Animula Choragi 24: Razzle Dazzle
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes
Ah, ah, ah
Tomorrow comes!
Furina raised Julie and Barbara’s hands high in the air, beaming with happiness as tears of joy and sorrow streamed down her face and made an absolute mess of her make up. The crowd at the Théâtre de l’Ondine was on their feet, giving thunderous applause. Off to the side, Emile and Marcel were clapping as well, Emile with a broad grin on his face, Marcel leaning on his friend as he tried to hide his own tears.
After 371 days and more than 200 performances, Les Misérables, starring Furina de Fontaine, was ending its triumphant Parisian Run.
Cast and crew members appeared to drape Furina and the other cast members in flowers and bouquets, and despite having told herself she wasn’t going to cry, Furina found she was weeping tears of joy as she waved and bowed to the audience, who continued to stand on their feet and applaud for long minutes.
They love me. They actually love ME. Not because of trickery, or because they think I’m the Archon…but because they adore the art I can create with my friends.
As if to reinforce that, Yennifer and Diane appeared, with Diane bouncing up into Furina’s arms and placing a wreath on her head before giving her maman a big kiss. Furina’s heart felt so full, she thought she would explode.
In the previous few days, there had been interviews with the press, though the principal journalist who had scored the major scoop grinned and Furina gave her a hug and a sisterly kiss on both cheeks. “That was amazing! One for the ages!” Charlotte said, then produced an audio recorder. “Now that the stage run of your first show has ended, how are you feeling?”
“Loved,” Furina said, putting one arm around Yennifer as her lover came to stand beside her and holding Diane tightly between them. “I spent so many years feeling like a fraud, a failure, and that I was all alone in the world? But now? Now I feel like the happiest girl alive!”
The kiss she gave Yennifer then involved a lot more tongue and was far less chaste than the kiss she’d given her adopted little sister/older daughter. It also promised that Furina would be getting very little sleep tonight by the way Yennifer put her hand on Furina’s chest and squeezed ever so slightly.
Still, they had to keep things at least mildly professional for the cameras. Furina waved to the crowd again, then it was off to Wanmin Restaurant with the cast and crew as everyone raucously celebrated the monumental run.
“Thank you all for coming, and for being the best damn group of thespians I’ve ever had the pleasure to host in my theater!” Marcel cried, raising a glass on high as he stood red faced and beaming atop a table. Everyone cheered and hooted, and Marcel paused to take a long drink. “Drink up! We’ve got little Miss Christ here if we run short of the wine, eh?”
Furina had to blush and hide her face behind her own glass as everyone whooped and applauded, though she did laugh at her own silliness in the end. Thankfully, it seemed no one besides her inner circle had put together the fact that transmuting water into wine was not something an ordinary Vision Holder was able to do. And thus, her identity as the Hydro Archon was secure, at least for now.
“It truly was a great run,” Marcel said, looking at his glass with a somewhat maudlin expression when the applause died down. “I can count the number of shows where we weren’t sold out on one hand. That’s insane. It didn’t matter the season, the weather, or the fact that we’d had hundreds of shows just like it before: Night after night, even when we had double performances, completely sold out, with more in the lobby begging just to hear Furina sing!”
There were more chuckles, but now everyone was looking at Furina with something akin to the awe and worship they’d have shown if they had known she was a god. This time, she didn’t blush, or attempt to show false modesty. Instead, she raised her own glass. “I couldn’t have done it without you putting your faith in me, Marcel, or with everyone else putting on stellar performances. Why, I think we’ve seen the start of at least a dozen incredible acting careers! Why, you Julien, have your own television series starting! Barbara, you’ve put out your own album! And Thomas, I hear you’re starring in a movie!”
“With you as the lead actress,” Thomas laughed. “And I’m not the lead, that’s Jean Fucking Reno himself in the male lead, with you and Julie as the star-crossed lovers! Let’s hear it for La petite Océanide!”
There was thunderous applause this time, and plenty of whooping. Furina grinned, though she blushed as well, and bowed dramatically. With Emile’s help, she had sold the script for La petite Océanide to Pathé SAS, with François Ozon to direct, with filming starting the next spring. That was actually one reason the run of Les Misérables was coming to an end: Furina was to pursue other projects, including a film adaptation of the famous play to come in future years.
And, of course, there would be further stage runs, if one's not so lengthy. Furina would be going on a world tour with many of the same cast members of Les Misérables to perform on the West End, Broadway, Tokyo, Baghdad, and, on Fortuna’s advice, Honolulu, Hawaii. A bit of an odd choice, but Furina had excused it as “we’re already all the way out there, and besides, we’ll have a wonderful vacation afterwards!”
Fortuna had not been clear exactly why Furina was going to be needed in Hawaii on New Year's Eve this year, but it had been decreed and scheduled for a limited three-day run.
Further speechifying was interrupted when Diane burst into the dining area, a platter filled with hot food on her head, with a nervous Ling and Chef Mao fluttering about her to keep her from dumping the dinner everywhere. “DUN DA-DUNNNNN! DINNER IS SERVED!”
There were mounds of rice and noodles, as a dozen different cooked vegetable dishes and tofu. Some of the members of the crew were perplexed by the lack of meat, until their friends quietly informed them that Furina and her family were all vegetarian. That was a somewhat recent development for Furina, but out of respect for Charlotte and Yennifer’s own dish preferences, Furina had slowly but surely become a vegetarian herself, and they were now raising Diane that way.
It had taken visits to half a dozen pediatricians (and one very confused veterinarian) before they had finally gotten an answer to the question “is it alright for our cat daughter to become vegetarian”. Cats, after all, were obligate carnivores, and couldn’t very well survive on a diet of mostly vegetable protein, though she did get plenty of cheese and eggs in her diet as well.
Eventually, one of the foremost doctors in France had thrown up his hands. “She has the gut and digestive tract of a little girl, not a little kitten! She’s obviously thriving and healthy, and even putting on weight from her diet. Yes, your daughter can be a vegetarian! Just make sure she gets enough protein!”
“Diane, just because we’re vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to make everyone else eat the same way we do,” Yennifer told the little menace as she slurped up noodles and kung-pao tofu. That was a bit too spicy for Furina, who was enjoying hers with black bean sauce instead.
“Well, they can have whatever they want, as long as they’re willing to cook it!” Diane huffed, puffing out her chest. She raised one hand, pointing up at the ceiling. “I have decided! I am going to DESTROY THE FRENCH RESTAURANT INDUSTRY! No more will the French dine on disgusting meat, but on healthy vegetarian alternatives! Just like my maman and mutti!”
“You know, when I told you to stop trying to cook the rats and pigeons you caught, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Yennifer groaned, but Furina wasn’t listening. Instead, she was hearing something else, even as the room’s temperature plummeted.
Bronya? What are you doing!? My daughter!?
The child’s heart is full of love, and she swears vengeance on those who have wronged her. How can I not recognize such mortal ambition as one of mine own?
“Huh?” Diane said, her ears perking up and swiveling about. Those in the restaurant who weren’t Vision holders didn’t even notice the sudden swirl of Cryo, but Charlotte, Barbara, and Julie very much did, all turning to look at Diane, who held out her hands, even as the icy ghost of a queen appeared in the air above her. The specter of the Tsaritsa extended a hand with a wintery smile, a gem of winter’s heart forming there.
“YES! MY MAGIC POWERS!” Diane shrieked in delight, and snatched her vision right out of the hand of the White Witch of Winter. She grinned and held her Vision aloft, even as the Tsaritsa vanished into an icy mist.
“Mon Dieu,” Emile breathed, his face pale. “That…that was the Devil Queen of Moscow herself! What…Furina, this is-”
“PROOF THAT I AM AMAZING AND AWESOME!” Diane cackled, gripping her Vision with both hands. “Yes! I shall destroy the French Restaurant industry, and then, I shall-”
But Furina had already scooped Diane up, while Yennifer hastily collected their things. Charlotte was scrambling over with Barbara, whose own face paled.
“Sorry everyone, I need to put my daughter to bed,” Furina babbled, even as she stumbled towards the door. How were they going to get Diane on a train? They’d have to take a taxi. But if they took a taxi, what if the driver saw her Vision? It wasn’t as bad as it used to be but-
The door swung open, and an exasperated looking Dehya stuck her head in. “Hey, I know it’s a private party and all, but Little-Miss-Know-It-All said-woah!”
“Oh thank the Seven,” Yennifer sighed. “Do you happen to have a car?”
“Car? I got me a Ford Expedition! Damn thing is too big for the streets in Paris I tell you, but it does seat eight!” Deyha laughed.
“Furina, please, you don’t have to go,” Emile panted, hurrying forward. “We all understand and- uh, hello, Mademoiselle. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Dehya glanced at Emile and frowned. “Hey, are you Emile? I’m supposed to give you this.”
“He’s our director and my screenwriter,” Furina said, sliding past Dehya to find an absolutely massive red vehicle parked outside. The thing was enormously wide and long, and Furina had no idea how Dehya had driven such a monstrosity through the streets of Paris. Was this thing even legal?
“+33 6 39 99 12 55, she likes cats, and Indian food, make sure you wear blue, it suits you?” Emile read as he opened the note.
Dehya’s head spun around, her expression an odd mixture that Furina couldn’t quite place. “EXCUSE you!? Why do you have my- Ooooo, that sneaky little minx! Is that why she had me wear this damn dress!?”
Taking a second look at Dehya, Furina saw she was wearing a rather stunning red halter dress that showed off her curves and legs nicely, as well as 2cm wedge heels. She actually fit right in with the partiers, though that bracelet she was wearing looked a bit off, and Furina knew it was full of tinkertech that could be activated in a moment to give Deyha body armor and a gun.
Actually, she should probably modify the woman’s gear. Discreetly, of course, but Fortuna was the world’s greatest seer, and that meant she needed the world’s best protection.
Growling, Dehya grabbed Emile and flung him into the passenger seat of the Explorer, then jerked her thumb at everyone else. “Right, all of you into the car! Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome can explain to me why Fortuna thought he needed my phone number and ideas for a date!”
Furina didn’t protest, and she, Yennifer, Diane, Charlotte, Julie, and Barbara all piled into the back of the giant vehicle. There was even a carseat waiting for Diane, and Furina got her strapped into it. The moment Diane was buckled in, Dehya peeled away from the curb, tires squealing and rubber burning as she whooped in delight.
“Haha! Alright, first things first. What’s the emergency? I assume Fortuna wouldn’t have sent me here unless there was one,” Dehya said, keeping her eyes on the road as she weaved through the narrow lanes, nearly running the much smaller cars off of the road.
“I GOT MY MAGIC POWERS!” Diane whooped, holding her Vision aloft.
“Huh?” Dehya’s eyes flicked to her mirror, and she grimaced. “Oh. Uh, congrats, kid. Did it have to be a Cryo Vision?”
“Guess she just looks up to her big sister,” Charlotte said, leaning over from the back seat and ruffling Diane’s hair. “At least you probably won’t get arrested!”
“Mutti is a lawyer! She can get me out of jail!” Diane proclaimed smugly.
Yennifer reached around Diane’s carseat and took Furina’s hand, squeezing it. “Things have changed. You won’t be arrested for getting a Cryo Vision. However, that was the Tsaritsa herself who appeared, however briefly, to grant you your Vision, Kätzchen. That will have people talking, and quite concerned.”
“She only did that because she is maman’s friend!” Diane huffed.
That made Furina wince, especially when Emile turned around and looked at her from the front seat. “Furina, you…it’s true, isn’t it?”
“Diane is just being silly,” Yennifer interjected. “She’s young, and it’s past her bedtime.”
“I wouldn’t go around saying your mom is friends with the Evil Queen herself,” Dehya agreed with a nod. “Guess that explains why you people needed a ride. Alright, that leaves you, Emile. You have ten seconds to explain why Fortuna thought you needed my phone number!”
Emile flushed a deep red, while Charlotte and Barbara let out an “OOOOOOOOOOO” and Julie giggled and covered her mouth.
“I, er, well, that is-” Emile coughed. “Well, you see, um, you are a very attractive woman, and-”
“Yeah, thanks, but you’re like some big shot theater director. You hang out with smoke shows like Julie and Furina all day! Why the heck are you even looking at me?!” Dehya demanded, gripping the steering wheel and leaning forward.
“I would never date one of my actresses!” Emile spluttered. “That, that would not be right! And, er, I’m not sure if you noticed…but Furina is, ah, uninterested and taken, and Julie, um, well…”
“I would have gone out with you, Emile,” Julie volunteered, which made Charlotte and Barbara giggle even more. Then she leaned over Furina and put a hand to her mouth, staying in a stage whisper, “He’s quite sweet, you know, Dehya. Not a bad cook either, from what I’ve heard, and he’s very neat.”
“Hrmm,” Dehya grunted, glancing at Emile briefly before going back to barreling around and through traffic. “Just so you know, I’m 5’8” and 177lbs, and I could both bench you and break you in half, and that isn’t because I have some bullshit superpowers, it’s because I hit the gym every day. But don’t think I’m some testosterone fueled bro just because I work in security and could kick your ass ten different ways! I’m a damn sensitive soul who likes bubble baths, cute cats, and whose favorite poet is Leonard Cohen!”
Furina held her breath as she looked at Emile. He was tall, about 185cm, but quite thin, and while Furina knew that Emile enjoyed taking long walks to help him think, she didn’t think he’d been to the gym since he’d graduated from school.
Emile blinked a few times at Dehya’s, then, softly, recited in English,
You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat.
You´d have to live alone to know
How good that feels, how sweet.
My mirror twin, my next of kin,
I´d know you in my sleep.
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep?
“...dammit, Fortuna,” Deyha groaned. “Alright, FINE! You can take me out. Twist my arm!”
Emile grinned. “I actually make quite good butter chicken, and I have two cats, Tragédie and Comédie. I have pictures, if you would like to see them.”
“Not while I’m driving! But yes,” Dehya admitted, blushing rather furiously now.
“I do have to ask…who is this Fortuna you keep referring to?” Emile inquired.
“Pain in my ass,” Dehya muttered, then coughed when Furina and Yennifer both glared at her. “Sorry! Uh, trying to watch my language around the kid, I just…not used to polite company and stuff. Anyway, Fortuna’s the woman whose bodyguard I am. She’s uh…well, she’s a lot.”
“You mentioned you work in security? Your accent sounds Quebecois. You are from Canada? Or, sorry, the Hegemony?” Emile asked.
“Fuck the Hegemony! Bunch a damned traitors!” Dehya snapped, even as Furina glared daggers at her and covered Diane’s ears. “Canada, joining with the USA?! We beat those ba-aad people off in 1812, and we coulda done it again! Makes me want to renounce my citizenship and go back to being Algerian!”
Emile glanced at Furina in the mirror. “And how do you feel about living in the lands of the Hydro Archon, Lord Focalors?”
Furina stiffened slightly at that. Well. Emile wasn’t an idiot, and she’d told him an awful lot about Teyvat as they wrote La petite Océanide together.
“Eh, she seems like a nice lady. Even if she did make Fortuna twice as annoying by giving her a Vision. Heck, better to live in the lands of a god than not, right? I mean, main thing keeping me from going back to Algeria is I don’t fancy being burned alive by Ash Beast or killed by some rando warlord. That ain’t happenin’ in an Archon’s country, even if Focalors is a weird recluse who only shows up once in a blue moon.”
I’m starting to dislike this woman, Focales huffed in Furina’s mind. Dear, why didn’t you tell me my darling granddaughter received a Vision!? This is cause for celebration!
Mother, you spent 500 years living in the Oratrice, and now you spend all your time watching soap operas in my apartment. You hardly ever go out, and the only time you do is when I make you. Calling you an odd recluse isn’t an unapt description.
…just because she’s correct doesn’t mean she isn’t a rude brat.
By the time they arrived at the resort where Fortuna lived, Diane was fast asleep despite Dehya’s wild driving, and Furina was half convinced that Emile and Dehya were going to skip right past the dating stage and get married in the next week by the way they were gushing over their favorite poets and dumb internet memes. She’d had no idea that Emile had spent so much time online, or that he had his own Dailymotion Channel that Charlotte had helped him set up, dedicated to in depth reviews of old stage plays and movies. It was rather sweet, actually.
Yes, well, perhaps I’ll forgive Dehya if she continues to be this adorable. I never would have thought that two of your friends would be so compatible! It seems that I will have to add a new category to my scheming.
Mother! You’re going to start shipping our friends?! Furina mentally gasped, actually rather pleased at the idea.
Shipping? I have very little interest in maritime trade, Regina of All Waters though I might have been. What? What did I say? Stop laughing at me, young lady!
“Ah, Mademoiselle Fontaine!” a beaming staff member, dressed in an old style bellhop costume with white gloves said, cried as soon as Furina disembarked out with a grouchy Diane on her shoulder. “The ballroom is waiting for you and your guests!”
“I, er, thank you,” Furina said, and suppressed a sigh. Fortuna was quite wonderful, but it was a bit trying to interact with someone who saw the future even better than she did. This was why she did her best to live her life as though she couldn’t see Fate at all. Well, aside from the important bits that would help save the world.
The staff member led them to a small ballroom that already had four people in it. The room itself was decorated with rather colorful scenery: There were cardboard cutouts featuring a monkey in a fez, and a camel with sunglasses on it, as well as various palm trees, sandstone buildings with teal colored domes, and prop umbrellas and beach chairs. The tables themselves had fancy drinks with little umbrellas in them, and a large banner was hung up that read “WELCOME TO MOROCCO!”
Sitting at one of the tables was Fortuna, who was sipping what looked like a pina colada, dressed in a floppy straw hat, a blue and white striped bikini, and wearing an outrageously large pair of sunglasses. Sitting next to her in his normal suit was a perplexed looking Geoffry, who nodded to the newcomers.
The other two people in the room were none other than the Hydro Dragon, holding her own sleeping daughter. Bailu was dressed in an adorable little Minnie Mouse skirt and had a large red and white polka-dot bow in her hair, while Keiga was wearing a simple blouse and jeans. Notably, however, Bailu’s horns and tail were currently missing, while Keiga herself had a subtle aura about her that Furina recognized as Yokai Magic. It made it very difficult to recognize Keiga for who she was, unless, of course, you were an Archon who saw through illusions woven of hydro magic as easily as you did a pane of clear glass.
“They’re here,” Geoffry said, sounding rather exhausted. “Now will you please tell me just what this is about, Fortuna?”
“Of course,” Fortuna said, standing up and setting her drink down as she picked up Eighty, who had on a woven straw hat of his own, as well as a miniature pina colada, though his was plastic. “Congraduations! You have all won an all expenses paid vacation to Casablanca, Morocco.”
“We have?!” Julie gasped in delight, a wide grin spreading over her face. Then her expression fell. “Oh, I mean, congratulations, Furina…”
“No,” Fortuna said, and held her hand out ot Geoffry. “The list, please.”
Geoffry produced an envelope, which he opened and took out a list. “And the winners are…Julie Mao Yu, Barbara d’Orleans, Charlotte Lustria, Yennifer Lustria, Furina de Fontaine, Diane de Fontaine, Dehya May, Emile Caron, Geoffry Pellick, Yoshimotto Chiyo, Yoshimotto Riku, and Fortuna Tabib. Huh. Didn’t know that was your last name, actually.”
“It’s my mother’s,” Fortuna said with a slight smile. “You do all have your passports, don’t you?”
“I…well, I actually do,” Emile admitted, scratching at his head with one hand and touching his pocket with the other. “I had the strangest dream I would need it, and just so happened to slip it in my pocket.”
“An intrepid reporter is always ready for adventure, and thus, always has her passport!” Charlotte declared, producing hers and holding up her fingers in a “V” sign.
“Er, yes, I even have Furina and Diane’s,” Yennifer admitted, reaching into her purse and pulling out the documents.
“Excellent. We will be travelling aboard a private jet, so our flight will leave whenever we are ready. I took the liberty of procuring all of your necessities,” Fortuna said, and gestured to a row of suitcases that were neatly tagged with everyone’s names on them.
“What she means is that Geoff and I did a little breaking and entering earlier,” Dehya admitted. “Uh, sorry. Though I’m a little jealous Geoff got to do your place, Emile.”
“Hold on just a minute. You broke into my apartment?!” Julie demanded, her face flushing red. “And, I assume, packed my clothes!?”
Dehya coughed and blushed, while Geoff turned to Fortuna and gave her a flat look. “You know, we could have just told them.”
“No. This needed to be a surprise, for everyone,” Fortuna said firmly.
“This is Fortuna?” Emile asked, frowning at the blind woman as he picked up his suitcase. “Just what is she? You said she was a Vision Holder, but why exactly did she have you break into my apartment and steal- this even has my underwear in it!”
“You can complain, or you can enjoy an all expenses paid trip to Royal Mansour Casablanca for five days,” Fortuna said, and patted at the table for a brochure, which Geoffry helpfully slid towards her, and she then proffered in the general direction of Emile.
Emile took it, frowning at the brochure. “Well, I-”
“Plus, you and Dehya will share a room,” Fortuna added brightly. “Consider it your pre-honeymoon.”
“FORTUNA!” Dehya snarled, stomping over and grabbing the seer by the shoulders as Emile went bright red. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?”
“You were going to meet sooner or later,” Fortuna gasped, her teeth rattling somewhat from the shaking. “You’ll be married next year! You’ll be three months pregnant with your first son, who you will name-”
Dehya pressed a finger to Fortuna’s lips, finally silencing her. Her head was bowed, her hair hanging over her face and concealing it from view.
“So, um…Emile…this is Fortuna…she’s…well…she’s maybe the most accurate and powerful prophet in the entire world. Uh, she says she’s even better than Lord Kusinali or Lord Focalors…”
Correct, Focalors herself agreed. Though I will say that both Buer and I are blessed with rather more tact.
“I can do a tarot or palm reading for you if you really like,” Fortuna offered around the obstructing finger.
Emile slowly came forward, taking Dehya’s hands. She was trembling slightly, and let go of Dehya, blushing and looking away from Emile. “Dehya, I…well. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I hardly know you, but if it is my fate to marry you…I can think of far worse ones. After all, did not the Bard say,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state.”
“You asshole,” Dehya muttered, flushing and looking up at Emile. “That was…the perfect thing to say…”
Then she reached up, snatched Emile’s head, stood up on her tiptoes, and kissed him rather thoroughly. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close, and Fortuna grinned from ear to ear as Focalors chuckled in Furina’s ears.
“Huh,” Geoffry said, rubbing his chin. He glanced over at Fortuna. “Don’t suppose you have a hot date for me planned, do you?”
“I thought you didn’t want me to read your future,” Fortuna said, reaching for Geoffry’s hand.
“Yeah, maybe let’s keep it that way,” Geoffry said with a sigh. He looked around the room. “Are you going to tell us who the Yoshimotto’s are? Or did you just pick a random Japanese tourist and her kid?”
“That is up to them, not I,” Fortuna said, slipping her arm into Geoffry’s. “Get our bags, I think everyone is ready.”
“Rented out this expensive ballroom for a damn gag,” Geoffry muttered, but did indeed pick up his and Fortuna’s luggage.
There ended up being a second Ford Expedition, which was good as they had gained another four people, and along with all their luggage, they really did need the giant american cars to transport everyone to the airport. Fortunately, it was now the middle of the night, so there was relatively little traffic as they made their way to Charles de Gaul airport. Furina ended up sitting next to Keiga with Yennifer in a back seat, while Bailu and Diane snored in their carseats in the middle seats.
“It’s good to see you again, Chiyo, but what are you doing here?” Furina whispered.
“Fortuna gave my daughter and I free tickets to Disneyland Paris. How could I say no? I’ve been fighting the Abyss nonstop for months now. It’s infested portions of the sea,” Keiga said, and Furina could see the dark circles under her eyes and sense the weariness in her soul. “Normally, I wouldn’t take such a break, but when the world’s greatest seer tells you to take a vacation…it is unwise not to heed her.”
“You two know each other?” Geoffry said from the driver’s seat. Fortuna was sitting in the passenger’s seat, looking as spacey as ever with Eighty in her lap.
“Um, yes, er, Chiyo came to one of my shows,” Furina explained.
“Huh,” Geoffry said with a grunt. “Didn’t know you spoke Japanese. Don’t you speak some Chinese too?”
“Er, I’m quite gifted with languages,” Furina stammered.
“So sorry, my Flench, it very bad,” Keiga said in an overly exaggerated Japanese accent.
Geoffry shrugged, then leaned close to Fortuna and whispered, “You don’t expect me to date her, right? I mean, she’s cute, and so is the kid but-”
Fortuna shook Eighty, and the Hydro vision glowed. The words “All Signs Point to No” appeared in the air.
Geoffry grunted, and focused on driving again to Furina’s relief.
“Well, I suppose we could all use a vacation. I’m about to infiltrate the Hegemony to gather some intel on how things are going,” Furina whispered, switching to Japanese again. “President Costa-Brown herself is coming to one of my performances, and I’ll have a brief meeting with her if all goes according to plan. I need to see the level of Abyssal Corruption present.”
“Hmm, you will be there, right, Yennifer?” Keiga asked.
“Ever at my lady’s side,” Yennifer agreed, and squeezed Furina’s hand.
The private jet was quite luxurious, and Furina had to wonder just how much money Fortuna had bilked the bookies out of with her prophecy to be able to afford all this.
“I play the stock market,” she told Furina in answer to the unspoken question. “With a little help from the Number Man. I’ve more than doubled my winnings so far.”
“It’s not playing if you know who’s going to win,” Dehya laughed as she headed up to the cockpit. “You’re really lucky I’m rated to fly one of these things. You know that, right?”
“Of course,” Fortuna agreed, leaning back in her seat. “We’ll be there just after sunrise. Then we’ll have a whole day to relax and rest.”
“I thought you said this was going to last for five days,” Julie said suspiciously as she buckled her seatbelt.
“Yes, of course,” Fortuna agreed, just a little too quickly.
She’s up to something, Furina thought. Any ideas as to what?
Several, but as I will be in your apartment watching my stories, all I can say is have fun, my dear! Take plenty of pictures, I’m sure Diane will look darling building a sandcastle with the little dragon girl.
Furina dozed off for most of the flight, and awoke only when they went on final approach to Mohammed V International Airport. Once more, Fortuna’s perfect planning preceded them, and two more large vehicles awaited them on the tarmac. Geoff and Dehya drove them to an absolutely decadent resort, not a five minute walk to a wonderful sandy beach. Furina would have been content to spend the entire morning sleeping, and she and Yennifer were working on doing just that in the great king sized bed.
However, at far too early of an hour, a calico furball bounced up onto their bed and woke both of them up. “Maman! Mutti! WAKE UP! There’s a beach, and sand! LET’S GO PLAY IN IT!”
“Mmm, it’s not a litterbox, minette,” Furina said, holding the covers to herself and pinching Diane’s cheeks.
“Hey! I go in the potty! That’s not funny!” Diane fumed.
“Let your mother and I get dressed, and then we’ll go,” Yennifer yawned, sitting up in bed and brushing red hair out her eyes.
Diane bounced out again, tail waving behind her, and Furina gave Yennifer a good morning kiss. The two of them dressed quickly in their beach clothing: a somewhat modest two piece with a larger top and a skirt bottom for Furina, while Yennifer wore a backless red swimsuit. Both of them slathered on the sunscreen and wore large hats, as they were quite fair skinned. Diane protested against the slimy stuff, but consented to it when Yennifer informed her in no uncertain terms she WOULD be wearing sunscreen if she wanted to play in the water.
They found Keiga and Bailu on the beach, and Diane instantly scampered off into the water with the younger girl, the two of them giggling and splashing in the waves. The three mothers took turns supervising the girls, and Furina had the joy of teaching Diane how to swim. Despite her earlier enthusiasm, Diane proved rather reluctant to actually get into the water, and ended up perched atop Furina’s shoulders, tail bristling and clinging to her head as she stared wide eyed at the clear blue waves.
“It’s fine, it’s warm, like a bath!” Furina laughed, summoning her Salone Solitair, and letting them sport in the water with Bailu, who was swimming through the water, bobbing her whole body up and down like a dolphin, and jumping out of the waves with a giggle before diving back in. The girl looked to be only four years old, but as the daughter of the Hydro Dragon, she was in her element.
With some coaxing, Diane let Furina hold her up and practice paddling for a while, and she soon got the hang of things. However, she spent most of her time riding Surintendante Chevalmarin through the waves, whooping with delight and chasing after Bailu.
Julie joined them for a late breakfast of Msemen with olives and goat cheese, washed down with fresh squeezed orange juice. Charlotte and Barbara dragged themselves out of bed well into the afternoon and played with the two little girls for a while, only to grow bored and get permission to go explore the city.
“Yes, but be back for dinner, and keep your cell phones on,” Yennifer lectured. “You don’t know if someone is going to try something on a pair of young tourists in a strange city!”
“Oh please, we’re both Vision holders AND we’ve been practicing our Freeze reactions! As if anyone could do anything to us!” Charlotte snorted. She nodded over to Diane. “She’s even getting the hang of it!”
Indeed, Diane had remembered she had a Vision now, and was using it to make not a sand castle, but an ice palace for her and Bailu to relax in and enjoy the cold temperatures as the hot sun beat down on them.
Furina winced slightly, but she could see Geoff and Dehya had cordoned off a stretch of beach for them. They were very obviously armed, with rifles clearly visible, and their Tinkertech armor on, along with black sunglasses that constantly scanned the area. Other tourists were staying well away from their section of beach, while Fortuna sat under the shade of an umbrella and listened to an iPod with headphones, apparently content.
Charlotte and Barbara somehow didn’t find trouble, and returned by 7pm for dinner, which was held in a private dining room. Furina attempted to order a bottle of wine for dinner, but Fortuna looked up. “No drinking.”
“Oh, right, Morocco is a muslim country,” Furina said, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand.
“You can get booze in bars and stuff though, I’ve done it,” Dehya said, frowning at Fortuna. “You’re not usually miss little puritan, what’s up?”
“No drinking. We must all go to bed early, and awaken by dawn,” Fortuna said quietly. “I will stay with the children.”
The previously festive mood instantly died, with even Bailu and Diane stopping in their happy chatter to look at Fortuna with concern.
“Fortuna…what do you foresee?” Furina asked quietly.
She shook her head. “Nothing. Enjoy tonight. I see nothing. Just…be ready at dawn. It would be good to see the sunrise.”
Furina firmly believed that only fools bothered to get up in time to see the sun rise. Sunsets were very pretty, but sunrises generally happened far too early for a civilized person to witness them unless she’d stayed up all night working. At which point, they were more a harbinger of doom than anything pleasant.
However, a suspicion began to niggle at the back of Furina’s mind. She closed her eyes, and began to let herself drift on the currents of time. Yes, there. There was a nothingness, just ahead. If she peered a little closer…
A hand shot out and seized Furina’s, and she opened her eyes to see a panicked looking Fortuna.
“Don’t look,” she gasped. “If you look, you can be seen. You…you have to trust me. They can’t know I can see the nothing. If they realize that…they can blind me. Don’t look. Please.”
Furina nodded, feeling sick to her stomach. She glanced at her delicious meal of spiced couscous and briouats, and felt sick. She stood, taking Yennifer’s hand. “You will watch Diane tonight, Fortuna?”
“WIth more than my eyes,” the seer promised, putting a hand to her heart.
Furina nodded, and pulled Yennifer to her feet, then hurried back to their room.
“Furina?” Yennifer hissed once they were in the elevator. “What-”
Furina grabbed Yennifer and hugged her as tightly as she could, desperately pressing her lips to her lover’s and trying to drink all of her in.
There could be no questions. Not tonight. Not if she was right.
Yennifer responded eagerly to Furina’s passion, and by the time they got back to the room, their clothes were already half off. They didn’t even make it all the way to the bed, and their passion was a wild, turbulent storm that nearly consumed them both.
“I love you, Yennifer. More than anything,” Furina whispered, clutching her beloved as close as she could.
“I…I love you too, Furina. You’re…my everything. I would die for you,” Yennifer gasped, sweat coating the both of them as they lay in a tangle of limbs.
“Please, just live instead,” Furina whispered, kissing Yennifer again. “Now…get some sleep. We…we need to be awake at dawn.”
They awoke an hour before dawn, and dressed in their very best clothes. There was no armor, and their only weapons were stored in Yennifer’s Vision, Furina not having a sword for herself. They met the others in the lobby. Emile and Fortuna were not present, having stayed back in a room with Bailu and Diane, but Geoffry and Dehya were kitted out, though they had on baggy clothing to hide their tinkertech.
“Right, does anyone know what is happening?” Dehya whispered as they all headed out to the still quiet street.
“No, but I have a guess,” Julie whispered, clutching her vision tightly. She too was wearing only jeans, boots, a shirt, and a jacket, but it would have to be enough.
“Ready for the scoop of a lifetime,” Charlotte muttered. She had her camera in one hand, and the Tome of the Eternal Flow in the other.
“Put that away for now,” Keiga told the nervous teen. She was also dressed in casual clothes, and was by far the calmest of the group. “If the dawn brings what we think it will, you may wield it then.”
Grimly, they made their way to the wharf, and looked behind them, over the city to the hills to the east, where the sun was just beginning to peek up over the horizon.
They waited, stiff and silent. But, the sun only continued to rise. They all breathed a sigh of relief when it fully rose, then looked around with a shrug.
“Well, even Fortuna makes mistakes, I guess,” Geoff said with a shrug. His casual air belied the immense relief in his expression, and Furina nodded.
“Yes, let’s get some breakfast. Something light.”
They had enough time to find a cafe not far away that was just opening up, and place orders for breakfast.
Then, Furina gasped in horror as a wave of darkness and death passed over them. She sprang to her feet, turning to the north, where the port was. “It’s coming!”
Everyone scrambled to their feet, weapons appearing in their hands. The waitstaff jerked away, several of them diving for cover as Tinkertech and elemental powers glowed.
Furina could sense it now, fully. They had mere minutes. The enemy was committed now, already worming its way through the cracks between worlds, its destination set.
Her mind raced. She was an Archon, yes, but she was no Martial Paragon. Think Furina, think! What could she do?! She was a thespian first and foremost, not a warrior! She was gifted at stagecraft, not battle!
That was when a desperate hope kindled in her mind, and she turned to her companions.
“We don’t have much time. Keiga, get into the water and circle around to the north to flank it. Apep is a coward, and an ambusher. If it thinks we have sprung a trap on it, then it may well flee before battle is joined.”
“Yes, Lord Focalors,” Keiga agreed, then sprinted away, leaping into the air and taking the form of a three meter horned serpent, swimming through the air towards the wharfs.
“Lord- holy shit, Furina!?” Dehya gasped.
“Mine stinks the same as anyone else’s, Dehya, but yes,” Furina said grimly. “I’ll need all of you as well. If we are to spare this city and her people, we must act quickly. You’ll have to trust me, and follow my stage directions. Can you do that?”
Dehya and Geoff exchanged only a single look, then turned back to Furina and nodded with the others.
“Good. Here is what we shall do…”
The air trembled, and then a black hole opened up in reality. It grew rapidly from a pinprick to large enough to let the largest of the freighters below in the harbor through. Purple mist began to envelop the city, and the great black serpent itself, Apep, slithered through, its many eyes scanning the city, and its purple forked tongue flickering forth.
Yes. Another ripe target. It was just after sunrise. Its prey was unwary, unready, and it-
HON-HON-HON-HON!
Apep froze, only halfway out of the portal. It was testing its size again, and was over two kilometers in length. It scanned the area, and its eyes fixed on a glowing figure that stepped out onto the docks from the shadows. It was tall, though not as large as Apep itself, a glowing pillar of water in the shape of a female specimen about 10 meters in height.
Apep’s tongue flickered out again, and this time, it tasted it.
Hydro.
Well, I see you have fallen into my trap at last, Black Serpent! Welcome to my domain! For it is none other than I, Focalors, Hydro Archon!
There was a great cacophony of noise, and Apep’s eyes swiveled as it watched dozens and dozens of little glowing forms appear. They were…playing music? It could feel the vibrations in the air, though it had no appreciation for music, and wouldn’t have recognized the Moroccan Royal Presto if it had. Nor did it know what Melusines were, or why the hydro constructs were pounding on drums and blowing trumpets as they marched triumphantly towards the Endbringer.
Advance, my forces! Defeat the beast! I shall demand that its ugly head be mounted upon my mantle, and its hide be turned into my coat! The Hydro Archon blathered, waving about a baton and directing the marching band at Apep.
Slowly, it began to move out of the portal again. It did not fear noise, nor music. This display would not halt it.
Then, the second group emerged. With thudding steps, an army three hundred strong marched in unison with the music. These constructs were also of hydro, but their form was mechanical, and their purpose clear: War. Apep had news of such constructs from the whispers of the Abyss. They had repelled the rats from the city of ice. Hydro Meka.
Leading them were multiple specimens with Visions, as well as heavily armed specimens with technology obtained from the Warrior’s network. Troubling. Still, this was all bluster. It would Test the Hydro Archon if that Being offered battle, and-
The waters behind and beneath Apep churned suddenly, then with a bugling bellow of whale song, a Dragon emerged. Water at pressures that could cut Tungsten like a sword cut paper shot out and scored it, and it hissed in pain.
This was too much. The Hydro Archon and an army before it, and the Hydro dragon behind? Apep knew a trap when it saw one. It coiled back in on itself, and immediately retreated back into the cracks between worlds.
How had its presence been discovered? How had the specimens known?
This could not be repeated. It would send forth spies. Gather data.
And then, it would crush this world, and consume it. As it had consumed the world known as Aleph. Bet would be just another meal to sate the insatiable appetite of the Devourer.
Furina sagged when she and Keiga finally shut the Abyssal portal, sealing it and purifying it completely.
Behind her, her army of Meks, led by her friends and family, scoured the streets of Casablanca for the few Abyssal creatures that had snuck out. They would have to be very thorough: even a hint of Abyssal corruption could fester and herald an even more devastating invasion later if not completely cleansed.
As soon as that was done, Furina pulled out her phone and dialed. She held her breath, then breathed out a sigh of relief when Diane’s voice said, “Maman! Why did it go dark all of a sudden?! What’s going on? Bailu is scared, and crying! Um, s-she needs her maman! A-and you should come to! Um, so she’s not scared!”
“You’re safe?” Furina gasped, even as Keiga took human form again and hurried towards her, her face a mask of worry. “Both of you?”
“I not scared! You scared! Scardy cat, scardy cat!” Bailu’s voice came, though she sounded very upset and on the verge of tears.
“Bailu, behave,” Keiga said firmly. “Mommy will be there soon. You stay with Fortuna and Emile, alright?”
Both girls agreed, and there was a rustling sound.
“Furina?” Emile’s voice said.
“Yes, it’s me! You’re all alright?” Furina asked, glancing around to make sure no one was spying on them. But her guard of Meks and melusines were keeping the coast clear, at least.
“Perfectly safe. Fortuna put up some sort of barrier she said would keep the Abyss out. That…that was…never mind. We’ll talk later. I’ll keep your daughter safe, and…and the other, as well.”
Furina sighed and hung up. She’d have to explain things to Emile, and to Dehya and Geoff. It would be…inconvinent…if her true identity was spread. But right now, there were more important things to do.
“I will patrol the waters and ensure there was no corruption,” Keiga said, turning back towards the sea.
“Yes. I will continue to scan, but it seems very little got through,” Furina sighed. Keiga nodded and transformed again, while Furina resumed her disguise. She briefly checked on her mother, who was impersonating Furina and leading a squad of Guarda Meks on patrol, and being very silly as she did so. Good. It wouldn’t do for rumors to spread that Furina had any clue how to fight the Abyss.
Which was perfectly true. She had been on the verge of a panic attack until Apep turned aside and fled. She had no idea how she would have gone about fighting such a powerful Abyssal creature. Fighting an infestation of little rats was one thing. Fighting a massive demon beast? That was something else entirely. Thankfully, her bluff hadn’t been called.
Of course, the story that spread around the world was a simple one: Focalors, the most cunning and powerful of the Archons, had set a clever trap for Apep. After a massive display of her martial power, the God of Death itself had fled before Focalors, Foremost Martial Paragon of Teyvat, and Earth Bet.
Furina couldn’t decide if she should laugh or cry. Either way, the show must go on.
Author’s Note:
DOES THE GLAZING KNOW NO LIMITS!?