Last time, on Starburst Crystal: 

     Yumi walked around in the clearing, tying up the rest of the 
camp. The Twixes had headed off with a smile after she healed them. She 
got the information from them, too. All she had to do now was wait. She 
absent-mindedly scooped up Kit Kat, and pet the sleeping carret as she 
tidied up.

        She heard the noises coming from the woods and turned to greet 
her friends. She stopped short, however, when she saw Tsugiko. Her eyes 
were red, and she held her hammer in her hands. Her eyes flashed as she 
looked at Yumi. "So where are we going? The Twixes told you, right?"

        Yumi blinked. "Yeah. The next one is in Guylian. Kit Kat can help 
us once we get closer." She cocked her head, looking at the other girl, 
her cheerfulness rallying. "They were actually quite nice people, 
Tsugiko. You shouldn't judge them too badly. They've had a hard time, 
too."

        Tsugiko opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it, a tired 
look suddenly on her face. "Right. I'm sure they were. Let's get 
going."

        "Without Kyouji? Hey, did he find you? He went into the woods to 
go get you."

        Tsugiko laughed, a bitter edge to the sound. "Yeah, he found me. 
He'll be back soon."

        "Tsugiko, is there anything wrong? You almost look like you've 
been crying," Yumi said worriedly.

        The green-clad girl turned away from her companion. "No, I'm 
fine. Really."

        Yumi started to ask again, but Kyouji wandered out of the woods 
then, a puzzled look on his face. He looked from Yumi to Tsugiko, and 
back again.

        Without looking at either of them, Tsugiko said, "Great. We're 
all here. Let's get going to this Guylian. I want out of this swamp." 
She holstered her hammer, put on her pack, and walked off. The other 
two, exchanging curious glances, picked up their things and followed.


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The Starburst Crystal
Created by Ardweden

Chapter 36: Crunchy Conundrum
by Chamelaeon Wombatowski
Trans-Dimensional Llama Productions

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     Yumi crested a hill, and paused for a moment to look around. The
path stretched down ahead of her over a few smaller hills, meandering
past several boulders and then curving away out of sight behind a copse
of trees. It was a refreshing change from the Taffy Swamp, even if the
hills had slowed them down considerably. 

     That didn't seem to stop Tsugiko, who was setting a brisk pace, 
not even bothering to look behind her to see if the others were keeping
up. Yumi sighed. Something had gone very wrong earlier today, and she
had no clue what it might be. 

     She looked back at Kyouji, who was climbing up the path with a 
determined look on his face. He'd been strangely silent since this
morning, and she'd caught him shaking his head and muttering to himself
several times. 

     Yumi sighed again, and started down the path. Tsugiko had already
cleared the next hill, and it would certainly be bad if they got
separated. As the path wound around the rocks, she pondered exactly what
could possibly have happened earlier. It wasn't like Kyouji to be this
silent, and while it was true Tsugiko had seemed distant lately, she'd
never withdrawn this far.

     Lost in thought, Yumi idly kicked a pebble. The pebble bounced down
the path aways, and collided with a boulder. 

     The boulder began to move. Shifting slightly, it cracked open to
reveal a gaping caverous maw, colored a glistening pink inside. It shook
itself all over, and leapt at Yumi. She didn't notice the beast until it
was almost upon her. 

     Gasping, she reached for her rod, but it was too late - the boulder
was moving too fast. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain...

     She heard a sickening crunch, and something splattered across her
face and arms. She opened her eyes to see Kyouji wiping his blade off on
some grass. The boulder lay in on the path beside him, with large dent in 
it. Yumi smiled at the Knight Protector, putting her whole heart into it. 

     "Thank you, Kyouji," she said, beaming. "That was very close. It's 
a good thing you were nearby."

     Kyouji made a half-smile. "Yeah." He slid the sword back into its
scabbard. "It would probably be best if we got out of these hills. Who
knows how many more of those there are." 

     Yumi nodded. "Are you hurt?"

     "No." Kyouji shook his head. "The thing was so bent on getting to
you, it didn't even notice me. Your clothes look the worse for wear,
though." 

     Looking down, Yumi noticed that her dress was spotted with clumps
of pink goo. "Oh dear," she said, picking at one of them. Despite once
being liquid, the goo seemed to have hardened into a rock-like substance
again. "Maybe we can find a place to wash them soon. Have you seen any
streams nearby, Kyouji?" 

     Kyouji made no reply. Yumi looked up to see him staring
down the path. Yumi frowned. "Kyouji?"

     "I don't see Tsugiko anywhere." His eyes narrowed. "She's..."

     Kyouji blinked, then took off running down the path, leaving Yumi to
run along behind him, trying desperately to catch up. As they rounded the
curve by the copse of trees, Kyouji ground to a halt. Yumi slammed into
him from behind and fell square on her backside.  

     "OW! Kyouji, what's happening?" She peered around Kyouji's legs just
in time to see the green flames fade from around Tsugiko. 

     Another boulder-beast lay off the side of the path, beaten into a
pink and brown mush. Tsugiko holstered her hammer and dusted off her
gloves. She eyed Yumi's goo-splattered dress and the barest glimmer of a
smile crossed her face. "Nothing important, Yumi." She turned and pointed
at several thatched roofs which were just visible over the next hill.
"There's a town over that way. Maybe we should take a rest there."  
 
     Nodding, Kyouji kicked at the dead boulder-beast. "Maybe." He looked
up. "Tsugiko, I..." 

     Tsugiko spun on her heel and walked off towards the village. After a
moment, Kyouji dropped his head and followed her, kicking the boulder
beast as he passed it. 

     Yumi sat there for a moment, staring after the other two Crystal
Warriors. She slowly got to her feet, and then was promptly knocked down
again by a green and orange blur.

     "Gika!" Kit-Kat nuzzled happily into Yumi's arms.

     Yumi sighed and scratched Kit-Kat behing the ears. "Oh, Kit-Kat, I 
just don't know what's happening anymore."

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     The hills petered out into a small valley, which cupped the village
like a hand. The village was small, containing only thirty or so huts, 
built around a series of tents in the middle. The huts themselves were
trapezoidal, longer than they were wide, and brown with a green stripe
down the middle. As the group approached the town, an older man walked
out to meet them.  
     
"Greetings, travelers, and welcome to the village of Frango. It's not
often we get visitors by way of the Cherry Mash Hills." He eyed the
spots on Yumi's dress. "And I can see you've discovered why. The Cherry
Mash are horribly active this time of year. I'm glad to see you're not
hurt. 

     "My name is Carob, and I'm the elder of this village. Who are you,
that you've managed to survive through those hills?"

     There was an uncomfortable silence. Yumi looked from Tsugiko to
Kyouji, and then back again. Neither of them appeared ready to introduce
the group. Sighing, Yumi moved to the front of the group. 

     "We're the Warrior Priestesses, and the Knight Protector. I'm Yumi,
and that's Tsugiko and Kyouji." She pointed at the others. "We've just
come from the Taffy Swamps, and..." She paused. "Well, it's been a very
long day, and we've still got to move on towards Guylian before the
day's out." 

     Carob raised an eyebrow. "The Warrior Priestesses, eh? I hadn't
heard you were back." He chuckled. "Word doesn't get around to this part
of Mars very quickly. But I thought you were supposed to be three
girls," he said, eyeing Kyouji closely. 

     Kyouji ran his hand through his hair. "It's an awfully long story."

     "Yes, yes, I'm quite sure it is." Carob chuckled, and made a 
sweeping gesture towards the village. "If you'll follow me, I'm sure we
can at least give you a nice meal before you go. And young lady, we make
a potion that can clean the Mash off that dress for you." 

     Carob began to walk towards the village. Yumi and Kyouji followed,
with Tsugiko trailing a pace or two behind them. "We don't get much
trouble from Wintergreen out here," Carob continued. "This close to the
Taffy Swamp, we kind of get overlooked. And besides, there's nothing
here she'd want." 

     A group of children ran past, shrieking and laughing. "It's fairly
boring here, especially for the young folk, but you'd have to agree that
it's better than a lot of other villages get." Carob stopped in front of
the first hut they came to. "If you'll just step in here, miss, we can
get to work on that dress of yours." As Yumi and Kyouji stopped, Tsugiko
brushed past them and headed on towards the tents in the center of the
village. 

     "Tsugiko, wait!" called out Kyouji, but Tsugiko had vanished behind
another of the huts. 

     "She'll be fine, said Carob. "That way's the market, and I'm sure 
she can find her way back." He smiled, and ducked into the hut. Yumi and
Kyouji looked at each other for a moment, then followed Carob in.

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     Tsugiko turned the corner and found herself in the midst of a
couple dozen tents. People milled about, some inspecting goods, some
haggling, some just standing around. 

     The marketplace was more crowded than she'd expected for such a
small village, but it was fine with her. She just needed to get away
from Yumi's clueless stare and Kyouji's mournful gaze. Just needed some
time to think, was all. 

     She meandered past a display of pots, not really looking at them.
What was she going to do? She had to stick with Yumi and Kyouji; that
was the only way they were going to beat Wintergreen. She knew that.
Yumi could tell Tsugiko was upset, of course. She always did. She just
didn't know why. 

     And then there was Kyouji. Stupid Kyouji. Like he didn't even know.
He'd even acted like he didn't remember that night in the mountains. She
wasn't sure if that was his fault or Yumi's. It'd be just like Yumi to
make a boy forget he'd ever been interested in anyone else.

     Tsugiko stopped to admire a handwrought green broach, with some
sort of green stone in the middle. It would go perfectly with her
Priestess garb, except that... 

     She looked down at her outfit. The skirt was patched and worn in
places, the blouse and jacket both fraying around the edges. Kind of
like herself, really. She sighed, and glanced again at the broach. It
was a shame - the gem was so pretty.

     "It's flawed, you know," came a female voice in her ear. Tsugiko
whipped around, her hands instinctively flying to her hammer. The
previously populated street was now deserted of people, including the
owner of the voice.

     "Who's there?" Tsugiko called, drawing her hammer fully out of its
holster. "Show yourself!" No one presented themselves, and in fact,
there seemed to be no one left in the town at all. "Is this a trap?" 

     Tsugiko wheeled about, trying to look everywhere at once.
"Twizzler? Damn it, come out of hiding!"

     "Behind you," came the voice again. Spinning on her heel, Tsugiko
came about, levelling her hammer at about head hight.

     The dark-brown-haired girl jumped backwards, easily dodging
Tsugiko's swing. Her green skirt ruffled. "You're too slow," she said. 

     Tsugiko didn't even bother to reply, instead bringing her hammer up
and making another swing. Just as it seemed she might hit the
mysterious girl, the girl parried Tsugiko's blow with another hammer,
almost identical to hers. The girl looked up, and Tsugiko got a good
look at her face.

     It was her own.

     Tsugiko gasped and fell backwards. "You - you're..."

     "Your past self, yes. I can see you're about as bright as I was."
She extended a hand to Tsugiko. "Come on, get up. Unless you still think
I'm out to kill you."

     Hesitantly, Tsugiko grasped the offered hand. Once she made it to
her feet, she looked the other girl up and down. She did look almost
exactly like Tsugiko - a little older, perhaps, maybe a little more
weary. 

     "My name's Mia," the girl offered. She swung her hammer up and into
its holster. 

     Tsugiko frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be dead? What are you 
doing here?"

     Mia looked Tsugiko squarely in the eye. "I am dead, but part of me
lives on in that crystal in your forehead. By the way, it hurt something
awful when that thing got cracked." 

     She crossed her arms. "But that's beside the point. I'm here
because you're destroying the team, Tsugiko. If this keeps up you'll be
fodder for Wintergreen in no time." 

     Tsugiko grimaced. "Don't you think I know that? But what am I
supposed to do, just forget that Kyouji ever said what he did? And then
there's Yumi, who's always there to show me exactly what I'm doing
wrong, and to take Kyouji away from m-"

     Swiftly, Mia's hand slapped Tsugiko squarely across the face.
Tsugiko recoiled backwards and then recovered, staring at Mia with wide
eyes.

     "Listen to me, damn you. Ter- I mean Kyouji, is a human being, and
he's free to make his own choices. He was never yours in the first
place, whether or not you did see him first. Teru... Teru never really
made a choice. Flitted back and forth between us like a crazed
bumblebee. But it was always her and Yumi, telling me I was being
stubborn. Telling me I was being obsessive. Telling me not to be so
angry." She sighed, then uncrossed her arms and poked Tsugiko hard in
the chest. 

     "You; you can't let this happen. I don't care if he's chosen a
moss-covered rock over you, Or if Ak- I mean Yumi grows fairy wings and
starts to fly. You have to snap out of this and get on with your life,
get on with your destiny."

     Tsugiko stood there, stunned. "But, but-" 

     "But nothing. I've watched you alienate the other two enough. It's
time you started acting less like Tsugiko, Martyr of the Ages, and more
like Tsugiko, Warrior Priestess." Mia took a step backwards. "Don't let
Mars down, Tsugiko. A lot of people are counting on you."

     Tsugiko hung her head. It was true, really. She'd known that she
was being stupid and belligerent, and that it was hurting the others.
But could she manage to do it - learn to take them together for the good
of the team? She didn't know, but she could certainly try. She raised
her head.  

     Mia had vanished, replaced by the shoppers and the rest of the
marketplace. Tsugiko holstered her hammer, and walked back towards the
hut where she'd left the others.

     She could certainly try.

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     Kyouji sat at a low, circular table in the middle of the hut. He
was drumming his fingers on it, and he was waiting for Yumi to get back
with her cleaned dress. He was waiting, and thinking. 

     His mind kept churning the events of the morning over and over, and
he was still unable to make heads or tails of it. What was it Tsugiko
had said? "See, and then there was that little conversation we had on
our way into the mountains." What on Earth did that mean? He couldn't
recall an inkling of any pertinent conversations in the mountains! 
     
     "Even after you told me how you felt about me," she'd said. Kyouji
wracked his brain, trying to come up with the conversation she'd
recalled. And he was pulling up nothing at all, almost like it had never
happened, or he'd never been there. 

     He dropped his head onto the table, moaning. And then there was
Yumi, who seemed to know more about his feelings than he himself did. It
was so strange for Yumi to have approached him like that; she hardly
ever made the first move. 

     It almost seemed like someone was out to get him, but he wasn't
that paranoid. Yet. But something did have to be done, and Kyouji
steeled himself inside for what he knew was coming. 

     "Kyouji, are you all right?" asked Yumi. Kyouji looked up. Yumi was
again a vision of loveliness, her dress cleaned and darned, and looking
almost new. A new bow was tied in her hair, and it was quite obvious
she'd had a bath. 

     "I'm ... okay." He stood up. "Yumi, we really have to talk."

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Author's Notes:

I've been promising Ard that I was going to sign up for SC for a while,
and the call to authors for Impro finally forced me into doing so. 

Like most people, it seems, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to,
not by a long shot. But projects and labs and being sick all managed to
coincide this week, but I was damned if I was going to skip (again). 

So here's the part, my third total for Impro, and my second Impro solo. 

Note on the Candy Names: 
Cherry Mash is a bizarre candy made only in St. Joseph, Missouri. For
the curious, more information can be found at www.cherrymash.com.

Frango Mints WERE manufactured by Marshall Field's in Chicago, till they
went and outsourced them. They're really good, and come in many
different varieties.

Carob is a chocolate substitute, for lactose intolerant people and for
those who require less sugar in their diets. 

That should cover it. 

Thanks go out to Atom for prereading, and Arwen for advice, running
commentary, and a little bit of research. 


Till next time -
Chamelaeon