by Justin Sloan
A crowd of people had gathered around the house. They pointed and shouted when they saw Allie go running by, Daniel on her heels.
The wall of the house had collapsed, leaving an opening for her to rush into. She quickly performed a protection pattern in the ashy floor, then turned to see Daniel beside her.
“Stay close.”
The fire seemed to have started at the front, and the flames hadn’t destroyed the back part of the house yet. Allie ran deep into the smoke, shouting for Yuko. A burst of flame came through a door when Daniel opened it, but he jumped back just in time.
“Careful!” Allie shouted.
A scream came from upstairs, and Daniel pointed.
“There!”
The small set of stairs was almost hidden in a small doorway, and Allie threw herself up them.
“Where are you?” she yelled. “Daniel, how do you say it in Japanese?”
“I don’t know! I just looked up where to go…. Something like ‘doko’?”
“Kotchira! Kotchira e!” the voice shouted, coming from behind a sliding screen door.
Daniel reached the door first, and when he slid it open, a burst of air knocked him back. Dark wings followed, holding Yuko in the air as she flew out with a kick to his chest.
“We’re here to help!” Allie shouted.
But Yuko had turned on her.
“It’s a trap!” Daniel said, trying to catch his breath.
“You think I don’t see that?” Allie replied as she dodged a sweeping attack from Yuko.
The next strike caught Allie in the back of the head, sending her sprawling forward. She turned just in time to see Yuko falling from the sky, fist held at the ready. The winged girl landed with a punch to the floor that cracked the wood plank.
“Yuko, it’s us!” Allie said. “We’ve come to get you out of here!”
“You can’t!” Yuko said, spinning in a circle so that her wings knocked Allie over. She leapt at Allie, fists raining down. “Nobody can help me!”
Daniel tackled Yuko off of Allie, holding her to the ground. She stared up at him with confusion.
“Your English has gotten better,” he said.
She looked insulted, then punched him in the chest, sending him rolling to the floor.
“Give me the ring!” she shouted at Allie.
“You know I can’t do that.” Allie lifted her hand with the ring and focused her energy. “But I can do this.”
With a crack, the ring sent forth a burst of energy that wrapped itself around Yuko, constricting like a snake.
“Ahhh!” she shouted in pain. “Make it stop! It’s just me, it’s just….”
“Stop it, Allie!” Daniel said. “You’re hurting her!”
Allie tried, concentrating on pulling back the light, but nothing happened.
“I—I can’t,” she said.
Yuko screamed again. “Enough!” she said, before allowing another anguished yell.
The light grew brighter as it squeezed, and Yuko let out another piercing scream as her wings fell to the floor.
Yuko collapsed, unconscious. Daniel ran to her side and lifted her with great effort.
“We have to get out of here,” Allie said.
“And we’re not leaving her,” he replied. “Help me!”
Allie hesitated, but when flames tore at the stairway nearby, she darted forward. The two helped Yuko to her feet and started toward the exit.
As they ran through the fire, Allie turned back to see the flames take the wings. A plume of black smoke puffed into the air, the wings shriveled, and then were gone.
Chapter 4: Escape
Allie kept running until Daniel finally stopped her, bent over in exhaustion.
“Okay, I think we’re safe,” she said with a glance over her shoulder.
Yuko, who had been struggling to keep up, panted with arms raised above her head as she struggled to catch her breath.
“What in the world happened back there?” Allie asked. She looked at walls of houses surrounding them. “And where are we?”
Allie and Daniel turned to Yuko, waiting.
“They…. They have my family,” Yuko said. She looked exhausted, with bags under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept in months.
“What do you mean?” Daniel asked. “Who?”
“The Strayers.” She took a step but wobbled, and Daniel had to help steady her. “They took my mom first. Then, when I didn’t do as they asked, my dad and sister.”
“And what did they ask you to do?”
“The ring….” Yuko looked in awe at the ring on Allie’s finger. “They said I had to put on the wings, get the ring from you, and bring it to them.”
“You know that can’t happen,” Allie said, covering her ring with her other hand.
“No, of course. Not now.”
“Not ever.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Yuko said, looking to Daniel for help. “It wasn’t me. The moment I put those wings on, I felt the pitch black eating at me. It was like looking out from a smudged window, not able to control what I was doing but watching it with horror.”
Allie sighed, allowing herself to relax. “Yeah, we’ve seen that before.”
“Paulette,” Daniel said with a nod of his head. “Samyaza, he has the power to do that.”
“But we destroyed him.”
“Samyaza was only one of many,” Yuko said. “I overheard the Strayers talking… and now that Samyaza’s out of the picture, it seems the other twelve fallen angels are stepping up to see which of them will take his place.”
“Wait,” Daniel said, looking around quickly. “You’re saying there are twelve of those evil beings out there? Each just as bad as Samyaza?”
“That’s what it sounded like,” she said.
“Wow.” Allie ran her hand through her hair, trying to process this new information. “But, you…. Are you with us now, I mean like one-hundred percent?”
“I don’t know how to convince you,” Yuko said. “But yes, I am.”
Daniel gave Yuko a compassionate look, then turned to Allie. “We’re kind of at war, right? What choice do we have?”
“I guess you’re right.” She looked around and saw the temple in the distance, the one with the big Buddha. “Let’s meet back up with Troy and Brenda and figure out the next step.”
“What was the plan?” Yuko asked, taking a step on her own to see if she was able. “I mean, after coming for me?”
“We were kind of hoping you’d know.”
They started walking, with Daniel lingering next to Yuko to make sure she kept up.
Yuko thought for a moment, then said. “When they took my family, the Strayers made me get something they called the Belt of Truth. I wore it—and that was how I was able to wear the wings.”
“Wait, you mean the armor? That was you in Tulum, taking it right when we got there?”
Yuko nodded. “Yes. And then they took it from me, and left me just the shadow wings, at first… then they sort of grew on me.” She shuddered at the memory.
“Okay, so they have the Belt of Truth.” They had all stopped, and Daniel was pacing as he spoke. “That leaves two—”
“No, one,” Allie said. “They already had the Breastplate of Righteousness. I think they had that from before.”
“Right…. So that leaves the Sandals of Peace.”
“Kinda ironic, huh?” Allie said, trying to smile. “I mean—”
“Yes, Allie.” Daniel waved her off. “But they could be anywhere!”
Yuko looked at the two, surprised. “You mean you don’t know?”
Both Allie and Daniel shook their heads.
“Why do you think the war is happening here? They knew you’d be after the last item, and they don’t know exactly where it is, but they know it’s in Japan. My guess, somewhere around Tokyo. So you have to find it first. And if you can find the Sandals of Peace, then you would be powerful enough to rescue my family.”
“Let me get this r
ight,” Allie said. “First we find these sandal-things before the bad guys do, then we use whatever extra strength or power or whatever they give us to rescue your family?”
“Exactly.” Yuko looked just as sick as Allie felt. “And the Strayers holding my family have the belt.”
“And getting the breastplate?” Daniel asked. “Any plan for that?”
“That’s where it gets complicated.”
“You think? All we have to do is conquer this army of fallen angels and then it’s ours. Only problem is, we need it to fight them.”
“But it’s the only way.”
Allie massaged her temples, trying to work through this. It’s not like she had thought their chances were great before. She made up her mind.
“Well, what’re we waiting here for?” she said. “First stop, try to figure out where those sandals are.”
“Guys!” a voice called.
They spun to see Brenda and Troy running toward them, followed by figures in black not far behind.
“Guys!” Troy called again, grabbing Allie’s arm as he hurried past the group. “Time to run!”
“Strayers?” Daniel asked, falling in step behind him.
“I don’t know,” Troy said between breaths. “They’re wearing black, but—”
“Yakuza,” Yuko said with a glance over her shoulder. “Yeah, they’re with the Strayers. Always have been.”
“Damn!” Daniel said, his face going pale. “This is bad!”
“Wait a sec,” Allie said with a scoff. “You look more scared now than when we were talking about fighting an army of demons and fallen angels!”
“Yeah, well, these guys are insane!”
Allie shook her head, running all out. A few shouts in Japanese sounded close behind them.
“Yuko, right?” Brenda said. “Any thoughts on where we can ditch these guys?”
“Your items,” Yuko asked Allie. “Didn’t they work like a portal or something before?”
“Why didn’t I think of that!” Daniel said, whipping his backpack around in front of him. As they ran, he pulled out the shield, but suddenly slowed under its weight. “We’re gonna need somewhere to stop!”
“There!” Troy said, pointing to a small park with a circle of sand for kids to play in. “Get ready to make some patterns!”
As soon as their feet hit the sand, Troy and Brenda began making patterns in it—defensive circles with squiggly lines through the sides that faced their attackers. Daniel had the helmet on now, the shield on his left arm, and the sword in his right. Allie held the ring at the ready.
“How do you make it work?” Brenda asked.
Daniel and Allie looked at each other, not sure.
“What’d we do last time?” he asked, as a bullet ricocheted off of the invisible barrier created by the pattern. In the process, that section of the pattern was swept away, and Troy had to quickly redraw it.
“This won’t hold them for long!” Troy said, his feet moving rapidly through the sand. “Allie, do you know how it works or not?”
“Not really,” she admitted, flinching as everyone turned to her with shock and fright. “Last time we just had the shield and the ring, and we held hands.”
Brenda and Troy looked at her like she was nuts, but then Troy shrugged and took Brenda’s hand in his left and Daniel’s in his right.
“Let’s do it then,” Troy said.
The yakuza men swarmed upon them. The first tried to attack with a blade, but the barrier threw him back onto the ground.
“Hurry!” Troy yelled.
Everyone joined hands. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the ground shook. More yakuza attacked and the pattern in the sand began vanishing, sand flying in all directions. The shield started to weaken, and then light swirled out of Allie’s ring and engulfed her group….
With a blast of wind, they were gone.
Chapter 5: Mt. Fuji
When Allie opened her eyes, she saw they were passing over a lake and heading toward a large mountain capped with snow. Wind blew past them like they were skydiving, but they weren’t descending—they were arriving. Then, with a flash of light and one last gust of wind, they found themselves landing on a grassy walkway on the side of the mountain, where patches of snow matched the chill in the air.
“Where are we?” Brenda asked, rubbing her arms for warmth.
“Even I know that one,” Troy said. “This is Mt. Fuji.”
Daniel nodded with excitement. “I’ve always wanted to try to climb it.”
Brenda shot him a glare. “Well, lucky us. So the item is supposed to be right here?”
“Not exactly,” Allie said. “The other time, it was more like the items were a loose magnet. We were close, but not right on it.”
“But there was the tower that time, so it was pretty easy to figure out.”
“Aside from the whole near death thing and all that.”
“Right….”
“Actually,” Yuko said, “I heard the Strayers talking about this place one time.”
“So you know where the sandals are?” Daniel asked.
“I was told the sandals would be in one of the shrines near the top, nothing more.”
“This isn’t going to be fun,” Allie said, looking at the steep slopes ahead of them and the snow on the side of the mountain. “Where’re all the tourists, anyway?”
“Can’t come this time of year,” Yuko said. “Too cold for climbing.”
“Big surprise,” Brenda said with a roll of her eyes. She rubbed her shoulders, shivering. “Maybe I wait here for you all?”
“We don’t have time for that,” Allie said. She glanced at Yuko, and Brenda got it.
“Yeah, okay.” She started up the path. “Best get started then.”
The walk was grueling and seemed to go on forever. The broad path turned into a narrow winding one, and soon the soft dirt became rocks and loose rubble covered with patches of snow. They knew they had to hurry to save Yuko’s family and stop the war below. But when they rounded a bend on the mountain, the reality struck home: black smoke rose far off in the distance below, beyond the stretches of trees and lakes.
“Think that’s the fighting?” Yuko asked.
“Definitely.” Daniel walked next to her and lowered his voice, but not so much that Allie couldn’t hear. “With everything going on… I mean, I knew it must be tough. You doing okay?”
Yuko shrugged. “Try being controlled by fallen angels and having your family’s lives at risk sometime…. See if you’re okay then.”
Daniel continued in silence for a few minutes after that, then said, “You know, it wasn’t like it was your fault. Samyaza tried to get to me through my dad, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Me and Allie though, we stopped the Strayers, and saved my dad. Just like we’re going to save your family.”
She looked at him hopefully, then back to Allie, who smiled awkwardly. Talk about pressure.
The path turned from a gentle slope to areas of steep, stone steps. Everyone focused on moving forward, too exhausted to talk much.
Daniel, though, continued trying to comfort and distract Yuko, and Allie had to smile at how silly the two were.
“This is kowai,” Daniel said at a stopping point, pointing to a pink monster on an ad for some sort of green tea chocolate.
“Not kowai,” Yuko said. “That means scary. Kawaii means cute.”
“Well,” Daniel said with a shrug. “In this case it kinda works.”
The two laughed softly, forgetting their fears for the moment. They went on, everyone feeling very happy that Yuko had some Japanese yen to pay for food when they found a small food depot station for hikers. It was closed and they had to break in, but they left the money on the counter and took some water bottles, snack bars, chocolate, and dry ramen noodles.
“Check this out,” Daniel said as they reached a tall gate. It was made from two poles on each side and a curved one laid across the top. He was reading the
guidebook in his hands. “This is gate eight, and according to this, everything from here up is technically considered part of the shrine.”
“How many gates in total?” Brenda asked.
“Nine.”
Allie turned to Daniel. “So technically, if these Sandals of Peace are in a shrine, they could be anywhere from here on up?”
“Just keep your eyes open for anything suspicious,” he said, putting the book back into his backpack.
By now the snow was a few inches thick, and Allie wished they had dressed warmer. Of course, she’d had no idea where they were going. She had on a sweater and jeans, but would have preferred a parka and three layers of long underwear.
They soon reached the top without any sign of a pair of fancy sandals. As the sun began to set, they passed under a gate that had two stone lions, or dragons, or some mix in between, guarding each side. The setting sun cast a red glow on the snow. Breathing was a struggle, but still Allie wondered if she’d ever breathed air that smelled so fresh.
“Whoa,” Daniel said when he nearly fell, but Yuko caught him by the hand. Neither let go, even after he steadied on his feet. “Thanks. I mean, arigato.”
She smiled and slowly pulled her hand back.
At the top of the mountain stood a building, a lookout point, some vending machines, and a giant crater. With the snow surrounding them, the crater felt more like a perfect place to go sledding than a place where lava had once poured forth.
“What’s going on there?” Daniel said, staring at the base of the crater.
Allie strained her eyes, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “What do you mean?”
“Steam,” he said. “Look!”
“That shouldn’t be happening,” Yuko said. “Maybe we should go into the buildi….”
But she didn’t finish her thought, because at that moment the steam gushed out, followed by a spurt of lava.
“You have to be freakin’ kidding me!” Brenda said, all color gone from her face. “We just climbed into a volcano?”
“No, it couldn’t be,” Yuko protested.
“It’s not,” Daniel said, pointing. “Not exactly.”
They watched as more lava poured forth and the opening widened. The mountain shook, but there was no eruption. Instead, the lava shot into the air, swirling into thick darkness until a giant creature made of blackness stood before them, its black core surrounded by a shroud of glowing hot magna.