Chapter 11, enjoy!
not mine, I know, I know, jeez, do we all know! pooh...
Tree Of Life
"Oh Ranger! Heidi!" Stephanie said, hugging the two as they walked into the penthouse, "Thank goodness you two are alright! Tank nearly flipped bricks when your tracker went dead, and the ones that were on had you pin pointed in fucking Asia!"
Ranger smiled as Stephanie checked him out, deeming him okay with a kiss to his cheek. Stephanie plucked Heidi from Ranger's arms asking, "Are you okay too, my darling Heidi?"
"Daddy wouldn't wake up, so I made him wake up," Heidi said with a smile, hugging Stephanie, "Daddy's alright now."
Scarlet watched the small family with a smile, watching them reassure one another that they would be fine. She turned her head to Diesel and frowned a nagging feeling in the back of her head. She had seen Diesel before, of course she knew him for a while now, but she had a feeling she knew him before, a long time ago.
Diesel frowned at the sight of the dried blood on Ranger's shirt, and at the hole that indicated that possibly, a knife went through that area. Diesel walked up to Ranger and said, "You were stabbed, and close to some major organs and arteries, Ranger, man, you shouldn't be alive."
Jeanne walked over to Ranger and pulled his shirt up. She hummed as she looked at the area and said in a low voice, "You should be dead, Manoso, how'd you survive that stab wound."
"Daddy wouldn't wake up, so I made him wake up," Heidi said softly, her face buried in Stephanie's neck.
Diesel and Jeanne shrugged their shoulders , Stephanie looked over to Ranger and said, "She keeps saying that you wouldn't wake up."
Scarlet froze, seeing something on Ranger's wrist. She walked over to the man and grabbed his wrist, and made a sound, seeing the symbol on his wrist, by all that is true and good.
"I've never seen a human before with this mark, they don't survive the process, which meant, you were dead when this happened," Scarlet said softly, examining the mark, "It's been a long time, since I've seen a fresh mark.
Scarlet looked up at four stunned faces and said in a soft voice, "I think it's time you were told the truth about Heidi, and who she is. The Suits wanted you ignorant, but I don't want you left in the dark, especially now that you've been marked."
Scarlet motioned for them all to sit down somewhere. She sat beside Jeanne on the love seat and looked at them all, before she landed her eyes on Heidi's form, "Do you see them, Heidi? The white leaves that fall from the big tree?"
"Yes," Heidi said, hiding her face in Ranger's chest, "You see them too?"
"I do, and now so does your father," Scarlet said, holding her wrist up and showing the group the same symbol Ranger had on his wrist, "We are the Guardians of Gaia."
"Gaia?" Stephanie said looking at Scarlet who nodded her head, "Who is Gaia?"
"Heidi is Gaia," Scarlet said with a smile, "Let me tell who Gaia is. Gaia is the being that watches over all life that walks on the surface of the planet. It's said that they live in a large tree called the Tree of Life. The Tree of life is only control by Gaia, and it has the power create life and to destroy life. People and creatures from all over the planet are chosen to watch over Gaia and to make sure no harm befalls them. That was what all our jobs were supposed to be, but, something happened, 200 years ago. I won't go into details about it, but Heidi, was betrayed by a group of Guardians wanting to harness the power of the Tree of Life. They used forbidden powers and tried to combine Heidi and the Tree of life as one entity, they were almost successful in their plot, but they were stop."
"How were they stopped?" Diesel asked Scarlet, who sighed and crossed her arms, looking down at her lap.
"Heidi was killed," Scarlet said, her eyes dark, "someone close to her took her life, to spare all life on earth, it wasn't an easy choice, but it had to be done."
Scarlet looked up into stunned faces and said, "Afterwards the group who betrayed Heidi fled, and the ones who remained loyal to Gaia all agreed that Gaia would not be resurrected, so we burned her body and sealed the tree away, it would seem that one of the betrayers had either the flesh or blood of Gaia, hidden away and used it to resurrect her, hence why Heidi is sitting in your lap Ranger."
Ranger wrapped an arm around Heidi's waist and said in a soft voice, "You don't expect me to kill this child?"
"No, heavens no!" Scarlet said her eyes wide, "I want for Gaia to live, we need her more than ever in fact! The group of those who betrayed Gaia is on the move trying to unseal the tree and to get Heidi."
Stephanie sat, taking all that Scarlet told them into her head. Heidi was a deity of some sorts, who was supposed to watch over all life, "This happened how long ago?"
"2000 years ago," Scarlet said softly, looking at Stephanie, "Yes, I know a long time ago. The past is now colliding with the present, and it's going to be a wild ride."
"Hungry, daddy, I'm hungry!" Heidi said tugging at Ranger's shirt, "Call Tia Ella, I want cereal!"
"Cereal? At 4 in the afternoon?" Ranger asked Heidi, earning a head nod, "What kind of cereal?"
"Life cereal," Heidi said, rubbing her stomach, "I'm hungry…"
"Okay, let's go get some cereal." Ranger said lifting Heidi up and carrying her into the kitchen, "We don't need to call Tia Ella, she left a box here for you."
As Ranger and Heidi left the living room, Stephanie shook her head and said, "What are we going to do with that girl? Spoiling her, she needs to go to school, and she needs to be protected from an angry cult!"
"Schooling, well, I can school her," Scarlet said with perking up, "Before I gave up my life to protecting Gaia, or Heidi, I was a scholar at a women's temple. So many memories…."
"So, you really have to give up your life to watch over Heidi?" Jeanne asked scarlet, earning a head nod, "so, if you were a diplomat, or a queen or king?"
"Yes, you would have to get step down and go devote your life to Heidi, she is after all higher up than any queen of king." Scarlet said wrapping an arm around Jeanne, "It's not a bad thing, you get to live with Heidi in the Tree of Life, you're taken care of, and you meet amazing people and creatures who go to the tree of life to pay their respects to Heidi."
"Did you ever leave the tree of life?" Diesel asked, interested, he felt as though he had been there before, and he didn't know why.
"No once you swore an oath to Heidi, you could never leave the Tree of Life, though there was this one person…" Scarlet started, her face flushed, "Never mind! It's not important! What's important is that Heidi gets a good education, and she gets it from me!"
"I highly doubt how to eat a girl out constitutes a good educati-OUCH!" Diesel rubbed his sore head, glaring at Scarlet who put her hands on her hips and glared at the man, "Okay, I shouldn't have said that, I'm a douche, I know!"
"You damn right you're a jerk," Scarlet said getting up, "I'll go tell Ranger that I'll give Heidi a proper education, reading, writing, arithmetic and culture, the works."
Jeanne shook her head saying, "Oh dear, by the time Scarlet is through with Heidi, she'll be a walking encyclopedia!"
Scarlet swatted at Jeanne, and made her way into the kitchen. Ranger and Heidi were at the breakfast bar, eating a bowl of cereal together. It was a comical sight, watching Heidi feed Ranger, and Ranger making loud chewing noises as she fed him.
"Ranger," Scarlet said walking over to the two, "I heard you were in need for some form of education for Heidi, well, look no further! I'll teach this wonderful creature the ins and out! she'll learn algebra, and history and culture!"
"Culture and history," Ranger said putting more cereal into the empty bowl, "She's 6-ish, I think we can just settle on getting her to write and do basic math and science, I don't see any problem with you teaching her, you seem to be a very intelligent woman."
"Scarlet's going to be my teacher! I like Scarlet!" Heidi said as Ranger poured milk for her cereal, "Thank you for teaching me, Scarlet!"
"You're welcome, I'll come by tomorrow, and we can start learning!" Scarlet said softly kissing Heidi on her head, "I'll collect, Jeanne and Diesel, and leave you three alone to recuperate from what happened to you both earlier today."
Scarlet rubbed Ranger's shoulders and then left the kitchen. Ranger sighed and turned to Heidi, who finished her cereal silently. Ranger paused, seeing white leaves fall close to his face. He turned to window and watched as leaves fell down, going through the glass of the windows and through the granite countertops of the kitchen. He held his hands up to catch the leaves, only to watch them go through his hands.
"I see them all the time too, Daddy," Heidi said sliding off the bar stool and going over to Ranger, "They come from that over there."
Heidi grabbed Ranger's hand and led him over to the window that faced east. Ranger could hardly believe what he saw; a tree, that loomed over the horizon. It was it was a black wooden color with branches that seemed to go up into the sky for miles. All the branches were covered in white leaves, some of the leaves falling down and into the ground.
"Where do the leaves go, Quedria? Ranger asked Heidi, earning a shrug.
"I don't know Daddy," Heidi said touching the glass window, "But sometimes, I can hear the tree, talking to me."
That had Ranger's attention, "Does it now? What does it say to you?" Ranger asked, looking down at his daughter.
Heidi smiled and said, "It says it misses me, but it can't see me, until the danger passes, what kind of danger, Daddy?"
"Big danger," Ranger said, ruffling his daughter's hair, "Now come on, let's go see Stephanie."
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
General Smith shook his head, watching a team of military forensic team swept through the barn. They were expecting a dead Manoso, the package and Morelli, but found the body of Morelli, and that was it. whatever killed Morelli, did not like the man, his head had been torn off his body and something went through his chest. He would have been in pain before his death. General Smith growled in his throat, before he turned away from the lights that lit the dark barn. He would find the people, or persons responsible for Morelli's death. Not because they killed Morelli, but because they hindered in him catching the potential weapon of mass destruction.
"This has become an annoyance, I want-" General Smith started, but a shriek from one of the forensic techs had him turning on his heel to watch as the poor woman's throat was slashed wide open, "Sweet Jesus!"
One by one, all the military personnel feel to their deaths, a black blur running past the lights that lit the area up. They all fell, until it was only General Smith standing alone, surrounded by dead bodies and blood. General Smith took a step back, as a figure jumped down in front of him. It was a young woman, with long white hair and eyes of dark blue. Her skin was pasty white and she had a skewed smile. She took a step forward and said in a sweet voice, "I get the feeling, you're the one in charge of this group, or, you were."
The General stared the woman down and said, "Yeah, what of it?"
"I believe you were the one that Morelli was talking to," The woman said softly, walking around the general, "I apologize for killing the man, but, he threatened to have his way with Gaia, and I couldn't let that happen."
"Gaia, who is this Gaia you speak of?" The General asked, the woman who smiled and watched the General walked to her.
"Well, the child of course, your weapon of mass destruction," The woman said, baring fangs, "Oh yes, we are after the same entity, General, and because of that, I do believe that we can form some sort of relationship…."
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
Scarlet was not surprised about the Suits visiting her. They seemed to always find her when she crossed the boundaries they put in place.
"You are a fool, Scarlet," The browned eye man said walking over to Scarlet, who sighed and fluffed her hair up, preparing for a date with Jeanne, "You told Manoso what the child really is, humans are not supposed to ever find out!"
"I could not leave him in the dark any longer, Brutus," Scarlet said turning to the man, "Gaia marked him as one of her guardians."
"Impossible!" The grey eyed woman said her mouth open, "no human could ever survive that process!"
"I know, but he wasn't alive when he got the mark, Gaia brought him back to life," Scarlet said applying lipstick to her mouth, "Please, Theodora, I'm sure she has made several dead people rise again."
"Yes, she has, but she has never marked them as a guardian," The woman with glasses said crossing her arms, "What is so special about this man?"
"They've a bond, a father daughter bond, something Gaia has never had before, Helena," Scarlet said, applying the final layer of mascara, "I am sure Gaia would travel to hell and back for that man."
"Love, this is a concept we forgot to add in this thing," Theodora said softly, her eyes soft, "It won't be the first time that love has saved every single life on the planet."
"Yes," Scarlet said frowning, her eyes dark, "Why am I getting this feeling of Déjà vu? Every time I'm….never mind, now are you done yelling at your superior? I have a date with Jeanne, and we need to be at the restaurant in 40 minutes."
"I am sorry to be so cross with you, Scarlet, but you need to remember, that he is out there, looking for Gaia!" Brutus said to Scarlet who nodded her head and got up to put on a black dress, "She is in terrible danger and If more people knew her identity-"
"These people love and adore this child with all their hearts, they will not betray us nor will they harm Gaia," Scarlet said slipping the dress over her head, "I trust these people, and you should too."
Scarlet put on two diamond studs and said, "Now pardon me, my Jeanne awaits!" before she pushed her way past the three Suits, "Listen to the Head Guardian, they will protect Gaia!"
Scarlet turned to the three and said in a low voice, "We could us all the help, more creatures are coming out the woodwork for this child."
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
"So it would seem that Gaia has created another Guardian, Manoso…"The man said staring out the window to look at the busy city before him, "Does this not excite you, my dear?"
"Why should it, it seems to be bad news," The woman said softly, walking up to the man and placing a hand on his shoulder, "There is another Guardian to destroy."
"It means," The man said lifting the woman's wrist up to reveal that she too had the same symbol on her wrist, "That Gaia is tapping into her powers, she is growing stronger, and soon, we shall unseal the Tree and take over this hopeless planet."
The woman smiled and said, "Yes, soon, it will be a utopia, a utopia in your image…."
"And you shall be my Queen, ruling on top of the Tree of life, at my side," The man said kissing the woman tenderly, "Yes, Gaia and the Tree will become one being, soon…"
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
Heidi pressed a small hand to the window, looking up at the large black tree. She could feel it, pulsing with life. It was pulsating in a pattern, as if it was trying to communicate with her again. What did it want to say now? She knew that they could not be together now, it was much too dangerous, what message did it want to leave her?
"You've made the right choice in a new Guardian…" A voice whispered in her ear, causing Heidi to smile and nod her head.
"Yes, Daddy will never go to sleep again," Heidi said to the tree, just as Stephanie walked into her room and said with a smile, "Bedtime story?" holding up a fairy tale.
"Yes, Mommy!" Heidi said running over to Stephanie and hugging her legs, "I love you, Mommy, I'll make sure you never fall asleep too."
Stephanie smiled down at Heidi and said, "I could use a nap though, but first, let's read, "The Snow Queen…" I think you'll like this one, Heidi."
Heidi smiled and cuddled up beside Stephanie on the bed. She turned to watch Stephanie read out loud, this was her mommy, and she was important too, just like her daddy, she would make sure nothing happens to her mommy too.
Heidi turned her slightly, watching a few white leaves fall by her bed; she wondered if her mommy would see them soon too, just like her and her daddy. She will, Heidi would make sure of it, even if she didn't know what she was doing.
TBC….
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