Frozen Memories 1.8 Bridge
Hidden Past – Back Cover
Kiyori – Tears of Nothing
Chapter 2: Under the Mysterious Tower
5 November
Arendelle
Abandoned farmhouse
10 PM
Xeir couldnt sleep as much as she tried, insdtead she found ehrself, with Tiri trailing along for the ride, wandering to the old farmhouse, the structure she was hidden within the last year without knowing it.
Standing before the front steps to the structure, Xeir simply looked at it. "Mark Wolfe tried to access the machine inside, that which helped us sleep" She mused aloud
"Yup, I was here I think ?" Tiri replied, in truth she wasnt, instead she was doing a few other things with Xeir, such as experimenting with Fuiu at the time.
"According to Nara he got... ejected and landed in the koi pond in the back yard" Xeir said
"Yup" Tiri confirmed wioth a soft giggle just imagining Mark landing on his ass in the pond
"But something tells me, that it wont happen with us, the program would let us in as if we're supposeed to access it" Xeir said, taking a step onto the steps leading to the front porge of the old farmhouse, she turned to her 'sister' "Coming ?"
"You bet tomorrows breakfast I am!" Tiri chirped, the two women then entered the old farmhouse. In the gloom, the two moved through the structure room for room. Finding a stairwell hidden from view.
And once following it downwards, the two women saw the computer network. "So that's the computer that the man called Mark tried to use. Only to get digitised, and reappear in the Koi Pond." Xeir mused.
Tiri flittered towards it and danced about a bit. "I think its active. Yup" Seconds later a portal door opened on the nearby digitalisation platform, allowing them to enter freely. A brief feeling of raw power danced over their skin and made Xeir's scales shimmer briefly before they found stairs leading upwards into the darkness.
"I guess we go up ?" Xeir asked, turning to Tiri, the portal door sealed itself.
"I would say so" Tiri replied, the two headed up the stairs. Stepping carefully and quietly the two soon found themselves at a landing. Four pillars held a pagoda styled rooftop above them. The sounds of technology rumbled around them. Glass danced around their feet in beauytiful patterns of life as they walked along.
"Where are we ?" Tiri asked
"This is nothing like Scala ad Caelum" Xeir said seeing where they were headed. The stairs they had walked already had begun to fade away. Their path ever forwards.
"That was the dream world remember ?" Tiri said, she loved playing in that universe, it was so much fun, but now they were freely experiencing something else within the same system. "This is nothing like that"
"Listening Dream Tower then ?" Xeir said, Tiri shrugged. There was no other way about it, the ghostly stairs fading away. Them moving ever forwards. "Come on, it looks like there's another landing up there." Xeir pointed at it. The two headed ever upwards.
Soon enough they came to another landing that looked to be at the base of a massive structure. Looking out at the darkness, Xeir could not help but mumble. "We're here... I think ?" She saw what looked to be plexus points dancing out in the distance but paid them little heed. The darkness was sky free and it allowed Xeir to see what was around her in the sense of just where they were. "Alright, so. This is some kind of simulation, come on. Lets see whats here"
The two women went to the door, it slid open as they neared it allowing them to enter inside. "OK that was not expected." Tiri said.
"What the door opening for us when we neared it ?" Xeir asked looking to her.
"No actually the fact the door wasnt locked to begin with" Tiri replied, well she had reason to be worried. Slightly if that, Xeir felt off about it too.
"If it puts you at ease, there's something about this place that feels like, well like we should and should not be here. Almost like as if we're home, but not supposed to be home" She said
"That does put my mind at ease" Tiri said with a stiff nod. "But it does not exactly explain what we're looking for" She had a point.
"Right now, information. According to Nara, Mark was trying get back to Scala ad Caelum, something inside the computer created city is drawing him towards it. We were able to freelky enter the simulation system but we ended up here." Xeir explain.
"So whats the plan ?" Tiri asked. Xeir normally had a plan, normally three steps ahead. But right now, everything was on a whim.
"Right now, find the way to the next level. I get the feeling there is a puzzle to solve. Come on" Xeir said, she turned and the two went deeper into the first level of the tower.
They came upon as set of steel doors, they were locked. "No way to open those" Tiri said. "Not without the right key, or keys" There were two shapes in the door, weapons.
Xeir stepped to the door and examined it carefully. "It looks like a sword or battle axe, and a shield maybe ? Possibly all three at once, fits in these slots to unlock the door." She said
"And I dont suppose those keys, if that is what they are, are just laying around somewhere ?" Tiri asked going to the table in the middle of the long hallway that was before the door. It was covered in junk, but nothing like what Xeir mentioned.
The outer room, or lobby, they had passed through had two other paths leading off of it. Which then allowed them to figure out the next course of action. "Alright, we split up, cover more ground that way" Xeir said, she pointed to her left "Tiri, you take that path to the end of it, try and find whatever you can in the form of weapons or a shield or something." Xeir then pointed to the right. "I'll take the other path and look for the same thing. Kill whatever if you must if you come across anything, with any luck, this place is empty."
Tiri pointed to where they stood "Meet back here when we're done ?" She said, Xeir nodded, the two split up.
Tiri quickly lost sight of xeir as she rounded a corner. Moving carefully through the room she found herself in, Tiri saw it was three levels, and built like a maze. A puzzle within a puzzle. Shit. I hate puzzles Tiri thought. She started along the path that seemed to be laid out. There was always another path.
All she had to do was find it. Climing a set of stairs, Tiri halted as jets of fire shot into the air, then she snickered. Typical booby traps. Harmess really, she danced across the fire plates and set off firebomb traps with naught for a care really. Moving swiftly as she did so. She managed to figure out the first puzzle. Coming to a soft halt she examined the cage door. She had to pick a lock, or find a dead body that held the key.
Naturally there were no dead bodies in the computer simulation. So Tiri got down to picking the lock. Cracking a lockpick from some of her own ice bones she got to work. After breaking the third finger on her left foot, or was that third big toe on her left second hand ? It didnt matter to the icewraith. The lock was picked and it allowed Tiri to head to the next level.
She hoped Xeir was having better luck.
Xeir was not. Infact as soon as she lost sight of Tiri she was mobbed by a bunch of skeletal creatures made seemingly of glass. The woman summoned her sword and dagger and took a few swings, taking them down easily. Keeping her dagger drawn she advanced to the next chamber.
Stepping to a busted bridge of stone and glass, Tiri had to smile. Great, puzzles inside of puzzles. What wont they think of next ? It did not matter. Easily figuring out how to summon what she sought she advanced to the next chamber, a straight hallway steadily angled downwards until she came to a halt.
It was a tomb door of a sort. Cracking it open would surely waken the dead within. But was there dead ? Othert then the glass creatures of sdkeleton like warriors ? Xeir did not know it for sure, but so far, the tower they were in, was inhabity by strange creatures.
Xeir took a deep breath, let it out, sighed, then nodded, a flick of the wrist and she forced the door opened with some Draconic magic. Waking up the only dead man inside.
So far the strange tower they were under, felt more like puzzle tower.
Tiri had by that point also come to the final room of her own hallway, she had found also the faster way back to freedom. She just needed to take it once she had the goal in hand. Entering the last room Tiri found herself facing a dead thing simply waiting for her to get close enough. She saw her target clearly ahead of her and advanced on the goal. Drawing a sword of ice in hand as she advanced. A very quick swordfight and it was over.
Tiri, prize in hand, turned and headed for the path to fast freedom. Just as Xeir did the same thing. Her target killed, Xeir took the weapon the creature carried and walked back the way she had come.
It took a moment or two, but the two women met up at just about the same time. "Did you get it ?"
"Oh for sure, nearly had me confused when I figured out some major puzzles." Tiri said, apparently Xeir was not as good as Tiri was when it came to puzzle solving. The two women unlocked the door and entered a flight of stairs leading up. It lead to information. Shelf upon shelf lined the walls as far as the eyes could see in all directions.
"OK so, this feels oddly familiar now" Tiri said seeing all the books, Xeir nodded, she remembered locing to sneak into the reading halls back home. "Feels almost like home.
"It makes me wonder" Xeir said in thought, "Did we enter the computer world, or did we enter a portal to take us back home ?" Xeir searched for a window, upon opening it she found darkness, points of plexus floated nearby. Just out of reach.
"I think we came home" Tiri said, Xeir looked at her, "Think about it, the glass ghostly steps, the puzzles just to unlock that door, dont you remember any of it from when we were whole ?" Xeir was quiet in thought. "All those puzzles mom made, Aunt Kanwar made, Waterrlight made, hell, I think even Nara made a few puzzles too." Tiri said, Xeir started to remember.
Xeir snickered then. "Diamond even tried to make a few puzzles too, but the only puzzles she was good at was anything related to swords or keys of similar make." that explained the door lock system they had just unlocked
"So what do we do ?" Tiri asked as they came upon the next set of stairs leading up to the next floor.
"I think we should go up another level. Something tells me we were meant to come to this place to begin with, Mark tried to access the system and got sent somewhere before waking up in the koi Pond, we on th oether hand, went through a portal into somewhere, and came into this place."
"True" Tiri said, the Icewraith looked up. "Hey, do you see that ?" She pointed, at the very top of the tower was a red glowing thing. And the more Xeir and Tiri looked at it, the brighter it seemed to get.
"Yeah, I see it, what is it ?" Xeir asked, the item flared in coloration, a beautiful bright red, to a deeper red, to a softer red, to a dim red, and back into the set up of colors of various shades of red.
"Feels familar" Tiri mused. The strange feeling of being home, and homely warmth washed over her
The two women looked from the strange red glowy thing before looking at each other, two words floated across their minds.
Star Shard
"You dont think ?" Xeir started to ask
"Its possible but I'm not entirely sure" Tiri replied, "why ?"
"If that is a Star Shard, we need to get to it, you know full well that I wont get any sleep whatsoever if we dont get it because of worrying about someone else getting it" Xeir said
"You're worried the guy in Arendelle will get it before you do ?" Tiri asked her
"No actually. I am more worried the guy in arendelle will get it and use it rashly instead of wisely" Xeir corrected
"So we get it, and keep it safe." Tiri surmised
"Exactly, come on" The two women went to the stairs and started up.
Arendelle
Marketplace Den
At that same moment
"You got a minute ?" Blackmane asked as she knocked on Vaeyukos bedroom doorframe.
"Sure, whats on your mind, sis ?" Vaeyuko asked in reply after inviting Blackmane into the bedroom. Blackmane sat on the bed as Vaeyuko sat in a nearby easy chair.
"I cannot shake the feeling something big is going down. Irie and Diana have a Star Shard each, and somehow they wont let me touch them or get close enough to examin one up close" Blackmane said
"Yes, I saw the shard Irie has" Vaeyuko said. "It was strange, there was a faint purple glow upon a clock tower in the Market District outside the den here" Blackmane looked to her sister as Vaeyuko remembered the moment she saw the glow and sent Irie to retrive the item.
"So that is two shards, Mark said that Kiyori has a Star Formation, and it is broken, or at least erractic, it requres star shards to fuel it." Blackmane said
"Does he now ?" Vaeyuko asked, Blackmane nodded. Vaeyuko smiled, this was going to be an enjoyable puzzle for sure. "That makes things slightly different then. Its more of a poser then a simple puzzle"
"A poser ?" Blackmane asked, clearly confused as to what Vaeyuko meant.
"It is simple really, but there is not a lot of information I can work with to get a set bit of a layout to start from." Vaeyuko said, she then laughed. "The models are not part of the star formation, that much is clear. But they are painful to enter." She rubbed her neck as she spoke
"Do you think by studying the model you can figure out the star shards and where they come from ?" Blackmane asked
"Not sure, but we can find out. At this moment I am bushed." Vaeyuko by that point had transformed seamlessly into her albonio Panther form and hopped onto the bed to try and sleep.
Blackmane had to smile at her sisters antics, if Snowfeather were there, they'd be debating the matter carefully well into the night. But at that moment, Snowfeather was in China freeing it from Templars. At that moment, Blackmane and those with her were on their own. "You want me to wake you for breakfast ?" Blackmane asked to her sister.
Vaeyuko thought a brief moment then nodded. "Sure" Blackmane then left the room and turned out the light as she did so.
At that same moment in the bedroom normally used by Mark and his sisters, the twins Serena and Serenity. The daughters of Snowfeather, his adopted mother. At that moment it had Mark with Diana, and Irie. They were trying to piece together the last week on its own. And it was not an easy task. "The last two weeks were insane, stuff happened, and a district is a warzone." Mark said.
"Hey, all I did was get thi shard from under the old church in the Dust District." Diana replied.
"Thats just it, shortly after that, Irie safely got the purple one she has. Now we got the kingdom on edge over what happened two weeks ago, a huge ass battle of some kind happened in the Galasia and Tomb Districts. Do we have any information on that ?" Mark was still trying to figure out just what happened two weeks before. As well as why they werent able to access the strange computer they had found in the old farmhouse.
"Yeah, witnesses reported a huge battle, most of the soldiers from the Tomb District went into the Galasia District and only scant few of them came back alive." Irie said.
"The info from that woman who you said gave you that soldiers wanted poster; I did check on london, Detroit, other places she mentioned, they are searching for the same soldiers in those cities too" Diana said, that confirmed one thing Mark was fearful of.
"Great, what I thought was misinformation is infact the truth." Mark grunted. The day was just not going well. "Anything from our friends ?" Mark then asked, meaning Xiaoden and Haversham.
"Nothing from the old guy, the woman you mentioned though. Never met her, dunno what she looks like either" Irie replied, she had met briefly with Haversham, he was very nice and incredibly gentle. Mark looked to Diana, as if asking for her thoughts. But Irie then beat him to the punch. "Look, you tried to get back into the system right ?" Mark nodded. "Did it work ?"
"No" Mark said "If anything it was... weird. It was like I had gone somewhere. But woke up soaking wet in the koi pond outside the old farmhouse" He explained, it was the weird part to be sure. He had no solid evidence to the contrary. And yet, there he was, still trying to figure out what happened to him. Had he not been accepted into the place ? "Did we ever find the bedrooms we woke up in ?" He asked Diana.
Diana shook her head, but Irie asked "Beds ?" Mark looked at her, "You mean like Abstergos original Animus ?" When she described what she was meaning Mark smirked.
"Something like that" He told her, he described what he could remember, it was more a pod over everything else. No clear way of sleeping or rolling over. Though he basically did fall out of it.
"Sounds similar to what that fucker in London had" Diana said, pods lined a room in side an old warehouse she had raided for information. Stuff was in it, stuff she had much rather forgotten about. They were later found to be medical healing tanks. Which were interesting things to be sure.
"So now we need to figure out things that happened two weeks ago. I want everything possible about the fight, who was fighting, the damage report, everything. I'd like to read it with breakfast." Mark said. He never saw Irie snag some of his incense sticks. She was curious of why her cousin had the stuff in his room,. She never remembered him using incense before.
"Is that your plan ?" Diana asked
"Right now, yes. Good night ladies I will see you tomorrow" Mark said, making it clear he wanted to be alone to get ready for bed.
Both women bid him good night and left the room. Mark locked his door and turned off the light, falling onto his bed, which was actually more a mattress loaded with pillows and blankets piled onto it on a low frame.
In the hall he did not hear as Irie and Diana entered Iries room and shut the door. "So, how did it go ?" Diana asked.
"How did what go ?" Irie asked her, clearly confused, then it hit her what she meant. "Oh you mean that. It didnt work as hoped. I tried just going at him, no good. I couldnt get close enough. Though he did fall onto me from the skylight I wasnt expecting that. He wasnt either. He thought I was Serena." She posed from the side for Diana. "Do I really look that big ? I mean do I look like Serena ? Shes gotta be at least a 42D at best" Irie herself was a 32C
Holding up a hand Diamond said "I am not sure I should answer that." Diamond on the other hand was an easy 34D herself. And the only person who knew that was Nara, and he loved her more for the fact she was able to nail him down into marrying her then anything else.
Irie gave her a funny look. Diamond sighed. "Fine, I think if you think you might look like her at night, then maybe its because of the lack of light in the room at the time. I mean Mark is, from what I hear, used to sleeping with his sisters, and both of them in the nude when they sleep. So its possible that he mistook you for Serena or Serenity, you look closer to Serenity to me. Because of the low light in the room, and it was his bed." Diamond then said Irie thought a moment, Diamond might be right. She still had Marks incense. Seeing the incense packet, Diamond pointed at it. "Whats that ?"
"Oh this, it looks like incense, it was in Marks room, the weird thing is, I dont remmeber him ever lighting incense before or the like before. So I took some of it to try and figure something out." Irie replied. That was also when she jerked a thumb at the nearby wall screen. "I've been watching some of Marks habits, its weird, he doesnt really meditate. He just either stares at the wall, or smokes this stuff like a cigarette." Irie said
"Huh, I never took him for a smoker type" Diamond said simply in thought. The two women then bid each other good night and Irie got down to work on trying to figure out her cousins sudden facination with incense.
Unknown Place
Unknown Time
The strange pattern upon the floor denoted a design unlike anything Xeir had really been able to remember. Each floor had the pattern, a beautiful stylised grid pattern of some form. As they moved along things became much more clear. The two women, Dragon and Icewraith, were walking within a tower, hyeading for somethinhg keptwithin the top most room
And by look of things, they were on the twenty fifth level, almost to the top of it when they came to a halt. There was no way to get t othe top. Save for a single opening, and no ladder. "It cant be that easy now can it" Tiri asked seeing the opening. A shifting dancing light was within it floating above them and around them. Xeir sighed, a flick fo the wrist and a small bolt of energy danced, making a cloud of light.
The cloud of light was a beam of light that endlessly danced and shifted around. Moving fast in all sorts of directions leaving a single opening in the dead center of the tower leading upwards. They could barely make out the flashing red thing above them.
"One more floor." Xeir said, she started looking around the level they were on. Each wall of the tower, at that point was twenty seven different panels in a circle. It showed bits of history. But it looked jumbled. "Wait, I trhink I figured it out" Xeir said.
"Really how ?" Tiri asked looking at the moving wall of a single beam of raw power. She threw a bit of her ice at it, it popped and sizzled like bacon on a stove. There was no way they could get to the top of the tower without getting burnt incrediblybadly.
"Look at the images on this level, each one is a time of day or event of some time period. Maybe a few years ago ?" Xeir went to a image, it was her Nothing's crowning. Then the one next to it in both directionas, one was Annas proposal from Hans, the other was Anna's proposal from Kristoff. Another was Anna and Elsa as kids. The one next to that was Elsa meeting Mark in the library, and next to that was Elsa and Mark going to the Ice Palace she had made in the mountains.
Some others she didnt recognise were also set up in a certain pattern they denoted history up to the point where everything was jumbled becasuse Xeir also saw a few weird things, her birth, the birth of her Nothing. "I think we need to fix the timeline." Xeir said, she spotted the point where she cast her soul free upon the castle of Arendelle, and then after that the images were in the wrong order.
Moving along the wall Xeir used her magic to drag and drop the images as Tiri watched, starting with her birth, the sisters accident when the Nothing and Anna were children., the crowning of her Nothing, Hans proposal and subsequent rejection from and to Anna. Marks initial arrival and meeting with the Nothing, finally the last few only Tiri recognised and slid into place, Diana, in the case at the time Marion, and Tiri meeting Light inside the Wolfe Manor, finding the paintings in Marions bedroom.
Marion holding up the painting of the gorgeous Light Dragon herself in an oil painting was a clear image. And it was apparently the last one in the lock. Because as Tiri locked it into place a audible CLACK was heard and the images began spinning around them. Shifting the light beam away into nothing and a set of ornate stairs formed for the two women to climb safely with beautiful guardrails to either side.
Both women carefully stepped up the stairs to the top floor, as they did so, each step safely shifted and danced under their feet. Almost like magic as space and matter around them danced and shifted, multipling, combining, almost like clockwork magic. A kalaediscope of patterns moving like in the Mirrors as Mark termed it.
At the center of the top most room of the twenty seven floor tower, Xeir and Tiri found their prize a shard of red glass that glittered a gorgeous lumicent red. "What is it ?" Tiri asked as she reached for it, the shard shied away from her, then when Tiri tried a human hand it still shied away, but not as quickly, letting her playfully touch it before Xeir reached for it. It slapped into her hand as if it was waiting for her directly.
"I dont know, but it feels familiar somehow." Xeir replied as she examined the shard. The glittery red item danced with light in her hand and made her hand glow red as if on fire. And yet, Xeir did not feel any pain or weight from the strange shard. A set of words danced upon her mind. "I think its a Star Shard." She said
"What makes you say that ?" They knew it was a shard, but what kind of shard was it ? As Tiri asked her qwuestion the shard suddenly started glowing brighter and brighter. "Wha ? AGH!" Soon the blinding red light surrounded them entirely, burning away even their shadows.
They did not recognise where they were suddenly transported. Well this looked interesting. They had reappeared in apparently New York's Wall Street district. The banking area of America really.
"Where are we ?" Tiri asked. The two women were ignored by those around them. Seemingly being walked through. Looking around as people went about their daily lives they realised they were being lead somewhere.
"Come on" Xeir said, Tiri then saw that Xeir did not have the shard anymore.
"Where's the shard ?" Tiri asked as the two women headed up the stairs into the Federal Bank. Easily stepping through the walls and passing through lines of people.
"As soon as we appeared here, wherever it took us, it disappeared." Xeir said, the two forwent the elevators and simply walked through the door and up the shaft itself to the next floor. "I can feel it nearby. Whoa look out." Xeir came to a fast halt. Two men stood in the office they found, but neither man looked at them as they simply stared at the two.
"Things grow strange in Arendelle, Starmaster." Said the younger man.
"So it does" the man noted as Starmaster replied.
"So you still intend to make it for her then ?" Asked the younger of the two men.
"I do, Queen Jennifer asked me to make it. I said I would think carefully on how. But I know now that to make the Star Formation is to invite trouble. For now however we can do exactly as needed. I will need access to the castle. Jennifer has promised me that." Starmaster said
"And what should we do ?" The younger man said, meaning him and someone else. Who that someone was Xeir and Tiri could never hope to find out.
"Simply keep Draco and his at bay, or at least, distracted while I do my work." Starmaster replied. He looked to his fellow. "Good luck, let the others know, the sisters included. If Blackmane must know, I will tell her myself. If and when I get the chance." He said
"Blackmane ?" Xeir mused, the two men never looked their way as other plans were debated, the office faded and Xeir and Tiri found themselves back in the Tower of Dreams, Xeir still held the shard in her hand. Tiri breathed a sigh of releif. The two women started back towards the stairs to return to the bottom of the tower when they found another portal leading to Xeirs own bedroom at her Yaeko District house.
6 November
Arendelle
Yaeko District
2 am
Upon returning to the bedroom Xeir and Tiri shared within their courtyard house. Xeir stared at the shard. "Who is Blackmane, why does she sound so familiar ?" She asked
"Perhaps because she is a Source of Magic ?" Tiri replied, now that they had both seen the memory the shard possessed it allowed Tiri to handle it safely. "Who was that guy ? The one guy called him Starmaster ?"
"I dont know, he sounds familiar though, even looks very erriliy familiar. Its spooky actually." Xeir replied, she had no real way of explaining how she felt she knew Starmaster. The guy made the Star Formation. "It does settle it though, Queen Jennifer was my Nothing's great-great grandmother. She had this Starmaster make her something. But what ?"
"Cant hope to tell you" Tiri replied. "But, we got some company coming now that I remember it. Shes to arrive in the morning, you look tired." Tiri said, it was true, Xeir looked ready to fall over, all those puzzles were tiring indeed. The two women exchanged knowing looks and Tiri helped Xeir into bed. "Dont worry, I will be asleep on the coushin you had Zax set up for me"
Xeir laid in bed as Tiri laid the blanket over her. "Thank you, Tiri" She said simply. Tiri smiled and shattered into ice, flittering over to the coushin she piled onto it and soon both Dragon and Icewraith were asleep. And in the case of the Icewraith, Tiri was cutting down a redwood with a slow saw by the way she snored.
Arendelle
Outskirts of Pond District
10 am
"So this is Arendelle" the winged woiman said. Sounding very bored at being there. Spike didnt much care for it, and yet, her younger sister, Jek, had already gotten there ahead of her to prep things for her arrival, fortunately, Jek had met up with Mark again. Oh that would be fun. Her neck ached slightly. Occasionally phantom pain flared where Sazhori had spiked a pair of knives into her collar bones and neck muscles.
There was not a lot however to look forwards to, other then the fact that Spike was expected and the people expected to see winged people on a daily basis anyway what with the spiders living in one district, they never expected winged people to live freely in other districts
Though they were looked upon as second class citizens, and visitors were received far worse. And yet, Spikes reputation had preceeded her. Because when Jek had told Mark that Spike was coming later he had informed everyone under his control not to mess with her or try to fight or tussle with her. Aid her where and when possible was his orders.
So now Spike had arrived in Arendelle and was looking for her sister, and instead came upon the courtyard that gave the Pond District its name. This place was different, it was bright, it felt warm, almost like a battub filled with nice hot water. Almost homelike now that she really thought on it.
"Yup, this is Arendelle" Said Spikes older brother Emile. "Looks better in person then in the travel magazines" He said. Spike had to agree with her brother, most of the times he liked to travel he took her along, her and Annalee both. At least when Ezra and Dylan werent raising her. But now that they had their mother back, Spike found more time to be with her brothers and Vitas then anything.
Of course the first thing they had done when they got their mother back was celebrate with a two week cruise to Honolulu. Which they all enjoyed, Spike and Annalee the most. But the reason the two were there in the first place was to assess things for Vitas back in Sacremento.
That and Spike was actually wanting to speak to Mark about something for his ears only concerning Vitas and his cousin, Miao. Buit it was not something that was vital or mission critical unlike most of Spikes main things and hobbies when not working or overseeing Sacremento.
Infact if Spike could she'd try to find the nearest cat colony in the kingdom and care for it. Just like in Sacremento itself. Not that it was a bad thing but that it was a fun thing, all those cats, each getting the care they need. It made Spike feel good.
And for once feeling good was what she needed. "Lets find a place to eat, I'm famished" She said to her brother.
"Fair deal sis, come on, looks like a place to eat over there" Emile pointed towards a eating place, looked like a cross of Starbucks and Taco Bell for all Spike cared but it was more or less both as the two took a seat. Spikes wings neatly folded were not in the way of many, but occasionalyl they stretched and flexed, so the waiters had to keep an eye out for them when serving the food to various nearby tables.
After about tweenty minutes, Spike asked. "Where is he ?" Meaning Mark, they were to meet up, Jek had told her that much.
"I dont know about him, but I think she might want to speak to you" Emile had spotted Xeir coming their way, and when she noticed Spikes red and black wings, she turned in their direction to speak with them.
Turning to see what her brother meant, Spike saw Xeir and smirked, it figured, she remembered seeing the woman briefly on the news. Or was it this exact woman ? It had to be, the arm and hand were covered in silver beautiful scales. "You know the law is looking for a woman with scales on her arm like yours ?" Spike said as Xeir took a seat across from Spike and next to Emile.
"Do you always greet people that way ?" Xeir asked, a soft smile on her face. If Spike didnt know better she was talking to Vitas. It only made Spike laugh. "Have you ordered ?"
"We did, ordered for three as we were hoping to speak to someone else." Emile said
"Well, someone you never expected has indeed found you. I believe we can benefit from this breakfast." Xeir said in reply. "My name is Xeir, you feel oddly familiar to me but I cant place the names." She said to the two siblings.,
"I'm Spike, this is my brother, Emile." Spike said as she introduced herself and Emile to the Silver Dragon. "I was expecting to meet up with a guy, named Mark Wolfe, he was said to be up here. Regarding a certain past event, and also future relations"
"I think we can work together on that easily" Xeir replied as Spike then explained as best she was able what she meant.
It was a good hour of the three carefully planning things out when Xeir finally said "I think you could be of help to me, both of you guys. Actually now that I really think of it." Xeir then explained "The current leadership here isnt me, though its apparently supposed to be me. Or at least, who was me a long time ago." In this case, three weeks ago before the Nothing rejoined with her.
"What do you mean exactly ?" Spike asked
"The current guy in charge of things kingdom, I need to know more about his habits and who he is. But I dare not go near the palace like this" She lifted her scaled arm. "If I do, the man will have his goons try and corner me or worse." she detailed her first real run in with the Jaeger level soldiers.
"Now they are taking on other soldiers, all across the world. Vitas had to stop the recruitment drives in Sacremento, and also got most of the Equator City States to end recruitment drives there too. Anything south of Sacremento and north of Rio cant run such recruitment drives for soldiers." Emile said
"Yeah, Vitas looked into it, I did too. Something big is going down if someone here is trying to find soldiers for something" Spike said
"If Equator City is not allowing such recruitment drives, everything New York and North is. Which means something is going down. I think I might have an idea too. But that is where you come in. How skilled are you in fighting with those ?" Xeir said, she nodded to Spike as she asked concerning her wings.
Spike looked at her. "What my wings ? Fairly skilled and still learning, why ?" She started to wonder what she was getting into.
"If the two of you dont mind helping me I will make it worth your time" Xeir said, she needed extra hands, eyes, really anything to help get an edge on Kiyori.
"Whats this guy like ?" Spike asked
"He's got models all across the kingdom, and his soldiers patrol constantly. Lately though they're set up like that bunch you saw the recruitment posters for" Xeir said
"Soldiers dressed like that ?" Emile asked, Xeir nodded, Spike started laughing as her brother spoke "Its a wonder they can aim let alone see with helmets that look like that"
"That is my thinking, we can use that to our advantage too if we are able. Right now there are still a few things that we need to do." Xeir turned her gaze to Spike, the woman raised an eyebrow to her. "How good are you at aireil recon ?"
"That all depends on what you want me to find out or spy out" Spike replied, she could fly and hover fairly well but she could not hover for very long before losing flight level or getting spotted. She always kept moving. The only thing was she never really had to worry of getting spotted in Sacremento because it rained constantly. It was nothing but constant constant rain in Sacremento. "Why ?"
"You take care of overhead however you like, I'll leave that up to you" Xeir said, she then revealed a local map, "This is where we are, a district known as Pond District" She pointed then to another district, the Yaeko District. "This is where my house current is. I am using it for a base of operations. We can meet there when you're ready, I have extra rooms there too, its a large courtyard style home with mostly empty guestrooms. So feel free to pick one or two to use as you like."
That said, Spike and her brother traded looks, Emile spoke "It's up to you, sis. I am just along for the ride because Mother asked me to help you out when needed." So far they only had to dig into the pockets, slightly if that.
"Its a deal" Spike said, she raised a hand to shake towards Xeir, the other woman took it and the two firmly shook hands, the deal settled. Perfect. A moment or so later and Xeir left the two siblings alone.
"Something tells me that this was supposed to be a low key operation" Emile said, Spike smirked and picked up her phone, staring at it. "What ?" Emile asked.
"I think the phone just picked up the Mythology Channel" Spike said staring at the image on the screen, a bunch of dragons were on it. It appeared to be a live feed too, and they were not the typical Komodo dragons either. She showed it to her brother, he smirked, typical really. Ten minutes later at the siblings left the eatery and began to explore the kingdom. Clearly curious to what was there for them to do aside from spy on Kiyori and his men. Emile, the unassuming male, almost like a bodyguard type, with his stocky build and no nonsense demeanor, Spike with her elegant wings of black and red feathers and tattooed face looked and in some cases acted like she was a celebrity type.
Which made things slightly fun. To the point wherein Emile did not know if he should act like a one man army to protect his sister who was more then able to protect herself or what.
But thankfully no fights happened, soldiers eyed them briefly but that was it. Nothing seemed threatening or wanting to do Spike or Emile any harm at that moment, for once that let Emile heave a sigh of relief.
Arendelle
Marketplace District
12 Noon
Blackmane sipped a large Pepsi from a mug of coffee. She was thinking over what she had learned from the recent news paper the kingdom printed, wanted posters were seemingly posted up, but they were voting information ? Marks cousin, Sapphire, cousin by blood, was in jail somewhere, and the other two women, Princess Anna herself, was somewhere hidden in the kingdom, or even in Oslo, maybe hiding out with the Trolls as it was. But the third woman, Waterlight, Blackmane just barely remembered her.
So if Waterlight was on the list of becoming Queen, seemingly by public popular vote, it only made things more interesting for her to follow along with. Not that it really fully mattered at that moment for her. If Waterlight was in the Kingdom right then. Well, then it was up to Blackmane to try and find her. So she finished her lunch and headed out of the den to do just that.
At least she tried to leave the Den to do just that, as she opened the door, a single woman stood there and was about to knock on the door. "Are you Blackmane ?" The woman, who looked alarmingly like the wanted poster all over the kingdom for fighting with Kiyoris soldiers in the streets, was made even clearer to Blackmane by the scales upon the left arm and hand of the woman.
"That is me yes, why ?" Blackmane said, she then bid Xeir to enter the den, but Xeir shook her head. "Is something wrong ?"
"I cannot stay long. But, do you know anyone named Starmaster ?" Xeir figured ask now worry about the answer later.
Blackmane stared at Xeir, it was a odd question, a name she had not heard in decades, long before Elsa and Anna were born, long before their mother Idun was born for that matter.
But before she could answer the question, Xeir smiled softly, and said "I am sorry for the intrusion, If you need to speak to me, this is my home" She handed Blackmane a piece of a crystal, it held a bit of information, seemingly random numbers. Longlitude and latitude.
Looking up to speak to Xeir, Blackmane stared, where Xeir stood was nobody. Nothing whatsoever was present where the beautiful young lady once stood on the doorstep. A soft sigh, Blackmane had her work cut out for her.
"Who was that ?" Came the voice then, that of Shadowmane, who was laid upon the nearby picnic table.
"An old friend, apparently" Blackmane said, mistaking what her sister was asking about
"Not what I meant sis, I meant Starmaster, who was that ?" Shadowmane asked her sister.
"An friend, a very old friend. From long ago. For all I know, he's long dead." Blackmane said, she stepped from the den and shut the door behind her. Stepping over to her sister.
"And that lady ? Who was she ?" Shadow asked
"Another old friend. Though I could have sworn she was long dead too." Blackmane replied
"How so ?" Shadowmane asked her
"About thirty two or so years ago, a weird sign appeared over Arendelle, it was the birth of the last queen, or rather, that happened nine months later" Blackmane explained.
Shadowmane raised an eyebrow. "You mean Xeir Ziths own death ?" she asked.
Blackmane nodded. "And then there is that other, the Icewraith, Tiri" She said, "I didnt meet her until about a week after Xeir died, noboddy knows what happened to her egg and Tiri never asked. Quite honestly I am surprised she did not ask what happened to her Egg."
"It is possible she thinks the egg destroyed." Shadow mused
"I doubt it, have you seen Mark ?" Blackmane said
"Yeah, briefly, a lady, dark haired, looked real nice, came looking for him, the two of them left together. I never asked her name" Shadow then detailed what Kiyomori looked like. Blackmane smirked.
"I figured she and Sapphire were working together" She mused softly.
"You know her ?" Shadow asked sitting up on the table.
"Sure I do, she is Sapphires adopted sister. No doubt they're going to break Sapphire out of prison." Blackmane replied
"Ah yeah, about that" Shadow said, Blackmane laughed. "What ? What did I do ?"
"Its alright, Vaeyuko told me." Blackmane said, everything had been explained. "Have you seen Irie ?"
"Yeah, she and Vaeyuko were headed to the market to buy some stuff for Iries workshop. Irie tried to explain it to me, but the expresison of Vaeyukos face made it easier for me to just not want to know." Shadow said, some of the stuff Irie came up with scared even Blackmane, but almost all of it was carefully tested by Mark and it was found to be more useful over game breaking.
That and Mark never questioned just why he was the one testing the newer and newer stuff. It was just that he was testing it, and never told of why. Only that he tested it in the field, and then it went into mass production.
Mark was Iries volunteer, and he never knew it. It was always new gear or even gear upgrades. Like his recent armor she had made for him. How she knew his numbers for measurements Blackmane never knew, but she made a suit of armor that was so useful it did the job nicely. Possibly too nicely.
Blackmane had to smile at her older sisters joke. It made sense to not ask because some of ther stuff Irie worked with, and also made, was incredibly not want to know type of stuff. "So in other words, you feel the less you know the less you have to be scared of ?" Blackmane asked her sister
"Something like that. Yeah." Shadowmane replied as she sat on the table. "Said something too about looking for something else, but Irie seemed distracted when I asked her what she meant. Sounded as if she was focused on something or somebody."
"Somebody, and you wont have to take many guesses" Blackmane said in reply. Shadow looked at her as she realised who Blackmane meant
"Him... seriously ?" Shadow asked her, Blackmane nodded. Mark was the only man in the house right then not including Jade, or some of the other Assassin members directly. Infact the smile that was growing on Blackmanes face made Shadow stare hard at her baby sister. "Alright sis, spill it, whats got you smiling like a woman who just won the Egypitan Monster Millions Jackpot when not using her magic to do it ?"
"Three weeks ago at dinner, Irie was, well, I wouldnt say over dressed" Blackmane started, Shadow stared at her, most of the stuff Irie wore, she noticed was clean, much more presentible, and recently, a lot more sexual in design. "But I wouldnt say under dressed either. She sat across from Mark at dinner and rarely took her eyes off him."
Shadow looked thoughtful, then looked at her sister. "You dont think."
"Its possible" Blackmane replied
"I dunno, their age is what I am mostly worried about now. Irie is younger then your daughter, and she's Vaeyukos only child." Shadow said, talking about their nephew and his love habits was an interersting topic to be sure. "Does Mark know ?"
"If he does, he is doing a good job at hiding it" Blackmane replied "If he does not, then he is blind to the fact that Irie is in heat, and he is her desired male companion"
"You say it like Irie wants to have Mark in a harem or something" Shadow said, that caused Blackmane to simply start laughing like an idiot. "What ?" Shadow asked, Blackmane continued to laugh crazily "What'd I say ?" Blackmane didnt answer she was laughing too hard. Leaving Shadowmane to wonder just what was wrong with her sister. Shadow watched as Blackmane went back into the den laughing like a complete drunk, a look of complete confusion upon her face. Blackmane unable to explain what Shadow had just said out of weird thoughts alone.
Infact it made Shadow want to talk to Mark about it. Now where was he going again ? Oh that was right, he was going to get Sapphire out of jail. Shadow stood from the table and headed for the Wolfe District, the jail there was lightly guarded and could allow a easy path inside.
Arendelle
Wolfe District
A few minutes later
"You could have said from the get go that Sapphire was in this district and not the castle" Mark grumbled, thankfully the brief spat they had with the guards there allowed them to briefly distract Kiyori from this jail.
What they did not know was that Kiyori had sent men to the jail, to kill Sapphire. Stepping onto the street that held the jail Mark looked about. The place was oddly full of people, normally the Wolfe District was calm, not as crowded, but with the recent posters of three women, one of which he had never met before, or at least, never could really recall meeting before. The crowds started getting around.
Most of the packed street was pointing and speaking about the three posters. All three women were not wanted by the council, but were noted publicly as Heirs. Seeing her sisters face on one of the posters, kiyomori smirked. "Who knew that Sapphire looked so good on paper ?" She said
Mark had to agree, as smirk on his face. The two headed for the jail. Turning a corner Mark spotted the soldiers and grabbed Kiyomori and pulled her back. "Look out" He said simply.
"What are you... ?" She asked him, he nodded towards the nearby soldiers. "Nice save" Kiyomori said seeing the squad, there were two squads patrolling the street before the jail, and another most likely inside it.
"You can thank me later. Getting in through the front wont be an option, there has to be another way in" Mark said.
"I think I can help you there" Said a sultry voice,
"Aunt Shadow ?" Mark said looking into the darkness of the alley they had ducked into.
"Nearly stepped into me dear Nephew, please watch your step next time" Shadow said as she seemed to fade from the shadows of the alley in to their view. Her magic shifting on her body neatly and smoothly. Possibly too smoothly.
"I could use a Essence Flame" Kiyomori said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps as a distraction ?" It was clear that even Shadow was distracted. "What ?" The older woman asked to her nephews confused look. "Me showing up ? Alright fine I'll tell you. We need to talk, about your cousin, Irie"
"Now ?" Mark asked her. Shadowmane was never exactly one to be directly blunt like that.
"Now" Somehow Mark was not going to like this conversation. And the look Shadow was giving him made it all the more important.
"Can it wait ? We're about to break Sapphire out of jail" Mark said, when Shadow did not reply right away he nodded to Kiyomori. "Fire off a Flame, distract, disort, cloud whatever." He said
"Whats between you and Irie ?" Shadowmane then asked, it caught both of them off guard. Kiyomori stared at her cousin, while Mark simply raised an eyebrow at his aunts question.
"What ?" Mark asked her, yes, that answer alone proved that he was infact blind to the fact that Irie was in heat, and into him and him alone. He had infact entirely fogotten his conversation with the Horny Chief in his mindscape
"Are you really that blind dear nephew ?" Shadowmane asked him.
"Do we really have to do this now ?" Mark hissed softly to his aunt as Kiyomori tossed a fog flame. "We're kinda on the clock here"
"Fine, but when this is over, we need to talk" Shadowmane said, the three then split up and entered the jail as the thick fog made things incredibly hard to see and yet Mark, Shadow and Kiyomori could see easily. Moving to the main gate, Mark easily unlocked it with a whack from his bow, which had a brass style knuckle set into it. The three stepped into the courtyard.
A half dozen soldiers spotted them and headed their way. "Aunt Shadow, can you go find Sapphire, she should be inside. Kiyomori, go with her, I'll take care of these fuckers" Mark said, a sword forming from his belt as his armor took a hit.
"You sure you can take them on your own ?" Kiyomori asked
"Yes, go, find Sapphire!" Mark said, the two women watched as he brought up his sword in salute towards the soldiers and advanced.
Shadowmane smiled. "It will work"
"What good will it do if he gets himself killed ?" Kiyomori had yet to see Mark in combat, but Shadowmane seemed to know the outcome.
"It will work, come on, lets get your sister" Shadowmane said, the two women turned and darted into the jail, leaving Mark on his own.
As they entered the doorframe of the jail, they heard Mark say to the soldiers. "Its been said that killing ones worst enemies burns fat, Lets find out if its true" They heard the clash of steel as gunshots rang out.
The inside of the jail was a maze "Why design a jail like a maze ? Cant find your way out in this place!" Shadowmane said, "Even the shadows are confused!"
"Thats the whole point of this jail, confuse the prisoners so when they do break out, they cant get outside the building" Kiyormori said, as they passed a jailer they snagged the keys easily. As Shadowmane knocked the man out. "According to this, my sister is in the cell on the middle floor in the direct center.
"Wonderful." Shadowmane said, Kiyomori lead the way.
In the cell a single woman sat. Sapphire was not the happiest woman in the structure, nor was she the dirtiest, she was however the cleanest and best cared for at that moment. Truth be told, Sapphire hated the jail to the point wherein she was going to make sure that any records of her being in the thing were purged entirely.
"Sapphire ?" Came a voice she thought she would never hear, especially in a jail.
"Kiyomori ?" Sapphire jerked awake, her eyes snapping open at the sound of keys. "What are you doing here ?"
"Getting you out of here before the High priest sends his goons to kill you." Sapphire had no idea what her sister meant. "Why are you even in here anyhow ?"
"I annoyed the high priest and got arrested for jaywalking" Sapphire retorted. It came as no real surprise when Kiyomori startred laughing. Then Sapphire saw Shadowmane. "Hello Lady Shadow"
"Lady Sapphire" Shadowmane replied. "The pleasentries can wait, your cousin is out front most likeling getting mobbed by the High Priests men, I suggest we go help him and get out of here as quickly as we can." Shadowmane was mostly right, getting out was easier then getting in, but then getting out to help Mark was easier said then done.
After the third blind corner, Sapphire said simply when they were entirely lost. "Things not going according to plan ?"
"Even the shadows can get lost in a maze like this" Shadowmane replied, she opened a portal to the last known outside location she could think of, the roof across from the jail's front door. "Quick, through there!" Shadow said, both women smirked
"Dont need to tell me twice" Sapphire said before swan diving through the portal. Kiyomori right behind her as Shadowmane backed into it, making sure nothing followed the three.
Outside the jail on the rooftop, Sapphire rolled and stoped at the edge of the rooftop. "Whoa!" She said, Kiyomori nearly sent her over the edge as Shadow formed from the portal.
Seeing the two women in their very off balance about to fall poses Shadow formed a mattress of shadows and helped them stand upright. "Guess I should have said to watch the first step huh ?"
"So here's we're you're hiding" Mark spoke up. The three turned towards he did not know if he should be unhappy or happy, but at that moment, he was mostly happy. "I was starting to wonder if Sapphire even was inside. Glad to see you're alright."
"Same here." Sapphire said. She looked to the three. "Whats this all about ?"
Shadow looked to Kiyomori, who simply looked to Mark. Mark sighed when all eyes were on him. "You're one of three possible heirs to the Throne of Arendelle" He said simply.
"You're joking" Sapphire said, but it was his expression that made her realise he wasnt. "You're not joking" Kiyomori went to the edge of the rooftop towards the main street with the jail across the way. Looking to the road, making sure things were clear as her cousin and sister spoke.
"Wish I was" Mark said simply
"Queen of Arendelle, me ?" Sapphire said simply. Clearly confused, she knew for a fact she would suck as queen.
"Apparently the District Lords were given three posters to scatter in their Districts, each one had a different face and brief bit of information on it. One of those faces is you. Another is Princess Anna, but she is only referred to as Lady Anna, and then some woman named Waterlight, but it doesnt ring any bells": Mark said
"The day just got weird didnt it, Cousin ?" Sapphire asked to Mark, who simply shrugged
It was then that Kiyomori gave off a warning chirp and the four scattered from the rooftop, peeking around crates towards the jail as Kiyoris troops showed up and scoured the battlefield Mark left. "Hiow many did you fight ? There arent any soldiers in the street"
"The bunch we fogged up ended up joining in the party after the fog cleared. It took a bit but it was fun." Mark said, he then pointed towards the new soldiers. "The High Priests new recruits, looks like they're lead by a Jaeger. Everything a mix of Soldiers now. Nothing like the old patrols in the streets" He said
"I think its time we head out of here" Kiyomori said, she turned to Mark and Shadow. "See you at the Den ?"
"See you there" Shadowmane said, meaning that she and Mark were about to have a heavy duty chat. Mark sighed, this was gonna be a long afternoon.
Arendelle
Tael District
3 PM
"Sometimes a calm sea is the best thing to happen to a sailor" Said a older man, long blond hair framed a gentleface. The man regarded the woman before him. "And sometimes a rough sea can be just as beneficial" He smiled then at the young woman. "To what do I owe the honors of Nasty, daughter of Draco to come to my own doorstep ?"
Nasty was like her namesake. A nasty piece of work. She was a dervish in a fight, and was even smarter in the braincase. However it was a few others that could have proved her wrong on many levels. A certain human had given her her scars upon her face and neck that her father could just barely heal. The scars would remain for the rest of her life, but her damage and pain had long since faded
"Dad always respected you, I never could figure out why. But seeing you in person was what he advised when things went sour. So that is why I am here" Nasty replied. Jarius regarded her carefully.
"And what, praytell, went sour ?" Compared to Nasty, Jarius power alone could easily just vanish her somewhere entirely, but he was not that type of dragon, even as a Brass. He liked conversation. So having Nasty pay him a visit made him smile. It was really just about time anyhow for the family to really just show up to begin with.
"Two weeks ago when we arrived in the kingdom something weird was going on inside a district, no matter what we tried, we couldnt find anything to do with what happened other then deceased bodies." Nasty said
"And so you wonder if I had anything to do with the fighting or knowing any of it ? Jarius finished the unasked question. Nasty just nodded. She and Sutri had yet to get any favor from their father outside of Sutri and Taris taking over the food of the kingdom. Nasty still hadny learned any new abilities from Draco.
"Yes" It was a simple answer, too simple and too blunt. But Nasty was at the end of her list of possible options. And Jarius was not exactly the first stop, but he was advised to be met with if the need arose. Jarius could be trusted to keep things civil at the very least.
Jarious had to simply nod at the answer, it was short and simple and he respected it. He could sense too that Nasty could be lead in another direction with her abilities, but she was a Shadowblack Dragon, he was a Brass, but even then, stranger magic abilities had been made thanks to Nara and his kind of Dragon. "I think I know of who can be of more help then I, but you'll have to put up with their antics. And knowing Force Dragons like I do, they tend to drive your father insane just by exsisting as it is." Jariius said, he invited Nasty into his home, the young woman followed him to the main living area. "I know of three possible Force Dragons in the Kingdom right now."
"Who ?" Nasty asked, if she had an angle she could possibly learn an new ability, or at least get some respect from her father. "Who should I look for ?"
"Three possiblities" Jarius sat down, he held up a hand with three fingers up "One, look for a guy named Drexel, he should be in the kingdom, if not him, his sister, Taxi, if not her, I know for a fact Naratas is somewhere inside Arendelle, but where I do not know. There is also the possiblity that Zrexel might even be in town"
Force Dragons were able to drive Draco, Nastys beloved father, batshit crazy just by knocking on the front door or showing up in a Pit unharmed by Dracos dark magic. And the four he just mentioned were possibly the worst of the four, the ones who made Draco mad the most was Naratas, he hated the name, possibliy more then he hated a certain undead Queen of Arendelle.
Taxi however, a female, possible to work with. Nasty smiled "You found a possible aid ?" Jarius asked her
"I did, the one you called Taxi, where was she last seen ? I can go and find her now" Nasty replied. It made Jarius smile at how soon Nasty wanted to go out and find her new frenemy.
"Whoa your brakes there kiddo. Finding Taxi just is not truly easy to do truth be told." Jarius said, he sat up on the sofa "The last time I saw Drexel, or Taxi, or even Zrexel, was about just before you were born. They were hunting some Red Dragons on Gaia." Jarius said, "They stopped in here, had a chat with me just like we are now. Then they left after I gave them some supplies. Havent seen them since."
"Alright, new question then, have you seen either of my sisters ?" Nasty asked him. Jarius nodded, "where ?"
"When I saw them they were in the Dust District, working with the men there to help clear out the damage that happened in the earthquake two weeks ago. According to my guys there, the two disappeared into a newly discovered tunnel and found it ended in a dead end. Basically an ancient vault of some kind." He said to her. "After that according to my guys they disappeared into the kingdom somewhere. Havent caught sight of them since."
Nasty smiled. "Thank you, Sir Jarius" She said. Jarius looked at her confused.
"Sir ?" He asked her
"Dad always saw you as a equal, someone he could respect. Have a chat with on equal terms and in some cases gain advice or an edge over his enemies just by seeing you" Nasty said, at Jarius curious glance in her direction she explained further. "Father said that when any of us were in doubt, visit you."
"Your father, Draco actually said that ?" Jarius had respect for Draco, a planner and thinker, who knew the rules of Dragon Combat in such a manner that he could bend them to his own gain when and where needed. But Jarius respected Draco to the point wherein Draco was a father, a father who advised his own children to seek out Jarius in the case of issues.
"He did. He also told us that you would not harm us when we sought you out in good faith and respect" Nasty said, it was the truth, Draco hated to admit it publicly, but he trusted Jarius only so far, and meeting with him one on one, actually made things peaceful for the most part on many levels.
Jarius smiled faintly. "Your father raised you four right. All of you are good kids. You should consider yourselves lucky as well, Shadowmagic I hear is incredibly volitale. To master it the levels that you have. That takes many many years of learning. You and your siblings are more them welcome in my home." He said to her
Nasty then thanked him. Jarius saw her to the door, she soon disappeared into the crowded street. Leaving Jarius to ponder in his front yard a curious question. "Whatever is guiding you, Lord of Shadows, that your own children seek me out ?" Jarius knew he was not going to get an answer to that question. So he stepped back inside his house.
"Mike!" He called out as he stepped into the hall. The Brass Kobold, a much smaller man who didnt give two shits of how big he was compared to Jarius seemingly faded into form at Jarius side.
"Yes sir" the Kobold said simply easily falling into step with his Lord.
"I want you to send word to the Force Dragons, Taxi, her brother Drexel, and their companion Force Dragon, Zrexel to expect a young Shadowblack Dragon woman or man, Nasty did not mention if she or her sisters or her brothers would seek them out. They are to aid as they see fit so long as the young dragons show repsect they can get the aid they need." Jarius gave Mike a careful look. "This is a major deal, if Dracos own children are looking for new ways to get information, and since they cannot destroy a Force Dragon, it means that they will seek allies so long their paths are aligned."
"Yes sir" Mike said about to turn aside.
"Oh and Mike, make sure that you stress to the Force Dragons that any use of Force is only to be in self defense. Should Dracos children seek only advice, or even training, or a sparring partner, the Force Dragons I simply request to aid them. These are children after all" Jarius said
"Yes sir" With that, Mike took his leave from Jarius, leavint the older Brass in thought as he wandered the halls of his massive home.
Jarius went then into his great room which possessed a sofa or two, and a long low bench sort of bed which also doubled as a throne. Sitting upon it he mentally reviewed why Nasty had visited him, Draco had indeed truly sent her or any of her siblings to seek him out when tyhings got too hard for them to handle on their own.
And she had asked about her sisters. If he had seen them and where. But she did not ask what they had found or why the Dust District had an earthquake. Which told him tyjhat Nasty was doing what most good poker players did, kept her hand close and unseen until the right time.
Whoever taught Nasty to keep a good poker face was good. "Was it wise for you to speak to her ?" Came a soft gentle voice. A voice Jarius had not heard in a year. He couldnt see Light, but he could hear her
"I think it was. If Draco sent his own children to seek me out for advice, then yes, they must learn new methods to seek information." Jarius said, he sighed then. "Hello Mother. Its been a long time hasnt it ?"
"It has indeed dear boy, it has indeed." Light appeared then, almost like a ghost. "You seem troubled" He was, his expression told her everything she needed to know at that moment. Jarius was conflicted.
"I am, I am, confused, lost one might say." He stood from his throne and stepped from it, looking towards the fountain in the backyard. "If Draco is unable to advise his children, why send them to me ? What is he planning ?" Light simply stood there in thought. It was a good question, one she could not answer right away. "Who else besides the Force Dragons could be of use to Dracos children ?"
"You do know that Naratas alone drives Draco crazy with rage just by mention of him ?" Light said, Jarius finally looked at her. He could see she appeared more as a ghost as he could not see her feet, and she floated upon the air, a plexus pattern floating around her.
"Draco was wise enough to send them to me, but was I wise enough to send them to the Force Dragons ?" Jarius said
Light smiled. "We will see. Get some rest dear boy. Things will happen faster now." Light turned as if you leave. But stopped "Oh, and Jarius, when you see Xeir, hug her for me will you ?"
Jarius smiled, "Of course, anything for my baby sister" He said. Light smiled and seemingly walked away, disappearing from view. Jarius also smiled again. Maybe Light was right, he was wise enough to send the children of Draco to seek out the Force Dragons. But the only wquestion was, were either party coherent enough to keep a level head and not ravage each other in the process ?
He hoped he had done the right thing. He truly hoped that Dracos children could learn. But he also knew that Earth was not the only place to learn. He went to his desk nearby and slid it open. A red crystal sat with it in. A name floated off its surface. "Notes on Melniirku, for Kalda"
If Mark showed up, would Jarius give that shard to him ?