Nia let out a sigh as she finished packing the last of her things. It wasn't like they were going on some long trip. They could jump straight to the island. It was just a matter of how long it would take to track her father down. She had only packed some snacks and a first aid kit. She was getting pretty good with her healing magic, but it was good to be on the safe side.
She looked down at her hand and saw it shaking some. She still wasn't sure if she was ready for this. But she didn't have a choice. She needed someone to teach her, someone she knew she could trust. And however she felt about her father, her mom had assured him if they could track him down he would help.
Oberon was coming, and she needed to be able to fight him off. She didn't have time for her to be emotional about this. So when Astro asked her yesterday if she was ready to go see him, she didn't hesitate. Even if she really wanted to. "You all packed blondie?" She looked over her shoulder towards AJ, who had been waiting patiently behind her.
She nodded. "Yep. Got everything I'm probably going to need… you know you don't need to come right. It could be super dangerous," she said looking worried.
He scowled. "Duh. That's why I'm coming. I stuck around for all the other crap you got yourself into, I'm not about to leave you hanging now." She smiled towards him. AJ didn't have any powers, and he wasn't some martial arts master, but he never thought twice about following along to help her. "You really sure you're ready for this though? Meeting you old man?"
Nia frowned once more. "I… I don't know. I don't even know how to feel about him. A few weeks ago I didn't even have a dad, and I never thought twice about it. Now it's… weird. I can't tell whether I should be excited, or nervous, or mad…" she said.
From what her mother had told her he left not long after she was born so Oberon wouldn't be able to track him to her. So at the very least he had a reason for leaving. But how was she supposed to feel about someone she never even met?
"Well, you'll know when you see him I guess," AJ said shrugging. He then stuck his chest out, pointing to himself with pride. "And whether you wanna hug him or slug him across the face I'll have you back. Just like always."
She giggled. "Yeah, I know."
Astro suddenly poked his head in the door. "Okay Nia, I think you've packed enough snacks. It's about time we… I'm sorry, what is he doing in your room?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "I'm pretty sure we established in the house rules that no boys should be in your room."
Nia crossed her arms. "Well, me and Janna rewrote the house rules while you were gone. I'm twelve years old. I should be able to have anyone I want in my room," she said pouting. AJ smirked towards him, confident Nia could protect him if he tried anything.
The prince kept glaring, but then let out a sigh. "I will concede this argument for the sake of time, but for future reference if I catch him in here again, I'm going to let Sear eat him. Now come on. The others are here," he said before heading out. Sear followed behind him, growling and casting a glare towards AJ.
The boy looked slightly concerned, but Nia waved her brother off. "Don't worry about him. Sear won't really do anything to you," she assured.
"Yes he will!" Astro called from the hallway.
Nia scoffed and grabbed AJ's hand before pulling him along. When they got downstairs they saw the others who were joining them waiting. She wasn't at all surprised to see Micah there. It was pretty much a given that if Astro was going somewhere dangerous, so was he. And vice versa. Junji had also tagged along. From what Nia could tell he had really hit it off with her brother and the two had become fast friends.
She smiled towards Envie who had also decided to come along. Olevia had tagged along as well, seeing as there was little chance of her running into the Youngblood and exposing her identity. She was quite fond of the young princess and wanted to help if she could. "Sorry Amber couldn't make it. Had a mission to run with Cayenne," Micah explained.
Astro nodded. "It's fine. The goal is to just find Nia's father and get out, so we shouldn't need too many fighters with us. Besides, everyone here can hold their own."
Junji looked excited. "I can't believe we're gonna meet an actual god. I've met all types of creatures and monsters, but I've never actually met a god," he said.
Olevia hummed. "Aren't Astro and Nia technically gods? Or demi-gods right?"
Nia grimaced. "Uh… maybe I guess. I don't really know how all of this works but I really don't think of myself as one," she said looking nervous. The idea of her being an actual god was just a little too… overwhelming for her. She'd rather just go by halfling, or a fae, or whatever Typhon had called her before.
"Wait, if they're gods should we like, bow to them or something?" Envie asked, smirking. "I mean I could always call Circe to clarify. I'm sure she'd be happy to help."
"Please don't do either of those things. We have enough gods to deal with as is," he said before pulling out his scissors. "Alright. From what Janna told me the island is uninhabited, but there's been huge spikes of magic on an unheard of scale coming every few months. So he's likely here by himself. We split up, find him, meet back up, and get out."
AJ raised his hands. "I'll go with-"
"No, you won't," Astro said, cutting him off. He grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him over to his side. "You're coming with me. Micah will go with Nia. Olevia and Envie will team up, and Sear will go with Junji."
Micah gave a thumbs up towards Nia as Olevia and Envie smiled and nodded towards each other. Sear jumped over and nuzzled Junji's hand, earning a chuckle from the boy. AJ looked around towards the others nervously. "If I go missing I want you guys to check him for evidence," he said clearly worried about being alone with the prince. Nia gave her brother a warning look which he ignored.
Astro lifted his scissors and ripped open a portal. "Alright everyone. Get ready," he said before walking through. They all followed after him, walking out onto the other side to see a wide open field of lush green grass.
"Wow, this place is actually pretty nice," Junji said looking around.
"Yes, but don't let your guard down. Oberon's family are probably trying to track us down as we speak. So let's hurry this up," he said as he turned and began walking off, dragging AJ with him. The younger boy gave a look towards Nia who returned an apologetic one in return. "Let's fan out to cover more ground. If anything happens, send a blast to signal the others."
She then turned towards Micah. "Okay, let's get moving kid," Micah said as they walk off in the opposite direction. Envie and Olevia went off their own way as well, and Junji and Sear took off into the air. The entire group seemed unaware that, from a far off distance, they were being watched…
Nia hummed as she tried to concentrate on sensing her father's magic. She could sense her brother's easily, even though he was obviously suppressing it. She would have to ask him how he could pull something like that off later. She could sense a much smaller magical power that she guessed was Junji. She knew both his parents had magical origins, so that made sense.
The others weren't giving on anything, which made sense. She could feel something from Envie and Olivia, but it wasn't magic. Maybe it was their ghost powers.
"You seem a little distracted."
Nia looked up towards Micah, and then pouted when she saw he was playing his handheld. "Me? Are you even looking at where you're talking right now? If you trip I'm gonna have to laugh you know," she warned floating up next to him.
He chuckled. "I've been multitasking while playing games since I could walk. I think I'll be fine. Anyway, are you sensing your old man anywhere around here? Seems like you're having trouble," he said glancing towards her.
Nia sighed. "Nothing. But he might be hiding it. Mom said he's been laying low from his family for a while now, so he really doesn't want to be found," she explained. But even if that was the case, he should have been able to sense her and Astro right? Then again he might have thought they were after him and ran off. What if he wasn't even here anymore?
Micah patted her on the head. "You're overthinking things."
She pouted. "How do you know what I'm thinking?"
"Because your brother makes the same face when he's overthinking stuff, and he does that a lot," he explained. "Just relax. Even if we won't find your dad you still have Alexander. We can just keep an eye on him while you're training so he doesn't try anything shady."
Nia hummed. "I guess… but I'm more nervous about meeting him than training. I mean, what am I even supposed to say to him? It's gonna be really awkward and… no offense, I wish Astro had come with me instead. It'd just be nice to have him there when I freak out."
Micah shrugged. "None taken. I think he wanted to but he said something about you two being too easy to sense when you're together. You both got some wicked high magical power after all," he said reaching a safe zone in his game.
That made sense. Astro always thought ahead when it came to stuff like that. It also made sense how she got paired with Micah. He was the one her brother trusted most to look out for her when he wasn't around. Micah suddenly held his hand up. "Wait a sec… you hear that?"
Nia looked around confused. "Um… I don't hear-" A figure suddenly leapt past them, dashing into the thick forest on the other side of the path. "What was that?!"
Micah narrowed his eyes. "It was either the enemy of your dad. I didn't get a good enough look to tell. You wanna call your brother or go after it?" he asked looking towards her. He figured she should be the one to make the call here.
Nia thought for a moment, and then grew a determined look. "Let's go!" she said flying after the figure. Micah followed right behind her.
Astro walked in silence as AJ followed behind him, a scowl on his face. He knew the guy didn't exactly like him, but he figured he'd at least try and spark up some conversation. But he'd just keep walking, not saying a word. "God dude, do you even talk to anyone besides your sister? You haven't said a freaking word since we got here."
Astro scowled. "I'm trying to focus. Nia's father is likely suppressing his magic to keep hidden, so I need all my senses to try and… why did I let you come?" he asked suddenly. It had just seemed to dawn on him that he should have made him stay home. He was a human. Not a superpowered human, or a martial arts master, just a regular human. "What are you even doing here? You can't defend yourself. Why did you come?"
AJ glared back at him. "What the hell man? I try to start a conversation and you jump straight to giving me the third degree? I just want to help man. Nia is my friend."
He looked down at him skeptically. "Right, just a friend…"
"Hey! A girl and a guy can be just friends ya know!" AJ yelled back blushing.
"Don't give me that. I've seen how you two look at each other when you think no one else is looking. I know a lovestruck fool when I see it."
"H-hold on a second! Nobody ever said anything about love!"
"Just keep your hands to yourself when you're around her. Don't forget that I'm watching you, you little shit," Astro threatened baring his fangs towards him.
"I'm telling you that it's not-"
"Oh, what an interesting conversation this is." Both of them stopped and quickly turned towards the source of the new voice. A large figure stood before them, towering over them in height. He was decked out in pitch black knight-like armor, and carried a sword with a black blade at his side. "But I'm afraid it will have to come to an end."
AJ frowned. "Aw crap," he said, taking a few feet back. They were here already? They hadn't even been there that long. "You another one of that chick's goons?"
The knight pulled out his sword and pointed it towards them. "Watch your tongue boy. As Lady Cressida's top warrior, I will not allow you to address her in such an uncouth manner," he said in a dangerous tone. "Now, you both have two options. Struggle and die, or surrender and die."
"Is there an option that doesn't involve dying?!" AJ asked.
"Nay!" he shouted back angrily. "Now make your choice! You stand no chance against me, and your allies are being dealt with as we speak! There is no escape for you!" AJ looked worried. Did this mean the others were already getting attacked too? Had they already known that they were coming?
Astro didn't say a word. He just pulled out Ocean's Kiss and walked towards him. "I don't have time for this," he said looking irritated. They had come for one thing, and they were getting sidetracked. His eyes drifted towards his weapon. "I will however be taking that sword…"
The knight laughed before getting into a fighting stance. "You will try…"
"Crap! Crap! Crap!"
Junji leapt out of the way as another snake lunged towards him. He just barely managed to avoid being bitten. Another snake came shooting towards him, but luckily Sear jumped up and snapped his jaws down on the reptile. He ripped it apart before spitting it down on the ground and growling towards their attacker.
Geryon chuckled as he towered over the pair of dragons, hand raised and ready to fire another barrage of snakes from under his scales. "You mortals are so amusing to toy with. And I seemed to get the mostly jumpy of the bunch," he said.
Junji stopped and held his hand up. "Wait, just wait a second. Give me a minute to catch my breath," he said panting. He looked up towards him, as Sear stood at his side and growled. "Look, we don't have to fight. You're a gorgon right? A magical creature. Well my dad is the American Dragon, and my mother is the Te Xuan Ze. You know, protectors of the magical world and stuff?"
Geryon scoffed. "I don't care about what petty titles you half-breeds bestow upon yourself. I'm not some lower class monster who dwells in the slums of the mortal world. I am Geryon, descendant of Medusa, loyal servant of the great Lady Cressida. I have a job to complete, and I will not fail to carry it out." He got ready to attack again.
Junji held his hands up. "Okay but wait! What if we worked something out? Let's talk! Maybe we can meet on some middle ground and-!"
"You may talk as much as you wish as I kill you," Geryon said as he marched forward. He shot more snakes towards him, but Sear shot out a blast of fire, burning them up before they ever got close to them.
Junji sighed. "Alright, so diplomacy is out the window. Dragon up!" He grew out his wings and claws and before crouching down. Sear crouched down as well, and then the two took off towards the monster. "Get ready for a double dragon beatdown!"
Envie and Olevia stood back to back in their ghost forms as they tried to spot their attacker. With the thick forest around them it was hard to get a proper lock on her. Suddenly a figure came shooting out from behind a nearby tree. Olevia fired a blast towards Peak, who easily dodged the blast.
She laughed as she kicked towards her, but Envie cut her off, turning her hands into blades and blocking the harpy's razor sharp talons. "Pathetic humans! You have no business in this place! You're nothing before the might of we and ours master Lady Cressida!"
Envie narrowed her eyes. "Hey, we're only half human," she said before taking a swing towards her. Peak leaned back, and then kicked out, sending Envie crashing into Olevia.
"Yes. And half of nothing, is still nothing."
The two girls both glared at her. "Alright, I am so done with her," Olivia said, her eyes glowing an angry red. She raised her hands to fire another blast.
"Ditto," Envie said before turning her hands into hammers. "Let's stuff this turkey…"