Synchronicity

Chapter 7

"Rin," Len whispered into the pendant. It shimmered and glowed faintly but there was no sound. No voice. No music. "Rin, where are you?" He asked it and waited. Since they'd left the castle and went for the towns he hadn't once heard his sisters voice. It worried him. She was always singing or whispering into the wind and now she was silent. Suddenly the boy felt angry, he clutched the necklace tightly and pulled it to close his lips brushed the edges of the bass clef. "If you hurt her…" He threatened but it fell short as a bushes moved.

Len pulled the necklace back and tucked it in his pocket before turning around. A girl haired girl was there in the brightest and most obnoxious clothes the boy had ever seen. He wondered if his sister was anything like this. "Len," she said crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Are you done? Gakupo's looking for you."

"Yes," Len said with a weak smile. "I'm coming. Sorry," he said as he followed the girl out of the brush and back toward the town. He needed to talk to his sister and he had to do it in private. "Gumi, how far away is the Pythoness?" He asked reluctantly after a while.

"Not sure," the girl shrugged. "All the stories say she's up in the mountains far away from the rest of the world. That way she's close to her dragon."

Len narrowed his eyes. "What about the dragon? Do you know anything about it?"

Gumi paused as though thinking then shrugged again, "not much. It's suppose to be giant. Huge and merciless. They say it takes girls to be its diva because it has a hard time sleeping. I think it's just a bully." She waved at a few people as they passed by and headed for the shop. "After singing for so long every hour of every day the diva gets tired and will pass out from the exhaustion. That's when the beast kills them."

Len shook his head, "not my sister. She's stronger than that." He was lying to himself though. He knew those stories. He knew if the diva stopped singing she'd die. He wasn't about to give up hope though.

"I'm sure she is," Gumi smiled before skipping a few steps to greet the others. "Found him!"

"Good," Gakupo said sternly. For a while he'd been melancholic but now it seemed he was back to his old self. "We've been waiting for you."

"Why?" Len asked taking a moment to slip the pendant back around his neck.

"We think we know which way to go to find the Pythoness." Kaito said with a beaming smile. Len felt his breath hold a second before nodding. Urging one of them to continue. "It's East, like you thought, but it's higher in the mountains. From what old man Gakupo's been saying-"

"Old man?" Gakupo grunted.

"-we're sure she's near here," Kaito finished.

"I've been doing research on the Pythoness for a while now," Gakupo explained clearing his throat. "The Pythoness can communicate to the beast and is therefore a kind of master. Don't be fooled though, the Pythoness has little control over what it does and how it does things. Like the diva, every hundred years or so, a new Pythoness is sought out. Of course this is a heavy burden. The woman they chose must be strong in body and mind to control such a thing."

"What if she doesn't want to be Pythoness?" Gumi asked leaning against the nearest wall.

"It doesn't matter," Len said "she'll still be taken away from her friends and family. Just like the diva."

"Yes," Gakupo said looking over at the boy. "Unlike the diva, however, the Pythoness is made of magical abilities. She could escape at anytime or let the beast lose if she chose. To keep her in line," he pulled a scroll off one of the honeycomb shelves and unrolled it along a wooden table. Everyone gathered. "They created this," he said pointing to a charcoal sketch of some kind of oblong shape.

"What is it?" Kaito frowned.

"It's a mask," Len summed up. "Probably to contain her powers enough… Maybe even control her. Make her stay obedient to her task."

"Exactly," Gakupo nodded. "They put this mask over the woman's face and she is then controlled with the same magic that the first Pythoness bestowed. Does this makes sense to everyone?" Kaito and Meiko nodded. Len just stared at the drawing.

"Then we need to get going," Kaito said stepping back and going for his things. Len nodded and went to do the same but stumbled a bit. He thought no one would notice.

"No," Meiko frowned as she watched the boy. "We'll stay here for the night. Let's leave in the morning fully rested."

"We don't have time," Gakupo hissed bitterly as he rolled the scroll back up. "The diva could already be-"

"But she's not," Meiko said narrowing her eyes. "If that girl is as strong as her brother, she'll be fine for another night." The woman went over and pat the boy on the shoulder. "You need your rest don't you? We've been traveling across the forests and desert for the last couple nights and I know you don't sleep very well." Len didn't say anything. "Come on then," she gave him a weak smile "a growing boy needs his rest."

Everyone just watched as the red knight pulled the boy over to one side of the shop and made him sit. He looked angry and determined as usual but after a couple quick words from the woman, he fell asleep. "There now," she said going over and grabbing one of the burlap blankets they'd borrowed, draping it over the boy. "Everyone let him sleep."

"You're good with him," Kaito commented as he watched. "Do you have kids of your own?" He doubted it but thought he'd ask anyway.

"Not exactly," Meiko muttered as she moved from the boy and back over by the others. Gakupo was leaning against the wall also, almost impatient but he didn't say anything. "I had a friend in the palace," she glanced at the purple haired man. "Teto."

"The last diva," Gakupo nodded.

"Right," Meiko said frowning. "She was like a younger sister to me. I cared for her. Took care of her like this. I had my orders at first but I grew to enjoy her company. I didn't know she would become the dragon diva." Her voice trailed off long enough for the others to understand.

"Makes sense now," Gakupo said shaking his head. "Why you came along. Why the boy allowed you to follow even though you did try to kill him."

"I tried to save her," Meiko said narrowing her eyes at the ground. "I trained myself harder. I became the best knight in the kingdom. I had armies and other knights under me. I was powerful and I was still very young. Then one day they told me she was dead. I took my anger out on my training and became merciless toward others." She turned back to Len. "He has a fire in his eyes like I've never seen. If anyone can save her… It'll be him."

"Doesn't matter if he saves her or not," Kaito shook his head. "The dragon won't let her go easily and he can't take down something like that."

"Not alone," Gakupo shook his head. "That's why we're here though."

"If you take the diva," Gumi said with slight confusion. "Won't the dragon get mad and destroy the town like before?"

"Not if we kill it first," Kaito shrugged. "It's big and strong but not immortal. I think we can do it."

"It's a long shot," Gakupo sighed "many scholars have tried to find its weakness. My mother was one of them. She thought she found the Achilles heel to the beast. She was trying to save Teto also," he said nodding over to Meiko.

"I know," Meiko muttered. "I remember her. Lady Kamui was very beautiful and strong in mind. I thought she would have succeeded."

There was a long silence and then Gumi asked "what happened to her?"

There was another silence that drifted across the room then Gakupo pushed against the wall and walked off. Kaito was curious too and looked at Meiko for an answer. "Lady Kamui killed herself one night," Meiko said softly. "She jumped off the highest tower. Gakupo saw it happen."

Rin choked as she sat up and looked around. She couldn't remember where she was at first. Then it all came back to her. She'd been singing and then… Had she fainted? Was she dead? She looked around the cave. Nothing had changed. She was laying down in the puddle she'd fallen in. There was blood spots speckled in the water.

No. This wasn't heaven.

She was still trapped in her own personal hell. She frowned and stood on shaky limbs to get a cautious look around. Where was the beast? "Hello?" She called into the darkness. "Where are you? I know you're here!" She shouted at it. She'd never felt so brave. "Why did you let me live?"

There was no response. Then all at once a gust of wind kicked up from somewhere deep in the cave. Sending the girl's skirts back and making her cover her face. Sing! The voice rippled through her mind. Rin flinched as the wind stopped.

It sounded angry but she was still alive. Had it actually shown remorse for her? "How long was I asleep?" She asked it. The beast had no sense of time. Why was she bothering? "Tell me!"

Sing! The voice screeched. Rin screamed and fell to her knees clutching her head. It hurt. Everything hurt. Her body, her voice, her head. Sing. Or die. It told her. She narrowed her eyes at the darkness. She wanted it to kill her, she really did. She'd never wanted to die so much in her life-

"Hurry and please wake me up right now, because I'm having a nightmare again!" She begun to sing, her voice hoarse and dry. It was hurting her more and in time she knew the blood would come up again. She wanted nothing more than to die but not here. Not now.

"First impressions and early things like that are really only trivial, right?" She called to the darkness. The best seemed pleased. It didn't yell at her anymore. She didn't know if it was listening and she didn't care either. She wasn't singing for it. She was singing for the voice she'd heard in her pendant. She gripped the necklace sight as she danced, "if you asked me where I want to go, then I wouldn't be able to answer you."

Her other half was listening. She knew he was. "The night was too impressive for me, so it dazzled me and now I've lost my way…"

Len jerked his body forward, having to catch himself as he listened. The sky was dark outside the window, only the dim reflection of the moon lit the small shop. Everyone else seemed to be asleep; Meiko was laying under a window, Kaito by the door and Gakupo off in his own corner. He looked around a second before clawing desperately for his pendant. He jerked it out and held it out in front of him, watching it glow faintly.

"I was standing there out in the rain, my hair seemed frozen and strange in the cold…" The voice sang. Len felt a smile tug at his lips as he pulled it closer. She was singing for him. It was clear as a bell and sounded heavenly.

"We're close," he said to her knowing she probably couldn't hear him anyway. If she was singing, it was to the beast.

"My loneliness went down the drain while I was shivering and waiting here for you…" He'd never heard the song before and yet it felt familiar. Maybe it was because it was her voice. It still felt weird to hear it. Eerie and unreal but still a comfort for the boy.

"Rin. Are you well?" He asked but got no reply. Eventually the voice died down into nothing and the pendant stopped glowing. The dragon must have been keeping her on a short leash. He felt himself sigh and lean back again. At least she was still alive.

The boy didn't even remember falling back to sleep until the morning light was on his face and the others were packing up. Gumi was talking to Gakupo about where to go next and such but Len couldn't make out any real words. Kaito was away and Meiko was towering over him. "I was just about to wake you up," she said with a weak smile. "You slept like a baby."

"Did I?" Len asked with a frown as he went for the necklace. It wasn't glowing and it wasn't warm. "Was it a dream?" He asked no one as he forced himself to stance up. He prayed it wasn't. There were sweet rolls on the table and the boy took one gingerly, taking only nibbles.

"We're leaving soon," Kaito nudged the boy as he walked into the shop. He must have been outside. Len looked over at the blue haired male saying nothing. "How are you handling?"

"Fine," Len said right away taking another bite of the breakfast he'd chosen. "What about you?" Kaito was a little surprised. Usually the boy didn't ask or care about the traveling companions he had with him.

The man smiled, "better I suppose. We're on course now. We'll rescue your sister in no time." The boy said nothing. "What do you plan to do once you've rescued her?" He asked. They'd never talked about that. Ever.

Len shook his head and set the roll aside before going to grab his cloak. Apparently they weren't talking about it now either. "Thank you miss Gumi for the use of your shop," Gakupo was saying with a courteous bow to the girl.

She smiled and nodded, "no problem. Come back after you've killed that ol' beastie. I want to hear the story."

"I'm sure you will," Gakupo said quietly. "I'm sure everyone will."

"They'll write about you," Gumi said as Len passed her. "The boy who did the impossible." He paused a moment to look back at her. "You're a real hero Len. You have friends who support you and you're kind and gentle even behind the mask you wear. They'll talk about you for generations to come."

The boy just stared back at her for a long time then nodded. He had no doubt in his mind they'd talk about him. They already were. It didn't matter though. Nothing like that mattered to the boy. It was all for his sister. "Thank you," he said though before turning and walking out of the shop without another word.

He knew he'd never see her again.

"They're almost to the mountains," Ruko said to the oracle as she overlooked her army.

"Yes I'm aware of that," Luka said narrowing her eyes. "Something's happened," she said bitterly. "Last night when the moon was just barely full I felt it. The boy's discovered something. Something disconcerting."

"What do you mean mistress?" Ruko asked frowning. Luka was an oracle and as such she had visions. Small ones but they were still visions none the less. If she was worried about something now… "Have you seen something different than what you saw before?"

"The future is always changing," Luka said frowning as she turned to the girl. "I saw her dying. The diva stopped her song. Yet the beast has given her a second chance at life. For some reason."

Ruko's eyes widened, "but mistress, the beast never lets a diva live if she's-"

"Yes, I know," Luka growled turning back to her army. "Go forth to the east! Seek out the boy and his companions and have them struck down! I will not let them get away with this." The army replied in an uproar before marching out for the hills. "If she is saved, the beast will not show mercy on the world."