"If one reads enough adventure stories, one notes that, at some point, 
choices disappear.  Each character becomes committed to a course of 
action, and follows it inevitably to the end."

"In real life, however, we like to think that people have choices; and 
so we do.  Our choices may be bounded by circumstance.  Just as an 
example, a loving husband and father may be forced into despicable acts 
by threats made against his wife and children."  

"What?  Oh yes, something personal is intended, I assure you.  Shall I 
continue?"  

"In such a theoretical case, that person's choice is intended to buy 
freedom or safety for those he loves, so that they may continue to have 
the power to choose.  But one is always plagued by doubts.  Will the 
threat be averted by my action?  If it is, and if I live to know it, 
will my sacrifice of honor and mental peace be worth it?  If the threat 
is not averted--if those I love suffer terribly, or even die--will my 
sacrifice be wasted?  And so the agony of freedom forces us to choose 
and choose, over and over again."

"No, I'm not really interested in what Akari told you, Ichida-san.  I 
knew what her choice would be.  Akari is very faithful, very loyal.  
Being Akari, she could not choose otherwise.  She will never sacrifice 
the real good of someone she cares about for an abstract principle.  Of 
course she told you what she knows."

"My concern is for you."


~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
Wings of Fate
created by Ardweden and John Evans

Chapter 31: The Sticking Point
by Lirazel 
~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>

Soshi grinned.  "Was I being long-winded again?  Sorry.  It's a hard 
habit to break."

The room where the two of them were sitting was the same as all the 
other cells.  Gray walls, gray floor; a narrow bench with a thin gray 
futon; a drain in one corner with a spigot over it; a narrow deal table 
with a hard wooden chair behind it.  A harsh white fluorescent bulb, 
shielded by wire, made everything seem even grayer and flatter than it 
really was.  The cameras and other devices in the corners of the ceiling 
were not hidden.

Soshi sat cross-legged on the bench, one hand resting on each knee, his 
eyes directed politely towards the doctor sitting behind the table.  He 
could see that Ichida was worried.  His face seemed even more drawn than 
it usually appeared in this flat white light.

Even as he noted this, however, Soshi was enjoying the rich, deep brown 
of the other's uniform, the small gold insignia of rank and profession.  
The tip of a red pen could be seen in doctor's breast pocket.  How vivid 
it was in this gray room!  The shine of Ichida's hair was welcome to 
him, the way the strands of gray at the temples mingled with the black. 
Even the thin black frames of Ichida's glasses were pleasing to Soshi. 

Ichida struggled to keep his face expressionlessly professional.  He was 
used to Soshi's assumptions of superiority by now, as he was to the 
young man's pompous statements.  The grin, however, was new. 

"I need to confirm..."

"--Confirm what Akari told you?  Certainly, Ichida-san."

This ready cooperation was making Ichida even more nervous.  Soshi 
watched in amusement as he coughed, shuffled his papers, and spent some 
time selecting the correct pen.

"Hah.  Hrmm...  Oh yes, here we are."  Ichida picked up a single sheet, 
and Soshi's pleasure increased as it casually became a curved wing in 
his opponent's hand.  

"Now then...  Akari indicates that you concluded the forces you were 
trying to manipulate consisted of various types of naturally-occurring 
fields."

"That's right.  Alpha, beta, and gamma fields interacting with the 
Earth's gravity and magnetic fields, as well as the alpha waves of our 
own brains."

"And you had to travel out into the woods to achieve the effect you 
sought?"  Ichida was forcing skepticism into his voice.  

"You people may have ways of manipulating gravitational fields.  We did 
not."

Ichida put down one piece of paper and picked up another.  "It may 
surprise you to learn that we have found the site of your--ah--
experiment."

"No."

"No?"

"No, it doesn't surprise me."

"Oh."  Ichida's voice rose in spite of himself, and he spoke more 
quickly.  "Then perhaps it will not surprise you to know that no such 
nexus as you reported in your research paper exists at that spot!"

"Not now, it doesn't."  Soshi sighed.  "If you will reflect for a 
moment, Ichida-san, the gravitational field of the Earth is affected by 
the Moon.  In fact, the land mass of Earth experiences tides, just as 
the oceans do.  A full Earth tide can raise the level of the land by as 
much as ten centimeters."  Ichida's eyes began to glaze, but Soshi 
persevered.  "So, naturally, the exact locus of these points moves 
around.  There is a general area where things happen.  Human history is 
full of such reports.  But, usually, there are conditions attached.  The 
Moon has to be a certain of number of days past the full, in a specific 
month of the year, and often the position of the planets is involved as 
well...  There are quite a few such places within Tokyo, of course, but 
most of them are already the sites of temples or other shrines.  That 
place happened to be so hilly, no one had built on it yet."

Ichida had stopped being angry, but looked more worried than ever, if 
such a thing were possible.  "What about Mt. Osorezen?"

"That's a natural focus-point for several types of energy, but I very 
much doubt if it is useful for human beings.  There's too much of it.  
Even the tengu can't make use of it, except to shield their own lower-
grade activities from view."

"Then that means--"

"--That's right.  What we did is probably irreproducible, just as our 
'results' remain unpredictable."  Soshi's face lost nothing of it's 
bland satisfaction.

Ichida laid the paper in his hand slowly and carefully down on the desk, 
as though it were alive and dangerous.  He sat staring at it for a long, 
long, moment.  Finally, Soshi spoke, very softly.

"Did you really think they would let us go alive, Ichida-san?"

"I--had hoped."

"I have no such hope.  Since the effects cannot be predicted, and a 
location cannot be secured, the idea of legions of magical warriors 
remains impractical.  As does any other mechanical application of what 
we have done.  That being so, why should they keep us alive?  Why should 
they risk letting us grow in power and capability?"

Still keeping his voice low, and looking at the table, Ichida said, "You 
know this room is bugged, and that we are being monitored.  How is it 
that you speak so freely?"

"Oh, I'm blocking the video and audio feeds.  As far as the guards are 
concerned, you never came in here."  Ichida's head swung up, and his 
eyes widened.  Soshi returned his stare calmly. Perspiration was forming 
on Ichicda's forehead, adding more shine, and his face was flushed.  So 
many colors and contrasts nearly made Soshi smile from pure joy.  "Don't 
worry, though, Doctor.  If I had intended to kill you and escape, I 
would have done so before now.  Also, there are certain forces here that 
prevent me from doing all I would, for now."

"This is intolerable!"  Ichida sprang to his feet and moved rapidly 
towards the door, loudly calling "Guards!"  He pushed against the palm-
plate that should have opened the door to him, and only to him.  But the 
door remained closed.  The corridor was silent.  

"Ichida-san?"  Soshi's voice was still gentle.  "Please sit down."

~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>

Soshi pulled into the parking space before the little house and got out 
of the car, bringing several bags with him.  The only inconvenient 
feature of the house was the limited parking, but since every other 
house in the neighborhood had the same problem, they were in no way 
unusual.  One car in the drive and one out front.  Just the same as 
every other house.  He had to admit, Kenchi had done well.

The short walk from the drive to the door was edged with unremarkable 
shrubs, with a narrow grass-plot on either side, extending to the drive 
on one side and the Yamata's fence on the other.  Mr. Yamata was in his 
folding chair in front of the house, as usual when there was even the 
hope of sun.

"Hello, young man!"

"Good afternoon, Yamata-san."  Soshi carefully smiled at his elderly 
neighbor.  He didn't want to get drawn into a conversation.  On the 
other hand, it wouldn't do to seem snobbish.  Yamata was too useful--
like having an intelligent watch-dog that you didn't have to feed.

"How's that sister of yours feeling today?"

"She was a little better this morning, thank you.  She overdid it, 
walking with our cousin yesterday.  We were worried last night, but 
everything seems OK today.  I hope our lights didn't trouble you."

"No, no, not at all.  Glad to hear she's better."  Soshi knew this was 
only half true.  While Yamata wished no one real harm, trouble was 
always more interesting than good news, and his new neighbors usually 
provided much more interest than just a reportedly disturbed night.  
Soshi hoped that the afternoon question-and-answer session was over, but 
no.

"Say, what were you looking at so hard in the grass yesterday?"

"Oh that!" Soshi felt his cheeks growing warm.  "I thought I saw a 
cricket, and thought it would be amusing to catch it for my sister."

"Hah!  Are they around so late?  Believe me, they're a perfect plague!  
We don't usually get them at this time of year, but two months ago you 
couldn't hear yourself think at night."  He raised a hand.  "Well, I 
won't keep you.  Tell your sister and brother I said hello."

"See you later, Yamata-san."  Soshi opened the door and stepped in with 
a sigh of relief.  He'd have to be more careful in the future.  His new 
vision was so wonderful, it was hard to remain aware of the larger world 
when the details were so amazing.  He wondered what Yamata would say if 
told the truth--that he, Soshi, had been watching frost crystals form on 
a blade of grass.

"I'm here," he announced, and made his way to the kitchen.  Kenchi was 
there, looking into the refrigerator in a bemused fashion.  

"Don't panic, I've brought food," said Soshi, as he put the bags on the 
counter.  "Tofu, edamame, nori, rice, hijiki, cucumber, carrots, 
burdock, some winter squash, onions, eggs...  And cream for the coffee."

"Tea?"

"Naturally."

"Thank goodness.  I will be so glad when Akari gets out of eating mode 
and does some of the cooking for a change."

"I heard that!" Akari's voice came from the bedroom.  Then the two in 
the kitchen heard a low murmur, a creak, and the sound of shuffling 
feet.  The two girls appeared in the doorway, Akari leaning on Shuukou's 
arm.  "Let's see what else you--ooooh, ginger candy!"

Akari released Shuukou to pounce on the small green jar.  The three of 
them watched as she began to pry it open.  Finally, the silence reached 
her, and she looked up.  "What?"

"Nothing," said Shuukou.  Kenchi was looking flustered, and Soshi 
realized his own eyes were filling with tears.  It was so good to see 
Akari, with her hair in a mess and attired in a shabby bathrobe, her 
fingers sticky with ginger syrup! The dreams that had tormented her half 
the night seemed to be forgotten.  A smile moved among the four of them.

Kenchi cleared his throat. "How's Mr. Yamata?"

"Alert as ever.  If we only had another of him at the back door, we 
could leave off keeping guard."

"Does he still seem to be buying our story?"

"It would appear so."  Soshi did not remark that it was unnecessary for 
Kenchi to ask such a question.  By tacit agreement, they were all 
avoiding discussion of their advancing powers, even in private.  

"Good, good.  It's not very convincing, but I did my best.   It's hard 
to explain so many people the same age living together without inventing 
relationships, and I knew that there was only so much you ladies would 
let me get away with."  Shuukou here gave the little snort that was her 
substitute for a chuckle.  "Well, I had to tell the man something when I 
was bringing the furniture in! You want me to tell him we're a group 
marriage?"

Shuukou was clearly ready with some matching repartee. Soshi left them 
to it and went to his room.  Here there were white walls, and a dull 
green curtain pulled back from the window.  A similar duvet was tucked 
around a futon on the floor. On one wall, a small scroll displayed a 
single word, "balance", exquisitely brushed.  Soshi was never tired of 
looking at it; but then, these days he was never tired of looking at 
anything.

Life, for the moment, was very good.  True, they had to take some 
precautions.  Judou and his father were off somewhere; Shuukou said they 
would be back 'soon', but could not tell them more.  Akari was getting 
stronger every day.  Kenchi was--well, surprisingly humble about the 
role he had played in Akari's rescue.

And Soshi could see.  In detail.  He sat down on the futon, facing the 
scroll and began to focus on the edge of one curve, noting with loving 
care the way each fiber of the paper had responded to the ink.  The fact 
that he was sitting a good five feet away from the scroll itself made no 
difference.

~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>

The blast of healing energy that flowed from Akari on the train platform 
did not only expel the demon.  Soshi *felt* his eyes re-form.  A moment 
of searing pain, and then a sea of colors, textures, shapes...

But there was no time to be overwhelmed.  Action was required.  He felt 
hands grabbing him under the arms, and then Amano pulled him back onto 
the platform.

"If you've got anything good in your bag of tricks, now would be the 
time to use it," the tengu muttered as he watched the weapon of their 
enemy reveal itself.  Soshi stepped forward and flung his last, most 
potent set of prayer beads over the bodies on the cement.  Even as he 
did so, his eye was caught by the curve of Kenchi's eyelashes on his 
cheek, the scales on each lash etched as cleanly and smoothly as a 
flower on a knife-blade.  Kenchi's eyelashes were beautiful.  Kenchi 
might still be a royal pain when he regained consciousness, but his 
eyelashes were beautiful.

The attack by the monsters, and the counter-attack by the supernatural 
crows happened so rapidly that Soshi had nothing to do with either.  He 
was too disoriented to be of much help anyway, at least until Judou 
pulled himself shakily onto the platform and began walking towards them.  
By that time, people had begun surging out of the train and onto the 
platform.  Apparently, no one had noticed anything.  Just as Judou 
joined them, Kenchi opened his eyes.

"Wha-- Oh.  Hello, you guys."

Amano reached down a hand and pulled him up.  "Can you walk?"

"Sure, I think."

Amano glanced at Soshi.  "How about you?"

"I... believe so."  Actually, Soshi was beginning to have a hard time.  
Not that he had been blind for so long as to affect his brain structure.  
All the centers that had processed visual signals in the past were still 
available to him.  But the change in what he could see was so remarkable 
as to be quite confusing, and he seemed to have no control over when 
things were visually correct, and when they suddenly moved into 'close-
up'.  Now he turned to look at Judou and was startled to see how the 
very blood vessels in his face expanded as Judou himself looked at 
Akari.

"Is she... is she..."

"No."  Amano was abrupt.  "But we have to get her out of here."

"We can't just pick her up and cart her out."

"You can.  I will provide a--distraction."

He turned and melted into the crowd.  Kenchi turned to Judou.  "Looks 
like you and me again, pal.  Let's get to it.  He reached down to grasp 
Akari's arm, but Judou stopped him.

"No.  Let me."  Judou knelt and gathered up the unconscious Akari.  "You 
help Soshi."  And he began to walk out of the station, never looking 
behind him.

"Of all the--" Kenchi muttered under his breath.  He looked at Soshi 
curiously.  "You need help?"

"Mmmm?"  Soshi knew he needed to respond to Kenchi, but he was so 
absorbed in what was happening to him that it was hard to concentrate on 
anything else.  Kenchi sighed and looked over the crowd.  Sure enough, 
at the far end of the platform, people were turning, pointing, yelling 
accusingly at each other.  Two men began to square off against each 
other.  A woman burst into tears.  Kenchi grabbed Soshi by the arm and 
hustled him towards the suddenly-empty stairs, where Judou had just set 
his foot on the first step.

~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>

Ichida turned slowly.  His breathing was rapid, but he returned to his 
seat at the table with something like his normal manner.  When he spoke, 
a casual observer might have assumed that everything was as usual.

"You--have something you wish to say to me?"

"A little information would be useful.  And then, if you wish, I will 
make sure you leave here safely.  Not until my own goals are 
accomplished, naturally, so that I may be sure you have told me truly 
what I need to know.  But once I am sure of that, I will make sure the 
doors that now are closed to you will be opened."

"Are you saying you will let me go?"

"You are not innocent in this matter, Ichida-san.  You must have 
hardened your soul against mercy and compassion to be able to perform 
your research, if your behavior towards us is any guide."  Ichida was 
silent.  "I understand this, because I was preparing for a similar 
career myself.  They call it 'professional objectivity', do they not?"

Ichida remained silent, though Soshi could see that his jaw was tightly 
clenched, and his breathing was more and more ragged, as though he was
running. Soshi continued.  "But I have become, since my recovery, quite
a good observer.  You are genuinely troubled by what you have been asked
to do here.  And, while you do not fear pain or death yourself, I 
believe you are very concerned about what may happen to your family."

Ichida gave up.  He lowered his head between his arms, and his body 
shook with silent sobs.  Soshi watched him for several minutes.  

Finally, Ichida raised his head, removed his glasses, and wiped them 
carefully on his handkerchief.  He put them back on, and looked at 
Soshi.

"I--I have a wife.  And a son, three years old.  He has an unfortunate--
an unfortunate--health problem...  The treatments he needs are quite 
expensive.  When I first began working for the agency, they were very 
generous; they moved us to a medical facility where Shiro got every 
attention.  We had a small house on the grounds...  I had to do 
unpleasant things at first, but not really beastly things, you 
understand.  Only gradually did they ask me to try and induce certain 
mental states in my subjects before dissection.  Only gradually did more 
and more monstrous things start showing up in my lab."  Soshi nodded his 
understanding.

"Shiro was making such good progress, it seemed that soon his troubles 
would be over and he would be able to join the world as a normal child.  
My wife was even talking about having another.  And then, one day, about 
ten weeks ago..."

"You came home and they were gone."  Soshi's statement was emphatic.  
"And you were told that while you were on special assignment, they would 
be safe, if results were as expected."  Ichida nodded miserably.

"I told myself your powers made you dangerous, that you had to be 
studied and controlled.  I still think this may be so.  But--"  Soshi 
made a gesture, cutting off the flow of words.

"I'm sorry.  I know this isn't easy for you.  But I don't think we have 
time..."

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me how to free Macha."

~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>

"But screw your courage to the sticking point and we'll not fail!"

Points to consider:  

Akari was prevented from exercising her healing powers by the presence 
of the demon.  Soshi was prevented from seeing.  Both seem to have more 
than their original abilities restored to them.  Shuukou and Kenchi, on 
the other hand, who have consciously controlled their abilities, seem to 
have less.

What does this say about Judou's power, when he finally achieves it?  

And why does Soshi want to free Macha, of all people?

What will happen to our heros?  Will they become gods?  Devils? And what 
would the consequences be if they simply released their powers onto the 
surrounding world?

We're getting close, friends...

I couldn't seem to get creepy in this one, or not very creepy.  Oh well, 
someone has to write the filler eps, even in the final queue.

I am really, really going to miss this story.  Thanks to Ard and John 
for inventing it, and for everyone who encouraged me to write for it.  
And thanks to Richard Maleski and Andy Holloway for pre-reading.

Music listened to while writing this included Handel's Watermusic and 
Music for the Royal Fireworks.  You might say I like "oldies"!