say.

A little Sasha/Alice scene for everyone who likes Yuri/Alice…this was planned, although I kept changing how it came about and when.

For how combat goes, I used how many turns it took for my characters to defeat monsters.  Of course, then I realized right before I fought Li Li that all of my characters were in the back row for some obscure reason.  (I think it was because physical attacks were ineffective against the last boss.)  And I didn't bother retesting, so I just said whatever and fought against Li Li.  It took me three turns to defeat the first form, five to defeat the second.  I added one turn onto the first battle and I think two on the second because grenades on a boat is a little too risky, and I didn't think Sasha would fuse in that situation.  Hm…there's something else here.

Oh, Lyssa is a reference to a fanfic idea about when Alice discovered her powers.  And I don't know how I did, but I decided Alice discovered her powers eight years ago when she was twelve.  If this is wrong, tell me.  There might be more mention about Lyssa in later chapters (most probably in the Zurich chapter).

**

Reviewers:

A Lifeless Beauty:  Yay, it's pretty!

Yes, it is planned to be more angsty than the original game.  Yes, Alice is going to hate his guts.  Yes, they will be in love for a little while.  There are a few butterflies in this chapter.

Sasha is much more vocal than Squall…although I can also see how he resembles him.

Yay, Fav Author!  ^_^

MikoNoNyte:  Hopefully you don't think this chapter is short.  ^^;;;

I liked having Alice blackmail Sasha.  It seemed right; she felt trapped by him and is just rattling the cage a bit.  Having fun with him.  ^_^  I'm glad my detail was good.

Hm, two people comparing Sasha to Squall.  Well, they both are a bit more anti-social types, though I'll have to not have Sasha say "Whatever" now.

Sasha's just fun to play with.  It's basically tampering with Yuri's character and seeing what would be changed with the storyline change.  (Does anyone know the storyline change?  That will probably be in the Cypress hotel scene next chapter.)

Nightraven Rue:  My history class actually talked about watching that movie.  I wanted to see it to know what you were talking about, but the teacher decided we would watch Pearl Harbor.  ;.;