A/N: Thanks for reviewing the past chapter, I hope that you're going to like this one as well. Please review this one as well.
CHAPTER 6
3PM
Zhalia entered the Foundation Headquarters around half an hour later.
As soon as Metz had ended the call, she decided not to waste any time and went back to her room together with Gareon and changed into her usual attire.
Afterwards, she had used ever-heal and even though it took longer and had drained much more energy that she had expected it to, Zhalia managed to heal the injury in the end. Her body still felt sore and the burning sensation didn't fade right away, but at least she was able to properly walk in comparison to before.
Fortunately, the Foundation Headquarters seemed to be less crowded than they usually were and yet, she couldn't help but feel several gazes following her every move.
It wasn't like it had never happened before because in fact, it did every time she took steps into one of the Foundations buildings.
She would either receive wary looks from some of the seekers that were obviously still doubting the councils decision upon accepting someone as her into the Foundation, or looks out of admiration upon seeing the infamous Zhalia Moon in person, the one who was lucky enough to be in the Foundations strongest and most successful team.
She pointedly ignored them and stepped into the empty elevator before she pressed the button of the floor she needed to get to and watched how the metal doors slowly shut close.
The Foundation Headquarter in Venice was one of the biggest ones there were after the ones in both Manhattan and New York. It was a rather tall building that provided various floors for different uses, but it wasn't that much of an eye catcher either.
The upper floors were always used as offices and conference rooms, no matter which HQ you were going to pay a visit to. Below the office floor was the floor where the library and archive were located at, the two of them right next to each other.
Only the Top seekers were allowed to enter the archive and without having received permission by either Metz, Guggenheim or the other council members even they weren't allowed to do so.
The archive both held amulets that the seekers have retrieved on their missions and and confidential files so the safety measures were especially high on this floor.
Next to the room of the archive was the Foundation library.
To most it was like a huge maze and because of that not many visited it, but the seekers that were interested in the History of the Titans, seekers and spells considered it a paradise on earth. There were thousands of bookshelves filled with the most valuable books that have ever existed.
Below the archive were the sleeping quarters. It consisted of a rather large common room, a small kitchen and a large amount of rooms where seekers were able to rest after a mission.
If a seeker were to take a mission in Spain for example but lived in Norway, they could go to the Headquarters in Spain to rest after the mission before their flight were to arrive.
Also, Seekers that have just been introduced to the world of titans or didn't have a place to stay on their own were able to permanently move into one of the rooms.
The ground floor was the one that was quite crowded most of the time. Seekers were either returning from their missions, came to train or rushed through the hall because they were late to a meeting or an appointment. It was like the reception in hotels, per say. It was the center of the building and only the people with a valid ID were able to enter the building in the first place.
Last but not least, the gyms. There were a couple of gyms located in the basement just like a series of empty halls where the seekers were able to either work out or battle one another to test their progress. Many people were using them because this way they were able to improve both their skills as a seeker and grew more familiar by summoning their titans.
Zhalia was told to meet Montehue in the library, so it took some time until the elevator reached the floor.
After a couple of more moments, a soft 'ping' signalized Zhalia that she had reached her destination and as soon as the doors opened, she descended her way out of the elevator.
Zhalia then walked through the empty hallway, her heels producing a clacking sound that echoed through the floor until she had reached the glass door that lead to the library.
She pushed the rather heavy doors open and entered the library, instantly getting engulfed by the thick silence and smell of books as the door fell close behind her.
The library itself was established rather plainly, the white walls and huge wooden bookshelves giving of a rather dull impression.
Zhalia's mocha eyes started to scan the library in hope of catching a glimpse of Montehue or his apprentice but unfortunately, he wasn't anywhere in sight.
She slowly made her way through the tall shelves and lazily allowed her eyes to roam the different kind of books that the Foundation provided.
Zhalia wasn't that much of a book worm as Sophie was, but she as well held some interest in books. Back in her organization days, she spend most of her free-time either reading or training, so she had a rather great knowledge regarding historic events and most myths and legends as well.
She, in comparison to her strawberry-blonde haired teammate, didn't feel the need to show off with her knowledge in order to impress the others though.
A couple of minutes later, she spied Montehue through a narrow passage of the bookshelves and resisted the urge of snorting at the sight that greeted her.
He was sitting at one of the table's of the library, his feet on the table and his arms crossed above his chest, head tilted to the sight and eyes closed.
Tersely was sitting next to him, absorbed in the book he was currently reading and obviously unaware of being watched by the raven-haired female.
Zhalia soundlessly made her way towards the table and watched in amusement how neither the sleeping Montehue nor Tersly noticed her presence.
She was good at what she was doing, being a spy she knew how to sneak around without producing a sound but as a seeker you also had to prepared wherever you were. There was no place where you were safe from danger.
Zhalia was now standing at the opposite side of the table and crossed her arms before she cleared her throat.
Tersely jumped in his seat upon the noise and his head snapped upwards, clearly startled as his now wide eyes fell on Zhalia.
"M-Miss Moon!" He exclaimed in a stammer, clearly not having expected her just yet. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and straightened his back, hastily closing the book he was reading afterwards.
Zhalia's brown eyes were filled with obvious amusement upon receiving the anticipated reaction, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Tersly." She acknowledged with a nod, shifting her weight onto her left food. Her eyes then fell onto the sleeping form of Montehue and she raised an eyebrow before she returned her gaze to Tersly.
The ginger haired seeker gave her a nervous smile before he lowered his gaze, peeking at her from under his bangs.
"Please, have a seat." He offered nervously, relaxing as he watched how she accepted his offer and slid into the seat opposite of them.
"Since when is he asleep?" Zhalia inquired mildly curious. She always knew that Montehue wasn't that much of a book lover but she didn't expect him to fall asleep in a library, especially since he was the one who decided to meet up with her in one.
"U-Uh around twenty minutes, more or less." Tersly eventually returned, taking an uncertain peek at the older seeker. "I should probably wake him."
Tersly shifted in his seat and was about to shake the older seeker awake, but the hand that Zhalia lifted made him halt in place.
"There is no need to," She started reassuringly. "I will do it."
Tersly curiously watched how Zhalia took the rather thick book he had just read and held it above the table before she loosened her grip on it and allowed the book to hit the surface with a loud thud that echoed through the entire library.
Montehue startled awake and straightened in his seat, almost losing balance before he managed to regain it, eyes open wide.
"Where's the enemy?" He asked half-asleep, scanning the library confusedly before his eyes fell onto a smirking Zhalia who innocently eyed him.
"Right in front of you." Zhalia returned curtly, examining her nails indifferently as she leaned back in her chair and threw one slender leg over her other.
It took Montehue a moment to process what was happening before he slumped his shoulder with a sigh, a low chuckle following right after.
"Well if I were to were to wake up in the presence of a beautiful enemy such as you, I don't think that I would mind getting attacked at all." He smugly returned, lowering his legs from the table as a yawn escaped his lips.
Zhalia snorted at his words as she rolled her eyes, throwing him an indifferent glance. Montehue never ceased to entertain her with his rather blunt statements.
"You should know by now that your flatteries aren't working on me." Zhalia returned, eyeing him with a tilt of her head as she leaned her chin on her palm, elbow resting on the table.
Montehue shrugged innocently and gave her an amused look as he crossed his arms above his broad chest.
"Sooner or later, they will." He told her confidently, earning a scoff from Zhalia.
She decided not to comment and to leave him in his beliefs, knowing that there was no point in arguing with Montehue regarding a topic such as this one.
Tersly was awkwardly seated next to his teammate, not quite knowing what to do or what to say in a situation like this and decided to remain silent.
"Well, what do you need help with?" Zhalia asked, changing the topic to the reason why she was there with them in the first place.
Montehue in return gave a low laugh at her blunt question. He knew that Zhalia wasn't one to beat around the bush and always wanted to get straight to the topic or task at hand.
He had come to take a great liking of her due to her rather interesting character and liked to consider himself a friend of hers.
"Straight to business, huh?" He commented, watching how she lifted an eyebrow at his statement.
"Is there anything else we are supposed to talk about?" She inquired, confused as to what the male was up to.
"Not really." Monethue admitted with a slump of his shoulders. "I heard that you guys just returned from a mission." He started conversationally, a hint of curiosity audible in his tone.
"Yes." Zhalia confirmed, inwardly wondering what their mission had to do with the problem that he needed help with.
Montehue gave a small hum in return. "Did Dante go with you?" He then inquired, noticing the way Zhalia's eyes narrowed for the split of a second.
"He was." She stated cautiously, calculating hazel eyes now holding his gaze. She didn't know what he wanted to get out of her or why he needed her assistance, but she for a fact knew that Montehue wanted to get information from her. What about, that she wasn't sure just yet though.
"Is he back in New York already?" He asked with a tilt of his head, and Zhalia gave him a hesitant nod in return.
Montehue scoffed at his childhood friend and rivals foolish behavior. He muttered an inaudible idiot under his breath, but Zhalia's keen ears caught his comment.
She lifted a brow as soon as it reached her ears, but decided not to comment on that and instead wait.
"Did you run into any spirals on your way?" Montehue then inquired, his expression turning serious.
Zhalia frowned at his question and silently eyed him for a moment before she straightened her back and gave him a firm nod.
"We did, and they weren't what you would call a small group either." She informed him grimly, and Montehue sighed at her words.
He wasn't surprised, to say at last, but it still wasn't a pleasant piece of information either. Word had reached Montehue that the infamous Huntik team had received their first mission ever since the defeat of the Blood Spiral. He and Tersly had returned from their own mission a couple of days ago and after having had a rather not so pleasant run in with some spirals, he was wondering whether the Huntik team had an encounter with them as well.
"The reason as to why I called you here is because me and Tersly have made a rather unsettling discovery on our latest mission." He informed her, his gaze firmly set on her.
Zhalia furrowed her forehead in mild confusion. If his words were to be true, it was something that he should be reporting to the Foundation Council and not her. She also knew that Montehue was aware of this as well and that if he decided to come to seek for her opinion regarding whatever it was that had happened first, it had to be something serious.
"I am listening." She returned curtly and noticed the way Montehue seemed to relax at her words.
He gave her a small grateful smile before he he gave Tersly a small look out of the corner of his eye.
"Me and Tersly went on a mission and arrived just as you have left for yours. We run into some spirals on our way, but the moment these idiots arrived I noticed that something was off with them." He started, and Zhalia couldn't help but think back to the mission when she had felt the exact same thing.
Now that Montehue had noticed that there was something off with them, her suspicions have gotten confirmed.
"I noticed as well." Zhalia muttered under her breath, followed by a tired sigh. That certainly were no good news and she just knew that there was trouble up ahead.
"They have gotten stronger, what doesn't make any sense considering that the betrayer is gone. So there only is one way left." Montehue mumbled with a frown, and the temperature around them seemed to have palpably dropped.
"The Spiral Mark is still active." Zhalia concluded grimly and she felt a shiver running down her spine.
If the Spiral Mark still was active and the Blood Spirals were starting to target the Foundation once more, history was bound to repeat itself.
Silence engulfed the three seekers. They all knew that they have been lucky the last time they have fought against the betrayer and the Spirals. Dante had sacrificed himself in order to destroy the Red Comet and many other seekers have lost their lives in the battle. The Foundation couldn't afford loosing any more seekers and neither could Zhalia infiltrate the Spiral for a second time since they obviously knew about her.
"How is that possible though?" Zhalia spoke after a while, seemingly frustrated. "Who could have possibly have activated it again? It takes a lot of power to do so."
Montehue helplessly shook his head , not having an answer to her question either. It was beyond frustrating and if it really was the case and the Spiral was going to return with a new leader, things were not looking good for the Foundation, not to mention the entire world in the first place.
"A-Are we going to inform the Council?" This time it was Tersly who spoke up, and both Montehue and Zhalia's gazes fell onto him.
He did have a point. The Foundation had to know sooner or later if their suspicions were to be proven true but as for now, they didn't have any evidence. If they were to tell them about their suspicions and they were a false alarm, the Council would be a great mess.
"To be honest, I don't think that telling the council a good idea. They will create a fuss and everyone will get all panicky." Montehue spoke as he run a hand over his face. He as well knew that once the council knew, they were going to keep an eye on every seeker there was and would maybe even go as far as sending a spy to infiltrate the Spiral. Now that Zhalia wasn't an option anymore though, they would send someone who was way more inexperienced and if the spy were to get caught hell would break loose.
"But someone has to know." Tersly reminded them, and that was when Montehues gaze fell onto Zhalia.
They both knew that there technically was a person of high authority that they could entrust these information without having to tell the entire council, but Zhalia wasn't to keen on doing so if she were to be honest.
It wasn't because of the teams current situation, but rather because she wasn't looking forward to what he would do if he were to know. He was unpredictable and Zhalia knew out of first-hand experience that he would go as far as giving up his life under certain circumstances.
And history repeating itself was something that Zhalia wanted to prevent.
"I am going to see what I can do." Zhalia eventually told him with a sigh before she rose from her seat.
He gave her a grateful nod and stood up as well, Tersly following suit in an instant.
"I hope that the next time we meet it's going to be under more pleasant circumstances." Montehue told her softly and Zhalia gave him a small, strained smile in return.
"We'll have to see about that." She merely returned, watching how Montehues smile brightened at her response.
With that, Zhalia turned and left the pair of seekers without as much as another word, knowing that the next time they would meet would be sooner than they would expect.
She made her way out of the building and made her way back to her apartment where Den was already waiting for her.
As soon as she had opened the door, she was greeted by the sigh of a pacing Den who's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening.
"Zhalia!" He exclaimed with wide eyes, rushing to her side in an instant. His eyes were wide and filled with worry whereas he scanned her body for any signs of the injury.
"Where the hell have you been?" Den exclaimed with a frown as he stopped in front of her, crossing his arms above his chest.
Zhalia merely shook her head at his babbling in return and walked past him and over to her room, Den following her like a shadow.
"Sorry, but Montehue needed my help with something at the HQ." She informed him with a sigh, knowing that once Den was worried he was just as bad as Lok.
"Sorry? That's all you got to say?" Den asked incredulously as he leaned against the door-frame of Zhalia's room. She was currently putting her titans back into her drawer and was rummaging through the items in her backpack.
"Uh, yes?" Zhalia returned, obviously not getting his point. Den noticed as well and huffed at her response, shaking his head like a disappointed mother would.
"Zhalia, you're not even fully healed yet." Den started, his voice now considerably softer. "Why didn't you take a day off of work? I am sure that whatever it was that Montehue needed your help with could have waited until tomorrow."
Zhalia sighed in return and tossed her backpack into one of the corners of her rooms, now turning to look at Den. She knew that he was only worried and concerned for her well being and she did feel guilty about worrying him as well, but she couldn't help it.
"Unfortunately, it couldn't. I'm sorry about worrying you, I was in a hurry but the next time I'll leave you a note alright?" Zhalia compromised and Den eventually gave her a nod out of understanding.
"Alright." He breathed and slumped his shoulders, knowing that Zhalia wouldn't have wanted to intentionally worry him.
He simply couldn't help it. She had been injured and he considered her a sister, so of course he would be worried if he returned home just to find her gone without as much as a trace or clue as to where she did leave to.
"What was it that Montehue needed your help with?" He inquired after a moment, and Zhalia froze.
She knew that he had a right to know and she didn't want to keep it from him or the rest of the team either, but this time she unfortunately didn't have a choice.
"Nothing important." Zhalia assured him. "He just needed some help with the titan he had retrieved on his last mission."
Den gave her a wary look, a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that there was more to it but he decided to let it rest for now.
"Oh well." He shrugged, now standing up straight. "Since you are obviously feeling better already, how about we go and pay Lok and Sophie a visit now instead of tomorrow?" He suggested with a smile.
Zhalia turned her head to look at him, not failing to catch the small hopeful spark that lighted up his eyes for the split of a second.
She guessed that there would be no harm and thus, gave him a nod.
"Sure, why not." She replied with a shrug, watching how Dens former smile turned into a grin.
"Great, I am just going to get my things and we can go!" With that being said, Den left her room and went into his own one, leaving a mildly entertained Zhalia behind.
Going to spend some time with the teens would be a welcoming distraction from her rather unsettling thoughts. Also, she would still need to tell Dante about her and Montehues suspicions, but she guessed that there would be no harm in waiting for another day.
Meanwhile
Unknown location
"Milady, the troop you have send out has just returned."
The deep voice of the male that had just spoken echoed through the cavern, cutting through the eerie silence that had formerly filled it.
Red eyes fell onto the man that spoken up, eyeing him closely.
"Send them in." the female demanded calmly, her tone sharp.
The man nodded and disappeared, returning a moment later followed by a group of spirals.
The group kneeled down in front of the throne where the female was seated on, lowering their heads out of respect towards her.
They all looked rather beaten and exhausted and it didn't take a genius to figure out what must have happened.
"Milady," The commander spoke up first, his gaze firmly set on the solid ground beneath him. "We just returned from the mission you have sent us to, but I am afraid that we weren't successful."
Glowing red eyes narrowed at the commanders words, obviously displeased. She had expected nothing else, but the mere fact that they were still alive proved her that they didn't put enough effort into it.
She released a small breath and put a strand of her black Hair behind her ear, resting her cheek against her palm.
"You have failed." She stated monotonously, red eyes glowing brightly in the dim cavern. "Yet you dare to return, alive nonetheless."
The commander gulped and bit his lower lip, unsure of what to say next.
"I humbly beg you to have mercy on us." He stammered, voice holding none of the confidence it did before.
"Dante Vale and his team were too strong." He added in a whisper, and that was when the female frowned.
"Weaken it then you fools. In order to take down the Foundation, we have to break the team first. They are the key, so find out what it takes to destroy them. As soon as they are out of the picture, there will be nothing left to hinder us from reaching out goal. Understood?" She commanded coldly, poison dropping from her every word.
"Yes, Milady." The group of Spirals shouted in union, grateful that the were granted another day to live.
"Good." She drawled coldly. "If you dare to fail the next time though, I won't hesitate to kill you in the most painful way possible."
The Spirals once more gave her a nod out of understanding in return and the female smirked, obviously pleased by the fear that filled their eyes.
"Good, now get out of my sight."
The spirals did as told and hastily made their way out of the cavern, leaving behind the female.
She sighed out of annoyance and grabbed the closest thing that was in reach and threw it against the wall, what turned out to be a glass.
It shattered upon the impact and produced a sharp sound before the pieces fell onto the ground.
Her hand was glowing in a black hue and the corner of her lips were turned downwards, indicating that she was anything but pleased.
"I will destroy Dante Vale and his stupid little team and then I will finally get what's rightfully mine."