Myth: Rumor Copyright 1998 Renee a.k.a. Alethea All "NiGHTS" characters and related indicia mentioned herein are copyright and TM by one or more of the following: Sega Enterprises, and/or Sega of America. Used without permission Dunamis, Alethea, Rhian, Talitha, Salpinx, Aldwyn, Nettle, Tarragon, Thumos, Pomp, Zephyr, Nikao, Kurios, the bakus, and related characters and indicia copyright Renee. This document may be freely distributed as long as it is not modified in any way. Kudos to God for lots of help in my writing Myth: Rumor Reala glided down the dark, dank, stone hallway. Torches were the only light source down in the prison. The head of the guards flew a few feet ahead of Reala. " How many rebels did we catch this time around, Sergeant?" " Just the usual, sir. A couple of Minions." The guard paused in front of a door. " Is wizeman ready to interrogate them already?" " No. I'm here to find out how exactly the 'maren rebel escaped." The Sergeant frowned. " Colonel Gillwing authorized him to be moved to the infirmary." " I'm aware of that. I'm interested in his first escape." " As far as his first escape, we don't know. The only thing we can figure is that his cell was unlocked; other than that he couldn't have gotten out." " So the guard forgot to lock the door." " Well, he said he locked it. I think he forgot. After all, 'maren just don't wander in and out of the prison. Only certain beings have access to the prison." " Which ones." " Guards, physicians, high ranking officials, other than that they have to have permission." " You had no special requests?" " None, sir." " Who came into the prison after he was captured?" The guard paused. " The regular shifts of guards, no one else came before his escape." " Let me see the cell." The two of them flew to the door and the Sergeant opened the door. Reala walked inside. Nothing seemed different from any average cell. Reala looked around for several minutes before walking out. " I want to talk to those guards." " I'll find out who they were and get them here as soon as possible." *** Nights watched the others 'maren carefully. These were the best of his troops: Dunamis, Salpinx, Aldwyn, and a few others. They had plenty of experience, and Nights knew how valuable their opinions were. He trusted their advice more than any other troops in the army, and made it a point to listen carefully to what they had to say. They were all so different from one another. Salpinx was one of the oldest by age as well as enlistment in the Nightopian army. Certainly he was not very old in Nightmaren age; Nightmaren have very long life spans, at least three times a normal human one, and often times longer. He was very calculating and experienced in combat on a large scale. Dunamis was younger. He was impulsive and very eager to get to fight. He loved combat between individuals, better than large-scale warfare, and seemed, miraculously, able to survive to spite his reckless behavior. Aldwyn was one of the newest to join the Nightopian army. He had experience not in open combat as much as in espionage. Aldwyn also had a very keen knowledge of the responses that the Nightmaren officials had in certain situations, especially Jackle, whom he had served under. Better than that, he knew the under lying factions with in Nightmare, the groups who struggled against one another for superiority, and how these groups would react to one another. This was invaluable information that had saved much time and lives. Still, none of them, even Aldwyn, knew wizeman as well as Nights. Nights had learned that all of them filled individual spaces impossible for others to fill, and that the King, as He did with all who were His, told them things that He did not tell the others, which He wanted them to share. The King had always been that way, and listening to His others was something that could spare you a lot of grief. Why the King did that, Nights felt sure he knew. He wanted them to work together. None of His 'maren were more important to Him than another, and He did not want anyone thinking that they knew everything. " I think they will. After all, they've been pretty quiet the last few months." The others looked at Dunamis. Aldwyn was still a bit unnerved at this sudden and strange decision on wizeman's part, and unlike Dunamis, he did not want to jump into something that was a potential death trap. " wizeman will have a new trick up his sleeve, though. He won't try it the same way." Nights nodded. " I'm not sure what he's thinking right now." Nights sighed." More than likely he just wants to test us and see how strong we are. We've gotten a number of new recruits. he's probably just testing the waters hoping to find a weak spot." Salpinx winced a little. His shoulder had healed, but his arm and ribs were a different matter. " So," Salpinx paused and looked at the others. " What are we going to do?" *** The tall creature slid through the leaves, hardly making a sound. She paused and watched the frighten Gao. The creature bent closer to the ground, like an enormous lion, snapping a small twig. The Gao blinked. Everything looked blurry. He stumbled a few feet forward and leaned against a tree. A loud crunching sound startled him. The Gao stared running again. It's after me! He ran faster. He though he could see a glimpse of white flash through the leaves. *** Several hours later, Nights and a handful of other 'maren stood around impatiently. Alethea watched them. With the new rumors about an invasion, the Nightopian army had to find out if it was true, and when an how the attack was planned. They had been waiting all morning to leave and were getting restless. Nights glided over to the barracks and shouted up toward one of the windows. " Hurry up Dunamis! You're always the last one to get ready!" " Sorry." " Don't be sorry, hurry up!" " I am hurrying!" Alethea smirked. Dunamis burst out of the door and over to the waiting troops. Salpinx was in a sullen mood. He watched the troops who were starting to leave, and glanced down at his ribs. It had been awhile since he had been injured, but he had not recovered enough to go with them. Instead, he found himself bored and irritable. This was not difficult. He had a tendency to be very irritable and crabby. Alethea smiled at him. " Don't worry, you almost well enough; I'll take the cast off of your arm when I get back. You shouldn't have to lay around for much longer." Salpinx growled his response. " I'm going to worn you; I'm rabid at the moment, and unless you want me to bite your head off, don't talk to me." " ALETHEA COME ON!" She turned and glanced at Nights. Salpinx grumped to himself as she flew off. Rhian watched them timidly. Salpinx glared at her. " WHY ARE YOU STARING! THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Rhian shrank and hurried away.