Disclaimer (yet again): The Sorcerer Hunters are not mine. The only things I can claim are Ari, Reven, and this story, which was written for entertainment purposes only, in humble homage of the talent of the great storytellers that Akahori and Omishi are. (I'll stop sucking up now.) OOC-ness should be expected, as it suits the story, and you are seeing the Sorcerer Hunters through my lens.

Wrong Turns

Chapter 8: Carrot

Something dark and insubstantial as mist slithered past the bull-horned beast's ankles. Roaring, the beast reached for it with its claws, rending and tearing at it. The misty wraith, or whatever it was, slipped through the massive, sharp talons, leaving a strangely sticky residue behind.

Then the beast caught sight of a much stronger enemy than the dark mist had been, and stepped toward it, screaming a challenge. This enemy would be easy to crush despite its power; it was flesh and blood, and very small compared to him.

But this enemy was very different. It somehow held a large whirling void of darkness in its hand, and a stream of this darkness shot out of its center and struck the beast in the chest.

At once, the beast's skin split with a terrible cry as its bones and muscles stretched and expanded. Black fur gave way to green scales, the horns melted together to form a sharp green crest across its skull. Warm blood grew cool, more sluggish, and the rage turned to cold calculation behind reptilian eyes. The fifty-foot snake could taste its enemy in the very air, and it coiled, preparing to strike.

"Carrot!"

Tira …

A small, bright shape was almost overrun by a dark thing in its distraction, but luckily it recovered in time.

"Darling!"

Chocolate …

"Marron, you have to stop her!"

Marron…I'm sorry…

The torrent of darkness from the vortex in the enemy's hand was still flowing into the snake. Hissing and writhing, the snake's body contorted, drawing in on itself again. Cold blood abruptly blazed with heat as four dainty white legs with golden, cloven hooves erupted from the serpent's belly. And then a white horse's body and head were formed, and a terrible pain like its skull was splitting across its forehead heralded the birth of a single, ivory spiral horn.

I can't control this.

The dark void was coming for the unicorn. There was no time to escape. It could only trumpet its rage and make one last attempt to destroy the enemy.

Suddenly, the very fabric of the universe ripped apart. There was a horrible, wrenching wrongness about it, as if something that wasn't supposed to happen happened. Fire flashed across the unicorn's vision, in the shape of a phoenix.

And then, with another shifting pull, the universe came back together, mending as if nothing had ever been torn.

And everything went black.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Carrot dreamed.

He was a bodiless entity, floating somewhere out of time and space. He could see and listen, but he could not touch or speak.

His eyes opened without lids to find himself staring at Chocolate's back. He found it odd, in a strangely detached way, that he had never really looked at her this closely, or noticed every little detail about her before. She was wearing her work outfit, with the black suspenders, black pants, and knee-high black leather boots. Her long red hair was hidden up underneath her dominatrix hat, but several wispy tendrils had escaped to flutter in the light breeze that touched her but not Carrot. Her shoulders were rigid as she gazed at something burning in the distance.

Carrot was struck by how pretty Chocolate suddenly seemed, in spite of the hat that symbolized her transformation into her ruthless side. His gaze traced her curves, greedily taking advantage of her lapse of attention. And then he was looking into her eyes; dull, vacant and lifeless blue eyes, as if someone had reached in and torn out a piece of her soul.

He tried to move closer to her, tried to reach out and touch her in vain. His lips moved to form the familiar syllables of her name, but no sound emerged.

Swirling black dissolved the scene, and there was a rushing in his ears reminiscent of speeding through a tunnel. Carrot wasn't sure, but he thought he might have screamed. Then it stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Colors evolved, spun with the blackness as it receded, and formed concrete images once again. He found that he was watching his father, Onion Glace, as he drank sake with Mille Feuille.

Hey, Pop! What the hell's wrong with you?

Of course, no one heard him. This not being able to speak thing was getting very annoying.

Strangely, Onion was sobbing like a baby into the sake cup. Mille was talking to him, but Carrot couldn't hear what he was saying. The purple-haired Haz Knight looked more serious than Carrot could ever remember him being, but it didn't seem to be helping Onion at all. His large frame shook violently with his grief and tears poured freely down his cheeks.

Carrot blinked, confused and not a little disturbed, and abruptly realized that he was now looking over a room filled with flames. A large figure he somehow knew was Gateau strode purposefully through them, half-carrying, half-dragging a feebly protesting, soot-blackened Marron.

A wordless cry of alarm shaped itself on Carrot's lips, but again, no sound came out.

The vision of the burning chamber faded, dissolved, and solidified in a much more tranquil scene. It was the room he had shared with Marron when they were children in Mount Saint Hordic.

Moonlight from the window pooled on the floor in the darkened room, but it wasn't necessary to illuminate the young mage lying in one of the beds. His black hair spilled over the pillow around him in smooth midnight waves, and his arms were neatly stretched out along his sides.

But the eyes belied the apparent serenity of their owner. They were mercilessly open, staring up at the ceiling with the expression of one who has watched his world die around him without being able to stop it. He looked as though he would be content to lie there until his body was forced to give up its relentless grasp on life.

The mage was dying, however slowly, right before his brother's horrified eyes. And there was nothing that could stop it.

Marron had always been the strong one in their group, acting as their center to ground them when things got hectic. No matter what they faced, he was invariably the one who would see them through it, with his intellect and his skills in Eastern Magic.

Just seeing the calm, collected young mage reduced to this pitiful, comatose wreck tore Carrot far more deeply than any other image this nightmare had shown him so far.

No! Marron, don't do this! Carrot cried out soundlessly, wanting desperately to deny the despair, the inert, flat golden eyes too tired to burn with sorrow any longer.

Carrot tried to reach out to Marron, only to find that he was now watching Tira sobbing into Gateau's arms. The slender pink-haired girl clung to the big man as if his support was the only thing holding her up.

This was entirely too much, coming right on the heels of the emotionally charged scene where he'd witnessed the beginning of his brother's demise. A fierce wave of possessiveness overwhelmed him at the sight of Gateau's large hand buried in Tira's soft pink hair. It was followed swiftly by rage when he noticed the thick arm wrapped around her slim waist, trapping her against Gateau's much larger body.

Hey! Let go of her!

As far as Carrot was concerned, Gateau had no right to touch her that way, to hold her so gently, as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him. Tira was his, and he'd be damned if he let someone else have her.

He actually strode forward to challenge the much larger man, but before he could, he was standing in the Stellar Church, right in the middle of Big Mama's audience hall.

Startled, he looked around to see that it was empty, except for Big Mama herself, who was seated on the steps leading up to her throne. Her head was bowed, an expression of ageless sorrow etched on her breath-taking features. Her arms were draped over her lap, and it took him a moment to realize that she was cradling the miserable, shaking form of Dota.

Oh, no. Not you too, Dota, Carrot gasped soundlessly, wondering what horrible thing had happened to put the winged girl into this state. He vowed inwardly that he would not rest until he had violently destroyed whatever or whoever it was that had done this to her.

Before he could move, he was facing a very angry Chocolate. Her eyes were sharp, tempered blue steel, her dominatrix hat pulled low over her forehead. She held her coiled garrote in her gloved hands as she glared at him, which would have turned his knees to water - if he still had them.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you for taking my Darling away from me," she said in the low, threatening voice that had always sent chills up and down his spine.

Ironically, Carrot relaxed a little, realizing that she wasn't talking to him. She probably didn't even see him there. He stared up at her anyway, and his lips moved.

Chocolate, I never left you. Not really. I'd never leave you!

But she didn't hear him. She was already dissolving.

And then she stood before him again with Tira.

The pink-haired girl embraced her sister, and some of the steel in Chocolate's eyes melted.

"He's coming back," Tira whispered.

A lump rose in Carrot's throat at the hope and love shining in Tira's eyes.

You mean me, don't you? Am I dead?

But no one answered him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Carrot knew that he was still dreaming even as he stood up in the bright, sunlit green field. It was like no other place he'd ever been before, and he stared around for several minutes before he realized that he had his body back. Then he looked down at his hands and grinned.

"All right! That's much better," he exclaimed with satisfaction. "Hey, I can talk again!"

He glanced around, hoping to see Marron and everyone else, but there was nothing but the gentle, rolling plain around him. Tall bright green grass swayed in the light breeze, sounding almost like the waves of the ocean. He turned, and saw a very tall and massive oak tree several paces from where he stood. He turned again and saw a forest curling like an out-flung arm around the edge of the field a half-mile away.

Frowning, he tilted his head back to the cloudless deep blue sky and shouted: "Well? Is there a point to this dream other than to confuse me? Just get on with it already!"

Nothing happened.

"Can't you just let me wake up?" he demanded. The field remained around him, completely unchanged by his words. "Che! I thought so."

Carrot kicked at the grass in frustration, prepared to give whoever was responsible for this a piece of his mind, when he saw a flicker of light out of the corner of his eye. He looked up, surprised, and watched as the flicker between him and the large tree became a wide oval-shaped thing.

A very pretty young woman stepped out of the oval thing, blinking dark brown eyes in the bright sunshine. Her hair was pulled back in long reddish brown plait that hung down her back, and her clothes were strange but not unflattering. She wore long white robes like a priestess, belted at the waist with a slender golden chain. The wind blew the robes flat against her body, showing off her curves quite nicely, he thought.

"I take it back," Carrot said to the sky again. Now that he had some company, the field didn't seem so boring anymore. Especially since most priestesses that he had heard of were virgins who wanted that particular condition removed from their persons.

"Oh, pretty girl," he called out in a singsong voice, dashing over to her like a love-struck puppy, "will you come and play with me?"

But she didn't seem to notice him. In fact, she wasn't even looking at him as she gathered up her robes in her small hands. With a breath-taking smile on her full, sensual lips, she began to run toward the forest, well before Carrot could catch up to her. The tall grass parted like water before her, closing behind her again with a loud swish.

"Ah, the lovely lady fancies a game of tag, does she?" Carrot grinned, not discouraged in the least. "Well then, tag it its!"

With the boundless energy that could only come from his favorite hobby, he veered slightly to lope after her, laughing for pure joy. He half-wondered when Tira and Chocolate were going to show up and ruin his fun, but dismissed this thought as irrelevant. Somehow, he knew that he and the mysterious girl were alone in this field, and would remain that way.

This was what Carrot had always wanted: the freedom to chase after beautiful girls to his heart's content. Yet some foreign thought flickered just on the edge of his awareness, frustratingly elusive when he reached for it.

So Tira and Chocolate weren't there. So what? He'd better enjoy this while it lasted, because they'd give him the beating of his life when they caught up to him. No "ifs," "ands," or "buts" about it.

Carrot sped up as they entered the forest, following closely as the girl left the grass to run along a wide, hard-packed dirt path. He could see a quaint little house in a clearing up at the end of the path, surrounded by a garden of flowers.

"Pretty lady, is that your house?" Carrot asked, grinning slyly. "Did you bring me here to show me your bedroom?"

Ignoring him, she kept running toward the house, but her strides grew slower and more hesitant as they drew closer. Finally, she stopped several paces from the gate leading into the garden.

"Ah, it's no fun if you just let me catch you," Carrot laughed, running up to her. He reached out to playfully grab her arm. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts…oh, my…"

His hand had gone right through her. Suddenly, he remembered that this was only a dream. Evidently, the events of this dream were still not under his control.

Carrot stared at her, taking another step so that he could see the anxious expression on her face. "What is this place?" he breathed. "Who are you, and why am I dreaming about you?"

The girl didn't answer. She bit her lip, her brown eyes searching the windows and the porch of the house as if afraid of what she would find there.

"I hope nothing's wrong," Carrot said, taking a step back from her. He put his arms up behind his head, watching her from lazy, slitted eyes, " 'cause I won't be able to help you if it is. Hell, you can't even hear me, so I may as well not be here."

Then a tall silver-haired man walked around the side of the house. He was dressed in plain blue clothes, covered in dirt, and carrying a pair of pruning shears in his gloved hand. His hair was long and pulled back from his face with a leather strip. He turned to move further into the garden, and stopped. His eyes flashed gold when he saw the girl hesitating outside the gate, but he did not seem surprised to see her there.

Carrot noticed that her hands clenched behind her back, and she stiffened slightly, like a child caught doing something naughty.

The silver-haired man simply gazed at the girl for a moment, then reached up to pull the leather strip from his hair. The silver strands poured like liquid down his back and shoulders, glinting in the sunlight. He spoke, and his deep voice seemed to resonate in Carrot's mind.

Ari. You're late.

The girl at Carrot's side blushed appealingly.

"Your name is Ari? That's pretty." Of course, she couldn't hear him, so it didn't really matter what he said. But it was important to Carrot that he tell her that, so he said it anyway.

Ari was still biting her lip, but she met the silver-haired man's eyes without flinching. I know, she replied, her voice also doing that weird echo-thingy in Carrot's mind. I'm sorry, Reven-sensei.

Reven continued to stare at her almost expressionlessly for a long moment.

Carrot's eyebrow twitched. "Would you just say something, for crying out loud?" he snapped as the silence continued and Ari's flush deepened. "Stop tormenting her, you moron!"

Then Reven smiled faintly, tossing the pruning shears to the ground with a solid thump. He held out his arms to her, and the smile widened.

Ari gasped. Her hands unclasped, and a sudden hope lit her eyes.

Well? One silver eyebrow arched in amusement.

With a wordless cry of relief, Ari flew through the gate and into Reven's waiting arms. Her own arms locked around his neck like she'd never let him go, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

Welcome home, little one, Carrot heard Reven whisper.

Slowly, very, very slowly, the scene began to fade to black around Carrot.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he protested loudly. "I'm tired of this! This is the most peaceful thing you've shown me, and I'm not ready to leave yet!"

If anyone heard him, he was ignored.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Again, Carrot floated, this time in darkness so complete that no light filtered through anywhere. It was really getting tiring.

"Does this seem odd to you?" It was a woman's voice. A familiar woman's voice. Chocolate.

"What do you mean?" Another woman's voice answered the first one. Tira, perhaps?

"Does it seem like we should be somewhere else right now, doing something else?" Chocolate said uncertainly.

"Carrot's here. Where else would we be, sister?"

It was Tira's voice. How could he have not recognized it?

"It does feel odd," a melodious deep male voice said. Marron was the name that his brain supplied. "It's like I forgot something that I wanted to remember, something important."

"Yeah," said another male voice, this one a little rougher than the first. Gateau. "But what was it?"

They stopped speaking for a moment, and a low groan pierced the silence around him. He didn't realize that he was the one making the sound until a new voice rose in excitement: "Hey, he's waking up!"

It was that perverted, cross-dressing weirdo of a Haz Knight, Mille Feuille. What the hell was that freak doing here?

The voices of his teammates swirled around him in an eager kaleidoscope of sound. Carrot stirred, trying to move closer. It seemed important, for some reason, that he reach them, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

"Carrot, open your eyes!"

He was closer now. His body was so heavy, like lead had replaced his bones. He vaguely thought that he might be trying to free himself from quicksand or something, it was so hard to move.

"Darling, don't leave me!"

Even closer, and it started to hurt. Groaning, he tried to move away from the pain, from the nagging voices that were relentless in pulling him from the darkness.

"Niisan, wake up. Please, wake up!"

Their voices only tugged harder, causing more agony to rip through his body. He'd always known that they wouldn't let him go so easily. Part of him was actually touched by their concern, even as he wished they'd shut up.

He wanted to scream at them, to make them leave him alone, but he couldn't make a sound. Dimly, he remembered a sunshine-drenched field of tall, swaying green grass. He concentrated on that memory, willing himself to be in that field again where no pain could touch him, but it slipped through the cracks in his mind and was gone.

"Damn it, you moron, are you just going to give up, after everything we went through to get you back?"

Carrot lost the battle. His eyes opened, and he sucked in air with an intensity that made all five of his friends jump back hastily.

"Niisan!" Marron's familiar voice was choked with tears.

Carrot's hand closed on Marron's arm, squeezing lightly. His brother's arm was reassuringly solid under his grasp.

"Mille," Carrot rasped, peering around for the purple-haired cross-dresser. He had to tell him something important, before all of it slipped away from him.

There was a brief scuffle of sound to one side. "Carrot, I'm here," Mille said, taking his free hand. "What is it?"

"She's home," Carrot told him sleepily. "She made it home … "

Exhausted, he fell asleep again.

To be continued…

Author's Notes (for those of you who are still reading): Now I've picked on every one of the Sorcerer Hunters, and there's only a few more things to clean up around here before I am finished. I am hoping for one final chapter.

My thanks for these reviews:

Tegasus: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this. ^_^

Sweetgrass: Thank you! And at least you got an exclusive preview of the final product, so don't even complain about it to me. I'm still waiting for updates on several of your stories. ^_^

Takatome Ichido: Thank you! I'm sorry you didn't like Gateau's line. At least everything else was okay. ^_^ I really enjoy the story in the manga, and any little bit of canon information adds strength to my writing or inspires me when I get stuck. Hopefully, I'll be better about getting the next chapter up than I was about the last three. Sorry about that. ^_^

Bunny: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. The end is near! ^_^

Blue Pard: Thank you! I had fun writing Gateau in those two chapters. ^_^ And you were right - it wasn't just because of the light. The plaque commemorating their deaths were from a future that would have happened if they didn't return from the castle the second time they went there. Since they went back and changed that, it didn't happen, and the plaque was never made. Does that make sense? Cuteness will be coming up later. ^_^

Well, everyone who is still reading, thank you, and please review or email me to let me know how you think I'm doing. ^_^

~ Lady Cianyin ~