Frozen Memories

by Xeir Zith

"It used to be when people spoke about magic we laughed them off, or locked them up, sometimes both, but we never took them seriously. Maybe we should have. But I am getting ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning, with Elsa. The Templars have the upper hand. Who will protect the Heart of the Mountain, it all boils down to them, Elsa & Mark, they have brought us to the end"

31. Seqeunce 7 Memory 5

Jellicle's Creed

Frozen Memories

Seqeunce 7

Memory 5: Snowflake within a Snowflake part 5

12 Febuary 2052

Arendelle

Midafternoon

Yaeko District {Formerly the Yaen District}

"I and my decendants will protect Arendelle until our dying breath"

- Wolfe Clan Founder Second Wolfe to Flowerfist the Fair when swearing himself as her bodyguard

There were funny things about the past and the present, they intertwined to the point wherein each path met the other and they worked in tandem, or they dovetailed, or something. As well become apparent, certain memories hated being repressed or hidden away or forgotten. So as Marion and Princess Anna headed for the palace to speak to Elsa concerning the latest liberated District, trouble was to follow in their footsteps in the form of two shadowy creatures who remained at a distnce yet watched their every move, their eyes locked on the Staff of Eden in Marion's hands as the two headed for the Castle.

It could have been time to take notice of something odd about the place, as if something horrible was about to happen; one could tell.

Those that could tell werent the only ones...

They passed through many groups of people chattering about the recent battle and also someone speaking of a dojo of some form reopening in the district not far away. Anna, having no idea what a Dojo was simply looked to Diana, who shrugged, she wanted to find Tiri over Elsa anyhow, as it was more important to find her adopted mother and in some cases employer, Marks actions made the Icewraith very nervous recently.

But that was nothing compared to the secrets Marion had to keep from her brother, though she was confused about certain things too, Who was Diamond and why was she with a woman named Xeir Zith in her memories ? Why did Marion herself see Arendelle and the ancient Wolfe Clan so long ago ? Actually meet with the Wolfe Caln Matriarch Yaeko Wolfe for that matter.

Anna though could tell that Marion was confused about something, though she was more concerned wit he fight back at the tavern. Looking back at it Anna spoke "I dont get it, you beat those guys down, with a walking stick. How ? I mean, Those guys wanted it, and you fought them off with it" Its not every day someon with a iwalking stick/i beat down the Templar squads after it. Three dozen men at that. "Though I'm still a bit sore after that party" Anna said rubbing her back and right hand a bit.

Not far away a third pair of eyes watched the two women enter the district, it was sparsly populated and there were more Dojo businesses within it where the Wolfe Clan normally trained their soldiers in combat. the woman with a dark purple cloak covering her completely and keeping her face in shadow simply watched the two women enter one of the many streets of the District. She remembered this place easily and swiftly disappeared into one of the many side streets filled with merchants and people

It was here that Diamond decided it was a good time to make herself known, unfortunately, it wasnt in the best of ways to do just that... An hour after their barfight Diana started choking, and soon collapsed clutching at her neck, a pained look on her face as she could breathe just fine, but it was hurting enough to cause her to choke on her own words all but upchuck her recent meal.

Throwing aside the Staff of Eden as Anna rushed to her side "Are you alright ?"

It took a minute, but there was something glasslike glowing under Diana's dark scarf. Like a crystal of ice. After about aminute Diana managed to calm her hammering heart and nodded, "I'm OK" She said,her voice had a slightly more regal more aged tone to it as her hand went to the base of her neck, she felt something that wasnt there before. It was hard against her fingers

A dragonscale

The glow faded however from the strage suddenly appearing... scar ? as Diana stood up, she turned to where she had tossed the Staff of Eden, and went to pick it up, but she hadnt taken more then one step when the thing flew from where it landed into her hands. "What the uoinota ?!" Diana all but shrieked in surprise

Anna stared at Diana, "Did you just... speak like a dragon ? Wait, what happened to your eyes ?" Marions eyes somehow had gained a silver ring edged in gold around the iris; but that wasnt the only thing that was different as somehow Diana had disappeared; in her place was a white haried woman with a slight ripple of scales of beautiful silverwhite. A white dressed young woman with white hair and almost completely silver eyes stood there. "Diana ?" A confused white eyebrow raised at the name

Uh oh

"Who is Diana ? I'm Diamond... I remember this place." Diana went towards a Dojo gate and quickly cast a shard of mirrorlike glass to look over it. "Odd, it looks the same on the outside, but inside its... ruins ?" Anna stared at the white haired beauty in the whire robes, what looked like armor shined underneath the cloth but it made no sounds whatsoever as Diamond walked about examining everything she could.

Finally Anna figured out how to speak and her mouth started working. "Hello Diamond was it ? I'm Anna, Princess Anna, and..." Anna started to say but Diamond cut her off as she took up the staff and started spinning it about much like how Marion had done in the tavern only an hour ago.

"A pleasure to meet you Princess, Judging by the style of design of your outfit I'd say this is Arendelle right ? The Yaeko District. It must be, I recognise this street, Yaenen Street, the street over should be... Cei street ?" Diamond paced a bit thoughtfully in the street pointing in random directions until she felt eyes on her and turned in the direction she felt the eyes from, briefly spotting shadows fleeing into another street. It was then reality caved in on her and her eyes went wide.

Oh dear

"What is it ? Something wrong ?" Anna asked, already a bit amused at how Diamond was acting, like a kid in a candy shop pretty much until she suddenly got rather edgy.

"Oh this isnt good, come on!" Diamond took Anna by the hand and lead her deeper into the distict.

"Are you crazy I barely know you, and you're dragging me into places I've never been." Anna cried out.

"Will you relax a minute ? If this is Yaenen Street and the next street over is Cei street, then this is the Yaeko District of Arendelle. And if this is the Yaeko Distrist, then I'm in big trouble if I'm found to be here." Diamond said once they were safe in an alley between Dojos.

"What has you so riled up ? Diana and I just liberated this district." Anna said, she explained the fight with the Templars she had along with watching Diana fight a guy one on one for a good twenty minutes or so.

Diamond held up a hand to prevent Anna from saying anything more. Pointing to herself she said. "You called me, Diana, right ?" Anna nodded, "That is good then, last thing I need though is for certain people to find me, or even know I'm here, so if we can get out of here and to safety, say the Blackrock Temple, or the Wolfe Manor, either one, We'll be safe at either place. The last thing I want is for some Shadows to find me, or learn I'm alive" With that Diamond turned and walked face first into the stomach of a Shadow Kobold and then bounced back a pace completely freaked out yet oddly keeping her cool "Whoa! Speak of the devil! Hi... Romundo, Basil, is that Basil ? Guys how are you long time no see!" Diamond said briefly startled by the two shadowy kobolds staring her and Anna down and speaking first to one then pointing at the other as she spoke, "Speaking of no see, how about you guys forget you ever saw me, huh ? For old times sake ?"

WHACK

Anna's eyes widened and then she flinched visibly as One of them slugged Diamond in the chest dead against the strange scale; which sparked like a energy ball, sending her flying backwards against the side of the muldeer stable where she left a brief impression of herself in the wood and stone that briefly glowed as if struck with Ice like what Elsa made. "That's a no," Diamond said getting back to her feet and using her magic to pull the Staff of Eden to her hands before the Kobolds could grab it. To Anna she said however. "Run, I got this!" And procceeded to rain hell on earth on the two Kobolds

Anna turned and bolted, but she didnt get far as one of the two shadowy creatured turned and moved insanely fast, seemingly in one place then another within a heartbeat to block Anna's path so easily, Anna stopped in her tracks and backtracked quickly, tripping on a pile of firewood before someone came out of nowhere above with a blast of golden energy. Anna stared as a woman in purple and pink dropped to the ground between her and the Kobold, within a heartbeat the strange woman and the Kobold were trading blows amazingly swift

The Kobolds then broke away, hardly breathing hard at all, as if they'd only gone for a brisk walk. Soon their breathing returned to normal as their fur fluttered in the breeze. "The Master wants you." Basil said.

Romundo grunted in agreement. Basil had a large scar over his face, while Romundo's horns were cracked and oozed a shadowy mist. That's how they were told from one another. What made them different as well, was that they were Draco's personal Kobolds. While most Kobolds were shorter and {normally} docile in nature, Draco personally corrupted and bred his own small contingent of the things, making them larger, and more agressive, as well as five times more hardy physically. And also dumber, but hey who was keeping track ?

"Dead or alive doesn't matter...you..." Romundo nodded towards the woman in purple. "...You can die."

"See, now that's just not fair" Diamond said drumming her fingers on the staff before snickering "shoulda forgot you saw me but nooo, you wanted to fight me"

The woman in purple smirked, "That hardly makes things even sided now doesnt it boys ?" she said, her soft silky voice was smoother than milk chocolate if Anna had to compare it with something, the purple and pink dressed woman stood between the Kobolds and Anna as Diamond stood on the other side of them. She snickered though "I was going to offer you the same thing, exact same thing."

"Besides i'm not supposed to be here! What year is it ?" the question was to the woman in purple from Diamond

"Twenty fifty two" came the reply

"I've been gone that long ?"

"Could be, can we focus on the idiots please ?" The woman in purple said

"Good to see you too, Champion" Diamond snickered, the woman in purple wasnt amused. For all intents, Diamond just revealed just WHO the woman in purple was, if her pointed ears hadnt given that fact away.

Basil snorted. "Champion. He died long ago."

"Master told us."

"Now begone!"

The two rushed forward in perfect sync, shadow mist surrounded them and made them harder to hit and see, their claws slicing through the buildings around them as they slashed towards their targets.

The woman in purple brought up her hands first in a block then a grabing movement, halting first one strike then grabbing the arm of the second, but because these Kobolds were bigger, all she was really able to do was flip herself over Basil's arm and get onto its back and kicking it away from Anna as golden light trailed from her clawed fingers. As she lightly landed on the ground the woman smirked "Wrong champion" She then struck fast, golden trails of energy leaving trails in her wake as she moved, striking, blocking and sometimes landing a mark on Basil

Diamond didnt have it much better yet she was also full of ewnergy, the silver, though twenty three at that point, was infact skilled as hell with a staff, and even better without a weapon, but she was wanted by the Master apparently, which sucked. So naturally she defended herself, blocking mostly and at times swinging wild and once or twice connecting with something solid as she heard grunts of either pain or just amusment, it wasnt easy to tell which one with a kobold like these.

Watching the fight evolve and trying to keep out of the combatants way was Anna. there was nobody else about, yet it seemed calm in the district, it was a ghost town wherein the street they were briefly on was packed with people until this fight

The fight indeed evolved uninterrupted as the grunts from both Kobolds were of both Amusement and Pain, which then turned into amusement, even as Diamond slammed Romundo into a wall. He snorted and chuckled as he stood and continued his onslaught towards her. Basil's own body healed quickly after the woman's claws raked down his back a few times, and he turned to swipe at her, claws blazing with darkness.

Basil and Romundo were Draco's two oldest and most powerful and trusted Kobolds, if they couldn't do this job, he'd resort to sending either the most elite of his Shadow Legion, or the Shadowlings themselves. Past that, he'd rather do it himself than send his thus far incompetant children. Draco watched the scene through the mist coming from Romundo's cracked horns, which made him look more like a bull than a Kobold at points.

"Switch!" Basil said, as he and his partner grabbed eachother by the arm and flung themselves at their new enemies as they switched.

The woman in purple and pink snickered at the yell and threw something, it was the size of a small apple, and made apparently of solid gold, a light grenade apparently as the thing went off with the light of a small sun dead between the two kobolds allowing the woman to slam first one then the other fist, which were caught before she sneezed in the things face to get free before catching first one then the other fist in her own purple scaled hands glowing ewith light energy. her pink and purple eyes were bright with energy, and the woman had a look of a joker in her eyes as they took on an impish look, "Getting bored yet boys ?" She asked

Diamond grunted as Basil came running at her like a bull in Spain going after a redshirt after getting a shot of speed dead to the forehead and heart. Swiftly slamming the Staff of Eden into the pavement rocks Diamond was soon in a mad flurry of kicks, punches, dodging, and slapping noises before she herself got slammed into the side of the meledeer stable a second time. From the wall she was briefly stuck in before she vanished and reappeared and slapped aisde Basils reaching hands for the staff, "Getting slammed into a wall will give one a headache" She said before using her own light magic and blasting the Kobold dead on into the wall she previously had been knocked into.

The two Kobolds collided in the wall, the building falling atop of them. All was quiet for a moment before they emerged, bloodied and laughing. "You...good fights...amusement...want to play again...Master calls us home; no dying today." the two spoke in tandem, in broken sentences that made little sense by themselves.

The Shadows began to pool under them and they began to sink as iHis/i voice rang out.

"Well done, ladies...Remind me to skin you alive when I capture you."

And with that, the Kobolds sank into oblivion, gone.

"Great, Mother said he was... taken care of." the woman in purple cast something at the pooling shadows on the ground as it faded, her light magic burning what was left. "He wont get us any time soon."

"I should hope not" Anna said coming to her senses seeing the fight end and gharing the weird voice out of thin air, it was weird and creepy at the same time. "Who were they ? and who are you ?" Anna asked first to Diamond, then to the woman in pink and purple

"Those were Basil and Romundo, Dracos personal aids, the top two of his I think too, they're stronger then his Shadowlings" the woman replied.

"Shoulda forgot they saw me; whould have been a whole lot easier to find Xeir and get back to Mother" Diamond said, though it was weird, Somehow she felt Xeir in two places at once.

The woman smiled "Good to see you too Dia" she said

"Likewise Asaca, may I present Princess Anna of Arendelle, Anna, this is Asaca, mothers last Champion after loss of Xeir Zith's husband Kaldakava"

"A pleasure to meet you Asaca. Are you OK ?" Anna said seeing the injuries on the woman before her as Diamond was pretty well off, her bonwhite scales and diamond scale at the base of her neck glittered with no injuries. Whereas Asaca's arms were torn in many places where purple scales had been ripped lose

"It is a pleasure to meet you Princess, I will be alright once I let Kenwar see to my injuries, come, lets go to a safer area; people are bound to come this way soon and find out the strange sounds from here" Asaca said; she then elad the two deeper into the district to the other side of it. all of the districts in Arendelle had no offical defined borders yet there were some that were predefined by design of the houses built in certain patterns.

A few moments later and they were in a well kept home; another woman waited for them, well dressed yet not exactly outdoing the royals, then again in Arendelle the Royals didnt have much in terms of jewels or finery in terms of clothing. the woman waiting for them however was tall, her white hair was braided down the back and loose on the sides, she was tall compared to Anna, maybe a full head or so.

When Asaca stepped up the path after Diamond shut them inside the courtyard of the Dojo that made Asaca's home for ages since the disappearing of a certain ship and her captain, Asaca made homes for herself across the world every few generations. And most recently made a home in Arendelle, with her was Kanwar, who saw the damage done to Asaca's arms and chest and stepped closer. Anna saw that trhe white robes were dresslike that the woman wore and for a brief moment mistook Kanwar for a queen or Princess, which was in fact wrong on both counts. Kanwar, though dropdead beautiful, was infact the midwife and nursemaid for Light herself. as powerful healer who could heal even the most dire injuries to a person without killing herself.

Kanwar went right to Asaca's side and golden light started forming on her fingertips as she traced trails of light on the cuts, purple scales quickly regrowing without pain where they had been pulled away. "I swear, when the girls were children they werent as damaged as you are, Asaca, how Mother lets me deal with injuries like this and live is beyond me" Kanwar said

"Well hello to you too" Diamond said leaning on the staff before handing it to Anna as Kanwar noticed her, "Arent you gonna check me down too for injuries like old times sake ?"

Kanwar smirked after finishing the basic healing on Asaca, later that evening she'd have to be more through. "With the scales of yours, damage cannot be given, yet... in some cases it is. Come here Diamond, let me look at you." Kanwar then went over Diamond carefully with a critical eye. "What in the world did you two come across now ?" Kanwar asked as she tarced a finger over a cut on Diamonds arm before gathering energy in her freehand and pressing it against Diamonds shoulders, a sudden onrush of energy was heard moving and swirling from Kanwar into Diamond before Diamond spat out some blood.

As Diamond was being cared for Kanwar saw Anna; "Who is this ? You brought one fo the Royals to our home ? Our secret may be out Asaca" Azukar wasnt happy her home was now found out by more then just Diamond

"Long story short, two Kobolds, They were His, and they wanted Dia alive, and wanted me dead, dunno about Anna"

"I'd say alive" Diamond said wiping her mouth; "After all you're the princess of this kingdom, man you look so much like Arenel too!"

"You mean my ancestor ?" Anna asked

"Has it really been ithat/i long ?" Diamond asked, at the nod she too nodded, guess a million years pass pretty swiftly, I mean honestly a thousand year battle, then a few hundreds of thousands of years to heal then another fight when one couldnt heal.

Kanwar nodded "There was nothing I could do, so I advised her on what she could do in order to come back. I think it worked. But it was weird the result, her body broke apart while her soul found its carrier; I never could find the remains of Xeir Ziths body" The verbal tennis confused Anna as Diamond went quiet, but a smile appeared on her face as Asaca returned with a map

"Alright Champion, you and Kanwar are in Arendelle, I am in Arendelle, two of His kobolds are in Arendelle, what are the odds HE is even here ?" Diamond said

"Why do you keep calling me that ?" Asaca asked, clearly confused "I became Mothers champion after Kalda died yes, it wasnt a permament thing it was just until Kalda came back, sure its been a million years but Mother knows exactly what is to happen, she wont take on Draco, that's Xeir Ziths job, and yours" Asaca explained, Diamonds eyes went wide as dinner plates

"My job ? Take on Draco ? Are you insane ?" Diamond asked For a long moment Nobody said anything finally Asaca held up her hand with her fingers spaced just a little bit apart, Which prompted Diamond to mumble "A little bit... great" It made Anna giggle. "Ok, now that my apparent mission is out of the way, whats with the map ?"

Kanwar smirked at the banter and looked briefly over Anna to be sure she was alright before turning back to the other two women as Asaca spoke "It started about two weeks ago, been watching things in the Yaeko District, seems there are lots of people moving out of the place; I managed to track some of the movement to this building here at the center of this district and I want to know whats going on, you with me ?"

"Wait, whats going on in the next district ?" Anna asked, they'd just liberated one, she once more explained what she and Diana, now Dimaond, had done in the Yaeko District, though Anna called it the Yaen District

Asaca smirked "There's a big crime boss in the next District over, I think the three of us can take him down, all we have to do is get inside somehow unnoticed and do it from the inside. It wont be complicated, just get in, find the leader, deal with the leader, then leave" Asaca said, Diamond smirked and pointed to some armor, Templar armor

"Quick!' She said to Anna, "Get into these step ins, We'll find out whats cooking with the Templars in their own outfit and liberate the district at the same time!" Asaca smiled; the three were soon dressed as Templars, their faces were covered and Kanwar saw them off

Twenty minutes later

"The Captain desires your presence" Said a underling Templar to the three newcomers as they stepped into the building without being hindered by anyone. Anna and Asaca were getting the look of the place while Diamond took charge of who to speak to and where to go

Diamond, being snarky like normal apparently spoke up "We aint got any presents the stores wouldnt give us any" Asaca bonked her in the armor, the three went to see the Captain of the District near a desk.

"Your names Ladies ?" the Templar Captain said upon seeing them arrive

"The three Restless Knights" Asaca said indicating the three of them

"Our days aint too hot either" Diamond smirked behind her helmet as Asaca slammed her foot on her own, amazingly the templar captain never noticed their actions; Anna struggled to not laugh and give the act away, this was possibly the easiest way to liberate a district!; there was a key around the Captains neck, the key to the tower above them, all they had to do was grab it and run like hell

Now the only task was to find the right time to steal the key, slit the idiots throat and bookit back to Kanwar without anyone dying on them

Blackrock Haven Temple

Wolfe Mausoleum

At that same moment

Stepped up on muledeer back towards the temple, there was a stables nearby that allowed the beast to be kept there. Stepping away the stable keeper smiled to her and asked why she was there "I'm looking for Master Wolfe, I was hoping he'd be here" This was the first time she'd set foot there herself. This was in a word, scary, yet it ewas oddly peaceful.

"Ah yes" The stablekeeper said simply "Master Wolfe went inside about an hour or so ago I think; He hasnt come out since going in, I can tell you that your majesty. There's a little market just within the Temple entry there, they can tell you more." The stablekeeper said, Elsa thanked him and entered the temple grounds, it was well kept.

Stepping up to first one then another market stall owner who both shook their heads in order of her asking about Mark, the third person pointed towards the darker receesses of the Temple hall. "I saw a man with a hood covering his face go that way" The third stall owner said, "Even tried to offer him a light, he said he didnt need it" The stall owner chuckled, "Can ya believe that, didnt need a light for this place, its pitch dark without even one of our sunlamps!"

Elsa simply smiled, "Thank you." She stepped towards the darker receesses behind the many stalls and found a door leading into the darkness. using her ice magic she crafted a glowing snowflake and went into the darkness with the snowflake lighting her path. Moments later she arrived first at the massive Vault of Stairs that lead downwards. Well this was interesting. One could easily get lost in this place if they didnt know what they were looking for. Finding the steps heading downwards where she saw light on the floor on the lowest level she headed downwards, alarmingly the steps of this massive mausoleum were in perfect condition and seemed to be lined with little lights to denote each step properly

"Someone is here." Mark's mind echoed with Kalda's voice. Mark was currently in the room dedicated to Kalda, himself, with a great statue of him in the center, made from crystal. "In the vault of Stairs..." Who ever it was was heading downt the stairs that woud lead them to either the maze that was the vault of maps, or to the hallway leading to Kalda's monument. Mark's eyes glowed a very dim bronze as he watched the figure carefully, not being able to see who it was clearly through the walls of the Mausoleum.

Rising from his kneeling meditation position, Mark slipped his hood on and walked slowly in a crouch and turned away from Elsa as she entered the hallway, unseen by her as he rounded another corner to wait for her, watching her through the walls. His armor's usual glow was gone, allowing him to blend into the darkness flawlessly as his claws gently clicked against the stone walls while he watched. The sound of the clicks echoing unusually loudly in the empty halls.

An atmosphere of dread fell upon the entire mausoleum, an uneasy feeling that Elsa shouldn't be in there. That she may not be welcome.

The snowflake floated into the room first as she found the hasllway that lead to the statue. Elsa stood and stared. Why did the guy look like Mark... only taller ? She wondered. The snowflake made the room brighter, so it was only one person who could be there still. At least she didnt trip on the stairs. black stone was one thing, but with white light leading the way was hard to keep her step properly.

Elsa shivered, she felt eyes on her, eyes possibly of the dead, but also of the living, but her entire walk she saw nothing of any other creatures. Nor did ashe see any footprints either. It felt scary in there. Maybe she should have done what georgina recommended and wait for Mark to get back on his own. But no, she wanted to see Mark, something troubled him this bad for him to come there. And everyone said he went there and she just felt right in finding him there herself

So she called out softly, though her voice echoed on the silent stone walls. "Mark ?" She had no idea he was behind her ready to pounce.

Mark narrowed his eyes; having not moved from his spot he picked up a pebble from the ground, and tossed it back where she had come from, towards the vault of stairs, the sound of the rock chittering across the ground echoing in the silence. He closed his eyes and listened, drowning out the glow from his eyes and encasing him completely in darkness. He slowed his breathing, made sure he couldn't be heard, at all, as even his heartbeat quieted and slowed.

This was how he was granted his rank; his complete and utter disappearance in the darkness. So well hidden in plain sight that not even Snowfeather or Blackmane could find him for over five minutes.

The Mausoleum remained silent.

Elsa twirled around at the sound of the rock behind her, back towards the stairs. She went in that driection calling out for Mark. Sher halted however as only her voice echoed within the stone hall. She stepped into the room with the floor glowing pillars, clearly confused as to why it felt... oddly homelike there. She'd never been in this Mausoleum before, and didnt know her way around long enough to be called an expert in the place and its design. the sound of the rock hitting nothing came back to her,

Complete silence execept for her breathing. She had no idea Mark was within listening distence and possibly within eyesight of her at that moment, but as she moved around the four Pillars she completely walked right past him. Twice "Mark ?" She blinked then and shifted her vision slightly, seeing things in a new light. She saw two sets of footsteps, but they ended at a large locked stone door. She turned to see where the footsteps came hence and only saw her own set of footsteps she decided to try finding that room again.

What was bothering Mark so much for her to find his footsteps there ? "Mark come on its me Elsa, where are you ? Where am... I actually these pillars are screwing with my Vision" She blinked a bit and swore briefly under her breath as her eyes hurt around those four pillars that glowed with their own energetic light.

It was then that he moved, with her unable to see where he was, he slowly came up behind her, his boots making no noise on the ground as he began to straighten his back and stand at his full height. His back arm was raised to slice across Elsa's back, having not heard her words nor could he see who she was, due to the darkness and the pillars.

It would be then that his lead foot slid across the ground to provide him with a deeper more grounded stance so that he could strike better, and in the silence, it made the loudest sound.

It was that noise of something moveing on the ground that made her eyes widen, someone was there. Without thinknig it she dropped to jher kneese and rolled forwards, leaving in her wake a ice outline of herself that shattered as Mark struck it. Rolling to her fet she put her back to a pillar, she could barely see, somehow it felt familar, like she had done it before. Which at points she had apparently as Xeir Zith and Kalda had sparred with each other in such a manner.

With only scant heartbeats to figure out a plan she was on the defensive all out. She rolled to another pillar leaving another ice outline of herself in her wake. then brought up her hands, a barrier of ice formed just off her hands and caught something thrown at her in its deadly cold grip. A single knife ? "Mark! Its me!" At the last second she rolled to her side to avoid another thrown knife and brought up both hands as she was then face to face with Mark; why was he attacking her ? Well she did kinda tresspass on the mausoleum grounds... kinda.

Mark was silent as he shattered the two icy outlines of Elsa and then tossed his knives, the sound of their feet shuffling and the ice shattering and appearing drowning out her voice as Mark used said sound to figure out where she was and continue his attack. He didn't dare draw his sword or his gun in his place though, lest he damage anything precious, so he'd be restricted to his pinpoint accurate throwing knives, and his claws.

Moving forward, weaving around the pillars as if he'd done it a thousand times, Mark's claws sparked against the pillar, his arms coming down for a two handed downward slash with his claws as he continued his pursuit of Elsa.

She was cornered, no where to go, Elsa dropped to one knee and brought up her hands, Ice and snow swirled around her fingers like gloves of almost clear icy energy as Mark came down on her with a solid crash, Elsa quickly cast ice under her knee along with some snow as well coushin the floor under her as Mark pressed down on her with all his weight, whereas he weighed pretty much a ton compared to her, she was thin yes, but healthy thin.

But with him pressing down on her she figured why not go on the offensive ? With her ice shielding her hands from injury she flicked her wrist and grabbed Mark by the arm, only it backfired and she ended up flat on her back with Mark on top of her as she brought up a ice coated fist to block his strike as sparks flew and turned into icicles around them. But with her both cornered and flat on her back she held up both hands, ice slowly fading, "Mark!" Elsa all but shrieked now that she could see it was him

Mark's claws were less than an inch away from Elsa's chest when he finally heard her, his hand stopping mere centimeters away, as if he were going to pull out her heart. There was an unsettling silence as he remained absolutely still and Darkness fell upon the room again, leaving both of them unable to see five inches in front of their faces.

Mark's eyes began to glow a dim bronze-ish silver as he blinked. "Elsa? I...why...what are you doing here?" He asked, his tone not angry nor harsh, but confused and concerned. "Did...something happen in the kingdom?" his armor slowly faded away with a dim digitized glow as his hand, now relaxed, trailed gently down her arm to her hand where he helped her up off the ground before he cleared his throat.

"Mitne nomeno goawy" he said, his voice mixing with Kalda's to form a sort of bi-layered texture to the sound as he spoke. "Light this place." There was a pause before the torches along the walls began to light one by one, starting at the entrance of the Mausoleum, all the way to the upper and lower portions of it deep within the rock, including the room they were in now, flooding the cavernous corridors and chambers with light.

Elsa sighed and let Mark help her up, she briefly brushed off her dress, but then with the level of red it had become over the last few months it wasnt easy to tell of any dirt was on it. She smield though "The only thing that happened in the Kingdom is that it lacks its bodyguard. Georgina and I found another one of Mothers journals, the location of it at least but I wanted to go after it with you and her. I said to go find you, havent seen her since yet some fo the Assassins mentioned seeing you arrive outside here. So I figured to come here." She shivered a bit but as the room was lit up so beautifully she had to simply stare at the walls

Each panel told a brief story of each of the generations fo the Wolfe Clan. Only this exact room was filled with four pillars dedicated to Light Herself. So each panel on the stone walls showed a scene wherein Light interacted with certain members of the Clan. "What is this place ? It feels almost like home"

Finally she remembered why she came, with a brief shake of her head she spoke "Mark, what is it ? month ago you were like this and Anna perked you up and when I try to find out whats bugging you, you nearly take my heart out, what's going on ? What has you on edge like this ?"

"Back in Arendelle, somone mentioned one of my ancestors, Yaeko...I came to find her tomb and meditate on it...but I can't get in." he said softly, making sure his voice didn't echo too loudly within the corridors of the Mausoleum. He began to walk through the tunnels, winding and twisting their way towards the deepest parts of the mountain it was built into before coming across a large stone door, a complicated lock in the center with two narrow holes. "Like the vault under the Wolfe Manor fountain, I can't open it with the gauntlet..." he said as they came across the door to Yaeko's tomb.

The door itself was decorated simply, with the Wolfe family crest of an anvil and crossed hammer and tongs carved into the rock. Above the doorway, likewise carved into the rock, were the words "Once A Wolfe, Always a Wolfe." He sighed and looked back to Elsa. "Instead, I came upon the sort of...shrine or monument you found; where the statue looks like me. I believe...I'm his reincarnation." He added.

"And it is through him that I've been learning more, and learning faster than I would on my own; he helps me see the truth, helps me fight, think...and I believe he was connected to you in some way." he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder before trailing up her neck to her cheek, caressing it gently before smiling and beginning the journey back towards the entrance.

She listened as they walked through the many turns and tunnels. it was easy to get lost in there. Unless you knew the place like the back of your hand. The stone door that barred the way into Yaeko's tomb stood sealed and silent, the twin vertical slots were apparently for a strange kind of key. Elsa reached up a hand and traced a finger on the words. It was an odd saying, she nodded howerver at mention of mentioning Yaeko "Yes, I asked who she was remember ?" She replied. "I found a little bit more, but not a lot. She was a ship designer, ship builder, matriarch, a mother to hundreds during her lifetime."

As they entered the vault containing the four pillars they had briefly fought around Elsa asked simply. "Whatever happened during her time isnt in any of my mothers history books, nor is it anywhere in our Queens Journals" Apparentl.y Elsa had no clue who was queen when Yaeko came to be matriarch at thrity nine years old, bu it wasnt until the major events concerning the formation of the Phond District, and the formal naming of the Port District apart from the Docks, the queen at that time was Arenel the Wise. "If you're trying to find out more about her, we need to find out what opens that door ?"

Elsa then looked at him as they came to a halt ewithin the Vault of Weapons, of course there were none, just four pillars holding up the three floor rooftop, at some point in history that room ewas jammed to overfilled with weapons of all types. Technology so ancient and old that even though it still worked it was arcane and scary to modern technology. But the massive room was empty.

"When you found that statue, of yourself, it... doesnt look like you well enough, well, its you, I can see the face clearly when I saw it." Elsa mused thoughtfully, "When you found that statue, were you able to meditate on who Yaeko was ?"

Mark let out a small grunt when she reminded him that it was she who asked who Yaeko was. He continued to walk calmly and listened to her, nodding to what she asked about the door. He didn't know what was needed, and was hoping to find out through his meditations. They stopped at the entrance to the monument to Kalda, and he approached the statue again, and put his hand on the shoulder of his previous incarnation.

"I was able to see that she lived for over twelve-hundred years, and most notably served under Queen Arenel the Wise." he said calmly. "She mothered an entire generation of the Wolfe Clan over her life time, and was one of the reasons for Arendelle's strength expanding over the years." he added. He looked back to her and smiled. "My ancestor here... Kalda, worked with her, knew her...That's how I know...but I need to get inside her tomb to know more."

He smiled softly and walked back towards the entrance of the mauseleum, it was time to head home anyway, get something to drink.

By the time Mark started to head out of the mausoleum, Elsa had stopped and stared at a painting on one wall, the wedding of Xeir and Kalda, there were three other women that Elsa didnt recognise whatsoever, and the fourth she thought she knew but couldnt place the face. One of the other three women however had white hair, and a crown with what looked like a snowflake embalzoned or growing from it on her head, the other tywo women had dark hair, one wore a regal golden dress, the toher a dark purple or pink colored dress of an odd sort.

She pointed at the painting, indicating the woman she cou,dnt place the face of but the overall look of the woman screamed something familar to her "This woman, why does she seem familar ?" Diamond had her back to the painter apparently intentionally so unless it was Lights dfoing after the painting was done as her face wasnt easily recognisible. She saw the glitter of apparent silver of some form on the fingers of the two being married and looked from the painting to the statue. yep that was Kalda in the painting, however it was confusing. Elsa turend to Mark "Why are you in this painting ? Who is she ?" She pointed at Xeir.

Apparently she had no idea just how Kalda, and in this case Mark, was connected to her, how closely connected they were

Mark looked to the painting. "That is Kalda...like I said, I think I'm his reincarnation." he said, walking up to it and peering at it. "I left Arendelle as a boy, and never got to see the Mausoleum very much if at all. No one outside of Arendelle's royal family or the clan knows about the mausoleum, really..." he explained. "As for who he's with..." Mark knew who she was.

Before he could speak, there was the sound of rocks rubbing against eachother as he felt a gaping hole open within his mind. "That is Xeir Zith." a voice said. Mark's ears twitched, and he stayed calm.

Kalda had taken control of the statue of himself, and moved from his pedastal, towering over both Mark and Elsa in this state. "The only person to make me settle down...and my wife." he said, moving to the painting and staring at it. He placed a hand on Mark's shoulder as he turned, giving the man a knowing smile. "Recently, I've been speaking with Mark from within, waiting for my love to return." He said, his gaze gentle, yet piercing as he looked at Elsa, but only for a brief moment before turning back to the painting.

"I can only maintain control over this statue for a few moments, is there anything else you would like to know about the Wedding?" he asked, nodding to the painting.

For a long heartbeat or six Elsa simply stared at the statue, it was moving ? Yes she was awake. Finally her brain and mouth worked and she pointed to the three women she couldnt recognise, leaving out the fourth, Diamond. The three women she pointed out were Light herself, Kanwar her first dragon ever created, and Asaca, Kalda's second in command "Who are these three ?" She wanted to hammer him with questions, namely, why so big, why Mark, things like that.

But then she heard that Mark mentioned leaving Arendelle as a boy. She nodded turning to him. "I remember a fire one night as a child. I could see it from my room. Mother tried to shield me from it so I wouldnt see it. But it wasnt working." Elsa did have some friends growing up before her accident with Anna as children, two of those friends were Mark and his sister. "I remember I wanted to see if you knew anything about it, but we couldnt find you." We, she meant her mtoher and her. though she did receive a letter from Marks mother as a child, simply saying they were safe. She turned back to Kalda, fully not expecting his answer.

"The most regal of the the three was Mother...the Light personified. She gave birth to all of...us." he said, the fact that he was a Dragon would come later, but not now. "The lady to her right was Kanwar, her midwife and my combat instructor. The third is Asaca, my Second in command while I was Light's Champion." he said. "Much like how Mark or any of the other high ranking Assassin's here could be considered yours." he added, meaning of course the trust shared between them, and the fact that Elsa went to them when she needed something important done quickly and effeciently.

He paused for a moment as Mark recalled the fire and took a slow breath, then Kalda turned again and looked down upon Elsa. "I've little time left. Anything else?" He asked, beginning to move back towards the Pedastal and reassume his post for when he returned to Mark's body.

It was a question on both their minds. so Elsa asked it. "What did Yaeko do... for you ?" This was actually easier than one thought. Yaeko herself had made Kalda's twin swords with no outside help. At the time only she knew the secrets to unlock the full potential of the strange glasslike metal.

Kalda was slowly setting into the position the statue was carved into before he answered. "She made my swords for me. Mark carries one of them; its sister is hidden away..." slowly the statue began to harden and return as Kalda left and returned to Mark. "...Diamond's Tomb..." and with that, the eyes of the statue ceased their Silver Glow, and Mark shivered before turning back to Elsa, looking to her.

Elsa pointed at the statue, the pose it was in even before it started moving, it didnt look like it could move but somehow it did, and it spoke. For a brief moment her mouth just hung open before she got her brain wokring again. "let me guess, that is Kalda, those he spoke of are important. and something hurts I can tell in your eyes, was it something I said ?" It actually kinda was, mention of the fire the templars set when they raided Marks childhood home

She also noticed something else, Mark looked close to passing out, and only small areas of the Manor back in the kingdom were habitable to sleep in at night. "You dont look good" She said to Mark as she darted to his side to hold him steady on his feet. Back to the kingdom it was, Did Mark even eat lunch ?

Mark managed a smile and leaned against her gently to catch his balance before shaking his head and standing on his own. "I'm fine, just...old memories of the fire." he said, again, managing a smile before continuing to walk towards the exit. "Now then...yes, that was Kalda, and those he spoke of are important; they helped shape the world into what it is today." he said calmly.

"Food in general sounds great right now...i'm thinking a big bowl of soup..." He said with a chuckle, patting his stomach.

Elsa smiled, she knew just where to go for a nice bowl of soup to calm onces nerves, or wake one up, or help with a cold. And no it wasnt Oakens place, last time Elsas went there she got drunk. "Come on, I know just where to go" Elsa said taking Mark by the hand and casting one last look to Kalda's statue before dragging mark out of the mausoluem back to the world outside. Moments later they were on a muledeer carriage headed back for Arendelle

Arendelle

Wolfe District

Two hours later

Manor Grounds

It was shortly after Elsa was left at the castle and Mark returned to the Manor to oversee the reconstruction work when a man in black and red edged clothing entered looking like a soldier from Weselton, Mark looked at him briefly, "What can I do for you ?" He asked

"The queen" The man replied

"What about her ?" Mark gave the man a hard look, but try as he might, he wasnt able to decern what he was.

"Have you seen her ? Wait of course you have seen her you're with her every day arent you ?" The man smirked

"Your point ?"

"When you see her could you let me know ?"

"Yes"

"Yes what ? Should you see her or let me know ?"

"You tell me why you want her and maybe I'll tell you when I see her"

The man in black smirked at Mark. "You dont want to mess with me, Wolfe"

"Actually its your boss I dont want to mess with, you make this personal and I'll mess with you all day long" Mark smirked

"You're gonna have to do better then this" The man said turning on his heel and walking out of the Manor Grounds.

As the man in black left Mark, he brushed against Georgina who gave him a dirty look, Seeing the man leave she turned to Mark as she found him "Who was that ?"

"Just some idiot lt from another country planning to make trouble, I plan to mess with him and not his boss. Something about him worries me." Mark replied, Georgina smirked then spotted someone nearing the manor and stopping nearby.

Car Key waited at the corner of two streets, a huge market was quite active it seemed at all hours of the day, it was like this kingdom never slept, it was unlike anything she was used to in America or even Egypt, not as much technology either. However she was able to get hookups and teach soldiers to use the weapons Scorpion had requested for the guards to use. But now Car Key had further information she wanted to give to Scorpion concerning one of his soldiers he trusted, One fo the women he had introduced her to was actually a runaway Chinese Princess by the name of Yei Jia Jia. Why the girl had run away only Georgina knew, but that was going to be told soon.

Car Key spotted Mark, and amazingly with him was the missing Princess. A soft smile graced the CIA agents face before it faded as quickly as it appeared. The princess was with him and that made things easier. She waited until they got closer until she spoke "When the Shepered is tired, he counts wolves..." She said simply as Mark smiled, "I see that you are doing the same." her eyes were locked however, on Georgina, who felt nervous under her gaze as she crossed her arms

Georgina's eyes locked on Car Key as the two words were said. "Hello Princess" Her eyes widened How the fuck did she know ?

Mark immediately grabbed Car Key by the arm and turned sharply, pulling her into the alley way, knowing that Georgina would follow. "What are you going on about, Key?" He whispered sharply. He looked to Georgina and raised an eyebrow. "And why are you in this District?" he added, returning his gaze to Car Key.

Georgina's hand went to her temple, great someone found out the truth. She never expected it this soon, sure she expected it. But before she could speak Car Key beat her to it. "Your friend there, Tell me you dont research like you used to" Car key said removing from her coat pocket a paper filled file she had printed off. "After we were introduced, habit took over and while the ship was being unloaded I did some looking. everything's in there." The folder was jammed with papers, even some pictures of Georgina's family, with her highlighted in white and named Princess Yei Jia Jia, whatever that meant. "The only question I have is, why did you run ?" Car Key gave a pointed look towards Georgina who stood at the mouth of the alley keeping watch, it was habit to do just that.

"You are not going to deport me, are you, Mentor ?" To Georgina, Mark was her mentor, he outranked her by a lot for one thing so naturally so, he was her mentor, so to speak.

"I think the least of your concerns, Princess, is getting deported from this place. its old habits that die hard for me and finding out secrets is what I do for a living" Car Key said, she had no smugness in her voice or tone, yet her eyes told everything, Car key was a information seeker on all levels and could unlock doors only normal men and women dream about.

Mark was silent, slowly releasing his grip on Car Key's arm before glancing over the file jammed with papers. At Georgina's question, however, he chuckled. "If I was going to deport you, Georgina, I would have done it long ago." Mark's knack for finding information was as good, if not better than Car Key's own talent for it. There was nothing of Gerogina in any of Arendelle's records; he'd checked, double checked, and even quadrouple checked.

Alas there was nothing.

"Car Key is right; her talents for finding information are what we should be concenred about, since she does so well in doing so." he said. Compared to the two women, he was massive in his full stature and armor, and he was reminded of how large he was. Yet compared to a man like Kristoff, he was reminded how average he was as well. Mark's eyes flashed bronze as he looked over the two for a moment.

"What made you curious, I wonder?" he asked Car Key.

"Like I said, old habits die hard; in this case I was reminded of a news report on CNN in America of the current Royal Family of Jade China seeking one of their family who had run away or was kidnapped with her son, the next in line for the throne apparently" Car Key explained. "that was when you first introduced us, it triggered my memory so I looked into things further. Only things I could find was your name, and there is a reward offered merely for information of your current state, one of the conditions of the reward is that contact is established somehow. Apparently your family is worried"

Georgina simply sighed and crossed her arms, "It was bound to be told sooner or later, truth be told I was the second Princess of five children, third child born. My parents looked down on me because I was a rebel, I married a man of low station because I loved him and I bore him a son, my son Yang, the Templars were going to try and destroy him in Jade China so I ran away, taking him with me shortly after my husband was killed by the Templars who made it look like my own family did it." Georginas explained, "We came here; three years later the Templars took our home, and my sons life, they didnt recognise either of us. It was that same day when Elsa liberated my home and saved me from that patrol as well."

Well that explained a lot. the worst that could happen was deportation, but then as Mark said he'd have done it long ago had he known sooner, but now that he'd gotten to work with and know Georgina over the last year or so he'd been there in the kingdom he'd begun to treat her like part of the family. After all, Georgina's skill with a whip was insanely masterful compared to anyoine else he'd seen, and Georgina used two of the things.

Mark was quiet for a minute further before speaking again, to Car Key directly. "You tell no one that she's here. While I understand China needs it's Princess, Arendelle needs to be free first." he said. He then turned to Gerogina.

"When Arendelle is free, you may return home and liberate it from any Templar Influence as well; use what we've taught you and have yet to teach you. You'll be fine, understand?"

"Mm" Georgina replied, Car Key simply nodded. When she took up her job with the CIA secrets became her life, keeping them and protecting her country and those of her friends and where they called home was what she had signed up for. So keeping Georgina's secret was something she'd take directly to the grave if she was asked to do it.

The good news was, Mark didnt say anything of not allowed to come back; but then times changed so Georgina didnt get her hopes up. Her plan was originally to go somewhere safe from home and Templar influence, then train her son herself, then go home and liberate her family and her empire. But then with the loss of both her husband and her son, things changed, a lot.

Car key however was confused, "Scorpion; what is this about Templars ? king Philip disbanded that organisation during the French Revolution. Dont tell me they're still around." Then she remembered something and pulled out another folder "This was requested for me to get by the Queen; I wanted to get it to her." It was a cargo manifest of two other ships that docked with hers, but their cargo all had only the Abstergo symbol on it along with three long claw marks that seemed to be made of smoke. "I looked into whats on one of those ships. Drugs. And not simple stuff you by at CVA or Walgreens, this is medication that drug absuers would kill for, and dealers sell for the highest bidder. Speed, Heroin, Crystal meth, Grass, Black Tar Mesa, you name it its on these two ships."

Georgina took the second file and opened it going through it, "Black tar is a fertiliser used to grow rice and soybeans, sometimes medical grass for pets and animals. Why would they send it here ?"

Mark returned his gaze to Car Key and smirked with an amused grunt. "That's the official history, yes. But religious Zealots are hard to keep down. They now exist as Abstergo. Think of them as the worst of both Communist and Fascist regimes put together; and then throw the idea of global domination in the mix for shits and giggles. That's what they want, oh and mind control." he said. That's how he described it, anyway. Extremists no matter how one looked at it, the Templar Order was very much alive and very much out to take over the planet.

"As for the drugs...They're probably hyping their soldiers up on them. All of this stuff, except for maye Grass and Heroin are going to make them a hell of a lot tougher to sneak around, and kill. Grass and Heroin are probably there to dull pain of the wounded...I will have to look into it." He pondered before letting out another breath through his nose.

"Car Key, get that report to Elsa...and try not to do too much snooping when it comes to people I'm working with or protecting."

Car Key nodded, "Right and then you're going to tell me that Abstergo was the people behind the Denver Airport bombing six years ago or was that really you ?" Denver Airport had been shut down for six months to a year due to one of its terminals getting pretty much vaporised from a strange almost digital bomb, thankfully everyone was safe and alive, just, moved elsehwere from the displacement, the airport itself ended up completely closing two years before Mark arrived in Arendelle due to the recent advances in transportation across the planet to the south along the Equator, the further north or south one went the less sparce or big the cities were.

Georgina snickered "the Templars wanted to send a Piece of Eden into space to control the planet, the bomb, well. I heard about it but knew something else was going on thanks to learning secrets back home." She said, she explained what she knew "The templars had a sphere about the size of a common Emperors Apple or small cocanut, they wanted to put it into a satalite and then use the satalite to control the population below. Apparently someone or several someones had destroyed it in the bomb attack at that airport."

"The Bomb was me. Why it went off, was not." Mark replied nonchalantly. While he wasn't physically there, he did have a hand in planning the operation for the Assassins as their American Contact within the CIA. He told them when and where to plant the bomb, how much time they needed, and all of the other fine details. Of course all of this was extremely classified, hense his curt, nonchalant answer.

"Now then. Get that report to Elsa." he repeated, nodded for Car Key to skedaddle.

Car Key nodded and took the report back from Georgina; "Be careful Scorpion; leave out too much and I'll find out the rest" She had a smirk on her face as she spoke, she then took her leave, leaving Mark with Georgina, who looked scared and also quite worried. What was Mark going to do now ? He knew only so much of who she really was but he still called her by her common name of Georgina.

But what remained to be said aside for Templars wanting her son and trying to kill her family, that was but one reason why she fled China, and Mark could tell with his Vision that there was a lot left unsaid.

"There's more to why you left China...isn't there?" Mark asked, watching Car Key leave the alley way before finally turning to Georgina and looking her in the eye, or where her eyes would be, considering they both had their hoods up. "If you wish, you may tell me; your secrets will be safe with me."

"There is, and I trust you. My mother and brothers sent me out, it was they who faked my running away, it was because of my Mother I fled, she insisted I take my son and go somewhere West, I chose here because I had been here once as a child, only my mother knows I am here. But I dropped out of contact when my son died that day. That is why the reward, my mother wants me to contact her. But after the loss of Yang, I... I cant. I cant face my Mother and tell her she and I do not have an heir"

Mark was silent. Not having an Heir. He himself didn't have one for the Wolfe Clan should anything happen to him, and as far as he knew, he was the only Wolfe left alive still. For all he knew, his mother and sister were dead in London. In a way, he could relate, but in a way, he couldn't. Sighing, he gently reached out and placed a hand on Geogina's shoudler. A sort of understanding, fatherly hand one would use when consoling their daughter.

"I'm sorry." was all he could say. He couldn't help her; her son was dead, not even the magic of Light could bring him back physically, mentally, and in spirit all at once. Not Even Darkness could do that. Not fully. Sighing he opened his arms, and offered his student a hug, gentle and quick, he'd let go when he felt her relax, and pat her back twice.

"Come. There's good food around the corner."

Accepting the hug for a brief moment Georgina took a deep breath to try and focussaying softly "If it makes you feel better, Mentor, you may call me by my true name, Yei Jia Jia, though Mother shortened it to Yeiji most days." She said, keeping things sortas formal made sense, she'd have to inform 'Diana' Wait where was Diana ? At mention of food however she smiled and nodded, accepting the offer she stretched a bit and stepped from the alley just as a green flare went off signaling the liberation battles to begin in the district, "What district is that ?" Georgina asked.

Who was liberating a district without them ? A bunch more went off in the same district, apparently it was liberated. Well, looked like she knew where to find Diana.

It had taken the three in the district scant moments to isolate and then eliminate the Templar Captain; It took a bit of doing then they had irinitally thought, however they managed to somehow do the job; somehow in the sene of isolate the guy, he asked to be alone with them to give them their assignments, And since he could tell the three worked together and could not be seperated it was clear that the threesome could receive their assignments easily as a group instead of individually, so when the Templar had the other guy leave the office Asaca sealed the door as Diamond slit the mans throat the same time Anna grabbed the tower key and the three left the office, slicing down any Templar within reach before reaching the top and lighting the signal fire.

It wasnt long befrore the District was liberated however. but instead of Diamond walking with Anna back to the Wolfe District to be met up with Georgina and Mark did it become clear who was with Anna, A young woman named Diana. However under her scarf was a scale the shape iof a clearcut very beautiful multicacted diamond. There ws no way it'd be gone from her skin, so she had to keep it hidden. Another secret to keep

As they neared Georgina and Mark Diana handed the key to Anna, the Assassin's kept the primary keys in the Royals control, and then from there copies were made by Elsa out of ice, the two women had been with Asaca who departed from them on the grounds of not wanting to get seen by anyone who might recognise her as who she really was like Diamond had done, that and to look out for more Shadows to fight off. that and to let Kanwar know the district was liberated as planned

Which then left Anna with Diamond, though Asaca made it clear that Diamond would arouse unwanted questions, and therefore had to hide as much as possible until the time was right, thankfully when Marion returned, in the guise of Diana, she had witnessed everything as if she had seen her memories once more only this time in lucid memories. So Marion and Princess Anna headed to find Mark to give him the key who in turn would give it to Elsa who then would make a ice master copy then hide the original somewhere

Turning the corner to the street where Mark and Georgina were planning to eat, Mark's sharp eyes caught sight of Anna, her red hair being easy to see among the browns and greys of the people around her, and he tilted his head, cutting across the street to greet her, he stopped a few feet away and gave a simple bow of the head to her. "Highness, so good to see you! I assume it was you and..." he glanced to Diana, "Diana who liberated this district?" he asked, looking to the still burning signal fire.

"Yup, that we did, two districts actually, well, yeah two. this one and the Yaen District" Came the reply from Anna, "here" She tossed mark the key to the tower they'd lit."Elsa's gonna want this" Diana still had her face covered, even more so with her hood up, hell the woman pretty much was weeraring a full on fencers mask over that scarf at this point. then again to hide that... scale at her neck for the most part was easier said than done

Anna thought seemed in good spirits, almost laughing asctually at something so danmned silly on how the Templars are lax in their leadership protection, which of course lead to Anna having to explain exactly how they liberated the district, of course she'd answer such a qustion when asked. "Now I'll say more once I eat something, All this fighting made me hungry" That and and her hand hurt, the brass knuckles Mark could see clearly were Piece of Eden designed

Mark's eye twitched at the sight of the Eden Knuckles, and within him Kalda Stirred. "I know a good place down the road for food, if you want to join us." He said, nodding his head to the side towards Georgina. He smiled and caught the key easilly, putting it in one of his internal breast pockets in his coat so that he wouldn't loose it. He looked to Anna with a rather proud look on his face, she was becoming a great assassin, and would one day be a fine Queen herself, he supposed, if anything ever happened; which of course he hoped nothing did.

Diana nodded in response to her brother/mentor as he approached, and smiled beneath her scarf. "I'm sorry, Mentor...I'm afraid I must go; I have urgent matters to attend to." she said. She couldn't let him find out who she was...and eating would require taking away the scarf enough for him to see more of her face than she wanted him to.

Georgina nodded in response to Mark's offer of food, it made good sense actually, hell it made her feel safe, she didnt have to be paranoid with him knowing the truth, hell soon she'd have to tell Elsa, but until then the princess was safe, her secret was safe. And if Mark trusted Car Key, then she could too. She looked confused towards Diana though at the turning down of food, normally Diana sprang for it right off, but then she had a seemingly knowing look in her eyes, one that Mark didnt catch. She understood the need for secret keeping.

But what she did inot/i know was just how big Diana's secret had become. She tossed her something. A key, "My key to Roughwater, I saw yours was inside, dont worry, I'll be fine here." She said But it begged the question, what urgent matters to attend to ? then again she must have been given a contract she had to see through, the three now minus Diana, headed for the place Mark suggested, yet Anna saw something of worry on Marks face. She had no idea of the drugs the Templars were now getting for their soldeirs.

Diana smiled and caught the key, nodding her head in thanks, leaving them.

Arendelle

Unknown District

An hour later

Full dark

"On mothers soul damnit how many do we have to lose before we begin to win ?" From where she sat in her bed for her two weeks bedrest by order of her father Nasty was livid but not moving; it wasnt really possible for her to try to move anyway, what with her fathers shadows holding her in the bed to begin with, yet she could still give orders and take news in. She wasnt happy the least bit. "A hundred and twenty six men, and a full district, gone from our control!" This was simply not good

"It seems Madam, that the drugs we se-" The man started to speak before Nasty raised a hand and cut him off midword

"Sources report a iwoman/i with two swords, fought the Drugger. And won. Now, I dont know about you, but Speed is to enhance reflexes, not slow them down, compared to the woman the Drugger was slow as fuck! Find out why!" Apparently Nasty didnt know that Marion was back in the Kingdom where she belonged. And was going to soon be hunting the Twins. Then again Nasty was also wondering something as a certain woman from her past also fought with two swords so skillfully. Looking to the new arrivals she smirked; "Please tell me you have good news, Basil, Romundo ?"

The smirk soon turned into a frown.

Sutri's gentle sigh filled the room in slight protest to her sister's agitation, and she turned her head delicately to look at the two massive Kobolds. "And do make the good news snappy; you do know that pleasure makes wounds heal faster, yes?" her own beautiful face turned into a frown soon after however as the two gave their news; that they had encountered Diamond, engaged her, and lost, though not without the help of the current Champion of "She who must not be named", meaning the Light, and the princess of Arendelle, Anna.

An agitated sigh of her own escaped Sutri's lips. "If it were me I'd have you both castrated and hang what I cut off above my bed as a decoration...but you are not my responsibility..." she rolled her eyes and turned her head away. She knew there wasn't really any good in trying to calm Nasty down, she was perpetually mad in this state of being unable to move. Another sigh.

For a long moment Nasty was oddly quiet, being restrained to bed meant normal anger, anger that was natural in coming, Nasty hated being locked to bed rest for any amount of time. And this bad news just made things worse. far worse. She snickered though at the thought. "iHer/i Champion you say..." She mused thoughtfully, it was impossible, Kaldakava was dead, their mother had made sure of it! "Impossible, he's dead!" She sat up in her bed and looked at both Kobolds where they stood inthe room, nodding as her sister spoke she said when pointing "What she said" at menton of castrated and hanging over their beds

"But Diamond, this is odd news." Any news of Diamond was few and far between. the last any heard of her was being in Sacremento about three dozen or so years before when mother disappeared. "The last any of us knew, Diamond was dead. Though that could be faked." At the look between the two Kobolds Nasty crossed her arms, as if asking 'well, come on spill it' If it was Diamond she then asked "Did you see her scales ?"

Basil nodded. "Punched her scale. Went boom." he held up his seared hand, healing slowly. At mention of Kalda, he shook his head. "No, no. Other Champion." he reiterated, making sure that it was Asaca he was talking about, not Kalda. Hard to do in broken English.

Romundo was silent, but gulped at the threat of castration.

"Nasty, dear sister...please...lay down; you'll anger Papa..." Sutri cooed from her bed as a faint rumble was felt in the foundations of the room.

Against her better judgement, Nasty actually did what her sister suggested, of course after she fluffed her pillows so she could be able to see the two Kobolds at the feet of their beds. "Other champion ? How many Champions does she got ?" She murred however at the slight rumble from the floor, yeah yeah she was laying back down, at least she never left the bed

She raised an eyebrow at the seared hand, at least it was healing, Ok so it WAS Diamond, only one dragon used her scales as that kind of protective barrier. Wait that didnt work right, She held up a thoughtful finger and pointed at Basil "You said 'punched her iscale/i' How is that possible ? If it were Diamond she'd be in her dragon form at best!" Nasty had never seen Diamond's human form, only briefly saw her fight from afar in her natural dragon form.

Basil shrugged. "Human form; on her chest...very pretty must admit." Romundo slugged his shoulder for that, which brought forth an annoyed, pained huff and snort between the two, and they looked as though there were about to throw down right then and there before Sutri spoke again.

"If she is in human form then she must have died like the reports said...and she's been reborn...I should love to meet her...but not now...I'm rather tired. Both of you, unless you've any more information, leave us. It's time for my..." she let out a low rumbling growl from the bowels of her throat. "...fifteenth nap today."

Nasty pointed a thoughtful finger and nodded at her sisters thought "If it is Diamond reborn and the reports are true that she died... That would suck because she'd be true dragon like we are, I mean if she managed to best both of these two, which are Dad's best after all... yeah this is gonna suck" Nasty laid back on her bed on the pillows, before looking back t othe two Kobolds "Now like NSutri said, unless you bring food for dinner, we're gonna nap" It was about that point when if food was not forthcoming Nasty was actually gonna pass out any second as she wasted what strength she had gained in speaking with the manservant

13 Feburary

Blackrock Haven

Wolfe Mausoleum

Just after midnight

Diana moved through the ancient halls of the Mausoleum careful to not make a sound lest the travelers were spooked, it was bad enough Mark went in there followed by Elsa an hour or so after he had gone in, Coming upon the door that lead to Yaeko's tomb, the massive clearly stone doors, stood sealed tightly. Marion looked around to make sure she was alone then lifted up her hands to the paraelle vertical slits, the two slits looked like a keyhole of a sort, but there wasnt really any such key ni the history of the world that could open this door.

Then she remembered, briefly seeing an outline in white of apparently herself in the ancient past locking the door with a pair of swords being pulled from the slots in the door. She looked to her own weapon hilts. Carefully she lifted both blades up and briefly tested the slots to see if the swords could fit, they did. Marion tyook a deep breath and let it out, she focused inwardly, letting Diamond surge to the fore as the scale glittered like glass struck by a ray of sunlight the twin swords span as they pointed at the slots.

Marion, moving through Diamonds instruction pushed out her hands, her fingers spread wide on both hands as the two swords halted their spin and slid smoothly into the slots without a sound. With a flick of her wrsit the swords both turned horizontal, and the seal broke with a soft crack of machinery working as she quickly pulled her swords from the door as it started to slide towards the floor.

Marion stepped into Yaeko's tomb as it lit up around her. the heavty door slid up behind her, sealing her in.

She had no idea what she had just gotten herself into as the tomb lit itself around her. Panels covered the walls, each one a moment in Yaeko's long life. The battles she had been in, the students she taught, her extended family, the reason why the Wolfe Manor was so large to begin with.

It wouldn't take long for Mark to return, a gut feeling telling him that someone was in the Mausoleum who was not permitted to be there. He stood at the entrance of the system of caverns for a moment before bringing forth his armor and weapons, and moving silently into the caves. He moved quickly using his Eagle Vision to follow the footsteps he did not recognize deeper into the cavernous corridors. He stopped at the entrance to Yaeko's tomb, and his hands quickly closed into fists, the claws of the gauntlets clicking against the metal palms while closing. He narrowed his eyes; the door had been opened...but how?

Channeling Kalda for a moment, he let out a low growl, and then entered the tomb, right hand drawing his sword while his left hand drew some Throwing knives.

The tomb of Yaeko Wolfe was prestine, untouched for a million years exactly, white stone walls held tapstries of woven gold silk depeticing a day or year of her life. The tomb lit from underfoot and overhead by unseen light as something was heard humming a low noise not far away, machinery asncient beyond counting slowly coming to life.

There were four statues of Yaeko, alined in a row, each one had been made at a point of her life, be it an event in Arendelle, at battle, or otherwise. But two of the four status held a sword in one hand, both weapons hade something of a honor motion over what had to be an altar that laid upon it, untouched by time, was Yaeko Wolfe herself. For over twelve hundfred years of age, she looked not a day over twenty! Her bnody showed no signs of decompition or even coming apart or just being too frail. Heck it looked like Yaeko just needed someone to wake her up.

But if only that were the case as someone dressed in qwhite was kneeling before the altar that bore Yaeko. Someone who was not there scales covered the womans face leaving only her eyes seen.

Mark paused upon seeing Yaeko herself; despite being so old, she was beautiful, even when dead. His lip twitched and he silently put away the throwing knives. They would harm something once out of his hands. Mark's otherwise silent footsteps turned heavy and loud as he righted his hood and held his sword tightly, wrist loose for movemtent.

"You should not be here." he called out, the presence of scales making his voice mix with Kalda's forming a sort of dual-layered sound that penetrated one's mind and body entirely. "Leave now and I may forgive your trespassing."

There was no sound, no movement from the strange white garbed woman where she knelt before Yaeko, the eyes didnt seem to blink their crystaline gaze locked on Yaseko's body. A single tear however was seen as Diamond remembered being last in that tomb after Yaeko's burial so long ago. At first she heard nothing until Mark spoke. Again there was no movement as the strange woman in white with crystal like scales covering her nose and mouth remained kneeling

Which of course prompted the question, how did she get inside ? How did she unlock the door ? Her swords as Diana were missing. And there were four statues in that beautiful tomb; the only two swords in that tomb were held by two statues towering above them. Diamond thought could easily reach the two statues if she were standing. After all an eight foot tall woman armed with two stupidly long swords turned heads.

At least her face was covered. Preventing Mark, and Kalda himself, from decerning who she truly was. Both Diamond. Lights magic prevented her true form to be seen still. Just white fog.

Mark stopped a couple of feet away from the woman, lowering his sword to the back of her neck as his armor glowed dimly. "This is your last warning: Leave the tomb now, or I will forcibly move you." he said sternly. He did not care how big this woman was; only that she did not belong here.

"Remember what I did back in those sewers? With the gravity?" Kalda's voice rang out in Mark's mind. Mark responded with a slight tilt of the head as he awaited a response from the woman. "It might come in handy here."

"You have ten seconds to comply. Ten. Nine. Eight." he counted slowly, his tone neutral and not seeking conflict, but also not hesitant to delve into one if it needed to happen.

The white hair of the woman moved in a soft breeze as the air moved to refresh the tomb, yet even then the body of Yaeko never showed age nor Mark started counting down, his sword at the womans neck, scales glittered under her hair where the swrod was closest to her skin. The woman closeed her eyes and shed one more tear as she bowed her head

She never moved to get up as Mark counted down to three before she spoke. Her voice was one with knowledge, and something of experience. "On the contrary, if anyone has permission to enter these grounds, it is I As I have been here before." Crystaline eyes turned from the body on the altar as the woman stood. Diamond's human form stood normally eight feet tall, but when she had faced the kobolds, she was the hieght of Marion normally was. Yet now, back in the ancient tomb, she was her natural hieght.

Dressed in layers of white and lime green Scales covered her face execept her eyes, masking her mouth and nose seemingly behind a viel. She looked down Marks sword towards him, A white eyebrow raised. Well this was interesting. He'd reall;y try to throw her out ? Surely not even Kalda would try such a thing, Diamond was after all, a daughter of Light herself! Surely not even Kalda could try to throw her anywhere, too danged heavy.

But still the question remained, how had she entered ? the tomb was sealed!

Mark's grip tightened as she rose and he kept the sword leveled with her neck, and though his upper face couldn't be seen, he was making eye contact with her. "As head of the Wolfe Clan, I have decreed that none may enter without permission from myself or the Queen. That applies to everyone, including you." his tone remained the same, calm but with an edge. Something was off about her; and it had to due with her height...Mark wished Kalda would give him his height...but it wasn't going to happen.

"Before you leave, either willingly or otherwise, tell me how you entered." He said, his free hand opening a bit as it pointed its palm towards the ground, the spell used to weaken gravity building power undetected within his body.

Behind the scales the woman laughed; the sharp chrip rang clear in the tomb. Like that of a infants laughter. "Who said I was leaving ?" No she wasnt leaving, yet. "Be that as it may, but even the one who sealed this tomb couldnt unseal it when she needed to ?" Permission had been given, by Light

Her eyes seemed to smile as he asked his question; ah yes, the door. "Oh it was easy, Its supposed to be easy. After all, I designed it" She pointed towards Yaeko, "After all, she was my friend; She asked me herself to design the lock" She turned her back to him, slightly confused as she looked between the statues "But I do not recall any statues in here..."

She held out a hand towards one of the statues, Fingers on it moved, it held one of the two swords, beautiful purple blades of untarnished steel through the ages, the sword moved, its tip moving from aiming towards the ceiling to aiming torwards the lower wall as the fingers twisted the blade so it was aiming hilt first before lifting as if by magic towards Diamionds waiting palm, the instant the purple and pink hilt was within her grasp the sword moved to a defenive stance behind her as metal met metal with a horrendus crash of unnatural steel

Mark's blade clashed with her blades, and he grunted. "Those do NOT belong to you!" he shouted before dropping down to slam his palm to the ground and weaken the gravity around Diamond tremendously, making her light enough to throw. He then reached forward and grabbed her by the ankle, and pulled her hard, towards the entrance of the tomb, sending her flying that way. He darted after her, bronze eyes blazing.

She'd touched something that belonged to his Ancestors. There was no helping her now as far as Mark cared. Leaping into the air, Mark brought his sword point down, aiming to stab straight through her chest and into her heart, wanting to end this quickly, so that he could replace the swords and leave Yaeko's tomb the way it was supposed to be: Untouched.

Sparks exploded as their swords met, whe nshe went flying she used her weight to her advantage and hit the ground in a roll, when Mark darted after her she jumped lightly, using his own weight against him as she pretty much walked up his sword like it was a plank and flipping off his shoulders to hthe floor on her feet, once again, he was between her and the door. When he ran at her a second time, aiming for her heart she rolled her eyes, most men did the same thing. But rather then dmaage his own blade by hitting her diamond scales she brought up Yaeko's sword, marks blade stabbed at its flat edge and pushed her backwards until she locked her feet and stopped her movement.

Forcding him back she smiled behind her scales. "Truly you never learned the legend now did you ? The Promise Yaeko made to a dear friend" Their swords caught and locked briefly as she looked Mark dead in the eyes. "Besides, these swords arent being used, Yaeko promised them to me anyhow." Piece of Eden designed blades that Marion used werent fit for Diamonds level of use. Against Kobolds Marion's swords would break whereas Yaeko's swords wouldnt. Then if Diamond could get her own swords back...

Mark took the lock as an opportunity to take back one of the swords, his free hand moving to strike the nerve in the wrist that would force Diamond's left hand to open for a split second; just long enough for him to be able to snatch the sword and use his armored arm to moved her other sword out of the way. Mark grunted at the force behind her pushing, his eyes glowing fiercely under the shadow of his hood, a silver tinge adding itself to the edges of his iris's while Kalda's draconian visage flashed before Diamond's eyes, roaring loudly in an effort to startle her and push her back.

It worked, briefly, Instead of purshing her back, Kaldas roar in her face made her blink, then wrinkle her nose "Vah! itrewic vi trekis mint" She grunted which translated meant "gross, get a breath mint!" She filt the prick of energy at her wrist and even though she didnt want to do it she snapped out her hand, briefly letting go of the sword as she used her magic to launch it into the air straight up before smnacking at the offending hand and all but diving over Mark to grab the sword from the air, now standing on the very edge of Yaeko's alter at her feet she easily snapped the second sword, without harming the statue, from its perch.

All in all it was about a minute of fighting, maybe a minute or three it didnt really matter. Diamond now had both swords, Both swords of Yaeko glittered a sharp purple hue and rang in unntatural sounds as she cut through the air and was in a fighting stance, two blades against one. She had what she needed but she didnt want to do it this way. She came to see Yaeko, to pick up what Yaeko had promised her, not to fight the guy that claimed ownership of the place!

She hopped off the alter then, her back to Yaeko's body as she watched Mark carefully, two swords against his one, plus his gravity ability. Wonderful. Kalda had the same power... Wait... ah crud

Mark didn't wait long. Once she was away from Yaeko's alter, Mark darted forward at an angle, hopping up and bouncing off a Yaeko statue to jump above Diamond. His eyes flashed Silver again, Kalda's silver, and he pushed with the Gravity, locking Diamond's feet there, and making her arms weak and slow while he aimied a downwards kick down at the top of her head. He was precise like a surgeon, knowing that even if he missed, nothing would be damaged when he landed except for perhaps his knee.

"You will replace them!" he snarled, spinning into a slash with his sword, aiming to rake it up her back starting at just above her rear-end, the tip of his...Kalda's sword gleaming and making the same noises that Yaeko's did.

She felt herself weigh more than normal. As Mark came down at her she leaned backwards as fast as she could as first his knee slammed dead onto her diamond scale directly, with asuch an influx of power for a brief moment nothing happened before he flipped off her and she rolled, the energy contained in her scale breaking the hold that the gravity had on her just as his sword raked the space she once was.

She stood there then, swords in a relaxed stance. "its funny" She mused aloud, "There was nothing said of a tomb guardian." She brought her swords up then, the purple blades glittered in the light of the tomb as she held both in one hand, strange clear blue energy gathering in her free hand as she formed a energy ball of water. From what she remembered, Kalda hated it when she used water bombs in their sparring matches, she lobed it at him then easily skipped behind a statue of Yaeko holding the Assassin Flag with the Arendelle crest upon it

Now it was time for Mark to do what he had done back in the Sewers, opening his free hand and channeling his energy, he stopped the water bomb in its tracks, his eyes blazing Bronze while Silver filled his Iris's more as well. He pushed the ball back and he turned to face Diamond again. He still had his energy; through his meditations, his connection to magic had grown stronger, and he was able to do so much more. He still strained, however, and tapping into Kalda's power again, he darted forward faster than his own body could move to appear before Diamond.

Mark stood in a different stance, one more reminiscent of how Yaeko stood with her blades. His right blade was held in a reverse grip and his stance was shallow but strong. In place of the second sword, normally facing forward, there was his clawed hand, open with the palm facing Diamond. Mark let out a heavy breath before stepping forward again, a transport array putting him in front of Diamond so that he could swipe once more at her, this time aiming for her belly.

Ok so, the water bomb didnt work, but it WAS Kalda that roared in her face. She rolled out of the way as Mark was suddenly in front of her, his claws cracking at nothing but a glass outline of her form before it shattered and she stood behind him. But he had indeed made his mark then. Those claws ihurt/i In a defenseive stance Diamond backtracked towards the altar. Best case scenario she could transport out of there. But where ? She couldnt let him follow her if she tranported out. No, she'd have to lose him another way.

Wear him down, that normally worked. She always outlasted her enemeis in battle really easily. Her eyes narrowed however at his stance. He was mimicking her friend ? Impossible the only way Mark could have known Yaeko in any manner was through Kalda, and even then Kalda had only met her to forge his swords all those years ago. She thought a brief moment and then flicking back a sword she pointed at his empty hand. "What happened to the second sword I wonder..." She knew exactly what happened to it. She herself had hidden it at Xeir Zith's request all those years ago while Yaeko repaired the other.

Mark didn't answer her question and instead moved into another transport array, this time popping up out of the side of the Yaeko statue and heading towards Diamond again, spinning himself so that he could rake with his claws and slash with his sword at the same time. Whethe or not it worked didn't matter as he flipped his sword back around and would aim a thrust towards Daimond's belly, followed by another slam of his palm against the ground to strengthen her gravity and lighten his so he could move faster than her again.

Mark was adapting very well to this style of combat, with both Kalda's and his own fighting experience guiding him he was holding his own extremely well, even if he couldn't land a solid hit.

As his strikes came she blocked the first two then jumped and flipped backwards as the weight was aimed where she once stood. She had to keep moving, other wise he'd run circles around her. Well, there ws no time like the present. Both swords ready in one of Marion's more favored stances right out of a movie she made her move. She pretty much flew forwards, her energy and magic fueling her movements as the twin swords made strange whistling noises unlike anything the world had heard. Her movements were fast and to the point, literally.

Waterlike energy danced on the twin swords Diamond had seemingly stolen from Yaseko's tomb, surely Yaeko, where she buried instead of entomkbed, would have been generating power in her grave by spinning with the two of them fighting over her swords. Quite literally fighting over the swords. Still, Diamond hadnt broken a sweat, she'd fought worse and emerged tired maybe but nothing liek this. She still hadnt broken a sweat yet this guy, Mark, seemed intent on her not leaving with those two swords.

So with him waiting in a stance as she came at him her voice was heard "You do know your own history, who Yaeko was, Who she willed her swords to ?" It didnt matter as she struck and Mark defended amazingly well, she couldnt land a strike on him. He knew the footwork well enough. But what about endurance ? She flicked her right sword out, a feint. At the very last second she tiwsted it, her magic smacking like water on Marks face.

For a very brief instant Mark didnt see Diamond, but instead someone like her, his sister. Twin daggers, one of which splashed him with water. But that all too brief instant was gone as the other sword followed right down the middle.

Mark rode the stumble caused by the splash of water all the way through, dodging the other sword by mere centimeters before he stopped, and turned the other way, his hood now heavy, falling off of his head and revealing his face while he pointed the end of his sword at Diamond. For a moment, she saw not Mark, but Kalda, whose face then shifted to Mark's, beard and all.

"Blame my family for not telling me!" he all but screamed. "Blame them for not keeping Arendelle safe like they should have. Blame them for growing weak!" he was screaming by that point; years of repressed rage and pain from what happened, his reason for leaving Arendelle, exploding all at once. Lost in the moment, a tear dripped from his eye and he darted forward again, unleashing a flurry of strikes with his hand, feet, knees, elbows, and sword that would put most assault rifles to shame. Fuled by pent up emotion, Mark screamed and yelled, his reason for all the secrecy and bolstering of Arendelle's forces becoming so apparent. Why he wore the title of Wolfe Clan Leader so proudly and did everything he could to restore his family's greatness to its former glory.

The Glory brought on by Yaeko.

When Mark screamed and ran at her she sheathed both swords on the spot, their hilts at her hips as she blocked and defended each strike before grabbing his sword arm to prevent her own head from coming off, though the thing still nailed her in the face with its flat side, very briefly for an instant she saw stars before managing to get him into a leg lock in the middle of the tomb, Yaeko to their left, the door to their right.

With his sword arm in her hand, and his claws just barely stopped by her own scales on her right arm and hand she looked him directly in the eyes, seeing Kalda for a brief second made her blance slightly, but not enough to be disheartened. However she shook her head. inches from his own face "No" She said, "I wont blame anyone in your family." She said simply, "If anyone is to blame" She let his arms go and stepped back. Waiting for him to make the next move. She didnt say who was on her mind, who to blame, no, had she done so it'd only make matters worse. She looked to her hands, there was blood on her left hand after she brough it to her face.

She sighed and lowered her hand, "If anyone is to blame. Blame the enemy for growing so strong. Blame the enemy for using technology to enslave and ensnare. Blame the..." She stopped and took a deep mental breath before she started shouting at him. her eyes glowed white as she finally calmed. "Blame those, who split your family apart. Those who seperated you from the ones you loved the most." She meant the templars, not who his parents put him into the care of.

Mark's lips twitched back as he gritted his teeth and stared up at Diamond fiercely. He was breathing hard, and from being taken to the ground so quickly, his breathing was ragged as well. As she spoke, the silver around his iris's faded, and left them to their usual brown, and the bronze glow faded until Mark was no longer using any kind of magic. His knee throbbed from when he had hit the scale on her chest, and his muscles ached. Regardless, he muscled his way to his feet, shaky and slow, his sword slipping from his fingers due to the weakness. His eye twitched and he glared at her.

He had two choices, let her leave, or strike and risk death. Thankfully, he wasn't a fool.

"Leave the swords...then leave this place." he grumbled, turning to face Yaeko as she lay on her alter. He still needed to meditate here...learn what he could.

She couldnt exactly leave the twin swords there when they were meant for her. No, that wasnt really possible actually, so when Mark told her to leave the aswiords then leave she nodded towards the two statues "What good would stone swords do me ?" Her magic had reformed the swords, Or was it her magic ? Nope, not her magic. She turned towards him, her hands in a brief prayer motion as she spoke "Get some rest, you'll need it... iKaal/i" Yes, she remembered Kalda's rank as Light's Champion alright.

She turned towards Yaeko and bowed as if in prayer for a brief moment before turning and taking her leave. leaving Mark alone with his thoughts and unwanted memories, but also with questions, Why was that woman there ? Who was she ?

Arendelle

Marketplace Den

Just after dawn

Before breakfast

The tea poured into the two cups as a black furred hand set trhe kettle upon its stand. As was custom for the felines Blackmane sat quite comfy at her perch as she sipped her tea. "You know it as well as I" Snowfeather was speaking "When the past is brought uip, Mark gets quiet. He wont talk abotuj it, only move on, sooner or later he'll come to a point where the only way he can move is to face it directly. By not facing it now, he's only going to cause himself more grief when he does finally face the past"

"Then how will he face it ? When ?" Came the question

"I dont know" Snowfeather paced "Mark wont speak to the girls about his past before coming to us in Egypt, and now, he wont even tell Elsa about his time in Egypt, or why he went there." She opened her black battlefan and fanned herself agitatedly. her white hair moving away from her neck

"Den defense training is today, I'm teachng it, get word to Mark that I want to speak to him about a contract, or something. Have him come here. This den is the most suitable. I'll defend just as always ,from in the front door instead of on the roof." Blackmane said, she took another sip of the tea before just up and knocking back the cup.

"It wont work, Mark will only repress those memories." Snowfeather pointed out "nothing I tried works, he refuses to even acknowledge the event took place"

"The Manor is nearly halfdone being rebuilt, It was the base of operations for the Templars, and it was his home, he is rebuilding his own home without his family there. So you tell me Sis, which would you do, face the memories after he's done rebuuilding, and force the memories to stop by destroying what he rebuilt, or face the memories now ?"

Snowfeather took a deep breath then let it out. Finally she nodded "What do you have in mind 'Mane"

"Let me do it. Mark will face the past dead on with my instruction" Blackmane said as she stood up

"Fine, but I want to watch, if something happens against the plan you propose, one of us will have to use the Piece to knock him out"

"It wont come to that"

"I hope not"

"It wont, trust me"

"Now you are starting to scare me"

Memory Synced, Seqeunce 7 complete