The Guiding Star: Parker Triptych I

By Indygodusk

Chapter 2: Volcano

A harsh jolt woke Kaoru. Keeping her eyes shut, she catalogued her situation. They'd bound her hands tightly in front of her body. Various bruises and scrapes also made themselves painfully known, especially the throbbing, star-shaped bruise on her chest. She soon identified the rumbling, irregular vibrations as a moving carriage.

Luckily her mental shields had held, keeping her captor's emotional projections out. She hated waking up to the bad guys' emotions creeping all over her mental landscape. Keeping her breathing regular and sleeplike, Kaoru carefully extended her sensitivity. She sensed Kenshin close by in a zone out. Relieved to find him alive, she tried not to worry that he wasn't responding to her mental touch. Her head pounded as if someone had knocked it against the ground while she was unconscious.

"My sister can sense that you're awake, Miss Kamiya. You might as well stop faking," Robert grouched.

Opening her eyes, Kaoru sat up from the carriage bench she'd been laying on and slid her feet to the floor. The Parker twins sat on the seat across from her. Kenshin's body lay bound on the floor with his bird, Arashi, perched unhappily on his chest. Worried, Kaoru pressed her ankles against his body, wishing she could access bare skin to better wake him up from his zone.

Both children looked very stressed. "What kind of bird is that?" Robert asked abruptly.

"People call them stormbirds. They're the fastest glider in Japan," Kaoru rasped after swallowing to wet her throat. "He's Kenshin's spirit animal."

Miss Parker reached out to touch Arashi, but he ruffled his feathers and hopped farther away. She curled her fingers back into a fist and sat back. "He's beautiful," she said, subdued.

"Why don't we have normal spirit animals like that?" Robert asked moodily.

Kaoru blinked. "I don't know. What is your spirit animal? Have you seen him?"

Shrugging, Robert looked away. "He finally appeared when I got mad and yelled at Sato's men. They have a bunch of Sentinels and Guides tied up in two wagons. They're sick and miserable. For some reason, it made me angry and I had to try and help them. Just my primitive Sentinel urges, I guess. Nothing I did helped and my sister even got hurt. It was stupid."

"No, Bobby, you were being a good person. There's nothing stupid about that. What they're doing to those people is wrong," Miss Parker defended firmly. "I'm proud of you and that man's slap barely even hurt."

"I can tell you're lying," Robert frowned before turning back to Kaoru. "If you must know, Miss Kamiya, my spirit animal is an eel. Just about the most useless and weird thing ever, though I guess that explains why I never liked eating unagi at dinner. This spiritual stuff is ridiculous. Why couldn't I get a bird like him or a bear like you?" Robert whined.

"Well," Kaoru said slowly, "perhaps aquatic animals are something unique to your family line. My grandmother had a bear spirit guide like me. If yours is an eel, then he is exactly what you need. That eel is someone special that will help you if you let him."

"If you don't treat him nicer, he'll get sick and stop visiting you," Miss Parker scolded. "His showing up is the first step in you coming Online. You need to accept him."

The carriage turned, clattering over a bridge, and then tilted back as they began climbing higher up a mountain. "Do you know where they're taking us?" Kaoru asked.

"Daddy wouldn't tell us, but," Miss Parker smirked and tapped next to her ear, "I used my Sentinel hearing to listen in on a private meeting between him, Malfoy, and Sato. It took me a while to get my hearing back to normal, but it worked," she boasted proudly.

"We're going to a volcanic crack in the mountain where lava regularly erupts. They're going to perform some volcano ritual there that will supposedly destroy Sentinels and Guides forever. It's a combination of Japanese and British magic."

"It sounds impossible, but…," Miss Parker paused as her lip began to tremble, reminding Kaoru that she was still just a girl on the cusp of puberty, "I'm scared and so is my spirit animal. She won't come out anymore when I call. I tried to ask her why, but all I can sense is that she's afraid to waste the energy when we'll need it more later. I can't get what she means by later either."

"Maybe it's for the best," Robert said carefully.

Miss Parker turned to him with fury. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Robert gestured caustically at Kenshin. "Just look at him. Supposedly, he's this great Sentinel fighter who took out all of Daddy's men and most of Sato's, yet a bad smell and a little spell from Malfoy took him down. Miss Kamiya already woke up, but he can't because his senses are all over the place. Even without enhanced sight I can see the red rash climbing up the sides of his neck caused by his sense of touch becoming over-sensitized and his body thinking normal stuff is dangerous."

"All of those Sentinels and Guides in the prison carriages can barely function because the guards are targeting their senses and feeding them a few herbs. People make Sentinels and Guides sound all special and tough, but all I see is weakness! Even you are getting all worked up and emotional over an invisible whale. Maybe it's being a girl that's got you so irrational, but our father is smart and strategic. I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Robert argued. "Maybe you should start listening to him instead of indulging your girlish daydreams."

Miss Parker reared back as if slapped. She blinked wetly but then firmed her lips and became steely eyed. "The only thing weak in this carriage is you and your moral compass. Might does not make right. Our mother would be ashamed to hear you speak like that. She cared about people and even questioned Daddy sometimes. That didn't make her weak or stupid. All you care about is being seen as powerful. Well, maybe people will be able to see you best when you're all by yourself, Robert." Popping to her feet, Miss Parker stepped over Kenshin on the floor and plopped down next to Kaoru. She sent her brother a glare.

By the end of her speech, Robert had shrunk down in his seat. He looked genuinely remorseful. Leaning forward, he tried to reach out to touch his sister. However, before he could say the words trembling on his lips, the carriage rocked to a stop.

"We're here," Miss Parker said quickly, looking away from Robert's outstretched hand. Keeping her head down, she opened the door and turned to step down, but then she hesitated, took a breath, and looked back up. Maturity graced her features. "I'll always love you Bobby, but I need you to choose me. I'm not just your sister, I'm a Sentinel. My senses are only going to get stronger as I grow until they finally level out. One day I will bond to a Guide. I'm going to do great things and I want you to be a part of that, but I won't keep company with prejudice. There's only room for me or it."

"It's not that simple," he whispered brokenly.

"Yes, it is," she answered with a searing look. "I'm your twin sister. Choose me." Then she turned and walked away with her head held high.

Robert jumped up to follow her.

"Do you have a knife I could borrow before you go?" Kaoru asked quickly. She didn't think chiming in with support for his sister would help right now.

"No," Robert said shortly as he climbed out of the carriage, not even bothering to glance at Kaoru.

In the rectangle of orange light formed by the open door, the silhouette of a large figure soon replaced him. It was the same red-haired man who'd dragged Miss Parker off before the fight. Grunting thoughtfully, he looked at Kaoru and then at Kenshin curled up on the floor.

"Ito, lend a hand," he called over his shoulder. A stout Japanese man came trotting up. The redhead reached in and wrapped his meaty hands around Kaoru's waist, lifting her out of the carriage and dropping her on the ground. Before she could think to struggle, Ito grabbed her bound wrists and yanked her forward into a stumbling walk.

Craning her neck back, she saw the foreigner pull out Kenshin. He slung the Sentinel over his shoulder and followed them. Kaoru turned back around to see that she was being dragged up the slope and over to a smoking volcanic fissure in the mountainside. It smelled of sulfur and ash.

As they walked past two wagons, she saw the fabric covers being removed. Inside were cages full of people. She recognized several unbonded Guides and Sentinels from Tokyo. They were part of her Pride. The fear, misery, and helplessness emanating from the cages made her heart squeeze painfully. Only a few people were healthy enough to meet her eyes with impotent fury through the cage bars. Most were too damaged by days or weeks of sensory and empathic assault.

"Should we put 'em in with the others, Campbell?" Ito asked over his shoulder.

Suddenly Kaoru felt a wall of hatred rushing in from the side. She tried to dodge, but Ito wouldn't give her enough slack. A meaty fist thudded into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her in a painful whoosh. Kaoru fell to her knees with watering eyes. Raising her hands to protect her head, she barely deflected a hard slap.

"Hey, that's enough, Sato-san! Your father said we might need her for the Ritual," Ito snapped. Kaoru forced her eyes open to see the broken-nosed young Sato looming by her side with fists raised.

"He said he didn't care if she was injured," the young man spat out viciously.

Kaoru braced her bound hands on her knee and tried to find the strength to straighten up after his punch. Her lungs didn't want to work right. She hated getting gut punched.

"After the Ritual," growled Campbell. "No one will care what you do to her then."

"Fine, gaijin," the young Sato muttered, "but I'm holding you to that."

Then he turned to Kaoru. "Though I suppose I might enjoy watching the bakemono devour you just as much. I'm sure you'll scream real pretty as he chews through your spirit animal and then into your heart."

Unable to control her flinch of horror at the thought of Tsukiko being eaten by a monster, she ignored their cruel laughter and renewed her mental attempts to wake Kenshin from his zone. However, everyone on the mountainside had such toxic emotions that she was finding it difficult. The unusual and strong sulfurous smells couldn't be helping the Sentinels either. They dragged her up the slope for another minute or so and then threw her to the ground.

Looking around, Kaoru abruptly wished she was back in the carriage with the twins. Dressed in ominous ceremonial regalia, the elder Sato stood chanting above the volcanic crack on a spar of rock. The other cultists had donned headbands and painted their faces completely white. They'd also outlined their eyes and mouths in scarlet. Kaoru tried very hard not to feel intimidated.

In a flat space near the smoking fissure sat an ugly black ritual altar made of the local volcanic rock. Moist with some sort of dark fluid, it glistened sickly in the setting sun. As she watched, members of the cult dragged up an older Sentinel to the altar. They kicked him down and then locked him into the embedded metal shackles.

The Sentinel looked at her with miserable, red-rimmed eyes. Shocked, she recognized Tanaka-san. He made cabinets. A few months before she'd met Kenshin, she'd served as his temporary guide. He'd only needed help with his senses while he made an intricately inlaid cabinet for a wealthy client. Then they'd parted ways amiably.

Chained to the altar, he didn't bother struggling. She could feel that his Sentinel senses were in chaos. Red welts blossomed across his arms from an allergic reaction to the dirty friction of the chains, joining the enflamed skin covering the rest of his body.

Dressed in black robes, Malfoy came forward with a piece of chalk and wrote several strange symbols around the altar. Sato took the chalk and added his own symbols, completely different but just as odd. From the corner of her eye, she saw Mr. Parker come to stand nearby with his children by his side. She turned to look at them.

"No matter what happens, remember that you are Parkers," the hard-eyed man growled to his children. "Don't disappoint me. This is a proud moment for our family and I want you to witness it. If I catch you acting out again, you will seriously regret it." Mr. Parker glared at his daughter until she dropped her eyes, though her mouth twisted mulishly. Then he turned to face the altar and dropped a large hand on each child's shoulder.

Campbell stood between Kaoru and the Parkers, obviously unconcerned about the unconscious Kenshin laying like a broken doll on the ground a few steps away. They'd tied his hands, but Kaoru had spent the entire carriage ride scraping at them with the edge of her splintering wooden sandal. She had frayed them almost off. It shouldn't take more than a hard tug to break himself free once he woke up. Hopefully he wouldn't mind all the splinters she'd left in his forearms.

Standing up, Sato unwound his long bracelet of mismatched beads and threaded them through his fingers. They dangled to his knees. One of his assistants handed him a simple earthen jug. He walked over to the smoking fissure as close as he could get without scalding himself or choking on the fumes. Coughing to clear his throat, Sato shouted something in ancient Japanese and made several symbols with the hand clutching the bracelet. Then he threw the jug in.

Thick liquid spattered and hissed as the jug shattered against the edge. The smoke coming out of the volcanic crack turned scarlet for a full minute before returning to black. A rumble started deep beneath the earth, rattling the bones inside Kaoru's head.

Malfoy stepped up to the altar opposite the prisoner and drew out an intricately carved knife. He chanted something in a foreign language and the symbols around the altar began to glow yellow, orange and red, reflecting off his pale hair menacingly. They rose into the air like flickering flames and then darkened to hottest blue. Kaoru could feel the heat. Sweat dripped down Malfoy's face and turned his pale hair dark and spikey.

Sentinel Tanaka seemed to be praying softly. He rocked back and forth on his knees. However, as Malfoy came closer, Sentinel Tanaka fell silent. Kaoru held her breath. The Sentinel straightened his spine, threw back his shoulders proudly, and spat in the foreigner face.

Malfoy flinched back. Angrily he wiped the spittle off with the back of his hand. Then he backhanded Tanaka across the face, grabbed his hair, and slammed the old man's head back against the altar. Kaoru cried out in shock and denial as Malfoy took his blade and drew it across Tanaka-san's throat. Blood spurted out of his neck and onto the altar, soaking into the porous rock.

Adding to her horror, Tanaka's dying spirit animal suddenly appeared next to him on the altar as a bundle of fur. That shouldn't happen. The badger started out transparent, but almost immediately became corporeal. He strained away in agony, but somehow seemed held to the volcanic rock by the fiery blue runes. Kaoru's gorge rose as the badger went limp and began smoking. She barely swallowed back vomit.

Everything about this Ritual felt anathema to nature. These men were evil. Malfoy stepped back with a faintly pleased smile, drew his magic stick, and with a few flicks undid the chains and floated both bodies over to the angrily smoking fissure. Then he dropped the dead Sentinel and his loyal companion into the fiery depths.

Sobbing, Kaoru crawled over to Kenshin's body in the distraction, afraid that this would be her last chance. She pressed a desperate kiss against his lax mouth. She'd always hoped their first kiss would be something beautifully sweet, not something stolen on the cusp of death. But she still felt fiercely grateful to be able to give him that kiss. It was one less regret before she went to her death.

Although she imbued her kiss with all of the love and devotion she could project, Kaoru made sure to also stimulate Kenshin's senses. Leaning against his body, she dragged her bloody lip against his teeth. Then she wiped the tears on her cheeks across his lips. "Wake up, Kenshin. Save yourself and the others if you can. Please," she whispered as Ito's hard fingers dug into her bruised arms and dragged her away.

Mr. Parker stood to the side with an iron grip on each of his children. Robert's blank face failed to hide the shock in his eyes, but Miss Parker truly looked the most heart-wrenching. Rocking back and forth beneath her father's grip, she sobbed into her hands with helpless compassion and horror.

"Be strong, my Angel," Mr. Parker said, looking down at his daughter. "They're merely monsters and not worthy of your tears. I know his death seemed shocking, but this is necessary. You'll understand one day."

Keeping a firm grip on Kaoru's arm, Ito asked, "Shall I bring the Guiding Star next, Sato-san? Or do you want one of the others? We have two Guides left from the first wagon."

Malfoy looked over and met Kaoru's eyes. Licking his lips, he dragged his eyes up and down her body with a smirk. Then he fingered his knife disturbingly. "Your Star's a strong Guide. I might need to drag her death out a bit before she'll let me force the spirit animal to appear."

Although she felt the blood drain from her face, Kaoru otherwise kept herself from reacting. If she had the chance, she would break every bone in Malfoy's body. However, even chained up, she still had her empathy. She vowed to shred his mind the second he started to cut her with his knife.

Pain could either shatter an empath's focus or sharpen it. Kaoru had trained in dojo her entire life. She rarely went long without a bruise or cut, especially with so many prejudiced men purposely trying to injure what they saw as an uppity woman and Guide. Long ago she'd trained herself to use pain as a goad instead of a shackle when it came to her Guide gifts.

They would all learn that.

"One thing more before we sacrifice the prophesied Star," Sato pronounced. "Remember, the spirit animals are the key. If we can destroy those, we can destroy Sentinels and Guides forever."

Sato's beady black eyes swung away from Ito and Kaoru to land on Mr. Parker. "I think you should go next, Parker-san."

"Yes, I agree," Mr. Parker nodded his head sharply. "Come along, children." Marching forward, he stopped at the edge of the circle of runes. The twins reluctantly followed. Miss Parker had managed to swallow back her tears. They both looked very young and out of their depth. Kaoru felt pity for them and also fear. She wasn't sure why their father wanted them to there.

After a quick glance back to make sure his children had followed, Mr. Parker reverently pulled a scroll out of his jacket. Unrolling it, he began reading foreign words. Gradually a hazy pit formed in the center of the ritual circle. Then the glowing skeletons of who knew how many generations of rejected Parker Family spirit animals rose from the pit one-by-one like beads on a string and piled up in front of the black altar.

This time the revolting empathic waves coming from the ritual proved too strong. Kaoru leaned to the side and puked. Ito cursed and jumped back, trying not to get splashed. The minute she stopped heaving, however, he grabbed her arm again, denying her any opportunity to escape.

The gruesome parade out of the pit continued for several minutes. She noticed that all of them were aquatic animals. Then the last skeleton turned its head towards Mr. Parker mournfully and Kaoru realized with fresh horror that it belonged to him. It was his murdered spirit animal.

Stone-faced, he simply waited for it to join the pile of bones in front of the altar. When nothing more ventured out of the pit, Mr. Parker carefully rolled up his scroll. Then he turned to face his children. "I know you're both cursed with primitive Sentinel urges, but the time has come to free you." Miss Parker turned white and looked at her father in shock.

His lips twisted. "You thought I hadn't noticed, did you? You should know by now that your father sees everything. I knew the minute you came Online," Mr. Parker revealed. "Now, I want you to call up your spirit animals and place them on the altar."

Neither child moved.

"I said, bring out your spirit animals and place them on the altar. Don't make me ask again," Mr. Parker barked menacingly in the scarlet light of the setting sun.

Taking a step back, Miss Parker shook her head in denial. She turned to her brother pleadingly, silently asking for support. Torn, Robert looked back and forth between his father and his twin sister. Then he swallowed hard and steeled his face.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward until he stood side by side with his father. Then he glared at the altar. Kaoru felt him push at the astral plane with a whip of demand.

"No! Bobby!" Miss Parker screamed as a small eel appeared on the bloody altar. Fiery blue runes immediately ringed the animal and trapped it in a dome of blue fire. The eel began to smoke. Campbell grabbed the girl's arm to keep her from interrupting the ritual. Miss Parker struggled in his grip, kicking him in the shin and punching at his side, but to no avail. "Please!" she cried.

"I'm proud of you, son," Mr. Parker pronounced as he unrolled the scroll again. The last sliver of sun disappeared below the horizon as if fleeing the evil to come. Mr. Parker's chant caused quakes on the astral plane. Kaoru's mind writhed in horror despite her incomprehension. The eel jerked in agony.

Unable to bank her compassion, Kaoru did what she could to comfort the eel as it died, despite the pain and difficulty she took upon herself. The eel on the altar convulsed as its skin crisped. When his spark of intelligence finally faded, leaving only a blackened corpse, Kaoru withdrew back to herself, heart sore and weary. Then Robert's presence in her mind went blank: no longer sentinel, not quite mundane, just… blank.

While she'd been distracted, Malfoy and Sato had started chanting. Instead of returning to the astral plane, the eel's spirit energy became trapped by the searing blue runes. It couldn't escape.

Malfoy's magic flung the eel's corporeal corpse into the fissure. Sato shrieked something and gestured to the indigo sky. Lava exploded up into the air. More and more orange-red lava gushed out of the ground like an incoming tide, gathering slowly into a pool of living fire that grew and grew until it stood taller than the mightiest tree. Its fiery form shifted between fins and arms, ears and gills, horns and feathers. For a brief second, Kaoru saw the face of an eel emerge from the lava before collapsing down to become a badger, then a queasy amalgamation of parts unknown to any animal on the face of the earth.

Malfoy stepped forward with his stick raised, crying, "Duro!" The outer crust of the lava crisped and formed a black skin, solidifying the monster. Heat and hunger emanated from it, leaving everyone drenched in sweat and instinctively cowering on the darkening mountainside.

Rising up with triumphant zeal, Sato pointed at the volcanic monster and pronounced the last phrase of the ritual. Convulsing in agony, Kaoru bit her tongue and lost momentary control of her limbs as she felt the bakemono breach the barrier between the physical and astral planes. Finally opening her watery eyes, she saw that it had become translucent, barely visible in its dark kimono of ash and smoke.

"We need to test it," Sato said into the horrified silence, casting his eyes around until they landed lizard-like on Miss Parker. "Bring the foreign girl. We can test it on her to see if it destroys her spirit animal."

Immediately stepping between Sato and his daughter, Mr. Parker growled, "No one is testing anything on my daughter. That wasn't part of our deal."

Sato smirked, "Ah, but Parker-san, our agreement is now over with the creation of the volcano monster. Should we not celebrate our triumph by first freeing your daughter from her Sentinel curse?" His acolytes began to gather menacingly.

Pulling out a gun, Mr. Parker leveled it at Sato's face and cocked it. His men followed suit, pulling out their own western guns and knives. Between one blink and the next, Malfoy disappeared with a pop. "Use your prisoners for that," Mr. Parker drawled, focused on Sato, "like your Guiding Star. We're leaving. I'll cut the taint from her myself later. Send me a letter on how it goes, but otherwise I also consider our association closed. Don't cross me, Sato-san. You won't like the consequences."

Anger purpled Sato's face, but he held up his hand to stay his men. Mr. Parker grabbed his children and retreated down to the carriages. Although she hated him, Kaoru felt relieved that at least Miss Parker would be safe for a little while, though the girl met her eyes guiltily and tried to resist leaving. After shoving her into the carriage with her brother, Mr. Parker jumped in and the horses trotted off, also relieved to escape.

Of course, that meant that Sato's beady eyes fully focused on Kaoru. "Tie the Guide to the altar," he growled. "Our bakemono shall extinguish her star first."

Ito dragged Kaoru over to the bloody rock. She shouted and squirmed, but it did no good. He forced her wrists into the metal shackles despite her attempts to resist. At least she got in one good kick on his shin, though she'd lost her sandals at some point so it didn't do as much damage as she'd hoped. Nevertheless, Ito limped away from her as soon as the shackles locked into place.

"Now for its first meal," Sato smiled sadistically, gesturing at the hovering bakemono silhouetted against the purple sky, "the first among many."

Abruptly his cruel lips opened in shock. Seconds later, a rock whacked into Sato's forehead. Blood ran down his face as he reeled from the blow and stumbled back. Tumbling off his high perch, he rolled down the slope towards the bubbling lava. Near the fissure's edge his flailing fingers finally caught, jerking him to a stop. Sato's kimono smoked, then burst into flames.

Stumbling up with a cry, he turned to run when suddenly the transparent lava monster rose up through the ground in front of him. Sato reared back from the monster in fear. Then his foot slipped on a loose rock. Wind-milling his arms frantically, he swiped one fist harmlessly through the monster's foggy body and fell back into the fiery fissure, disappearing into the smoke shrieking. A few seconds later, his screams stopped.

Pandemonium reigned on the mountainside as the cultists either collapsed in shock or turned in rage to find Sato's attacker. They formed up in front of Kaoru, blocking her view, but she didn't need to see to know who it was. She could feel it in every cell of her body.

Kenshin had woken up.

A gap finally formed in Sato's men, allowing her to glimpse Kenshin. With his scarlet hair whipping in the wind and amber eyes blazing, the furious Sentinel charged into the fray. Men fell like grain before a scythe. Stealing a long wooden club from a fallen opponent, Kenshin broke arms, legs, and heads indiscriminately. Eyes swelled shut, arms broke, and ribs cracked. Finally they turned and ran, dragging their wounded companions with them.

Kenshin immediately raced over. "Kaoru! Are you alright?" he demanded, cupping her face to look searingly into her eyes for a brief moment before turning to work on freeing her. Grabbing the chains welded to the rock, he tested their strength.

"Fine now that you're here." Kaoru felt almost lightheaded with relief. "How are your levels?" she asked.

"Good enough," Kenshin grunted as he took hold of her chains just below the cuffs. "Pull with me on three," he ordered. Kaoru wrapped her fists over the first links.

"One, two, pull!" They both strained back. Cords stood out on Kenshin's neck and his face turned red. The skin on Kaoru's fingers and wrists tore and bled as spots danced before her eyes.

Finally, Kenshin wheezed, "Enough," and they stopped. The pin in the rock hadn't even shifted.

Behind Kenshin's back, Kaoru suddenly saw the lava monster. It had sunk into the smoke following Sato's body, but now it began reappearing over the edge. Like splashing ink, it sent out puddling tendrils that formed into arms and spidery fingers that sunk into the rock and slowly pulled its grotesque body up. Cracks in its black skin quickly became sealed by seeping red-hot lava. The eyeless head drifted from side to side, as if seeking. Then it stopped and began crawling forward.

Down the slope, she saw two Guides tied up hand and foot. The cultists had pulled them out of an empty wagon. Kaoru had realized that the stickiness on the altar must be from rest of the wagon's occupants. They must have had an advance wagon to start the sacrifices before the rest of them arrived.

The two surviving Guides had been abandoned in the chaos of the cult's retreat. Mentally straining, Kaoru could still sense the two wagons holding prisoners just down the slope. They'd been abandoned too. The monster oozed towards the two Guides, picking up speed as they began to scream and try crawling away.

"The chains aren't budging," Kenshin pronounced grimly. "The metal's too strong." Nostrils flaring, he cast frantic eyes around the clearing. Darting forward, he picked up a rock and began whacking it on altar next to the pin securing the chains, hoping to fracture the rock enough to slip the metal pin free. Instead, his makeshift hammer crumbled in his hands. Kenshin looked desperately over at the pulsing bakemono. Then he stubbornly snatched up another rock to resume pounding at both pin and rock.

The duet of screams from the two Guides below abruptly became a single scream. Then it too trailed off. The monster lingered over their bodies, somehow feeding on their mental energy. Their bodies were untouched, but their minds became charred husks.

The two cages full of prisoners down the slope shrieked as they sensed the deaths rippling out. The trapped Sentinels and Guides vainly attacked the bars of their cages, desperate to escape. Kaoru could feel it all: the shock of the sundering, the deaths, the terror, and the desperate devotion of the man by her side.

A strange calm descended on Kaoru's mind. She felt Tsukiko hovering close by on the astral plane, her companion to the end. "Sentinel," Kaoru called though his pounding and the distant screaming. "Sentinel."

Kenshin thinned his lips and ignored her. He pounded faster and more furiously at the chain until that rock broke too. Throwing it away with a scream, he took one of her wrists and tried to pry open the cuff itself with his bleeding fingers.

"Kenshin!" she barked sharply.

He froze for a moment, not even breathing. Then he looked defiantly up into her eyes. "No." Kenshin went back to trying to pry open the cuffs.

"Kenshin, it's not going to work. You don't have the time to free me before the monster gets here. Physical attacks can't even touch it. Only magic or attacks on the astral plane can affect it. It will kill us both!" She twisted her hands to grab his fingers in a fierce grip.

"But," Kaoru took a quick breath, "there're two whole wagons of our people just down the slope. I saw Guide Hanaike-san, the flower seller, in one of them. They're our Pride. You can save them… and yourself."

"I am not leaving you!" Kenshin denied ferociously.

"There are Guides there that need your protection, Sentinel," Kaoru begged, trying to use his instinctive need to protect as motivation to leave her. She accepted her death because she must, but she would not docilely accept his. Not while she had breath in her body.

Shaking his head, Kenshin argued, "They're not my Guide."

Smiling sadly, Kaoru replied gently, "I'm not your Guide either."

Kenshin flinched. "We both know that for a lie. I can still taste you on my lips," he whispered hoarsely. "I am a fool ruled by my fears. I should have bonded with you the day we met. No one's ever affected me the way you have."

Forcing a smile, Kaoru said, "I might have hesitated that first day when I still thought you a crazy Sentinel. You are too good at deflection! But from day two on my answer has been yes, always yes. You know that. You know that I love you."

Breathing painfully, Kenshin collapsed forward, pressing his mouth to the back of her bound hands as he shook his head in denial.

Kaoru continued unsteadily, "And I know you love me. I've felt it, even though the words have never passed your lips. Don't die needlessly with me. We never bonded. You can survive me. I want you to! Live, Kenshin. Please!"

"I've waited for you before. I can wait again. I'll be on the other side when you finally come, hopefully many many years from now after your happy and fulfilling life. But for now, I need you to protect our Pride. You can't fight this bakemono. There is no other choice."

Gathering all her energy, Kaoru finished her plea by using her Guide voice to order him, "Sentinel, do your duty! Defend the Tribe."

Straightening up, Kenshin reached out and gripped her behind the neck, staring straight into her eyes feverishly. "Your will is mine, Guide. Kaoru, I do love you. Will you be my bondmate in this life and the next?" She felt him thin his mental shields and reach for her mentally.

"I am honored to be yours, Sentinel, in this life and the next." Kaoru could barely speak her answer because of the tears streaming down her face.

Leaning forward, Kenshin kissed her with searing passion and possession. For a brief, shining moment their mental shields merged as love, joy, and grief suffused them both. Kaoru flooded him with her love, stabilizing his senses with a mental scaffold that would hopefully hold until he made it down the mountain.

A fragile tether formed in his core at her mental touch. It wasn't a true Sentinel-Guide bond, but she hadn't meant to do even that much. Guilty, Kaoru reached out to sever it, not wanting him to feel her death.

Before she could, Kenshin sent her a fierce surge of denial. Hesitating, Kaoru gave in. She'd want to know if things were reversed. Having the link gave her a selfish bit of comfort. This way, she wouldn't die alone.

From outside their mental cocoon, Kaoru felt a growing tide of menace. Time would not stop for them. Their love story would be a tragic one. Nonetheless, he'd finally discarded his reservations. In his mental embrace, she'd finally experienced his unfiltered love of her as both a woman and a Guide. It would sustain her while she waited for him on the other side. Kaoru pulled back reluctantly.

"Go," she breathed against his lips. "Quickly."

Kenshin rubbed his thumb along her cheek one more time, memorizing the texture. Love and anguish bled from him in gushing torrents. Then he ripped himself away and sprinted like the wind down the mountainside towards the wagons holding their people.

The bakemono finally finished with the two Guides and began oozing towards Kaoru. Rearing back, Kaoru placed her foot on the altar and tugged on her chains again. She couldn't just sit there waiting for her death, even knowing that her actions were futile.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the lava monster become almost completely transparent as he transitioned further into the astral plane. Tsukiko barely managed to hold her ground nearby against her terror at his presence.

Then suddenly out of nowhere, something huge dived between Kaoru and the monster. Stumbling back against the altar, Kaoru had to blink several times before she realized that it was a familiar whale. "Stay away from the Guide!" screamed Miss Parker in a feral rage as she ran up the mountainside. Her ragged dress was missing a sleeve and scratches marred her skin. Wild brown hair flew around her determined face.

"No!" Kaoru cried out despairingly. "Get away! Save yourself!" Miss Parker and her whale ignored Kaoru's protests, placing themselves between Kaoru and the fast approaching monster.

"I stand Sentinel. I protect," Miss Parker panted with grim resolution. The translucent lava monster charged, abruptly disappearing from their physical sight. Immediately Miss Parker twisted, wrapping her wiry arms around Kaoru so her slim body stood between Kaoru and certain death.

Then a concussive wave of hunger and hatred blasted Kaoru out of her body and into the astral plane along with her crazed spirit animal. Tsukiko and Kaoru merged. Together they fled from the volcanic monster along with the rest of the inhabitants of the astral plane.

Flashes of terror, red clouds, running. They made a last, futile stand by a poisoned ocean shore, just like in her dream. It had been prophecy. She should have paid attention.

Then Miss Parker's whale appeared, mouth opened wide, determined to save them. Once again, Tsukiko hid inside. Before the razor sharp teeth could seal shut, a single drop of lava spattered through, burning agonizingly into Kaoru's chest. Then the mouth snapped close on her cry and she became blind.

Time passed.

Unexpectedly, a sliver of light appeared. The pressure on her body eased. The whale's mouth opened and the injured bear crawled out onto a blackened beach with ash choked waters. In the far distance, a menacing red glow disappeared over the horizon, leaving the world gray.

Flopping down, she coughed painfully. A low moan drew her attention back to the ocean. Miss Parker's whale lay in the surf on her side, beached and breathing heavily. Although large, she was still just a juvenile for her species. Bloody burns covered her trembling body and her fins were missing chunks of flesh. The flesh around her eyes oozed.

"No. Oh no, Sentinel, no. Miss Parker!" Kaoru cried, scrambling back to the whale's side. Waves splashed across her fur before she remembered the danger, but the water merely flowed down her sides normally. The danger really had passed.

"You… survived," Miss Parker said weakly. "I'm… glad. I can't see so… well anymore."

Letting out a mournful whine, Kaoru nuzzled against the only patch of unburned flesh she could find. "You did so well. You protected me with the true heart of a Sentinel. Thank you, Miss Parker." Her bear grunted comfortingly.

The young voice sighed. "My mother… waits for me. So close to the… edge... I can see what's to come. Guide my daughters. Be their… star… in the dark. Please," a tremor shook the whale's body.

"Shh," Kaoru soothed mournfully. "I will. I promise to be their Guiding Star. Rest now, Miss Parker. Rest, my friend." The whale shifted, putting painful pressure on Kaoru's lava-burned chest, but she didn't even think to protest.

"Thank you," Miss Parker slurred. "Before I go, I want you to know my full name. Think of me fondly when I'm gone. Please…."

"Of course I will, of course," Kaoru assured through her tears.

Miss Parker faintly whispered her first name.

"Thank you, it's beautiful," Kaoru forced out between sobs. Faint pleasure drifted to her from the girl.

Then she was gone.

The whale faded a beat later and Kaoru's heart broke. Tipping her muzzle to the sky, she let forth a despairing wail. Part of the girl's glow winged away up into the heavens above while the rest of her Sentinel spirit spread out like mist and joined with the ocean in a joyful reunion. Where it touched, the beach seemed whiter and the ocean bluer. Finally, when no more of Miss Parker remained, Kaoru dropped down into the surf and sobbed heartbrokenly.

Eventually, she dragged herself out of the water and limped up the beach. She barely made it to the base of the first slope. Then she collapsed down in exhaustion.

Listlessly staring at the starburst burned into the yellow crescent of fur on her chest, she wondered if Miss Parker's sacrifice might have been in vain. The girl was dead and Kaoru wanted to follow her. She didn't have the energy to ignore the damage ravaging her body and mind.

Then she heard a bird cry out. It echoed across the sky like a clarion call, a desperate demand. A forgotten cord tugged at her heart. The bird called out again.

Raising her muzzle to look around, Kaoru saw a black speck flying in the distance. It grew rapidly as it neared the beach. She knew that stormbird.

Using all of her energy, she waved one black paw. The stormbird's white throat gleamed as he banked and cried out in triumph. Tucking back his wings, he dove, pulling up at the last minute to alight on the beach in front of her.

Kenshin's spirit animal, Arashi, leaned forward and took a bit of her leg fur in his beak, tugging lightly but demandingly. Then he let go and rubbed his head on her knee. He made her feel safe, loved, and wanted. He made her want to live.

Releasing a long sigh, Tsukiko and Kaoru slid apart. The injured woman and bear slumped side-by-side on the beach. Arashi fluttered onto Kaoru's shoulder and chirped soothingly in her ear. With trembling fingers she reached up and ran a finger over his downy chest.

Kaoru didn't know how to process what had just happened. Chirping again, Arashi reminded her that she didn't have to do it alone. Tsukiko lay down on the beach with a look. Then she nodded at Arashi. Unable to muster up a smile, Kaoru nevertheless gave Tsukiko a gentle hug.

Then she forced herself to remember the shape and feel of her own body. As she faded away from the astral plane, she saw Arashi snuggle into the hollow of Tsukiko's body. Their glow swirled together and brightened. The stormbird's loving croon echoed in Kaoru's mind as she slid back into her body.

Blinking open her eyes, she saw red. Then the arms warmly cradling her body registered and she recognized Kenshin. Shifting, she noticed that she felt a lot less painful than she'd expected.

Kenshin pulled back just enough to meet her eyes exultantly. "You're finally awake!" he breathed out. "My Guide, my love, oh Kaoru." He clasped her in his arms and breathed deeply against her hair.

Relaxing into the support of his body, it took Kaoru a few minutes to realize that she recognized her surroundings. "This is my room." She felt Kenshin hum contentedly in agreement. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A few weeks," he sighed. "Megumi returned a few days ago to help care for you. She brought a high-powered Sentinel – Guide pair specializing in healing to help. They've been staying in the guest room, but left when you woke up to give us some privacy."

Kenshin reached over and picked up a small cup of water. While Kaoru sipped gratefully, he disappeared down the hall. Quickly he returned with a steaming mug in his hand.

"Ochazuke," he explained as he pressed the hot tea and rice mixture into her hand. It felt amazing going down her throat. However, she couldn't drink more a third before she felt full. Twisting to place the mug down on the ground, she noticed that her chest wound had left a jagged scar in the shape of a star. She was too tired to figure it out now, but one day she'd have to figure out what her promise to be a Guiding Star for the Parkers actually meant.

However, she couldn't keep her curiosity down. Kaoru stared hard at her favorite ink painting and gathered her courage. "What happened? Did you save the others?"

Kenshin gently pulled her against his side and ran his fingers through her hair, soothing the both of them. "Yes, I got both wagons away down the mountainside. Luckily one of the Sentinels saw a fleeing guard with keys, so I knocked him out and took the keys to unlock the wagons. Then I paired the two healthiest Sentinels with Guide Hanaike-san and another Guide to stabilize their senses. They drove the wagons into town to get help while I came back for your… body."

After swallowing hard, he continued, "I arrived at the same time as Mr. Parker and his son. Nothing remained of the monster. We found you and the girl curled around each other. She was-," he hesitated again.

"Gone," Kaoru said painfully. "I know. Miss Parker was a Sentinel. She somehow protected me both here and on the astral plane. Then she passed on." Kaoru dropped her head and began to cry.

Rubbing her back soothingly, Kenshin's tears wet her hair as he grieved with her. "The Parkers took her body with them and left. I don't think we'll see either of them again. They spoke of returning to Britain on the first ship. Grief and anger has further hardened the son's heart, I think, turning him down his father's poisoned path."

Shifting her in his arms, Kenshin gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with the edge of his sleeve. "I am so sorry I never got to know the Sentinel that saved your life, but I will honor her for the rest of my life," he vowed.

Then Kenshin cleared his throat and continued his story. "The key I'd taken opened your shackles. You were in psychic shock and wouldn't wake up. All the Prides in Tokyo had felt something horrible pass through the astral plane. Everyone came out to help. Supposedly I'll be an Alpha Prime when we bond, but I told them we'd deal with it later and to focus on shoring up the Prides after our losses. They got us home and called in healers for everyone."

"No one's seen any evidence of the volcano monster since. We're not really sure what it did. People are hoping it will disappear on its own without new sacrifices," he finished soberly.

"I hope so," Kaoru said softly, "but I'm not feeling that optimistic."

"Either way, it's a problem for later," Kenshin said. "Right now we need to focus on getting you back to full health. Then I can make you your favorite breakfast of tofu, fish, and rice."

They snuggled together for a few moments. Then Kaoru felt Kenshin's mental fingers caressing over her shields, shyly asking entrance. "You're trying to bond with me," Kaoru said with quiet wonder.

"Please," he said simply.

Shifting in his embrace, Kaoru tried to make her tired brain work. "I'm not in danger anymore. Kenshin, I know we said things in the heat of the moment, but you don't have to bond with me. I won't force you to do things you said when you thought I was dying."

"Please," Kenshin said again. "I need you. I know I withheld myself from you before, but despite my unworthiness, I'm done rejecting your gifts. Forgive me. I want to spend the rest of my life sharing not just your home, but your mind. I respect and love you too much to hold back anymore. Marry me as my bondmate and Guide. Please?"

In the face of his overwhelming love, her shields dissolved sweetly, like rice candy on her tongue. She wanted the bond too much herself. Kenshin enfolded her mind with layers of protective shields. Gratitude, wonder, and love spread across her mental landscape. Seeking his mouth blindly, Kaoru kissed his lips as she wove their spirits together in the first step of bonding. Kenshin kissed her back joyfully as a sturdy bond took root in his core.

When a Sentinel and Guide bonded intimately and permanently, it usually took three steps. The Guide started the bond by binding together their spirits. Then the Sentinel completed the physical bond by taking a full sensory imprint of the Guide's body. Finally, together, they joined their bodies and spirits into one.

Unfortunately, Kaoru needed a few more weeks to fully heal. She needed to be fully recovered to enjoy their bonding and the full nesting period where they wallowed in each other and learned about their new bond. However, she had an idea. Following the tradition of her grandmother, they could get married and complete the bond on their wedding night. As long as she had this Sentinel and his love by her side, she would face the future with joy.

"You look thoughtful, but that is a yes, right?" Kenshin asked, pressing a soft kiss on the smiling corner of her mouth.

"Yes," she turned her head to kiss him deeply, then pulled back enough to speak through happy tears. "Yes, I will happily marry and bond with you, my Sentinel."

Sweeping her up in his arms, he leapt to his feet and twirled her in a circle. She giggled with delight. "We will be happy," Kenshin vowed, slowing to a stop. "Being with you always makes me happy."

Kaoru leaned forward and kissed his nose. "You make me feel the same way." Then she yawned.

Laughing indulgently, Kenshin knelt and tucked her back into her futon. "Nothing would make me happier than to have you as my wife and Guide, but first you need to rest and recover."

"I know," she sighed impatiently, even as her tired eyes slid shut, "but soon?"

"Yes, very soon, my love." His whispered endearment followed her down into sleep, a talisman to cherish as the first of many in the years to come.

THE END

AN: This is the first story in the Parker Triptych, a crossover series. Each story contains a female with the Parker family blood line (the Parker family is from The Pretender), the most ancient bloodline with Sentinel and Guide gifts in my world. I intend this trilogy to be a collection of stories that can be read either together or alone. I've taken some inspiration for my lava monster from the red bull in 'The Last Unicorn' movie.

In the first story (The Guiding Star) set in Japan, we see the creation of a monster that will wipe Sentinels and Guides off the face of the Earth. (Rurouni Kenshin)

In the second story (Guide Resurgence) set in Britain, we see the monster destroyed by the descendants of those who created it. (Harry Potter)

In the third story (Mother of Sentinels) set in America, we see the restoration of Guides and Sentinels across the world. (The Pretender)