Adventures In Parodyverse: The Path of the Righteous, Part 6

WARNING: This portion of The Path of the Righteous contains elements that might be deemed offensive or destructive to current plots in the Parodyverse. But before you kill the writer wait till the next post, and it will all make sense.

Links:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Adventures In Parodyverse - The Path of the Righteous, Part 6

    "I didn't really mean what I said," Lara Night whispered as she sat huddled under a blanket in Visionary's quarters. She was still shivering, even after being given new clothing and having a portable space heater placed in front of her.

    "Huh?" Visionary asked. He appointed himself as her ever-vigilant bodyguard, keeping an eye on her until she makes a full recovery.

    She looked up at him slowly. "When I said I hated this world. There are a couple things I like about it. A couple of people, more specifically."

    "Who would that be?" Visionary asked.

    Lara smiled. "Playing clueless, Vish? That's so like you."

    "Oh." It finally dawned on him what she meant, and he smiled. "Well I...uh...like you too."

    "Maybe I need to take a hot shower," Lara wondered to herself.

    "Good idea," Visionary told her. "I'll, uh, check the mail or something. I'll see you after your shower."

    "Okay." Lara stood and dragged the blanket with her, and began shuffling around the room.

    Visionary quietly walked down the hallway to check the Lair Legion mailboxes. He took out a few envelopes. 'Occupant,' two of them were addressed to. He sighed, and as he usually did, wondered just how insightful those letters were. One envelope was from some company called 'Initiative Marketing'.

    "Initiative," he whispered to himself. He turned around and CSFB! was standing there, staring at him, seeming confused.

    "Talking to yourself again, Vizh?" he teased.

    "Uh...yeah." Visionary slipped past him and quickly raced toward his quarters, remembering that word...'initiative'.

    He felt extremely nervous as he quietly shut the door and locked it. He could hear the shower running, and he smiled to himself as he remember again...'initiative'.

    At the moment he rescued Lara from OPS, he saw something in her he'd never seen before. Something fragile, like a flower that desperately needed water to avoid wilting. Not too much like Dream would provide, leaving her feeling drowned and weak in the end. Just barely enough to leave her happy.

    He finished stripping off all his clothing and grabbed a towel, and his heart was racing by then to the point where he almost felt like passing out. He worried that he might, or that she might knock him unconscious for doing this...but he didn't care. He had to try, he would never be able to respect himself if he chickened out yet again.

    Visionary snuck into the bathroom quickly and tossed the towel on the floor, leaving nothing. He slid aside the curtain slowly and stepped through the gap, forcing himself not to close his eyes and begin begging for forgiveness.

    His heart stopped completely as soon as he was in the shower. A woman with jet black hair and smooth olive skin was facing away from him. He panicked and tried to exit quickly, but he slipped and nearly fell, gasping loud enough that there was no denying his existence there.

    Liu Xi turned around and shrieked. Or maybe Visionary himself shrieked, he still wasn't sure. Everything was so confusing, happened so quickly.

    Visionary did the first thing he could think of. He covered his eyes with both hands and began whispering, "This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening..."

    He felt the water switch off, and small hands reaching around him gently, and he felt warm fabric tighten around his waist. He uncovered his eyes slowly to look. Liu Xi had very calmly wrapped herself in a towel, and wrapped another around him as well.

    That's when Visionary looked away and started stammering. "I didn't...I...Lara...thought...I'm sorry--"

    "Stop stop," Liu Xi stopped him. She took a deep breath and brushed her soaking wet hair back. "I didn't hit you, did I?"

    Visionary shook his head, still trying to look away. He held on to the towel that was around his waist, for some reason feeling like he didn't trust it even though it was tied well.

    "Look at me," she urged. She waited until Visionary complied before continuing. "I didn't hit you. I know it was a mistake."

    "You do?" he asked sheepishly. "I mean...if you do you have to be the most forgiving woman I know."

    Liu Xi shook her head. "Who could think it was on purpose with a reaction like that? Covering your eyes and muttering?"

    "Oh. Yeah." Visionary frowned and blushed quite a bit at hearing that assessment of his reaction, still holding on tightly to the towel. "But...I was naked and...in your shower. And you were naked, and I was--"

    "I was there too." She laughed at his recap of the events. "You're not the first naked man I've seen, but you are the most frightened...and the kindest."

    Visionary lost all sense of panic at that moment. He paused for a bit before he finally replied, "Really?"

    "Yes. If it would have been my non-existant lover rather than you I would have appreciated the gesture."

    "Wait...are you implying I could never be your lover? Why not?" Visionary added, seeming insulted by her implication.

    "Are you luring me into one of those no-win traps?" Liu Xi giggled. "That's funny."

    "No, really," Visionary prodded, feeling more insecure by the moment, "What's wrong with me?"

    "Physically, nothing," Liu Xi replied. "I can easily guess why Pricilla visits you so often. Dropping into the shower like that...you have a very healthy curiosity," she told him delicately. She laughed when Visionary blushed again. "But you are also very neurotic. I am a little too. We might drive each other insane, always apologizing to each other."

    "I guess that's...fair," Visionary whispered. "To your credit though you're much more forgiving and understanding than I could ever imagine. And...you have very smooth skin, and you always smell good."

    She smiled. "See? That wasn't too difficult. You are still in a towel and you've stopped freaking out. You're even complimenting me."

    "Maybe that little visit to the beach helped out a little," Visionary admitted. "I mean aside from the severe sunburn and shedding skin like a lizard for a week. You might have taught me that it's ok to...admire a little without being afraid. Or something like that."

    "So I can take my towel off and you'll be okay?" Liu Xi joked. Visionary nearly turned away before she quickly added, "I'm kidding!"

    "Oh." Visionary looked embarrassed for not having more faith in his friend.

    "You said that you were looking for Lara," she pointed out. "She is using my shower. That's why I had to use yours." Liu Xi smiled. "She's trying to get warm, so she might still be there if you hurry."

    "Can you...um...get me there without...you know, so I don't have to walk through the hallway with a towel on? I wouldn't even ask if I--"

    "Yes, I can." Liu Xi interrupted him as she moved behind him. "Keep your eyes open," she said. "Trust me." With that, she shoved Visionary straight at a solid wall...

    ...and he went right through it as if it didn't exist. He seemed to be in Liu Xi's room. Behind him was a solid wall again. "So that's how she gets into my room so quietly," he mused to himself.

---

    The Hooded Hood admired the crystal he held in his hands as it glowed gently. He looked over the top of it at Faite, who stood with arms folded a few feet from the base of his throne. "We've done it," he said. "My plan is a success. I thank you for your loyal service."

    "I did it to preserve the Parodyverse and my own life, not to aid you," Faite replied coldly.

    "Nevertheless," he said, "I now have the necessary pawns in place." He shook his head. "No, that is a crude comparison. Chess is much too simple a game for an accurate comparison now."

    "I can see bigger pieces of this puzzle than most--" Faite began.

    "Which is why I requested your assistance," the Hood interrupted. "Have you ever heard the expression about a large enough lever being able to move the world?"

    "Yes, I have." Faite nodded.

    "In my particular business it's the opposite," the Hooded Hood explained. "I use many, many very small levers. And with the power of all of those levers I can move the universe. As I told Mr. Boaz, I have indeed taken over the Parodyverse...because everything I need to control it is in place."

    "So why haven't you asserted your will?" Faite asked.

    The Hooded Hood leaned back and sighed. "Because I've followed that path before and failed. To understand why I had to research the most successful control systems throughout history."

    "And discovered...?"

    "There were none," the Hooded Hood replied. "Save one. One entity that has held the interest of people over all time."

    Faite raised an eyebrow. "And that is...?"

    "A divine creator. A god," the Hooded Hood replied. He frowned at Faite. "Don't look at me like that, I haven't gone off the deep end. I'm not claiming to be a god. I only wish to emulate some of the methods associated with a successful divine creator. To make small, detailed changes all aimed at a very large goal. Yes, I've taken over the Parodyverse, but no one realizes it yet. And by the time they do...they'll never have seen it coming. And it'll be too late to change things back."

    "Will this happen in your lifetime?" Faite asked.

    "It will only take one more event," the Hooded Hood replied. "One more. And a final cascade of events will unfold that will place me at the very epicenter of everything in the Parodyverse." He smiled, speaking again but seeming to not even notice Faite's presence as he turned to look at the Portal of Pretentiousness. "It's very close indeed."

---

    Visionary's heart was pounding as he entered Liu Xi's bathroom, and could hear the water running. He was terrified that Yo or Dancer or even April could be in there, and he could be in for two runs of horrible luck in one day. But he was secretly even more terrified that it actually would be Lara.

    He held the edge of the shower curtain, hands shaking, and could feel his heartbeat in his ears, wondering once again if he would pass out before he ever made it. But at least if he did, Lara would be able to revive him easily.

    To overcome his fear, he nearly threw himself past the shower curtain and into the shower. He slipped, and went face-first into the opposite wall...

    ...but Lara caught him before he managed to hurt himself. He stood and stared at her, partly admiring her and partly frozen in sheer terror.

    "...initiative?" Lara said to him. She probably actually said something like 'you're finally taking initiative?' but the first part of the sentence seemed to disappear into the sound of the loud heartbeat and the rushing water in the shower.

    Visionary tried to reply, but he couldn't. Instead he remembered what Liu Xi told him...to speak to Lara with his heart. His heart was beating loudly enough that she could probably hear it, after all. Instead, he clumsily lunged forward, hugged Lara tightly, and kissed her.

    The warmth of her body, the feel of her kiss, and the touch of her delicate soft fingers were enough to finally melt away the terror he felt, and he essentially simply gave himself up to her, forgetting anything but Lara and that moment.

    'One more event,' Lara sensed words floating into her mind, 'Just one more.' She opened her eyes for a moment, but realized that Visionary hadn't said a word. He was sharing a most intimate moment with her, he was completely lost to her. And she closed her eyes and once again completely lost herself to him.

    "One more event," the Hooded Hood whispered as he watched the Portal of Pretentiousness. He laughed. He laughed deeply, enough as to worry Faite about what she'd done.

---

    Visionary woke up in a strange bed in the arms of a beautiful blonde. For some reason, he felt very happy about it, because he recognized the blonde as Lara Night, a woman he had been thinking about intently for some time.

    "Watch and wait," the Hooded Hood told Faite.

    But Visionary got the strangest sensations from Lara. A feeling like the amplification effect of singing in harmony with someone else, only on an emotional level. Like she was in tune with his feelings, making the experience more exciting.

    Lara opened her eyes slowly and looked at Visionary. She hugged him and smiled. "I know something about you now," she said. "I could feel your connection to the Parodyverse."

    The Hooded Hood leaned back and smiled. Faite started to become alarmed. She could tell by now what was about to happen.

    "You're real," Lara said. "You weren't created to be a placeholder. You were always here, and you were just adopted for the purpose."

    The crystal next to the the Hooded Hood began to glow brightly, and vibrate violently.

    Visionary shuddered for a moment. He sat up, wondering what had happened, or if he was still alive. He was, and he still had the beautiful blonde next to him.

    "Are you okay?" Lara asked.

    "It's nearly complete," the Hooded Hood said. "In a moment I'll be the new placeholder in the Parodyverse." He looked next to him for the brightly glowing crystal which would facilitate the replacement operation. It was gone, and so was Faite.

    "I felt like...I was...fading away for a moment," Visionary replied. "I can't quite explain it."

    "Fade away later," Lara joked. She laughed and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him.

    "Isn't this Liu Xi's room?" Visionary asked.

    "No, this is a room she added next door," Lara told him. "It looks like hers because it's a duplicate of it."

    "Oh." Visionary looked over at the side table. "What's that?"

    "What's what?" Lara looked too. There was a large, glowing crystal sitting there. "I guess the Hooded Hood didn't need it anymore." With a wave of her hand, the crystal disappeared.

    "Where did it go?" Visionary asked.

    "Home," Lara replied. "It's not safe to just leave it lying around here. Too many dangerous people want it."

    "Do any dangerous people want you?" Visionary joked, smiling.

    "Just one." Lara kissed him again. "I know doing this will eventually get you into trouble. So how come?"

    Visionary shrugged. "Every day since I had that heart attack, Lara, I've been thinking...today might be the day. Today might be the day it might happen again, only I might not survive it."

    "The first time it was caused by contamination," Lara pointed out. "What are the odds of that happening twice?" She stopped herself when Visionary gave her a mock suffering look. "Okay, okay. Point taken."

    "I'm not going to go crazy and start eating everything and sleeping with everyone," Visionary continued, "But--" He looked at Lara and smiled. "There are a few things I really don't want to pass up."

    Lara lay on her stomach and leaned on her elbows. "So is this...something, Vish? Or was it a one night stand?"

    "What would you prefer?" Visionary asked.

    She shrugged. "I...might like it to be something more. I'm not saying we get married or anything, I'm not ready for that. I mean...do you really like me?"

    He smiled and nodded. "Yes. I've liked you a lot for a long time now."

    "So why didn't you do this before?" Lara asked, reaching over to whack him gently atop the head. "You could have saved us both a lot of time and grief."

    "Because I like you so much," Visionary replied. "I was afraid I'd screw something up and I'd ruin my chances forever. I do that a lot, you know."

    "Ah, but I see right through that screw-up facade." Lara smiled. "I'm not fooled. I know the sensitive guy who needs someone safe to talk to and to occasionally lean on."

    Visionary smiled again. "That's what I really like about you."

    "So what about Pricilla?" Lara asked.

    "Oh." He looked worried all of a sudden. "I completely forgot about that."

    "Okay, sometimes you are a little frustrating," Lara joked. "Luckily I find that cute." She smiled at him.

    "I...guess I could just avoid her for a while," Visionary wondered to himself.

    "You could ask Liu Xi," Lara suggested. "She's very good at arranging things. She surprises even me sometimes."

    Speaking of which, Visionary thought, Liu Xi was standing in the doorway of the room seeming as if she had something important to say, and seeming unconcerned that he was in bed with Lara. "Couldn't this wait?" he asked her.

    "No," Liu Xi replied plainly. "Pricilla is here demanding to see you. Don't worry, she doesn't know where you are. Take your time."

    As Liu Xi left, Visionary fell out of the bed as he scrambled to gather his clothing. "Crap!" he said, "I forgot she was supposed to meet me here today! We're supposed to go to some kind of protest!"

    "Hey," Lara called to him as he struggled to get dressed. She smiled when he looked at her. "Don't forget about me, okay?"

    "I don't think I can," Visionary replied. He smiled and paused getting dressed for a moment. "Not after all the trouble I went through to ambush you in your shower."

---

    I am Faite. I saved the universe one day, but no one will have remembered. I will have not existed, not remember by anyone, courtesy of the Hooded Hood. I will have been nobody and nothing.

    But I will know. I will know what I've done that day, and the Hooded Hood cannot take that away from me. I will remember. And I only hope one other person does as well.

    There, one person. Lara Night, the perceptive elemental from another dimension, lying next to the current and always placeholder of the Parodyverse. Perhaps she remembers? Perhaps the crystal will prod her memory? It would be fortunate for me if she did. It would be my one and only chance to return someday...through memory. I can only wish...I can only hope.

    For now, I am happy. Happy that everything is safe again, as it should be. Happy that Visionary found contentment with Lara, distracting him from the destructive forces at work behind the scenes which would have taken his life first and then everyone else's. It felt good to set such a plan in motion. A plan, as the Hooded Hood implied, worthy of a god.

    "Yes," the Hooded Hood added as he watched an important event unfold in the Portal of Pretentiousness. He watched Pricilla DuBois walking up to the door of the Lair Mansion, intent on dropping in for a surprise visit. "Worthy of a god."

NEXT WEEK: EPILOGUE

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2005 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
-- Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
-- Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

To the Spirit of the Night, I surrender...

Post By Anime Jason Sat Oct 22, 2005 at 12:26:42 pm EDT	Subject Adventures In Parodyverse: The Path of the Righteous, Part 6

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