Greetings Nu People

I have, after consultation with my co-writers, decided to split Billy's second chapter into several sections, much in the sytle Lucius has used. Each section, save this one and the last one, will use the perspective of different people to present different actions occuring all at the same time. Think the Private Actions from Star Ocean 2 and you won't be far off. At this time 6 different sections are planned, in order to convey as much of our party's individual reactions to Iyar as quickly as we can.

Feel free to send any comments on this chapter to the list, as we disscussed last month.

Oh yes, one other thing. For those of you that are to new to have read any of the previous chapters regarding these characters, Billy Lee Black, Citan, Rei, and Tempreat all have character chapters under their names on the archive page. Kala Tremont's first appearance is actually in Geno 7, and then in Kala 1 where she begins her adventures in Higher Power.

The Memorial City

Billy Lee Black had been through a lot in his life. He'd listened as a helpless young boy, behind the door to his bedroom, as inhuman monsters slaughtered his mother. He'd been betrayed by the man he had idolized, and he'd been a member of a select number of Gear pilots that prevented the assimilation by Deus of all humanity.

Being transported to an alien world and then met by its armed natives didn't rank quite as high as it normally would have, after all of that.

Several of the others, namely Preston and Tempreat, seemed to be taking the situation in the same vein he was. Preston had his hands ready at his crossbow, and Tempreat had peeled back her lips to reveal ivory fangs. Billy noticed these things from the edge of his vision. His full attention never left the figures that had stepped out from behind the gigantic buildings of the city he and his new companions had found themselves in. Without moving his eyes he began to pick targets from among them. He judged who his clearest shots were with a cool professionalism, all the while hoping he didn't have to draw his pistols.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that neither of the girls looked like they were entirely sure of what to do. He took a chance and looked away from the strangers for a moment, and changed his opinion immediately. Kala did indeed look lost and uncertain. Rei, however, looked exactly as she had since he had met her a handful of hours ago; like a blank slate. No clue as to what thoughts might be going on in her head was given in her empty expression.

He flicked his attention back to the man that called himself Uriel. He continued to carefully approach the group, hands still up to show he had no weapons at the ready. Billy risked another look at Kala. She was biting her lip nervously, and as he watched her she shot a quick glance at Citan. The doctor noticed her worried look and gave her a brief smile of reassurance before turning to Uriel.

"I am Dr. Citan Uzuki," he said. "I assure you that it was not our intention to intrude in your city."

Still smiling, Uriel answered, "Yes, I'm certain that your arrival here was purely accidental on your part. We have simply come here to be your guides, now that you are here in Umbriel."

"From my experience," Preston muttered, "welcoming parties don't usually arrive with weapons."

Tempreat glared at him. "Considering we're outnumbered," she growled, "And that we're on unfamiliar territory, antagonizing the natives sounds like a bad idea to me kid."

"It talks!?" Billy switched his attention back to Uriel. The man had paled slightly, and a mouth opened in surprise had replaced his smile. Similar reactions were evident in the men and women behind him. Billy's suspicion began to ebb; people that were going to try and kill you generally didn't let their guard down that easily.

Tempreat swiveled her neck around to stare in irritation at Uriel. "Yes, 'it' does talk. The name's Tempreat."

Uriel shook his surprise off quickly and smiled at Citan again, though Billy noticed his eye kept jumping back to Tempreat as he spoke. "Of course, please excuse me. I assure you that we have no intention of harming you."

"And yet you're armed." Rei said in a noncommittal voice.

Uriel looked at her then made a single gesture. Behind him the men and women lowered their weapons and stood at military attention. Uriel smiled. "That's true young lady, but then so are most of your friends." As the group came closer, Billy realized that they all wore the same uniform as Uriel himself. A symbol was emblazoned on the left shoulder of each person's jacket, though from this distance Billy couldn't make out its details.

Citan turned his head to look first at Billy, then Preston. "Preston, Billy, if you don't mind?"

Billy moved his hands away from his pistols, and allowed his trenchcoat to slip back over their holsters. After a moment's hesitation Preston likewise took his hands away from the crossbow slung at his hip.

Citan was already looking back at Uriel. "I think that's better, don't you?"

Relief was evident on the man's face. "I do indeed sir. You must forgive us, but all we knew is that the gate had been opened and something...er...someone," he added quickly with a glance at Tempreat, "Had come through. Our orders were to exercise caution."

"Really?" Tempreat stared at the people behind Uriel. A look of faint approval came over her scaly features. "Your people 'exercise caution' with good precision."

A note of professional pride crept into Uriel's voice. "Thank you sir."

"Ma'am!" Tempreat snapped at him. "Do I look like a male Langoor to you, little man?"

Uriel blanched and took a small step back. "Ah..."

"Oh never mind." Tempreat waved one taloned hand at him. "Let's just drop honorifics completely okay? Stick with 'Tempreat' and I'll know who you're talking to."

Uriel swallowed hard. "Uh, certainly."

"Excuse me?" Kala raised her hand to attract attention. "Now that we've all decided that a fight is a bad idea, maybe someone could tell me where we are?"

Billy recalled with a start how upset Kala had become at Preston and Citan's certainty that they were no longer on the same planet.

Uriel smiled at Kala, obviously more at ease speaking with fellow humans rather than with the red dragon. "But I have told you where you are dear. As I said when you first came out of the building behind you, welcome to Umbriel."

"This city?" Billy asked, looking around at the megalopolis. It was, aside from the sounds made by Billy, his friends, and by Uriel and his people, as quiet as a tomb.

Uriel coughed into his hand, looking around at the bizarre architecture with a measure of distaste. "Not quite, no. This city isn't Umbriel. The planet is."

Preston sighed. "Boy, am I tired of being right all the time."

Uriel looked around at all of them. "Perhaps this place is not the best place to discuss things? If you would all follow me I think I can obtain much more comfortable accommodations. And I can answer many of your questions on the way there."

Citan reached up to adjust the pair of spectacles he always wore. "I think perhaps that would be best. Where is it we will be going?"

Uriel reached into his uniform jacket and withdrew a small round object no bigger than a half-inch in diameter. It was shiny and black, and when Uriel depressed the top of it with his thumb it flashed once with a red light. "First we should go to the transport tubes. They're only a few minutes walk from here. After that, we'll be going to the capital, Iyar."

"Iyar?" Preston asked. "What's in Iyar?"

Uriel smiled in amusement. "Everything."

The trip to the transport tubes took almost ten minutes. Not much was said among Billy's companions, as they were all busy looking at the desolate city. The structures all seemed to be in perfect condition. No signs of damage, either by time or some human agency, were evident. It seemed as if the inhabitants of the city had simply left one day, leaving the entire place empty. Billy found the quiet oppressive. He was used to quiet places; his orphanage was quiet when the children were asleep or occupied elsewhere on the island it was situated on. But cities, especially ones this huge, were supposed to be busy and full of the noise of all its inhabitants. The lack of that noise gave the towering buildings an alien feel that Billy found disquieting.

"Hey Uriel?" Preston said. From his expression it was clear the quiet was having a similar effect on him as it was having on Billy.

"Yes?"

"You said that the city we're going to is called Iyar, right?"

"That's right."

"What's *this* city called?"

Uriel frowned briefly, the earlier look of distaste returning. "Tevat."

That drew Billy's attention. The name was very similar to one of the cities of his own world. It had mostly been destroyed in the war with Solaris and Deus, but Shevat had been instrumental in the final victory.

"An intriguing name." Citan said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

"Oh?" Uriel turned to look at the doctor. "Why do you say that?"

Citan smiled. "It just reminds me of home."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Uriel said with a grim look on his face. "The people that lived here before the city was abandoned were some of the worst criminals in Umbriel's proud history. They incited insurrection against the government, spread rumors and flat out lies about our officials, and were the cause of thousands of unnecessary deaths. That legacy is why the city was declared off limits once the criminals were gone, and left empty."

"Just how long has this city been empty Uriel?" Kala asked, looking around at the oddly shaped buildings.

"Almost four thousand years."

Kala stared at him, stunned. "And it's still in this condition!?"

Uriel nodded, once. "We've made certain of that. This entire city is a reminder of what those people did, and we wanted to make sure no one ever forgot about what happened here."

Preston cocked an eyebrow at the man. "Isn't forty centuries an awfully long time to hold a grudge?"

Uriel stopped and turned so he could look Preston directly in the face. "Some things shouldn't ever be forgiven." Then he turned around again and continued walking. "After they were gone, our government consulted Mother Danu and followed her suggestions about isolating Tevat and maintaining it for following generations to learn from. These days we refer to this place as the Mute City."

"Appropriate." Rei murmured. Unlike the others, she did not seem to care about the city's unique architecture. This was the first sign that she had been paying attention to her surroundings at all. "Who is Mother Danu?"

Uriel rounded a corner without answering. As Billy did the same, he was greeted with the sight of colorful, twisting tubes twice as big around as a man was tall. The contrast between the bright colors of the tubes and the universally grey coloring of Tevat's buildings was shocking. Waiting in front of one of the tubes, with a slight smile on his face, was Uriel. "In answer to your question, miss...?"

"My name is Rei."

"Miss Rei." There was an odd note to the man's voice, almost as if he were savoring the taste of Rei's name on his tongue. "Simple put, Mother Danu is the head of the church and state on Umbriel."

"You're a theocracy then?" Citan asked, again adjusting his spectacles.

Uriel nodded. "Yes. And with excellent reason." The tube behind him opened with a sudden hiss, revealing a vehicle of some sort, resting on a flat surface which extended the length of the tube as far as Billy's eye could see. Uriel turned to look behind himself at the new arrival. "Good timing. Why don't we continue our discussion on the way to Iyar?"

Kala looked around him at the vehicle. "It looks like a boat. Sort of anyway."

Uriel glanced at her. "It's a hovercraft actually."

Kala looked from the hovercraft to Uriel. "A what?"

Citan stepped up behind her. "I believe Uriel means that this 'boat' sails on a cushion of air, rather than water, Kala."

Uriel laughed. "I suppose that's another way of putting it, yes."

Tempreat stepped up next to the tube. "I see a problem here."

Uriel looked up at the dragon with a curious expression. "Oh?"

Billy realized what Tempreat meant as he compared her bulk to the size of the hovercraft. It was clear she would take up most of the space all by herself.

"Oh yes indeed, little man." Tempreat said with a faintly annoyed expression. "You're going to need a bigger boat."

FINIS

Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

-DarkSpiral