Chapter -90: The Meeting

High above in Arc Hurricanos, Misty Stratos spends her early evening in her room, taking pen to paper with Moses grooming his feathers beside her on the table.

She's taking it slow and has had to deal with a few rewrites due to mistakes or just plain coughing up blood.

Soon though her husband would be returning home from a day of cleaning up the town of cobwebs from the local spiders.

He gently knocked on the doorframe and she folded the paper in half before turning on her stool with both hands on her lap.

He walked right in with a gentle smile and a bag full of eggs for the next few days. He set it down on their drawers and then walked up to put his rugged hand on her back and leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek.

She cooed and then returned the kiss to his cheek, which caused Moses to flap his wings around excitedly.

The two chuckled and then Misty began to turn back to her letter with him leaning over and wondering, "Made any progress on your writing today, dear?"

"I'm getting there, I just need to write a couple more sentences." She said, taking her pen in hand.

He moved around the chair and tried to reach out with the subtlety of a baby bird, only for her to set her hand atop his wrinkling knuckles.

They looked into each other's eyes, his demonstrating a teddy bear like softness laced with curiosity while she winked playfully and whispered, "Be a little patient, dear."

"Haaa..." He smiled with the shine of a man half his age and then pulled away, "I'm glad you have a new hobby these days."

"It's fun to write," Misty let out a couple short and dry coughs, "D-Doesn't require much effort."

He took his hand and smoothly rubbed it on her back, applying a bit of warmth to loosen her up.

"You should take a break. I'll make dinner for us tonight." He said softly.

"Oh, you're so sweet, Darnia. But I can still cook. Just let me finish this up first."

Darnia retracted his generosity with a serene smile and whisper of "Okay" before making his way for the door.

Misty then flipped the page up part way and finished it in a few words, where she proceeded to curl it up, tie it in a knitted bow, and hand it off to Moses.

"Don't stay for too long out there." She rubbed him under the beak and then fed him a bit of food off the dish to get his spirits high.

Then he was off out the window, right as Darnia returned to their room.

Misty laid her hands on her lap, content with herself via a subtle sigh of relief while her husband said, "And off he goes..."

She stood up and trotted on up to her husband with a tiny bit of youthful spring in her step. His bewildered expression leaves him prey for her tender wiles, "Honey, can we do something...different tonight?"

He was more than happy to smile and oblige this simple request, "Of course."

He then laid his hands on her shoulders and gave them a gentle rub, "What were you thinking?"

She brought her cold hands upon his cheeks, the two centering their blushing faces in their gazes as she said, "After we eat...let's go to the surface, just you and I."

His stutter was muted and he was struggling to hold his smile. But with a reluctant sigh he said, "Anywhere in particular?"

"The sea of Aquamoria must be beautiful at night with the moon shining down."

"Ok," He said quietly with no further hesitation, "But we will come back the moment you're not feeling well."

"I promise." She whispered back.

The two then had a quick dinner with leftovers from the ice box and headed out on their merry way, right as the moon was coming up.

She let herself be a princess in her knight's arms, as they slowly descended from the skies above to the ground below, landing upon the edge of the sandy shores.

She walked alongside her husband from there, his arm wrapped around her back and her nestling her head against his soft poncho.

They walked in silence, enjoying the cool sea air and the sounds of the sea brushing up against the stone formation.

Darnia then whispered tenderly in her ear, "Remember the day of our marriage?"

"When the moon shone bright above our city, and the wind blew against our hair?"

"I always wished we would have made our vows here instead." He said, causing her eyes to briefly widen as she pulled back to look at his rugged, smiling face.

"I never knew that." She whispered.

They both looked out towards the moon shining down upon the sea, turning it into a watery expanse of jewels.

Misty then sighed and rubbed the front of his chest, pulling away and grabbing his hands without him feeling her touch. She then brought them up close to her chest and gazed up with her weary eyes, their two silhouettes painted before the full moon.

"I missed this sensitive side of you, Darnia."

"It should have never left your side, Misty." He leaned in and pressed their lips together, where they lingered warmly for half a minute.

"I wish everyday could be like this," He said as he pulled back, "Just you and me, and all the sights in the world."

"Maybe someday?" She said, her eyes faint with hope.

"...Maybe someday." He echoed, allowing a little optimism to seep through.

Misty then convinced him to sit down beside her and make a wood fire for them to relax in front of. It was a nice mood setter...

But not necessarily for what Darnia was expecting.

"Oy! Hello there, Mrs. Stratos!" A chipper voice only briefly disrupted the mood.

It belonged to the young man named Brine Aqua, who came along to greet them without any of his usual fishing gear but rather, a piece of paper dampened with some water droplets.

He smiled at the fire and with a big grin said, "Oh? We cookin' up some fish?"

Darnia fluttered his eyelids and muttered aloud, "I-I'm sorry, and you are?"

The boy quickly ran up next to the fire and reached his hand past Misty's face, "Ah, ya must be her shipmate and Sarajin's old man! Pleasure to meetcha sir, name's Brine Aqua!"

Darnia weakly shook his hand and said, "I...see. You're one of Sarajin's friends?"

"Ahem...!" Darnia coughed and then hastily but politely tried to say, "W-Well, we're busy at the moment, so I can't talk right now."

"Eh?" Brine wagged his piece of paper up and remarked, "Didn't the letter say to come 'ere around this time?"

"...What letter?" Darnia was quickly drawing his puzzled gaze towards Misty when another voice joined their ranks.

"Brine?" This softer sound belonged to Carmine Rose, coming here with his body shivering slightly and his neck wrapped up in a moss scarf.

Brine turned and his eyes popped a bit in surprise, "Carmine? Whaddya doin' out so late, chum?"

Carmine rubbed his chin and said, "Is this one of those 'trick questions'?"

Brine looked like a dead-eyed fish until the vine at the side of Carmine's face pulled out it's own similar looking letter.

"Wha...?!" Brine shouted.

Carmine then gestured at him and said, "You...were told there would be other people coming, right?"

Brine flipped his letter over many times over and squinted until his eyes looked like they'd squeeze out, "Nah mate, I ain't seein' anything on here!"

"Excuse me," Darnia chimed in with a bit of franticness to his voice, "Letters? They wouldn't have happened to have been delivered by a...bird, would they?"

Carmine flapped his letter up and remarked, "Yes, actually. With peach-like feathers?"

"..." Darnia was edging towards disbelief when he looked towards his dear wife, who kept her cool throughout but her eyes looked tinted with a growing regret.

"Haaa, I'm sorry honey. I really thought we'd have more time alone before they started showing up." She said with clear sincerity that he just couldn't bring himself to be mad at.

But the confusion would only grow as the rustling of sand gave away the presence of two more people arriving on the scene.

The next two arrivals came from the east. One Ezekiel Gaia, and next to him, the sharp-edged Arctic Knight, just without their armor but their blades on their back. They seemed to be moving together on rather friendly terms even if there was a slight gap between them, as much as Misty had been rooting for them to be closer.

They were mid-conversation when Ezekiel noticed the wife and husband who had ushered them into their home, upon which he smiled and waved his hand out.

"Well! 'Ello there Mr. and Mrs. Stratos! Fancy runnin' into ya both out here this late! Are ya-"

Ezekiel continued to raise his head until he was locking eyes with Brine.

Brine glared at him with puckered lips and a mean wave of his hand, "Excuse me, I don't recall us ever puttin' up a sign that says 'Welcome, dirt draggers!'"

"Oh for the love of the fault-!" Ezekiel clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and threw his hand into the air while advancing upon Brine, "What's a slippy, soaked up seadog like ya doin' here? Are ya after the buried treasure?"

"Buried treasure...?!" Brine spat up in disbelief, "Why'd we risk lettin' ya dirty a find as rare as gold with yer hairy hands!"

"Oh?" Ezekiel perked his brows up and chuckled, "Ya wanna have a taste of these hairy hands?"

He started gesturing his fists up, "Cause I can introduce 'em to yer big, crooked tooth mouth, ya salty shrimp!"

"Oh, are ya threatening me?" Brine threw his fists up as well, "Cause I can't see ya, cause yer so dirty ya blend right in to the sand!"

"Or maybe it's because ya barely stand above me knee, boy!" Ezekiel barked back.

The Knight crossed their arms under their chest and then glared towards Carmine, ignoring the two's pointless bickering to say bluntly, "This is the first I've heard of a forest dweller taking his roots somewhere else."

Carmine closed his eyes and sighed, "And apparently, I'm the only one who came without a means to fight."

"How surprising." The Knight said coldly.

As Brine and Ezekiel were scooting closer across the sand, Darnia suddenly stood right up and overpowered their pettiness with his stature and a single declaration of, "Enough!"

He then gestured his hand at Brine then at Ezekiel until they settled down, upon which he settled his arms down by his sides and let out a large sigh.

Misty stood up next to him as he had to speak to the people gathered here with some inkling of pretending like he knew what was going on, "Now. We've all clearly been gathered here by the same person. So..."

He stepped aside and looked down at his wife and her tender, all-knowing smile of confidence, "I'll leave it up to her to explain herself."

Misty turned to both sides and waved at the fire, "Please. Sit down."

Ezekiel and Brine looked at one another with some hard growling and then went to seat themselves around the fire alongside the Knight and Carmine. Darnia then returned to his position beside his wife, a little distrust not enough to put a wedge between them.

There was tension in the air but the smoothness of Misty's voice was enough to keep it from escalating for now, "I wrote letters specifically tailored to each and every one of you to get you all here in one place."

"I hated to be dishonest but," She glared at Brine and Ezekiel quickly, "You saw why that would be a bad idea."

The two glared at each other briefly while the Knight asked, "But why the four of us specifically?"

"Well, Sir Knight-"

"The Knight has been slain," They remarked in a certain voice, "Call me Cecilia from now on."

Misty nodded and gave her a warm smile, then proceeded to tell her directly to her face, "Well, Cecilia, this idea all started...because of what happened to you and Ezekiel."

Ezekiel broke off his bitter staring contest to flutter his eyelids bewilderingly at Misty and point at himself, "Us?"

"Mmm hmm," Misty nodded again, laying her frail little hands upon her lap, "Though I had been thinking about this a little while, when I saw what happened to you two, it was the kick in the rear I needed to finally step up and do my part."

She then panned her gaze around this circle of people and remarked, "You all know about my son, and his dream. But for the last few years he's helped out each of the Tribes on his own. Even now, he's up there..."

She made them all look up towards the starry sky, "Going it alone for all of us."

It was hard not to tear up a little, but Darnia's embrace was there to keep her steady.

She then wiped the wetness onto her sleeve and mouthed a "Thank you" to him before continuing with confidence, all eyes resting upon her with differing expressions of anticipation over what she had to say, "He's always stretched himself thin even when he tries to not let it show. But in the end he's only one person, and can't be expected to be around to solve every problem."

"So I figured...What if there was a group? A group formed with a representative from each of the Tribes, who can work together with Sarajin and each other in order to deal with problems that can't be handled alone?"

She then stood up and looked at them all proudly, "And I believe...there's no better people for the job then the five of you sitting here with me."

She then gave this moment a chance to stew over in the other's heads, with Darnia being the first to let out a couple dry coughs and mutter, "E-Excuse me dear...Did you say...five?"

Ezekiel then scratched the side of his head and remarked, "Plus, ain'tcha missin' a few other Tribes?"

Misty put Darnia on ignore for now and directed her full attention towards that question, "There's nothing I could do about Caimanabel or Obscura, but I tried sending letters to Valic Ioncharger of Pulsa Minoria and Sir Valflame of Canofloe. Valic declined politely, saying he's too busy to direct his attention elsewhere. But as for Sir Valflame..."

Halfway around the world, Valflame's letter had been caught by Vermilion as he prepared to leave to answer it, where she burned it to ash with a deep, sadistic grin on her face...

"...I was hoping he would show up." She said in a disheartened tone.

Ezekiel then brushed his hand aside in the air and muttered, "Well, it's a good thing the head thief didn't come around."

He made a crude gesture towards Brine, "I can barely stand bein' around this louse! Lord knows I woulda crushed that other guy's head the moment he was in range!"

Brine then stood up and shouted, "Hardly anyone can stand bein' around YOU with yer skin smelling worse than a two-week dead trout!"

"Ya sure yer not sniffin' yer own pits, little man?" Ezekiel said with his arms folded.

The two started bickering at each other again while Carmine, having been as still as a rooted flower with his eyes closed, began to open up with a calm and analytical remark of the atmosphere, "I think this only highlights another major problem with this idea, Misty."

"Many of us here...have grudges towards the other Tribes that aren't easily buried," He then gestured towards Cecilia calmly sitting there making the occasional glance towards Ezekiel and said, "Like take you for example, Cecilia. You wouldn't want to help the people of Canofloe, would you?"

Cecilia bridged the back of her hands under her chin and said bluntly, "It goes beyond that. I'm not too interested in helping any other Tribe besides Oreore and Arc Hurricanos. My one and only goal in life at the moment...Is to get strong enough to kill and dethrone Colrez Frost."

When Cecilia then looked up into Misty's eyes she felt a little guilt and tried to sheathe the edge in her tone of voice, "I owe you much for your hospitality...But your son and I stand on two diametrically opposed sides of this world."

She then turned her glare back on Carmine and unsheathed her sharp tongue, "And how could this group help? Some of us have never even thrown a punch."

Carmine replied swiftly in a serene tone, "It's true that out of the five of us, I'm the weakest link. But you're wrong to call me useless."

"Oh?" She said with a stern, taunting raise of her brows, "So, you plan to just throw leaves at the enemy until they go away?"

Brine broke off his little spat to lean in close to Carmine and brandish his pointer finger at Cecilia, "Aye! If it weren't for my chum's smarts our village woulda all been poisoned! So if ya got somethin' to say to him yer sayin' it to me too!"

"Brine..." Carmine said with a whisper of awe.

Cecilia smiled and did not hesitate to follow up on that invite to say, "Ok. You're also useless to me."

"Ghh...!" As Brine recoiled, Ezekiel broke into a laugh and sat back down beside Cecilia with a good ol' knee slap.

Carmine then closed his eyes and said, "I know this is funny coming from me, but I think you're missing the forest for the trees here, Cecilia."

She had a comment to make right on the tip of her tongue but held back, offering him one chance to prove himself unworthy of it.

Carmine then looked her square in the eyes and said, "Ividae and I have been working on expanding our eyes so we can see what's happening in some of the other Tribes via plants. And I've been considering learning how to create medicine from our leader after what happened with Aquamoria."

"Your point being?" She replied.

"I cannot throw a punch," He said with a bit of humor to his voice and mannerisms, "But I can potentially provide surveillance to warn of an attack, or heal you or any one of us were we to get wounded in battle."

He then turned to his friend to continue his little speech, "Brine here can put out fires and provide us with easy access to food and water for longer ordeals."

Then he faced Ezekiel and Cecilia and gestured his hand out, "And I'm sure you have your own unique abilities to help out with."

"So my point is...Yes, what makes us different does put us at odds with one another, but that uniqueness can also help us cover our weaknesses and compliment our strengths."

He then focused on Cecilia and, seeing her contemplating quietly to herself, politely asked, "Well? What do you think?"

She closed her eyes and remarked, "It is important on the battlefield to have a handle on everyone's strengths and weaknesses. For a pacifist, I wasn't expecting to hear this kind of wisdom."

It was a begrudging show of respect, but not one made to last, as her bluntness took center stage once more, "But you're not after a fight. You're after 'unity'."

"Look around you, forest dweller," She gestured her head towards Ezekiel, who was still glaring over at Brine and a bit towards Carmine too, "These two haven't stopped since they got here."

She then closed her eyes and remarked, "It took a great effort to allow myself to live in Oreore, and even since their people haven't let go of their anger towards the warrior that wronged them."

Ezekiel broke off to look at her and murmured in a partially saddened tone, "Cecilia..."

She then looked back at Carmine with a firm, certain glare and told him, "There's a reason no one has broken the cycle of violence after all this time. Because the hatred inside of us is greater than strength."

She looked out of the corner of her at Misty and whispered, "So as much as you'd like your son's dream to come true, he seeks the impossible."

A lull in the atmosphere soon followed, as everyone quietly sat there and recognized the truth in Cecilia's blunt words.

All of them, however, except Darnia.

"This feels familiar..." He remarked upon as he stood up, putting all eyes on him.

He then brushed his poncho up as he put his hand upon his chest and addressed them all in a world-weary tone of voice, "There is...a story I want to tell you all. It's about a man who once believed he could change the world."

"Like my son, I too, hoped to bring unity to the Tribes. But the trials and tribulations of the world eventually weighed me down until I was numb to all hope."

"In my weakness I...made mistakes I wish I could undo," He said, a large shadow being cast over his body by a flock of birds flying overhead, "And then I fled to my home in shame."

He glanced subtly towards Ezekiel and murmured, "Abandoning the friends I had made along the way."

He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath to prepare himself, "But my son..."

He smiled a genuine smile, "He has continued to press onward, even in the face of my mistakes. Because to him, he believes so strongly in this dream, that it turns the impossible into something possible."

He then looked towards Cecilia and asked her, "The world has been unchanging for so long, but can you ever name a time when someone acquired the blessings of as many Titans as Sarajin has?"

As she looked down to think, he continued to say to her, "You chose to fight against a matriarchal society to become a powerful warrior in your own right."

He brushed his hand out towards Ezekiel, "You wish to defy the will and testament of your legacy and live a long, fulfilling life."

He then turned to face Carmine, "You succeeded in leaving the forest behind, knowing you'd be facing the great unknown."

And then when he looked towards Brine, there was a brief, awkward silence, with Darnia letting out a delicate "Uhhh" which Brine felt a little insulted by.

Carmine, however, turned to his friend and said in earnest, "He trusted me when no one else in Aquamoria would."

This brought a smile to both their faces, with Brine nudging him in the shoulder and saying, "Awww, thanks chum."

Darnia gave a weak smile as he turned to his wife and looked into her dimly lit, half-closed eyes, noticing she was having trouble staying awake.

"And my wife, bless her soul..." He held her towards him using both shoulders and whispered delicately for all to hear, "Illness has never stopped her from having the biggest, kindest heart of anyone I've ever known, and it's that strength that brought us all together."

Misty gave him flirty eyes and giggled softly.

He then faced the group one more time to punctuate the point of his speech, "We...are the proof that change is possible."

The group fell silent and any aggression spared between one another was gone for the time being.

Darnia then had their full attention to tell them, "...I may not fully see things my son's way, and indeed, this idea of banding together has its share of flaws..."

"But..." He paused to catch his breath, notable in the hesitation he showed in this act, "I am willing to give this a try if it'll make things easier for Sarajin."

Immediately after, Carmine had this to say, "Well, I don't think I need to make a big speech. I'll assist in any way I can."

Brine then finished rubbing the back of his head and grumbled out, "Ehhh, I guess I ain't gotta choice now. Someone's gotta look after ya, Carmine!"

He then gestured his hand towards Ezekiel in a crude manner, "Sorry if that'll offend ya, dirt driller!"

Ezekiel furrowed his brow and then let out a huff before firmly planting his arms against his chest and grumbling, "Eh, fine, I'll give it a try too."

He looked up at Misty and Darnia and chuckled, "I owe me brother's mum and pop plenty and if that means breathin' the air of a man whose skin is saltier than a fine cut of meat...Whatever."

After he let off a shrug he turned to Cecilia, with everyone's eyes falling on her to finish this off on a good note.

She needed no such pressure, however, as her decision had been made at that moment.

She opened her eyes and with a somewhat warm glance out of the corner of her eye she managed to smile and say, "It would be a bad idea to leave you alone. I'll be sure to keep an eye on you, and use the others when necessary."

Ezekiel popped a smile and nodded, "Good to have ya on board."

Cecilia then stretched her legs and admitted aloud, "I would have a little more faith in this group if that Aurian ally of Sarajin's was a part of it."

"Auris?" Ezekiel commented.

"Speaking of the lass," Brine murmured, gesturing his hand around to everyone else, "Has anyone seen hide or hair of her lately?"

"Not for over a year now." Ezekiel admitted.

"She's still staying inside of Sancturia, right?" Carmine pointed out.

"Ain't that a bit long for a break though?" Brine said.

"Maybe she's being held against her will?" Cecilia thought.

"Eh, I doubt it. She's probably just got a lot on her plate," Ezekiel remarked, "She's a tough gal. She'll get through whatever's troublin' her."

Darnia rubbed his chin and remarked, "Perhaps for now though, we can consider her an unofficial member of our group, as our representative of Aura."

"Well if we're talkin' our group," Ezekiel snapped his fingers, "How about giving it a name?"

"Is that...reel-y necessary?" Brine cracked a grin and chuckled, but everyone except Carmine gave him a blank stare before Cecilia spoke up with a serious answer.

"People recognize a name. If your goal is to inspire hope, a strong name will serve you well," Cecilia then crossed her arms and remarked, "Therefore, I propose our group be called The Knights of the Elements."

"Mmm..." Ezekiel let slip, drawing her ire on him immediately.

"Is something wrong with that?"

Ezekiel chuckled weakly and remarked, "Well it's just...Yer the only one of us with any connection to being a Knight."

"Plus, it is a pretty wordy title." Carmine added on.

Given a little extra time to think, Brine suggested, "What about The Tide Changers?"

"Ehhh, too centralizing on one element there." Ezekiel critiqued.

Misty then smiled and whispered, hanging on as best she could at this point, "What about...The Wings of Freedom?"

Cecilia hummed with intrigue and then remarked, "Simple. Inspiring."

"But it doesn't really cover the 'elemental' side of our group, does it?" Carmine remarked.

Ezekiel then snapped his fingers up beside his face and declared, "I got it!"

With all eyes on him he said in confidence, "How about...The Genesis Samurais?"

Brine crossed his arms, "Samurais?"

"Yeah, like..." Ezekiel calmly explained himself, "Y'know the green guy Sarajin met in Sancturia? He's a 'Samurai', and Samurai is like...another word for guardian."

"The Genesis part is a shortened version of our planet's name so it'll like, represent the whole world we're trying to change."

He rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "I dunno, it just sounded right in my head."

Cecilia cracked a tiny smile and whispered, "I like it."

Darnia nodded, "Short, inspiring, and well-informing. I agree. It's the perfect name."

Carmine and Brine had no objections to give.

"Well...great!" Ezekiel said, lighting up with a bit of disbelief on his face, "Genesis Samurais it is!"

"Now, for the most important part," Cecilia said, "Who will lead us?"

"I feel it makes the most sense to defer to the eldest among us." Carmine said, glancing at the man in question.

Darnia immediately shook his head and said humbly, "I don't have the strength I did in my youth. I am more than satisfied to just represent the Wind element."

Before any debating could begin over such a grand title, Misty closed her eyes to conserve some of her strength and let out an unintended cough. This was enough to keep them focused on her as she suggested sincerely, "I think there's really only one person who is fit to lead."

Everyone was willing to be silent over the obvious, except for the only person who would still have objections.

"Sarajin," Cecilia remarked, "...Even if I agreed to follow him, remember where we are at in time."

"We are two weeks away from the deadline he set and there's been no indication he'll come back."

The harsh truth was countered by a mother's faith, "He'll be back."

Misty looked up towards the stars as Cecilia wondered, "How can you be sure?"

Misty smiled to the best of her ability, "Because I didn't raise a son who makes promises he cannot keep."

And even among the countless stars in the sky, she felt that the strength of her feelings would reach him no matter where he may be.

"I will always love you, no matter where you are...or who you become. So please, make it back to us safely, Sarajin."

Next Time: In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...