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"

36. Seqeunce 9 Memory 2

Jellicle's Creed

Frozen Memories

Seqeunce 9

Memory 2 Tour of Memories

15 Fefbuary 2052

Arendelle

Roughwater District

Before sunrise/b

"There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge"

The Jedi Code

The night passed as a blur. From the pub, to the door, to the bed, the two would be lucky to remember more than a few details. Mark however, would remember nothing. The Sheer amount of spiked alcohol he drank had completely flooded his system, and as of now, he was still blackout drunk, and had little idea of what was going on in the world around him consciously. Physically, he was still entangled in the blankets and sheets of Georgina's bed, his clothing for the most part strewn about the floor from their passionate night beforehand.

Georgina figured he'd not like his clothes on the ground, so she at least folded them and put them on a chair opposite the bed to be collected later. She felt, oddly content with what had happened, yet at the same time a pang of guilt ran through her as she realized what she'd done. While it wasn't exactly official, it was no secret that Mark and Elsa were interested in each other; from the necklace to the sheer amount of time they spent with one another to even the kissing, they were a couple. And She'd just slept with Mark behind Elsa's back. What she didn't know, was how she was going to explain that to Elsa, nor how Elsa would react to it, or to the news that she was expecting.

Call it a mother's intuition, but Georgina just iknew/i she was expecting a child now. And after the night she had, even the Light would be dissapointed if she weren't.

The pregnant woman had no clue of Mark's drunken movements, half-way dressing himself and stumbling into the bathroom to attempt and empty his system of whatever could be disposed of. As she went to rouse him, he grabbed her by the arm and rather roughly pulled her into the bathroom, where the then dropped onto his back and pulled her with him.

"What are you-?" She started to say when he pulled her onto him, she was still half naked, after all. She pushed to get off of him, but he only grabbed her again and pulled her back ontop of him.

"DousetheLights." he slurred as he handed her one of her whips that laid on the floor within reach, she grabbed it with an angered grunt, he pushed off from her and scrambled backwards on his butt on the floor towards open balcony door and slid it shut while laying on his back, within the time span of a heartbeat, a hail of crossbow bolts slammed through the door and windows

Georgina flicked the whip and pulled herself aside out of the line of fire, looking to him she hit the floor with her open fist and hissed at him "Why the fuck didnt you tell me sooner ?!"

Mark just stared at her as crossbow bolts rained down through the now torn windows like wind driven rain between them, "I gave you the whip and you still didnt get it ?" He put out the next lamp as Georgina hit the candle in the next one before rolling to the side and using the whip she grabbed her black cloak and wrapping herself in it and setting with her back against a pillar as hellfire rained into the room silently for long moments around them save for the constant hammering into the floor

In five minutes the floor was covered in a rain of crossbow bolts blasted into the floorboards. Reaching out Georgina plucked one from the floor and saw clearly who it was from.

Templars.

But who where they aiming for ? Her ? Or Mark ?

Only Chinese Templars worked in this way. Did they track her that far ?

"Grab your shit and move." Mark growled. For still being hammered, he was surprisingly coherent, and he quickly got up and put on the rest of his clothing, mostly his shirt and cloak and boots before stumbling towards the door. It was then that a gang of men slammed through the broken windows and doors and charged the two Assassins.

This was one hell of a way to wake up.

Arendelle

Unknown District

At that same moment

It was not what he held, but what he held, held.

Jr never looked towards his father behind him, he iknew/i his father was angry with him for his actions, and for barging in on him and his sister in his fathers study.

But all of that anger from his father faded as Draco behled what was hanging on the shadowy chain.

The fragment of an egg

The fragment of Kethends egg.

There was no mistaking it. After all, Draco had given it to her when they mated. Kethend never took it off. And now her son, Draco Jr, had it.

Jr never looked towards his father, watching the street as his father stepped up to him and a gentle hand lifted the shadowy chain from his sons hand. "I saw her, Father. I... hugged her. She gave me this to give to you."

The silence of his father was deafening, yet Jr never faced him.

Finally Draco spoke "Come with me, Son. to my study,... Tell me everything your Mother told you." Draco took his son by ther shoulder and turned him to face him, what Jr saw was not a angered face, but a soft gentle one, his father, looking upon him with gentleness ? Was it because of what he did ?

Outside Georgina's ranvanged home

A pair of amber eeyes watched as the lights went out one by one inside the home. A smile graced the young womans unseen face as Taris watched, beside her stood Zendu, she'd grown more confident in her abilities since her father had vbestowed the gift of Shadowling Creation upon her for finding out where her mother was kept away from them. her father wouldnt tell her what the Aaetherspace was or why it was so important, but she didnt dare tell her father that Jr had found a rift into the Aaetherspace somehow and crossed into it.

No, she kept that to herself.

So when her father wouldnt elaborate on the Aaetherspace and what it was; she instead chose the time to do a raid, but what she needed was the soldiers to do it with. And that meant getting a bunch of Templars to work with her, and in a swarm then rained hell on the house where she had watched, through Zendu the night before, Mark enter with Georgina, two birds, with one stone, so to speak. So she smiled then as one by one the lights within the house died out as crossbow bolts rained into the building from all angles. Filling with it hundreds of bolts.

For a moment the bolt rain halted at her unspoken command, she knew her father was watching. She watched the house carefully, as a door started to slide open she dropped her hand, two fingers were seen, two bolts were fired, the door snapped shut with a sudden soft CLACK followed by a soft thud of something squishy hitting the floor. Taris smiled, their job was done, she and Zendu dropped into a shadow, never seeing that Mark and Georgina were actually unharmed by any of the bolts that were fired.

It was time to report to her father of the success., upon returning to the house however she saw that her sisters were thankfully, or was that mercuifully, still in bed at their fathers orders. She herself went right to his study. She heard voices within, a subdued voice, and her fathers voice, her brother and her father ?

Taris listened, did Jr just mention their mother ?

Two days before

Hebnes Norway

Sunset

"Son..." The voice echoed, the closer he got t othe source, the stonger it became, soon it rang around him as he saw a rift in the air, sparks of green and golden light danced without a doorframe. The voice seemed to echo from it, it was louder, clearer. As much as Kethend wanted to be free of the Aaetherspace, the torn memories, only able to watch her children grow up, and search relentlessly for her. Now seeing one so close. The rift tor itself open, more strands of energy lanced around creating a door, a rip in space and time. A rip in the air, a gaping hole in reality "Son... Junior... follow my voice... Come to me"

Jr. Listened to his mother's words, sheer desire to see her keeping him moving right direction. He floated just off the ground as he passed through the cave towards the rift in space-time. "Mother? W-where are you?" He called out, his eyes widening slowly as he saw the hole in reality. He slowly reached out towards it, his eyes wide and unblinking as he searched desperately for his Mother.

Thruogh the faint mist and the clear hole in reality Jr saw the faint reflection of what had to be someones front hall, "Son ? Come to me my child, Come through the door" Her voice echoed through the rift in reality, seemingly from an ornate hall that looked as if built by his parents. Like the place where he was born. O nthe floor were fragments of a nest. Like a trail

When he hesitated she chuckled "It is alright, I cannot come through to you, but you can come through to me. I have something for you. Something I want you to give to your father..." She said, very briefly he saw her, as if she was wiating for him. Which she was. in the main living room, her makeshift throneroom. The Aaethersdpace had provided for her for nearly thirty years. Soon she was going to be with her children and beloved again. Soon

As Jr. passed through the portal to the Aetherspace, he felt the sudden drag of reality behind him, and the further he went, the stronger the pull was back to reality behind him. But there was his mother! Muscling through it, he reached her, and wrapped his arms around her frame, and pressed his face into her chest, embracing his mother for the first time in years. He was shaking, both from emotion and from the force of the pull of the real world on his body. "W-what do you want me to have?" He asked, pulling away just a little, the strain on his body lessening slightly.

When her son stepped into her throneroom, as meager as it was without him his brother and sisters, she did the only thing she could, hug him; When he crashed into her she wrapped her own arms around his lanky frame and hugged him tightly. For a long moment she didnt speak. When they finally broke the hug her hand went to her neck and she held out her necklace. Removing it from around her neck she held it "My dear child. You are to give this to your father. I know he sent you and your sister Taris to find me. I've been watching you all grow up and search for me endlessly" She said softly

She took his hand in hers and placed her necklace, her eggshell necklace, in it then closed it. "When you give this to your father, he will know where it came from, he will know you found me, I will return soon. You are not banished as I was, The barrier between me and you all is weaknening by the day. Soon, I do not know when, but soon, I will with you. I promise." She pulled Jr into another tight hug, giving her son a gentle kiss on his forehead, tears of joy streaked from her eyes. When was the last time she had hugged her sons or daughters or even her beloved ?

As the eggshell was placed in his hand, he closed his fist around it gently, holding on tightly. "Yes, Mother...I will...Father will...I'll tell him right away." he said. As she kissed his forehead, the force of the pull from reality grew again, and began to slide him back to the rift, tears streaming down his own cheeks as he protested verbally and physically, trying to pull himself back to his mother's arms as he slid backwards, feet scraping against the aether floor. Screaming for his mother's embrace, Jr. was forced out of the Aetherspace, and was flung out of the portal as it then closed, but the air rippled as it weakened again with the passing of the day.

Biting his bottom lip to try and stop himself from breaking down with emotion, he swallowed hard and turned to return home. His Father must be told.

Her grip was strong, yet the pull of reality pulled them apart, she ran after him, She screamed for him and briefly their hands touched at the barrier, she pulled but it did no good. her son was torn from her hand and the barrier snapped shut lanuching her backwards into the center of her Aaether throneroom on the floor. Kethend scrambled to her feet and ran but four steps before collding with something unseen and halting hammering at the thin air that blocked her path she called for her son

But he could still hear her "Son, Go, tell your father what you I said, give him my eggshell, He'll know your words are truth... I miss you"

Arendelle

Unknown District

Present Day 2052

Draco's study

As Jr. finished the story of how he was briefly reunited with his mother, Draco paused, contemplating the necklace in his hands, the fragile egg-shell held ever so gently in his powerful fingers as he examined it. He looked to Jr, eerily silent even by his own standards. Setting the egg-shell necklace in a box, which he then stowed in a drawer of his desk, Draco stood and moved to his son. Looking over his son; a literal spitting image of himself as a young Dragon; pure and untainted by the Wolf Queen or any other Dark Magic.

"Well done, my son." His voice was docile, and soft, almost quivering. For the first time since his own defeat at the hands of the Light, he was feeling more than simple Rage and hatred - now he was feeling pure unadulterated pride, and a sense of deep unfiltered longing for his beloved mate.

"Go tell your sibling what you found...I...I will think of your reward; it will not come quick, but you will get one..." he said.

Jr. nodded. "Yes Father." And with that, he turned to leave.

Taris heard it all tyhrough the door, she never knocked, she knew better, but her father seemed focused on her brother. But when her brother was neasrly done, getting to the point where he was torn from their mother by the pull of the barrier alone she had to leave the doorway else her father would hear her struggling not to cry.

By the time her brother found her Taris was infact practising with ther shadows, in the kitchen. She tried to act like she heard nothing, but there was a very faint whisp of shadow from her eyes, and not because pof the tendril whip her brother had done to her face. try as sjhe might, she couldnt heal the cuts across her brow or left eye, so she just said to herself, and also to Wintson, to screw it and not worry about it.

Seeing her brother however Taris was nervous, but he didnt look upset, more like downright confused. They both knew now where their Mother was, why she couldnt be with them. But the question remained,

How the hell where they gonna break the news to the Girls ? The two tasked with working with the Templars to find their mother ?

Arendelle

Castle Library

Midmorning

Mark rolled his head around, his neck popping audibly as he grunted. By this point, he was sober, and remembered nothing other than Georgina helping him to a bed and then leaving. That last part due to the combined efforts of Kalda and Light herself. He was hung-over though, the alcohol finally out of his system leaving him with a terrible headache and a foul mood, though he'd put on a smile for Elsa, at least for breakfast. He needed food anyway, if he was going to ever get rid of this headache. And water. A lot of water.

Instructing Kai to bring a pitcher of water and to leave it for him, he sat at the table in the library and chugged down a glass before pouring himself another glass, waiting for Elsa to enter the room, as well as the chefs and the delectable meals they provided for breakfast each morning. Someone had already fed the birds for him earlier that morning since he was under attack at Georgina's house with all those cross bow bolts and those few thugs that popped up out of no where. He sighed, and leaned back in his chair, hood up to shade his eyes from the light of the room and sun.

Georgina was thankfully quite calm, though there was the hint of something behind her eyes, mirth, or happiness, only Light knew, But Serenity wasnt hearing any of it, more worried for her brother had he not made the body drop into her bedroom through that transport array. Thankfully Serena fed the birds that morning. Better than her that was for sure, though Ulnaus was,... weirdly, hammered off something. And also missing a few feathers from his butt. "OK let me get this straight brother dear, you met up with a Templar, played cards, then Georgina put you to bed ? Did I miss anything ?"

"Only that he got drunk and I got soaked in various drinks" Georgina said simply taking a sdeat at one fo the chairs in the library.

"Ahuh..." Serenity was amused, her brother drunk, "Wish I coulda been there, its been ages since we got loaded" Normally Serenity got drunk off paint thinner and stuff that could kill a mortal {like motor oil or cat food or raw meat}

"You're both too damn loud..." Mark growled in a hushed voice as he chugged another glass of water, not a single drop missing his lips and entering his body. He sighed and filled the glass again, setting the pitcher down and using both hands to massage at his temples. "Fuck this is the worst shit...who let my dumb ass go out and drink that much?" He growled in a hushed voice, obviously annoyed with this situation as his head pounded.

"Who got drunk ?" Came a softer voice as Elsa came into the library, she had a map of the kingdom with her along with the journal she and Mark had recovered near the Broken Arm Tavern. "Oh, good morning Georgina, Serenity, Mark what happened to you ?" Elsa asked seeing Marks predictament, thankfully sober, but hungover as all hell she looked at him confused before smiling and setting the map up "I hope this clears your hangover" She said The last district liberated, by Asaca, Diamond and Anna was next to a other liberated district known as the Daodojo District, though Elsa had no idea what it meant.

Georgina recognised it "Isnt this the district where there was fighting this morning ?" She asked, she remembered it was on the list of the four districts to lbierate from the council meeting the day before Elsa simply nodded

"It was liberated this morning while Sis was feeding the birds. Diana and I did it" Serenity said, her arms crossed, Mark saw then it wasnt a clean shot either. Serenity did normally go around with her feline features seen, but for once, scarily, she was fully human, and she had, Mark now noticed it, a bandange on her head covering one hell of a burn mark. "...Barely"

Mark waved to Elsa in greeting before going over the map with a critcal glare. Noticing the burn mark on his sister's head, he sighed. "I don't know whether to congratulate you on liberating another district or critique the sloppiness in which you did it." He said, pointing to the bandaged burn mark. "So I'll leave that to aunt Blackmane. What is the condition of the district as of this moment?" he asked before taking another swig of water. He needed some sunglasses to help block more light, but he didn't bring any, nor did he have any. He'd left them all in Cairo before leaving for Arendelle.

Serenity glared at her brother; "this guy knew where to aim, firearrows. Next district I liberate I'm not going tiger on the outset" She hissed, the banaged made it slightly hard to see and it also looked like she wore a turban. She did however smile when their aunt was mentioned "She said she'd leave it to you since Mother wasnt up yet" It was then clear who gave her the banaged, Aunt Blackmane

"Repairs, there's a building there called a dojo, I dont know what that means or even is, but I was told a firend of ... one of our recruits apparently, wanted to meet you there and aid in the repairs." Elsa said. She didnt named who was going to meet up with Mark, or why only that someone was to meet him at the place he was to oversee the repairs of. "She said she knew one of our recruits and can be of help. Wont say why either"

Plus it was odd, ever since Princess Fang had arrived in Arendelle Elsa's magic had gotten a little... agressive... which explained why her dress looked... more like armor and her cape wasnt sheer anymore.

There was a basket next to Serenity, one that Mark easily recognised as belonging to a certain... thing that belonged to his sister. How she brought the basket along for her RC truck only Snowfeather knew. the fact she had the truck to begin with made everyone wonder where it came from and what it was... At least Olaf wasnt hugging the thing to death

"The Templars in these Districts we're aiming for have had time to prepare and train. The sight of a tiger running around will only make them pause for a maybe a moment. Plus you're too slow in that form; I'm not sure why you insist upon using it." Mark said, since Blackmane left the decision up to him, he chose to berate his sister on her sloppiness. He ignored the hiss; while he didn't like her tone, he wasn't going to do anything about it, it wasn't his place to discipline his sister for her attitude, nor was he in the mood to try.

He called Kai over and decided that straight black coffee would be better for him to sober up quickly. With that, he picked up the pitcher of water and was quick to chug the thing down, dripping only a few drops onto the flared lapel of his coat. "Repaires, huh? Alright...dunno why I would need to be involved too much though...unless the found a Vault." he narrowed his eyes over the map, straining to use his Eagle Vision to examine it, overlaying it with a memory of the district from his own collection, where he would think the Wolfe Vault would be. Before he could pinpoint it his head throbbed and his eyes blurred, causing him to grunt and lean back, rubbing at his temples again.

"Once I don't want to shoot myself I'll head down to the district...see what I can do." he said, closing his eyes and sighing in pain.

"I'd say its because of the gangs we ran into" Serenity said, she hissed again at the pain but she knew her brother meant well, She smirked "You never said that in Egypt when we were training!. Or when the nighbors cat got you..." the faint scars on her left arm were seen on her fingers as she pressed her hand to her bandange. "We were expecting only templars, not gangs. We were swarmed and one of them distracted me enough for me to get shot by the templar we were after." She said.

Elsa nodded "Yes, this district is a heavy gang activity area; nobody knows why or where they operate from, only. there's a lot of them, and they have a weird symbol on their clothing" She nodded to Serentiy who withdrew from her belt a heradband, it bore a mix of both Templar, Assassin and something else of a symbol on it. it looked like seven white wings with a cross in the center

Mark groaned and rolled his head forward to examine the headband. Other than Kalda stirring as he saw the symbol, Mark blinked. "Oh...It's those guys...what was there name..." He snapped his fingers a few times as he tried to recall the name. "We hunted them in Egypt...The uh, Dragon... DragonWatch! The DragonWatch! That's it. I think they used to be legit some forty years ago...now they're just a gang. But what the hell are they doing this far north?" he shook his head and thanked Kai as the man brought him a a large mug of black coffee, steaming hot and filling the room with the sobering smell of coffee.

Mark took a swig and shivered. "Oh that's good..." he seemed a bit relieved and took another swig and sighed, yawning. "Alright, so we got the Templars and The DragonWatch in Arendelle. Great. Looks like I gotta do some hunting of my own... But first, there's some repairs to do, no?" He asked, drinking that coffee like it was water now.

"Oh well that's great, those freaks are here too ? Why so far north ?" Elsa looked confused, who were these two talking about. Serenity wasnt happy, "We had to rescue Nalia from them I remember, really nasty bunch too." Either way... "They had stuff, technology from Those Who Came Before; it wasnt a Piece persei, but... something made by a Piece or UI of one" She explained the weird quarterstaff weapons the gangmenbers used. they seemed to really upset Diana who said something about Not being what they were designed to be when they originally came to be or some such

Elsa however did nod when Serenity quieted and picked up the ghostly white trucklike thing from its basket and set it on the floor. the magnetic coil engine inside kept it running and it never needed a charge or battiers, which cut down on the weight. "yes, repairs are to this building" She tapped on the map then where she spoke of. It was there Mark saw was the heart of Gang activity. It wasnt a iPrecoursor Vault/i No, by the design of the buildings layout alone it was a iEagle Vault!/i Was that why their guest, unnknown as she was to Mark, was there ?

"Good luck" Elsa said,. Serenity was to be seen to by the healers however, thankfully Kaedrian was getting better at healing such wounds and not winding herself

Arendelle

Daodojo District

20 minutes later

Mark arrived at the scene of the rebuilding of the Dojo with a literal pot of black coffee in one hand, and the rolled up blue prints in another. He took a swig of coffee before setting the pot down and unrolling the plans, some Assassin builders surrounding the table as he spoke clearly about what needed to be done. "Get the paint done first after the walls and insulation are up. Then put up the racks for the weapons and stuff. I want only the sub-floor down during that. Once everything else is done, the Tatami Mats go down last so they aren't damaged by someone's boot or someone dropping something onto them. Those things cost more than your belt buckles." Mark pointed to the Arendelle Assassin's Crest on the belts of each Assassin, which weren't cheap as they had to be hand forged each time. The exact price was known to the blacksmiths and to Snowfeather.

"Let's get to work! I want a round the clock guard shift as well, if shit goes down...well, do something stupid, I'll come to scream at you and if you're lucky the problem will present itself to me so I can kill it first. Got it?"

The guards all nodded and dispersed as construction began. Mark mainly oversaw the thing, the coffee helping him sober up more as he discussed plans with other builders and soon-to-be students of the dojo where the Assassin's would teach their new recruits, but also the citzens of Arendelle how to fight and defend themselves from harm, so that when such a time as the Assassin's must leave, the citizens can defend themselves from outside attack easilly enough.

As the workmen and Assassins got underway that left Mark in the main room by himself, the blueprints ont he only table, and the pot of coffee in hand let me a moment to think exactly what he should do aside from drink coffee and look at blueprints, Almost bored and wanting to fight somebody or find the vauklt that he could feel nearby when a voice broke in on his thoughts. "Oy! 'ho said you could come into 'ur home ?" A thick accented voice grumbled as two men pretty much fell out of a nearby closet as a dozen others stormed in from outside

With one man keeping watch at the road, and the rest scattered in the outer courtyard, that left the mob to surround Mark, none of them barefoot or even wearing socks. Two of them got close to mark who simply took a sip of his coffee after raising it in a toast. One of them mnen looked to the leader of the bunch "I aint seen him before" Said the man

But the other had. The eyes of the smaller man widened "I know him!" The man said pointing at Mark. "In Egypt, him... and that cat we burnt this morning! Near the pyramids!" Ah yes, The Great Pyramid fist fight; what fun that indeed was. But that got the leaders attention clearly.

"Cheers mates." Mark then chugged the last half-pot of his coffee before moving like a blur and slamming the pot over the closest's man's head, knocking him out entirely. Mark watched him flop onto the ground and blinked, dropping the mug. "Huh..." Another man then came up behind Mark and grabbed him over the arms, to which Mark responded by dropping his weight, and then jumping back and flopping hard on top of the man, cracking multiple ribs, and possibly puncturing a lung based on the blood the man coughed up later.

Getting up with a roll, mark lowered into his more favored Tiger Style stance, his armor and clawed gauntlet's appearing on his body as then the rest of the gang engaged him, the older members who had faught him back in Egypt able to put up quite the match for the now older and wiser Mark, who quickly dismanteled that advantage by using his claws to scratch at the arms as they blocked his strikes, and then using the time in between their flinches to come in and elbow their faces in before turning swiftly with a hook kick to the face of another man. Stooping low, mark grabbed the body of the first man he knocked out, and using his turning momentum, picked him up and flung him at two other's, making them slam over the table and land on each other.

Mark settled into his stance again and smirked. "You boys haven't learned from last time, have you?" he asked, fighting off a yawn.

The leader of the group grunted and motionedf for his men to swarm Mark, only to stop as there came a resounding yell from outside...

CRASH

Everything stopped, the men about to attack Mark stopped midswing and spun around as a member of their gang smashed apart a market stall and a woman, dressed in silver and black with long white hair stepped into view. Stepping from Mark the leader of the gang called to the woman "Hey! Who are you ?"

The woman smirked and spoke, her voice rang with a strange almost melodic tone "While it is true the words of the man are words of a known killer, in truth there is no other way of calling it what it really is. Death and destruction, control and governance. It is this truth that the enemy wants kept hidden and all secrets laid bare." The woman was walking forwards into the courtyard as she spoke.

Finally she halted and looked at the three dozen men and women of the gang surrounding them, "But in light of that truth, there is one so much better that men fail to see." She smirked at the gang leader. "Your head, on a pike."

"Get her!" the gang leader screamed. The woman never went for her whip or battlefans as she flung her hat aside and brought up her hands, the first man to strike her was stopped dead in his tracks as she brought her hands up, Fang flipped the man aside as the next man came running at her. Mark stepped back, watching the woman fight, well this was interesting, oddly nice to have some help, then again this woman was different, unlike any he had witnessed in battle

Princess Fang never drew her weapons as she flipped another man onto his back, another man crashing into his fellow dropping them both to the ground. the last two of the group on the ground hit the ground with their ears bleeding and their heads ringing as their heads were slammed together. With a sudden kick of her feet, the last man was sent hurtling into the dojo steps where he lay still. Princess Fang then stepped forwards, and after removing her socks, stepped into the Dojo, and bowed briefly, then all hell broke loose with her at its core

Mark watched how the woman moved while she fought. It was interesting, He studied her fighting style, it looked like a mixture of Aikido, Judo, Karate, and... was that Shaolin? Interesting combination indeed, though his own style was odd too, a mixture of both Chinese and Hebrew Tiger styles, Boxing, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, and a few other Martial arts, her particular combination of arts was strange, almost exotic to see, but it was extremely effective.

At least she took off her shoes and socks before going into the actual practice floor, even if the mats weren't down yet. As she downed the last gang member, Mark's eyes flashed silver for a moment and he blinked, a shot of pain running through his mind before he righted himself and applauded the performance.

"Would it be safe to say you're on my side?" He asked the woman before him. "Miss...?"

Ducking first a wild swing, then a full knockout punch from a pair of DragonWatch members, Fang easily dodged a third member and sent him flying backwards after catching his kick with her bare hand and sending him in a heap into his fellows. For the moment it was briefly calm as she stepped fully into the dojo's main practise room completely barefoot. Her amber eyes showed a hint of mirth of some form, She never saw one man aim at her to grab her by the hair.

She held a finger up to Mark as her hair was grabbed and she was pulled backwards. The man who had her by the hair had a lighter in his hand while another had a paint can, it was how Serenity had gotten burnt in the face. But what these two werent expecting were two solid whacks to the jaws directly, first from her head into the man who pulled her hair, then both her fists dead to the second mans chin. She grunted something and turned away, easily tripping a third guy aiming to tackle her

Stepping up to Mark she smiled; "Master Wolfe I presume ? I am Fang; My father sent me to do two tasks most critical to a mutual friend of ours and... a hobby of yours." A hobby, apparently she had been well informed. As she spoke the men began to gain their feet, but one of them went to the street where more were waiting. The DragonWatch was a massive gang, and they'd been waiting, after all, this Dojo was their primary building. And it was being invaded

She then held her hands up towards Mark, one hand was balled into a fist, while the other was open with her fist set against it. "Forgive me, but I havent time to explain..." Explain what ? Out of nowhere a left cross was launched, but it nailed the guy directly behind Mark...

Mark hardly moved however as the cross moved past his head to the face of the guy behind him. His armor glowing gently, Mark then moved to a duck and lifted Fang by the hips, tossing her into the group of Gang members, knowing she'd be able to handle herself. "A pleasure to meet you." he said after tossing her, and then jumping into the group himself, super-man punching the first guy he saw, and dropping the guy with a shattered cheek bone.

From there on out it was all out chaos as the gang fought the two of them ferociously for their building back. Mark's assassin comrades stayed within the building and worked together to keep it free of gang members, using whatever was available as weapons. Mark on the other hand, was quite content to use his hands and feet, elbows and knees, and even his head, to do the job. As two of his hands were caught by a particularly large gang member, he kneed the man in the crotch, which forced him to bend over, where then Mark slammed his forehead into the man's nose, using the momentum of the guy travelling backwards to drag his claws along his sides, and even cut a nerve in between the muscle fibers, causing the guy to open his mouth in pain, as a silent scream of sheer un-questionable pain filled him.

Mark turned, narrowly avoiding a kick to the face before grabbing the man's leg, and then kicking out his balance leg. He overhooked the man's foot, getting him in an ankle lock and snapping his bone in half before using the same lock to fling him to the side into his comrades. A punch landed on Mark's back, however his armor took the brunt of it and the man snapped his own wrist from it. Mark turned and smirked, holding back a laugh before slamming a right cross in to the man's jaw.

Mark then narrowly dodged another punch towards his face, grabbing the man's wrist and then slamming an elbow into the guy's ribs he fire-man carried the guy up before slamming him down on his knee. That man never walked again. Someone managed a hit to Mark's head then, turning, the Wolfe Clan Leader found a scrawny boy who looked as though he'd just joined the gang a month ago. Sighing Mark slapped him across the face, and left some claw marks on his cheek from his claws. "Go home, boy. This isn't the life for you."

A couple of women then jumped on Mark, one dragging his head towards the ground, another two jumping on his back. Mark stumbled forward before deepening his stance, and rocketing two upercuts into the gut of the woman grabbing his head since she was in front of him. He then used the momentum of being pulled back by the other two to knee her in the jaw and knock her out before shifting his center of gravity and turning, the two on his back now in front of him. He likewise launched some uppercuts into their bellies, and then jumped up to kick them both back with his heels before landing on the ground and getting up. A smile spread across his face, he hadn't had this much fun in a fist fight for a while.

She was aiming to knock out Mark to get at the vault, compeltely not expecting his grabbing her by the hips and chucking her back at the gang, reacting fast she twisted her body into a roll and knocked out two of the gang with her feet before bouncing against a wall and standing up. Easliy ducking and dodging strikes she dealt equally in return. However each of her strikes met their mark as intended. When mark kicked one of the women Fang easily twisted out of the flying girls path, catching her only to get spat in the face. Fang simply smirked, a flick of the fist later and the woman flew out the busted front window

Fang stepped forwards towards a wall and walked up it, flipping over compeltely and grabbing off the wall a broken decrative fan and used it as a weapon. A sweep of the fan sent one man out the broken window, his hand to his throat to stop the flow of blood as Fang was already on the fourth guy with whack and slice of the fan met with a assuring SMACK or a sickly slice.

Finally she got to Mark, the man focused on the guy in front of him never saw her coming for the moment before she threw the fan and nailed the guy Mark was fighting with. At that point she stood next to him; a finger poked at his nose "I will forget you did that" She said, a smirk on her face as she nochalantly brought up a fist and caught a man dead in the nose by stonewalling the guy in his tracks

"As I said" Fang continued "I've no time to explain fully" She then launched a strike... at him.

Mark blinked at quite literally being booped on the nose, not used to that. "Explain wha- oh!" He was hit square in the forehead, and he hopped back a few feet and shook his head, more of an annoyed look than pain on his face as he then hopped back towards Fang, a single tiger claw strike aimed for her neck followed by a swipe to her head, which then turned into a spinng backwards elbow towards her head as well, Mark knowing that based on her fighting style he'd need to keep moving if he wanted to do anything to her. She relied heavilly on being stationary and balance from what he saw, he could counter that.

As his strike came she simply smiled, and span out of his strike, dodging at the last possible second, her hair spun out and caught a gangmember dead in ther face, sending the man flying into his fellows. The fight was still on, and it looked like it truly was a free for all. Truth was, Fang knew of Marks hobby, well, Asaca called it a hobby, finding the Vaults. But she had to find the Eagle Vault before Mark tried to gain entry, the traps the Eagles knew by heart were set on each one. Not even the DragonWatch could get past them

Which was why she was there. She span again, narrowly dodging the elbow to the nose, however he did manage to get her with his second swing after the elbow, of course by then she laid on the broken wood floor flat on her back, her arms up defending hersdelf from his claws as her right foot snapped up out of nowhere and struck at the back fo his unhelmeted head from behind the same second another DragonWatch gangmember tried to attack them both. Fang saw the man and using her foot wrenched up a piece of flooring and sent it flying into the mans path

The man dropped like a sack of grain. But now the floor was broken up and a visible hole was seen, a good dozen more men below them. Oh joy

"I just had this floor fixed!" Mark growled as he rubbed his head from her kick. The men from beneath poured their way to the surface and again it was a free for all. Mark had no trouble with the gang member's, but would occasionally throw a jab or a kick towards Fang, seeing as she was going to do the same to him. He let his armor do a lot of work that day, and a lot of Gang member's left with broken bones from trying to hit him hard.

He turned and aimed a leg sweep at Fang's feet, followed by a shift of weight and a round house towards her chest, borrowing the move from Capoeira before rolling to his feet, hyper extending another gang member's knee with his body and making the man drop like a screaming sack of potatoes, which was then silenced by a foot to the face while Mark stood and turned to face Fang, his only real threat now.

"Yeah, in the other room" Fang retorted, the truth was the floor had indeed been fixed before the gang arrived, heck just as Mark himself had arrived there. Which also made the next bit just a bit more complicated as Mark swept her feet out from under her then sent her skidding on the floor, her silver armor rang at the connection of his own armored fists connecting with her chest. She slid along the floor and right into the hole she'd made with a sudden oddly familar screech of an Eagle.

Wait... what ?

From the hole there were sounds of combat, hard thuds and whacks where heard then a pair of men were launched up therough the hole like missles, slaming into the wall and one right out the front door. Further sounds of thuds, very hard whacks, and a loud gut wrenching CRACK and somebodys eyeball plopped onto the floor at the edge of the hole before a man screamed before falling over dead

The lower level was cleared... Perfect. And there was one of the many traps too on the nearby wall. Flicking a hand to her ear she pulled a long silver feather, a flick of the wrist and the feather was thrown like a knife thrower at a carnival fair event. Dead on target too.

Mark watched the carnage with interest. She'd just screeched like an Eagle. That made her much more interesting. Hopping down into the lower level after she was done with the gang members, he landed with a hard thud on the ground, the ground shaking with his weight as he slowly drew into a balanced stance, a mixture of Tiger Style and a Tae Kwon Do stance, with one open claw and one closed fist. However, as Fang went into what appeared to be a more Crane-like stance, he shifted to pure Tiger Style, and for a moment, his eyes shifted yellow before returning to the silver rimmed brown.

His knees bent low and he waited for a moment, before moving like a pounce, to slash and overwhelm her defenses quickly. He was fighting like he wanted to kill, but knew he only wanted to pin her and make her talk about what she was really here for.

Fang waited until the last possible second before bringing up her hands to defend herself, moving fast she blocked, parried and then struck, her arms crossed she grabbed at his wirsts as he forced her to backtrack until she was near a wall, then using his strengh she easily sprang up the wall to put her weight onto him. Which honestly was at the very least half of that of Elsa alone; possibly even less than that!. Trading strikes from her new perched she launched a fast flurry of sharp jabs, her hands set like the claws of a bird... like an Eagle.

She was fast too. yet her clothing had a bird on it, it was obvious by her silver and black dress design, the stilver eagle glittered in the dim light around them. It was either a tribal sigl, or something else. In truth it was both a tribal sigl, and something else, it was who and what she was. After about five straight minutes of nothing but their fists whacking at each other it stopped. their fists locked.

It was then a soft click was heard from the wall as the trap unlocked. One down, a dozen more to go

As their fists locked, Mark let out a huff, his claws threatening to break the skin of her hand before he used leverage to move her hands inwards, forcing her arms to cross and therefore her to lean forwards towards him. He released her hands and moved to slash at her belly in a cross slash with both of his claws while also aiming a headbutt up to her chin while coming up onto his toes. When that didn't work as he'd hoped he lifted his arms to lift her up over his head and then slam her on the ground before resuming his stance and letting out a low hiss from his throat.

She was partly expecting him to use his own weight against her. But not what he was planning or aiming for as her arms went close to her chest she kept her distance, but when he tried to headbut her in ther chin she tried to break free of his viselike grip only to find herself flat on her back as he lifted her up and over his head to the floor with a twist of his body. Then he broke away and she easily rolled to her feet.

Or rather, to one knee, her hands once again up in a hand to a fist. "You fight well to be expected. Though unexpected as well" She said simply. "I had to be sure I could trust you. Now I see that I can"

Mark's fingers rolled slowly into a more relaxed state, but he didn't move regardless. "And you as well...though...since you seem to know of my little...hobby, why doubt my trustworthiness?" he asked.

"Because of what you seek" She said in reply, she got to her feet and went to the now unlocked door picking up the long silver feather, almost as if it were a peacock or pheasent feather of how long it was. But its shade of silver gave off a hint of deja vu. Didnt Ulnaus tussle with a silver bird three times his own size ? Sure Ulnaus was the size of a Ford Probe sports car, but the bird he briefly tussled with was the size more of a Ford F450 super duty truck! "I had to be sure I could trust you. Combat was the only way."

Mark's eyes narrowed and he rose from his stance slowly, lowering his hands as he let his body relax and begin to recharge. Construction resumed as planned above, the hole was patched, and the dojo continued it's repairs. "Well...there's more ways of getting a person's trust...I myself prefer to tell them a secret then take them out drinking; see what they can do under pressure and while drunk. But combat works too, I suppose." Mark said.

But how did she know what he was seeking? he rolled his head and his neck cracked again and he yawned quickly before following her.

"I prefer combat. it is simply a test, and also a means of keeping one on their toes" Fang replied sliding the feather into her right sleeve it disappeared. She pressed a slender hand against the seeming cement stone wall and a door slid open unseen, presumably used to hold a statue by the indenting of the wall that held the door.

Fang smiled and went toit asnd looked it, within was a pale glow of light along the floor and ceiling. She turned to Mark. "I feel that I can trust you. there are twelve traps on this path. You seek something here. Something... that I was sent to retrive." It was a scroll, a scroll of Light to aid with bringing her daughter back to full power... somehow

Ok, how did she know he sought vaults ?

He furrowed his eyebrows. He sought out the Wolfe Vaults in particular, but this...this was not one of them; there were no markings to suggest so. Whatever was inside was different. But... Mark blinked, it wasn't he who wanted the Scroll, but Kalda. Kalda wanted it to bring Xeir Zith back to strength. He smirked, that sly Dragon.

Mark nodded softly. "Well, I'll be honest with you I didn't know this vault was here, not truely, and nor did I know how to open it. Nor did I know there were any traps...this is not a vault of my Family." He said. Only members of the Wolfe Clan could open a Wolfe Vault, and though he hadn't tested the theory, he had a gut feeling that they wouldn't open if the one trying to open it was being rushed or forced. otheriwse, who knows how many Wolfe Members would still be alive.

He sighed and gestured for Fang to lead the way; he'd follow her.

"That is because it is not of your family. But of mine." She simply said beckoning him to follow as she stepped into the self lit hall that led downwards. Her family... Who was her family ? It didnt make any sense when one thought about it carefully. Fang fought like... well... like a Eagle or a well trained Monk from somewhere in the world. For being three times Marks own age she didnt look a day over twenty. But she fought with experience.

As Mark stepped into the hall behind her the door slid shut behind them as if it was never opened. "Mind your step, the path islaid with traps. I will have to deactivate them in turn as we come across them." She said. Fang smiled then at the unasked question. "Purple and Pink... ask her how I know of your... hobby" She meant Asaca

Wait how did Asaca know ? oh right, duh, Diamond... and Marion... but Mark didnt know that... yet. Not even Kalda knew that Diamond was reborn. It was eleven traps later when they were in a large white walled room with unseen light in silver. A single item laid on a pillar in the middle of the room. But there was still one last trap to pass. So Fang asked while pointing at the scroll. "Why do you seek that ?" the vault itself was unlike any of the Wolfe Vaults in any manner it was completely different in style and design, there was no writing on any of the walls. and twelve traps were insane!

Arendelle Marketplace

At that same moment

For once she managed to get out of the castle by herself. Anna she couldnt find so she left the castle to do just that. Wandering among the Marketplace Elsa asked around if any had seen her sister, the Princess, none had. Elsa went to a nearby eatery and asked around there as well; one of the men at table watched her carefully. Another two joined the man at table and began to eat as the three conversed. "That her ? the queen of this place ? Is she the one we're to nab ?" Said one of the three

The first man at the table, the one the other two joined, nodded, and the third answered. "Yea, that's her. Beautiful aint' she? Rumor has it she's got it bad."

"Got what?' said the other.

"Y'know."

"No...why else would I ask?"

"Damn your dense. Look at her. That's a woman in love. Whether she knows it or not." the man said. The other face-palmed.

Oh this was gonna be a long day, "Wait let me get this straight" the one that asked what their target had. "We're gonna nab a girl in love with a guy ?" Was he truly that dense ? He had to be. "What do we hit her with ? A normal 'hi how you doin'' isnt gonna suffice and this street is too crowded to just up and nab her" The second guy to sit down however had been keeping an eyeon the rooftops looking out for the hooded folk.

"Do you see any ?" he asked their boss, the guy they sat with.

"Uh..."

"Shit man I thought you had a plan. You're in charge here ain't you?"

"Well...she's coming this way...I think she's looking for someone, have one of us lead her somewhere without as much people then nab her?"

"That's not a bad idea...in fact I think it'll work.

"Flip a coin, who does it?" the man pulled out a fifty-cent peice and positioned it on his thumb. "Ready? I'm calling heads!" he said, flipping it.

The second man called Heads as well, and the third man called Tails.

The coin flipped and landed on the table. Tails. The first man to sit down at the table little over an hour ago, would not be the bait. "Again! Heads!" the second guy called. The other one called Tails. The coin flipped, landed, spun a little, and then it stopped. Tails. Loser is Bait.

The first man a the table smirked, the dense member of their little sdad bunch was their bait, wel lthis was gonna be good. The loser, a man, aptly named Densr grumbled, "Alright I'll do it, where do I lead her ?" He was already forming a plan, his opening line to her in fact, "EWjho she into anyhow ? She strikes me as someone really important, so who'd she go for given her bearing ?"

"Dunno; figure it out." the other said. He was a slender and tall man, who had earned himself the nick name Sarc, for his sarcasm. He rolled his eyes at the next question. "I hear it's one of those Assassin's that run around the Palace all the time. Wears a green cloak usually."

"Green cloak ey... I got this" Densr drank down the beer set before him then got up. He held up two fingers and sat his ass right back down "Almost forgot, gimmiew two minutes then follow, We'll aim for the alley behind this diner" At Sarc's nod after looking to their boss Densr got up, faking being drunk he grabbed up a green cloak but not hooded, off a nearby coatrack then went out the side. he had a queen to lure

A few meters off was an alley, he went while putting the cloak on he waited for Elsa to get close enough to him before motioning to her "Hey, dear lady over here. Come here yeah." Elsa saw him at first but was hesitant, then she saw the green cloak, was he one of Marks personal trained group ? He looked new...

Elsa went over to him, not many recognised her since her dress started changing coloration, but still. "Do I know you ?"

Densr shook his head at the question. "No but I got orders to keep you safe by the boss himself" Elsa nodded, then why was he in the alley ? "He's this way" He pointed deeper into the alley that turned a hard left after about two dozen meters behid the resturant, he was mentally counting off the seconds, and nearly hit 90 seconds since leaving hr table, about now the boss and Sarc were in their posts and he just had to walk past them so they could tase the target and they'd head off. At Elsas nod she followed him into the alley

As the two minutes was up, Elsa would begin to realize that she'd been fooled. Turning, the two other men, Sarc and the boss, stood behind her. "Sorry about this, but it's for your own good." Sarc said, a blow dart gun raised to his lips. He gave a big puff and the sleep-dart lodged itself perfectly into Elsa's slender neck. "Grab her 'fore she falls." the guy said.

Densr did just that, and lifted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Go get the van, we gotta get her to the rv point without her getting seen by the populous...if her boyfriend shows up we'll have to fight; and from what I've heard about Arendelle's Assassin Branch, I'd rather not." Everyone in the CIA by now knew that Arendelle was heavilly and very expertly defended by the Assassins, Mark in particular, though they didn't know his name, was mentioned frequently in the reports.

"Right got it" Sarc went to get the van after watching his target drop like a sach kf potatos as Densr managed to snag her. Hopefully they could do this without getting cornered like they were before. "We can take the serwers if we have to, some of those areas are wide for a car." Yeah sure, the last time they went near a sewer the place collapsed and they were ambushed by a hot woman who was pissed off to no end. Sarc seemed to remember that and said "Forget the sewers lets go" He opened the back door of the van; with the Silent Mode active they could get out of the city unseen by anyone and also unheard,

But as Elsa's neck was struck with the sleep dart the last trap within the Eagle Vault was disabled, and the scroll glowed a bright sky blue before it faded to a plain old ice like scroll of glass as Fang snatched it up. Something just happened for that scroll to glow like it did, but what ?

Six hours later the van pulled up to a large dark colored building on six large wheels. they were at the half way point, the RV was their ticket out of there. new driver, the works. The three men piled out and carried their out cold charge into the thing, a moment later the van was left at the rental car counter nearby, and the RV was on the road. heading south towards a city called Gilja; about another nine hours due south.