Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108.
Chapter 10:
The group gasped as the Houses started approaching, weapons raised. They drew their weapons, but they knew that it wouldn't work. They were outnumbered. Before the Houses could attack, though, Lin Chung's voice rang out.
"Step back." They turned, astonished, as did the houses. "Step back. Now!"
"Lin Chung!" One of the people, looking like the leader, looked up. "You are siding with the mortals?"
"Back down. You are not to touch the mortals, is that understood?" His eyes narrowed. "Or do you have a problem with that?"
The Houses immediately shook their heads, but their weapons were still clutched tightly in their hands. Ri stepped forward towards the more aggressive side of the room.
"These are the Houses of War." His tone held a warning that none of them argued with.
Zi headed to the other side. "And these are the Houses of Intelligence." His tone was also unarguable. The Houses nodded, looking ready to leap at any moment. When one of them tensed, Yue frowned.
"Drop all your weapons at once." The Houses immediately dropped their weapons, looking intimidated. Apparently, Yue was feared here. "You don't have a problem understanding that, do you?" She turned to the group, gesturing to one of the smaller groups. "These are the House of the Elements and Seasons."
"And these," Lin Chung gestured to the smallest group, "are the Houses of Protection."
"Wait." Kowloon looked confused, as did the others. "You knew about the Houses, and are currently ordering them to stop. And they are listening to you." There were a few eye-rolls from the Houses of Intelligence, but the group ignored it.
Rosefinch was also lost. "You-You. But you said the House of-" Realisation dawned on her. "That's why you knew about the Houses. That's why you didn't want us to find them. It wasn't because of the fact that it was dangerous. 'But, unlike the Houses, they hide in plain sight.' that was what the words meant, isn't it? You guys aren't from the House of Protection, you guys are the House of Shape-Shifting and Magic, aren't you?"
Lin Chung let out a wry smile of amusement. Yue laughed lightly, soon joined by Ri and Zi. "Well, we had to keep the riddle true, right? Hides in plain sight."
"That's not fair." Sonia crossed her arms, looking at them disapprovingly.
"Isn't it? You should've figured it out earlier. Hiding in plain sight. We're in plain sight, yet we were hiding. Aren't we?" The mischievous smile on her face made them frown. She smiled, then turned to the Houses and sighed.
Lin Chung looked at the Houses. "The Mortals need our help. We are going to help them." There was a stunned silence, before shouting started.
The four turned to each other, as they waited for a few minutes. After about two minutes of shouting, Lin Chung shook his head. "Quiet!" They all fell quiet, looking at him like he was crazy.
One of the members spoke up. "Lin Chung, you have got to be joking. The Mortals betrayed us, how do we know we can trust them now?"
"We can trust them."
"How do you know that? Have you been chased away from your House before, Yue?"
Yue turned to him. "As a matter of fact, I have." Her tone was icy, and the man stepped back, looking intimidated, but trying - and failing - to hold his ground. The group looked confused at the chaos, but were wise enough to keep their mouths shut.
"We cannot trust them."
"Yes we can. Twin Masters is rising, and it is considered a threat to both us and the Mortal World."
"Really?" The only other female, a 15-year-old with dark hair, scoffed.
"Yes, Atries. He is getting stronger as we speak. The Mortals need our help. We aren't sure if even we are able to stop him. He is recruiting as many dark creatures as possible."
"What are you all doing in a meeting anyway, when we didn't call for one?" Yue suddenly asked.
The one sitting at the head looked down, sheepish. "When you didn't answer or report for more than two years, we grew worried."
"Oh, that's so sweet." Yue smiled. "But now, get out. Except for the Heads." The others grumbled, but left a reasonable amount of people left.
Atries continued her argument. "Or, perhaps, you're weakening after being in the Mortal World so long." The group stared at her accusation, but the four didn't look offended, something which infuriated Atries. The other Heads were glaring at her.
"Atries! You cannot accuse them of such thing! The others, maybe, but not our Seeker. He is the Seeker of War." Someone from the Houses of War shouted at the girl, glaring at her.
Another one from the House of Knowledge argued. "Our Seeker will not weaken."
The House of Protection joined in. "If anything, it will be your warriors and barbies who will weaken!"
The House of the Elements and Seasons nodded in defiance. "If you are suggesting that our Seeker is getting weak, then what are you? And you can't speak to them that way!"
The House of Knowledge added something else. "We are all dependent on their House. You may be an independent house, as you call yourself, but you also depend on them as much as we do!"
"I will talk to them any way I want until my Huntresses and I get the respect we deserve."
"You're right." Yue nodded, a cheeky gleam in her eye. Atries looked surprised, but it quickly turned into a scowl. "We treat you with too much respect." The other houses were grinning at her face.
She opened her mouth as she drew her bow, and Yue got into a ready stance, twin hunting knives in hand as she morphed into a girl, younger than the other four, but still carrying an air of superiority.
Lin Chung stepped between them. "Stop. Yue, control yourself. Atries, you have right to accuse that we do not treat you and your warriors without respect. We do, but you need to earn it. But-" He cut her off again, "but you have been accusing us for way too long. We cannot have this. You have been warned before. If this happens once more, you will be permanently removed from the Council. Understood?"
Atries looked outraged, and her warriors drew their bows, but one glare from Yue stopped them. Lin Chung also turned to them. "This warning is for you as well. If you fire at any members who are more senior than you, you will be removed from your place in the Houses, and stripped of your powers and titles."
"At least we've been doing something effective for the Mortal World. Tell me, Atries. What have you been doing that has been effective? Running through the 'wild' with your girl scouts and your ego?"
Atries scowled. "And what have you been doing? Weakening?"
"Actually, we've been doing some research. It appears that Twin Masters was already rising, but, because of our own foolishness, we couldn't sense it."
"Maybe it is just you."
"Really? Then pray, please tell, why haven't you informed us or hunted them down when we couldn't?" Atries turned red, glaring at Yue, who shot one back.
"But still, that is no reason for helping the Mortal World."
"Yes it is." Yue argued.
"Why?"
"We are the oldest of the Immortals, or, at least, half-immortals, and we are responsible for the creation of the world. We are heavily dependent on the Mortal World as out survival. But if you are right, and Twin Masters is getting more powerful with each second we speak, then how do we defeat him? You said so yourselves. You couldn't beat him." There were nods of agreement.
"We can. If we work with the Mortal World."
"No." They turned to the Head of the House of Knowledge. "If what Atries said isn't true, and you haven't been weakening, then we have no chance. All of our skill, powers and abilities are linked to you. If you can't defeat them, who can?"
"We. The thing is that with everyone working together, we can win."
"But how? Twin Masters is nearly considered as an Immortal threat. If he is getting power and dark creatures and immortals as allies, we stand no chance."
"Yes, but that is where you are wrong." They turned to Zi. "Do you not remember? Immortals are not allowed to join in the battle unless there is another immortal that is actually allowed to participate in the battle, or the Immortal is challenged by a Mortal Hero or Animal. The Dark Creatures depend heavily on the night; so, as long as there is day, we can be assured that they won't attack in the morning or day. Twin Masters himself is not allowed to join the battle unless one of us, the House of Shape-Shifting and Magic, are in the battle.
"That will most likely be the only thing that prevents him from attacking now, is the fact that he wants to keep power. So he'll try everything to get us to participate. That is why we must try to stay out of the battle unless absolutely necessary. When we come in, he'll also be able to come in."
"And what about the last time? When Lin Chung was fighting him? He could hardly beat him."
"That is true, but we also have all the Houses. That is why we must help them. Our existence is going to trigger something in the Mortal World, like a sort of flare telling Twin Masters that now is the time to attack."
"And," Lin Chung's voice held amusement at the member of the House of War. "What makes you think I was fighting him with my full power?" The member looked down, not looking at him. He sighed. "I understand your reasons. It is up to you."
AN: Would they agree? Anyway, review!
13/01/18 - My god, my tense usage was appalling. Hopefully that's mostly fixed.