"Don't think so loud Sarah... " Kira, AKA Monkey Prince thought back to her, "Do you know
WHY their barrier of perception exists?"
"Talk to me."
"It exists so people don't feel uncomfortable around us. Don't feel like they need to
constantly ask how we're doing like we're invalids. So people don't worry about us getting
stolen or broken. This way, they peacefully accept us as we are. Also, it means we can
serve our purpose without worry about taxes or a draft."
"Sounds somewhat dishonest."
"What would be dishonest if went inside a theater, became a decoration, then walked out
when the show was over, or stuffed our faces at a restaurant and then became a Cigar
Indians . . . We give up a lot for this existence beautiful. I mean a lot. But it's always
peaceful, you're always as you want to appear, you get to see some truths of people, and
you get to see history roll by."
Sarah said, "Tell that to Penny's fiancee who was in the museum with you."
"Trust me I know. This becomes a curse if you didn't chose it. But there's always the
difference between the hermit and the exile. Killing someone out of self defense, and
murdering someone who can't fight back. ... The still world ain't for everyone beautiful.
And it wouldn't be right if it was, what's the point of a audience without a show? And me?
If anyone else wants to play the game and win they're welcome to it, but I've had my fill of
that constantly moving chaotic world, I'll stick with the still one."
"Death is still too."
"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't scared of death, I've done some things that earn me a
place in Hell. BUt that actually wasn't believe it or not my reason. And if this was death,
you wouldn't have front row seat of The Moving doing their thing. Besides, it's not like
we're a total non-factor in existence."
"How do you figure?"
"Ame-no-Uzume-no-mikoto."
That was Ulysses! Sarah turned her perception (not wondering how she was able to turn
her view when her body was frozen in place), and saw the teenage purple lupman lad
before her... why was he so small? It took Sarah a moment to realize that she was the one
who had gotten bigger, she had been so intrigued by Kira that she hadn't noticed she was
now the the size of the room like the other statues. 'Other statues.' That choice of words
rang through her head.
Ulysses looked up at the giant wolf headed woman, a strange look of respect on his face.
And something about his body language seemed different, but not in a bad way. "I just
want to say thank you, you've always been an inspiration to me. I may not be part of Amy's
religion, nor do I want to be. But your story has always inspired me. And I want to thank
you or that." Ulysses said knowing he was talking to 'just a statue' and felt slightly silly for
it, but it felt right.
Ulysses figure both Amy and Anne would throw a fit over what he did next if they found
out but he hugged the giant purple statue.
Sarah had no idea what happened next, as she felt a tingling actually go through her entire
body when Ulysses made this simple gesture. What was even more disturbing is how she
was sure that she could feel him even though he was no longer touching her, she could
feel where he was, what he was feeling, almost what he was thinking!
"The goddess of Dawn and Revelry, who brought the sun goddess Amaterasu out of hiding
and saving the world from freezing over... " Ulysses said smiling at the statue.
He looked at Sunny and smiled and nodded too, "Not that the rest of you aren't beautiful
too."
He looked at Sarah/Ame-no-Uzume-no-mikoto again and left.
But Sarah COULD STILL FEEL HIM, even as he went into the next room, she knew exactly
where he was in that next room, it was like a shadow of her was walking along side him
almost constantly.
It didn't occur to Sarah once to simply leave the still world, she told herself it was to make
sure Sydney didn't do anything foolish, but at the same time, she was intrigued by what
just happened.
'He called me beautiful.' Sydney thought, when was the last time anyone had called her
beautiful? For the last couple decades she had felt like nothing more than a fixture at her
job, now at least she was called beautiful!
Sunny said, "By process of elimination, and by the platter you're holding, that makes you
Uke Mochi... a food goddess who the god of the moon killed after the way she produced a
feast from her body openings disgusted him. That avatar Kira mentioned said something
about the story now having a 'kiss and make up' by proxy epilogue with us..."
Sydney heard and understood what Sunny said (except for the 'avatar' thing).
The siblings Terri and Sandi walked through the entry way, barely giving the five statues
any mind, after all, they had been commissioned since before the two of them were born.
Sydney thought about this, and realized, 'They ignore me, and I didn't feel bad about it...'
Sydney thought. 'Uke Mochi huh? A goddess who made food out of her rear and was
murdered for it?... Alright then.' Sydney thought. She then 'looked at Luna' 'I forgive you.'
'Huh?'
'I forgive you for killing me.'
'Uh, that wasn't me you know, and that wasn't you.'
'All the same, I forgive you.'
Luna wasn't sure what was wrong with her when she replied, 'I accept your forgiveness.'
The Monkey Prince didn't know if Ame-no-Uzume-no-mikoto would chose to stay or not,
but Uke Mochi it seemed was already coming around.
Later, when Luna's mind nodded off, she had a dream, of walking on the moon. And
meeting in a circle a Felman and Leoman with fur patterns much like hers, a dragon whose
scales matched her fur, a gargoyle carved to resemble the serpent like oriental dragon, a
human male with a sword in a kimono. She didn't remember what they all talked about
when she woke up.
++++++++
"It wasn't just a matter of mind control of course." Marie-Eliza said, "While the witches had
destroyed the people they once were, and had rewritten them -again- whenever they
deviated from what the witches wanted... The witches had basically let the familiars run
wild doing as they please without much if anything in the way of discipline. And being
children, certain concepts of good and evil simply went above their heads. They witches
had given them total reign over the witches house, and Marie Cruz had taken that away...
they wouldn't be tripping over themselves to thank her for that....
The towns people on the other hand, they with the fog of the witches geass gone from
their minds, were more than ready to accept Marie Cruz had done the right and proper
thing as a 'witch hunter' and they called her as such positively even though she loathed the
title.
Free, and the witch pride minus Twilight would of course now by default of the power
structure change their fidelity to Joella once the witches were dead. And Joella of course,
being what she was, had no desire for violence of ANY kind against other people of Man.
The children driven mad by the candy of course had to heal the old fashioned way as they
found a balance with the infinite chaos within themselves, and the former mob members
were already quite sane but had no families as they remembered them to return to.
Like I said, not all or Marie Cruz's companions approved of her choice to let the former
mob members, Ben's family, the witch pride, and of course Joella be... But it would not be
the only thing."
++++++++++
1689
Gaal, Gogatha, Gomorrah awoke to their minds in a fog, and wrapped in rope and their
hands bound and tied, along with their eyes blind folded and in a sitting position that was
not pleasant. That was when they heard the dog's voice.
"I am only going to ask this once. Where are your animal familiars? Where are any of all text
you own regarding to your arcane talents?"
They tried to turn her into ashes, or crush her wind pipe or boil her blood... but it was like
their magic was smoke they could not grasp.
They screamed and rants for three whole minutes before they felt someone strikes in the
face in succession.
"Will you answer?" The dog's voice again.
"NEVER YOU BEOTCH!" Gaal swore for her little sisters.
"Sister Kathrine. Linus. Leave. Father Draco, as is required by law: stay."
They hear the putting on of gloves, and the grasp of instruments.
The dog said again, "When I said I was going to only ask once? I lied."
+++++++++
Kathrine covered her ears, her tail going into knots at the screams that came through the
door. Linus simply went about trying to put their other 'prisoners' into some semblance of
order.
She looked fearfully at the door, 'Is that really Marie doing that? How CAN she do this?
SHE'S A NUN! We aren't supposed to do acts of violence...' Kathrine realized what she just
thought and thunder struck her mind.
She looked at the two female leomans who guts she had cut open, and vomited. She then
took the spear she had brought from home all the way from Europe ... and threw it in the
unlit fire-place. She then vomited again.
She then took her rosy and locked herself in a room, sobbing and praying was heard on
the other side for the rest of the day.
Marie came out several hours later, not a speck of blood on her (after all, to draw blood
during torture was uncivilized), with Father Draco staying behind to guard.
"Did you find what you wanted to know?" Linus asked in a calm even controlled, restrained
voice.
"No. I found out what I needed to know." Marie heard Kathrine's sobbing on the other side
of a door next to her, and tried to open it to find it locked.
Marie shuddered.