Chapter 8

She didn't know what it was which had sent her flying back to the Veronsen-Vii's place. All she knew for sure was shortly after she'd made contact with the girl something had sent her here and barred her from leaving. She must have been there a good few hours, when the unhappy parents returned licking their wounds. For a few moments the trio glared at each other with a cold kind of suspicion. Then Hickarama made a grunt of disgust and turned away.

'You failed me; I bet you didn't even get closed to that Hateling brat, never mind my father.'

'Funny I was just thinking something very similar about you,' Mokuba's lips curled with displeasure, 'and we hardly failed you, there were just a few unforeseen difficulties.'

'Like what?'

'Like whatever the hell it was possessing Lus,' Serenity grimaced as she spoke. 'Whatever that force was, was…' she hesitated.

'Not human,' Mokuba completed for her, 'and I don't mean it was godly or demonic, it was just something else altogether; so don't you dare get pedantic about semantics over this.'

'I wasn't going to. I was actually thinking maybe you just underestimated the little god,' Hickarama folded her arms, as she turned towards them. 'Maybe you thought he wasn't as strong as the other two because he's mortal.'

'No, that wasn't it. It was the look in his eye,' Serenity shook her head, 'it was something I've never seen before.'

'And the power,' Mokuba took over, 'that power was anything but what it should be.'

'Power?' Hickarama couldn't help but sound curious. 'What power?'

'We could only smell it,' he tilted his head, 'we couldn't sense where it was coming from exactly, just that…'

'What?'

'It seemed to be controlling Lus like a puppet on a string.'

'Like we said,' Serenity remained calm and serious, 'Lus was not acting under his own influence; he was possessed.'

For a few moments Hickarama stared silently at both of them. She had no idea whether or not she could trust their words, but she did know one thing for sure.

'Gods can't be possessed; nothing's that powerful.'

'You've clearly never dealt with the Reganna,' Mokuba rolled his eyes. 'And no, I'm definitely not saying that's what this power was, but… it was definitely that level.'

'I still can't believe…'

'We're not lying about what happened you know,' Serenity cut her off, 'something was controlling Lus. Something which made him more powerful than should have been possible.'

'Maybe it was his own power you were sensing.'

'I don't think so,' she shook her head, 'it smelt foreign.'

'Gods can't be possessed,' she insisted, 'and there's nothing you can say to make me believe otherwise.'

'Whether you believe it or not you can't change the facts,' Mokuba folded his arms.

'You're just making excuses for failing,' she glared at him. 'What in Hell's name was Lus doing down here in the first place, hm?'

'How should we know,' he snapped back, 'all we know is that he was.'

'Look,' Serenity took over, 'if we were really trying to make excuses, don't you think we'd come up with something a little more believable than this?'

'You tell me,' Hickarama shrugged, 'maybe you think I would fall for it because it's so farfetched.'

'Okay, fine, don't believe us, but at least explain why you have failed to acquire our children,' Mokuba snapped. 'And I'm assuming you failed since I can't sense them here.'

For a few moments Hickarama glared angrily at him, then she turned away.

'Something sent me back here.'

'Something like what, my brother?'

'No,' she shook her head, 'some force I've never encountered before. It was… powerful, let's leave it at that.'

'More powerful than you,' he rolled his eyes. 'And you said our story was impossible.'

'Maybe you encountered the same force we did,' Serenity pressed her lips together thoughtfully.

'I said it was powerful,' Hickarama shrugged, 'I never said it could possess a God.'

'But you have God blood running through your veins and it was still powerful enough to send you flying back here now, wasn't it?'

'Okay, fine,' she conceded, 'maybe we've both encountered the same force; it's still no excuse for failure.'

'Maybe not,' Mokuba half turned, 'but it's at least a reason to be wary for now.'

'What is that supposed to mean?'

'It means that until we can identify this force it's going to continue to be a threat to us.'

'And?'

'And whilst it's a threat to us we're not going to get anything done.'

Hickarama gave a displeasured grunt, but remained silent.

'So we need a new plan of action. Someway of dealing with this force before it can ruin our plans again.'

'What way do you suggest,' Serenity narrowed her gaze on him.

'A way that ends with us getting rather full stomachs,' a sly grin pulled at his lips.

'Is your solution to all your problems eating,' Hickarama rolled her eyes. 'And what makes you think you'll even be able to eat this force; it might not have a solid form.'

'It has to.'

'Why?'

'All things do,' Serenity shrugged, 'why should this one thing be any different?'

'Because this one thing is an unknown,' she remained calm, 'that's why.'

'And this unknown is powerful,' Mokuba shrugged, 'very, very powerful. Which means it has to be very, very sentient.'

'Why?'

'Because that much power can't possibly be controlling itself.'

'And if it is?'

'If it is then… I guess we need to change that.'

'You mean…?'

'Yes, that's right, we need to be the ones controlling it.'