Chapter 2: The Legacy of Another Dragonblood

The news about Poseidon suddenly coming out of the shadows was indeed a shocker to everyone on Avalice. Throughout the rest of this rainy Saturday, everyone who saw the news just couldn't believe their eyes and ears, especially Neera Li, who had to take a few minutes after the report to take it all in. As long as she's known Lilac, she'd never thought that the formerly solo dragonblood would have any source of a family to exist and it got the icy panda all curious. Since the report did say that he was spotted working as a bartender at a sports bar within the commercial district of Shang Tu, she decided to see if she could get a professional profile report on him for more information on this mysterious dragon. It wasn't for the Magister or Mayor Zao. I was for herself… for future reference.

With that in mind, it was mid-afternoon when she decided to visit that very same bar that was mentioned and it was pretty quiet for the time being as she casually made her way inside. By the time she reached the bar itself, she was disappointed to see that Poseidon was nowhere to be found. Instead, she saw a strapping young muscular tiger come out from the kitchen with a silver moustache around his whiskers. He greeted the panda guard with utmost respect, despite the fact that he was shocked to see her in a place like this.

"Well! Miss Neera Li! What a surprise to see you here of all places." He greeted with a casual smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for this new dragonblood named Poseidon Lilac." Neera replied in her usual upstanding tone. "Does he work here?"

"Yeah, he does, but he's not here right now. He had just left for the day. He's not an all-day worker, ya know."

"I figured that. I'm wondering why now of all times that we're all just hearing about his existence? Where has he been all this time?"

"Curious, are ya? Did you come here yourself?"

"Yes. I assume that Sash Lilac is his sister."

"Yep, it's no allegation. It's the absolute truth. He is indeed her older brother… by three years."

"So, he's 24 years old?"

"Yep, you got it! He's a young blood, but he's got the smarts of an elder." At that last word, Neera took a seat on a barstool as the buff tiger was just cleaning some glasses. She pulled out a notepad and a pencil as she began to write everything that was said between the two. "Ya see, when I first hired him, he had to give me his full background in order for him to qualify and holy shit! Does he fit the bill?!"

"How so?"

"The dragon's been through so much since he was a kid. It's been said that his parents had to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep him and Lilac safe, but with the Red Scarves at large at the time, that idea was tossed out like trash. So, the only solution… is one that I vowed to keep a secret. Only he knows."

"Of course. Now, what about his appearance? If he's Lilac's brother, why doesn't he look like her in terms of his skin color? Shouldn't he be a purple dragon as well?"

"Yeah, he should be, but he wouldn't tell me about it. I tried asking him, but unfortunately, this was all the info I could get from him. He had just heard that his presence has been revealed and he's feeling guilty rather than happy." That last statement alone got Neera even more vigilant than ever as she calmly got off the stool and walked towards the same entrance she came in from, but before she could completely leave the building:

"If ya wanna know where he lives, he resides in a cave in the Shuigang Snowfields in Northern Avalice. That's where you all fought Brevon and his army."

"And he didn't have the balls to show up and assist us?!"

"Like I said, he feels more shame than everything else. Ya gotta ask him all your questions, sweetheart."

"Damn! Well, thank you for your cooperation. No need to give me your name. I shall keep you as an anonymous witness for now."

"Yes, ma'am."

As for Poseidon himself, he had just landed before the mouth of a pitch black cave after a telekinetic flight that was peaceful, but full of sorrow and regret. His appearance matched what was described down to the free flowing purple tendrils that swayed underneath his hair with grace and beauty as he looked out towards the horizon he had flown from. It was well below freezing at the snowfields, but due to him being half-ice, it never bothered him at all. All that bothered him right now was the fact that since he knows that his baby sister, Sash Lilac, now knows he's alive and well, he also knows that it won't be easy just to walk up to her and say 'it's so good to see you again'. The overwhelming weight of guilt had taken over him and, even with his trusty pet silver wolf coming out to sit next to him, he still wasn't feeling any better. The reason for all of this:

"I know I was never there for you all these years of our lives, Sash… and I truly apologize for what I've failed to do. I'm hoping that one day, we can forgive each other and start anew. For now, though, I want you to find me. I'm afraid for you, but I love you no matter what."

His voice was that of an angel with a pure heart and he was truly a dragonblood with that golden personality that practically no other dragon could possess. To simply put it, he was basically a male version of Lilac, except that he also has the ability to breathe underwater. After he made that statement to himself, he felt a presence just around the left side of the cave entrance and he never budged as he saw Neera just come from that corner with her pencil and notepad in hand. He became the gentleman that he was raised to be and kissed her hand with respect after an honorable bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet a beautiful lady like yourself." He commented, making the usually stern panda slightly blush. "What brings you here?"

"You're… not livid for seeing me trespass your property without permission?" Neera asked with concern. Poseidon shook his head twice as he released that same left hand and just stood there casually, allowing the ice cold breeze to make him feel even more comfortable. "Huh! Interesting. You must be Poseidon Lilac, older brother to my friend, Sash. We rarely call her by that moniker, though."

"I can understand why. She's feeling the same amount of regret when she joined the Red Scarves and refuses to relive the past. I don't blame her."

"Well! You obviously know her very well already and you haven't seen her in so long. Speaking of that, this is why I'm here. News of your sudden reveal has shaken the entire planet and I'm not leaving until I get as much confidential information from you as I possibly can. We, as well as I, have many, many questions and you shall answer them, whether you like it or not."

"Did Sash send you?"

"No. I came here on my terms and mine alone. I'm a member of the Shang Mu Police Department."

"Say no more. I get it completely. Come on inside. I was just about to have a soothing cup of green tea. Care to share some with me? Call it my treat for your honesty, officer."

"You're quite the considerate creature, Poseidon… and please, call me Neera." It became silent once more as the two got into the cave for the fateful discussion.

An hour and 45 minutes of tea and an explanation later…

"…and that's all you need to know about me, Miss Li." Poseidon concluded as he just settled down his empty teacup. Neera had just finished writing down the last of everything that was said before she closed up her notepad and sipped the very last of her tea. "I never asked you this, but who will you share this information with? Hopefully… not to Sash."

"And why shouldn't I?" Neera asked with a little attitude as she finished her sip, still holding the cup in hand. "I wasn't going to tell her by my choice, but since you've shared all of this with me, it is of utmost importance."

"No! You can't tell her this! It's… it's for her own safety."

"Humph! You disappoint me, Poseidon. You love your sister, but you want nothing to do with her! Why?!"

"It's too risky, Neera. I'm too ashamed to reveal this to her. She wouldn't understand."

"Oh, with this information… I'm sure she most certainly will!" The panda got up from her seat and held the notepad close to her chest with emphasis. "You may not want to come to her, but after sharing this, I'm pretty sure she'll come to you without question. I'm going against your wishes and nothing you say will make me change my mind." After that last word, Neera stormed out and back around the same corner she came. Poseidon could only watch her with disbelief for her first three steps outside before he stood up and followed her, seeing that she was already gone by the time he made it.

"No… she won't." He whispered with tears welling up in his eyes.

Meanwhile, back at the Dragon Valley House…

Lilac had just taken a step outside the spacious backyard for some air after she roared her heart out for five minutes. She sat down in the freshwater lake with her signature blue unitard still on, but she had taken off the shoes beforehand. As she did so, she couldn't get Poseidon out of her mind. A good majority of her childhood memories are a blur within her mind and she doesn't even remember if she had biological parents to begin with. That's why she's finding it so hard to believe that this mysterious dragon is automatically classified as her elder brother. It all happened so fast and she never wanted it to be glued to her memories, but it's too late now. The damage is done and there's nothing she could do. All she had to do… is wait.

"(sigh)…why does it even hurt to bring up all this?" Lilac asked herself as she rested her arms upon the grassy shore, like she was relaxing in a hot tub. "I want to be happy that I have a brother, but I… I just can't. How can I love somebody who's never taken care of me throughout my life? Since he's my older brother, that should've been instinctive. What the hell did he do to steer clear from me? Or maybe it was something I did? Ugh! I just don't know what to think anymore."

"Heh, sounds like Poseidon's gonna be with us for a while." Torque quoted with humor from behind. Lilac never turned towards him, but bowed her head with a small chuckle as she closed her eyes. "And by that, I mean in our minds… if not physically with us… yet."

"Why is he here, Torque? Why now of all times? Where's he been and what has he been doing all these years?"

"I can't answer all those questions, Lilac." The green alien replied with veracity as he sat on the shore with his now bare feet in the water next to the solemn water dragon. "But I can tell you this: Everything in life has an excuse for happening and this is bound to have at least one. If I could be honest with you, it's all thanks to his love for you. He is your brother after all… and as siblings, the word 'love' shouldn't even be erased from your vocabulary."

"I know, but it's hard to love someone who's not there."

"Maybe for you, but not for Poseidon. Whatever happened that caused you two to be separated is surely powered by love and nothing more."

"Hmmm…" The dragonblood took it all in with a grain of salt and it made her chest hurt even worse as she grasped it with agony with tears streaming down her closed eyes. Torque felt her pain as he lowered himself into the lake to give her a supportive embrace that made her weep into his neck.

"It's okay, Lilac. I know it's difficult to absorb all of this, but I'd say it's about time. If I were you, I'd try to make peace with him… and I do mean try. I have a feeling that, at this rate, you're finding this much more difficult than I previously thought."

"You couldn't be more right." Lilac pulled away and wiped her tears away. "Until he's ready to confess, he's not coming within five feet of me." The dragon then forcefully got up out of the lake, dried herself off with a towel, and summoned her angelic dragon wings as she flew off towards Shang Mu to speak with the Magister about all of this. He's always had a second opinion, even with Torque's wisdom giving her some motivation after that conversation. When she was gone, Torque shook his head with dissatisfaction as he got back inside and locked the glass doors before approaching Carol, Corazon, and Milla in the living room.

"Excuse me for interrupting your movie, ladies, but Lilac's emotions are getting worse. I tried to console her and she took it all in, but she's still repelling her only source of flesh and blood." He started with concern. "She flew off to Shang Mu, probably to ask the Magister about Poseidon. Can you three go and make sure she doesn't go overboard?"

"Damn it, Torque!" Carol spat with a mixture of annoyance and comicality before she paused the movie, stood up with the other two girls, and headed out towards the younger wildcat's motorcycle… well, Milla and Carol went to the bike. Corazon had an ATV of her own. "Then again, this is kinda good. She's gaining some feelings for her brother, but not enough. Eh, I'd give Torque an 'A' for effort…"

"…and an 'A plus' for succeeding." Milla added with elation before the three rode towards the heavenly city.

At the Shang Mu palace…

Neera had just gotten in with General Gong right behind her as she approached the Magister, who was sitting in his throne this time. She knew Lilac was coming as she took her seat next to him on his right, leaving the buff general standing before them.

"Did you get the information?" Magister asked in his extremely deep voice of a ruler. Neera opened her notepad and read it to herself as she spoke.

"It was a lot of information, too." Neera replied, not looking away from the notes. "Of course, most of it is confidential and should be kept away from Lilac, according to Poseidon himself. Something tragic happened during their childhood and he's to blame for the event."

"What is it?" Magister looked over her shoulder for the answer within her notes and was wide eyed with shock. "Oh, no! That's… unbelievable! No wonder it's been said that he's been feeling so much culpability since his existence was announced just hours ago!"

"It must be shared with her immediately, sir. She's on her way here now. This is the perfect opportunity to reveal this to her from a neutral source."

"Why not have Poseidon tell her personally?" Gong asked with concern.

"Because he's a coward." Said a brave female voice from behind the general. He turned around fast to see Lilac just approach them with her dragon wings going into her back along the way. Neera stood up with her usually stern stare, but it never intimidated the dragonblood before her. In fact, she reflected it back. "You saw him, Neera?"

"I found him, yes." The ice knight replied. "He's living within the Shuigang Snowfields. You remember that place, don't you?"

"That's where we fought Brevon. Why didn't he show up to help us?!"

"He has his reasons, Lilac… trust me." The panda started welling up in tears, but they never escaped. It was completely oblivious to the Magister, but he felt the emotional turn she was about to take as she opened the notepad and looked down at it, but the dragon stopped her for a moment.

"What do you mean? What did he tell you?"

"Lilac, just… calm down and listen to this. I wrote this down in my own words a bit, even though he said it all: 'Poseidon had the knowledge that we were all fighting against Lord Brevon for freedom from his tyranny, but his overwhelming weight of shame and guilt prevented him from doing so. The motive behind it all is understandable. When Lilac was just an egg, the Red Scarves were led by a dangerous shark of a thug who vowed to kill all newborns who would rebel against them and their families. The Lilacs were targeted next within the deepest confines of Dragon Valley and Poseidon had to make a dangerous proposition that would spare both you and the rest of the family: At his age of three, Poseidon himself… professionally proclaimed that the Red Scarves can adopt the egg and raise it to become a ruthless criminal like them, but they had to spare the rest of the family in exchange for the adoption. At first, the shark leader was reluctant and struggled to make the deal work, but he saw how close the Lilacs were and begged for their lives silently. All they did was cry with utmost sorrow and that display alone was suffice to make the deal acceptable." Neera paused as she saw that Carol, Milla, and Corazon had just entered the palace in silence, but it never made the now tearful Lilac turn away from the officer and Magister as Neera continued. "With that in mind, the shark thug did eventually agree to take the egg and spare the entire family, giving the highest praise to Poseidon before he left with his group of young future thugs. Before they were completely gone, however, a two-year old Spade approached young Poseidon and the dragon told him to take good care of you, but don't tell you about the family and what we had to do to get her in the Red Scarves. She… would be devastated. Spade set that promise in stone ever since then and Poseidon is humble and satisfied… that you've grown up without ever realizing… that your own family… practically gave you to the Scarves in order for them to live. This was all his idea and he feels colossal regret after all these years, even to this day."

Lilac was speechless. She couldn't believe her ears as she backed away with horror in her eyes, stopping right before her tendrils could touch her three friends behind her. She still didn't feel their presence.

"I'm so sorry, Lilac, but it's the truth." Neera continued. "And believe me. I know when someone is lying. My tail twitches with numbness and that never happened."

"…no… he's got to be lying! IT CAN'T BE TRUE! I've always been told that I chose to join the Red Scarves by my own will! THEY LIED TO ME?!" The dragon nearly roared at that last word, making Milla jump with tears in her emerald green eyes, but Cory and Carol held her close. Neera bowed her head with sadness, making General Gong and the Magister do the same. "…my family… surrendered me to them… didn't they love me?!"

"Lilac…"

"DID THEY?!" The pissed off dragonblood got in her face as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "DID THEY, NEERA?!"

"Lilac, calm down!" Carol finally spoke up before she tugged on the twin tails, but the dragon snatched them away from her lover, still remaining in Neera's face. "Don't do something you'll regret yourself."

"…Lilac, their love for you made them do this. It wasn't an emotionless mundane decision." The panda finally replied as calmly as possible. Again, the dragon became skeptical as she shook her head and slowly took five steps back. "You have to believe us."

"…I can't believe it. I won't! If love made them do this, then why isn't Poseidon telling me this? What's he got against me?!"

"His fear of your retaliation. I already fear the worst for you both."

"Wait a minute… that's what Torque was trying to tell me. Everything happens for a reason… and this is it." That's when Lilac's anger finally subsided, much to everyone's relief. She even accepted a soothing embrace from Carol, purring against her right cheek as she did so. "So, since that's the case, I'm all better now. I'm not mad at him anymore, but I still can't accept his love until he fesses up with more detail… and he'll have to find me. I am NEVER going towards him from now on. If you ever meet him again, tell him that for me. He's got an entire month to do it."

"That's mighty generous of you, despite how virulent you were just moments ago." Magister replied. "May I ask why an entire month's time?"

"It'll give him some time to think about everything and get that weight of indignity off of his shoulders."

"Ah! Of course."

"And before he finally does decide to confess, he has to do a DNA test to make sure that he's really my brother. That way, I'll know for sure that I don't have a total stranger allegedly claiming to be my brother who's telling me something that might be fake."

"You're saying this like you want him to be your biological brother." Corazon pointed out. Lilac turned towards the ladies with a regal look of sincerity, making her look stunning towards Carol. "You do, don't you?"

"I'll admit it. After everything he confessed to me from Neera, I'm sure there's much more he's got to say and I'll accept that and I'll accept him." She paused as she turned towards Neera with a remorseful smile. "Neera, can you just tell me one more thing about him before I leave?"

"Sure." Neera replied with a diplomatic smile of her own.

"What does his voice sound like? Does it sound brave and noble, like mine?"

"He sounds like an angel, Lilac. And his boss at the bar did tell me that he's also got the mind of genius, just like you as well."

"Oh, wow! Awesome! Please tell him this proposition gently, okay?"

"I sure will. Thanks for understanding, Lilac."

"Thank you for finding him." After that was said, the group of four heroines left with their usually casual smiles. By the time the doors closed, the Magister just had this to say:

"It's safe to say that peace has been restored between the dragonbloods. Now, this meeting has to happen in order to permanently make it so."

To be continued…