Tom sat in his room as he watched the clock. It was eight in the morning and the first day of the week end. He finished two weeks of training already. He had two more before it was time to leave the Earth. He wondered how Milla'iin felt with this situation. He didn't meet him for a while and he didn't have time for that anymore, "His trial begins in a month," he remembered. Of course, it would be a prerecorded trial. The real one started tomorrow. He wondered what the sentence might be, since he would come with him to the land of the Elementalist. He grabbed his scanner, "I still didn't tell Maxxor anything about… all of this," he didn't see his hero for a while too.
With everything going on, he kinda forgot about the Chaotic game. He only did the few matches he had to do, but the rest of his time was either searching for Peyton, spending time with his friends or dating Sarah. Now, he needed to speak with Maxxor before it was too late. He needed to know what's going on. He ported to Chaotic.
Chapter 35: The Situation
Tom stood in front of the Overworld castle. He knew he shouldn't stall the news, but more thought came on his way there. He wondered how his friend would react at his decision. He never consulted Maxxor over this. Not only that, but it would be difficult to hide a few things if the ruler interrogated him. There was more than one reason to go to the Elementalist island. Those other reasons must remain a secret. He took a deep breath and walked forward. He had to let his friend know about his situation and wouldn't stall. He could also show a few things he learned with the Guardians of the Cothica. He nodded at the guards and asked if he could enter. He got a positive answer and walked in.
He passed through the corridors he knew well over time. He asked where Maxxor was and learned he was in the library to get documents. Tom had no idea why his friend needed those, but with everything going on, maybe it was about the Metalists.
He reached the room and saw Maxxor was with Najarin and the Mipedian Marquis Darini. They had scrolls on the table, some of them coming from Al Mipedim. They were surely working together to find Peyton. Seeing the lizard gave the boy the probable answer to that question.
Maxxor raised his gaze and smiled, "Hello Tom."
"Hello Maxxor."
Najarin observed the Overworlder Guide to the Cothica. He already guessed that something was in his mind. He remained quiet as he showed a few more documents to the Marquis.
The green Mipedian observed the boy, before he gave attention the documents. He adjusted his blue cape as it went a little in the way. He wondered why the human was there. He felt a bit of tension coming from the teenager. He could see the tension under the skin of the boy. He gave his attention to the conversation.
"Did you come for a scan?" the ruler of the Overworld asked. He knew it wasn't the case or his friend would ask already.
"No. I didn't come for that," Tom felt a bit more nervous now. He could feel a bit of cold sweat on his back. He didn't know how the creatures would react. He checked on the Mipedian. It wasn't something he wanted the creature to hear about. It was with him and the two Overworlder, "I came to talk about something, but just with you," he glanced at Najarin. He knew the High Muge would learn about this next.
Marquis Darini smirked lightly, "I guess I should take my leave for now. It doesn't concern me," he put the documents and left the room, before he could receive an answer.
That helped a bit the boy.
"Do you wish for me to leave too?" Najarin asked.
"No. You will learn about it anyway. It's something that happened in our world. Since Peyton went missing, a lot happened on Earth," he scratched his arm, "And I guess Chaor might already know about this since Khybon is on Earth," he took a deep breath.
Maxxor patiently told him, "Take your time. You can tell us when you are ready," he crossed his fingers and wondered what Chaor might already know. He knew about the disappearance of Peyton and the little bit about the Metalists. He increased surveillance since then and a few of those creatures were seen. It was one of the reason Marquis Darini was present.
Tom summoned his courage. He decided to begin with something he could show, "On Earth, we met with the cult and discovered who they are. I begin to learn something and it goes with a lot of things that is going on," he raised his hand, "Here," he then summoned a ball of light in the palm of his hand.
The two Overworlders were taken aback when the human summoned something outside of the four elements.
"They are known as the Guardians of the Cothica. They are not a weird cult as we thought," he made the light disappeared. It was much easier to summon it than last week and needed less concentration, "So yeah. Our world is indeed the Cothica."
The two creatures didn't interrupt him and waited for more. They knew there was more to come. Not only that, but they quickly noticed that their friend was holding back something for now. It felt like he put some weight on his shoulders.
Behind the door, Marquis Darini was invisible and spied on the conversation. His instinct was correct. It was an important conversation, but much more than expected. The Cothica was indeed the human world. He would have a lot to report to his king once he got back. Maybe he would get more from the Metalists who kidnapped Peyton.
Najarin approached Tom, "This is quite the development. This power is quite unique," he was extremely curious in the matter. He chose not to focus on it, "But you have much more to tell us."
"Yes. I don't want you to be left out, so I came here for that," the boy took a deep breath. He felt a hand on his shoulders. He saw the understanding eyes of his hero.
"Take your time Tom."
"Okay. We also learned about the Metalist and where they came from. I know… I know it's true now. They are not from Perim," he played with his fingers a bit nervously, "They originally came from the Cothica. It seems there was a conflict long ago between humans and Metalists. The Metalists lost and were sent into exile on Perim. This is why they are here now. Their power is one of darkness, it is the opposite that I can use. As the Guardians of the Cothica said, their power is opposite or ours, just like their body. We are made of flesh and blood; they are made of metal and oil," he went with a bit more detail about the little that remained of his kind forgotten history with the creatures. He had little bits and nothing else. It was a missing part of history, like the first M'arrillian invasion.
"That is a lot you are telling us Tom, but I know you aren't lying," Maxxor declared to reassure the boy of his thought in the matter. It seemed to work when he saw the boy a bit less tense. Just a bit. He wondered what next would be revealed.
"Is it fine with you if I take notes? It might help us find Peyton or understand more the situation. We might need to capture a Metalist to obtain the location, but our scouts can track them now, even if they had Telebracers to escape."
"Sarah felt on the head of one of them when we searched for Kaz," he wondered where Van Bloot and the others were now. They had two situations with the Underworlder being a third one.
"About the Metalist," the High Muge decided to share some news, "The M'arrillians managed to find a few old recordings about their tribe. They are sending us copies once they are done with it. This might help the search. We know they are not living on the continent, so maybe like the Elementalist tribe."
Now, the creature went to the subject Tom dreaded a little. He coughed quietly as he interrupted the conversation, "Speaking of the Elementalist, that's the big reason I came here. It's another problem with them on Earth."
"They are trying an invasion?" Maxxor asked a bit in disbelief. From everything Tera Motus told them, it wouldn't be the case.
"No. It's something else. There was a situation and…" he took a deep breath and decided to start from the beginning of what he knew, "There was an Elementalist that came to Earth a while ago. He wanted to punish you for what you tribes did before. He wanted to make you regret coming to Earth and the stuff you did to fix the portal," he scratched the back of his head nervously.
"There was a retaliation then. Why did it take a year before they even do something?" Najarin grumbled.
"Their decisions are probably based on the council. The four Elementalists we met represent an element. They are the form of power over their tribe. Not a single ruler with a councillor," Maxxor guessed. He scratched his chin, "They took a while for their best own course of action then."
"The Guardians believed it might be one of them who acted on his own, the water creature. They are not sure. Maybe the creature acted a bit weird and that was all. I wasn't there and didn't see him. I have no idea what actually happened," the teenager took a deep breath, "He wanted Milla'iin to be brought to him and me. No one has any idea how he knows me, but he did. Eventually, he threatened to take more drastic measure to get me. They could guy more times and I was brought to them eventually," now, he had to give partial information, "They told me what happened and asked me to go to the Elementalist… island," he dropped the bomb.
Maxxor was ready to release his anger. His friend would be use as a way to avoid problem when they could protect him. He managed to contain himself, "You have no reason to accept such a thing. We can protect you, Tom. There is no reason for you to do something like that."
The teenager glanced down, "There is," he couldn't say it. He looked at them again, "I cannot let Milla'iin go on his own and… I don't want to get anyone hurt. I won't let our town get through another invasion again. They could open a portal directly near our home," he looked in the eyes of the two creatures, "And I might get answers about where the Metalists took Peyton. I…" he stopped himself from saying that part, "I accepted. I am training to defend myself with the power of light. I am progressing quickly. I have two weeks left. Once I go to Perim with my real body, I won't have my scanner. I won't port in. I wanted you to know what would happen."
On the other side of the door, Marquis Darini didn't know what to think. The guide of the Overworld was ready to put himself in danger to find Peyton. Still, maybe if they could protect the boy in the first place, none of this would happen. Still, none of them expected that. Maybe it was inevitable. Still, it was a possibility and with what he learned, there was much his king would need to know.
The ruler of the Overworld sighed. He could see he couldn't talk Tom out of this. He felt a bit of tension in the air. He had a feeling that he wouldn't get more than that. It seems something important would remain unknown.
The ruler made a declaration, "It seems I cannot change your mind and even if I came to Earth you wouldn't. There is more to this and I can feel it, Tom. However, we will find a way to locate the Elementalist main land or island and rescue you from them. Those Guardians did what they had too," he commented with a bit of doubt about them, "and we will rescue you. You have many friends here Tom and me among them. I will find a way to rescue you."
The teenager let out a small smile, "Thanks Maxxor."
The Marquis decided to wait to be called back inside. He would have a big report to give his king. There was nothing that stood out after those declarations and their conversations was casual. Still. He felt some tension in the air. The way Maxxor spoke about 'more to it' didn't sit well with him.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Contact.
Lord Van Bloot finally got a reply from the Metalist and met with their ruler.
