Heart of Fireside

Ian smiled, "Then let's continue." He said. That particular picture Nao had fingered was a drawing that both Karolina and Kristina painted together. He smiled as he thought about them, being with the reincarnations made him feel old. They continued to walk down the tunnels, turning twice before they reached a door. He waved his hand and the door opened, momentarily blinding everyone.

When their eyes adjusted, they gasped. They were onto of a cliff; stairs went in a spiral to get down. The city was small, but it was bright and big. Buildings of many different sizes were built and down below one could see the people clustered around in many different outfits that could be outdated back in the surface, "Welcome my friends, to Cuidad de Corazón." Ian said with a smile as he made his way down the stairs, "Be careful of the food here, imps like to make mischief out of it."

Michelangelo and the rest followed and as they did it was as if whole city had paused for a moment. All eyes were looking at them and someone spoke in a weird language and then cheering erupted. Nicky sweatdropped, "Looks like they know who Karolina's decedent is, as well as cheering you father."

"I wish they wouldn't," Ian replied with a smile as he waved. He jumped down the last flight of stairs and watched as the crowd moved to the side. A large red animal walked up to them. His long antennas' were curled and reached his shoulder. He was as big as a horse. His face was longer now and his fangs sharp. Nicky laughed as he ran down the stairs and gestured for them to hurry up, "I want you guys to meet him!"

"No…NO WAY!" Raphael stared in shock, "It couldn't be!"

"What's your problem?" Bria smiled and easily followed Nicky to the big read creature.

"It's grown so big since the last time I saw him," Rachel grinned as she dragged Raphael down the stairs, "Andy was right; the little one had just been a baby."

Mikey and Donatello both exchanged a glance. Did they want to know what those two were talking about or not? Deciding to shrug it off, they too went down the stairs along with their loved ones to see who it was that Nicky wanted them to meet. When they gathered, Nicky turned to the creature. "This is Loki." He said as the creature went up to Raph and licked his hand. "I guess he likes you Raph," He joked. Then the creature gave it a soft bite.

Raph jumped and cried out, "OW, OW! Get this hooligan off of me!" he pulled to try and free his hand.

"Let him go, Loki," Nicky said to the creature, "I forget you like to bite men don't you? You scratched me and ruined my room the first time I met you. You are a slut to the women though," Loki had let Raph go but just as Nicky said he bumped his head into Rae's hand forcing her to pet him, "Ladies man." He grumbled teasingly. "Then again, you two are probably the first ones he's trusted. That bite isn't as bad as what he gave to most."

He turned to Lily and Bria and Nao, "You three can go ahead and pet him if you want, he'll just be in heaven."

"Awww!" The three grinned at the invitation and went over to the red creature, "So amazing!"

Raph held his hand, "He hates me…I swear!" he frowned/pouted, "He grew so fast!"

Nicky laughed. "He doesn't hate you." He grinned.

"How do you know?" Raph looked at him.

Nicky smiled as he looked at Raph, "Because if he hated you, he would have attacked Rae. She is carrying your child and your scent is all over her. He may be a ladies' man, but there's a scent he doesn't like then he goes after it or ignores it." Nicky said with a smile, "I think that bite was intended to be playful. Rae told me that you were the one who found him first and so called "played" with him."

"He attacked me!" Raphael protested and told him the story.

Nicky smiled, "He attacked you and you answered back, he started thinking it was a game and decided to play." He answered back. "Geez, you're acting a lot like your wife. Once she hates something she holds that grudge for a while." He snickered, "But you don't need me to tell you that."

Raph huffed, "I'm sorry! First impressions just did not go well, Nick," he sighed, "If I was around him without the guy causing me wounds, then sure, he looks fun to be around," he shrugged.

Nicky laughed and gently slapped him on the back, "It's okay." He said with a wink. "I think Loki understands." He turned to the girls. "Are you guys going to spoil him or take a look around the city? I swear he likes this too much." Loki had rolled over onto his belly, pretty much forcing the girls to rub it. "Manwhore," He murmured affectionately.

"Be nice." Rachel said with a pout. "With him rolling around and stuff he's acting as if you haven't been taking care of him." She stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh chill, I spoil him plenty." Nicky said with an eyeroll.

Brianna giggled, "How about we split up?" she asked, "And explain to each other what we saw later?"

Nicky smiled, "I can agree to that." He said with a laugh. "Everyone's safe here, so try not to pull out your weapons unless asked okay? You might accidentally get yourself into something you really shouldn't be in."

Leonardo smiled, "Thanks for the warning Nicky," He smiled at Bria, "Let's go."

"This is going to be so cool!" Mikey said as he turned to Nao, "Come on!"

Nao laughed and took Michelangelo's hand, "Sure thing! Lead the way, my love."

Bria giggled and took out her Bo to use as a walking stick, just in case the terrain got to her. For some reason whenever on a new surface, especially gravel or soft soil, even grass on a hill, she seemed to trip a lot until she got used to it, "Alrighty! How about we go this way? I think I saw a huge fountain near the middle on the way down," she grinned.

Leo nodded, "Sure." He said. The pathways were made of white cobblestone. It was polished and clean and even the buildings facades were well-kept. People out on their stands called out their wares and people that were walking by were nice. As they walked by, he saw many types of people, some couldn't even being to describe or name. "Amazing," He murmured. "So many supernatural's and super humans it is unreal."

It made him feel a little sad that he couldn't bring his father here. He would no doubt fall in love with the harmony and tranquility the city brought. Surely there were healers or doctors of kinds that would be able to help him. He sighed, but moving him would be hard, ninja or not. Old-age was never a fun or good thing to go through.

Bria smiled and rubbed his arm, "We can always travel most of the way in the Battle Shell?" she offered, "Then carry him down the stairs?"

"If he desires to come," Leo said softly. "I'll talk to him later about it. After we look at the city," He looked around. The painting that Karolina and Kristina drew was in no comparison to how beautiful the real thing was. "Come on." He grinned, "You wanted to see the fountain, right?"

"Yup!" Bria laughed and pulled him along.

They were getting close to the fountain when they heard a voice, "Leo!" Leo at first thought that there was someone else that had his shortened nickname, but when he didn't move, the voice giggled and called his name again. He left Bria's side and ran towards the fountain and stared. The sculpture of the fountain was of falling flowers that was against a pillar. The fountain's spray came from the three "pots" that still had flowers in them. The water was crystal and pure, one's reflection could be seen, since no turbidity was showing.

Leo looked to see that a boy was standing on the ledge of the fountain. His arms were folded and a very inhumanly bright blue. His skin was as white as china and he looked very fragile and delicate. "Ah! And Bria too!" He waved his hand. "Bria come over here!" He shouted over the clamor of the city, "I thought that it was you two, the reincarnations of Jordan and Karol."

Brianna joined them and blinked, "How do you know us?'

The boy fluttered down, but no wings could be seen besides in the light when he had flown. He landed easily and smiled, "It's been a long time since I smelled the scent of memories and of sakura petals." He grinned, "That scent never changed, no matter what you two reincarnated into. It's just my luck that I managed to find you two together for once!"

"For once?" Bria raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"

He made a face. "I suppose it would have been too much to ask for wouldn't it?" He reached into his pocket and held up a locket. "Karolina used to have this around her neck, it used to be her treasure. It was supposed to be a heirloom, but you get the picture." He sighed, "My name is Jazhino. Jazz for short. I was founded by Karolina and Jordan."

Bria reached and took the locket, opening it, and then paused as she remembered what Jazz was saying.

-Flashback-

The alleyway was still damp from yesterday's downpour. Still, she couldn't very well ignore the walls and the streets when they showed a little kid, probably no older than six or seven, screaming in pain. She had dragged Jordan along with her, tying her skirts up as she went, highly determined to get to the boy.

Jordan hadn't said a word as they ran through the alleyways, only looking around. Karolina had given him some idea of what they were looking for, and that was enough for him. He grabbed her arm when he heard whimpering. She was about to open her mouth to demand him to let him go when he placed a finger to his mouth. They fell silent. Besides the sounds of the carriages and hoofs that were running up and down the streets, there was nothing.

"What are you listening for? Someone is in pain!" Karolina pleaded.

"Shh, listen harder," Jordan whispered.

Beyond the sounds of carriages being pulled and hoofs hitting the cobblestones, there was whimpering. At first, it easily could be mistaken for a cat that was in pain, but when they listened to it, they could tell it was someone human. "Let's go," She grabbed his arm again and dragged him towards the sound.

They didn't have to go very far when they reached a young boy. His clothes were torn in every direction, falling off of him as he moved to ease the pain. There was no blood, but that didn't mean anything. Ian had told them that one way to tell a supernatural from a superhuman was by blood. Some supernatural didn't bleed, but they cried. "He's just a kid." Karolina gasped, her eyes watering, "Who would do such a thing?"

"Someone who doesn't understand," Jordan responded as he walked closer to the boy. He placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and pushed him slowly and gently onto his back. Right on the ribcage was a big gaping wound that if he had been human, would have bled him out. The only thing that was intact was a locket that was around the boy's neck. "Karol," He turned to the woman, "Help me."

"Right," Karolina shook herself out of her shock and ran to the boys side. She knelt down and placed her hands around his wound. She closed her eyes, trying to make the body remember what it was like before the wound had occurred. She literally had reserved the body's time into the past, healing the wound. The boy started crying and she pulled him to her lap, cradling him. "You poor thing," She said, tears leaking out of eyes. "You were chased weren't you? By people who wanted to sell you off for money. You're going to be safe."

The boy pushed her away and looked at her, "Who are you to tell me what's safe and what's not? You said so yourself. You could sell me off too, because I'm a faerie."

Jordan shook his head, "We aren't like that. If you don't want to come back with us, then we're not going to force or persuade you. It's your life to live. All we're offering is a home, a shelter. You aren't the only one. If you want, you can come with us and see if we're being truthful. If you have any doubts, any instincts that tell you that we're doing something wrong and you decide to run, then obey that instinct and run. Neither I nor Karol will chase you down."

"On your honor?" The boy demanded as he reached up to grab his locket, "Do you promise me? Do you both promise me?"

"Of course," The two said together with a smile. When the boy nodded, Karolina stood up, putting the boy on her hip. He didn't make a move to get down or tell her anything. "So, what's your name?" She asked as she started walking down the alleyways towards home.

"My name is Jazhino. You two can call me Jazz."

"Do you have any family you want to bring with you?" Jordan asked, "Just so you'll have company?"

"I'm an orphan," Jazz responded, "I have no one."

"That's not true," Karoline protested, "You have us. And if you like the Sanctuary, you have that too! Now let's go. I know that before I let you run anywhere I'm going to give you a bath. You're filthy."

-End of Flashback-

Brianna laughed softly and reached over, rubbing where the "wound" had been in the vision, "It's nice seeing you again, Jazz," she knelt down and brought him into her arms.

"It's nice to see you again too, Karol," Jazz said with a smile as he hugged her tightly. He looked up over at Leo and smiled, "You too Jordan."

Leo smiled and gently ruffled the boy's white hair affectionately. He had clips of the boy in his memory and he knew that Jordan always ruffled his hair. "It's good to see you too," He agreed gently.

"Hey! How about you show us other people we used to know? Places?" Bria asked eagerly.

"I'm not much help when it comes down to faces, but places I can show," Jazz agreed with a grin.