Tony: So, many, MANY apologies for taking so long! Anyway, new cover, courtesy of Kairi (Twilight PhoenixFyre). Here's Chapter IV. I'll let you guys read it. Everything else is at the bottom... Enjoy!
Chapter IV – The Catalyst
It was as the passage ring came into view that Rue started acting as if she were going into shock. Asch turned but she shook her head, running off. "Do what you need to!" she yelled over her shoulder. Asch was half-tempted to ignore her, but he pushed it down and headed over to the Dawn Age device. The sooner he got this done, the faster he could find out what was up with Rue.
Or at least, that was the theory.
He'd drawn the Sword and held it up, only for someone to come rushing at him from a well-hidden alcove above. He jumped back away from them and scowled as Legretta aimed her guns at him.
"Hand over the Key of Lorelei, Asch," she ordered. Asch settled into a defensive position.
"Never!"
"Oh, what a petty argument. Why don't you just give that to me, and we'll all leave quietly?"
Asch looked over his shoulder cautiously, then glanced back at Legretta. She seemed confused, before a flash of panic crossed her face.
"Who are you?" she asked quickly. The black-haired woman threw her head back and laughed.
"Oh, wouldn't he love to know?" she said. Legretta glared, and Asch decided that the black-haired woman was the greater threat at the present time.
"You're the one that's been interfering, aren't you?" Legretta asked, though this time her voice sounded like it was overlaid with a male voice. One of her eyes, the left one, had shifted from a blue-green to a hazel-green. The woman grinned maniacally.
"What, me? Oh no. I'm not the one getting in your way. She is, but she's on the other side. So frustrating, isn't it?" she taunted. Asch was about to demand that one of them explain what was going on when his vision swam, and for a moment, Legretta was gone, and in the black-haired woman's place was a woman with very dark violet hair and violet eyes. Collapsed on the ground behind her was a figure that could only be Luke.
When Legretta and the black-haired woman returned to his vision, he saw them fighting. He scowled and attacked the unfamiliar woman.
"Stay out of this, Asch. She's out of your league," Legretta said, voice still overlaid with a male's. Then a look of concern crossed her face, and for a moment, the hazel faded back out of her left eyes. "But then, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to handle this either," she said, the male overlay gone.
Asch rolled his eyes and ignored her. "Either you've got something going on there that I don't know about, or you've gone insane," he commented as they attacked the woman. She evaded most of their attacks, blocking with a knife those that she didn't.
Legretta rolled her eyes, the left back to the hazel-green. "A little bit of both, dear… Fuck, I really need to break that habit," she said, though the second half of the comment, Asch could barely hear her voice, the male voice almost completely taking over.
"Need help?" Luke asked as he jumped in, dual blades flashing. The woman screeched as they slashed through one of her arms, jumping away as quickly as she could.
"Damnit!" she cursed. Legretta smirked.
"That's been my line for the last few days or so. You're welcome," she said, though again, Asch could hear more of the male's voice than Legretta's. The woman smirked at her and laughed, a bone-chilling sound that had everyone in the vicinity on edge, even though Tear, Anise, and Guy had just arrived.
"Oh don't worry, Tony. You'll be using it a lot more if she has her way. You'll see," the woman taunted. Shadows pooled around her feet, sucking her in until she was gone, and Legretta's stance shifted slightly, into something that Asch realized was a bit more familiar.
Legretta put her guns away and shook her head. "Ugh… okay, we're not doing that again for a while, okay?" she muttered out loud. The five people nearby all heard the disembodied chuckle, though it sounded tired.
Don't worry. I've got to start grilling Kairi. None of Tea's or Daniel's guys could have that much darkness, so it's gotta be one of hers… or Rabecah's, I guess…
"Tony, you're going to confuse everyone…" Legretta warned. Another chuckle rang out.
Shutting up, dear.
"Tony…"
Force of habit, de…Sorry.
Legretta groaned. "You damn well better not do what you did for Leomitch, because I'm killing you if you ever drop your ass in here," she grumbled. Laughter was the only response.
"Uh, Major?" Tear asked cautiously. Luke had already warned them that the God-Generals were alive.
"Do not start talking to the voices in your head, Tear. They will lead you down a path you will find you really didn't want to go down," she told the young woman.
Especially if they're absolutely bored.
"And here I thought you were leaving," a new voice commented.
Guy and Anise turned to see Rue and the cloaked woman walk over. The disembodied voice groaned.
Hello, oh mysterious Traveler.
The woman smiled almost softly. "Leave her in peace, Tony."
There was no response. Guy kept looking between Legretta and the woman.
"Is this Tony guy anything like you?" he asked her. She laughed.
"Oh no. Tony is much worse, and he's not even as bad as they get. Daniel isn't too awful, but the girls?" she replied. Then she looked over at Rue. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked. Rue nodded.
"Yeah. Thanks… um…" she replied.
"I'm simply known as the Traveler," the woman told her. Rue sighed.
"I know. I've met your brother… or… would that have been your cousin?" she said. The Traveler shrugged.
"Which one?" she asked.
"The Soldier," Rue said simply. The Traveler smiled.
"Little brother, then. The Assassin is my older brother, the Child and the Hermit our cousins, and the Priestess and Observer our friends," she said. Rue shrugged, then raised an eyebrow.
"Tony doesn't understand 'leave me alone', does he?" she asked. Legretta gave her a look that answered that question and the next she would have asked all in one, while the Traveler sighed.
"Alas, it is time I took my leave," she said. And as she walked out, Rue skipped over to where Asch was gazing after Legretta, who had also decided that now was a wonderful time to depart.
"You okay?" she asked. Asch nodded, while Luke crossed his arms.
"Hey, what the heck were you talking about when you said you were cleaning up after my mess?" he asked. Asch glared at him.
"Lorelei's message?" he prompted.
Luke looked confused for a moment before an understanding look slipped into its place. "Oh… Heh, I guess I did a pretty poor job of making sure you knew I'd gotten it, huh?" he said. Asch rolled his eyes.
"I dropped just about every hint I could about the Jewel. Don't tell me you understood Lorelei's message and then didn't get it," he said. Luke held out his hand.
A pink glow formed around it momentarily before it formed into a spherical gem. "I got it alright. I just didn't want the God-Generals to know I have it," he replied. Asch took a deep breath.
"Figures. I'd dropped enough hints that I thought you hadn't figured it out," he grumbled. Luke smirked.
"Nope. Only thing I didn't figure out was your hints," he replied. Asch glared, before Rue sighed and stepped between them.
"Okay, you two. No fighting," she said. "We've got bigger problems."
"Such as?" Anise prompted. Rue pointed, and everyone turned to see a certain smirking silver-haired teen. Behind Arashi, Ellie's expression was a good deal more serious.
"Miasma, maybe?" Arashi said, his smirk fading. He looked directly at Luke, who sighed.
"Then Toni's theory is correct?" he asked. Arashi sighed.
"I'm not sure, but I know it'll hit soon. How soon, I can't say either. Damnit, this is…" he trailed off, his eyes becoming cloudy.
"Ari?" Ellie prompted. Arashi shook his head lightly. "Who?"
"Frings…" he whispered. "Damnit, they're too far away. That had to have been northern Chesedonia… maybe an hour ago… Why… why do the short-terms have to be so much easier to figure out a time period…?"
"Let's head back to St. Binah first. If nothing else, we can talk to Shuro, see if he can find out more regarding Toni's theory, seeing as how that's pretty much the best we have to go off of right now," Luke suggested. Arashi nodded.
"Yeah… probably a good idea," he agreed. All eight of them left Shurrey Hill, before Luke gave Asch a look.
"Keep the God-Generals off my tail, okay? I've got to figure something out if we want Sirris to survive longer than Van," he said, making use of their connection for the first time in a month. Asch frowned.
"Why? What's wrong?" he asked. Luke sighed.
"I'll let her tell you that, or Emperor Peony if he decides you need to know… But… Damnit," he trailed off, cutting the connection. "Go ahead and go with the Dark Wings, wherever you were headed. I'm gonna try to catch up with Sirris," he added. Asch glared at his replica, but not before Luke ran off, joining Tear, Guy, and Anise on the Albiore II.
Arashi and Ellie, he noted, were sticking with Rue, who of course was leading them to the Albiore III.
"If you two want to go with them, I suggest going now," he grumbled as he walked past them. Rue rolled her eyes and followed him up the ramp.
Asch found that he wasn't surprised when Arashi and Ellie joined him and Rue in the cockpit.
Sirris scowled and ran a hand through her hair. She hated Chesedonia. There was too much sand. Way too much sand. But, she booked herself a room before heading into a back alley. She raised an eyebrow at the man who started waving when he saw her, ignoring him (and the sand pit next to him) as she walked past.
Sirris slipped into a door after looking around, closing it behind her and smiling at the sight that greeted her. Two ligers, three cheagles, and five wolves (all of them originally native to Keterburg, Sirris noted) were curled up, asleep, around one small human girl. Sirris knelt and gently prodded the blonde child awake.
Drowsy violet eyes slowly opened and looked up at her in confusion for a moment before recognition crossed her features. "Oh… Sirris…" she said in a quiet voice. Then she shook her head and shot something reminiscent of a glare at one of the ligers, who was half laying on the girl's legs. "Ishi, move!" she grumbled. The liger growled lightly. The blonde girl shoved its head, causing it to wake before repeating her command.
The liger yawned and stood, stretching before moving to the side and flopping back down to go back to sleep, this time using one of the cheagles as a pillow. Sirris giggled, while the violet-eyed girl just sighed. "One of these days Usagi's gonna get sick of him doing that," she mumbled, standing up and moving over to the small, low to the ground table. "So, what's up?"
Sirris sat across from her and pulled her knees to her chest. "I need you to come back into the open," she started. The girl's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Sirris closed her eyes for a moment. "You remember what I told you about my ability and the cost it comes at?" she asked. The girl nodded. "Well… I'm gonna go back and explain a bit… Jade's trying to make up for what he did, and I'm living with him now. Then there's this woman named Nigai, and she's an enemy. And you remember what I told you about Sync?"
"Yeah. But that still doesn't answer the question."
"I'm getting there," Sirris grumbled. "See, Sync was captured by Nigai. I've got maybe a month and a half to get a hold of him. But, if Jade finds out…"
"He's still tracking you?"
"Not as accurately as he used to. Keeping track of how long I'm in each town or city, and whatnot, but that's still more than enough to give him a general idea of what I'm doing," she explained. The girl mimicked her pose, wrapping her arms around her knees and frowning.
"But why? Why come to me instead of going to Chloe or one of the others?" she asked. Sirris sighed.
"Because you're the disguise I've been favoring lately. Jade's only seen Chloe twice; the first time I didn't need to use her name, and the second time I was using the alias 'Siri' so that he wouldn't screw up and call me Sirris," she said. The blonde girl sighed.
"So basically, you need me to lay down a false trail," she guessed. Sirris nodded.
"Yeah. Not everyone on Auldrant knows that I've been pardoned for all of the people Roran had me kill, so it won't seem too strange that I'm running around in disguise again," she replied. The girl bit her lip and looked at the odd pile of monsters.
"But, what about…"
"I'm heading into Tataroo Valley tomorrow morning, once I've finished up with my monthly quota. I can take them with me," Sirris said. The girl chuckled.
"Should I call the drakes in here?" she asked. Sirris smiled.
"To help us keep in contact? Alright. That ought to work," she agreed. The girl nodded.
"Yeah, I'll send Tobu and Shorai with you. Oh, and Kiiro, the yellow cheagle over there, is staying with me. She's just a little baby…" she added. Sirris nodded.
"That's fine. I'd say keep all three cheagles with you, but that would get suspicious," she said. The girl nodded.
"Yeah. So, um… How am I gonna be getting around? On foot, as usual?"
Sirris smiled wryly. "Yeah, sorry," she replied. The girl giggled.
"It's fine," she said. Then she pointed at the liger whom she hadn't had to move earlier. "Chikyu'll carry you once I've explained the situation to her. Ishi's not as stubborn as she is, but I'd rather you ride Chikyu in case you have someone with you or something, so then you don't have to double up."
Sirris smiled. "Alright. You'll have to help me memorize the wolves' names too, you know, and the drakes when they show up. I remember Ichigo is the pink cheagle and Usagi is the blue, and you said Kiiro was the yellow. The lighter colored liger is Ishi, the darker is Chikyu. And I'm fairly certain the completely white wolf, the one with blue-green eyes, is Yuki. Past that, I don't know," she said. The girl smiled.
"Don't worry, you'll have them memorized soon enough, Siri," she replied. Sirris giggled.
"Thanks, Aerys."
The girl hummed an upbeat tune as she danced around the otherwise quiet garden. A few fountains were the only other sources of noise, save for the steady but gentle breeze that wove through the trees. Her honey brown hair glinted gold whenever the sun hit it, and her golden eyes sparkled.
Standing in the shadows, staying out of sight, was a man dressed primarily in a very dark gray that nearly passed for black. Brown gloves, brown boots, and a red cape added a slight bit of color to his outfit, while his hair was braided loosely.
The girl he was watching escalated from humming to singing the tune as she continued to dance. She still sang no words.
"Rather innocent at times, isn't she?"
The man turned to look to his right. "Hello, Silver. It's been a while since I've seen you," he commented quietly. The teen nodded, his silver eyes, the source of his name, seemingly staring off into the distance, despite the girl who danced not fifty feet away.
"The princesses are getting a little… rowdy," Silver stated. His companion sighed.
"Ashelia's been underground for how long now? And Stella isn't used to staying in one place for long. It doesn't surprise me," he replied.
As the girl's song seemingly came to a close, she opened her eyes and looked around, then smiled when her eyes alighted on the two males. "Daddy? You didn't tell me you were coming home," she said, her light voice somehow sounding more mature than her appearance and attitude conveyed. She brushed her hair back over her shoulder, only for it to fall into place again as she walked over. "Good to see you again too, Silver," she added. Silver crossed his arms.
"Thanks for dropping me on the back burner, Tawny," he muttered. The girl giggled and punched his shoulder lightly.
"Hey, you visit pretty often. Daddy doesn't," she said. Her father chuckled.
"Daddy is still a wanted criminal, dear. Your mother is still threatening to turn me in every time I show up," he told her. She smiled up at him anyway.
"You know I don't care," she replied. Her father hugged her with a smile.
"Yes, my dear Vitawny, I know."
Tony: So... This last section was actually written by Daniel (who recently got his own FanFiction account instead of sharing with Tea on Hielo y Sombra). And Silver is a character from his TotA AU (kinda like Ellie and Valon are in this one). Really, the only purpose for this last section was to halfway introduce Vitawny, Silver, and Vitawny's father. Also, this is the last chapter where I break the fourth wall until... well, much later on.
Leon: Wow. So, what's next?
Tony: Um... The next update is the nineteenth... 'The main group goes to Baticul while Sirris heads for Tataroo Valley'. And then guess what hits? No, really. Guess.
Leon: Anyway, all OC's belong to Tony, Kairi, Tea, or Daniel.
Tony: Yeah... And I need to go type, so... See ya later! (Please leave a review.)