The Guardians of Gaia

Chapter Fifteen

Back in the War Room, Ophelia was picking apart one particular passage on the description of the elixir of power. Otto was fooling around in the holo room - he had created a fake forest environment and was honing his accuracy in firing his miniature suns. The blue giants made so much noise Faust could hear them from his place in the kitchen.

Faust poked his head into the War Room. Ophelia had changed her hairstyle. She did this periodically, every two or three months she would take out her braids and deal with her hair in it's natural state. Now it was a curly pouf atop her head tied with a periwinkle hair tie. "What are you creeping in here for, Faust?"

"Your boyfriend is practicing in the holo room. I wondered if you weren't going to join him."

"He's not my boyfriend," Ophelia snapped. "Did you make any more progress with the drug trials?"

"No . . ." Faust cleared his throat. "My bag got stolen."

"And you didn't Shade up and stop them?"

"It was Cryo."

"How did he get access to your bag?"

"I've. . . I've sort of been . . . sleeping with him." The last sentence was a whisper.

"SLEEPING WITH CRYO!!!" Ophelia yelled. "Well I can't say I didn't see it coming with your dumb little I happened upon Cryo episode, but this is worse than I could've ever imagined."

"Ophelia, please, you've got to listen to me."

"Faust, what the fuck!?" Ophelia screamed. I knew she was mad. Ophelia rarely swore. "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

So reluctantly Faust told Ophelia everything. From the moment that Faust had met Marshall in the aisles of Canadian Tire right down until the day where they met in the hotel and Faust finally got to see the extent of what he had done.

Faust prepared to see anger seething in the depths of Ophelia's eyes but all he saw was sorrow. She enveloped Faust in a hug. Faust's eyes pricked and he buried his face in Ophelia's shoulder. "Beaster's going to pay for all of this, we'll make sure of that." Ophelia pulled away from the hug and said to Faust; "If you have anything else to tell me, just tell me."

"Cryo' sort of. . . he's in danger and it's my fault . . ." Faust explained everything as best he could, but Ophelia's face was entirely unreadable the entire time. When Faust finished she said; "I can't tell you what to do. This is all up to you."

**

2006

THE PAST

Faust imagined the warm brown eyes of his history teacher in bed with a dreamy sigh, his fingers trailing down his stomach and toward his lower half when he heard his mother's voice cut clear through the haze. "Faust, there's a girl at the door for you!"

Scrambling upright pushing away the thoughts of Mr. Harbour, a fifteen year old Faust rolled out of bed. He was taller then his father now and was beginning to grow out of his gawkiness, gaining some control over his gangly limbs.

Faust stormed down the staircase, down the hallway and into the lobby of the house. Standing at the door was a girl who Faust had never seen before in his life. She looked no more than twelve. She had a short black bob and fluid dark brown eyes. She wore a white t-shirt under a pink sequinned tank top and wore bright purple jeans. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were too serious.

"Let's get down to business, shall we, Faust?" The girl said. She skipped down the front steps of the Haas' household, casting a glance behind Faust as if she expected him to follow her. Faust did. Once they were out of earshot Faust hissed; "Who are you and why do you know my name?"