" What is it?" Marceline asked.
" Just, come on." He walked down the hallway. Marceline, Icarus, and William followed.
" What is it?" Marceline asked again. Dante looked at her, then to Ginger's door. When he touched the knob, a green spark deflected his hand.
" Whoa. " Icarus said.
" What just happened?" William asked.
" Magical Metamorphosis." Marceline said, tapping the doorknob, and it sparking slightly.
" Magical what?" William asked.
" Metamorphosis. When a caterpillar is turning into a butterfly that's known as Metamorphosis. Species metamorphosis is when a human is being turned into a werewolf, vampire, etc.., Magical Metamorphosis is when a magic user goes through tremendous magical change."
" So, what, Ginger's powers are increasing? Why, when did she go through Magical stress?" Dante asked
" Many times. When she killed that dunewyrm, when she killed that Mage slayer, when she fought in that battle in Darkovia, and when Shadow died. And the aftermath of that."
" When Shadow died? What does that have to do with her magic?" He asked again.
" Do you know anything about magic? It's affected by emotions. When Emotions are high, the place that store your magic starts to flex, in a sense, like when you're fighting, your muscles are flexing, when you're using magic, your magical " Muscle" is flexing. "
" So then why do emotions make your magic bicep flex?"
Marceline rolled her eyes.
" Nobody knows for sure, but many believe Emotions are an ancient type of magic. Ginger's depressed. It's no wonder this is happening. The best we can do for now is to let her go through this, and not to bother her. But she also can't protect herself." She said, she walked over to William, and kneeled.
" Can you and Vita stay here with Kat, and make sure this place stays safe while we're gone?" She asked the boy. He nodded his head yes. Marceline smiled.
" Okay, good." She said, getting up.
" Icarus, Dante, you two are with me."
" What are we going to do?" Dante asked.
" You and Icarus deal with the Palace's guards, while I go find Gerrick."
" And then?" Icarus asked.
" When I come out of that castle with Gerrick's head in a sack then we can go."
" Okidoki!" Icarus said, cheerily.
" You know, you're really creepy when you do that sometimes." Dante said. Icarus just shrugged.
" Alright, come on."
" Is it done?" Scarlet asked Moraltar, her legs crossed, her foot bouncing.
The assassin nodded.
" Good. Take your gold." She said, tossing a rather large coin purse at Moraltar's feet. He pocketed it. His hands swiftly reached for his bow, and an arrow, but the twins appeared right behind him, and grabbed his wrists.
" Bad assassin, bad,"
" Now Ms. Red is mad."
" She would really like for you to go,"
" Or we could break your arms...I would go." The two sang cheerily. Moraltar's unmasked face stared emotionless at the two, then softened his grip on the bow and arrow. The two let him go, and he disappeared with a breeze following.
" He's almost as fast as you two," Scarlet said, grinning.
" He would make a good companion."
" Oh, yes, but he is just too much of a 'guy' who is 'good' !"
" Working for you is just something not he could." The two danced in perfect synchronization. Scarlet chuckled.
" No I suppose not."
" Why did you send that dark little thing, though?" Gemene asked.
" Well, if Gerrick really did take the bait like you planned, and if that group running a muck decides they want to fight Gerrick here and now, there is a chance that they'll kill each other. Either way, something will be out of my way, and at the very least, i'll have some entertainment."
" Ah, yes! You are quite the smart cookie ms. red, quite so!" Gemeno said, the two began singing and dancing, praising Scarlet, and she just sat their and grinning, looking out her window at the castle below.
Gerrick looked at the palace, and chuckled.
" Don, did you find a way in?" He asked the golden wolf approaching. It turned into a boy, Donovan, fully dressed. A trick that only he can do, wrapping himself in the transformation energy, so his clothes don't get ripped, instead, it stays with Donovan's body as he switches place with the wolf form.
" I did. There are a few hidden entrances, though it's locked by a magical seal."
" No problem, show me." He said. The boy swiftly turned back into a wolf. Besides the clothes trick, Donovan was also the only Wolf who can transform outside Darkovia without a Full Moon, or excruciating pain.
"Here?" Gerrick asked, at the tree behind the Palace walls. The wolf nodded.
" Alright, go back to Darkovia, thanks for your help." He said. The wolf nodded again, and nudged his leg, before running into town, quickly.
" Come forth, Rechiere, spirit of lock picking." His hand flashed, and a humanoid figure, transparent and glowing, unlike the angel spirits, which were more opaque and human-like.
" Unlock the seal that disguises this path." He ordered. The spirit nodded, and he placed his hand on the tree, a large, complex symbol appearing. He began rubbing certain parts of the seal, and it disappeared, again and again, until it ran it's finger along the inside of the seal, much like a Maze, until he got to the middle, if he had taken a different path, or hesitated, or went back on his original path, the seal would have alarmed the palace that there was an intruder, but no such thing happened. It pressed the center of the seal-maze, and the tree disappeared, leaving behind a staircase down.
" Thank you, Rechiere, you may go back now." Gerrick nodded, and the spirit nodded back, dissolving into little sparks of light, into the air. Gerrick walked down into the staircase, and then the tree appeared again, making it seem as though there was never a staircase to begin with.
" Viola!" Rin giggled, the god licked her cheek. She shivered as she saw the silhouette of a man at the end of an alleyway, pointing an arrow at her.
" Whoa, whoa!" Rin stumbled, fell over while sitting, and scooted away.
" Immortality." The man said. The dog ran over to him, he eyed the brace on the dog's hind leg, where the bolt was, what made the dog limp.
" What is that?" Immortality asked.
" It's, a-a brace, with artificial gravity definers. I'm a technomancer, and uh, the dog looked like it was limping pretty badly, it should walk and run just fine now." She said.
The dog, which the man called "immortality" ran around him to prove her point.
The man said nothing for a long time.
" How much gold do you want?" He asked her, out of the blue, putting the bow and arrow away. His face was emotionless.
" I. don't want any gold." Rin said, surprised.
" Then what do you want?" Moraltar asked her.
" Nothing."
" Then why did you help my dog?"
"... because it looked like the right thing to do, I don't know."
He looked at her for a long time.
"... I'm Rin."
" Moraltar."
" Moraltar, hm? Interesting name, never heard it before."
" It's a mountain name."
" You come from the mountains?"
He stared at her a while longer.
" If you don't want any gold, then I propose you leave, there's nothing for you here." He walked past her in the alleyway, about to enter the side building which he was staying at, and she got up.
" Rin." He said, she spun around, surprised.
" Thank you." He slammed the wooden door, and she heard several locks click in place. She chuckled.
" You're welcome, I guess." She shrugged, and continued walking away.