Divine Intervention By: Kyoryoku Nazo ...................... Chapter 7: Rings and Roses ...................... When the Priestess let inhibitions go, pieces started to come together... Duo awoke from a light sleep with fragments of dreams slowly merging into the here and now. Fortunately, the sleeping form of Tasuki leaning against his chest was not a mirage that vanished with the rest of his unconscious visions. It took him a moment, but it all soon came back to him. 'Mikage's one of us. I'm getting my wits back. Tasuki's a better lover than I ever would have given him credit for.' He grinned. Life was good. The sudden sound of clashing metal on metal made him sit up with a start, rousing his sleepy Seishi and evoking a grunt of displeasure out of him. "Wha-" Tasuki started to say, but Duo's hand over his mouth stopped him in mid thought. "Someone's fighting near by," the Priestess whispered, his eyes scanning the room they were in, trying to descide how to get his clothes making as little noise as possible. The raw and echoing clang of swords increased, as if it were getting closer, causing the two lovers to forget covertness and make a dash for garments, dressing themselves as quickly as they could. Then, just when the noise increased to the point where it surely must have been just outside the door, it stopped. Neither of them breathed. Tasuki's eyes were alive with battle rage and Duo's stance looked like he was about to snap into action at any given moment. The door creaked. Their eyes widened. And Mikage stepped through. His face was completely sober, an unreadable mask of passiveness. "I'm assuming you heard it, too," he said at last. "If you mean swords clashing outside that door, than yeah, we heard it," Duo replied just as tonelessly. "But did you notice the eerie detail?" Mikage asked as he sat down in a chair by the door, his gaze taking his eyes to the far wall and beyond. When neither of them said anything, he answered his own questions, turning his head and meeting their eyes with his, "No voices. The metal that richochets through these halls should at last carry the sounds of the sword wielder's breathing. But no. Empty, hollow echoes. Reminders set by Akio to keep me from regaining enough sanity to overthrow him. A reminder of my greatest sin," he closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair. "What's your greatest sin?" Duo asked, stepped foward and pulling out another chair, sitting himself across from Mikage. "Well, as you probably guessed, this was once a dormatory. It housed a hundred young boys who were studying the mechanics of Eternity, if you can believe that one. Well, I was their professeur. I remember every detail of my days as Professeur Nemuro, despite what Akio believes. But anyway, yes, I was their teacher, and I killed them. I killed them because I wanted the secrets of Eternity for myself. I wanted them... for Takako. So that her brother wouldn't die. So that she would love me." he rose and paced the room, turned back to face Duo and Tasuki with not the least bit of sanity in his crimson eyes, "So I sold my soul to the Devil himself, the Prince of Flies. That arrogant bastard who bound me by contract into his service." he collapsed again, still standing, but his posture radiating defeat, "It was only a matter of time, anyway. Everyone soon goes into his service." "Akio?" Duo inquired, trying to keep the pink-haired Seishi calm. "Yes. Akio," the word rolled off his tounge with acid. "Just what part does he have in this anyway? Is his a Seishi of Ukyou?" Tasuki asked, leaning foward from the bed. "No..." his voice trailed off. He remembered when he'd walked into the conversation that Duo and Akio had when Akio threatened Duo to use one of his Priestess entitled wishes to get him eternity. "But he does know that there ARE Priestesses out there right now, belonging to specific goddesses for specific reasons." "Correct," Mikage answered, pacing back towards the two other men, "He is determined to have the power of Eternity as his very own. I don't think he knows exactly what it is... just that it's a power and that he wants all the power he can get." "Which is where Touga comes in," Duo turned his back on the other two, deep in thought. "Me and Tasuki saw Touga talking to Saionji before we realized he was one of us. Touga seemed so incredibly confident that the Ukyou Seishi would be assembled before us, giving their Priestess the power to make the Divine Wishes." "He talked as if the Ukyou Seven were already assembled," Tasuki muttered with his eyes unfocusing, as if off in another world of thought. "But other than Heero, Kenshin, Touga, and whoever was piloting that big machine thingy, I don't know who else could be involved..." * * * "We move," Kenshin declared to the rest of the Ukyou no Seishi who were currently gathered around the black void of space before them. 'I hope Touga knows what he's talking about. He couldn't be wrong about that Utena girl, could he?' Before the fighter could take another step foward though, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked over to face the blue haired monk. "Don't worry Kenshin, no da," he smiled, letting the magical guise off his face to reveal the rough scar across his eye. It was a rare sight indeed, even amoung his fellow Seishi. "We aren't on this mission to kill the Nazo no Seishi, just keep them from summoning their goddess before we do." Kenshin nodded slowly and looked foward again, gazing into the magical construc that Chichiri had produced. Unlike the swirling golden vortex that Ukyou had sent Her Seishi to find each other, this portal was a man-made spell, one of the most powerful displays of magical talents that the monk had displayed. With every passing day, Kenshin was more and more grateful of his services. Touga stepped out from amidst the motley assembley of Seishi, resting his hand on Heero's shoulder and giving him a slight push. Heero glared at the taller man and growled low in his throat, stepping foward on his own to the black portal. Kenshin smiled at his Priestess, glancing back at the Warriors behind him. Rei was almost hidden behind the tall and arrogant Sephiroth. Chichiri waited at Kenshin's side, and Touga was still hovering around Heero. Then, almost blending into the shadows - seemingly on purpose - was a tall man in a red coat holding a little black...pig. "Well, no use standing around like fools with nowhere to go," Touga chided, overly confident of his own cleverness. Kenshin bit back a retort and stepped towards the vortex, mentall reflecting before taking the first step in, 'I'm beginning to think that this is just some huge cosmic joke.' He tried to ignore the feeling that he heard laughter echoing from all directions, as well as from within his own mind. * * * "We don't have much time. We'll have to move very, very soon," Mikage stated finally, breaking that silence that had descended over the Nazo no Seishi. The group of them were currently lounging in what have once been the common room of an elite dormatory. Mikage had called the place Nemuro Hall, although Duo had yet to see any students wandering around the place as he had seen the last time he'd been in the Ohtori dimension. 'Part of this whole ploy was to send the 'Black Rose Duelists' after Tenjou Utena, trying to steal the right from her to be engaged to the Rose Bride. But after all the Duelists have taken their turn, it will be my turn to Duel. And at that point, I'll either have to give up my cover that has both Akio and Touga fooled, or see the Duel through and see what fate awaits after Akio no longer has a need for me and I defeat her.' he'd said. 'After seeing the black rose petals that raining from the sky after Duo first put on the rose signet, I knew what sign I could use to let you know I was here.' "How soon," Duo asked, taking the initiative that none of the others had the courage to. They all knew that they weren't ready for a confrontation with the Ukyou no Seishi. They needed time. Time to find the rest of their's and then learn to work as a team. The Priestess sighed. "I Duel tomorrow," Mikage stated flatly, letting the severity of the situation set in. Saionji was the first to respond, "You say that your two options are to either give up your cover or beat Tenjou. What makes you think you'll win?" A quirk of a smile crept across Mikage's face, "Because I know her weakness. I'm not going to make the same mistakes you did, if that's what you ask." The green-haired Seishi growled, folding his arms across his face, "Don't underestimate her. There's more going on with that girl than anyone realizes. Even when you're better than her, even when you're about to win, something happens...something with the Sword of Dios," he paused and stared off into space, "It's not like it's her whose really fighting. It's as if something takes over her body and does the fighting for her." "Like a geas-blade," Xellos murmured. "A what?" both Saionji and Mikage looked up, curiosity written on their faces. "A geas-blade. It's a magical weapon that's attached to your soul. It helps you fight if you have no weapons training, and it protects you from magic if you're not skilled in that area. It's sounds like this Utena girl has enough technique to get her through a match alive, but when skill higher than her's presents itself, the blade takes over and wins the match, no questions." "But I possessed the Sword before she did, and I never felt anything strange when Dueling," Saionji said slowly, trying to understand what this could mean. "But you're the Captain of the kendo team," Tasuki stated matter-o-factly. "You didn't NEED the extra help." Mikage sighed and looked Saionji deep in the eyes, "She's the one destined to Revolutionize the world. If you would just get that into that little mind of yours, your life would probably be a lot easier." "It's not about the Power anymore!" Saionji stood and shouted. "It's about HER! It's about the Bride! Himemiya was mine first and I won't let some cross-dressing wannabe have her, especially if it means-" "Wait!" Duo stood up and raised his voice, not with repremand, but with curiosity. "What did you just say?" Saionji took a deep breath and tried to calm his tone, "I said that I wasn't going to allow a cross-dressing wannabe to-" "That's it!" the Priestess yelled, running into the room where Xellos had deposited all of the texts he could carry with them through the Portal. The four Seishi stared blankly at each other before Duo returned a few minutes later, shoving the old books and flower arrangments off of the end table in the middle of their array of chairs to make room for the maps and ancient grimories that Xellos had brought with him from his travels. "At first I didn't think that it meant anything," Duo was talking so quickly, that none of his Seishi dared to interupt and miss something. "But look HERE," he stabbed his finger down on one of the charts, into the middle of a series of circular sketches, each one with a symbol in the middle. Under the eight large cirlce, there must have been at least thirty smaller ones, each with it's own character drawn into the center. One of them however, overlapped into one of the eight large circles. "Xellos, what does that symbol mean?" Duo asked, keeping his finger on the large cirlce with the smaller one overlapping a corner like a venn-diagram. "Mare," the priest said slowly, squinting his eyes with concentration. "It's Ukyou's sign. In fact, the eight large cirlces each look to respresent one of the Four Gods and Goddesses. The smaller ones must stand for minor deities that have appeared to rule over the constantly dividing dimensions..." "Exactly," Duo stated proudly, shifting his finger over to the smaller circle over-lapping Ukyou's. "Now what does this one mean?" "That one says Dragon," Xellos replied. "Now why would those characters be overlapping?" The four Seishi and the Priestess exchanged a startled glance, each reaching for a piece of text, trying to decipher the meaning. "Cross-dressing," Saionji said slowly, his own words coming back with new meaning. "Nazo told me that our purpose wasn't to summon her, but to stop the evil that was threatening all realms of existance. And Xellos said that the Four Goddesses don't want the realms to merge back into one, but the Gods do. What if the Ukyou no Seishi are following a false prophet? A minor god posing as Ukyou to get them to do the bidding of the Four Gods?" "What purpose would that serve?" Mikage wondered aloud. "It's happened before," Tasuki broke the silence, "A powerful almost-deity has pledged service to a full god in exchange for power. If this minor god with the Dragon symbol is posing as the Goddess Ukyou and leading Her Seishi on a Crusade, not only does that solve the problem of the Four Gods merging the planes, but it also would open up the gateway to the Universe of the Four Goddesses, and the secrets of Eternity." "But who would ever take that risk?" Duo murmured. "What if you lose? What price would you pay? Who would be that....insane?" * * * Black electricity radiated above to dueling arena, merging into a swirling black orb, rotating on a sideways axis and spinning so slowly, it almost gave off the impression of evil. The first Ukyou no Seishi to emerge was Kenshin, stepping gracefully onto the marble floor of the arena. Heero followed, and soon, the rest of the Warriors. The Ukyou no Miko surveyed the surroundings with a skeptical eye. It was quiet. Too quiet. 'Stop cliche-ing your thoughts,' he snapped at himself. "So," the stoic Priestess spoke into the eerie silence, "What now?" "Now," Kenshin replied, placing his hand instinctively on the hilt of his sword, "We wait for the followers of Nazo to show themselves." "And then?" "And then we summon Ukyou before their very eyes, destroying their moral and suceeding in our mission." Touga chimmed in, pushing Kenshin out of the way and draping his arm around the Miko. "Our mission to reunite Ukyou with her Consort God, Seiryuu, and merge the Astral Planes," Sephiroth added, as if part of a rehersed script. At that Chichiri's good eye widened ever so slightly, keeping his words to himself and hiding his expression under the wide brim of his hat. * * * Duo's head jerked up from it's resting place on his folded hands, staring off into the distance. The Seishi all noticed the change and took defensive stances. "What?" Saionji asked softly, trying not to make any sudden movements or sounds. "The Ukyou no Seishi. They're here." the Priestess answered, his face turning pale, "All of them." Xellos closed his eyes tightly, "Everyone, come stand by me. I'm going to transport us to the arena. That's probably where they are." Duo nodded and followed the command, gesturing for the rest to do the same. * * * Energy flowed from Chichiri's hands as he waved them in a dance-like pattern over Heero's chest. In an instant, Heero was swathed in flowing robes of gold. The monk, surveying the sheer beauty that the pilot-turned-priestess emitted, then turned his attentions to the quiet Rei, whom he beckoned to with an outstreched finger. She stepped foward obidiently, and after another motion of the blue-haired Seishi's hands, she too was covered in a kimono-style set of amber-gold robes. The rest of the Seishi already bore an array of their typical clothing, now colored in the hues of the setting sun. The Evening. The time of Ukyou. Soft chimes ran throughout the arena, followed by a flash of blinding light, immediately leading to a black array dotted with millions of shimmering stars. Midnight. The time of Nazo. Duo stood in his full priestess attire, surrounded on either side by his four Seishi. To his immediate right stood Tasuki in his black clothes denoting his role as the Bride. The two groups stood and stared at each other, refusing to make a move or even speak before the other. It was Tasuki, Nazo no Seishi, to move first. * * * "EXTRA! EXTRA!" * * * "Light of Nazo. Guide the Priestess in his journey through the Other Worlds." * * * "Have you heard?! Have you heard?! The 'Medium from Another World' was a smash hit! The theater company is doing an encore presentation!!" * * * "Hear your medium and come forth!" Light erupted from the Seishi's chest, his back bending at an impossible angel backwards, the only thing preventing him from surely serious spinal injuries manifesting in the form of Duo's arm. The Priestess gracefully took hold of the crafted sword-hilt, producing from Tasuki's chest, drawing it out and extending it over his head. * * * "But how could it ever do better than the first?! It was such an entertaining play that it made me cry!!" "Did not!! You liar!!" "But sometimes, you can't help but lie to accomplish your long-time goals!!" * * * "Grant me the power to defend Nazo's name!" he called out, holding the blade up to it's full height, before lowering it and pointing it at Heero. It was at that point that the darkness dissolved from the arena, revealing the Ukyou no Seishi to those of Nazo. It took a moment for the facts to sink in, but there was no mistake of the sorrow in Tasuki's voice when he finally found the will to speak. "Chi...Chichiri?" * * * "But I love you!! How could you lie to me like that, you fool-hardy bird-brain?!" "Really! I did cry!! It was a beautiful play!!" "You're lying again!! You're nothing but a foolish bird!!" * * * "Tasuki," the monk answered blandly, without the trade-mark 'no da' following the statement. A sign of his seriousness. It was also noticed that he was not wearing his 'false face', perhaps another point to be noted. "I see it wasn't just the Priestess over there who had someone they lied to," Heero replied with even less emotion in his voice. He stared at Tasuki with bullets shooting from his eyes, letting the Seishi know that the only thing stopping him from strangleing the fire Seishi was a more important mission. It was always about missions, after all. * * * "It doesn't matter!! All I want is to go see the sequel to the play!!" "Do you know what makes it so good?!" "The platypus!!" "What?!" "The platypus is the animal that looks to be so many things, and IS so many things!! A mammal that lays eggs but has fur and can swim!!" * * * "Dawn of Ukyou," Rei Ayanami chanted softly, catching both sides off-guard with her sudden movements. "Aide thy Priestess in his quests and defend your honor by showing your true power." The golden hilt of a beautifully crafted sword with a pommel carved into wisps of wind extended from HER chest, bending back gracefully into Heero's mildly surprised but waiting arm. "Gift me the honor to defend Ukyou's name," Heero replied tonelessly, drawing the sword and closing his eyes, holding the enchanted blade above his head. "Guardian of the East, Keeper of all that the Mare stands for, I envoke Thee, Ukyou into my waiting embrace..." "NO!!" Duo charged at Heero's meditating form, the point of his blade extended and aimed for his former lover's throat. However, Heero's eyes snapped open and a smirk spread across his face, lifting his own sword into a defensive cover, easily parrying the attack. Duo lunged. Heero ducked. Duo swung. Heero swung back. The empty sound of metal on metal richoched throughout the wide arena, clanging off every surface. Finally, it looked as if the duel was about to end, and to the horror of the Warriors of Nazo, it looked as if Heero was about to win... ...when suddenly a purple-haired figure appeared near the top of the arena, falling from a floating castle that haden't been there a few moments before. "Dios," murmured Saionji, awe-struck. "Ukyou!" Kenshin yelled out, ecstatic. "Wrong." the figure replied blandly, settling himself down onto Duo's shoulders and ultimately throwing him off-balance, causing Heero to miss his would-be final blow and land flat on his face. The Nazo no Miko stummbled to his feet, kicking Ukyou's Sword out of Heero's hands and pinning him down by means of sitting on his back. "Well...that's kind of what happens when Utena duels," Saionji muttered, scratching his head. The purple-haired figure clad in flowing gold robes strode foward towards the Ukyou no Seishi, tossing his hair to the side and batting his mascara-coated lashes in their direction. "I..I don't understand.." Touga stammered, gazing past the seductive creature heading his way, his eyes focusing on Mikage. "But...how can you be..if...if Tenjou..." "That's because Tenjou Utena is no more a Seishi of Nazo than you are. Ironic that the very man you employed to stop her IS, ha..ha ha...Mwuhaha!" the gold-clad man giggled, holding the back of his hand to his mouth in a pantomime that reminded Touga nausiatingly of his sister. "And no, I am not your Goddess, although I do admit to playing Her part in a few fabricated visions." * * * "But why the platypus?!" "Because!! The Super Priest needs more than one side-kick!! And no one ever suspects the platypus!!" * * * "So you're the one whose promised your services to Seiryuu in exchange for god-hood!" Xellos yelled at the other purple-haired man, pointing his staff accusingly. "Wrong again," he smiled, turning to face the Nazo no Seishi, lifting the skirt-like garment that draped around his leg. "I'm Kuja. Nazo no Seishi," he bowed comically, "At your service," * * * "Do you know?! Do you know?!" ************************************* GUNDAM WING, FUSHIGI YUUGI, RUROUNI KENSHIN, SLAYERS, SHOUJO KAKUMEI UTENA, FINAL FANTASY, RANMA 1/2, TRIGUN, AND NEON GENESIS EVANGELION BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS ORIGINAL FICTION IS CONSIDERED PROPERTY OF KYORYOKU NAZO ************************************* The door leads to a whole new hallway......