Sonic the Hedgehog copyright SEGA Enterprises LTD. Jared Matte copyright himself. Roland copyright himself... but he's not really an innkeeper and I took his personality and twisted it around and made him somewhat serious, so it hardly seems like him. But he gave me permission to use him anyway. All characters copyright Delphine Kiminsu unless otherwise noted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Knowledge Part 1: A Frightening Turn of Events --Delphine Kiminsu onic groaned, blinked, and sat up. "Oh man... what the heck happened..." The memory suddenly filtered back to him. "Uh oh. Where am I?" "Freeze!" He looked over his shoulder. A female woman that looked to be in her thirties stood there, her gun pointed at him. She was wearing a faded, black leather jacket over a green shirt with a low v-neck. She wore blue denim boot leg jeans over black boots. "Er..." "Who are you?" "Um... Sonic." "Who do you work for?" "I work for myself. ...where am I?" "...New Hampshire." "There's a planet called New Hampshire?" The woman blinked. "Oh my. No, you're on Earth." "At least... how do I get outa here?" The woman sighed and holstered her gun. "That could be a problem. Where are you from?" "Mobius." "C'mon, I'll bring you to the Checkpoint." "The what?" "It's an organization I run. Come on." He stood up and followed her. She walked across a small stream and onto a small 'island' that was in-between the stream and a river. She put her hand on a pine branch and pushed it down. A square opening in the ground rose up, silently. The woman walked down the steps, Sonic quickly following her. The large opening closed above them, and the woman opened a door. Sonic walked into the largest building he had ever seen in his whole life. And the most amazing part was that it was underground. "Follow me, please." She led him down a couple of flights of stairs and through a door. A man looked up from the paper he was reading. He was sitting in a swivel chair. "Hey Saph. What is it?" "Do we have the co-ordinates of Mobius?" The man sat up and typed at the computer console in front of him. "Hold on, I'm looking it up..." They waited a moment while the computer loaded. "Dimension Five, Universe Four... Sub co-ordinates 5818, -6734. I don't believe we have the parameters for a transport at the moment. What's the problem?" "Well, this young man has happened here quite by accident, and I assume he wishes to go back." "Yup," Sonic agreed. The man shrugged. "Sorry. We can have it up and running within a week, though." The woman turned to Sonic. "I'm sorry about this. Would you like to stay with us until the week is up?" "Sure," Sonic said with a shrug. "I'll show you where you can stay." Sonic followed her out of the room. Rafael stood on the roof, one foot up on the ledge, his arm leaning against it. "What did you see out there?" "Sapphire Rodgers helping an alien life form, sir. He took her to the Checkpoint... and I saw her go in." Rafael looked over his shoulder. "You... know how to get in?" "Yes." Rafael looked towards the horizon. "First thing tomorrow morning, gather together my troops." "Yes sir." Frederick saluted, then ran down the stairs. "This should be... interesting." Rafael turned around and walked down the steps. He looked around until he saw his mother, and then walked over to her. "Mother?" Tiffany turned her head to look at him, and smiled. "Yes Rafael?" "We've found the Checkpoint. We know how to get in. We're leaving tomorrow morning." Tiffany's smile widened. "I'm proud of you." She kissed his forehead. "You should get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow." "Yes, I know, mother." He smiled at her, and then headed to his room. Tiffany sighed and turned around. "This has been going on far, far too long," she murmured to herself. "I hope it ends soon. Before someone else gets killed..." Rafael and Fred ran up to the spot Sapphire had been in the day before. "This is it?" Rafael asked quietly. "Yeah," Fred whispered back. He quickly repeated the move Sapphire had made a day earlier. The entrance opened. "Bingo," Rafael whispered. Sonic walked around the Checkpoint, wishing he were back home. He still had many, many things to take care of... An alarm went off. great, things only go bad for me... "THE CHECKPOINT HAS BEEN INVADED," the computer voice exclaimed, "DO NOT PANIC. SECURITY TEAMS ARE ON THEIR WAY. DO NOT PANIC." The message repeated itself. "I should help..." Sonic ran after the security guards he had seen walk past him before. "How did they find us?! HOW DID THEY GET IN?!" "Faith, calm down and aim!" Shots rattled off incessantly. The Checkpoint Members were hidden behind the curves in the hallway, while the Sanctuary troops were hiding behind boxes. "We'll fight them off eventually!" "No we won't," Faith whispered, but no one heard over the gunshots. Sonic ran up, but he saw no way that he could help. So he ran the other way, looking for the exit. I'll just come back after the week is over and see if everything is okay he thought to himself as he stealthily exited the place. Looking around, he found that he was in the middle of forest. "This could take awhile." Sonic wandered around for three days, until he ran into a young girl. "Hello there. Sonic Hedgehog, right?" He looked up at the girl. "Who're you?!" "You could call me a friend... but I doubt you will." She paused. "I can get you home." He jumped up. "What?! How?!" "I need to tell you something first," she said quietly. "What?" "You being sent here was done by some people you trust." "...wh... Who?" "Delphine, her human friends, and Sally." "Wh... but... Sal's... dead... and Delphine... she wouldn't do that!" "How can you be so sure about any of that?" "You're lying." "No. Sally faked her death. Together, she and the humans plotted against you, and sent you here. And then... Delphine killed Sally. For real this time." "Wh... wh... b, but..." "I'm sorry. I know this is hard to understand... the rest of the Freedom Fighters already distrust the humans. They have been chased out of Knothole... but they don't know about Sally. I don't think you should tell them." "I... I understand." His expression turned cold. "Send me home." The girl nodded. She took a small, round piece of equipment out of her pocket, and pressed several buttons. A portal opened. "Be careful, Sonic. They may try to do this again." "I will. Thanks." He jumped through the portal, and landed somewhere in the Great Forest. The girl closed the portal. In an instant, she disappeared, leaving Kaserine behind in her place. "Well. I believe things have gone... rather well." She chuckled. "Very well indeed." She fell into uncontrollable laughter. *** Delphine stood on the porch of Dimitria's hut, leaning against the railing, looking off into the distance. She stood there in silence, thinking about everything that had happened in the past month or so. Trying to make sense of it. She also had the sense that something was happening that she needed to know about, but didn't -- she felt that she was missing something. "Delphine?" a voice asked as the door opened behind her. She looked over her shoulder and said, "What is it Dimitria?" Dimitria walked up and stood next to her, looking at the same horizon Delphine had been staring at a moment ago. "You are used to living like this," Dimitria said after a moment of silence. "But I believe the others do not like such close quarters." "What are you saying?" "There is a place I believe we can go where we will be safe from... well." "Dimi..." "We all need a break." She smiled. "There's this little inn, on the planet Kyun, somewhere in the Fourth Dimension... We could stay there for a time." "I... I think that that would be a good idea, Dimi." They smiled at each other. "Good. All right, I shall... tell the others." She walked back towards the door, but then turned again and said, "Delphine? Do... you still trust me?" Delphine smiled. "Of course I do. I... I understand why you kept certain things from me. It's okay." Dimitria smiled. "Sometimes I wonder which of is is the adult and which is the child." She walked back into the house. Delphine glimpsed back at the trees. "So do I." She turned and walked into the hut. "We're going on vacation?" a voice asked as Delphine walked through the door. "You could call it that." "Well what would YOU call it?" Devon Delphine thought with a grin. "A... getaway. A holiday," Dimitria answered. "All synonyms for a vacation," Devon argued. "A break," Dimitria continued. "A vacation," Devon said. "OKAY children, that's enough," Delphine said as she walked into the kitchen. "We're going on a trip." "See, that works. A trip doesn't necessarily have to be a vacation," Devon said. "I am going to hurt that boy," Dimitria muttered to Delphine. Delphine stifled a laugh and said, "You started it." "No I didn't!" Dimitria exclaimed. "Su-ure you didn't." Delphine grinned to show that she was kidding, then glanced at Devon. "How's Lisa doing?" "She's still sleeping... and so is your boyfriend." "Excuse me?" "I MEAN Jared," Devon said quickly. Dimitria giggled and thought, this is going to be a VERY interesting trip "I heard my name," came a groggy voice from the hall. "Devon's being weird." "Tell me something I don't know," Jared said as he walked into the room. "We're going on vaca-- I mean, a trip." Dimitria sighed and rubbed her forehead. Delphine held a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hold in a laugh. "I'm glad to see you find it amusing," Dimitria said with strain in her voice. "I wasn't laughing, Dimi. I was suppressing my natural urges to... laugh." She paused. "That didn't come out the way I'd planned it." Jared grinned and walked over. "When do we leave?" he asked. "As soon as Lisa wakes up," Dimitria answered. "I'll go check on her... before someone throws something at me, " Devon added. He left the room. "That boy..." "...has the strangest sense of humor," Delphine finished quickly, before Dimitria could say what she wanted to. "Er... yes." "What about Comet and Eva?" "They... have gone on a trip of their own." "...oh..." "What are we going to do when we get there?" "Whatever we want. I... have quite a bit of money stored away." Dimitria grinned. "Oh boy. Don't tell me. It will be all gone in three days if you do," Delphine said with a grin. Dimitria rolled her eyes. "So how are we supposed to get there?" Devon asked when they got outside. Dimitria pulled a small, orb shaped piece of equipment out of her cloak pocket. "By way of portal." "Oh. Of course." He glanced at Lisa and grinned. "You ready for this?" "Uh-huh." She smiled. Dimitria shook her head, then pressed several buttons on the device, opening a portal. "Follow me." They entered the portal. "This place is like New York City a hundred years ago," Devon announced. "You know, no cars and stuff, but lots of weirdoes." Jared smirked. "I bet someone comes up to us and asks if we want to buy a sundial." Devon laughed. "What are they talking about?" Delphine asked Lisa in a hushed voice. "It's an Earth thing. Just ignore them," Lisa whispered back. They looked at each other and giggled. "More like a guy thing." "Yup." Dimitria shook her head and looked around. The town was fairly decent, and had many huts, and many stands selling this and that. People where milling around, buying things and chatting. "Hmm... it's been awhile. I think it's... aha." She saw it, the only real building in the whole place. The inn. The Sidltin Inn. "C'mon, it's just over here." "Oh, wow, a REAL building!" Devon said sarcastically as they walked up to it. "You know I'm surprised." "Don't be rude," Dimitria said as she opened the door. "Hey, I'm just fooling around. Don't worry about it. I won't make a total fool of myself." Dimitria smirked despite herself. She walked in enough to give the others room, then looked around. "Roland? Are you here?" "I'll come out as soon as I recognize your voice." There was a pause. "Ah, Dimitria. Right?" A young man stepped into the large parlor. There were a few tables off to the right, along with a staircase. To the left was the front desk, a door into the kitchen, and a door into the back room. "Thought so. And you brought friends!" Dimitria smiled. "Hello Roland. We'll need three rooms." "That's what I was thinking." "You're a mind-reader?" Devon asked. "No. There are two beds per room, and there are five of you. I'm sure you can do the math." He flashed a business-man type smile. "Oh. I knew that." "I'll have you registered in a minute." "That won't be necessary, Roland," Dimitria said deliberately. He blinked and looked at her. "You in trouble?" "To put it lightly." He nodded and entered fake names into the computer. Delphine blinked. computer? but the town hasn't even invented the wheel yet... She was exaggerating, but it did seem strange that a computer was here in the midst of a town behind in its technology. "I'll get your keys, hold on..." Roland stepped into the back room again. Jared elbowed Delphine lightly. "Seems strange..." he mumbled to her. "You noticed, too?" she mumbled back. "Dimi should have an explanation." "She usually does..." "What're you two talking about?" Devon asked. "Wouldn't you like to know," Delphine said, slightly sarcastically. "Well, yeah, that's why I asked-- ooh, that was supposed to mean, 'mind your own business,' wasn't it?" "Uh-huh." "Sorries." Delphine grinned at him. "Don't worry about it too much..." Roland came back from the room. "Here are the keys to each room... the first three on the left, just up the stairs." Lisa went up and grabbed all three. "C'mon Del, we get first pick!" "Hey, that's not fair!" Devon protested. "Try an' stop us!" Lisa grabbed Delphine's arm and the two ran up the stairs. "This means war! C'mon Jared!" The boys ran up the stairs after them. Dimitria laughed and shook her head. "Roland... there are a few things we need to talk about." "Right. C'mon, back here." Dimitria followed Roland into the back room. He locked it behind him, then turned on the lights. The room hadn't changed much since she was last there. Very high tech, as usual. "Is that a new computer?" "Yup. It comes in different flavors, raspberry, strawberry, grape..." He stopped, realizing she was staring at him. "Sorry, little inside joke -- you know, the kind only I get." Dimitria smirked. "Quite all right. Roland... what have the Dets been up to recently?" "There's news of a new general. It seems she came from way over in Lasak... it's a tiny little village as far away from the border as you can imagine. She has amazing abilities. Technically, mentally..." "Energy?" "It's... Atlantian like." Dimitria gasped. "I know what you're thinking. I... I wish I could deny it. But the evidence shows..." "She... she's back?" "After six-hundred years..." "Dear God... how?! She was destroyed, wasn't she?!" Roland sighed. "She was sealed away. Not destroyed. She should not have been able to get out... but... someone may have helped her." "But couldn't only a Pure descendant...?" She gasped again. "Peter..." "Who?" "He is of the Matte family." "But, wasn't that the sword that boy had?" "They are related... Jared is on our side. Peter is our enemy." "This is rather frightening, Dimitria... Do you know of any other descendants?" "Delphine is one, and..." "Of what family?" "Kiminsu." Roland's jaw dropped. Dimitria grinned. "Oh, did I forget to tell you?" "D... D... Dimitria! For the love of..." "Sorry... heh heh." "Eh, no matter. What about the other two?" "Does either 'Comber' or 'Baerry' ring a bell?" Roland thought for a moment. "Not particularly." Dimitria sighed. "Well, we have two, she has one. That pretty much makes it even, doesn't it?" "I hope so." *** "Was that necessary? Couldn't we have left the stupid bastard there?" "The Freedom Fighters already believe Delphine is against them. This will only prove to strengthen their belief." "I don't get it. She's stronger than half of them put together." "She's human," Kaserine said. Peter rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It just means it'll be easier to kill 'em off." "Let them destroy each other." Peter smirked. "But it's no fun like that." Kaserine smiled. "I like your style, Peter." She paused. "There is something else you must know." "What?" "Your namesake has more importance than just being the same as your brother's." Peter looked at her. "Which means...?" "Do you know of the Atlantians?" "Isn't that some retard legend about some Lost City?" "Similar, yes. Basically, the Atlantians were tired with the planet Earth, so they left it. You happen to be of Atlantian descent." "Say what?" Peter gave her a strange look. It was rather possible that she was insane. "Listen. You know the Energy Delphine is capable of?" "Err, yeah." "You are as well." "...uh-huh, really." He rolled his eyes. "Who put you up to this?" "This is not a joke, Peter. Listen, I'll teach you." He blinked. "You're serious?" She nodded. He smirked. "Okay. Teach me, then." Elenore stepped away from the scene -- she had been hiding in a shadowed hallway leading into the room -- turned on her heel, and fled. She came to a door, flung it open, jumped inside, slapped the door shut behind her, and leaned against it, panting for breath. "Eric... I need... to talk to Eric..." she mumbled to herself. She fumbled with her coat pocket until she pulled out her communicator. It was small, thin, and rectangular. She dialed Eric's number and waited. And waited. After five minutes she gave up. "You've sent me into the most dangerous situation anyone could be in, and you can't even answer my call?" she whispered. "I don't know what to do..." She pocketed the communicator and walked out of the broom closet. She had no idea what to do, and had no one to go to. "I wish he had stayed... he warned me, he could have stayed to help..." She sighed. "Guess I'm on my own. Again." *** Jared was sitting at a table in the downstairs part of the inn, reading an Atlantian book Delphine had given him to keep up with the work. Devon was sitting across from him, playing a deranged version of Solitaire. "Did you know you only have a one in fifty-two chance of getting the card you want? Do you know how annoying that is?" "Your chance increases as you get the correct cards." "That's besides the point. " He paused, "Hey, Algebra wasn't my best subject, okay?" "Me neither." Devon ignored Jared and continued playing his simplified version of Solitaire, and Jared ignored Devon to continue reading the book. "Where have Delphine and Lisa gone off to?" Dimitria asked as she walked in from the back room. Roland was close behind her. "They found out your credit number, took a hell of a lot of your money, and went shopping." This act of giving information took Devon all of five seconds, long enough for Jared to borrow half of the cards remaining in the pile. "Oh, well, that's doesn't matter. As long as they don't get into trouble..." "Yeah, they'll get tarred and feathered for having too much money. Can you say, 'Hick Town'?" Jared asked with a smirk. "Hey, it doesn't look it, but this place is a major trading point," Roland argued. "The people here just like to live a simple life." "Classy way of saying you're broke." "Hey, where're the rest of my cards?!" "Up your--" "We're back!" Lisa announced as she and Delphine walked in the door, each with two shopping bags. "I don't suppose you have any of my gold left?" "Well, yeah, but we decided to save it for later," Delphine answered. Dimitria crossed her arms and grinned. "So, what'd you buy?" Jared asked. Delphine smirked, said, "Wouldn't you like to know," and walked up the stairs with Lisa. Jared blinked, then grinned. "Aw, hell yeah, now I REALLY wanna know." Devon laughed. "This is gonna get illegal, I know it." "Only in developed countries," Jared retorted. Devon laughed again. "Something tells me you won't find out for a long, long, time anyway." "How do you know?" "OKAY, that's enough of that. Why don't the two of you go out and buy a few things? There isn't much chance for this otherwise." Jared and Devon glanced at each other. "Well..." "Oooh, I get to buy a frilly pink dress!" Devon said in a mock falsetto voice. "Oh, oh, I'm going to get a make-over, and get my nails done, and my HAIR..." Jared almost fell out of his chair laughing. "Very funny, ha ha." Dimitria said dryly, and sighed. "Aside from THAT little tidbit, here." She handed them a bag. "It's money, accepted just about everywhere in the Fourth Dimension." Jared opened it and looked inside. "It's just regular gold coins." "How many hot-dog stands do you find that accept gold?" Jared blinked. "I rest my case. Go, shop. Buy power-tools. Whatever." "Something tells me she's trying to get rid of us," Devon said, and after a pause, added, "especially me." "Probably. Let's go." They walked out the door. "That was rather kind. I didn't know you threw your money around like that," Roland said with a grin. "They may not get a chance to have fun like this again for awhile. They're only teenagers. It's okay to indulge them." Roland tsked. "Your mother wouldn't be pleased with THAT remark, young lady." He waved a finger at her. She rolled her eyes. "My mother would have clapped." A young woman entered the inn. She was of average height, and wore tight-fitting clothing. She walked up to the desk. "Do you have a room?" she asked. Her voice was soft, quiet. "Yup. I'll get you a key." Roland yet again went into the back room. The woman smiled at Dimitria. "So, you work here?" "No, I'm a guest here. I just happen to know Roland." "Oh." She sighed. "I come from the city. I can't stand this place, it's so boring... but I guess I don't have much of a choice if I don't want to sleep in a tent again, eh?" "Guess not," Dimitria said softly. Roland came into the room, and handed the woman her keys. "First door on the right, miss. Have a pleasant stay." "Thank you." She walked up the stairs. "Something doesn't seem right," Dimitria whispered. "I know. I'll look into it," Roland answered. *** Peter sat in a chair and sighed. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the information Kaserine had given him -- or his newfound ability. Certainly he could use against the Freedom Fighters... and why had she been so adamant about him learning to use a sword? "Peter? Are you in here?" He looked up, and saw Elenore. "Elenore? I'm over here..." She heard and walked over. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Why?" "You... don't look okay. You look like you have a big decision to make and you don't know what to do." Peter smiled. "Yeah, something like that." He paused. "What's wrong." She blinked. "I... I don't think you should keep this alliance with Kaserine." "What? Why not?" he asked incredulously. "She... she's dangerous, Peter. She's more than you can handle." "I think I can..." he started out testily. "Don't take it as an insult. I meant... she's much more powerful than you think, Peter." Elenore didn't realize that Kaserine was also much more powerful than she thought. "She's out for her own gain. She doesn't give a flip what happens to you..." Peter shook his head and shrugged. "So? Does it really matter? As long as..." "You don't understand!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her chair and flinging it into the wall as she did. "It doesn't matter to her what happens! She'll use you until she can't anymore, and then she'll just..." Elenore let out a grunt of exasperation and turned around, hiding her face. Peter sat for a moment, shocked and confused. Finally, he stood up and walked over to her. "Elenore?" "I just don't want you to get hurt..." she whispered softly. He turned her around, and then wiped away her tears. "I won't get hurt." "She'll..." "I'll watch her, okay? If she starts up with something I can't handle, I'll get out. Okay?" Elenore brought her hands up to her face and half covered her face. "Yeah. Okay. Watch yourself." "Elenore..." He took her chin in his hand, and she looked at him. They kissed. *** The woman who had just checked in to the The Sidltin Inn, Sunami was her name, watched Jared and Devon out of her window. They were wandering around the square, checking out all the stands. She laughed quietly to herself, then walked out of her room. She walked down the hall, stopping in front of a door that had been left open a crack, and peeked in. Delphine and Lisa were going through the things they had bought, talking and laughing. "Did you really have to say that to Jared?" Lisa asked. "Yup." They laughed. "Besides, it's not the ONLY thing I bought," she said. Other than new clothes(which were exactly the same as the ones she already owned, only newer), she had bought a new brown leather pack that went over her shoulder, a new sheath for her dagger, and a little devise similar to the one Dimitria had used to bring them here, instructions included. "You know Dimi's gonna kill you when she finds out you bought that." "Bought what?" Lisa pointed to the orb-shaped devise. "That." "Oh. Well, better safe than sorry, right?" They grinned at each other. The woman shook her head, then walked to the head of the stairs. Roland and Dimitria were talking, probably about something important. Probably about her. Sunami's eyes narrowed. Now would be the best time. As she walked down the stairs, Roland walked into the back room to get something. Even better. "Dimitria," Sunami called out. Dimitria looked over sharply. "How do you know my name?!" "I'll tell you." Dimitria glanced at the door, then came out from behind the counter. "What do you want?" She asked, wary. "Oh, nothing much," Sunami replied. "Just..." She pulled a square device out of her pocket. Dimitria, instantly realizing what is was, knocked it out of Sunami's hand. Sunami gasped and went to retrieve it, but Dimitria pulled her back by her hair and slammed her into the counter. Sunami glared. "You want to fight? Fine." She ran into Dimitria, and they both slammed into the table. Dimitria used the table to push herself up and kicked Sunami. Sunami pushed Dimitria onto the table, and then flipped it over. Dimitria shrieked in pain and slowly pushed the table off of her, while Sunami looked around for the device. By way of some strange luck, Dimitria had landed on the device. She pulled it out from under her and held it up. "Looking for this, bitch?!" Sunami screamed in anger and tackled Dimitria again, sending the device flying into the wall. By now Delphine and Lisa had heard the shouts, and had ran to the stairs to see what was happening. Roland had come out as well, and had ducked under the counter to avoid being hit with something, then decided that staying there was the best bet. "Dimi!" Delphine shouted, and jumped down to the floor, behind Sunami. Lisa took the more conventional route of running down the stairs. Sunami turned around to face Delphine. "Wha-- Kiminsu!" "That's my name." She punched Sunami, knocking her back into Dimitria. "Part of it, anyway." Sunami turned and tripped Dimitria, spotted the device, and ran to get it. Delphine went to Dimitria's side. "Are you okay?" "No time! Don't let her get that device!!" Delphine jumped up, ran to Sunami and yanked her back, causing her to trip over Dimitria and go crashing to the floor, losing the device yet again. The door opened suddenly, and Jared and Devon walked in. "What the hell is going on?!" "I don't know, this woman attacked Dimi and..." "NO!" Dimitria sprang up and stared at Sunami. She had crawled over to the device and picked it up. "Sorry Dimitria, this time, you LOSE!" "NOO!" Dimitria dove for the device. Sunami pressed a button on it. There was a blinding flash of white light. Then it was silent. Slowly, shakily, Roland stood up. He looked around. They were all gone. Dimitria, Delphine, Lisa, Sunami, Jared, Devon... they were gone. "Chr..." He spotted the device on the floor, and walked over to it. It was a Random Portal Disrupter. Which meant that each and ever one of them was in a different place. A different Planet or Flat, a different Universe, a different Dimension... "Damnit." *** Kaserine stood in the middle of the room, devising the best way to carry out the next portion of her plan. First, she would have to find where they had gone, and then get them all in the same place... "Kaserine." She looked over her shoulder. The girl, the Starga, was standing just into the room, in front of the door. "Yes, Elenore?" She may be a Starga, but she is the weaker of the two Kaserine thought to herself. "What do you want with Peter?" Elenore asked quietly. "Really, do you think that is your business?" "Yes." She said, still speaking calmly. Kaserine walked towards Elenore, saying, "I think the real question is, do you want to know?" and stopped halfway between the center of the room and Elenore, watching the girl curiously. Elenore's hands had become illuminated with a white light. Kaserine blinked, then with a sudden realization, understood why Elenore was here. "Tell me. Now." Kaserine laughed lightly. "I don't think you quite understand who I am. Now, calm down and compose yourself. Peter will be along any minute. Do you really want him to see you in this way?" "I don't think you quite understand who I am," Elenore said, her anger rising. "Oh?" Kaserine said with another light laugh, "and who are you?" "I am Elenore Starga, sona Martinus Starga, kita Vuai Starga, and in the name of the Pure I vanquish thee!" Pure white Energy shot out of Elenore's hands and knocked Kaserine off her feet. Kaserine pulled herself into a sitting position, and laughed again. "So, you know the sayings, do you? A pile of words can't save you, Elenore Starga." Kaserine pulled herself up to a standing position, and brushed herself off. "I, girl, am Kaserine Zoena. No sona. No kita. Just Kaserine Zoena." Elenore blinked, wondering why this name rang a bell. "I'm sure you'll recognize the name. I'm actually quite famous among certain circles." Elenore suddenly remembered why she had recognized the name, "Kaserine." "Oh my God," she gasped, and backed off until she bumped into the wall. Kaserine grinned. "Sorry you didn't realize it before. You may have been able to get away alive. But," she paused long enough to call up her own black Energy, "your time, girl, is up." She sent a shot at Elenore, who dove out of the way, rolled, then jumped back up. She called her Energy back up and returned fire. Kaserine crossed her arms in front of her and blocked it. Elenore gasped again, then ducked as it reflected back at her. "It should have dispersed... oh man..." The traded shots again and again. Elenore very suddenly found herself trapped in a corner. Kaserine shot at her relentlessly, hardly giving her time to shield herself. Elenore paled and cursed. There was almost no way she would get out of this alive... "What's going on in here?!" Kaserine stopped and looked up. Peter stood at the door, staring at them. Elenore took this break to run out of the corner and away from Kaserine. "Oh my," Kaserine said. "I told you he would be along shortly. But you would not listen to me Elenore..." "You bitch," she spat. "You Goddamned bitch! Leave him alone!" The tears started to run down her cheeks. "I haven't done anything to him." "Yet!" "Are you feeling all right, Elenore? Perhaps you need to sleep?" Kaserine suggested. Elenore collected a ball of Energy and shot it at Kaserine. She simply ducked, putting Peter in the path of the Energy. "PETER LOOK OUT!!" Peter dove out of the way and landed hard on his chin. The blast hit the wall and dispersed. Peter slowly stood up, shaken. Elenore stared at Kaserine. "Break away from the alliance, Peter. Get out before its too late!" Elenore turned and ran out the door. "Elenore? Elenore!" Peter started to run after her, but Kaserine stopped him. "She's dangerous, Peter. Stay away from her." "I'll decide who's dangerous and who's not!" Peter ran out the door after Elenore. Kaserine sighed. "It's a shame," she said to herself, "I could have used the Starga girl, no matter how weak. Oh well," she said with a shrug, and walked out of the room. Elenore ran past the buildings, past the gate, and into the empty space that became greener as she neared the forest. She tripped, caught herself, tripped again, and fell. She landed on her hands and knees, and started to sob. She stayed like that for some time. "Elenore!" came Peter's voice from far off. She looked over her shoulder and saw him running towards her. She pulled herself up, and ran from him. He quickened his pace, hoping to catch up with her. She had almost made it into the forest when she tripped on a root that was sticking out of the ground, and fell flat on her face. she pushed herself up and spat out dust, which had gotten not only in her mouth but on her entire front side. She pulled her foot out of the root and gasped in pain. She had twisted her ankle. "Elenore! Wait!" Peter had almost caught up with her. She got up and tried to run, but fell again, gasping. She had sprained it badly. Peter ran up to her, and paused to catch his breath before he said anything. "Elenore, what is going on?" "I told you she was dangerous. Why don't you listen to me... why doesn't anybody ever LISTEN TO ME?!" She dropped her head and let out a sob. "Nobody..." "El..." Peter knelt beside her and touched her shoulder. She shrugged his hand off. "No... I can't do this to you... just... go..." "What do you mean?" She didn't say anything. "Elenore?" "Peter... I... I was sent here to... spy on you." His opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came, so he left it open like that. "I'm sorry... I didn't think I'd... fall in love... I don't want to hurt you..." He stood up and backed away from her. She didn't look at him. "So the kiss didn't mean anything. You were just doing your job." "No, you're wrong!" She turned to look at him. "It did mean something!" He laughed and shook his head. "Whatever. Don't worry about it. I didn't mean it either." Elenore winced and looked away. Swallowing her pain, she stood up and shifted her weight to her good foot. "Go. Get out of here. If I ever see you again..." "Yeah, I've heard that one before. You'll kill me," her voice was shaking. "Right." Elenore sighed, held in another sob, and limped away. Peter stared at where she had been, and for almost ten minutes wondered why he had let her walk away. Or why he hadn't gone with her. He sighed, then slowly walked back to Pitopolis, his hands jammed into his pockets. The End. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back