Young Writers Society

Jordan

He was glowing inside, joyous. They were going to get rid of the orb! Now was his chance! He could take it to Anzhela and take was rightfully his! Then no one, no one, could stop him!

"What if...I were to take it them?" he interjected softly, thoughtfully. He was good at that kind of deception. "We could schedule a meet, and since I can can meld into and out of the shadows at will, it would be less risky. You lot would be safe from any more harm."

Ren looked to be considering it. The others did not really pay him any mind, they just kept looking at each other, desperation and defeat in their composure. He would have crossed his fingers had they been behind his back.

"I don't know... We should all go, just in case," Toma pressed.

"But that would only slow the mission down," Jordan challenged coolly.

Takeo's eye twitched in slight agitation. "What are you motives, anyway, Jordan? You didn't take interest in us until you found out we had this orb. And now you're so insistent on delivering it alone... You playing under the table?"

Jordan glared evenly back. Smart kid. But he knew better. He had spent his whole life in the shadows; he was sure of his ability to lie. "What the hell have I done to deserve that?" he growled lowly, dangerously. "All I want...is what's best for you - you kids."

Ren stepped in to stop the fight before it started. "Relax, both of you. The last thing we need right now is to fight among each other." He looked at Jordan and said, "I for one agree with Jordan. He would be the best candidate to make the exchange." Jordan smiled, for a moment he thought things were going to be more easy than he thought. But then Ren added, "But it would be too dangerous for him to go alone. I think I should be there with him. That way if Stiyl and Kaori decide to attack us Jordan will be able to take both of us into the shadows and escape."

Jordan frowned a little, but nodded. This was the best chance he was going to get, so he'd might as well take it. As long as he took him by surprise, taking the orb from Ren should be a simple task. "Sounds good to me."

"Toma, can you get in touch with these Necessarius guys and schedule a meeting for us?" Ren asked.

Toma nodded. "I know the phone number of one of their members, I'll contact him as soon as possible. Once the meeting is set you should all be safe until then, but you should all still stay together just in case."

"All right. Everyone, find someplace to lay low until the meeting is set."

Everyone nodded and began to file down the hall. When Ren didn't follow them Lena asked, "Ren, aren't you coming with us?"

He shook his head and sat down on the bench. "No, I'm going to stay here and watch Cait."

Lena

As Jordan was talking, Lena studied him thoughtfully, what Ren said that made sense. After he found out what the orb was for he started to pay more attation to them, and this was strange to her. Several questions had popped into her mind, none which were said out loud though. As soon as Ren mentioned that he would go with him, she felt somewhat better, now he would have a harder time to pull something on them.

After that was decided, everyone broke up and started to leave. She followed out behind them, but then noticed that Ren was not following. "Ren, aren't you coming with us?" she questioned him. When he replied no, she then nodded and walked away. She hoped that her apartment was safe, because that is where she was planning to go.

Suddenly a thought crossed her mind, should they have really split up like that?...it just made them easier targets if those people decided to attack again. Sighing sighing she shook her head and hoped that nothing would happen.

Takeo

It was hard for Taki to decide if he was suspicious of Jordan because the guy was creepy as hell and he had good reason to be suspicious, or if this was just orb induced paranoia. Either way he knew he did not want to give the orb to Jordan but what choice did he have? If he refused, the others would simply think it was because of his attachment to the object and they'd go ahead and take it off of him anyway, by tooth and nail if they had to. So Takeo fought with his impulse to hold on and tried to convince his mind that it was just temporary, like before. Like when he gave it to Ren.

"You'd better not be lying, Jordan," Takeo spat with more vehemence than he meant to. He also held outt the orb though and quickly dropped it into the other boy's hands. But his yes watched carefully for any sign. Fow what? Maybe a glimmer or triumph or something, something... and he thought he saw it, just a flicker of the eye. Probably nothing. Probably.

"I'm not," Jordan said stiffly in his insulted tone. And his hand cloosed around the orb. So that was it. It was over.

"I guess I can go home then," Takeo said softly. It was a strange thought that. He felt like he'd been away from home forever when it had only been a few days. Could his old life really be waiting for him back at th flat? It would be nice at last to wear his clothes again an eat his fod but could he be satisfied with that life now? It suddenly seemed so dull and flat, not much of a future to be looking forward to.

Cait

Cait whimpered softly, feeling a sheet being pulled up to her shoulders; her right arm was left exposed, a dull throb intensifying when she tried to move her hand. She could feel something stuck into her, taped down... Her side seared, the skin pulling slightly each time she breathed. Was she dead? Was she a zombie? No, she smelled peroxide, and plastic, and linen... ...Where am I?

Someone spoke, sounding distant, muffled... "...be all right...sore and stiff..."

Another voice, a little lower in pitch and less annoying sounding, chimed in, hopeful, "...visit?"

"Yes." Cait moaned softly, barely audibly, as someone left out of the room. It was bright, with a blinding light overhead. An IV tower stood beside her. She could hear a machine beeping in another room; she sighed, she knew where she was...a hospital.

Ren smiled when he stepped into the room and saw her. "Cait!"

"Ren," she whispered. She tried to push herself up on her arm, but cried out when her side burned.

He came to her side quickly and put his hand on her shoulder. "No, just lay still."

"Where am I?" Cait asked.

"You're in the hospital. The doctor just finished patching you up," Ren told her. "Don't try to move too much, you might pull the stitches loose."

"Stitches?" Cait moved the blanket aside and lifted her shirt a little so she could see the stitches. She saw the freshly sewn wound that ran up her side. That's right, she thought, That woman cut me with her sword during the fight. Panic began to rise in her gut. "Where are the others? Are they all right?"

"It's okay, Cait. Everyone is fine," Ren tried to reassure her. "The others just left to go home."

Cait let out a sigh of relief, at least the others were safe. "What about the orb?" she asked. "Do we still have it?"

"Yes," Ren said, his face turning a little solemn. "But we've decided it's time we gave it up."

(All I could think of at the moment, sorry.)

Cait

She swallowed, staring at him, horrified. "Why? We've fought so hard already - "

"Not hard enough...and..." he bit his lip, looking at her sorrowfully. "I'm sorry you got hurt. That could have ended so much worse - "

She gasped softly, blinking as she watched him. Had he been that worried, that upset that she was wounded today? She smiled, touching his hand for a second in comfort. "Try to cheer up. I'm okay, now."

He shook his head. "You have stitches! It'll take you a week to get those out - "

"Ren." He sighed, quieting when she called his name. She half shrugged. "We're out of there. We don't have to be afraid anymore. And...I have you with me. I was...scared, and hurting...but not anymore."

He only smiled.


Jordan

He grinned as soon as he was out of sight of the last little brat kid. He had gone ahead and walked each of them home, as a final "assurance" of his loyalties, but now came the moment he had been waiting for. He couldn't contain himself, and soon vanished into the shadows, racing through the night. He left the comfort of the city and went straight to his warehouse apartment, materializing inside the front door. Anzhela was already there, curled up in a very sensual position on the couch.

"Da, moledetz," she whispered, standing up. "You have it?"

He reached into his pocket and held the orb. It felt odd in his hand, cold and simple, like any other glass ball. He felt a spur of thrill when her eyes glittered. "Da!" she whispered, ecstatic. "Spasiba, Jordacko! You have done well!"

She reached for it, but he withdrew it suddenly, vanishing to the other side of the room. "But your word. Will I get the power I desire?"

(I can only think of something to post for Jordan right now, so I'll have to come back to Ren later. In the meantime why don't Lena and Takeo hang out together for a bit, that way you two will still have something to post about, Kitty and Undertaker. You could have them talk to each other about their thoughts on giving away the orb.)

Anzhela seemed taken off guard by Jordan's action, which gave him a small feeling of satisfaction. She quickly composed her self and calmly turned to face him. She gave him a smile and said, "Straight to business I see. I like that." She strode over to the table where an unfamiliar book lay. As she picked it up she said, "You don't have to worry about me running off the moment you give me that orb, Darling. I have other business in Academy City, and I may have further use of you."

"And what might this "other business" be exactly?" Jordan asdked.

"All in good time, Jordacko." She grabbed the book off the table and handed it to Jordan. "A present for all your hard work."

Jordan took the book with his empty hand and eyed it suspiciously. It was a black leather-bound book with red writing on the cover in some language he didn't recognize. "What the heck is this?"

"It's your new instrument of destruction," Anzhela told him. "I had to call up a few favours to get that little treasure out of our archive back in Russia, so please be gentle with it."

Jordan put the orb down for a moment and started skimming through the pages. As he looked at the various symbols and diagrams inside it became aparant what kind of book it was. "Is this a spell book?" He had never seen or heard of one outside of fiction, but it was probably as good a guess as any.

She nodded. "And a very powerful one at that. With the contents of that book not only will you be able to make your own powers stronger, but you will be able to control the very beings whose voices haunt you when you are alone."

Takeo

The prospect of going back to his apartment alone was a scary one. Somehow he felt so vulnerable without the orb. It had made him stronger, of course, but this was more than that. Before finding the orb, Takeo had worn a different kind of defence, the kind of defence where he didn't care what others thought and was confident in his own abilities, knowing himself to be stronger than almost anyone else. He'd had an aggressive power and was a top level three. He still had those things but after experiencing how little they counted for against the real top guns... something had changed.

"Uh Lena..." Taki paused and turned to face the girl who stopped as well. This was where they should part. Where she'd go left and he'd go right, each to their own place. But Takeo wasn't planning on saying goodbye.

"Yeah?" Lena turned her head, her brown hair tousselled by the breeze. It was the kind of hair that would look really cool with some red in it. But maybe it didn't need any. It was long and glossy and... and Taki almost felt like flirting, like his old self.

"Want to see my apartment again?" His smile was slightly crooked and more wry than flirtatious and he ran a nervous hand through his hair.

Lena

The split in the the path came too soon and suddenly I really did not want to leave Taki's side. When walking with him I felt that everything that had happened to us had just been a dream; that the orb never came in to our possession and we never got attacked. Even though I knew it happened, I still did not want to give up the feeling that everything was normal. Plus, the thought of going to my apartment, alone, did not settle in my stomach well.

I paused at the split, hoping that he would say something. An "Um, Lena..." caught my attention and I almost could not contain my smile.

"Yeah?" I said while looking at him.

"What to see my apartment again?" He said with a weary smile and nervous laughter.

I felt relief flood through me as soon as the words left his mouth. I nodded my head, smiling. Suddenly a smile broke out on his face too. I felt myself freeze for a minute, Taki...actually did not look bad when he smiled like that. He then turned around and motioned for me to follow him.

After a moment of silence, Cait asked, "So what happens now?"

"Toma is trying to get in touch with those people as we speak. He's going to set up a meeting where we can exchange the orb in safety."

"Toma, you mean your friend? Does he have some sort of connection with those people?" Ren explained to Cait everything that his friend and told the rest of them. "Well, that explains why that girl Index knows so much about these orb," Cait said. "But if you ask me it's still too much of a coincidence."

"Even so, Toma is the only person we can count on right now. Once he sets up the meeting tonight, me and Jordan will go there together and make the trade."

The idea of Ren being in such a situation with Jordan made Cait feel uneasy. Despite all that he's done, there's still something about him that rubs her the wrong way. "Are you sure that's wise? Can we even trust Jordan for such an important task?"

"Jordan has more than proven his trsutworthiness. It was because of him that you're still breathing. After you fell unconcious he saved you before that swordswoman could finish you off."

(Are you guys having trouble thinking of something to post?)

Sorry, just hit another busy spell and semi forgot this was here...

Takeo

The walk home was pleasant, almost... normal. Takeo was starting to see that normal could actually be nice. And Lena was nice. It was odd to think that he'd never really talked to her before... well before everything went crazy. She'd just been some quiet kid who tended to sit near the back of the bus. But now she was... now she was... huh. Actuslly, he didn't really know that much more about her. Except that she was nice. She'd just helped him without ever seeming to question it and he didn't think he'd thanked her and they hadn't actually talked so he still just knew her as the quiet kid who liked to sit at the back of the bus. Bummer. And he was supposed to be good at this socialising thing.

"Sooo. Uh... what are you into when you're not doing crazy stuff like this?" They were nearing the bus stop now and then it would be just a short trip to his apartment.

"I don't know, just stuff. I read a little, play a few games and just... why do you ask anyway? You don't have to make conversation you know."

"Well, actually I wanted to know."

"Oh. Well okay then."

"Good." There was an awkward pause and Taki wondered what he'd done wrong this time. Girls! Then Lena suddenly asked:

"So what do you do then?"

"I guess I game a lot. And train. I spend a lot of my time training." Taki shrugged. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really do much at all.

Lena

She had to admit, she was pretty surprised that Taki had tried to make small talk with her. She had always known Taki as someone who was popular and seemed to live a totally different life than her, even though they went to the same school.

She on the other hand just sat in the back of the bus, reading. As to why she helped him, she was not really sure of that herself, it just felt natural to help someone when they needed it.

While she was thinking they arrived at Taki's house, she snapped out of her daze when she heard Taki put the key in the door and unlock it. Taki then opened the door for her and she walked it. Looking around she noticed that it somewhat clean.

He must have noticed her looking becuase she smiled sheepishly and said, "You don't you take a seat and I'll clean up a little bit.

*** ...sorry... ***

Cait

She blinked. He did what? She reached down and pinched herself, flinching. Yes, she was awake...which meant she had heard him clearly. Jordan had saved her.

"Why would he do that?" she asked, a little bewildered by the sudden show of kindness.

Ren only shrugged. "But the important thing is that you're alive."

-----------

Jordan

He listened to her, and then his attention was gone. He vanished into the shadows, warping himself up to the top of a stack, sitting cross legged with the massive book in his arms. He opened it to the first page, tried to read the first spell...but couldn't. He stumbled over the pronunciation, making him feel a little foolish and child-like, infantile in his studies...

"It is an old language, the one that gave rise to Russian and the Germanic tongues. I will teach you what you need to know first."

Typically, he would have frowned upon that. He sat nonchalant; all he cared about was what was in his hands, and the powers that it would give him...

***Don't worry, I'll come up with some of the spells later.***