Oops, just realized that Zetta's captive forgot to point out where Rin and co are saying. Since he said the dragon chamber was on their floor and Rin said to go up for it... let's assume Zetta and co. are on the floor above them. :v
Zetta thought about it for a moment, then said, "It would make more sense to head where Rin isn't first, so we can get that done with without, ah, distractions. Plus, we're already on the correct floor. Sound good?" She waited for the others to voice their assent.
"Alright. Good. Follow the signs, then... Ah!" Zetta spotted a sign on the wall a little further down the hallway, where it split off three ways. She studied it for a moment, looking crestfallen. "Well, that figures. Anyone here speak Chinese?"
"I learned a few words when I came here to learn about my powers," Blackrose offered. She studied the sign as well, then eventually pointed at the hallway that branched off to the left, deeper into the facility. "I think we have to go that way."
"Well, that makes sense, I guess. One second." Zetta took a moment to layer herself and the others with invisibility once more, then let Blackrose lead the way deeper into the building. "So, ah... how exactly do you think we'll have to end up freeing these dragons?"
"Uh... I don't know, are there schools in England?" Maya asked in reply to Dr. Strauss's question "I don't want to have to stay at home again like I did with Mummy, it's boring not having anyone to play with. Are we leaving here now then?"
~
The dragon slowed and dropped back onto the ground as the tunnel narrowed even further, it continued to walk along at a reasonable pace though now that it had lost it's pursuers.
Jinan... ain't that a city in the East? Sorry but a while back the mistress gave the order that only a certain few dragons were allowed to leave this mountain... if I disobey her and fly away I'll die. There ain't no way around that unless you get that damn sword off her though that's not likely... I think I knew someone who could help yer insides here though if yer want?
~
Gabriel put his hand to his chin as he thought about what Zetta had just asked as they walked deeper into the mountain.
"Hmmm... I think Goch said we had to find Excalibur, take it in the dragon chamber if it isn't there already then... I dunno, some sort of the power is in you bullshit magic will happen and they'll be free. This better bloody work and help us take down the Rin woman too, still I don't get why she even came after us, or at-least you and Lily, in the first place..."
Gabriel paused because he realised he could hear something large cantering down the corridor and with it a man's voice in an American accent, quite unlike that of Rin's followers, at-least the one's he had met so far.
"Hey Zetta" he whispered hurriedly "It sounds like a dragon is heading this way, does your invisibility illusion work on them? From what Goch has said I hope it'll be friendly anyway..."
"Uh... I don't know, are there schools in England? Maya asked, "I don't want to have to stay at home again like I did with Mummy, it's boring not having anyone to play with..."
Dr. Strauss hugged Maya a little more tightly to make sure she couldn't see how much what she said had disturbed him, "Lots," he paused, "There are lots of schools in England."
"Are we leaving now then?"
"Yes," Dr. Strauss answered as he pulled away from the hug enough to look Maya in the eye, "We'll be leaving soon. We just have to make sure Rin can't follow us.... after that, we can go home."
"Oh god please get me some help! I really think I messed myself up right there. My guts feel like they're on fire! Why did I even want the damn drink so much!?"
"Yes, thank you!" Maya said with a smile, she couldn't wait to leave the dull mountain and go to a new home. There were lots of questions she wanted to ask Dr. Strauss about England but first there was more important business.
"I really want a cute puppy, my mummy said we couldn't afford one and it wasn't fair but can we get one now? Please!" she told the doctor and gave one of his gloved hands a gentle tug to encourage him to move as she didn't want to stay here any-longer. The small girl deliberately ignored Mr. Kimura who was still watching the pair with mild annoyance, but he managed to get a hand on Dr. Strauss' shoulder before either could go anywhere.
"No sense in delaying my plan eh, is there anything-else you need me to tell you before you get on your way?"
~
The dragon tried to turn it's head in alarm as it heard hushed voices coming down the tunnel ahead, it's tail flicked in panic and it instinctively scraped it's claws along the ground.
Hey Alec, there's people heading this way, they'll probably be Rin's followers since there ain't hardly anyone-else around this place. I don't have room to turn around in 'ere, hang on tight because I may have to fight 'em.
"Hmm, so I guess we do need to go after the sword first then. As for my magic working on dragons, I have no idea--Goch is the first dragon I've met personally." Zetta was about to say more, but she decided not to when she heard a scraping sound coming from farther down the corridor. And was that a man's voice she heard?
"Quiet," she whispered as she waved the others to follow her down. A little farther down, the tunnel turned in another direction. Zetta poked her head around the corner carefully and immediately saw the dragon walking in her direction. It looked rather cramped in the tunnel. Zetta's face paled and she almost drew her head back, but then she saw the person on the dragon's back. Was he... was he burping fireballs?
Zetta stepped back to whisper to the others, "There's somebody on the dragon's back. It looks like, oh what's his name... The guy that was with Strauss before."
"Alec," Blackrose supplied. "If he's with the dragon, then... Should we make ourselves known?"
"Might as well," Lily piped in. "Shouldn't the dragons be on our side?"
Zetta nodded and let the invisibility fall away from them all once more. She took a deep breath and stepped around the corner to stare up at the dragon. "We're enemies of Rin," she said quickly. "We're here to find Excalibur and free your, ah, race."
"Alec?" Blackrose said, standing besides Zetta as she stared up at the man on the dragon's back. "What the hell happened to you?"
Dr. Strauss paused as he considered how to respond to the questions being hurled at him at a seemingly break-neck pace from his new daughter and Mr. Kimura... and who to answer first. In the end, the choice was not difficult.
"Of course we can get a dog Maya," he said whilst beaming at her, "It'll be the first thing we do when we get home. Though just be sure you take care of it and train it yourself, okay?" He added with a fatherly tone he surprised himself at how well he could still pull it off... he had expected it would have atrophied from disuse by now. Then he turned to Mr. Kimura, "Okay... tell me where Rin is, and that's where we'll take the bomb."
Dr. Strauss shot Mr. Kimura a look that he hoped would communicate that he meant the exact opposite of what he just said... and the Kimura would have him place the bomb a long ways away from Rin... and somewhere more... critical... something that would serve as a good distraction for him to make a break for it with Maya.
Maya grinned enthusiastically at Dr. Strauss and looked like she was about to say something, but before she could Mr. Kimura interrupted again.
"Go out into the corridor, turn left at the first exit, go up the flight of stairs and then head straight on from there. That'll lead you to the dragon chamber in no time. Take this phone with you and call me when you've done it or if you need help. Leave now please, Rin knows where my room is and it's only a matter of time before she finds out you two are missing and starts running a search. "
He handed a small cellphone to Dr. Strauss, then herded the pair out of the bedroom and closed the door behind them. Maya reached out and prodded the brown package that the doctor was holding with her finger.
"Is that the bomb?" she asked in a hushed voice before adding with the ghost of smile upon her face "Are we going to blow up Rin?"
~
"RAAWWWWRRR!!!" ...huh?
The dragon leapt forward with a roar, teeth bared at Zetta's face. A second before it made contact with her it heard her words and screeched to a halt with it's claws dug into the ground.
Oops... sorry about that missy, thought you were one of hers... wait yer really gonna free us? Wow! I'll let yer get up to speed with yer friend here first but if there's anything yer need from me, just say eh?
Zetta flinched back as the dragon leaped towards her, but she managed to keep from screaming. Blackrose and Lily seemed to have not been rattled by their near-death-by-dragon experience, although Lily was gazing at the beast in a rather disapproving manner. "Well," she said, running one hand through her hair as per the usual when she was nervous. "If you could direct us to the sword, that'd be nice. Once we get that, we can help free you."
"We need to know where Rin is, too," Lily put in. "Especially if she happens to have the sword on hand."
Blackrose, meanwhile, was still staring at Alec. "Why is he... Is he burping flames? What happened to him?"
Dr. Strauss was somewhat alarmed by the eagerness at which Maya has suggested they kill Rin, he took her by the hand and explained to her what Mr. Kimura had suggested as they walked carefully towards where the dragon chamber supposedly was, checking around each corner for anyone who might stop them.
"It is a bomb Maya but no, we aren't going to hurt anyone with it, I hope. We're going to use it to create a distraction for her so we can escape and go back to England. You want that don't you?"
"Yes..." the little girl replied after a pause "But won't Rin just find me again like she did last time?"
"Ummmmm.... no, of course not, we'll go somewhere she can't follow us" Dr. Strauss quickly reassured her but inside he didn't feel nearly as confident, fortunately Maya couldn't pick up on this. After a couple of minutes the pair reached the corner around which the chamber was supposed to be, the doctor peered around briefly before ducking his head back in.
"Okay Maya, I can see there's at-least two of Rin's followers there, they both have guns so be very careful when you sneak past them. Do you remember the instructions I told you on the way up here?"
"Yeah, it'll be easy, five minutes is loads of time" Maya replied impatiently "Can I go now?"
"Alright but just... be safe okay?" Dr. Strauss gave her a quick hug and reluctantly passed her the brown parcel but even before he let go she vanished into thin air, he heard a faint giggle and then footsteps running off towards the chamber. As the doctor watched the empty space where he knew she was, he felt increasingly uncomfortable about the whole idea of entrusting such a dangerous device to such a young child and regretted not asking Mr. Kimura for an alternative idea.
Oh God please say nothing goes wrong, that I made the right decision...
~
Alec slid off the dragon but had to put his hand against the creature's body to hold himself up, the fire in his guts was finally subsiding but he still felt light-headed and drunk.
"Ah, well lets just say lady that I don't recommend you ever try dragon booze, it isn't what it's made out to be..." he burped loudly again and then looked closer at the four people in front of him. "Wait just a moment, I know you guys, you there were in Paris with me and Strauss and you there," he said pointing at Blackrose "We met at the Tao Zheng lab in Jinan didn't we? How on Earth did you get here? That Rin lady is a right..."
Before he could finish though the dragon he had been riding interrupted to speak directly to Zetta and Lily.
Shhhh human man... some say she hears all when her name is spoken. The mistress is downstairs with the old master now, Excalibur is in the chamber on this floor further along this way, I'll lead yer there if yer can answer me this one question. How can we dragon folk trust then you will end the oath rather than renewing it with yerself as the new master?
Blackrose opened her mouth to reply to Alec's questions, but closed it again when the dragon began to speak. She just shrugged, indicating she'd tell him in a bit. Zetta, meanwhile, was putting her thoughts together to form a suitable reply to the dragon's question.
"Well," she began, looking up to the ceiling as she thought. "What use could we have for you if we took over as master?"
"Apart from taking over the world?" Lily suggested dryly. Zetta glanced at her with a disapproving frown, then turned her gaze to the dragon.
"Listen, all we want is to be left alone. We know what it's like to be hunted, to be oppressed, to be scared. I, myself, am part demon; everybody else here has some sort of power. We've all been targeted before. The police, Rin, maybe some other people..." She paused to take in a deep breath. "We have no wish to continue enslaving your race."
"We'd be no better than Rin if we did," Blackrose commented. The other two nodded.
"If you lead us to Excalibur, we can use it to free the rest of the dragons, and then we can all go take down Rin," Zetta continued. "Well, how about it? Will you help us?"
Once she had crept past the followers who were guarding the entrance to the chamber, Maya tiptoed into the wide open space, holding the brown package tightly to her chest whilst being thankful for her invisibility. The chamber was much larger than anywhere-else she had been in the mountain so far and was well-lit with glaring lamps in all four corners. In the centre was a rocky mound several metres in height, on the top of which lay the gleaming sword which Dr. Strauss had told her she had to bring back. She ran up the steps to what appeared to be a large stone chair and climbed up onto it, before hastily unwrapping the package. A few seconds later she held in her hands a small metal box, featureless except for it's glowing counter and a large red button embedded in the side of the box. The small girl carefully pushed down on the button and the number immediately began to decrease.
5.00, 4:59, 4.58, 4.57...
Maya hurriedly balanced the bomb on one of the chair's arms and grabbed onto Excalibur with both hands. She tried to lift the sword, but without warning a jolt not unlike bomb behind her. With a certain ineviability it tumbled off it's perch and rolled down the mound with a clatter. Maya squeaked in alarm, jumping off the chair to slide down after the errant device, snatching it off the ground a moment after it landed with a thud near the entrance. She stared at the timer, relieved that the numbers were still changing.
0.27, 0.26, 0.25, 0.24...
Her mother had only taught her how to read western numbers a month or two before her disappearance, so it took Maya several seconds to realise what was wrong. With a cry she dropped the bomb, turned and fled back around the edge of the mound away from the ticking device as fast as she could. The young girl didn't stop when she heard the confused voices of the ill-fated followers behind her having found the bomb, nor when one of the badly fitting shoes she had stolen back in China with Takeda slipped off. She spotted a narrow tunnel leading away from the chamber and she leapt towards it, not stopping even when the tight stone walls were protecting her from the impending blast. After a moment of silence, only broken by the sounds of her own ragged breathing, the bomb finally detonated and everything around her shook. The rocks beneath Maya's feet started to slide and she stumbled down the tunnel as best she could, not wanting to be squashed as the sections of the tunnel collapsed under the strain of the explosion. Seeing the light of day, the little girl pulled herself out onto a ledge at the edge of mountain into the blinding sun, blinking furiously. Dirty and bruised, she fell to her knees and rested her head against the warm sand, the exhaustions of the past two days too much for her to take any longer. Within seconds she was unconscious.
~
Dr. Strauss repeatedly switched between counting the seconds on his watch and running his hands through his hair, he wished he could see what Maya was doing in the dragon chamber. He tried to reassure himself by imagining how happy she would be when he took her back to England, how excited she would be on her first day at school... he struggled to blink back tears as his fantasy mixed with the memories of his two oldest daughter's first school days, in his mind's eye he could see all of them playing together, laughing and...
"BOOOOOOOMMMM!"
Dr. Strauss was jolted out of his daydream as the reverberations of the explosion ripped through the mountain, looser parts of the cavern walls cascaded down like miniature landslides. He looked at his watch in horror.
It's been just two and a half minutes... what happened to the five minute countdown?
Without caring whether Rin's followers were still guarding the chamber or not, the doctor stumbled round the corridor ignoring the falling debris around him and fought his way to the entrance, thankfully they had vanished. He didn't pause and ran on inside before stopping dead in his tracks, a lump suddenly in his throat. Before him lay a scene of carnage, only the base of the stone chair remained, charred rocks lay all around and above him a glimmer of sunlight shone through a newly-formed chimney in the roof. It was not these that caught his attention though, nor was it the crumpled bodies of the two guards caught up in the explosion or even Excalibur which rested nearby, slightly blackened but otherwise still intact. Instead it was one small shoe that lay half-buried amongst the rubble which he knelt before and picked up with trembling hands, the sole mostly burned away but still recognisably white with a pink bow.
"Maya..." he breathed.
~
The dragon turned its head to one side in consideration, then straightened up which what looked like a smile, at-least as much as one as it could make.
Truer words have never been spoken missy, I accept yer offer. Follow me.
For a short time the group followed the dragon, anxious about what they might find in the chamber, before without warning a great booming noise filled the air and the tunnel around them shook.
"Help!" Blackrose cried as rocks fell in the passageway between her and group, but the dragon swept the rest of the companions along with him without even giving them time to reply.
"She'll have to find 'er own way round, if we stay 'ere we could be crushed! We need to get to the dragon chamber where it's sturdier built where so we'll be safe from these blasted rocks."
The others had no time to complain as they dodged the falling debris and were grateful when they finally stumbled across the entrance to their destination. From the moment they entered it was clear something drastic had happened in the ruined chamber; the central mound was in pieces, two followers lay dead nearby and Excalibur was resting blackened at the side of the room, but all ignored by the kneeling figure in a white coat in the centre of the room silently bent over something. He appeared to be shaking and clutching a small object to his chest.
Here's the final copy, not quite my best piece of writing but I think it's good enough now
Dr. Strauss tried to grab the little shoe with his left hand, but as the little thing was partially melting...
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Dr. Strauss howled in pain and grief. His tears broke past his gray-green levies as he once again remembered how he lost his family.
"See Mary," he muttered at abnormally high pitch, "See Mary burn and melt and die. See Emily. See Emily lay on a hospital bed. See Emily die on a hospital bed. See me hug Abby and Sunny. See Abby and Sunny cry. See Sunny. See Sunny break out in hives and choke and die. See me hug Abby. See Abby break out in legions and tumors and boils and die. See Maya. See Mr. K give give her new daddy a package. See Maya's new daddy hand her the package. See Maya disappear. See Maya explode."
Dr. Strauss let the tears and cries of anguish wash over over him. He didn't keep track of the time, but he swore it felt like a lifetime before anyone dared to come anywhere near him.
Note: This OOC will only be up for a limited time. Say... around when this RP ends or... some other plot points involving Dr. Strauss happen... whichever comes first. Either way, I don't want to this poem to stay up indefinitely as I do intend to publish it along with the rest of the novel I'm working on.
1) Tell me about your dreams, Dr. Sunderland.
April 9, 2014
I dream of Jane, my wife.
I dream of Abigail and Talia, our children. Tell me about-
I dream of Go Fish, Monopoly, and Sigil.
I dream of lofabeds and valleys and flight. Tell me about-
April 11, 2014
The Valley is barren, but not lifeless.
Its grass has a curious effect on me that I?m not sure I should tell you about.
Try me.
The Valley is barren, but not lifeless.
The grass, it draws blood from my bare ankles and shins; yet the grass is crayon. Tell me about-
April 16, 2014
The grass is crayon; I?m in one of Tali?s scrawls. She wanted to be an artist in Crayola and Prang.
I teased her about it; after all, when has someone bought anything done in crayon? Tell me about-
The blood that the Rose Art grass draws is turgid and small clots are pushed out with it.
It sprays out in a jet, as if pressurized by my incrimination. Tell me about-
2) Tell me more about the Valley, Dr. Sunderland.
April 22, 2014
There?s a Spire in the middle of the Valley.
It has no beginning. It has no clear end. It just is. And... the City Spins.
The Lady of Pain and I are on a first-name basis now. She visits me at work, at home, in bed.
On the whole it is a miserable and direly one-sided affair. The City Keeps On Spinning.
May 7, 2014 What is happening in this city?
I go out my door. I look to my right. I look to my left.
The rain encroaches from both directions, stalking and drowning the traffic in this Spinning City.
My lab coat, gloves, test tubes, and notes are all that is needed to incriminate me.
Our serums and our tried and tested and failed formulae are more than I can tell you about.
I am in my backyard. The tree spirals up to the overcast,
At once drowning in the rain and dying of thirst as the City spins on.
The hung tire swings one way, then another.
One way its Jane; the other, Talia. This tiresome city spins.
Sigil, the city atop the infinite Spire, Spins.
There is no reason for it, but? the City too, is infinite? and it Spins.
Sigil, City of Doors, City of Keys, City of Labyrinths.
Sigil, the City that Spins.
Its doors are not always open, but this place is limitless.
I go through Door after Door while the City Spins.
May 14, 2014
Tell me about the Doors, Dr. Sunderland?
What are they doing in the spinning city?
Door after Door after Door after Door
After Door after Door after bloody umpteenth Door. The City Spins.
Somewhere there must be a place where the experiment worked.
Or where my Jane and baby girls are still? surely there must be somewhere away from this spinning city!
3) Why do you want to get away from the spinning city?
May 20, 2014
Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Yet I live.
I saw Jane go. I saw Talia go. Yet I live.
The Spinning City casts me out.
I fall back to the Valley. Yet I live.
The non-toxic waxen grass bleeds me.
My body has grown etiolated. I am destroyed. Yet... I live.
Sunderland?
June 1, 2014
Jane was my first. And she went first.
Our baby girls needed me. So... I lived.
Gone. Gone with their clothes, gone with their bicycles and cards.
Gone with the clay mugs they made us. Gone with them. Gone with my reason. Yet... I live.
''World?s Best Mum,'' the unvarnished truth from Tali.
''World?s Best Daddy,'' Abby?s praise became a lie. Yet... I live.
Doctor, I?m sure you were a wonderful father.
June 14, 2014
See Abby. See Abby run. See Abby run into an alley.
See Abby disappear. See Abby?s blood sodded to the wall. Yet... I live.
See Abby?s shoe. See her name on the shoe.
See me clutch the shoe like a charm. Vainly wishing her back. Yet... I live.
Welcome to my home. Sorry it?s in tatters. Sorry I?m in disarray.
Jane, Talia, I?m sorry I killed you. I had no business carrying on... yet I live.
July 4, 2014
Our viral serum should have worked. It should have
It should have been the plague to end all plagues. It failed yet I live.
Doc-tor... Sunderland? Here, would you like a tissue?
July 10, 2014
No more epidemics. No more infections. A Nobel Contender to be sure!
No more overworked and understaffed hospitals. It failed. Yet... I live.
It killed Jane? God killed Jane? I killed Jane? Yet... I live?
It killed Talia? God killed Talia? I killed my little Tali? Yet... I live?
4) It is not your fault, Dr. Sunderland.
May 7, 2014 Jared, I have gathered some articles, all attesting that it is not your fault.
Why, the headlines alone all hold that it is not your fault.
''Doctors Jane and Jared Sunderland?s bold experiment fails ?
Materials and Notes confiscated due to legal concerns'' That?s not your fault.
''Dr. Jared Sunderland loses wife, Jane, and two daughters''
You lost them Sunderland; you didn?t kill them. It wasn?t your fault.
I didn?t take a knife or a gun to them, no.
But it is my experiment that makes it my fault.
June 1, 2014 None of the letters to the editor on the subject blame you. There is no mob storming your house or this office demanding your bloodied corpse. No one blames you. It is NOT your fault.
June 14, 2014 No one is collecting funds for a siege on your home. No one is collecting torches and pitchforks to assault this office or even your person. Why? Because only you are asserting that it is your fault.
No one is so much as calling for your arrest, let alone trial, judgment, and execution.
Only you persist in saying ''its all my fault.''
July 10. 2014 Why do you insist that it IS your fault? Are you so determined to turn yourself asunder as punishment for a freak accident that no one could predict? It. Is not. Your. Fault.
5) Dr. Sunderland? You do know that your family is gone, right?
April 11, 2014
Of course I know they?re gone!
Its all I can think these days, that same tiresome refrain, ''they?re gone!''
April 16, 2014
Tali. I regret that I poked fun at your crayon scrawls. I wish I could take it back. But I can?t.
I can no longer tell you how much I love you, or how good an artist you are. You?re gone.
I would apply silver leeches to my skin, if only...
If only such a gesture were more than a bloody token. But that?s all it is? and you?re gone.
May 7, 2014
There?s a knock at my door. I answer. I look to my left. I look to my right.
But, the drowning traffic and the etiolating trees have all gone with the rain.
Their missing clothes, books, bicycles and cards are all that are needed to condemn me
To forever regret their absence. How else am I to remember my family now that they?re gone?
I am in my kitchen. Diligently burning the eggs, vaporizing the bacon, and torching the tomatoes until they?re the same ashen stock as the contents of my wife and daughter?s urns. All gone now.
The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars all soar across the sky at a blinding pace, as they break into obscurity and form skewed and distorted white-chalk lines in the dark? until they?re gone altogether.
The infinite Spire resting below the infinitely Spinning City, Sigil,
All of it vanishes once a reason is found for the celestial mess ?- to tether it down ?- and it goes away.
The Spire, forever reaching, groping, grasping vertically, ascending downwards;
Building down to build up, until it reaches Sigil, and becomes a Tower -? one soon to begone.
The Spire has no doors for it has none to offer.
It offers only two possibilities, one is final, and one is transcendence. Both are gone.
May 14, 2014
Tell me about the Doors, Dr. Sunderland,
What are they doing in the spinning city?
They promise both certainty and farce at once. What use is the distinction now?
Nothing to do but indulge in paradoxes these days; ?til I?m gone.
I have seen the Doors. Only one offers success. All that the remaining openings offer are different flavours of failure. I would do away with them all -? if I could, Sigil and its tiresome Spire would be gone.
May 20, 2014
I have heard a number of accounts from Exeter, Wolver-Hampton, and Sanford
About sightings of a peculiarly lonely little girl -? there?ve even been fuzzy photos of her. But she?s gone!
She can?t be there? the photographs are as fuzzy as those of Old Nessy, the Sasquatch, and flying saucers.
But... its unmistakable... it is her... my little Abby? I need to find her; she?s been gone too long.
You?ve already made this search, Dr. Sunderland.
I did? When? Why didn?t I find her? Because, I?m afraid your little Abby is dead and gone.
June 1, 2014
Tali was our first by a few seconds. And she went first of the two.
By about three-and-a-half days, Abby went as well. They?re all gone now.
Gone. Gone with the serums, gone with the notes and formulae.
Gone with the cask-head and demijohn. Gone. Gone.
Hey? come here, Dr. Sunderland.
''Here lies Jane H. Sunderland'' read her casket?s headstone.
''May she and her daughter, Talia rest in peace'' it went on, proving that they are gone.
June 14, 2014
See Jane. See Jane lay on a hospital bed. See Jane give birth.
See Jane give birth to twins. See Jane cry out as the Doctors take the twins away. All long gone now.
See Talia. See Tali die on a hospital bed just like her mother before her.
See me hold Abby so that she soaks in my sorrows and failures. Abby, like her tears, are gone now.
Would you like something to eat? I?m afraid my stove?s gone a bit funny.
It makes ashes of everything I put to it. Don?t worry, I cleaned the ashes away, they?re gone now.
July 4, 2014
I have gone over it again and again in my head. There is absolutely no reason it should have failed.
Jane and I should have the Nobel Prize. Our daughters should be proud of us. Dreams, long gone now.
July 10, 2014
The Americans had it right, ''pursuit of happiness.'' Happiness has proved, in my experience, too elusive a prey to bag. It was gone before I knew I had it in my sights.
It killed Jane. God killed Jane. I killed Jane. My wife is gone.
It killed Tali. God killed Tali. I killed Talia. My darling daughter is gone.
Skipping the 6th stanza.
7) Tell me about your dreams again, Dr. Sunderland.
October 5, 2014
I see them on the far side of the valley and I call out to them, ''Come back!''
They don?t hear me; they start to make their ascent and I yell ''Come back!''
We?re home in London, and my baby girls run to hide,
Talia climbs to the dormant attic; Abby ducks under their bunk bed ?- ''Come back!''
October 29, 2014
My friend stops talking when Jane cups my eyes; I hear footsteps, he?s gone.
Jane presses all of herself to my back; pulls me to the lofabed, whispering, ''Come back.''
October 30, 2014
My Dad charged past the tape to his scattered wife at Barker?s zebra crossing yelling for her to come back.
As if that would help. When the asylum came for him, months later, he kept screaming, ''Come back!''
October 31, 2014
White lab coat-clad leeches devour my serums and digest my needles
And drown my books. They leave glutted; I try to?- too late, uselessly muttering, ''Come back!''
November 17, 2014
Her hands have become mine. I rub my engorged belly with fine pianist?s hands ?- no, with surgeon?s hands. There is a tremble coming from deep within, from just above my core; I call out ''Come back.''
November 20, 2014
I pack the last of their clothes in a box before checking to see that our Monopoly is safely packed away too.
Then I sign some papers; the boxes are exorcised from my home. Too late, I cry, ''Wait! Come back!''
November 28, 2014
Sanford, Wolver-Hampton, Exeter... might as well be Damascus for all my search has to show for -- Wait, was that her? I run after her, now as before in the bloodied alleyway, I scream, ''Come back!''
December 5, 2014
I shout and I whimper and I scream as I lay on the bed; 6 hours of pain -- which nothing seems to kill;
I push, push? something out. A gall stone? No? those don?t cry. ''Doctor, bring my babies back!''
December 7, 2014
I get a running start; then I jump off the cliff -- to plummet -- but then, I find myself gliding.
I hear someone yell, ''Come back!''
I look to my left and see little Talia soaring beside me. I look to my right and see dear Jane soaring beside me. I glance to the ground below us and see little Abby shouting, ''Come back!''
"Help!" Blackrose stumbled backwards as the explosion rattled the building and the ceiling partially collapsed. She'd been in the back of the group, and she just barely managed to keep herself from getting crushed by the tumbling rocks. Blackrose caught a glimpse of the others' faces, looking back at her in horror and confusion before the debris blocked out a view of everything on their side of the tunnel.
Blackrose let out a yell of exasperation; she was cut off from the others and she would have to find her own way through the building. Hopefully, most of the other tunnels were fine. She didn't like the idea of being trapped in here too much.
"Alright, Blackrose, you can do this," she muttered to herself, then took a deep breath. At least she knew enough Chinese to get around with the signs, she reflected as she walked back down the other end of the tunnel. Too bad they wouldn't tell her what the hell exploded just a minute ago.
~
Zetta really didn't care for the idea of leaving a member of the group behind. However, there was no time (and no good way) to dig through the mountain of rocks and debris that filled the path. "We'll find you later!" she called over her shoulder as the dragon whisked them all along, but she doubted Blackrose would have heard her.
When they came to the chamber, Zetta couldn't help but stare at the kneeling doctor in the middle of the room. "Is that Strauss?" she whispered to Lily, for some reason not wanting to raise her voice over the ramblings coming from the man. Lily nodded, but she was looking elsewhere.
"There's the sword," Lily pointed out, going over to where Excalibur lay. She bent down to pick it up, and Zetta turned her attention back to Dr. Strauss.
"Hey, um..." Zetta strode forward to stand in front of the doctor, close but not too close, and peered worriedly at him. "Are you alright? What happened here?"
Whilst Zetta was talking to Dr. Strauss, Gabriel made his way over to her to get a closer look at Excalibur, stepping wide to avoid the fallen followers of Rin. He cautiously took it from her, a slight buzzing feel going through him as he gripped the blackened handle.
"Hey guys, I think it's still in one piece" he called out whilst noticing that the ends of his fingers had tiny flames and electric currents dancing around them, the sword seemed to be encouraging his powers. He turned back to the others and took more notice of the kneeling doctor.
"Hey, you're that guy who went off with Maya aren't you? Whatever happened to that kid, has Rin still got her?"
~
Meanwhile, Blackrose stumbled through the murky tunnel, climbing over fallen debris whilst searching desperately for any glimpse of daylight.
"Hello?" she called "Anyone... ahhhhh!" She inadvertently screamed as she felt the cool blade of a knife pressing against her throat.
"So my dear, are you the one who's been causing rumbles in this home of mine?" A familiar woman said in a quiet voice "I also presume you aren't alone, since two of my guests vanished just a few minutes ago. Don't worry, I'll find out soon enough where they are, I can find about everything about you in time..." she paused, then added with a laugh. "The name Ted mean anything to you?"
Dr. Strauss managed to quiet his crying, but the tears still flowed gently from their ducts. He looked up to see Lily and Zetta staring at him. For a moment he thought a third person was missing, but he quickly realized it was ridiculous and shrugged the feeling off.
After several moments, Dr. Strauss realized that the three were asking him about Maya.
"She's..." he paused to bring himself to say it as he gestured toward her partially melted shoe (revealing the new burn marks on his hands, and the segments of his gloves that were partially fused to his skin as a result of his stupid attempt to hold the shoe), "She's dead. We..."
He decided against explaining how it happened.
What does it matter now? But... how could I have let this happen...
Dr. Strauss grabbed at his own hair and stretched as he struggled to make sense of this.
It was just a distraction... that's all it should have been... then we should have been running along to England by now... and... and... who am I kidding? This was never going to work... I just sent Maya to her death because Mr. Kimura... because Mr. Kimura... because of Mr. Kimura...
Dr. Strauss slowly rose to his feet without making a sound, and started walking back the way he had entered the room from. He slowly backtracked his steps, hoping to find the wheel-chaired little bastard still waiting where Dr. Strauss had found him. And all the time, Dr. Strauss was dead silent.
Zetta stared at Strauss as he spoke, her eyes widening. Maya was dead? After everything she'd already been through, to be taken here by Rin and her followers and then . . . Zetta shook her head hard, willing herself not to cry as well. "I can't believe . . . What even happened here?" But although she directed the question at Strauss, he just walked numbly away. He seemed to be in some sort of daze, which Zetta couldn't blame him for. After all, because of Rin, another child was now dead.
"We have to get the sword to the dragon chamber and free them still," Lily spoke up. Her voice was calm and the expression on her face was unreadable. "We don't have time to sit around and mourn."
Zetta nodded, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her knuckles. "I know, but we . . . We need to figure out what's been going on here, too. Should we follow Strauss? He might even lead us to where the dragons are being kept."
Although the other two hadn't yet voiced their assent, Zetta began to walk after the doctor. She couldn't help but glance behind her, where he'd dropped the smoking remains of Maya's shoe. Rin would definitely have to pay for all she'd done.
"Wait a moment my dears, I've only just found you all."
As if from nowhere, Rin stepped out of the darkness in front of Zetta, Lily and Gabriel. In her hands she was carrying a blood-stained blue sweater and a small vial of what looked like blood. Alec, who was closer to the exit out of the dragon chamber than the others, let out a gasp upon seeing Rin and fled before anyone could stop him.
"Let him go, it's not like he has anywhere to run" Rin laughed "Well you can thank your late friend Blackrose for informing me of where you were going, once she found out I knew about her being a murderer she was like putty in my hands" She threw the stained sweater onto the ground. "She paid the ultimate price for her betrayal of me. Now hand me back Excalibur and give up this foolish idea to free my dragons... and I might just let you continue living when I unleash my plan!"
~
Mr. Kimura raised his eyebrows and let himself smile as he felt the explosion rumbling through the mountain. He wheeled himself to the door of his room and congratulated himself even further, his prediction that the part of the Ark he was in was the most stable had been proved correct, the corridor was still easily clear enough to move through. The old man took out his phone out of his front pocket and dialled Dr. Strauss's number.
My luck is picking up again he thought Not only did I get Hui's girl out of that maniac woman's grasp, I've found someone willing look after her for me. Thank the heavens, never could stand children.
~
Maya slept peacefully on the mountain-side, curled up and sucking her thumb. After a time she lazily cracked open an eye, then stretched and sat up with a shiver. She was entirely surrounded by darkness in every direction, even up and down.
"Hello?" she called, her voice echoing "Where am I?"
She noticed in the distance a glowing light, too distant to make out. Figuring she had nothing to lose, she got to her feet and began to walk towards the light. As she got closer she saw that the light was a person... no two people, standing together. One was short with fox ears, the other was...
"Mummy!" Maya yelled in delight and threw her arms around the smiling woman, wrapping them as far as they would go.
"Child" Her mother replied with a hug, besides her she noticed the kitsune properly for the first time.
"Hey Maya, how's it going?" Takeda nodded at her, looking much healthily than when she'd last seen him.
"Wait... am I dead?" Maya asked in a confused voice. She didn't feel frightened any-more, not in this place, just curious.
"No" Hui replied with a knowing smile "You're close, but not quite there. Today isn't that day for you"
Tears began to roll down Maya's cheeks "But I want to stay here... with you, and Takeda too"
"I'd love that too my child" her mother said "You have your own life to lead though, many things to do yet. Come, there's something I have to show you before you return to the world of the living."
She took her daughter reassuring by the hand and led her away. Maya waved goodbye to the kitsune as they passed through a door in the nothingness into a place she recognised well.
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