AN: Here's the next episode,people!
The Seeker Within
Chapter 10- Into the River of Secrets Part 1
A young man stood on a bridge in Rouen, France, binoculars pressed close to his glasses. He was thin, your classic nerdy figure, with tussled, mousy-brown hair, and kind, grey eyes. He was watching the boats darting here and there across the river Seine with avid interest. Suddenly, a huge whirlpool that stretched the width of the river opened gaping wide in front of the bridge. A speedboat was being steadily pulled towards it, the passengers screaming.
"It's happening again!" The watcher cried, running to the centre of the structure to see better. As he looked down, a pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness of the whirlpool. "A titan! I better do something!" He grabbed the rope at his feet, and raced as fast as he could to the opposite side of the bridge, where he tied his lifeline down. He ran back to where the speedboat's passengers, a couple, were screaming, throwing the rope down to them.
"Here, grab on!" Once the man had taken hold, with his woman around his waist, the young man began to haul them up, helped by people nearby. "Hang on! You can make it!"
All of a sudden, the speedboat exploded, the fuel tank having been chewed up by the churning water. The couple jumped, and in doing so let go off the rope, and began to fall. The young watcher grabbed the man's arm, and heaved him and his girlfriend over the top of the bridge.
The French couple looked down at where their boat had been, eyes wide and trembling with fear. "What was that?" The man yelled, clambering to his feet, an arm around the lady at his side. The watcher floundered for an answer.
"Urm, major climate change. I gotta go, bye!" And off he walked, leaving the confused group behind. He plucked a phone out of his pocket, and dialled in a number. "Priority notification for Guggenheim. I think I've found a titan in the Seine River!" The watcher stopped the call abruptly, and tucked it back in his pocket. In front of him was a group of French Police, and at their head, a sinister man with long, greasy, brown hair and gold glasses.
"Hello," said the leader. "Peter, isn't it?" The young man stepped back, eyes as wide as a frightened foal's.
"How do you know my name?" That much was obvious- they had been waiting for him.
"I'm the special investigator in charge of this case, and you're coming with me." Peter gasped, and took an involuntary step back.
Oh no…
In Dante's Venice house, the team were relaxing. Well, the team apart from Loki. She was going stir crazy, and missed the hectic lifestyle of the foster kids. Correction, she missed the foster kids, but she knew that she would be endangering them if she ever went to visit.
All her stuff had been sneaked out by Santiago, and arranged in a spare room in Dante's house- her room now. Though she was glad to have her stuff back, she missed her little room at the top of the house, and falling asleep to the sounds of 15 children snoring. At the home, she was never alone, always being followed by one kid or another, but here, Dante could be gone for hours at a time, talking on the phone and calling contacts, and Will lived ten minutes away, even though he spent the day at Dante's. The tight leash of being on the Organization's wanted list was chafing to say the least, and she could feel Kipperin straining to fly away through the Bond, and it buzzed under her skin, a constant itch she couldn't scratch. It left her prowling around like restless tiger, snapping at anyone who came close.
"We're stuck here till the Foundation finishes decoding Lore's notes." She grumbled to herself, finishing her fifth puzzle that day- and it wasn't even midday yet.
"Patience Loki." Dante told her good-naturedly. "You know it could take several months." The girl sighed, and looked away.
"Don't remind me!" She huffed, looking longingly out the window. Will looked up from where he was lounging with a book, and caught the glance. He smiled sympathetically. He knew how hard it was for his friend to be cooped up. She was like a bird with her quick, clever eyes, and a need to move, to go here, to be there, to be doing something.
"Hey, Dante." He called to his auburn mentor. "Why don't you school Loki on how to use a holotome?" The blonde immediately perked up at the opportunity of something to do.
"Cool!" She scampered over to the golden-eyed man at the table, her bad mood instantly forgotten. Dante sighed, knowing he didn't have a choice now, not with the azure-eyed girl looking at him like that. He lifted the lid of his holotome, and began to teach his student on how to use it.
"A holotome is a three-dimensional mapping device. Ask it to specify an area." The teen nodded, and the brunette wandered over, interested despite himself.
"Okay! Holotome, map this room!" A light-image of the sitting room appeared in front of the group. Will smiled at the excited look on Loki's face.
"Its scanning range is limited, but it can store maps and show them on command." The girl nodded, attention trapped by this new plaything. The boy shook his head in disbelief. She was so predictable.
Dante smiled too; glad to have gotten rid of the fair-haired teen's foul mood. She was nasty when she was grumpy. "Right. Now, show the entire building." Emerald and amber eyes shared a smirk- Loki was enraptured by the holotome, and it would keep her preoccupied for a few hours at least. Then again, they had said the same thing about that pile of puzzles….
"Hey, look!" The blonde cried, eyes lit up. "It's picking up Zhalia!" The blue-haired woman laughed as she padded into the room.
"Look out Sherlock, there's a new girl in town!" She mocked, as harsh and mean as ever. Loki pouted, and looked away.
"And the great Zhalia Moon decides to put in an appearance." Will snapped, not liking her tone. "You ever going to just leave for good?" He got back to the lesson.
"With the holotome, the Seekers can scan any titan. It makes it a useful tool on missions." Loki looked at the machine curiously. It was a lot more complicated than she'd originally thought.
"May I?" Dante nodded, and so the girl pulled Freelancer out of her pocket. As she did so, she got a strong feeling of Déjà vu, realizing this was one of the Bonding visions. The holotome stuttered a bit, and then reeled of a list of statistics and abilities.
Zhalia's snarky voice drifted from behind them. "The graphics are lame."
That seemed to annoy the holotome, if it were possible, for it immediately said, "Upgrade required."
Loki laughed, then lifted the machine up to peer at its mechanisms. "How does this work, anyway?" A puzzle-solving glint came to her cobalt eyes, for the first time since Prague. The puzzles Will had brought weren't a challenge for her agile mind, and so this was the best thing she had seen in ages. Dante snatched it away from her, causing the teen to groan disappointedly.
"I need this, Loki. I can't have you messing with and, inevitably, breaking it." The group laughed, whilst the blonde sulked.
"That young lady sounds just like you when you were young, Dante. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Came a polite, commanding voice, as if from nowhere. The sapphire-orbed Seeker leapt to her feet, looking around with wide eyes, before noticing blonde-haired, blue-eyed man on the TV screen. Blushing, but still looking distrustful, she sat back down next to her mentor.
"Looks like there's a few new faces with you! Care to introduce us?" It seemed the screen was acting like a huge video-call. When she wasn't glaring suspiciously at the massive face, she was glaring at Dante for not telling her he had a videophone. She'd always wanted to see how they worked…Ah, that was probably why. He thought she would break it!
"Guggenheim!" Dante greeted the man fondly, then put his arms around Will and Loki. "This is William Casterwill, and Loki Lambert. Guys, this is Guggenheim, a member of the Huntik Foundation." The blonde stopped looking at the man warily. If he was with the Foundation, she knew he could be trusted.
"Casterwill, you say? Pleasure to meet your acquaintance. And a Lambert? Why, of course, you look just like Eathon! Wonderful to meet you both, just wonderful! And why, there's Zhalia! I haven't seen you since our last mission- you look well!" The blue-haired woman nodded, a smile on her face. Loki did everything she could not to stare. Zhalia, smiling? That was a first.
Guggenheim continued. "Now, Dante, I need to ask you a favour." The russet-haired Seeker tilted his head to one side, considering.
"Well, I'm investigating a case or two, but if you have an interesting mission, I might be able to fit it in." The Huntik man smiled, and, alongside him, images of a young man on a bridge, throwing ropes and calling encouragement to people in boats appeared. The boats were getting sucked into whirlpools every time.
"There's been an unusual rash of whirlpools in the River Seine. I send you the details in a file." Dante was looking interested.
"Whirlpools?" He asked, brow furrowed in thought. "Do they happen to be near Rouen?" Will looked excited, as understanding cleared his puzzled face.
"Of course! The legend of the Gargoyle!" The blue-eyed man on the screen seemed shocked, then pleasantly surprised.
"You are a Casterwill, indeed." The image on the screen changed to that of a gargoyle, then back to the young man on the bridge. "Folklore attributes these stone creatures with the power over water. These myths inspired the use of gargoyles as spouts and fountains."
"And the legend comes from Rouen, France!" Will finished, looking satisfied. Loki was smiling. Finally, a puzzle to solve!
Dante dipped his head to his older student. "We know that the legend is really about a titan, Gar-Ghoul. Its awakening powers are churning up the river. Has anyone been hurt?" The gold-eyed man asked suddenly. Thankfully, Guggenheim shook his head.
"Two were nearly killed." The blonde at the table drew in a sharp gasp, eyes wide. Dante closed his eyes, and leant back against the sofa.
"How can I help?" The Huntik operative on the TV grew excited, and explained.
"We stand on a new age of Seekers. More discover their powers each day." He nodded to the blonde and brunette in front of him, both of who blushed.
Dante opened his amber eyes, and they were sparking. "And though the Gar-Ghoul has lain dormant since ancient times, you believe that this new age is bringing it back to life." He said it as a statement, having obviously been close to this man for a long time.
"Exactly." Guggenheim crowed. "Here's the plan. You will go to Rouen and meet with a Foundation operative. His name is Peter. He's the one that brought this anomaly to our attention, and he will serve as your guide. You must attempt to recover Gar-Ghoul before it falls into the hands of The Organization. You should be receiving the details on your holotome now. Mission: Legend of the Gargoyle." Dante picked the card from the holotome, and tucked it into one of the many pockets in his trench coat.
"I'll be on the next flight to France." He promised his fellow operative. The blonde smiled, before signing off.
"Good luck, my friend." The screen went dark.
Zhalia gave a long-suffering sigh, and then called over from her position by the kitchen door. "You get all the good missions, Dante. How about sharing the wealth? I happen to know my way around Rouen."
The russet-haired Seeker shrugged. "You want in, fine." Will shot a venomous glare at the coffee-eyed woman, before turning to his mentor.
"Hello, excuse me? But what about us?" Loki said nothing, as her puppy-dog eyes said it for her. No way was she missing out on a chance to leave the house! Dante hung his head, and knew he was defeated.
"Alright." He said, and waited for the victory cheers to die down. "But you two have got to listen to me this time! No running off, no following us if I say stay, and no dashing into battles unprepared and getting hurt!" The last bit was directed at the blonde teen, who blushed and looked away. He stood up, and offered his teen friends a hand up. "Now go, get packed!" He ushered them away with a hand in the small of their backs. Cherit flew past them as they ran out, a confused expression on his face.
"What's going on? I haven't seen Loki that excited since Prague." Gold eyes rolled, and their owner explained what was going on.
AN: I love writing Loki. She's such a trickster/puppy thing! Review if you agree, and if you don't!