CHASE PART 7
Silvia flicked her loose hair out of her face, some strands sticking on her forehead due to the sweat slicked on it.
"Come on Azure. I know you can do better than that." Azure smiles and laughs.
"Well of course I can. Can you though?" She chuckles.
"We both know the answer to that question." Azure hefts the big sword he's wielding into his shoulder. He'd chosen this sword because of its weight and reach. Azure made all of his weapons for a different reason. This one works well against large armies or heavy fighters. However because of his height he has no problem wielding it against a faster opponent like Silvia.
"Naturally." Azure presses the button on the handle. It fires a bullet out of the pommel straight at her. Silvia narrows her eyes and waits just until the bullet is inches away before skirting out of the way, using her sword to deflect it. Azure followed right behind it and slashes at her as she knocks away the pommel. She brings her sword up just in time to block the blow. Azure kicks her in the stomach and swings downward. Silvia pushes back against it, struggling because of his sword's size. Azure gives a large shove forcing her back. Silvia stumbles, tightening the grip on her sword. Azure slashes at her left side. She attempts to block, only blocking it barely. Azure uses his left leg to kick at her right side. She takes the blow, getting knocked back with a grunt. Azure takes a step back to throw a knife at her sword hand and follows it up with a slash from the flat side of the heavy sword. Silvia rolls to the side, pulling her sword in front of her to catch his sword in hers. The knife hits a tree and quivers there, he now has the advantage.
"You have no footing." Azure says referencing her kneeling position. She stands up as he talks.
"We'll have to fix that later." Silvia says.
"Next time catch the knife hm?" She looks back at the knife.
"Yeah, that wasn't a smart move for me. Smart on your part."
"Always think ahead."
Azure says.
"You know me. Always in the moment."
"To true. Well this was good." Azure says as he walks over to the tree. "Again tomorrow?"
"Of course," she replies, sheathing her Claymore sword. "Oh, I got something for you." He slides the knife into his belt .
"Yea?" Silvia heads over to her duffel bag and pulls out a black handheld pull-tie bag.
"Open this up." She tosses it to him. Azure catches it and eyes it for a second. Then he opens it up. Inside the bag is a smart watch, with a touch screen. It is a sheer black, with his blue around the trimming.
"Ohhhh. What's this for?"
"In case you leave your scroll at home. It has all the same features as your scroll. All you have to do is link them up, and you can call and message with ease." She pulls up her glove sleeve, revealing another watch, but with her signature purple. "There was a 2 for 1 deal."
"Ha wow thanks! This'll be incredibly helpful." Silvia smiles when he says this. "You're welcome. Also, consider it a thank you for training with me."
"Oh you don't have to thank me for that. But this is great thanks." Azure smiles and sheathes his sword on his back and starts to head out. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya tomorrow." She waves as she slings the duffel bag onto her shoulder and walks to the entrance.
Silvia unlocks her door, and takes off her smart watch. She opens the small hatch and plugs in the charger. "Was it too much?" She asks herself, looking down at the new contraption. "Nah. He'll understand." Silvia gets ready for bed, letting some instrumental music play through the speakers. She brings her spell book into her bed, letting the light fall on her. She flicks to a random page. That page, to her disappointment, was the multi-verse spell. She sighs. Of course this is the same spell Azure stole from her. Now that green hooded man was after him, and he posed a threat. That's why she's been bringing her all at training: so she could defend herself, and Azure if need be. She shut the book and clapped, shutting off the light and the music.
Azure heads to his place and goes to his basement. There he places the watch Silvia had gotten him on a table. Then he removes his old smart watch and places it next to hers. "Well then. A new one uh? Let's see he looks at the booklet. New features. Better connection. Thanks Silvia. Plus look at the color. Gotta love blue." Azure mutters to himself. He sits down and starts to play with it setting up the connections and what not to his weapons. He kept his weapons in capsules he could call to him at anytime with a simple press of a button. He also attached it to the AI he'd been working on. "Maybe it'll work on here. No, it's not ready." Azure looked at the watch in satisfaction, placed it on the table and stood up. Azure picked up the old one and put it in a high shelf. Then he went over to his main computer and set to work. After a few hours of working he turned away. On the one of the other worlds he'd found an AI system. It was being used by a criminal syndicate so he "borrowed" it and had been trying to integrate it into his tech. It was slow work. Azure headed to the steps but stopped before he got farther.
"I wondered how long it would take you to notice."
The next day
Silvia bolted out of bed, excited for another day of training. She shot a message to Azure on her scroll, asking if he wanted anything from the coffee shop down the street beforehand. She grabbed her sword and pulled her hair back into its signature ponytail before heading for the door. Just as she touched the doorknob, she rushed back inside for her smart watch. "Can't forget you." She smiled and headed out to the park. By the time Silvia got to the park, she had two coffees in hand. Although Azure hadn't responded, she still got him his usual. "Hey Azure. You here? Got you a coffee?" Silvia waits several more minutes but still gets nothing. "What the hell?" She sets the coffees down and tries to call his watch. Silvia chugs her coffee and throws the other one out. She bolts to his house, her heart racing from the possibility of Azure being late. He was never late. Silvia looks around in a panic. As she crosses the street to the block of his house, she sees a small movement out of the corner of her eye. She follows it up and skids to a stop as she sees a flash of blue. Azure. Silvia sees the glow of a portal and narrows her eyes. She starts to climb the scaffolding of the nearest building. Once she reaches the top, she plugs an ice dust shard into her sword. It's blue glow starts to create a staircase up to where the fight is occurring. Silvia just reaches level with the building when she sees Azure's upper half stuck in a portal. "No!" She finishes the stairs, jumping into the air and through the glass window, shattering it to pieces. "Azure!" She yells, trying to get to him.
Previously
Azure frowned into the darkness of the abandoned building the two of them had gotten to. At least he thought it was only the two of them. Sometimes it was hard to tell. He only had his gun and knives with him. Which is fine, but he liked being able to change it up in the middle. He didn't have his scroll or either watch with him. Azure throws a knife into the wall behind the person where it blows up, the two of them flip away. Both he and the person had very similar fighting styles. Azure and the hooded man exchange kicks and punches at lightning speed as they maneuver through the building's support beams. Azure jumps from one beam to the next followed closely by the man. They both land on the ground, the man kicking straight at Azure's head. He rolls back and spins on his hands kicking out. The man ducks under and back up. Azure pushes up and launches into the air where he flips over and lands 10 feet away. Azure throws four knives in quick succession. The man dodges three and knocks aside one. However when it hits off to the side it explodes. The man is tossed towards Azure who spins and kicks him twice in the chest a follows up with a final kick down onto his head. The man smashes into the ground cracking the cement. Azure stops, breathing heavily. The two had been fighting for hours. He stands and turns around when a portal opens up behind him. Azure spins around but it's too late. The portal starts swallowing him.
"Dammit it!" Azure yells. He holds out his hand and starts to chant. A woman stands holding the unconscious man.
"Save your breath. Your powers pale in comparison to our technology." Azure stops chanting and looks around. He can't get out of this so.
"Fine then. Be that way." He pulls out a knife and throws it a beam.
"What was th-" The knife had hit another one he'd thrown before and exploded causing the beam to crack and break. It falls and hits another one breaking it. This causes a chain reaction as support beams are knocked down.
"Bye now." Azure says smirking and gets fully swallowed by the portal.
The portal starts closing the women starts dragging the hooded man to the portal. Silvia halts in front of the portal, her sword outstretched towards them. "Get any closer to him, and you'll deal with me." The ceiling starts crumbling.
"I'm sorry dear but you'll have to follow us if you want to get your boyfriend back. Though I wouldn't suggest that. You'll be wanted. Just as he is." The women said as she pressed a few buttons on a gauntlet. The portal Azure had been sucked into closed and another opened behind her. "Good bye" she says stepping into it. It closes behind her. Silvia rushes forward, in an attempt to get to the portal but falls to the ground, her sword skidding away from her. "Azure..." she manages, reaching blindly for her sword. The building is crumbling around her, large chunks falling from the ceiling. A large piece almost hits her head before exploding.
"Hey beautiful, why the long face." It's Viridian. Azure's former friend. His green dress is tucked into his perfectly pressed dress pants his, black vest fitted perfectly to his slim build. He smiles at Silvia. "Come on!" Silvia grabs her sword and puts it over her head to defend from the boulder. She doesn't have to think twice as she pushes off the ground to follow him.
"How do we get it of here?" Viridian takes out his staff and spins it knocking aside a few rocks.
"This way if you will." A small bow follows it.
"That actually helps."
"Naturally." He responds. The two struggle through the falling rocks knocking them aside. Finally they get out and stand to the side of the falling building. Viridian adjust his black vest and green collared shirt. "Why were you there of all places?"
"I could ask you the same question, Viridian."
"There was a falling building, I just came to help out. Is the job after all." Silvia opens her mouth to retort, but shuts it. He's right.
"Azure was in trouble."
"In trouble uh? What'd he do this time? Kill a terrorist who had angry buddies? He did that once. It was funny." Silvia rolls her eyes, then proceeds to explain their situation, starting from the incident where they traveled universes up to the problem with the green-hooded man and the woman that was with him. "You guys should have a TV show. Or a book series. Seriously who has these kinds of problems." It wasn't really a question. "So you're gonna follow them aren't you?"
"What else do you expect me to do? But how can I figure out where they went?"
"You said Azure has been doing a bit of traveling yes? Well let's see what he knows. Maybe he's marked down places he's been. Like a scrapbook or something." She nods slowly.
"Right. Come on, I know where he lives."
"Lead the way." Viridian said smiling. Jeez these two have it rough. She nods, starting to walk down the block to his house. "Thank you, by the way."
"Oh don't worry about it. Like I said. It is the job."
"Yeah, but I should have been saving myself. Instead, all I did was mope."
"Mm perhaps. Though I find that if you rely only on yourself you end up a lot like Azure." She looks at Viridian for a moment.
"Guess that's one way of putting it." Viridian nods yawning. He runs his hand through his black hair and smiles. The reach a building that has its door wide open. "Uhhhhh is that it?" She looks to where he is referencing and her skin goes pale. She pushes past him and into the house. There are signs of a fight throughout the hall. "So I take it this is where the fight started."
"How did they get past the defenses?" Silvia asks looking around in a panic, finding the door to the basement. She throws it open and flies down the stairs, two at a time. Viridian follows her in.
"Couldn't they just use a portal and get right in?"He asks.
"Yes." An electronic voice responds. It's reminiscent of Azure. Silvia looks up at the ceiling. "Azure?"
"No this is A-2-U-R-3. The artificial intelligence being constructed by Azure Požar. Who are you." Silvia sighs. Of course it's an AI.
"I'm Silvia Danvers. And this is Viridian."
"Who names an AI after themselves?" He asks.
"Clearly Azure did," she replies, directed at Viridian. She then directs herself back to the AI. "Both of us have direct relations with Azure. He was taken by the people who have broken in here, and we need your help.
"Interesting. Unfortunately I am incomplete. And have no abilities beyond information."
"Information is all we need."
"What do you require then?"
"Any records of Azure using portals to visit other universes. Also, any notes that he wrote down about his ventures."
"Very well." It's sits for a minute. Viridian glances at Silvia.
"Kinda slow?"
"Just a bit. Give it some time." A video of Azure pops up, the AIs voice can be heard.
"This is the one that most closely relates to the hooded people."
"Turn up the volume." She says, moving towards the screen. The volume increases. Azure's voice crackles to life. "Apparently this world has a 'no across world travel law.' Now I got away without trouble this time but I need to go back. The tech they have there is outstanding. With it I can easily get A2ur3 to work. With that the other half of my plan would be easily realized. I plan on returning tomorrow. End log." The video ended and the AI popped back up.
"This was the video related to his first visit. Here is the second." Another video of Azure appears. He looks a bit tired this time. But he's smiling. "This time I did run into trouble. Though I got what I wanted. Well the basics of it. If I run into problems I may have to return and get a few more things. End log."
"Those are the only time he visited that earth. I have heard him say he may have to go again. He refers to it as world 3. He said he got the naming system from the comics." Silvia shook her head, Azure and his damn naming systems. It's part of the reason she fell for him until he first place. That, and his quirk for chocolate.
"Is there anyway you can pull up the schematics for that world? No doubt they took him there."
"Mm. I believe so. Give me several minutes."
Silvia groans quietly. They didn't have time. Azure could be getting tortured, or worse. But they couldn't go into this blind.
"Alright. Thank you."
"So when we get there what do we do?" Viridian asks.
"I..." she plops herself down on a swivel chair, her elbows propped on her knees. "I don't know."
"Well I guess we can figure it out as we go." Viridian looks around at everything. "This guy has a lot of weapons." Viridian smiles slightly. Seriously this guy was slightly insane with the amount of weapons. He had six capsules lining the walls along with several swords and guns on racks. A few different kinds. Viridian couldn't tell the difference between them, he used cards as weapons. Or anything he could throw really.
"Yeah. He always does." She looks up, when a small flash of light catches her eye. She stands up and walks to the source. It's the watch she had given him the day before. On the screen was the text message she sent him earlier. She strokes the watch screen tenderly.
"Uh what's that?" Viridian asks.
"It's a smart watch," she responds, still looking at the watch. "I just got it for him yesterday." A faint trace of a smile shows. Viridian glances over at her. He walks over and looks down.
"Well just make sure you give it to him when we find him."
"What if he's hurt?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
"He's him. He'll be fine. The only person I've ever seen give him trouble is Noir."
"But this is an entirely new threat that we know almost nothing about."
"Yea, guess you may be right. But you just have to be confident." Viridian said looking in a mirror. She looks at her reflection in the screen of the smart watch. "Guess that's the thing about me. I've never been confident."
"Well you're in luck. I'm the physical embodiment of confidence." Silvia smiles faintly, tucking the watch into her side pocket.
"I would say narcissism, but confidence is a better term."
Silvia jokes.
"Well it's nicer at least." He smiles and runs his fingers through his hair again.
"I have found the location." The AI finally says.
"Thank you. Where is it?"
"I will send it to your scroll. It's what he said he used to locate the world a second time. He said it was fairly straightforward. Chant that alongside the normal chant and that world will appear." She pulls out her scroll, her eyes running over the incantation.
"Simple enough. Thank you so much."
"Of course." The AI responds before shutting off.
"I like baby terminator" Viridian says.
Silvia takes a few blades with her from the shelves. Viridian glances at her when she takes them.
"You think you need those?" Viridian asks.
"Just in case. I can covert them to charms on my bracelet, if I need to." Silvia puts the last one on her belt before heading upstairs. Viridian glances around the room now that he's alone. Azure had tried to train him to. He didn't take to it. Azure stressed the darkness and foulness of the world and the necessity of killing off people. Azure was broken, and not just his back but his heart and mind. Noir had raised him to be nothing but a killer. Viridian knew that for awhile Azure had tried to stop. Tried to be better, but somehow Noir had broken him again and Azure returned to killing and torturing. Even if he didn't say he was the Dragon, that he was better, Azure was still very close to being that. No amount of smiles and jokes would change that. Even still he did care about him. Not that he'd tell anyone that. Viridian sighs and follows up Silvia. She let herself get caught up with Azure to much. She should let him be sometime.
Silvia pulls back out her scroll, looking over the chant. "You might want to stand back for this. Last time I did this, we got sucked into the portal."
"Well at least this time it'll be on purpose." She doesn't reply, as she starts the incantation her and Azure both knew. A blue strand links together, forming an icy blue pool before them, lighting up the room. She glances down at her scroll and adds the portion Azure used to find the world.
"Do you know where in that world we'll come out?" Viridian asks.
"No clue. So stay with me." She extends her hand to him as an image of the world appears in the portal. He stands next to her watching the portal closely.
"Now or never, Viridian."
"Ready when you are." She smirks before jumping in, being consumed by the portal. A single shake of his head and Viridian follows as well. The portal closes behind him, and another one opens up in this new world. Silvia steps out, fixing her ponytail. Viridian steps next to her yawning.
"The outside makes me tired."
"Of course it does." She closes the portal behind Viridian, and scans the new world. Suddenly a wave of panic fills through her body, but she doesn't let it show. He smiles and looks around stretching. This isn't to bad. Still Azure isn't here. That much is clear.
"Okay, so... a green-hooded figure and a woman. They have to work for some big company." Silvia points out.
"Probably. Or maybe the government if it's a law that you can't travel."
"There's only one way to find out. To the library!"
"Yaayyyy." Viridian said. Though there was no excitement in his voice. She looked at him, an unreadable look on her face.
"You're telling me you'd rather let Azure rot in a cell instead of doing some measly research and saving his ass."
"Eh. I guess not. But libraries are just so blah. Let's go though."
"Good." She jumps down from the ledge they were on and proceeded to the library, assuming it was still in the same location and Viridian follows close behind. Viridian fell into step next to her looking around. The buildings were the same. Well the same as they were before the attack. So many of the places in Vale were in ruins now. This place showed no sign that an attack of any kind had occurred here. Viridian may not mind this place but it looked to clean.
"So what have you been up to, Viridian?" She asked, trying to break the quiet between them. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"Mostly just working. Cleaning out Grimm. Slowly we're getting them out of there. Obviously it's because of how great I am." Silvia rolled her eyes.
"Sure it is."
"What about you hm? Why are you and Azure not helping out?"
"He's been helping me train. Ever since the attack on Vale, I haven't felt right with my fighting. Azure's the only person who knows me better than me."
"Train uh? And yeah he tends to know how people fight." Viridian remarks. He knows why to. So he can beat them.
"So until I can get myself to a better level, I don't want to fight and risk the lives of others on my mistakes. Viridian raises an eyebrow.
"Well whatever floats your boat."
"I know it doesn't sound like me." She proceeds up the stairs of the library. "But I've changed." Viridian follows.
"As long as it's for the better."
"Yeah..." She looks around at the vast amount of books that towered to the ceiling like skyscrapers.
"Can I help you?" A woman with black reading glasses asks, walking up to them.
"Yes. My friend and I were wondering if you had any information on research done on alternate universes."
"Research project for school?"
"You could say that." The librarian nods.
"Well, we have a computer room that you can use. Anything you need will be in there."
"Thanks." Viridian says smiling charmingly. The women looks at him and tilts her head squinting for a second, then she nods and leads them to the computer room.
"This is the computer room. Enjoy." She opens the door and starts walking back looking at them over her shoulder.
"We need to make this quick," Silvia says, once the door closes. "I have the feeling she's onto us."
"Yea. But why. Is there something different about us?"
"I don't know. And I don't want to stick around here to find out." She plops herself down in front of a computer and starts her work.
"So what are you looking for exactly?"
"Any company that may have that woman associated with it. We find the company, We find Azure." Silvia starts typing at a blinding speed. She starts by looking up a few keywords into the search engine.
Viridian walks over to the door and leans against the wall next to it. He leans twirling a card through his fingers calmly. Listening for approaching feet. So he was helping her train. He wondered how long until he decided she wasn't good enough like he had with him. Silvia's typing stops after a few minutes when she comes across an article.
"Hey, I think I found something."
"Oh really? What is it?" She motions for him to come over to her.
"Some company has been running a monopoly in all alternate universe and portal research. Their name is all I can find in all the databases I checked."
"Seriously? Must be this world's Schnee."
"Honestly." Her eyes narrow. "They're called the Freture Foundation."
"Freture?"
"Probably a play on the word future." She smirks. Silvia moves her cursor to a "Read more" bar, and clicks it. The extra information reveals a picture of a woman in a lab coat and a device on her forearm. "That's the executive director."
"So. We break in a find Azure? Is that our master plan?" Viridian asks doubtful.
"Unless you have a better one." Silvia swivels to face him. "I can use my semblance to cover us, but it won't last long."
"Unfortunately no. I don't." A knock is heard at the door. Viridian looks at Silvia and slips his hand with the card behind his back. Darn it he'd gotten distracted. He waits for Silvia's signal. Silvia looks down at the card and raises an eyebrow. She quickly scans over the info before closing out of the programs. She nods at him. Viridian opens the door. "Yes how can I hel- what?" Azure, or someone who looks like him stands in the doorway.
"Hello I need you to come with me." The man says. His green eyes very bright. Silvia stands up, the chair she was in sliding back.
"Who are you?" Her voice cold.
"My name is Jade. Now as I said before. Please come with me." Behind him several hooded people step forward.
"Who sent you?" She steps forward, next to Viridian. Viridian glances at her out of the corner of his eye keeping quiet.
"My bosses did. If you would like to meet them. Come with me." He says the last sentence with much more force than before. Silvia meets Jade's eyes with a coldness that matches her tone. She hates seeing this version of Azure in front of her instead of her own Azure. However, this was the only way they could get into their headquarters. "Fine."
"Good. Follow me." He turns and walks out. The other hooded people wait to walk until he's at the front. Viridian looks at Silvia.
"Well then. I guess we know how we're getting in now."
"Librarian must have notified them." Silvia says as she follows Jade out, staying close to Viridian. The hooded men really were starting to creep her out.
"Yea." He mutters. Still spinning the card through his fingers.
"There's too many of them to fight," Silvia says, glancing down at his card.
"I know." He glances around at the men. There was to many. Especially if they're all as skilled as the one who was fighting Azure. Viridian looked at Jade. Perhaps that was him.
"What are you thinking?" Silvia asks.
"How'd she know? The librarian. How'd she know we weren't from here?" Silvia shrugs.
"I would say clothing, but the styles are too similar across our worlds."
"Exactly. I can't figure it out. It's so weird."
"It is. Guess it's something we'll have to ask the director."Silvia swallows a lump in her throat. They approach a skyscraper with all glass windows. "He could be anywhere..." she mutters.
"Well at least we don't have to break in."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." They enter the building. Silvia feels the hilt of her sword for comfort. The group of hooded men lead the to an elevator, Jade hits the button and the doors open. He leads them in. The hooded people surround Silvia and Viridian. Out of reflex, Silvia moves towards the middle, away from the men. She ends up squishing herself against Viridian. "Well hello there." She fights back a smile.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
"Ahh it's fine. Much more interesting than what I was doing before."
"Which was?"
"Fighting Grimm."
"Oh. Yeah." She looks over at the hooded figure next to her. He was too close for comfort. Chills brushed down her spine. After a few minutes the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened. Jade led the group through the open doors and down the hallway. After a few minutes of walking it became clear that this wasn't a hallway but a long room. An extremely long room. At the end of the room sat a desk. In front of the desk stood the women from the picture. Silvia's hands tighten into fists at her side, her nails digging into her palm to stop herself from lashing out.
"Welcome. We know why you are here. You are here to save your friend Azure Požar. Unfortunately by doing so you have broken the same laws as your friend." The women said, she had a high cold voice. "You will be subject to the same punishment he is."
"Where is he?" Silvia asks, stepping forward, her voice meeting her tone.
"Away. Where, is none of your concern." A small growl hovers in Silvia's throat.
"You think I'm dumb enough to just let him go?" A deep voice comes from the chair behind the desk.
"I don't think you're dumb. As a matter of fact I know you aren't. That is why you'll know that attempting to do something about it, is pointless."
"It won't stop me from trying. Do what you want to me. He got all this from me in the first place."
"Azure has a knack for getting himself into trouble dear." The man responds.
"But I'm the one who led him to the spell in the first place! I started his obsession." The man simply laughs at this and gestures over the shoulder of the chair. His hand is rather large. The woman steps forward.
"Take them to cells 2-B and 3-F." Her eyes widen as she looks back to Viridian. Viridian shrugs keeping a calm look on his face as they're forced walked forward. One of the men push her forcefully, causing her to stumble. She shoots a glare back at the man before walking ahead to her own doom.
Author's Note: Finally got a chapter up with having to break it into pieces. Go me. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it.