ExFic 13: Enter Berg, redux

“Where are we going?” Katrina demanded as Kumiho dragged her to a grassy hill in the middle of town. Kumiho was leading Katrina by the hand with Wearwolf at her heels. Kumiho’s other arm supported Bootsy, who was currently digging her claws into Kumiho’s shoulder as they ran.

“To meet your Chimera Knight in shining armor,” Kumiho explained. They stopped at the foot of the hill and she let go of Katrina’s hand to check her watch. “The least I could do after being such a bitch to you for two years.”

“Seriously!?” Katrina exclaimed.

“What is she talking about?” Wearwolf inquired.

“Every girl dreams of meeting the perfect man, usually a rich one, who will fall madly in love with her and whisk her away to his mansion where they’ll live happily ever after,” Katrina explained in a comedically wistful tone, even spinning on one foot at the mention of being whisked away. Then she took an aggressive stance and added, “Or, in my case, a total bad-ass who’ll teach me the ancient art of whoop-ass!”

“Well, it won’t be love at first sight, but close enough,” Kumiho said as Katrina punched the air in front of her. Kumiho dramatically shot her hand forward and allowed her eyes to glaze over. “Phobos speaks to me, my sister of someone else’s blood! Yea, he doth allowest me to see through his eyes, and through his eyes I doth see! The future is an open book to me, and it’s pages I doth turnest so I may readeth ahead of you and totally spoil the ending!”

“Oh, great seer, what doth mine future hold?” Katrina asked, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes all a-twinkle.

Kumiho took two steps blindly forward, then sharply turned up the hill and pointed to the heavens. “Yea, like a great whirling bird doth thine knight descendeth from the sky. He doth bringeth no gifts but ill portent. He doth seeketh an old foe of thine, who hath violated the sacred temple of thine god, and a group of heroes with which he will vanquish thine foe.”

“Awesome!” Katrina cheered. “What else? What else!?”

There was a purple flash in Kumiho’s eyes. The hand that was in the air suddenly gripped Bootsy at the shoulder. She gasped, her gaze falling to the ground and growing distant. Her body soon followed as she dropped to her knees.

“The pages turn quickly,” Kumiho said, struggling to breath. “I see a great battle and… Oh, crap.”

“Kumi?” Katrina inquired, her voice rising in concern. Kumiho had gone catatonic, her eyes quickly darting back and forth. Katrina knelt down and started shaking her. “Kumiho?”

“No… no…” Kumiho said, apparently unaware of the world around her. “I was wrong. He’s a madman… The Wolf of Dionysus is the Slayer of the Forest! The Wings of Thor will still the winds! The Hand of Ra will cool the flames! The Sword of Quinlong will freeze the oceans! The Four form the Key to the Mind of God! The Terra Guardians will fall and the God of Death will resurrect the former God of War! I have to stop it… I’ve seen enough! Stop it! We have to get away from here!”

“Kumiho!” Katrina exclaimed. She grabbed Bootsy and yanked her off Kumiho’s shoulder. With a sharp gasp, Kumiho snapped out of her trance. “Are you okay?”

“Why didn’t you show me that before!?” Kumiho demanded of Bootsy. “We could’ve stopped it!”

Bootsy mewed plaintively.

“Of course it matters!” Kumiho argued. “It matters a whole lot!”

Bootsy meowed dismissively.

“How is this MY fault!?” Kumiho demanded. “I can’t receive visions without your aid!”

“What’s she saying?” Katrina asked as Bootsy made her reply.

“I am not certain,” Wearwolf replied. “She speaks in riddles. She says we cannot force pieces into place. The puzzle of time has but one solution, and the shape of the pieces is determined by the pieces themselves.”

“Bull crap!” Kumiho argued. “What about free will?”

Katrina looked expectantly at Wearwolf as the Mysticat continued.

“She says free will determines our destiny,” Wearwolf translated. “But there is no changing free will. Kumiho chose to bring us here, and now chooses to have this argument. Berg has chosen this time to arrive, and you will chose to follow him. There is no point in asking what if, because it would not have been.”

“Who’s Berg?” Katrina asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Kumiho replied, standing up. She took Katrina by the hand. “We’re leaving. The world’s not going to end if I can help it.”

“No way,” Katrina said, yanking her hand away. “I came here to see a Chimera Knight, and I’m not leaving until we do.”

“But, Katrina,” Kumiho started. She looked Katrina in the eyes. Katrina had a hard expression, and all at once Kumiho knew their reforged bond was still weak. Kumiho brought her here as a present, and trying to take it back would only open that rift again. There was no moving Katrina. No matter what she did, there was no protecting Katrina from herself. They were practically sisters before their feud began, and she didn’t want their new relationship to end as badly as the old one.

Kumiho smiled and said, “You know what? Never mind. I was just jealous. You’re gonna be this awesome-cool Chimera Knight, and I’m going to be stuck here making cryptic predictions about the love lives of school girls.”

“I knew it!” Katrina replied, playfully shoving Kumiho. “You just didn’t want to be sad and lonely.”

“Actually, I’m going to have an all-male harem,” Kumiho said, resting her arms behind her head. “And Rion’s going to be my head love-slave.”

“Liar!” Katrina declared. “There’s no way he’d…”

“Shush,” Kumiho interrupted, holding up a finger. She put the finger to Katrina’s lips, and looked around suspiciously. All was silence, yet Bootsy and Wearwolf’s ears perked. “Do you hear that?”

There was a reverberation in the air. A rapid, steady beating that rippled the grass in waves spreading from the top of the hill. Following Kumiho’s gaze, Katrina looked up and turned towards the hill. Shading her eyes from the sun, she saw a spot in the sky. The spot developed into a more distinct shape as it drew closer: A man in the carapace of a red beetle. Orbiting him were two more beetles, both about the size of his arm: a stag beetle and a Hercules beetle.

“A Lord Beetle, a Cross Beetle, and a Slash Beetle?” Katrina listed each one respectively. “All three are his? This guy must be a Chimera Knight!”

“His armor is far from shining,” Wearwolf pointed out.

“It’s just an expression,” Katrina replied. “But I bet he’s a total hunk!”

“A hunk of what?” Wearwolf asked.

“Oh, he’s a hunk of something, all right,” Kumiho said, rolling her eyes. “You’ll see.”

The Chimera Knight landed atop the hill. Lord Beetle’s red plating covered his entire body. Even his face was hidden beneath a shell of chitin. His wings slowed, revealing themselves to be translucent, veined oblongs before folding beneath their protective shielding. There was a hiss of air as the plating began to separate and recede into his back, revealing the dark purple uniform indicative of the Chimera Knights. It was a formal affair, complete with those gold brush-things stuck to his shoulders that sprung into place as soon as they were freed from the armor.

With one, final hiss, the helmet split open. His long, white hair practically erupted from its confines and cascaded over his shoulders and back. With a reflexive stroke of his hand, he hooked his mane behind his ears, preventing it from masking his chiseled features. His hair couldn’t have been whitened by age, for his skin was rugged, yet youthful. As cliché as it may sound, to Katrina his was like the face of a Greek god with a square jaw and piercing eyes. His face denied emotions, the mark of a well-trained soldier.

“He is so awesome!” Katrina squealed in delight, her eyes practically bulging from their sockets.

“My vision did not do him justice,” Kumiho admitted, almost derogatorily. “I might just be jealous after all.”

“Should I talk to him?” Katrina asked. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. “What should I say? What should I do?”

“Just answer his questions,” Kumiho replied, taking back her cat. “Don’t worry. You won’t make a total ass of yourself.”

“Thanks a lot,” Katrina moaned dejectedly.

“You there!” the Chimera Knight called out, looking directly at Katrina and Kumiho. Lord Beetle dropped off his back and stood beside him.

Katrina snapped to attention and saluted. “Sir! Yes sir!”

“At ease, soldier,” the Chimera Knight replied, casually returning the salute. Katrina stopped saluting, but remained rigid. “I’m looking for your village elder. Do you know where I can find him?”

“He means Elder Ronsmith,” Kumiho whispered. “She’s in her office at the Town Hall.”

“Why are we whispering?” Katrina asked.

“So you can tell him yourself, dumbass!” Kumiho hissed. “Now try to make an awkward impression.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Katrina called to the Chimera Knight. “I know exactly where she is, sir!”

“Then take me to her,” he replied, walking down the hill towards them. His beetles skittered after him.

“He’s coming this way!” Katrina squealed.

“Get a hold of yourself, you dork!” Kumiho hissed.

“Is that a Mysticat?” the Chimera Knight inquired as he drew close.

“Yes,” Kumiho replied, turning away from him.

“And it shows you what the future holds?” he inquired further.

“Yes, she does,” Kumiho answered.

“And what does she say about my future?” he asked, almost ominously.

Kumiho’s eyes flashed purple. She blinked it away, then smiled.

“You should be proud,” she said. “The student surpasses the teacher.”

“You oracles enjoy being cryptic don’t you?” the Chimera Knight said, more an observation than a question. “Why can’t you be straight with us mere mortals?”

“It’s just so much fun to tease you, Mr. Berg,” Kumiho explained. “We know something you don’t, and you just can’t stand it.”

“Is she always this annoying?” the Chimera Knight asked.

“No, sir,” Katrina replied. “She’s usually a different kind of annoying.”

“I have a good reason to be,” Kumiho added. “I think we both know why.”

“And what do you intend to do about it?” the Chimera Knight inquired.

“Nothing,” Kumiho said. “All I can do is sit back and watch.”

“Good,” the Chimera Knight said. “Now take me to the elder.”

“What was that all about?” Katrina asked as they lead the Chimera Knight away from the hill.

“Inside joke,” Kumiho explained. “I don’t think you’d understand just yet.”