A/N: Okay, I decided to postpone the next actual chapter since I originally felt like I needed more time to plan it, now it's because I've been busy and couldn't focus on this story, as well as me starting up a Fate story since it wouldn't get out of my head... and then I got the stomach flu (still sick actually)... fun... So in the meantime, since I said that I would be doing a Historical Omake because I felt like it, I'm continuing Camille's and starting another person's since I would need to write this part soon anyways and I already had a large portion of it planned out anyways. And for anyone thinking that continuing Salina's would make more sense, I'll get to that later.
Also, as a little bit of news. On the 23rd of August (just 4 days from now... yikes), I'll be heading off to College/University. So I can't guarantee that I'll be able to get chapters for any story out regularly, it'll be something that I'll only be able to do when I have the time. And since I'm going to be an Accounting Major, I have a lot of classes (a total of six different classes for the first half of the semester, it'll go down to five once the halfway point is reached) and I'll be working towards a goal of 150 credit hours, so it could take me longer than the normal four years to graduate even with a full schedule all four years. So what used to be my schedule of at least once a week (which I haven't kept up lately), is no longer relevant and I no longer have any set schedule. So I would appreciate it if no one asked "When is the next chapter?" because I'll be very busy in a few days and I'll only be able to tell you what I can now, the answer being, whenever I have the time for it. So, just to re-emphasize this, I no longer have a schedule, so please don't ask when future chapters will be published, chances are that I will not have an answer for you.
Now then, this part of Camille's Historical Omake is a rather special one since another character is featured as a very important character in it, so you'll be learning about two characters in the story this omake! However it is still treated as part 2 of Camille's Historical Omakes despite the different title.
So anyways, I'd like to thank WaterDragonMaverick, MyDearWatson, WrittenWhim, SaiyaStyles, GhostOfOnyx, PrinceOfTheMatrix88, ManhattanTheory, LightandDarkHeart, Asher Grey, Markg493, potentialauthor18, lexlovesya, PlaguedAmbition, and FrozenBlast13 for their reviews last chapter!
WaterDragonMaverick- Yep, Proclus is one of the two people who have been with Euclid since near the beginning and you'll all learn what else Jellal had to say about the Info Broker and his agents later as well. And yeah, Jayne'll take anything that remotely seems like it might be a pairing and go crazy with it, once she learns of it of course. And yeah, Styles is still pretty wary of everyone in the guild, he may eventually move into the dorms, but time will tell on that. And the guild technically has two kitchens, one in each dorm, but neither of them are really that great and Sean has grown used to working in a professional kitchen over at 8-Island, but I'm sure he'll adjust. And I don't think that I'll be able to get to all of those ideas in the next chapter since every single character will be featured in it, but thanks for sending those in. And of course I saw both of the spin-off mangas the day they came out, those are Fairy Tail Zero and Fairy Tail Ice Trail for those of you who don't know. They both come out once a month in the Fairy Tail monthly magazine, but they should both prove to be very interesting to read since you get to learn more about Mavis in Zero (who is adorable as a six year-old) and Gray in Ice Trail.
MyDearWatson- Yep, the Kaizus are now part of the guild, whether they like it or not says the Magic Council and of course Camille would prove to be smarter than the three guys, I didn't even realize that it'd be easier to have someone pushing from the back as well until Camille showed up in the scene when I was writing. And you might remember that the guild has a Temperature Mage, so cold water is no problem with her around, plus in the omake I mentioned that Salina's mood made it abnormally warm for early April. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the omake!
WrittenWhim- I actually plan on writing a special omake all about Jean and his misadventures with the female population of the guild eventually, so yes, every girl in the guild has something against Jean for the most part. And I'm certain that something will make for a chaotic scene at the party next chapter.
SaiyaStyles- Yeah, I figured that Styles would be more at home in the jungle than in the dorms for now, and yeah, if there is anything that Jean is not, it's innocent. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the omake!
GhostOfOnyx- Well before the 7 Day Challenge, my chapters were more or less a weekly thing, which was my typical schedule, once a week. But now I can't make that promise anymore since I'll be heading off to college soon, so I have to place my education at a higher priority than my stories. And yeah, guild parties are typically rather crazy, so it should be interesting to see (and write). The sad thing is that I won't even be at my home when the cookie arrives, so even if the mailman/woman doesn't eat it, chances are that someone else will. A tragic fate that.
PrinceOfTheMatrix88- Yep, the next actual chapter will be a fun one and we'll finally get to move on to bigger and better things. And we may learn more about our favorite Info Broker soon... But anyways, I'm very happy to hear that you like how things have gone so much!
ManhattanTheory- Maybe... possibly... There might be cake, but it might be a lie... Sigh... I couldn't help myself. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the Omake!
LightandDarkHeart- Yeah, Kimi really has no idea how wild most legal guilds are, but anyways, I hope you enjoy the Omake!
Asher Grey- Yep, things are going pretty good for Euclid, just like he planned for the most part, I'm happy to hear that you like him as well, although, things didn't always run so smoothly for him... Yeah, I really racked my brain coming up with Leif's element of Salt and I'm pleased to hear that the story's been more or less original so far, it'd be rather distressing to hear that the story was somehow very similar to another one. Well speaking of omakes... here's another one! And yeah, I wonder who Celeste's father is? Hmm... Anyways, yeah, it makes perfect sense that two S-Class mages plus one more mage can't pull a cart up a not even steep hill, completely perfect sense.
Markg493- Yep, the next chapter is all about character interaction, which is something I've been wanting to do more of, so I've been looking forward to it as well. And well... you may learn something about Euclid soon...
potentialauthor18- Yep, a huge part of the next chapter will be getting characters that haven't interacted so much to interact, and yeah, the jungle is most definitely safer than the dorm. You have Horace regularly exploding his projects, the chance of waking up Ladon, Dragon Slayers, two guys that try to fight every time they see each other, God Slayers, and others... yeah, definitely safer in the jungle than in the male dorm. But anyways, thanks for sending in those ideas!
lexlovesya- Unfortunately I had to push the party back until I could focus on this story once again, but I'm determined to make it well worth the wait since that's why I postponed it in the first place. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the omake!
PlaguedAmbition- Yeah, the Kaizus had some different circumstances surrounding their joining of the guild, but yeah, it should be interesting. Anyways, I'm happy to hear that Euclid's becoming one of your favorite villains, he's here for the long-haul so you might as well like him (or try to). And Alistar is an S-Class Mage for a reason since he was made one before the guild had any exams or trials of any sort, so he was hand-picked by Salina, but yeah, there are some people in the guild that don't have much confidence in him. Well, I'll tell you that it's not the X790 GMG's next, it is preparation for them though, but I'll tell you all what the title of the next arc is next chapter, so no real hint for now since I can't think of any.
FrozenBlast13- The next actual chapter should be pretty relaxed as well, by that I mean no life or death situations, but I'm glad that you've enjoyed how the characters are written so far. I hope you enjoy the omake!
Credits:
Cathair Lennon- dreadburner94
I don't own Fairy Tail!
I hope you enjoy part 2 and part 1 of Camille's and Euclid's Historical Omake!
Historical Omake: Euclid and the Ealdwines
Euclid sat down the communication lachrima he had been using to talk with Wymond. Everything had been going according to plan so far.
"It's finally starting isn't it?" Euclid asked himself as his cat hopped onto his lap, "Finally... After two foiled attempts it'll finally happen..." he continued solemnly as he stroked his cat, "Marilynn Lindwyrm... Heh... Hehehehe... Hahaha!" the man began laughing maniacally as he brought his free hand over his eyes, "Finally! It's finally going to happen! And Undine's Cove is going to be the key to starting it all!" Euclid continued as he stood up, bringing his arms down to his sides as his cat quickly hopped off of him as it watched Euclid walk around his desk to examine the white chess piece he moved over to the black team, "And it's only fitting that you be my pawn... Camille," Euclid smirked darkly as he picked up the piece, "After all, you were there with that bitch, Quinn, when I was stopped the second time," he continued to mutter, "But I'm different now than I was then... Back then I was still Emil Gunvor... Heh, someone I can hardly even remember now. But he was just a fool and his cat, I'm different... Euclid's different!" he shouted before he suddenly fell quiet again, "I wonder... Is it fate that the Ealdwines keep getting in my way? Or just mere chance? But this time will be different. This time everyone in Fiore will dance to my tune. Every! Last! One!"
June 17th, X784 in the Capital City of Crocus, the Lohr Dojo
"All right!" Zander called out, "Today I want to see how good you guy's swordplay has gotten now," he announced from the middle of the training room that he, Camille, Jareth, and Lynn were standing in as he gestured to the wooden shinai on the wall behind him.
"But dad..." Jareth whined, the boy wearing a pair of dark baggy pants, a simple t-shirt, and a beanie, "Why can't we use real swords or learn some more magic?" he asked as he was swiftly bopped on top of his head with a shinai, "Ow!" he yelped as he looked up at the disappointed look on Zander's face.
"I've told you time and time again, you're not ready for real swords yet and swordplay is a key part of Gunblade Magic," Zander explained as he looked over at his niece, who was wearing a simple red t-shirt with white bandages wrapped around her forearms and a pair of black shorts, "And besides, physical conditioning is very important for your cousin's well-being, it also helps her to build up pain tolerance for when her magic acts up," he added, earning a 'humph' from Jareth, causing the redhead to roll his eyes at his son.
"Master," Camille interjected, the young girl wearing a simple black t-shirt with dark gray pants, her necklace hanging from her neck, "You say that you want to see how much our swordplay has improved, but there's three of us. Am I to spar against you then?"
"No, you'll be sparring against both Lynn and Jareth," Zander answered with a smirk, "It'll be a closer match that way."
"You're not suggesting that I fight both of them at the same time are you?" the young girl asked with a sigh, knowing what his answer would be.
"I am," the man responded as she thought he would, his smirk still plastered on his face.
"Dad! I'm certain that I can beat Camille on my own now! I don't need help!" Jareth shouted.
"Jareth..." Lynn sighed, "We've never even beaten her together. I don't think you'd win against her alone..." she explained, causing her cousin to sweat-drop as a mortified look crossed his face.
"I don't want to boast, Jareth," Camille began, "But Lynn's correct. You've never beaten me once, even when it's been two-on-one, so what makes you think that you can win now?"
"Ergh! I just know I'll win for sure this time! It's a gut feeling!" Jareth yelled, "So wipe that smug look off your face!"
Camille sighed as she turned towards Zander, "Master, may I?" she asked as the redhead let out a sigh before he grabbed two shinai off of the wall.
"Fine," Zander sighed, "It's not what I had planned for the day, but it's good for his ego to be knocked back down every once and a while," he added as he threw the shinai to Jareth and Camille, "All right then, it's the usual house rules. The first one to land three hits wins. The use of Bullet Magic and Gunblade Magic is prohibited. Any questions?"
"No let's get started already!" Jareth exclaimed as he took his stance, holding the shinai out in front of him with both hands.
"I understand the rules, Master," Camille answered as she took her stance as well, holding the shinai up to the left of her head with both hands.
"Okay then. Let's get out of the way, Lynn," Zander suggested as his niece ran over to his side as they walked towards one of the walls in the room, "You two may begin!" he called out as Jareth quickly took the initiative, charging at Camille with his shinai held above his head as he quickly swung it downward, Camille quickly side-stepping her brother's sloppy attack as she swung her wooden weapon horizontally, landing a powerful blow to Jareth's abdomen, sending the young boy flying through the air a couple of feet.
"That was a reckless charge, Jareth," Camille pointed out as she watched him gasp for air before picking up his weapon and standing back up.
"Sometimes charges like that pay off though," the younger boy countered, a smirk much like his father's on his face.
"Only in large-scale battles. A charge like that in single combat is only something an idiot would do," the girl retorted, her own smirk crossing her face as she watched Jareth grow agitated.
"What'd you say!?" he shouted as he charged at Camille.
"He's lost, hasn't he uncle?" Lynn asked as she looked up at Zander.
"He certainly let himself get angry, but whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends on the person," he replied as he watched Jareth and Camille exchange blows, neither of them letting the other land any attacks until a crack was heard throughout the training room.
"There!" Camille shouted as she broke Jareth's shinai in two with a hard horizontal strike before landing two quick blows on him to end the match, "I believe that settles the match then," she said as she lowered the shinai.
"Like I thought then..." Zander muttered, "Jareth!" he called out as he caught his son's attention, "You're the type of person who shouldn't get angry in the middle of fight, like me. I had a situation just like the one you had now in a battle against a Dark Mage and I would've died if your mom wasn't there to save my arrogant ass."
"Hmph," Jareth huffed, crossing his arms as he sat cross-legged on the ground, still upset after his loss to Camille.
"You paying attention?" Zander asked as he walked over to his son before kneeling down next to him, placing one of his hands on Jareth's head, "This is important you know? Keeping a level head in battle can mean the difference in life or death in a fight."
"I understand," Jareth finally huffed as Zander looked over at Camille.
"And I didn't really think that you were the type to goad your opponents into becoming angry," he smirked as he saw a look of shame cross the young girl's face.
"I don't like to... But it was the quickest and most effective way to obtain victory against him," Camille admitted as Lynn walked over to Jareth, holding out a hand to help him up.
"Are you all right?" Lynn asked her cousin as she pulled him up off of the ground.
"Yeah I'm fine. It'll take more than three little hits to take me down!" Jareth boasted before his expression turned into a more caring one, "How about you? It was only a few days ago that you couldn't move."
Lynn softly smiled before she started to undo the bandages on her right arm, "I'm doing better today. See?" she said as she showed him her arm, which had a few blades protruding out of it like blood-stained scales, "There aren't as many as there were," she added as she began wrapping her arm back up.
"Master," Camille said quietly as she and Zander continued watching the two, "You still haven't told me how Lynn became like that," she stated as Zander's face fell.
"It isn't something that we should discuss around her," he responded as he tugged his beanie down over his right eye, "It isn't something I like to talk much about either... But I'll tell you what happened someday. When I think you're about ready to set out on your own, all right?"
"I understand, Master," Camille responded.
"Oi! Zander! You have a visitor!" they heard Jareth and Quinn's Grandfather, Christopher Lohr, bellow from the main hall.
"A visitor...?" Zander muttered, "Now who could..." the redhead started to ask as his face suddenly lit up, "Cathair!" he exclaimed, "That's right! He said that he would be visiting today!"
"Cathair?" Camille repeated with a confused look on her face.
"He's one of mine and Quinn's old teammates from Midnight Haven," Zander explained, "And since we're semi-active and our other two teammates are pretty much retired, that makes him the strongest mage in the guild asides for the Old Man. I think you'll like him well enough."
"Yeah, he's a real hard-ass like you, Camille," Jareth grumbled, Camille giving him a hard stare in response.
"Jareth!" Lynn hissed, "You shouldn't talk about Cathair or Camille like that."
"Hmph," the young redhead huffed.
"So I'm a 'hard-ass' now, eh?" they heard a deep voice ask from the entrance of the room they were standing in, the four of them looking over at the door to see Quinn, Quill, and Christopher with a tall, dark tan skinned man.
The man's name was Cathair Lennon, S-Class Mage of the Mage's Guild Midnight Haven like Zander and Quinn were. The man was very tall, standing at 6'7" with a muscular build and dark tan skin. He had slanted, dark gray eyes that carried a cold stare in them and thick and wild, black hair that fell all around his head to the base of his neck while covering his forehead, ears, and right eye, his bangs being long enough to fall down to his jawline. Cathair wore a long, black coat over a skin-tight black shirt with black jeans and boots, although he had left his boots at the door of the dojo. He also wore a black scarf around his neck that covered the lower half of his face and a pair of black, fingerless gloves that helped him grip the large, steel hammer that he had strapped to his back by a brown leather strap that crossed his torso.
"C-Cathair!" Jareth exclaimed in shock, the man clearing having overheard him.
"Feel free to give him a difficult training session if you want," Zander said suddenly, a smirk crossing his face, "He's rather determined to beat Camille here, and he's got a long way to go."
"D-Dad!" the young boy stammered, clearly a bit frightened of the tall man.
"Maybe tomorrow," Cathair responded, "I promised to help out Quill with his martial arts today," the man said with a small smile on his face as he patted Quill on the head before looking over at Camille, "So this is the girl you two took in?"
"Well it's more like Zander decided to take her in all on his own," Quinn sighed, remembering the day that her husband first brought the young orphan girl to the dojo, "But yes, this is Camille Arturia, she's one of the family now."
"I see," the man muttered in response before walking over to the young girl, "My name is Cathair Lennon, S-Class Mage of Midnight Haven and Jareth and Quill's godfather. I suppose that would make me your godfather as well then," Cathair added after he introduced himself.
Camille looked at the man, partly shocked by his good manners, "I'm Camille Arturia," the girl responded, "It's a pleasure to meet you," she added with a slight bow.
"I think you and I will get along just fine," the man said with a small smile, impressed with Camille's politeness when compared to Zander and Jareth's.
"Well then" Christopher announced suddenly, "Since Cathair will be helping Quill with his martial arts today, I'll be certain to give you an extra hard session later today, Jareth."
"What for!?" Jareth asked, knowing that he was in for a hard time later today if his grandfather was saying that.
"To teach you some respect for your elders and family," Christopher replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "It seems that you've forgotten your last lesson already," he added as his oldest grandson gulped nervously.
"I think you brought it on yourself, Jareth," Quill said quietly from his mother and grandfather's side.
"I don't want to hear that from you!" Jareth shouted as Quill stuck his tongue out at his older brother, knowing full-well that there was nothing Jareth could do about it since his parents, grandfather, and godfather were there.
"I'll train with Camille then," Quinn announced, "Since Cathair will be working with Quill, I think it'd be the perfect time to work on your martial arts some."
"I'm looking forward to the lesson," Camille said politely as Quinn pinched her forehead and sighed at the girl's excessive politeness.
"Guess that leaves you and me, Lynn," Zander smirked, "I wanted to work on your control with your magic today anyways now that you've recovered."
Lynn gave her uncle a nervous look for a moment before steeling herself as everyone else left the training room, "All right, uncle," she responded, her mind wandering a bit as she started to worry about losing control again.
"Hey, don't worry, all right?" Zander said suddenly as he noticed the concerned expression crossing Lynn's face, "It'll be all right."
"It's just... my magic... that thing's magic... can I really control it?" the young girl said bitterly.
Zander let out a deep sigh, nearly every time he had helped his niece work on her magic, the girl's confidence issues showed, "I know... We all know that you can learn to control your magic. But we'll have to work hard for it, all right?"
Lynn stayed silent for a moment, thinking about the day her magic was forced on her and the day her father died, 'What would father have said?' she silently asked herself, 'What would mother say?' she added as a determined look crossed her face, 'Mother said that she wanted to find the people who did this to me. She's determined to do what she can to make things right. So I should try too!' Lynn continued in thought, "All right, uncle!" the young girl exclaimed as she took her stance, ready to train.
. : + : .
"Are you sure we should be here of all places?" a black and white cat asked as it and a young man walked through the streets of Crocus.
The young man appeared to be about 18, standing at about 5'6" with a lean build and a light tan. His dark brown hair was worn in a slightly spiky style that covered his forehead, ending just above his slanted, dark blue eyes, as well as being cut around his ears, and falling to the nape of his neck. He wore a simple black t-shirt under a light gray jacket with black pants and black shoes.
"Emil!" the cat called out again after being ignored.
"Tch... What Corbin?" Emil growled, "Still upset that I forgot to leave you a way into our room at that last inn or something?"
"Emil..." Corbin said lowly, "We're in the heart of Fiore. Crocus! We shouldn't be walking around so aimlessly."
"I know! I know! Sheesh..." the young man sighed, "Look. I know that girl's here. In this city! And so long as we get our hands on her then everything that happened two years ago will be worth it! You won't have lost your body for nothing..."
"Emil... Look I know that you feel responsible for what happened to me, but if you just go after her without a plan then you'll just end up dead like everyone else!" the cat warned as it stared at Emil with it's purple and red eyes.
"A plan eh?" Emil muttered as he stopped in his tracks as he brought a hand up to his chin in thought, "Tch... What would get that man's attention away from her? I'd need some sort of distraction..." he mumbled before his eyes fell onto the cat, which was possessed by the spirit of a man named Corbin Llewelyn.
"What is it?" Corbin asked as he cocked his head out of curiosity.
"Are there any giant monsters around here?" Emil asked as a knowing smirk crossed his face.
"G-Giant monsters?" the cat asked, "I'm not sure... Perhaps one of the guard posts would have information on that?"
"The guards huh?" Emil repeated quietly to himself, "I don't think that they'd just answer that question if we asked them. Too bad there aren't any mage guilds in Crocus, they'd have the info," he sighed as a certain establishment crossed his mind, "Well I suppose there's always that casino, but then again, I don't think they'd like what I'm planning much. Plus, I don't want to be indebted to them anyways."
"So we'll be breaking into a guard post then?" the cat asked, it's compatriot giving him a large smirk in return.
. : + : .
June 18, X784 in the Capital City of Crocus, the Western Guard Post
The waxing moon shone brightly in the night sky, the clouds were few and far between so most would assume that a criminal would be insane to try anything that night, as bright as it was. But hardly anyone ever assumed that a guard would be in on a crime. In this particular case, however, one could only be half-right or half-wrong since the poor guard could not control his actions at the time.
He was just your average guard with an average name who had joined the city guard for an average reason, to simply put food on the table. Everything he did was average, including his ability to guard things, as he was one to fall asleep while on duty at night, an unfortunate mistake that no one should make around the spirit of Corbin Llewelyn since that is simply giving up one's right to control their own body.
"Emil!" Corbin hissed as he opened one of the more hidden doors of the guard post, "Over here!"
"Nice job," the rogue mage whispered as he entered the building, "I take it that you found the info?"
"More than just that," the spirit replied in a hushed tone through the guard's body, the eyes changing to be purple and red cat-like eyes, "The Fioran government keeps a large amount of records and information in a vault in this building's basement. It's nowhere near the size of the official library kept within the castle, but it is still an incredibly valuable amount of information."
"Heh," Emil smirked, "Guess we'll just take it all and look over it elsewhere then. I'll put it all in my requip space when we get there."
"Now we should discuss the security," the spirit stated, "There are several alarms and lachrima cameras down there, but this guard was incredibly forgetful apparently, so he had a map of the alarms so that he wouldn't set them all off while on patrol."
"Lucky us," the young man chuckled, "I guess we just need to find myself a uniform so I can get past the cameras without raising too much suspicion."
"There's an armory through that door there," Corbin stated as he pointed towards a wooden door, "It's part of the reason why I chose to let you in through here."
"I'll go grab some armor then," Emil replied as he entered the armory, quickly finding a set of guard armor to put on over his clothes, "All right, let's go," he whispered as he exited the armory, now wearing a full set of Fioran Guard Armor that included a full helmet that covered his face.
The two men quickly made their way to the basement, Corbin guiding them through the many alarms with perfect precision, leaving the many guards in Crocus none the wiser.
"We're here," Corbin announced as they walked past the last set of lachrima, which stood vigil in front of the vault door.
"Now how to open it?" Emil pondered, "This thing's sure to covered with alarms."
"Do you still have any of Wymond's Acid Salves?" the spirit asked, "If you have enough, we could melt through the floor under the door."
"Good idea as any I suppose," Emil shrugged as a flask filled with a yellow-green liquid appeared in his hand, "Here we go," he said as he poured the liquid onto ground in front of the door, quickly melting through it as he repeated the process until they had a nice little tunnel under the door, "Wait here," Emil ordered as he slid under the door, seeing the many safes, cabinets, and crates filled with sensitive information, "I'm sure that one of these have the info I want," he whispered as he looked through some of the files, "But I'm positive that there's plenty to learn from all of this," Emil added as he held out his hands, taking the many files into his requip space with a large amount of effort that left him in a cold sweat, "Now to get out of here," he panted as he slid back under the door.
"Ready to go?" Corbin asked as Emil pulled himself off of the ground.
"Yeah," Emil answered as they started their walk out of the basement.
. : + : .
June 18th, the Capital City of Crocus, the Upper Ring of the City
"So this is your ancestral home?" Cathair asked as he looked at the abandoned manor of House Arturia.
"Yes, it was my family's home up until the winter of X783," Camille explained, a sad expression on her face.
"I'm sorry for your loss if it's worth anything to you," Cathair added as he turned to the young girl and Zander, who was looking off in the distance, an unusually serious expression on his face, "That's right, you don't care much for being around nobility," Cathair recalled as he caught Zander's attention.
"Hm? Oh... Right," the redhead responded in a distracted tone.
"Master? Is something wrong?" Camille asked.
"Nah, it's just... I saw someone I'd rather I didn't," Zander answered grimly as he glanced back at the person he was staring down, a woman with green hair, "We should go," he said quickly as he started to leave the area, leaving Cathair and Camille behind.
"Master!" Camille called out as Zander kept walking away, "What's wrong?" she asked quietly.
"I'm not sure if I should answer that since you don't seem to know," Cathair said suddenly, "Zander's always enjoyed keeping his own privacy and not talking about a good portion of his past. So if he hasn't told you yet, I shouldn't say anything."
"So that's yet another thing that he won't tell me then..." Camille sighed.
"Camille. Don't hold it against Zander. He's cautious with what he tells people for a reason," Cathair explained, "He's been betrayed by people he's trusted in the past and he's watched people that he cared for die."
"It sounds like Master has been through a lot in his life then," Camille whispered, "But what was he like when he first joined Midnight Haven?"
"He seemed like a reckless idiot to me," Cathair chuckled, "Quinn thought so too, but as we got to know him he matured quite a bit. Although I'm certain that Quinn has far more stories about him than I do, she's the one he argued with and got into fights with all of the time after all. They're an odd couple, but I can't think of a pair more perfect for each other actually."
"What are you two whispering about?" Zander asked as the two caught up with him.
"Just about your many lover's quarrels with Quinn from back in the day," Cathair answered with a smirk as he and Camille watched a faint blush cross the redhead's face, "When was your most recent one?"
"Q-Quiet you!" Zander shouted, "Can't you talk about something else? Something that's actually worth talking about maybe?"
"At least he doesn't deny it anymore," Cathair sighed, a smile on his face nonetheless though.
. : + : .
June 18th, X784, the Capital City of Crocus, Bar Sun
Emil sat at one of the tables, looking over one of the many files he had taken from the vault the previous night. Many of the records were useful and valuable as Corbin had said, but Emil had yet to find the one he was looking for.
"I've been reading for hours now..." Emil groaned as he took another drink from the flask of alcohol he had ordered, grimacing as he swallowed the amber liquid, "Tsk... I guess it isn't surprising that a dump like this wouldn't have any wine," he muttered, "Not that I can actually afford any good brands right now... Although... I'm certain that I could sell some of this info for some high prices," Emil smirked, 'R-System eh? I think I heard a rumor about one of those towers still being built,' the young man thought as he brought a hand up to his chin, a loud sound suddenly bringing him out of his thoughts.
Emil turned his head to see a large man kick a small, young girl across the bar, the girl being dressed in only rags. She appeared to only be about eight or nine at the most. She was horribly thin and pale, her green eyes barely holding any life in them while her greasy, black hair fell all around her head in stringy locks.
"I told you not ta come near me again!" the large man bellowed as the young girl tried to get back up.
"B-but... my mommy died... she told me that you'd take care of me," the young girl sniffed, "She said th-that you're my daddy."
"Bullshit!" the man screamed as he planted another hard kick into the young girl's side, sending her even farther across the floor, "A kid as puny as you couldn't be my kid! And besides... you're mum was probably just some cheap whore," the man snickered as he watched tears well up in the girl's eyes.
Emil was about to walk away until he heard the young girl start wailing, the man continuing to mock her and her dead mother, "This is why people are disgusting," Emil grunted before falling silent, "But also fascinating... What drives another man to mock a poor girl can drive another one to take pity on her..." he whispered as he clenched his fist, sending the file he was reading into his requip space, "Curse Magic: Brittle Bone," Emil muttered as he walked past the man, brushing into him as the man suddenly felt weak, "I'm sorry, did I bump into you?" Emil quickly asked as he turned on his heel with a wicked smile as he kicked the man's left thigh bone, snapping it half as the man fell to the ground.
"Fuck!" he screamed as he impacted with the ground, feeling all of the bones in his left side break and shatter.
"Oh my? What happened to you?" Emil asked as he stomped on the man's right hand, disintegrating the bones in it, causing the man to scream again, "Maybe the bad karma you picked up from hurting that girl caught up with you?" the young man suggested with a cruel smirk on his face, "I'd tell you to get lost, but you're in no shape to go anywhere and moving you would only cause more harm than good," Emil stated as the man passed out from pain, "Now then," he added as he looked over at the young girl before walking over to her and kneeling down, "What's your name?"
"O-Ora Burns..." the small girl answered, with a sound of slight awe in her voice, "Did... did you stop him from talking bad about mommy?" she asked.
"Yep," Emil answered happily, knowing full well that the man would never walk again and that he may potentially even die, "He'll never say mean things about you or your mom again."
"... Thank you," the girl whispered, the look on her face suggesting that she wanted to say more.
"What is it?" Emil asked, a kind smile on his face.
"Um... what's your name?" the small girl asked, a faint blush on her face.
"Hehe... Emil Gunvor," he answered happily.
"Um... Mr. Emil... D-do you mind if... if I come with you?" Ora asked timidly, scared of being rejected again.
Emil studied the girl for a small moment before closing his eyes and sensing the potential Ora held, '… She can be a mage... a powerful one at that,' Emil thought to himself before he opened his eyes and smiled kindly again, "Of course you can. But we'll be traveling a lot I think," he answered as he watched Ora's face light up with a bright smile.
"I can!? Really!?" she asked.
"Of course! I'll have to introduce you to someone first and I'll warn you now that he's a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, so he might be a bit grumpy when I tell him that you're coming with us," Emil explained.
"It's okay! What's he like?" Ora asked happily.
"He's a cat," Emil answered simply, confusing the young girl.
. : + : .
June 18th, X784, the Capital City of Crocus
"Emil..." Corbin said lowly, "Who is this?"
"Ah, this is Ora Burns," the smirking young man answered simply.
"Why is she here?" Corbin asked, his patience thinning.
"I brought her," Emil answered in once again a simple manner.
"I can see that, but why?"
"Because I wanted to."
"How is that a reason!?" the cat yelled, "We can't take a child with us! She's slow and useless! Not to mention she's another mouth to feed."
"Now, now Corbin," Emil chuckled as he picked up the cat by the back of it's neck, holding him up to his face, "She has the potential to be a mage," he whispered, "That and what's one more mouth once we start selling that info? We'll be rich!"
"Gr... that's true, but still..." the cat grumbled as Emil brought him face to face with the young girl.
"Ora, this is Corbin. Corbin, this is Ora" Emil said as he introduced the two.
"A talking cat..." Ora gasped in awe.
"Now then," Emil said as he brought Corbin back up to his level, "Did you find anything in the files I gave you to look over?"
"Yes, there's a rather large serpent a few miles from the city," Corbin answered, "Some mages tried to take it down, but none of them came back."
"That'll work if you can make it tunnel it's way here," Emil smirked.
"Why're you looking for a giant serpent?" Ora asked, a curious look on her face.
"Well..." Emil started as he thought about how to explain his actions, "We're looking for something in Crocus, but we're not exactly allowed to take it since it's not ours."
"So you're going to steal?" the young girl asked.
"Steal is a harsh word... we prefer to say that we're borrowing without permission," Emil chuckled, "So we need the giant monster to distract the people who have the thing we're looking for since it was ours to begin with, but they took it from us and killed some of our friends."
"They sound like bad people..." Ora said quietly, furrowing her brow.
"Yeah, they're pretty bad people all right. In fact, Crocus is filled with a lot of bad people so the serpent might kill some of them and make the city a better place," the rogue mage explained with a sinister smirk, thoroughly pleased with how his explanation had come along.
"So you and Kitty are gonna make it a better place?" she asked, Corbin grumbling at being call a kitty.
"Exactly! Crocus is going to be a much better place after we finish here."
"You should hurry then... Is there anything I can do to help?" Ora asked sincerely.
"Hm... I know! I need you to look after Corbin while I go into the city after the giant monster shows up," Emil explained, "Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah!" Ora answered happily, "But won't it be dangerous for you?" she suddenly asked, a concerned look on the girl's face.
"Haha! Don't worry, Corbin'll make sure that the serpent doesn't attack me," he answered, "He'll be controlling it so you have to watch over him while he does that, all right?"
"Okay," Ora answered as the cat's eyes changed back to normal as a crow flew off in the direction of the serpent.
. : + : .
June 19th, X784, the Capital City of Crocus, the Lohr Dojo
Camille awoke with a start, hearing a loud boom from somewhere in the city that faded into rumbling, like a building was falling down.
"Is that... screaming?" she groggily asked herself as she pulled herself out of bed to look out of the window, seeing a large, eight-headed serpent in the distance, within the city walls, "What is that?" Camille gasped before running out of her room to Zander and Quinn's, seeing the two mages awake, already beginning their preparations for a hard fight.
"Any idea what sort of monster that is?" Quinn asked as she fastened her white, leather belt, ensuring that her sais were in place.
"It has eight heads, so that means that it's either a hydra or a Yamato-no-Orochi. And since we're far away from the sea, that makes it the latter," the redhead answered as he closed the encyclopedia on beasts he was holding, "On the bright side we don't have to worry about it regenerating..."
"And on the bad side we have to fight something from the ancient times. Great," the auburn haired woman added sarcastically.
"Actually... Quinn, I want you to get your dad and the kids to safety first," Zander said quietly as Cathair walked into the room, passing by Camille.
"What!?" she shouted, "Hell no! The city's getting torn apart and you want me to run away!?"
"He didn't say that Quinn," Cathair interrupted, "He just wants to make sure that your father and the children are safe. I don't believe he said anything about you not coming back after you secured their safety."
"That's right," Zander added, "Please, just make sure that they're all safe first and then you can come back and help."
"I..." Quinn started to argue back before letting out a sigh, "Fine... But listen you!" she shouted as she jabbed a finger into Zander's chest, "Make sure you come back without a scratch, all right?" she said as her finger dropped down from his chest as she wrapped her arms around him.
"I promise," Zander responded as he returned the gesture, "All right, now get them to safety," he added as the two separated, Quinn taking Camille's hand on her way out.
"Come on! We have to go find my dad and the rest of you kids," Quinn stated as she pulled Camille through the dojo, "Dad!" she exclaimed as Christopher came up next to the two.
"What's going on Quinn!?" he asked.
"A giant snake is attacking the city and I'm getting all of you to safety before going to help Zander and Cathair," she explained quickly, "Can you go get Lynn while we go get the boys?"
"Right, of course!" he responded as he ran off towards Lynn's room.
"Momma!" they heard Quill cry from his and Jareth's room as they got closer to it.
'Shit! Their room has a window in the direction of the snake,' Quinn cursed in her head, "Hold on!" she called out as she and Camille ran into the boy's room, "Don't worry Quill, I'm here... I'm here," she whispered as she picked up her youngest son.
"What is that thing!?" Jareth asked, the young boy obviously frightened, but having still been brave enough to have taken care of his brother until Quinn had arrived.
"Master said it was a Yamato-no-Orochi," Camille answered, "He and Cathair are going to fight it right now!"
"Well if anyone can kill something like that, it's my dad!" Jareth exclaimed proudly as he picked up his beanie and put it on.
"All right, let's go find your grandfather and cousin so we can get you all to safety," Quinn announced as she walked out of the room with Camille and Jareth following her while she carried Quill.
"Quinn!" Christopher called out as he and Lynn ran towards them all, Lynn was clearly frightened by the serpent and her magic was easily making that known as small blades were beginning to cut through the bandages on her forearms, as well as through her shoulders, as her magic responded to the sense of danger she was feeling.
"Lynn! Are you all right?" Quinn asked as soon as she saw her niece's condition.
"I'll be fine..." Lynn grunted, the young girl obviously in great pain as there was the horrible noise of metal scraping against metal every time she moved.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to hold out until you get to safety," Quinn apologized as she started moving towards the exit, "Follow me!" she ordered as she led the group out of the dojo and into the streets of Crocus.
. : + : .
"Look at the size of that thing," Zander gawked as he and Cathair got close to the giant serpent, "And it's already wiped out at least several platoons of soldiers," he observed as he looked around at the many bodies of unmoving soldiers lying amongst the rubble.
"God only knows just how many it's already eaten," Cathair growled as pulled his hammer off of his back, "I suggest you bring out a sword now."
"Right," Zander responded as he held out his left hand, "Twilight Sliver!" he announced as a dark steel katana appeared in his hand, the weapon having a burgundy cloth tied around it's black handle as well as a darkness lachrima implanted into it's pommel, "Gunblade: Load!" he called out as the magic interface appeared around the weapon's hilt, showing it to be fully loaded at 30 charges, "I'm ready."
"Let's go then," Cathair suggested as he resumed running towards the large serpent, Zander following him, "You hit it first Zander!"
"Got it!" the redhead called out as he climbed up on top of a building, holding his sword up into the air at an angle, "Gunblade: Bombing Run!" he announced as 20 ticks disappeared from his magic display as the same amount of darkness magic projectiles shot up into the air before raining down on the Yamato-no-Orochi, each exploding on contact, "That'll get it's attention," he muttered as the eight-headed serpent turned it's attention on Zander, it's purple and red, cat-like eyes locking onto him as one of it's heads lunged at the man.
"Gravity Magic: Grand Hammer Carnival!" Cathair announced as he slammed his hammer upwards into the jaw of the monster, sending it flying away from Zander with a gravity-enhanced strike as the redhead reloaded, "I'll keep it away from you, so hit with all you've got Zander!"
"Flamberge!" Zander shouted as a steel broadsword with a red cloth tied around it's handle and a fire lachrima embedded in it's pommel appeared in his right hand, "Load! Artillery Strike!" he announced as he sent a darkness and a fire projectile flying towards the monster, both exploding upon impact as two of the monsters head flew back from the force of the blow "Tsk... I can push it back but this thing's hide is tough."
"It's a fight of attrition then!" Cathair yelled as he prevented the lunge of another head.
"Come on Quinn... hurry," Zander pleaded as he readied his next attack.
. : + : .
"We're almost there!" Quinn called out to her family behind her, "The shelter should be right around this..."
"What's wrong Quinn?" Christopher asked as he and the kids came to a stop next to his daughter, seeing the smirking man leaning next to the shelter's entrance, "Who are you!?"
"My name?" the man asked, "Heh, I'm certain that the Memory Take mage there would be able to rip it from my head if she wanted to and I don't really see the reason for telling you."
"Dad... take the kids and run," Quinn ordered in a serious tone as she handed Quill over to her father.
"Quinn, I can't just leave you!" Christopher objected.
"I said go!" she yelled, "This guy isn't here for a chat so get going!"
"... All right," the older martial artist conceded, "Let's go!" he ordered as he and the kids ran off.
"Christopher..." Camille muttered as they ran, "Do you want me to stay and watch the fight?" she asked as the man came to a stop.
"In all honesty... yes... I do," he admitted, "I know that my daughter can take care of herself, but there's still the chance that she'll need a helping hand."
"Then let me go back too!" Jareth exclaimed.
"No Jareth!" Camille shouted, "You need to go with Christopher."
"Why?" the redhead asked, "You're not the boss of me!"
"Jareth listen... I need you here. Look at Lynn, she can barely move right now so you have to protect her! If you go back with me then there'll be no one to protect them," Camille explained.
Jareth let out a sigh, "All right... I'll go with them."
"Thanks," Camille said before she started running back to where Quinn was fighting, seeing that she had already started fighting with the man, both of them testing out each other's martial arts.
"For all that talk earlier you're sure not holding up well!" she shouted as the man barely managed to dodge a strike from Quinn's sai.
"I'm just getting started you know," the man grunted as he clenched his teeth, "Curse Magic: Sleeping Nerves!" he announced as he grabbed Quinn's arm as she swung one of sais, the woman instantly feeling the effect of the man's magic as she lost feeling in her left arm.
"Tsk," Quinn grunted as she quickly put the sai in her right hand away since she had dropped the sai in her left hand, "Memory Take: Ice Shotgun!" she yelled as she thrust her right fist forward, sending out a storm of icicles towards the man, taking him by surprise as he narrowly managed to dodge the ice, "Ice Field!" Quinn yelled as she slammed her right hand on the ground, refusing the man to have a moment to recover as icicles began shooting out of the ground as it froze over.
"Dammit!" the man cursed as he managed to dodge the icicles, but slip on the ice.
"Wind Glider!" she announced as she jumped into the air, landing on a board of wind before flying towards her opponent.
"Curse Magic!" the man started to announce as Quinn realized that he may have far more nastier spells up his sleeves.
'Looks like I don't have much of a choice...' Quinn thought to herself as she reached out her right hand, "Memory Take: Extraction of One!" she shouted as she grabbed the man's right shoulder as she stared into his eyes with a mesmerizing look that he just couldn't pull away from.
Quinn felt the rush of memories hit her quickly as she took the man's Curse Magic from him, memory after memory went through her mind as she figured out the man's identity and what he'd done.
"Emil... Gunvor..." Quinn panted as she let go of the man, staring him down as the equally tired out man scrambled away from her, "You're one of the people... who did that to Lynn... It's your fault her father's dead!
"I..." Emil gawked as he tried to remember the event, quickly realizing that he couldn't remember the outcome of it very well, "Dammit," he cursed as he realized that Quinn had taken his magic and memories, 'She's still exhausted... I guess I have that magic up my sleeve, but I can't really keep this up after that,' Emil thought as he stood back up, pulling a red gem from his jacket pocket before throwing it at Quinn, "Gem Magic: Fueur Ein!" he announced as his gem got shot out of the air by a small, gold bullet of magic.
"Quinn!" Camille shouted, the girl extending her left hand like a gun, "Are you all right?"
"Heh... Thanks to you I am," she responded, her last spell had clearly exhausted her since she now had to sort through new memories, "Now I just need to finish him off!" she hissed as she focused her attention back on Emil, who had pulled out more gems.
"You're welcome to try," Emil panted, "But if you think that you can get past or stop all of these I wouldn't recommend it. So what's it gonna be? Are you going to try and attack? Or will you let me go?"
Quinn stared Emil down for a moment, if it had just been her she would've tried it, but since Camille was there... "Fine... Leave! Hurry up before I change my mind!" she shouted as Emil wasted no time in running.
. : + : .
"Just one more push until he's next to the wall Cathair!" Zander shouted as he shot off a salvo of darkness imbued magic.
"Got it!" Cathair shouted back as he pulled back his hammer, "Gravity Magic: Supreme Hammer Festival!" he announced as he put every last bit of magic power into his spell, the strike sending the eight-headed serpent flying through the city wall, "Zander! Now!" he called as Zander leapt into the air as brought every sword in his possession out as he used his knowledge of telekinesis to suspend himself and his blades in the air.
"Gunblade: Overload!" Zander announced as he filled each of his swords with magic power to the brim, "Now... The War Goddess's Path!" he screamed as each of the swords unleashed the magic power they were storing in the form of a powerful blast of magic that completely enveloped the Yamato-no-Orochi, leaving nothing but a ruined path that stretched on for miles from Zander's position, "Got ya," the redhead smirked as he and his swords fell from their suspended position in the air, the weapons fading back into Zander's requip space as they hit the ground.
Cathair stared out at the long, ruined path left by Zander's last spell, ensuring that there was no possibility of the beast surviving. Once he was satisfied, he walked over to Zander and helped him stand back up, "You all right?" he asked as the redhead nearly lost his balance.
"Yeah, that spell just takes a lot out of me, especially when I overload it," Zander grunted as he straightened up, "I'll be fine."
"Zander! Cathair!" the two men heard Christopher call out, the both of them looking over to see Christopher, the kids, and Quinn walking towards them, Quinn holding her head like she had a bad headache.
"Quinn!" shouted as he realized what she might of done to get that headache, the man running over to her, "Did you do what I think you did?" he asked hastily as he reached her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I just used Extraction of One, don't worry," the woman mumbled as she rested her head on Zander's shoulder, "But there are a lot of memories I need to sort through, so let's go home and meditate."
"All right, let's," the redhead agreed as he quickly picked Quinn up bridal style.
"Zander!"
"You're not in the best of shape for walking you know, so focus on sorting your new memories," he suggested with a smirk as he started walking.
"You look pretty worn out yourself," she pouted, but not fighting him any longer since she knew that Zander wouldn't be taking 'no' for an answer this time since she had taken someone's memories and magic, "Hey Zander," she called out after they had been walking for about ten minutes, "I need to talk to you about something important after I sort through these memories... It's about those people who did that to Lynn," she explained in a whisper, watching a shocked look cross Zander's face, a hundred questions crossing through the man's mind from what she could tell.
. : + : .
"Mr. Emil! Mr. Emil! Are you all right?" Ora asked in a panicked state after she watched the man collapse in front of her.
"Oi Emil!" Corbin shouted now that he was back inside the body of the black and white cat, "Wake up!"
"Ergh..." the young man grunted as he lifted himself off of the ground, "Sorry Corbin... but the name Emil Gunvor rings awfully hollow now that I can barely remember a good portion of my life."
"Emil! Now's not the time for being cryptic! What happened?" the cat asked in a demanding tone.
"A Memory Take Mage if my faulty memory serves correctly. Things were going well but..." he explained until he grasped his head in pain.
"Don't tell me she took your Curse Magic... You spent a good portion of ten years learning that!"
"I think that's the one... I can barely remember how you ended up like that now... but I remember what we were doing and why," Emil explained, "But I don't feel like Emil Gunvor at all anymore and whoever he was, he was an idiot.
"If your not Emil anymore than who are you?" Corbin asked while Ora just watched the scene with a curious look.
"I'm a different person now I think... That Memory Take mage took the identity of Emil," he shrugged as he opened his requip space and brought out the file he was looking over at Bar Sun before his memory got fuzzy there, "This relic... It's named after a scholar so I suppose that'll work. I'm Euclid now and I think I want to open up an information business to get what I want. Yes... Euclid will be an Information Broker I think."
"Euclid, eh?" the cat mused, "Well then, if your new name means 'Great Glory', then I shall be 'Before Glory'," the cat announced, "Corbin's body died two years ago, so I'm Proclus now."
"Now then," Euclid mumbled before turning to Ora, "You can still come with us if you want, but I don't really remember how we met all that well anymore unfortunately. It's going to be very dangerous though."
Ora stood silently for a little while, deciding what she wanted to do, "Aurora..." she responded shyly.
"What was that?" Euclid asked.
"I said I'm Aurora now!" she shouted with a determined look on her face.
"All right then, Aurora, I take it that means you want to come with us then?"
"Can I?" Aurora asked nervously.
"Of course you can, but it's going to a hard journey," Euclid explained as Aurora quickly hugged him, "All right... I won't try to talk you out of it anymore," he sighed as he patted the girl on the head, "Proclus! Our first step is to sell some of this information and get ourselves established as the best Information Agency in all of Fiore! To do that, we're going to need agents and spies, as well as more information to work with! I don't want anybody to be able to say that they're a match for Euclid and his agents when it comes to gathering and selling info!"
"What are you going to do about that girl with our relic though?" Proclus asked.
"Emil was a fool since he thought that he needed the relic she had in her close by in order to wake it up, but I'm going to start a conflict so large that it won't have any choice but to awaken and that will answer our question," Euclid explained with a smirk on his face, "After that, we'll shape the world as we see fit and answer our second question. But... we'll need some way to keep everything else at bay and something to trigger the conflict that we'll need..."
"It sounds almost like you want to take the world for yourself, Euclid," Proclus chuckled.
"Proclus, please. I'm just a scholar who wants to answer two questions in his lifetime. What will humanity be like at it's end? And what will they be like in a new beginning?" the young man replied with a knowing smirk on his face.
. : + : .
July 3rd, X784, in the Capital City of Crocus
"Can you believe what Fairy Tail has done this time!?" a man grumbled.
"What? What'd they do?" a gossiper asked quickly.
"Their Salamader, Natsu Dragneel, went and wrecked Hargeon Town's port last night!"
"Natsu did what!?" the gossiper squealed, clearly a bit too excited.
"Think that guild could do something useful for a change!? All they do is break stuff!"
"Master..." Camille muttered as she and her family walked through the streets of Crocus, Lynn having recovered from her magic acting up during the attack on Crocus.
"Hm?" the redhead hummed, "What? You think it's bothering me that everyone's talking about Fairy Tail again?"
"I just think that they should be a bit more grateful," Camille sighed.
"Don't worry about it Camille. We got a letter from Cathair saying that Midnight Haven has received far more job requests in the past few weeks than they have for a while," Quinn stated as they approached the dojo.
"Speaking of job requests. Cathair wrote that the Old Man asked if Quinn and I could tackle an S-Rank mission for him. So if you could look after everything for a few weeks Christopher..." Zander started to request.
"Say no more," Christopher demanded as he quickly picked up both Quill and Camille with a tight hug, "We'll be just fine, right?" he asked the two of them.
"Yeah!" Quill agreed happily while Camille simply wore a flat expression in response to the open display of affection, Jareth laughing at her.
. : + : .
April 8th, X790, Euclid's Office
Euclid sat as his desk, the chair turned around to face the window behind the desk so that he could watch the sunset. He was in a rather nostalgic mood, which was a strange occurrence for him since he couldn't remember a large portion of his life well.
"Euclid," he heard Aurora call out in her usual dull tone, something that always caused the Information Broker to feel a tinge of guilt.
"Hm?" Euclid hummed as he turned his chair around so that he could see his young associate.
"I have Proclus and Rhiannon's latest report for you," Aurora began as she opened one of the folders she was carrying, "Proclus has successfully infiltrated Mercurius and has obtained new information on the Eclipse Gate. He believes they are doomed to fail if things keep going the way they have."
"Heh, I take it their contact is still playing them like fools then?"
"Yes. He seems to have a great deal of Princess Hisui's trust."
"Hahahaha! That's rich!" Euclid laughed as he brought a hand up to his forehead, the man continuing to laugh.
"Are you not concerned?" Aurora asked, "Your goals will be compromised if the Eclipse Gate opens."
"No... I'm not concerned. From what Rhia's told me about the Eclipse Gate, there's a good chance that what I want will still happen if the gate is opened at the right moment," the info broker explained, "And I don't think she was lying about it either."
"And what will you do if the rumor of the 10,000 dragons proves to be true?"
"Let them come... I've prepared for that as well," Euclid smirked as he glanced down at the safe beneath his desk, "And besides, that would be a victory for us too."
"I see..." Aurora muttered as she decided not to question the man, "Onto Rhiannon's report then..."
"How's she liking her new assignment?"
"She seems to enjoy it more than her past ones... But the risk of betrayal runs high by putting her so close to someone she's aided in the past," the young girl explained as she opened Rhia's folder, Euclid merely smirking in response, "This was her report," Aurora muttered as she set the folder containing Rhia's report on Euclid's desk.
"Nothing to report," Euclid read as he opened the folder, swiftly closing it as he finished.
"Euclid..."
"Now, now Aurora. You know that Rhia's always been... concise with her reports," the info broker chuckled, "Although Rhia's one of the few things that can actually get you to show a bit of emotion anymore..." Euclid pointed out as he suddenly fell silent, a feeling of guilt washing over him, "Aurora... Do you remember the day we first met?"
"Of course I do, Euclid," Aurora answered concisely, the young girl being used to hearing this question come from the older man when he felt guilty, "Euclid. The choice to learn Spirit Tracker Magic was my own. I knew what it would cost me and the pros outweighed the cons."
"I know, I know," Euclid sighed, in truth, he knew that it was her choice since he tried to talk her out of it, but he still felt guilty that he had let her go through with it, "Well then..." Euclid began as he stood up and walked to the window behind his desk, "We've got a whole country to mess around with. Let's see what trouble we can stir up."
A/N: And there you have it! The longest chapter/omake yet by far. It's about 21 pages long and over 11,000 words... So I hope you enjoyed it!
Anyways, I'll have the next actual chapter up when I can!
Please remember to review!
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dreadburner94.