Chapter 3

The Rescue

Krad reappeared standing on the dark sidewalk outside the palace. How he hated that man! Partly because he was right. Despite Krad's power and reputation, his life was linked to the fate of the stones as surely as the Shield shone. If anything ever happened to them... Forget the world, he'd be beyond caring. It was one gaping weakness in his defenses. Krad didn't like being weak.

Then there was Hiwatari himself. You know better than to take me lightly. And he was right. No matter how Krad taunted the man, he would make a formidable opponent. Hiwatari wasn't king for nothing. Krad had great faith in his own abilities but if it ever came down to a fight between them, he didn't know who would come out victor. He didn't fear Hiwatari, exactly, but he was definitely wary of the man.

The distance home passed quickly as he walked, lost in thought. Before he knew it he was at Satoshi's door. There was a sudden stirring in the back of his mind as Satoshi fought his way to awareness despite the beating his conscious had taken. Krad slipped into the house and closed the door behind him, worriedly checking on his Tamer in his mind. The last thing Satoshi needed was to wake up now.

"Krad?" The query sounded slightly confused. Krad realized that the shields he'd put around Satoshi to protect him were still up. Unfortunately, Satoshi realized it, too. "No!" he said, his words losing their fuzzy, confused note and becoming crystal daggers. "No! You beep ! Let me out!" He began to beat his already battered conscious against the invisible walls, hammering on them with fists and mind. " beep it all! Let me out!" Krad knew Satoshi couldn't take any more abuse, not after what they'd just been through. He hurriedly let down the shields, releasing Satoshi, who fell to his knees despite his attempts to stand.

"Satoshi..." Krad reached out to him.

xxx

Satoshi looked up at the sound of his name, across the black mental landscape.

"Satoshi, you're hurt, don't try to move." Satoshi ignored the hand Krad offered him and stared at his own shaking hands. What was wrong with him? Why was he so weak? He was trembling just trying to hold himself off the floor but there was no way he was going to stay kneeling on the floor in front of Krad. Struggling against the awful weight that seemed to be pushing him down, he got his feet under him and stood up, wavering slightly.

"Sit down, you fool, before you cause permanent damage," Krad said. Satoshi shook his head slightly; he was determined to face this fight on his feet.

"You..." Satoshi started to say. But as he took a step forward he staggered, his legs buckling underneath him. Krad caught him before he hit the ground.

"I don't need your help!" Satoshi said, struggling against the Guardian. But in his weakened state he was no match for Krad and no matter what he did he couldn't break free of Krad's restraining arms.

"Stop it, Satoshi!" Krad commanded, easily subduing the blue-haired Tamer. "You're in no condition to take over." Finally, Satoshi gave in and stilled, having exhausted himself.

"Why am I so weak?" he whispered.

"You took a lot of damage fighting that Power. I tried to shield you as well as I could but I couldn't heal your mind like I could your physical body. You need to rest. As long as you eat something tomorrow morning you'll be fine, just in time for school." Satoshi nodded as the darkness started to seep into the edges of his vision. He couldn't stay awake any longer. Though he worried about leaving Krad in control, there was nothing he could do. He fell asleep half sprawled out across Krad's lap.

xxx

Krad carefully scooted Satoshi onto the floor and stood up. As long as he was going to be okay...

"Sleep well, little one," he whispered, before turning his attention back to reality. He was still standing just inside the front door. With a sigh he tracked wearily up the stairs. Satoshi wasn't the only one who needed rest. Everything was just as they'd left it. Krad lay down on the bed and withdrew control, switching with the unconscious Satoshi and remembering at the last second to draw the covers up.

xxx

Much to Riku's annoyance, Risa was fantasizing again.

"Aren't they dreamy?" Risa asked. She was leaning over the back of the couch with one hand pressed against her cheek. That way she could see Riku.

"Who?" Riku asked, pretty sure she already knew where this conversation was going.

"The Guardians, of course!" Risa replied, smiling dreamily. "Especially that dark one!"

"You don't even know his name!" Riku snapped. She was turned so that her back was to Risa while she pulled off her pajamas and put on a blue shirt with straps. She turned to look in the mirror.

"Hey! What's that?" Risa asked, getting off the couch and coming over.

"What's what?" Riku asked.

"This!" she said, pointing to something high up on Riku's back, near her shoulder. "My word, Riku! What did you do to yourself?" Riku turned so that she could see her shoulder in the mirror. There, right where Risa was pointing, was an intricate little circular mark, like a burn scar, just dark enough to be noticeable.

"What the heck!" Riku exclaimed, fingering the mark. The skin felt smooth as ever.

"Risa! Riku! It's almost time for school!" Their mother's voice carried into the room.

"What am I going to do!" Riku exclaimed. "Everyone will notice!"

"Put something else on for now," Risa replied. "That way no one will see." Riku fingered the mark one last time and then hurried to change. But she couldn't stop thinking about it. She was certain it hadn't been there the day before; it had just seemed to appear magically over night. And Risa knew, if there was one thing that never meant any good, it was magic.

xxx

Hiwatari sat looking out the window. Beneath him the city stretched out into the distance and the magical Shield shimmered. The whole place was like a snow-globe: ethereal, glittering, fragile. Imagine, all it would take was the disappearance of a couple stones and it would all come tumbling down. They were weak, vulnerable, all of them, and the world outside was so very strong. It would take so little to end their existence. Just a tiny push…

Hiwatari sighed. Even the Guardians, those strongest of beings, had the same fundamental flaw. Not like the Powers…

The Powers. I'd watch my back if I were you. He remembered Krad's threat and he didn't like it one little bit. But then he laughed. What did the Guardian know? No, the Guardian didn't understand at all.

xxx

Satoshi got a surprise when he woke up in the morning. He pounded one hand against the wall just to make sure it was real. Krad had given him control back? Satoshi wasn't sure what to make of this, but for the first time he didn't shield his mind against Krad. Something between them had changed.

Then, just to spite Krad, he didn't eat breakfast. It meant he had trouble focusing on his work until lunch but it was worth it. Besides, the curriculum was easy. Krad watched from the back of his mind but seemed to know what Satoshi was up to and kept his mouth shut. Satoshi would have skipped lunch, too, just to push Krad a little further, but by then his right hand was starting to tremble and Daisuke had noticed it. Satoshi didn't want Daisuke worrying about him.

After school, Satoshi didn't go straight home. He wanted to think and he did that best while walking. So he took a detour to clear his mind. Satoshi walked slowly down the deserted street. Occasionally a car would go whizzing by. High over his head the magical Shield (invisible during the day) shimmered with swirling patterns of white and black as it withstood the constant pressure of the Other World outside. That Shield, which was the only thing standing between the city and utter destruction, had almost been weakened the day before. Satoshi eyed is worriedly. There were only four stones holding it up, two white and two black. The loss of one could seriously weaken the Shield. If two were ever to go missing the Shield would start to break up, letting in bits of the world on the other side. Satoshi shivered at the thought. If the Shield broke… nothing would save them.

And that's what didn't make sense. He just couldn't figure out why a Power would want to steal one of the four stones. The stones themselves contained unimaginable power, which normally would attract all kinds of thieves. Most people, though, were smart enough to realize that the power wasn't worth their own hides. What did a Power hope to gain by stealing one? Or was there some other force behind the sudden attack? Either way, the thought of the five remaining Powers worried him. And somewhere out in the world there would be a new sixth Power to replace the one that was lost. Individually the Powers might have been a force to be reckoned with, if not as strong as the Guardians, but combined, they were another matter. Three of them could form a pyramid of power, half of the full double pyramid or hexagonal shape that could be formed when all were together, a position that could stop anything and one Satoshi knew Krad couldn't break.

Satoshi looked up suddenly, surprised to find that night had fallen while he'd been thinking. He would need to get back.

It was just as he was thinking this that sudden motion caught his eye. Satoshi glanced down in time to see a young girl, who looked vaguely familiar, come running toward him down the street. There was something chasing her but no matter how hard Satoshi squinted he could only make out darker shadows along the already pitch-black streets. What the heck? There was a sudden rumbling from his left and Satoshi turned to see a large truck barreling toward them. His eyes widened suddenly as he turned back toward the girl. There was no way she was going to see the truck in time. She'd be killed!

Satoshi was moving before he could think about it, one long stride carrying him out into the street.

"Stop!" Krad shouted. "You'll be killed! I won't let you do this!"

xxx

Krad watched breathless for a second as the truck got closer and the world blurred out, narrowing to the three figures about to collide in the center of the road. His Tamer's whole attention was focused on the girl, on shoving her out of the way.

"No!" Krad raged. This couldn't happen! He wouldn't let it. If anything happened to Satoshi… He gathered every shred of power he could, briefly wishing there was a way he could save Satoshi without hurting him. But it was for the better good. Satoshi never had a hope of countering the attack. It was too sudden, too strong, and too quick. As Krad hammered the blow down, Satoshi was violently shoved out of control. Krad didn't have time to worry. He blinked into existence with the truck meters away, barreling towards him. There was no time to do anything but finish what Satoshi had started.

He pulled the girl to him, arms clutching her tightly to his chest, wings wrapping around them protectively, as he braced for the impact. The truck had already hit its breaks but not in time. There was a moment when the oncoming headlights seemed to have reached a remarkable size and brilliance, illuminating everything in their off-white glow. Then there was a moment of complete and utter darkness, a moment that wasn't a moment at all. That's when the impact came. Krad felt it in every bone of his body. Hollow wing bones snapped liked twigs. The fender hit his legs, buckling them under as the force rolled them upward, into the windshield and finally off. Krad was never sure at what point he lost consciousness.

xxx

To Shimmering Solitude: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound snappish. You're right, I think. I love writing and I'm good at grammar (when I want to be) but that doesn't make me good at plot and narration. Yet everyone who reads my stories is too polite to chew me out and tell me what I'm doing wrong. I'm glad you honestly told me what you think. In the end I need that more than all the "uh-huh, that's nice's." Please keep reviewing.