The Fear Of God (Phoenix City Chronicles)

   "Cellus... Cellus?! Are you there?," Brother Light's voice rang through the communicator, "Ah, Kaylea, it's you. We need to regroup, and quickly."

Turning to the others, the priest shook his head sadly, "I fear the worst for our friends."

Waking up to the rucas that was happening in the room, little drowsy at first he sees an expression on brother lights face,

"...mrph... Hey Brother Light, whats going on here... you seem paler than usual this morning?"

As he wakes up, hes seeing hardly anyone in the room with them all.

"Wheres Tal and Kunckles at... not to mention Kayea and Cellus." 'though i do remember beign picked up by someone with soft hands...' remembering the time Cellus picked him up in the castle.

"They are usually here doing something at this time of day."

Cellus let out a final choked sob and then fell comepletely silent. Her head gave an involuntary jerk and she stood, looking around as though she had never seen the place before, "Aw, poor girl, I guess she just couldn't handle it... Never could handle much chaos, that Cellus..." she said in a strange voice, one that sounded like Cellus, but then again, nothing like her.

It took several seconds for what Cellus said to sink in, but as it does she sobers imediately. "What was that you said." she says maintaining her grip on the young grasslander.

Her tear streeked face taking on a mask of susspision "Are you telling me that you're not her." she says barely hiding her grief.

About that time, something nobody expected came gliding through the clouds. The thing, a golden ship with sparkling sails, was staffed by a crew just as brightly colored. At the forefront, arms crossed and a foot on the deck, was a creature that brought an immediate look of shock to Brother Light's face.



"God in Heaven," the priest gasped as he locked eyes with the ship's captain.



"I'd heard stories...," Burk gaped, equally shocked, "But I didn't think they really existed!"

Looking down from the ships deck she took off her mask and wrapped it firmly around her wrist. "Who..." Ami started squatting to try asnd get a better look at the people in the feild.

"This is the right place," Zeaken finished her sentence, then casually leaped from the deck, freefalling with an unearthly grace toward the ground below. Not ten feet from the dirt, he righted himself like a cat and landed on his feet, looking to Kaylea and Cellus, "Found you."

The woman that looked like Cellus cocked an eyebrow at Kaylea, "Why, course I'm not Cellus! You think that girl's in any shape to function? I mean her boyfriend died fer'godsakes!" the woman exclaimed, "So I decided to take over, can't let the body fall apart, even if the minds not willing, ya'know?" The woman extended a hand, "Name's Nurse, and you are? Sorry, but I haven't been paying attention to Cellus' life much..."

As the man landed on the ground near the pair, the woman who called herself Neurse let out a whistle, "Nice ride ya got there! Musta cost a fortune!"

"She can bring him back! Bring both of them back! I've seen her do it before!" she screams at 'Cellus' ignoring the new as her tears begin anew

"If... if she can... can you do it too." she sobs lightly shaking Cellus lightly

Meanwhile, Brother Light looked to Cerys and Burk with a grave expression, "We need to help our friends, and fast. If a Khamele Sentinel is involved, this is not a place for us. Mr. Cerys, might you use your control of shadows to hasten our journey?"

Looking over to him with a confused look, and one of worry,
'This is the first time ive seen him like this in a long time, and when hes like this... its usually a bad thing.'

"Ok.. well guess we will have to give Azan a littlebit of a rushed wakeup call... come over near and we will move on out of here as fast as we can manage."

Going over to the sleeping minatour, placing a hand on him and gathering the rest of the group there, he helps them all vanish out of the vacinity as fast as he could.

Upon reachign a clearing near the edge of the city, looking over to brother light,
"Is this far enough away for the moment, or should we try to move farther out?"

"Not farther away, closer!," Brother Light snapped, "We must get the others out of there and fast!"

Looking somewhat confused...
"Well what direction do we need to go in... you just said that we needed to go somewhere other than where we are there."

After being pointed in the right direction, still holding onto the heavy sleeping Azan, and the rest of the group with him, they started to make their way to the directions Brother Light gave him.

'I just hope Azan doesnt mind waking up in a new area, other then the place he went to sleep at...'

Ami blinked and shadow jumped down to the clearing. As she walked out of the shadows and saw the two broken bodies and rushed forward. Seeing the one in the red brought a painful stab to her mind telling her that the man she had been created to kill, was laying dead in front of her. "K-knuckles?" She asked confused before dropping to her knees next to him.




~~~~~~~
Shadow Jump; Clearing
~~~~~~~

Nurse pointed to the charred remains of the two men, addressing both Kaylea and the new girl "Sorry, chicas, but these two are, like, super dead, I think its gonna take a little more than a resurrection spell to bring 'em back," she shrugged, before examining the new girl, "Who are you?" she asked before leaning towards Kaylea, "Am I supposed to know this girl or is she new to you too?"

"No." she says, emotions flashing across her face like lightning, sorrow, loss, numbness, before finally settling on rage.

"This wont happen that way! I wont let it! i will find you and when i do you will pay! " she released cellus and flew to the spot where the portal vanished screaming to the heavens

"This I vow, by the blood in my viens" she growls pulling one of her swords and sliceing her own hand "Even if it takes my dieing breath you will burn for this!"

As the last words leave her mouth, the air around her bursts into a rageing inferno leaving her and the ground untouched as her aura burns with her rage

"It's fair to say you're not the guys I'm looking for," the khamele crossed his arms and looked to Kaylea, "But I bet you know who is."

About that time, Cerys, Brother Light, Burk, and the still unconscious Azan phased into the clearing from the shadow of a nearby tree.



"Forgive the intrusion Sir," Brother Light walked toward Cellus and Kaylea, keeping a safe distance from the khamele, "We realize now the seriousness of the situation."

"Perhaps you can help me then," the pale-faced captain smiled, "I'm Captain Zeaken of the Sunset Arrow, tasked by the Anubian government with locating a ruthless band of temple thieves."

Looking as they all arrived in the clearings edge, letting go of azan as he started to wake up, Cerys notices that there was a large crater in the middle of the clearing, and thenlooking a little off to the side of the clearing, seeing a floating ship he was in a daze.

'Ok... we have a clearing, a crater and a floating ship...some people ive never seen before... whats all going on here?'

As he made his way to the crater, he sees the bodies of the two he knew as Knuckles and Tal, both burned nearly to a crisp.
"Brother Light, i think we will need some help here..." pulling brother light twoards the crater and into the midst of the corpses, "Do you think you can help them out..."

Awaking halfway through the shadow jumping from Cerys, Azan seeing flashes of light as he was being jumped through shadow to shadow.
'Ok whats going on here... why couldnt they wake me up normally... i was having a good dream.'

As they arrived at the clearing, Azan stood up stretching out from his rest,
"Ok so what all are we doing here now, and where exactly is here anyways?"

Looking around, noticing admidst the clearing that was infront of him, was the ship hovering above the ground and not in the water, Azan was confused from the sight of this, since this was the first time hes ever seen anything like this.

Moving over to Brother Light,
"Whats up with that hovering ship over there... ive never seen one before."

Ami slowly stood up her hands engulfed in shadow as she grabbed her scythe, engulfing that in shadow too, turning to look at the new comers. "Zeaken...explain...please..." She asked looking around at the people in the clearing. Among them, a minotaur, a flaming woman, a nekomimi, a grasslander woman, and a young man, appearing to be a priest. "Zeaken I need answers...I need them now!" She shouted as she turned stalking towards him her scythe still in her hands looking deadlier every moment.

The flames around her wink out but her expression doesn't change "He's been looking for me."she says harshly to the white-haired girl before turning to the crimson-headed captain "Isn't that right. I am Kaylea, student of Caina. You said that you looking for a temple raider, here I am." her voice never loseing it's malice.

Zeaken whirled around to face Kaylea, a look of shock on his face, "It... can't be. It is though. You look exactly like you did that day..."

Turning his back to face the ship, the captain was tense, "I'm sorry to inform you, but your Master has been captured by the men I'm chasing. You two were never on the right side of the law, but you're not killers. If I were you, I'd stay out of Neki-Seraph for awhile."



"Nurse... toss Captain Zeaken your bracelet," Brother Light looked to the girl he knew, perhaps, better than anyone in this clearing but herself, "There is something I must show him about his enemy."

"At least someone here know's my name! I was half expectin' to have to answer as Cellus for a good week before people got it into their heads. All these new people, how many of you guys knew Cellus, cause I'm gonna have to try and remember you in'all," she spoke as she deftly pulled the bracelet off her wrist and chucked it to Zeaken, "You talkin' bout the dude who killed them two fighters over there, Mister Priestman? Seems like a mean ol' bastard to me..." she babbled on half to herself.

Catching the bracelet, Zeaken looked to Brother Light, "Bracelet of Friendship? I've heard of these. Alright, let's see it..."



As Zeaken placed the bracelet on his wrist, Brother Light immediately projected an image gleaned from Kaylea's mind into it.



"I see...," Zeaken nodded gravely, "Circumstances have changed. Kaylea, you're coming with me under penalty of law, and will be granted a pardon in exchange for your help. The rest of you are welcome to join since it seems this monster's taken something from you as well."

"As for the ship," he smiled to Cerys, "That would be the Arrow herself. Fastest in the fleet, I'm proud to say."

Junping a little at the mention from the captian of something Cerys was thinking of at the moment,

"Well it is a nice ship that you have, but hwo is it able to actually float in the air like it is now, its the first of its kind ive ever seen before?"

Looking over to the bodies of Tal and Knuckles
"As for helping you out, i wouldnt mind, but first i think we need to get out friends brought back, they would be needed and they are the only ones that we know of that might be able to tell us as to what happend to them here." looking around at the crater they were resting in.