Mission Interrupted
Chapter 1: The Specialists
Disclaimer: I do not own Huntik: Secrets and Seekers or Winx Club. They both belong to Rainbow.
Lok and Sophie entered the small church cautiously. It was late in the night and no one was around, or so they thought. They proceeded with immense caution. They had checked out the church earlier during the day and they had been in many dark and terrifying places before, but what they saw in the darkness of the large cavernous chamber made them uneasy. Imaginary demons jumped out of the shadows. The gargoyles looked alive and made them feel like desecraters of the holy sanctum. The vaulted ceilings made them feel claustrophobic.
It was rumoured that the church was haunted by vampires. The locals called the church "le Théâtre des vampires," a name deeply rooted in the commune's history. Its origins were lost to history but the church was often associated with the disappearance of people.
Lok and Sophie softly padded their way to the altar. Moonlight filtered through the narrow windows, dust swirling on the humid air. Every small sound put them on edge. Silence was the rule. They knew what they were going to do. They had been planning it to the smallest detail since they had gotten the lay of the church.
Sophie scrutinized the wall behind the altar where the Crucifixion hung. She looked up at Son of God, trying to find her courage. Her hands wondered over the surface of the wall. She could just barely feel the seam of a low unlocked door.
Crouching, they looked at each other for confirmation. They had no idea what was behind the door. They heard no sounds behind it. Good.
They entered quietly and saw the usual things seen in a church. There were bells, Bibles, a vault to hold the host, crosses and candles. They ignored those. They were looking for something else. The room was barely bigger than a closet, full of nothing but items that belonged in a church. On the far side was a bookcase of Bibles and other liturgical documents.
Confused, Lok spoke, "There has to be a trick to this."
"Let's make some light in here. Boltflare," Sophie whispered. A global of light appeared in her hand.
They stood shoulder to shoulder awkwardly but began to search the chamber in earnest. After a few minutes of displacing boxes of candles, Sophie realized something. She shifted from foot to foot. Something was creaking under her feet.
Wood. They both stood on a worn carpet. The church was about four hundred years old and the church's floor was stone. She remembered that because the uneven flooring had irritated her.
"Lok, clear the carpet."
They cleared the carpet of the things as best they could. The mess they had seen when they entered made sense. Everything had been pushed to the side and clear of the carpet.
Blood pounding, they rolled over the carpet and found a wooden trapdoor. They pulled it open. Classic: a ladder and some darkness. It was a long way down. Sophie went in first.
Without warning, Sophie gasped as her feet hit ice-cold water. She shivered but quickly ignored it. The place was colder than a freezer. Lok whispered a spell to shed some light.
Sophie saw a white fog as she exhaled in the light. After more globes of light, the two teens could see the frost decorating the stone walls.
"Why is it so cold? It's the middle of summer. Brrrr!"
"Let's just keep moving."
The both of them splashed their way through the cold water. Did it seem to get progressively colder as they advanced? The both of them were wishing that they had winter jackets.
They contemplated going back when they heard a splatter of water and a shout. Suddenly, a fight erupted, men screaming in a chaos. A kamikaze of spells flew across the aqueduct and the two teens leaned against the walls hoping to avoid stray spells and certain death. They were blind in the fog but they wagered that at there were a dozen Suits fighting something or someone.
"Let's get out of here," Sophie said. "Whatever's going on, we're clearly too late to get the amulet!"
The both of them made their way back to the ladder and then the sound of something popping rang in the air. It sounded like a small explosion. They stilled to see what would happen next.
There was the sound of voices struggling and then silence; nothing but the sound of the swirling water around them.
Lok motioned Sophie to move forward unto the ladder. They climbed back up into the secret room and rushed across the church for the exit. They needed to tell Dante and Zhalia what had happened.
Lok came to an abrupt start, Sophie crashing into him.
"Not so fast, I'm afraid."
A church pew had been moved to block the doors, their only way out. A man sat on the pew with his legs crossed and his arms draped on the back. Beside him was the glowing green form of a broadsword, as tall as a chair, ready for use. The two seekers could barely see him with the sword's sickly green glow and the filtering moonlight but the stranger was definitely large.
Lok sized him up. This new stranger would not go down easy.
Sophie searched for a quick escape in the periphery. The windows were too small to jump through and there were no exits near the Crucifixion because the church was centuries old. Fire safety codes had not been a thing back then. They would fight, it seemed.
"Aren't you a little young to be out this late?" the stranger said playfully. He had a brilliant smile. They could tell this even in the dark.
"Who are you?" Sophie asked.
"And while I may not know much about kids these days, I don't think a church is a particularly romantic place for a date. Don't you agree, missy?"
Both teens felt their faces heat up for a moment.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Lok asked.
"Tit for tat, kid. I'll tell you my name if you tell me yours."
"You first."
"Brandon."
"Alan," Lok said.
"Maria," Sophie said.
"Lying is a shameful pastime, especially for kids as young as you. Try again."
Lok gritted his teeth.
Impatiently, Sophie threw a spell. She was hoping that she could put the man to sleep and make him forget about their passing. "Simplemind!" No light radiated from her hand.
Brandon looked unfazed. Sophie looked at her hand and at the stranger bewildered. Her magic did not work. It had been working minutes ago!
"Those spells won't work on me. If you will as so gracious as to tell me the truth, what were you looking for exactly in the catacombs below?" The man stood up and hefted the huge sword on his shoulder.
Sophie turned as she heard footfalls from behind. Two more men. One was slender and the other was built.
"Brandon, you were supposed to keep watch. What are two kids doing here?"
"We are not kids!" Sophie said indignantly.
Lok took a moment to examine the three men surrounding them. He took the fact that they were not attacking them as a sign that their presence was unexpected. The situation smelt of several levels of wrong.
"You're very calm and collected for an adult then, young lady," one of the new strangers chastised. He stepped forward towards Sophie fitting on what looked like white fighting gloves with sapphires encrusted in the leather. He had long dark hair and choppy bangs that shone blue in the light.
"Let's try this again: what were you looking for in the catacombs?" Brandon said. "If you tell me the truth, we might all get out of this without a scratch and we can all forget about incident."
"Brandon, are these two kids seekers?"
"Considering that they tried to throw one of those seeker spells at me earlier, I would think yes."
Something in Brandon's tone made Lok worry. "Aren't guys seekers, too?" Lok asked.
"Not at all," the one with long hair said.
Lok and Sophie looked at them nervously. They were surrounded and needed to get out fast before Zhalia, Cherit and Dante would get worried and try to come in.
"Then who do you work for?" Sophie said cautiously.
"Kid, answer my question first. Then I might entertain answering yours. What were you looking for?"
Lok glanced at Sophie nervously. The man called Brandon had really posed was his giant green sword. The other two did not have any weapons but he guessed that they were the ones in the aqueducts that had taken out the Suits. No Suits were spilling out of the altar for revenge. Lok assumed the worst. The thought sent shivers down his spine.
"An amulet," Lok answered vaguely. "And you?"
"An amulet."
"I'm guessing from what happened below that you guys are not with the Organization," Sophie said. She was on the same page as Lok.
"Correct. I assume that you two kids are from the Huntik Foundation, hmm?" Brandon said.
"Yes."
Brandon pondered Lok's answer. He looked over to his two associates. There was a meaningless exchange between the three. They came to a decision.
Lok tensed, wondering if they were going to fight. They were outnumbered so running was their only option.
"Kids, go home. The amulet you're looking for has no practical use to you," Brandon said.
"I think we can decide if it's practical or not on our own," Sophie said.
One of them sighed. It was the one with the long-hair. "You have no idea what this amulet does, do you?" The blue-haired man pulled out a medallion from his suit jacket. It shone purple in the moonlight.
"It holds a titan that's too dangerous to be here by itself. What else do we need to know about it?"
"Young lady, try casting a spell. Go ahead, try."
Irritated, Sophie casted a hasty boltflare. She looked at her hand incredulously. Her spells were not working at all.
Lok tried as well but there was not a single spark in his hand.
"This amulet drains magic. How useful is a magical amulet that takes away your ability to cast spells and defend yourself?" the long-haired man said.
"Helia, Brandon, we're wasting time talking to kids. Let's go before the sun rises." The third man pulled out a phone, reading a text message. The cell phone's white light revealed that this man had an angular face and short brown or red spiked hair.
"Patience is a highly-coveted virtue, Riven," the long-haired man said. He put the medallion away.
"Helia, shut up."
"You two," Brandon said to the two seekers. "Will we walk away from this without trouble from you or not?"
Lok and Sophie exchanged glances. Where were the Dante and Zhalia? Surely, they must have noticed something.
"If you're stalling for time so your friends can come after you, don't expect them," Riven said closing his phone. "You cannot rely on others to come after you all the time."
In an instant, the green sword Brandon had been holding disappeared. Lok some sort of silver device in his hand—maybe the hilt. Brandon twisted the silver until it folded around his wrist like a watch. He slid the small pew back to its place against the wall and opened the doors. Moonlight was bathed everyone. Helia and Riven walked by the two teens.
"Who are you people?" Lok asked.
The one called Riven turned to them and contemplated their questions. Maybe he felt a sort of kindness towards them because of their age or thought that they deserved an answer, but he answered nonetheless: "We are Specialists."
Cautiously, Sophie and Lok followed them outside into the quiet street. They were awe-struck by their immensity. They looked human but Lok's instinct made him doubt that genuineness. He had seen monsters and legends come to life before his eyes for the last few months but he had an easier time believing in those than these three guys. There was something unnatural about them, like they did not belong to their world.
Lok's eyes widened as he realised that Helia was dressed like Suit. He wore a black suit but he wore it as casually any other outfit rather than as a soldier's uniform. Riven and Brandon wheeled out a pair of motorcycles from an alley and put on their helmets.
"See you guys later," Helia said.
Brandon and Riven waved and drove off.
Helia turned to the two teens. "And you, young man, be a little more creative about dates with the young lady," Helia said crossing to the other side of the street and into the obsidian shadow of the house across.
Lok's face became red. "I am not on a date with her!"
Seeing that the Suit was alone, Lok and Sophie charged at him. Helia disappeared into the blackness of the shadows, suddenly just as immaterial.
The two teens looked at each other awkwardly. They split up to retrieve Dante, Cherit and Zhalia, all of whom were perfectly fine, and returned to the Huntik Foundation safe house.
