Chapter 7
Fire. Everything was on fire. She was crying. She was scared. She couldn't find her knight. "Daddy!" she cried, "Daddy, where are you?!" He would make everything better. He always did.
She tripped on something in the smoke. It didn't feel like a rock. What was it? She touched it. It was a person. "H-hey, wake up. It's dangerous here." She shook the person. The haze cleared some and she realized the person was covered in blood. She saw his face. She screamed. "DADDY!"
"Daddy, daddy, save me, save me." A deep bass voice mocked her from the shadows, laughing cruelly.
A man stepped out of the dark. She couldn't see him clearly. His hair seemed mussed and his left arm was encased in bandages. There was a hammer in his right hand with a chain attached to a metal ball that had a nasty sharp-toothed grin. They were laughing.
"Daddy won't save you, cause daddy's going to die." The man said, his voice a high baritone. Her dad disappeared.
She could feel her rage stirring. She didn't try to stop it. With a scream, she charged at the man. He seemed surprised because initially he didn't do anything. She hit him hard enough to make him stumble. She kept hitting him. He grunted under the vicious assault.
This small ten-year-old had a lot of power. He found her interesting. He decided to take her. He knocked her back and she found the chain wrapped around her throat. "I will remake you. You will be my daughter…" She struggled. He and the ball laughed. The ball hit her in the left temple. She screamed as pain erupted, tearing through her, body and soul.
Jack shook Sol. She wasn't making any noise, but Babbo insisted that something was wrong. "Sol, wake up."
*CRASH* The wall shuddered as Sol smashed Jack into it. Her face was contorted in a ferocious snarl and her pupils were gone. "S-sol! Sol, it's me, Jack!"
Something told Jack that struggling would be bad, so he hung limp in her grip. The door to the room slammed open as Ed and Snow came in looking for an enemy. Both looked shocked. Snow was the first to react.
Instinctively knowing Sol would never hurt her, she ducked under her arm, inserting herself between Sol and Jack. "Sol. Come down, Sol. I need you down here with me." Snow spoke calmly and stroked Sol's cheek. Sol dropped her blank gaze to her. Her grip loosened and Ed pulled Jack free. Snow smiled at Sol. "Everything is fine. He's not here. We're all safe. Come back to me, Sol."
As Snow spoke, Sol's body and face relaxed. Her pupils appeared as tiny pinpricks and slowly widened to focus on Snow. Finally, she blinked. "Ko-… Snow." She croaked.
"Are you okay?"
"…y…yeah. Did… did I hurt anyone?"
"You threw Jack against the wall. But he's okay, right Jack?" Snow said when Sol's face tightened with distress.
"Uh, yeah! I mean, I'm a little sore, but other than that I'm fine. I… it scared me more than anything else." He added quietly.
Sol ducked her head. "I'm sorry." Jack almost blew it off as no big deal but realized that Sol was really upset.
He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine. Really. I forgive you." Sol gave him a small sad smile.
Ed crossed his arms. "I want to know what happened. When we got here to Pelica, it was obvious that you needed rest more than food. So we got you this room and Babbo insisted on staying with you. That was an hour ago. A few minutes ago, Babbo came out and said he though something was wrong. So Jack came in to check on you. What happened?"
"Sol wasn't making any noise, but she was really stiff and Babbo was insisting that something was wrong. I thought she might be having a nightmare, so I tried to wake her up. You saw the results of that." Jack rubbed the back of his neck.
Ed looked at Sol. "Nightmare… yeah." She clearly wasn't going to elaborate.
*Hmph* "Fine. The food's ready. Since you're awake, come eat and we'll discuss the current situation." The group trooped out to the dining area.
"Now, Sol. How long have you been in MAR Heaven?" Ed asked.
"10 days… I think. I'm not good with keeping track of time."
"So it's safe to assume you know nothing about what's going on."
"I know a little about the Chess and the first war, thanks to Alviss. However, I know nothing about how this world functions."
"Alright. Snow." At Ed's prompt, Snow pulled out a map of MAR Heaven. Ed pointed to the second northern-most island. "We're here, the remote island nation of P'Zurika. It has only two towns and no ruler." He pointed to the largest country on the map, which was on the southern continent. "Here, on the southern continent, is Lestava. The place of Snow's birth. This is where the journey began for her and me… but now it is the headquarters of the Chess Pieces! The continents and islands are divided into smaller kingdoms, each with its own ruler. But the one that ruled over them all, symbolically, was Lestava. To rule Lestava is to be the 'leader of leaders.'" Ed explained.
Sol leaned her chair back on two legs. "…Edo-period Japan. Each lord ruled his land from his own 'castle', if you will, but the Shogun ruled over all of them." Jack, Snow, and Babbo stared blankly as she recited historical facts.
Ed laughed. "Well, the other guy said basically the same thing, so it must be right! This is the second time I've had to explain this, so I'm getting good at it."
"'Other guy.'"
"Yeah. Six years ago, I used the Gatekeeper Clown. It summoned the man who became the leader of the Cross Guard. Danna."
Sol let her chair drop with a thud, making the others jump. "And Phantom killed him." She said darkly.
"Yes. He wanted to go back home, but…" Ed trailed off.
Sol looked out the window, a harsh look on her face. Snow had finished eating and decided to express her fascination with Babbo. "It's amazing that this ÄRM is really alive! Hello, Babbo!"
"Uh, h-hello?" Babbo blushed under Snow's intense examination.
Sol had looked back over when Snow started talking. Now she smirked. "You're blushing, kendama? Now that's amusing."
"Y-you silence yourself, you insolent female!" Babbo blushed even harder. Jack was trying not to laugh. Ed didn't even bother to smother it.
Snow giggled a little, then asked, "Ed, can I go out and play with Babbo?"
"Well, I don't sense any magical energies nearby… What about you?" he looked at Sol, remembering she sensed the people in the castle.
"I sense people, not what they can or cannot do. No one inherently malicious seems to be nearby. Should be fine, but keep your mouth shut, Babbo. You attract enough attention as it is." Babbo bit his tongue on his protest, realizing that she didn't want undue attention brought to Snow. As Snow trotted outside with Babbo, Sol realized Ed was looking at her funny. "If you're gonna ask for an explanation, don't. I don't have one for you." Ed blinked before looking out the window at Snow and Babbo.
"She's a tough one. Few people could keep laughing after what she's gone through."
"Of course." Ed and Jack looked at Sol, who was also watching the two play. "She's always had a core of steel." Both Ed and Jack looked confused, but before either could ask a question, Sol turned back and said, "So the Chess are in Lestava?"
"Ah, yes. Why?"
She shrugged. "Easier to find people when you know where they are. They think it's okay to break children? Let's go break them."
Ed opened his mouth, but Jack beat him to the punch. "But, what about that guy? The one who you came to find because he stole something from you?" Ed blinked. This was news to him.
Sol tilted her head to the right and looked at Jack to her left. "I didn't tell you, did I. Phantom is the man I'm looking for." Jack blanched and Ed's eyes widened. "I figured it out when Alvis was talking about him. The fact that he's threatening… Snow is just another reason to rip off his arm and beat him with it. After which, I will shove it so far up his ass, he'll be able to pick his own brain." Ed actually snorted. She had sounded so disinterested in what she was saying that it had sounded funny. Yet, he knew she was serious.
"Th-that's… brutal…" Jack was honest. "but… I'm going too!" Sol looked mildly surprised. "I still owe you. Besides, you're my friend. What kind of person would I be if I ditched you now? Not one that I want to be."
Ed grinned. "Don't get so cocky, kids! You talk big for someone getting pummeled by a low-level rook. Can you grow as strong as Danna? Can you defeat the Chess Pieces?"
"Of course. And I won't defeat them. I'll destroy them."
"Good. Snow!"
Snow and Babbo ran inside. "Y-yes! I-I'm here!"
"These guys have just joined the party. Maybe it's time to try 'that' again." Ed stated as he pulled on his trench coat. "So you two want to get stronger?"
He led the group to a clearing a ways away from town. It was surrounded by old pillars and trees. "So, this is your only ÄRM, right? Phantom's old ÄRM, Babbo! Haven't seen you since I was a member of the Cross Guard and was sealing you away six years ago!"
"So you put Babbo in there?" Sol asked.
"Yep. That 'treasure chest' was actually an ÄRM rigged so only someone with no magical power could open it! Even if they'd found it, those Chess fools wouldn't have been able to open it! And no non-magical mortal without ÄRMs… could have gotten past the Guardians I'd planted! It was a perfect trap! But somehow… you were able to get Babbo without being crushed by the Guardian…"
"'Magic power'? You keep referring to it. Still don't know what it is."
"Funny. I happen to smell some right now!" He stretched out his arm and one of the pillars shattered. "Come on out."
"Wha'ja do that for?!" Dorothy coughed.
"Dorothy. I thought I sensed you." Sol commented.
"That insolent witch!"
"The beautiful lady!"
Ed frowned in confusion. "The woman from the castle…?"
"Dorothy was the first person I met. We worked together to get Babbo out."
"Ah, that makes sense. She handled the Guardian, while you opened the chest. Well, if she handed Babbo to you, she can't be with the Chess." Ed mumbled.
Dorothy marched up to Ed and stuck her broom in his face. "What are you doing to Sol, old man?! If you hurt her, you'll answer to me!" she barked.
Ed sneered. "You talk pretty brave… for somebody who was hiding behind a pillar!"
Snow stepped between them. "No – fighting!" She smiled at Dorothy. "You're Sol's friend, right? Then you can't be a bad person!"
Dorothy narrowed her eyes at her. A snow ÄRM… so she's the one… Sol rescued? …Well… it should be fine… Dorothy smiled.
Ed answered Sol's indirect question. "'Magical power' is the energy, or ki, released when a wielder uses an ÄRMs special powers. Through the use of powerful ÄRMs… and repeated experiences as an ÄRM wielder… that energy seeps into the wielder, almost like a scent! And the amount of magical power I sense form you two is zero!"
Sol scratched her cheek. "So Babbo's ability to change size isn't a special power. Okay."
"Sol's been teaching me to fight! And I use an ÄRM!" Jack protested.
"Brute force has nothing to do with magic. Let's see this ÄRM." Ed stated.
"Earth Scoop!" Jack activated his ÄRM. Ed raised an eyebrow. He had been expecting him to say something stupid, like "Battle Shovel". Still…
"Listen, having an ÄRM doesn't make you a wielder. It's like using a well-balanced sword or a tempered bow without any training. You might as well be using a club or throwing a rock."
"So what do we do?" Sol asked, remembering that the Chess girl in the castle had said something about transforming Babbo.
Ed handed her three magenta stones. "Put these in Babbo's hammer." Sol plugged them into the holes. Dorothy wandered over next to Jack, while Snow stood next to Sol. "Magic Stones. The source of Babbo's power."
"How do I use them?" She asked.
"From here on out… figure it out yourself." He lifted the chain hanging from his belt. Sol realized there was a dragon head at the end. It flashed and opened it's mouth, releasing a ring. "Dimension ÄRM, Gate of Training!" A door appeared under Sol, Snow, and Babbo. Another appeared under Dorothy and Jack. The doors opened and the five fell into the training realm. Jack and Babbo were screaming in terror and Dorothy was complaining about being stuck with Jack, not Sol.
The doors shut. Ed quietly said, "Danna gained strength from this. The rest is up to you – Sol! Jack!"
