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Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Summer Roads [Complete]


Aradia McConnell

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Aradia waited impatiently at the gate entrance to the trailer park. The circus had rented out the place a couple days earlier than they normally would have, so that they could perform some maintenance on the rides before the next show started in a week and a half. It always took a few days for set up - they weren't the Ringing Brothers or any of that shit, but they were definitely better equipped than those cheap little two day traveling carnivals. Made better money, too.

But Aradia wasn't gonna be in this show, she'd gotten permission to take some time off during the summer and take a trip. A trip. It didn't sound like much for a girl who's whole life was one long road trip. But this wasn't gonna be in a trailer, on their way to the next gig. It was just gonna be her, and her new friend Livy, and Livy's brother Wikaki.. or Wakaki.. or something like that. She didn't remember, and she didn't care. The circus meant her Mom, and her Mom was in an especially bad mood these days. She was pretty sure it was the only reason Markie had told her to go. She hoped he'd deal with her Mom while she was gone.

Another glance down the road had her tapping her foot impatiently, hoping they'd be here soon.

Wish she's stayed with the bastard and just let me come back here by myself. Then everybody would've been happy, and I wouldn't have had to deal with her ever again..

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A Volkswagen Bug turned the corner, it's canvas top down. As Aradia watched, a familiar dark form pulled itself over the windshield, waving wildly to her. The driver, not nearly as dark as the girl in the passenger seat, reached out and grabbed her leg, irritation and panic battling on his face. Aradia saw his lips move, commanding Livy to sit down. She ignored him.

The car stopped carefully, and the two Izumi kids hopped out. This was Aradia's first meeting with Wakiki, and she was a little surprised to find that he was so close in age to his sister. He also lacked her darker heritage; he was pure Asian. Livy had never mentioned that, but that was like her to not see it as an important fact.

Livy grabbed her in a big hug. "Yay! This is so awesome! Are you ready? Are these all your bags?"

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Aradia huggled Livy back tightly, laughing.

"I'm totally ready - I didn't want to weigh the car down or anything, so I figured two duffel bags max."

Aradia didn't mention that most of what she owned could fit into two duffle bags, with the exception of a couple of her more complicated performance outfits. And technically, those were the circus's, not hers. Livy struck her as the type of girl with two closets full of stuff at home, not just two duffle bags worth. She turned to Wakiki, and shot him a grin.

"So your Livy's brother, huh? Nice ta meet ya. I'm Aradia, but you can call me Ari if you like. Livy didn't tell me how global your guys were - you'd totally fit in with us here at the circus!"

It took Wakiki, defense as he had grown accustomed to being about his heritage, a moment to realize that the bubbly young teenager in front of him meant that as a compliment, and not an insult. To Ari, different was interesting, and interesting was awesome.

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"Well, I'm fortunately only half-related ta her," he said casually, laughing at the glare Livy tossed him. "Her mom stole my dad from my mom." There was no irritation or anger there; if it had once bothered either Izumi, it didn't anymore.

Wakiki picked up her bags and popped open the trunk, slinging her stuff on top. As he slammed the lid, he said, "We ready to go? Anyone gotta take a leak first?"

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Aradia opened the door, and climbed into the backseat of the bug, stretching her legs out across the seat.

"Nah, I'm cool. Let's beat it, I am more than ready to get outta here."

Livy glanced back in concern, arching an eyebrow.

"I thought you were happy to be back with the circus?"

"Oh yeah, I am - but my Mom's being a total bitch about the whole thing. They've got her working the booths now, she can'd do the kind of stuff she used to. She'd be find if she'd cut out the damned drugs, but she was so stoned she missed a grab three times the other day in a row during practice. It was lame - they told her she's done. If she doesn't straighten up and get back in shape, she's gonna be running the balloon dart booth for good."

Ari smirked at her Mother's misfortune, then shrugged, her face becoming a bit more serious.

"I'm kinda hoping Markie will calm her down by the time I get back - we fight all the time these days. More than normal, she blames me for screwing up her "chance" with that loser we were living with. As if. Guy kept looking at me funny anyway, it wasn't cool. I told them if she didn't let me leave I'd call the cops on them while they were drugged out so they'd both get arrested. It's a bunch of shit and she knew it - if I did that I'd never have made it back here to the crew. But I knew it'd piss him off - he wouldn't believe her when she told him I was lying, and I don't blame him. I might've called just when he was high, so that her sugar-daddy would've gotten tossed in jail. Then she wouldn't have had a choice anyway. Didn't have to go that far, though.. he kicked us out after the first threat."

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Livy exchanged a quiet glance with Wakiki. His return glance agreed: this trip was an even better idea than they had thought. Their parents had been really reluctant to allow them to take the trip, but Livy had convinced Wakiki that it was needed. Now that he was seeing it first hand, he agreed with her assessment.

"Sure thing," Wakiki said, putting the car in gear and rolling away from the circus. "Tunes are in the case on the floor board, if you want some music." He paused, then added dryly, "So, your mom is giving you hell, huh? That sucks. My mom is like that too, but she's got all that cultural pressure from being a 'disgraced' woman." Wakiki glanced back at her. "In Japan, divorce is a no-no, so when Dad divorced Mom, he really upset her. If she wouldn't give a shit, it'd be cool, right?"

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Aradia looked thoughtful for a minute, then shrugged.

"I don't know if it'd be all cool - I mean, she's probably got a lot of shit to deal with because of it. That kinda sucks.. I mean, really. "Hey lady, your husband divorced you, so you're disgraced now?" But that ain't your Dad's fault, and it's gonna take some women with some real guts to be able to get over that shit and move on, change people's opinions. Maybe your Mom isn't one of those types of ladies, I dunno. It'd be hard. After all, it was like that here in the U.S. fifty, maybe a hundred years ago. It might make me kinda bitchy too. But hey, at least it sounds like your Dad is pretty cool, right - and your stepmom?"

She picked up the case of music and began flipping through it as she spoke. Her words weren't very refined, but she spoke with kind of an uncanny wisdom not normally seen in girls her age. After a moment, she pulled out a Soul Asylum CD and held it out to them.

"Here - I really love their new song - Runaway Train, it's Track 3 so we can start at the beginning if you guys want."

She was quiet for a minute as Livy took the CD and loaded it into the dash. When she spoke, her voice was a little more serious than it had been before.

"Hey guys? You're seriously awesome for inviting me on this trip. Thank you.. you rock."

Click to reveal..
Soul Asylum Runaway Train - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psP1bKKEtHg
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"Best excuse ever," Livy laughed, turning her head to look at Aradia as she laughed. "'Mom, can I drive to the Grand Canyon with a friend who needs to get away' sounds so much better than 'Mom, I wanna road trip'."

"And I'm just a massive enabler," Wakiki laughed. "My little sis begs me to take her on a road trip with some circus chick... what the hell am I supposed to say?"

"You could have said no," Livy said, quirking an eyebrow over her sunglasses.

"Right," Wakiki laughed as he turned onto Highway 12. "Mom and Dad wouldn't have let you go alone. And how could I say no to rescuing a cute circus chick?" He grinned at Ari in the mirror.

"She's fourteen, Hef," Livy smirked. "Might wanna cool down the charm."

Wakiki took another look at her in the mirror, clearly seeing the marks of physical immaturity for the first time. Then his irrepressible grin returned. "It's ok," he laughed, "I ain't legal either. So don't go getting any ideas, young lady."

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Her eyes sparkled back at him mischievously in the rear-view mirror, and she winked. Had anyone actually ever winked at him before? He was pretty sure they hadn't, but somehow she pulled it off without looking like a complete dork.

"Nothing wrong with ideas, so long as they stay that way - at least that's my philosophy. So how long is it gonna take us to get to the mother-fuckin' Grand Canyon anyway? How long do you two have permission to be away for? It's all you guys, cause as long as I keep in touch, Markie don't really give a shit, and my Mom'll just be happy the longer I'm gone. But he has a car phone installed in his trailer now, which is cool. I can call him on that to let him know I'm okay."

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"We plan on it takin' a day or three," Wakiki said, shifting the Bug easily into another gear. "No rushin'. If you see somethin' and you wanna stop, just shout out." He cast a sly look at his sister. "I'm stopping at Vegas on the way back."

"Why?" Livy asked. "We can't gamble or do anything other than see the shows. If you're looking to get into a strip club, you'll have to wait a few more months."

"I've just got enough money from my job to get us a room at the The Mirage, see Siegfried and Roy," Wakiki said, wagging his eyebrows at the two. "How can we pass up the chance to stay at a place like that? It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, ladies. Who cares about gambling when you can live in the lap of luxury for a few hours."

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This news seemed to excite Aradia, and she sat up promptly in the backseat, looking genuinely enthusiastic.

"That sounds freakin' awesome! I've got some cash, I'll totally pitch in. I get paid for my act too at the circus, I'm not some kinda charity case on you two or anything. I'd love to see them - they're supposed to be so awesome, so in touch with their animals. Plus, staying at The Mirage sounds too cool - I'll bet they've got a pool and a jacuzzi and shit!"

She grinned happily, and then her face fell a little.

"Hey, they gonna let you rent a room? You're not eighteen, right? Don't they have rules about that kinda crap?"

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"Eh, I wouldn't worry about that," Wakiki said, grinning, "because by the time we reach Vegas, I'll be eighteen. In fact, we'll be getting there on my birthday."

"Are you really planning for us to hang around the Grand Canyon for five days?" Livy asked, frowning at him. "I mean, how long can we stare at a big pit in the ground before we get bored?"

"Livy, we're in the southwest portion of our grand country. I have been saving since my last birthday for a summer trip to happen over my birthday," Wakiki said. "Mother sent me money. Grandma Izumi and Granddad and Grandma Arai sent me money. Mom and Dad gave me some. Even Uncle Bobby sent me some cash, and I'm not even his relative. We have cash to blow, we have time to blow... the only thing we don't have to blow is blow."

"Which is good," Livy said.

"Indeed," Wakiki said. "So the only thing we gotta worry about is what we wanna do for the next... however long we have money." He grinned at the girls. "Do I know how to roll or what?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It wasn't very late when they stopped in Fresno for the night. They got a cheap motel room after persuading the clerk to forget that Wakiki was a few days too young, and began to look around. There were museums and even some interesting shopping centers, but Wakiki didn't dig that stuff. He offered to with them anyway, but he left it up to the ladies.

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It was a few hours later before Wakiki realized that he might have gotten himself in over his head. He'd had a couple drinks, and didn't remember exactly how it all had happened. But he did recall cruising some of the streets of Fresno, trying to find something interesting to do with the girls.

All of a sudden Aradia had told him to stop, and had half jumped out of the car before he managed it. There had been a group of skater punks hanging out at a deserted parking lot and they'd had a makeshift ramp set up for performing tricks and trying to out-do each other. By the time Wakiki and Livy caught up to her, she was asking them where you went in Fresno to have a good time. Of course, according to them they were some of the coolest people in Fresno to hang with, and since the other three didn't know anyone else in Fresno, it was as good as they were likely to get on short notice. They hung out with them for awhile, and Ari conned a couple of them to teach her some of the tricks on the boards. For someone who hadn't ever skateboarded before she took to it amazingly easily, and Wakiki wasn't a bad hand himself on a board. Livy wasn't great, but she was enthusiastic about it, and between the three of them they managed to snag an invitation to a party someone was hosting that night.

That was how Wakiki had managed to find himself at some blonde guy's upscale house in the hills, with a garage band playing in the backyard, and the two girls he was supposed to be keeping an eye on dancing with skater punks. Yeah.. he was pretty sure he'd gotten in over his head this time.

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"You're cute," a girl insisted suddenly, laying across his legs.

"You're drunk," he told her, quirking an eyebrow in sardonic amusement.

"Wanna fuck?" she slurred.

Wakiki took a long look at her. Firm, perky breasts, a wasp-like waist and a thick spill of lovely red hair. Like his sister, he shared that particular weakness, not that they'd discussed it much. "As tempting as that is, I have other business to attend to," he said softly. Note to self - no more bringing people I'm responsible for to drinking parties.

He convinced her to sit up and carefully extracted himself. Thankfully, she didn't seem prone to pushing him, and indeed staggered to another guy, dropped onto his lap and repeated her offer. "Wow," he muttered, then wandered through the crowds, looking into the most chaotic bubbles of kids. Whatever those two were up to, it would be wild.

He found them dancing on tables and singing Runaway Train. It was on the top of the charts this year, and watching the girls sing, Wakiki was sure he was going to be sick of that song. Of greater concern was the avid attention they were attracting from various men.

"God, I'd love to do one or both of those," a guy next to him sighed.

Wakiki glared at him, seeming to swell slightly with anger. "The black one is my sister, and the other is fourteen."

"Oh, uh... time for a refill," the guy muttered and took off. Sighing, Wakiki began to work his way forward into the crowd, eager to get close enough to do something if needed.

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Aradia met Wakiki's worried look with a smile, and a wink. One look at her clear-eyed gaze and he realized that she probably hadn't had a drop to drink. The girl looked completely level-headed.. she was just fuckin' nuts. She had managed to get a hold of some chick's brush, and she was sharing it with Olivia as a makeshift microphone, which everyone seemed to find pretty hilarious. After the song was over, she hopped off the table, and walked over to him, slipping an arm through his. She murmured quietly at him with a little grin.

"Act possessive, all these drunk assholes will think I'm off-limits. You look like a worried Mother Hen, Wakiki - this wasn't just about a road trip for you, was it? You really did come to keep an eye on your sister, huh?"

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Wakiki shrugged, hiding his irritation at the 'Mother Hen' slur. Explaining what was up with Livy and him was complicated, so he just said, "Yeah, I did. Mom and Dad really wouldn't have let her come either. And it was be dragged around the country by two girls, or stay back in Berk with all my friends and stuff. How could I saw no to all this?"

As he spoke, he slid his arm out of hers and looped it over her shoulders. It went beyond platonic as he hugged her possessively under his arm, pulling her tight. It would have been convincing had she not just asked for this, though she'd never been hugged quite this way before. It must have been convincing, because Livy's eyebrows were arched as she walked to them, looking askance at her brother. "Her idea," Wakiki grinned, poking Aradia lightly in the ribs, looking for a ticklish spot.

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Aradia let out a little surprised squeak as he correctly identified a sensitive spot. It had been years since she'd been tickled, no sense telling him almost all spots were accurate ones - she was pretty sure he'd find a way to test the theory before the trip was done if she did.

"Watch it buddy - it'll be war, and I'm pretty sure I'd win it."

Her gaze met Livy's and she laughed a little, thought Livy noticed a faint pink stain across her cheeks. Whether it was from her own accusing glance or Wakiki's arm around her shoulder, Livy couldn't quite tell.

"Don't string him up to dry or anything - he's just playing asshole repellent for me."

Her voice was low as she murmured to Livy, as low as it could be without being drowned out by the music. The people three feet from them certainly didn't notice, and kept on swaying to the newest song.

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Livy relaxed a little, slipping around Aradia's other side to take her arm. "I need to find someone to bring on the next trip for my own repellent," she muttered sotto voice. "I had to convince someone that my ass wasn't a free-touching zone."

"Yeah, we should go," Wakiki said. "We've all had fun, we've all been ogled, and propositioned - I think that's a night, guys."

"Aw," Livy giggled. "You're a party pooper."

"Well, to be honest, there's only one of me and lots more of the other guys here, and if things went bad, it'd be pretty embarrassing for my last moments on earth for me to be cringing and screaming, 'Not in the face'. So whenever you're ready."

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Aradia cracked up, she couldn't help it.

"Don't worry, I'm sure closed-casket could be arranged. And we'd exaggerate the story for you too, at least three times the number of however many guys were involved. You'd be worm meat at least a decade before Livy finally got drunk and 'fessed up to the truth of your final moments, I'm sure of it!"

Wakiki glared at her, and she giggled furiously.

"Okay, okay, I'm kidding! You win, let's get out of here. Besides, we've got ground to cover tomorrow, right? So.. what are we waitin' on?"

They maneuvered their way out of the party, and Wakiki had to wake some guy up who'd fallen asleep leaned up against the VW's tire. If the first day was any indicator though, it was gonna be a one awesome trip.

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They spent a casual night at the hotel, then rolled out again in the morning after everyone had woken up and gotten ready. That meant the sun was high in the sky, and they were close to missing the check-out time, but none of the teens minded much.

They followed the curve of the mountains south and then east, turning when they receded. The kids stopped when they wanted, stretching or taking pictures or just pulling off the road to chill for a moment. The Mojave surrounded them by sunset, its stack beauty taking their breath away.

They stopped in Bullhead City for the night, just over the border in Nevada. As they were in a diner getting dinner, Livy suddenly stood up and pulled a notice off a community board. "Hey, there's a folk music festival tonight," she said, "starts in about an hour. Are we interested?"

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Aradia looked at Olivia like she'd gone crazy.

"A folk music festival? That's gonna be full of dirty hippies, right?"

She held the expression long enough for brief outrage to flicker across Livy's face, followed by a moment of stunned silence. Then Aradia cracked, and giggled.

"I'm kidding - I swear. I totally swear! A folk music festival sounds great. Do I need to change into hippie clothes?"

Her eyes gleamed playfully at Livy, and Wakiki could be heard suppressing a snicker behind her.

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"Yeah, yeah," Livy laughed, a gleam in her dark eyes. Aradia was ready for her reply. "Dirty hippies... the dirty carny should feel right at home."

"Hey, if you're gonna catfight, give me enough time to get the jello lined up and sell tickets, ok?" Wakiki laughed.

"Nice," Livy said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Hey, bros before hos." Wakiki smirked, then ducked as Livy laid into him with open hands.

"Jerk!" She was laughing as she pummeled him mercilessly.

The people in the diner stared at their youthful exuberance, some indulgently, some with irritation. The teens were mindless of this as they received their food and continued to play mental one-up-manship.

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They finished dinner and hoped in the car. By the time they made it to the location listed on the notice, things had already gotten started and you could hear the strains of singing and clapping from the parking area. Wakiki had thrown a couple blankets in the trunk, in case they'd gotten stuck somewhere they couldn't get a hotel for the night and had to sleep in the car. So they grabbed those and made their way through the sea of cars, buses, and other various types of transportation.

Aradia stopped after a couple minutes of walking, and looked back, and amused expression on her face.

"Hope we don't lose the bug. There's so many of them here, how are we every going to find it again?"

It was only a slight exaggeration.

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Livy giggled. "Hey, so long as we leave in a bug of greater or equal value, we're ahead of the game," she said, tucking her arm through Aradia's. There was a small fee at the gate, and they walked on through after paying. A neat pathway opened up into an open area in front of a rustic barn. A small stage was in front of the open doors of the barn, and a band of people in period 'settlers' costumes were playing various stringed instruments while a pretty girl sang. She didn't need a microphone; her professionally-trained voice carried out over the crowd easily.

They spread blankets in an open spot and lounged under the shade trees. The setting sun came dappling through the leaves like fire, touching the buildings one last time before sliding away, as if serenaded to sleep by the singing strings.

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Aradia settled in on one of the blankets with Livy, and Wakiki sprawled out on the other one. They whiled the evening away there, content in each other's company and the beautiful and heartfelt music. They joked and talked and munched on snacks they'd had in the car for traveling. But mostly they just listened, each gleaning their own different little bit of pleasure from the music and the revelry.

They would end up spending most of the drive the next day chatting about it, what each one liked, and what they didn't, and why. It was fun, and whether they realized it or not they were getting to know each other better, even Livy and Wakiki, in that way that only people who spend days together with nothing to do for tons of it except talk, or be in each other's presence. And they were free here to be themselves, without worrying about parental opinion, or peer pressure. Aradia was a unique traveling companion, because she didn't seem to hold any preconceived notions of what they were like, or wanted to do. Her entire existence had been so different from most people's that she didn't have any expectations of them.. not because of their status, or their race, or their age. It was refreshing and in a way liberating, because she seemed like the kind of person who was only interested in the real you, and didn't have a lot of patience for the acts people liked to put on in front of others.

By the time they reached their destination, it was late evening, and the sun was starting to set. Their conversation had transitioned into comfortable silence, for driving through the Grand Canyon was like driving through some sort of beautiful painting brought to life. There wasn't much you needed to say, and in the convertible there was nothing between them and the majesty of it all. Eventually they found a beautiful view, not that there was any lack of selection. Wakiki pulled the car over and shut off the engine, and the three teenagers climbed out. Aradia sat on the hood, her feet propped on the bumper, and gazed out over the landscape with a look of awe and unusual silence, almost as if she was waiting for permission from someone to speak.

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The Grand Canyon was majestic, a reminder of just how small and inconsequential the humans racing around on Mother Earth's back were. It was beautiful and inspiring, a starkly fantastic land. Nearby, an eagle wheeled then dropped, catching a small animal that it carried away. Birds flew by as insects buzzed around, filling the air with natural noise. A coyote howled somewhere, starting a chorus of cries. The sun was almost down, and the three sat in silence, soaking up the sight of the already colorful landscape being further colored by the sun. It was only when the land was a black mass below their feet and the sky was a deep, bruised purple color did one of them break the silence.

"I want to make the world a better place," Livy said, her eyes bright and her voice full of youthful vigor and enthusiasm. "I want to help it, to save it from whomever is messing it up." She hopped off the car and held up a hand. "I volunteer to save the world. Hear me, God? Olivia Sachi Jenings-Izumi here and ready for duty!"

Wakiki chuckled and shook his head but was quiet, watching her offer her services to whatever deity might be listening. He turned and glanced at Aradia. "You going to sign up for Earth's army, too?"

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Aradia smiled up at him, and shrugged a little self-consciously.

"I don't know about all that.. I mean, I don't even know how you'd try and make the world a better place. Other than to make people happy.. and I guess I kinda do that already, you know? I mean, they may not be important people, or people from a third-world country or anything. But I make little kids smile. And adults, too. And that's kinda cool. But maybe I'd try to go save the world a little every now and then, if it meant I got to do it with you or Livy."

She glanced at Livy with a little smile, enjoying the girl's enthusiasm. Then she turned back to Wakiki and grinned at him.

"How about you?"

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"Sure, why not?" he said. "I already do volunteer work with Mom whenever she does. And isn't that the entire way to change the world? Make it better one person, one block, one city, etc?"

He watched Livy watch them, seeing that fire of hope and idealism that his parents had fostered in her. He wondered what would happen when Livy faced her first setback - would she crumble under the pressure or would she overcome and thrive? He had no idea, and it scared him a little for her.

There was one way he could help her, be there for her. He could get himself involved in her little thing, so if she did do something crazy, he would be there with her. "Alright, Livy, you've convinced me. I'm in. But I'm oldest, so I get rank over you!"

"My idea, I'm top dog," Livy giggled, then looked at Aradia. "Come on, what do you say?"

"You could be reserves," Wakiki offered with a chuckle. "We'll call ya if we need ya."

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Aradia laughed, and nodded.

"I like Wakiki's plan. Full-time acrobat, freelance hero. Make sure to call me for the major missions, huh? I'll be like that circus guy in X-Men.. what's his name? Nightcrawler?"

The cool night air had picked up, and the others saw Aradia shiver a little, and wrap her arms around herself.

"But right now we're on vacation, right? So how about we get outta here, and find a place for the night? It's gettin' kinda cold."

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"Yeah, let's go," Wakiki said, hopping off the hood of the car and circling around to the trunk. He popped it open and tossed Aradia a blanket. "Here, warm up first," he said. As Aradia joined him and pulled the blanket around herself, Wakiki noticed his sister hadn't moved. He walked over to her and put an arm around her. "Comin' with us?"

"Yeah, just getting a last look," Livy replied, her eyes focused on a far away spot. In a soft voice, she quietly added, "You'd think people would want to be heroes."

Wakiki smiled at her idealistic statement. Man, Mom and Dad have really feed you from the big bowl of idealism, haven't they? He'd been aware, to a degree, of the extent of her feelings, but it might be worse than he thought. Of course, this was a heady moment - he was probably reading too much into it. "Just remember - with great power comes great responsibility - and price."

"That's not the way it goes," Olivia laughed at him.

"It is in the book of Wakiki," Wakiki grinned. "Come on, Aradia is waiting." Together they went back to the car and drove into Grand Canyon Village. There hit the grocery store, then rented camping gear and a camping spot. Together, they quickly set up camp and got the fire going. The rest of the night was just the three of them, listening to the fire pop and the noises of the Arizona night. Finally, the three each claimed a sleeping bag and crawled inside.

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Aradia laid quietly in her sleeping bag, her guilt keeping her awake long after the other two had fallen asleep. She turned on her side and looked at Olivia's profile in the darkness, listening to the voices of her good and bad sides whispering to her in her mind.

It must be easy to dream about being a hero when you've had everything handed to you.

Shutup. It's not her fault she didn't draw the short straw from the family pool. At least there's some people around who want to help others.

Yeah. People who don't have to work hard just to make ends meet. What are you gonna do to help people - hope some pretty cartwheels will take their minds off the fact that they're starving or homeless? That's all you know how to do anyway.

What else was I supposed to do? As long as I'm a good performer, I've got a place. If I suck, the best I could do is work a booth or something.. like Mom. Like the rest of those pathetic saps that don't know how to do shit. Or I could go get some kinda job flipping burgers in the real world. Cause you know.. that's so much more fun.

Face it girl.. the only people who get to "save the world" are smart people, like Wakiki and Olivia. You're not smart like them, and you know it

Yeah.. I know.

It was awhile before the sounds of two people sleeping finally became the sounds of three.

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In the morning, unaware of the soul-searching she'd caused in her friend last night, Livy woke up the others with the smell of frying eggs and bacon. "Olivia... up first... cooking," Wakiki grumbled as he sat up and zipped open his bag. "Have the aliens landed while we were sleeping? Are you a pod person?"

"Shut up," Livy laughed. "I just had a good night's sleep and woke up early. Thought I'd be nice and make breakfast."

Wakiki considered her for a moment, then muttered, "So, do your people come in peace?"

"No, we come to fatten you up and eat your brains," Livy chuckled, giving up and playing along. She looked over at Aradia. "How do you like your eggs, girl, or are you afraid that I'm going to take over the human race as well?"

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Aradia yawned, trying not to show how tired she was. She climbed out of the sleeping bag, and padded over to the cooler, digging around for the bottle of orange juice they'd brought at the store.

"Hey, if you can do a better job than the humans, best of luck to ya. And I like mine scrambled. Then I cover them in ketchup, and it looks like bloody brains. You should try it, it'll hold you over till you get us fattened up for dinner."

She sat down and crossed her legs, pulling out a cup and filling it with juice. Then she held it out to whichever one of the siblings seemed to be the most grossed out by her comment, and blandly offered the drink, trying not to let her lips twitch in amusement.

"Juice?"

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It was Livy who looked a little green, and she waved off the juice. "No thanks," she murmured, so Wakiki took it instead, laughing a little at the grimace on his sister's face.

"You ladies ready for the Grand Canyon experience?" Wakiki asked as they dug into the meal. As they both answered with reasonable enthusiasm, he asked, "We can hike it, or take part in the burro ride."

"Burro? Like small donkey?" Livy asked pensively. "Riding on small, steep trails?"

"It's really safe," Wakiki replied.

"We'd have to follow the guide's schedule and route," Aradia pointed out. "Why don't we hike it and go our own way?"

"Point," Wakiki replied, grinning as he glanced at Livy. "Up for a hike? I've got a map - we can pick our own trail. And we've got a couple of days to look around, if you ladies want. The canyon is our playground."

That met with approval, and after they'd packed a lunch and locked their gear in the car, they headed out. It was just as beautiful inside the canyon as it was out, and the youths lost themselves in the glories of the canyon - almost literally, at one point. Lunch found them tired but with a good seat on a flat ledge. It was the best view in the house, or so it seemed to them.

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Aradia nabbed the thin sheet they'd brought to protect from rocks and dust, and spread it out. As Wakiki and Livy pulled lunch out of their backpacks, Aradia wandered over to the edge and glanced down. The drop-off was fairly steep, but the view looking straight down into the canyon was amazing. She dropped to her stomach, and leaned partially over the edge so that she could get a view uninterrupted by any support.

"Guys, check this out - the is the coolest thing ever!"

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"Um, is that safe?" Livy called, her voice a bit nervous.

"Chill, the edge is solid," Wakiki said, grinning. He joined Aradia, though he moved with less confidence than she did. "Wow... awesome. Livy, come on."

After much hesitation, Livy joined them, inching forward much more slowly than Wakiki had. Still, even she swallowed her nervousness when she looked down and saw the beautiful expanse below them. The three looked for a while, but youthful bodies demand food, and soon the lure of lunch drew them back.

After eating, they hiked back out, carrying their trash with them without even discussing it. It was near dark by they time they dragged themselves back to their camp site. They slept under the stars again.

In the morning, they had a discussion about where to go next. "We have a four days before we can get the room in Vegas," Wakiki said. "Any idea on things to see next?" Wakiki asked.

"You know," Livy said, "we're not that far from the Navajo reservation." She pointed on the map. "Or from the Four Corners, where four states all meet at one square point. We could stay in Shiprock and poke round. How does that sound?"

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Aradia perked at the idea of the Navajo reservation, and nodded enthusiastically.

"That sounds awesome - I wonder if they sell any cool jewelry and stuff at the reservation! I mean, what an awesome place to buy souvenirs and stuff - they would need the money more than the casinos in Vegas anyway, right? They're rolling in the money. The four corners thing would be cool too."

She sounded decidedly less enthusiastic about the latter than the former, but she still seemed up for it all. After all, they had four days. Though from what Wakiki and Livy had seen thus far, she'd probably be on a first name basis with all the members at the reservation under twenty by the time they left. She was just the type of girl who drew a crowd.

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With that settled, the three returned their rented gear and hopped into the car. Now they headed further east, putting miles of mountainous desert behind them. Music was pulled out, and again, "Runaway Train" got several plays.

By mid-afternoon, the five-hour drive was done, and they were bouncing up a rough road to the Four Corners Monument. There was a parking lot and several people there already, as well as a couple of tourist-trap buildings. "There's your jewelry," Wakiki said, pointing to one of the stores.

"Looks like they have leather goods, too," Livy said, holding up her hand to block the overhead sun. "I'm going to check out the Monument and get some pictures." She headed that way, leaving Wakiki and Ari alone.

"Shops or stone thing?" Wakiki asked her, smiling. Of the two girls, he was much more comfortable with the seventeen year old wandering off alone than the fourteen year old. Besides, he knew Livy could take care of herself long enough for him to come to her aid; he suspected Ari could too, but he didn't know that.

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Aradia grinned at Wakiki, perfectly happy with his company. She glanced at Livy's retreating figure, and shrugged.

"Why don't we hit the stores for a few minutes to see what they have, and then join Livy? You know she's gonna be forever just getting the "perfect" view, anyway - you remember how long she took at the Grand Canyon? And they might not have good stuff here, that might actually be at the reservation. Sometimes they just sell the cheap, tourist shit at these places. I want more authentic stuff."

Wakiki chuckled at the accuracy of Ari's comment about Livy's photographic habits, and allowed himself to be dragged into the shops. Sure enough, they seemed to have a mixture of items, with the only traditional Native American goods being things regular tourists would buy. There were some woven blankets and baskets, and cassette tapes of a local Navajo folk singer. They found some jewelry, though none of it was too impressive, and a lot of it was an odd combination of Native American and commercial American motifs. There were also postcards and paintings and photos of the rock, as well as various key chains and little statues.

By the time they hit the second store, Aradia looked a little disgusted, and it was only when she caught sight of another bulletin board that she perked up.

"Wakiki, look! They're having a big thing here this Saturday, there's gonna be dances, with authentic costumes, and lots of traditional crafts and food, and everything!"

She wrapped her arms around one of his arms, and smiled up at him charmingly, even batting her eyelashes playfully at him.

"Today's Friday, we can stay here another day, right? Pleeease? It sounds like the Indian version of a carnival, and how cool is that?"

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Wakiki smiled down at the pretty teen, reminded himself very distinctly that she was fourteen and he'd just driven her across three state lines and she was his sister's friend. All of this meant that he was perfectly justified in the feeling of slight discomfort as she begged him so flippantly. "Sounds awesome," he said, looking at the bulletin board and nodding, hoping that focusing his interest on something else would focus his interest on anywhere other than the young woman next to him. "Bet Livy will eat that right up, too. I think we're only a day or so from Vegas, so we can even stay more than one day. See how generous I am?"

Fourteen. Stop flirting. Jailbait. Stop flirting.

"Ready to see the rock, short-stuff?"

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