Chaotic Light: A CBST-Verse Adventure

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix pulled away.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Star gritted her teeth. “Pheonix… I don’t want to hurt you. Please.” It was true; hopefully, he would feel that. 

She rummaged around in his mind to find…. Fear. Sheer terror, in fact. And it only made it worse to know that she had made him feel that way. Author, this was a mess. A terrible mess. Why did she want to keep him safe?! She should kill him, she should KILL him!

Edited February 11, 2022 by Zephrun's Imperium

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix continued to back away.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Look, I killed her, alright! I'm not trying to hide that I'm guilty. But I..." She moved her hand away from where her knife was hidden, raising both arms in surrender. "I can explain, I promise."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix waited for said explanation. 

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"The Narrators killed someone very dear to me," Star said. "Someone I was in love with. Do you know what love is, Pheonix?"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

"No..." replied Pheonix.

It must be very terrible, thought Pheonix, if it causes this...

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Love is the most wonderful thing in the universe," she said, taking a shaky breath. "It's when you care about someone more than yourself, more than anything. It... Well, it makes you do crazy things. Maverick - my husband, my lover - and I were together for ten years before..." Star cursed herself for breaking up. "They killed him!" she said. "They... I have to do this!"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix continued to back away, concerned by Star's growing incoherence.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Star could sense that Pheo didn't understand. "I-I can show you! Mind to mind! With my telepathy."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix remembered the blood.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Not hearing a no, Star touched Pheo's mind delicately, giving him impressions of memories and feelings Star had had. "Please," she said. "Try to understand."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix reflexively threw up barriers against the intrusion.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Quote

Mental barriers? How effective will they be?

 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix heard the echoes of Corpse's murderous thoughts.

He backed up, panicked, then turned and ran.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Star cursed again, running after him. A wall appeared a few feet in front of Pheonix, she Narrated. "I'm NOT going to hurt you!" And she found that it was true this time. She really wasn't. This is YOUR fault, she thought to Corpse. Author curse you!

Edited February 11, 2022 by Zephrun's Imperium

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

The Corpse advanced methodically. Star obviously was having trouble with this one. End him . . . Quickly.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"No, Corpse!" Star turned around, pausing in her sprint, trusting the wall to keep Pheo from going anywhere. "I'm NOT killing him. The boy is innocent."

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

The body glared at Star, not stopping in its advance. We agreed . . . All of them.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix could feel the malevolence emanating. He ran around the wall.

There. A door. He ran towards it.

Edited February 11, 2022 by xinoehp512

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

"Gah, Author-" She snapped, a titanium cage forming around the fleeing Narrator, the wall disappearing. "I will deal with you later," Star told Corpse. She shook her head of blonde hair, frustrated as she walked forward. "You can Narrate away the cage, just... stay. Please."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Pheonix ran face-first into the side of the cage, causing it to clatter across the floor like a rectangular human hamster ball made out of metal. He stared wide-eyed at the Corpse, scooching over to place his hand on the doorknob.

[Zephrun’s Imperium they/he]

Star grimaced. That had not been her intent. "Sorry. I... I can't do anything right, dammit." She got rid of the cage, offering a hand to help Pheo up. "I... I'm just... I..." She growled, holding back tears of frustration. This was getting out of hand. 

[The Ward's Guard he/him]

The Corpse watched for a moment. It didn't take a psychic to realize that Star was . . . Distracted was the wrong word. However, it intended to watch for the time being. Perhaps she had a plot, or she could be trying a far more subtle approach to handling this situation by building trust with this Narrator, so others might here of that to dissuade them from believing any rumors about murder. 

It would watch. Carefully.

[xinoehp512 he/him]

On 1/22/2022 at 5:43 PM, xinoehp512 said:

"Hmm," uttered Xinoehp pensively. "Well, perhaps he has not wandered far! Let us check my castle."

Michael blinked. "...what does your castle have to do with any of this... oh, that castle was yours?"

"Indeed!" declared Xinoehp proudly. "Although... I believe you will have to take me there, since my powers are bound."

Michael blinked. "All right, then." He closed his eyes and halted his breath, falling Silent.

Stand close, he ordered. You don't want to be left behind.

In a flash of dark, they were gone.

"Here we are!" said Xinoehp proudly.

Michael looked up at the towering castle before them. Dark stone bricks rose to the heavens- neither inviting nor forbidding, neither spotless nor run-down. He stared, and felt time rush by.

"There is someone!" announced Xinoehp, snapping Michael back to reality. "Are they your brother?"

Michael squinted his eyes, his heart leaping. There was indeed a figure on the castle steps. Could it be? Had Antonio just wandered off during the battle? His eyes resolved the figure- and he let out a sigh. "That's a girl, Xinoehp,"

"Fair enough!" agreed Xinoehp after matching Michael's squint. "Nonetheless! She may have seen where he went." He marched off, and after a moment of surprise, Michael followed him.

--

The girl watched warily as Xinoehp approached her. As he got closer, he realized he recognized her face.

"Ghanderflaffle!" he called out. "Fate has blessed our paths to cross once more! I trust you fought valiantly in my absence?"

The girl- Narrator Ghanderflaffle - glanced at the ground and mumbled something unintelligible. Xinoehp frowned. "Ghanderflaffle?" he prompted. "Are you... well?"

Ghanderflaffle's eyes widened slightly, her pupils dilating. She shook.

"No," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Xino... I... I felt it. The darkness. When... when that thing touched me. I... I was powerless. Nothing." She shuddered violently. "Dead." She raised her haunted gaze to meet Xinoehp's eyes. "He did it to you, too... didn't he?"

Instinctively, Xinoehp reached for where the dark figure- the one that had taken his power- had touched him. He felt a chill run through his soul.

Ghanderflaffle stared off into the distance. "One misstep. One failed move... and I'd be dead." She shuddered again. "Or worse." She looked at her hands. "I took this power for granted, you know? I never even conceived the possibility that someone could take it away."

Xinoehp heard Michaels footsteps as he approached cautiously, stopping a safe distance away. He said nothing.

"It took five minutes for it to come back." She snorted. "Ha! I've lived a million times that long. A billion. A trillion. But those five minutes... they felt like a lifetime." She met Xinoehp's gaze once more. "I'm sorry, Xino. I can't do this anymore. I can't risk... that... happening again."

Xinoehp blinked in surprise. "Wait-" he shook his head "- it came back? Your power?"

Ghanderflaffle cocked her head, confused. "...yeah, they have. It looked like a little floating ball of light. It floated into my chest, and I was whole again. Haven't yours?" Her face paled as she read her answer from Xinoehp's expression. She swallowed. "I... I think I'm going to go. What if he comes back, you know?" She quickly ascended to her feet. "See ya. Or not, I guess. I'll be going where no one can find me for the next million years or so."

With that, she vanished. Xinoehp stared at the spot where she had been.

"Should we... go inside?" asked Michael from behind Xinoehp..

"Oh... yes, I suppose." Xinoehp looked up at his castle, then down at his hands, then up at his castle again. He took a deep breath and followed Michael through the front door.

Edited February 14, 2022 by xinoehp512