"What do we do now?" asked Koichi
"We must get a closer look at that crystal, Koichi." said Beschermer. "I don't know how, maybe you can go and talk to them, ask them a generic question and strike up a conversation."
"At once, master." said Koichi, standing up and walking over towards the group, stopping at a bookshelf first. He glanced over at the table and noticed the title of the book the girl was holding, "Les Miserables" and made his move.
"Excuse me, would you happen to be almost finished with that book?" he asked the girl. "Sorry, it's just I noticed you had it and there aren't any other copies on the shelf where it belongs." It just so happened that the correct shelf was right along the wall where they were all sitting, and the spot was empty.
"Oh, no, sorry. I just started it. I should have it back in a few days though, maybe you could check back then. I'm a fast reader, so mine will probably be back before most others." answered the girl. "By the way, my name's Fuu, and this is John and Tristan." said the girl with a hint of an oriental accent.
"My name's Ken. Fuu, huh? Doesn't that have something to do with "wind" in Japanese?" Koichi asked, intrigued. He glanced down at the table and there it was, the pure crystal of Wind, crystal clear with accents of a light blue/green hue. It was beautiful. Koichi quickly looked away and out of the corner of his eye saw Beschermer shift in his seat.
"Why yes, actually. How would you know that?" she asked. Koichi had once again changed back to the boy from Tampa, who was clearly nowhere near close to being of Japanese descent.
"Well, I'm a bit of a nerd...and I'm into Japanese culture and all that." he said. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, and thanks for the talk. I'll be sure to check back later. Hasta!" he said, walking off to pretend to look at another shelf before grabbing another random book and sitting back with Beschermer at their table.
~~~~~~~~~~~
10 minutes earlier:
Fuu, John, and Tristan were sitting at a table in the library when a boy about sixteen, with green eyes and black spiky hair and an older man, likely his father, walked up the stairs and sat down at a table a few yards away. Fuu watched them a moment and then resumed talking with her friends. They were talking about a school project that they had to do this week, coming up with a concept for the mandatory Science Fair. They all hated it, but it was being forced on them, and grades were being given. They had to do it.
Tristan glanced around the room a second and then stooped in close to whisper. "Listen, Fuu...how long do you want me to hold on to this thing for you?" he said, his hand reaching for his pocket.
"Well, I guess you can give it back now...I just wanted to hide it from Stacy while she was in town... she's obsessed with jewelry and I know she would have wanted it if she had seen me with it." Fuu answered.
"Great, I don't really like it very much, it seems really heavy in my pocket. It's almost like it's trying to get out." he said, reaching in his pocket and taking out the crystal and putting it on the table. "What's that symbol on it, anyways?"
"It's the ancient symbol for Wind, or Air, depending on the dialect or culture you're referencing." she answered.
A minute or two passed and the boy from the other table got up and walked over to the shelf a few feet away, looking on the shelf she had gotten her book from a few minutes ago. He then walked over and started talking to Fuu.
"Excuse me, would you happen to be almost finished with that book?" he asked. "Sorry, it's just I noticed you had it and there aren't any other copies on the shelf where it belongs."
"Oh, no, sorry. I just started it. I should have it back in a few days though, maybe you could check back then. I'm a fast reader, so mine will probably be back before most others." Fuu answered. "By the way, my name's Fuu, Fuu Ishida and this is John and Tristan." she said with a hint of an oriental accent. Her father was an American, while her mother was Japanese. They had met when he was in Japan for a school trip, and they had kept in touch and eventually married.
"My name's Ken. Fuu, huh? Doesn't that have something to do with "wind" in Japanese?" asked the boy.
"Why yes, actually. How would you know that?" she asked.
"Well, I'm a bit of a nerd...and I'm into Japanese culture and all that." he said. "Well, it was nice meeting you all, and thanks for the talk. I'll be sure to check back later. Hasta!" he said, turning and walking off to grab another book from the shelf and then sitting back down with his dad.
Fuu had a strange feeling about they boy. He had seen him glance at her crystal a few times during their short conversation, and then at the mention of her name, had recognized that it meant the same as her crystal's symbol. She was certain he was more than he appeared to be.
"That was random, huh Fuu?" asked John
"Yeah, and I had no idea that's what your name meant...no wonder you like that crystal thing so much." said Tristan.
"Yeah, that's one reason..." she said, glancing over at the boy again. He was talking with the older man who she thought was his father. Now she thought it might have been him that sent Ken to talk to her, maybe to find out about the crystal.
"Hey, we need to get to school, eh?" asked John, standing up and grabbing his pack.
"Yeah, let's go." answered Fuu, putting her crystal in her pocket and pulling her pack on, following John and Tristan down the stairs and out of sight of the two strangers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koichi and Beschermer saw the three get up and walk out. They had gotten enough information on the subject and decided not to pursue them.
"Her name's Fuu Ishida. She's the bearer of the crystal." said Koichi. "I'm sure of it."
"How can you be sure...the boy had it to begin with." asked Beschermer.
"Well, her name's Fuu which roughly translates to Wind...plus the boy gave it to her. he seemed to not want to hold on to it. And she goes to the school down the road. I saw the name on her backpack. If we need to find her, we can always go there."
"Fair enough...I think we've got all we need. I'll call Drake and tell him we're on our way back. I need to give those two a little more training before we go. I think they're ready to move up a level in their elemental control." he said.
"Alright then, how will we get back this time?" asked Koichi
"There's not always going to be an easy way to travel, for now we'll travel on foot. But on our way back this time, we'll use our abilities...we'll be there by nightfall." he answered.
Beschermer pulled out his cell phone as they walked outside and into the California sun. He dialed Drake's number to inform him of the situation. Unfortunately, he didn't pick up so Beschermer left a message. "I forgot, they're at school now, there's a time difference here." he said, embarrassed. "Maybe he'll call at lunch or something..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drake led Erika out into the hallway and spotted an empty bench. They sat down and Erika leaned on his shoulder, quietly sobbing. She was beginning to calm herself, breathing hard and the tears gradually stopped after a few minutes. "Erika, this might not be the best time, but there's something I want to talk to you about..." said Drake "It's kinda important, and I'm not sure how much long I can wait with things going at this rate."
"Sure, what's up?" she asked, mentally preparing herself to get gently let down, her heart broken again. She was sure he was going to say it was just too much, and they should stop hanging out.
END Ch. 14
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Chapter 13: Telephone
Drake awoke the next morning and looked around him, groggily. It took him a moment to realize he had no idea where he was. Then it came to him; he was still at Erika's house! Somehow they had fallen asleep on the couch last night during the movie and slept through the night. Drake looked down and saw a huge blanket covering the two of them. "Her sister must have come home." Drake thought.
All of a sudden a wave of panic washed over Drake. He had to call home and explain what had happened, his mom was sure to be royally pissed by now. He worked out what he would say in his mind first, then he lifted Erika up a little, just enough to get off the couch without waking her up. He set her back down and covered her again, walking out into the hall and dialing home.
"Hello?" a young female voice answered sleepily.
"Sophie?" Drake asked, before continuing. "Listen, does mom know I'm not there?"
"Umm, she got in real late last night. She went straight to bed and crashed."
"Good, I'll be home in about 20 minutes...will she still be out, you think?" he asked
"Yeah, I think so. But...you're gonna owe me big for covering this up...first, i want a full explanation when you get here. We'll talk after school about the details." she said
-CLICK-
"Wonderful, now I'm gonna have to do her slave work for a month or something..." Drake thought.
Drake walked back in the living room and was surprised to see Erika sleepily staring at him. She stood up and shuffled over to him, stopping inches away from him. "I'm sorry I got you in this mess," she said "I should have known we would fall asleep. If you get in trouble, please...blame it on me." she said, grabbing him and giving him a hug. "Now you need to get home A.S.A.P. mister, the quicker the better. I'll see you on the bus, kay?"
Drake was speechless. His mind was swimming and all he could manage was a weak "Kay," before grabbing his bag and walking out the door. He turned and smiled at Erika, standing in the doorway, and managed to regain his composure. "See ya in a bit! And don't worry...I'll take the fall if something happens. I don't want you getting involved if possible." he said, turning and running in the direction of the park.
Drake passed the park and kept on running all the way to his house. "Maybe I should go for Track." he thought. His sister was waiting by the front door and quietly opened it for him, letting him in.
"Go on and get a shower and ready for school...we'll talk at breakfast." said Sophie.
"Kay, I'll be down in a few. And thanks, even though you're totally using me, you're helping because deep down, you care." he said with a sarcastic grin.
Drake showered and got dressed, slipping his pack back on and heading downstairs. Sophie had just poured herself a bowl of cereal and had set an empty bowl by the next seat. Drake walked in and sat down, getting his food as well. "So," she said "Where were you? Or should I say...who were you with?"
"I was at Erika's house," he began, noting the surprised look on her face and quickly explained. "We were watching a movie last night, and we fell asleep on the couch. I woke up this morning and called right away."
"Well well, my little brother finally got some action."
"It's not like that..." he said
"Yeah, I bet. Look, I don't blame you...she's pretty, smart, and she's kinda in with the popular crowd. She's your ticket in, if there is a ticket for you at all. Whatever you two were doing, I don't care...just be safe, kiddo. I don't want to be an aunt anytime soon."
"Yeah, and I want to be an uncle?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." she answered.
Drake glanced at the clock and saw it was almost time for the bus. He cleaned his bowl and put the stuff away before walking out the door. He could hear the bus in the distance and determined the bus was about 3 minutes away. As if by magic, exactly three minutes later the bus came into view, a block away. It pulled up to Drake's house and opened the door so Drake could get on. He walked to the back, as usual, and sat down, scooting over to make room for Erika to sit when she got on. "Wow, maybe this is more than I thought...first last night, it kinda turned into a date, then that hug this morning...that was more than a regular hug, and now I'm making room for her to sit with me without even knowing it." he thought.
The bus continued on it's path, picking up a few more kids, most of whom sat near the front. Soon it stopped at Erika's and she got on. She walked to the back, smiling at Drake, then sat down next to him and set her bag down next to his on the floor in front of them. "Saved me a seat, I see." she said, grinning.
"Not like anyone else would have sat here anyways, but yeah, I made sure to leave your spot." he grinned.
"You're lucky I sat with you, mister." she said "Otherwise you would have been keeping a seat for someone sitting in the front."
Drake paused.
"I'm kidding silly, of course I wanted to sit with you. Why wouldn't I? We're...friends." she said carefully. "Right?"
"Uh, yeah...friends." Drake said as the bus lurched forward again, heading off to school.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you okay, Drake?" asked Erika when she saw him before their first of two classes together. "You're acting kinda weird."
"Yeah, I'm fine." answered Drake, realizing he was glaring at the ground.
"Well, if there's something bothering you, don't feel bad about sharing with me. I'm a good listener."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ugh." grunted Erika, slamming her tray down on the cafeteria table in front of Drake.
"Umm, you okay there, Erika?" Drake asked
"I'm fine, I guess. Have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"Some anal retentive person started a rumor about us..." she said, a tear forming in her eye
"What kind of rumor?" Drake asked, immediately thinking of his sister.
"A nasty one, an untrue one, one about us last night. Everyone in the school's saying we had sex last night!" she whispered the last part, face welling up with tears.
"Sophie." he said, his eyes narrowing.
"Huh? You're sister? You think she started it?" she sobbed
"I'm positive. I'm gonna go chew her ass out right now."
Drake marched over to where his sister sat, in the middle of the cafeteria. "What the hell is your problem, Soph?" he demanded.
"What's yours? What did I do now?" she answered
"You know very well what you did, the whole school's talking about it now." he said.
The rest of the table stood up and shuffled away, wanting to get out of there A.S.A.P.
Sophie grinned. "As much as I'd love to take the credit for that, it wasn't me. I haven't told a single person." she said
"Oh yeah, then who the heck did? I haven't told anyone else about what happened, and she's absolutely devastated about it, so she clearly didn't either." fumed Drake
"I've got no idea...maybe someone saw the two of you at her house last night or something. Please believe me, it wasn't me. I promised I'd keep it quiet, and I made sure not to mention to anyone, even when people asked me about you two." she said. "Maybe it got out of control, like that kids game, telephone. The story could have changed a hundred times as it was passed from person to person. And you know how some of the idiots are here...not a brain cell to their name."
Somehow, Drake believed her...he couldn't explain it, despite all evidence to the contrary, Sophie didn't start this. Now he had to find out who did...the easiest way is to ask around and see who people heard it from, eventually he might reach the true source, if people weren't covering for them. He walked back over to Erika, who was discreetly crying, making sure not to look at anyone. "Erika, it wasn't her...but I'm going to do everything i can to find out who it was. Someone had to have been spying on us last night, there's just no other way." he said
She dabbed her eyes with her napkin. "I'll help too. If it's that serious, you're gonna need help." she squeaked.
Drake was fuming. How could someone do something like that? What justification or proof did they have to start a rumor like that, and why would someone start it, even if it was true? Erika was still silently crying, and Drake couldn't stand it. He wanted to comfort her, but in this crowd, it would only make the rumors worse, somehow. "Come on, let's get out of here...away from all these people." he said, leading her out into the hall.
END Ch. 13
All of a sudden a wave of panic washed over Drake. He had to call home and explain what had happened, his mom was sure to be royally pissed by now. He worked out what he would say in his mind first, then he lifted Erika up a little, just enough to get off the couch without waking her up. He set her back down and covered her again, walking out into the hall and dialing home.
"Hello?" a young female voice answered sleepily.
"Sophie?" Drake asked, before continuing. "Listen, does mom know I'm not there?"
"Umm, she got in real late last night. She went straight to bed and crashed."
"Good, I'll be home in about 20 minutes...will she still be out, you think?" he asked
"Yeah, I think so. But...you're gonna owe me big for covering this up...first, i want a full explanation when you get here. We'll talk after school about the details." she said
-CLICK-
"Wonderful, now I'm gonna have to do her slave work for a month or something..." Drake thought.
Drake walked back in the living room and was surprised to see Erika sleepily staring at him. She stood up and shuffled over to him, stopping inches away from him. "I'm sorry I got you in this mess," she said "I should have known we would fall asleep. If you get in trouble, please...blame it on me." she said, grabbing him and giving him a hug. "Now you need to get home A.S.A.P. mister, the quicker the better. I'll see you on the bus, kay?"
Drake was speechless. His mind was swimming and all he could manage was a weak "Kay," before grabbing his bag and walking out the door. He turned and smiled at Erika, standing in the doorway, and managed to regain his composure. "See ya in a bit! And don't worry...I'll take the fall if something happens. I don't want you getting involved if possible." he said, turning and running in the direction of the park.
Drake passed the park and kept on running all the way to his house. "Maybe I should go for Track." he thought. His sister was waiting by the front door and quietly opened it for him, letting him in.
"Go on and get a shower and ready for school...we'll talk at breakfast." said Sophie.
"Kay, I'll be down in a few. And thanks, even though you're totally using me, you're helping because deep down, you care." he said with a sarcastic grin.
Drake showered and got dressed, slipping his pack back on and heading downstairs. Sophie had just poured herself a bowl of cereal and had set an empty bowl by the next seat. Drake walked in and sat down, getting his food as well. "So," she said "Where were you? Or should I say...who were you with?"
"I was at Erika's house," he began, noting the surprised look on her face and quickly explained. "We were watching a movie last night, and we fell asleep on the couch. I woke up this morning and called right away."
"Well well, my little brother finally got some action."
"It's not like that..." he said
"Yeah, I bet. Look, I don't blame you...she's pretty, smart, and she's kinda in with the popular crowd. She's your ticket in, if there is a ticket for you at all. Whatever you two were doing, I don't care...just be safe, kiddo. I don't want to be an aunt anytime soon."
"Yeah, and I want to be an uncle?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." she answered.
Drake glanced at the clock and saw it was almost time for the bus. He cleaned his bowl and put the stuff away before walking out the door. He could hear the bus in the distance and determined the bus was about 3 minutes away. As if by magic, exactly three minutes later the bus came into view, a block away. It pulled up to Drake's house and opened the door so Drake could get on. He walked to the back, as usual, and sat down, scooting over to make room for Erika to sit when she got on. "Wow, maybe this is more than I thought...first last night, it kinda turned into a date, then that hug this morning...that was more than a regular hug, and now I'm making room for her to sit with me without even knowing it." he thought.
The bus continued on it's path, picking up a few more kids, most of whom sat near the front. Soon it stopped at Erika's and she got on. She walked to the back, smiling at Drake, then sat down next to him and set her bag down next to his on the floor in front of them. "Saved me a seat, I see." she said, grinning.
"Not like anyone else would have sat here anyways, but yeah, I made sure to leave your spot." he grinned.
"You're lucky I sat with you, mister." she said "Otherwise you would have been keeping a seat for someone sitting in the front."
Drake paused.
"I'm kidding silly, of course I wanted to sit with you. Why wouldn't I? We're...friends." she said carefully. "Right?"
"Uh, yeah...friends." Drake said as the bus lurched forward again, heading off to school.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you okay, Drake?" asked Erika when she saw him before their first of two classes together. "You're acting kinda weird."
"Yeah, I'm fine." answered Drake, realizing he was glaring at the ground.
"Well, if there's something bothering you, don't feel bad about sharing with me. I'm a good listener."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ugh." grunted Erika, slamming her tray down on the cafeteria table in front of Drake.
"Umm, you okay there, Erika?" Drake asked
"I'm fine, I guess. Have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"Some anal retentive person started a rumor about us..." she said, a tear forming in her eye
"What kind of rumor?" Drake asked, immediately thinking of his sister.
"A nasty one, an untrue one, one about us last night. Everyone in the school's saying we had sex last night!" she whispered the last part, face welling up with tears.
"Sophie." he said, his eyes narrowing.
"Huh? You're sister? You think she started it?" she sobbed
"I'm positive. I'm gonna go chew her ass out right now."
Drake marched over to where his sister sat, in the middle of the cafeteria. "What the hell is your problem, Soph?" he demanded.
"What's yours? What did I do now?" she answered
"You know very well what you did, the whole school's talking about it now." he said.
The rest of the table stood up and shuffled away, wanting to get out of there A.S.A.P.
Sophie grinned. "As much as I'd love to take the credit for that, it wasn't me. I haven't told a single person." she said
"Oh yeah, then who the heck did? I haven't told anyone else about what happened, and she's absolutely devastated about it, so she clearly didn't either." fumed Drake
"I've got no idea...maybe someone saw the two of you at her house last night or something. Please believe me, it wasn't me. I promised I'd keep it quiet, and I made sure not to mention to anyone, even when people asked me about you two." she said. "Maybe it got out of control, like that kids game, telephone. The story could have changed a hundred times as it was passed from person to person. And you know how some of the idiots are here...not a brain cell to their name."
Somehow, Drake believed her...he couldn't explain it, despite all evidence to the contrary, Sophie didn't start this. Now he had to find out who did...the easiest way is to ask around and see who people heard it from, eventually he might reach the true source, if people weren't covering for them. He walked back over to Erika, who was discreetly crying, making sure not to look at anyone. "Erika, it wasn't her...but I'm going to do everything i can to find out who it was. Someone had to have been spying on us last night, there's just no other way." he said
She dabbed her eyes with her napkin. "I'll help too. If it's that serious, you're gonna need help." she squeaked.
Drake was fuming. How could someone do something like that? What justification or proof did they have to start a rumor like that, and why would someone start it, even if it was true? Erika was still silently crying, and Drake couldn't stand it. He wanted to comfort her, but in this crowd, it would only make the rumors worse, somehow. "Come on, let's get out of here...away from all these people." he said, leading her out into the hall.
END Ch. 13
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Chapter 12: Trolley
Somewhere in the Nevada Desert, two lone figures walked briskly in the moonlight. They were careful as to not stray too far from their chosen path, so they wouldn't get too close to any cities. These two figures were moving quickly, methodically, and purposefully; they were on a mission, a mission of immense importance.
"Master, what are we to do in the case of the corrupted crystals?" asked Koichi.
"My friend, I've told you...in most of these cases, and in particular those of the corrupted crystals...we are to abstain from contact with them. We will locate them, tail them to determine their identities and where they live, and be sure that they are safe and otherwise unknown. For the time being, the main focus of our duties is to locate the new bearers and to create and maintain a list of their identities and last known whereabouts." said Beschermer.
"Shouldn't we warn them? At least the bearers of the Pure Crystals?" asked the younger.
"The time will come for that, but we need to at least track them down as quickly as possible. When we move on to a new continent, we will need to look into a new mode of transportation...but the matter of obtaining the amount and type of currency we will need is a difficult one. Drake and Erika might be able to help us out in some way with that..." answered Beschermer.
It was almost sunrise when the two reached the outskirts of their target destination, the place where the closest crystal now resided, according to Koichi's heightened senses, and the equipment he had managed to fabricate to manifest his powers. They had been led to California, San Francisco, to be exact.
"Somewhere in this city lies another crystal, master." said Koichi. "Hopefully soon I will be able to tweak this contraption to be more specific as to which crystal we are looking for. For now, we will have to make due with our senses, I suppose."
"Ah, that would be nice, my friend... make sure to work on that as soon as you can." he said, heading off towards the heart of the city.
Koichi had another particularly useful ability in his repertoire; the ability to change his physical appearance at will. He could make himself look like a more human version of himself, or any other person in the world that was around his size. He could change any individual part of his appearance to match that of any he had seen before, adding to his bag of tricks with every human he laid eyes on. This particularly came in handy when entering a big city. Hiding his draconian appearance was critical when moving among average humans, as it would give both he and Beschermer away if his true form had been seen.
Today, he was sporting the look of a young boy, roughly sixteen years old with short jet black hair that was spiked up in the latest fashion and piercing green eyes. His imitation of a boy he had seen back in Tampa was spot on, down to the last freckle. He needed to work on portraying actual people, as it was bound to affect someone, somewhere eventually...causing someone to think they had seen that individual a world away when they had, in fact never left their hometown within months or years. Today, he felt a little lazy and went with this kid who had worked in a music store across the street from the hotel they were staying at.
Koichi looked down at his instrument, it had a greenish screen with a brightly colored map of the area within10 miles. They had narrowed it down within 8 miles of their target, but needed to wait until they got within 5 to reduce the range, thus enlarging the map. "Their location hasn't changed at all in the past two hours, master." he said
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they were at school. it seems a nice chunk of this generation is turning out to be children and young adults." he said
"Good point." replied Koichi
They saw a sign advertising a free Trolley ride in exchange for taking a survey about the city and decided to check it out. "Koichi, quick, change your appearance to look more Japanese, so your name fits you better. You don't look like a 'Koichi' to me." Beschermer said with a grin on his face.
The young kid walked down an alley and reappeared moments later, now looking like a Japanese tourist, here to see the sights. They walked to the booth and sat through the whole speel about what they were doing today and how they could get a free Trolley ride by just answering a few questions and providing their names. They filled out cards in the names 'Koichi' and 'Ben' Sugimura. Luckily, Beschermer had the look about him that allowed him to pass for virtually any race on the planet. Once they answered a few vague questions about the city, rating the sights, food, etc on a scale of 1-10, they were thanked and given a special token that was to be presented to the Trolley man when their trolley came and they were ready to go.
The trolley ride was fairly relaxing for the two, they took in the sights and sounds of the city, keeping an eye on their target, a small blinking dot on the monitor. They were now within 2 miles and could see almost exactly where the person was. They had it pinpointed to a large building, somewhere near the East side of it. Soon the trolley was within a hundred yards of where they needed to get off to cut across, so they got up and walked to the trolley man, telling him where to let them off. "No problem guys, that's actually one of the scheduled stops anyways!" said the man, easily amused.
They got off and crossed the street quickly before the next wave of traffic hit. five minutes later, they had reached their target area. The building was a library, an excellent place to observe someone undetected. Koichi pinpointed the location to the second floor, east wing, so the walked in and browsed a bit before heading upstairs.
When they reached the top of the stairs, they found three people in the area they needed to search. Unfortunately, the machine could not determine which of the three, they were in close proximity...all sitting at a round table along the wall. The two set up at a table a few yards away, both sitting where they could watch, yet seem like they were actually doing something. Koichi walked over and got a couple books to pretend to read.
"Which one is it, Master?" Koichi asked.
"I...I'm not sure. Whoever it is, they have the crystal on them, but it's not visible. None of them are wearing anything around their necks, and none have bracelets or anything. It's probably in a pocket." answered Beschermer, glancing in their direction before looking at his book.
"Master, look at the boy on the left's leg pocket. There's a bulge about the size of a crystal, do you see it?" he asked
"Mmm, that I do. That is more than likely our target, I just wish I could see it, even for an instant. We need to identify it before moving on." he said
Just then, as if on cue, the boy reached into his pocket and pulled something out, showing it to his friends. His arm was in the way for a moment, but then it was clearly visible to Koichi, just for a moment. The boy then placed it on the table, and out of their sight.
"Did you notice what color it was, Koichi?" Beschermer asked
" It was a light color...either white or a light blue color." he answered.
"Well, that narrows it down to one of six crystals then...he possesses one of the spirits of either Light, Ice, or Wind."
End Ch. 12
"Master, what are we to do in the case of the corrupted crystals?" asked Koichi.
"My friend, I've told you...in most of these cases, and in particular those of the corrupted crystals...we are to abstain from contact with them. We will locate them, tail them to determine their identities and where they live, and be sure that they are safe and otherwise unknown. For the time being, the main focus of our duties is to locate the new bearers and to create and maintain a list of their identities and last known whereabouts." said Beschermer.
"Shouldn't we warn them? At least the bearers of the Pure Crystals?" asked the younger.
"The time will come for that, but we need to at least track them down as quickly as possible. When we move on to a new continent, we will need to look into a new mode of transportation...but the matter of obtaining the amount and type of currency we will need is a difficult one. Drake and Erika might be able to help us out in some way with that..." answered Beschermer.
It was almost sunrise when the two reached the outskirts of their target destination, the place where the closest crystal now resided, according to Koichi's heightened senses, and the equipment he had managed to fabricate to manifest his powers. They had been led to California, San Francisco, to be exact.
"Somewhere in this city lies another crystal, master." said Koichi. "Hopefully soon I will be able to tweak this contraption to be more specific as to which crystal we are looking for. For now, we will have to make due with our senses, I suppose."
"Ah, that would be nice, my friend... make sure to work on that as soon as you can." he said, heading off towards the heart of the city.
Koichi had another particularly useful ability in his repertoire; the ability to change his physical appearance at will. He could make himself look like a more human version of himself, or any other person in the world that was around his size. He could change any individual part of his appearance to match that of any he had seen before, adding to his bag of tricks with every human he laid eyes on. This particularly came in handy when entering a big city. Hiding his draconian appearance was critical when moving among average humans, as it would give both he and Beschermer away if his true form had been seen.
Today, he was sporting the look of a young boy, roughly sixteen years old with short jet black hair that was spiked up in the latest fashion and piercing green eyes. His imitation of a boy he had seen back in Tampa was spot on, down to the last freckle. He needed to work on portraying actual people, as it was bound to affect someone, somewhere eventually...causing someone to think they had seen that individual a world away when they had, in fact never left their hometown within months or years. Today, he felt a little lazy and went with this kid who had worked in a music store across the street from the hotel they were staying at.
Koichi looked down at his instrument, it had a greenish screen with a brightly colored map of the area within10 miles. They had narrowed it down within 8 miles of their target, but needed to wait until they got within 5 to reduce the range, thus enlarging the map. "Their location hasn't changed at all in the past two hours, master." he said
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they were at school. it seems a nice chunk of this generation is turning out to be children and young adults." he said
"Good point." replied Koichi
They saw a sign advertising a free Trolley ride in exchange for taking a survey about the city and decided to check it out. "Koichi, quick, change your appearance to look more Japanese, so your name fits you better. You don't look like a 'Koichi' to me." Beschermer said with a grin on his face.
The young kid walked down an alley and reappeared moments later, now looking like a Japanese tourist, here to see the sights. They walked to the booth and sat through the whole speel about what they were doing today and how they could get a free Trolley ride by just answering a few questions and providing their names. They filled out cards in the names 'Koichi' and 'Ben' Sugimura. Luckily, Beschermer had the look about him that allowed him to pass for virtually any race on the planet. Once they answered a few vague questions about the city, rating the sights, food, etc on a scale of 1-10, they were thanked and given a special token that was to be presented to the Trolley man when their trolley came and they were ready to go.
The trolley ride was fairly relaxing for the two, they took in the sights and sounds of the city, keeping an eye on their target, a small blinking dot on the monitor. They were now within 2 miles and could see almost exactly where the person was. They had it pinpointed to a large building, somewhere near the East side of it. Soon the trolley was within a hundred yards of where they needed to get off to cut across, so they got up and walked to the trolley man, telling him where to let them off. "No problem guys, that's actually one of the scheduled stops anyways!" said the man, easily amused.
They got off and crossed the street quickly before the next wave of traffic hit. five minutes later, they had reached their target area. The building was a library, an excellent place to observe someone undetected. Koichi pinpointed the location to the second floor, east wing, so the walked in and browsed a bit before heading upstairs.
When they reached the top of the stairs, they found three people in the area they needed to search. Unfortunately, the machine could not determine which of the three, they were in close proximity...all sitting at a round table along the wall. The two set up at a table a few yards away, both sitting where they could watch, yet seem like they were actually doing something. Koichi walked over and got a couple books to pretend to read.
"Which one is it, Master?" Koichi asked.
"I...I'm not sure. Whoever it is, they have the crystal on them, but it's not visible. None of them are wearing anything around their necks, and none have bracelets or anything. It's probably in a pocket." answered Beschermer, glancing in their direction before looking at his book.
"Master, look at the boy on the left's leg pocket. There's a bulge about the size of a crystal, do you see it?" he asked
"Mmm, that I do. That is more than likely our target, I just wish I could see it, even for an instant. We need to identify it before moving on." he said
Just then, as if on cue, the boy reached into his pocket and pulled something out, showing it to his friends. His arm was in the way for a moment, but then it was clearly visible to Koichi, just for a moment. The boy then placed it on the table, and out of their sight.
"Did you notice what color it was, Koichi?" Beschermer asked
" It was a light color...either white or a light blue color." he answered.
"Well, that narrows it down to one of six crystals then...he possesses one of the spirits of either Light, Ice, or Wind."
End Ch. 12
Monday, July 28, 2008
Chapter 11: Orange Chicken
As Erika and Drake made their way to Erika's house, Drake had the recurring feeling that they were being watched. Not only watched, but followed. He kept glancing back every minute or so, but there was never anyone within view. "I hope I'm just paranoid..." Drake thought.
After a nice walk, they reached their destination and Erika peeped inside before letting Drake in. "Just wanted to be sure my sister was gone...hehe." she said.
"Am I not allowed to meet her or something?" asked Drake
"No, it's not that...it's just that she's...not very nice. I know she wouldn't leave us alone the whole time you're here. You'll meet her eventually, if you keep coming over."
"Okay...and what about your mom, she's out of town, right?" asked Drake, hoping he didn't sound like he was trying to take advantage of her empty house or anything.
"Yup, but she'll be back in a couple days...then my sister will be a little nicer too." she smiled back
They both scrounged around a while and couldn't find anything to put together an actual meal from. Erika pulled out a Chinese restaurant menu and asked if he liked Chinese. "You bet I do!" he answered. "But let me buy...from the looks of your food situation here, you might need the extra cash to survive until your mom gets back." Drake said, smiling.
"But I can," she started
"Please, it's my treat..." he pleaded.
"Fine, but next time I buy." she said, a playful grin spreading across her face.
Drake smiled. "So, what do you usually get?" he asked
"Well, I typically get a Pint of Orange Chicken, with some White Rice and an egg roll. But I'm not picky...look and see what you want, and I'll have that." she answered.
"Actually, that's what I always get too, haha. How about a Quart of each and a couple egg rolls?"
"Sounds good! I'll order for ya." she said. "They deliver, so we don't have to worry about going after it."
Erika picked up the phone, dialed the number and winked at Drake before leaving the room. Drake plopped down on the couch in the living room and relaxed a minute.
"Is this...turning into a date?" he thought. "I don't wanna do something dumb here and ruin my chances later on...better play this slow and see if she's thinking the same way."h
Erika came back in the room a minute later and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. "Go ahead and flip through and find something you wanna watch, anything's fine with me." she said. "Oh! Do you want something to drink? We've got water, milk, Coke, Sprite, Apple Juice and Mountain Dew." she said, ticking them off on her fingers.
"Um, only if you're already getting yourself something...if not, don't bother, I'm good for a while." he said
"Oh, it's no trouble, and yeah, I'm getting me a drink."
"Alright then...a Sprite sounds good. Thanks." he said, beaming.
Erika hurried into the kitchen and brought back two cans of sprite, handing one to Drake and then laying down on the couch, resting against him. Drake's eyes widened for a second, he was surprised by what she had done. He caught himself and looked down at her. She was looking up at him, smiling. "What is it, Sprite cold?" she asked.
"Nah, it's nothing." he said, smiling back at her.
They sat and watched an episode of Scrubs, and right after the credits ran, the doorbell rang. It was the delivery girl from the restaurant with the food. Drake answered the door and paid the girl, but noticed a flirty grin on her face. "Thanks for the food." he said, beginning to close the door.
"My name's Misty," she said. "What's yours."
"Uh, Drake..."
"Do you think you might wanna-" she started. She saw Erika standing behind him with a menacing look on her face. "Umm, nevermind. bye!" she turned and scuffled back to her car.
Drake turned around to see what she had been looking at and saw Erika there, smiling.
"What were you doing to her?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all." she said, beaming. "She just saw me here with you and decided she was out of luck, I guess."
"Mhmm, I'm sure that's it." he said, making a mental note to roll his eyes when she wasn't looking at him.
They got their food all set up and went back to the couch to eat. "Mmm, I haven't had Orange Chicken this good in a long time!" said Drake
"Yeah, there's something different. Maybe they changed the recipe or something." Erika said.
Outside, a hooded figure stood outside the window behind Drake and Erika. They had seen the Delivery girl walk up and had high-tailed it for the back of the house.
"Hmm, I guess they really are getting along pretty well, huh. I guess I'll have to do something about that. Drake's going to be mine, and mine alone." said the figure
The figure slowly walked away from the window and then took off running toward the street, then ran down the street, into the darkness.
END Ch. 11
After a nice walk, they reached their destination and Erika peeped inside before letting Drake in. "Just wanted to be sure my sister was gone...hehe." she said.
"Am I not allowed to meet her or something?" asked Drake
"No, it's not that...it's just that she's...not very nice. I know she wouldn't leave us alone the whole time you're here. You'll meet her eventually, if you keep coming over."
"Okay...and what about your mom, she's out of town, right?" asked Drake, hoping he didn't sound like he was trying to take advantage of her empty house or anything.
"Yup, but she'll be back in a couple days...then my sister will be a little nicer too." she smiled back
They both scrounged around a while and couldn't find anything to put together an actual meal from. Erika pulled out a Chinese restaurant menu and asked if he liked Chinese. "You bet I do!" he answered. "But let me buy...from the looks of your food situation here, you might need the extra cash to survive until your mom gets back." Drake said, smiling.
"But I can," she started
"Please, it's my treat..." he pleaded.
"Fine, but next time I buy." she said, a playful grin spreading across her face.
Drake smiled. "So, what do you usually get?" he asked
"Well, I typically get a Pint of Orange Chicken, with some White Rice and an egg roll. But I'm not picky...look and see what you want, and I'll have that." she answered.
"Actually, that's what I always get too, haha. How about a Quart of each and a couple egg rolls?"
"Sounds good! I'll order for ya." she said. "They deliver, so we don't have to worry about going after it."
Erika picked up the phone, dialed the number and winked at Drake before leaving the room. Drake plopped down on the couch in the living room and relaxed a minute.
"Is this...turning into a date?" he thought. "I don't wanna do something dumb here and ruin my chances later on...better play this slow and see if she's thinking the same way."h
Erika came back in the room a minute later and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. "Go ahead and flip through and find something you wanna watch, anything's fine with me." she said. "Oh! Do you want something to drink? We've got water, milk, Coke, Sprite, Apple Juice and Mountain Dew." she said, ticking them off on her fingers.
"Um, only if you're already getting yourself something...if not, don't bother, I'm good for a while." he said
"Oh, it's no trouble, and yeah, I'm getting me a drink."
"Alright then...a Sprite sounds good. Thanks." he said, beaming.
Erika hurried into the kitchen and brought back two cans of sprite, handing one to Drake and then laying down on the couch, resting against him. Drake's eyes widened for a second, he was surprised by what she had done. He caught himself and looked down at her. She was looking up at him, smiling. "What is it, Sprite cold?" she asked.
"Nah, it's nothing." he said, smiling back at her.
They sat and watched an episode of Scrubs, and right after the credits ran, the doorbell rang. It was the delivery girl from the restaurant with the food. Drake answered the door and paid the girl, but noticed a flirty grin on her face. "Thanks for the food." he said, beginning to close the door.
"My name's Misty," she said. "What's yours."
"Uh, Drake..."
"Do you think you might wanna-" she started. She saw Erika standing behind him with a menacing look on her face. "Umm, nevermind. bye!" she turned and scuffled back to her car.
Drake turned around to see what she had been looking at and saw Erika there, smiling.
"What were you doing to her?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all." she said, beaming. "She just saw me here with you and decided she was out of luck, I guess."
"Mhmm, I'm sure that's it." he said, making a mental note to roll his eyes when she wasn't looking at him.
They got their food all set up and went back to the couch to eat. "Mmm, I haven't had Orange Chicken this good in a long time!" said Drake
"Yeah, there's something different. Maybe they changed the recipe or something." Erika said.
Outside, a hooded figure stood outside the window behind Drake and Erika. They had seen the Delivery girl walk up and had high-tailed it for the back of the house.
"Hmm, I guess they really are getting along pretty well, huh. I guess I'll have to do something about that. Drake's going to be mine, and mine alone." said the figure
The figure slowly walked away from the window and then took off running toward the street, then ran down the street, into the darkness.
END Ch. 11
Chapter 10: Practice Makes Perfect
"So, what do you make of Fern?" asked Erika.
"Well, I'd like to believe her...and part of me does, but we both know that eventually, it will happen. The only way to prevent that is for her to give up the crystal or for it to be taken from her." said Drake.
"There's an idea..." she said
"Well, I have the feeling that it's not quite that easy to remove a crystal from its bearer. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some condition like it can't be passed on while the previous bearer is alive, or something like that." said Drake
"Wow, you might have a point there... and we don't want her dead...just not to be evil. What should we do?" she asked
"Well, Beschermer said to just keep an eye on her...he must know the exact conditions that need to be for that to happen, and he decided ti would be best for her to keep it, for now at least. I say we keep to the plan."
Erika cursed herself for not having the courage to ask what she really wanted to, but she reasoned with herself that it might be too early to ask something like that...after all, they had only known each other since yesterday. She was an idiot for even considering it, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the day progressed as usual, no interruptions or attacks on them during classes. Fern seemed to behave normal, only she clearly showed contempt for Drake now, as opposed to her blatant flirting in class the day before. She was now flirting with the guy in front of her in an obvious attempt to make Drake jealous.
"She's making an idiot out of herself now," Drake thought "That guy's a creep anyways. And what is she getting at trying to make me jealous? Whatever feelings I might have had for her have clearly passed on...and she knows how close Erika and I are getting, she's an idiot."
Drake and Erika had arranged to meet on the bus after school, as it was easier for them both. Both of their lockers were about the same distance from the bus stop, but on opposite ends of the school, and since they were going there anyways...why not?
Drake leaned against the pole with the "Bus Stop" sign attached and waited for Erika to show up. A couple minutes passed and he saw her face appear among the throng of kids making their ways from school to their various means of transportation. "Hey, what kept you?" he asked as she arrived by him and they started to walk on to the bus.
"Well, I was good to go and had just closed my locker and started to walk away...then I saw Fern walking in my direction." Erika answered. "She had a twisted look on her face, like she had just had the greatest idea in the history of the planet. Then when she got close to me, she bumped into me and knocked everything out of my hands and then walked off, laughing all the way down the hall."
"That's terrible!" Drake exclaimed "Good thing for her I wasn't there...did you say anything to her?"
"Well, i started to, but she walked off, and I kinda got surrounded by people. It seems like she's turned a lot of people against me too...she had her little minions surrounding me, keeping me from chasing after her." she said
"That's just plain wrong..." Drake sighed "But you're okay, right?"
"Well, I got this bruise on my arm from my book slamming into me, but other than that I'm fine, thanks." she smiled at Drake, showing him her arm.
"We both need to avoid her as much as possible...and try and make out who her 'friends' are...I know a few people that will be safe to be around, but they're not exactly your type of friend." he laughed. "As much as you claim not to be in the popular crowd, you're still used to hanging with popular kids and living the privileged life at school...most of my friends, if you can call them friends, are nerds, geeks, and losers... but they're almost 100% guaranteed not to turn to the dark side." Drake mentally slapped himself for making a Star Wars reference in such a serious conversation.
"No, really...that's fine. I'd like to meet your friends." she smiled
They got off at the stop by Drake's house again. They pretty much decided to do their training by Drake's house, then make their way to Erika's later and hang out if there wasn't anyone there. They made their way to the secluded park area and sat down under a shady tree.
"Okay, I think we should start out with that thing he told us to start...about controlling our powers outside of our immediate area." said Drake
"But...I don't have any water. I'm like useless right now." said Erika
"Here, I thought you might not have one." Drake smiled, pulling a water bottle out of his pack. "If you can, try and keep a bottle of water or something on you at all times. That way you can train anywhere, and if you're in a tight spot, you've got something to work with."
"Thanks." she smiled "I'll make sure to do that..."
Drake made a small ball of electricity in his palm, then slowly tried to move it away from him. It moved a little, then began to fizzle out.
"This is harder than it sounds...the farther it is from you, the more you have to concentrate, and the more energy I have to put out." said Drake
"But it's a little different for me." said Erika, balancing a sphere of water on a finger. "I'm not actually creating mine, it's already here...so I only have to concentrate on keeping it in the form I want and all that."
"Yeah, you got the easy power." said Drake, laughing. He lost concentration and the ball fizzled out and vanished. "Crap!"
As the hours flew by, they both progressed quite a bit and could maintain a distance of two feet.
"I wonder if shooting a small bolt out is any different than maintaining it here...it should be easier, right? I mean, I'm just shooting it out, and not controlling it after I release it." said Drake
"Sounds right to me...give it a shot." said Erika "And ignore my bad jokes." she blushed.
Drake laughed. he focused a second, and a ball of energy appeared in his hand. he looked around and found a large rock about 10 feet away. "Good a target as any, right?" he asked himself. He took careful aim and willed the energy in the direction of the rock. It shot out of his hand and hit the ground right in front of the rock. "Well, it's a miss, but it's a good start. It was a lot easier than focusing on maintaining it that whole time. A little practice and I should get pretty good at aiming that."
Erika wasn't as confident in her ability to control the water, and didn't want to waste any of it, so she kept practicing with her water orb...adding a little water every so often.
Drake noticed it was 6 o'clock and stood up. "We should probably get going to your place...it's gonna get dark in a half hour or so." he said.
Erika put the water back in the bottle and got up, brushing her pants off and walking over to Drake, grabbing his arm. "You wanna stay for dinner? My sister's out at a party tonight, so I have to fend for myself...I could use the company." she smiled at Drake.
"I'd love to." he smiled, starting out towards Erika's house with her in tow. She seemed reluctant to let go of him for some reason...
END Ch. 10
"Well, I'd like to believe her...and part of me does, but we both know that eventually, it will happen. The only way to prevent that is for her to give up the crystal or for it to be taken from her." said Drake.
"There's an idea..." she said
"Well, I have the feeling that it's not quite that easy to remove a crystal from its bearer. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some condition like it can't be passed on while the previous bearer is alive, or something like that." said Drake
"Wow, you might have a point there... and we don't want her dead...just not to be evil. What should we do?" she asked
"Well, Beschermer said to just keep an eye on her...he must know the exact conditions that need to be for that to happen, and he decided ti would be best for her to keep it, for now at least. I say we keep to the plan."
Erika cursed herself for not having the courage to ask what she really wanted to, but she reasoned with herself that it might be too early to ask something like that...after all, they had only known each other since yesterday. She was an idiot for even considering it, right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the day progressed as usual, no interruptions or attacks on them during classes. Fern seemed to behave normal, only she clearly showed contempt for Drake now, as opposed to her blatant flirting in class the day before. She was now flirting with the guy in front of her in an obvious attempt to make Drake jealous.
"She's making an idiot out of herself now," Drake thought "That guy's a creep anyways. And what is she getting at trying to make me jealous? Whatever feelings I might have had for her have clearly passed on...and she knows how close Erika and I are getting, she's an idiot."
Drake and Erika had arranged to meet on the bus after school, as it was easier for them both. Both of their lockers were about the same distance from the bus stop, but on opposite ends of the school, and since they were going there anyways...why not?
Drake leaned against the pole with the "Bus Stop" sign attached and waited for Erika to show up. A couple minutes passed and he saw her face appear among the throng of kids making their ways from school to their various means of transportation. "Hey, what kept you?" he asked as she arrived by him and they started to walk on to the bus.
"Well, I was good to go and had just closed my locker and started to walk away...then I saw Fern walking in my direction." Erika answered. "She had a twisted look on her face, like she had just had the greatest idea in the history of the planet. Then when she got close to me, she bumped into me and knocked everything out of my hands and then walked off, laughing all the way down the hall."
"That's terrible!" Drake exclaimed "Good thing for her I wasn't there...did you say anything to her?"
"Well, i started to, but she walked off, and I kinda got surrounded by people. It seems like she's turned a lot of people against me too...she had her little minions surrounding me, keeping me from chasing after her." she said
"That's just plain wrong..." Drake sighed "But you're okay, right?"
"Well, I got this bruise on my arm from my book slamming into me, but other than that I'm fine, thanks." she smiled at Drake, showing him her arm.
"We both need to avoid her as much as possible...and try and make out who her 'friends' are...I know a few people that will be safe to be around, but they're not exactly your type of friend." he laughed. "As much as you claim not to be in the popular crowd, you're still used to hanging with popular kids and living the privileged life at school...most of my friends, if you can call them friends, are nerds, geeks, and losers... but they're almost 100% guaranteed not to turn to the dark side." Drake mentally slapped himself for making a Star Wars reference in such a serious conversation.
"No, really...that's fine. I'd like to meet your friends." she smiled
They got off at the stop by Drake's house again. They pretty much decided to do their training by Drake's house, then make their way to Erika's later and hang out if there wasn't anyone there. They made their way to the secluded park area and sat down under a shady tree.
"Okay, I think we should start out with that thing he told us to start...about controlling our powers outside of our immediate area." said Drake
"But...I don't have any water. I'm like useless right now." said Erika
"Here, I thought you might not have one." Drake smiled, pulling a water bottle out of his pack. "If you can, try and keep a bottle of water or something on you at all times. That way you can train anywhere, and if you're in a tight spot, you've got something to work with."
"Thanks." she smiled "I'll make sure to do that..."
Drake made a small ball of electricity in his palm, then slowly tried to move it away from him. It moved a little, then began to fizzle out.
"This is harder than it sounds...the farther it is from you, the more you have to concentrate, and the more energy I have to put out." said Drake
"But it's a little different for me." said Erika, balancing a sphere of water on a finger. "I'm not actually creating mine, it's already here...so I only have to concentrate on keeping it in the form I want and all that."
"Yeah, you got the easy power." said Drake, laughing. He lost concentration and the ball fizzled out and vanished. "Crap!"
As the hours flew by, they both progressed quite a bit and could maintain a distance of two feet.
"I wonder if shooting a small bolt out is any different than maintaining it here...it should be easier, right? I mean, I'm just shooting it out, and not controlling it after I release it." said Drake
"Sounds right to me...give it a shot." said Erika "And ignore my bad jokes." she blushed.
Drake laughed. he focused a second, and a ball of energy appeared in his hand. he looked around and found a large rock about 10 feet away. "Good a target as any, right?" he asked himself. He took careful aim and willed the energy in the direction of the rock. It shot out of his hand and hit the ground right in front of the rock. "Well, it's a miss, but it's a good start. It was a lot easier than focusing on maintaining it that whole time. A little practice and I should get pretty good at aiming that."
Erika wasn't as confident in her ability to control the water, and didn't want to waste any of it, so she kept practicing with her water orb...adding a little water every so often.
Drake noticed it was 6 o'clock and stood up. "We should probably get going to your place...it's gonna get dark in a half hour or so." he said.
Erika put the water back in the bottle and got up, brushing her pants off and walking over to Drake, grabbing his arm. "You wanna stay for dinner? My sister's out at a party tonight, so I have to fend for myself...I could use the company." she smiled at Drake.
"I'd love to." he smiled, starting out towards Erika's house with her in tow. She seemed reluctant to let go of him for some reason...
END Ch. 10
Friday, July 25, 2008
Chapter 9: Confluence
The next day, Drake and Erika met up with Beschermer in the park again. Drake had stayed with them last night until Erika had been given an intense crash course in her powers...all of Drake's training over a week or so crammed into two short hours. She had been exhausted and he piggy backed her to his house and then took her home. He met her at her house and they walked to the park together.
"So, any idea where your next stop is?" asked Drake
"Well, Koichi has located another crystal in Texas, so we're heading that way first. There can't be too many here in the country, so we'll have to head to South America or Europe next, probably..." Beschermer answered. Seeing the look of disappointment on both of their faces, he added "But...we'll be back here before we leave the country. By that time you will both be farther along and ready for me to show you a few more things to work on."
"We'll do our best. Train every day, just like you said." said Erika
"Yup, and we'll keep you filled in on Fern. The more I think about it, the more I feel you're right...we'll eventually have to face her in some way...she can't be trusted." said Drake
"Speaking of..." started Beschermer. "There's one more thing I neglected to tell you. There's another out there like myself... you could say they're MY opposite. She works in the same job I do, helping the Bearers...only she is the one helping the corrupted crystal's bearers."
Something suddenly dawned on both of them. "So, could she have already gotten to Fern?!" they both asked.
"It's a possibility, but highly doubtful. I would have sensed her presence by now if she was here...but i was gone for a short time. Also, the way she acted last night, she seemed to not know very much about the whole situation... and Belinka is not the type of person to neglect her pupils...she wants them as strong as possible as quickly as possible. And unfortunately...the very nature of the corrupted crystals ensures that their bearers will grow more adept and more powerful MUCH quicker than you will...if you train at the same speed and intensity. If Fern has already met with Belinka...the two of you could be risking your very lives confronting her outside of school." said Beschermer.
"Because she probably wouldn't do anything there...she doesn't want her cover blown." said Erika.
"Exactly." said Drake "In fact...I think it's kinda fishy that she just shows up all of a sudden, right where two of us are. Do you think she might have been sent by this...Belinka?" he said, looking up at Beschermer.
"You know...that's very possible. She came from elsewhere...away from here, where she could have easily met Belinka and been trained and sent to keep an eye on you two. Keep an even keener eye on here then, I can't believe it didn't occur to me. Well...I think we'd best be off. I'll go collect Koichi and we're gone. Keep in touch, you two." he said, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
"I wonder if he can teach us how to do that." Erika said. She turned around and Drake was gone too.
"Maybe, but you need to get as good as me and my mad ninja skillz first, missy." Drake said from behind a tree a few feet away.
"Har har, signior ninja." she said, running after him.
"Ah! You can't catch a ninja!" Drake said, taking off in the direction of the school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unsurprisingly, Fern didn't show up for school that day. Erika thought maybe it was because her cover was blown, but Drake thought it might have been because of her getting rejected last night.
"I mean come on...she was flat out told she was basically evil. You saw her face...it bothered her." Drake said, stuffing a book in his locker.
"Well, that may be...but I don't like her not being here...we have no idea what she's up to. Anyways, what say you for lunch, wanna split lunches?" said Erika
"Meh, mine's nothing special...well, for you probably. Egg salad sandwiches." said Drake
"I love Egg Salad! How do you like sushi?" she asked
"I've never been a fan, but I'll try some." he said, smiling
~~~~
Lunch came and the two had settled into a small table in the middle of the lunch area. Drake glanced around and he noticed a LOT of people looking at them. Almost all of the popular crowd, as well as pretty much anyone who had anything to do with Drake's sister or Erika.
"I think we're a popular form of entertainment today...just about every popular kid here is staring at us." said Drake
"Yeah, I noticed...my "friends" in particular seem annoyed. It's not like they really care...it's not like they're really my friends or anything. They're just getting in on the gossip. Ugh, it's so retarded." she said
"Yeah, what's to gossip about anyways?" Drake asked, curious if she had realized what was going on.
"I know, we're just two friends, eating lunch! Haven't they ever seen that before?" she said
"That's just it though...we're friends, and that's something they haven't seen before. You're from the outer circle of the Popular Crowd...I'm from the outer circle of the losers...I'm so far out there, people only know who I am because of my stupid sister, which is another reason people are looking." he said
"That, and because the new girl has been staring at you all period." said an icy voice from behind them.
It was Fern, Drake knew it before they turned to face her.
"I hear you two've been 'worried' about me all day. And on top of that, you've officially been deemed the 'Hot Topic' of the week. People can't get over how the two of you managed to start dating. Of course, I know how you met and all...but how could I explain that to anyone..." Fern said.
"But, we're...ugh. There's no point in trying to dissuade them, not like they'd believe it anyways..." said Drake
Erika blushed. The news was shocking and a bit enraging...but she kinda hoped that it would work out that way...she was really starting to like Drake and she thought he was beginning to feel the same way about her.
"Oh, and by the way...I just woke up late, I wasn't out planning your attacks or anything like that...But I have a feeling that you're not gonna believe me whatever I say...I'll leave you two alone, ciao!" said Fern, turning on her heel and walking back towards the hall.
Once she was out of earshot, she mumbled under her breath. "Well, I was telling the truth about part of that...I did wake up late." she laughed
Drake and Erika just sat there, clearly rustled by Fern's remarks.
After a minute or two, Drake stood up. "I'm done, if you are...I'll take the trash, milady." he said cheerfully.
Erika saw through his ruse but decided not to bring it up...this wasn't the time to talk about it. "I thanketh thee, kind sir, for your act of valor. Come, let's walk to the library to talk before classes start again...there's something I want to ask you.
End ch. 9
"So, any idea where your next stop is?" asked Drake
"Well, Koichi has located another crystal in Texas, so we're heading that way first. There can't be too many here in the country, so we'll have to head to South America or Europe next, probably..." Beschermer answered. Seeing the look of disappointment on both of their faces, he added "But...we'll be back here before we leave the country. By that time you will both be farther along and ready for me to show you a few more things to work on."
"We'll do our best. Train every day, just like you said." said Erika
"Yup, and we'll keep you filled in on Fern. The more I think about it, the more I feel you're right...we'll eventually have to face her in some way...she can't be trusted." said Drake
"Speaking of..." started Beschermer. "There's one more thing I neglected to tell you. There's another out there like myself... you could say they're MY opposite. She works in the same job I do, helping the Bearers...only she is the one helping the corrupted crystal's bearers."
Something suddenly dawned on both of them. "So, could she have already gotten to Fern?!" they both asked.
"It's a possibility, but highly doubtful. I would have sensed her presence by now if she was here...but i was gone for a short time. Also, the way she acted last night, she seemed to not know very much about the whole situation... and Belinka is not the type of person to neglect her pupils...she wants them as strong as possible as quickly as possible. And unfortunately...the very nature of the corrupted crystals ensures that their bearers will grow more adept and more powerful MUCH quicker than you will...if you train at the same speed and intensity. If Fern has already met with Belinka...the two of you could be risking your very lives confronting her outside of school." said Beschermer.
"Because she probably wouldn't do anything there...she doesn't want her cover blown." said Erika.
"Exactly." said Drake "In fact...I think it's kinda fishy that she just shows up all of a sudden, right where two of us are. Do you think she might have been sent by this...Belinka?" he said, looking up at Beschermer.
"You know...that's very possible. She came from elsewhere...away from here, where she could have easily met Belinka and been trained and sent to keep an eye on you two. Keep an even keener eye on here then, I can't believe it didn't occur to me. Well...I think we'd best be off. I'll go collect Koichi and we're gone. Keep in touch, you two." he said, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
"I wonder if he can teach us how to do that." Erika said. She turned around and Drake was gone too.
"Maybe, but you need to get as good as me and my mad ninja skillz first, missy." Drake said from behind a tree a few feet away.
"Har har, signior ninja." she said, running after him.
"Ah! You can't catch a ninja!" Drake said, taking off in the direction of the school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unsurprisingly, Fern didn't show up for school that day. Erika thought maybe it was because her cover was blown, but Drake thought it might have been because of her getting rejected last night.
"I mean come on...she was flat out told she was basically evil. You saw her face...it bothered her." Drake said, stuffing a book in his locker.
"Well, that may be...but I don't like her not being here...we have no idea what she's up to. Anyways, what say you for lunch, wanna split lunches?" said Erika
"Meh, mine's nothing special...well, for you probably. Egg salad sandwiches." said Drake
"I love Egg Salad! How do you like sushi?" she asked
"I've never been a fan, but I'll try some." he said, smiling
~~~~
Lunch came and the two had settled into a small table in the middle of the lunch area. Drake glanced around and he noticed a LOT of people looking at them. Almost all of the popular crowd, as well as pretty much anyone who had anything to do with Drake's sister or Erika.
"I think we're a popular form of entertainment today...just about every popular kid here is staring at us." said Drake
"Yeah, I noticed...my "friends" in particular seem annoyed. It's not like they really care...it's not like they're really my friends or anything. They're just getting in on the gossip. Ugh, it's so retarded." she said
"Yeah, what's to gossip about anyways?" Drake asked, curious if she had realized what was going on.
"I know, we're just two friends, eating lunch! Haven't they ever seen that before?" she said
"That's just it though...we're friends, and that's something they haven't seen before. You're from the outer circle of the Popular Crowd...I'm from the outer circle of the losers...I'm so far out there, people only know who I am because of my stupid sister, which is another reason people are looking." he said
"That, and because the new girl has been staring at you all period." said an icy voice from behind them.
It was Fern, Drake knew it before they turned to face her.
"I hear you two've been 'worried' about me all day. And on top of that, you've officially been deemed the 'Hot Topic' of the week. People can't get over how the two of you managed to start dating. Of course, I know how you met and all...but how could I explain that to anyone..." Fern said.
"But, we're...ugh. There's no point in trying to dissuade them, not like they'd believe it anyways..." said Drake
Erika blushed. The news was shocking and a bit enraging...but she kinda hoped that it would work out that way...she was really starting to like Drake and she thought he was beginning to feel the same way about her.
"Oh, and by the way...I just woke up late, I wasn't out planning your attacks or anything like that...But I have a feeling that you're not gonna believe me whatever I say...I'll leave you two alone, ciao!" said Fern, turning on her heel and walking back towards the hall.
Once she was out of earshot, she mumbled under her breath. "Well, I was telling the truth about part of that...I did wake up late." she laughed
Drake and Erika just sat there, clearly rustled by Fern's remarks.
After a minute or two, Drake stood up. "I'm done, if you are...I'll take the trash, milady." he said cheerfully.
Erika saw through his ruse but decided not to bring it up...this wasn't the time to talk about it. "I thanketh thee, kind sir, for your act of valor. Come, let's walk to the library to talk before classes start again...there's something I want to ask you.
End ch. 9
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