Chase part 12

Viridian sits looking at the message that Azure had sent him. They hadn't found Silvia's and his Azure, but they found what must have been keeping him there. Another girl who looked like Silvia, severely weakened and tortured into using her powers. Bela most likely told Azure that if he didn't help him, the Silvia he knew would replace the used one. The next step would be the hardest. They'd already started to take Bela's organization down. The building was the first step. The next would be take the only power they had left, their influence. With that done, the group could easily cut the head from the snake. If anything were to go wrong, he had a back up plan. The danger of traveling to the other world had been lifted.

"Silvia! It's time we go join the other two." He calls to Silvia who stands up, holding her head. She was still weak from the spell the other her had used to mimic her semblance.

"Why? What happened?" She asks, taking her time to go join him.

"The first step is done. We join them and go up from there. Bela's building is gone, greatly lowering the risk we faced."

"Do we know their location? It'll make it easier for me to portal us there."

"No need. They're opening one for us." And is if on cue a portal opens. On the other side a shaky imagine of Azure and the other Silvia come into focus. "After you." Viridian says with a smile. She gives a weak smile back.

"Thanks for everything, Viridian." Silvia heads into the portal, dropping her hand to her side. He follows her close behind. Once they're both through the portal shuts behind them.

"Well well, how's it hanging." Azure asks. The other Silvia lowers her hands as the glow fades from the portal.

"Still recovering," Silvia replies. "But better. How'd the mission go?"

"It was a bit explosive," the other Silvia replies.

"Heh. Yeah it was. So what's the next step? Your Azure wasn't there." Azure tells the two of them.

"I figured he might not be. I never really thought we'd get him now." Viridian replies. Silvia's face shifts and looks at Viridian.

"What do you mean he's not here?" She asks sharply.

"We didn't find him. They had rooms labeled with his name but nothing inside. But we did find... someone else."

"I thought we'd find someone...interesting. Silvia- uh the chief one. Is it possible to get a list of the most advanced worlds?" Viridian asks. She nods.

"I believe so. And just call me Danvers. It will make this less confusing."

"Why didn't we come up with this earlier?" Silvia asks.

"Good question. And Danvers get that for me. In the meantime I need a place to work. While I do that, you three have to set up this world against Bela, or more accurately the Fetere Foundation. He'll want to retake it. It's currently in limbo after facing that massive crisis. This is the time to strike. If we can remove his presence from this world, he won't be able to come back." Viridian explains.

"And how do you suppose we do that? They're the leading company in all of this Remnant for alternate reality research." Danvers says.

"And they just lost their main building with all their biggest projects. Two of you have magic and one talks a lot. If you guys can make it seem like you have something beyond what they had, it will win them over. Rich people want things that make them richer." Viridian gives his head a slight tilt. Silvia looks at the two other members of their group. She had to admit it, but she was impressed, and a little intimidated, but Viridian's sudden leadership. "So get to it. We have to cut them off before they can regain their footing. Send me the list as soon as possible." Danvers nods before heading off to her makeshift station to get the list together, Viridian not far behind. Silvia walks up to Azure.

"What's this thing you guys found?" Azure glances over at Silvia's question.

"Viridian said he thought we'd find this. He didn't tell you?"

"No." Silvia looks in the direction Viridian had walked. "I guess not."

"Uh. Weird. Follow me." He gets up and leads her to the back.

"He's not usually like this."

"How is he normally like?" Azure asks as they get farther back into the forest.

"Jokester, very rarely serious. Kind of like you, except without the dark past. Well, my Azure. I don't know what your past is like." She sighs. "What I'm trying to get at is I'm worried. I've never seen this side of him. I'm usually the leader and now I'm not."

"Uh." He raises an eyebrow at the dark past but doesn't comment on it. "Well, he seems to know what he's doing. Ahead of that Bela bad guy at any rate."

"I hope you're right. So where are we going?"

"Just right here." They get to a back area and Azure pulls the curtain covering it up. Inside is a girl who looks very similar to Silvia, she is ;aying on the ground passed out. Silvia stares at her, not even feeling a presence of magic from her.

"What happened to her?" Her voice was quiet.

"I'd say they drained her of her energy and used it for something." Silvia walks closer to this other version of her and kneels next to her. Her complexion was far paler than her own, dark circles forming under her eyes. Her hair is dark, hiding the features from afar.

"This is..." She stood up. "I can't."

"Yeah. It's pretty horrible honestly. Do you think your Azure knew?" He asks kneeling next to Silvia. Silvia's mind flashed back to what Azure had said to her before she left.

"Maybe they used her as bait. Used... me?" She gasps, suddenly understanding the reasoning behind Azure helping Bela.

"What do you mean, used you?" He asks.

"What if they showed him this version of me?" She turns to him, pointing at the girl passed out. "He joined them to save me." A small tear falls down her cheek.

"They did. They used you. I told you he only did it for a good reason." It was Viridian. "You guys gotta get going. Danvers got me what I needed." Silvia nods, quickly wiping the tear from her eyes.

"You guys go ahead. I'll be there in a minute." Silvia mumbles. Azure looks between them shrugs and walks out. Viridian stays for a moment.

"Silvia?" She is still facing the other version of her.

"You were right. All this time, I thought he gave up on me. But he hadn't. She's the proof."

"I don't think he knows how to give up on people. He's got a saving people problem." She looks over her shoulder at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Most people just see that he's spent his life killing. But really, hasn't he done all that to save people. But instead he keeps losing people. Pushing him further down a dark path. He's a classic example of a good person doing the wrong thing."

"One of them being joining Bela to save me, even though it isn't me." She looked back at the girl. "Does that mean he still cares? First he jumped after me when I fell into a portal. Now this."

"Maybe he does care. Maybe he thought that was the only way to save you. But right now we need to focus on what's important, and that's saving him. Then we can ask him those questions." Viridian says. Silvia nods and with one last look at the girl who looks so much like her goes and joins Danvers and Azure. "See you soon, Silvia." Viridian mutters to himself.

Silvia, Danvers, and Azure walk onto the Main Street and look around. Azure spots a sign and walks over. "Look, guys. The Fetere Foundation is having a press conference later today to clear up their future as a company. Seems like the perfect time to jump in and destroy them." Azure says. "Also Fetere is worried about the future!" He says laughing. The other two smile slightly.

"Agreed. What kind of 'tech' can we show though?" Danvers asks.

"I have an idea. But I need a portal back to my world." Silvia responds. Danvers nods and opens a portal for Silvia. She steps through and a few moments later she comes back out holding a weird looking gun.

"Hot damn! What's that sweet thing?" Azure asks rubbing his hands together.

"A flamethrower. I was hoping you could make some modifications. My Azure made this. You press this button," Silvia tells them as she points at a button near the stock. "Shifts the gun into a sleeve and glove combination that spits flames out of the palm section."

"That's advanced." Azure mutters in awe.

"That's magic." Danvers mutters with a light growl. Silvia catches the tone but doesn't say anything about it.

"Yes. It's both. I was hoping you could make more and add some more functions."

"Ahhh yeah. Working with a base it shouldn't be a problem. If I had to go from scratch it'd be a different story though."

"Good. Let's get working. We'll do the magic." Silvia tells him. The three set to work on setting up modifications to the gun. After a few hours they finish and Azure is holding two of them. He presses the buttons and they shift to sleeves, one on each arm.

"Food?" Azure asks hopefully.

"Yes. I believe it's time for food Silvia." Danvers agrees. Silvia laughs slightly.

"What about pizza?"

"Sounds good!"

"What's a… pitsa?" Danvers asks confused.

"Oh god." Both Silvia and Azure mutter. "Come on. We'll show you," Azure tells her. The group heads back into town and look around until they find an pizza parlor. Heading inside, they find that no one is around except the worker, who turns around and walks forward quickly. He takes their orders and they sit down at a table.

"What exactly was it that you ordered me? A cheese pitsa?" Danvers questions.

"First off. Pizza. Second cheese. All pizzas have cheese. But this is, I dunno basic. A good place to start."

A few moments later the man comes out with the pizzas and sets them down in front of them.

"Enjoy!" He says before walking back inside.

"Thank you!" Silvia reaches for her slice but stops. "Wait, she should have the first bite." Azure stops, his pizza halfway to his mouth.

"Wha?" She punches Azure lightly in his arm. "Really? She's never had pizza before and you're going to rob this moment from her?"

"No." He says, a slight pout in his face. She smiles.

"It's okay, big guy. Go ahead Danvers." Danvers nods, slowly reaching for the single slice that Silvia had ordered for her. She raised it to her mouth and took a careful bite.

"Well?" He asks, waiting with baited breath to start eating his own. She swallowed the bite, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Oh Tanulus' Majesty, this is amazing!" Silvia chuckles.

"Told ya. Now you can eat." The group eats and when they finish they get up to leave.

"I'll pay. I'll meet you two outside." Silvia tells them.

"Sounds good." Azure leads Danvers out of the restaurant to a bench where they wait for Silvia.

"Thank you for suggesting this place," Danvers tells him as she leans against the building.

"No problem. Pizza is always good."

Silvia popes out from the restaurant. "Bill's paid. Let's go destroy a business's reputation."

"Sounds so mean when you say it like that." Azure jokes.

"They messed with us, first. Now we mess with them." Silvia's voice came out colder than she intended, mainly because of her newfound knowledge of what they did to her Azure.

"Well that's true. Very true." A few minutes later the three arrive at the press conference. They stand at the back of the crowd. The president of the Feter Foundation steps forward in front of a podium.

"Hello. And thank you for coming." Everyone starts to clap, except for the three of them. They knew what they were capable of. The women continues to talk about the future and how they'll grow from here.

"Alright. It's time kiddos. Stay on alert and out of sight. It's time to do my thing." Both Silvia and Danvers nod. Azure moves quickly through the crowd and towards the stage. He slips behind the stage and plugs some things into the speakers. Smirking, he cuts the volume to the Presidents mike. Danvers smirks when the volume goes down.

"He has skill."

"And you have a thing for him," Silvia saus smirking.

"That's absurd! I do not!" Danvers says defensively.

"I am the same way with my Azure. I know." Silvia says as the two of them look back at the stage. Azure jumps up onto the stage with his own mike smiling proudly.

"Hey folks!"

"Who are you?" The president asks.

"I'm this worlds salvation. These guys?" He points at the Fetere Foundation people, "are dooone for. Me and my people have better tech, tech that is way more useful to you guys than travel between alternate universes!" Silvia smiles, surprised at how well Azure was doing. "And not just more useful, it'll be available for commercial use!" There's muttering from the crowd. Azure smiles, he'd realized that the average citizen wasn't allowed usage of the alternate world tech. "Now you're probably wondering what it is we have that just shames those old hacks. Well it's this." He flicks his wrists and the weapons shifted from their long sleeve mode to their small gun modes. Another wave of muttering met the reveal. "There's two types. With more to come. Water and fire. Both with their own uses. And they'll be available to the public soon!" Azure takes in surrounding mass. The crowd was nodding and a few clapping. A few people start throwing out questions.

"What about the Fetere Foundation?" Azure glances at them. He can't exactly tell them the truth behind them, he'd lose credibility.

"Well we would be willing to absorb them into our group. We're small, only a few people large. Yet we have the tech and ideas to start something huge. Fetere Foundation did some interesting things in their time. But now we need something new. You do! Now that does bring this conference to a close. You'll be hearing from us very soon." Azure smiles and waves, several people cheer. He turns and leads the president off the stage and backstage. Silvia takes Danvers' arm, pushing through the crowd to meet Azure backstage. "Hey kiddos." Azure says when he sees them.

"I demand to know what is going on!" The president shouts. Silvia steps closure to her.

"We're trying to help calm everything down. This was a tragedy." She motions to the demolished building. "Do you want them to go into chaos?"

"Of course not! But trying to destroy my company? What purpose does this serve."

"Is it really yours?" Azure asks raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

the President asks frowning.

"We both know Bela was really in charge." Danvers tells her.

"And what Bela is doing." Silvia adds, her tone serious. The President pauses and looks at the three of them.

"He'll have me killed."

she finally says. Fear showing in her eyes.

"We can protect you. Without this company, he doesn't have any power here." Azure points out.

"You may be right. Yet that new weapon he has. That boy who looks like you." She points at Azure. "He showed me what he could do before he left. Told me that if anything happened that's what would be coming for me. Said 'it will find you, no matter where you are. And it will destroy you.' That's a direct quote. But you're right. I'll help you get rid of the Foundation, it's time for something new." Silvia's facial expression turns cold.

"Did you say 'it'?" She asks, her voice monotone.

"Yes. I believe he described it as a weapon. He's certainly not like this boy here. I watched him do... things." A visible shudder went through the president. "Trust me, you're either seriously messed up inside to do things like that, or not human."

"He's not messed up, okay? He was manipulated as a young kid. None of this is his fault. He never wanted this. Azure never wanted his parents to die, and now he's stuck in this hell!" Her voice cracks as tears fall from her eyes. She stops, the silence sharp like a knife. "I-I have to go." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand as she walked back outside.

"Her point is, he's had it rough." Azure says. He glances back, so that's what she meant about dark past. "Thank you for helping us. We need to go do a few things then we'll be back."

"Alright. I'll be here." She hands Azure a paper. "Apologize for me, hm?" He nods and she walks away.

"Let's hurry okay?" Azure says.

"Don't you think we should give her some time to cool down?" Danvers asks, Azure glances at Silvia.

"Yeah. You go back and update Viridian. I'll wait here." Danvers follows his gaze to Silvia, hugging herself on the sidewalk.

"Be gentle." She gives him one last look before walking back to their base. Sticking his hands in his pockets Azure slowly walks closure to Silvia. He stands a bit away watching her. The wind scattering her brown hair across her face. A small streak ran down her one cheek.

"Bela called Azure an object," she mutters after a few moments of silence. "He doesn't even consider him human."

"No. Why would he? To him, Azure really is just a weapon."

"Azure's more than that." Her grip on herself tightens, her fingers digging into her sleeve. "I can't stand the thought of Bela torturing him like that."

"Sounds like he's been through a lot. He'll make it out alive."

"I'm scared he won't." Azure gives Silvia a sad look. "We'll get to him soon." Silvia manages to look up at him, her face broken, yearning to be fixed. "I hope so. As soon as I get there, I'm pounding Bela's face into the cement."

Danvers walks into camp, pulling her jacket closer to her as a cold breeze drifts in. "Viridian? You here?" Viridian walks out from his workplace.

"Ah good you- where's the other two?"

"The president gave us info regarding Azure and Bela's treatment of him," she explains. "Silvia broke down and Azure is taking care of it."

"Ah. Did things go well otherwise."

"Very."

"Alright good." Viridan says nodding.

"How have things been back here?"

"Good. I found the next world we need to go to. Though, we won't all be going."

"What do you mean?" Dancers asks, her eyebrow raised.

"Someone needs to stay here to continue to work on the set up."

"Okay, so what does the mission involve? We can figure out who stays behind based on th-."

"Azure's staying behind." Viridian says cutting across her. Her face fills with confusion.

"Why? His skills are useful."

"It's important. Trust me." Her eyes scan over him in mild suspicion.

"Alright."

"When they get here, I'll explain it to them. Then the three of us will go."

"To be honest with you, Viridian, I thought Silvia would be leading this whole operation." Her hands crossed in front of her chest. Viridian sighs and leans against a tree, a frown on his face.

"Normally she would be, you're right."

"Why the change, then?" She asks, mimicking him as she leans against a tree opposite to him.

"Silvia is... invested in this. Deeply. I don't think she can separate herself from that. Most people don't know this, because, well, I spend most of my time doing card tricks or making bad jokes, but I'm pretty good at strategy. I've never lost a game, any game. This needs someone who's able to disengage, make the hard calls. Bela is smart. To him, this is nothing more than chess. And we need someone who's able to play on his level. Silvia can lead a team into a battle. But it's not the same as fighting a war. Her mind works differently than mine. That's why the change." She nods slowly.

"I think her little breakdown over her Azure proves your point. But you have to give her credit. She thinks of things that I couldn't even imagine. Her blend of modern and ancient culture beats out mine in any way. Don't you think she might be upset about this whole switch?"

"Maybe she is. Doesn't matter though. I'll do what it takes to win, anything. Feelings come in second." An unsettling feeling ran down her back.

"Are you at all concerned if one of us gets hurt in the process?" Danvers asks, a crease on her forehead. Viridian looks at her.

"I don't like killing. I hate it, actually. I will do whatever I can to avoid anyone's death, including Bela's. It's not how I operate."

"You seem to be operating on very different ideals, Viridian. But do not let them blind you." Viridian frowns. Had he lost sight of himself? No he didn't think so. At least he hoped not. He would win though. That much was certain, nothing would, or could stop that.