| Phase 32 I woke to movement. Bart stirred again and made a contented noise, then opened his eyes and looked up at me. � . . . You know, this gives me a weird feeling of deja vu, but I can�t say where from. What about you?� I nodded. � Like . . . a long time ago.� He smiled. � We need to do this more often. I like this.� � Too bad I have my room again, huh?� The smile became a sly grin. � Who�s to know that you come over here? I know . . . we can build a secret door in the wall.� I laughed and kissed him. � No, don�t do that. Sig�ll find out somehow and murder us.� He moved and yelped. � What? Are you okay?� � My shoulders and neck,� he whimpered pitifully. I cooed an apology and placed my hands against each shoulder and then his neck to heal them. � There, Princeling. That better?� He closed his arms around my waist and locked us together that way. � Yes, it is. Thank you.� As he closed his eyes, I stroked his hair and soothed him back into sleep. Once I was sure he was out, I let my eyes drift shut. ~Lyn heard the door open and shut, but frowned. Roni usually gave a greeting so she�d know it was him. She put her art pad aside and got up to check the darker room. She stayed back, her hand going for her knife. Something leapt from the shadows and tackled her. It pinned her wrists to the floor and sat on her lower stomach to keep her down. Then the thing, which was now clearly a man, began to lean down toward her, a cruel grin on his face. Several other men appeared and held her legs and arms down. The first man began to unbutton her shirt. � You�re gonna like this, girlie. You remember me, don�t you?� Lyn thrashed and threw the men off. She got to her feet and ran from Nisan. The men were close behind. She ran for a place to turn and fight, but found something better. � Roni!� He turned. � Lyn? What are you---� His gaze fell on her persuers and Lyn could have sworn that she heard him snarl like a rankar dragon. She ran past him and skidded to a stop, turning to back him up if he needed it. It was amazing how easily Roni handled the first three. They had jumped on him to try to pull him down, but he had just braced himself and thrown them off all at once. But they got back up and attacked once more as the others arrived. Lyn wasn�t quite sure who it was, but one of them pulled out a knife and stabbed Roni in the chest. He collapsed and the men went for Lyn. She pulled herself together and powered up a Chi attack. � . . . Blaze Cannon!� The ground split open and fried two men, but the rest managed to dodge. They tackled her again and resumed what they had been doing before. Lyn struggled, but they had her held tightly. She began to cry as her clothes were slowly removed. Then suddenly, the man who had just finished taking off her shirt was bodily lifted off her and thrown into a tree. His neck snapped, twig-like. The other men looked up in surprise . . . and the look was plastered on their faces as lances of ice ran them through. Lyn, still crying, got to her knees. Roni fell to his and hugged her, pressing her face gently into his right shoulder. She sobbed, clutching at him as though he would just disappear. He picked her up and carried her back into Nisan to his house. He set her on his bed and cooed softly, trying to calm her. � Shh, Lyn. It�s all right. They�re gone now. They won�t ever do it again.� Her sobs dropped to sniffles and she blinked at him tearily. Then, over the next few minutes, she slipped into sleep. Roni stayed with her a little longer, softly brushing the hair out of her face. Then he looked down at himself and the deep red spot on his chest near his heart. � Good thing she didn�t see this,� he muttered to himself as he got up to tend the small wound. He paused in the door to the bathroom and watched Lyn sleep. It was a restless sleep; he best get what he needed and go back out to sit beside the bed so she would stay asleep.~ �. . . Kris . . . Krista! . . . Krista-Lyn!� I jerked awake and turned my head toward the headset. � . . . What?� I asked woozily. � It�s about time!� Sig snapped. � I�ve been calling for you for at least fifteen minutes!� � . . . Sorry.� � Yeah, I bet you are. Now, we need Axyl�s help. Can you just put her online if nothing else?� I yawned and blinked the sleep away. � . . . Yeah, uh . . . I�ll be there in a second. Just wait.� Aware of my turtle�s pace when I�ve just awakened, Sig snorted. � I�m sure you will be. Look, grandma, we don�t have time for you to be leisurely.� � I�m getting up!� I snarled. Gently disentangling myself from Bart, I gave him an apologetic kiss, snagged my headset, and ran right for the Gear bay. � Axyl, start up!� � Enter control code.� � Control code: 5-2-7-1, input!� � Control confirmed to Krista-Lyn Wong. Welcome aboard, Kris!� � Axyl, tell me what we�re up against!� I ordered as I climbed into the cockpit and strapped myself into the seat. [I�ve never seen anything like it . . .] � Can you even give me a hint?!� [It�s about a third of the size of the Yggdrasil. Does that help?] � That�s huge! Are you trying to kill me, Sig?!� � How did you guess?� came the infinitely flat, unamused reply. � Yes, that�s exactly what I�m doing. I�m trying to kill you so Bartholomew will kill me. Does that make any sense whatsoever?� � You don�t have to get smart,� I grumbled. � Pardon?� � Don�t worry about it. Go, Axyl.� Axyl left the stall and ran outside, leaping off the Yggdrasil and pulling up in a spin to stop behind a . . . Giant Wels?! //� Just back away slowly, Kris,� he instructed quietly. I did as he said, keeping the tips of my fingers in contact with the back of his left knee. � What do they want?� � Our blood. It soothes their pain for a while.� But that would kill us . . . One leapt and I dropped my head a little, narrowing my eyes at the Wels. It stopped in mid-air, then went sailing back at the other Wels, who lunged for it. � Run!� he commanded, spinning and taking off. I followed, though I was soon falling behind because of my shorter stride. He glanced back over his shoulder and skidded to a stop. � No!� I cried. � Don�t stop!� The wall crumbled beside him and a Giant Wels reached out and grabbed him, squeezing him in its grip. I panicked and fired an Ether at it. That just made it grow bigger. And it didn�t let him go. So I focused. And as I did, the Giant Wels opened its jaws and breathed foul breath all over everything. It then began to lift him over its head, ready to drop him and swallow him whole. My energy peaked just as it released him into its throat and shut its mouth. My heart raced; I�d failed to save my friend. � No~o!� I wailed, throwing my energy at the Giant Wels. The power was too much and it exploded, spraying bloody bits everywhere. I watched him drop to the floor and bounce lifelessly, then ran over to see if he was really dead. Pieces of the thing clung to his hair and clothes; it would take at least a week to wash the stench off. If he was even alive, that is. � Sig? Sig?!� He was still. I slumped over him and began to cry; calling for him, begging him to wake up. People ran down the hall and a few entered the room I was in. A hand touched my shoulder briefly. � Kris . . .� � It�s my fault!� I cried. � I was too slow! I should have been faster! I could have saved him if I had been faster!� � You did all you could,� Hyuga assured me gently. � I am sure he does not blame you.� � You weren�t here!� I snapped, tears rolling down my cheeks. � How do you know?!� I fell over onto Sig�s chest and rested my head over his heart and sobbed so hard my throat hurt. I felt so awful. This was all my--- . . . ? I stopped crying and listened. . . . ! There! I hadn�t been hearing things! I sat up and began to shake him (it was more like rocking him back and forth) as strongly as I could. � Sig, wake up! I know you�re alive! I heard your heart! Wake up!� His eyes opened slowly and he looked at me triumphantly. � Gotcha.� Normally, I would�ve been mad at him for pulling such a cruel joke in a situation like this, but now I was just so happy that he was alive I didn�t care. I hugged his head and began to cry again, though this time they were tears of joy. � I thought I was too slow!� He humphed a gentle laugh and reached up painfully to cup my face in his hand. � No, you were just in time. Thank you.� � Maybe you�ll listen to me next time when I tell you to run,� I scolded. � Not likely. It would�ve caught you if I hadn�t been there.� � And it�s better that you get caught than me?!� � Yes.� � How?� � . . . Just is.� I gave his head a soft bop. � I can free myself a whole lot easier than I can free you, you know, so just let me get caught next time!� He rolled his eyes. � I hope there never is a next time. I never want to go through that ever again.�// I watched the Giant Wels step forward to attack. The overwhelming sense of helplessness drove me half mad. � No!� Axyl shot forward and around in front of the Giant Wels, stopping it there. It kind of looked at her, then batted her aside. Axyl tumbled, but caught and righted herself, then rushed at the Giant Wels again. The thing took a swipe at Heimdal, knocking it down. I shrieked and Axyl arched back, the tips of her wings touching over her head and her arms slightly out to the sides and in front of her in a subservient gesture. My strength was stripped from me as genuine crystals of multiple shades of blue rose from the sea and swirled around Axyl and then surrounded the Giant Wels. Short lazer bursts fired and began to rip a long gash through the Yggdrasil�s nose. I expended the last of my energy to form a shield over the ship to protect it. The Giant Wels fell, dead, and slid into the sea. Drained, I barely piloted Axyl into the bay without crashing. I shut her down and stumbled toward the door. Sig met me half way. � Are you crazy?!� he shouted, stomping toward me. � You nearly cut this ship in half!� The bay spun around me and I forced out, � Why can�t you be grateful for once?� right before I collapsed. *>*<* Sigurd caught her before she hit the floor. � Kris?!� Bart entered and ran over. � What did you do to her?!� � I didn�t do anything! She just fell over!� Citan appeared, putting pressure on a small cut on his hand. � She is probably exhausted. Not only did she call the Gaian Aerods, but she shielded the entire ship from them, which must have taken more energy than she could spare. I believe the best thing for her right now would be rest.� Bart gathered Kris up and carried her out of the bay. Sigurd turned his complete focus to Citan. � Shouldn�t she be dead?� He shook his head. � Any normal person would be. Not Kris. She should be just fine by later tonight or tomorrow morning. No longer. Just feed her.� Sigurd humphed his agreement. � That�s all it ever took before, isn�t it? Why was I worried again?� <--Phase 31 Phase 33--> |