Sooner

Part VII of Sisters is posted in RP.

Sisters
Part VII

Now...

Neely was finally ready. She had a couple changes of clothing she’d picked up from a thrift shop and she neatly folded them and placed them in the bag. She hefted the bag and was unhappy with the way it felt. Too bulky. She sighed and unpacked it, trying to eliminate anything else. Then, down at the very bottom, she felt something hard. She pulled it out and frowned at it. A small, clear plastic cube filled with circuitry.

“Ahren...” she muttered. Or maybe UPS. She still remembered that surprising hug. Either Ahren placed this himself during the hug, or UPS took advantage of her surprise to drop it in her bag. She bounced the cube on her palm a few times, then stuck it in her pocket and continued to pack.

When she was satisfied with her packing, she took a last look in the mirror. She had taken a minimalistic approach to disguise, dressing like a lower-class citizen with old, baggy clothes and worn shoes. She’d considered dying her blonde hair, but decided there were certainly blondes in the Rogue Isles and so just pulled a stocking cap over it to hide it partially. She reminded herself again not to use any powers while there if she could avoid it, as any display of kheldian powers would be a beacon to villains everywhere. She nodded at her reflection, and headed for the docks.

She detoured from her plans to head to the cruise ships. She thought she remembered a cruise ship pulled out most weekdays in the early evening, and, in fact, there one was. All decked out with streamers and lights as families eagerly boarded for their vacations. She spotted a family with luggage digging through their papers and approached with a friendly smile.

“Where are you headed?” she asked.

The wife looked over with a distracted smile. “The Caribbean. If he can ever find the tickets.”

“Oh! That should be so fun!” Neely smiled even brighter. “Be sure you get your hair braided while you’re there!”

The family laughed politely, and Neely turned away, stumbling and falling to her knees amongst the luggage. She pushed herself up, dusted off herself off, and laughed. “I’m alright! I’m alright. So sorry. Enjoy your trip!”

She strode away, leaving the tiny plastic cube to sail to the Caribbean.

Neely left the clean, tourist-friendly piers that hosted towering cruise ships and headed for the weathered and heavily worn commercial docks flanked by rusting old container ships, creaking oilers and foul-smelling fishing boats. She had a pre-arrangement with the captain of a fishing boat, and had to hurry... the diversion to the cruise ship had cost her time she hadn’t planned for.

She was pleased when the captain didn’t immediately recognize her when she arrived, but when he did he twisted his lined face into a scowl and barked, “You’re late!”

“I’m here now,” she answered.

“Get aboard, then!” he barked.

---

UPS nearly ignored the phone when it rang. The procedure was not going well. Ahren had spiked a high fever, and the meta-human specialist doctor was standing over him, watching monitors, adjusting fluid rates, and administering medications. UPS was standing by to answer any questions about the nanites, but he had done all he could, and now it was up to the doctor. UPS had watched enough doctors work to know when the doctor looked worried, those who cared about the patient should be worried indeed. However, UPS had more than one friend on his mind that day, so he turned and snatched up the phone.

“This is not a good time,” he answered gruffly.

“It’s Crimson Blaydes,” a meek voice answered.

“She’s gone, hasn’t she?”

“Well.. She went to the docks, and she’s headed south, by sea.”

“South? What the hell is she doing going south?” That answer was unexpected enough to distract him from watching the doctor work. And even Ahren, his face flush with fever, glanced over.

“I checked some schedules, and, sir, I think she’s on a cruise ship.”

“She’s on a cruise ship.” UPS shook his head, “Did you check both-” At that moment Ahren’s body arched painfully, the doctor inhaled sharply, and UPS cursed under his breath. “Call me if anything changes.” And slammed down the phone.

---

Neely tried to look as if she belonged as she stepped off the ship onto the docks of the Nerva Archipelago. She dropped her head to look at the ground in front of her feet and adopted a weary attitude as if she had just enough energy to make it home. In her mind, she was envisioning the map in the Ghost’s intelligence files that approximated the location of the Shade’s base. She headed north.

---

Bounty-Killer’s left hand fiddled with the scrap of paper in the pocket of his trenchcoat, restlessly folding and unfolding the note containing a date, a time, a name, and a location. The timing bothered him. Usually he brushed aside things that preyed on his mind, that distracted him, but this... he just couldn’t put aside.

He had no sooner returned to the Rogue Isles, from meeting with Ici Cold, than he was contacted by a broker and offered the note. It was a request for his presence, on this date, to meet Ebony Rose, the techowizard who shared leadership of the Shades of Vengeance with Shattered Ice9. A powerful woman in the Rogue Isles, a woman with many connections and many sources of information.

He arrived considerably earlier than he was expected, as was his habit whenever possible, and headed for a nearby coffee house with a view - albeit a long one - of the main entrance. It was a pretty day in Nerva, with the sun out and a cool breeze. A very nice day to sit out on the patio and enjoy a hot tea. And, of course, observe the base of a powerful villain group.

He acquired his drink and turned to survey the patio. He would not be alone, he regretfully observed, a woman of indeterminate age was sitting there as well, nursing a coffee and facing out towards the ocean. From behind, all he could see was her baggy, faded clothes, stocking cap, and tufts of blonde hair dangling to her shoulders. As he watched, she shifted a bit in her seat, stretched, and glanced over her shoulder - giving him her profile for a brief moment-before settling back in a comfortable slouch. He set his drink aside and faded from view.

---

Neely sat quietly, eyes half closed, appearing to be dozing. She had identified the main entrance to the Shades base, currently guarded by two burly men lounging with exaggerated casualness against the entry-way. Despite her reputation for exuberant confidence in her own abilities, Neely had no illusions about her ability to break into the Shade’s base through their front door. That, she knew, would only accomplish giving them another kheldian to experiment on. For now, she was merely observing, gathering data, and coming up with a plan.

Her only warning of danger was a faint metallic sliding sound, and then the very sharp tip of a knife was jabbing her painfully just below her shoulder blades. She gasped, jumped, then held very still, reminding herself NOT to flare into kheldian energy... just yet.

“And just like that,” a rich voice spoke from behind, “You’re dead. You... should go home. Before someone else finds you.”

“What do you want?” she asked. She remained still. The fact that whoever it was hadn’t killed her was a good sign, the fact that he hadn’t raised an alarm was another. She took a relieved breath when the knife was withdrawn, flexed her shoulder, and took a carefully casual sip of her coffee.

The man who stepped around and took a seat at her table looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him immediately. He was attractive, but oozed danger. His almond eyes were alert, and she noticed that he slid his chair around so that he too was facing the entrance to the Shade’s base.

“I want you to go home.” he answered, and took a sip of his drink.

She frowned at him, becoming exasperated. “Who ARE you? And who are you to tell me I can’t have a cup of coffee on my way home from work?”

“This is not the time for games. I know who you are. I know why you’re here. Go home. You’ll accomplish nothing here but your own death. Or worse.”

Neely leaned closer to him and pitched her voice low, but still intense. “They have my sister! And I am not leaving without her.”

He shook his head, “You will accomplish nothing by trying to get in there. You will not help your sister and your best hope is that you yourself wouldn’t be captured as well.”

Her face set in a stubborn expression that any of her friends would recognize as meaning that conversation was hopeless. “I’m not leaving as long as my sister is alive and trapped in there.”

“Your funeral,” he said with a shrug. He drained off his tea, set down the cup and stood.

“Wait! Where are you going?” she asked.

“I have a meeting. It may be about you.” The comment stunned her into silence. “Don’t do anything until I come back. Will you do that?”

She still felt the chill from his words singing along her nerves, and just nodded. As he left, the trenchcoat swirling around his ankles, she got up and ordered another coffee. She sat back down, took her first sip, and nearly spit it out as she suddenly remembered his face from the Ghost’s intelligence files as one of the most notorious assassins and mercenaries in the Rogue Isles.

Part VI of Sisters is posted in RP.

Sisters
Part VI
Now....

UPS stuck his head into the library and found Ahren there, reading a book titled “December 7th, at Dawn.” The monitor was sitting beside him, blinking comfortingly.

“Ahren... they’re ready. They’re ready now.,” UPS said.

Ahren looked up, startled. “Now? I thought it would be next week”

“We’ve got 36 hours before they expire and we have to try to create a new batch.” UPS looked significantly at the monitor.

“She’s still in Paragon City.” Ahren said. “How long if we have to try again?”

“At least a month. Possibly longer.” UPS shrugged. “We can start over... or you can leave the monitor with a Ghost. If she gets into trouble and we need to stop... we can wait another month.”

Ahren considered, glancing at the monitor again, and then nodded. “I think I know just the Ghost.”

a few years ago....

Neely actually managed to doze off in her chair when the phone woke her again. It was Erich, of course. She’d learned that the phone only worked when he wanted to call. When she tried to call out, it was dead. It only rang when he called.

The answering machine clicked, and then Erich’s voice came over the line again. “Neely... we’re running out of time. Please pick up.” Neely just tucked her legs up and hugged herself. “I’m been trying to hold them off, but they are going to come in after you, and soon. I keep telling them you’re not a threat, but the longer you refuse to come out, the harder it is to convince them. Neely, if you don’t come out.. People could get hurt.” he paused, then spoke in a near whisper. “They’re going to hurt your sister, Neely. If you don’t come out, they’re going to do something bad to her... call me, please.”

Neely sat quietly for a long moment. A part of her wanted to curl up and cry, but she had been trapped in her own home for hours and now they were threatening her sister. Crying would do nothing to solve her problem. It was time to act.



She stood and strode to the tiny closet, pulled the curtain aside, and carelessly yanked the hangers from the rod, dropping the neatly hung clothing on the floor. She grabbed the footstool neatly leaning against the wall in the kitchen, opened it, and climbed up to the top step. She reached overhead, pushed a plywood panel aside, and then pulled herself up into the ceiling over the closet.



She took a minute to orient herself, and then headed off to the direction she believed would take her to the one empty apartment on this floor. Whether by design or oversight this crawlspace provided access to every apartment. Many tenants had taken to padlocking the panel shut, and Neely had intended to do the same, as soon as she saved up a few dollars for the lock and hardware.

She counted as she crawled, turned to the right, and counted more. After just a few minutes, her skin was itching horribly from the insulation. It was hot and dusty and she struggled not to sneeze and give herself away. As she moved carefully over people’s homes, she passed an interesting assortment of items stored in the dark space above the closets: Luggage, a stack of neatly folded and flattened cardboard boxes, a full box overstuffed with contents and labeled “fat clothes,” and a collection of outdated computer equipment including a dirty and stained box marked “Apple 2e+”

Finally she reached the panel she was looking for and, with her breath held in case she’d miscounted, carefully slid the panel aside. She sighed with relief at the empty apartment she saw below and dropped down. The apartment had been thoroughly trashed by its previous occupants and the super hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it yet.

She remained in a crouch, ignoring the dirt and debris around her, and listened for any sign that her escape had been discovered. She crept, as silently as possible, and peered out the peephole into the hall. Sure enough, there was a man leaning casually against the wall, appearing to read a newspaper. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, but something about his bearing screamed of military training. She had no doubt he was council, and the fact that kept glancing at her apartment door just added weight to her suspicions.

She turned back to the room and headed for the fire escape. That was the moment that her life changed forever.

The room erupted into a blinding blaze of white-blue light. There was something moving in the center, but she could barely see it past the light.

A voice spoke, directly into her head: Yes, you are the one I have sought.

Only a finely tuned urge to survive this night kept her from screaming. She did drop to the ground and throw one hand up to try to shield her eyes.

Do not be frightened. I will not harm you.. I need your help, as you need mine.

“Help?” she asked. “I can barely help myself. How can I help you?”

Join with me. Together we will be strong. We will be more powerful than our enemies. Your sibling desperately needs your help. You desperately need my help. And once you and she are safe, you and I together can combat the ancient enemy of my people - the nictus.

And then she understood. She’d read about Kheldians in the newspaper. Seen footage of them on TV. She gasped... realizing exactly what was being offered, and asked. She would be a Hero. She would have powers, but she would be expected to behave as a hero. And really.. It was no choice at all.

“Yes!” she said. “Yes! I gladly accept!” She stood, threw her arms open as if welcoming an old friend, and invited the Peacebringer in.

The bright light vanished and it felt as if she’d just received the strongest electric shock of her life. It startled a cry from her and she stumbled back as the light flared again inside her very soul. The union of two minds was confusing, frightening, and wonderful. She remembered flying between the stars. She remembered battling nictus on a hundred different worlds. She felt the symbiote’s pain as it relieved her childhood. Their two minds joined into one, with a shared determination to find Keely. They knew where she was. They knew where she and several others were being held. They knew the evil that was being perpetrated there.

Now...


Ahren had been many things in his life. He had been a Peacebringer until that was taken from him. He had been a hero, a prisoner, and a hero again. He had taken up a rifle and mastered traps. He was soon to put those weapons aside and take on a new hero role. The one thing he had never stopped being was a teacher.

UPS watched as Ahren carefully and thoughtfully instructed a young hero, Crimson Blaydes, in the use of the small monitor.

“She’s got the skin tag,” he instructed, “but also a bigger tag in her bag. The bigger one sends out a stronger signal, but the skin tag can’t be dropped or left behind. So, you need to check both of them. How do you switch from one to the other?”

“This button,” Blaydes replied.

“Very good.” the teacher nodded. “You have our contact information. If she goes anywhere near the Rogue Isles, you call us. Immediately.”

Blaydes smiled, delighted with the responsibility, and nodded, “Yes sir!”

UPS and Ahren headed out of the base and Blaydes settled in to watch over Neely.

A few years ago...

Keely landed hard on her hands and knees but sprang back to her feet and jumped at the door just as it slammed shut. “Dammit!!!” she screamed and began to pound on the door with her fists. “You freaks! You sick freaks! You.... you deviants! You can’t leave me here! Get back here! Get back here!” She pounded until her fists hurt, then screamed wordlessly at the door before turning to survey the room.

It was small and dark, with a single, narrow bed. There was no window besides the one in the door that was also the only source of light. It was too terrifying to even contemplate.

She drew in a trembling breath, and another. She looked down at the thin hospital gown that was all she had to wear and then at the band at her wrist that looked deceptively like a hospital band, but which no amount of pulling could remove. It was blue, and marked with the legend “KHC96%” She tugged at it a few more times, with the same result. She was bruised at wrist and ankle, and wasn’t sure if it was from the ties the Outcasts had used on her, or from the exam table the Council had strapped her to. The crook of her right elbow was bruised as well, from where they’d drawn tube after tube of her blood, and she still had the sticky residue from EEG and EKG leads on her head, chest, and sides. Her mind shied away from remembering the clinical and thorough physical exam she’d been given.

She heard a noise from outside the room and ran to peer out the tiny window. Two council soldiers were dragging a red-haired young man between them. The captive was wearing a gown and a wristband like Keely’s and his face was terrified. They tossed him into the cell across from Keely’s and slammed the door. A moment later his face appeared in the window. Keely couldn’t hear him, but she could see his mouth moving. His green eyes held onto hers with desperation, but there was nothing she could do to help either of them.

She turned back to the shadows of her room and finally flopped down on the bed. She threw an arm over her eyes and tried to figure a way out of here. There had to be a way. And what about Neely? That man had said Neely would be here soon. She was filled with a longing so powerful it was painful to just see her sister again.

The quality of the light changed in the room and she cautiously raised her head. She bolted upright when she realized the shadows were moving in the room. She backed into a corner, trying to make sense of the purple and blue swirling shadows in the tiny room.

Join me... a voice spoke directly into her head. Join me. Help me.

Keely battled down her fear and yelled, “Get out of my head! Get out!”

You need me, the voice answered. You need my help, as I need you. Join me. We are alike. Regrets, desires, wishes.. Things we cannot change. Join me. We can’t change our past, but we can make a better future.

“NO!” she screamed. “No no no! Get out get out get out!”

The voice sounded confused. You are right for me. I am right for you. We need each other. Together, we can escape this evil place and use our power to make this world better. Your sibling is in danger. Together, we can help her. Apart... You will die here, and I may die before I find another host.

She threw her hands up, blocking the swirling shadows from view. “NO!” she screamed again.

The shadows shifted. There was silence in her head. Then the voice spoke again, full of regret. Farewell, then.

The shadows began to lift away. Keely watched them go and thought about her first evening as a guest of the council. She thought about Neely being in danger. She thought about spending the rest of her life trapped in this little room.

She flung out her hands again, this time reaching for the fading shadows. “Wait! Wait, come back!”

For a long, terrifying moment there was no response. Then the purple and blue swirling tendrils seeped back into the room.

Yes? It spoke. You... called me back? She could hear hope and wariness in its mental voice.

“Neely’s in danger?” she asked.

Very grave danger. It answered.

“And you can help me get out of here?”

Together, we can escape. It paused. A long pause. Join me?

Keely was more afraid at that moment than she’d ever been, including the last horrible 24 hours. Nonetheless, she opened her arms to the swirling darkness and said, “Yes, I’ll join you.”

The colors seemed to contract, and then the voice spoke in her head one more time. This may be painful. Then it vanished.

Keely was suddenly overcome with feeling of regret, guilt, and sorrow so powerful it dropped her to her knees. She sobbed as she remembered causing pain and death to those who didn’t deserve it. She remembered the moment she resolved to become a warshade and begin to attempt to make up for the pain she’d caused. She felt the warshade’s pain as it experienced the fire that had cost her home and her family, the neglect, the hope as she and her sister were taken from home to home and then the pain and loneliness of being taken from her sister and losing the last family she had.

And then it was over. The storm of emotion passed, and they climbed to their feet.

Part V of Sisters is up now in RP.

Sisters
Part V
a few years ago....

Neely sat in the dark in her tiny apartment. She didn’t know where else to go. Erich had come by and knocked at her door while calling her name, but she didn’t answer. She didn’t get really frightened until she saw a shadow move on the fire escape. Someone was trying to look in, but the drapes were closed, and whoever it was went away. Then someone picked the lock, but Neely had applied a chain and three different types of security bolts, so the door opened a few inches and then no more. She heard a mumbled curse, which might have been Erich, and then the door was pulled closed again. Now she was trapped, and didn’t even dare peek out the window.

None of it made any sense. The idea that Erich was a member of some sort of evil militia was ridiculous enough, but for him to keep pursing her this way, spying on her, picking locks... those weren’t the actions of a spurned boyfriend, they were the actions of a person who wanted something... badly.

---

Keely loved Avalanche’s noisy old car. She didn’t love it when she was crammed in with Avalanche and all his friends. There was no room, it wasn’t comfortable, and she liked it better when she had her boyfriend’s full attention. When his friends were around, he was different.

So.. She snuggled up to him and whispered “Let’s dump these losers and go someplace fun.”

He turned a big smile on her. “Oh, we’re goin someplace fun, all right.” His friends laughed and Keely scowled.

“Where are we going? And can’t we have... like... a date without Spanky and the gang?”

They laughed again, and the look on Avalanche’s face made her stomach tie up in knots. Was he going to dump her?

“Well, babe,” he said, “I don’t know that it’s gonna be much fun for you... But I’m gonna enjoy my payday.”

“What are you talking about?” Keely turned to glare at the outcasts still laughing at every word either of them said. “Shut up, you idiots!”

That was when he hit her. A casual backhand blow that snapped her head back. She tasted blood. It took her a second to come back to herself, and it was a second she didn’t have. By the time she was able to move again, the outcasts had dragged her into the back seat and tied her wrists and ankles, then shoved her to the floor. And some of them weren’t being careful with their hands.

She began a screaming tirade, fear masked as anger, until they yanked her head back and shoved a bandana in her mouth and tied it in place too.

“Don’t hurt her, now” Avalanche said. “I don’t get paid as much if she’s hurt. And hands off!” Keely curled up under their feet, still fighting uselessly to get free and battling her terror.

The big V8 engine opened up and Avalanche sped through a tunnel that opened up into the night sky of Steel Canyon. Avalanche relaxed when he drove, and Keely could see his elbow peek over the back of the big bench seat as he began to talk again. “Don’t know what they want you for, babe, but you sure did make it easy. Pick you up? There you were, in that bar, just waiting for someone like me. Get to know you? Hell.. .you’re just waitin to spill your life story to anyone who’ll listen. Turn you over to them? Well.. Here you are, all tied up like a nice little package ready to be delivered. All I gotta do now is collect my pay.” He just laughed as she began cursing incoherently at him through the crude gag. “Just a lonely little girl, lookin for a father figure.”


The big old car pulled over and came to a stop. Avalanche turned to peer at her over the top of the seat. “End of the line, babe,” he said with an infuriating smile.

The doors opened and Avalanche and his outcasts clambered out, leaving Keely in the floor of the backseat. She craned her head around to look out and saw a small group of uniformed men - Council. One leaned in, and examined her, his blue eyes cold. He straightened again and glanced at Avalanche. “She really does look just like a brunette version of her sister.” Keely’s head snapped up at the mention of her sister. And the blue-eyed council man looked back at her. “Don’t worry, Keely. You and Neely will be reunited very soon.” He gestured at the other three and they leaned in to drag Keely out. She kicked and fought, screaming past the gag, but they dragged her out of the car and into the unobtrusive door of the nearby warehouse.

---

Neely jumped when the phone rang. Earlier, it had been going off every fifteen minutes or so all night, but it hadn’t rang at all for nearly an hour. The answering machine picked up after four rings, and then there was a long silence. She already had a half dozen messages from Erich, so she wasn’t surprised when his voice came over the line.

“Neely? Neely? Come on, I know you’re there. This isn’t what you think. Just talk to me. Please, and let me try to explain. This is important. Ok.. I went in there that day specifically to find you. We had information about you and your sister that you might be a danger.. Or in danger.”

Neely’s head snapped around at the mention of her sister. She reached for the phone, but then deliberately put her hand back down. She wanted to see what else he might reveal.

“I sought you out, and got to know you, and realized that you weren’t any kind of threat. But you do have.. characteristics that could make you a target. You have to come out and let us protect you. I can take you to your sister.” He fell silent, and Neely held her breath as if he might be able to hear her if she moved at all. “Call me, Neely. Let me help you.” Another long pause, and then he hung up.

Neely sat there in her chair, trying to figure out what to do. What if he was telling the truth and he was trying to protect her from something? What if her instincts were right and he wanted something from her? Wanted it enough to spend weeks setting it up? What if he could take her, finally, to Keely? Wouldn’t anything be worth that? She sat curled up in her chair, trying to make sense of what had happened to her life.

now...

Ici flew to the top of a rickety fire escape on the side of a dilapidated building. She landed lightly, ready to take flight again if it wouldn’t support her weight, but it seemed solid enough.

This little corner of the War Zone showed signs of the ravages of the still on going Rikti war, but seemed to be free of Rikti activity at that moment. It was remarkably quiet, the temperature was pleasantly warm, with a delightfully cool breeze gusting sporadically.

Ici hunkered down on the metal ledge and concentrated on controlling the temperature around her. With a little effort she could create a fog around herself that rendered her very difficult to see. When she was confident that no one would see her who didn't know where to find her, she settled in to wait.

The longer she waited, the worse the knot grew in her stomach. This would be the first time she'd been alone with Bounty-Killer since they escaped from Oranbega. There had been that terrifying time that they had worked together for Vanguard's Lady Grey, but they had been surrounded by six others, and she hadn't dared ask him the questions that filled her brain.

She heard a noise, dismissed it as the whoosh of a bird taking flight, and then jumped and let out an embarrassing squeal as a strong, warm hand pressed into her neck. She was preparing a blast of ice even as she recognized the voice that said, "You should be more careful. There are dangerous... creatures about."

"Bounty-Killer!" she exclaimed. She wanted to jump up and hug him but she was suddenly awkward. He faded into view, and she couldn't help but smile to see his face again. It was a handsome face, with expressive almond eyes, skin quite a bit darker than her own, and a European cast to his features. That above a body with the build of a dancer, set off handsomely by the red shirt he wore under a billowing trenchcoat.

There was a long, awkward pause, then they spoke together. "You needed me?" he asked, as she said, "Thank you for coming."

The silence stretched again, then Bounty-Killer turned, glanced in the window behind them and said, "perhaps we could talk someplace less exposed?"

The window was intact, and slid open easily, two surprises. He gestured for her to enter first, and then stepped in behind her.

Bounty-Killer hid his smile as he entered. When Ici ducked into the window, he caught a quick glimpse down the neckline of her school girl uniform. He recognized the colorful design on the scrap of silk tucked inside, and was touched that she kept it close to her heart. He quickly squashed the feeling, however. There was no possibility of a relationship with this woman. None. still, he found her even more intriguing now, in the full strength of her power, than when she'd been been without powers and going forward on nothing more than determination.

They stood in silence for a moment, then Ici glanced around. He hid his smile at the moment she realized they were in a bedroom - a bedroom in remarkably good shape. Her blush was strikingly apparent on her pale skin. To defuse the tension, he sat down on the bed, clasped his hands and asked, "What did you need?"

She drew a quick bracing breath before speaking. "I am very worried about one of my fellow Ghosts. Do you know who Neely is?"

He considered for a moment before answering, "Peacebringer, female, blonde. Has a sister who is a warshade?"

She nodded before correcting, "Had a sister. She's dead. Well... we thought she was dead. She may be..." Ici paused, and he could see she was struggling with some emotion. Fear? "She may have been captured by the Shades of Vengeance."

He didn't bother to hide his wince at that. The dread fates that had befallen captives of the Shades we're legendary. And they had a special reputation where Kheldians were concerned.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he offered. "Were you close?"

"She was a Ghost," Ici answered flatly, and he nodded, taking her meaning. Ici paused again, apparently gathering her thoughts, before continuing. "It's been months. We thought she was dead. Then Neely heard a rumor... she took off..." another pause, "We're so afraid she's gone to the Rogue Isles."

"And that they'll both be taken." He nodded. "And you want me to do what?"

"Watch for her. Help her. She's powerful... but by herself, she's no match for them.. in their base."

He arched a brow. 'You want me to help a hero in the Rogue Isles? Help her do what?"

Ici's face darkened with emotion. "Not get killed? Get out of there? Get home?"

"I can keep an eye out for her,"' he said with a nod, "but do you have any idea what the bounty is that the Shades are offering for a kheldian?"

She blinked. "You want me to pay you?"

"I may not be only one watching for her," he said. "Peacebringers are not exactly known to be unobtrusive." He smiled bitterly at her expression. "I don't want your money, because I don't take a job that I don't have confidence I can complete. If I see her, I'll do what I can. But if she's in the Rogue Isles, she's in more danger than one man may be able to help her out of."

Ici sighed, a wavering sigh, and sank to the floor. Against his better judgement, he reached out to touch her, and the shock as his hand pressed into her pale skin made them both jump.

"I.... should go," Ici muttered.


Ici dozed, warm, safe, content. She woke slowly, relishing the feel of one strong arm flung across her belly. She opened her eyes slowly. She felt a warmth come over her as deep inside she knew the level of trust it implied that this man was asleep with her there. Then, just like that, his eyes opened and he gazed back at her.

They were frozen that way for a long moment, then they were interrupted by that horrible, whistling shriek just before a Rikti appeared in the room, its black armor gleaming with green light that cast the abandoned room into long and strange shadows.

Bounty-Killer was up a long moment before she was with his sword appearing in his hand. Ici clambered to her feet and jumped, preparing to fly near the ceiling. The Rikti unlimbered his gun and fired directly into Ici's chest. She flew back and slammed into the wall behind her, dimly aware of BK's enraged roar.

She'd seen him fight like a dancer and she'd seen him fight like a boxer on punch from being KO'd, but she'd never seen him fight like a wild beast. She was stunned by the ferocity of it as she regained her feet. Movement caught her eye, and she saw more Rikti outside on the fire escape.

She shook her loose hair out of her eyes and, with a moment’s thought, she summoned an ice storm outside the window. She smiled as the Rikti fled. She turned her attention to the one remaining in the room. She pelted it with blast after blast of ice until she finally encased it completely. She saw BK go down into a crouch, then lunge forward, spitting the Rikti like a bug on a collector’s pin.

It collapsed between them and now the awkwardness was back. They gathered their belongings, neither willing to speak what they knew to true.

Ici trailed the colorful scarf between her fingers, and Bounty-Killer's eyes followed it as she tucked it back inside her shirt. She straightened, cleared her throat. He looked at her, appearing calm and expectant.

"So... um... you'll watch for her? Neely?"

He nodded. "I'll do what I can."

Silence descended again. Ici shifted from foot to foot. "I... should go." She ducked her eyes and turned toward the window, then twirled and ran to him. She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him, very thoroughly, before turning again and fleeing out the window.

She didn't look back, and now, as she headed back home, reality slammed back into her, and she cried hot, bitter tears as she flew.

Part IV of Sisters is up in RP.

Sisters
Part IV
a few years ago...

Neely was smiling and happy as she walked home from work. Even the lingering odor of the fryer hovering about her wasn’t enough to squash her good mood. She had another date with Erich. Another! She liked him so much, and he was so handsome and kind. She could already imagine a life with him. A better life.

She remembered the first time they’d met. He had come into Up-and-Away during a slow time to order a drink, and ended up standing at the register and chatting with her for almost an hour. His eyes were so bright blue, and his hair a rich brown so dark it was almost black. Every time her boss would turn around to look, Erich ordered something else. By the time he left, after securing her promise for their first date, he had a half-dozen burgers, 4 fries, 3 fried pies, and a large box of chickin fries. She smiled again at the memory. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before. It was like a movie.

She rounded a corner and then stepped back quickly. There were four Council soldiers there, pushing a young man between them. She back-pedaled, trying to decide what to do even as the group came out of the narrow alley and rushed towards a parked van. Neely plastered herself back against the wall and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The man they were taking was young, with bright red hair. He was obviously terrified, and his green eyes darted around the street as they opened the van doors. His eyes met Neely’s suddenly, and he mouthed “Help me!” as they shoved him into the van. One of the council soldiers followed his line of sight and found Neely.

She actually didn’t recognize him until he called her by name. Then it was as if his face snapped suddenly into focus. There were those bright blue eyes, under a council helmet. Her mouth dropped open in shock, and then Erich called her again.

She turned and fled, confused, angry, and frightened.

now....

Keely huddled in the back corner of her tiny cell. The ever present red light sapped her of her strength, her energy, her will. She drew herself up even tighter when she heard a noise, but it passed her by. This time. Next time... it might be him again. Or the demon. Or any of the lunatic minions who seemed to have no purpose other than tormenting her.

She glanced up at the sickly red glow of the light that kept her helpless, but it couldn’t take her hope. Neely would come for her. She knew it. Neely would save her.

now...

Neely took her time leaving the base. She belonged there. It was her place. It was also the first place she remembered being happy with Keely. She wandered into the conference room and found the table where she always used to sit with her usual teammates, UPS, Strif, and Celestial Nav. She had the oddest feeling that she wouldn’t see this room or her friends again. Not a feeling of foreboding, just the feeling that she needed to say goodbye.

Several Ghosts found her and wished her well, but the two she really wanted to find were nowhere to be seen. She was used to Ahren being elusive since his return from the Rogue Isles, but Glacius9 was usually easier to find.

On a hunch, she went to the roof, to the beautiful view of Founder’s Falls. It was Sooner’s favorite spot to think, and a few others had adopted the habit as well. And, sure enough, there was Glacius, leaning on the railing, staring out at the crystal blue water below.

“Glacius,” she called, and smiled when he turned. It was still both strange and comforting to have his familiar face around again. She walked to him and put her hand on his shoulder. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it, Neely?” he asked.

“It wasn’t your fault, what happened to Keely. I know you blame yourself, and I know that there are a few others who may blame you as well.”

“But it is. I screwed up. If I hadn’t, she’d still be here.”

Neely shook her head. “If you hadn’t gone.. She would still have been there. Nothing was going to stop her from going... nothing. For that matter, you couldn’t have stopped Sooner Magic either. In fact, I’m glad that she was with friends before... before it happened.”

He shook his head, “If I hadn’t-”

“No.” she broke in. “No. She made that choice herself. Glacius, she-”

Before Neely could continue, the door to the roof opened, and what appeared to be the majority of the membership of the Ghosts filed out onto the roof to say goodbye to Neely. She managed to exchange one last look with Glacius, and she was sure that even if she hadn’t convinced him, at least he knew she didn’t blame him.

Neely was kept busy hugging and shaking hands, saying goodbye after goodbye and exchanging well-wishes with more friends than she could count. But when it was over, and the crowd began to disperse, she still hadn’t seen Ahren. She finally resigned herself and approached her old friend UPS. “Please tell Ahren I said goodbye,” she offered.

“Tell him yourself,” UPS said with a smile and a nod.

Neely glanced over her shoulder and smiled with the familiar combination of fondness and sadness she felt whenever she saw her onetime mentor and longtime friend. He had been such a strong, handsome man. Now his face was scarred from his captivity and his once vibrant personality was withdrawn and quiet. He was still, and always would be her friend, but not the same man she first knew.

She turned to him, and offered her hand. “I’ll miss you, Ahren,” she said.

“Taking some time away, are you?” he asked. He took her offered hand. “Be careful, and come back safe.”

Then he gave her the shock of her life by pulling her into a rough hug. She stared, wide eyed over his shoulder and then jumped again at a sudden spark of static from where his hand touched her back. Just as she got over her shock enough to hug him back, he released her, and said again, “Be careful.”



A few of Neely’s closest friends remained on the roof as she flared into brilliant white light and flew away. They watched until she was just a spark in the fading twilight. Then UPS crossed his arms, and looked over at Ahren. “She’s headed to the Rogue Isles?”

Ici jumped up with a indignant squeak. “What? We have to stop her!”

UPS snorted. “Have you ever tried to stop that woman from doing exactly what she wanted to do? Can’t be done.”

“But she’ll get killed!” Ici protested again.

Ahren smiled then, and held up a small handheld monitor glowing green. “She’ll have angels watching over her.” He smiled more broadly. “Or, at least, Ghosts.”

Sisters, Part III is up in RP.

Sisters
Part III
a few years ago...

Neely possessed very few belongings other than her high school diploma. Her tiny shabby apartment defied all her attempts to make it look actually clean, but it was hers. One room - close to the bathroom she shared with the other apartments on this end of the floor - and only a hot plate to cook on. Her scant wardrobe fit perfectly into the narrow closet, and the ancient sofa bed was her main piece of furnishing. She had a tiny TV she’d bought from a thrift store, and the rest of her wall space was filled with cinder block-and-plank shelves filled with paperbacks and tiny figurines of kittens.

Neely paused to brush one finger over the one framed picture. It was a snapshot of Neely with her sister at the age of 14, just one year before the ever rebellious Keely was taken to “a group home for children with special needs.” It was the last time Neely had seen or heard from her sister no matter how hard she’d tried. She promised herself again to try harder to find her twin.

However, on that particular night, she had plans. She slipped out of her Up-and-Away uniform and stood staring into her closet trying to decide what to wear on an actual third date. Erich had already seen the blue dress, the black dress was too funereal, and the red skirt and blouse might look too much like she planned to invite him up. It was just dinner and a movie… maybe her best pair of jeans and a blouse?

She slipped into the jeans, pulled on a slightly faded but still very pretty blouse, slipped into a pair of sandals and ran out the door to meet Erich, who had swept her off her feet just two weeks ago and hadn’t let her down yet.
---

Keely somehow managed to doze despite the bone rattling volume of the bass. She tucked her legs up underneath her body and let her head fall back on the plush back of the booth. Smoke filled the air, nearly masking the odor of stale beer and sweaty bodies. Keely let her head roll, her rich brown hair falling over her eyes. She blinked and looked through the curtain of her own hair at her new boyfriend, Avalanche. He was handsome in a rough sort of way, and she smiled as she listened to him retell the story of pummeling another young hero who’d dared to set foot in his part of Steel Canyon. His fellow Outcasts laughed at the story they’d all heard before, but everyone knew that Avalanche was going to be big in the Outcasts and they all wanted to be in good with him when it happened.

He looked up and their eyes met. That exhilarating thrill went through her at the possessive look on his face. His lips curled in a smile and he moved over to sit by her, a proprietary hand slipping over her thigh. Then he resumed his story and Keely dozed again.

Now...

Neely packed a few changes of clothing in a bag and thought about who she could ask for help. Sooner Spirit? No.. She was like an overprotective mother to the Ghosts after the failed mission that cost the Ghosts Keely and nearly Glacius9 and Sooner Magic. No.. This would have to be done without Sooner Spirit ever knowing. And that meant her sister, Sooner Magic was out too. Her old teammates UPS and Strif? She smiled, remembering UPS threatening to throw her into an elevator and break the doors if she didn’t stay back from a void slayer, and suspected UPS would vigorously oppose her plan. And if UPS didn’t agree, no point talking to Strif. There was no way she would ask her old mentor Ahren to go back to the Rogue Isles - his face still bore the scars of his journey there, and his eyes were still haunted. Glacius? No.. If one Peacebringer would be hard to conceal, two would be like a flashing billboard.

She worked her way through the entire roster of senior Ghosts, and realized that she was on her own. Most of her friends would refuse out of concern for her, and the very few who might be willing she wasn’t willing to lead into that danger.

But she had to tell them something... so she gathered up her bag, squared her shoulders, and flew to the base.





Sooner Spirit was there, and UPS. Celestial Nav sat with a worried expression on her pretty face, and Broken Shadow hovered nearby. Sooner’s face was skeptical, and UPS had that little frown line between his brows.

“A leave of absence?” Sooner finally asked. “For how long?”

“A few weeks? A month?” Neely shrugged, trying to be as casual as possible. “I just need some time away to try to... resolve this.”

UPS sat back with his arms crossed, as Sooner leaned forward. “Of course.. Take all the time you need, but-”

UPS stood abruptly, smacking his hands down on the table and pushing himself up. Neely waited for the outburst, but he just quietly asked, “Where are you going?”

She shrugged, unwilling to outright lie to her friends and teammates. “Away from Paragon City...”

Sooner nodded, obviously still troubled. “One month.”

“And if you’re not back,” UPS added, “We’re comin lookin for ya.”

Sisters, Part II is up in RP.

Sisters
Part II
now....

Every senior member of the Ghosts Reborn had an apartment in the base, but most had their own home off base as well. Neely was horrified by the cost of her tiny apartment in Founders Falls, but she still loved it. In her heart she was still a poor girl barely scraping by, even though in reality Paragon City gave Heroes of the City a nice stipend.

She turned in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, checking the fall of the dress Ici Cold had talked her into buying. It was more sophisticated and more revealing than what she normally wore, but Ici insisted that they were all going to “dress like girls tonight!” She blushed in advance of anyone seeing her in it, slipped into the strappy sandals that matched, and stepped out to the cobbled streets.

She lifted into the cool evening air, surrounded by the white glowing nimbus of her Kheldian energy, and immediately dropped back to the ground with bright red cheeks. No WAY she was flying anywhere in that dress! Which meant she would have to hoof it to meet her friends at Pocket D on time.

Neely found Ici leaning again a wall, wearing an outfit of a short denim skirt, halter top and sandals that only someone under 20 could hope to pull off. She was trailing a colorful silk scarf through her fingers with a wistful expression. Neely politely scuffed her foot as she approached, and Ici stuffed the scarf away and bounded over to Neely. “You look HOT!” she announced with a bright smile and flung herself on Neely in a huge hug. “C’mon, let’s go in!”

Pocket D was noisy and crowed that night. The air was warm and filled with wild good cheer. Ici pushed her way through the crowd to a large table where Celestial Nav, Sooner Spirit and Sooner Magic, Midnightangel, Princess Ginsu, Ruby Sapphire, and Lilac Pendragon waited. Neely smiled at her friends as Ici whooped, “This is a fine looking table of heroines!” and plopped down. Neely slid in as well, for her first night out since Keely was killed.

The music and the atmosphere, along with the company of good friends was good for Neely. She found herself laughing and enjoying herself. It had been three months. And while she knew she’d never forget her sister, and a part of her would always grieve, she knew it was time to let go of Keely, and to move on with her life.

It took a brave man to approach that particular group of ladies, but there were more than a few brave men in attendance that night. Before long, there were dancing and laughing and having a great time. And if Neely’s smile and laughter were still a little forced, her friends didn’t seem inclined to call her on it.

DJ Zero started a retro block, and MidnightAngel dragged Neely out to the dance floor for an energetic “Goody Two Shoes.” After bouncing, hopping, and gyrating through a custom-remix extended version of the already frenetic dance tune, Neely was happily panting for breath as she made her way back to the table. She plopped down and leaned her head against the partition between booths. Ici, looking none the worse for wear, ran off to get everyone more drinks, and Neely found herself alone at the table for the first time that night.

She took the opportunity to remind herself that she had nothing to feel guilty about. Her twin would not have wanted her to waste away in mourning, and in fact, Keely would likely have been delighted to see Neely out having a good time. Neely smiled, remembering the last night out she and Keely had enjoyed, when the conversation from the booth behind her penetrated her consciousness, and her good cheer evaporated in a sudden chill.

“Ya, he got another Kheld. Don’t know what he’s doin with ‘em, but they sure don’t live long once he’s got his hands on ‘em.” The man’s voice was deep and harsh, and slurred a bit from alcohol. His companion asked him a question she couldn’t understand, but his reply was clear. “Well, ya.. That one Peacebringer got away from him, but the others didn’t leave till they was dead.” A long pause, then, “Well, you manage to get your hands on a Kheld, you better make it soon. Rumor has it he’s close with that Warshade, if he doesn’t manage to kill her first. Once he gets what he wants from her, the Shade’s are sure gonna withdraw that reward for Khelds.”

“Neely, are you ok?” Neely sat bolt upright, startling Ici as she sat down her handfuls of drinks. Ici frowned at Neely, “You look pale. Are you ok?”

Neely felt herself trembling with reaction as she sat there, and, almost against her conscious control, she suddenly erupted into dwarf form. She leapt away from her seat to a spot directly in front of the booth where the two men were talking. They flinched back from her for a moment, until they, apparently, remembered she could do them no harm here.

The one she had overheard was dressed as a typical lower class citizen of the rogue isles, but his companion made her roar out her dwarf form’s cry of challenge. He was wearing the uniform of an Archon. The Archon ignored her utterly, but other man smiled as if he knew perfectly well he’d been overheard.

“Have a seat, brother,” he offered facetiously.

She leaned onto the table, satisfied with the way it creaked under her weight, and perfectly content that he thought she was male. Her voice in dwarf form was rough and sounded alien as she forced the vocal apparatus to form sounds it was never intended for. “The warshade... who is it?”

“What’s it to you? Need a girlfriend?”

She slammed her fist onto the table top. The Archon simply lifted his glass and held it, but the other man scowled as his beer tipped over. “Tell me who it is!”

One of the infamously discreet Pocket D bouncers appeared at her shoulder. “Is there a problem?”

The Archon stood abruptly. He drained off his drink and stepped away from the table. “There is no problem,” he stated unemotionally. He turned to face Neely. “Young. Slender. Brunette. They’ve had her about 3 months, she’s survived longer than almost any other.” He walked nonchalantly away.

Neely stood hunched over the other man who was finally starting to look nervous, and then abruptly changed back to human and flew across the dance floor, down the elevator, and back out to Founder’s Falls.

I have started the reposting of my 3rd story, "Sisters" in the RP section.

Sisters
Part I
fifteen years ago...

The world exploded. She didn’t understand. She heard screaming, but it wasn’t until she put her hands to her face that she realized that it was herself, screaming.. That scared her even more, but.. at first she wasn’t sure why. Then she remembered there should be another voice crying out in fear. Where was her sister? She picked herself up and called, but there was no answer. The air was thick and hot in the tiny, filthy apartment. The door to “Uncle” Will’s workroom was knocked off its hinges and fire was licking up the walls. A terrified chill went up her spine and she began to run.

She couldn’t remember where her sister had been, but the door to Mommy’s room was shut so she ran there. Mommy was sprawled on the bed, pale and motionless. Then a faint whimper rose from under the bed. She dropped to her knees and pushed dirty clothes, shoes, and dishes out of the way so she could look underneath. There was her sister, lying on her side, hidden by the trash that had accumulated under the bed, her brown hair spilling around her. She clutched her filthy doll and rocked. Her eyes popped open and locked on.

“Keely! Come out.. we have to get out!”

“Neely?” she said, and began to crawl towards her twin. “Neely.. my ears hurt.”

“Mine too. C’mon.”

Keely crawled out from under the bed, heedless of the dust and trash under her hands and knees, and immediately jumped onto the bed. “Mommy! Mommy!” she cried, shaking their Mother’s limp form, but Mommy wouldn’t wake up. Neely touched her, and the cold, damp skin sent a thrill of nameless dread through her.

“C’mon, Keely… we have to go.” Neely was just a little girl, but she knew you couldn’t count on Mommy. And when Mommy wouldn’t wake up, there was no point in trying.

Keely ignored her twin, and kept trying to wake up their mother. Neely reached out and tried to take her sister’s hand, but Keely yanked away.

“NO!” she yelled angrily and starting screaming at mommy to wake up.

The air was so hot, and smelled bad, and Neely was starting to feel sick. She felt tears start to roll down her cheeks, tears of fear and frustration and anger. “Keely, please. Let’s go! I’m scared.” Neely felt her knees starting to buckle, and she dropped to the floor, put her face in her hands, and began to sob. She could hear people shouting, and sirens from outside, but in here, it was quiet except for Keely, now quietly begging Mommy to wake up.

Then, Keely’s voice trailed off and it was silent in the tiny bedroom. Neely looked up and saw Keely slumped over Mommy. She tried to jump up, but her legs wouldn’t work right. She crawled over to her sister and pulled her off the bed. Keely mumbled a protest, but Neely ignored it. She dragged Keely over to the smeared window and tried to pull the window up, but it wouldn’t budge. The fire was roaring in the small apartment, Neely could hear it devouring her world, but here in the tiny, dirty bedroom, it was just smoky. Neely felt dizzy and sick. She couldn’t open the window, and she knew she couldn’t go back into the living room where the fire was. She wrapped her arms around her twin and curled up with her under the window and tried to think what to do.

When Neely woke up, she could hear her sister screaming angrily “Letmegoletmegoletmego!” There was something on her face, and her head hurt horribly. She reached up to her face and felt some sort of plastic thing covering her mouth and nose, but a woman in a uniform pushed her hands back and told her to leave it alone.

People were rushing around, dozens of people - some of them Neely knew - in pajamas, wrapped in blankets were standing around shocked, crying, watching the rescue workers. A trio of people in white shirts and blue pants, like the woman standing over her, came rushing out with Mommy on a rolling bed. They were talking fast and seemed really scared. Then one man came out, pushing another rolling bed, this one with a big black back on it. That was when the woman with Neely stepped in front, blocking her view, and said, “Darlin, do you have any family nearby?”
---
now...

Neely sat bolt upright in her bed. It was the third time this week she had relived that night. She and Keely had been six years old when something exploded in “Uncle Will’s” room. He’d been killed outright, and Neely, Keely, and their mother were lucky to have survived. Mother, however, had been profoundly intoxicated by drugs and alcohol. And the twins had become wards of the state.

And just like that, like a slap in the face, Neely remembered she no longer had a sister. The Shades of Vengeance had killed her. And that was why Neely kept having that dream. She couldn’t rescue her sister this time. It was too late.

This was my third foray into fan fiction, and I got a little ambitious.

There are two story lines playing out at the same time, "then" and "now."

A few people told me they found it a bit confusing, so I'm going to try a different device: I will put the "then" storyline in black, and the "now" storyline in default colors.

I have no idea how this will look on the CoV color scheme, so if it doesn't work, someone please let me know - while I can still edit it! - and I'll try something different.

Anyway... I certainly hope you enjoy this story, and, as always, comments are welcome.

[ QUOTE ]
Humm...

Blueside, getting a low-level toon to the Tailor and back is fairly straight-forward.

<ul type="square">[*] From City Hall in Atlas Park, you take the Yellow line to Steel Canyon, then someone use "Recall Friend" to get you to the Tailor.
[*] Either another Recall Friend to the Yellow Line, or Ouroboros portal to Atlas Park.[/list]
[/ QUOTE ]

For some people the "then someone use "Recall Friend" to get you to the Tailor."

Before I had my 2nd account, I can remember asking repeatedly for help to get to Icon. And you can't always count on a friendly person being willing to help out in zone.

I think an evening of "TPs to the tailor" is a nice idea, and might just really help out those poor lost fashion-victim n00blets.

The conclusion of The Broken Thorn is posted in RP.

The Broken Thorn
Part 14

Ici crouched against the wall, filled with frustration. Her friends were battling for their lives - and for her life - and she could only watch. Worse, the number of enemies was overwhelming, and she couldn’t see any way for her friends to win.

And she couldn’t take her eyes of Bounty-Killer as he fought. He was like a dancer as he leapt and whirled, his katana flashing in the warm firelight. He was an artist and a cold, emotionless machine all rolled into one. She had seen some of the most skilled combatants in existence, and had to concede that he was one of them. He fought with an animalistic grace and a chilling efficiency, but she could see that even with all his skill, he could not win against these odds. He was being driven back, step by hard-fought step.

She scurried to the side just as he was slammed back into the stone wall. She scrambled to find a rock and flung it at the demon’s head. It showed her its teeth in an ugly grin, but made no move to attack her.

“Don’t be stupid,” Bounty-Killer hissed at her, and fought his way clear of the wall once more.

“Ya! You’re welcome!” she shouted back at him.
---

Atarax was momentarily stunned by the mass of Circle fighting their way into the room ahead - into the room where his friends were trapped. There was no way five heroes, no matter how powerful, could defeat that many enemies. Of course, there was no way ten could either, but he didn’t take the time to consider that.

He keyed his radio to the supergroup channel, “Sooner!”

There was a long silence, then, “Not a good time, Ata!”

Atarax grimaced at the sounds of combat carrying under her voice. “The cavalry is here, Sooner. We’re coming in from the north.”

“You’re here?”

“We’re here,” he answered.

“You brought Caryn in here?”

Sooner Magic broke in, “Dammit, Cyd! I got my security level 50 card! You think you could cut the protective big sister ac-”

“Ladies!” Ahren cut through. “This is not the time.”

Sooner spoke again, “Welcome to the party, Ata!”
---

Ici felt tears stinging her eyes as she watched Bounty-Killer slowly lose his fight. He was less like a dancer, now, and more like a punch-drunk boxer determined to make it just one more round. An enormous behemoth raked its claws across his face, and Ici let out a little scream as he dropped to one knee. She could see the blood pouring down his cheek. With a mocking grin, the demon stepped back, waiting. Bounty-Killer dragged himself to his feet, wiped the blood away on his shoulder and resumed his ready stance, with a slow nod for the demon. The demon let out a deep, booming laugh, and then struck. It was a vicious back-hand blow, and the demon had put the weight of its entire over-sized body into it.

Ici screamed. Bounty-Killer’s head whipped around, and his shoulders and upper body followed. The force of the blow lifted him from his feet and flung him into the wall. He smashed into it head first, and Ici screamed again when his limp fingers fell open and his sword clattered to the floor. He slid down the wall, landed on the edge of a pool of running water, and tumbled in, his body disappearing from sight. The demon met Ici’s eyes and grinned, showing a mouth full of pointed teeth. He laughed that deep, mocking laugh again, and turned to lumber off toward the Ghosts.

Ici wasted no time jumping into the pool and finding Bounty-Killer. She dragged him to the surface, but struggled with his weight briefly before managing to get him fully out of the pool. She leaned close, listening and watching, until she heard him breath. She checked his pulse, it was slow, but strong and steady.

The young woman - powerless and exhausted - stood and looked around the chaotic battle. She dragged Bounty-Killer’s limp body to a nearby pillar and carefully arranged him behind it. With her bare legs flashing under the torn and stained pleated skirt, she ran and picked up his katana. She tried holding it as she had seen him do, but it felt unnatural, and she quickly decided she was more likely to hurt herself than any mages she might encounter. Battling back hopeless tears, she carefully placed the blade in his hand.

Ici pushed herself back to her feet and started to run towards her fellow Ghosts, but then skidded to a stop before turning to run back and crouched by his body. She reached inside his shirt and removed the damp bundle of brightly colored silk wrapped around the thorn tip. She unfolded it just enough to see the dark cone and then wrapped it tightly again and tucked it inside her own shirt. She rose to her feet and untied the knot in the webbing strap around her waist. She set the book carefully at his side. With a concerned frown, she brushed his black hair out of his eyes and sighed. “We almost made it out...” she whispered to him. She looked down at him for a moment longer, touched his wounded cheek, then stood painfully and jogged to finally rejoin her friends.

“Hey, Ici!” Midnightangel greeted her as if she were joining them for morning coffee.

“Stay back, hun,” Sooner cautioned.

Ici rolled her eyes, but obediently stepped back away from the fighting. She tripped as she took another step and looked down to see her sneaker tangled in Sooner’s cape. When she kicked her foot free, she saw the dark carved wood of the rest of the thorn. Her heart skipped a beat, but then she bent down and scooped it up as well, kicking Sooner’s cape aside so no one else would trip on it.

“We have them! Remember, don’t allow the girl to be harmed!” a voice bellowed. Ici found him with her gaze, an old man in brown and orange robes. Her eyes narrowed as she remembered him pushing the thorn into her just before Atarax knocked it away from her. Her hand tightened on the thorn and she crept to the side, never taking her eyes from him. She remembered his name, Alanak. She hated him.

As if he felt the intensity of her gaze, his head turned and he saw her. He smiled, a smile that said he knew he’d won. “Finish them!” He strode toward Ici, and she backed away frantically, right into the stone wall. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back into the room.

“Let go of me, you old [censored]!” she demanded, twisting and squirming, but his grip was powerful and there was no shaking loose.

He dragged her into the middle of the vast open space. From here she could see her friends fighting desperately. She could see Atarax as well, fighting to get into the room with his team. Hot, angry tears washed down her face as she saw her friends slowly being overwhelmed by the hordes of Circle.

“I have her!” He shouted. “I have Ici Cold! We will have Kajinast restored!” He released her arm and turned to face the room, his arms lifted overhead. “We have won!”

Ici felt a growl start low in her throat. Her hands tightened on the thickest part of the evil thorn. “You don’t have JACK!” she screamed at him. He whirled towards her as she lifted the broken thorn high over head and plunged it into Alanak’s heart.

An expression of purest terror came over Alanak’s face as the thorn rushed towards him, and then the world turned white. It was like being inside a raging lightning bolt - if lightning were made of pure magic. Ici felt the thorn split wide open, and fresh, hot, red blood poured out onto the floor. She heard three screams, Alanak’s, her own, and the voice she knew as Walter. Alanak was writhing, clutching at his head as the force of the magic enveloped them.

Ici felt it shoot through her, and the spot over her heart where the thorn tip lay grew warm, and then hot. The magic lifted Alanak and Ici into the air where they both writhed like fish caught on a line as the power flowed through and around them.

She felt the thorn turn to ash in her hands and fall away, and the small, hard lump wrapped in silk inside her shirt vanished as well. Alanak seemed to collapse on himself, still screaming as if already feeling the fires of hell. Ici saw not one, but two souls being ripped out of Alanak by the magic and torn to shreds. And then Alanak crumpled away to nothing and it was just Ici riding the magic high over head.
---

Ahren shifted position, finding higher ground for better view. He loaded, aimed, fired till empty, and reloaded again. He lost himself in the mechanics of the actions, and wasted no time or energy worrying about things he couldn’t effect.

He heard Alanak’s triumphant bellow, and felt a tiny smile crease his face at Ici’s defiant response. Just like the kid, she never did know when she was beat. He shifted his target toward Alanak, and so was looking right at the mage when Ici impaled him with the thorn. Ahren was momentarily blinded by the flash, but when his vision returned, he was absolutely stunned by what he saw.

The room was dominated by a ball of pure energy high overhead, glowing like a miniature sun. He could just make out Ici and Alanak within it. As he watched, beams of pure white light jabbed out into the room, spearing everyone in it, one by one. The ghosts and the demons vanished when it touched them, but the mages and human followers of the Circle were lifted into the air by it.

And then a blaze of pure white energy shot right by his face. He flinched back as it struck Sooner Spirit just below her heart. She cried out and her body arched backwards as she was lifted into the air. Witch-Frost was next and then Wulf. Ruby screamed as she was lifted up, and Midnightangel made one futile attempt to attack the glowing ball before she was carried into the air as well.

And then there were no more attacks. Ahren stood alone, underneath the helpless bodies of his team. He wasted no time wondering why he was spared. His face became serene, peaceful, as he reloaded his rifle. "If this is how we go out my friends,” he announced, “we're not going alone!" Lifting his rifle, he began tearing into every mage he saw.
---

Atarax had just made it into the room when the blinding white light erupted. He shielded his eyes as the fighting all over the room paused for a moment. He watched, trying to make sense of it as mage after mage was speared and lifted into the air by tendrils of light.

“What the hell is goin on up here, Ata?” Sooner Magic asked. She stepped into the room, and lifted a hand as well. And then a brilliant bolt of white light plunged into her. She let out an inarticulate cry and her hands scrabbled at her chest where the energy entered her, and then she was lifted high overhead as well.

“Back, back! Everyone back!” Ata insisted, but no more spears of light attacked.

And then Ahren’s rifle started firing.
---

Ici was completely lost in the power. It was overwhelming. She had no sense of where she ended and the magic began. She was the magic. She flexed her fingers, and heard/felt voices cry out in protest. A few of the voices were familiar, and she followed them until she found Sooner Spirit, Ruby, Wulf, MidnightAngel, Witch-Frost and Sooner Magic. She was hurting them, but she didn’t know how to stop. And where were Ahren, and Atarax? And... ah... Ahren didn’t use magic. Neither did Ata... ah.. Just the ones who used magic, which meant... The others in her grasp were Circle.

Ici found her way back to herself, and smiled. With tremendous care, she fed a trickle of her power into Sooner, then withdrew her magical presence. She felt the moment that they were no longer connected, and she could see that Sooner was freed from the magic that was Ici.
---

Ahren was picking off target after target. It had been just a few moments since his entire team was incapacitated, but he had not wasted those moments. He noted, but was not distracted by, the light show overhead until suddenly Sooner let out a startled cry and fell from where she’d been suspended above.

She scrambled to her feet, and then Ahren was distracted by how... energized she seemed. She didn’t look at all like a woman who had just spent the better part of day fighting her way through an ancient ruin.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked her.

She smiled, hugely. Not many things can put a smile like that on a woman’s face, and there was no chocolate anywhere to be seen. “I have no idea, but-”

Before she could finish the thought, Ruby gasped, and fell to land by Sooner.

“Oh, gosh...” she said, glowing and smiling.
---

One by one, Ici released her friends. When Wulf dropped away from her grip, there were only circle left. So many of the evil, hateful mages, held tightly in her magical grip. She flexed again, and felt them cry out. For just a moment, she wished she had the stomach to truly take advantage and make them pay. But it wasn’t in her, and instead she began slowly draining away their magic. Making it all her own.
---

Sooner, riding a sense of magical euphoria like nothing she’d ever felt before, helped Wulf to his feet. Once there, he let out a tremendous howl, and actually burst into his rock form. She laughed to see it was at least twice as tall as normal.

She turned back, staring up at the ball of magic as every one of the impaled Circle suddenly cried out. The light coalesced and shrank, and for a moment, Sooner could Ici suspended within, but then the light began to get brighter and the ball expanded larger and larger.

“We need to move,” Sooner decided suddenly. She urged her team toward the north hall, where Ata was waiting. “You’re ok, Caryn?” she asked her sister.

Sooner Magic rolled her eyes, but smiled and answered, “Never been better!”


All eyes turned back to Ici as the ball of light began to strobe and pulse.
---

Ici was riding the magic. It was hers. It was amazing. The power, the energy... each one of the impaled mages multiplied the power. It was more power than she’d ever held before. Her own magic was back, multiplied a hundred fold - the wild power had ripped it open, and she knew she’d never lose it again. It was a ride too wild and exhilarating to be believed. The power grew, and grew, and suddenly, it was too much. She felt it slipping away from her control. It wasn’t hers anymore. She tried to reclaim it, but it tossed her away.
---

“What’s happening to her?” Celestial Nav asked.

Sooner shook her head. She could feel the magic pulsing in the room. It was an uncomfortable sensation. And then they heard Ici scream a high-pitched terrified wail.
---

She was losing the battle. And when she lost, the magic would run wild, killing everything. She struggled and fought to hold on to it, but the harder she held it, the more it slipped away. It wasn’t hers any longer and it fought defiantly to be free. There was no holding it, there was no controlling it.


The moment she made her decision, she flung her arms and legs wide, and released the magic. She pushed it away, down each of those tendrils of magic linking her to Circle mages. She pushed it into them violently, fast, faster than they could hope to absorb. And one by one, she felt these evil, ancient men die at last.
---

Atarax had pushed through the heroes, trying to find a way to get to Ici. She hung overhead, blazing with energy too bright to see. All of the heroes who had been grabbed by the magic still wore slightly dazed expressions, but everyone was looking up when Ici released the magic like an explosion. The room suddenly erupted into elemental chaos as ice, fire, and lightning flew madly about, and the floor and ceiling became jagged with stalactites and stalagmites. The mages stiffened and began to glow, then, one by one, they popped, like fireworks on a string. They disintegrated completely, one by one, in a matter of seconds.

And then the brilliant light vanished and the massive army of Circle of Thorns with it. Ata looked up, and there was Ici, hovering overhead. She looked down, and began to laugh. She let out a whoop of pure joy, and shot straight up towards the ceiling, laughing as she flew in a broad circle around the room. She paused long enough to release a brief storm of ice right over a roaring waterfall, and paused again a few moments later to form her sword of ice. She swooped straight towards her friends and landed with a happy skip before flinging herself at Atarax for a big hug.
---

Ici wore a huge smile as the Ghosts swarmed around her, hugging her, patting her shoulder. She laughed, but was still too happy, too energized to even begin to speak. She hugged everyone she could reach, so happy to see her friends.

“Oh! Wait, wait!” she said suddenly. “I need to check...” She turned, giggled a little as she lifted into flight again and zipped across the room to where she’d left Bounty-Killer. There was no sign of him, and no sign of the book, either. She looked around, in case she had mistaken where she’d left him, but he was gone.

“Looking for something?” Ahren said.

She jumped and turned, and looked into Ahren’s scarred face. His unforgiving face, that had no mercy for villains of any description. “No- no, I- thought I- but...” She looked back at Ahren one more time, and then ran ahead to Ata. “Let’s get outa here!”
---

Ici emerged from Oranbega into a last light of a beautiful warm sunset. The salty sea air wafted against her face as gulls fought over a bit of trash washed up on a beach. They were on one of the islands north of Talos, and she thought it was the most beautiful thing she’d every seen.

“C’mon, Ici,” Celestial Nav said. “Let’s get you back to the base and make sure everything’s ok.”

“Give me a minute... I’m just.. Glad to be outside,” Ici said with a happy smile.

Nav patted her shoulder. “I’ll go ahead and get ready, then.”

Nav and a handful of Ghosts left the beach headed for the base.

Those that stayed - Sooner, Ata, Ahren, and Ruby - gave her some needed room to enjoy the crisp night air, the freedom, the wonderful sense that it was over. She glanced over her shoulder once to make sure no one was watching her, then pulled the flowered scarf from inside her shirt. The powdery ash from the disintegrated thorn tip floated away in the breeze. She shook it gently and ran her finger over the smooth silk and lovely Asian design.

“I’d like you to hold on to that for me,” Bounty-Killer said suddenly.

She jumped and whirled towards him, and saw his dark shape within the shadows of a tall rock formation nearby. She glanced back to the waiting Ghosts, and sure enough, Ahren had turned to look at her. She smiled and waved, and he slowly turned away again.

She took a step closer. “You’re ok!” she whispered.

He smiled, and rubbed one hand over his cheek where the claw marks still stood out. He reached with one hand and took the scarf, trailing it over her palm. He held it open and studied it carefully, then spoke again, “This belonged to my mother.” He folded it neatly into fourths and then tucked it back inside her shirt so it rested right over her heart.

He leaned closer, as if to say something quietly, and then pressed his lips against hers. He held her eyes as he leaned in for the space of three heartbeats before straightened up with a faint smile, then turned away, and vanished into the shadows.

Ici stared, stunned, at the place where he’d disappeared. She lifted one hand to touch her lips, where she could still feel his warmth, and the other to the neckline of her shirt, where one corner of the scarf peeked out. And began to smile, a big, wide, dreamy smile. With a whoop of sheer joy, Ici lifted herself into the air and got ready to fly home.

The End!

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
...By the way, Kyo, there is something wrong with your avatar picture, some kind of error message...

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought it was just me!

[/ QUOTE ]

*chuckles and says nothing at all*

EDIT: Actually, I will say something: A community representative - someone who represents PvPEC and the Scoop... might want to seriously consider fixing that "error." Just a thought.

I'm always willing to help out, but don't think I can promise the time to commit to a committee.

But... ya know.. .since 340 mill of that 480 came from my pocket (via the player auction), I'd be more than happy to help pass it out.

Part 13 of Broken Thorn is up in RP.

The Broken Thorn
Part 13

Atarax, blazing even more brightly than usual, pushed his way into Oranbega with his team on his heels. He hadn’t wasted time asking if Sooner Spirit wanted backup, since he would have gone in no matter her answer. Her younger sister, registered as Sooner Magic, but known to the entire population of Ghosts as Little Sooner, broke around him and started forward as Celestial Nav, Princess Ginsu, and Broken Shadow entered as well.

“Why don’t you let me take point?” he scolded gently. He knew Sooner Magic was just anxious and excited, but it was his plan to take them into Oranbega, and therefor his responsibility to see them back out safely.

She flicked an apologetic glance at him with bright green eyes, and fell in behind. And if she crowded him just a bit, he decided not to tease her about it.

“Radio silence, everyone, unless you just want us to get ordered back out of here.”

His team nodded, and he led the way deeper into Oranbega.
---

Getting out was proving to be harder than getting in. Sooner and her team were battling every step of the way, and there had still been no sign of Ici. The mages were throwing themselves at the team of Ghosts, and were falling almost as fast as they arrived. But, still it was exhausting. And the damn thorn held under her arm was slowing her down horribly.

When she had a brief break in the fighting, she activated her radio. “Ahren? What you have found?’

“No sign of Ici, but I do have clear path ahead,” Ahren answered. “I've found a large, open room. We should be able to regroup and rest there, it will be hard for anyone to approach us without being seen”

“Ok, then. Come back to us, and well meet you on the way.”

Another group of mages rounded a corner ahead, and Sooner’s team launched back into the fight.
---

Bounty-Killer led Ici through a magical portal and gestured for her to stay in the shadow of the stone circle while he checked ahead. She crouched, looking, if anything, more exhausted. He wondered again if she had it in her to get out of Oranbega, but then remembered the way she lifted her chin when she was angry, and felt a little smile. He suspected that if stubbornness and sheer determination would be enough to get out, that she would manage it. Sadly for her, he was afraid it would take considerably more than that. The mages were moving their forces, reinforcing, and he suspected they were setting up a trap.

He could take the book and leave her here. He would make it out, he just needed to avoid fights. But there was no possibility that the young and weakened hero would get out on her own. Powerless and exhausted... It would be like leaving a baby chick to escape from a pack of coyotes. And, they had a deal. That made getting him, her, the book, and her thorn tip out of Oranbega his job.

He crept to the next intersection of corridors, looked around carefully, then made his way back to Ici. She was crouching, motionless, with her eyes closed. At least she wasn’t reading the maledetto book again. He didn’t think she even realized she had been reading ancient Oranbegan. And the implications of that were a bit too unsettling to allow to distract his mind at that time.

He laid a hand gently on her shoulder, and gestured with a nod of his head that they were to continue onward. She wearily stood, and he noted that her color was even more pale. She nodded at him, and they continued on their way.
---

Sooner and her team emerged into the room Ahren had scouted for them. It was a high-ceilinged room with the roar of falling water covering other sounds. Water tumbled from a pair of intricately carved faces into pools below. The room was lined with braziers, and the odor was a heavy wet incense laden miasma. Around the edges, there were a few piles of fallen rocks, but it seemed sturdy.

As Ahren had promised the room was open and it would, indeed, be difficult for anyone to approach without being seen. Since her team was seriously fatigued from the nearly constant fighting, but in good shape otherwise, it would be a good place to rest. She nodded thoughtfully, and turned back to Ahren.

“Find Ici, Ahren. We’re not leaving without her.” He just nodded once and turned away, vanishing quickly from sight.

Sooner had considered using her own abilities to hide to scout as well, but was reluctant to split her team up further. She had a sick feeling in her gut, an anxiety that played over her nerves and made it impossible to rest. She paced around the space near the waterfall, watching, waiting, anxious.

Her team, experienced heroes one and all, took the opportunity to rest and relax, but all of them knew they were still in danger. Wulf remained in his rocky form, even as he flopped to the floor. Midnightangel was strolling around the area studying the carvings, and Ruby and Witch were both leaning back against the wall, but even they were alert and watching. “Don’t wander off, now, Midnight,” Sooner scolder, and MidnightAngel laughed.


“The east passage is blocked,” Ahren suddenly announced over the radio. They've barricaded it with mages and demons. I can’t slip past them, and I hope to hell we don’t have to fight our way past them.”

“Damn,” Sooner muttered, as her anxiety ratcheted up another notch. “Check to the north?”

“Already on my way.”
---

Ici followed Bounty-Killer along his chosen path. She tried to hide it from him, but she nearly spent. Just staying up and following him was an effort. She looked down at her dirty sneakers, then back up at his back, then down again. She concentrated on not shuffling her feet as she walked.

With each step, the book moved, making her constantly aware of its presence. She couldn’t shake off the hateful images. It was too easy to imagine the Circle’s victims - their fear, their pain - especially as she might yet become one of them.

“Bounty,” she whispered.

“What is it?” he answered without turning.

“The guy who hired you... to get the book... who is it?”

He stopped, turned to look at her, and frowned. “My employer’s identity is between me and my employer, and it doesn’t concern you at all.” he answered coldly.

“It does concern me!” she answered. “It concerns me a lot. This book is really, really bad.”

“Now is not the time,” he insisted, and turned away.

“Bounty!” She reached out and touched his shoulder, and flinched back when he whirled with the speed of a striking snake. They stared at each other for the space of several heartbeats, his face was angry, but there was something else in his dark eyes. “What is he going to do with it?”

He let out a hissing breath and shook his head. “He will use the information in that book against the Circle.” He met her eyes again. “Caspisc?” She frowned at the unfamiliar word, and he sighed again, “Do you understand?”

She nodded. “Yes. He’ll fight the Circle. Ok.”

He turned away, and if he muttered a curse under his breath, she chose to ignore it. He resumed his careful path along the ancient hallway, and she took her place two steps back, reminding herself not to shuffle her feet.
---


The gnawing tumbling knot in Sooner’s stomach could not longer properly be called “nerves,” or “anxiety.” It was a level of tension that was approaching painful. She paced around, grinding her teeth. She fidgeted with the folds of her belt, trying to get them to lie evenly. She fidgeted with her hair, no longer confined in her hood, trying to find a way to keep its long strawberry blonde strands out of her face, and a distracted voice in her head commented that perhaps she should cut it short like her sister Caryn’s. Her hands kept returning to the evil shape of the thorn wrapped in the folds of her cape and then flinching away.

Her hands clenched convulsively on the thorn when her radio crackled to life. “Sooner, I’m in the north hall,” Ahren said. “ It looks like they've boxed us into a nice trap. Which will make it easier to find them and kill them.”

Sooner cursed and glanced around the room again. And frowned. “Why haven’t they attacked? We’re all in this room. Why haven’t they attacked us?”

“No idea,” Ahren answered.

“Check to the west, but be ready to run back here.”

“On my way.”

Sooner turned to tell her team to get ready, but they were already on their feet. She smiled. “Its about to get rough, gang. No idea why they haven’t attacked us already, but I would expect-” She broke off as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned. She saw a flash of a familiar blue, and Ici Cold stumbled into view.

At that same moment, Ahren’s voice came over the radio again, “Three for three,” he announced. “They’ve got us right where we want the- ...[censored]!... They’re on the move!”

“Get back to us, Ahren!” She turned back, and saw Ici stopped and staring in stunned surprise at the team of Ghosts, “Come on, Ici.. They’re coming for us right now!”
---

Ici thought she must be hallucinating when she saw Sooner Spirit and Midnightangel and Ruby.. And.. was that Witch? And Wulf? But then she realized that Bounty-Killer was staring at them as well. She was filled with a fierce joy and rush of relief so overwhelming she nearly dropped to her knees. She was going to get out. She was going to be safe. And they would find a way to get her powers back.

That was when Sooner called out her warning. Bounty-Killer moved suddenly, pushing Ici back into the wall and muttering something that sounded like, “Vangu!” The room was suddenly swarming with Circle. There were mages in a rainbow of robes, behemoths, ghosts, and even a few demons she didn’t think she’d ever seen before: something that looked like it was covered with ice, another that looked like a potato with legs and a giant mouth, and a red-skinned woman wearing very little clothing.

A voice from overhead bellowed, “Do not harm the girl! Take the rest, but do NOT harm the girl!”

And then, everywhere around her, battle was joined.

Part 12 of Broken thorn is up in RP.

The Broken Thorn
Part 12

Sooner and her team followed Ahren’s path through the chaotic halls of Oranbega. Something had the mages running around like angry bees swarming around their fallen hive. More than once, a patrol would go by and ignore the small team of heroes in their midst completely.

She could see Ahren’s frustration and dissatisfaction clearly on his scarred face each time they let the mages pass them by, but she didn’t want to take the time to fight every patrol. The longer Ici was helpless and held by the Circle, the more Sooner worried about what would happen to her friend.

Ahren led them to one of the glowing portals. Sooner always hated to go through them because she worried that one day they would just change the enchantment to send them straight to a prison cell. Or a lava pit. Or a room with no exit. Nonetheless, she had to go through this one to get where they needed to go, so she stepped through.

As soon as she set foot on the other side, she could hear a voice ranting. She froze, listening to it. Deep, undeniably masculine, and yet... “That’s the voice that was coming from Ici,” she said.

Witch listened for a moment. “It is ancient Oranbegan. Perhaps that is why it sounds familiar to you? I know she was speaking it while she was unconscious.”

“No,” Ruby said, stepping forward. “It’s the same. Its not coming from Ici, but it’s the same voice. I sat with her for quite a while that day.”

Sooner listened to the angry cries for another heartbeat or two. Its insanity was obvious. If that was after Ici they had to make sure they got her away from it.

Her team continued along the dimly lit hallway, and then Ahren gestured for them to stop as he peered around the corner. “They’ve reinforced.” He looked back at the team. “We’ll have to be tight.”

Sooner crept up to stand with him and glanced around as well. Not just mages, and not just demons, but the spirits of long dead mages prowled around. At the end of the narrow hall they guarded she could see a small room. It was from that room that the angry voice bellowed.

She looked back at her team. Wulf, standing ready like a stone statue; Ruby, her hands already glowing with green energies; Midnightangel standing ahead of the small group, electrical energy crackling around her; and Witch-Frost, her white hair and white costume almost glowing against the dusty browns and greys of Oranbega, stood with wisps of frosty air rising from her body. She looked back at Ahren, and he lifted his rifle with a nod.

As Ahren took aim, Sooner led her team around the corner to crash into the mob of Circle mages. It was pure chaos. Fire and ice pounded down on the combatants, Ruby’s green, red and blue powers glowed in pure contrast to the shadowy attacks of the spirits. Wulf laid about with his axe, while the steady percussive blasts from Ahren’s rifle underlaid the whole battle.

Witch dropped abruptly under a behemoth’s claws, but Ruby wasted no time pouring her own energy into Witch and helping her back to her feet. Sooner had never yet learned to just let her team do their jobs and to concentrate on her own, a part of her was always worried whenever she lead a team. But with Witch back up and blasting furiously at the mages, the Ghosts were winning the battle step by step.

She was trying to finish off one last spirit, but it had surrounded her with shadows so thickly she could barely see. She struck out again and again, but no luck. Then she felt Ruby’s soothing magical energies fill her mind and the shadows fell away. She struck the spirit once, and then again, and it faded away into whatever darkness those spirits called home.

Sooner turned, and saw only one behemoth left. It was encased in a block of ice, and Sooner smiled a small smile at the sight of Ruby finishing off the giant demon.

The ranting voice fell silent as the small team of Ghosts turned toward the doorway. Sooner led her team inside the room where they stood silently staring at a dark piece of carved wood. The flickering torches cast shadows under the thorn, giving the illusion of movement. Sooner felt the magical energy flowing through the room. It was an evil feeling that set her teeth to grinding. She glanced at her teammates and saw that every one of them - except Ahren - had a similar expression of mild discomfort and distaste. And realized for the first time that almost her entire team had a magical basis for their powers. It was fitting, she thought with a tiny smile, that they would use magic to stop the plans of the evil mages.

“What now?” asked Wulf.

“We have to find a way to destroy it,” Sooner answered. “We’ll take it to the ba-” Sooner paused as Wulf drew his axe. “No, no!” she cried out, but, with a bellowing warcry, he struck the thorn with a massive overhand blow.

Deep laughter rose through the small chamber as Wulf’s giant axe bounced off the thorn and rebounded nearly into its wielder’s face. Wulf staggered back a step or two as the Ghosts looked around the chamber for the source of the voice.

“Fools!” The voice spoke, “come to save little Ici, have you? It’s far, far too late for that Sooner Spirit!” Sooner frowned as the voice called her by name. “Yes, I know you. I know you all. Idealistic fools, each of you! Sooner Spirit calls on the darkness to fight evil, Midnightangel, with her lighting blasts, Wulf, who can become one with the earth, Witch-Frost, no doubt returned to save her sister in ice-magic, Ruby Sapphire, sweet little Ruby with the healing energies, and the tragic Ahren, always mourning for what he lost, always seeking revenge, but never getting close to the ones who actually hurt him.

“You idealistic simpletons think you can stop me? You haven’t yet seen power like mine! The entire world will bow and tremble before the Circle when I am restored! I will make you all-”

Sooner abruptly yanked off her hood and cape. “Oh, for the love of...” she muttered, and swaddled the broken thorn in the length of crimson and cream fabric. Tucking the bundle under one arm, she looked at her team. “Let’s go. We still have to find Ici.”

“STOP!” The voice bellowed. “You will pay for this! I will make you and all your friends suffer like they have never imag-” As Sooner crossed the threshold of the room, the voice fell silent.

“Ah... That’s a relief,” Witch-Frost said. “I can imagine quite a bit.”
---

Ici was transfixed. It was like when you see something horrible, a car wreck, a natural disaster, a scene of violence, and you can’t look away, even though you desperately do not want those images in your mind. Evil was too mild a word for this book. The ruined lives, the suffering, the sheer inhumanity of the magic practiced by the Circle was too horrid to be believed, but there it was, written out step by step like some sinister cake recipe.

Ici was startled out of her reading by Bounty-Killer’s return. “Are you looking at the pretty pictures?” he asked. She stared up at his dark almond eyes for a moment, struggling to put the thoughts of horrible bloody death and tortures out of her mind. An unreadable expression flickered across his face before he gestured at the book. “Put that away. Let’s go.”

She scrambled up, jamming the book into the bag and twisting it around behind her again, “No, wait. I understand now. Its not just that he hates me. I’m magic. Me. He wanted me before any of this ever happened because I have magic in me.” She paused, stunned. “They didn’t grab me just because I was there. They came after me.” She looked up in Bounty-Killer’s face, and once again caught a flicker of expression across his cold face. And she realized just who she was talking to. She shut her mouth with a click.

“Did you have any more chatter you wanted to share with the Circle? Or can we go?” he asked.

She tossed her head and lifted her chin, but made no response as she strode out of her hiding place. With a strangled sound that might have been laughter, Bounty-Killer moved ahead of her and led the way along the path he’d scouted out.

They cut through dusty tunnels and empty rooms. They paused occasionally to let the numerous patrols pass and then started forward again. Ici was quickly lost in the maze of twisting tunnels and portals, but Bounty-Killer seemed confident as he led them onward.

---

Alanak looked up once again when he heard a startled curse from the hallway outside. A thorn caster stood staring at the dead messenger in the hall with a terrified expression. “What is it?” Alanak demanded, allowing his irritation to color his tone.

“I- I- My lord, I have n-n-news.” The thorn caster stood in the doorway, obviously reluctant to set foot in the same room with his leader.

Alanak steepled his hands on the desk and leaned forward. He spoke calmly, “Have you found Ici Cold?”

“N-n-no, my lord.”

“Have you found the person who attacked the library?”

“No, my lord.”

“Have the Ghosts Reborn been defeated?”

The thorn caster paled. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, before managing to croak out, “No...”

“Then why are you interrupting me?”

“The thorn... the th-th-thorn...”

Alanak stood, feeling his guts turn over. “What has happened?”

“The Ghosts Reborn have taken the thorn.”

For a moment, Alanak thought all the blood had rushed to his head. He felt himself flush, and for a moment he actually did see red. The thorn caster took one look at his enraged face and fled. Deprived of killing that messenger, he contented himself with kicking the corpse of the previous messenger. He roared with anger, and kicked the body again and again. When the hem of his robe was stained wet with blood, he shook off his anger, and turned back to the room.

Alanak returned to his desk and moved the large red stone to the lower level. He studied the map intently, then, with a curse in Oranbegan, he pounded a fist on the desk. The carefully organized markers spilled out over the map with a clatter. His eyes widened as he prepared for another angry outburst, and then something about the pattern of the markers caught his eye. His gaze flicked over the map, and he began moving his forces into various hallways and passages.

“Yes...” he laughed, as he moved the red stone, the black pebble and the blue pebble into a single large room. “Yes, yes!” He placed a carved orange pyramid, to represent himself, near the north end of the room. “Like fish in a trap, I will catch all of you!”

He rose from his desk, and began to issue orders.

Part eleven of Broken Thorn is up in the RP section.