Kikuyu_Black_Paws

The Caracak sat in a circle of mushrooms, his cloven hooves crossed before him and his head bowed deep in thought. The wind rustled around him and he looked up as a voice hummed on the air. A light flashed through the trees and then a young maiden clad in violet and blue appeared from a hydrangea bush. Wings of iridescent, curling tendrils sprouted from her back and her hair was sapphire in hue. Her eyes were large and amethyst, and two gracefully curving antennae protruded from her brow. She eyed the Caracak as he morphed into human form, his long dark locks falling around his face. "Guinere..." he murmured. The Faery reached out a hand to him. "Why do you sit so within the faery ring with such a cloud on your face?" Rufus bowed his head again, his face grieved. "It is almost time," he murmured. "The tyranny of the cities will be destroyed. And yet...I feel an approaching darkness, as if our endeavors were known. Tell my, Guinere, what is to be done?" The Faery lowered her eyes, staring at the ring of delicate mushrooms, their spotted hides glittering with unearthly jewel-hues. Bending, she picked a bright sapphire and ember colored mushroom. "Take this," she murmured, "as a token. It will protect you and those around you in the trying times ahead. It will ensure some semblance of success. The difficulty of success will be up to you." * * * * Ander made a series of swift clicks and then a printer spat pages at them. Vincent snatched them up and eyed them, his eyes widening greatly. "This...this is..." Suddenly the lights went out. The only glow came from a flashing green clock that read 12:00...12:00...and then it read 12:01...12:02...faster and faster it counted the numbers until it was a blur. The lights flickered and flashed, wind lashed against the window, pushing rain before it so that it sounded as if they were under gun fire. Ander cursed and stood. "We might have been discovered." The guard blinked as a faint glow began to shine through Vincent's clothing. The fire man grinned, sparks glittering in his eyes and flames beginning to lick about his eagerly curved fingers. "Let them come," he hissed. "We have the proof we need." The door began to shake, as if something were trying to force its way in. Heat glowed around the corners and Vincent’s eyes widened as the knob began to shake and smoke. The door burst open, accompanied by someone’s scream of power. A pair of glowing eyes glittered out at him as the smoke cleared. “No!” Ander breathed. * * * * Myrn jerked violently, screaming with a mixture of horror and rage. Dos grabbed his shoulder. "What is it?" he yelled. The psychic was yanked to his knees, his eyes wide in pale horror. "No..." he murmured. "They have one too..." "Have one what, Myrn?" Dos screamed in frustration. Myrn turned his eyes to the time-sorcerer. "Shar-hudor..." he murmured. "Shar-hudor..." Dos shook his head. "What is that?" The psychic turned his head towards the cities. "Vincent!" he exclaimed, and grabbed Dos' wrist, flinging them forward on the wind. (Sorry I was so late again guys!!! :3 School sure is hectic. Hope you like the cliff hanger!!! ;p)

Dos touched Myrn's shoulder lightly. "Are you feeling better?" The mind-reader opened his eyes faintly. "What are you thinking?" he whispered. Dos pressed the tips of his fingers together in thought. "I want to go to the destroyed village, see what I can see." Myrn raised an eyebrow. "I'll get you there," he said. "It won't take long." Rufus, sitting in the corner, watched them intently. "It's all right, I'll just stay here. As usual." Dos cocked his head. "Do you want to come?" he asked, confused. The Caracak thrust his nose in the air. "No no, don't worry about my feelings. Go ahead, go. I don't want to go now anyway." Myrn smiled and gripped Dos' wrist. In a flash they were gone. * * * * Vincent leaned over Ander's shoulder, watching him closely. The young man leaned over his computer, typing madly, running through pages and pages of coding. "What are you doing?" Vincent whispered. Ander wiped sweat from his brow, eyeing the pages before him. "Getting you proof. Proof enough to stand against his anarchy." * * * * Dos was used to Myrn's wind travel. But suddenly the green and gold turned to red and black. Myrn choked and let go of Dos' wrist. They spun to a violent halt. Myrn stumbled to his knees, clutching his chest as he coughed. Dos eyed his surroundings. The ground was cracked and blackened. Red skies were dotted with blood red clouds that crackled with energy. A hot wind kicked up rust colored dust, swirling it in lifeless dust devils across the plains. And there were skeletons. White, picked clean, lying there as if they had just lain down to sleep. Not far from where Dos was standing, a tall skeleton leaned over a very tiny one, its arms up and around it in a no-longer-felt embrace. Dos closed his eyes and Myrn disappeared from his side. Winds kicked and swirled, and then he saw a black figure tromping backwards at him from the cities. It was Vincent, his face covered in a mask to protect him against the heat. Dos followed him as he went, still holding to the past. Vincent's backwards path led him to the cliffs. There he clambered in reverse into a cave. He sent a kiss to a tiny grave, settled a golden locket upon it, then it was unburied and became a tiny body covered in cloth already beginning to redden with the dust. Dos swallowed hard. Vincent left again, wandered out into the storm, screaming at the skies that sent lightning piercing all around him. Dos knew this part. Vincent had explained it to them. He pressed his power faster. The dead began to rise around him. The red skies disappeared, the plains became green again. Dos saw a village. People wandering out into the plains trudged back to the homestead they were leaving. Dos viewed a familiar sight- a tall young man carrying a baby in his arms...the skeletons in the field. Men in black uniforms with fiery emblems upon their chests came and went speedily. Dos watched as they took children as payment for the things they brought. Then he let time forward again as he watched three young men converge around Vincent. A young girl was carrying a basket into the home. Vincent was standing nearby, leaning upon a large axe. He watched the approaching men shrewdly, carefully. One of them was young with silver-blonde hair and large eyes that watched his own comrades suspiciously. The other had wicked smiles upon their faces. The tallest of the three, a man with black, greasy hair and a twisting grin beckoned to Vincent. "Payment time," he jeered. "Your pretty daughter will suffice this time." Dos saw Vincent's face harden. "I don't appreciate your joke," he snarled. "I have not received any of your machines. I need pay for nothing." The two men laughed, but the youngest turned his head away, his jaw clenched in rage. Vincent eyed him for a moment before turning his gaze back upon the two offenders. "Get out of here," he snarled. "I don't want to see you again." The young girl appeared out of the house. She stood beside her father and watched the men. "What do they want, father?" The man with greasy hair grinned. "Our payment," he hissed, and he lunged forward, grabbing the girl by the wrist and yanking her forward. "How about a kiss, pretty?" He pressed one hand against her back, squeezing her against his body, and leaned forward, gripping her face with his other hand. The young girl screamed. Vincent lurched forward with a yell of horror. The young man with silver hair cried out. In the next moment the man was lying on the ground with a bleeding gash in his chest, dead. The other man stared in shock, his eyes wide. The young man stepped back, looking sick. The older agent grimaced. "You'll pay for that, villager," he snapped. "You've just killed a General." Vincent pointed at him, clutching his axe and breathing hard. The young girl leaned against him, sobbing. "He touched my daughter. Touch her and you'll get the same." The men left, and the image swirled away as Dos returned to the present. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and shook his head. Myrn watched him cautiously. "You were gone a long time," he mused. Dos sighed. "You may take us back now. I've seen what I needed."

Wyvern had mentioned this at one point in one of my stories and I only just now checked it out. Brilliant! I now know how to rate my readings accurately!! And the image of Wyvern bald with a monocle and a thick slavic accent is hilarious and just slightly disturbing at the same time. hot krispy kreme doughnuts~ that was what was mentioned in the story... Amazing and brilliant again!!!!!! ~Kikuyu by the way, what is passing on the point system? or is it just a: oh i got two points, poop/ yay i got 342 points i'm elite!!!! ?

Kikuyu's face twisted in confusion. "Erm...do you need an appointment to guard clothes? I didn't know Orlan already had an appointment...uh...and I'm not going to be naked to guard clothing." Degorram cast Kikuyu a glance that conveyed a whole conversation between the two sisters. Kikuyu turned back to the two naked women. "Ok, we don't really know what we're doing. Like I said, Wyvern sent us, and trust me he'll be in a world of hurt later, but at the moment it looks like Orlan's clothes are in danger, if it is ever possible for clothing to be in danger. So will you please just tell us where to go and set up battle stations? Or...at least get us an appointment pronto so that we can explain what little of the situation we know to Orlin." Kikuyu gave a faint smile, not feeling at all smart, witty, or even convincing, waiting anxiously for a yea or nay while Degorram tapped a foot beside her. If worse came to worse they could just say they tried, oh well. And she would be talking with Wyvern about this. But for now, they just had to do their best and try to get to those clothes, which currently seemed to be behind the very tall, very formidible looking women.

Vincent sat on a cliff edge, not far from the huge towering branches of Rufus' heart home. He gazed over miles and miles of forest and mountain, far away from the destruction behind him. In his hands he rotated a long feather of sapphire, a feather that had been given to him by a pair of young hands eager to cheer him. The wind plucked at his clothing and danced before his eyes, it's fey, veiled faces taunting him as it sang. A stray piece of wind ran along his face and swirled around him. He looked up and saw a face that made his heart stop. "Laura," he whispered, tears streaking down his face. "Laura!" Laura's shadowy, beautiful face twisted in the winds. She held an armful of roses at her side, ribbons in her long hair flying. She smiled at him, turning and entering the small home they had shared as father and daughter. Many suitors had used to come to her with gifts and eager promises, but she had smiled and denied them all. As the wind flew apart, her image faded in his mind and she disappeared. Vincent pressed his face into his hands, sobbing. "I'm so sorry," he wept. "So sorry..." The wind shook its heads and swirled up and around him once more, carrying a whirlwind of leaves and sorrows away with them. * * * * The dark man walked through the halls, leaning heavily on a cane. His twisted, gnarled face crinkled up as he gave a harsh, hacking laugh. "His destruction will soon be complete. There will be no evidence against us, and our dominion will continue as planned." A young man in a company uniform of a black suit walked at his side. His fists clenched at his sides and he swallowed hard. He had eyes of pale grey, but in the fading light they seemed green. He had silvery blonde hair that was cut about his jaw-line. At his breast was the company emblem of red and white and he scratched it absently. "My lord..." he began. The old man whirled on him. "I'll hear no more about it!" he croaked. "You forget that he struck the first blow and killed one of my agents, after we had given him so much help." The young man grimaced. "Of course my lord. So much help." The old man hacked through laughter again. "You are resentful of what I did Ander? Hateful maybe? That is good. Power is built upon hate. You will learn this soon enough." Ander paused in his walk and let the old leader gain a few steps, steps that he could easily take back. If he wanted, he could strike this decrepit thing concieved from hate and sprinkled with malice to the floor. But the powers were against him. Instead he clenched his fists at his sides again and contined on after him. "Yes my lord." * * * * Vincent crept through town slowly. It was not hard for him to find the company headquarters. Their logo was everywhere, and the tallest, longest buildings in the city belonged to them, as did eighty-nine percent of all the city's money and jobs. Vincent stood staring up at the building for a long time. Did the one responsible stay here at night? Or was he just broadening his map. At the moment he didn't care. Pulling his duster tightly around him, Vincent moved through the shadows, looking for a way up. There was a fire-escape pod nearby. It would not be hard to short-circuit it and change its direction, and it appeared there was an open window above. From that window poured a tiny cube of light. Vincent moved to the pod. Nothing he couldn't handle, and he was determined to see what he could see. A handful of fire to the wires and the red panel beside the pod blipped from red to green. Vincent smirked and shook his head. For all their technology and power, their programming could use some updating. The transport started upwards, slowly, and then building speed. Vincent clutched to the outer edge. The open window loomed closer and as the pod passed he clutched the sill. Ander looked up from his late night paperwork and peered out of his open window. A pod had just shot past. Malfunctioning, again. He grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. So much money was spent on destructive weapons and dominion that none could be spared for even the most modest of security. Ander was turning to find the nearest programming facility when the lights flickered out and a hand wrapped gently around his neck, hinting a dark promise of danger. Ander froze and felt a chill run along his back that was immediately replaced with heat. Light flickered behind him and the smell of fire assailed his nostrils. "It's you," he whispered. The hand slowly turned him and Ander found himself staring into the fierce eyes of the man he had seen at the village. His long hair was the same, pulled back into a horsetail, but now a few silver strands frosted the corners of his brow. His face was haggard and grief drawn. For all of his weariness, he was well kempt and clean-shaven. He frowned. "I recognize you," he whispered. Ander swallowed hard against the hand at his throat, glancing down at the fistful of fire that the man held at his side. "I'm Ander. I'm one of the agents who came to your village..." Ander found himself slammed against the wall, the fire inches from his nose. The man's face was twisted into rage. "And were you one of those plotting to take our sons and daughters away? Were you one who planned to enjoy my daughter?" Ander stiffened, his pride overriding his pain and fear. "No sir," he gritted. "I courted your daughter for a time, but I never planned to harm her. I did not know what was going to happen." The man loosed him gently. "Do you know what happened to her?" Ander lowered his eyes, and suddenly they were filled with tears. "I loved her, sir. Don't ask me to hear what happened." The man's neck muscles were rigid and his eyes were narrowed with rage and pain. "I had to see it. Your boss destroyed us. And while those of my people who were on the plains at the time died a quick death, my daughter was twisted by the radiation until she died. She was beautiful through it all though...encouraging me..." the man choked off and turned away, pressing his hands to his head. Ander stepped forward slowly, his eyes full of concern. "Sir, what is your name?" The man straightened and took a deep breath. "My name is anonymous. Your master will know it well enough. Ask him. And when you're told not to come to work anymore, you'll know why." The man stepped towards the window, but Ander caught his shoulder. "Please," he asked. "I can help you." The man turned on him, eyes narrowed with distrust. "Oh really?" Ander's eyes held only truth. "I loved her," he reminded. For a long time the man eyed him up and down. Finally he stuck out his hand and gripped Ander's hand tightly. "I believe, young man, that had you asked and things not turned out such, that I would have been glad to see you court my daughter. My name is Vincent." Ander nodded and smiled. "I'm Ander. I can get you into the building and tell you when the boss will be here." Vincent smiled. "Welcome to the downfall."

The tree on the inside was...enchanting. Every contour and curve of the wood glittered mysteriously and constantly shifted if only imperceptibly. Vincent moved his head around, keeping his eyes wide so that he could see everything. At the head Rufus trailed his hands along the walls, humming softly to himself as if extremely pleased. Bells were strung along the ceiling and as they passed they tinkled softly, welcoming the strangers into the home. They passed through an arch, from which hung long willow branches. The leaves shivered as they touched and clung to them, willing them to stay. They had not been walking long when they came to a large room that stretched upwards for what seemed to be the entire length of the tree. Silvery stairways of massive proportions spiraled and twisted to thousands of doors. What wall space was not occupied by countless doors was filled with tomes of all sizes and colors; golds, scarlets, and purples of autumn, greens and silvers of spring, and the blacks and browns of winter. The house shuddered and a deep rumbling pressed inwards. Rufus raised his head and cast his gaze around. "A storm rages outside." He turned to the travelers. "Your rooms are this way." He led them up a single spiraling staircase to a door that opened at his touch. Inside was a large sitting room; branching off of it were four doors. Rufus bowed them in. "I will be just a call away if ever you need me." * * * * Vincent, washed and dressed in new clothing provided in his room, sat at a strange window. It seemed to be made of either extremely strong glass, or enchanted transparent wood. From without he could see Rufus moving about in the storm, picking up odd ends that were blown about and muttering to himself. On the wind his words could be understood. "Messy, messy," he muttered as he worked. His long fur and mane was blown in the wind, and when he towered up to his full height, Vincent felt a chill run along his spine at the sheer mystical ferocity that hovered in a constant shroud of mystery around the Caracak's body. The night passed in silence, but with little sleep. Laura sat in a large arm chair, her legs drawn up to her chin. In one hand she absently rotated three stones. Myrn lay on a long couch, looking haggard and weary, but he kept his eyes open a crack. Every now and then Dos rose and resoaked the cloth on Myrn's forehead in a basin of black liquid. Vincent stayed at the window, watching the forest outside. The wind whipped branches around and the clouds roiled above in a raging tempest. Rufus had long since disappeared back into the tree, leaving behind him a tall pile of rock. Lying at its base was a small doll, one of the dolls belonging to a child of the now destroyed tower. * * * * Rufus woke them bearing a tray piled high with food. Tea in an elaborate teapot, biscuits and butter, fruit of all colors and shapes, and vegitation that looked as if it had been plucked from the forest this morning, still bedewed. Rufus laid it on a foot rest with an elegant bow. Vincent noted that he was in his human form this morning, eyes a vivid emerald green. The Caracak turned to Vincent. "I did some research last night," he said. "The radiation has been washed away by the storm, and so it is safe to return to the tower. If you feel up to it, it would benefit for you to come with me. There is something there that might help you target your murderer." Vincent swallowed the piece of fruit he had been chewing hard. Fire rose in his chest, but the Caracak blinked at him, melding into his beastly form. "If you ignite in my home," he said deeply, "I will be most displeased." Vincent took a deep breath. "I will go," he said calmly. "And I won't ignite." Rufus smiled. Turning to Dos he gestured at the room. "The entire house is at your disposal. Take care of these two here, we will return shortly." Dos nodded and sat beside Myrn. The haggard man smiled at them. Today he could sit up and even eat a little, but apparently his head still screamed with pain. Rufus, remaining in his faun-ish form, ventured out into the woods with Vincent at his side. They walked in absolute silence, each observing different aspects of the forest. About midday Rufus pointed out a silvery creature in a pool of water. Spotting the two travelers, the womanish figure flashed into the water with a flick of a bescaled tail. It was just after lunchtime when they reached the remains of the tower. Smoke still blackened the sky above, but Rufus was right. The radiations clouds that had turned the air red were now dispersed to a managable level. Rufus placed a hand against the stone of the tower wall, staring up at it. "This way," he beckoned towards the doors. At the foot of the path lay a long scrap of charred cloth. Vincent picked it up and brushed it off. Upon it was a logo of scarlet and white. Vincent narrowed his eyes, heat boiling up in his chest. "I've seen this before," he hissed. "They were supposed to help us. I was the leader of my village at the time. One day strangers came to us in the mountains. They spoke of a new life, of magical technology that would enhance our living. Many of the people wanted it: our farming machines were simply not enough for them anymore. They wanted thinking computers that would calculate the proper dates of planting and harvesting for them. Some did not believe them. My daughter was one who thought so. But the people insisted and so I let them come among us. They did bring marvelous things that made our lives easier...for a time. But then they insisted on payment and portions of crops, and even began drawing our sons and daughters with them for payment." Vincent dashed away tears. "They said we needed to pay them for their help. They almost took my daughter, but I stopped them. I...I killed the man who wanted her. They stopped coming to the village and I thought that would be the end of it, but not long after the clouds came. Nothing would grow and many of our people grew sick and began the long treck into the plains to reach help. I and my daughter stayed. Then the storm broke and everything died. The people moving to the cities were all dead in moments, their bones picked clean by radiation. My daughter died slowly, her body warped." Vincent did not notice that his hands had began to burn. Fire lifted from his back. Rufus watched him solemnly. Vincent clutched the burning cloth tightly in his hands. "But now I know how to find them," he gritted. "They'll pay for what they did to my people...they'll pay for what they did to my daughter." Rufus gently laid a hand on Vincent's shoulder. The fire stilled and Vincent looked up at him with tears on his cheeks. "Was it my fault?" Vincent whispered. Rufus bowed his head. "No," he murmured. "There was nothing you could do.....at the time." Vincent turned and straightened his shoulders. "Now there is. I will find him tomorrow, and at that time my daughter's death will be avenged. Nothing and no one will stand in my way," he vowed. "This I swear." Rufus morphed into human form. "The forest will aid you when you find your man," he promised. "And I have no doubt that your friends will help you. But for now, we must ensure that Myrn does not suffer overlong." The Caracak pulled a silvery, lace-like plant from a pouch at his side. "This will ease his pain. We must return to administer it to him." Vincent allowed Rufus to turn him about and lead him back into the forest.

Kikuyu watched, stunned, as the quick-talking Wyvern disappeared...again. She turned to Degorram with a confused look on her face. "Did Wyvern just ask us to defend clothing?" Degorram's expression was, naturally, identical to Kikuyu's. "Did Wyvern just call us fashion medics?" Kikuyu cracked her knuckles meaningfully. "I agree. We'll kill him later." Degorram scratched her head. "But for now we have to find Orlan's rooms and defend her wardrobe, or something to that effect. What's an Armani shirt?" Kikuyu shrugged and swung her katana back onto her shoulders, wincing as she touched a bruise on her jaw. "I don't know. But I guess we're about to find out. You have a hard head." Degorram poked an egg swiftly beginning to form on her cranium and grimaced. "You have a hard jaw. Lets get moving." Kikuyu and Degorram strolled easily down through the Pen Complex hallways, knocking on doors and asking for directions to Orlan's rooms. With every inquiry there was a pointing towards the east ward; as "high as you could go" were the directions from one rather blue, irritated looking artist, who was, by the way, covered in paint. Kikuyu twitched as the door was slammed in their faces. "I suppose she likes to see the sun, but only at certain hours. It might fade her 'ultra expensive Armani leather covered couches," she growled. "Come on, let's get an elevator." At the top floor the elevator opened to a single foot long stretch of carpet and then there was a door. Apparently Orlan's rooms were a little larger than they had first thought. They had been told that Orlan's rooms were in the east wing. They hadn't been told that Orlan's rooms were the east wing! Tentatively Kikuyu raised a hand to knock on the door, stained glass window compound. Degorram braced herself, glaring at the door. "If anyone starts lecturing me on fashion sense I'll just knock them on the head." Kikuyu crossed her arms, eyeing the door stiffly. The feel of the katana against her back was reassuring, if nothing else was. If something went amiss and they had to break for it this was the only door out, unless there were others scattered across the rooms within. She doubted it. And there weren't likely to be too many windows this high up. They heard hurried footsteps coming towards the door. Both girls, shinobi and shape-shifter, braced themselves for the worst of fashion exuberance as the door began to open...

Kikuyu bristled. "Fart brained yourself! Do you know how long it took me to find you? In the whole Pen complex you had to be here!" Kikuyu turned on Wyvern, in no sweet temper now. "And YOU!" she growled. "Do you know how long it took me to find YOU? I've been everywhere! Why can't you just be in your office when I need you! In all the stormy seas of Oasis ocean, why did you have to go running all over the place?"

Kikuyu ran hard from Scarlet on the ground. She had to find Wyvern in order to find Cerulean. Kikuyu was new and didn't know many of the Pen's inhabitants, but Wyvern was sure to know. All caution and skills thrown to the winds, Kikuyu charged from the library, focusing her mind upon the location of her sister. She had to get help, and fast. The tingling that located her sister turned left, then right, and then left again. She leapt over a park bench, climbed the tower, and bulldozed through a crowd of ninjas trying to stuff themselves into a phone booth. There were various snaps and deflating, and the remaining ninjas chuckled as they stuffed the spandex suits into the phone booth as well. Barely looking where she was going, Kikuyu charged into a complex of private dorms and then up an elevator. She burst into a room and tripped over Wyvern's tail, landing in the dogpile that had only just begun to clean itself up. Somehow Kikuyu ended up underneath all the rest again, with Degorram glaring at her from above, somehow twisted upside-down. Mynx yowled in the background and Wyvern was waving a large fly-swatter in the air. "I was just wondering where you were!" Kikuyu said brightly. "Hey Wyvern, who's Cerulean? Scarlet wants her."

Kikuyu rushed through the Pen complex, searching for the one they called Wyvern. Where was he?! Then it came to her: the Library! He sould be in the Library. Kikuyu slammed through the doors and cast her eyes over the lobby. A chill ran over her spine and she whirled to the left. A ninja in black spandex was hiding tax papers under wastebaskets and yet another was hanging upside-down on the ceiling, pulling faces with its mask. Suddenly it lost its footing and fell on its head with a *snap*, breaking its neck and deflating. Kikuyu threw a shurikan at the next ninja and it deflated as well. I don't have time for this! Kikuyu thought as she hurried towards the library. Where was Wyvern? She hesitantly called out his name, but the eaves of the Library shushed her soundly and she inched forward in silence, mortified. To the hissed at by the very building...she must have been yelling loudly. As she entered the doors Kikuyu paused. There was a tome on the table nearest the doors, lying open. It looked something like a dictionary. Claw marks dented the pages recently and there was a faint smell...like Dragonic Cologne...Wyvern had been here. Kikuyu moved forward hesitantly and flipped through it. A pest book of some kind...it had everything from silverfish, soot-sprites, jumping spiders, class-clowns, and talk-show hosts. She was trying to read an article on "Realtors", but a strange buzzing and tapping combination was irritating her. She looked up to find where the noise was coming from and saw a ninja hanging over her head, buzzing at her and tapping on the ceiling. When her gaze fell upon it, it scuttled backwards in an impressive display of ceiling walking. But when it got to the wall it slipped and broke its neck, deflating. Kikuyu looked all around the library now. It was infested with ninjas! Pulling out and resorting the index cards backwards, so that A was at F and Q was at L and X was at B...it would take forever to clean this up! Other ninjas were dumping the fake potted plants on the ground and then smearing the dirt with their leafy tops. The library cat, named Cat, hissed visciously at them from under a desk. Kikuyu grimaced and hurried past. They needed an exterminator. As she hurried up the stairs, she saw several ninjas rush together carrying a giant globe, only to slide on the dumped potting mix and get crushed under the shape of Asia with several *snap*s. Soon only spandex remained. Kikuyu took the stairs two at a time now, but as she reached the top she paused. There was a creaking of a door ahead, and the portal to an office slowly swung outwards. A foot sounded on the wooden floor of the hall. Someone was coming.

The SandMan His hair hangs long and wavy about his face, dark chocolate brown with caramel glittering in it. His eyes are fathomless depths of black, swirling with the galaxies and stars. He stands with one foot in the darkness and another in the light. Hawkish features are divided in half, shadowed upon the darkness side so that you can barely see them, and luminous on the light side. The sharp line of a jaw rimmed in fire, a strong nose, and above it all his fathomless eyes. In his hands are a set of obsidian weights and a small golden globe with silver lands decorated upon it. His billowing white shirt has many folds in it, and each is filled with trickling sand. The sand is black, as if from a volcano. He is the Sandman, the bringer of dreams. But if you think he stays in one place at all times, in that uncomfortable region between light and dark, you are mistaken. Very often he pulls one foot from the one or the other and places both feet firmly in a single shade. That is where fantasies come from. That is where nightmares come from. It is said he can bee seen on a day in the desert where the sand looks darker with the sun. He sits upon a dune and watches the sky, shimmering in a silver-lined sort of way. Whenever he goes into the desert he is always cloaked in red and he sits cross-legged, barely making his long legs bend. The sand caresses and moves about him as if it knows him, and he stares without blinking at the horizon. Fire does not hurt him, sand cannot harm him. He can turn into sand and dance with the sand-people, and he can go where the dragons are hatched. I will tell you of a time when I saw the Sandman, a time when he pulled one foot from the light and placed both in the darkness, turning to face it so that his face was hidden in shadow. Only his gleaming, fathomless eyes could bee seen then, the galaxies and universes glittering out at me. He sent me a nightmare then. He threw his arms out wide and the globe and weights fell slowly, as if time had turned the air into jelly. I watched them move with frozen breath until they landed in the darkness. All fire seemed to break loose. All of my most horrible memories, my fears and terrors, my haunts and those demons who hang around my head came swarming down upon me. I strove and strove to wake, but to no avail. The Sandman had me in his nightmare. There resided the feeling when you try to wake up before the worst happens, and you cannot. It is a sticky, horrible, gut-wrenching feeling, and it struck me then. And then it was over. I opened my eyes and there he was with his feet in either area. He looked at me with a test in his eyes and then pulled his foot from the darkness and faced the light. All bliss took me and I was floating. It was the perfect dream where nothing is wrong, and you have no sensation of waking up. Magic twined around me and I saw mystical creatures with no name take flight, or run along the ground faster than light, their manes streaming out behind them in gossamer wings of silver. I looked up and the Sandman was standing again evenly distributed between light and dark. And then I woke and was in my own bed again. I looked out my window and there I saw a red-cloaked figure melt into sand, swirling away on a whirlwind, riding the dust-devils.

Kikuyu grinned grimly as she saw her prey come in sight. The ninja in black was leaping across buildings, heading straight for the tower. She pulled out a Shurikan. "Oy! You! Stop right there!" The ninja turned his head to look over at her....and smashed straight into the tower with a *snap*. The ninja fell back and promptly deflated. Kikuyu skidded slowly to a halt and stared blankly at the shriveled mess on the roof before her. The hair on the back of her neck prickled and she felt herself beginning to gape. What the...? Suddenly there was a scuttle behind her. She whirled. At first she thought her eyes were playing bizarre caffien induced tricks on her. There was another one of the pests. And another!!! Soon there were six of the poorly dressed, spandex-ed ninjas before her, all staring. Kikuyu began to feel very disoriented and uncomfortable. "Shoo," she commanded. The ninjas scuttled closer. Kikuyu backed away. "What are you doing?" As one got too close Kikuyu tried to punch it in the face. It gave way with a strangled squeak and a small *snap* and then deflated like a leaky balloon. Kikuyu was definetley seeing things!!! Without a word she leapt around the tower and headed home. She needed sleep, and fast! As soon as she entered her room she knew things were not as they should be. Her entire home...her beautiful room... WAS RUINED!!!!! Her books were rumpled and out of order, lying on the floor, her kettle was on the ground and the stove was turned OFF! Her clothing was torn out of the closet and her weapons were covered in axle grease. She thought she could see bananna peels littering the floor. And there was definetly a loaded whoopie cushion on her chair!!! Her peircing shriek could be heard all over the town. Kikuyu flew through the town, her hair even more unruly because of her restless and very agitated fingers flying through it. Where was Dego? Where was Wyvern? He had to have one of his...what were they, Almost Dragonic somethings to help with this!! Again the image of disarray in her room caused a sob of horror to tear from her throat. Where oh where was Wyvern?

Kikuyu opened her eyes slowly....very slowly. And the look she cast at the door was as baleful as any. Hauling herself from under her very fluffy covers, groaning as she pulled on a netted shirt and ninja shift, she stumbled to the door, her dark hair rumpled from sleep. Some short layered ends on the back of her head stuck straight up from where she had rested against her pillow. She yanked the door open, and almost recieved Degorram's fist in her face. She jerked back, grabbing the inkstained hand and glaring. "What are you doing waking me up at 3 am in the morning, Dego," she hissed dangerously. "I happen to like my sleep, unlike some." Dego glared at her. "I thought you were a ninja: don't you like the nighttime?" Kikuyu's eyes narrowed even more. "I do. When I'm awake" Dego waved a hand dismissively. "Well, you're awake now. You'll want to hear this." Dego shoved past Kikuyu. The still sleepy ninja stood in the door, nodding off again until Dego grabbed her by the shoulder and shut the door. Kikuyu walked into her kitchen barefoot, shivering as her toes touched the cold tile. She poured herself a hot glass of tea from the pot ever ready on her stove. Some thought it stupid to keep the stove running all the time, and considered it a fire hazard. Foolish people. Kikuyu sipped at her steaming beverage and sat down on her bed, fully awake and still very irritated. "Well, I'm awake. Are you going to give me your reason for getting me up at the buttcrack of dawn?" Dego ran her fingers through her hair, as always trying to find the words that would accurately echo her thoughts. Kikuyu rolled her eyes as the seconds dripped past. "Alright," Dego said finally. "I think I saw a ninja outside my window." Kikuyu perked her ears forward. "You think?" Dego cast her sister a whithering glare. "There was a flash grenade. Anyway, it could be a rogue. Whoever it was just slammed into a roof and then disappeared." Kikuyu rubbed her chin. "There have been other sightings...strange ninjas running amok and causing trouble." She grimaced. "At first one of the Elders came and asked me if I was the one who had stolen his I *heart* Wyvern mug." Dego's eyes widened but Kikuyu waved her off. "Don't ask me why he would have it. I think it has something to do with the Mythical I Wyvern Club." Kikuyu stood and moved over to her huge window. It practically consumed her farthest wall and she stretched her arms above her head as she gazed out of it, her back muscles writhing. "If there are rogue ninjas out there," she hissed, "I'll find them." When Dego had gone, Kikuyu pulled on her clothing. Slowly, carefully, she wrapped her left arm and her legs from knees to calves. She tied her headband about her bicep and pulled a vest over her netted shirt. Buckling on her belt of shurikan and strapping a katana to her back, she opened her window and crept out, still barefoot. For stealth missions close to home, what kind of shoes were needed? The night was still, only a faint breeze stirring the few trees that scattered the Pen Complex. It's slithering, hissing noise emulated that of a faraway river, and the moon was large and silver against the navy sky. Kikuyu rolled her shoulders, further awakening her body from the deep, unconscious recesses of her sleep. And then in a flash she had leapt from the ceiling. She landed in the branches of a tree, eyeing her surroundings. And she waited. It didn't take long. Far off across the city, near the Library and Banquet Hall a flash of blinding white light reached to the sky and then was gone. With a grunt Kikuyu lifted herself into the air with a shove of her legs and bounded across the complex, hugging the shadows, eyes never blinking as she hunted her prey. Another flash kept her on her course. Then a crash as if a trashcan had been overturned. Soon the signs led her to a dead end. Kikuyu stood in the only exit, peering up at the five story buildings that made up the walls around her. No way out there: the walls were too far apart for jumping and the surfaces to slick for climbing. So where was... A shurikan almost buried itself in her face as it whipped past her. Only supreme reflexes and a high of caffein allowed her to step aside in time, recieving only a small scratch. She looked up to see a ninja standing imperiously on the top of the wall, staring down at her with a mischevious glare. Facial features were hidden by a mask, but his eyes gleamed with wicked, introverted laughter. Kikuyu shot forward. She grinned gimly: let her dazzle this amateur with her skills! Her bare feet found crevaces in the walls that no boot could find. Easily and smoothly she skipped up the wall and pulled herself up, landing on her feet easily, holding out her hands in readiness for combat. A small, eager smile twisted her pale features as she glared at the ninja before her. She drew her katana and held it behind her. The ninja lifted his hand and threw something at his feet. Instinctively Kikuyu narrowed her eyes so as not to be blinded by another flash grenade, but this time the suffocating hiss of gass exploded in her ears. Kikuyu leapt away swiftly, searching for the again hidden ninja. She sighed. Imature little rat...this was going to be a long, long night.

Dos led them deep into the forest. Vincent could not keep his eyes wide enough, exhausted though he was mentally and physically. Huge trees towered above their heads, spreading their large arms over and up to reach the now hidden sun. The moon slanted through lace-like leaves that danced in a faint breeze. Vincent jumped as a clanking, tinkling sound clattered above his head. Some wayward child had tied a hand-made wind chime of shells, shiny pebbles, and metal spoons to the branches above. He shivered slightly as the ghostly toy knocked against itself as the breeze caught its ends. They moved on. The sound of a waterfall roared faintly in the distance and soon Dos led them along a trickling rivulet, obviously headed towards the bigger stream that would turn into a river to plunge from the cliff in a staggering spectacle of ferocious water. A jewel feathered bird peeped as they passed, his long beak tucked under one wing, but his glowing eye watching them unblinkingly. Again Vincent hastily kept his eyes towards the path, shifting Myrn to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. Then Dos paused, lifting his head to glance up at a patch of stars through a peak between tree branches. He sniffed quietly, turning his head as if listening. "We are being followed," he whispered. Vincent felt a flame of fear (in his case a literal flame) spark deep in his chest. "Followed?" he whispered hoarsely. "By whom?" Dos shook his head. "Not sure. We'd best keep moving until we find a good place to ambush them." Vincent nodded and began to continue. Quick as lightning a shadow flashed out of the trees, slamming into Vincent and knocking Myrn from his grasp. He fell heavily to the ground with a cry and Vincent stumbled. The shadow grabbed him and, with inhuman strength, flashed through the trees again. Dos screamed his name and Laura disappeared with a pop, and then all Vincent could see were flashing leaves. Suddenly crashing to their left made the figure pull up, but not quickly enough. A huge thing charged bull-like with head lowered out of the bushes and caught the shadow in the chest, heaving him up and over to go flying into the trunk of another tree. The creature turned, threw the figure on the ground, and straddled him, sitting firmly on his chest with his hooves planted in the shadow's neck. Vincent did a double take as he caught his breath. Hooves? The creature stared at him with large, black, liquid eyes. His face was equine and black furred, with long wisps of hair drooping from his chin and large, backward curving ears. Slender, elegant horns curved back from his head and he had a long mane of silvery hair. His arms were like that of a man, but also furred. His hands were long fingered and slender with sharp nails. A vest of what looked to be leaves draped around his shoulders. From below he looked to be made of tree: lichen, bark, twisting wood, and then at his calves he was furred again and his cloven hooves were dark as obsidian and seemed to be causing the man below him severe discomfort. "What?" he asked in a deep, resonating voice. "Something on my face?" Vincent shook his head. The creature picked casually at its ear. "Some consider it rude to stare." Dos appeared through the trees, supporting Myrn and leading Laura. He looked triumphant as he looked at the strange forest man before him. "I thought it was you!" The creature snorted. "Who else? Do you care to take this man off my hooves? He's not comfortable to sit on." Dos leaned Myrn against a tree and walked up to the man. He placed a foot on his chest and the creature stood, towering up to seven feet. From that angle Vincent could tell that what had seemed to be bark and moss before were really his clothing. Dos pressed down on the kidnapper's chest. "Alright then," he hissed. "Show yourself." The man reached up and pulled off his cowl. He grinned. "Confused as to what happened to your tower? Thought you might be. My superior here is very interested in him." He jerked a thumb Vincent's way and grinned again. "It's all his fault. Might as well just hand him over anyway. Even if you kill me he'll get him. No one stands in his way when he wants something. He's very picky like that." Dos stared at him in silence. "You maggot," he whispered. "I won't stoop to killing you." He pulled the ninja over to a tree and lashed him there soundly. "So I'll let the forest do it for me." The ninja paled but grinned. "You think this will hold me?" Dos tapped it and it seemed to solidify into concrete. "It will now!" The ninja shrieked in rage and writhed against his bonds, ripping his clothing and bloodying his chest and arms. Dos turned away and beckoned for the rest to follow him. Vincent, unnerved and angry, stumbled as he helped Myrn to his feet but followed all the same. Laura chewed her lip and covered her ears against the man's raging as they passed. The strange forest creature stood and tromped over to the man. Vincent could not see what he did, but he heard a large smack. The shrieking stopped. Vincent turned and the tree seemed to be shifting back into place and sighing. The man was gone, and the forest creature was turning to follow them, his large eyes fixed upon Vincent. They stopped when they finally came upon the waterfall they had heard for miles. The creature stretched and shrugged off his vest and plunged into the water, his long mane spreading in the pool and becoming stained with the iridescent blue of the liquid and the gold of the moon. Vincent sat down, unable to keep his eyes off of the thing's hooves. "I told you already it is rude to stare!" Vincent snapped out of his revere. "Sorry," he grimaced. The creature squeezed the water out of its mane between its dexterous hands. "I suppose you've never seen a Caracak before." Vincent eyed the creature up and down. "A Cara-what?" The Caracak bowed. "Rufus, at your humble service. This is just one of my many forms. Most common: it's useful for moving around the forest, but don't be alarmed if I change here and there." Suddenly there was a flash of green and silver leaves and a fair faced man was sitting next to him. "Like this!" Vincent yelped and fell off of his seat. Rufus laughed and his face lengthened and furred again, his horns sprouted and he shook himself as his full transformation solidified. "Not all science has to be separate from fantasy," he chided. "Don't act so surprised, when you yourself are gifted with slightly non-scientific abilities." Vincent scowled and dusted his pants off. "A genetic anomaly," he insisted. The creature gestured at himself. "Some genetic anomaly," he agreed. Vincent turned to Dos. "You know this...thing?" Dos smiled as Rufus wrinkled his nose at being referred to as 'thing'. "He's helped us many a time. Sometimes my students entered these woods for training. He has provided shelter before; he can help us now. I would be grateful, he could just let you sleep outside. The trees are usually quiet, but they can be mischievous." Vincent glanced up at the titans around them. "Mischievous?" Rufus inspected his nails, chewing at one experimentally. "They like to move around you and pin you in, or perhaps sit on your head. If you're not of the forest they can be particularly nasty, like sending the bugs of their innards out to visit. That one's never pleasant, nor is it when they take you to their roots." He shuddered. "I did that once. Never again!" Vincent still shivered at the sight of this wood monster, this Caracak. He had lived in a humble home before all of this started. Now he could 'bend' fire, was sought after by a malignant, petty someone, and was spending time in a moving, thinking forest with a creature who looked like it had just jumped out of one of the fantasy novels his daughter had so loved. He winced inwardly at the thought and shoved it away. Rufus sniffed at him. "You smell funny. Like...fire and sorrow. Usually the two don't mix: sorrow is too wet." Vincent blanched as the creature's very foresty scent wafted towards him. "You're a pansy yourself." Dos looked up at the sky as Laura yawned and Myrn's head nodded again. "It will be day soon. Rufus, are you going to bring your house or are you going to argue all night?" Rufus stood, towering higher and sniffed again. "Hasty, hasty," he grumbled. He stomped towards the clearing. Vincent stood to follow but Dos motioned him down. "Watch." Not long after Rufus arrived again carrying a silver-red seed in the shape of a heart. The Caracak dug deeply into the moist earth at the center of the huge clearing and planted it deep. He then brought a handful of water and sprinkled it over it, and then picked a silvery hair from his mane and placed it in the ground. "Rufus, Rufus, Rufus," he muttered, then stepped back hastily. There was a groaning noise, and then a sprout burst from the ground. It thickened and thrust upwards at speeds unprecedented, turning into a tree that towered high above the forest canopy and was thicker around than many of the buildings Vincent had seen. In comparison, the huge Rufus looked like a tiny creature of insignificance. More of the little hand-made wind chimes dangled from its branches and Rufus leaned against it proudly. A lovely door appeared in the trunk. "Home," he chuckled. Dos nudged Vincent and grinned. "Home really is where his heart is." Still gaping and blinking hard from what he had seen, Vincent followed Rufus, Dos, Myrn, and Laura into the huge tree.

****** go to other descriptions, if anyone can tell me how to delete this, please help******

I saw a movie this thanksgiving break that I thought was marvelous, artful, and thoughtful. It's called The Fountain. It is a story that you have to see to understand: it begins with a flashback, and as the story progresses, you understand what is happening. The graphics and detail and culture were amazing. While slightly vague, the images and plot line were well developed. I don't know if anyone else who will read this post has seen the movie, or if you will in the future. All I can say is that I give it a 9 out of 10. The story centers around the fountain of youth, but in this case it's a tree: if you drink the tree's sap you will, in theory, live forever. Queen Isabella of Spain sends her conquistador out to find it in the Myan ruins. The whole leged is that the Myan's god sacrificed himself to create the world. His arms and legs (if I remember this rightly) became the world and his heart became the tree and his head formed the nebula (dying star to those who do not know) that is their afterworld. The story then flips back and forth between two other times: a doctor who is trying to discover how to stop the growth of tumors while his wife writes a story about The Fountain, and a man in a bubble-like space craft with a large tree, heading upwards into the Myan after world. I dare not say much more for fear of giving away the tale, so you'll just have to go see it yourself. Some language and 'other' scenes (beginning of) involved. But on the whole a movie for the wish list.

The man in darkest clothing stood on the hill watching the tower of the freaks. He raised a gloved hand and looked up at it. There, behind the spread fingers, the sky was turning dark with storm clouds. He smirked: let them all know the ire of his master. The dark clouds loomed, fragments of red glowing from the boiling innards. Lightning and fire struck at the ground as the fury was let loose. Smoke poured from the storm and huge winds were whipped upwards. The first fireball hit the tower. And all chaos was let loose. * * * * Myrn collapsed to his knees with a scream of agony, holding his head in his hands. Vincent tried to gain his balance as the tower rocked wildly, explosions making his ears ring. Screams began to echo from the depths of the tower, and smoke started to pour into the hall. Vincent looked out the nearest window and gaped. Huge black clouds were thundering their way towards the tower, fireballs spewing from their inner depths and lightning striking the ground. No, no no! It was a dejavou from his worst nightmares. Vincent grabbed Myrn by the arm and hauled him to his feet, hurrying with him towards the aviary. The birds around them shrieked in panic and Vincent dropped Myrn, picking up a potted plant. With a heave he sent it through the glass window. A stream of birds began to pour out of the opening to escape utter destruction. For a moment Vincent was frozen: in that glass room it was impossible not to see the giant size of destruction around them. Bending and grabbing Myrn, he dragged him towards the door. When he burst through the opening, Kato was standing staring out of the window behind him, watching the clouds come their way. "Kato!" he screamed. "What are we going to do?" The man did not look his way. "Get them out. Get everyone out. I will handle it." Vincent stared in horror. "But..." "There isn't much time. Go." With a curse Vincent picked Myrn off the ground and ran back through the aviary. Kato watched him with a hollow gaze. Wordlessly he turned back to stare at the clouds. He pressed a button on the wall and the glass of the window moved away, leaving him bare and open to the elements. "Come on then," he growled. "Come and get me." * * * * Vincent stumbled under Myrn's dead weight, gasping as he joined the throng of screaming youngsters. Over the throng he could see Dos' tall height directing everyone towards the exit. Vincent struggled towards him. "Where's Laura?" he yelled over the torrent of noise. Dos shrugged, his eyes revealing the barely controlled madness inside of him. He pointed to the crowd, leaning close to Vincent. "Get them out," he yelled, repeating Kato's order. "I'm going to go find her." Before Vincent could say anything the man had swirled on his heel and disappeared. Vincent shrugged Myrn higher on his shoulder and started yelling. "Ok, get out of here! Get to the entrances; make it as smooth as possible!" * * * * Kato slowly began to lift his arms. Stones of rubble around him began to rise up in the air; his hair began to lift of its own accord, flowing as if in water. The frame of wood around him began to shake, tearing loose and floating upwards on the current. Power snapped around him. The tower shook with the impact of the storm, but it did not affect Kato. With a scream, his face twisting with the effort, he pushed the power at the cloud. A shock wave unlike any Vincent had ever felt knocked everyone off their feet. Dos appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him. And then Vincent, Myrn, and Dos weren't anywhere. * * * * Vincent sat and stared, his face pale and soot streaked. The once white tower glowed red hot, crumbling, wreathed with black clouds. Rubble continued to fall from the walls. The dome was shattered, as well as the glass dwelling room at the top. The clouds continued to spew fire and lightning, swirling slower and slower as the storm abated. Dos stood with his arms crossed as he watched. His face was drawn and tight. "None of them made it out. Not even Kato." Myrn lay unconscious on the ground. He still had not recovered from whatever fit had taken him. Dos had explained it to him. "Myrn hears the emotional and mental state of everyone around him. When terror and pain in such a cacophony hit him, he could not withstand it. It was about the equivalent of being hit in the head with a sledge-hammer." It had happened again. Those he had grown to love had been destroyed by this...thing. This cloud, this storm was not natural. It stayed fixed around its designation. And now an entire tower of people had been killed. His voice shaking, Vincent turned and asked the question he didn't want to know the answer to. "Laura?" Dos swallowed hard and shook his head. "It's possible she made it out. But I could not find her." Suddenly footsteps crashed through the trees behind them. Dos whirled, ready to do battle. And then he stood in lax amazement. Out of the trees had come Laura. She looked wild with terror and she shivered as if freezing, when it was as hot as a desert. Staggering, she collapsed into Dos' arms and began to sob uncontrollably. Dos tried to comfort her, tears streaming down his own cheeks. Vincent closed his eyes. Never again would he be able to comfort his Laura. He had not been able to protect her like he was supposed to. He had failed. He cast aside his sorrows. "Come; we have to get away from here before the radiation rises." As they walked, Vincent rubbed his forehead. "You should not stay with me," he muttered. "This destruction follows me wherever I go." Dos eyed him silently. "Kato trusted you," he said. "I trust you." Laura caught Vincent's gaze with her own and nodded. "And for the record," a hoarse voice added, "I trust you too." Vincent looked over his shoulder to see Myrn smiling faintly, his eyes still closed. "How are you doing?" "I've been better," he whispered. "I won't mind if you continue carrying me: I can't feel my legs right now." Dos gestured ahead. "I know a place where we can stay. It's safe." Silently, the bedraggled survivors made their way into the forest. * * * * The man in darkest clothing watched them from a treetop. He glanced back at the destroyed tower. Smirking, he leapt from the tree and followed them. He would move tonight, and his master would have his reward. Yes, Vincent was indeed too valuable to kill.

Vincent was dragged along the grounds in a throng of screaming, whooping youngsters. I'm getting too old for this... he thought vaguely. They came to a large sand pit. It was about the size of a large pool, the sand raked in curves and circles. In the center at angles to each other and spread apart by intervals of ten feet were huge boulders. Long wooden poles were embedded into the center of each boulder and protruded upwards six feet. Dos pulled himself from the group, towering over all the others, and pushed down lightly on his feet. The next moment he was standing on the ball of one foot atop the tip of a pole, his other foot pressed against his thigh. He crossed his arms across his chest, raising one eyebrow. "Shall we begin?" he asked coolly. Myrn took Vincent by the shoulder. "It's a form of 'King of the Hill'," he explained. "Not only do you have to balance, but you also have to try to knock him over using only your abilities." Vincent eyed the space in between rocks. No kidding... He jumped feebly. Scattering of muffled laughter echoed behind him. He gritted his teeth in frustration; his anger sparked heat in his chest. He grinned, drawing on that heat. He pushed it under his feet. Slowly, wobbling, he rose up to the pole. Someone down in the group whooped. Dos' eyes glittered. "So you do have some talent," he commented. "Let's see how well you control it!" Vincent suddenly felt a huge gust of wind push against his shoulders. He pin-wheeled wildly and forced a gust of heat against his back. He lurched forward and wavered. Finally he regained his balance. Dos took a flying leap from one pole to another, landing on his fingertips, and then pushed off so that he was on the opposite side of the pit. Vincent slowly turned to face him, tense with concentration. A ghost of a smile crossed Dos' pale lips. "Impressive." He raised an arm. "Now let my tempest blow out your spark!" This time Vincent could see the force rushing at him. Sand was kicked up and formed into a whirling tornado. Vincent braced himself; with panic he tried to pull fire from his body and into the air, but in his haste it slipped from his fingers. A hand of air shoved him in the chest and he toppled. He was falling, but a glove caught him and began to bring him down. Startled, Vincent turned his head and saw Laura with her hand upraised, guiding him back to the ground. She turned and hid in the crowd when his feet were level. Dos hopped down easily and slapped Vincent on the back. "You have good control, that is for sure, but it isn't perfect. I'll enroll you in my class. I wouldn't want to see that potential go to waste." He turned away and swaggered towards the main building. Vincent turned to Myrn, disgruntled. "I have to take a class with him? For what?" Myrn grinned. "That was a test to measure your power and control, which, if I may say so, is better than any beginner I've ever seen." Suddenly the mind-reader's eyes twinkled. "And you won't be taking a class with Dos. You'll be taking it from him." Vincent gaped. "You mean...that youngster..." "Yes," Myrn chuckled. "That youngster is a class 5 elemental. He'll be your teacher." * * * * After lunch Laura approached Vincent. She brushed a tendril of hair behind her ear and looked at him solemnly. "Dos' class starts soon. I'll show you where it is." Without a word Vincent followed her. She led him to the very bottom of the building, below ground. As soon as the doors opened Vincent felt as if he had stepped into space. The walls were glittering with clocks that steadily ticked. The sky was black and dappled with tiny lights, and the bones of several large flying creatures hung suspended from the ceiling, as did twirling models of planets and solar-systems. Comfy looking chairs and bean-bags were settled along the floor and a desk was at the front. The room was empty. Laura took a seat in a blue bean-bag at the front. "I like to get here early," she said. "So you have time to look around if you want." Vincent nodded and moved along to a bookshelf. There were huge tomes and novels with words he couldn't even describe printed along their bindings. Through the silence pervaded the steady tick-ticking of the clocks. A large cat was stretched across an arm chair behind the desk, its dark grey fur looking much like a storm cloud. Luminous lightning-yellow eyes surveyed him with interest and the creature had huge ears with tiny whiskers at the edges. Along his sides were jagged black stripes and he flicked a tail that was tufted in fire. Vincent stepped forward in wonder. "That's a Fire-Lynx," Laura explained, noticing his interest. "His name is Ralz. Dos belongs to him." Vincent cast Laura a questioning glance, but she was looking down at her hands, where she was making a tiny pebble caught from outside float along her palm. Slowly other students began to trickle in, finding seats and staring at him. Soon the room was almost full. Dos came in through a side door that Vincent had not noticed, his long legs carrying him swiftly to his desk. "Everyone find you seats." His voice resounded throughout the small room that looked larger than it really was. When Dos looked up, his eyes immediately fell on Vincent. "Student Vincent, take your seat." Vincent frowned. "I'd prefer to stand." Dos' eyes flashed and some of the other students gasped. One chuckled and shook his head. Another seemed about ready to dive for cover under his bean bag. When Dos spoke again, his voice was cold and soft, but Vincent could hear him clearly. "While you are a student in my class, Vincent, you will take your seat. And I assure you that if you wish to fulfill your dreams of vengeance you will need my class. Sit down!" Vincent slowly folded himself into a beanbag, scowling. Dos turned and scanned the rest of the room with his eyes. "Now that we are all settled..." Chuckles scattered across the room, and Vincent's scowl deepened. Dos smiled. "Power control. Using your abilities to the fullest extent without destroying yourself or making yourself look the fool. Learning where they come from and what to do with them. In Vincent's case here they come from a strange anomaly in his DNA, giving him the power to bend fire and heat at his will. I myself can bend time and wind. Tadataka over there can make animals obey his every whim and turn into them at will. We are all very different. Come with me." The class stood and followed Dos through the door opposite the one he had first come through. They stepped into a dark room. A pool of light shone at the center. "I want everyone to show us something they can do," Dos called. "Anything at all. We'll start with Vincent." Vincent felt his hair prickle. Was Dos harassing him for his insubordination earlier? He felt silly obeying this young man. But, not wanting another confrontation, he stepped into the pool of light. All eyes were on him. What should he do? Vincent sighed and looked straight at Dos. He let his anger and frustration fill him with hot wrath and let it pour out of him. He deliberately probed at the sore, dark spot in his heart. Fire blossomed from his hands and skin, it lined his body. His eyes began to glow with heat and he bared his teeth in frustration. He wanted to send it flying anywhere. But with a deep gasp he sucked it back in. He blinked and his eyes turned back to their normal shade. Without a word he moved back to the group. Inwardly he sighed with relief that he hadn't just stood there like a fool and nothing had happened. As the others went, Vincent sank into himself and tried to regain his calm. He was still panting with rage, blowing through his nose. Dimly he saw the lanky young boy called Tadataka turn from a horse to a lion to a snake. Laura sank into the ground and back again, then caused her pebble to float around the room like a mini satellite. Another boy twisted and stretched around himself. A girl arched her back and spikes protruded from her skin, and as she raised her hands the rocks beneath them began to shake. In two hours the class was dismissed. But as Vincent was leaving the room, Dos grabbed his wrist. "I have homework for you, Student Vincent," he said, eyes flashing again. Vincent swallowed, feeling like this was very unfair. But he kept his wits about him, like a good adult should, and turned to face his teacher. Dos handed him a book. "I want this read by the end of the week," he instructed. "It will help you later on." He clasped Vincent's shoulder and walked away. Vincent turned and watched him walk towards the back of the room. Dos stopped Laura as she prepared to leave and his expression became concerned. They spoke briefly and then Dos nodded to her and stepped away again. Vincent waited for Laura to catch up. "What was that about?" Laura ducked her head. "Nothing," she muttered tonelessly. She looked at the book in his hands. "Oh, you're reading that?" Vincent grimaced. "Homework." Suddenly Myrn appeared from out of nowhere beside them. "Kato's calling," he said, looking at Vincent. "He says they have a lead." Vincent cast Laura one last glance, shoved the book into her hands, and sprinted off with Myrn.

I was just flipping through some of your stuff. The mouse story was very nice: I'm all about giving things a chance, and I hate it when people kill animals (bugs and snakes mostly) just because they are afraid of them. So bravo *claps hands* Then I found your post about your friend who had cancer. The poem really meant something to me: I have experience of what cancer can do to the family who have to watch their loved one suffer (I can't imagine what it has to be like for the one suffering. Trust in God has to keep their spirits up). My grandmother, my mom's mom, died just last year of it. But even through it all she kept her bright sense of humor and joyful spirit. I want to thank you for posting that; even though it has been a year I found it encouraging. Keep on writing: these are great! -Kikuyu

With a wave of Kato's smooth hand, Vincent was dismissed. Myrn took him by the arm and led him out through the aviary and farther down the plush hallway. Soon they came to a door on the end. A key, silver and elaborate, hung beside the knob. Myrn took it off and opened the door. Inside lay a lovely little cove of a room. "This will be where you stay. I'll bid you goodnight and come for you in the morning." Vincent nodded a sharp thanks, only wishing to get into the room and be alone. Myrn eyed him solemnly for a moment before he nodded in return and swaggered away down the hall. Don't feel alone, Vincent, a smooth voice echoed through his head. You do happen to have friends here. Vincent shook his head, grimacing, and closed the door behind him. He looked around him. In the corner were a comfy looking bed and a little bed-side table. A lamp illumined the room with a soft, tender glow. A few impersonal pictures of mountains hung along the walls. A desk with a laptop and several other electronic goodies sat beside it, along with shiny pens and stacks of white paper. Vincent shivered and shrugged out of his coat. He had no belongings to fill the dresser across from the window. He opened the drawers out of habit and was startled to find several clean, silken white shirts and a few black folded there. He opened another drawer and there were black slacks, some with buckles for (he could only guess) blades, some without. He closed the drawers and sat down on the bed. For a moment, Vincent just stared at the blank wall in front of him. The entire room was decorated warmly, with everything he might need in it. But it held no warmth. Slowly, afraid of what he would find, Vincent probed inwards. He had to find it... But it was not there. Now he realized. The cold that had consumed him began to thaw. Where the place for his daughter had used to be in his heart was now a dark, empty hole. She was gone. And now, slowly, he let the tears fall. A roaring noise filled his head; he could not see for the liquid in his eyes. He placed his face in his hands and began to sob brokenheartedly. She was not coming back. Suddenly a tender finger touched his cheek. Vincent looked up. There was the girl from the elevator who had run. She looked at a tear suspended upon her finger. Slowly it pulled from her skin and began to float upwards. The girl followed it with her eyes. Or perhaps the drop followed her gaze. "Why are you crying?" Her voice was husky and hesitant, as if it were itself used to crying out with inner pain. "Who hurt you?" Vincent swallowed hard and wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I don't know. But they took someone from me." The girl slowly stood. Even on her feet she was not as tall as Vincent sitting. She clasped her hands together. "I am sorry." She turned. Vincent's eyes fixed on her back. From her shoulder blades protruded brilliantly white wings. Without another word she stepped through the wall and disappeared. * * * * Heat swarmed around Vincent's body. Thunder roiled through the air: the bombs had come again. He screamed, searching for his daughter. "Laura!" he screamed, feeling as if his throat would tear with the force and the heat. "Laura!" The thunder grew louder, filling his ears. He was going to die... Vincent sat up straight in bed, drenched in sweat, eyes wide. Someone was pounding upon his door. "Vincent, open up!" Myrn's voice bellowed. Vincent whirled out of bed and scrambled to open the door. When it was open Myrn stood there, his fist still raised, eyes wild with worry. "Your thoughts were red and..." he swallowed. "You were dreaming?" Vincent stared at him for a moment before nodding. Myrn took a step back. "I can't imagine what you went through," he stated honestly. "But come on and get dressed or you'll miss breakfast." Vincent went into the bathroom and rinsed the sweat from his body. When he was dry he pulled on a new white shirt from the drawer and some crisp black pants. He followed Myrn out into the hall. On a lift again, Myrn took them to the highest level in the tower. When the doors opened, Vincent could not keep his mouth from dropping. It was even larger than the hall below them with the dome. The walls and ceiling were made of glass, and all around you could see for miles. Sun glittered off of jeweled trees below, and in the distance Vincent could see the blue of a lake. He shivered as he looked around. Thankfully, the south where his homeland had used to be was covered by the wall with the elevators. Hundreds of people were moving along a huge white table that curved through the middle of the room. Food was piled upon it, and then small circular or long wooden tables were set along the windows so that people could eat with friends and groups and enjoy the day. As he watched, Vincent saw two twins with heaping plates of food make their way towards a huge group of people in the corner. They roared a greeting as they arrived and the twins began setting down plate...after plate...after plate, all from the same two plates they carried. Myrn grinned at Vincent. "I hope you're hungry." The mind-reader led Vincent along the table. Every kind of food Vincent could imagine was here. Vincent, at first hesitantly, but then with greater eagerness, filled his plate beside Myrn. When Vincent wondered how much more food he could fit on his stuffed plate, the table ended and Myrn led him over to a quieter area of the room where two tables were drawn together. The girl who had walked through the walls in his room was there, eyeing him shyly, moving her scrambled eggs around in circles. A young man who looked something like a punk with piercings above his right eyebrow and tattoos slashing across the left side of his face drank water from a clear glass, studying him. He gestured at Vincent, but addressed Myrn. "Who's the noob, psych?" Myrn raised his eyebrows but smiled. "This is Vincent. He's a Fire-Weaver. I wouldn't make him mad if I were you." The punk grinned and bowed from the waist down. "Well then I have no problems, do I?" He snapped his fingers and refilled his glass. "Water beats fire every time." Before he had even realized it, Vincent had sent a tiny puff of hot air the punk's way. The water evaporated from the glass before he could drink it. The other occupants of the table roared with laughter and the punk grinned ruefully. "You and I'll have to spar sometime," he chuckled. "Name's Kida." He pointed a fork at the quiet wall-walking girl from before. "That's Laura..." Vincent stiffened and looked up at the girl. His daughter's name echoed around in his head. She kept her eyes on her plate. She seemed to know that he was suddenly tense. "...and that's Dos." Vincent pulled his brain back to the present and looked where Kida was pointing. A very, very lanky man with wavy dark hair was eyeing him with large, fathomless eyes and smiling. He leaned forward and offered a hand. "Pleased to meet you," he said in a deep, rich tone. Vincent took his hand and shook it. "Likewise." He turned to his food and began to eat, listening and cataloguing while he filled his stomach. He had not realized how hungry he was: he hadn't had anything proper to eat since, well, before the...accident. He forced his mind away from the subject. Kida pushed his empty plate away. He looked out at the sky beyond. "So...who's up for a game of Sahdhe?" Dos rolled his eyes. "I always win, Kida." Kida grinned. "I know, but Vincent here hasn't played it before. Come on, it'll be fun to see how the noob makes out." Vincent glanced suspiciously among them. "What are you getting me into-" Kida leapt over the table and grabbed his wrist. The rest followed as the punk dragged Vincent out of the room, cheering. Vincent looked over his shoulder. "Myrn! Help me!" Myrn laughed and followed, shrugging. "They want to see how you play. I wish you luck!" "BUT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SAHDHE IS!" Vincent roared. The group herded him out of the hall and crushed him into an elevator, still protesting. Myrn, laughing, hopped in before the doors closed. * * * * Kato watched from his large window as Vincent was pushed towards the training grounds; he massaged his throat thoughtfully. Behind him Lynx eyed a bird in a cage, watching its every movement with cat-like precision. Kato sighed. "It really is a pity," he mused. "Parent's aren't supposed to bury their children..." Lynx, still staring at the bird, nodded absently. "Yeah...I totally agree..." Kato turned on him, frowning. "You aren't even listening. And stop staring at my bird!" Lynx's eyes whipped to Kato's face, a guilty look creeping into his eyes. "Sorry Kato, I just can't help myself..." Kato waved a hand in dismissal. "I know you can't, don't explain yourself to me. But if you want a bird, go out and catch one where I can't see you." Lynx bowed and left, a new spring in his step. Kato turned back and looked out of his window. "Who are you Vincent?" he murmured. "What are you looking for other than vengeance?" * * * * In the dark...a shadow...sitting upon a throne. Before him crouched a subordinate. "Your plan has been carried out sire," the crouching man hissed. "All were killed...but..." "But what?" a rich, commanding voice demanded. "Who was it?" "A man named Vincent." The man pulled a picture from his shirt. "Apparently a strange anomaly in his DNA caused a chain reaction. He is now at the refuge for the Mythicals and other such freaks." The commander pulled the picture back into the shadows. Burning eyes could be seen, surveying the strong, hawk-like features before him. "And the others, you are sure they are dead?" "He buried his own daughter sir." A cold chuckle filled the air. "That is clever indeed. Even I had not foreseen this change of events. See to it that he does not know who it was that did this. I would not have him coming and disrupting my plans with unnecessary disturbances. You know what to do." The man stood and bowed, a long Katana at his hip. "I will sire," the ninja grinned. "That is, after all, my job."

I could not have stated it any better myself. Most well done *bows lavishly, flourishing large hat with gigantic plume that poofs into air on command* I have had many an experience (not to myself of course) that when I am peacefully doing my buisness there is a loud flush and an even louder and rather annoyed sounding expletive nearby. How unfortunate. Again, bowing in your general direction. -Kikuyu

A young girl had her nose stuck in a book, lying in a wheel-barrow under a tree in her yard. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and scratched her nose. The wind played with the leaves above her head and she smiled. Suddenly a huge gust of wind blasted past her, ripping at the pages to her book. She sat up, startled, and looked to the sky. Storm clouds had suddenly roiled across the sky and then a whirlwind of leaves boiled past her. She covered her face against the slaps of the foliage, and between her fingers she thought she saw the faces of two men. She lowered her hands as the trees tumbled away from her, falling over each other, rising up on the currents of the wind and falling back down. They were gone in a heartbeat. * * * * Lights circled around him. What sounded like the singing of thousands of birds filled his ears, and the sound of chimes rattled through Vincent's head. Places whipped by, faces and humans, but they were a whirlwind that was unrecognized as two semi-humans flying past. A calm part in his mind noticed he was screaming, and, startled, he stopped. Almost as soon as he stopped, so did they. They stopped spinning and Vincent found himself falling. But no, Myrn still clutched his arm and they were gliding down towards a huge building with a silvery-blue dome. A huge, spiraling tower jutted past them out of the clouds and Myrn banked sharply to avoid it. He set them down gently in front of the doors. "Don't ever do that to me again!" Vincent gasped. Myrn smiled faintly and gestured to the door. "Shall we go in?" Myrn pushed the doors open and they entered a huge hall. The dome above sparkled and refracted the light, giving the white marble beneath them a sapphire hue. In the center of the hall was a fountain with a statue at the middle. Vincent gazed at it as he passed. A tall man with a fierce gaze stared forward, his hair spiked and mussed. He was dressed in a long duster, and he was preparing to unsheathe a long sword at his side. Vincent thought it looked mildly samurai-ish in nature, but before he could get a better look Myrn pulled him along. People moved about them, eyeing Vincent with interest. One, a small woman with blue hair and slanting sapphire tattoos under her eyes cast him a small smile. When she turned, Vincent jumped as he noticed blue-feathered wings folded tightly against her back. A man with golden eyes and long nails watched them from a corner, juggling nine knives. The most unnerving thing was that he was not looking at where his hands were going, and it seemed he barely touched the blades. Currents of air seemed to be all that kept them airborne. They came to some golden elevators. Myrn did not even touch the button, but as they approached it lit up, calling a lift. Vincent glanced sharply at the small man, wondering if this was more mind control, but Myrn only smiled innocently at him. The doors opened and Myrn led Vincent into a lift. It was empty except for a very small girl leaning against the corner. She scooted farther into the corner when she saw them and she pulled her hood lower. At the next possible floor she got off quickly. Vincent watched her depart. "What's with her?" he asked, slightly affronted at her behavior. Myrn sighed sadly. "She doesn't like human company. She hangs around the elementals and half-breeds mostly, tries to keep to herself." Myrn's eyes found Vincent's. "She's a little like you." Vincent mulled this over in his mind. "Half-breeds?" he questioned. "Isn't that derogatory?" Myrn grinned broadly. "Oh, that's what they like to be called!" The doors opened again to reveal a plush red carpeted hall with many doors of mahogany on the walls. It seemed to stretch on forever, but as Vincent looked closer, he saw that it was only an illusion caused by a mirror at the end. Neither he nor Myrn were reflected in the glass. Myrn pulled Vincent to the fifth door on the right. He knocked smartly and then rocked back and forth on his heels, coughing slightly to relieve his nervousness. After a moment the door creaked open and a man with long white hair and a cat-like face appeared. He grinned, baring slightly sharp teeth at Myrn. "So you brought us another stray," he purred. Vincent frowned. He wasn't sure he liked being called a 'stray'. The cat-man bowed low to him. "Well come in, come in," he purred again. "You'll need to meet our leader if you are to join us." Vincent cast Myrn an accusing glance. Well, what is it you've gotten me in now? he thought, deliberately making his thoughts loud and angry. With satisfaction he saw Myrn wince and rub his ears. He followed the cat-man through the door. They appeared to be in an aviary of sorts. Bird calls filled the air, from the keening cry of a raptor to the wild twitter of sparrows. The cat-man talked as they walked, Myrn following. "This is our leader's favorite area of relaxation. Unfortunately he does not like me to be in here. Says it's too tempting." He sighed. "Lousy rules," he muttered as he watched a tiny bird flit from branch to branch with hungry eyes. Myrn coughed slightly and the cat-man blinked and looked back at them. "Erm, ah...right. But I am forgetting my manners. I'm Lynx. If you'll just come this way..." he trailed off into silence and shoved his hands into his pockets like a little child in a china store told not to touch. He kept his eyes away from the birds and noticeably ignored all the nests he went by. Soon they came to a large glass door. Lynx pushed against it and it opened, revealing a study. Vincent entered. When Myrn had come through, Lynx shut the door. Immediately the chatter of the birds was cut off. A desk was before them. Working at it adamantly was a man with tousled brown hair. When he looked up Vincent was caught by the man's dark eyes. The man smiled. "So..." he mused. "This is the new Fire Weaver you discovered last night." The man walked out from behind the desk and stood in front of Vincent. "I trust you minded your manners in the aviary?" he questioned. At first Vincent was confused. Then behind him, Lynx answered. "Yes Kato." Vincent almost laughed, but he felt it would not be appropriate. Kato flashed him a grin gestured at a chair before his desk. "Please have a seat." Vincent took the proffered chair uncomfortably. Behind him, Lynx and Myrn stood on either side of him. Vincent nervously realized that it was not for his protection, but for the man before him. Kato leaned forward and propped his elbows on the desk, pressing his fingers together. "So, Vincent McAderly, what is it that has brought you here?" Vincent waved a vague hand in Myrn's direction. "Ask him." Kato laughed richly. "I mean what has happened recently in your life that has suddenly caused you to use your powers so publicly? Do you seek companionship? Revenge perhaps?" Vincent swallowed hard. This man was direct: he didn't beat around the bush at all. "My home..." he choked off as rage and hurt filled him. The image of the tiny grave in the cave with the locket atop it made him lower his face so that the man before him would not see his tears. For a moment he forced his emotions under control. Kato waited patiently. "My home was destroyed by explosives of some sort. Radiation was everywhere, and those who didn't die of the explosions soon died of radiation poisoning. I wasn't one of them. It took my daughter, my home..." he jerked a finger behind him. "That wasteland on the edge of town is all that's left of it. Bones pave the streets now. Not a building stands. And my daughter is buried in a wasteland. She was only sixteen." Kato pressed his fingers to his mouth. "I am so sorry." He sounded truly sincere. Vincent shrugged. "I came into town, and from there I had no idea where or who I was. The radiation sickness took me, if it didn't kill me. Those phonies you call doctors tried to use me as a lab rat, and I got angry. Then I got scared. Whatever happened happened...and then your little mind-reader here found me." Myrn's face remained a blank mask of iron, but behind he was slightly hurt. Was that all he was after he had saved him from insanity and loss in the forests? Some 'mind-reader'? He blinked it off. He had been the same when he had been found. Why should he treat Vincent any differently than he had been? Kato leaned back. "So you seek a new home?" Vincent leaned forward, his eyes lighting with fire. "I seek that, yes. But most of all I seek revenge for my daughter and my home, for all those thousands dead. I want to know who did it and I want to see them suffer the same fate as my daughter. She died a slow, painful, body-twisting death of radiation sickness, slowly decaying while she was still alive. And I couldn't do anything to help her. I was supposed to protect her, I was the one she trusted, and I let her down..." he thudded back into his chair, overcome by grief again. Kato's eyes burned with agreement. "Aye, we can help you track down her killers. And we can do it legally as well." Vincent blinked. "Why does that matter?" Kato smiled. "We've something of a clean reputation here, Vincent. You can't just go gallivanting off into the night and attack whoever. It must be thought out and done with justice." Kato tapped his fingers on the chair, smiling. "Your daughter will be justified, Vincent. I can promise you that." "For now, that is enough."

Fire...heat shimmered in the air. Above, black clouds roiled menacingly across a red sky, lightning kissing the unforgiving, unloving ground. The ground itself was scorched beyond recognition. Cracks ran their course through the earth, letting forth blasts of steam from rivers of fire below the surface. A few drops of rain fell from the heavens, evaporating before they even touched the ground. No life survived. Except one... Clouds of black dust kicked up by the hateful wind parted, revealing the lone survivor. He stood with his hands at his sides. Despite the heat he wore all black, a long coat. His dark hair was pulled back into a horsetail, his pale skin soot-stained. He breathed and fire scorched his lungs. He blinked and it seared his eyes. The taste of heat filled him with a heady sense of grief. He lifted his face to the clouds, tears coursing down his cheeks. Before they even reached his jaw the heat seared them from his skin. He spread his arms wide, begging the skies to take him. Thunder laughed at him and lightning pierced the ground around him. But they did not take him. He found a cave to collapse in when the storm had passed. Heat still seared his body, wind threatened to etch his skin from his bones. And there in the cave was a torture worse than all that nature could throw at him. He stood. Slowly he entered, hand on the stone to steady himself. There she lay, her tiny body covered in a white cloth. Already red and black dust had coated the corners. He slowly walked forward and knelt, touching her head with the tips of his fingers. She did not wake to greet him, to flash her brilliant smile his way. And now, away from the heat, the tears could fall. He buried her in the very back of the cave, where the ground was still pliable. Atop the pile of black ground and rock, he placed a tiny golden locket. He sat completely still and stared at the ground. Then he kissed his bent fingers, pressed them to his brow, and then sent the gesture her way. Never again would she stand to receive it. He exited the cave, tying a black cloth about his face to protect him from the dust, and things much worse in the air. Radiation was everywhere: it had etched into the bones of thousands lying across the plain. And now he could see it. The storm had whipped up dust and settled it again, but then the after-winds had cleaned the fields. For as far as he could see, the white of skeletons, human and animal alike, lay on the earth as if asleep. From a bent and crooked skeleton of an aged man, to the tiny bones of a child...they were all there. Except for him: some anomaly had kept him alive. He dearly wished it had not. * * * * "I've never seen anything like it," the doctor murmured to himself. He scanned the DNA chart again of Vincent McAderly. There was nothing in it that even remotely pertained to a human. "Fascinating," he murmured again. The doctor turned to a window which looked into the room where the man sat, pulling his shirt on again. The man rubbed his arm where they had taken blood, staring hollowly forward. The doctor entered, still staring at the chart. Vincent glanced over at him, dark green eyes not showing even a spark of interest. "What did you find?" The doctor gestured at the papers. "Your genetic makeup is like nothing I've ever seen. It must be some affect of the quantities of radiation you received...I'll have to do more testing, see what I can find." Vincent narrowed his eyes. "Testing won't be necessary," he said slowly. "I'm not a lab rat." The doctor looked up at him. "But obviously you're in no position to make decisions for yourself. And seeing as you have no kin left to make them for you, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here." Vincent felt himself go numb at the insensitive jab. He grabbed his jacket. "I'm out of here," he snarled. The doctor easily pushed a white button on the wall. "Security to Ward 3, we have an unstable patient attempting to escape." Vincent stared in shock at the doctor for this outrageous claim a moment too long. Men in white coats, one pushing a silver table with a bottle of clear liquid and a needle, entered the room. The doctor smiled at Vincent smugly. Vincent walked towards the men in white, heading for the door. "Get out of my way," he growled. The man with the cart picked up the needle and filled it with the liquid. Several other assistants attempted to grab Vincent. With a roar of rage Vincent knocked them aside. He watched in horror as they went crashing into the wall beside him, knocked unconscious. He had only meant to shrug them off...what had just happened? More assistants rushed at him. Vincent, overcoming his shock with rage, slammed an arm into them, scattering them like leaves. Before his eyes they were swept away. With ease he forced his way to the door and through it, running down the hall. Sirens blared throughout the white walls. He turned in a frantic circle. This wasn't right. Where was the doctor's office from before? The doctor approached from a side hall. "Easy Vincent. We just want to help." Vincent turned on him, eyes wild with fear and rage. "Where am I?" he roared. The doctor watched as an aide came up from behind, a needle in his hands. "A mental institute. We just want to study you, see what affects the radiation had upon your body and brain. Just come quietly, and I assure you that nothing will..." Vincent was swamped with a strange sixth sense. Almost against his will, and before he had even realized it, he had whirled around and grabbed the aide. In fright the young man plunged the needle into Vincent's arm. Drowsiness hit him firstly. Then cold rage swamped it out. What was happening to him? Heat burst along his body, centering around his heart. Was he having a heart-attack? Then it poured out. He could see it: red streams of heat coursing through the air. It touched the doctor and his clothing ignited. He screamed and ran down the hall, beating at himself. With a sob of horror Vincent rushed down another hall. He turned and turned, more heat gushing from his agitated body, until he found a door. He burst through it and into a large forest. Where was he? What had happened? He kept running. Night found him sitting with his legs dangling over a cliff-edge. A forest spread its mighty arms behind him. Before him stretched his former homeland, now nothing but a charred wasteland. Heat tinged a breeze that blew past him. For a moment the feeling of heat invigorated him and made him feel alive. He pushed down the desire to ignite, to touch fire and let it consume and burn. He clutched at his head, trying to sort out his thoughts. He had stumbled from the fire into the nearest city. There he had collapsed on a main street, his clothing coated in blackened radiation dust. From there a medical institute had taken him in and told him they were to test his DNA for radiation damage. And that was when they had drugged him, taken him to the mental institute and proceeded to test him there. When all was said and done, they had meant to treat him like some experiment. A freak. "But my friend, that is what you are." Vincent turned and looked around. Standing not too far from him was a man of small stature. His hair was blonde and cut short about his head. His eyes were the palest blue that Vincent had ever seen, and he was clothed in white. Vincent narrowed his eyes and slowly stood. The man held up a hand. "Easy. I am not here to harm you." Vincent shivered. "How did you know what I was thinking?" The man held a hand to his chest. "Well that is my power. Yours is the manipulation of fire and heat. I witnessed what happened in the hospital." At Vincent's questioning gaze he tapped his forehead. "I felt a disturbance and decided to investigate. My name is Myrn. It is an honor to meet you Vincent." Vincent sat back down. "And exactly who are you?" Myrn sat down next to him, leaning back on his hands. "I am from a place not far from here. Others like you and me are there. And, quite frankly, we need your help." Vincent did not take his gaze from the land before him. Out there he knew the body of his child lay covered in ash and rock, slowly being eaten by radiation. "What for?" he asked stiffly. Myrn gazed intently at Vincent. "We have the information. You have a vendetta to fulfill. I believe we can help each other." Slowly Vincent turned to look at him. "You know who did that?" He looked back at the mutilated land, a scar of red and black across the horizon. Myrn grinned softly. "That I can help you with." Vincent stood. "Take me to your...wherever it is." Myrn stood and brushed off his immaculate clothing. Side by side they looked like twisted brothers: tall and short, white and black. Myrn took Vincent by the elbow and smiled up into his face. "Hold on." The small man took a deep breath and they disappeared.

Negite glared up at the gypsy wraith, his face paler than it had been before and his teeth slightly bared. "You monster," he hissed. "Why can't you stay properly dead?" The gypsy giggled and his eyes roved towards Menien. "And behold, your answers lie within flesh and blood." Riad narrowed his eyes and slowly began to inch towards the wall. What he was going to do, he wasn't sure, but one thing he did know: he would avenge the girl's death. Lee watched him out of the corner of one eye, holding perfectly still. What was his brother up to? The gypsy somersaulted into the room, a hand on a long dagger at his waist. Though it was immaculately clean and sparkling, Lee's stomach turned over as he stared at it. The gypsy grinned at him. "Not pleasant, not nice. Sharp nasty things, aren't they? Would that I had been killed by one rather than cursed to walk this wretched world forever." Negite planted his feet wide. "I can remedy your pain," he snarled. "Why don't you just let me put you back into paper?" Kei cocked his head to the side, drawing the blade slightly from where it was bound upon his hip. "I don't think so." The dagger went flying through the air to thud into Menien's chest. The man staggered backwards, a slightly surprised look upon his face, before he toppled backwards, blood staining the ground red. A howl from outside caused Lee's hair to stand on end. The forest now echoed with them and something began to throw itself against the walls of the stone room. Negite gave a strained grin, his eyes fixed upon his brother lying on the ground. "You shouldn't have done that," he rasped. "Now you have both me and the Wyrn to deal with. Bad choice, Kei." Kei sniffed and did not look overly concerned. He bent and yanked the dagger out of Menien's chest. The dark lord heaved with pain and then his body relaxed with a sigh. Kei wiped his dagger on a scarlet cloth, a sadistical, satisfied look upon his face. "You monster!" Negite roared, tears standing in his eyes. Kei turned on him, eyes wild as he tore at the clothing on his body, baring his chest. "Then do the same to me," he snarled. "Try it! I will not die! Fire burns throughout my body, and the only way I can stop it is to kill and kill! Just like I will kill you and the boys next." He hefted the dagger. "Be assured that you will die easing my pain." Suddenly a voice cried out in a strained tone. "Ereinya! Dorthomein xar!" Kei froze and slowly turned around, his motions pained as though the air around him was solidified. Riad stood holding a sheaf of tattered papers, his scrawl clearly crammed in every inch of space. On the very back of the sheaf was a splatter of blood. He grinned. "You thought no more wild mages lived? Well, you don't have to be a wild mage to capture a demon within pages, just very handy with writing. That book you chucked into the fire, what do you think I was doing all that time I was locked up trying to get you out. Of course I found a way to put you back in, and that wound Menien gave me," his eyes darted to the man on the ground, and a flash of emotion tracked across his face, but he fixed his eyes again on the gypsy, his grin returning. "Well, it gave me the blood I needed to bind you. One more word and you're trapped with words again." Kei panted hard, his eyes alight. "You have no idea what he did to me," he hissed. "And I will destroy the world because of it!" he leapt at Riad, hands outstretched, dagger leading. "Albrecht!" Kei screamed and fell to the ground. His body began to ripple, and then it turned into a thousand pieces of parchment. The paper flew upwards and circled around Riad in a tornado of words and parchment. Then they soared into his hand in a sleek pile. Green flared along the edge and a binding curled from living vines across the back. Riad gripped the book tightly. "Someone light a fire!" Lee began gathering the old, dead vines and piling them together. Outside the room it had gone strangely quiet. The Wyrn had stopped their frantic attacks to get inside at the wrong-doer. Now there was no one left to punish. A fire burst into the pile as Lee struck tinder to flint. Soon it was a roaring bonfire, and the heat pressed Lee back against the wall. Negite seemed not to notice. He was bending over his brother. Riad darted forward and threw the book into the flames. A scream rose with the sparks and then smoke began to trickle upwards. Riad watched with satisfaction. "Let it burn itself out," he said softly. "Let it take this whole place, if it wants." He grabbed Lee and pulled him out of the room, turning back towards Negite. "Come on!" he yelled. Silently Negite picked up Menien and carried him with them out of the room and through the forest. Behind them, the fire took the room and the rest of the temple in a fiery roar. The Wyrn watched them go in silence, fleeing the temple to hiss at it from the trees. Far from the temple, where it was again quiet, Negite lay his brother on the ground. Menien's breathing was shallow and he trembled. "I didn't...didn't mean...for him to..." his words grew softer and softer. Negite tried to catch the last of Menien's mumblings, but then Menien sighed and lay still, his breathing stopped. Negite lowered his head in grief, gripping the front of his brother's shirt tightly. His broken sobbing filled the forest as Lee and Riad watched on in silence. * * * * They buried Menien and the girl on a hill overlooking the trees. The sun was setting as they sat on the grass. Lee glanced over at Negite. "Where will you go now?" he whispered. Negite shrugged. "Out of the city. Now that my brother is not here to be watched over, I can go back to the Imperial court in Neelai. If you wish to come with I'd be glad to take you." He looked over at Riad. "I'm sure they would love to have someone of your talents among them." Riad shrugged. "I'm done with writing for a while. But the Imperial court sounds nice; anywhere away from here is fine." He rubbed his chest and winced. Lee rocked back and forth, stemming the urge to hum. "Well..." he mused. "Anyone up for doughnuts?"

Negite held a hand up to his mouth, sickened to his heart, to his very core. Lee and Riad approached. Lee saw the mutilated body and ran towards the trees so that he could be properly sick in private. Riad stood and stared. He seemed to come awake for the first time since they had found him. His bright green eyes stood out sharply against his pale flesh, sparkling in rage. He ran a hand through his already mussed dark hair, running the other along his face. "Kei?" he asked in a whisper. Negite knelt on the ground, pressing the tips of his fingers into the dirt. "He was here not long ago." Lee approached, keeping his eyes averted. "We should give her a proper burial," he muttered. "That savage...he'll pay for this." Negite stood. "Though it pains me, we have no time to bury her. All living things here are at stake. But I will secure her for now, so that no animals will touch her." Negite bent low over the body and waved a hand over it. What looked like scarlet sparkles fell from his palm and floated over the body, creating a strange, glittering force-field. "Now we must move on." Negite led them over hills and through the mountains. By high noon they had reached a place where the trees were thicker than busses, and where the pine needles and rich earth lay thick upon the ground. A red squirrel with tufted ears surveyed them, chattering at them for penetrating his home. Negite's eyes were every where at once. Suddenly through the clearing came the sound of padded footsteps. Negite held up a hand, and the brothers paused, tense, every hair stirring on their bodies. What if it was him? Through the trees came a large black shape. Negite sighed with relief and the thing jumped, whirling to bare sharp teeth at them with a hiss. The creature had the front legs of a lion, and the back of a horse. Huge bat-wings curved from its back with long membrane. On a long scaly neck was the head of an equine dragon, emerald eyes glittering in the light. Dark dappled green and brown splotched across the mottled, black fur. Negite smiled. "It's a forest Wyrn. If our enemy was nearby, this creature would know. It appears we have reached our destination before him." The Wyrn snarled at them one last time before leaping into the woods, disappearing as if it never was. Lee scratched the back of his neck. "Wyrn...right..." As they walked, stone ruins began to appear to their left and right. At one point they crossed under a crumbling arch. More Wyrn appeared, their eyes fixated upon the three travelers, teeth bared. Some peered at them from above, atop stone pillars, some from within the trees, some from where they sunned themselves on the rocks. A mother nursed her young, eyeing the strangers. Three males formed a protective circle about her, hissing. Negite smiled again at the sight of them. Lee scratched his head, jumping when another Wyrn spat at them. "Why do you look so pleased to see them?" he asked. "They obviously don't look happy to see us!" Negite shook his head at the young man's folly. "They will not harm us. No ill deed can be done around Wyrn. So we may pass through, but Kei might not be able to. It is fortunate there are so many of these guardians about. Perhaps our luck is changing." Negite hurried deeper into the now crumbling city. A temple rose before them, and deep within Lee could see the glittering of obsidian. At the center, cast in a circle of light from the open ceiling above, was a chest of the rare black rock. It's top was cast aside, an imprint upon the velvet within where the book must have been. Another imprint, in the shape of a knife, lay beside. But there was no knife. Negite's face went white when he saw the place where the knife should be. "No, no no," he muttered. "It should be here." He began casting about for the book. "Is this what you're looking for, dear brother?" Negite whirled around, staring at Menien, who had appeared at the doorway. In his hand was the dagger. It had a scarlet blade with a golden hilt, and black runes coursed up and down its side. To Riad it looked like something out of a strange ritual. To Lee it just looked ridiculous. "That's it?" Lee snorted. "Kind of fancy isn't it?" Negite shut him up with a sharp chop of his hand. "Why did you take it?" he asked, addressing his brother. "And more importantly, how did you get past the Wyrn?" Menien shrugged. "You know how I like shiny things. And Wyrn can only sense what is done directly in front of them. Wicked deed they can smell, but past deeds? You overestimated their snouts." Negite shook his head. "No, no," he pointed an accusing finger at him. "You did something to them. You know it's forbidden to kill them. What have you done?" "That question seems to be pointed at me a lot these days," Menien spat, pulling a rose from his pocket. Negite's eyes found it and followed it, wide and confused. Menien sneered. "What about you, oh brother? What have you done? You: so self-righteous and noble." Negite shook his head again. "I never said I was perfect, but at least I know when not to play with the fate of the world!" Suddenly a maniacle cackle filled the air. A shadow danced along the walls in the shape of a long-limbed, long-haired man. The gypsy, covered in scarves, appeared on the ceiling, poking his head in to stare at them below, lips pulled back into a feral grin. "Sibling rivalry?" he hissed. "That won't do. Four brothers here...what shall I do with all of you?"