-Chapter 18-
Storming through the meeting hall, Zane approached the main chamber where the remaining dimensional leaders had been taking care of their own share of the business, overseen by Viper himself. The anger he held was prevalent on his face, a deep scowl forming as his eyes narrowed further the closer he came to the chamber. Aster and the others had followed closely, trying to urge him not to make a scene in front of the other leaders, but Zane couldn't have possibly cared less about what they thought. The ninth and sixth dimensions had been in the midst of a deep and volatile feud for nearly five generations, and never once had such a thing taken place as far as the feud's recorded history had shown. If Viper really had ordered one of his men to kidnap his little brother, he would be breaking one of the strictest taboos the councils of old had set in place, and there would be hell to pay. Bursting through the main chamber's double doors, Zane strode in, his black coat flying behind him as the elders turned to the young king, appalled by his abrupt and unannounced entrance.
"What is the meaning of this?" The eldest leader demanded, turning his attention to the fuming king, his own eyes narrowing at him. "Your majesty, you cannot just parade in here while the separate sessions have yet to conclude-"
"-Where is he!?" Zane roared, his anger escalating as he glanced around the room, not catching a single glimpse of Viper anywhere in sight, only furthering the man's guilt in his eyes. "Where is Viper!?'
"Lord Viper stepped out just moments ago to receive a transmission." The elder man said matter-of-factly, not at all a fan of the king's uncouth and aggressive behavior. "Now, if you would be so kind as to wait outside while we conclude our session, then perhaps-"
"-Enough, old man!" Zane roared again, clenching his fists as the others filed in behind him. Aster approached his king, placing a hand almost timidly on the man's arm he hoped Zane would be able to calm down. Especially if Viper showed his diabolical face before them, knowing in such a case Zane could very well completely lose himself in his rage.
"Your majesty, please, you have to stay calm." Aster instructed, doing his best to try and take control of the situation before it got completely out of hand. He'd done his best to tame the young king's anger as long as he had been serving as his advisor, and as tough as a challenge it had proved to be, Aster thought he had made progress getting him to keep himself under control. But now it seemed like all of his hard work had started to slowly unravel right in front of him. "You're making a scene."
"Might one of you please enlighten us to his majesty's current quarrel with Lord Viper?" An elderly woman questioned, her tone patient yet demanding as one would expect from a ruler of her age. Of course she as well as everyone else in attendance was aware of the feud, but she could tell there had to be a little more to this outburst than just that. Then, as if on cue they heard the click of the door in the back of the room. As everyone's eyes turned in the direction of the small noise, Zane's eyes narrowed as much as he could possibly manage as Viper reentered the room. Closing the door quietly behind himself as he entered, Viper saw the angered king opposite him, the tiniest chuckle escaping from his otherwise silent lips.
"Ah, his majesty King Zane returns to grace us with his presence." Viper mocked, the patronizing pettiness in his tone more than commonplace with the dictator in reference to the young king. Still, he frowned at the sight of his most hated enemy. "To what do we owe this… unexpected honor?"
"You!" Zane spat out, nearly hurling his body forwards at the imposing man, Aster grabbed fully onto the king's arm, doing the best he could to keep him in check despite his overwhelming rage. "What have you done with my brother!?"
"I beg your pardon?" Viper inquired, raising an eyebrow at the king, feigning ignorance though he was more than proud of what he had done, having only just given the order to have the little prince locked away in his dungeon, planning to keep the boy shut away like a trophy in a trophy case until he was able to bring the ninth dimension to its knees. As well, he had his own plans for the prince, and the great power he possessed. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
"You know full well, you bastard!" Zane roared over the murmuring voices of the council, previously completely unaware of the concept of the little prince's recent abduction. "Where is he!?"
"What is the meaning of this?" The first dimension's ambassador demanded, standing from his seat around the large table he and the others had been seated at in the center of the room, appalled by what Zane was suggesting. "Just what are you suggesting, your majesty? Certainly Lord Viper would not go so far as to steal away your younger brother."
"I'm afraid it's true, your eminence." Sheppard spoke, stepping forward as even a single voice of reason in the turbulence of such an event. "I've foreseen this."
"Preposterous!" One of the leaders interjected, appalled as well that they were insinuating one of the exalted council members had committed such a villainous act. The little prince was defenseless and completely innocent of any wrongdoing. It would be downright evil of someone to inflict harm upon the lad, and in Viper's case, entirely in violation of the precepts the child's father had demanded put in place over the sixth dimension many years ago, when his children were both still young. Not a soul from either the sixth or ninth dimensions was to be granted access to the other under any circumstances, among more than a few other restrictions. But not only were they suggesting Viper had violated that law by sending someone to infiltrate the ninth dimension, but that he had also committed such a heinous crime as to abduct the ninth dimension's beloved prince while his majesty the king had not been even within his own borders. Such an insinuation was sickening.
"I'm afraid, ambassador, it is not." Sheppard stated plainly, thankful to see that even though Zane's rage had not subsided, he was doing quite well suppressing his urge to act on it in front of the entire dimensional council.
"It seems to me, your majesty. That in such an event as this, you yourselves are not entirely free of guilt or blame." Viper dared to insinuate. A bold statement for even him in such a place as the gathering of the dimensional council.
"Just what are you insinuating, Viper?" Zane interrogated, keeping his angry eyes narrowed at the dictator, though doing his best to suppress his deep rage over his little brother's abduction.
"Well, as this council is no doubt aware," Viper began, catching the attention of the remainder of the council as well "in the past, there have been multiple attempts to kidnap the young prince. And each time, those attempts failed."
"What is the point of this, Lord Viper?" the first dimension ambassador questioned, raising an eyebrow at the horrid leader. "Would you be so kind as to enlighten us?"
"My point is, your eminence. That after all these years, it seems the glorious ninth dimension has lost its touch." A dark chuckle trailing off the end of his sentence, he mocked the young king's dimension with little care for the king's feelings, everyone knowing full well he could care less about anything other than his own agenda.
"I beg your pardon?" Zane glared, hating every single second spent listening to Viper spout his venom.
"It appears to me, exalted council, that if young, innocent little Syrus was indeed taken. It was because you and your soldiers were not sufficiently prepared to protect him." Viper accused, only further fanning the flames of Zane's rage. "Face it, your majesty. After so many years of success and peace, you've grown complacent. Lazy. And because of this, your brother was taken from you."
"How DARE you!?" Zane fired out, having half a mind to punch the dictator in front of the entire council had Aster not had the foresight to hold him back.
"Your majesty please, calm down!" Aster pleaded, beginning to fear for the remainder of the council's proceedings if all they were going to be was a long winded argument. He wanted this matter resolved as quickly as possible, but he wanted cooler heads to prevail as well. Though no matter what, he knew this wasn't going to end well.
"Crowler.." Atticus said, his voice lowering to a quiet hush, not wanting the entire room to hear what he had to say, even with all of the chaos going on around them. Able to hold himself together for the time being he pulled Crowler over to one side, still keeping an eye on the situation that was very quickly unfolding before them.
"Yes?" Crowler questioned, worried even more was wrong. "What is it? Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes, Crowler, I'll be fine." Atticus shook his head at the esteemed chancellor, appreciative of his concerns even so. "Please. I want you to try and get this to Jaden and my sister." he explained, a thick layer of urgency in his slightly weary voice, though he was doing what could to remain strong amidst the onslaught of negative emotions swirling around him and overwhelming his senses. "I don't think Zane will be able to control his anger for very long. Someone has to try and get Syrus back, and I think Jaden and the others may be the only ones who can get it done."
"Are you certain?" Crowler questioned, already deeply concerned enough without thinking about what would happen if nothing could be done to right this wrong.
"I am." Atticus nodded back, thinking back on all Sheppard and even Crowler had shared with him about Jaden's journey since he and Alexis had left him. "He and Alexis saved me when it was just the two of them. With that large of a party, there has to be something they can do.."
"I suppose.." Crowler thought aloud, honestly wishing none of this had ever happened. But of course, he knew better than that, after all his many years having gone by he knew life was more than a little unfair to those most deserving of its rare kindness. Nodding once more he knew the young man had more than a small point. "Very well. I'll speak with young Chazz, he should be able to get the message to Jaden." Placing a hand on Atticus's shoulder, Crowler gave the young man a concerned look of his own. "First, please allow me to escort you to the guest's quarters. You really must rest."
"Well… alright." Atticus conceded, glancing back to Zane and the others as he continued to shout and make a scene. Sighing quietly, he knew Crowler was right, but still he wished there was something he himself could do to help. "I guess Sheppard and Aster can take care of things here."
"Indeed they can." Crowler nodded again, turning Atticus back towards the door he led the young king-to-be away from the growing chaos. Getting him as far from the arguing and furious screaming as he could, Crowler felt much better knowing Atticus would be able to recover from the strain even just being away from home was no doubt causing him, still being in the stages of recovering from his capture and borderline torture that were only days behind him. Still, the boy was far tougher than Crowler gave him credit for and he knew that all the same. Leaving Atticus to rest, Crowler took his communicator from his coat pocket, stepping into his own guest room to speak to his boy in private.
Back in the temple's medical ward, Chazz sighed heavily, waiting patiently as the healers changed out the bandages covering the deep scratches and gashes he had suffered from Yubel's assault. Most of the little wounds had already begun to close and heal, but the deeper gashes still continued to bleed beneath the bandages. He hated needing to be there at all, much less needing to be patched up so much. As the healer carefully cleaned the dried and still slowly seeping blood from his chest, Chazz hissed sharply, a deep sting shooting through his pale body as the cleansing wash seeped into the slowly closing wounds.
"My apologies, young man." The healer said, being as careful as she could with the wounded warrior. Doing the best she could to avoid the slightly deeper cuts that were still yet to close, she made a point to finish quickly, sensing the boy's complete disdain for his current situation. Picking up a roll of fresh bandages she started to re-wrap his torso before swiftly doing the same for the scratches decorating his arms as well, choosing not to bring up the boy's multitude of old scars for fear of upsetting him. "Alright, you're free to go."
"Good." Chazz muttered, taking in the sight of his body all bandaged up and wounded like a novice entering the battlefield for the first time. He hated seeing himself like that. No matter the fact that the wounds had been more or less unavoidable considering their origin, but even knowing that didn't make him hate it any less. In fact, it made him hate it even more. Thinking about it reminded him of each and every day he received a new scar from his horribly abusive older brothers. And that wasn't something he ever wanted to think about again, really starting to regret ever letting the others in on that fount of knowledge. Sighing heavily, he reached for his shirt, vest, and gauntlets laid out beside him, taking the silken lavender shirt into his hands he stopped. Listening for a moment, he heard a quiet beeping sounding from his pocket. Putting his shirt back down by his side, Chazz reached into his pocket, pulling his communicator out he quickly switched it on, knowing only Crowler would be calling him now that he was away from their home dimension. He was also quite frankly curious why Crowler would be trying to contact him at all, knowing full well the man would be at the dimensional council now along with the other dimensional leaders. Watching as the holographic image of the esteemed chancellor appeared, Chazz waited for his answer. "Chancellor Crowler?"
"Yes, my boy. I apologize for the interruption, but there's something very important I must discuss with you." Crowler said, cutting right to the chase in regards to his current communication. Seeing the bandages covering the boy's exposed upper body, Crowler felt his chest tighten for a moment as a wave of worry washed over him, but he quickly shook the feeling off, knowing the boy wouldn't care for his worrying. Besides, he knew Chazz could take care of himself, and they had a much more immediate and serious situation to deal with anyway.
"What kind of something?" Chazz inquired, raising an eyebrow at the chancellor, expecting to be given further information. Crowler was never one to sidestep around a situation, and Chazz could tell from the overly serious tone in his voice that whatever he had to say was even more important than he was making it sound.
"Nothing good, I'm afraid." Crowler sighed, loath to even think about it, much less speak on the matter. "Evidently, it seems that some time late last night, one of Lord Viper's mercenaries infiltrated the ninth dimension, and was somehow able to abscond with young Prince Syrus.." Shaking his head in disappointment, he thought about all that had been happening around him lately, and almost none of it good.
"You're serious?" Chazz quickly questioned, shocked that such a thing could even be possible even knowing as little as he did about the prince or the inner-workings of the ninth dimension.
"I'm afraid so." Crowler sighed, lamenting the little prince's unfortunate situation. If he could, Crowler would have traveled back in time and told Zane and Aster about it himself, but he knew the idea was ludicrous. Even so if he had half a mind, he would have taken the divine Ancient Gear cards entrusted to his ancestors and championed the rescue effort Atticus had beckoned he suggest to the children himself if he didn't know any better. Alas, he had left the battles of his younger days behind him. Crowler knew his lack of recent experience would only be a detriment to the children, but it pained the near middle-aged chancellor to know such a defenseless child was in danger. It just didn't sit right with him at all. "I had hoped it was only an accusation, but Grand Maester Sheppard confirmed the authenticity of the claim himself. Apparently, it seems that he foresaw this some time ago…"
"So? What are you telling me this for?" Chazz inquired further, concerned for the little prince of course, but also confused as to why the esteemed chancellor felt the need to contact him of all people about it.
"Well, my boy, young Atticus requested that I bring this information to you and the rest of your party." Crowler explained, getting straight back to the whole point of the entire conversation before he let his concern having seen Chazz's clearly bandaged wounds take over instead. "He believes, that if the boy's to be saved, then you children are the only ones who could get it done before the situation gets any worse on the political end. And seeing what even just young Jaden and Alexis have accomplished, I happen to agree."
"So, you want us to sneak into Viper's fortress and rescue him? Just like that?" Chazz raised his eyebrow again at the chancellor, not entirely sold on the idea no matter what the intentions of it were. Sneaking into the sixth dimension in general he wasn't too jazzed about after what they had done back in the seventh, causing him to need to be rescued himself. Unfortunately, he was all too aware that it was going to have to be a group decision, and with Jaden on the team, he knew they were going to end up going through with it. "That's not something you just do you know, Crowler."
"Yes, I know." Crowler nodded in agreement with the temperamental and ever realistic warrior. "We're trying to work things out on our end, trying to keep his majesty from declaring a war against Lord Viper over such an offense. In the past their ancestors were known to fight over much lesser crimes, so it's a possibility, however unlikely I'd like to think it is. His majesty is a logical man, but when it comes to Lord Viper and the old feud, he's known to let his family's vendetta drive his actions. And with his dear brother in harm's way, I'm worried he might let his anger drive him into making a irreversible mistake. So please, my boy. At least pass the information along to the others."
Sighing heavily, Chazz was starting to wish he had never followed Jaden and Alexis again. Honestly, he found himself thinking that a lot, but now he was starting to actually mean it. He wasn't one to often deal with other people's problems, especially if he had the chance to avoid doing so. As far as he was concerned, even having a debt he needed to pay wasn't a good enough excuse to get him to go on such a fool's errand normally, but if the situation really was a volatile as Crowler seemed to fear it could be, then he figured putting aside his reservations at least in part would probably be a good idea for now, just in case.
"Fine." He said, conceding to Crowler's request. "I'll tell them. But you know, I can't just go and promise we'll bring him back or anything like that, right?"
"Yes, yes, I know." Crowler nodded, completely understanding of the boy's logic. Even if they managed to find the young lad, there was no guarantee they would be able to liberate him without getting themselves captured as well. But still, he was thankful for even the idea that they would at least try. "Even so, please know that my thoughts are with you. Young Atticus's as well. And for the sake of that poor, defenseless child. I implore you to at least try."
"With Jaden around, you won't have to worry about that." Chazz scoffed under his breath in response, knowing that Jaden's friendship with the tiny prince would be more than influential in their actions moving forward.
"Of course." Crowler chuckled, having been told of the friendship the two had forged when they first met. It was a sweet thing, perhaps it could come in handy. Catching another glimpse of Chazz's bandaged wounds, Crowler couldn't help but feel his chest tighten with worry again, worried equally about how such a thing had been caused as well as having just about sent him into another great danger. "Be safe, my boy. Please."
"You know me, Crowler." Chazz chuckled, shaking his head at the chancellor for a moment, a cheeky smirk crawled across his face. "I always am." Deactivating his communicator, Chazz shoved the small device back into his pocket. Snatching his shirt back up from its spot beside him again he threw it back on, tucking it back into his deep purple ribboned sash belt, reequipping his silver gauntlets, the puffed ends of the long lavender sleeves he wore tucked neatly under the silver colored metal. Satisfied now that the bandages decorating his body were sufficiently covered, Chazz strode out of the infirmary after throwing his vest back on as well, a new mission given to him, he headed back to the guest quarters. Assuming that's where the others probably were most likely, and now that Jesse had been released from the medical ward they were probably all fussing over him. Rolling his eyes at the thought, Chazz honestly thought it strange how quickly they had all taken to each other. Even Jim and Hassleberry, who they had only just met not long ago at all, the previous night even. If he were that kind of man, Chazz would've thought it was some kind of destiny thing, like the group had been destined to come together, but to him, all that stuff had always just seemed like bullshit in all honesty. Though, after all the things he'd seen since Jaden came along, a tiny part of him was starting to think maybe there was some stock in it after all.
"Whatever." He thought, shaking off the annoying thought as he approached the quarters, down the hallway he could hear the others talking up a storm, and clear as day he could hear Bastion scolding them for one thing or another. Rolling his beautiful black eyes at the uptight acolyte, Chazz noticed Alexis walking down the opposite end of the corridor, no doubt on her way to yell at the boys for being loud, but Chazz knew for a fact what he had to say was more important than whatever it was she was planning to.
"Hey." He said, catching her attention she glared back at him, the concern she had for him before all but faded now that he was on the mend. And in its place, her disdain for him was starting to resurface.
"What do you want?" She interrogated, stopping as she reached the door blocking them from the rest of the group, crossing her arms as she prepared for whatever nonsense he would spout.
"Crowler just called." Chazz answered plainly, not about to waste time arguing with her like he normally wouldn't have had a problem doing. "We've got a situation to deal with."
"...What kind of situation?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the warrior, her curiosity starting to out-way her disdain for him.
"You'll find out." He answered, turning to the door as he reached for the handle, not even bothering to knock before letting himself in. As he expected, the boys had all been talking up a storm, probably going on about friendship or some other stupid thing. Rolling his eyes at the group he couldn't even bring himself to be surprised that Jesse had practically attached himself to Jaden, holding on to his arm like a lovesick little girl. Of course, he had already heard through the grapevine about their little smooch in the medical wing while he was being patched up. A few of the healers had been gossiping about it after one of them had caught a glimpse of the two before Jesse was discharged. But even hearing about it for the first time, he still hadn't been too surprised. Something about it just seemed to fit in Chazz's eyes. It was a strange thing, but he didn't care to think about it too much. Clearing his throat for a second, he caught their attention, the loud socializing coming to a stop.
"Listen up." Chazz commanded, not about to waste time with pleasantries or meaningless conversations at the moment. "We've got a problem. A pretty damn big one"
"I beg your pardon?" Bastion questioned first, raising an eyebrow at the raven haired warrior. Surely after what they had just gone through they wouldn't be faced with something else so soon. Or at least, that's what he wanted to believe.
"What kind of problem, mate?" Jim added, patting Shirley on the head for probably the hundredth time in the last hour alone. He really wasn't sure what he and Hassleberry would do now that they probably should stay away from their own dimension for a while. Staying with these guys seemed like a decent idea to him, at least for a little while until he could figure out some kind of plan, though he wanted to discuss it with the muscular youth first before making a decision, after all it was his own fault they were both fugitives now anyway.
"Lord Viper's kidnapped Prince Syrus. To put it simply." Chazz informed, not bothering to skirt around the problem. The shocked expressions on everyone's faces as the news reached their ears was telling enough to him that they were going to have to go after the little boy. Of course, Hassleberry looked a little more confused than shocked. Though, having been a military experiment for two years, and the past he had, it wasn't too surprising to think he might not know who the little prince was. But there would be time enough to explain it to him later, assuming he and Jim decided to tag along, which Chazz figured all things considered would be fairly likely. "Crowler just called me. Apparently everyone's making a whole big scene over it, and he and Prince Atticus want us to try and do something about it if we can."
"Y-You're kidding..!" Jaden practically gasped, his wide eyes filling with concern for the young prince. The boy was the only one who thought to treat him kindly while he was in the ninth dimension, and the two had become almost instantaneous friends. The little one was good and kind from the inside out. Powerful in spirit and abilities, yet he was small and fragile. It tore Jaden up inside to think about his friend in danger, and knowing about the feud between the ninth and sixth dimensions, the repercussions would be even greater than your average kidnapping. "There's no way!"
"Are you serious?" Alexis questioned, a deep concern in her voice as she thought about the possibility of it being true. She had known Syrus and Zane for a very long time, and in all the time she'd known them nothing like this had ever happened. Of course, there had been attempts at kidnapping little Syrus in the many years past, but none had ever actually succeeded before. Although, with what had happened to her brother, she was a little more inclined to believe it was possible than she would've liked to admit even just to herself.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have told you." Chazz scoffed in response to her question. He was generally a very serious guy when it came to stuff like this, years of training and actually being a great warrior back home had more or less taken most if not all of his childish tendencies out of him. Any left after years of relentless abuse, anyway. If he hadn't meant what he said, he wouldn't have said it at all. Being the same way, Chazz was a little surprised that she didn't seem to understand that.
"Well, you're right." Jim spoke up, actually fairly learned about the affairs of most of the other dimensions apart from his own. And as such, he had a decent idea of just how bad the relationship between nine and six was and had been for generations. "That's really not good. If anything else goes down to provoke King Zane then his majesty just might have the grounds to declare a war on Lord Viper if he's so provoked. Tensions have been brewing between the two dimensions for a very long time, and kidnapping the prince just might end up being the final straw. And if that happens, the council won't be able to do a single thing about it."
"And since the fifth dimension has a strong alliance with the ninth, it'll get dragged into the whole mess too.." Alexis said softly, starting to worry even more with the rising possibility that her brother could be put through even more grief and pain than he already had been by her own hands. Everything seemed like it was starting to come apart around her, and she hated it so much. Everything was just so wrong.
"Then Yubel might get everything she needs…" Jesse whispered, quietly to himself, realizing just how grim the future was beginning to look to him. Assuming they would even have a future when all of this was said and done. A resolve appearing in Jesse's emerald eyes, he squeezed Jaden's arm tighter, beckoning the brunette to meet his gaze. "Jaden, we have to do something!"
"I know, Jess." Jaden nodded, deeply concerned for his friend. If there was anything he could do to even try to help, he wanted to do it. "I wanna get him back home safely too."
"No, no, it's not just that!" Jesse shook his head, not surprised the precious brunette hadn't been listening to him before, since only he would have been able to hear his quiet whispers. "Jaden, I think Yubel might be the one who's really behind this."
"W-What?" Jaden gasped, pulling away from his crush for a second as he tried to comprehend the idea. Still, it really wasn't making too much sense to him.
"That demon lady?" Hassleberry chimed in, also trying to get as firm a grasp on just what the hell was going on as he could with the absolute zero knowledge he had on just about everything that was happening around him.
"Seems like it, mate." Jim nodded, gathering the bits and pieces he could understand of the situation. The name was familiar of course, hearing it thrown around more than once in the little encounter they had all managed to make it through before. But honestly being as grossly uninformed as they were, it was difficult to be sure of anything even with Jaden, Jesse, and Bastion making a solid attempt to explain it to them earlier to little avail honestly, though Jim had certainly picked up more of it than Hassleberry did.
"Yes, that's her." Bastion confirmed, glad to see they were at least somewhat beginning to understand what was going on having been thrust right into the thick of things. "Now, go on, Jesse."
"Right." Jesse nodded, turning back to Jaden. "Look, Jaden. While I was unconscious, and the spirits told me how you had summoned Neos? Well, they told me something else too. But I wasn't sure about it until now."
"What?" Jaden asked, growing even more concerned as he noticed the look in Jesse's flawless eyes.
"They told me they could feel the dimensional bonds starting to get weaker." He worriedly explained, thinking over every single detail of the more one-sided conversation that he could remember. "If the bonds break, the veil would fall, and all twelve dimensions would cave in on each other and be destroyed! Think about it, Jaden. Yubel's looking for revenge on humanity for forsaking her, and the celestials for imprisoning her for all those years."
"So, what you're saying is…"
"If Yubel wanted the bonds to break, it would be easiest for her to attack them where they were already weak." Alexis interpreted, realizing as well as the others around her just how serious this was. Even beyond just a simple princely kidnapping. "Meaning, Yubel could have influenced Viper into kidnapping Syrus. Provoking the ninth dimension into retaliation that would drag their allies into the fighting too. Meaning, that if we don't get Syrus back, Yubel's success is virtually assured…"
"Exactly." Jesse nodded, fearful himself of what the future was going to hold for them.
"Well that settles it then!" Hassleberry declared, slamming his fist down on the coffee table beside him, he stood from his seat beside Jim and Shirley, his eyes flashing swiftly back and forth from their regular state to a more reptilian style as a fire started deep within his dark hazel eyes. "We've gotta get down to Viper's base and rescue the little guy!"
"Easier said than done." Chazz replied, ever the realist as he was. "We can't just waltz in there and take him back."
"Agreed." Bastion nodded, cupping his bottom lip between the joint of his pointer finger and his thumb as he thought through their extremely limited options. "He's bound to be held deep within Viper's fortress. To actually manage to reach him undetected would be nothing short of a miracle. Besides, after what we've just been through, I would rather not risk such a thing. I've already failed to look after Jesse once. If something else should happen on my watch, I doubt the divine dragon would forgive me.."
"C'mon, Bastion!" Jesse argued, though he did sympathize with the brit's concerns. But this was about so much more than just that. "I'm sorry I put myself in that situation, but it's not your fault. Or yours, Jaden. I know we've been through this already."
"Perhaps, but I would still be much more comfortable with this if we had an actual plan." Bastion sighed, shaking his head at the bluenette. He didn't want the prince to be harmed, or for a war to start. And he especially didn't want Yubel to succeed in whatever dark and twisted plan she could be concocting, especially if it involved destroying all life as they knew it. But he still couldn't help but worry for their own safety as well…
"Me too, but given the circumstances there really isn't time." Alexis admitted, also wishing someone had even a remote idea of how to go about this. Although, she and Jaden had pulled off some rescues without a legitimate plan before. Of course Jaden had come up with an idea when they were trying to rescue Atticus, but it honestly wasn't too terribly much of an actual plan. "Besides, you heard Jesse. If anything else were to happen to provoke Zane towards starting a war to try and get his brother back, Yubel could very well end up getting exactly what she wants, and we'll all die. We're going after him."
"Exactly!" Jaden added, feeling a bit of his gung-ho spirit return at the thought of getting his dear friend back safe and sound. "Besides, it's my job to stop Yubel anyway. Which means, I have to go no matter what!"
"Meaning so do the rest of us." Chazz sighed heavily, not too fond of the idea of breaking into Viper's fortress in all honesty. Shaking his head for a moment, he threw his arms up almost in frustration, but more so at himself for actually going along with it. "What the hell. Why not?"
"You know I'll go with you, Jaden." Jesse smiled, gently intertwining their fingers as he offered the brunette a soft smile, more than happy to accompany him even on a mission as dangerous as this could very well prove to be. "Which also means Bastion has to come. Okay?"
"Very well…" Bastion sighed, conceding to the bluenette's statement, though he was still deeply unsure about the prospect of such an incursion. Though he knew his objections to their lack of strategic planning wouldn't change their minds. They all seemed to be more spur of the moment thinkers to him anyway.
"What about you two?" Jaden asked, turning his attention to Jim and Hassleberry for a moment. "We could use the extra help, if you'd like to stick with us?"
"I reckon so." Jim nodded, taking Hassleberry's previous declaration as proof enough of the boy's intentions. Chuckling quietly under his breath, he looked to Shirley snuggled up next to him, fully content with her lot as long as she was still with Jim, not at all phased by the idea of going on a quest. As long as she could protect him, she couldn't care less what was going on around her. "And I think Shirley here agrees."
"Well, we appreciate the help." Jesse chuckled, trying not to let his worry show too much. The situation looked grim as it stood now, that was true. But if there was anything he was sure of, it was that no matter what happened going forward, Jaden would find a way to pull through. The brunette, despite having been born through celestial magic to be a warrior against Yubel's great evil, he was still just a simple human at his core. A simple human the gods would use to channel their power through, but with a spirit he couldn't sense in any of their other companions. That spirit made Jesse love the brunette even more, but also boosted his belief in him. Belief that alongside Jaden, there was nothing they couldn't do.