Note To Readers: Hey guys! Sorry for the long break! I've been so busy with school work recently! I see that there are a lot of new readers. I just wanted to take the time to welcome you all! I love my fans and enjoy creating a story that is enjoyed by so many. Be sure to pay close attention to this chapter as each character's stories are connected to each other. With that in mind, we officially begin The Black Power Arc. Please enjoy!
Chapter 106: Picking Up The Fragments...
As Bloom laid on her back the faerie silently looked towards the moon shimmering in the sky as she held her pillow close to her chest thinking about Kaiba wherever he was. Peeking through the door Cellos quietly watched the redhead before he winced feeling that dull throbbing pain again. A wound inflicted from time itself. Slowly the ghoul closed the door before he made his way through the hall. Pressing himself up against the wall Cellos let out a heavy sigh. The whole room was eerily filled with nothing but silence as everyone else slept awaiting for morning to come. It was almost hard to believe how noisy the place was during the day. Slowly the ghoul removed himself from the wall and found a small area in which to sit down. With but, one snap of Cellos's finger a teacup manifested filled with coffee. Slowly the ghoul picked it up and sipped it without a second thought as he let out a sigh of satisfaction.
"Ahhh...now that's certainly more like it!" Cellos purred. Even someone like him from time to time needed a moment to himself. However, the ghoul paused between taking another sip as he heard something from nearby. "Hmm now that is odd now isn't it...?" Cellos mused before he eased up from the seat he had been occupying and went to investigate. "The noise appears to be coming from the kitchen..." the ghoul surmised only to find that the fridge's light illuminated the room. However what he found was not Bloom but a certain blonde with brown eyes sitting in front of it. Although in her light purple nightgown with her hair a mess and icing staining her face the faerie was hardly recognizable.
"...Stella...?" Cellos questioned as he raised his brow in surprise. Slowly the blonde turned around. "...Oh my...this is most unexpected..." the ghoul whispered under his breath. "...Uh...you know if you eat all that food before bed you'll more than likely wind up with a terrible stomach ache, yes most terrible..." Cellos warned Stella. "Hmph! I could care less!" the faerie cried as she continued stuffing her face with cake. "...Well, the choice is yours of course...I was merely offering some friendly advice that's all..." the ghoul sweatdropped. "Good! Cuz I didn't ask for it!" the blonde cried purging the contents of the fridge. Cellos only pursed his lips. It was pretty clear to him something had driven her to her current state although he couldn't say what exactly.
"...You know it's not my attention to pry...into other people's affairs mind you...however, if you wish to confide in me whatever seems to be troubling you to a large extent then i'd be more than happy to oblige in such a request." the ghoul mused before he paused as tears one after the other fell down Stella's cheek only causing Cellos to frown. "I-I don't care! I don't care about anything! Not my appearance...not what others think...NOT ANYTHING!" the faerie cried out unable to stop her tears. "*sniff sniff* W-We've been so busy...that...I hadn't contacted my boyfriend B-Brandon...in a l-long time...h-him...i've got not a SINGLE letter...no texts...no phone calls...no nothing...so I..I tried to get in touch with...I really di-did...*sniff* ONLY TO FIND OUT SOMETHING HORRIBLE! Stella nearly screamed. "...I...I can't even bring myself to say it...you mi-might as well read it f-for yourself..." the blonde choked out as she handed Cellos a tear-soaked letter. Silently the ghoul looked over its contents before his amethyst eyes widened.
According to the letter, the disappearance of King Sky of Eraklyon led to a deadly power struggle. Eraklyon accused Solaria of murdering Sky in attempts to place Brandon on the throne and with Stella engaged to Brandon Solaria would in turn control both Kingdoms. A war broke out between Eraklyon and Solaria and Brandon who tried to put an end to the fighting lost his life in the end. "...Oh, Brandon...my schnookums...and my Kingdom...I'm a failure as Princess of Solaria! A disgrace to my Kingdom...how can I ever...show my face...again...it's all my fault...ALL OF IT!" the blonde sobbed as she broke down into tears covering her face filled with shame and drowning in a sea of regret. "Oh no...I wouldn't say that..." Cellos murmured softly as he got down to her level. It reminded him all too well of the conflict that occurred on Aura between The Knight and The Mages.
"Bu-But I should have been there! I-I could've done something! And now...and now..." Stella wept as she bit down on her lower lip trembling. "...Whether you'd have been there or not...I don't believe that would've changed the course of fate...not when there is a puppet master pulling the strings of those whom they are attached too..." "...W-Wait...what are you...saying Cellos?..." the faerie questioned between sobs. "...I'm saying this isn't the first time this has happened..." "...A-And how can you be sure t-that's the case wi-with what's happening now!?" the blonde demanded to know. "...It goes back...many many years ago...shall I tell you the tale?" "...Please...I want to no...I..HAVE to know!...uh but first..." "Hmm?" "...Could you give me a minute...to...fix my hair...? I must look a sight..." Stella sniffed. "Please. Allow me. It's the least I can do for you given the circumstances..." Cellos offered as a hairbrush made out of silver manifested into his hand. "...Uh...ok *sniff* I guess...that'd...be...ok...*sniff* the faerie conceded before she turned her back to him. Slowly the ghoul took the hairbrush and began to brush Stella's golden hair. As he did so it was almost like he went back in time.
"Let me see...how did that old story go again...? Oh yes, now I remember!" Cellos exclaimed. "In the Kingdom of Aura, there was a blood mage that dwelled in a dark castle going by the name of Nicodemus...he had a child whom he loved more than anything in the world...for his wife gave up her own life in exchange for bringing the boy into the world...however...the child one day came down with a terrible illness one that seemed to have no remedy...in the man's desperation he used all of his knowledge and power to create what is known to many as The Philosopher's Stone...but in order to do so he used thousands of Knight's and Mage's in his expirement...draining them of their mana and lifeforce...and combined the two forging the ultimate creation of Blood Magic...by creating such a object of great and terrible power Nicodemus managed to perform a powerful yet forbidden spell saving the boy's life...however it came at a very high price indeed..." the ghoul began.
"The Philosopher's stone you say? I've come across books that spoke about but I didn't think it was something that was actually real...and you're saying that this guy made one with people!? Ugh, I don't even want to think about something so horrible!" Stella cringed. "Yes, i'm afraid so...it is as you perceive...needless to say...with thousands of Knight's and Mage's disappearing his actions did not bode over well..." Cellos told the blonde. "I'd imagine not...so then...what happened...?" the faerie questioned as the ghoul continued to brush her hair. "As one would suspect...fear and anger took hold of the people of Aura...each one accusing the other of murdering the other...the Knight's blamed the Mage's...and the Mage's placed their blame on the Knight's...until eventually there was an order that forced the Mage's to be confined to The Mage's Guild in Aura...under heavy watch of the Knight's...naturally the Mage's refused and a war broke out between the two...luckilly The Great Mage or otherwise known as Artemis Moon took the situation into his own hands putting an end to the fighting with his immense power...and afterward he planted a single seed that bloomed into a beautiful Cherry Blossom Tree...as a reminder that only from peace and understanding could prosperity bloom...however...he left the world shortly after...and for a time there was peace in Aura...but after several years passed...something terrible took place..." Cellos' gaze hardened.
"Oh no! Don't tell me the fighting started again!" Stella cried. "Indeed it did...to the west of the castle that rested on a hill there was a village where many Aurian's lived that dwelled outside of the large city. It was a small yet vibrant village filled with men, women and children alike. Unfortunately though...it was never meant to last...one day in the dead of night there was a festival that was taking place. One known as the flower festival. To celebrate the day The Great Mage put an end to the fighting and planted the Cherry Blossom Tree. Whilst the festival was at the hight of its peak hundreds no thousands of men in cloaks rode into the village and attacked it using black flames...burning down the houses and using unfathomable power to slaughter everyone there...not one person left alive...such a vile and disturbing act caused yet another war...and this time...the Mage's lost that fight...from that day on Magic was to be used only in the confines of the Mage's Guild...and accused of condemning all those villagers to death...was none other than Nicodemus...whom was put to death as the council saw him as the one with blood on his hands...or at least that's how they wanted it to look...{Although...he wasn't the only one...}
"But, the one whom truly executed the Aurian people...was none other than the A.O.J leader...do you see now why I would draw such a conclusion from that letter you were sent...?" Cellos questioned. "...Yes...Yes, I do although I hate to admit it...I-I just don't understand why t-that asshole would want to target MY kingdom! Isn't he apart of The Sealed Worlds anyways!? UGH, IT'S SO INFURIATING! I already had to put up with this bullshit when Kimera and her whore mother tried to bewitch my father and TAKE OVER MY KINGDOM! IF THAT BASTARD THINKS HE CAN TAKE OVER MY KINGDOM THEN HE'S SORELY MISTAKEN!" Stella cried out angrily narrowing her eyes as her blood boiled in her veins. "...Just thinking about how he wants to get rid of magic...and defeating the Wizards...ugh...i'm so angrily I can't even think straight!" the blonde spat ready to pull her hair out. "...Yes well ...perhaps you should try and get some shut eye for the remainder of the evening. Tomorrow we'll be returning to Covenant where the others are staying as soon as possible. So that we may plan our much-needed strategy." the ghoul suggested. The faerie only let out a sigh.
"Yes,...you're probably right..." Stella admitted as she let out a yawn. "Now that i've gotten all that off my chest I should be able to get to bed now...i'm really sorry for keeping you up as well. I guess i'm still in shock over the whole thing...but Bloom and the other girls are going through a lot themselves...I didn't want to cause them even more stress and worry over me and my problems...so thank you for listening to me and you did a great job on my hair. If I didn't know better i'd say you were an expert. But i'm rambling. Anyways i'm going to go ahead back to my book after I clean all this stuff up. Thanks again." the blonde murmured as she put the rest of the food away and headed back to her room. "Oh, no thanks necessary it was the least I could do." Cellos offered a smile as he waved her off and took a seat at the table once she was gone picking up his cup of coffee still warm to the touch. "After all, he used to do the same thing a long time ago...back when I was in the Kingdom Of Sparks..." The ghoul closed his mind as his mind traveled into the distant past where he stood in front of a bay window brushing a young woman's long golden flowing hair.
"Celli...?" a young woman's voice broke the silence between them with hazelnut eyes adorned in a yellow dress with her mask and crown set aside. It was the nickname in which she always called him by with such affection. "Hmm yes? What can I do for you, Daphne Dearest? In return, he also bestowed upon the princess a nickname. "Is my brush too rough perhaps?" Cellos responded. However, his hair was a silvery white and his eyes were as blue as the ocean instead of purple as they were now. "O-Oh no it's nothing like that," Daphne assured him. "Oh I see, then by all means continue." the silver-haired male mused. "...Actually, I have a favor that i'd like to ask of you if I may..." the princess murmured drawing Cellos's interest. "Well, if it's within my power you know that i'd do just about anything for you Daphne Dearest!" the silver-haired male slightly chuckled causing Daphne to giggle.
"...A month from now i'm to be married to Prince Atem of Earth...it is a political marriage that has been arranged in order to form an alliance between Magix and Earth...it's a path that is full of promise...and hope...but to make this dream a reality he and I must spend a great deal of time together so that both of our kingdoms will benefit from this engagement...and yet...I am saddened because that means I will be forced to be separated from my beloved baby sister..." Daphne confessed as Cellos only pursed his lips. "Hmm, I see...I suppose you would be wouldn't you?" "Yes...and when that happens...would you please watch over Bloom...?" the princess asked softly as she looked at the silver-haired male with pleading eyes. "...Whilst I am certainly honored by such a request Daphne Dearest...I believe I an Apocrathy of Spark...am how you say...ill-suited for a task such as the one you ask of me..." Cellos frowned softly before he felt his heart leap in his chest as Daphne grasped his warm hands in his as she looked directly into his blue eyes.
"Perhaps...but I trust you...I know that with you as Bloom's guardian I have nothing to fear..." Daphne murmured before she got up from the chair and made her way over to the crib nearby and gently picked up Bloom in her arms. "Here hold out your arms." "...Might I ask whatever for?" "Come on just do it." "Oh very well." Cellos gave in before the princess gently place the tiny red-headed infant snuggly in Daphne's arms. Bloom's big blue eyes looked up at him and cooed as she reached out towards him. "See?...she likes you already" the princess smiled brightly. Cellos only smiled softly as he looked back down at her. "Well, she is VERY cute that much i'll admit. Hard to believe she'll one day rule over this Kingdom now isn't it?" "Yes, it is. And inherit the Dragon Fire...that's why she needs to be protected...and not just anyone can fulfill that duty either...Do you understand Celli...?" Daphne asked as Cellos turned his gaze back up at her. "Mmm... yes, I do...although I don't believe i'm fully qualified to do so...still, I give you word that I shall protect Princess Bloom of Sparks heir to the Dragon Fire...even if it should happen to cost me my life...I swear this to you as A Blue Eyes White Dragon..." the silver-haired male bowed deeply as he held Bloom to him close. Ever since that day Cellos had not once ever forgotten his vow.
The Next Morning...
"WHAT!?" nearly everyone except Roxy and Joey cried at once. "You mean Amourette AND Raeger are gone?" Bloom questioned surprised as Akiba served them pancakes shaped like bears with whip cream and strawberries placed on top of them. "Yeah, Raeger told me last night that the kingdoms were holding a summit regarding what happened in Dawnshire...you know where the fountain was poisoned...well Xuri and Blaire are BOTH suspects in their murder. So because of that, a trial is being held...I guess Amourette ended up being apart of it too." Roxy murmured as she petted Loore situated in her lap purring away. "It took meh by surprise too," Joey admitted as he took his fork and stabbed the pancake in the middle stuffing it in his mouth. "Mmm...mmm...hrmmm..." the blonde attempted to talk with his full. "Uh, Joey...don't talk with your mouth full..." Bloom sweatdropped before he swallowed.
"What I SAID was now dat our vacation's ova...what are we gonna do now?" Joey questioned washing down the pancake with some orange juice. "Cuz personally i'm tired of just sittin around doin nothing...i'm ready fer some action!" the blonde exclaimed. "Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. Anyways I STILL can't believe we ended up getting involved in this big mess!" Carlos muttered. "But leaving is pretty much out of the question now." the Mexican admitted as he sliced through his pancakes with his fork and knife. "Oh, you're not going back to Gardenia?" Bloom questioned surprised. "No way, we can't just take off now that we know the kind of power you're going up against...besides we know you're completely hopeless without us watching your back." Selina teased. "Oh gee thanks!" the redhead laughed as did Carlos and Selina. Roxy only sighed before Bloom's attention turned towards her friend.
"What's the matter, Roxy?" Bloom questioned softly concerned that the faerie hadn't even touched her breakfast as Roxy poked at it with her fork. "...Oh, I just hope Raeger and Amourette will be ok by themselves...I can't help but worry!" the pink haired girl groaned. Joey only grinned. "I'm sure they'll be fine! Afta all dare a lot tougher dan day look!" the blonde assured her before Duke only scoffed. "Yeah sure, if shivering and fidgeting nervously are signs of bravery than they both should get a gold meta-" the dice master paused as Roxy and Joey stopped on both of his feet at once. Cupid only snickered. "Looks like someone feels differently..." he pointed as Duke only twitched his eye on pain. "You know Duke people can't always be judged by appearance alone but by their heart..." Flora scolded the dice master. "Y-Yeah...I get the point...please remove your feet...already wouldya...?" Duke pleaded before his request was granted. "Serves you right..." Loore muttered. "Shut it furball..." the Dice Master grumbled earning him a hiss.
"So...where exactly are we headed after this?" Cupid questioned as he picked up his cup of piping hot green tea blowing on it. "We're returning to Covenant to meet up with the rest of the group. Last night Raeger brewed us a portal potion so we could go there without him." Flora explained. "Well! How about that! It just goes to show you the ability of a Guild Master!" "Oh, I know! I can only hope that one day I too can be just as skilled in Apocrathy!" the faerie of flower murmured before the redhead only grinned. "You'll get there!" Cupid assured her before Bloom only smiled to herself. Although watching the two of them only made her end up missing Kaiba all the more. A loud yawn broke the brief silence as Stella finally emerged from her room. Layla only placed her hands on her lips."Stella, I thought we all agreed on getting to bed early so that we could get an even earlier start!" "Clearly, the message didn't resonate I guess..." the Tombkeeper let out a heavy sigh as Stella took her seat among the party.
"*Yawn* Sorry guys...but we've had so much going on lately I just couldn't stop tossing and turning last night...my mind just refused to shut off..." Stella apologized rubbing her eyes. "Oh but these pancakes smell great! Don't mind if I do!" the blonde beamed as she dug right in without any reserve. "Well you can't be any worse than Akiba...dragging him out of bed is probably listed up there on the top ten impossible tasks to complete..." The Professor mused as he picked his cup of coffee sipping it. The guardian only pouted. "Meanie...i'm not THAT hard to wake up..." Roxy only giggled. "You should've seen him. He was curled up on the bed just like Artu likes to do on my bed back home." the faerie giggled. "I even tried to help," Aster added in. "For someone who's as skinny as a rail, he sure weighs a TON!" "...Now I think you're exaggerating..." Takuna muttered bluntly. Joey only laughed amused at the thought."What if Akiba was really a BIG puppy!?" the blonde joked before The Professor cleared his throat. "ANYWAYS...I believe we're missing someone..." "...Huh yeah, you're right...anyone seen Mr. Ghoul around?" Joey questioned looking around the kitchen from his seat."Nope, wasn't he supposed to take us somewhere...uh...where was that again...? I forget..." Carlos sweatdropped.
"Would you perhaps be looking for me?" Cellos' voice echoed in the room before the ghoul finally manifested before them. "WAHHHH!" nearly everyone cried jumping as Cellos came from the ceiling. "Uh yeah! At least until you SCARED us half to DEATH!" Stella cried before the ghoul nervously scratched at the back of his head. "Oh did I now? My sincerest apologies. You see I had to check in with my mistress...if I neglect to do so oh she would be quite cross with me yes quite cross indeed ...so I believe anyway." Cellos explained as he held his shoulder a slight tear in his form. His condition not able to help but draw Stella's attention along with a few others. "Cellos...you're hurt..." Bloom murmured concerned. "Oh, you mean this? Please don't worry yourselves over me. It's merely a scratch. It'll heal up in no time! What's important now is heading to Covenant and meeting up with the others don't you think Miss Bloom?" the ghoul mused. "...Well, he DOES have a point..." Roxy admitted. "Ok, i'll go and get the instructions that Raeger left on how to use the portal potion. Be right back!" the faerie exclaimed as she took off. Stella only giggled."Oh isn't Roxy just SO adorable! Raeger this and Raeger that! It's SO cute! Isn't it Bloom!?" the blonde questioned as she gave the redhead a playful nudge.
"Uh yeah I suppose...Stella...is everything...you know ok?" Bloom questioned her best friend. "Of course, why wouldn't it be? Stella mused. "Ok if you say so." the redhead murmured still unsure of her answer before the blonde turned towards Cellos. "As for you..." "...Err...yes? What can I do for you, Miss Stella?" the ghoul questioned as he sweatdropped. "That wound looks painful. Allow me to take care of it with my new Celestix powers. "Rejuvenating Light!" Stella cried as stardust manifested from her fingertips and blew it on his shoulder before his body slowly mended itself. "Ta-da! Such as the power of Celestix!" the blonde giggled. "Hmm Yes, I suppose then I should give you my thanks." "What do you mean THINK!?" Stella questioned as she placed her hands on her hips. "I merely jest...I very much appreciate it." Cellos thanked the faerie with a smile. "But of course! Never underestimate the power of Solaria!" Stella beamed. "Yes...i'll try to keep that in mind...for future reference." the ghoul mused as Joey blinked his eyes a few times.
"...Is it just meh? Or does it seem like Stella and Cellos have gotten to be good friends all of a sudden?" Joey questioned. "No, No I think you're right on the mark there Joey." Bloom agreed. "...Although...something is...bothering me..." "Oh? Like what?" "...I dunno exactly...but I could just be over thinking it. Never mind it's not that important anyway." "Oh, ok." the blonde shrugged his shoulders before Roxy came in with a huge cauldron dropping it on the floor once she entered the kitchen. "PHEW! Man, that was heavy!" the faerie cried nearly out of breath. "What do we need that for?" Selina questioned. "Well...according to the direction Raeger left me we're supposed to fill the cauldron with water...then pour in the Portal Potion and last add in the essence of Covenant...and then...hold out breath...for...some reason..." Roxy told them before Cupid only made a face. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." the redhead admitted. "Even so, I think we should give it a try, otherwise we won't be able to go anywhere until the others get back." Flora suggested."...Hmm true..." Cupid conceded. "Ok here goes nothing..." Roxy swallowed hard before she followed Raeger's instructions before in a matter of seconds all of them found themselves swimming in a bright blue body of water. Once they arrived at a strange magic circle the party was drawn into it.
*GASP* Roxy gasped for air coughing on the water she suddenly swallowed before Bloom soon followed. "*cough cough* "Bloom!" the faerie cried as she turned to read head. "Well...that was...diffrent..." Bloom admitted. "Yeah, but where are the others?" "...Good question...maybe they wound up somewhere else..." "Oh no! Where could they have gone!?" Roxy questioned. "...I have no idea...we'd better get out of here and go look for them." the redhead suggested before Roxy paused as an aroma teased and taunted her nose. "...Uh, Bloom...do you...smell something...?" Bloom sniffed the air. "...Yeah...it smells like...vegetables...and meat...is it hot in here or is it just me?" "...Uh, Bloom..." "Yes, Roxy?" "...I think that smell...is coming from us...look." the faerie pointed out as she watched slice carrots and potatoes slowly come to the surface. "...But that would mean...HOT HOT HOT HOT!" both Roxy and Bloom cried as they both realized they wound up in a large cast iron pot full of beef stew.
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