Episode 02: Ghosts of the Past

Chapter 03

Compared to other jails she'd been in, the little holding cell they'd placed Wy in at the Lazlo Police Department wasn't that bad. Cozy, almost, with a decently comfortable bench and everything. Though she couldn't see it, she was sure that the walls and bars were spelled to keep people on the inside from escaping. Not that using her freakish strength to get out was a good idea at the moment with the building filled with gun-toting police officers. Her body would end up back here one way or another. Besides, blowing their cover would jeopardize the mission, not to mention she had no idea where Sea was.

After being handcuffed and led to a group of people she assumed were also in the same Militia Canada was part of, the pair found themselves blindfolded, completely disarmed, and soon enough being transported, probably by some form of hover vehicle. After forty minutes, they were led into a building, the police department, and their blindfolds and handcuffs were removed. There they were separated and processed, but instead of being interrogated, Wy had been placed in this holding cell. And since it was the only one in the room (truly, it was all one room separated more or less down the middle by the bars), she was starting to get kind of lonely.

Luckily, not ten minutes later, the metal door opened, and in walked Sealand escorted by two officers. He had some kind of metal ring around his neck, and was holding onto a notebook and pencil in one hand. After locking the cell again with both of their latest captives inside, the officers left the room.

"Hey, Sea," Wy asked, too curious not to know. "What's with the necklace?"

Rather than respond verbally, Sea started to write something down in the notebook. When he was done, he passed it to Wy. It read thus, It's not a necklace, it's a collar.

She glared at him. "Fine. Collar. So, what's up with it?" Handing him back the notebook, she already deduced that it must have something to do with Sea not being able to talk.

It's spelled so that I can't speak. It's for magic users, so we can't cast invocations and other spells.

"Ugh, okay, before we continue, can we sit down, and I can just read while you write? Passing this stupid book back and forth is already getting annoying," Wy whined. Sea smiled, then nodded. Wy sat to his left, leaning in slightly to get a good look.

As I was saying, or I guess writing, technically, magic is traditionally wielded through the spoken use of Dragonese, so cutting a magician off from the use of his or her voice is fairly paralyzing. Kinda like when Tiber Septim lost his thu'um…

"Focus, Sea."

Right. While the anti-magic defenses in this building are impressive, a high level caster could easily find their way around them all. The collar prevents this possibility.

"A high level caster. So, you."

Well, not to brag or anythi- Wy playfully punched his left shoulder just enough to cause a chain reaction resulting in his writing hand scribbling out the last of the sentence as well as a wince. Of course, she had forgotten about Sea's recent injury.

"Oh my gods, sorry. I…forgot," she apologized, as he reached up instinctively to loosely grab his shoulder. His grimace was quickly replaced by a forgiving smile.

It's alright, Wy, he wrote. I'm not used to it either, not healing fast. It's not that bad anymore, though. Besides, I kind of deserve it after that stupid stunt.

An awkward moment of silence stretched between them as Wy tried to figure out an appropriate response. There was really nothing left to say on the matter. So, instead, she changed the topic.

"Your writing is really nice, by the way," she pointed out.

Thanks.

"It's all, like, sort of curly, but not."

Thanks?

"Kinda girly, but also not really. It's legible, so that gets you the most points."

Sealand sighed. Drawing a basic five-pointed star, he wrote the words, You tried, inside of it. She half-heartedly kicked his leg at an awkward angle.

"So, how are we going to get out of here?" she asked, still trusting that his plan was working out. Unless…he didn't have a plan at all, and was just winging it…

We don't, he scribbled. Canada'll come get us.

"…You seem so sure."

I am sure. I bet that in…ten minutes, he's going to show up.

"And what if he doesn't?" Wy posed sceptically.

He will. Trust me.

She really did. By all means, she shouldn't have felt so sure that Sea knew what he was doing. They were, after all, in jail, a consequence of their own making. Without any weapons or Sea's magic, it would be almost impossible to get out, and they may never have a chance to try. But his plans, his well thought out plans, usually worked out, though not always as he intended he had admitted once. Even though she was technically in charge of the mission, they were partners in it together, and who could you trust if not your comrades in the field?

Still, drafting a few back-up plans in the back of her head wouldn't hurt.

"So, what do you want to do in the meantime?" she asked.

Sea seemed to be thinking for a moment, tapping the end of the pencil on the notebook almost rhythmically. In the deafening silence of the room, the dull thudding beat was most welcome to Wy's ears. It was lonely not being able to hear another person's voice besides your own.

Suddenly, Sea started to draw something. At first, the short series of lines didn't seem like much, but after he drew a stick-figure version of a gallows, it all became apparent.

"Hangman? Really?" Wy asked, one eyebrow raised. Sea shrugged, but smiled, probably thinking himself clever. She couldn't help but smile, too. There was nothing better to do, in any case. "Okay, ummm, N?"

After about ten minutes of hangman, a couple of games of tic tac toe, and one very short-lived attempt at I Spy, the imprisoned Nations finally heard a rattling at the door. Sea gave Wy a triumphant look as Canada stepped up to the bars. She was tempted to shove him off-balance as they stood up to face the North American Nation.

"I've convinced the higher ups that you two aren't CS," Canada began. Whatever anger he had built up during the battle had dissipated, leaving behind only curiosity, if not a little guardedness. "As long as the Scanner doesn't pick up any malevolent intentions from either of you, you'll be allowed to come with me. You'll be under constant surveillance by Jack and myself until we're sure you can be trusted."

While Sea scribbled something down, Wy took the opportunity to make one thing clear. "So, basically we have to stick with you for what, days, weeks even? And one wrong move-"

"Lands you straight back here, yes," Canada finished, not so much stern as matter-of-factly. Sea, having finished writing, lifted his notebook up for Canada to read. The blond Nation took a step forward to better read the question.

"The Scanner is inorganic, a machine magicked to specifically target intentions telepathically," Canada answered. Sea seemed to visibly relax at this. A sentient being might have attempted to pry further into their minds than necessary, and, since they weren't permitted to divulge any more information than they had to, it would have forced him to use Mind Block. The act of resistance would have cemented their places in prison for sure.

"There is, however, one condition," Canada continued. "You have to tell me how you know me, and how I know you. Deal?"

The captive Nations looked to each other, posing the question of whether the other would object to the terms. After Sea had nodded his assent, Wy said, "Deal."

"Alright." Unlocking the cell door, Canada opened it and motioned for them to step out before continuing. "Let's go do the test, get your stuff, and be on our way." A pencil thrown at the back of the head made the older Nation look back just as he was about to open the metal door. "Oh yeah, and get that collar removed."

Lazlo was an interesting place. For one thing, it rang true to the city on whose bones it had been built. For every human they saw there was a D-Bee, and with everyone living side-by-side regardless of any bad blood accumulated throughout history it was quite reminiscent of old Toronto. Here, also, the difference between mundane and arcane, technology and magic, blended together, in some ways even seamlessly. Guns glittered with Dragonese runes, wooden staffs were outfitted with heat-seeking mini-missile launchers, power armour shone bright blue in magical vision.

Neither Sea nor Wy were unused to seeing technology and magic in such close quarters, but never in communion as some of the devices portrayed. Magic and technology generally rejected each other, which was why practitioners of the arcane arts avoided biomechanical enhancements, just as masters of technology didn't generally bother seeking spells as solutions to their problems. Despite this, the new denizens of North America had figured out how to merge the two.

Sea had to know how it was done.

"Jack'll be here soon with our ride," Canada proclaimed, ending his phone call on his mobile, and joining them at the roadside. "I don't suppose you're going to come clean on why you're in Lazlo, are you?"

The two younger Nations shared a look. Sea shrugged, leaving it to Wy, as the mission leader, to decide how much information to divulge. "Well, you see, we're…talent scouts, of a sort."

Canada narrowed his gaze at them for just a second, clearly not convinced by the half-truth. "Mercenary recruiters, then? There's no shortage of those in the wake of the war," he admitted, tone more sombre by the mentioning of said war. His voice became stern once more as he stated, "You're not survivors of Tolkeen."

They shook their heads. "We come from further afield than that," Sea affirmed.

Just then, a Glitter Girl rounded the corner to stop beside them. Canada, without skipping a beat, climbed onto one of the machine's large, open hands to seat himself, motioning for them to likewise climb aboard. Sea and Wy stood there disbelievingly. "You're joking, right?" Wy asked.

In response, the pilot's, the enigmatic Jack's, voice sounded through the mecha's speaker system. "Get on," she commanded, coldly, but not threateningly. Of course, the electronic twang of the device didn't help make the nine-foot tall, fully armed battle suit any less threatening.

With a shrug, Sea hopped onto the free arm. Wy, a bit more reluctant, questioned again, "Can this thing even hold all of us? It's not exactly made for transporting multiple people."

"Wy, just get on," Sea demanded a little exasperated.

"Oh, alright," she huffed, grabbing Sea's outstretched hand to pull herself up into the palm of the mech's hand. "Though, I'm not looking forward to falling on my arse."

"The bruise would heal quick, anyways," Sea supplied from his post atop the horizontal right forearm of the mechanical suit. He had chosen to remain standing even as they began to move. It was a good thing they weren't going too fast, though, to his credit, Sea was surprisingly apt at balancing.

The further along they went, the more the wonders of Lazlo were revealed to them. The entire city was a harmonization of tech and magic. With the aid of clever engineering and the criss-crossing of ley lines all over the area, humans and D-Bees alike soared past on wing boards and other flying contraptions, the models of which neither newcomer had ever seen before. The streets themselves were filled with people walking, driving, riding horses, and operating mechs of all sorts. And through all this, Lazlo managed to maintain some of the architecture and atmosphere of old Toronto. Some of the names of the streets had even been kept.

But the crowning jewel of the city became undoubtedly clear when they moved beyond some of the taller buildings. Climbing onto the mech's shoulder for a better view, Sea couldn't help but gape at the structure not far in the distance. A huge white marble building with a base that must have been a block wide towered into the sky for at least thirty storeys. Even from their position, it was clear that parts of the building had been inlaid with gold that shone brilliantly in the sunlight. The statues that jutted out from the sheer sides were harder to make out, but he was sure they were ever more beautiful than the feat of the building itself.

"Wy, look at this!" he called to her over his shoulder, hardly containing his amazement.

Climbing up to his vantage point, but not daring to let go of the moving hunk of metal, she whistled at the impressive sight. "That's not something you see everyday."

"Yeah," he breathed more than spoke. Unlike Wy, he was able to detect the faint bluish glow of magic energy that emanated from the structure. Turning to Matthew, he asked, "What is that place?"

"That? Just the Tower of Higher Learning," the blond answered as if it was no big deal at all.

"We have to go there," Sea insisted.

"You can go there some other time," the voice of Jack replied, not slowing her pace one bit. "You owe us answers." Disappointed, Sea just watched the building grow steadily smaller the further away they got until it had disappeared behind more buildings. He was still going to go there before the two weeks was up.

"How was it constructed?" He asked knowing magic must have been involved somehow. But even with the ley lines and a nexus so close, it would have taken a ridiculous amount of magic just to create that building.

"With techno-wizardry, of course," Canada answered again in that 'this is common knowledge' kind of tone. "You guys must be from pretty far away."

Sea ignored the prompt towards discussing where they were from. "How does this techno-wizardry work?"

"Well, it involves binding magic to tech. It's actually not nearly as impossible as it sounds, you just have to have the right method."

Sea mulled over a few possible techniques and equations for a moment. "So, that's what you do? Techno-wizardry? During the fight, you were casting spells through items."

Canada nodded. "The majority of techno-wizards can hardly even spark a flame without the use of an object to cast through. But it allows us to concentrate our magic, and place spells on virtually anything. Resourcefulness is what really makes a good TW. I can give you a demonstration on how it works back at the shop."

Wy nearly rolled her eyes seeing Sea's own light up. There was no one geekier when it came to the subject of magic. At least the conversation was good for one thing: stalling. They had to decide exactly what they were going to do next. The original plan had been to determine whether the person they had found was indeed Canada, and whether or not he was to be approached and brought back for protection. But this Canada didn't even seem to know who he was. Perhaps it really was just some guy who happened to look incredibly similar to the Canada they once knew…

They'd have to question him, find out just what kind of situation they had stumbled into, before they could decide the next course of action. But how do you get someone to just tell you their whole life story? Two weeks suddenly seemed like too short a period of time.

Then again, the Nation seemed curious enough for answers. They'd still have to trade information to get anything in return, but they could always tell half-truths and lies. Whatever had to be done for the good of the mission, within reasonable means, Wy would make sure it would be done.