Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 20:55:07 -0600
From: Rhaven <rhaven2002@hotmail.com>
Subject: Star Child Chapter Eight

Ash awoke in a panic. He quickly unwrapped himself from Wire's limbs
and sat hunched over on the edge of the bed. He held his pounding head
and tried to remember exactly what had happened last night.
"Rave wants to see you now." Thorn appeared at the door and snarled at
Ash.
"I want to talk with him too." Ash felt his face flush with anger,
just the mention of Rave's name, made Ash fume. How could Rave drug
him? Of course, Rave had done it so that he couldn't escape during the
night, which was what Ash had been planning. Therefore, Ash wasn't
sure he was mad at Rave for being smarter or being so cruel. He left
his room with Wire still asleep and followed Thorn down the torch lit
passageway. Dove boys, Owl boys, and even Falcons rushed about as if
the Aviary was a major metropolis.
Finally, Thorn pushed open a large oval door, leading into a dark
room.
"Rave, Ash is here." Thorn said flatly.
"Excellent." The always smiling man said. Thorn cleared his throat
loudly and Rave grinned wider. "You know how I feel about this Thorn,
but if you must, you must."
Rave waited for Thorn to leave the room before speaking again. "Thorn
insists on retrieving his fallen comrades. I tried to persuade him not
too, but he felt the weight of responsibility. Something I can relate
all to well with."
"Rave, enough of this."Ash said impatiently. " You wanted to talk, so
talk."
Rave laughed. "You are an amazing person, Prince Asrais." Suddenly
Rave's smile disappeared; it was the first time Ash had seen the man
look grim.
"How old do you think Thorn is?" Rave asked quietly. "Or for that
fact, how old do you think I am?"
Ash wrinkled his brow and tried to think of all the races Puck had
told him in his stories.
"I'm sorry I was under the impression you were all human." Ash
confessed, he was in no mood for guessing games.
"We are human." Rave acknowledged. "I am 334 years old, though this
body is 82, Thorn in his present body is 45 and your beloved Wire,
Wire is 21 years old, in his current body."
"I don't understand what are you talking about?" Ash felt his headache
throb harder.
"Let me show you something." Rave said without his identifiable smile.
He approached a large rectangle stone table. Pressing a hidden button,
the top of the table slid open and an ultra-thin monitor emerged. Rave
tapped the screen and the monitor came alive.
"I was an apprentice to a woodsmith, with dreams. dreams of something
better. Back then I thought I was the only one who ever felt so
alienated. the foolishness of youth." Rave said as he tapped the
screen again. On the monitor a 3D diagram appeared, it was a
amalgamated structure, more apparatus than building.
"When I discovered the Rejurvor and knew it would make my dreams come
true." Rave tapped the left corner of the screen and the pictured
changed. This time an animation of Rave appeared, though this Rave was
much older. "It took me years to figure out how to run the machine and
ultimately program it."
"What does it do?" Ash asked staring wide-eyed at the monitor.
"It breaks down the components of the body and reconstructs it,
rejuvenating and can even alter your DNA." Rave sighed. "It basically
gives you another life. I have died four times and because of the
pre-set commands of the Rejurvor, I am reborn just as you see me now,
with all my memories intact."
"And the Fly Boys?" Was all Ash could say, almost afraid of hearing
the answer.
"I have the Rejurvor set to alter the Fly Boy's body and mind when
they die. Wire in one life was called Bear, because he was such a
large boy. Place the dead body into the Sacred Lake which hides the
Rejurvor and within a day or so, a brand new boy wanders into our
cave, never knowing that they had been a Fly Boy before or even died."
Rave almost managed a smile.
"But who are the Fly Boys? Are they also children you have kidnapped?"
Ash felt his anger rebound.
"No." Rave began, unable to look at Ash as he talked. "My village was
destroyed by Orcs. It was after the Brood Wars and newly freed
mythical creatures were invading all Thrae. No one was safe during
that time." Rave stared blankly at the monitor slipping back into his
memory of that time. "I managed to rescue about eighty men and I
brought them here to the Aviary."
"Men? But. are you telling me, you used that machine to transform
those men into children? Did you wait for them to die of old age or
trick them into the machine to fulfill your own fantasies?" Ash
yelled.
"I know my sins Prince Asrais." Rave growled. "I have given these 'men
' eternal youth and happiness, who will judge me wrong on that?"
"Free will, what of that? Are they programmed to remain here? Do they
have hope and dreams as you once did or have you erased those ideas?"
Ash clinched his fists, the anger rising in him, almost blinding him.
"What truly is free will? Whether it is something I program or forced
by unloving parents and peers, perhaps it comes from envy or greed. My
Fly Boys are happy Prince Asrais, free from sin, which is a greater
blessing than free will."
"But." Ash began, but Rave threw up his hand to stop him.
"Enough, we could argue this point for an eternity, but it is not the
true reason I wish to speak with you." Rave stepped to the monitor
again. "Even paradise must come to an end." Rave said to himself.
"The Rejurvor is breaking down. No matter what I do, it. I just can't
fix it." Rave turned to Ash. "It was why I tried to convince Thorn to
leave his fallen Falcons. The Rejurvor doesn't function correctly."
Rave gritted his teeth in frustration. "The damn thing. doesn't work
anymore Prince Asrais!" Rave started to cry. "I will die and my Fly
Boys will." Rave inhaled deeply, calming his voice. "My Fly Boys will
need a leader, someone to guide them during this difficult time.Prince
Asrais; I believe you should be that person."
"Me? Are. are you insane?" Ash realized how stupid that question was,
once he had said it, of course Rave was insane. An ancient machine had
reconstructed his body too many times. It was amazing the man could
even form sentences. "There is no way I'll stay here."
"Do you not understand what I am saying?" Rave yelled. "The Fly Boys
will die, one by one; there is no coming back from that now. I can't
bare the idea of them being frightened, alone to deal with this
horror." Rave unconsciously tapped the screen again. "I beg you Prince
Asrais, please don't abandon my Fly." Rave stopped talking and stared
wildly at the monitor. "The. The Rejurvor has finished processing a
new body? How is that possible, Thorn shouldn't have reached the lake
yet and it takes at least a day to reconstruct someone."
"What's happening?" Ash asked looking over the monitor and frowning,
he couldn't understand any of the strange illuminated images. Rave
touched another odd icon and the screen changed again. It was a
chaotic scene of helixes and graphs.
"Oh my God."Rave whispered. "The machine has consumed all the life
from the lake and added it to. to the body."
"What does that mean?" Ash yelled.
"Don't you understand?" Rave said throwing his arms up into the air.
"Who ever was in the Rejurvor has been transformed. rebuild into a
monstrosity.Oh God! It will be programmed to come here!"

Otto heard the buzz of the falcon gliders off in the distance. He
remained silent, not letting Pumpkin or the other boy Titan know. He
couldn't afford any more delays, most likely the gliders would attack
or at least stop him from continuing his journey towards their home.
Ash had been with these strange boys long enough, Otto was ready to
rescue him and continue their journey. He just hoped that once he
recovered Ash, Puck and Dango wouldn't be that difficult to find.

Thorn directed his boys to land in the clearing by the Sacred Lake.
"Spread out and locate Pumpkin, Swimmer and Titan." He ordered, as he
scanned the area for dangers.
"I found two gliders." The boy called Spider yelled. "But no sign of
bodies."
"Got the other glider and no body here either." Spooner announced and
walked over to Spider. "Where are the bodies?"
"It had to be those strangers." Cursed Thorn. "They've done something
wicked to our poor friends."
"Hey Thorn." Spider interrupted. "What the hell is that in the lake?"
Thorn turned towards the silvery lake and frowned. Something large,
very large was breaking the surface of the water. Thorn quickly
glanced behind him to Spider and Spooner, making sure they hadn't
abandoned him.
The thing drew its massive body out of the lake; long muscular arms
dragged the ground, as it lumbered forward. It was a nightmare of
scales and quills. As the creature sucked in air, rows of jagged gills
expanded in a rhythmic flow.
"Hooommmee." It gurgled.
"Let's get out of here!" Spooner screamed.
"NO!" Thorn yelled. "We can take this thing." He said with a twisted
smile.
"Please Thorn. I don't. I." Spider cringed back, but Thorn gave him a
look that told him to stand strong or else.
The creature limped forward, bulbous eyes scanning the three nude
boys. A wicked grin spread across its green-scaled face.
Thorn leapt into the air, shot his arm forward. The blade attached to
his gauntlet, clanked against the creatures body armor harmlessly.
With an effortless swing of its immense arm, Thorn was thrown through
the air like a rag doll, landing thirty feet away. Spider and Spooner
looked over at the twisted body of Thorn. The boy was obviously dead.
"Home." The creature said ignoring the two other boys. It turned east
and marched into the thick forest, of single mind of where it needed
to be.

The Aviary was a madhouse. Rave had ordered all Falcons to defend the
cave entrance; while the Doves and Owls created a wall of furniture,
boxes and anything they could find to block the passageway to the
dining hall. Ash was feeling lost, he wanted to escape, but he also
wanted to help protect these boys. He wasn't sure exactly what this
creature was that had frightened Rave, but felt as if it was irony.
Rave had tried to cheat death for too long, Ash wasn't sure Rave
deserved saving, but did the boys warrant the same fate?
Ash remained in Rave's room, staring at the monitor, which still
flashed bizarre images at random.
"Dango could fix this machine." He said to himself. However, he wasn't
sure Dango should fix it. Of course, Ash wasn't sure his friend as
even alive. "Crap. What would a real Prince do?" Ash couldn't stand it
any longer. He could escape now, but would that be the right thing to
do? Would a noble Prince abandon people in danger? Ash ached to be
with Puck, Dango and Otto again, especially Otto. He had never felt as
safe as he did when with Otto.
"Dammit.dammit. dammit." Ash clinched his fists and inhaled deeply. He
was going to escape.

Otto stopped at the edge of a great canyon and looked across it's
gapping expanse towards the head of a bird carved out of the stone.
The lake below was a reflection of beauty.
"There's a trail over there by that large boulder." Pumpkin said
pointing to his left. "We don't use it much, but all the chosen do. We
'll have to figure out just how we're going to swim the lake."
"Chosen? Who are the chosen?" Otto asked.
"The boys destine to become Fly Boys. They are called when we lose one
of our flock." Pumpkin said happily.
Otto frowned at the comment, but didn't both for a more detailed
explanation. The trail was narrow and rather hazardous. It wouldn't be
an easy journey with Pumpkin on his shoulder and carrying Titan, who
had once again slipped into unconsciousness. Otto paused and cocked
his head. Something huge was approaching. He could hear the trees snap
and splinter as this unknown advanced towards them. His worst fears
had come true, a possible enemy was approaching and he was restricted.
There was no way he could fight with the two boys. Otto had to act
fast; he quickly looked around for a safe place to deposit the boys.
"Pumpkin I need to get you off my shoulders." Otto said hurriedly.
"But we're almost home." Pumpkin questioned.
"Perhaps, but something is."
Before Otto could finish his sentence, the creature burst out of the
forest.
"HOME!" It screamed. Pumpkin also screamed and fell backwards off Otto
's shoulders. Otto spun around and made sure that Pumpkin was all
right; he placed Titan next to him and turned to face the monster.
Though it was at least ten feet tall, scaled and bearing claws that
looked as sharp as they were deadly, Otto didn't flinch. He had faced
more menacing opponents before.
"HOME!" The creature screamed. Otto raised his axe, readying himself
for the attack, but the creature turned and leapt over the edge of the
canyon and into the lake.
"What just happened?" Otto said aloud.
"It's heading to the Aviary!" Pumpkin tried to stand as he saw the
creature swimming quickly towards his home. "Please Otto; don't let
that thing hurt my family!"
"Ash." Otto muttered as he watched the creature race across the canyon
floor towards the Aviary. Without another word, Otto jumped over the
edge in pursuit.

Ash made his way to the cave opening. In all the chaos, no one was
paying too much attention to him, which made his escape easier. His
only fear was running into Rave or Wire. For Rave, Ash knew he would
have had to kick the man's ass. However, Wire was a different story;
Ash was really fond of Wire and sneaking away without a word to him,
was very hard. The only resistance Ash could see were the twelve
Falcons guarding the cave entrance. He couldn't fight them all, not
with those long blades on their arms, he needed a way to distract
them. Ash squeezed himself against the cave wall and peeked around the
room. Gliders were parked and stacked over on the left side, along
with hundreds of spare parts and accessories; it would be an excellent
hiding place. There was nothing within Ash's reach to help him get
past these boys. Just as Ash was about to give up hope, a Falcon boy
flew into the cave, skidding his glider wildly across the floor.
"It's coming. It's coming!" The boy screamed. Panic exploded in the
room as a hulking form appeared at the entrance.
"HOME." The creature triumphantly screamed.
Ash decided to act; this was his chance for escape. He raced into the
room, pushed a Falcon boy out of his way and dived between the legs of
the bizarre creature. The Falcon boys didn't even react to Ash's
escape, which was natural considering the much larger threat now in
front of them.
Ash didn't look back, he saw the roughly carved steps along the canyon
wall and ran down them.
The Falcon boys were in a frenzy, they could not allow this monster
into the Aviary, but stopping it seemed impossible.
"Attack!" Screamed Fly Boy Fox as he encouraged others to rush
forward. The assault was over before it began. The creature swept
across the boys in a murderous massacre.
"Oh my God. oh my God!" cried Daisy, his friends, his brothers has
just been ripped apart. Daisy motioned to his friend Sandy and the two
boys leapt to their gliders.
The creature raked his way over the other gliders, using one as a
weapon to sweep boys out of its path.
"Die you son of a bitch." Daisy screamed. Both he and Sandy maneuvered
the gliders around and fired the built-in blasters. Daisy's first shot
struck the glider in the creature's hand. The explosion rocked the
small room. Sandy panicked and started blasting wildly.

Ash turned back, the sounds of the attack was too horrendous to
ignore. He had abandoned the Fly Boys, abandoned Wire, just when he
was needed the most. Ash started to run back up the steps, when the
cave exploded. The great bird head blew apart as if it were nothing
more than dried clay. The second explosion collapsed part of the
canyon wall, sending Ash staggering backwards. Flames escaped between
the gaps of crumbling stone. The constant crackle and booms, told Ash
that the cave had become an inferno, the explosions he heard now were
probably the collection of gliders fuel tanks.
"Ash. Thank goodness!" Otto cried as he pulled himself out of the
water and onto the steps.
Ash turned and tears burst from his eyes, he couldn't talk, his
emotions were too strong. He ran down to Otto and leapt into the
autonoids arms.
"Ash. are you all right?" Otto held the boy tight.
"It's horrible Otto. I. I deserted them.. I ran away." Ash sobbed,
clinging tightly to the strong man.
Another explosion rocked the canyon wall, sending large boulders and
debris into the once calm lake.
"We have to move." Otto ordered quickly. "Can you swim to the other
side of the canyon?"
Ash nodded and forced himself not to look up at the pyre that once had
been Aviary. He dived into the water and swam, as he heard a deafening
crack. Otto jumped into the water and sank underneath, a large slab of
canyon wall broke free and fell into the lake, taking the carved steps
to the Aviary with it. The huge wave created by the enormous
landslide, shot Ash to the other side in just a few seconds. Ash threw
up his arms and madly grabbed at the canyon wall, trying to find
something to pull him out of the turbulent water. He managed to find
leverage as another wave lifted him and slammed him into the stone.
Ash looked desperately around for another ledge, anything to pull
himself out of the lake, but there was nothing.
"Hang on, I've got you." Otto said as he appeared out of the water.
"Sorry it took me so long; I've given up on swimming and just walked
across."
Ash almost smiled as he climbed on Otto's back and held on as the
autonoid dug his fingers into the stone and began ascending upwards.
Ash dared to look back at where the Aviary had once been, a storm of
black smoke filled the sky and he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting
to see any longer.
"Can we help them?" Ash dared to ask.
"There are tons of rocks blocking in entrance Ash. It would take
weeks, if not months of digging to clear a way." Otto whispered.
"Oh Otto. it's gone. all gone." Pumpkin cried once he saw Otto appear
over the edge of the canyon wall. Ash climbed off Otto's back and
slumped to the ground. The autonoid stood silently and stared across
the lake. Will all his knowledge and experience, he couldn't think of
anything to tell Ash. He understood the boy's feelings of guilt. If he
had only stopped the monster before it jumped into the lake, then none
of this would have happened.
Otto heard the sound first; he turned and saw two boys on gliders
approaching.
"Spider. Spooner!" Pumpkin yelled and waved at his friends. The two
Fly Boys guided their gliders down, once they had spotted the small
group.
"Pumpkin? Oh Lord, it. it came out of the Sacred Lake and killed
Thorn." Spooner said breathlessly.
"The Aviary. it's gone." Spider gasped and jumped off his glider. "Why
are we being punished? What did we do wrong?"
"We must have angered Rave. we weren't worthy to continue." Pumpkin
cried, wrapping his arms around his head, ashamed of his tears.
"You've done nothing wrong." Ash yelled angrily. "This isn't your
fault!"
Ash stood, his body shook from fury. "This was all Rave's fault, he
has been playing God with your lives!"
"Don't you.you dare say bad things about Rave." Spider screamed.
"Shut up, you idiot! Rave was using you dammit! You were nothing more
than his play things!" Ash pushed Spider hard; the boy tripped over
his glider and fell on his butt.
"Stop it you two." Otto stepped between them. "This isn't helping
anyone."
Everyone was silent, Ash stared at his feet, feeling the pressure of
guilt and anger boil his insides, but he refused to throw a tantrum.
He wanted to be mature, as a Prince was suppose to act. Ash bit his
lower lip and wished it was just he and Otto, then he could have cried
on the autonoid's shoulder without worry of everyone watching.
"Otto, what do we do? What happens to us now?" Pumpkin asked timidly.
"I. I'm not sure, Pumpkin, perhaps.." Otto confessed.
"We don't need their help Pumpkin." Spider interrupted. "We can take
care of ourselves."
"But Spider. Otto is my friend."
"So what will you do? Sit here until you rot?" Ash said through
gritted teeth. "You are the last of the Aviary. Don't be such a
pig-headed bastard and maybe we can help."
"Spider. I'm scared. Maybe we should listen." Pumpkin said
desperately.
Spider looked over to Spooner and then Pumpkin and the still
unconscious Titan.
"What do you have in mind?" He said slowly.
"It's obvious that your friends need medical attention." Ash began,
pointing to Pumpkin and Titan. "I. I don't see how you can come with
us." Ash said looking back to Otto for support. "It would be best for
you to take your friends to Pallatora, you should find help there."
"Pallatora? Why would they help us?" Spider snarled.
"Tell them you are friends of Otto and have my blessing to stay at
Puck's home." Otto said.
"What do you think Spider?" Spooner asked looking curiously to his
friend. "I don't see that we really have any other choice."
Spider looked over at the destroyed Aviary and sighed. "No I guess we
don't."
Otto rested his hand on Ash's shoulder, feeling very proud on how the
boy had handled the situation.
"Otto?" Ash whispered.
"Yes?"
"Can we leave now? Where are Puck and Dango?"
Otto squeezed Ash's shoulder gently. "We got separated, but I believe
I spotted their trail back in the woods."
"Can we find them?" Ash turned around, tears filling his eyes.
"We will find them, the trail leads south." Otto pointed to the
distant mountain range. "Most likely they thought you had been taken
to the mountains."
"Oh you don't want to go to the mountains." Pumpkin warned. "The
Bromquag lives there."
"What is a Bromquag?" Otto asked.
Pumpkin looked to Spider and Spooner for the answer.
"We don't know."Spooner answered. "Rave just said that it was
dangerous."
Otto frowned. "Thank you for the warning. But if our friends are
there, then no matter what the danger, nothing will stop us from
finding them."
Otto looked back to Ash and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's time
for us to leave. If you head due east, you will come to the Bramford
Forest. From there look for a twin peaked mountain, in that direction
you will find Pallatora."
"Thank you, Otto." Pumpkin said and reached up his arms. Otto knelt
down and hugged the boy.
"Take care of yourself Pumpkin." Otto released his hold on the boy and
walked back to Ash. "Let's go get our friends."
He and Ash walked back into the woods; behind him, he heard the hum of
the glider's engine as the Falcons were on their way. Otto stopped and
picked up Ash. The boy instantly wrapped his arms around Otto's neck
and cried. Otto walked through the forest, holding the weeping boy
tightly.