Story: Lightest Shade of Darkness (all chapters)

In a great war between the Trinity, which consisted of humans elves, and other forest and woodland creatures, and the Hordg, the side of demons and other monstrous creatures, there was a stone that was said to have great powers to turn the tides of the war.  My heroes from both sides have tried to unlock its power.  The stone itself wasn't the hardest thing to find, because it was said that the person who obtained the stone had to be an ancestor of the God of Sights.

The legends say that the God of Sights had two sons that were very competitive.  One had the power over many things that were of happiness and peace.  The other was a very powerful hunter and warrior.  Each one of them made up armies that, through the war, kept thing in balance.  Of course the Trinity was originated with the son of peace and the Hordg with the son of war.

After many centuries of searching, the stone was finally found, but its power was not released.  A step-daughter from the king of the Trinity found the stone and showed signs of its power.  The kingdom rejoiced, but the king was unhappy.  Since it wasn't one of his original children who found the stone, he though of a plan to give his eldest child, the honor of being the beholder of the stone.  He sent his step-daughter to the front of the line of the battle that was suppose to give the Trinity and major lead.  But instead of giving her the real stone, the king switched with a fake one.  The small army was slaughtered and the step-daughter's body was never found.  No one ever knew an=bout his plan.  Or so he thought...      

"Wait, general!  Don't leave! Are you just going to leave your faithful army like this?!"

There is nothing more that we can do.   It was a trap from the beginning" The general turned to leave though the flaps of the tent, but as some as he left, the tent was engulfed by flames form a Hordgen familiar.  The general draw his sword and approached his awaiting horse, one of the only ones alive.  A girl ran after him with many wounds from battle.

"Wait, you coward!"

The general smirked and angled his sword in front of him and slash as the girl came into range.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!" she howled in pain as she could no longer feel her left arm, but she did feel her warm blood run down her eye onto her face, and sank to the ground faint with loss of blood.

"You weak little girl, you will die here today!"  the general reared his horse and ripped the fake stone off the girl's chest.

"The king doesn't want a peasant like you to be worthy of this power!"  Then he crushed the fake stone and threw the remains of it at the girl.  Then everything went black.  All of a sudden there was an evil laugh as the king's face appeared and he drew a sword and sliced.

Rikku suddenly sat up in her bunk.  She realized she was sweating and the blankets on her bunk were tangled around her.  She got up and went to the sink in her cabin.  Turning on the water, she splashed face face with it, but not much water was splashed.

‘Stupid left arm. Even after two years, I'm still not use to it' Rikku thought.  She looked down at her left arm.  It was no longer flesh and blood up to her elbow.  Sometimes when she wasn't thinking, the strange arm startled her.  What use to be her fingers were now long talons that were flexible, sharp and made of the strongest metal combined with magic.

Rikku looked up and back at her reflection in the mirror above the sink.  One eye was the color she was born with, an aqua blue-green and the other was red with gold near the snake-like pupil, and along with that a scar that didn't heal right ran across her eye. On the other side of her face were demonic markings along with other smaller scars.  All the leaders of the Horge swarms had markings showing their rank.  Rikku's marks showed she wasn't the highest, but definitely was not he lowest. Her markings went from her cheek to her pointed ear.  Many of the other leaders were full daemons and made fun of her because of her past.

Her hair was the thing that changed the least.  Her red tipped brown hair stayed the same, but her short hair was more boyish and untamed.  On the top of her head, two horns, which were obviously new too, peaked out of the hair.

Many times, this reflection was foreign to Rikku, now she accepted it more knowing that there was no hope for her now.  Rikku looked around her dark bunker and went to put her armor on.  While snapping her shoulder guards on, there was a loud blast, then the room rumbled. Out of instinct, Rikku hurried out of her room to ground level.  On the way, a private familiar reported what happened.

"Prince Royin of the Southwest Trinity squad have made a sneak attack", it said in a raspy voice, "the W section bunker has been destroyed, but the scouts have been called to..." it was cut off by another loud bang and another rumble.

"Shut up and get out of my way!" Rikku pushed the familiar out of the way and ran to the surface.

Another corporal familiar stopped her.

"Commander, the stealth scouts are on their way.  The Prince is out numbered.  We..."

"No!" Rikku shouted, "Keep the stealth scouts at their post until I give the order.  Stop the flow of familiars, I will deal with this myself," Rikku said sternly, as she headed towards the burning bunker.

"But the Prince has some..." the corporal was cut off by a fireball hitting the ground at his feet.

"NOW! That's an order.  Unless you refuse," hissed Rikku fiercely while charging another fireball in her hand.  The corporal ran, in pure fear, to do what it was told. Now Rikku turned back to face the burning bunker.

Auronaha looked on as her step-brother, Prince Royin and his troops lay their surprise attack on the Kyn Familiar fort.  It surprised her at first to not see any fort, but the prince told her that most of it was underground.

"Why is it an underground fort?" she had asked.

"Ha," he snickered, "To hide and coward from me!" he boasted conceitedly, "those fools!"

Even though he was handsome in many of the women's eyes and firth to the throne, Auronaha thought he was self-centered and arrogant.

"Com on, men!!" Prince Royin shouted holding his sword up as he rode his horse, "The entrance to the fort must be near. Find it!" he continued and pointed his sword.  Auronaha watched as armored Elves searched.  She herself was not in armor.  Even as they rode out the kingdom gates, the soldiers left behind to protect the gates looked worried.  The only weapon she had was her staff which allowed her to harness more magic and cast and learn new spells.  She didn't even have a cloak on her wings, not that there would be any armor for her.  Being an Elven Angel, a elven race that was highly respected in the world, Auronaha had lived a sheltered life inside the Trinity Kingdom near the palace.  She had never seen war or anyone die before her mother married the king.  Her mother's death was the only death in her life before her father's right before she was born.  Her real father severed the King, now her step-father, as a sub-commander and died in battle; so Auronaha heard.

‘Here I am fighting in the war my father died in 17 years ago,'  Auronaha thought sadly.

"My lord," shouted a solider to the left, "I think we found something1"

Auronaha turned and followed her step-brother to the solider, but before they got there, the solider stumbled back.

"Wait, no! Ahhhhhhhhh!!" smoke had risen all of a sudden and the solider was flung back about 10 yards behind them.  When he hit the ground the was a loud crack as his spine broke in half.  Auronaha then saw his own sword sticking out of his chest, stained with his own blood.

"My god," Auronaha gasped in shock and stared to rear back.

"No!  Stay where you are, one solider doesn't matter!"

Then as the smoke cleared , a single figure could be seen.

Rikku could feel the presence of an elven solider comeing closer.  His shout was her signal.  As he took his first step down the stairs in to the bunker, she sinisterly started to walk towards him.  Before he could do anything, it was too late.

‘Killed by his own sword, how pathetic," thought Rikku as she took his startled arm with the swortd and plunged it into his chest. Dragging his body to the surface she sent it flying through the air with one small fireballs towards the two figures on the horses.

"Get the commander! He is most important!" shouted Prince Royin.

Rikku knew they were coming.  Auronaha knew that these soliders that were trying to protect her and her step-brother were going to meet their death.

As each of the soldiers held their swords in attack form, they all charged at the demon leader.  All the swords hit the same place at the same time.

Rikku knew all she had to do was block all the attacks with her arm.

"Your lame, old attacks won't work on me, since I know how to counter them!"  Rikku said as she extended her already long sharp talons.  As she swiped, her talons easily tore through the armor and the flesh of the soldiers.

"You underestimate me, Prince Idiot!" shouted the demon that just killed almost 10 men in just one swing of an arm.  But Auronaha felt something different about this demon.

"Come here you damn demon, I'll show you who the..." the prince stopped speaking as he got a better look at the demon.  Auronaha also look the chance to get a better look at the demon.  But as she sensed, this demon was very different.  The demon has horns but only one eye was red. The other was almost as blue as Auronaha's own eyes.

"Y..you!!" the prince stuttered and pointed, "You died two years ago!! I saw it!!"

The demon just smirked and glared at Royin.  Then the demon looked at Auronaha, and Auronaha realized the demon was a girl.  Then Rikku's smirk was replaced by wide eyes that stared at the stone attached to Auronaha's headdress.  Then rage took over the startled look in the demon's eyes.

"You murderers!!" Rikku raged, with fire building in her hands and in her eyes, "Enough people have been killed by that damned stone form hell! And yet your ‘king' gives it another so she can die meaninglessly too?!!"  Rikku threw one of her fireballs, madly, at Prince Royin's horse.  It reared back in fright and Royin fell off.

"You damned cowards! And you think the Horge is bad!?" she shouted ready to throw another fireball.  Now Auronaha's horse kicked back in fright.  She fell off with a thud and her horse fled in the direction of the kingdom. 

Auronaha watched in great dismay as her step-brother flew off.

"Well, well," said a raspy voice from behind her, "look what we have here." Two large familiars looked at her menacingly.

"She looks absolutely delicious," hissed the other familiar.

"Back off!" shouted Auronaha, nervously she held up her staff in defense.  The familiars stopped and hissed as they saw the elven staff.  But when they saw her shaking, they smirked, showing their yellow, sharp teeth.

"A feisty, delicious looking one indeed," the first one added and then they started to slowly creep towards her.

"Stop right there you imbeciles!" shouted another voice.  Auronaha looked up and saw the demon leader approaching them.  The familiars backed away as she roughly pushed them out of her path.

"Where did you get that stone?" demanded the demon to the Elven Angel before she had time to react.

"Don't even think about touching it!  Only the bearer can." Said the girl frightened.

Rikku saw that the Elven Angel in front of her was, in no means, ready for the battle she was sent into.  The girl's long blonde, yellow hair not even tied back, nor her wings covered by any protection.  The girl even wore a dress, which make Rikku uncomfortable.

"I don't want that stupid look-a-like," snarled Rikku. But in her mind she was questioning it because she could feel the power of the stone leaking out.

Auronaha looked shocked and was about to speak when a dark portal that suddenly appeared in front of them cut her off.  But she saw Rikku straighten and put a small scowl on her face.

"I see a little birdie was left behind," spoke a voice.  It was strong and hearsh and it belonged to the other demon leader that had just appeared between Auronaha and Rikku.

"Make that a cute little birdie," he added eyeing her with pleasure that gave Auronaha a chill up her spine.  Then he face Rikku and gave her a mocking smirk.

"What? No Greeting to a higher rank general?" he knocked Rikku to the ground with the back of his armored hand.  Rikku turned her face to lessen the blow, but it did little effect.  3 small gashes were trickling small amounts of red blood when the general turned back to face Auronaha.

"Greetings General Broyno," Rikku snarled though gritted teeth.

"So this is the young Elven Angel?" he asked again still eyeing her.

Auronaha didn't say anything. She only looked back at him and tried to look hateful.

General Broyno frowned and said, "Very well, if you want to be stubborn, you can die stubborn," then added with a fake sadness, "Take the stone."

A familiar lunged at Auronaha.  She put up her staff in defense, then the stone on her headdress shone brightly then the orb of the staff also began to glow with bright pulsating light.  The familiar instantly dissolved.  The other familiars backed away form the staff and hissed.

Rikku and the demon general were both awed. Could this be the real stone? thought Rikku in surprise.

"Is this the real stone, Rikku?" demanded General Broyno as he quickly recovered from his shocked look.

"I.. I'm not sure anymore," said Rikku still in aw.

"WHAT!" roared Broyno, then he picked Rikku up by the neck and shouted, "How the Hell could you not know!?!"

Rikku struggled in his grasp, trying to get air into her lungs.  She then lengthened her talons and pierced the armor on his hand in an instant.  He dropped her and snarled as his eyes grew redder.

"Take her to the lower chambers!" he ordered.  Then he pointed at Rikku and shouted, "You take her!" and with that, he turned heel and stormed to the main bunker.

Rikku stood up and wiped the blood off her face still glaring at Bryono, then she approached Auronaha.

Auronaha looked up at the demon in front of her and felt sorry and fearful at the same time.  She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find her voice.

"Did the king give you that stone?" asked the demon when she was right in front of the Elven Angel.

Auronaha could only nod.

"You're not the first person he sent to their death,"  the demon said as her eyes dazed for a second.  Then, her face was full of hate again.

"Come on," the demon ordered and grabbed Auronaha, but Auronaha was surprised that the demon picked her up carefully.  But in just a couple steps, she stared to get dizzy.  The next thing she knew, everything was black.

     "Wait, you coward!"           

"You weak little girl, you will die here today!"  the general reared his horse and ripped the fake stone off the girl's chest.

"The king doesn't want a peasant like you to be worthy of this power!"  Then he crushed the fake stone and threw the remains of it at the girl.

All of a sudden there was an evil laugh as the king's face appeared and he drew a sword and sliced.

Auronaha woke suddenly from her nightmare. ‘Who was that,' she thought remembering her terrifying dream.  The general; she knew him from the castle, but in the dream, he was younger.  Everything was somewhat blurry, but the only person she didn't know was the girl in her dream.  But the more she thought about it, the girl looked familiar, but Auronaha couldn't put her finger on who it was.

Then her mind came back to the present.  Auronaha found herself lying on a rough mat on a raised spot in the corner of a small cell.  There were no windows; only torches lit the dark, underground fort.  The wall that faced the hallway was mostly bars like a jail cell.‘Great, a dark, Hordge prison cell.  I'm going to have a lovely time,' thought Auronaha.

"So, the little birdie is finally awake," an unencourageing, harsh, strong voice echoed in the hallway.  General Broyno walked into her cell carrying a torch.  On one side was two familiars, on the other was Rikku, which, strangely make Auronaha feel a little more comfortable.

"Well, what's your name, little birdie?" asked Broyno mockingly.

Auronaha hesitated. Why did he need to hold her prisoner, or know her name.  "What are you going to do to me?" Auronaha countered, avoiding his question.

"The general asked you a question, you damn whore!" roared a familiar, "Answer it!" it leapt up close to their prisoner and spit and small tongue of fire at her.

"Aur...Auronaha," she stuttered realizing she didn't have her staff.

"Interesting name," the general mused, scratching his chin, "Now, Auronaha, where did you get that stone?"

"The king gave it to me," she said weakly and tried to hide the shaking as she spoke.

"That's one powerful stone you got there," the general said looking at the at the stone, then at her face with the same , disgusting look as before.

"We would have taken it earlier, but you seem to be protecting it," added to general.

Auronaha looked surprised. She never trie to protect the stone, in fact, she thought that it was suppose to protect her.  Even though the king gave it to her, it always gave her nightmares and flashblacks that didn't even belong to her among other things that kept her up at night.

"Or it may be protecting you?" deduced Broyno seeing the look on his prisoner's face. "Any," he continued, "We need that stone."

"No," stuttered Auronaha, "It is the property of the Trinity kindom and ..."

"And no one can touch it, only the bearer, right?" finished Broyno mockingly, "We can easily get over that, can't we Rikku." He said as he turned to face Rikku with his back to Auronaha.

"Unless you can get her to give it to you, I don't think we.."

"I don't care what you think, just do it!" Broyno demanded threateningly, raising his fist.

Sighing, Rikku began to walk to where Auronaha was.  Auronaha backed into the wall as Rikku came closer, but Auronaha could see the hesitation in the demon's eyes, but only for a split second.  Then Rikku grabbed for the stone, but then there was a bright light and Rikku was flung to the other side of the cell.

"Damn White Magic!!" the general bellowed.  He began pacing, while Rikku was still trying to gather herself again.  In mid-stride he stopped and glared at Rikku.

"Stay here and try again." Her ordered furiously, "I'm going to go back and talk to Lord Daemon," with that he stomped out of the cell with the familiars following him.

Rikku, still in a little pain, got upa nd gave a long sigh and looked more relaxed.  But Auronaha, on the other hand, didn't know whether to be relaxed or become more tense.  A long akward silence filled the small chamber.

"I would get rid of that stone if I were you," said Rikku breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"What?" asked Auronaha confused.

"The stone," said Rikku pointing at it, "Its not worth another life, especially yours." Rikku said sadly.

"I know many brave people died trying to find this stone," Auronaha said defensively, and , she had to admit, it sounded rehearsed, "And as long it is in my guardianship, I will not let it fall into the wrong hands," she finished boldly looking at Rikku.

"The only thing I want to do it get rid of that stone," stated Rikku with no emotion.

"You just want to destroy it, because you know the Trinity will defeat you," said Auronaha with anger.

"Then way haven't you?" demanded Rikku in a loud voice turned facing Auronaha and slowly walked towards her.  "You would think with all your fancy White Magic, you would find a person with a ‘pure heart', wouldn't you." Rikku still getting closer to Auronaha.  Auronaha backed into the walk and Rikku had her cornered.  Auronaha was amazed and worried about how much this demon, Rikku, knew about the stone.

"H ..How do you know so much?" stammered Auronaha felling invaded with Rikku's face only about a foot away from her's.

Rikku's eyes narrowed and she backed away from Auronaha.  "I knew a person who was killed protecting the stone.  The king gave a fake ring and sent them off the fight.

Auronaha Rikku's eyes glaze over with the remembrance of a painful memory and horrible feelings.  Auronaha looked at Rikku as she was distracted and studied her a bit.  From the many books that she had read about demons, Auronaha found Rikku different.

"I'm sorry for your friend," Auronaha whispered truthfully.  But Rikku shock out of her gaze with, at first, a blank face.  Then anger seemed to pulsate off her body.

"Don't feel sorry of her!!" Shouted Rikku at Auronaha with pure rage, "She was damned stupid enough for listening to that ass-hole of a king!"

Then, Auronaha noticed that Rikku's blue eye started to cloud over with red like the other eye.  She grabbed Auronaha by the throat with her right hand and picked her off the ground.  Auronaha struggled in her grasp as she saw that the full demon in front of her no longer was the Rikku she had been talking to.

‘Come on stone!  You halped me before, why not now?! Thought Auronaha desperately.

"The stone now belongs to the Hordge!!" shouted an evil demon voice that came for Rikku's mouth. 

Then with Rikku's left hand the demon reached, greedily for that stone on Auronaha's forhead.  Then the stone began to glow and produced a blinding white light.  Then the hand reaching was lowered and Rikku's eye turned back to blue while the other eye still looked sinisterly red.  The evil smirk that was no her face whil;r the demon controlled was replaced by a shocked and worried look.  Rikku slowly put Auronaha on the ground and backed away.

"Don't.  Don't feel sory for her," whispered Rikku in her normal voice, on the verge of cracking, her head was humg low so her bangs hid her eyes and Auronaha couldn't see most of Rikku's face.  "She died...She's dead." Then Rikku turned to the door and slamed it shut behind her.  Auronaha grimaced and heard the lock clamp the door into place.

As Rikku walked away from the cellar, she recounted what happened to make her stop from crying.  ‘I bet that stone reacted to my arm' thought Rikku as she scowled at it.  ‘Either that or the demonic part of me,'.  She sighed and walked back to her bunker, alone again,  As she looked around the darm room. Parts of her past stared to flow into her mind.                 

"Hay Riya?" a small girl about 6 years old in shorts and a baggy black tank top looked up to see her older step-sister looking at her.  She was dress the exact opposite, wearing a pink lacey dress that showed her body.

"What do you want, Mirna?" Riya asked uninterested.

"Why do you always wear boys' clothes?"  Mirna asked looking at her step-sister innocently.

"Why not?"

"Well, you know father doesn't like it.  And neither does mother."

"No one likes it, but I do."

"Mirna!?" another voice called out into the garden.  It was a maid.  "Mirna! Its time for sewing lessons!" the maid called out again.

"Yay!" Mirna cried with joy, "I love sewing!"

"Oh boy," said Riya disgusted and annoyed as Mirna dragged her step-sister along.

"Riya! What the gods are you wearing," the cried as she saw Riya.

" Mirna, are you outside again," said yet another harsh voice form inside.  It was Mirna's birth mother and Riya's step-mother, the one that hated her the most.

"Mirna, what have I told you about going outside?  It dangerous and you can break your neck." Then Queen Ovilia caught a glance at Riya and glared.

"And you, demon child, why are you wearing that hideous outfit again." She walked up to Riya and gave her a hard slap on the face.

"Guards! Take this barbarian outside and let it live like the peasant it is dressed as for a week in the forest!"

Guards came from all directions, grabbed Riya, and dragged her outside.

Auronaha was awakened again by a rumbling sound of yet another explosion.  She almost fell but caught the metal bars of the cell to catch her balance.  She could hear all the commotion going on above her.  Many gruff voices and grunts from familiars and leaders could be heard.

"What?! Another attack?  Twice in one night is ridiculous!!" came the shout of General Broyno.

"They're obviously coming back to get their princess." Said the voice of an unsurprised Rikku.

"In that case, she must have the real stone."  said General Broyno.  There was a short pause, then Auronaha could hear a pair footsteps coming her way.  Rikku appeared at the door of the cell and opened it.

"If I were you, I would get out of here and fast," she said with a little concern in her vice.

"Are you letting me free, or are you going to kill me?" Auronaha asked coldly.

"Its your choose to die if you stay here," Rikku countered, "But I give you my word that I will not kill you."

"The word of a demon. Not very reliable," said Auronaha gaining more confidence.

Then there was another boom of an explosion, this time much closer.  The ceiling started to crumble over Auronaha's head.  When she looked up a large portion of the ceiling started to crack and fall.  Rikku ran at her and pushed her out of the way.  Auronaha was shoved into a wall and she let her wings cover her face.  When the rumbling sound of the fallen ceiling stopped, she looked to see a huge pile of stones in the place where she had just stood and the place where she was pushed out of the way by Rikku. 

Auronaha stared at the pile of rubble, nit knowing whether to help this demon or run for her life.  At that moment the rubble started to move as a hand burst out of the heavy pile of rocks.  Rikku then burst out and Auronaha, made up her mind, and rushed to help Rikku.

"Are you alright?" Auronaha asked helping Rikku to her feet.

"Yeah," said Rikku with a little grimace, "Just a little scratch, that's all," she finished and quickly got up.

Before Auronaha could say anything, Rikku said, "I suggest we leave, now." Then Rikku headed out the open door of the cell.

"Wait up!" shouted Auronaha as she ran to follow Rikku.

When they got to the surface from the undergrounf fort, Auronaha saw that most of the bunkers where burning and there were bodies of Trinity solider and Hordge familiars where scattered everywhere.

"Pointless meaning of war," muttered Rikku under her breath.

"But the Hordge started the war," said Auronaha confused.

"So that's what they're teaching in those fancy Trinity schools now," suggested Rikku amused.

"There she is!!" shouted a man's voice.  Suddenly, there was a troop of Trinity soliders grouped around Rikku and Auronaha.

"Thank heavens.  I'm saved!" cried Auronaha as she saw the troops.

"I don't think their here to save you," declared Rikku as she crouched, ready to fight, but didn't hold Auronaha back.  Just as Auronaha was about to walk to the troops, they stood ready to strike.

"What's going on?" asked Auronaha with fear and confusion in her voice.

"They don't need you alive anymore," raged Rikku as she watched the soliders carefully, "They only what your stone."

Just then a solider tried to lounge at Rikku, but he was easily slashed away by Rikku's claw.

"Stay behind me," said Rikku protectively putting an arm in front of Auronaha.

"Step aside, demon," ordered a voice that wasn't demon.  It was the Trinity general on his horse in full armor with his sword, surprisingly, sheathed.

"This is the business of the Trinity," he stated glaring down at Rikku like she was trash on a clean street.

"Anything that has to do this that damned stone is all my business," then Rikku gave an unruly smirk then added, "General."

The general narrowed his eyes and looked more closely at the demon in fron tog him.  When he understood, his eyes grew wide in shock.

"Y...you!" he stuttered, "You're suppose to be dead!"

"Are you kidding me; I died along time ago!" then Rikku lunged at the general, but he drew his sword and the soliders sprung into action.  The general paired Rikku attack and pushed her to the ground.  When she tried to charge at him again, the soliders formed a circle around her.  They started to duplicate themselves, all chanting the same thing.  The soliders, now three times as many, changed to a different chant.  Rikku started to feel a twinge of pain in her head and tried to ignore it, but then it got worse.

"What's wrong!?" cried Auronaha when Rikku fell to her knees, clutching her head.

"Why are you not effected?!" then general exclaimed when he saw Auronaha trying helping Rikku.  "What are you doing, you idiots!  We don't need her alive," he shouted yelling at the soliders.

"We're sorry sir, its just not effecting her," one of the soliders panted.  Seeing her chance to attack, Rikku shot up and attacked the soilder making the others break the chant.  As the soilders tried to dodge the furious attacks, they sent spells at the charging Rikku.

"That's it!!" roared the general as he drew his sword.  As he drew it, it became longer.  "I'm going to end you once and for all!  Hold that demon still!" he commanded to his soliders.

The soliders and their clones increased their spells and Rikku started to slow down as more clones and spells hit her.

"Watch out!!" cried Auronaha at Rikku.  But it was too late.  As Rikku turned to face the general, he plunged his sword into Rikku's stomach.  Blood oozed out of the wound and Rikku coughed blood.

"Rikku!!!" screamed Auronaha and ran towards her fallen protector, but the soliders grabbed her by the arms and held her back.

"Your time is finished, bitch." Smirked the General as he pushed his sword deeper.  Rikku was suddenly still.  But all of a sudden, her claw grabbed at the sword and started to crush it.  Rikku started to laugh evilly as she pulled the sword out of her body.

"Like I said before," said Rikku finally looking up at the general with two glowing red eyes, "I died a long time ago."  She dropped the deformed sword on the ground.  Then she suddenly turned around at the solider behind her holding Auronaha.  She crushed his head with her left claw.  The soliders quickly let go of Auronaha and stepped back.  Auronaha stumbled back and saw rikku with glowing red eyes towering over her.  Rikku extended her claw and slashed at the soliders who all were too slow to move out of the way of the quick attack.  They stuttered back and were totally still, and then their bodies began to fall to the ground in pieces.

"What the hell..." yelled the general.  Then he wildly smirked uncontrollably twitching his eye.  "You think you're all that, don't you." He shouted hysterically.  Then he shouted, "Beast I summon thee!" A huge snake appeared out of the general's summoning circle.  Rikku took one step towards the snake, but then her eyes turned back to normal and she fell to the ground unconscious.

"Rikku!" Auronaha shouted as she ran to help.

"Now, you damn brats, you can't escape my snake!" the general shouted as his snake coiled in front of its master.

If this stone had any power, now would be a good time! thought Auronaha desperately at the stone.  Then the stone began to glow as a circle of light engulfed Auronaha and Rikku.

"You won't get a way that easily!" shouted the general.  He sent his snake towards them, but the light dissolved and the two where gone.      

Auronaha opened her eyes and saw that the stone had teleported them in a random forest near the banks of a small lake.  After she looked around she saw that Rikku was still unconscious in her arms.  Blood was still slowly oozing out of her wound.

"My god!" Auronaha whispered in panic knowing if Rikku died, there will be next to no chance of her to living.  She desperately looked around to see if her magical rod was transported with them.  To her relief, she saw it stuck in a bush not to far away.  Auronaha reached over to grab it but she found that it was too far.  She looked around frustrated not knowing what to do.  Then she spotted a  sturdy, clean looking tree close by.   Not wanting to hurt Rikku even more, Auronaha braced herself and slowly started to drag Rikku's wounded body to lean against the tree.  She now saw that Rikku must have lost a lot of blood, but the wound seemed to be healing quicker than normal.  Fearing the worst, Auronaha thought that Rikku had already past on.  Hesitantly, Auronaha began to slowly take off Rikku's chest armor and put her head to Rikku's chest.  Luckily, Auronaha could feel Rikku's body heat pulsating trying to heal the wound and a fain but stable hart beat.  Relieved, Auronaha relaxed, got her rod, and sat back down near Rikku.

It was getting dark and Auronaha started to feel the coolness of the night air.  She was never taught too many useful elemental spells because she always practiced with light and healing.  Then she remembered one of her spell casting class when they learned how to make a small sphere of light that radiated warmth.  She focused her power and will into her rod and thought of light and being warm.  Then the orb on the top of the staff began to glow, a ball of light began to separate from the staff and floated in the air.  It came towards her and Auronaha could feel its warmth relax her sore and tired body.

When she was finished with the spell, she opened her eyes to see the forest more clearly.  Now that everything was calm and settled, she took a better look at the person who was with her.  Without her chest and shoulder armor, Rikku wore a black sleeveless, v-neck shirt.  She had two belts that crossed over baggy pants.  On her legs she had shin-guards and sturdy shoes.

It struck Auronaha just now that she and Rikku dressed like complete opposites.  Auronaha looked down at herself.  Not too much blood got on her light blue dress to her relief.  Her dress had slits on the side that showed her light, fair skin with a purple priestess' sash across her waist.  The top of her dress showed her shoulders most of her neck .  The sleeves came halfway down her forearm and faded from white into ocean blue which where almost matching her aqua-blue eyes.  Their hair was also completely different.  While Rikku had short, semi-spiky brownish-red hair with red tips, Auronaha had flowing, smooth blonde-gold hair that came down to her waist. 

Then Auronaha noticed that some of the markings on Rikku's face looked a lot like scars.  They ran down the left side of her body and down to her midriff where her shirt ended.

As the night grew darker, Auronaha felt the exhaustion of the day finally take its toll.  Her eyes felt very heavy as she lay against the same tree Rikku rested on and quickly feel asleep with her light sphere giving her warmth. 

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Rikku woke up with the brightness of the morning sun shinning through her eyelids.  She quickly opened her eyes, alarmed, and looked around.  She quickly stood up, but fell back down with great pain in her stomach.  She stumped back on the tree, wondering how she got there.  Then she noticed Auronaha curled up next to her, with a small ball of light hovering above her.  Just then, Rikku realized that she had never seen a real Elven Angel before.  The angel's ears were longer than her own and only pierced twice.  Rikku leaned in closer to realize that the stone was embedded into Auronaha's headdress.

Auronaha was mostly asleep and knew that morning had come, but was too tired to care.  She suddenly noticed that it got darker from under her eyelids and slowly opened her eyes to find Rikku right in front of her.  Auronaha let out a sharp yelp and jumped backwards, blushing.  Rikku also fell back in surprise also blushing deep red.

"Sorry." Whispered Rikku, still blushing and looking at the ground.  Then she felt that her stomach hurt and clutched it.

"You shouldn't move so mush," Auronaha said as she scooted towards Rikku, "It could start bleeding again."

There was a long moment of silence, then Rikku asked "How did we get here?"

Auronaha looked around again and said, "I think this stone did it," as she light touched the stone.

"So now you know how to use it, right?" asked Rikku lifting an eyebrow.

"Well, kind of," admitted Auronaha.

"That's good," said Rikku, then she leaned against the tree again clutching her stomach in pain.  Auronaha moved closer to Rikku  and moved her hand away from her stomach.  Then Auronaha put her own hand on Rikku's wound and closed her eyes.  The stone glowed and light began to pulsate out of Auronaha's palm on to the wound and Rikku could fell the pain melt away.  Rikku looked down in surprise that the wound was no longer there and the pain was now totally gone.  After the wound fully healed, Auronaha pulled her hand away from Rikku.

"Thanks," whispered Rikku as she touched her fully healed stomach.

"No problem," Auronaha panted.  She just remembered how tired and hungry she was.

"You shouldn't have done that without any energy," said Rikku knowingly.  Then she stood up and went to the lake.  Auronaha tried to keep her eyes open as she watched Rikku, but she closed her eyes and let the darkness take over.

When Auronaha regained consciousness she smelt a fire.  She opened her eyes to see fish on some sticks roasting on a fire.  When she sat up she saw Rikku laying I the sun near by.  Rikku heard Auronaha get up and opened one eye.

"Help yourself to some food," then she closed her eye again and added, "Sorry it's not a silver platter."

Auronaha stopped before she took a bite and said with annoyance, "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing," said Rikku, "Nothing at all."     

She then suspiciously took a bite of the fish.  It was one of the worst things she had ever tasted.

"This tastes horrible," muttered Auronaha wanting to spit it out.

"It may not be restaurant food," said Rikku getting up and walking over to Auronaha, "but it's the only thing we have right now and you need your energy."

Auronaha realized that Rikku was telling the truth and gingerly finished chewing.  Then the thought hit her.  Why did Rikku care weather or not she lived?  Rikku was on the Hordge side, the exact opposite of the Trinity.  The two sides have hated each other since the beginning of time, and yet, Rikku helped Auronaha.

"Why are you helping me?" Auronaha asked after she ate.

Rikku ignored her question and started to walk off into the forest.

"WE should leave before they find you."  Her voice was somewhat colder than before, like Auronaha hit a touchy subject.  She followed Rikku and continued her questions.

"It's the stone, isn't it, you want the stone for yourself." Auronaha said in a harsh tone.

"If I wanted the stone for myself," said Rikku in the same harsh coldness, not turning to face Auronaha, "then I could have killed you, just let you die, or" Rikku paused, " I could have killed you in your sleep."

Auronaha never thought about that, but she knew that Rikku was still avoiding her questions.  She decided that pushing the questions more would be a waste of time.

"Thank you for not taking the stone," whispered Auronaha after a long silence.  Rikku stopped when she heard the other girls voice, then without looking back she continued walking.

After walking for what seemed like the whole day, the pair didn't see any other people, but Rikku still pressed forward.  Auronaha tried to keep up as long as she could, but sometimes fell behind.  When she did Rikku would walk back to her and help her along.  When night came, Rikku finally said they could stop.

"We should make camp and find some food," said Rikku starting to gather sticks.

Auronaha, on the other hand, was so tired that she just leaned against a tree and nodded. Rikku saw that Auronaha was very tired so she quickly gathered sticks and made a fore with her magic.

"Sorry we couldn't stop, I just wanted to make sure that we weren't being followed." Said Rikku truthfully.  "I'll hurry and get some food," and she ran off into the woods.  Auronaha gazed at the fire, as her eyelids grew heavier, then finally closed.

A short while later, Auronaha was awoken by soft tapping.  She opened her eyes to see Rikku sitting next to her with some food.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to wake up to eat something," said Rikku with care.

Auronaha took the food; witch looked more like meat, and ate it happily.  Even though it wasn't the best thing she had eaten, she was very glad for it.  And Rikku.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" asked Auronaha after feeling a little more energized.

"Well, kind of." Said Rikku looking up at the stars while on her back.  "The stars are sort of showing me the way."

"The stars show you the way? I didn't know you could read stars." Said Auronaha shocked.  Did the Hordge teach her?

"I'm not really good at it, but I remember that the Reund star line points north and the Unsif constellation is westward.

"You're lucky," said Auronaha also laying back looking at the stars, "they don't teach us anything like that at the schools in the Trinity Kingdom," then Auronaha added, "they only teach is stuff like math and history.  The only thing I like in school is the writing part."

The two lay silent for a while gazing at the night sky and taking in the beautiful scenery in the sky above them.

"So, where are we going?" asked Auronaha breaking the quietness.

"I want to see a informer and ask him some questions about the king," sighed Rikku closing her eyes.

"What do you need to know about him?" continued Auronaha feeling more confident.

"Just some stuff," Rikku said not totally answering the question.

"Well, I don't think he knows a lot about the stone, if that's your question.  But he gave it to me because the mage-teachers said I was very gifted with magic."  Then Auronaha paused and looked at Rikku whose eye's were still closed and hand s behind her head, "I don't know if that helped any, but I hope it answered some of your questions."

Rikku didn't answer, so Auronaha thought she was asleep.  She turned closer to the fire to get more comfortable.

"Why do you want to help me?" asked Rikku suddenly.

Auronaha opened her eyes and saw Rikku looking at her.

"Well... I guess I owe you because you saved my life." Auronaha said unsure of her answer.  To tell the truth, she didn't know why she felt so open about herself with Rikku.

"Thank you, Auronaha," whispered Rikku suddenly.  Auronaha turned to looked at Rikku with question and was about to ask her for what, but Rikku turned away from her and fell asleep, and thought to her herself that this was the first time Rikku said her name.

Auronaha was awoken by the sound of splashing water.  She slowly opened her eyes to the morning sun, somehow sensing Rikku near by.  Strangely, Auronaha realized the more time she spent with Rikku, the more she felt safe.  The fire from the night before had long burned out and she noticed that she was closer to it and the place Rikku had slept the night before.  Curiously, Auronaha looked around for Rikku.  She Quickly spotted her standing near the lake.  Then, to Auronaha's great surprise, Rikku began to take off her chest armor, then her shirt.  Even though she was embarrassed, Auronaha couldn't stop staring at Rikku firm, toned body.  Auronaha noticed that all across Rikku's back and her left side were demonic markings.  The markings looked like symbols that Auronaha recognized as a regeneration spell.  The markings encircled her left side and upper back, finally stretching down to her claw-like forearm.

Auronaha, realizing that she was gawking, embarrassed and red faced, looked the opposite was y of Rikku.  She waited for what, to her, seemed like forever for Rikku to be done, cursing herself for thinking of Rikku like that.  Then a strong wind blew over her making her shiver, then all of a sudden,  Auronaha sneezed.  Quietly, but a sneeze none the less that could be heard.

Rikku was in the middle of washing when she heard the sneeze.  She stiffened, then summoned fire to encircle her body to quickly dry it, then she quickly put on her shirt and chest armor again.  When Rikku started to walk towards the fire, Auronaha could teel that she was still blushing.

"Maybe you should wash up while I go umm....go scout ahead,"  Rikku said not being able to look at Auronaha straight because of her blushing.

Auronaha thought about it and looked down at herself.  She was kind of dirty, but it wasn't anything a little of her magic couldn't fix  Auronaha stood up to go to the lake shore and noticed Rikku staring at her.  She turned to face Rikku witch made Rikku blush even more.

"Well, I'm going to ummm...yeah; go," Rikku stuttered staggering backwards into the forest.

Auronaha watched her companion leave, and to her surprise was lonely again.

Rikku walked quickly into the forest trying not to look back at the girl she left behind, still blushing.  ‘Why am I feeling like this?!'  Thought Rikku desperately.  She covered her chest in embarrassment.  Then she remembered her arm, and it reminded her of her mission.

‘OK, all I have to do is convince her I'm good, get the stone, and, in the meantime get answers about that damned king,' though Rikku.  But, even though she had this mission before she meet this Evlen Angel called Auronaha, it didn't seem like a good plan.  She felt the mission she was given was crumbling in her fingers, and it was all because of her ‘feelings'.

‘Of course, I could just take the stone,' thought Rikku, but she remembered the last time she tired, even though she didn't want to.  If she took the stone with her non-demonic arm, the power that flowed thought Auronaha would be sucked out of her, and maybe her ability to weld magic.

‘Why would I care about what could happen to her?' thought Rikku madly, as she roughly kicked a stone off the path. ‘Because,' she countered herself, ‘she's beginning pulled into the same trap you were."

Rikku always remembered being a loner and was always by herself, but she didn't mind it.  The thought of being to close to someone made her feel uncomfortable and it made her feel weak.  But for some reason, Auronaha's company was an exception.  It made her feel whole and not so much as a monster.

‘NO!'  Thought Rikku both mad at herself, but sad at the same time, ‘It would hurt her too much,' she finished, thinking about Auronaha. 

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Only After Rikku had been gone for a few minutes, did Auronaha stop staring in the forest after her.  She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to clear it. ‘That was awkward,' but for some reason, she felt it wasn't as awkward.  Even though Rikku was on the Horgde side, Auronaha felt a different aura surrounding her.  Ever since she was little, Auronah had a special talent for reading a person's aura.  Most of the people living in the Trinity kingdom had dull auras and acted all somewhat the same: preppy and always trying to help themselves and trying to make themselves look better.  Everyone seemed to follow everyone else.

Auronaha hated when many of the nobles tried to hook up their children with one of her step-siblings.  There were also times where the sons had asked her for her hand in marriage, but she avoided their requests and always said that she was busy with something else.  The thought of marriage scared her and made her want to run away from that kind of life.  Auronaha sighed remembering wanting to live a normal life outside the palace, like she did with her mother before the king married her.  She started to take off her dress and stopped at her wings.  She closed her eyes, then her wings started to glow as they dissolved into her back.  This was a trick she learned form one of her old textbooks.  When she was little, she realized that wet wings were uncomfortable and took a long time to dry.  With her wings out of the way, her dress slid off her slim body.

The pond was cold to her skin and she shivered.  The coldness of the water really woke her to the day.  Auronaha walked deeper into the lake, but stopped before her whole body was immersed.  She cupped her hands under the water's surface and splashed her face and hair.  She felt weird bathing without soap and wanted to be quick about cleaning because she didn't like the feeling of mud between her toes.

"Are you almost done?" she heard Rikku yell nervously some distance away.

"Umm... Hold on," Auronaha said quickly as she used a spell to quickly dry herself.  Then she reached for her dress and hurriedly put it on.

"Umm... Yeah," answered Auronaha walking back to the fire pit.

Rikku appeared out of the forest from the way she came.  When she looked back up at Auronaha, she almost fell in shock.

"Wh.. what happened to your wings?" Rikku almost yelled, pointing at Auornaha.

Auornah slightly giggled at her companion's surprise,

"I used magic to hide them, that's all," then Auronaha jokingly questioned, "Why, you don't believe I'm a real Elven Angel?"

"No, that's not it," said Rikku rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed, "Something just looked different, that's all."

There was another awkward silence, then Rikku said, "I saw a road up ahead that I recognized, so we should get going."

Auronaha followed Rikku through the woods and was relieved when she saw the path.  The sun was high and the road was empty, but they stayed to the side of the road to stay ion the shade.

"So," said Auonaha, "Why do you need to ask this guy about the king? I know some stuff about the king." Auornaha said feeling somewhat forgotten.

"Its more than just the king," Rikku said trying to make Auornaha feel better. But Auronaha cocked her head to the side in confusion.  Rikku sighed and started to explain.

"I still don't know what's going on with you and the stone.  Why did he give it to you?" she paused, then continued, "He's planning something.  I can't think of any other reason."

"Well, I was the only one who was able to use the stone so..."

"but why did he send you to battle with only a small troop and your step-brother?  You didn't even have armor."

Auronaha was about to defend herself, but realized Rikku was right.  The king sent her with only one-day notice.  She remembered later that night a servant was looking around in her room.

When Rikku saw that Auronaha was distressed about the news she said, "Don't worry," trying to comfort Auronaha, "Something must have went wrong with his plan.  Be glad you're still alive".

They walked in silence until they reached the town that Rikku scouted ahead for and looked for a place to eat.  Only when they sat down, ignoring the stares of the other people, did Auronaha talk again.

Why do you know so much about the king and the Trinity," she asked boldly.

Rikku stopped eating for a coupled seconds, then started again.

"Personal experience." Was all she answered.  Auronaha was unsatisfied with the answer she was given, but the hunger in her stomach told her otherwise.  They both ate in silence, but after they were just about done, Auronaha got the feeling she was being watched.  She turned around to see some rough looking men drinking, some form of alcohol Auornaha guessed, peering at her.  It always gave her the shivers when men or boys looked at her like that.

"I'll be right back," said Rikku, standing up.  Auronaha watched her leave to pay for the meal and suddenly felt very exposed.  She was about to get up and grab her staff when it suddenly fell.

"Oh, so sorry, li'le girl," said a slurred, drunk voice.  Auronaha turned her head to see the two men that were looking at her right behind her.  She went to pick up her staff but the man moved in front of her and picked it up.

"The rod's nice," came the other man, then her eyed Auronaha greedily, "But me thinks she more of a look'n."

"Yeah," the first man agreed, "Not too'many elf-selves come around here.  It's nice to eye a purty face."

"Hey, it's me, or these some long ears?" asked the second man to no one in particular as he touched Auronaha's long Elven Angel ears.  She stunk back at his rough hands and her fear began to grow.

"Well I'll b'damned," declared the man in front of her.  He stepped towards her and she instantly steeped back, bumping into the man behind her.  He grabbed her and stepped back towards the kitchen.  Auonraha wanted to scream out, but the man had his sweetly hand over her mouth.

"What else do we've have?" the first man grinned seeing the stone on Auronaha's headdress.  "This look'n even more pricey than that staff's."  He reached out and grabbed at the stone, but it suddenly glowed and Auornaha could hear him scream out in pain.  When the light faded both men had fallen on the floor.  The man who grabbed at the stone was clutching his burnt hand and the other man had his hand over his burnt face.

"I'm gon'a kill ya, ya bitch!" the man with his hand over his face drew his sword and lunged at Auornaha.  

Rikku stood up from the table and said, "I'll be right back," and went to pay for the meal.  Many people stared at her as she walked up to the cashier.  It was a young man that was shaking as she approached him.  He stared at her horns and her arm.

"How much," she demanded, annoyed from all the eyes on her.

"Th.. that's f.. five  silver pieces." He stuttered as he tried to meet her discolored eyes.  Reluctantly, Rikku tossed him the coins.  She walked back to the table to find Auronaha missing. ‘She must have gone to the bathroom,.' thought  Rikku, but for some reason she felt she was wrong.  She looked around and saw the chair Auronaha was sat in tipped over; as if Auronaha quickly stepped back. ‘Somethings not right,' thought Rikku annoyed.  Then she felt like there was a strong pull towards the kitchen.  When she looked she saw a bright flash and knew it was from the stone.  Wherever the stone was Auronaha had to be close by.

Rikku ran past the startled people and burst through the doors of the kitchen.  One man was on the ground and the other man was charging at Auronaha.  Without thinking, Rikku jumped in front of her.

Auronaha heard a loud clash, but didn't feel anything.  She opened her eyes and was startled to see Rikku in front of her.  She was holding the sword about a hand's length away from her stomach with her left hand clutching the sword.  The man was so startled he almost dropped his sword, but instead, pulled out a curved dagger.  Rikuu, thinking quickly, pulled the man forward by his sword, causing him to stubble straight into Rikku's back fist in his face. The other man still on the ground looked up at Rikku visibly shaking.  Still clutching his face, he quickly tried to get up and scrambled out the back way, leaving the other man unconscious.

"Are you OK?" asked Rikku turning around.  Auronaha was still in shock, but when she heard Rikku's voice she felt relieved.  She slowly slid down the wall and tried to catch her breath.

"Hey, can you hear me?" asked Rikku again a little more worried, crouching down to look at
Auronaha's face.  Then Auronaha threw herself into Rikku's arms and closed her eyes as tears trickled down her face.

"Thank you," she whispered over her silent tears.  Rikku was a little shocked by the somewhat glomp and the emotions Auronaha showed.  Rikuu never liked get too close to someone physically or emotionally.  But this girl was different, and felt protective of Auronaha and liked how the girl didn't push her away at first sight because of how she looked.  Nervous, but trying to be comforting, Rikku lightly wrapped her arms around the crying girl, stroking her long gold-yellow hair with her right hand.

After Auronaha calmed down, Rikku said, "We need to find a place to stay for the night."  She helped Auronaha to her feet and they went through the back door.

It was night now and the cool air bit Auronaha's face through her wet tears, making her shiver.  They both walked for a while and soon found an inn that seemed safe.  Rikku quickly ordered a room on the upper floor, and they walked up the stairs to their room.  The room had two small beds with a small bathroom and a table.  It wasn't anything like the palace, but Auronaha was greatful for it and thought it was better than sleep on the hard ground.  She sat on the bed and, to her surprise, it was softer than she expected.

"I don't think I've ever been so happy for a bed," sighed Auronaha as she lay down on top of the covers.  She closed her eyes and let her back rest along with the rest of her body and felt a little more relaxed.  She heard Rikku walking around the room, then the squeak of the bed as she ssat on it.  Auronaha opened her eyes again to see Rikku with her back to her touching the bed with her left claw.  Rikku ran it through the sheets and looked at her claw.  Auronaha couldn't see her face, but could tell that Rikku was depressed.

"Um, Rikku?" whispered Auronaha wanting to break the silence.

Rikku stared at her claw for a second in a daze, then noticed Auronaha had called her.

"Oh, what?" asked Rikku sounding a little down.

"Um.." started Auronaha, not really knowing what to say.  "Thanks at the restrant."

"No problem.  They were a piece of cake," said Rikku brushing off the complement.  "Besides, you where shocked ."

"Yeah.  I guess you're right," whispered Auronaha.  "You're a really good fighter, even without weapons," she said.

"Ha, I always have a weapon," laughed Rikku bitterly.  "I'm always dangerous," she added

Auronaha hesitated before she asked her next question.  "So what happened?" she asked boldly, looking at Rikku's arm

Rikku didn't answer.  With her back still facing Auronaha she just stared at her claw.  Now Auronaha knew for sure that there were many painful memories attached to her arm.

"Did it hurt?" Auronaha asked with concern.

"All the time," was all Rikku said before unclipping her armor and covering herself with her blanket.          

"So what's her condition?" asked a large, dark, tall form with horns.  Another figure, much smaller, walked up to him with a clipboard.

"Well, the left side of the body was severely damaged; as for the left arm, we'll have to replace it." The smaller figure paused then asked, "My Lord, are you positive that this is a good idea?  Not that I'm questioning you're orders, my Lord," he added quickly.

"She was not attacked by the familiars because her fatal wound was caused by a elven sword," the larger form started, "That means she was attacked by her own kin.  I'm assuming that they only want to stone to be used by a faithful, mindless servant.  Obviously, she was not as mindless as they would have hoped ." he paused then said, "Take me to the operating room."

The two dark figures where looking threw a see-through wall.  A bloody, beat-up body lay on a metal table, faintly breathing.  More small figures where moving around the room, ready for the orders.  The large figure nodded and they started to work on the left side.  A claw like structure was put at the bandaged stump of what was left of an arm.  Then they quickly forced the claw into the bloody stump.  The claw like forearm began to blend with flesh.  The body on the table cried out in tremendous pain and agony.

Auronaha  nearly flew out of her bed when she heard the agony filled cry.  Breathing hard, she looked around to get her surroundings, then remembered that she was sleeping on the inn.

‘The nightmares are getting more frequent,' she thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes.  She remembered that Rikku was also with her and looked at the next bed.  Even in the dark, she could hear Rikku toss and turn in her bed.  Auronaha pulled the covers away from her and sat up on the bed.  Rikku turned with her face facing Auronaha and she could see pain etched on her face.  Worried, Auronaha got up and tried to wake Rikku up.  She put her hand to gently shake her, but the second she touched Rikku she felt as if she was sucked into darkness of Rikku's dream.  Everywhere was dark and Auronaha couldn't see anything no matter where she looked.  She felt she magic being sucked out of her body and ripped from her soul.  Then, out of nowhere, two bright eyes appeared and Auronaha could her an evil growl of a laugh as though it was right behind her.

Auonraha fell back on to the inn floor with a thud, panting hard.  This time, Rikku was awake, she too was panting and looked shocked.  Rikku started at Auronaha then asked "What did you do?"

Auornaha was still on the floor when Rikku sat up on her bed still looked at her with wide eyes.

"I... I don't know," Auronaha whispered. "Darkness; it was so dark and cold," she whispered still in shock.  Then she looked at Rikku and said "What was that...that thing?"

Rikku didn't answer her.  She just sat there with her eyes closed, head in her hands.  By now Rikku had caught her breath and she took long, slow breaths.  Auonraha watched Rikku get up and wash her face.  After sitting back down, Rikku looked at Auronaha.

"Why are you awake?" she sighed.

"Nightmares," whispered Auronaha embarrassed.  Rikku gave a small laugh and said, "Aren't you a little old for nightmares?"

"I didn't have them before I got this stone," said Auronaha defensively.  But she remembered that wasn't entirely true, because even when she was little, Auronaha rarely got a good night sleep free from the demons of her dreams.

"Besides," Auronaha added, "You weren't sleeping well ether."

Rikku gave a small grunt and turned to go back to bed.  Auronaha just watched and sat on the edge of Rikku's bed, wringing her hands.

"What? Still can't sleep?" asked Rikku after a couple of minutes.

"Oh, I guess.  I'm just thinking." Auronaha sighed.  She put her hand on the covers and dazed at the ceiling.  Then she realized something.

"Sorry." She sad quickly getting up, "I taking up your bed."

Rikku let out a small, genuine laugh at Auronaha's reaction. "It's fine.  Don't worry about it," she said, "I never take up the whole bed anyway."

Auonraha fought the urge to stay on the bed with Rikku.  But she stood up and when to her own bed.  Rikku had turned around again her back facing Auronaha.  Auronaha then slipped under her covers of her bed.  She stared at the ceiling not wanting to close them in fear of the bright red eyes returning.  She turned her head again to look at Rikku to find her clam and breathing steadily.  Then Auornaha felt relaxed knowing that Rikku was still there and calm.  Tiredness swept through her like a sudden wind.  She felt her own eyes grow heavier and didn't resist when they closed, knowing that she was now safe.

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Auronaha felt the morning sun on her face that was shinning through the inn window.  Not feeling in a hurry to get up, she turned to lie on her back and slowly opened her eyes.  Her body was stiff from the sudden change of bedding and was moaning at her as she stretched.  Looking around the room, she saw that Rikku had already left.  Not surprised, Auronaha casually went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.  Her hair was somewhat messy and she looked sleepy.  She turned on the water and splashed it onto her face.  The cold water brightened her senses.  Looking in the mirror again, she decided to take a hot bath.   

When she stepped into the tub, the hot water instantly ravished her skin, and she was now very grateful for hot water.  After her finished with her bath she grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her body.  Only seeing one towel, she went to look around for another one for her hair.  She opened the closet across from the bathroom and found some on the top shelf.  Knowing she couldn't reach, Auronaha grabbed a near by chair and stood on it to reach for the towels.

Just then, the door opened and Rikku stepped into the room.  She looked up and saw Auronaha wearing nothing but a bath towel.  Auronaha, shocked by the sudden entrance started to fall off the chair.  Out of reflex, Rikku slammed the door and lunged to catch Auronaha.  They both fell with a loud thud.  Rikku ended on the floor with Auronaha sitting on her stomach.

"Ow!" grimaced rubbing her head that hit the closet door.  Then she realized where she was sitting.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," she said quickly getting off Rikku and moving to her side.

"Are you OK?" Auronaha asked, "I'm so sorry."   Rikku sat up and rubbed the back of her head.  "It's OK, I'm fine," she said then looked at Auronaha and remembered that she was still only in a towel.  Her face turning red, she quickly picked up a towel and handed it to Auronaha.

"Um...here," Rikku said looking away trying to hide her face.  Auronaha looked down at herself and remembered that she was only in a towel too.  She took the towel, slightly blushing.  Rikku quickly got up and walked away, leaving Auronaha standing there with the towel.

Rikku sat on her bed, and then put her hands over her face.  She was still breathing hard and blushing.  ‘Woh, talk about bad timing,' Rikku thought to herself, trying to calm down.  She flopped on her bed staring at the ceiling.

"Auronaha went back to the bathroom and started to dry her hair.  ‘That was embarrassing,' she thought recalling what had just happened.  When she finished drying her hair, she put her dress back on and looked at the mirror.  She felt a lot better and walked out of the bathroom to where Rikku was.  She found Rikku lying on the bed staring at the ceiling, and made a little coughing sound to get her attention.  When Rikku noticed Auronaha she quickly sat up on her bed.  Rikku could help but stare at the Elven Angel in front of her.  Even without the wings, Rikku saw the girl in front of her as the most beautiful person she had ever seen. 

"So," said Auronaha a little flushed and embarrassed form Rikku looking at her,  "Where are we heading today?"

Rikku gave herself a mental shake and stood up for her bed.  "Well, I was talking around and I realized that my informer moved here."

"Oh, that's good," said Auronaha, "We don't have t walk that much anymore." Auronaha, for one was happy, but Rikku didn't seemed too pleased.

"That's a good thing right?"

"Hardly," said Rikku, "He moved in with a certain group of people I wouldn't exactly call my ‘friends'."  Rikku got up and headed towards the door.

"Ready to go?" she asked before opening it.  Auronaha nodded, grabbed her staff and followed Rikku to the stairs

  There was a commotion the lobby as the two made their way to the front door.

"I'm telling you, someone stole all my money!" shouted an enraged man at the person behind the counter.  His hands were in tight fists and his face was beet red.

"I'm sorry sir," the young man behind the counter said, "We are not responsible for any lost or misplaced items."

"But my money's not lost!" the man continued to rage. "It was stolen; no doubt by one of your maid bitches!"

The whole lobby turned silent as the man stormed away.  The man behind the counter looked offended but continued to his work.  Rikku and Auronaha walked out of the inn into the sun.

"Wow, that man was really mean," said Auornaha looking back at the hotel. 

"Yeah," shrugged Rikku, "He had so much money and paid for our rooms.  I thought he'd be nicer."

"You know him?" asked Auronaha surprised.

"No," Rikku simply answered.

"Then why..." Auronaha figured out what happened before she finished the sentence.

"Rikku!  How could you?!" Auronaha hissed, shocked.

"Opportunities like that don't come often.  So when they do, I try to take advantage of them." Rikku said with no regret.

"But you saw how angry he was.  He probably needed to pay for his room." stated Auronaha still angry.

"That and probably all the maids he spent the night with." Said Rikku with a cold voice.

That made Auronaha quiet.  She wasn't expecting a comeback like that.  They walked in silence though the town.  Now that it was daytime, Auronaha could see the town more clearly.  It wasn't a very clean town.  Graffiti covered many of the building walls, which were dark gray or a brownish color.  Auronaha noticed that Rikku was taking them to the far side of town.  That was when she started to smell it.  It was a salty smell combined with what reminded Auronaha was slimy, damp plants.

"Are we near an ocean?" Auronaha finally asked, surprised at the fact.

"I guess so," Rikku answered while sniffing the air.  "I wonder why they choose this spot?" she asked herself out loud.

The smooth road of the town was now rocky gravel as they found a warn down building.  Its gray walls were also covered in graffiti and what looked like burn marks.  It was two stories tall and looked like it hasn't been used in years.  They both took a minute to look at the building.  Rikku shrugged and headed towards the door of the building.

"Um, Rikku," Auronaha said nervously, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Don't know unless I check it out," Rikku stated simply.

Rikku opened the broken down door , with Auronaha over her shoulder, and looked inside.  There was some furniture that looked like it was frequently used with ware marks and other things scattered on the dirty floor.  There was a hallway with more doors on the side of the room and an old stairway across form the door.

Rikku stepped into the building, over a pile of junk on the floor and looked around.

"Well, at least its not the worst I've seen, but its still pretty bad." She said crossing her arms over her chest.  Auronaha studied the room and saw a lot of ale and booze bottles, cans and jugs lying around.  Rikku picked one up and examined it.

"I would say a bunch a bunch of dirty demons," she said dropping the bottle. "Teenaged boys, probably. Just like I remember," she added with disgust.

"Looks like no ones home," said Auronaha nervously behind Rikku.

"I know he's here," insisted Rikku, "We just have to find him." she started  to walk around the room looking into the other rooms.

"Is this person really that important?  If he is then why is he hanging out in a place like this?" asked Auronaha.   But before Rikku could answer, a door slammed somewhere in the building.

"Wow guys, that was quick.  I thought..." a boy halfway stepped into the hall and stopped talking to moment he saw Rikku.

"R...Riya...I mean Rikku," he stuttered stepping back nervous and scared by Rikku.  "What brings you here?"

"What's wrong with me just coming to visit and talk?" said Rikku with a joking edge in her voice.  He narrowed his eyes and judged that she was here on somewhat peaceful terms.  He stepped out into the room and saw Auronaha.  His eyes widened.

"What are you doing with her!" he yelled at Rikku.  "The whole kingdom is looking for her!"  He circled around Auronaha then stood next to Rikku.  "I heard your clan attacked Prince Royin's soldiers while she was with them."

"My clan did not attack his soldiers," Rikku hissed grabbing the collar of his shirt, "He attacked me first." She let go of his shirt and he staggered back then straightened his shirt.

"Then why is she here?" he asked with a smirk on his face, "Did you kidnap her?" he joked.

"No, she didn't kidnap me." Auronaha said sternly, defending Rikku.  The boy turned his attention to her.  "She saved my life," she finished softly.

The boy looked shocked, "Really; that's out of character, Rikku" he said turning to Rikku.

Rikku shook her head, "That's besides the point," she said, "Why did you move here?" she said in a more demanding voice.

John sighed, "My business wasn't doing too well."

"That doesn't explain why you moved with them," said Rikku emphasizing the word ‘them'.

"Hey," John said defensively, "I've got to get money somehow."

"You quit your job at the palace to hang with them?" Rikku questioned angrily.

"Look my family suffered and so did I and I was sick of it," he paused and looked at Rikku, "Working there was stressful."

Rikku sighed and rubbed her face with her hand.  Auronaha looked form Rikku to john, then form John to Rikku, still confused.

"You worked at Trinity Palace?" she asked.

John nodded his head and said, "Yes, that and I was an informer to anyone who wanted information and would pay.

"You still saved info, right?" Rikku said sounding stressed.

"This is the last I have." Said john and he walked back into a room while Rikku and Auronaha followed him.  His room was small and had boxes everywhere and all of them were locked.  All of a sudden, there was a loud bashing sound.

"Oh god," John whined, "They're back."

Auronaha curiously peeked her head out of the room.  She saw a group of boys dropping empty liquor bottles on the floor and laughing loudly.

"Did you see the look on that bastard's face?!" a boy with no shirt and baggy, ripped pants laughed.

"Yeah!" shouted another boy who wore a black sleeveless top and shoulder armor. "That was priceless!"

"Speaking of bastards," said the on the first boy's left, "Where's that ditcher, John?"

The boys headed towards john's room just when Rikku tried to pull Auronaha out of the doorway.  But it was too late.  Before Rikku could close to door, the first boy was already in the doorway.

"Well, John," he said looking down at Auronaha, who had fallen, "You never said that you were gona have a visitor." Then he saw Rikku, who was glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded in an angry voice. "Your disappearing act wasn't funny."

"Well I don't see you doing anything," Rikku shot back coldly.

"Bitch," he hissed, stepping closer to Rikku and got a better look at Auronaha.  Then her saw the stone on her headdress.  Rikku saw what he was looking at  and steeped in front of Auronaha.  "Don't even think about it, Parth!"

The other boys where standing at the door by now and were watching the fight. The boy named Parth stepped forward to the challenge but another boy held him back and whispered something in his ear.  When the other boy was done, Parth laughed and looked at Rikku, then down at Auronaha and smiled evilly, then he walked away from the room with eh other boys following.

Rikku waited till the boys had left then asked Auronaha,  "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," she said as Rikku helped her up.

"Today is a bad day," signed John, "Not even noon, and they're already drunk."

"WE should leave," stated Rikku, heading out the door with Auronaha following closely.  But John didn't move.  Rikku looked back at him and said "Come on."

"I can't," John said simply.

Rikku stopped, making Auronaha bump into her.  She watched Rikku trying to figure out what to do.

"Auronaha, you know the way back to the inn, right?"  Rikku asked facing her.

"I think so," said Auronaha trying to sound hopeful.

"Look, I really need this information and sort stuff out so..." she didn't finish her sentence, hoping Auronaha would understand.

"It's OK," said Auronaha sincerely, "I remember the way."

"Hey," John said, "How about I go with you," he told Auronaha.  Then faced Rikku and said, "I think it would be best if you really looked though the stuff."

"Yeah," sighed Rikku, "Maybe."