Krystal Regi - Regice
Maybella twirls a lock of her hair with one of her fingers.
"Uh…well…it's important," Maybella says, "Listen, Krystal, I can't reveal anything-"
"Why?" I say.
Maybella sighs. She seems a bit irritated that I'm curious about her.
"We answered your questions…now it's time for you to answer mine," I say, "Remember when we went out that day, when Tyro saved you?"
Maybella nods. Of course she does. Her eyes show that she doesn't quite think that was an important issue anymore.
"I noticed a black-haired girl, messy hair, like it wasn't cut right," I say, "She saw everything…she knew what was going on. I talked to Ray…Rayquaza, as you might've figured…and she said that it was a girl named Jackie."
Tyro notices my expression, but says, "Wasn't she leader of the Clique of Orphans?"
"According to Ray, she still is," I say with a sigh.
"But what's that got to do with Medusa?" Maybella says.
I glance at Tyro. His expression shows exactly what I'm thinking: Dark's warning about Jackie being Medusa. We hadn't known who Jackie was at the time, but it never seemed important until now.
I look back at Maybella and say, "She is Medusa. At least I think…Dark mentioned her."
"So it's true," Maybella says, "You guys are in danger. Well, Tyro is…"
"Because I'm one of Burn's judges," Tyro chuckles, "Dark's one of Burn's judges, too, but the reason I haven't left yet is because I judged two Experiments instead of one."
"We'd have to talk to the Loners," I say, "Last I heard, Jackie's practically disappeared."
Maybella frowns, but says, "I'll help. I'll get Nicole to help, too."
I'm about to question Maybella's use, but realize that any help was useful. My questions about her identity would have to wait.
----------------
"Nicole!" Maybella says when we reach the bottom of the stairs, "We have some complications!"
Nicole looks up, her discussion with Iris cut short. She doesn't seem irritated, but looks expectant.
"Sorry, Iris," I say apologetically, "but-"
"No problem," Iris says, "There's more than enough of us to keep each other occupied."
Iris waves to Nicole as she heads for the dining room.
Nicole walks over to us and says, "So…Krystal and Tyro, I assume?"
Tyro and I nod. I forgot that we hadn't met Nicole personally yet.
Nicole turns to Maybella and says, "Complications, dear…cousin?"
"Yeah," Maybella says, "We have to find Medusa before she finds us."
"I see," Nicole says, "but I'd need access to my computer in order to find that one lone blip I found…"
"Wait, and you didn't tell me?" Maybella demands.
"I told you already," Nicole says, "I think you weren't listening."
--------------------
Nicole comes out of their apartment, a laptop in her hand.
Tyro and Maybella were back at the mansion, while I went with Nicole. I figured that, with so many Legends there, Tyro would be under a reliable guard.
"Krystal, thanks for accompanying me," Nicole says as she looks around, "Tonight…there's someone else here. I think they're after us…Maybella and I. Someone wants us dead before we complete…our…mission…"
Nicole trails the last words, as though she only figured that I was listening to her.
"Sorry," Nicole says, shaking her head in chagrin.
"Mission?" I say, "You mean that the only reason you two came here was for a mission?"
Nicole puts a finger to her lips and whispers, "I'll explain later. I'd prefer it if we were both in the mansion, away from our…"
At that, Nicole briskly walks past me.
I jog until I catch up to Nicole, slowing my pace as I catch up.
"I want to know," I say, "Maybella was vague on details, about you two."
"And she was right to do so, I guess," Nicole says, slowing to a more natural pace.
"Why? And what mission?" I press.
"A large burst of power's appeared in the city," Nicole says, "Maybella and I were dispatched here to investigate. It seems centered around the mansion, but recently there was a new, stronger burst…centered around one of the laboratories in the city. I told Maybella about it, but it seemed like she didn't listen to that bit."
"So…this new burst," I say, "Can you tell me what you know about it?"
"Despite the fact that there are less carriers of power, it's much stronger than the Legends' general burst," Nicole says, "It came in smaller bursts, starting with two carriers and working until there were about fifteen blips of great power. However, one of those blips is of great concern to me…"
"Which one?" I ask.
"One which has been in the lab since they first arrived," Nicole says, "The other fourteen go out and about quite often, but the one that stays is very powerful. They usually post two guards near the source…but who 'they' are, I'm not sure."
We stop in front of the mansion as I ask, "What's that got to do with Medusa, though?"
"I don't know," Nicole admits, "I just…think it does. Instinct, I guess. Either way, I still have to conclude that the two factors – in this case, Medusa and the new bursts of power – have something to do with each other."
----------------------------
"Here it is!" Nicole says gleefully.
Maybella's sitting next to Nicole, and I realize that the two don't look like cousins. Third cousins, maybe, but not immediate cousins.
We came back to my room, since it's the best room to use for now. Maybella and Nicole sit on one bed, and Tyro and I sit on the other.
Nicole turns the laptop around and says, "That blip in the middle's the one I think is Medusa. Notice how it wanders the streets alone."
Tyro and I lean forward for a closer look.
A mere blip walks. As it walks, the rest of the "environment" follows. It's heading somewhere.
The blip pauses suddenly. I imagine Medusa looking around for people following.
Nicole breaks the silence by saying, "For some reason, it only began to show this blip. I think the program needed more time to focus on the city. However…"
Nicole turns the laptop to herself and I hear the clicking of keyboard keys. A worried crease strikes her forehead, but disappears once she obviously found what she was looking for.
"I received an update on the 'other group'," Nicole says, "The blip that doesn't move sent out a power status message. If…no, when it awakens, it has the potential to let loose a large blast of power. The problem is, I don't know what that blast will do. All I know is that it won't take a computer to notice it…because it'll affect the entire city."
"The entire city?" Tyro says, "But with all the humans here-"
"The city will be in danger," Maybella says, "but Nicole-"
"Both of you, stop!" Nicole says, waving her hands somewhat dramatically.
Tyro and Maybella shut their mouths. I squeeze Tyro's hand, and I hear him whisper, "This is getting out of hand."
"I know," I reply quietly, "but we have to remain somewhat calm."
"Anyway," Nicole says, "it doesn't seem as though a large fiery explosion will happen."
"But you just said it'd affect the entire city!" Maybella says, "What, so we're dealing with something from your mom's psychology class?"
"Kind of," Nicole admits, "but it'll affect us physically too. From what I've been seeing of this reading, it seems as though it'll have two effects: firstly, there'll be a lapse of drowsiness. Some of us might be able to resist it, but most of the city will fall asleep. Some might fall asleep immediately, others might take a few moments."
"And the other?" I say, "That sounds like a physical effect."
"It is," Nicole says, "but the psychological effect causes everyone to…well, this is laughable, but…this causes everyone who's fallen asleep to have good dreams, like the kind that you don't want to wake up from."
"But most of the humans drive," Tyro points out, "if there are humans driving, there'll be accidents."
"Yes, but it mainly depends on the time it awakens," Nicole says, "If it's at night, there'll still be accidents, just less than the result of it waking in the day. We'd still get the psychological effects – good dreams – but we'd still be asleep."
"Does that program thingamabob give a time we should expect it to awaken at?" I ask.
Nicole shakes her head and says, "I'll only say this, Krystal: Murphy's Law dictates that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. The worst thing that can happen is a daytime awakening, and so more than likely…we'll have to avoid driving or vehicles until after it awakens."
