Chpt 10: Part 2

Joshua nodded. Big was hardly the word for it, ordinary castles were big; this one had no truck with such low standards and contrived to reach the subtle size possessed by mountains, where a thousand thousand tons of solid rock was just the start. The ceiling was far above them, several stories up and the entrance hall could easily have accommodated several dozen cruise liners. Everything was resplendent, blue shag carpeting, stained glass windows and large tapestries. The decor was equally impressive, polished wood, silver and gems were in evidence in many places, as were a number of well dressed people going about their business. Many paused to bow to Joshua, often referring to him as 'Prince'

"Prince Joshua? When did that happen?" Adis asked.

It took almost half an hour to find their destination, checking and rechecking, and asking for directions. The palace had been built more as a complex than a single building and the guard's directions had been simple 'up two floors... left' type instructions. Their goal, it seemed was a large door with a brass plaque on it. It was solid, and very imposing, almost radiating defiance at anyone wanting to enter. From inside came the soft sound of crying. Joshua sighed, not for the first time that day.

"...Now, don't yell at me. You see...before I met you, there was this girl called Sugar. Princess Sugarette. Now, when we first met, I was kind of surprised...she was a bit quiet, but when I promised that I'd protect her...she wanted to marry me...I didn't know she was the princess of this realm. But...I cared about her."

Joshua felt his words being sucked into the cold silence as Adis was glared at him. He felt very small and hot all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you...I know you're not happy with me, but...I can't just break someone's heart."

There was a small creaking sound as the door opened slowly, as if someone were peeking outside, then there was a few seconds of silence before there was a sudden movement of the door being swung open, and Joshua was tackled to the ground by a feminine blur.

"Joshi!!!" the girl squealed loudly.

>Joshi? What the hell...?<

The girl who was hugging Joshua tightly, to the point where he might have suffocated looked exactly how he remembered, light pink hair, a small black top and shorts. She was smiling happily as she snuggled up against him, much to Adis' annoyance. With some difficulty, he managed to break free and smile back.

"Umm...Sugar...I'd like you to meet Adis. I'm sure I told you about her in my letters to you."

Joshua stammered as Sugar floated over to Adis and stared at her closely. to his relief, she seemed to nod and float back. Joshua wasn't exactly sure on what was going on, or what that was all about, he was just thankful that there hadn't been any yelling or fighting between the two yet. Breathing a huge sigh of relief that everything had worked out alright so far he decided to push his luck a bit further.

"So...is Dinah okay?"

"Dinah? What is this a harem now?!"

"Don't yell at my Joshi like that!"

"Who died and made you queen? I'll yell how I like you prissy pink-"

Joshua cringed and backed against the wall. He shouldn't have pushed it, things were going to go downhill fast now. What little hope there had been of the fight fizzing out was shattered by a sarcastic voice cutting across the conversation.

"Great...if it isn't 'Master.' So let me guess, you've decided to FINALLY come and get me out of this miserably dull place. As much as I love to lounge around with nothing much to do, it gets boring after a few months. And having to put up with all of the pitifully bland people drives me nuts! If I'm asked to play one more game of scrabble I think I'll scream."

Yep, same old Dinah. Black clothing and a red broken heart on her top. Her long, light blue hair was still neat and tidy, and her face seemed to be quite agitated. Rest and relaxation were things that happened to other people not her, indeed the experience seemed to have wound her up considerably since he'd last seen her.

Joshua gave a deep sigh, his twentieth that day.As long as Devil Dinah was in control he was just in hot water, but if the angel broke through, which she would as soon as she realized he was here, then he was really sunk. He had until then to try and calm the other two down and prepare them to deal with the Dinah double. Sadly, it was not to be; there was a bright flash of light and a flicker in reality. Joshua swallowed hard with dread.

>Oh, no...<

As the light died down, he found himself pinned down by a grinning Dinah, only this time, it was the angel side of her. A beautiful golden halo shone brightly above her sky blue hair, which still had the decorative angelic wings. Her outfit was inverse to Devil Dinah's, white and a red, normal heart.

"Master Joshua! I missed you so much! I'm so happy you came back!" she smiled, while crying.

Tears fell from her eyes, which Joshua wiped away and got to his feet. Now BOTH Sugar and Adis of them were glaring at him. He smiled, filled with the burst of adrenalin that comes when the worst has already happened and all you have to do is wait out the storm. At least Rachel wasn't here, and even better they didn't know about her. It seemed every girl he knew got him into trouble somehow and he didn't need more of his painful past coming back to bite him.

"Okay, Okay...Now, before you all start yelling at me, let me explain...I like you all the same amount, so I treat you all the same. I know you're not happy about knowing you've got competion, but I can't love any of you more than the other. And with that said..."

Joshua explained, slowly, backing away; it was the perfectly wrong thing to say in the circumstances and showed just how naive Joshua was regarding the feminine mind. At least now he had a head start. And even though he could hardly remember the way back to the ship...he was glad he could run fast. REAL fast.

"I'm going to...RUN!"

It was a mad dash down the hallway, as he weaved through others in the corridors. Looking behind him, he wondered if they'd be chasing him; he'd gained quite a bit of ground, and in fact, there was no sign of the others. Of course now he couldn't hide in his room anymore, but he and Seb had already discussed this possibility; if everything went wrong he could hide in the depths of the J-Wing while Seb piloted it.

>The secret rooms I added are really going to come in handy. That's the best thing about making the ship. You know a heck of a lot more than anyone else about it. But...I guess I could just try and get them to calm...ACK!<

Joshua flew forward, Angel Dinah just visible on the edge of his vision, leg outstretched to trip him. The others had taken a different route and got in front of him. He landed flat on his back and waited for someone to kick him. However there was a ponderous lack of pain and instead three hands reached down and helped him up. Everyone seemed to be smiling in that horrible way women do when they know they have the upper hand. Adis was the first to speak.

"GROUP HUG!"

Joshua found himself squashed between the three them, squeezing him tightly. Okay, so it was better than the outcome he thought, so that was something to be thankful for. Telling Sugar and Dinah to grab their things, Adis made her way back to the J-Wing, but stopped and looked and Joshua.

"You should've told me you were so popular; I'd never have believed it. I... I'm sorry about the little spat; but me and the girls talked things over while tracking you down and we've come to an agreement. I don't want the time we spent together to mean nothing... just be careful. Oh, and if there's anyone else we'll beat your skull in with a rock."

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Joshua tried to smile; with Adis you could never quite be sure she was kidding. He was still rather weak from the sensation of utter relief.

"Don't worry. Even if something were to happen, I'd still love you."

* * *

In the ship SOMETHING looked out at the world through Devan Shell's eyes, heard it with his ears, thought with his mind. It had his memories spread out like words on a page, his mind mapped like a street directory. It itself had no name, and very little substance but what it could steal from its hosts. And this was a GOOD mind, sharp and cold, like a broken mirror, brilliant and beautiful, but also somehow broken.

There was so much to do, always so much to do. It was wonderful to have a body... a soul again. To live. And it would have so much fun; anything was paradise after the darkness.

"It's good to have you back sir."

It looked at the turtle and accessed a memory. Ah yes. The war. A lieutenant, some time back. Name of Versecht. It sat back in the reclining chair and watched the space outside stream past many times faster than light while it sipped a cold drink as if tasting it for the first time, which, in a very real sense it was.

"It's good to be back." said Devan Shell.