A/N Hello again all of my lovely readers! I hope that you are doing well. ^.^ Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I may not be updating as frequently starting this Monday. I am starting a new job, so I might be a little busier. Anyway, enjoy the six chapter!
We've been in ourlittle 'huddle' for nearly three hours now, but we have yet to actually connect any dots between the disappearances. It just all seems completely random to me, and maybe it is. There isn't even a trail that we can follow. Not one shred of actual evidence that we can use to figure out who's behind this. Who says that you need to have a clear objective when you go around kidnapping spirits anyway? Oh that's right, no one. Because usually spirits don't take other spirits hostage! That's assuming that everyone on our missing list is still alive. I hope for Akiko's sake that they are.
After the first hour or so, I realized how we are getting pretty much nowhere this way. Plus everybody's near constant bickering about what to do next was starting to get on my nerves. But no one wants to make a move until we have a plan to go on. So no matte how much I complained, I'm not getting out of this room until somebody's light bulb turns on. That's why I walked to the far side of the room and plopped myself down on the floor. I always think better when I'm alone. I just don't know how much more of this 'team-work' I can take.
"There has to be something!" Tooth exclaims, pulling my attention back to the group.
"I'm tellin' ya, there's not." Aster replies. "We'll have to figure out some other way to go 'bout this."
"We've been over this! There is no other way besides just randomly picking places to search." Tooth counters, throwing her hands up in the air.
Oh, we're back to that again. It's probably the third time it's been brought up since we've got here, but I'm sure we'll fail to come up with a better idea this time too. I've pretty much given up on our detective skills. Sherlock Holmes, we are not. Instead of focusing on our inevitable failure to come up with a way around our problem, I just stare at a random corner of the room. There's not a whole lot to look at besides some boxes stacked against the far wall. Apparently this is where Aster started storing things after the guardians stopped having regular meetings here a few decades back. Besides the boxes, there's only a few lights here and there.
My gaze goes to the ceiling as I become hyper aware of a soft thudding. I blink a few times as I witness a single moth trying to get as close to the light as it can. It keeps bumping up against the light's cover, causing it to be knocked back a few centimeters. This isn't phasing the moth though. If anything it's just making it try harder! Watching the insect makes me think about the strange encounter I had in the meadow the other day. I kind of know how the bug feels. We were both drawn in by something that we can't quite put a finger on. The only difference between the bug and I is that I was able to break away.
Wait... I think I may have just stumbled across something absolutely brilliant! The light is acting as a lure, drawing the moth in. With the girl in the meadow, I was the moth. That must be how she's kidnapping people without anyone noticing! They go willingly because they don't have a choice. That's what she must have been doing while she was singing. Just like a siren. What if we could somehow flip that around to use her own power against her? The only thing we would really need is someone who's willing to be the moth. I quickly stand and make my way across the room to the other's, who are still arguing.
"Guys!" I say, yelling over their voices. Everyone goes quite as they look at me. "I have an idea."
"Well, don't keep us waiting. We've already wasted enough time as it is!" Tooth says, obviously relieved to finally have an idea to run with.
"Instead of us finding her, let her find us." I say, gesturing with my hands.
"What do you mean?" North asks, a confused expression taking over his face.
"Well, what do we know? First: Spirits have gone missing all over the world, but they tend to have home bases in bigger cities. Second: Whoever's causing all of this has the ability to lure people to her, like a moth to flame. So I suggest that we use this against her. Let her find us. We can have someone be the 'moth' that pretends to get lured in, while the rest of us will be hidden nearby. That way we can pounce at the first opportunity we get!" I explain, practically jumping at how excited I am.
"Who exactly do ya have in mind to play the moth?" Aster asks and I glance at him. His arms are folded across his chest as he waits for me to come up with an answer. I bite my bottom lip as I think.
"Well.. Maybe we could have Jack do it.." I wonder aloud. Everyone gapes at this.
"Are you feeling okay?" Tooth asks, bringing her hand to my forehead. I swat her away as she goes on to say, "You usually steer clear of Jack, and for good reason. If one of you loses control of your powers..." Tooth trails off.
"The other one will die. I know, but I don't think we have much of a choice here. Besides, we would probably have to bring him and Sandy along anyway. Who knows how strong this thing is." I say. The guardians all look nervously at one another. North stokes his beard as he thinks, before he claps his hands together.
"Is simple. Jack stays on one side of trap, you on other. No mingling!" He says with a satisfied grin. "Agreed?" He asks the room. I nod first. Tooth is a little more hesitant, but she agrees to it none-the-less. Aster, however, seems to still have a problem with the plan. I don't have to ponder on it too long though.
"Do ya have a plan to keep us all from getting sucked in by her singin'?" He questions, and I feel some of my excitement fading away. "If we don't find a way 'round this, then it'll be too dangerous." That's... a pretty good point that I didn't think about. Though, I give Tooth credit when she's the first one to pop up with an answer.
"We can use earplugs of some sort for that." She says confidently. "It should work as long as they are secured properly."
"Any more questions?" I ask. Everyone shakes their head in response. "Then it's officially a plan."
*One jump cut later.*
The wind tugs at my hair as I walk next to Aster. After some more debating, we decided that our trap would take place in Orlando, Florida. It's a big enough city to attract our kidnapper, and a spirit hasn't even gone missing in the area yet. So we deduced that this might be a very possible target for her. Of course, we're still shooting in the dark but you work with what you've got. Speaking of working with what you've got, we also decided that we would be more effective if we split off into teams. This way we can cover more area and have a better chance of actually getting our hands on the girl.
Now I don't know exactly how it was decided that Aster and I would be paired up, but I didn't have much too time to complain. Before I knew it were already making our way here, while the other two went to get Jack and Sandy. Aster and I still aren't talking. The tension between us is still pretty thick, not that either of us have been very willing to try and make amends. I've actually calmed down quite a bit in the past few hours, but I still feel a little angry when I think about how much he let me down in the past week or so.
I would say that I'm more upset by the fact that I can't banter with him like I used to. I haven't let myself give into that particular urge because I didn't want things to just be swept under the rug. Nothing ever gets fixed that way, in fact, it makes it so much worse. So I've been holding back when I've wanted to joke with him, or tell him about some new thing I've discovered. I really do miss seeing that smile he wears, or having him tease me about getting hurt. Our relationship may not have been much, but he's probably the closest thing that I have to a real friend.
"Smoke's comin' out of your ears." Aster comments, breaking the silence we've had between us. I curiously quirk an eyebrow at him. "You know, 'cause your thinkin' too much?" He says, testing the waters. That's when I realize that he's trying to make a joke. I look away from him and pretend to scan the area.
"I've had a lot to think about lately..." I respond. Aster sighs.
"Listen' Shelia, I know that I should have listened to ya the other day. I am sorry 'bout that, believe me, but ya gotta look at it from my angle." He says. I don't know weather I should accept his apology or not, but he does seem genuine about talking. So I allow myself to finally glance back at him without a single snarky comment or a glare.
"Part of me does get where you were coming from. I just.. I needed somebody to help me, and you're the only one I could go to for help." I tell him.
"If I could go back I would help ya in an instant. I guess I was too blinded by all of my other responsibilities to see what was really goin' on." Aster says. I didn't think about that when I had asked him to help me. Maybe I was just as blinded by my quest to find Akiko?
Looking at it from Aster's perspective I can fully understand why he 'blew me off'. With the strange encounter I had, he was right. I don't socialize with many other spirits. It could have been very possible that I was just being pranked by some spirit that was testing out their powers. Of course I wouldn't have been able to really know who they were. Plus the whole Akiko thing is also very logical thinking on his part. Akiko has been known to straight up disappear, and we didn't even know that those two events were connected until just recently. I kind of feel like an ass now.
"I'm sorry. I know that you were trying your best to help me. I should have just kept it to myself until I knew what was going on, or until I had more evidence." I say. We've stopped walking, and are now facing each other.
"I don't want ya to feel bad for comin' to me. It's part of my job too, ya know? Besides, I like it when ya come around. You're pretty okay when you're not yellin' at me." He says, rubbing the back of his neck. I smile at him for the first time in what feels like forever.
"Why don't we just put this whole thing behind us? It's getting pretty hard to stay mad at you." I respond, holding out my right hand. He grabs it with a paw and we shake on it before we both laugh softly at ourselves. We start walking again as we begin to joke back and forth. I have to say that I feel better now that we've talked it through. Perhaps it was a good thing for the two of us to be paired up after all.
A/N I hope everyone enjoyed! This chapter was just a tad bit longer than normal. Not by much, but eh. Stay awesome!