Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lost In Your Eyes ❯ We Dream In Color ( Chapter 10 )

In the dark we still believe (oh you know that we still believe)
In the dark we see.

~We Dream In Color, Jefferson Airplane

They navigated the thread-path easily enough, though Jen did find it a bit difficult to duck and avoid missing and tangling in the other thread paths they came across which would dip and cross suddenly upon theirs, but all in all, they made it through in one piece. At one point Trunks had to catch her and keep her from falling into the void which surrounded them when she lost her footing as a stray thread-path veered over abruptly in their way. She was thankful for his quick reflexes!

When the reached the end, or at the end of the particular thread they had been traveling, they saw a small island floating all alone in the blackness around them. Upon that island sat an old man. He was naked but for a white toga wrapped about his thin, slightly bent frame. He held a cane as gnarled as his hands in one hand and a large basket sat at his feet. He looked up from his spot upon the small, treeless piece of land that looked as if it hardly had room for him alone, much less anyone else.

Smiling, Jen could see that most of his teeth were either rotting or missing altogether. She felt bad for him and wondered what he did to deserve such a plight, he held out his hand in greeting to them as they jumped off the thread and onto his little island. "Well! It's about time you two arrived!" He said, shaking his white, shaggy head at them, his blue eyes twinkled, "I've been waiting so long for you I think my feet darn near fell fast asleep!"

They smiled at him, for he was the type of person which made one instantly comfortable and seemed to draw out grins from those he spoke with. Jennifer liked him at once as he reminded her of her own grandfather. She reached out to help him stand up from his half-sitting, half crouching position and her thanked her for her kindness. "Not many young people now-a-days would even bother with an old man like myself." He said, half to himself, while she and Trunks looked on, waiting for further instructions; "Nope, more interested in what new doo-hickey for their video games they can get than helping an old codger like myself…"

"Sir?" Trunks asked, becoming restless. The old man stopped talking to himself and faced him.

"Yeah, yeah, Always in a hurry," He muttered, bending down to dig through the basket at his feet, "Young people now-a-days are always in such a dagblasted hurry! It would do you some good to have to wait once in a while. Feel the grass beneath your feet, the sun on your shoulders…But, Noooo…always in a hurry…let me see, here…"

Jennifer looked at Trunks, whose face was red with embarrassment, he'd not expected a lecture. But, honestly, when dealing with the elderly, that was what most young people got. A lecture. If they liked it or not! He knew he had no choice but to listen. Who knows, Jen thought, he's lived so long, by the look of him, perhaps he does know a thing or two and we'd be stupid not to listen. Especially since we need all the help we can get!

"Now, Girl," He said to Jennifer, he held out a beautiful black cloak which shone like metal when he turned it, the light from the nearby thread-paths illuminating it. She saw that rainbow colors of metal threads had been woven into the garment making it shimmer in different hues. She took it gingerly and held it up, admiring it. "Well, go on. Put it on. I haven't got all eternity, you know!"

Trunks watched Jen don the cloak, which was nearly as large as she and seemed to swallow her up once it was on. As soon as she put it on a change seemed to come over her. She looked the same, yet different. He could not explain it but it almost seemed to make her even more attractive to him. She turned towards him to see what he thought of it and it was all he could do to keep from grabbing her and kissing her! He had to physically and mentally restrain himself.

"Looks like it's working." He old man said, then to Jen; "Take it off now and fold it up. That's a very powerful magic cloak I've given you, Young lady and like all things magic, it must not be used lightly!"

"Magic cloak?" Jen asked, confused, for though she had felt a bit different while wearing it, she assumed it was the feeling she got when ever she tried something particularly pretty on. "What do you mean?"

"What were you thinking of when you tried it on, Jennifer?" The old man asked, speaking her name for the first time. She blushed and admitted she was thinking of Trunks and the day they'd spent at their illusionary faire and circus. She's been thinking how pretty she looked in her circus trapeze artist outfit and was wondering how Trunks liked her her now, in this new cloak. He turned to Trunks and asked the same question of him; "What were you thinking of when you looked at her in the cloak?"

"I was thinking how pretty she looked," He said, his own face reddening, what he felt for Jen was no one's business but his own and Jen's. Certainly none of this old man's affair! "Then, I don't know, she just seemed to become so much more…I could hardly stand it, she was so…beautiful…well, I mean, she still is, without the cloak but it was more like…I don't know, it was enhanced…"

"Exactly." The old man said, nodding, "It is a Cloak of Enhancement."

"A Cloak of What?" Both Jen and Trunks asked together, looking at each other.

"Enhancement!" He cried, "Don't you kids pay any attention to anything?! The thoughts and feeling of the one who is wearing the cloak is enhanced outwardly towards the one nearest to the person in the cloak, making them think and react in accordance to what the wearer is thinking and feeling."

"I was thinking about Trunks," Jen said, "But also how cute I must look in the cloak and I turned to him to see his reaction…"

"I thought how pretty she looked," Trunks said, "But I could have sworn I was all ready thinking and feeling that!"

"That's part of it's magic," The old man said, "Making you unsure of if the thoughts and feelings originated with you or if it were the enchantment of the cloak."

"Hmm," Trunks said, "Could it be used with negative thoughts as well as positive?"

"All magical items may be used for good or ill," He answered, looking grave, "That is why we must be extra careful in our handling of such things. Now, for you, my boy…"

They watched as the old man pulled a rather large and heavy shining silver octagon-shaped shield from the basket and a longsword that seemed to them to have been much to large to have been concealed within the small basket at his feet. Apparently, the basket itself was magical. He turned to Trunks and said, as he handed him first the shield, "Before you ask, let me say that yes, these items are also magical. This shield's magical property is to defend it's holder from attacks, if the one holding it knows how to use a shield or not. But moreover, it will also magically heal any wound gotten in battle just by holding it for a few moments after the injury."

"Wow…" Trunks said, feeling oddly defensive, "What about the sword?"

"I know you have wielded a sword in your life, Young man." He said, by way of answering, holding out the sword of the Trunks to take by the hilt, "The sword's magic is much like that of the shield I gave you, but instead of being defensive, it's magic lay in being offensive. It will attack and parry and behave like a sword should, no matter if the one wielding it knows swordplay or not. Also, the wounds caused by the blade of this sword are filled with poison, as this blade will leak a deadly waste into the skin of any victim it slices. So, you must be extra careful with this item."

Trunks nodded and the old man gave him a sheath for his new sword and showed him how to carry the shield while not in battle so traveling would not be too difficult. As a last parting gift, he handed Jennifer a special golden whistle. She raised to her lips to blow into it, but he stopped her with a raised hand, "Do no blow it now, Young lady." He said, "Only when you are in dire need and no other choice is to be had. Save it for when you really need to use it, for you will only be allowed to blow that whistle three times. On the third whistle, it will break, unable to used ever after that."

Jennifer nodded and he gave her a length of leather cord to wear it about her neck so that she would not lose it and it would be close by her mouth should the occasion ever warrant her needing to use it. They both thanks the old man for his gifts and he waved at them, just as small dingy mysteriously rowed by no one floated in mid-air over to the island and Trunks helped Jennifer into the little boat after himself. The old man said in parting, as the boat began to row away, "The dingy will take you to where you need to go next! Don't be afraid! Trust in it, it will take you to you next stop! Farewell and Good luck kids!"

A line reminiscent of one she'd read long ago in a favorite children's book popped into Jennifer's head as they rode facing each other in a boat floating through a sea of blackness much like that of space, oared by invisible hands, "This just gets curiouser and curiouser."

Trunks simply nodded.

Indeed.