Planeteer Narrative #3 part 4

       This chapter is dedicated to Star's Reflection, who was sweet enough to write me in and tell me what she thought of my fic. Thank you, Star!

        The next morning dawned bright and early. Mia woke about nine, dressed, and left her sleeping companions to head to the kitchen. Cye was already there, making, of course, waffles (again, isn't that all they ever eat?). He was fully dressed, and Mia noticed he was wearing a nicer shirt than was his habit. She wondered why, but found out soon enough.
        As Mia set the table, Gi walked down the stairs in a borrowed pair of khakis and tee shirt from Mia. As Mia turned, she noticed Cye staring at Gi. He was thinking, Wow. Even in a tee shirt, she looks beautiful. Mia quirked an eyebrow and smiled... the smell of rice was in the air (ask Mr. Magoo).
        Gi turned to Mia. "I'm going to go to the plane, radio home, enter this into our log, stuff like that. Call me for breakfast, would you?"
        "Of course," Mia smiled. Gi left, scratching her nose. Mia turned to Cye. "And what is this?"
        "What?" he asked, feigning innocence.
        Mia chuckled. "You and Gi, of course."
        "What? Who, me? No, never, of course not."
        Mia shook her head. "Wearing the Armor of Trust does not let you be a good liar."
        Cye sighed. (hey, that's funny!) "Is it really obvious?"
        "Only if you have eyes."
        Cye gave her a hunted look, then walked back to the waffles, which were now burnt.
        Kento came running down the stairs a few minutes later. "I smell burnt food!" he shouted in anguish. "Who did this?!"
        Cye looked up, embarrassed. "Hehe, uh, Kento, that was me."
        Kento stared at him a moment, then sat down at the table. "Well, make some more."
        Cye just smiled; the new waffles were done anyway. Cye turned to Mia and asked her to go get Gi, then to Kento to ask him to get everyone else. He then served up the waffles with large helpings of whipped cream and strawberries. White Blaze slunk down the stairs and stretched out on the living room rug.
        As ten of the eleven freedom fighters sat down at the table to eat, Ryo looked up. "Wait, you guys, before we eat, we need to talk." They put their forks down, watching him. Tentatively, Ryo broached the subject that was prominent of everyone's minds. "So, you guys, what now? Who is this guy, this Lord Terave, and what are we going to do about him?" He was worried. How big was this new threat? Could he protect Mia and Yuli?
        He glanced over at Mia, who had an overzealous itch on her nose. She looked back at him. "I don't know. After breakfast, I'll see if there's anything in my grandfather's notes that says anything about this guy, or the Garden Rake of Ascendancy."
        Wheeler piped in. "But who is this Talpa guy?" The Ronins looked at each other, took a deep breath, and proceeded to explain, as quickly as possible, the fight with Talpa. When they were done, Wheeler sucked in a slow breath. "Dude. This Talpa definitely does not sound like a friend to the environment."
        Just then, Rowan walked down the stairs, just barely awake. Laying his head down on the table, he yawned, "But why would this lord guy want to revenge Talpa?"
        Sage agreed. "Why is he doing this?"
        Everyone shrugged. "Former minion of Talpa?" suggested Cye.
        "Friend?" suggested Ma-Ti. Everyone looked at him. Talpa did not have friends.
        Ryo looked at Mia. "I think former minion would be very likely." Mia nodded. Ryo looked to the others. "Well, I'm sure he knows where we are, so everyone, watch your step, all right?"
        Everyone agreed, and Kento looked up. "Can we eat now?"
        Ryo laughed. "Sure, Kento."
        "Wait!" said Kwame. "We Planeteers always take a moment of silence for our food. We need to thank the strawberries who gave their lives for this meal." The other Planeteers nodded and bowed their heads. Mia also did, out of respect for her guests.
        The Ronins looked at each other, shrugged, and started eating their waffles. Hearing a thud, the Planeteers opened their eyes. The girls gasped. All five Ronins were slumped in their chairs and sprawled across the floor, motionless. Mia jumped up from her chair and picked up Ryo's wrist, feeling for a pulse. She sighed in relief. "It's all right; they're just unconscious. It must have been the food."
        Wheeler looked at her, concerned. "Cye's cooking?" he asked.
        "Oh, no," she answered. "Something was wrong with what went into it." Picking up a slice of strawberry, she tasted its edge, then joined the Ronins on the floor.
        "Well," commented Wheeler, "there's your answer."
        Suddenly, Gi gasped. "It's happening again!" The Planeteers looked out. The tall, red Dynasty gate had again appeared in the sky.
        Ma-Ti turned to White Blaze and pointed to the Ronins. "Watch them." White Blaze turned at sat down right next to Ryo.
        As the five kids poured out of the house, the doors opened. Lord Terave walked out, looking smug (if you could have seen his face under the hood). However, on seeing them, he stopped short and glared. "What?! You're supposed to be unconscious!" he fumed.
        "Sorry, dementor!" shouted Wheeler. "But we are smarter than that!" They weren't, really, but let him think so.
        Terave laughed. "Never mind! You shall be easy enough to get rid of." Again reaching under his robe, he pulled out pruning shears.
        Linka exclaimed mockingly, "Oh, no! Are those your Pruning Shears of Incongruity?"
        Their foe looked confused. "No, they're just pruning shears." Linka screamed. Terave then proceeded to chase her around the lawn, trying to cut her hair.
        "Linka!" gasped Gi. She pointed her ring at the rain barrel. "Water!" The water in the rain barrel followed her pointing finger to Lord Terave, knocking him to the ground and soaking him to the bone.
        Kwame then pointed his ring at the ground below Terave. "Earth!" The earth below the robed man buckled and sent the man flying. Upon hitting the ground, he dropped his shears.
        Wheeler pointed his ring at the shears. "Fire!" The shears were quickly melted to a useless lump of metal.
        As Terave got to his feet, Ma-Ti pointed his ring at the woods. "Heart!" Instantly, giant packs of squirrels ran out of the woods and swarmed over the dark figure. He started screaming and trying to shake them off, unsuccessfully.
        Finally, Linka regained her breath and pointed her ring at their squirrel covered foe. "Wind!" The wind that emanated from her ring blew the squirrels off Terave. Then she used it to push the him back through his door, and blew the door shut. He didn't even have time to make threats for next time.
        The Planeteers were silent for a while, catching their breath. "Wow," said Linka. "We won."
        Walking inside, the Planeteers looked at the Ronins sprawled across the room and sighed. "How long do you think it will be until they wake up?" asked Kwame.
        "I don't know," rejoined Wheeler. "But I'm going to go see if they have a Playstation." He turned and walked towards the television. Ma-Ti and Kwame looked at each other, then followed Wheeler.
        Gi looked at her watch. "Nine-thirty," she told Linka. They looked down at the Ronins and saw Mia stir.
        Slowly, she sat up, having gotten a smaller dose than the Ronins. White Blaze quickly walked over and supported her back with his head. "What happened?" she asked hazily, putting her arm over the white tiger.
        Gi surveyed her scrutinizingly. "The strawberries were drugged and you all passed out and then the evil guy came back and chased Linka with pruning shears then he got attacked by squirrels then the guys went to find a Playstation."
        Mia gazed at her, still only half-awake. "Right..." Gi helped her to her feet.
        "All we can do is wait for them to wake up," said Linka, looking at the Ronins.
        The remaining conscious adventurers walked to the living room and sat on the couches, talking. After a while, the conversation turned to the Planeteers' previous exploits. "So, Wheeler, why do you hate that monkey?" asked Mia.
        Wheeler looked angry. "He's evil. Evil, I tell you! A few months ago, we were driving through a swamp, trying to find Looten Plunder's evil hideout. I was in the back of the jeep, asleep, and the monkey took my sneakers and threw them out the window. Is that normal monkey behavior?"
        The other Planeteers snickered, but Wheeler ignored them and continued.
        "Hunnatural, I calls it. And those were my favorite sneakers, too! That monkey has it in for me." Just then, Suchi wandered into the room. Wheeler saw it and gasped. "Begone, Flying Turtle of Sin!" he shouted, throwing couch pillows at it. Suchi squeaked in fear and ran from the room. Wheeler settled back on the couch, next to Mia. "Like I said, evil."
        Everyone sighed. Then they heard laughter from the door, where the now-awake Ronins were standing. "Evil, eh?" giggled Cye. White Blaze, behind them, snorted.
        Wheeler laughed, stretched out comfortably between Ma-Ti and Mia, with his arms on the back of the couch. Ryo watched him through narrowed eyes. He didn't like how close and familiar Wheeler was with Mia. Walking in, he said abruptly, "Let's go get some breakfast."
        Seeing the look on his face, Mia stood. "Is something wrong, Ryo?" Ryo turned and walked away, incensed. Mia watched him go, looking concerned.

        It was decided that they should drive into town for breakfast and hope their foe wouldn't attack them so soon after the last time. The Planeteers couldn't fly a plane into town without attracting a lot of attention, so the eleven individuals (plus one monkey) had to cram into Mia's jeep (they'd opted to leave White Blaze at home). Mia drove with Suchi on her lap, Ryo sat in front with Ma-Ti on his lap, and the other eight sat in the back.
        As they drove, Cye kept glancing towards Gi, and Gi kept scratching her nose. Sage, with Linka on his lap, noticed for the first time that the Russian girl was kind of cute. He then proceeded to flirt with her incessantly. To the great dismay of Wheeler, who sat next to Sage, Linka seemed to be enjoying the attention. When they finally reached Toyama and hopped out of the car, Wheeler carefully planted himself between Sage and Linka.
        They went to a little diner and had breakfast, then went window-shopping. When they passed a large alley, Suchi suddenly jumped from Mia's arms (who had taken quite an affinity to the little hairball) and ran down it. The group sighed and followed him through the alley, not noticing the robed silhouette on the roof of the shop next to them.
        Linka was checking behind a garbage can when suddenly, she saw a flash of light. She straightened and found herself in a large meadow. The meadow was surrounded by a thick forest of trees, and above her the sky was stormy. She was completely alone. "Hello?" she called cautiously. No answer. "Where is everyone?" she shouted, louder.
        In the trees, Ryo had found himself also alone, but had quickly located Sage. Helping his blonde friend up, Ryo said, "Follow me." They walked through the woods for a few minutes, in the process finding Cye and Ma-Ti. Then, they heard thunder. Within a few seconds, it was raining. Although they were sheltered by the trees, it was still cold and wet. Following footsteps they found on the ground, they reached a small stream, swollen and overflowing its banks with the rain. The storm was growing progressively worse.
        Ryo heard a scream and quickly looked upstream. There was a small island a ways upstream, and on it was crouched- Mia! Ryo's face broke out in a relieved smile as he started following the bank towards her. His face suddenly fell, though, as he noticed Wheeler next to her on the island, trying to shelter her from the rain with his jacket. Ryo turned to walk away, fuming, when he heard Mia call, "Ryo!" Their small island was growing smaller as the water rose. Within a few seconds, it would be completely under water.
        He turned to run towards them, but the island was suddenly gone and Mia and Wheeler were being pulled downstream at an alarming rate. Cye, the best swimmer, jumped in after them, but to no avail. The water was too fast, and Mia and Wheeler disappeared downstream. Ryo stared after them, his fists clenched in rage. Cye got out of the stream, even wetter than he'd been, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ryo. We'll find her."
        On the other side of the forest, Rowan was in a small clearing, looking around with worried eyes. "Guys?" he shouted, scanning the forest.
        "Rowan?" called a female voice. "Is that you?"
        Rowan looked down to see Gi emerge from the trees, soaking wet and shivering. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
        She looked embarrassed. "I fell in the river."
        Rowan smiled, then said, "Let's go find the others."
        Within a few minutes, they had found Kento, shivering and curled into a ball under an outcropping of rock. However, they could find no one else. As the three sat under the rock, Gi suddenly cocked her head. "Do you hear voices?" she asked. The other two just looked at her. She got out and looked at the raging stream behind their rock. She was sure she'd heard Mia screaming.
        She looked upstream, then down, and saw Mia and Wheeler holding onto a large rock in the middle of the river. Immediately, Gi called for Rowan and Kento, then jumped into the water, swimming for the rock. As she reached it, Rowan pulled a rope out of his backpack and tossed it to her. Kento stared at him. Rowan shrugged. "Always prepared, right?" Gi, Wheeler, and Mia grabbed the rope and pulled themselves to shore.
        In the clearing, Linka looked at the trees, wondering if she should shelter in them from the rain. A particularly vicious flash of lightning and thunder convinced her that she should. As she walked towards the trees, Kwame walked out of them. After exchanging pleasantries, they decided they should try to send up a beacon. Kwame pointed his ring at the center of the meadow and shouted, "Earth!" A large chunk of the ground shot up towards the sky, a natural tower their friends should be able to see. Then he and Linka sat beside it to wait.
        Both groups in the woods saw the beacon and headed towards it. Gi's group reached it first, and went to sit beside Kwame and Linka in the pouring rain. Mia and Wheeler were the coldest and wettest, having been in the river the longest. Mia was wearing Wheeler's jacket and shivering between him and Kento. Wheeler was delighted to see Linka, though trying not to show it.
        After a few minutes, Ryo's group walked into the meadow. Mia stood. "Ryo!" Ryo looked up, beaming. She was alive! He ran to hug her, but as he did, noticed she was wearing Wheeler's jacket. Resentfully, he pulled away from her and stalked to the other side of the pile of earth. Mia watched him go, troubled.

      I decided to write a tanka in very liberal form for Star's Reflection. Ahem.
         The star's reflection
         In the deep, dark, still water
         Shines with heaven's light
         Like the shining light
         Of her eyes - light of her soul
      Okay, technically, the lines are supposed to have certain inflection and rhythm, and I don't know if Star has heavenly light in her soul, but I bet she does because everyone has the light of heaven in them. So, Star, there is my poem.

Part 5