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| Above
the Heavens
"It's so beautiful here..." Nina trailed off as she sat on the edge of the floating mass of land that was Township. She had been talking to herself, but she could care less. She looked down to see the forests of Gate sprawled beneath her, the blood-red sun casting its light upon the trees as it set in an amber winter sky. It had become routine for her to do this since the excitement of three months ago ended- no more Death Evan to threaten the world. Still uneasy about returning home to face her family, she decided to stay at Township. Boredom, though, had set in after two or so weeks, and so it eventually dissolved into her watching the sunset at the edge of the land mass, night after night. The dramatic mountains that concealed Infinity were the perfect backdrop. Suddenly, though, a distant shadow caught her eye. Nina leaned forward, staring at it as it passed over the setting sun. It looked almost like... a giant bird. She shook her head furiously. No... it can't be Mina. Even thinking her sister's name was painful to her. She pushed the thoughts from her mind and focused again on the shadow. But just as she was beginning to take in the outline, it disappeared behind a cloud. With a disappointed sigh, Nina scooted away from the edge of Township, stood up, and turned to head back to town. It was getting late, after all. ~*~*~*~*~ Inside the biggest house in Township, a catwoman and a blue-haired teenager both sat around, looking bored. "I don't get why it has to start getting dark so early around this time of year," The catwoman muttered, looking around for something to keep her occupied. "There's always nothing to do around here after dark." She held up a furry hand and started counting off on her fingers, putting each one down as she named off various things. "The animals go into hibernation, it's way too dark to train outside, we can't train in HERE or Niro would kill us, the fish are hibernating..." Then with her thumb left sticking out, she declared "And I can't explore yet-" "Okay, Katt...." The blue-haired boy interrupted, chuckling. "I think I see your point. But then again, it's almost winter, so you have to expect it to be a bit dull." "Yeah... guess you're right. Still, I wish it would at least snow here or something!" Katt grumbled. "Least then I could prolly just... go around an' chuck snowballs at peoples' houses n' stuff..." She let out a sigh, a bit of a purr mingling with it, and stretched, laying down on one of the overstuffed red couches that had been put in the room a few weeks earlier. Her eyes landed on the warm, crackling fireplace across from her. Home sweet home, she thought, smiling in spite of her boredom. The door that led into the foyer of the house swung open, and in stepped Nina, cheeks a bit pink from the cold. She smiled at Ryu and Katt. "Hello, you two," She called. Katt leapt off the couch. "Ah, just who we needed to make things a bit more interesting!" She sang, clapping a hand on the Wyndian's shoulder. Nina looked a bit puzzled. "Me?" She asked eyes wide. "Uhh... why me?" "Oh, come on, Nina! You musta seen some interesting things at the Magic School while you studied there! You never even told us about it. What it was like there, any really exciting things that happened- prior to our meeting you, of course... Ryu and I are about ready to die of boredom here." She grinned, showing a long, sharp fang. "So I was hoping you could drag us away from the brink of death." "Hey, yeah! That might be a good idea!" Ryu said, getting up from his chair and coming over to Nina. "If that's all right with you," He added as an afterthought. Nina thought this over for a minute. "I.... I suppose I could. I don't remember a lot of what happened there, though. And there were not a lot of interesting events... but I'll try and remember them." ~*~*~*~*~ About an hour or so later, Katt and Ryu were watching Nina, their attention caught like a fish on a hook, as she finished telling them of a sleeping sickness that had spread through the entire school, when she was only eight. "...And it turned out that it even affected the 'senior student.' Of course, it was when I returned there not too long ago to visit Master Hoji that..." "You discovered the student was actually Bleu," Katt finished for her. "Wow... any more stories? That one was pretty good." Nina nodded. "Yes... as a matter of fact..." She thought back to the odd shadow she had seen about an hour ago. It had looked som familiar. But where had she seen it before? Then it hit her. At Hometown's School of Magic! "I'm not sure if it's as interesting as the last story..." "Go on, tell it anyway!" Katt urged, her eyes shining. "Yeah, I wanna hear this too!" Ryu added. "Please?" "Oh... all right, you two. It happened about seven years ago..." ~*~*~*~*~ Classes were over for the day. Nina picked up her books and walked down a carpeted hallway to her room. Offensive Magic had been surprisingly easy today. Hoji had congratulated her on the excellent Freeze spell she had managed to cast, and compliments from him were a rarity. She could still remember the way the large chunk of ice had smacked against the practice dummy, shattering almost instantly. The dummy was in horrid condition, but a replacement could be easily made. Now the only thing on her mind was the startlingly large amount of homework she had been given. She plopped the books onto her bed and sat on the wide window-seat. Her bedroom was on the third floor, and faced the entrance of Hometown, so she usually had a good view of the night sky and the ocean. Homework can wait for a while... Nina thought as her eyes gazed at the pale yellow moon, shining full that night. The view from here is so beautiful... As she sat, quiet, taking in the starry night sky, a subtle motion near the edge of the moon caught her eye. Her gaze flitted to it, and she saw a small black shadow- its shape was hard to distinguish- drift slowly past. What is it? She watched, curious, while the shadow continued to drift silently, until it finally passed the moon and disappeared into the black night sky. Not even the twinkling stars betrayed its location. ~*~*~*~*~ "...And, coincidentally," Nina continued, "I saw that same shadow float by the sun not too long ago, when I was watching the sunset. I can't believe I forgot about it after all these years..." Her expression was one of nostalgia. Silence passed for a minute or two. "So..." Katt began slowly, looking at Nina. "Uhh... whaddya s'pose it was?" "I... honestly can't say," Nina admitted. "I tried figuring out just that seven years ago, and I've been wondering ever since I saw it tonight. It could have been an island. Maybe an animal of some sort." "Must be a big animal, then," Ryu muttered. "But even if it's not.... just hearing about it intrigues me." "Sounds like we could have another adventure starting," Katt said, grinning. "Whaddya think?" "I'm not really sure," Nina told her. "But... you could be right. Although... maybe it's just something that passes by every so often. Maybe it protects our world." Katt's ears drooped. "Oh.... well, yeah, could be that too, I s'pose..." Then she brightened up. "But that doesn't mean we still can't explore it, right?" "Hey, yeah!" Ryu's eyes lit up with excitement. "I mean... if we could ever find it. And figure out what it is..." "Yes, finding it could be difficult," Nina agreed. "And the matter of getting there..." A pained look flashed through her eyes for a very brief instant. Katt and Ryu knew exactly why, too. Nina's sister, Mina, had given up her own humanity some time ago, to help them get to Evrai. She had given up her memory as well, to become the Great Bird in Nina's place. And the memory of trying to stop Mina still plagued Nina's mind. "I'm... I'm sure she could do it," Ryu said, his tone reassuring. "Nina..." "I'm all right," Nina said, looking up and smiling wryly. "I suppose you're right..." "All right, then!" Katt cheered. "So, if we find this floating island, or whatever, we explore it. Great! Now... when do we begin?" Silence passed as the trio seemed to think of this. "Tomorrow," Ryu decided. The two girls looked at him, a bit shocked. Tomorrow! "Ryu... that's a bit soon," Nina started cautiously. "Hey, one look at you tells you you're just as anxious as me and Katt," He returned, grinning. "Even if you don't show it." "Okay. I admit, you're right." Nina smiled back. "I just hope we can find it." "If we don't, we rest and keep looking," Katt assured her. "You've piqued my curiousity with that story. Okay... then we leave tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Need to rest up and all. G'night!" She almost danced upstairs, tail quivering with excitement. ~*~*~*~*~ "You see anything yet?" Ryu called over the rush of cool air. The trio had left Township early that morning- barely after the sun had risen- and now, an hour later, they were soaring through a clear blue sky on Mina's back, the air surprisingly warm. "No, not yet," Nina called back. "Just some small clouds!" She sighed and looked down, watching the glistening blue-green of the ocean rush past, far below. Every so often, a small island would break the monotony. It was a gorgeous sight. "Hey- hey, wait!" Katt said, her voice quivering with anticipation. "I think I see something comin' out from behind those clouds! In front of us!" She let go of one side of Mina and pointed. Ryu and Nina followed her gaze, and gasped. Sure enough, a large island floated before them. "T-that thing's it?" Ryu yelped. "It's HUGE!" "A lot bigger than I had guessed," Nina added. They only saw a small portion at the moment, the rest being concealed by the clouds. But a huge, towering mountain range in the center, lush forests, and what looked like a waterfall showed enough. "Wow... it's like some kinda paradise or something!" Katt exclaimed. "Kinda reminds me of the area around Nimufu's tower." "Please, Katt," Ryu said, looking a bit sick. "Don't mention her..." "Sorry." The island grew bigger and bigger as Mina flew towards it. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind pushed her back, nearly blowing the riders away. "Whoa! Hold on, girls!" Ryu squinted at the island, the wind making his eyes water. "Wonder what it is?" "It could be a barrier," Nina shouted over the wind. "Mina! See if you can land on the island!" The bird let out a soft, beautiful cry and flapped her wings like her life depended on it. The wind grew stronger as Mina tried to get to the island, and Nina now was laying forward, her arms wrapped around Mina's neck as she tried to hang on. "I think she might be able to get in!" Suddenly, Mina was able to fly normally again, and zoomed foward, the wind barrier having been passed. They had made it! "Yeaaaaaaaaah! Go Mina!" Katt cheered, pumping a fist in the air. "Looks like we made it!" As the large bird zoomed over the island, looking for a landing place, Ryu, Katt and Nina finally got to see what they were actually dealing with. Tall, shimmering green pines dominated the area they had just entered, snowcapped mountains rising up from the forest and stretching to the heavens. Beneath them, an emerald meadow spread out, and they passed over an enormous lake. To their right, a waterfall thundered down, forming another small lake somewhere in the forest. They could see where it connected to the bigger lake, by a small, rushing river. But what they could see of the other side looked more tropical, mixed with vast desert. More like something you'd find in the Highfort area- or a beach, perhaps. "Hey, it's almost like two different parts of the world here!" Katt said, looking over her shoulder to see the waterfall fade into the distance. "Neat! Hey, Nina! Can she land now?" "Of course. It should be safe for us now." She stroked Mina's head gently and whispered "land." The bird gave an understanding cry, and went into a swift descent, and was soon only three feet above ground. Her wings slowed in their flapping, and her clawed feet extended. Soon, she was crouched on the ground, letting the others climb down, off her back. Nina stroked the bird's head again. "Thank you," She murmured. "You may leave now. Goodbye..." And soon, Mina was soaring into the blue sky once more, free of passengers. They noticed, as they watched her leave, that the strong wind didn't seem to affect her as she left. "Well, girls, here we are!" Ryu announced, shielding his eyes from the sun. It still floated high above them, shining brightly. "Looks like the perfect start for an adventure." "Does it ever!" Katt's eyes were wide with awe. "I just can't believe how high up we are! And it doesn't even feel like winter anymore!" She was right. The air, which had gone from bitterly cold to refreshingly chilly, was now warm with the feeling of spring. "But where do we start?" Nina wondered. "And, I wonder... what do we look for?" "The reason this thing is floating up so high in the sky," Katt responded simply. "I mean... c'mon! The only other floating landmass I ever remember seeing was Township, when Ryu brought his father back there..." Then she nodded shortly. "It served some kinda purpose. It was there for a reason. This thing must be, too." "Kinda early to figure that out, but you're probably right." Ryu smiled, and turned so that he faced the pine forest. "C'mon. Let's go look in there. Maybe something interesting will turn up. Katt, you have our supplies, right?" "Yep! Right in here!" She slid off the somewhat heavy knapsack she had been wearing on her back, and checked inside. "Food, water, all that good stuff. Some healing herbs, and I think there's some other stuff in here too." She snapped the knapsack shut and put it back on. "But I don't think we have our sleeping bags...." "They should be under the food," Ryu told her as he headed off for the forest. "C'mon." ~*~*~*~*~ "So there are other animals on this island," Nina said, watching a chipmunk scurry past. "Of course, it's reasonable... but it seemed so quiet and empty when we got here." "Yeah, first impressions are kinda deceiving," Katt agreed, her ears twitching as birds twittered silenty in the trees. "Nice place, though." "S'nice here. Reminds me of the Great Sea of Trees," Ryu observed. "I wonder if any Wise Trees take root on this island?" "There is a possibility," Nina commented, then she shrugged. "But unless there is some way- other than flight- for one of the Yggdrasil clan to access this island, then I highly doubt it." They walked in silence for a few more minutes, then almost stumbled into each other as they came across a wonderful sight. It was the base of the waterfall they had seen as Mina was gliding over the island. Heavy white mist rose up before them, the glass-clear water splashing against the dark cliff behind it. A few smooth, rounded rocks surrounded the small lake that formed at the base, and some young trees were starting to grow there. "Heeeeeey, nice!" Katt noted, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like a good place to set up camp, if we need to." Ryu looked up, trying to see if he could spot where the waterfall began, but all he saw was the mountain stretching into the sky forever. The waterfall apparently was pretty high up. "I wonder if there's some sorta cave behind that waterfall..." Three pairs of eyes settle on the waterfall. Indeed, through the rush of white mist and water, they could make out a faint outline beyond it. Katt shivered. "If there is, you two can just go check it out on your own. Cave or no cave, I am NOT touching that.... that damn liquid!" "It's just water!" "It's toxic!" Katt cried dramatically. "Well, to me, at least. Don't you even remember what happened when we landed inside of Grandpa?!" Indeed, she had freaked out after landing in a large puddle of water, and had sulked most of the way through the large whale's body. "All right, all right... whaddya say then, Nina?" He asked the Wyndian, looking right at her. "Up for a little exploration?" "Of course!" Nina's smile was cheerful as she looked at the waterfall. "So... Katt, what exactly will you do, then?" "Donno. Prolly explore the rest of this place," The catgirl answered. "I mean, c'mon. I'd go crazy sitting here having nothing to do. In fact... think I'll start off right now. Catch you later!" And she was off, running. "Boy, give her an opportunity to wander off by herself, and..." Ryu made a 'whoosh' noise. "C'mon, Nina. That thing intrigues me now." ~*~*~*~*~ "Wish I lived in a place like this," Katt said to herself a half-hour later. She had left the forest, feeling more at ease in the open. She was now approaching the enormous lake she had seen earlier, contrary to her earlier display of aquaphobia. "But then again, I gotta ask myself... why am I heading HERE, of all the possible places?" Then the answer came to her: She'd have explored the tropical area to the south, but it was too far, and while she was full of energy, she didn't exactly like the idea of having to walk- or even run- all the way there. "Okay, lake. You got anything interesting about you?" She called as she finally reached the large body of water. A cool breeze was her response, and she watched as the surface of the water rippled a bit. Wait... it wasn't just the surface rippling. The sky itself seemed to shimmer and wave before her, almost as if she were in a desert on a scorching day. Then she watched a thin beam of white light shoot up from the center of the lake. "What in the world?" She muttered, seconds before the beam burst violently, and surrounded the entire lake. "Hey- what's happening?!" Seconds later, it vanished, and the tall, jagged remains of ancient marble buildings were seen poking up from the water like broken teeth. Katt gasped as she realized that maybe this would be more exciting than any of them thought. Curious, she took a step toward the lake... and vanished. A tiny ripple marked her disappearance. ~*~*~*~*~ To be continued.... Author's notes:
Eek.... hope I did okay so far for the first chapter of the story that needs
titling... I kinda got inspired by some Sonic fics (the author, while pushing
our faces in certain things and beating us over the head with them as well,
does write very well.) and the idea of a mysterious floating island just appealed
to me. Originally, it had Sana making a prophecy by entering Granny's dream,
but that idea kinda stank so I scrapped it. I think this idea may work better,
which leads to these questions... what happened to Katt? Will Ryu and Nina
find something of interest in the cave? And what about the ruins that appeared
out of nowhere? What's the deal with them? You'll just have to wait and find
out! |
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