Don had always been an early riser, and prided himself on his internal alarm clock. He had never been late to work because he was up dressed and ready to go hours before he needed to leave. It was his daily routine, and by the time anyone else had gotten up, he was awake and clear headed. So when he opened his eyes to bright sunlight pouring through the window, the first things that ran through his head were all the things that could have happened while he slept. Don hurriedly got dressed and ran out the door, with nowhere to go. Once he realized this he felt a little better, Don looked at his wrist out of habit and knew nothing would be there; he hadn't had a watch for awhile. But he was starting to get his act together, he shook his head and swore this wouldn't happen again, this was exactly why he liked having that extra time in the morning. He could get rid of any morning confusion before he even saw anyone else.
By the time he walked to the alcove, where he expected he would find everyone eating, he had pretty much cleared his head. He knew Jack would be on him in a heartbeat, and had already been running through a series of witty comeback lines for any smart-ass comment Jack could hit him with. He walked into the alcove and there was only a few stragglers. He shook his head and laughed at himself, what a Dufus. He knew then that he had woken up like always, before anyone else. It was just because he woke up somewhere unfamiliar that he thought he's overslept. That's when he heard all the racket up in the meadow; all the confusion, worries and insecurities came back and did a few more laps. What a Dufus.
It was his fault, they had inadvertently led the Combine right to Danni's front door. Don swore to himself, damnit they should have been more careful. They were probably up there planning a defense right now, why hadn't Danni sent for him. He reached down and was reassured by the feel of the Glock Danni had given him. Don bounded up the stairs to the meadow and was greeted with music... "Don't go around tonight, Well, it bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise." That was… Creedance. And there were a bunch a people up here too, he had overslept. People were lined up around the edge of the meadow watching a car go around in circles while the car stereo blared "Bad Moon Rising" Danni was standing there too, and she had both balisongs flying around her hand, because that was it, her Dad's song, "Bad Moon Rising." Made perfect sense!
The car was starting to slow down, he could hear the motor hitch and stutter, it coughed and bucked a couple times and came to a halt. The passenger door flew open and Bob rolled out onto the ground laughing. Chiyo leaned over from the driver seat and was yelling out the door at him, "Out of gas... What do you mean out of gas! You take me out on a date and run out gas in a field, well you can forget that Bucko!
Bizarre was all he could think.
… … … … … … … … … …
They had settled into the same corner table where they had eaten the day before. It was quiet now, almost too quiet. Everyone was politely munching, and for this group that at the least was irregular. Finally Don couldn't take it anymore, he had to bring it up, it was eating at him too much, "Listen folks, this is just getting too bizarre. That scene this morning, the music, the Creedance, it was spooky. A little Deja Vu, some serendipity, synchronicity whatever you want to call it; its hip, its Kool. But this... in one day we've had more coincidence than you might see in a year. It ain't right, it just ain't right. Danni, when I saw you playing that song with your butterflies, I have to tell you, it scared the hell out of me. You know, yesterday in the sewers, I was pretty nervous for awhile; but when I realized how much firepower we had I got exhilarated, pumped. But this shit scares me."
Danni nodded, "Yeah I know exactly what you are saying, and that's what I've been trying to get across to you guys. Something is happening, and we need to have our eyes open; because something either really wonderful or incredibly terrible is going to happen soon. The time for beating around the bush is over. I really don't give a damn if you think that I'm crazy. I know what I see. The Deja Vu, Synchronicity, and coincidence that Don was talking about, a little is... ,well, normal. But this..., what we're experiencing... is Power. It's hard to just come right out and say it, because there is no proof and no reason behind it; but Black Mesa was saved. When that nuclear device was detonated "Something" that either had the ability or the know-how." Danni paused and looked around the table, making eye contact with each one ensuring that she had their attention. "Something, put the whammy on Space and Time. And that my friends took a lot of Power. If anyone see's it any other way, then you tell me." No one spoke, Bob didn't laugh, Don didn't raise his hand. So Danni continued, "We have to become detectives. I believe we are the only people in the position to do it." The mumbling and fidgeting began again as the moment was lost. "But, before everybody starts chiming in, give just me a few more minutes. I'm going to bring up some points that get hinted at but never said."
"The Nihilanth lost the most at the time of the Resonance Cascade, because it lost, It's dead, it's gone. But he exacted his revenge and sent the call to the Combine, so you see in actuality the Combine are the newest players on the field. Out of all the protagonists that we know of, the planet and people of Earth have lost the most. I said yesterday that several plots were hatched on that fateful day, it's far worse than that, and we need to find just how far down the rabbit-hole goes (Sorry, couldn't resist the Matrix reference). We are being drawn, we are being used. Look at what happened in stage 1 of their plan, at the price the Earth has paid. Something tells me that their plan is right on schedule. How much more is this going to cost us. The recurring themes, shared experiences, and our similar trains of thought are not only spooky but they are our clues, we need the find the threads that bind us and use them either when the time is right or before time runs out. We've talked and shared a ton of stuff in the last 24 hours... One phrase keeps popping up. It seems Ominus that I've heard it at least 3 or 4 times since yesterday and hope its not a hint of what it to come." Once again she paused long enough to get everyone's attention. "If you want to make an Omelet, You must be willing to break a few eggs."
Surprisingly the first one to speak was Jack, "Where do we start? It's not like the Combine is going to let us go through their filing cabinets. Besides, they could just be opportunists and have nothing to do with our mess." Danni shook her head, "I don't think so, they are a piece to our puzzle, if only because of the Nihilanth. But where we start is simple, us. We are our biggest clues. Where is Don's daughter, the Vorts sense her. And how do we start? We train, Body and Spirit. That is what makes us human, and that is what we have that the Combine don't. As we train our bodies and spirits I believe our answers will come. My mother was Korean, she was training me in the martial arts before I could walk. The Martial Arts are more than kicking and punching, the are a way of life, a way to tune into the universe. I already have mentioned my father. He was a Kiowa Indian, another spiritual race, and he is the one who was originally drawn to the city. He and ancestors were practitioners of battle medicine. I don't want to delve into that right now, I only mention it as another clue and line of investigation. You all have the seeds. Don, I sensed your aura when you arrived, that is why you received the exercise invite." "Now, don't pout, let me get thru this and you can flirt with me some more." even Gordon started snickering. "When we went into the sewers, I saw it. There came a time when you changed in battle, you saw the world in your minds eye." "Yeah... your right it was like in those video games, the third person ones, it's like I was outside of my body, I forgot all about that." And then Danni looked directly at Chiyo. "And you girl, power oozes off you. I saw it immediately, with Don I saw the hint the potential. Chiyo, you are a warrior and possibly the most powerful person here. And now we come to Jack. I sense something about you, but honestly I don't know what it is, but I've heard about your affinity for aluminum bats." And that's when Jeff sauntered over with a big plate of fruit and no wheel chair.
"Vort's said I'm 100%" he smiled, "I wasn't that bad off after all." But they all knew better. He was probably only hours away from death when Danni, Bob and Gordon found them.
"Well great to have you back on point. "Don smiled at him, "I think you're just in time too. I think Danni is getting ready to give us our marching orders."
Danni smiled at everyone and said, "And I now I'm gonna tell you one of the weirdest, wonderful things about Mayberry. We have no taxes, no government, no censors, no hierarchy, no classes period."
Jack said, "What, nobody lives here. I got the impression that this was the place that people that escaped, found."
"It is!" Danni laughed, "But somehow it just works. Maybe we are all like those animals you get from the pound, just grateful to get another chance. But, knock on wood, we haven't had problems. By the way when you are done with your lunch, carry your stuff over to there where all the white tile is. Clean them if you like, clean a bunch of them if it pleases you, or don't. But remember, your Mama isn't following you around cleaning up.
"Community" Danni said as she stood up "that is another thing the human race has that the Combine seeks to destroy. The City is not ours to own, it is ours to care for. You may live anywhere you like as long as someone else is not already living there. However, the Community needs to know where that is. The Community doesn't give a rat's ass, but we all have responsibilities to each other and we will always care for each other." Bob tried to imitate some hard ass criminal accent and added, "Whether we like it or not. " Then he added, "It's a nice place, so take care of it. We all do our part, there have never been a shortage of volunteers. You guys will catch on. Danni was gonna go through her public service announcement about taking care of your own attitudes and crap like that. But in my crass manner I just spoiled it." Bob was running water over his own dishes when he turned and said, "So, since I spoiled it... you will no longer have to listen to her spiel. And for that... You all owe me."
Danni stuck both little fingers in her mouth and blew what sounded like a train whistle. "This is my uncle Gorou, he does the greater portion of the cooking around here. He is also our weapons master, which does not mean he owns a gun store, though he is thoroughly knowledgeable about all modern military hardware, even the stuff we find in Black Mesa. Master Gorou is from the same Korean province as my mother, and his ancestors have been weapon masters for over 500 years. Master Gorou can make and train you to be proficient with any weapon available today."
Master Gorou bowed to everyone walked over to a stone table along the wall. He opened a wooden box and removed long red rod. He stood it vertically on the floor in front of himself. The staff was about 6 feet long made out of Red Wood and Red Stone, intricate carvings could be seen winding their way along the entire length. "This was found in the Llamba Department yesterday. I have recorded the carvings and I'm investigating its origin." Jeff said, "What do you mean it was found in the Llamba dept." Danni said, "What he means, is that it wasn't there before, no one has admitted putting it there and as far as we can tell, no one here has ever seen it before." Jeff, Don and Bob all started humming the "Twilite Zone" theme at the same time. Gorou walked over to Jack and handed it to him. "I would like for you to use this as your walking stick for the next week. I've been told of your affinity for aluminum baseball bats. And if that's what you want that's is what you can have. But since this showed up the same day you did, I felt it might be yours."
Jack looked at it in awe, "Kool"
Gorou frowned for a second, then turned to him bowed and said, "Couldn't have said it better myself."
Danni walked over to the same table "Chiyo, until you find something that trips your trigger, I have something for you. From the table she removed a long roll of silken cloth. Danni carried it over to Chiyo, knelt down and unrolled it on the floor. Inside were two staffs and a Katana. Danni removed the staffs one at a time and handed them to Chiyo. Each staff was approximately 4 foot long and constructed out of an iridescent blue metal that shimmerd as the staffs moved. Danni grabbed the Katana by the white carved handle and withdrew it. The thin blade was almost as long as the staffs and had been fashioned out of iridescent blue metal similar to the staffs. Danni said, these were my Grandmothers, but who knows she may have just been holding them for you. Chiyo stood there holding the weapons her eyes a mist of tears. She knelt down at Danni's feet and and bowed her head, when she rose her eyes were clear and bright, and for the first time Danni noticed, Blue.
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end Chapter 6
another one in the tank
Please review! This train is rolling too fast to stop now, but sure would like to know what you think.