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 Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:16 pm
May 1, Noon-ish, Shooting Range
“Alright. Way to go, Ron. Now do it three more times just that way,” Kagumi said, one hand resting nonchalantly on her back. Ron gaped at her.
“Three more times? JUST that way? I nearly broke my wrist the FIRST time!” he complained, referring the Howitzer's tendency to kick back harder than the unmodified version.
“Then break your wrist,” she said coldly. “As a Rider, you won't be able to stop for every single boo-boo you get, Weasley, and you'll have to fight through the pain. Did you think this was a vacation? We're training an ARMY, not a Girl's Scout troup. Now hop to.” When he didn't move, Kagumi's hand flew out almost instantaneously and knocked three students in the back of the head. Two of them pitched forward, eyes closing against the harsh light of noon. The other one, Ron, rubbed his head angrily.
“You don't have any right to hit us, Gumi. You're supposed to be our friend!” he knew he sounded pathetic and was rewarded with a look of disgust on Kagumi's face.
“Weasley, I stopped being your friend the minute you stepped into my domain. If you can't handle being a Rider, if you can't handle being a soldier, then just step out and let those who can get on with it. As for the violence, I'm your commanding officer, your CO, and I have the right to do as I damn well please. It's in the contract even. You signed it, maybe you should've read it first.” With that, she took one step forward, presumably to launch into another rant at her wayward and unruly student, and her eyes flew open as she screamed.
Mistress!
Laen! Help me!
The younglings! With a mighty roar, the half-grown dragon dropped to the ground, nearly squishing several of the students in the process, and gently picked her master up in her talons. The girl twitched, moaned and lay still. Draco started to run after them as Laen began to trot away, trying to get enough lift for flight, but stopped quickly as she thrashed her tail in agitation. A dragon wound not being on his wishlist for the day, he stepped back anxiously as Jade came running up, with Savean, covered with very thick sunscreen, and two of the other Dragon Riders. Neville trailed after, his ludicrous robes flapping in the wind.
Several minutes of terse mental communication, which Draco and Harry could only perceive as mental buzzing, a slight itch at the back of their craniums, and then Laen flew upwards, with Kagumi strapped into a tight saddle. Jade looked pale, and she counted it as only luck that none of the students, who were hurriedly dismissed for bed, noticed the large pool of blood staining the grass.
Take good care of her, Laen. I can't leave right now; it'll be too suspicious. But Bast willing, Gumi'll make it through fine. I hope...she added silently.
May 1, Madison, Wisconsin, Falcon Base
The dragon roared quietly, and the base doors stretched to accommodate her size. She gently deposited her Rider in front of the doors that Ron Weasley had once tried to get in. Weakly, Kagumi stretched her hand out to the dna collector and then literally crawled through the doors with Laen at her heels.
“Oh thank Bast. The attack last year didn't destroy my research.” She wiped at the very real sweat on her brow, and groaned weakly as she pulled herself to the large cushioned bed she and her sister had prepared months ago.
Laen, I may need to borrow your strength for this, Kagumi warned, stifling a cry as the pain began to rip through her.
I know. But that is what our bonds are for; you give me passion and allow me to live life through a human's eyes, and enjoy the moments that way a centuries long lifespan doesn't normally allow, and I give you a sense of the Long Game, the way lie moves for one such as I. I give you strength and speed and this is what I am here for. Besides, the dragon's voice got playful, it just means that I get to spoil them as much as anyone else.
May 2, Falcon Base
Only two hours after delivering her first, and face it, probably her only children, Kagumi was forced to lock them away in the specially made cryogenic stasis chambers. They would keep living, keep growing, get to listen to many prerecorded messages to help them through this life until they reached the age of five or until someone took them out. She hoped it would be her. But with Voldemort out for her blood and the Darkness out for her soul, chances weren't great.
Sadly, barely healed, Kagumi gingerly climbed back onto Laen's back and returned to England, with just enough time to drop into bed beside Draco before the morning's training.
May 15, Ruins of the Training Base (moving day)
“How are you?” Jade asked quietly. She'd noticed that without the children to keep her grounded, Kagumi had a tendency to be overtly cruel. She pegged it down to Voldemort's influence, but still. Whipping Seamus for tripping over a saddle, whether it was in the way or not, was a bit much.
“Tired,” Kagumi admitted. “I miss them. I can't feel them across such distances, and it worries me. I know that the fission core attached to each of their stasis chambers will protect them, or incinerate them if that's the only choice, but still. It...it's worrisome that without their light to help keep me on my current path, I slip darker and darker.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:12 am
May 15, 1:09pm, Falcon Home, Madison Wisconsin
"Alright you", Jade snapped. "If you and I are going to fight to the death and only one of us is going to survive, I'd hate to think that you went down without a fight. No pun intended."
"But, what am I supposed to do?", Gumi asked, worried.
"Do what uncle Kenzi says: rub some dirt on it, suck it up and keep goin'", Jade said, breaking into laughter as she finished.
Gumi, unable to keep a straight face, joined in with her.
May 16, Noon, Hogwarts Front Gate
They returned to school that next day, and as they approached the front gate, they found Nathan, Jordan, Shaw and Grey standing there.
"What's with you guys standing here?", Jade asked.
"They're with Maggie right now", Jordan said. "We thought it would be good for them just to practice on fighting and flying today."
"Because they'll need those two skills more refined than the others", Grey said.
"That works", Gumi said, too tired to teach.
"Carry on", Jade said, and went to take Gumi up to her quarters.
As they headed up the stairs to the Entrance Hall, all of the trainees, were headed back towards the Quidditch Field.
"Was that Jade and Gumi?", Ron asked, walking alongside Harry and Luna.
"It looked like them", Luna replied.
"Wonder what happened a couple weeks ago", Hermione thought out loud.
"I don't think we should dwell on it", Dean said, when they got to the Quidditch Field. "Most likely it was a test to see how easily we're distracted."
"What makes you think that?", Draco asked, getting down to start his push-ups.
"Dude, we're going into hardcore battle", Dean replied, starting to run in place. "We need to be completely focused. What happens when we're fighting and one of us goes down? Do you stop and get distracted, or do you fight even harder?"
"I opt for choice C", Harry said, bending at his hip one way and the other, stretching. "That we all come back from this they same way we went into it. In one piece."
"But that won't be true for Jade or Gumi", Draco slipped and stopped when he realized what he said.
"I don't even want to think about that", Harry said, moving on to kick-boxing moves to straight air.
"But you know it's going to happen", Draco said, standing back up as Harry stopped and turned to him. "Ok, you know it and I know it. One of them isn't coming back."
"You make it sound as if I'd forget that", Harry said snidely. "I didn't."
"Then why do you keep hinting that Gumi isn't the one coming back?", Draco asked.
"Funny, you seem to be doing the same thing about Jade", Harry said. "I don't want Gumi to not come back. She's just as important to me as she is to you."
"And I don't want Jade to not come back, either", Draco said, "She's trusted me more than anyone else, ever. I couldn't repay her even if I live forever."
"Well, we both are even on the losing end of all this", Harry said. "We'll both lose, not matter what the outcome."
"Yeah", Draco said, looking at the ground.
At this, Nathan came over, with Jordan and Shaw. "What's with the standing around?", he asked. "Three trips around the track, two sets of hurdles and back here to Jordan and Shaw for flying."
They all snapped attention, saluted and took off on the outer rim of the track.
May 16, 2:48pm, Jade's Quarters
"That does it", Jade said, closing the package so Gumi could tape it shut. "Think they'll know what it is?"
"It's a large box, sis", Gumi said. "They'll either think it's a secret bookcase door or a very large popcorn maker."
They both chuckled, but were cut off when Jade's computer beeped.
"Dang it!", Gumi snarled.
"What'cha looking for?", Jade asked, but Gumi just glared at her. "Honey, you know you'll never find that. It's undetectable."
"What makes you think that?", Gumi asked.
"It's an ancient amulet half that can control the sun aspect", Jade said. "I'm pretty sure that's kinda high on the list of things to hide. Actually, I'm pretty sure it's right up there with the Holy Grail and Jimmy Hoffa."
"It doesn't hurt to try though", Gumi replied, giggling a little.
"No, but it really, really tests your patience", Jade joked.
May 16, Early Evening, Cambodia, Thailand
"Fire in the hole!", a man yelled.
Boom
As the dust cleared, a good sized hole was made in the ground, to show that there was an underground tunnel there.
"We're right on schedule", Lord Voldemort said, standing at the edge of the hole.
Grabbe and Karkaroff repelled down first, to check that it was clear. When they checked it out, Bellatrix and Carrow flanked Voldemort as he lowered down into the large tunnel. The others were to guard to hole, and set off a quick seeking orb if they were made on the surface.
They followed the tunnels downslope for a bit, before it curved off to the right and emerged into a magnificent chamber. The walls were lined with small ledges and markings. In the middle of the chamber, on a separate platform. was a large statue of black panther, crouched, ready to pounce and its tail was curved up and around a solid gold sun. In the middle of the sun, incased in a glass orb, was a gold amulet, that had a red, orange and yellow marbled gem presented in the middle.
"Hello, gorgeous", he sneered, looking at the statue.
They crossed to the platform of the panther and sun. Voldemort walked up to the statue and stood eye to eye with the amulet.
"It's magnificent", he whispered, lightly touching the glass orb. "Let's get it out."
"How?", Bellatrix asked.
"I didn't spend three weeks in Luxor just to get a tan", Voldemort replied, a snake-like tone to his voice. He pulled an old, severely tattered, leather bound book from the bag Carrow had on his back. He opened it to a page that he had marked off before and read a passage. "Bast di dea: mi presta la sua forza eterna. Prendermi a prestito la sua malizia in modo che potrei cercare la giustizia su quelli che osa sdegnare la sua eleganza eterna."
The whole chamber began to shake violently, making everyone, except Voldemort very nervous. It slowly died down, before stopping completely. They all looked at the statue, which was now glowing. Voldemort took a step forward, reached out and lifted the gold amulet from the glass orb, which was now opened.
"So beautiful", he said softly, admiring the amulet half. He spun it on its chain, and it showed that it had slots and notches, for its sister half to fit into, to make it whole. "Let's go."
They didn't need to be told twice. They high-tailed it back to the repel ropes, which still hung through the hole and climbed back up. Once all of them were out of the hole, thick vines magically twisted and coiled, to completely cover the hole that was made.
May 18, Midnight, Hogwarts Lake Edge
"I'd have to say, I'm surprised", Harry said, walking along the edge of the lake, with his arm around Jade's waist.
"I know it seems odd, but, it's for the good of everyone", Jade said. "Besides, if all you do is fight and fight and fight, you can't stop and take in, what you're really fighting for."
"Still, thank you", he said, said and kissed her temple.
They reached the far end of the lake and stopped. Jade took off her cloak and hung it on the lower branch of the nearby tree.
"What are you doing?", he asked.
"I don't know about you, but it's been too long since I've swum in the lake and I'm not passing it up", she said, taking off her shoes. Once she was in nothing but the swimming suit she was wearing under her clothes, she tied her hair back and dove in. She came back up just after Harry dove in after her.
"Harry?", she called, looking around. "Harry, where'd you go? Har- wah!"
Harry came up under the water, grabbed her leg and pulled her under. She saw him smirking through the water and went to punch him, but he swam off. She shot off after him and caught him as he came back down from getting air. they barrel rolled in the water, and stopped when they bumped into the giant squid, who just swished its tentacle and swept them back the other way.
May 18, 1:29am, Lake
They had been swimming and playing for over an hour, when Jade decided to head back up. She came up for air and when she went back down, she couldn't see Harry. She swam down further, but still couldn't see him. She thought that he might be on shore, getting dressed, so the swam over there. When she came out of the water however, he wasn't there either. Just when she started to worry, his head popped up out of the water, in the middle of the lake, gasping for air.
"Jade?", he called.
"Over here, fishman!", she called back. "Come on, let's go!" He paddled over to her and she helped him out of the water. "What were you doing?"
"I saw something shiny in the water and I went down to get it", he said and opened his head, to reveal a silver amulet half on a silver chain and a sky blue, silver and white marbled gem presented in the middle of it. He held it up by the chain and looked at it. The back side had knots and nibs, making it look like it could fit into something. Jade recognized it at once, having seen it before in an old book. "Neat, huh?"
"Yeah, cool", she said, keeping her face composed. She faked a yawn. "Let's go back and go to bed."
"Ok", he agreed, and put the amulet half in his pocket after getting dressed.
May 18, 2:06am, Gumi's Quarters
After Harry got into Jade's bed, setting the amulet half on the bedside table, and his glasses over them, he laid down.
"You coming to bed, sweetie?", he asked, as Jade came out of the large wardrobe in the corner of the room, buttoning her pajama top.
"Yeah, I'll be right there", she answered. "I'm gonna go check on Gumi, then I'll be right there."
"Alright", he said.
She closed the door to her quarters, and then opened the one next to it, to Gumi's. She went inside and found Gumi, sitting on her bed, reading a manga book.
"Gumi?", she called, running and jumping onto Gumi's bed. "Gumi?"
"What?", she asked, setting the book down. "What is it?"
"Ok, you know how I was down with Harry, swimming in the lake, right?", she rambled.
"O...k", she said, going along.
"Well, I came back up to get dressed so we could come up and go to bed", she went on. "When he came up, saying that he found something in the bottom of the lake."
"What did he find?", she half asked, picking up her book again. "Your half of the amulet?" She chuckled slightly, as she looked up and saw Jade's dead serious and very nervous face. "You mean..." Jade nodded, knowing what she was going to say. "Aw, shnizzle-sticks."
"That's exactly what I thought", Jade said. "I'm screwed."
"If he uses his pure guy part of his mind, yes, you are", Gumi added, half joking.
"Kagumi, come on!", Jade demanded. "This is serious."
"I know, I know", she said, regaining her composure. "I'm sorry. Ok, let's think. There has to be something to be done about this."
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:23 pm
POSTING INFORMATION!!!
AS THIS ROLE PLAY IS NO LONGER TAKING NEW CHARACTERS, ALL POSTING FROM PEOPLE WISHING ENTRY INTO THIS ROLE PLAY WILL BE DELETED!!
Thank you and Good day.
Role Play creator,
Aquajade
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 11:36 pm
May 18, 2:13am, Gumi's Quarters
Gumi had been walking back and forth in front of her bed, thinking, for the past ten minutes. Jade, who was laying on her bed, was watching her.
"Think of anything yet?", Jade asked.
"Uh, well.... I- I think that, you could-", Gumi said, but she was cut off, when Draco came out of the bathroom.
"Ok, hon", he said, still drying his hair. "You can.. go...... Oh, hey, Jade."
"Hi, Draco", she replied, getting up from the bed. "I'm just gonna go to bed. Harry's probably thinking that I walked off the face of the Earth right about now, so...."
She gave her sister a hug, patted Draco on the head, promptly wiping the water on his shoulder and leaving. Upon going back into her quarters, she found Harry standing next to the bed, with the amulet half twirling in his fingers.
"Hey", she whispered, not wanting to get closer, knowing what would happen. "Why aren't you in bed?"
"I was just thinking", Harry said in a hushed voice, still twirling the amulet. "There had to be, some reason, for why this thing was in the lake. And I kept asking myself, what that reason is."
His lips cracked into an impish smirk and she gave a silent gulp. "And, uh... what have you concluded?"
"I have concluded, that, no matter the reason for it being there, it was there, I found it and that's all that matters", he finished, stopping the amulet twirling.
"Alrighty then", she said, clapping her hands, relaxing a bit. "Shall we go to sleep now?"
"It is your room", he said.
She gave a chuckle and walked over to the bed. As he tossed the amulet on the bedside table, Jade flopped on the bed.
"Jade?", he asked. "You ok?"
"Yeah", she replied, straightening herself. "I just tripped over my own feet. It happens."
"I know what you mean", he said, getting in bed. "It happens to me sometimes too." She sighed and moved closer to Harry, resting her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head and began to gently run his fingers through her hair. "Good night, my darling."
"G'night", she said, but didn't close her eyes to go to sleep, but kept her eyes on the amulet sitting on the table on the table.
May 18, 11:13am, Fourth Floor Corridor
Harry and Jade had just come out of the Prefect's bathroom when she found out why she had been walking a bit funny.
"You're wearing that?", Jade asked, pointing to the amulet piece around his neck.
He looked down and gave a soft chuckle. "Yeah. I was going to leave it in my room and figure it out later, but that last time I did that, it got stolen, so, I figured I'd wear it."
"Oh", she breathed.
"You don't like it?", he asked, looking at her fallen face.
"No. No, that's- that's not it", she said. "I ju-"
"Hey, Harry!", Hermione and Ron shouted from down the hall.
"Hello!", Harry said, turning fast to wave at them. But as he did, Jade fell into the wall with a smack. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah", she lied. "Tripped over my feet again."
"Ok", he said.
"Oh, Jade", Hermione said, walking over. "When is training again?"
"Midnight", she replied, rubbing her shoulder that hit the wall.
"Oh, man", Ron groaned. "I won't get my uniform back until tomorrow, because of the hole that needed to be repaired."
"You can use a replacement", Jade said.
"Bollocks", Ron snapped. "Here I was hoping to get out of another twisted knee."
"Try again dude", Harry said, moving the amulet around. Jade rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, before, when Harry made the amulet do a complete circle, she did a cartwheel. "What is up with you, honey? You've been acting, well, rather odd, since yesterday."
"Now what would make you say that?" she asked, pretending to be insulted. "Maybe, I just felt like rocking and doing cartwheels." To solidify it, she rocked a bit more, before doing two cartwheels in a row. "See?"
"Alright", Harry said, a little confused.
"Let's just get to the Great Hall", Jade said, and walked widely and weird, to camouflage what was really going on.
Great Hall
They found Gumi and Draco already down there, going through more tests. Gumi's eyes widened when she saw the amulet around Harry's neck, and saw that Jade was acting wonky. When Jade, "voluntarily" did a backflip, she knew it wasn't going to be long before Harry pieced together what was going on.
"Gumi", Harry said, a bit relieved. "She's been-"
"Acting odd?", Gumi questioned.
"I have not been acting odd!", Jade responded angrily. "I just feel like being a goofball, is all."
"But, don't you do that everyday?", Draco asked.
"That's it", she scolded. "Drop and give me thirty."
"Aw, come on-", he tried, but she cut him off.
"Now, soldier!", she shouted. Draco huffed and started to do push-ups. It was at this time that Harry thought that she should be more nice to him, to which... "I'll be more nice to you." She clapped a hand over her mouth as her eyes widened.
"Jade?", Hermione asked, concerned.
"I'll be right back", Jade replied, quickly, turning to leave the Great Hall. Harry then wondered where she was going. "I'm going to Dumbledore's office." She clapped both hands over her mouth and ran from the Great Hall.
"What was all that about?", Ron asked.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty", Draco counted and stood up. "I would like to know myself. Gumi?"
Gumi, who was shaking head, was brought back to reality. "Huh? I don't know what goin' on."
May 18, 1:01pm, Dumbledore's Office
"I just don't see why this had to happen now", Jade said, pacing back and forth in front of Dumbledore's desk. "I mean, I have training to get them through, Gumi's having a hard time now that-", she stopped abruptly and sighed frustratedly. "This, is, bad."
"Jade", Dumbledore said, in his usual soothing voice. "This is not bad. You have been through much, much worse."
"Not like this", she said, anxiously running her fingers through her hair. "Not to where I couldn't control anything about me."
"You can still change this around", he said. "You know, how you can change it."
"I can't do that", she said, sitting in the chair across from him. "If I tell him, he'll just use it to get what he wants."
"Are you sure about that?", he asked. She couldn't say, because truthfully, she didn't know. He softly sighed. "Trust in what you know is true. It's within your own power, to resolve this."
She let her hands drop between her knees, thinking for a moment before she got up. Walking over to the door, a vision of Harry, laughing and smiling with her, Gumi, Ron and their friends came into the forefront of her mind's eye. Turning at the door, she saw Dumbledore smiling at her. She gave a tiny smile and left.
May 20, 6:22am, Quidditch Field
"Alright!", Jordan shouted, as everyone got down off their brooms that they had been practicing on. "That's it for this morning! Tonight, you will be working with the real thing, so I suggest you be prepared!"
"Training again, tonight at eleven-thirty!", Shaw yelled.
They all exited the field to find Jade waiting at the entrance.
"Hey", Harry said, walking over to her. "Where were you? I was worried about-"
"We need to talk", she said, seriously.
He followed her to the far end of the Lake, where they sat on the bank.
"Ok", he sighed. "What did I do wrong?"
"What makes you think you did something wrong?", she asked.
"I don't know, I just- I-", he stopped. "Since you ran out, a few days ago, I kept thinking that it was something I did."
"It wasn't what you did", she emphasized, giving a small chuckle, and tugged on the chain of the amulet around his neck.
"This thing?", he queried. "What about it?"
"Well, if you are, who it says you are", she went on. "All you have to do is listen to what it tells you. Go on."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly, without warning, a rush of images, sounds and voices came flooding in on him. Visions of sparks flying in a forge. Mythical chanting. People in light colored robes standing in a circle around a stone table. A lion roaring. Babies crying. An axe being slammed down between two pieces of metal. Doors being thrown open to reveal a bright, swirling cosmic light. A woman screaming. Curses hurtling through the air. A cat growling loudly and an angel-like form tossing the amulet into a lake, in the middle of a large field. As he went to open his eyes, he saw one last image of him, as a baby, the night Voldemort attacked his parents, and the same angel-like form, wafting over him, whispering in his ear the words:
You are destined for greatness, child. You will be the one who defies, overcomes and chooses.
His eyes opened fully to see, he saw Jade, still sitting next to him, picking the grass in front of her, absentmindedly.
"I saw... everything", he breathed. "The forge, the enchantment, the blessing, my being chosen, everything."
"Not all fun and games, is it?", she asked, not looking up.
"I now know why you're as strict as you are", he said. "And Gumi too. Seems like we both had destined paths."
"Paths set to cross now matter what", she said, looking up at him finally.
"We're more alike than we both thought", he said, picking up a small pebble on the ground and tossing it into the water.
"So...", her voice trailed off. "Now what?"
"Now, you guys come inside", Gumi's voice came from a few feet away, startling both of them. "We have the I.D.M.Ts to go through with them."
"Oh, right", Jade said, getting up and following Gumi.
Harry caught up with her and had to ask. "What are the I.D.M.Ts?"
"The Insanely Difficult Mind Tests", she answered.
"Ah", he nodded. "So, that's gonna be our training for today?"
"No", Gumi said, looking over her shoulder. "You guys still have flying tonight."
"Well, don't tell Ron that", he said, joking. "He'll commit Hari Kari."
"Ok", Gumi said. "But I get first dibs on putting it on the Internet."
"No way!", Jade countered. "I called it last time!"
"No!", Gumi challenged. "That was when Seamus tried to not set himself on fire."
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:35 pm
May 20, 6:30pm, Lake Side
Jade just rolled her eyes and went back up to the castle. Inside the Great Hall, the others were already there, taking the written part of their tests. Harry quickly sat down in the last seat and began taking his. When they all had finished, they moved on to the one on one tests, in which one of the Riders sat down with one of them and went into more in depth specifics. Gumi and Jade were not doing this however, because they were outside, getting the dragons ready fro the flying lessons that would be that night. When the tests were finished, they made their way out to the Quidditch field for their lesson. Tonight, they had to maneuver through tight spaces and hit quickly moving targets. Hermione and Harry got the highest scores.
"Show off", Ron said, when Hermione went and stood next to him.
"Don't be mad just because I have exceptional flying skills", she replied.
Ron retorted at this by sticking his tongue out at her when she turned away. Ginny saw this however and smacked him for her.
May 21, 1:46pm, Jade's Room
The Rider trainees were exceptionally happy, as they got word that their daily training was put off to let them rest, but they would be having their flying lessons that night. Some of them, like Ron, Ginny and Hermione, took the opportunity to go down to Hogsmeade and relax. Some of the others, just slept in and spent the other times tending to their mild injuries. Harry, on the other hand, wanted to learn more about the amulet that he had found. He was with Jade in her large room, sitting at her desk, reading up on the amulet.
"Hmm", he thought to himself. "'The person tied to the specified amulet or amulet half, is bound to do whatever his/her amulet holder tells them to do.' Hmm..." He looked down at the amulet around his neck and then over at Jade who was sitting in her hammock chair, swinging and reading a book. "Jade? Come here."
Without a second thought, she got up from her chair and walked over to him.
"Give me a kiss."
She did.
"Rub my neck."
She opened his collar and began to rub his neck.
"Stop."
She quit.
"Now, crawl sexily over to the bed and lean by the bedpost."
She got down on her hands and knees, to crawl to the bed, while making deliberate movements with her hips. When she got there, she stood up and leaned against the bedpost.
"Wow", he breathed. "This thing makes you do anything." She had an irritated look on her face but didn't say anything. "What?"
"Now, you know why that thing was hidden", she snapped, turning away from him.
"Why?", he asked, but she didn't turn back. "Turn around and talk to me."
She turned back to face him, her face angry now. "Yes, master?", she spat at him.
"Why did they hide this?", he asked.
"Because, as you see, it can make me do anything", she replied, with a snarl. "If Voldemort got his hands on it, he could make me do anything. Without wanting to, but having no way to stop, I could easily kill thousands of innocent people. And if he had both halves of the amulet, he could single handedly rule the entire magical world."
He stood thinking about what she said, until she stomped her foot, making him look at her. "Huh?"
"Can I go now, master?", she said, her voice livid.
He was upset that she was like this. He didn't like seeing her mad, but he knew why and that she had good reason to be. "Yeah."
"Thank you", she said darkly and left, slamming her door.
May 22, 5:02am, Entrance Hall
Flying lessons ended at three that morning and all of the trainees went straight to sleep. This turned out to be a good thing. Not too long after that, while Gumi and Jade were heading to bed from finishing some paperwork, they were attacked by a Death Eater that had gotten into the grounds. The sound of the fighting, as this guy had very good fighting skills, drew the attention of the early morning guards. They detained the man and stuck him in a created cell, on the sixth floor, which was guarded.
"How could this have happened?", Gumi asked. "There's a shield that prev-"
"Yes, we know about your shield of protection on the castle and grounds, miss Falcon", one of the council members said.
"Darvis", another council member said, waving someone forward. "Go to the prisoner's cell and question him."
"I don't think that-", Jade started but was silenced.
"Right now, we have a great cause to advance the training further. This, amongst other things that have been at works, make these times troubled indeed. If have a chance to put this to rest, it is now, especially in light of the most recent event", the man said. "But for their safety and yours, as this man seems to be after you, training will continue as scheduled and you two will stay away from this man until we decide what to do with him."
Before she could speak the council went into the Great Hall and Jade and Gumi were ushered up to their rooms. On the way, they saw and heard Darvis talking to someone else, about the prisoner and how he doesn't speak English, just Cotisian as that's where he is from. Not wanting to wait for answers, Jade slipped out of her room, via a connecting door to the Gryffindor Common Room she put in for Harry and the others. Stealthily making her way through the castle, she made it to the prisoners cell, but he and the guard weren't there. She looked around and found them, down the hall, by the bathroom. Straightening her clothes, she walked down to the bathroom and stopped in front of the guard, who saluted automatically.
May 22, 5:28am, Sixth Floor
"I need to speak to the prisoner", she said.
"I'm sorry, ma'am", he said. "But I was instructed not to-"
"Are you rejecting a superior, private?", she asked, getting in his face. "If you don't let me in there right now, I will make it so that you spend the rest of your life scraping fish crap from the bottom of the Pacific."
He gulped and moved to let her pass. She opened the door and the guard left to patrol the other halls. She closed the door behind her and saw the man standing along the opposite wall of the bathroom, fixing his pants.
"So, you don't speak any English, huh?", she asked, walking over and putting her arm around his shoulders. "Well, I don't speak any Cotisian, so it looks like I'm gonna have to give you a crash course, bud. Here, sit down." She pulled a chair out and let him fall to the floor, then put the chair over him, sitting on it, choking him with the chair rung. "Ok, this is lesson number one, and believe me, the next lesson is gonna be harder. Who sent you here to kill us?"
"I don't know", the man said, choking.
"'I don't know'", she repeated, leaning the chair back, then bringing it back down hard on his throat. "Hmm, nope, not good enough. Try again."
"Ok. Ok", he said, through choking noises. "I was sent by Voldemort. He said if I killed the Falcon Twins he would reward me with triple my weight in gold."
"Look at that, gumdrop", she smirked, patting his head. "You're speakin' like a native already."
It was then that the guard opened the door to see Jade sitting on a chair over the man, pinned to the floor. "What's this?"
"English 101", Jade replied.
The guard's face fell a bit, but he simply turned and closed the door. "So, since the council won't decide what to do with you for...", she looked at her watch. "-ooh, quite sometime, is there anything else you want to share with me?" She pushed down on the chair harder when he didn't speak right away. "Think hard."
He gave a choked cough at this. "A meeting. Tomorrow night. Ten miles east of the Blarney Castle in Ireland. Stenton Road and M'Delaergy. 10pm."
"Very good", she said and got up, pulling the chair away and placing it back by the wall, leaving the man to cough and wheeze on the floor. "My compliments. You did pretty good for your first lesson. Don't forget to wash your hands."
She left the bathroom and took the same way back to her room, so that she wouldn't be caught. She wasn't... until she got back to her room.
May 22, 5:53am, Jade's Room
"What in the bloody hell were you doing?!", Harry shouted, stopping his pacing in front of her bed.
"What are you doing up?", she asked, going to sit at her desk, like nothing had happened. "I thought you passed out with the others."
"What are you doing?", he asked, walking over and looking at her in the mirror. "I come up here to see if you were sleeping and I hear the guard outside saying that a Death Eater broke into the school and tried to kill you. Now, I know you, Jade. You were sneaking around trying to figure stuff out, weren't you?"
"No, I wasn't", she answered. "I knew what and where I was going. I went down to the guy's cell and got some pretty interesting info from him."
"Really?", Gumi's voice came from behind them. "Do tell."
"And what are you doing here anyways?", she asked, looking at Harry. "Come to make me do more things I don't want to?"
"I told you", Gumi said, flopping down on Jade's bed. "I told you."
"No, I- I didn't", he said. "Um, after you left, yesterday-"
"That's why you spent the night in my room?", Gumi asked. "Ooh, dude. You are in the litter box now."
"After you left", he went on, ignoring her. "I did some more reading and I found out that, there's a- a spell, that can be put on the amulet that makes it, so that you only have to do what I tell you when I think it's pertinent."
"Yeah, there is", she said, still looking away from him. "But no one's ever used it because people love having absolute control over someone else."
"That's not true anymore", he said, and she turned around to look at him. "I put the spell on the amulet this morning."
"You what?", she asked, shocked.
"From now on, you have your freedom", he said. "Well, about as much freedom as you had before. I just don't like seeing you upset."
"Thank you", she said, getting up and giving him a kiss.
"Ok, not that this mushy moment isn't, you know, mushy or anything, but do you think we could get back to the info that jade got from the dude who tried to kill us two hours ago?", Gumi asked.
"Right", she said, bounding onto the bed and landing on the pillows. "So, the guy said, that Lord Moldy Under-britches, was going to be at a meeting tomorrow night in Ireland near Blarney castle at ten."
"What kind of meeting?", Gumi asked.
"I don't know and he didn't say", she said. "But then again the chair rung that was pretty much crushing his wind pipe made it a bit hard to articulate words correctly."
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:42 pm
“Way to go, sis. At least you left this one intact,” Kagumi snapped, shutting the door in her sister’s face. “I’m going to sleep, now. Night,” she said a bit softer.
Then, when the pattering of her sister’s footsteps, and Harry’s, had faded from the hall, she pressed a button on her wall.
Below her, in the recruit dorms, a green light began flashing in someone’s eyes.
May 22, roughly 6 am, Gumi’s quarters
Draco had been invited, not for sex as he’d been before (Riders were simply not allowed in their Commanding Officer’s quarters unless they were invited) but simply to be with Kagumi. He’d arrived shortly after Harry and Jade left, and stood at the door until Kagumi snapped at him to get in bed and light somewhere. After that, with that particular blend of tart and sweet in his girlfriend’s personality, he was able to relax enough to doze.
Kagumi’s pained scream awoke him.
She had both hands pressed against her chest, screaming bloody murder. Draco didn’t dare touch her, as she screamed and cried out her torment, because her muscles were strung tight enough to snap if the slightest pressure were applied to them. He felt, rather than saw, Laen stick her snout through the window. Naked as the day he was born (as that’s how most male riders preferred to sleep), he crept over to the glistening dragon.
“Laen, what’s happening?” he asked, running on hand over her serrated scales; each scream twisted the knife in his heart just a little deeper.
I…I am unable to share some things with you, because of the Mistress’s orders. What I can say is that her body has become a battleground. The Darkness is out to get her, Draco, and she is fighting to remain.
“Why doesn’t she awaken?”
She does not know any one in this state. Not me, nor Jade, nor Harry nor even you. She knows nothing, except the battle going on. She fights for something she holds dearer than life itself, dearer than her powers, dearer than her fate. The dragon’s tone was mildly accusing, and just slightly bitter.
“Then what does she fight for?” Draco asked as he shivered in the cool night air.
More time with you. Laen flew off, leaving Draco with that particular tidbit to chew on. As the pressure on his shoulders suddenly got a lot heavier, he looked up and realized that the screaming had stopped. She lay on her side, one hand curled against her side, the other beneath her chin; tears were leaking from her eyes. He slipped back into the bed, pulling the sweat-soaked girl tightly against his chest and cradling her as if she were the most important thing in his world.
Because she was.
May 22, 10:05 pm, Quidditch Pitch
“You may have noticed that we gathered a bit early,” Jade yelled out to the Rider recruits. A few were yawning, but most had already trained themselves out of such displays; most stood stock still, spines ramrod straight and shoulders squared. Gumi was beside her, pacing restlessly with her hands clasped behind her back. Savean, Vel’inde, and the other trainers stood in a line according to their specialties. Jade was the calmest of them all.
“We are moving our training center tomorrow night, from here to a place well used by Riders for centuries. However, there have been a few changes to the place, first and foremost being space additions. A few other magical tweaks, with help from our resident Shadowcat, Savean. As well as our local Huntmaster and Mindslicer, Vel’inde. You’ll notice that I am beginning to use ranks with you. It’s time for you to become more than recruits; it is time for you to become Riders.”
“What does this mean for us, sir?” Dean Thomas saluted smartly, eyes never leaving the front as he asked his question.
“It means, Thomas, that tonight you’re going to be packing your shite and moving your shebse out to a place we’ve picked for you. Say your goodbyes while you’re at your cozy little castle,” Kagumi snapped, whirling in a perfectly executed about-face turn. “You understand?”
“Sir, yes, sir!” No one had ever made fun of Kagumi for being called ‘sir’ by the troops. Looking at her from the corner of their eyes, both Draco and Harry now knew why. No one in their right mind would have dared tease a woman that powerful, with that kind of build, in that kind of mood.
She was practically vibrating with an intense fury, and when her hands were not clasped, they were making little squeezing motions, as though she longed to choke something. As she stalked away, Dean looked over and sent a thought along a spear to spear thread.
*Glad you have to deal with her, and not me.*
*Gee, thanks, Thomas* Draco responded with cutting sarcasm. As the ranks were dispersed, Jade called out.
“There’s an awful lot of yapping over there!” Everyone immediately froze in place. “Maybe, just maybe, you guys aren’t tired enough of training, eh?”
No one dared speak or move. There was a difference between Jade, their friend and old schoolmate, and Jadalycya, their hardass Commanding Officer. They knew by now how to separate the two. And it was their CO talking now.
“Since you puppies feel like yapping and barking so much, guess what? Packing Night is going to moved back just a few hours, and you’re going to train first!”
With a collective mental sigh, the recruits right-faced and started towards the training fields; in this case, it meant the Forbidden Forest for tracking and stalking with Vel’inde, according to the roster.
May 22, 10:17 pm, Grounds
While the others were headed off to training, Jade and Gumi headed back to the castle.
"Oh, random mental intrusion", Gumi said, her mood a little better. "What about that meeting?"
"What meeting?", Jade asked.
"That meeting with Moldy Man and whatever that that guy said", she went on.
"Oh, that", Jade said. "I already got it taken care of."
"How?", Gumi asked.
Jade pulled a sly smirk. "You'll see."
Gumi stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "That is never a good line, when it's said like that."
May 23, 3:42 am, Dragon Paddocks
“Just couldn’t leave it alone, could ya?” Harry asked irritably, rubbing his thigh muscles. In lieu of actually riding the dragons, thereby saving their energy and stamina for the long trek across several countries, Jade and Gumi had rigged up several decoys which moved like a dragon.
“Not my fault she heard me,” Seamus growled lowly.
“Well anyone that says that about their CO is going to get punished,” Neville said mildly, running his hands over the scratches in Ron’s arm. “You did deserve it.”
“All I asked was if the stick up her arse had a stick up its arse,” Seamus continued muttering. “Maybe I should talk to her about it.”
“Dude,” Draco shook his head, sending sweaty flying from his hair, as he looked at the Gryffindor. “If you want to get kicked in the balls, just ask one of us, okay?”
“Yeah,” Dean said, clapping his hand sharply onto Seamus’s bruised shoulder. “We won’t injure your dignity while we do it. Vel’inde will.”
“Oh boys?” a sugary-sweet voice came from behind them. As one they all turned and sighed. The extremely tan woman with the white stripe of hair was sauntering up to them. “Next time you decide to insult a superior, either do it with style so that at least you’ll earn your punishment, or don’t get caught.”
As she walked away, she cocked her head to the left and spat a line back to the boys that made each of them cringe.
“After all, we don’t catch the smart ones.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:25 am
May 23, 4:00am, Gumi’s Quarters
Harry, after changing out of his sweat drenched clothes, went to go to Jade’s room and talk with her a bit. However, when he reached the end of the fourth floor hall, where they were before, instead of two doors, there was only one, double door. Confused, he knocked, and a few moments later, Gumi, wrapped in a towel, opened one of the doors.
“Hi, Gumi”, he said. “Where’s Jade’s door?”
“Somewhere on the second floor”, she said.
“Why?”, he asked again. “Did she do something wrong? Why did they move her?”
“Something happened in her project and they needed her closer to help deal with it”, she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my bath.”
With that, she closed the door, leaving Harry, very confused on the other side. Once he regained his reality, he set off to go find Jade’s new room.
May 23, 5:44am, Second Floor
He had searched and searched the second floor for over an hour before he saw Jade coming up the stairs to the second floor.
“Hey”, he said. “How come they moved your room? Did you do something?”
“No”, she replied, a little miffed. “More like something that I couldn’t do, because I was unaware of it and still, after fixing it, I still got chewed on. Ungrateful son of a-”, she cut off and took a breath. “I’m ok. I’m good.”
He followed her down the hall, to the right and was confused, when, where there was a large window before, there was a large wooden door.
“Uh, wasn’t there a window here before?”, he asked, indicating the door.
“Yeah”, she replied casually. “My door only comes up when I’m around.” She put her hand on the door to the right of the handle. It scanned it and beeped flashing ‘Granted’. “Security measures.”
The doors opened and he saw that her room was, rather different.
“What… the….?”, he stood shocked.
“Come on”, she said, taking his hand and guiding him into the space. “Look but don’t touch.”
Her room had taken a drastic turn, from the nice, warm, earthy, albeit eclectic room, to a miniature version of a scientific military lab. Instead of wood and vines everywhere, it was metal and plastic and rubber.
“This is your room?”, he asked.
“It’s a room”, she said. “This is everything I have been and have to work on. Sub-phonic reactor. Geo-thermal radiator. Bio-mechanical sensor. All hacked and fluctuated, with parapsychological energy.”
“Ok, would you mind rewording that for someone who isn’t an all-knowing magical decendant?”, he asked, cracking a smile.
“Highly dangerous, by Muggle standards, objects, that were taken and filled with magic”, she stated. She picked up what looked like a rifle that he had seen on a TV show. “This, was/is a AAI OICW US assault rifle and grenade launcher.”
“It looks like a normal gun”, he said, looking at it.
“Well, in most relative terms, it still is”, she said, cocking the weapon and shooting a round into the test wall. “But, because of the magic, you can, say, have all of the fired rounds go to that microscope there.” She pointed to it on the table nearby. “You can say: Ammiato Repotisa.” The gun glowed for a brief moment, then stopped. “You can turn around and…” She turned around and pointed the gun at the door. Firing seven shots, all of them, left the gun barrel, swerved around her and then went directly to the microscope on the table, reducing it to metal powder.
“Whoa”, he breathed.
“Yeah”, she said, putting the gun down. “Just think of the implications it would have on magical defense.”
“It would make things a lot easier”, he have laughed.
“Now, think of what would happen if Voldmort got his scales on this”, she said, bluntly.
He stood, stunned for a second. “Not good.”
“Yeah, very not good”, she nodded.
“But if that’s a possibility, then why make them at all?”, he asked.
“Just because we may be a bit more advanced than the Muggles, doesn’t mean we are smarter”, she said. “Thankfully, I have the absolute final approval on all Trans-Magical Weaponry. All weapons that go out, have been handled by me before they go out, and as a safety measure, they are all imprinted with an undetectable sensor.” She looked up and saw him confused again. “It’s a microscopic microchip, smaller than the human eye can see. It emits a low one-hertz frequency that is scrambled so that once it’s sent out, it’s like a grain of sand in the desert. You can only find it, if you know which grain to hone in on.”
“Neat”, he nodded. “Extremely confusing, complicated and complex… but neat.”
“So, who helps you with the test and things?”, he asked.
“A couple other, younger Council members, that have a creative mind, and Jordan”, she said, factually. “So? What are your thoughts?”
“When my brain re-solidifies, I’ll let you know”
May 23, 6:02am, Gumi’s Room
Awoken abruptly, Gumi rolled over, away from Draco and picked up the letter that fell to her bedside table with a loud THWACK!
“Kagumi Pheonix, Please make haste to the Quidditch Field at once. Important information has to be given to you. Grand Council.”, she read, before tossing it back onto the table. “Oh, yippee.”
She tossed the sheets off of her and got dressed. She had just reached the Entrance Hall when she saw Jade coming down the other staircase.
“Quidditch Field?”, Jade asked.
“Important information”, Gumi mocked.
They chuckled a little before descending the front steps. They reached the Quidditch Field a few minutes later and found the entire Council, plus a good number of the teachers there.
“Yes?”, Jade asked, her voice testy.
“We believe that is it time for us to let you be your, true selves”, Vel’inde said.
“Uh, say what?”, Gumi asked, cupping her ear to hear better.
"You both are direct descendants from Bast, and yes, you both have magical powers beyond anything we could think of, but-", she was cut off.
"But what?", Jade cut in.
"You both aren't eleven years old", she said. "Nor are you sixteen. You're... 42."
Both Jade and Gumi barked out a loud laugh at this. "There's no way we're...", Jade's voice trailed off, when she saw Vel'inde shaking her head. "You're not kidding are you?"
"No", she said and pulled out two chain necklaces. One was red and yellow, the other was blue and green. "These, you gave to us to hold and protect, each time you reverted."
"'Reverted?'", Gumi and Jade repeated.
"You will both understand soon", she said and made to put the necklaces on them.
"Whoa", Jade stepped back. "What the heck are those things?"
"They are called, 'Omniconti'", she said. "They can do many different things, but yours, you made to keep your memories from your past years."
They looked at each other, then took the necklaces. It was then, that Harry and Draco had climbed one of the Quidditch stands and crouched down to hear. They saw them put the necklaces on and instantly begin to glow. They continued to watch in stunned astonishment, while Gumi lifted from the ground and began to fly around the field, while Jade, still glowing was a blur, running randomly around the ground. After a few minutes, they went back to where they were before, looking the same.
"That was refreshing", Gumi said, stretching.
"That it was", Jade said. "But why do we have to make it so that we can't remember anything about before?"
"Because we can't be found out, that's why", Gumi said.
"Well, phooey", she huffed. "Danged cosmic boundaries."
"What do you remember of this life?", their father asked them.
"Everything. Doi", they replied together.
"What were you doing thirty minutes ago?", their mother asked.
"I was working with the Trans-Magical Weaponry", Jade replied.
"I was asleep in my room", Gumi said.
"They remember", their father said. "Well, come my darlings. We have a great deal to go over before we leave."
The crowd on the field dispersed and went back inside, leaving Draco and Harry in the stands.
"Do you know what this means?", Harry asked.
"We slept with old ladies", Draco replied and Harry flicked his ear. "Ow! Not that she wasn't amazing-"
"Ok! Don't need to know, 'kay?", Harry said, then looked up to see the sun getting ready to peek up over the distant mountains. "Come on. We better get back. We're leaving in under three hours."
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:52 pm
May 23, 9 am, Front Steps of Hogwarts
The army recruits gathered on the steps, facing the castle. They were all dressed in sensible riding clothes, trousers and vests. Each had a little metal box strapped to their collars, and static was crackling through it. The faced the students gathered on the steps, a few waving forlorn goodbyes. Professors had strange glints in their eyes, and some were openly dabbing handkerchiefs on the proud tears. The army blinked owlishly as a piercing whistle resounded through the ranks; Jade sat atop a much larger Lunara, whose blue was rounded out with opalescent white and silver.
With a loud crash, Laen, now twice the size she had been the day before, settled uneasily on the ground and Kagumi hopped off. “Get your gear and saddle up, boyos! We move in ten!”
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:09 pm
May 23, 9:33am, Front Gate
Once everyone’s things had been shrunken for the trip, they all gathered by the gate, as they were told. Gumi and Jade left, into the Forbidden Forest, only to come back with eight, enormous dragons. Four being led by Jade and the other four by Gumi. They would have needed nine, but Pansy, pushed Jade’s buttons one too many times, which landed her being shrunken and packed away with the bags.
“Now is when we figure out which of you have retained your knowledge of flying”, Gumi said. “Dean!” He snapped up and went over to her. “Dean Thomas, meet Condorius.”
She handed him the reigns and he looked into the dragon’s eyes, like they were taught in training. He bowed and so did Condorius. Extending his wing, Dean walked up and took his spot in the saddle.
“Ginny”, Jade said, and she walked up. “Ginerva Weasley, meet Nafara.” She took the reigns of the pale pink dragon. Doing what Dean had done and getting the same reaction, she also took her seat in the saddle on the dragon’s back.
They got through everyone, even Neville who was going to be traveling with them. The two got back on their dragon’s and took their spots at the front of the group.
“First, we are going to Romania, to pick up some supplies and then we will venture to the training grounds in Egypt”, Gumi said. “Any questions?!”
“Sir, no sir!”, the others answered.
“This should be interesting”, Jade muttered under her breath. “Nare!”
Lunara sprang from the ground and her giant wings moved them high above the clouds. The others followed. Turning to the east, they sailed over the clouds, undetected by Muggles, to the dragon colony in Mangalia, in eastern Romania.
May 23, 2:45pm, Romanian Colony
“Hallo Miko”, Jade said to the small girl waiting as she jumped off Lunara.
“Hallo, Jade”, Miko replied. “Everything is just about ready. It will take time to get the dragon’s equipped.”
“Looks like we’ll still be here by morning”, Gumi said, coming up to them, then gave a sigh. “I’ll tell the others.” She marched over to the others, who snapped to attention and saluted. “We will be here until morning, at the very least, midnight, so, practice on flying for a few hours then, back for dinner.”
With another salute, they climbed back onto their dragons and flew them up above the rain clouds, where they wouldn’t be seen. When the sky darkened into evening, they dropped their new dragons at the stable and went to Jade, who was at the stables, waiting for them.
“We’re eating in the Arena”, she said and turned to face the other way. “A- formation! Forward, double time, march!”
May 23, 7:12pm, Colony Arena
Marching quickly, they crossed the open plain, to the large stone structure. Picking up a ration package on the way in, they were in charge of guarding the Arena against invaders and other creatures. They figured that they would be the only ones there, so when they saw that Gumi and Jade were going to be there also, they were surprised.
“The high and mighty have to stay with us low-lives”, Ron sneered, but then, he was knocked onto the ground. “What the-?”
They all looked up and saw Jade and Gumi on the opposite side of the Arena, giggling like little girls. Spreading out, a pair of people took each corner of the Arena. Harry and Draco stayed together, to talk about what they overheard before they left.
“So, what do you make of it?”, Draco asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past what has happened lately”, Harry said. “What with the whole thing with them on the Field, that both are Bast’s descendents, then what you did to them.”
“Sure, you had to bring that up”, Draco said.
“Sorry”, he said, picking at the stones between his feet. “But still, what are we gonna do?”
“What do you mean?”, Draco asked.
“I mean, do we tell them that we know?”, he went on. “Do we coax them into telling us? What? I’m not breaking up with her. Not now. Not ever. No matter what she puts me through.” Draco gave him a look. “Ok, maybe that was going a little far, but still, I’m not leaving her, just because she’s a little older. She’s still hotter than the sun.”
“Gumi too”, Draco agreed. “Oh, yeah. I don’t know. Maybe we should give it a while. They could still tell us.”
“And if they don’t?”, Harry asked.
“Then who cares?”, Draco said. “It doesn’t bother you. It doesn’t bother me. So, what’s the problem?”
“Nothing, really”, Harry said.
“Good”, he said. “So, drop it.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Arena, Jade and Gumi were sitting on the top of the stands, scanning the grounds.
"We could just tell them", Gumi said. "It would clear up a lot of things."
"But that would take all the fun out of watching them tinker with their ideas", Jade replied. "Besides, if they want to know so bad, they can just ask. They know that."
"But will they?", Gumi asked.
"If they do, they do. If they don't, then I guess they don't want to know that badly then, do they?", she replied and went back to scanning the grounds.
May 24, 3:00am, Colony Stables
Everyone had mounted their dragons and took flight again, soaring up, over the clouds. It was still dark, but yet bight enough to see. They were heading west now. To Egypt. None of them, not even Jade and Gumi knew what was going to happen. But that wasn't going to stop them.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:13 pm
May 24, 7:43 am, Somewhere over The Middle East
“And halt!” Kagumi called, her voice echoing through the mic-boxes strapped to the army’s collars. “Land in five, dismount and stand at attention!”
Without hesitation, the entire army (numbering much larger than it had in leaving The Colony, since they’d picked up a few rawer recruits) dove and landed with a soft thud, somewhere around Shiraz, Iran. Nothing but desert on all sides. Sharply dismounting, the soldiers-in-training stood with their feet shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind their back, next to their dragons, and chin up with their eyes focused on the glaring desert ahead of them. No one moved, or indeed, even breathed loudly as the COs took a leisurely flight down.
“Atten-SHUN!” Vel’indei shouted; the recruits snapped to attention, sharply saluting and holding until Kagumi and Jade, along with the other trainers, had finally dismounted.
“At ease, boyos,” Jade said. “We’re pitching camp for a few hours, until approximately 1000. The dragons need a rest, so that we can continue on to the training ground. So get out of your BDUs and get settled, grab some water and maybe some grub. No fires, no magic. Dismissed.”
The recruits fell into orderly lines, awaiting a refill to their canteens while Laen, Kagumi’s mount, dug into the sand and revealed glistening water. In just a few weeks of training, the recruits had begun to resemble soldiers more than whiny students, which was good, in Kagumi’s eyes. They needed to realize that this was a war. And they were going to be the first line of defense as Riders hadn’t been in centuries.
May 24, 9:35 am, Still In The Middle East
The recruits had been gathered on surprise notification before the time to fly out, and ordered to stand in ranks. Jade was following Kagumi, who was pacing in front of the line of men and women; she held a large, rough-woven basket. Kagumi was getting more and more discouraged. As soon as the ranks had filed out after receiving fresh water, the army-like tendencies had been forgotten, throw out the door. They stood in civilian clothing, which was something that they weren’t supposed to bring with them, half of them weren’t even carrying their weapons. A few had even gone from wearing boots to sandals. Out of nearly seventy recruits, only six were wearing the proper desert attire.
“When I said,” Kagumi’s voice began very softly, which anyone who suffered her training could’ve told you was a cue-in to a fight. “When I said to get out of your BDUs, I meant to put on your desert robes and wash your BDUs because I didn’t want your stick following me! Your desert robes were a part of standard gear, which you picked up before we left. So will someone please explain why the hell you’re all in civvie clothes?”
No one answered.
She took a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll address you as you are.” With a sharp about-face, she began at the end of the line, muttering as she went. “Seamus, lose the cigarillo. Weasley, burn that shirt. Longbottom, straighten your shoulders! For Gods’ sakes, you’re in the army now, not school!” With a frown, she turned to Jade. “It’s the army from hell.”
“I’m going to hand out your identification tags now, informally known as dog tags!” Jade shouted, laying a discreet hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Dog tags list your full name, blood type, religious preference, and rank and company. As for the last two, you maggots might be muttering to yourselves that you don’t have a rank or company yet. That will get sorted out when we reach the training facility. When assigned, your tags will reflect that. For now, it simply states your specialty.” With nary another word, she began handing the pair of shiny, stainless steel tags.
When she stopped at Harry to hand him his tags, she allowed him a small smirk of approval: he, Draco and Hermione were the only three from the Hogwarts group who’d dressed appropriately. He took the tags, though, and gave no indication he’d ever seen her smile. His hand didn’t linger on hers the way it normally would have and, shaking herself mentally, Jade moved on to the next recruit.
“Alright, baby flight,” Vel’indei yelled, beginning to clap her hands in cadence. “We’re moving to the dragons, who have rested by now and then we head on over to the training facility! Hop to!”
May 25, 12:01 am, Near the Egypt-Sudan border
The recruits looked around. To the left was nothing but barren desert, as typical of Egypt as pyramids would have been in the northern sector. To the right and south lay a huge lake, surrounded by jungle. And indeed, there were four pyramids, one large central one which looked to be larger than the Great Pyramid at Giza, and three smaller ones, scattered.
“Welcome to Alaris, your new home for the next few months,” Jade said loudly, echoing through the communication boxes. “The large center pyramid is residence. Northeastern pyramid is meditation and religious or history studies only. Northwestern is storage and armory. Southwestern is simulators, including combat, flight, and the like.”
“Permission to ask a question, ma’am,” one of the Romanian recruits shouted, in a thick Russian accent.
“Granted, private.”
“What about training, ma’am. There seems to be no facility for training.” To his credit, the male didn’t flinch when Jade turned her full gaze on him.
“Private, look to your left. Tell me what you see,” she said, stepping in front of him.
“Ma’am?” he asked, uncertainly. At her nod, he looked left. “Desert, ma’am.”
“And to the right?” Jade’s voice was frighteningly soft, but the entire corps could hear the conversation through the commboxes. “What do you see to the right…Vladivostok?” she let the dog tag she’d glance at fall back to his chest.
“Dense jungle, ma’am.”
“Training issue solved, then.”
“Ma’am?”
“You’ll be training in both situations, boyo. Both climates represent terrains tougher than or equal to battlefields all across the world. Wherever you’re called, you will be able to fight. Therefore, if we are surrounded by training opportunities, why would we build another building for them?” Seemingly not expecting an answer, she strode away, leaving Nathan and Savean to explain the magical changes they’d made.
“You’re only going to be here, technically, for fifteen hours,” Savean said maliciously; he seemed to delight in frightening the soldiers. “Because thanks to my gravitational talents, we’ve managed to tap into the subspace field generated by the pyramids. We created a timeloop. Hence the name, for any of you muggleborns here.”
Hermione’s eyes widened in comprehension, but she kept her mouth shut; Draco made a mental note to ask her about it later.
“That said, while the rest of the world lives out their lives fifteen hours at a time and never knows any better, you lot are excluded from the loop. You can, and will, remember and grow the same as you would in any other time. However, this is important, so listen up: we will spend anywhere from three to nine months here. And the world will never know.”
“That said,” Nathan began, “we’ll assign you quarters now. When we’re done, grab some sleep. Believe me, flying across a few countries in BDUs isn’t fun. It will leave you lagged. Each living station has an alarm built in, so don’t worry about getting up on time. We will get you up.” The gentle smile on his face might’ve reassured some, but only those who weren’t close enough to see the pleased glint in his eyes. “When the alarm goes off for the second time, training begins.”
May 25, 10:25 am, Residence Pyramid
Draco and Harry had been assigned quarters with everyone else, surprising them. They’d forgotten what Kagumi had told them: when we get to where we’re going, you’ll be just like any other soldier under our command.
After a good long sleep, Draco had arisen early to corner Hermione about her reaction to the mention of the time loop. He found her in the very base of the pyramid, which stretched underground and was used as a cool paddock for the dragons, feeding her dragon some scraps of bloody meat.
“You’re not sneaking very well,” Hermione chided softly, not looking over her shoulder.
“I wasn’t trying,” Draco snarked back, even though he had been. “I’m just wondering about your reaction to the name of this place.”
“Alaris?” she snickered. “Who’d ever have though that Gumi and Jade watched muggle shows.”
“What show?”
“I’ll have to show you if we ever get out of here. It’s a science fiction show, called Stargate. There was an episode where the group was stuck in a time loop, and the planet that had caused it was called Alaris.”
“Sounds interesting indeed.” When he got out the last word, she giggled again.
“You’d like Teal’c. He says that a lot.”
“What?”
“Indeed.”
“Ah.”
They sat in companionable silence for a bit until the complex-loud alarm rang again. Wiping her bloody hands off on her BDUs, Hermione stood and exited to see a large group already gathering.
May 25, 10:45 am, Battle Circle
“This is known as a battle circle, for those of you who haven’t figured it out,” Kagumi said. “This is your first lesson. Notice the gun racks next to me?”
The group gave cautious nods.
“Today, I’m going to explain why they’re necessary. Now at Jade and the Healers’ requests, I’m going to go easy on you guys. For now.” She picked up a large short-barrel rifle. “Can anyone tell me what this is?”
“A gun?” Dean Thomas ventured.
“Yes, Thomas, I can see that weeks of training has not been wasted on you.” She sneered at him, but in a slightly playful way. “This is a DC-17m v.2. DC-17 Modifiable Version Two. This will be your primary weapon. It has a sniper attachment, regular fire, and anti-armor attachment. Now, for a demonstration, I need a volunteer.”
No one was either brave enough or stupid enough to approach their volatile commanding officer when she had a versatile gun in her hands. She sighed. “Parkinson, get up here. Front and center.”
Pansy, who’d been kept mostly out of sight for fear of someone killing her, sauntered to the front.
“When engaged in a magical duel,” Kagumi began the lesson, drawing her own wand and motioning for Pansy to do the same, “blocking and firing is an easy and expected thing. As per example…” She nodded at Pansy. “Confringo!” Pansy easily blocked the spell with a well-placed Shield Charm.
“See? Easy peasy. However, there is something that you lot will be using to your advantage whenever and wherever possible: surprise. Catch your enemy unawares and you can take his life without him even knowing what happened.” The DC hung loosely at her side and Kagumi’s hands, quicker than anyone could follow, had aimed the rifle and shot Pansy in the leg. She dropped, screaming and bleeding.
“Lesson over,” Kagumi said calmly over the girl’s screams. “Healer!”
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