Chapter two.
The boys sat in the living room in, contemplating on what to do after what they've experienced this morning. But the question is, what can they do? They don't know who the new DOMA leader is, or what they're plans are.
Or when those plans will be executed.
As Rafael sat on his chair, his hands closed together and looking at the floor, he was lost in his thoughts.
Alister was recovering from the minor panic attack as he was rubbing his temples, slowing down his heart beat that was loud for him to hear.
As for Valon, he was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. While the seventeen year old was quiet, in the inside he was full of rage of what happened.
When Alister was finally calm again, he turned his attention to Rafael, "Is the Orichalcos stone in a safe distance?" the red head asked.
Rafael looked at Alister and nodded, "I made sure to take it far from the house."
"And from our neighbors?" Alister asked, worried that their neighbors or their children would find it and what it would do to them if they touch it.
"Not even their cocker spaniel will find it."
When they recovered from the shock of the letter, Rafael immediately closed the box containing the Orichalcos. Knowing its power and wanting to avoid its negative effects, Rafael took it out of the house and placed it in their shed.
He came back to the house, exhausted but relieved the stone was out of their home and their neighbors wouldn't find it.
Valon began to shake as he couldn no longer stay silent.
"We should destroy it!" Valon spat out.
The two older men looked at their you companion in surprise.
Valon stood up, his expression full of anger, "And after we smash that evil rock to a million pieces, we find the bloke who sent us that letter and give him a beat down of a life time for even thinking of bringing back DOMA after the damage it caused!"
Alister crosses his arms, eyeing Valon, "As simple and enthusiastic as that plan sounds, there are a few hiccups to your idea, Valon." Alister explained.
Valon looked at Alister as if he was crazy, "What do ya mean, Alister!?"
Alister continued, "Well for one, we don't know who we're dealing with just yet. The person who sent us the Orichalcos stone and letter made sure to stay anonymous with them not revealing the return address on the package."
"And we don't know what they're planning exactly on how they're going to finish what Dartz started. To act now would be foolish."
Valon clenched his fists, "But we can't just sit around and do nothing! Why would they sent us a letter at all if they wanted us to stay out of the way!?" he exclaimed, "and why did they send us the Orichalcos on top of that!?"
"...It's to make sure we stay in line." Rafael spoke.
Alister and Valon looked at Rafael.
"What do you mean, Rafael?" Alister asked.
Rafael continued, "We know what the Orichalcos is capable of, and the power it holds. It's brought out the worst side of us when we served Dartz over the years, and when someone becomes enraged or is consumed by the darkness inside themselves, they can risk turning evil, or worse, into monsters."
Alister's eye widened, while Valon was in disbelief.
"Hold on! So your saying they sent us the Orichalcos like a ticking time bomb to make us stay put!? That if we do anything we'll be turned into blood thirsty monsters!?" Valon's voice shook a bit, horrified by the realization.
The boys heard of the stories of how the Orichaclos turned people into monsterous creatures in Atlantis. They were told it was because the Orichalcos revealed the true nature of others who were evil to start with, or were consumed by greed overtime as Atlantis expanded on technology and started demanding more money for it up until they've changed.
Which is how Dartz easily convinced them that they were chosen as the Orichalcos didn't turn them into monsters when they were given the stones. Despite having anger and contempt in their hearts for the world due to the trauma they've suffered, they still had a purity in them because of the love they had from their pasts and wanting to make a better world.
Not realizing that Dartz was using them as sacrificial pawns, and caused their trauma's to begin with.
Something they will never forgive him for.
Rafael looked down, his expression darkened, "Not just us...everyone who comes into contact with us with the stone present."
"Not only can it effect us if we let it and potentionally become monsters, so can our neighbors if they're angry themselves with the Orichalcos sensing it."
Valon's eyes widened while Alister felt fear deep in his heart. The thought of anyone from their neighborhood, the old woman across the street, the families that live nearby or, God forbid, any of the neighborhhod children that ride their bikes down the street, finding the stone and becoming monsters horrified them.
Valon gritted his teeth, "Where is it!?"
"Where's what?" Rafael asked.
"You know what I mean! Where's the Orichalcos!? I'm going to get a hammer and smash it like I said we should! No way am I gonna let the Orichalcos turn us or anyone around the neighborhood into those monsters!"
"Valon! Don't be an idiot!" Alister scolded, "We can't just destroy it, as much as I want that damn thing to be as far away as possible, that stone is a clue that can help us find the new leader."
"And if we smash it to smithereens, what's to say a shard of it won't fly away to a neighbors back yard, or on the street where kids play? There were people who found even the smallest piece that was chipped off from it and still got possessed by its power."
"We can't risk anything at the moment."
Valon began to unclench his fists and flopped on the chair in frustration. As much as he hated to admit it, Alister is right, to destroy the stone would wipe away any evidence as to who's behind it all.
The British boy felt completely helpless.
Rafael clenched his hands together, "This doesn't make any sense! When Dartz and the Leviathan were defeated by the Pharaoh, the Orichaclos should have lost its powers by then. How could it still exist?" the Gruff man asked.
"Well the Orichalcos existed for centuries, Raf," Alister stepped in, "it's not like it would suddenly vanish after a battle with an ancient Pharaoh."
"That's true, which makes this even more terrifying. I thought that with Dartz gone, this would be over. But if the Orichaclos still exists, and someone found it, then this is far from over for us." Rafael spoke.
Valon suddenly went wide eyed, and the next thing he said made Alister and Rafael's blood turn cold.
"What if the new leader is someone we know?"
Rafael and Alister felt the temperture drop on the room as Valon's realization made them start to think deeper.
"Why do you say that, Valon?" Rafael asked.
"Think about it, Raf! The person who sent us that letter and the stone know what it's capable of, and they know who we are. What's to say this is someone who used to be part of DOMA and now with Dartz gone, they want to make it their time to shine as the new cult leader wanting world conquest!?"
Alister blinked, "That...that's actually a smart analysis, Valon."
Valon felt a moment of triumph and grinned as he folded his arms together, "I may not be as intellectual as you and Raf, Alister, but I'm pretty good at putting pieces together about real bullshit."
Alister and Rafael had sweat drops on their head from Valon's remark.
"Valon does have a point," Rafael spoke, "It could be someone who worked for Dartz, or could be part of a sector in DOMA who knows about the Orichalcos."
"It makes sense," Alister agreed, "but we had DOMA agents from all over the world, it could be anyone of them who's behind this."
"Unless it was someone who worked close with is," Rafael says, "the person who wrote the letter also knew we were Dartz's musketeers, and knew of what we've been through since they stated Dartz was there during the darkest moments of our lives."
Valon's face twisted in disgust, "You mean how Dartz caused the darkest moments of our lives. That wanker was responsible to 'ow our lives fell apart to get us to join his cult! He killed the people we loved and used us as pawns till our souls were taken!"
Alister and Rafael's face's darkened as they remembered the former king of Atlantis, and how they felt when they learnt he manipulated the events that got them into DOMA to begin with.
The feelings of betrayal and anger pulsed through the two boys.
Valon got up quickly and began to storm off to his room, "Well, who ever is trying to be like Dartz and take over the world has another thing coming! There's no way I'm going to sit around and do nothing while this psycho plans our doom!"
Alister and Rafael heard Valon slam the door upstairs. His good mood from this morning was officially gone.
Rafael sighed as he pinches the bridge of his nose, while Alister brushes the front of his hair back.
"I better go talk to him." Rafael said.
"That would be the best," Alister answered, "and when Valon's calm, we can start a list of who could be behind this from who we remember being part of DOMA."
Rafael blinked, "So you're going to ignore the warning?"
Alister's grey eye hardened, "I'm not going to turn a blind eye to something like this, Rafael. We took part of DOMA out of manipulation and ignorance because of Dartz. Now that we know the truth and someone's trying to revive that God fore saken organization, I intend to nip it at the bud so this creep doesn't try to ruin this world, or get the idea of recruiting three new Musketeers as Dartz did to do their dirty work."
Rafael's stomach churn at the mention of new Musketeers. The thought of three young kids being trained to steal souls like he and the others were was disturbing.
"In that case, count me in to." Rafael spoke as he headed upstairs.
As Alister began to ponder again, he gets another text. He looks at the message and it was from the head of the theatre, Monty.
Monty
One (1) new message
Hello Alister! I hope you don't mind but I'm gathering everyone for an emergency meeting, something happened to our male lead!
Alister groaned as he laid back, "That's just pefect! First a new DOMA and now accidents are happening at the theatre! I think they're right saying Macbeth is a cursed. Maybe if I'm lucky, I might have a sandbag fall on my head when I go in." The red head spoke sarcastically.
He got up and grabbed his keys and phone and when to his motorcycle. After putting on his helmet, he starts the engine and headed out.
Valon nearly knocked over his punching bag as he gave it a good hit.
He huffed as he continued to blow off steam, sweat flying from his head as he continued to punch the bag.
Though it didn't help his rage die down inside.
As he stopped for a minute, there was a knock on his door.
"Valon?" a gruff voice spoke from the other side, "Are you okay?"
Valon stood up and wiped his forehead, "Yeah, I'm fine mate!" he called out.
"...Do you want to talk?" Rafael asked.
Valon looked down in silence, until he spoke, "...Yeah, c'mon in."
Rafael slowly opens the teens door as Valon plopped onto his bed, removing the bandages from his hands.
The tall blonde sits beside him, while eyeing the bedroom "Working out, I see." Rafael points to the still swinging punching bag.
"..Yeah." Valon said in a quiet voice.
Rafael looks at Valon with concern, "Is this about what happened this morning?"
Valon clenched his fists again, "...I thought this would be put behind us!"
"All these years we were used as Dartz's puppets, blindly obeying his orders when he planned to feed us to his sea lizard at the end! And he was the one who ruined our lives in the first place!"
"And now there's a new DOMA organization being made, and a new psycho wants to do what Dartz planned to do to the world!? It's like we can't catch a break!"
Rafael closed his eyes somberly, "I know, I was hoping when the Pharaoh defeated Dartz that the Orichalcos would be destroyed and we can start over in our lives, atone for what we've done."
Valon looked down on the floor, sadness washing over him.
"I see you and Alister being able to atone for DOMA, but me not so much."
Rafael looked at Valon in confusion, "What do you mean, Valon?"
Valon continued, "You and Alister joined DOMA because you lost your families and wanted to stop corruption and war. You lost your parents and siblings at sea and your relatives stole your inheritance cause they were greedy, and Alister's parents and brother were killed because of war. You two had the most noble causes being in DOMA despite Dartz lying to you...but not me mate."
"I joined DOMA because it was a way out of prison, after I committed a crime in the heat of the moment. I beat up a group of thugs who I thought burnt down the church Mother Mary was in, even though I promised her I wouldn't fight anyone. I saw DOMA as a ticket to freedom and an opportunity to fight stronger blokes to survive this world."
Valon chuckled darkly, "Guess I'm the only one of the three who'll be goin' to 'ell."
Rafael frowned from his young friends words.
"...And you know what the worst part is, Raf? Is that during my time in DOMA, I actually found purpose for what I was fighting for...when I found her." Valon continued.
Rafael knew immediately who he was reffering to.
"It was because of Mai?" Rafael asked.
Valon nodded, "She was the first woman that I've met who was like me. We were both lonely and misunderstood people, fighting everyday to survive and not depend on anyone while trying to prove ourselves daily."
"I've never known my parents, and hers died when she was a kid. When I saw her and what she went through, I saw myself in her, I wanted to save her...like how I wished someone saved me from going after those punks that night."
Valon's eyes squinted, trying not to choke on his words.
"Then maybe...I wouldn't have been caught up in Dartz's trap in the first place. And I wouldn't have broken my promise to Mother Mary...I wouldn't blame her if she was disappointed in me for what I've done that night, and hate me for it."
Valon jumped a bit as he felt a large hand on his shoulders, gripping it firmly.
"We were all fooled by him, Valon. And just because you didn't have the same goals as me and Alister, that didn't make you any less important to what we thought was a good cause. And while what you did to those men back then got you in trouble with the law, I can understand why you were enraged." Rafael spoke assuringly to Valon.
Valon shook his head, "While I appreciate you understanding me, Raf, I don't feel any much better about it. The church was my home, I was there ever since I was a baby with Mother Mary raising me, and I thought those prats were the ones who burned it down and took it all away from me."
"But all this time...it was that bastard Dartz who took it away from me!"
Rafael was surprised by Valon. He couldn't believe he didn't realize all of that sooner, he told him and Alister that he lived in the church, but never realized that it was where he literally grew up in. And the nun Mother Mary was practically his mother who raised him.
It just made their situation even more depressing.
The two just sat on the bed and said nothing.
The neighborhood was quiet as a man dressed in a black bodysuit and helmet looked on to the Bikers residence. He takes out his flip phone and dials a number, waiting to be answered.
The other line picks up.
"Did you deliver the package?" asked the voice on the other line.
"Yeah, they got it. I saw the big blonde guy put the stone in the back somewhere." the man in black answered.
"That won't do him any good. The stone will always lurk out those who are evil, which is why it would be wise of him and the other miscreant's from interfering with our plans as they'll have to make sure the stone isn't near any bystanders, as well as control their emotions."
"What's the next assignment?" the man asked
"Simple, now that the warning has been delivered to them. We move on to the next phase of our plan to find what we're looking for."
"Like what?" the man asked.
"...The Rosetta stone that will be in the Domino Museum in three days. Once we get it, we'll find the location of extending our power."
The man hangs up, while the man in black hops onto his motorcycle and heads off.
Ready for the next step.
End of chapter 2.