Chapter 4

POV: Starsight

My house was one of the farthest away from the school, but even so it wasn't a long walk. I knew a few shortcuts. I kept looking at the sidewalk as I walked home from school, thinking hard about yesterday and today. There were book characters appearing around town, and with absolutely no explanation. I did a mental count in my head: Syaoran, Fai, Mokona, Danny Phantom, Amaterasu, and Ashura. I shivered; if characters like Ashura could appear in the County, I didn't want to know who could pop up next.

Little did I know I was about to find out.

I turned up my street, walking faster as I neared my house. About a week ago I had placed an order online for volume 19 of Tsubasa; it was due today. I couldn't wait to snuggle up under a blanket and read it. I turned up the driveway, put my foot on the first step, and stopped dead in my tracks.

Two things. The first was that there was a small brown package on the step, the perfect size for a manga book. That was the good thing.

The bad thing? The package was open and empty, and there was someone sitting on the step reading it. The last person I ever expected to see. I nearly dropped my bag out of pure shock, but I remembered just in time that I would probably break my laptop if I did that. Instead I tried to speak, but all that came out was a small "meep".

Kurogane tilted his head up at me and fixed me with a critical eye. "You live here?"

I nodded mutely. Kurogane was a ninja. An easily offended, irritable, slightly scary ninja. Not exactly the type of person you would want to have on your bad side.

He shut the book and held it up to me. "Any explanation for this?"

"...A very long one," I managed. "Come inside; I have to call Lilac about this."

Kurogane gave me a sceptical look but he rose and followed me up the steps to the front door. I pulled my key out of my pocket and unlocked the door, sighing in relief as the warmth rushed over me. I shut the door behind Kurogane and shrugged off my coat. "Icemoon!" I called.

No answer. I sighed. She had probably already finished packing and left. Typical. I had only been five minutes late to cook dinner last night.

I bounded up the steps and into the kitchen, Kurogane slowly following behind. I made my way over to the fridge and pulled out the juice jug. "Uh, do you want anything?" I asked, catching my manners.

Kurogane shook his head. "I'm fine," he said.

I had just gotten a glass and was about to pour myself a drink when the phone rang. Out of pure habit I almost asked Kurogane to pick it up, but I caught myself just in time. Abandoning the drink I made my way around the counter and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Starry!" Lilacheart's voice was high-pitched with fear. "Help!"

A loud crash echoed somewhere on her end, and a blood-curdling howl sent shivers down my spine.

"Lilac, what the—" and here the momentary thought of how bad my language was getting in a PG-rated story flashed through my mind "—is going on over there?"

There was a scream, followed shortly by a crash that sounded like plastic shattering. Then the line went dead.

For a moment I just stood there, shocked, unable to move. Then I slammed the phone down in the cradle. "We have to get over there now!"

"Why?" Kurogane asked, giving me another sceptical look as I practically leapt down the steps and grabbed my coat.

"They're in trouble! We have to help them!" I cried, yanking on my shoes.

"It's not my problem," he growled, crossing his arms.

"You want it to be your problem? Syaoran and Fai are over there!"

He was out the door before I could blink. Syaoran and Fai were his traveling companions; no wonder he was in such a hurry. Feeling momentarily perplexed I darted out after him and slammed the door shut, not bothering to lock it. I would regret that later. I raced down the steps, catching up with Kurogane on the street.

"Which way?" he demanded.

"Wait a second!" I gasped. "We can't go over there without reinforcements!"

"I don't need reinforcements!" the ninja snarled.

"We have no clue what's attacking them over there! We need to have some backup!"

I darted down the street, not giving him a chance to argue. Only I knew where Soundstorm and Lilacheart's house was; he would need me to get there. I raced past the catwalk, silently promising them that I would be there soon. I turned up a driveway and raced to the front door, banging loudly with the knocker.

"Where's this?" Kurogane asked, catching up with me on the top step.

"My friend's house," I responded shortly, practically slamming the knocker on the door. "Fun-Bun, get down here and open this door now or I swear I'll have Kurogane knock it down!"

A voice shouted from within, "Okay, I'm coming, keep your hair on!" Moments later the door swung open, revealing my friend Rabbitfoot with a half-shocked, half annoyed, half-amused look on her face. Wait, that was too many halves.

She took us in for a moment then simply stated, "You weren't kidding."

I ignored her remark. "Something really bad is happening at Soundy and Lilac's!"

Almost instantly she leapt into action, racing across the foyer to grab her coat from the closet. "Like what?"

"I have no idea! Lilac called screaming for help, but I think the phone broke before she could tell me what was wrong."

"What's going on?" a voice asked. I glanced across the hall to see Danny Fenton standing in the doorway.

"Something really bad's up at our friend's house," Rabbitfoot explained quickly, putting on her shoes.

"Let me come; I'll help," Danny offered.

Rabbitfoot looked about to object, so I cut her off. "That'd be great, thanks," I said quickly. To Rabbitfoot, "We're going to need all the help we can get."

Danny 'went ghost' right then and there; I figured Rabbitfoot had already told him all about his TV show and much else besides. Rabbitfoot leapt to her feet, yanking on a pair of gloves. "I'm ready."

"Then let's move!" I said, whipping around and racing outside. I didn't wait for the others to catch up; there wasn't enough time. I skidded down the catwalk, leading the way along the twisted paths through the park. I had wasted precious time getting Rabbitfoot to help us, but I was hoping that the extra power would help in the long run.

It felt like we had been running forever when we finally reached Lilacheart and Soundstorm's house. I yanked at the doorknob, and was surprised when the door simply swung open. I darted inside, the others on my heels. Harsh screeches and the sickening sound of something stabbing into flesh came from the living room; I skidded inside and froze in shock.

At least two dozen Erasers were crammed into the living room, all of them on a hunt for blood. I could just make out Soundstorm across the room; Syaoran was next to her, trying to fend off the Erasers from attacking her. I couldn't see Fai anywhere, but I quickly spotted Lilacheart in the middle of the living room, knocked out. An Eraser was lunging at her, no doubt ready for the kill.

I darted forward, unsure of what I could actually do to help her. But before I could take another step something crashed into me from behind, knocking me to the floor. I wanted to scream at Rabbitfoot, that Lilacheart was practically dying right in front of us, when what I could only describe as a plasma beam lanced over our heads, hitting the Eraser head on. It howled in pain as it was thrown backwards and slammed into the far wall. Danny Phantom flew over us, practically flinging himself at the Erasers and knocking them away. Kurogane stormed past, plunging into the fray as he hacked left and right at the Erasers.

I crawled across the floor towards Lilacheart, keeping my head down. The breath hissed through my teeth as I reached her and saw her injuries. Her shoulder had been laid open, no doubt by an Eraser's claws, with similar marks on her stomach. A long diagonal scratch traced a path across her face, narrowly missing her eye. Her leg was in bad shape, looking like she had a twisted ankle as well as a nasty bite from one of the Erasers.

I grabbed her uninjured shoulder and shook her. "Lilac? Are you okay?"

No response, but I could see that she was breathing. I sighed in relief. She wasn't dead...at least not yet.

A howl from one of the Erasers came from the thick of the fight, and something skidded across the floor towards me, sliding to a halt next to my knee. It was a small kitchen knife. Slowly I picked it up, shaking when I saw there was blood on the blade.

"Watch out!"

My head snapped up, just in time to see an Eraser lunging at me. I screamed and threw my hands up, instinctively holding the knife blade out. A sickening crunch and a harsh wheeze came from the Eraser, and I dared to look up. The knife had pierced its throat, thick blood pouring from the fatal wound and streaming down my arm. The Eraser slipped off the blade and hit the ground, its blood pooling across the floor and soaking into my jeans.

I couldn't move, couldn't look away. I was shaking, tears spilling down my face. I had just killed another sentient being. Killed!

Paralyzed with shock, I didn't even notice as an Eraser lunged at me, closing its jaws on my left arm. Pain lanced up my arm as the Eraser's teeth met, shattering the bone. I screamed again, my right arm acting on pure reflex as it stabbed the knife blade into the Eraser's shoulder. It flinched, but refused to relinquish its hold, clawing at my face with its hands as it dragged me to my feet. I held up the knife, sobbing, trying to yank my broken arm out of the Eraser's grip.

Suddenly a bark sounded above the battle, drowning out all sounds of the fight. The Eraser holding me froze stiff, its jaws going slack and releasing my arm. I staggered backwards, dim recognition pulsing beneath the pain. I knew that bark.

I twisted around to look behind me. There in the doorway stood a large black and tan mongrel dog, its eyes blazing and its collar shifting and melting with millions of symbols. The Disreputable Dog—or the Dog for short—from the Abhorsen trilogy.

At the Dog's bark every single Eraser in the room froze where they stood, each of them wearing an identical look of shock. I could see the others now; Soundstorm and Syaoran were on the other side of the room. Soundstorm looked in no better condition than Lilacheart, only she was still conscious, while Syaoran was covered with scratches all over. Fai was also covered in various cuts and scratches, and was slowly limping across the room towards me.

The Dog barked again, and the Erasers jerked forward, stepping towards her as if in a trance. Slowly, they made their way around the Dog, down the hallway, and outside, as if they were ants on some silent command.

I realized I was trembling, my eyes fixed on the floor. I was still holding the knife; instantly I let it go, dropping it to the floor with a clatter. My arm was in so much pain, shattered and broken...kinda like my story. I began to sway, my thoughts running together. Shattered...soul...

My knees suddenly gave way, and I collapsed. Someone caught me before I hit the floor, lifting me up again. "She's going into shock!" I thought I heard someone say. I couldn't be sure anymore. The world was dissolving now...shattered...broken...

—

I don't know when I first woke up. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness, seeing things around me that I couldn't be sure were real or not. A myriad of faces, swirling symbols, a cool blue light. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe everything was a dream.

Eventually I woke up fully—by fully I meant that I could actually make out my surroundings. My head was still throbbing, but my thoughts were clear. I moaned softly and opened my eyes.

The first thing I saw was that there were two people standing on either side of the bed; Fai and Rabbitfoot. Inwardly I groaned. I was going to be teased until the end of my days about this.

Fai was the first to notice that I was awake. "Hello, Starry-chan," he said with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay but mortified," I muttered, dropping my gaze. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Rabbitfoot breaking down in a giggle fit. Not again.

There was a soft knock on the door, and two people walked in. No, make that a girl and a dog. I gulped when I recognized them. Characters seemed to be appearing faster than ever now.

Emily Fletcher came around the side of the bed, placing her hand on the covers next to my shoulder. "Are you feeling any better? Does it still hurt?" Emily was a mage, from the Avalon books. The healer, to be exact. She had been chosen to help find Avalon, the home of magic. I wondered how she had gotten here.

"A little, but not so much now," I responded. The pain wasn't as sharp anymore, more like a dull ache in the back of my mind.

Emily let out a soft sigh. "I'm glad," she whispered. "You had gone into such a state of shock that it was harder for me to heal you. I wasn't able to fully fix your arm."

I glanced down again, noticing for the first time that my left arm was wrapped in bandages.

"Those are just a precaution," a voice said, and the Disreputable Dog reared up and planted her paws on the bed. Her tail whacked Rabbitfoot in the leg, who managed to choke down her laughter. At least, for now.

I struggled to sit up, wincing as I put pressure on my injured arm. "How are Lilac and Soundy?"

"They're both fine," Rabbitfoot said. "Emily's healed them to the best of her ability as well. Well, everyone for that matter."

I nodded gratefully. "Thanks," I said to Emily.

She just gave me a small smile. "Everyone else already explained to me what's going on." She shook her head. "I find it so hard to believe it all."

"Believe me, I do too," I muttered, slumping back again.

Fai murmured in assent. "Get some sleep, Starry-chan. It's getting late now; we can get through all of this tomorrow."

I nodded and pulled the blankets over my head, trying not to blush again. Why did Rabbitfoot have to be there?

I listened as the four of them trooped out before I pulled the covers off my head with a sigh. It was hot under the blankets. I rolled over onto my right side, pulling my injured arm in close to my body. I felt exhausted, despite the fact that I had probably been sleeping for the past few hours. Not that it had been a restful sleep anyways. I sighed and closed my eyes.