The Dark Amazon's attempt to pump herself up worked for that whole moment when she reflected appreciatively on her snappy comment. Unfortunately, in a rare instance of commonality, both of Aquillea's companions stared at her blankly, not at all impressed. Iolaus rocked back a little, off center and arms folded, scrutinizing and serious.
"So, you looking to go one-on-one with The Big Sleep?"
The sentence was disturbing on so many levels. The implication of a desire for vengeance against the God of Dreams was the least of it. Beneath that, she sensed he was asking if she was flirting with a death-wish. And, 'flirting'? Why were people always described as 'flirting' with darkness? It brought her back to the mental picture of her earlier 'one-on-one' experience with Morpheus-Maloran; and it was like an invisible hand was squeezing her heart. Aquillea turned to her brother looking for escape, for once eager for Niki to take issue with the Golden Hunter. Instead, he stared at her with a guarded intensity, equally desirous to hear her response.
The dreamscape Amazon barely managed to turn her back on her companions before her fist buried itself between her breasts and she became one with her delirium-ridden body in a struggle to catch her breath. A single, little sentence and yet the weight of it was crushing. There was so much to be sorted through... so much to be answered for. Aquillea reached out to the wall to steady and support herself. It's polished stone was cool and smooth to the touch, and, calling once more on her warrior training, she focused on the sensation. It instantly registered that there was nothing to mar the perfect surface, no adornments. The wall was flawless simplicity, from the floor on which it was built to the high ceiling it held in place, overhead.
With a cleansing breath and a weak smile, the woman squared her shoulders muttering, "You always start by strengthening the foundation."
"What?" Niki questioned as his sister turned back around.
Rather than explain her comment, Aquillea spoke more directly. "This isn't about me... And it isn't about Morpheus."
With that, the impassioned reaction she'd been waiting for finally issued forth from her illusionary brother. "You gotta be kidding me! After what that monster did..."
"It's because of what he did... what he's capable of doing... that this can't be about anything but Angel."
Frowning, Iolaus tried to interject, "Hey! Don't you think, maybe..." but Aquillea was single-minded of purpose.
"She's been away too long," the would-be rescuer insisted. "It's time for her to come home."
The Dark Amazon's eyes drifted downward but it was clear that her vision was focused within as she planned the next step in the mission. Nonetheless, absently but with great assurance she reiterated one more time,
"I'm bringing my sister home."
Posted on March 23, 2003, 5:18 PM
Chapter 802 by Aquillea
"...her first."
"Um... what?" The wavy tresses of the Dark Amazon bounced as her head bobbed to take in first Iolaus then Nikolos. Being preoccupied, she hadn't heard what had just been said.
"I hate to bring this up," the handsome blonde repeated a bit hesitantly, "but you're gonna have to find her first. And it's not like this is a one room schoolhouse." He gestured up and down the impossibly long corridor, the immediately apparent grandeur unquestionably representing but one block in a great Egyptian pyramid.
Aquillea shrugged her head dismissively, " Finding Angel is the least of my worries."
Judging by the acrobatics performed by the shorter man's eyebrows, Niki gave voice to Iolaus' reaction.
"Really?"
The pair were obviously waiting for her to back up her contention with the revelation of a plan. And she didn't actually have one. Not yet anyway. She'd been honest in saying that locating Angel wasn't where her head was at. The reason being that getting out of a dangerous situation was, invariably, a more difficult undertaking than getting into one.
"Really," insisted Aquillea. But two sets of eyes continued to bore into her, expectant yet dubious.
With a sigh, the Amazon raised her hand in surrender to their unstated demand. "All right, all right... fine..." she said as her eyes paused on the portico entry. "What we need is an informant of some sort," Aquillea mused aloud. As she stared into the odd midday dusk, her eyes grew bright, like a fog was clearing. "And where do the town gossips always seem to get their info from?"
"The CIA?" Niki ventured. The mercenary was met with puzzled glances. "The Corinth Information Association."
"Here in Morphy-land?"
"Oh yeah, I can see you know a lot about women," Iolaus chuckled with a cocky grin. "I'm guessing a little birdy told them."
That was exactly where Aquillea's mind had been heading, but even before the Golden Hunter arrived there, she was already roaming, dissatisfied. 'It'd be nice to have someone I really felt I could count on,' she thought. 'Not a friend though', she added looking at her two, incompatible companions. 'Too distracting.'
But hearing Iolaus bringing up birds, and coming fresh off his mentioning 'school', Aquillea's searching mind found a path to her answer. A path that led back to the past:
Posted on March 24, 2003, 11:25 PM
Chapter 803 by Aquillea
She couldn't believe how young they looked as they scampered across the pasture on the way to the stream. Clearly, this was not long after she had befriended the "new kid" with the wild-child reputation who had, in turn, introduced her to the "son of Zeus". Iolaus, ever the ball of golden energy had taken the lead while young Herc seemed to almost sulk behind him. As the youngest of the 3, Quilla was huffing as fast as her little legs would carry her, trying to keep up.
"You think you might give it a rest... you know, any time soon?" Hercules grumbled.
Iolaus turned around, his fabled grin still recognizable on the youthful face. He was just as jaunty backpedaling as he had been walking straight ahead. "I dunno," he teased. "It's not every day the boy wonder puts his foot in it that deep... and in front of the whole class!"
The demigod's dejected slump got slumpier and his buddy mentally kicked himself for hitting a sore spot. Iolaus slowed his pace until his friend had caught up and then slipped along side, matching the taller boy stride for stride. He felt bad for Hercules, but he couldn't help being exasperated too. "I still don't get it though. It seems like the only times you get stubborn are over the dumbest things."
"It's not dumb. They really did roam the Earth once."
Iolaus threw up his hands and shook his head. "Now who won't give it a rest?"
The lads had drawn to a halt giving Aquillea a chance to catch up to them. It startled the Amazon to hear her childlike voice. "Well, I don't know if they were lizards..."
"Reptiles," Herc corrected.
"I don't know if they were reptiles. But there was something really, really big a really long time ago. Papa showed me this rock once and he said it used to be a nanimal bone."
Iolaus rolled his eyes. "Yeah? And did he tell you he got it at Honest Sal's?"
"He did not!" the tagalong protested and stomped on ahead, making quite a show of the stomping part.
This time Hercules sprinted a little to catch up while Iolaus paused to crane his neck and search the sky. He was two for two in alienating his only friends and he wasn't happy about it. But as the trio walked along, the boy's anxiety gave way to annoyance at getting the cold shoulder. When a startled thrush took flight Iolaus pointed and laughed. "Look, it's a flying lizard!"
Quillsie giggled which made the ever-disheveled Iolaus shine with joy; at least until she remembered she was mad at him. Then she glared at him until she was sure he noticed. At that point she turned her attention to the tall dispirited youth beside her. Haltingly she admitted, "It... it really was a fun... a kinda funny thing to say, birds and ... and reptiles... being family."
"What's so funny about it?"
Iolaus burst out laughing. "What's not funny about it?"
"I didn't ask you ," Hercules retorted. The young man got down on one knee to be closer to Aquillea's height. "You know, Iolaus keeps telling me how smart you are," he said sounding very old and wise. The little girl beamed. "But smart folks don't just say things because other people do. They have reasons. So... if you think what I said is funny... what are your reasons?"
It seemed ridiculous. "Well... duh! Birds are... well... birds." Hercules shook his head like a teacher trying to coax the correct answer out of a pupil. "You... you mean like what you said about the eggs?"
"Right. Chickens lay eggs. So do snakes."
Iolaus' expression was looking like a gathering storm. "Yeah? And so do fish and so..."
"But they don't have hard shells."
"Huh?"
"Fish eggs. They don't have hard shells."
If there were thunderheads in Iolaus' eyes, Aquillea's held in them, rainbows. "And people don't lay eggs at all!" she piped in with enthusiasm only to squinch up her face in uncertainty. "Do they?"
The two, older kids looked at one another and, despite the tension that had been between them, they couldn't help but share a smile. Still, after a short pause, Iolaus felt the need to criticize his friend, albeit gently. "Herc, she's just a little kid. You shouldn't mess with her head like this... You want a reason? How about this. Birds fly. Reptiles - nuht uh."
Before Hercules could protest, Aquillea asked, "What about dragonflies?"
The blonde mop-top squinted as he countered, "What about 'em?"
"Well, dragons are reptiles, right?"
"Ya see? Ya see what I mean?" Iolaus inquired pointing to the child, his expression half serious, half mocking.
With a smile of brotherly affection that went straight up to his sky blue eyes, the still kneeling demi-god addressed the small lass possessed of a curiosity bigger than she was. "You have seen a dragonfly before, haven't you?"
"Lotsa times."
"Have you ever seen one up close?"
The darkling tyke frowned uncertainly, "I... I guess not."
"Well, dragon flies are flies," Hercules explained, "but they're not dragons."
"Are you sure they're not birds?" gibed Iolaus.
"All right, let's just drop it, OK?"
With a look over his shoulder towards the stream the smaller boy countered, "I got a better idea. Let's just show her one."
There was merriment in Hercules' laughter as he crossed his arms and again took 'the point' on the trio's afternoon adventure. "Somebody wake me up. I must be dreaming." Iolaus followed him merely with a tilt of his head at first, his eyes questioning. "That actually was a good idea."
The middle child's hands found his hips in indignation, then his lips curled up into a crooked little smile and he started to traipse after his comrade. He had only taken a few steps, however, before he realized his gal-pal hadn't moved. She was lost in a world of her own as she mulled over everything that had been said. "Hey you... ya little tadpole. Are you comin' or what?
The second time, it was a full-grown Iolaus asking, " Aquillea ... are you coming?"
"Hang on a moment," the Dark Amazon said with a grin as she slowly crossed toward the portico doorway. "I imagine help should be arriving... just... about... now."
Posted on March 25, 2003, 9:49 PM
Chapter 804 by Aquillea
Iolaus squinted. Such was the faintness of the outside light that when the small bit of a shadow flitted inside, the dream warrior wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. But Aquillea's smile offered it's own radiance as, with an uncharacteristic grace, she raised her arm chest high to allow a tiny winged creature to alight on her hand. It cheered her considerably to look upon the newly arrived spirit guide. He had not always been a friend to the Amazons, of course, but the brunette had been tending to matters at Calee's when her sister-friends Kendaa, Bastet, Maddie and greenie, accompanied by Autolycus and Joxer had first encountered the beast outside the infamous 'Dark Castle'. It was Harmony's dust that had transformed the reptilian foe to an ally. And now Aquillea's imagination had transformed the all too conspicuous dragon into a stealthy albeit fanciful little dragon-fly.
"I've been expecting you," Rupert noted in his solicitously proper accent.
"You've seen her then?" the Dark Amazon inquired hopefully. "You've seen Angel?"
The tiny dragon distractedly rubbed the corners of his eyes as if his vision was troubling him. "What?... Oh, yes... 'Angel' you say? I'm afraid I'm not privy to woman's name... And yes. Yes, I have seen her. Recognized her as an Amazon immediately, of course... Are you... well... that is to say... When I said I'd been expecting you, I didn't mean you singularly but... collectively... an Amazon rescue party, that is... Not that you didn't acquit yourself impressively in that Bacchai-infested village... but..."
Aquillea was growing a bit impatient with the discursion. "What you see is what you get," she interjected. Then, after glances to her two illusory companions she quietly added, "sort of."
"Do you think that's wise."
"I think it's necessary," came the no-nonsense reply. Then, shifting gears the Amazon added, "Is she all right?"
There was a pause as Rupert backtracked in his mind to the relevant bit of conversation. "The Amazon? I'm afraid you'll have to see that for yourself."
The evasive response somehow surprised Aquillea whose head lolled backwards then downward in frustration. She reminded herself that pessimism was normal for her, so expecting an encouraging report was foolish. Still... "I'm not sure a little hope, however false it might be, would be so horrible about now," she supposed under her breath.
The Amazon wasn't the only one muttering. "Weren't we expecting a bird of some sort?" Niki pondered.
The Golden Hunter grinned devilishly, quipping, "What? You're not familiar with the Greater New Greeceland Cuckoo?"
Without thinking about her perchee, Aquillea folded her arms in irritation. But it was just as well that the gossamer-winged miniature dragon had been forced to take flight. With each passing moment, the Dark Amazon was growing more and more anxious to locate her sister-friend and bring her home.
"Lead on, Rupert," she instructed. "Where you lead, I will follow... Anywhere that you tell me to." Exhaling deeply, Aquillea closed her eyes as if trying to reach out, spirit to spirit, to the Castlezon that had been stolen away.
In her mind, she spoke to Angel... or whoever might be listening. 'When you need, you need me to be with you... I will follow, where you lead.'
Chapter 805 by Anonymous (Madhatter)
Knock, knock...
Everything was pretty quiet. Had she really only been gone a day? It was years where she was but you know how that dimensional shift thing can work havoc with time and space. She’d tried to get back several times but her work and her life kept interfering. But today, she knew she had to try – there was a special reason to get home. To support and to celebrate a friend’s good news. Luck was on her side and she made it through the portal.
She finally stood back at the castle door – happy to be home, anxious to hear all the news. So happy and grateful that her friend was on the mend. Hoping her sisters would be as happy to see her as she was to see them.
“The prodigal returns,” she thought.
Knock, knock…
The door swung open.
Chapter 806a-806b by Anonymous (Madhatter) and Shambalayogi
Chapter 806a
(Author's note - there's a pretty big hint in here)
She stepped quietly through the door. “Hey, everybody…I’m back,” she said. A pleasant breeze whispered but no reply. “Anybody home?” she yelled a bit louder. “Anybody?” No reply.
Could they all still be at the battle? That was so long ago.
No, not here. Here it wasn’t long ago at all. Was it yesterday? Today?
“I brought chicken soup. And roses from my garden…”
Not a soul. Not even that troublemaking man of hers.
“He’s probably causing a riot somewhere,” she thought. But she had hoped by now they’d all be back…safe and sound.
“Hello?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 806b
Shamba is in the kitchen when she hears someone in the main hall. she picks up a sturdy branch from the woodpile by the door and cautiously looks out from the kitchen into the main hall.
There is a shadow from the light coming from the doorway that cast a long slim silhouette onto the polished stone floor of the castle.
"Chicken soup? I smell chicken soup," shamba mutters to herself.
"Lyrical, is that you?" shamba calls out to the shadow.
No answer to her question yet.
Shamba stood just inside the kitchen door still waiting for an answer. She kept expecting a familiar voice to identify the shadow standing in the door. Finally, she decided she’d waited long enough. Besides, the smell of the chicken soup was intensifying and making her hungry.
“Come on , c’mon, who are you? This is ridiculous!?” the Amazon growled to herself.
The shadow from the door moved toward the inside. The silhouette looked like the persons' arms were full of things. A few footsteps …. then a few more …. It sounded like she was putting something down on the table.
Then there was a stirring in the area at the top of the stairs right above where the shadow now stood.
“Hey! Hello, yourself! It took you long enough!“ a voice calls from beyond the second floor and steps quickly coming towards the staircase. “Did you find that stuff in town that I wanted?”
Shamba looked up towards the stairs to see her sister Amazon ....."
Posted on May 21, 2004 at 8:17 PM
Chapter 807 by Aquillea
Aquillea started up in her bed. Her own bed. Her Castle bed. Her head swung this way and that as she variously took stock of her current situation and tried to shake the cobwebs from her brain.
'This doesn't make sense,' she thought to herself then allowed a small chuckle. "And you find that surprising, do you?" she asked aloud. No one answered. She seemed to be alone.
How could she be here? Last she remembered she was in Morpheus' palace... or else a ramshackle cowshed in the countryside somewhat near Corinth. Actually, she had been in both places really. New Greeceland life could be weird that way. The one place she was sure she wasn't was home. Calee's castle seemed miles and years away. Could she really be home?
"This isn't real," she whispered. "It's your doing, isn't it?"
Of course this looked like home. Morpheus had regained control of her dreamscape somehow and decided to put the Dark Amazon in the safest place she could think of. He was hoping she'd forget about her mission, about Angel.
"Angel, damn!" Aquillea swore. "If he thinks this is going to distract me, sister-friend, he's got another thing coming!"
With that, the determined brunette rose to her feet, stretched her arms wide, and fluttered her fingers to try to relieve some of her tension. Aquillea didn't know how Morpheus had gained such complete control but it was obviously going to take intense concentration if she were going to get some of it back. So the Amazon took a deep breath, closed her eyes and imagined herself back with Niki and Iolaus. Her body swayed ever so slightly, rhythmically, as she concentrated and waited... waited and concentrated. Any moment now one of the men would surely speak her name. Any moment.
Finally, Aquillea opened her eyes to a squint and peeked out one corner then the other.
"Rrrrrr," she growled in frustration taking a swipe at the air. "Fine!"
Next she walked over to her window and threw open the shutters. Again she closed her eyes and tried to drink in the pleasantly soft breeze. Then she tried imagining Rupert the dragonfly fluttering in. She opened her eyes and watched... trying to be patient. No Rupert. No anyone it seemed, only silence.
There was only one other thing the Amazon could think of that would perhaps be bold enough to work. She crouched down slightly, just enough to retrieve her collapsible spear from her boot. Straightening, she shook the weapon out to full extension. There would be no closing of the eyes this time. "If you're god enough to go one-on-one, I'm ready to dance," she challenged. When nothing happened, she plopped down on the bed with a relieved sigh and a half smile. "Yeah. Me against an Olympian, with no back-up and no idea where Angel is. I'm thinking failure was the best I could hope for with that plan."
Aquillea rubbed her chin as she assessed the situation. Either Morpheus' influence was too strong for her to fight... or something else was going on. The second option seemed much more promising, so she decided to run with that theory for a while.
But if Morpheus wasn't behind this strange turn of events, what was the explanation?
The life of a Castlezon being such as it was, the possibilities seemed too numerous to count. She could have been thrown backward in time, or forward for that matter. Or some god or wizard may have simply 'relocated' her in her own time. And that was just for starters.
The relocation thought set her mind down an unsettling path. Although she knew Angel was in danger, it seemed unlikely that Morpheus would dare harm her physically, not with her connection to the Great Divine and the First Family of Olympus. But what about Lyrical? The last Aquillea knew, her vivacious sister-friend was also in danger, the circumstances seeming so grim that the Dark Amazon had parted with her beloved Iolaus so that he might offer his assistance.
"Is she here?" Aquillea now wondered, her heart constricting with worry. "Is she OK?"
It seemed a walkabout was in order.
The grim woman rose slowly, took three steps toward the door and stopped. Turning around, she picked her spear up off the floor where she had dropped it. Her instincts weren't warning her of any danger, but Aquillea was rarely one to trust her instincts. There was a reason no one called her the Intuitive Amazon.
"Better safe than sorry," she muttered as she crossed her bedchamber, wondering what was to be found on the other side of the door.
Posted on May 21, 2004 at 9:49 PM
Chapter 808 by Eeyoraus
Eeyoraus woke with a jerk.... “I’m going to have to quit sleeping with jerks.”, she thought! Heh-heh.
No really, she did wake up suddenly and immediately felt confused and a little frightened. It wasn’t that things weren’t just normally weird in her life, it’s just that she’d long since gotten over it and was now growing tired of the spontaneity of the gods and mystical beings she had to deal with.
“Where am I now? “ she wondered aloud. “Aphrodite was supposed to come and get me. Daniel isn’t here. This looks like my body...dammit....how did this happen?
“..... and this is my room. Heehee...my room at the castle. I’m home...but how, why, where is everybody? What had happened in our epic battle, where is Seth, Amora, ...where is Murlock?
Wanting to get to the bottom of this she tried to coax the responsible party out of hiding. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”
There was no response. Then, in the distance, she heard a faint “helllloooooo” as if someone else was lost and confused and looking for someone. “That sounds like Quills, but she isn’t here. Then again, neither am I.” E! giggled at the absurdity of their lifestyles.
“I guess I should go look around. That seems to be the thing to do.” she thought. “Better put on some clothes first. You know, “ she mumbled to herself, “the one constant is that no matter where I wake up, I wake up naked!”
“OK, so clothes, closet, ...yes, they are there, so let’s see, battle gear, leathers...no...formal...definitely not...work clothes!”. She tugged on the heavy brown canvas pants and gauze top she worn for working the fields ( now that she no longer had to wear the yoke of a plow). She pulled her unmanageable hair away from her face and tied it back with a leather cord.
Her pouch of love dust was sitting on the table. “Okay?” she said aloud as she slipped it in her pocket. Just in case, she tucked her dagger down the back of her pants.
“Whoooo, that’s cold.!”
Posted on May 24, 2004 at 10:05 AM
Chapter 809 by Shamba
At the top of the stairs, stood Eeyoraus with a few strands of her flaming hair around a puzzled face.
Shamba stepped out of the kitchen still holding the stick.
“What was it you wanted someone to get you from town?” Shamba questioned the redhead who was still looking puzzled.
“I don’t know!I…don’t remember that at all!“ she exclaimed looking down at Shamba. Then her eyes shifted to look at the unknown Amazon and her eyes grew very big.
Shamba turned to look at one woman she’d long thought gone from the castle.
“MADDIE!” the two women said astonished at the appearance of the Madhatter in the main castle hall.
“Where did you come from?”
“Where’ve you been!?
“How long has it been anyway?”
They rushed Maddie with hugs and a dozen questions and gave her no time to answer.
"Wait, wait," she answered. "Let me put down this stuff and you put down that stick, Shams and we'll talk!"
Posted on May 24, 2004 at 5:30 PM
Chapter 810 by Maddie
Happy, confused voices rang through the hall as embraced her two friends. "Wait, wait," she answered. "Let me put down this stuff and you put down that stick, Shams and we'll talk!" With a laugh she tossed the staff into the corner as the group headed into the kitchen and Maddie set her burdens down on the table. “I’ve got to sit down,” Maddie said. “I’ve forgotten how long a walk it was from the forest back here.” She grinned at her friends who appeared to be bursting with questions. “Heavens, you guys are a sight for sore eyes!” she said.
“Well Missy,” said Shamba with mock irritation. “You’ve got a bit to answer for!” she finished with a happy laugh. “Where have you been? It’s been weeks…”
“Weeks?” Eeyoraus said. “I’ve just gotten here myself and I’ve been away for months.”
“Months?” said Shams. “You were here a few minutes ago. You wanted me to get you supplies from town!”
As the two friends dialog overlapped, as will happen with those who know each other so well, Maddie had a chance to catch her breath. To her the explanation was clear.
“Ladies, ladies…” Maddie cried. “Was there a violent storm last night?”
The two nodded as one.
“With lots of thunder and lightning?”
Again with the nodding.
“It appears that the portal that I went through last night is the cause of this. I’ve been gone for…” Her face looked pained as she finished, “Four years…”
Shock would not be an adequate description for the look on their faces.
“I can see it caused not only my return but affected others who were far from home. Eeyoraus, you and I might not be the only ones who might have been brought back to the castle.”
“I can guarantee that,” Aquillea replied. “Now can you all guarantee that I’m not dreaming you?”
