Here we get to the funny parody part. Woo.
My goal was to do a semi-serious parody. Not sure if I blended
the two well enough. We'll see. The end of this wants a rewrite, too,
though not as badly as End of Days -- I'm hoping for some feedback from
all of you.
Again, if you need the whole story in whatever format, just
e-mail me. khaine@mindless.com, AIM khaine1310, ICQ 53426421.
Also, anyone who likes new anime: Watch Wolf's Rain. It's cool.
=)
Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com
Proof Method #12: Proof by catch phrase repetition.
Chapter Five
*Click*.
"Hey, Dad. Just wanted to let you know -- one of my friends is
sick, so I'll probably stay overnight to help her out. Nothing serious,
just thought you ought to know. Lia knows how to get in touch with me
if you need to. I should be back tomorrow night.
"Love ya!"
*Beeeep*.
Sumiko awoke, after some prodding, long enough to point Mary
towards a cabinet which turned out to contain an impressive array of
healing potions, ointments, and related magical gimcrackery. Sumiko
managed to drink a couple of the tougher-looking concoctions and fell
asleep immediately. The flesh of her leg knitted visibly, and after a
few minutes Mary was able to release the pressure and slump exhausted
onto the couch.
"I'm hurting, too," she said, to the unfeeling world in general.
[Not seriously, of course. Just singed and bruised, not to mention
exhausted from throwing that much power around.] "But of course there's
no one to take care of *me*."
[I should just call up Robyn, tell her that I'm a lonely
magician dedicated to protecting the planet from demons, and demand
sympathy.] Mary tried to picture her friend's face and giggled. [I bet
she'd believe me, too.]
[It's not that I'm bitter. But it would nice if someone,
someday, said "Good job, Mary," or "Nice one, Mary", or even "Thanks for
not letting the demons consume my immortal soul. I owe you one, Mary."
It's kind of a thankless job. And it's not even like I signed up for
it.]
"Aku."
The demon appeared with a pop. "Your wish is my command!"
"I'm in the mood for some self-pity. Cheer me up."
"I'm a demon, Mary, not a jester."
"Pfeh. So remind me why I took this job again?"
"How should I know? You're the one who yanked me out of a
perfectly good non-existence just because you needed someone to talk
to."
"Some help you are."
The demon relented, sitting cross-legged in mid-air and drifting
closer. "Why? Something bothering you, Maer?"
"Not really. It's just..." She sighed. "I almost got killed
today, Aku."
"What else is new? You almost get killed every time you walk
out the door, but it's never actually happened."
"Not like that. I..." She poked at her stomach and winced. "I
was being careless. Making assumptions. I'm losing my edge."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Come on, Maer. You won! You
always win."
"So far. But if I lose, it's not like I get a second chance."
"Geez. Why so morbid?"
"I don't know." Mary summoned a tiny tornado and passed it from
hand to hand, aimlessly. The gentle wind was soothing to her scalded
skin. "I just realized, today, that sooner or later I'm going to die."
"Sooner or later we're all going to die." Aku sniffed. "At
least, *you* people all seem to. I don't plan on it."
"I suppose." She shook her head, to clear the cobwebs, and
hooked a thumb at Sumiko. "What about her?"
"What about her? She wants to help, let her help."
"But--"
"Listen, Maer. You're worried about getting killed? Taking
some backup along might not be such a bad idea."
Mary let the tornado dissipate and hugged her knees. "But..."
"But?"
"What if *she* gets killed?"
"It's not like you forced her into this."
"I'd still feel guilty."
Aku leaned closer. "This isn't really about Sumiko, is it?
This is about Richard."
"*That* was my fault."
"There was nothing you could have done."
Mary stood, forcing Aku to float frantically backwards. "That
doesn't matter. Now get lost. I need to get out of these charred rags
and take a shower."
"Oh, I can see how you wouldn't want me to watch that. Wouldn't
want a six-inch-high demon watching you and getting ideas, oh no.
Hmph." He crossed his arms. "I wouldn't find you attractive anyway --
not enough scales --"
"*Aku.*"
"Right." He vanished, and Mary took a deep breath.
"Is that your familiar?" Sumiko's voice came unexpectedly from
the corner. Mary almost jumped, and waited a moment before answering.
"I suppose. I've never really figured out *what* he is."
"He's cute." Sumiko levered herself weakly into a sitting
position. She looked pale, but a lot healthier than half an hour
before. "Mine is a hummingbird. He's not very smart, I'm afraid."
Mary nodded. "Do you mind if I use your shower?"
"Go ahead."
Once she was safely in the bathroom, Mary let her disguise drop
with relief. [I'm going to have to tell her.] Concealing her identity
from random passersby was all well and good, but Sumiko could hardly
help but guess at this point.
She had her hand on the curtain before she realized what that
thought meant. [Aku's right, damn him. I need someone else.]
The water was so hot that a spray of steam rose from the chilled
porcelain. Mary accepted her punishment meekly, eyes closed.
Agent Deus straightened his tie. It was already straight, of
course, it always was; the gesture just meant he felt like he needed
something to do with his hands.
"Agent Rin."
She blinked in the early morning sunshine, and slipped on her
Bureau-issue sunglasses. "Agent Deus. What happened to you last
night?"
"I regret my absence. I was out purchasing provisions when the
breach occurred, and thought it best to proceed there as fast as
possible and gather information." He proffered a bag filled with
bagels, and Rin snagged one as she slipped into the driver's seat.
"So you were there?"
"I was close by."
"Find anything out?"
"The supernatural defenders are at least two in number, with at
least one Category-Six individual."
"Cat-6?" Rin raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Certain."
"No wonder he can handle gangs of demons."
"She, Agent Rin. Both the people I saw were female."
"Really? That's unusual."
"There is a great deal about this case that is unusual."
"No kidding." She turned the key, and the car started with a
roar. "So what's the plan for today?"
"I think we should check on our unwitting accomplices."
"Gotcha."
Robyn woke up cold and aching, with a mind-numbing headache and
a sinking realization of what she'd gotten herself into.
Wind whipped past her as though it had knives, and she
automatically clutched her jacket closer over her ruined shirt. The sun
--[ wasn't it night-time a few minutes ago? ]-- was clear and bright,
the sky the cloudless blue that only comes right after a thunderstorm.
She levered herself off the ground, slowly, and tried to remember what
had happened.
[I was with Ayre, and I said I wanted to go home. And then
he--] Her memory was confused after that, a blur of pain and actinic
fire. [He said he was going home.] She blinked in the sunshine. [So
is this where Ayre lives?]
'This' was a mountain peak, looking down on a valley far below.
The valley floor was a brilliant emerald green at this distance, with
the deep blue of a river winding down the center. In the distance, near
the headwaters of the flow, she could see a castle. Aside from that,
the place was devoid of civilization.
Robyn raised an eyebrow. [Nice place. But somehow...it doesn't
seem quite right.] She shook her head. [Anyway. What am I doing here?
I thought he said he would take me with him, but...]
She looked around, and ventured a tentative shout. "Ayre?
Hello? Anybody?"
The little ledge of rock she was sitting on was bare, but one
corner of it showed evidence of a path, leading down the mountain. She
moved to the edge and looked down -- the climb was dizzying, but gentle
enough to be possible. Robyn considered a moment, looking back and
forth between the mountain and the castle in the distance. She thought
for a long moment, then spoke out loud.
"Okay. I think I get it." Robyn paced back and forth on the
edge of the cliff. "This is a test, right? You're the magician, and
you have to see if I'm 'worthy' for whatever you're going to show me."
She shrugged. "Fine. I can play along. It's not even vaguely
original, though."
The world did not give an immediate reply. Robyn took a deep
breath and shrugged off her coat, pulling it on backwards and tying it
behind her. [It looks dumb, but at least this way I won't be flashing
the entire world every time I let go of it.] With that done, she rubbed
her hands together and started a slow, careful descent down the trail.
Most of it was walkable, snaking back and forth across the cliff face,
but occasionally she was forced to resort to hands and knees.
Oddly enough, Robyn found her mood improving. It took her a
moment to figure out why.
[It's because this is the sort of thing I was *expecting*, when
I first got into all of this. One minute I'm walking along a highway,
the next minute climbing down a mountain. A little disorienting, but
far more appropriate than just going on with my normal life. At least
*this* is more interesting.] A rock slipped under her hand, bouncing
down the cliff to shatter on the boulders below. Robyn swallowed.
[Dangerous, but interesting.]
After a surprisingly short time she reached the bottom of the
nearly-vertical cliff and crossed onto a section of the mountain that
was gently sloped and forested. Walking through the gentle woods was a
relief after hanging from her fingertips, and before she reached the
clearing she was all but humming a tune.
[About time I got to have a real adventure.] Ahead, sunlight
broke through the trees and dappled the ground a brilliant green. The
light glinted off something metal, and after a few more steps it became
obvious that it was a sword. The weapon was about three feet long,
light and gently curved, sticking point-first into the ground. The grip
was wrapped in black fabric, and glittered oddly as she moved.
Robyn's mouth was dry as she approached. [O...kay. I think I
understand what I'm supposed to do.] She reached for the hilt of the
sword, took a final look around the clearing to make sure there was
nothing about to jump out and eat her, and put her hand on the pommel.
The result was disappointing -- no magical lightshow or rush of
inner knowledge. The grip felt rough, almost sticking to her hand, and
the weapon came out of the soil with the lightest of yanks. Robyn waved
it around, doubtfully -- it was light enough to use easily with one
hand, as though it were hollow and made of plastic.
In theory, of course, she knew how to use a sword. It wasn't
difficult -- you held on to one end and tried to jam the other into
whatever you wanted to die. But she'd always thought there would be a
long way between theory and practice. Presumably the enemy would try to
avoid it, and if he managed to do so, what then? Repeat?
But this sword seemed to give that the lie. She swung it,
tentatively, and it split the air with a hum. On a hunch, she stalked
to the edge of the clearing and swung the blade at a sapling; the wood
parted before it as though it were air, and the top of the tree crashed
to the ground.
[Okay. So it's a *magic* sword. I can accept that, I guess.]
She remembered, suddenly, the magic sword in Mary's attic.
[za'Tsara'vor.] [Though why I remember that...] This made her glance
at the weapon in her own hand, and shiver. [It could be cursed. Though
if this is in fact a test, I don't know why that would be. It's too
late now in any case.]
There was a trail, leading out of the other edge of the
clearing. Sword in one hand, Robyn followed it.
"So how long are you going to stay?" Sumiko accepted the cup of
ice-water with a grateful nod. Mary picked up her own cup from the
counter and sank back into the cushions of the armchair. She was
dressed only in underwear and an overlarge T-shirt borrowed from Sumiko,
since Pyros' flames had not treated her own things kindly.
"The night, at least. You look like you're doing okay." It was
true -- whatever potions Sumiko had kept around the house packed a
powerful punch. Mary had borrowed a sip for her own burns, and was
feeling worlds better, though still nearly exhausted.
"Thanks." Sumiko hesitated. "You don't really have to stay
disguised. I won't tell anyone who you are."
Mary rolled her eyes. "I thought you'd figure it out."
Dropping the disguise was a relief -- the constant low-level power
output made it hard to relax. Still, showing her face brought on a
twinge of nervousness.
Sumiko nodded, slowly, as the blurring mask fell away. "I
thought so. Since I only know two people in this town..."
"It could have been Robyn."
Sumiko chuckled, and after a moment Mary, trying to picture
Robyn leaping across the rooftops fighting evil, did likewise.
"So you're not mad at me?" asked Sumiko, after a pause.
"Not really. Hard to be, when you helped me."
"Good." She shifted on the couch. "I'm glad we don't have to
fight."
Mary raised an eyebrow. "Were you planning to?"
"Not literally. You know what I mean."
"Yeah."
There was another long pause. Mary took a sip of wonderfully
chilled water.
"So how did you get in to this business?"
"Me?" Sumiko looked startled. "I mean..."
"Do they have schools for this sort of thing in Japan? Magical
Girl Academy, Posing 101, stuff like that?"
The other girl laughed. "Not really."
"So how, then? Just woke up one morning and decided to save the
world?"
"I was contacted."
"By whom?"
"The forces of Light." Sumiko gave a mischievous grin.
"Weren't you?"
"Nope."
"So then why do *you* do it?"
"You want my usual response?" Mary took another sip. "Or the
real answer?"
"Both."
"Well, the usual response is true, sort of. I've always known I
was different. When I found out about my powers, and really managed to
control them, I realized I could feel the demons when they arrived in
our world. That was in middle school, and I've been doing this ever
since."
"But why do it at all?"
"Well...I mean, I had the power, and it's not good for much
besides fighting. I knew where they were, all the time, like a headache
that wouldn't quit. It was pretty obvious what I was supposed to do."
"You think God"--Sumiko pronounced the word in English,
carefully--"meant for you to fight them?"
"Nope. But maybe it's fate." Mary stretched, embarrassed. "Or
something like that."
"So what's the real reason?"
"You really want to know?"
"Sure."
Mary leaned closer, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I like
blowing things up."
Sumiko blinked. "Really?"
"Pretty much. It's a little more complicated than that. It's
like"--she waved a hand, vaguely--"when I'm actually doing it, it's
terrifying, and often quite painful. But afterwards, I almost can't
wait until the next time. Everything else seems kind of dull by
comparison."
The other girl considered this for a moment. "I guess I can
understand that. It seems a little frightening, though."
"Sometimes. Occasionally I wonder if one day I'll wake up and
not care if the people I fry are human or not. So far it hasn't
happened."
There was silence, after that. Mary finally broke it.
"So, tell me. What are you really doing here in the U.S.? I
assume that stuff about your father is just a cover story."
"Yeah." Sumiko shrugged. "I go where the Light wills me."
"So some big glowing ball in the sky told you to come to
Wakarton?"
"Yeah."
"Any idea why?"
"I don't know." Sumiko raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I was
supposed to find you."
That brought on another silence.
"Well," yawned Mary, "this is all too heavy for me to understand
at this time of night." She glanced at her watch. "Of the morning. I'm
off to bed."
"Likewise."
"Need any help?" Mary pulled herself out of the chair with some
difficulty, but Sumiko waved her away and slowly stumbled off the couch,
favoring her injured leg.
"No -- I'm okay. Should be fine by morning."
"Great."
"There's an extra bed in my room, if you want."
"Good enough for me."
The trail through the forest wound slowly through the trees, and
just when Robyn was getting a bit bored it opened out into another
clearing. This one was furnished with a log, and on the log sat a troll
-- she easily recognized the creature by its long hook-nose, green skin,
and thin, gangly limbs. It looked up as she approached and smiled,
which in the troll's case meant baring a mouthful of long, discolored
fangs.
Robyn felt her heart pick up its pace, and tightened her grip on
the hilt of the sword. [Calm down. It's just a test. Some stupid game
that Ayre cooked up -- it has to be. Otherwise none of this makes any
sense.]
"Hullo," said the troll. Its voice was harsh and grating.
"Hi." Robyn raised her free hand. There was a pause. "So -- I
guess I can't just walk past you, huh?"
"Not without answering my question." The troll grinned even
wider. "Do you want to try to answer? I'll eat you if you guess
wrong."
Robyn looked doubtful. "And if I guess right?"
"You can keep going."
[It hardly seems worthwhile. But then again, I have nowhere
else to go.] "Okay. Hit me."
"Here goes." The troll took a deep breath and recited quickly
and with remarkable locution. "Given a Turing Machine A, provide an
algorithm that determines whether A halts on all inputs."
Robyn blinked.
"You have one minute."
"But--"
"Fifty seconds."
"But!"
"Forty-five."
[Okay, Robyn, think for a second. How much do I remember about
Turing Machines?] Not much, it turned out -- they'd been a
barely-mentioned topic in Computers and a side note in a few of the
readings. She suddenly wished she'd paid better attention to the
theory. Even if the basic facts were as she remembered them, though, it
was difficult to concentrate with the troll running its thick blue
tongue up and down the length of its fangs and staring at her hungrily.
"Twenty seconds."
[This is ridiculous. I'm getting quizzed by a troll on computer
theory in a world that doesn't really exist. Why am I taking it so
seriously? Think about it -- what would Yorai the Barbarian do?] She
wasn't sure, since Yorai had never counted Turing Machines as among his
specialties. [Alright, then, what would *Mary* do?]
Then the solution came to her. Robyn smiled.
"I've got it!"
This time, the troll blinked. "You do?"
"I do!" She beamed brightly and took a step forward.
"Tell me." The thing's confidence was returning. "If you're
wrong, I'll eat you."
Robyn shrugged. "See, I thought about running Turing Machines
in parallel on all possible inputs, but I assume an algorithm that never
halts is no good. So then I thought -- screw this." At this point she
brought the sword around in a lazy horizontal sweep that removed the
troll's head from its shoulders; it landed a few feet away and rolled
into the bushes. There was no blood, and the monster's body wobbled a
moment before collapsing.
Her smiled widening, Robyn stepped over the body and continued
down the trail.
[It's just a test. Just a game. And the best thing to do in a
game is not to play by the rules.]
Ayre sat behind his viewscreen, watching the girl tramp through
the forest. He held his chin in his hand, absently, but looked up at
the 'whaum' of someone appearing behind him.
"Ayre." Tsuiren, as usual, had just the right mix of Dark Lord
and Backstreet Boy in his voice. "I'm glad to see you returned safely."
"I never got into the fight." Ayre turned and shrugged. "Your
portal seems to have made a mistake."
"Really." Tsuiren accepted this deadpan. "I'll have to look
into that." He gestured to the viewer. "And who is she?"
"My latest acquisition. What do you think?"
Tsuiren peered interestedly at the image of Robyn hacking her
way through a swarm of oversized hornets. "What's she doing?"
"Having an adventure."
The Dark Lord rolled his eyes. "Don't play with your food,
Ayre."
"You should talk."
Their search had taken them to the high school, the hospital,
the police station, and now, finally, the morgue. The black sedan
rolled to a halt, and Rin turned to Deus.
"You really think she killed them?"
He shrugged. "It seems the only logical explanation."
"But--" Rin stopped. It did make logical sense, but it was
just *wrong*, somehow -- it didn't fit the mental profile she'd been
building on the mysterious protector. "I don't know. It doesn't feel
right."
"Supernaturals can be very temperamental, Agent Rin. It is
important that we not rule anything out at this stage."
They were met at the door by a chipper young police officer, who
nodded politely and asked to see some identification. Deus pulled out
his badge, which the officer read carefully, noting the details on his
clipboard. Then they were admitted to a clinical, metallic room with
three bodies, on tables.
Rin raised an eyebrow. "I think we can rule out the Mafia."
"It certainly looks that way, Agent Rin."
The three boys were burned, horribly, over almost their entire
skin area. What was left was hardly recognizable. Deus pulled a pencil
from his pocket and poked one of them, flaking off fragments of ash. He
nodded, slowly.
"Electricity, I'd say, rather than traditional fire."
Rin nodded. She didn't see it, but Deus was never wrong on such
calls. "You think it was her?"
"Inconclusive. Although this level of injury suggests an
attacker of at least Category-Five, possibly higher."
"The girl was a Cat-6, wasn't she?"
"Indeed."
"What I don't get is why she killed them. With that kind of
power, it's not like they were any threat. And she let them run the
last time."
"Maybe they hurt her friend, this Robyn." Deus smiled, faintly.
"Or maybe she's grown so enamored of her power she can't bear not to use
it."
"*That* doesn't bode well." Rin shivered. [If a Cat-6 were to
go serial killer...] The results were too frightening to contemplate.
[Even the Bureau might have problems handling a full-fledged Cat-6, if
she was smart and had a lot of combat-applicable powers.] "So what's
our next move?"
"I am still thinking on that, Agent Rin. I suspect we are out
of options, at least until the demons launch another raid. I didn't
expect these three to move against Robyn so quickly."
"Is it possible they weren't actually after her, and just got
wasted by some unrelated force?"
"Possible, but not plausible. The chances of these three
particular young men being killed in an unrelated incident are too low
to merit consideration."
"Okay. So--"
"Now we wait, Agent Rin. And watch, very carefully."
Robyn had finally cleared the forest's edge; she plopped down on
a boulder that jutted out of the plain with a sense of vast relief.
[Now I know how Mario feels.] Trapped in a strange world with
rules that made no sense, where all the local wildlife was inexplicably
hostile. She was covered in grime from head to foot, splattered with
the blood of every random animal she'd encountered in the last four
hours. The sword was clean, though -- things just flowed off of the
glittering, razor-sharp surface.
[On the plus side, it's not like they were attacking me
*effectively*.] She had bug bites, hornet stings, and a few nicks on
her arms from the giant badger, but what the creatures had gained in
homicidal mania they seemed to have lost in combat ability. [Maybe it's
me. Maybe this sword awakened my secret powers, and made me into some
invincible warrior.] She glared at it doubtfully. [All I do is swing
it back and forth.]
"Okay." After a few moments rest, she clambered back to her
feet. "Ayre, or whoever you are. Let's get on with this, it's getting
boring."
The castle, the only notable landmark in the cloud-rimmed
valley, was just ahead. It was a more realistic place than Robyn would
have expected, just a single large keep and watchtower surrounded by a
crude stone wall. There was a moat, and a lowered drawbridge, and
standing in the center of it was a solitary figure.
[Great.] She knew what he'd look like even before she got close
enough to make him out clearly. Black platemail, closed visor, and a
voice like something from the shadowy pits of hell -- the archtypical
Black Knight. Robyn hefted her sword and stalked towards him, muttering
something about dungeon masters who lacked originality.
"Right. You're the black knight."
The huge figure nodded slowly. "I Am The Black Knight."
"And I'm not allowed to pass, correct?"
"You Shall Not Pass."
"Care to explain why?"
The knight nodded again. "I Was Commisioned To Guard this
Drawbridge In the Reign Of--"
Robyn waited for him to start talking, then used the opportunity
to dart past him.
"Hey! Wait A Minute!"
The knight tried to turn around, and found himself in some
difficulty because, as she passed, Robyn had chopped off his left leg at
the kneecap. Hopping on one foot in platemail is not really a viable
form of movement, and she smiled at the tremendous splash as he toppled
into the moat. The gates of the castle opened before her.
Whoever had furnished the inside of the place had gone heavy on
the white marble. There were arched doorways everywhere, and pure white
statues of unclothed men and women staring nobly into the distance.
Robyn felt like she was dirtying the place just by entering, and found
herself looking around for somewhere to wipe her feet.
"Robyn." Ayre's footsteps clicked neatly on the marble. "I'm
glad you could make it."
She stared at him, irritation warring with something like awe
under her eyes. Finally she twisted her mouth into a smile. "Thanks.
I figured it was you."
"You're remarkably perceptive. Also refreshingly direct." He
cocked his head. "The Black Knight had a lot of backstory, you know,
and some interesting lines."
"He's not *real*, though. None of this is real."
"There you've hit the nail, as they say, on the head."
"So where are we?"
"*Where* is something of a tricky question in a physical sense.
Observe." He held up a hand, and the entrance hall dissolved around
them. Robyn found herself standing in front of a comfortable green
armchair, facing Ayre seated in another. Around them was a field of
endless grain, waving in a tangible and quite comfortable breeze. "Sit
down."
She did, feeling sticky and out-of-sorts. "So. Where are we?"
"We are in my domain. Where I live, if the term may be
applied."
"It's not on Earth?"
"No. We are contiguous but not causally linked. I created this
place by putting energy into a raw chaos, and therefore I can reshape it
as I like. So it's 'real' in the sense that you can see it, taste it,
smell it, touch it, but not in the sense of 'naturally existing.'
Nothing exists naturally, here." He smiled brightly. "Would you care
for a drink?"
She nodded. "Something cold and alcoholic, please." Ayre
snapped his fingers, and a frosty glass of something appeared on the
armrest. Robyn took a sip and found it refreshing. "Next question --
who are you?"
"As I said, my name is Ayre. *What* I am is hard to describe in
terms that you're familiar with, but the most accurate would probably be
'God'. In the Greek rather than Biblical sense."
"Ah." She suddenly realized that her clothing consisted of a
ripped pair of pants and a backwards jacket with nothing underneath.
"Greek gods have a bit of a bad reputation. Should I be worried?"
"Not at all. I mention them only for comparison's sake."
"Good." She took a deep breath. "Here's the big one: why am
*I* here?"
"That is the question, isn't it." Ayre leaned forward and
steepled his hands. "How would you react if I told you we needed your
help?"
On the surface, that was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
But somehow she'd been expecting it. "Okay. And all that stuff out
there was just some test?"
"Yes. Not of your fighting ability but of your personality."
"I take it I passed."
"With flying colors."
"So why, exactly?"
"That is probably best left until later. You look a bit
uncomfortable."
"Sure." She ticked off points on her fingers. "I'm hungry,
tired, and filthy."
"In what order would you like those problems resolved? We're in
no hurry."
"Really?"
He nodded.
"And you can create anything here?"
"Anything mundane. Living creatures are complicated and require
more effort."
"Then first I need a bath. Can I get a nice big pool of hot
water?"
"Of course."
"Then dinner. Steak with mushrooms, and all the trappings."
"As you wish."
"And then you can tell me what the hell is going on."
Ayre nodded, and waved a hand. The scene dissolved again, and
cleared into the interior of a rocky pool, filled with water so hot it
steamed on meeting the air. Just looking at it practically made Robyn
melt; Ayre was still standing there, looking amused.
"Um..."
"Yes? Is something the matter?"
"Do you mind going somewhere else? I don't exactly have a
bathing suit with me." She'd been thinking in terms of a bath,
actually, but this was more the size of a pool.
"Of course. Call if you need me."
Ayre faded out of existence with no fuss whatsoever. Robyn
looked around, though to what end she wasn't sure. [After all, if he
wants to peep I'm sure he can just make himself invisible or something.
There's not much I can do about it.] She took a long breath before
stripping off her makeshift jacket, and a longer one before pulling off
her pants and jumping quickly into the water. Just touching it sent
shivers down her spine.
[So...this is definitely the weirdest day in my life to date. I
almost got raped; then I met a *God* who seems to want my help.] Robyn
smiled. [This time, when I tell Mary, she *is* going to freak out.]
It was after noon by the time Mary awoke, and she slipped out of
the house as quietly as she could. Sumiko, still half-asleep, stumbled
with her to the door.
"Mary. Thanks for staying."
"No problem. Thanks for saving my ass."
The Japanese girl smiled sleepily. "No charge, this time."
"I'll see you later -- I've got things to take care of."
"Busy, busy. Good luck."
Since it was broad daylight, jumping from rooftop to rooftop was
not to be thought of. Instead Mary took the bus, garnering many stares
given the state of her attire, and stopped briefly at home; a nice
change of clothes later and she was back on the street, headed downtown.
[There was another portal.] She couldn't have ignored the demon
even if she'd wanted to -- its mere presence was burning a hole in the
back of her skull, though the feeling was slowly going away. [The
portal energy fades with time, as it gets adjusted to our world. I have
to take care of it soon, or I'll never find it.] The fact that the
thing was still here at all was worrisome. Typically the demons favored
hit-and-run tactics, sucking a few people dry and then fleeing beyond
the Barrier with the energy. [Lord knows what they *do* with it. I
have a hard time picturing life out there.] Mary had only read about
one wizard who made it beyond the Great Barrier, and he reported a
swirling maelstrom of chaotic power in which nothing could possibly
survive. [Though the damn things have to come from *somewhere*.]
Tracking the demon, at least for the moment, was not a problem.
Mary got off the bus at a stop in the center of downtown, turned in a
circle until she found the direction in which her head hurt the most,
and set off. She quickly left the shopping district and found herself
on a street of motels, catering to the wealthier out-of-town visitors.
[Definitely an odd one.] She stopped in front of a Holiday Inn,
looked left and right to confirm that she had the right building, and
sauntered through the revolving doors trying to act natural. The
presence of numerous bystanders and the fact that she wasn't wearing her
disguise conspired to make her more nervous than the situation really
warranted. [It's one demon. All I need to do is get it to a nice,
quiet place and take its head off, end of problem.] The feeling was
above her, she realized, somewhere on the residential floors of the
hotel. [If it's in a room, that makes things easier.]
The elevator, of course, was out -- [too hard to feel what floor
it's on.] After trudging up ten flights of stairs, and finally feeling
the presence up close, she had to stop for a moment to catch her breath.
[Damn demon. Couldn't have been on the *second* floor, oh no.] She
blew out a long breath. [Now I'm just irritated.]
The lock on the door of the room, when she finally found it,
also did not present a great obstacle. Mary glanced from side to side
to make sure no one was wandering by, covered her features with blurring
mist, and blew the entire lock into the room with a gesture. The door
swung open, slowly, and Mary stepped cautiously inside, a trio of
hovering razorblades at the ready. The presence throbbed. She walked
past the bathroom door, turned the corner--
"Wait!"
Fired. A woman shrieked and dove for cover as the wall behind
her exploded into chunks of plaster. Mary blinked, and hesitated -- the
presence was right there, and the woman *felt* like a demon, but--
"Would you *wait*?!"
Mary held out one hand and concentrated the air, forming it into
a razor-thin, white-hot disk. She rose onto the balls of her feet,
ready to dodge, and waited. The woman's voice came from the other side
of the bed, near the floor.
"If I stick my head out, is it going to get chopped off?"
Mary sighed. "Not immediately, no." She held the disk at the
ready, and made sure her disguise was intact.
"Okay. I'm going to trust you on this." The woman slowly
stood. She was tall and thin, pretty in a dark-haired, too-pale sort of
way, and dressed in black jeans and T-shirt. It was one of the best
attempts to pass for human Mary had ever seen on a demon -- if not for
the power that pulsed just beneath the woman's skin, she would never
have guessed. She held up her hands, fingers spread, and stared
interestedly. "So you're the one who's given us so many problems. I
never got a good look at you before."
"God." Mary rolled her eyes. "If you stopped me just so you
can give the 'I'm impressed, it's a pity I have to kill you,' talk, can
we stop it here and go to the part where I chop off your head?"
"Do you get that a lot?"
"You wouldn't believe."
"I'm not going to say it, don't worry." Her eyes flicked to
Mary's hand. "I'll admit, though, that you're making me a little
nervous. Could you put that thing away so we can talk like civilized
people?"
"I'd rather keep it." Somehow, Mary felt she was losing the
initiative.
"Okay." The woman sat down on the bed. "Let me ask you a
question, then. What are you doing here?"
"What? What do you mean, what am I doing here?"
"Well -- you busted into my room and threatened me with
decapitation. I think its fair of me to ask why."
Mary lowered her hand, slowly. "You're weird."
"So I've been told. Nevertheless. The question remains."
"You're a demon. You came here to kill people and steal energy.
I'm here to stop you. Clear enough?"
"Okay. Okay!" The demon raised her hands. "I get it. Can we
talk about this?"
Mary opened her hand and let the bolt of energy fade away.
"Talk about it?"
"My name," said the demon, "is Kei."
Mary took a sip from her coffee and let her eyes wander around
the lobby. It wasn't half-bad coffee, actually, and the demon was
nibbling on some sort of Danish. There were people everywhere, and
she'd let her disguise lapse out of sheer necessity. The feeling of
being watched was raising hairs on the back of her neck, but there was
nothing to be done about it.
"I'm Mary." There didn't seem to be much point to concealing
her identity from a demon, since it presumably didn't know who she was
in real life. "I thought you all had names like Baelzebub, Lord of the
Thirteenth Pit."
"We used to, back in the Middle Ages. One has to move with the
times."
"So what's this all about?"
"Where should I start?"
"You're not here to grab energy and flee."
"No."
"So why are you here?"
"I'm hiding."
"From whom?"
"Well, ultimately, from you."
Mary raised an eyebrow. "You're not doing a very good job of
it."
"Let me start from the beginning."
"Sounds good."
The waiter interrupted briefly to serve Mary a slice of
chocolate cake and refill the two coffees. Afterwards, Kei continued.
"Tsuiren, who I doubt you've met, is the Dark Lord. This
basically involves beating up anyone who denies it, something which he
has grown to be exceedingly good at. He has enough power to open
portals in the Great Barrier and send people through to gather energy."
"Why?" It was something she'd always wondered.
"We need it to live. Out there, maintaining an ordered space in
which matter and energy can exist takes energy. Without it, we're
nothing."
"Okay."
"So Tsuiren sends these gangs to the Timestream--"
"Timestream?"
"Here." Kei waved a hand vaguely. "All this."
"Okay. Go on."
"He sends them here, and one day one of the teams doesn't come
back. That happens from time to time, so he sends another. They don't
come back either. Before long he's drafted everyone he can get his
hands on into going through the Barrier four or five at a time, looking
for whoever is getting in our way."
Mary chewed her chocolate cake and swallowed thoughtfully.
"Me."
"Right."
"Why doesn't he just go somewhere else?"
"He doesn't think that way. The idea of giving up is totally
alien to him."
"So where do you fit in?"
"I don't know if you recognize me, but I was in on the attack
about a week ago."
"I don't, but I'll take your word for it."
"A woman I knew died on that one. Kara."
An odd feeling flickered across Mary's mind. "I...I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I never liked her." Kei flashed a half-hearted
grin. "It's just..."
"What?"
Kei paused. "How old are you?"
"Twenty two."
The demon nodded. "You're a human. It's different for you. I
have definite memories that go back at least a thousand years, and I
suspect I've existed for a long time before that. The idea that I might
[end], somehow, is more than I can bear." She shivered. "I never even
thought about it until then. Never even considered it. And afterwards,
I realized I couldn't do it again."
"But then--"
"Tsuiren would not have agreed with me." Kei shrugged. "So I
escaped. It was either this or wait around for him to get us all
killed, or protest and have him execute me. He can't possibly track me
here."
"But *I'm* here."
"That's the problem." She sat back and took a long sip from her
coffee. "So I'm surrendering to you."
"Surrendering?" Mary felt a little overwhelmed. She got the
feeling that Kei was nervous, but had practiced her little speech.
"If you want to kill me, go ahead." She swallowed, nervously.
"I'm not going to run away. Or impose whatever conditions you want, and
I'll live with them. I just need to stay here."
Mary sat back, chewing her lower lip. "Let me be blunt. How
can I trust you?"
"Trust me?"
"In a few days the Barrier trace will have faded, and I won't be
able to find you anymore. What's to stop you from killing people then?"
"I don't know. I didn't even know you *could* track me. But
you can execute me, right now, or leave me alone."
Mary stared at her. Kei's form was almost perfect; knowing what
she was, though, there were a few differences too subtle for the
untrained eye. Her breathing was a bit too slow, she didn't blink often
enough, and her stare was curiously direct. [She's not human. Not even
superhuman. She's a *demon* -- they exist to hunt and kill. I should
dice her where she stands. But...]
The problem, she knew, did not lie in Kei. [If I cut her
down... I *think* I'm doing it for the right reasons, but how do I know
it's not just killing for the sake of killing? I can feel myself
drifting that way. I can't let it happen.]
[Demon or not, she hasn't done anything. I can't. But what
then?]
"If I let you go..."
"Yes?"
"I need you to stay close by. So I can keep an eye on you."
"Fair enough." Kei shrugged. "It'd be nice to have someone I
could talk to. Have I mentioned that this place is crazy? I don't know
how you people deal with it."
Mary nodded. "I might also need to ask you questions. About
your...friends."
"Please. If there's anyone I have no sympathy for, it's
Tsuiren."
"In that case, you can stay."
Kei nodded, and Mary could feel the tension drain out of the
situation. The demon finished her coffee in a single gulp and raised
her hand for another. Mary took another bite of cake and tasted it for
the first time.
"So. You're going to be okay, living here?"
"Probably." Kei gestured around the lobby. "It's a nice place.
Not as good as being back home, but...nice."
"How are you paying for it?"
"I had the foresight to manufacture a healthy quantity of gold
and bring it along with me."
"And...energy?"
"I can get what I need without hurting anybody. It just takes
some self-restraint. Nobody will ever notice it."
"Good." Mary pointed at her now-empty plate with her fork and
mumbled with her mouth full. "This is pretty good."
"Is it? I'm working my way through the menu. I didn't eat much
before I got here, so it's all a bit new to me."
"You're blending in pretty well, I must say."
"Thank you. I watch a lot of TV."
"Ayre? Can you hear me without actually appearing?"
Robyn sank down below the surface of the pool, just in case.
Ayre's voice sounded right in her ear.
"Of course."
"I'm about done with this. Can you magic up some clothes for
me?"
"Any particular variety?"
She almost automatically asked him to duplicate what she'd been
wearing, then changed her mind. "Can I get a cool robe? Black silk,
with red trim." She hesitated. "Maybe a little...showy. But nothing
too much."
Robyn could *hear* the smile in Ayre's voice. "As you wish."
"And a mirror."
Ten minutes later, Robyn emerged with her hair in a careful
ponytail and clad from head to toe in elegant black. Ayre was waiting
for her on the other side of the door from the pool, which hadn't
existed an hour before and stopped existing just after she left. He'd
changed clothes, too, to a nice black-on-black suit. There was another
man with him.
Unlike Ayre, who looked at least vaguely like a real person, the
newcomer was so ludicrously handsome he literally took her breath away.
His face was incredibly familiar, some movie star or singer hovering
just beyond her ability to place; she half expected him to be a
cardboard cutout instead of a living, breathing person. It didn't seem
possible that someone like that could exist in real life.
[Idiot. This isn't real life. If he has power anything like
Ayre's, he can look like whatever he wants to look like.] Still, she
felt her pulse racing. [Idiot. Calm down.]
"Robyn, I'd like you to meet Tsuiren. My lord, this is Robyn."
He gave her a perfect smile, and the light glinted on his teeth
with an almost audible 'ting'. When he spoke, it was in a deep, smoky
voice that she associated with movie trailers and CNN.
"Pleased to meet you." He offered his hand, and she shook it
hesitantly.
"L...Likewise." Robyn cursed herself for hesitating, then again
for caring that she hesitated. [God! Get a hold on yourself.]
"Tsuiren is in charge around here, as much as anyone can be,"
Ayre cut in. "My colleagues are a somewhat garrulous lot."
"I guess I can imagine."
"Ayre told me you asked to come with him." Tsuiren raised a
perfect eyebrow. "That's a bit unusual."
"Is it? I wouldn't know...I mean--"
"Can I ask you why?"
"I..." Robyn took a deep breath and composed a decent answer.
"I just wanted to know more about how the world really works. When
stuff like this is around, everything else just seems so shallow."
He smiled wider, and Robyn shivered. She couldn't help looking
into his eyes and finding something vaguely disquieting -- they were
perfect, of course, limpid and blue, but there was the faintest hint of
an unpleasant expression. Not hate, exactly, or contempt, but something
of the attitude of a hunter towards his dogs, or a scientist towards his
experimental germ cultures. Then he put his head to one side, his dark
hair framed his already brilliant face, and her breath caught in her
throat.
[I didn't think I was *this* flighty.] Some inner part of Robyn
watched in disbelief. [I mean, sure it's a pretty face. Really pretty.
But I'm practically drooling. Snap out of it!]
"A good answer." Tsuiren straightened up. "Ayre thinks you can
help with our little problem."
"I'll give it a shot." She snapped the line off before
realizing what she was saying. [Idiot.] "He hasn't told me what you
need yet, though."
"Let me get your food ready, and I'll try to explain." Ayre
snapped his fingers, and a laden table appeared in front of them.
Robyn's stomach rumbled, a reminder of how long it had been since she'd
last eaten, and she started digging in immediately. Ayre smiled
benevolently and launched into his explanation, while Tsuiren looked up.
"As you might expect, my colleagues and I have enemies. These
enemies seek to oppose us, to destroy us if possible, and have hit upon
a novel means of doing so." He crossed his arms. "My kind need to
travel to Earth, from time to time, to gather natural energy that has
accumulated in order to sustain ourselves. It has never been a major
problem until now; our enemies have decided to deny us this resource.
This is more serious than you might imagine. Without energy, we cannot
maintain our domains, our forms, or ultimately even our existence."
"Okay," said Robyn, in between bites of butter-slathered steak.
"So what's stopping you from going and taking what you need?"
"Between the Outer Realms and Earth lies the Great Barrier. The
name is somewhat misleading -- it's not a wall so much as an energy
slope. In order to enter the Timestream, an object must be charged with
a great deal of power. We cannot do this to very many people at once,
so our ability to access the Timestream is limited. By contrast, coming
back is relatively simple, since traversing the energy slope backwards
takes no additional power."
"I almost understood that." She swallowed half a mushroom in
one bite. "So only a few of you can go at once."
"Correct. More precisely, we send daemons to do our bidding."
"What's a daemon?"
"A creature composed entirely of energy, built for a specific
purpose and programmed by the creator. Think of them as robots -- they
can act only as directed, and take almost any form imaginable. We use
them to fight our enemies."
"That sounds humane."
"Yes. No one is hurt if a daemon is destroyed. But"--he leaned
forward--"this cuts to the heart of the matter."
Robyn blinked. Ayre's gaze was curiously intense, and Tsuiren
looked as though he was finally interested in what was happening.
"What?"
"It pains me to admit this, Robyn, but my kind are not
terribly...imaginative. The best of what we can do, the best daemons we
can create, are merely copies of things from your culture. Things that
humans are frightened of. And lately, selecting models has become
somewhat difficult; you have a very prolific culture. So I, in
something of a spur-of-the-moment decision, decided to enlist a human to
help us."
"Me?"
"Exactly."
"You want me to create daemons?" She shook her head. "Isn't it
hard? I mean, don't you need magic?"
"I can provide all the necessary power. We merely require your
design."
"Wait a minute." Robyn couldn't help smiling, a little. "So --
there'll be some kind of box, right, and I chuck an object into it, and
out comes some demon? That the general idea?"
"If that is the form you wish it to take."
She was trying to hold back laughter. "And your problem is
picking the most effective things?"
"Essentially."
Now she was chuckling out loud. "Have you already tried Youma
Boxer Shorts and Youma Crayonbox? Or Youma Schoolbooks, I always liked
that one."
The two gods had blank faces while Robyn chortled. Finally Ayre
interrupted.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing." She wiped her eyes. "I'll explain later."
"So you'll do what we need?"
"Sure." If Robyn's grin had been any wider, the top of her head
would have fallen off. "I may need to stop at home to pick up a few
things first."
Mary looked pensive, perched atop the ten-story bulk of the
Emerson Building and looking down at the afternoon traffic. It was a
good spot -- nice flat roof, easy to get up to, almost always deserted.
She waited, patiently, until Aku popped into being.
"Maer?"
"Go ahead and say it."
"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Have you lost your *mind*?"
"Maybe."
"She's a *demon*. How can you trust her? Demons are *evil*."
"You're a demon, too."
"Exactly! So I should know!"
"I realized it comes down to what my purpose here is, Aku."
Mary took up a cross-legged position and looked at him seriously. "Am I
defending the world from invaders? Or killing a group of apparently
intelligent beings just because they don't happen to be carbon-cycle
life like I am?"
"Uh...both? The difference has never mattered before."
"Exactly. It's never mattered before. Now it does."
"I still don't think you can trust her."
"We'll find out." Mary stretched.
"That's a pretty blas� attitude. We're playing with people's
lives here. You have a responsibility."
"Do I?" She smiled -- it wasn't pretty, more like the grin of a
carnivore. "Why? Who said I have to use this power for the good of
mankind -- aren't you the one who's always saying I should rule them as
a god?"
"Even rulers have responsibilities."
"Bah." Mary stood up and brushed herself off. "I do this
because I choose to do it. If I wasn't here, all those people would be
dead. I think I'm entitled to be blas�."
Aku nodded slowly. "So what are you going to do?"
"Invite her over after dinner."
"To your house?"
"Sure."
"What if she tries to kill you?"
"Then I'll fight her."
"But what about--"
"I don't think she will, though." Mary shrugged. "It's my
decision, and I'm responsible for it."
"Maer..."
"Enough, Aku."
The little demon vanished. Mary paused on the raised lip of the
roof, looking down at the blinking lights below. [Aku never was very
good at reading me, or he'd know how nervous I am.] Nervous or not,
though, the decision seemed somehow *right*. [I can't just kill someone
out of hand. I *can't*. Not even a demon.]
She stepped off the edge, and wafted down on currents of air.
"My Queen."
Sumiko bowed low, and the Queen glared at her with mismatched
eyes.
"Eternity." Her voice rumbled.
"Are you displeased, my Queen?"
"No. Only worried."
"Worried?"
"The time of my resurrection is nearly at hand, Eternity. Only
a few more challenges stand in our way, but they are the most formidable
of all."
"We will defeat them, my Queen."
"I'm sure you will." The Queen nodded slowly. "I'm sure you
will..."
Robyn tried to look calm as she walked out of Software Etc. and
down the stairs, making a sharp right turn into the bathroom. She felt,
somehow, as though she were doing something wrong -- like the police
were about to stop her, though what possible reason they could have she
had no idea. [It's just exciting. If a bit ridiculous.] She checked
that the box was still in the bag, for the dozenth time, and reached
into one pocket for the tiny purple amulet Ayre had created for her.
A disorienting moment later, and she was standing in the same
marble hall she'd left. Ayre had enhanced it in her absence with a tall
column of clear crystal that featured a circular opening the size of a
watermelon at its base. She looked at it curiously.
"Is this it?"
"I tried to make it look like you expected." Ayre shrugged.
"Its actual physical form is of course irrelevant."
"So what do I do?"
"Put whatever physical objects you want to draw from in the
hole. Then sit in front of it and think about what you want to create."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Okay." Robyn looked around. "Now?"
"If it's not a problem."
"No." She shook her head. "Just a little nervous."
"You may not get it to work the first time. Do not be
discouraged."
"Right."
Slowly, almost reverentially, Robyn pulled the box from the bag
and jammed it into the opening. Then she sat down to think, hard.
"You've come up with a lot of crazy ideas, Ayre," said Tsuiren,
"but I think this may be the craziest."
"Wait, and watch, before you judge."
The pair stood well back from the column, which was starting to
glow a gentle white. Robyn was in an almost trance-like state, sitting
on the floor, eyes closed. They whispered just out of earshot.
"You really think this girl, this *human*, can come up with a
superior daemon?"
"I have no doubt in the matter. Humans have imagination, my
Lord. It is something that we have never gotten the hang of."
"Still, it rankles. Having one of them do our work for us."
"You can always kill her afterwards, my Lord. And if she
defeats our enemy..."
"Yes." Tsuiren licked his lips in anticipation. "After all, we
only need to get lucky once."
"Yes, my Lord."
There was a short, sharp snap, followed by a sputter. The
column and Robyn were suddenly surrounded by billowing clouds of gray
smoke, forcing the pair to quickly back away. Tsuiren glared at Ayre.
"Did your machine malfunction?"
"I don't believe so. In fact--"
A pair of blue lights came on, somewhere deep inside the cloud.
They were curiously penetrating, and cast odd shadows. A moment later,
something spoke, its voice rumbling and synthesized.
"WITNESS MY PERFECTION."
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