Desination, Part 4 (pre-UT#298 tie-in) - Tales of the Parodyverse

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Destination Part 4

    It was still cold in the temple, even with a fire raging on the altar in the center. Liu Xi was leaned against the base of the altar, taking advantage of the fact that the stones around it were radiating some of the flame's warmth. She was back to back with Exu, he was lying on the warm stones surrounding the altar and sleeping.

    Even with the borrowed silver jump suit and boots she wore, and the thin blanket covering her, she could feel cold air cascading down upon her. Exu was covered with most of the blankets she made, as she was trying to keep him warm enough to sleep comfortably and heal himself.

    Scattered around the room were empty cans which used to contain food, and only an armful of bottled water remained. Fortunately Liu Xi found that she could create more water from the air as she needed it but food was a problem. Without it she would become weaker, and Exu would become sicker, and it would be only a short time before the Hero Feeder outside came to claim them.

    She looked at Exu and remembered what he told her...and it was starting to seem more tempting every day. Murder one of those people in suspended animation...quickly, so they wouldn't suffer...and Exu would heal up and have the power to escape with her. No more cold, no more Hero Feeders. No more fading away.

    It was even more disappointing that Exu was still seeping through his bandages. Not blood anymore, but that distinctly tinted fluid which warned of an impending infection. One that could kill him with an injury that severe.

    There was a distant roar again, except this time it was followed by other loud noises in the distance. No, not in the distance...high above, as if either a battle was happening directly above the temple or the Hero Feeder decided to try and bash its way through the stone. She shuddered at that last possibility.

    Almost to confirm her fears the temple vibrated once during the battle outside and dust cascaded down from the ceiling. Exu was still asleep and useless. Liu Xi curled closer to the altar, hoping it would shelter her if something happened, and steeled herself as her heart began racing.

    And then it suddenly fell silent. There was no more roar, no vibration, no distant explosion. It was quiet as the deadest regions of outer space, and almost as cold. She looked at the door for a moment and thought about going outside to check what happened. Without confirmation she would simply have to assume that there was still danger out there. Either the Hero Feeder gave up trying to get in or whatever it was fighting had lost.

    "Exu," Liu Xi whispered as she converted the blanket she wore into a hooded cloak. "I have to get food, and more fabrics."

    He finally opened his eyes and looked up at her, squinting against the glow of the flame. "That Hero Feeder--" he started to say weakly.

    "I have no choice!" she replied, both angrily and tearfully. "I have no choice," she repeated more quietly. "We are going to die before we're rescued. You're getting sicker, Exu."

    He sighed impatiently. "Everyone has to die. Unless you have someone else's life to trade for mine--"

    "We're going to be rescued," Liu Xi insisted once again, but she didn't sound sure this time. "We have to survive until then."

    "You can save us," Exu whispered as Liu Xi pulled the hood over her head and began walking to the door. "Remember, I told you how."

    As she cast the door aside with a wave and headed outside she closed her eyes to fight back tears, and began shaking. Supplies weren't the only thing she was after. She looked at the palm of her hand where she held onto the lid of one of those empty cans. It quickly changed form into a crude but sharp blade.

---


    Outside the temple there were distant flickers of light, rumbles, and unintelligible sounds in the distance, like a retreating thunderstorm back home. Liu Xi knew it was no storm - it was the battle that raged above them earlier, and it could return at any time. She raced off, knowing she had to move quickly.

    The small lost city fragment Liu Xi stole supplies from the first time was familiar to Liu Xi. Just like the last time she headed straight for a giant building in the town's edge which seemed to hold quite a few time suspended people and supplies. She guessed it must have been some sort of shopping area before the city ended up in Limbo.

    Behind her she towed a makeshift sled to carry the supplies, made from debris found on the way in. She quickly loaded it first so she could save the most painful part for last. With the wagon loaded down with stolen fabrics and cans she stopped in front of the naked woman Liu Xi stole the silver jump suit from the first time.

    The knife was in her hand, nearly cutting own her flesh because she was holding it so tightly. Her heart raced, her breathing was shallow and quick, and she could barely hold herself steady. She almost took a pause to think about what she was going to do...but then she reminded herself that thinking would only lead to more pain and regret and would prevent her from returning in time.

    Liu Xi wrapped the cloak tightly around herself - partly to protect herself, and from a subconcious need not to be recognized at that moment - and took a step forward. She swiped at the woman's throat and was shocked and horrified at how easily her makeshift knife cut through flesh and bone. She unconciously shrieked and jumped back when the woman's head toppled from the body and bounced at her feet, lifeless.

    It all seemed so unreal. There was no blood - it had all long since gelled from the suspended animation. There were no screams, nothing. Just silence, and a head lying at her feet. Nevertheless, she was shaking so much she barely had the presence of mind to bring the sled with her when she fled that place. She didn't know why she clung to the knife all the way back to the temple.

    When she returned to the temple tears were streaming down her face and her mind was racing. The sled got stuck on the way in and she impatiently kicked it, sending cans and bottles rolling across the stone floor before she willed the huge door shut again and it slammed loudly.

    Exu was awake, and sitting up. It momentarily distracted her from the swirl of emotion she felt. She approached him slowly, nearly tripping over a few cans as she went, focused on trying to see if what she did worked. Her heart sank and her blood went cold when she realized that he only seemed marginally better - he was sitting, and his wound had nearly gone, but he was still obviously hurting.

    "I guess I should have specified you use the altar," Exu joked, seeming in good spirits, which felt like an abrasive trait to Liu Xi at the moment. "I'm getting better but...slowly."

    Liu Xi was so angry she was shaking, and she threw something - thankfully, an empty can since she had the presence of mind not to waste food - which barely missed Exu before bouncing off the opposite wall. "You promised me...!" she growled at him before the anger rendered her unable to complete that thought. Instead she cursed at him in Chinese for nearly a full minute.

    "Relax, it just takes time," Exu told her. He interrupted her tirade by placing his hand on the ground and slowly standing on shaky legs. He shuffled over to the pile of things Liu Xi brought, and fished out a shirt and pants that she brought him. "I guess atrophy is a problem," he finally said, sitting down quickly again.

    She watched him, still fuming, but said nothing.

    "I could use some food," he continued. "We both could." He looked up into her angry eyes and added quietly, "Look, Liu Xi, we both had to do things we didn't like. This just makes us even."

    Liu Xi frowned and she grabbed a couple of cans to make some food. She felt halfway between crying and rage, but she was too hungry and exhausted for either one. Being a fairly good cook she managed to make something decent out of canned foods even though her heart and mind weren't really in it.

    Exu ate his portion of the food quickly, seeming to be more hungry than he'd been before. It was as if he suddenly went from the brink of death, and awoken a new man. Liu Xi felt a little jealous of that, as she still felt like she was in danger of fading away.

    "Don't worry," Exu told her as he sipped water from a bottle, "If your friends rescue us I'll pretend to be incapacitated again so they don't try and fight me."

    "Hmm." Liu Xi responded noncomittally. She didn't really care at the moment enough to pay attention.

    "This is a rush," he continued. "Getting energy from food instead of all of it going to repairs." He smiled warmly at Liu Xi.

    "Why don't you shut up?" Liu Xi snapped at him. She mumbled something about him talking too much just when she starts to think she can deal with him.

    "I'm sorry, I forget that you have a hard time dealing with this," Exu said, settling in with his back against the warm altar.

    "Do you honestly care?" Liu Xi asked, almost sounding like an accusation. "Or will you take from me and be on your way? I don't see you saving us yet."

    "How well do you know your friend Hatman?" Exu asked. It seemed like he was dodging the subject but he also sounded like he was trying to make a point. "Do you know how he'll react in every situation? Do you know how he feels about everything you do? Or more to the point...how he'll react to what you just did?"

    "He won't be happy," she replied in a depressed-sounding near whisper. "I have a long road ahead earning forgiveness. Even if I was desperate." She looked at Exu angrily and added, "and maybe tricked."

    "You have an advantage, you know, because you're a girl," he told her. "Even Hatman admires that physical form of yours sometimes, and has fantasies about it. As nice and controlled as he is, he's still a guy."

    "I know that," Liu Xi replied weakly. "I won't judge him on unconcious thought. That would be stupid."

    "Oh, I wouldn't want you to judge him," Exu replied with a laugh. "I'm saying...if you want him to forgive you, you're going to have to use more than your sweet voice."

    "I'm not--" Liu Xi started to reply in frustration, but she changed her mind and just shook her head angrily instead.

    Exu simply laughed. "Don't let the admiration and loyalty you feel for Hatman get in the way. I assure you he won't feel the same way when he hears what you've done."

    For the first since since the discussion began, Liu Xi hung her head sadly and didn't respond. The last part of what he said cut just a little too deep, and saddened her again. "Don't talk to me anymore," she replied sharply, her voice wavering a little. She kneeled next to the altar to sit down, and she faced away from Exu.

    "I'm sorry," he apologized calmly. "I'm just trying to prepare you, Liu Xi. I don't want you to expect a happy homecoming and be disappointed."

    There was a long pause while Liu Xi considered whether to actually reply to him or to discourage him from talking more. In the end she couldn't resist defending herself. "I know what I'm up against," she whispered. "I will trust my friends."

    "I have to admire your faith in them," Exu whispered quietly. "Sometimes I wish I had that."

    Liu Xi looked at him and sighed. "Maybe someday," she said, "when you've earned it.

    The two of them huddled against the altar as the temple shook again, this time more violently, and a loud roar echoed across the landscape outside.


TO BE CONTINUED?

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2006 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Liu Xi Xian, Yuki Shiro, Lara Night, Chiaki Bushido (Psychic Samurai) (C) 2006 by Jason Froikin, all rights reserved
-- All other characters property of their respective owners

Post By Anime Jason Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 11:53:19 am EST	Subject Desination, Part 4 (pre-UT#298 tie-in)

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