IX – Burns Upon Burns

"Boy, you don’t want to cross real blades with me," Mensch declared.  "You bruise too easily."

"That was before I realized dirt had more value than you."

Mensch sneered.  "You have no clue what you are getting into."

"And I don’t much care." Fenix left one sword pointed at Mensch, and motioned to Xia and the girls with the other.  "I’m here for my friends."

"I’m sorry, boy."  Mensch said.  "I am afraid we’re going to have to disagree on that point."  Mensch stepped forward.

Fenix reacted like lightning.  Before Xia blinked, Fenix dropped to one knee and slid an oddly shaped sword towards him.  As it skittered across the floor, Fenix pounced from his kneeling position, his own sword angled at Mensch’s chest.  From the annoyed look on Mensch’s face, the man had seen Fenix’s move too late.  He wisely chose to block Fenix’s attack rather then prevent Xia from receiving the blade.

Xia knelt with bonded hands to pick up the weird sword.  He recognized the falcon-hilt-with-too-many-eyes as the one that had hung over his father’s desk since he was a child.  The blade was new, but the hilt–it was the first thing he had found that survived his home in the Explosion.  It was as if a freezing waterfall rippled through his skin as he grasped the closest physical connection he had to his father.  With renewed strength he had not felt since Tailz and Cerberus arrived on Landing, he lifted the sword, turned, and cut Danni’s bonds.  The ropes fell away.

He reluctantly handed the sword to Danni, now free to more easily cut the bonds from her ankles, followed by those entangling Xia and Cheryl.  They each unconsciously stood to stretch their backs upright.  Danni turned the sword over, presenting the hilt to Xia’s hand.  He gripped the sword, taking it from her, glad to have it back even after the few seconds he was without. 

A loud crash whipped their eyes about to the opposite corner of the large room.  A towering wooden bookshelf now contained a massive, Cerberus-sized indentation, shelves broken and books scattered.  Cerberus himself growled, picking himself up in time to dodge a heavy kick that threatened to cave his head in.  He watched Tailz’ leg strike the floor, and then launched his own flurry of fists and feet that Tailz leapt back to block just as quickly.  It was a well-orchestrated dance, each of them moving in perfect sync with one another, arms and legs moving to parry incoming strikes as if it had all been practiced before. 

One blow pierced Tailz’ defenses, catching the fiery-haired Scout in the side.  Cerberus swiftly spun, following up with a side-kick that sent Tailz sprawling.  Almost in perfect sync.

"A little help… over here…!" Fenix choked out.  Xia started, and turned to see his best friend head-locked by Mensch, just enough strength enabling his blade to hold back his opponent’s finishing strike.  Xia immediately leapt towards him, sword raised.  Mensch cursed as Xia approached, having no choice but to push Fenix away so that he might prevent Xia’s Falconblade from piercing his skin.  Fenix dropped to his knees, gasping for breath, and Mensch’s blade clanged as it met Xia’s with a force that shook Xia to his bones.

Stunned only a moment, Xia recovered quickly and desperately lunged at Lord Mensch, forcing him to step back and increase the space between him and Fenix, anything to prevent a spare slash from snaring Fenix from behind.  Xia attacked, and Mensch fell back until he was no longer in reach of Fenix.  Xia heaved a sigh of relief as he gave a final lunge, driving Mensch back another step.

Mensch snarled silently at Xia, and Xia froze.  He had accomplished the immediate goal of keeping Fenix alive, but was faced with a more pressing concern: now what?  Mensch capitalized on Xia’s hesitation, answering the question for him: keep his own self alive.  Clang clang clang sounded in the room as Xia barely fumbled his unique blade into the path of Mensch’s precise attacks, which struck at him from all varied angles.  His arms grew weary absorbing the blunt force of Mensch’s strong, well-trained arms.  They grew weary, then sore. 

Then, as he felt he could not hold the sword up any longer, another blade dashed in and intercepted the next blow.  Fenix was back on his feet, and Xia was grateful for it.  He moved aside, letting his arms hang in rest as Fenix took over, swinging his sword with both hands.  Xia watched as Fenix began a relentless rain of slashing, and was very impressed.  Fenix’s arms worked his sword like an axe, swinging and swinging, as if hacking away at a large tree that needed to come down, with such speed that Xia was not sure he could have blocked every one of those vicious blows as Mensch was somehow succeeding in doing.

Xia rubbed his sword-arm with his other, and then recognized what Fenix was doing.  He was giving his all to a neverending hail of force that forced the opponent to either hope to weather out the barrage, absorbing more blows than the attacker could hope to dish out, or to risk striking back.  Sure enough, Xia watched the plan forming in Mensch’s face.  Mensch looked slightly dismayed, and realized that he would have to strike to end the boy’s attacks before too long.  Several strokes later, Mensch gritted his teeth, set himself, and in between one blow and the next, slashed out with his sword.

Fenix chose that moment to end his attacks and leap backwards.  Mensch would find only air where he meant to find flesh, and be caught off-guard.  It was just as Fenix had done in the sword tournament back at Festival to win against Xia.

Mensch, however, was unfazed.  Seemingly foretelling Fenix’s sudden withdrawal, Mensch reacted by half-stepping to the left and slashing.  The tip of his blade danced down Fenix’s swordarm.  Fenix cried out, dropping his own sword to the ground, cradling the gash in his upper arm with his other hand.  Mensch nodded as if expecting no less, and then focused as he stepped forward to deliver the killing strike.

Xia leapt, hands outstretched and Falconblade extended, as if he could catch the thrusting sword before it would reach the neck of his closest friend.

The world slowed.  Xia cursed that slow mental illusion that he would never reach his friend no matter how fast he moved, the blade moving inch by inch towards Fenix’s throat, and Xia’s body seemingly diving through a mass pool of jam.  The moment went on for a minute, maybe two.

Xia blinked, confused.  It was not a mental illusion, the blade was moving slower.  And so was he. 

He blinked again.  The blade had stopped.  He dared to move his eyes away from it, and would have gasped if he had the body to do so.  He saw himself, suspended in mid-air, face full of stern determination, arms flung out in front of himself.  Xia panicked, looking everywhere, trying to see himself, but the only self he saw was the body that hung suspended in front of him.  Xia was nothing, outside of his body.

Glancing around the room, he noticed something else: each body, save his own, were sparkling with bright-colored luminescence.  Mensch’s bright red, nearly white, pained Xia to look at.  Rage.  Fenix was a mix of intertwining hues of deep crimson and cerulean that Xia could make out both separately and together as a magenta blast of sparks whenever they crossed.  Anger.  Determination.  Hope.  Tailz and Cerberus each pulsed with a calm brown that seemed to flow from one of the Scouts to the other, sharing its energy between them.  Calm.  Patience.  Danni and Cheryl gave off bright blues, as if they were ice, frozen in their stares of terror as Mensch’s sword aimed to put an end to his nuisance.  Fear.

The sea of hues assaulted Xia, burning his eyes where ever he looked, confusing his mind.  And, seeing his own face was unsettling enough.  He tried to pull back from the kaleidoscopic abuse, but as he distanced himself from  the constant barrage, more colors came into view.  The ones he recognized as his friends became smaller and smaller, and more points of light rushed to fill in the space.  Soon, he was looking down on what seemed to be a dark night sky gleaming with multicolored stars. 

In the center, near where he left his friends behind, he noticed a star much brighter than the others.  Instead of pulsating off waves of light and energy, like all the others, this one was calmer, relaxed.  He could look at it without fear of pain, and it invited him.  Curious, Xia moved towards it.  As it sat silently shedding its light, he could see why it was so different than the rest.  Instead of lashing out at everything with an array of colors and emotions, this one gave none at all.  In fact, it dimmed the lights around itself, lessened the pain.  As Xia approached it, he could see beyond his friends’ emotions.  He could see their hearts, hear their minds. 

Without writhing in pain from the onslaught, Xia paused, and opened himself to see the varied colors, to listen to their wishes.

The calm, relaxing star quaked ominously.  Xia had only a moment of panic as it threw itself at him, and all light disappeared.

* * * * *

Xia blinked his eyes, and looked around. He tried to, anyways. It was pitch black; he could not even see his nose.  He moved his feet, stamping them in place, and was surprised to find soft earth beneath them. He heaved a sigh of relief as he realized he was back in his body again. 

It was cool, and wet.  It felt as if a fine mist was falling over him.

Wait.

The sound of flowing water was all Xia heard.

I’ve been here before.

"Hello?" He called out.

Still, only the water.

"Cerberus?"  He tried.  Then, after a moment’s hesitation, "…Tailz?"

His voice echoed.

Then a thought occurred to him.  "Prism?"

As before, the world faded in around him, as if someone had started a very low flame, and it increased with intensity ever so slowly.  The grass-floored cavern came into view, centered around the brilliant tree.  It rose the cavern’s height, brushing the ceiling with its green leaves.  Looking closer, Xia gasped as he realized the tree’s trunk was not covered in bark.  It seemed to be made of colored glass.  He reached out, touching it, but it felt like regular, coarse tree bark.  But his eyes clearly saw the glass, crystal shards, colors more varied than the emotion sky he had just seen.

"Yes, Xia?"

Xia jumped at the voice, as crystalline as the tree before him.  He turned and looked about, but saw no one.  "Prism?"

"I’m here, Xia.  But you musn’t use that name."

Xia turned around again, and saw her stepping out from behind the tree.  She was covered in thick robes, just as she had appeared before.  Blinking down at her, he saw how her robes reflected light in various ways, so that depending on the angle, she seemed to be wearing a different color.  As she approached him, she seemed to swim through the hues; they dripped down her like water.  "Why not?  It’s your name, isn’t it?"  Xia felt as if he had forgotten, and put a hand to his head.  "Isn’t it?"

"Not anymore.  It is dangerous, if heard by improper ears.  Promise me you won’t do it again."

His chest nearly burst with the thought he had offended this beautiful woman.  "No, no, I won’t do it again."

She smiled.  "Good.  I am the Seeker now."

He was thrilled that he had seen her smile.  Xia felt relief pour over him, that he pleased her.  "Yes, Seeker."  He looked at her, and her blue eyes gave way, fading to become deep crimson.  He blinked, and then frowned, remembering what he had forgotten.  "My friends…"

The Seeker frowned, and leaned on her staff, studying him carefully. 

A breeze rustled the tree’s leaves, swirling around them, before coming to rest in the form of the Seeker’s black panther.  It was the air had thickened to show the outline of a large cat, and then the rest was filled in.  It stretched briefly, as a cat does after taking a nice, long nap, then purred its way over to Xia, where it nuzzled his free hand.  Xia, pulled from his thoughts, looked down at the cat and smiled, scratching its ears.

"I thought you’d be the one to find your way back here, but not in so short a time, and from a distance.  I’m impressed."  The Seeker continued to eye Xia, thoughtfully.

"Where is here?"  Xia asked, looking about.  He frowned, unable to remember, as if he should.

The Seeker’s eyes swirled again, to a bright green.  "Are you okay, Xia?  Coming here on your own can be very disconcerting without me to guide you along the way."

"I…I don’t know."  He shook his head.  The panther yawned loudly, then curled up at Xia’s feet.

She took Xia’s hand, and placed it back on the tree.  "This is where it begins, Xia."

Xia stared down at her hand on his.  "What begins?"

"Everything."  She lowered her hand from his, and stepped forward.  Her eyes changed once more, to orange.  Even though her head was only the level of Xia’s chest, those eyes pierced him as well as a blade could.  "Everything starts from here, all the power in the universe.  It feeds the worlds through the Spherics, giving them all the energy they need to survive."

Something in her words set off alarms in Xia’s head, but he was not sure what, or why.  "If someone were to find this place, someone evil…" Someone Tailz.  Xia hissed and withdrew his arm.  "How did I get here?  How did we get here before?  If Tailz learns of this–"

A small, soft finger pressed against Xia’s lips.  "Hush.  I brought you all here the first time.  This time, you did it on your own.  You are very special, and do not have to worry about those others."  Her eyes were blue again.

Her words were so reassuring, he nodded and smiled.  "Now what?"

"There are those who will hunt you down because what you can do, because you were singled out and chosen by the Tree."

Xia frowned.  "But no one I know–"

The Seeker’s brief head shake cut him off.  "They are on their way.  You are in danger.  I can protect you from them."

"You can?  How?"  Xia asked.

"I can teach you how to manipulate the Spherics.  Show you how to defend yourself."

Xia’s eyes widened.  "I can’t do what you say.  Tailz is the one using the damned thing.  And, I think Cerberus has something to do with it too, but I am not like them."

She smiled.  "Xia, how do you think you got here?  Those others only bear a crude control of powers beyond themselves.  You can be so much more than the both of them combined.  Time will tell, if you are what I think you are."

"What you think I am?"

She smiled.  "Time will tell."

Xia laughed.  "You can count me out.  I am nothing like Tailz.  Or Cerberus, for that matter."

"You are more similar than you think.  But, you are so much more than they."

Xia growled and shook his head vigorously.  "No!  I am not like Tailz!  The power he wields is evil, and destructive.  It serves no good purpose."

The cavern dimmed.  "You think so…do you?"  The Seeker laughed.

The cavern faded from his sight.

* * * * *

Xia leapt, hands outstretched and Falconblade extended, as if he could catch the thrusting sword before it would reach the neck of his closest friend.  He could see the white-hot Rage filling Mensch, and as the sword crept forward through the illusion of time, the Rage tinged with the dark green of smug Satisfaction.  "No!" 

Mensch grunted, and he convulsed, dropping the sword to the ground.  To everyone else, he just stood there, shaking.  To Xia, his Rage was filling Xia, and Xia drank it in.  His hands were pulsing, and glowed as brightly as Mensch had just been.  He drank it in as if he had a thirst that had never been quenched before.  He felt it course through his body, he saw the thoughts as it raced through his mind, and as the Rage touched his heart, Xia howled as Mensch’s anger burned his very soul.

There was a spark, then nothing.  Then, what sounded like a clap of thunder, and a massive wave of heat.

Mensch flew through the air, end over end, and struck the wall with such force that he rebounded and then bounced off the floor once.

Tailz and Cerberus screeched in pain, and fell to the ground, clutching their heads.  Xia paused for a moment to consider this, and decided while he did not understand, he did not much care.  He snarled, and howled again.  Xia rose a foot off the ground, and drank again, absorbing the Rage that permeated the room, drawing it from everyone, from Mensch, from Tailz.  When he could hold no more, Xia pointed a finger at Tailz.  A spark flashed where Tailz lay,  and again, for a brief moment, nothing happened.  Then, the thunder sounded again.  When Tailz landed, smoldering, on the opposite end of the room, he did not move.

Mensch however, tried to rise from where he was, and Xia saw it from the corner of his eye.  Xia pointed again, sending the man into the wall once more.  Then, Xia floated across the room to where Mensch lay.  He placed his hands in front of him, and pulled again on Mensch’s Rage, which was now fading fast.  A small ball of flame formed between his hands, and the more he thought of this man trying to kill his friends, the larger it got.  Rage flowed into him from Mensch like a torrent until there was no more, and when he exhausted it, he tapped into his own, growing by the second.

Mensch opened his eyes and gawked in horror at the size of the fireball expanding in front of his eyes, and the man floating over him, holding it.  "Xia?"

The voice that came from Xia seemed like someone else’s, deep, and angry.  "I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, WOULD HELP THE MAN WHO MURDERED MY FATHER."

Mensch could only stare.

"YOU HAVE CAUSED SO MUCH PAIN, BUT NOTHING LIKE THAT WHICH I HOLD.  I WILL TEACH YOU."  Xia raised the enormous fireball above his head, as if he were holding a large rock to slam onto the ground.

"Xia!" A voice cried.  "Stop this madness!  Please!"

Xia heard Danni’s voice, crying and hurt.  He held the fireball, but he froze.

"I cannot watch you do this!  Stop, please!"

Xia looked to the corner of the room, where Cheryl and Danni were cowering, tears on their cheeks, with Fenix awkwardly holding his sword in his injured arm in front of them.  Protecting them.

From me.

Some of the Rage leaked from Xia, and his body lowered to the ground.  He did not release the fireball, but it was substantially smaller.  What… am I doing?

Tailz pushed himself from the ground and stumbled to the door.  "Guards!" He roared.  Xia just looked at him and hesitated, and when Fenix saw Xia just standing there, he  rose and dashed across the room, stabbing at the smoldering Scout.  Tailz snarled, and easily caught the blade of Fenix’s sword with a single hand.  He twisted it sideways, wrenching it from Fenix’s hand, and Fenix cried out in pain from the shock to his injury.  Tailz casually tossed the blade aside, and pushed Fenix aside as unceremoniously.  Tailz opened the door and screamed again.  "Guards!"  He disappeared around the corner.

Not more enemies!  Xia growled angrily, throwing his fireball at the passageway with all his strength.  The crash against the door sent wood flying everywhere, and half the wall caved in.  The floor shook beneath their feet.  When the dust cleared, a smoldering pile of rubble was all that was left of where the door had been.

He looked to Danni, who had fear painted across her face, and tears streaming down it.  He did not need the bright sky blue that emanated from her to see how scared she really was.  "I had to…" he tried to explain.  "I couldn’t let him bring others."  The Rage left Xia, and he felt empty.

Cerberus pushed himself from the ground, still holding his head.  Looking around, dazed, he took a moment to assess the situation.  Then, he stumbled over and pulled on Xia’s arm.  "We need to get out of here.  It won’t take long for them to make their way through that with the entire Guard."  He motioned to the smoldering wreckage that used to be a wall.

Xia nodded at Cerberus.  "Yes, let’s go."  He turned to go to Danni and Cheryl, but when they cowered away from him, he flinched, then turned instead to help Fenix.

He ran over and helped his friend off the floor.  "Are you okay?  Can you walk with us?"

Fenix held his sword-arm painfully, blood oozing between his fingers, but smiled.  "Walk?  To get out of here, I’ll do a jig."

Xia smiled, and helped Fenix to the window.  "Thanks for coming for us."

Fenix shrugged.  "Yeah, well.  You owe me on this one."

Cerberus had securely tied down the rope Fenix used to ride in on, ready to be used to climb down outside to the ground floor.  "Quickly," the Scout ordered.  "There aren’t too many out front, they all must be inside right now.  Let’s move."

* * * * *

The weary group stumbled into the plaza next to Northgate, near the King Faerth’s Inn. Cerberus and Xia led the way, with Fenix right behind them, a quickly wrapped and blood-stained strip of cloth from the hem of Danni’s dress around his sword arm.  Danni marched alongside Fenix, watching him carefully, and Cheryl walked behind everyone else.  It was nearly noon, and none of them had gotten a good night’s sleep, though Cerberus did not show it one bit.  That was probably to be expected. 

Only Fenix had said anything since escaping the Srynn Hall, and that was only to let them know Deia was at Jax’s inn.  Cerberus had been right that not a single guard was in the courtyard; they had simply walked out the side gate with no one the wiser.  By the time the Guard dug through the rubble Xia had piled up and found no one, Tailz would, hopefully, have no idea where they were.

Xia himself was still in shock.  What had transpired was all at the same time amazing, and scary, and crazy, and he had no idea what it meant, or how to handle it.  He looked at all the people that packed the plaza, and tried to open himself to see the emotions in them, like he had done before, but he got nothing.  He could not see or hear anything.  He sighed to himself.  He was clueless.  And that was not including all that nonsense with the Seeker and the Tree.

To make matters worse, no one would look him in the eye.  Not even Danni.  Not even Cerberus!  Each one of them refused to meet his gaze.  He was left, alone and lost, in his own mind.

Xia was jerked from his thoughts when he walked into Cerberus’ back.  Only then did he realize that he had seen a plaza packed with so many people you could barely walk through.  "What’s going on?"

Cerberus stood on the tips of his toes and peered over the crowd.  "There’s smoke on the other side of the plaza."  Xia stood beside him and tried to see too.

"Smoke?" Fenix asked.  "What kind of smoke?"

Cerberus tilted his head, and then shook it.  "I…can’t see."

Xia looked around, and spotting one of the plaza trees, pushed his way towards it.  He jostled a few people, but no one seemed to care, as they were trying to get a view of what was going on too.  Reaching it, he deftly leapt up, grabbed onto a thick branch, and pulled himself up.

He blinked at what he could see.  With a sinking feeling in his chest, he leapt down from the tree, ignoring the curses of those he had nearly knocked over in the process, and rushed through the crowd back to his friends.

"What is it, Xia?" Cerberus asked.

"The King Faerth’s, it’s on fire!"  Xia exclaimed, and then continued to push his way through the crowd towards the other end of the plaza.

"Mother Jax!" Danni, Cheryl, and Fenix all exclaimed at once, and pushed into the crowd.  There were a number of complaints as they pushed into people.  Fenix growled and grunted as people pushed up against his sword arm, and Danni apologized over her shoulder in the vague direction of whomever had gotten angry.  After slowing to keep saying "I’m sorry!" nearly a hundred times, Cheryl gave her a push and said "Just forget it, and go!"

Halfway across the plaza, the people were packed so tightly, it was hard to even force their way through.  Cerberus and Xia were trying to insert themselves, but the townspeople just shoved back.  Xia, exasperated, finally grabbed one man by his shoulders and physically moved him aside.

"What’s yer deal?" Said the man Xia had shoved, and he did not look amused one bit. 

Xia snapped at him.  "Oh, leave over.  We’re in a hurry here."  Xia turned to try to find his next way through the throng of people.

The man, of a size as Xia, grabbed his shoulder and swung him back around.  "No one pushes me around, kiddo."  He pulled his hand back, and thrust his fist at Xia’s nose.

Xia flinched, and then opened his eyes when nothing hit him.  He blinked at the back of Cerberus’ hand.  Cerberus had caught the man’s fist.  "We do not have time for this, really." Cerberus said, and with no effort, and near as much movement, twisted the man’s hand, evoking an ear-shattering wail.  Everyone nearby quieted and looked at its source.  Then, Cerberus flashed out a hand and made a chopping movement against the side of the townsman’s neck.  He crumpled to the cobblestones.

Danni gasped.  "Cerberus!  What did you do to him?"

"Relax," Cerberus said.  "He’ll wake up in about twenty minutes with a bad headache."

"Um, Cerberus?" Xia asked.

"Yes?"

"Let’s start moving."  Xia pointed at the townspeople inching away from them.

In the closest to a smile Xia had seen on the Scout’s face, Cerberus stepped into the crowd.  Everyone present stepped back.  They walked relatively unhindered to the front of the plaza.

Jax stood at the front, her hands on her hips staring down at a young man from the Guard tied to a torchpost.  Soot and smudges smeared up and down one of Jax’s fine dresses.  She probably would not be very happy with that.  The Guardsman certainly looked very sullen.  Looking at the King Faerth’s, though, Xia decided she probably was not very happy about more important things.  The inn itself was smoldering on the ground, nothing left to be saved from it. 

"Mother Jax!" Xia called out, echoed by his companions.

Jax turned, face painted in vexation.  Then she saw them, and held her hands out wide.  "Children!"

Xia flew into her arms.  "Jax, I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you’re okay."

Jax laughed as she tried to take in Xia, Danni, and Cheryl all at the same time.  It was one big group hug.  "Me?  Ha! Hardly."  She jerked her head to the restrained Guardsman.  "This one came back, wanted to get back at me for making him squeal last night.  He managed to light the inn, but not before we tackled him down."

Xia laughed at the mental image of Jax chasing down the arsonist with a wooden spoon.

"Deia."  Fenix said quietly, having not run to Jax with the others.  "Where is she…?"

Waving the others off, Jax approached Fenix, bit her lip looking at his arm, and then fixed a stern eye on him.  "Boy, I told you not to go about getting yourself killed.  She’s not going to be all too happy with that.  Not with what you went through to save her."

"Wait, wait." Danni said, waving her hands.  "Save her?  He just said Deia was here."

"Not happy?"  Fenix seemed relieved.  "So she’s okay."  He looked at the fallen inn.

"Of course she is, Fenix.  She was the first one out the door when we could not put the fire out on our own."  Jax smiled and put a hand on his good shoulder.  "She’s at the doctor’s now.  Doctor Leggman, near Eastgate.  Where you should be going now."

Fenix heaved a sigh of relief, and put a hand on her , as if he did not truly believe Deia was safe until Jax said it outright.

"You all look like a mess.  You have no idea how worried Fenix had me.  If i did not have to watch over the young woman, I would have come after you myself."

Cerberus shook his head.  "That would not have been a good thing to do."

Looking at the others, she narrowed out who the Scout was.  "You’re this…Cerberus?"

He nodded his head, and crossed his arms sternly.

"Pfft." Jax tossed her long hair.  "When you get a little older, grow some hair on your face, you’ll realize that although they are not ‘good things to do,’ you do them anyways, because you would never forgive yourself for not acting."

Cerberus shrugged.  "You can always do more alive than dead."

"Then that just means you have not found something worth dying for.  If you had, you would be able to tell me so."

Cerberus opened his mouth, and froze.  He closed it smartly and frowned.

Danni smirked.  "There’s something I thought I’d never see."

"Don’t worry, child." Jax said, ruffling Cerberus’ hair.  "You’re not lost yet.  You’ll see."  She turned and marched over to the guard, swiftly kicking his shin.  "Not like this one."

"Yeeow!"  The guard flinched, and tried to twist around the torchpost, out of kicking range of Jax’s boots.

"What’s the matter, Cerby?" Danni chuckled.  "Bet your bosses never called you ‘child’ and messed up your hair."

Cerberus just stood, staring at the ground.

"Cerberus?" Xia said, poking him.

Cerberus frowned, and looked up into Xia’s eyes.  "Hm?"  His eyes widened, looking at Xia, before casting his eyes back to the ground.  "Yes?"

"Where do we go from here?"

"We help Mother Jax, of course." Danni scoffed.

Cerberus shook his head.  "We don’t have time for that."  He looked at Jax and shrugged.  "We cannot stay here for long."

Jax placed her hands on her hips and frowned sternly.  That’s where Danni got that from, Xia thought.  "You all need rest, and he–" she pointed at Fenix "–needs to be patched up."

Cerberus and Jax stared at one another, as if squaring off.

Then, Xia remembered something.  "Cheryl, what did you say earlier?"

Cheryl blinked.  "When?"

"When we were being held, after Danni and I came along."

"Oh, about Mensch wanting an arrest warrant for an innocent man?"

Xia snapped his fingers.  "That’s it."

"What?"  Cerberus asked.

"Think about it.  Mensch, although he’s always been a haughty jerk, was always a good man.  All of this nonsense happened after Tailz came along, and we know Tailz is in charge there."

Danni lit up.  "Of course.  If Mensch was wanting to do something to an innocent man without cause, it must be at Tailz’ request."  She smiled at Xia.  "Right?"

"Right," Xia said, "at least, that’s what I think."  He smiled widely back at her.  She would never know the stress she just removed from Xia’s shoulders just by giving him that one brilliant smile.  All the same, they shared it only a brief moment.  Then she realized who she was smiling at, and it dropped swiftly from her face.  That’s okay.  At least you don’t think I’m a complete monster.  "So, whoever this is, we find him first."

Nodding, Cerberus put up a finger.  "Sounds like the only lead we have.  But, let me remind you, the Mayor is probably in Srynn Hall."

"That’s okay," Xia answered.  "I know Mistress Taugen.  We’ll go to their house, and wait for him there.  The others need rest anyways, none of us have slept.  Danni," he said, turning to her, "you take Fenix, and check in with Doctor Leggman.  See how Deia’s doing while you’re at it.  Find an inn over there, and get some rest for today.  With luck, Tailz won’t be looking for us around Eastgate."

He turned to Cheryl.  "Cheryl, people are still worried about you not returning after I sent you off.  You need to get back as soon as you can.  I want you to stay and help Mother Jax with anything she needs, but go back to Tel as soon as you can."

Jax broke in.  "Xia, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go with Fenix for now, just to see how the young girl–Deia?–is doing."

"But," Xia asked.  "What about the inn?"

Jax shrugged and sighed.  "Look at it.  It’s done.  Not much else can be done for now.  I’m sure once I explain to Mayor Taugen what happened," she glared at the Guardsman, "he’ll see that we get it rebuilt."

Xia nodded.  "Alright everyone?"  He looked around at his companions.

Fenix and Danni studied the cobblestones beneath their feet.  Cheryl stood next to Jax.  No, behind Jax.  Xia did not realize until this moment how far away from him they were standing.  Jax was the closest, only because she had no idea.  No one said anything.

Then Cerberus, of all people, cleared his throat and broke the ice.  "Ah, well.  Come on folks, you heard the man.  Off with you.  Make sure he does not get lost on the way to the Doctor’s, Danni."

Danni rolled her eyes, but she smiled too, and grabbed Fenix by his good arm.  "Come on now.  Let’s stick you back together again."

Cheryl and Jax nodded and followed after them, leaving Cerberus and Xia behind.

Xia began to make his way back across the plaza, towards Mayor Taugen’s house.  He turned his head to talk over his shoulder.  "Cerberus, was that a joke that you did just now?"

"Ah, well.  Yes.  Did I do well?"  Cerberus frowned.

Xia laughed.  "Yeah.  It was pretty good."

The Guardsman called from the torchpost.  "Hey!  You can’t leave me here!  HEY!"  His cries went unanswered by the crowd.

* * * * *

"Then that just means you have not found something worth dying for."  Jax had said.  "If you had, you would be able to tell me so."

He had just wanted to play with the other boys.  Then the doctors arrived, looking upset, and rounded all the kids up.  They went to the big white room, where there were a lot of long boxes laid out on the floor.  When he saw them stuffing the other boys and girls into them, he tried to run, but they snatched him up easily by the collar, and shoved him in one too. 

He had been in the cold box for hours. At first he had cried and wailed, pounded on the box, but when no one answered him, he gave in to the silence. 

Then he heard a door open somewhere.  "There is not much time left.  Are they all ready?  How many do we have?"

A brief pause.  "Thirty, Doctor.  Twenty-two males, and eight females."

"Does every female have the same trait that Prism had?"

Silence.  Then, "Yes."

"We’ll have to terminate those.  Mark it in the log."

"Do you really think it is necessary?  They could lead healthy lives, where ever else they go to."

"And what happens if they find more of the Artifacts, somewhere else?  These were not man-made, Elsie, they could be anywhere in the galaxy.  Earth is through, but we cannot allow any colonies  to suffer the same fate."

"And what of the boys?"

"Your own research shows the change is natural in them.  They don’t have the altered gene that you had to introduce into the girls.  They’ll be safe, and once this all blows over, they should be able to pull them back out, safe and sound.  Who knows, once the core calms down, they may even be able to return to Earth."

"I cannot believe you convinced me to stay here, instead of getting on a craft and leaving."

"These boys may very well protect humanity itself, its future.  That, is worth dying for."

Cerberus frowned at his thoughts, and focused on following after Xia.

* * * * *

Xia knocked on the door.  For the man who ran Srynn, or, did until Tailz showed up, he had an awfully small house.  Xia never quite understood that, but then Xia had lived in the Mayor’s Residence with his father all his life.  He wondered what it would have been like if the Mayor’s Residence was as big as Srynn Hall.  He smiled at the thought of himself and Fenix running through all the halls, being chased by all the girls in Tel.  Then Father, as always, swooping in to "rescue" them for some task or chore he needed done.  Back then, Father’s chores were sometimes a good alternative to getting caught by the ten-year-old girls of the village.

Father.

Xia frowned, and shook off the pain.  He knocked on the door again.

"And here I was hoping the Mayor had not gone to the Hall yet."  Cerberus said.

"Mayor Taugen?  He was always gone by sunrise."  Xia looked up at the sky; the sun had already cleared the horizon.  "My father used to say that ‘In Tel, the cocks told us when to begin the day, but in Srynn, Taugen woke the cocks up.’  He hated coming to work with Mayor Taugen here."  Xia mentally flinched at mentioning his father again.

The door opened slightly, and a pair of green eyes peeked out.  They looked around, and landed on Xia.  They widened visibly.  Xia almost flinched; it was just like the others.

But then, the door was flung open all the way, and Xia was hit by an avalanche.

"Xia, my poor boy, you’re alright!" Mistress Taugen exclaimed.  Xia coughed from the pressure her arms grappled him with.  She was a big woman, and big in the terms of brute strength.  The woman could have been used to pull a cart.  She stood back and laughed, fixing her silver hair.  "I’m so sorry boy, but after what my husband told me…"  She froze, and glared accusingly at Cerberus.  "And who are you?"

Cerberus frowned, but Xia held a hand out towards him to stay quiet.  "He’s with me.  Mistress Taugen, we need your help."

She eyed Cerberus one more time before herding them inside.  "Come now, hurry, before anyone sees you."

Xia stepped inside, and blinked.  No matter how often he had come to visit, the sparseness of the Taugen’s home always shocked him.  The sole furniture was a single table in the middle of the room, four small chairs surrounding.  The tiny kitchen stood visible through the entryway to the right, and a single corridor to the left led to their sleeping chamber. Very sparse, very precise.  The things they needed, and no more.

As she closed the door behind them, Cerberus asked, "What exactly did your husband tell you?"

Mistress Taugen frowned at Cerberus, and put a finger to her chin.

"Mistress Taugen, please," Xia said, shaking his head.  "We need to know."

"Well," she said.  "He came home last night, and told me about the order that went down to the Guard for your capture, Xia."

Xia frowned.  "Just me?"

"There was the description of another, but no name given.  It was not anyone we knew."  She rattled it off the top of her head, then blinked as she realized who she was describing.

Cerberus nodded.  "Yes, that would be me."

"Oh, I’m sorry, you’re stuck in this too, poor child."

Xia nearly laughed as Cerberus ground his teeth at being called child for the second time in the same day.

"But," she continued, "there was nothing he could do about it.  He had felt so guilty about not doing anything about it, that he tried to stand up to Lord Mensch when he wanted another fake warrant drafted for a merchant who had done nothing wrong.  It did not do him very well."

Cerberus and Xia looked at one another.  "So you know about that warrant?" Xia asked.  "Could you tell me who it was for?"

"You know him, Xia," Mistress Taugen nodded.  "It’s Old Man Len."

Xia’s mouth dropped.  "Len?"  Old Man Len, as he was called, was the travelling merchant who visited the Mahn region once every other year.  He had two circuits he alternated by year, south of the capital, Halveren, which included the Mahn, and then a circuit that carried him north.  He always had trinkets and toys from all over, and the number of people who showed up to see him rivaled those that came for Festival.  "What in the world could they want with Len?"

"I am clueless.  My husband said that Mensch had purchased a gift for Mayor Townsend, your father, Xia, years ago, from Len, and needed to find him about it."

Confusion contorted Cerberus’ face.  "He needs a warrant for what?"

Something clicked in Xia’s head.  "What gift was it?"

"It was nothing, really.  Just a polished gem, but perfectly round, like a child’s ball."

Xia and Cerberus both froze in place.

"What?"  Xia asked, breathless.

Cerberus shook his head, blinking, then walked over and put his face into hers.  "Does this Len have another one of these?  Where is he?  How can I find him?"

"He was in Tel before Festival, a few weeks ago," Xia said helpfully.

Mistress Taugen nodded.  "Yes, he’s on his southern circuit this year.  He should be in Chalen by now."

"That’s east of here," Xia said, for Cerberus’ benefit.

Cerberus nodded and strode to the door.  "We need to get moving.  Tailz already has a lead on the other Spherics, especially if this man knows more about them than the one he happened to sell like a trinket."  Cerberus nearly spat the final words, full of incredulity.

"Is it important?" Mistress Taugen asked.

"More than you know," Xia responded.

"Then," she said, "you had better hurry along, then.  My husband had no choice but to sign the warrant, and the messenger was sent to Chalen the day before last."

Xia nodded.  "Thank you, so very much."  Xia went to the door.  Cerberus opened it, and walked through.

"Xia?"

He stopped and looked back.

"Are you going to tell me what exactly is going on?"

Xia thought about it briefly, and almost decided not to tell her, but then he realized everything the Mayor had gone through, that he was going to need to know anyways.  "Mensch is in league with a man who burned Tel to the ground."  Her mouth dropped.  "We lost a lot of people, and they’re still cleaning up the mess."  He clenched his fists.  "He murdered Father."

The Mayor’s wife clasped her hands to her chest.  "Oh, child, I’m so sorry."

"I’m Mayor now."

"Yes."  She nodded sadly.  "Yes.  I see that.  You’re not the boy you were last year."  She changed instantly.  She put her hands at her sides, and put the most serious look on her face.  "Mayor Townsend, I cannot speak for my husband directly, but I can nearly guarantee you and Tel that when I tell him this, we will be sending all the aid we have to Tel.  We’ve been more than neighbors.  Tel is our family too."

Xia nodded gravely.  "Have him coordinate with Master Down, I left him in charge while I’m gone."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to stop him.  Aside from what he did to Tel, he is going to do much worse if he is not caught."

For the first time in Xia’s life, he saw Mistress Taugen curtsy.  "I give you my word, Mayor.  I will go and find my husband now."

Xia put up his hands.  "No, you must stay away from the Hall.  As a matter of fact, when your husband returns, tell him to not return to the Hall either.  There must be a ton of things he needs to see to outside of the Hall, tell him to catch up on those for now, at least until Mensch leaves."

"I’ll do as you say."

"Thank you, Mistress."  Xia nodded, and turned to the door.  "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a task at hand."

Xia stepped out the door, and closed it behind him.  Cerberus stood there, looking at him.  "You have it now."

"What?"

"That look.  The stance.  You’re a leader.  People will see it in you, now."

Xia frowned, then shook his head.  "I just have myself, and a mission.  I intend to make sure Tailz does not get his hands on the Spherics, and that he pays for what he did to Tel."  He nodded to himself, and walked past the Scout, head high.  "If someone decides to follow me, I’ll have them, but that’s their choice."

That’s usually how it goes, friend.  Without hesitation, Cerberus fell into step behind the Mayor of Tel.

* * * * *

There were orders, then there were orders.  There was what a commander said, and what a commander expected.  Cerberus had said it was the responsibility of the soldier to know both, and to interpret his orders as necessary.  There were many times a Scout was on his own, with nothing but his own wits and the resources that surrounded him.  A Scout needed to know when an alternate action would complete what his commander expected just as well as the orders he had been given, and know when to take the "good enough" route. 

Heir knew his upcoming mission was to follow after Tailz and Cerberus, but he also knew that the Will meant him to be more than a pilot.  He was a Scout, for sakes.  Had they needed just a pilot, they would have selected one, and sent Heir on something more important.  So, Heir had had no hesitation whatsoever when he used his Scout priority to access one of the science labs and copy the complete contents of the security box he had delivered to Frank Travis into another one.  So long as the data remained encrypted, no security measure would trigger, because the data itself was not being accessed.  He knew that the security defense mechanisms were built into the encrypted code, and would not run unless accessed.

What surprised Heir was how easy it had been to crack it open.  He had taken Travis’ biometric information from the intelligence databases, and applied it to the box.  Then, the coding in his handmade security box preempted the wipe command from being carried out.  Of course, it is not like everyone has such a handy little tool, nor access to the highest classified databases, so Heir supposed it was not all that easy.  Just easy for him.

He had been reviewing the information for hours.  Heir’s personal box also had no time limit imposed, so he had plenty of time to work on studying the information.  It was certainly not what he expected.  He could not figure out the meaning behind it all.  Heir had seen one of the power sources the data referred to once before, two years ago.  He had been on a mission where he escorted a number of undercover operatives back to Union space, and they had shown him the Spheric to gain his trust.  They were quite specific that it was imperative that Heir never mentioned it.  It was simply necessary to show him, because Heir was about ready to kill the lot of them.

It was almost ironic, that the Spheric he had seen that day was the power source to be inserted into the craft that he himself must pilot to track down Tailz and Cerberus.  That is, if the Union only had one of the blue-colored Spherics.  He nearly shivered at the thought of them in possession of multiple sets of Spherics.  That also meant the prototype ship that Tailz stole had one too, hence the orders to retrieve it.  It bothered Heir.  All this time, the Scouts were trained to see and recognize the Spherics, should they ever come up.  But the reason given, was that they were deadly items, never to be used or trusted, and only watched for to prevent another Earth’s Sin.

For two years, Heir knew that the Union had its hands on at least one.  Now, he had proof that there was at least two, and being used in experimentation.  Not at all why the Scouts were taught to find them.  For all Heir knew, they could have more.  Where were they getting them, and why were there so many of these artifacts that so easily destroyed a quarter of the galaxy just laying around?

So, there was the insistence that he remain quiet, and now there was the outright order to kill him after retrieving the Spheric from Tailz’ prototype craft.  He had sufficient cause to believe that the Will was hiding a grave secret from the Scouts, one they would kill to keep.

Heir pondered.  What did Tailz know about this?  What if that’s why the Will wanted Tailz dead?  Tailz had traveled from science station to science station, and never took anything.  The other Scouts had assumed he was looking for the prototype when he made off with it, but what if they were wrong?  What if Tailz somehow had procured information about this secret?

Heir looked at the orders again.  What was he missing?  He pulled up Tailz’ file again, but he had a feeling that unless he somehow stumbled on the same secret Tailz knew, Heir would not know until he managed to speak to Tailz.  And this mission was his only opportunity to get that chance.

Of course, he had always been ready to lay his life down for the Union.  But before now, he always knew what he might be dying for.  This time, until he found out, the Union could go to hell.  He’d go on the mission, but they had another thing coming if they thought they could kill Terra Scout Heir without a fight.

 

* * * * *

Xia sat quietly, his head in his hands.  This Doctor Leggman was a good man.  After Deia and Fenix, seeing the others in such weary condition, and himself with no patients, he made every one of them lay in the infirmary until they were rested.  Deia lay, covered from neck to toe, and the Doctor sat near, in quiet conversation with Jax, both of them watching over her.  Deia’s fever had yet to break, but the Doctor was confident she would at some point today.  He and Danni had applied a number of creams and ointments to her in the back room, and he said that Deia would heal fully.

Fenix was in the bed immediately next to her.  He was lucky; Mensch only scored flesh with his blade.  He was bandaged, and the Doctor gave Danni a supply of bandage to redress it as necessary, along with a score of other things to replace the bag she had lost when they were taken by the Guard.  He did not even charge her for the supplies; he said to consider it a part of their care.  Fenix had had the longest night of all.  Fenix apparently had not slept at all through the entire night.  The others got some rest, even if it was on a hard floor.  Fenix, meanwhile, had single-handedly rescued Deia, and effected their escape from Tailz.

Xia still was unsure what to think of the whole ordeal.  Why had the power from the Spheric come to him when Fenix was in danger, and not when Mensch was about to kill Danni?  He looked over to her, asleep soundly in the next bed to his own.  He had always been unsure of his feelings for Danni, and he certainly never knew how to act around her, but deep down, he had never imagined himself with anyone else.  He felt ashamed that he was able to save Fenix, but not her.

Jax came over to his bed, and sat on the edge, looking down at her feet.  "How are you, Xia?"

He looked over his ragtag army, minus Cerberus.  The Scout had decided to look around town, see what the Guard was doing about them, if anything.  He had been gone half the day, and still had not returned.  "As well as can be, considering."

"Xia, Fenix told me about your father," she whispered.

Xia blinked, then closed his eyes.  "I’m sorry."

Jax put up her hand.  "You?  Honey, he was your father."

"He loved you."

A single tear dropped down Jax’s cheek.  "I know."

They sat there for a minute, maybe two, not saying a word.

Then, Jax stood up, and straightened her dress, as if it were not covered in dirt and smudges from the inn’s blaze.  "I should probably go back to the inn, help with the cleanup."

"He said," he started as tears welled up from his eyes.  "He said you were a good mother."  Jax stopped, and turned towards him.  "He said, we were going to be a family."  The tears rolled down his face, dripping off his chin and disappearing into the blanket.  "Now, I don’t have anyone."  Xia started sobbing.

Jax sat back down, and held Xia in her arms.  "Now, now," she said, "as I recall, I’m still a good mother.  And, I am sure that your mother and your father, peace take them, will not mind if I take a turn for a while."

She held him for a period of time that he could not count, and eventually, he cried himself to sleep.

* * * * *

Travis’ console beeped at him.  Even with the Will aboard his own battlecraft, no one saw them without being sent for.  It was a matter of respect, not just grounds for insubordination.  He had to submit his request through regular channels this time.  His immediate superiors were doubtful that the request would make it to the Will, much less approve it, but then again, they knew the Will had gone to the Victory on their own volition, tapping Commander Frank Travis for some secret mission.  Deciding it was for higher men than themselves to decide, the message was passed from subordinate to superior at an unreal rate for the normally-bureaucratic military system, until his console alerted him to a response, only a day later.

Travis leaned over and pressed a button, opening the message.  From its title, it was an approval sent directly from the Will.  If, and only if, Travis accompanies Heir, recovers the Spheric from the experimental spacecraft, and ensures that Tailz and Cerberus are killed, without subjecting Heir to any knowledge Travis or the other Scouts may have in regards to the Spheric Weaponization Program, then Heir would not need to be disposed of.

It ended with a small commendation, thanking Commander Travis for "potentially saving the Union a huge expenditure."  It bothered Travis that the Scouts were referred to as mere "expenditures."

It bothered him even more that it was true.

* * * * *

The Guard was sweeping the western side of the city, but not very systematically.  They were pretty much looking down the alleys, at the most, between Srynn Hall and Northgate.  And, although there was a small contingent of guards left at the Hall–due to Tailz most likely being injured–none of them were watching the stables. 

Cerberus grinned inwardly as he skulked about the town’s rooftops.  He was starting to get a hang on their currency here, and, really, the idea of bribery is really the same no matter what currency you’re using, so long as you have enough of it.

A small stack of gold coins he had easily picked off a well-to-do passerby had the stable hands flurrying to saddle up their horses.  Cerberus supposed it may have been a bit excessive, from the bulging eyes on the stableboys, but no matter.  An extra coin each ensured delivery.  The three horses the Telians had all rode in on that were stabled at the Hall, plus Fenix’s, from the undamaged stable next to the King Faerth’s inn, would all be waiting at the Doctor’s office by sundown.

Cerberus enjoyed the wind in his hair as he cleared one of the larger alleys, falling forward on the next roof to roll off his shoulder, springing to his feet.  He thought to himself about Xia.  He had a friend once before, one that had developed and improved himself alongside Cerberus, someone who looked up to Cerberus, as Cerberus did to him.  That was Tailz.  And he saw what had happened there.

But Xia was different.  People innately liked him.  Tailz had to work hard to gain the trust and understanding of his comrades, but Xia walked right in and… commanded respect.  And not just idle obedience, he commanded their love and friendship too. 

Just as he had Cerberus’.  Cerberus hoped that he could learn what it was Xia had, so that he could be a bit more like the man.  So not only did he have a friend, he had one he looked up to and admired.

What a strange world this Landing was.

* * * * *

In a small room in the Srynn Hall basement, Tailz growled to himself.  The burns he had suffered from Tel had just started healing, and now he was covered in a new set.  His burns were burned.  He had thrown out three different doctors that had come to treat him, and then he finished the bandaging himself.

The boy worried him.  The Xia kid.  The boy had single-handedly dropped both Cerberus and Tailz with no effort at all, and then tossed Tailz and Mensch around like dead weights.  The second part, Tailz understood, he had felt the power of the Spheric, so it did not shock him that some kind of control would allow someone to do that.  It was the part where Tailz and Cerberus fell to the ground that concerned him.  Somehow, simply by evoking his power, Xia had neutralized both of them.  He could not speak for Cerberus, but Tailz was overwhelmed with a high-pitched whine that he could not shut out of his mind.  It sounded like radio interference multiplied a thousand times over, playing directly into his eardrum. 

It was amazing.  It was power from the Spheric, no doubt about it.  Even Cerberus’ impressive, albeit much smaller, show, had to have been because of the Spheric.  They had been able to use it, even though he had stashed it in a large metal box four stories down!  Tailz was lucky to feel its presence when he was in the same room as it, much less even use it, save that one time in Tel, and that was because he was able to hold it in his hand.  How could they have drawn upon it when the Spheric was sealed so far away? 

Tailz opened the box, and pulled the Spheric out, staring at it.  He closed his eyes and let its melody fill his head. He was going to sit there until he figured it out.

END OF SPHERIC: LANDING: PART I