Day 30 - 50,115/50k - I'm DONE!

“Are you sure you want me to do this?”

Destiny actually paused and considered the question. When she’d hired the mercenary to take care of Kida for her, it had seemed like a brilliant idea. She wouldn’t have to get her hands dirty, and it would happen somewhere off behind the scenes and it would be over and done with. Now that she was confronted face-to-face with an unconscious Kida, it seemed… wrong, somehow, that Kiri should be the one to do. She owed Kida that much, at least. She owed her an honorable death. And this would force her to take responsibility for it, fully onto herself, which she felt would be just retribution for the act itself. 

Finally, after a long pause during which Kiri began to fidget, she answered.

“No. I need to do this. Thank you for your help, here’s your gold.” Destiny pulled out her money pouch and counted out Kiri’s payment, noticing with dismay just how light the pouch was afterwards. Well, that was a problem for another day. 

Kiri took the gold willingly enough, but gave her a long, searching look before she left without another word, leaving Destiny alone with Kida.

Once she was gone, Destiny looked over at the unconscious form of her friend and sighed. First things first, she supposed. She rummaged in Kida’s pack until she found her rope, and proceeded to tie her up as securely as she knew how. It wouldn’t do to have her waking up too soon and fighting back. Destiny didn’t know if she could go through with it if Kida was staring her in the face.

That done, she took a step back and considered the methods she had available. She couldn’t bear to use her sword, it would be too personal. Instead, she lifted her hand and focused on her magic, whispering the spell to cast a bolt of power towards the unconscious form of her friend. The force of the magic seared the air as it struck, flashing over Kida but leaving no visible mark. 

It must have been immensely painful, because Kida woke up with a yell of rage and pain.

“Destiny! What the blazes was that? Are you trying to kill me?”

The pain and utter seriousness Destiny felt must have shown on her face, because Kida’s expression went from indignant confusion to fear, then finally to anger.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, or why, but I won’t let you get away with it,” she said quietly, her voice full of rage.

“That’s what you think,” Destiny replied, just as quiet, although her voice rang with sorrow rather than anger. Faced with a conscious opponent, she surrendered to the inevitable and drew her katana, holding it in front of her, hating herself all the more at the flicker of fear in Kida’s eyes. 

She lifted the sword, stepped forward, and swung, aiming for Kida’s neck.

Unbelievably, she missed. It was only after she had recovered from the loss of balance occasioned by her sword swinging wildly that she realized that the fault had not been hers. Kida had dodged, throwing her tied-up body to the side. Destiny growled and lunged again, stabbing this time. Kida rolled the other way, managing to deflect the blade into her wing, rather than her heart, where Destiny had been aiming. Then the unthinkable happened. Kida had been wriggling the whole time, and Destiny now realized that it had been her attempts to free herself from the ropes. And she had succeeded, partially. Her hand snapped up and grabbed the hilt of Destiny’s sword. They wrestled back and forth for it silently, glaring at each other the whole while. 

After a few long seconds, Destiny was knocked backward by a powerful kick from Kida’s bound legs. She lost her grip on the katana and it went skittering across the floor. This was not going well. Not at all. So she did the first thing that came to mind, and yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Kiri! Get back here and help me!”

Kida blinked at her in shock. “Kiri? Kiri helped you? Is she behind this?”

Destiny had no time to answer, because at that moment the door was kicked open and Kiri stepped in, brandishing her shotgun.

“Wait, don’t kill her, just injure!” Destiny shouted, but it was too late. Before she had even finished the first word, Kiri had fired. Two shots. Both flew true, hitting Kida square in the chest and knocking her back onto the floor, where she lay still. 

Kiri grinned sheepishly at Destiny. “Sorry. Didn’t hear you in time.”

Destiny scowled at Kiri for a moment. Then, driven by an impulse she didn’t fully understand, she fetched her katana and stood over Kida’s still body. With one swift movement, she drove the katana into Kida’s heart, directly over the bullet wounds. It gave her a strange sense of completion as she stepped back and surveyed what she had done. She knew the reality of it would hit her later, but for now she simply felt a grim sense of victory at the completion of her task.

Suddenly, the door burst open once again. Destiny whirled around, expecting to see Kiri, but instead found herself face to face with a very confused and angry Ares. 

“I heard the shouting, what’s going on?” His gaze flicked from her to Kida’s body, then back, rage suffusing his features. “What have you done?” he asked angrily, stalking forwards in an attempt to get past her.

Destiny held her sword out to her side to block him, flat pointed towards him. She didn’t want to harm him if she didn’t have to. One friend dead was enough, even if Ares was a relatively new one.

“Ares, leave. Now. There are things about this situation that you just don’t understand right now.”

Ares glared at her sword, which was now blocking his advance, then at her. “Clearly! It looks to me like you just killed your best friend!” He turned to her and lifted his staff as if preparing an attack.

“Ares,” Destiny said quietly, her voice carrying a warning. “Do you really want to continue this attack? Do you really want to fight me? If all is as you see it, then I have already bested Kida. Are you really stronger than she was?”

She could tell that her words had hit home. He stopped dead, his expression hurt. There was a long moment of silence, then he quietly shook his head, lowered his staff, and left without another word.

After he had gone, Destiny moved to Kida’s body and began arranging it. She laid her out in the way of the ninjas, arms crossed under the point where the blade pierced her chest, eyes closed, looking almost peaceful in death. Proper respect paid, Destiny too left, closing the door firmly behind her. The body would be discovered before long. Fleeing would not be a good idea, because that would place suspicion upon her, so she returned calmly to the party below. A quick word and exchange of gold with the man at the main counter secured her a room, which she retreated to after letting Kiri know where she would be.

Sinking down onto the bed in her room, Destiny finally let herself break down. The realization was hitting now. She had taken a life. Not just any life, but that of her closest friend. They had laughed together, cried together, learned together, grown up together. When Destiny had no where else to turn, she could always turn to Kida. They were each other’s stalwart defenders in times of crisis, and biggest rivals in winning the approval of their instructors. They were truly sisters, in all but blood. Destiny felt closer to Kida than she did to her own sister, Nanashi, and knew that Kida felt the same way about her.

Now Kida was dead by Destiny’s hands. Well, maybe not technically, but by Destiny’s will. And she had delivered the final blow. The sense of victory was still there, but now it was overshadowed by grief and remorse and regret. Was membership in a powerful ninja clan really worth that kind of betrayal? Was she really so greedy, so power-hungry? Now self-loathing stole into the mix of emotions that was roiling in her head. It wasn’t like she hadn’t had a choice. She could have told the Wor clan no, and she could have continued her life as if nothing had happened, secure in the knowledge that she had a friend like no other in Kida. Instead she had chosen the path of darkness, seeking power at the expense of her honor. 

No. She still had her honor. That was something that was not so easily lost. She had not killed for no reason, nor had she lied outright to Kida. Her honor might be tarnished, but it was still there. Now she would simply have to go about restoring it. The realization of a new purpose managed to calm her wild thoughts enough for her to relax, and sleep eventually took her, although it was a fitful one, disturbed by vague, half-remembered dreams. When she finally sank in to deeper sleep, far into the night, she found herself in yet another dream. This one, however, was vivid in a way that she could not help but recognize. 

Once again she found herself surrounded by a ring of blue flame. Once again she saw the shadowy outlines of many figures beyond the flames. And once again she found herself terrified, but oddly calm.

The man with the dragon tattoos stepped forward through the flames, smiling. “Congratulations,” he said. “I am proud of you, Destiny. You have carried out your mission with honor. There will be more tests yet to come, but I believe we will be happy to welcome you into our ranks before long.”

He motioned, and two other ninjas stepped through the fire, coming up on either side of her. They took her by the arms and began to drag her towards the man with the dragon tattoos. She tried to resist, but found her body had no strength in this dream world. She was turned around so her back was to him, and she felt something cold between her shoulder blades. The sensation grew, then suddenly blossomed into excruciating pain. Destiny bit her tongue to keep from crying out, but inwardly she was screaming. The pain intensified, prickling across her skin like fire, centered on her back.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, the pain began to fade.

“Well done, young one,” came the voice of the tattooed man again. “We will contact you again. Until then, may the gods watch over you. If they choose not to, know that the Wor clan will be watching instead.”

With those ominous words, the scene faded, and Destiny awoke with a gasp in her room at the tavern inn. Her back was still sore. 

She leapt from the bed and pulled her shirt off over her head, stumbling into the bathroom and turning on the light. If she craned her head, she could see her back in the mirror. There, between her shoulder blades, was a tattoo. There was a skull, with a sword piercing it’s eye holes. It was the same tattoo she had seen on the ninjas in her dream, with one difference. The rose that entwined around the skull and blade was missing. She still had tasks to complete, she realized, before she would be a full member, with a full tattoo.

That also meant she would have to endure that searing pain again, which was enough to make her shudder. Well, she would deal with that when the time came.

Leaving the bathroom, she moved to the window and pulled the curtains aside. Off in the distance, the sky was turning pink and orange with the light of the rising sun. Somehow, in the midst of the dream, she had slept through till morning. Sounds drifted through the air, the noise of the city awakening and meeting the new day. Destiny found herself reluctant to do the same. This would be the first day she had ever lived without Kida by her side. Still, it was something that must be faced, and faced with her head held high. The past could not be changed for all her wishing, and dwelling on it would bring her nothing but pain.

With a willful focus on an optimistic spirit, Destiny turned from the window to pack up her things, ready to meet the others and leave this place. Ready for the next adventure.

Day Twenty Nine - 47,983/50k

The bar was rowdy and crowded before they even arrived. By a judicious show of force - namely, Kiri speaking sternly while caressing one of her guns - they managed to secure a table and six chairs, although they were still a bit cramped. Apparently it was some sort of local holiday, because half of the tables in the room were gone to make room for a small three-piece band, consisting of a guitar player, a drummer, and a man with an assortment of woodwinds and pipes on a rack in front of him. There were people dancing in the area in front of the band, although it was more a drunken swaying than any sort of recognizable dance.

Kiri waved down the barmaid and they all ordered drinks and food. She had managed to sit directly next to Kida - despite her normal prejudices - in order to keep an eye on her and carry out her plan. To her dismay, Kida only ordered water to start out with. That would never do… Kiri needed the angel at least mostly drunk, if not plain unconscious, for the better part of her plan to work. Then again, her “plan” at this point consisted of knocking Kida out and dragging her upstairs, but it was a start.

“So, not going to join us in our celebratory drinking?” she asked Kida in a teasing voice.

“No. Unlike some here, I don’t need to get drunk to have a good time,” Kida retorted.

“Hey now, no need to get defensive. Just tryin’ to make amends here, extendin’ the hand of friendship, if you will.”

Kida gave her a long, searching look that Kiri entirely avoided by taking a long swig of her beer, which the barmaid had just dropped off.

“I suppose. Well, I’m not very familiar with alcoholic drinks as a rule. What do you recommend?” Kida’s voice was now painfully polite, as if she was straining to be civil. Actually, she probably was, a fact that Kiri found hilarious. She had no problem socializing with the snobby swordswoman. Of course, that was mostly due to the fact that she would be killing her shortly.

“Hmm… well, without knowin’ this particular bar, I’ll just have to take a guess… y’like fruity drinks, liquor, beer, wine… any idea?”

“Um… I’ve had wine before, it’s all right. I don’t like beer. Haven’t really had any liquor.”

Kiri rolled her eyes. Gods above the girl was sheltered. “Well, we’ll start you off easy.” She waved down the barmaid again and waited until the woman had weaved her way through the tables towards them. “Bring my friend here a strawberry daiquiri, will ya?”

The barmaid just nodded and dove back into the crowd. Kida was frowning slightly, a confused look on her face. “Daiqiri? What’s that?”

“It’s like a fruit slushie, but with rum. Nice and sweet and fruity, with a kick.”

Kida still looked a bit apprehensive. When the drink arrived in a tall, frosty glass, garnished with a strawberry and a sprig of mint, she looked at it with wide eyes. “It’s very… pink.”

“Well, that would be the strawberry. Go on, give it a try!” Kiri said impatiently.

Kida obediently picked up the glass and took a small sip through the straw. Her face when through a gamut of emotions - first nervous, then surprised, then confused, then, finally, pleased. “It’s… wow, it’s actually not bad.” She favored Kiri with her first genuine smile of the night. It made Kiri uncomfortable, because when Kida smiled it was almost possible to like her. Liking one’s prey was generally considered a bad thing.

“Glad to hear it. Drink up!” she said quickly, then turned away towards Ares, who was seated on her other side.

They made small talk until the food arrived. Before they dug in, Kiri stood up and lifted her glass.

“A toast! To the successful reunion of friends, and to the end of one adventure… and the beginning of another!”

There was a round of “Cheers!” as everyone clinked glasses and drank, then set to on their food. Kiri had opted for the steak, and as she cut into it the delicious aroma made her stomach growl in anticipation. It was cooked perfectly, still pink on the inside the way she liked it, and only the barest of seasonings. Really, all a steak needed was a little salt, maybe some garlic, and fresh ground black pepper. When the first bite hit her tongue, she couldn’t help a little sigh of appreciation. It had been entirely too long since she’d had a well-prepared steak, and this one was phenomenal. If there was one thing that could be said for your average tavern in Geonova, it was that they - almost as a rule - had excellent food. At least the nicer ones like this did.

With her usual lack of table manners, Kiri speared a piece of potato off Kida’s plate and ate it, just grinning when she was met with an annoyed glare. “Those potatoes aren’t bad. Needs more butter, though.”

Kida sniffed. “I think they’re fine. Food doesn’t have to be smothered in grease to taste good.”

“No, but it sure helps!” Kiri laughed.

“It’s true,” Ares chimed in, gesturing to the pile of fried shrimp on his plate. 

Looking around the table, Kiri noticed that Kida and Destiny were the only ones who had gone for something even remotely “healthy.” Kida had grilled chicken along with her roasted potatoes. Destiny was halfway through a bowl of vegetable soup. Tomlyn had gone for a burger, which he was tackling with a dogged industry, despite the fact it was almost too big for his mouth. Renee, on the other hand, had simply ordered a giant piece of cheesecake. She was happily devouring it, and was already on her third glass of ale.

Their dinners occupied them for the next fifteen minutes, and there was much sampling all around of each other’s dishes. By the time the plates were scraped clean, Kiri was full to the brim, and judged from the expressions on the other’s faces that they were as well. To her dismay, she noticed that Kida was barely halfway through her strawberry daiquiri, having chosen to drink mostly water with her meal. Perhaps it was time to devise another plan.

She glanced around the room and noticed the line of people standing near the door, apparently waiting for tables. “Well, perhaps we should get up and let someone else use this table. I say we go dance!”

“I love dancing!” Renee chirped happily, bouncing to her feet. Kiri laughed and stood as well, pulling Ares to his feet and grinning at Destiny and Kida.

“You ladies going to join us?”

Destiny sighed and stood up, stretching with a groan. “I suppose I might as well. Work off some of this excellent food.”

Kida also rose, holding her drink, but did not seem so excited. “I think I’ll pass. Destiny, when you’re ready to leave, come find me. I’ll probably sit at the bar for now.” Destiny nodded, and she left the table. 

Destiny edged up next to Kiri and spoke quietly in her ear, careful to not let Ares overhear. “Please tell me you have a plan.”

“It’s a work in progress. She’s too strong for me to take her head on.”

“I know that! That’s why I hired you, I figured you were good at being… devious.”

Kiri shot her a look. “Darling, I fight with guns. There’s not much devious about a bullet, it flies straight and doesn’t like to stop.” There was a moment of uneasy silence. “Still, I’ll get the job done. Just you be patient and wait, y’hear?”

“Fine. Just be quick about it!” Destiny hissed.

Kiri rolled her eyes and grabbed the cat by the arm, dragging her towards the dance floor. The other three were already dancing, so they joined them. The band had struck up a lively group dance song, so before long Kiri found herself dragged into a large circle of dancers. The steps were fairly simple to learn just by watching the other dancers, and Kiri was fortunate enough to be a moderately acceptable dancer. They circled one way, then the other, then broke into two groups. Kiri found herself partnered with a handsome, but slightly too young boy for the second part of the dance. He was an excellent dancer, however, and led her easily through the complicated twists and steps. She caught a glimpse of Ares dancing with a beautiful blonde and giggled - he was certainly happy. Her partner gave her an odd look when she laughed, but she brushed it off with a shake of her head.

The dance ended all too soon, and the temporary camaraderie that had formed in the group evaporated quickly. The band began to play a slower song, and couples paired off to sway rhythmically to the music. 

Kiri took the opportunity to duck out of the press of dancers. She spotted Kida at the bar, her back fortunately turned, and paused. Mentally, she inventoried everything she had in her pack, searching for anything that might be useful. Shotgun would be no good, neither would pistols - too loud, would draw too much attention. If she had a silencer, maybe, but she hadn’t found the opportunity to acquire one of those yet.

No use trying a grenade in such confined spaces, she’d only get herself killed too. She had some potions, but only of the healing variety - no handy poisons. Map, compass, pencils, flashlight, all useless. 

Then an idea struck her. If she wasn’t mistaken, she still had the small tranquilizer gun and darts that she had picked up on her last job as protection from wild animals in the Forest of Azale down south. She dropped her pack on a nearby chair and dug through it. Sure enough, tucked in between her spare clothes and her ammunition case was the small bag that held the tranq gun and five thin, almost clear darts. Now that had potential. Firing the gun itself would only draw an undue amount of attention. Besides, it took time for the drug to release from the needle, and if Kida noticed and was quick about it, she could pull the dart out before it had time to take effect. No, she needed to be more subtle than that. Which meant she had to be clever.

Kiri hated being clever. Fortunately, she was good at it even so, and so the solution presented itself easily. She chose one of the five darts and palmed it, a trick she had learned from her father. He had been a street magician for a while in his youth, and had taught her all the easy tricks of sleight-of-hand. With dart in hand, she slipped up behind Kida. Once she was within ten feet, she stopped all pretense of being secretive, and strode up to Kida and slapped her on the back, turning the dart so it pierced her clothing and skin and lodged in her back.

“Hey there, sword-girl! Y’looked lonely, thought I might come keep ya company,” Kiri said loudly. Kida just glared at her, and Kiri had to fight to keep from hopping with glee. She hadn’t noticed the dart! It was only a matter of time, now.

“Why? You looked like you were having a good time out there dancing,” Kida said flatly, clearly not interested in conversation.

“Oh, y’know me, always lookin’ out for everyone’s welfare. Don’t want anyone bein’ bored at our little celebration here.” As she talked, Kiri noticed Kida blinking groggily, her brow creasing in a frown.

“What… what did you… what did you do?” Kida muttered, swinging her arm towards Kiri and missing by at least a foot. She overbalanced and nearly fell, only Kiri’s quick movement preventing it. 

“Easy there, easy. Calm down…” Noticing a few curious stares, Kiri grinned and ruffled Kida’s hair, supporting the now unconscious girl with an arm around her waist. “My friend here just had a bit too much t’drink. Y’know how it is…” There were knowing grins and laughs all around. 

Destiny chose that moment to make her appearance. “I was watching from the dance floor,” she murmured quietly, under her breath. “Very smooth.” Kiri couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or serious, but chose to take it as the latter.

“Thanks. Help me carry her, will you?” The last was said out loud for the benefit of those still watching them. Destiny willingly took Kida’s feet, grasping them by the ankles and lifting. Kiri had one hand under each arm, and together they managed to maneuver the unconscious angel across the room and up the stairs. There were a few moments of near-catastrophe, when Destiny nearly tripped over one of Kida’s trailing wingtips, and when Kiri almost missed a step going backwards, but finally they made it to the second floor of the tavern, where the rooms and suites were.

“My room is on the left, third down. We can drop her there,” Kiri said. Destiny nodded in agreement and they continued down the hall. Once they reached the door there was another moment of awkwardness. Finally, Kiri just motioned for Destiny to help her sit Kida down and lean her against the wall. That done, Kiri could fish in her pocket for the key, then unlock and open the door, allowing them to drag Kida the rest of the way inside and lift her up onto the bed.

Kiri stood up straight and pulled out her pistol, cocking it and looking at Destiny with one eyebrow raised.

“Are you sure you want me to do this?”

Day Twenty Seven and a half - Bonus! 45,693/50k

Kiri was growing desperate. The magic flying through the air was setting her teeth on edge and making her hair stand on end in a very unpleasant manner. And worse, she was running low on bullets. She had been firing off her shotgun in the general direction of Midas since the battle began, but she could only hope that she was actually hitting. The flashing lights of the spells being cast made accurate aiming nearly impossible. It only got worse when Destiny and the other two joined the fray. The only positive aspect to this all was that none of the spells were aimed at her!

Midas and Black Diamond had to be immensely powerful wizards to still be standing with the sheer amount of magic they were throwing at each other. Then again, a good amount of it seemed to be shields that deflected the other’s spells, but still. All she could do was the prodding spell, and one handy little Water spell that paralyzed the target. If it hit, that is, and if she was succesful casting it. Which were big ifs. She was no wizard, after all. Better stick to her guns for now.

Even that wasn’t going to work for much longer, now. She paused to reload and found to her dismay that she only had six cartridges left. Her mind raced, mentally going over what she had in her bag. There were always her revolvers, but if her shotgun wasn’t doing much damage, the pistols would do even less. She had a smoke bomb or two, but it wasn’t like anyone could see anything anyways. 

Then it hit her. At the bottom of her pack were two grenades that she had bought way back in Onsen before she ever took on this job. They had completely slipped her mind, but now would definitely be the time to use them - if ever. She slipped a hand into her pack and felt around until her hand came in contact with the familiar cool, round, ridged metal shape of one of the grenades. Her hand closed around it and she pulled it out quickly. A quick prayer for luck to whatever gods might have been listening, and she yanked the pin out and chucked it as hard as she could towards Midas.

Black Diamond must have noticed it, because she felt the magic that had been holding her in place weaken for a moment. She took the opportunity and bolted, running as hard as she could down the alley away from the battle. Footsteps and a quick glance behind her showed that Tomlyn was doing the same thing. Seconds later, the grenade went off, the shock wave knocking them off their feet.

After the smoke had cleared, Kiri got to her feet shakily and looked back towards the others. Apparently her aim had been off a bit. Midas was still standing, his arm raised and his face streaked with soot, but otherwise unharmed. Black Diamond, on the other hand, had been thrown backwards and was now sitting on the ground holding his arm, which appeared to be bleeding. Kiri muttered a curse but shrugged and continued to flee - so she’d hit the wrong one, but at least she was free. Without her pay, maybe, but alive.

Her cursing changed from a mutter to a shout when she found herself unable to flee. Apparently Black Diamond had regained his senses. Once again she found her limbs moving of their own volition, carrying her all unwilling back towards the battle. 

“You will not leave me! I command you to fight! Defend me!” Black Diamond practically screamed, the air growing dark around him. In fact, everything was growing dark. He seemed to be drawing Chaos to him, preparing for some new attack. Kiri pulled out her revolver, but kept it by her side, ready in case things went crazy again.

Black Diamond continued to draw the darkness towards him, but Midas acted before he could. He took his staff, raised it high in the air, then slammed it down on the ground. From the point of impact came a flash of blinding light, so bright Kiri was forced to close her eyes or risk losing her sight. When she could finally open them again, she saw Black Diamond lying prone and all too still on the ground.

Midas sagged to one side, the effort of that last spell apparently having drained him thoroughly. Kida quickly stepped over to help him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He said something to her, too quiet for Kiri to hear, and Kida began helping him walk forwards towards his fallen foe. Kiri quickly moved forward as well, stopping a few feet away, well within hearing. Midas dropped to his knees next to the other man and laid his hand on Black Diamond’s forehead.

“Matt…” he said quietly. “Matt, it’s time to wake up now. The Chaos is gone, you can come back now.”

Unbelievably, the still form of the man stirred and began to breathe again, color rushing back into his cheeks. After a long moment, he sat up and blinked, looking around with a puzzled expression. There was something different about him, and it took Kiri a moment to realize it - his eyes were no longer black. Now they were blue, a clear, brilliant blue that fit his face much better. Instead of the scowl or smirk he had worn before, his lips now curved into a brilliant smile.

“Midas, you did it!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms around the other man.

Kiri stood there in shock, blinking. None of this made sense.

“Wait a minute…” she said. “Weren’t you two just enemies?”

Midas helped Black Diamond to his feet, both of their faces transformed by happiness, as if a great weight had been lifted off both of them.

“Yes, we were,” Midas answered. “Black Diamond was, in fact, my enemy. This is not Black Diamond. This is Matt Fisher, my best friend since we were children.”

Kiri just looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “That makes no sense.”

“Doesn’t it?” Black Diamond - or rather, Matt Fisher - said. “When we were students in Blowin, I made the mistake of delving too deep into Chaos. It took me over, turning me into a slave of the darkness. I became Black Diamond. Midas has spent the past ten years studying Chaos as well, trying to find a way to free me. And you succeeded, didn’t you, old friend?” He clapped Midas on the back, his strength returning almost visibly, moment by moment.

There was an odd, choked sound from behind her, and Kiri turned to see Destiny stifling what was either laughter or sobs, or some cross between the two. She shook her head and left the two men to their happy reunion, along with Kida and Ares, who had come to join them. Tomlyn was helping Renee, who had hidden behind a box during the fight and seemed to be suffering from a slight panic attack. Kiri considered going to check on her, but Tomlyn was handling it just fine. And now Destiny was beckoning to her, an odd look on her face.

“You all right?” Kiri asked once she had reached the ninja.

“Yes, yes… it’s just that everything’s finally coming clear. I mean, we knew about Matt Fisher and Black Diamond…”

“You did?” Kiri interrupted.

“Oh yes, Zadkiel told us.”

“Who’s Zadkiel?”

“Nevermind that. Anyways, we knew about them, but not that they were the same person! It makes so much sense now!”

“Really? ‘Cause I’m still confused.”

“That’s ok. Besides, I… I need your help with something.”

Kiri noticed that Destiny’s expression had changed, grown serious. Where before she had been almost exuberant, barely containing her laughter, now she was almost grim, and was staring with an odd intensity at Kida. At least, Kiri thought it was at Kida, it could have been Ares - they were standing right next to each other, after all.

“You need my help?” Kiri couldn’t help the sarcasm in her voice. After all, they had just been on opposite sides of a massive magical battle. “Oh, this should be interesting.”

Destiny seemed to ignore the snarkiness. “I need to put a hit on my friend over there. I’ll pay you two hundred and fifty gold.” She nodded in the direction of her two companions.

Kiri let out a low whistle at the amount. “You must really want ‘em dead. Which one?”

“Kida, the one you can’t stand.” 

Despite herself, Kiri found herself surprised and a bit reluctant. True, she felt a certain amount of animosity towards the blade-loving snob, but not enough to kill her without motivation. And from what she’d managed to pick up, Kida and Destiny were friends - good ones, at that. So she couldn’t help but ask: “Why?”

“I have my reasons,” was Destiny’s only reply.

“Well, I figured that…” Kiri heaved a sigh. Clearly she would get no better explanation than that, and the money was… well, very attractive. Especially when the job involved killing someone she really didn’t like in the first place. “How much time do I have?” she finally asked.

“You have one day.”

Kiri blinked at her in shock. “That’s mighty short notice. I’ll… well, I’ll think about it. What if I don’t finish the job? I still get paid?”

“You get the gold when you complete the job. Don’t complete it, no gold.” Destiny clearly was not budging on this aspect of their growing agreement.

“All right, well… like I said, I’ll think about it.”

“How will I know if you agree?” Destiny asked. Kiri cocked an eyebrow at her.

“If Kida turns up dead within the next day, that will be a pretty good sign, I’d think.”

Destiny seemed about to argue, so Kiri added. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you in the loop, ok?”

“Fine… just don’t go running your mouth and telling her, all right?”

“Pfft. What do you think I am, an amateur?” Kiri laughed. Now that she had the job, her mind had started plotting as usual. This might actually turn out to be fun! The first step was to keep them all together as a group. She knew if she didn’t take action the party would probably fragment back into its individual parts, and it would be rather difficult to kill Kida if she took off with Destiny and their new wizard friend again.

An idea occurred to her, and she pulled Destiny over to the others, who were still gathered around Midas and Black Dia… Matt. A jerk of her head had Tomlyn and Renee joining them as well.

“Hey, well, isn’t this great? Two old friends reunited, and no one dead. This calls for a celebration! I say we hit up the local tavern and get roaring drunk, what do you say?”

Matt grinned and looked at Midas, elbowing him in the ribs. “Sounds good to me, what do you say?”

“Apparently the Chaos has messed with your head. Don’t you remember what happens when we wizards get drunk?” Midas scolded. “We’ve caused enough property damage already with our little spat.” Midas motioned to the alley around them. The walls were cracked and charred - Kiri felt a bit sheepish when she realized a large part of that damage had been caused by her grenade.

“I think we’ll pass,” Midas continued. “But you kids go have fun.”

Before Kiri could object to being referred to as a kid, Matt distracted her by pulling out a generous bag of gold. “Before I forget,” he said. “You carried out your job perfectly, so I believe I owe you this.” He tossed the bag to her and she caught it easily. From the feel of it, there was a good deal more than the two thousand he’d promised her. 

Heck, if things kept going this well Kiri would be a rich woman before long! It was almost enough to make her question the job from Destiny - two-fifty wasn’t all that much compared with what she was just paid. But it would be so much fun… While she pondered, she pocketed the gold with a smile and a quick “Thanks!”

“No, thank you, Kiri. Without you, without all of you…” He looked around at all of them. “Midas would never have been able to save you. So I say again, thank you. Words simply cannot express my gratitude.”

There were murmurs of acceptance and assuredness that “Oh, it was nothing,” and “We were glad to,” from all involved. Then, with a good bit of urging from Kiri, they managed to set off in a group - minus Matt and Midas - to the nearby tavern. Destiny shot Kiri a look as they left the alley, which Kiri pointedly ignored. Plans were already taking shape in her mind. The night to come might just prove more interesting than the day that had just passed.

Day Twenty Seven - 43,535/50k

Destiny squinted as the bright sunshine outside the dojo hit her eyes. Ares came out behind her, Kida leaning heavily on his shoulder. The poor girl had trained just a bit too hard, and was still recovering from a particularly hard blow to the head. The plan was now to head back to the house and rest for a few hours, then go out somewhere for dinner. 

As they walked, Destiny felt her muscles complaining quietly, still sore from training with the man with the dragon tattoos. It bothered her that she didn’t know his name, or even just something to call him, but she supposed it was for the best. There was no way she could betray or turn against him this way - not that she would. He had won her respect, and with it her allegiance.

It had turned into a beautiful day outside, the sun keeping the air warm and banishing most of the late autumn chill. This was probably one of the last truly warm days Gerse would have before winter set in. They’d probably already had their first snow up in Blowin. Destiny couldn’t believe time had moved so fast - had it really been two weeks ago that they were in the wizard city? So much had changed… she looked over at the still-dizzy Kida. By the end of the next day, her friend had to be dead by her hands.

Dark thoughts began to swirl in her mind, but were abruptly banished by the sight of an all-too familiar diminutive mercenary accompanied by a very strange entourage. There was the hunter, and the girl, Renee, but between them was a man dressed in black who she recognized with a shock. It was Midas. His hands were tied at the wrist in front of them, and Kiri appeared to be holding a rope that was connected to them.

They were walking straight towards them, and before Destiny could say anything, Kida had noticed them as well. 

“You!” she snapped, pushing away from Ares and taking a few shaky steps forward. “What are you doing with him?”

“Who, Midas? Well, if you must know, he surrendered himself to me. Quite nicely, in fact.” Kiri grinned, but one of her hands fell to its pistol, loosening it in the holster.

“I don’t believe you…” Kida hissed. Kiri shrugged and glanced back at Midas.

“Tell ‘em,” she said, and gave the rope a tug.

Midas stepped forward, managing to appear almost regal despite the rope. “Yes, it is true. I surrendered myself to the mercenary girl. I wish to confront Black Diamond, and saw no reason to deprive her of the completion of a job that was assigned to her on unfair terms. I dislike it when people are used as pawns, as she was.”

From the look in Kiri’s eyes, Destiny could tell this was an explanation she had heard before, but still didn’t like. Destiny could understand. Learning that you had merely been a pawn in a game between two people was an unsettling feeling - similar to the feeling she herself had when she thought too hard about the task the Wor clan had asked her to carry out. 

Kida still didn’t seem happy, glaring at Kiri the whole time Midas was speaking. “So what happens now? Why are you here in Gerse?”

“Because you are here, as is Black Diamond.”

“How do you know?”

Midas smiled secretively. “Trust me, I know. In fact, if you all would be so kind as to follow me, I believe I can take us to him.”

Glances were exchanged between the members of each party, and a quick whispered conference took place on the other side. As far as she went, Destiny knew she would follow. She wanted to see how things would play out between Midas and Black Diamond. Clearly there was more to their conflict than was apparent. What Zadkiel had told them revealed that much. If Black Diamond had been the one responsible for the disappearence of Midas’s friend, Matt Fisher, then Destiny could easily understand his desire for revenge.

Then again, Midas didn’t act like a man out for revenge. It was a mystery, and one that Destiny fully intended to solve. So when Kida looked at her questioningly, she nodded. Ares did as well, although it was with a rather bemused expression. It struck Destiny that he had only the barest of notions about what was going on. When Kiri had given her approval of the plan and they set off, Destiny dropped back to walk next to Ares. In a whisper, she filled him in on the high points of their adventures, including all that both Midas and Zadkiel had told them. By the time she had finished, they’d ended up in an almost abandoned section of town, and Ares looked only slightly less confused.

Midas led them around one final turn, into a narrow alley between two warehouses. Standing not fifty feet away was a man. He, too, was wearing all black, although his came in the form of a tailored three-piece suit. His hair was impeccably groomed, his face handsome in a hard, almost cruel way. It was his eyes, though, that caught Destiny’s attention. They were pure black, no pupil or white. Just a pool of darkness.

With a slight movement of his hands, Midas slipped out of the rope, ignoring the startled look of indignation that appeared on Kiri’s face. He stepped towards the man and nodded his head slightly.

“Black Diamond. We meet at last.”

“Indeed we do,” the man replied. His voice did not seem to fit with his appearance. It was too light and high pitched, the tenor voice of a young man, not of an evil, Chaos-possessed wizard. Then his eyes flicked to her, and she felt a shudder of fear run through her at the sheer force of his gaze. Fortunately, he only lingered on her for a moment, favoring each of the others with a moment’s look, ending with Kiri. With an unpleasant smile, he swept her an elegant bow.

“My dear… you have performed your job admirably, but I am afraid I must ask more of you. You see, Midas here has only come with you because he intends to fight me. I must ask for your help in the battle that is to come.” Behind the polite mockery of his words, there was an underlying current of power that Destiny was glad was not directed her way.

Kiri immediately shook her head and stepped back, hands raising in denial. “Oh no,” she said. “The contract was just to bring him to you. Never said anything about fighting.”

“Oh, I am aware of that. It amuses me that you think I would abide by your little contract, but such is the world of the mercenary. Now, it seems you made the mistake of assuming I offered you a choice. You will be helping me. As will you, Tomlyn. My service is not so easy to escape.” He lifted his hand and beckoned. Kiri and Tomlyn both jerked oddly, then began walking forward. It was strange and almost painful to watch, as both were clearly fighting whatever magic was directing their movements. They looked like broken puppets, staggering down the alley then turning once they were flanking Black Diamond.

“I expect you to give your all in this fight, lest I am forced to exact my revenge on you. Or perhaps…” He looked at Renee. “On your little friend there.”

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Kiri shouted, fighting all the harder against his control. Destiny had the feeling the girl would have attacked Black Diamond if she had been able to.

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t. Unless you cross me, that is.”

All this time, Midas had been silent, watching the proceedings with an expressionless gaze. Now he stepped forward, raising his cane. It lengthened and thickened, becoming a full fledged wizard’s staff in his hand as they watched.

“Enough. This quarrel has gone on long enough. Let us end it.”

“Yes, let’s.” Black Diamond agreed with another of his unpleasant smiles. He flicked his hand and a wizard’s staff appeared out of thin air, floating in front of him. He grasped it lightly and placed it on the ground in front of him, the mirror of Midas’s stance. There was a moment of absolute silence, then all hell broke loose in the alley. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, fire roared. From Midas there came multicolored threads and swirls of magic, each of the elements being called upon, although a large part of them seemed to be the white of Hope spells. From Black Diamond there also came multicolored spells, but they were dominated by the black tendrils that swept around them. To Destiny’s horror, within moments the black Chaos spells were beginning to overwhelm Midas’s.

She heard a voice in her head. “Please, I need your help. We must not let him win! Do not bother with physical attacks, they will not harm him. If you wish to help me, direct what spells you have at him. Disregard the others, focus on him!”

Destiny was about to wonder what he was talking about when she realized that Kiri and Tomlyn had joined the fray. Kiri had a shotgun in her hands and was steadily firing at Midas. The bullets disappeared into the blaze of spells, but she could only assume some of them were striking home. Tomlyn had a pistol, but was alternating shooting with the casting of a Lightning spell Destiny didn’t recognize.

She made her decision in a moment. Closing her eyes, she searched for the pool of magic within her. While she knew a variety of spells, most of them were minor. There was only one that would truly be helpful in a situation like this. She focused her attention on the space in front of her, stretching out her hands to aid her concentration. With a single shouted word, she sent a fireball flying towards the mass of darkness that surrounded Black Diamond. The spell struck and seemed to splatter against an invisible shield. Although she couldn’t tell if it had done any good, Destiny kept going. She cast fireball after fireball at Black Diamond, hoping that they were at least distracting him.

To one side, she could see Kida, sword held out in front of her. The light that poured from its blade was purest white, the physical manifestation of the Hope spell she was casting. Ares stood next to her, staff held high, mouth moving in a steady stream of chanting. As a wizard, it was clear he knew a much wider variety of much stronger spells, as the tendrils of light that flashed from his staff actually seemed to be fighting off some of Black Diamond’s spells.

Still, it seemed that all they had managed to do was bring the battle to a draw. Neither side seemed to be gaining or losing ground anymore. And still the air crackled with magic.

Day Twenty Six - 41,686/50k

Kida and Destiny landed in the outskirts of Gerse in the middle of the morning. The whole night before they had steered by the light that shone from the lake to the west. For some reason, the light had made Destiny uncomfortable, although Kida kept going on and on about how beautiful it was. Destiny was just glad it was day now, the brightness of the sunlight drowning out any strange glowing. 

Gerse had grown since the last time she was here. With the beautiful weather of this time of the year the tourist season was in full swing, so the town was full of people. Most of the activity was concentrated around the lake, but the boutiques and small craft shops lining the main street of town also drew quite a crowd. Among the gayly dressed tourists in their flowery dresses and pastel fabrics, the man in the black cloak stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. When Destiny spotted him, she grabbed Kida’s arm and pointed.

“Look! Black cloak, there!”

“You think it’s Midas?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Let’s go!” 

Destiny weaved through the crowd easily, soon catching up to the man. It was pretty clear before she ever reached him that it wasn’t Midas. The man was the wrong height and build, for one, and there was no sign of the trademark dragon-headed cane. Instead, the man carried a large wizard’s staff. Even so, Destiny had to be sure, so she reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him short and spinning him around to face her.

Sure enough, the man looked nothing like Midas now that she was closer. He had dark hair and brown eyes with a spark of amusement in them, and was handsome in a conventional way. He held his staff in front of him defensively, but relaxed it almost immediately when he saw who had grabbed him. Destiny held his attention for just a moment before his eyes flicked over to Kida, and his entire expression changed. His lips widened into a grin, his eyes brightened, and he stood up a bit straighter.

“Well hello there…” he said in a low voice. He looked her up and down, not bothering to be subtle.

Kida just glared at him. It didn’t seem to phase him, which Destiny found rather hilarious. 

“What might two beautiful ladies such as yourself be doing in a town like Gerse?” he asked, making it very clear he thought little of the place.

Destiny didn’t miss the fact that he had included her in his compliment, but before she could respond Kida had spoken.

“What might a arrogant little man like yourself be doing in a town like Gerse?” she quipped, twisting the end of the sentence to imply that Gerse was far too nice a town for such as he.

For a moment, Destiny almost thought they were going to come to blows, then the man burst out laughing, the tension in the air evaporating as quickly as it had formed.

“Touché. Well played, I have to say. My name is Ares, I’m here in town visiting my uncle, he owns the magic shop a few blocks over.”

Kida still seemed to be annoyed, so Destiny answered. “Nice to meet you, Ares. I’m Destiny, this is Kida. Oddly enough, we’re also here to visit your uncle. Not that we knew he was your uncle…” she paused for a moment, then shook her head and continued. “We’re running an errand, we have a package to deliver to him.”

“Ah, you must be from Anaxagoras, then. Uncle said he was expecting something. Come on, I’ll show you where his shop is!”

Before Kida could protest he had set off down the street, leaving the girls no choice but to follow. 

“I don’t like him…” Kida muttered, so quiet even Destiny could barely hear her.

“What, because he complimented you?”

Kida didn’t answer, but Destiny knew the answer was probably yes. Destiny knew Kida probably felt her character had been called in to question, or some such nonsense. True, the man - Ares - had come off as a bit of a lech at first, but for some reason Destiny didn’t so much mind. It was clear, to her at least, that he’d just been joking with them. At least, mostly joking. 

He was walking quietly in front of them now, glancing back every so often to make sure they were following. They ducked into a small side street, then into an even smaller alley before Ares stopped in front of a unremarkable little wooden door and knocked.

“Is this a magic shop or an illegal operation?” Kida asked dryly. 

Ares laughed and shook his head. “No, this is just the back door. Easier than fighting the crowds around front, believe me.”

A few minutes after he knocked, the door creaked open and an elderly man stepped out, peering at them over the top of wire-rimmed glasses.

“Eh? What’s that? Ares, who be these two?” 

“Uncle, this is Destiny and Kida,” Ares answered, speaking very loud and enunciating clearly. “They have a package from Anaxagoras.”

The old man’s face, which until now had been twisted in an unpleasant grimace, suddenly broke into a wide smile. “Ah! Ye must be the two Zadkiel sent with me herbs, yes?”

Kida glanced sideways at Destiny, clearly trying her hardest not to laugh. 

“Yes, sir, that’s us. Here, this is for you,” Destiny said, neatly preventing Kida from having to speak through her stifled giggles. Fortunately, the man didn’t even seem to notice Kida’s predicament, although whether that was due to the distraction of the package, or just to his poor hearing, Destiny didn’t know. 

“Excellent, yes, excellent! Thank ye dearie, I’ve been waiting on these quite a while now… yes, yes, this will be excellent…” The old man continued to mutter to himself as he turned and went back inside, shutting the door behind him with his foot. 

Destiny looked at Ares, then at Kida, then all three burst into laughter.

“He, without a doubt, is the best old man I have ever met!” Kida managed to gasp. Maybe it was just the release of tension after all the disturbing events of the past weeks, but somehow their laughter just kept going. Long after the only moderate hilarity of Ares’s uncle had subsided, the continued to laugh at each other. The giggles would subside, then eye contact would be made and they would start right back up again. Finally, when oxygen deprivation began to be a serious issue, they managed to calm down to just mild, occasional chuckles.

“Oh that felt good…” Ares sighed. “I haven’t laughed like that in ages.”

“Me neither,” Kida said. Any animosity between the two seemed to have been forgotten in the sudden and rather surprising development of a budding friendship. Ares looked from one to the other, then stood up straight from where he’d been leaning against the wall next to the door.

“Would you ladies like to stay with me? My uncle’s house is not far from here, and he almost always sleeps above the shop, so there’s plenty of room. That is, if you didn’t have other plans. I understand if you want to get back home to Anaxagoras…”

“Are you kidding me?” Kida interjected. “We have no intentions of going back hom until we’ve had a little fun out here in the world. Gerse is as good a place as any to start! Right, Destiny?”

“Sure. We’d be glad to stay with you as long as you’ll have us,” Destiny replied, somewhat more sedately. 

With that decided, Ares led the way to the two story townhome that his uncle owned. After they had dropped their stuff and had a quick lunch, they set out for an afternoon of shopping. While Gerse was nothing compared to Lumo Bay or Blowin, it did have quite a nice array of antique and knick-knack shops. They returned that night with lighter pockets and heavier bags. 

The guest room had bunk beds, so Kida and Destiny shared the room while Ares slept upstairs in his uncle’s room. The novelty of sleeping in a strange bed in a strange house, which normally would have kept Destiny up for a while, was drowned out by the exhaustion from their busy day. The moment she fell asleep, she found herself once again in a dream. There was an all-too familiar ring of blue fire around her, but things seemed more out of focus this time, like she was looking through clouded glass. 

A voice spoke, but she could not tell which of the shadowy figures outside the ring of flame was the speaker.

“Friends will betray you… family will turn away… but Wor Clan will never leave you. All you have to do is kill her, and you can join us…”

Destiny could only nod. “I understand. When the time is right, it will be done. I need more time to prepare.”

“The sooner the better. We will not wait forever… do not fail us.” The voice seemed irritated now, almost impatient. 

“I understand,” Destiny said again. “It… It will happen before the end of the week.”

“You have three days..”

Before she could reply again, the scene blurred even more, into darkness, and she awoke with a startled gasp. Kida rolled over in the bunk above her, but otherwise there was no indication she had noticed anything amiss. Destiny stared up at the slats of the top bunk, fighting to calm her breathing. Maybe she should just do it now. It would be so easy. A pillow over Kida’s face, or a katana to her chest… the mere thought of it made Destiny shudder, and she realized something. There was no way she could do this herself. She simply didn’t have the willpower, the guts, to do it. She couldn’t see how she could ever bring herself to kill her childhood friend… but the clan. The Wor Clan, they had called themselves. The promise of power was alluring, as was the mystery of their nature. Who were they? What did they want with her? Why did they want Kida dead?

Those questions, and others, chased circles around her mind. Sleep evaded her for the rest of the night, her thoughts a jumble of questions and plans for the deed she was to do within three days time. It seemed impossible one moment, all too easy the next, inconceivable the next. 

The next morning, Destiny was out of bed with the sun, going for a short jog around the neighborhood to clear her head. When she returned she found Kida sitting at the table with Ares, eating breakfast and chatting companionably. They both looked up when she came in, questioning looks on their faces.

“Just went for a jog. I’m going to go wash up and change, be right down,” Destiny said quickly, and escaped into the guest room before they could engage her in conversation. She couldn’t deal with talking to Kida right now, not after her dream. 

She showered quickly and dressed in clean clothes, packing the rest of her belongings and new purchases away neatly. True, they were probably not leaving for another few days, but Destiny wanted to be ready in case circumstances required a hasty departure. When she  re-emerged into the dining room, it was with a cheerful mask firmly in place, all thoughts of murder shoved neatly to the back of her mind.

“So!” she chirped, grabbing an apple and joining the other two at the table. “What are the plans for today?”

“Well,” Kida said. “Ares here tells me there’s a pretty decent dojo in town. We though we might stop by, see if we can get some training done. I’m getting a little rusty with just you to spar against.”

Destiny wrinkled her nose at Kida, but managed a laugh. “Sounds good to me. I wouldn’t mind a bit of a workout.” It would be nice to just be physical for a day, focus on training her body rather than her mind. And maybe a training accident would work… No, she couldn’t think about that.

“Well, if we’re all agreed, I say we set out as soon as we finish breakfast,” Ares said.

Destiny held up her apple. “I can eat on the go.”

“And I’m done, so let’s move it!” Kida said, standing and taking her empty bowl to the sink.

They spent a few minutes gathering their various weapons and gear for training, then once again the two girls followed Ares as they set off for the dojo. It was only a few blocks away, so they were there within a few minutes. It was a rather unassuming building, but once they stepped inside they found the familiar raised training floor, the air filled with the sounds of sparring and martial arts practice.

Destiny slipped her sandals off at the corner of the floor and stepped up onto it, immediately scanning the people there for someone she could train with. In the shadows towards the back, she saw something that set her heart racing. A tall, powerfully-built man was stretching in preparation for his work out, wearing nothing more than a pair of loose pants. On his arms, snaking around them up to his chest, were two tattoos. Dragons, one red and one blue. With a shock of recognition, she realized it was the same man she had seen in her dream, the first one. He was the one who had seemed to be in charge. This was not a chance she could pass up.

She approached him, bowing politely when he looked up at her. The look in his eyes banished whatever else she had intended to say - it was anger, bordering on rage, and recognition, much as she had felt upon seeing him.

“Excuse me, sensei,” she began, using the term of respect just to be safe. “I was wondering… may I train with you?”

The anger seemed to drain from his eyes a bit, and the muscles he had tensed eased slightly. He must have been afraid that she would confront him, or betray his identity, but she now had no intention of that. Frankly, the man scared her like nothing else, but she also felt an odd respect for him, along with a strange familiarity.

“What would you like to train?” His voice was low and rumbling, with an odd accent that she couldn’t quite place.

“I am reasonably well versed in Okii-Yuri, sensei, but I still have much to learn. Would you teach me?”

He seemed to consider her words for a moment, then smiled. The expression held no humor, though - it was just the barest twitch of his lips.

“Very well. You seem an apt pupil. Ready yourself.”

She bowed again and moved into stretches of her own, feeling her muscles loosen and warm up as she moved. The moves and blocks of Okii-Yuri ran through her head as she prepared, and she found to her delight that she could remember them perfectly. Actually carrying them out was another thing entirely, but she felt reasonably confident in her abilities. Okii-Yuri was defensive, after all, and she was gifted with the speed and agility of the cat race.

When she felt she was ready, she turned to face the man again. They exchanged bows, then he beckoned for her to take the first attack. With a will, she stepped towards him, raising her arm to strike a blow. Before she could blink, he had grabbed her arm and whipped her around, sending her tumbling towards the floor. With reflexes bred through long practice, she tucked and rolled, coming up on her feet just in time to see his foot whipping towards her. She barely dodged it, skipping backwards in a fight to regain her balance. He was fast, preternaturally so. Certainly faster than her. She had chosen her training partner wisely.

Over the next several hours, Destiny found her every muscle worked to its limit. The tattooed man pushed her hard, forcing her to repeat techniques over and over until she could execute them flawlessly, without thinking, with a speed that, while far from equal with his, was still more than enough to stymy most average opponents. By the time he stepped back and bowed once more, signalling the end of their training session, she felt drained - but in a good way. Her mind was spinning and her muscles were sore, but the adrenaline and endorphins from the excercise coursed through her veins, leaving her feeling almost giddy. 

“Thank you, sensei. You are an excellent teacher.”

“You are a willing pupil, young one. You still have much to learn, but you have skill, there is no doubt there.”

Destiny felt an unusual glow of pride at his words. For some reason, his respect meant more to her than it should have. Then again, he was the leader of a clan she now desperately wanted to join. No assassin could fight like that, they had to be ninjas. Perhaps they only wore masks for safety’s sake, to hide their identity from their enemies. And if they wanted Kida dead, there must be a reason. She must be a threat to them in some way. Who was she to question them, really?

“I thank you for your words, sensei. I hope to not disappoint you.” Destiny lifted her head and met his gaze. She saw clearly that he understood the double meaning behind her words. She would not fail him now. He had entrusted her with this task, and she would carry it out with honor.

Ares called her name from across the dojo and she glanced over her shoulder at him, mouthing that she would be there in a moment. When she turned back around, the man with the dragon tattoos was gone. Destiny could only shake her head and sigh, and mutter under her breath.

“Ninja…” 

Day Twenty Three - 38,681/50k

The Mist Plains of Corad. Kiri hated this place, she really did. After they had pitched their tent for the night, Kiri had volunteered to take first watch and was now regretting that decision. She was exhausted, and cold, and the damp fog had slowly but surely soaked through her leather jacket, so now she was wet too. Everything was covered in a film of miniscule water droplets, and the air had a thick, green smell to it that seemed to ooze from the moss and other plants that covered the ground. The vegetation in the Mist Plains was all of a strange sort, the kind that loved water but did not need much sun. There was no grass, but the moss gave the turf a springy feel that was actually rather pleasant to walk on. Not that one wanted to do much walking in the Mist Plains, it was too easy to get lost, even with a map and a compass.

Kiri sat huddled into as compact a ball as she could, arms wrapped around knees drawn up to her chest, blanket over her head like a hood, completely miserable. To make it worse, it was horribly boring. At least when she normally kept watch she could stargaze, or watch for animal life. Here, she could barely see the tent three feet behind her, much less anything else. Her imagination had started to play tricks on her, conjuring strange, eerie shapes out of the eddies and swirls of the mist. It was not like cloud watching, there were no ducks or ships or dogs to be found in this water vapor. Instead there were ghosts and spectres and demons swirling and battling in the depths of the fog. 

So caught up was she in watching the shapes that when she heard the roar, she at first thought it was simply her imagination going one step further. It was soft, barely a growl at the edge of her hearing. Then it came again, louder this time, and she bolted to her feet. Something was definitely out there. Something big too, judging from how deep and resonant the roar had been. Now she imagined she could hear footsteps… now she could definitely hear footsteps, thudding loud and slow into the ground. Louder and louder they grew, until the very ground she sat on shook. Now she could hear breathing, and the occasional snort and sniff, like a bull blowing air from its nose in anger before a fight. She peered into the mist, trying vainly to see something, anything. The thought crossed her mind that she should wake the others, but she dismissed it. There was no need to get them killed too, maybe the… whatever it was, wouldn’t notice them.

It was only clinging to that small thread of hope that kept her from screaming and running as the noises the creature made continued to grow louder and closer. Then she saw the wing.

It cut through the fog about fifteen feet above her head, leaving a gap behind it that slowly closed. It was dark red in color, and there was an odd clawlike finger at the very tip. At first, that was all she could see - the tip - but apparently whatever it belonged to was walking at an angle towards them, because the wing grew steadily larger and larger as more of it broke through the fog. Soon she could see the shadowy outline of the beast, and her mind promptly rebelled at the sheer size of it. It was at least half again as tall as the largest airplane she had ever seen, and nearly twice as long, although a good portion of that length was taken up by the tail which whipped back and forth, occasionally breaking out of the mist as well. 

It grew closer and closer, until it’s feet were landing not five yards away from where she sat. The wing stretched out over their little camp, and several times the tail flicked so close it almost touched her. Kiri could only pray to whatever gods were listening that it couldn’t see them. It’s head and body were still nothing more than shadows in the mist, but she had no idea if its vision was any better than hers. Just in case, she kept as still as she could, barely daring to breathe, hoping against hope that neither Renee nor Tomlyn chose this moment to snore. 

The gods must have been watching over them that night, because the beast passed them by. Its footsteps remained steady and slow, and its wing slowly disappeared back into the fog along with the tail and the shadowy mass of its body. Only when she could no longer hear any trace of its footsteps did she let out the long breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. That was also when the panic decided to set in.

She sat and shook for a long while, trying to keep her sobs as quiet as possible. Kiri could handle danger, she really could. She could stare down the barrel of a gun without blinking, face down a master of spells or swords without pause, and even professed to love the adrenaline rush that came from putting herself in dangerous situations. But this was something entirely different. Unless she was gravely mistaken, that had been a dragon. As in, the mythological beasts that no one really believed actually existed anymore. Sure, way back hundreds of years ago they had basically ruled this continent with their cruel intelligence. But then mankind had come along with their magic and science and had hunted them to extinction. Or so everyone thought. There were always rumors of sightings but Kiri had never really believed them. Not until now, at least. Now, well, she had kind of been presented with incontrovertable proof, at least as far as she was concerned. No one else would believe her, unless they had seen a dragon for themselves, but now she knew the truth.

When Tomlyn came to relieve her, she didn’t say a word about the strange events of the night. Some of it must have showed on her face, because he gave her an odd look, but thankfully remained silent.

“Careful… it’s easy to drift off, watching the mist,” was all she said to him before clambering carefully into the tent. She snuggled into the sleeping bag next to Renee, grateful for the warmth, but found sleep an elusive catch. It took a long time spent staring wide-eyed at the wall of the tent before she could finally drift off. When she finally did, red wings haunted her dreams.

The next morning, they packed up as quickly as possible. They had been smart the night before and had laid out the hammock carefully, so the ropes weren’t knotted and tangled this time. It was, however, soaking wet and twice as heavy as usual. Tomlyn and Renee had to struggle to get airborne with Kiri sitting in it, but once they had managed to climb above the mist, the sun started to dry everything out and the flight became much easier and smoother. Within a few hours they had left the Mist Plains behind them and were soaring over farmland and rolling hills. As time moved on, the hills grew more and more frequent - and taller. Before long, they were clearly into the foothills of the mountain range that dominated the horizon. Kiri shouted up to Tomlyn to aim for one of the passes between peaks, as she didn’t fancy trying to fly straight over them. She rather liked being able to breathe. Fortunately, they managed to find a convenient valley, and soon had left the mountain range behind them. On the other side was a stretch of forest, and then, on the horizon, the sea. 

Renee seemed to regain her bearings the moment they crossed the mountains. This was country she was familiar with, apparently. Of course, if Kiri’s calculations were correct, across the sea just out of sight in front of them was Port Antil, nestled in bay on the northernmost point of the massive landmass that was too large to be considered an island, but too small for a proper continent. Most people just called it Sicary-Saru, after the mountain peak - the tallest in all Geonova - that dominated the landscape, or Antil, after the port city. 

As they approached the sea over the next hour, they began to steadily descend. Flying across that expanse of water with no hope of stopping to rest would be a bad idea, they needed to find passage. A boat, perhaps a local fisherman or some such vessel. They made a soft landing in the dunes and packed up the hammock, stuffing it into the most empty of the three bags - Renee’s. Kiri expected her to complain at the added weight, but surprisingly enough, the girl remained quiet. Strangely quiet, in fact. She had a pensive, almost worried look on her face that Kiri had never seen before. It was probably nothing, so Kiri dismissed it. Touchy-feely comforting talks were not her thing, and there had been far too many of those as late for her to even consider initiating one. 

After a brief consultation of Kiri’s map and compass, they set off north along the shore, keeping to the damp, hard-packed sand near the water as it was easier to walk on. The air was heavy with the smell of salt and the moisture off the ocean. It could have easily been too hot, but the steady, brisk breeze off the ocean kept it pleasant. The crunch of the sand underfoot and the occasional cry of a seagull or heron or other coastal bird were the only background noise on the lonely stretch of beach, and the amount of breath required for the occasionally strenuous hiking around tide pools and over dunes and driftwood made conversation difficult, and usually limited to the pointing out of a particularly pretty shell - in Renee’s case - or a partially decomposed dead jellyfish - in Kiri’s case. That is, until Kiri spotted something ahead of them that most adamantly did not belong.

“What is that?” she said quietly, lifting her arm and pointing. Tomlyn squinted in the direction indicated, but Renee held back, seeming almost frightened. Of what, Kiri couldn’t say, but it was odd.

What had caught her attention was a person standing on the beach about a mile from their current position. As they watched, two others came down from the dunes to join the one standing just shy of the point where the surf washed up on the sand. Those three were the first sign of humanity besides themselves that they had seen all day, and it struck Kiri as very strange that they should just happen to be here, right where they were sure not to miss them. She glanced at Renee, but the girl refused to meet her eyes, apparently engrossed in a clam shell embedded in the sand that she was poking with her foot.

“Well… it appears that they are waiting for something. For us. Let’s not keep them any longer, shall we?” To tell the truth, Kiri was sick of all this running and searching and hunting. She was ready for a fight. She didn’t know who these three people were, but she would be damned if they didn’t get either some help or a good fight out of them. There was no neutral ground at this point.

Growing closer, Kiri realized one very important thing that put all thoughts of a potential fight out of her mind. The first person she had seen was clad in a black wizard’s cloak. Carried lightly in one hand was a very familiar black staff, the sunlight glinting off it’s silver head. Although she was too far away to see the details of the cane, Kiri would wager a guess that the silver top was shaped like a dragon, with red ruby eyes. Midas. How he had known where they would be she could only guess, but it would be an educated one. Renee working for Midas had seemed all too convenient, but Kiri had not bothered to question it in her delight at finally having a lead. If she was not mistaken, Renee had probably been sent to join them from the very beginning, to keep an eye on them and perhaps even to guide them the whole way to this very spot.

Well, if it was the time for a confrontation, Kiri was as ready as she would ever be. As soon as they were within earshot, Kiri stopped and shouted. “I wish to speak to Midas alone! Just the two of us, no interference!” She looked pointedly at Tomlyn and Renee as she spoke. They both nodded, although Tomlyn seemed very reluctant, and no words were needed. Kiri knew they would stay out of it, although she had her doubts as to Tomlyn’s self-control if it came to a fight between Midas and her. Then again, while she didn’t want them to get hurt she wouldn’t mind backup. In a fight against Midas, she imagined she would be entirely outclassed.

There was a long silence from Midas and his two companions. Finally, a shout came, carried on the wind. “Very well! We shall meet in the middle.” A moment more, and she saw the man with the cane begin to walk slowly towards them. She started to walk as well, matching her steps to his so that when they finally came face to face, it was almost equally between the two groups.

“Midas. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Indeed. You’ve kept me waiting, Kiri, I expected you to be quicker on the uptake than this,” he replied with a quirk of a smile. She chose to ignore the jibe.

“Well, you know how things are. Journeying and all that, so unpredictable. Why are you here?”

“I might ask the same of you.”

Kiri frowned. She had no patience for his games. “You know perfectly well why I am here. I’m looking for you.”

“To capture me and take me off to your employer, Black Diamond, no doubt.”

“Well, I can’t deny, that is the general idea of the plan.”

“And do you imagine you could capture me successfully if I did not wish to go with you?” There was a note of confidence in his voice, bordering on arrogance. Kiri had to grit her teeth to respond in a civil tone of voice.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

“Will we really?”

Kiri had no response to his clearly rhetorical question, so she simply waited, her hand resting on the gun at her hip which hung loose in its holster. Midas was silent for a long moment, his eyes thoughtful. When he finally moved, it was neither to speak nor to attack. He merely held his arms out, wrists together, palms towards her.

“Tie me up. I am surrendering to you. Take me to Black Diamond, it is high time he and I had it out between the two of us.”

Kiri stood there in a state of shock for a good minute before his words finally registered in her mind. Her initial reaction was to be suspicious, but as she further considered his words she realized… he might actually be serious. If he was ready to confront Black Diamond, this was as good a way as any to return to him. She also did not miss the fact that he was doing her a favor. If she returned to Black Diamond with Midas in tow, she would - technically - have completed her job, and therefore be owed the rest of her pay. If, on the other hand, Midas had simply sought Black Diamond out on his own, Kiri would have been left with nothing. Midas was being exceedingly kind to her.

Kiri hated it. She hated having to rely on the kindness of others, and that frustration caused her to be needlessly rough in looping her rope securely around his wrists and tying it in a tight knot. Although she knew the rope had to be digging painfully into his wrists, Midas’s only reaction was a quiet look that made her feel like a small child again. She grumbled under her breath and tugged on the length of rope leading to his wrists, checking to make sure it was secure. 

“What about your companions?” she growled. “Will they try to interfere?”

“I have instructed them to follow my lead. They will not bother you, fear not,” he answered calmly.

“What makes you think I was afraid?” she snapped. He gave her the look again, but she turned away rather than acknowledge it and waved to Renee and Tomlyn. Once they were close enough to hear she explained the situation to them. The look of relief on Renee’s face gave her away, but it also made Kiri feel a bit better about trusting her. It was clear that betraying Kiri’s confidence had hurt Renee, and that she had never wanted things to turn into a fight. Having betrayed or turned on many an erstwhile companion in the past, Kiri could hardly hold it against the poor girl. And besides, she rather liked Renee, even if she did work for the “enemy.”

“Looks like we’re going to have to walk now,” she sighed, looking from the bound Midas to her two crewmates. Midas was a tall, well-built man. There was no way the slim Renee and lanky Tomlyn would be able to carry both him and herself. She had been an easy burden, being on the whole rather small, but this was another matter entirely.

Tomlyn chose that moment to speak up. “Where are we going? Now that we have our quarry, where do we take him?”

“Well…” Kiri thought for a second. “My thought was to head towards Onsen. That was where Black Diamond approached both of us, so it’s probably our best bet for finding him again.”

“Ah, if I may,” Midas interjected. “If I’m not entirely mistaken, you will likely find him in Gerse at the moment, along with a few of our mutual friends.”

“Friends?”

“Why yes, do you not consider the ninja, Destiny, and the swordswoman, Kida, as friends? I myself have witnessed you speaking to them on several occasions.” The lightly joking tone in his voice, combined with the reminder that he had been watching them the whole time did nothing for Kiri’s temper. 

“And how do you know that? Just a wild guess, or do you have some sort of telepathic abilities along with your magic?” she snapped sarcastically. Telepathy and the other mental skills were generally reserved for scientists, wizards rarely if ever touched them. So it was a surprise when Midas answered her.

“Why, yes, actually. How else did you imagine I communicated with Renee here? I’m sure you’ve deduced by now that she had been working for me this whole time.”

Renee nodded miserably when he gestured towards her with his bound hands.

“Well, yeah, that was pretty obvious. But I know she didn’t want to, and she’s been a brave companion. I don’t hold it against her.”

“And well you shouldn’t. It took quite a bit of convincing for her to turn on you, and I had to promise not to engage you in an open fight as well.”

Kiri kept a tight hold on her pride, allowing herself only to feel grateful to Renee for protecting them from such a fight, which would have no doubt ended in mortal injury or death on her part.

“Right, well, enough talk. To Gerse it is, I suppose,” she grumbled. 

Kiri wrapped the rope leading to Midas’s bound wrists around her own hands and took the lead. Renee dropped back to walk next to Midas, Tomlyn behind them to bring up the rear. The going was a good deal rougher than the beach had been, as they were forced to climb back up towards the mountains, although the road to Gerse they soon came upon led through a low pass in the range. 

It was a long walk along that road, made longer by the tense silence that characterized their days. They made camp each night with only minimal speaking. Kiri would tie off the rope to a convenient tree or root, only releasing Midas to escort him to relieve himself in the mornings. She refused to entrust him to anyone else, taking full responsibility for him, with all the stress and inconvenience that came with it. 

Every so often they would be passed by a vehicle on the road - a truck, or wagon, or even once a car speeding along. Once they were out of the mountains they entered a dark forest, the branches of the pines that made it up lacing overhead to block out the sun. It took them a day to journey through it, and when they finally broke through on the other side they could see the large lake in the distance that Gerse was situated on. That night the horizon was lit by an ethereal glow from the direction of the lake, a veritable pillar of light rising from its surface.

“Gerse means light, in the old language,” Kiri told Renee as they sat side by side watching the light and the stars. “They say there’s an unusual amount of luminite in the lake, that’s what makes it glow.” She pulled a small lump of rock out of her pocket. It glowed a bright green in the darkness. “I picked this up last time I was there. Beach of the lake is covered in ‘em, all different colors.” The rock went back in her pocket.

“What do you think will happen once we get there?” Renee asked timidly.

“I don’t know, good buddy. I really don’t know. Probably a fight of some sort, once we find Black Diamond. If there is, you stay out of it, you hear me? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m a mercenary. Fighting’s what I do.”