Mia woke from a horrible nightmare. The sweat dripped from her neck as she swam out of the visions of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator™© chased her around an abandoned warehouse. He was still in his human form, which was infinitely more frightening than the red-eyed, metal version. She remembered struggling to climb up the rungs of a metal ladder while the looming figure reached for her scrambling legs. Then, she sprinted through the complex, expecting him to leap out from any direction and obliterate her.
Needless to say, it was not a sound, quality sleep she woke from. Around her, the men rested in odd positions. The tent had not been erected and the men had simply huddled about the tiny fire for warmth. If sleep overtook them during their short stop, the men simply slept where they fell. Mia was the only one that a pallet had been prepared for. Deguchi, the gentle giant, had made sure she was well covered to protect her from the harsh winter night air. He had even used his incredible size as a wind break as he huddled close behind her.
Mia appreciated all the effort her friends went to, and really didn't want to complain. Still, she could barely sleep with the painful cold seeping into her bones. She had heard that hypothermia left you feeling numb, then warm as the nerves shut down. Unfortunately, she never quite got to that point. Her friends and her layers of clothing kept her just warm enough that her nerve endings constantly registered the cold and their discomfort. No matter how tight a ball she curled up into, she couldn't get her hands and feet in a position to share her core's body heat. In a moment of desperation, she entertained the idea of thrusting her feet into the fire pit to earn just a moments respite from the aching cold.
She groaned as she glanced to the East to see just the barest hint of a brightening sky. 'Crap, crap, crap! That means Slave-Driver Kanai will soon be making us leave!' It was bad when she sounded like a whiner to her own self. She glanced around and was shocked to realize Chichiri had still not returned. She had thought for sure he would be here when she woke. What could be taking him so long? Maybe there was a problem with the illusionary emperor? Or, maybe there was a problem with the real Hotohori. In her mind she envisioned what the other group was doing. They should have been wandering around looking for the last warrior.
She frowned deeply thinking about the deception that was about to play itself out again. Hopefully, Hotohori took heed to her previous warning about the "flute player" and didn't trust him like she had the first time around. Even in her world, she couldn't hear a flute without shuddering. Still, Amiboshi had been such a sweet young man when he wasn't trying to control and kill her friends.
The sound of leather creaking and fabric swishing against fabric alerted her of the movements of some soldier in camp. That and the echoing yawn that split the man's face split the morning quiet. Some thumping was heard followed immediately by masculine grumbling. Obviously the one up was kicking his comrades awake. All Mia could do was groan and resign herself to another day of miserable riding at break-neck speeds. She viciously tossed the blankets that had kept her from freezing solid off to the side as she rose from her pallet. 'Might as well just get up. Not like I could sleep in this cold. I don't think I'll ever be warm again!'
With the knowledge that the column would reach the western pass sometime today, the men rose in better spirits. It was always better getting to the problem rather than just dreading what may come. They would either encounter resistance at the pass, or not. It would either be a direct assault or an ambush. If they encountered no one, they would count their blessings. If they did encounter the enemy, they would enjoy getting to actually fight. Either way, it shaped up to be a good day.
OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO
Taiitsukun had driven Chichiri nuts all night with inane questions and riddles. She had forced him to meditate for hours, stating he had been lax in his training, and his energies were tainted. The old hag wouldn't answer anything with a straight answer. Chichiri felt like she knew exactly what was happening and why, but was unwilling to tell him. He had not meant to stay so long, but he was determined to get some answers! Once he had finished meditating, she tested him on all sorts of charms and spells as if she were considering taking him as an apprentice again.
The short old wizard floated effortlessly above Chichiri's sweating body as morning broke over the mountains. The adorable assistants that looked like cherubs zipped about watering plants and tending injured fairies. One assistant nudged Taiitsukun and whined, "Taiitsukun should tell what she knows." Another suddenly appeared to chime in her opinion, "It could get ugly if no one helps her." A third assistant flew in to buzz around the gray head and sang, "The beast god will be angered if you interfere."
A growling came from behind the cute floating assistants then the wizened old voice shouted, "ENOUGH! Get away from me!" The assistants scattered like leaves on a wind. Taiitsukun continued grumbling under her voice about annoying assistants, and how you couldn't get good help anymore.
Chichiri moved to stand respectfully before his teacher and bowed deeply at the waist. As he stayed with his face directed to the floor, he asked his questions again, "Taiitsukun, I'm sure you know why I am here. You saw how the Lady Mia countered your attack a few days ago with a power similar to Suzaku's holy light. I need to know how this is possible since Suzaku has not been summoned in this world. Also, Suzaku has visited our camp twice now and this is contrary to everything I was trained to believe possible. You taught me that the beast gods could not visit our mortal plain without first being summoned. Please, any help you could give me would be invaluable."
The old woman descended until she was standing on the ground before the blue-haired warrior. A tired, long-suffering sign escaped her wrinkled face. She reached out a hand and lifted Chichiri from his stooped position. "There is much I know, but little I can share with you. The course of this world has been upset by the presence of the older Miaka, and I must do all I can to minimize the disruption. It would be best for all if the older Priestess ceased to exist in this world."
Chichiri's eyes sharpened with anger and doubt at what he was hearing. "You mean, she should die? How can you say such a thing? She has survived incredible hardship to get here. You would just let her die here and not lift a finger to help?"
The old woman stared down at the floor and tried again to explain the position she was in. "You don't understand. Not only will I not lift a finger to help her, but I must strive to remove her from this world."
The young man stared aghast at the one he had held the highest regard for in his life. This couldn't be happening. "But, why? She is not hurting anyone. She is trying to restore her world and offer her warriors a chance to travel to her world after our usefulness to this one is finished. How does this warrant her being sentenced to death?"
The old woman began pacing as she tried to explain, "You don't understand anything! She IS hurting someone; several people, in fact. She is changing the course of history and destroying the future of countless generations. Not only that, but her presence and influence are affecting Suzaku himself." Taiitsukun wandered over to a great table surrounded by mirrors and waved her hand before the largest. Images of the four beast gods in their celestial home wavered just beyond the surface. The blue, white and green gods seemed distant and preoccupied with whatever gods do. The fourth, the red and gold Suzaku sat isolated and deep in thought.
Taiitsukun continued ranting about things Chichiri only vaguely understood. "It should not have been possible for the older Miaka to traverse the chasm between worlds. Her path was blockaded ages ago after her quest in this world was complete, and she had summoned Suzaku. Only someone like myself or the beast gods could have assisted her in crossing over. It is impossible for a mere mortal. And on top of that, she has changed him somehow." Chichiri frowned for a moment until he realized the "him" she was talking about was Suzaku himself.
"Gods are not supposed to get personally involved in this life. They are objects to be revered and offer hope to the common people of these lands. There is no telling the chaos that would ensue if someone of such incredible power and so little experience with human nature were to decide to tamper with the fate of people. That is why the Priestesses that summon the gods are the ones to wield that power. They understand the fragility of human life where the beast gods do not."
Chichiri's frown deepened as he remembered something, "But Taiitsukun, you are the creator of the scrolls of the Universe of the Four Gods. You wield incredible powers. You control fate and test the Priestesses. Aren't you doing the VERY THING you do not want the beast gods do to?"
This question got an angry rise out of the wrinkled old wizard. She spun on the young man with a snarl, "You fool! How dare you accuse me of tampering with the fabric of this world. I CREATED THIS WORLD! I have lived for ages, nurturing these humans, and guarding their lives and dreams. I would rather exile myself to a life of nothingness than watch this world be damaged by four immature, power hungry 'gods.' They are mere children compared to me. They have no understanding of life and could wipe out entire continents with a mere temper tantrum!" About them, the peaceful mountain air was ripped by gale force winds as the weather mirrored the emotions of the diminutive sage.
Chichiri raised his arm to shield his eyes from the blowing debris and sand that tried to blind him. For a moment, the image of Taiitsukun seemed to shift and the wrinkled old sage transformed for only an instant into a brilliantly beautiful man wearing white and green. The blue-haired wizard had heard vague stories about the Jade Emperor, the grandfather of the gods, and had to wonder if he could trust his own tear filled eyes.
The gale force winds died and the mountain returned to its former peaceful state. Taiitsukun still looked like a wrinkled old sage. She turned to him and spoke as if to a child, "Chichiri, I know you think you are doing what is best, but you only see what is in front of you. There is so much more going on than what you are aware. The presence of the older Priestess has attracted the attention of the beast god Suzaku and caused him to take an unprecedented interest in the mortal world. Of the four beast gods, he is the most reasonable and caring; still, he is not set to develop any such concerns for several centuries. His involvement must be halted or he risks destroying the very thing that has piqued his interest."
Chichiri bowed his head as he digested this information. Taiitsukun talked like the beast gods were small children. Small children that had found a bug interesting, and were going to kill the bug by playing with it too harshly in their ignorance. Strangely enough, she also spoke of the gods like they were HER children. Was that possible? He had always wondered how she knew so much about this world, and the magic of such things. Maybe she knew, because it was she who instilled those traits in the foundation of this world?
His voice was quiet and sad as he commented, "You may be too late, Taiitsukun. The last visit we received from Suzaku, he healed Lady Mia, and commissioned several of the accompanying soldiers to help protect her. He charged us personally with her protection and commanded we call on him if she weakens. He said that he had loaned her his powers that were sustaining her on this quest. He also claimed that she belonged to him." Chichiri stopped a moment and remembered the loving looks that the Phoenix god had cast towards the sleeping Mia. Was it possible? "In truth, from watching their interactions, I would hazard a guess that Suzaku harbors some deep affection for the older Priestess."
The storm of fury that Chichiri expected from his statement did not appear. Instead, Taiitsukun seemed to shrink in on herself in defeat. "It is as I feared when I tested her in the mountains. While I was proud to see she was so determined and focused, I had not yet learned of Suzaku's involvement with her quest. This places me in a terrible position. If I do nothing, Mia will die, and Suzaku will most likely exact his revenge in a terrible manner against the mortals of this world. If I dispatch her myself, he will rebel against my rule and we shall have a war to end all wars. If I assist in keeping her alive, Suzaku will continue on this path which will tear the fabric of our world apart."
She walked back to the rug where Chichiri sat, waiting for her assistance. She stiffened her spine with resolve and barked at the young wizard. "You need to return to your companions if you wish to save this priestess from being slaughtered. Lord Nakago is getting more serious in his attempts to discover her identity. I will do what I can to keep the beast gods in line, but the events that have already been set in motion will simply have to play themselves out. I will neither hinder nor help this quest. It is up to you and the older Priestess to succeed. Now go! I'm tired of looking at you!"
With a simply wave of her hand, Taiitsukun transported Chichiri hundreds of miles away from her mountain, out into the vast wasteland that surrounded her home. He stumbled at the unsettled feeling of displacement, and then began to work his own magic to return him to his galloping comrades.
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The western pass was piled deep with mounds of snow. A layer of ice had formed on the top of the snow that had to be broken with every step. The drifts on some areas were deep enough to tickle the horses' bellies. The longer legged men had to lift their legs to keep from dragging in the stuff. Mia made sure her painfully cold feet never came close to the surface of the frozen snow.
It was late in the afternoon as the column of soldiers neared the crest of the pass. On either side of them, the imposing mountains climbed away as if to touch the very sky. Everything was so blindingly white that it took on a bluish tint.
The nerves of the soldiers were stretched as taut as possible, prepared for an ambush or full frontal assault. Each step that the horses took that nothing happened only made the dread even worse. The snow was still pristine before them, leaving no hints of any other being having traveled that way. Was it possible that they had outrun their pursuers?
Mia surely hoped so. It would be so much better to reach the other side of the mountain before the enemy descended on them. It was not good to fight a pitched battle against a greater number in such a small space. Although, it would even the odds, since they couldn't get their overwhelming force into the tight pass. Still, she got a strange, tickly feeling on the back of her neck that had nothing to do with the cold, or the discomfort caused by her helmet. Her eyes scanned the craggy mountain sides as she searched for anything out of place. It would be so simple to station an archer in a hollow up the mountain, and rain death down upon them.
Lieutenant Kanai stationed the archers on either side of the column, flanking Mia and Chichiri's horse. She really wished her warrior would return, simply to have his comforting presence near in all this anxiety. Though at the same time, she was glad he would miss any fighting that might put him in danger. He was awesome against magical attacks, but she had never really assessed his skill against swords and pikes.
Suddenly, Tank shifted uncomfortably to a stop and snorted great plumes of fog out of his massive nose. His sensitive ears flexed about listening to sounds too faint for Mia to hear. Then, he began dancing anxiously sideways as if desiring to sprint away from some hidden danger. It was all Mia could do to hold onto the great horse as it acted uncharacteristically out of distress. Her rudimentary knowledge of horsemanship was not enough to stop the animal from spinning in a tight circle as it looked for the source of its fear.
From the rear of the column, a shout of distress, then pain, filled the air and alerted the front guard of trouble. In a flash, a large, brown and green blur streaked through the column, accompanied by pained cries of both man and horse. Shouts of warning sounded all up and down the group as the horses spooked and began thrashing about to get away from the danger in their midst. Tank literally leapt upwards and sideways to the right about three feet and unseated Mia in her surprise. She reached for a handful of the course gray mane as her right foot came out of the stirrup, and her body shifted too far over to the left. Her center of gravity shifted past her left leg and only the mane kept her from landing in the snow like a dead duck.
It took every ounce of strength she possessed to pull herself back into the saddle. She shifted her askew helmet back to its rightful position just in time to see the blur come to a skidding halt ten feet past the front guard in a flurry of snow and blood. In that split second of recognition, Mia wished her helmet was still on sideways. Her blood ran cold as she looked on at the killer of her friend. The feral gleam and glinting fangs would never fade from her memory. Ashtare stood sneering at the column of soldiers with blood dripping off his misshapen claws.
Mia's mind shifted into gear after the moment of shock as she realized, if there was blood on his claws, it had to come from somewhere. And that somewhere had to be either the soldiers or their mounts. She pivoted in her saddle to look at the state of her friends. There were at least two men laying face down in the snow with a spreading stain of red beneath them. Four horses had been cut out from under their riders and the great animals were thrashing about on their sides in pain. Her eyes landed on Lieutenant Kanai, who was standing on the ground, up to his hips in a snow drift, apparently one of the men who had their horses attacked. Beyond him, the archer Uno was trying to reach the Lieutenant to help him mount behind him.
Mia turned to her right to look for Furitani as she shouted, "Archers! Shoot him! Don't give him a chance to get close again! Shoot him!" It might not have been the smartest thing, to use her obviously feminine voice to yell orders, but no one else seemed to understand the danger they were all in as well as she did. This beast managed to kill Nuriko, the strongest Suzaku warrior of them all! There was no way a simple soldier could stand against such monstrous strength with a sword!
The glowing, feral eyes turned to the source of the command and noticed the small form that had seemed insignificant earlier. He had attacked the center of the group, assuming that the commanders were stationed there. From the shouts of one of the bigger men that he had placed on the ground, he was sure he had made the correct choice. Now, it seemed there was another leader that he had missed. There was no way he would return to Nakago without destroying this entire troop of soldiers. As far as he knew, someone in this group housed incredible power, and he didn't want to allow anyone enough time to strike against him.
The two archers each got two arrows off in rapid succession towards the wolf man before it launched into their midst with claws flashing. Mia watched in sick fascination as the monster cut a straight path towards her. Morishita, the long legged man in the front guard was cut almost in two as he maneuvered his horse to intercept the wild attacker. Then, as Ashtare drew closer, she saw Yamane, who was horseless, slam his body into the hurtling monster's side in a maneuver that reminded her of a Western football tackle. Neither man even slowed the destructive Seiryu warrior.
Suddenly, the big man, Deguchi was standing between her and her doom and he turned slightly to slap a giant hand against Tank's quivering rump. In a bolt of energy, Mia almost came unseated again as the great gray gelding launched into a full out gallop past the approaching enemy that was traveling to fast to change directions to follow her. She never saw the gentle giant that had protected her so many times throw himself at the growling mass of claws and fangs.
Tank was not traveling in any gait she had experienced so far in this trip. He was running in sheer terror. Again, her grasp of his mane was the only thing that kept her from kissing the ground several more times. In the back of her mind, she lamented the fact that Konan saddles didn't have anything to hold onto. There was no way she could turn to see if her friends were okay, or if that monster was chasing her. She expected to feel those horrible claws slice through the skin of her back at any second.
Fear gave her the strength to remain in the saddle and she tried to make notice of her surroundings. The pass hugged the mountain on the left, while the mountain on the right seemed to drop off into darkening canyons and crevasses. This was not the place to get ambushed. The path was only wide enough to let four horses ride side by side at the smallest points.
A loud shout came from behind her that could only be from the Lieutenant. His voice carried a warning and she heard a vicious growl sound even closer behind her. "Oh, God! It's right behind me!" If there was any way to mentally send strength to the grey gelding, she was surely doing that at the moment.
The Seiryu warrior shot past them on the left side of Tank. The war horse instinctively shifted away from the danger and closer to the edge of the drop off to the right of the path. It took a moment for the hot, lancing pain to register in her brain that shot through her left leg. Both Tank and Ashtare shifted their weight to stop their forward movement. Snow plowed up in front of both of them like the wake of a motorboat as both animals slid to a stop.
Mia took just a moment to look down at her left leg to see the blood flowing heavily down her calf into her boot. Four even claw marks were scored into the back of her leg just below her knee. If Tank had not shifted over to his right, she would have lost the limb completely. It looked like the monster had aimed to carve the warhorses flank open in his pass.
Before her, the evil wolf man straightened a bit and licked his eerie claws to taste her blood. The movement disgusted her like nothing she had ever seen before, and she had seen plenty. The vile creature seemed to actually take pleasure in killing and maiming.
Behind her, Mia could hear the shouts of the approaching soldiers who were still uninjured and mounted. Lieutenant Kanai's voice shouted at the archers to "Kill that bastard!" So, Mia guessed that the two archers had escaped the two passes of Ashtare through their ranks unscathed. She also could make out the voice of Eguchi, the ninja healer in their group yelling some type of directions for her to avoid the next lunge from the Seiryu warrior. But the echo from the mountains made it impossible to hear his instructions.
She tried to think of some way out of this predicament, or some way to stall the killer before her until the archers could get within range. But, that moment of planning was taken away as a feral growl accompanied the leap of the monster before her. Tank did the only thing he was trained for in such a dire situation. He reared up on his hind legs to get his rider out of range, and to strike with his powerful forelegs. If they connected, the metal shoes the size of pie pans could easily kill the toughest opponent.
Terror gripped Mia since she had never sat on a rearing horse before. Gravity, ever her enemy on this trip, decided to smite her again. She heard and felt a loud pop, and then she was sliding, along with the saddle, right down Tank's broad back. The handful of mane that had saved her so recently, failed her in this instant. She pulled the clump of hair out by the roots, and slid off her mount's rump along with the saddle. Apparently, when Ashtare had nearly cleaved her leg off, his claws had nicked the girth of the saddle, and it snapped under the strain.
Although, Tank's move to the right of the path had saved her leg from being amputated, it unfortunately placed them too close to the edge of the drop off. When she hit the snow, still seated on the saddle, the leather acted like a sled on the down slope, and slid her right over the edge of the path into the waiting abyss below. As gravity carried her quickly away from her friends, her only thought was that this was a terrible way to end her quest. Her mind cried, 'I'm sorry Tamahome, Hikari.' Darkness swallowed her as she struck the first of many evergreen trees on her plummet down the side of the mountain.