.+GATE+.

[Bulbasaur4]

Greetings! ^_^ Bulbasaur4 here, bringing to life a totally brand new story straight from my crazy brain!
Hey, don't deny the influence of my craziness in this thing too, it's equal opportunity crazy.
Oh... y-yeah, McNinja helped too. *shifty eyes* My bad. Anyways... I-erm, we hope you enjoy m-erm, our story! This first introduction chapter is written by yours truely. However, we will be alternating chapters. ^_^
*peer* and if all goes well our different styles of writing will complement each other and make a story that is truly memorable.

A Bulbasaur4 & Dr.McNinja Production

+GATE+

Peace.
It is the desire of every mother who has cried her son off to war.
It is the hope of every soldier who has been flung into a fight they do not understand.
It is something that, until the rise of Ishtan, was owned only by children in their innocent ignorance.

War and unrest was commonplace before, kingdoms vying for power and influence over their neighbors.
It was the Kingdom of Ishtan, under the leadership of Cyrus, the Knight of the Spire, that made peace a sudden and harsh reality.
Whether through war, through negotiation or fear
Order was the hammer with which peace was forged, and Order is the chain that binds the world to that peace still

Some do not like the cold metal of those chains though.
Those they just toss out like trash.
And after all this time I’m starting to feel like it…

Chapter 1

A miracle. That is what Isake thought had happened when his sharp green eyes caught the sight of a city in the distance. He had been trudging through barren desert for what seemed like months with nothing but a jug of water fastened to his pants and a loosely tied on cloak for protection. His throat had been dry, his clothing had been encrusted with sand and his hopes had also almost been dashed for good. They would have died too, had he not stumbled across the city of Remnar.


“Ahhh… more water please!” Isake gasped as he finished his third large mug of water. The people within the restaurant gazed upon him with both shock and awe. Oblivious, Isake received his fourth mug and soon set to work drinking down the precious and refreshing liquid. The walk to Remnar had not taken Isake long for the city sighting gave him his second wind along with refreshed hopes. It didn’t even take him long to pinpoint a restaurant to quench his thirsts once in the city itself. To Isake, Remnar was a precious sight but it was not an unordinary one when compared to the other cities he had mistakenly come across.

All the buildings were made out of sandstone and aligned in neat little rows that filled the entire town. They were protected by the wicked desert sandstorms and vicious winds by a large and thick castle-like gate which stretched in a large circle around all of the structures. However, other than the individual little things such as desert plants and the occasional welcome mat, nothing in the town was out of place. Every building was the same as the next and every stone seemed as if it were meant to be placed in its particular spot. Even the streets were crafted to look like cobblestone with each stone being perfectly shaped and a pattern easily defined the entire road.

In fact, the people itself mirrored the entire town’s set up as well. All of them wore exactly the same thing, except for gender differences. Women wore plain white dresses to their ankles with hoods attached to the collar. Men wore baggy tawny pants with white shirts tucked in and occasionally had the difference of a hood attached to their shirt. Everyone had sandals as well- every single one of them had the typical light brown sandal wrapped about their feet. While Isake didn’t mind the towns or the people, he couldn’t help but pity them a bit.

The only thing that was different when compared to the rest of the town, were the three large and structurally sound white towers. The three of them were not round in shape, but looked like large slim white rectangles reaching to the sky. The top of the towers looked flat as well- as if some large giant had dropped its building blocks in the middle of the town. Isake knew better though. While the town seemed different by the three towers, every city was still the same. They all had towers. They all had three towers- three perfectly aligned white towers that spoke out to the rest of the world like beacons.

In a way, Isake was a beacon too. However, he was a completely different type.

“That was delightful!” Isake said brightly, rubbing his stomach as he leaned back in his chair. Before him upon a tall wooden table were seven empty mugs and a few plates that appeared to at one point, contain food. He had only been there for less than an hour, but it was clear that most of the customers within the restaurant could not take their eyes off him. Not even the waitress could utter a sentence without sounding like a timid school girl.

“Umm… s-sir, y-your bill.” She said, swiftly taking a flattened stone and placing it before him. Isake stood up quickly, startling the girl as he turned his gaze towards her. Taking a hand and running it through his thick red hair, he managed to brush a few of the short front strands out of his eyes.

“I am sure this will pay for it.” He stated, reaching into the deep pocket of his black pants. He then brought his hand out and opened it, revealing three large silver coins. The girl’s eyes widened as Isake set them down on the table.

“They’re not of use to me much anyway!” Isake said loudly, which was soon followed by a laugh. His laugh ended abruptly when he noticed that now the restaurant was dead silent.

Isake was a polite fellow and did not outburst at people; despite the fact that deep down within his core, he sometimes wanted to yell at them. Isake understood however, he understood why their gazes were always glued to him. He was not one of them. He was not a perfectly refined citizen in white, but rather he was a criminal.


The night sky greeted him as Isake exited the restaurant. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he began trudging through the city. No one wandered on the streets during the night. They went promptly to their destinations and didn’t give it a second thought.

“I wonder if they even dream…” Isake mumbled, entering a darkened alleyway. Shadows seemed to consume the entire inner path, except for a few illuminated spots that gave way to the first moon’s strong rays. It was rather easy, giving the fact that alleyways served no purpose in Remnar or any city for that matter. There was nothing in the alleyways… or in the streets… or anywhere. It was a barren place, mirroring the desert in its absences. To Isake, the only difference between a town and the desert were two things. One, a town has food and water. Two, a town was owned and governed by law and in Isake’s mind, the desert was better overall.

“Hmmm…” Isake mumbled as he slumped against one of the alleyway’s walls. “… If only the desert had an all day food supply.” He grinned silently to himself as his eyes grew heavy and soon sleep grasped his consciousness.

~~~~

“So, you have arrived here after all.” A man stood on top of one of the white towers, standing close to the edge. His arms were crossed and his lips were pursed as he gazed downwards at Remnar. His long flowing jacket of white rippled violently in the wind from being so high up in the air. The Gates did not protect the upper half of the towers, but the towers did not need such protection measures.

“Shall we throw the exile out of our city?” Another man asked, slowly approaching. His stature was not as grand as the jacketed man and he wore the same plain clothes as the rest of the townsfolk. Upon comparison, the only difference between him and the townsfolk was the small silver and circular badge he wore upon his shirt front. The other man however, along with his white jacket, was completely different. His silvery white hair alone was enough to make him stand out- let alone the long low ponytail that he wore it in.

“No. Let him be for now…”

“B-but sir… the rules state…”

“I know what the rules state.” The silver haired one turned around swiftly, glaring at the other. “Or do you think I am so absentminded that I forgot?”

“N-n-no sir… I just thought we should-”

“You should listen to me. I have executive orders from the order to handle this… this disturbance myself.”

“Yes sir.”

With that, the other man left- opening a small hatch and disappearing beneath the top of the tower. The silver haired one stood in silence and resumed staring downwards. As time crept onwards, a smile began forming upon his face. His foot began tapping the top of the tower upon where he stood, as his body slowly trembled with an inner excitement.

“Soon we will meet, exile. I sense you are the one we have been waiting for… so please, do not disappoint me.”

~~~~

Isake was walking on air like a cloud trailing upon the sky. His arms were spread wide like a bird’s wings and he was soaring to unimaginable heights. The wind that brushed against his face felt soothing and cooled off his tan, sun-beat skin. As he flew around the sky however, slowly he felt pressure grow upon his abdomen. Ignoring it, Isake continued to enjoy himself in the deep blue sky. As time grew on however, the pressure continued on and off to the point where it felt like he was being stabbed. Giving out a rough cry, Isake clutched his abdomen as he started to fall from the sky…

“AAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!!” Isake screamed as his eyes fluttered open and he slumped over.

“Aheeeeeee!!” A girl’s scream echoed the air, as a small figure stumbled backwards. Breathing heavily, Isake looked up as a few beads of sweat dripped down his face. A small girl slowly stood up, standing no taller than Isake as he sat up straight.

“You… what…” Isake fumbled with his words, trying to gather his thoughts and shake off the dream. “What are you doing here?” He finally asked, rubbing his forehead as he absently gazed at his stomach to see that it was still there.

“I’m sorry mister!” The girl squeaked, her chin-length strawberry blonde hair bobbing with her movements as she bowed lightly. “I thought you were dead so I poked you a few times to see if you really dead. I didn’t know you were sleeping!”

Isake blinked a few times as he absently scratched the back of his head. “Oh… okay… that makes se-wait a minute!” Isake swiftly stood up, pointing an accusing finger at the girl.

“What is a little girl doing checking out dead people in an alleyway?”

“Well… ermm… you see-”

“Small children should be frolicking in the sun!”

“..But we’re not allowed to be outsi-”

“And they should be building sand castles in the desert!”

“..Ermm.. We’re not allowed to go-”

“And children should be playing tag, playing pranks…”

“MISTER!” The little girl practically roared, causing Isake to turn around from his ramblings, having walked down the alleyway in his dramatic dialogue. Blinking a few times, being startled upon hearing a townsperson yell… let alone a child, he took a few moments before responding.

“… eh, yah?”

“What’s your name?” She asked, smiling brightly as her eyes seemed to sparkle with an inner innocence like nothing had happened.

+GATE+

[Gavin Luper]

So FADE became GATE, it seems? Interesting. It got my attention and it seems to have some real potential. The description of this random city in the desert sounds very mysterious, like it will have a lot to explore. I liked Iseke's character too, though we didn't get to learn very much about him: but exiled travelling criminals sound like they might have a fair whack of personality.

I only had a couple of criticisms. First, there were a couple of grammar and spelling points - but you've corrected the main one I was looking at already! ^^ Also, I thought the appearance of the little girl at the end seemed - I don't know - maybe like it was a bit cliché or unrealistic. But hey, that's from someone who doesn't know what's coming next. I thought the first few paragraphs were a bit stilted, too, as they didn't flow very smoothly when reading them. But other than that, I quite enjoyed reading this first chapter. Great to see you guys doing a joint fic - it looks like it will go places.

Cheers!

[Dr.McNinja]

Chapter 2

Isake fumbled for a second, still somewhat perturbed that his passionate speech had been disrupted. He recovered quickly however and, bowing slightly, replied, “I’m Isake…I’m an..er...”

The girl chimed in as she lightly skipped down the alley, “A criminal?”

Isake’s brow furrowed as he watched the child skip back and forth, there was something about this girl that was different than anything he had ever encountered. Maybe it was just the fact that she was so lively…childhood innocence was yet another price for peace, a child was forced to grow up quickly in the Order or else face ridicule or rejection. There was no place for the exuberance of youth anymore. Isake leaned forward as the girl pranced in his direction again, coming down to eye level with her which caused her to stop and blink at him with her big blue eyes, “Hey, how did you know that?”

The girl giggled, apparently amused by the older man’s challenge, “I didn’t…I guessed! The only one’s who come into the alleys are the outcasts and I’ve never seen you before. That must mean you’re not from here, which mean’s you’re someone else’s…”

Isake straightened, finishing the girl’s sentence for her, “Trash…yeah I’ve heard it before.”

Leaning against the wall of the alley, Isake felt the rough texture of the sandstone on his back. Warmed by the sun that had already passed overhead, the stone was about as comfortable as stone could get. Sliding slowly down the wall, Isake sat on the sandy clay of the alleyway, no one had ever felt the need to pave such a useless area. Useless…that was appropriate. Anything that didn’t have its use, didn’t serve its purpose, was cast out, stared at, or ignored just like this little alleyway, just like him, just like…Isake looked back to the girl who was still regarding him from a standing position, “You too?”

The girl glanced at the wall behind her, inspecting closely for a second before she too sat against it, facing Isake, “A little girl without a mom or dad isn’t wanted, no one wants to ruin their own lives bothering with her. They already have their own.”

Isake turned to look out of the alleyway, watching the passing crowd silently, taking in the small forms of children, their faces stoic and passive, their walk as straight and brisk as the parents who strode along with them. He watched an entire population of children walk by, as featureless and lifeless as everything else in this town.

Small children should be frolicking in the sun!

“Are you sure it would be their life that would be ruined?” Isake remarked as he turned his face away from the monotony, finding some comfort in the life he could feel emanating from his companion. It was like someone holding a flashlight in the middle of the night, it was something he wasn’t used to finding in places like this.

The girl didn’t respond to Isake’s question, instead she tilted her head at him and asked curiously, “Did your parents forget about you too?”

Isake closed his eyes at the question and tilted his head back to rest against the side of the building, the warmth imparted to it by the sun was already fading, and it would be chilling to sit against it much longer. Isake though for a long moment before simple saying, “That’s a long story.”

Silence greeted him and after several second sat it, Isake opened his eyes to find the girl still staring at him. Her face seemed to suggest to Isake that he recognize the situation he was in. He glanced down the alley to the blank wall at the far end, and then the other direction at the featureless crowd outside. Even the blue sky didn’t have a cloud in it to break up its vastness when he peered up at it. Smiling, Isake shifted slightly in the dirt, “Right right, not like there’s anything else to do anyway…fine.”

Closing his eyes, Isake began to speak, “It all started on a fine bright day, the type of day ripe for adventure, the type of day full of promise. The birds were chirping, the flowers were abloom.”

“Mister”

“The trees were swaying gently in the breeze. The sun hung brightly just above the horizon.”

“Mister”

“It was the type of day where men went out to be men! Where bravery and courage were what decided your fate and…”

“Isake!”

Opening his eyes, Isake glared at the impetuous youngster, “What!?”

Crossing her tiny arms in front of her, the girl twisted her mouth up into a semblance of a scowl, “You’re being stupid again…”

Frowning slightly at the word choice of his tiny young friend, Isake nonetheless heeded her advice and, somewhat disappointed, continued his story, “Well…the day wasn’t really all that special. The same as any other day I guess, at least at first. I was…I don’t really know anymore…not much older than you let’s say. The sun woke me up…that was what I remember being the first weird thing. My parents always woke me up well before the sun rose high enough to shine through my window, just like every child is woken up every day. I remember being so confused, nothing had ever changed the routine I was used to and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Eventually I decided that I should probably get up. It was the first, and almost last, decision I had made in my life and I was rewarded for my daring by the wetness on the ground that sent my foot flying out in front of me and sent me sprawling backwards against the side of the bed.”

Isake paused, shooting a look at the girl, the yellow-flecked green of his eyes suddenly unsure. He was suddenly acutely aware of how young the girl was and hesitated before continuing. He did not want to scare her, did not want to harm the rare and beautiful innocence she possessed. As he continued to look however, he also became aware of something else…something half hidden behind the youthful interest in her eyes, something older, something that made Isake feel as though he was been studied. The girl blinked and the feeling was gone, replaced only by the high-pitched ring of her voice, “What was it?”

Swallowing, Isake felt compelled to continue despite himself, “…blood.”

The girl’s voice was soft, repeating his word as if tasting it, inspecting it, “…blood.”

Isake nodded, “Blood, there was blood everywhere...the floor, the door, the bed...”

“…blood?”

“I was covered in it too, from head to feet. Half-dry yet still sticky and warm it was all over my clothes, my face, my hands, everything. The smell was…something I don’t like to remember.”

“…blood!”

Isake started at the girl’s tone and snapped his attention away from the past and back to her. She was staring at her hands…no…she was staring past her hands at the ground…or beyond it. Her face was white, her eyes wide as though she had seen something that had frightened her to her core. But it wasn’t fear, Isake realized, it couldn’t be, not with the sudden desire he had heard in her voice. Isake reached forward to touch her arm, “Hey...uh…girl? What’s wrong?”

At the man’s touch, the girl suddenly started and color flooded back into her face. Shivering a bit, she gave a shaky smile, “Sorry…I guess your story was a little scary for me!”

Returning to his original position a bit cautiously, Isake glanced at the empty street outside the alley, his voice reassuring, “No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have told you that story anyway…”

Isake’s voice faded away even as he quickly pushed himself to his feet. He could hear the girl shift on the ground at his side as he did, “Isake? What are you doing?”

Walking to the end of the alleyway, Isake exited into the street and looked around. In every direction he saw the same thing, nothing. All the people, if one could call them that, that endlessly walked back and forth across the city on whatever their small lives took them for…they were all gone. The emptiness was what had alerted Isake and even as he took a few more cautious steps into the street, his hand strayed to the hilt of the sword strapped to his back. He felt the cool, reassuring metal beneath his fingers at the same moment the voice behind him spoke.

“Not a day has passed already exile, and yet here you are scaring one of our precious little children.”

The silver-haired man dropped from the seated position he had taken one of the building bordering the alleyway to the ground below, landing lightly in a crouch before straightening. Shrugging his head to push back his ponytail which had crept around one of his shoulders, the man casually removed a small crystal from some inside pocket of his jacket and began tossing it lightly to himself. The crystal glowed with a soft, constant light from within. Leaning against the front of the building now, the man looked expectantly at Isake, “Well Exile? Must I go through the trouble of explaining?”

Isake’s eyes found the embroidered symbol on the man’s jacket: three pillars of white arranged in a precise triangle. A look of weariness passed across his face even as he called out, “You…uh….girl!”

The girl was looking up at the silver-haired man, eyes as curious as they were cautious. Hearing Isake’s yell, she replied distractedly, “My name is Cascara.”

Isake tried again, “Cascara, you need to get out of here. It’s not safe for you to stay here anymore.”

Looking as though she might protest at first, Cascara caught the look on Isake’s face. He was serious, she realized. Hesitating for just second longer, throwing one last curious look at the man who continued to casually flip his crystal through the air, Cascara turned and hurried down the empty street and around the nearest corner. Isake sighed in relief. Then, abruptly, his left hand came up, the index finger pointing accusingly at the silver-haired man, “You! Do you know how rude it is to interrupt someone’s story? I was just getting to the best part!”

A half-smile, full of wry sarcasm, appeared on the man’s face, “Well I am sure you’ll forgive me eventually.”

Isake kept his finger aimed at the man’s chest, his right hand still wrapped around his sword hilt, “What do you want? I haven’t done anything wrong, you have no reason to be here.”

The man’s half-smile widened into a full one, a sudden light appearing in his eyes. Excitement filled his face as he spread his arms to either side and replied, “Oh, but I do. You, Exile, are all the reason I need.”

[Bulbasaur4]

Gav: Thanks for checking out the story! I went back and reread through the paragraph and changed it a bit to attempt to make it a bit smoother. I know that there are some grammatical errors, but posting here are more roughly revised drafts so if we complete it then hopefully we can weed through and make it more final! Thanks and I hope you keep reading. ^_^

Now for my next part...

+GATE+
Chapter 3

Isake glared at the strange man before him, trying to predict the outcome of their verbal exchange. However, before Isake could come to any conclusion the world around him began to fade away to white. Alarmed, Isake looked around him to see the alleyway itself begin to disappear and melt into what appeared to be nothing other than the color white.

“Oh don’t be alarmed… this will only take a few seconds now.” The man spoke smoothly, his eyes twinkling with a demeaning gaze. Isake opened his mouth to yell but stopped himself short. Now the alleyway was completely gone and instead Isake found himself in an extremely large, vast white room. There was simply nothing else but white everywhere and the room was so large that Isake could not tell where the end or beginning of the room would be. A chuckle broke Isake’s examination however as he turned around to see the silver haired man standing a few meters away.

“Here we are. Far more appropriate, don’t you think?” He mused.
“Where the hell am I?” Isake demanded, this time pulling up on the handle of his sword so that it swiftly unsheathed itself. The handle of his sword was nothing special, but the blade itself was enough to catch silver one’s eye. The blade was completely silver in color, except for a few etchings of violet swirl-like markings upon it. While the swirls meant nothing to Isake, it seemed to strike a chord with the other man.

“So I am right. Good. It’ll make it interesting when I kill you.”

“Did you not hear me? Where am I?”

“You have merely been brought to a more suitable place for battle. I rather think the décor is a bit stale, but who am I to judge. In any case, shall we begin Exile?” The silver haired man grinned and the crystal that dangled about his neck began to shine brightly. Snapping his fingers, a glowing violet ball apparition appeared in front of him. He instantly grasped the ball in his fist, causing the violet color to spill outwards to take the shape of a pole. Yet, the violet energy continued to churn and swirl as he concentrated until the energy faded away to reveal a marvelous weapon.

Upon each end of the short pole was a different deadly device to create one destructive tool. Upon one end was a large curved blade of white which took the form of a ragged scythe-like overall appearance, despite the few jagged edges. However, on the other end of the pole was a black mace that seemed permanently attached to the pole itself. For the size of the weapon, Isake was amazed that the figure held it with such ease, as if it were but a mere stick.

Isake took both of his hands and clasped his sword tightly as the silver haired man began twirling his weapon like one might twirl a baton. The weapon quickly picked up pace as it began to blur to the point of no distinction, a feat that caused Isake’s eyes to widen.

“Well then, will you continue gawking or will you show me what skills you possess?” The man taunted, grinning lightly as he kept his figure straight and did not appear to be poised for battle. Anger bubbled up within Isake as he suddenly crouched low and then sprang to life. Charging straight towards the man he held his sword high and tried to bring the blade crashing down upon the unready man. However sparks flew as he simply brought his twirling weapon effortlessly with on hand in front of him to not only block the sword’s attack but shrug it off as well. Isake stumbled back as he clasped his sword, glaring defiantly at the arrogant conformer.

“Ah… I understand.” The man said with a hint of disappointment in his face. “You haven’t even begun to understand anything, have you?”

With that, he simply grabbed the middle of his weapon and stopped its twirling instantly with lightning reflexes. He then twirled his body about in a circle while stretching his arms so that the mace of his weapon pointed outwards. He continued to seemingly dance in a circle until he brought his weapon above his head and then swiftly brought it downwards as if he were trying to slash the air. Instead of a slash however, the mace dislocated itself from the pole and began to spin wildly. A single chain attached it to the base of the pole and elongated as the mace headed straight towards Isake.

The mace was spinning so rapidly and coming at Isake so fast that he barely had time to raise the thick side of his blade to block the mace from tearing apart his face. Gritting his teeth, Isake held his shaking blade upwards as it began to take damage from the spinning mace that seemed fixated upon its location.

“You lose, Exile.” A chilling voice came just from behind Isake’s ear as he realized that a blade was against his throat.

“What the…” Isake said, dumbfounded as the mace finally seemed to retract and allowed Isake to drop his sword. Unmoving, Isake’s eyes widened in shock as he realized indeed how long the chain attached the mace had become. Then instantly, he realized what had happened and yet was unnerved that such a thing was possible.

While the mace had been sent upon Isake, the man must have had an immense amount of speed. Using that speed, the silver haired man had let the chain elongate as much as it needed to and while the mace was sent at Isake, he ran up behind him with the other half of his weapon. The mace was a perfect and unavoidable distraction. Isake closed his eyes briefly and his jaw clenched slightly. So he was to fall to someone so quickly and fluidly as this?

Slowly however, the blade slide away from Isake and a hard kick to his back send him sprawling on the floor with his sword. Turning his head and struggling to look upwards, he saw the man’s weapon dematerialize into a spray of violet sparks which vanished as soon as they suspended in air. The man then tucked his hands deep within the pockets of his jacket and looked disapprovingly down as Isake.

“Why am I not dead yet?” Isake spat bitterly, getting back up to his feet.

“Because you are out of your league.” The man retorted and Isake found himself coughing up blood as a round kick came in contact with his head, sending him to the ground again.

“I am stronger, faster and more skilled than you. If you showed some sign of power- some trickle of potential I would have gladly have killed you. However, you haven’t even realized who you are. Such lack of response means I have no proof.”

Isake stared at the man dumbfounded, once again pressing his hands to the floor as he tried to get back up. His head was spinning and he felt as if the whole world around him was shifting beneath his body.

“Proof of what…” Isake coughed, trying to focus his gaze upon the silver haired man but he found it increasingly difficult.

“You’re going to fall unconscious. Just try to keep in mind that we will meet again and the next time we meet, I will have my proof.”

Isake opened his mouth to speak once more but black dots completely covered his vision. The world suddenly churned more violently and Isake felt himself fall.

~*~*~*~

“Oh dear… oh dear oh dear oh dear oh my…” An old man paced back and forth within the small confinement of a very messy room. Candles were lit in every nook and cranny along with a few of them melting slowly upon the large grey stoned walls. However, most of the walls were unseen as paper was plastered against them with various charts, messages and diagrams. Large bookcases also aligned the room, complimenting the large table in the middle that was also covered in various papers and strange foreign tools. Despite all of the stuff, the room still was quite tiny and offered little room for movement at all between the pieces of furniture and the strewn papers. So the old man simply paced back and forth within a small corner that barely could allow three of him to fit.

“Oh this won’t do… won’t do at all.” The man continued, his voice shaking slightly with age as he played with the edge of his course white beard. He seemed to be tall, even though he was only about average height compared to the rest of the humans of his time. However, with his small wiry frame came the allusion that he perhaps was taller than he really was and he practically swam in the deep emerald robe that he wore.

“Those poor people… those poor buildings… if only they knew… if only…” He continued to chant, nervously gazing at his own arms. “If I were there I’d do it… I’d do it myself and everyone would see. Yes, yes… they would see…” He continued to babble, glancing at his arms as if they were something to be feared. After a few minutes of this however, he soon went back to his nervous pacing until the sound of a creaking door alarmed him.

“Old man!” A loud voice boomed as the door in the room opened, revealing a tall yet extremely slender women. However, despite her slim and rather feminine appearance she instantly filled the room with the sense of foreboding and demand. Her sharp olive eyes caused the old man to quiver slightly as he stopped pacing and looked at the woman in a terrifying manner.

“Y-y-yes m-m’lady…” He squeaked timidly, fidgeting nervously in the corner as the women took her hand and swatted a chair away so that it loudly clattered. The noise was enough to make the old man jump again as she took a few steps into the room, stepping on a few papers without care.

“Have you identified the anomaly yet or do I have to give you some persuasion once more you dimwitted twit!” She spat, folding her arms across her large chest as she glowered at him expectantly.

“W-well n-no… y-you… see…” The man began, but the woman’s eyes widened as she prepared to yell yet again. “Wait!” He squeaked again, nervously grabbing a rolled up piece of parchment and setting it on the table in front of her with a frightened twitch. “I-I do kn-know w-where its loc-cuh-cuh-cation is going to b-breach.”

The woman hesitated for a moment before eagerly snatching up the roll and opening it up. After a few seconds, she pointed at one of the large symbols upon the map.

“Where exactly?”

“W-well… the c-city c-called Remnar m-m’lady.”

Accepting this, she rolled the parchment back up and swiftly turned to head out. However, the edge of her billowing white jacket promptly caught upon the jagged edge of the chair she had swatted down. It pulled on her jacket with a slight tear, causing her to angrily whirl around. Severely annoyed, she reached with her hand and broke off the leg of the chair which had caught her. Glaring with daggers at the man, she roared.

“And clean up this blasted mess before I decide to throw you out like the rest of this garbage!”

With that she slammed the door, causing the room to shake and a few pieces of paper to flutter off the wall. The old man waited for a few moments, becoming as still as one would expect a frightened animal would. After a while the old man seemed to breath a deep breath of relief. Looking about he quickly began grabbing pieces of parchment and various strange tools. As soon as he grabbed them he opened the side of his robe and began hiding them inside. The objects disappeared as soon as he placed them within his cloak to the point it seemed as if they vanished within the cloak and did not exist for the cloak itself did not grow in size.

After grabbing one particularly large brown book off the shelf and tucking it away, the old man went to the door and promptly locked it.

“I believe I will throw myself out…” The old man said to himself quietly, shuffling over to one of the walls covered in paper. He then pulled back one of the sleeves of his robe and gazed at his arm for one moment longer. Flexing his fingers for a moment, his joints popped at every movement until finally he seemed satisfied with his own hand.

“Time to disappear… like everything else…” He said absently, brushing away the pieces of paper on the wall to reveal its stony gray color.

~*~*~*~*~

Isake opened his eyes slowly to find himself laying flat on his back in the alleyway. Blinking away the fatigue, he slowly sat up to find that his jaw ached slightly but for the most part he felt perfectly fine despite his encounter.

“Who was that bastard anyway…” Isake said to himself, pushing off the ground to his feet. Leaning back and cracking his back, Isake saw his sword on the ground not too far off. Sighing, Isake walked over and slowly slid it back into its sheath. The encounter with the jacketed figure was disturbing to Isake. Never before had he been directly spoken to like that by any authority figure, let alone one of the Guardians.

“He had to be one… but, what was he talking about when he said-” Isake began, before suddenly the ground rumbled beneath his feet for a few seconds. It felt as if an explosion had gone off somewhere and soon screams filled the air. Alarmed, Isake ran to one of the main streets and he watched as people ran towards him with terrified looks. However, Isake was not focused on the screaming people but rather on the foreboding marbled sky of crackling ebony and royal purple behind them.

+GATE+

[Sworkill87]

Oooooooooooh. You were right, I did like the battle. I wonder what "power" or knowing himself the silver haired man was speaking of. Oh, and everyone has to appreciate the old man's cloak ability, reminds me of Atticus. Ah, fond memories. Anyway I'm looking forward to more!

[Dr.McNinja]

GATE
Chapter 4

Isake blinked a few times at the ominous sky, something akin to disgust and disbelief written on his face. The young man sighed, seemingly defeated, “The desert really doesn’t seem that bad anymore…creepy little girls, random assault, seriously freaky weather patterns…I mean come on.”

Isake ducked into the somewhat worse for wear alleyway, Isake let the screaming crowd stream past, knowing that getting caught in such a mob could be just as deadly as anything that may be following it. As the frantic mass of humanity passed, Isake mused darkly to himself that this may in fact be the most energy he had seen from anyone in the city thus far, fear had a tendency to wake anyone up he supposed. Kneeling as the last of the populace flew by, Isake drew his sword quietly and waited, hoping silently that whatever had frightened the citizens would continue pursuing them right past his hiding spot. His breath was loud in his ears, growing louder still as the screams from the crowd faded in the distance. Still, nothing happened. Above, the sky continued to darken into unnatural colors yet even then nothing happened.

Finally, Isake stood, his eyes as wary as his cautious steps. With each step he expected something horrible to appear from around the alley’s corner, his imagination bringing to mind an infinite number of horrors. Arriving at the end of the alley, Isake cautiously peeked out to find…an empty street. Sighing, the young exile emerged from the alley and looked both ways. Nothing, not even the flames one might expect from a city under attack. The whole city was quiet. Isake silently wished that the sky would stop swirling with such threatening colors so that he might be able to pretend everything was normal and go about his business once again.

Taking a step forward, maybe he could just slip out of the city and escape back to the relative tameness of the desert, Isake suddenly stopped. Déjà vu gripped him as some sense, he wasn’t exactly sure which one, tingled its warning to him. Turning, Isake looked up at the ruined roof of the building that…some time ago had been the resting place of his mysterious assaulter. Isake was relieved to find that the man was indeed not waiting for him again, but that relief wasn’t enough to overcome the sudden wrenching fear of finding a monster instead. Barely tall enough to come to his knees, the thing was nonetheless terrifying. Spindly arms almost as long as its sharply bent legs ended in a mass of vicious claws. Tiny, tilted eyes were full of sadistic delight as was the fang filled smile that covered the entire bottom of half of its face. A high pitched laugh escaped its maw as it spread leathery wings experimentally. Isake’s mouth twisted in a scowl of disgust as he stared at the things. Hefting his sword he muttered to himself, “There is no reason that something like that should exist…what purpose could it…”

With a screech, the thing leapt from the building at Isake, its wings acting more like gliders as it reached out its long arms towards the young exile’s face. Slidding to the side, Isake twisted his body around in a full spin and met the creature’s charge with his balde. Black blood sprayed everywhere as the keen weapon sliced straight through the monster’s thin body. Bisected, the thing’s torso flopped ineffectively for a moment on the ground, snarling and spitting until finally stilling in death. Cringing at the sudden pain that shot up his back, Isake cast one last glare at the fallen creature before turning to walk away. He slowed to a sullen stop almost instantly however, as dozens more of the creatures began appearing atop almost every building. Putting on a bored expression, Isake shook his head, “Take a look at your buddy there, you all want the same to happen to you?”

C’mon, be intimidated and go away, leave me alone, don’t all come at me at once…wait, what if they don’t understand me? What the heck do disgusting grinning freaks of nature speak anyway?

Dozens of leathery wings spread as grinning faces leered down at the lone exile. Isake raised his sword, turning slowly in a circle to take into account how many of the things he was facing. Too many, he realized, but he didn’t have the time to figure out what to do with the last moments of his life for with a final collective snarl, the things crouched to take to the air. Their combined cry was deafening.

Deafening did not give justice to the enraged roar that split the air in the next moment however, a roar of such visceral rage and hatred that even the monsters ducked instinctively, abandoning their attack. Isake stood quietly with a rather wide eyed look on his face as the roar carried on and on and on. He didn’t move even when one of the buildings, several hundred yards away, literally exploded outwards as a hulking shape ripped through it into the street. Shaking off pieces of the building like water, it turned towards the gathered beings and roared again.

Slowly raising itself off four limbs onto just its hind two, obviously built to function in either posture, the newly arrived creature’s scales glinted through a dizzying rainbow of color under the eerie light of the sky. Muscles rippled underneath the scales, barely contained strength evident in every movement. Thick, curved talons adorned the ends of all four limbs, though those in the front were both longer and more articulate than those in the rear which supported most of the weight of the body as it rose. The thing tilted slightly forward even when standing, reverse jointed rear limbs maintaining its balance even then. Red tinged eyes glare out from a thick face at the end of a strong neck, dozen upon dozens of sharp teeth glinting in its maw. Ears almost like feathers extended from the top of the head while long hairlike extensions trailed like whiskers from around its mouth. Isake couldn’t help but stare, in its own horribly terrible way it was beautiful. So focused was he that he did not notice the small winged creatures turn and fled as though for their lives the moment they saw the thing. When the thing began running towards him, big groundshaking steps that ate up the distance between the two faster than he thought possible, Isake had but one thought.

Why?

The exile turned and fled down the street, all pain and soreness forgotten as the creatures continued to close on him with frightening quickness.


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






Merris tried to push her face away from her Mother’s chest, feeling smothered by the tight arms around her. Her mother would not let go though, her weeping sounds intensifying as she pulled her daughter closer to her. Merris spoke as well as she could being pressed so tightly, “Mother, you are not supposed to be here right now! What are you doing? What are we doing?”

Her voice strained by her tears, Merris’ mother whispered frantically, “I don’t know…I don’t know…I don’t know…”

Merris opened her mouth to tell her mother to make more sense when a man came flying through their door. Landing heavily on the now splintered portal, the man coughed heavily as he fumbled his way to his feet. Blood ran down his face from a gash on his forehead but his hands were steady on his sword and his gaze was still clear. Catching sight of the two huddled figured he yelled at them urgently, “Get out! Get out of here now!”

A scream escaped Merris’ mouth as the elaborate head of the monster plunge through the door, screaming as it tried to snap at Isake. The exile took several steps back away from the creature even as its powerful striking claws began tearing away the outer edges of the doorframe to provide it room for entry. Seeing the young girl and her mother remaining motionless, Isake darted forward and took a swing at the creature’s face. Sparks flew as the keen blade met the creature’s scales, leaving behind a tiny trail of blood where the sword’s blade had managed to pierce the armored hide of the creature. Withdrawing for a moment, the creature suddenly lunged forward, shattering more of the doorframe and allowing one of its arms entry. Isake leapt in front of the two, his sword darting to intercept the swinging talons, his excellent defense nonetheless being penetrated a handful of times to leave jagged tears in his clothes and flesh. As he fought desperately, Isake called again, “Get the hell out of here NOW!”

Started into action, Merris scrambled away from her mother and too a few steps for the door on the opposite side of the room from the fight before stopping and turning back, “Mother! Mother we have to go!”

Merris’ mother looked blankly at her daughter, still rocking and mumbling slightly to herself, her teary eyes unfocused. She didn’t even make a noise when the creature’s claws snuck past Isake’s guard and plunged into her chest. Ripping free as Isake turned and hacked down at the limb, the claw trailed a torrent of blood that was joined by that which exploded from her mother as she fell. Another scream escaped her as Isake turn and grabbed her as he ran past, dragging her away from her mother’s torn body and through the door she had been heading for. As they left, she could faintly hear, past the blood pounding in her ears and the grief and horror in her heart, a low voice speaking.

“…blood.”

She felt her rescuer stumble to a halt and caught her own footing after the sudden stop. With one hand, Isake pushed Merris through the door, a firm “Go” sending her scurrying off to a safer place. Isake did not follow, instead turning back into the room and taking a cautious step forward. The creature wasn’t attacking anymore, instead its glowing red eyes stared at the blood forming a shallow pool on the floor as it drained form the dead mother. For the first time an emotion other than rage or hatred was apparent: a profound sadness. Isake suddenly gave a shudder for in that moment of weakness he had seen something else in the monster’s eyes, something gentler and innocent buried deep behind the furious emotion on the surface. Taking another step forward despite himself, Isake tensed as the thing’s head turned to regard him as well. It’s wary glare made Isake suddenly aware of being studied by something far older than himself. Another shudder shook Isake as he recognized that look. Apparently he had not been mistaken in what he had seen before.

“Girl?”

The creature’s face didn’t change, except to bare its teeth slightly at the noise. Isake fumbled around in his mind for a second, dragging up the name that had been learned under such duress earlier. He remembered and spoke, “…Cascara?”


Red eyes widened at the sound, the soft growling emanating from the creature’s maw gurgling off in surprise. Wicked claws fumbled absently as a low voice, decidedly absent of malice or rage, emanated from the creature, “…Isake? Why are you all bloody? Why are…no…get out! Get out!”

Grabbing its head with its claws, their sharp edges digging deep gouges in its face, the creature fell to its knees with a howl of internal pain and anguish. Twisting back and forth, Isake believed that it might actually tear itself apart. Finally however the creature slumped, all the energy seeming to leave its limbs. Hearing a deep, hollow noise, Isake strained his ears. With a sudden stab in his stomach, he realized that the creature…no…that Cascara was sobbing. Taking the final few steps, Isake knelt next to the transformed girl and gently touched one of her monstrous arms. Outside, the screaming began again.

[mistysakura]

I like this fic very much. The setting's done very well; it's scary to imagine such uniformity in a town, with no individuality whatsoever. I wonder if there are many more outcasts like Isake, and whether they stand a chance of breaking this monotony. It's like 1984, I swear, except more in the physical settings and clothing of the people than in their thoughts, at least so far. And I wonder what proof there is against Isake, and what the old man is searching for. I didn't like Cascara at first, because she seemed too innocent and far-removed from the world, and so stereotypical of a sweet little girl her character didn't seem realistic. But if she' really this monster, that's going to cause a lot of conflict. I wonder how she came to be this way, and whtether the creature has a mind of its own (it's a bit like lycanthropy, except it seems Cascara's 'human' mind can be awakened even when she's this creature.)

I'll enjoy continuing to read this.

[Sike Saner]

This is very cool. The unnatural uniformity of Remnar... *shudder* It definitely makes an impression. The characters are interesting--Cascara has become a particular favorite of mine, mainly due to her... "other side".

Speaking of which, I loved the creatures that appeared in the last chapter, both the VERY cool creature that Cascara became and the little flying things (which GRIN diabolically; I love that ). I wonder if there will be even more types of monsters appearing in this story?

Another great thing about this is the action--Isake's battle in chapter 3 was terrific. ^^

I like what I've read so far. I'll definitely keep following this one.

[Bulbasaur4]

I'm so sorry about how... late this chapter was in coming! I'm just getting back into the swing of things with both +GATE+ and Divinity! Gomen!
You better be sorry! I was waiting FOREVER! *mutter mutter*
^_^;;;

misty: Thank you for reading! Yeah, I do hope that Cascara becomes a little more interesting as the fic goes on. I'm glad that the visual imagery of the town stands out though. That was my biggest goal in the beginning of this fic. It plays a really big role in the future!

Sike: Oh, if you like the little grinning creatures then I'm sure you'll like this chapter. *evil grin* Hee! Thanks so much for reading! It's great to have you reading both GATE and Divinity! ^_^

Now, without further delay!

+GATE+
Chapter 5

Isake was torn as he crouched before Cascara as she sobbed, stuck still within the doorway as screams rose into the air from the outside world. His mind wasn’t questioning why she was now a monster, but rather he was wondering how he could comfort her. The screams continued to persist outside and Isake felt a tug at his heart to aid them. Were there other horrors outside like Cascara?

No… she is not a horror. She’s a little girl. A poor little girl that-
“I-Isake…” Cascara’s deep, throaty voice was intermixed with sobs as she turned her large, serpent-like eyes towards Isake. “… Go. Go help the others outside. I don’t need your help.”

“Cascara… are you sure?”

“I’m fine… just go.”

“But Cascara-”

“-I’m FINE! I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!” Her voice suddenly roared as her eyes flashed with an inner rage and agitation. A realization swiftly followed as her eyes blinked away their rage and seemed to be filled with a deeper sadness than before. “… sorry, just please Isake, go.”

Isake slowly stood up, gazing at Cascara with questioning eyes. His mind was racing with a storm of thoughts as his own gaze conflicted with hers. It didn’t take him much thought however to determine the best outcome for Cascara however. His eyes narrowed as his voice grew calm and firm.

“Cascara, you can’t be in this city any longer. As soon as you are able, get out of here. Go to the southern gate and wait a safe distance away from the city outside.”

There was no response from her, but there seemed to be a rooted understanding to the two of them. She hadn’t belonged in her own city just as he had not belonged in his. It was perhaps fated that they met each other, but a disturbing feeling rose within Isake. He couldn’t help but shake from his mind the gentle probing thought that he had something to do with Cascara’s change.

“That can’t be… I’m being absurd.” Isake mumbled to himself as he firmly gripped the hilt of his sword. With the entrance way blocked, Isake opened the front window and clambered outside back into the city streets. The screams were louder now and seemed to come from the western part of the city. Forcing his contemplative thoughts from his mind, Isake swiftly ran towards the screams.

Isake found it easy to navigate himself around the city and it wasn’t long until he was running alongside the western wall of the city. It still vaguely creeped Isake out how each city he entered or came across was the same as the last. It was almost as if all the cities were built at the exact same time by the exact same person. It seemed that the cities couldn’t have been built by individuals or different people… because if they were, it would be impossible for the cities to be nearly identical.

“Not nearly… they are identical...”

An explosion of light snapped Isake out of his thoughts as he swiftly came skidding to a halt. The same eerie purple sky was before him, but it only seemed to be a hovering small section in the sky. The black outlines of the smiling winged figures seemed to pour out from the purple sky like a flock of black birds. Despite their small size, their numbers made up for any strength of lack of size. A few innocent bodies were strewn about the ground while the little smiling devils gnawed upon their bodies in groups of three or more. There were more people than the dead, but they likely were going to follow the same fate. The winged creatures were smart and by sheer numbers they cut off all the escape routes. They had chased as many people within the city as they could to this very spot- and the sky had turned purple and more of their kind surged on this spot for the slaughter. Isake could feel his blood chill and drain from his face as he thought about how the tactic was beyond simple instincts. These creatures weren’t just monsters… they were intelligent, man-slaughtering beings.

There were hundreds of them flying in the sky and they took turns sweeping down and attacking the group of humans. Slowly one by one the humans were falling, helpless to defend themselves.

“I gotta make an opening for them to escape…” Isake thought, looking from the sky to the ground. To block the escape routes of the humans, about twenty or so of the flying devils perched themselves upon the ground. Any human trying to break away from the main group would be simply ripped to pieces no matter what route they took. They couldn’t even flee from the city because the city’s gate was firmly shut. Trying to escape was simply suicide.

“HEY! You!” Isake called out loudly, barely registering what he was about to do as he charged into the group that was blocking one of the three escape routes. “You look bored!”

Isake swung his sword at the nearest smiling devil he could with an amazing reach the surprised the entire group of winged imps. Blood sprayed into the air as it was cleanly cleaved in half and within an instant the imps fluttered into the air. They did not flee however, but rather giggled insanely with gleeful grins as they circled Isake. Isake bent his legs as he poised his sword in front of him. His eyes darted about the place, trying to pick one of them out of the crowd but it felt impossible. There were too many and their flight patterns were chaotic and unpredictable. He couldn’t concentrate on just one when it seemed to disappear into the masses.

Another piercing giggle came from behind as a winged imp suddenly bumped into Isake’s head. Pain followed by a warm sensation oozed from Isake’s ear and he grimaced at the attack. Another blur of a winged creature and pain radiated from his leg. Then another shot of pain came from his shoulder. This continued and the pace grew faster and faster until Isake fell to his knees and gave out a deep, guttural cry. They were swarmed about him; a few had latched onto him and were gnawing away. He attempted to shake them off but they only seemed to laugh as they flew away only to return shortly after.

“What did I get myself into…?” Isake thought, realizing that there was no win in his favor. They were too fast and there were too many- a battle that could not be won.


“FIRE!” An explosion erupted into the air and the giggling of the imps was ceased. Shrieks of alarm sounded and Isake felt them leave his body and take to the air. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw miniature explosions of fire lighting up the sky. All of the imps now were in the sky, darting around like maniac bats as they tried to avoid the shots from the ground.

“RELOAD!” A commanding feminine voice roared, drawing Isake’s eyes to the large newly arriving group to the west. The western gate had been opened, revealing a blazing white portal. From this portal, a large troop clad in clean white military uniforms came marching through. At the head of them, commanding them with a fierce look in her green eyes was a woman. Her long ribbons of black hair sharply contrasted against the white of her outfit and upon closer inspection, she seemed to have the familiar symbol of three white towers etched into her uniform’s shoulder.

“FIRE!” She screamed again and the men behind her released large capsules into the air that roared from the cylinder guns each man carried over their shoulder. The imps screamed as they fell from the air. A few of them managed to dodge the assault and reach the firing men. This caused them to drop their guns and unsheathe nimble swords to protect themselves at close range. To Isake, they seemed easily prepared… as if they knew their opponent all too well.

Isake looked to the woman again and for a moment her eyes seemed to meet his. Her expression shifted slightly and for a moment Isake could have sworn he saw a look of surprise upon her face. A shriek caught her attention however, as an imp tried to sink its teeth into her flesh. Effortlessly she revealed a dagger from her hand and slashed the imp so severely that he instantly crumpled harshly into the ground.

“RELOAD!” She screamed again, placing herself back into battle.

Isake’s instincts told him to run. The people were safe now that these Protectors were here, led by a Guardian. Plus the look in the woman’s eyes told Isake that he’d be in trouble if he stayed around to see the end result of the battle. Taking one last look at the battle, Isake sheathed his sword and ran.

~*~*~

Isake didn’t dream that the desert would be as welcoming as he imagined. The Southern Gate usually was open but it always had the watchful eye of guards arming the opening. Isake had almost mastered the art of tricking or distracting guards in such a way that he could sneak into the city without much notice. Today however, there were no guards- no doubt they were trying to save civilians from the destruction that had befallen the city.

Digging his sandaled feet into the soft sand, Isake did not stop running until he was well away from the city’s walls. It wasn’t until his lack of endurance caught up with him that he came to an abrupt stop; placing his hands on his knees as he doubled over and wheezed to catch his breath. After a few minutes, Isake stood up straight and turned around to behold the city of Remnar. The city still remained its brilliant white color, but within the city the sky was churning. Tiny eruptions of red and orange dotted the sky as several foreboding patches of sky crackled with churning ebony and violet. Distant cries could still be heard over the low rumble of explosive activity, which gave Isake a bit of a shiver. What exactly had just happened?

“Isake! I-sa-ke!” A strong childish voice sounded over the distant noises. Isake lowered his gaze to see a small white-robed figure with bouncing pink hair madly running towards him.

“Cascara!” Isake said brightly, a feeling of relief washing over him that she was okay. A bit of guilt soon followed him, for he had forgotten about her for a moment in his panic.

“I’m so sorry; you see I had stumbled upon a battle an-OW!” Isake winced as he was promptly kicked harshly in the shin as Cascara reached him.

“That’s for forgetting me!” Cascara yelled, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow into a deep frown.

“I said I was sorry!” Isake exclaimed in surprise, dropping to the soft sand ground as he nursed his now aching shin. Cascara promptly sat down next to him, breathing heavily to catch her breath.

“You run too fast… I couldn’t catch up when I saw you pass by…”

The two of them fell silent as they sat and watched the sky. The sun was setting beyond the horizon, causing the fantastical scene above the city to brighten further. Isake relived the swift events of the day, contemplating about the little girl next to him. After a few seconds, which he deemed an appropriate time of silence, Isake spoke up.

“So…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Cascara’s sharp blue eyes seemed to bore into Isake as he looked to her and then quickly away.
“Alright, we don’t have to talk about it.”

More silence followed and Isake felt himself grow a bit woozy from the loss of blood. Reaching to the pack around his waist, he slowly began taking out a few pieces of cloth and some vials filled with various liquids. After a short while of this, Cascara then spoke up.

“I guess we’re both trash now…”

Isake smiled, taking his hand and ruffling Cascara’s hair.

“Doesn’t seem half bad when you look back now, does it?” Cascara merely smirked, suppressing what would have been a bigger smile.

[Sike Saner]

Yay for the imps! I do indeed love those little things... so I enjoyed their prominent presence in this chapter. Man... it'd be a nasty experience to be swarmed by those things like Isake was, with them biting all over, that's for sure... o_o; Just how nasty they can be, especially when they're all attacking you at once, was conveyed quite well--I thought that was cool.

And I'm wondering if we'll be seeing that Guardian in that chapter again sometime... o.o

Highlights

The black outlines of the smiling winged figures seemed to pour out from the purple sky like a flock of black birds.

That's some cool imagery, there. ^^

A few innocent bodies were strewn about the ground while the little smiling devils gnawed upon their bodies in groups of three or more.

I like that imagery, too.

Isake swung his sword at the nearest smiling devil he could with an amazing reach the surprised the entire group of winged imps. Blood sprayed into the air as it was cleanly cleaved in half and within an instant the imps fluttered into the air. They did not flee however, but rather giggled insanely with gleeful grins as they circled Isake.

They giggle and grin as they move to attack. I love that.

“I’m so sorry; you see I had stumbled upon a battle an-OW!” Isake winced as he was promptly kicked harshly in the shin as Cascara reached him.

“That’s for forgetting me!” Cascara yelled, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow into a deep frown.

XD That was cute.

[Dr.McNinja]

+Gate+
Chapter 6

~Remnar~

The sky was returning to its normal color, the screams of imps and the roar of guns now becoming less and less frequent and, as the man pulled the blade of his scythe from the still twitching body of one of the imps, it was time to get some answers. The woman was easy to find, at the center of a crowd of soldiers barking out orders and watching with self-satisfaction as they stumbled over one another to obey her commands. He grimaced, time never changed a thing...but then again that was how his world was supposed to work so he supposed he had nothing to truly complain about. He waited until the last of the soldiers scampered off and lazily strolled up to the woman, a small smile on his face, "As efficient as always...Elistrae."

Turning at his voice, Elsitrae brushed a strand of her smooth black hair out of her eyes. She gave a crooked smile back at him before speaking, her loud voice still maintaining its commanding air, "Lineil! Don't just stand there, I need to get to whatever passes for a resonance sphere here, I have to report."

There was a shimmer and a small pop of displaced air as Lineil dispelled his weapon. Giving Elistrae a mock bow he spoke, "Our resonance sphere is located in our central tower Lady Elistrae, just like in every other Order city."

Elistrae regarded Lineil for a moment, wondering if the young man had meant insult by his comment. More pressing matters drove her however, and with a short grunt she stalked off for the centermost tower of the city's three, Lineil close behind, the sounds of the devestated city fading as he did.

~----------------------------~

The glowing orb pulsed regularly with light, illuminating the faint shape within. Seemingly made of smoke, the ethereal face of a teenaged girl smiled secretively, her eyes obscured by length of cloth tied loosely around her head, "Understood Elistrae, Lord Cyrus will be pleased to hear of your success. You are to remain in Remnar for the time being and await furthur information regarding your mission."

Elistrae's brow furrowed, a peeved scowl appearing, "Is that Lord Cyrus' order or your own Fey? I don't take orders from you, and I want nothing to do with your so called 'prophecies'."

The girl's head tilted slightly to the side, her smile never wavering for a moment, "I would do nothing without Lord Cyrus' approval, you know this Elistrae, the Lord sees fit to believe in my Sight and I do not believe that I have led him false yet. If you wish, I will let Lord Cyrus know of your doubts when he returns from Tyrienne."

A sigh escaped Elistrae, "No...that will not be neccesarry. Let Lord Cyrus know that I await his word."

Fey's smile continued in the last few moments before the pulsing of the orb faded and stopped, the smoke inside ceasing to hold a form and dissipating quickly. Elistrae seemed lost in her thoughts after the convsersation. Lineil gave her a moment before he spoke from his position leaning against one of the walls, "So...are you planning to inform me about what the hell just happened to Remnar? I have human and demon corpses filling the streets and an army running around like a Chriken with its head cut off doing Gods know what. A little explaination would be much appreciated."

Elistrae pursed her lips as if pondering how to answer, uncertainty appearing in her eyes. Unfolding his arms, Lineil pushed off the wall and started pacing the small room, "Do I have to remind you that we are of the same rank Elistrae? I too am a Guardian, I report directly to Lord Cyrus as do you, I severely doubt that whatever information you have is so private that you can not share it with me."

Blinking a few times, Elistrae seemed to try to say something in retort. She managed to hold herself back with visible effort and instead explained, "Something's happening to the Boundry."

The sounds of pacing ceased as Leneil regarded Elistrae with a new light in his eyes, "The Boundry? The boarder between this world and the Underworld? That's what that was? That's where those demons came from?"

Elistrae waited with an irritated look on her face until Leneil wound down. When his voice finally faded, she continued speaking, "The Boundry still exists, we've made sure of that...but there's definetely something happening to it."

Leneil seemed unsatisfied, "That is all we have dicovered? What about the Order Weave?"

Shaking her head, Elistrae glared at Leneil, "Are you going to let me talk or not? You really think we wouldn't check the Order Weave first? The threads are strong as ever, stronger even maybe since Lord Cyrus' great work. The Order characteristics of the Boundry are perfect...which means."

The soft glimmer of the resonance orb reflected in Leneil's eyes as they narrowed, "Chaos...someone or someones are using Chaos to affect the Boundry."

Elistrae nodded in agreement, "Once Lord Cyrus understood what was happening, he left immedietely to gather information as to who could possibly have enough Chaotic power left to do this. When the state of the Boundry became such that at certain times entities began to be able to cross into our world, he ordered me to monitor and contain the attacks. This is the fourth intrusion since all this began a month and a half ago, and by far the largest. If we don't hurry and stop whatever Chaotic withcraft is being used here, the entire Boundry could fall and allow our world to directly contact the Underworld."

Leneil visibly shivered at the thought, "Do we know what would happen?"

A moment's pause before Elistrae replied, "No, I don't think we could even comprehend the horrors that would occur becuase of it."

Leneil didn't speak and after another moment, Elistrae left him to his thoughts, her own mind on the dozen or so orders she had decided needed instant action during her talk with the young Guardian. As the door closed behidn her, Leneil turned to look after her. Making sure that she would not be coming back any time soon, he moved to the resonance orb and placed one hand upon it. A moment passed before the pulsing light from before resumed, and the smoke inside began twisting and morphing into a new shape. His own smokey eyes seemed to turn with the orb's smoke, his mouth twisting into a smile far different from any he had shown Elistrae. He stared into the orb, at the unaware face of Isake. He had last seen the young man as he fled the battle soon after Elistrae's explosive entrance. Without a paired orb he could not find the Exile's location, but his own memory of him was enough for this construction. His fingers slid softly across the orb's face as a whisper escaped his lips, "I do hope that you prove me right Exile. What is happening, the responses, the actions of those affected, it all adds up. The pieces fit together so perfectly...I will be sorely dissapointed if you fail to vilify my suspicions."

The image faded as Leneil turned and swept out of the room, leaving only the faint glow of the orb to illumiate the empty chamber.