Forum > Tuber's secrets > thread

Words cannot describe the terror I felt a minute ago-- why couldn't I log in?!
After the third try, I realized the caps lock was on. *headdesk*
Well, enough about my personal adventurous life.


Apparently, some people just can't take death in large-ish numbers. They just shut down, block the memory out, or go into denial. The boy called Martin seemed to be one of them, judging from the way he woke up convinced that Avery sedated him at some point yesterday. Tiana had actually gotten up before anyone else, to gather and sort out her thoughts before the others got up. She didn't want to be caught off-guard again, and she didn't sleep well next to total strangers anyway.

Martin was just a boy. The most exhaustion he could have suffered would've been from running errands. Fountain water for a healer, bandages for a doctor, a message from one volunteer to someone with a walkie-talkie, ect, Tiana theorized. She sighed and continued to sip her hot, albeit weak, coffee as she half-listened to the boy demand an explanation. She didn't answer any of his questions, letting him weave conspiracy theories out of the air. No need to make him hysterical. When he calmed down enough, he would slowly realize the truth.


Jason woke up to Justin's deep voice tiredly reproaching someone. At first, Jason was just going to ignore it, but then he smelled coffee and realized that there wasn't enough food in the fridge for everyone. If he wanted any, (and he did,) he'd have to beat everyone else to it.
The scene that presented itself was... unexpected. Martin was sprawled across one of the bar stools and the counter beside it, grinning like a fool. As Jason blinked the sleep from his eyes, he gradually came to understand why Justin was halfheartedly scolding Tiana.
"So lemme get this straight," Jason said as he leaned against the counter, cradling his steaming coffee in one hand and a hot burrito in the other, "You raided Avery's med supplies and drugged the kid?"
"After running out of legitimate possibilities to explain away yesterday, he panicked. He was going to wake the others up with his crying/whimpering." Tiana defended.
"So you drugged him." Jason repeated.
"Everything sounds bad when you say it with that attitude..." Tiana said sulkily.
Jason shook his head. “Incredible.” Justin sighed and massaged his temples with his thumb and middle fingers.
Tiana crossed her arms and glared at the wall. “I don't do kids. Sue me.”
“If the kid's parents find out what you just did, they might.”
“Shut up, Jason.”
Jason grinned and turned to rinse out his coffee mug. “By the way, when did you restock the fridge?”
“After I sent the kid to dreamland.” she muttered.

Avery would later deliver a heated lecture about the dangers of overdosing children.

“I also grabbed some one-size-fits-all things and dropped them by the door. You guys can shower, wash and dry your stuff, then we can give the extra clothes away.”



Eventually, everyone began to gather for the unscheduled meeting that had been coming for some time now. Tiana kicked things off with a question directed at the man she thought of as Ninja; “You're still not going to answer any questions because Zack is a mist user and he isn't present, right?”

He nodded.

“Just checking.”

A knock at the door interrupted Justin before he spoke. Matt was closest, so he opened it, saw who it was, and exclaimed, “Logan! Zack!”
“Speak of the devil,” Tinan said softly.

“Get in here! You two look like you got run over by a truck or something.”
“Feels like it, too.” Zack mumbled. “'Ello, everybody.”
“What happened?” Tim asked. Logan went straight for the fridge as he answered. “We got out of the forest just in time to see the first explosion. We exhausted ourselves and ended up sleeping in the open, then made it to a welcome center terminal to see who posted that comment.”
“Comment?” Justin asked. Logan gestured to Jason before taking a gigantic bite out of a burrito. “Ask him.”

Everyone looked expectantly at Jason, who shrugged and explained the whole deal with Mara and Kian. “...and that's about it. But why bother looking for it?”
“Because,” Tiana cut in, “If they knew your username, which is directly connected with your fingerprints, they could search hotels for a match. Right?”
Zack collapsed on the floor and nursed a mug of coffee. “It was a long shot at best, but the phone lines were down.” he looked at Jason suspiciously. “What kind of a name is Alpha Kenny Juan?”

Jason gave an embarrassed smile. “It was an identity experiment that didn't turn out well. Don't ask.”

“Ooookay... but why would you use that name instead of 'Jason so-and-so'?"

“Because,” he replied, “not checking in under a different name is a snap. In other cities, you can usually just tell them your name and check in under it; but when your name is automatically matched to your fingerprints, it's much harder. Trust me, I've tried it before.”

“Well, at least you found us," Dylan said. "That's what counts, right?”

“Guess so." Logan crumpled a wrapper and tossed it in the trash can.


Everyone agreed to postpone the meeting until the other two had cleaned up. While waiting, Tiana turned on the news. There was a lot of footage but not very much substance; par for the course in news networks these days. Nobody knew who was behind the destruction, how it was done or why. The only things any of the news channels had to offer were mostly interviews for speculation, video footage, and articles of heroism scattered throughout.
Tiana thumbed the power button. There was no new information besides the hero stories after the first five minutes, and continuing to watch was just depressing. But... the hero stories were hope-inspiring for people like Martin. If only the rest of it weren't so hopeless... it made her so angry. The news stations were probably dancing in their seats. What a scoop! What opportunity for budding journalists! History being made, never mind the fact that it was a tragedy-- this would make their ratings skyrocket! More shock and awe video! More mystery around the source so that the reveal will make the public go crazy! More emotion! More tears!
It filled her with rage just imagining it!

So, after someone spotted Avery in the background behind a newscaster, Tiana decided to turn it into a “Where's Waldo?” contest. Justin's squads of twos, threes, and fours were spotted several times. Somebody had caught footage of the boulder of doom which nearly squashed Jason and Tiana. Another camera watched Justin leap from the window of a collapsing building to the fire escape of another-- with a baby in his arms.
Trying to fight the depression before it started, Tiana began cheering for every act of bravery that came about.
“What a great guy!”
“Oh-ho-HO! I didn't think he could make that leap. Well done, sir, well done!”
“Niiiiice. Didja see that slide? She must play a lot of baseball.”
“Oh, excellent teamwork! That move was very well executed.”
“Oooh, I see what you did there, Evan!”
“DUDE! That was EPIC!”
She also began to mute the T.V. during stupid interviews, making up silly answers of her own after the questions were asked of the interviewees.
Matt and Tim went along with it, quipping left and right while pretending to be announcers for pretty much everything. They all decided it was much more entertaining when muted, so they misread lips on purpose and made up lines when there were no lips to humorously misread. They only quieted down for the heroic stories, thus showing their respect to what really mattered.

At last, they assembled for the real deal. Tiana hoisted herself up onto the countertop and folded her legs, Indian style. From there, she stared at Ninja. "Well, you got your wish; everyone is here."

“So it would seem,” he acknowledged.

“Then start talking.”



True to his word, Skylar had not returned to the car except to loot the mini fridge for water. Only once did Molly ask him to take her to the restroom; afterwards, she went back to sleep.
Daylight was breaking as an announcement was made over loudspeakers. Repeatedly.
"THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL. PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A HOME TO WHICH YOU CAN RETURN, AN OFFICER WILL GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE NEAREST SHELTER."
Skylar finally got back in the car. His suit and his shoes were ruined; his tie was loose; his hair was a dirty mess; his hands were blistered and raw; he was covered in debris dust and ash; his gold watch was missing; his entire body was covered in semi-dried sweat. He also looked incredibly pleased with himself.

"I suppose you enjoyed yourself?" the A.I. said sarcastically.

Skylar pretended not to notice. "Very much so, thank you Sebastian." he replied. He turned in his seat to face the alien in the bear suit. "Would you mind if we took a couple of passengers?"

"Sir, I must protest--"

"Nonsense," Skylar waved it off dismissively. "They're very tired and have been traveling on foot for days. The Outer Plains isn't quite the right word for it now..."
He pondered for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Ah, I have it! They were caught up in the Tangled Ring-- a ring around the Architect Dimension. Ironic, is it not? Civilization surrounded by nature, a forest with the jewel of modern technology at its center-- but I digress. They're just catching a ride to the Welcome Center."

"And who might 'they' be?" Sebastian asked, once again resigned to his fate.

Skylar gestured to the two silhouettes through the window, and they began to approach the doors.
“Their names are Zack and Logan.”

Words cannot describe the terror I felt a minute ago-- why couldn't I log in?!
After the third try, I realized the caps lock was on. *headdesk*
Yes I know that feeling from other games, screaming something like "Oh my gawd I got hacked - Oh wait it's alright!"

Ha! IKR? Scares me half to death every time.
Since I'm not gonna be here much for a while, here's something you guys can do; Give me songs. I'm thinking of a sort of requiem, in light of what's happened. Something that Shawn could write (perhaps coupled with (an)other artist(s),) for Indigo to sing. Heck, I draw a ton of inspiration from songs, so just toss anything in. I make no promises, though; I refuse to use rap or death metal or anything with lyrics I don't like.
Go nuts!

Nothing? Anybody? Oh, well.



Ninja-- whose name was, in fact, Rafe --had transferred the images from his flash drive to the plasma screen. He had explained a little more with each frame.

Once upon a time, a time before the aliens appeared, there was a certain people. These people were extremely rare, and had been both a part of the fantasy world and the real world. They lived in one as they slept in the other; each believed one world they stood in to be real, and the other, a dream. When they lived in the world of fairies and dragons, they believed it was real and reality a nightmare; but once they woke in 'reality' they thought differently. Because of the surreal qualities of the 'fantasy' world, they tended to believe it was just that; fantasy. If they died in one world, they continued to live in the other, and their sleep was black and empty.
When they were a part of the fantasy world, they had certain powers. Some could change their form; others, the environment. Their powers ranged from illusion in the air, to sound without cause, to the creation of temporary mass-- mass that had not existed before, and ceased to be at a nod from its master.

One in particular was a girl, and she lived with her scientist father and brother in the north pole. She knew not what her father was doing, as she was forbidden to set foot in his lab; her older brother studied the animals who lived in the harsh environment every day. As for herself, she preformed her school and housework, wondering about her amazingly realistic, and yet surreal, dreams. She wrote of her adventures every morning, and kept up the habit in the other world. She compared the journal from her 'dreams' to whichever one she held in her hands, and finally concluded that the two were records of separate worlds, and that she somehow lived in both. Her main goal from then on was to find others like herself, but first, she needed data. She decided to root herself in 'reality' and collect as much information as she could from 'fantasy'. With the knowledge she gathered, she would try to compare her 'dreams' with others'. She wrote everything in a little leather-bound book, which she received as a birthday present from her father.
Tragically, she died; how, we do not know. Alone, lost in the snow, and protecting her little book, she fell into an eternal, icy sleep. The aliens found her and retrieved her book, thus identifying the Rare Ones.

After the two worlds merged, the aliens abducted every living thing and put them in stasis; however, about 0.2% of the humans woke up at various times, pushed their capsules open, and wandered about the spaceship. The Rare Ones had had two lives condensed into one. Their 'fantasy' selves had different biology and chemical makeup than their 'real' selves; when condensed, their bodies tried to sort things out. The main side effect being that the sleep chemical the aliens had used was considered another incongruity, and their bodies simply tried to deal with it instead of allowing it to override everything else.
The aliens identified the problem, then watched in fascination as their bodies adapted themselves. An alien was sent to explain the situation to each human as they woke, using an electronic dictionary that verbalized what it typed; by the time they understood, the sleep chemical had been identified as such by their bodies, and they would suddenly collapse, curled up on the floor, asleep.

When every man, woman, child, and sentient creature awoke in their new 'cities', almost everything was the same, plus some. Almost.
Because each Rare One had had their 'alter egos' thrown together, they suddenly did not know which way was up or down; everything they knew, it seemed, was a lie.
A man thought that he knew that the laws of physics could never be defied-- until he watched a fairy glide by without wings.
"The universe must be broken," one reasoned.
"I've lost my mind." thought another.
"Do I really know that person?" a third wondered, looking past a coworker and recognizing a centaur companion from his 'dreams'.
"Am I a fairy or am I not?" a bewildered child asked himself aloud, to the horror of his 'normal' mother.
Their confusion lasted until someone remembered what the alien had told them on the spaceship, and reminded the others. Each Rare One had to discover themselves all over again, for many had led completely separate lives, and the differences between them were quite drastic. A highway robber or a technician? A cake decorator or an arrow fletcher? The head of a company, or a carpenter and father of three? A homeless beggar, or the lord of a vast estate? One pitiable woman had two large families turn out to be one: two husbands, with a brood of twenty-five.

They did not seem to have the same powers they had had in pure fantasy, but they still had something. Exactly what 'it' was, nobody knew. It was powerful, but unstable. Learning to control it was difficult, if not impossible; activating it, even more so.
Powerful. Unpredictable. Uncontrollable. One by one, they either ran from the cities or were driven out, either from fear of hurting or of being hurt.
Rare Ones' powers manifest during or after the very last stages of puberty, and continue sporadically throughout their lives; which is why adults seem to be the only ones stricken with this affliction.
However, the power of the Rare Ones is not hereditary. As far as anyone knows, it is merely a cosmetic roll of the dice, thrown once about every five years. 99.8% are fortunate. 0.2% are not. Of the 0.2%, very few, if any, have power strong enough to break loose, unbidden. The rest of them live their lives quietly to the very end, never knowing that they were Rare Ones.

According to Rafe, Tiana, Morgan, Rita, Martian, Linus, and himself were all Rare Ones.

To be continued...



Dum dum DUM!! xD
There are still some plot holes, but I'll get around to them sooner or later.

*thump
*thump
*thump

I had to go and reread all my stuff to find all the loose ends and collect important details and... stuff. I ended up profiling everyone and... so many blanks to be filled... so many unnecessary details... I... it... just....*headdesk THUMP
I'm embarrassed to read what I wrote, and I'll probably feel that way about this post about three pages from now. I wish I could edit my entries after posting them. />.<\

But ANYWAY, the 'current' date is somewhere in late September/early October, NOT December, Tiana's Guardian's name was Cyrus, NOT Cedric, and she only swears in foreign languages. If you notice anything else so extremely WRONG, feel free to correct me or ask for clarification.

Also, I'll try to update weekly from now on, at least.


When the car finally made it back to the 'castle', Skylar got out and gently detached the sleeping Molly from the alien's arms, carrying her inside while Quinn wriggled (awkwardly) out of the low-riding car-- which was made all the more difficult by the bear suit. He managed to escape and followed the human to the door, then paused and watched curiously as a section of the driveway lowered, taking the car with it. When it came back up, the car was gone.
After several hours of restless sleep, Molly wasn't going back to sleep willingly. She began to squirm sleepily, waking herself up.
In response, Skylar headed straight straight for the kitchen and proceeded to warm up a small bowl of won ton soup. He made Molly drink some, then carried her out with the intention of putting her to bed.
Taking his cue from the young trillionare, Quinn happily removed the oversized bear head and paws, then fished a fruit salad out of the black refrigerator.

Quinn finished eating and sought out refuge in the library. Once there, he shed the rest of the bear suit, folded it neatly, and placed it on the writing desk. After placing the head on top of the rest, he turned to the shelves of black and white treasure. His tentacles brushed over the bindings of the nearest shelf; some were leather, one felt like velvet, and almost all of them were hardcovers. As usual, Quinn chose alphabetically from among the books that caught his eye; it was too much trouble to agonize over which book to read first, and wasted time. Time he could have spent reading one of them.

When Skylar came in, he looked up from the tome he had selected. Skylar's blond hair was still damp from the shower, and he had put on... a... fresh... suit..? Was that silk? He also had a fork and bowl of lasagna in hand, from which he was eating. “Are you not tired?” he asked.
Quinn reached for the sleeping laptop as he answered, carefully enunciating each syllable slowly in an effort to be clear. “Yes, but, something I wished, to show you before sleeping.”
It seemed to work; the human nodded and didn't ask him to repeat himself. Quinn clicked the 'Projector' tool, displaying the computer desktop on the wall. The alien had pulled up a news article from early September. A semi-professional amateur cameraman had managed to take a decent snapshot from afar, though you could not see the girl's face because of all the people who had been trying to see better.
“Oh, yes.” Skylar remembered. “I saw that when it made the news. But I thought that it was just a hoax.”
Quinn shook his head. "I observed the phenomena as occurred. All is true."
While Skylar chewed on that, Quinn zoomed in on two faces in the background. "Both Logan and Indigo seem-ed vaguely familiar. Interest you?"






Tiana tapped the countertop with her fingertips absentmindedly. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she processed, memorized, and analyzed everything Rafe just told them. "This is insane,” she complained.
“Getting tired of asking you to elaborate...” Jason said.
“So I should just launch into elaborate speeches every time I think of a subject upon which I can expound?" she shot back.
“That's not--”
“That is what you said. I was just breaking the silence for now, but if you want I'm sure I could pull a five-page spiel out of the air and--”
“Just get on with it!" somebody yelled. Tiana rolled her eyes, then focused on Ninja-- Rafe --and asked a leading question. "Our powers are like what now?”
“They vary. You must learn to master your own power.”
Linus, the final unnamed stranger, spoke. "You can't teach us anything?”
Rafe shook his head.
“Why not?”
“How can I teach you to hone skills of which I do not know?”
Tiana rapped the tips of her fingernails on the counter for attention. "All right, Rafe. As far as I can tell, we're sort of color-coded. Mine is purple, Zack is orange, you're green, and Morgan is blue. Right?"
A nod.
“If you're green, then what was that bright blue stuff gushing out of your hand? You know, back when the shock wave hit us?”
“A pure form of our power, in its raw state.”
“So it's like highly concentrated mist?” Avery guessed.
“It is similar to a liquid substance, yes.” Rafe replied. "It's second form is intense and unstable light."
“And Mist makes three." Tiana finished.
“Correct."
“So what are your powers?" Jason asked, unknowingly interrupting Tiana's progressive questions.
“I manipulate the flow of time.” Rafe answered. He said it matter-of-factly, as though he were merely mentioning the weather. Nobody was surprised to see Tiana nod, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “I see. That's how you healed Justin. You sped time.”
“Wouldn't that result in increased aging?” Linus inquired, interrupting her train of thought. Again. She tried to ignore her irritation as she listened to the answer.
“Not quite. I cast a healing spell and used my power to accelerate its completion. I preformed the five-minute healing 45 times in the space of a minute.” Rafe said calmly.
“That's less than two-point-five seconds per spell...” Linus thought aloud.
Great, a brainiac. Tiana thought. Hope he's doesn't turn out to be an arrogant genius. I'll end up slapping him silly.
“But what does that mean? Justin doesn't have any powers,” Evan piped up. “Why did his hands start glowing in the first place?”
Rafe gazed at him steadily. It seemed as though his patience was beginning to wear thin. “Did he touch a glowing figurine?”
“I did.” Justin confirmed. His crew looked at him in surprise.
“Oh, yeah...” Dylan remembered. “Isn't that what Tiana was screaming about back then?”
“If he did, it is not surprising that she reacted in such a way.” Rafe said. “The figurine is a beacon which attracts a dark creature, which you have seen.”
Tiana smacked her palm on the counter loudly. Morgan jumped, others flinched. “If you're all quite finished interrupting me, I have some questions to ask!”
Martin balked. “Why should you go first? Nobody likes you!”

'Nobody likes you.' Really? This kid was just raring for a fight. Normally, she'd engage him in a classic back-and-forth, beating him to a figurative pulp, but she was a little preoccupied at the moment. Tiana decided to knock him flat without giving him a chance to retaliate. By denying him the privilege of engaging her, she would take the high ground; by establishing her superiority, she'd provoke him further.

Tiana knew her face was an excellent communicator. She closed her eyes and let it express her feelings for a moment; patience and controlled annoyance would be the best way to describe them. After she had allowed Martin to study them for a moment and quiver a bit, she smoothed her facial features, opened her eyes, and smiled. “Martin, you seem to have made a mistake. I don't care if you like me. I don't care if you dislike me. I don't care if you worship the ground I walk on or before the plot which awaits my grave. You. Don't. Matter. So do everyone a favor and sit down and shut up.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she raised her voice and added, "And if you can think of _one single question_ that I may possibly forget to ask, say it after I'm done. If you can manage that, I will stand on that table and sing and mime the lyrics to (censored title)--”
(Rita gasped in shock at the inappropriate song title and the men raised their eyebrows. Neither Morgan nor Martin recognized it and were therefore confused,)
“--loudly and with great gusto. Now STOP INTERRUPTING ME.”
Having attained the floor at last, she counted each major question off on her fingers.
“Number one; What is the glowing thing we keep calling a figurine?
Two; what is the black 'creature', and how are the two connected?
Three; why did Justin's hands have a delayed reaction after touching the thing? Actually, why did he react at all? If he were a Rare One I'd understand, but he's not, so I don't. Why does touching the stupid thing DO that to people?
Four; what happened to the alien probe that Zack brought down? (Several of the hunters had completely forgotten, and suddenly remembered it with a start. The other Rare Ones looked confused. Tiana ignored them and focused on Rafe.)
Five; how did he know it was there? What is this 'training' of which he spoke?
Six; what exactly are the aliens doing? Still spying on us with those probes? Why?
Seven; what is a Guardian? Why are they paired with Rare Ones?
Eight; if your power is time, how did you transport us around and collect the other Rare Ones?
Nine; what is with the gold/green scarab clasp on your shoulder? It comes out of nowhere and it's driving me nuts, as is the fact that none of us have seen more than the lower half of your face this whole time. Isn't it hot under that cloak?
And finally, ten; just who the dritt are you, how did you find us, and why? why are you telling us anything? You could have just left us to our own devices. Rare Ones have been scraping by since the massive alien abduction, so why bother gathering us here and now, just to give us answers? What makes us so special?”


Jason could barely keep all of her questions straight. And I'm not even the one who has to answer them!
Rafe bowed his head slightly... to collect his thoughts, Jason assumed. The silence stretched longer and longer, becoming uncomfortable for some and awkward for others. Tim and Matt looked at each other and shrugged in unison. Evan inspected his shoe buckles. Logan rolled the smooth, pale wood of his bow between his hands. Morgan examined her chipped, dark blue nail polish. Linus counted the ceiling tiles. Rita fingered the pendant around her neck.
Jason looked around and spotted a pen and a pad of paper sitting next to the phone. He picked it up, uncapped the pen, and tried to remember all of the questions. Tiana saw him and snapped her fingers. He, and everyone but Rafe, looked up. She held her hand out for the pad and pen. Jason shrugged and passed it to Dylan, and it traveled from hand to hand until it reached her. She nodded once in thanks, and scribbled the questions rapidly. When she finished, she tossed the pad onto the coffee table with a sliding slap, causing heads to snap up at the sound. Rafe gave it a glance, and her, a quizzical look.
“Just in case anyone forgot anything,” she said, slid off the counter, and headed for the door. “I need to make a call. I'll be back soon.”


Tiana found a pay phone and popped a few call coins into the slot. She asked for Shawn, and waited. As she expected, she was redirected to Neil. Knowing that he would try to find her, she acted completely contrary to herself; like a featherbrained twit. “Is this Indigo?”
“No, silly,” she giggled. “I'm one of her totally fabu friends. She asked me to call and ask Shawn something. You don't sound much like Shawn. Are you Shawn?”
“No. Who are you?”
“Can't tell you,” she sang. “Indigo said I'd probably end up talking to a guy named Neil, and she doesn't like him. Are you Neil?”
“I am. Where is Indigo?”
“Can't tell! She said you'd ask.”
“Listen, I can get Shawn for you. In fact, I can set you two up on a date.”
She gasped. “Like, wow! For realses?”
“...yes. For 'realses'. All you have to do is tell me where Indigo is staying.”
Tiana, as her alter ego, moaned and whined and begged. Neil sensed weakness and closed in, pressuring her just so, until she pretended to give in. "Oooohh.... okay. She's staying in the Suite de Symphonies Complex as Vanessa Von Wilhelm.”
“Thank you. You've been most helpful.”
“Wait! What about my date?”
“What date?”
“The one me and Shawn are going on. Duh!”
“I don't recall these plans being made.”
“But you said--”
“Thank you for your assistance.” Click.

“We're sorry, the number you were calling has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again...”
Lying spurius, she thought, and hung up. Tiana leaned against the wall of the booth and sighed. Zero-point-two percent, Rafe had said. And of that percentage, she was one of the lucky ones whose power was obvious.If you consider being a dangerous outcast lucky, that is. she thought sullenly. There were only two things she could do. She could run as fast and as far as possible, then sit and mope and wait until the black thing came for her. Or, she could stick around and try to figure things out. Rafe could answer her direct questions, but he knew a lot more than he was saying. If Rare Ones had been around since forever, why gather them? Why tell them? It didn't make any sense. Teaching someone how to unleash awesome powers is dangerous. Of course it's all about controlling that power for the safety of all, but when it comes down to it, how much can one control a human? Humans in general are notorious for using force to get their way. Of course, that quality doesn't apply to everyone, but if one side directly opposes the other, a fight is bound to break out-- a war, even. It's a disaster in the making! “Which brings us back to the original question,” she muttered. “What does he want from us?”

When Tiana returned to the room, she found the silence as awkward as before. They all looked at the door when it opened, so they were obviously waiting for her to make something happen. She sighed. “You're pathetic, you know that? And Rafe,”
He lifted his head slightly. He was listening.
“It's not very nice to keep people tense and in suspense. Not even I do that.”
His lips stretched in a faint imitation of a smile, and Tiana grinned. “But I'm sure the silence was sweet,” she finished. She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter as her expression turned serious again. “Now how about those questions?”
Rafe nodded his head slightly, gesturing to the pad of paper with questions. “The 'glowing figurine', as you call it, is called Lymas. The black creature is called Xantois. Lymas is a small glowing statue with the appearance of an alien, presumed to be one of the aliens who abducted the inhabitants of the Earth; Xantois is often described like a great bird within its shroud of smog, a black creature with fiery red eyes and terrible black talons. Lymas appears within a 1/2 mile radius of the site of a Mist explosion. Those who touch it cause a reaction; the Lymas sends an intense beam of pure white light energy to the sky, and causes burning light to radiate from the hands of the one who touched it, which seems to be the second form of a Rare One's Energy. This energy spill attracts Xantois like a moth to a flame. Xantois then attempts to end the life of the one gushing energy. That is all I know on that subject.

“The alien race is called the Numari, as their names are based on a numerical system. Their probes often follow unusual or exceptional people. It found one or more of you intriguing. There are certain people who know how to detect the presence of a probe, such as Zack and myself. The probes themselves are designed to be invisible, and are really quite fragile and I do not know what happens to them when they are brought down; it may still be where it fell. As for any actions and motives, I do not communicate with the Numari, and so I cannot know what they are doing or why.

“I was not responsible for transporting anyone anywhere.

“Guardians never speak of their origins in detail. My Guardian told me that he was simply chose to build a relationship with me, and consequently became my friend, companion, and mentor in spite of the fact that I was a Rare One. To know more about Guardians, you would have to ask one. The scarab clasp I wear was a gift from him.

“I learned as much as I could about these things, and began to seek out other Rare Ones so as to both enlighten them and learn from them. There are many questions concerning the Rare Ones, Xantois and Lymas, and the Numari. I wish to find and compile the answers. That is all.”

Tiana closed her eyes and tapped a finger against her arm. “Curious question first; where did you learn the names of the Numari and Lymas and Xantois?”
“My Guardian taught me 'Numari'. I gave names to the other two.”
Tiana raised her eyebrows, amused. “You made them up?”
“I saw no reason not to.”
“True. Next question; if you weren't responsible for the transportation which separated us, and neither was I...” she looked at Morgan, who shook her head helplessly. “Well, I guess now we know what her power is. So Lymas, Xantois and the Guardians are still great big question marks.”
Rafe nodded.
Tiana nodded in unison with him. “Just checking.”

Jason was about to ask whether or not the rest of them were allowed to speak when the phone rang.

Skylar studied the faces for a moment, then enlarged Indigo's profile. “This is intriguing, but not outside the realm of possibility. She, Zack and Logan were probably only there by chance.”
Quinn typed, “But it is highly unlikely.”
“I'll grant you that, but why is this important?” Skylar asked, lifting a forkful of steaming lasagna to his mouth.
“This is why I am here.”
Skylar paused. “Beg pardon?”
Quinn proceeded to explain. “I came to investigate this event.”
“Which was what?” Skylar asked curiously, returning the fork to his bowl. “Many people tried to describe whatever it was that happened, but without success.”
“I wish to find out.” Quinn stated. “It is my purpose in life to learn.”
“An admirable intent,” Skylar commented socially. “Is it the same for all your people?”
“Supposedly, yes,” Quinn typed. “We have preferences. Some prefer to study molecular structure; others, linguistics. I enjoy learning the histories of worlds. To truly understand history in context, one must understand the social structure of the time, as well as the language and culture.”
“A daunting task,” Skylar observed as he set down his bowl, then pulled the chair on its rollers over so as to sit next to Quinn.
“The challenge is stimulating,” the alien typed. “I enjoy my work. But there is a limit to how much one can learn from a distance.”
Skylar nodded slowly. “I see. You craved interaction so as to get a better grasp of the people in current events.”
“History is often written by the victor.” Quinn typed. “I want to understand what really happens, not what someone said happened.”
Skylar glanced back at the screen. “So why is this particular event important?”
“No-one has been able to explain, or describe, these phenomena for hundreds of years.”
Skylar raised an eyebrow. “Phenomena, plural?”
“Most are written off as impossible; those who did not witness it said that those who had must have either imagined, hallucinated, or misinterpreted something, or blown out of proportion, or attributed it to a local superstition. It never ceases to amaze me what explanations humans can come up with when they decide to deny the truth.”
“But whatever happened has been happening for...”
“Since the worlds collided,” Quinn finished. “It's so rare, we still don't understand it.”
“I see. What is it that you already know? Perhaps I can help to fill in some of the blanks.”

Quinn hesitated. Should he truly tell Skylar all he knew about the Rare Ones? Zack and Indigo; Skylar had met both Rare Ones without realizing it. Did that mean that Quinn was obligated to tell him so? No... he had kept knowledge of the alien's existence from both his secretary and his mother. Why should Quinn have to tell him everything? He still didn't fully trust the human. Skylar was too secretive. Quinn would keep some cards close to his chest, as well...

Skylar seemed to sense that the alien was beginning to hold something back. He leaned forward, suddenly extremely serious. “Who are you, Quinn?”
The alien looked at him in surprise, knowing full well humans could not read minds. The human returned a steady gaze. “If there are more of your people trying to understand Earth and its people, why are you the only one here? You are clearly not an ambassador; you are a scholar. You never announced your appearance, but neither have you been, shall we say, stealthy. Did you actually aim for my car, or was it a mishap?
“You know a great deal about humans, but I know very little about you. Are you, as a race, allowed visit Earth at will and you, Quinn, were simply the first to do so? I find that highly unlikely. Collecting data is your function, your priority, your life; but why? For what purpose do you do so?”
Quinn blinked slowly, stunned. The human had analyzed the content of their brief conversation with great speed and clarity, drawing logical conclusions which, in turn, gave him even more information to study– and Quinn hadn't even realized it! Even Quinn's silence spoke volumes to him. Forget spilling his guts; the human could pick him apart with his own words, or even the lack thereof!
Skylar suddenly stood and pretended to examine an oil painting on the wall; it was of a clearing in a dark forest lit by a full moon, in which a ring of tiny faeries danced. The human spoke without looking at the alien. “I am not a fool. Lisa's concerns for me were valid, whether or not she was aware of how accurate her assumptions were. I've played the benevolent host long enough; and it's time they were addressed.
“Have you endangered Earth, or just yourself and those who have met you?”




Jason had gone into the next room to answer the phone. He came back, shaking his head. “They're about to throw us out.”
“What?” Tiana said darkly. Jason shook his head. “Either we leave, or we get fined out the wazoo for 'smuggling' this many extra tenants in.”
Tiana shoved herself from the counter and opened the door, catching a random passerby by the collar-- never mind the fact that she had to reach up to do so. “How much did your room cost?” she demanded. The man's eyes were dark and slightly glazed, his clothes were grimy and he himself was obviously tired, a refugee from the disaster. Tired enough that he didn't even try to shake the random girl with the iron grip off. “Four... forty. Forty-five red mushrooms,” he mumbled. “Let go of my shirt.”
Tiana released him and whirled to face Jason, her hands clenched into fists. “I knew it! That scumbag,” she pointed down the hall in his general direction, “just wants to kick us out so he can rent our space for three times the price! He knows it's gonna be packed with people seeking shelter.”
Jason shrugged, watching the man Tiana had halted trudge farther down the hall. “There's not much we can do about it. If we stay, we're screwed-- financially speaking. If we leave, he'll fleece some other victim.”
“That figlio di una cagna is taking advantage of helpless people who have had either homes, businesses, friends, family and/or any combination of the above taken away for no reason,” Tiana fumed. “I... I... I gotta go do a thing,” she growled, storming out the door and up the hall, towards the stairs. Jason sighed and went after her.
“What are you doing, Jason?” somebody called. Jason walked backwards as he replied, “I don't know what she's planning to do, but it'll probably be bad news for the building's owner/superintendent. I'm going to try to keep the physical violence to a minimum.” After all, he thought, She can't afford to raise much hell in this city with Neil on the lookout for Indigo.


Unbeknownst to Jason, Neil had indeed taken advantage of the chaos, launching a shadowy manhunt for his prized voice.



Tiana didn't know what she planned to do, either, but she'd figure something out. If she'd been a little more gifted with computer hocus-pocus, she'd have manipulated the numbers somehow so that it seemed like people were paying in triplicate, but in reality, the cost of the rooms would revert back to their original numbers. As it was, she would probably just... throw a fit. Yank on the superintendent's tie. Reduce him to a pile of anxiety by throwing every flaw she could see in his face. Threaten to sue for some ridiculous thing and scare him half to death by pretending to be some celebrity.
No, those wouldn't work. Disturbing the peace and assault would only get her in trouble. The third was a possibility, but it was highly unlikely to have any effect. And she'd have needed to 'doll-ify' herself with Shawn's stuff to make the last one believable. Curse her lack of computer skills! She never liked computers; didn't know why, either. The just unsettled her. It was pulling teeth for Cyrus to convince her to learn the basics, plus a few extra skills for emergencies-- such as manipulating the Location Terminals to find people, like Kyle the Blacksmith.
Jason was calling after her as she opened the door to the back staircase. She sped up a little, wondering whether he'd help or hinder her. Then again, she didn't exactly have a plan which he could foil yet...

Ah, nuts. To make up for last week's missed update, I'll get two in this week, so here's the first. I've also decided two OpenOffice pages will be the maximum length of an update, but I think that'll be pretty regular.





The fact that Tiana had made it a point to stop and wait for him to catch up was irritating, but not surprising. “Tiana, what are you doing?”
Her expression was obstinate. “Why do you care? It's not like I'm a homicidal maniac.”
“I'm just trying to keep physical violence at bay. You're a girl, so they're beaten before it's started.”
“Oh, really?”
“Really, Miss-offspring-of-assorted-ancestry. Dwarf and Dryad, wasn't it? The two strongest and toughest humanoids out there? Nobody'd expect a right hook from a girl to knock them cold.”
“Element of surprise.”
“Are you assaulting the man, or trying to get a point across?”
“Neither, since my opinion won't matter to the guy. I'ma hit him where it hurts,” she said menacingly. Jason winced as he thought of a likely target...
“...right in the wallet,” she finished. “Or I would, if I were more computer-savvy.” She paused for a moment, considering. “I could start trashing the place, with the police preoccupied and all, but that would pave the way for looters and squatters to come bust their way in, which is unacceptable. I hate the way he's exploiting people, but he's not technically violating any laws-- only the moral code.” Then she shook her head. “No. I'll probably end up breaking his nose to teach him a lesson.”
Jason could tell she'd made up her mind. He considered mentioning Neil; she'd stop then, wouldn't she? Then he paused. If the past had taught him anything, it was that her logic in the present ran deeper than an ordinary person's insightful musings over a past experience. What would her reaction be if he brought Neil up? She... would probably resent him for bringing it up, for assuming she hadn't taken the agent into consideration, and for insinuating that she wasn't able to take care of herself. Also, she would probably go and pick a fight with Neil to show him that she was her own boss and not to forget it in a hurry. Whatever she did, she'd do it her way, even if it was only to spite Jason.
Why did girls have to be so complicated?
She would not be stopped. So, he cut her a deal; he would preform some computing magic if she provided a distraction, without resorting to physical contact.

This was why Jason found himself sneaking into the back room while Tiana raised a fuss about something-or-other. Not enough towels in the bathroom, she wanted a room nearer the elevators, there was a speck of dirt or something in her coffee mug... Jason couldn't have held the attention of the receptionist that well if he had tried. Tiana was keeping her occupied marvelously as he ducked under the counter, slipped behind her back, and eased the Employees Only door shut behind him. As Tiana had predicted, the superintendent was out dealing with new customers. She also predicted that the superintendent would return if she made too much noise, so he'd better make it snappy.
Jason tapped on the keyboard with lightning speed. He was, in fact, an extremely talented hacker. Well, it helped that the security of the hotel's computer system was atrocious.
The welcome window requested a password. Jason typed,
Guest|
*Enter*
And just like that, he was inside the computer mainframe.


The receptionist looked close to tears by the time Jason slipped out of the Employees Only door and sneaked past the back of her chair. “Ma'am, I- I'm sorry--”
“Oh no you're not!” Tiana cut her off, and leaned in closer. “But you will be. Do you have any idea who I am?”
“I, I don't--”
“Is that so?” Tiana's quiet tone had the distinct echo of a thunderclap, which roared with the indignation of a shaved tiger. “Well, when a squad of the finest lawyers in the City go to work, I dare say you'll know me. In fact, everyone in this entire BUILDING will be homeless and destitute before I'm finished!”
Jason turned the corner and almost ran smack into the superintendent, who was coming to investigate the ruckus. Realizing that walking away meant that he did not intend to get involved with the one-sided spat at the desk, Jason quickly snatched his sleeve and made up a story. “I'm so sorry, my sister forgot to take her meds this morning. She's a little,” he made the 'crazy' gesture with his free hand, the invisible circle next to his head. “Could you please keep her distracted while I get my dad? He's the only one who she'll listen to when she's like this.” Jason took off without waiting for a reply, dashed up the single flight of stairs to the room, and swung it open.
“So who wants to be Tiana's father?” he asked the room.


Quinn's three hearts began to thump in his chest. Their usual harmony of three beats; one, one, one, a pause for one beat, and another three beats and another pause, was normal. Now, it was irregular and without pause. His blue scales brightened, and his huge black eyes looked glassy. His eyes shined, but he had never cried before and did not know from whence the pressure behind his eyeballs came, or why.
This was normal for an agitated Numarin; the more upset they are, the brighter their scales became. Their tears were just like human's in the sense that they expelled negative toxins and stress hormones. Skylar, of course, had no way of knowing that, and was prepared to counter-attack if Quinn should attack him. Not that Quinn really noticed that the human was tense beneath his silk suit-pajama things.
Was Quinn endangering Earth? The Numari never destroyed worlds, only studied and restored them. But the Numari had never interacted with the inhabitants therein before, either-- well, except for that one other world, of emotionless people. It had been the only world which exchanged practical data peacefully. The world had been called Chyln, and nicknamed “the icy twin” for its similarities to the Numari species in logic and practicality, but having killed or repressed any emotion within themselves.
Quinn closed his eyes and opened them slowly, silently ordering himself to focus. Was Earth in danger? Quinn had given it much thought before he had decided to come to Earth, but he mulled it over again distantly, as though he had taken a step back to look at the entire problem. No, Earth itself was most likely safe. The Council of Superiors would be furious, but not quite livid-- not angry enough to do anything RASHLY, at the very least. They would certainly not do anything as foolhardy as to destroy a planet they had worked so hard to restore, a people they had all tried to preserve, in spite of the humans self-destructive nature.
What they would do to Quinn was another question entirely. Quinn had always been a sort of trouble child, by Numari standards, but had eventually learned the wisdom of Numari ways and buckled down to his studies, craving more than mathematics and the tiresome social rules of his people; their socializing consisted almost entirely of customs, traditions and conversation. Boring conversation, at that; it always revolved around what new things they had learned and found interesting. Interesting to a point, Quinn had found, realizing that what he found interesting was almost entirely focused around peoples and their histories, unlike most Numari, who preferred objects and science to people and psychology. So, he had determined to break new ground himself to satisfy his yearning for the knowledge which was not often a topic of general Numari interest.
This, however, was unprecedented. The sheer unmitigated gall of abandoning ship when it was in no danger of total destruction was unheard-of, and the very idea of doing so had likely never occurred to any of his peers. What would they do to him?
As for those the alien had met... well. Only Skylar, Molly and Sebastian knew of his existence. Surely the word of a single man and a child would not matter to anyone; the artificial intelligence could have its memory banks edited, or, if necessary, eradicated. He supposed he ought to appreciate Skylar's secretiveness for preventing further contact with other humans. Had the situation been less serious, Quinn would've tried a smile; he had walked among them and they never knew it.

Then Quinn realized that Skylar was expecting an answer, and noticed that the human had lowered his center of gravity slightly and waited, with knees slightly bent and head low. Quinn was taken aback. “Are you going to attack me?” the question was typed in less than a second. Skylar did not relax. “You haven't answered my question,” he said quietly, denying Quinn what he must have seen as evasion; as though the Quinn had sidestepped to see if the human had something behind his back, and Skylar had sidestepped with him. The meaning behind the action was clear. Your move. Show me your hand and perhaps I'll show you mine.
Quinn didn't throw all his cards on the table, but obediently tipped his hand-- for the moment, at least. “No. Earth is quite safe. I doubt that you would be considered a threat, much less Molly Osaki. If anyone is in danger, it is I.” Quinn typed.

That gave Skylar pause. “You?”
“I.” Quinn repeated aloud, and continued typing, pausing when trying to phrase a thought. “I... did not have permission to come to Earth. I... I wanted to know more. My superiors said that we were finished with this planet, that we had done all we could, and there was nothing of worth left to glean from Earth. I was told to finish my studies in six weeks.” Quinn lowered his head. “It has been four weeks and three days, and I have heard nothing. I do not know how they will respond to my disappearance.”
Skylar straightened, drawing himself to his full height of five-foot-nine and a half-- a little more than six inches taller than Quinn's stature. “Do you mean to tell me,” the human said calmly, “That you defied your superiors' decision and... fled? You sneaked off your ship and...” Skylar ran a hand through his blond hair, obviously having difficulty trying to fathom the depth of the situation. Quinn felt miserable. Everything had made so much more sense back on the ship. Why was it so hard to explain things to this human? Why was it so hard for Quinn to explain anything to anyone?


Matt shook his head, as if he were trying to loosen some kind of blockage. “Sorry, there must be ash or dust or something in my ear. I could've sworn I heard you ask if someone wanted to be Tiana's dad, but you didn't say that, did you? 'Cause that's just crazy.”
Jason tried not to roll his eyes and half-quoted himself mockingly. “My sister forgot to take her medication this morning, and my dad is the only one she'll listen to when she thinks she's some kind of big-shot in a lawyer firm. Could you just keep her talking until I get back, Mr. Superintendent-who-saw-me-walking-away-and-was-about-to-call-security?”
“And he believed you.” Dylan said incredulously. Jason shrugged, “I didn't give him a chance to challenge me, and I'm pretty sure I spoke loudly enough for Tiana to hear it. So I repeat, who's going to pretend to be her father?” He looked around the room. “Justin? Rafe? Avery? Hello?”
Nobody seemed eager to assume the role, even if it was only a sham. They each had a sense of responsibility or some such thing, but Jason honestly didn't think they had time to wait for someone to crack first. Avery was a talker, but he was honest. Justin wouldn't like to be thrust into a lie, either. “Rafe, I choose you,” Jason announced. “All you have to do is lead her away despite her constant yammering, and I'll make it up to you later. Let's go,” Jason gestured to the door. Rafe rose from his seat in a smooth, fluid motion and followed Jason silently.
Tiana had heard Jason, apparently, because she was making ridiculous claims and demands expectantly as they approached. “...and a million golden mushrooms outside my room every day! Is that clear?”
“Crystal clear. Is that all?” the super asked, half-amusement and ill-mannered patience all over his face.
“No, it is not,” Tiana snapped. “If you think you can disrespect and patronize me and expect to get away with it, you've got another thing coming! Apologize this instant!”
Jason cleared his throat. “Hey, sis--”
“Don't you start!” Tiana whirled on him, eyes snapping sparks as she began to chew him out, as well. “I have had it with you calling me 'sis'! SisTER, all right? SIS-TER. S-I-S-T-E-R.”
Jason held his hands up, “Okay, fine, whatever. I won't call you sis anymore.”
Rafe took Tiana by the shoulders and steered her away from the reception desk silently. Tiana allowed him to do so, but did not stop talking the whole way. “I expect all of my commands to be carried out to the letter, and heads will roll should you fail to comply! Honestly, Dad, the service around here is horrendous. Wait 'till you hear what I found in the lobby alone...”
Jason shook his head. How did she find so many words to say? He turned back to the teary receptionist and superintendent apologetically, producing several blue mushrooms as compensation for the disturbance as he made excuses and apologies until the moment he could beat a hasty retreat.
Justin was asking Tiana what she had gotten Jason into. She ignored him as Jason closed the door behind himself. “Tiana got what she wanted, the super thinks he got some extra dough, and nobody got hurt. I'd say it was a successful expedition overall,” Jason said with a crooked smile.
Tiana crossed her arms. “So how long do we have until we get fined or kicked out?”
Jason sighed. “About half an hour, I think. Was 45 minutes before, I'm not sure now.”
Justin stood. “Then we should leave you two.”
Tiana scoffed. “Ha! Like I'm going to let them” here she nodded towards the other Rare Ones, “out of my sight. The question is, are you going to keep following me around?” she stared at Justin steadily. He held her gaze firmly as he replied, “When I touched Lymas, I took responsibility for whatever happened as a result.”
Tiana tried to interrupt, “I waive that obligation (because reasons),” but Justin continued, “However, this responsibility does not apply to my men, and I was wrong to let them get swept up in the chain of events. For that,” he turned to his hunters, “I truly apologize. Your course of action from here on out is entirely up to your own judgment.” Justin then proceeded to remove a kind of clasp from the hilt of his broadsword, and laid it on the table.
Almost all hunting parties large enough to be led had a symbolic item, possessed by and displayed on the leader's person; sometimes it was a clasp, sometimes a medallion, sometimes a tattoo-- should the leaders change, the tattoo would be removed most painfully. The clasp Justin placed before his crew was made of stainless steel, which gripped a hilt or bow or staff in a pair of claws. A thin layer of rubber ensured that the clasp would not slip. The three-pronged claws served to attach a flat metallic oval to an object; the dark metal face displayed a portrait-- the shape of a wolf, mid-leap, teeth bared for the kill.

Avery stared at the clasp. “Justin, what are you doing?”
The man did not answer. He didn't have to.
Logan stood, breaking the stunned silence. “It's about time,” he said darkly. He took his bow, slung his pack over his shoulder, and walked straight out. His silent message was clear: Screw this, I'm better off on my own. Tiana avoided eye contact with Justin as Logan left without looking back, just as she'd predicted back in the Tangled Ring.
The Rare One, Rita, quickly rose from her place on the couch and navigated her way to the kitchen, trying not to step on toes as she did so. (The room was small and the limbs numerous, even though people pulled their feet closer to clear floor space.) She took some bottled water from the fridge and a couple of individually-wrapped doughnuts, then pursued Logan into the hall. They exchanged a few words which Tiana couldn't hear, and Rita returned silent and empty-handed. Tiana narrowed her eyes and stared at the floor. It wasn't her fault that Logan was angry, she'd never asked any of them to come along. It was her food which Rita just up and gave away. Tiana didn't begrudge the food or water itself, given the state of things in and outside of the City-- but if Logan wanted stuff, he could ask for it. And where did Rita get the right to hand someone else's food to a guy with a bad attitude?
Tiana refused to make a big deal out of it, though, and turned back to the clasp on the table. All the hunters were staring at it, trying to comprehend its meaning. Tiana rolled her eyes; nothing happened unless she made it happen, so she spoke up. “Justin, are you disbanding them or something?”
Justin shook his head. “Of course not. I am withdrawing, and they must choose another to take my place as Alpha.”


More to follow later this week!

“You're... quitting.” Tiana said suspiciously. Justin looked at her steadily. “Why does this amaze you?”
“Because I had no idea you could be so incredibly stupid, that's why,” she snapped. “You made a mistake-- which was completely anserine – and now you're hanging up your Captain's cloak just to follow up on your bad decision? Moronic. I mean, the thought is noble enough, but come on! What are you going to do about it? Become my personal bodyguard? My guardian? My servant? You rifled through and lost my purse. So what? I'll backhand you across the face, if you like, but seriously! Your hands were nearly destroyed as a result. I think we're even.”
“If it had eaten through my hands and traveled up my arms, it would have slowly consumed me. You saved my life.”
“And you fended off the crowds when I had a fit on the Archery field.”
“You led us to safety.”
Tiana inhaled deeply, and began from the beginning. “You and your hunters saved my life in the mud pits; again with the dragon; protected my unconscious self in the Field; kept a trigger-happy, married hermit from blowing my brains out; have generally assisted and protected me, put up with my obnoxious anti-social behavior with the patience of a saint-- some more than others –and you're telling me that you have to leave your Hunting party just to continue following me around to try and make up for opening a kurva purse?!”
Justin retaliated likewise. “You would have done the same for me, had our roles been reversed.”
Tiana refused to let him startle her into silence. “We'll never know, and besides, the past is past. Do you remember how I left you and your merry men at Brice's home? The only reason I crossed paths with you again was because they-” she nodded to the Rare Ones “-are like me, and I wanted answers from Rafe.”
Justin was silent for a moment, then glanced at Rafe. Suddenly, Tiana recalled the night Rafe healed Justin's hands. 'Did you sense it?' Rafe had said. 'Hear it?' And Justin had nodded.
“That reminds me...” she said menacingly. “What was it you two 'heard' or 'sensed', after Rafe healed your hands?”
Justin looked taken aback. Tiana smiled humorlessly. “One doesn't go around poking bears with sticks without acquiring an acute sense of observation. Yeah, I saw your little exchange back then.”



Skylar applied pressure to his temples with the thumb and middle fingers of his left hand, and sighed. “In less than two weeks, you will be missed. And you haven't the faintest idea what will happen to you after that.”
Quinn nodded miserably.
“But you're sure that everyone besides yourself will be unharmed.”
Another nod.
“You came only to satisfy your curiosity of a mysterious phenomenon.”
Well, not quite. Quinn had been intentionally rebellious, defiant in the face of the order which had ruled his life, but the spark which had inspired him to do so had long since faded away.
Skylar raised an eyebrow at the alien's silence. “No?”
Quinn didn't dare play games with this human now. He screwed up his courage and typed those three truthful, all-important characters. En. Oh. Period. "no."
Skylar inhaled deeply, held it for a moment, and let it out slowly. “No,” he repeated. “Then perhaps you could tell me why, exactly, you came to Earth and threw yourself at the mercy of the inhabitants thereof.'”
Quinn racked his brain, trying to think of a way to describe his rationalization to the increasingly dangerous human. He didn't know why, but he could sense the Skylar was becoming more and more... angry? Certainly not pleased in the least. Perhaps he felt betrayed, somehow.
Sebastian cut into the rising tension. “Sir, you have a visitor.”
“Not now,” Skylar said, not taking his intense eyes off Quinn.
“His name is Brice, sir.”

Quinn cradled his frozen rose in its clear shell. Why is this so hard? he asked it sadly. I knew that the path of change was difficult, but I never imagined that it would feel so... black. Heavy. Painful.
The icy flower did not reply from within its bubble. Quinn stroked the smooth sphere, trying to calm himself. He was sitting on the bed in the guest room, waiting for Skylar to return from speaking with the man named Brice. Quinn hugged his rose gently. What should I do? he asked it helplessly. What should I say?
The white rose remained silent. Quinn sighed. Perhaps I am feeling true loneliness for the first time. I had never had a friend before until I met Skylar. Now he is angry. And I am alone again.
The clock on the mantle chimed, announcing the hour of midnight. How much longer would it be until the human returned? Quinn nestled the rose between a few pillows and opened the nightstand drawer, where it had been sharing space with his data packs. Perhaps I should try to write something. Yes... how often has it been the case that I do not know what I think until I write it?
He began to compose a speech, right then and there. A status report, of sorts, or an essay; at least he wrote those well!
“Earth is unique,” he began, “She is completely unto herself an unparalleled planet, not in its geology, but in it's people. This must first be made clear if the following is to be understood at all...”


Tune in next week for more!

Okay, so this one was more than two pages, but it's only the one scene I was trying to finish.

Also,"How many people are reading your story?"
Me: "Ummm... I don't know. You can't tell unless they comment, so..."
"Oh. How many have commented?"
"I'll have to count."
"How many do you THINK?"
"...four? Maybe five?"
Seven people total have commented on my story at one time or another, but I have no idea how many have wandered off or jumped on.

So I'd kind of love a head count. Not that I can force you or anything, but I'd really love to know so I can tell people how many readers I've got when they ask.



Tiana stared at Justin, trying to drag the truth out of him with the power of her gaze. “Why do you look to Rafe when all I want to know is why you feel the need to follow me around. Why you should abandon the men you lead. Why can't you leave me alone?”
Rafe spoke. “You are a sad, strange little girl, and you have my pity.”
Tiana felt a powerful urge to turn on him, but that was just what he wanted, so she would come back to him later. After she was finished with Justin. “Why?” she demanded again. Justin looked down for a moment, obviously weighing his options. His eyes rose to meet hers again. “Are you sure this is a conversation you wish to have now, and not in private?”

That was it. That was it. A talk in private? How old did he think she was, six? Tiana knew, she knew, that he was about to embark on a ship she didn't want sailing. She had stupidly, STUPIDLY, lost control of herself outside of Brice's home. STUPIDLY allowed her emotions to tangle and confuse her. STUPIDLY followed Jason to the Fountain of Youth instead of letting Rafe hunt her down again, hopefully without the hunting party in tow. She could see how this was going down.
She had let him see her real self once, just once. As a result she had had an internal, emotional crisis and he had seen it. He became concerned for her. Rather than pretend she was fine, which she obviously hadn't been, she ran to escape further probing-- which told him that she was not averse to human contact, therefore she was lonely, and running confirmed his suspicions that she had personal unresolved issues preventing her from entering society and finding people with which to develop good relationships.
The obvious next stage in this development was that he would decide (if he hadn't already) that she needed help, whether she wanted it or not. For her own good.

Well, she would help herself only when she was good and ready, and not a moment before. She didn't want his 'assistance', she was fully capable of cultivating relationships of all kinds; she just refused to engage in false friendships. “Your fiance is a total snake,” or “Your amazing new boss is setting you up for failure,” doesn't go over well with most people, but friends should care for each other and try to warn them, right? Apparently not, from what Tiana knew. “I'm telling you your boyfriend is trash because I'm jealous and don't want you to have a better boyfriend than I do.” “I secretly want that new position as head of the project, so I'm going to tell you it's bad so you won't accept it.”
Either way, if Tiana warned a so-called friend of some danger they'd assume the worst and cut her off, then when they fell they'd never speak to her again because they'd be too ashamed to apologize for being half-brained, suspicious idiots-- and they probably wouldn't trust her in the first place because they'd know they were untrustworthy in similar situations.
On top of those, there were all the ridiculous situations in which everyone settled for something stupid in a collective effort not to hurt anyone's feelings. 87% of horrific bridesmaid dresses are chosen because the bride/maid of honor/important-person-in-the-wedding-party thinks a dress looks just amazing, so everyone has to find something they like about it, and if EVERYONE likes the dress, nobody wants to speak against it; Emperor's New Clothes type of thing. 10% of the time, the brides just don't want to be outshone by ANY of her bridesmaids and choose ugly dresses on purpose. The remaining 3% actually look pretty, not ugly or just passable.

Tiana didn't want any part of the moronic herd. Why couldn't anyone understand that she would rather be alone for the rest of her life than put up with backbiting simpletons? That's what it all boiled down to. “You have to learn to get along,” was what everyone said, to which Tiana replied, “NO.”
The fact that Justin was actively trying to get involved in her life meant that he was insisting on 'helping'. She had only three options: Give in. Run. Or attack.
She would take her usual route: Lash out, and escape.

“Are you sure this is a conversation you wish to have now, and not in private?” he said. Well.

“What are you, my father? What could you possibly have to say to me 'in private'?” Tiana asked scornfully. “Either stop following me or give me an explanation. Now.”
Justin merely replied, “You are special.”
Tiana could feel the heat rising in her face. Who does he think he is?! she fumed inwardly. Calm. Calm. He's only trying to help you. He doesn't understand. Calm. Calm. She clenched and unclenched her fists in an effort to remain in control. Tiana glowered at him, fierce anger blazing in her dark eyes. “What, exactly, is THAT supposed to mean?”
Justin didn't blink. “You are special.”
Tiana's black eyes bored into him. He tried again. “You are unique. Important.”
“And that makes you what? My protector? My guardian? My bodyguard? My servant? You know what, let's not go there yet. Who told you I was special, hm? What makes me any more 'special' then them?” she nodded to the other Rare Ones, “and why, exactly, do YOU care?”



Justin sighed. “I don't know. You are simply an important figure, I do not know in what way. An important figure in some extraordinary event yet to come--”
“What, is there some sort of prophesy about me that I should know about?”
“--and as you do not seem to take care of yourself very well, someone must ensure that you do not come to harm.”
“And I thought I made it clear to you that I DON'T NEED protection!” she roared. (If the situation had been less serious, Jason would've laughed. Watching the slight girl try to roar in the metaphorical face of the muscular man who was twice her size, if not more, was like watching a kitten try to intimidate a lion.)
Justin took three giant steps across the room and had her by the neck in less than two seconds.
The hunters all reached for their weapons, but then hesitated. Jason didn't; his sword was out and poised over Justin's back five seconds later.
Tiana didn't even blink, but growled deep in her throat. “Let go,” she said through clenched teeth.
Justin's hand nearly completely circled her neck. He released her with a slight chuckle. “You honestly think you do not need protection, even with the way you mouth off. Amazing.”
Tiana's eyes flashed fire. “Grab me by the neck again and I swear to Bob, I'll slice your arteries open faster than you can blink.” She raised her hands to show him the two long, slim knives which had been hidden in sheaths, strapped to her forearms under her jacket sleeves. “I'm not as helpless as you seem to believe.”
Jason stepped back and sheathed his blade quietly, the scrape muted by the leather interior of the scabbard. The two were too preoccupied to notice it.
“You hesitated,” Justin said smoothly, “I could have snapped your neck the moment I reached you, and you would not have had time to defend yourself. You should have brought your blades out the moment I moved towards you.”
“So you're saying I should've just sliced you up on the spot,” Tiana shot back, “Without any hesitation whatsoever? If a total stranger had approached me like that, I would've.”
“But you didn't.”
“And this is exactly why I don't want you around,” Tiana yelled, “I don't want to be familiar with any of you! I'm safer with strangers! It is impossible to catch someone off-guard unless they don't expect it, and one can only expect the unexpected from a stranger because they know nothing about said stranger, and anything could happen! You wouldn't expect Avery to suddenly up and poison the whole troop! You wouldn't expect Matt and Tim to rob you blind and leave you to the gremlins! You wouldn't expect certain things from any of your men. Why? Because YOU KNOW THEM, never mind the fact that any one of them could be just reeeeealy great at hiding secrets. You just wouldn't expect it. If I'm oh-so-important, how do I know you aren't just keeping me safe for your own reasons? How do I know you're not going to assassinate me in the dead of night? Why should trust you-- why should I even believe you?!”
Her last words echoed in the silence of the room. Jason saw her arms rigid and quivering with passion, but the blaze in her eyes was beginning to fade. Jason knew the feeling; when the firestorm of rage burns itself out and you're left with an emptiness, a void, then what? What is she going to do now?
Tiana waited for a moment or two, but a wordsmith Justin was not. After receiving no reply, she exhaled sharply and marched to her room. Things were slammed around for a minute, then she reappeared with a giant bag which she hoisted over her shoulder. “Rafe!” she snapped.
The man raised his head a fraction more, to show he was listening.
“Your quest has been completed in the sense that you collected a bunch of Rare Ones and answered many of their questions. You've got plenty of subjects to study so as to learn more about our kind. You don't need me any more, and if you can't teach me to control my powers, I don't need you. So you stay off my back, as well.” She turned on her heel and swung the refrigerator door open, scooped a few frozen burritos up and dropped them in in her bag. One of the unnamed hunters spoke up. “So you isolate yourself just because you're scared of what people might do to you. Doesn't that mean you'll always be alone?”
Tiana paused just before she closed the door on her way out. “That's a fine point you make, sir, but allow me to present a rebuttal: Go be fruitful and multiply-- with a CACTUS.”
The door slammed shut with such force, one of the picture frames fell off the wall.