One hour, and several jokes (mostly at Kenji’s expense) later, they arrived at a very large wall that stretched along the edge of a protruding piece of land. The sun was just sinking below the horizon, casting the land into a gray twilight. The only way to get to the little island-without-water, it seemed, was to cross one of the three rope bridges strung across a thirty foot deep ravine with spikes and all sorts of nasty things in it. Like skulls. And other parts of the body, all at various states of decay. None of them looked fresh, though. Which was a bit of a relief. Matt shuddered, imagining what it would be like if the bridge broke, sending them plummeting down into the depths. “Ho! Who goes there?” a grating voice rang out over the gate.
“Takiko Ten’nyo, Tanuki Kiro, Kenji Nakajima, and Reia Fioria, coming back from the transportation attempt!” Takiko called, sending a breeze along to carry her voice to the top of the gate.
“Password?” the breeze came sweeping back down with the answer.
“Time is not our enemy.” She replied. This time, as the breeze passed him, Matt shivered. The words held some sort of ancient power. He got the feeling that those words had been used to seal these gates when they were first built. As she spoke them, the colossal gate creaked open, revealing a path leading across a small stream to a beautiful, Oriental village (it was really more of a town, but it is the Village of the Half-elf Ninja…). As they walked past the gates, they swung shut behind them, somehow completely silently. Immediately, Matt tensed up.
“Hold!” a tough looking man with long black hair and a short sword stopped them. “Takiko-kun, who’s this?” he asked, pointing the sword in Matt’s face.
Matt pushed the sword away. “’This’ can speak for himself.” He answered, annoyed.
Takiko shot him a warning look, then turned back to the man. “This is Matt Greene. He’s Tanuki’s other half.”
“No, he is not!” Tanuki protested.
“If Takiko says he is, then he is.” The man sheathed his sword, clapped his fists together, and bowed. “Well met, Chosen of Soul.” He straightened. “I’m afraid a small village such as Mizuho does not match the splendor of your home city on Earth, but I think you may find the change enjoyable.”
“Umm… thanks?” Matt replied, unsure of what had just happened.
Takiko nudged him in the side painfully. “Return the bow.” She hissed.
“What?” he rubbed his side where she had jabbed him.
“Return the bow!”
“Oh. Right.” He performed the same bow as the man had, but far more awkwardly.
Reia inclined her head. “Raiha Zaibatsu. You’re looking well.”
“Likewise, Miss Fioria.” He replied. “Would you come with me? I have some matters concerning the defense of the village I would like to discuss with you.”
She nodded regally. “Certainly.” The two of them went north along the wall as Takiko led her little group further into the village. Matt stared, mouth open. People milled around the square, a little over half of them wearing the same headband as Kenji. A steel plate with a star inside a circle engraved on it. A pentagram. He thought suddenly, then wondered how he knew it. He had never been interested in cult stuff, or even church for that matter. He knew it was just one big lie, anyway, so how did he know what that symbol was?
Kenji broke off from the group when they were halfway through the square. “I’m gonna go make sure Elsie knows I’m ok.” He said, waving as he left.
“Who’s Elsie?” Matt asked.
Takiko smiled evilly. “His girlfriend. Wanna follow him and see what they’re gonna do?”
“Um, not really. Can we hurry up to a place where you can tell me what’s going on?” he replied.
“Oh, yeah.” She realized, remembering why they had come to Mizuho in the first place. She beckoned. “Come on.” She led them through the village, Tanuki drifting away with a mumbled phrase that neither of them could catch, and it ended up being just the two of them strolling through the peaceful town.
“Here we are.” Takiko said, stopping in front of a large, graceful structure. “Home sweet home! Well, sort of, anyway. I don’t exactly live here year-round…” she jumped up and slid open the door. Matt followed her inside. There was a large room with three sliding doors, and the floor was covered in mats. Seeing his confusion, Takiko pointed at them and said “Tatami mats.” Matt nodded, and following her example, took off his shoes. As he stepped onto the mats in his dirty, white socks, Takiko wrinkled her nose. “Your feet smell.” She said, sitting at a low table in the center of the room. Matt sat down too, but on the opposite side of the table.
Suddenly, he couldn’t hold back his questions. “Where are we? What is this place? Why have you brought me here? What do I have to do with all this?” he burst out.
Takiko put up her hands as if to ward something off. “Whoa, whoa, one question at a time. This world we are on is called Cephiro.” She swept her arms wide and continued. “It’s connected to Earth through a shared magical core. However, right now, Earth has only about 15% of said magic. Cephiro has about 85%. That’s why it took over half the Chosen plus the power of the gods to get two of us there.”
“Ok…” Matt said, slowly starting to understand. “But what are the Chosen?”
Takiko shook her head and dropped her arms. “Not ‘what’, but ‘who’.” At this point, she looked at her hands. “It is the Chosen’s duty to save both worlds and restore the balance of the core. No matter what the cost. It is our destiny.”
Matt stared at her for a second, surprised by her downcast expression. Then, she brightened. “Well, what do you want to know?” she asked, though her smile seemed a little forced.
Matt reached for her hand. “Takiko-“
Suddenly, the door flew open. Tanuki stood there, huffing. “I finally found you.” He gasped, stalking over and plopping down next to Takiko.
“It shouldn’t have been that hard.” She said, blinking.
“How am I supposed to know where you’ll go with him?”
“Back to my house? It’s kind’ve obvious, Tanuki.”
“I don’t know how your mind works! I only know a bit!”
Takiko rolled her eyes and sighed. “Overreacting….” She looked at Matt. “Sorry about this.” She jerked a thumb at Tanuki, who was now ranting about how he was not overreacting, and that they should redo the teleportation spell and send Matt back to Earth because he clearly wasn’t his other half and thus should be dealt with accordingly.
He shrugged. “No problem. Now explain, please.”
“Right. Ok, so Earth and Cephiro are connected by this core. The levels are supposed to be 50% on both worlds, but since the war, those levels have drastically changed.”
“War?”
“A thousand years ago. I’m getting to that. Anyway, the wacky levels of magic on the two planets have warped the atmosphere from lack of or too much magic. Anything degrading on Earth?” Takiko asked suddenly.
“You mean besides human brainpower?”
Takiko laughed her sweet laugh. “Yes, besides that.”
Matt looked thoughtful. “I’d have to say the ozone layer. And the polar ice caps.”
Takiko nodded. “That’s the effect of the lack of magic. Here on Cephiro, we have too much. So much that it’s warped the space-time continuum. People can be in two different places at the same time. It gets confusing.”
“Sounds like it.”
“Yeah. The Chosen’s job is to pull the core back into balance and restore peace. Luckily, we have the gods on our side, so it’s not as impossible as it sounds.”
“And I’m a Chosen?” Matt asked, tilting his head.
At that, Takiko smiled. Tanuki did the exact same thing. No matter how much he tried to deny it, Matt was indeed his other half. “Right again. You are one of the three Chosen whose branches of the web were recently discovered. Ice, Lightning, and Soul. You are Soul.”
“Web? What web? And what is Soul, exactly?”
“There is a web in the Realms of the Gods that has the names of all the Chosen who were, are, and are to come. It comes in handy when we’re trying to check if someone is one.” She explained. “Soul is all the elements from Air, which is me, to Lightning. That would be Kenji.”
“All the elements? Is that true?”
“If that wasn’t true, I couldn’t have said it.”
“Don’t you mean ‘wouldn’t’?”
Takiko shook her head. “Nope. Couldn’t. I can’t lie. More about that later.”
Matt thought about it for a second, then said, “So my name’s on this web?”
Takiko shrugged. “More likely than not. But I’m pretty sure. Otherwise the spell wouldn’t have sent us back.”
“Maybe there just wasn’t enough power.” Tanuki said, glaring at Matt.
Takiko shook her head. “Nope. Luna added some of her power.”
“Luna? Wait, let me guess…she’s the Chosen of Light.” Matt guessed.
“Wrong.” The door opened again to show a tall, muscular man wearing armor. “That would be me.”
Matt blinked. “You’re Luna?”
Takiko laughed again. “No, this is Kristopher. He’s the Chosen of Light and a Knight of the Cross. Capital c.”
The knight walked in and sat down, putting a broadsword across his lap. Matt noticed that, strangely, he was also wearing a belt of what seemed to be wolf-hide. Matt shook his head. Weird people. he thought.
“I wish to speak with you.” Kris said to Takiko.
“In a minute. Ammoracchius still holding up?” Takiko asked.
He inclined his head. “Your repairs hold well.”
Takiko smiled. "Good. Is it anything important?"
He shook his head. "Not so much. I only wished to inform you of a mission that may be coming your way.
She nodded. "Thanks." She turned back to Matt. “Kris is the oldest Chosen, but the latest to Awaken.”
“What?”
“He’s 31. And he awoke to his powers nine months ago, courtesy of my other half.” Takiko replied, bowing while still sitting down. If you’ve never seen this, it’s quite a sight to see.
“Your…?” Matt said, confused.
“Yup. We melded, so I can’t really say that. More like me on Earth. Actually, I think I know you.”
His eyes widened and he jerked back. “Eh?! You know me?!”
She closed her eyes. “Matt Greene… English class, 4th hour, 3rd row from the left, second seat back.” She opened her eyes again and smiled. “Thought I recognized you.” She got up and walked around the room, lighting the lamps scattered about said room with a flick of her finger, somehow creating a flame on the end of it.
Matt watched in fascination until a thought occurred to him. “Hey, if you’re the Chosen of Air, how can you manipulate fire as well?”
Takiko smiled again, her face illuminated by the flames. “I’m actually compatible with all the elements, so I can use them to some extent. And I can combine them to use Soul, but only just.” She walked back over and sat down. “It takes a strong will to bind opposites. You and Tanuki both have some of the strongest wills I’ve ever seen. Stronger than mine.”
“And you are the most pig-headed, stubborn girl I know.” Kris added, smiling down at his young companion fondly. “But that is a good trait for a leader.”
Matt looked at Takiko, surprised. “Leader?”
Takiko pointed at herself and poked her cheek. “Everyone just kinda elected me because I’m going on my fifth year as a Chosen. Three years longer than anyone else.”
His mouth fell open. “You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. “Nope. I Awoke in fourth grade. I’m in 9th grade, now.”
“In my English class? But I’m a junior…” He was confused for a second, then realized who she was. “Oh! You’re that genius girl!! The one who makes everyone look dumb! Umm… umm… Amy!”
Her smile widened. “Good job.” She pointed at Kris. “You know him, too. He’s a goalie on your soccer team.”
He stared. “My soccer team…? Wait, do you mean Jacob?”
Kris looked surprised. He turned to Takiko. “Dieses Jungen ist nicht so dumm, über all.”
“Huh? Speak English, please!” Matt asked.
Takiko shot Kris a glare. “Hey, be nice.” She turned to Matt. “He’s speaking in German. It’s the native language of his home country, Belisaere. He said you weren’t so dumb, after all.”
“Oh, gee. Thanks ever so much.” Matt replied dryly.
Takiko snorted with laughter and Tanuki glared at Matt. “I still don’t trust you…” he said warily.
“Oh no. Whatever will I do.” He responded, extracting more laughter from Takiko at both his comment and Tanuki’s face.
“Hee hee… he’s funny. I’m glad he’s your other half.” She half-squeaked, wiping tears from her eyes.
“He’s not-mmph!!” he was cut off by Kris’s large hand clamping over his mouth.
“He is. I can see his aura. It has the same glow as yours.”
“Mm! Mmphy-mmpha mmph!!” Tanuki mmph-ed.
“What?”
“Mmmmph!!”
She waved at Kris. “Let him speak.”
“Phwa!!” Tanuki gasped as the knight’s huge hand moved off his mouth. “Jeez! You almost suffocated me!”
Kris shrugged. “Sorry.”
Tanuki rolled his eyes and turned to Takiko. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“I am!” Takiko responded indignantly. “Well, sort of, anyway.”
“No, you’re on his side!” he said, pointing to Matt.
“Well, technically, he’s you-“
“No! No, he’s not! I’m me, he’s him. Two people! And now you’re falling for him!”
Takiko knee-walked over to him, put her hands on his cheeks, and kissed him fully on the lips. Then, she leaned back and touched her forehead to his. “I’m not falling for him. I love you. But there’s no denying that you are one half of the other.”
“I know.” Tanuki replied, his voice ragged. “You can’t blame me for getting jealous.”
“I know. He’s part of you. It’s only natural that you wouldn’t like him.” She stroked his cheek.
Matt turned away, thinking he shouldn’t be watching. He noticed Kris had gone. He got up and went to the door, ignoring Takiko and Tanuki, who were still murmuring softly, and were also pressed so close together that Matt doubted they were just going to merely talk. He opened the door and stepped outside, stretching in the light of the newly-risen, full moon.
“I wouldn’t go in there for a while.” A voice came from next to the now closed door, making him jump.
He whirled around. Kris loomed out of the shadows. “Jeez… don’t scare me like that!”
The big knight inclined his head. “Forgive me. I did not mean to startle you.”
Matt blinked. “Umm…ok?” he turned back to the village. “Soo…why don’t we want to go in there?”
“Tanuki doesn’t like you.”
“Well, yeah, I kinda got that impression from him trying to punch my face in when I got here.” Matt replied, running a hand through his hair.
Kris raised an eyebrow. “You say ‘trying’. You mean he did not succeed?”
“Nope. I blocked him, stuck an elbow in his face, and busted his nose.”
“You busted…?” Kris looked dumbfounded, then laughed a deep, throaty laugh.
Inside the house, the young couple broke apart and looked at the door. “Told you he was funny.” Takiko said, smirking. They looked back at each other.
Tanuki shook his head. “Shut up.” He kissed her to stop her from saying anything else, and they went back to what they were doing.
Ahem. Anyway, Kris was still laughing, as Matt stood there blinking. “How is that funny?”
“Nobody dodges him. He always lands a hit.”
“Why? No one’s ever had the balls to duck?”
Kris suddenly looked serious. “No one’s fast enough.”
Matt was taken aback. “No one’s fast enough? He seemed pretty slow to me.”
“What did you do?” Kris asked, curious.
“I…uhh…it’s hard to explain.” Matt replied. He faced Kris square on. “It’d be better if I showed you. Throw a punch at me. Slowly.”
Kris looked confused, but did as he asked. Matt put up a hand and slid it along the knight’s arm, grabbing his forearm and sticking his right elbow up into his face. “Ah.” The knight said, understanding. “What sort of move is that? It can be done so quickly.”
Matt let go of his arm and moved his elbow. “It’s Chinese martial arts. I live in Chinatown, so it’s a little easier to find a Roshi.”
“Roshi?”
“The term for ‘master’ in Chinese.”
“Ah.” Kris looked thoughtful. “Could you show me more of these ‘martial arts’?”
Matt blinked. “Uh, sure.” He stepped out onto the grass, still only wearing his socks. “Here goes.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he stomped his foot and twisted his arm around in a grab, then whipped up into a forearm block, moving into a high kick, and switching to a position where his elbow was up by his face and his feet were planted firmly on the ground. He had only moved three feet from his starting point.
Kris blinked, surprised, then clapped. “That was excellent!”
Matt straightened and walked back up onto the porch(for lack of a better word; it was more like a balcony on the ground). “I’m not that good. There are people better than me.”
Kris clapped him on the back. “Then I would hate to meet them.”
The door slid open behind them. “It’s getting late.” Takiko said. “You should get some rest.” She turned to go inside. “I’ll show you the guest room.”
“Yeah, one second.” Matt turned to say good bye to Kris, but the knight had gone. “Where’d he…?”
“Oh, he’s always around somewhere. Unless he gets called back to his lands in Belisaere.” Takiko replied as a wolf’s howl echoed around the village. “Now, come on.”
Matt followed her somewhat warily. “Where did Tanuki go?”
“Oh, he went to patrol the wall.” She replied, leading him down the hall outside one of the sliding doors. “Here it is.” She had stopped at a door with a teardrop burned into it. Takiko opened the door and Matt stepped inside.
“Wow…” he breathed softly. Everything in the room had a water theme, from the bed, which was shaped like a crashing wave, to the floor, which was painted like an ocean floor. There was even a small waterfall above the mirror(which was framed by carved waves) that trickled into a washbowl.
“I thought you’d like it. It was one of my favorite rooms when I lived here as a kid.” Takiko said, leaning on the doorframe.
“You lived here as a kid? It must’ve been amazing.” Matt couldn’t stop looking at the intricacies in the room.
“Not so much. My childhood wasn’t exactly the happiest days of my life.” She turned to go out the door, then paused. “Oh, and in the park? With that horse or dragon thing?”
“Yeah?”
Her blue-green eyes twinkled mischievously. “I was just messing with ‘ya!” she left, shutting the door, and leaving Matt more confused (and annoyed) than ever.
He flopped onto the bed, the night’s events catching up to him. “This place is so weird.” He said to himself, before drifting off(not literally; though, on Cephiro, who knows?).
In an extinct volcano on the northern continent, a shadow leaned over a large pool of flowing darkness, seeming to come from the shadow itself, watching him sleep. “A human from Earth on Cephiro? That must have been draining. Unfortunately, none of the Chosen are dead. Pity.” The shadow turned away from the bowl. “Well, I’ll just have to change that. Beware, my beloved Takiko. You shall not escape fate this time around.” The shadow’s cackling, slithery voice echoed throughout the chamber and halls of the volcano fortress, freezing the blood of every guard that heard it. It turned around. “And the Chosen of Soul’s Earth half has come to Cephiro. An interesting development. No matter. My plan shall continue. Although… this does make it quite a bit easier.” It chuckled to itself, as if amused by some private joke, and continued watching.
