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A New World	By : Meirav Category: +S to Z > X/1999 Views: 2658 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X/1999, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 29
- 30
- 31
Disclaimer: I don�t own X/1999, I didn�t come up
with any of their brilliant characters, they�re the geniuses not me!

The character of Alex, Jacob, Venus, Charlie,
David, Anthony, Dvora and Dimitri are all mine. The
Noters are half reality. The rest belong to all the book/movie/TV/anime/manga
they came from. If you can spot where they�re from then good for you!

Author�s Thanks: to Lonely Tsukasa
(I don�t think you should be sad nor mad at Kamui at this point, he�s still
growing up and learning his lessons, thank you so much for the compliments!),
to LadyOfTheBlackWings (you�re unnerved? Why? Ah yes,
well, don�t let it get into you too much I�ll be too flattered to have a fic of
mine take such effect on someone, henh. I�ll take a
look at your fic ASAP, I have to kick myself out of the laziness and return to
writing fitness again), to Subaru�s Voice (hey girl! Haven�t heard from you in
a while and I�m so happy you like this story as well! Thank you darling!!), to Iwannasleep (that�s a nice name you�ve got there XD, I�ll
write more of Subaru then XXXD), to Kizune (your name
is very similar to my beloved darling beta�s but never mind that. Not enough of
Kamui and Fuma you say? Really? In
what way? Which perspective of them am I missing? Ah and you love
Dimitri and Kakyou, awww, thanks!!!) also many, many thanks to Feather-Chan and Teko who took up my 30^thchapter challenge!!!

AUTHOR�S CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: yes!!!!! A
challenge!!!!!! For the 30^th chapter celebrations I challenge you
all!!!!!!! (�all��tssk, as
if�) to write in scenes for this story!!!! Yes!! A scene of your own making! I
won�t grumble and I won�t censure and I won�t drop anything out, I�ll put
everything in as it is unless it�ll make the rating soar too high up that is,
but your footmark will be in this fic. Yes! You can write what you want into
this fic, let your imagination run wild and go for it!

What
else? I�ll take orders for what you�d like to see and I�ll insert it into the
fic, no matter how wacky it might be! But, of course, I�d much MUCH, M-U-C-H more like it if you wrote in
something. Your grammar and phrasing level don�t matter and you�ll be credited
for it (if you wish, you can remain anon. if you want) so WRITE IN!!!! my email is as follows:

MPmeirav(at)Yahoo.co.uk

HAPPY 30^TH CHAPTER!!! May there be a thirty more
chapters�.kidding�.there might be XXXXXD

*************************************************************

Chapter 30 � Salvage

Fuma
struck the hard dark brown earth under his shovel. The metal head gave off a
dim ringing complaint and nearly bounced off the hard surface, vibrating.

Fuma
sighed.

They
have reached a layer of earth which was simply impenetrable no matter how hard
they tried. They tried dampening the ground to turn it into easily shovelled
mud but failed. They tried sharpening the shovel�s blade (it had grown blunt
since they began working in the cemetery) but that too left the earth unaffected.

This
had happened before with the two other mass graves Fuma and Jacob dug but
despite that they attempted over and over to dig the graves deeper.

It�s
not that the graves weren�t deep enough; it�s the fact that too many die before
Fuma and Jacob manage to prepare the next grave. They
have to pile bodies in layers which is hardly a
dignified form of burial. Also, whenever a body explodes there�s the danger
that it might break through the earth covering it, which they did most of the
time.

Fuma
picked up body bits, re-covered and re-buried people so many times he had grown
blunt to it. The sights only flickered before his eyes once or twice a day and
that�s it, they left him.

�Jacob-san,
it�s pointless, the earth here is just as hard as in the other two graves� he
hollered to the man who stood outside the grave preparing the bodies about to
go down into it.

�Ah�
Jacob let a chain of unrepeatable things in his language �I bet it�s got
something to do with this damned dimension, it�s making itself hard for us to
dispose of our bodies properly. It�s doing it so that we�ll all be sick like
you�

Fuma
was amazed to hear this. He had recently become very ill, suffering high fever
and twitching spasms, and only now was he able to somehow recover into working
condition.

He
was still a bit dizzy and light headed with fever but insisted on showing Jacob
that he was relentless and would not leave him with all the work. Charlie said
it was because of the bodies and ordered him to wash his hands and face before
he dines and wash completely before he enters his home as to not infect anyone
else.

Only
now did he hear Jacob recognise and register anything about his illness.

Fuma
was about to say something about it when he noticed the ground was shaking a
little bit.

He
shut his mouth and opened his ears. He could hear hoofs beating the ground by
the hundreds.

�Oi, sick brat, your little policemen are having a riot over
there� he heard the new undertaker call out to him.

�Help
me out of here!�

Jacob
reached out to him and pulled him easily out of the grave. He scanned the youth
with his usual cancelling frown �You�ve lost weight�.

Fuma
forgot about the Noters and stared at him amazed.

�I
need workers here, don�t starve off to death, you hear me?� was the bark he
received.

A
group of ten Noter riders and three carriages stormed past them towards the
Great Cliffs, forcing Fuma to look away from the suddenly caring (in his own
way) Jacob.

He
spotted Lion riding along with another group and called out to him, running
down the hill towards him.

�Lion-san! Lion-san! What�s going on? What are you guys
doing?�

Lion�s
eyes flashed white as soon as he heard Justice�s call. He slowed his ride and
turned his great white horse to walk back to Fuma.

�Our
men at Dragon Valley spotted a huge convoy
marching at high speed towards the Craters. They�ve already begun crossing it and
we�re positive they�re heading towards the city�

�So?�

�Our
men noted the convoy was made of hundreds of large carriages and zombies�

��.Zo�.zombies?�

Jacob
joined them at the bottom of the hill �Zombies you say? Something from Alex you
mean?�

�It
seems so� Lion�s face was grey with worry though his eyes still glittered with
hope.

�What�.what
will he be sending here in such great numbers?� Fuma felt his head spinning,
his fever returning.

�We
don�t know, all we can do is clear the citizens away from its path and shoot at
it in case it�s something dangerous�

�And
how do we know if it�s dangerous or not?!�

Lion
remained quiet.

A
wild rider approached them, a messenger from the Dragon Valley Noters. He
landed on the ground before Lion�s horse and saluted both his commander and
Fuma. His heavy knight�s armour seemed heavy and stifling in the day�s humid
hot weather.

�The
convoy emerged from the other end of the Craters and still there are more of
them entering the Craters from the other end. My commander stopped the count of
carriages at three hundred but there are far more then that.

�It�s
all dead horses and dead men securing them from both sides on foot. We still
have no guess of what it might be.

�It�s
expected to arrive at the City in a matter of less then an hour�

Shudders
and chills raked through Fuma�s body. He felt faint.
�What new devilry is this?�

�We
don�t know Boromir� Charlie walked over to the youth,
a small happy smile playing under his tiny fake moustache �but my senses tell me
it�s nothing bad�

�How can we be sure?! It�s from Alex isn�t it� he
barked back, still trying to figure out what Charlie called him just now.

�Whatever
it is, standing here and talking won�t solve it� Lion spun his horse around and
headed out towards the cliffs and his men.

Charlie
turned back as well and began arranging for as many medics and nurses to head
out and prepare themselves for whatever this convoy will bring to the City.

The
sound of a powerful gong rang through the air.

Fuma
turned his eyes to the City council�s building. The gong called for all Rescue
Team members and reserve members to gather and prepare for action.

�Well,
it seems I�m being called� Jacob sighed and struck his shovel into the ground.
He walked away from the cemetery, followed by a feverish Fuma.

******************

A
gentle hand landed on her shoulder and shook her carefully.

�Yuzuriha-chan�

The
haze was too deep to shake off right now. She was oh so tired.

�Yuzuriha-chan�

It
was Seiichiro�s voice, so warm and gentle, trying to
wake her.

�Yuzuriha-chan�

She
opened her eyes slowly and tried to sit up. Her body felt like damp rags
weighing tons.

�What
is it Aoki-san?�

�There�s
an immense unidentified convoy driving to the City, it�ll be here soon and all Rescue
Team members are called to action. Even I and Yutu-san were called�

She
blinked and shook her head gently. It was supposed to be a stronger shake but
her body seemed to have a mind of its own these days and refused to do as she
told it.

She
smiled and dragged her feet to the floor. She tried to get up and nearly crushed
right down to it immediately.

Seiichiro
caught her, alarmed and pale �What is it? Are you not feeling well?�

�No�just
a little faint that�s all, I�m fine�

�You�re
not fine, you didn�t eat anything yesterday, and you hardly ate the day before
yesterday either�

�I�m
fine� she looked down at Inuki. The spirit seemed to have lost weight too and
she could tell that he was becoming fainter and fainter as her soul weakens.
But he�ll do, he�ll have to.

�Could
you please carry me Aoki-san? Inuki can fight, I�ll tell him what to do but�.it
seems like I can�t walk properly�.� Her voice came out faint and wavering.

Seiichiro
was almost sick with worry, his mind numb with shock and horror. He picked up
the frail girl (almost a mere skeleton by now) and walked out of her room.

As
he walked down the stairs he could hear Arashi and Sorata speak in the living
room.

�You
can�t be serious about going out babe!� Sorata�s
voice was never so harsh and commanding towards his wife before.

Arashi
pulled out her sword and was examining its blade �I�m going and you�re not�

�What?! You�re the one who�s pregnant with our baby! It�s
in enough risk as it is right now!�

�I
said I�m going, I�m needed and a petty thing such as pregnancy will not stop
me� never was Arashi so cold and commanding toward her husband since they
became an official couple. Her tone now was that of long ago days when they
were two random Dragons of Heaven with no personal connection.

She
began walking out of the door.

�Arashi!�
her husband roared after her.

�Come
with me but don�t protect me, if you wish to live to see your baby born� her
voice was calm, her face relaxed. She turned around and walked out of the door.

�Everyone�s
being so brave� Yuzuriha mumbled in Seiichiro�s arms,
fighting back fatigue�s sleep.

***********************

The
convoy did not stop at the entrance to the City, it carried on running in a
straight line into the City. As it arrived at the Cliffs it suddenly took
flight, running on air, and climbed to the Cliff top.

By
the way they entered the city and the approximated line of their advance it was
presumed that its stopping point will be before the City council building.

The
Noters had spread out in two lines between which the convoy rode, leading all
the way to the council�s home.

At
the end of the lines the Rescue Team members gathered, their powers and weapons
ready.

Ace
stood with a sword he used on in cases of emergency and a rifle he borrowed
from the Noter�s extras.

Spike
stood with his pistol in hand and a grenade in the other.

Karen
stood between them with balls of fire in each palm though in her hearts she
hoped that whatever it was coming from Death did not need such a treatment.

Tara was chanting, calling up spells and forces to
gather around her, ready to pounce.

Seiichiro
placed Yuzuriha down and prepared wind razors spinning around his palm.

Yutu
stood by him with his whip ready in hand. He too prepared circles of water
around his other hand.

Vash
stood at his side, his revolver and built-in pistol ready. He stared at the
approaching convoy and mumbled to himself that he never saw Alex use such a
force or conjure something quite like this.

�I
guess you just never saw that side of him� Seiichiro answered his mumbles in a
whisper.

Arashi
and Sorata stood side by side, their weapons ready, their gazes intense and
their nerves on the verge of wrecking. Being near each other in their condition
and their earlier fight made them the more dangerous and agitated.

Yuzuriha
leaned on Inuki and took deep breaths to try and find strength within her to
fight if she needs to. She fumbled her tattered school tie and ran her fingers
across the pin she received from Victoria.

�Please
don�t let this be bad� she whispered �he promised help, not hurt, he promised.
Like he promised to make me immortal�.please let him keep his promises�

Jacob
stood with his sword pulled out, sweating and agitated. Fuma stood by his side,
leaning on a rock to keep his fever from taking him completely. He did not know
of what use he�ll be here but his Noters were here and so should he.

Iceman
sat on his white and gold horse, his sword ready, circles of ice wind
spiralling around him gently. He eyed both Fuma and Lion on each of his sides
nervously.

When
action�s time comes which will he choose to protect?!

Charlie
sent his nurse Nuriko forward to the line of Rescue
Team members, ordering her to use her inhuman strength for now before she�ll
use her nursing skills.

He
turned around and scanned the five carriages of medics he brought with him to
the lines. He emptied the infirmary from almost all it�s nurses for this, he
probably left a few patients in the infirmary that might die in this time but
this thing needed more attention then them.

The
City�s citizens drew back to hiding in their houses, peering out the windows
nervously. Mothers hid their children in small bunkers they prepared for
previous attacks. The men prepared their forks and shovels for whatever might
come, standing by doors and windows to preparer for attack.

The
air was tense and tight, heavy to breath from heat and humidity.

The
men sweated heavily as they scanned the approaching convoy with worried
suspicious eyes.

Undead hoofs beat the ground slower and slower now,
coming to a stop where they were guessed to. The zombies stopped running as
well, standing limp at the sides of the huge carriages.

Silence
was thick and electric as they waited their judgment.

Alone
in his forest cabinet, Kakyou sat curled up on his bed. He rocked back and
forth, chewing on his thumb�s nail. �She showed me a good convoy, she said it
was help but�..can I trust her?� he mumbled, in a panic.

�Can
she be speaking the truth? She is he Dark Lady, she�s treacherous and deceitful�..she
said it would be a good convoy�.is it?.....Is it
really?!.....Oh god�

******************

The
convoy�s creatures stood still in the hot air for a while as those who are
living around them moved agitatedly.

Then
it began to sink; the horses and men disappearing into the ground as if it was
liquid.

The
living around the convoy gasped.

All
that was left was one zombie whose eyes now flared up in turquoise. He walked
forward towards the City�s mayor.

The
Rescue Team members thickened their lines and blocked its path.

The
zombie stared around emptily, his rotting flesh releasing foul smells in the
hot air.

�Death
gave me this message to you, mayor of the City� he said at last, his voice deep
and gurgling. Drops of black fluid
splattered out of his mouth in tiny showers as he spoke, a trickle of it
trailed down the side of his mouth.

Arashi
almost doubled over with nausea. Fuma held his breath to keep down his own
sickness.

�He
says �We are in the Lost Dimension�s Bright Side where everything is healthy
and rich. We�ve reached an agreement with a nation there for them to send you
these supplies to help the famine. Here you have food and grain and whatever
else we were able to find there. We will convince other nations we�ll come
across to do the same might we find equally wealthy ones� that is the end of
his message�

With
that the zombie shrugged and sank into the ground like the rest of his undead comrades.

He
left the City staring amazed at the abandoned carriages.

They
blinked.

The
silence weighted down heavier. Was this some kind of trap or was it real?! All
these carriages are filled with food?!

�It�s
his promise!� Yuzuriha�s chirp sawed through the air
suddenly. Pulling at her last bits of strength she leaped forward to the first carriage
�He promised he�ll help me! He promised! He brought us food!� she was yelling
by now.

�Yuzuriha!� Karen leaped towards the teen,
grabbing her and pulling her away from the carriage.

But
Yuzuriha had already managed to take hold of the blanket covering the first
carriage and, as Karen pulled her, she pulled it off.

The
men and women around the convoy, the citizens in their homes, the City council
members, the medics and Rescue Team members, all gasped.

A
heap of corn cobs sat glittering like gold in the hot rays penetrating through
the clouds.

With
a great roar the citizens flooded out of their homes and, almost crushing the
Noters down with their stampede, rushed to the carriages.

Blankets
were torn off the carriages to recover heaps of carrots, cheese lumps, bread
loafs, heaps of bunched up herbs, mountains of lettuce, mounds of roots
vegetables, eggplants, marrows, cages of ice containing immense meat lumps from
cows, sheep and various birds.

Cries
of relieve, joy, alarm and even panic cut through the air in cacophony.

The
carriages kept coming, their escorts and horses immediately sinking into the
ground.

Carriages
contained well covered cages filled with live chickens and ducks. Huge cages on
wheels brought heavily sedated but definitely alive fat cows, sheep, pigs, rabbits,
even ostriches.

The
citizens tore into whatever carriages containing immediately edible foods and
began ravaging them, even eating the roots still covered with dirt. Their cries
of joy were stiffened as their mouths filled with food.

The
Noters and Rescue Team members stood crying silently with joy as they scanned
the miracle playing before their eyes.

Only
one person did not find this wonderful and joy filled. Only he studied the
citizen�s behaviour and fully registered the immense danger within it.

�STOP
EATING!� Jacob stormed out of his line and into the mass of people
around the carriages.

�STOP
EATING!� he sent his powers to bring the blankets over the carriages
again, leaping on to the edge of one of the carriages.

The
citizens did not heed to him, they pulled him and tore him off of his stand,
beating an kicking and scratching him away from their
food.

But
he fought back, kicking and scratching and biting if he had to

�STOP
EATING!� he spread his wings, massive glitters of light and colour in
the shape of angel wings, creating a sonic boom along with it to stun people
out of their madness.

It
worked; the citizens drew back from the carriages, shocked and frightened.

�DO
NOT EAT RIGHT NOW!� he roared at them �eat something small at
first, let your body adjust to it and then eat a normal meal�

The
men and women grumbled and booed at him.

�DON�T
YOU UNDERSTAND, IDIOTS?! You�ll gorge yourselves to death! You�ll eat too much
for your starved bodies to handle!�

They
became quiet, but still frowned and mumbled at him.

�I�ve
seen it happen! It happens, believe me!�

Fuma
scanned the carriages until he found what he was looking for. He wobbled over
to it and climbed over to its edge, uncovering it a little to confirm his suspicion.

�LISTEN
TO ME PEOPLE! You went through all these hardships to survive the famine, do
you want to die now at its end because of such a petty reason?!�

The
citizens stood silently, finally convinced.

�Jacob-san!�

The
new undertaker snapped his head angrily towards his helper. He saw the youth
uncovering a carriage full of small sweet looking buns. These would do great
for a small first meal.

He
turned to the citizens. �Take one bun each and eat it, here, the brat�ll give them out to you. Wait for a while and only
then eat more!�

Fuma
was suddenly attacked by hundreds of outstretched hands, shaking and quivering
as they begged him for the buns. It was like a nightmare to observe; behind
each hand was a pair of eyes blazing and crazed, starved and begging for his
aid.

His
head reeled, his knees almost popped out of action under him. It was like all
the people he buried before now reached out for him.

There
were so many to help and he was so weak already�.

�WHAT
ARE YOU DOING BRAT?! GIVE THEM FOOD FOR FUCK�S SAKE, ARE YOU DEMENTED OR JUST
PLAIN STUPID?!� Jacob came leaping from carriage to carriage towards
him.

Fuma
shook his head and snapped himself back into coherent thinking. He pulled his
whole body to this last effort and began placing one bun in each hand, a palm
at a time.

Jacob
landed by him and began helping him, shouting and swearing at people from time
to time if they came back for seconds more then once.

To
a roaring order from Lion the Noters snapped themselves back to action and
began herding the citizens into an orderly line, keeping people from coming
back too many times and handling people who lurked those who already took a bun
to rob them.

�Arashi-san! Arashi-san!�
Fuma cried out to his house members. He snuck five buns and spilled them into Sorata�s hands, who handed them over to Arashi.

She
stood with one bun in her hand, staring at the carriages and at Fuma feverishly
handing out food for the starved people. It was all so big, too big for her to
comprehend.

�What�s
wrong babe? You need to eat! Eat babe, for our baby, for you!� Sorata shook her
powerfully while trying hard not to gobble down one of the buns he held for
her.

�I
can�t understand it� she whispered in a daze, her eyes huge and glassy �I
always thought the baby will surely die and that you�ll die too�.I almost
accepted it�

�There�s
nothing to understand and nothing to accept lady, just eat the damned food
already!� Jacob shouted at her across his shoulder.

It
snapped her out of her trance. She looked at the bun in her hand and
immediately stuffed it into her mouth in one bite. The large round puffy pastry
making her face swell up all of a sudden as she fought to chew on it. She
reached out to the second bun in Sorata�s hand. She
snatched it so powerfully she scratched her husband�s palm into bleeding.

He
winced and smiled at her. She was going to live, the baby is going to live, and
everything is going to be alright.

He
was on the floor, unconscious, three seconds later.

Crouching
by him, Arashi shook him while trying to grab attention to her with a mouthful
of buns.

Charlie
walked over to her beaming brightly. He motioned for another medic to help him
wake the man up.

A
minute later Sorata was up again, eyeing the buns still handed out by Fuma and
Jacob. �I�m hungry� he growled and tore himself out of the medic�s grip. He
snuck up behind Fuma and stole three buns for himself, stuffing his mouth with
them like his wife.

Charlie
burst into laughter and he scanned the couple; both standing by each other with
great big full mouths, chewing feverishly in silence.

***************

Yuzuriha
was clutching her bun with her bony hands, giggling insanely as she held it to
her chest.

She
was in Karen�s arms now, curled up in her lap and giggling like a child.

�Eat
Yuzuriha-chan, for god�s sake, eat!� the fire master wept at her, her tears
falling to splatter on the sickly looking pale skin of the scrawny girl in her
arms.

�Eat
please, you�ll die if you won�t�

�But
he promised and he kept it! Karen-san I won�t die, I�ll never die because he
promised and he kept it, he kept it can�t you see?�

�Sweet
Jesus in heaven girl, eat already!�

Yuzuriha
only giggled harder starting to shake involuntarily now.

Karen
crossed herself �Forgive me if I�m being too violent but by god I�m going to
have to force-feed you if you won�t shut up� and with that she tore the bun out
of Yuzuriha�s hand and stuffed it into the girl�s
mouth.

Yuzuriha
giggled into the pastry.

�Chew!
Chew, for fuck�s sake, bite into it!�

Yuzuriha
stopped her twitching and complied, her huge sunken eyes never leaving Karen�s
pale worried face. She ate. She was saved.

Ace
took a deep breath of relief at this and wrapped an arm around Karen�s
shoulders. He handed her a bun and kissed her on the cheek.

Karen
kissed him back intensely, suddenly clinging to him forcefully.

Spike
wondered off to assist Jacob after Fuma had fainted with fatigue. There were
still so many left to feed and so many buns to give out.

Now
the outpour was not of citizens but of Noters who became half starved these
days themselves.

Jacob
suddenly seized his handing of buns as a familiar sound came to his ears; the
neighing of horses.

He
dropped the buns in his hands and stood up from the crouch he was in.

A
row of ten carriages stormed over (the convoy was still spilling into the City,
even now) to the other side of the carriage where he stood.

The
zombie leading it stared at Jacob, scrutinizing him. �Are you Jacob Lewinsky?�
it asked him.

Jacob
did not answer. He was too busy staring bewildered at ten long carriages where
sedated sleeping tens and hundreds of horses were packed shoulder to shoulder
in groups of eight each carriage. Now it was his turn to reel.

�The�.the
pervert br�brought this to m-me?� he huffed
eventually.

�Death
gave me orders to bring this to a Jacob Lewinsky� the zombie answered
tonelessly.

�Well,
numbskull, do you see anyone else who looks like me here?!� Jacob leaped down
the carriage and immediately climbed on one of the carriages, running his hand
on the backs of the sleeping horses.

He
tore off the side of the carriages one by one and woke the beasts with his
powers. Climbing on top of one of the beautiful, strong, huge horses, he
clicked his tongue and began leading the beasts towards his home.

�Jacob�
Lion cried over to the horse master. He was trying to climb on to the bun�s
carriage and take over where Jacob abandoned his job but was blocked by Iceman
who did it for him.

�I
hope you plan on sharing these wonderful animals with us�

�We�ll
talk about that later� Jacob barked back at him across his shoulder, already
sending his beast to a canter and leading the rest of the pack after him.

Lion
laughed and shook his head.

�are
you alright Justice?� he turned to Fuma as soon as he finished making sure his
children were all eating or receiving their share.

Fuma
lay in one of the medics� carriages, slowly munching on a bun while given a
shot to fight back his fever.

He
looked up to the man and smiled faintly.

�Come
on you can do better then that, give me a real smile. The dark heavy cloud is
now gone from the City; you can smile and laugh now�

Fuma
shook his head, still scanning the carriages pouring into the City, parking in
rows by those already parked.

�I
won�t be able to really smile and laugh until I�ll have Kamui with me again�
his eyes were pained now, tearful.

Lion
sighed and gave him a hug and another bun.

A
cry pierced through the air and everyone turned their heads to see Charlie
storm off towards a new line of carriages now coming to a stop in a seventh
row.

These
carriages were dyed white and marked with a red cross
sign on each side.

The
doctor tried to climb on one of the carriages but failed. He too was starved
and weak and working in the infirmary endlessly all this time finally took its
toll on him.

Blue
Fairy came floating to his side and pulled her husband into her boat. She
turned it around the carriages a while until it gained enough latitude to allow
Charlie to climb on top of them effortlessly.

With
the aid of his wife he tore off one blanked by the other, uncovering carriage
loads of syringes, medications, herbal balms, gauze rolls by the mile, three
carriages filled with shiny metal operating tables, drip poles, surgery
equipment and hospital beds.

He
collapsed to his knees, amidst boxes on boxes of pills, and burst into tears.
Blue Fairy wrapped her arms around him with a wonderful beaming smile, her eyes
running freely as well.

**************

Five
hours later and the carriages finally stopped arriving at the City. Now the
Noters and Rescue Team members began raiding them to unload what was left and
dispense it properly.

The
City council members were feverishly forming a plan of rations and the
construction of barns to keep the immense amount of food people surely couldn�t
store in their homes. Unlike any other meeting they�ve ever had, they didn�t
burst into bitter arguments, not even once, as they crouched above the lists
they�ve made of what they received.

Now
was not the time to argue; the citizens will soon be completely ready to
receive their food and will come to demand it with rage and violence like only
those who have been starved and saw food given to them can.

�Oh
sweet Jesus� Karen laughed, her hands trembling as she folded back another
blanket.

�You�ve
been saying that a lot lately Karen-san� Sorata returned his laughter.

Checking
on Arashi every few minutes, he felt strong enough now to help out in unravelling
the gifts from the Bright Side.

�Well,
this is a miracle isn�t it?� she was clutching her crucifix rosary as she
worked.

�A
miracle is worked by the gods Karen-san, this was
worked by human beings�

�Ah,
but perhaps the lord helped softening their hearts towards us�

Sorata
shook his head and sighed, it seemed that he was talking to a brick wall.

�But
seriously now, look at this!�

Sorata
peeked into the carriage Karen uncovered �What the?!�

�Furnishing?!�
Vash, who worked with Sorata, now climbed over to the spoken carriage �Furnishing?!�

Karen
burst into wild giggles, Vash became immediately infected.

�They
think we need furnishing more then anything� Sorata shook his head, repeating
his words to Arashi who sat on a rock by the carriage and was nibbling on a sandwich
Sorata made her.

�We
do need furnishing you know, I mean, everything we have is second hand. It�s
bad luck; we never know who used our furnishing do we? It�s
bad luck I tell you and it�s a miracle that we got new furnishing�

Sorata
stared at his wife. Then at Karen who was now chanting something religious
(probably, it was in Latin so he assumed it must be religious). He was surrounded
by women blinded by faith. He shrugged and began pulling at the carriage�s side
to open it.

�Fabrics!� Tara called out from twelve
carriages down theirs �They sent us fabrics! Oh I bet Lestate had something to
do with it, I can�t find a single roll of velvet here� she dug herself almost
shoulder-deep into the fabric rolls �ah, there�s one�.and it�s in mustard. He
hates mustard. That little bastard, leaving us with only one
roll, and in his least favourite colour. He probably did it on purpose
and is saving all the rolls to himself�

�Don�t
be ridiculous Tara-san, there must be something here� Yutu insisted as he dug
through another carriage loaded with fabric rolls to try and prove her wrong
��no there isn�t�..�

They
were so busy they did not notice the huge falcon flying low above them. The two
combining pentacles on his back were hidden from them.

It
flew all the way to where Yuzuriha lay on a sofa in one of the carriages. With
a shriek it landed on the armchair by her feet.

Munching
slowly on a sandwich equal to Arashi�s, she looked
down at it and beamed.

�You
kept your promise�

The
bird picked at its wing shyly.

�You
did, you did, I�m so proud of you�

The
bird shook its head.

�Hey!
What a pretty birdie!� Kazuki popped her head out of a sea of grain in a
carriage, pointing at the shiki.

�Kazuki-chan! Get out of there for the love
of�.uh�.� Karen eyes the slightly impatient Sorata ��of me. It�s grains not a
swimming pool�

�Aw
but it�s fun�

The
shiki turned its head back to Yuzuriha after scrutinizing the cloned girl with
grains tangled in her white hair.

It
wobbled over by Yuzuriha�s head, clutching madly at
the sofa�s fluffy body to stable itself with its powerful claws.

It
bend its head down until it�s beak was by her ear �You
look better, starved still, but better�

�Am
I the only one you care about?�

�No.
I care about the City too but of the City�s safety I�m sure now. I need to make
sure you�re alright�

�Oh?
And why is that?�

�I�m
Death; I take care of my creatures and men. And you�ll one day become one too,
won�t you?�

Yuzuriha
nodded �If you�ll keep that promise too�

The
shiki winked �I will if you will�

She
sent her small bony palm, now shaking no longer, and caressed the soft
spell-made feathers. The shiki leaned into the touch.

�Hey!
There�s that bird again� Vash was by Yuzuriha�s side
immediately, grabbing the shiki and bringing it to his eyelevel.

The
shiki poked at his nose and made him shriek.

Yuzuriha
burst into laughter, kicking at the sofa and clapping her hands with happiness.

Both
Vash and the shiki stopped what they were doing to see the suddenly revived
girl so happy and alive.

Having
seen his job done, the shiki disappeared, leaving the double pentacle ofuda
behind in Vash�s hands.

�Hey,
if I keep this will I get something?� he scrutinized the slip of paper.

Still
giggling, Yuzuriha shrugged and took another bite off her sandwich.

********************

�She
looks so thin!�

�Indeed,
she was very close to death�

Victoria gasped �Really?! Oh my
god�.�

Alex
wrapped an arm around her shoulders, making David wonder if he should snap a
nasty remark about it or not. �Don�t worry, she�s beyond it now�

The
vampire hung huge happy eyes at him, then at David. She shook Death�s arm off
of her and crushed into David�s arms �I�m so happy�.

David
wrapped his arms around her involuntarily and fought to find something to say
or act.

�Um�.uh�.ah�.err�.you
see�.ah�.uh�.yes�.I�.guess�.then�

Alex
smirked at him.

He
raised two middle fingers back at Death.

Giggling
and throwing nasty looks at David, Alex exited Victoria�s tent.

He
stopped for a moment in the clearing at the centre of their night time
campsite. Listening to the wind, he waited.

Suddenly
he shot his hand forward and snatched Will out of the gush of air he ran in.

�Ah,
ouch, ouch, ouch� Will was grabbed by his injured ear,
it�s stitched only due to come out in two day�s.

�Tell
your master that the convoy arrived at the City and everyone�s alright and
saved. I don�t quite feel like talking to him just yet, now go� Alex growled at
him and released the werewolf.

Hearing
the news Kamui smiled faintly and ruffled Will�s hair a bit. Then he snatched
him to a long deep embrace.

These
last days have been very heavy for Kamui; he spent most of them looking deep
into his soul and thinking over many things in his life. The events of the last
few days in the Palace had forced him to look back and think over again and
again about his life, his behaviour, his existence and many other important
subjects.

And
it was not easy. The guilt of what he�s done both to Alex and to Kotori was, in
itself, too heavy for him to carry. But he will think it over and he will
re-calculate his behaviour and he will change. He must.

�Lestate! For god�s sake, that�s half of the fabric�s
delivery you�ve got there stoked up in your tent! Have you no shame? This is
the City�s rations you�ve stolen for yourself�

�Bah,
they won�t eat velvet would they?�

�Oh
good god�.�

�What
is it now? The Anne Rice puff acting up again?�

�Oh
you be quiet you Braham Stoker monster!�

�Oi!�

�Err,
David�

Kamui
turned his back to the cheerful sounds of the camp and walked into his tent to
spend another night of contemplation and soul searching.

�Keep
us out of this; we�re just trying to smoke in peace here�

�Now
David, David don�t! Vampires of his kind are sensitive
to fire, DAVID!�

�Shut
up, pervert!�

(tbc)
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A New World