DISCLAIMER: The following contains characters that are most unfortunately not mine.
((Author's note: Thanks for the excellent feedback on the first two chapters! Really gets the motivation going to write more quicker! ^^ ))
Later that night Natsuki woke with a start from a particularly violent dream, the details of which were rapidly fading. She hoped that meant it was just a nightmare and not a dream that was trying to tell her something important about how to save the world from certain doom. Midori had always tried to assure her that in every Watcher diary it said that prophetic Slayer dreams were always easy to remember after waking, but Natsuki couldn't help but feel just a little paranoid about the whole thing. But is it really being paranoid if you know that there probably is some crazy demon or something out there with delusions of ushering in the apocalypse?
Natsuki smiled to herself when she glanced over to see Mai still sleeping soundly. Then she blushed when her nightvision registered that Mai had thrown off most of her covers and was sprawled on her back with her pyjama top open enough to reveal a truly impressive amount of cleavage. And I thought Midori's were big. Those are... Natsuki shook her head to try and dispel the confusing thoughts she was having, turning to gaze out the window instead, enjoying the view of the moonlit campus. Now that she was free from the confusing haze of hormones, she recognized the urgent feeling of needing to be elsewhere. She sighed; this was one of the more annoying things about her Slayer instincts sometimes. Somehow she knew that she needed to be somewhere to do something, but until she got there she wouldn't know where exactly she needed to be or what she would be doing when she got there. Though it's normally a safe bet to assume I'll need weapons.
Growling softly at the green letters of the digital clock blinking 1:37, Natsuki reluctantly got out of her warm comfortable bed. I just fell asleep barely an hour ago. Sometimes being a Slayer really sucks. Moving quietly so as not to disturb Mai's rest, Natsuki went to the drawer where she'd put her slaying gear, which these days consisted mostly of black leather, minus the fitted t-shirt with the X-men logo on the front. She figured she might as well cover up her secret Slayer identity with an even more ridiculous explanation. Walking back over to her bed she lay down beside it and carefully pulled out the heavy black wooden trunk with her weapons in it. Easing open the lid she removed her katana and wakizashi, sheathed to be worn strapped to her back so that they wouldn't get in the way while on her bike.
She slid the trunk back under her bed, carrying the weapons with her to their small kitchen. She had to leave Mai a note with a suitable excuse in case her roommate woke up in the middle of the night and she wasn't back yet. Mai was a great roommate in a lot of ways, but her intensely caring nature made her nosy about things.
Mai-
I couldn't sleep so I decided to go take a walk. Don't worry I brought my cellphone so I'll be able to call if I get into trouble or anything.
-Natsuki
Natsuki wasn't completely opposed to eventually telling Mai that she was a Slayer, but she preferred to still try as hard as she could to keep it a secret. If Mai continued to try and figure out exactly what was up with Natsuki, she would know that Mai genuinely wanted an explanation. Some people just preferred to accept her cover story even if they saw evidence to the contrary, and Natsuki liked to give them the option.
Walking to the door, she stomped into her heavy black boots and put on her three-quarter length black leather coat. Over the years she found that leather offered good protection against minor scrapes and burns that one could pick up while slaying, much like it was commonly used as light armour by motorcyclists. Double checking her pockets for her keys for her bike and the room, she glanced over once more smiling at her peacefully sleeping roommate. "Sweet dreams Mai." She murmured before quietly grabbing her helmet and heading out.
Natsuki grinned behind her helmet's visor as she fired up her motorcycle. It wasn't her dream bike or anything, but even owning the little midnight blue 250cc Kawasaki Ninja was a bit illegal for someone her age, so she figured it was plenty good enough for now. She couldn't believe her eyes when Midori had handed her the fake license for the thing a week ago, stating that she wanted to make sure Natsuki was able to get somewhere fast if she needed to. When she'd questioned Midori about it the Watcher had just shrugged and said that she wanted her Slayer to have every advantage, even if it meant bending human laws a little when necessary.
Twenty minutes later she was confused to find herself riding her bike down a poorly maintained dirt road, surrounded by thick forest on both sides. The sound of her bike's engine seemed deafening compared to the eerie silence here. After ten more minutes of carefully navigating around huge holes in the frighteningly bad road, she came upon what seemed to be a monastery. At least she assumed it was a monastery, because it was a secluded building that was definitely not a house and based on the traditional architecture it just seemed religious... Though looking around she couldn't see any symbols that would indicate what religion any monks living here followed.
It was a rather small dark wooden building, surrounded by grey stone statuary of mystical creatures that she couldn't identify and decorated with ornate designs made from a curious looking pale green metal. She let out a resigned sigh when she noticed the first body, a bald middle aged man in a nondescript brown robe. She tensed as she examined the gaping wound in his chest; blood was still flowing out of it. He had been killed recently, which meant whatever did the killing could still be nearby. She heard a startled shout and a crash inside the building and took off at a run towards the disturbance.
Climbing the short staircase she had to step over two more bodies, so when she reached the main door she was surprised to find that it was still shut and locked. A hard kick easily broke the deadbolt, sending the door crashing open off its hinges. Up the stairs she could hear a strangely harmonious feminine voice questioning someone, but no replies. Easily deducing that the one talking was also the attacker, Natsuki made her way up the stairs. Stepping over more bodies as she went, the Slayer noticed what seemed to be bite marks of some kind on the exposed legs of some of the victims, though she couldn't for the life of her think of any animal or demon with a mouth the right shape to make them. When she reached the top of the stairs and could see down the hall, it took Natsuki a few moments to comprehend what she was seeing, but when she did she felt her stomach knot with a combination of fear and revulsion.
Looming large in the hallway was a demon unlike any Natsuki had seen before, nearly as tall as the ceiling. It was a chimera of sorts, an unclothed and rotting woman's torso with viciously clawed graspers for hands attached to a spider's body. Except that it wasn't a spider's body; it was more a bag of human-skinned guts and blood shaped to look like a spider, with eight human legs branching off from it. At its many feet there were at least a dozen meter-long centipedes. Their dark carapaces were almost beautiful, coloured like tiger-eye they glinted in the faint torchlight of the hallway, the sound of their many legs clicking on the floor echoed against the bare walls. Even more horrifying, where the monstrosity's head should be, there was instead what seemed to be a flesh-coloured giant squid. Its long muscular tentacles fanned out from around its mouth and large unblinking orange eyes were focused on the monk it was questioning. One strong tentacle was wrapped carefully around the monk's neck, while several of the centipedes were biting into the flesh on his legs, using their strong jaws dripping with a viscous black fluid to hold him in place. When it spoke again she heard the reason for its strange harmonious voice, as it had two insect-like mandibles inside of the mass of tentacles.
"We won't ask you again. Tell us where we can find the ancient glow or you will die like the others." Natsuki could almost feel the demon's voice vibrating the air as it spoke, and couldn't help but shiver as she attempted to draw her katana silently, wincing when the demon turned its large head to face her. "Aah, it seems there is an intruder. Keep him still while we deal with this one." It ordered the centipedes and more of them immediately began climbing up the monk's robed body, biting down. Natsuki was truly impressed that the monk had not cried out, and briefly worried that the demon might have accidentally killed him already while interrogating him.
"We don't suppose the thug would know where the ancient glow is?" The demon questioned politely as it drew close, laughing lowly when Natsuki just snarled at it. "My, my... no one in this place has been any help to us at all. Master is unlikely to feed us when we return home. So lucky are we that there is plenty of meat here to feed our pets and we."
Natsuki yelled out in pain as an unexpectedly long tentacle suddenly lashed out to wrap around her sword arm, sharp teethed suction cups on the underside easily slicing through her jacket and into her flesh. She gritted her teeth as she extended her claws. She quickly punched her left fist at the tentacle that was gripping her. The metal tips of her boneclaws sliced easily through the boneless appendage, but even after it was severed it from its owner but the tentacle still remained firmly embedded in her arm. Ignoring the pain now that her movement was no longer restricted, she attempted to dance around to the side of the large creature, trying to get out of reach of its tentacles while the air around her throbbed with the demon's angered cries. The sharp teeth from another tentacle sliced deeply into her left cheek, and she could feel her warm blood dripping down the side of her face and neck.
She quickly drew her wakizashi, slashing it in quick strokes on her left side to discourage the demon from attempting to attack her there again as she simultaneously brought her katana down in a forceful cut into a nearby human knee. With so many legs taking out just one hardly disabled the creature, and it suddenly leapt back down the hall several feet, preventing Natsuki from being able to completely get around back of the sharp tentacles and strong humanoid arms. The bloodied warriors faced off again, more cautious this time.
"What is this creature that fights us, that it is so strong? This glow we seeks, it must be nearby if there is a Champion to defend it." The demon cackled and Natsuki could hear the softer chittering of the centipedes behind it at the words, she wondered idly just how smart they were. Unseen by Natsuki, one of the huge centipedes broke off from the group, clattering quickly down the hall away from the fighters before exiting out an open window. "We could tell by the markings on this temple that it housed guardians of the ancient glow, Master will be pleased with this news."
Natsuki growled, realizing suddenly that her mere presence here might have just made a bad situation even worse. She hadn't gotten here in time to save most of the monks from being massacred, and now it seemed this demon thought that its methods had been more than effective. But if I can just kill it now it has nothing. The Slayer adjusted her grip on her swords' hilts, looking in her peripheral vision for an opening with renewed determination, though her eyes remained locked on the demon's, her expression hard and unreadable.
Without warning she charged in quickly, her katana raised high for an overhand cut at the frantically waving tentacles. She sliced down hard, ignoring the pain in her arms and sides as teeth from the tentacles and the long sharp claws on the creature's hands cut into her. Ducking inside its guard she stabbed hard and fast with her wakizashi, driving the shorter blade deep into the creature's soft belly and slicing down firmly. She grinned as the huge gash that opened spilled steaming greyish and strangely bloodless entrails onto the ground to join the few still writhing tentacles that she had hacked off with her katana.
Keeping her momentum, she charged behind the creature as it staggered from her strong assault, leaping onto its monstrous back. For a brief moment Natsuki allowed herself to be grossed out by the pulsating mass of blood and guts that she could see through the nearly transparent skin, before bringing her katana up to make a strong sideways swipe at the creature's thick neck. The demon let out an ear-splitting scream and fell to the ground, causing Natsuki's katana to become stuck in the thick neck vertebrae. Before she could cut all the way through she had lost her balance. Desperately she clung to the hilts of her swords, stabbing down into the pulsating abdomen below her with her boneclaws to stop herself from falling beneath the huge demon.
She winced at the sting of the putrid demon blood seeping into the wounds at the base of her boneclaws as she struggled to get her feet back up under her so that she could stand. Pulling out the claws from her wakizashi hand she swiftly stabbed the short sword down into the pulsating bag of guts, hoping to weaken the demon enough that it would stop thrashing about so much. Leaving the short blade embedded in the demon's back, she used her free hand to push herself up before taking her katana into a two-handed grip and this time easily slicing through the demon's thick neck, sending the monstrous head tumbling to the floor with a splat. As the demon fell she reached down and yanked out her short sword, leaping from its back onto the slippery blood-soaked hardwood floor.
Not wasting any time, she turned and headed up the hallway to start trying to remove the many centipedes from the monk who was lying on the floor, only to cry out when he suddenly drew a wickedly curved knife from inside his robes and stabbed the blade deeply into his own gut. Natsuki paused mid kick to a giant centipede's head to stare at him, "Wh-why?" The monk looked up at her, his dark brown eyes not revealing that he was in any pain, even though he was obviously dying now.
"If I live," He spoke weakly, but without any tremble in his voice, "I will only endanger that which my order was formed to protect. We have other plans in place to keep it from hands that will misuse it, but they cannot be implemented yet. I cannot allow myself to live if it will endanger our cause."
"What could possibly be so important?" Natsuki demanded angrily, "What could be worth taking your own life like this?"
The monk actually chuckled lightly and shook his head, "It is too dangerous for me to tell you the nature of what we protect. If it is known too soon, all will be in peril."
Natsuki kneeled down in front of him, glaring into his dark eyes, "That's not good enough. That demon obviously knew what it was after. How can I prevent them from getting it if I don't even know what you all are protecting?"
He gave her a smile, "Lie to them. It obviously thought you to be our Champion, and that you are the chief guardian of what they seek."
"You may have missed it from here, but I killed that demon. It won't be telling anyone anything."
He shook his head, coughing a bit as he tried to speak, "No... it sent one of its messengers while you were still fighting." He said, indicating one of the centipedes gnawing at the gaping wound in his stomach with a nod of his head.
"Is that all I need to know?" Natsuki asked, raising her wakizashi to his eyelevel. At his tired nod she swiftly slit his throat, ending his suffering. She closed her eyes for a moment as she absorbed the sharp pain in her chest she felt at taking a human life, even as an act of mercy. After a moment she opened her eyes again at the continued sound of the large centipedes feasting on the monk's body, angrily she brought down the boneclaws of her right fist into a large armoured head. She grinned at the satisfying crunch of its exoskeleton, even as its hot blood stung her cuts.
Green eyes took in the blood soaked hallway, her stomach turning at the smell of the flesh demon's putrid entrails now that she was no longer distracted enough to ignore. It smelled like something that had been dead and rotting for days. Reaching up with a bloody hand she gently closed the monk's eyes, though she couldn't say that he looked anymore peaceful, what with the centipedes still eating him. Suddenly a large armoured jaw clamped down onto her calf muscle through her leather pants. Letting out a angered yell, the Slayer made quick work of the huge bugs with her blades but the sight of their sliced up monstrous bodies littering the hallway didn't make her feel much better.
Feeling a sharp pain in her arm she looked down to see the large grey tentacle with its sharp teeth still embedded in her flesh. With a grimace she grabbed the end and with a swift yank and a small sound of pain she was able to rip it off, a fresh flow of blood oozing from the many small, circular wounds visible through her shredded coat sleeve. Throwing the disgusting appendage against a wall Natsuki let out a loud, frustrated growl. Ugh, I so just want to go home.
Still, Natsuki knew how these things worked. She couldn't go home yet, not until she had searched the area for anything that might help Midori with her research. Because if there was ever a situation that called for some serious research; it was this one. She scanned the hallway for any indication of where the monks may have kept anything important, listening carefully for any sounds of movement in the now deathly quiet monastery. This floor seemed to contain only bedrooms, and none of them appeared to have any possessions of note, not even a diary. She headed back down to the first floor, stepping carefully to avoid the scattered bodies of the monks, hardening her spirit against feeling sympathy for them that she couldn't afford right now.
Carefully searching the first floor, she finally found what she was looking for, a trapdoor hidden under a large white stone idol of a tall slender goddess covered in leafy vines of a plant Natsuki didn't recognize. The Slayer had realized after years of investigating various vampire and demon layers, that important things would normally be kept in either the attic or the basement. She only hoped that monks had similar habits. Ripping the trapdoor off of its hinges to avoid being locked in, Natsuki simply jumped down to the lower level bypassing the rickety looking ladder altogether, wincing as her hard landing jarred her wounds. Natsuki hadn't seen any signs of electric lighting in the old monastery so she was relieved to find a wooden shelf full of handheld oil lamps along with matches. Lighting one she headed slowly down the dark corridor, noticing immediately that the long passage must extend out further than the area of the building above.
Natsuki followed the narrow limestone passage through many twists and turns, never seeing any doors or branches off of the main path that seemed to twist on endlessly in a labyrinthine manner. The tired and bloody Slayer also noticed with some apprehension that the passage was steadily heading further underground as it went onward. She had been walking carefully along the path for what seemed like thirty minutes or so, not noticing much change other than that the path seemed to be ascending again. She was considering giving up and heading back to the monastery when she heard the sound of trickling water up ahead and concluded she must be reaching the end of the passageway. As she rounded the last bend she saw that there was a soft white light coming from up ahead, and when she finally stepped into the large underground chamber she let out a surprised gasp.
It was a huge limestone cave, the ceiling extended up probably forty meters to a huge opening to the still dark night sky. There was a shallow pool of water that covered half of the large underground chamber, and in its centre directly under the natural skylight grew a single willow tree; its new spring leaves a vibrant green in the pale light that illuminated the chamber. What made her gasp though was the source of that light; countless tiny floating balls of energy were each emitting a faint pure white light. The tree, while not particularly large seemed very old, knotted and branched in many places with some of its roots jutting up through the soft limestone of the cave floor. It was a wonder that the tree had managed to grow down here at all.
The chamber was clearly full of magical energy, though she couldn't determine the source at first. The little balls of light seemed to be alive as they floated about aimlessly. Searching the underground room, she could see only the lights and the tree here, not any hidden magical artefact or weapon. Still it was quite beautiful and Natsuki could see why they were protecting it, even if areas of great mystical energy like this couldn't be misused. Feeling a pull in her Slayer senses Natsuki approached the little willow tree, the slight splashing of her boots in the shallow pool echoing softly through the chamber. Reaching the tree, she placed a cautious hand on the soft, ridged bark and gasped at the sudden inflow of warm magic energy.
At first she thought that she was going to pass out from the shock of magic, the edges of her vision swam with a strange green light and she felt a burn in the wounds inflicted by the demon. She shook her head to clear it and tried to remove her hand from the tree, but it seemed to be fused to the bark. Natsuki tried to calm the panic in her when she felt her body obeying the magic compulsion to place her other hand on the tree. As soon as the fingers from her other hand touched the warm bark it was like an electric circuit had been completed. The power of the magical energy flowing through her body increased exponentially, causing the Slayer to gasp at the sensation that was at once immensely pleasurable and terrifying.
She felt her body being slowly lifted into the air, her fingertips trailing upward along the bark until she was suspended three meters above the ground, completely shrouded by the softly drooping branches of the tree. As she hovered there panting from the intense sensations, her heart pounding in fear, she suddenly felt the presence of another in her mind. Like the magic itself, the touch felt both amazingly wonderful and terrifying. You are the new Champion that has been Chosen by the Lost Old One. The other spoke into her mind. Unlike Duran's voice, Natsuki couldn't identify if the tone the being would speak in would be male or female, it had no sound at all. It was just a soft green light that existed in her mind and somehow formed words. It didn't feel good or evil like most supernatural beings the Slayer could sense; rather it seemed almost... human.
'Are you the thing the monks wanted to protect?' She tried to think loudly in her mind, unable to move her body even to speak.
Yes. I am not here; this tree is simply a conduit that I can communicate through. The Lost Old One's Champion however must convince the enemies of light that I am physically under her protection.
'Physically under my protection?'
Instead of just my projection, the Champion must convince the dark ones that she knows my true location. The Champion will act to draw their attention here, so that others making preparations for my protection elsewhere can act unimpeded.
'So you want me to act like I have something that these demons want so that they'll all attack me instead of looking somewhere else for you?'
Precisely. My other followers in this land and the ones nearby are also undertaking this task. I only ask that the Champion help them, because she was there to witness the destruction brought to my followers tonight. They are all sworn to protect me with their lives... but it is my wish that not all of them be called to make that sacrifice. I thought that perhaps the Lost Old One's Champion could save some of them. I would not ask for protection at all, except that I am something that cannot be destroyed, only used to destroy others.
'You're the one who sent me the dream tonight and called me here.' Natsuki realized suddenly, 'I remember now, the soft green light at the beginning of my dream... before all the blood.' She felt a pang of guilt, 'I'm sorry I was too late.'
I do not fault the Champion. I myself only learned of the intent of the Dark One's servants moments before sending the Champion my desperate plea. I have given you the memories of the other nearby locations of my followers, and hope to have more warning in the future. As it was, you did well to arrive in time to send one of the messengers back to its master with false information.
'Why a willow tree?' Natsuki questioned.
The other's tone glowed brighter in Natsuki's mind, I don't have the exact future knowledge required to answer the Champion's question. I only know that the willow makes me feel warm. It is quite amazing how it grows here, even though it has fallen so far into the dark.
'What about all of the little lights?'
The voice dimmed, its light almost too faint in Natsuki's mind to be heard, They are beautiful aren't they? They are here coaxing the little tree to grow stronger, but they are fleeting. The Champion was lucky to be here at the right time to see them at all. A few more cycles of the seasons and they must move on from this world to another. I worry that my willow won't grow anymore without them.
'...I'm sorry. I didn't know.'
The Champion could not have. It is possible that the Champion might even do something to help, but I fear such times are also beyond my sight.
'I promise to help you. The demon referred to you as the ancient glow, is that what I should call you?'
The light seemed to fade further, it looked tired. That is as good a name as any for now. I thank the summer Champion for her help, the Lost Old One is as wise as he ever was, he has Chosen well. I shall let her go now. Dawn is coming soon.
With that the light faded from Natsuki's mind, and the Slayer found herself being unceremoniously dropped from the magical grasp onto the wet stone floor. The Slayer groaned a bit in discomfort, before remembering she wasn't in nearly as much pain as she should have been from such a drop. Inspecting her wounds from earlier she was pleasantly surprised to find them almost healed. 'Thanks.' She thought, though she suspected that the glow or whatever it was really called was truly asleep and likely wouldn't hear her. Quickly checking her watch she winced when she noticed it was after five in the morning. 'Fuck me. Going to the Opening Ceremony today at 10 is going to be a bitch. At least it's Saturday and actual classes don't start until Monday.'
As she made her way out of the labyrinth and back to the monastery, she noticed that the way back seemed curiously much shorter and straighter, as though the walls had shifted to hasten her passage. However when she climbed back up the trapdoor she was even more surprised, all of the bodies of the monks were gone, not even a drop of their blood darkened the floor of the deserted monastery.
As she replaced the statue over the trapdoor, she noticed that its pose had changed from earlier and that the dark violet-blue flowers on the vines were beginning to open. The goddess was now waving at her, lips curved up into a smile, with her other hand on her hip. When Natsuki glanced back at her after a quick check of the room to make certain there was nothing else here that she needed to take for research, the goddess had returned to her neutral pose with both hands falling casually at her sides. The Slayer blinked in surprise, but just shook her head, deciding it was definitely time to head back to campus. Ugh, I don't know how I'm going to survive the Opening Ceremony. And I have to tell Midori about this stuff before I can go to sleep too. I'm totally telling Mai that I'm just going to be sleeping all day Sunday and to not wake me up for anything short of the end of the world.
It was seven by the time she walked through the door to her room. Too late to go back to sleep, but early enough that if she were still sleeping she probably wouldn't wake up to get ready for another hour. She smiled when she saw that Mai was still sleeping soundly and went over to the tiny kitchen to dispose of the note she had left earlier. Grabbing a bagel and a jug of orange juice from the fridge, Natsuki headed over to her computer to send Midori a quick email saying they needed to meet up somewhere this afternoon. After hitting send she staggered down the short hallway with a fresh change of clothes, eager to remove the dried blood and dirt from her skin and soak her sore muscles in some hot water. Ugh, Sakuya was right. This year is really going to suck.