Dark Star - Part VIII - When the stars gather By Jonatan Streith Started by Chandra Rooney Big, BIG thanks to my prereaders Yasha, Phoebe and Lady Chaos for comments, nitpicking and generally weird suggestions! Arigato! Hugs and kisses! ^_^ Also thanks to Gink for writing the cool ending scene! Now, on with the story! * * * The stars shone brightly that night. Of course, the stars ALWAYS shine brightly in the night, unless you watch them from within a city, in which case the lights tend to drown them out. Case in point. The stars have always held a large amount of mystery for humans. They are beautiful, enticing, and impossible to reach. Many stories have been dreamed up by people, seeking to explain what the stars are. Some say that they are the souls of innocent children. Some say that they are holes in the curtain of the night, leading into a world of eternal flame. Some people even claim that they are huge balls of burning gas, which just goes to show what some people think. Yes, there are many ideas about what the stars are. The only question that hasn't been raised is WHY. And on this particular night, the stars were RIGHT. Not that many people knew what this meant, of course; almost no one... * * * In a dark alley somewhere, a three hoodlums were squaring up a young man standing in front of them. Despite the fact that each single one of them was at least twice as large as him, he showed no sign of fear. "So, you want my money, eh?" the young man said, grinning wickedly. "Boy, are you in for it." One of the hoodlums took a step forward, indicating himself to be the leader. "We don' like lil' punks like youse trespassing roun' here! Youse dead meat, kid!" The man frowned, pushing his dark hair back in a bishounen fashion. "Would it be too much to ask that you speak properly? Oh well..." Several painful seconds later, the leader was flung against the wall, clutching his bleeding chest with his still-intact left arm. The footsteps of his two not-so-courageous companions was quickly fading. The young and apparently very dangerous young man walked towards him, grinning feraly. Were those fangs? "And now, for the finishing..." He looked sharply up at the sky, cutting off whatever he had been about to say. A look of surprise passed over his face, and then slight annoyance. "Looks like I'm needed... damn!" He shot the hoodlum a withering look. "You'll live... for now. Be grateful." With that, he walked away, muttering angrily. * * * Somewhere else, a young woman sat hunched over a dusty tome. The room she occupied was cluttered with books, stacks and piles covering almost every surface. It had a certain library quality over it; not a public library, but a private one, as found in old english mansions. Or the kind found in secret vaults, hidden deep within the Earth, containing books of arcane lore. Funnily enough, that was a rather accurate description, in this case. "'...turne back now, for the sekrits within this bokk were nae meant to be knewn'" The woman read aloud. "Then why the hell did you write it, old man? 'Yea, tha writtings will drove a manne insane...' Good for me I'm a woman, then.. haha! Get to it, ya illiterate coward. 'You who seek the force of...'" As if hearing a soundless call, the woman looked upwards, at the ceiling and beyond. She adjusted her glasses. "Oh my... the time has come." She got to her feet, shoving the Book of Ultimate Power aside like so much worthless paper, and pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "Time to pack." * * * Somewhere else again, on a beach, a man looked up at the stars, reflecting in the deep blue sea. The full moon painted a white path on the rippling water. The young woman to his side looked at him with concern. "So you have to go?" The man nodded. "The stars says so. But don't worry... before you know it, I'll be back with you again." "But what if--" "Shh." He gently silenced her by placing a finger to her lips. "Let's not worry about that... we should enjoy the little time we still have together." They kissed. * * * Across the world, a handful of not-quite-humans looked up at the same moment. The time had come... * * * In the maze-like passages of the dungeons, Kuroi Hoshi frowned. These tunnels were acting odd... she was sure that they had walked the same way that she had gotten in, yet they had gone a lot farther, and no exit was in sight. Strange indeed... "This is going too easy," Tenshi commented. Kuroi Hoshi turned her frown at the pink-haired sprite. "You do know some people believe that there is a curse on words like that." The girls shrugged. "Exaggeration, most probably. It's not as if they are magical words." They walked onwards for a few moments, before she continued. "What I meant was that it's so easy... I mean, you got in without a hitch, found that key lying around just like that like that, we found these robes, and there's not a single enemy in sight." Kuroi Hoshi nodded. "Indeed, it's strange. It sounds almost like..." Several monsters leapt out of the shadows, surrounding them. "...a trap." she finished. * * * Master Elcid looked down at the book in front of him, and sighed in resignation. The words were there, their meaning clear as crystal. There was no relief now, no pardon. "I never thought it would happen in my life time," he mused. "Still, the arrival of Kurayamino Hoshi was probably a dead giveaway..." He closed the book and rose from the chair, shuddering. "I wonder what Father Cloud will have to say about this..." * * * In the town square, Zellar was in a quandry. What should he do? He had to save Tenshi... but he didn't want to swear fealty to Queen Yasha. But what to do? It didn't help that Kurayamino Hoshi kept saying that it was 'time', or something. He ignored the demon; it could wait. "Zellar, you can't trust Yasha," Tenkou said. He nodded. "I know." "But you have to get Tenshi back," Vincent added. "I know." "But Yasha is too powerful for you to defeat," Joodan piped in. "I KNOW!!" he snarled at them, making them take a step back in surprise. Nervousness and concern played over their faces, except for Milei, who just looked up in curiosity. His head sank. "I'm... I'm sorry. It's just..." He realized that Tenkou had taken his hand. "It's okay, Zellar," she reassured him, "We know what you're going through. Everything will be fine." He looked up and into her eyes, and lost himself. [Her eyes... so deep and understanding... how can a mortal's eyes see so much? And her touch, reminding me--] Kurayamino Hoshi's voice broke the scene. If one was to describe exactly HOW, the words 'megaphone two inches from the ear' would have fitted well. [So she reminds you of Tenshi! Big deal! You have WORK to do!] [Work?] he replied. [What work?] [It's time, Angst-boy.] [Time?] [The Stars are gathering...] "Uh oh." * * * Kuroi Hoshi, or 'Black Star' as her name meant, looked calmly and silently at the green-haired woman on the throne. Queen Yasha looked back, not saying a word, scrutinizing her opponent; for even though the woman technically was a prisoner, she refused to lower her guard. Tenshi was standing behind the Star mother, to the left, trying not to look as frightened as she was. And around them, the room was filled by Yasha's servants and minions, denying them any chance of escape. Some of the creatures were frighteningly inhuman in appearance; some were frighteningly human... "So, Kuroi Hoshi," Yasha stated with a grin, breaking the silence, "my old, OLD friend. How NICE to see you again." The motherly figure smiled amiably. "I can't say the same thing about you, I'm afraid." If the green-haired demoness noticed the insult, she did a good job of hiding it. "I was wondering when you'd stop playing the spider in the shadow, and actually come out and do something." She sneered. "But is this girl," she indicated Tenshi, "really worth it? I had never taken you for being the hopeless romantic." Kuroi Hoshi just smiled mysteriously. "Romantic? Me?" She laughed. "Of course not. However, she is... important to my plans." The young sprite blinked in confusion. "I am?" Queen Yasha silenced her with a gesture. "Be quiet, sprite. I know of your plans to thwart me, Kuroi Hoshi, and I will not NOT let that stand in my way. Your child shall become my loyal servant, and NOTHING shall stand against us!" "Ho ho ho!" The motherly woman let out a cheerful peal of laughter. "Still not seeing the big picture, Yasha? My, my... you haven't changed at all since last time we met." She paused a moment to collect her calm. "The threat we're facing is so much bigger than either of us." Yasha peered soberly at her opponent. "You're not referring to..." Kuroi Hoshi nodded. "Shiko." Tenshi blinked again, looking even more confused. "Who is Shiko?" * * * "Who is Shiko?" Tenkou asked, curiously. Joodan paled. "Shiko, the devourer of souls?" He couldn't believe it. Shiko, HERE? NOW? He was regretting this mission more and more every second, but there wasn't much he could do about it... after all, he didn't choose it of his own free will. [I really, REALLY wish I was back in Heaven...] "Shiko, the devourer of souls?" Vincent asked, repeating the Inutatsu's statement. "You mean that old legend..." Zellar shrugged impatiently. "I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, we have go and prepare!" He grabbed Tenkou's wrist. "Zellar, what..." she looked into his eyes. "You're not Zellar, are you?" The demon grinned back through Zellar's face. "Right you are! Angst Boy can't get his butt into gear, so..." He paused for a moment, as if listening. "Oh, well. Huh." He shook his head. "I can 'get my butt into gear' without your help, thank you," he said, not adressing Tenkou. Zellar turned to look at her. "I'm sorry about that... but it looks like something is about to happen, soon..." "SOMETHING is about to happen?" she asked. "Involving this... Shiko?" For some reason, the name made her shiver. He nodded. "Shiko... and the Stars." * * * In the engine room of an ocean cruiser, a young dark-haired man was trying to make himself comfortable. Not a hard task; he was used to rough livings, and could make himself comfortable on an iron fence. The futon that he had stolen from a store-room was almost luxurious, in comparison. "Stars calling, stars calling..." He hmpf'ed. "I suppose it was too good to last. Hopefully the others won't be too annoying..." Vengeful Star was on his way. * * * In the ticket line in an airport almost half a world away, a young woman was getting increasingly irritated. The object of her irritation was sitting behind the desk, chewing gum with her mouth open. "Sorry, ma'am, but as I said, all seats are booked." The woman adjusted her glasses again, aiming a pleading look at the annoying girl. "Look, I need a seat. Any seat. But I really, really must get to Japan TONIGHT. They can't be taken ALL, can they?" The girl shrugged, and looked at her watch, as if counting the seconds until she could leave. "Can't say I care, Miss. All seats are booked, and that's that. Nothing I can do about it." She picked up a pen and started toying with it. For a moment, the woman looked like she was about to explode on the spot... then she nodded to herself. "So that's the way it will be... look at me, little girl." The desk attendant looked up. "Wh..." The sight that greeted her was not an expected one. A few seconds later, the woman lowered her hands. "Now, is there any chance that you can get a first class ticket to Japan for me?" The attendant gave her an insanely happy smile. "Certainly! I do believe there's still some free seats on the next flight... no smoking, I presume?" Receiving a nod, she went on talking. "Right! I'm terribly sorry there's no window seats left, sorry. Are you collecting flight bonus? No? Very well, then, sign here!" The bespectacled woman scrawled something on the paper in front of her. "Thank you, Miss... Hitomi Shigawe, and have a pleasant flight!" Waving over her shoulder, the woman made her way towards the gates. Magical Star was on her way to Japan. * * * In a train heading south, a young man smiled behind his book. "It'll be fun to see the old town again," he mused. "I wonder if the others are coming..." Pure Star wasn't on his way to Japan... he was already there. * * * He watched as the group of mortals and immortals walked down the street. Boring. He let the mirror fade back to its original reflective state and returned to his seat. With chin resting in his hand he contemplated. He could care less about them as individuals, for the most part at any rate. The young boy was nothing to him, _the painter_ merely a human with the gift of Sight. The half-demon was special, but he didn't care about him much. There were others like him, just as powerful others, so that made him less special. The girl, however, the girl was something different. There was something about her, a vague familiarity that called to him, but he couldn't place it. She oozed radiant energy with such an intensity it nearly blinded his God-Sight. She was either blessed by a very powerful god... or she was one. It was possible... but he may just think that because of her name... Tenkou... the demon and the inutatsu had both pointed out what it implied... it couldn't be her... but it could. He let that matter drop from his mind. He brought the image of the Inutatsu to his mind. Joodan he cared about. He missed his infectious cheer; without him the air seemed heavier in his house. It was unfortunate that he'd been forced into the role of Punisher, important to the chaos that was rising, but unfortunate nonetheless. Joodan was a creature of caring, older than some of the gods were. His duties for millennia had been to protect life, to keep people safe from harm, and now he was being forced to cause it. But Fate was working, a goddess none worshipped and very few even acknowledged. She'd known what needed to be done, and so had he. Separate, that group was nothing, meant nothing. But together they were going to accomplish what the most powerful of gods couldn't do. Maurice just didn't know how they were going to do it. Maurice felt a tremor in the air, a shaking that made his ethereal body quiver. The other gods, and the servants - Sprites and Guardians, they would have felt it too. Shiko was stirring in her sleep. Maurice thought of Joodan, Dark Star, the boy, the painter, and the girl that may be the Queen. With a sad shake of his head, he said aloud, "If the Devourer of Worlds awakens, Yasha will be the least of their problems." To be continued. * * * Author's afterwords: Another part done, folks. This story is fun... a lot more serious than Do-Gooders and Furniture Warriors (which is what I've written before this), but still very fun and interesting. I apologize for writing such a short part, but I couldn't fill it out with more... still, I think I've gotten all the important bits in. ^_^ Comments, criticism, death threats and marriage suggestions sent to: J_Streith@telebot.net Or, send it to the DGML: dgml@onelist.com Thank you, and may Kasumi-kami guide your steps. -- Jonatan "Confusing" Streith Do-Gooders gopher An Improfanfic Writer Mad Scientist & Technowizard Ambitious Zen master The Houdini of plot developments Creator of the ultimate sandwich! "You'll live... for now. Be grateful." --Vengeful Star, Dark Star #8 "No shirt, no soul, no service."