Other [FanFic] Rose & Sunflower 2: Vox Arcana (Updates MWF) -Ch 51 [27 January] -COMPLETE

Discussion in 'Fan Works' started by Risukage, Oct 3, 2016.

  1. Risukage

    Risukage Giant Laser Beams

    //Dropping this on everyone a bit early, as I have to finish packing for a trip. Monday's update should go up on time, but the next three after that might be a bit iffy, as I'll be working on my tablet until next Monday, and I might be too busy to get out full chapters. I'll make a note once I know for sure what's going on, but here's hoping that I can keep up with my self-imposed schedule, 'cause it means a lot to me that you all keep coming back every update. :)//


    Like the other day, Lys was once more silent and thoughtful as they took care of the morning chores. As Elliott brushed his hair for him once he had finished dressing after their shower, he dropped the brush as Lys spoke what was on his mind.

    "I'm going to contact the dragon again." Fumbling, he caught it just before it hit the floor.

    "Dear, are you certain that that is a good idea? The last time you did that you were barely breathing, and you did not respond to me, nor could we reach your mind."

    "So I was told, Umbra seemed to be amused by it. And apparently it thinks that you are 'an excellent consort.' Even the physical manifestation of death and destruction from a world parallel to ours thinks we're good together. I'll go ahead and be flattered by that. And don't worry, you know now what's going on, and while I didn't hear you or the group, it did, so I won't be totally unreachable. I'll try to find a way to get communication with you again now that I know what I'm doing. Worst case I'll have Umbra keep an ear out, so to speak, in case you need me to come back early." Elliott didn't immediately reply, turning the brush over in his hands as he thought.

    "You are sensible and cautious, and powerful within your own mind. Further, the dragon has given us no reason not to trust it thus far. However, I am concerned that contacting it as you did last time might cause you physical or mental harm, as we do not know the effects of Shadow energies on ourselves. Perhaps it is nothing to worry about, but..." Brushing Elliott's hair out of his face, Lys smiled reassuringly.

    "I understand and respect all of that. I was considering the same. And that's why I need to do this myself. I'm the one that made a promise to everyone, I'll put myself in danger and nobody else. No, I won't be reckless, but I'm also not going to let anyone else take the risk right now. Here, keep watch over me, might as well get to this now." He sat down on the bed, squeezing Elliott's hand when he sat down next to him.

    "Very well. I will be the shield to your sword." Lys leaned over to kiss him, letting his fingers linger on Elliott's face.

    "You're here and I'm strong. I'll be just fine." He relaxed and leaned back comfortably when he finally saw the smile he'd been looking for, and then sought for something else. How had he done it last time, that thread of Shadow mana?... Elliott shifted his visual and mental focus, trying to see what it was that Lys was doing, and though he said nothing when he did, his grip on his companion's hand tightened. As soon as that dark, thin thread connected, Lys's breathing and pulse got slower and more shallow, and he felt a bit colder. Elliott set his jaw in determination. Nothing to worry about now that he understood, but still...


    Umbra Volatus. Once more I summon you.

    ONCE MORE I ANSWER. THOU HAST RETURNED SWIFTLY, YOUNG PRINCE. I EXPECTED THAT.

    "Taliesin," if you please.

    There was the mental equivalent of a pleased chuckle from the other side.

    AND THOU CLAIMED TO LACK NOBILITY AND PRESENCE. VERY WELL, WELCOME ME IN ONCE MORE AND WE SHALL CONVERSE AGAIN.

    Lys felt the all-enveloping darkness swallow him again, but this time he was expecting it, and again set up his headspace to accommodate the both of them. Once he felt himself properly manifest, he allowed the dragon to do the same, who seemed to be extremely amused at something.

    THY ATTIRE SUITS THY NEW TITLE AND BEARING, TALIESIN. IT IS PLEASANT TO BE CORRECT ABOUT SUCH THINGS, I'VE NOT BEEN THIS AMUSED IN AGES.

    Confused, Lys examined himself and laughed as well as he saw that he was wearing the new armor that he'd summoned for himself the night before.

    Many things have changed. Particularly the story. I've had time to think, to take it all in. We're not each other's enemy. We're both fighting for the same thing in the end.

    Umbra Volatus sat down in the catlike "breadloaf" pose that Lys had so often seen Xander do, and looked at him with the same curious head-tilt.

    THOU PROPOSES AN ALLIANCE.

    Exactly.

    I AM NOT AVERSE TO THE IDEA. RATHER, HAVING A READILY-AVAILABLE ALLY ON THY SIDE OF THE WORLDS IS BENEFICIAL TO US BOTH. MY CONNECTION WITH THY ANCESTOR IS FIRM, BUT HE OFTEN DISREGARDS MY ADVICE, AND HAS SEVERAL TIMES WORKED AGAINST MY PLANS. HE GROWS RECKLESS AND DEFIANT, AND THY STATUS AS CHOSEN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THY PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, HAS PUSHED HIM BEYOND RATIONAL THOUGHT. HE SPEAKS OFTEN OF THY DESTRUCTION, THOUGH HE VARIES BETWEEN SIMPLE DEATH AND RECLAIMING THEE AS A WEAPON AGAINST THE SIRE OF THY LINE. I MUST GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR HIS DEDICATION, I SUPPOSE. HOWEVER, IT IS DESCENDING INTO FANATICISM, AND THAT BREEDS CONCERN.

    Damn, I was worried about that. I still hold out hope that I can win him over somehow, but I'll have to worry about that later. First priority is to find a proper solution to this conflict. You stated that it began when people on this side created a barrier between our worlds, trapping the mana over here?

    THAT IS CORRECT. I WAS CREATED TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION, AND PERHAPS DESTROY THE BARRIER, BUT IT REQUIRED TOO MUCH ENERGY, AND I LACKED IT, ON EITHER SIDE. PERHAPS THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ANOTHER SOLUTION, BUT I WAS FAR TOO BESTIAL AND MINDLESS THEN, ACTING UPON INSTINCT AND NOT LOGIC. MY FIRST VICTIMS WERE THOSE WHO HAD ERECTED THE BARRIER, BUT THEN, THEY WERE THE MOST POWERFUL, AND I WAS DRAWN TO STRENGTH IN MANA. THOUGH I HAVE CONSUMED THE ENERGIES OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN TO ME, I HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO RETRIEVE MEMORIES IN RECENT YEARS. THE KNOWLEDGE WE SEEK IS SADLY LOST, AND I ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT.

    Mayor Lewis said that he's descended from them. So some survived?

    ONCE MORE, CORRECT. ONLY ONE OF THEM ENDURED MY WRATH, AND JUST BARELY. THE SECRET, AND SHAME, HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE GENERATIONS. THOUGH MAGIC NO LONGER FLOWS THROUGH THEIR VEINS, HIS LINE HAS EVER BEEN WATCHERS, CHRONICLING EVENTS. THEY ARE NO LONGER PARTICIPANTS, THEY ARE FORBIDDEN BY THE JUNIMOS, AND IN THE TIMES BETWEEN THE SELECTION OF CHOSEN AND THEIR DEFEAT, HIS LINE WATCHES FOR THE UNEXPECTED USAGE OF MAGIC. PRIMARILY THE GIFTED. THOUGH THOSE PEOPLE WILLINGLY GIVE THEMSELVES TO THE SERVICE OF THE SHADOW, THE POWER THAT THEY USE DOES NOT PASS TO THIS SIDE UNTIL THEY PERISH, AND THUSLY THEY SOMETIMES NEED TO BE..."ESCORTED" BETWEEN WORLDS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, SO TO SPEAK.

    But if they use up mana, why- Ah, I see. They use it to harm or for selfish reasons, and they use too much, taxing the land. They're useful to help prevent an overabundance in short doses, but on a large scale, that's what the Chosen are for.

    EXCELLENT! AH, IF ONLY MORE MORTALS WERE AS KEEN AS THEE... I TRULY AM ENJOYING OUR CHATS. TO CONTINUE, THOU ART THRICE CORRECT IN THY STATEMENTS. IT HAS NOT BEEN AS MUCH A PROBLEM IN RECENT TIMES, AS MAGIC IS THOUGHT TO BE MERE MYTH AND A FANTASY THESE DAYS, AND THUSLY GIFTED HAVE BEEN FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. IT HAS MADE THE MAYOR'S LINE COMPLACENT, I DO THINK. BUT HE WILL BE OF LITTLE USE TO US; THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE BARRIER'S CONSTRUCTION, AND THEREFORE ITS DESTRUCTION, WAS NEVER PASSED ON FROM THAT LONE SURVIVOR. ALL THAT I CAN STATE WITH CERTAINTY IS THAT IT WILL REQUIRE GREAT AMOUNTS OF MANA TO UNDO WHAT HAS BEEN MADE, AND EVEN THEN, I DOUBT THAT IT CAN BE WIELDED BY ANY MORTAL.

    So it will just take lots of power? I'm probably the strongest Chosen there's ever been, and I can get even more so now that I know I need to practice. All of us are, to be honest, we should be able to crash right through it in a few more months.

    IT IS MORE THAN THAT, TALIESIN, BRUTE FORCE WILL DO NOTHING. IT IS NOT JUST A BARRIER, IT IS A LOCK. THOU DOES NOT OPEN A LOCK WITH A HAMMER. THOU REQUIRES A KEY.

    ...A lock can be picked. I already know how to do that. I've also learned how to sense and feel the energies of my home. Hell, I figured out how to contact you and tap into the energies of your world. I can do this.

    Blinking thoughtfully, the dragon flicked its tail as it considered this.

    THOU ART CONFIDENT OF THY ABILITIES, AND I SEE NO REASON TO DOUBT THEE. PERHAPS THEE ARE CAPABLE OF UNDOING WHAT HAS BEEN MADE. BUT EVEN IF THOU HAST THE SKILL, IT IS STILL A QUESTION OF POWER, AND IT CAN ONLY BE DONE ALONE. ANY MANA FROM SOMEONE ELSE WILL DESTABILIZE THY ATTEMPT, EVEN IF IT IS THY CONSORT, WITH WHOM THEE SHARES AN UNPARALLELED BOND. I AM OF THE OPINION THAT IT WAS DELIBERATELY CRAFTED IN SUCH A MANNER TO PREVENT SUCH SCHEMES AS THINE.

    Damn! It's such a- Wait, the other day, you said that the mana we use is bonded to our souls.

    THOU ART CORRECT, WHY DO THEE- AH, HAHAHA, HOW CLEVER! THOU PLANS TO BE THE KEY TO THIS LOCK, UNCARING IF THEE ARE BROKEN AS IT OPENS. YES, I AM CONVINCED, THOU ART CAPABLE OF DOING WHAT OTHERS COULD NOT, AND THAT THEE WILL BE A POWERFUL ALLY. I ACCEPT THY OFFER OF ALLIANCE.

    Then bond with me, same or similar as you have with Maurice. We need that continual connection, I can't keep doing this every time we need to talk, and you can't reach out to me otherwise.

    Flicking its tail again, Umbra Volatus appeared to hesitate, not looking pleased about the idea.

    I...CAN. HOWEVER, IT WILL BE EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT, AT LEAST FOR A MOMENT.

    Will there be any long-term effects? Other than having Death in my head at all times.

    The dragon laughed again, flapping its wings before settling back down into the loaf-pose.

    NO, TALIESIN, THERE ARE NO DRAWBACKS OR HIDDEN UNPLEASANTRIES TO THIS BARGAIN. OUR BOND WILL CAUSE THEE NO DISCOMFORT OR DISTRACTION, EXCEPT, AS I SAID, IN THE SHORT TERM TEMPORARILY.

    Do it.

    ...THOU ART CERTAIN...

    I said to do it. I've almost died three times already, and I've already suffered enough at the hands of the Reclaimed. A little more pain is something I will put up with in order to put an end to all of this.

    THEN IT SHALL BE DONE. THOU HAST IMPRESSED ME, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, GIVEN ME HOPE. I SHALL GRANT THEE A GIFT WITH OUR BOND, TALIESIN, ONE THAT I KNOW WILL BE USED WITH WISDOM.

    Lys was aware of someone screaming, and it took a moment for him to realize that it was himself. Pain arced through him, icy fire burning and chilling him at the same time as he felt the threads of Shadow connect permanently. There were other sounds, both outside and inside of his mind, of his friends and husband, but they were background noise, reduced to static by the pain that overrode his other senses. It was brief, maybe a quarter of a minute, but it still left him weak and panting for breath as he lay on his side and twitched as he regained control of himself.

    I APOLOGIZE FOR THY DISCOMFORT, BUT I DID WARN THEE... WE ARE BONDED NOW, AND THOU NOW BEARS MY GIFT TO YOU. GO IN PEACE AND WISDOM, TALIESIN.

    "Merde!" he snarled, "Ça fait mal!" He blinked as he realized what had come out of his mouth. "When the hell did I learn French?"

    "My dearest, what happened?" Lys sat up unsteadily and turned around to face not just Elliott, but the rest of the Chosen, who had apparently teleported in when he began mentally lashing out. Before he could reply, Elliott's eyes went wide with shock and he took Lys's face in both hands as everyone else gasped simultaneously. He didn't feel strange, what was his problem? Elliott grasped the hair on the left side of Lys's face to examine it closer, and Lys did a double-take himself.

    "No way..." Breaking free, he vaulted over the bed to the other side and made it to the bathroom in two strides, checking his reflection. "That's... No way..." he repeated, which was the same sentiment shared by everyone else. His left eye was now blue, and a thick lock of hair on the same side raven-black.

    Violette...

    Leaning forward, Lys almost touched his reflection as he stared, hardly able to believe it himself.

    It's her colors alright, but I'm still me. ...How?...

    HERS WAS THE FIRST SOUL TO BEST ME, AND IT DREW MY CURIOSITY. I DID NOT ABSORB IT, RATHER, I KEPT IT SEPARATE, SO THAT I COULD STUDY AND LEARN FROM IT. RASMODIUS AND MAURICE CARRY HER MEMORY FIGURATIVELY, I DO SO LITERALLY. WITH HER BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS I WAS ABLE TO CREATE A SYNERGY BETWEEN US. THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF HER TRAITS IS AN UNINTENDED YET INTERESTING SIDE EFFECT.

    "I'm heterochromatic."

    "But you like men and women," piped up Sam, and nobody was really certain whether he was serious or trolling. It did have the effect of breaking the proverbial ice, and Lys chuckled and shook his head before explaining the conversation and subsequent pact. He moved to hug Elliott, who looked like he needed it, but he shrank back involuntarily and apologized once he realized what he'd done.

    "I... I did not mean to shy away, my dear, it's just that..."

    "It's okay, love, I understand. I'm still 'me' in here, there's just a bit more, that's all. Though, oh dear, this is going to be difficult to explain away. I think I need to pay Rasmodius a visit for some magic lessons. I can pass off the black hair as going through a phase or some kind of artistic excuse, but the eye color will be harder to bluff, short of some flimsy 'contact lens' story." Sighing again, he gave everyone a rueful smile. "Really sorry to have broadcasted like that, hope I didn't scare anyone. Looks like I have a bad habit of lashing out when I'm hurt."

    "You really did it? You're permanently connected to the dragon from now on?" asked Alex, eyeing him with not-unreasonable caution.

    "Yeah. We need its knowledge, and we also have an inside line on what Maurice and the Reclaimed are doing. It isn't our enemy, and we aren't its. We need to work together, and I already have ideas."

    "Well, I for one think you look kinda badass," Abigail offered, "and worst case, you can hide the new eye color with an eyepatch. Pity you swapped your swashbuckler look for something aristocratic, though, that would have looked freakin' sweet." Lys couldn't help laughing at this observation and agreed. Folding his arms across his chest, Sam shrugged.

    "Yuvie better hold up its end of the deal or I'm gonna get mad on your behalf, after all you've gone through."

    "What?"

    "Yuvie. Y'know, 'U.V.', Umbra Volatus. It's less clunky than that or 'the dragon,' right?"

    "That's... Heh, I wonder-"

    NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

    Lys burst out laughing as the dragon vetoed the thought before he could finish it.

    "It's not as amused as we are." The crisis over, everyone returned to what they had been doing, giving Lys playful sass that he really needed to stop doing the sort of things that made them feel the need to leap to his aid. Once alone, Elliott gripped Lys in a tight hug, fingers digging into his back and hair.

    "You cause me such distress without intent, and I do not fault you for doing so, yet I find myself frustrated and fearful all the same. I thought... No, it matters not what my mind had conjured, it was nonsensical and unsubstantiated fears. Nevertheless, please do not fault me for needing to hold you for a little bit."

    "No worries, love, do what you need to. But I am going to go the tower in a few to see if I can learn a spell to mask this when I'm away from home. It'll save us a lot of questions and problems."

    "I only require another minute."

    "Take as many as you need."

    Elliott only needed a few to compose himself, and they jumped to the tower together. As usual, were unexpected. Rasmodius glanced up, nodded in greeting, then did a double-take as he dropped the book he was writing in. Marlon was assisting him and gave him a strange look, which then changed to mirror that of his friend.

    "By the light, Ras, he's..."

    "It's a long and short story." The retelling was quick, and Rasmodius remained silent the entire time. "So I hate to bother, but I was wondering if you could teach me that color-changing spell of yours, or some variant. It's not that I want to hide it or am embarrassed, it's... Are you okay?"

    "I... My apologies, forgive me. It is both disconcerting yet welcome to see my beloved once more in some form. I had just gotten used to you as you are- were before."

    "Heh, I understand. Here, you look like you could use a hug, too, but no kisses, that'd be weird." The strange jest snapped his ancestor from his dazed state, and the offer of physical contact was readily accepted. With a smile that Marlon remarked he hadn't seen in a very long time, Rasmodius instructed Lys on how to cast the color-changing spell he'd created long ago. Glancing over, Marlon saw Elliott watching them with pride and chuckled.

    "Your companion really is remarkable, Elliott, Ras has gotten progressively withdrawn and jaded over the years, but in just a couple of months he's already begun to smile and laugh again. And Lysander is a quick study, that didn't take long." At this observation, Elliott concurred, as Lys had successfully changed the obsidian-black locks back to copper-red, switching back and forth a couple of times to get the feel for the spell. Grinning with mischief, he ran his fingers through his hair, and it and his eyes changed to match Rasmodius, who burst out with hearty laughter.

    "I dunno, love, what do you think? I'm Abby's sexy older brother. I make this look good but I'm hotter when ginger."

    "You are delightfully cheeky and cheerful. I trust that you have obtained the ability for which you came?"

    "Yup! This was easier than I had expected. Let's get back home and finish getting dressed for the day. Thanks again for the help!"

    "You are welcome to visit at any time." Flashing them a sunny smile, Lys dispelled the violet color, 'ported back home, retrieved the hairbrush, and looked thoughtfully in the mirror as Elliott followed.

    "Hey, I wanna do something with this, do we have any small hair ties or bits of ribbon?" Carefully separating out the dark and bright strands, Elliott braided the black length neatly, tying it with a short bit that they had cut from his original, old, tattered ribbon. Lys was about to pull the rest back but chose to leave it loose. "This kinda looks nifty, actually, I'll leave it down for now. What do you think?" Holding him close again, Elliott's smile was soft and caring, the one that only Lys ever saw.

    "I think that you continue to grow more beautiful every day, and though you may scoff at my particular use of adjectives, I cannot think of a better word."

    "I rather like being both pretty and handsome, so no, I'm not going to 'scoff at you.' Like I told Sam, I think I blend male and female traits quite well, thank you very much." Elliott wrapped the braid loosely around his fingers as he kissed him, letting it linger a bit.

    "You do everything brilliantly."
     
    • Minimanta

      Minimanta Spaceman Spiff

      I really like Umbra Volatus! I'd love to see him in the cat pose, I love anything catlike <3

      And take your time with the writing. If you're busy with real life, just skip an update or two. I'll definitely be here next time no matter how long it'll take :)
       
        Alkanthe and Risukage like this.
      • Risukage

        Risukage Giant Laser Beams

        //
        Heee, yeah, I'm happy with how much personality and development that it's gotten, going from "big bad that will kill everything" to "weapon created to restore balance that's willing to help." As for updates, running a bit late 'cause it was a LONG weekend and I needed SLEEP. Just woke up and got this typed up, hopefully should have Wednesday up on time. Woo-hoo! As always, thanks again for reading, everyone, you inspire me to keep going! : )//


        Shrugging into a dark blue overshirt that matched the new color of one eye, Lys grabbed an apple from the kitchen, sat down by the door, and put on his boots.

        “You are going out for a while?” Elliott queried, making coffee in the kitchen.

        “Yeah. I’ve got the dragon in my head, time to see what else I can find out. Let’s see if the Junimos will answer my call as well. We don’t have any place to be today, so it’s a good day as any to do a bit more intel-gathering. I have the start of a plan but no way to implement it.”

        “A good idea. Do you still want a cup when I am finished?”

        “I’d appreciate it a lot, and I’ll definitely want a bit more to eat after, too.” Elliott smiled fondly and nodded as he turned back to his task.

        “Then we shall discuss your findings and plans as we prepare and eat lunch.”

        Bouncing the apple on his palm, Lys walked out to the Stardrop tree, which had gotten quite large but not yet borne fruit. He sat down comfortably under it and reclined against the trunk, taking a bite out of the apple as he got comfortable.

        “You all know that I’m bonded to Umbra Volatus now. It’s your turn to start sharing info,” he said aloud, knowing that they would hear and reply, and that his snack was somewhat passive-aggressive as they slightly resembled fruit themselves. As he had expected, the little creatures made a multicolored appearance around him, but again, only the golden one approached closer. Strangely, though, they didn’t seem concerned, they looked respectful.

        “Greetings, Taliesin, you have made strange yet daring strides in pursuing your goal.” Lys chuckled and rolled his eyes as he swallowed another bite.

        “Oh really, what happened to ‘Wildfire?’”

        “You are in control of your flame now, and have proven your nobility in both actions and words. You rightly bear the title of the greatest of Bards. And as your friend mentioned, you have traveled in the company of an ‘Arthur,’ have you not?”

        “Dad and I didn’t travel that much, but-“ He paused to blink thoughtfully. “Oh, proper cheeky.”

        “Then you see as well that the moniker is apt and true. What do you desire of us? We know of your new bond but not the information that you two share.” Examining the remaining half of his apple, Lys took another bite and chewed as he ordered his thoughts.

        “I want to break the barrier between our worlds. Once I do that the proper flow of mana will resume and there will be no more need for Chosen or the summoning of Umbra Volatus. From what I have gathered so far, it will take a lot of mana to do that. So, first, what is that barrier and how can it be undone or destroyed, and second, what will it take to do so?”

        “Your plans are grand but not unattainable. Yes, it is possible to shatter the border between the two realms, but it will not be easy. I assume that you have already inquired as to how it was constructed?”

        “Yeah, but the dragon doesn’t know, and it looks like the knowledge never got passed down Lewis’s line. I had hoped that you would know.”

        “Yes. And no. We watched as it was built, and we implored them not to do so, but we could not act upon their works, nor could we properly perceive how it was done. We are and are not of your world, existing in it but not in the same way that you do. We guide the ebb and flow of mana, but cannot manipulate it the same way that mortals can, and once it is channeled it is difficult for us to see what is done. You can see how electricity lights your home, but not the way the power flows through wires and machinery. Do you understand?”

        “Yeah,” he sighed as he saw Elliott walking up with two cups of coffee, “and it appears that yet again we have just enough information to be dangerous but not enough to be useful. Hey, can you give him that same thing that-”

        “No. You can understand us thanks to your deep connection to the land, but though he is deeply devoted to you and has lived here for some time, he will not be able to benefit from it.”

        “Damn, I guess I’ll have to Link him in. Hey, love, c’mon over, get comfy and Link up.” Lys took a cup with thanks as his husband sat down next to him. He sipped his drink as Elliott put an arm around his waist and opened a connection between the two of them, as Haley kept a passive channel open at all time for everyone that they could utilize between each other but not alert everyone or that would require her attention.

        “Well, back to business, I guess. So, nobody knows how it was done. Damn. But I have been able to see it a bit when I look at the world just right, and it seems to have been constructed on my farm. The barrier is everywhere, but the node, or lock, or whatever you want to call it, that secures it, seems to be around here.”

        “You are correct. It is possible that if you are able to dismantle this construct then you can free your home from the endless cycle of destruction. And once more you are correct in that it will take enormous amounts of mana, more than you can channel at once.” Elliott made a noise of contemplation as he leaned against Lys’s shoulder, gently swirling the coffee in his mug.

        “Perhaps we can stockpile mana ahead of time? It appears that to cast we must take ‘wild’ mana from our surroundings and ‘convert’ it by channeling it. It is possible to create some form of mana battery or capacitor wherein we store the power we have prepared ahead of time?” Lys’s eyebrows went up as he considered this possibility, idly playing with a lock of Elliott’s hair.

        “I was thinking of how to just pull large amounts of power at once, but that’s an even better idea. Further… Love, I wanna try something. Freeze my coffee real fast.” Confused, Elliott complied, chilling the drink to a solid. “Okay, good. Now, through the Link, send me mana. I need to test something.”

        Once more Elliott fulfilled Lys’s request, sending over the equivalent of a handful of power, not sure how much he’d need or for what. With determined focus, Lys reached for the mana that Elliott sent over and very carefully used only that, not tapping into his own power or that around him. As he did so, he felt the ‘flavor’ of it change from Elliott’s to his, and he warmed his coffee back to a drinkable temperature.

        “Ah! That’s it! Or one way, anyway.” He kissed Elliott on the cheek and laughed. “So the dragon said the same thing, that it will take a lot of power, but it has to be only one person’s power or it will destabilize. You know, we might as well have it in here, too, no sense in having to relay it again later.”

        Do you have a bit of time? We could use your input.

        I AM ALWAYS READY TO ASSIST. AH! I SEE THAT THEE ARE NOT ALONE IN HERE. GREETINGS, CONSORT, I AM PLEASED TO SPEAK WITH THEE AS WELL.

        I welcome you in return. Half a moment, ‘Consort?’ Certainly I am more than that,
        Elliott thought at the dragon with good humor. They both heard a chuckle in reply, not the only ones to be amused.

        THAT IS TRUE ENOUGH, BUT I HAVE NOT SPOKEN WITH THEE LONG ENOUGH TO DETERMINE A PROPER TITLE. HMM, I SEE, THOU ART A BARD OF SORTS THYSELF, AND HAVE WORKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THY PARTNER ON WRITTEN WORKS. I NOW SEE THY PROPER TITLE AS WELL: ANEIRIN.


        Both men were taken aback, recognizing this name.

        Wait, wasn’t Aneirin also one of the old bards as well?

        Correct, my dear. He was regarded as “flowing of verse” and was a contemporary of Taliesin. It appears that our companion is more well-read than most of our friends.

        Heh, true. Well, it occurs to me that we’ve got tidy names but we still refer to you as “the dragon” or “Umbra Volatus.” I get the impression that that name was given to you, and it’s not entirely accurate.

        I WAS NAMED AS SUCH AFTER MY FIRST RAMPAGE, WHEREIN I BLANKETED THE TOWN IN SHADOWS AS DEEP AS MIDNIGHT, FLYING UPON SILENT, EBON WINGS. IT IS NOT ENTIRELY AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION, BUT THOU ART THE FIRST TO SPEAK WITH ME, AND THEREFORE THE FIRST TO REQUIRE A DIFFERENT FORM OF ADDRESS.


        Lys laughed and took a long drink of his coffee.

        Bahamut.

        You are delightfully clever, my dear, that is fitting in so many ways.

        I COMPREHEND THE MEANING AND IMPLICATIONS AS WELL. I AM BOTH AMUSED AND PLEASED BY THIS. AH, THY PLAN TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME THAT DAY HAS BEEN GREATLY PROFITABLE FOR US ALL. I ACCEPT THY GIFT OF A NAME WITH HUMILITY AND REVERENCE. THOU HONORS ME.

        You’re a friend now, and I’ll treat you as such. But for now, back to business. We need to find a way to cache mana ahead of time if we’re going to have a shot at cracking that lock. Let me prod the Junimos, they’re the ones that control and guide mana on this side.


        “Okay, we’ve got Bahamut on the line, so it will hear anything you’ve got to say, but I’ll have to relay its replies myself.”

        “Who is- Oh, I see. Perhaps you really can make this happen after all. Very well, let us continue. What else do you need to know or wish to discuss?”

        “I just remembered that we have these pendants,” Lys replied, pulling the garnet item out from under his shirt, “Rasmodius called these 'foci,' and we used them to initially access our abilities, but I’ve not really felt it do much since.”

        “That is all that they are, a focus for you to channel and concentrate your abilities. However, all of you have been unexpectedly proficient and confident in your skills, and once you all unlocked your Empowered states, no longer required them. Never before have we had Chosen who innately and naturally adapted to their abilities. It is not useless to you, but there is little that it does other than provide stability when casting, which might be useful should you find yourself in a situation where you are having difficulty in retaining mental focus. It can also store power for you, which is something that earlier Chosen used to great effect.” Elliott and Lys both looked up with great interest, which the Junimo noted.

        “Which brings me to the point that you might find most useful; it is possible to store mana that you have prepared yourself in items with a crystalline structure. Metallic objects can do the same, but not quite as effectively or efficiently as gems will.” Their expressions were once again matched as they realized the possibilities, and began conversing quickly between themselves with excitement.

        “Alex and Sebastian are crazy good with their abilities, so-“

        “They could synthesize gems for us provided that we are able to provide them with the proper materials-“

        “Because they could look up the right chemical and molecular structure for each type and build them from scratch-“

        “And it could be possible that artificially-created ones would be more stable and be able to contain more power-“

        “Because we’d be able to build them without any flaws or impurities!”

        Laughing heartily, they hugged each other with glee. They gathered their mugs and dashed back to the house, inviting the Junimos in, as they grabbed paper, pencils, and the laptop to begin sketching and writing down ideas. Bahamut and the Junimos provided commentary and suggestions from their perspectives. The prospect of lunch was completely forgotten, and it wasn’t until quite early in the evening that they found themselves forced to pause to make something to eat.

        “This is amazing and we are brilliant. I can’t wait to bounce this off of everyone tomorrow.”
         
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        • Risukage

          Risukage Giant Laser Beams

          //If you see this week's chapters change at any point, it's not because I'm retconning anything, it's 'cause sometimes formatting and stuff goes weird when posting from a tablet. I suppose that I can't complain, as this technology is sorta new, and I'd not have been able to do this five years ago, but it still amuses and vexes me what I can and cannot do on this platform. Ah well.//


          In the kitchen, Lys pulled out the tools needed to make dinner, and, after setting them on the counter, paused long enough to draw Elliott’s attention.

          “Something on your mind, dear?”

          “Sorta, yeah, it’s…” He sighed and tapped a finger on the counter, looking around the kitchen and then the dining room. “It’s just weird. Now and then I have those moments of ‘is this really happening?’ I… Ever since I moved out on my own I lived in a studio apartment with the minimum of necessities and furniture, and though I was never one of the ‘poor college students’ where I had to worry about choosing between rent or food, I wasn’t well-off. Still, I was comfortable, but I never expected to actually do anything useful, and figured I’d have fun and do whatever I found interesting while I still could, because I didn’t think I actually had a future. Now, here I am, a successful homeowner and businessman, a published author, a professional musician, and married to someone brilliant and amazing that I sometimes don’t feel that I deserve. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel real, like this is all a wonderful dream, and I’m terrified that I’m going to wake up. I know I’ve said it before, but that feeling has never quite gone away, and now and then it just sneaks up and hits me between the eyes, y’know?”

          Elliott put down what he had pulled out of the refrigerator to hold Lys around the waist, kissing him on the forehead.

          “You have stated this before, but I am not bothered by the admission. I, too, am intermittently bewildered by what I have achieved and attained, so much of which could not have been done without you. I feel a small amount of shame in that I was unable to do this on my own, but at the same time I reflect upon my past and realize that while I sought to create a novel, it was for my own vanity, not for the sake of creating a lasting and enduring story. Your ideas, energy, and love for art- the arts, are what showed me the true path. The inability to write was not a lack of ability, it was that I had been trying to write for the wrong reasons. It is interesting, I was re-reading our book the other night to ensure that details for the next would be correct, and I found myself not only caught up in the narrative, but remembering the moments in which we together had penned them. Nobody else shall feel the delight I will at reading it, for they were not there to share the beautiful warmth that I felt during its creation.”

          Smiling and chuckling, Lys hugged Elliott back and kissed him on the neck, resting his head on his shoulder. They enjoyed the pleasant silence of sharing treasured memories for a few minutes until Xander padded up to rub up against their ankles and howl at them for food.

          “You are horribly unromantic, you ginger pest,” Lys grinned without malice, “fine, I’ll feed you in a minute. Husband-hugs come first.” Kisses did as well, and Lys shuddered pleasantly as Elliott brushed his fingers down his neck and across his shoulder.

          “I will tend to the needs of this four-footed stomach,” offered Elliott, picking up Xander and scratching him under the chin, “if you could retrieve the rest of what we need from the refrigerator I will begin preparing it momentarily.”

          “Sure, I’ll also bounce a message to everyone about our idea. If Alex and Sebastian want to drop by tonight to talk about it you think you’re up for company?”

          “Pleasantly so! I do enjoy cooking for guests, as it is not a pleasure in which I have been able to often indulge previously.”

          “Nifty. Okay, that should be everything, be right back.”

          SixStrings: hey, so, Elliott and I have figured out a way to do something about that mana barrier, and it looks like Alex and Seb will be crucial to that idea. Message me when you get the chance so we can go over details
          L33tK3ys: wait, already? I knew you’d come up with a solution but not this fast o_O
          ProBro: I just got home from practice, need to get something to eat first
          SixStrings: we’re cooking dinner now, and there’s an open invite if you’re interested
          L33tK3ys: oh, twist my arm, why don’t you
          ProBro: I could go for that, grandma assumed I was going to reheat something from the fridge ‘cause I was getting home so late. What’s on the menu?
          SixStrings: a nice, hot curry. I hope you like the flavor of pain
          L33tK3ys: sadist
          SixStrings: masochist, actually ;)
          ProBro: one day I’ll be able to read this chat in the same room as grandma…
          SixStrings: ha! Still, we’re just getting started, so drop on in at any time, it’ll only really take one of us to cook, so the other can go over the plans
          ProBro: gimmie ten to put away my gear and let ‘em know where I’m going
          L33tK3ys: same, want to finish this line of code and I can ‘port on over
          SixStrings: good times, the back door is open, just let yourselves on in

          A half an hour later the four of them were seated around the kitchen table, alternating between eating and asking or answering questions about the notes that had been taken and pictures that had been drawn. Sebastian gestured with his chopsticks (a gesture he knew to be rude, but was too absorbed in the project to care) at the drawings of some of the gems.

          “So it looks like it shouldn’t be too difficult to craft these, even on a large scale. We just need materials. I’ve been tinkering like Alex has, and gems aren’t too difficult for me to work with, though I’m not quite as proficient. How many are we gonna need?” Lys ate another large bite with one hand as he reached for a piece of paper with another.

          “Not as many as I’d like. One thing I was cautioned on is that the gems can’t be too big or too many, as the larger they are the more unstable they can be, and too many cause the same. There’s a bit of an upper limit on how much mana can safely be stored in one area, either through living things or stored in crystalline devices. However, they can be stored damn near indefinitely, and the mana can be dumped all at once, so while plants are batteries, gems are capacitors. I’m already preparing to cut and plant a few more mana tea plants, as they pull mana not just from me but the area, and being able to tap those will be invaluable. Sad to say, they’ll likely be consumed completely when I do that, so I’m going to make sure they’re planted far away from our personal crops, just in case. I’m going to work with the Elders to figure out how to ward them so I don’t accidentally strip them as well.” Alex ate silently but with gusto, forgoing the chopsticks that the other three used to simply shovel away food with a fork.

          “Sounds like you’ve got a hell of a plan lined up,” he said around mouthfuls of burning hot curry which didn’t seem to bother him at all, “and you said something about us channeling through you? How’s that work?” Elliott answered for Lys so he could eat.

          “According to both Bahamut and the Junimos- ah, that is the dragon, long story, will explain that later- it is a curious property of the barrier’s ‘lock’ in that it was designed to be as difficult as possible to dismantle. One might posit that it would have been better for them to not have a way to undo it at all in the first place, but it is possible that they desired or required a way to undo it in the future, or to modify it, or that it could not be done without it. Regardless of the reasons, it gives us a way to undo what was done.”

          “Oh, okay. Dang, so we can’t all just throw power at it and brute force it, hunh?”

          “Few things work like that anymore,” Sebastian commented, sitting down after getting a second plate, “trying to get into something without the proper credentials takes time, because a lot of sites and databases have timers and lockouts, preventing dictionary attacks and other kinds of unauthorized entry. I’m annoyed but not surprised that we’re facing it on a magical level as well.” Nodding, Elliott continued as Lys got them both another plate and refilled everyone’s drink.

          “To continue, apparently only one person can work upon it at one time, which makes a sort of sense, as many operations that require delicate finesse can only be done alone, yet they still cannot be done completely alone. While we will not be able to supply mana directly, we can send it through the Link, where he can ‘convert’ it to his thaumic wavelength and work upon the lock. Our concern is for Haley, as she will be maintaining an open Link at all times, as well as guiding and channeling a great amount of mana herself. I am confident that Lysander will be capable of this, given his previous actions in battle, but I am uncertain as to the throughput capabilities of our Voice.”

          “She’ll be fine. Healing Lys back then took a lot out of her, but it was a lot of power, and we were still new to it. She’s been doing a lot of practice, and keeping open communications and all has basically been continual weight training for her. Since Lys can probably only use so much power at once, our best bet is to have everyone dump power one at a time until they and their gem stock are expended, so we don’t burn Haley or Lys out.” Making a gesture of approval, Sebastian tapped his chopsticks against his lip as he thought.

          “Good idea, I hadn’t thought of that. So you two have an idea of how to use all of this power we’re going to supply you with?” Lys took a long drink of iced tea and dove back into his curry, pushing over another piece of paper with arcane drawings and notes.

          “Sorta, but I’m still working on it. I know what to look for, and I’m slowly getting an idea of what I’m looking at. The more I tinker the more of it ‘reveals’ itself to me, and it’s complex as all hell but there’s an elegance to it that’s a bit familiar. I’m pretty sure that several of the people who built it were musicians, because there’s something about it that flows that I intuitively can follow. Not to say that it isn’t also hideously complex, though, I’ve made a few sketches and notes there, but that’s only what I was able to scrawl out in about two hours. Give me two more days and I’ll have most of what I know documented. And that’s what I’ve got now, I’m not even talking about what I’m going to figure out later after more study.”

          “Dang, ‘cuz, that is stupidly complex. And it’s going to get even worse? How are you going to keep it all straight in your head?” Wrinkling his nose, Lys leaned back in his chair as he sipped his tea.

          “Not entirely sure, to be honest. I don’t think it will be a problem, but I’ll need to have total focus and concentration. It’s like…a performance. Like right now I can’t remember off the top of my head some of the lines from most of the works I’ve done, but put me on stage with other actors and it’ll just flow right back. It’s a weird kind of memory retention I’ve got. Which is why I’m certain that there were a couple of performers in that group, because it feels too musical, structured, I dunno. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it, we need every bonus and ‘plus one’ that we can get right now.” Elliott set down his chopsticks and stared off at nothing in particular, chin on his folded hands.

          “Another thing that has just occurred to me is if there is a specific gem type that would be the most beneficial. Are we best off utilizing the respective gems with which we were assigned? Is there a singular type that we can all use universally that gives us the greatest amount of storage possible? Further, we’ve not yet tried channeling through them, is it possible to overwhelm ourselves by drawing too much at once?”

          “Ooh, good questions, love,” replied Lys, scribbling down a quick note, “as soon as we start getting gems created reliably, we’ll need to start experimenting among ourselves to see what our optimal stockpile will be, as well as the size of it.” Putting down his chopsticks after finishing his second plate, Sebastian leaned over the papers again.

          “I’ll do some spelunking in the mines later, then, see if Gil can go with me so we can start grabbing some of the raw materials we’ll need to craft with. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some natural gems down there that we can learn from or re-craft to our needs. We’re already lucky in that we took out their Earth Reclaimed, so the mines are mine to explore with impunity.”

          “Take me with you when you go, I might be able to help track and sense metal seams and other things down there that you might not be able to. And more hands to carry it back, right?” That violet smile was becoming less rare and more frequently welcome, and Alex returned it.

          “Can do. Are you free tomorrow before band practice?”

          “Yeah, I’ve got gridball practice but that’s not until evening, so I’m good to go exploring a while.” Standing up, Lys collected up the plates and took them to the sink.

          “Looks like we’ve all got a plan of action for the next couple of days. I’ll broadcast a text update once I’ve had some sleep and can condense everything down a bit.”

          “Sounds great. I don’t think there’s anything else I can add here, so if I’m not being rude, I’m going to bounce back home and get back to that project. Thanks for dinner, you two are great cooks. Oh, and I like the new hairstyle, it suits you.”

          “Not at all, and thanks, twice! I’m getting better at it, and it’s fun to share it with everyone. Sleep well whenever you finally get around to it.” Sebastian accepted a hug from Lys and Elliott without protest and jumped back home. Standing and stretching, Alex sighed with satisfaction.

          “I should do the same. It was a long practice and I need to crash out hard. Ditto on the hair thing, it should look too girly but you make it work. And dinner totally hit the spot after all of that work, though, maybe I should move in here if this is what you have every night.”

          “That sounds like the setup for the plot of a tasteless and naughty story,” snickered Lys, earning him a cuff on the shoulder.

          “I really hope you never change. You two are great together.”

          “Your endorsement means more than you know, Alexander. Rest well and recover, we need your strength if we are to succeed.”

          “Will do, gotta protect family. And y’know what, you’re just so nice, sweet even, but that’s cool, not weird. Heh, man, if I were into dudes I think you’d be my type. I don’t think I could beat Lys in anything other than a fistfight, though. Hunh? What’s so funny?” Lys waved at him to dispel the conversation.

          “Nothing, just a thought. Crash out, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Another round of hugs and the athlete vanished, allowing Lys to continue giggling.

          “You find something more than ‘nothing’ to be amusing. May I be privy to that which entertains you?”

          “Remember when Sam woke me up the other night for a chat? He said something similar, and that he couldn’t quite match up to you. Just… It kinda strikes me as funny that if things had been a tad different who we would all find attractive.” With a warm, soft smile, Elliott kissed him again and ran his fingers down his partner’s back.

          “That is true, but no matter what world in which we would live, I am certain that I would always fall in love with you.”

          “You are such a delightful romantic, which is good because I’m terrible at it. Let’s take care of the dishes and get some sleep ourselves, all of that planning took a lot out of me.”


          Though they had gone to bed right after cleaning up, they did not go to sleep for some time after. Because of this, they only had a few hours of rest before a voice echoed loudly in Lys’s mind.

          TALIESIN, AWAKEN! THY COMPANION IS IN DANGER!
           
          • Alkanthe

            Alkanthe Supernova

            I was afraid of that. : P
             
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            • Risukage

              Risukage Giant Laser Beams

              It was going to happen eventually, the Reclaimed have been too quiet lately. Time to foil their evil plans! At least this time they've got an early warning system.
               
                Alkanthe likes this.
              • Risukage

                Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                //Why yes, I did reference that series, and yes, they did really do that. I've been waiting for them to pull off this move for SO LONG, you have no idea. :D//


                Lys sat up with a jolt as Bamahut’s warning rang in his ears, waking Elliott.

                What? Who?

                THE ONE WHO DWELLS UPON THE MOUNTAIN. ALREADY THREE HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED TO DISPATCH THY FRIEND; THE WIND, THE IRON, THE LIGHTNING. FRAGMENTS OF MY SELF ARE BEING SUMMONED AS WE COMMUNICATE, BY LIGHTNING AND IRON. THEY ARE AMBITIOUS BUT NOT FOOLISH, THEY PLAN TO OVERWHELM WITH SUPERIOR NUMBERS AND STRENGTH. BUT THEY KNOW NOT OF OUR BOND, TALIESIN, AWAKEN ANEIRIN AND MAKE HASTE, THOU HAST TIME ENOUGH TO INTERVENE.

                Got it, and thanks. I owe you one. EVERYONE!! We’ve got Reclaimed on the mountain!

                The mental broadcast woke everyone, and Lys smiled as he reached for trousers that the replies were not of panic or confusion, but confirmation. As soon as he and Elliott had that bare minimum of clothing they shifted to their Empowered forms and teleported to Sebastian’s room. They were the last to arrive, and not the only ones ready for battle. Sebastian was kneeling, eyes closed and one hand on the ground, concentrating on the seismic and thaumic waves that he could sense around his home.

                “That bond was worth every second of pain you suffered, and I owe you my life,” Sebastian remarked, looking up at his friend, “I know where they are right now, and we can ambush them. If it weren’t for Bahamut in your head right now I wouldn’t know about this until it was too late. Let’s take the party to them. Ready?”

                “I’ve got the location, ready when you are,” Haley said, her eyes unfocused as she concentrated, “I’ve got optimal positions for everyone, jump on my mark. Go!!”

                As one, the Chosen teleported out of Sebastian’s room and outside, already channeling mana for a full-out assault. Abigail had a slightly different mission for a moment, taking flight like usual, but her mana went into a large bubble around Sebastian’s house.

                Shield’s up. It’s only going to protect against minor debris, but I’ve got it completely warded against noise and vibration. We can get as noisy and crazy as we want out here and won’t wake anyone up.

                Excellent, that will prevent future questions that we really don’t have the ability to answer. Haley, give us our targets!

                On it. Alex, main tank Umbra Ferrum, Sebastian, off-tank Umbra Fulgur. Elliott and Abby on Birgitte, Lys on Anadlwyn, Sam on Nikolai. Nikolai hits fast and hits hard, but he’s only a distraction right now. Birgitte has a lot of defense, but if we can crack that quickly we can focus fire better on Nikolai. We’ll have to assume that she’s recovered from the last fight, but if she isn’t, that’s to our advantage. We don’t know much about Anadlwyn yet, but he was known for accuracy and flight, so let’s neutralize that with Lys’s speed and defenses. I’ll adjust as we get an idea of capabilities.

                Six voices replied their understanding, and in the handful of seconds in which it took to have this exchange, the Chosen closed with their enemy, who were caught flat-footed. Birgitte, to her credit, immediately deployed her armor and attempted to attack Haley, but found herself blocked by Elliott, wielding nearly a quarter of the nearby lake.

                “Shadow’s bite, are you insane?” she gasped, “there’s no way that you can control that much at once!”

                “You really should concentrate more on yourself than what I am doing,” he smiled, allowing the water to sweep and flow around them lazily, keeping the energy moving, and spalling off shards and tendrils of ice and water to keep busy her armor fragments. Completely on defense, Birgitte was forced to use all of her armor to deflect his attacks, and any attempt to close the distance was met with a cold, sharp reception. Abigail wielded twin pistols again, and her attacks, though not powerful, were hitting frequently as they slipped past Birgitte’s defenses. Nikolai desperately tried to assist her, but Sam matched his speed and agility, blocking him with infuriating skill.

                The fey-like Wind Reclaimed also circled overhead, but the look of careful concentration changed to concern as Lys shifted his cloak back into wings and launched himself off of a hard light platform. Drawing both swords, he summoned fire to form a light shield around himself, preparing to bolster it from any angle from which he sensed an attack. Flapping hard and summoning wind to carry himself higher and faster, Anadlwyn tried to put distance between himself and Lys so that he could use his bow.

                “Don’t bother running, you’ll only die tired,” Lys taunted, testing his opponent. The Wind did not rise to the bait, only choosing to try to put more distance between them, and, failing this after a few attempts, drew back his bow and loosed an arrow wrapped in wind. Lys allowed this to fly at him, turning aside at the last moment to let it pierce and be burned up in his shield. A smile flickered at the corner of his lips as he recalled his fencing classes, and he stood upon a hard light platform, both swords at the ready, waiting to see what the other man would do. This attack had been unsuccessful, therefore it made no sense to try it on him again, so it logically would follow that he would attack someone else. However, this would leave the Wind open to attack, and Lys was holding his action, ready to intercept or deflect any further arrows or leave his friends to defend themselves while he went in for the kill. Both men knew this, and Anadlywn’s eyes narrowed as Lys’s grin grew wider.

                “Stalemate,” he chuckled, quickly checking everyone’s position thanks to Haley’s input, “shall I turn this into a checkmate, or will you forfeit?” Giving Lys a glare of annoyed patience, his eyes flickered over the battlefield as he did the same, not having the luxury of a Voice.

                “For the moment I am unable to act. But at the same time you are in the same position. Until the state of the fight below us changes we must be patient.”

                Hey, Bahamut, do you have any info on your elemental fragments down there? Can I control them myself or at least sever the connection from their Reclaimed?

                THEY ARE LITTLE MORE THAN MINDLESS BEASTS, ATTACKING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT UNLESS GUIDED BY A SUMMONER. NO, THERE IS NO WAY TO TAKE OVER ONE ONCE IT HAS BEEN SUMMONED, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BREAK THE CONNECTION, THOUGH I AM UNCERTAIN HOW IT COULD BE DONE. THOU ART ON THY OWN, TALIESIN.

                Damn, worth a try.

                I’ve got something I wanna try, sent Sam, Alex, remember what we were working on the other day?

                Wait you mean- Oh hell yes, I need to see this happen.

                Awww yiss, this is gonna be sweet. Line ‘em up for me if you can, I wanna make this a Quigley. Besides, I’ll only get one shot at this, so I need to make it count.

                Got it. Change of battle plans! Alex, tank both dragons until Sebastian can grab them. Elliott and Abigail, see if you can get Birgitte and Nikolai into the path as well. If not, as long as we can take out those two we’ve made a major dent in their power.

                I’m not sure what you’ve got in mind, Sam, but here goes. I’ll only try to restrain them if I’m certain that they’ll all be aligned, otherwise it’ll take too much power and focus.

                Affirmative. Birgitte is unable to do anything more than block me and has already changed her position more than once to avoid my attacks. I will be able to maneuver her without issue.

                Good, ‘cause Nikolai is being totally uncooperative. I don’t know if you can kite him into position, Abby, but even if you can’t, just keep him off of me.

                Easy enough. I’ll keep him moving, he won’t be able to get close to any of you.

                You’ve got your orders, go!

                Sebastian was swallowed up by the earth as he dove deep below its surface, protecting himself from attack and becoming one with his home. He felt Alex grab Umbra Fulgur’s attention, dragging both shadow-monsters over to himself, and the moment they were close, Sebastian pulled them both down into the ground almost up to their bodies. He wasn’t sure what Sam had in mind, so he left as much as possible above ground while still trying to keep them from trying to escape. As soon as they had been restrained, Alex redirected to Nikolai, harrying him with Sam to get closer to the dragons, or, at least, aligned. Grinning again, Lys winked at Anadlwyn.

                “I’ll have to play with you later, but don’t get too ambitious if you don’t want to get hurt.” Diving off of the hard light platform, Lys dropped out of the sky to provide a third front that Nikolai needed to defend. Despite being technically faster than anyone else, the Link between the Chosen gave them the ability to nudge and guide their opponent without him noticing. Anadlwyn nocked another arrow to his bow, looking for a target of opportunity, when he felt winds shift that were not natural or his own. Abigail, still wielding her pistols, looped lazily around and fired a few taunting shots at him. Avoiding them with ease, he gave her a thoughtful glance as he eyed the battlefield below him, trying to ascertain her intentions.

                I’ve got the Wind’s attention. Clear skies, everyone, do what you need to.

                Without warning, Nikolai sank into the ground up to his knees, and Sam and Alex teleported to the far side of the dragons. All attempts at attacking with ranged electricity failed, as Sebastian was not only restraining him, but grounding him as well. Sam closed his eyes and gathered as much power as he could, focusing and guiding it, as Alex’s armor leapt off of himself to form two long, parallel, slightly curved rails. Elliott and Birgitte could not see this, but again, with the Link, Elliott knew where to go, and now that Lys was free from Nikolai, helped to fight the Iron Reclaimed. Likewise, she also found herself knee-deep in the soil, but unlike Nikolai, was not prevented from using her abilities. Her armor fragments dug and tore ineffectively at the ground, and all attempts at trying to pry herself free were met with a lack of success. That familiar, manic grin was now dangerous as electricity crackled across Sam’s body.

                “With metal and electricity I create music. Now I will use it to play the last song you will ever hear.”

                He wrapped his power around the rails, creating a powerful magnetic field between them and producing an eerie, hair-raising hum. Nikolai sensed the power being used and its nature, and watched with fascinated horror, not quite understanding what it was being used for but recognizing its destructive potential.

                “It’s…beautiful…”

                Birgitte saw the twin rails, and though she couldn’t sense what Nikolai could, she had an idea of what was coming and pulled in all of her armor and power, dumping it all into defense, knowing that it might be futile anyway. Uncoiling the copper staff from around his arm, Sam straightened it out and handed it to Alex, who flicked it into the gap between the rails. Immediately it was accelerated to several times the speed of sound by Lorentz forces, very nearly becoming a plasma in a fraction of a second. Both dragons were immediately shredded by the shockwave and heat that followed the now-liquid jet of copper, and Nikolai mercifully perished too quickly to feel any pain before he was likewise obliterated. Birgitte’s shields were pierced by the copper projectile, which continued on and impacted deep into the mountainside, and they ablated away completely and kept her from being immediately killed by the impact and shockwave that followed.

                Sebastian released her and surfaced, allowing her to collapse forward, but she still had the strength to push herself up onto her elbows.

                “…Very…clever… Combining your powers into something so destructive… My seed was mistaken… You have not been to war, but that does not mean that you never fought battles to defend something that you treasure. We were strong but all of you are powerful, and together you are unstoppable.” She laughed weakly and smiled. “I actually feel bad for the Echo now. While I still have control of my own mind, now that the seed has been destroyed, I ask that you please bring me to my grandfather, so that he can achieve closure. I am honored to have been able to fight warriors like you. May the light of Yoba illuminate your path.” Alex knelt to gently take her hand.

                “We carry the light with us always.” Her smile faded as she sagged, and Lys saw the thread of Shadow mana detach and fade away. Anadlwyn teleported away immediately, knowing that there was no chance of victory on his own. They shared a moment of silence in respect, and Abigail dispelled the barrier over Sebastian’s home.

                “So who’s got funeral detail?” she asked, returning to her normal state, wearing comfortable pajama pants in violet with a shirt that bore the logo of the latest Legend of the Prairie King game. Everyone else but Alex, Lys, and Elliott did the same (although Lys changed the wings back to the cloak), all also dressed in their sleepwear.

                “I’ll go,” offered the athlete, picking up Birgitte, “as the same element, I feel like I should be the one to do it.”

                “We’ll go, too. Rasmodius and the others will want to hear about Bahamut, and this is really something that shouldn’t be done alone.” Sebastian had shifted back to his t-shirt and shorts, and shot a glance back at the house before hugging Lys with an intensity he’d never seen before.

                “I’m not kidding, dude, you just saved my life and that of my family. You took crazy risks despite the pain and danger, and it’s benefiting us all already. I don’t think I’ll ever have a way to pay you back.” Surprised only for a moment, Lys returned the hug, holding his friend warmly.

                “Maybe I’m paying all of you back for what you’ve done. No debts, no worries.” Sebastian’s hold somehow tightened for a moment at this. To the fiery man’s shock, he kissed Lys on the cheek, stepped back, and teleported away. Sam and Abigail stared at the spot that their friend had just occupied.

                “Did he just-“

                “He did, and that was so hot. Not going to tease him about it, though, he was right. You’ve done some scary, painful stuff for us, and I don’t know if we’re ever going to make it up to you.”

                “I told you already, no debts, no worries. You two, and Haley, head on home and go back to sleep. We’ll deal with this.” The three in question left without further prodding, and the remaining three jumped to the tower in the forest.
                 
                  Last edited: Dec 25, 2016
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                • Risukage

                  Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                  //Hello, I hope you all had a lovely series of holidays. Apologies for the short and somewhat disjointed chapters last week, I really wanted to put up something because I did have ideas, but I was so pressed for time that they didn't come out quite like I hoped. Oh well, meh!

                  Anyway, in today's episode, see if you can name the two big references. A digital cookie for you if you can! (And Sam's video game gripe at the end of the chapter is me making a very oblique reference and bitch about the way World of Warcraft kept buffing and nerfing certain builds or abilities. Nerdrage.) Also, I blame/credit @Kid Absurdity for inspiring said references, so thanks, mate, I'm still giggling. :rofl:

                  Also, I have found that the soundtrack for Doctor Who (the 10th and 11th doctors) is excellent writing music for this story. Just, yes, it nails the right mood.//


                  Standing in the middle of the circle in the middle of the tower, Alex looked around and grimaced as something occurred to him.

                  "Um, it's the middle of the night, everyone's going to be asleep. Isn't it rude to wake them?"

                  "Too late," Lys observed, squinting a bit as he saw something to which he was only recently being attuned, "Rasmodius has set up a few wards, and I bet you a beer that this not only alerted and woke him, but told him how many of us are here, and possibly not only that we were friendly but outright who we are."

                  "Curiously astute," spoke a familiar and old voice, as Rasmodius walked in wearing a dressing gown and rubbing his eyes. He stopped short at the sight of all of them, his gaze lingering on Lys's new attire and the limp form in Alex's arms. "...I see. There was a battle. What happened- No, we will wait for the others."

                  "Are you sure that we should wake them?" Alex's question was answered by triple swirls of light as the other three Elders teleported in, also in various states of night-dress.

                  "Whatever happened up there was hot, heavy and fast, and I don't need any innuendo from you," Marlon snapped, shooting Lys a meaningful glare, who shrugged with indifference and waited for him to continue, "and it also left a right mess up there. You better get Sebastian to..." He saw who it was that Alex carried and trailed off, his eyes wide and pain scrawled across his face. "Birgitte..."

                  "Her last request was to bring her to you," Elliott supplied, "it appears that in her final moments she was able to break free of her seed's control long enough to speak for herself. And you are correct, it was a swift but harsh battle. Alex and Sam worked in conjunction, combining their abilities to create something that likely will not work again, but successfully destroyed two dragons and the Lightning Reclaimed."

                  "Two... By the light, what did you do?" asked Rasmodius as the others just stared.

                  "I would be delighted to explain the concept and execution of a railgun, as well as their adaptation of it for their needs, but that will take far too long, and it is late- or early- enough as it is."

                  "Fair enough. Marlon, if you need..."

                  "No, I... Thank you, friend, but I need to do this alone. I will require your support later, but for the moment, allow me my closure on my own terms." He reverently took his descendant from Alex and walked from the room to one of the staircases that led out. The three Chosen watched him depart, all sharing the unspoken hope that he would find resolution. The three Elders saw this and assured them that he would. Sighing, Linus hung his head, clenching and unclenching a fist.

                  "It appears that I will be the last to see my line find its proper end. If you are able to bring him back to me I shall be forever grateful, but if you cannot, then I shall not fault you. That you brought back two is miraculous in itself, I shan't ask for further." Gil was slightly more pragmatic, his fist on his chin as he considered something.

                  "The number of our enemy has effectively been halved, then. The Earth was returned some time ago, and now Iron and Lightning have fallen for the last time. You only must contend with Wind, Water, and Fire. I daresay that you face your greatest enemies, as though they are few they are potentially the strongest."

                  "I won't argue that point," Lys replied, folding his arms across his chest, "if my great-grandfather is anything like me then we're in for a hell of a fight, and the Water has already done a damn fine job of making a mess of us. Well, me, anyway. And I wasn't able to gather much data, but the Wind appears to be smart and calculating. However, since he used almost no abilities or attacks in that last fight I can't be certain. True, it was over pretty quickly, and he ran as soon as his companions were defeated, but I'm not going to be stupid and underestimate him. Abby has proved that Wind can be useful and devastating if used right, and he seems to be the type to favor finesse and tactics over brute force, like I do."

                  "Not as much anymore, I think," observed his ancestor, eyeing his armor again, "you no longer wear the garb of a fast striker, you wear something befitting a leader. You remind me of your late great-grandfather."

                  "I...may have subconsciously borrowed a bit from him," the Fire Chosen sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "with everything that's happened recently it just felt rather natural. Hell, even the Junimos noticed, they call me 'Taliesin' now, not 'Wildfire.' I've changed a lot in these last few months." Rasmodius's gaze flickered over to Elliott with a silent question that was answered with a nod. He sighed as well, smiling faintly.

                  "For the first time that I can recall I know hope again. I know that you will find a solution to all of this. Never again will we send the children of this land to their deaths, and I may yet see my line flourish once more." Lys snorted and rolled his eyes.

                  "That at least is not happening for a while. If you really want great-whatever grandkids, you're going to have more luck talking to my parents about trying again." Before any further banter or arguments could unfold, Alex stepped in.

                  "It's late, or early, I dunno which right now, but I just want to get back to sleep, because Sebastian and I were going to try to hit the mines tomorrow. I'll explain in the morning," he clarified to the Elders, "but we need stuff, and we were hoping we could borrow Marlon and Gil to help." The former Chosen of Earth looked confused but pleased and offered his assistance.

                  "Just come knock on the door when you two get there and we'll be right out. Marlon will return in a while and I'll let him know. He might be a bit distant but he'll be ready to assist. The old Iron may need time to mourn properly, but he's a professional, and knows how to put his emotions aside for the sake of a mission. You'd better be prepared to tell us all about what happened up there tonight, though, it woke all of us up, and I've no idea how you'll explain it to Sebastian's family."

                  "No need, Abby put up a shield to block the sound and energy of the fight. I'll tell him to go smooth out the landscape when he gets up, though, we kinda forgot with everything that happened and what was going on."

                  "You all are the most clever and powerful group of Chosen we have ever instructed. It is fitting that you all will be the last."

                  Everyone returned to their beds or homes, and Lys exhaled deeply as he stretched his arms over his head, clad only in his trousers after releasing his Empowered form back in their bedroom.

                  "Criminy, I'm not going to get much sleep tonight, we- ah!"

                  "We might if you discard those quickly enough," Elliott suggested, nibbling on Lys's ear as he deftly undid Lys's pants with one hand.

                  "Oh really! Couples really do resemble each other after a while. Does fighting for your life excite you or something?"

                  "A bit of peril can be exciting, yes, but it is more that you are simply regal in your armor and it does very good things for me."

                  "You appear to have a bit of a royalty fetish, I see. Do I need to demand that you address me properly?" Lys grinned as he kissed Elliott and helped him with his pants. Elliott returned the smile, tilting up his partner's chin with gentle fingers.

                  "Let us find out. Command me, my king."


                  At the community center later the next day (after everyone had gotten some but not enough sleep), Lys paced back and forth as he gestured and talked, describing his plan and how Sebastian and Alex were involved. He paused now and then to scrawl on a whiteboard that they'd pulled out of the storeroom (with a box of markers that hadn't dried out yet, either!), and in a short amount of time it was covered with drawings and notes. Sam reclined in a chair with his hands folded behind his head and one ankle crossed over his other knee, watching and thinking with a greater level of focus that anyone not his friend would have found strange for him. Then a grin split his face.

                  "So we're using gems? That's outrageous." Abigail caught onto his reference and smirked.

                  "Truly, truly outrageous," she added, and they gave each other a high-five as Lys gave them a flat, unamused look.

                  "No. Just...no."

                  "C'mon, dude, we all know that you look hot as a woman."

                  "That's true, but I'm ginger, not pink. And I swear to the light if I see either of you come near me with a bottle of peroxide I will set you on fire."

                  "Well, we could take it in another direction and try fusions," he offered, his grin bisecting his face like it usually did when he was feeling particularly cheeky.

                  "Too late," Lys rebuffed, gesturing to the new colors he was not hiding at the moment, "and though I look good as a woman, I'm not actually female, so that reference rather falls apart." Sam blew a raspberry as Abigail giggled. Only partially paying attention to the exchange, Sebastian and Alex sat at the table and worked to craft gems from raw materials, whooping with victory as they successfully transmuted a diamond. It was small, but Alex held it up and examined it visually and thaumically, pounding the tabletop with his fist.

                  "Yes, we did it! And it's perfectly flawless, too!" Sighing with relief, Sebastian leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair.

                  "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be- shut up, Sam-"

                  "That's what she said!" Abigail supplied instead, and Sam guffawed.

                  "Wait, you did? Dang, Sebby, I'm sorry about your-"

                  "Oh my gods, shut up you both," he groaned, putting his face in his hands. Haley was next to roll her eyes as she took the diamond from Alex and looked at it with curiosity.

                  "A twelve-faceted diamond? That's pretty strange, but it looks neat. Usually the cuts used are the type to allow the maximum amount of refraction possible and thus the greatest amount of luster. However, you're not going for beauty, you're going for function, which is its own sort of beauty in its own way. Yeah, I don't sense any inclusions or flaws, this is a completely perfect diamond. Wow, what this would be worth..." Handing it over to Sebastian, she picked up Lys's stack of paper notes (to which he'd added more that morning) and skimmed them again. Lys paused in his pacing to think of something.

                  "Well, damn, that's something else we might have to consider; are gems with flaws and/or inclusions better or worse than 'pure' gems? For all we know those imperfections might allow more stability or capacity. And as you just pointed out, what is the best cut or shape for them? Augh, so many variables, so little time." Elliott was the next to examine the brilliant gemstone and offer his thoughts.

                  "First we must determine the optimal load-out for ourselves. Once we know what will give us the greatest benefit we can then experiment within those results." Sebastian tapped the tabletop with a finger, considering something.

                  "That's what I was thinking. Here, Alex, synthesize me a quick bit of obsidian. It's faster and easier to make, and I can be the first to test the, well, type-system. While I'm tinkering between them, see if you can make one each of everyone else's respective stones."

                  "Except for Haley," Lys interjected, "she needs focus, not capacity. I'm not risking draining or injuring you."

                  "Don't patronize me, Lysander," she sniffed with a dangerous look, "I'll just be the last to upload to you, so that if I do burn out or find myself unable to channel further at least we'll have gotten every last drop of mana out of everyone else."

                  "...Very well. We do need every scrap that we can manage. I'd rather find us having too much and needing to scale back rather than scrambling for power that we don't have." Her glare softened and she reached out to squeeze his hand as he walked by again.

                  "Thanks for being concerned about me, sweetie, but this is going to take all of us giving all that we've got, and I'm not going to hold back. I've spent way too much time in the background, just observing. I want to step up and do something. I may not channel the same way that all of you do, but I wield just as much power, and all of it is yours." Lys's smile was just as soft, though his posture still spoke of someone both concerned and determined.

                  "I shouldn't have assumed that you wouldn't be have the ability, I'm sorry. I should be encouraging people to step up, not hold back."

                  "You've learned from your error and have made steps to change, so I think you're doing just fine. No king is born wise, you know." Lys sighed again and shook his head.

                  "You too? I'm no king and you lot know it. I'm a Bard."

                  "You're a leader," Alex spoke up, having finished converting raw materials into a chunk of obsidian, "and you've been acting like it more and more every day. Nobody pushed you into that position, you took it yourself. Look at yourself right now, the way you carry yourself is different than a month ago. Hell, a week ago." Lys clasped his hands behind his back and looked away, knowing that his cousin's words were correct.

                  "I just didn't want anyone to get hurt."

                  "And that's why."

                  Sam had stood up to better look at Lys's whiteboard commentary and laughed at a random thought.

                  "Hey, so, how are we carrying them? Do we have to refit our armor with gem slots now? Oooh, I wonder if we can get some of 'em to give us stat boosts. Think you can cut me a few gems to max out my Agility? Evasion tank for the win!"

                  "The universe would find some way to nerf your ass," Sebastian chuckled, holding the gems in either hand as he experimented.

                  "Pfft, as if the devs already didn't? I was so pissed when they implemented diminishing returns. That took all of the fun out of that one raid, and that spec just became useless. It sucked having to swap Agility for Accuracy, that totally screwed with my gear and build."

                  Abigail and Sam bantered back and forth with Sebastian about the game that they had previously played together as the Chosen of the Earth tinkered and related his findings to Lys, who took more notes, assisted by Elliott, who asked more questions. Alex had to depart for his gridball practice, but not before making at least one of everyone's respective gems and a couple more diamonds of differing sizes and make. With these everyone began testing and experimenting with and among themselves, as well as channeling mana through Haley to Lys. It was quite dark out when they all parted ways for the night, exhausted but satisfied. Lys had more than tripled his notes, and had taken several pictures of the whiteboard to record what they had written down in order to wipe it clean for further ideas. They still didn't have a full plan, but it was coming together. They just needed more time...
                   
                  • Kid Absurdity

                    Kid Absurdity Big Damn Hero

                    When you think about it, Lysander is basically Jem.
                     
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                    • Risukage

                      Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                      ...I regret nothing...
                       
                      • Kid Absurdity

                        Kid Absurdity Big Damn Hero

                        Neither do I. Every reader's cringe only strengthens my resolve.
                         
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                        • Risukage

                          Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                          //You know, for a high-fantasy story I've got a surprising lack of magic. I appear to be rather rubbish at this sort of thing...//


                          Late the next afternoon, with arms folded across his chest, Lys eyed the lock critically, walking around it and huffing in irritation. It wasn't the actual lock itself, but rather, a projection that Lys had created from his memory of it, and not only was it was eye-wateringly complex at this point, it was likely to get even more so. Elliott walked out to him with a cup of fresh coffee, kissing him on the neck and giving him a gentle hug. Returning the gesture with a peck on the cheek, Lys felt him join the Link so he could hear Bahamut and the Junimos.

                          "Thanks, love. I'm getting the 'feel' of this, and I'm feeling better about our plan and its chances, but... Something about it bothers me. It's too easy, too familiar." Glancing at the projection, Elliott looked at Lys with surprise.

                          "I do not doubt you, yet I am uncertain as to how you can find something as arcane as this to be simple in any form."

                          "I'm not sure myself. It just...is. Hey, you guys got any insight or what? I know you can't see it like I do, but do you have any other memories at all of when this damn thing was built? Any snippet, any bit of trivia might help. Just...damn, I feel like there's something that I'm missing that's huge."

                          Bahamut, anything on your end? I know you didn't exist until after this thing was constructed, but maybe you can see something on your end that we can't.

                          MY APOLOGIES, TALIESIN, BUT I CANNOT VIEW IT AT ALL FROM MY REALM. I CAN SEE THY CONSTRUCT FROM THINE EYES THROUGH OUR CONNECTION, BUT IT MAKES LITTLE SENSE- NO, WAIT, I AM WRONG. LIKE THEE I ALSO SENSE SOMETHING STRANGELY FAMILIAR. IF I MAY, I THINK I CAN MODIFY THY DESIGN.

                          Go ahead. Here, channel through me, I'm ready.

                          He allowed Bahamut to make some changes, and his frown deepened.

                          "Something's definitely not right, this is way too familiar to both of us. What the hell." The golden Junimo observed the lock-projection that rotated slowly high above it, tapping a stick-like limb to what could be the equivalent of its chin.

                          "We are not immortal, we simply have lives that far exceed that of you, and we do not perceive the world as you do. As such, memories and lore can sometimes get lost or distorted, even to us. As I think back to those who were there for the event, I recall one of them stating that one of them died in the creation of this barrier." Elliott and Lys were shocked by this bit of news, and Bahamut shared this emotion. Both hands on his mug, Elliott stared at the lock again as he mulled over this information.

                          "I do not believe that it was an accident. They were too smart and powerful, and though something is likely to go wrong on something of this scale with this amount of power, it does not feel right that one of them would be a fatality due to negligence or measures beyond their control." Sipping thoughtfully, Lys flicked at the projection to make it spin on its axis, considering a few possibilities. Then his mind grabbed a particularly terrible thread and ran with it.

                          Bahamut, when... How soon after this lock was built were YOU created?

                          I AM UNCERTAIN. ALL THAT I KNOW IS THAT THE ENERGY THAT WAS THE FINAL SPARK AND GAVE ME FORM ONCE THE JUNIMOS HAD OFFERED THEIR ESSENCE WAS THE LAST TO ENTER OUR REALM, AFTER- OH...

                          ...The Junimos created you from the person who was killed in erecting the barrier...

                          Not privy to the mental conversation, the Junimos responded with curiosity to the horrified expressions that both men wore.

                          "Bahamut said that it was made from the last energies to enter, after the barrier was already up."

                          "That is true. But we could not have done it without help. I have been diving through the collective memories that we share, searching for anything at all of note during that time. We do not remember things as you do; we spread it among ourselves so that nothing is every truly lost. However, it does mean that information can be a bit fragmented until we actually 'compile our notes,' as you would put it. I have the information that you need, and it is a...distressing tale..."

                          "Tell me. I need to know everything."

                          "It appears that those who built the barrier needed something to make it function. Not only did they desire to trap power here to extend their lives and enrich the valley, but they also sought to become as gods with the power. They could not do that without a conduit to guide and shape that energy, however, and selected one of their own to be that living focus. That person had been amicable to the creation of the barrier, but not being a part of it, and the reason for which they were selected is unknown to us. What we were able to observe, however, is that there was a battle between that person and their companions, and though they fought well, they were overpowered and the others successfully 'bonded' them to the barrier. They existed in a state between both worlds, a bridge. Still barely alive, they retained control of their own mind but not their power.

                          "Infuriated by this betrayal, their mate broke ties with their former allies and waited, plotting vengeance. We approached them, offering our condolences, and asked if there was anything that they knew or could do in order to undo what had been done. Though that person was a skilled mage, they were not present for or involved in the planning or construction, and had nothing of value. But what they could do was offer their assistance in seeking revenge against those who had taken their mate. We were indifferent to the nature of this plan, and we accepted it. For a while we waited, attempting to deconstruct what had been assembled, but it was beyond our vision, and our mortal ally was not strong enough to do it alone.

                          "Once the power build-up on this side became too great we knew that we had to take action. That person offered an idea, having studied the Shadow realm as well. We worked together, and it was decided that we would summon a creature from the other side. It would cause death and suffering on this side, yes, but without it the consequences would be much worse in the long-run. Many of us gave up a portion of ourselves in order to power that which we would bring, but it lacked that seed, that spark. Cut off from the other realm, we were uncertain as to how we would make it manifest in our world, when the lone mage finally established contact with their trapped companion. Though they still retained their mind after that time, they existed in and out of both worlds at the same time, and saw no option for escape, save one: they volunteered to be the source of the summon's power, even though they knew that they would perish in the process.

                          "Their mate was devastated, as they had tried for so long to seek an option to free them, but they knew that there was nothing that they could do, and they agreed to it as well. They desired vengeance for what had been done, as they knew that the summon would bring suffering to those who had done this. When Umbra Volatus swept through town and slaughtered those who had taken away their beloved, they felt satisfaction that those who had betrayed them were no more. But the dragon was mindless and uncontrolled, and brought destruction with abandon. Their child nearly perished in the battle as well, and in that moment they knew that they had miscalculated. As the townsfolk prayed for deliverance, the lone mage made a pact with us, volunteering to fight, provided that their child would be spared and protected. With their assistance and that of the only survivor of those who had created the barrier, the Chosen were created, and the both of them, in conjunction with another five volunteers, set out to defeat Umbra Volatus. They were successful, and the lone mage was the last to stand up against- and fall- to the dragon, defeating and banishing it.

                          "We kept to our word, ensuring that their child was unharmed. They were too young to know what had happened, only that they were now an orphan. They were taken in and raised until they could take over the lands that their parents had owned."

                          "Wait, half a moment," Lys interrupted, "how did that one mage talk to you? Rasmodius and I are close enough to the land that-" He cut off as another possibility came to mind.

                          "You are correct, Taliesin, and it took a lot of searching through our memories to be certain, but that child is the one from whom part of your line originates." Lys dropped his coffee mug, hands over his mouth and eyes wide with horror.

                          "Oh gods... My song, Violette didn't write it, it was written by the person who was trapped, and it was passed down ever since. That's why this lock is so easy to understand." Elliott put a supportive hand on Lys's shoulder.

                          "It is a lot to take in all of a sudden. I do not know how our friends will take the news, either, but-"

                          "No. We won't tell them." Surprised, Elliott stepped back at Lys's emphatic declaration.

                          "Dear, they deserve to know-"

                          "No they don't."

                          "But-" Now angry, Lys gestured emphatically, his voice getting louder.

                          "Damn it, no. I don't want their pity or their sympathy. I'm tired of being a damn pariah. This stays between you and me." Elliott was now angry as well, something that did not often happen.

                          "They have never treated you with anything less than respect."

                          "That is irrelevant. This does not concern them, it stays between us."

                          "Why? Would you have kept this from me as well were I not here for the telling of this story?"

                          "Don't give me that, I know where you're going with this and I'm not falling for it. Of course I'd tell you, you are the one person that needs to know."

                          "And they do not?"

                          "They aren't the one that I married! They aren't the person with whom I decided to spend the rest of my life and share everything. This doesn't concern them." They were shouting now, and the Junimos backed off to give them some space.

                          "How does it not? We are a team, they need to know everything if we are to succeed."

                          "What the hell good will knowing this do for them?! I am the one that's going to try picking this lock and I'm the one putting my damn life on the line."

                          "Even more reason for us to all be in the know! How can we best support you if we are all not fully informed?"

                          "This won't help them! They'll just worry and it will cause nothing but trouble."

                          "What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Elliott, mad enough that he was beginning to swear, albeit lightly, which was still uncharacteristic of him, "you are being childish. Hiding valuable information will be what causes trouble."

                          "Don't you dare talk down to me like that. You damn well know why this is none of their damn business."

                          "No, I do not. Explain it to me, Lysander, since apparently I am too much of a fool to understand how your personal pride is more important than informing the people that are trying to keep you alive."

                          "Pride has nothing to do with it!"

                          "So you fear them knowing? I did not expect cowardice from you at this stage."

                          Elliott staggered as Lys slapped him out of blind anger, not using his full strength but still enough to hurt. Putting a hand to his face, it took him a moment to process what had happened as Lys backed away, just now realizing what he had done. His jaw set with angry determination, Elliott turned on his heel and stalked back to the house. A hard knot of pain formed in Lys's chest as his vision blurred. Not bothering to blink back tears, he hugged himself tightly, fingers digging into his sleeves.

                          "Taliesin, are-"

                          "Go away," he quietly hissed, shoulders tense as they shook with repressed pain.

                          THY MATE ONLY THOUGHT OF THY SAFETY AND-

                          "ALL OF YOU JUST GO AWAY!" he shouted, barely choking off a sob. The Junimos vanished, and he could feel Bahamut's influence retreat from his mind. His eyes burning with tears, his mind with angry thoughts, and his soul with mana, he turned it all inward to prevent lashing out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the image that he still supported, and swatted at it in a fit of pique, which deepened as his hand passed harmlessly through the projection. He dismissed it with a thought and stood there for a while, trying to calm himself enough to not lose control again.

                          You useless son of a bitch. You hit him. You hurt him. You don't deserve a damn thing and you know it, he thought at himself, gods, I hate myself so much. Why did I ever think that I was good enough for someone like him? I ruin every damn thing I touch. It doesn't matter if I die here or not, why should I care?

                          Sitting down heavily under the Stardrop tree, he pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his legs, unsuccessfully trying to silence the chorus of self-recrimination and hate that screamed in his mind. It wasn't until it was quite dark out that he finally went back inside, only because the rage had burned out, leaving him cold and exhausted. Putting the coffee mug in the sink, he didn't see any sign of Elliott, and quietly approached the bedroom. Elliott was already in bed, his back to the door, and Lys hesitated in the doorway.

                          I'm the one that screwed up. I'll take the couch tonight. I don't want to bother him further.

                          "You know why I am angry." Lys gripped the doorframe for a moment, only turning halfway to the room.

                          "Yeah. And you know why I am, too."

                          "Yes." Leaning against the doorframe, he crossed his arms across his chest again.

                          "I shouldn't have hit you. Regardless of our disagreement, it was wrong of me. I'm sorry."

                          "Was it? I provoked you."

                          "And I should be better than that. I'm not. You deserve better." This sparked Elliott's ire and he sat up, glaring at his husband.

                          "Damn it, Lysander! Every time we have an argument you always blame yourself! Why is it so impossible for you to believe that I, too, am fallible and flawed?" He had apparently been crying as well, and Lys crossed the room swiftly to him. Elliott realized this and turned away again, shrugging off Lys's touch. "You treat me like porcelain. I said what I did because when you are angry your true nature shows, you speak your mind freely and openly. I hate having to do so, but sometimes that seems to be the only way to get to the core of your mind." Lys gripped him by the shoulders, forcing him to face him again.

                          "I know you all hate it, and I'm trying to be better about it, but I'm still trying to protect everyone. And... I'm... I... Damn it all, I don't want to die!" His grip tightened enough for it to hurt, but Elliott didn't say anything as Lys found himself unable to choke back tears any longer. "I was just drifting for so long, and then Allen and I had our argument, and after that I lost all will to keep going. I didn't think I was worth anything. I didn't want to start living again until after I met you. Now I've found someone to live for, something to work for, for the first time in my stupid, useless life, and now I've got people trying to kill me, I've nearly been killed by more shit than I want to count, and I might still be killed because other people screwed up and it's now my problem." He rested his forehead on Elliott's chest, feeling the exhaustion from the stress of the day sinking in.

                          "I'm terrified and I can't show it in front of them. They need me to be strong. Not because they're weak, but because they believe in me and that gives them power. Telling them of things like this might undermine that, because they'll all wonder how it will affect me. But I want- need you to know, because I need you to support me, and I'm sorry that I need to lean on you so much like this. I want to share my entire life with you. And I want to have a long one to share. I'm... I'm tired and scared, and I'm tired of being scared, and I... Just... Just stand by me, believe in me." He felt Elliott's hands on his waist and stood back to look at him.

                          "I understand. And I respect that. I will keep your secret as you wish."

                          "Thanks, love. I should tell them, some day, but I need to wrap my mind around it first. Gods, I feel so damn weak... I know, I know, I'm not, but that doesn't stop me from feeling like it."

                          "Once more, I understand and respect your position. I feel helpless in that there is little that I can do to shield you from all of this, so I do what I can to ensure that you do not bear this burden alone. I apologize for shouting, that was wrong of me. I was frustrated because I did not understand, and I did not give you the room or the opportunity to explain. I expected you to do what I would have, without considering your position and your past experiences." Sniffing, Lys managed a small smile and brushed Elliott's hair behind his ear.

                          "It's okay. I'm a stubborn pain in the ass, and that's where I need you to put a boot now and then. But I never should have hit you."

                          "It may not have been right, but you were not wrong. I unjustly and deliberately provoked you, and I long have known your temper and temperament. I deserved that, and perhaps it is best for us both if you do that more often." He saw Lys's expression change and chuckled, tapping him on the nose. "Don't give me that face, I'm happy that you can express yourself like that and that I'm strong enough to take it. We're human. We're going to laugh and cry, we'll shout and smile. I want to experience everything with you, good and bad, because that's life, and I want to share all of it together. If you don't get mad at me more often I shall be annoyed!" Lys laughed at this, evoking a smile from his partner.

                          "I'll try, I really will. Thanks, love, I feel better now."

                          "As do I. Here, disrobe and join me. Let my presence be a shelter under which you can rest and find peace for a little while. Until morning it will just be us; no dragons, Reclaimed, magic, or peril. All of the puzzles that vexed you can wait until tomorrow, and we will face it all together."

                          Nodding, Lys kissed him gratefully, letting it linger a bit, needing just a few more moments to wash away the last of the pain. He discarded his clothes in the laundry bin or over the back of a chair (to which Elliott sighed in patient annoyance) and found himself to be more exhausted than he had thought as he pulled aside the blanket and curled up on his side, already drifting off. Elliott wrapped around him, and he was right, that solid, reassuring warmth took his mind off of what he had just learned and all that he had been working on. His dreams were pleasant but unremarkable, and he found himself to be quite rested and in a positive mood the next day.
                           
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                          • Risukage

                            Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                            //A bit more fun fluff 'cause they need it. Also wanted to take care of a plot point that's been largely neglected so far. Maybe I'm the only one that cares, but it's important to me, damn it! :p

                            (And yes, I did make a tiny reference to Boondock Saints. If you caught it, yay on you for good taste!)//


                            Elliott woke up first, but in getting up, woke his companion, who pulled him back down for a hug and kiss.

                            "It seems as though you are feeling better."

                            "Yeah. You too?"

                            "Mm-hmm. Let us take care of the garden so that we can get back to solving yesterday's problem before we reconvene with our companions." Lys nibbled Elliott's ear and kept his arms wrapped around his neck.

                            "You know, we did have an argument and made up after it yesterday. There's usually something else that we're supposed to do as well, right?"

                            "Oh really now! You are incorrigible, my dear."

                            "What? I just want to see if it's better than how it normally is. Everyone's always going on about how good it's supposed to be, y'know." Smiling and shaking his head, he leaned down to kiss him again, giving in to Lys's request.

                            "Very well, I shall assist you with testing your hypothesis."

                            "Now this is the sort of science I can really appreciate."


                            This left them far less time to finish chores, and therefore less time to investigate further the mystery of the barrier's lock, but they were no closer to an answer at the moment anyway, so they left it at that and left for the community center. Like usual, they were the first there, and Lys made sure he had pictures of the whiteboard before cleaning it off. Sitting at the table with Elliott, they organized and went over their notes again. Shortly after they were joined by the rest of the Chosen, as well as Penny, and began to rigorously test and try as many variables as they could.

                            By the time evening rolled around experiments so far had determined that diamonds would hold the most mana, and though they were best when flawless, minor inclusions were necessary for it to retain the mana that was uploaded. The gems also couldn't be terribly large, either, only about fist-sized, which were sizeable for a stone of that type, to be fair. They did not yet know how many they safely could carry at once, however, and were planning to test that once they got together again, as Alex and Sebastian were rather worn out from the tedious, precise work that left them with aching shoulders and eye strain. Elliott and Lys helpfully offered a quick shoulder rub to work out the tension, which Alex appreciated greatly as he was always on the giving side, and Sebastian slumped forward onto the table as Lys worked, mumbling a muffled "thanks."

                            "Yeah, same," remarked Alex, "I'm not at all used to this delicate stuff. I don't know how people do it."

                            "And I'm surprised that Abby isn't going on about how 'hot' this is or something," Lys smirked. She shrugged and looked over the notes that Penny was making with her precise, neat handwriting.

                            "It technically is, but they were busting their asses for us and that's really sweet of you two, so I can't snark on that."

                            "Fair enough. I'm proper wiped and I wasn't even doing anything. How about we pop out and have a beer or two? I'll cover the tab since, as Abby put it, you two 'busted your asses.'"

                            "You're awesome, 'cuz, sounds great. Seb?"

                            "Mmm. Yeah, whatever," he replied, still muffled between his hair and the tabletop, "as long as he can keep doing that." Abigail giggled and put her chin in her hands, amused by her boyfriend's unusually relaxed state.

                            "So what, you're regretting not dating him instead of me?"

                            "For the first time in my life I am envious of Elliott."

                            "Someone peel the nerd off of the table," Alex grinned, standing up and offering Elliott a fistbump of thanks, "I need a beer and he's holding us back."

                            "Do your own dirty work," sassed the dark-haired man, quite adamant about not moving for a bit longer. Shrugging, Alex strode over and picked him up under one arm, heading toward the door. "Oy! The hell!"

                            "You said-"

                            "Stuff it, jock," he grumbled, though without any heat, "just put me down and let me get my stuff. I should make you finish what he started." Again, Alex grinned, gripping Sebastian's shoulder with a rock-crushing grip between his thumb and fingers, and had to catch his friend as he went a bit weak in the knees. "Dear gods, does that run in the family? You could grind bricks with a grip like that."

                            Everyone retrieved their gear, cleaned up the various messes they'd left around the room, and put the notes in Elliott's satchel for safe keeping. Once everything was tidied up they walked as a group down to the saloon, shifting the discussion away from magic-related matters to that of their upcoming gig. They grabbed a table toward the back for a bit of privacy, and also just in case they got a bit loud. As promised, Lys left his card with Gus and picked up the first round of drinks for everyone. They talked and socialized, feeling quite relaxed, until Sam, finished with his second beer, made a face and stood up.

                            "Too quiet. I mean, we're talking, but there's no tunes, dude. Gonna fix that real fast." He went over to the jukebox and began scrolling through the library, as Gus had replaced the old one with a digital version recently, and Sam was unfamiliar with the new selection. Poking a couple of options, he stopped and scrolled back to one in particular, and his eyes and mouth went wide with awe. Bouncing up and down, he squeaked and gesticulated wildly at his friends and the jukebox simultaneously. "Dudes! It's...dude! Just, dude!!"

                            "Well, you've certainly demonstrated the versatility of the word," snarked Lys, taking a sip from his beer before getting up to see what the spiky-haired man was so excited about.

                            "It's us! Holy shit! Gus, you're freaking awesome!" The bartender smiled and turned back to what he was doing as Lys approached the jukebox, laughing when he saw what Sam was pointing at.

                            "No way. Gus put our album in here. That's wicked nifty. Thanks, mate!" Everyone at the table perked up at this news, and Sebastian looked a bit stunned for a moment before chuckling and shaking his head.

                            "This is almost unreal. People in our own town play our music." Lys noticed out of the corner of his eye a couple of women seated at a different table, definitely tourists, as he didn't recognize them, but they had clearly recognized the people seated around his table. He flashed them a friendly smile, which produced excited chatter between them as they both pulled out their phones. Sam continued to bounce with delighted energy.

                            "Oh wow, YES, this has to happen. Elliott, get your ass up here!" Smiling wryly, the musician in question complied, wondering what Sam had in mind. "This has to happen," he repeated with conviction, pulling up one song in particular.

                            It was the vocal battle piece, the first one that they'd written as a group, and the one that Lys and Elliott had used as inspiration for their book. Grinning at each other, they knew exactly what Sam meant, and took each other's hand as they moved to the dance floor, enjoying the opportunity to listen to their music for once. The music was even more infectious on this side of the instruments, and they happily lost themselves in it, singing in harmony with themselves as they spontaneously danced to it, in synchronous with each other. For a few minutes Lys forgot about their problems; Bahamut, Maurice, the Reclaimed, the barrier, any of it. It was just him, Elliott, and their music. They had naturally attracted an audience, but they didn't care, they danced for each other. When it was over, Lys hugged Elliott around the waist, laughing happily, enjoying the exuberant warmth he felt. One of the two women at the other table approached him, somewhat hesitant but not shyly.

                            "We recorded that," she remarked, holding up her phone, "it was just so cool. If you're not okay with it I can delete it."

                            "Not at all! We had fun, and I'm glad you liked it."

                            "Oh, wow! Um, would it be okay if we uploaded it?"

                            "That would be great! Drop a link on the forums if you can, I'd like to link it to my family, they'd get a kick out of it." She blushed and giggled, bouncing much in the same way that Sam had.

                            "Thanks, so much, you guys are awesome. And your hair, that's neat, it works for you. I'm so jealous, it's such a nice color," she sighed, tucking chestnut-brown hair behind her ear. Lys brushed the end of the braid with his fingertips, suddenly feeling glad that he'd remembered to use the color-changing enchantment on it and his eye.

                            "Heh, thanks, I'm trying something new. I've gotten a lot of positive reviews so far, so I guess it was a good choice."

                            "Um, I hate to pry, but my friend and I have a bet, so, are you and him..." He understood the unspoken question, as did Elliott, and the blonde man put an arm around Ly's waist and kissed him on the cheek.

                            "Yeah, hope you won that bet."

                            "I did, yay! Good thing, 'cause you two are adorable together." Laughing, Lys blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck.

                            "For what it's worth, everyone at that table is already taken, so I hope you and your friend aren't single and looking." She laughed again and sighed.

                            "Dang, I figured. Oh well, the guitarist and synth player do look happy together."

                            "The..." His familiar, cheeky smile appeared without warning as he turned to his friends.

                            "Hey! Seb, Sam! She says you two are totally well-grounded." They gave him strange looks for a moment before Sam burst out laughing and Sebastian sighed and facepalmed.

                            "She is right, you know. C'mere, dude, kisses for your man," snickered the lead guitarist, earning a deadpan stare.

                            "I am not 'your man,' and you are a total shit when you're shitfaced."

                            "C'mon, Sebby," encouraged Abigail, "your man has needs, fulfill them."

                            "What?! Whose side are you on anyway?" he sputtered, turning his glare to her.

                            "The winning one."

                            "You're not helping."

                            "Actually, I am."

                            "Dude!"

                            "What?!" As Sebastian turned back, Sam grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. Lys didn't bother to hide his laughter, remembering when Sam had done the same to him, and wondering if he'd made the same face. The dark-haired man was paralyzed with confusion, which resolved itself when Sam let him go and laughed, slumped over the table as he pounded it with his fist.

                            "Oh my GODS, that was even funnier than when I did it to Lys. Kissing girls is fun but guys are hilarious!"

                            "...What is wrong with you people?!" Sebastian finally asked, head in his hands and elbows on the table.

                            "Aww, don't be like that, sweetie," Abigail soothed, patting him on the back, "I'll make it up to you later."

                            "I seriously doubt that." She leaned over to whisper something in his ear that produced a look of contemplative introspection. "I...must revise my opinion." The woman with whom Lys and Elliott were chatting was examining pictures that she'd taken, then turned a bit pink.

                            "Ah, dang, I should delete those."

                            "Nah, put 'em on the forums. We've got a running bet of our own, and that'll probably earn me a couple of bucks," he winked.

                            "Yay, thanks again! Oh, I'm taking up so much of your time, I'm sorry. Thanks for letting me do this, I really appreciate it."

                            "No worries, and thanks for coming to our concerts and visitng our town. It's nice to know that we're making a positive change in the world." She started to lean forward for a hug but caught herself at the last moment. Seeing this, Lys took her up on the offer, which her friend dutifully took pictures of, and Elliott offered one as well. The two women compared photos and talked excitedly as Lys and Elliott returned to their table, pouring themselves another drink. Lys was about to take a sip but paused and put down his glass, set his chin in his hand and stared off distantly.

                            "You are thoughtful, my dear. May I inquire about its nature?"

                            "It's... Wow. I really am. Making a change in the world, that is. I've always wanted to do something that makes things a bit better, even a little bit, but was never sure how. And now I just got proof of that. Our music makes them happy, and we just totally made their day by stopping to chat and be sociable. This is what I've always wanted, to inspire people and make them smile." He held his glass in both hands and smiled softly. "After all we've gone through with this magic stuff, I really needed that. I've read comments about our book, too, and that feels great as well, but seeing and experiencing it... I've finally made something that I can be proud of and know will outlast me when I'm gone." He felt Elliott put a hand on his wrist and saw the look of concern in his eyes. Squeezing his hand reassuringly, he leaned over to give him a light peck and smiled.

                            "Don't worry. I'm not giving up, and I'm not letting things get to me. I'll be around a long time. I promise." He was interrupted as Elliott's phone rang, and who excused himself to stand up and walk away to answer it.

                            "Hello? Ah, Charles, good to hear from you! We are well, yes, thank you for asking. Oh? So soon? Really, marvelous! Mm-hmm, that is correct. Ah, I shall inquire, half a moment." He turned back to the table and smiled at Lys.

                            "It appears that the stage adaptation is complete and will open its doors in two months. Charles was inquiring as to whether or not he should obtain tickets for us." If Lys hadn't already set his glass down he'd have dropped it, and momentarily forgot how to speak as his mind whirled with further thoughts. Chuckling at his husband's state, he returned to the long-distance conversation. "That would be lovely, thank you for asking. Send us the date and time and we shall be certain to attend. Yes. Once more, I thank you deeply for your hard work on this, it means more than I can express. Good night." He hung up and sat back down next to Lys, tucking a lock of copper-red hair behind his ear and brushing his cheek with the back of his fingers. Lys leaned into his touch, ignoring the strangled giggling from Sam.

                            "I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around that, love. I've been on stage for years and I've loved telling the stories that other people have written. Seeing someone perform mine... Heh, so this is what it felt like for you just a bit ago, hunh?" he asked, prodding Sam.

                            "Pretty much, yeah. I mean, I've got a copy for myself because of course I do, but having it here in a public place, where someone else uploaded it, that's just awesomely mind-blowing."

                            I DO HATE TO INTERRUPT THY CELEBRATIONS, TALIESIN, BUT I BEAR DISTRESSING NEWS.

                            "Shit, Bahamut's got something for me. Patch into the call, everyone, let's see what's up."

                            We're all here. What's going on? You sound like something's about to go down.

                            THOU SPEAKS IN JEST, BUT KNOW NOT OF THE TRUTH OF THY STATEMENT. THY ANCESTOR KNOWS OF OUR CONNECTION NOW. HE DEMANDS AN AUDIENCE WITH THEE ON THE MORROW.

                            Oh. Well, I guess it was too good to be true to keep this a secret for too long. He had to have guessed after the way we popped in and totally owned two Reclaimed and their dragons like that.

                            INDEED. HE WAS CONFUSED AS TO HOW HE COULD HAVE LOST A THIRD OF HIS FORCES SO SWIFTLY, AND, TO HIS CREDIT, SURMISED THE REASON WITH EQUAL SPEED. I WAS QUESTIONED EARLIER AND FOUND NO REASON TO LIE. MY APOLOGIES, TALIESIN.

                            It's okay. You're the incarnation of death and destruction, but you're not a liar, that would make you a bad guy instead of just a force of nature.

                            AS THEE HAVE STATED BEFORE, "FAIR ENOUGH." WHAT IS THY REPLY? HE WAITS RESTLESSLY.

                            What does he want?

                            HE SPEAKS OF "ENDING THIS CONFLICT." I KNOW NOT WHAT HIS INTENTIONS ARE.

                            I wonder if I actually got through to him. No, I didn't, I'm sure of it. I know my family, and if we went rogue, we'd fight to the bitter end, and I'm willing to bet money on subterfuge here. Tell him I'll meet with him somewhere outdoors, away from the town or any people. If things do go badly I don't want innocents getting caught in the crossfire.

                            I SHALL RELAY THY REQUEST.

                            There was a moment of silence over the Link before Bahamut returned.

                            HE AGREES TO THY TERMS. UP THE MOUNTAIN, BEYOND THE HOT SPRINGS AT TEN HOURS OF THE MORNING. NONE SHALL BEAR WITNESS TO THY MEETING. IS THIS AGREEABLE? HE ALSO DEMANDS THAT THEE APPEAR ALONE.

                            Hell no, dude, you are NOT doing this by yourself.

                            Same, bro, we're all in this together, and I don't trust him.

                            I have even less reason to see you do this alone, dear, this is a perilous endeavor.

                            Guys, chill. I've got all of you and Bahamut in my head at all times. If something goes bad I can just pop out immediately, and worst case, you all can jump in to my location. To be blunt, he's got the greatest reason out of all of us to be nervous; we've got greater numbers and firepower, as well as teamwork. I'll be fine. Trust me.

                            Everyone glanced at each other, not at all happy with the idea, but gave their assent anyway, trusting Lys to know what he was doing.

                            You're the leader of this magical girl troupe, it's your call. We'll support any decision you make.

                            Thanks, 'Bas, I appreciate that. Bahamut, tell him that I agree to his terms. I'll be there at ten, he better show up alone, too, 'cause I'm in no mood to screw around.

                            HE AGREES TO THY TERMS AND VOICES THE SAME SENTIMENT. I DO NOT SENSE MALICE IN HIS WORDS, BUT HE HAS BEGUN TO BLOCK ME, AND I AM UNABLE TO DISCERN HIS THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS AS MUCH AS I USED TO. TAKE CARE, TALIESIN, IF HE PLOTS AGAINST THEE I SHALL NOT KNOW OF IT.

                            It's okay. I'm glad I've got you in my head, thanks for all you've done for us.

                            I...AM HONORED BY THY WORDS. MAY THE REST OF THY EVENING BE ONE OF LIGHT AND LAUGHTER.

                            We'll make sure of it.

                            With a determined air, the band and its supporters proceeded to have a good time and enjoy themselves, playing a couple of other songs of theirs and sharing drinks and food together, with Elliott and Lys getting up to dance again, as it seemed to lift everyone's mood. The next day might bring a battle, but the night would not be laid low by apprehension or despair.



                            Also, it's totally canon that if this ever comes up on the jukebox at the saloon they get up and not only dance but sing to it, because OF COURSE THESE DORKS DO. :D



                            What? It's also canon that Lys makes a cute woman and looks good in a dress. ;P
                             
                            • Minimanta

                              Minimanta Spaceman Spiff

                              I had to listen to that song before I could start reading the chapter. I can't help it, I love that song xD *Sings along*
                               
                                Risukage likes this.
                              • Risukage

                                Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                                *Laughs.* Same here! I really, REALLY need to buy that song/album, but I want to find a place other than iTunes, because 1) I [bleep]-ing hate that goddamn program, and 2) I want it in .flac. Will see if I can find the hard copy when I go out shopping next.

                                No way, I actually found it. I was looping the hell out of a similar song the entire time I was writing this chapter. Here's what I was listening to, and yes, Lys would know the lyrics to this because he's nearly as much of a weaboo as I am, and damn if this isn't freakin' catchy. I'm a generic white chick and even I wanna get up and dance to this! :) (Possible spoilers for episode ten of Yuri on Ice, if you're watching that show and haven't caught up that far, just FYI...)





                                I know I've linked a lot from this show, but holy YOBA does it have some amazing music. I'm arguing with my credit card right now in order to order the OST and OP/ED discs. Curse you, international shopping! :rofl:
                                 
                                • Risukage

                                  Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                                  //Go get 'em, Lys, be the honorable one! ...Yeah, let's see how THAT works out for you...//


                                  Lys teleported to the mountain statue with Elliott, where they were met by Sebastian.

                                  "I know you're supposed to do this alone, but we're all here for you. If anything goes wrong, broadcast and we'll be right there."

                                  "Thanks. I'm not going to say 'I'll be fine' or 'don't worry' because we have no idea what I'm walking into. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If I can't, then I'm no better than he is." He hugged his friend, who didn't seem relieved at all, and Elliott less so, who held him quietly close for a few moments longer.

                                  "I fear for you, but I support you. Go and bring hope and resolution." Lys gave him a reassuring kiss and made his way up the road to the hot springs in the gap in the mountains.

                                  Everyone was already Linked but not in Lys's mind; Alex, Haley, and Abigail were at the Community Center, trying to occupy themselves with any distraction, Sam was at work wearing his headphones in the stock room again, and Sebastian stood under a tree next to Elliott, having a smoke to calm himself. After a moment of consideration, he offered it to the taller man, who, after a similar moment of consideration, accepted it. Lys should have been nervous or concerned, but strangely, he wasn't.

                                  If I'm going to be the light of hope then I need to believe it myself. Otherwise, how can I expect everyone else to do the same?

                                  FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH, I BELIEVE IN THEE, TALIESIN. THOU HAST THE POWER, SKILL, AND DETERMINATION TO BRING PEACE AND BALANCE BETWEEN OUR WORLDS.

                                  A month ago I'd never have believed that I would be having this conversation, and now it feels totally normal. The things we get used to...

                                  The bowl-shaped depression in the mountains was flat and wide, with the hot springs to the left as he entered the area and train tracks running east and west behind it. There was nothing else of note in the dry, empty landscape, and Lys scanned the sky and any high vantage points for signs of ulterior motives. There was nothing but the clear summer sky, and the only other person there was Maurice, idly examining the area as well, though his expression somewhat soured at Lys's appearance. He made no mention of it, however. Unperturbed, Lys waved and approached, opening the Link so that everyone could listen in, but not interrupt.

                                  "You want to put an end to this. So do I. I'm glad that we can come to-"

                                  "Surrender, Chosen of the Flame, or see your town burn."

                                  So it's going to play out like this...

                                  He sighed and folded his arms across his chest.

                                  "You know that I can't and won't. And despite that I won't ask you to do the same. I am working on a solution to destroy the barrier between our worlds. I want your help, and that of your forces, but failing that, I ask that you not interfere. We aren't each other's enemy, and in the long-run, we have the same goal-"

                                  "My goal is to see your line die out so that Rasmodius can finally know the suffering that I have-"

                                  "Get over yourself!" Lys snapped, tired of being interrupted, "yes, it was a tragedy, yes, I understand what you went through, yes, I know how much it hurts losing a loved one. And you know what? That happened lifetimes ago. You've spent years full of hate and anger and doing nothing useful. You may despise Rasmodius but at least he channeled his grief into helping others and making a difference in the world. You're angry that your sister died? Her last thoughts were of hope that Rasmodius and her son would be safe and happy, and regret that she could do nothing to save you."

                                  "You don't know that," Maurice growled, clenching a fist.

                                  "I am freaking married to the Chosen of Water and he has seen her memories. I BLOODY WELL KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT, YOU UTTER FOOL!" Out of patience, Lys lost his temper, feeling a small twinge of satisfaction as the other man backed off a few steps, surprised and possibly a little frightened. "It was her choice to do what she did, and your actions are a continual slap in the face of her memory. Go on, ask the dragon, it never consumed her power. It kept it aside to study and learn from because Violette was such a remarkable person that she intrigued it. Do you have any idea what that means?! Your sister was so amazing that the avatar of death chose not to absorb her because it wanted to learn and understand! But you never asked, you never inquired, you just let yourself wallow in pity. I no longer have any sympathy for you, and you are in no position to make demands."

                                  "Your arrogance is impressive."

                                  "Arrogance implies a lack of evidence to back up one's confidence. You are outnumbered and outmatched; we are seven to your four, we have the bond of the dragon, and we are all as powerful if not more than your warriors. We have nothing to fear from you, and should I find any attempt at causing chaos, damage, or any other sort of destruction to those not involved in this conflict I will hunt you down myself."

                                  "Then it appears that we are opposed in all respects, and neither of us will back down."

                                  "So it appears."

                                  "Very well. I had hoped that it would go like this anyway. Long live the king."

                                  There was something about Maurice's smile that immediately put Lys on edge, but before he could think about it any further he felt a sudden surge of power from high up and behind him. Instinctively, he pivoted around and threw up a shield of flame, trying to protect him and the other person. As he did so he realized that he was still trying to defend someone that honestly didn't deserve or need it. Arrows, wrapped in wind enchantment to fly faster and hit harder, impacted his shield, and he very nearly lost control from the force of the attack. All of them burned up harmlessly, but his shield failed completely as he felt a sharp, agonizing pain as Maurice stabbed him in the back. A second flight of arrows arced out of the sky, and Lys only had enough focus to destroy most but not all of them...

                                  Maurice teleported away with a laugh of triumph as all Chosen converged on Lys's position, Empowered and ready to fight. Abigail was already in the sky, looking for Anadlwyn, Elliott eased Lys to the ground to attempt healing, Alex used his armor similar to how Birgitte had to provide his friend protection while he worked, Haley ducked under the shield so she could keep everyone Linked, and Sam and Sebastian stood at the ready. Writhing in pain from multiple arrow wounds from without and the creeping tendrils of Shadow from within, Lys's grip on Elliott's hand was almost painful.

                                  "Damn... Damn! I can't heal him! Something is preventing me from working," Elliott hissed, "what did he-"

                                  "Seed... He..." gasped Lys, "Maurice, he..."

                                  "No..." Sam joined Abigail in flight, using his power to blink around haphazardly. Just as Anadlwyn sought to disrupt Elliott's work, they were out to prevent him from being a threat. Sebastian held Lys's other hand, unsure of how to help.

                                  Hurts... I... I can't breathe, it... One last trick, my last chance...

                                  With what fragments of focus he could cobble together, he pulled on his mana as well as the threads of Shadow from his connection to the other realm, and reached out between the worlds.

                                  "Bahamut, I summon you!!"

                                  ...I ANSWER...

                                  Power surged through him, and he found a shape, a form. It needed something, however, it was just a shadow. Pouring that power into the shape, he shaped it, guiding it, giving it form. Made of fire and shadow, a miniature version of the dragon that had visited him in his mind coalesced into being, only slightly larger than Xander, shaking its head and stretching its wings as it observed the world around it.

                                  I AM HERE. AH, I SEE THE SEED WITHIN THEE, TALIESIN, I SHALL EXTRACT IT. HOW CLEVER OF THEE TO BRING ME TO THY SIDE.

                                  Praise me later when I'm not dying!

                                  Alex winced as another round of arrows clattered off of his shield, and he checked everyone's position through the Link.

                                  "Whatever you have in mind, little guy, you better do it fast, Lys isn't looking so good." With a look of disdain (rather impressive given how limited it was with expressions), the small dragon hooked an ethereal claw into Lys, ignoring his physical form and gently nudging aside his mana and "self." It found what it was looking for, and, with a catlike flick, extracted a small, completely opaque pearl of darkness. It sniffed the ebon orb before wrapping its tongue around it and eating it in one gulp.

                                  HOW VERY CURIOUS. THERE. IT IS CONTAINED. THOU ART NOW ABLE TO WORK, ANEIRIN.

                                  Yes, the blockage has been removed, excellent. My thanks, Bahamut.

                                  Sebastian and Alex helped to restrain Lys while Elliott worked, lending their mana so he wouldn't consume all of his own too quickly. Trying not to move, Lys still twitched in pain as Elliott extracted the arrows and gasped raggedly for breath. Then, curiously, he heard his song... It was eerie yet comforting, and he choked out a laugh when he realized that it was Bahamut who sang it for him. He devoted his focus to listening to and following the song, taking his mind off of the pain. The lack of tension allowed Elliott to work with greater ease, and despite him wrapping the arrows in his power to prevent further damage as he pulled them out, he winced in sympathy at Lys's suffering. Tossing them aside with a grimace, he noticed that though there was no poison, the heads were barbed, which meant that the user intended to cause damage both on the way in and out. Both he and Edelweiss had had the same idea...

                                  Up above, Sam and Abigail continued their aerial duel with the Reclaimed of the Wind, who, though not as fast a flyer as Lys, was still quite swift when augmenting himself with his element, and frustratingly accurate with a bow. Abigail still used her twin pistols, simply trying to keep him busy, as even though she was normally equally accurate, she couldn't land a hit on him. Neither could Sam, who had shifted his staff into a handful of marble-sized copper spheres that he circled himself with, accelerating and controlling them through magnetic forces. Blink-teleporting to get as close as he could, he grimaced as he spheres continually passed through where the Reclaimed had been, or were deflected by wind or arrow, no matter how hard he tried to lead his target.

                                  Finally, Elliott was able to get to work healing Lys's injuries. What he had learned from the incident with the Water Reclaimed and his greater level of control and power let him work with impressive speed and skill. In only a few minutes the injuries were mended, with no sign of scarring. Shuddering one last time, Lys lay still, breathing heavily as he felt the tingle of relief wash through him.

                                  "...Up..."

                                  "Pardon?"

                                  "...Help me...sit up." Concerned, Elliott complied, assisting Lys to a sitting position. Anadlwyn noticed this and sighed.

                                  "Pity. Ah well, next time." He vanished in a swirl of shadow, leaving Abigail and Sam to land and join their friends.

                                  "Damn, he got away, but that dude has crazy amounts of evasion-"

                                  "Sam, return to work," Lys interrupted. He was slightly hunched over, but there was a dangerous edge to his voice that nobody had heard before.

                                  "What? It's okay, they think I'm on break-"

                                  "Samson!" he snapped, glaring at his friend, "go back, find Maurice, and give me his location." Sam subconsciously stepped back, surprised by (and a little scared of) the face that Lys now wore. He had become angry before, but this time, they saw rage. "He wants to end this. Fine. I will end this myself. Find him." Glancing over at Elliott, whose ire ran cold to his partner's hot, Sam nodded and vanished, returning to his place of work, where he'd set a teleport point earlier that month so he could sleep in a bit longer before his shift started.

                                  Got it, found him, he reported a minute later, he's in his office.

                                  Excellent. Go to him. I would have words with him...
                                   
                                  • Risukage

                                    Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                                    //So today I attended a dance aerobics class at the gym (I normally hate group exercise but I do need to lose weight so badly...), and not only did it kick my ass, I learned just how much of a generic white chick I am. I will never have a career as a backup dancer... Thus, I postulate two things. First, that Lys has to be in crazy-amazing good shape, because DEAR GODS dance is tiring, and second, that it is now canon that Lynn teaches these classes a couple of times a week at one of the gyms in Zuzu City for a bit of side money.

                                    Also, I was looking up Discworld quotes to make sure that I was referencing the right one correctly, and ended up spending a good ten minutes reading ones from Terry Pratchett himself. ...Damn, I miss him. Also, after a good read of those, I...think I might actually be a writer...

                                    Lastly, for proper ambiance, queue up this track as soon as our heroes enter Maurice's office. Have I mentioned before that the 11th Doctor has a great soundtrack for writing?
                                    //


                                    Standing with Elliott's help, Lys shifted into his Empowered form, taking a deep breath and flexing his power as mana coursed through him, suffusing him with the life that had moments earlier been draining away. He knelt for a moment to offer an arm to Bahamut, who clambered up and draped itself across his shoulders.

                                    I'm here, dude, what do-

                                    "What are you doing here?" Maurice demanded of Sam, who jumped at being addressed so loudly. It was Maurice's turn to jump as Elliott and Lys teleported in to Sam's position, and the Lightning wielder dashed out the door without looking back.

                                    Maurice might have teleported away, but he was stopped first by the sight of the dragonling across Lys's shoulders, and then by Lys himself from a hot shockwave of high pressure that slammed him against the far wall. He had no time to recover or run, as Elliott gestured sharply, and Maurice found himself no longer in control of his own body. Gasping in pain, he fought back, feeling his own limbs contort in directions they were never meant to, a silent command to stop resisting. Maurice wasn't sure what was colder; the ice in his veins as Elliott's mana raced through and asserted dominance, or the unblinking, sharp stare that Lys leveled at him. Hands folded neatly behind his back and standing straight and tall, Lys watched as Elliott took control and restrained Maurice from within, preventing him from attempting to escape.

                                    "This is not a conversation, it is an audience," Lys stated in a clipped, dignified tone, "and you will listen. I am done. With you, your games, your drama, all of it. We will play by my rules now, since you seem to have a complete disregard for any others." Maurice tried to fight the Water Chosen's power but found himself completely helpless, and now felt the cold chill of fear. It was not just that, however, he noticed the floor around Elliott was slowly growing fractals of frost that sent tiny feelers up the wall where the patterns continued to evolve. Lys didn't blink once, and Maurice felt his eyes begin to water on his behalf.

                                    "This is how we will proceed from here on out; the Chosen, Elders, Junimos, Bahamut, and I will work freely and without interference from you, the Reclaimed, or any of your or their allies. We will not interfere with any of you or your day-to-day activities, provided that they do not bring harm, inconvenience, suffering, or any other form of trouble to any residents of this town, or to anything that they own. I do not give a damn what you do from now on, as long as it is peaceful."

                                    The frost around Elliott had become ice, but it strangely stopped with harsh lines, and Maurice realized with horror that it was because the rest of the room was extremely hot. He noticed the wavy lines of heat radiating off of everything, and was quite certain that the entire room was only degrees away from flash point, where things would begin to spontaneously combust. His eyes flicked to the smoke detector on the ceiling, but he realized as he thought of it that it was useless; it would alert help to his location, but Lys had enough control to not spark that blaze. For a moment he wondered how he did not feel it, and once again his thoughts were quick to understand that it was Elliott's influence that kept them both from being affected by the heat.

                                    "So you are paying attention, good," Lys remarked, seeing the various lights of comprehension flicker behind his ancestor's eyes, "I do not feel like repeating myself. You are aware, obviously, that it is with extreme restraint that I did not simply burn down the entire store and melt the flesh from your bones with my bare hands. Once I depart I will no longer hold myself back. The last of my goodwill and trust toward you has been expended. We are enemies now, just as you desired. The difference now, however, is that I am the stronger of us two, in every aspect, and I wield it with finesse and skill. And do not get the impression that we will forget about you over time, or that the town will be helpless should we depart. We all are extremely displeased and we have eyes and ears everywhere. Should trouble arise we will be present immediately to exterminate it."

                                    Maurice would have gloated or taken delight at his enemy being defeated in such a manner, but to his further horror, he saw none of that from either man, only grim determination. Even Bahamut looked bored, watching him with half-lidded eyes, a strange sight on a creature whose eyes were almost nothing more than flat discs of white in it head. Lys finally moved, to lean over and rest his weight on his fingertips on the desk top.

                                    "We take no pleasure in this. Rather, it adds to our ire that we must step away from the people we want to be and become that which we despise. This is not a warning, is a statement and an ultimatum. Do not, ever again, cross us." As he straightened back up he left scorch marks behind that smoked for a moment. Maurice collapsed as Elliott suddenly released him, panicking that the room would still be unbearably hot, but Lys had recalled his power before the other man had. Flexing his fingers, the Chosen of Water looked at the Echo with distaste and contempt.

                                    "Should you fail to heed his words pray that he reaches you first, for though your demise will be of suffering and agony, it will be swift. I, however, will prolong your death as long as possible, and I find myself no longer capable of feeling mercy or empathy for you. Keep your pets on a short leash and yourself discrete." As one, they vanished in a swirl of light, and Maurice slumped against the back wall of his office, his heart pounding in his ears, which were filled with a voice that had become familiar over the years.

                                    I SERVE A NEW MASTER NOW, ECHO. THOU ART NO LONGER USEFUL TO ME.

                                    Back at their home, Lys released his power and armor, clenching and unclenching a fist as he breathed raggedly, twitching with pent-up rage. Elliott could see the tension in his shoulders, even though he was slightly hunched in on himself and staring at the ground. Bahamut had dismounted the moment they arrived, examining the world around it with feline curiosity.

                                    Where are you guys? We heard everything but...

                                    We have returned home. It is done.

                                    All of the other Chosen, save for Sam, appeared nearby, as he still had to be at work. It didn't stop him from contributing to the conversation, however.

                                    Holy SHIT, dude, that was TERRIFYING. I didn't know you had that in you. Man, if Maurice didn't have to go home and change his pants right after that I'll be totally amazed. You are badass!

                                    Lys saw the blood on his shirts and pants, as well as the numerous rips and holes from his most recent near-death encounter. He didn't reply in any form, though his shoulders did start to shake, and Elliott recognized the warning signs of his temper about to go off.

                                    "It's alright, dear, I can contain anything, just let yourself-"

                                    Unexpectedly, he dropped to his knees, holding his head in his hands, shaking even harder with tears that he'd been trying to hold back.

                                    "I can't... I... I can't do this anymore! I don't want to kill anyone, I don't want to be a monster, I don't want to die! I can't do this, I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough, I can't..." He should have felt self-conscious about the sudden silence from his friends and husband, or from breaking down like this in front of them, but he could only feel the pain of his mind breaking. His fingers dug into his scalp as all of the anger and fear that he'd so far managed to keep in check ran loose. The only reason that he didn't scream was that he was gasping around choking, body-wracking sobs. He sensed someone moving closer to him, and was certain for a moment that it was Elliott, but-

                                    ...Sebastian?

                                    His friend crouched in front of him, wearing an expression of genuine concern, and leaned forward to hug him firmly around the shoulders.

                                    "It's okay, I've got you. You're the bravest and strongest of us all, but now and then even you need to lean on us for support. You can do this, and I don't know how to get you to believe me." Face buried in his friend's shoulder, Lys shook his head and dug his nails into the back of Sebastian's hoodie.

                                    "I'm not strong. I'm a damn crybaby, I'm scared, I'm-"

                                    "No, you're not. I wish I could show you what we see. You can do it, and I'm certain, because of something you've never said." This was strange enough to get Lys to sit up a bit as he processed it a couple of times, nearly starting with surprise as Sebastian reached over with gentle fingers and tucked his hair behind his ear.

                                    "I...what?" That violet smile was reassuring and warm as Sebastian forced Lys to face him.

                                    "What did you just say?"

                                    "That...I'm scared, I cry too much, I'm weak, I'm-"

                                    "None of that is true, and you know it. But do you know what you've never said? 'I won't.' Every time a challenge has come up you are the first to step up and do something. Allen was right, you do take the weight of the world on your shoulders. Stop it. Let us take some of the burden. No, right now, you can't do this, because you're trying to do it alone. We're here for you, all of us, and we believe in you. Hell, I have more confidence in you now than I did before." Once more, Lys was baffled by his friend's remarks.

                                    "But...how?! I'm sitting here crying and my mind is in pieces and-"

                                    "Exactly. You scared the hell out of us with that confrontation with Maurice, and it looks like you scared yourself, too. You're still a good person, deep down, and having to put on that face and say those words, ones you know to be true, hurts you beyond measure. There's a saying that there is no person more dangerous than a good person pushed beyond their limit. An evil person will gloat or showboat or screw around, but a good person? They get cold, they get calculating, and they do what needs to be done. You did what you had to, and immediately afterward you questioned whether or not you'd just violated all of your morals and values." He sighed and gave Lys a fond look. "It's tiring being strong, isn't it?" Lys remembered the conversation that they'd had the evening that Sebastian had helped him purchase Morgenlied. Nodding, he sniffed and scrubbed the back his wrist over his eyes.

                                    "I don't mind, because if I'm helping others be more than they could alone, then I'm doing something useful with my life," he smiled as he quoted himself. His friend laughed and hugged him again, this time more brotherly than supporting.

                                    "And you're going to have a long, happy one doing exactly that for years to come. You look beat to hell, and look like you could use something to pick yourself back up with. Anything we can help with?" Sniffing again, Lys looked away as he thought, and then he chuckled as he wiped his eyes again.

                                    "I just want a cup of coffee. And a cookie, I think we've got some left that Evelyn made the other day." He wasn't sure what to make of everyone's laughter until Elliott pulled him to his feet and held him softly but strongly.

                                    "You are wonderfully simple about your desires now and then. Come then, let us assist you in finding inner peace once more. All of you, join us. Ah, however..."

                                    Sam, will you be able to depart any time soon?

                                    Yeah, my shift's over in another five, I'll bounce on over as soon as I punch out.

                                    Lys remembered something and hugged Elliott tightly for a moment.

                                    "There's...one last secret. You all need to know." Elliott knew what he meant and nodded.

                                    "We shall wait until Sam arrives, it is not a tale that I wish to tell twice." Abigail crouched down to get a better look at Bahamut, who eyed her quizzically in return.

                                    "Until he gets here, we need to figure out a name for you, little guy." The dragonling looked offended at this, and struck the statuesque "Bast" pose that Lys often saw Xander assume.

                                    I ALREADY HAVE A NAME, BAHAMUT, GIVEN TO ME BY THY LEADER.

                                    "Yeah, but you're not the full-scale edition, you're a smaller size. 'Chibi' even." She gasped with delight and clapped her hands. "Chibihamut! Yes!!" The white discs became very large and round before they narrowed again, and it huffed a small tendril of smoke.

                                    I BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND WHY HOUSECATS ARE ALWAYS SO ANGRY; PERFECT, APEX KILLING MACHINES, YET AT LESS THAN TEN POUNDS HUMANS PICK THEM UP AND MAKE BABY NOISES AT THEM AND GIVE THEM SILLY NAMES. IT APPEARS THAT EVEN THE AVATAR OF DEATH IS NOT IMMUNE TO SUCH INSULTS.
                                     
                                      Last edited: Jan 4, 2017
                                      Alkanthe and Minimanta like this.
                                    • Risukage

                                      Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                                      //I promise that I didn't intend to do a rather food-centric and fluffy chapter at the same time I started a strict diet plan. Honestly. As such, I apologize for the focus on delicious munchies, 'cause right now I swear to Yoba I might just cut someone for a decent cookie. A pity that a decent cookie is so damn hard to find anymore...//


                                      Bahamut followed Lys into the house, trailed by the rest of the Chosen, and as soon as Lys entered the kitchen he took another look at himself and sighed.

                                      "Damn it, there goes another set of clothes. Back in a moment, I just want a fast shower to rinse off. Don't want to put on something clean if I'm still caked in my own blood. ...Gods that's freakin' morbid."

                                      You're even more goth than Abby is, remarked Sam over the Link, and they could all hear the smile in his "voice," time to dye the rest of your hair black. You're not pale enough, though, all of that farm work is totally killing your deathly complexion.

                                      Rolling his eyes but still amused, Lys excused himself as everyone else sat down at the table, while Elliott began preparing coffee and pulling out the cookies that Evelyn had sent over. The shower took almost less time than it took him to get undressed, and he sighed again, this time with relief, that despite the number of wounds he'd taken this time, there were no scars or marks. Elliott's skill was very impressive.

                                      Light help me, how many times now would I have been dead without him? I'm so useless...

                                      He paused as he turned off the shower, feeling as though he was missing something, and chuckled to himself as he reached for a towel. Usually he and Elliott would shower together, and he'd use his aquatic affinity to dry them both instantly, but he couldn't very well ask that right now. Though he did wonder what the reaction would be if he strode into the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel...

                                      Scrubbing himself dry quickly, he draped the towel over his shoulders to grab any dripping from his hair, and after finding (undestroyed) pants, he grabbed one of his short-sleeved shirts and did about half of the buttons. A hot cup of coffee and a couple of cookies awaited him as he returned to his friends, rubbing the towel over his hair.

                                      "Thanks, love. I need this so bad, not gonna lie."

                                      "Oh, you undid your braid," observed Haley, and Lys shrugged.

                                      "I figured my hair could use a rinse, too, just in case."

                                      "Here, let me do it again for you. Your hair is just so nice and I don't get the chance to play with it near enough." He laughed and dropped into the chair, hanging the towel over the back, and channeled a bit of fire to return the cookies to their optimal, chewy, melty state.

                                      "Yeah, Emily doesn't seem quite the type you can do this with, even if she didn't have really short hair to begin with." Abigail rummaged in her purse for a moment and pulled out a brush, with which she worked out the tangles that had built up from the fight and his hasty shower. Sam let himself in through the back door, having just gotten off of work, and eyed the scene with amusement.

                                      "Oh, doesn't it figure, the married gay man is the one that has all of the girls fawning over him. So uncool." Lys took a large bite of a cookie and grinned right back at him.

                                      "First, I'm bi, you dingus, second, if you had glamorous locks like mine then maybe you'd get more play."

                                      "Oh please, I only ever saw you macking on us guys, it was the girls who didn't get any play."

                                      "I flirted with everyone, or did you already forget? Hell, I even made a pass at Alex once before I found out we were related, so there goes your theory."

                                      "Yeah, but again, you only ever properly hit on us dudes, and we're the only ones you tried to kiss, either."

                                      "Did not, I was quite free with platonic cheek-smooches," he replied as he finished one cookie and picked up his coffee in both hands. Haley finished braiding the black lock of hair and re-tied it with the snippet of ribbon that Lys had tucked into his pocket before he'd walked back out. Sam waved a cookie at Lys for him to warm it, which his friend did from across the table with barely any concentration at all.

                                      "What-ever. I was the first person to properly lip-wrestle you, then Elliott, then Alex-"

                                      "That was rescue breathing, you daft muppet."

                                      "Meh, the only ones who haven't tried it are the girls and Sebastian, and - Holy crap, no WAY," Sam laughed as he saw his dark-haired friend turn quite red, "when the hell did you manage that?" Sebastian shot Sam a very dark look, which was deflected with his permanent, sunny grin. Shifting his gaze to Lys, he exhaled heavily through his nose and gave him a small nod, dreading the admission. Lys remembered that it wasn't once, but twice, and thought it best not to mention the first one, which he knew would be much more embarrassing to Sebastian than the second (and he'd never told Elliott about, now that he recalled). He shrugged and picked up another cookie, warming it as well.

                                      "It was an accident. I was kinda out of it and mistook him for Allen. I do feel bad about it, though, I think it was better for me than it was for him." Only Lys noticed the look of relief that Sebastian wore, which he hid behind the rim of his cup.

                                      "Of course it was, I was almost suffocating around your tongue. I have no idea how you got such a rep for being 'good at what you do.'"

                                      "That's 'cause it wasn't what I was really good at."

                                      THY CONVERSATION IS PECULIAR AND BIZARRE. IS THIS THE WAY THAT HUMANS CONVERSE THESE DAYS?

                                      Bahamut sat on the floor, once more in its "Bast" pose, watching them with baffled incredulity. Smiling through a mouthful of cookie Lys shook his head.

                                      "Nah, just really close friends like us. Though I wasn't quite intending to air that particular bit of dirty laundry. And I really do feel a bit silly about that, nearly ruined a good day out with a friend because I wasn't paying attention." Out of the corner of his eye, Lys noticed Xander enter the room on silent paws, his ears and tail up and whiskers forward, having spotted the dragonling. He padded over quickly, sniffed Bahamut with curiosity, and rapped it on the top of the head.

                                      WHAT- WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!

                                      "Ha! Sorry, that was just cute. He thinks you're a new toy or friend."

                                      A- I AM NOT A TOY! I AM THE AVATAR OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, AND I- GAH!!

                                      Xander had swatted Bahamut again and danced away, tail now a bottle-brush and eyes large as he moved in again to swat at his new plaything.

                                      "Sorry, but that's one of the rules of having a cat: anything its size or smaller is automatically a toy." Bahamut huffed a puff of smoke at Xander and stalked over to try to curl up under Lys's chair, when it was unceremoniously pounced and grappled. With a claw-less bunny kick, Xander trilled with delight at having a playmate his size.

                                      THIS IS UNDIGNIFIED! I AM THE HUNTER, NOT THE PREY.

                                      Xander released the dragonling and bounded away to hide under the table and flatten himself on the floor, eyes and whiskers forward and focused on it, doing the butt-wiggle of a cat getting ready to pounce. Huffing again, Bahamut shook itself off and changed course for the living room, when it made a very angry, almost cat-like noise as Xander plowed into it again, grappling and bunny kicking like last time. Bahamut was the one to break free this time, and flapped its wings at the furry menace, hissing. Ears flat against his head, Xander sat back on his haunches, a dainty paw raised, and the table erupted into laughter as a hasty slap-fight ensued. Once more, Xander danced away, then sat down, quickly groomed the fur on one flank, eyed Bahamut again, then bounded into Lys's lap, purring madly.

                                      I... WHAT JUST HAPPENED?...

                                      "Playtime's over, you're safe for a bit." The dragonling huffed again and stalked over to the kitty bed in the kitchen, curling up in it so that it could rest its chin on the edge and level a slit-eyed glare at everyone at once. Xander saw an intruder in his bed, but rather than run it off, he hopped down, trotted over, sniffed Bahamut again, and somehow managed to curl up in the bed with it, yet also somehow draped across, and one back foot smushed into Bahamut's face.

                                      ...THE INDIGNITY DOES NOT END. WHAT AN UNPLEASANT WORLD THOU HAST SUMMONED ME INTO, TALIESIN. I AM NOT AMUSED.

                                      "At least you get to share a bed with the only one in the house who doesn't snore," he replied, enjoying the shadow-being's irritation. Haley tapped a button on her phone, stopping the recording she'd made, and waved it at her friends.

                                      "I got everything, this is going to make people on the forums go crazy." Even Sebastian seemed interested in this, and she tapped a couple of buttons to replay it.

                                      "Oh, you've got great framing and angles even on a phone," he noted, "I wonder if we should take bets on how many comments of 'totally fake' we're going to get."

                                      "Too many and not enough. Oh, hey, maybe tomorrow, you know, if we don't get attacked again, if I bring my equipment do you all want to record a couple more 'episodes?' I've got the last ones edited, and I just posted one on the forums. I'm giving myself a bit of a buffer, just in case." Elliott delicately sipped at his coffee as he thought about this.

                                      "I am amicable to that idea. It is a strange yet brilliant use of your abilities, to combine our collective memories and transfer them onto physical media. I was concerned early on when Lysander boasted about 'filming a series,' but you have solved that dilemma most elegantly."

                                      "I'd do it more often, but it seems to take a bit out of all of us to synch up like that, and I've only got the one drive I want to risk me, Sam, and Alex using our abilities on. If this one breaks or overloads or something I'll get another, but for now I'm just not sure how well mixing tech and magic goes."

                                      "Writing the background music for it has been a hell of a challenge," Sam piped up, draining his coffee in one gulp, "I'm so used to more attention-getting songs that doing this subtle stuff was really tough at first. Though writing the battle music was freaking SWEET." Alex was clearly enjoying vicariously everyone's satisfaction with his grandmother's baking as he ate one himself.

                                      "It's been really good, though. I don't really have an ear for music, but this is good, it just kinda fits, but doesn't stick out. Maybe when this is all done we can try to sell DVDs and the album for this or something. We seem to have the interest for it so far." Abigail looked over at Alex with surprise.

                                      "I really didn't expect you to be so business-minded. But yeah, I was sorta thinking of something similar. We won't really have the funding for a physical product, not for a while, but I could see us offering the ability to purchase downloads for a small sum instead of streaming it off of the site. We had to kinda reduce the quality so it wouldn't murder our bandwidth, but offering a 1080p version for purchase, or... Damn, maybe we could even go full subscriber mode and offer the 1080p streaming for a membership fee, that would cover the hosting and bandwidth costs." Lys had paused with a mouth full of cookie a minute earlier and was wearing the slightly dazed look of someone who has just thought of too much at once.

                                      "Since when did we go from professional musicians to internet content creators?"

                                      "Since you boasted about doing a 'new project,' dude. This is your fault, you know."

                                      "I regret nothing."

                                      "And my only regret is interrupting this conversation. Good afternoon." A high-pitched squeaking that only Lys could understand without the translation through the Link piped up, and Lys picked up the golden Junimo that had appeared and set it on the table.

                                      "Hey, how goes it. What do you need?"

                                      "I require nothing. All of you, however, will require the power that is now available to you. The Stardrop tree is now ready for harvest, and I feel that there is no time like the present to accept the strength that it will grant."

                                      "It is? About damn time! ...Though in retrospect a tree growing to full fruiting status from just a seed in a bit over a month is really quick... Well, let's go, we can use all of the mana we can get."

                                      The golden Junimo was correct, and it joined it brethren around the base of the tree as the Chosen approached. Strange fruit hung from the branches, looking like some sort of gummy candy, in the shape of a flat, purple star with a hollow center. Lys reached out and carefully plucked one from its branches, examined it, and shrugged.

                                      "Well, grab your own, looks like there's no secret to their harvest."

                                      "To the harvest, no, but to its nature and power... The flavor of this fruit is strange, for it is different to everyone. For some it is simply the taste of one's favorite food, others find a swell of emotion as beloved memories are evoked. Once consumed, you will find yourselves able to contain more mana, as well as channel more for longer, and have better control over it than you did previously. However, given that you all are the most powerful and skilled Chosen that we have yet seen I do not know how much more benefit you will gain."

                                      "Any downsides or side effects we should know about? Or any upper limit on how many of these we can eat?"

                                      "There are no ill effects, though we do not know if there are adverse effects upon consuming multiple fruits. I do not discourage you in experimenting, but I do urge you to exercise the utmost caution when you do."

                                      "Fair enough. Well, time to power up, I guess." Ever snarky, Sam had found the "power up star" sound snippet from one of the early games in that series and played it just as Lys was about to take a bite, sending everyone into another fit of laughter. "Right, seriously now, I don't want to find out what it's like to snort this because you're being a doofus."

                                      The golden Junimo was once again right, as everyone experienced something different. Sam's face was one of awe, as he exclaimed something to the effect of "best combo pizza ever!" around large bites, and Sebastian smiled with unusual contentment.

                                      "Heh, the sensation of completing a difficult coding project and sending it off. Haven't felt that in a while." Haley's eyes nearly rolled back in her head as she muttered something about "the best dark chocolate ever," Abigail whooped, declaring that it had been ages since she remembered what it had felt like to beat the first Prairie King game, and Alex, in a whisper only Lys noticed, said, "my music box." Smiling fondly at his friends, Lys also bit into his fruit, and immediately felt the warm rush of memory; the scent of spring, with cherry blossom petals on the wind, and the light in those deep blue eyes as Elliott asked him the one question that he never expected to hear but would treasure forever... He felt Elliott take his hand and remembered what he had stated to be his fondest memory, and sharing a quick glance to be sure, Lys was right, and he knew that Elliott was aware of his reaction to the Stardrop. Finishing their snack around the same time, everyone was silent as they adjusted to the new level of power and mana capacity, and all tried out a couple of their personal "calibration" tricks to test themselves.

                                      "I think that this was a rousing success," Lys remarked, checking the tree, "it's got a few more, but not that many. Let's wait until we have a few more before we all have another or start experimenting. Oh, a thought, how long will they stay good? Or will they rot off of the branches in a day or two or something?"

                                      "They will stay fresh and edible indefinitely. They are made of the mana of this land infused into a physical form that mortals can consume. I am uncertain as to how long they will last when picked, however, nor do I know the maximum fruit-bearing capacity of a tree."

                                      "I'll tinker later. I need to see if I can get another seed or take a cutting and graft it or something, I really don't like having just one of these. Too vulnerable."

                                      "You can continue your horticultural endeavors when you have dealt with this Shadow business." Lys was suddenly reminded of his earlier promise and grimaced. Noticing this, Elliott put an arm around his waist, waiting for him to make the next decision.

                                      "I mentioned a secret earlier. No time like now to tell it, at least so I don't forget again. It's... The short of it is that the reason I've got so much affinity for, well, damn near everything here, and that lock, is that one of my ancestors was killed to provide a 'gate' between worlds when the barrier was created. It's their song that got passed down, it wasn't written by Violette, it's much older than her. And...their spouse aided in the creation and summoning of Bahamut. That person was killed as well, fighting the dragon as one of the first Chosen. So...yeah, looks like I'm continually getting screwed for things that my ancestors did." He leaned into Elliott's shoulder, trying not to break down again, and the other Chosen mulled this information over silently. Abigail bit her lip and finally spoke up.

                                      "So... Which one were they?" The sad, pained look from Elliott told them everything.

                                      "It appears that the farther back we go in our predecessor's memories the more difficult it is to find coherent and intact information. I have many theories as to why this is, but I will save that for a later date. However, if one can find a name or person specifically, then one can do a more direct search and obtain more intact data. I confirmed the Junimos' story through their memories, and they are not ones I wish to ever revisit." Alex clapped a hand on both of their shoulders, smiling broadly.

                                      "Well, that means that this should be even easier to do, right? We all just got a boost, and now that we know your connection to it all we can use it to our advantage to fix all of this. You're going to be a hero, 'cuz, making right everything that all of those people screwed up, and making it look totally awesome at the same time." Caught between tears and a smile, the happy expression finally won the emotional tug-of-war.

                                      "Yeah, I am. I... I can do this. Because I'm strong enough, and I've got all of you here with me, and you're as strong as I am. My story doesn't end here. I can do this, and it's going to be brilliant." Sweeping up his cousin in a powerful hug, he heard Lys's back pop in two places and apologized for it. "No way, mate, do that again."

                                      "Is this a 'masochist' thing?"

                                      "No, it's an 'I've been working hunched over in the garden too long' thing. I'll pay you to do that for Elliott, too."

                                      "I'll pay to watch," leered Abigail, grinning playfully, earning a polite chuckle from Elliott, curious contemplation from Alex, and a face-splitting grin from Sam.

                                      "I guess we figured out how you're going to pay for college, hunh dude?"
                                       
                                        Alkanthe and Minimanta like this.
                                      • Minimanta

                                        Minimanta Spaceman Spiff

                                        *Squee* That one-sided playtime between Xander and Bahamut, so cute :3

                                        And Alex's music box, aww ;.; *Hugs Alex* <3
                                         
                                          Risukage and Alkanthe like this.
                                        • Risukage

                                          Risukage Giant Laser Beams

                                          I've had cats for over 25 years (one of whom was a ginger tabby upon which I based Xander), and I guarantee you that this would totally happen. We also had ferrets for a while at the same time (long story), and while one of the two cats would have nothing to do with the spaztastic creatures, the other thought that they were the MOST AMAZING TOY EVER. That scene was really inspired a bit by the cat who didn't want to play getting continually menaced by the obnoxious ferret (the other one was much more mellow), and the cat who did like them simply going bonkers over their cool new friends.

                                          As for Alex, well, it's strange how some things that once caused us sorrow can later lend us strength. :)
                                           

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