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I was gonna post this whole installment of the saga when it was completed as one big post, but chapter two kinda ballooned and got away from me, and now I can just barely fit these three into one post. x_x Sorry.

Anyway, here's chapters one and two so far, with the prologue. There's also something more about this fic... see, I don't believe so much in romances in fanfiction, 'cause I think they're a bit played out and overdone, and sometimes rushed too quickly... and besides, there's already dozens of other fanfics out there with romances and love stories, so I didn't see a need to put even more of that into an flooded market. But, it's been about a year or a year and a half since I've worked with any real romances, so basically, my chick-flick-y side was kinda jones'in' fer some sweet lovin'.

Needless to say, I'll be working a romance into this fic, and this installment gets the ball rolling on it.

Okay, I'm done babbling. On with the show!

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Dancing With Demons

Prologue

***

The war between Coridea and Scian was devastating.

Neighboring states tried in vain to get them to cease their fighting, but nothing worked. Their leaders... just wouldn't have it. Coridea was seeking revenge for the brutal slayings of its Senators, and the disappearance of the Chancellor's son, Hans Gunther. Scia, on the other hand, was appalled by Coridea's impulsive actions and wouldn't back down from a fight they didn't start, honor-bound to win and clear their name.

They each tore into the other country, destroying cities, villages, and wrecking the economy of the other. For the first time in nearly a century, the world knew war again.

In the weeks that passed after the first troops moved on Scian, Matao went about setting up the next phase of his master plan, pulling the strings with a light touch, as like a master puppeteer.

But first, there were things that would need to be settled before he could carry out those plans.

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Dancing With Demons

Chapter 1

***

"Esanto creedos y vanis uwer... blessed be the children of Goddess."

Before Matao was gathered all of his minions, inside the ceremonial banquet hall of the castle for a special ceremony he hadn't performed in some time, to honor Hans.

Now perhaps a bit of description of Matao's lavish tendencies are in order. The hall itself was an enormous room compared with the rest, measuring fifty meters long by twenty meters wide and ten tall. All along the walls were exquisite candelabras complimenting the many statues, busts, suits of armor, and potted plants spaced along the walls. Hanging from the ceiling were four large, very delicate and lavish chandeliers, made from crystal, quartz, colored glass, and gold. The big attraction of the banquet hall though was the table, an extremely large, ornate chunk of wood with curved lines and delicate carvings, and seating for fifty. Those along the east side got an outstanding view of the immense tapestry on the far wall: measuring thirty-five meters long by eight tall, it depicted a scene of the Festival of Rakentha, a grand event held each year in the Shi Rannith province of Rakentha for the last three centuries. And on the other side of the room, another grand tapestry of equal size depicting an extended scene from Destiny, a famous epic poem that Matao was quite fond of.

How he managed to get all of that and remain anonymous was anyone's good guess, but nobody present was thinking about that: standing in a semi-circle before Matao on the small "stage", they were watching as he carried out the ceremony. "Hans," he began, looking down to the man kneeling at his feet. "Hans Gunther of Coridea. The time has come for you to accept the honor of becoming one of my trusted leaders. You have performed excellently, beyond all expectations of you, but you have also outlived your name."

He took his hands and placed them on Hans' shoulders, having to bend down a bit to reach. "'Hans' is no longer a suitable name for you. Therefore, you must now carry a new one."

He turned and picked up a bowl of water from the altar behind him, then came back and dipped his fingers, proceeding to sprinkle some over Hans' head. "Hans Gunther is now dead. From this day forth, you are Terrato, the Earth God."

Hans had his eyes closed and head bowed, but he opened them and lifted his head slightly to look at him, the faintest trace of a pleased smirk on his face. Matao then took the bowl in his right hand and placed his left on Terrato's head, where a sudden brilliant flash of white light began to emanate and bathe the room. It spread out and began to erupt at angles in columns from his body, centering on Matao's hand, as Matao said, "Receive this gift of power to better suit your name."

The shrill whining of the spell increased to a fever pitch, then began to shrink and die away. When it was over, Matao lifted his hand away and stood tall. "Arise, Terrato. In vanis uwer."

Hans (now Terrato) rose from his knees and stood straight, looking first at his master before turning around to face his peers, who all placed their right fist over their chest and bowed their heads, repeating, "Terrato."

***

A world away on Mount Pithus, an ancient tomb was discovered, one which had been filled with treasures from a civilization long lost, buried under layers of dirt and jungle and remaining undisturbed for ages.

Until that fateful day.

A particularly notorious and dangerous thief had managed to learn from a local excavator that the temples of the city of Osira had been unearthed, and within, an archeologist's dream in artifacts. Licking his lips as he pried his way inside, his mind was only greedily focused on the wealth he was about to claim for himself in the temple. He soon found the interior treasury and threw aside the overgrowth of vines and fallen stone, only to reveal the most beautiful sight in his entire life: a room full of gold and precious minerals. The entire room, from floor to ceiling.

He walked straight out into the center and spun in circles, laughing giddily to himself as he took the sight in with gleaming eyes. Looking down as he spun and slowed, he saw a vase near his hand and snatched it up to inspect the gold. With his other hand he grabbed a fistful of gold coins from a table nearby and held both up in the air as he continued spinning, and looked up to the walls at the rest of the treasures.

"Yes! Yes~! By the goddesses, it's beautiful!"

He lowered the items with a wide grin on his face, then held them to his chest and breathed in the scent of money. Long, thick braids of brunette hair hung down his back, along the layers of brown and white shirts and jackets, and exposed the many necklaces he wore... no doubt one of the ones in the room would one day take its place alongside them.

Blue eyes opened again as he began to hatch a plan to store all the treasure away in his hiding place, where no one, not even his friends could get at it. As far as he was concerned, it was all his.

But even with his back turned, one item in particular stood out: a small figurine of a woman praying, hands pressed together and head bowed. Around her torso was wrapped a wreath of some sort, but it seemed to be incomplete... as if there were something more to the whole thing. It sat atop its own pillar, where a single shaft of light shined down upon it at an angle.

In his mind's eye, Matao saw the artifact... and knew he must have it.

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Dancing With Demons

Chapter 2

***

Things had changed in the morning. Gone was the celebration and good spirits of the feast from the night before, replaced with seriousness as Jen, Gracie, Iani, and Terrato stood before Matao, alone.

"I have a task for you."

He looked towards Jen, and the two girls beside him. "There is something that I want, an artifact of some importance. It is crucial to our cause."

"You want us to find it?" Jen asked.

"Exactly." He lifted his hand from the armrest and gestured, summoning a roll of papers into the air in front of Jen with a puff of smoke. As Jen caught it and held it in his hands, he continued, "Those papers detail what it looks like, and where you can start looking for it. Take Iani and Gracie with you. Remember that you must remain anonymous, so take care to disguise yourselves, and take all the time you need. Caution is more important to this mission than time schedules."

Jen looked at the papers, then at Matao, and bowed his head slightly. He turned to leave and walked towards the door, with Iani and Gracie following after him. Matao then looked down at Terrato and spoke in a darker tone. "For you, I have a different task."

Terrato bowed his head. "Yes, my Lord?"

"I want you to show your worth... as an assassin..."

Terrato turned his head back up at him, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

***

Away from Pithus at Belgorod, the thief counted his treasures in his hands, looming over a large basket of fruits in his hut. He giggled to himself as he looked at all the gold in his hands, but a nearby noise snapped him out of his trance.

He finished stuffing the goods back in the basket and stood to watch as one large, brown-colored man, a mean-looking sinewy man, a buff wolf-man, and a fox-woman walked through his door, with the woman in front. A grin played across his face as he walked towards her. "Kit!"

She grinned back at him and the two fell into an embrace. "Shawn."

He hugged her for a while, feeling the soft deep red silk of her top, a strange type that was embroidered around the edges with a thin roll of gold fabric, and patterned with looping swirls of golden streaks. The way it looped around and fell over her resembled a sleeveless halter top that folded over and snapped in place at the front. It was a sharp contrast to his simple style of dress (except for the necklaces), what with her silky red loincloth-looking coverings over her half-thigh length shorts, and leather straps on her feet, all mirroring and complimenting the general style of her top. Even her height was in sharp contrast to his, standing a mere 134 centimeters to his 160.

The large man stepped forward and interrupted them then, asking in a deep, gruff voice, "You find anything?"

He broke his hold on her and stepped back, looking behind him and rubbing his chin. "Well, not much..."

On the floor some way back was a pile of gold and golden treasures, and a few assorted gems. The large man nearly jumped at the sight with excitement. "Holy crap man, you did it this time!"

Shawn laughed and stood back, an arm hanging around Kit's waist, while the other two men ran over and started greedily rummaging through it all, shoving each other away now and then to get at something. "And now that we've got some, shall we say, financial security..."

The wolf-man looked up to the large man and grinned. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"I think we're all thinkin' the same thing..." Shawn stated.

"Now we can go get that rat Kilik!" said the sinewy man in his higher-pitched, raspy voice.

A chorus of "yeah" went around the room and everyone got up, leaving the hut in a hurry. Kit and Shawn followed behind them, leaving last, and exchanged whispers. "It's all lookin' up..." Shawn whispered to her.

She smiled back at him and put her face against his. "I always knew it would."

He smiled back at her again and followed their band away and towards the town.

***

"Damn, these things itch!" the large man complained, rubbing at his leg. He always wore pants made from bear's hide, and boots of the same with leather soles and no shirt, but he didn't seem to have any problem with them until that night...

"Well, that's what ya get for wearing that wool," the sinewy man commented.

"Shut up, if it weren't for that grass you threw on me..."

The sinewy man started cackling, and the big man paused, letting go of his leg and staring at him. "You better sleep light, Max."

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try somethin'," he began to repeat, as the big man said at the same time, "I swear, I swear you gonna get yours for that one!"

Max waved a hand at him, and sat back on his bed. "Whatever, Butch."

Butch sat back and scratched at his leg again, looking at him cockeyed. "I got you, Max, I gotcha," he mumbled under his breath.

Shawn laughed at them and lay with Kit in his bed, playing with her hair. She'd let it out of her usual ponytail and was letting him twirl it with his fingers while she held his other hand in her's. The day had been rather uneventful. They spent most of the time in bars, trying to get leads on their old enemy, and only got two... but also got hammered in the process.

The wolf-man, Crux, had the worst headache out of all of them, already feeling his hangover come on. He lay on his bed with an arm draped across his head, trying just to get to sleep. Kit glanced over at him, but Shawn drew her back towards him with his hand, brushing it gently along her face. "I missed you," he whispered to her, referring to the week they'd been apart.

She turned over just enough to look back at him, and wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. "I missed you, too," she whispered back, and then gave him a kiss on the lips, a soft and sweet one.

The world faded out around them, even Max and Butch's incessant arguing, although Crux quickly put an end to that with a deep growl in their direction. She nestled her head into his and quickly began to doze off, just as the lights were put out in the room and everyone else started going to sleep.

It felt more like she'd blinked, however. Only minutes after falling asleep she was awake, and for a moment she felt confused, like the feeling when one's between sleeping and deeply thinking that feels surreal and fatiguing.

Something was different, though, and it didn't take her long to realize that it was because Shawn wasn't beside her any more. His warm embrace was gone, and she'd shifted over onto her stomach. She lifted herself up, half-stretching and arching her back, then held some hair out of her eyes with one hand as she looked around.

Everyone else was asleep, Crux and Max and Butch all in their separate beds, but there wasn't any Shawn in sight, not in the bathroom or anywhere. She crawled out of bed and onto her feet, then stumbled over towards the door, her legs feeling like they didn't want to work right for a while. She stumbled like that all the way outside into the hallway, then down to the lobby of the inn, then further out onto the streets.

As the colder night air hit her, she folded her arms around herself and noticed the clouds getting heavy. Great. Another cold wind in the morning.

She was starting to get confused, and worried, wondering where he might have gotten to... some gut instinct told her to check out the inn, and she did. A few people passed her by on the way over, but they neither paid her any mind nor did she do likewise; she was too tired to care. But when she turned a corner and looked over towards the tavern, she suddenly did care, and very much.

She stopped dead in her tracks and just stared, because down the street, standing in the light of the tavern's windows, was Shawn, and he was with another girl. Her heart sank into her stomach and she found herself unable to move. For some reason she didn't feel any real emotion, just a coldness on her skin that made her feel empty, and lost. She watched them for what felt like an eternity as they talked, holding each other in a close embrace, and it wasn't until she reached up and kissed him passionately on the cheek that she finally felt some emotion: anger.

She backed up slowly and started to go around the corner, and just before she rounded the bend she saw the woman hand something to him and part with another kiss. Kit waited until she saw Shawn walk off down the street, not noticing her, and then went back out around the corner and headed straight for the other woman, rage boiling inside her.

As she closed the distance between them the other woman looked up, but only just in time to see Kit's fist flying towards her. With a surprised cry she took the hit, right across the left cheek, and fell straight on the ground, bleeding from her lip. Kit stood over her, tail dragging limply across the ground and her neck hair standing on end. She felt like every muscle in her body was convulsing, especially in her chest and arms, as if she was trembling from the cold... but yet she wasn't. She was just that angry. "You stay away from him..." she growled at her.

The other woman tried to get up, but Kit stepped on her throat and pinned her down to the ground. Even as she choked and squirmed, Kit demanded again, "You hear me?! You stay away from him, you whore!"

She then lifted her foot from her throat and the woman sat up quickly, coughing and gagging. Kit left her there where she was and rushed away, going after Shawn. Her tail still drug on the ground, and her ears were laid flat against her head, but the closer she got to him the less angry she got, and the more her ears went more limp and hung loose. A deep depression fell over her as she walked the final steps towards him, then she grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around roughly. "Who was she?!"

"What--?!" he asked in surprise.

"Her!" she repeated, pointing behind her towards the tavern.

"Kit, what's gotten into you?" he asked, trying to hold her.

She fought him off and backed away a step, tears ready to come from her eyes. "I saw you with another woman!"

She shook her head at him and felt a single tear roll down her cheek as she added, "How could you do this to me? You said you loved me."

He looked at her calmly, but was defensive. "What are you talking about, I never saw another girl, I just went out for a smoke!"

She reached in his pocket and removed the pin she'd given him. "What's this then!?"

"Hey," he tried to protest, but he couldn't stop her in time. He stared at it for a moment, then looked at her and tried to pass it off. "That? Oh, pshht! I bought that the other day."

She closed her hand around it and looked ready to beat on him with her fists, raising them, but stopped herself short and began sobbing. "Don't lie to me, I saw you with her tonight!" she half-screamed.

She shook her head and looked down, trying to control her crying. "I thought you loved me!" she said softly.

"I do love you..." he replied, reaching for her face.

She slapped his hand away and backed off, shaking her head fiercely. "No!"

She looked back up at him again and paused for a moment, then sobbed, "You don't."

She left him right then and there, returning to the inn. He stood for a long time out in the middle of the street, looking out across the road. People began passing him by, wondering what he was doing just standing there in the middle of the street, but he ignored them. All he was thinking about was what had just happened. Finally he hung his head, and saw a glint of something on the ground... kneeling, he picked the pin back up, and held it in his hand for a while.

***

The day's worth of travel to South Lisbin had allowed Jen and Iani to gather some information about the artifact from the local libraries and archives, but nothing they found was conclusive, or concrete. Most of it was hearsay and legend, which didn't help at all, but the clues were all leading them further south, towards the Pithian peninsula, where an ancient civilization once stood in the mountains.

"Peasant's thirteen..." Gracie said, slapping that same card down on the little table.

Jen looked at his hand a second, then pulled a card and slapped it down on top, a nine of the Royalty suit. He looked up as Iani took the card and threw out a deuce of the Fox suit, then pointed to her and said, "I knew you had that card!"

"What?!" she replied defensively, in her new disguise of a smoother face and dark chestnut brown hair.

"I knew it! I knew it!" he repeated, getting more and more animated in his chair.

Gracie smiled at them while dealing out a round of new cards, and then sat back with her hand. "It's been a long time since I've had this much fun, guys."

"Heheh, me, too..." Jen said, watching Gracie toss out a Sword suit six.

"Only 'cause you're winning," Iani retorted, waiting until he took the six and threw out a Squire of the Peasant suit to throw down her Eight of Foxes.

He cackled and pulled in his winnings, greedily scooping them into a pile closer to himself. Between the three of them, he had half the chips. "Isn't this the first time we've been out of the castle together in... oh..." Gracie began to ask, looking at her hand.

"Five months," Iani finished, answering her question at the same time. Nodding, she added, "Yep. It's been a really long time."

Gracie shook her head with a smile, then put her hand down and looked around at them. "I'm just glad we're all together again. Just the three of us this time."

"Yeah..." Jen said, smiling wide at her. "Are you gonna deal?" he then asked, gesturing.

She looked down at the cards and exclaimed, "Oh!"

"Just think, we're all together again, and we've got all the time we need to get our job done..." Iani started, picking up the card dealt to her. "What should we do first?" she asked, grinning widely and glancing at each of them in turn.

"What we need to do first is get to Meridia and start tracking this thing down," Jen replied, throwing out a Lord of Royalty and taking Gracie's Five of Swords.

"Jen," Iani said, tilting her head down a bit at him. "We got a chance to get away from Matao for a while. Don't tell me you're not gonna take all the time in the world and enjoy the time off?"

He just looked back up at her through his hair with a sly smile, holding his hand up in the air as he rearranged it. She smiled slyly back at him and took his Lord of Royalty after she threw out a Twelve of Foxes. "I know the first thing I'm doing when we get to an inn..." Gracie started, dealing out another round of cards. "Taking a long, hot bath. I feel filthy!"

"You shoulda jumped in the car before it took off," Jen said with a grin as Gracie took the pot's Peasant Squire and threw out a Peasant Six.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault!" she retorted defensively.

"It was since you were busy flirting with that stage hand..." Iani said, giggling softly as she remembered the look on Gracie's face when she realized the train was leaving without her.

Gracie waved her hands up and down for emphasis, eyes wide, "I was not flirting!"

Jen and Iani both broke into laugher as they drew a couple stares from some of the other people riding in the same train car. "Sure you weren't," Jen said between laughs. "That's why you almost missed the train."

"...Shut up, you guys, just shut up..." Gracie replied, looking down to realize that Iani and Jen had moved already.

She lowered her head as she took the deck and shuffled again, then dealt a card out to everybody. Looking down at her hand when she got done, she realized she suddenly had a high two pair: two Squires and two Empresses, with a Fox Thirteen and Peasant Five, also. Sitting up a bit, she asked casually, "So, uh, anyway... Jen... you ever think about braiding your hair?"

She threw out her five and took the Peasant Thirteen, making three pairs in her hand. Jen looked up at her and paused, thinking. "Not really..."

"Why? I think you'd be cute in braids," Iani commented, smiling.

He took the Peasant Four in the pot to replace his Peasant Lord, and Iani thought she saw a trend there in his card selections. "He's got the straight...", she thought to herself as Gracie said, "Yeah, why not? I could do them for you right now if you want?"

He rearranged the cards in his hand as Iani then took the Lord he threw away and replaced her Six of Foxes, making a three of a kind in her hand of Lords. He paused for another second as Gracie dealt the final round of cards, and finally answered, "...Yeah, all right. Knock yourself out."

"Okay!" Gracie said, ever so happy as she arranged the cards in her hand.

Being the final round, she couldn't make any better of a hand with what was in the pot, so she picked up some chips and threw them in. "Fifty."

Jen found he couldn't make the straight he was looking for, so he decided on a bluff, picking up chips to match her bet, and adding a few more. "I raise to seventy."

Iani, on the other hand, called him. "I raise to eighty."

Gracie perked an eyebrow at both of them and matched the bets, and when she saw nobody was backing down, sat back a little. "Dealer calls."

Jen looked at them for a second, face stern, then threw his cards down face-up and sat back. "Ha!" Iani exclaimed, seeing he didn't have the straight after all and throwing down her three Lords, Jester high. "You didn't have it!"

"But I won the game!" Gracie declared happily, throwing her three pair on the table.

"What the--?!" Iani exclaimed and sat forward, while Jen laughed and Gracie cackled, pulling in her winnings.

"That's not fair!" she added with a sideways glare as Gracie counted her chips.

Gracie's tongue was hanging out as she said, "Suckerrrs!"

A stewardess passed by them at that moment, though, handing out menus. Jen raised his hand and took three for all of them, and then handed them out to the girls. "So what's for dinner?" he asked.

"Why don't we go on ahead to the dining car?" Iani suggested.

She started to get up, but Gracie was still greedily counting her "money". "Right after I count my chips," she said, sticking her tongue out again.

Iani bopped her in the arm and stood, frowning. "C'mon, cheapskate."

Gracie cackled and picked up their chips as Jen gathered up their cards.

***

At dinner Gracie sat beside Jen, doing his hair while they waited for the food to arrive. "By the Goddesses, Jen, do you ever brush your hair?"

He turned his eyes up and backwards at her as she struggled with a couple knots. "Yeah, just this morning."

"Well, it don't look like it..." she replied, finally untangling the strands and brushing them again so she could start braiding it.

"Y'know, I don't think I've had a meal aboard a train in--" Iani started, but both Jen and Gracie cut her off at once with the same sarcastic reply, "We know, we know, five months."

They rolled their eyes as they said that, and Iani looked at them and half-laughed her question. "What?"

"That's all you've been talking about for the last hour," Jen said, then winced as Gracie hit a particularly stubborn knot.

"Well, it's true!" Iani replied. "It just... feels so good to get away from everything for a while."

"Sure does," Jen mused as Gracie finally got to work on actually putting the lock of his hair in her hands into a braid.

Iani looked over at Gracie working for a moment, and stopped to look her over. Standing there in her oversized white robe and sandals with a big smile on her face, she was looking the happiest she'd been in a long time. Iani missed that look. Her eyes drifted over towards her shoulder-length golden blonde hair and she found herself getting sleepy as she looked over her soft hazel eyes.

She cleared her throat and sat up straighter, looking around. "Where's that food? I'm gettin' hungry."

"Did you check your travel sack?" Jen asked, recalling an old inside joke.

Gracie paused long enough to see Iani scowl and throw her napkin at him in mock anger, which he caught in his hands as they both started laughing at her. Finally a waitress got to them as they cracked up, and cleared her throat to get their attention. "Rhinox plate..." she said, taking it over towards the table.

Jen raised his hand and she set it in front of him, and Gracie told her, "I had the salad."

She placed the Aquila salad in front of Gracie and the last plate in front of Iani, then gave them their drinks and was on her way to the next table with her pushcart. Gracie finished with his braid quickly and scooted over to eat, clearing her throat softly. "So, um, guys? What do you think he wants this thing for?"

She poked her salad with her fork while waiting for a response, which she quickly got from Iani. "Don't know, don't care," she told her, then stuffed a fork load of food in her mouth.

"I mean, haven't you at least thought about it?" Gracie asked.

"I gave up on trying to figure him out," Iani said after swallowing.

Jen swallowed too and pointed to her with his fork. "I'm with Iani, I've thought about it, but I gave up on trying to understand him a long time ago."

"Just think, though..." Gracie started, poking at her food. "What if what we're doing... what if it means we're helping him do something awful..."

"Like what?" Jen asked, then put a fork load of food in his mouth.

Gracie sat back a bit, at a loss. "I don't know... anything!"

"Well, we don't exactly have much choice, do we?" Jen said. "If we go anywhere, he'll have us hunted down 'cause of what we know, and he's got Hans for that now."

"Don't you mean 'Terrato'?" Iani asked.

"Whatever," Jen replied, eating more of his food.

"But shouldn't we at least try?" Gracie pressed.

"Maybe..." Iani said, staring blankly at her food as she seriously considered it. Then, she abruptly looked around at them and finished. "But right now, I just wanna eat."

Silence fell over them as they picked at their food.

***

The sun was dipping below the horizon when they finally pulled into Meridia, bathing the countryside in warm orange and red hues. As they stepped out and breathed in the small riverside city's unique freshwater scent, they felt freedom. "This's the longest we've been away from him for a long time..." Gracie said, starting to walk away.

Iani breathed in the coming night air deeply, and sighed, "Feels great, doesn't it?"

"You bet it does!" Jen replied, walking forward briskly. He hopped forward a step and turned around, walking backwards as he asked, "Now, where do we start?"

"Well, I guess me and Gracie'll go check out the library, and you can try your old contact," Iani answered.

Jen pointed his finger at her, still walking backwards. "Good idea."

Finally he turned around the right way and called out as he broke off from them, "Meet up with ya later at the library!"

"All right, take care!" Iani told him as he went away. She looked over at Gracie then and motioned forwards, smiling. "Well, lead the way!"

Gracie soon took point and they headed for the library.

***

Jen walked into the local tavern, the Bear's Inn, and stepped slowly through the crowd. His eyes passed over a lot of familiar sights, and his nose hit a lot of familiar scents, like the look of a man about to pass out, or a woman's perfume. He went straight over to the bar though, sidestepping his way through a mostly quiet crowd.

Taking a seat on a stool he said, "Bartender, beer."

The bartender stopped moving for a moment, pausing in the middle of rearranging his bottles. "I know that voice..."

He turned and stood, and his face lit up when he saw whom he was talking to. "Ha! Jen!"

Jen smiled at his old friend and shook hands, also grabbing his wrist with one hand. "Jake."

"Damn, it's been a long time!" Jake exclaimed, shifting his weight.

"Yeah..." Jen said, sitting back and releasing him. "Boy, do we got a lotta catching up to do."

"You'd think so, wouldn't ya?" Jake replied, going about cleaning a glass. "But nope, not much going on here at all... just my bar, my customers, my wife... nope, nothing much."

Jen smiled at him. "Come on, now, Jake... I know you a lot better than that."

Jake stared at him for a quite a while, but slowly broke a grin and laughed. "Never could fool you. And what's up with the hair, anyway?"

Jake waved his finger around at Jen's hair, pointing out that only one half was braided, and the other unbraided. Jen took a few locks in his hand and looked at them, then released them and let them swing back into place. "Gettin' 'em done by a friend, she's gonna finish up later."

"Ahhh..." Jake said, nodding slowly and looking at his hair. He then raised his eyebrows and made a sort of pleased, scrutinizing face, adding with a nod, "Looks nice."

"Thanks..." Jen replied, looking down at his hair again and shifting in his seat, then sat forward and folded his hands, asking, "Anyway, you know anything about any recent archaeological digs?"

"I don't know, what kind?" he asked Jen, setting the current glass aside and picking up a new one.

"Somewhere in the Pithus area, ancient sites n' stuff."

"Oh yeah..." Jake put the glass away as a customer down the bar wanted a refill. "Just a sec," he told Jen before going off.

Jen waited until he got the man a refill and returned.

"Yeah, I heard somethin' through the grapevine 'bout this dig they found there, some old temple complex..." Jake said as he went back to work on the glass.

"The public temple and treasury at Osira?"

Jake snapped his fingers and pointed. "The same."

"Where is it, exactly?"

"Well, the dig site's not too far away from Pithus, only a couple hour's travel out, just past this small village called Vixia."

Jen nodded and stood, shaking Jake's hand again. "Thanks, man."

Jake leaned over and nearer and added, "Be careful, though, I hear these thieves might've already gotten in and robbed the place, if not moved in."

"Yeah?" Jen asked, seeming only vaguely interested.

"Yeah, and be especially careful of this thief named Shawn and his band called The Den."

"The Den... yeah, I've heard of him," Jen said thoughtfully, then added with a confident smirk, "We can handle him."

"I hope so," Jake replied, genuinely concerned.

Jen nodded to him, then turned to leave, but Jake stopped him, "Wait, say, if you're going that way, maybe you could spend the night here? It's getting awfully late to be traveling in the dark, y'know."

Jen looked at him, then away for a second in thought... then back at him. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

He walked out then, and went to meet up with Iani and Gracie at the library.

***

Meanwhile, across town, Gracie and Iani went straight up to the library, talking it up as they went about this and that. They strutted up to the front doors and looked up at the old marble columns, chipping and wearing from years of erosion. Inwardly, Iani wondered if they were going to fix that someday, while Gracie rambled on about something.

Her feet found their way up the steps without her thinking about it, and soon they were approaching the double doors. "You ever thought about that?" Gracie asked her, opening the doors for them.

"What?" Iani asked back, opening up the second set of doors beyond the foyer.

"You ever think about what it'd be like if the sky was a different color?"

Iani cocked her head sideways at that, looking blankly ahead. "...Nnnoo, I don't think so..."

"Wouldn't it be so weird if the sky was like, green? Or purple?" Gracie speculated, either unaware of how silly she sounded or just not caring.

Iani watched Gracie look back at her, still walking forward as she waited for her response. With a laugh, she answered, "I'd think I ate something funny that day."

"Like what, your 'shrooms?" Gracie asked without skipping a beat.

Iani brought in a deep breath and pointed at her slowly, like she wanted to say something but couldn't find a good way to say it quickly. Stuttering for a moment, she finally managed to say, "Now that was a mistake!"

Gracie laughed at her as she repeated "that was a mistake" over and over, getting quieter and eventually laughing with her. As they went between the rows of shelves looking for the historical sections, Gracie said, "Girl, you were so messed up that day..."

"Shut up, that wasn't my fault..." Iani replied, still laughing softly.

"Shhh!" hissed a patron near them, trying to read his book.

Iani and Gracie both cringed and mouthed "sorry", bringing their hands up towards their faces. Then, they snuck off around the bookshelf, trying to stay silent, and whispered to each other. "Do you know where the archaeology section is?"

"No, don't you?" Gracie whispered back.

"I was following you!" Iani answered.

They started going back and forth, whispering at each other in a little argument, when Iani looked ahead and pointed. "Wait, wait, there it is."

Gracie breathed a sigh of relief and followed her over towards a shelf whereupon sat rows and rows of books and maps and studies of archaeology and ancient civilizations. Being the excavator's city that it was, there were plenty of books and maps on the subject, arranged in neat rows of brown and green covers and tomes of deep red, containing everything from A. A. Aarschel's work to Z. Zinreing's historic finds, the pride of the city.

Gracie ran her hand lightly across a large rolled-up map while she crossed into the section, admiring the way they arranged them by rolling them and placing them on poles like scrolls, which were then placed into holders on racks which stood the height of a person; five in all, stood side-by-side. Iani went straight over to the bookshelf and tried to sort for books that might relate to Pithus, or anything that might've been excavated there.

Gracie soon joined her, and between the two of them they immediately began finding books on Pithus and the ancient civilizations there. "So," Gracie started, then cleared her throat as she stacked two books in her arms. "I saw the way you were looking at Hans the other night."

Iani stopped dead in place and slowly looked over at Gracie, who was giving her a mischievous little sideways grin. "What?!"

Gracie giggled at the look on her face and grabbed another book, as Iani added, "And you should be talking, the way you like to flirt with Flea?"

Gracie got "defensive" and looked back over at her, half-scowling with her mouth open. "I do not flirt!"

Iani raised a finger and turned her head at her to say something, but Gracie raised hers too and pointed, cutting her off. "Don't start with the train jokes. Don't start." She went on, looking away and bobbing her head around for emphasis as Iani giggled quietly to herself. "Don't start."

They were in silence for a second as Iani paused, grabbing another book and stacking it in her arms. She looked like she was thinking about something seriously. "He is kinda cute, though," she said with a slight nod of her head.

Both of them stopped and looked slowly over at the other, then broke into a gigglefit and went back to searching the books. "I know, isn't he!?" Gracie whispered back.

"I'll admit, though, Flea's not half bad, either," Iani added, running a finger over rows of book spines.

Feeling justified, Gracie looked over at her and waved her books a bit for emphasis. "Thank you."

Iani couldn't find anything, so she sighed and stopped, turning towards Gracie. Gracie paused and watched her motion towards the table nearby with her books and head, and nodded back as Iani went on. "I don't know though, he's just got that farm boy thing about him..."

They sat down at the table and started opening books and searching through the tables of content and indexes. "What's so wrong about that?" Gracie asked defensively.

"Nothing, it's just..." Iani shook her head. "Y'know, not really my thing..."

Both of them got quiet as they started flipping through the books, but Gracie eventually asked, "So how do you think Hans is turning out?"

Iani had to think for a moment, turning some pages in her book as she looked for something. "Well..."

She paused again to think, then finally finished, "At least he isn't such a stone anymore. He's thinking now."

"True," Gracie added.

"He's actually getting some personality."

Gracie hummed in agreement, then added, "He's pretty good, too."

"He was already a really great fighter," Iani started, but Gracie cut her off.

"I wasn't talking about that."

Iani looked over at her, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion, but when she saw the silly impish grin that Gracie wore, she shook her head and made a disapproving face. "Nuh-uh! No, you didn't!"

Gracie giggled again, madly. "No, no I didn't, I'm just messin' with ya."

"I'm beginning to wonder about you..." Iani said, turning slowly back over to her book as she gave Gracie a suspicious look.

"Look here," Gracie pointed out, changing the subject. As Iani leaned over to see what she was pointing to, she went on. "It says here H. G. Herschel once did a survey out around Pithus and said the old lost cities were probably buried underground a few kilometers north of it."

"Yeah, I saw something talking about that in one of mine..." Iani said, scooting closer. "Welles once said he did geological rock samples and found stone and mortar from six centuries ago somewhere to the northwest."

Gracie looked through the paragraph, noting, "Well, the time periods and places match, at least..."

She then went over to the maps and began sifting through the names for geological and historical maps and graphs around that area. "We can probably narrow it down if we use these maps..."

Iani went over to help her, and found a map detailing the Pithus area from five hundred years earlier at the same time Gracie found an archaeological survey map of the eight-hundred-to-five-hundred years earlier era, the Santagi Era. They took them down and went back over to the their table, first clearing their books out of the way and setting them all down on a nearby couch. As Gracie unrolled hers across from Iani's, she began saying and pointing, "Now, Herschel did a lot of his work in this area..."

She tapped the point with her finger, then played with her hair behind her ear. "He used a lot of old maps and historical references, and decided that the old cities were probably buried around here."

She pointed again as Iani looked over that area. "Welles did his surveys in this area..." Iani started, leaning over and drawing circles on the map with her finger. "So that puts them pretty close."

Gracie studied it intently for a while, then pointed to an area where a present-day series of rough cliffs and jungle stood. "I'd say that this might be a good place to start."

"But Faris and Welles later came back and discovered Ten'ec'ill here," Iani told her, pointing to another point close by the first.

Gracie looked at the points and thought a bit. "And so according to some stuff from their ancient texts, I'd say we should look... right about..."

As she thought she removed a handful of coins from her robes and dropped one on a point a little bit farther to the northwest, further south than Herschel's prediction. "Here."

She dropped another coin on the first spot she picked, and fiddled with the other coins in her hand as Iani thought. "If you think about it a bit, though, those texts could mean from any direction..." Iani started.

"True," agreed Gracie.

"So, I think it'd be safe if we also check out... here... and here."

She pointed to two other spots outward from the radius of their second guess, one far to the east, and the other far to the south. Gracie was about to put down more coins, but she paused halfway there and thought hard. "No, Jazin later found Esil'imek here," Gracie told her, pointing to the southern point.

"What if they built Esil'imek on top of it later on?"

Gracie shook her head and studied the map. "No, they built Osira later than Esil'imek."

"Oh..." Iani replied airily, looking between both their maps. "Well, there's no reason to count out the eastern point..."

"Yeah," Gracie said, putting a coin there. "I think we should try here, then..."

Gracie went to place another coin on a point just a bit further to the west than Iani's southern point, but Iani held her hand up and stopped her. "No, there's a river running through there now. If it were there, they'd have found something."

Gracie looked over as Iani put her chin in her hand and crossed an arm over her chest, trying to visualize their guesses. Looking back, she let her eyes drift just a tad bit farther to the west and traced invisible lines across old roads that their texts had spoken about. "Here, then," she suggested, putting a coin down about a half kilometer farther away.

As she looked up at Iani, Iani began nodding her head lightly. "Yeah, yeah that might work..."

So engrossed were they with their work that they didn't notice Jen walking up towards them from behind, briskly and jovially hurrying over, but noiselessly thanks to the pads on his feet. Therefore, when he threw his arms over their shoulders and exclaimed, "Hi, girls," they both jumped and squealed.

"Eeek! Jen!" Gracie exclaimed, then hit him on the chest.

He laughed as Iani also hit him on the other shoulder and said, "Jen!"

"Ow..." he laughed, recoiling from the two punches. "Sorry to interrupt ya."

"What did you find?" Iani asked, facing him while putting her left hand on the table behind her and leaning casually on it, her other hand on her hip.

"Jake said they dug up Osira a little while ago, somewhere about a half a day out from Pithus, past this village called Vixia," he answered, releasing his arms from around them and stepping forward to look at the maps. "These aren't maps of the present-day area?"

"No, they're historical," Gracie answered, stepping over and looking down.

"Oh..." he answered, looking at them. "Well, I remember going out there once, it was somewhere just a bit to the northwest, along this old road by a stream..."

He looked at the map and quickly found the stream he was looking for, and pointed. "Right there. Now, the stream might've drifted off a bit, but it still wasn't very near the mountains close to the city, so it shouldn't have drifted far..."

Iani bent down closer, still resting her weight on her arm as she traced his finger down the streambed's north side. "And Vixia was just past this lake," he continued, pointing to the lake. "That puts Osira about in this area."

He made a circle around the coin of their second guess, and Gracie looked up at Iani with a little smile. "I was right."

"Yeah," she replied, standing up again and crossing her arms. "Guess that means we head for Pithus, then Vixia, and then we go treasure hunting through the woods."

"Right," Jen said, standing tall again. He then arched his back and stretched his arms a bit, saying, "But maybe in the morning. It's getting a little late to be out on the roads."

"Bandits?" Gracie asked, stepping closer by a step to look up at him.

He nodded as he looked down at her, fixing his shirt a bit. "Yeah, really nasty ones. They're all over the place from here to Pithus."

Iani looked at Gracie with a raised eyebrow and said, "Well, looks like we're spending the night here."

As Gracie nodded, Jen told them, "I got just the place, too. Jake said we could stay at his inn for tonight."

"The Bear's Inn, right?" Iani asked.

"That's the place."

"Are we staying for free?" Gracie asked him, too.

Jen shrugged a bit and looked between them. "I don't know, he didn't mention it. I'd say he'd at least give us a really good discount, though."

Iani shrugged, then answered as she stepped sideways. "It's better than nothing."

"Cool, but we better get this all cleaned up first before a librarian gets on us," he told them, waving to the mess they'd left on the table and couch.

"Okay," Gracie answered, then started helping them roll the maps back up and put the books back in place. Once they were done, they left the library, cracking jokes between each other and playing with Jen's tail on the way out, despite his protests.

--------------------

~Status Report~

* Completed... Dragon's Head
* Completed... Soldiers of the Empire: Disciples (release pending)
* In Progress/Undecided... Of Love and Betrayal
* Planning/Assembly... Where it all Began

Sorry this one took so long... I have been working on this every day for the last week, they've just all run away from me... >.>;

Random thought: isn't it wierd how people like me work dozens of hours on something that'll take most people fifteen to thirty minutes to read? :-P

Anyway, chapters three and four are so large that they'll each have to go in separate posts... the rest MIGHT be able to fit in one more post... we'll just have to see...

And now... go-go new characters!

Edit

Dancing With Demons

Chapter 3

***

Kilik was always a very interesting sort of person.

He didn't come from anywhere near the Pithian peninsula... in fact, he came from as far away as the outlying lands of Shi Rannith, where he picked up his foreign sense of style and exotic knowledge of thiefery and fighting. Dressed in flowing robes and sandals that came from Shi Rannith, he sure looked the part. He was actually the one who'd found Kit in the first place, and brought her to Pithus to help form a new life.

But she didn't know at the time that he was double-crosser, a perpetual liar who'd sell out his own mother for a hot meal and warm bed. When he sold out his band of friends, he'd made quite a few enemies, and hurt Kit's feelings. The most hurt out of them all, however, had to be Shawn. He'd grown to trust him like a right hand man, and as a bit more than a friend... a confidant, perhaps, or a long lost brother. Both of them were hurt and furious at his betrayal, but it was Shawn who especially wanted blood.

So when the sellout failed to put them away in jail or get them all killed, he ran. He ran like a scared little monkey, he did, all the way to the southernmost reaches of the peninsula, and hid in the rainforests and mountains, occasionally popping out of hiding to visit the nearest villages and towns for cash and supplies.

He happened to be running low on them that day, and was venturing towards Pithus, hoping not to run into Shawn or the others in the city. He was wrong.

***

"Unnngh..."

Iani rolled over in bed and groaned, her eyes fluttering open long enough to see that it was morning, and she was staring at her pillow. Not wanting to get up, she shut her eyes again and buried her head deeper in her pillow, moaning softly to herself as she stretched her feet under the sheets, curling her toes up and feeling the soft fabric.

In the bed across from her, Gracie hadn't even awoken yet, and Jen was already up, cleaning off his knives and clothing with damp wrags. She didn't notice he was awake at first, but when she heard rustling and light clinking noises coming from behind, her curiosity got the best of her, and she had to look. With her eyes squinted tight against the light, she turned over and propped herself up on an elbow, peering at him through a mess of frizzy hair. When he noticed her he stopped in place and stared for a moment. "Mornin'."

"Mornin'..." she replied, lying back down and pulling her pillow back up. "Whatchoo doin'?"

"Cleaning," he answered plainly.

"Oh." She buried her face in her pillow again, trying to go back to sleep, but Jen went over to her and patted her shoulder.

"C'mon, time to get going."

"Go on without me," she answered through her pillow, sounding rough and weak.

He smiled at her and grabbed at her pillow, trying to pull it away. "C'mon, sleepy head..."

"No!" she replied, holding steadfastly onto her pillow.

When he couldn't wrench it from her grasp, he sighed and decided to try Gracie. "Hey, Gracie, wake up..." he said, nudging her shoulder.

She, too, didn't respond. He nudged her again, but she waved him off with her hand, batting him away. "Go away."

He sighed and stepped back, looking at them in resignation. "Why can't you people ever get up at a reasonable time?"

"'Cause you get up too early," Iani replied, throwing her spare pillow at him on "early".

He caught it and held it up, looking at her, then chuckled and walked off. "All right, be back in a couple hours."

"Where you goin'?" Gracie asked, face stuffed in her pillow.

"Breakfast."

He shut the door behind him on his way out, leaving two very sleepy women lying on their beds.

***

Kit was the only one in the party who wasn't talking, focused on the road ahead and her own thoughts. She rode at the front of the group as they all chatted, mostly because she was paying the most attention and lost the least time, but also because she just didn't want to talk to any of them... the reason being, she was still very upset over the previous night.

Shawn threw a glance her way every now and then, but he, too, tried to avoid the subject, instead chatting with the guys. He also knew that he should probably give her a little space for a while; she'd likely bite his head off again or give him the cold shoulder. She did have a pretty mean temper once she got going, after all.

Still, somewhere along the road between Belgorod and Pithus, his guilt and ego got the best of him and he decided to approach her, bringing his chocobo up alongside hers.

Her mind was full of dark thoughts, centering on their relationship. She'd spent a lot of time thinking about it, and she was starting to feel that everything was a lie... the affection, the promises, even his lies were starting to sound fake. "He doesn't love me," she'd tell herself. "He wouldn't go running to some bimbo if he did."

Not everything revolved around him, though. She was blaming even herself for some things, wondering that if maybe she'd done this and that differently, or if she'd been there for him more, or if she'd done something wrong that drove him to another woman... and it was getting confusing. Her emotions were like a roller coaster... from anger at him to anger at herself, and then depression and guilt the next moment. He caught her on an angry moment.

"Kit, can we--"

"No."

She stopped him firmly before he could even start.

"Please, can't we just--"

"No," she said firmer, but he wouldn't be deterred.

Trying to be forceful himself, he snapped at her, "Look, I'm not gonna--"

"No, you look!" she spat, facing him and pointing. "I'm not having this conversation, do you hear me!? Just leave me alone!"

She tossed her bird's reins then and kipped it in the side softly, turning back as she picked up her pace and pulled ahead of Shawn. Shawn, however, bit his lip and scowled, then followed her. "I'm not leaving this alone!"

Everyone else in the band stopped what they were doing and watched somberly as the two argued ahead of them. At first they couldn't hear anything, but it wasn't long at all before they heard them.

"Fine!" she yelled, whipping towards him and nearly losing her balance in the process. "You wanna talk about this? What were you doing with that slut, Shawn!?"

They heard that all right, and Butch just had to mouth "ooo" and hold his fist up to his mouth. Shawn went on the defensive immediately, and retorted, "It was nothing!"

"Nothing? Nothing?!" Kit started, whipping her head around, her ponytail flying with it. "You go off cheating on me and you think it's nothing?!"

"It didn't mean anything," he tried to start, but she cut him off quick.

"Yes, it does!" She faced forward and huffed, dropping her voice. "You just don't get it, do you?"

He looked like he was trying to think of something to say, looking away and then back again. "Kit, you're making a big deal about nothin'."

Incredulous, she looked over at him and made a face, scoffing. "You're a jerk, you know that?"

She kipped her bird and tossed the reins, pulling ahead of him and riding ahead of everyone else. He watched her go and debated with himself if he should follow, but eventually he gave up and held his place in line, staring blankly off into the woods.

The rest of the thieves were quiet, just watching the two of them far ahead and keeping their distance.

***

Over two hours after he left and Jen was still downstairs at the bar, drinking and chatting with Jake. He took another swig from his glass as Iani came down the stairs to his left, glad that Jake had given them about half off on everything, including the room. He watched her yawn widely and walk over, swallowing and setting his mug down on the counter. "Ready to go yet?"

She nodded and walked over beside him, Gracie about a step or two behind. As she sat down she muttered to Jake, "Ham n' eggs, scrambled."

"The same, with toast," Gracie added as she sat next to Iani.

Jake nodded at both of them and started to turn away. "Got it."

"Found us a stable 'round here yet?" Jen asked Iani.

Iani yawned again and ran her hand through her hair, smoothing it out. "Gracie asked this guy; he said there's one a block away."

Jen nodded and turned in his seat to look at her, raising his glass to his mouth. "All right, so we're leaving right after breakfast?"

Iani nodded back and said, "Yep."

He took a drink and looked over to see Gracie lay her head down on the bar, in her arms. As he lowered his glass again he shook his head, muttering jokingly, "You humans sleep too much."

***

Within an hour they were all riding chocobo-back to Pithus, down the long, winding road that served as the connecting corridor between the two cities for travel and commerce... actually, the ride wasn't that long. The long lines of merchants and passenger carts coupled with the scenery gave them plenty to talk about, and before they knew it they were in Pithus, only a couple hours after leaving Meridia.

Following Jen's memory of the place, they headed straight for the back roads that led to Vixia, along the stream he remembered. They crossed many low hills and entered the thicker jungle that surrounded Pithus, growing thicker the farther they went inside. The road got rougher, and their birds were getting tired, but they all pressed on, until finally they reached Osira, off the main road and through maintenance roads that had been worn and dug by the expedition digging up the place.

Jen was on the lookout for thieves and archaeologists, but luckily for them, nobody was around, given that it was a working holiday for the diggers. What they saw as they approached the lost city was both wondrous and disappointing: the way the trees grew and the vines overgrew over everything was striking, and the experience of being in such an ancient place with all its alien architecture was awe-inspiring... but somehow, they were expecting a little bit more. Maybe it was all the stone and the absence of gold.

Nevertheless, they recalled back to Matao's briefing papers and found the temple site quickly, and went straight over to that. As they came up on it, they began to realize just how immense it really was... the front entrance alone was made up of huge stone slabs cut to perfection and inlaid with striking carvings of daily life and historical accounts, creating a large platform of steps that ringed the courtyard and then led back down into it. Even then, hundreds of years after it had been abandoned, the stone columns still stood, twenty-meter-tall masterpieces of masonry that were still smooth and held up the great stone ring that topped the edges of the courtyard.

The courtyard was even more breathtaking than the great stone columns that ringed it... or at least, it most likely was when it was new. Old sculptures and statues of deities dotted the grass and stone pathways that lined the yard, a great space some hundred meters wide by two hundred long. Gracie couldn't help but gawk at the sight, looking around like a child in a new home. Jen and Iani, therefore, went ahead of her and stopped in the center, studying everything in detail.

Jen spun in a circle and paused to look back down at Iani and Gracie. "Umm... okay. I don't think anybody's around."

"You sure?" Iani asked him, still looking at the pillars.

He nodded and looked around again, just to be sure. "Yeah, pretty sure. We should still stay alert though, just to be safe."

"Right..." Iani answered, nodding softly.

Gracie also nodded, enjoying all the scenery. Jen noticed and snapped his fingers, bringing her out of her trance. "Yo."

He nodded his head over towards the temple interior, and she nodded back, clearing her throat. "Right."

Moving on again, they soon entered the area where services were held, and passed down a long aisle of steps that led downwards toward what looked like a pulpit: an altar atop a raised dais on the bottom level, standing before a round room with rows and rows of semi-circular platforms arranged in a stair-step pattern, looking down on it. As they walked slowly down the steps, Gracie couldn't help but look around again, and wondered to herself what kinds of services might have been held there eons ago... when she looked up to see where the light was coming from, she noticed that the huge domed skylight was letting light in from the sky, though parts of it were overgrown with foliage and other parts were broken, which suddenly explained why there was glass on the floor in some places.

Finally they reached the altar and went beyond it, using the pathways to either side of it and passing through old, decayed curtains of remarkably sturdy cloth into the large area beyond, which looked like the banking area, also accessible through the sides by many doors and archways. Jen figured that during the day in their culture, this might have been one of the centers of the city, where everyone would come to handle their finances and perhaps even trade, judging by the way some of the stalls and tables were aligned. Of course, he knew next to nothing about the civilization, so he was only guessing.

They went even further into the complex until they came to the double doors at the back that separated the vaults from the public areas. Jen was prepared to break the locks, or use explosives if necessary, but he was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find it had already been smashed open, and the door hanging open. He put a hand on the door and paused, looking at Iani. She shrugged back at him and followed him in, where they navigated a maze of offices and found a second, supposedly more secure door, also already opened.

They pushed that one aside and shoved some overgrowth aside, revealing to them at long last the treasury's vaults... now emptied. Disappointed but not surprised, Jen sighed and stepped aside so the other two could see. "We were beaten."

The other two walked in, Gracie first, and looked around at whatever was left.

"...Somebody got here before us..." Gracie remarked as she walked in, like an idiot.

"No, duh," Jen said sarcastically.

Gracie frowned and looked at him, but Iani ignored their talk and crossed her arms, sighing as she looked at the miniscule amounts of gold and gems still left. "What now?"

"Figure out who got here first," Jen said, turning away and heading back into the office area. "I think I got a good idea who did it, though."

"Who?" Gracie asked, right behind him.

"Some local bandits."

***

A few hours away in Pithus, Kit rode into town, still in front of everyone. They'd given her a lot of room since her and Shawn's last talk; Shawn especially, who was riding nearly at the tail of the group for a change. She went straight ahead and dismounted in the middle of the street, letting her bird go as soon as she was off.

The rest of them rode up behind her and followed suit, walking along behind her on foot. Nobody was saying anything, but they were all going to the same place: a pub just down the road, on the left side of the main street that led into the city. It was favored by criminal types like themselves, so they always felt welcome there... even the local police left the place more or less alone, preferring to wait until people came out to arrest anyone if they had to.

Nobody expected anything to happen other than getting drunk, especially with what had happened last night. The whole thing had seemed to take the fun out of everything, so when they walked in the door, they were looking down and nearly bumped into Kit from behind as she stopped dead in her tracks. Crux was right behind her, and so looked up at the back of her head, and then out into the room.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Butch asked.

Kit just stared in front of her, and Crux's eyes were fixed on the same spot she was looking. Right before them, sitting at the bar, was the man they'd been trying to get for nearly a year, tossing back a drink and ignoring the world around him. In a monotone voice, she answered him simply, "Kilik."

***

"The war cannot continue for longer, goddess..."

A beautiful woman, dressed in a flowing white robe and with long blonde hair, turned to face the voice. She was bathed in a brilliant white aura that emanated from her body... some thought it was the aura of her power, others thought it was just a light show... whichever it was, the goddess kept her secret. Stepping down from the raised fountain from which she was standing before, she addressed the woman, one of her -- as she called them -- "angels". They were basically aides and advisors. "I know, Iliana..."

"Then we must stop it, before it destroys the country!" the other angel said, stepping forward.

Megami, the Goddess of Light, glanced between the two other women, both dressed in more white robes, and said, "We mustn't interfere."

"But Megami...!" Iliana started, catching herself with a breath.

She raised her hand to Iliana, settling her. "It is not our place to directly control the lives of the people. They must choose their own path... and if that means war, then they'll choose it..."

"But Megami, the people are killing each other!" Jai, her other angel, walked towards her, imploring her to listen. "They'll destroy each other if they fight much longer! Surely, we must do something to deter them from this conflict!"

Megami was about to speak, but a soft wind blew into the room and rustled robe and hair alike on all three, preceding another female voice that spoke. "I agree, this war must be stopped..."

All looked back to face the fourth woman that had entered: a tall, quite athletic-looking woman with long, dark, braided hair and gray-hued light armor on. She walked towards them purposefully, keeping her eyes on Megami the whole time. She was Majin, the Goddess of Balance. "But a more direct approach will be needed."

"You know I will never do that..." Megami replied, matching Majin's gaze.

"And that's why you're weak," Majin spit at her, halting and standing across from her defiantly.

"Come now, Majin... insults do not become you." Megami stepped down from the stairs at last and walked towards her. "Besides, it is not for me to decide how people should live their lives."

"Megami..." Majin started, walking in a slow circle to her side. "I'm here to help you. I'm telling you that for the good of your country, you need to stop this war."

"I can not do that," Megami asserted firmly, turning to face her.

"But it's your nature!" Majin whispered. For some reason, the goddess' voice echoed across the walls so that the others could hear. "You are the Goddess of Peace, aren't you?"

Majin stepped back and waved her arm widely to emphasize, looking away and back again with her head tilted backwards. "Make peace."

Megami faced her and looked back for a time, making sure that her pause nicely accented her next words. "The people will make their own peace. They will settle this war in their own way, following the principles I have laid out for them."

"You have lost the peace, Megami!" Majin declared, gesturing. She looked at her and gazed into her eyes, walking back towards the entrance as she finished. "Unless something drastic happens, you won't get it back... not until they've destroyed each other."

"What defines 'drastic', then? Taking away their free will, their right to choose?" Megami asked her as she passed by.

Majin slowed in her step and looked down, but didn't stop walking. "If for the greater good... yes."

"I have never accepted that," Megami responded, pivoting to face Majin as she walked on. "I prefer to let my followers make their own decisions... unlike some of my compatriots."

Majin halted in her step at that, and glanced down at the floor. She stood there for quite a while, considering, then slowly turned back and looked Megami in the eye. Looking at her with the most placid, assured look, she answered in a similar voice, "Some of have realized that these creatures require a more hands-on approach."

Megami only looked at her with an off-glare, mostly sternly opposed to the idea rather than anything else, but didn't say anything. Majin gazed back at her for a while, then glanced at Iliana, Jai, and Megami again in turn, checking their looks. Taking her silence to mean that their conversation was over, she added one final thing... "The world can't take the strain of another war. That is a simple fact. Either you stop this conflict... or I will. One way or another."

With that said, she suddenly disappeared in a soft swirling of wind, vanishing into thin air. As Megami's hair settled back into place, she could only wonder about the implications of Majin's words... was she really willing to go so far for this?

--------------------

~Status Report~

* Completed... Dragon's Head
* Completed... Soldiers of the Empire: Disciples (release pending)
* In Progress/Undecided... Of Love and Betrayal
* Planning/Assembly... Where it all Began

I love that last segment on that one.

And now... time for a runaway action sequence... seriously, I never intended it to get this long... >_>

Edit

Dancing With Demons

Chapter 4

***

Kilik stared down in his drink, eyes getting heavier the more he drank. Whatever he'd been thinking about he'd forgotten a long time ago, and all that was left was the haze of the alcohol.

A large shape came up behind him as he took another drink, and as he brought his arm back down to the table a muscular hand slapped him on his back. Startled, he looked up and back, and to his horror saw a familiar old muzzle shoved next to his face.

"Hiya, old pal!" Crux said mockingly.

Kilik jumped out of his seat and backed away before Crux could grab him, but as he tried to spin around he bumped right into the massive chest of Butch, who laughed and shoved him backwards. The people in the bar all stood back and gave them room, a commotion beginning to build. In a scramble, Kilik backpedaled and tried to turn again, but two arms reached out and grabbed his, pinning them at his sides. He looked up again and blanched as he recognized the face sneering at him.

"Long time no see, Kilik," Shawn said, and then reached back and punched him as hard as he could in the face.

Kilik stumbled back, right into Butch's waiting arms, who shoved him back forwards to Shawn. He cried out for help as Shawn hit him again, knocking him aside and over towards Kit, who then kicked him in the ribs while he was bent over.

"Help! Somebody!" he tried to yell as she threw him backwards into Crux.

A policeman, who was off duty, rose from his seat and tried to break up the fight, but when he tried to get past Butch he only got a powerful backhand to his face that sent him flying down through a table, throwing drinks and cards all over the floor.

Crux cackled as he drug Kilik towards the door, massive arms holding him off the ground. "We gotcha now, buddy-boy!"

"No runnin' from us this time!" Max added, sneering in his face.

Kilik spat back in Max's face... which made him very royally angry. He brought his fist back and punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of Kilik. "Ha! Imagine that! First we get the Osira gold, and now you!"

Butch shoved Max in the ribs and snarled, "Shut up, you idiot!"

"Ow, watch the ribs, man!" Max protested.

Shawn came up to Kilik as he tried to breathe, sucking in huge gasps one after the other, and held his head up by his hair. "Revenge is sweet, isn't it, Kilik?"

He punched him in the gut again, then waved to his gang and left the bar. "Come on!"

They all laughed and followed him out, trading insults to Kilik as they went. As the door shut after them, the bar's patrons all stood and helped the policeman back up, or stood and mulled between themselves, talking about the fight that just happened.

They knew better than think twice about it, though, and eventually went back to their meals and drinks.

***

Shawn's gang left along the front road, then made a turn and disappeared around the corner, just as Jen, Iani, and Gracie came walking around another corner and headed for the same bar. "So you say this place has good food?" Iani asked Jen.

"Pretty good," he answered, picking grass burs out of his tail. "Mostly though, this place gets a lot of traffic from lowlifes and thieves."

Gracie sighed and rolled her eyes away. "Greaaat."

Jen smiled wryly at her. "Well, we're not exactly on vacation, y'know."

She looked back up at him and returned the crooked smile, sarcastically, then faced front again as they entered the bar.

Jen went in front, and stopped fidgeting with his tail. The first thing he noticed, however, was that there was a man holding a bleeding nose, a mess on the floor behind him, and a lot of people talking in murmurs like something just happened. "What happened here?" he asked nobody in particular.

"Some guys came in and roughed up this other guy," a woman answered, tending to the policeman. "Greg got in the way."

"Geez..." Gracie said, looking at the mess of glasses and cards that one man was busy cleaning up. "What for?"

She shrugged at them, and answered, "Dunno."

"Whatever they want, it's probably best you don't mess with 'em... ow!" Greg answered, flinching as she touched some alcohol to his cut.

Jen whistled as he looked at the mess, then glanced back at Greg and asked, "Did they say anything?"

One guy next to them looked up and down Jen, asking, "What's it to ya? You ain't cops, is ya?"

Jen looked down at him for a second, then smirked and shook his head. "Not quite."

"One of them said something about Osira gold..." a woman close to them mused, staring off into space. Everyone nearby looked at her as she looked up at Iani. "Is that something you can buy somewhere?"

Iani glanced up at the others, who returned her look with raised eyebrows. She rose hers briefly, then glanced back at the woman and shook her head, smiling nervously. "Uh... not exactly."

"C'mon," she whispered to them as she turned back, then left the bar and began to head out into the street.

Jen was last, but he paused when a man next to him muttered, "Psst, hey!"

Stopping to look back, he said, "What?"

"I think I know da guy that took 'im..." he started, glancing nervously to the side... then, satisfied nobody's listening, he looked back and continued. "Think it was Shawn. I know da girl with him, they call her Kit. They's got this band, see, an'--"

Jen waved him off. "I know, I know, thanks."

The guy paused and nodded, adding, "Hope 'dat helps."

Jen nodded back and finally left. "It does, thanks."

Iani had stopped and looked back when he hadn't followed them out right away, so she held her arms out for an explanation as he walked down the steps towards her. "It was the Den," he started, passing her. "Shawn came and got the guy, and the gold."

"Are you sure?" Gracie asked from behind.

Jen nodded, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "He's the only guy 'round here that could've pulled that off."

They marched down the street in a triangle, rounding a bend and following Jen. "So, where're we gonna find him?" Iani asked, looking about for anyone she thinks might be him.

"I know where he is; we're going to his hideout."

Gracie looked a bit surprised. "You do? How?"

He nodded again, ever focused on the road, but with a confident smile. "It's all about who you know."

***

"In the cage, rat!"

Kilik grunted as Crux threw him in the wood-barred cage and slammed the door behind him, the rest of the gang taunting him and hurling insults while he got on his feet slowly. Shawn walked around in front of him and peered through the cage bars, bending down to look in Kilik's face. "You didn't really think you could run from us forever, did you?"

Kilik just gave him an icy glare and stood up, using the bars for support. Shawn watched him silently as he stood, then straightened up too and held a bar with one hand. "It's payback time, Kilik."

He then reached up and kicked a bar where Kilik's hand was, crushing it under his shoe. Kilik screamed and fell back in the cage as they laughed and taunted him some more, while Shawn went around the cage and was going to enter when Kit stopped him, putting a hand on his chest. "I want him first."

"He--" Shawn started, pointing inside the cage with a mean scowl.

"You didn't know him like I did," Kit said, cutting him off before he could say anything else. With a glance inside the cage, she added, "He brought me here, and then betrayed me."

He looked at her for a time, then inside the cage at Kilik. He remembered back to the past when Kilik had spent a great deal of time tutoring Kit, grooming her to be a great thief, and how much she felt devastated when he'd stabbed everyone in the back. Glancing back at her, he then nodded and stepped aside, offering the door to her.

She gave him one last look and walked into the cage, stopping as he shut the door behind her. Kilik rose to his feet again, nursing his throbbing hand, and turned to face her. They looked at each other for a moment, when he then started towards her, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Kit..."

He closed on her, reaching out with his good hand for help. "Kit, please..."

As he drew close she looked up into his face -- though with him it was easier, given his somewhat short height -- and looked into his eyes for the sincere cry for help. He tried to reach out with his hand for her face, begging forgiveness or mercy. "Kit..."

He almost touched her face, but she suddenly drew back and slapped him across the face, sharp claws extending from her fingers and raking across his face as she snarled. He was stunned for a moment at the pain and the slap, then grabbed his face and fell down on the ground again, screaming and reeling at the searing pain in the cuts along the left side of his face. Everyone laughed at him again as she went over and stood over him, watching him squirm for a second. Then, she reached back and kicked him in the ribs again, saying, "That's for stabbing me in the back!"

"You get 'im, Kit!" someone shouted. She didn't care who said it.

Kilik writhed on the ground in pain, watching weakly as she walked past him. He tried to suck up air in large pants, crawling up to his knees and looking back up, where he saw her -- oddly -- going over to a sliding chain that was hanging from the roof of the cage. Now, normally they'd tie a dog to the chain, since they used this cage mainly for pit fighting animals for money, but Kit went over and grabbed it with her hands, then leaned on it and swung herself around, somewhat suggestively. "Oh, Kilik... can't you imagine it? What it might've been like if things were different?"

He got on his feet again and clutched at his ribs, confused. "I know there was more there..." she went on, facing him and still dangling on the chain. Around them, everybody got silent, and Shawn was especially wondering what she was doing. "It could've been much more, couldn't it?"

Kilik blinked and thought a moment, still utterly confused. Swallowing, he reached out a hand again and stepped closer, asking softly, "Kit..."

She let him take one step, then threw the chain at him as hard as she could, grunting as it flew towards him and smacked him upside his side with a loud clank, to which he yelped and fell back down on the ground again. Suddenly everyone jumped up in the air and cheered for her, Max hopping up and down next to Shawn's shoulder, slapping it. Shawn looked over at him slowly and began to laugh only a bit, arms crossed.

Kit grabbed the chain as it came back to her and halted it, then swung it gently aside and went over to Kilik quickly while he was clutching at his face, and kicked him in the ribs again. "I thought you were my friend!"

She reached down and punched him as he tried to get up and crawl backwards, then followed with a kick to his chin. "I was your student! I thought you were gonna help me!"

He coughed and fell back against the cage wall, where she then grabbed him by the head and shoulder, whipping him in a circle. She pulled him around rather quickly, building momentum, and then lifted and released, tossing him into a wall nearby. He hit it and fell on the ground, the cage wall giving and creaking greatly. She saw that and paused, thinking to herself, "Uh oh, best not do that again..."

He coughed again, breathing in dirt, then gagged as she reached down and grabbed him around the throat, claws extending and pinching his skin. He then felt himself being lifted as she jacked him against the cage wall, holding him off the ground by a couple centimeters. Gagging for breath, he looked at her with wide, surprised eyes and said, "Good arm... ack! Been working out?"

"A little," she sneered back.

Then she kicked his leg out from under him and lifted him in the air by the throat. He felt queasy as he felt his weight leaving solid ground, being held higher in the air than he was used to for what felt like a very long time. The queasy feeling didn't last long, however, as he soon found the ceiling getting farther away again, followed by a sharp pain in his back and a great shock through his whole body.

For a second he couldn't even think straight, and he almost literally saw stars... then he realized he'd just been lifted and slammed on the ground by his throat, and all he could think was, "Wow."

That thought was cut short, however, as she then kicked him in the stomach again. He coughed and held himself there, then flinched as she spit on him. She contemplated saying something else to him, but a rattle on the cage door made her look to the side.

"Kit!" Shawn called.

He gave her a stony look that said more than words, and she nodded. He opened the door and stood aside so she could leave, then walked in as she turned and shut the door for him. "Happy to see me... Kilik?!" he asked, giving him a hard kick in the ribs.

Kilik squirmed and gripped his side again, crying out for his aching ribs. Shawn circled around him as his friends cheered him on, throwing more insults at Kilik as he screamed and rolled around. "It certainly has been a long time... hasn't it?!" he asked, kicking him again.

By now Kilik was certain his ribs were broken and rolled around in the dirt, trying vainly to protect his chest. It wasn't for much, though, as Shawn grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him in the air, and then up against a wall of the cage. Holding him up, he then punched him across the face and said, "Are you proud of what you did?! Did it make you feel good to do that to us?!"

He hit him again on "good" and shook him by the collar, adding, "Huh?!"

Kilik cried out in pain and stammered, "I'm sorry, man... I'm sorry!"

Leaning in closer, Shawn yelled back, "'Sorry' ain't good enough!"

He then dragged him by the collar across the floor, releasing him as he finished a half-turn and watching him roll over the ground. Kilik got up and tried to defend himself, but Shawn was too fresh and struck him with his fist across his face, knocking him against the cage wall. Shawn was quick to continue the attack and punched him several times in the stomach, sides, and face while he was on the wall, while Kilik feebly tried to protect himself with his forearms.

Then, in a blind rage, Shawn grabbed him by the head and pulled him a circle, then back around and threw him into the cage wall. The wall gave again and creaked, but Shawn didn't pay it any mind, instead scooping him up and then tossing him into the cage wall again. Finally the wall gave and it blew off its hinges, breaking into several sections of wood that hung together, while the rest of it fell down around the two.

The crowd outside got excited and cheered the sight even though it meant they'd lost their pit-fighting cage, and then rushed over to Kilik to beat on him some more. "Get 'im!" Shawn ordered, throwing broken wood and thatches off of himself. "Make that rat pay!"

Butch and Max gladly obliged, grabbing him by a shoulder each while he was stooped over and throwing him up to Crux, who caught him and then drove a powerful forearm into his back, knocking the wind out of him yet again as he fell on the ground. A shouting match then ensued between the three of them as they fought over who would get to hit him next, while Kilik tried to get back on his feet again.

Indistinct shouting soon drowned out any kind of coherent conversation, and Kilik picked that moment to make a stand, thrashing wildly out at them with his fists and clawing the air savagely. At first they backed up and dodged, but soon laughed as they easily slapped him away and shoved him back and forth between each other. Kit tried to get close and join the fight then, but Kilik shoved them away, and especially grabbed Crux, throwing him backwards into Kit.

She yelped and tripped over some sacks on the ground, falling right into the pile of baskets behind her. Shawn was too busy jumping in and getting his licks to notice that she'd knocked over most of the baskets he'd hidden the gold in, which were now scattered all over the floor.

She groaned and sat up, at first wondering why the ground felt so hard and cold... but when she looked down, she realized why. Glancing back at the fight she saw that nobody had noticed her, then turned back to the gold and just felt it all, running her hands through the coins. She took the gold in her hands and looked them over: Osiran gold, all of it. "But..." she thought. "Shawn said he'd given us everything..."

Realizing the lie, she looked up at Shawn, who was busy beating Kilik, with a tear starting to form in her eyes. Combined with the night before, and she felt devastated and betrayed, but the first thing she felt after the initial shock was anger, anger at being lied to twice. She rose to her feet as she began to wonder how many more lies -- how many more women, how many more "findings" -- he was hiding.

Soon she was so angry and heartbroken that she broke into tears, so when she called out Shawn's name and turned him around, holding the gold up to him in her hands, she looked extremely upset. "What is this?!"

He glanced down at the gold and stammered, "Well, uh, that's--"

She didn't give him a chance to finish, cutting him off with, "You lied to us, Shawn, and you lied to me!"

"What were you--"

"Don't change the subject," she retorted, stopping him mid-sentence.

"I'm not--"

"Why?!" she yelled, interrupting him again. She wasn't going to let him weasel his way out of this one.

While he stammered for a response, everyone forgot about Kilik for a moment, merely holding him down. It wasn't like he was going anywhere, anyway, and their lover's quarrel was much more interesting... not to mention all the gold he'd been holding back on. "Kit, you don't understand, I-I was saving that aside to... to..."

"Answer, already!" she snapped.

"I'm trying!" They paused and everything was deathly silent for a moment, until he rubbed his face and sighed. "Kit, listen, I know this looks back, but just let me explain..."

And at that moment Jen, Gracie, and Iani walked in the door. Everyone spun around to look, Max putting a hand on his dagger, but Crux stopped him by putting a big, heavy hand on his shoulder. Jen looked around at everybody and paused, ready for a fight he expected to happen. "I'm looking for Shawn."

"Who are you?" Shawn asked them in confusion.

Jen steeled himself. "My name isn't important, but the Osira treasure you have is."

"What?" Shawn was honestly confused... here these people were, asking about his -- their -- his -- whomever's gold, when he'd never met them before.

Kit, meanwhile, glanced between the two and came to a conclusion. "Oh... I see what you're doing... you were gonna sell or trade all this stuff off and leave us with nothin'..."

The wrong one, unfortunately. Shawn whipped around at her and exclaimed, "What?!"

She backed up slowly by a couple steps and said, "You were gonna take all the money for yourself... or maybe give some to one of your mistresses..."

"Is that true?" Crux asked, stepping towards him and dragging a bloodied Kilik along.

Shawn was madly whipping his head around, looking at her, Jen, Crux, the gold, and all over again in spasmodically jerking movements. "No, you've got this all wrong! I've never met these people before in my life!"

Max stepped forward now, pulling his dagger and brandishing it. "Were you gonna sell us out, too?!"

"No!"

Jen saw a chance to make some favorable chaos happen, and took it. "And what if he were?"

"I'll kill 'im, that's what!" Max snarled.

He then tried to rush Shawn, but Butch grabbed him and pulled him back. "Now hold on, I think we should hear him out."

"What, are you in on it, too!?" Max asked, rather irrationally.

"What? No!" Butch protested vehemently.

"I want our gold, Shawn!" Jen asserted loudly.

"I don't even know you!" Shawn growled back.

"Liar!" Max screamed, then lunged at Shawn.

Worked up and jumpy because of Kilik's beating, and already a violent and irrational man, Shawn's double cross had pushed him over the edge... Jen's little gambit had worked. Butch tried to grab him and stop the fight, but it was too late: suddenly Shawn found himself dodging stabbings while Butch and Crux began brawling over a small disagreement about Butch's loyalties, leaving Kit alone in the back. She backpedaled as she watched the fight break, lowering her hands and wondering what to do... help the man that hurt her, or... what else?

Meanwhile Shawn was busy avoiding getting stabbed by an irate Max, and Jen told Gracie to go find the artifact in the gold pile. He then drew his sword and took an offensive stance, Iani doing the same and walking forward towards the fight. Still indecisive, Kit glanced first at Gracie running for their gold, but then at Shawn, who was now about to be attacked by Jen, too.

One last look at Gracie and she made up her mind. The gold in her hands fell on the floor and clattered as she drew a dagger and leapt high at Jen, metal flashing in the air. Shawn had managed to shove Max aside by then, but Jen's sudden attack caught him unprepared. He took a punch across the face and barely managed to duck under his sword when he finally drew his knife and began parrying. Jen grit his teeth, but a scream to his left drew his attention away, where he saw the fox-girl jumping at him, dagger drawn.

In a single motion he drew away from Shawn, caught her dagger on his blade and placed a hand on her obliques, and then twisted to the side and threw her into another pile of baskets. She screamed in a different tone (surprise) as she fell into the pile and rolled, toppling more of the fruits onto the floor around her, along with a substantial amount of gold and items. After a second of lying there, she sat up and shook her head off, tossing a few berries out of her hair, and then looked up to see Shawn and the fox-man fighting a walking battle.

On the other side of the room, Butch had managed to knock Crux aside, but only to then be confronted by Iani, who rushed at him with her sword flashing. Before he had time to react he found her sword slashing his chest open, and then widened his eyes in surprise at the searing hot sensation he then felt: a fireball launched into his chest. The explosion threw him backwards onto the ground, where he rolled back to his feet and tried to regain his composure, shaken up by the swiftness of the attack. He looked up to see Iani begin a second attack, but Crux suddenly appeared out of the side and stopped her sword with his.

Her head snapped over to face him, then ducked down to avoid the dagger stab he then tried. Backing off, she then assumed a defensive stance and parried his blows one after the other, until she finally managed to disarm his sword after he tried to strike her using a dubious posture, weakening his grip on the hilt. His sword clattered to the ground, but he still had his dagger; they met metal for a time more, but Crux had a fifth arm she hadn't taken into account. As she drew back and swung high at his head, he ducked down and whipped his tail around, tripping her as she completed her arc.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she fell onto her back, then fluttered when she hit the ground, stunned for a brief moment. Crux took his dagger and tried to leap on her, but she was stunned less than he'd hoped; as he jumped over towards her, she took her sword and held it up sideways, catching his weight across his belly with the sharp edge. Now it was his turn to look surprised as he felt his midsection fall on the blade, which quickly turned to motion sickness as she pushed his body off of her and got back on her feet.

The victory was short, however, as Butch then struck at her, bringing out what looked like a battle axe from a wall nearby. Back over at the fruit baskets, Gracie was turning them over one after the other, searching frantically for the artifact while nobody seemed to be paying her any mind. Frustrated, she turned over another basket and began to search, but movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she glanced over at it quickly, where she saw a flash of red and then the door open and shut again. She looked around a bit after that, slightly confused, but put the thought away and returned busily to her search, while only a few meters away Jen was valiantly fighting Max and Shawn.

The three of them exchanged blows frenetically, but Jen proved to be faster on footwork and swordplay, parrying or blocking every one of their blows... and sometimes, reversing them. Kit tried to get involved every once in a while, but to her frustration, all he would do to her is sidestep and throw her away again, or duck and toss her aside, or sometimes, just grab her and shove her back into the baskets again with a frustrated grunt of his own. By the fifth time of that, she was getting really angry.

Just another couple meters away, Iani was busily dodging or parrying Butch's blows, backing up steadily and going in circles. Soon, however, Crux got back on his feet and charged again, holding his midsection and growling ferally. She saw him come at her again and sighed, dejected, but then snapped to attention when she barely managed to block Butch's latest attack. As Crux came closer, though, she began to get fed up, and glared deep into Butch's eyes, drawing his axe towards hers slowly as she built strength.

When she finally felt she had enough, she pushed back and snarled, throwing Butch backwards. He bumped into Crux, who helped stand his friend back up, then charge at her again as her eyes began to turn a shade lighter. "I've had enough of this..."

Glancing over at Jen, she added, "Right, Jen?"

Small arcs of electricity began sparking in her right hand, pulsing from the point of light that was growing in her palm. Crux began yelling a battle cry at her and she snapped her head back, but even as he closed in on her, her hand shot up towards him and a mighty bolt of electricity shot forth from her arm and slammed into his chest. With one last, surprised cry he was thrown into the far wall and held there as the lightning burned his body to a crisp, but after a few seconds, it was over. Butch watched in horror as Crux's charred and smoking body fell on the ground, then looked up just as a second bolt of lighting hit him and threw him up against the far wall. Meanwhile, Jen fired a massive fireball of energy at Max that threw him into the other wall, where he fell to the ground in a heap, very much dead.

Shawn watched the carnage in horror, backing away a step. "Do you have it?" Jen asked him, stepping forward.

Swinging his head back around, Shawn asked back, "What?!"

"Do you have it? A gold figurine!"

Jen held his right hand out to his side, in which another small ball of energy formed. There it stayed though, threatening him, but Shawn was too stubborn. Snarling at him, he answered, "Even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you, fox. Not after what you did."

"Look man, I'm giving you a chance to get out of here so long as I get that statuette..." Jen added, beginning to circle to Shawn's left.

"You just killed my friends!" Shawn replied, gesturing angrily.

"But you don't have to, so long as you just give me what I want..." Jen replied, his voice measured.

"Over my dead body!"

"I could arrange that..." Jen said, making the ball in his hand a bit larger. "But I'd rather not. The artifact... now!"

"No!" Kit yelled, jumping between the two of them.

Jen gave her a look of annoyance and said in a low voice, "This is between me and him, not you..."

"Whatever you do with him, you gotta talk to me, too!"

"Yeah?" Jen asked her, circling a little farther to his right. "Then give it to us."

She extended a knife from her palm and leaned in as she snapped, "Fat chance!"

"Kit, what're you doing!?" Shawn asked her, pulling her back by an arm. "Stay outta this!"

"You don't tell me what to do!" Kit snapped back at him, shoving him away.

Shawn looked surprised and angered at once. "Would you make up your mind already! Fight me, help me, fight me, pick a side already!"

"Can we focus a little, please?" Jen asked, annoyed.

"Shut up!" both of them said to him at once. He snarled and glanced away.

"We wouldn't be doing this if you hadn't gone off with that girl!" Kit told Shawn quickly.

"Would you get off that already!" he yelled back.

She scoffed. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?!"

"Got it!"

Everybody turned and faced Gracie after her sudden outburst. She was standing in the middle of a huge pile of golden treasures, holding the statuette up in the air with her hand and flashing a wide, proud grin. "I got it, guys!"

Shawn's eyes widened and his feet scrambled towards her. "Oh, hell no!"

Jen blocked him, however, and held him in place by the arm and dagger. "Well, now that we got it, we don't have to stay around here anymore..."

He shoved Shawn backwards, but the thief caught himself and growled back at Jen, "Not with my gold, you're not!"

He charged at Jen and the two locked up, Shawn trying desperately to get his meager dagger through Jen's blade. Jen grew tired of that fast and snarled back at him, then kicked him in the gut... just as Shawn did the same. Both of them dropped their weapons and rolled back, but Kit was still up, and she leapt at Jen with a battle cry.

Jen was lying on his back, coughing and blinking from the force of the double kick, when he heard her scream and leap at him. He jerked his head back just in time to see her coming down towards him, and rolled to the side and back on his feet as she landed on all fours, knife hitting dirt. She growled in her throat and lunged at him again, but he sidestepped all her strikes and lunges, then knocked her aside with a very light energy ball, only powerful enough to stun her temporarily and get her out of the way.

She screamed as the blow hit her, though, still being a painful experience, and held her left shoulder as she fell into the big pile of baskets again, now covering half of the floor. When she finally caught her breath and bearings, she looked up to see Jen and Shawn trade a blow each, hitting each other in the head and chest, respectively. Shawn countered with an uppercut, but Jen dodged that and gave him a tight right hook that had Shawn reeling sideways. Trying to get an offensive going, Jen then readied to kick him, but Shawn turned back and tackled Jen, taking the both of them to the ground.

As Kit struggled back to her feet, she watched as Shawn punched at Jen's face, then reached over for his dagger laying nearby. Jen saw that and punched him in the ribs, which was just enough to get Shawn's weight shifted over where he could then roll out. He was rolling to the side when he heard a clicking sound, then the sound of shoes rustling against the floors. Thanking his superior hearing, he rolled over on his stomach and looked up, where he saw Shawn leaping at him with his dagger high in the air.

Acting fast, he rolled out of the way and sprung to his feet, readying himself for another attack. Shawn, too interested in getting his gold back, didn't take into account that he might move, and found himself floating helplessly in the air with his body exposed. Doing the first natural thing that occurred to him, he put his arms out to break his fall, but when he hit the ground they buckled from the sudden shock, dumping the rest of his body on top of them. Jen stood again and stepped back, waiting for Shawn to move again, hands loose at his sides and ready to attack or defend...

But he didn't move. Not for a long time. Kit, nearby, stepped gingerly towards him and put a hand to her face. As Jen stayed in his position, she began to get worried, and whispered, "Shawn?"

Jen looked up at her slowly and began to relax his pose, watching as she stepped towards him again and repeated, "Shawn?"

Her voice shook a little that time, and she finally went all the way over to him and knelt beside him gently. "Shawn?"

She touched him lightly on the shoulder, but he still didn't make any movement. Fearing the worst, she rolled him over on his back and gasped at the sight, having to cover her mouth with both hands and sit back on her knees. With quivering eyes she saw that he'd fallen on his own knife, driving it straight into his heart. Jen witnessed everything and ran his hand through his hair, pulling it back and away from his eyes. "Aw, damn..."

She sobbed once, but stopped herself before it became more. All at once she felt a flood of sadness and remorse, though she couldn't understand why after what he'd done to her. At that moment she thought to herself that this must be the way some women feel even after their men have cheated on them or beaten them... that strange feeling of at once loving and hating them, and not being able to understand the why.

Iani and Gracie walked towards the three of them, careful not to make much noise. Jen ran his hand through his hair again and stepped back, saying, "I didn't mean for that to happen..."

Kit heard him and looked slowly up towards him, tears in her eyes. Those tears quickly gave way to anger, though, and she rose to her feet slowly. "You... bastard!"

She lunged at him then, raking at his chest with her claws extended. He dodged the first blow, but caught her wrists on her second attack and tried to hold her. "Listen, I didn't want that to happen!"

"I don't care!" was all she yelled back.

After trying to struggle with him to get her hands free, and seeing that it wasn't going to work, she then decided to shove him... and that she did, with all her strength, and sent him flying off balance into the pile of baskets behind him. As he fell he released her wrists and instead tried to stop his fall, but it was for nothing as he fell back into the pile and had a couple of baskets fall on top of him.

She used the time to take a small switchblade knife from inside her shirt, extending it and looking at Jen for a second before leaping at him again. He pushed a basket out of his face as she lunged, seeing her just as she landed and stabbed him in the chest. He cried out in pain and clutched her wrist, stopping her from driving the point farther, then stopped and growled at her, narrowing his eyes. She glared back at him, but he got a foot up into her stomach and shoved her off and into the air, removing the knife and her from him so he could stand again.

She crashed to the ground and nursed her sore hip as he stood, telling her, "Will you please cut it out already!"

"Fight me!" she screamed, rolling up on her feet and charging at him.

He caught her wrists again and snarled back, "I don't want to!"

With two wrists incapacitated, she used the next best thing: her knee. All he knew was that suddenly he found her knee shoved upwards into his crotch, and then felt a sick feeling run through his whole gut. He yelled and backed up a step, grabbing at the area just above his crotch and stooping over a bit. "Do you want to now?!" she yelled at him.

"No!"

Since he was busy nursing the sore area (and too hurt to pay attention), he wasn't able to block the second stab that found his left shoulder and dug into his deltoid. "Fight me, damnit!" she demanded, driving the point in as hard as she could.

He growled and tried to hold down the pain, but then snapped his eyes open and looked up at her with a furious glare. His fist then arched up and hit her across the face with such force that she spun in a half-circle and collapsed on the ground in front of him. "All right... you wanna fight?"

She got up on her hands and glared back at him over her shoulder as he stepped closer. "You can die with your boyfriend here!"

She spun up to her feet as he walked nearer, then ducked under a right hook and stabbed him in the stomach. He snarled to that and grabbed her wrist, then yanked hard to the left and swung her arm around, tightening his grip on her wrist as he did. She grimaced at the pain and dropped the knife, as expected, but held back a cry and shut her eyes, forcing the pain out. He then gave her another backhand across the face and knocked her down on the ground a second time, but as she lay there, she saw something glint before her, and looked up. There she looked and saw Max's short sword, apparently fallen from its sheath, right in front of her.

He closed in on her again and was about to reach for her, but she suddenly grabbed something and spun around. His ears heard it before he saw it, and he just barely managed to step back and dodge the blade that swung at him. When he composed himself and she got up again, he suddenly found himself unarmed against a very armed and very angry woman. He glanced backwards for a second, then back towards her as she took another swing.

He ducked under it and backed away, and they repeated that for a time as he quickly backpedaled. Iani started towards them at that point and readied another lightning spell in her hand, calling out to him, "Jen!"

Jen shot a glare at her and yelled out, "No!"

"But--"

"No, Iani!" he repeated, holding his arm out.

He almost lost that arm as she attacked him again, and Iani stopped in her tracks and let the spell fizzle away, torn between obeying and disobeying him. She grit her teeth as he dodged her attacks, then kicked the dirt and muttered under her breath, "Jen...!"

Her step quivered as she watched, and Gracie's breathing became sporadic as she gasped at each blow that almost hit him. The two dueling foxes backed up even more, towards the wreck of the cage, Kit swinging and Jen dodging. She held her sword down to the side for a second and stalked him, then lunged and swung upwards from a low angle, trying to catch him at some point of a dodge.

He rolled to his right, however, and in the process picked his sword back up and brought it up to parry hers as she struck at him. The two snarled and held their weapons against the other's for a moment, then backed off slowly as Jen stood on his feet. They stayed like that for another second when he was there, but she then tapped her sword to his with force and they broke the lock, she effectively "slapping" his sword away.

They circled each other then, looking back in each other's eyes and watching for that moment when one would strike, and make that first attempt at a blow... Kit struck first, but Jen blocked it easily, a high strike blocked by a high cross. She paused for another moment, circling a bit, then tried again, and had that one blocked, too.

She paused another moment, circling just a bit more to the right, then tried again with two attacks, one to the left, and one to the right. He blocked both of those easily, too, then began parrying and blocking as she cried out and went at him with a series of slashes, lunges, and a thrust that were done in anger. He stepped backwards as she did, luring her there and watching as she lost control of her emotions and the fight. She struck at him with a powerful swing to the right, then again with an even more powerful left, which he dodged both and reserved his strength. As her left swing was mostly through its arc he then chose to strike, swinging his own sword very powerfully to the right in the same hand, and knocking her sword out of her hands, where it clattered to the ground a few meters away.

She grunted and stumbled left as her own momentum tried to carry her towards her sword, watching the ground off to his side until he raised his blade to her neck and held it there. Looking far up into his eyes, she began to breathe heavily, panting through bared teeth. "Give up," he asked her, his voice firm.

"No!"

She palmed him in the chest and pushed him away, then charged at him again in anger, claws extended. All he did was step aside just as she swung at him with her right hand, moving behind her and grabbing her from behind. She growled from her throat again and waited for him to finish her, but he didn't. "Give up," he commanded, more firmly this time.

She panted again through her teeth and gave him his answer. "No!"

Driving an elbow in his chest, she hoped to send her message across that she'd fight until one of them was dead; and she didn't particularly care who. He coughed and backed away, giving her room to spin and leap on him.

Her weight landing on his chest was too much too soon, and he fell over onto his back very roughly, with her pinning his shoulders down. His sword fell out of his hands and he then found himself being pounded on by a woman half his size, who was scratching up his face and chest and driving fists into his ribs and head. He blocked what he could, but knew he had to get out from under her.

Not too hard considering how much larger he was. All he did was grab her wrists again (after many tries, though), and then shove her off to the side, ridding himself of her weight. He stood again and growled as she lunged at him quickly with a series of now-martial-arts-style chops and kicks, which he parried as well as he could with his own legs and hands. She'd caught him off guard again, though, and managed to drive a palm in his chest and face, one after the other, which knocked him back and stunned him.

He backed away and held his chin, looking down at her with a shocked look in his eyes. As she glared back at him, panting heavily, the shock turned to determination, and he returned with his own series of chops and kicks, and drove her backwards under his fierce assault. She managed to block them all, but the last one she couldn't block: when she'd slapped a kick away and blocked high, she left her feet open with a wide stance, and he ducked down and swept her legs out from under her quickly.

Her back hit first, then the rest of her body, knocking the wind out of her. As she tried to catch her breath and blink away the stars and fatigue, she suddenly felt pressure on her shoulders and a metal thing against her neck. When she looked up and blinked, Jen was glaring back at her, hovering over her body. "For the last time, give up!"

She breathed in for a moment, using the time during which she was "considering" to catch her breath, then gritted her teeth and reached up with a leg, wrapping it around his head. He choked and looked surprised for a second, then rolled over as she sat up, taking him with her and winding up with her leg wrapped around his head in a chokehold. She then grabbed his wrist and began a battle for control of the knife, while Jen was able to glance up and backwards to see Iani coming towards them again. "No, Iani!"

"Jen!"

"No!" he choked again, still wrestling for the knife.

She began to get frustrated and grunted with a small voice every few seconds, trying desperately to get the knife away. "Let go!"

"Give up first!"

Finally she managed to get the knife free, but he had been pulling down and suddenly let go, making her lose balance and sway backwards. He used that moment of off-balanceness to unhook himself from her leg and rolled over, where he crawled on top of her suddenly and forced her shoulders to the ground by her arms.

Arms flailing as she fell back, she cried out in surprise, then snarled at him and dropped the knife when she found herself pinned under his grip. She tried to struggle out with her legs, but his hold was too powerful, and she only managed to wriggle around a bit on the floor. "If I let go, will you stop?"

She paused for a second in her struggling and glared at him, panting heavily. "What do you think?"

Tilting his head to the side, he answered, "I think you won't."

"Ha," she said, smiling at him a bit, then quickly slapped her arms and palms to the ground and lifted herself up, bringing her chest and his closer together. Then, she folded her arms under his chest using the sudden change in position to break his grip, and then drove both her palms into his chest with all of her strength, forcing her body to slap back against the ground.

He took the blow full on, unprepared for its speed, and fell helplessly to the side, where he rolled over and stood again as she leapt back on her feet. He could see that she was about to attack again as she turned to face him, and decided to end it right there.

As her eyes turned over and looked towards him, a ball of energy suddenly formed in his hand, growing extremely rapidly in size until it was the size of a small globe. She didn't have time to react before he thrust his arm out at her and threw a pillar of brilliantly white energy into her chest, throwing her far across the room and back into the pile of baskets with the gold.

Silence fell over everyone... except for his heavy breathing as he lowered his arm back to his side and listened intently. In a few seconds, he picked up the sound he was waiting for: the sound of Kit's breathing. He relaxed quickly and walked towards her, passing Iani and Gracie on the way, who followed him.

Kit lay in the pile spread eagle, baskets crushed and fallen around her, her body broken and bruised, but still alive. Her arms were all the way off to each side, and her legs were limply spread out beneath her (as she was laying at a slight angle in the mess), with her tail just lying straight out beneath her and between her feet, limp. Her hair was also spread everywhere... the blast, or the fight, had knocked the rings holding it in place loose, and in the blast the wind had whipped it all about her body so that now it covered her like a thin blanket at the edges. She felt like she was on the brink of death, and with one half of her mind wanting it to come, while with the other wanting to stay alive with this one slim chance. She could barely move any of her limbs, they were so sore, and it was hard enough just to breathe... she felt like she'd just exercised for a whole day straight and then run a marathon... at times she didn't know if she wanted to die or sleep.

All her confusion cleared up however when she saw them appear in her vision and stand above her, looking down at the mess she was. There was a long moment where her and Jen's eyes met, but he soon broke it by kneeling next to her. He looked ready to say something, but she whispered first, "Why didn't you finish me?"

He paused in his answer, glancing down and then back again to whisper, "I'm letting you live."

She looked at him with her eyes, her chest rising and falling from labored breathing, and asked in a very soft voice, "Why are you sparing me?"

"I didn't come here to kill you. I only wanted the item... you don't deserve any more pain than you've already suffered," he told her in a low voice.

"You're making a mistake," she stated plainly in her weak voice, keeping her eyes on his.

He stared at her for a long time, drifting off somewhere else for a time, eyes darting around over her face and the space around it as he listened to her raspy breathing, sucking the air in through her half-open mouth. Maybe it was something about how he'd rarely seen another member of his own race and felt he wasn't so alone looking at her, or that he felt pity for her and Shawn, but he just couldn't bring himself to kill her. Mercy was something he always showed too much of, according to Matao. "We'll see."

He then rose and walked away from her, and motioned for Gracie and Iani to follow him. When they'd left, Kit looked down to see a medallion he'd left behind for her, just inside the reach of her left hand's fingers.

"Why?" she whispered to herself as she scooped it up gingerly in her hand... then she shut her eyes and closed her hand around it, summoning its healing powers.

--------------------

~Status Report~

* Completed... Dragon's Head
* Completed... Soldiers of the Empire: Disciples (release pending)
* In Progress/Undecided... Of Love and Betrayal
* Planning/Assembly... Where it all Began

And now for the conclusion to Dancing With Demons... which answers some questions, yet raises so many more... and gives us some more delicious Goddess action. ^_-

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Dancing With Demons

Chapter 5

***

Kilik had run far, far away, to a remote inn in the most dangerous and least traveled part of Pithus, but he didn't care about any of that. Nothing could compare with his recent brush with death, not anymore.

He ran straight up to his room and shut the door behind him, then sat down on the bed and breathed long, deep sighs of relief, catching his breath. In many ways he was quite thankful that the three people had come when they did... they'd saved his life. Something clicked in his mind, though, and he remembered his left pocket. Reaching into it with his right hand, badly torn sleeve begging to just fall off, he began to feel overjoyed with the thought that even though he might've messed up that time and nearly cost himself his life, he was soon to be rich again.

He smiled as he brought his hand back out, revealing the golden statuette he'd managed to steal from Shawn's stash on his way out. Who got the last laugh now, Shawn?

***

With the artifact now safely in their hands, Jen, Gracie, and Iani returned to Matao's castle... after taking the long way back, that is. They were on the road for three days, staying at every inn and eating at every café on the road back to the castle. Good times were had by all, but they eventually found they way back to the castle... a little hung over from the previous night. Still, they were in good spirits despite having to come home. They entered and stumbled their way over to the throne room, checking themselves one last time before going in and putting on their serious faces.

Gracie giggled once going in and almost lost it.

Matao was drifting off into his own thoughts when the doors creaked open, snapping him to attention. Removing his head from his chin, he sat up straight and asked, "So you've returned. Were you successful?"

Jen didn't say anything as he held up the item, out in his palm for Matao to see. On his throne, Matao leaned forward and gave a small crack of a smile as he levitated the object over towards him, taking in his own hand. "Excellent. You've done most well."

He lowered his arm and looked down to them with a smirk. "You may retire for the time being."

"Where's Terrato?" Iani ventured, leaning slightly around Jen.

Matao looked over to her, face still smirking. "You'll know soon."

She looked back at him for a moment, then nodded and backed away, walking alongside the other two as they left.

***

"I swear unto my life to protect the kingdom and uphold its ideals."

Far away in Shi Rannith, Terrato was on a different path... as Anwer Hissoth.

"Your life, and your children's lives, are from this day forth the domain of the kingdom. Do you swear this for your country?"

"I swear my life and my children's lives to the state."

When he first arrived, he had to assume a new identity, and infiltrate the kingdom's system... his chances of success were much greater as a mole. Even his hair was changed, dressed in tiny braids; the beginnings of dreadlocks. At first they were skeptical.

"Who is this to ask to join the Royal Guard?" they asked. "He has not proven himself!"

"Above all else, the royal family's safety is your charge. Your life is now forfeit to them, and them alone."

"I swear my life to protect the royal family's."

"I request Sjinn-roq," he told them.

A laugh in return was what he got. "You? Sjinn-roq? You must be mad."

"I am worthy," was all he said, head still bowed respectfully.

The council had paused to consider, and one finally spoke. "All right."

All stood as the council head addressed him. "Your worthiness will be tested in battle. General Arlan..."

As the council head turned to point out the General, however, Terrato declared, "No. I will not fight him."

The head slowly turned to face him, the General standing down. "You choose to declare your own opponent?"

He'd bowed his head slightly in answer. The councilman nodded back, saying, "Very well. Choose."

He'd looked up slowly at one of the three closest royal bodyguards to the family, and stared at her without words. The councilman looked over at her, following his gaze, then looked back and laughed... so did everyone else in the room. "You mean to tell me you challenge our country's finest blade in personal combat? You are mad!"

"I am worthy," was all he repeated.

Slowly the laughing died down as the two stared at each other wordlessly. As they stared, some kind of connection was being made... something... indescribable... "Very well. The contest will be held in three hours' time in the arena. This assembly is adjourned."

Before everyone rose and left, Terrato stayed knelt at the foot of the great desk, staring directly into Theresa Suragi's dark eyes.

"Your past is gone, ascendant. Your life begins again here."

"I am no one. I am a member of the Royal Guard. I swear my obedience and loyalty, and my blood for the kingdom."

The fight was brilliance. Swords clashed one against another in endless parries and glancing blows blocked. In circles they span, feet moving in an intricate dance as they weaved delicate patterns over the floor below. Wrist and arm were fluid on both, and at that moment, neither could be beaten.

In the end, it came down to five straight minutes of swordplay, unrivalled in the history of the Sjinn-roq, and a draw. They were forced to accept him, and Theresa had finally found her equal. Even as the council declared him worthy, they stared off again, looking deep in each other's eyes and souls.

"Purity of mind and heart are the absolute ideals. Do you swear to shed all worldly evils and become pure in the Goddesses' eyes?"

A pause followed as Terrato lowered his head further.

Finally he was led to the throne room for the initiation rites. Theresa had agreed to take him on as her personal student, only her fifth in her entire career. None, however, had ever failed in their duty.

He could feel her eyes as she stood watching over him from the line of people in front on the throne's dais, feeling her presence more so than the others... even the people he'd been sent to assassinate. The High Priest's request for the oath had reminded him of that fact. It also reminded him of the things he'd felt looking into Theresa's eyes... fiery, passionate things.

So many dark thoughts... in response to the oath of purity.

"I swear to shed all evils and pleasures of the world. I will be pure."

"Esanto vinni uwer ti, Anwer Hissoth. Ovan, Shi Rannith e yushad."

He raised his head and looked up to the High Priest, then rose to his feet and put his hands together, bowing his head again at him. "I serve the kingdom."

All present raised a hand and saluted him, welcoming him to the Guard. "Anwer Hissoth."

The King himself now came forward, and placed his hand on Terrato's right shoulder. "Hissoth."

Terrato turned his head up and looked back into his eyes, his gaze icy and determined.

The first step was done.

***

The second step was a bit more involved. Over the course of the next week, they would spend much time training, teaching him all the nuances and tricks to being a royal guard.

Today's lesson was alertness.

"A guard's eyes must be open at all times, watching for the unexpected, the out-of-place, and the suspicious," Theresa said, walking beside him down one of the palace's many corridors. "You always have to watch out for the types of people and things that might have a hidden agenda."

"I read the handbooks," he answered half-sarcastically, eyes ahead.

"The books don't tell you everything," she replied quickly.

He looked at her as they went down the hallway, passing by a man. As he passed them, however, the guy started giving them an odd sideways glance, almost a glare, but Terrato was too busy still looking at her to notice that she was glaring back at the man. "There are other things you have to watch for... like the murderous intent in a man's eyes when he's about to strike..."

Terrato was still watching her, but suddenly she spun around and held her hands up, catching a knife that was thrown towards her back. He hardly had time to blink as the man took off running down the hallway, but he quickly put the two together and chased after the man. A sudden pressure on his left shoulder caused him to jerk back, however, and he looked left just as she called out, "Josai!"

Confused, he watched as the man skidded to a stop and looked back, then composed himself and walked over. Glancing at her, he listened as she told him, "You weren't watching."

He stood up as Josai walked over and stood before them, then straightened his shirt and glanced over at her. "This was a test?"

She nodded, replying, "Next time, that could be the King."

He looked back at Josai and nodded grimly back, as their "assailant" smiled wryly. "I suppose I've much to learn," he commented to her.

"Indeed."

She then patted Josai on the shoulder and started walking past him. "Thank you, Josai, you may return to your duties."

"At once, milday," Josai answered with a bow of his head.

Terrato followed after her, taking a moment to study her from the head down; from her long, braided dark brown hair down to her waist, where her hair ended and her pants began. His eyes darted back up to the thin metal rings that held her braid in place, but then back down again as he studied the blue cloth of her pants in detail, built loosely for comfort and maneuverability even as they tapered to her feet, where her soft-soled sandals, wrapped tightly to her feet by many thin leather straps, made hardly any sound as they walked across the stone floor.

"Be prepared for anything, Anwer..."

He glanced back up again as she started talking, listening to her continue. "That was today's lesson."

He nodded and looked down at her shirt, still intrigued by the way it was designed: much like a sleeveless halter-top, only fastened together across the front. He hadn't seen many of that kind back home in Coridea, but here in Shi Rannith, it seemed to be a very common fashion for the trendy. He was still studying the intricate braid work of the trim, the decorative looping embroidery, and the way the golds and silvers laced over the blue of the shirt when her voice interrupted his train of thought. "Is there something interesting on my shoulder?"

He snapped out of his daze and looked up at her eyes, which were looking backwards at him from over her shoulder. Shaking his head, he answered quickly, "Hm? No, no..."

"Then pay attention to me, not my shirt."

Realizing what she must be thinking (and realizing she might be right), he bows his head apologetically and says, "Of course, sensei. My apologies."

She looks back at him a moment, then faces front again and slows her pace, so that he'll catch up with her better. "Good."

They walked on in silence for a few steps, but she found herself feeling on the inside that, given the way he seemed to be looking at her, she rather enjoyed it. Mostly since she hadn't been looked at that way for years within the castle walls... nor had she ever returned that look in all that time...

As those thoughts crossed her mind, she curled one corner of her lips up in a wry smile, but as soon as it was there it was gone, and they continued their lessons.

***

Over the next week they week their spent their time in training, walking the many halls of the castle and learning the many tricks and obstacles of being in the Guard. Many times as they walked or sat in their classrooms their eyes would meet for a fraction of a second, and a moment of passion would touch both their hearts where they felt if they stared any longer, they might just break down and never take their eyes off the other... but they would quickly divert their eyes. She wasn't allowed to feel that, the Code forbid it, and he was on a mission... but neither of those facts prevented the tension that was between them every time they were in the same room together.

It was one day while on their way to the sparring halls that he glanced over to her while walking, remembering that day when he'd caught himself staring. "She really is quite attractive..." he told himself. "Why would she have chosen this?"

Her head began turning back and he faced forward quickly, trying to look as if nothing happened. "You're familiar with the Shan Hattin style?"

He nodded, answering, "Of course."

"Good," she said with a smile. "Show it to me."

She lashed out with a sideways palm strike followed by a forearm blow and second palm, but he blocked all three and reversed her offense in an instant. They traded several more chops and strikes, when she drew a short sword from her belt and slashed at him, meeting his own katana and exchanging clanging blows for a furious few seconds, until they both suddenly stopped and drew back from one another, holding a striking pose from a distance.

She panted twice, then said, "Very good."

"Likewise," he replied breathlessly, smiling.

Both of them relaxed and continued into the sparring room, passing the doors as they spoke with each other. "So what's today's lesson?"

"None... yet," she answered.

As soon as they entered the room she attacked him again, lashing sideways with her sword. He slapped it away with ease and backed up, putting distance between them as they began to circle and assume a battle pose. For a long time they just circled, measuring each other up and waiting for a good moment to strike, studying each other's bodies and faces, looking for clues as to where to attack. Mentally they fought, testing each other's strengths and weaknesses in invisible thrusts and parries... spinning maneuvers and leaps aplenty. For the past week they'd purposefully avoided looking each other in the eye, but here it was unavoidable: they locked gazes once during their mental spar and never took them away again, staring deep into the soul beyond.

Again they felt their connection, and their steps slowed, became more purposeful. For a time it felt like they were one person, both entities sharing one thought and one mind, both sharing the same wants and needs... both sensing the same thoughts... perhaps it's why they weren't surprised when they both struck at once, and shattered their swords in two from a perfect blow.

Momentum carried them beyond each other as the broken metal of their swords hit the floor and clattered, until they stopped moving and stood still. They were breathing hard, but not totally because of the fighting... during the long stare, their heart rates had increased as they felt their connection, pushing them to levels of excitement driven by adrenaline. So there they were, panting and holding their hilts out to their sides with both hands, and staring towards the opposite wall. Their backs were turned on each other, but the image of the other person's face was very vivid in their minds. "Impressive," he said at length.

They turned and faced each other, dropping their swords away and drawing another, she a longer one and he a shorter one. They both assumed new poses, adopting new styles, and when they were done they squared off, holding their weapons ready for attack as she replied, "I like to think I am."

His lips curled in a smile, and then he attacked. With the first volley they simply traded parries and blocks, a swift series of thrusts and jabs being the pattern. They backed away and paused mutually, using the moment to think and compose themselves, then changed styles and attacked again, both striking at once. The second volley missed with the first few hits, but soon it became an exchange of fast blocks and dodges that lasted several seconds.

Finally they slammed their swords together and backed away, catching their breath as they took another silent break, punctuated only by their heavy breathing. They might've gone on the attack again, but he began circling, taking her with him. "So..." he began, short on breath. "I've always wondered... why is it that the King needs a personal guard so elite? Usually fighters of our caliber fight in wars..."

He lashed out with his sword, but she tipped the blade away and went back on the defensive. Leveling her eyes at him, she answered, "The royal family is very important. Threats against their life are common."

"Common... or serious?" he asked, just before attacking again.

She tipped his two jabs aside and returned to circling as she answered, "Both. There are people... very important people who want the royal family dead."

"People from, say... Doma?" he asked.

This time it was her turn to strike, reaching out with several thrusts and slashes, which he either blocked or dodged. "Among others."

"I see..." He paused again and circled, eyes locked on hers. "It's the job of people like us to make sure those threats are never realized."

"Precisely."

"Especially given the skill of the people they'd use."

"Which is why we stay here and guard their lives, instead of fighting in the wars."

He lowered his head slightly in acknowledgement, still circling and looking for his opportunity to strike. "Is that also why they created the Code, to keep us focused on the task?"

Taken aback by his odd question, she faltered for only a moment, but it was all he needed. She saw a flash of silver in front of her, and was only able to just barely block his swift strike before it met her chest. Holding his sword in place, she then swung her arm around in a circle and exchanged a series of parries and thrusts with him, until she managed to take his sword and swing it downwards, leaving him open from the waist up. She swung high, making him duck to avoid losing his head, but he returned with a rising slash that she blocked by lowering the tip of her sword down again and backing away.

He rose back to his feet again as he tapped her blade away, things seeming to move in slow motion until they stopped and stood back, switching styles yet again. She paused for a moment there, before she answered him. "The Code is for us to remain pure and holy."

He attacked again and their swords clanged together swiftly, when suddenly he struck and locked their blades, then drew close to her where he put his face next to hers. They were breathing hard, blowing locks of her hair around that were now hanging down about her face, and they were again looking into each other's eyes, only now from a very close-in position. "Pure and holy... not controlled and docile?"

She shoved him away and returned with a high sideways lash, which he blocked to his side. However, instead of letting go and resuming their attack, he held her sword there and gazed back at her. "Why are you questioning the Code?" she asked, with no subtle hint at defensiveness.

"It just feels restrictive, is all."

He then swung her sword around and lunged with an attack, one which she could only block across her chest due to her style. He'd taken his sword in a strike that went forward and at an angle, and now their swords were pinned between their bodies as he drew close again... closer than before. Their lips were only centimeters apart now and their eyes were focused. Panting hard as she fought back certain sudden urges, she whispered, "...In some ways... it is..."

They circled slowly apart then, backing away and releasing each other's sword from the lock, but keeping the tips together. They went in a circle around the other, keeping their eyes locked together while he added, "It forces predators like ourselves to rein in our emotions and thoughts... subdue our instincts..."

"Deny ourselves our feelings..." she added softly, slowing down a bit.

He lowered his voice to a near whisper and continued their train of thought, "Cut off a part of ourselves and sacrifice it for the family..."

She swung his sword around and tried to attack like he'd had earlier, and this time succeeded in doing the same to him as he'd done to her. Again pressed against his body with their swords pinned, she whispered, "Yes..."

"Like religious fanatics... they expect us to be able to do that..." he whispered.

"We aren't allowed to feel passion... strong emotions..." Theresa whispered back, trying hard not to think of his lips even though they were inches away from hers.

"None of the things that makes us alive..."

She then tapped her blade off his and backed away, attacking him with renewed energy as she struck with fast hits high and to the sides. He blocked them all, then slashed upwards with strength and bounced her back a bit. Recomposing himself rather quickly, he took another swing at her, one that she ducked under and slashed at his midsection from her crouching position. He dodged that, but she rose up with an upward slash that went for his chest, though only met his steel.

Their swords clanged powerfully against one another as he blocked and shoved hard, both of them jumping back and using the momentum to put a lot of distance between each other. They were both panting hard, coming short on breath, but Terrato was thinking quicker.

As soon as his feet touched ground again, he opened his stance and held an open palm out to his side, where energy then began to build into it and grow. She was only watching for a split second when a mound of dirt and rock appeared on the floor and grew in size until it was a wall of earth, standing between him and her. He collected his energies, raising his hand slowly, then pushed outwards towards her and sent the wall of rock and dirt rolling towards her across the floor.

She blinked in surprise at the spell, gawking, but quickly countered by concentrating for a brief moment, summoning a few sickles of air above her head with her arm raised, then lowered her arm at it and threw the sickles towards the wall. The two spells raced together, and then collided as the air blades tore into the wall and broke it up, slicing them into bits of rock and dust that flew harmlessly away at odd angles.

Terrato watched as the wall was shred into pieces, falling around her harmlessly as she stood with her arm still pointed out towards him, fingers hanging down from her wrist. Eyes sternly watching him, she asked, "You knew I could do that, didn't you?"

He smirked back at her confidently, making her wonder just how much he knew. She attacked him again and they traded blows, but between a few of them she locked their swords and held them so she could speak. "But I didn't know you could do that."

He smiled back at her confidently, adding, "I'm also stronger than you think."

"Yeah?" she asked, then traded a few more blows with him, metals clashing together furiously. "How strong?"

He parried her blows and then brought his arm back for a powerful strike, and as she slashed sideways at his midsection he brought his right arm back up and around, slapping her sword away to his right and then grabbing her waist with his left. With strength she didn't know he had, he pulled her close and lifted her from the ground with his one arm, and pressed her body against his, holding her in the air and up to his eye level. "That strong," he said, low and sensually.

Her breathing sped up and she found herself unable to control her emotions. Pressed so closely to him, she could only put her hands up against his chest for support, leaving her face free and centimeters away from his. Their eyes locked again for another long moment and suddenly everything made so much perfect sense to both of them; everything was so clear.

Putting one knee up against his waist, she then moved one hand around his neck and kissed him passionately on the lips, where he returned it.

***

Several hours passed that night, and clouds had moved into the skies above the castle, heralding the coming cold front. The two lovers were warm in her bed, however, in her quite lavish bedroom suite with its satin curtains and silk sheets on the bed. Gently he stroked her hair with his fingers, letting its strands roll over his fingers and fall back down on her in tiny locks, feeling its silky texture as he did so while she stroked his chest with her fingers, lazily lying her head on his chest and breathing in his scent.

Silence seemed to be something the two of them liked at the moment as they lay there, not saying a word for quite some time, but a few thoughts finally crossed her mind and made their way to her lips, just after she kissed him gently above his sternum and rubbed her head against him. "I haven't felt like this in a long time..." she whispered.

"The Code?" he whispered back.

"Yeah." She rubbed her head against him a bit more and then stretched some, wrapping her legs and arms about him a little tighter. "I used to think that I could handle it... that I could be just as pure as the heroes in the storybooks," she whispered with no subtle hint at her sarcasm.

She looked for the right way to continue for a bit, running her hand up his chest and adjusting her head's position a little. "But I can't do it. The Code just isn't for everyone..."

He stroked her hair a bit more, gazing at the ceiling as he listened to her. "So you turned your back on it, and decided to follow your heart?"

"Mmm," she moaned softly, caressing his neck. She was silent for a second, but she then rolled over slightly and looked up at him, looking in his eyes again and whispering, "And my heart led me to you."

She stretched and rolled over on him a bit more, giving him another kiss on the lips. As she did she reached under the pillow, and grabbed a small knife from the side of the bed between the mattress and headboard. She then rolled over a bit more and sat on top of him, straddling his waist and sitting with the knife against his throat.

She wasn't holding it there with any force, however; it was mostly symbolic. She wasn't even remotely trying to threaten him. "I know who you are. You don't just resemble Hans Gunther... you are him. Why are you here?"

She knew he'd answer her, and he knew she knew that. He blinked at her a few times, considering the knife being held gently to his neck. He then took her wrist in his hand, tenderly putting it aside. "I don't know if I can tell you."

"Why not?" she asked softly, dropping the knife as he took her hand off to his side.

"'Cause then I might have to kill you."

He was looking down behind her, but then blinked and looked up in her eyes again. As she looked into them, she could see he wasn't making an idle threat. She didn't want to see that look, though, and glanced down at her hand, gently running her fingers along his abs. "Are you here to kill the royal family?"

"No," he answered softly.

He watched her swallow, possibly in relief, but she didn't look any less concerned. "What, then?" she asked.

He paused for a long moment, painfully trying to decide if he should tell her. There was so much to consider, not the least of it being that he could end up having to fight her right there, or that she would try to block his plans. A long silence passed between them, and for a while it even seemed like he wasn't going to answer. Finally the strain began to show on him and he diverted his eyes, then shut them and made up his mind, just as she was beginning to break and ask him to forget it. "I'm here to kill you... all three of the elite guard."

Her heart sank into her stomach, and she hung her head. After all they'd just been through, and he was here to kill her the whole time... Her hand found its way to his chest, however, and she ran her fingers down his sternum, whispering, "Why?"

He opened his eyes again and looked back up at her, feeling her hands now both running up and down his torso slowly. "I do only what my master tells me."

She hung her head again and felt a lump in her throat. Choking down the sensation, she shook her head and tried to speak without her voice breaking. "Do you still use your old name?"

He paused again, watching her trying to steady her breathing. "I am Terrato now."

"...I barely know you, Terrato..." She looked up at him again, and he could clearly see a single tear rolling down her face as she whispered, "But I don't want this to end. I don't understand it, but I don't want this to end..."

She shook her head at him and tried to control herself, but in the end she had to look down again and sniffle, taking a deep breath. "Why do you have to do this?"

"It's a long story," he answered, taking her hands in his and holding them up.

She held his hands back and clenched them tight, finally looking back up into his eyes and whispering, "I like those."

He gazed at her for a long while, looking back at all the anguish in her eyes. "I could show you."

He released her hands and reached for her face, to which she slowly let hers fall to her sides and looked at his hands wrapping around her head. When she looked back she noticed the amulet he wore beginning to glow dimly, but the only thing she felt after that was an overwhelming series of emotions and images coming through her head. With a quiet, surprised cry she suddenly looked up and ahead as the images poured in, explaining to her the politics and possibilities that could happen... or at least, all those that he'd thought about on his own.

Almost as soon as it began it was over though, and she found herself staring at the wall over the headboard. He released her head slowly and let his hands fall again, watching her reaction as she lowered her head back down to him. Another silence passed as they gazed at each other, but he finally broke it. "So you see now? Eliminating the elite guard makes it that much easier to attack."

She nodded at him slowly and diverted her eyes to his chest again, considering everything she'd just seen. "Will you help me?" he asked her, taking her hands in his.

She let her hands be taken and stared at his chest for a while, but shook her head after a time. "I can't help you kill Kigurasi."

He was about to ask a question, but she quickly answered it for him and looked in his eyes again. "But I won't stop you."

"And Masai?"

"Him..." she whispered, taking his hands and pulling them closer. "I will help you with."

He saw the look in her eyes as she spoke: torn between different emotions and loyalties, he could see she was fighting a battle against her own beliefs, but he could also see she was being earnest. He felt her fingers in his hands and blinked up at her, looking her only in her eyes. "Are you joining us, then?" he whispered.

She looked back at him for a while, considering to herself that what she was doing was high treason, and was going against everything she had believed in when she became a royal knight.

But then again, she'd stopped believing in those ideals years ago. She released his hands and ran hers up his chest, slowly lying back down on top of him until she was again at his side, and wrapped her leg and arm around him again. She gave him another kiss and ran her hand along his face, turning it to face hers better as she whispered, "The world needs change."

She then laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled into him, feeling his flesh against her hair. "And I'm yours."

***

The cup slowly went up towards his lips, where the tea then poured out over his tongue and down his throat. He set the cup down while he swallowed, back on its wooden coaster with its floral design.

It was a lonely day for Hiten Kisuragi, the royal throne's best sorcerer, one of the three elite guard and the Second Sword behind Theresa. There he was, seated at a table across from the king and queen and their entourage as they took a walk in the palace gardens, several kilometers from the main castle, with no one to talk to except his own thoughts. The sun didn't bother him underneath the wide, rectangular thatch hat he wore, something he rarely took off even when inside. Robes flowed over his body as he shifted his weight, watching with boredom the scene before him; it was just another day, and nothing new or strange to pay attention to.

Nobody was paying him any attention, either, since he was seated far away from the main party... which is also why nobody noticed when a voice called from the tea house behind him. "Hiten Kisuragi?"

He glanced backwards towards the door, then rose from his seat and went over to the voice. "Yes?"

Entering, he saw that the new recruit, Anwen, was standing just inside the doorway, bowing his head slightly. "I am Anwen Hissoth, the--"

"Yes, the new member..." Kisuragi finished, though not in a rude manner; rather it was halfway pleased and entertained at once. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Terrato looked back up and gestured, answering, "I only wanted to meet you in person... they told me I could find you here, and I was between lessons..."

"Yes, I would be happy to visit with you for a time..." he replied, moving around so that he could see out the door.

Terrato went up to his side, however, and took him by the shoulders so he could spin him back just inside the lip of the door. "Actually, sir..."

Hiten's eyes then grew wide with shock as he felt a sharp object thrust into his chest. Gasping for breath, he tried to reach for his sword, but Terrato gripped the handle with a powerful hold and wouldn't allow him to draw it. The samurai grabbed Terrato's shoulder as he began to fall to the ground, being draw further into the room and out of sight. "I'm sorry, but I have my orders. I rather would've preferred to meet you in battle."

"You... treacherous..." Kisuragi struggled to say, drawing in raspy breaths.

He felt another sharp pain in his chest, though, as the blade opened and released two more sharp blades from the inside, further shredding his heart. He gasped one last time and his eyes flew open all the way, while Terrato lowered his body to the ground and slowly backed away, removing a gloved hand from the knife handle. He watched as the life left Kisuragi, eyes shutting one last time, and headed out the back way of the room. Just before he'd left, however, he felt a slight, cold feeling of magic in the room, and cursed under his breath the fleeing spirit of the magic master.

A half hour later, they discovered the body.

Edit

Dancing With Demons

Chapter 6

***

Far across the planet in worlds alien to the average citizens of Shi Rannith and Coridea, there was a massive palace, built with a towering spire in the center that reached for the clouds and was ringed with many spikes and tiers splitting off. Within sat a flame-haired woman, whose locks fell down past her waist in clumps of spiky hair that wrapped around her body from head to toe. The Goddess of War was seated upon her throne, dressed -- as always -- in a black shirt which wrapped over one shoulder and then down across her chest, leaving one shoulder uncovered. Over that was worn a red breastplate made from lightweight metals and adorned with many flowing carvings and inscriptions, most saying of her accomplishments and teachings, studded with small gems and raised lines of gold in places; and which was strapped on by a pair of orange-red leather straps that also connected to small metal shoulder pads.

Complimenting her armor were red-painted gold armlets and bracelets of gold on her wrists, while her legs wore a pair of tight-fitting red shorts wrapped with a wide black sash around her waist. Swords and throwing knives and daggers were strapped and hidden in various places, making her a walking armory of cutlery with everything she was carrying. Her thigh-high boots were thick leather, colored red, and laced with many gold trimmings and a metal-plated kneecap that bore inscriptions of her name and icon.

Fierce red eyes peered out at the scene before her, a troupe of dancers entertaining her and her court after a long day. A smile played across her lips as they performed an exceptionally dazzling set, spreading her lips wider on her already mischievously smirking face. Long red fingernails ran along the armrest she had her (admittedly) small hand on, feeling the satin cloth under her fingers absent-mindedly.

It was then that a soft breeze blew into the room, rustling cloths and hair as Majin transported inside from a whirling mass of soft winds. Startled, some of the court rose to their feet and paused, but the goddess raised her hand to them and stood. "Majin. For what reason are we being honored by your presence?"

She gave Majin a bow that was sarcastic, but Majin paid it no mind. "Kishin, I've come to speak with you."

"Well, whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of my court," Kishin answered, smiling in self-assuredness.

Majin looked around at everyone, but faced Kishin and spoke firmly, "Alone."

Kishin paused and lowered her arms slowly. She meant business. Waving around to the room, she dismissed them and stepped down from her throne, walking towards Majin as her court left. "Now... what do you want?"

Majin cocked her head a bit at her, jerkily. "Should I need a reason to see my sister?"

"You always have a reason."

Kishin's red eyes were centered squarely on Majin's, which gazed back at her for a second. "Right," Majin answered quietly, smiling and tilting her head a bit more.

She then walked past her and waved her hand in the air, summoning an overhead view of the Doma area by day as people moved around in the fields below. "I've been watching you, and I know you're preparing to move on Coridea."

"And what gave you the right to spy on me?!" Kishin demanded to know, marching towards her, golden earrings clinking together.

"I'm your sister!" Majn replied, jerking her head about to face her. "That's all the reason I need."

"Megami is weak, Majin!" Kishin began to explain. "If she won't keep order within her own borders, then I will move to protect mine!"

"You can't keep the peace with warfare!" Majin countered, turning to face her fully. "If you move on Coridea and Scian, you risk world war."

"The world's already at war," Kishin replied in an acidic tone.

"And I won't allow any more needless bloodshed!" Majin yelled, stepping towards her.

Kishin raised her head up at her and clenched her jaw, but said nothing, letting her continue. "You will stand down your troops and withdraw from your Doman staging grounds within the month."

"You can't tell me how to run my own state," Kishin answered in a measured voice.

Undettered, Majin replied, "I've given you my ultimatum. Remove those troops and stay where you are, or there will be world war."

"I will not be threatened," Kishin said quickly, but Majin followed her quickly, too.

"Kishin..." she started, stepping closer and glaring at her sternly. "When there is no one left alive, what will you do then?"

Kishin had nothing to say to that, and looked away at the map after a pause, her hair obscuring part of her face as she turned. Majin was silent for some time, watching her look away in apparent acceptance of that fact. "War is not in our best interests. The peace must be held."

Kishin continued to stare at the map, frowning just slightly, so Majin asked her after another silence, her voice finally calmed down and soft again. "Are we agreed?"

Kishin took some time to think about it, eyes flicking about the scene in the air, then breathed out through her nose and shut her eyes, reluctantly nodding. Majin leaned away from her and nodded, too, saying, "Good."

She walked away from her and back towards the entrance, leaving Kishin to think in front of the map as it began to disappear. "And Kishin..."

She turned and faced Majin, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're looking good."

Taken aback, Kishin paused in her answer, but finally nodded and curled her lips in a smile. "You, too..."

Majin smiled herself and disappeared in a swirl of wind, but Kishin's smile turned into a smirk as she added, "Sister."

In the back of her mind, she didn't plan on holding that agreement.

***

A week had passed since they'd left for Pithus, and a week since word of Terrato had last been heard.

That day, however, word finally came. They were gathered before Matao in the courtyard during a mass practice spar, looking up the steps as he opened his arms and addressed them with a wide, sinister grin. "Terrato's mission has been a success! The Shi Rannith elite royal guard has lost one member today... one of its finest warriors!"

The crowd looked between each other, murmuring, as Matao added, "Yes, that is his mission... to assassinate the royal guard of Shi Rannith. I am pleased to say he is enjoying success. Tonight, we will have a feast to celebrate his victory!"

Iani blinked at him as he turned and went back inside, swirling his cape around him as left. "The royal guard...?"

Looking at Jen, she added, "Why would he want them assassinated? Wouldn't it make more sense to kill the king or queen, if he can get to a guard?"

Jen shrugged his shoulders at her, at a loss. "I don't know. I don't know what goes through his twisted head."

"Me, neither..." Gracie added, crossing her arms while she walked up to them, shaking her head. "I don't get it."

"Well..." Iani started, shrugging her shoulders, too. "At least we get to eat good for a change tonight."

Jen and Gracie both nodded in agreement while Iani scratched behind her ear.

***

The feast was grand... luxurious. He spoiled them with food and drink over Terrato's success, feeling in very high spirits after the way things were going his way recently.

They drank and ate, talked and laughed, although Matao seemed content with answering questions and observing their behavior. After the dinner, however, he took Jen and Iani aside, to a small private room off the side of the hall so he could speak with them alone.

"We are set on a good path now... but there is more to do," he told them after the door was shut. "I want you two to search for a person, someone who will help us with our plans, and help us locate more of what we need."

"Who?" Jen asked, shifting his weight.

Matao turned sideways slightly, keeping his eyes trained on them, and with a wave of his hand summoned a shimmering picture of a man, walking through a town's streets. The picture was partially transparent, but both Jen and Iani recognized him quickly. Glancing over at Matao, she asked, "Him?"

"The thief we let go getting the artifact?"

"Yes," Matao nodded. "His name is Kilik. I want you two to find him, and bring him to me."

"Why?" Jen asked, bluntly. When he noticed Matao was taken aback and unamused, he added, "I mean... why might he be helpful?"

Matao glanced between both of them and answered, "He will be a worthy and useful addition to our cause."

"This guy who couldn't fight off those thieves?" Iani asked, waving her hand at the picture.

Matao glanced at the hovering scene, then lowered his arm and looked at her as it faded from view. "Yes. He will be able to find the items we need to complete the Tokata."

"Tokata?" she asked.

"Just bring him to me," Matao said, walking for the door. "You needn't worry about the rest. You can find him at Avel, near Pithus."

He left the room then, leaving Jen and Iani alone to look at each other. "I guess there's no point in asking him anything anymore," she said, sighing.

"Right..." Jen added, following her out of the room.

***

It was already near midnight in Shi Rannith at that time, but there was no shortage of things happenings there. Earlier that day, they'd held the funeral for Hiten Kisuragi, but they weren't long mourning as they quickly returned to securing the grounds and considering what had happened. Gathered together in the main throne room were the highest ranking marshals and officials of the government, together with all of the elite guard and several other important figures. "How could something like this happen?!" one man asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out!" another answered, a bit annoyed by the repeated question.

"Inconceivable that anybody could kill Hiten Kisuragi..." one general said, shaking his head. He looked up at the King and finished, saying, "Especially in such a manner!"

Theresa was silent, as was Terrato, whom she'd personally asked to be there. One of the senior councilmen stepped forward and looked around at everyone, proclaiming, "This could mean a new risk against the king's life... with Kisuragi gone, who's to say an attack isn't imminent?!"

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves..." the King stated, folding his hands together. "Just because one man has died does not mean there is a renewed threat against the state."

"But don't you find it odd that a member of the elite guard was killed, instead of yourself, Your Majesty?" Everyone looked at the councilman who'd spoken up, watching him with interest. "If our assassin could get to a man like Kisuragi, why shouldn't he have gone for you instead?"

"He's right, something's not entirely right about that," one marshal added.

"I agree, this whole affair is rather confusing..." The King looked up at everyone then, unfolding his hands and placing them on the armrests. "But we still must not jump to conclusions."

He looked down at the man centered straight in front of him, far away on the carpet leading up to the throne. "Investigator... what have you discovered so far?"

The man was tall, and somewhat bony. He wore a long robe that covered his underclothing, and had an angular, boxy face topped with short hair. He tapped a thin hand to his chin for a moment before he answered, "The weapon design itself isn't anything I have ever seen. It looks to have been forged and created especially for this murder, so as to hide the origin of the attacker. Even the metals used were scrapped together from many of the world's prominent nations..."

He walked towards the King then, looking at the floor and tapping his chin as he talked. "There was no evidence of a struggle, and no other evidence of the identity of the killer..."

He stopped halfway to the throne and looked up, lowering his arm to his side. "I'm afraid I need more time. This mystery... may not be solvable, however."

The king lowered his head and shut his eyes, having a personal moment of silence for his trusted bodyguard. "Very well, investigator. Please do your best."

"I intend to, Your Highness," the man replied, bowing.

Terrato was eyeing him the whole time, measuring him up and wondering if he was capable of pulling off what had been asked of him... because if he were... he would be a target. He looked at Theresa for her opinion, and she answered him by giving him a look of her own that mirrored her concern, though subtly. Satisfied she shared his concern, he turned back to see the investigator turn and walk back to the front of the room as the others began to talk again. Yes, he may soon become an enemy...

Edit

Dancing With Demons

Chapter 7

***

Soft sobs came from inside the room, but the maid paid it no mind and passed by the door, going about cleaning the inn's rooms. Within, a woman lay on the bed crying, curled up with her head buried in her arms as she sobbed into the bed sheets.

The last week had been a living Hell for Kit. First there had been the fights with Shawn and her realizing he had a mistress, then the whole spiel with his betrayal and death... her entire world had been destroyed, taken from her. She was alone now, with no family and no friends, and no more purpose after she'd lost Shawn. There was nothing for her.

So she'd come straight back to the inn and bought out the rooms every day, and sat in the bar drinking every night, every once in a while eating a tiny meal of fruits or something, her appetite being next to nothing. Many times she didn't feel like being alive any more, sinking deeper into her depression every day until she felt as if she were dead...

She barely spoke. She barely ate. She rarely came out of her room, but she slept a lot. But above all else she thought almost constantly, about Shawn and those two days a week ago. Even after everything she'd discovered about him she still loved him, and her heart ached at every realization that he wouldn't be there for her anymore.

But then she'd remembered his lies, and she would become angry. Angry at him and angry at man in general, at the way people lied and betrayed their loved ones... it was a strange roller coaster of emotion to ride, but she loved him and hated him at the same time, and both extremes with a passion.

She shed her tears for him that night, unable to let go of their memories even after that week, and for the realization that there was absolutely nothing left for her in the world. She was alone, by herself, and everything that she'd worked for and cared for was gone... everything she'd learned and trained for was for nothing. Looking up to dry her tears, she finally controlled herself and glanced about the room for something to do, or focus on... and her eyes fell on her weapons on the dresser, gazing through a ragged mop of hair that hung down all over her face.

"...That..."

She rose to her knees and crawled over towards the end of the bed, eyes fixed on her dagger and knife. "Kilik... that's all I've got left..."

She stepped off from her bed and went over to the dresser, grabbing her knife and holding it up in her palm. "Just Kilik..."

Her mind was made up. If there was nothing left to live for, perhaps there was something left to die for...

Gathering her weapons up, she then went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, preparing to bathe and collect herself before setting off on her mission. She was going to wipe out the last remnant of her old life, and start over... by finally killing Kilik.

***

"With success comes risk..." Caution said.

Matao looked over at him unenthusiastically and muttered sarcastically, "Thank you for pointing that out."

"He speaks wisely; recent developments are making our mission more... sensitive," Wisdom said.

"Recent developments?"

"Yes. Introducing the random element of the thief Kilik, and the Shi Rannith investigation."

"I can deal with Kilik, and Terrato can deal with the investigation," Matao asserted.

"Perhaps, but the girl is something he may not be able to handle."

Justice swirled into place then. "She may cloud his judgment."

Matao looked at all four of them in turn, considering everything with a long pause, after which he finally said from his lazily reclined position, "I'm willing to take that risk... if it means bringing another ally to our side."

Wisdom took the fore again and looked at him for a moment, then bowed his head in resignation. "Very well. But perhaps it is time to consult the katra?"

He raised his head a bit and paused, then answered while sitting up, "All right."

He raised his palms to the candles before him, summoning a spell that made the room become black as night, lit only by the candles before him. Their flames began to burn with a green light and grow in intensity, while a portal of swirling green began to form between him and the Four Spirits, lying horizontally in the air. It grew wider by the second and became misty, throwing sharp arms of green-tinted mist off to the sides as it swirled faster.

Images began to form in the middle of it as he sat forward, images of possible outcomes of the future. At first he couldn't make out anything clear, but he watched anyway as the blurry images cleared up and began to flash by one after the other in succession, sometimes rotating off to the side as another took its place. Images of world war, peace, famine, a great battle in the heavens, one of him as the world's only ruler... he smiled at that one, but he frowned when he saw one that represented his agonizing death. That one he didn't like, but he watched anyway as more outcomes flashed by. In one, he was raising a family...

Everything was so unpredictable and hazy, but he soon realized why: the future was at a point of flux, where the outcomes couldn't be predicted with any accuracy... a critical turning point had been reached in history. Just one mistake would be all it took to ruin decades of work.

Stay tuned for the continuation of Where it All Began!

--------------------

~Status Report~

* Completed... Dragon's Head
* Completed... Soldiers of the Empire: Disciples (release pending)
* In Progress/Undecided... Of Love and Betrayal
* Planning/Assembly... Where it all Began

I started reading. So don't be upset with me ;__;. Its late and I'm tired but so far its good. I like the Terrato parts and all that. I'm all giddy with- OMG MUST READness.

--------------------

If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

Alrighty, it took me a while but I'll give you a good review.

There are lots of characters in the Den, but the unfortunate fact is that three of them were never created for anything other than to die. I'm sort of torn on this fact, because I could see it coming. The way they were referred to loosely, or the lack of a backstory... they didn't even have specific discernable personalities. It would have made their loss mean a bit more to the reader if you expanded on them a lot more. Right now, I only recall that Kit has lost Shawn... that's it. I don't even care for the other three, and their parts could have had their names reshuffled without loss of context. Perhaps Kit could at least recall their deaths afterwards? Because she doesn't speak of any of them in particular.

How advanced is your world? I noticed that there was a really old library, with maps that are still easily accessible that are up to 8 centuries old. Even Congress doesn't offer stuff that old, and you'll be hard pressed to find any manuscript greater than 3 centuries old in public display, much less publically accessible.

I found it wierd that Iani jumped up in the library, even though Jen was moving so briskly. Not so much wierd, it fits into my perception of Iani's innate skills, but not that one sequence with Hans. But I'm just being nitpicky and trying to incite you into hitting me with a trout.

"even his lies were starting to sound fake"
I'm not even sure what that line meant. You also started using bracketed statements around Chapter 4 which I'm not a big fan of.
My suggestion is to change bracket statements into long dash seperated pieces. I'm not sure what the exact grammar term is.

"Jen was on the lookout for thieves and archaeologists, but luckily for them, nobody was around, given that it was a working holiday for the diggers."
Again, I'd love to see a description of the world you've imagined. Holidays for diggers implies a really sweet degree of social benefits in a primarily feduel society. I'd love to see how something like that appeared.

Chapter 4 fight scene was really long. I'm not one to ever complain about detail, but I think you needed to break that piece up with something else in the middle. The battle became repetitive and difficult to follow because of the length...

Use of the word 'sensei' was kind of wierd. Are there innate Japanese tendencies amongst the Shi Rannith? The names were quite Japanese like, and the inclusion of Katanas seem to suggest as much.


Anyhow, you're almost done and I managed to finally read this. I'm enjoying it quite a lot, although I'm assuming there's still quite a bit to be written in this series. Looking forward to the rest, as usual.

This post has been edited by Elessar on 27th November 2004 04:22

--------------------

Visions of Peace - Four Generals, One Empire, and the Returners caught in the middle.

Your long Q&A posts always make me feel like I'm doing something terribly wrong and make me feel bad just seeing how much longer they keep getting. ;-;

Anyway...

Quote (Elessar @ 26th November 2004 23:20)

There are lots of characters in the Den, but the unfortunate fact is that three of them were never created for anything other than to die. I'm sort of torn on this fact, because I could see it coming. The way they were referred to loosely, or the lack of a backstory... they didn't even have specific discernable personalities. It would have made their loss mean a bit more to the reader if you expanded on them a lot more. Right now, I only recall that Kit has lost Shawn... that's it. I don't even care for the other three, and their parts could have had their names reshuffled without loss of context. Perhaps Kit could at least recall their deaths afterwards? Because she doesn't speak of any of them in particular.

I knew going in that no matter how much I tried, I wouldn't have the time needed to make Butch, Max, and Crux mean anything to the reader, and the entire purpose of them WAS to be bit players. That's just something that couldn't be avoided because of the way the story moves, period, stop. The reader wasn't going to care unless I made them major characters, and I've already got plenty as it is and more on the way. There's also the fact that elaborating on them more would drag down a part of the story already in danger of going too slow. I was more worried about pacing at that point than filling out their characters. Kit herself isn't even attached to them very much, you see, since they were basically coworkers she just now started working with (remember she got there under a year ago, so she's only worked with them maybe a few months). That's just that.

And they did TOO have discernable personalities! >=(
- Crux: Silent, calculating, gruff.
- Butch: Boisterous, partying, excitable. A "tough guy".
- Max: Unbalanced, bipolar, abusive sense of humor, violent, unstable.

I'm really quite surprised you didn't pick that all up, I'm sure I gave plenty of hints, even going so far's to spell it out to you right in the middle of the text. =P

Quote (Overanalyzer)

How advanced is your world? I noticed that there was a really old library, with maps that are still easily accessible that are up to 8 centuries old. Even Congress doesn't offer stuff that old, and you'll be hard pressed to find any manuscript greater than 3 centuries old in public display, much less publically accessible.

Slightly more advanced and forward-thinking than the one portrayed in FF6. Remember that the story makes it clear that they were as advanced back then and likely more so.

And I didn't say the maps were 800 years old, the maps PORTRAYED are 800 years old. Know how we've got maps drawn out of China and the Persian Empire that show empires millenia old? Yeah. In fact, the hints I dropped pretty much say the maps are ones compiled from archaelogical studies and sources.

Quote (More of the same)

I found it wierd that Iani jumped up in the library, even though Jen was moving so briskly. Not so much wierd, it fits into my perception of Iani's innate skills, but not that one sequence with Hans. But I'm just being nitpicky and trying to incite you into hitting me with a trout.  :-P

Two words: Padded Feet.

Three more words: Distracted By Gracie.

Three more words: Non-Combat Situation.

Two more more words: Read Closer.

Quote (Lost)

"even his lies were starting to sound fake"
I'm not even sure what that line meant.

Just think about it a bit. I can't describe it good enough unless you put yourself in her shoes and make yourself believe you're her long enough to feel what she feels. This is one of those things that's an emotion so raw you have to become the character in order to understand what they're feeling. It makes perfect sense to me, but it's one of those really indescribable feelings. Get it? :/

Yeah...

Quote (Crit)

You also started using bracketed statements around Chapter 4 which I'm not a big fan of. 
My suggestion is to change bracket statements into long dash seperated pieces. I'm not sure what the exact grammar term is.

I'll write how I want to, when I want to.

Period, stop.

Quote (Phew...)

"Jen was on the lookout for thieves and archaeologists, but luckily for them, nobody was around, given that it was a working holiday for the diggers."
Again, I'd love to see a description of the world you've imagined. Holidays for diggers implies a really sweet degree of social benefits in a primarily feduel society. I'd love to see how something like that appeared.

It's more of a republican society really, with royalty governing. They've got more freedoms than you think they do.

Quote (Does it never end? ;-; )

Chapter 4 fight scene was really long. I'm not one to ever complain about detail, but I think you needed to break that piece up with something else in the middle. The battle became repetitive and difficult to follow because of the length...

I liked it, it felt realistic to me, it felt right, and so it stays.

Quote (Sensei?)

Use of the word 'sensei' was kind of wierd. Are there innate Japanese tendencies amongst the Shi Rannith? The names were quite Japanese like, and the inclusion of Katanas seem to suggest as much.

Duh.

This post has been edited by Zephir on 27th November 2004 07:10

--------------------

~Status Report~

* Completed... Dragon's Head
* Completed... Soldiers of the Empire: Disciples (release pending)
* In Progress/Undecided... Of Love and Betrayal
* Planning/Assembly... Where it all Began

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

Your long Q&A posts always make me feel like I'm doing something terribly wrong and make me feel bad just seeing how much longer they keep getting. ;-;

No way! The longer the more enjoyable I'm finding it. After all, anything that makes the reader think is usually pretty good. If I'm giving you that impression, I can start listing off all the stuff you did well to balance out everything. I'm not sure if you want four page long replies though.

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

Anyway...

I knew going in that no matter how much I tried, I wouldn't have the time needed to make Butch, Max, and Crux mean anything to the reader, and the entire purpose of them WAS to be bit players.  That's just something that couldn't be avoided because of the way the story moves, period, stop.  The reader wasn't going to care unless I made them major characters, and I've already got plenty as it is and more on the way.  There's also the fact that elaborating on them more would drag down a part of the story already in danger of going too slow.  I was more worried about pacing at that point than filling out their characters.  Kit herself isn't even attached to them very much, you see, since they were basically coworkers she just now started working with (remember she got there under a year ago, so she's only worked with them maybe a few months).  That's just that.

Hmm, awesome. Then you definitely did that well. /me retracts complaints

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

And they did TOO have discernable personalities! >=(
- Crux: Silent, calculating, gruff.
- Butch: Boisterous, partying, excitable. A "tough guy".
- Max: Unbalanced, bipolar, abusive sense of humor, violent, unstable.

I'm really quite surprised you didn't pick that all up, I'm sure I gave plenty of hints, even going so far's to spell it out to you right in the middle of the text. =P

I have been owned!

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

Slightly more advanced and forward-thinking than the one portrayed in FF6.  Remember that the story makes it clear that they were as advanced back then and likely more so.

And I didn't say the maps were 800 years old, the maps PORTRAYED are 800 years old.  Know how we've got maps drawn out of China and the Persian Empire that show empires millenia old? Yeah.  In fact, the hints I dropped pretty much say the maps are ones compiled from archaelogical studies and sources.

What, you don't like me thinking too much?
I guess in this case I just read it differently or something. Somehow I got the mistaken impression those sources were incredibly old, rather than just maps of the era. My bad. It appears that the "I'm full of shit tonight" comment on IRC could apply to my notes that I made while reading.

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

Two words: Padded Feet.

Three more words: Distracted By Gracie.

Three more words: Non-Combat Situation.

Two more more words: Read Closer.

No trout smacking? I'm disappointed...

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

I'll write how I want to, when I want to.

Period, stop.

Sorry man. I'll cut down on the critical reading and give you one liners instead...

--------------------

Visions of Peace - Four Generals, One Empire, and the Returners caught in the middle.

Quote (Elessar @ 27th November 2004 11:06)

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

Two words: Padded Feet.

Three more words: Distracted By Gracie.

Three more words: Non-Combat Situation.

Two more more words: Read Closer.

No trout smacking? I'm disappointed...

Okay, *SMACK!*

Quote

Quote (Zephir @ 27th November 2004 02:59)

Your long Q&A posts always make me feel like I'm doing something terribly wrong and make me feel bad just seeing how much longer they keep getting. ;-;

No way! The longer the more enjoyable I'm finding it. After all, anything that makes the reader think is usually pretty good. If I'm giving you that impression, I can start listing off all the stuff you did well to balance out everything. I'm not sure if you want four page long replies though.

Mostly I just feel bad 'cause, to me, the writing should be clear enough that the reader can't ask too many questions like that. It should be clear enough for them to understand without having to ask a lot of basic questions, so what it comes down to is, I feel like I'm not doing my job right if I have to keep answering for myself like this.

Quote

Sorry man. I'll cut down on the critical reading and give you one liners instead...

I'm just very headstrong about my writing style, guy. I compromize for no one, myself included. Evidence: occasional disobeyance of conventional writing rules, no rewrites, no major re-edits after completion...

--------------------

~Status Report~

* Completed... Dragon's Head
* Completed... Soldiers of the Empire: Disciples (release pending)
* In Progress/Undecided... Of Love and Betrayal
* Planning/Assembly... Where it all Began