A New Reality

The Sorcerer Hunters lined up on after the other on the stretched tree limb. The train was coming fast, and the passengers aboard were oblivious to the danger that awaited them. Gateau led the countdown. "One…two…three!" They leapt in unison and toppled onto the roof of a boxcar as the train went speeding past.

"Hurry, we have to stop the train!" Tira exclaimed. Already she was racing for the engine. As Tira opened the door on the roof, Carrot jumped inside the engine. Just as he feared, the engineer was already dead. The sorcerer had gotten to him first. Carrot grabbed the brake cable and pulled. When the train showed no signs of wanting to stop he pulled again.

"Hurry, Darling. Pull the brake." Chocolate yelled into the car.

"I'm trying. The brake line is busted."

Gateau ran his hands thru his hair. "Dammit."

"Then we must unhook all of the cars." Marron stated. Tira pulled Carrot out of the engine and they ran to the trolley. Chocolate looked before them at the horrifying scene. The sorcerer had blown up the bridge ahead, and if the train was not stopped it would tumble 500 feet and into the rapids below. There were children and grandparents on the train.

Tira hopped into the trolley and met with several elderly people. "Hello, Missy." An old man with a bald head said. "This train seems to be going awful fast." Tira smiled and walked to the place where the cars hooked together. She turned to console the passengers.

"We have run into a bit of a problem, but there is no need to worry. We are just going to unhook your cars and you will be perfectly safe." The people looked at her with confused expressions, but Tira just smiled and continued on her duty. She jumped to the car ahead and unhooked the coupling device. She watched as the trolley disappeared from sight.

"Tira, you might want to jump on if you don't want to go with this bunch." Chocolate suggested to her younger sister. Tira joined her sister on the next car and Chocolate unhooked it. They waved as the car went rolling out of sight.

The sorcerer hunters each took turns unhooking the cars and making sure the passengers didn't panic. The bridge that was out was coming upon them fast. Soon, though, there were only two cars left besides the engine itself. The last car was full of children that were being transported to a nearby orphanage. Gateau gave a sigh of relief as the children's car was unhooked from the train. He turned to the group and said, "Let's go." Beginning with Gateau they jumped one by one onto the roof. Marron was about to jump when he heard a noise behind him. It sounded like the whimper of a small child. He told the others to go on ahead and that he would catch up. Then he went to the empty car.

After searching for some time, Marron found a small boy nestled in between the seats holding a ragged teddy bear. The boy's eyes were wide with fear. Marron told him not to worry and went to the front of the car. He looked to where the cars were joined only to see that they had been rusted together. "Oh no." He remarked. The bridge wasn't too far away. He had to hurry.

Marron looked around for something to break the connection with. There were no heavy pipes or anything lying around the cars. The bridge was two miles ahead now, which didn't give him a lot of time. Finally he broke an end off one of the seats, jumped into the engine, and began hitting the rusted back with the end.

Carrot and the others watched helplessly as the train sped towards the downed bridge. Carrot had second thoughts about jumping from the train while Marron was still there, but it was too late to fix that now. All the sorcerer hunters could do was hope that Marron could free the last car and get out of there before the train goes over the edge. "Hurry, Marron." Chocolate said aloud what everyone was thinking.

Marron struck the rusted couplings again and again. The train flew past the "bridge out" sign. Some of the rust broke loose which encouraged Marron to hit it even harder. The child was still clutching the teddy bear. Marron wished he was on that car with him, but the rusted end was closer to the engine, so Marron had to jump to the engine to break it. Finally, the rust broke and the child's car broke away from the engine.

Marron stood up only to see darkness. He had hit the covered part of the bridge. That meant that the engine would crash any second now. There was no time to jump. Marron closed his eyes.

Tira screamed as the engine disappeared into the covered area of the bridge. "Marron!!" Carrot took off running and the others followed. Carrot raced hopelessly to the car, but stopped abruptly he saw a huge fireball shoot straight up.

"Oh god." Carrot whispered. He then resumed running.

Finally they reached the car and looked inside. A small boy was sitting between the seats. He was the very reason Marron had stayed behind. Carrot looked around the car. Marron was no where in sight. Carrot then took off running for the covered bridge.

Carrot stopped at the edge of the cliff. The entire forested area was on fire. Debris floated along the creek and smoke filled the air. Carrot's eyes stung from the smoke, but he would not stop looking from his brother.

"Can you see him?" Tira asked. Everyone looked around the area. Gateau pointed down to where the engine had landed. It was a scorched black mass of smoke and flame. Anything that was in there would have disintegrated almost instantly. No one wanted to say what they all feared. Marron was dead.

Marron awoke to the excruciating pain in his head. He touched his left temple and felt the sore bump that was now there. The last thing he remembered was falling with the engine over the cliff when a dark figure swung in on a rope. He had held his hand out to Marron and Marron took it. The figure had pulled Marron from the train. Marron remembered asking, "Who are you?" only to get a rough blow to the head as an answer.

He viewed his surroundings. He was sitting on a loft covered by a bearskin. A half-melted candle burned on a wooden end table. The windows had been boarded over and only thru the cracks of the boards came any light. Marron rose from the loft to go to the window. He attempted to peer thru the cracks, but his head snapped up when he heard the door open.

"I see you are up." A tall white haired man with dark eyebrows and a dark mustache entered holding a bowl of mushy oatmeal. He set the bowl down on the end table. Marron looked at the runny goop then to the man who stood before him.

"Why did you bring me here?" Marron asked, an edge to his voice, his brows close together.

The man smiled. "Always inquisitive, aren't you Marron Glace?" He pushed the bowl towards the young dark haired man. "Eat. You will need your strength."

"Why? And how do you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you, Afushonmarron." The man began to pace. "I know your magic. I know your strengths, your weaknesses. I know your loves, your hates, your obsessions. I know you better than you know yourself."

"Am I a captive?"

"No. You are free to leave anytime you wish to. But I think you will stay once you hear what I have to say." Marron cocked an eyebrow and the man went on. "I see I have sparked your interest. I knew that I would." Then the man began his story.

"My name is Fry. Once I was a sorcerer hunter just like you. I left my group and hunted on my own because I felt that we were not really helping the people. We were not treating the situation the way it should be treated. The Stellar Church waits for the problem to come to it. A client calls, and it sends out its special team to investigate. This helps rid the continent of evil magic, but it excludes many of the sorcerers who have not been reported because the townspeople are unable to go for help. It excludes the entire villages that have been wiped out and the sorcerers who maintain a low profile.

"On my own I have learned of so many more monstrous acts a sorcerer can commit-acts that will never be reported to the Stellar Church. I have encountered many benevolent sorcerers. Sorcerers by blood, not by choice. They try to help mankind but are not trusted. I also discovered a secret organization.

"Many sorcerers get cocky. They show off their powers and are too proud of their tyranny. These are the sorcerers that are easily defeated. There are other sorcerers that remain hidden. They disguise their appearance and walk amongst the commoners undetected."

"What does this have to do with me?" Marron questioned. He had not moved from his place on the loft.

"I have learned that some of the most powerful sorcerers have banned together. They are arranging an army to conquer the Spooner Continent and make it theirs to rule. In turn I am creating my solution to this uprising. Namely, I am compiling a group of the best fighters, hunters and magicians on the continent. That is why I chose you."

"Kidnapped me." Marron made certain that Fry knew he was not there by choice.

"Whatever you wish to call it. I had to do it this way, Marron. I wanted only you. To inform the rest of your teammates of my plan would only endanger my mission. "

"My team will be worried."

"Your team already thinks you are dead."

Chocolate and Tira wept as the so-called explosives expert told them, "There was no way he could've escaped the blast. Even if he had jumped from the train the fire from the explosion would've enveloped him. I'm sorry." The man adjusted his glasses. He had dark hair at the roots but the ends were blond. He was well built, but not very tall.

Carrot wasn't buying it. "You're sorry! That's all you can say? Are you sure you've checked everywhere?"

"Search parties have been out since the explosion was discovered. Every alternative has been investigated. I realize it will take some time to accept that…"

"He got out! I know he did!"

Gateau grabbed Carrot and shook him. "Carrot, get a grip. Marron is gone. He's not coming back." Even as he said this, a tear dropped from Gateau's eye.

"My brother will not accept that I am dead. None of them will." Marron told Fry.

"I realize you are angry. I knew you would be. I am hoping you will come to realize just how important this mission is to the good of the world. Hopefully you will change your mind once I take you to Halitosis in the morning. Until then enjoy your oatmeal." Fry left then leaving Marron to stare at the runny goop.

The pretty orange-red haired girl watched from around the corner as Fry left Marron's room. She had been at the door most of the time, looking thru the keyhole at the scene. When the conversation was over she retreated from the door, knowing that Fry would not appreciate her spying. She leaned against the stone wall and sighed. He is even cuter than in the pictures, she thought. She had taken a special interest in helping Fry capture this one. Often she went with him when he had gone to watch Marron. She told him it was because she wanted to learn and to help, but her motives were a little more personal than that. Since the first day, the 14 year-old girl had developed a serious crush on the beautiful sorcerer hunter. Too bad I'm a sorceress, she thought as she continued to her room.

Dota wiped a tear from her eye as Big Mama finished her speech. "Marron Glace was a great Sorcerer Hunter and friend. He will be remembered amongst his teammates and friends, and also by the Stellar Church." As she concluded, the four remaining Sorcerer Hunters had their heads bowed. They raised them when Big Mama replied, "I am giving you all a break for the time being. It would be unfair to give you an assignment at this time. You need this time to grieve. I will summon you when your talents are needed." The sorcerer hunters nodded and then followed each other out of the Stellar Church.

Carrot sat on the front steps staring out into space. Several lovely ladies walked by, but Carrot paid no attention to them. Tira sat down beside him on the cool, hard concrete. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Carrot, are you okay?"

"It should've been me. I should've stayed back in the car." Carrot's face was expressionless, but Tira could imagine what he was going thru. She could never imagine losing Chocolate.

"You can't blame yourself, Carrot. Marron wouldn't want it that way."

Carrot picked up a small rock and hurled it as hard as he could at a tree. He wanted to hurt something, throw something, or scream as loud as he can. Still, he knew it would do no good. None of it would bring back his little brother.

Chocolate stood looking at the Church. "I never thought before that any of us were actually in danger. I guess this is what we get for being overconfident. I never thought any of us would ever die."

"Especially Marron." Gateau added.

"What are we going to do without him?" Tira asked. She sniffled.

"Go on. What else can we do?" Gateau answered. Carrot continued to stare out at nothing. He thought about his life to that point and didn't know where he would go from there.

As much as Marron wanted to escape, he was equally curious about the town Halitosis. When Fry appeared in his room the next morning he had with him a small girl; a girl with orange-red curly hair, and bright blue eyes. She looked innocent, excited about life, and inquisitive. She also bore the mark of a sorceress.

"This is Meringue. She was the first I kidnapped." Fry smirked. "She is the daughter of a sorcerer. She was raised by her human mother and taught to love all humankind." The girl held her hand out to Marron and he took it.

"I've heard so much about you. Pleased to meet you." She said bashfully.

"Meringue will be our guide thru Halitosis. She has been spending much time there with the rest of the rescue team."

Fry led the horse-driven buggy thru the two feet of water that covered the main road of Halitosis. "This has the highest elevation in the city. It was the last place to go." Meringue explained to Marron who looked at the flooded houses.

"What happened here?"

"A sorcerer owned the mansion you see on the hilltop. He charged outrageously high taxes. When the villagers couldn't pay them he caused a flood to overcome the village." A body floated facedown passed the buggy. Marron looked at it in horror. Meringue sighed. "102."

"One hundred people have died here?"

Meringue nodded. "And that is just the bodies we have found. We believe there is more inside the houses of the valley. The houses we have not gone thru yet. We cannot estimate how many more, though."

Fry stopped the carriage and hopped out. Meringue and Marron followed suit. They met with a blond haired man with dark roots at the door of what used to be the saloon. The man looked at Marron but addressed Fry.

"Finally got him, eh? Took ya long enough." The well-built man extended his hand to Marron. "Thought ya would be a bit older, the way Fry here was talkin'. I'm Meat. Meat Loaf. Don't laugh. It was my grandad's name."

Fry continued the introduction. "Meat is my master of disguise. He is also a master with a sword."

"He exaggerates. Heard some wild tales about you. So did you really almost get your soul sucked out by the flowers of Mesotamia? That is harsh."

Marron nodded. He was astounded at how much these people knew about him and his assignments. He was not sure if this was a good or bad thing.

"Meat, you fool. Get over here and pull out this old man." A low female voice snapped at Meat. Marron looked to the direction of the voice to see a very tall woman with long purple hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore spikes on her shoulders high boots on her feet. She had many scars all over her body.

"That is Steel. She is a warrior princess from the Tacoma Islands. She believes that certain human qualities must be suppressed in order to be a successful warrior. That is why she scars herself. She is training herself to withstand pain." Fry explained. Meat went to Steel's aid. Together they pulled the body of an old man out of the wreckage. Fry informed Marron, "Our duty will not be as wretched as that. We are looking for survivors today." Fry led Marron and Meringue to a large rowboat. He handed Marron a paddle and said, "This is one of the disasters the Stellar Church doesn't know about."

Later, in Steel and Meringue's room, Steel practiced with her swords as Meringue tried to concentrate on her studies. All of her life she was told that magic was evil and she must never use it or she would be bound forever to the depths of Hell. Now Fry was telling her to use her magic, but she had never learned how. Fry promised her that she would learn. He would even find someone to help her. She hoped that someone would be Marron Glace.

She was supposed to be reading the chapter of the influence of magic on nature, but all she was interested in was love spells. Steel stopped what she was doing to look at Meringue's book. "Love charms. You are still crushing on that boy? How foolish." Steel waved her blade around her head. Meringue blushed and closed her book. She turned in her seat to face Steel.

"Haven't you ever been in love before?"

Steel stood with her legs spread. Suddenly she stuck the blade into her right foot and let out a cry of pain as she watched the blood stain her boot. Steel gritted her teeth as she pulled the blade out. She wiped the blood off with a kerchief. "Love is a wasted emotion. It makes one foolish and crazy. One should not waste their time on love."

"So I guess that means no." Meringue concluded. She turned back to her book. Steel's rituals were strange to her. She could not imagine mutilating herself like Steel did. Then again, Steel believed Meringue's culture was foolish also. "I believe in love." Meringue stated.

"Well good luck getting the boy to notice you. In case you didn't notice, Fry has an interest in him too. " Steel chuckled. "This could get interesting."

Marron had returned to his dark, quiet room after they had returned from Halitosis. He had never known that a sorcerer could be so heartless and do such damage so quickly. He was used to evil magicians who liked to play with their prey before killing them. This often gave the sorcerer hunters a chance to thwart the bad guy's plans and save everyone. Whoever destroyed Halitosis did not care to play with the prey.

Marron offered Fry a chance to tell the Stellar Church of the disaster. Fry refused. "The purpose of my team is remain a secret. The sorcerer hunters are supposed to be secret, but too many know of their presence. No one knows of us. I will not involve the Stellar Church." Marron understood and believed him. As they rescued small children from water soaked rooms, Marron felt that he was making a difference. More than he ever thought he was making as a sorcerer hunter. They were helping the people, and not just killing the sorcerer and leaving.

Meat came into the room, interrupting Marron's thoughts. "Hey there. Sorry I didn't talk to ya more. Digging thru dead bodies are not exactly real conversation helpers." Meat sat on the wobbly chair by the end table. "What's your story? Are you staying?"

"I don't know. I don't feel I belong here. I should be back with my team…and my brother."

"I hear ya." Meat replied more seriously. Meat had been the one to ease the tension during most of the scavenging. He would often crack a joke or tell a story to keep everyone's spirits up. Meat was the easiest one to get along with-except for Meringue. "When I got here, I didn't want to stay either. Fry didn't kidnap me, though. I came of my own free will. I s'pose that makes a difference. Anyway, Fry told me how he was basically gonna save the world, and I didn't want no part of it. I even went so far as to punch Fry in the face and tell him to go to Hell." Meat punched his own hand to further illustrate his story. "I thought about it though, and I realized I had no where to go. My wife had disappeared-run off with my 4 year-old daughter. I remembered the things I had seen and the stories that Fry told me. Then I knew I couldn't go back. I could not go back to the life I once had because I could not turn away from the people I could help."

Marron contemplated Meat's words. He had been thinking much the same thing, but Meat reinforced what Marron had already thought. Could I really go back to being a sorcerer hunter and obeying the Stellar Church after what I had seen today?

Meat stood and said, "Hope you stick around. You could be a great asset to the team. Fry doesn't just pick anyone. Every one of us is important." With that said, Meat waved goodnight and left the room.

Early the next day, Fry sat at his desk looking over the pictures of his next target. He was a werewolf hunter-a lone, hard, emotionless, werewolf hunter with a dark past, and little compassion for those who stand in his way. Meringue did not want to join Fry on this expedition. The werewolf guy bothered her. He looked so menacing and cruel. "Don't worry, Meringue. I assure you he does not kill sorcerers." Fry tried to consol her, but it did little good.

"Are you sure you want to go after this guy so soon? We don't even know if we are keeping Marron." Meringue inquired. She was leaning on the desk, reading the files that Fry had scattered.

"I'm not worried. I have researched our bishouen thoroughly. He has an incredible sense of honor I believe will win out in the end. If there is one thing I try to look for in all of my potential teammates, it's honor." Meringue nodded her understanding. She hoped Fry was right.

Fry entered Marron's room early in the morning to find the longhaired hunter already awake. This time he did not try to hide that he was trying to see through the cracks in the window. Fry smiled. "it is difficult to find your way out of this jungle. That is, if you want to leave. I have come to propose something interesting to you."

"Are you taking me to see another city?"

"Nothing like that. I don't feel I need to. Come with me." Marron followed Fry to an open room. The floors were bare and the only objects on the wall were weapons. "This is our training room." Fry took a staff off the wall and tossed it to Marron who caught it instantly. He then took a staff for himself. "Everyone I choose is good at what they do. They are successful and powerful-you included." Fry twirled the staff around his head. "There is always room for improvement though." He swung the staff at Marron, who blocked it with his own. "You have been trained well. You can fight, but if you were to ever stand against someone with any real skill you would be horribly beaten. You are fast. I saw you save your brother's head from being cut in two by a chunk of crystal. You were there in an instant. However, you will need to be faster." Fry and Marron began to spar. The entire time, Fry was talking.

"Everyone here is in constant training. Some train their minds, others their muscles. Some train their souls. We all can be better than we are, and we must be to defeat what is to surely come. Even myself." With a quick maneuver Fry had Marron on the ground. He smiled satisfactorily. "Your mother taught you your magic. She was good. You will be better."

"It bothers me how much you know of my life." Marron admitted openly. "Do you always become this obsessed with your conquests?" Marron struck Fry's staff and the sparring continued.

"Usually." Fry answered. "Your fire seal is only at level two, which is sufficient for the sorcerer's you have battled so far. I believe I can help you get to a level four in less than three months, if you are a worthy subject."

Marron stood still and lowered his staff. "Your proposal sounds intriguing, but I have no wish to fight. My spells are mostly defensive spells, which no doubt you already know. I cannot agree to anything you request upon me because I cannot say that I fully trust you."

"Your honesty is a refreshing change from the norm. All I can say is that I offer you the very best. I am helping Meringue discover her own talents and strengths. Meat and Steel are not excluded from my training either, although Steel often rejects any help." Fry walked closer to Marron and picked up some of the young man's hair. He twirled it around his fingers seductively. His voice became softer. "You trust me enough to stay overnight. You trusted me not to kill you. I believe that you will make the right decision."

Marron watched the fingers that moved through his hair. He understood the intense interest that Fry had in him was not entirely because of the team. He was not repulsed by the action. He was used to members of the same sex as well as the opposite sex being attracted to him. He looked into Fry's eyes, which were burying themselves into his own. "Yesterday you showed me things that I had not known existed. It is because of this I may never be able to go back to my team and resume my life as if our meeting never took place. Still, your methods for bringing me here and the knowledge that you have of me leave me weary of your intentions. I have to think."

Fry dropped Marron's hair and took his staff. "Then by all means do so. I must be getting back to my work." Fry placed the staffs up on their original spot on the wall and left Marron in the room alone.

Fry requested Meringue's presence in his office. She went willingly, not knowing what he was to ask of her. Fry sat at the desk with his fingers laced together in his hands. Meringue sat in the leather chair in front of the desk. Orange wisps of hair tickled her nose, and she blew them out of her face. She had been out with Steel running when Fry summoned her, and had not had time to shower or change.

"It appears we are going to have a little more trouble with Marron than I thought." Fry was of course leaving out the scene in the training room where he revealed to Marron his personal intentions. "He has no will to fight, although I can see that he would very much do all he could in our mission. He still wants to be reunited with his team. I underestimated the bond he has with his teammates. That's where I need you."

"What can I do?" Meringue asked.

"Remember when we discovered that you have a special talent. You can sense another's worst fear and give the illusion that it is happening. I would like you to go further with that."

"What do you mean exactly?" Meringue had a feeling that whatever it was Fry was asking her to do would hurt Marron terribly. She did not want to see him hurt. She especially didn't want to be the one who must hurt him.

"He has a special bond with his brother, Carrot. He has sworn to protect his brother no matter what the costs. Nothing else is as important. He has rejected love, hate, and everything in between to assure that he would always be there for his brother." Fry leaned across the table. "I need you to make him believe his brother is dead."

Meringue was on the verge of tears when Fry called to her the next day. She felt dirty. Never had she used her powers to do anything bad to someone, and now she was told to destroy the life of the man she loved. She knew that it was the only way to make Marron stay, but it didn't make it any easier, and didn't make her feel any less guilty.

Fry and Marron came into the room. Fry began with the story. He told Marron that he just found out that while on assignment, Carrot was stabbed repeatedly by a sorcerer. He bled to death and there was nothing anyone could do. Marron faced Fry. His face showed anger and disbelief. "How can you expect me to believe that? It cannot be true."

Fry pointed to Meringue and said, "See for yourself." Meringue created an image in her head, and using her magic she was able to project that image into the air. It showed the scene of Carrot, lying on the cold ground in a pool of blood. Chocolate held him in his arms, crying hysterically. Her hands and arms covered in Carrot's blood. Tira held the knife that she pulled from Carrot's limp body. She too was crying. Gateau stood by, shouting at the sky and damning the heavens. The scene was so real. Every detail was accounted for. The image even fooled Meringue herself.

"I don’t believe what I'm seeing." Marron said, still unable to accept the image even though he had seen it.

"I am sorry I had to show you this, Marron-I truly am-but I felt you had to know." Fry's words were sincere. Marron looked to Meringue who had tears in her eyes. Once more he looked at the scene. His brother lay lifeless in Chocolate's arms. Abruptly, Marron turned and stormed out of the room.

"Marron!" Meringue chased after him.

Marron didn't care where he was going. He just needed out. He held back the tears that threatened to flow from closed eyelids. I should've been there. He thought over and over. Meringue chased him down and grabbed his tunic. He swirled around to face the small sorceress.

"I'm so sorry, Marron. I didn't want to show you that." Meringue admitted that much. It would betray Fry, the only father she had ever known to tell him any more.

"I should've been there." Marron said. He punched the wall causing chunks of stone to crumble and fall to the ground.

"Marron, I know you don't want to hear this right now, but there's nothing you can do for your brother now." Meringue said behind tears. "We need you here. The whole world needs you." I need you. "You can do more good now than you ever could as a sorcerer hunter." She knew she was taking a big risk, but she had to make him stay. "If you hadn't seen or heard what you had here, the moment you met me with your team you would've killed me, right?" Meringue was answered with silence. She took a deep breath and went on. "There are more sorcerers out there like the kind that killed Carrot and got away." She regretted lying to Marron, and silently vowed to make it up to him someday. Marron remained silent a moment longer, then turned, and began walking.

Fry smiled as he saw Marron walk through the door. He had never seen the magician so angry, mad, and full of hate. He displayed the qualities Fry had wanted him to. He was willing to fight. He wanted vengeance. He wanted to rid the world of the evil ones who killed Carrot. Marron picked up a staff and faced Fry. "I'm ready to learn."

"Welcome to the Kabal."