Old Names and New Faces

by OrigamiArrows

After magic is discovered in Alice's world of science and war, things go terribly wrong when someone uses it. She is separated from her younger brother and needs to find him quickly before their time runs out. But when she goes to the one woman that can help her, Alice finds she'll have to deal with the last thing she wanted; traveling companions.

6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is the updated version of chapter six. (5/16/17)

Six years ago:

For several minutes my mind buzzed with wordless consciousness. Then I grew aware of the sound of my breaths. Slow and steady, I focused on them. Then the faint blips of a heart monitor drove me back to thought and action.

My eyes snapped open as I tried to sit up. But I found I could only rise a few inches from the bed before falling back. I gasped as a woman in a lab coat rose from her chair across the room. "Relax," she said, walking over to me. "You've been asleep for a while, but you're fine. The surgery was a success." The small room glared white and all I could see inside was my bed, a desk, and a computer. Two chairs lined the wall to the left of my bed.

"Surgery?" I croaked, attempting to push myself up again. I tried to remember why I was here, but found a dark haze where my memories should be. My heartbeat drummed against the back of my eyes.

"I know you're disoriented," the doctor said, "but don't move. You're on a lot of painkillers, so you feel fine, but you need to rest." She left me and walked back to her screen and tapped it a few times.

"What is it?" Adrian's voice came from the screen.

"She's awake," the woman said.

I looked down at myself. Most of my body was hidden beneath a blanket, but my arms were free. I lifted a hand and found a tangle of tubes growing plant-like from my arm and running to an IV bag. A cut, woven with stitches like spider legs, formed a T along the inside of my arm, with the horizontal line just under my wrist and the stem of the T trailing down and disappearing under my shirt sleeve.

My other arm bore the same cuts, but as I flexed my hands I couldn't feel a thing. I watched in distant fascination as the cuts stretched along with the skin of my arm. Air cooled my scalp and I ran a hand over my head to find myself shaved bald.

"Look at me." The doctor appeared a few inches if front of me, shining a light into my eyes as I blinked at her. Satisfied with my blank stare, she turned to the screen next to my IV bag and started scrolling through my heart monitor, blood pressure, and the pressure in my brain.

A click sounded across the room. I looked up to see the door in the corner of the room open, and Adrian step in. "Sleep well?" he asked. He wore a simple white collared shirt, his usual suit missing.

"How long was I out?" I asked, finally managing to prop my back against the headboard.

"Two weeks. We discussed this before. Do you remember?" Adrian asked, taking a seat on the chair next to the bed.

"No. But she said I'm on painkillers. That they're making me feel strange." My hand flopped on the blanket as I tried to gesture to the woman.

"Yes. I had them dialed back about an hour ago, so your mind should be clearing up. Now," Adrian held up a screen, on it was the word BLUE written in green, "what color is this word."

"Blue. No, green," I said, blinking at the screen as I fought to focus.

"Now solve this." On the screen in bold black font displayed 12 + 7 = ? I started with twelve and counted up with my fingers. I lost track twice and had to start over, counting under my breath. "Nineteen," I said, louder.

"Right." Adrian swiped to the next question. A picture of twisting lines and dots had a blank square removed form the center. Below it, four similar patterns waited, in the shape of the missing section. "Which pattern belongs here?"

I scanned the pattern, following the coils and dots before tapping the pattern I thought matched.

"Good," Adrian said, pulling the screen away. "What's your name?"

I answered him and he nodded. "And your brother's name?"

"Nathaniel," I said.

"What's my name?"

"Adrian. You're asking me to make sure you didn't kill half my brain cells." The last part was more an attempt at organizing my thoughts than a question. Adrian smirked, watching me muddle through my own mind.

I stared at my palms and flexed my hands. "I remember you told me I was going to have surgery. To get a System. I have machines in me now." I stared at the scars on my skin in fascinated revulsion. There were wires under my skin now. In my arms, legs, spine, and eyes.

In my brain.

I swung my feet off the bed and as my legs appeared from beneath the blanket I saw the same cuts running up them. The doctor walked forward, a warning on her lips, but Adrian raised an arm to stop her, watching me with an expectant smile.

Pushing myself off of the bed, I set my feet on the cold tile and locked my legs. That worked for a few seconds, numbness masking the cold of the tiles. Then my legs buckled under me, sending me into a tangled heap on the floor.

I panted, giving myself a minute to recover, and pushed myself onto my hands and knees. It felt like my whole body was asleep, fuzzy and distant. Clenching my teeth, I stood. Adrian gave me a proud grin.

"I want to see Nathaniel." Nathaniel was probably experiencing a meltdown. I made sure to see him at least once a day, so two weeks without me left one of the few consistencies of his life gone.

"You can't yet. You have to wait here for another week."

"Why? And where are we?" I collapsed back on the bed, giving up the fight against my exhaustion.

"You need to be watched for complications. We did go rooting around in your brain after all. You can't see Nathaniel because he's at the facility. We're in a medical center roughly 500 miles west of it."

I grimaced, but there was no fighting this. The only thing I could do was rest. If I didn't give them a reason to delay, I could leave in a week.

"You should lay down," the doctor said. "You need to give your body time to recover."

I nodded and laid back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Two days passed without complications. I rested when I was told, ate, and exercised. My body's fragility was alarming, but I regained my strength quickly. I took walks in the small garden outside the center to get away from the gray halls.

Beyond the grey medical center, a dark forest of pines stretched all the way to a mountain range in the distance. A similar view surrounded the whole building, with no sign of human habitation. I liked the view, but a small part of me found it unnerving. The staff I saw in the building rarely made eye contact, and awkward silences hung around the groups I passed.

On the third day my breakdown started.

The only people I'd seen at this medical facility were me, Adrian, seven doctors, and anywhere from ten to thirty nondescript men and women in black shirts and pants with TOR rifles. Adrian was the only person I talked to besides the doctors, those conversations fixed only on my healing.

I sat in the grass, my white, cotton medical shirt and pants blowing in the wind as I watched the forest. Adrian lounged in a chair next to me, reading a book. We'd been here for about an hour in silence. I ran a thumb over the scar on my left arm, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

"How do you feel?" Adrian asked.

I sighed. "Fine. For the hundredth damn time, fine."

"I would have expected you to feel something by now. Maybe you've found it easier to open doors, or you've seen a flicker of light across your vision?"

"No."

Adrian's book snapped shut. "Then maybe you feel repulsed or scared. I'll remind you: I'm the only other person who's gone through this."

My lip curled at the thought. "Of course I feel repulsed. Leave me alone." I clenched and unclenched my hands. Deciding I was done tolerating him, I stood and walked back towards the building. Adrian went back to his book, ignoring me as I passed.

I got to the door and reached for the knob. I grabbed it, turned it, pulled the door open and took a step.

Something jerked me to a stop before I could get beyond the door frame. Blinking, I turned in confusion to face the door. My hand still held the knob, with my wrist bent around the door at an awkward angle. I stood frozen, staring at my hand. Why was it there?

I tried to let go, but found that my hand only twitched. Fear knifed through me as I stepped back around the door, straightening my wrist. Tugging, I tried moving my arm instead of just my hand. Sparks of pain erupted in my hand and wrist as my grip tightened against my will.

I cried out at the pain, watching my knuckles grow white as my hand continued to tighten around the knob, my muscles burning in protest. I yelled again, tugging at my hand with my free one.

"Relax," Adrian said, appearing behind me and resting a hand on my shoulder. With his other hand he held a screen up to his ear. "Come to the west yard now, and bring a tranquilizer."

My shoulders shook as I wrenched at my hand. Pain lanced through my frozen fingers, my muscles screaming a message for me to stop.

"You need to relax," Adrian said again. "The System is misinterpreting your panic. You're making it worse."

I shook my head and threw my body away from the door, but my hand still held. Adrian sighed, gripped my free arm and tugged me back to my feet. A man in a lab coat sprinted over, needle in hand. "Use it now," Adrian said to him.

The man nodded and stuck the needle into my arm. A few minutes later, I was asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"That was expected," Adrian said. "Your System is still trying to adjust to understanding your brainwaves. Some miscalculations were anticipated."

I flexed my hands, waiting for the faintest twitch or muscle spasm. None came. I stood from the bed. "I'll be outside."

In the garden I sat hunched in the grass, watching the wind shift the trees. A security guard leaned against the nearest wall of the building, facing me.

I wanted to call Nathaniel, but Adrian refused to give me my screen. But calling him would be a bad idea anyway. He'd want me to come back immediately, but he wouldn't understand why I couldn't. I ran my hands over the fuzz of my hair and took a deep breath.

My hands were warm against my head, but they felt alien somehow. The memory of the lack of control kept circling over my thoughts. I flexed my hands without issue, but the feeling didn't leave.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my hands. I couldn't control them. It had only lasted a minute, the equivalent of a severe muscle spasm, but the event rooted in me like a weed.

That, and the memory of Mika and Rutile mixed within me to yield an ugly inkling. I tried to drown it, but Adrian's insistence that I couldn't call Nathaniel, Mika, or Rutile only made my fear grow.

Am I a machine? The thought chased itself through my head until an alarm went off next to me, jolting me and reminding me that I needed to visit one of the doctors.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Blue eyes stared back at me as I looked in the mirror. My hands planted on either side of the glass. Was I myself? Was I here? How could I tell? Mika and Rutile had all those fake memories. What guarantee did I have that mine were real?

I knew Adrian wanted to use me for fighting. So wouldn't it be better to have a machine than a flawed human child? Everything familiar had vanished, replaced by this facility. Adrian was the only person I recognized here. I clenched my hands into fists, my breath growing irregular.

If I were a machine, then would I be able to feel pain? I slammed a hand against the sink, and a spark of pain greeted me. But I knew pain could be simulated and I wouldn't know the difference. I had to look deeper.

I drew my hand back and smashed the mirror. Flashing shards burst from the frame, tinkling into the sink and onto the floor. I snatched one from the basin and slashed it across my palm.

A line of blood oozed from the cut, dripping from my palm and into the sink. Droplets of red trickled into the sink, falling among the mirror shards. I bled, so I must be a living person, right? But so what if I was flesh? Wouldn't it be possible to carve out the frontal lobe and replaced it with a computer? And they definitely operated on my head: my scars confirmed it.

If my consciousness was a program, then I wouldn't be created with the capability to harm myself, right? I slashed at my palm again. Another gash opened across my palm as more blood dotted the rim of the sink.

I wouldn't be able to kill myself.

The thought froze me. The shard in my fingers winked at me as blood dripped off its edge, daring me to test the thought. I could put the glass down, guarantee nothing, and continue down the road my life was becoming. Or I could prove myself real and do it, end my doubts, my life, and leave Nathaniel behind.

I flung the shard into the sink and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What triggered that incident yesterday?" Adrian asked, sitting across from me at the table.

"What incident?" I asked, staring at the sandwich in my bandaged hand.

"You have slashes across your palm and left a mess in your sink. Why?" He glared at me. "Your health is very important to me."

I returned his glare and dropped my sandwich, resting my elbows on the table. "I know you want me to fight. Why not use machines?"

His eyes narrowed to green slivers for a moment, flicking over my features. "Ah," he said, his smirk returning. "You're asking if you're a computer." He leaned back and drew his screen from his pocket. "About ten years ago I had the idea to make a robot army. So I did. A group of ten robots, prototypes for the battlefield. They worked wonderfully, too: great aim, nearly endless energy, and no hesitation."

He turned his screen and held it out to me. On it was a photo of ten shining bodies. Where they should have had faces, a silver dome and two black dots stared out. The rest of their bodies were as polished and featureless as a mirror. "But before I sent them to fight, I had to be sure no one else could take control of them. I brought in some of the best professionals in hacking in the country, and I challenged them to take control of my robots. The prototypes all got their instructions from one source, a mother computer. Three of the professionals succeeded. My army no longer worked for our mother computer. I ended the project."

Adrian's eyes met mine as his smile grew. "So I thought: I already have a human army, with minds immune to hacking. But they are only human. So what was the perfect middle ground? Something I could control from a distance, with the strength and reaction time of a machine and the capability to make its own rational decisions."

"Me. The System," I said, understanding sending conflicting shudders of relief at my humanity and horror of the future up my spine.

Adrian gave me a frigid smile.

Present:

The Ryanban's castle loomed over us, its high marble walls and set of doors radiated hostility.

"Here we are," Fai said as he marched up to the doors. "No wasting time. Let's get in there!"

Syaoran glanced from the walls of the castle to the doors. Kurogane stepped up to the door and set his shoulder against it. I placed my palms on the other side and together we pushed.

"I don't think that's going to work," Fai protested, but the doors creaked open before he could finish. After they finished swinging open, I had to take several steps back, staring at the sight beyond the doorway, trying to process it.

"What the hell!" Kurogane yelled, taking a step back as well.

Beyond the doorway, a sea of clouds billowed out, forming the ground. Above, where a sky should have opened, hung an upside-down town with small wooden homes like the structures of this country. My gaze flicked between the clouds, town, and doorway as I ran my thoughts in circles, trying to rationalize it.

"Weird! Weird! The clouds are below the ground!" Mokona said from his perch on Fai's head.

Fai set his hands on his hips. "Chu'Nyan-chan did say that the castle was protected by magic. And it won't be just this door. I imagine all of the castle gates will be the same. I think it's time to us the orb." Fai made a sweeping gesture towards Syaoran.

Syaoran drew the orb from the front of his robe, glancing from it to the castle with a thoughtful frown. Kurogane raised an eyebrow. "How're we supposed to use this thing?"

"You throw it!" Mokona said. "You throw it as hard as you can. Hard enough to hit the castle!"

Syaoran nodded, tossed the orb a few feet into the air. He spun, his leg lashing out in a blur as he kicked it into the air. The orb hurtled above us and a few feet before it could make contact with the castle, it burst. Black shadows raced around the castle, like a glass dome around it had been shattered and ink exploded through the cracks.

A booming crack echoed around us. When I looked back to the open gates the reverse sky was gone and a white marble corridor ran in both directions.

Syaoran took the lead, and we headed right. The hall stretched as far as I could see, the end of it fading into a white blur of marble. I frowned. Shouldn't a circular building have a curved hallway?

Our steps echoed down the hall. The walls were as smooth as the floor, solid slabs of marble. I would have expected a door, window, even a picture, but nothing marked one section as different. After at least ten minutes of walking, I stopped.

An error message flashed in my vision as the System started running various checks. The angle of the hallway compared to the map of the town I'd made earlier was impossible, and the System was processing it as a malfunction. But I knew it wouldn't find anything wrong.

The others looked at me, waiting for an explanation to my sudden stop. "Somethings wrong with this hallway," I said. "Its dimensions are impossible compared to the layout and size of the rest of the city."

Syaoran walked a few paces down the hall and knelt, picking something up off the tile. "That would explain this," he said, presenting a smooth pebble. "I left it on the ground near the entrance."

"So this hallway's a loop," I said. I scanned the walls for the door we came in through, but it was missing.

"Hyuu!" Fai said. "Syaoran-kun, Alice-san, you two are pretty smart."

Kurogane gave him a grimace. "What was that?"

"Sorry, but I don't know how to whistle," Fai said, shrugging.

Kurogane shook his head, turning away from Fai and crossing his arms. "So all that walking was for nothing."

"Hmm. I certainly don't want to walk any farther." Fai stood in front of the nearest wall and placed a hand against it. He closed his eyes as his smile faded. I frowned. For a moment he seemed to grow taller. My frown deepened when I looked down to see his feet hovering three inches off the floor.

"It's here I think," he said, slowly setting back down.

Syaoran walked over next to him, staring at the wall. "Did something seem strange?"

Fai placed a hand on his hip and pointed to the wall with the other. "For this kind of magic, the place where its strongest is the source. I think that means the Ryanban is on the other side of this wall. I don't know for sure. But there's a strong magic power in this direction."

Kurogane glared at him. "I thought you said you weren't gonna use your great magic."

Fai smiled. "I wouldn't so much call it magic. It's more like intuition."

"So how will we get in?" I asked. "We could—"

Kurogane stepped forward and slammed a fist into the wall. Bits of stone shot over my shoulder and tumbled to the floor as I stared at the hole Kurogane opened. Dust hung like a curtain, blocking our view of the other room as Kurogane grinned and stepped forward.

"That was reckless," I said. I tended to use stealth and surprise when entering an enemy's stronghold. It seemed like Kurogane was the opposite. I sighed as I drew my sword with my left hand, remembering the burn on the right one, and stepped through the hole in the wall with the others.

"Whatever," Kurogane grumbled, waving a hand.

As we left the dust behind us, a huge circular chamber greeted us, its white domed ceiling hanging far above us. From the center of the ceiling an indigo silk curtain cascaded down into a circle in the middle of the room. Sitting inside was a woman. Her hair sat coiled on her head with elaborate pins, and an equally elegant black and white robe cascaded to the floor. Her eyes glittered like chips of onyx. Nails extended like claws from her fingers, flashing with the same light that caught her eyes.

An inhuman echoed through the air. "I welcome you, little worms." The voice echoed, like three different women speaking in unison.

I flexed my hand around the hilt of my sword. The whisper of her breath and the beats of her heart never came, not that I could hear. We approached her, stopping about half way into the room.

"Who the hell are you?" Kurogane asked.

She smiled. "You humans—pathetic creatures with lives spanning less than a hundred years— you're no better than worms. Such creatures should watch their tongues. Or so I should scold you. But it's been so long since I had a guest, I'll forgive your coarse tone."

"What is she spouting?" Kurogane snapped. "Whatever! Just cough up the location of that Ryanban of yours."

Fai quickly waved a hand at him. "Kuro-bun, your temper is a little too quick here!"

I silently thanked Fai for keeping Kurogane from pissing off the threatening woman. Even here, about thirty feet away from her, I still couldn't hear a heartbeat. Silent hung around her like a wall, not even a shift of fabric making it to us.

My eyes didn't leave the woman as she lifted a hand to her mouth and smirked. "What amusing children."

Syaoran stepped forward. "I'm looking for something important, and I think it's in this castle. Will you tell me where the Ryanban is?"

The woman raised her long nails and looked at Syaoran with a slightly more genuine smile. "I like the look in your eyes," she said. "However, I'm afraid I cannot answer your question. Nor…" She stood, "can I allow you to pass."

"Excuse me," Fai leaned over to peek around Kurogane, "are you saying something to the effect that if we try to pass, you may get . . . violent?"

"Exactly," she said with a cold smirk.

The room flickered to black and I stumbled back a step. A second later the darkness lifted, but instead of standing in the enormous room, I stood on a slender stone pillar stretching up from foaming waves. Orbs of water hung in the air, their sizes ranging from a few inches in diameter to four feet. Lanterns on small poles stretched up from the water like reeds in a pond.

My pillar stood several meters away from the strange woman. She stood in a wooden gazebo, an island in the middle of the lake. The others also stood on pillars, glancing around the lake. Instead of ending at the walls of the room, the waves of the lake disappeared into a think bank of fog.

"An illusion?" Kurogane asked, standing on a pillar to my left with his arms crossed.

"No," the woman said. "Illusions are meant to bewilder." She raised a hand and a small orb of water darted towards Syaoran, "My arts, however, are so much more than that."

Syaoran's arm shot up to block the orb. It burst against his arm with a hiss, vapor streaming into the air.

"It's melting!" Syaoran gasped, shaking the liquid from his dissolving sleeve. Alarm lit Fai and Kurogane's faces. I stared at Syaoran's sleeve in surprise before scanning the room to get an idea of where the orbs were. They hung all around us, at least forty that I could see.

"Any injuries caused by my arts are all painfully real," the woman said.

"So that would mean that if we received a severe wound . . . " Fai said.

"You die!" the woman yelled as she flung her arms out. The orbs hovering around us burst into motion, each of them heading for one of us.

My eyes flickered blue as the System went into combat mode, all processing power diverted to fighting. Blue lines arched across the room, highlighting the predicted paths of the orbs. The scent of vinegar invaded my nose as I ducked beneath an orb.

I spun as the System alerted me to an orb flying at my face from the right. I kicked off from my pillar, landing on another. A cry wrenched my attention away. Syaoran stood, one leg in the lake and the other on a stone peeking out of the surface. He leapt away. The leg that had been in the lake hissed and steamed. Beneath his tattered pant leg, his skin glared red. He clutched his leg just above the wound.

"My leg!" Syaoran yelled.

"The lake and my spheres are made of the same liquid." The woman's voice snaked through the fog as more orbs bubbled up from the lake. I slashed my sword through an orb as more flew at me from my left, breaking the surface tension and letting most of the acid fall back into the lake. Droplets spattered against me, but only on my clothes.

"Of course, not everything is as it appears," she said.

"You're telling me that if I fall in the lake I'm gonna melt?" Kurogane yelled as he ducked. On the pillar next to him, Fai dodged an orb. He landed lightly on one of the lanterns on the lake, the tips of his toes perched on the lantern's top.

"Kuro-min, break this for me," he said, waving at his lantern.

"Huh? Why?" Kurogane snapped.

"We won't be able to avoid these spheres empty-handed forever."

"Do it yourself!" Kurogane snarled, punching the base of the pole. It snapped like a twig. Fai clung to the lantern and leaned back, breaking off the lantern and leaving two long poles.

Fai flipped, gripped his stave, and batted away an oncoming sphere. Kurogane used the other pole and swung at a sphere coming from his left.

"Now we can destroy them without touching them," Fai said as he swung again. He and Kurogane put their backs to each other and continued to slash at the spheres.

I glanced at my sword and looked around for a lantern. I needed a longer reach and I didn't know how this acid affected my sword. It could be eating away at the edge, and I had no way to sharpen the blade. I leapt for a lantern, decapitating it and leaving a thin metal pole. I landed, turned, and jumped again, slicing off a long piece of the pole and catching it in my free hang.

"Syaoran!" I yelled, throwing the pole to him.

"Right!" He called, catching the stave. I finished by cutting one last piece off for myself, grasping it with one hand and sheathing my sword with the other.

I spun my pole, letting The System calculate its weight and reach. I snapped it to my right, bursting an orb before it got close enough to splash me. A blue line crossed my vision, ending at my leg and beginning with a globe of acid. The orb darted in, but I slashed my stave across its path, bursting it. I glanced over my shoulder for a moment to see Syaoran slashing away at orbs, but his bad leg slowed his movements. Kicking off from my pillar, I landed next to Syaoran. "See what Kurogane and Fai are doing?" I asked.

He looked to Fai and Kurogane, who had their backs to each other, spinning and swinging their staves. "You want to try that?"

I nodded as he stood and we put our backs to each other. We fell into a rhythm of slashing and pivoting. A series of blue lines marked the globe's paths as I twisted and slammed my stave into them. I kept a close eye on my left side, as Syaoran's movements were slow on his right. Once, I had to fling my stave back to catch an orb he'd missed.

"Now," Fai yelled over to us, "we'll never get anywhere playing like this. Syaoran-kun, take Mokona and go ahead."

"I can't leave you here. Getting the feather is my responsibility." Syaoran said.

"True. But numbers won't help in this battle. Also you should move forward while your leg still works." Fai spun his pole like a propeller as he looked over his shoulder at Syaoran. "Syaoran-kun, you still have unfinished business, haven't you?"

Syaoran's expression hardened. He nodded, his mouth a thin line.

"I hope you aren't planning anything foolish, children," the woman called as a new onslaught of orbs sped towards us. I spun my pole and intercepted a globe.

"You guys figure out how to get Syaoran out, I'm going to get her attention," I said, my back to them as I eyed the woman.

"Are you sure?" Syaoran asked.

I looked at him over my shoulder, my eyes hard. "Of course. You just get that feather quickly."

He tensed, but nodded. I returned the nod, then spun and leapt towards the woman.

"Careful!" Fai called, a smile in his voice.

Several orbs flew towards me, but I spun my pole as I kicked off from one pillar to another, gaining speed as I neared the witch.

"Oh?" she asked as I approached. I landed on the pillar nearest her, setting one foot and letting my momentum hurl me forward. I planted one end of my pole in the shallow lake and, using the other end, vaulted forward.

I swung my feet forward, intending to kick the woman in the face and knock her into her own acid. She raised her dagger-like nails, and streams of blue lit the predicted paths. If I continued as I was, she'd slice the backs of my legs open. I altered the angle of my feet right before impact, letting her nails rake the bottom of my shoes. The metal in my soles provided a shield, as I'd hoped.

One nail slipped passed my shoes and slashed across the side of my right leg. My pants tore and she left a shallow cut. Her strike flung me back, but I used the impact to my advantage and pushed off back towards a lantern, I grabbed it with my free hand, the burned one, and swung around to face her, setting my feet against the pole.

I glared at her, my hand burning. "Last chance to give up," I said.

She smiled back at me as more orbs flew at me. "You are strong, child, but not strong enough."

I pushed off with my feet and kept my grip on the lamp, twisting to balance on top of it. I spun my pole, destroying the oncoming acid while I reached into my coat and withdrew my knife.

The System calculated the weight of the knife and distance in an instant. I spun, drew my arm back, and snapped my knife forward, sending it spinning at her chest.

She raised her hand again, deflecting the knife with a clang and sending it whirling harmlessly into the water. I grit my teeth in frustration as more globes of acid closed in, sending me back into batting them away.

A bang echoed from above. I glanced back for just a second to see a hole in the ceiling. Fai stood below next to Kuogane, but Syaoran was gone.

I slammed one last orb away before leaping back, landing on a pillar next to them. "He's out, right?"

Fai nodded. "Kuro-pu was quite impressive."

"Cut it out!" Kurogane snapped.

"If one managed to escape, that leaves me no choice," the woman said as she looked up at the hole in the ceiling. "I'll have to treat the three remaining children with moxibustion."

With a flick of her wrist, the orbs around us burst. I ducked my head as acid rain drenched us, keeping the down pour out of my eyes. I hissed in a breath as the acid drenched my face and trickled into the collar of my shirt, burning every inch of skin it touched.

"I'd say our situation is serious," Fai said, his face turning a vibrant red.

"Humph!" Kurogane grunted with a smirk.

I fixed my eyes on the woman and zipped my collar up to just below my chin, hoping it would help ward off the rain. Some of it ran into my glove, and I bit back a hiss as it trickled over my burn.

Kurogane and Fai stood back-to-back as more orbs formed from the lake. I stood alone on a pillar to the right of them, readying for another onslaught.

"Alice-san, maybe you'd like to join us?" Fai asked.

"Too crowded. The System can act as my backup." I pulled my injured leg closer, using my jacket as an umbrella. My stance wasn't a sound one, but I couldn't let acid into the cut.

I glared at the woman in the gazebo, wishing again for a gun. Maybe in The Hanshin Republic I would have held, but that was Primera throwing a petty tantrum. This was a fight for life, far from my area of experience.

A blue line lit up my vision and I snapped my pole up, breaking an orb aimed for my head. After that a new onslaught of orbs surrounded us. Blue flashed in the left half of my vision. I pivoted, throwing my stave out and slashing a globe of acid from the air. Another orb flew at my head. I ducked before spinning and striking it from the air. A few minutes later, the orbs let up.

I turned to check on my companions. Kurogane and Fai's clothes looked tattered, the threads in the robes dissolving away. Their skin glared bright red, and the hint of blood ran in the acid dripping from their faces. I swiped at my own face and checked my glove. No blood yet, but my face stung.

I looked up to see that the orbs were fewer in number, but had doubled in size. They were just inches taller then me now. I thought this would be even worse, but I found that it was easier to see them coming and burst them before impact. I wondered what the tactical advantage of it was, until I saw Fai in the corner of my vision.

Fai swung at an oncoming orb, but instead of bursting, the orb warped, letting the staff pass through without touching it. Fai wasn't going to have enough time for another swing. The orb descended, inches away from him.

Kurogane spun, slamming his staff into Fai's stomach. The impact flung Fai off their pillar and gave Kurogane enough momentum to leap out of the way. Fai stumbled onto my pillar clutching his stomach. I gripped his arm, steadying him as I knocked away an orb hurling toward us.

"Kuro-mu! You're mean!" Fai said, coughing as he tried to regain his breath.

Kurogane shot him an exasperated glare. "If I didn't, you'd be melted by now." He pointed to the pillar they'd just been standing on. It had melted to half its height, dripping into the lake like wax.

"I see your point. But, next time you move me, do it with a little more care please."

"You good?" I asked as he straightened.

"Yes, thank you, Alice-san," he said, readjusting his grip on his stave.

"You have some skill, children," the witch said as she raised a hand. "It's been so long since I've had a way to pass the time without being bored." The orbs around us rippled and doubled in size again. A blue flashed in the left half of my vision as I spun, swinging my pole. The globe burst before it got to us, but the splash fell toward us like a wave and Fai and I had to leap away.

The moment I landed I had to swing at an orb. Another rose to take its place as it burst. I spun my stave, but the orb swung around my stave before impact. It darted in, hitting my right leg and drenching my cut. I snarled through clenched teeth and dropped to a knee, but had to immediately push myself back up as three more orbs rushed in. I swung my stave like a bat and growled, hitting the first two and jumping away to avoid the third.

I wobbled as I landed, forcing my injured leg to hold my weight. My cut burned, but the damage wasn't serious. The System had already run a check and reported some burns in my injury, but most were external and mild for now.

We needed to do something. Dancing around would only help us for a short time. Soon we'd be too worn out, or one of us would make another mistake. But the acid was herding us away from the woman.

The crash of water drew my attention back to Fai and Kurogane. I bashed an orb out of my way and leapt from pillar to pillar to regroup with them.

I perched on a column next to Fai and Kurogane, readying to swing my pole, but the orbs in the air pulled back, suspended several yards away.

The witch lowered her hand. "There was only one other child who held out as long as you. A female shinban from the town of Ryonfi."

"That would be Chu'Nyan's mother, I take it," Fai said, resting his stave on his shoulder.

"She did mention a daughter by that name." Some of the amusement left her voice. "Perhaps what this country truly needs is not that foolish Ryanban and his men, but you children and that female shinban."

"Then let us pass," I said. "Why are you defending the Ryan'ban if you don't approve of him?"

"I haven't the ability to allow you to leave. I must live by the commands of the low-bred one who unjustly controls my will."

My hand twitched on my stave. So she's under his control. But how? and why? Is it like my situation? Or magic? I almost offered our help, but realized if someone had offered me the same, it would have been too risky to accept. I might have even killed them if I suspected Adrian was watching.

The symmetry between us drained away some of my anger. I wasn't fighting a sadistic maniac, just a woman turned puppet. But somehow that made the idea of killing her easier.

"And although it is a shame, children," she said, "now we must part." The woman raised both of her arms and as they rose a wall of acid erupted from the lake, encircling us. The waves reached the ceiling, and started creeping closer.

Fai put a hand up the shield his eyes. "Oh-no! Here's where I'd say it looks bad for our heroes."

"Yeah," Kurogane huffed. "The minute we're caught in that, we're dead." He crossed his arms. "Can't you use a little magic now?"

"No. Sorry," Fai said.

Kurogane sighed. "I got nothing to do with this."

I wanted to point out that, regardless of his motives, he did have something to do with this, considering we were all about to be drenched in acid. But starting an argument wouldn't help us think of a way out.

"What now Kuro-mi? Alice-san?" Fai asked.

"I've already tried getting her with a knife, but she deflected it. Unless one of you has a gun or some kind of explosive, I'm out of ideas." I shrugged, eyeing the looming tsunami. I'd faced situations like this and found my way through and back to Nathaniel. Although I'd had more control over my surroundings in those situations than I did now.

Kurogane gripped his staff tighter and uncrossed his arms. "I'm not dying here. I've got to go back to my Japan. So we'd better step it up, and get to the next world."

The wall of acid halted in its advance. The acid cascaded down uncomfortably close. I raised an eyebrow at Kurogane. "Don't tell me you've been playing around," I said. He shot a feral grin at the witch and shrugged. I sighed. "I've never kept Nathaniel waiting long. I won't make him wait the rest of his life."

"Personally, I dislike staying in one place," Fai said.

"Why's that?" Kurogane asked.

Fai's smile remained, but the shadows around his eyes grew deeper. "Because there is a person sleeping underwater and, when he wakes up, he will probably come after me." Fai once again donned his fake cheer and lofted his pole. "So I have to run to as many worlds as I can."

It sounded like Fai had someone following him, too.

"Have you finished your final words?" The witch's voice cut through our conversation. A gap in the crashing wall of waves drew apart, allowing her to see us

"Now what do we do?" Fai gave a nervous laugh.

I tried to form some sort of strategy when Kurogane interrupted. "Hey, brat, you still have the other knife, right?" I nodded.

Kurogane jerked his chin towards the gap in the waves. "Jump through there. As you land throw your knife at her. Magician, you and I are going over the top when it comes down. After that, I'll go after the witch."

There wasn't any time for arguments or details. "Right. I'll take it," I said and jumped to a pillar closer to the wave.

The witch flicked her wrist. "Then, farewell."

I flung myself through the gap the woman left in her wall of acid, hunching my shoulders and covering my head with my arms. Once I was clear, I threw my arms and legs out, using their weight to help me aim for a pillar.

As I landed a crash of water sounded behind me. I didn't have time to check on Fai and Kurogane. I snatched my remaining knife from my jacket and hurled it at the woman.

"You hurry to your death, children?" she asked, her arm turning into a blur as she struck the knife from the air. Movment flickered in my peripheral and I turned to see Fai falling toward the woman. She smirked, flexed her dagger-like nails, and waited.

Kurogane surged forward, kicking off of Fai's back before he landed, launching himself at the woman.

"What?" Finally, the witch's composure fell as she realized what we'd done.

As Kurogane landed on the gazebo, the witch slammed her razor-sharp nails into his chest. They both stood like statues for a moment, their faces inches away from each other.

"You're quite the little tactician, aren't you?" the woman asked softly.

She pulled away from him, and as she withdrew her nails from Kurogane's chest, the book he'd purchased from The Hanshin Republic came with it. Her nails impaled it, the tip of one of her nails only just visible poking through the other side. Kurogane had positioned his body at the last moment so the book in his robe would act as a shield.

Kurogane grinned. "I just don't like the rain. So," He slammed his stave down onto the gem on her forehead, sending a crack echoing around the room, "turn it off!"

Glittering shards fell from the woman's forehead. The room flickered into darkness for a moment, and the pillar disappeared beneath me. I flung my arms out in surprise and hit white tiles. I stumbled, my injured leg buckling under the impact of my landing.

I sighed, my momentary panic evaporating when I saw tiles and not acid. I was also relieved to see both of my knives lying on the floor. I let myself sit down, catch my breath, and give my leg a break.

"If you try any more of your weird tricks—" Kurogane growled, standing over the slumped witch, gripping his stave and ready to swing. But the woman cut him off, standing in one agile movement and kissing him.

I raised an eyebrow and glanced up at Fai, who stood next to me, muffling his laughter with a hand.

"What kind of magic are you trying on me now?" Kurogane jumped back with a grin that might have been angry, confused or both as the woman pulled away.

"That was a thank you." She smiled, but it wasn't as cold this time. "Inside that stone was the magic that kept me in thrall to the Ryanban."

I pushed myself up and limped over to retrieve my knives. I wanted to avoid irritating the injury, but The System had already started stimulating cell growth and increased blood flow to my leg. The System's diagnosis hadn't changed, and it predicted the damage would be gone in forty-eight hours.

Fai walked over to join Kurogane. "And when Kuro-pon smashed the stone?"

I gathered my knives, holding the second one in my hand for a moment.

"I was finally set free," she said. "Had I the choice, I would never have defended that brainless Ryanban and his son against three such steadfast children."

I turned the blade over in my hand a few times, glaring at it. It'd be nice if my situation was as simple as a magic stone. And the Ryanban must be an idiot if he only had one safe guard on this woman.

"You wish to know the location of the Ryanban. He abides in the highest floor of the castle. However, it seems that the second smallest of you children has already arrived." Her expression turned solemn. "The Ryanban cur is attempting to attack with another cowardly tactic."

"What's he doing?" I asked as I came to stand next to Fai.

"I believe he is using an illusory hostage against your companion," she said.

"Right then." I grimaced, drew my sword and headed for the stairwell in the far wall.

"Guess that means were leaving," Fai said as he followed me. Kurogane's footsteps echoed after us as well. I stepped into the stairwell and started up it, ignoring the pain in my leg.

"So," Fai said, "the Ryanban is probably using an illusion of Sakura as hostage against Syaoran. Does that sound about right?"

"Probably," I said, keeping my eyes on the stairs. "If something doesn't tip him off to the illusion then he'll be in trouble."

"Got a plan, brat?" Kurogane asked.

"Kill the Ryanban," I said. I ran a hand over my check and checked it for blood: nothing. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Fai and Kurogane still had glaring red skin and small amounts of blood dripping from their chins.

"Fai, is my face as red as Kurogane's?" I asked.

He looked from me back to Kurogane. "No. I'd say Kuro-pin's face is a nice crimson. Your face isn't that bad. You're not bleeding either, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Hmm," Fai said. "The orb from Yuuko-san burns you, but you seem more resistant to that acid than us."

It was odd. I thought maybe magic could harm me worse than the rest of them, but that couldn't be it. I reached the top of the stairs. To the left, there was a hole in the floor through which Syaoran had broken through. Around it, broken pillars and shattered tiles marred the hall. The Ryanban's son sat slumped against the wall, bloody and unconscious.

I stopped and considered him for a moment—I knew he wasn't dead, I could hear his heartbeat—but I could kill him and make sure he wasn't an issue again. But I felt Nathaniel's memory pressing against me.

I sighed, turning away from the crumpled man. Even if Nathaniel wasn't here, I wanted to try to make choices he'd be happy with. Killing an unconscious man was not one of those choices. At the end of the hallway, a set of huge double doors stood cracked open.

"You're going to leave him?" Kurogane asked.

"Yes. But you're free to do whatever you like, I won't stop you." I said over my shoulder.

Beyond the doors, a crash and a yell erupted. I ran down the hall, along with Fai and Kurogane.

I reached the doors, pulling one open, ready to run in. But I paused when I saw the fight was over.

The Ryan'ban cowered at the far end of the room, a battered Syaoran standing over him. Men clutching staves and wearing simple tunics stood at the edges of the room, muttering and throwing confused, hateful looks at the Ryanban. Sakura and Chu'Nyan stood together behind Syaoran. Chu'Nyan clutched a circular mirror to her chest, glaring at the Ryanban.

We stepped through the doors, staying at the back of the room.

"What's this?" Fai asked. "It seems pretty crowded in there."

A small white blur rocketed through the air, smashing into Kurogane's nose. The blur bounced off Kurogane's face and he caught it in one hand, clutching his nose with the other. "You're late!" Mokona yelled.

"Aw, Shut up!" Kurogane snarled, squeezing the creature.

"It seems that quite a bit has gone on here." Fai laughed, waving to Mokona.

"Give the feather back!" Syaoran's voice rang through the room, harsh and steady. He held out a hand towards the quivering Ryanban. "Princess Sakura's memories belong to her. Give it back!"

Sakura clutched her hands to her chest. "Syaoran-kun . . . " she murmured.

"W-wait!" The Ryanban whimpered, holding up a trembling hand. "I think I can use this to bring Chu'Nyan's mother back! If you hurt me or kill me, that can never happen! Let me use this to resurrect her!"

I frowned. He can bring back the dead? That wasn't possible. But I'd thought that about almost all of the magic I'd seen. Really if giant creatures could materialize from air, if acid could be summoned into gravity defying barrages, then reassembling the cells that made up a person wasn't that unbelievable.

"You murdered her," Chu'Nyan cried, her face twisting as Sakura gripped Chu'Nyan's shoulders. "You murdered a woman who was just trying to protect the village!" Chu'Nyan sobbed with rage, taking a half step forward before Sakura's arms encircled her shoulders, holding her back and giving her support. "And my omoni said no matter how much power you have you can't bring the dead back to life! No matter how much I want to be with her, I will never see my omoni again! And still—" She choked, "he spouts such lies!"

Indecision spun my mind in circles. One part of me wanted to hand Chu'Nyan a knife, the other part wanted to tell her to leave this behind. But Syaoran spoke.

"Chu'Nyan, do you want your revenge now?"

Her eyes widened and she stared at him.

"If it will help, you can take it." He half turned to face her, his expression solemn. "But is he really worth your effort?"

Tears poured from Chu'Nyan's eyes and she took several shuddering breaths. She clenched her fists and shook her head. "That freak isn't worth the energy it takes to hit him." I sighed. Syaoran had done better than I could have, and Chu'Nyan had made a better choice than me.

Syaoran nodded and returned his attention to the Ryanban, stalking towards him.

"D-don't touch me!" the man wailed. "S-stay away!"

Syaoran stopped as familiar, shining nails curled around the Ryanban's face. The unearthly voice of the witch trailed through the air. "That will be enough."