Chandra laughed as she watched Michael and David push Jace through the entire assembly line of food. She shook her head, "He's gonna be so sick."
"If you look at his face he knows it," Lilianna said.
Chandra nodded, "Yeah. That's what makes this funny."
"He knows and yet he allows them to push him to continue," Lilianna cocked her head to the side, "However how the three of them are going to carry that much food to a table or couch without dropping any is a mystery to me."
Chandra shrugged, "They'll figure something out." She grabbed two cookies and handed one to Lilianna. The necromancer glared at her but took it. She smirked at her, "No. I'm not passive aggressively insulting you. I'm being nice."
"I'll believe that when the sun stops shining," Lilianna retorted.
Chandra shrugged, "Believe what you like, Zombie-lover."
"I hate that," Lilianna said evenly.
"Why do you think I call you it?"
"You've spent far too much time with that lightning idiot."
"And if I have?" Chandra glanced at her, "Princess?"
"You do not have my permission to call me that."
Chandra snorted, "Neither does he."
"It won't stop him," Lilianna shrugged indifferently, "and I much prefer that he call me Princess than you."
"Oh. Okay," Chandra nodded sarcastically, "I see how it is. Playing favorites are we?"
"When it comes to choosing you or another I will always play favorites," Lilianna promised.
"I bet," Chandra turned back to watching people devour the sweets Melody had made. She smirked, "Princess."
"Chandra Nalaar. I will personally ensure that your grave is filled if you do not stop."
Chandra laughed, "Okay. Okay. I won't do it again."
Lilianna looked at her doubtfully.
"Until the next time," she shrugged.
"As I thought," Lilianna nodded, "you filthy little rat."
Chandra laughed, "You never change." She began to walk away, "See ya, Greedy Queen of Diamonds."
"Same to you, Heartless Queen of Hearts."
Chandra smiled and walked over to Michael, David and Jace, "Having fun you three?"
"No," Jace said flatly.
"Ignore him," Michael said.
"He's having a blast," David added.
"I am not."
"Then tell me why you were smiling earlier," the twins said in unison.
Jace froze and his face turned bright red. He looked away from them, "I was not smiling."
"I bet," Chandra said.
Suddenly Jace glared at her, "You stole the ring from me."
"That I did," Chandra nodded, "I did not say that you got to keep the ring. I said you'd be able to have the medallion."
"How even?" Michael asked. He looked from Chandra to Jace in surprise.
"It's impossible to steal something from either of you," David added.
Chandra shrugged, "Can't tell. Then he'd know the next time I tried it."
Jace's eyes narrowed, "Fine."
"Are you gonna have some too?" Jade asked.
Chandra shrugged and lifted up the chocolate chip cookie that was in her hand, "I already have."
"Oh," Jade said.
Chandra looked at Jace, Michael, and David, "How...exactly do you plan on eating all of that?"
Jace shrugged unenthusiastically.
"We'll figure something out."
Chandra followed them to a table outside.
Jace stared at the ground, "This isn't possible."
"C'mon," Michael grinned, "We'll do it!"
"Why the hell did I even let you talk me into this?" Jace growled.
Chandra laughed. She reached out to steal something from him. He hit her hand away. She smirked, "Well you obviously don't want to share."
Jace hissed at her but didn't say anything.
Michael laughed, "Maybe he just doesn't like you."
"Cat Ears loves us," Ral grinned as he sat down between Jace and David.
"Hey Ral. Nice of you to join us," Chandra sat back and watched Jace stare dully at the sweets he'd allowed Michael and David to pile up. She shook her head, "I do not envy you your situation tonight."
"Shut up," Jace muttered.
"Let's start with the...cheesecake!" David said.
Jace gagged, "I don't like cheesecake."
"You've never had cheesecake," Chandra reminded him sharply.
"It just sounds gross. Why would it even be called cheesecake anyway?"
"You're asking me?" Chandra shrugged.
"It's good," Michael promised.
Jace nibbled at it and decided he didn't like it.
Ral shook his head, "You can't decide you don't like it if you've barely tasted it, Cat Ears."
Jace glared at him.
Chandra shook her head in amusement, "Well. I'm gonna go find somewhere to put all the lovely things you all got me."
"You've spent too much time with Princess, Beautiful," Ral said flatly.
"According to her I've spent too much time with you," Chandra shrugged, "It can't be helped. You're all bad influences."
"I'd be more likely to believe you're a bad influence," Jace muttered.
"I'm a bad influence?" Chandra asked indignantly, "Without me you wouldn't be alive right now."
"And?" Jace looked at her, "You're also the sole reason no one has any sense of self preservation anymore. If not for you we'd all be living much safer lives."
"But would it be as fun?" she smirked and walked up the stairs.
Lilianna was already organizing her part of the room when Chandra opened the door, "Did you get bored?"
"Kind of. Jace didn't want to eat it all but he wouldn't share."
"Oh," Lilianna rolled her eyes.
Chandra set everything that would fit on her desk. The rest of it went in her dresser. It took a bit of effort to shut the top two drawers and she probably wouldn't be able open them very easily anymore. She pulled the ring piece of the treasure out of her pocket, "What do you think is so important about a handful of relics?"
"Maybe the fact that they have accumulated enough power to destroy a good section of the multiverse?"
"But doesn't Bolas want to rule the multiverse? I doubt he'd want to truly destroy it," Chandra looked at Lilianna seriously.
"I don't know. That dragon has back up plans for his back up plans," Lilianna shook her head, "There's no real way of telling whether or not he'll actually use Serra's Lost Treasure the moment he gets it."
"Hm," Chandra nodded.
"Alright, I have a question for you," Lilianna turned to her. "What was with Athena? She flipped out just before you lost consciousness."
Chandra shrugged, "I don't know.
"Areu."
"Yes?"
Nicol Bolas studied his minion curiously. The man's obsession with Crimson Phoenix was the number one thing that drove him. However he would obey the dragon's orders to the letter without failure, "How are our...children doing?"
"Thus far everything is progressing as expected."
"Perfect," Bolas sneered, "Throw another challenge their way. I wish to see how this will play out in the end."
"What kind of challenge would you desire?" Areu asked devotedly.
"Well," Bolas paused to run through his options. There were so many. He could send Areu himself to challenge the school kids. He decided against it because the man was much too useful to be allowed to die at the moment. He could appear before them but his current plan required that he stay out of sight and out of mind. Mostly. As long as they had more pressing things to worry about it would work. Suddenly an idea dawned on him, "Activate another of the gods."
"Which one?"
Bolas remained silent for many moments. Not Athena. Not Hades. I wish to save Ares and Zeus for later. Hera and Artemis are not yet combat ready. That leaves one. "Activate the Nix Protocol. But wait to do so until they are ready to face her. Also. I wish you to begin the Nike, Demeter and Eris projects."
Areu nodded, "Of course. I shall send the command to the head immediately."
Bolas nodded, "Ah. One more thing."
"Yes."
"Prepare Ares and Zeus for combat and hasten the Artemis and Hera projects."
Areu nodded dutifully, "Of course." He left.
Bolas shifted as he was no longer comfortable. He watched the planeswalkers celebrate their holiday in amusement, "Enjoy the fun while it lasts, Children." Chandra spoke with Lilianna about the treasure he had managed to convince them to find for him. He had no intention of using it himself but had no doubt that the redhead at least would not hesitate to do so if put in the correct circumstances. He wasn't entirely positive if they were allowing themselves to be manipulated or not. As long as they did as he wanted he wasn't going to complain. This time he was going to win. He would make sure of it. He knew that Serra's Lost Treasure would give them the information that would give them the final push they needed without his intervention. He'd spent many a millennia studying the three pieces. The Medallion was made of thousands of memories stored within the heart. The Ring, easily manipulated and transferred from one wearer to the next, made up the mind. The memories stored within one's mind were easily played with and even removed. The Being was the soul. The soul was eternal and ultimately unchangeable. Changes to one's soul took many reincarnations. That's why Ugin's loops had been so effective. Only those that understood both darkness and light could change a person's soul in a lifetime. That was the true reason the redheaded assassin/pyromancer was so valuable. Both dragons had known of her deep innate understanding from the beginning.
Speculation amongst ancient beings such as dragons and vampires led to the assumption that such a complex innate understanding could only be obtained by a being born directly from mana itself. The land created it's vessel from the power within it and that vessel, supposedly, would return to the land once it's duty was fulfilled. Bolas did not believe that Chandra would return to the land. He doubted she was made from it but was almost certain she would not return. A being made from energy itself could not have been broken into the four pieces her soul and power were now in. However her chaotic and yet malleable nature made it plausible that she was truly an incarnation of the land's whims. Also she was the only one that did not exist in the first incarnation of the time line. She was created by neither dragon but appeared somewhere around the 500th loop. So many thousands of loops have come and gone since then. She had been present in everyone afterwards and was as alive as any of the others. Bolas was extremely intrigued by her very existence. Even the necromancer was willing to put her own desires on hold to help those she'd allied with because of the pyromancer. Lilianna of course would push it off as holding up her reputation but there was something every so slightly different within her.
A fleeting fancy of his that had surfaced many times throughout this particular loop was to let Ugin live and watch this develop further. He often wondered how far the pyromancer could go before inevitably running herself ragged. However like every other time it was acknowledged as a fleeting fancy and something he would ultimately regret indulging.
"I guess I must express my gratitude to you Children," Bolas mused aloud, "for doing my work for me." It amused him to no end that four of them, three of whom were actually quite powerful, had been reduced to teenagers to relive their lives. It did in fact lead to a most interesting dynamic between the four of them.
Jace was resigned to crazy.
Chandra was suddenly responsible and quite the leader. Though she also had her moments of extreme immaturity and childlike behavior.
Ral entertained himself by annoying them. He hadn't changed much if at all. Though he did recognize that now that he was the oldest of the four he did have to keep them from destroying each other.
Lilianna was resigned to having to humor them and their antics, pretending to be above it all. She hadn't changed much either other than being a bit more conversational.