I repeat I don't own anything in here, apart from my character and his Titans.
Chapter 1
Venice, Italy, now
"Penny for your thoughts, Lok!"
Lok Lambert snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see his mentor, Dante Vale, looking at him questioningly. "Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about my father. I do it quite often lately." Dante nodded and sat down besides him. "What the Professor said, in the final battle," Lok went on, "keeps tormenting me, I just keep thinking about it." Dante said, slowly : "I understand, Lok. But you have to keep in mind that the Professor probably wasn't telling the truth, perhaps he was just trying to unnerve you, so you would have fought without thinking and he would have had an advantage." "Maybe. But what if he wasn't lying?" retorted Lok. Dante sighed, but was saved from answering when Sophie came and said : "Hey guys, could you come here for a moment, please? Metz wants to talk to you!" They got up and followed the girl inside the house.
Metz was indeed there, alongisde with Zhalia and Cherit. Dante smiled at the sight of his mentor looking well and on his feet; he had been so worried about his conditions in the precedent months, and that was indeed a relieving sight. "Ah, Lok. How are you?" the Foundation's leader asked. Lok shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine, I think. Although the end of all the fighting unfortunately leaves me more time to think." Metz nodded understandingly. "I realize you hoped that looking for the Amulet of Will you would find your father, and I'm sorry that you didn't find him. But that's what I wanted to speak you about. When Eathon disappeared, the Huntik Foundation looked everywhere for him, with no success. But there is a man, an American Seeker, who was close friends with your father. He worked with Eathon in the years prior to his disappearance, and if someone knows something that could give you some traces, it's him." Dante looked up, amazed. "Are you talking about..." "Yes, Dante, it's Norton." "Who is this Norton?" asked Zhalia, frowning. Dante said : "Frank Norton. He's a Foundation Seeker, but he is a sort of... lone wolf. He was always ready to aid in case of emergency, but the only one with whom he often worked was Lok's father. He is one of the most powerful Seeker of the Foundation, and he knows lots of interesting things." "Then, what are we waiting for? If he knows something about my father, then I want to talk to him at once!" urged Lok. Dante lifted an amused eyebrow, sensing his protegé's hurry. "Calm down, Lok. Of course you have to have a talk with him, but not alone. I'm coming, if you don't care!" "Of course he doesn't. And he doesn't care if I come along, right?" Sophie said, coming close to Lok and looking at him square in the eyes. He smiled and shook his head saying he didn't care at all. Zhalia stood up from the char she was seated and said : "You don't think I'm letting you go without me, do you?" "I guess this settles it. America, here we come!" cheered Cherit.
Troy, New York, the day after
"He sure doesn't look like one who craves for companionship!" commented Lok. They had arrived at Norton's house; it was an isolated mansion outside the city, with a large garden surrounded by tall trees, so visitors could not arrive without being spotted.
Dante chuckled : "I told you, he's a lone wolf. Eathon was the only one he banded with. Furthermore, he loves to study all sort of things, from the military history of the American Civil War to the secret spells of the Casterwill Family. And given that he's very rich, he can do such things all the day!"
They went to the front door. Dante knocked on the door, and it opened slowly. The house's interiors were dark, and from the darkness, a voice whispered : "Boltflare!" A small ball of energy bolted towards Dante's chest; Dante managed to dodge it, and Sophie, who was playing the part of the secondary target, quickly shouted : "Honorguard!" and blocked the attack. Then, laughter came, and with it a tall man in his forties, with brown hair and beard and sparkling blue eyes. He was rocking with laughter. "Looks who's here : Dante «Tenderfoot» Vale! You'll never learn to be careful : if I had wanted to, I could have blasted you all the way to Philadelphia!" he boomed, crushing his friend in a bear hug. Dante retorted, snickering : "If I had wanted to, I could have passed from another way." Norton shook his head : "Try it, and I'll have to recover you with a spoon!" And started to laugh again. Dante shook his head with bemused disapproval, then he turned to present his companions, who had assisted to the exchange with mixed reactions; Lok was trying to hide his laughter; Sophie was slightly amused by the way the older man was treating Dante; Zhalia was frowning.
"Frank, these are my friends. Zhalia Moon..." Frank was quick to snatch Zhalia's left hand and to place a light kiss on it, in a mocking chivalrous way. "Charmed!" he said with exaggerated courtesy, at which Zhalia snickered. "Sophie Casterwill..." Frank's eyebrows took off, and he half-seriously half-jokingly bowed deeply, saying in a reverent tone : "Oh, hello, Your Holy Highness, Lady of the..." "Oh, stop it!" curtailed Sophie, uncertain if she felt more irritated or more amused. "And this is Lok Lambert, Eathon's son!" ended Dante. Another time, Frank's eyebrows went up, but he wasn't pretending this time. "Yes... he looks very much like him. So, the time has come, huh? Very well. Come, come, make your home!" he invited them into the house.
He guided them into a vast room, with the walls covered with bookshelves, with a roaring fire into the fireplace and some sofas. He had them sat up, then he went to collect some hot chocolate. Soon they were all sipping heatily their own chocolarte mug. Frank looked like lost in his thoughts.
Lok was the first to speak up. "You said that the time has come. Why did you?" Frank sighed and looked to him. "Because I knew you would come, sooner or later. I was pretty sure you would become a Seeker like your father; besides, I'm possibly the last Foundation operative to have seen him, so I knew I had to expect a visit from you." "You could have come to visit me instead. And this reminds me... why didn't you come to Europe to aid us in the fight against the Organization? I looked at the Foundation's database, and you're one of the three operatives labeled as 'AA', the others being Metz and my father. That means you're at least as powerful as my father. Your aid would have been useful!" Lok accused. Sophie looked concerned. "Lok..." she said, but she was interrupted by Frank, which seemed not to be bothered very much by the boy's anger. "Of course. Because you think that the Organization just worked in Europe. Maybe you don't know it, boy, but the Organization had agents everywhere, even here in America, although they weren't as powerful as they were in Europe. You're right, I am one of the strongest Seekers in the world, probably, but that doesn't mean I could get rid off of the Organization here and then rush to help you. I had to deal with the Professor's second-in-command, a tough guy named Rassimov, for several months, and I had to use everything I've got to frustrate his plans. Besides, from what I've heard, you managed to spank the evil guys even without me, so don't make too much a fuss about it!"
Dante said quietly : "He is right, Lok. Frank managed to obstacle the Organization here in America. If he hadn't do it, it would have been much more difficult to defeat it. So, Rassimov was here sometimes ago?" Frank nodded. "Yeah. Now I understand he was ordered to stop trying to waste time with me and return to Europe when your team started to become really dangerous." Lok was looking ashamed. "Sorry, it's just that..." "Oh, don't worry. You're exactly like your father. When something doesn't sound right to you, you charge as a maddened bull. Not a mortal sin, however." replied Frank, waving his hand to dismiss it.
A silence ensued. Then Frank spoke up : "Listen, would you please tell me what happened to you? First of all, I'm curious to know how did you get rid of the Organization. Secondly, I have to know what you discovered about Eathon until now." Dante nodded. "Sure. All started when..."
"So... the Professor is gone, the Organization is crumbling, and you have become one of the top Seekers of the Foundation. Not bad for a sixteen-year old boy." Frank said when Dante finished telling him what happened. He looked impressed. "I thought your father was the best, but you have probably surpassed him." "Well, I had very helping friends..." answered Lok, embarassed. "Don't underestimate yourself! If Dante is right, when all this started you could barely summon Freelancer, and then, you were able to summon once a Legendary Titan. That's awesome!" Frank scoffed him sternly. Lok smiled thankfully, because Sophie, hearing a very experienced Seeker praising him, was looking at him with something powerful in her eyes. Dante interrupted the praising round. "Lok is here to know something about Eathon. The Professor said something about him, but he was vague, and we don't know if he was telling the truth or not." Frank sighed. "So you went there, hoping I would know were Eathon is. Sorry, but since sometimes before Eathon's disappearance, maybe three or four weeks before, I haven't heard anything about him." Everyone looked disappointed, especially Lok, who sighed and looked down. "But... I know what he was looking for, and where he was short before he disappeared. We worked togheter for years before that, so I know his modus operandi... You, Lok, are able to reason like him. If we unite those things, maybe we can succeed where my efforts and that of the Foundation failed. What do you say?" added Frank.
That was a rethoric question. "We'll find him, even if we should have to search for years!!" shouted Lok, springing to his feet. Dante grinned. "That's the spirit, Lok. But I think it could be dangerous. Maybe Sophie and Zhalia should..." "We are coming with you, and that's not questionable!!" declared Sohpie forcefully, and Zhalia nodded her approval. "No matter what's the danger, you should do anything for him, huh? Then, it's settled!" said Frank philosophycally, taking some other chocolate.