"Just how deep does this cave go?" Amanda lamented to Ryan and Avery as they continued to go further into the cavernous tunnel they'd descended into some time earlier. "It seems to go on forever."
"Everything has an end, Amanda" Ryan assured her. "Even this cave."
"If you're feeling tired, why don't we set up and rest for the night?" Avery offered. "We can keep looking for Ryan's other Pokemon and a way out in the morning?"
"How are you two not tired?" Amanda asked, folding her arms in frustration. "Don't you guys even want to sleep?"
Ryan shrugged. "I guess we're not tired."
"There's no real need to sleep when you're like us" Avery sadly admitted. "Besides, someone has to keep you safe, Amanda. If it's not us, who else would do it?" The trio came to a stop on a jagged walkway with a steep chasm below it, likely leading to more tunnels and darkness. While Achilles and Darkrai scoped out the situations just ahead and Achilles in particular tried to sense the locations of any more of Ryan's Pokemon, the group settled in for the night. "Unfortunately, we don't have any food to dole out, Amanda."
"Those berries ought to tide me over until we get out of here" Amanda assured her. "Assuming we do."
"We will" Ryan laughed. "Now get some sleep. We've probably got a long way to go."
"That's reassuring" Amanda replied before taking Ryan at his word and lying on the ground, her head resting on her knapsack.
Achilles returned with his report for Ryan. I detect the presence of Sparks and Tusker, but they are very faint. Whether they are trying to suppress themselves or not is up for debate. I suggest we continue until locating them or I cannot sense their presences anymore.
"Will do" Ryan answered. "Maybe you should get some rest too, bud. You look tired."
The Fury will feed my fire. Rest if you will. But I will stand watch. As Achilles triumphantly marched off, Ryan's frown only worsened.
"I don't like him talking like that" he admitted. "But a part of me feels like he's right. I thought the Fury was nothing but a hindrance to us before. But ever since we took down that dark presence, I kinda enjoy using it now."
"That's not a terrifying thought to ponder at all" Avery nervously joked. "Seriously, Ryan. Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm not okay, Avery" Ryan fired back. "I want to be back home and protect the people I love from this psychotic mad Pokemon! But instead I'm trapped on Mirage Island, picking up the spectral remains of my Pokemon who died after they realized I did! Chris got to go back, why can't I? Why do I always have to be the one who gets saved in the end?" He sat angrily on a nearby boulder. "The only salvation I get is with the Fury. It scared off that dark creature and it's helped me take down Claude and Kage now. I could use it against Mewtwo if I can harness it."
"But you can never control the Fury" Avery reminded him. "That's the point of it. You become so angry that you lose control of yourself. That's why you ought to be trying to find a way to remedy it instead."
"Every brilliant mind in Arcana tried. Balthazar Aced even died trying. But no one has found it. So why worry about wielding it when I have no side effects? What will happen? My heart will burst? I'm already basically dead at this point, Avery. Who will miss someone they don't even know is alive?"
"I would" Avery admitted. "So would Amanda. So would the people who do know. I'd imagine Chris is terrible at keeping secrets. So you being like I am is probably common knowledge to the people who matter the most to you, including Michael and Addison." She lowered her head and sat beside him on the rock, her back turned away from him. "They're probably out trying to find some crazy way of reviving you. And when that happens, you'll go again and I'll be left alone again, ready to fade into the back of your memory."
"Avery..." Ryan groaned. "That's not what I mean and you know it."
"I know, but it's hard to see any reason you'd choose to stay if you could go. All that's here is me. Me and those painful memories of things I did to you and your friends."
Ryan shuffled closer to her. "I already said I forgive you, Avery."
"It's harder to forgive yourself when you hurt someone who means literally everything to you" Avery answered bluntly. "I-I've been alone for so long. Even having Hunter and Courtney here didn't make me feel any better. All I wanted was companionship. A real friend to be there with me through my darkest moments. But when I got a chance for that, I let those guys hijack my plans and use them to hurt you. I never, ever wanted to hurt you, Ryan. Or even think about it. I just wanted things to be the way they were when we were kids." She put her hands on her knees and found herself weeping. "It's weird. I don't think I've ever truly cried like this in a long time."
"When was the last time you did?"
"When I saw how happy you were with Addy" his friend answered honestly. "Knowing that you found someone to fill your heart with joy. And that the person wasn't me." She frowned and closed her eyes. "But when you get to defeat Mewtwo and bring this to an end, I think my purpose will be done. Maybe I can finally go away and enter the Realm of Arceus. Maybe my Grandpa and parents are there waiting for me. Those are the few good things I may have to look forward to. But losing you isn't one of those things. Which is why I know it will hurt just as bad when you do have to go."
"I doubt Mike and Addy will find any way to bring me back" Ryan said softly. "I don't think there is a way for that to happen. Even if there was, it would probably cost someone dearly. I wouldn't want to put anyone on the spot for that." He shrugged. "And if that means I'm stuck here forever, I doubt I'd want to do it all by myself or just with Achilles." He looked at Avery and smiled. "And you are my friend, Avery. Nothing is going to change that. If we can just get Amanda home, it would make things all the more easier."
Avery was shocked. "You'd pick staying here with me over going back?"
"Like I said before, Mewtwo bringing you back meant you'd be indebted to him for the remainder of your life. I don't ever want to be stuck to someone's hip like that. Not if it meant I wouldn't have the freedom to do what I want or be with who I want to." He winked at Avery. "If that means I have to spend all this extra time with a friend I lost at such a young age, eh, so be it."
"That might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me" Avery blushed. "I know...I know that you could never love me the way you do Addison. But, I just want you to know that I do care about you so much. If I had the way to reunite you two, I would do it in a heartbeat. Until then, I'm glad to have you here with me, even if it's just as friends." She reached out her hand for him.
"What's up?"
"Friends can still hold hands when they're feeling emotional, right?"
Ryan nodded. "Sure. And we're friends." He took her hand and the two sat in silence for a long while as Amanda drifted to sleep behind them.
{}
"What the heck are they doing down there?" Matthew remarked angrily as he and Addison neared Charizark Town.
"I'm not sure we should be the ones who find that out" Addison gulped. "If our Pokemon aren't here, we shouldn't be either."
Matthew was about to steer his Noivern away, when she squawked back at him, gesturing down below them. He looked own and almost cried out in horror at what he saw. Hundreds of Pokemon were in cages by a series of burning effigies of people in Arcana. They all cried out before a figure in dark-colored robes would bang loudly on the cage and order them to be quiet.
"We can't go now" Matthew insisted. "We need to find out what's going on."
"You can barely run, let alone fight" Addison snapped. "This is dangerous, Matt."
"So is letting hundreds of Pokemon get burned!" Matthew steered his Noivern down into the bushes just outside of where the effigies were located. After helping Addison off his Dragon Pokemon, he sent the Noivern back into the skies to give them a view of events from just above. Then, with their business secured for the long run, the two decided to sneak their way into this strange meeting and figure out just what all of these captives and burning statues were about. Matthew prepared to get closer to the cage where the Pokemon were trapped, but Addison took a firm grip of his wrist and held him in place.
"Not now. We have to wait for the right moment."
"That could be any moment for all we know" Matthew argued in a hushed tone. "If we let them hurt these Pokemon, it's almost as if Mewtwo was right all along!"
"Do you trust me?" Addison asked him.
Matthew nodded. "Of course, but-"
"Then we go at my motion." She looked around at the group of cloaked figures. "There's at least forty of these people. Way too many for us to take on singlehandedly. Even if I had completed my training at this point, I don't think that would be enough." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Poke Gear. "I'm going to take pictures and send them to the King. You try to listen in on what they want to do with those Pokemon." She then finally let go of his wrist. "But don't do anything drastic. Wait. Be patient."
Matthew reluctantly agreed and inched his way closer to the cage with the Pokemon and peered out of the corner of the bush he was in. The Pokemon did not notice him and instead kept their focus entirely on their captors. He took a moment to study the effigies and gulped. They were all prominent Kingstons in Arcana. Seven in total, including one of Michael, Julia, Ryan, Chief Byron, Madeline, Cameron and another that was so singed he could not tell who it could have been. Hoping it wasn't one of himself, he simply listened in carefully as best as he could.
The leader of the group rose in front of the others and gestured to the wooden and crudely depicted statues. "Oh great Mewtwo!" the woman declared. "We offer you these effigies of your enemies as a token of sacrifice on your behalf! We shall one day be able to offer you the real people depicted, if they would stop hiding in their castles and come to face us!"
I bet that would work so well for them, facing Michael or the rest of us head on. Matthew inched a bit closer, doing his best not to draw attention to himself.
"These traitors to your glorious image will be given no mercy, for they have shown us none" the woman continued, her voice somewhat familiar to the boy. "We burn for you, the Chief of Arcana's Police, more interested in political power and policing enemies of the state than in protecting and serving! Of his daughter, too stupid to see the flaws in her father and embellishing them for her own sake! Of Arcana's current Champion, herself a shadow of what she might have been thanks to influence from the King!" At her signal, several torches were thrown into the effigies.
Matthew closed his eyes in despair as he heard screams of the hostages they were keeping burning inside. How long does Addy think we can hold off?
The cloaked figures gathered raised their voice and chanted in unison. "Release the Darkness! Salvage our World! Destroy the Enemies of the Master!"
The woman turned and looked to three new people being brought into their ranks. "Now, for our three newest recruits. I present to thee hope for a better tomorrow. For you to become one with the Master, you must prove to us your devotion to his greatness!" She waved her hand at the first recruit. "First and foremost, my son Simon!"
Matthew clenched his fists angrily. So it is Betsy!
Simon Seissuon stepped forward and knelt before the woman. "I am honored to serve you, mother. And I am honored even more to give my life for the Master!"
"Prove your worthiness to him, my son" Betsy declared. "Burn the effigy of the man who seeks to ruin our world and take everything from us! Burn the false king and remind Arcana that we were once a free people!" Her son took a torch from one of Betsy's men and tossed it at the effigy of Michael. As it burst into flames, Matthew could hear the screams of children, no older than Tommy, but could do nothing to stop it. Betsy proudly stood by her son's side. "So it is written! The Master shall bring fire to the world of this false King!"
"LONG LIVE THE MASTER!"
"Come forth, Nadine" Betsy called.
Matthew watched in disgust as Elezar's former lover and accomplice walked into the center of the group and bowed before Betsy. Having spent the last several weeks on the run, Nadine was in shambles and likely was only joining this to avoid the same fates as the rest of the Syndicate's elite agents. Save for Courtney, the others were either imprisoned indefinitely, or in the cases of Cassius, Archer, Hunter and Claude, long since deceased. "I am honored to once more serve the Master! My failures will be forgiven when I return doubly the amount of failures upon my foes!"
"You shall receive his blessings, Nadine" Betsy preached. "But you must prove your worthiness. Burn the effigy of the street trash that has infected our beloved Arcana. The viper that whispers wicked words into the ears of the false King and controls him! Burn the effigy of the Queen of the Rabble!"
Nadine took a torch and nervously tossed it into the effigy of Julia, with it bursting into flames immediately. Matthew crept closer to the cage and prepared to pick the lock with a lock pick he had kept from his time as a Syndicate Agent. Which was naturally when several sets of hands fell upon him. The struggle between Matthew and his would be captors drew the attention of the rest of the group, who suddenly came and surrounded them. Matthew flailed angrily and even managed to evade their grasp, falling backwards and flipping to his feet, his hand on the Pokemon Ball containing his Marowak.
"Look who we have here" Simon smirked. "The Kingston stooge who assaulted me in Titanio Park!"
"You want another punch to give you a matching set?" Matthew threatened.
"Kingstons are not welcome here" the third cloaked figured declared.
Matthew paused. "Wait a minute. I know that voice. Leonard?"
The cloaked figure tossed his robe aside and glared at Matthew. "Looking down on me for my low birth?"
"Looking down on you for the weasel you proved to be!"
"Mother" Simon grinned, "I think instead of just burning the effigy of Ryan with those faithless children inside, I think we should put Matthew Kingston inside to burn alongside the memory of his brother!"
"I couldn't have said it better, Simon" his mother admonished. "Seize him!"
The entire group descended on Matthew. His Noivern swooped down to try and collect him, but was knocked out of the skies by an electrified net being fired by one of the men Betsy had recruited. Matthew slugged, punched, clawed and kicked his way through as many as he could until his limbs were finally seized by several pairs of hands. Matthew was carried against his will towards the effigy of his brother and tossed inside. As he recovered, he noticed two terrified children looking at him worriedly.
"Help us!
"Please, mister!"
"I wish I could" Matthew groaned as he tried to kick the effigy down to help them escape.
"And now, Leonard" Betsy called. "Perform this duty so that we may send the charred remains to the false king!"
"LEONARD!" Matthew roared.
His Noivern, trapped in the netting, tried to spit out Fire Blasts to free itself, but to no avail.
Leonard took the torch from Betsy and moved to light the effigy ablaze, but was knocked aside by a torrent of water. Matthew looked through the wooden cage he had been trapped in for who had stopped the attack and was stunned to find that his friend was now coming to his own rescue.
"Addy?"
Addison stared down forty people without fear in her eyes. In fact, Matthew was in particular alarmed by what he saw in her eyes. Though a part of him figured it could be because of the charred wooden wrecks nearby, he feared that Addison had succumbed to the Crimson Fury in a desperate attempt to save him. Sure enough, Addison's Vaporeon launched a powerful Surf attack that doused out all of the torches and crashed down on the Mewtwo worshiping cult.
"LET MY FRIEND GO!" Addison roared.
Matthew rolled towards the exit and kicked it free. He ushered the two children he was trapped with to get out first. Both were frightened and remained in place, until the girl looked to her little brother and nodded. She ran out of the wooden gate and leaped to freedom. The boy followed suit. Matthew prepared to do the same, but was slammed back inside by Betsy.
"NO! You're going to die, Matthew Kingston, Traitor to the Master!"
"As if Mewtwo would ever take someone as worthless as you on his side" Matthew taunted. With no children to harm, he rammed his body hard into the wooden form as Betsy got one last torch and set it ablaze. The flames surrounded him as quickly as any he had ever seen, but Matthew was determined to escape. With one last burst of strength, he finally managed to ram the blazing memorial of his brother down to the ground and fell through it, singeing his clothes in the process. The smoke diluted his ability to see, but he knew better than to take part in the chaos of whatever Addison was unleashing on them.
Addison's attacks were soon followed by gun shots and the sounds of Pokemon coming to the rescue. Madeline's Police Force was on the move. He continued to army crawl through the smoke and burning remnants of the cult meeting, dodging ashes and the stray attacks from Pokemon on all sides.
"IT'S THE POLICE FORCE!" a voice cried out. "Retreat!"
"STAND YOUR GROUND!" Betsy ordered. "This is unlawful use of force!"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Madeline Kingston's voice roared.
Matthew continued to scramble to find someplace safe, but was stomped hard and kicked in the gut by an unknown attacker. Matthew rolled around onto his back to defend himself. Simon landed on top of him and punched him hard in the face. Though Matthew could tell he had drawn blood from the blow to his face, he countered and kicked Simon off of him. Matthew recovered in time and called out another Pokemon, his recently returned Primeape. The Fighting Pokemon kicked dirt into Simon's eyes before grabbing his trainer and rushing off to safety with him. Matthew wiped some of the blood off of his face with his shirt and thanked his Pokemon. "Thanks, bud."
The Primeape rushed back into the fray to ensure the children were okay, leaving Matthew to worry for the first time about a Pokemon of his well being. His worrying did not last long, though, as he returned with both. But Simon followed them out and was ready to fight him again. Matthew grabbed both children and flung them behind him and got himself prepared for whatever would come from his new foe's attacks.
Simon made to throw a punch, but his arm contorted in a way it wasn't supposed to and he fell backwards, screaming in pain. Matthew turned to see Addison had let the Fury fully engulf her. Though he was flattered she had done so for him, he was petrified of what this could do to her. He rushed to her and tried to shake her out of it, but she simply pushed past him. Simon continued to wriggle and writhe in pain as Addison continued to use both the Fury and her connection to the White Mage's gift to make him suffer. Undaunted, Matthew made another attempt to reach through to her. As Simon continued to wriggle and cry, he grabbed her hand. She spun around, her eyes burning with the same hatred he had once used against Ryan. But when she realized who it was, she calmed down and fell to her knees. She desperately clutched at her head, shaking violently as she did. Matthew stepped over her and took her into an embrace.
Once he realized he was not going to be pulled part like a twisted toy, Simon Seissuon rose back to his feet and glared at Matthew and Addison. "You think-you think you freaks are going to hurt me?! You already took Jasmine from me! Now-ugh-now I'm going to take-" Simon stopped and looked up in the skies in horror. He backed several paces away as a thunderous roar shook the battlefield.
Realizing what was about to happen, Matthew held Addison close to him as they fell to the ground. Michael Kingston had Rhaegar send a Dragon Pulse at Simon, launching him backwards several feet. The King's arrival had brought an unexpected end to the battle, which was already one-sided thanks to the scattering tactics used first by Addison's unexpected arrival and then the Police Force reinforcing her. Any hope for there to be a second battle simmered down to nothing when two more fliers, this time Christopher Kingston and Lizzie West, arrived to back up the King.
Simon frantically tried to crawl away, but Michael landed right beside him and stomped down hard on his ankle. As Simon cried out, the King grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and glared down on him. "Simon Seissuon, I presume?!"
"Please lemme go" Simon cried out. "I was just following-"
"Oh shut up, you worthless insect!" Michael roared, slamming his head into Simon and causing the boy to faint. As Simon fell, Michael's attention diverted back to the two of them. While Matthew cradled the shaking Addison, the King came to their sides and knelt down to check on them.
"She's okay" Matthew told him. "She's just a little drained. Mike, I think she used the Fury."
Michael was not surprised by this. "It would seem that what Galatea told Lizzie was in fact correct, then."
"What?"
"Galatea had a vision while in her seclusion of you two being in danger" the King explained. "And relayed this information to Lizzie, who in turn came and got Chris and myself." He folded his arm and looked down disapprovingly at the duo. "And while I'm a little disappointed that you two went and did something so dangerous, I can't say it wasn't for nothing." He looked to Madeline, who was already having the men she commanded free the Pokemon trapped in the cages. "Maddy, did you get the leaders?"
"We're just looking for Betsy's little imp" Madeline answered as she came up to them. When she noticed Simon down on the ground, she shrugged. "Well I'll be damned. We got them all."
"Round them up and bring them to me" Michael ordered. "I want to see for myself who these cretins are. And get a medic to make sure Matt and Addison here are okay."
"Will do" Madeline answered, gesturing for others to come by.
"We're okay" Addison finally answered softly. "I was just-"
"You both are, in the words of your mothers, more grounded than you could have ever thought you'd be" Michael answered dryly, before patting Matt on his head and going off to speak with some new arrivals.
When they were alone, Matthew made to let go of Addison, but she was surprisingly clinging to him. As her grip on him tightened, Matthew could not help but blush. "Uh, Addy?"
"I could have gotten you killed" Addison whispered worriedly.
"Don't worry about it" Matthew answered, doing his best to keep his cool. "We just know better than to do something dumb like that again." He pulled Addison back to her feet. "Now, let's cool down and hear what's gonna happen. You gonna be okay?"
Despite her skin being pale and the extreme lack of confidence in her voice, she eyed him with a smile that made Matthew's knees buckle. "I'll be okay. Thanks, Matt."
{}
"Gotta say, I'm disappointed in you, Leonard" Christopher Kingston admonished as the ringleaders of the Cult of Mewtwo were brought before the King. Because of how angry he was, Michael let his cousin handle the interrogations while he and Lizzie observed just behind Chris. Madeline had hauled in front of them the still dazed Simon Seissuon, his defiant and arrogant mother and Michael's own paternal cousin. He sat quietly and brooded while his best friend gave them all the down dressing they so readily deserved. "I expected as much from you, Big Betsy. But to corrupt Leonard, too? Man, just how pathetic are you?"
"How did I ever find you appealing?" Betsy spat at him. "You're just as disgusting as that King you worship."
"I don't worship Michael" Chris answered back. "Unlike you, I can see flaws in the person I care most about. You, on the other hand, continued to cling onto a past that doesn't exist anymore. Claude bit the bullet. So did whatever poor hopeless sack you had a kid with."
Betsy tried to move, but a Police Officer slammed her down with the butt of his gun.
"Leonard" Michael called to his cousin. "I wanted this to not be true. If this is a mistake, it can all be swept under the rug. I will let it go. But you have to tell me right now if you were involved with them for your own personal glory or to try and stop them on my behalf." When Leonard refused to look him in the eyes, Michael sighed. "Fine. We're enemies, then."
"Go ahead and mount our heads on spikes" Betsy dared. "We'll be martyrs long before Mewtwo kills you all!"
Michael stared down at the defiant Betsy and shook his head. "No. I won't give you that satisfaction. Because, I cannot stress this enough to someone as dense and idiotic as you, I am not a tyrant. If I was, you wouldn't even have the chance to defend yourselves, because I would have strung you up within seconds of arriving. But I am going to give you the chance to defend yourselves and explain it. Let you pretend to be corrupted by Mewtwo or warped by fears. Keep up this arrogance and you three could be the first to be executed for treason in hundreds of years. But it will be the will of the council and not my own." He looked to the officers behind his prisoners and nodded. "Take them away." The prisoners were hauled off by the Arcana Police Force, leaving only Michael, Lizzie, Chris and Madeline behind to discuss what was going to unfold.
"There isn't really a place for us to keep them" Madeline warned. "Klefki Prison is still being rebuilt and unless you have any other alternatives, we may have to keep them in either my Gym or Nee's Gym in Titanio."
"We could always throw them in that Haunted Library in Trickton" Lizzie joked.
"For once" Michael replied, "I have to thank Courtney for something. We do have a place to put them. The walled off cells by the Computer Room in the Cellar. She trapped Cynthia back there when we went off to the World Tournament. Now, it will hold those three until we decide what's going to happen to them."
"You really mean to leave this up to the Council?" Chris asked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I kinda figured we'd just shoot them off into a cannon or something."
"I meant what I said to them" Michael replied. "I am not a tyrant. They will get every chance they want to defend themselves. It's up to them whether or not they use these wisely."
"You do know that Donnie is going to get involved now, right?" Madeline cautioned. "And it's not like Olivia can just punch him in the face to get him to run off again."
"Man, I miss all the fun stuff" Chris grumbled. "I missed Liv decking her brother?"
"All of us did" Michael reasoned. "Only those who were in the room at the time saw it. Olivia was the one who told me." As their prisoners were hauled off, Michael's face darkened. "The only person who worries me now is my father. He always preaches the need for strong familial bonds, but had to have my mother be the one who told me this. If he makes a move on Leonard's behalf, it might be another major problem for us."
"Define major."
"Regardless of what this could mean for how Terra Town is run or what this could mean for Olivia's job status, Chris, the man is still my father. And if my parents are right about blood betraying blood and what have you, it could be a catastrophe for us."
"You do know that betrayals work both ways, right?" Lizzie observed. "Leonard betrayed you. In turn, you're doing your duty as king. Betraying him would mean you are sabotaging his efforts to defend himself, which you've already said you won't do."
"Now, we can take our focus off of problems here at home and worry about that monster on Mirage Island" Madeline laughed nervously.
"Mewtwo and Courtney are going to come at us with everything they have" Michael noted. "We need to be able to meet them in kind, or else nothing we cherish or love will be safe." He glanced over towards where some of the medics were speaking to Addison and Matthew, who remained huddled together after such a frightening experience. Though he was glad the two were safe and he had come through for them, he could not help but feel that too much was going to become their burdens to bear. Addison would be going up against Mewtwo and Matthew was determined to make sure she came out on top, even if it got him killed. The two would stubbornly do as they would and he personally feared he had influenced them a bit too much for their own good.
Man, those two could really use someone like Ryan right now...
{}
For the duration of their flight from Charizark Town and back to Kingston Castle where Addison would be preparing for another training session with Countess Rosemary, she sat in silence. Whether this was from the fatigue she was feeling or how peculiar she was feeling following her daring rescue of Matthew, she would not reveal to him. This was because she couldn't be sure exactly how she felt on the matter. Her friend's life was put into mortal danger and she literally rediscovered the Fury inside of her and used it to protect him. She hadn't done that for anyone previously. Not Michael or her friends on Mirage Island, so why did she use it to save someone she hadn't been this close to in ages?
Matthew seemed to get how unsure she was in herself and kept himself quiet the entire way back to the courtyard of Kingston Castle. It was only when his Noivern screeched her announcement landing, that he looked back at her and gave a chuckle. "Well that was an unmitigated disaster. Sorry I got you roped into this."
"It needed to be done" she observed as the Noivern stretched out her wings and lowered herself down towards the grass. "If you had gone in there alone, you probably would have gotten yourself killed. And considering we're finally back to being friend...ly with each other, I think it would be rude to split us apart so quickly." Matthew slid off the back of his Noivern and helped Addison down, dropping her down beside him. "Listen, Matt..."
"YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO, YOUNG LADY!" Deidre Tenton screamed at her daughter from the entrance to Kingston Castle. "You run off and scare the living daylight out of everybody and for what?!"
"Mom, I'm sorry" Addison pleaded. "We didn't think it was going to be that chaotic."
"I take full responsibility for it, Miss Tenton" Matthew defended. "I was the one who coerced her into going with me, so it's my fault."
Deidre glared at Matthew. "Figures. You Kingston boys are going to keep putting my Addy in danger until the day she dies. Now, say your goodbyes Addy, because when you're not working with Countess Rosemary, you're going to be grounded more than you've ever been in your life!" She stormed back inside the Castle.
Matthew exhaled and laughed nervously. "Wow. I never thought your mom would be the one I was afraid of."
"My Dad was never afraid of anything except her" Addison joked.
"I'll do my best to avoid her for a bit."
Addison sighed. "Listen, Matt. I don't want you to feel bad about tonight. Or about anything else that happens from this point on. I had just as much a hand in this as you did. And just because my Mom is more steamed than a dumpling, that doesn't mean anything besides I have to appeal to her good side for a bit until she cools down. We're still friends. And that's how I want it to be."
"Me too" Matthew replied. "Well, I'd better get home. Because I expect my Mom to be as bad if not scarier than yours was." He whistled for his Noivern to prepare to fly once more.
"Thanks, Matt" Addison remarked, half happily and half sadly.
"For what?"
"For being there for me. I can't imagine how hard this has been on you."
Matthew scratched the back of his head. "Well, I think I take after Ryan in one thing. At least, I've been trying to. I feel the more I help you guys with anything, the more I can keep my mind off of it." He seemed to want to say more, but kept it to himself. "I guess I'll see you once your Mom isn't eager to throw knives at me while I'm still breathing." He awkwardly made to hug her, but Addison took it in stride and embraced her friend warmly. "Uh, thanks Addy."
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, Ryan."
"Uh, Ryan?"
The girl could feel her face go from as white as paper to as red as the Crimson Moon. She wasn't sure what terrified her more, the fact that she had just called her old friend his dead brother's name, the fact that she might have mistaken him for Ryan or that she had just kissed him with no prompting. "Uh, well, I uh..."
"I get it" Matthew laughed. "Good night." He hurried up to his Noivern and took off into the night skies.
Addison watched him depart before slapping herself angrily in the face. "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" She furiously rushed back into the castle, right past her mother and up the stairs to her guest room on the higher floors of the castle. Once she had made it there, she slammed herself onto the bed and screamed into her pillow. What was she thinking? Was she even thinking? How could she justify anything she had just done? And what damning consequences would this have for her, her friendship with Matthew and anything else that might transpire?