The Assassin's Way
Part 16 Meat Dr Wolfe
"I am amazed at radio DJ's today. I am firmly convinced that AM on my radio stands for Absolute Moron. I will not begin to tell you what FM stands for."
-Spike 'Tamara' Milligan
22 June 2055
Ruth Big's Bed & Breakfast
Ten am
"Why is it every time I go out for a drink nowadays I end up with the worst fucking hangovers?" Mark asked as he scarfed down his breakfast, head pounding and eyes squinted. He'd be wearing sunglasses if he had them.
"Language!" Grandma Ruthie cried out from the other room. "Or I'll beat your ass myself!" And she would too, she was stong enough, and fast enough. But possibly due to her age it wouldnt be the best of ideas
Blinking, Mark took another slow bite of his food, and then continued his conversation. "And it's always with you, too." he said, pointing at Sazhori, who sat across from him at the table. "You never get drunk though... probably because you drink all that light beer." He grumbled, pointing his fork at her once more before stabbing it into a sausage and engulfing it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly.
"I've drunk worse stuff" iLike motor oil/i Sazhori replied. But she didnt state WHAT she drank as a kid growing up. "Either way, we got the funds for the group here. The Pit Crew needed those gems. I've never seen a Human go that daffy over a gemstone before" She was right. The Assassins needed those gems and the money with them to fund the various house building projects.
Tony was seated at table, going over the bills. "Without those gems we wouldnt be able to pay the bills either" he said.
Though it was the way Tony spoke that had Sazhoris undevided attention and she turned to Mark "I heard about yesterday afternoon... That shadow boxing run" As she spoke a fant hum went off, like nails on a blackboard but everyone acted normal except that only Mark heard it. "How can one fight someone who died a million years ago ?"
But then it wasnt just nails on a blackboard no it was like metal... on glass ?
Mark was mostly quiet, but when he heard the sound of metal on glass, he dropped his fork, the thing clanging on the plate, causing everyone to look at him. His eyes blazed bronze, and he was eerily still for someone with a hangover. He heard it again, and he turned his head, and lo and behold, there she was. Yaeko. Well, where she'd appear; he could see the deformation in the world; the mist that was forming her body before him.
Man she was pretty.
Pretty deadly as a throwing knife whizzed past his face, Mark having moved his head slightly to the side to avoid it. Standing, Mark's armor glittered onto his body, his Hidden Blades slowly extending from their spots in his gauntlets, his clawed fingers rolling gently, as if ready to draw his pistol in a duel. His chin lowered and his feet slid into a very offensive stance, weight centered on his toes.
So focused was Mark that he had the undevided attention of both Tony and Sazhori with his movements, the room was errily quiet, save for the sounds of metal on glass. Yaekos hidden blade of her left hand Mark could see trailing on the glass of the sliding door to the back porch as she seemed to walk towards him
So quiet the room was that it was Ruth's words jerking the three back to reality "Oi! Not in my Dinning Room! You gonna shoot the place up, do it outside on the range!" Sazhori was erily quiet as well, Her hand went to her shoulder and she brushed her feathers slightly, as if she had a itch. She kinda did as her shadow briefly danced before it stoped just as it started.
Being Blessed by Light helped a lot in the long run. one of the bonuses was a defense against darkness
Mark's eyes went back to normal and he remembered where he was, and he looked towards the direction of Ruth's voice before looking back to where he had seen Yaeko. She was still there, and even beckoned to him with her index finger, a small smile, a playful smile even, on her face. What was she up to? As she drifted backwards, he moved forward, Hidden blades retracted enough for him to open the door and step outside, his other hand raising his coat-hood, the very light snow not a welcome feeling on his bare skin. Why it was snowing in June he'd never know, but then... he could be trapped in the Bleeding Effect, and seeing and feeling the snow that Yaeko wanted him to feel.
Stopping again, Mark's eyes began to glow again, and once more he assumed his stance, blades extending outwards from their hidden slots, claws poised and ready, weight on his toes, knees bent, chin lowered. He was ready for her. From Sazhori's shadow, a faint, almost inaudible hiss of annoyance may have been heard just before it stopped dancing.
Watching Mark briefly look at Ruthie, then exit the dining room to the back deck without a word and putting up his hood, once more settling into a fighting stance Sazhori absently polished her nails on her right hand after scratching her feathers. Asking to Tony as she did so "Am I seeing things ?"
He shook his head "Nope, Somebody we cant see, well, can see in a certain view. Wants to do more shadowboxing" Big Tony explained
Ruthie raised her canesword towards Mark and pointed it at him. "That boy has problems, if he shoots up the house I'm gonna have to call the Cleaners again, and they did a mighty fine job cleaning the place up after those home invaders stopped in" Then the doorbell went off. "I'll get it, you guys keep an eye on him."
As Mark settled into his stance, Yaeko seemed relaxed. mist and steam rolled off her body making her appear otherworldly, yet prettier than expected. Her other hidden blade silently slid into view. Both weapons so ornate, made of the same material as her twin swords... a beautiful blend of purple, pink and gold. With a strange flowery design and her personal crest upon both weapons.
It was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Then the doorbell rang. and apparently Yaeko took that to mean the second round was starting. And she struck. Fast.
Mark was quick to react, and moved towards her, using a minimalist movement of his body to narrowly dodge her strike while striking up at her with the same speed and intensity, his own ornate blade, the Wolfe Family blade of his left hand, whislting through the air towards her throat, his right blade staying close to his body to counter anything his ancester had in mind for him. If there was one thing he knew about Yaeko, it was how damn good she was with blades, both making them, and using them in combat. He'd not let his guard down for even a second.
The mist made it hard to track where Yaeko was as Mark faced her. the snow fell around them and it did nothing to slow her movements down, infact the snow aided in keeping her one fraction of a second ahead of Marks movements. As his hidden blade went for her neck, What should have been her adams apple getting stabbed ended up being aught but a snowflake getting shattered into six pieces as Yaeko imoved/i around him. Smacking hard at the hidden blade aiming for her throat with the flat side of her left hidden blade she made for his face.
The scar he had from Taris was still there... And once more it seemed to bleed freely. She backtracked fast before coming back. A sheer blur of power as she aimed for him anew. quickly catching and locking their right blade, his right, her left, together. which then left his left hand, her right hand to fend and attack for a few moments
But there was another guest watching the fight with interest. Easily seeing her grandmothers fighting skills that thuis unknown man was fighting with.
Mark's face moved with the blade as it reopened the scar from Taris, blood trailing down most of his face again, starting on the right side of his face, and going across to his left jaw. As it bled, he blinked and furrowed his eyebrows, able to track Yaeko's movements, however the sudden pain in his jaw made him stumble, her next attack missing narrowly. Seems she hit the nerve that Taris had missed all that time ago, his cheek twitched uncontrollably for a second before relaxing again.
After the two of them locked hands and blades, Mark used his head, literally, and landed a headbutt to Yaeko's nose before lifting his boot to kick her back, spinning afterwards, a flurry of strikes in all directions keeping Yaeko on her mythical toes before he stopped, facing her, exhaling softly, his breath visible. Mark wasn't aware of the guest, but then, he was so engrossed in the bleeding effect that he wasn't aware of most things.
With the others watching they all noticed the bleeding of his face "Is that supposed to happen ?" Sazhori asked out of the blue
"The boy is suffering from the Bleeding Effect I think, seen it before when Abstergo did those experiments before they perfected the system. But from what my boy here told me last night, Mark never used an Animus before, only something the CIA had, a Dreamshare thingamabob" Ruth said
"Exactly, I even said he could use our animus system in the basement, never got an answer from him." Big Tony replied
But it was the newcomer who smirked "Allow me" She said sliding the door open and stepping onto the deck behind Mark.
If she was aware of her grandaughter approacaing Mark from behind Yaeko mimicked her pose rather well enough and sidestepped, forcing Mark to side step the oppisite direction, a circle, to keep Yaeko in his line of sight. She stopped however and Kamerilah basically stepped into her misty form.
A second or two later Yaeko retracted her right hidden blade and withdrew a sword hilt, the purple and gold duradaeden blade sprang from the hilt with a influx of mistlike energy. Sword and hidden blade. a good combination to be sure.
Another second passed, then another, then a third. Yaeko struck, fast, But it was the strangest sound. Like dull metal against a proper hidden blade. Wasnt her swords made of the most worthless metal known to man ? Duradaeden couldnt why the dull sounds ?
But it was Kamerilah, the bleeding effect slowed. Yaeko had black hair, not black with hints of green... A whack out of nowhere and Yaeko disaappeared, leaving Mark in the Bleeding Effect briefly before another whack and his right hidden blade was somehow disengaged ? The locking mechanism clicking into place skillfully
With Mark still in the bleeding effect, he only managed a quick glance to his right blade as it disengaged and was locked, blinking as he hopped back quickly, onto the railing of the deck, landing lightly as his right arm moved to the hilt of his sword on his back, ready to draw it in order to continue to engage Yaeko, her previous strike having apparently locked his hidden blade back into its sheath within the gauntlet he'd made.
Narrowing his eyes he faltered, the bleeding effect still strong, but fading; it seemed its time was beginning to run out; he was too far engrossed in it to believe he was even in the bleeding effect anymore, and his instincts and senses were going into overdrive. Why were there streaks of green in Yaeko's hair? What in the hell was going on?
Just what did he drink last night?
Click
That was it, a smack and a click, and his left hidden blade was disengaged as Kamerilah then smacked Marks hand as it went for his sword. A hand, slender, thinner than even Yaekos own hands, aimed for his chest, two nerves were hit, easily enough to land a man dead on his ass. But this was to jerk him back into reality.
Briefly he saw Yaeko, her back to him, her left hidden blade trailing along the window glass as she faded into mist. She looked back at him over her right shoulder, a sly smile on her lips as round two had come to a close.
But it was a new female voice that spoke "Welcome back to the land of the living Master Wolfe." When he looked her way who might have been mistaken for her grandmother was a woman who was the same height as him at that moment, the mongolian design of the Arendellian dress was unmistakable for sure. Yet it was more Eastern at the time but that didnt matter. "Or should I say, Mark Wolfe ? My grandmothers decendant."
Wait... what the hell ?
Mark narrowed his eyes at the woman's words. Grandmother's descendant? If grandmother meant Yaeko then she could be anyone, Yaeko was a busy woman. With the Mongolian dress design it sort of narrowed it down, though his memory was clouded by the pain in his cheek from the damaged nerve and from the bleeding effects after-effects.
"I am Mark... And you are?" He asked in return, turning to face the woman.
"Kamerilah Wolfe... " Kamerilah said in reply, but couldnt say more then that as Mark struck faster than a snake, grabbing her by the throat, hand squeezing natually, the claws of his gauntlet digging into her skin, however his hidden blade remained locked back. The others stepped onto the deck, Sazhori reaching for her shoulder to get at one of her featherdaggers when Kamerilah spoke, not towards Mark, but towards the others "Relax, I got this." Sazhori halted her movement and stepped backwards half a step as Mark's grip seemed to loosen slightly as she looked directly at him, eye level. "Mark, calm down, you're suffering from a broken mind. if you can calm down I can explain why I am here. Why I... am not dead... Jack ?" Kamerilah then saw Big Tony in the full stepping onto the deck.
Mark blinked, his lip involuntarily twitching again. While one hand went to his face, his other finally released Kamerilah's neck, pulling his hand back rather sheepishly.
i"Broken isn't the word I'd use, but she's not wrong..."/i Kalda mumbled, briefly appearing in a flash before Mark, a full bottle of draconian whiskey in his hand before vanishing from sight.
"Im... sorry I attacked you. Kamerilah. I don't know why... I did that."
Kamerilah smiled simply then, the moment of tense standof had passed as Mark by then was fully out of the bleeding affect. She took a deep breath, her hand naturally going to her throat to feel for injury, there was nothing she could feel other then slight brusing. "It is alright, you had every reason to attack me. But then again I rendered you harmless." Mark then saw clearly the scar on her face. a cross scar, ragged and old. Tony even recognised it but said nothing at that moment
With Mark then calm a moment or so later the group was seated on the deck chairs allowing Kamerilah to explain what she could. "After my brothers died" She started. "Things started happening in my life that I knew I could not control So I left home, I wandered, until I settled in the east. I went to where the sun rose. not to where it set. And started a family."
As Mark relaxed and listened to her story, he leaned back against the railng of the deck, and his armor glittered away. Keeping his eyes on the woman who spoke to him, he nodded along as she spoke, almost hardly seen but there, to show he was listening. "You started a branch in the east?" Mark searched his memories for the research he'd done on the Wolfe Clan back at Arendelle. Yes... Yes there was a branch of the Wolfe Clan in the East. Mongolia, if he wasn't mistaken. "Mongolia, right?" he confirmed.
Kamerilah nodded "Indeed" She said simply
"Mongolia ? The home of whatshisface ?" Tony wasnt good with history, but he only knew that Genghis Khan was from Mongolia. Kamerilah nodded again.
"Kahn... the guy who tried to invade most of the world, yeah..." Mark answered, glancing to Tony. He noted the scar then, on Kamerilah's face, and he tilted his head slightly. "What's that scar?" he asked, nodding to it.
"Who do you think gave him the idea ?" Kamerilah asked with a smirk that soon faded at the question. A slender hand went to it. An eye cast briefly to Big Tony who simply nodded. It was a very complicacted thing, from a million years ago. For a million, she looked great. Aside from the scar that was dug into her face, one old and aged, the other raw and newer.
She traced a finger down the older scar "This, was from my first target, a woman and revolutionary sentienced to die. She was stubborn" Kamerilah said, then tracing the second scar she said "This one, from the man she was to marry." Well that explained the scars, but now why she was there. Somehow she was alive, and in the modern world, and nobody even tried to take the sword from her Possibly because it was completely useless and more of a walking stick
Mark blinked slowly at that, but smirked with her to help lighten his own mood. His own knowledge fo Kamerilah's history was shaky at best - what books he could find in Elsa's many libraries were limited, focusing mainly on only what happened in Arendelle. Finally, Mark asked the question that would point out the elephant on the Deck.
"How are you still alive? If you are Yaeko's grand-daughter that would make you..." he ran the quick calculation in his head. "At least a million years old?"
"That... Is a very good question" Kamerilah said pointing briefly at Mark. "Last thing I remember was going to sleep, and never waking up. Next thing I know, I am here. Some grave robbers trying to rob my tomb. And a slew of dead come alive. Finding out why I am awake and alive I feel as if... I feel as if I simply took a long nap"
"You dont look it" Tony said
Sazhori remained oddly quiet through the whole thing then asked as it was suddenly quiet to Mark "Who were you fighting that we couldnt see ?"
"Yaeko." Mark answered her question. "She... keeps appearing to me; fighting me. I think she's trying to teach me something, but I can't figure it out yet." he continued. "She only appears for a few... minutes at most; and I guess only I can see her." he added. So Kamerilah barely woke up, huh? Doesn't explain her lack of aging, but he supposed he'd get a question to that in due time, especially as Kalda continued to regain some of his memories and explain more of the past to him.
"If Grandmother is trying to get ahold of you. She must have a reason to use the crystal connections. She forbid us to use it during the War" Kamerilah said. She mentioned a war. The question now was, what war ?
"Crystal Connections or not, Yaeko is dead." Kalda appeared, sitting with a leg crossed over the other at the knee at the patio table. "How you're interacting with her with no one else seeing is... beyond even my knowledge."
"I thought you'd be the one guy who'd know." Mark replied.
"Can't help you here." Kalda grunted, fading again.
"This had better start making more sense here in a minute or I'm whackin' someone." Ruthie grunted, crossing her arms over one another.
When Kalda formed a soft smirk appeared on the Battousai's face "Commander." She said in greeting to the new arrival. Wait, what ?
It was Sazhori that spoke up "Commander ?"
"During the War, Battle of Crystal Mountain. North of Arendelle, west of of the Wolfe Mausoleum. One of the last few battles during the Crystal War." Of course after her brothers were slain and the war was over, Kamerilah had traveled to Mongolia and started another branch of the Wolfe clan there. which then meant that with her knowledge of said War. It meant she was a very important, and highly skilled soldier.
Who carried a useless sword that somehow entirely disarmed Mark
Tony smirked "Ma, I dont want to have to make another Reseveration so soon after the last one" He said remembering the last time Ruthie had whacked somebody, she had knocked off, twelve guys that invaded her home.
"Manslayer." Kalda replied calmly in greeting to Kamerliah. "Youngest of four, and the most skilled..."
"You know her?" Mark raised an eyebrow at Kalda, pointing at Kamerilah.
Kalda nodded as as the woman explained about the Battle of Crystal Mountain. "That was a fun fight, if I recall... claimed a good couple hundred kills there. Pissed off a few trolls too." he took a shot of the Draconian Whiskey he brought with him. "What have you been up to, since then?" he asked Kamerilah.
"Starting a family after I traveled east to where the sun rose when the war was over" Kamerilah said simply. she wasnt expecting that Kalda would be there."The Crystal Defenders, Patroits one might call them now. Ended up victorious." Of course there was the problem of why she was alive, someone woke her up from the clutches of death. But for what ?
"I remember reading about the Crystal Wars as a child. My sisters had to sneak out all sorts of data crystals for me to read from" Sazhori spoke up, giving a confused look towards Kalda, he sounded like Mark, but looked nothing like him in that get up, plus what he was drinking smelled great.
"The Crystal War was only the first of many battles, In my generation it happened twice, but I did not take part in the second rebellion or defenses" Kamerilah said. "By then I had moved on to other things, began wandering." There were some legends of the Wandering Swordswoman ten years after the battle of Crystal Mountain. A legend of a killer who killed men and women alike like an ogre. A woman so skilled she had simply disappeared after the war.
"Off to Mongolia..." Kalda finished her thought. "Making quite the name for yourself." He took another drink of his Draconian Whiskey and then filled the glass. "Where you started that family of yours... how are Yang and Yin?" he asked.
"Not in their tombs" Kamerilah said
Ruthie looked to Kalda with squinted eyes, and then to the bottle and glass in his hands. "What are you drinking there? And can I have some?"
Kalda paused, looking to his glass, then to Ruthie. "Only the Finist Draconian Whiskey aged for Light knows how long. It'll knock you on your ass if you're not ready." he offered her the glass, which she took. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Try me." Ruthie said, taking the whole glass in a single shot, and smacking her lips, nodding. "Not bad. I'm going to go sleep off my Liver now. Be back in time for dinner if I don't die." she said, hobbling away to her room. Kalda raised his eyebrows, a concerned, shocked look on his face as he watched her go, before his normal expression returned and he looked back to Kamerilah.
"When I awoke in my tomb, my first thought was why am I alive, why was I awake, so I left the tomb, my vault, and theirs were both empty, even stripped of their weapons. Their stone coffins open and clean as if brand new" Kamerilah said
"So there's more family awake and alive? Just... Just how much of the Wolfe Clan iisn't/i dead right now?" Mark asked, running a hand through his hair in disbelief. Luna, Hidden Flute, his father, Now Kamerilah and her daughters...
Then, as if on cue, Yaeko made another appearance, over his shoulder, causing Kamerilah and Kalda to snap their heads towards her, Mark was deathly still. "More than you know." she whispered into his left ear, a sly smirk on her face before she immediately faded away. The shared looks on Mark and Kalda's faces asked one question:
"How and What the actual Fuck?"
However it was only one question that Kamerilah asked as she pointed at the draconian whiskey "Can I borrow that a second ?"
Unknown time
Unknown place
Twelve figures sat in a circular room of bright white. The crystal floor beneath their feet showed a rather interesting pattern upon the floor as a map of magic formed and shifted relentlessly. "Tell me again why we bother with mortals and Mythics alike ?" One of the hooded beings grumbled, its arms crossed over the broad chest.
"Like we have a choice" Said another
"So it was not our doing to bring the Battousai and her offspring into the modern world ?" Said the first to speak
"Yeah, it was they that wanted it" Said a third hooded figure
"They ?" Said the first
"Yes, They Requested their resurrection to the modern world, we could do nothing to stop Them" Said a fifth
It seemed that there was hours of complete silence. Finally. "So it seems that even we are powerless to stop even the Auditors" Said the very first to speak
"Not entirely" Said a sixth figure
"You have a plan ?" Asked the first
"What say we throw in a hand of fate to have some fun ?" The sixth figure withdrew from nowhere a hand of seven cards and drew one "Let them toy with how much fun we can have on such a day as this ?"
The first to speak raised a hand. "No. Not just yet. let us wait and see what troubles her daughters get into. The world knows its history, the twin girls of the Battousai are troublemakers, unlike their mother, they leave a trail of dead, whereas their mother leaves a trail of the living but wounded in her wake"
"How long must we wait ?" Asked the sixth figure as it put away the cards.
"Long enough, They also woke up her grandmother. She should be in Sacremento soon..." Said the first hooded figure. well that changed things greatly. Yaeko Wolfe herself, awake, alive, and still quite young. Light's Blessing was a powerful thing. Yaeko herself was a powerful and skilled woman able to defend herself with a paperclip and box of kleenex. She made the Star Council nervous even as a child.
3PM that same day
Sacremento California
Observatory
Two bodies were dumped near a dumpster, the group of men all but tossed them out of the hovertruck, One of them landed head first in a trashcan and rolled a bit screaming about being blinded before her sibling kicked the thing off her. Yin dusted herself off and dove to catch her gear as the thugs tossed the bundle at the twins. Swearing at the thugs in mongolian, which was a mix in some cases of Russian and Chinese mixed with possibly norse or japanese it was hard to tell as the two girls untangled their gear from the bundle
"Where are we ?" Yang asked her younger sister
"Looks familar doesnt it ?" Yin replied
"You think ? This is where we first arrived in this Light forsaken place!" Yang grumbled as she slid her swords to their proper place on her back, both of the twin swords looked identical to her mothers reverse blade sword
"Alright so we're where we landed when we... landed that first time..." Yin complained as she rubbed her backside. "Where are we ?"
"You asked that already sis" Yang replied
"SHUT IT YANG" Yin retorted loudly landing on pavement with your butt and no coushin ihurt like fuck/i
The sounds of Boots scuffing the ground as their owner strolled through the observatory reached their ears. Simple investigation would reveal Mark, wandering, lost in thought again, his hands unsure if they wanted to stay behind his back or hand at his sides or be held in front of him, or if he wanted to cross his arms, shifting position every so often. He eventually stopped, arms crossed, at the spot where Talak had found out his identity, after trying to turn him into an animal like Miao. Where his Masquerade Mask had taken the blunt of it, and become a relic, and where he felt an old twang in his heart for the woman whose heart he'd shattered all those years ago.
With his hood down, Mark's sun-bleached skin was clearly visible, and the hairs growing back along his jawline were also visible in the sunlight. Thick, black hair, regrowing the beard he had shaved for the very event he almost died at in this spot a mere few weeks ago. He smirked, and let out a soft chuckle. Funny how he came back here, even though he had no intention of ever doing so again.
With the bickering of the two young women over where they were they nearly missed seeing Mark as he paced in the area he nearly was magically killed within. If it wasnt for his mask he'd have become... well something not human. As the two women passed the hall Mark stood in they barely glanced his way as they went around a corner before one of them, Yin, Poked her head back around the corner and looked at him. Looking behind the corner she ducked back around, voices could be heard "He looks ... kinda like what that guy Great Grandma made those swords for looks like" Said one voice , that of Yin
"In other words he 'Looks cute'" Said another, more mature sounding voice.
"Yes that exactly" Said the first voice
A second of silence and two heads poked around the corner, both female. then ducked back behind the corner, the second voice spoke up "You are thinking with your reproductive system again, stop it"
"Dont knock it until you try it sis!" Said the younger voice
An strained sound was heard as the second voice spoke. "Why am I not dead ?"
"Lets ask him ?" Said the first voice.
"What, 'Hi we're supposed to be dead over a million plus years, why are we alive ?' you think he'd know why we're alive ?" Said the second voice
A second or two of silence was heard then "Not really no, but it's worth asking" a solid WHACK was heard followed by a high pitched OW!
"You're both very loud." Mark said, not looking towards them. Kalda briefly appeared again, and Mark's head twitched as he looked to where the Dragon had flashed into view for a few seconds. "And as how you're alive... Light's Blessing is my best guess. Your mother is likewise alive." he said. He strolled over to the edge of the balcony, his hands moving to rest behind his back as he gazed out over the city. He glanced over his shoulder towards where the corner they were peeking around, and then turned back to face the city, smiling. They were both cute; but his heart was set on another, and besides, despite the time-gap between their births... they were still blood. That was a no go.
"Yang and Yin Wolfe. Welcome to the land of the living again." he said. Finally he turned to face them. "I am Mark Wolfe. Current Clan Leader."
"You're being awfully formal right now. One might almost think you were a mentally stable man in Arendelle again." Kalda's voice commented in his head. Mark tilted his head and grunted in an annoyed, dismissive way. He'd rather not think about Arendelle yet. "Perhaps I should have just said "back to your old ways" then? No? Very well."
"See, I told you it was worth asking" Said Yin from around the corner, which was followed by another hard WHACK then another second or two of silence before both women stepped into Marks full view. The way they were dressed was clearly mongolian, at least ancient mongolian, nothing like the modern stuff one saw on TV or hologram vids. Just by how the two were dressed even made it clear Some Arendelle infilences, but mostly all Mongolian
But there were also some Chinese infulences too, in the way they were dressed pertaining to their colors, whereas Yin wore flashier more colorful of an outfit of purple, green and black, Yang, her elder twin sister wore simply a white robelike outfit edged in black and gold. The two halted a pace or so from Mark where he stood on the balcony overlooking the city of Sacremento and Vitas massive tower palace in the afternoon sun. "So you know us and we know you. But..." Yang started to say before Yin cut her off
"You met Mother ?"
Then they both got a good look at his haggard expression, Yang spoke "What happened to you ? You look like you have seen a ghost."
Mark nodded. "Yeah I met her... nice enough lady." he said. He wouldn't mention Yaeko's appearances if he could help it. At Yang's question, he turned his head to her, considering her question. "Of a sort, yes. Don't worry though, I'll live." he said. i"Like... eighty-five percent sure I will anyway."/i he thought.
"How did you two get to Sacremento? Your mother doesn't know how she got here either." he asked.
"That's what we want to know" Yin said giving her sister a dirty look when her mouth was covered to keep her from wisecracking abot the ghost comment. She felt latent, dead magic in the area, it was harmless magic for that matter which was fine for her to deal with., the ulaks on her belt looked similar to what a certain former tiger-against-her-will young woman used.
"One moment we're asleep, dead, our spirits free in the Etheral Courts then the next thing we know, we're gettting out of our stone coffins as if trying them on for size, they never rotted out, nor did our bodies" Yang explained,
"All I remember is getting up, getting my stuff, then... landing on my ass in a metal thing that really stank" Yin said, an interesting pair these two were.
"But enough about us" Yang said, giving a pointed look to her sister who shut up fast "What about you ? Why are you here ?"
Mark looked off to the distance when asked why he was here. "I'm here... to try and repay a debt... in a way." he said. "To do that... I'm removing the Templar influence here in any way I can." He said. Holding up a hand, he stopped the inevitable question of Templars, and quickly gave them a rundown of the Templar - Assassin conflict, and then cleared his throat.
"I'm assuming your mother would want to see you... Would you like to see her?" He asked, ready to open a Transport Array.
Yang crossed her arms over her cest as her sister spoke "Mom is alive ? Oh goody goody!" Steepling her fingers Yin paced a few paces before speaking anew "Mom is alive, we're alive, Mom doesnt kill things anymore, but we do..." Absently she started twilring a curved ulak blade in one hand effortlessly. for being dead a million years both girls looked no older than Marks own age
Before she could speak further a scratching noise was heard by all three. But try as they might they could not find the source of the sound as in another realm, a mirror verse so to speak, a woman walked, her hidden blade leaving a trail along the observator glass railing, like nails on a chalkboard. The end result was the strange sound, and then moments later, the line appearing in the glass... Of course only two were focused on it, by that Point Mark seemed to fall in on himself and looked to the two young women like a ranting loonatic that was talking to himself
"Irral." Kalda said, appearing before Mark.
"Who? What? When?"
"Irral, the First Son? The first Champion of Light? C'mon keep up."
"Okay... what about him?"
"He's alive. Somewhere. And he was mentioned by Yaeko in her journal. If my memory serves, that was just before he ... well, vanished." Kalda crossed his arms. "And the last known location was Arendelle."
"If you're trying to make me go back there, you've completely lost it." Mark crossed his arms. "And why is it taking Yaeko showing up to make you show up?"
"We're linked... Yaeko to Irral, Irral to Me, and thus, me to Yaeko." Kalda answered. Mark raised his eyebrows, lifting hand as if to ask "So what?" Kalda groaned and shook his head. "You're dense today, Mark. You goin' blonde on me?" Kalda seemed to have picked up on some human humor.
"Hair's still black, ain't it? Also I just had a fight with my ancestor this morning during breakfast, then had to eat said breakfast cold. GImme a minute." Mark grumbled.
"Irral had a kid with Yaeko if I recall, too. And she made me my swords."
"Why is this relevant?"
"You'll see eventually. Stop talking to yourself now, your ancestors look about ready to clonk you on the head." Kalda crossed his arms, and nodded to the twins before fading. Mark looked to the two and blinked as Yin was about to knock on his forehead.
"Before you ask, no... I'm not okay. Let's go see your mom, eh?" he nodded, a Transport array appearing in between them. A moment later and they were at Ruth Bigs house with Yin once more landing in the dumpster complaining about exit velocity but their mother nowhere to be found, however they did meet up with Sazhori.
"Kamerilah had something she wanted to look into, said it was important and she'd see us at dinner" The Raven said, giving a confused look to the two women one of whom was fishing out her sister from the dumpster. a few moments later the two girls had a room nowhere near a dumpster and Mark and Sazhori were off to their next objective. a hospital for certain bits of information.
Unfortunately that hospital had a security guard and Sazhori could sneak in the back way via food service as Mark had to resort to using a local meat company labcoat style coat in place of his normal assassin coat. Of course the meat company logo was on the back "Kumar Meat Company "Nobody paid it any heed whatsoever as Mark also had one of those doctor intruments around his neck with the mirror on his headband which naturally made him a bonafide doctor. As he walked through the hospitals halls to the receving area, the PA system went off "Dr Kilmar, Dr Kilmar to surgery. Dr Kavorkian, Dr Kavorian to Mr Sinars room, Drs Gilmore, Raines,Simbals, and Dr Frank report to payroll for a really big check"
So as he stepped into the main receiving the place for a moment was empty as a tomb. At least until the explosion went off. A flood of people swarmed into the room screaming randomly "Hurricane!" said one, "Tornado!" Yelled another "El Nino" Said still a third "A ocean liner sunk an iceberg!" Screamed someone else as a nurse ran into view and saw the nametag off the sethescope around Marks neck
"Thank goodness you're here, Dr... Sanchez. Because of cutbacks, you are the only doctor on duty for the next hour" She told him. This of course would mean more lives saved over slain
Gritting his teeth behind a forced smile, Mark nodded, and then cleared his throat. "Of course... let's get to work. Worst Condition first, then we'll work our way down the list. Sound good?" he asked. The nurse nodded and led him down the corridor, and rounded the corner into the first room; groans and moans of pain resounded everywhere. Mark sighed, the air was stale and boring. It'd be a long day; figured he'd have some fun.
Walking in, he would see a man with four bullet wounds to the torso and a knife-wound to the chest, already closed up and wrapped, but still bleeding. The Nurse handed him the man's Charts and Mark looked them over, pretending he knew what he was doing. "Mhm..." He nodded. "So basically he won't stop bleeding?"
"Correct, Dr."
"Have you tried Leeches?"
"E-excuse me?"
"Leeches. Y'know.. little blood-sucking worms? Trust me it'll work. Put like.. four in each wound. Five for the knife wound, just to see what happens. If it heals faster than the others, put another on the other wounds, update me in an hour on his condition."
Not one to ask too many questions, the Nurse set to work and Mark walked out. Turns out the man had an infection that the bacteria in the Leech's saliva cured, and allowed the blood to clot.
Next room was a man covered with burns from a fireworks mishap, groaning endlessly about how much it hurts. Looking the man over Mark chewed the inside of his lip and poked at the man's skin, nodding and humming in affirmation as the man practically screamed in pain. "Milk Bath. Definitely."
"M-milk?"
"Yeah... works on your mouth when you eat chili, don't it? It'll work here." Mark walked out without another word. It worked.
Next man had a massive tape-worm, and was awaiting surgery for it. "No need." Mark said. Gesturing to the door, the Nurse hesitantly closed it and Mark set the man's charts down. "Alright Mr... Michaels. This might hurt... just a fair warning." With that Mark slammed a fist into the man's lower stomach, causing him to lurch in pain, and start coughing, just enough for the end of the tapeworm to come out his nose. "Ah, spaghetti anyone?" Mark said, putting on some gloves and slowly pulling out the tapeworm like a magic-trick. Thing was taking forever to come out... "Nurse.. I'll let you handle this. Burn it when you're done; or use it as a lasso up to you."
Next patient was a pregnant woman in labor. Mark raised his eyebrows and scratched his head. "I'll admit I've never delivered a baby before... But not to worry Dr. Wolf- I mean Sanchez will get your baby safe, ma'am." He smiled, nodding.
"You're probably going to kill a kid today." Kalda muttered.
"If you can do it better feel free to take over for a couple minutes." Mark retorted. He got no reply. Looking under the sheet, Mark could see that the baby was crowning. Supressing his urge to look away from the miracle before him, he nodded. "Looks like 'e's stuck... Nurse, Salad Spoons please."
With some tinkering and fancy salad-spoon techniques, the Baby girl came out healthy and very loud, the Nurses taking over from there as Mark left the room, shuddering. That wasn't as miraculous as documentaries and holovids made it seem.
Next patient was a heat casualty, the poor preteen girl was dehydrated and unconscious. Checking her vitals, Mark looked at his watch and considered for a moment before taking a glass of water from the counter and rather rudly splashing the girl's face, waking her up as she sputtered, and he held her another glass. "Drink. But sip it. If I have to come back in here because you're puking up the water I'll just knock you back out." He said sweetly, smiling. The girl nodded.
Next man was a fresh gunshot wound victim awaiting surgery. he turned to the nurse and rattled off a list "Get me a pair of pliers, a bottle of Vodka, some Scotch, oh and pain killers... Morphene if you got 'em. And for the patient... hold him down." The Pliers Mark used to pluck a hang-nail off his finger, the scotch he drank, the vodka he poured on the wound to sanitize it. Then he reached into it with his pinky and with a grunt, hooked the bullet and pulled it out, setting it on the tray full of tools. "Make that into a necklace or something for him. Alright, sew him up he should be fine. Report in... twenty minutes?" He lived, full recovery.
The next man, a Templar covered in bruises from a fight with a Drunken Assassin recruit in a bar, Mark simply left, marking "Too far gone, should have been brought in earlier." on his charts. He died from sheer brain truama.
"Okay... this is the last one?" Mark asked, the Nurse nodded. A child, a young boy no older than seven, one leg already in a cast, the other leg terribly broken. "Oh... Okay." Mark looked at the x-rays, classic femur fracture, right through. "Right... well... good news is I don't have to re-set the bone. No signs of internal bleeding, no need to cut him open. Just splint it and cast. Easy day. You'll be on your feet in no time kiddo" Mark said giving the young boy a pat on the shoulder. Mark was right, the boy was able to walk out of the hospital with his parents fifteen moments later Walking out, Mark sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow as he ducked into a side office. He had a new-found appreciation for Doctors.
Unfortunatly a very suspicous security guard within the hospital cornered Mark at that moment, his back to the hallway that a certain Raven was walking out of in partial shock at the oddly and in some cases, miraculously healed patients as the guy was focused on Mark "I want to speak to you" He said pointing at the guy, but he never got to as Sazhori clobbered the man from behind with a large metal bowl, the guards head went off with a solid BONG and he collapsed to the floor out cold "So Doctor, how was work ?" She had a smirk on her face
"While you were busy saving lives, I got what you came for" She handed him a sheet of paper, it didnt take too long to get the information for a certain winged woman named Spike and her eating habits. Then again with the latent magic in her bloodstream thanks to Vitas triggering her wings made for normal food poisoning a no go.
"Exhausting, saved everyone except one guy. But I wouldn't worry too much about him, he was a lost cause to begin with." Mark said, lowering his voice so only Sazhori could hear him. Hiding the body of the Security guard quickly, Mark and Sazhori quickly made their way towards the exit, Mark taking off his cheap stage-play quality costume that miraculously worked, and tossing it to the side, missing the coat rack entirely and the thing landing in a heap on the floor.
Once in the car, Mark looked over the file, nodding as he read it quickly but carefully. He grumbled as he started the car. "Food poisoning is boring anyway." he muttered, handing the file back to Sazhori. Back to Ruthie's house they went, the drive smooth and cool, the radio playing some old country music that Mark nodded his head to sometimes depending on the song. Sazhori didn't understand it at all, but didn't complain; it was only a half hour drive anyway. She'd live.
To Mortals music was music. But this didnt sound like music, it sounded more like above ground nuke tests with the way the sound system on the car made it, yeah, nuke tests to words. "How can you listen to this ?" How indeed
Sazhori read through the file as Mark drove. "Apparently this woman, Spike, wears only one thing. Hey watch it!" The car jerked to a halt, Looking out the windshield she saw why. Trees that were normally growing on the side of the road, were... growing in the road ?
"Uh... redwoods ?" The Raven mumbled in question, there was a strange almost electrical charge to the air.
"What the fuck?" Mark squinted as the car stopped, the Engine rumbling softly before turned it off, and stepped out of the car. The air reeked of magic. His Armor manifested onto his body, and he squinted, sword likewise appearing on his back, DEagle in a holster on his thigh. Walking over to a tree, Mark knocked on it and grunted. It was Solid. Taking the claws of his gauntlet, he walked around the Tree and scraped it so they'd know where to turn in order to get back to the car.
Something didn't... feel right.
The two headed into the woods once Mark was sure he knew the way back to the car. People knew that car, it was strange for a tree or six dozen to simply plop in on the road itself. But the new question was why ? The air felt charged, as if with electrical power of magic. and it was soon found as they came to a ridge and looked over the fallen tree and observed six people, One in a black trenchcoat fighting five somethings in black and goldshadowlike material. The man in black was easily holding his own whereas those facing him werent doing so well.
The five shadowlings laid on the ground in various states of injury. A single man, dressed in a black military styled coat observed the fight man in black never used a weapon, and yet somehow had beaten back every Shadowy creature sent at it. Allowing the military dressed man, whom Mark at first didnt notice until Sazhori pointed him out, and Mark would notice that he was observing not only to watch, but to learn about the man the Shadowlings were fighting.
Finaly, one of the shadowlings fell to pieces, literally. First its weapons broke apart, then its body, into a skeletal structure as it hit the leaf covered ground and fell apart before reappearing, badly wounded near to the man in Military black with its fellows. The hooded man looked to where Mark and Sazhori were hiding but said nothing in their direction as he then appeared to be looking around as if bored. "Shadowlings" The hooded man said simply.
Behind the hood the man smirked. He pointed a black gloved hand at Draco who stood nearby "You need to be careful, there is something at work that even is beyond you, Should something happen to you, it would break our hearts" The hooded man said
Draco scoffed at that mention "Your heart?" He said He shook his head "Who are you trying to fool? You dont have hearts, only a Void."
"True, we do not have hearts, but we remember what it was like, that is what makes us special." The hooded man said as a portal opened, black energy mixed with purple and white formed with a low fawoosh noise.
The shadowlings got up as their wounds healed "Lets go after him!" One said, gathering its weapons and looking to its master for permission. Draco said nothing, only stared, Coal Red Eyes narrowing before finally,
"No."
"Why not?! Maybe he'll have what you seek Master!" it cried out. Draco did want freedom, freedom from iher/i
The hooded man heard that and smirked behind his hood "Dont be foolish" he said "Do you want to end up like your beloved mate ?" With that the hooded man backed into the strange portal and faded from view as the portal too faded away
From their hiding place watching the scene, Sazhori felt ill at ease seeing the man, though they both heard clearly what the hooded man had said. "I think we should go before he notices us watching him" She said softly to Mark. last thing she wanted was to get seen by a Shadow, much less not trust her own.
i"You would be wise to leave. bNow./b That's Draco down there."/i Kalda whispered to Mark, Sazhori hearing him too, but only barely. Kalda didn't need to say it twice, and Mark slid away from the scene, keeping low and silent as they moved. A projection of Kalda lingered for a moment, watching the Shadow Dragon for a moment before vanishing in a twinkle of light.
Draco's eye twitched with rage at the mention of his mate, Kethend, and in a moment of rage reached a hand out, tendrils shooting from his sleeve towards the closing portal. Unable to reach the portal in time, however, he pulled back the tendrils, and snarled. His head turning towards the projection of Kalda just after he vanished, narrowing his eyes.
"We're leaving, Shadows. Back to the Valley. Ensure we're not followed." he growled as he turned to leave, heading for the darkest shadow nearby, which he would vanish into. The Shadowlings did as they were instructed, and followed after making sure no one was watching.
After a few minutes of sneaking around, Kalda appeared before Mark and Sazhori again, giving them a thumbs up before vanishing. Sighing, Mark knelt, wiping the nervous sweat from his brow. There was something else nearby though... he felt it tugging at him.
Even though Sazhori had a keen sense of direction, she knew they were completely lost. They had a mark, but couldnt find the car, there were so many picnic areas in the Redwoods Park that Mark somehow drove into in the first place. Finally she was upset enough to grunt something untranslatable and set a hand on her hip "We're lost" She grumbled as she took a few steps onto a small hill. "And here is me hoping to be in time for fresh herring back at Ruth Big's place, or maybe even seeing Abel and Siv and have trout for dinner... whoa!" She missed a step and fell into the hilltop a good five meters straight down.
A moment passsed as debris fell into the same hole before her voice wafted up "Look out for the first step" She got to her feet and dusted herself off, "Its a doozy" Now where was she ?
Blinking, Mark stood when Sazhori dropped into the hill, and trotted up to the now visible hole. "I can see that..." He said before hopping into it, and landing next to her gracefully. "Looks like we found another vault. Or a death trap. Place your bets." Mark said, smirking as he helped the Raven to her feet, and started walking down the corridor. Seems he was curious as to what the possibilities were.
"I would say... both" Sazhori said, taking a half step backwards as a old sheet of metal of a blade slammed down int othe stone floor between them. "Both a vault, and a booby trapped one at that." She saw the outlie of a door to their left thanks to the late afternoon sunlight still peeking through. "Looks like down is the only way to go." She said, she thought a moment, "Could be dangerous, you go first"
"Neat." Mark commented, stopping as a dart whizzed in front of his face from the wall. Looking to the door, he opened it, and cautiously went through. It was definitely a vault, with a center area filled with ankle-deep, crystal clear water and a pedestal in the center. Bridges led to it from a few different directions, doors leading to different parts of the vault. One of which was wide open, light shining through it.
"More Memories?" Mark tilted his head. He looked to the pedestal, and narrowed his eyes at it. What could that hold? He began to walk towards the opened door, needing to enter the water, and turn a sharp left to the bridge leading to the door, stopping just before it, and taking a deep breath before stepping through.
The water, up until Mark set foot in it first, had always been still, like glass. Smooth, motionless. But as he stepped upon and into the ankle deep water it rippled, the ancient vault was clearly old, and yet, high tech as the water set in motion bits and pieces of light that flickered thanks to the movement of the water. Light of pale blue flickered and danced like shadows upon the wall. The open door beckoned the two towards it. A flickery light beyond it.
Stepping lightly onto the stonework of a bridge, Sazhori followed Mark into the briefly dark doorway. What greeted both was something she never expected to see again as she herself still didnt believe it. Two voices, One older and clearly in command, and one younger, both male, the younger man was pleading as he spoke "Father, you know as well as I, she is more capable than anything Light or Kanwar can throw at her, why take her from me ?" The young man said as they faded into view like ghostly apparitions.
"The two of you have become rather close, son." Said the older man, one Sazhori clearly recognised as Tilr, the Eagle Emperor himself, her first boss so to speak. "You know as well as I do, to continue with her as you are, would cut you from the royal family. She is your bodyguard, not your lover"
"I know that!" Said the younger man. "It is just... what does the All-Mother want with her ? She is, as you say, just my bodyguard"
"That, son, I am unable to answer as I do not know" Tilr replied, "All I know is, it is not Light who requested her. But her daughter, Princess Diamond"
The young man raised an eyebrow, the Eagle Prince, Talon, was confused "I dont follow"
"In due time, son, you will understand. For now, accept that Sazhori has been requested to the Silver Palace of the All-Mother." Tilr replied "She will be well cared for there I assure you"
"If you say so" Talon replied.
The scene faded into something new, Two black haired women were in a medical wing as a third, Sazhori, though apparently younger looking stepped into view, One of the two others were on a bed being tended to by a healer of a sort. "How is she ?" Sazhori in the memory asked
"I can stop the burning but the scar will remain." The healer, a silver dressed green eyed male with what looked like macaw feathers on his eartips and braided into his hair said. "I am sorry but that is the best I can do"
"Thank you, Henry, you have been more than simply helpful." The woman holding onto her sister said, the man simply smiled and went about his work to stop the burning pain.
Finally Sazhori in the memory spoke "We're going to the All-Mother's Palace, we leave tonight. I... I got requested by Princess Diamond. She wont say what it is about either" The memory faded as the three soon left the medical ward. Leaving the pair of Raven and Mutt, in darkness for a good two minutes. But before Sazhori could speak of what they just saw, she and Mark both felt it, and smelled it.
Sand, and heat.
A Younger Mark twirled the double-bladed saber-staff in his skilled hands, wearing the full garb of a mere Assassin's Apprentice, white, robe-like wraps around his body to keep out the sun and sand, all but his eyes covered. This was it. His test, his Cermony to become a full Assassin in the order. To earn his hood. This was long before his magical abilities had begun to fully develop, and what seemed like an eternity before Kalda ever started to awake, or any of his other mixed-race attributes showed themselves. As far as anyone knew, he was still entirely human.
But Light be damned if he wasn't a skilled fighter.
To earn his hood, he'd be facing each of his adopted aunts in combat. If he passed, or survived, whichever came first, he would be awarded his Hood by Snowfeather, his adoptive mother. First up on his agenda, was the oldest of the sisters, Redmane. The Young-Mark settled into a stance, grip tight on the staff as he faced his Aunt.
Redmane of course sat upon the ground of the chamber, sand had settled on the floor a good inch or so deep. Yet where she sat she seemed undisturbed by the sand as she sat crosslegged. A hood of red covered her face and hair as she watched him. "Seven chambers, seven tests, If you are able to survive, or win each one, You will have passed the tests presented." As she spoke she stood up, her sword was, point first, stabbed into the rock floor.
She removed her hood, briight red eyes watched her nephew carefully, "The first test" She said as she reached out a hand, her sword flew from where she had stabbed it and settled in her hand, No armor, just a cerimonial red dress of a sort with blade designs upon it. Even without her armor, what scant bits she had, she was too skilled to get any harm upon her as she settled into a crablike stance. It must have been a trick of the sad as designs and the edge of the sword shifted randomly. Like clockwork. Or nano work, or Magic...
Mark waited a second before charging his aunt, saber-staff raised and ready as he moved towards her with deft, precise movements, blades whirling in the air as he started with a thrust to her belly, followed by a twirling slash towards her legs and then her chest, spinning his body to complete the motion with a downward slash straight down the middle.
The present-Mark crossed his arms, watching his younger self fight with the weapon, so clumsy, so unrefined... he had no idea why he liked that weapon growing up. He was terrible with it now when he watched himself fight with it.
Continuing his assault, Young-Mark attempted to give his aunt no room to maneuver as he kept moving, kicking up sand as he spun to face her.
Sand soon created a cloud around the two fighters as Mark and Sazhori watched the memory play the woman, with one sword, was skilled, and fast. The young Mark thrust his polearm forwards, she easily ran up the length of it, barely giving it any added weight before flipping off the back end of it still in the air as she smacked with her free hand at his head. But Mark was too quick, as Redmane came close to grabbing his headscarf he twisted out of her way, she span when she hit the ground, flinging up thick dust with her feet before jumping at him,
Parry, parry, thust, block, strike, block, parry, dodge. Each breath, eah swing at random, but Redmane was always one step ahead. But the test was designed to be simple, but putting iher/i as the first test instead of Snowfeather was a bad idea, But hey it worked, and nearly killed, Serena as it was.
In the thick dust a solid CRACK was heard and seconds later a soft plit of something wet hitting the sand. Redmane held her sword in a manner of halting the test, As the dust settled the younger Mark saw why his aunt had suddenly backtracked. Not only was his polearm in two pieces, but he had made the mark of contact ?
Indeed he had as a thin trail of blood lead from her thigh to her right knee, and a second drop of blood hit the sand. Redmane smiled. She nodded towards the door and rased her free hand to it. "Through that door is your next test. But be warned, dont trust the shadows." She meant the next in line to be faced, Each one of his seven aunts had magical ower of some form. For Redmane it was blood magic, plus skills with a single sword. To the point only Blackmane sparred with her and the two both ended up bloodied piles of fur at the end of it, but Shadowmane was different. Her magic was... well... creepy wasnt the right word for it.
It was downright scary as fuck. "Keep your weapons, You will need them both to become what you were born to be" Redmane told him. It was odd, he'd only heard about Redmane from his mother, Snowfeather, and his aunt Blackmane as a woman skilled with blood and swords. Now he knew why.
Mark looked at the now two swords in his hands, and with a bow to his Aunt, turned towards the door, pausing before nodding to his aunt, and stepping through. The second test, the second aunt, Shadowmane. Her name not only described her, but her style of fighting as well. Settling into a counter-based stance with both blades, Mark kept his weight on his toes, ready to move at the slightest notice.
Present-day Mark stroked the beard he was growing. Fitting this memory came back after having seen Draco... this could prove to be a useful tactic against the Shadow Dragon in the future.
At first the room was empty, a single light source overhead. Four pillars held up the ceiling without worry. If not for Mark, the room was empty of life.
Or was it ?
As Mark settled into a defensive stance the shadows danced around him, a trick of the light. But what little he knew of his aunts, infact, the scant info he knew was only days if not a week or so old at that since he'd heard he had more than just Blackmane for his aunt. But he had six other aunts besides Blackmane, eight total kids with Blackmane as the youngest of the whole bunch, all of them sisters. And each one skilled with a type of magic and weapon.
And Shadowmane was the scariest most creepy of the bunch. A black panther in feline form like Blackmane, but unlike Blackmane, Shadowmane blended perfectly with shadows. And could use her weapons in her feline form at the same time. And as Mark stepped into the center of the room and settled into his stance with two swords the shadowy panther simply watched her nephew. She had watched him and his sisters grow up since had arrived. Nobody suspected the maid of Min who screamed when the boy almost tackled her when chasing Serenity's little RC truck, Slicer all those years ago would be his aunt.
But she watched him grow up, and learn to fight. As Mark in the present watched the memory even he couldnt tell where his aunt was hidden as she struck unseen and without a sound. Best to work in the shadows as the lights overhead died soundlessly.
A unseen whip slid around young Marks left ankle as the light started strobing madly.
Young Mark had no choice but to squint and cover his eyes as the light began to strobe, turning away from it as the whip slid around his ankle. Feeling it, he dropped his weight to root himself to the ground while flicking out his blade to try and cut the whip, turning towards where the rest of it was, and leaping to stab at the darkness, his white outfit a stark contrast to the darkness of the room. He looked around, dazed from the strobe light, the thing making him even feel queezy a bit before he shook his head, fighting back that feeling as he flipped his swords into a reverse grip, twirlng them in a figure-eight to keep his immediate personal space free of any intruders.
By the time he'd found where the rest of the whip was, it had shifted to is other foot, or had another one joined it ? Nope, just the same one, at least until the whips disappeared briefly as the light continued to strobe madly. As he began the figure eight pattern he forgot to ceck his six. A brief breath of air on his neck, and it was gone again. The feeling of a whip on both ankles was felt, there was no sand in the room, just obsidian tile upon the floor.
Two whips snaked around his ankles, one from one direction, the other, from the other direction. The words of Redmane rang in his head 'dont trust the shadows' Because at that exactly moment very briefly in the strobing light he saw an outline of a figure. The strobing light made it look like the figure was moving slowly, First he saw the outline, then he saw her face, briefly in the flashing of the light he saw pale gray eyes, deeply tanned skin, and he couldnt make out the hair color of shadowy black.
And then she disappeared as he once more felt hot breath on his his hair suddenly free of his headscarf as a third whip snapped at him, snagging at his right arm
"You are at the second test" the voice spoke at a whsiper, yet it seemed to echo all around him, With every flash of the light it was as if another word was said from a different direction. "Can you facedown your deepest fears and live ?"
Young Mark's face, fair and strong, had the beginnings of his old beard, neat stubble on his chin, though his eyes were still squinted as he could hardly see with the strobe-light. Turning, he found he could hardly move, the whips holding him in place. Grunting, Mark pulled with all his might, and managed to get one leg free by itself, needing to cut the other two whips off before leaping for the light itself. "Not if I can't see them properly..." he replied to her question.
"Better to not see them at all. Then they can't scare me as much."
Present day Mark groaned and face-palmed. He was so cheesy when he was younger.
Younger Mark closed his eyes then, the pitch-dark his enemy, his Aunt lurking perhaps mere inches away. Now that the head-scarf was off, he could hear and smell better, and used that to turn towards where she had set his headscarf, the smell of his sweat giving it away. Though with how much a man could sweat in the Egyptian Heat, that left some of his scent on her hand as well. He began to turn, sniffing at the air. When he caught a whiff of his sweat on her hand, he lunged for his Aunt, blades dancing around him, leaving little to no opening.
Mark neared where he caught scent of his second aunt, Shadowmane however was ready as the whips gave way allowing him to rush at her. She waited. Quiet as he as he was about to make contact, a solid CRACK of steel on steel was heard as her own twin swords were soundlessly drawn from their place on her belt, blocking his strikes perfectly.
Well. Almost perfect, the light strobed as his eyes opened at the sound, only to see those pale almost blind gray eyes within his reach. Now they were on even ground. The went all over the chamber, sparks cascading from their blades on every connection. Fast and seemingly for hours. Finally she disappeared in the strobing light, and sent Mark spiining in the air paralell to the ground before the lights came back on dimly to full strength gradually. Shadowmane on one knee as Mark easily landed on his feet.
A soft plit hit the young Marks ears. And Shadowmane stood up. In the proper light he saw her, tall and thin, built similar but not identical to Redmane. darkly tanned skin turned pale in the light of the chamber. a cut across her left eye, fresh too as it bled a thin trail of blood down her face.
"You have yet to face true fear. The past forms you into what you are now, but, plans have a way of going astray. Dont trust the light." Shadowmane said. She slid away her wtin swords and waved at the door, the obsidian wall faded away revealing an open doorway. "You fight well with two weapons, but let go of your senses. Else you will be blinded, and not by fear." She said before fading into shadows and disappearing.
Young Mark squinted as light returned, but eventually his eyes adjusted again and he walked through the door to the next chamber. It was simpler in design, though the floor lacked the sand of the other two chambers, and in the center stood his next aunt, Vaeyuko. The Goth Sister if ever there was one, she took the black to another level, with a flowing dress, black hair, black eyeliner, eye-shadow, and even black lipstick. Even the book in her hands was black. To be perfectly honest Mark had no idea she existed, but she was here.
Let go of his senses? What was that supposed to mean? She was standing right there.
Without looking up from her book, she spoke, her melodic voice betrayed the fact that Mark thought correctly, she was indeed a goth type of woman. An albino Panther in her feline form, Vaeyuko was also the puzzle master of the enture family, She was the one who, at five years old, put the old Puzz3D puzzle of New York City together in a day on her own. She was the one who figured out new ways to use lego bricks and pieces, and she also outthought her parents on many of their rules. To comical yet proven effect. "You have past the first test, and the second. Yet now, you come to me."
Her lumicent green eyes focused on him. After battle with two of her sisters, he was soaked with sweat. For a long moment she watched him, he had both his weapons, his former Polearm broken into two, and had lost his headscarf. So the rest of his clothing was to go missing. Vaeyuko raised a hand and a desk appeared with two chairs. She walked around behind the desk and sat in one of the two chairs, and watched Mark as she removed her black rimmed glasses. She motioned for him to sit down.
As he did so, she spoke. "What is your name ?" It was a sinple question. Sure she knew it, so why was she asking it ? When he started to qask her why she wanted to know it when she knew it already she raised a hand "I did not say you could talk back. I asked you, what, is your name ?"
Blinking, he nodded. "Mark Elisar." he answered. Within a blink, her ears had changed, pure white, Panther-like ears poking free of her hair. She leaned forward, staring into his eyes, and repeated the question, slower, her tone stern. After a few moments, he understood, and answered: "Mark Wolfe." His swords rested on either side of the chair, within easy reach should he need them.
A faint smile, but faint enough to get noticed, but again, this was a strange test. "Where was your first home ?" Her lumicent green eyes were naturally catlike and drilled into him where he sat, the chair was comfy, much like the bed back in his room that he shared with his sisters.
Mark was silent. He knew it wasn't Cairo or anywhere in Egypt... And for a long while, he stayed silent, shaking his head. "I don't know." Three more changes, her nose, whiskers, and a tail now visible. He had all but purged Arendelle from his mind, the tragedy of the fire having never been fully addressed, never fully healed. He would rather pretend it had never happened, and that the Elisar family was his real family, his real home. That he was merely a late bloomer of a Tigris, and not just a human. Oh if only he knew.
She simply stared at him, her feline eyes watching his every move. She had, during his last answers, all of which were wrong but she didnt say otherwise. This was after all the test. Of course Mark never asked what the result of failing the test would be before she closed her book and looked at him carefully. tapping her fingers against each other in a steeple motion She then asked him. "When you were ten years of age, who was your first friend ? Where did they live, What did they do ? What were they ?"
Four questions, rapid fire at that. And each had to be answered in turn.
Of course, that first friend he'd ever met was a young girl and her parents, Talak, and her mother and father Marie and Eind
Then came the fifth question, one that really hurt the times he thought about it. "What happened twelve years ago ?" She ment his first ever mission.
Rapid fire questions came for him, and he answered them as they came. "Talak Horde. Cairo. She was a student. Daughter of Mystic Templars" hesaid. And the final question, another he'd rather forget. A grim look filled his face. "I killed her parents... she fell off a cliff last I heard." he answered.
"Remarkable, all four correctly answered for once. Maybe you can... reverse my changes if you answer another correctly." Vaeyuko was not just a goth book lover and puzzle lover, but she could sure break a braincase with logic if she wanted to. Mark was a different nut to crack however so she asked a question, one so dang logically simple he was sure to get it right off the bat, but he'd of course get it flat out wrong because after 18 years he'd forget that trivial fact. So she asked simply. "When you were chasing Slicer, who did you almost run into in the hallway ?"
Of course he got it wrong, saying it was Jeeves, then Blackmane, she held up a hand turned paw to stop him, a soft smile on her otherwise human face if it wasnt for the now very catlike mouth. "I think you should know something important, nephew. You have eleven questions left. If I turn completely into my feline form, and am all fours..." She smiled again, truly catlike and calculating "You fail this test."
So she then asked him as if forgetting the last question "What was on her fathers hand, that you took when you slew him ?" Of course he got that one right on the first answer, which reverted her paws back to proper hands. the black nailpolish glittered, he had ten questions to go. thirty chances to fail.
Mark crossed his arms, and crossed his legs at the knee as she kept asking him questions, getting comfortable in the chair so that he could think more clearly. It seemed he was getting the hang of this test, and as he answered the last few, his eyes narrowed, trying to read his aunt. "A Sling Ring" The last answer came naturally. With ten questions to go, Mark liked his chances, but didn't get too comfortable, blinking slowly and listening closely for the next question.
Vaeyuko watched her nephew get comfortable, then asked two more questions, two rather direct to the heart questions, as they were referring to family, his true family "What is your sister's name ? Your mother's ?" Two hard at the heart, right-dead-in-the-feels-it-hurt questionss yet two questions important to ask. For all Mark knew, his true family, his mother and sister, his sister whom he doted on for her six years of age, were dead. But why did Vaeyuko have a letter addressed to him on her desk at that moment ?
A third question was asked "Do you know what day today is ?" It was not just to get his Hood, no this was more important for why that day was chosen.
Mark wasn't comfortable anymore, and his eyes denoted his internal screaming as he desperately tried to forget his past. His lip twitched. "Marion. Charity." He strained out. The third question left him puzzled, and his eyes looked down in thought. His Hood Ceremony was too easy of an answer. Anything else was either purged from his mind, or he was thinking too hard. "Wednesday?" Maybe not hard enough, as another shift occured, and Vaeyuko now had paws again, claws, and her clothes were replaced with pure white fur. Blinking, Mark gulped, nervous.
Seven questions left, and only three more changes to go through before Mark failed. Seven questions, three chances to fail. Even with her hands as paws, Vaeyuko was easily able to pick up the letter with the stylised M. Holding it between two furred fingers as she thought aloud. "Why do you receive this, once a month on this day ? Every month, for the past eighteen years ?" two more questions, both with three chances to fail...
But it was the third question that had him wondering clearly why forget his other senses. "What is your goal ?" Could he logically get past her with nine chances to fail ? Serena and Serenity took sixteen questions and twelve questions respectively to pass her. Mark was going the whole twenty!
"A trusted friend sends me that every month." Mark began. "As for why the same day every month... I don't know. I just expect them to come, and they do." he answered. Her next question caugth him off guard with how simple it was. At that point he had only two goals: "Become an Assassin, and then a Den Master."
Vaeyuko smiled, "Amazing, two more failures and... well... Then you would have had to start over with Redmane" She said handing him the leter, doubtless he wondered why it hadnt shown up on time. "To become a den master is to first become what you do not want to become. When you seethe enemy, you do not want to become them when they have fallen, but someone better." She said, it didnt make much sense then the present Mark could see, and try as he might it didnt make much sense to him even in the present.
"I suspect then you have a question ?" She asked him simply. Not yet on all fours, the white panther simply sat quite regal. Her paw tapping upon the desk. What made that day so important ? the 12th day of Febuary. Why was it that day he was to get his hood ?
And so he asked it: "Why today? Of all days? Why my birthday?"
Vaeyuko smiled, "Why indeed" She said, with that her body shifted, gone was the fur, her dress as prestine and clean as ever, her hair long and black like it normally was. Even her glasses were back on the bridge of her human nose. It was as if she never transformed into a white panther as she sat before Mark.
She picked up an item and removed the cover "You are going to need these" She said, within the box was a pair of hidden blades. Very basic sure, but they were enough to get the job done. "Your next test is through that door. I was told only to advise you to use your sense of sight over everything else. That is her only weakness." He passed the logic test, now he had to survive sheer brute strength. As Vaeyuko spoke the wall to Marks left faded away, a grid of white on black formed a hallway. "Good luck."
Mark took the Hidden Blades, and slipped them onto his wrists, making sure the worked properly as his Aunt spoke to him. Use his eyes more than anything? He was about to ask what that meant, but the door had opened, and she was already gone. Fantastic. With a nervous yet steady breath, Mark turned to the open passage, and stepped through into the hallway.
Upon stepping into the open chamber there was a sense of danger all around as the walls disappeared and rthe floor became like glass. Of course it was a trick of holographic technology, But there was a single ... thing, a suit of armor within the center of the camber as Mark approached it it moved. It was a massive thing really, his aunt, Senishi was blind, born without eyes whatsoever. and thusly, sight was her weakness, but hiearing, smell, and other senses were magnified.
But it wasnt the only thing that had the young Marks undevided attention. No, it was the mere fact that Senishi towered over him by a good half meter even without her armor, Senishi was... big.
Mark's mouth gaped a bit, and he stopped in his tracks, falling silent. "Holy fuck."