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Part 73: Doom, Thy Name Be Alika

Info

Writer

Kitty Ocean

Character Introductions

Alika

Character Deaths

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Arcs

Hikari Crystals Arc

Alika's Parents Arc

Timeline Entries

The Story

Endless Rain

Part 73: Doom, Thy Name Be Alika

© Kitty Ocean

The night was falling and even though the rain was falling slowly, it once again started to fill the soil of The Valley of the Endless Rain. It was a good thing the ground could swallow this much but still… in a far, far away river, the water started to grow and grow. Slowly yet steadily, the ground was turning into water…

“Hitori-sama?” Hana knocked on the door. “Please, Hitori-sama, you should get some rest.”

“Hana?” Hitori wondered. “Since when do you call me sama?”

“You are my Chieftess, I should start showing you the respect you deserve.”

Hitori turned away. “The title you think is mine, is only there for show.” She looked at the dripping rain. “This tribe has no Chieftess…”

“Yes, we have!” Hana grabbed her arm. “I know that you regret the day you took Shuhan-sama’s place, but it was and is your destiny!”

“But I can’t do this!” Hitori cried. “I…” But her moment of weeping was replied by a smack in the face.

“Pull yourself together!” Hana yelled. “This isn’t you speaking; this is The Key speaking! Yes, I know about it; Typhoon told me all about it. The Key carries the load of the Magical Hikari Crystals; a heavy burden only one can carry. But my friend, my best friend whom I’ve known my entire life, she can carry this load. The Key cannot, that’s why The Key looks for a human strong enough to carry the load. But if you let The Key take over… then you will crumble apart, and with that the hope of ever escaping this valley.” She looked outside. “Don’t you think I noticed it? Do you think I’m not scared? Even the smallest child notices how the rivers are growing, how close by Hiyou Lake has come… The valley is drowning, Hitori… the valley is drowning…”

“Tebok, I’m going to rest.” Lana stated coldly. “I warn you to let no-one near my tent, or come close to me. If even a mouse comes near, I’ll have your head.” She poked with his finger on his chest.

“Yes, milady.” Tebok bowed. “Rest assure; none will come close to thee.”

On her way to her comfortable and luxurious bed, Lana let her finger slide over the crystal ball that was designed to keep the Hikari Crystal of the Soul safe from any harm, as well as allowing others to carry the crystal if needed.

“Oh, my dear…” Lana whispered, while slowly undressing herself. “I can hear your hum. Such a sweet sad tune… you want to get to your friends, don’t you? Awe, you poor thing…. Since this glass prison is such a success, I ordered my men to create four more balls. And then we’ll go and get your friends… tomorrow morning, at sunrise… during the exchange…”

Hitori put her nightgown on. “What a fool I am.” Hitori scolded herself. “To let some divine power take control of me. Hana is right, even though I dislike it, this is my fate and I will carry it with dignity. Tonight, my village, your weeping Chieftess will die… and a new day will arise for Hitori, the strong Chieftess of the Mikomi! Lady Hitori is no longer lost in the Sea of Sorrow… Lady Hitori has reached the shore!”

Tebok took his watch before the tent. He could easily order his men to keep watch, but if they would screw up, he would surely have to die. And Tebok could not die; he had so much more plans; one more far fetched than the other. “When we have the crystals, that will show my loyalty for her and the Sendo. She will love me, love me more than anyone… and then she will perhaps even marry me… the new Lord of the Sendo... I love the sound of then… why hadn’t I thought about that before?” His muttering was unnoticed by his men and Tebok made certain none would hear his scheme. He was too experienced to let his possible plan slip by. “It could be a nice idea… And if that missy has any more stupid quests, then I’ll aid my little wifey… after all, accidents can happen… Perhaps I should start looking into this… it could have possibilities…”

Hitori opened up her eyes and yawned. “Morning already?” She mumbled, being blinded by the light of the sun. Hold on, the light of the sun? Hitori shook up, staring around. “Did the rain stop?!”

The Lady of the Mikomi observed her surroundings; she seemed to be on the top of a… a canyon?! The sun was shining high, drying out the land, but Hitori could not feel it’s heat. “Okay, I said I wanted to change… but I didn’t mean that everything had to change! Is this the power of The Key?!”

“Oh, you just shut up!” A woman’s voice called out. “Are you truly this stupid, or do you just pretend you are? This is not The Valley of the Endless Rain.”

Hitori looked around, but could not find the woman who the voice belonged to, even the voice sounded awfully familiar. Hitori carefully walked to the edge of the platform she was on, and looked down. It was awfully steep and deep.

“By the Sendo, the Mikomi blood is indeed stupid!” The woman’s voice called out. “Over here, you twit, on the other side of the canyon!”

Hitori looked up, at first confused, but then suddenly scared! “L-L-Lana!” Hitori pointed. “What… what are you doing here?!”

“Waiting for you, duh.” Lana folded her arms. “Obviously I couldn’t find out anything before you woke up. Seems we’re stuck here, love.”

“Where is here?” Hitori asked confused. “Am I dreaming?”

“If only, no of course not!” Lana yelled loudly. “We’re having this huge battle here and the main prize is that orb over there!”

Hitori looked aside, and saw another pillar Lana was pointing at. On the pillar was an orb of pinkish light, shining brightly, but blinding none. “Is… is that…?”

“Lady Hitori, Lady Lana… judgement day has arrived…” A bright voice sang.

Both Tebok and Hana had the same odd feeling at the exact same moment. Both stepped up; one from his watch, the other from her bed. At the exact same moment, both opened the entry to their Lady’s room. Carefully, they stepped closer, observing their Lady, who seemed to be sound asleep.

Hana placed her hand on her friend’s body, but no matter how hard she shook, her best friend did not wake up. At first, the girl was worried, but then she heard a strange noise. Quickly, she left the room for the sound only she could hear, and reached the place where three of the five Hikari Crystals were present. They were vibrating; humming softly and showing an strange glow. “What is going on?” Hana mumbled; also wondering if Moyasu’s Hikari Crystal would do the exact same thing…

Tebok too noticed his comatose Lady and turned around. He saw the glass orb with the cloth over it; the prison of the Light of the Soul. He took the cloth off and saw… a simple pinkish crystal; no longer emitting a bright light. An ordinary crystal, with no powers, no energy…nothing.

“Damn it…” Tebok cursed. “Seems they still had one little trick upon their sleeves… Well… don’t worry, my Empress… I still have one little trick upon my sleeve!”

“Judgement Day?” Hitori asked worried, looking at a pinkish light; in the shape of a woman.

“Of course!” Lana called out. “What else did you expect? That the Light of the Soul would allow itself to be carried away this easily? Think again! The battle for the Light of the Soul can only be decided on one way!”

“Through the soul…” The woman’s figure started to take shape more and more. A pink gown; long blond hair; dancing butterflies…

“Siren?!” Hitori called out. “Did you cause this?!”

Siren shook her face sadly. “Alas, my dear friend, I did no such thing. My Key, you should have found the crystal before she did… it belongs to my beloved. But she owns it now and a battle for the Light of the Soul must follow.” Siren floated close to Hitori. “Lady, you must not let her win! If she wins, then all the Hikari Crystals will turn into the dreaded Kurayami Crystals; the key to unlocking Layou’s prison…”

“Oh, I will win this stupid battle, you silly Guardian.” Lana called out. “I’m miles beyond her league; I know everything about dimensional planes.”

“Dimenwhat?” Hitori looked confused.

“Bad Lana!” A strange looking butterfly puppet called out.

“Lana is mean!” A crying puppet called out; looking exactly the same! The puppets looked like… Siren, the fairy with butterfly wings, but then with an enormous yet cute head, and small body.

“Lana is evil!” A third puppet popped up around Lana.

Lana tried to swat the annoying ‘flies’ away, but they annoyingly buzzed around her. Hitori could not help but giggle; the puppets were such a cute sight and they were faster than Lana expected. One stuck out her tongue, the other sat on Lana’s head and the third flew one circle after the other around Lana’s head.

“Hitori is sweet!” A new puppet popped up over Hitori’s shoulder.

“Win! Win!” A cheering puppet dressed as a cheerleader danced. More and more Siren puppets showed up, all having their own personalities and quirks.

Hitori noticed the tall, mystical and beautiful Serenity Soulheart had vanished, leaving Hitori and Lana behind, accompanied by puppets from herself; both being a ravine away from the one crystal that would either save or doom the valley…

Tebok looked around. All his plans; already washed away by the rain. Sure, it could be set aside and it was nothing more than a plan. Humans make plans all the time, but only a few are put into reality. Now was the time to put his other shelved plan into action. He thought of it as a stupid plan that time, but now it could be the one thing that help his Empress achieve her goal.

“You.” He ordered a soldier. “Wake her up.” The solider nodded, and quickly hurried away. Only a few minutes later he returned; walking quickly with… a little girl in a night gown dangling on his hand. She rubbed her eyes, yawning. loudly, but almost tripping at the same time.

The soldier pushed her forward and all of a sudden… Tebok kneeled. “Hello, my dear…” He said with a smile. “Did the soldier have to wake you up?” The little girl yawned again and nodded. “What a mean soldier he is…” Tebok sympathised with her. “But I have some good news for you.”

“You do?” The little girl asked. She was around 6 years old and seemed to think Tebok was a nice man… if she only knew the truth!

Tebok smiled and nodded. “But first I have some bad news. Remember how we found you three days ago? We pulled you out of the river where you had fallen into. The kind Empress Lana knew about your past and how you lost your sweet mother. She put every man onto the task and we succeeded!”

“Did you find my mommy?” The girl looked hopefully.

Tebok shook his face. “Alas, my child, no matter how much powers the wonderful Empress Lana has, she could not cure your mother. She is now with the great Afrain above… but she’s still with you… in your heart.”

The girl looked at the floor, as if her last hope had just washed away with the rain. “I… I guess that’s good news then… that she’s with Afrain…”

“Oh, my child!” Tebok embraced the pure hearted girl. “How I admire your strength! I could not have faced this, if I was in your shoes… but this was not the good, nor the bad news… Come, I wish to show you someone…”

Tebok raised the girl into the air and walked out of the camp. He nodded at a few soldiers, who let him pass. From behind a tree, Tebok pointed at a carriage. “You see that man?” He whispered to the girl.

“Is he a bad man?” The girl asked. “Is that why he’s in a cage? Is that why he looks so sad?”

“Oh, no, no, no dear child!” Tebok acted shocked. “This is not a bad man. You see, we put him in there for his own protection. He’s put under an evil, evil spell, by the evil witch Hitori. She used magical crystals to wipe away his memory and making him confused. He could hurt others or himself in this state.” He looked at the merchant, who was once known as Chounin. It was still his name, but the soldiers referred more to him as ‘the bait’, or ‘the one who would be exchanged’. Tebok put the girl down and walked away a bit. Then he kneeled down. “We found him for you, Alika, but we’re afraid that he will not remember you…”

“Remember me?” The girl asked confused, seeing the man through a few open spots in the bushes. “But who…?”

“Alika… we found your father… but the evil witch Hitori put a curse upon him…”

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