"It was about time yoi" Marco commented when he approached Judal in the crow´s nest after the show in the deck. The magi turned completely red, not knowing what to say. "Do you want to come with me? Tatch is busy chasing some stubborn marines away and they need help in the kitchen" the raven frowned. "Okay, let´s reformulate, yoi. You can talk to me in private while we peel some potatoes or we can talk here, where everyone can hear us."
"The kitchen sounds fine then" the magi walked with him until they were in the kitchen. The raven started to work, peeling some potatoes. He has grown accustomed to work since joining a pirate crew, first the Spades and then the Whitebeards, but even then, he haven´t done this kind of… "Auch! Dammit!" great, now he sounded like Kouha. "Hurts"
"Did you cut yourself yoi?" the Phoenix went to help him cover the injury with a small rag. The raven frowned, glaring at the knife. "Don´t worry, it´s not so deep. You will be okay in a few minutes" the bleeding stopped. "You are not pretty much accustomed to doing this kind of work, no?"
"No, I… someone used to do this things for me… well, many persons" he sighed. "There are many things that were different then."
"Yes, Ace told me that you used to have many brothers and sisters, just like us" he nodded. "He told me too that Sin used to have something with your sister yoi"
"More like she had the hots for him… he used that and tricked her in a despicable way" he looked down, remembering how in love Kougyoku has been with the idiot king… hum, wonder if the Empress realised she has been tricked. "We were close, she and I"
"Hum… like Izo and me or like…?"
"I´m not answering that"
"Okay…" the commander said before putting the knife again in his hands to continue working. "Did he do something more than… you know? Did he overstepped his boundaries in a way that is so…"
"No! he never… did that kind of things to her"
"Then why don´t you leave everything in the past yoi?" Marco raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Judal I know you like him. That time when he invited you to dance at the party you couldn´t take your eyes off of him and the blush in your face…" the magi blushed again. "Yes, if that didn´t mean madly in love, nothing does."
"I´m not in love with that idiot ki… idiot!"
"Come on, I thought you already went through the negation phase" the commander crossed his arms. "Look, Judal, I don´t know who you want to fool, but everybody noticed that there is something between the two of them. You are in love with that man" the raven was about to reject that idea. "Don´t try to fool me, kid, you know I´m right."
"You are insane, that´s what you are" the Kou Empire former Oracle continued with his work, trying to avoid eye contact. He… could accept that he started to feel something towards his current king vessel in a certain point in their trip, but that didn´t mean he was falling in love with said man. That… no, it was impossible. Even if he froze up when said king candidate told him he loved him. "Besides he is a good for nothing ladies man."
"Really? Because since he entered this ship, I haven´t seen him trying to conquer anyone that wasn´t you yoi" the Phoenix continued. "Look… maybe he wasn´t the best man in his past, I couldn´t know."
"Of course you can´t know, you didn´t know the man before" he grunted, a little bit angry at remembering Sindria and the harem Sinbad used to have. Really, the man was like a sex machine to have that number of women to his service. "He was a freaking promiscuity symbol back home. It´s a wonder he didn´t caught a venereal."
"I… woow" the commander decided to have a talk with his purple haired about certain things that shouldn´t be done. "So… you are not okay with dating him because you think he might leave you for some woman or that you will be another one on his list?" the Oracle turned red again. "What yoi? Am I guessing wrong? Why don´t you tell me the whole history so I can understand why are you not…?"
"I think I´m done for the day" the magi put the potatoes on the table, having peeled a lot. The other cooks can take care of the rest. "Maybe we should go to the deck, commander? There is some unusual movement there."
"What?" Marco followed the other outside and was welcomed in the deck by the figure of one of the smaller Moby ships arriving near the principal. This particular one belonged to the fourth division, which left to chase the remaining marines from their territories. "Oh, Tatch is back. That was fast, yoi, I thought they were going to be absent a week or two more, as the marine battleships regrouped near the frontier. Hey, Tatch!" he went towards the tuppé commander. "Why are you back so soon? The marines kicked your ass and now are crying for help?"
"Oh, that hurt, roasted chicken" Ace then climbed on board, almost instantly being signalled by the brunette. "That boy appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the final fight and aided us in expelling them. I didn´t ask for help, but well… don´t look a gift horse in the mouth. And talking about gifts… Ace! Look what I found!"
"What?" Tatch pulled out a strange fruit from somewhere. Immediately Judal tensed up, sensing something coming out of that thing. It was… It was pure black rukh. Much like in the dark djinn, but worse. Like himself when he was in Al Tharmen… like Gyokuen… no, like Arba… or like David. Pure darkness and evilness coming from that tiny thing. "I found it when we were restocking in the last island! I´m hoping that it is a zoan or a logia… maybe something amazing so I can teach you and the turkey a few things!"
"Keep dreaming"
"Judal!" Sinbad approached happily when he saw the magi on the deck. He accompany Ace with half the second division to the chase, and was glad to be back with the dark sun. but then noticed his expression, it was… alert. "Judal, what is happening?"
"The first chance you got, throw that fruit into the sea and let it sunk to the bottom. The deepest, the better" answered the sorcerer in whispers.
"What do you sense?"
"Evil" Teach stared at the fruit too, his eyes clashing with Judal´s. his smile banished a bit, just when he thought that he finally found what he was searching for, a stupid that can see in the souls of people got into his way. if he talked to the old man or any of the commanders… his plans would be ruined. The man vowed then to get rid of both of them, of Tatch for finding what was rightfully his and of Judal for nearly ruining his years of careful planning. "Do as I say. Don´t ask"
"Judal…"
"Do it" Sinbad nodded. Tatch was the owner of the fruit per the laws of the crew, but he would pay for it if needed. Besides, if Judal of all people sensed evilness coming from that fruit and was so alert, then probably it was better for all of them to just put it where no one can see it. Or eat it.
-In another world-
"Hummmm" Titus opened his eyes only to see his hands tied up and his staff gone. "What?" he turned and tossed around, trying to release himself, cursing himself for not listening to Myers when he was in the Magnostadt Academy and building up some physical strength. "Where the hell is my staff when I need it? And who did this?"
"Glad you asked, little magi!" someone talked and the blond immediately tensed up. For the first time, he realised that he recognized that place… of course, it was the 5th Level Authorization District of Magnostadt! The place where Matal Mogameth put the goi like his little Marga! He suddenly became sick, this place wasn´t exactly bringing good memories to him. "Hummm, you definitely are Lady Sheherazade´s clone, no? You look exactly like her"
"Nerva" he growled at the fallen heir to his country´s throne. "You better let me go and do as if this whole mess didn´t happen in the first place, because if you don´t…"
"What? What are you going to do, Titus Alexius?" the king candidate got closer and grabbed his face, roughly lifting it. "Poor, poor Titus, without that staff you are practically nothing" the magi was going to show him how wrong he was when he noticed the red stoned on his skin. His eyes widened. "Oh, that is for safety measures. Doron here was a dear and put them in your arm to restrain you."
"What do you want, Nerva?" he continued, eyeing the sixth kodon´s teacher´s little brother. He couldn´t believe that someone that hated the gois so much was turned into that fail of a king vessel´s dog.
"I want to recover the power that my family lost when the Reim Empire turned into a Republic, when the Alexius took the power in their sly way" Titus rolled his eyes. Of course, with that spoiled brat everything was about power. "And for that I need power… the power to turn Shax into the most powerful djinn equipment!"
"Has you seen how many times you said the word power in just a few phrases? Idiot" the blond looked at him, sighing. He couldn´t believed he was forced to deal with someone who only have a single functioning neurone. "Besides, you can´t even use your djinn equipment, there is no…"
"Silence! I will be able to use it once I get the power of creation! And that´s the part where you come, little magi" he smiled wickedly. "There is a legend that says that, with the right ritual, when a magi and a king vessel get married this king can use the power of creation himself" Titus stared at him, not liking where he was going. "So, I´m marrying you to gain this power!"
"IUUUUUU! NO WAY!" the blond was sincerely horrified. The perspective of marrying someone that was no Sphintus already was bad, but Nerva? No way in fucking hell, better dead than that.
"Yes! So you better prepare, the ceremony will be at dawn!" the cackling idiot left, already savouring his victory.
"And you?" the prisoner said to Doron. "Are you really letting him, a goi, force a magician to marry him."
"No, because the only one that is going yo marry you is me, Titus Alexius" the blond nearly vomited. Okay, this has gone from creepy to totally repulsive in one second. "So you better prepare to give me all your power."
"I seriously need to get out of this" talked to himself the Alexius. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately for his captors, a meeting was being held in the surface, in Matal Mogameth´s former office. The current principal of the school, Yamuraiha, was with her fellow former generals of Sindria, talking about a serious matter.
"I know, Spartos, we haven´t heard from him in a lot of time, I´m not hopping for the best and if he is dead, I can handle it, but at least we have to try" Drakkon was saying. The dragon general, now king of Sindria… or Lord protector, because no one in the country really thought of him as king, they were all waiting for Sinbad´s return… talked about the disappearance of their old friend. "We can´t… we can´t simply leave it like that"
"I know" Jafar, who was now kind of ghostly, answered. He was acting as president of the company in Sinbad´s absence, but since the other man´s disappearance he almost seems lifeless. "We… we are truly bad friends, aren´t we? We could have saved him, pull him out of depravity like he did with me… but we did nothing… specially me…"
"Stop hitting yourself over it, Jafar, it was not your fault. Any of us could have helped him, but only fled when he started turning dark" Hinahoho patted him in the back, trying to comfort him. "We should all be ashamed of that."
"But at least we are trying to make up our mistakes" Yamuraiha closed her book. "The problem is that the spell we are searching for probably has never been created, let alone used. And if it has, I doubt any normal madoushi can do it" she put her arms on the table. "It should take at least a magi level magician to do it."
"Judal…"
"Judal is a magi, Jafar, that's why he could" she stared out of the window. "Maybe if Yunan or the magi of Reim or Aladdin help us…"
"Reim is not going to lend us their magi"
"And Yunan is not going to bring back someone as dangerous as Sin, specially since he abandoned him the first."
"And Aladdin… forget it, he is not going to do it"
"Damn, if only there was another choice…" Yamuraiha was about to say something else when someone shut her up. "What…?"
"Shhhhhhh" Pisti did it again, getting closer to one of the old magical stuff that was in the room, a creation of Matal Mogameth. The blond girl put a hand on her ear. "Don´t you hear something?"
"Hear…" Yamuraiha got closer and used her magic on the thing.
"He… Help… help… me…"
"Someone is using sound magic, but it´s very weak" the blue haired female got up, tracing with her magic the person that was emitting those help signals. The others followed her, Pisti in the rear. The mage opened the door to the former goi underground district, which has been closed since Mogameth died. Yamuraiha divided the generals in team and started the search around the desolated district. Almost an hour later, Spartos was ready to ditch whoever was there, when he and the Artemyran queen found someone.
"This is for you" Titus Alexius was there, bounded and well away from his staff, with Nerva and a hooded moron in front, the first holding a white dress. "You should be honoured, this wedding dress has been in the Emperor of Reim´s family for…"
"I´m not wearing an antique dress! I´m a male!" the restrained magi yelled, offended. This was worse than when Aladdin tried to grope him back in their school days. Ever since then he had a complex about being confused with a female. "And I´m not marrying you, any of you! You are insane!"
"Insane? More like… ambitious" the former empire heir walked up to him with the dress in his hands, without noticing the two generals behind him, arms in hands. Their household vessels stopped working some time ago, when Sin´s magoi disappeared from this world, so they were out of question. Even like that… "Wear it"
"No" the blond Alexius looked up at the ceiling of a house, where his two saviours were. "And you are idiotic, not ambitious. Magnostadt of all places to hide me"
"Stop mocking…" a spear crossed the air, nearly taking Nerva´s head apart. The idiot screamed like a little girl. Not being able to use his djinn equipment, he was at disadvantage. Doron was going to use his wand, when a spell hit him from behind. Yamuraiha and Sharrkan appeared, both of them looking menacing. "do something, idiot!"
"Yes, do something" the female mage dared him, her wand glowing blue. "I will show you why Mogameth-sama said that I was his little genius."
"Genius? More like his spoiled brat" he laughed. "I will show you!"
-Ten minutes later-
"You can leave us like this!" Nerva screamed when he was left tied up along with Doron in the underground.
"We are not leaving you, you just have to wait until Myers come, then you can leave" Yamuraiha happily said to the doomed morons. She turned to the magi. "I´m sorry for ignoring you, Lord Magi. If you want we will call senator Mu right away to come and pick you up."
"Yes, that would be fine… have you seen my staff?" Jafar, that found it on his way there, passed it to him. The magi moved it to point at his captors. "Thank you. I would like a cup of tea too, if you were so kind."
"Yes… come to Yamuraiha´s office" the former assassin said, making gestures to their companions. Then they finally understood, they have a magi right there and he owed them… more than his live. It was a golden opportunity. They brought Titus back to the principal´s chambers and serve him some warm tea.
"Thank you" he zipped the drink.
"Ehhhhh… lord magi… Titus-sama?" Hinahoho started talking, not knowing what to say. "We… have a problem and… well… we need the help of a magi. Can you help us?"
"Yes, of course" the blond smiled at them. "I´m surprised that you didn´t come to Aladdin first, since he was your friend and everything."
"Well… it´s a little bit… he wouldn´t help us in this" the Immuchakk warrior scratched his head. Jafar rolled his eyes and pushed him aside, getting to the front before explaining everything to Titus. The Reim high priest listened carefully to their petition. At first, he thought they were insane, who in their right mind would like to bring back a magi and king candidate as powerful and depraved as those two? But somehow… he fought alongside Judal once and was concerned about him… somehow.
"Then… can you help us?" the blond think about his answers a little bit longer. What would Lady Sheherazade do in this situation? He owed the generals and he was worried about the dark magi. What should he do?
"Hum… alright" he nodded. "I will help you, but I don´t know the incantation to travel between dimensions, let alone one that has to be so far away. Not even Lady Sheherazade tried something like that" he sighed, looking at his cup. "But I know who could have it" he lifted his chin. "The wandering magi, Yunan"
"And… would he give you that book willingly?"
"Nope… but I know how to blackmail him and Aladdin to give it to me" he lifted himself from his seat. This was not going to be easy, but he was willing to do so. "I will call you when I´m ready, until then… try to keep a low profile."
"Of course" Yamuraiha went to the crystal ball and used clairvoyance magic to speak with Mu. The half-blooded fanalis thanked them profusely for their help in recovering their magi and told them that he will send a party to retrieve Titus and the traitor Nerva. When the morning hit, Myron, Toto and the rest of the Fanalis corps, sans Masrur, arrived at their doors to return Titus to Reim.
"Wait for my call" the magi told them, giving them a special crystal ball. "Thank you!"
"Magi-sama" he climbed on the carriage that was sent and sat down there, along with the noble blooded redheaded girl. "By the way, Sphintus-san returned. He is waiting for you back at Reim."
"Damn"
Here, new chapther! Hope you are enjoying this fic! Send me a review if you are
