Chapter 7
A black void…nothingness…total and utter silence…even the sound of a water drop would have been as loud as the stormy ocean crashing against the shore. A pin dropping would have seemed like an avalanche of noise. Everything was still.
Kaitlyn lay on her back, floating in the nothingness. She stared into the blank surroundings and did not move. Her breathing hardly seemed normal. There was no sight, no touch. It was all thinking. Thinking and breathing.
She found herself running, tearing for something, something bright, in the distance. She reached out her hands, as though to grab it, but the light kept slipping through. She hurriedly threw her hands to her cheeks and realized she was crying. She wiped away the tears and tried once again to grasp the light, but it disappeared, leaving her in the darkness, the nothingness, once again.
Suddenly she was standing in a room. The light was all around her. She cried out, trying to be heard, but her voice was choked. No one could hear her. The room was getting smaller and smaller, and then suddenly in front of her there was a long, silver barrel. She threw her hands to her face and screamed wildly…
Kaitlyn jerked herself into a sitting position, gasping for air. She rubbed her hands on her face after staring at them for a moment. How long are these dreams going to last? She thought to herself before sighing and taking a long breath.
That was when she realized that she wasn't where she was supposed to be.
The young, blonde woman stared around her, blinking a few times. She had never been here before. She was on a bed, which was covered in a bright colorful quilt. The whole room was splashed in bright colors, like a Kindergarten playhouse. The walls were a cheerful light blue, and appeared to be hand-painted with multiple flowers, trees, and other nature scenes. The furniture was all light wood and some of it was painted as well, with mostly handprints and other cheerful symbols. The room was good sized, more than large enough for one person, and there were two doors along different walls. One probably led to a bathroom, and the other to the rest of the house, if this was a house. Maybe it was an apartment room. Either way, they both led somewhere. After a few moments, Kaitlyn realized that there was a gentle noise coming from one of the walls. It sounded like someone was taking a shower. That door must have led to the bathroom.
A shower suddenly sounded so good to Kaitlyn. She hadn't bathed in days, and to feel hot water pouring down on her sounded like the most appetizing thing in the world. But as she looked back down at her hands, she realized that the cakes of dirt that had been forming on her fingernails were gone. In fact, her skin seemed to be at its regular tone again as well. Had the storm…
The storm. Kaitlyn swallowed hard. What had happened? She had been falling, and Pit had been trying to catch her…
Suddenly a knock came to the door, shocking Kaitlyn from her thoughts. After a moment, she cleared her throat and said "Come in!"
The first thing that Kaitlyn saw when the door opened was the color red. The figure that walked in seemed to have a mass of red-gold hair, which sprung from her head in bouncy coils. It must have added on a good two inches to the girl's height. Then came the pale skin, and the billions and billions of freckles.
The girl's pleasant face poked into the room with a wide smile. She had dark eyes that practically glittered in the warm light. Her smile was wide and joyous. "You're awake!" She said cheerfully and stepped fully into the room.
Now that Kaitlyn really got to look at her, the girl seemed to be younger than Kaitlyn was, probably around fifteen or so. She was dressed in dark greens and browns, which made her hair all the more vibrant and frizzy.
Kaitlyn wasn't sure how to respond. She had absolutely no idea who the heck this girl was. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "Where am I? And how long have I been here?"
"You're at my house! And you've only been here since this morning," the girl said after thinking for a moment. "You were found probably around six in the morning or so. It's about eleven in the morning now." She jumped across the room and held out her hand. "I'm Aubrey, by the way, Aubrey McNichol. What's your name?"
"Kaitlyn," the angel girl replied a little distractedly. She was hurriedly counting hours and trying to think. She didn't seem to have lost much time. She needed to find Pit. But where was she? She didn't think she was in Chicago. "Where did you find me?"
"Oh, I didn't find you," Aubrey said. "My friend did!"
"Your…friend?" Kaitlyn paused in the middle to rub her head, where a bad headache had started. She was pretty sure it wasn't from Eris; she had probably just hit her head.
The redhead nodded. "Yeah, I think he's here. He's probably with my brother. Hold on, I'll get him for you!" She ran out of the room, leaving Kaitlyn alone once again. She heard Aubrey yell out a muffled, indistinguishable name and then the thumping of feet against wooden stairs as she ran to find her friend.
Kaitlyn slid out from under the covers and off the bed. Her feet hit the ground with a thump. Her fancy jacket, pants, and boots were gone, replaced with a pair of purple pajamas. She wondered where her clothes were, as well as her backpack, which held all of her equipment as well as her weapons. What if she had lost it in the storm? All of her stuff was in that backpack. Dangit, now she was really getting worried…
She walked over to one of the windows in the room and looked out. The sky was clear, and a deep blue. The trees were covered in fiery leaves, which plucked themselves off the branches on quick gusts of wind. Something about this place didn't scream 'Chicago' to her. Maybe it was clarity of the sky, or the lack of water and-or skyscrapers. She strained to look out the sides of the window, but couldn't see any buildings besides houses.
She took a long breath and let it out slowly, forcing back tears. Her stomach had started to twist unpleasantly. Where was Pit? Had she lost him completely? They only had so much time to find Eris, and they were running out of it. What if she didn't find him in time? What if he started to lose his memories? What if—?
"Hey, Kaitlyn! I found him!" Aubrey burst back into the room and waved to the figure behind her. "Kuro, meet Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn, Kuro."
Kaitlyn's breath stopped in her chest as she stared at the figure who stepped into the room. He was taller than she remembered. It seemed that he might be taller than Pit, but she knew that they were probably still the exact same height. His rich black hair, which had once been shaggy and uncut, was now much shorter and neater, if a little tousled. His red eyes beamed down at her, and he gave her a smile. It wasn't the typical smirk she had been expecting, but a genuine, pleased-to-see-you smile that lifted her spirits.
"Good to see you awake, Kate," he said with his deep voice. It still sounded so much like Pit's, and yet it was deeper, richer.
The built up tension Kaitlyn had been trying to hold in broke, and tears streamed down her face. She wasn't sure whether to punch the dark angel or simply hug him fiercely. She chose the latter, and rushed across the room to embrace him. He did nothing to stop her, and within moments, she found her arms around his waist and head against his chest, crying softly. Kuro's body was rigid, but after a few moments, he relaxed and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"Aw, you two already know each other?" Aubrey said with disappointment. "Darn it."
"Yeah," Kuro said. "We met a few years ago."
Three, to be exact," Kaitlyn said, wiping away her tears. She cleared her throat as she pulled away from Kuro and looked at Aubrey for a moment. Then she turned back to Kuro. "What the heck have you been doing for three years? Where have you been and how the heck did you find me?"
The dark-haired angel rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Um, well…that's a lot of material to cover. Why don't you, you know, get dressed, and we can talk over a bite to eat. You must be starving."
She nodded slowly and Kuro gave her a slight dip of his head. "I'll meet you downstairs, then." He left the room, closing the door behind him.
"It's so weird that you two know each other!" Aubrey said, shaking her head.
"I find it weird that he found me," Kaitlyn replied. She licked her lips and continued to stare at the door that Kuro had left through. Was it a coincidence that he had found her? Or had something else brought her here?
Aubrey's happy voice cut through her anxious thoughts. "I like your wings, by the way."
"My what?" Kaitlyn looked back and realized that her wings were indeed showing. But Aubrey shouldn't have been able to see them. Mortals weren't supposed to be able to see, not with Nighthawk's charmed ring. She checked. It was still on. So was Aubrey…
Kaitlyn swallowed. "You…you can see them?"
Aubrey smiled, her dark eyes gleaming. "Sure. I've been able to see them ever since Kuro told me about his. He apparently broke through some sort of mortal enchantment." She raised a hand. "Can I…do you mind if I touch them?"
Kaitlyn blinked in surprise. "Um…sure."
The red-headed girl stepped over to Kaitlyn's side and gently ran her fingers along one of Kaitlyn's primary feathers, colored a beautiful blue and streaked with grey and white. Aubrey's smile grew softer. "They're so soft and smooth, like Kuro's. They look almost like a Blue Jay's wings."
"Yeah," Kaitlyn said, smiling a little. "They kind of are."
"If yours are a Blue Jay's, then what are Kuro's?" Aubrey asked.
"I always thought they were like a black swan's. My friend Pit has bright white ones, so they're more white swan-like."
Aubrey nodded and walked to her closet, pulling out clothes and laying them on the bed. "Sorry, but your clothes are still dirty. They were pretty messed up. My mom is washing and fixing them."
"Tell her thank you for me."
"I will!" Aubrey said with a smile. She frowned a little. "How do angels usually wear clothes? Your wings must get in the way of normal shirts. I mean, I had to cut a huge hole in that shirt just to get your wings through it!"
"A lot of our clothes have large cutouts or slits in the back. Most togas have the fabric in the back hang really low so it goes just under the wings. That way we don't really have to worry about it. My jacket is enchanted, made of special fabric. When you use it, it basically slits itself and then reforms wherever the fabric touches, so it's snug around the wings. The tank tops underneath are racer-backs, so they go in between the wings."
"Getting dressed sounds really complicated."
"You get used to it."
Aubrey made a face that seemed to mean she was concentrating. "Well, let's see…I do have a racer-back tank top, so you can wear that. And a pair of pants. At least until your clothes are finished being fixed. It's not exactly very warm outside, but lending you a jacket doesn't seem like the best option, mostly because I don't want to cut holes in any of the jackets. Will you be okay without one?"
"I'll be fine."
Once she had set everything out on the bed, Aubrey left the room, leaving Kaitlyn alone once again. She peeled off her clothing, taking extra care not to rip the fabric where her wings entered, and pulled on the blue tank top that Aubrey had provided her. It felt like a nylon material, like something she would get at a sports shop. It fit tightly against her skin and neatly around her wings, still leaving her full movement of all her limbs.
When she had fully dressed, she slowly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Looking both ways, she could only see once staircase, so she slowly walked down it and into another hallway, which led to the kitchen.
The kitchen was abuzz with movement and chatter. Everywhere Kaitlyn looked there were children, lots and lots of children. They must have been eating lunch, because the older children, who consisted of Aubrey and an older boy, were serving food. They were stacking plates and pulling food out of crockpots, and handing them to small children who kept running around and pounding on the tables. But Aubrey and the boy didn't look overwhelmed. On the contrary, they seemed completely in control of the situation. Kuro was right in the mix, helping hand out plates and putting food on the table. He flashed a smile at a small girl who tugged on his sleeve, and rustled her hair a little before handing her a bowl of stew.
Kaitlyn wasn't sure where to look or what to do. She tried to count all of the children, but wasn't able to keep count. They kept on moving around, mixing themselves up. Their faces blurred together.
Finally, after what felt like forever, all of the children were seated, each with a plate of salad, a bowl of stew, and a cup of water. Aubrey, the boy, and Kuro all stood at the head of the table. Kuro motioned for Kaitlyn to stand next to him, and she did quickly and rather awkwardly.
The children all bowed their heads, the room going silent, and the eldest boy spoke with a loud, powerful voice. "Lord, thank you for our food, and thank you for friends both old and new. Keep us all safe and bless our day tomorrow. Amen!"
All the children shouted a heartfelt "Amen!" and they all dug into their food. Immediately, the chatter started back up as the children ate their lunch. Kaitlyn glanced at Aubrey. "Is this your family?"
"Yeah!" Aubrey said with a little bounce. "Here, I'll introduce you. These are all my siblings: Abraham, we all call him Abe, Maximus, we call him Max, Adrienne, Jennifer, Malia, Frederick, we call him Fred, and Roger, who's the oldest." As she went down the list, each sibling raised their hand, Roger merely dipping his head when his own name was called. He was the one who had started the prayer, and stood next to Kuro. He must have been around seventeen. He couldn't have been much younger than that. "There are eight of us. My mom is still downstairs, working on your clothes."
Roger reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of keys. "Mom said we could take the car, so you all up for lunch? I was thinking Chinese food. What about you guys?"
Chinese food tasted even better than hamburgers at the Air Force Academy. Kaitlyn practically inhaled her food, eating eggroll after eggroll and having most of a noodle bowl on her own. When she couldn't eat any more, Kuro finished her leftovers.
She caught Roger looking at her more than once. He and Aubrey looked slightly alike, with the same basic facial shape. His eyes were the same shade of brown as his sister, but his eyes were more narrowed, more piercing. His short, straight brown hair was a stark contrast to Aubrey's wild and curly locks of red. He sipped thoughtfully on his tea, looking at Kaitlyn as though trying to get a reading on her. She wasn't quite sure how to react. So she busied herself with her food.
Aubrey stretched out a little, moaning slightly in delight. "That was so good," she said, straining her words almost sleepily. "Thanks Roger."
The young man shrugged. "My treat." His eyes locked on Kaitlyn. "So, you had some questions for Kuro?"
Kaitlyn cleared her throat a little, pinching her lips. "Yeah. I do, for all of you, not just Kuro." She found it odd that Roger and Aubrey had come with them. This conversation could easily be between just her and Kuro. Why were they even there? "Well, first off all, where am I?"
"You're in Illinois," Aubrey said quickly. "A tiny town called Macomb. It's about six hours southwest of Chicago."
"Wait, I'm in Macomb? That's where Pit and I were trying to get to! Is he here too? Did you find him?" She directed her questions to Kuro, and Roger and Aubrey simply looked confused.
Kuro shook his head. "I didn't find him. I can't even sense his aura. He's not around here. But don't worry, I've been in contact with Nighthawk since I found you, so when he figures out what's going on, I'll let you know."
"Wait…you've been talking to Nighthawk?"
"Sure," Kuro said. "Why else would I have this?" He reached into his shirt and pulled out a long golden chain. On the end hung a golden apple quarter.
Kaitlyn grabbed the charm and inspected it all over. "Is this—?"
"Part of the Apple of Discord?" Kuro finished. "Yep."
Kaitlyn gaped up at him in shock. "How did you get this?"
"Found it," Kuro said simply. He pulled the necklace off and set it in front of Kaitlyn, letting it catch in the sunlight. "After I left you and Pit, I started wandering around the United States. I guess I was just looking for a place to stay, somewhere to start over. This place had an unusually powerful aura, so I stopped here. Found this little baby on an angel. I met these two a little while later," he motioned to Roger and Aubrey, "and they took me in. Been here for nearly a year now."
"So you just…found it?" Kaitlyn asked. "Why did you go looking for it?"
Kuro shrugged. "It was some sort of powerful artifact that had a strong aura! Why wouldn't I go looking for it? Anyways, Nighthawk got a hold of me a couple days ago, telling me to look out for anything with a strong aura pull, specifically pieces of the Apple of Discord, and see if I could find you and Pit if you two came by." He gave a smile. "I only found one of you, though. But you have to tell me: how is Lady Palutena?"
Kuro's expression wasn't want of utter concern, but his eyes gave away his deeper emotion. It was common knowledge between most angels that the only reason Kuro would ever return to Angel Land was either because of business with Pit or Lady Palutena. Despite Pit and Kuro being very similar, to the point of being confused with one another at times, Pit's relationship with Lady Palutena was very different than Kuro's. But both were similar in one very particular way: both practically worshipped the ground she walked on.
Kaitlyn shook her head, her limp curls whipping around her. "As far as I know, she's still just experiencing memory loss. If we don't find all of the apple pieces though, it'll end up permanent. At the moment, she still has a chance."
"Any other side effects we should be worried about?" Kuro asked after a long pause. He seemed to be thinking very hard about the situation.
Kaitlyn thought for a moment. "Not that I know of…but if she's the Goddess of Light, we might have some trouble seeing later on, if you know what I mean. Viridi's powers are starting to fade, so she's having a difficult time controlling the weather for the most part. Just let me know if you get a headache at any point. That's when you know that Mnemosyne's magic is starting to take effect."
Kuro nodded slowly, grunting in response. His dark eyebrows had furrowed together and his clasped hands were in front of his mouth. Kaitlyn wasn't sure what part of her speech he was musing on, but he looked as though he were concentrating pretty hard.
Kaitlyn cocked her head, still curious about one thing. "Okay, so…who had the apple piece?"
"The Librarian," Kuro said, flashing Aubrey a smile as he relaxed a little. She grinned back widely. "That was actually how I met Aubrey. The Librarian is an angel, or she used to be. She's much older now, and is a little crazy at times, but she's nice. When I convinced her that I was an angel too, she was all too happy to give up the apple piece. Of course, it took a while to persuade her."
"Well, it should have!" Kaitlyn said with a certain obviousness. "The angels were sent down to protect the pieces of the Apple of Discord just for this purpose. They wouldn't give them away without good reason." She paused for a moment. "So how did you convince her?"
Kuro shrugged. "Wings, that arm-band thing that Palutena gave me, and just by talking to her a lot. Of course, I use that arm band as a ring now, since I shrunk it to match the clothing style around here. Much more comfortable. Is that ring from Palutena?" He pointed at the gold band on Kaitlyn's finger.
"Nighthawk, actually," Kaitlyn said, twisting the thick ring around her finger a few times. She now did it subconsciously, especially when she was thinking hard. It had become a habit. "It has illusion charms, so mortals can't see my wings. Apparently, it doesn't work on these two, though." She motioned to Roger and Aubrey, who gave each other concerned glances. Kaitlyn suddenly worried that she had come off too strong. She hadn't meant to sound accusing or angry, just confused.
The black-haired angel nodded. "Yeah, that's true. It's mostly because—."
Kuro was cut off by a loud ringing. All four of the young adults stopped and shoved their hands into their pockets. Kaitlyn did it purely out of instinct, even though she didn't have a phone anymore, but the other three pulled out their phones and checked them. In the end, they all looked to Kuro, whose phone was actually the one that was ringing.
The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow and held his phone to his ear. "Hello?...You did? …Where?...When will he be here?...We'll be ready. You get ready to teleport us, okay? Okay. Great. Call me if anything is wrong. 'K, bye."
Kuro pulled the phone away from his face and the others waited with bated breath. His red eyes gleamed and he gave a serious, but happy, smile. "That was Nighthawk. They found Pit, and he's on his way here."
Yay, Kuro's back!
And I just got the news that Dark Pit is going to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4, so I'm very excited :) Like, really excited! I really enjoy playing as Pit, so I'm curious to see how the two of them will be different. Will their Brawl powers be different? And with Palutena as a character now, too, we get the whole crew!
Anyhow...college...and NaNoWriMo! Because I'm going to try to do NaNo this year, I'll be working on Dissonant Memories a LOT more. I'll probably update much more often, but we'll see how far I get. Biology and Chemistry really take the creative juices out of you...maybe that's just me.
I'm always happy to hear more comments and read more reviews :) Please, honestly tell me if you're enjoying DM, and please let me know what you all think is going to happen! I'm always super curious to hear what people think is going on.
All the Best,
~Pixie
