A/N: CHA! Another chapter down!
This was a pretty fun chapter for me to write since it was setting up for some things to start happening. But I'm really glad I was able to get it finished and uploaded before I go to a concert tonight! CHA! The Airborne Toxic Event! I'm so excited!
Anyways…
And it's been a year since Thunder Stone started! I'm so glad to see so many of you still with me after a whole year! And I hope you all continue to enjoy the story! I was going to do an omake originally to celebrate the one year anniversary, but it just wasn't quite working out, so you all got another regular chapter instead!
But! Here's a fun fact: Aside from Maddox and Titan (since they were needed for the prologue), Miyako Ranji was the first character I received for Thunder Stone!
I've actually thought about doing fun little facts like that every chapter…I suppose we'll see how I feel next chapter. And now to the reviews!
Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter!
Senju Kid - I sure am on a roll! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
WaterDragonMaverick - LOL! Yep, romance everywhere. I suppose I was just in one for those moods. Glad you're still enjoying the ZanQuinn moments. And of course I had to put Aoi in that scene! We haven't seen her for a while. And yes! The appearance of a new dark guild! And I always have to keep you guys on your toes, even if it's a romance scene like Rey had. And here's to hoping that Rey has some good spying skills for Tartarus! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Momochan77 - :3 Glad you enjoyed Rey and Charlie's scene so much! And you get some more Kainen and Sera in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy that. And I'm glad I was able to put in all of your favorite teams in that last chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
dreadburner94 - Glad that you liked the last chapter! But obviously I wasn't able to get another chapter out before the end of the challenge. I wish I had been able to, but I suppose I did say I would be able to get 3 or 4 completed. Anyways, glad to hear that Conall is still turning out so well for you! And yeah, I think saying Rey was enough, lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Guest - Well I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed all the chapters you let build up, lol! And if there's a theme between masters and apprentices, I would say that it must have just wrote itself that way. I wasn't aiming for a specific theme, but I suppose it works, lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Benthino - LOL! Yes! Young love! I'm so glad to hear that I can still continue to surprise you with these chapters after all this time! And I will continue to try to live up to that wondrous flame of glory! CHA! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Blazingfire55 - Glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter and the new villains that came with it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Joshua1277 - Yes, Conall is a rather smart man, even if he doesn't seem like it. So kudos to him for sending in Zander after Quinn! And I'm glad that you like the start of Team Liam's mission! And yes! I appreciated the help I got for those new villains! And yeah, Rey definitely just slid right in there, lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
ColdBurn-3 - Glad that you liked the last chapter! And I thought Zander trying to blow down the door was a good touch, so I'm glad that you liked it as well. As for Shaw's Barrier Magic, it did cover them, but they did have to duck a bit to be fully covered by it. And Anna threw her arms up high enough over the barrier when she waved to Aoi and that was how she got shot. So it wasn't like the dome he made during their first mission. And I'm glad that you like how Aoi's and Anna's relationship is playing out. I quite enjoy it myself. And I'm really glad to hear you liked that last scene with Rey! And yeah, I thought it would have been such a waste to have him go back home already, so out he goes again! Hopefully he can actually redeem himself! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Cat the Alien - CHA! Thank you very much! Thank you for your wish of good luck and inspiration! Hopefully things will continue progressing like this for Thunder Stone as well as my other stories! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Credits
Joru and Nina Ronso - Reitzel-chan
Frida Ronso Koulsen, Marco Koulsen and Mike Ronso Koulsen - Reitzel-chan
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 32
"There now," an older man said in a gentle tone after having wrapped Anna's left forearm, "It should heal without a scar since the bullet just skidded across the skin."
"Thank you," Anna smiled at him.
"Of course," he said as he began to clean up his medical supplies, "Now we can actually get some decent introductions in. Don't you think so, Liam?" the man added, looking over at the Illusion mage.
"Yes, I suppose introductions are in order," Liam answered.
An older woman clucked her tongue in reply to the two men, "You two are always so formal," she said, turning a kind smile towards Anna and Shaw, "You would think that Liam would act differently in front of family."
"So you're related to Liam then?" Anna suddenly gushed out, looking at the other five people in the warm and comfy living room.
"Not by blood, no dear," the woman answered, "But he might as well be one of the family. God knows I fed him for four years. It's quite a wonder that he didn't grow plump over the years."
Liam blushed at the woman's comment, "Nina," he sighed.
"Mother," a younger woman chuckled, "You're embarrassing him in front of his friends."
"Good," the older woman replied, "Men always need some humility every now and then. Their heads would explode with arrogance otherwise."
"Well now," the man interrupted the two women before the dove into a long winded discussion about men and their egos, "Why don't you make the introductions, Liam?"
"Yes," Liam answered, "These are my friends and partners from the guild, Anna Jean and Shaw Rye."
"A pleasure to meet you both," the older man began, "My name is Joru Ronso," he said, shaking Shaw's hand in the process. Joru only stood at 5'6" with dark tan skin and an average build. His black hair was streaked with silver, showing off his age of fifty-six, but his amber eyes shone with a kind warmth. He wore simple clothes of brown trousers, a green shirt, a white doctor's coat and straw sandals. Around his neck was a stethoscope that he often times forgot was there after wearing it so much, "And this is my wife," he said, motioning towards the older woman.
"Nina Ronso," she answered for herself with a kind smile. She was only two years younger than her husband and stood an inch shorter than him as well. She had light tan skin and a slim build. Her light brown hair reached past her shoulders in a low ponytail and had a few silver strands in it. Though, her eyes were a bright and happy pink. She wore a yellow dress with a white apron tied at her waist. She also wore a pair of white flats and a pair of dangling amethyst earrings, "And this is our daughter, Frida Ronso Koulsen. Her husband, Marco Koulsen. And our grandson, Mike Ronso Koulsen."
Frida was a woman of thirty that only stood as tall as her mother. She had tanned skin and a slim build like her mother. She had long, dark brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail and warm amber eyes like her father. She wore a blue skirt that reached her ankles and a white t-shirt with a pair of blue flats. She also wore a necklace with a small diamond attached to the end of it. Her stomach was slightly rounded due to her being pregnant.
Marco was just a year older than his wife, but he stood a bit taller than her at 5'8". He had light skin and a slightly bulkier build than Joru. He had messy brown hair and green eyes. He wore a pair of worn jeans, a thin, white cotton sweater with a brown vest over it and a pair of brown boots.
Lastly, Mike sat in between his parents on a small couch. He was ten years old with light tan skin and brown hair with green eyes like his father. He wore a pair of brown shorts, a white t-shirt with a green dragon on it and a pair of straw sandals.
"It's nice to meet all of you," Anna smiled widely, "I've always wondered what Liam's family would be like, so it really is great to meet all of you!"
Shaw just simply grunted a hello while nodding towards them. Anna gave him a disapproving glare, but the family didn't seem bothered or offended by Shaw's behavior. Anna supposed that Liam could have told the family about him through letters.
"I suppose you would like to know why I've called you out here," Joru stated. He knew that Liam would want to know why one of his teammates had gotten injured upon entering the town.
"Awww, can't we play first?" Mike pouted, having hoped to be able to play with his uncle's friends.
"Come on Mike," Nina began as she stood from the chair she sat in, "You can help me make dinner. Wouldn't you like to bake a cake for our new guests?"
"All right," he gave in easily, having always liked to bake with his grandmother, "But we'll play later, right?"
"I would love to!" Anna beamed at him, "I have a few friends that you could meet too!"
"Great!" he grinned before jumping off the couch and racing into the kitchen along with Nina.
Joru nodded his head towards his wife in thanks for distracting their grandson for the time being. He then turned his attention back towards the mages in the room, "I must apologize for what you had to deal with when you entered the town."
"From what Liam dessssscribed," Shaw began, "I didn't picture Bluebell being ssssssssso violent."
"Are you drunk?" Marco asked, though he didn't sound angry or accusatory in his question. He simply just wanted to know, but he had a bad habit of asking the wrong thing at the wrong time.
"Marco," Frida hissed lowly, "Don't be rude."
"I just wanted to know," he replied.
"Maybe you should go join Nina and Mike in the kitchen," Joru grumbled. Marco sighed, but did as his father-in-law suggested. Joru was about to began speaking again when he heard a crash of pots and pans. The older man sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose while his daughter laughed behind her hand. Marco wasn't the most graceful of people either, "Anyways," Joru finally began again, "No, Bluebell really isn't a violent town. It's actually quite a peaceful place to live and most everyone gets along. It's a place where everyone knows everyone and no one would actually go out of their way to harm another. But lately things have been odd."
"I think we noticed," Liam said, "I normally don't get bombarded with bullets when I come to visit."
"That's why I wrote to you," Joru frowned, "At first it was one or two more patients for me and Frida than usual," he explained, "Normally Frida can handle many of the patients on her own. As a nurse, she's trained to be able to handle a wide range of wounds."
"But then things started to get more serious," Frida took over, "It wasn't just scrapes and bruises. It began turning into split lips and slash marks from knives. People may get a little drunk from time to time here, but never so bad that a bar fight would break out. And then a bullet wound to a man's leg is what put us on edge."
"I don't even know where they got a gun," Joru sighed, "A knife or two I can understand, but most people here have no idea how to hold a gun let alone shoot one. More and more patients started to show up on my doorstep with gun and knife wounds, black eyes and even a broken rib or two. The worst part was that none of them can explain what happened. All they could say was that one moment everything was fine and then the next they were hurt. The have no recollection of what they did."
"Has anyone died yet?" Liam asked.
"No, thank goodness," Joru answered, "But if things keep going like this, I fear that someone will. That's why I called you out here. There's something going on in Bluebell. Something dark. I want to make sure it's stopped before something horrible happens."
"Have any of you had any problems?" Liam questioned, hoping that no sort of violent act happened against his friend or his family.
"No," Joru said, "I think that's thanks to us living outside of town."
"Well, I promise to figure out what's going on," Liam said, "We felt something dark in town as well. It could be a dark mage, but why they would target Bluebell is beyond me. As you said, this town is fairly peaceful."
"Right," Joru stated, "But I do feel better that you came out here so quickly," he added, earning a nod from Liam, "Let's stop the serious discussion for now and relax a bit, yes? You had a rough afternoon and you all should get some rest."
The mage trio agreed with the older man, Anna jumping from her seat and sitting down next to Frida. She was happy to have another woman to speak with and she wanted more information about what Liam was like during his time living with the family.
Shaw rolled his eyes at the already gossiping women.
"They'll be at it all night now," Joru grinned, "Why don't you two follow me down to the cellar? You can help me pick out some good wine for dinner. Plus, there's probably some decent liquor down there as well."
Shaw was instantly at his side, "Ssssshhhhow the waaaaay!"
"I thought that might have caught your attention," Joru chuckled, "You seemed to be spot on about him, Liam."
"Well," Liam began with his own smile, "We have been partners for two years. That has to count for something, right?"
"I do suppose so," Joru answered, "But I'm curious as to why you never went into more detail about your lovely partner over there," he said in a lower tone while motioning towards Anna. This caused Liam to falter for a moment and left him a little speechless.
Shaw suddenly separated the two, "No gossssssiping," he slurred urgently, "Unlessss it's about liqourrrrrrr."
"Right, right," Joru laughed, "I understand. Follow me," he said, walking towards the kitchen where the cellar door was. Shaw was hot on his heels, but Liam hadn't been able to make his feet move properly, "You too, Liam," Joru called out once he noticed that he wasn't walking with him. At his command, Liam seemed to be able to move albeit a bit robotically. Frida and Anna simply laughed to each other as they watched him struggle to walk out of the room. Liam knew that somehow tonight was going to be a long night.
. : + : .
"Kokou is going to beat magnetic chick!" Kokou shouted as she ran up the steep hill that led to Thunder Stone's front doors.
"You haven't…won yet!" Miyako shouted in between heavy pants, "Where does she…get all her energy?!" she mumbled to herself, pushing herself faster up the hill. Though the steepness of it made it harder for her to keep up with Kokou. She could feel the muscles in her legs burning as she forced them to move faster and harder, "I'm…I'm not gonna make it!" she cried as she instantly stopped and flopped face first onto the ground, "Just leave me hear to die!"
"I told you not to challenge her," Azielle stated evenly as she passed the silver haired mage.
"Azi! You're just gonna leave me here?!"
"I have my own problems to deal with," the blonde huffed, glaring back at the two men that she had to deal with for over a week now. Tada looked away innocently while Bishop simply laughed at her, not being able to hold it back. She hadn't managed to catch them back in Onibus for what they had done when she was sleeping. She was surprised that she hadn't died of embarrassment from that picture and she was even more surprised to find that she hadn't deleted the picture yet, "I hate you both. You better sleep with one eye open."
"Ohhhh, Azi-chan has fallen to threats now?" Bishop asked, still laughing, "I'm so scared!"
"You shouldn't get so worked up over a picture, Azielle," Tada smirked coolly at her.
"And I know it was all your idea," she hissed at Tada, "You're the only one smart enough to navigate through my Archive Magic."
"She's got you…hey!" Bishop shouted, suddenly understanding what Azielle had just said, "You think I'm stupid or something?!"
"If the shoe fits," she answered.
"Look here missy!" Bishop yelled, "I'm still carrying your books. You want me to drop them?!"
A blast of Air Magic suddenly knocked him backwards, sending both his bag and Azielle's bag up into the air. Azielle simply kept walking forward, knowing her bag and the books within it were in no harm; and in time to prove her point, Tada caught her bag with his magic.
"Come on!" Bishop shouted once he was back on his feet, though he was now back at the bottom of the hill, "You catch her bag, but not mine?! I've been your partner longer! And I have some good wine in that bag! It could break!"
"Yes, well, she is a lady," Tada stated, "And let's hope that you were smart enough to pack that wine up tightly."
"Lady my ass," Bishop grumbled as he began the trek back up the hill once again.
"Up you go!" Titan announced as he lifted Miyako's limp body from the ground and threw her over his shoulder, "Can't be leaving you in the middle of the road like that."
"Thanks Titan," she sighed in reply.
"You really should have known better than to try and challenge Kokou," Tiger laughed, landing on her back to sit down.
"I'll keep that in mind next time," Miyako said, "One day I'll beat her!" she shouted triumphantly.
"You sure do bounce back quick, don't ya?" Titan asked with a laugh.
"That's my goal! To beat Kokou!"
"Good luck," Tiger said, gently patting her head.
"It won't ever happen, will it?" she asked.
"Probably not," Tiger answered, causing large streams of tears to run down Miyako's face. The Exceed patted her head in response again.
"Your grandparents sure were nice," Tejil said, looking down at the fire mage next to him as they entered the guild, "I'd like to visit them again some time."
"Even my gramps?" Remi asked, looking up at the frequency mage.
"Yeah, even the old man," he grinned, "He wasn't so bad. And your grams seemed to love me."
"Grams loves everyone."
"Oh, but she loved me the most out of everyone there," he smirked. His smirked quickly fell upon seeing the flat look on the pinkette's face. He coughed before he added to his statement, "Minus yourself, of course."
"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes in response.
"Remi," he began quietly. She looked back up at him to see a slightly nervous look on his face, "I would like to, you know, go on another mission with you some time. If you don't mind, that is."
Remi was a little surprised by his request. From the disaster that happened at the theater, she figured he wouldn't want to go on another mission with her. Granted, the disaster hadn't been her fault, but still. It was quite an impression for a first mission together. Then there was his insistent teasing to deal with. Though, she supposed she wouldn't mind going on another mission with him. Their time in Onibus had been fun and he had made sure that Titan wouldn't land on her when the stone dragon fell from the rafters. She finally smiled up at him and opened her mouth to answer him, but she was suddenly cut off.
"Look here," Planteggs's smirked, "The loser is pairing up with another loser."
Remi's face fell flat again while a scowl etched its way across Tejil's. Of all the people to interrupt them, it had to be the Cipini twins. He turned to see Planteggs smirking at him while Snagget just simply stared at him. Tejil noted how unusual it was for the other man. Normally he'd be smirking and laughing right along with his sister. Instead, he just stood there with a straight and bored face.
"Don't you think so, Snagget?" Planteggs said, the young woman also sensing the odd behavior from her brother. She looked back at him, waiting for some sort of response from him.
"Tch, whatever," he grumbled, pushing past them, "I don't have time for this," he added, walking away from the group towards the dorms.
"You should probably take a number from your brother and leave," Tejil growled, glaring at Planteggs.
Planteggs stared him down for a moment longer before letting out a huff and stalking off towards the dorms as well.
Tejil watched the woman disappear before he turned his attention back to Remi, "You were about to say?"
"We're finally home!" Kimera and Terran shouted once they walked into the guild.
Tejil felt his eye twitch at the second interruption of his conversation, "Frequency Shift!" he shouted, turning towards the door. He released a single wave of frequency towards the shouting duo, causing the air to roll forward with it. Kimera and Terran managed to jump out of the way of the attack, leaving Hikari and Mahrin-Kah open to it. The spell hit them hard, sending them flying up into the air. Kimera and Terran each caught one of them, swirls in both of the girls' eyes. The two conscious members of the team turned glares on Tejil, who was now laughing nervously as he quickly began making his way towards the dorms to hide for a bit. It didn't help that he heard Remi laughing after him, causing him to blush in embarrassment as he disappeared down the stairs.
Maddox wanted to laugh at the return of so many of his members, but his jaw hung open in shock as he gripped at the beer in his hand. He still couldn't believe what he had just seen. There was no way that Snagget actually gave up the chance to start a fight with Tejil. The frequency mage was one of the Cipini's favorite targets in the guild and Snagget had simply walked away from him while his sister did the normal mocking.
"Am I losing my touch?" he thought out loud, "Well, I suppose I can't really lose if Akemi wasn't here to see it," he smirked, thinking that he would win the wager of 10,000 jewels against the water dragon if she wasn't here. Maddox may respect honor in most things, but he was a gambling man that liked to win.
"Yo," Judge said, suddenly appearing next to Maddox at the bar.
Maddox spit out his beer upon seeing the man's sudden appearance, "Where the hell have you been?!"
Judge simply shrugged in response, "Around."
"I suppose that's the best answer I'll get from you," Maddox said, wiping the excess beer from his beard, "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Here," was all the man said as he handed over a small piece of paper to Maddox. He then grabbed a beer for himself and took a seat at his usual table alone.
Maddox quirked an eyebrow at the man before reading over the paper in his hand.
'Maddox,
I'm no fool. I've asked Judge to let me know how things went if the twins show up before I get back since I know he'll be discrete about it. I expect full payment of 10,000 jewels by the time I get back if I've won our bet. And I also took the liberty of checking the bank books before I left, so I know you have the money available for me.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Akemi Katsu'
Maddox read over the note three more times before looking over at Judge. The man smirked from under his hood and nodded towards the old man. Maddox felt a sweat drop run down the side of his head. Akemi must have meant business if she went out of her way to speak with Judge. And Judge must have been entertained enough by the situation to follow through on her request.
"Dammit," Maddox grumbled to himself.
"Excuse me, Maddox," Azielle interrupted him. He looked over at the petite blonde to see a serious look on her face, "I think we need to talk."
"About your mission? We can do that in my office shortly. I think I need another drink first," he said, chugging the rest of his current beer before moving to get another.
"Well, there's that," Azielle began, "But then there's also a message from Lahar."
"Go on," Maddox said, unsure if he liked where this conversation was going. Azielle took a deep breath before she told him the Captain's decision about Evelyn's new assignment. Maddox stood still for a long moment, blinking a few times as he tried to take in Azielle's information. Tada suddenly appeared behind her, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away from the old man. Just as Azielle was out of harm's way, Maddox roared out in anger, "LAHAR DID WHAT?!" the shout being loud enough to echo through the entire town of Magnolia.
. : + : .
"We'll have to head a bit farther northeast of here," Akemi mentioned as she looked at the map she had brought with her. Her team currently sat inside the restaurant attached to the inn they were staying at in Clover Town, "We were lucky that the railway came this far, but there's nothing passed here that will take us directly where we need to go. The train will go into Bosco, which is past our destination."
"All right," Kainen answered, "We should probably leave early in the morning then. It'll give us plenty of time to hopefully reach our destination. I don't particularly feel like sleeping on the ground for the night."
"I'm sure you'll be able to handle it if it comes to that," Akemi mentioned, a smirk playing at her lips, "You're a big boy, right?"
"You really shouldn't hassle the people you asked to come with you on this mission," he said in an even tone.
"Party pooper," Akemi said under her breath as she turned back to the map. She circled the area they were headed to, "So our destination should be in this general area. This is where the three countries meet and there should be a small town near the border within Fiore. That's where the request came from."
"Did the request give any information on this monster?" Kainen asked.
"Not really," she answered, "Just that it was powerful and it was nothing like they've seen before. Apparently this area isn't new to monsters, but they have their ways of dealing with them on their own. I'm sure if the town is near the border of the countries, there's bound to be soldiers of some sort to keep things in order. So whatever is causing problems is powerful enough to be out of their skill range. So it's obviously worse than an ogre or a giant. I'm hoping that it's not a manticore or a hydra or anything like that. Those things are hard to deal with."
"Are those things even real?" Kainen asked.
Akemi looked up from the map and almost snorted in laughter, "We live in a world of mages and you're skeptical of a manticore?"
Kainen stared at her for a moment, "Good point," he finally said, "But I don't like the thought of having to deal with soldiers on the border. I'm sure they're not going to be the most welcoming of people, especially when we're to do a job they couldn't."
"Well, if they want the job done and to keep people from being killed, then they'll let us do our job," the water dragon stated, "Besides, are you afraid to show up some soldiers?"
"Hey now, I never said that."
"Thought so," she smiled as she folded up the map, "Now, we should really get some sleep."
"Not until you actually eat something," Kainen retorted, looking down at her still full plate. He then looked over and noticed that Sera's plate was still full too, "I swear, it's like taking care of six year olds," he sighed, "Sera! Stop torturing that poor cat and eat something!" he snapped. He could be heading up to bed since he had actually taken the time to eat, but instead he had to make sure his teammates ate something.
"You always ruin my fun!" Sera huffed. She pulled away from Zell, who had been poked and prodded by the scientist. He sneezed out a purple dust across the table, the dust being all across his face. Sera had stated that it was supposed to help him stay awake longer right before she smudged it across his face. Zell sneezed a second time before falling out of the chair and landing unconscious with a loud thud on the floor, "Hmm…seems like it has the opposite affect," Sera noted as she scribbled the result in her notebook. Once she was finished writing, the notebook was pulled away from her, "Hey!"
"Eat and then you can have it back," Kainen stated. Sera huffed in response, but she finally started eating. Kainen then looked over at Akemi over the top of his tinted glasses, "I don't have to take something from you as well, do I?" he asked. This earned him an eye roll from the water dragon before she started eating, causing him to smirk in return.
As the two women finished up their dinner, Kainen noticed a group walk in through the front door towards the front desk. Normally, he wouldn't have taken note of the people walking into the simple inn, but this trio seemed to make themselves noticeable. He could tell that two of them were female and the other one was male, but he couldn't see their faces as they all wore dark cloaks with the hoods up to cover their faces. He watched as they ordered a room and left to head upstairs. Something told Kainen to watch out for this group. He didn't get a bad vibe from them, but something told him that they would be seeing them again some time soon.
. : + : .
"So are you going to tell me how your sword broke?" Conall asked, looking at the redhead across from him.
"I'm surprised you're up this early," Zander mentioned, feeling a bit uneasy about telling Conall what had happened up on Mt. Hakobe. They were currently sitting in the small café inside the inn that Conall and Mercury had been staying in. Mercury was sitting with them as well, being asked there by Conall since she would most likely be making a new sword for Zander.
"Well, I couldn't talk to you last night, could I?" Conall retorted. Zander and Quinn had been out for the entire afternoon and well into the evening before they showed back up at Bar Street and by that time, Conall was too far gone to have a serious conversation with, "And don't try to change the subject. Now tell me what happened."
Zander sighed heavily before he finally began to tell Conall about his team's last mission. Conall and Mercury stayed quiet through the whole story, the older man wearing an unusual serious face during this time. Finally, Zander came to the end of the story and silence filled the table. The redhead looked from Conall to the table and back to Conall, nervously waiting for the man to reply. He was sure that the man was going to give him a hard time for what happened with Norman.
"I see," Conall finally answered, "So you finally got your revenge on him. Do you feel better now?"
Zander crossed his arms as he looked out the window to stare at the morning sky, "No, not really. It almost feels worse than when he was still alive. I mean, I'm glad he's dead. He can't hurt anyone else that way. But…there was no vindication in his death. I thought I would feel relief in his death, knowing that the man who killed Sieglinde was killed himself. Instead, I just feel empty for his death."
"Good, remember that feeling," Conall said, causing Zander to turn his head back towards him, "Killing someone shouldn't bring you relief, no matter if they were evil. Understand that you may have to kill in order to survive, but never revel in that killing. You will gain nothing from it except a dark heart. I know. I've seen good men turn bad or go insane from it. I will not let that happen to you too."
Zander simply nodded in response.
"And this time may have been harder for you than any other enemy," Conall continued, "Not just because it involved Sieglinde, but because it also involved your teammates…because it affected Quinn," he said lowly, watching as Zander's eyes widened, "I'm not stupid. I can see that it bothers you that Norman got to her the way he did and that you can't do anything to make up for it. And unfortunately, there will be nothing you can do to make up for it. You will have to live with it just as she will have to live with her own decisions. But you can't let this deter you from moving forward. You have created a team, and as a team, you will have to face each other's darkness. They faced part of your darkness with you, so in return you must face their darkness with them. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good," Conall said, "And let that scar on her hand and the Ice Magic she took be a reminder as to what she was willing to do for you. Let it remind you how hard you will need to push yourself when you face her darkness with her. And there will be darkness to face. All of your teammates have something to hid like you did. It's easy to see. But the darkness that surrounds her is sad and angry, much like your own. Keep that in mind, yeah?"
"Yeah, sure," was all Zander was able to reply with.
Conall held the redhead's gaze a moment longer with a serious face before he nodded at him, "All right, well enough of that serious talk for now. You need a new sword, correct?"
"Correct," Zander answered, his throat still feeling a bit tight after their previous conversation.
"Well then!" Conall boomed out, a smile spreading across his face as he smacked Mercury hard on the back. She let out an 'oof' as her body was smacked forward and she had to stop herself by placing her hands on the table. She turned a glare on her master, but he didn't seem fazed by it at all, "Mercury here can make one for you. You have heard of the Kain family, right?"
"Yeah, I have," he answered, "It's a famous blacksmithing family. They made weapons for many nobles and royals over many generations."
"Looks like you're keeping up on your history well, boy!" Conall grinned, "Mercury here happens to be the next head of the family! She's the best of the best! There's no better blacksmith to have than a Kain!"
"All your boasting isn't gonna get you out of work, old man," Mercury growled.
"Ahahaha!" he laughed loudly, as he continued to smack her back, "She's really the best, you know! She'll make you a brand new sword much better than your old one!"
"Conall…I think you're gonna kill her before she can make me a new sword," Zander said, sweat dropping at the sight of the woman laying flat across the table while Conall kept up his actions.
"Please just ask me to make the sword so he'll stop," Mercury mumbled.
"Uh…will you make me a sword?"
"Yeah," she answered, but Conall didn't seem to hear the exchange between them. As his hand hit her back again, Mercury jumped up from her seat and smacked the man upside the head with a wrench. Where she got the wrench, Zander wasn't sure, "I said I'd make him a sword, you deaf idiot! So stop smacking me! Do you have any idea the kind of damage that's gonna do to my spine later in life?! If I end up as a hunchback, I'm gonna blame you!"
Zander sighed as he watched a full fledged argument erupt from the two. He looked back out the window towards the sky again, wondering if Quinn was having any better luck with Yajima. He knew it had to be much quieter at least at the old man's restaurant.
. : + : .
Yajima quietly moved towards the only occupied booth in his restaurant, carrying a pot of coffee and creamer with him. He normally wouldn't have anyone in the restaurant until it opened at eight in the morning. He noted that was almost an hour away as he looked up at the clock. He set the creamer down on the table and poured coffee into his guest's cup as well as his own. He moved to add creamer into his guest's cup, but a hand over the top of the mug stopped him.
"I take mine black," Quinn said softly.
Yajima nodded at her and set down the creamer just as she let out a yawn, "You didn't have to come so early," he said as she sat across from her in the booth and poured cream into his own coffee. He stirred it, the spoon clinking against the ceramic as he peered over at her.
"You were the one to say to stop by before you opened."
"Yes, and I also said you could come after I close the restaurant at night."
Quinn smiled briefly at him, "Well, with the way Conall and Bacchus are, I doubt that I would be able to make it over here at night…if last night was any indication," she explained, remembering all the partying that had gone on last night on Bar Street. It was a wonder how she hadn't gotten obliterated herself. She supposed it was because she knew she had a meeting to get to in the morning, but damn if she wasn't jealous of Yuna who had still been sleeping when she left their room this morning.
"True," Yajima answered, "I hope the coffee helps then."
"It will eventually. Thank you."
Yajima let a quiet moment pass between them as they both enjoyed the peacefulness and the coffee. Once he set his mug back down on the table he began talking again, "I'm a little surprised that you came here alone. I was sure that at least one of your teammates would come with you."
"Well, Zander is up too, but he's talking to Conall this morning."
"The poor boy," Yajima said, knowing how Conall was. He was sure that things were already getting rambunctious on that side of town.
"He did that to himself," Quinn smirked, "I told him I would go with him to see Conall after I spoke with you, but he said no. He said he wanted to speak to Conall alone, which I can understand. So here I am."
"And your other friends?"
"Still sleeping after a long night," Quinn answered, her smile growing slightly.
"I see," he said, "Well then, I suppose we should get right to the information you want to know. So I'm assuming you know who Milada is then? At least vaguely?"
"Yes. I know she's Maddox's daughter and that she can use magic too. I also know that at some point she was in the town of Calla…about 15 years ago I believe," she answered, recalling all the information she could from Norman's memories without actually having to open his door. She did promise Akemi that she would keep that door locked for the time being.
"Calla wasn't the town she was born in or grew up in, but she had been living there for some time," Yajima said, "She left after the town was attacked."
"So you know where she is then?"
"Not exactly," he answered with a frown.
"Then how do you know that information about her."
"I know a lot about a lot of people. It's a bit of a perk that comes with being so old. And news about mages travels fast. People gossip and gossip is always based on some sort of truth," Yajima explained, "Milada is quite a powerful and talented mage and news about her used to travel all around Fiore. Up until the attack on Calla that is. She stopped trying to make a name for herself after that."
"Then how do you know if she's still alive?"
"I used to be part of the Magic Council and I still have a few ways to get information. Maddox asks me from time to time to check their records to see if she is still alive. Just because a mage becomes less active doesn't mean that the Council stops watching them."
"So do you know where she is now?"
"A vague idea, yes," he answered, looking down into his coffee for a moment, "But first a few things that I need to ask of you. Why are you searching for Milada and how did you come to know of her existence? I know that Maddox wouldn't have shared information on her."
Quinn grew quite at his questions. How the hell was she supposed to explain everything that had happened after she had used Complete Extraction on Norman? She finally let out a heavy sigh, "My magic involves taking memories so I can better use someone's magic. I took magic from a man named Norman Randulf. He was the man that attacked Calla when Milada had been there and I had seen her in his memories. I eventually figured out that she was Maddox's daughter," she explained, pausing briefly before she continued, "Some things happened at the guild recently because of these memories and I wanted to make it right with Maddox by finding Milada and bringing her to Thunder Stone."
"I'm sure whatever happened at the guild, Maddox doesn't blame you for it."
"He doesn't, but I still feel like things aren't right yet either. I feel like there's this tension hanging in the air because I know something I shouldn't. I'm hoping that if I find Milada, it will make things right."
"Did you tell Maddox what you were doing."
"Of course not," she practically snorted in reply, "He wouldn't have let me out of the guild otherwise. I don't know what happened between him and Milada and why he seems anxious when she's brought up in conversation, but I get this feeling that he does want to see her."
"I'm sure he does," Yajima nodded, "I've told him several times to just go find her, but he won't listen to me. So I'll keep this secret mission between us then and I'll tell you her general location, so long as you do something for me."
"What is it?"
"I want you to visit Calla first," he stated, "It's south of here, past Lamia Scale and on the other side of the mountain range that's down in that area. It's close to the ocean…or what's left of it I suppose."
"Why do you want me to go there? Milada isn't going to be there, is she?"
"No, she won't be, but I want you to really see what she went through. I want you to see what her attacker was truly capable of. It will help you understand Milada better and you might learn some things about yourself and about a member or two on your team."
"Someone on the team? Does someone on my team know Milada?"
"I can't really say," he shrugged.
"What?! Then why even say something like that?!" she snapped, feeling like he was holding something back from her. And she was even more irritated at the thought that someone on her team knows something about Milada and wasn't speaking up.
"Just keep an open eye and an understanding mind," Yajima stated.
"Yeah, all right," she finally gave in with a sigh, "And I promise to go to Calla then when we're done here in Hargeon."
"Good. After you're done in Calla, head west into the mountains on the other side of the river that's near Calla. The last I heard, she may have been traveling through them. Be careful though. Not much is known about those mountains or what could be in them."
"Good God, old man!" Quinn huffed, "I feel like you're just having us run around all of Fiore! And you're not even sure if she's there or what's in that area!"
"I'm sure you'll find something," he smiled at her, "At the very least, you'll get a good hike out of it."
Quinn's face fell flat at his comment, "You're almost as bad as the shady old man back at Thunder Stone."
"Shady? That's a new one for Maddox. Although, I must say it fits him quite well."
"Well, I suppose some information is better than none. Thank you very much for your help."
"You're quite welcome," he nodded at her as she stood to leave, "Just remember to stop at Calla. You really do need to go there."
"I got it, old man," she huffed, "I already told you I would do it, so I'm gonna do it. Geez! It's like no one ever believes what I say!"
"Oh and have fun today," Yajima added as she walked towards the front doors, "Since you no longer have any business to attend to, you should really join into the festivities. For all their drinking, Conall and Bacchus really do know how to throw a party. Plus, there's some good beaches around here too!"
"I'm gonna need a few drinks to deal with those bozos and the morons in my own team too," she grumbled as she walked out the door, causing Yajima to chuckle to himself.
Once outside, Quinn stretched her arms upwards and took in a deep breath of the morning air. She wasn't sure what to do now that her business with Yajima was done. She could go back to bed, but that seemed almost useless now that she was wide awake.
"I hate being up this early," she mumbled, "No one else is up and it's boring. I suppose I could go hunt down Zander. Hopefully he's done speaking with Conall. It would be kinda nice to have a beach day," she said, thinking back to Yajima's last comments. It was a fairly warm day already and it was only morning, "Maybe I'll go wake the other losers up first then," she laughed lightly as she came up with ways to wake them up, "I wonder if the inn has a fog horn or something. That would be good for Yuna. And for Walker I could…" she drifted off as her focus was pulled towards the small wooded area she was walking next to.
Quinn froze at the feeling she got from that area. It was a horrible, dark feeling. Like something was laying in wait to attack her. Her eyes narrowed as her hands slowly began moving towards her sai. Just as her hands circled around the hilts of her weapons, a heavy arm was slung around her shoulders.
"Morning!" Walker announced loudly, "You're up so early!"
"What the hell?!" Quinn shouted, not expecting the blonde man to suddenly show up, "Why are you awake?!"
"Diesel was snoring so loud that it woke me up and there was no going back to sleep after that," he answered, "Why didn't you wake me up to go with you to see Yajima? I wouldn't have minded."
"Zander and I were up and we decided to let you guys sleep in," she answered.
"Zander was up with you, hmm?" he asked with a knowing smile, "Am I being replaced by the redhead? I'm hurt!"
"Shut up, Walker!"
"So where is the idiot? Did he leave you here all alone? What a horrible escort he is!"
"Keep it up and I'll spill the beans about Kat to the rest of the team," she said lowly, her eye twitching in irritation.
Walker instantly withdrew his arm from her shoulders and put his hands up in defense, "No need to go that far, yeah? Besides, Kat and I are just friends anyways."
"Psh, yeah right," she rolled her eyes, "Because that's why you were making googly eyes at her before we left for this trip. And that's why you bought like ten dozen flowers from her too. Just what did you do with all those flowers?"
"I put them all over Twilight Ogre's guild," he answered before laughing, "You should have seen people's faces as they passed their guild! It was priceless!"
"They're gonna try to beat you up when we get back home, you know that right?"
"Only if they're smart enough to remember," he snickered, "Plus, you'll protect me, right?"
"You're such a weirdo," she smirked as she playfully pushed him away, "Let's go wake the rest of our team up. It's time for a beach day!"
As the two walked off back towards the inn, they missed the three pairs of eyes watching them from the wooded area that Quinn had been looking at.
"Just a little closer and I would have had her," a young girl's voice mumbled from underneath a thick, white scarf.
"Thunder Stone isn't our main objective anyways," a man stated in a cold tone.
"But we should collect information on them. Aren't they going to be our objective soon?" she asked.
"Not until Twilight Ogre pays up to the boss," the man answered bluntly, "You know Cathal won't make a move until the jewels are handed over. Besides, our job is a bit further from here. Remember, we have to take out that dark guild that's been getting in the way of our jobs recently? Cathal would rather see the dark guild snuffed out than taking out a few lawful mages. We need to get moving."
"Right," she answered, turning away with him.
They noticed that the third member of their party wasn't moving with them. The man huffed when he noticed that the other man in their group was off in his own thoughts, "Oi! Gaius!" he shouted.
The man looked over at him, his droopy, violet eyes finally coming back into focus.
"We need to get moving, so get your head out of the clouds already," the first man snapped at him.
"Aye," was all he replied with as he began moving with his teammates.
A/N: There you go! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
I'll have the next one up soon!
Please remember to review!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson