194Well. This is it. I never thought I was going to get here, and people who began reading recently after I posted the first chapter probably didn't, either. Really, thanks.
Here we go. What I can promise to be the last chapter of Deoman.
Ooh!
Chapter 35
It was all going wonderfull. It seemed that everyone had found their happy ending.
Well. Nearly everyone.
Felix sat with his head in his hands as the adults fussed. Another arguement had broken up over him. It seemed that someone wanted to kill him again.
It wasn't fair. A few days ago he had been reasonably happy, until that, that... bastard came and dragged him into a joke of an adventure. Why? Why had he felt the need to come back in time and make it look like he had some importance? Admittedly, he had been going through it all waiting for some power that he never knew he had to reveal itself, or perhaps he was in fact a hero reincarnated, or perhaps that his parents were really the last of a forgotten race and that they had been killed in a daring yet brave struggle to protect him, rather than just dumping him on the streets underneath an upturned cart one day.
An irritating voice kept popping up in the back of his head, saying that surely he was doing something noble himself, taking the burden so that everyone else in this time might prosper...
Yeah, right! He was going to grow up to be an evil monster, wether he wanted to or not because there happened to be a spirit inside him.
That was another thing.
He'd heard that Deomans hardly ever completed their gradual transformation, because it took a long time for the Deom to get accustomed to it's new veichle and the human died before it could finish. Well, that wasn't going to be the case here, was it. He could tell, that this Deom already knew him back to front. It was wrong to say that it had a voice, exactly. It was hard to tell, but it was more like... his thoughts. Every now and then he would think something, as one does, and then realise that this wasn't the usual type of idea he would have. It was like someone had stuck something onto a picture, yet the seam had been lost.
It was frightening.
Perhaps he wasn't thinking it was frightening- Maybe the Deom was making him think that.
"Shit..." he sobbed quietly to himself, knowing the more he tried the less likely he would be able to beat it.
"But... But the kid's a Deoman..."
"I don't care if he's the incarnation of all evil!" Bart was saying. "Get the hell out!"
"It's my job, ya know? If one of 'em gets possessed, I'm supposed to slice 'em with the knife. It's as simple as that, I don't know why you think just one should be exempt-"
"You would destroy all time!" exclaimed Lozette.
"Time shmime. I don't believe in all that."
Perry bared his teeth.
"How can you not believe in it? There's a sorcerer stood right in front of you!"
"I don't believe in magic and stuff. I mean, c'mon, have you ever actually seen it?"
"How about I set your head on fire, and then you can get a really good look?" suggested Ash.
"I can't be hearing this," said Bart, covering his hand with his face. "For Gods' sake, I don't like magic but I gave up pretending it didn't exist a long time ago."
"But-"
"Fine," he said, his fists clenching together, "If you don't believe us, go ahead. He's sat over there- Slit his throat. Be happy with the knowledge that you were the one to destroy time."
The man looked nervously from Bart to Felix. He had chosen the wrong day of all days to be a dilligent worker. "Oh, thank you very much. I'm glad you're seeing it from my point of view..."
Ash spun around, giving a silent scream through her teeth. Perry twitched, still growling.
"I swear, if I was on the same level as you at the moment I would seriously be ramming your head against the wall!" Bart exclaimed.
"Oh... Can I boot him out now? ...Please?" Perry whined.
"Yes," said the three of them together, and seemed quite suprised that they were all agreeing for once.
"So that's..."Perry looked up as he thought. "Ah! Four against one! Out you go!"
He easily picked him up by the back of his collar and carried him out of the room.
"Well, that's what you get," said Lozette in a condescending manner, "for not investing money into the rebuild of my home. If we were there we wouldn't have persistent dolts barging in constantly."
"Rest assured that if I had any money I wouldn't give it to any other sorcerer," said Bart. "Now get your magic shmagic ready so we can sort out time shmime."
Lozette grumbled, and gave a little wave of his hand knowing that his work wasn't appreciated.
"Is it done?" said Felix from the corner of the room.
"It's what he did last time," said Bart.
"Right." He rose to his feet."I'm going."
"What, just like that?" asked Ash. "Don't you want to wait a while to say goodbye?"
"What's the point?" said Felix, pretending to scratch his cheek but really attempting to wipe away any tears which might be forming. "The longer I stay the harder it'll be to go. I might as well go while I still can."
"You're doing it again," said Bart. "Trying to act hard and convince yourself the world revolves around you."
"Bart..."
"I can do what the hell I like!" said Felix, the anger burning again. "You don't understand-"
"I do understand. The world's fallan apart for me, too. I'm not gonna pretend to be all knowledgable," he continued, running his hand through his hair, "But I know the important thing is how you react. React in anger, trying to put your misery onto everyone else, you become the evil Deoman. Keep it inside, dwell on it, you become like me. I know I'm not a role model, kid. The only other option is to note it and live with it."
"There's no point. I've already seen what's going to happen, I know what's going to come."
Bart shook his head. "I don't know, but what I heard from all Lozette's 'time is like a river' stuff, it seems that you can change it. This is our path- You make your own."
"I didn't say anything like tha-" Lozette began, before Bart shot him a look of fire. He closed his mouth.
"Felix, I'm really sorry," said Ash, kneeling down. "If I could change it, I honestly would. But there's nothing I can do..."
He looked down, not wanting to see their faces. Regardless of what Bart said, he felt like he was on a plane of his own. He went towards the portal.
"I think you deserve what you got," he said, before dissapearing as he stepped through.
Bart covered his face with his hand. "Sorry, kid."
"He was just angry," said Ash.
"I know."
"I wonder why he didn't say anything to me," said Lozette, looking quite hurt.
The door opened, and Perry walked back in looking triumphant, dusting off his hands. "Hey, Bart, would you believe that the little guy put up a fight once he saw his mates around the corner? Don't worry, I didn't bite. So... Where's Felix?"
"He's gone," said Ash.
His smile dropped. "Gone? Already? But why didn't you-"
"We tried to slow him, but he wanted to go as quickly as possible."
"Oh... okay. It's just that... I wanted to say goodbye."
Time travel is not instantaneous. As with normal travel, the time taken depends on the distance. The only way to beat it would be to send someone back in time a certain amount of time before they intended that person to be there, but this was too much hassle.
Felix had been in his own era for two hours.
He couldn't tell wether people knew. He looked at his reflection whenever he found the oppurtunity to do so, just to make sure his face wasn't covered in scales. He was fortunate.
They all seemed to be looking at him funny... He was probably imagining it. However, if something unseeable wasn't making him seem suspicious, his unusual attitude whenever someone's gaze happened to land on him did the job.
Backing into an alley, he leant against the wall, sat down and shut his eyes. What was he supposed to do now? They'd grabbed him, pulled him into another time, changed his life and dumped him back at the beginning. What could he be expected to do?
He didn't know how long he sat there, but he opened his eyes again as someone was dragging him back onto his feet.
"There you are, Felix!" said one of his friends-A ten year old called Seb. "You've been gone for a week, we were wondering what happened to you!" Around him were three other boys.
"So go on, where've ya been?" asked one known as 'Waddy'.
"I... I can't begin to explain, guys." Then a certain boy caught his eye, mostly because he knew him not to be a simple 'boy'. Julian was stood there, the youngest by far yet over a head taller than them all. It was unbelievably strange to see him again, like this.
He noticed that Julian was staring at him.
"Felix..." he began.
Oh, damn!
"What, Jule?" asked Seb.
"Felix... You smell kinda different..."
He couldn't do anything as Julian leant forwards to become more certain. If he ran he was doomed, and if he stayed he was doomed. But... these were his friends, right?
Julian looked shocked as he stood up straight again. "Felix, you've been possessed! You're a Deoman!"
Damn his great nose!
Seb, Jim and Waddy gained similiar expressions. "What?" said Seb. "Possessed? But I thought that you couldn't, 'cos you were a Delizian..."
"Well I did, okay?!"
"Is this why you've been away all this time? You were hiding?"
"No, I-"
"You could've told us, Felix," said Waddy. "I thought we were mates."
"It's not like that!" shouted Felix, furiously. He looked at Julian. "You, you believe me, right?"
The werewolf hesitated slightly, as the attention was turned to him. "...I dunno, Felix. I can understand you don't wanna have to go, but that's our rule, isn't it?"
Before he'd hardly heard the sentence finished Felix turned and ran.
"Are you alright, sir?"
"Fine... fine," said Bart to who seemed to be either his temporary assistant while he was incapacitated, or perhaps just some weird guy who sneaked in through the back and was doing his best to wind him up."It's just a change to have a full night's sleep in a proper bed, if you know what I mean."
"Is it to your satisfaction? Enough pillows? Thick enough blankets?"
"Wha- Yes, yes! It's all fine!"
"Just checking sir," the man said, loyally.
He was never going to get used to this, he was certain. "...So. Remind me," he said, picking up a slice of toast. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Do, sir?"
"Yes, do. I thought I was 'official Deoman hunter' now, or something. I forget."
"Oh, yes. Well, as you know, although the Deomans have been beaten they're not going to stay quiet for long. In the quiet time, it is presumed that a few of the villages which were recently destroyed are going to be rebuilt."
"Mm. Outside the safety of the city."
"Exactly, sir. One important task of yours will be to help defend these places."
He glanced up, finally paying attention. "What? On my own? There's only one me!"
"Which brings me to your next task. There are always aspiring young men who want to change Heaven for the better, naturally... You need to find some people to help you."
"Dear Gods. What am I supposed to do? Go through the streets banging a drum until I get a satisfactory trail of people following me?"
"...Not exactly. We will give you premises to which they will come, and you will need to train them up to be Deoman hunters."
"That's one thing I don't get. Who suddenly gets the idea I'm the authority at Deoman hunting? I don't go after them- It's them hunting me most of the time."
"Lord Hetler has total confidence in you."
"Mm... yes," muttered Bart. "He's probably thinking to himself that he chose the right shmuck to do his bidding. Someone who's got ambition or anger is easy to bend and requires no pay- Am I right?"
"Erm... probably, sir."
"I thought so. But... I suppose I don't have anything better going. So tell me. What am I supposed to do with these aspiring young Deoman hunters?"
"Well, sir, I'm not really the best to be asking. It is just presumed that you will know what to do. In your own way just show them what it requires to stay alive, so that once you're gone they'll be able to take your place! You're not going to live forever, after all..."
"No... I suppose I'm not..." he said to himself, at these words his mind slipping away back to his last conversation with Perry before he left.
"Well, Barty..."
"Just Bar- Oh, forget it. It doesn't really matter anymore."
"It's gonna be weird, isn't it. I mean, we've been together for ages, haven't we."
"Mm."
"All of our wacky adventures..."
"Don't use the word wacky. It seems to be a slight understatement."
"You know what I mean."
"And so you, er, don't mind that I, erm..."
"No, not at all! Sure it's gonna be a change, I guess, but Ash says Hiscart's nice. A little cleaner, but... I guess I'll learn to live with it."
"Well. You two have fun."
"... Hey, Bart... You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Is it about Meg?"
"A little."
"Or is it Felix? Ash says he said something bad to you before he left."
"Partly."
"Or is it... about the ageing thing?"
"What?"
"Are you still worried about the, ya know, that you might, er, might die...? Soon, 'cos of the Deoman thing...?"
"Of course I'm worried. I'm absolutely terrified, to be honest. But, I guess there's nothing I can do about it. At least I might start to appreciate life a bit more."
"Yeah. Well, I hope you get better soon. Tell ya what- when I get to Hiscart I'll send you a Get Well card, 'kay?"
"Hmm. I will be counting the seconds until I get it."
"Come on Julian, the coachman's getting tethcy!"
"Comin' Ash! Well, I guess I'll be seeing you."
"Yeah. See you, Julian."
"Sir? Bartholemew, sir?"
Bart winced. After only a short period he was starting to realise that compared to 'Bartholemew', Barty was a pleasing and amusing name. "Sorry."
"Oh, is there something wrong with the tea, sir?"
"No! There is nothing wrong!" said Bart, slamming his hand against the table."Go and do something usefull, visit your mother or something, and stop fussing about a thirty-eight year old's well-being when he really is quite well!"
"I'm sorry, sir..."
Bart sighed. Well... whichever way he looked at it, things were certainly going to become quite interesting.
Lozette opened the door, despite the fact that there was a huge hole in the wall. It was just what you did.
He took a quick glance around, and immedietly knew what the occasion called for.
"All right! I'm not in a mood for talking, so I'll just quickly and simply lay down the facts for you in a whay which even infidels such as yourselves can understand. I am a Sorcerer. The powers of the great elements lie at my are new Deomans, the equivelent of bad are in my home. I am not happy. You burn easily."
It did not take long for the message to sink in. True, they may have only been sub-par 'I'm so great because I've grown a claw' Deomans, but there was something satisfying about seeing them run away whining with their stubby tails between their legs.
"Well, Cypress," he said, stroking the head of his dragon gently as he looked at his now dilapidated abode which a while ago he had called his home. "It's going to take a lot of work, but it looks like it's going to be just you and me for a while."
She gave an affectionate purr.
A small, chirruping sound met his ears. Lozette turned and walked towards a tall window, and an unusual yet wonderful sight met his eyes.
Small dragons, most of them hardly bigger than cats, were running back towards him. The few survivors of the battle, they had been waiting and knew that their master had returned. Though there were barely more than a dozen or so of them, their presence meant the world to him.
For the first time in hundreds of years, for once without a sneer, pride, or even a little derisiveness, Lozette smiled.
It was so refreshing... The feeling of the wind whipping through his hair, the speed, the scenery, the warmth of the sun...
"Julian, get your head back in here!"
"Sorry," he said, as he resisted the urge. "Force of habit, ya know."
He folded his arms and stared at his feet for a while. Once these lost their interest value he then looked out the window. He then turned to see a small boy who was leaning over the back of his chair and staring intently at him. He must have been no older than seven.
"Hi," said Perry.
"Hi," the boy replied. "I'm not meant to speak to you," he said after extreme thought.
"Really? Why's that?"
"'Cos," he began, his fingers fidgeting under his chin, "You've got pointy ears an' sharp teeth an' clawed feet an' claws."
"You forgot the tail."
"I couldn't see it 'cos you was sat on it."
The boy continued to stare at him. "You look like the baddie in my story book," was his final verdict before his parents dragged him back down into his seat.
"Don't you just love kids?" said Perry, causing Ash to wonder wether he had finally learnt the nature of sarcasm.
"So... What're we going to do when we get to Hiscart?" he asked.
"I've got a house there."
"You have? Then why did you come to Hercart?"
"I've got to eat, haven't I? I had to earn some money, and the need for workers wasn't as high in Hiscart as Hercart."
"Yeah, but now you've got less money."
This was a true point. "I don't really know why I went. I suppose I just wanted a bit of an adventure, mostly because I as destined not to have one. I can't deny that at got what I was looking for, if a little unorthodox."
"Oh, that was just all in a days work for me, to be honest. That kind of thing's what made up most of my life. Hey, did I ever tell you about the day the vampires invaded, and I was the only one who could lead werewolf kind to prosperity?"
Her silence and the look on her face spoke more than any words could.
"O-kay, so perhaps that didn't happen," he admitted. "But it's true that a few years ago it was confirmed that people were allowed to eat werewolves since there was no other source of food, and so I had to spend of a lot of time hiding."
"Really?"
Yeah. But that was after I met Bart. Before that I was one of Lozette's slaves. Well, you can probably imagine what that was like. And before that I lived on the streets. Man, that was a tough life. Only living on what you could steal out of someone else's pocket."
"...How could you live like that?"
"Like what?"
"With no order! Never knowing what's going to happen next?"
He gave a wry smile. "Who says it's suddenly gonna be any different?"
The coach lurched as it came to a sudden stop. People found their heads bashing against the seat in front.
"What's happening?" asked Ash as she recomposed herself.
Someone turned around to speak to her. "I think there's something up front..."
"Oh no," she muttered. "Not a Deoman again, I hope..."
"Not likely," said Perry as he got to his feet and pushed his way out. She followed in his wake.
"Why not likely, may I ask?"
"They don't normally attack coaches unless they have a particular reason or if they're going a long way out. Also they'll still be recovering from the battle, I'd think..."
Once they got out they walked to the front of the coach, where the driver was sat. "What's wrong? Why have we stopped?" asked Ash.
"J-Just look over there, Miss!"
They looked where he was pointing. Clearly sat in the middle of the road, some pacing back and forth threateningly, were wolves.
"Don't want to go any further, Miss, they might attack!"
Ash concentrated onone which was lounging comfortable directly in front. "Hmm. It might just be me, but somehow I feel that wolf is familiar."
"It isn't just you. Remember the one which we freed a while ago? The snappy one?"
"Damn it. Well, if we can find something natural out here I can-"
"No," he said, putting his hand in front of her, "I'll sort this out. Unless you're pretty sure of your magic I wouldn't attack."
He took a step forwards, and changed. It didn't look like magic, it just looked like a strange version of evolution speeded up. It was grotesque, yet oddly fascinating.
Once he was a wolf he wriggled out of his clothes, and shook his long white hair. He padded carefully towards the other wolves, keeping his head low as to not present a challenge.
"What do you hope to do?" the wolf snarled at him. It was brown, and looked extremely unkempt compared to Perry's newly washed, white coat.
"What are you doing here? Why d'you wanna attack these people?"
"Were hungry!"growled one. "Why else?"
"Come on, there's plenty of other stuff to eat-"
"Name something!"
Perry hesitated. He hadn't spokento other wolves like this for so long, he was worried that he might have forgotten his etiquette and was going about things all wrong.
"I can't just let you attack. You owe me a favour, I freed all of you!"
"At least they gave us food there! We wanted to stay!"
"Then why didn't you? Why did you run at the first opputunity?"
Now it was the brown wolf's turn to be silent.
"Go away. Leave these people alone."
It growled. "We do not take orders from tamed dogs!"
Itlunged, but Perry had been expecting it and didn't need Ash's gasp to notify him. He swerved to the side and grasped it's neck with his jaws, throwingit down to the ground with ease. The other wolves stared at him, not knowing how to react.
"I've heard about you," the wolf said from the ground as Perry stood over it, teeth bared."On the howl. White coat, blue eyes, spends most of his time looking like a human. Don't they call you' That-Bloody-Annoying-Bastard'?"
Even as a wolf, Perry couldn't help grinning. "I think it's a title to be proud of."
He turned to the other wolves, who were edging away slightly. "I have defeated your alpha! I am your new alpha now! So... get lost!"
And so they did. It was as simple as that.
Perry was walking back when he heard the brown wolf speaking again as it got back to its feet. "Go ahead. Go back to your Mistress, little doggy. Why be a pet when you can be free?"
Perry thought about this. "I dunno. Perhaps I just want to be that way."
After watching for a second to make sure that the wolves had truly gone, Perry crawled under his clothes and changed back. Ash and the driver averted their eyes.
"'Kay," said Perry, straightening his sleeves, allowing them to look back again. "I think we'll be alright now."
Ash didn't say anything until they were both seated and the coach had started to move again. "...Julian?"
"Yeah?"
"How did you know that you were going to be okay? How did you know that they wouldn't all pounce on you and rip you to shreds?"
He laughed a little. "I didn't. But that's how it is when you live a life without order, never knowing what's gonna happen next."
She leant against him slightly.
"You know Julian, when I was travelling to Hercart, disguised as a mercenary and being insulted by some idiots with swords, I could have never imagined it would fnish like this."
"I know what you mean."
"So...it seems we got a happy ending, despite how often it looked like we wouldn't."
He shook his head. "I don't know if you can really call it a 'happy ending'. I mean, it hasn't worked out for everyone, has it? Like, Felix... He's trapped back there, and there's nothing he can do about it..."
She looked down. "You never know. Bart said that he might be able to change it. If he does it right, he might be able to make a new future fo himself."
"Well, what about Bart himself? He's lost everything,and he's left with the thought that he might die any day..."
She sighed. "There's nothing we can do. As he says, life isn't fair. I guess that sums it all up, really." She noticed his silence "Don't worry. He'll be alright."
"So it seems that really, you can't get a happy ending, because things never really end," he said, and found himself putting his arm around her. "All you can do is the best you can to keep things together."
"That's good enough for me."
Thankyou so much for reading. I'll be writing again soon.
Any questions, or anything I left out (unanswered questions, I mean. Don't think so, but you never know), just mention it. However, some thing are meant to be left open.
Please review!