Chapter 4: Stabbing a Spade through the Heart of the Truth

Lilac certainly wasn't expecting such a dramatic reunion with her elder brother, but his hidden hate for her triggered it. As she was gracefully flying through the skies of Avalice towards Spade's mansion in Shang Tu, her mind kept flying back towards that fateful meeting with Poseidon. She just couldn't believe everything that happened then. Sure, she remembered most of it, but as soon as she met Carol Tea while they were in the Red Scarves, everything about it became a blur. She clearly remembered the leader, Zeke Pacific. She remembered his appearance of an extremely muscular great white shark with the most badass tattoos ever drawn on his arms, how cold he was towards his crew, and how desperate he wanted every crystal shard in the entire planet. So much so, that he depended on Lilac herself the most when it came to stealing those shards and even assisted him in plotting to steal the Kingdom Stone at the time as well. She shook that last thought out of her head and she was just entering the Shang Tu city limits and levitated over nowhere for a moment.

"Why are we bringing back Zeke all of a sudden?" Lilac asked herself. "Now that he is back in the picture, my memories of him are finally coming into focus and I don't want that right now. I mean, I know he was just taking care of me while I was a baby, but he didn't have to upgrade the relationship by the time I was fourteen. All we did was steal crystals and that was it. He couldn't have possibly been so dependent on me by that time… or was I more dependent on him because he raised me? Ugh! I don't know any more at this point. Spade has all the info I'll need… hopefully." After that last word, she continued on her flight towards Spade's with a regal glare of deep thinking.

As for Poseidon back at the Ice Museum…

He had finally finished his sculpture of the Magister and stood back to take a good long look at it, nodding with satisfaction afterwards. It stood at 20 feet tall and resembled the royal leader of Shang Tu perfectly. During that time, he kept a smile of hope on his face as he thought back to that epic reunion with his baby sister, Sash Lilac. She looked exactly as he imagined she would be. Much more beautiful that he thought, though. In addition to that factor, he found it shocking to believe that she didn't figure out why Zeke is involved in this. He was going to tell her, but then, the shark thug would hear about it seconds later and come after both dragons for betrayal. Even though he had all that in mind, however…

"I can no longer pretend to hate Sash anymore." Poseidon said to himself. "Especially since I promised that our next meeting will be much more peaceful. I'm gonna take the DNA test, too. In fact…" He paused as he stood up and headed out the back way of the museum, taking in a huge deep breath of the fresh Spring air before he finished off by saying: "…I'll do that right now while she's working on revealing the truth with Spade. It'll give us something to talk about before we get to the full details about my outward appearance and hopefully… so much more." After that was said, he flew off telekinetically towards a genealogy clinic in Shuigang to get the test done quickly with desired results.

Meanwhile, back at Shang Tu…

"Desperate, aren't you?" Spade started in his usually cold manner as he just opened his front door after Lilac rang the doorbell. She showed a look of smooth anger as she was allowed inside, having her close and lock the door on the way. "As soon as Poseidon's presence is known, you come crawling to me. Why?"

"I need to know the truth, Spade." Lilac replied as she followed her rival to the kitchen for some milk and chocolate sandwich cookies. "You know that my memories of the Red Scarves is gone from my head…"

"…and so is the fact that you should be pronounced as 'Sash', not 'Lilac'. Everybody knows that's your last name, but you lie to the public because of this."

"For a good reason, Spade!" She slammed her gloved palms down on the table with force at that last word, not making him flinch at all. "I don't want to relive the past that I regret to this day, even after Carol and I became lovers."

"Of course." The former outlaw taunted as he casually ate a cookie after dipping it in his glass of milk. "You still have a love for men on the side as well, right?"

"…it wasn't easy to admit towards my friends." Lilac blushed as she followed suit with her cookie. "Revealing my bisexuality to them was the hardest thing I've ever done. Even harder than taking in the entire truth from Poseidon and Neera. I can take that, now that I know."

"Mm!" Spade swallowed his bite as he said this. "Good to know. Since that's the case, you wanna know why Zeke is involved?"

"Don't you stutter, either. It's about time I know because I sure as hell don't remember."

"I'm shocked. It was purely physical and everything. You and Zeke… were in a pretty strong relationship, despite the massive age difference." Lilac gave him a look of total confusion. "I see you're still stumped. Let me say it straight out, then: You and Zeke had a consensual relationship for the first 11 months of the year when you were fourteen and he was twenty-four. Then, you had me just for a month afterwards, just to taunt him… make him jealous."

"…wwwhat?"

"To put it bluntly, your curiosity about sex was sky-high as soon as you turned fourteen and you found Zeke to be extremely attractive. It seemed like everything he did in front of you made you wetter than your element."

"…" Lilac remained silent for a moment as she took this all in. She closed her eyes as she tried to remember that first day she remembers sleeping with the shark:

(Flashback, seven years ago at the Red Scarves Hideout…)

"Sash, we've pulled off another successful heist of a rich motherfucker's crystals." Zeke started in a country voice as he was sitting in his personal chamber that was a bedroom and an office at the same time. Young Lilac sat next to him on a couch as they both counted the shards. She was wearing a black tank top with matching shorts, boots, and gloves with the signature red scarf around her neck. Zeke was shirtless with baggy brown khakis, showing off all of his rebellious tattoos that were drawn on his pecs, arms, and his back. "I honestly don't know how you do it, baby. It's makin' my gills go insane!"

"I'm a dragon, Zeke." Lilac replied in a pretty mature voice for a fourteen-year-old. "Basically, anything shiny attracts me like a magnet."

"And you do it so damn well." The two were silent for a moment as they continued to count the shards from the massive bag. During that time, a random male ninja came in through the door with his cell phone in hand. "Hyrrokin! What's up?"

"Just got off the phone with Spade, sir." The hooded ninja replied. "He just finished a totally different steal with even more crystals, but he couldn't quite get to the Kingdom Stone, like you told him to. They're really protecting it at all times."

"Shit! Well, he tried. Next time, Sash and I should try it out. See if her sexy ass can get those shiny senses going."

"Yes, sir! Should I call him back and tell him to bring his heist to you?"

"Call him back, but don't tell him to bring 'em to me. I've got enough right here. Tell him ta keep 'em in his chamber and we'll talk later."

"Right away!" After that was said, the ninja left, closing the door on the way out. Zeke paused for a moment as he got up from the couch to lock that same door, making Lilac watch him with curiosity.

"Whew! The Red Scarves are thrivin' like I expected, Sash-babe. I'm so glad you've chosen to be here since you were an orphan and all. When we found you abandoned as an egg, we knew there was potential in ya, especially since you're a dragon. We sho' didn't waste no time takin' ya in."

"I'm actually happy to be here." Lilac admitted with a pleasant smile. "You've raised me so well since I hatched, but at this point, calling you my Dad just doesn't seem right."

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Zeke gently pushed the bag full of even more shards to the side for a moment as he took back his seat next to Lilac. "You've been calling me 'Daddy' since you were a baby."

"I know, but…" Lilac paused as she started fanning herself as she felt hot and flustered, crossing her legs on the way as she felt something moist build up between them. Zeke was completely unaware of the latter event. He was too concerned about her getting hot and sweaty. "…whew! Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?"

"I'm cool as a cucumber, babe. Must be you. You ain't runnin' a fever, is ya?"

"No, I don't think so… but what I'm trying to say is… well… I… I… damn…" She took off her boots this time, which surprised the great white shark. "…I might as well say it straight out. Zeke, I… really like you… a lot."

"I like you, too, sweetheart. We're just good friends, ain't it?"

"It's more than that… waaaaay more…" Lilac paused once more and she took off her gloves slowly before she started an erotic massage on his rock hard muscles and he growled at the feeling. It was pure bliss to him, but after the first ten seconds, he stood up in a hurry, backing away from the horny dragon. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No-no-no-no, it's not that, Sash. It's just that… well, as much as I 'really like you' too, it just can't work out. You're fourteen and I'm 24. I'm too old for ya."

"…oh." Lilac became disappointed as she got her boots back on before standing up to leave the room with a bowed head of sadness. "I understand. It's just that I find you very attractive, but if you don't towards me, then that's fine. I was just curious…" Lilac was at the door and ready to unlock it until…

"Curious?" Zeke ran up to her, grabbed her slender arms, and turned her around to face him, but she kept her blushing face away from his while her eyes were closed as well. "About what? How I felt about ya for real?"

"Well, yeah, but also about… um…"

"Wait-wait-wait-waaaaait a minute…" Zeke released her arms and backed away once more, but for only two steps this time. "You're curious about… sex, aren't ya?"

"Can't help it, especially for a teenager like myself. Personally, I know better than to let urges take over me. That's why I'm waiting for you, Zeke. I wanna be closer to you while I've got the chance right now."

"Huh!" The shark leader had to sit back down on the couch to take it all in for a moment. During that time, Lilac took off her red scarf, but didn't go any further. "This is just so much to process. I only lead this team of ninjas and bandits, Sash. I don't mingle with 'em, but…" He paused as he looked at Lilac as she had her boots off again while she was slowly walking towards him with her most seductive smile she's ever pulled off. "…in this case, I guess I can make an exception. You do look a bit too mature for a fourteen-year-old and, not to mention that ya sound like it, too." He sat up straight as Lilac was just about to stop at the couch between his legs and, as soon as their eyes were looking deep into each other, the dragon got in his lap with her smooth legs around his waist and he responded by gently grabbing hold of her love handles. Lilac had her hands flat upon his muscles once more. This time, he allowed the exotic massage that followed as they never looked away. A full minute of silence later, the two slowly leaned in for a passionate kiss that was wild beyond the core with growls of greed and lust emitting from both of them, especially since the young dragonblood started to professionally grind on his clothed dick with exact precision, making her even wetter than before.

Three minutes into that session went by and the kiss slowly ended with dark gleams in their eyes as Zeke carefully took hold of the zipper on Lilac's tank top, but he was hesitant for a moment. The dragonblood was not having it and, without speaking a single word, laid a hand of her own upon that same one on the zipper and she guided it down, making the nervous shark watch the handiwork only this time. He was about to see her breasts for the first time and he wasn't quite ready yet as he fought it for a moment, making Lilac emit a low growl of disappointment.

"Why are you fighting this, Zeke?" She asked him with concern.

"It'll be my first time as well as yours." The shark admitted. "Are ya sure ya wanna do this now?"

"I can take the pain. Just be gentle. I know you can, despite these muscles you've got." At that last word, the zipper was finally at the bottom and Lilac volunteered to take off the top, revealing her beautiful pair of nearly Cs to the shark thug for the first time and not feeling the least bit of shame or inhibition. Zeke couldn't look away from them and he even started to drool a little bit, which made her sing out a harmonious moan that was barely audible. "Looks like you love what you're seeing right now. Are you still nervous?"

"…not anymore, babe. I think I can handle ya. Let me be da man of the room dis time and I'll let ya ride me next time. How does dat sound, Sash-baby?"

"Sounds good to me." After that was final, the dragon stood up from Zeke's lap as he stood up with her and pulled down his pants, revealing his black boxers before he gently picked up Lilac, carried her to his full size bed, and gently laid her down on her back with her head upon a pillow. He then reached into a pocket on his shorts and pulled out a wrapped condom before handing it to Lilac, who held on to it with excitement as the shark above her pulled down his shorts. She couldn't see it, but she had a feeling: "I know you oughta be pretty big down there."

"I'll let your dragon pussy be the judge of that, babe." He paused as he took the condom, opened it, and professionally placed it on his manhood with one hand while the other gently stroked the dragonblood's face with compassion. "Befo' we start, though, let's promise to keep this relationship consensual. Dat way, da rest of the Scarves won't suspect anything. Deal?"

"Deal." Lilac pulled off her shorts and underwear simultaneously as she said this and dropped them both to the floor on her left. "Let's not waste any more time, Zeke. Give me all you've got."

"Dat's what I like ta hear, baby." The two then engaged in another voracious kiss while Zeke slowly slid inside of Lilac, which made her cringe with pain for a few thrusts until a heavenly moan of sexual bliss escaped from her vocal chords within their mouths and the two never, ever wanted it to stop for the rest of the night.

(End flashback)

Lilac's eyes popped open with absolute shock and disbelief as she dropped her half-eaten cookie into her glass of milk by accident, making it splash just a little bit. Spade nodded twice with satisfaction as he continued to casually eat his share. He never looked away from the dragonblood the entire time.

"Now, do you remember?" He asked her before taking another bite. Lilac was still wide-eyed and speechless as she took it all in for a moment. It all came back to her now. She remembers how excellent of a lover Zeke actually was throughout those 11 months, despite the fact that it was a consensual relationship. Thanks to that factor, the two were inseparable and it was actually pretty difficult for her to leave the Scarves when she decided to do so just days after her fifteenth birthday. With that in mind, she finally spoke after a long five minutes:

"Completely." Lilac took off a glove to get her cookie out of the milk before she resumed her snack. "Zeke and I were quite the couple back then, even though we were ten years apart in terms of age. I felt like an adult when I was with him and he also made me feel like I was the best in the entire group. He was… a really good lover towards me, Spade… and that's something that I now regret to this day."

"I'm shocked to hear all that in the same sentence: 'He was a good lover and you regret it.' Humph! You just lied to yourself, Sash." The dragon blushed upon hearing that last statement as she turned away from her rival. "Yep. I knew it."

"…damn."

"Just admit it: Zeke was actually that close to becoming your mate before you decided to make him green with envy at the very last month of your stay with the Scarves and a day before your fifteenth birthday… by sleeping with me. I remember the execution so well. To make a long story short, you tackled me on an elevator up towards Zeke's office to give him our latest heist and we made love up until just five minutes before we finally reached the floor. Overall, it took you ten minutes to tell him off about it. Lord knows what he was thinking when you silently mouthed out three harsh words just before the elevator doors closed after the drop-off…"

"…I fucked Spade."

"Exactly. Ever since then, he's been uncomfortably keeping a low profile, even after the Red Scarves permanently disbanded after Merga's invasion. That's why you kept us hidden from him for the last month before your birthday. It's no wonder you regret the fact that he was actually an excellent lover to you."

"Spade, I did what I had to do, alright?" Lilac admitted with a stern look in her eyes, which never intimidated her rival at all. "Especially if I wanted to leave the Scarves with a clean slate."

"And having sex with me one time in an elevator had to be the best way to do it?!"

"It was that only thing I knew that would get in Zeke's stubborn head. Just be glad that I never played with your average joe again after that." Hearing that insult towards his manhood made him growl with anger as he stood up while slamming his hands down on the table with extreme force.

"What did you say to me?!"

"Had to admit the truth, Spade." Lilac stood up, placed her glove back on, and dusted her shoulder off with confidence. "You were the good lover compared to Zeke." She paused as she got around the table and got as close to his face as she possibly could, having them both keep smooth and angry glares in their eyes respectively. "That's why you were worth the one-time, five minute session. Zeke's average time with me: Two fucking good hours. Simply put, he's a bigger and braver man than you." This left Spade speechless as Lilac about-faced towards the door, purposely knocking off her glass of milk off the table along the way, making a puddle on the tile floor that wasn't too big. "Now, I have to make peace with my brother. Bother us and you'll regret it." She stopped at the front door after that was said, turned towards him and the puddle, and giggled. "By the way, that puddle matches how much you gave me within those five minutes. Not very satisfying, if you ask me." She ended it with a wink and left with a satisfied smirk on her face before she summoned her dragon wings and flew off back to her humble home.

Back inside Spade's place, as he stood there looking at the milk puddle after taking in what Lilac had just said to him before she left, he finally got the jest of what was said and mentally smacked himself in the forehead as he said this to himself:

"I thought I was amazing towards her. She said so herself during that session, but it was only to make me feel good about myself. Damn you, Sash! I hope Zeke eats you both alive!"

Meanwhile, back at Lilac's Dragon Valley House…

*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*

"I got it!" Milla announced happily as she skipped for the front door after pausing her movie with Corazon, Carol, and Torque. It took her five seconds before she reached it and opened it, gasping with utter surprise. This made the others look on from the sectional with just as much shock as they saw who they didn't expect at their house:

"Poseidon?!"

"POSEIDON?!" The others exclaimed immediately after the teenage hound. Carol was the only one who rushed up at her highest running speed until she stopped at Milla's right side to take a closer look.

"Sorry to come here unannounced like this, but my tendrils led me here. I know that Sash lives here with you all." Poseidon kindly started with a bowed head of honor. "I hope you'll forgive me for the sudden visit."

"…huh!" Carol calmed down after hearing how polite the half-ice, half-water dragon actually was. Torque and Corazon stood up from the couch, but never moved as they watched the conversation continue. "And I thought you hated your sister."

"Fortunately, I really don't. Deep down, I love Sash with all my heart. I just felt terrible about how my family and I treated her when she was an egg. Giving her up to the Red Scarves was the only way for us to live."

"So, are your parents still alive after all these years?" Milla asked. Poseidon nodded twice, making everyone before him jump with extreme surprise. "Oh, wow!"

"It is true that our parents, Master Lilac and Xia Lilac, are still alive and well. They just prefer to stay off the grid for safety reasons."

"Incredible!" Torque commented as he finally approached the three. "You come in peace now, eh?"

"Officially, yes… especially since I've just gotten my DNA results. I know you all are her closest friends and I would love to share them with you."

"That'll be awesome!" Carol cheered as he gave the noble dragonblood an embrace that was playful and heartwarming simultaneously. Poseidon chuckled as he returned it gently. During that time, Lilac had finally made landfall just three feet away and smiled with pride as she saw that her brother had already gotten well acquainted with her friends. She allowed this moment to last for a full thirty seconds before she kindly stepped up to her older brother, who looked down at her with his handsome loving smile still in check. "Hey, Lilac! You're just in time!"

"I can see that, Carol." Lilac replied with humor. "Poseidon, I'm sorry for what happened back at the museum. I was just sour at you for abandoning me to a dangerous criminal gang while I was still incubating. I've forgiven you for that now."

"It's okay, Sash." Poseidon replied as the two hugged each other for the very first time, making everyone around them cry the happiest tears imaginable, Lilac included. His eyes were just glossy with pending tears, but they never escaped. "You are forgiven completely as well, even though you heard every last detail of the surrender from Neera instead of me."

"And that's alright." They were still within the embrace. It just felt good to them. "Can I ask you about this skin tone now?"

"Heh, heh… still curious, huh?" They finally pulled apart after what seemed like forever. "Well, how about this? I'll tell you all how I got like this and share the DNA results." Hearing that last part made Lilac jump back with happiness.

"You've got 'em?! Oh, I can't wait! Let's get inside and we'll waste no time!" Within seconds, the two dragons and their friends got back inside the house, sat at the sectional, turned off the TV, and Poseidon alone opened the yellow envelope at the coffee table before them. Lilac was the only one allowed to see them as well and they both had blessed smiles. "Oh, my God… it's 100 percent accurate. We're biological siblings." The two dragonbloods looked at each other with love and honor as Poseidon gently placed the results down before the two hugged each other even harder than before, having them both cry immense tears upon each other afterwards. Carol took this chance to pick up the paper and grew teary-eyed as well as she saw the same results.

"Yep, it's official, everyone." Carol announced. Torque, Corazon, and Milla looked on from over the younger wildcat's shoulders and the hound was the only one whose tears escaped. "Lilac and Poseidon are truly blood-related siblings… wow…"

"I'm so happy for them." Milla added as she wiped her endless tears away with many tissues. "Now, once we see their parents, it'll all come together."

"Yes, indeed." Torque agreed.

"Okay, okay, Poseidon! How about the skin tone, dude?" Corazon finally came in with humor, making the two dragons laugh as they ended their heavenly hug. "We're not celebrating this event until you share it."

"Alright." Poseidon replied with just as much humor as he wiped his tears away. "I've prolonged this enough. I'll finally tell you how I got like this and how I gained all my powers from it: After I settled in to my cave home in the Shuigang Snowfields, I was so exhausted and decided to lay down for a nap. After the first two hours, I felt an icicle stab me at the very nape of my neck, but the impact knocked me out for pretty much the rest of the day. I ended up regaining consciousness a whole week later and I did feel a sudden chill all over me a for a moment. My pet wolf, Blizzard, woke me up actually by his licks on my face and I wasted no time heading for a wall of ice within the cave to see myself in what you see today. I was a lone purple water dragon before the icicle hit me. Now, I'm ice and water. It took me a while to get used to the numerous powers that followed, especially the telekinetic flight."

"…wwwwhoa…" Carol gasped with astonishment. Lilac nodded with understanding as Torque, Milla, and Corazon were silent and observant.

"That explains it." Lilac came in. "So, that ice museum…"

"It was established by me." Poseidon replied. "Since I've developed the skills of ice and water manipulation within my hands, I've turned it into an art form. Mayor Zao humbly offered it to me without an interview, so he never saw me until just recently."

"Huh!"

"I do have quite the laundry list of powers, Sash… way more than you. Do you want me to write them down?"

"Yes, please. Take your time, too. Cory, let's order some pizza in the meantime. I'll buy."

"Awesome!" Corazon cheered as she grabbed her cell phone from her pants pocket and wasted no time calling a pizza place while Poseidon pulled out a clean sheet of paper and wrote all of his powers down, having his baby sister watch with curiosity and the cutest smile she's ever pulled off in her life.

As those two events were happening, Milla just had this to say to sum it all up:

"Now we just have to have their parents in the picture, even if I have to find them by myself."

To be continued…