Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2005 02:11:55 -0700
From: Darc Blackwind <arboc969@hotmail.com>
Subject: TRANSGENDER ARCHIVE Fallen Angel by Darc Blackwind Chapter 7

Chapter 7: True Colors

 Hopping into the jeep, Cal started it and then unlocked the doors. Miranda
hopped in the back while Althea figured out how to open the door and jumped
in the front passenger seat. Careful not to hit any of the surrounding
cars, Cal slowly backed out of his parking space and drove down the parking
lot to the exit, and then to Dark Star Lane, right next to the
marina. This, Cal recalled by straining his memory, was where Aria lived,
or at least where he thought she lived.

 Her house was grandiose, a pseudo Victorian with a large sweeping front
lawn and driveway. The charcoal facade of the manor was framed by a grove
of various species of trees, such as oak, weeping willows, and various
alpine trees. Several cars were parked in the large driveway and along the
side of the street, next to the sidewalk. Smirking mischievously, the
vision perversely reminded Cal of the Black Castle of Mordor in
J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga.

 Looking back at Miranda and then at Althea as he shut off the engine, he
smirked genially. "Time to break a leg, right?" he asked, trying to ease
the tension that was becoming unbearable between the three of them. Althea
smiled at his ill-fated trial of humor and Miranda sighed and opened the
door, hopping out. Cal and Althea followed suit.

 Locking the doors to his jeep, Cal put the keys in the pocket in his gi
and slung his katana over his shoulder, tying the strap so it clung to his
back. He then led the way up the sandstone walkway, half expecting the
thing to open up in a massive bombardment meant to kill him and his friends
where they stood. None such thing happened, though, and soon Cal found
himself at the doorway, Althea and Miranda following closely
behind. Knocking on the door and then ringing the doorbell, he heard
footsteps hastily to answer the door. The door opened, light spilling out
in an almost liquid fashion, and there Aria stood, gazing at Cal and Althea
and Miranda with scrutiny in her crimson black eyes. "Hello, Aria," Cal
replied pleasantly, expecting her to throw a punch at him by the way her
glare sort of sparked and sent daggers at him.

 "You're early," she said reproachfully, looking Cal in the eyes. "What
happened? You usually are always late!"

 "Hmm. . . ." Cal replied, nodding. "Well, the dance bored us, so we
decided to come here directly. . . . You seem angry at my early arrival?
Were you planning something that required timing on my part?"

 Sighing, Aria shrugged. "No, not really. . . ." She then backed up and
motioned for them to enter. "Come on in. . . ."

 Cal carefully stepped through the doorway. "Now then, tell me why you've
been behaving this way to me. I want to know what I did to make you hate
me."

 She looked over at Miranda and Althea, who were standing in the doorway
behind Cal. Smiling, she said, "Why don't you two go mingle or
something. Cal and I need to talk privately." Both Althea and Miranda
looked quite out of their element in this house. They nodded, but they just
stood there and looked around. Sighing in exasperation, Aria walked over to
them and directed them to where the mainstream of the party was. "Go talk
to people, or something! Cal and I gotta talk alone!" Reluctantly, Miranda
and Althea walked to the center of the party and began talking to each
other, trying to find out all they could about each other.

 Aria came back to Cal and sighed again. "They're shy. What can I say? I
was like them at one time," Cal said, knowing that she was expecting an
explanation.

 "Yes, quite," Aria began. She then sighed, and walked up the stairs in
front of her, motioning for Cal to follow. He did, his legs tensing up in
case something was to happen. He just didn't trust Aria like he used
to. She was a lot warmer back then. He followed her through the dimly lit
hallway out onto the front porch, which was facing the marina. She sat down
on one of the benches of the picnic table and Cal decided to sit on the
tabletop of the picnic table. She then looked at him, a peculiar expression
written across her face. "I suppose you're expecting me to threaten you
with death if you ever get close to me again, aren't you?" she asked
bluntly.

 Cal smiled. "No, not really. I was more expecting you to try and kill me
right here and now because of something I did to you to turn you to
ice. . . ." Cal replied straightforwardly.

 Aria shrugged. A hint of a smile was on her face. "Cal. . . ." she said
absently, looking out over the balcony to the reflection of the moon on the
tranquil waters of the marina. After about a minute or so of silence, she
looked back at him. "I suppose I should start this off by saying I'm
sorry. I know I've been cold to you, lately. . . ." Cal nodded and just
looked back at her curiously, not saying a thing. His eyes shimmered with
the gentle light of the crescent moon. "It seems as though smiling is a
rarity nowadays, and laughter is an unknown concept."

 Cal nodded, his shimmering gaze never leaving hers. "I know what you
mean. . . ." he said sadly. "Without your warmth, it seems as though life
just doesn't have any meaning anymore. . . ."

 "Why would you care about my `warmth', Cal? It certainly doesn't mean
anything to me. . . ." she replied coldly. Seeing Cal's grimace, she
thought about it and then said, "Sorry. . . . It's just . . . there's so
much to think about. . . . So many reasons for hatred. . . ."

 Cal nodded sadly. "There are no defined sides of good or evil
anymore. . . . There are only opposing viewpoints."

 "You seem so sure of this. . . ." Aria commented. "I'm pretty sure that
there are at least some telltale signs of evil still left amongst the burnt
and ashen ruins of a civilization gone straight to Hell. . . ."

 "Yes, that is true. But, when you think about it, the opposite side also
considers what we do as evil. It is all just moral ethics when it comes to
this God-cursed war nowadays. . . ." Cal said, looking at her directly, his
gaze meeting hers. "What went wrong? What did I do to deserve this from
you?"

 Aria thought about this for a second. "Cal. . . ." she began, "I-"

 "I mean, we could have been something spectacular! We could have made the
impossible seem possible! . . . At least, that's what I thought when we
hugged for the first time. . . ." He looked away from her ever-so
penetrating gaze. A lump was forming in his throat.

 Aria could practically smell the love he felt for her, but somehow, she
wasn't revolted by it, and at the same time she wasn't intrigued by it
either. She put a hand on his leg and patted. "I've really been an enemy to
you, haven't I?" she asked gently.

 "What?" Cal asked, shocked that she said that.

 She stroked his leg a bit further and then folded her hands up in her
lap. "Cal, I know what you're going through. . . . Evan told me all that
there was to tell between you two. . . ."

 "He did?" Cal asked, a putrid sense of death upon him.

 "Yes, he did. He told me how you are like a leech to him. How everything
revolves around you when you're in your manic-depressive state of mind. He
is no longer your friend. . . . And I, I'm sorry to say this, but he and
you are enemies now. . . ." she said uneasily. Thinking about it all, she
then asked, "I've done something to hurt you, haven't I? I can see it in
your eyes. . . ."

 Cal nodded. "I won't lie to you, Aria. When you ignore me like you've been
doing for the past month, especially after we began this romantic charade,
it hurts. . . ." Cal looked back at her and smiled. "I'm embarrassed to
admit this, but I love the sound of your voice. . . . It calms me when it's
gentle. . . . I've done nothing to hurt you, have I?" he asked uneasily,
waiting with bated breath for the answer to the question that has made him
almost kill himself multiple times.

 Aria shook her head. "No. I've just had a lot on my mind
lately. . . . Stuff that I can't utter here. . . . Evan, though, he seems
to hate you. . . . Perhaps you did something to hurt him?"

 Cal shrugged. "I couldn't care less about him anymore. He and I have
almost gotten in several fist fights at school, and I've taken to haunting
the drafting room during lunch because it's very obvious to me at least
that I've not any friends besides Althea and Miranda. . . ."

 Aria looked hurt by Cal's observation. "You have friends, Cal. . . . We've
just been a bit preoccupied lately." She understood the intensity of the
pain that she and Evan and others have put him through at that moment. The
reason for this understanding was because when Cal said that, she instantly
got a glimpse of his emotional pain. Shrugging, she smiled. "So, who's
Althea? I've never seen her before and she looks no older than perhaps
seventeen, maybe eighteen years old."

 Cal looked at her and grinned. "You wonder why I don't see any distinct
characteristics of good or evil? I'll tell you why," he began, hopping off
the tabletop to sit on the bench next to her. "Althea is a demon."

 "A demon?!" Aria asked, shocked. "But, that would mean that the war isn't
over yet!"

 "I know. I've sensed a sinister presence around my `friends' for quite a
while now." Seeing the look of alarm on Aria's face, he added, "Not around
you, though the warmth I sensed isn't there anymore. . . ."

 Aria nodded. "I'm sorry. . . . I've been a bit depressed for a while
too. . . . I can't explain it, either. . . ." she said apologetically.

 "I know. I may've left you for a while, but you can still count on
me. . . ." Cal said truthfully. The hilt of his katana was digging
uncomfortably into his right shoulder blade, so he took it off and set it
down on the tabletop. Looking back at her, he smiled pleasantly and put a
hand on her shoulder. "You can trust me if you wish. I won't ever betray
you. I know how painful betrayal is. . . ."

 She looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Cal, I know I can trust
you. . . ." she said distantly. "I'm just scared about the future. When we
first hugged, and later, when we went for coffee together, you got me
thinking about many things. . . . Those things were both good and bad. You
got me thinking about how I'd react to adverse situations, like up on the
Plane, with the battle of that ungodly creature Aukos. . . . Even though
Evan was the leader, he wasn't a very good leader. He left many wounded
comrades up there to die, and I saved as many as I could before the final
charge to kill the demon menace. You, however, you saved those you could
and then, by my side, slew the demon. I saw it. You made the final shot,
even though Evan said he was the one to bring the beast down. . . . I'll
never forget what you told me the day we were to go up and kill Aukos. You
looked back at me and smiled that reassuring, charismatic smile of yours
and said, `Aria, my friend, if I am to die up there, I want you to know one
thing about me. I'm up there, fighting not for the fate of the dimension,
not for the hundreds of billions of people there who will die should we
fail, but I'm fighting for the hope of saving and preserving the beautiful
things in life. Things like sunrises and sunsets, poetry and the arts,' and
then you looked deep into my eyes and said, `and love.'"

 "Gee, Aria," Cal said, smiling, "I didn't know you were inspired by
that. I was just telling you that so you could understand me better. I was
fighting for those things, yes, but I was truly fighting so I didn't have
to see you die painfully up there. I would have killed myself if I let you
die up there. . . ."

 And so, Aria and Cal talked up there about what had been going on since
Aria's sudden switch of character. "So, tell me about Althea, Cal. She
seems to be quite in love with you. . . ." she asked happily, wanting to
know the details of their meeting each other.

 Cal nodded. "Yes, we're both in love with each other. . . . She's all I
had when I thought you left. . . . I can't repay her with ten lifetimes
worth of servitude. . . ." Cal said absently.

 Aria nodded. "I know. I thought I was all alone. . . . But, when all else
failed, the thought of a better tomorrow is what kept me going. . . . I'm
glad you decided to come to my party, Cal. We've needed to have this
discussion for quite some time," Aria replied happily, patting Cal on the
shoulder. Then, a mischievous glint in her eye, she smirked and asked, "So,
what's gonna happen in the future?"

 He knew what she was implying, and he chortled quietly. "If you're
thinking what I think you're thinking, well . . . I guess I could describe
our first meeting as a bit taboo. . . . I'll let your very capable mind
fill in the blanks." Cal winked at her as she blushed fiercely, her face
turning beet red. Snickering, he then added, "Well, you asked, so I
answered. Truthfully."

 Aria nodded reluctantly, shocked by Cal's admitting he had made love to
Althea so openly to her. She shrugged and said, "Well, I guess she's a
lucky girl, then. . . ." She winked at Cal in an equally mischievous
way. She then grabbed his sword and unsheathed it. "So, this is the
infamous Monosaya ninjato you told me about, huh?" Her ravishing face was
reflected in the mirror-finished steel of the katana. Its edge was razor
sharp and it slightly distorted her reflection.

 "I showed you Monosaya when you were over at my house, didn't I?" Cal then
asked curiously, positive that she had seen the deadly killing sword he
owned.

 "Yes, I've seen it, just never unsheathed. . . . It's beautiful, isn't
it?" she asked, loving the effect the moonlight had upon its surface. It
made it look that much more mystical with the light of the moon glinting
off of the tip of its length.

 "It is. . . . And so are you. . . ." Cal said, looking up at the moon,
which was now wreathed in fluffy cirrus clouds. Beams of moonlight filtered
through the shroud of the cloudbanks and illuminated the sky in a most
beauteous way. It was like looking up at some sort of ethereal sky
belonging to another planet. A car pulled up in her driveway and she walked
to the edge of the porch to see who it was. It was a black Jeep Wrangler,
and the man who stepped out was none other than Evan Johnson.

 "EVAN! UP HERE!" Aria called, getting Evan's attention. Not wanting to
waste his time walking through her house, Evan shrugged and leapt up to the
edge of the porch, clearing it, and landing down behind her, his eyes
closed tightly.

 He then stood up and looked behind him, smirking. "Hello, Aria. How're you
doing this time of night?" he asked jovially.

 Aria walked back to the picnic table and sat down on the tabletop. "I'm
fine. Cal's here."

 Evan's eyes flashed a diabolic shade of blood red in the darkness
briefly. "I see. . . ." he said angrily, in a hesitant sort of growl. He
then glared at Cal. "The hell're you doing here?"

 Cal shrugged good-naturedly. Looking up in the sky unconcerned, he then
said pleasantly, "I'm just enjoying Aria's company. Why're you here,
swine?"

 Evan's jaw clenched at this minor insult as though he had insulted the
honor of his entire family. "I came because Aria asked me to. You?"

 "I came because I don't need a reason to see the ones I love. And yes,
also because she wanted me to." Both looked to Aria.

 Knowing what they were expecting, Aria got up and folded her arms behind
her head and walked to the ledge. "I wanted both of you to come here and
make amends with each other. I don't know both sides of your stories, but
you two were best friends for a good five years before you changed. . . ."
She then looked at Cal. "And before you and I became closer."

 Evan's upper lip twitched unpleasantly into a sneering sort of
position. "Why the hell should I apologize to this infidel of God?"

 "Infidel of God?!" Cal repeated. "Just so you know, I would eagerly give
my life for the cause of Light. I just have different beliefs than you do,
you archaic-thinking, belligerent son of a shit-festering whore!"

 A tranquil look came over Evan's face. He then looked evilly into Cal's
frosty-gray eyes and said, "What was that?"

 "I've different beliefs than you do, you archaic-thinking, belligerent son
of a shit-festering whore," Cal replied, equally as tranquil.

 "THAT'S IT!!!!!" Evan shouted, loud enough to cause an echo in the night
sky. He then lunged at Cal.

 Aria stepped in his way. "Knock it off, the both of you!!" she said
angrily, pushing Evan away. Evan stalked to the edge of the porch and sat
on the railing, breathing like a winded rhinoceros. Sighing, Aria then
looked to Cal and said, "You should apologize to him for saying that."

 "Why? He deserves much worse for what he's done to me. You know this, as
does he!" Cal said, grabbing Monosaya and slinging it onto his back. He
gripped its handle expectantly.

 "I guess so. . . ." Aria said hesitantly. She then looked at Evan and
asked, "Why do you hate him so much? He's not done anything to you that he
can think of. . . ."

 "I hate him because of his `beliefs'! They are the beliefs of a Satanist!"
Evan growled. "I hate him because he's always complaining about how hard
his life is, how painful it is when something doesn't go right, and how
stupid people are. He's the stupid one. Everyone has their own shit to deal
with." Evan looked into Aria's eyes and then said, "And I hate him because
he brings all this upon himself!"

 Cal laughed sadistically. "You poor creature! I've only complained three
times to you since our friendship was first starting out, and that was
because my mother and father were getting a fucking divorce! And, I only
complained to you because I thought you were my friend. And because I
thought you were the only one I could trust. . . . HAH! I remember when you
said to me up on the Plane after I was possessed by that shit Tirlexx that
in my darkest moment, you would stand by my side." He ripped off his gi and
showed him and Aria the slash-scar on his shoulder. "Possibly the darkest
moment I had was only about a month ago and you were nowhere to be found. I
tried to kill myself but because of my cowardice, I couldn't. So, I took
Monosaya and slashed my shoulder." Seeing Aria's shocked face and Evan's
incredulous one, he added, "And you know what caused me to try and take my
own life. . . ? YOU!!!! YOU AND THE REST OF MY SO-CALLED FRIENDS BETRAYING
ME AFTER SO MUCH THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH!!!!"

 Aria slowly walked up to him and gently ran her slender and dainty fingers
across it. Unsheathing Monosaya, Cal pointed the edge to her and showed her
the blood stain. He hadn't washed it off when he cut his shoulder and he
had forgotten to do it ever since. She then looked into his eyes and saw a
profound sadness behind the fiery hatred that was the outer shell of his
merciless glare. "Cal. . . ." she whispered in a stunned, subdued sort of
voice.

 "I'm sorry, Aria. I didn't mean you," Cal whispered back. He was lying,
and she could tell. Sighing, he resheathed Monosaya and then glared back at
Evan, who had his teeth bared in anger and revulsion. "Come on, Evan. We've
been meaning to have one final fight to settle our differences. Prove to me
that you're strong enough to be the leader of the Divine Soldiers up on the
Astral Plane!" he motioned for him to attack. "Come on! I know you
desperately wish for me to die, so why don't you come get a piece of me?
You know you want to!" He set his katana down on the picnic table next to
his gi.

 Aria stood up and got between the two. Looking like she was on the verge
of tears, she said, "Stop it! Damn it, is this the only way you two can
resolve this?!"

 Evan pushed her aside roughly, sending her to the balcony's edge. "Yes it
is. Get out of my way!"

 Growling in anger, Cal's back leg tensed up and he lunged at Evan with all
the hatred he had stored up, fueling his craving for vengeance. "YOU'VE
BEEN ASKING THIS FOR A LONG TIME, EVAN JOHNSON!!"

 * * *

 Althea heard Cal's shout long before anyone noticed the slight disturbance
up on the roof above them. Grasping Miranda's hand, she then hastily walked
up the stairway she saw Cal move up, towards the balcony. "Where are we
going?!" Miranda asked anxiously as the two leapt up the stairs three at a
time.

 "Cal and that other person, Evan, are going to hurt each other! I can't
let him hurt Cal!" she said angrily as she spread her wings and flew up the
remaining steps, landing lithely on the upper landing. They then ran
headlong through the hallway to the opening to the porch and saw that Cal
was pinned against the wall and Evan had his katana pointed at his throat,
ready to impale him into the wall.

 "STOP IT, FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST AND LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!" Aria
shrieked, seeing that Evan had every intention to kill Cal right where they
stood.

 "What's going on?!" Miranda asked as they stepped onto the porch.

 Althea was beyond the reach of words, though. She raised her right hand
and suddenly, Cal's katana was ripped out of Evan's grasp. The sword flew
through the air and she caught it by the handle. "You shall not harm Calvin
Lillehammer, Evan Johnson," she growled.

 Using Evan's momentary lapse of concentration to his advantage, Cal
grabbed Evan's left hand, which was pushing his chest and neck against the
wall, twisted his hand backwards, and kneed him in the face. Evan staggered
backwards and toppled over the picnic table. Cal breathed heavily and
thanked her. She smiled and handed him his sword back. "Now,

EVAN, it is time for ends to be met!" Evan looked up as he saw Cal raise
the deadly blade of Monosaya, meant for a downward cut that would surely
end Evan's life. A deep slash wound was visible in Cal's naked side,
bleeding crimson fluid all down his left side and onto the pants of his
ninja uniform. The baggy upper left leg of the pants was matted against his
muscular body. He acted as though it weren't there, though.

 Aria had to step in, otherwise a Cal would kill Evan and be sent to jail
for the rest of his life. She put a hand on his right arm and said
gingerly, "Don't do it, Cal. . . . You'll be lowering yourself to his level
if you do. . . . I don't want to see you get sent to jail, no matter how
much he deserves what you'll deliver to him. . . ."

 Cal looked down at Aria, breathing heavily. He then slowly lowered his
sword and collapsed onto one knee. He then clutched the slash wound to his
side, blood squirting out between his fingers. Both Althea and Aria rushed
to him to see if he was okay. "F, fine. . . . I won't sink to his l,
level. . . ."

 A thunderous, evil laughter sounded from behind the picnic table,
ricocheting off the charcoal facade of Aria's house. Evan stood up, his
eyes glowing a bright shade of crimson red. In the darkness, one could
actually see his aura growing and a sound sort of like wind rushing through
tree leaves being emitted from him. His aura was a murky shade of light red
in the moonlight. "Calvin, you fool! You can never defeat me!! HAHAHAH!!"
he yelled as his eyes narrowed. He then rushed Cal at an unfathomable
speed, grabbing him around his neck, and leaping off of the porch, carrying
Cal with him. In midair, quite to both Aria's and Althea's surprise, Evan
sprouted a pair of leathery wings and he flapped them, sending him soaring
up to a height of a hundred and fifty feet. Cal, too stunned to try and
defend himself, only looked up at Evan insolently. "You know what I love
about you, Cal?"

 "W, what, you b, bastard?!" Cal growled as he tried slashing at Evan. Evan
just batted his sword away with his other hand, sending it falling to the
ground an eternal distance away.

 "Your inability to see the obvious! See ya, hee, hee, hee. . . ." With
that said, Evan dropped Cal at a height of one hundred and twenty-five or
so feet. "INTO THE VOID YOU GO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" And thus, Cal plummeted
into the marina, making a horrendous splash. Laughing like a lunatic, Evan
flew back to his jeep and took off, punching out the passenger-side window
to Cal's jeep as he went.

 * * *

 Meanwhile, Althea, Miranda, and Aria were in an absolute and stunned
silence, watching as the waves from Cal's very rough landing
subsided. Then, snapping out of her stupor, Althea leapt off of the porch
and flew to where Cal crashed into the wharf. Cal's left hand was all that
was visible, for he had clung onto the edge of a lone piece of plywood in
the marina and was holding onto it for dear life. He was very unconscious
and when she lifted him out of the water, he wasn't breathing. "Cal?! Can
you hear me?!" she asked nervously, frantically wondering what to
do. "Please, tell me who this is speaking to you! I'm begging you!"

 Still getting no response, she flew back to Aria and Miranda, hoping for
the love of the Almighty to give her the answers she sought. Landing on the
railing, she leapt to the picnic table and lay Cal's limp, unconscious,
seemingly dead body onto the tabletop. "Help me! I don't know what to do!
Help me please!" she shrieked nervously. Aria quickly ran over to them and
grabbed Cal's wrist and pressed down, checking for a pulse.

 "He's got a pulse at least!" Aria said anxiously. "But he's not
breathing. I'm gonna do CPR." She then put her lips to Cal's and breathed
into him for several puffs and then started pressing on his chest. The
first try nothing happened. It was as though he was a dead fish, or at
least that's what he looked like to Althea and Miranda. "Don't you dare
think of giving up now, Cal! I'll never forgive you if you do!" Aria
growled as she pressed down roughly on his chest. The cut on his left side
bled more because of the pressure. She breathed into his mouth again and
pushed on his chest again. Still there was nothing. And the same was for
the third time. Aria was starting to get desperate. "Come on, Cal, fight
this! Don't succumb to the throes of death! PLEASE!! I BEG OF YOU!!!" she
screamed, half blinded by tears. She then checked his pulse. There was
none. "NOOO! DON'T LEAVE!!" But he never moved. He never opened his eyes or
took a breath. He never awoke. He was dead.

 Miranda timidly walked up to his cold carcass. "Cal. . . ." she said
sadly, a tear cascading down her cheek. It slid off her round, innocent
face and splashed on Cal's slash wound, which instantly began to
heal. Althea came up and put her head on his chest, crying for his loss.

 Don't go. . . . Please, don't leave me. . . . she thought as she cried for
him. She looked into his tranquil face and kissed him on his lips. "I, I
love you. . . ." she whispered to him. "Don't leave. We need you. . . ."
Her dainty hand brushed across his chest to where his heart was. "I need
you. . . ." She kissed him one more time and then, suddenly, Cal's eyes
opened and he gasped for air. "Y, you're alive!!" Althea whispered weakly,
overcome and crying tears of happiness.

 "Yeah. . . ." Cal gasped, feeling like he had just run twenty miles flat
out. "So, that's what Hell looks like, neh? Hah! The big softy might be
able to hold those malevolent spirits in there, but I broke out quite
easily. . . . Thanks for waiting for me. . . ." he said exhaustedly, laying
his head back against his gi on the picnic table. Miranda squealed with joy
and ran to hug him, as Althea had already begun that.

 Aria looked thoroughly relieved and too went to hug him. She then slapped
him hard across his left cheek. "You big jerk! Don't scare me like that!!!"
she said in both anger and joy.

 Cal sat up, aching all over. "Oof. . . . That's gonna hurt in the
morning," he said as he massaged the back of his neck. Althea still clung
to him. He looked at Althea and smiled, then smiled warmly to Aria. "Sorry
to scare you, Aria." He hopped off of the picnic table. "But we really
gotta go. Two hours of this kind of crap and anyone can nearly die, right?"

 Aria laughed quietly. "Yes, I suppose you're right. . . ." she said as she
hugged Cal one more time. Althea reluctantly let go of him as he got his gi
on. Grabbing the scabbard to his katana, he nodded and smiled to her. "Will
you call me later?" she asked tenderly.

 Cal smiled deeply. "Sure. . . . We gotta talk about some things anyway."
Smiling, he wrapped his arms around Althea and said, "Take care, okay? I
don't want anything bad to happen to you, and now we know that things are
more indistinct between good and evil. If anything happens, call me or
signal me and I'll be over as fast as I can." He then looked to Althea and
Miranda. "Ready to go?"

 Miranda nodded happily. "Yeah. Ready when you are, Cal!" Althea just clung
to him as he held her with his right arm and nodded in his loving embrace.

 "Take care, you guys. . . ." Aria said as she showed them to the door. Cal
walked down the brick sidewalk and waved goodbye to Aria as he wrenched his
katana out of some poor bastard's windshield. Shrugging, he twirled it and
then slid it back in his sheath. Aria sighed and hugged herself as she
leaned against the door to her house, watching Cal, Althea, and Miranda
leave in his jeep. She smiled contentedly and then walked back inside to be
the life of the party once more.

 Cal looked into Althea's eyes and blew a kiss to her. "Thank you,
Althea. . . . I couldn't afford to die there just yet. . . ."

 * * *

 They dropped Miranda off at her apartment in the downtown area, right next
to the mini-mall that had Eclipse. And then, they went back to Cal's home
to talk about what happen and make passionate love to one another. The
digital clock in Cal's jeep read 12:46 AM. Sighing and getting out of the
jeep, Cal walked over to Althea's door and chivalrously opened it for
her. She repaid him with a lusty kiss to the lips using her tongue to dance
with his. With that, the two lovers walked into Cal's house and locked the
door. His mother stood there in the living room, stamping her foot
irritably. "And where have you been?!" she asked.

 Althea growled angrily at Cal's mother. "Listen, Ms. Lillehammer, Cal's
had a rough day, so we'd immensely appreciate it if you would spare him the
overindulgent, pissed-off, parent-from-Hell routine." With that growled,
Althea helped Cal limp his way into the house.

 Ms. Lillehammer looked apoplectic with outrage as Cal slowly hobbled into
the living room. Sitting down in the armchair next to the large front
window, Cal took off his gi and sword, put them on the table next to the
window, and then got up and looked at his mother. "What? I got in a fight,
big deal!"

 She then scanned the large slash on his side. "You got that from a fight?"
she asked skeptically, her eyebrows raised.

 "Yes." With that said, Cal got up and went to grab a rag and some healing
salve to clean and heal the wound. Althea sat down on the couch,
remembering luxuriously how earlier that day they had almost fucked each
other right there in front of the window, visible to the entire world. Her
loins quivered with excitement.

 Sighing, Cal's mother paced back and forth in front of Cal, her arms
folded behind her back. She looked down at him incredulously. "So, what all
happened at the dance?" she then asked after a moment of silence.

 Cal shrugged as he applied the salve. "Not too much. . . . Did some
dancing with Althea, met a new friend, danced with Althea some more, went
to Aria's place to see what she wanted, got in a fight, and that was about
it. How was your evening?" Cal then asked bluntly. He winced as he applied
the gelatinous remedy to his wound. It stung like hell, but at least it
cleaned the wound.

 "Oh, the usual. Graded papers, watched TV, graded more papers, ate
dinner. . . ." Ms. Lillehammer sighed and yawned, putting a hand to her
mouth. "Well, you two keep quiet downstairs, alright? I'm going to bed."

 "Good night, Ms. Lillehammer," Althea said genially, lying down on the
couch.

 "Good night, Althea." With that said, Ms. Lillehammer stalked off to the
upstairs bedroom.

 And so, with cleaning his wound, Cal got up and grabbed his gi, slinging
it, along with his katana, over his shoulder. He looked out the
window. "What are you thinking, Cal?" Althea asked tenderly, walking up to
him and sliding her arms around his waist. She rested her chin on his
shoulder and looked into his eyes.

 Cal sighed and looked down at his wound. "I'm just
thinking. . . . Tonight, I . . . I could have done something
horrible. . . ."

 "What?" Althea then asked gingerly.

 Cal shook his head. "There are many things that you don't know about me,
love. . . . A lot of those things I cannot tell you. . . . I'm sorry,
please forgive me. . . ." he said sadly.

 Althea grasped his hand tightly with her left hand while she hugged him
with her right. "Cal, I know you've got more than your share of problems,
but I want to try and help you deal with them. You've done so much for me
in these past three days that it's the least I can do to repay you by
sharing your pain. . . . Together, we'll never be alone. You said that to
me yesterday, right after you got finished telling me your
troubles. Please, tell me about your adventures up on the Astral
Plane. . . . Perhaps I can bring those powers of yours more alive on this
plane?"

 Cal felt a surge of adrenaline jolt from his testicles all the way up his
spine. "Y, you read my journal?"

 "Yes. . . ." Althea said hesitantly, looking deep into his eyes. "It
helped me to understand you better. And don't worry, it was only the latest
journal. Not the first one. . . ." She gripped him about his crotch and
grinned mischievously. "Tell me after we get through!"

 Cal grinned, equally as mischievously, and allowed himself to be led to
the back porch. A chill breeze was blowing in from the west, the moonlight
a creamy beige on his pale ivory skin. Althea pushed him against the
railing and undid the drawstrings behind Cal, making his ninja pants fall
to his knees, where his first set of tie-downs was located. "You never
cease to surprise me, Althea. . . ." Cal said lovingly as he was set on top
of the railing.

 Althea looked up into his eyes lustfully and grinned her fanged grin
naughtily, her snowy-fair face half bathed in shadow. "Cal, you really
scared me tonight, you know?" she asked in a wanton sort of voice. She then
grabbed Cal's penis around its base and slipped it into her mouth. She
sucked and sucked on it like there was no tomorrow, letting her tongue wrap
around it every now and then.

 Cal moaned with pleasure as he felt himself get serviced by Althea's very
capable mouth. "Oh, love! I didn't mean to scare you!" he moaned as he
grabbed Althea's head and wove his fingers into her mane of bloody red
hair.

 Althea loved the feeling of Cal's hard cock massaging the back of her
throat, and eventually, she slipped a finger up Cal's ass, fingering him as
she sucked him dry. With this new sensation, Cal couldn't take it anymore
and came like a fire hose. Althea was sure to keep all of his semen in her
mouth, not wanting to miss a drop of the milky-white elixir of love. "Don't
scare me like that again!" she moaned as she kissed and licked her way up
Cal's taut, muscular stomach and chest.

 Cal grabbed her about her face and passionately kissed her, slipping his
tongue in to dance with hers. He tasted his cum on the tip of her tongue
and, most surprised, he found the taste to be rather erotic. "I'll try not
to. . . ." he said as he grabbed her about her waist and held her close to
his heart. He then looked up at the moon. "Let's go inside, love. I've a
bit of a story to tell you. . . ."