The guard demon led the Star of Darkness through the passageways of Yasha's palace. As they passed the dungeons from which tortured souls screamed out for mercy, Darkness filled with an increasing sense of dread. The screams continued to bounce off the stone walls, assaulting his ears. The guard demon paid no attention to the tortured pleas for mercy and release; he stopped before a door. "The human is inside this room," the guard told him. "Are you happy? Queen Yasha is waiting." The Star narrowed his eyes at the guard. "I said I wished to see Tenkou Stone. All I see right now is a door. Open it." The guard growled but pulled out an ancient key and shoved it into the lock on the door. The lock clicked open, and the guard swung back the heavy door on its rusted hinges. "Happy _now_?" he asked, irritated. Darkness glared at him. "Remain outside." He stepped inside and turned back to face the guard. "And don't think about trying to lock me in, I could easily get free." With a growl from the guard as the reply, he proceeded into the dark room. In the center of the room, a black crystal coffin rested on a square dais. He walked up to it and looked down through its transparent cover. Tenkou Stone was lying on her back within the coffin, but she twisting about with a look of frustration on her face. Her mouth was moving, forming the words she was uttering from within the dream spell that Yasha had imprisoned her. He put his hands on the edge of the coffin's lid and shoved it off. The transparent crystal tumbled to the ground, shattering. The guard appeared within the door. "What in the seven hells are you doing?" he demanded. "I told you," Darkness hissed, annoyed at the interruption, "I'm making sure that she hasn't been harmed. If you've got a problem with it, I suggest you go and get your Queen." He looked down at Tenkou, reaching for her hand. "You smug sonnu--" the guard growled, drawing his spear. The Star's eyes snapped back up and narrowed, glowing with a brilliant light. He curled his fingers of his free hand, and a ball of pulsating black fire appeared in his palm. "Don't," he told the guard. Nothing more was needed. The look in his eyes conveyed the message stronger than any other words could. The guard froze. "Why don't you go and get Yasha now?" Darkness suggested. The demon nodded meekly and backed away, turning at the door and running off down the passageway. Darkness turned back to Tenkou. He reached down, touching the side of her neck. Her heart was beating frantically and her skin was cold and clammy. He gently brushed the hair away from her face and watched the frantic blinking of her eyelids that suggested deep REM sleep. Then he placed a hand on her forehead, his fingers lightly brushing against the spot between her brows. He took one of her hands with his other and kneeled beside the coffin. "Tenkou," he said softly. "I'm here." ~*~ Darkness: Dreams Five: Rite of Passage by: Chandra Rooney darkness@cloak-and-dagger.co.uk ~*~ Revised: May 2001 ~*~ Tenkou opened her eyes and looked up to see Darkness leaning over her with his eyes closed. One of his hands was touching her forehead while the other was holding onto her left hand. His eyes opened a few seconds later and for an instance he held her gaze. Then she began to shiver uncontrollably. "It's s-s-so c-c-cold," she stammered, as he helped her sit up. "Let's get you out of the coffin," he said, helping her out. She tripped on the lip of the coffin and tumbled forward into his arms. For a moment she just stood there, with her teeth chattering and her knees knocking together as he tried to steady her. Then he released her and slipped off his cloak. He dropped it over her shoulders and the soft fabric covered her completely. Warmth spread through her bones and she stopped shaking. "Better?" he asked. She nodded and looked around at the cold and barren room. "Where are we now?" she asked. "Yasha's Palace. More specifically a prison cell in the dungeon of Yasha's palace." He paused. "Are you well enough to walk?" She nodded and he took one of her hands. "Let's get you out of here." "Not so fast, Kuarayamino-chan." Tenkou looked up to see a beautiful woman with long pink pigtails and red-gold eyes smirking smugly at the two of them. Her dress was white and low-cut, a long slit exposing her leg. On her back she had a pair of beautiful white-feathered wings. "You can't leave without saying goodbye to your dearest Tenshi." Tenkou narrowed her eyes. The woman may not have looked the same, but Tenkou somehow _knew_ it was Yasha. "I thought Tenshi was some lie you cooked up to try and drive me crazy with," Tenkou remarked, venomously. "Surprised your spell didn't work, bitch?" Yasha narrowed her eyes. "You are proving to be as hard to destroy as Darkness." She laughed. "But your dream was no lie," she told Tenkou. "Darkness was hopelessly in love with me." "Over four hundred years ago 'Tenshi' led me out to this temple and revealed that she really was the Demon Queen, Yasha," Darkness said, softly. "You were so hurt," Yasha laughed, continuing to wear Tenshi's face. "Your boyish innocence crushed. But it didn't matter. You were willing to remain with me." She laughed again. "You honestly believed that my false persona was my true personality. You would have done anything for me, my sweet little Darkness, even taken your own life." "If it hadn't been for Nozomi I would have." "Yes, the pathetic little Star girl who pulled the sword from your hand." She snorted. "She was so sure the two of you had a bond strong enough to work things out." Yasha sniffled and pretend to wipe a tear from her eye mockingly. "What a fool she was. She honestly felt that you would choose her over me." Darkness smiled, but it was a cold expression. "She was right," he replied, simply. "I did choose her over you." Yasha gave him an enraged look and then she calmed and smiled. "Yes, true love always triumphs, doesn't it?" she remarked. "Little Nozomi, willing to face being dishonoured by her people by bearing your child." Tenkou looked at his face. Shock was clear across his features. Darkness hadn't known, she realized. This Nozomi must not have ever told him that she was pregnant. Recollection flared in Tenkou and she gasped. Nozomi-- that was the name Yamato had called her in one of the visions. The particularly strange one that she had not just watched but taken part in. "So in the end," Yasha smiled, pleased, "I won. I always do. It's one of the reasons that Mother asked me to keep an eye on you with Hod." She yawned. "It's a pity that he's going to kill you now, Darkness." Darkness looked confused. "Who is this 'Hod'?" "I am." Tenkou turned to see a creature with long, green hair and blood red eyes. Unlike Darkness, there was no healthy gleam to its dull death-white skin. Darkness regarded the newcomer with an impassive glance. "That doesn't tell me much." He tilted his head to the side. "No, no, wait. You do look familiar. Tell me, Hod, are you of any relation to someone named 'Malkhut' or 'Yesod'?" "You remember my honored siblings," Hod nodded. "We've been searching for you, the one who calls himself 'Darkness'. Our Mother and Father would like very much to see you join our cause." He paused. "However, judging from how you continue to respond to Netzah, I take it safe to assume you will refuse me as well." "Netzah?" Hod gestured to the smiling Yasha. "My dearest sister Netzah, who you know as 'Yasha'." "Ah." Darkness looked from brother to sister. "Although, I have to wonder what's so very special about me that the lot of you can't learn to take no for an answer the first time." "You belong with us." Hod's mouth twisted into an ugly expression. "To refuse is blasphemy against Mother. The very fact that you are allowed to exist insults and demeans her." "Where I belong is not for you nor anyone else but myself to decide," Darkness replied. "Or so you believe." Hod withdrew a long, red lance. "I have watched you long enough to develop a curiosity. I often wonder if you bleed fire." Hod laughed, a chilling sound, and Yasha joined in. Tenkou failed to get the joke, but, judging from the increasingly annoyed look in the Star's eyes, she wasn't the only one. Hod smiled coldly at Darkness. "Netzah put so much effort into her little project. She did everything in her power to win you over, and then one little pathetic girl jumps in the way and years of power and planning are nullified." He spat. "Not only did we lose our hold over Yamato, but also gained the headache of having to deal with you again." Tenkou blinked. What did Hod mean? Yamato was Darkness, wasn't he? It was just Zellar's first name. Yet, from the way the Star's eyes widened with shock, it seemed that it was more than just a name. "How do you know about that?" Darkness asked. Hod laughed. "Oh, we've been watching you for centuries. I know all about the arrangement. I know all about everyone you've ever consorted with or entrusted your secret to. I must say there certainly haven't been very many." Hod smiled, an evil expression. "Are you going to challenge me or are you going to taunt me to death?" More laughter. It bounced off the stone walls of the cold prison room, reverberating into mocking echoes. "Bravado, sweet Kurayamino-chan, will get you nowhere," Yasha announced. "Hod has never been defeated in battle." "He's never battled me," the Star replied through clenched teeth. "Ah, restraint," Hod made a gesture. "You are an impressive warrior, Darkness, but you so seldom pour your heart and soul into a battle. I have seen how you withhold you true skill and power, and I know that it is your weakness. It is not a weakness I possess." The Star said nothing, deep in thought. Turning, he began to walk back towards Tenkou. "Maybe you have a point." He slipped the star amulet from around his neck. "Tenkou, may I ask something of you?" She nodded, a little dazed. The events were proving to be too much for her, and she'd begun to slip into shock. "What is it?" He slipped the chain over her neck. "Will you hold onto this for me? It means a lot to Ya-- me, and I don't want to lose or risk damaging it in some stupid battle." She slipped her fingers around the tiny black star on the slender chain and looked at it. It was the same pendant she'd seen the man in the vision snap in two. Who could have placed it back together? Darkness bent in closer to her. "That will protect you. The first chance you get, I want you to run for it. Out that door is a hallway, if you keep following it you'll get to the gates. Past the gates is the passageway into the altar room of the temple. Your father's waiting for you outside." He slipped the hood of the cloak up over her head. "This will mask your human aura, so the guards shouldn't give you much trouble." "What about you?" she asked. "Don't worry about me. I promised myself that you wouldn't share Nozomi's fate. This is my battle, not yours." "Zell-- Darkness," Tenkou corrected herself. "It's just that no one's ever done anything like this for me before. It doesn't feel right just leaving you here." He looked at her and smiled weakly. "You'd only be in the way," he told her. "Go on, your father's waiting." Turning, he stepped towards Hod. Tenkou clutched the pendant around her neck again. "I'm not keeping this," she told him, fiercely. "So you'd better come and get it back from me." "How sweet," Yasha rolled her eyes. Darkness lashed out at Hod, knocking the red lance from the other creature's hands. The surprised clattering of the weapon to the ground distracted both Yasha and Hod momentarily as Tenkou ran out the door. "Follow her, Netzah!" Hod cried, after recovering his fallen weapon. "I sense a great power in her." Yasha nodded and left, running after Tenkou. The Star cursed; he hadn't counted on someone being sent to track Tenkou down so quickly. The human girl couldn't have gotten very far. "I should tell you," Hod began again, addressing him. "You are not the master of this world. Your powers of manipulation will not work here." Darkness grasped the whip around his waist, pulling and unwinding it. "I assure you that this is solid enough." He snapped the whip experimentally. Very rarely did he rely on it as his main weapon, but he could hold his own with it if need be. Hod smiled coldly and gripped his lance. "This lance is made from the blood of the opponents I have killed in battle. Their power is seeped within it." The Star said nothing and snapped his whip, wrapping it around the lance. He tugged on the taunt line and the lance sprang from Hod's relaxed grip, clattering again to the stone floor. Recoiling the whip, Darkness swung out his leg in a well- placed roundhouse kick. Hod laughed the blow off, not even stumbling. He made a motion with his hand, and the Star was thrown backwards by the sheer power of the other's aura. He hit the ground, but didn't have time to reflect on it as he had to roll to dodge Hod's lance stabbing into the ground. Cracks spread out from the point of impact, as the chipped stone and dust swirled up into the air. Hod stepped through it. "You are fast." The lance screamed through the air, grazing the Star's shoulder and slicing into the cloth of his shirt. The line across his pale skin turned silver, as a trickle of shimmering blood beaded up along the small wound. Hod licked his lips. "Yes, you are fast, but you cannot maintain your speed forever. Now, my Lance has a taste for your blood." He twirled the lance in his hands, stepping into an opening battle stance. Darkness slipped into a defensive position and drew his wrist back to snap the whip, but Hod had rushed forward before he had the chance. Dodging another near miss, the Star leapt back with the hopes of creating enough distance to try again to catch Hod with his whip. The silver cord wrapped around Hod's wrist and the Star pulled, throwing the other creature off balance. It was a small victory, and Hod knew it. He sneered and then whispered something; his body appeared to fade into mist and the whip dropped to the ground, unable to maintain its hold. Darkness stared. He had no idea Hod possessed such a power! Hod smirked, becoming solid again and diving at the Star, who threw himself out of the path of the other creature, turning back and snapping the whip around Hod's legs. With a tug, he pulled the creature to the floor. It did little but make Hod angry, as he was back on his feet before Darkness had even draw his wrist back for the next strike. Hod began another series of close range slashes and stabs with the lance, and all Darkness could do was dodge and not get tangled in his own weapon. Hod was staying close. He'd figured out the range needed for Darkness to get his full strength in the whip strikes and wasn't allowing the Star to get that distance. Hod clipped the Star's side with his lance and the wound burned. Darkness hissed in pain and grabbed his side as he dove and ducked another stab. The worst thing was that Hod knew he had the advantage. There was little chance of the other letting up his assault long enough for Darkness to put some distance between them. The whip drug along the ground, bouncing off the stones when the Star dropped back down from leaping out of the way of Hod's lance. "You should have just made things easy on yourself and surrendered," Hod taunted, as another series of blinding stabs and slashes parried through the air around Darkness. "I was willing to allow the human girl to go free if you co-operated. Now you both die." "Don't you touch Tenkou!" Darkness snarled. He only stopped dodging for a second, but the slip in concentration was long enough to prove his undoing. Hod saw the opening the taunt had created, and the lance bit deeply into the Star's stomach. Hod cackled, gleefully acknowledging his victory. He pushed and the lance sank deeper and deeper until it pierced through the Star's back. "Hmm, Star on a stick," Hod sneered. "The most tasty of treats." Darkness choked back a cry of pain as he gripped the blood red lance. His silver blood was beginning to coat the lance, its soft glow lighting up Hod's triumphant smile. "Hurts doesn't, little Darkness?" he asked. "I imagine that this amount of pain is not something you're used to experiencing." The Star grit his teeth and grasped the lance again. This was nothing compared to the pain that would be inflicted on Tenkou if he failed in creating enough time for her to get safely beyond the temple. He needed to do something drastic, to ensure that Hod didn't just drop him to the ground and go off after Tenkou. "Is this all you've got, Hod?" he asked, trying to sound as calm as he possibly could with a spear stuck through his guts. "Physical pain is nothing to me." Hod laughed. "I'm only happy to comply." A powerful flash of magic flowed through the lance, crackling down it like electricity. Darkness realized the danger of his bluff, and he cried out in agony as it became more than he could bear. He fell limp with only the lance supporting him. Hod looked down at the seeming dead Star and laughed. "You were even weaker than I anticipated," he told the still figure. "You disappoint me, Yamato. It's of a little surprise that your race is all but extinct." * Tenkou ran down the passageway. She could see the gates ahead of her, and the knowledge that her freedom was so close gave her strength. She pushed herself harder and began to run faster. The black lightening hit the ground in front of her and she skidded to a stop. Whirling around she saw an enraged Yasha standing behind her. The Demon Queen's hair was wild, and her eyes were wide and gleaming. In her transformed talons a crackling bolt of dark lightening was aimed directly at Tenkou. "Little slut," Yasha hissed. "You think you can steal him away from me? Do you? He's mine, you hear?" She launched the bolt of lightening at Tenkou. Tenkou skinned her knees hitting the path to avoid the lightening. It crashed into one of the gate's pillars and the structure crumbled. She spun around to face Yasha. "What do you want from me? I never did anything to you!" "Oh you never did anything to me, did you?" Yasha sneered, her normally beautiful face contorted into an unnaturally ugly expression of rage and hatred. "You're stealing him from me again! How dare you come back, Nozomi?" Tears of rage leaked down from Yasha's eyes; they were an odd red colour that made it appeared that the demoness was crying blood. For all Tenkou knew she could have been. "Wasn't it enough that you took him from me the first time? He was mine. Mother had promised me him and his soul was guaranteed mine until you stepped in!" "You don't deserve Zellar!" Tenkou yelled back, not sure why. "He deserves so much more, like someone who loves him." Yasha screamed in rage. "He mourned for some little bitch who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for a hundred years! He never gave me a second look after you. He blamed me when it was your own damn fault. No one asked you to get involved." Tenkou felt tears well up in her eyes. She clenched her fists and looked at Yasha. "You don't choose who you love," she said fiercely. "It doesn't matter how much pain they cause you or you cause them. You love who you love and you can't do anything about it. If you really love Zellar then you'd do what would make him happy, even if it means letting him go." "Let him go?" Yasha roared. "Never!" Dark mist and shadows began to snake around Yasha's ankles. "Enough," the Demon Queen intoned, "I'm going to kill you, Nozomi, like I should have done the moment I saw you." Tenkou gulped. How was she supposed to fight Yasha? She wasn't brave or a fighter-- she was just a normal girl. The tears of frustration began to run freely down her cheeks. She hadn't asked to become a part of some weird guilt trip where a demoness confused her for a girl who had been dead for four centuries. The mist and shadows wrapped around Yasha, sealing her away and then shattering. Where the beautiful demoness had once stood, now stood a three-headed dragon with a vaguely humaniod shape to its body. The three heads roared and the six pairs of eyes focused on Tenkou. "Oh God," Tenkou whispered, realising that she was looking up at the Ryuujin depicted on the wall of the Shrine. "Oh my God...." She stared dumbly as the creature towered above her. It stepped towards her, its steps shaking the ground and leaving deep imprints in the ground. Yasha's voice echoed through Tenkou's mind. Tenkou bit her lip and gripped the tiny star amulet so hard the points bit into her skin and made her bleed. she wondered as a single drop of her blood trickled down on the tiny star. * _Zellar..._ He stirred in his sleep; a voice was calling his name-- his adopted surname. How odd, he was never called by that. He dismissed it and tried to fall back into the peaceful darkness. _Where are you, Zellar?_ the voice echoed again, calling out to him. He hesitated. The voice was insistent, but he didn't want to answer. There was no pain in this place of caressing shadows, unlike the world from which the voice called. The voice screamed, and the sound of terror and desperation ripped through his senses. Something else was awake now, some part of him that had been spurred into action by the cry for help. It was swimming just beneath his consciousness, very much there but always hidden from sight. It was brighter than any fire, and it burned hotter than the sun. He didn't like it-- he kept it locked within its mental prison, kept it tightly reined in. But he was so weak right now, and it was not. It had been resting a very long time, and it had grown even stronger in that time. He wasn't strong enough to keep it restrained any longer.... * Hod looked up at the sound of the scream and licked his lips. "It appears your girlfriend is learning why it's dangerous to anger Netzah." Hod laughed, then choked on the sound when he felt his lance waver and vibrate. He looked down and gasped. "Impossible! You should be dead!" "Oh, I was," the other said calmly. "Then I remembered I wasn't finished with you." He grabbed the lance. The lance wavered and liquefied, as the weapon returned to the natural state of what it had been made with. The blood of the fallen victims of Hod splashed down onto the floor of the prison room. The cold stones greedily drank it up. The wound inflicted by the lance vanished. The creature raised his cold dark violet-blue eyes to meet Hod's. "So I came back." Hod swallowed, choking on his dismay. "This cannot be-- the Star-- He sealed you away--" He looked terrified. The other drank up his fear, savouring it. "I could not have killed him," Hod protested. "Isn't that how it works? I'm safe unless I killed him-- I didn't kill him." "Oh?" the other raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "You doubt your own skills, Hod? But you've never been defeated in battle. Of course you killed Darkness. How else could I be here?" "You're-- you're--" Hod looked around frantically. "You're trying to trick me, Darkness, this is some sort of desperate attempt to--" "Do I look like someone who's desperate?" the other creature asked, casually retrieving the whip. He ran his fingers along the handle of the weapon. "I killed your sister and your brother, Hod," he told Hod. "And I did it with this very whip." Hod swallowed. "Now, Darkness, don't do something that you'll regret." "Something like... this?" The other was in front of Hod instantly with the whip wrapped around Hod's neck. Slowly the creature tightened the whip choking Hod. He smiled, whistling as Hod gasped and clawed at the cord binding his neck. "It's a shame you made me unhappy, Hod," he told the dying creature, "we could have played some more. You seemed like such a fun guy." Hod let out a final wheeze and passed out. The other continued to keep the whip held taunt for several more minutes just to make sure Hod wasn't going to get back up. * Tenkou screamed again as another fireball crashed into the ground behind her. She bit her lip and kept running; the passageway to the altar room in the Shrine was just ahead and running had seemed like a better idea than trying to fight Yasha in her Ryuujin form. Yasha taunted. The figure materialised a foot above the ground behind Tenkou and dropped to the path gracefully. She saw his black pants and shirt trimmed in silver and the silver whip wrapped from one shoulder to his waist. His hair was a brilliant dark blue colour and tied back with a black cord at his neck. He looked back at her with dark violet-blue eyes, his lighter blue fringe framing his face. His skin was human colored, his ears also human- looking. Between his dark blue brows was a small black spiral. Above and below the spiral was a tiny black pentagram. "Didn't get very far," he remarked. His voice was very melodious but edgy and cold. Yasha stopped. All three of her draconian heads focused on the boy in front of Tenkou. her bewildered voice echoed through the suddenly still air. "Yamato?" Tenkou guessed, looking at the spiral. Yamato rolled his eyes. "Excuse me a moment," he said to her, and turned back to Yasha. "Would it _kill_ you to say 'hello, Yamato, I've missed you so very much and it warms the cold chambers of my black heart to see you again'?" Yasha looked frightened. Tenkou wasn't sure how a three- headed dragon looked scared, but Yasha was doing it. She was terrified. If this was Yamato, then he must be Zellar-- but it was like he was another person, even more so than Darkness. Yasha asked. "Oh, him?" Yamato stifled a yawn. "He's dead. I would have been here sooner but I was making sure." Yasha's heads drew back. "What's the matter, Yaaaaaashaaaaaa-chaaaaan?" Yamato asked, tilting his head. "Isn't this what you wanted? To have me all to yourself?" "Hey," Tenkou cleared her throat. "Uh, Yamato, was it?" He looked over his shoulder at her again. "You know, an intelligent person would take the opportunity of this distraction to get the hell out of here." Tenkou flushed, angry. "Don't stand in front of me," she snapped. "I don't like it, remember?" "Don't be an idiot, you're not staying," he snapped. "You're running. Now." "You always did agree with me on that aspect, Yamato-san," Yasha said, back in her regular form. She smoothed out her hair and stepped closer towards them. "Refresh my memory on which aspect that was," Yamato replied, turning back to face the Demon Queen. Tenkou stepped up to stand beside him. He gave her a displeased look and then turned back to Yasha. "That people were only here to amuse us," she looked at Tenkou. "Especially the idealistic little girls like Nozomi." Yamato's arm was suddenly around Tenkou's shoulders, sliding her closer to him. "I've never agreed with you on anything, Yasha." He gave her a smile. "I thought I'd made that clear _centuries_ ago." "Although I wonder why you've got your arm around Nozomi." Yasha sneered at him. "I thought you made it clear that night which one of us you preferred." "Nozomi?" Tenkou asked. "Look, I'm not Nozomi. Honest. My name is Tenkou Stone and I was born and raised in Americ--" "Gosh, Yasha-chan," Yamato cut her off. "I just wanted to know what all the commotion out here was about." "So your curiosity has brought you to her aid," Yasha laughed. "Of course, how silly of me to think you had any sense of nobility, Yamato. You're still just the Star's shadow, after all." "And you still have no understanding of me." Yamato patted Tenkou on the arm and stepped forward again. "No, Yasha, I'm not here because I'm curious." The gleaming shadow sword appeared in his hand as he smiled at her puzzled expression. "I'm here because I'm going to kill you." He rushed forward and slashed the blade across her front. Black liquid gushed out from the wound, and Yasha clutched at her stomach. "You didn't create me, Yasha, you just separated me and trapped me." The expression on his face was one of pure malice. "I never forgave you for that. Nozomi or not Nozomi," he gesture to the stunned Tenkou with his sword, "you think I'd let you do that to anyone again?" Yasha roared in pain and her features contorted as she shifted back into her Ryuujin form. she screamed. Yamato swung the sword, slashing into the neck of one of the snapping heads, and it crashed to the ground. The Ryuujin howled in pain, and Tenkou clamped her hands over her ears. But it didn't help; the screams were inside her head. Flames belched out from the third head, and Yamato cursed as the heat pushed him back from the dragon-beast. Coming from behind him the second head snapped at Yamato, clamping on his arm. It picked him up and threw him to the ground. He stood, swaying slightly and growled at Yasha. "Hell's Bells, what did you do to me?" the third head told him. He smiled at her. "We'll both die," he told her. "But you're the one who will stay dead." Raising his sword and charging at her, he severed the second head from the Ryuujin's body. The dragon's formed twisted, falling back in on itself as Yasha fell back into her humanoid form. Her arms were bleeding and her dress was torn. The gash in her stomach continued to bleed as she clutched at it with her arm. Her other arm was raised so she could point at Yamato. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, desperation in her voice. "I gave you back the power you have now, Yamato. I was willing to make you my King.... You must care about me." The red tears streaked her cheeks as they fell from her eyes. Yamato gripped his shoulder where the Ryuujin's fangs had bit into his skin. "Sure, I'll give you partial credit for the return of my powers, but you never wanted me for a weak reason like love or compassion," he sneered. She turned away looking at the ground. "Why does it frighten you to look at me, Yasha? Is it because you realise we're the same? That we've both been trapped by our own misery?" "You loved me; do you honestly want me dead?" Yasha asked. Yamato sneered. "I never loved you. You were a challenge. Nothing more." Tenkou bit her lip. "You really loved Zellar, didn't you?" she called out to the pathetic-looking demoness. "But Nozomi felt the same way. She was scared that you'd take--" she stopped. Twilight had told her not to reveal what she had seen. Yasha didn't look at her; instead, she focused on Yamato. "You were supposed to love me. I needed you to love me because no one else could--" "Shut up!" Yamato snapped. "You dare to stand there looking so pathetic and talk to _me_ about love? After what you've done and what you've put me through you have no right to talk about love!" The shadow sword sang through the air lodging itself in her chest. Yasha looked at it and her eyes widened as her black blood began to flow out from the wound. She looked up at Yamato, who was staring down at her with an enraged look on his face. But his dark eyes were oddly calm, devoid of the hatred present in his expression. She smiled faintly. "I can see... Judgement in your eyes...." She slid off the end of the sword, and as her body fell backwards it crystallized. When the black crystal hit the ground it shattered into a thousand pieces, and the sound echoed over the gates like an explosion. As it faded away, the ground and buildings began to shake. Tenkou looked around. "What's going on?" she asked, running forward and grabbing Yamato by his uninjured arm. "Yasha was holding this world together with her will. It's falling apart now that she's dead," he said, emotionlessly. "The temple is collapsing." He looked back down at the darker black of Yasha's blood on the blade of the shadow sword. "It's over." Tenkou looked around at the rain of stones and tightened her grip on his arm. "Yamato, if we don't run we're going to be killed. Why are you just standing here?" "You can run if you like," he said simply. "I have no reason to." Tenkou stared. "What?" she shrieked. "What the hell do you mean you don't have a reason to run? Isn't staying alive a good enough one?" Yamato flicked his wrist, causing the shadow sword to vanish. "I've been waiting four hundred years for my vengeance against Yasha. I have it now," he replied, turning to face Tenkou. "It can all end here. Four hundred years of meaningless pain and misery is finished now. Maybe I will die here. Maybe I can now." Tenkou frowned. "No, you can't just-- no." She looked around. "What happened in there?" Yamato shrugged. "Hod was too much for me. Hod's dead now. Yasha's dead too. I should be dead too. There's no place in this world for something like me." Tenkou wondered if he was in shock. He sounded so completely apathetic, like he honestly didn't care what happened now. "It's over," he repeated, with a little sigh. Something in the sigh caught her attention. She grabbed his arm and began tugging him towards the passageway to the temple's altar room. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "I told you to leave me be!" "I don't think you're quite yourself right now," Tenkou told him, dragging him down the passage and into the Altar room. "I don't think you have been for a while. I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I'm not going to leave you to die." She pulled him past the crumbling fresco of the Ryuujin Temple. "You saved my life, and now I'm going to save yours-- and you're not going to stop me." * The destruction of the Ryuujin Temple was a terrifying sight. It was even more frightening if you emerged from the door just as how the temple was falling in on itself became visible to the outside world. Dust and smoke billowed up from the ancient building as the sound rumbled like thunder, shaking the still air. Tenkou closed her eyes and felt Yamato's arms wrap around her, holding her close as the tremors raced across the ground. When the dust cleared, she opened her eyes to see he was looking down at her. As their eyes met Yamato blushed and looked away, letting his arms fall away from her. Tenkou cast a glance back at him, he seemed to be trying to pretend nothing had happened. However, the coloring of his face was hard to hide with such pale skin. Shaking her head, she began looking around frantically at the seemingly empty camp. Where was her father? He wouldn't have gone inside the temple, would he? Then she saw the figure by the small fire, and she heard the sounds of his snores. Tenkou smiled. Her father was alive and safe. Yamato cleared his throat, staring intently at the pile of rumble behind her that had once been the temple. "It's completely destroyed." Tenkou smiled tightened. Stating something obvious to avoid something else was what she expected of herself, not someone who'd been around for-- had he really said four hundred years? She shook her head. "Um, yeah," she replied, quietly. "Are you okay?" He nodded, rubbing his head. "Tenkou, about what happened in there...." He trailed off, and then looked back at her. "I'm sorry you had to see that. It was something that you shouldn't have had to be a part of." "What matters now is that we're okay," Tenkou told him. "You saved my life-- Yamato." He shyly looked away, and Tenkou saw he was fighting not to blush. "I-- I'm used to that sort of thing," he said, clearing his throat. "I'm not used to having the favour repaid." He looked back at her. "The police are going to have questions about what happened." Tenkou blinked. "Oh," she looked down. "What should I tell them? They'd think I was crazy if I told them the truth." Yamato looked thoughtful. "You could try telling them that you don't remember." He stared off into the distance. "Would that work?" she asked, toying the chain around her neck. "All right," Yamato nodded, then turned back to her. "I have an suggestion. Let me run it by you, and you can tell me if you think it's any better than faking amnesia." * The police officer's name was Yamaguchi, and she was very interested in learning what Tenkou knew about the destruction of the temple. "Terrorists?" Yamaguchi repeated, looking at Tenkou. Tenkou had to give partial credit for that aspect of the story to Yasha-- Netzah-- whatever her name really had been. It was the dream of the bomb blast that had helped greatly in formulating a story to tell the police. Tenkou only realized now that she didn't know how Yamato had known about it. Maybe it was a common theme in the spell or something. "Miss Stone?" Detective Yamaguchi leaned forward. "You're certain it was terrorists?" "Terrorists, religious fanatics," Tenkou made a helpless gesture. "They grabbed me in the middle of the night and hauled me into the Temple. I don't know exactly who they were-- they never said, but they certainly weren't happy about my father and his team excavating the temple." "But why would they destroy the temple?" Yamaguchi asked. "It seems to me that they would want to protect it." "I think the explosives were to use against our team, maybe for the Jeeps," Tenkou replied. "You have to excuse me, I don't understand much Japanese. Only one of the men spoke any English and he was quite tight lipped in speaking to me." She paused. "He spoke to the rest of them in English, but they all replied in Japanese." "So this man understood Japanese but did not speak it," Yamaguchi repeated, marking something down. "Is that correct?" "I'm not sure. He didn't speak Japanese in front of me." "Now, this is the same man that you say was hired by your father?" Tenkou nodded. "Yes. He was pretending to work for my father to try to sabotage the dig." "I see." Yamaguchi pushed a photograph towards Tenkou. "This is the photograph you identified as this man?" Tenkou took the photograph, pretending to study it. "Yes," she nodded. "That's him." She handed back the photo. Yamaguchi nodded. "The only known alias we have for this man is Hoshi Kurayamino. There is a very thick file on him in the department, concerning several unsolved cases in this area." She paused. "You say he's dead?" "Well," Tenkou looked down at her hands. "I'm not sure how anyone could have survived the collapse. I'm not even sure how I managed to find my way out in one piece." Yamaguchi nodded. She then stood up and pulled the blinds down on a window that Tenkou had assumed was a two-way mirror or something. The detective walked back to the desk and sat down. She folded her hands before her and gave Tenkou a stern look. "Miss Stone," she began, "you can understand that if the press was to discover any of this, it would draw a great deal of attention to this town. The wrong sort of attention. This traumatic experience is something that you would be best to put behind you-- so that you may move on with your life. I trust you are eager to return home." "I suppose it could cause some-- diplomatic concerns between your country and mine," Tenkou replied, carefully. "Certainly it would concern tourists coming to your country." Yamaguchi smiled. "You are a very intelligent young woman, Miss Stone," she replied. "Will you be attending university after you return home?" Tenkou smiled. "Yes, I'm very eager to return home so I can prepare." "That is good," Yamaguchi replied. "I trust that you will not speak to anyone of what we discussed in this room?" "We have an understanding," Tenkou told her. Yamaguchi stood and extended her hand in a Western fashion. "Have a pleasant return flight, Miss Stone," she told Tenkou. "Thank you for all your help." "Thank you, Detective Yamaguchi," Tenkou replied. "I will." * Tenkou wandered around the town for a while after leaving the police department. She even paused inside the church to light a candle before a small painting of the Virgin and Child. The day was fair, not as hot as the mid-August weather of Kyoto, but normal for eastern prefectures of Honshuu. Strolling past the fountain in the Square she passed the wooden arch marking the entrance to a Shinto Shrine, but she didn't stop to go inside. It would be nice to have a few days to explore the town, but she actually was eager to get home. University started in two weeks and she would need to readjust her sleeping patterns to her home time zone. Looking around at the unfamiliar street, Tenkou hesitantly approached a woman a few years older than herself who was fiddling with some shopping bags. "" Tenkou began. "" The woman looked up, making a small sound of surprise when she saw Tenkou was a foreigner and replied in broken English. "Two blocks straight," she pointed down the road. "Thank you," Tenkou replied. "" she added, in Japanese, and bowed her head a little. The woman made another surprised sound and then slowly returned the bow. Tenkou hurried on her way, as she looked at her watch and saw that she was going to be late. * The young man with the dark blue eyes and longish brown hair looked up as she came into the cafe. He waved at the waitress and said something in Japanese. The waitress nodded and led Tenkou to the table on the back patio. The young man stood, pulling out Tenkou's chair and then pushing it in for her as she sat down. "I was beginning to worry that you might have run into problems," he remarked, returning to his own chair. "I was worried you might not still be here, Zellar," Tenkou replied. "" she told the waitress, taking the menu. "" "" replied the waitress, leaving the two of them alone. "You told me you weren't fluent in Japanese," Yamato replied, smiling. "I've picked up a lot," Tenkou replied. "It seems a shame since I'm leaving in two days." "Flying out from Narita?" he asked. "Yes," she replied. "We leave tomorrow on the Shinkasen. Dad wants an extra day for travelling. We'll go down to Tokyo tomorrow and then on to the airport the next morning." He nodded. "So did you have any trouble with the police?" he asked, lowering his voice to avoid drawing attention. "No," Tenkou replied, shaking her head and leaning in closer. "It was just as we had thought. The detective was very interested in making sure I didn't talk to anyone-- for diplomatic reasons." "Detective Yamaguchi?" "How did you know?" Yamato smiled. "She's the one in charge of keeping these sorts of activities quiet. The press will report it was an earthquake and that no one was harmed." He paused, and she leaned back as the waitress placed an iced mocha down before Tenkou. The waitress said something in Japanese and looked from Tenkou to the young man. "Did you want anything to eat?" he asked Tenkou, translating. "Oh, I--" she looked back down at the menu, incomprehensibly. Yamato smiled, turning to the waitress and saying something to her. She smiled, nodded, and walked away. Then he turned back to Tenkou. "Ever had yaki soba?" "I love yaki soba," Tenkou replied, smiling. "Good, I'm not hungry enough to eat yours if you don't," Yamato replied, a sly grin on his face. Tenkou smiled back. It was very strange, him sitting there and acting as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. It made it easy to pretend they were just two-- friends getting together for lunch. Absently she fingered the chain around her neck, and his eyes fell on the star pendant. Tenkou blinked, reaching up to remove the chain from her neck. "I should give this back to you," she remarked. He held up his hands. "No, you should keep it," he replied. "At least for a little while longer," he added, at her surprised look. "Thank you," Tenkou said, quietly, blushing a little. "Won't it be dangerous for you, Zellar?" she asked. "The police think you're dead." "I am dead," he replied, taking a sip of his tea. "I'll play that until the wrong sort of people catch on that I'm not," he continued. "Being dead is very freeing, Tenkou. I'll tie up a few loose ends and then begin looking for somewhere new to settle down." "What will you do?" Yamato turned away, looking off down the street for a moment. "I know people scattered about the globe," he replied. "Many of them only too happy to put me to work. I won't go hungry." "Who will keep people safe here?" Tenkou asked, softly. "Won't some-- people be upset about Yasha?" "If I remained here, yes. With both of us gone the external influences on this region drop. Things will return to a normal equilibrium." He took a deep breath. "Tenkou, you and I can sit here and calmly discuss this, but it doesn't make it fit in your world any better." "Fit in my world?" Tenkou repeated. "What do you mean by that?" " 'People' like myself don't fit in your world, Tenkou," he replied, softly. "I accepted that long ago. It doesn't mean I don't like people, just that I'm aware I'm different from them." Tenkou blinked, fighting a wave of emotions. He had said what she had been thinking, but-- "Is it just that easy?" she asked, softly. "I asked you to come here so I could say goodbye properly," he replied. "I live with a very dangerous secret, Tenkou, and it's not something I can ask other people to keep for me." "What if they wanted to?" He turned back, meeting her eyes with his own. "Especially not if they want to." "You don't think you can trust me?" she asked, confused. His eyes widened, and he vehemently shook his head. "Of course not! I trust you, Tenkou. More than I've trusted anyone in a long time--" he broke off. "But just knowing me puts you in danger. Yasha took you because of me," he told her. "But she's gone now." Yamato took a deep breath. "Tenkou, there will always be someone like Yasha and Hod." He reached forward, his fingers brushing her hand. "We're from two different worlds, you and I. Plus, we barely know each other." "But we could," she began. "Zellar, no one else I know would have done what you did for me. I know you said it was nothing, and that you had your own reasons, but it _meant_ something to me." She reached up with her hand and touched the star pendant. "I can't keep this under false pretenses." He blinked. "I don't believe I've ever met a young lady who used the words 'false pretenses'--" "I'm serious," she told him. "Once you get settled down, wherever it is, you have to promise to come see me again. If only to take this back. Otherwise, you're going to get my hopes up. You wouldn't want to lead me on, would you?" she asked, darkly. Yamato jerked his hand back, coughing and trying to keep from blushing. "Lead you on?" he repeated, voice sounding strained. "Ten-Tenkou," he managed. "I'm old enough to be your-- " "So you ought to know not to toy with young girl's hearts." That quieted him. He simply looked at her. The waitress came, making apologies for the tardiness of the meal, and set the two dishes of yaki soba down before them. She left them, and Tenkou slowly picked up a pair of chopsticks and began poking at her meal. "I can wait," she remarked, chasing a carrot slice around her dish. "I believe things happen for a reason, Zellar. There's some sort of purpose or plan to the universe, and likely some sort of being that directs it." She tried to pick up the carrot, but it slid out from her chopsticks and landed back in her dish. "You don't find it interesting that of all the digs to go on, I happened to be on this one? Or that off all the people in Japan, my father happened to meet you?" After another moment of silently watching her chase the carrot, Yamato reached across the table and caught her hand. "You win," he told her. "I'll come and visit you once I've settled down." He let go of her hand. "You can stop pretending you don't know how to eat with chopsticks now." Tenkou gave him a baffled look, then she looked down at the chopsticks in her hands. Yamato blinked. "You really don't know how?" he asked. "I thought I was doing an okay job," she replied. He sighed and pushed at his hair. "What have I got myself into?" he asked, with a small half-smile. * The figure nodded. "Yes, Boss, I'll make a note of the progress. Should I expect to see you soon? Sounds fine. Goodbye, Boss." The figure closed the flip phone and pulled a small notepad out of his pocket. Looking at the list of names written on the paper, he trailed his finger past the check mark beside the name 'Malkhut' and 'Yesod'. Taking out a pen he smiled and put a small check beside 'Hod' and 'Netzah'. "Time for phase two of the plan," he said, and reached for a sealed envelop marked as such. He slid his thumbnail in the space between the flap and the envelope and slit the brown paper open. Instructions and all the documentation he would need tumbled down onto his desk. He picked the photograph of the girl. Her light violet eyes glimmered with happiness as she clutched a diploma in one hand and a mortarboard in the other. She smiled up at him from the photo, her black hair glossy and slightly tousled. He smiled back and pushed his own purple hair away from his face, his hand brushing against the grey triangular design on his cheek. Admiring the picture, he whistled appreciatively. "I'll say this for Yamato, he's a damn lucky Tazo. You're quite the find, aren't you, Miss Tenkou?" ~*~ 12:13 pm 05/14/00 2:27 pm 05/22/00 1.43 pm 04/15/01 8.10 pm 05/25/01 12.11 am 7/25/01 ~*~ Notes, concerning changes and setting. The unnamed Japanese town in which this saga takes place is a fictional composite of features of several real Japanese towns. I picture Shibukawa, the "quiet" little town in Gunma where I lived with my friend Yukiko for 26 days during my stay in Japan. Gunma is Honshuu's smallest prefecture and Shibukawa is the smallest city in Gunma. After dark the town pretty much did shut down. At nine o'clock you could walk down the street and not see another person. I also added comments about the amount of people in Japan. I've noticed that all stories I've read written by westerns fail to convey the sense of being in Japan. I know Darkness also fails to explain it, but I felt the need to at least mention the amount of people. Everything in Japan is small and compact, made to be as efficient as possible. Where I live in Canada there is so much space and everything seems so big after returning from Japan! Also, Tenkou seems to pick up Japanese and use it just as she is leaving-- I confess this is what happened to me. I was also there for a week before some kind Japanese person actually showed me how to properly use chopsticks. ^_^; Aomori has an archeological dig site near it; another, whose name escapes me at the moment, has a Western Church built by the missionaries in it. Northern Honshuu is primarily rural. Aomori, Niigata, etc being the larger cities. In Gunma, the large cities are Takasaki and Maebashi. The weather is slightly cooler than Tokyo and Kyoto, but it still gets _hot_. Yamaguchi may have come up from Tokyo, explaining her command/comprehension of the English language. There are people in Gunma who speak English, but it's much more common in Tokyo. I choose to use "Temple" instead of "Shrine" to give a sense of a larger structure. The Ryuujin Temple is completely fictional, as stone would not have been used in the construction of a Shinto Temple. Shinto Temples/Shrines are constructed of wood, often torn down and rebuilt every twenty or so years, as per tradition-- so the Ryuujin Temple is a very suspicious place. There would most certainly not be writing or inscriptions on the walls of a real Temple. Alas, it is fiction, so perhaps I can be forgiven. Hopefully. Thinking of the path Stone and Yamato would have to walk to get to the Temple reminds me of the 15 minute walk to the Mt. Haruna Shrine from the parking lot. ^_^; Nozomi is now a Star, not a geisha. It seems more likely than a white settler and a geisha. Mattaeo and Nathanael, aka Twilight and Judgement replace Fallen as I wished to draw them into Darkness earlier than the Phoenix saga. Also, Vincent's scenes were removed or rewritten to match his Fallen persona better. The dream sequences were changed to reflect the past of Yamato more appropriately. However, I kept the original "past" and "present" scenes of 'Dark Star' to pay hommage to all the work the many talented authors put into the Impro. Hikaru also appears. Keep reading to see more of him! As for his strange comment to the passerby in the Town Square (forgive my Westernized version of Japan, please!), well... I am pale. My skin is _white_, add that to having blue eyes and died blond hair and you can understand that I sort of stood out in Japan. People there would openly stare at me, and cars slowed down as they drove past. It was the most unnerving feeling, and there were times when I wanted to yell out exactly what Hikaru does so badly! I really liked Japan, but these blatant stares and the toilets were the things I just couldn't get used to. You'll also notice that Yamato has been incorporated into the character, not as an alternate personality. He appears with tazo markings. I also realized that it was really confusing and poor writing skills to switch to calling him Yamato in the narration half-way through, and therefore it's been changed so that the name appears right from the start. If there is narration where it says "Zellar", it is because the narration is actually internal monologue/thoughts of a character who only knew Yamato as "Zellar" at that point. Oh yes! I just did a little changing on the Hod scene-- so pay close attention to the fact that 'Yamato' has violet-blue eyes. That's important. More indepth notes will be added onto the end of chapters as I go along-- or remember to do so. :) Thanks to: Katy Coope, Philip Barkow, John Evans, and Sarah Aylward for their support and aid. Without them, Threads & Flames would be a mere shadows of what it is. :) Translations: Sumimasen ga, RaRa Rando Kafe wa doko desu ka? Arigatou/ arigatou gozaimashita Isu moka o kudasai. Hai. Shinkasen Hoshi Kurayamino/ Kurayamino Hoshi: 'Darkness' Star' or 'Star of Darkness', depending on how you wish to translate it. Hikaru: The kanji of his name means "bright", "shining".