Chapter 6
POV: Starsight
I held the long staff out in front of me, at a forty-five degree angle to the ground. Planting my feet shoulder's width apart, I tensed, trying to ignore the lingering pain in my arm.
The staff came down at me, aiming straight for my head. I lifted my own staff, blocking the strike. The blow jarred my arm but I ignored it, shoving the staff away and lashing out at my opponent's side. He easily side-stepped the move and copied it; I tilted the end of the staff down to block it again. I took a step back and whipped my staff out, aiming for his leg. My opponent easily leapt over it, then with a move like lightning he flicked his wrist, tapping his staff lightly against my left shoulder. I grunted with pain and dropped my staff, beaten.
With a smile Fai bent over and picked up the staff, handing it back to me. "You're getting a lot better," he said. "I'm impressed at how much you've improved despite your injury."
"Thanks," I muttered, accepting the staff while trying not to blush too much. Thankfully, Rabbitfoot was off training on the other side of the gym, far enough away to not notice.
It had been about three days since Sheila's announcement. We had all been paired with various fictional (but we know they're not exactly fictional anymore) characters to train with. No, I hadn't been paired with Fai just because...well, yeah. I just liked his style, how it was more defensive than offensive. It appealed to me somehow.
"Why don't you go sit down and rest for a bit?" Fai suggested. "You look exhausted."
"I'm fine," I replied, shaking my head.
"No you're not. Go rest for a bit; there's plenty of time to train later."
Unable to keep arguing I just walked over to the bleachers ranged on one side of the room and sank down upon it. In truth, I was actually glad that he had insisted; my entire body ached so much I was surprised I could move around. I admit it, I had ignored Sheila's advice to rest for a few days until I was better to start training. We just didn't have enough time to spare, and, like Lilacheart, I hated feeling so useless around the others.
I tilted my head back briefly, gazing out the high windows at the blue-gray sky before casting a glance around the gymnasium. It looked so different from the old gym that I knew, especially with all the fictional characters scattered about the place. Not to mention the sounds of battle.
On the far side of the room I spotted Sevenclaws, working with his Absol. Inwardly I smiled. Two days ago an Absol had literally dropped into his backyard. After we had worked out that it wasn't an enemy the Absol had consented to work with Sevenclaws as its master. I could tell that Sevenclaws was just ecstatic about it. Maybe it was from playing the Pokémon games too much, but he was so adept at working with it already.
Close by Spirithunter was practicing with Amaterasu, predictably enough. The goddess had lent Spirithunter her Celestial Brush to practice with, who was getting better by the day. Like Sevenclaws I was pretty sure her skill came from playing the game so much, but there really wasn't any comparison to doing it in real life.
In one corner I could see Sheila teaching some form of martial arts. I wasn't knowledgeable on all the forms, so I didn't know exactly what she was teaching. There were several other people ranged in a half circle around her, all copying her movements. I made a mental note to go see if I could learn something from her later.
Within earshot I could hear Lostpaw was training with Kurogane. I turned my head slightly so I could see them. Kurogane was holding Sôhi out in front of him in a battle-ready stance, while Lostpaw stood next to him with her arms crossed. It didn't look like they were getting along very well.
"Okay, are you paying attention?" Kurogane asked. "First you have to crouch, then—"
"Or maybe I can just hit you with a chair!" Lostpaw retorted, sounding rather exasperated.*
No, they weren't really getting along at all.
Across the room I spotted Magicyop weaving his way through the training area, carrying a clipboard which he was scanning relentlessly. He sat down on the bleachers next to me with a sigh; I cast him a curious look. "How's it coming?"
"Painful," he muttered. "I've been trying to keep a tab on every character that's shown up so far, as well as organize training schedules, check what the County's defences are like, and squash in some training for myself." He put the clipboard down and rubbed his temples. "It's enough to give anyone a headache."
"I sympathize," I said, hoping I didn't sound sarcastic.
Rabbitfoot suddenly appeared next to me, collapsing on the bleachers with a sigh. "This battle training stuff is a lot harder than it looks," she complained.
"Tell me about it," I muttered, deciding not to remind her that I was the one with a semi-broken arm. She had a point though; depending on who was paired with who, a lot of people were being worked hard. Still, everyone recognized the urgency, and gave it their all. We would just have to hope that it would be enough.
Magicyop stood. "I'm off; I have to talk to Sheila about defensive strategies." He walked off across the gymnasium, heading to where Sheila was breaking up the martial arts training.
Rabbitfoot leaned back against the next-highest row of bleachers with a sigh. "How's your training been coming?"
"Pretty good," I replied. "It's hard with my arm and all, but I'm managing."
"You're training with Fai, right?" she asked suddenly.
I tried not to flinch. "Yeah...what's your point?"
Without warning she sat up and waved her hand in the air. "Fai!" she called. I gave a start and whipped around. Fai was on the other side of the gym, but at Rabbitfoot's shout he turned around, looking slightly confused, and started to make his way over. If practically half the people in the gym hadn't also turned to look, I probably would have tackled Rabbitfoot to the ground.
"Anything wrong?" Fai asked when he stopped in front of us.
"No, nothing at all," Rabbitfoot replied brightly. "Just thought you'd like to come sit with us." She instantly scooted over to the side, leaving a large space between the two of us. I realized what she was doing and shot her a glare; by having him sit between us I couldn't lunge and attack her. Clever.
Fai still looked puzzled, but he sat down anyways. I felt the heat rise in my face for two reasons, embarrassment and fury. It was hard to tell which one was stronger.
"Oh, hang on a sec, I want to go talk to Sheila about something," Rabbitfoot said suddenly. I leaned forward to glance at her, and I caught that gleam in her eye. Oh no. The little liar was so—
"I'll be back soon!" she said in a fake bright voice with an undertone of laughter. Before I could protest she charged off across the gym towards Sheila, leaving us alone on the bleachers.
"She's rather active," Fai commented, watching her race off.
"You have no idea," I muttered under my breath.
"So," he said, leaning back against the bleachers like Rabbitfoot had, "how's your arm doing? Are you sure it's okay to be pushing yourself like this?"
"I-it's fine," I stammered. "It really doesn't hurt that much, just a little bit every now and then—"
"Maybe you should have Emily take a look at it," Fai said, the slightest note of worry in his tone. "I could have a look now if you—"
Before I knew what I was doing I leapt to my feet. "Good idea!" I cried, my voice a little more high-pitched than I had intended it to be. "I'll go talk to Emily, then I'll go home and rest for the day." Without pausing I whipped around and practically sprinted across the gym, trying to force down my emotions. I darted out the doors and skidded around the corner, coming to a halt in the hallways. I took several long deep breaths, trying to calm the pounding of my heart.
"So, how'd it go?"
I swear, I leapt about a foot in the air when she said that. "Fun-Bun! What did you do that for?"
She shrugged, grinning like a maniac. "It's what I live for."
"Oh, don't I know," I growled at her, trying to resist the urge to give her a good solid punch on the arm. "I'm going to go home for the rest of the day, get some rest."
"You mean home home, right?" Rabbitfoot asked. I had been staying over at Soundstorm and Lilacheart's house since Sheila's announcement, since they lived a lot closer to the school than I did. I hadn't even gone back to my house for sleepover stuff; the twins had lent everything to me.
I nodded. "It's about time I get back there. Icemoon's still going to be away for a while, so someone has to watch the house."
"All right then," Rabbitfoot said as we walked down the hall together. I paused by my locker, dialled in the combination, and pulled the door open. It was cold out there; I would need my coat. Shutting my locker again I sprinted down the hall to catch up to Rabbitfoot, who was waiting by the front doors.
She gave me a grin, with that same glint in her eye again. "What happened to going to see Emily before you left?"
"...You were NOT listening in on us!" I nearly shrieked.
She shrugged again, looking like she was struggling not to laugh. "You can't blame me; it's what I do."
"I can so blame you!" I hissed at her.
Before either of us could say another word footsteps echoed down the hall, coming around the corner. I glanced around just in time to see Watanuki turn the corner. He stopped almost instantly in his tracks, his face beginning to turn red.
I shot Rabbitfoot a very amused grin. "Well, I'd best get going; leave you two alone," I said, pushing the door open and climbing down the steps. Behind me, before the door slammed shut, I heard her make an odd sort of choking noise, almost like she couldn't decide whether to snarl or laugh.
A loud bark echoed across the campus, and I turned to see the Disreputable Dog bounding towards me, her ears flying. She skidded to a halt next to me and abruptly sat down. "Where are you headed?" she woofed.
"I'm headed back to my house," I answered. "It's about time I get back there; I've left it for three days."
The Dog gave an odd sort of shake and cocked her head up at me. "Do you mind if I come with you?"
"No, not at all," I replied, feeling just a little surprised. I wondered why she didn't want to stay here at the school and help the others. I didn't question her though, just started down the street with the Dog trotting at my heels.
I pulled my gloves out of my pocket as I walked, yanking them on my hands. The sky above was heavy with clouds; not surprisingly, small white flakes soon began to fall. About time we had snow actually; so far in the County it had just been unimaginably cold. I grinned as the Dog bounded ahead, tongue lolling, looking like she was trying to catch every flake that fell from the sky. I wished I could feel as care-free.
I turned the corner, and my house came into sight a little further down the street. I picked up the pace, eager to get inside to the warmth. Climbing the front steps I fished around in my pocket and pulled out the lanyard on which hung my house key. I never understood why my sister never carried her house key with her; it was like she purposely forgot all the time. Tossing the thought away I stuck the key in the door and turned it.
"That's odd..." I muttered out loud.
"Anything wrong?" the Dog asked, catching up to me on the top stair.
"It's just..." The key had turned really easily, almost too easily. "I think I forgot to lock the door when I went to Soundstorm and Lilacheart's during the attack."
The Dog let out an odd sort of snort and shook herself. "Let's be careful then."
I nodded, glad that the Dog was here now. Feeling a little apprehensive, I turned the door handle and stepped inside.
The house was quiet, with no one in sight. Just as it should be. I kicked off my shoes and shut and locked the door behind me before hanging up my coat. The Dog circled around me, seeming a little agitated. I almost told her off for making me feel uneasy, but I kept silent. I climbed the stairs into the house, turning right into the living room.
I was about halfway into the room when I realized that I wasn't alone.
There was a woman sitting on the couch. A woman with skin as pale as the snow falling outside. A woman with white-blonde hair shot through with silver. A woman with glowing green animal eyes. A woman who had plotted to take over an entire world and failed.
The Dark Sorceress.
Curse me for not locking the door.
She looked up at me and grinned, showing pointed teeth. At my side the Dog growled, her hackles rising. I could have sworn she was growing larger too.
"Hmm," the Dark Sorceress said. "Not what I was expecting, but you'll do."
Without warning something grabbed me from behind, something with a large clawed hand covered in fur. So that's where the Erasers had gone. Several more Erasers also pounced on the Dog, trying to wrestle her to the floor. Unlike me though she was a worthy opponent, bucking and heaving and snapping her jaws in an attempt to throw the Erasers off her.
The Eraser holding me twisted my left arm behind my back; bright spots danced in front of my eyes and I practically screamed in pain. The Eraser slapped a paw over my mouth, cutting off my cry. "Keep moving, dog, and I'll kill her."
With a furious growl the Dog lay still, pinned by about five Erasers all sitting on top of her. Poor Dog.
The Dark Sorceress rose and stalked towards us. "You won't be killing her because we still need her," she snapped at the Eraser holding me.
I couldn't see it, but I could feel its fury. Mainly through my arm, which he bent back a little more at the Sorceress's words. Tears of pain sprang to my eyes, but I couldn't exactly say anything. Probably a good thing at this point.
"We could easily kill them both right now," the Eraser growled, its voice containing just a hint of a whine.
"No," the Sorceress hissed. "I need them both alive in order to lure out the Healer."
The Healer? So they knew that Emily was here? How much more did they know? And somehow I needed to figure out a way to get away from them, so I could warn the others. As if it weren't bad enough that we already had Ashura and a pack of Erasers running around without having the Sorceress here too. We needed some kind of distraction or something to get away.
Perfect timing.
Without warning the living room window shattered inwards, the drapes being ripped apart as something huge hurtled inside, bowling over the Erasers that had pinned down the Dog. The Eraser holding me let out a shout and threw me aside, whirling to face this new threat. I practically flew across the room, crashing hard into the wall unit. Several DVDs and our collection of Wii games clattered down on top of me; I was surprised the rest of the wall unit didn't fall over as well.
I struggled to try and sit up, but the pain in my arm—foo it, the pain in my entire body stopped me. Something warm seemed to be flowing down my arm; it took me several seconds to realize that I was bleeding, and badly. I blinked, trying to make out the scene before me. I couldn't see much more than dark shapes whirling in front of me; the only one I recognized was the Dog, her collar shining bright with Charter magic. I tried one more time to move before I just gave up and fainted.
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* Actual quote from comments on the R&F forum on W&W.