FicWad

Chapter 11



Once everyone in the household had gathered, he had his two children and Kannon sit in the middle with him as he paced and walked. He paced for about a good 30 seconds, looking over the group, feeing indignation all the way. He finally said, "Okay, folks, what's it going to take, huh? What is it going to take? What is it going to take to get it through some of your skulls that your old way of thinking is all done? Is it going to take a civil war. Do people have to die resisting that change that cannot be stopped? You look at these children, and what you see are not what we see. For some of you, all you see is your opportunity for power. I thank God my kids are not like that, because they are the ones that brought it to my attention what was being said to them. They both have two good heads on their shoulders, and they have so much as told me that they can see through what you are up to. Kannon, on the other hand, is too young to understand what you are doing, and therefore, your chances for corrupting her are greater. Well, I hate to break the news to you, but, it stops now! I told Karin what was going on, and she hit the roof! Her mother bear instincts kicked in, and she was ready to kill all of you that were putting the garbage into her head that you were. I had to restrain her. These kids, at least these two, know they have a great responsibility to face one day, and they would rather not have it. However, they understand what they must do, and they both, with little pushing from me, understand how important it is. They are trying to be sure that all they are and all they do are in accordance with the Almighty, and for the good of all. You see, they understand that, though they may wield great power one day, they know that there is going to be someone more powerful than them to put them into check. That is something some of you need to realize. Beware any think that they stand, lest they fall. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Leave them alone, and let us handle this. You may think that you are superior being Brownlicks. Yet, if that were the case, would not you have deal rightly with the Fount of Psyche by this point? If you think yourselves superior enough to tell these kids how they ought to be, then why are you laying seeds for strife between them and her? I KNOW they won't listen to you! Knock it off. If I hear one iota of this kind of thing again, you shall be forbidden from having any access to these kids whatsoever. You shall not even touch them! I tell you this: if they have done anything wrong, we can handle it just fine. However, if you want to don't want to shorten your time on this earth, keep you hands off them, GOT IT?"

Suddenly, the A-team all stood as one, and stood alongside their comrades. Kannon, who seemed a bit frightened by the proceedings, clung to her mother's leg, and Karin then picked her up and kissed her cheek. Vincent then spoke,(who was almost cut in two by Jean-Claude,) and said, "I used to think like some of you, and I received a wake up call, and in more than one way. Ilearned that there is always someone out there with my name proverbially tattooed to his forehead."

He then walked up to Hondo and put his arm around his shoulder, and said, "This human has taught me how to respect the person, and not what the person is. He has pledged his life for us, and I would now say that I pledge my life to him. In fact, Jean-Claude, we, who are not yet members of the Clan, would like to join, and start the first American faction."

Jean-Claude walked up and they shook hands by the wrist, as he said, "Sir, it would be an honor. Tomorrow night, after classes, we shall have the initiation!"

Gilbert, (who also was an accomplished fighter, which is why he joined,) said,"These people here are now our comrades. They have trained us well, have great discipline, and know the definition of benevolence. There have been a few nights where it wasn't training as much as it was sitting down to watch a Red Sox game together! I don't see vampires, humans, and dhampirs, I see friends."

Jean-Claude then said, "Do you get it now? Is it sinking in? Your ways are the ways of the past. As Bob Dylan sang, your old road is rapidly fading. Please, get out of the new one if you cannot lend your hand."

There were looks of amazement to the statement of them joining the Clan. Many were now beginning to rethink their positions on how things should be. Sadly, there were still two or three that were not convinced. One piped up and said,"Let us put one way against the other, shall we? Let us make it a trial by combat. If your group is so good, let us see if they can defeat us three."

Jean-Claude sighed, shook his head, and said, "Okay, clear the room of obstacles, and prepare."

He motioned for Karin to get Kannon out of there, but he told his twins, "No, Iwant you two to see this. This is the kind of ignorance I want you to avoid having, or having around you."

The three thought they were going to get Jean-Claude, but he said, "Hondo, front and center!"

The three scratched their heads, and Jean-Claude said, "They say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In the Clan, about half the fighters are human, and therefore, could be considered the weak link. If that is the case, then I put you against him."

They surrounded him, and started to posture. Hondo then closed his eyes, and set his head looking down, as if he was concentrating hard. The three of them tried to move in quickly and simultaneously, but Hondo anticipated this, and actually moved towards one of them just as they moved in. He quickly diverted the vampire's momentum and slammed him into the approaching two. He now stood on the outside of them, and had the chance to attack while they were dazed. He put a foot into one of his attacker's heads, and knocked all three down. Hondo prepared to take them as they began to unknot, beginning to run through his mind all the ways that they could attack him from that position. From that point forward, he started to use pressure points to his benefit. No matter how big or strong a foe is, when a nerve is struck hard, it can immobilize him. This goes for vampires as well, and this was how Hondo was taking them down. Within two minutes, the three of them lay on the floor, twitching and grunting sounds as they flailed. It hurt so bad, they did not know what to grab. Jean-Claude then said, "Let this be a lesson to you. If you want a civil war, we can have one. However, all I have to do is make a phone call, and you will have at least 500, if not more, of both vampires and humans, that can do just what you saw! You may have taken us in to try to erase mistakes of the past, but you have not done very well at it. Therefore, if you do not want to erase mistakes, I can insure that the Brownlicks are 'erased!' Capiche?"

After a pause, Jean-Claude said, "It's a brand new day, boys and girls, a brand new day! Yes, we can stop the Inquisition. However, don't be the inquisition that follows it, or else you are no better than they."

He then said, "Good night," and left the room, with his wife and kids in tow. Richard then felt that he should say something at this point. He stepped forward, and said, "This was exactly what I warned all of you not to do. It was not because I demanded it, it was because I knew that of which he was capable. I wanted peace in this household, and I wanted to see the good changes that the dhampir wants to bring, but apparently some of you are too dense to get it. I am glad it has only gotten to this point, because someone could be dead by this point, and there really would be nothing I could do to gainsay it. From now on, if I hear one word of prejudice, talk towards the children counter to what they are being taught, one mark of hatred towards them, you shall be disowned and cut off from this family. Stop seeing yourselves as so superior, lest another, more vicious force comes along and proves you wrong!"

With that, they broke up.



Hondo then moved up to Innocent, and said, "Why cannot people learn? I do not understand hate at all!"

She wanted to tell him to go away, but there was something about what she had seen, and how he had just spoken, that intrigued her. She asked, not accusatively, but sincerely, "Hondo-san, what do you expect to gain out of all this?"

"Gain?" he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, this is risky," she then said, "You walk and live amongst vampires who would see you as nothing more than a snack depending on the situation, and yet, you act like there is nothing wrong. There has to be a reason for this?"

Hondo thought for a moment, and Innocent received an answer she did not expect. "Katiri-sama, look around you. When I first became a part of this, it was merely a fascination with worlds that were new and different. I was not apart of the Great Clan Revolution, but I was there for the Great Bokor war. It was training with Jean-Claude, and then with his mentors, that taught me the gravity of things, and taught me just how big the dream is. I began to see the threat to friends, classmates, family, and to Japan if this did not succeed. Once I knew what was involved, how could I stand by and do nothing? I knew Ihad abilities that could benefit, and so it has been."

He stopped, and she stopped with him as she faced him. He then said, "We stand on the verge of a great new world-a positive world of love and understanding. I want a part of that. If you say that there is anything to gain from it, it would be the peace to know that I had a hand in bringing things to pass."

She tilted her head, and said, "How much does that have to do with me?"

"The only thing," he said, "Is that you make the right decisions for the good of others."

She hesitated, and then said, "How much does that have to do with us?"

He hung his head, and said, "Katiri-sama, you have to make your choices. You already know how I feel, but I must live with whatever decisions you make, because this thing is greater than my wants."

He then stated to leave, and she felt a surge in her blood. It was not enough to make her nose bleed, but it was enough for her to want to release if there were someone who needed it. She then realized that it was sorrow, and it had come from Hondo. What she was not sure of was, was that sorrow about his situation, about how hard things have been to achieve the dream, or that she kept rejecting him at every hand?



The next morning, a car brought the twins to the bus stop that would take them to Adams Elementary School, which was the closest to the manor and the campus. Their mother, still quite Japanese, prepared two Japanese box lunches for them, complete with the handkerchief wrapping, chopsticks, and good old fashioned Japanese love. Jean-Claude was not too certain about it, considering that he wanted his children to blend in, but Yuriya felt that it would help them make friends when they asked about the boxes. The children could then break the ice and tell them where they had been and such. Jean-Claude saw the logic in this, and backed off. They were at the stop with about six other children waiting for the bus, and, naturally, there was curiosity about the strangers. Even though they did not have to wear uniforms anymore, they still felt a bit out of place in standard clothes. One girl looked over at Sheila, the box that she held, and asked, "I've nevah seen sumthin' like that befoah. What you got in the box theah?"

Jean-Claude had taught them about English from an early age, so they were already proficient in the language. However, they still had to get a grip on the Maine accent. She smiled and said, "Oh, that's my lunch."

The girl heard the speech, and could not help but notice that it was not the Maine accent, and that there was a hint of another kind of accent. The girl then asked, "Wheah you from?"

"Daddy is actually from this area," Sheila said, "But he's been in Japan for eight years, and my mother is from there. This is how they pack a lunch."

She pulled back some of the handkerchief and opened the lid a crack. "See, there's sushi, and rice balls, and some chicken wraps, and it's all very tasty."

"Oh, I have to try some a that!" she said.

"I'll tell you what," said Sheila, "I'll tell my mother about it, and I'll see if she can give me a bit extra tomorrow for you to try."

Already, Sheila was making friends. "I'm Alicia!" she said, extending a hand.

"I'm Sheila D'amphile," she said as she took Alicia's hand, and said, "Pleased to meet you, Alicia-san."

Alicia did not understand what the "san" was all about, and then Mickey spoke up and said, "I'm her brother, Michael, but you can call me Mick. I'm sorry if she confused you. In Japan, that is a formal term, like saying "miss" or"misses." That is normally used when we first meet someone. When she gets to know you better, if we were in Japan, she would call you "Alicia-chan," which is more of a familiar term."

One boy piped up, and said, "Wow, that's a lot a work! I'm glad I live heah. Sounds loyke too much werk if ya ask me."

"No one asked ya, Joe!" Alicia shot back, which was followed by a tongue sticking out contest. Mickey, ever the peace maker, said, "Hey, its okay. Iexpected that you might not understand. We have to adjust as well."

With that, the bus came, and took them all to the school.



They were starting the third grade that year, and that time can be the most interesting for kids. In third grade, kids normally start to forge personalities at that point, and they are starting to find themselves. However, they are also trying to establish jockeying position amongst the classmates, testing amongst themselves the strengths and weakness of their classmates. When Mickey and Sheila came in, they were put somewhere in the middle of the desk arrangements, and Mickey started to put his lunch in the desk as the teacher was stepping out. One boy, who wanted to test the new kid with the odd accent and interesting eyes, and see what he was made of. He saw the strange box, and decided that this would be a good launching pad. "Hey kid," he popped, "What's that in the box theyah?"

"That's lunch," said Mickey.

"Funny lookin' lunchbox," he said, as he reached in and took it out. "Aw, wook at the cute wittle hankie!" he teased, "You're mommy make it fer ya?"

Many of the kids knew this boy, who was indeed a bully, and got pretty much what he wanted out of the kids. They were certain that he was going to set this Mick straight on how things ran. They were in for a surprise. Mick just took his abuse in stride, and said, "No more than your mother made your lunch."

This was not what the boy expected. It wasn't that Mick did not whine and beg for his lunch back, nor was it that he insulted in return, but it was that he rolled with the punch and put the spotlight back on the bully in such a fashion that it made him uncomfortable. Both boys were on their feet, and the bully said, "Hey, what are you sayin'? You sayin' I'm a sissy?"

This he said, not quite knowing how to answer Mick. At that moment the teacher, Mrs. Swanson, came back in, and said, "Boys, I certainly hope that you two can explain what is going on."

"Certainly, sensei," said Mick, "He was merely making an interesting observation of the design of the lunch that was prepared for me, and I was telling him about it. I assumed that he may not have any lunch today, and Iwas going to let him have it."

Mrs. Swanson knew of the bully's reputation, and she knew that it had to be trouble. However, she loved Mickey's shrewd answer, in that, instead of retaliating, he was using calm and reason to make himself look like the better of the two. The bully looked at the teacher, the lunch, and then at Mickey, and spit, "Keep yer stinkin' lunch-I don't need it!" as he tossed back on Mickey's desk. He shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Oh well, but it you need it, you're welcome to it!"

With that, the students took their seats amid snickering and pointing, knowing that the new kid just made a fool out of the bully. The bully then waited until the teacher's back was turned, and said, "After school, you'd bettah watch your back!"

"Why?" said Mickey, "My head cannot turn that far, so I'm not going to try."

He then promptly ignored the bully, and did not even look at him. Those who could hear began to snicker some more, and that just made the bully angrier. However, Sheila remembered how he handled bullies back in Japan, and either it would end at this, or someone was going to get pummeled sooner or later. Alicia leaned over to Sheila and said, "Oh boy, your brother's got problems!"

Sheila smiled and said, "Far from it-that bully had better watch out! He's got more brawn than brains!"



Later on in the day, the teacher decided to ask Sheila and Mickey to come to the front and tell a bit about who they were, and where they had come from. They began to talk about Japan, what school was like there, some of the culture, and so forth. The teacher then asked about how they got to be there, and they said that their father was from Maine originally, but their mother was from Japan, and that is where they were born. Mrs. Swanson then mentioned that there was going to be a cultural fair in a few weeks, and asked if they would do something Japanese. Sheila was all smiles, and was anxious to do something. She said her mother had taught her how to do the proper Japanese tea ceremony, and that she would love to do that at the festival. Mickey, to avoid issues, leaned into his teacher and whispered that he could make amartial arts demonstration. She asked why he whispered, and he said that he did not want to ask for problems by sounding like he was bragging. The lights came on in her head, and said that he had made sense. Once they were done, Mrs. Swanson was called to the office to pick up a message, and she stepped out. Of course, as soon as she was out of earshot, the bully started to manipulate his eyes, and say, "Mommy was Japanese, daddy was Chinese, and look what I turned out to be," as he twisted the edge of one eye up, and one eye down. There were some laughs, but Mickey was not laughing. The bully was trying to get some kind of rise out of Mickey, but it wasn't working. In fact, when he looked over at him, he met Mickey's gaze, furrowed and angry. Of course, the bully took this as a challenge, and said, "What chew gonna do'bout it, half-breed slant?"

Mickey had control of his faculties, but his blood was boiling. The term"half-breed" carried more than just the connotations that the bully had pointed out. If he had any clue what he was dealing with, he would be urinating in his pants. What surprised Sheila was the fact that he could notice the racial differences, but could not see his fangs. Since it was close to feeding time, (considering that the two of them were both fully awoken Golconda,) Mickey knew that it was not he that had to watch his back after school. Mickey walked back to his desk, but the bully wanted an answer, and grabbed his shirt. "You heard me!"snapped the bully. Mickey looked down, then looked at the boy, took his hand, and pinched a nerve in the wrist. The bully had never experienced that kind of pain before, and could not even find the ability to scream. Mickey said,"You'd better keep your distance, because the pain you now feel is the least of what I know how to do to you!"

His hearing detected the approach of Mrs. Swanson, and he let go and took his seat. He then proceeded to work on his schoolwork as she entered. To her, it seemed that nothing really happened, although she could not understand why the bully was rubbing his wrist.



After school, some of the kids who were interested in their talk about Japan had all kinds of questions. Being surrounded by kids could guarantee that he would not be jumped. In fact, it was what he wanted. As he talked, he watched as the bully left the building and went on a path through the woods around there, presumably to jump the new kid. The twins were waiting for their mother so they could meet up with their father after his Rugby practice. Mickey excused himself, and Sheila knew what he was doing. Thus, she distracted everyone as he moved out. The bully was upset that he could not catch that new kid, and was making his way through. Yet, the boy could not help but feel like he was being watched. Suddenly, he felt a presence next to him, saying, "Half-breed, eh-are you so tough out here by yourself?"

The bully wheeled around to see nothing. He heard the voice say again, "Seems like you need to learn some manners, punk."

He wheeled the other way, and again, nothing. The bully began to feel frightened, made worse by a breeze moving through the trees. He stared to move faster now, and ran right into Mickey, who had his fangs extended, and his eyes glowing. He started to scream like a girl as he stumbled and fell back. He started to shuffle backwards on his back, trying to get away. He managed to make his feet and tried to run again, only to run into Mickey again. He was shocked on how quickly he was moving. He then started to run out of control, but Mickey was there again, and grabbed the boy this time. He lifted him up with one hand, saying, "Never underestimate you opponents!"

He then took him into the low brush, pulled down the bully's collar, and the bully screamed, "HOLY..." but that was all he got out as Mickey began to feed. When Mickey finished, he not only erased his memory, but he added, "Every time you try to belittle someone, bully them, or treat them maliciously in any way, shape, or form, all you will experience is pain."

He then set the bully down, and went to meet his sister. By the time Mickey got back, Yuriya was already there. "How was school?" asked Yuriya.

"It was fun, mother," said Sheila, "I already made some friends."

Yuriya then saw Mickey approach, and said, "Where were you?"

"I...was...making a new friend," said Mickey, "He's really someone into whom you can sink your teeth."