Part Three

Barrier Chapter One, Part Three

Notes: Gab helped meh a lot with this one, cuz I’m not ready to go into the main story quite yet. So we intro the lackey!

---

“So what you’re saying is,” Chrissy leaned his chin on his hand, slumped over the arm of the living room sofa, “it’s our job to make sure none of those demons get the Barrier?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Adelaide, back in her small form, nodded from her perch on Nikki’s shoulder.

Nikki stood by the window, gazing out of it absently. “Well, what about Teng? Isn’t he a demon too?”

“Not all demons are bad. It’s like humans. It takes all kinds…Technically I’m a demon too.”

Chrissy raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were more like a ghost.”

“I used to be. But when I started working for the Agency, they gave me a physical body and magic. So this really makes me a demon now.”

“So how do we tell the difference?” Nikki looked at her once, before returning his attention to the outside grounds.

“Like I said before, it’s the same as with humans. You’ve got good demons that act bad, like Teng, and you’ve got bad demons that will act nice.”

“Shades of grey…”

“Exactly,” she put a finger to her mouth in thought. “But the main thing we need to focus on now is—”

She froze as the door swung open. Kit walked in, leaning against the doorframe.

Chrissy grinned, looking at the green-haired sibling. “So when’s this gonna be done?”

“It’d be done sooner if the stupid rice would cook,” Kit crossed his arms.

“It’s not my fault you never learned how to cook anything,” Nikki answered, shrugging as he sat on the window ledge.

“Then you should be glad we’re here,” Chrissy laughed, pushing himself off the couch.

“Yeah, yeah, praise me, praise me…” Kit dismissed him with a wave, heading out the door once again.

“Well that was strange,” Adelaide spoke up again, still watching the door. “He didn’t even notice me.”

“He just didn’t care. I do stuff like carry toys around all the time,” Nikki dismissed his brother with a wave. “We’re just gonna pull a magical-girl-sidekick maneuver.”

“What’s that?” Adelaide flew from Nikki’s shoulder, flying to the door and smelling the air of cooking food.

“Every time Kit comes in, just act like a stuffed toy or something. It works all the time.”

Chrissy laughed. “You watch too much TV…”

“But getting back to the subject,” Adelaide smiled, “I think we need to take a trip to the Agency. They need to get a look at you.”

Nikki blinked, staring at her. “Do we have to?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not very good with that sort of thing…” Nikki stared blankly outside. “Public places and official people…it makes me nervous.”

“I’ll go with you, if you want,” Chrissy shrugged, returning to his place on the sofa. “What sort of place is it, anyway?”

“Well, it’s basically a typical office building,” the girl crossed her arms, trying to think of how to explain it best, “…except with demons and gods.”

“Gods?”

She shrugged. “If you believe in that sort of thing. Mostly they’re just people with powerful magic. Some people call them gods and goddesses, others think they’re crazy.”

“Are they the people who set up the Barrier?” Nikki asked.

“Well…no. I think a few of them worked on the spell, but…”

“But what?”

She floated back onto his shoulder as the boys went into the dining room, sitting at the table to wait for Kit. “Never mind. I’ll explain it to you some other time. The important thing is that we have the Agency inspect you.”

Nikki opened his mouth to reply but stopped short as Kit pushed the swinging door open from the kitchen.

“About time…” the redhead rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“Can’t rush perfection,” Chrissy grinned, as Kit set his plate down unceremoniously in front of him.

---

Nikki was almost asleep that night when someone knocked on his door. Drowsily, he got up and answered it, rubbing his eyes. Chrissy was on the other side, looking a bit nervous.

“Are you okay?” Nikki asked, ushering the boy inside and shutting the door.

With an embarrassed smile, he nodded. “I was just wondering if…I could stay in here with you? I mean, these old places are pretty creepy at night, and after everything Addie said about the demons being after us and all…”

The thought hadn’t occurred to him. His eyes widened. “Do you think some demon could get in here and attack us while we’re sleeping?”

Chrissy shrugged. “I thought you might know. But either way, I’d feel better not being alone. Especially after Victoria…”

Nikki nodded, suddenly wide awake. “No problem.”

The purple-haired boy let out a relieved sigh, hopping up on the bed beside his friend. The two settled down easily, finding themselves quite tired from all they’d taken in that day.

---

It was everywhere.

All he could see.

It consumed his senses, wrapped him up in darkness.

He tried to scream, but the darkness muffled his voice.

He tried to move but found he was restrained by pieces of darkness, like ribbons winding around him.

It was behind him, the dark mass. It held him fast, and he felt himself slipping away. He knew if he didn’t escape soon, he would die. Suffocate in this blackness that threatened to destroy him.

But he couldn’t move. All he could do was hang in its grip helplessly, like a fly caught in a spider’s web.

And wait for the end.

An explosion of pain. He screamed. The ribbons were twisting around him, squeezing unmercifully. His head fell back as another yell erupted from his throat.

There were hands on his shoulders. Through the haze of pain he managed to open his eyes. The darkness was gone now, replaced with some sort of creature. He’d never seen anything like it.

Almost human, but almost not.

The creature held him protectively, warmly.

Almost human, but almost not.

With a gasp, Nikki shot up. Looking around, seeing his room, his things on the dresser, Chrissy asleep beside him, he calmed a little. His breathing was coming in sharp gasps, and he was drenched in a cold sweat. One hell of a nightmare.

Nikki laid back down slowly, so as not to disturb his friend. While the redhead had nightmares just like everyone else, he hadn’t had one that bad since childhood. Usually when he had one he knew he was dreaming, and willed himself to wake up. This one had seemed so real he felt like he really was dying.

What was it supposed to mean? Who were they, the dark mass and the guardian creature? Did this have something to do with the Barrier?

Suddenly restless, the boy inched out of bed, grabbing his sweater and tiptoeing out of the room. He intended to go to the roof and watch the sky for a bit, but he was stopped in the hall where they’d found Adelaide.

The girl was there again, only this time she wasn’t alone. Teng was there, as well as another girl who looked oddly familiar. She didn’t look much older than him, with shoulder-length blond hair tied in two short pigtails and hauntingly icy blue eyes. She wore a midriff-bearing seagreen T-shirt and khaki overalls, with the top part around her waist. She was on the floor beside the two, typing away on a laptop.

“Well, we’ve done the easy part. So what’s next?” Adelaide sighed, leaning against the wall.

Teng crossed his arms. “The Agency wants to see him as soon as possible.”

“I’m working on it,” she turned to the new girl. “What about you?”

She stopped typing long enough to look at Adelaide, then resumed her work. “I suppose I can’t keep hidden much longer, can I?” For some reason, her voice made Nikki’s stomach twist, like some sort of memory.

“It’s really not fair to him, you know…” Teng eyed her critically.

“Aww, and I thought you didn’t like him!” Adelaide beamed, wrapping her arms around Teng playfully.

Teng blushed slightly, before shrugging the redhead off. “I don’t. I just don’t think it’s fair to anyone. Regardless of what I think of him, he is the Barrier now, and it won’t help matters if he’s mentally unstable from all your traumatization.”

The blond looked crestfallen. “I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this. I just…panicked. He’s going to hate me, I just know it.”

Adelaide sat down beside her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure he doesn’t. He’s just confused. Once you explain to him why you had to do it, he’ll understand.”

Changing the subject, Teng muttered, “I don’t appreciate his attitude though.”

The blond turned on him. “And I don’t appreciate YOU saying those things to him. You of all people should be a little more sensitive to someone in his position.”

The demon glared, but said nothing in his defense. Adelaide sighed a little. “We’ll do this tomorrow, okay? I’ll take them to the Agency, and you can meet him after that.”

“Them?” the girl tilted her head curiously.

“The caretaker’s oldest son. He refuses to do anything without him there. I’m worried. When things get rough, it’s going to be hard enough to protect one human. I don’t want him getting hurt, but they both insist.”

Suddenly Nikki felt a twinge of guilt. They were taking care of Chrissy because he wanted them to. He would have to reconsider getting the boy involved in all this. He stifled a yawn, returning his attention to the scene in front of him.

“I think it may be the start of a repeating process,” the blond said with a wry grin.

Adelaide looked at her with wide eyes. “With those two?”

“Well why not? I’ve been watching him for years, and I’ve seen nothing that tells me he’s abject to the idea…”

Watching him? This girl had been watching him? Did he know her from school or work? Is that why she seemed so familiar?

Teng frowned. “You’re so weird sometimes. I really have to wonder why you even started in this field.”

She rolled her eyes. “Obviously the company loyalty.”

All three of them had a small laugh at that.

A thought struck Adelaide. “What about his brother?”

Nikki never heard what they had to say about Kit.

---

With a small groan, Chrissy flipped himself over, opening his eyes slowly. Finding himself in the bed alone, he sat up curiously. It was fairly early still. He wondered where Nikki was. Stretching, he got out of bed and trudged downstairs.

No one was there. Not even Kit was awake yet. So where had the redhead run off to? The only other place he could think to check was the roof, so he headed toward the pantry elevator.

There was no sign of him on the roof either. Panic started to grow in Chrissy’s chest. Their conversation last night came back to him. What if demons DID attack last night, and something happened to Nikki?

He whirled around frantically. “ADDIE!!”

A flash of white and the Spirit Agent was behind him. “What’s the problem?”

The purple-haired boy ran up to her. “I can’t find Nikki! Do you think some demons got him last night?”

She put her hands on his shoulders. “Whoa, whoa, calm down. This place is protected by very powerful magic. Most demons can’t even get in, and any ones that could, I’d know about it beforehand.”

He wasn’t pacified. “Then where’s Nikki? He wouldn’t leave without telling me…”

Adelaide crossed her arms, looking up in thought. “Well, he’s got to be around here somewhere.”

“I looked downstairs everywhere. And he’s not up here either. I didn’t check the upstairs rooms, but I didn’t think he’d be in them. He hasn’t gone there since the first day.”

She nodded. “We should check them just to be sure.”

“Okay,” Chrissy took off running down the stairs. He would have kept running, had be not tripped over a large lump on the floor. He hadn’t noticed the figure before, leaning against the wall.

The boy knelt down next to it, peeling the layer of black wool from it. Underneath the sweater, Nikki was curled into a ball, sleeping. Chrissy let out a sigh of relief, stretching his legs out and sitting beside him.

“Why’d you have to scare me like that…?” he muttered to the sleeping redhead with a small smile. “I knew you’d be trouble from the moment you bumped into me.”

---

It was happening again.

The darkness squeezed tighter this time, until the breath was choked out of him.

Was this a dream as well, or was it real? The pain certainly felt real enough.

He struggled as best he could, gasping for breath that never seemed to be enough. Would his guardian come this time, and save him? Or would he be left to his fate here?

The darkness started to constrict once more, and he knew that this would be the last time. He wasn’t going to make it.

And then he felt the arms again, warm and strong like before. The darkness behind him vanished. This time, however, the creature didn’t wrap his arms around him, but started shaking him lightly by the shoulders.

“Nikki!”

He sounded familiar…Why was he calling him, he was right here?

“NIKKI!”

The boy opened his eyes to find Chrissy, not his guardian, holding him by the shoulders. “W-wha…?”

Chrissy inspected him at arm’s length. “Are you okay? You were having a nightmare or something. You started thrashing around and gasping a lot.”

Nikki put a hand to his head, blinking a few times to clear his mind. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“What’re you doing up here anyway?”

He looked around. He was still in the hall where he’d eavesdropped on Adelaide, Teng and the blond last night. He must’ve fallen asleep listening to them. “I couldn’t sleep…there was a girl…last night…I’m supposed to meet…I think I know her somehow.”

Chrissy frowned. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Nikki sat up, breaking the contact he’d had with Chrissy. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Okay then. Let’s go find Addie and get some breakfast.” Chrissy stood, offering a hand.

Nikki took it absently, then started as a thought came to his mind.

His guardian creature had purple hair.

---

“Aww man…it’s a huge freaking castle! How do I manage to get lost?” Sighing, the figure looked around. He had a mission to do, this wasn’t a time to be getting lost.

The figure, a Shadeling, had light grey skin and bright pink hair. His ears were pointed, and a long tail poked out from him, forked on one end. He wore khakis and a green sweatshirt, which had a mah-jhong symbol on it. He wore no shoes, instead sharp claws ended his feet. He sighed again, looking defeated.

“He’s gonna kill me…”

“Excuse me, are you lost?”

The Shadeling jumped, startled. He looked up to see a boy leaning over him curiously. He was shocked not so much by the fact that someone had found him, but that a human could see him—and wasn’t afraid.

“You can see me?”

The boy smiled. “Oh yeah, you’re the…fourth demon I’ve seen. Are you okay?”

The Shadeling stood, examining him. Seventeen or so, wearing a school uniform, purple hair…when he was standing he was a good few inches taller than him. “Um…actually I’m kind of lost. I’m supposed to be looking for a big castle.”

He shrugged. “I only know of one, and that’s the one we’re staying in. Why?”

“Oh, I’m on a mission. I’m supposed to ask the Barrier for help, though I don’t think you’d know what I’m talking about.”

Chrissy contemplated the situation. The demon didn’t seem bad, and he said he needed help. Adelaide had said that there were good demons too. “Actually, I do. My friend Nikki’s the Barrier. I can take you there if you want.”

The Shadeling winced. “Well, small problem is that I can’t go inside. There’s heavy magic on that place, so I’m stuck. I was just going to sit outside until someone came out. Of course, I had to actually GET there first…” he smiled sheepishly.

Chrissy shrugged. “I can bring Nikki out to you. I really don’t know what kind of magic Addie’s got in there, and we wouldn’t want you getting toasted. I’m Chrissy, by the way.”

“Trey,” the Shadeling replied.

Chrissy and Trey reached the castle a few minutes later. Trey waited outside while Chrissy got Nikki. The two boys went down to the grounds, where Trey had insisted he stop.

“Nikki, this is Trey. He says he needs your help.”

Trey examined the new boy. He didn’t look much older than Chrissy, though he was a bit taller. He also looked frailer. Hopefully the mission wouldn’t be too hard.

“What’s wrong?” Nikki asked, tilting his head.

“I’m here because of my master. He’s too weak to move much anymore. You can help him, and I was wondering if you’d come with me to see him.”

Nikki sat on the remnants of the stone wall. “How can I help?”

Trey hesitated. “It’s…complicated. My master will tell you everything. But we need to hurry. I don’t know how long he’s got!”

Nikki looked at Chrissy, who was leaning on the wall beside him. “I don’t know. I think I should ask Adelaide first. You wait here.”

He hopped off the wall and started back to the castle. Trey ran ahead of him, blocking his path. “You don’t need to do that! There’s no time! We have to go now!”

The redhead moved past him. “It’ll only take a second. I’ll be right back.”

Trey grabbed his arm, stopping the boy. “I said you don’t need to do that.”

Chrissy ran up to them both, separating them. “Cut it out! Don’t you know you’re wasting more time by arguing with him than just letting him go?”

The Shadeling pushed Chrissy aside, slamming him roughly against the stone wall. He fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

“Hey!” Nikki reached for Chrissy, but Trey intercepted him, grabbing his arm again, this time with a firmer grip. Nikki tried to yank his arm back but was only rewarded by Trey turning him around and grabbing a handful of hair. He pulled Nikki’s head back.

“I suppose if you’re not willing to come with me, I can take what I need right here.”

He let go of Nikki’s arm, holding the hand out. There was a flash of white before something settled in the outstretched hand. It looked like a handheld scythe, with a long chain coming from the end, attached to a small weight. Trey held the blade of it against Nikki’s neck.

“No!” Chrissy was up, slamming himself into Trey’s hand, knocking the weapon away from him.

Trey let go of Nikki in shock, pushing him to the ground. He thrust the weapon toward Chrissy, like a fishing pole casting, and the chain shot out, wrapping around his waist. The purple-haired boy pulled at it, but it refused to come off. Trey yanked the scythe, crushing Chrissy with the chain.

“Stop it!” Nikki yelled, pushing himself up. “Leave him alone!”

Trey halted, but did not loosen the chain. “How about some cooperation?”

Nikki bit his bottom lip. “What do I have to do?”

Chrissy fought against the chain. “Don’t do it, stupid!”

“If I don’t you’re gonna get choked!” he turned to Trey. “Well?”

“I need blood.”

The redhead winced. “How much?”

Trey shook his head, suddenly regaining his polite personality, which greatly contrasted with the situation of the scythe. “Not much. Just a small cut’s worth.”

Nikki regarded him, mind working at a fast pace. “And you’ll let us go?”

He nodded. “Once I’ve got what I need, I’ll be gone. I swear.”

The boy considered all this. With one small look at Chrissy, he sighed in resignation. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

He stood still as Trey advanced upon him, dragging Chrissy along by the chain. Trey tilted Nikki’s head back once more, exposing his neck. He glared at Chrissy. “If you decide to try any funny moves again, just remember that it’ll probably be off with his head. I’d keep still if I were you.”

Chrissy stared defiantly at him, but didn’t move. Nikki swallowed nervously and closed his eyes. The blade pierced his skin near the collarbone, eliciting a small noise of pain from him. Subconsciously he tried to move away, but Trey grabbed his shoulder, keeping him in place. The Shadeling held the blade there, collecting the few drops of blood that spilled out.

Finally he let go of him. Nikki clamped a hand over the wound, frowning. “There. Now let him go and get out of here.”

Trey nodded. With a flick of his wrist the chain retracted, freeing Chrissy. The scythe disappeared with another flash of light. He turned to them and smiled sadly. “I’m really sorry about that. I’ve got nothing against either of you, but if I didn’t come back with that, my master would’ve strung me up.”

Chrissy moved to where Nikki was standing. “You heard him. Get the hell lost. And don’t come back.”

Trey sighed. “Right. Well, maybe I’ll see you guys again some time. Bye.”

Then he too, disappeared in a flash of light.

Chrissy grabbed Nikki’s hand, opposite the wound. “C’mon. We’ve got to get you cleaned up.”

Nikki nodded, letting himself be led back to the castle.

---

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

Both boys winced. Adelaide yanked Nikki’s arm down from its place holding a tissue over the wound. “It was only a little bit Addie, and I had to, he was hurting Chrissy—”

Adelaide let go of his arm after inspecting the wound. “I can’t believe this. Not even three days into the job and you’ve already become a blood sacrifice! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!”

He slumped his shoulders. “I know. But there wasn’t anything else I could do…”

“It was my fault,” Chrissy spoke up. “I got caught and he had to do it because of me…”

Adelaide turned on him. “And YOU! Don’t get me started on you!” She returned her focus on Nikki, who had hung his head. His hair shielded his face from view. “Just because—”

“What would you have done?”

The question came so suddenly that Adelaide halted her triad. “What?”

Nikki looked up. His face was set in determination. “If it had been you. What would you have done different? You can’t criticize me if you would have done the same thing.”

Both Adelaide and Chrissy were surprised. They’d never seen Nikki this serious.

“Well Addie? Aren’t you gonna answer him?” an amused voice came from behind the boys. They turned to find the blond girl standing there, waiting intently.

Adelaide frowned. “It doesn’t give him the right to go around being reckless.”

“No it doesn’t. but can you honestly say you wouldn’t do the same thing if it were you and me in that situation? I know I’d have done the same.”

“I suppose that’s why he did it,” she replied flippantly.

“We’ll deal with whatever comes later. What’s done is done, and there’s more important things to do now. I thought you guys were going to the Agency today.”

Adelaide frowned. “We were, but SOME people had to go and get themselves injured while I spent my time looking around here for them…”

Nikki stood, walking over to Adelaide and hugging her tightly. “Don’t be mad, okay? We’ll be more careful from now on, I promise.”

Adelaide sighed, shaking her head at the blond. “He’s just like you…”

The blond smiled. “And that, my dear, is as good a lead in as any.”

---

Another gripping installment! ^_^ Trey’s mission comes to an end, we discover the identity of the new blond girl, and take a visit to the Agency all in the next part of Barrier!

Do you think we’ll see Teng’s office?