The end, the end! Much to the dear author's surprise, there's been quite a rush for the final chapter, THIS chapter. Alas it is not much to offer. I'm afraid it will disappoint you. The end?
That JET-lag is a really, really, REALLY lousy thing, both Rick Grey and Maggie Milage agreed to... as stated a couple of times before. However, Rick had just recently come to the conclusion that perhaps there were worse things. Like LIFE, for one.
"Baka."
The wet newspaper trashed over and rolled down the empty road as the young man kicked it in aggravation. Old and dirty remains of confetti lay in deep drifts along the pavements and curbs, and here and there a bottle of Champagne lay in pieces. Casting a weird glance his way, an early-rise street-sweeper sipped his coffee and leaned against his sweeping machine, enjoying his first coffee break of the new day. On the walls of a corner-shop the tabloids read in large black letters: The Y2K crisis over?, Computer experts says: Y2Kbug problem in check., and No problems, Millennium shift!.
Rick grunted.
"Idiots."
Hands in pocket and jacket tightly wrapped around his upper body, he turned his determined steps towards the subway. The morning hair hung heavy with the chilly remains of a furious night rainfall, leaving the barren concrete and stone jungle wet and thick of the city aura and smells. Stepping onto the subway this January morning, the assistant worker tightened his grip on the slim black suitcase in his hand. Sitting down, Rick clutched it against his chest and brought up a gloved hand to his face to massage his nose-bridge. The visit to one of Mr. Metallium's private law offices sure made the thought of becoming a Buddhist munch to just kept sounding like a better idea by every passing hour. A Buddhist munch resident on a high mountain in Tibet, or any other place far away from modern civilization. Not even a first place in 'Jepoardy', or 'Who Want's To Be A Millionaire?' even, would save him from those digits printed in red text at the end of the report he now had tucked down inside his jacket. All though... Pass a split second a wicked self-satisfied grin came to throne his face as he thought it over. -- It HAD felt MORE than great to let in to deep hidden frustrations like that. Rick Grey chuckled ironically as he massaged his forehead numbly, the lights flashing by outside the coach car. First class apartments filled with priceless artifacts wasn't exactly easily paid for... or else everyone would have one. Blowing one up, wasn't your best choice of a spare-time kill.
Life's great, Rick Grey mused while tapping his fingers against the suitcase. Working without pay for the rest of your life... nice. As if being a PAID slave wasn't joyful enough to begin with. Just lovely. Then again, he figured. Since the damage was all ready done, it wouldn't matter chicken-shit if he accidentally repeated the little explosive incident. After all, they could only encumber his life ONCE.
Despite his royally worse of a wear sight fort a free future, disaster New Year's vacation experience, and in general just a depressed life... That fact made Rick Grey smile. The old lady sitting a seat from said young man edged away nervously when an evil grin crept over his lips and a dark snicker tickled his throat. The irony of Life, no? The lady crossed herself and nervously wondered where the world was taking the youth of today.
Sitting on the bench that lined up against one of the walls of the long corridor, Maggie Milage flipped through the pages of the folder which she held in her lap. Texts, lists, and sketched images of people, events and places. It was one folder among many, one lone and the rest all packed up neatly and stacked tenderly inside that slim suitcase with those dull small golden letters 'M-A' written on it.
Biting her lip faintly, Fanny Conner watched the wet lands outside the outer glass wall of the corridor. Remolus#8, where they had agreed a meeting, finally, after the tumult that had ensued... and was followed up by the new years celebrations. Running like a glassed frame around and connecting the various actually quite old classic gothic-styled buildings, the corridor was a long and narrow passage from the outer world, into the secret depths and heights within the structure. She was scared. Just like she had been when she first met the others. Lina Inverse, all the people which came with her. And of course, Xelloss. She knew that he knew the exact time-span between now and then, but she did not. It held a feeling it was more than a long time ago, and all her memories of then were like clouded childhood memories on a higher level. But this time, no disaster was to be brought down on this earth, no alien darkness threatened to consume them... Now, the danger was here. The world itself, as it was rotting away in it's sickness. A slow death through suffocation when heart and lungs both has gone missing.
Scared, yes. To Xelloss it most likely didn't matter, win or loose. Just see an end. Some kind of end. An end to HIS pain. (selfish men...) But, she couldn't see it end... she didn't want to die. And people like Maggie, Rick, and so many more. They deserved to live. They didn't want to die either, right? Silently Fanny/Firia had wondered over her new companion in crime and right. Where did he stand now, Xelloss Metallium? Got a minion in Hell, a master himself in the human world, and... say what more? Without all the ancient Lords present on either side, what was their place in the field now? Perhaps it had been wrong to connect to Xelloss like she had done, perhaps it had been necessary. The future would tell. It usually did.
"Mornin'."
Looking up, the two women watched as the tall and most often rather irate assistant of Sel Metallium stepped in, shook off some damp mist off his clothes and closed the side-door behind him. "Mornin'." they both answered back.
"Nice place. Remolus#8... cosy." Rick stepped around a bit and sized up the surroundings, as critical and ironic as ever. "LOVELY place to spend the first times of the 2nd millennium at. Or, the first times of the first century that then will launch the second millennium."
"You're just jealous you missed all the parties." Maggie said stating the obvious. Rick gave her a stare.
"No, you don't say? Spending the whole new years days, weeks, vacation, and more, fighting off press, the market, wicked boss' ... PLUS ending up owing your life to the -- supposed -- richest man -- or whatever it is -- in the world your LIFE, is just my DREAM new years celebration come true! Har, har, har."
"Well, you know, it was you who..."
"Oh shut up."
Walking steadfast to his job as always, Mr. Jones inhaled the morning air. He felt rather calm. He had been off his medication for pretty long now, all since he quit his job at the Atlantis Dig for Ms. Conner actually. Everything was wonderfully uneventful... nothing strange, nothing weird, nothing.... A dog walking behind, and stepping out on the other side of a lamppost as a MAN? Jones froze and just stared at the young slim man who stretched his neck to the side slightly and corrected his oriental-styled suit casually. Stopping slightly, the man looked his way and flashed him a mischievous canine grin before trotting onward on his way. Mr. Jones sniffled and started to dig into his bag for his medication with frenzy while shaking mumbling something about "it's not my fault, it's not my fault"... And of course, it wasn't. But like life cared?
Ten minutes later, Rick Grey found himself more lectured into detail of a history he had become more familiar with during the past week and holiday. A history forgotten by the so-called Modern World and sometimes the situation found Rick to be surprised with himself. Not because he was shocked or overwhelmed by the new stories and facts, but rather because he just... accepted it; as if it was as simple as A-B-C, or blue skies. Maggie was reading the notes and stories from the folder Xelloss had given the three of them from the M-A suitcase, and Firia was adding to it from her corner, all the while holding her own folder of their summarized news from the Conner/Atlantis dig. Twenty minutes after that, Rick gave a yawn and decided to find himself a chair to sit, and someone grabbed him from behind.
"AAAAAArgH!"
The two women jerked back in shock and watched Rick almost jump up and latch on to the ceiling in fright. In the door behind the youth, Mr. Wolfpack wiggled his whiskers. (not that he actually have any... but still.)
"YOU!" Rick stated when he had clamed down enough to stop trying to climb the wall and glared daggers at the black-clad man. Wolfpack just smiled. A strained silence fell as the two men glared at each other and the girls wondered what happened. A cheerful greeting broke the silence when an infamous purple-haired head popped in from behind the latest arrival.
"H-allo!"
Wolfpack stepped without question to the side, giving room for his superior to enter, which also was what he did.
"What a wonderful day for new games- er, enlightenment! How is my happy little gang?" said superior beamed at the gathered group, all dressed up in dark pants and shoes with a purple shirt to match. A pair of gray-blue eyes found Xelloss' own purple, and gave him a long frigid stare.
"Just peachy, thanks." Rick Grey said. Xelloss adjusted his hat thinking Gee, who woke up on his worse side this morning? He cleared his throat.
"So! Here we are, finally, after such time, ne? We got clearance that it was ready ages ago and then chaos breaks loose elsewhere and occupies us. Now how's that." Rick grunted something unidentifiable, Mr. WP melted into the background silently as always, and the girls just looked back at the Mazoku. Xelloss closed his eyes and smirked slightly.
"Well then... shall we?"
Dark corridors, stairs and doors. Smells of strange aromas and... everything from chemist labs, to antique libraries. And, something else. A tingling ran slowly through her spine and made Firia shiver as they walked calmly down the big hallways. Behind a counter in what seemed to be the main entrance hall sat a human woman without character and by the side stood a similar man, waiting. As the little group arrived they stood up to greet the arrivals.
"Sir." The man said silently with a hesitant voice. "We've been waiting eagerly."
Xelloss just smiled, as usual.
"This way." Showing them down another way, the woman bowed courteously and began walking as they followed.
"Ne, Fi-chan, so what's the news from your corner?" Firia looked over at the man who addressed her. It would surprise her more to find out that he did not know anything more about it all ready, than if he did. Living in the information age, Firia had learned over these past weeks with her new friends and partners, meant not only easy communications and connections but also hidden watchers. The new heartbeat of the world; information and knowledge... money. Back in the old days one had to go and track it, find it, and gather it. Now, it was just like it was another being itself, living breathing information. Something seemingly connecting humans and people all over their worlds, like a web of fine-spun consciousness where everything from money to peoples' whole lives circulated in and out... from corners to center and back again. Almost like a second astral plane for those who had the means to see it, to travel it. Firia had little doubt of where in that 'net' of the world, Mr. Sel Metallium reigned. It was not in the far most outskirts, that were for sure. "Black Widower" [16]... interesting pet name that, that that underground magazine had given the business lord. What was its name again... Maggie had showed her. No matter, it still put a clear finger on the chills the whole thing gave her.
A dark blur waving back and forth before her eyes snapped the dragon lady back to reality. Last mentioned spider in the center of the net was walking beside her rather amused, waving his hand in front of her eyes. She slapped her folder in his face with a loud SMACK.
"Hrm. News, news... well, not much."
The others gave her some wondering looks. She just shrugged and continued walking, as did Xelloss... all the while holding his at the moment now slightly flattened nose.
"What I last heard from my people back at the dig site, dear Amster Dietrich apparently has disappeared. (good riddance!) His team has drawn back more and more leaving us more or less alone. Continuing the excavation now, we have found remains of many things, mostly so fragmented or destroyed it's hard to tell what it once was. Other than that there's been reports of strange activities, unexplained things and random acts of chaos in the camp. Especially in the area where Dietrich dug up those black stones we now got here and in a circle area connected to it. Nothing dangerous has occurred yet, though. And, we've also managed to get down reports on what we have found, the sorting and collecting of the items has begun more thoroughly. Some interesting things sure has begun to unfold..."
"Ne, I'm sure they are."
With a small smile the Mazoku ended his comment with a wave towards the end of the corridor they were walking down, and added to himself in his mind while casting a silent glance towards the blond woman... If you only knew, Daughter of Ceipheed.
"WHO THE HELL TOOK MY CLOTHES?!! "
It was a pretty fine door, they saw when they reached it. Old refined wood, just as most other doors in this proud building like a fortress of an ancient university. Or the like.
"Uhm. Say, Mr. Metallium, just what kind of research DO you do in there?" Maggie asked with her hands behind her head, as the whole group stared at the door, temporarily halted by the scream coming from inside. The two characterless people who had escorted them glanced slightly nervous in between themselves and their superior but remained quiet. The whole matter was as absurd as everything else was Rick thoughts, but whoever that mad young woman inside was she sure gave him the chills. Loud noises and people moving around, more voices and upset screams. Everybody stared at the door but no one seemed to want to make a move. Finally, the escort man spoke up silently.
"Mr. Metallium?"
"Yes?" came the answer from two mouths at the same time, soon followed by an "Itai!..." as Xelloss swapped the crystal tip of his cane over Wolfpack's head, effectively shutting it up. "Yes?" the purple-haired Mazoku repeated while smiling wide as if nothing had happened. The others stared...
"Shall we enter? Even though it seems the Items has proceeded to an awake state without help?" The nameless man continued solemnly. Xelloss just nodded his head to the side slightly. The man jumped shocked as a shadow slipped pass him from behind and in one liquid motion opened the door and casually walked inside.
Inside, lay a rather large room. Steady thick walls with no windows as it was below the earth, and sparse furniture. Actually, everything of importance in the room seemed to exist only to support it's center; a set of two large beds held up and framed by strange pieces of medical instruments and assorted other junk. Beside the stationed beds a third covered one had been placed, looking like it had been moved there rather recently. Atop one of the two beds, a young girl laid and seemed to try and take in the situation while being utterly confused. In the meantime atop the bed farthest to the left, another young girl sat... and was rather furious. Actually, she was trying to strangle one of the two nurses in the room while screaming at them to give her some answers. Upon the opening of the door they all looked up, for a moment ceasing the loud activities.
Opening the door to a full, Wolfpack stepped inside, rubbed his head and looked over the room once.
"Yo." The white-haired male greeted with one hand, and then casually strode to the side taking a tour of the room as if that was the most natural thing to do. The occupants of the room stared wide-eyed at him, and finally, the red-haired girl who had just moment before been the source of the screaming... took up said activity again.
"And who the hell are you now, Mr!"
And Wolfpack promptly ignored her as he inspected some funny-looking piece of instruments and bottles in the far-left corner of the room. (don't do this at home people. sniffing unidentified lab-bottles can be bad for your health. [17])
"Wha-what's going... on?" the second girl asked a little groggily and tried to sit up while the two nurses loudly protested at the red-head's attempts to get off her bed.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"
"Well, what do you know. She even has the same haircut as I remember." came the most intelligent reunion-greeting ever from the door. And once again, the scrambling and screaming subdued and died.
Fear. A clear fear flickered over the residents in the room. The two girls, both looking to be just beneath twenty years old stared in shock at the door. A small group of people could be hinted through the door behind two more of the strange white-clad 'nurses'. The sharp features of the one particular man standing in front seemed to transfix both females to a degree beyond normal fright. Breathing hard, the redhead clenched her fists and hissed a name as if it were poison on her tongue.
"Xelloss."
"Long time, no see Lina Inverse." a dark velvet-soft voice answered her, and he was smiling. Always smiling. Always hiding. Always scheming.
Dry cleansed air cutting sharp through hasty breaths. The body-language spoke it's direct tongue to the people in the room as the two strange girls hunched back on their respective beds alike cornered animals confronted with a predator they knew very well they'd never outrun. Silence you could cut with a knife. Pulses racing. Minds asking a thousand question at a same time where no answers could be given. Yet. It shattered with a shock blow. For Xelloss, that is. With a loud THUD the dark-clad man was knocked aside with swung by an ordinary smaller sports bag. The thick wooden door wavered as said male was flattened against it when someone from behind stormed into the room.
"LINA!"
Xelloss slid slowly to the floor looking quite amusing and with more than his nose flat at this time. The two assistants stared. Rick blinked and held up his hand hesitant. Did... did she just steal his bag and used it to slam the Boss into the wall? But... but... he had some sort of delicate things in there... Oh, what the hell! It was for a good cause! Rick shrugged, put his hands in his pockets and grinned as Xelloss now lay on the floor seeing tiny pretty little stars.
Lina Inverse... Sorceress supreme, infamous bandit-killer of her time, slayer of dark lords big and small, and if summed up; basically just not your average teenager. There was not much that could shock this young woman, but right there and then she felt just about shocked out of her wits. Admittedly, there was not much making sense at the moment and her old companion to her left seemed to agree. They both blinked and stared at the blond blur who just had made a violent entrance into the scene.
"Firia!?"
The two girls barely got a second more to react before the older woman was right over by their side, grabbing each of them with one arm and pulling them into a fierce embrace. A random shower of questions, confused looks, all mixed together with happy sobbing, hushed exclamation from various other people, and a man's moaning and whining, to an interesting spectacle of absolute no meaning at all. Ten minutes later, without much progress at anything, someone had had enough.
"HOLD IT!"
Firia looked up and at the strange yet so familiar girl now by her side.
"Just what the hell IS THIS!" Miss Inverse demanded where she sat. There was a silence again before Firia opened her mouth again, hesitantly.
"Actually..." she said, pondering, then looking back at her long lost comrade. "Right now, I have no idea either." She pondered that again and turned around to face the door again and was met by someone suddenly just behind her. Xelloss glared down at her.
"You are so mean." he commented low giving his still red nose a final rub and then stepping back again. About to give a comeback to the accusation, Firia finally registered the looks of fear written across the girls' faces. And the source of that fear. Something dawned on her there.
"Wait." The girls looked unsure at her, almost untrusting? Firia laid a hand on Xelloss' chest as he still stood quite close to them. "It's ok, he's...." The dragon lady hesitated. "He's not an enemy." she finished.
Shocked. Yes, the reaction in the eyes of two friends and allies she'd thought she would never again see, save for in her own memories, they shocked her. Never had she thought they would look at HER with such an uncertainty of trust. Beneath her hand, the warmth of his body and the fine purple cloth tickled the tip of her fingers. His hearth beat and breathing disgustingly calm. She looked up at him, wishing him to open his eyes so she could stare into them and dare him to answer her fully. She whispered when she asked.
"What in the world did you do...Xelloss. What did you do?" what the hell is going on.
Xelloss Metallium smiled. He just smiled, before he reached out and grabbed the hand of each scared young woman, clasping her hand in a firm unwanted grip. Firia opened her mouth to protest where she stood in the middle, but he spoke up before she could.
"Let's recap, shall we?"
................ Fire. Landscapes ablaze. Red seas on shore, crimson tides at the ends of lands and kingdoms. Once white walls of pride, now scattered black and torn in ashes and debris. Corpses decorating a scorn landscape, a landscape covered in smoke and brimstone... as if Hell itself came for a visit. Not quite the truth, but close enough. A girl sits crying on an ashen field. Her tears are tired, as is she. Her raven black hair is dirty, as is her once white robe. Flares of clear flashes of light reflects dull through the clouds of dark smoke covering the lands, and glints to on her wet cheeks. Behind her, behind the hill, up the road... lies a broken magical circle. Once, a city. A stronghold of light, once it was. Now, its broken walls speak of pain and doom, darkness no less than the dark skies above. Torn, withered... as if clawed apart by a Hellhound digging for bones to feed upon. Not quite the Truth, but close enough.
Upon the highest spire of the once palace of Justice, the Hound stands. It stands tall, it stands proud, and it smiles. Grinning... knowing, content. The very face of the successful soldier. Unlike the pitiful, weak creatures far below it, its warrior clothes and its figure shine of strength and passion where it looms, high above the fallen city. The black cape flaps wide and fiercely in the strong winds, adding to the unnatural dignified and powerful creature it be... standing unmoved and untouched in the impossible spot atop the palace heights. Lupine eyes and canine grin follow the every move of the small group of still resisting game, when they move further from the fallen place.
Cradling the little raven-haired girl in her arms, a red haired girl grimly stare back at the broken star. Hate, fear, and anger shot though red human eyes, towards that demon... that damned creature that still from this distant, is watching them. Smiling. She turns her face toward the horizon, which hide the demonic sea behind its rim. Long there, in the distant, the shadows of a battle cast mirror reflections over the sky, the clouds, and the land. A battle no human nor mortal creature could ever truly grasp. And a battle no human nor mortal creature would even consider, to enter. No one but a very few selected exceptions. The girl raises her hand and points towards the heart of the pulse that is covering her world now. There, there is where it'll make a difference. There, is where WE go, she says.
Glittering scales, leathery skin. A dance of death and life, like it's been danced before... but never like it's been fated before. Darkness looming, darkness taking. Darkness taking sought revenge. Light. Flares of life slowly going out. Light. Tears slowly falling in prayer. Storms of fire-like magic sweeping across water and dirt, scattering mortal lives stupid -- or brave -- enough to consider voicing their right to battle. So scattering the Heroes, there is no exception there. Death claims those unfortunate, and those bound to another time... and leaves the few remaining to witness the end. Shock. One golden flash, a thunderstorm, and everything fall from its path. Screaming knives of golden black light explode, leaving the winning side as helpless as the losers on their knees. Panic. Darkness, light, mortal and immortals alike fleeing side by side for survival. Scream in agony and fear covers the scenery before the last pulse of the freezing cold chaotic penalty passes through. Then there is only silence. There is no End. There is no Beginning. Life failed. Death failed. Coma. ................
Racing. A heartbeat beating like a drum inside a living chest. No, not one. Two, three... four, five... and even a few more. The tiny voice of delicate fabric ripping called her conscience back to the present, and Firia found herself to stare numbly at her hand upon his chest. Her nails clinging into the fabric, tearing it with every shocked heartbeat, sending aftermath's through every vein from chest so fingertips. Still a few flashes of light blinked over her vision when she regained her posture and looked around. The girls on their beds, as shocked as she. Her young friends by the door, confused and shocked the same. The strange personal of the facility, mysteriously gone... Mr. Wolfpack standing alike one silent sentinel in a corner. The Evil One smiled no more. Forcing her shivering hand to let go of Xelloss' now ruffled shirt, she looked up at the grim-faced trickster. Her voice, cracking.
"I... have been trying to forget... that pain." She said. The images of the golden storms flashed again through her mind. Such fresh memories, such clear images. He must have been painfully aware, came to her as a thought. She, had been struck out cold, memories and knowledge reawaken when she did... what could it be, millenniums later? Coma. Not just a curse. Perhaps in this case, a blessing even. Yes, a blessing she decided, upon fully facing that cold and grim face again. The girls on their beds stared in silence at them both, the silence calm and heavy upon the people in the room and outside.
Silent world. The natural random chaos of evolution and the human mind silently rippling the numb weave of the world-souls, alone. The divine battle subdued to matters irrelevant. Humans, faith and technology. Growth. There's no order, there is no ultimate chaos. Immortal beings a thing of the past, the shadows, and the unknown. One age, two ages, empires rise, empires fall. Myths written, myths forgotten, religions founded, religions wavering. Slow madness ticking, withering foundations foretell of a future that crumble and break under the pressure of an ill-balanced scale. An Ill-balanced scale.
A bathtub?
Somehow, a thought occurred in the young woman's mind. Rick sure would enjoy this scene, Maggie thought amused where she leaned at the doorframe, watching. To say there was commotion going on, was an understatement. A GRAVE one. Wolfpack leaned relaxed on the bench in his corner, munching potato-chips. Sounds of a hollow metallic object of fair size being beaten upon a body echoed steadily throughout the room and corridor, chorused by voices cursing and swearing. Emotions let to run loose almost sending the curtains wavering. Tensed air splitting like thick fog by a sudden fresh warm wind.
Back against the side of one of the large hospital beds, Firia stared in sweaty shock at the scene just before her. The two young girls now on the same bed, the man.... Then, something in the corner of her eyes caught her interest. A dark object, just about beneath two feet long she estimated, an inch and a half thick. A small bit of a staff. Looked almost like something the police used. She turned her by this time pretty pale and flushed face to the action before her. From what she saw, he did destroy Seiruun. She knew for sure now that he knew just about 95% more than he'd ever hinted at with her. He had played with her and her work. Used her position. She had even... slept, with him. Ok, that was it.
Chewing down another potatoe-chip Wolfpack blinked and looked surprised down at his hip and at the place his portable staff usually hung. There was a slight clicking 'hiss' as the staff unfolded to its full length of about four feet in the hands that had picked it up. It's not Mace-sama precisely, but it would have to do!; Firia decided and turned heel to the other side of the room once again. Wolfpack hesitated for a moment, then brought another potatoe-chip to his mouth when the lady went into action. Some Japanese words of... garbage... or something so... went flying as the scene exhilarated a few notches. There were no children present, but if it had been they would have had been forced to be there with a parent. Not just violence, but a couple of foul words shot through the fight when it went into third round.
"What the...What in the world?!" The young man carrying the tray of eight cups of coffee, or tea, exclaimed with shock as he rounded the doorframe and entered the small hospital-room once again. Maggie chose a cup and took it without a try for an explanation from Rick's tray. Why even try? She wasn't sure she knew what in the world was going on either. Correction, she didn't. She tasted the coffee instead. Wolfpack finished his bag of chips and licked his lips while searching it over one time extra just in case. The commotion died into a pause when the rest noticed the new entry. Everyone with the exception for the silent patient in the covered bed, and Xelloss; who was busy thinking ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, THAT will take time regenerating, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch...
"Y-y-y-y-y-y-YOU! Not you, TOO!"
Rick just held the tray with the remaining seven cups and felt like 'Nani?'. Though, he had to admit, there was something scary with that red-head over there. He did not like the way she pointed at him. It made him itch in a way that told him to run and hide. And that way she seemed to summon power of some kind, sure gave him some major bad vibes too. In a way it resembled the whole scene with his first meeting with Miss Firia. ... Now, wait just a minute that was...
Oh dear.
"FIRE -- ......!!!"
Rick's face turned instant titanium white and not-so-happy as he shrieked something similar to 'oh shit!' and threw up his arms in a panicked try for defense while tumbling off balance backwards and hitting the side of the door, shutting it with a slam. Maggie ducked Rick's violent arm gestures and watched how the small tray along with seven steady ceramic cups flew high through the air above and over to the right... Eyes widened as the small ball off flickering fiery energy shot forth from the young woman's hand by the last uttering of the short spell, crossing the short distance between her and the door. Ducking on the floor, Maggie watched the dark-clad Mr. Wolfpack jump forward and gracefully pick the runaway tray with cups from it's flight, land on his feet alike a cat and glide forth on his knees elegantly to come to a stop almost by her side. Wolfpack looked at the tray, thought a while, and then picked a teacup and drowned it in one sweep before putting it back on the tray again. Maggie gave applause in appreciation of the good show. Beside and above them someone else was having far less a good time.
"NO NO NO NO I'M NOT HIM NOT REZO JUST AN ORDINARY GUY NOT REZO I'M NOT HIM AAH!!"
There was silence. Wolfpack took a cup of coffee.
Blink. Rick blinked again and hesitantly looked up and lowered his raised arms meant to protect his face, slightly. What now? Everybody staring so strange at him? And why is it so bright or as seen though a chunk of white light? Man, he must sure be scared! Someone cleared his throat and straightened his costume as he picked himself up from the floor and walked up to the confused young man. Xelloss rubbed a sore head and squinted his eyes lazily at Rick.
"Oi, just a normal guy you say? Then tell me -- where do kids learn protective barriers these days, is it chemistry or physics, or maybe even sports-class?" He poked slightly at his direction.
Rick looked at his boss as if he just had asked if he came from Mars. Then it occurred to him that the crazy man seemed to be poking at that 'chunk of white' he thought had been his illusion while being scared off his wits. Rick blinked and looked down, only to realize that he was standing in a glowing white pentagram. With a YIPE! of surprise he jerked back shocked up against the door... and the magical sign faded away to nothingness. Looking around nervously he came to find the lazy stare of his very Boss once again. Xelloss raised an eyebrow beneath the now more than a little ruffed bangs of his hair, look speaking volumes. Just a normal guy you say? Rick's face turned into a blushing frown which grew until his whole face was red as Santa's hat and smoke was near to come out of his ears.
"Ouuuruu, - I HATE YOU DAMNIT!!!"
Throwing his fist violently into the air the young man roared loudly and stomped his feet, then folded his arms angrily and promptly put the whole world on ignore in favor of to just stand there red in face, fuming. Looking around at the crowd of stunned faces, Xelloss groaned and held his head with a sigh.
"Where is my coffee?..."
Wolfpack tried his best to look innocent where he sat on the floor holding a tray with seven empty cups.
Wolfpack pouted where he stood holding a pot of coffee by the snacks-table in the lounge-looking room. Typical. The Master always takes out blame on his minions. Being butler just wasn't his cup of tea. No thanks. Beside, Rick Grey was so much more suited for it. Nice ass and all. Wolfpack snickered to himself as the other guy shot him a suspicious glare from where he sat in the sofa beside Maggie and a suitcase. ( Wolfpack ^__^ )
It was a strange sight indeed. The Big Apple, New York city; a metropolis on the world-map, famous and infamous around the globe. Another melting-pot of the late human civilizations. Good and, worse. Strange and, stranger. Far from the city cores, away from the gigantic human containers shaped like scrapers reaching for the skies above, among silent and old concrete jungles, upon a small and humble hill, built out of stones ancient and by ancient hands; the present house of Remolus lay quiet and calm. Gothic spires and palisades dark by the sour and damp city air blending together with the cold gray landscape around it to safely keep guard of the secrets held deep within its body. Complex ornaments decorate the thick majestic glass windows crowning the sides of the structure; almost teasing the outside world and the very sunlight of the unknown within its care, from behind those non-showing dark pools of glass. Integrated with the old anonymous structure, modern limbs of dark metal and glass kneel around the base alike a protective and camouflaging belt. Inside, nameless creatures walked the corridors tending to its welfare. Several levels above ground in a room beneath the lowest ceiling, just inside one of the large circular rosette windows facing towards the center of the metropolis, an odd collection of individuals sat quietly. In one of the large and old armchairs close to the window, a man in fine dark clothing sat. One foot firmly on the thick wooden floor with the other resting on opposite knee, he sipped the liquid in the rounded glass he held in both hands calmly. The huge window occupying more than two thirds of the room's farthest end were cut in half by the floor, leaving the occupants of the room with a spectacular view of the city though a majestic half-circle out of ornamented iron and glass. Through the outwardly dark depths of the glass, the gray day's sunlight sipped though, casting surprisingly sharp contours across the features of the man in the leather armchair where he sat with his back to it.
The clicking of metal against ceramics and the smell of coffee and tea spiced with honey and cream hang over the group. Holding her cup as if warming her hands upon it, the blond woman in one of the sofas keep silent watch on the man in the armchair close to her left meanwhile her younger friend by her other side seemed more calm and interested in the others. On the opposite side of that very sofa a young man holding a briefcase sat, frowning over the rim of his own cup. Across a table from the three, another group of three lounged in the rich elegant sofas; a small girl with hair alike orange fire watched her surroundings with suspicion while eagerly taking in the snacks provided on the table in between the decorative candles and dried flowers. Beside her one step farther away from the window another small girl resided cautiously, eyes darting unsure between the rest of the people and the third person in the sofa, who she kept a hand upon his wrist in a protecting gesture. He; a strange looking fellow laid heavily and worn out in his corner of the sofa, icy blue eyes closed at the moment beneath steely strands of alien human hair. A strange sight it was indeed. The fiery-haired young woman took in a deep breath, readying to address the male whose presence seemed to dominate above them all.
"It's been how long?"
Slim soft lips sipped the liquor from the rounded glass as she asked her soft-spoken question.
"Countless eras." the owner of the lips answered just as soft, figure and voice one with the shadowed room. The young woman frowned slightly as she closed her eyes and thought silently for a while, before proceeding.
"Yes, guess it really doesn't matter. What matters is the changes, no?" They all watched him nod with a smile above the rim of the glass. The silence settled once again as the girl pondered it all to her self.
"We live to better ourselves..." She murmured while eyes fixed on the table thoughtfully. "So History repeats itself, huh? And Fate follows suit..." With a determined look, her eyes rose again towards the man. "Is that what this M-A Project is all about; tangling out the history to get to the 'finish'?"
He smiled, eyes hidden beneath thick bangs. "Not really..." Xelloss' shadowed figure never moved as they all came to look questioning at him. "It is just the pre-telling of the end of the beginning."
"The end... the beginning, of what?"
"The end of the built-up, the beginning of its result."
"THAT is confusing."
"Yes."
"Didn't we die, by the way?"
"Yes."
"WHAT!"
"The chaos that killed you also enclosed you, even trapping your very souls. Were it not so, you would never have been able to be revived. Zelgadiss-san's chimera body never surly died as the freezing overtook it, much because of its unique setting. Therefore he woke up by himself when freed from the prison."
"What...what about the others?"
"They truly died. The chaos did not hit them right, and so pulverized them instead."
Shocked gasps foretold of the little group's surprise at his words. Dead? It made sense of course. Yet, to hear it be spoken, losses of such kind never seem truly touchable real. Yet true. Xelloss' voice bore a tingle of amusement that first caused angry frowns on his fellow group members as he spoke again.
"I wouldn't worry." He said, casting a lupine narrowed look upon his young assistant in the corner of one of the sofas. "Some souls' legacy come back to haunt even the most unwilling future." The emotionless smile widened in the shadowed face. Rick's eyes narrowed silently, the others watched the two in silence and confusion. [18]
Standing up suddenly, the red-haired young lady turned determined calm steps towards the dominant man by the window. Walking up to his side she watched him quietly for a moment, face as serious and unreadable as his. Then...
Xelloss GAWK!'ed and nearly dropped his wine-glass as an elbow impacted with his scull fiercely.
"You stupid retard! What are you plotting to use us for now?" Lina growled under her breath all the while her eyebrow twitched dangerously.
"S-ave-t-he-w-orld?" Xelloss squeaked in return as she bonked his head more than once.
"MY ASS!!!" the girl shrieked. "You'd rather see it destroyed!"
Before Lina could continue to take out her frustration on the Mazoku, the voice of Firia spoke up in a serious tone, picking everyone's attention.
"Actually Lina, that may very well be up to us." The redhead gave her a doubtful glare along with the rest. "I do not doubt Xelloss' motives to be what you claim, yet... how the real outcome will turn, will also come to depend on us." Firia found the dark gaze of her partner in crime where he lay beneath Lina's grip. She continued.
"As strong as he is, Xelloss is as incomplete on his own as this dying world itself. Puzzling together the ground for a new future, is nothing to be done alone. The summarized actions of all of us will be what make our set for said future, just as it always are and has been. No matter if we work together, or on different goals."
Lina released the man, watching now Firia instead.
"History is written by those who lead it. If we wish to change the course of Fate, we who have been hinted of it should see to guide what is hidden the right way. In the end, I may only hope the rebuilt scene weighs in favor of Light, so this world may continue onward."
Again, thoughtful silence. A smirk.
"Guess we won't know if that's true unless we TRY huh?"
Firia smiled warmly at her long lost young friend. She closed her eyes and nodded.
"Yaaa, that's my Dragon maiden. Always sharp when it comes to that!" Xelloss cheered as he popped up from his previous squished position behind Miss Lina. Firia gave him a dull glare. The Mazoku gave a cute played 'oups!' look and gave out a laugh. "Dragon LADY I mean!" His following grin was cut short however by said lady's equally knowing glance and raised eyebrow, as if she saying... oh yea, like THAT was something new. Xelloss' grin got replaced by a pout and a quiet grumble over something about loose women of today, or dither. Lina just looked puzzled at him over her shoulder.
Putting a hand on her hip, Lina Inverse; sorceress supreme, infamous bandit killer, dramata, slayer of dark lords big and small, and terror of restaurant kitchen personel, massaged the bridge of her nose in a determined posture.
"Ooooo-key! Here it is, the damn world went and hooked itself up for a certain end and needs to get saved AGAIN, I am reawakened who damn knows many centuries after my supposed end along with some friends, find out the rest are dead, but may still be out there... There's a Rezo-lookalike, some weird Mazoku sidekick with a silly grin, all I know as facts of the world is forgotten, and everything is generally up-side-down. I am greeted by a wise-ass with suicide-thoughts who seemingly are the only one in charge of knowledge and the sole guide to any chosen future..."
A deep breath, and Lina turned around as fiery as always; pointing a fist at the face of Xelloss Metallium and with a loud voice ending her speech with a demanding question... One, which he gladly chirped up and answer for in that cheery cute lil' happy voice of his.
"AND WHAT THE HECK DOES 'M-A' MEAN ANYWAY?!"
"Why, 'Millennium-Apocalypse' of course, what else would it mean?"
Rick: Oh god, this is so corny! PLEASE can I go home now?
[16] - the "Black Widow" is a rather infamous poisonous black (duh) spider infamous for its poison and dangerous type, kills it's mate after mating, etc..
[17] - well, it can. and never ever drink from unclean test-tubes either, you NEVER know what its been used for.
[18] - reincarnation, it is usually called.