Black and White Ch. 06

"Ok," was all Scott stated.

Aiden stole one last glance at the scenic view of the hunk before he walked trotted towards the Café and slowly picked up pace till he attained a good jogging speed. He was meeting Dominic in the next few minutes. And he reckoned that they would probably have the conversation from hell.

~~~

Tinka hated 'Site Plan Study' days. But what she hated more were overeager teammates that dragged her onto the Site at 5:30 in the morning on a Monday. She had been awake and moving about for more than 2 hours now, and she was touchy as hell. She yawned without covering her mouth as Chad, one of her team members, and the highest GPA scorer ordered her to take a panoramic picture from the top of the railway bridge.

Tinka cursed under her breath as she climbed up the foot over bridge. There was no refusing Chad. He would make all the four of them slog their butts till the entire project was completed to the last possible detail. Well maybe she would get a good grade this time and some of the hard work would pay off. She lumbered up the steps and walked to the middle of the over bridge. She took out her camera and focused on the scenery before her. Lots of green trees; that meant more coloring work in sheets, some structures; well that would mean lots of milieu consideration too and lots of people wandering about. Why the hell had her team chosen this place to present their project on? 'Oh yeah', Tinka reminded herself, 'Chad had chosen the site.'

Suddenly Tinka noticed someone familiar. She zoomed in with her camera to make sure. Yup; it was him. What the hell was he doing here early Monday morning? And who was that little girl by his side.

The clunk of a metal piece was heard as the expensive camera left Tinka's hands and fell to the floor with a crash. Tinka gasped as restricted memories first unfettered themselves and then ran rampant in her mind. Memories of a dark horrific place. Memories of two terrible forms. Memories of a little girl with flowing yellow hair and crystal blue eyes. Memories of Aiden's lover Will thrashing about on the floor. Memories that had been sealed capsulated, locked away somewhere in her mind which she had just obtained the key for. And the stimulation for the key had been a glimpse of the little girl herself. The little girl that had been sitting on a throne in the dark chamber.

Tinka had just seen Will with that very little girl now. Her head throbbed as forbidden memories unleashed themselves into her mind. It seemed bizarre that she had somehow forgotten all this. Or maybe she had been made to forget them! Things that were so unbelievable that they could not possibly be true. Yet, she was certain that she had seen them.

All her grogginess left her as the desperate girl dived into her bag for her phone and frantically dialed Aiden's number. What would she say to him?

~~~

White was following the Alchemist everywhere. Concealing himself and turning invisible he had followed the boy all the way to the coffee café and had even followed him inside the public washroom where the boy had washed his face and rinsed his mouth. Turning invisible caused White himself to lose his vision following the inescapable laws of physics, but he could rely on other senses of his to tell him what was where.

He was still forming an enclave all around the boy, an enclave that prevented other beings from tracing the boy spiritually. But maintaining the enclave for such a long time was costing him much of his energy; he knew that the oncoming battle was unavoidable. The war would begin soon and he had to conserve energy for that.

He waited patiently in the background as Aiden stood waiting outside the coffee café.

~~~

Aiden shifted his weight from one foot to the other while waiting. He briefly thought about what had transpired between him and Will the previous night. All the negative vibes, the trauma and the pain. But surprisingly all that physical pain had disappeared; simply vanished. He was sure his butt would be sore as hell for at least a couple of days after yesterday but there seemed to be absolutely no pain whatsoever. Had it not been as violent and intense as he thought it had? Maybe he had been dreaming things.

The drone of a motorbike engine informed him that Dominic had arrived. Aiden stopped breathing for a few seconds as he tried to read Dominic's expression as he got off his bike in the distance. Dominic gave a slight smile to him as he dismounted form the bike and made his way towards a queasy Aiden.

Suddenly Aiden's phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket to observe that Tinka was calling. 'A lot of people seem to be awake and about today morning', he thought to himself as he pressed the red button and ended the phone call without answering it. Tinka would have to wait for now.

Dominic walked up to Aiden and stood unsteadily; Aiden himself was feeling highly discomfited and chewing his lower lips; a sign he was extremely nervous. The two glanced at each other in an awkward manner; till finally Dominic broke the silence.

"I had to talk about something, Aiden."

Aiden was trembling all over. Here was the guy he had been in love with for more than two years, and who he was finally being confronted by about his sexuality; not by choice though. Here was the boy who he considered absolutely flawless; his chiseled face and aquiline looks that were obviously no where near Will's or Scott's but whose character he knew form two years of experience was absolutely impeccable; the complete package and Aiden's ultimate idol.

Aiden was sure this ultimate idol was going to think of him as a much lesser person after this conversation. How many 'outings' were these few days going to witness?

"Aiden, I know that you're gay." Dominic let out in one breath as Aiden blanched. "I mean, I'm very sure of it; you are, aren't you?"

Aiden nodded his head slightly in agreement. Guilty as charged; there was no way out of this. He was momentarily distracted as his phone was buzzing in his hand again. It was Tinka. He disconnected the call once more.

"And I'm perfectly fine with that. I mean, you're still YOU right?"

"You are?" Aiden asked in a timid voice.

"I'm what?" Dominic asked confused.

"You're fine with it?" Aiden asked his voice trembling.

"Yeah. Yes, I am perfectly fine with it." Dominic stammered back. Nervousness interlaced with awkwardness was heavy in the air. Aiden felt like he would choke on the uneasy atmosphere alone and die.

"And Scott is your boyfriend?"

"No he's not!" Aiden bellowed his voice going out of control, then he reiterated in a softer voice, "No he's not."

"Err...then" Dominic was thrown off guard.

"Actually I have a boy friend and his name is Will." Aiden replied though he was again not so sure anymore. "Scott's just a friend."

"Ha," Dominic stated softly. "Just a friend huh? Well Scott is always talking about you and always seems to be pre-occupied by you. I thought he was definitely your boyfriend or something."

"I mean he's pretty hot." Dominic stated after taking a deep breath.

Aiden swallowed a lump in his throat. Had Dominic just called another guy hot?

"He's not as hot as my boyfriend Will though." Aiden growled in a low voice.

That broke the uncomfortable awkwardness between the two as both of them suddenly burst out laughing. Aiden was all smiles as it looked like his friend was going to accept him.

"So who's this boyfriend of yours?"

"You won't know him, he's a social worker." Aiden stated triumphantly. "He lives just off the docks."

"So that's where you spend your nights!" Dominic raised his voice as he stated. "You're never available in the evenings and nights! You're sleeping with him everyday?"

Aiden blushed as he nodded and admitted the same to Dominic.

"Damn!" Dominic stated. "And to think I'm still a virgin."

Aiden was shocked. That was a bit too much information from Dominic for the present moment.

"I mean I've hardly kissed a girl before you know."

"Uh huh." Aiden stated as he nodded his head furiously. This conversation was taking an uncomfortable turn once more. He simply did not need to hear of all this from Dominic. Did Dominic want to be kissed? Aiden sure was ready to do the honors though!

"But I guess you don't need to know that." Dominic stated smiling, all his straight white teeth showing.

"Yeah, whatever." Aiden replied smiling. Somehow Dominic stating these facts were a sign from him that he totally accepted Aiden.

"But I need you to know that I am totally cool with it and you can talk to me about it and nothing changes between us," Dominic stated in one long sentence.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

"So you coming to class? We have an early lecture at 8 O' clock today."

"Yup, just a sec." Aiden stated as his phone buzzed once more. It was Tinka. Aiden knew she would be mad for him not taking her earlier calls, but this was way too important for interruptions.

"Yeah sorry!" Aiden stated as he picked up the call this time.

"Aiden!" Tinka's voice nearly screamed from the other side. "Why the fuck were you not picking up my calls?"

"Uhh, I was busy with Dominic here, we were..."

"Where the fuck are you right now?" Tinka screamed from the other side.

"Outside Café Beans. Why?"

Tinka calmed down a little before she spoke again. She needed to talk to Aiden but could not mention it was about Will. Aiden would shut down on her if she did that.

"I need to tell you something. Just stay right where you are. I'll be there in 15 minutes!"

"Wait, wait, is it important? Can we talk during lunchtime? I have a lecture at 8."

"Balls to your lecture!" Tinka fumed from the other side. "Stay right where you are, I'll be there in a few."

Aiden was left muttering as Tinka disconnected the call. Dominic looked at him with a questioning look on his face.

"Sorry man." Aiden said to Dominic apologetically. "Can't come with you to class right now. Tinka's on my case right now. Have to stay here to meet her."

"No probs." Dominic sated cheerfully before he hesitated and asked next, "So I guess she isn't your girlfriend or anything? I always thought you two were a couple before."

"Thank heavens we're not a couple. We would NOT comprise a happy family."

Dominic chuckled before he said bye and left Aiden standing; all set for one more conversation. Aiden hoped this conversation would work out to be as pleasant as the previous one. Or would it? He wondered what it was that Tinka needed to so desperately discuss with him.

~~~

Frigeria, the raven haired angel from the Kingdom of Light, stood watching patiently as the Alchemist said goodbye to one friend and waited for another. She could see that things were changing in the boy's life, taking all sorts of twists and turns. But the real tribulations were yet to come, and they were approaching fast.

She knew that White was following the boy, keeping a watch on him and was vigilant of enemy influences, constantly on the lookout for them. She knew he had turned invisible and had been following the boy all along. But she also knew that White had not detected her; while constantly being watchful for Empress Woe and Black, White had not sensed her presence, and it was for the better.

The Alchemist needed to know of certain things, things that the mighty white angel was scared of telling him or simply did not know about. It was time for Frigeria herself to intervene.

~~~

Aiden once more waited impatiently as minutes ticked by, shifting his weight from one foot to the other yet again, wishing there was a bench nearby or something to sit on. Damn coffee shop was also closed so early in the morning.

He tried to stop thinking of what Tinka needed to talk to him about. He would know in a few minutes anyway. Instead his mind shifted to thoughts about Will. He was tired of trying to think of all possible explanations of last night's encounter with Will. And what was that white turbid color he had seen Will's eyes saturate into? That was eerie and... sad at the same time. 'Maybe I should call Will' Aiden muttered to himself after much rationalization.

Aiden lifted his handset and searched for Will's number. A high pitched voice screeched from behind as he was just about to press the call button.

"Thank God you're here!" It was Tinka.

"Hey Tinks," Aiden smiled at her. "What's going on?" Aiden had not met Tinka since Saturday and was not sure how he should talk to her presently. But she was still his best friend, wasn't she? He desperately wanted to tell her of the meeting with Dominic jst before, but reasoned he would have to wait his turn.

"Ok, Aiden." Tinka stated grasping both of Aiden's elbows and half dragging a protesting Aiden towards the side alley of the coffee shop. "I have something to tell you and it's gonna sound really stupid and unbelievable, but it's the truth."

"Ok," Aiden was trying to remain patient.

"I know I have said this before but Will is not what he says he is and now I am sure of it."

Tinka paused to observe Aiden's expression. She hated going against Will again but she had to do it one more time.

"Will is not a normal human being." Tinka cleared her throat before she continued. "He's some sort of magician or sorcerer or something, and he's after you."

Aiden's eyes opened wide as he waited for Tinka to continue. Surely this was one of her jokes where she would burst out into laughter any moment and state that she'd 'got back at him'.

"Ok, this is gonna be weird but I am gonna tell you what I saw on Saturday when we went to the retirement home."

"Tinks, please stop."

"Aiden, I know you think I'm crazy or something but you have got to listen to me. Please. Just once hear what I saw."

Aiden swallowed as he nodded for Tinka to continue.

"The other day when I came out of the washroom I saw in another room, these slimy eerie squid like monsters and I screamed. Just then Will appeared behind me form nowhere and his hand glowed as he used some sort of weird... 'magic thing' on me. Everything turned black after that."

Aiden was biting his lips once again unable to understand what Tinka was trying to tell him.

"When I came to, I was in a dark eerie place, darkness with a few colorful stones glowing, and I saw Will writhing in pain before me. In the dark chamber was sitting this small blonde girl that stated that I ad seen too much and then she did some psychic shit and my head started hurting."

Aiden opened his mouth to say something but Tinka interrupted him once again.

"And then I just remember being back with you in the recreation room. Somehow I had forgotten all about it till I saw Will and that same little girl today."

"Tinks, you've been dreaming." Aiden stated flatly.

"No, I'm not you bozo! Listen to me, it sounds far-fetched but I'm a hundred percent sure its what I saw. You have to believe me."

"Believe what?" Aiden asked incredulously.

"Believe her." A dulcet voice stated from behind, echoing as the tinkering of wind chimes.

Aiden whirled around to find a stunning dark haired woman slowly advancing towards him. Tinka suddenly saw silver butterflies before her eyes as she lost consciousness and fell to the floor with a thud.

Aiden whirled around once more to find Tinka on the floor and turned back to face this new arrival.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Believe her; believe that your friend Will is actually the devil himself." The lady stepped forward and Aiden noticed how beautiful the lady looked, her black hair perfectly straight as it cascaded down her shining white dress.

"Hello Aiden, I'm Frigeria."

~~~

White had been following Aiden at a distance, and had followed him as Tinka had pulled him into a side-alley. And he had been startled as he saw Tinka fall to the floor suddenly. Soporific spell? Frigeria was here? Suddenly he himself saw the same sleep inducing butterflies and fell to the floor against his strong will. The spiritual enclave he had been maintaining around Aiden collapsed as he did. Aiden was now susceptible to the Empress finding him.

Not far away, the Empress suddenly received a positive signal from Aiden's search link, which disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. She had traced Aiden and had lost the trace immediately. She telepathically confirmed with Black to learn that he had picked up the flickering trace too. That meant the Alchemist was on the material plane. And she was even sure that he was nowhere near his 'college' area. She had some idea of the area he was in now. She would have to physically find him.

Physically find him and immediately destroy him. The Alchemist falling into the hands of the enemy was too big a risk now.

~~~

Aiden once again found himself in a situation where he had absolutely no idea what was going on. This mesmerizing lady did not seem deleterious at all. In fact she had a really soothing aura. Was she going to try anything funny with him?

Aiden immediately remembered Tinka and fell on his knees, shaking Tinka by the shoulders to try and wake her up.

"She will not wake up yet." Frigeria stated as suddenly she swished her hands and their surroundings started to deform and saturate into a light blue color. Aiden stood up abruptly and looked about in a frenzied manner. All around his surroundings were disappearing, being enveloped by an azure color. The morphing of the surroundings reached completion as everything turned a soothing light blue, the ground, the walls, the alley; everything replaced by he same blue shade.

"What the...?" Aiden was still wondering what was happening. Only Frigeria, he and the unconscious form of Tinka remained in this azure universe now.

Frigeria felt White collapse in the vicinity as she send him into a sleepy subliminal state also. It was imperative that he did not interfere now, for she had to make revelations to the boy that the mighty white angel would himself never dare to make. And definitely the ones he simply did not know of. She hoped she had set up her enclave perimeter in time to prevent the Empress from detecting Aiden. Nevertheless the enemy would be approaching soon.

"Who are you?" Aiden spat out at Frigeria.

The female angel paused and calmly stated. "I am Frigeria; chief angel healer of the Kingdom of Light."

"Huh?" Aiden had a stupefied expression on his face. The angel's voice was resounding across the blue milieu, making it seem as if many melodious voices were speaking at once.

"An angel?"

"Yes, maybe this will convince you." And saying that Frigeria unfolded her great white wings, each more than 10 feet in length, which rose above the two forms and stretched up straight. Aiden could not believe what was happening.

"And I need to talk to you."

Aiden flinched at that line. He was probably hearing it for the umpteenth time in the last 2 days; especially today. First it was Dominic, then Tinka and now it seemed some heavenly angel also 'needed to talk to him'. He was dreaming wasn't he?

"So err, where are we?"

"Safe, for now."

"And what do we need to talk about?"

"About Black and White."

Aiden's brow furrowed as he realized this 'angel' wanted to talk to him about Will and Scott. Well since this was a dream and Will and Scott seemed to be the most hot topic of discussion nowadays, he might as well play along. He waited for the dark haired angel to begin.

"Since time immemorial, the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Void have been at war. The Kingdom of Light was ruled by Hazelhoem, whose guardian was Witenhoem and the Kingdom of Void was governed by the seemingly four year old girl; Empress Woe and her Guardian was Arangyunus."

Aiden's brows furrowed further as he took in the big names being thrown at him.

"The Guardian Witenhoem was better known as White, the mighty white angel who was the protector of the Kingdom of Light while the guardian Arangyunus was better known as Black, the dark Seraph who was the protector of the Kingdom of Void. The two were sworn enemies since their time of conception and though counterparts of each other, were arch rivals, forever locked in a power struggle to eliminate the other."