When I work on a story, I have a sort of motto that I go by. Sometimes you gotta take two steps forward if you wanna keep a step ahead if you're behind. Or in this case, work on multiple chapters at once to get more progress done for these weekly updates. Oh and in response to people still wanting the fourth wall breaks, I shall leave that to characters to come in when they want to.

Dynamis: *pops in* Good, cause I'm back to pestering you on this. You just love being evil don't you.

Yes, yes I do. XD

I will say this though. I do plan to take a small break after chapter 9 if I don't get the battle chapters done by then, cause these battles are gonna be difficult to write. If you guys hace any advice for fight scenes, just either PM me or comment in a review. I'd really appreciate it.

Dynamis: *nods* Yeah, fight scenes were always your weak point.

You want me to torture you in this story? Then don't insult the writers.

Dynamis: ...I'll behave.

So in this chapter, we start seeing people together in the meeting room, and we do see a bit of the chaos start to form within the group, especially with what I have planned this chapter *Cackles* I don't own MFB, and all OCs belong to their respective owners. Now if you'll excuse me, I need a cough drop. This constant weather change has been affecting my health a lot lately. Curse you winter in giving us freaking below zero temps last week...

Chapter 7 Arrival, part 2

"I see. You did the right thing then Yukina, especially with how quick it happened. This is some unsettling news."

Yukina nodded in agreement as her aunt spoke with her and Lucas, the paladin of ice currently pacing around the room. After her encounter with Caspian beforehand, she had immediately called for a meeting with the two through the link she had with Frost, who still managed to sneak in a scolding in the process. But after seeing the power of the king of Obscure first hand, she couldn't blame Lucas for being unnerved by the news.

"What I don't get is how Yukina could see my father's magic and the other's couldn't. It makes no sense what so ever." Lucas pointed out.

"Perhaps not to those who can't see the the supernatural. But to Yukina and the kingdoms of Tarot and Serene, there is more to this world than what meets the eye." Glacia stated, catching the attention of both Paladin's as she tugged her kimono over her dress before continuing, "There are those who can see what others cannot. You're grandfather was one of those people, Yukina. Being born of Tarot blood, he had the ability to see a person's magic aura. Normally you can only see magic when it is in action. it hides within our forms at rest, but it is still active within us. It creates an aura around us, and each kingdom has a different aura to their people. Few can really see the auras though. Your grandfather Auric and now your are some of the few who can."

"So you're saying, it's a sort of sixth sense?"

"You could say that. It takes time to awaken, but certain events can lead to a premature awakening in certain abilities."

"Like how the pulses of death magic awakened my aura sight?" Yukina asked.

"That's right. However, because few can truly see auras, it's hard to prove that they're real."

"In other words, you still don't have solid proof to expose my father," Lucas added, and Glacia nodded sadly.

"If there was a way to use this ability, it would expose him for who he is. I have no doubt about it that Caspian is behind or part of the pulses of death magic. But unfortunately, few would believe us. Perhaps Hiro or Unmei would, seeing as their rulers of spectral and psychic abilities. But the others would be hard to convince." The queen of Cryos pointed out.

"It looks like we're at a dead end for this lead then. Maybe for now, we should keep spying on Caspian's party." Yukina suggested, and Lucas nodded in agreement.

"I recommend doing it when Noir's by his side. Noir's the dark haired woman that's always by his side, and even when she isn't, she's not very far from him. The right hand lady of Obscure has the ability to melt and blend into shadows." The paladin of ice explained, and Yukina nodded.

"Well for now there's not much we can do in the meantime. The meeting will be starting soon."

"One more thing. How do you know Shiro? I met him once before I ran way to Cryos, but I didn't exactly talk to him."

Yukina sighed in resignation. Somehow, she knew the question was bound to happen. "Remember when I said the former guard of Stratos left for Obscure a while back? That guard was Shiro, better known as Shiro Mizukami, the tempest dancer. He used to be one of the best warriors of mother's court till a certain incident happened. My sister left me to fend for myself in the woods on purpose, and he felt guilty for not being able to prevent me from getting hurt. So he went on a self-exile. It looks like he's doing well though." Yukina pointed out.

"Well, maybe there's still hope for this situation yet." Glacia stated as a plan formed in her mind, "Yukina, do you think you could ask him for some information on Caspian if you get time?"

"I-I can certainly try."

"Spiria, I need to talk to you. This one's really urgent..."

Shiro sighed as he paced back and forth within his room given to him by Yuko. The queen had spent no expense with the guards, rulers, and paladins getting spacious rooms, but the fact that there were skyleaf plants in his room did nothing to calm his distressed nerves at that moment. "Come on you lazy eagle... This is important and right now I'm unnerved. And you know what that means..." The stratos native mumbled.

"You called master?"

A sigh of relief escaped Shiro as a pure white eagle with piercing green eyes appeared out of nowhere, currently cleaning it's feathers as it materialized on a tighter branch of a skyleaf plant. "There you are Spiria! What took you so long?"

"Talking to other familiars within the spirit realm. You know how I get when talking to my kind." Spiria stated as she hopped onto her master's waiting arm, "Shiro, you look very pale. Have you been eating well recently? I told you eating that much peanut brittle was bad for you."

"Spiria, I saw Yukina."

The eagle familiar stopped her scolding as she looked at the other with surprise, "Stratos' crown Princess? My goodness, now that is a good explanation for why you called me. Tell me, what exactly happened dear? Sit down and let Spiria here listen to your distress."

Shiro gave a half smile as he sat down. Contrary to what other people thought, he did have a familiar. Spiria was more of a motherly companion to him, always teaching him to survive after he left Stratos on his self-exile that led him to Obscure. The other was proud of him as he matured, even if not every choice he made was the right one.

"Well, I-I can't say for certain, but I was walking alongside Noir and the King of Obscure when we stopped for a bit. I heard a voice that sounded familiar all of a sudden, and when I asked why we stopped, I spotted Yukina talking to Caspian. S-She looked a bit unwell." The stratos native explained as he handed Spiria a berry, to which she swallowed eagerly, "I know the king has magic that makes others outside of those who serve him uneasy, but I'm not sure if that's just Yukina's anxiety or if it was influence.

"I see. Would you say Yukina has gotten a lot better since you left?" Spiria asked.

"I... cannot say. Perhaps she still has anxiety issues, but has gotten better at hiding it. I can say that she has... How should I say this..."

"Matured?"

"That's the word I'm looking for. She suffered a lot under her sister's hand and cruelty. But that day her sister left her in that forest alone..." Shiro sighed as he shook his head, "Never mind. Spiria, what should I do? I want to talk to her, but I don't want to arouse suspicion under Caspian's gaze. Not to mention my loyalty to my girlfriend."

"Do you still care for her wellbeing?"

"Of course. I may not have a crush on her like I used to in Stratos, but there hasn't been a single day that I haven't worried about her wellbeing. Her sister..." A pause escaped Shiro as he realized something, "My god... No wonder that name sounded familiar. Spiria, I think we need to warn Queen Mizore on this! I may be a rogue of Chaos, but I need to confine in both her and Yukina on this."

"What's wrong Shiro?"

"Nozomi's a rogue of Chaos like I am... Which is a direct threat to Yukina."

"To think they choose you for the Paladin of Stone Koji. I have to admit I didn't think it would happen."

Rosalina chuckled as she, Titania, Ryutaro, and Ranmaru chatted with Koji, Koto joining them. "To be honest it's surprising to me as well. I've heard our reputation is huge outside of Tempora, but to get a letter stating that I was chosen as the Paladin of Stone, well, it's a stroke of luck. And Koto becoming the blacksmith for the paladins is awesome as well!" Koji exclaimed, playing around with the weapon at his side, "Gives me a chance to test this baby out in battle."

Ranmaru gave an odd look at the weapon. "It looks like a sundial Koji."

"It is a sundial actually, Ran. It's fitted with retractable blades that are set so it'll act like a chakram when thrown. It took over two years to complete, and another 5 months to think of a design. I wanted to create something that changes the game in a fight."

"Well, I hope to see more of it in the future. Koto, you mentioned you were chosen as the blacksmith for the paladins, right? Think you can take a look at my blades?"

Koto nodded, and Rosalina watched as Ranmaru tugged out two oriental styled swords from their casing. They looked old, yet there was barely a speck of rust on the platinum metal and rainbow quartz that made up the blades. The hilt was designed with midnight blue goldstone and many different purple and blue gemstones that pulsed with magic.

"These are the serenity blades, if I'm not mistaken. Your father used them when he was a paladin, correct?" Koto asked.

"Yeah, they were passed onto me when I mastered Serene's sword training. All the stones on the hilt are used to boost the efficiency of magic and channel it into the weapons. It's part of a tradition that is a part of both Serene and Tarot. Although, some of the weapons are hard to believe when you first see them," Ranmaru explained as he looked over at his brother, "Enchanted, Razor-edged Tarot cards are some of the more surprising weapons, right Ryu?"

Ryutaro nodded as he tugged out his tarot deck, the edges sharp with mithril blades. "I suppose if you think about it Ran, it's hard to fight fate when it has the power to fight back." The younger male joked, prompting a few giggles from the rest of the group in the room.

"Man, and people say that my jokes fall flat. Still, nice try."

Rosalina looked up to see Nile enter, The paladins of water and fire along with their guards beside them. "Nile, Ryutaro's always had good humor. Don't tell me you're still bitter over that one incident with him a while back," Titania suggested.

"Nah, I'm over that. Besides, I have the badge now that proves my rank as one of Eterna's strongest mage." Nile stated, tugging off one of the badges as holding it out for the other's in the room to see. The badge was a silver, seven pointed star, each point decorated with a different gem. The top point had an amethyst, followed by a celestite, a seraphinite, a heliodor, an amber, a ruby, and finally a morganite in clockwise order.

"Wow, the Solar Flare pin! That usually takes ten years to attain as a mage in Eterna, right? Koji asked.

"To be honest it depends on the person's speed of training. I worked 5 consecutive years both day and night for one. Ryutaro has one given to him by Titania, right milady?"

Titania nodded. "It's one of the many badges that show a mage's progress in training, and I recently earned mine two years ago. I gave it to Ryutaro cause I thought it matched his robes as one of Tarot's strongest mage," The silver haired teen admitted, Ryutaro blushing in embarrassment.

"So each kingdom has different badges and pins to showcase a mage's rank and strength?" Atlantia asked, earning a nod from the trio as she tugged a pin off that was in the shape of a teardrop and decorated with various blue gems, "That's pretty cool. I'm still progressing as a mage in Aquos, though I'm maybe halfway there in strength compared to the other mages. I'm more of a knight compared to a mage. But that's what makes combat more interesting."

"Hey Rosalina, why don't you show Vivia's badges. You keep them in your travelling bag still, am I right?"

Rosalina nodded at Titania question, and tugged the bag onto the table in front of them. "I keep them in the badge case that holds them. I'm a little to shy when it comes to showing off my rank as a mage." The red haired princess admitted as she tugged out a long wooden box from the bag and placed it on the table, "There aren't as many due to life mages have magic that grows a lot stronger over time, since we have to surpress a lot of the magic after we turn 17."

"Right. I keep forgetting that Life mages have the flower rune they get when they turn 17. Yours is the one on your neck that I see peeking out under your braid, right?" Ranmaru asked, and Rosalina nodded as she pushed the braid back to reveal a rose shaped marking on the right side of her neck, "Cool. A little ironic though, given your namesake."

A chuckle escaped the others as Rosalina rolled her eyes and opened the box before turning it around so everyone could see the badges. There were only six of them, but each one had an interesting design, ranging from a seed like badge to a green emerald pin that was in the shape of a tree and decorated with small heliodor spheres. "The Yggsdrail badge is given to those who have mastered some of the strongest magic in Vivia, that's the tree pin you see. The Damascus Rose pin..." Rosalina paused as she held up a rose gold pin in the shape of a rose, the pinkish gold metal decorated with pink diamonds and morganite, "Symbolizes those who have mastered the flower based branch of Vivia's magic. That's where my specialty is."

"So there are several branches to magic in Vivia as well. Aquos has a few, mostly along the lines of using steam, water, and on occasion, ice." Atlantia added, "Which makes sense since ice is water in its solid form. But it's just not as used as much because of it being more of Cryos' specialty range."

"Well, it seems as though everyone's getting along so far."

Rosalina looked up at the door as Dynamis, Felipe, Yukina, Wales, and their guards Kana, Ryuga, Wales, and Sophie entered the room, as well as Aria, the royal adviser of Cryos. Aria was a young woman with tanned skin, pure white hair, and sky blue eyes that sparkled mischievously as she looked around. She wore a more traditional version of some of Cryos' clothes, that being a pair of fur tights under a white skirt, leather boots, and a light blue jacket over a dark blue shirt, a tribal snowflake pattern on the back of the jacket. A pair of pins in the shape of a snowflake and a crystal adorned the right side of her jacket, the silver metal reflecting of the light of the room.

"So, who are we all missing? I just wanna get a headcount in so I can let your mother know Rosalina," Aria stated as she looked around.

"I think just Platina, Ninel, and Emily, Aria."

"I saw Emily and Ninel on my way here. They were talking about jewelry in the hallways."

"That's just my paladin's intrigue of charms. You don't have to worry about that." Everyone in the room jumped as Noir appeared out of nowhere, looks of shock on their faces. "You all look like you've never seen an Obscure mage slip out of nowhere before. Shadow melding is one of my specialties, as are a few... other magic spells. But that's a secret." Noir giggled, her ocean blue eyes looking over the other Paladins before giving Lucas a wave, and Lucas made it a point to ignore the other woman as she feigned sadness. "Aw, don't be like that Lucas. You don't really have any grudges with anyone here, do you?"

"Maybe you should stand down a bit, miss Noir. Interrogating a fellow comrade is rather rude, wouldn't you agree?" Yukina asked.

"Oh, a challenger. You have a lot more spunk despite what your sister Nozomi says."

Yukina's eyes widened as she took a step back, and both Lucas and Rosalina noticed the younger girl trembling slightly. "How do you know my sister!?" The paladin of wind asked, startling a few of the others in the room with her tone of voice.

"Met her once on missions, worked with her on a few of them. I have to agree that she's right on one thing. You don't look like someone who could hurt a person to save the world."

A flinch escaped Yukina, but it was replaced by a somewhat glare as she clenched her hands into fists. "Why don't you face me right now then. I assure you that despite how I look, I'm prepared for a fight when push comes to shove," Yukina stated in a firm voice, wind magic starting to form around them as she grabbed her fans and took a stance.

Noir smirked as she accepted the challenge, unlatching the scythe from her shoulders and raising it slightly above her head. Several looks of panic escaped the others in the room as the two women stared each other down, and a quiet chant of "cat fight' could be heard from Koji before Koto smacked him upside the head. From where she sat, Rosalina sighed. Perhaps this is what mother warned me to prepare for when I become a queen when I'm older...

"As much as a cat fight breaking out would solve the tension building, I don't think Queen Yuko would want a meeting room broken to pieces Noir."

Everyone in the room looked over to see Shiro entering the room, the Paladins of Darkness and Metal and the guard of metal behind him. "We're here to meet and get to know our comrades Noir, not here to make enemies and pick fights." The Stratos Native pointed out as he turned to Yukina, "Could you please put your fans away milady? I don't want anyone getting in trouble here, and I apologize for my superior's antics."

"You should talk Shiro. You pick fights with your fellow soldiers all the time, you featherbrain." Noir retorted.

"Say what you want about me Noir, but keep the Stratos insults out of it. Besides, if I have to be honest, they asked for it. I don't approve of being the butt of you Obscure soldiers Jokes."

The tension in the room eased up greatly as the two girls looked at each other, before disengaging their weapons as Platina and the remaining guards of the paladins singled into the room. Rosalina mouthed a thank you to Shiro, to which the other shrugged his shoulders and sat down, giving Yukina a small wave that was returned.

"Ah, the sound of comrades bonding. Makes me think of when we were their age."

Rosalina gave a sigh of relief as the rulers of Trinity finally made their way into the room, each of them taking their place alongside their paladins and guards as they smoothed out the outfits they wore. The first to enter was her mother, dressed in a traditional red and orange gown that was decorated with gold leaf patterns and a crown of heliodor gems on her head. A kind smile was on her face as she sat down at the table, Rosalina and the son of her chief adviser, Gingka taking their places next to her.

The rulers of Stratos, Pyra, and Tempora were next, and Rosalina noticed the guilty look on Shiro's face as the queen of Stratos moved past him. Mizore wore a light green and blue dress that was covered in silver swirl patterns, and her sky blue hair was adorned with many colored feathers braided into the locks. Like Yuko, it seemed the king and queen of Pyra chose to go with traditional clothes, with Scarlet and Scorch both wearing formal outfits decorated with shades of orange, red, and yellow, mimic the flames of fire mages. As for Tempora, the recently crowned Tsurugi Tsunomaru and his wife Tsuruhime were both dressed in silver and pale blue outfits, reflecting the swords and metals that the kingdom was known for.

Pride sparkled within Zane's eyes as he entered alongside Bianca and Carlino Triton, the rulers of Amour and Eterna. Carlino was a male in his late 40s, with pale, steel blue hair and blue eyes that mimic his daughters. The Eternian king was dressed in white and silver robes, a golden sun pin attached to the left pocket of the clothes. Next to him, Bianca held her husband's hand as she looked over her pink and silver dress that reached her ankles.

Bianca quickly took one look at her oldest daughter's appearance and chuckled. "I suppose that's normal for you Titania. I really wish you would wear a dress to these meetings than your battle clothes sometimes."

"That's for formal parties at the kingdoms mother. Besides, I'm a paladin. I have more important duties that require me not to be restricted by a skirt."

Both husband and wife sat down with a chuckle, both of them sharing amused glances with each other. "She gets her fiery behavior from you dear Carlino."

"I know Bianca. Alexander is the same way."

An air of calm seemed to enter the room as both Unmei and Hiro Fukami entered, both the king of Serene and queen of Tarot dressed in robes of dark blue, gold, and purple. The king of Aquos was soon to follow, and Rosalina noticed how Atlantia stood up straighter as he sat down. Not soon after Iwatora of Diamante entered, along with Glacia and her husband Mitsu. The more serious of the rulers only gave a nod as they sat down, awaiting for the king of Obscure's arrival.

"The king and queen of Serene and Tarot are beautiful," Rosalina heard Yukina whisper to her guard Wales, who nodded quietly in agreement.

"The purples and blues are supposed to reflect the calm wisdom that the mages of both kingdoms contain. Or at least, that's what Ranmaru and Ryutaro told me beforehand." Wales added as both Unmei and Hiro sat down.

No sooner than it entered, the calm atmosphere in the room vanished and an uneasy feeling welled within Rosalina as Caspian entered, his outfit the same as before. Call it a hunch, but after what happened before, something was telling her that something was off. A more confident look was on his face, one that said he would get what he want within this meeting. And after her sickness spell earlier today, she couldn't help but worry for her future wellbeing.

Caspian stopped midway from the table as he looked at both Wales and Lucas before smirking. "Well isn't this a surprise. I didn't expect both of Lucas and Wales to be right here where I could see them. And after 5 years too. How have you been, my sons?"

Everyone in the room turned to look at Wales and Lucas in shock, and Rosalina was quick to notice the one thing that was flashing in the paladin of ice's eyes.

Fear.

"You're both princes of Obscure!?

Ha! The suspense has been unleashed! And I'm loving the fact that I am back with the evil cliffhangers! Also, shout out to Queen for Beta Reading this chapter! Thank you!

So I figured with their being paladins and their guards here, I thought to add a list of who were who. Paladin's names will be on the left side of the list, while guards names will be on the right side.

Dynamis: Kana

Ryutaro: Chao Xin

Titania: Nile

Koji: Kyoya

Felipe: Ryuga

Aurora: Atlantia

Platina: Ruka

Emily: Shiro and Noir (Which will be explained in future chapters, I promise)

Lucas: Sophie

Yukina: Wales

Rosalina: Gingka (Think about it for a sec. He's always full of that fighting spirit and would gladly save the world over and over.)

Ninel: Dashan

Ranmaru: Arc

So for the question of the day, who's your favorite member of the rogues of chaos so far? Personally, I'm not sure, because there's a lot of good drama with all of them. And speaking of the rogues of chaos, we will be seeing more of them in chapter 9.

That's it for this chapter. Until next chapter, this is Warrior signing out! Catch ya on the other side of the nexus!