Episode 42 Last Minute!

“Hurry! We’re almost at the coliseum!” Jirgen cries over his shoulder, as he leads his troop of men down a narrow, paved boulevard towards a massive complex in the distance.

Overhead, in the sky, a blazing red fire of crimson mixes with the cool, blackening night as a fiery eruption explodes in the heavens, spewing forth the crooked face of some devilish beast.

Jirgen slides to a stop, awestruck by the sheer immensity of the monster. “What in the world is that?!” he cries, as the men around him cry out, and cower in fear.

Ryuu grasps his stomach, staring dizzily down at the wasted body of Arayu. He pulls his opponent’s last arrows out of his chest, and heaves heavily, watching streams of blood pour onto the ground.

Ryuu sways, and clutches a streetlamp for support. “Damn it…that last attack he hit me with really took its toll on me…I don’t have much strength left. But I’ve gotta catch up to the others now, before Shuriken gets to them! Sasha and the others may be strong, but they’ll be no match once Shuriken fuses with his Paradox.”

Tide continues to dash desperately down a deserted street, hurrying after the others. ‘“I said MOVE! I’m telling you, no, ordering you, not as your childhood friend but as your commander to move!”’

Tide smiles grimly to himself as he runs, shaking his head slightly. ‘Heh. Silver, if it’d been me in your position and you in mine, I’ll bet you and your stubborn self would’ve tried to stay back there too.’

As Tide nears a fork in the road, he glances around apprehensively. “Damn it! Which way did they go! Geez, I gotta catch up to them! What’s with all these split roads?!”

Shrugging slightly, Tide takes the one on the right, hurrying down the new path. ‘Dammit, hang in there, guys. I sure hope that Shuriken guy or whatever hasn’t already caught up to you!’

A small fire crackles in pitch-black darkness, its every pop resounding loudly in the pounding silence. A sickle-like moon hangs luminously overhead, shedding very little light down to the dark emptiness below.

Sasha, Lily, and Ivy sit huddled around this fire, wrapping their capes closer around themselves for warmth. Each peers at the other two, an anxious gleam in their worried faces.

“It’s so cold…” Ivy murmurs, shivering slightly.

“I know,” Sasha whispers back, her breath just barely visible in the flickering firelight. “But I couldn’t really find a better place to spend the night than here.”

She looks up at the broken, tiled roof of some long-ago devastated building. Only three walls stand; the fourth lies in a crumbled ruin at their feet. The fire is built on top of this shattered wall, fueled by the splinters of wood lying on the floor.

All around them, the cobblestone ground stretches out for several feet, before disappearing into the snare of total blackness. The piercing silence rings loudly in their ears, as they scan the quieted slumber of the Rift World.

“Why do we run…?” Lily questions suddenly, her eyes pointed towards the ground. “Why do we keep running? For what purpose?”

“To protect you, of course,” Sasha whispers solemnly. “Lord Kimura and the rest of the Naraku are after you, because of that Phoneme you have inside of you.”

“In that case you needn’t trouble yourselves with me,” Lily replies quietly. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t need to place your lives in danger. You may leave, and save yourselves now.”

“Don’t be stupid!” Ivy cries, causing Lily to glance upwards in surprise. “We won’t leave you no matter what. You’re our friend, so we’re going to do all we can to help protect you.”

“I don’t need to be protected,” Lily retorts, “I can fight for myself—”

“There’s no need to act all tough, Lily,” Sasha interrupts. “It’s okay. That’s why we’re here. To help you fight. We’re not going to abandon you, even if you order us to.”

Lily stares at Sasha for some time, her eyes watering slightly. “Th-thank you,” she chokes finally.

A sudden crunch of footsteps suddenly causes the three to look up. Sasha, Lily, and Ivy glance worriedly at each other, motioning for each other to be quiet.

Suddenly, in the glare of the firelight, a hunched, dark shadow comes into view, crawling and inching slowly towards them. “MONSTER!” Ivy screams, panicking.

“What, monster?!” Sasha and Lily cry automatically, whipping out their weapons and whacking the approaching monster harshly on the back.

“Oww!” the monster wails, “Oww! Geez, I’m not a monster! I’m just a directionally frustrated, if not cute, guy! Oww! Stop hitting me with that! That’s not a punching bag there!”

“Huh?” Sasha mumbles, pausing in her thwacking of the monster. “Hey, it talks!”

“Oh, oh!” Ivy cries. “It must be something like Otis! A monster that talks!”

“I’m not a monster!” the monster cries desperately.

“Either way, the monster must be eliminated,” Lily chips in.

“Nobody’s listening to me…” the monster whimpers.

“Hey wait a minute, I think I see a human face,” Sasha mutters, grasping the monster’s face by the hand, and peering closely at it in the firelight. “Check it out! This monster has a human face!”

“AHHH! GODDAMMIT, I’M NOT A MONSTER!” the monster cries, thrashing about wildly. “IT’S ME, TIDE! YOUR FRIEND, Y’KNOW?!”

“Hey, what do you know, it’s not a monster after all!” Sasha concludes, after having finished examining Tide’s face in the firelight.

“Wow!” Ivy cries. “Why didn’t you tell us you weren’t a monster in the first place, Tide? It would’ve saved us a lot of trouble, since you scared us so much!”

“I was telling you that from the beginning!” Tide sighs.

“I don’t remember you saying anything like that,” Lily adds.

“You guys are mean…” Tide whimpers.

“Anyway,” Sasha continues, folding her arms, “what are you doing here, Tide? I thought you were supposed to be back there with Silver and the others.”

“Well, I was…” Tide replies, “but then ‘Lady Silver’ ordered me to come after you guys, y’know…look after you, make sure you didn’t get hurt. Basically, the job of a big strong man to look after you girls.”

“Then shouldn’t she have sent Ryuu?” Ivy wonders out loud.

“Hey!” Tide whines. “You’re insulting my dignity as a man…”

Sasha sighs, shaking her head exasperatedly. “Anyway, you’re welcome to stay here with us, I guess. But do try and keep things on the down low, as we’re currently being pursued by the Naraku.”

“Anyway, Tide, now that you’re here, you can keep watch!” Ivy mumbles sleepily. She curls into a cozy bed made of her own robes and cape, yawning sleepily.

“Eh?!” Tide cries out loud. “Why me?!”

“Because you’re a big, strong man,” Lily answers for Ivy.

Tide merely grumbles, unable to produce an answer for this statement.

Tide rests his head against one of the remaining three crumbling walls of the derelict building. The fire has nearly flickered down to its last life, several white ashes fluttering about in the cold night breeze. He suddenly snaps back to alertness at the rustling of robes nearby.

“Huh? Ivy?”

Ivy crawls to sit next to Tide, a strange smile flickering about on her face. “Tide…are you still keeping watch? How long has it been?”

“A uh, couple hours at least,” Tide whispers back. “Dawn’s probably only about one or two hours away now.”

“You should get some sleep, Tide,” Ivy mumbles. “You need to get some rest too.”

“And what about you?” Tide wonders.

“I can keep watch for you!” Ivy replies. “I can’t sleep much lately anyway…I’m too worried about Kunai.”

“Kunai?” Tide asks. “Who’s Kunai?”

“Huh?” Ivy mumbles, taken slightly by surprise. “Oh, that’s right! You haven’t met Kunai yet! He’s the Hermit that’s been traveling with us since the very beginning…we’ve gone through a lot together. I can’t even remember how many times he’s saved me.”

“I see,” Tide replies. “What happened to him?”

“Before we left the Underworld, Kunai decided to stay behind so this man named Azuma could help train him and make him stronger,” Ivy answers. “I mean, if that’s what he wants, I’m happy for Kunai, but it’s just that…”

“You miss him?” Tide completes for Ivy.

“Y-Yeah,” Ivy admits softly.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll see him again soon,” Tide replies. “But in the meantime you gotta keep strong for those you love.”

“You’re right,” Ivy sniffs. “You’re so smart, Tide!”

“Heh, heh!” Tide murmurs.

With a chilling rattle, a breeze suddenly sweeps by, extinguishing the very last feeble embers in the fire. Ivy gasps aloud in the completed darkness, her sense of vision having disappeared.

Tide gropes around blindly, reaching for his Zard. He finally wraps his fingers around its hilt, and picks it up, shouldering it and standing up.

In the darkness, Ivy senses Tide’s movements. “Tide? What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna go get some firewood,” Tide replies. “Gotta keep warm and keep this light up, y’know.”

“Be careful!” Ivy mutters worriedly.

After a long while, Ivy suddenly glances up happily as the faint rustling of approaching footsteps sounds, signaling the return of Tide.

“Tide!” Ivy whispers to the darkness.

The noise of footsteps suddenly stops, and Ivy listens intently to the hushed silence. She furrows her eyebrows, glancing about in the dark light tentatively. “Tide…?”

“Get down!” Sasha suddenly shouts, pulling Ivy onto the ground.

Not one second later, two Tobis slice through the air where Ivy had been standing, coming to a thudding halt on the decrepit wall of the broken building.

Ivy breathes heavily, looking up from the ground where she lays. “What was that?”

“He’s here,” Sasha murmurs in Ivy’s ear. “Shuriken.”

“Shuriken…?” Ivy gasps in a hushed voice.

Sasha and Lily huddle closer together towards Ivy, staring through the impenetrable darkness, searching for the dark figure of Shuriken. “Where’s Tide?” Sasha asks Ivy.

“He…he went to go look for firewood,” Ivy answers, trembling in fear.

“Damn it,” Sasha curses under her breath, “men are so useless these days.”

“Come out,” Shuriken’s voice rings suddenly. At that moment, the sky brightens just a little, lifting the black veil over the ground. “I know you are there.”

“I can see him!” Sasha whispers. Suddenly she grips her Berzerker, handling it in her gloved hand. “I’m gonna get him now!”

Sasha pounces, but not before Shuriken notices, and parries her attack with an Avenger. He disappears in a flash, reappearing behind Sasha and knocking her high into the air. He launches his Avenger after her, watching as it slashes into Sasha’s shoulder, spreading blood all over the ground.

“Sashaa!” Ivy yells, leaping out of her hiding place to rush over to Sasha’s side.

“Ivy! Be careful!” Lily cries, chasing after Ivy.

However, Lily is forced to stop in her tracks, as she finds Shuriken blocking the way between her and Ivy. Shuriken raises another Avenger in his hand threateningly. “Come with me, or your friends shall die.”

“Lily!” Ivy shouts, rushing over to Lily’s side. She stands in front of Lily, arms stretched outward, blocking Shuriken from his prey. “I won’t let you take her away!”

“How interesting,” Shuriken mutters. “Step away from the Phoneme. I’ve no grudge against you, but if you do not move, I will kill you as well.”

“I’m not going to move,” Ivy retorts stubbornly, “so strike me down if you must!”

“Very well then!” Shuriken shouts, raising his Avenger. “Die!”

Ivy raises her arms, preparing for the fatal blow, but it never comes. Instead, there is a clash of metal on metal, and as Ivy opens her eyes, she sees Tide standing between she and Shuriken, his Zard raised against Shuriken’s Avenger.

Ivy steps back, gasping slightly in surprise. “Tide!”

“Hope I’m not too late!” Tide replies, a smirk spreading across his face.

Shuriken takes a step back, lowering his Avenger slightly. His eyes rove over Tide’s face, and then come to rest upon his unsheathed Zard. “And who are you?”

“Tide’s the name,” Tide smirks, “and don’t cha dare forget it, bub.”

“A minor nuisance,” Shuriken dismisses instantly, waving his hand in Tide’s face. “Move away, or I shall kill you as well. As with the girl, I’ve no grudge, but I do not mind killing you if necessary.”

“Heh,” Tide retorts, “y’know, you act all cool and stuff, but I’ve yet to see anything from you! Come on! Show me what you’ve got!”

Shuriken glances lazily up, his eyes gleaming menacingly. “Oh really?” Shuriken mutters softly. “Then prepare yourself, fool!”

In a flash, Shuriken lands his Avenger on Tide’s shoulder blade, tearing the muscle tissue hidden deep underneath. With a heave, he throws Tide high into the air as well, allowing him to land in a bloody heap on the ground.

Tide’s Zard soars through the air after him, landing with a clatter on the ground some yards away. He groans in pain, stretching his unhurt arm forward in a futile attempt to grab his Zard. “What the hell…was that?”

Shuriken steps up to Tide, peering down haughtily at him. “You are no match for my speed. Do not fool yourself into believing a lowly warrior such as yourself is capable of keeping up with me. It is impossible.”

“Damn it!” Tide cries, his voice choking and his vision wavering. He inches forward, creeping towards the hilt of his sword on the ground. “I’ve…gotta…get my sword!”

Shuriken steps forward, kicking the blade away even further. Tide collapses, lying on the ground motionless. “Damn, am I gonna lose here to this guy…?”

“Tide…!” Ivy shouts worriedly. “NO! TIDE!”

Shuriken turns slowly, grasping his Avenger in hand. “Do you still insist on standing in my way?”

Ivy stares at Sasha, and then Tide, both of whom lay motionless on the ground, bathed in blood. She shuffles in front of Lily, stretching out her arms once again, and meeting Shuriken’s cold glare. “Yes. Yes, I will!”

“Very well,” Shuriken growls, “prepare to die!” He leaps forward, with his Avenger raised, armed to kill. Jumping through the air, Shuriken brings his Avenger singing down in a wide arc, straight towards Ivy.

As Ivy raises her arms a second time, another clang of metal interrupts the imminent attack. As Ivy opens her eyes to look this time, her eyes widen at the person standing before her.

Kunai stands in between she and Shuriken, his own Avenger parrying Shuriken’s. Shuriken struggles to push his Avenger past Kunai’s, who holds it firmly in one hand.

“If you’re gonna pick a fight with Ivy, then you just picked a fight with me,” Kunai growls. He half-turns to Ivy, flashing a grim smile at her. “Yo. Hey, Ivy. It’s been a long while, eh?”

Next Time: Phoneme Series Extra #3

Ryuu: What the hell are we doing in this dump?

Arai: It’s called Happyville!

Ryuu: Yeah, whatever. What are we doing here again?

Kunai: Heh, Santa needs our help!

Ivy: Yay! It’s decorating time!

Otis: Hehe, Redheaded Gorilla has a big ugly red nose!

Ayame: Let’s decorate the tree with snail shells!

Otis: …

Phoneme Series Extra #3 coming soon!