Father Xavier Cloud sat back in his chair, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't believed the boy when he first came...after all, who knew how many people his grandfather told about the pendant? And Father Cloud hadn't gotten a very good look at it anyway... But then there was the book. He leaned forward and traced the lines of the drawing with a trembling hand. The "artist" had had little skill, but it was undeniably of picture of the woman the statue in the town square was modeled after. Not a drawing of the statue; the woman was most definitely alive. Father Cloud turned a few pages, back to the other drawing. He knew the face intimately by now, though he had only seen the boy but once... He sighed, and closed the volume, waving away the dust billowing from the tome. Several years ago, he'd found the book in one of the oldest storage rooms of the church. This was unusual because, many years before that, his grandfather had donated all the church's books to the town library. At least, that's what he said he did... Father Cloud looked at the book's cover. The title was simply "The Angel". There was no denying it now...the boy was telling the truth. Father Cloud got shakily to his feet and walked toward the altar, to pray for guidance. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dark Star, Chapter 5: Broken Dreams written by John Evans (jevans@alum.mit.edu) originally presented by ImproFanfic (http://www.improfanfic.com/) now hosted by Beware the Radish (http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/) Dark Star started by Chandra Rooney ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Himiko opened her eyes. "Good morning." She blinked. That voice had been almost...sarcastic. And she was in...a hospital room? Himiko started to sit up, but was rewarded with a jolt a pain. Memories came flooding back to her, of the battle with that impossibly strong demon, who had beaten and mocked her before...well, obviously not killing her, but now she was in a hospital bed. In retrospect, the pain made perfect sense. And there had been something else about the fight...the girl, Tenkou Stone, had interfered on the demon's behalf...in fact... Himiko finally focused on the chair next to her bed. Tenkou was sitting there, watching her. "Well, thanks to your *friend*," Himiko sneered, "it's not really a good morning, is it?" Tenkou's face darkened. "You attacked him first! He was only defending himself!" "And I was defending humanity. Leave those demons alone and before you know it, people start turning up dead." Himiko closed her eyes and concentrated on her abused body, trying to gauge the extent of her injuries. "Like your father, I would guess." "My father was killed by Queen Yasha!" Himiko opened her eyes and stared at the girl. "Yasha? You're joking." "It's true!" Tenkou was almost yelling. "She's trying to hunt down Dark Star, because he broke free from her control, and my father was...caught between them." Himiko's expression turned to one of pity. "So that's what he told you." Tenkou stared at her. Himiko sighed. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, dear, but...demons lie. It's part of their nature." "...But...But I was there. I saw Queen Yasha, she turned my father into this three-headed dragon thing..." "The Ryuujin?" Himiko raised an eyebrow. "The Ryuujin is an ancient god, not a demon. It wouldn't be fighting for Yasha." Tenkou sagged in her chair. "But..." Inwardly, Himiko cursed. She hated this part of the job; actually slaying demons was so much easier..."I'm sorry, Miss Stone, but the sooner you accept this, the better it will be for you..." Tenkou jumped to her feet. "You're LYING!" This time, she did yell. "Going to kill me then?" Himiko replied. "With all these injuries, I can't stop you." Tenkou turned pale and sat back down. "I'm not like you..." "You certainly aren't." After a moment, Tenkou frowned. "This is pointless, I'm leaving." "Come back anytime..." The door slammed. Himiko allowed herself a smirk, and lay back with a sigh. She'd never experienced the hospital from this side. Most patients told her their stays were pretty boring...But after *that* fight, boredom was definitely tolerable. She just hoped that perverted Michiyo wasn't assigned as her nurse. ===== Zellar stared. There was, in fact, a house in the middle of the forest. That in itself was strange, but Zellar's sharp eyes picked up a number of other odd things about it. There was no yard around the house, for one thing, and no path leading to the door. No ivy climbed the walls, and tree branches were bent down and away from it. It was like some great hand had just picked up a house, and dropped it down between the trees. Milei tugged on his hand. "Come on mister monster sir, let's go meet my parents." Zellar blinked. "Uh...yeah. I told you not to call me a monster, kid." "Come on!" The child gleefully tugged him toward the house, and Zellar followed relucantly. He couldn't sense any magic from the house, so there couldn't be anything *too* dangerous...right? Milei pushed the door open. "I'm home!" he called, leading Zellar into the foyer. A young woman walked in from an adjoining room. "Milei!" She swept him up in a hug. "Your father and I were so worried about you!" She had light brown hair, and looked just this side of thirty. Milei giggled. "It's okay, I was with this monster. He protected me." The woman looked up, and smiled. Zellar noticed that her eyes were the same shade of blue as Milei's. "Thank you so much for taking care of my son...mister monster," she said, winking over the child's shoulder. Zellar smiled in spite of himself. "It was, uh, my pleasure..." "He's not a very scary monster," Milei said gravely. "So I see," the woman said. She put Milei down and bowed to Zellar. "My name is Meilin. Please come in...is there anything we can do for you?" Zellar bowed in return. "My name is...Zellar," he replied. "I don't mean to impose...but..." "Oh, it's no imposition." Meilin smiled brightly. "I know...My husband is just getting breakfast ready. Why don't you join us?" Zellar smiled, a bit more. "Well, if you insist..." "Oh, you don't need to be such a stranger. You did help our son, after all. Come this way..." She led him to the kitchen, Milei skipping along behind. A burly red-haired man was working at a stove. He turned around and smiled at them. "A guest, dear?" Meilin crossed to the stove and gave the man a quick kiss, then looked back at Zellar. "This is Zellar, darling. He brought Milei back, so I invited him to breakfast as thanks." "Well, breakfast is the least we can do!" the man said expansively. "Sit down and make yourself at home, Zellar. My name's Wen Fu, by the way, and the food will be ready soon." He grinned, and turned back to the stove. Zellar smiled, and lowered himself into a chair. He exhaled...his doubts seemed to be slipping away. Meilin and Wen Fu were so *nice*...and he couldn't sense any magic anywhere...and he hadn't eaten in at least a day... Zellar slumped in his chair, his eyelids drooping. ===== In another place, someone woke up. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Still nothing but black space, and stars...mocking her with their disorder... And then they came again. The images...horrible, grotesque things...she closed her eyes, clamped her hands over her face, but they forced their way into her mind... She screamed again...and they went away. She huddled in the darkness, and cried silently... ===== Pain screamed through Zellar's body. Zellar jumped to his feet, looking around wildly. Meilin and Wen Fu were staring at him, along with Milei and a girl... A demon. "Kurayami no hoshi..." The pain flared again, but he pushed past it. "Come forth! Yukikureru!" Darkness sprang from Zellar's forehead and wiped away his human guise. The demon snarled. She looked like a young girl, but Dark Star's senses knew better. She slipped toward the door, but Dark Star sent a flare of black energy at her with something less than a thought, knocking her back. The pain refocused into Dark Star's arm. He gritted his teeth and hugged his arm to his chest, golden fire leaking through his fingers. The demon suddenly grabbed Meilin and Wen Fu by their necks, her nails extending to claws. "Don't move, traitor," she hissed, "or the humans go to meet Queen Yasha." Dark Star stared. The two humans looked confused, as if trying to wake up from a dream. For some reason, Dark Star noticed that Wen Fu was still holding a fork. "Hitomi-neechan?" Dark Star suddenly realized that Milei was sitting at the table, watching them with wide eyes. Wen Fu stabbed his fork into the demon's side. The demon screamed and tore at the humans' throats. Dark Star suddenly remembered his Tenshi, crumbling to dust. The rage and despair boiled up in him... He screamed to the heavens, and projected his darkness outward. The bolt took the demon full in the stomach. She fell to the floor, vomiting darkness, and disintegrated. Dark Star stood there, emotions buffeting him like a storm, and watched Milei run over to his parents. ===== "Well, well...I never thought I'd see you in a library, Vincent." Vincent looked up from his book, and smiled. "Good afternoon, Master Elcid. ...I was just looking something up." The old man eased himself into the chair opposite Vincent. "Oh? What, if I may ask?" He smiled fondly. "The angel statue in the town square!...well, the one that was in the town square." Vincent looked back down, and flipped some pages. "It's strange, but I haven't been able to find anything about it in the town records..." "Hmmm. A shame, it was a beautiful statue." Elcid peered across the table, from under bushy eyebrows. Vincent looked off into space. "Yes...but somehow...I feel like she's still alive...somewhere." Elcid raised an eyebrow. "Of course, she exists in our memories." "Well, yes, but..." Vincent sighed. "I don't know. I just feel...here, look at this." He leaned back and picked up a painting that had been sitting next to his chair, and handed it across the table. "I was wondering why you brought a painting to a library..." Elcid squinted. "Vincent...this is very good work." Vincent beamed. "Well, it's nothing compared to your work, master, but thank you..." "No, I mean it, your skill is improving quickly." He frowned. "I'm curious, though...why did you paint her hair pink?" "...Well...what other color would I have painted it?" Elcid raised his eyebrow again. "Brown? Black? Blond? Blue?" Vincent blushed. "Well...yes, but...I just had a very clear picture of her, somehow, with pink hair. ...It works, though, doesn't it?" "Oh yes, it works very well," Elcid averred. "As I said, it's a very good piece. I was just curious..." Vincent smiled, and looked back to his book. Elcid rubbed his chin, and regarded the young painter gravely. The boy's talent was maturing quickly...and he seemed to be becoming sensitive to higher levels of reality. Perhaps it would soon be time for a lesson in the *true* Art... ===== Tenkou walked idly around the square, surveying the devastation. Workmen were already hauling away broken stones and repairing foundations, behind stretches of yellow plastic tape. Soon there would be no sign anything violent had ever occurred...except for the missing statue. Tenkou blinked, as she noticed a familiar green figure sitting on a nearby flagstone, watching the repairs. As she approached, Joodan looked up at her. "Oh...it's you," he said. "You took the words right out of my mouth," Tenkou replied. Joodan shrugged, and looked at the fountain again. Then he turned back with a curious expression. "I never actually caught your name, miss..." "Stone. Tenkou Stone." The inutatsu scratched his head, and opened his mouth. "And if you say anything about 'weather', I'll hit you." Tenkou sat down beside him. Joodan closed his mouth. Then he said, "Port of Heaven?" "*Queen* of Heaven," Tenkou snapped. Joodan made a few 'ah's of understanding. "And what's your name, now that you've so rudely asked me mine?" "Well you don't have to be all snippy about it," he replied, sounding hurt. "Anyway, my name is...Joodan." Tenkou blinked. Joodan glared at her. "I see," she said finally. "Hmph. ...I'm an inutatsu, by the way. I was sent here to punish Dark Star for intruding on the Catholic God's place of worship. Only...well, he beat me." Joodan rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Tenkou blinked. "Wow." "Yeah, no kidding." Tenkou stared at the fountain. Finally, she frowned. "I don't care about all that, though...Can you explain anything about Dark Star?" Joodan shrugged. "Seems simple enough to me." She stared at him. "What?" he asked irritably. "*Simple*?" "Compared to *some* stories of celestial politics I've heard, this is Dick and Jane stuff," Joodan affirmed. Tenkou's eyes narrowed. "All right...how about you summarize for me?" Joodan leaned back and ticked points off on his fingers. "Guy born under the Dark Star, falls in love with guardian sprite, Yasha awakens his power, sprite keeps him from falling under Yasha's control but not before she's turned to stone, guy wanders the world for a while." "So your heavenly connections tell you all this?" "Well...actually, I met this painter who told me the legend..." "Ah, of course. ...Well, it fits with what Zellar told me, so..." Joodan nodded. "See, I told you." Tenkou was silent for a while. "So where do I fit in?" "I don't know, where?" She turned to him. "I keep having dreams about Zellar and his life." Joodan blinked. "...I...uh, I don't know." Tenkou rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot." Joodan stared morosely at the remains of the fountain. Tenkou frowned. "Actually, there was one other thing..." "Yeah?" "Yasha turned my...father into a, Ryuujin," Tenkou said slowly. "But Himiko said the Ryuujin was an ancient god...and wouldn't be helping Yasha..." Joodan rubbed his chin. "Ryuujin...hmmm...Ryuujin...name doesn't ring a bell..." "Three-headed dragon thing?" Tenkou said irritably. "No, I don't...wait. Hm...Ah, I see. One of the old gods, who's turned to the service of Yasha." He nodded to himself. "So...Himiko was lying?" "I doubt it, but then, human demon hunters rarely see the big picture." They sat and watched the repair work for a while. "Well, then...what now?" Tenkou said finally. "Hm...it's about lunchtime, isn't it?" ===== Zellar knelt beside the two humans, a strange sense of unreality gripping him. "Zellar...important," Wen Fu croaked, clutching his neck. "Shhh," Zellar said, "you'll make your injuries worse..." Meilin smiled through her pain. "Doesn't matter...now, does it?" After a moment, Zellar shook his head. Milei joined Zellar by his parents' side. "Mommy...what do you mean?" "It's...okay," Wen Fu said. "Our fault...trusting Hitomi." "How did she do it?" Zellar wondered aloud. "I sensed no magic..." "Zellar." Meilin fixed him with an intense gaze. "Once you...change something, it stays..." She broke off in a cough. Zellar frowned in concentration. "You're saying...She used magic to influence things and change them permanently...and thus there was no trace of active magic, no ongoing spells." Meiling nodded through her coughs. "Yes," Wen Fu continued weakly. "The house...our minds. All..." "Mommy? Daddy?" Milei asked fearfully. Meilin reached a bloody hand up to touch Milei's cheek. "I'm...sorry, dear. We have to...leave, but..." "We'll see you...in Heaven," Wen Fu finished. Zellar hesitated, then shook his head. "You were killed by a demon... so..." Suddenly pain wracked his body. Zellar screwed his eyes shut and clutched at his arms. He was startled to feel something sharp protruding from each of his palms, and realized that shards of Himiko's golden blades were forcing their way out of his hands. As he removed the holy shrapnel, the pain ceased. Meilin reached out and took the pieces, with wonder in her eyes. She gave one to her husband, who sighed in relief. "Holy relics," she whispered, her voice clear. "Purifying us..." "They warned you...of the demon," Wen Fu said. Zellar stared at his bleeding palms. The shards must have reacted to the demon's approach, and the pain awakened him... "Mommy...Daddy..." Milei was crying now. "Don't worry...we'll be watching over you," Wen Fu whispered, his voice fading. "Zellar...take care of Milei..." Meilin managed to gasp... And then they were gone. Zellar bowed his head, as Milei cried softly. ===== Yasha lounged on her throne, watching the sphere of darkness before her. "There's only one way to hurt a man who's lost everying," she said. "Give him back something broken..." "As you say, Queen," a figure in a gray robe said. "Inspired work, Gyoshi," she commented. "You are to be commended." Gyoshi bowed in reply. "I live to serve, Queen." "Indeed," she said lazily. "Now...how long until the next series of visions?" "I have them scheduled for three hours from now, Queen...but that may be changed, if--" "No, no need for that," Yasha smiled. "But if it's that far away, perhaps you can work on another assignment in the meantime." Gyoshi bowed again. "It would be my pleasure, Queen." "Good," Yasha purred. "It seems that another of my servants has failed to capture the Dark Star, and must be punished as an example. Guards, bring forth Hitomi..." To be continued... ===== Author's note: Well, I'm fairly sure it didn't suck, but maybe it could have been better. Oh well. Quick Japanese guide... Hitomi: "eye" (although this may not be the meaning people use as a name) Gyoshi: "gaze" Tenkou: "weather" (I'm serious, look it up) Yokohoma-kou: "port of Yokohoma" (think about it) The "something broken" line is from The Wounded Land by Stephen R. Donaldson, a writer of immense talent who has had a profound effect on me. That's all for now. Comments welcome, email me at jevans@alum.mit.edu.