Chapter X; One Step Forward
Jax sighed heavily as he entered the warehouse that Gula tended to use as his base of operations. Jax didn't know if the other Foretellers had a similar setup or not, but he doubted any of them operated out of the Foretellers tower. Except perhaps Master Ira.
Jax had spent most of the day trying to find any information he could on the other union masters, but he had found nothing. The other masters seemed almost like they were in hiding. No one had heard anything from them in weeks. Even the lieutenants didn't seem to have anything new.
The rumors of traitors were flying around faster than ever though. It seemed Jax heard a new theory every day, from the Master of Masters being the traitor to every single wielder in Daybreak Town, to it all being made up. He wasn't sure which one was his favorite.
As Jax went to the back of the warehouse he heard a voice that suggested Gula was talking to someone else. Jax paused outside of the door, listening carefully. The voices were soft and not near audible. Jax could only theorize who it was. But he had a good guess.
The voices stopped suddenly, and there was the sound of a portal the foretellers used when traveling. Jax shook his head opening the door and entering the room. Gula sat on the desk with a frown.
"Was that Master Invi again?" Jax asked as he closed the door behind him. Gula looked up at Jax, his mouth turning up at one corner.
"Uh-huh. She keeps trying to convince me the alliance with Aced is a bad idea." Gula answered, leaning back on the desk. Jax frowned as he closed the door behind him. He agreed with Invi, but Gula seemed convinced the idea would help. Jax didn't want to discourage him. "You agree with her, don't you?" Gula asked, easily reading Jax's silence. Jax looked up at him in surprise. Gula was watching Jax with a thoughtful frown. Jax sighed and looked away.
"Has anything really come to light since you formed the alliance?" Jax asked quietly, rather than answer directly. Gula's frown deepened. Jax could assume he was thinking, trying to find any new information Master Aced had brought to light.
"No, I guess you're right. I have no evidence of Aced being the traitor or otherwise. We've found nothing." Gula admitted leaning forward. He rested his arms on his knees, one hand supporting his chin.
"Then maybe it's time to call in quits," Jax said. He leaned back against the door and crossed his arms. Gula nodded, not really listening.
"Maybe." Gula agreed. Silence filled the room. Neither of the two were ever the most vocal, silence was normal between them. But this silence was heavy, and not at all the comfortable silence they usually shared. "What about you? Have you found anything promising?" Gula asked, directing his attention to Jax. Jax shook his head.
"No, I thought finding the Master would solve things, but that's much harder than it seems," Jax explained. Gula looked down, still frowning. Everything they were trying seemed to turn into a dead end.
"Oh. And you have nothing else?" Gula asked. He looked up at Jax hopefully. They were running out of options quickly. Almost too quickly. It seemed like there was nothing they could do. Whoever this traitor was was going to succeed.
"Nothing but questions," Jax replied. Gula titled his head to the side, curiosity spreading across his face.
"Like?" Gula asked.
"Do you actually know all the others roles? Did the Master tell you?" Jax asked. Gula frowned sitting up again. His frown had returned once again.
"Well, no. We only really know Ira and Invi's. But why should that matter?" Gula asked. Jax sighed heavily. Gula was usually one of the smartest people Jax knew. But other times his mind thought too far ahead and skipped over very important details. It appeared in his haste to find the traitor he had forgotten a key detail.
"How are you supposed to know if someone isn't following their role if you don't know what their role is in the first place? What if Aced was given the role to form an alliance?" Jax asked. Gula looked at Jax almost blankly. The look of shock slowly became one of realization, until Gula finally looked down to the ground.
"You think that the Master set us up," Gula said his voice barely above a whisper. Jax frowned, watching his best friend. He didn't want to worry him, but it seemed the most likely to him. So many things were pointing to it.
Jax had only met the Master of Masters once. Everything else Jax knew was through Gula. The Master seemed oddly childish for such a great keyblade wielder. He teased the Foretellers and created the Chirithy's. He laughed easily. But he always seemed to be hiding something or planning something. Jax didn't know why, but the hooded master always unnerved him. And Jax wouldn't be surprised if he set his pupils up for a war. Whether to test them or out of curiosity to see what happened.
"I don't know. Maybe. I never liked the guy, that was for sure." Jax said, carefully choosing which thoughts to reveal. He hated making Guka question himself.
"I see your point. It is flawed logic, and it's not as if I can just ask the others what their role is. I'd have to reveal mine as well, which would probably get me labeled as the traitor very quickly. The Master must have known this would happen." Gula agreed, thinking as he spoke. Jax was surprised he was agreeing so easily.
"So what are you going to do?" Jax asked. Gula sighed, standing up and crossing to a window.
"The only thing I really can do. I'll dissolve the alliance with Aced, and continue to search for the traitor. I'll need you to discover the others roles." Gula said, looking out the window. Jax nodded.
"Right." He agreed. He crossed the room and stood beside Gula. A sinking feeling settled in his chest. Something was going to go wrong. Sooner than anyone anticipated.
*3*
Kamiko sighed looking out her window to the rest of the town. Takiko sat on the window sill next to her, watching out the window himself. He had come over earlier in the day and was yet to go home. He probably wouldn't until much later.
Kamiko glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. It annoyed her that she couldn't read him as well as he could her. She always felt like he was thinking of something that he'd never tell her. Like he knew far more than she ever would. The feeling was particularly strong at the moment, with his neutral expression as he looked out the window. His eyes looked filled with thought. But what that thought was Kamiko didn't have the slightest clue. She could only guess it was a worrying thought.
"Taki, I think I know how to find whoever is threatening us. There's only one person it could be." Kamiko said suddenly. Takiko slowly turned his gaze to her, his head tilting to the side. Kamiko didn't say anything else despite his obvious questioning look.
"Alright, what's your plan?" Takiko asked.
"We aren't the only ones connected to her." Kamiko said simply. There were a lot of stories told about them and the one who created them, their mother according to many. Kamiko had taken the time to learn every story she could. Most seemed ridiculous. But a few, a few held some merit. And one might be the answer.
"Ok. What's your point, if you want to get technical every keyblade wielder is connected to her." Takiko said with an eye roll. Kamiko shot him a playful glare. He always seemed to have some sort of smart comeback to use.
"I know, but I mean, someone is almost as close as us," Kamiko said, turning her gaze back out the window. It looked like a busy day in town. Wielders were running back and forth with their Chirithy's, suggesting quite a few Heartless were around. Kamiko fought her urge to smile every time she saw a Dandelion.
"Who?" Takiko asked, forcing Kamiko out of her thoughts. Kamiko shrugged.
"That's the small problem, I'm not exactly sure. But whoever it is can supposedly communicate with her directly." Kamiko explained. It was an older story, that had been hard to find. The Kingdom Keeper. As the title suggested they were said to hold the key, and know exactly how to bring Kingdom Hearts around. But they were never easy to find and were usually dismissed as a legend. But Kamiko knew it was true, though she couldn't explain how she knew.
"Of course," Takiko said, quickly catching on to what Kamiko meant. If they could speak to her they could easily find them. There was no other way to locate them. "But we don't have a clue where to start." Takiko said.
"On the contrary, we do," Kamiko said with a smirk. Takiko looked at her with interest. Kamiko reveled in the fact she knew more than him for once. It was a nice change.
"Where?" He asked. Kamiko was surprised he didn't see it. It hadn't taken her long to make the connection. It just made sense. It was almost too easy to see.
"Wouldn't it make sense for whoever it is to know way more than they should? Or even to always be looking for the truth?" Kamiko asked, leading Takiko to the answer rather than just give it to him. It was something that annoyed him, but Kamiko found it fun.
"With access to her knowledge, yeah. But how does that," Takiko began but stopped mid-question. A look of realization spread across his face after a moment. His eyes filled with surprise as he smirked. As Kamiko had guessed he caught on quickly. "Ephemer." Takiko said. Kamiko nodded.
"My thoughts exactly. But he's not around anymore." She said, a frown replacing her proud smirk. That was the one problem left.
"Why not? Where did he go?" Takiko asked, sounding almost concerned. Kamiko was surprised. She didn't her brother cared much for the silver-haired wielder. He was a lot of trouble after all.
"Not sure, but he's alive. He agreed to join the Dandelions and Ava sent him ahead." Kamiko answered. She was impressed with that. Ephemer was looking to be the leader when Ava was gone. Impressive for a kid who was constantly in trouble with someone.
"So, you think he knew and was threatening us?" Takiko asked. There was a hint of disbelief in his voice. Kamiko didn't blame him. She had really liked Ephemer.
"It's the only thing that makes sense. He's the only one who could possibly know." Kamiko insisted. She didn't know if that was what she really thought, or if it was what she hoped. At least Ephemer was someone she could possibly reason with.
"What if it's not him?" Takiko asked simply. Kamiko's frown deepened.
"Well, it has to be someone. And they're probably the ones doing this to us." Kamiko said. Takiko returned his gaze out the window, a brooding look taking over his features. He was silent for a moment, still trying to decide if it really could be Ephemer.
"We'll wait and see." He decided. "No use jumping to conclusions. I can't believe Ephemer would do something like that. He was trouble, but not violent."
Kamiko smiled yet again. Takiko wasn't wrong. She didn't think Ephemer was capable of violence. He was too carefree to pick fights or pay attention to those trying to pick a fight with him. He made friends fairly easily, and always seemed to find like-minded people. Or at least people who didn't mind his bizarre ideas. It was why she never worried about the darkness swallowing his heart. Nor did she worry about the light blinding him.