Reviews from Mandrakefunnyjuice, I.K.A. Valian, and Poet Bucky, who finally caught up completely with us. And while we're on that topic, another fellow Canadian, Cloud-Strife-Wannabe, is trying to copy Bucky by plowing through all 25 (now 26) chapters at once. Wow, makes me feel so proud to be a Canadian, with all that dedication and stuff...
Anyway, this chapter I dedicate to Fenrir of the Shadows. The main reason for this, other than the fact that you've been a follower of this fic for a long time, is that your namesake, Fenrir (the large wolf from the Temple of Ice) will be making its debut in this chapter. So Fenrir (the writer, that is), I really hope you show up and cheer your counterpart part on. This will be fun!
Namco owns Tales of Symphonia. Martin Scorsese owns The Departed. Felix Chong and Siu Fai Mak own Infernal Affairs.
Sheena stared in shock as Mark revealed his personal history. "Kuchnawa and I are brothers, born to an army sergeant and a summoning expert. I didn't go by the name Mark before. Instead, my parents named me Orochi," he explained.
"So that means your parents were the same people in the Volt incident?" Sheena asked nervously, noticing the connection between their families.
Mark nodded. "It was thirty years ago, and I was only ten years old. Kuchinawa was seven, and I recalled taking care of him while our parents left on that Volt mission. We were staying with a family friend when we heard the news that our parents were killed in that freak accident. I still recalled how we felt. It was a mix of sadness, shock, and even anger. That day changed our lives forever," he described, "From then on we moved to an orphanage and were put up for adoption. Because of the unfamiliar settings, I had to watch over Kuchinawa, making sure he wasn't getting into trouble. When someone picked on him, I was there to protect him, and comforted him whenever he felt scared."
Sheena looked on as Mark continued his sad tale. "Finally, after a few months, the Owens showed interest in adopting us. But the centre had a policy of adopting only one child at a time, meaning they could only take one of us. They decided to take me, and renamed me Mark. But they were kind enough to let me keep my old name and Mizuho heritage. Notice what I write for my full name: Mark Orochi Owen," he pointed out.
Sheena nodded, still trying to absorb all that information. "So what happened to Kuchinawa? I assumed you guys did end up going back to him, right?"
Mark sighed, trying to bottle in his emotions. "Kuchinawa became somewhat of a troubled child afterwards. Between when I was adopted to when my foster family made a second application to the centre, Kuchinawa had been bullied to the edge, and many times he tried to escape from the centre. He was branded as the problem child, and many times the staff had to complain of his erratic behaviour. By the time we returned to take him in, he had run away again. This time, nobody managed to find him."
Sheena gulped, anxious and nervous to hear the result. "So what did happen to him? A kid like that isn't exactly going to survive on his own, is he?" she asked.
Mark let out a forced chuckle. "He did survive, as a street urchin. He was taken in by this underground group of kids that basically had to steal food from others. They were led by a bunch of older kids in their late teens max, and they did some petty crimes and stuff. We did manage to run into each other again, but by then he had a grudge against us, and blamed the Owens and me for abandoning him, despite the circumstances."
Sheena put a hand on Mark's shoulder. "You shouldn't blame yourself. It's not your fault that things ended up that way. You were both victims of circumstance."
"But that wasn't good enough for Kuchinawa, as he told me he never wanted to see me ever again. I lost contact with him for a while, and didn't think about him as much anymore. I ended up going to university and doing a degree in history, and further doing studies in archaeology after my Bachelor's. But on the day of my convocation where I was to receive my PhD, he showed up, approached me, and even congratulated me. I thought it was the end of the feud, as he was friendly towards me, and even asked me to give the Owens his regards. I truly believed that he forgave us all for what happened, but really he's just channelling his anger elsewhere," Mark concluded, nearing tears.
Sheena was frozen. She did not know how to approach Mark and help him with his problem. On the one hand, she felt sorry for her supervisor in the sense that two brothers were torn apart due to this generational conflict; on the other hand, she also felt guilty because it was a mission led by her own grandfather that put them in this situation. "Did Kuchinawa hold it against my grandfather for what happened?" she asked timidly.
Again, a forced chuckle. "Seeing the way he acted, I'm willing to bet that he holds it against the entire world," Mark replied, "Whatever the case, I'll have to face him sooner or later. It's just a matter of dealing with what we have first, and saving the world from Cruxis before they kill us."
"But that would mean you guys are fighting again, since he's with Cruxis right now," Sheena murmured as their vehicle continued its way to the military airfield. A lot of thoughts flashed through Sheena's mind, as she figured that Kuchinawa would be after his brother and herself in revenge for what the Volt incident had caused. And speaking of the Volt incident, Sheena realized that she too had to face her fears and tackle the electric summon spirit in order to complete the spirits, not easy with her being traumatized by all the stories of her grandfather's failure and all the deaths Volt caused. It was branded into her mind since she was young that she was the girl whose ancestor caused the deaths of many brave soldiers all because of some crazy plan to gain a new source of energy.
But knowing that the world was on her shoulders, and the deaths of Mark and Kuchinawa's parents indirectly linked to this, Sheena realized that this was her chance to redeem Igaguri and show Kuchinawa that there was a positive way out. Taking a deep breath, she regained determination to truly complete the task and save the world.
The next morning, at the elf cabins near Latheon Gorge, Lloyd and company were packed and ready to move on to the next phase of the cure finding mission. The leaf herb was safely packed into a cooler, and the group was to contact Sheena to confirm whether a zircon piece was available. As they discussed on their next move, Ricardo approached Raine with a special request. "Is it alright if Genis comes back with me to Heimdall? We were training earlier and Genis was interested in learning more, so I'm hoping to bring him back to train him up further," he asked the female half-elf.
Raine was surprised at the request. "Well, considering the fact that we're refugees right now, I don't see our separation as a good option," she replied, reluctant to agree.
But Ricardo assured Raine that nothing would go wrong for them. "Heimdall has been one of the safest places in Tethe'alla, so Genis would be fine," he told Raine, "Just let me teach him a few skills and I'll return him to you."
Just as Raine pondered this, her phone rang, the caller ID displaying just the person she wanted to speak to. "Sheena, what do you have for me?" she flipped open her phone and asked, hoping that she managed to get some zircon.
The group looked on tensely as Sheena updated Raine on their current situation. Finally, when they ended the call, Raine turned to face the group with her face paled. "The good news is that the Lezareno Company did have extra zircon. If we wanted a piece, all we have to do is to go to Altamira and ask them. George should have a piece ready for us, or so I'm told," she explained, "The bad news is that while we were looking for the leaf herb, Ozette had been the target of an attack, and it was believed that Cruxis was behind it. That means the military has been stretched thin, and we'll have to be pretty much on our own for the next few days," she concluded with a grim and solemn tone.
The group remained silent, too shocked to speak as they pictured the quiet town near the forests fire-bombed by Cruxis' mana guns. Knowing how far this group went, they knew that even with Lynn and Colette cured, they were still unsafe. "It'd take a miracle to save us now," Genis moaned, "We're all doomed!"
"Don't say that, we're going to get through this," Lloyd said firmly, "We're going to rescue Colette and your grandma, and Cruxis is going down afterwards."
"And how do you suppose we'll do that?" Raine retorted, taking some wind out of Lloyd's sails, "We must focus on what's important right now, and get to Altamira and grabbing the zircon. We're still lacking the mana piece, and we can only hope Sheena is working on that part. But according to her phone call, she's so busy running around the Temple of Darkness gathering the five separate entities of Shadow that she couldn't get to dealing with that. That, plus Shadow's notoriety for being unwilling to communicate, made Sheena's life more difficult. She doesn't have too many chances left, you know."
While the human, the elf, and the half-elves deliberated on their next course of action, Noishe received a text message from Exire. It revealed that a member of the military's Mizuho division arrived in the city and required briefing on the current Cruxis situation. Again, Noishe was summoned to discuss the issue with the military. Knowing that this might be their last chance before the final push into Cruxis, Noishe decided to break up the group. "We have to deal with this immediately, so whatever decision you guys make, and where you choose to go, make up your minds now," he insisted.
Raine stared at the ground, as if something crawling out from the soil fascinated her. "If we're being threatened either way, then it doesn't matter where we go. So if Genis will learn something and be safe in Heimdall, then I say go for it. I assume the captain will be heading for Exire, so I guess Lloyd and I will go to Altamira by ourselves then," she decided, "But whatever the case, watch each other's backs, okay?"
Back in Iselia, Dell and Chatman were again summoned to see Forcystus. It felt odd for the two to go by themselves, given that Gil was dispatched to Exire. Dell waited patiently outside the door while Forcystus could be heard having a phone conversation. Chatman, not exactly the patient type, sneaked up to the door and peeked through the crack. "What's taking so long?" he grumbled, trying to see what Forcystus was doing.
Inside the office, Forcystus was indeed speaking to someone, but it was not over the phone. Rather, Chatman could see the Iselia Cruxis leader speaking on some type of a long-distance radio or com-link, as if there was something special about the conversation that he insisted on keeping private, therefore needing his own separate line. Chatman could not read lips, but could tell that whatever conversation Forcystus was having, it was very intense, as the green-haired half-elf spoke in a very animated tone.
Dell finally had enough of his partner's antics, and sought to drag him away from the door. Chatman resisted at first, making the two go into a weird dance-like formation as they jockeyed outside Forcystus' door. After a few more minutes of this, Forcystus finally opened his door and summoned the two in. "And don't even tell me what you two were trying earlier," he said to the theatrical two, "I don't even want to know,"
As Dell and Chatman sat across from Forcystus, they felt a sense that the spotlight was now on them. Gil had been in here multiple times, and it still surprised them how calm he was sitting before this fearsome Cruxis leader. The butterflies in their stomachs flapped like crazy as Forcystus briefed them on their next move. "You guys usually work with Gil, but since he's in Exire, I have the perfect mission for you," he instructed them, the dark office making the tone just that much more commanding, "I just got word that Rodyle, with his invention nearly back on track, could very well use it against us. I know we've been told all along that he's agreed to work with us, but knowing that he's cunning and power-hungry, he could turn against us. That's why I asked you two to come here."
Dell and Chatman glanced at each other nervously. They would think that it would usually be Gil that took the bold moves, but to have them do it directly? That was almost unheard of. "Well, whatever it is, we should be prepared, I think," Dell replied.
"Good, that's what I'd like to hear," Forcystus leaned back on his chair, the dark shadows covering the top half of his face, "I want our branch to hack into Rodyle's system and take over his invention. I heard he finally managed to get an Exsphere refiner to manage his operations, but only after he blew Ozette apart. That's bound to catch the Tethe'alla military's attention, and put a big target on his back. Because of this, and in the interests of keeping our goal intact, we're taking control of the invention without him knowing. When you're ready, monitor the tech team and hack through his system."
Dell nodded, realizing that this was not a mission that they had an upper hand in. After all, how often did they get to experience working with technology and computers? "So, how does one hack in their system? Is it through the Exspheres, which supposedly powers this thing, or what?" he asked.
"The Exspheres are refined in such a way that they can release mana at Rodyle's command through his computer. But the machine is controlled by a separate computer, and that's the one we're going after," Forcystus explained, "Not only will we have Rodyle do the fuelling for us with his refiner, but we also go into mainframe and monitor his progress. It doesn't get much better than that," he beamed arrogantly.
But Chatman was unsure of this move. "Gil's still with Rodyle right now. If we start ripping up Rodyle's place, wouldn't Gil be in danger? I think we should inform him of the move and get him back here before proceeding," he suggested.
Forcystus shook his head. "Telling Gil means going through Rodyle's Cruxis, and that would arouse his attention. We have to act without him noticing, so no contacting Exire until we've taken out his branch," the Cruxis leader replied firmly.
"And leave him there to take collateral damage? I can't believe you!" Chatman exclaimed, "He served Cruxis for ten years, and was one of your top lieutenants, and you're going to thank him by leaving him in Exire to die while we take over Rodyle's system? What inspired you to call that a good idea?" Beside him, Dell was awestruck to see Chatman stand up for their human partner. Dell was also sympathetic to Gil's current situation, and was supportive to Chatman's attempt to stand up for Gil. But to go against one of Cruxis' top leaders just to help their friend? That might be just a bit overboard.
But Forcystus would not be swayed. The hard-nosed attitude that Iselia's Cruxis members had grown accustomed to could not be more prominent here. "My intuition tells me that this is the way to go, and it's never been wrong before," he retorted, "In this world where half-elves are considered inferior despite our superior abilities, it's expected that some lives will be lost in our struggle for supremacy. Just be lucky that it's a human rather than one of our own," he retorted coldly, his face re-entering the light as he stared daggers into Chatman, "My decision is final, so just carry out the orders and do no more."
A swift wave of the hand dismissed Dell and Chatman from the office. Dell was in deep thought as he pondered the possibilities before him. Obviously, it was not in their best interests to defy Forcystus, but knowing that they had worked with Gil so closely for the last three or four years, was it truly right to leave him in Exire and in harm's way?
But Chatman made his views well known, as he showed his strong suit of causing a scene outside Forcystus' closed door. "Intuition my foot!" he yelled, "So who's the moron you turn to if your intuition is wrong, you bombastic arrogant freak?"
News of the Ozette attack spread fast, as almost all corners of the world had at least heard about it, and paid close attention to the news to hear updates of it. Many were wondering whether their friends or relatives had survived the attack, or maybe they had been declared missing, captured by the extremist group identified as Cruxis. Most citizens had not heard of Cruxis before, so all this development shocked them very much.
One such individual also paying attention to the news happened to work in the Special Investigations Unit of the Iselia Police Department. There was still some time before her shift began, and she found herself sitting in the unit staff lounge, pouring a cup of coffee and paying close attention to the news. Being from Ozette and having a parent still living there, she was deeply concerned of the activities. It was three years since she was last there, and she recalled that her father was quite ill at the time. Her younger sister Alicia had gone missing not long that, and all she recalled was that she wanted to follow a lead to find her. After that, all she remembered was the same routine, day after day for the next three years: get into the police station and feed Forcystus any useful information.
"We have more news coming in, and it has been released by local police and even military officials that there are still fifty or so people not accounted for," the reporter stated as a series of bodies, both alive and dead, moved through the Ozette suburbs.
The female officer stood silently watching, negative thoughts racing through her mind as she tried to locate any sign of her father. The suburb attacked seemed like the one that he lived in, and she was intent to find out what had happened to him. "Where's Daddy? What happened to him?" she muttered to herself.
Unfortunately, no more footage showed up. "For those citizens around fearing their relatives may have been involved in this incident, we strongly urge you to call the Ozette authorities and confirm their identities," the reporter continued.
Hearing that, the young officer from the SIU took a piece of scrap paper from the recycle bin and pulled out a short pencil, furiously scribbling phone numbers down and fretting over her frail father's well-being. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she could not hear her supervisor calling her from the door. "Officer Combatir, our meeting is in five minutes. Are you ready yet?" Captain Eric Burton asked from the doorframe.
The officer looked up, caught completely off-guard. Her mind completely flooded with worry, so much that Burton could see it leaking from her eyes. "Presea? Are you alright? What happened?" he asked, concerned.
"Uh, nothing, it's alright…" Presea replied, trying to hide the note. But that would do her no good, as the television was still on, and Burton caught on to the newscast.
"The Ozette attacks?" Burton murmured, crossing his arms as he watched on for a couple of minutes, "You're from Ozette, right? I'm sorry, I should have known earlier," he apologized to Presea, "Is your family alright? Have you checked with Ozette yet?"
Presea tried to stop her superior from asking more questions. After all, Burton did not know that she currently worked for Cruxis, and the last thing she needed was to have him find out too much about her personal life and her connections to Forcystus. "Really, I'm fine. I'll just call Ozette after our meeting," she stuttered, becoming more flustered.
But Burton would have none of that. Known to be a compassionate captain, the heavyset man was famous throughout the force as a leader who showed great empathy to his unit, whether it be a family death or illness, or a fallen comrade, or whatever. Putting his arm around Presea's shoulder, he suggested that she take some time off. "We'll go for the meeting, but afterwards, go home and take some time to relax. Once you're all good, then call Ozette and find out about your loved ones. Take all the time you want," he stated soothingly, trying to comfort Presea.
Presea thanked her superior for his kindness, but again insisted that she would be fine. But Burton ended up raising a point that she could not possibly reject. "Right now you're one of the unit's most important people, since you're in charge of flushing out the Cruxis mole within us. That means we want you at full health and energy. Since this attack is almost like a family tragedy, I know how you must be feeling right now," he explained, "Take one week to relax, two weeks if you want to go back to Ozette to check on your family. After that, then you can come back to work with us, deal?"
While day shift was starting in Iselia, a military plane was approaching Falnoir in the evening. Known to be a snowy city due to the influence of the summon spirit of ice Celsius, it was never known to have a warm climate, even in the summer. As it landed on the runway and taxied onto the tarmac, Lloyd and Raine could see another military plane looking similar to theirs parked right next to them. "I'm guessing Mark and Sheena are already here," Raine informed Lloyd as they got off.
As they wheeled into the Flanoir branch of the Lezareno headquarters, they found themselves in a strange case of déjà vu, as Regal waited for their arrival in a conference room, with Mark and Sheena already seated. "I've heard everyone's concerns, so I guess we can get started into this matter. Lloyd, Raine, I've done some calling to Ozette, and the dwarven arts expert is not home. I'm guessing he must have been captured by Cruxis, but we have no time to worry about that," Regal explained.
Lloyd cocked an eyebrow as Regal droned on about all the ingredients for a cure. How could he be so calm about this when Ozette was just attacked and people's lives are in danger, he thought. But nonetheless, Lloyd forced himself to listen on as Regal went over all the available materials. "We have a doctor here in Flanoir that knows a fair bit of your current situation, and has experience with mixing dwarven medicines before, so he may be able to help you put the cure together," Regal concluded.
Raine nodded, happy with the result. "I guess we can update your doctor on our findings and the state of our current patients, and perhaps we could work out something from there," she agreed to the preposition.
Satisfied with the quick response, Regal turned to Mark and Sheena. "Tomorrow, you're going to be heading towards the summon spirit of ice. Now, I know it's summer, but the conditions in the area could very-well be winter like. Research from Lezareno shows that the influence by ice mana can decrease temperatures within the region in minutes, and that could lead to some unwanted consequences. And since the military is busy helping out in Ozette, you're pretty much on your own," Regal warned them.
"The weather is the least of our concerns right now," Sheena replied, "Cruxis seems to be onto us and is doing everything in their power to stop us so their plans can succeed. It didn't help that Mark's own brother is on their team."
Regal glanced at them in shock. He summoned George, who came with him to Flanoir, to escort Lloyd and Raine to the doctor's while he heard the two out. The elderly chief advisor to the CEO led them out of the building and into a waiting vehicle, leading them to the doctor's location. "It's nearing closing time for his office, so we have to hurry. If we can get the materials list to him, he may have it ready for you by tomorrow night latest. Then you two can be on your way to saving your friends."
Unfortunately, they were just too late, as the office just turned off its lights when they pulled up. Lloyd immediately charged out of the car, skidding himself to a stop just before the doctor, who was about to enter his vehicle as well. Seeing the situation, Raine and George hopped out as well, hoping to stop Lloyd before his could make a fuss. "Is there a problem?" the doctor asked the crowd gathered before him in a nonchalant tone.
George signalled to Raine to hold off Lloyd while he did the talking. "I'm George from Lezareno. Both Regal Bryant and I called earlier saying that we'd be coming to do a quick consultation with you with regards to some dwarven medicines," George explained to the bespectacled man. Gesturing to Lloyd and Raine, he continued, "These two are with me, and they're the ones that wanted to know about your dwarven skills."
The doctor took a gander at the teenager and the half-elf before him. "These two? They don't even look like they know how to decipher which is their left hand and which is their right," he snickered. Lloyd and Raine shot death glares at him, but to no avail, "Alright, since it's Lezareno, I'll do it, but you'll have to pay me later on."
"What? You've got to be kidding me!" Lloyd exclaimed. Again, had it not been for Raine, the doctor would be sure to lose his teeth. Even then, there was no guarantee Raine would not want to do the honours herself, considering his arrogant tone.
All this would have no effect on the doctor, who insisted on being paid. "I'm taking time out of my own personal hours to deal with your problems, so if you think you can get off for free, you have another thing coming. You can give me the request from Lezareno right now, and I'll look into that for you. Afterwards, George here can discuss with me about how I can receive my payment," he retorted smugly.
Things did not go as planned for Altessa, as he expected Cruxis to let the prisoners go in exchange for his services. But instead of living up to the promise, Vharley pushed the issue onto the dwarf by making him get started on Exsphere refining. "I won't take any action on the prisoners until I'm sure that the Exspheres are all good, old man," he snarled at the dwarf, the grimace on his face uncompromising.
And that's what Altessa spent his entire day doing, refining Exsphere after Exsphere, making sure they were all up to quality for Vharley. He did not want to touch those nasty things again, considering the number of lives he destroyed with them. But for the safety of all those in Ozette, he had no choice. Besides, there was no way the police or military would pay attention to him, not when all that chaos was still present. "He's right, I'm just an old fool of a hermit," he muttered to himself.
And by the time he was done the first batch, Vharley had seen enough. "Looks like your skills can be trusted," Vharley snorted, putting the boxes away.
"So I've done my part, now you live up to your part of the bargain and let those citizens go!" Altessa demanded, his voice rose in anger.
Again, Vharley howled in laughter. The arrogant tone caused Altessa's blood to boil even more, as his fists were clenched, wanting to sock the bald man across the face. "You seriously think I'll let you off the hook that easily?" Vharley sneered, "While you're still here, you're dealing with all the Exspheres first, then we'll talk about the prisoners."
Altessa could not take it anymore. He lunged forward at Vharley, hoping to deal some damage. But before he could even get close, two of Vharley's assistants jumped forward and restrained the dwarf, giving Altessa the beating of his life. Vharley only crossed his arms and snickered as he watched the two half-elves punched and kicked Altessa into compliance. "Take him away. Lock him where the other prisoners are," the bald man ordered, "We'll deal with him tomorrow morning."
The two men hauled Altessa through the very tunnel that Gil and Zelos had met earlier, and rudely tossed him into the far cell. Altessa's vision was still blurry after the beating, the Cruxis members probably dealing some damage to the side of his head. From the cell, he could hear the door slam shut and clicked. Resigned to his fate, he realized that he had become their prisoner, an ironic fate, considering that his experiments used to be conducted on these very people. Huddling in the corner, he could not help but weep.
His sobs were obvious audible enough to catch the attention of the prisoner in the cell just next to him. "Hey, are you alright?" a soft female voice asked.
Altessa looked up, locating the sound of the voice. It was a red-haired young woman, looking no older than the early-twenties. Altessa could tell that was probably captured here for a few years, considering her physical condition. "Are you alright?" she asked again, "Did they beat you? Are you hurt?"
The next morning, Mark and Sheena left extra early, heading straight for the Temple of Ice. They had no idea what would happen with Lloyd and Raine, if they could convince the doctor of even looking at their ingredients. A phone call from Raine to Sheena the night before pretty much confirmed the fact that they were dealing with a troublesome person. "I hope Mr. Bryant could talk some sense into him," she muttered.
But they would have their own troubles ahead of them. Indeed, true to earlier predictions, the closer they got to the temple, the cooler it got. The breezy winds picked up significantly, hurtling down the mountainside and biting into their skins. It was truly an unusual feeling, as the two shivered in their clothing, despite the fact that it was still summer time. The howls and whistles resonated through the icy area outside of the cave entrance, drowning out all other sounds as they entered.
But insider, the atmosphere was even tenser, as the battering and roaring of the winds onto the rocks above were muffled, creating a strange silence. Mark and Sheena slowly negotiated their way through the rocky cavern, being careful not to slip on any pieces of ice around them. "Seeing how this cave had been untouched by outsiders for centuries, I'm guessing this is probably old ice, stuff that has been collected and hasn't melted for a long time," Mark observed.
Finally, they reached the innermost chamber, a large dome-shaped room with the outside walls coated entirely by ice. Sheena stepped up to the platform and made the summoning call again. Seeing that Celsius was the disciple of everlasting ice, this did not come as a surprise to them. But what did come as a surprise was when the spirit showed up, there was not just one, but two forms materializing before them. "Well well, what do we have here?" the young woman figure demanded in an unimpressed tone.
"I didn't know there were two figures," Sheena whispered to Mark, "Maybe we can get the extra piece of mana that Raine wanted from here?"
"Don't be hasty, we don't even know what the dog beside her is," Mark warned.
"Uh, in case you're wondering, this is not a dog," Celsius interrupted, annoyed by Mark's terminology. "His name is Fenrir, and he's an ice wolf, a former guardian of this area. Show some respect to someone who's protected the area for so long, got it?"
Mark and Sheena stared at each other nervously. Celsius was the opposite of Shadow; while the envoy from the dark abyss did not talk in full sentences, making communication between them complicated, the disciple of everlasting ice and her wolf were too vocal, making the already unfriendly and cold environment even more hostile. For them, they could not tell who seemed more threatening: the cold glare from Celsius, or the large canine known as Fenrir, squatting beside her, baring its teeth and growling at them. Seeing the current situation, Mark and Sheena knew they faced a heavy challenge.
Please note that I am considering the existence of time zones in the Symphonian planet, so that's why day shift in Iselia means evening in Flanoir. Thank you for your reviews.