Disclaimer: Don't own them, dammit!
Episode Three: A Price.
A/N: Those who want to know what the wings I had mentioned in the previous chapter look like, here's a link to a picture!
http / isina sinned . deviantart . com / art / tsubasa-chronicles – 54755314
Just remove the spaces.
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Yuuko, the Time-Witch, looked at the four people in her shop. She felt a tinge of sympathy at the sight of the unconscious boy, but quickly pushed it aside. She could not afford to be sympathetic to her customers.
"Who the hell are you?" the man with red eyes growled out, remaining in a fighting stance, one hand close to his katana.
Yuuko raised her hand and made a stop motion. "First, please tell me your names," she said in an emotionless voice.
The man with the white coat and staff stepped up and bowed politely, "I am Fai. D. Flowright, the wizard of Seresu."
The man with dark hair looked at her warily and then looked at the surrounding buildings. There was tall and short buildings outside the temple gates. "I'm Kurogane. Where is this?"
"This is Japan," she said coolly, "but a different Japan from yours."
"Huh? What the crap are you spouting?" he growled.
"Mr. Black, can you keep your insults down?" Fai called out.
"I AM NOT MR. BLACK!" Kurogane yelled at Fai, who covered his ears.
"You are?" the Witch turned to Sky, ignoring the fight between the others.
"I'm Sky Tate," Sky replied.
"Real name is Schyuler, am I right?" she smiled slightly.
"Yes," Sky nodded and clutched bridge tighter.
Yuuko looked at Bridge and crouched down next to them. She placed her hand on his forehead and grimaced, "This child's name is Bridge, am I right?"
"Yes. I want to save him, can you help me?" Sky's desperation came out loud and clear.
The Witch moved her hand to bridge's heart, "He has lost something precious. Something he cannot live without."
"Huh?" Sky looked rather confused.
"His wings are gone," she clarified. Sky looked rather shocked and she continued, "His heart, soul and wings are one. Without his wings, his body is nothing more than an empty shell. If nothing is done, there is no doubt that he will die."
Sky held on even tighter, as though he could stop Bridge's life from leaving his body.
"Do you know where you are?" she asked them all.
"A place where any wish can be granted if an equal price is paid," Fai answered.
"Yes, please state your wishes," she said in a business.
"My home world… is where I want to be," Kurogane straightened and help his katana behind his back.
"My home world… is where I don't want to be," Fai said with a smile. Kurogane threw him a glare which was pointedly ignored.
The Witch turned to one of her assistants, "Bring the Mokona." The man ran off as she addressed all the others.
"Your wishes…. are one and the same. You," she pointed at Fai, "want to go to other worlds to avoid your own, you," she pointed at Kurogane, "want to return to your own world and you, " she turned to Sky, "want to travel to different worlds to restore this child's memory."
Sky nodded along with the others and the Witch sighed, causing his chest to tighten.
"That's a rather tall order for one of you, no, for all three of you," she glanced at them, "alone, even if you offer the most precious things you own, it would not be enough."
Kurogane scowled and Fai looked worried, but the Witch continued, "However, together, you may just be able to afford it."
Just them, a man came running up to Yuuko, holding a white bunny like creature with large ears and another one with a blue earring and black in color.
The Witch took the white one, which was barely big enough to fit in her palm," This young one's name is Mokona Modoki. He will help you on your journey by taking to the different worlds. There is no way to determine which world you will end up in, so you will have to be patient for your wish. But, first, you must pay a price.
"What price?" Kurogane growled.
"You must give up your sword," she pointed at him.
"NO WAY!" the man yelled.
"You realize I'm the only person who can get you out of here?"
"THAT'S GOTTA BE A LIE!"
"It's all true!" Fai yelled from the sidelines.
"You're kidding," Kurogane sweat-dropped and Fai giggled.
"So, what will it be?" the witch smiled.
"DAMMIT!" Kurogane swore as he thrust his sword out towards her, "when I am free from this curse, I'm coming back for it!"
The Witch handed it over to her assistant and the turned to Fai, "You must give up your marking."
"I don't suppose this staff would do instead?" Fai said smiling.
"No."
Fai sighed and but agreed after a while and the markings floated off his back and into the assistant's hands.
Lastly, the woman turned to Sky, "What about you? Are you ready to hand over the most precious thing you have to offer?"
Sky nodded, "Yes."
The Witch smiled, "You realize I haven't told you the price?"
"Yes."
"I can just send you to worlds. Finding the fragments of the child's memories is something you'll have to do."
"Fine."
"I like your determination," she smiled and then turned serious, "your price is your relationship."
The Sky's eyes widened in shock, "My price? But how?"
"You value your relationship with him the most, so that is your price. Even if you restore all his memories, your relationship will never be the same. It is all a matter of love. What does he mean to you?"
Sky looked down at Bridge and held him closer and closed his eyes, remembering happier times with his friend, "He's a childhood friend. My roommate and teammate and . . . someone who is precious to me."
Yuuko smiled sadly, "I see. However, if you accept Mokona, that relationship will end. Even is you restore all his memories, he will never remember you, never know what you meant to him. That is my price, do you accept it?"
Sky looked down at Bridge and closed his eyes, "Let's go."
"Hmm?" Yuuko cocked an eyebrow.
Sky looked up at her, determination on his face, "I won't let Bridge die!"
Yuuko smiled and nodded, "There is no coincidence in this world, there is only fate, Hitsuzen, if you will. What brought you all together was also Hitsuzen."
Sky took in her words and looked at the lifeless body in his arms. Hitsuzen… was this Hitsuzen as well?
"You have been told by your High priest about the risks that you will face during this journey. There are many different worlds and not all of them contain feathers. Just look at these two," she motioned towards Kurogane and Fai, "just by their clothes, you can tell they came from different worlds. Just because you have found a friend in one country, does not mean you will find a friend in the next. Friends of yours from your own worlds may be your bitter enemies. Do you still want this?"
"YES!" Sky yelled.
"Courage, loyalty and determination, these are the qualities a person truly needs no matter what he does," she raised her hand and Mokona leaped off it, taking to the air, "it seems you are well provided with both."
Mokona's mouth opened wide and the travelers were swallowed and then they disappeared.
"I wish you four… the best of fortune on your journey."
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Sky felt like he was falling in a dark abyss with no end. he looked down – or rather up since he was upside-down - and saw that Bridge was no longer in his arms but falling alongside him. A sphere of red flames came towards them and Sky held Bridge close to his chest, turning around so as to protect him being burnt.
The sphere stopped a couple of feet away and Sky saw that it had two eyes, "What are you?"
You possess the magical flame, it said in a deep solemn voice, you are the one I have been searching for. Sky didn't know what it meant by that but still listened. I can give you great power, but before I do, I need to know, what you will do with that power?
Sky thought back to that one time he had seen Bridge smile at him when he had helped him after a fight with Grumm. Bridge had made a mistake which had resulted in the monster escaping and Cruger had chewed him out for that. Bridge had gone back to his room and Sky had found him crying there. After reassuring him that Cruger was just in a foul mood and didn't mean what he had said, Bridge had given him a dazzling smile which immediately melted most of the walls he had constructed around his heart. If he didn't get the feathers and wake him, he would never see that smile again.
"I want to protect someone close to me. I need power to save him and to bring his smile back. Even if he'll never remember me."
The sphere melted away and went inside his body and Sky turned to see a bluish white sphere melt into Bridge. You have a strong heart thinking only of the one you love. I can safely call you my master.
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"Puu…" Sky opened his eyes to see a white fluffy bunny-like creature with a cloth leaning over his forehead.
"Bridge…?" the word slipped out of sky's mouth before he could stop it.
"He doesn't grab Mokona…" the thing's ears flattened against it's head as it had a sad expression, but then was picked up by gloved hands. Gloves. Bridge.
"BRIDGE!" Sky yelled and sat bolt upright.
"It looks like he's awake," the man with elbow length gloves, Fai, said.
Sky looked down to see that, even though he had been unconscious, he had still being clutching onto Bridge, as if afraid that someone would steal him. He looked up as the white thing flopped down in front of him.
"I'm Mokona Modoki! You can say Mokona!" it had a cheerful squeaky voice and Sky immediately smiled for the first time since the accident at Newtech city and saw that they were crouching behind old broken cars and buses.
A man with long brown hair was explaining the world to Kurogane and he turned to Sky, "I'm Sorata. Welcome to the world of Hanshin. Yuuko sent you, right?"
The Blue Ranger nodded and Sorata began to explain the entire world to him, "Here, each and every person is protected by a god we call the Kudan. Everyone's Kudan is different and it's strength depends on the strength of the person's heart. If you are a strong willed person or have a good personality, your Kudan can be on level one or special. These ruins are due to battle between a good team and a badteam. They also use Kudan for fighting."
The ground began to rumble and Sky looked up to see a group of people on their side with goggles while another group had Mohawks. The leader of the first group stepped up, "You are not welcome here! Leave this place at once!"
The second team simply raised their hands and beams of light shot out. Sky watched as they fought. It seemed like a normal battle in SPD, except the lasers were being fired from their hands rather than their blasters.
Suddenly he felt a hand grab his pants and turned around with a squeak to see Fai standing right behind him, "W-what are y-you doing?"
He showed him what was in his hand, "Is this what a piece of Bridge's memory looks like?" He held out a sparkling white feather with a black symbol in the centre.
Sky snatched it eagerly, "Yes!"
Mokona pointed at the feather, "I'll be able to tell you if the world we're in has a feather or not. That one there gave out a really big wave. If there is a feather Mokona will go like this!" Mokona's eyes suddenly widened and gave the travelers the shock of their lives.
Sky moved to place it on Bridge, but a blast hit the ground near them and blew up a nasty wind which blew the feather out of his hand. The majority of the winds were blocked by a blue bird-like creature which protected them. Sky watched it float towards the center of the battle and didn't hesitate before running right behind it.
Kurogane snorted in disbelief, "Is he insane? Going into a battle without so much as a weapon or armor. . ." Fai turned towards Bridge who was propped up against a large piece of rubble.
"It seems that Bridge truly is the one he cares most about," he smiled.
Sky concentrated on trying to catch the feather, not even noticing that he had come too close to the battle. He managed to grab it from the air and smiled in accomplishment, before hearing a scream that made the hair on the back of his head stand up. He looked up to see two boys, around Bridge's age, cowering in the middle of the street as blasts hit the ground around them. One of them was wearing traditional Japanese clothes while the other was dressed in a casual suit.
Sky ran towards them, his Ranger instincts kicking in and one of the mohawked men saw him and aimed his blast at him, "This should teach him not to mess with the grown-ups!"
Sky covered them with his own body and saw the blast coming. He formed a shield, though he knew the blast was too powerful for him to block. Even as it came at him, he kept thinking, I can't die! Bridge needs me! I have to live for him!
The blast never hit him.
Sky slowly looked up from where his arms were crossed in front of his face and saw a shield of fire covering him and the boys.
A wolfish head came out of the fire and stared him in the eyes.
I have come to save you, and the one you love.
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Heheh I like where this is going! Unlike Bridge the Vampire Slayer, I will be tossing in a couple twists here and there! Now we've witnessed the beginning of their journey and this new world is certainly… different! Can Sky survive it? Find out in the next chapter!
Next chapter: Kudan and the Hanshin Republic!