The name of this chapter is the title of the story Zaffiel and Tsukasa were originally part of. But I wasn't writing that one alone! Star-Kitten, ROCK ON! Here's a very random piece of knowledge: if you hover your mouse over the top left-hand corner logo, it'll say 'site logo'. I swear to cheese. Yes, cheese.
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Riprendere
Chapter Four: Frozen Fire, Liquid Ice
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Mirllyne sat in her room, holding a pocketwatch. As she opened it with her slender fingers, it began to tinkle out a melody. It was hauntingly beautiful, leaving every note hanging in the cramped room. Her ruby eyes grew sad as the melody became sour; this was a very old watch. The owner's sister had given it to her once her sister had become a haunted angel.
"You seriously don't have that still, do you?" Omega asked. Mirllyne closed the watch and slipped it into her jean pocket. "I guess we can't let go of some things, can we?"
"I can't get rid of it," Mirllyne said sharply. "Polaris asked me to give it to her sister when the time was right. Joe was asking me about a girl named D.S.…Omega…do you think that could be her?"
Omega sat down next to Mirllyne. "I dunno…and right now, I could frankly care less. Panthos was right. I feel like someone's about to knock me out or something…do you mind if I sleep here tonight?…"
As Mirllyne stood up to go find Joe, Omega lay down on her bed and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. Mirllyne didn't seem to mind this. Less people to bitch at her! So she went into the hall and left Omega to finally sleep, after over a day of being up, depleting over half her magic in one go, and fighting in the rain. Panthos ran into her on his way to find Omega.
"Mirllyne, have you seen Omega? I've been trying to chase her into bed since we dumped Fiella and Enala." Panthos asked.
"Yeah, she's inside. But she's asleep, and I'd be careful not to wake her up." Mirllyne answered. She walked off to find Joe and ask him about D.S., and why he knew about her.
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"Got any sevens?" Ra asked, clinically bored from sitting in the control room for three and a half hours. GB handed her a seven and she placed the pair on the table.
"Got any queens?" Kim asked Ra, who shook her head. Kim swore and drew a card from the pile in the center.
"So, who thinks we should do something more exciting?" ISV said, throwing her cards in the air. "Zaffiel, Enala, and Fiella aren't going to be back for a while, so why are we even assigned in six-person groups to keep watch?"
"Hey, ISV! Got any twos?" Sadie said, just to annoy her. "Hey, ya know, we should dive and have someone on top. Maybe they sent Xiaka down there, or something to that degree, ne?"
"FINALLY! SOMETHING TO DO!" ISV shouted. "Oy, Pandora! Do you wanna go on top and check if anyone's out there? Then we'll dive, and you can put up a shield to see if anyone's there!"
Pandora nodded and left. She was still in her wet clothes from before, but now they were rather damp. Out in the hall, Poseidon was somewhat stalking her. He'd heard ISV planning. But what no one else (he doubted Pandora wanted to recognize it) noticed that Pandora's magic was low. She'd hardly last. So he made up his mind to go out with her.
"Pandora!" Poseidon called as she was about to mount the stairs. "Wait up, I'll go out with you."
"No, that's fine…" Pandora's voice was strangely quiet. "I can handle it."
"You can't. I'm coming with you." Poseidon insisted. She shrugged and climbed the ladder, Poseidon close behind her.
(See anything?) ISV asked. (Cause we don't. Poseidon's there too.)
(Yeah…right. Ready to dive when you are.) Pandora answered. She held out her hand and a very thin ice blue shield came around her and Poseidon. The Dolphin began to submerge, as did Poseidon and Pandora. Poseidon stood next to Pandora and looked at her. She looked tired, more tired than she usually did. Dark bags hung around her bloodshot eyes. She twitched involuntarily, partially due to caffeine, partially due to the cold sinking into her body, but mostly out of fatigue. Her hair was hanging in a small, limp braid.
(I must say, it looks so murky and gray out there.) GB said. Pandora sat down and continued to sustain the shield and keep watch. Nothing strange had appeared quite yet.
"Want me to take over the shield?" Poseidon offered. "You aren't looking so great. You shouldn't…"
"I know what I can and can't do, Poseidon." Pandora said.
"Good. Let me take over." Poseidon said. Pandora reluctantly let the shield down, but before Poseidon was ready. Water flooded around them, before Poseidon sent it flying away and a dark blue shield came up in place of Pandora's. She lay back, shaking worse than before. Poseidon sat down next to her and took her head in his lap. She curled up to his warmth and sighed deeply.
"Your magic is depleted, isn't it?" He asked. Sadly, she nodded. He peeled off a glove and placed his bare hand to her forehead. It was warmer than it had been before they'd clashed with the three angels. "I get it now. You didn't want to admit to ISV that you'd come down with something, so you just came out here."
Pandora nodded again.
(ISV, there's nothing down here. Pandora's sick. We'll be in within a few minutes. Okay?) Poseidon said.
(Yeah, I agree with you. In any case, do come back in. We've decided that we'll fly to the nearest continent overnight and see if we can find anything there.) ISV answered in a bored tone.
(I'll cover…my shift.) Pandora said. She stood up, still shaking, and pulled a very fragile shield around herself as she twisted the hatch open. After a minute of trying, she gave up her attempt. Poseidon walked over and covered her as he opened the hatch. Pandora dropped down first, followed by Poseidon. She walked slowly toward the control room, determined to prove to Poseidon that she could. The doors slid open, and ISV, Sadie, Ra, Kim, and GB all left, talking calmly.
"I thought you were sick…hey!" ISV said as Pandora fell backwards. Poseidon caught her before she hit the ground.
"She can sleep in my bed tonight." Poseidon said. He lay her down gently on the ground, then lifted her back into his arms. "Pandora didn't want to tell you that she had run out of magical energy. She did what you told her to."
ISV's face fell. "I'm sorry, Poseidon. I really am. Anything I can do to help?"
"Go ahead and tell Panthos, Kronos and Epsilon what I'm doing. If they give you any shit, just tell that I still have nearly full power." Poseidon said. "And I know it's not your fault. She's too meek to say anything."
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"Joe!" Mirllyne called as the Japanese boy turned into his room. She ran toward him. "You were asking me about a little girl named D.S.. What do you know about her?"
Joe wondered why Mirllyne had such a sudden interest in his shoulder companion. "Well…she's small. She usually has a French accent. Her hair is black, and her eyes are hazel. Why do you want to know?"
Mirllyne pulled the watch from her pocket and opened it. The melody began to tinkle from it, but that wasn't what caught Joe's attention. It was the design. D.S. had described a golden watch hanging from a golden chain with rubies and sapphires to mark the hours. It was now in Mirllyne's hands, playing a song.
"Where did you get that?" Joe asked.
"My friend, Polaris. When her sister became a haunted angel, she asked me to keep her sister's watch safe until her sister was purified again. I don't remember her full name, but Polaris's sister's name was D.S.." Mirllyne replied, gently closing the watch once again and sliding it into her pocket.
"Was Polaris an angel too?" Joe asked. Mirllyne nodded. "Were you an angel?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Mirllyne snapped, walking off angrily.
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"That's all." Tsukasa said. Fiella and Enala rose in perfect unison, then walked out Tsukasa's office doors. They walked toward Marco's office next, since he had asked them in particular for help with something. What it was, the twin angels knew not. As they pressed the code into the keypads next to the doors, Marco stepped out to greet them.
"It's nice of you to come," He said. Over the last two years, he'd become more like Josephine…well, we'll say a male version of Josephine. His hair was wild and untamed, and through his right ear was a black diamond. The three stepped into his office.
This was the largest office on the base, and it doubled Tsukasa's in size. Another room joined it on the left side of the office, and Marco led the twins through these doors. Once the two were through, Marco locked it with a keycode and they walked along in the dark.
"Do you remember my sister, Alexa, who was supposedly killed during Project Meteor?" Marco asked. Enala nodded in reply. "We found her body and began to try and restore her to what she once was. We've had to reconstruct most of her body with cybernetic parts, but she's in a very deep coma."
Fiella stopped walking. "No, Marco. We can't do that."
"I must say that I agree with Fiella. A person will only do as they desire, and we cannot force them to do what they do not want to do." Enala said, now stepping to turn and leave.
"You didn't let me finish. What I was going to ask was…" Marco continued. Fiella held up a hand to silence him.
"No. What you're asking was banished after the Epidemic of Kage, thousands of years ago. We're sorry, Marco, but we can't do that. Alexa will be fine, just give it a while longer." Fiella said. The twins turned (in unison) and left him alone.
"All I was going to ask was for you to tell me if we should turn her into a real cyborg."
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"Sure you don't want help?" Kronos offered a final time. Poseidon looked up to him and smiled.
"No, that's okay." Poseidon replied. Kronos shrugged and left the room. Poseidon had already changed Pandora into his own dry clothes, and the wet ones were now drying on the room's heater. He'd even managed to wash her filthy hair, and untangle it from its short braid. She now lay in his bed with the covers drawn up.
"I don't care if you can hear me or not, Pandora. You push yourself way too hard. You need to calm down! Nothing will happen unless you do something to set it off." Poseidon said. He ran his fingers through Pandora's thick blond hair. She shifted and slowly opened her eyes. "So, you're awake now. How do you feel?"
"I feel fine. Would you let me out?" Pandora asked. Her voice was hoarse.
"No."
"Poseidon…"
"I asked how you felt. Answer and I may let you go."
"I feel fine."
"Are you sure?" Poseidon sat down on the bed next to her. She struggled to sit up, and once she did, her head swam violently. She held onto Poseidon for support.
"Yes, I'm sure. Want do you want me to do to prove it?"
"You have a fever."
"Do not."
Poseidon wrapped his arms around her. "I had to carry you in here. Don't worry about it, Pandora. You've come down with something. You can stay in bed for a few days, it won't kill you."
Using Poseidon, Pandora lifted herself up to stand. Slowly, she walked to the door and waited for it to slide open. As it did, Panthos poked his head inside.
"I wouldn't do that." Panthos said. "You're sick, Pandora. You should stay in bed."
Pandora sighed, admitting her defeat. The short walk to the door had exhausted all her energy. She walked even slower back to the bed and sank down onto it. "Do you have anything to drink?" She asked as she curled up. Poseidon covered her once more.
"I'll go get you something. Just stay here." He said, leaving with Panthos. Pandora, too tired to do anything but sleep, closed her eyes and began to nod off. The door slid quietly back open and Poseidon walked in. He saw Pandora, asleep once more. She had fallen asleep on her side, with her hair ahead of her face on the pillow.
And so the monster sleeps, huh. Poseidon thought. Her fever had not gone down. Being careful not to wake her again, he laid a damp cloth on her forehead, then made himself comfortable in the chair.
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Joe was getting quite used to Jet's snores by this time. They were always the same loud; locomotive-like grunts then a soft whistle. Joe had the urge to put a flower over his mouth and watch it rise and fall as the locomotive puffed onward. Then the urge to fall asleep overpowered the one to toy with the sleeping Jet, and Joe fell asleep slowly.
Images floated through his mind. There was no clear order to their sequence; they simply existed to exist. Finally, they seemed to choose one scene above all to focus on. There was a small girl who resembled Fate, an angel-like person (well, she had wings), and an older woman. The angel had pure white wings, black hair, very dark blue eyes, and wore nothing but black. The woman wore a light blue skirt and a black full-length shirt. Her hair was midnight blue, and her eyes were the same color brown Fate's were. They were in a garden with a lot of silvery flowers around. This woman must have been Fate's mother, judging by the way she was smiling and showing things to the younger Fate.
"Mommy, why do we need to have things written out for us?" The little Fate asked. She tugged her mother's skirt and looked up with her innocent brown eyes. The woman knelt so her eyes were level with Fate's.
"Fate…I don't know where to begin." The woman said. She took Fate in her arms and held her. "Do you see the stars, Fate? They must do something within their life, but if they don't know what to do, they'll be horribly confused. Does that make any sense to you?"
"It does, Destiny." The angel said. Her voice was very quiet, like a breeze rustling the flowers. "But do you think Fate will ever need use that knowledge?"
Destiny sighed and Fate jumped from her arms. "I don't know, Etaf, I really don't know. I have no idea what's in store for me, because as you very well know, I write everyone's fate but my own. I know what is to become of yourself and my daughter, but no idea what will befall me."
"It makes sense, mommy." Fate said. With her little hands, she yanked on the stem of a small, snow-white rose. She handed it to her mother, beaming that she'd been able to do it alone. Destiny smiled and took the rose from her child's hand and placed it behind her own ear.
"Do you know what will happen to this city?" Etaf asked.
"I do." Destiny replied. Her face was set in a sad state. "Far in the future, angels will tear it apart for their own selfish purposes. I know when. I wonder, will I be alive to watch it happen?"
Joe wanted to shout to the trio that Destiny would be gone long before that even happened, but he found that in this dream, he had no body, meaning he had no voice. He was simply watching from afar as these events played out. Suddenly, everything dissolved into a whirl of blue-black. When it stopped, Joe was standing in the very same garden. Fate and Etaf were there, but Destiny was not. Fate looked around to check if anyone aside from herself and Etaf were present, then turned to face the angel.
"Fate, this is the end. I'm so very sorry, but I can't do any more." Etaf said. She and Fate hugged. Etaf's wings were shimmering brightly in the dim starlight. In one swift movement and a high-pitched scream, Etaf tore them from her body and handed them to Fate.
"You can't be serious." Fate said. Tears leaked from the angel's eyes as she fixed them to Fate's back. "Etaf…"
"I am serious, Fate. With these, you're half-angel. I'm so very sorry, Fate, that it had to turn out this way. I'll never forget you, I promise." Etaf said, embracing Fate a final time then ran off into the night. Fate sank to her knees, then completely collapsed and began to sob. Her entire world had just come crashing in on her, and she could do nothing to control it. No one could, now that her mother was dead and her angel left her all alone in the world.
The image blurred again and this time completely left. Joe woke up, drenched in his own cold sweat and panting as if he'd just ran a very long distance. Jet was still asleep, though his snoring was quieter now that it was later. The digital clock winked the red numbers 2:37 at him in the dark. He was sure that that had been just a bad dream, a terrible dream that would never happen again.
Joe stood up, shaking, and walked through the near-dark Dolphin. A low voice was singing in the distance. It was swinging back and forth like a clock ticking with a very familiar melody. Joe hastened to find whoever was singing. The voice led him to the makeshift living room. D.S. was sitting on the coffee table, eyes closed, voice hauntingly gorgeous. She must have heard him enter, for as soon as he did, she opened her eyes and stopped singing.
The second she did, Joe's eyes slammed shut and he fell asleep on the spot.
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"For crying out loud, Fate, he's not dead." Epona's voice said. She sounded as if she were underwater, or something like that.
"Then what's he doing there? Explain!" Fate's voice demanded, sounding just the same. Joe felt his head pounding with the promise of a migraine. "He's waking up!"
Joe opened his eyes. His eyelids felt like they weighed at least a ton apiece. It took a great effort. Once they were open, Fate's image floated into his field of vision. Her face looked terrified. At that moment, Joe realized that when he saw Fate, she was usually scared beyond all reason. This thought propelled him to sit up, and then stand. Fate's brown eyes widened as he crossed the room.
"Do you have any food? I'm starving," Joe said. Epona giggled and Fate sank down onto the couch, almost looking like she was relieved.
"What were you doing down there, Joseph Shimamura?" Fate demanded. Her eyes were set. They wanted an answer, and they wanted it now.
Joe tried to recall what had happened. All that came up was walking to find something, then collapsing from fatigue. "I have no clue, Fate." But something told him that he knew the events that had taken place. Something wanted him to scream his dream out at Fate and demand to know if it was true. But the same thing held him back, and told him that it was already shaky ground that he stood on. That told him that it was all too true. It told him that all his recent dreams had been true. Joe ignored the voices that were now arguing in his head and walked off to the kitchen.
"You heard her singing last night, didn't you?" Was Mirllyne's prompt greeting to Joe as he walked into the kitchen. Her eyes were blurred, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. Nonetheless, they were just as demanding as Fate's.
"I…I'm not even sure any longer." Joe finally answered. Mirllyne's expression softened and she smiled.
"I can tell you." Mirllyne said, fishing out a bowl and the milk. "You heard an angel singing. They're quite personal about it, mind you. No one, not even other angels, can resist his or her singing. When you heard her singing, you were drawn toward the source, and pardon me, but you were hypnotized by it. Once she knew you knew she was singing, she stopped, therefore putting you instantly to sleep. Make sense?"
"Yeah, but how do you know stuff like that?" Joe asked, watching Mirllyne pour milk over her Trix and begin shoveling it into her mouth.
"You have to remember, my best friends were angels." Mirllyne replied, pausing only for this purpose. Heaven forbid that she not have the multicolored, sugar-spiked kid's cereal.
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"Arien and Kummi, the two angels I wanted most to see." Tsukasa said, swiveling around in her chair. Arien was sitting in a black leather chair, smiling placidly. The other angel, Kummi, looked a little on the pissed side. She had short, layered blue-purple hair with the roots and ends dyed furious orange. Her eyes were a similar shade of a fire color. She wore a black t-shirt and jeans that were scarcely more than ribbons, with high black boots to cover them.
"So, exactly what are we here for?" Kummi demanded. "I'm hoping it's not one of those 'get to know each other better' things. I've had enough of those to last me the next millenium. Possibly even through a second Epidemic."
"Oh, trust me, it's nothing even remotely like that." Tsukasa said. Kummi relaxed a little and allowed a small smile to creep across her face. "You two know Mirllyne, and what she was and did. You two have the power to defeat her and her little team that she's now a part of."
"Dead or alive?" Arien asked. Tsukasa's face broke into a wide smile.
"Alive, preferably, but if it's impossible then dead is fine. I think we'd like to have a nice fight or two with her after her betrayal, wouldn't we?" Tsukasa said, now pacing around her office. "I've heard that Pandora has fallen ill. How unfortunate for them, right?"
Kummi rose from her seat and tossed her head back. She caught her hair and tied it into a high ponytail, but the shortest front parts hung around her lean face. "I wasn't the angel of fire for nothing, was I?"
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Mirllyne didn't like what was going on, not one bit. It was nine in the morning and they were only two hours away from Tokyo's harbor. There was something foreboding about going there. She knew what had already taken place in the city, but it was the coming events that terrified her.
"Someone's not preoccupied, are they?" Kronos asked. His look upon registering Mirllyne's face was positively beaming. "You're thinking about them. About the entire life you used to have."
"And why should I tell you that?" Mirllyne demanded. She swiveled to face his blue eyes and met them with her ruby ones. He held up his hands.
"Hey, relax. Omega woke up and wanted you to know that two people are there waiting to see you and you alone."
"Really, who?"
"Two people you're on the greatest terms with."
"Don't tell me."
"Your two favorite angels."
"Sarcasm?"
"Figure it out!"
"Let me guess. Arien and Kummi."
"Bingo!"
He poked her in the stomach and ran off. Mirllyne would run after him, hand it been a normal day, but today was far from it. Arien and Kummi; they were quite possibly her least favorite people on the planet next to Tsukasa and Albireo. But the last two on her list were for a very, very personal reason. She stood up and walked calmly out of the room, undoing her pigtails and redoing them into a high ponytail as she walked along. If anyone were to pass her walking, they'd notice her clothes gone and only a glowing white bubble around Mirllyne. The orb tightened, then loosened to reveal the black leather outfit.
(You've changed. I can see you walking past.) Pandora said. (Don't worry. We were talking earlier. Tell them when you get back.)
(Back from what?) Mirllyne asked.
(Going into Tokyo, of course.)
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Kummi giggled. It wasn't very often she got to get out, or even off Madagascar. The change in scenery was excellent. You could only stand trees and lemurs for a certain amount of time outside your window before you went crazy. It also wasn't very often you got to torture someone, and get paid for doing it.
She walked along the clustered Tokyo streets. Pierre had been correct about 0013's lasting effects on Tokyo. It made her want to meet Scarl and Josephine and find out how their minds worked. No one even thought it strange to see her walking along.
Pierre had prepared her for the appearance half, too. Kummi had exchanged her normal dress for something more Japanese. So for today only, she wore a black turtleneck sweater, white miniskirt, black boots that came up to her knees with rounded toes, a white messenger cap, and mirrored sunglasses. Her hair fit perfectly. She carried a white leather purse with a shiny gun and a cell phone withheld in it, and a blue iPod mini in her skirt's pocket. No one cared.
The cell phone rang. Kummi pulled it out of the bag and laughed. She could get really used to this.
"They've arrived." Arien said from the other end. "Be ready for them."
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"Why, tell me Mirllyne, do I get the strange wave of déjà vu all over again?" Sadie asked, slamming the door shut to the little Japanese car. She turned the key in the ignition and shot a smile to her left. "Calm down, Mirllyne. I know all of it."
"What do you know all of?" Ra asked from the back seat, looking up from her current gaming interest. "I think Poseidon wants to know too."
"I already know, thanks very much." Poseidon murmured through his hand. He was worried for Pandora, who was staying back on the Dolphin. He also didn't want to face the two angels. He, along with Mirllyne and a group of others, had already fought them once.
They began to move. Mirllyne's face turned to a look of absolute terror. Poseidon looked out the window as if he were being led to his doom. He could remember the younger version of Kummi. She was always running around Yggdrasil, and was always saying that she'd be the angel of fire some day. Her temper rivaled Chaos' family's own tempers, and only theirs. She was set off by anything.
(Things have gotten worse,) Joe commented.
It was true. The roads had been repaved, but the population had not massively spawned once more. People had more personal space as they walked along the streets. Their eyes were all focused on the ground. Several stores had discount signs hanging in their cramped windows. Buildings still lay in ruins, and a few were beginning to be rebuilt. It was nothing compared to its former glory.
(Just remember what could be lost and we'll do fine.) OV said.
(God, why are you all so gloomy?) Ra finally demanded. (It's like you're being led to the damned guillotine or something.)
(We'll just say…that this isn't the first time this has happened.) Mirllyne said, much to Ra's surprise. No one said a word after that.
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"They've arrived. They're separated into seven different groups, but they have communication." Kummi said into the phone. She sat on a planter and waved as Mirllyne drove by. Mirllyne shouted something to whoever was driving and the car screeched to a halt.
"I'm going to have to call you back." Kummi said. "Well, Mirllyne. Look at me now! I'm the angel of fire! In any case, I didn't come here to swap stories. I came to kick your ASS!"
On the last word, she ripped the gun from her purse and began to fire. Sadie unfolded herself from the car and held up a hand. In seconds, every person walking along the streets had been knocked out.
"Hey, you know, why use this thing? Let's see if I can outshine you at your own game!" Kummi exclaimed, tossing the gun away. She thrust a finger forward and fantastic blue flames encircled it.
(We've found Kummi. Where the fuck are you?) Ra asked, not wanting to get in the way of these two.
No reply came. Mirllyne and Kummi were now hitting buildings with their excess flames in the attempt to murder one another. Out of nowhere, all of a sudden, jumped Arien in full dress uniform. With a giggle, the two slapped hands and swapped places.
"YOU BITCH!" Omega shouted. Purple light shot from her hands and she jumped to get a better aim on Kummi. Kummi laughed and gave more firepower. Then her eyes caught sight of Joe. She leapt off the building and stood before him.
"She loved you. So much she was willing to die for your sake. And she did." Kummi said, meeting Joe's eyes. "But no one would ever guess what you are."
That was enough, once more, to get Joe all fired up. He clicked his acceleration switch and darted toward Kummi. She didn't have enough time to gather up a decent amount of flames before he slammed her against a building. He stepped out of acceleration mode and bore a hole into Kummi with his glare.
"Tell me what you know!" He ordered. Kummi let out a high laugh, partially hysteria and partially in Joe's ignorance. Joe slapped her.
"FINE! Her name was Kage and that's all I'll tell you until you let me go." Kummi said, beginning to wiggle out of his grasp. As soon as he loosened her, she smacked him in the face with a flaming fist. Or, she would have, if Mirllyne hadn't jumped in the way.
"Run. Run to the Dolphin and take Francoise with you." Mirllyne snapped. "GO! NOW! BEFORE I MAKE YOU!"
Francoise looked quite surprised when Joe came to stand next to her. Mirllyne turned to look and see if he'd left. When she saw he hadn't, she jumped back to him and Francoise.
"I told you to get outta here." Mirllyne said. The place Kummi's fist had struck was swelling and blood had already begun to drip. "But I know you want to stay and find out more about your mother. Stay; just don't get hurt."
With that, she sprung away to leave them alone with each other. Arien flung a ball of ice at Albert, who made quick work of them. Mirllyne and Kummi, though, fought only one another. Fire was being shot from both. It was easy to tell which flames had come from which: Mirllyne's were orange, and Kummi's were soundly indigo. The two were constantly in a cocoon of flame, and neither came out without another scorch mark or gash.
Arien finally flung a large ice crystal into the blaze. Out of it fell Mirllyne, followed by Kummi. Both had been burnt and bruised horribly. Kummi barely held onto her consciousness, while Mirllyne had simply given it up. GB caught Mirllyne as she fell.
"We've finished our job here. Oh, wait. I have one last gift for you." Kummi said through her ragged breath. She held out a hand and golden flames encircled them. "Have fun getting out."
Arien smiled. "Here's for just in case you. You can't shatter my ice, so don't even try."
The two vanished in a poof of bubbles and sparks. Joe's first instinct was to attack the flames as if they were cyborgs. He charged at them at mach two and only came out with a large black burn to show for it.
"Don't try it. These are Kummi's favorite weapon. It takes logic to get out." Epona said. "I think I have something. I'll try to grow something. Lily, try and call every metal thing in toward us. Poseidon, get ready for a barrier."
"On it." The two answered.
"Now comes the fun part."
Cars flew toward them, as well as strips of metal and parking meters. A navy blue ring floated around them, then shot up to swirl as water in a glass would. Epona rose a finger to a ninety-degree angle, then dropped it. Plants grew right next to the flames and began to quench them. The ice came flying inward.
Albert shot one missile. Then another to the top of the ice. It began to shatter. As it shattered, it fell inward. Poseidon winced as each fragment hit the barrier.
The metal helped to collapse the ice. The flames took the largest part of the ice now, which froze them as they danced. Eventually, the ice began to melt, therefore nixing the fire. Epona heaved a sigh of relief, then turned to face Joe.
"You aren't hurt, are you?" She asked. "Good. We can't afford for that to happen."
"Why not?" Joe demanded. "You all know something I don't. What the hell is it?"
Epona turned away, her braid following in a graceful arc. "There's a lot of stuff your family has to answer for, Joe. None of these angels are after us. They're after you and Francoise. That's all I can tell you until Mirllyne explains herself. Which should be happening next chapter."
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Once they had returned to the Dolphin, Pandora was eager to hear the story. Poseidon said he'd explain to her. They left to go back into his room, but then Pandora saw Mirllyne.
"No way. I suppose now…" Pandora said.
"Yes. She'll have to answer us now." Poseidon said. "Go on, get back into bed! I still have enough power to order a tidal wave to knock you over so I can drag you in there if I must."
"Tell us what?" Kim asked. "For God's sake, we know she's a cyborg. What else is there to know? She can shoot fire from her ass now?"
"I wish."
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The next morning as Mirllyne woke up, she instantly realized that something wasn't right. Epona was sitting next to her, green eyes sparkling with the promise of having to stop the lie.
"They've already begun to guess. Omega's been stalling them, but you can't lie to them for much longer." Epona said. "Come on. You owe it at least to Joe. Possibly both him and Francoise, too. They're trapped at the heart of all this and have no way out until they at least know something."
Mirllyne sat up reluctantly and faced Epona. Judging the weightless feel of her head, Mirllyne guessed that her hair had been let down. These clothes weren't hers, either, and the bandages seemed very strange. Vaguely, she remembered something to do with Kummi and Tokyo…
It came back to her like a tsunami crashing. Telling Joe his mother's name. Kummi. Everything that had happened in Tokyo and before. She felt like bursting into tears, but she didn't.
She was able to stand. She took one step, then Epona tried to tap her on the shoulder, but she turned around and nearly smacked Epona for her effort.
"I was only going to tell you that you have your wings back." Epona snapped in a hurt tone. Mirllyne turned her head to look and see if it were true.
It was. She had wings again. This time, a tear fell down her face. She continued to walk to the living room. D.S. appeared at her shoulder.
"I've missed you, Mirllyne…" She said, then vanished once more. Mirllyne squeezed her eyes shut, as if to close off the world and appear sitting under Yggdrasil once more. But when she opened her eyes, reality came crashing in on her. Arthur was long dead. Kummi was the angel of fire. Each step only brought her closer.
Closer to what?
"You're going to tell us, aren't you?" Tirzah demanded, seizing her by the shoulders. Mirllyne sat down on a chair and folded her hands into her lap.
"I'm not who you thought I was. In fact, I'm not a cyborg. I never was. There's something else I never was and never will become, and that's…"
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