Chapter 27
(Yes, I know the chapter numbers are all
mixed up. I'll fix it at some point.)
A/N- Well, to be honest I'm not sure how many people will even remember this fic, since the last time I updated was one year and 11 months ago. Uh… sorry about that. Guess a little explanation is in order? I originally started this story as a collaboration with KKLSBones, also known as Kass. She went to school with me in real life and we were good friends, until one day she just disappeared. Packed up her whole life and left without a single goodbye. That includes online communication. Even fan fiction. So, without my co-writer and friend, I lost the drive to continue this story. I never intentionally suspended it… but things happen. However, after some deliberation, I have decided to wrap up this story so it won't be left on a tangent. This is not the last chapter, but I'm going to try to finish this story in less than three chapters. From this point on it will all be from Linzy's perspective, since I don't feel comfortable writing from Kass'. (I've tried, but her mind is… unique, and hard to get into XD) Please put up with me!
-R.E
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This Chapter is dedicated to:
The Hazel Eyed Bookworm
You've been with this story from the start, and I'm sorry I let you down by not completing it sooner. You're an amazing friend, Val :D Happy Birthday!
(Yes, this is your b-day present =3)
((If anyone else is reading this, go check out her stories! Tell her I sent you ^^))
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Previously on UH:101….
As I flapped my wings and hopped ahead. Kass moved to follow me, but was held back by Comoro.
"Not you, runt. You'll have to wait with me."
My friend complained loudly but didn't argue, the hard gaze of the Femju holding her in place.
"I'll come find you when I'm done!" I shouted, zipping around the corner and into the unknown.
Using both my hands and feet to find footing on the precarious rocks, I clambered up a sharp slope I'd seen the empress lithely cross only moments before. With one final flap of my wings I arrive at the lip of a large cave, Di gems casting the chalky white floor in shades of dark purple and silver.
"Come closer, child."
Suddenly feeling sheepish, I inched forward into the cave. A well-lit area was directly ahead of me, and in it Tiari was perched upon a raised dais in the form of a throne.
"Take a seat."
I knelt near the foot of the throne and leaned back on my toes, my wings relaxing and curling up loosely around my sides. The Empress eyed me critically and cleared her throat.
"Many years ago," she started, her voice reverberating off the walls, "We lived alongside the male Kaiju, as a separate race. Our name: the Feijuenumajus, or, in your own words, the Femju. Not unlike you humans, we had many wars fought amongst ourselves… and one small incident was enough to shake our allegiances' fragile boundaries.
'As you may be aware, Belloc is the Kaiju king. He was, in human terms, "betrothed" to one of our own. Not only did she love him, but the union was the last ditch effort between our races to stabilize the peace. Unfortunately, Belloc had other plans."
My eyes widened as I soaked in this information. "He chose a human." I breathed, my hands clenching.
"Yes. He chose a human woman over… well, she'd be displeased if I told you her name, so I'll just move on. To say the least, when I found out he had broken our agreement I was furious. I called a full evacuation of the Femju and pulled out my troops. We decided to get as far away from the desert as we could, and we made our haven here, in the rocky realm beyond the water fall. We have remained here ever since, using our Gamorradons spies to keep an eye on the Kaiju. And-" I blinked. Are the lights in the di gems dimming?
"-to a lesser extent, on their hybrid offspring. Belloc's young son, Duncan…even the one you call "Alice". You and your friend Kass, however, were completely unexpected. You quite literally showed up out of nowhere, and we have Gamorradons all over the world."
She leaned her head down and looked me in the eye, her crystal breath making frost cling to my hair. As the last of the Di gems faded, her eyes took on a ghostly blue light.
"So, you're going to tell me how."
And then I passed out.
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Present Time
Linzy's POV
The hot Floridian sunlight filtered down through the leaves of a lofty oak tree, reflecting off the grey Spanish moss that hung from its boughs and flittered in the wind. I was, however, not looking at any of the scenery I just described. Instead I sat with my legs crossed at the base of the tree, my cell phone balanced precariously on my knee and my nose buried comfortably within a half-finished novel. A few yards behind me hunkered my humble household, a trailer with three bedrooms and two baths. The outside was decorated prettily with swamp roses and lofty sunflowers, petals shrunken from the scorching heat. It wasn't much, but it was home. Suddenly, my eyes were torn away from the paragraph I was reading. My father, a tall man with bushy eyebrows and sparkling green eyes, was blocking the sunlight with his bulky form. On his shoulder was a tool of some sort, comprised of gears and blades and other fixings of questionable purpose. I rose an eyebrow at him, but he didn't respond, instead setting the contraption at my feet and heading onto the back porch of our house where my mother was waiting. Her short form melted into his side, and the two stood in the doorway arm in arm as I gazed back at them in slight confusion. 'Why aren't they saying anything?' I wondered as I averted my eyes from the happy couple. Seeing them there was making me sad, but I couldn't fathom the reason; it was like the answer was being blocked from my mind. Instead I looked down at the device my father had so casually placed before me. It was sharp in some places and blunt in others, with numerous arms and odd levers that popped out from its sides. 'It's shaped sort of like a sideways tractor.' I observed, my hands carefully tracing the machine which was about the size of a kitchen sink. After a few minutes of nothing happening, I lost interest in the oddity and found myself looking back at the book which I held in my hand. The page was completely different than it had been before my dad had interrupted me. Before I'd been reading a riveting tale about a renaissance assassin, but now the page showed depictions of dragon-like creatures and a strangely familiar face. For a moment, I laughed silently at the coincidence- it's so cool how there's an illustrated character who looks just like Kass! Then I paused. Wait a second. A dark shadow passed over the page and I looked up, meeting the eyes of a creature I shouldn't know existed.
"N-Nishadel?"
He was a mere silhouette; a simple shadowed form. A nightmarish being. And I knew him better than I knew myself. Nishadel bent low, his arm crossed over his chest as he bowed formally. To me.
"My Queen. Were you not expecting me?" His gaping white eyes flickered up to meet my gaze, and I shook my head slowly.
"No, I'm afraid I wasn't… I don't usually make it a habit to fall into my memories." I looked around again, this time fully aware that I was not at home in my back yard, but lost within the recollections of my own mind. 'Tiari must be attempting to invade the Garden if I've brought myself here. My memories have always been a defense mechanism for me...' I looked up at the doorway and felt tears prick my eyes when I saw my parents standing there; now I understood why I had been so sad before. I haven't seen them… in a very long time. Looking back to Nishadel, I was surprised that I could discern a concerned expression on his face. With his lack of a mouth, nose, or eyebrows, one would think such a face would be impossible for him. I cleared my throat and nudged the contraption with my foot. "Do you think this thing has anything to do with her attempting to see into my brain?" I inquired as I slowly rose to my feet. In response to my question, the Shade knelt next to the contrivance and placed his hand on the side. His touch evoked a soft blue aura that appeared around the device, and a bit of the azure mist swirled into his hollow eyes.
"Yes, my Lady." He began as the connection between the aura and his empty sockets ceased, causing the mist to fade away. "This is a Breaker, implanted by the Feijuenumaju. It's one of the most complex mind-intruding devices I have ever seen; some of these attachments were designed for a monstrous creature far larger than yourself. They appear to be stationary, however. It seems that the device's creator does not intend to harm your mind in any way." He concluded, distaste evident in his resonating voice. I nodded, relieved and thankful that my most trusted retainer was so knowledgeable about the inner workings of cognizance warfare. Nishadel hadn't always been my ally, let alone my servant. He'd come a long way since then; now he protected my life with everything he had. Before… he had been the one attempting to end it.
"That's good to hear. Nishadel, while I'm still lucid, I need you to open the Gate. I don't think I'll remain in this state of mind for very long, and we both know I lose my memories of you and my inner sanctum when I'm conscious."
Without questioning me, the Shade nodded and stood. Raising his right hand, he extended a small gold key and twisted his wrist counter-clockwise. Following this action was a loud clicking sound, and a large golden lock rapidly formed around the key. Gilded vines emerged from the top, sides, and bottom of the padlock and fashioned themselves into an elaborate gate while small droplets of purple stones glittered and shone on its latches. Nishadel withdrew the key, and the lock melted away into nothingness as I reached out and pushed the doors inward. A flood of bright white light enveloped me. The world of my memories faded. I blinked rapidly to clear the dots from my vision, and looked around to observe my surroundings. This was my innermost sanctum; my Garden. I was standing in the middle of a vast grassy field enclosed by high, thick hedges. Directly in front of me loomed a colossal magnolia tree with glowing orbs of varying colors nestled among its leaves and around its base was set a ring of roughly hewn limestone bricks. To the left and right of the tree were small stalls decorated with flowers and set up specifically to cater to the needs of the Garden's inhabitants. I strode toward the tree, fully aware that if I were to awaken before my task was complete, Tiari would gain access to my greatest secrets while my conscious self would have no idea what was going on. Whenever I left the Garden, all memories of this place would cease to exist. Reaching the base of the Magnolia, I stretched up and grasped one of the lowest limbs. I easily pulled myself up and scaled the branches of the tree until I was perched comfortably on a sturdy branch near the top. Sorting through the shining spheres, I found the one I was looking for and plucked it off a branch.
"Here, catch." I said as I tossed the sphere at Nishadel who was waiting patiently at the bottom of the tree. "Hold on to these for a while." After finding and tossing a few more ornaments to him, I shimmied back down and asked him to carry them for me as I headed further into the garden.
"Of course, but what are you doing with them?" Nishadel inquired, and I found myself sighing.
"The Empress will be invading the Garden soon, and will likely scan my mind for secrets. I have to hide these memories in the Vault until she leaves." The orbs I had given him housed memoires of my original universe, as well as my knowledge of the timeline of this world and other things that would likely raise the attentions of the Femju Empress. This of course included the way I universe hop; a secret even to my conscious self. One could imagine how important it would be to hide, especially if it was concealed from even the user.
"I see… would you like me to guide her when she arrives, or do damage control?"
"Both please. If she does not allow you to guide her, just keep her out of the Cave so she can't find the Vault. And remind me to replace these memories later, or I won't remember them when I wake up. And you know what a hassle that was last time; it's such a pain when conscious me is left in the dark for too long."
"Yes, my Queen. I understand. As for the treatment of Tiari, it will be as you say."
"Thank you."
I moved around him as he began to prepare for the arrival of the Femju, and walked toward the back of the field where a small passage in the hedge lead me further into my Garden. The narrow strip opened after a few moments to reveal a three-way fork in the path. I turned down the left passage and continued that way until I arrived at a smaller field where a Linden tree was growing next to a tiny bench barely big enough to seat one person. I approached the tree and used the bench as a stepstool to reach one of its limbs, which I then pulled like a lever. The action revealed a small compartment on the lower section of the tree. Exhaling as I jumped down off the stool, I reached into the compartment and retrieved a small brass key with an intricate rose design on the handle. With the key in my hand I stepped around the tree and walked up to a rocky break in the surrounding hedges in which was hidden a tiny opening in the rock. Slipping into the small doorway, I emerged into darkness. I knew my way through the many passages, though, so I hurried onward without incident. Finally, I arrived at a solid iron door at the end of the narrow corridor. Placing the key in the lock, I opened the heavy door and went through. Inside was an enormous library with a single wooden chest sitting in the middle of the carpeted floor.
"Hand me the orbs, please." I said as I took them from the Shade. I knelt in front of the chest and placed my hand on its lid. "Open."
A strange amethyst light seeped out of the wood and the chest began to open slowly of its own accord. The inside was lined with velvet, and filled with small pearls stringed together into a long rope. Among these I found a small black box which I pried open and placed the orbs into.
"There." I sighed as I closed everything back up, paying special attention to make sure it was secure. Placing my fingers on the lid of the worn wooden chest, I said, "Lock. Never open for anyone but me."
A golden glow sprung from my fingertips and covered the chest completely before sinking into the wood like water being soaked into a sponge. "And now we're done here. Nishadel, let's go lock up the rest."
"Yes, Queen Ersa. I am right behind you."
He took my hand in his and helped me to my feet. Nishadel and I turned and disappeared back into the shadows as the iron door slammed shut behind us.
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3rd person POV
Nishadel watched as the spiritual form of the Femju Empress searched the gilded gates with a look of amazement on her scaly visage. She placed her clawed hand on the gates and pushed. They swung inward easily, as though that had been opened for her. Which they had. Of course, Tiari didn't know this. Nishadel assumed she thought Linzy just had bad defenses, since the awe fell from her face and a smug grin replaced it. Well, as smug a grin as a dragon's face can harbor.
"Before you get too pleased with yourself, please understand that the Noble Queen has allowed you in as her guest. You will have access to the main areas of this garden and I am to be your guide."
"Noble Queen? Garden? And who- or what- are you?!" Tiari demanded in shock as she observed his ghastly form. Nishadel's hallow eyes narrowed considerably.
"I am but a humble Shade who serves her Majesty, Queen Linzy. And as I said before, I am to serve as your guide when you enter m'lady's mind."
"… Why are you referring to that child as a Queen?"
Nishadel smirked, his annoyance at the reptile's impertinence growing by the second.
"She owns this place, created it within the confines of her mind. She is the master here and all you see before you is merely the garden entrance to her mighty kingdom. She is, in every right, the Queen of this land."
"Mighty kingdom...?" Tiari echoed. " You mean, there's more?"
"Come this way." Said the Shade. Seemingly ignoring her question, he glided over the grass and pointed to a stone at the base of the magnolia.
"There, you see? A map of the realm."
The Empress bowed her head to observe the carving, trace amounts of crystalized breath curling around her maw. The carving was sunken into the rock and painted with different colors, rendering the map almost portal-like in its detail. To Tiari, it was as though she were in flight, soaring high over the villages and farmland of a huge arcane kingdom. There was a large castle sporting twisted white spires that pierced the sky and sparkled silver in the sunlight. Little green hills dotted the background, covered with hints of wild flowers and other flora. Beyond them, a glistening cyan lake reflected the puffy cumulonimbus clouds that raced across the powder blue sky.
'…I have been in the countless minds of kaiju and humankind alike. This level of complexity in the mind is… well, unusual. Especially for a child. Is it due to her Halfling status?' Tiari mused, her eyes wide as she continued her observation.
Nishadel watched her serenely, his expression never changing. "Are you ready to begin the tour now, Tiari?" He asked courteously.
The female bristled.
"That's EMPRESS Tiari to you, creature." She snapped, her large head looming over him ominously as frost from her breath encompassed his ethereal form.
Nishadel stared up at her, unimpressed.
"No, you hold no rights to that title here. You have no power over me. My reverence extends only to my Queen, and to my God."
Tiari growled but didn't move against the Shade. She knew who was in control here and it sure wasn't her.
"Very well, creature. Since we are starting our… tour… tell me. What is this tree?" She snarled as she gestured to the magnolia that towered over even her, its branches laden with sparkling spheres.
"This is the Queen's memory tree." He began, his lanky arm raising so he could gesture toward the magnolia. "Each orb houses a set of corresponding memories. Her Highness told me to inform you that you may browse her memories, but I must warn you to take care and not to remove them from their branches. The orbs are very fragile and may break if detached."
"She's going to "let" me look?" Tiari asked in blatant confusion, her reptilian eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"That is correct. Perhaps it is to prove herself to you, though I do not know why she would wish to do so." He responded as though he had tasted something sour.
"Hmm." Tiari lifted her head and gazed into the nearest orb, hoping to find the answers to her questions. Instead, she found Linzy as a child, attending a Sunday School lesson and drawing a picture of David and Goliath in purple crayon.
She moved to the next one.
Linzy in the library at twelve years old, a tall stack of books in her arms and a glowing smile of pure delight on her face.
The next.
Linzy walking down the hallway in high school, talking to a girl with brown hair that highly resembled Kass Sand.
Linzy bending over a homemade grave as she placed a flower on the softened earth to honor the death of her beloved pet.
Countless memories were glimpsed by the Femju, some happy, some sad, and even some that confused the poor giant lizard to no end, but in all these she could find nothing to explain the girl's oddities. She was so normal. So how could she be so ABNORMAL?
As Tiari pulled her head out of the leaves, she sighed in defeat.
"Nothing." She mumbled quietly. "There is absolutely nothing about what I need to know in her memories."
"That's because I hid it." A familiar voice announced cheerily.
Tiari whirled around with wide eyes to face the newcomer.
"Hid it?!"
"That's correct!" Linzy replied with a bright grin. Her spirit form looked just as she did in the waking world: thickly built, medium length brown hair, tee-shirt, jeans, and two enormous wings that jutted out from her shoulder blades. Tiari narrowed her eyes once more. It was a rare thing in a human, for their spiritual form to match their physical. They were more inclined to morph it into who they wished they were, like a supermodel or someone of influence. To find one untouched… Linzy knew who she was and embraced it. Tiari found this even stranger than the girl's ability to remove her memories from her mindscape.
"Who and WHAT are you?" The Empress inquired bluntly as she moved forward to stand over the enigmatic young girl. Linzy smiled and her eyes glowed a soft purple.
"I am Linzy Keeper, Queen of the land within my mind and all its inhabitants. Wielder of many worlds. I am more than you think but less than you expect. I am as I am and always shall be." She replied cryptically, and Tiari suddenly realized that she was no longer looking down. Linzy was on eye level with her, floating in midair without the use of her wings.
'When did that happen?' The Femju wondered nervously. The 15-year old's unnatural power was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. 'And what does that mean, wielder of many worlds?'
Linzy closed her smoldering eyes and turned around.
"When you leave this place, don't ask the conscious me any questions. I never remember what takes place in the Garden once I have left it, so I will be of no use to you. Nishadel, please escort our guest to the exit."
"Yes, your Majesty." He replied with a sweeping bow. He reached out and tried to lead Tiari to the gates, but the Femju shied away
"Wait! First tell me! Where are you from?! How did you get here?! You can't expect me to believe that a being like you is from this planet!"
Linzy paused for a moment, then laughed aloud at the way the Femju had worded her statement.
"No, I guess I can't expect you to believe it. To tell the truth I'm not from this earth, but another earth. A different dimension without Kaiju, Femju, or Halflings. The physical me thinks I ended up in your world by accident. However, the truth is-"
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Linzy's POV
Present Time
(A/N- Because I'm evil like that. Mwahahah.)
I forced my eyes open and fought back the urge to throw up what little was left in my stomach. My vision swam and my head throbbed mercilessly, but the worst part was the fact that I was sure my mind had just been violated by a giant lizard.
"Owwwiiiieeeee." I moaned as I struggled to sit up. Propping myself up on my elbows I gazed around the cave dizzily.
Tiari was gone.
A part of me felt relieved that she had left, but the other remained intensely worried. What had she done to me? I had this innate feeling that she'd crawled into my brain and gotten her icy claws all over my darkest secrets.
I shivered and took in a gulp of the chilly cavern air.
Did she know that I was from another world? Did she know about Kass?
I forced myself to my feet and staggered a bit as a sharp pain blazed through my head all the way down to my toes.
'Yeesh, what did she DO? That really hurts.' I whined to myself as I rubbed my temples to alleviate the pain. My fingers brushed over the ridges of the scales that protruded from my skull, and I winced.
'I… I guess there's no point wasting my time in this cave. I need to grab Kass and get the heck out of here.'
With that thought firmly settled in my mind, I walked towards the cavern entrance, only to come to a stop.
"What the-!" I gasped as I placed my hands on the giant crystal shards that had been jammed in the doorway. She'd sealed me in.
'They've turned it into a prison! This isn't good. How will I get out now?!' I worried as I began to pace in concern. My talon-like toenails clacked against the stone floor and I frowned as the vibrations it caused pushed an image into my mind.
/Two Femju guards stand outside the cave, their weight pressing against the earth/
I stopped pacing and stood shock still.
…Wut.
Can I SEE through my toenails now too?!
I picked up my foot and stomped it against the ground, harder this time. I could feel the vibrations ripple out, and it was like I could perceive what lay beyond the walls and the guards.
/A human figure stands with a frightened posture. Nearby the hulking figure of a Femju seems to be blocking their way/
'Kass!' I realized. The Femju must be Comoro. Why was the General still keeping her? Did she know I was locked up?
I stomped again.
/Kass attempts to run past Comoro, but the Kaiju pushes her back with her hand. A large silhouette walks towards them, and Comoro bows her head/
'Okay, so now Tiari is in the room as well. Kass is getting anxious, I can feel it in the way she's standing. Comoro is about to find out what it is Tiari has learned. I need to get out so I can eavesdrop!'
I decided to test my new abilities further and got on my hands and knees. With a deep breath, I followed my instincts and pressed my toes and fingers against the stone. They sank into the solid rock with ease, and suddenly I was sucked under the earth. Panic began to set in even before I realized what had happened, but by then I was completely encased in stone and couldn't move.
It took me a few minutes of hyperventilating to discover that I was completely fine; I was breathing through my toenails again and could see clearly without opening my eyes.
'Okay, this isn't going to kill me.' I realized, and twitched my fingers to find that I COULD move. I raked my talons through the stone and swam through the rock as it shaped around my body like a perfect cocoon. I pushed my way towards Kass and opened a small pocket of air directly under my friend. She was sending distressed signals through the soles of her feet, shivers of movement that let me read her emotion. She was terrified, and the two Femju had begun to advance. Without wasting time, I drew back the stone and pulled her into the pocket I'd created.
"Kass, we've got to get out of here!" I exclaimed as I poked my head into the pocket and closed the stone above us. She shrieked in fright.
"AHHHH! WHAT THE- THIS IS STONE! How'd you do that, and more importantly, DO YOU STILL HAVE A BODY?!"
I chuckled and emerged from the rock a bit more, relived that she was still her old self.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't think I was supposed to be able to do this, though, or else Tiari wouldn't have trapped me in that room." I said as another idea occurred to me. "Come to think of it, I don't think ANYTHING should be able to swim through solid rock… hm… anyway, let's go before they find a way to catch us."
Without giving her a chance to reply, I grabbed her hand and pulled her and her pocket of air along behind me.
/A group of Femju is assembling in the base above. Comoro is tramping around wildly, and the troop falls in at her orders. They jump up off the ground, and disappear/
'Aw man! If they fly I can't "see" them anymore, and I won't know where they are. Okay. Think reasonably here…' I slowed for a second and checked back in on Kass. Except for her arm being a bit sore, she said she was okay, so I grabbed her other arm and continued. Thirty minutes later I was swimming though dirt instead of stone, and Kass had had enough.
"Linzy, can we stop this already? My arms are killing me and I'm covered with dirt!"
I stopped and let the earth spit us up under a canopy of nearby trees for extra cover.
"Sorry Kass, I just wanted to make sure we were far enough away."
She huffed and made a face at me as she pawed the clumps out of her hair.
"Yes, I know. And that was awesome. But, it was also insanely terrifying at the same time!"
I rolled my eyes and tapped my talons against the ground to get a better picture of our surroundings.
/A long strip of man-made rock crosses the expanse of the nearby woods/
"I think I can feel a road nearby. I'd prefer to stay underground and out of sight, but we have two other options if you don't feel up to it." I informed her as I lowered myself into the ground until only my head and shoulders were showing.
Kass immediately perked up.
"Other options?! What are they? Anything's better than mole-travel."
Frowning slightly at her degrading comment about my newfound powers, I replied, "Well, I can either fly you home- which could get us spotted very easily- or we can walk to the nearest phone and call someone to pick us up. Both would take longer than "mole-travel" and be far less safe."
She turned up her nose at me playfully and turned on her heel with a flourish.
"We walk!" She proclaimed, and I sighed as I made the earth push me back up to the surface.
Something told me this was going to be a looonnnnnnggggggggggggggggg road trip.
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A/N-
Any guesses as to who (or what) Nishadel is? If you leave a review I will respond and tell you if you're on the right track! (First person to guess correctly gets digital art, a cameo, or something else along those lines. Your choice~) Thanks to everyone for reading. You're awesome!
-R.E