Chapter 96: Alchemy and Manipulation
-Somewhere in the Pandora Jungle-
Gauge heaved as his lungs begged for air, the burning sensation of lactic acid in his muscles from overworking them, but he couldn't let up. Just when he thought he could take a moment to breathe another blast of green acid splashed the tree branch where he perched.
"GODDAMNIT GRANNY CAN YOU LET ME REST?!" Gauge yelled as he sprinted across the trees.
Meanwhile, on the undergrowth, the old witch lady was riding atop a giant centipede Grimm while the others chased him through the trees.
"You won't learn anything if I do!" she cackled.
This chase business had been going on for several days.
Since he'd met her, Gauge had learned a few things. The first was that the old lady's name was a secret, much like quite literally everything else about her. He knew she was very old but not where she came from or exactly what type of Faunus she was.
He also learned that there were Grimm in this forest that wasn't the direct spawn of Salem's creation. Grimm acted more like wild animals that hunted and lived just like regular beasts. These Grimm had intelligence and weren't being mindlessly controlled. The centipedes for example were this woman's pets, apparently raised from eggs.
This implied that these wild Grimm had reproductive capabilities unlike the ones created by Salem. Which meant there were possibly dozens more species that weren't even recorded.
Gauge also learned that his body could survive without food or water much longer than he was led to believe in the labs. His cells would rapidly regenerate any lost blood or broken tissue, even compensating for lack of consistently clean water or nutrition.
He counted exactly 5 days of constant overworking on no food or water before his body would collapse.
The last thing he learned, was by far the most interesting and useful thing yet.
"HISSS!"
Gauge whipped his head around just in time to see a giant centipede slinging out of the canopy.
"WAAH!" he yelled out, narrowly avoiding collision but in the process lost his balance and came careening to the floor.
The Centipede made a lightning dash towards the seemingly defenceless clone, when Gauge smirked.
Summoning up his Aura, Gauge gripped a small metallic marble and focused on the soil beneath his body, feeling the very thin strands of metallic grains that were laden in the upper layer.
"Got you!" the moment the centipede was within Gauge's reach he swiped his hand vertically and a large metallic claw made of grainy metal grappled the creature and anchored its movements.
While Pandora itself was heavily lacking in metals such as iron ore and copper, the soil was thickly laden with the stuff, but only in the form of fine powder scattered just below the topsoil.
Granny's ruthless training had enabled him to pick up and fine-tune his Semblance to the point where he no longer needed a base weapon to build around, just a little piece of metal was enough, and he could use the grains from the earth.
The old lady slid down the back of her steed and landed in front of Gauge, helping him up with her walking stick, "Heheheee, good one kid," she cackled as he dusted himself off, relinquishing the iron grip on the centipede.
Having been released the beast curled around Gauge and nudged his head tenderly, tussling his hair with its fangs.
Gauge chuckled and pet its mandibles, "I'm improving slowly…" he turned to the centipede, "I didn't hurt you did I?"
The centipede Grimm shook its head in denial.
"You won't hurt Thatch so easily, the only thing denser than his shell is his brain." Granny prodded the beast away. She looked up at Gauge with concerned eyes, "We're running out of time to get you prepared…"
He looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"
The Old Witch scratched her head, "It seems the Prince and his friends made it to Castle Flareheart. I also hear that something's going down in the Oceanis Kingdom. The prince wants the three sigils of approval from each Kingdom so he's probably going to get the Oceanis one next."
"I still don't get what that has to do with time… OW!" he recoiled as she bonked him with her stick.
"It means that next, he's heading to the Bladewing Mountains, which means shit's going to hit the fan if we don't get you to them by the time they reach the mountains," She cursed, which wasn't very cryptic old woman of her.
Gauge blanked, "I still don't get it. How do you even know it's going to get bad? OW!" she bonked him again.
"Don't question me. I'm old, I talk to trees, I know things," she narrowed her eyes at him. "NOW BACK TO WORK!" she began chasing him with her stick again.
-Oceanis Kingdom-
The Queen had been under Morgan's control for almost three days now, and for what it's worth most people in the kingdom were unaware of the change.
Morgan was smart, changes were subtle and flew under the radar of most people. More allocation of resources for her alchemy, shifting in the amount of fishing hunts they did. She wanted to slowly but surely weed out the things she didn't approve of. If it were up to her, she would outright have the queen announce her as the new ruler all at once, but things weren't so simple.
She didn't want people to hate her, she wanted recognition, to be celebrated… not feared.
As she stepped into the towers above the castle, making her way up the twisting stairs, she let the events of the previous day play back in her mind and cursed herself. She was far too eager with her newfound power, and her brother was far too perceptive for his own good.
-One day earlier-
Morgan had just finished giving her 'counsel' to Queen Marina for the day. Some peasants were requesting them to deal with creatures of darkness, the Grimm, lurking around the hills outside their kingdom.
Didn't these peasants understand? Outside of their kingdom, no matter how close, was still outside their kingdom. It wasn't their problem to deal with, and even if it did kill a few nameless farmers who really cared?
Still, she had advised the queen to send at least one guard off… she didn't want to seem complacent.
Now, after the day was done, she was on her way out of the throne room when she encountered her brother waiting just in front of the entrance.
"Morg," he started with a concerned expression, "What's your deal?"
Morgan was taken aback by his tone, "Dearest brother, what could you possibly be referring to?" she genuinely didn't understand.
Sami narrowed his eyes, "You know what I'm talking about, my friend disappeared, and you said you didn't know anything about it… but I heard some of the other townsfolk talking…"
She froze but kept her composure. She was sure no one would have been awake at that time of night…
"They said the castle guards were seen exiting my house and escorting someone they didn't recognize," he looked at her warily, "Where's my friend? Where is Nitro?"
Morgan decided to play innocent, "Why would you think I know anything about it?" she asked blinking innocently.
Sami clenched his fists, "Because if anything happens in this castle, you know about it. So tell me… where is he? What did you do to him?!"
"Hmph," she scoffed, "You know, you never come to visit me at the castle, but the moment that you need something you come barging in here making demands. Now you're throwing out baseless accusations!"
"But…!"
"But nothing, Sami," she hissed bitterly, "You're friend abandoned you, simple as that. You just need to accept the fact that people do hurtful things all the time. He hurt you by leaving but that doesn't give you the right to take it out on me!"
Sami felt bile rising in his throat. She was lying, he knew it. Nitro would never leave without a word, and the timing of her visit, to Nitro's disappearance and what the townsfolk were saying.
He also noted the bits of conversation from earlier, the worried expressions of the farmers, and the Queen's cold demeanour lately… something was very wrong and his sister sitting at the very centre of it.
"Fine, I… I'm sorry, for the way I acted," he said concealing his rage, "You're probably right, he… left me. It's my fault for having feelings for someone who was never going to stay." His words felt like ash on his tongue… he wanted to throw up.
Morgan's expression softened as she touched his shoulder, "It's alright… we all make mistakes, just don't beat yourself up over it, okay?"
Sami gulped and felt almost compelled to believe her.
His sister had a silver tongue and if he didn't know any better he honestly would fall for her every lie.
She'd always been like this…
It was the reason his relationship with her was so skewed.
She'd never stopped lying, not since their parents went on that fishing trip and didn't come back.
-Back with Morgan-
Morgan climbed the staircase to her tower of solitude, where she prepared her alchemical ingredients and potions. The bound leather book rested neatly on the cluttered desk. The vials and various flasks, distillation set-ups and condenser traps were all where she needed them.
There was only one thing off about the room, however.
Near the open window which she was sure she closed, hovering above the ground and comprising of a black tentacled body and a crystal ball for a head, marred with jagged teeth and blackened skin was one of Salem's living crystal balls.
It was a creature Morgan had never seen before, but she knew it was Grimm.
"Do not scream…" Salem's voice echoed in a low but smooth tone as her form manifested out of black smoke around the crystal ball.
Morgan found herself staring into the eyes of a creature she'd only heard about in fairy tales.
The wicked witch of the west who lived in the dark castle, the demon queen herself… and though it were only an illusion, she felt the gravity of her ominous presence.
"D-Demon…!" Morgan was quickly silenced by the tentacle shooting out and wrapping itself around her mouth.
"Shhh, didn't I say not to scream?" Salem's image asked calmly, "I will release you, only when you decide to calm down."
Morgan felt fear crawl around her body, the sickening feeling of darkness twisting in the air. Should she scream? Should she call for help? Should she fight back?
Could she fight back?
This thing, whatever it was, was stronger than her. It could kill her easily if it wanted to.
Her brain began to work overtime. If it didn't want to kill her then it must have some use for her, otherwise, it would have killed her already.
Recognition began to dawn over her features and Salem smirked before letting the crystal ball release its hold.
Morgan steadied her heartbeat, "W-What do you want?"
Salem smiled again, "Perceptive, not only did you deduce I wasn't here to kill you but you even managed to fight your instinctive fear in a matter of seconds. You're smart."
The mermaid Faunus didn't respond, awaiting Salem's explanation.
"And you listen… good girl," Salem moved to the desk and began to flip through the book on alchemy, "I've seen what you've been doing here. It's… interesting work, this alchemy. Tell me, do you know where it originated?"
"I think it originated from earlier Faunus practices and rituals… someone or some people figured out how to manipulate the elements without the need for an Aspect stone…"
Salem chuckled, "Really? You think or you know? Because it sounds like you don't know very much… I may have to retract my earlier statement about you being smart."
Morgan gulped and moved closer hesitantly, "I don't know much, as you say, about the origins of this. I only know how to use it."
"Then you know nothing at all, you see, this 'alchemy' is a byproduct of my craft."
"What…?!"
"Indeed, a long time ago I tried to teach some of the more… open-minded Faunus about magic. Of course, they didn't understand nor could they replicate what I tried to show them. In the end, they took my teachings and tried applying it to what they already knew about the natural forces. It was rather ingenious if you ask me."
Morgan felt her heartbeat pick up rapidly again, "Wait… you taught them alchemy? W-Why? H-How?!"
Salem drummed her hands on the table, "It doesn't matter how. As for why… well why does anyone do anything? Out of necessity? No… simply out of curiosity and boredom. Who knew it would create such an entertaining thing…"
The mermaid Faunus felt her fear morph quickly into bubbling curiosity, desire burning in her chest. If what Salem was saying was true, then… perhaps there was more to learn.
"I can hear what you're thinking from here," Salem smirked, "Good. It seems we can both be of assistance to each other then."
"I'm listening," Morgan felt her confidence return. At first, she saw Salem as a monster, but now she saw a woman with outstanding intellect and deep roots of hidden knowledge. A treasure trove of secrets to unravel.
Morgan often contemplated her true goals. Did she want fame? Power? Recognition? Knowledge?
The answer was so simple now, as she stared into the illusory blackened eyes of the woman her entire race called a demon.
She wanted it all.
Salem had it all.
Salem could give all of it to her.
"Soon, Nova Flareheart, Ruby Rose and their cohorts will be arriving in your kingdom," Salem started.
Morgan felt a growing smile. Her kingdom. She liked the sound of that, "The prince, correct? I've heard of him. Word travels fast when it concerns the supposed heir to the grand throne. He wants to come here and get his symbol of recognition. I mean that's what the legends keep saying, that one day a Flareheart would return to the throne of Pandora. Pack of horseshit if you ask me."
Salem smiled darkly, "Indeed, this boy thinks he can upset your balance, upset your rule. He thinks he can restart an empire that's long dead."
"You want me to kill him?"
Salem nodded, "Kill him if you can, but if you can get rid of that Ruby girl and the others who surround him it would do far more damage."
Morgan began to understand, "Cut the head of the snake and two more shall take its place… but cripple the body and it could never function again… right?"
"Clever girl… and in return…"
"In return, I want you to teach me everything you know. I want more power, more knowledge, more influence. I want it all…" Morgan finished for her.
Salem waltzed over and trailed a finger along Morgan's neck while smirking, "The deal is sealed…" Morgan felt a sharp pain on her collar between her neck and shoulder as the tentacle that mimicked Salem's finger retracted. A black spot formed over where it stabbed.
"What did you do…?"
"Just a little something to help you out in case of an emergency… those brats can be rather… difficult to handle."
-Castle Firestone-
Ruby rose that morning to her usual view, Nova wrapped around her torso with his head usually either buried in her hair. This morning he had rolled over to the other side of the bed with his back to the door, facing her. His arm was outstretched as if he was reaching out to her in his sleep, his face contorted as if he was… crying…
She tried to read through the bond but all she found was… something cold…
Then she saw it, the single tear leaking down his face, the soft whimpers of pain in his sleep.
Normally using their bond, they'd share a dream space, but since the incident with Summer, Nova had decided to put some distance between their soul spaces.
She understood why, after all, she went berserk and he took all of that raw negative emotion onto himself. It would have been enough reason for anyone to want to crawl away from everyone, to hide until they felt safe… but Nova didn't have that luxury.
Nova has never had that luxury.
Try as they wanted to push the narrative that they could take on the world together, there would always be things that some people just had to face alone, and no matter how much Nova would say otherwise, she knew his burden was greater than hers.
She had the silver eyes, she had to be the one to defeat Salem.
He was the king in the making, to rule a country, to be the face that people looked up to for unity. She earned the title of hero and idol with the four kingdoms of Remnant, but not with the Faunus of Pandora.
On top of all that, Nova was shouldering all of that emotional trauma, she knew he never had a proper chance to heal, not like she did. She got almost an entire year off from any life-threatening dangers and world ending crises while he was fighting to take back Vale and face the politics of the people of Menagerie from the very second he woke up.
It was a feat of wonder that he hadn't snapped… that he hadn't been broken.
Nova swears it is because of her, that he can have the mental fortitude to continue, and she believes him.
Leaning across the bed she grasped his hand and lay down next to him, pulling him into her arms and stroking his hair, doing her best to push soothing energies into their bond.
"It's okay, I'm here. Whenever you need me, whenever you're tired of struggling, I'll do my best to help you," she kissed the top of his head as her fingers combed through his hair.
It was soft, a few knots from not combing it but always pleasant to the touch.
"Mmph," he grumbled, peeling open his eyes Nova was met with the sight of Ruby smiling down at him with love and warmth.
A small feeling of guilt bubbled inside of him when he felt how much care she was putting into their bond. He loved her, more than words could ever express, but it is because of that love he felt guilt.
He had shortened his lifespan for her, not that he wouldn't do it again, just that… he felt guilty he was keeping this secret from her.
She couldn't know…
She could never find out.
It would kill her inside if she did. To know that he had given away dozens of years of his life to preserve hers because she didn't have the strength to kill her mother.
Gods… it was so fucked up…
He would tell her when this was all over and hope that she wouldn't have a mental breakdown when he did.
Squashing those feelings down he smiled back at her, feeling her thumb run across his cheek.
"You were crying… did you have a nightmare?" she asked softly, looking at him worriedly.
Nova faltered and sat up, "I'm okay. I don't even remember what it was about now," he said looking away from her. He couldn't just lie to her face like this.
She knew he was lying but decided to drop it. He would talk to her on his own time, and they had more pressing matters at hand.
Hopping out of bed he headed for the shower, "You coming?" he beamed a smile at her so bright the sun through the curtains felt dull.
"Fine, but no kissing me until you brush your teeth," she rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Don't use my own line against me!"
She stuck her tongue out, "Taste of your own medicine, flame breath."
They were all gathered in the throne room after breakfast with Aurelios doing his standard butler stance.
"Is everyone here?" the stag Faunus looked at everyone expectantly.
Nova's face went serious, "Yeah, we've wasted enough time. Lead the way to the King's Passageway."
Aurelios nodded, "Follow me."
He leads them through the castle, down the main staircase through a passageway that leds to the basement floors. They passed through at least a dozen more floors that went deep underground, to rooms they didn't know, even a dungeon. Why did every castle have a dungeon?
They finally stopped at the lowest floor where a long hallway illuminated by torch scones filled with light dust.
The hallway was dusty and old, the grey stone walls climbed more than fifteen feet above their heads and the floor spanned a width of the same size. Unlike the walls of the castle, these were bare and lacked any form of artistic beauty.
At the end of the hallway was a series of doors all made of different materials. A white stone door with a golden handle, a lion's head above the frame carved in the same stone. Next to it was an aquamarine stone door with a mermaid carved overhead, and the last door was a grey steel door with a pair of bird wings carved above.
On the far side of the room in a corner of the hall was another door with much more ornate carvings of symbols that Luna recognized.
"These doors each lead to the respective kingdoms, the white door back to castle Lightmane, the green-ish door to Oceanis and the grey door to the Bladewing Mountains. Of course, I can't open them," Aurelios said as he attempted the doorknob on the Oceanis door only for it to be locked. "Only the blood of the Flareheart may open it."
Luna was fixated on the last door, "What's this door?" she approached it cautiously. She saw several symbols. The Flareheart Symbol was the centerfold of the piece but on the stone arc around it were various others.
A tornado symbol, a lightning bolt, a boulder, a gemstone, a tree, an icicle, flowing water… but the most curious of all was at the very center of the door itself, not the arc, but the door… was the same swirling galaxy she had for a birthmark.
"That we are not sure of. The royal family kept this a secret from even the most trusted of aides. A secret I'm afraid died with the last King." Aurelios said with regret.
Luna felt her hand moving toward the door unconsciously, but before she could grasp hold of it, Nova had opened the door to Oceanis, tearing her attention away and breaking the trance.
"Oh wow, it really did open for me," Nova said with surprise.
The Oceanis door opened and bright daylight shone through the door surprising everyone else.
"HUH?!" they all gaped.
They were staring through the door into an empty cave with its entrance open to the outside world.
Hex was frantic, "A-Aren't we like several feet underground?! H-How?! AND IS THAT THE SOUND OF THE OCEAN?!"
It was true, they all heard the sound of crashing waves and seagulls cawing.
"This place isn't near the ocean, there's just no way…" it was Weiss who stood gaping.
They all turned to Aurelios for an explanation but the man was also awestruck.
"I… had no idea it was like this. I mean this place hasn't been opened in almost a century so…" he scratched his head.
"Doesn't matter," Nova stepped through the door, "Let's go find Nitro."
"Good luck guys," Elain said as she held back.
Nova looked at his mother, "You're not coming?"
She shook her head, "Not this time. I want to get a chance to see this place a bit more. Just if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come back here."
The dragon siblings gave their mother a quick hug before going through the doorway.
One by one they all stepped through the door and were instantly met with the smell of the ocean and the blazing sting of coastal sun. The cave opened out onto a cliff that overlooked the Kingdom of Oceanis. It was not nearly as large as the Luxalia Kingdom, comprising of four sectors: A coastal sector with houses and shops lined along a dock, two inner sectors which seemed to be made of school districts and commercial areas, and lastly an inland sector for land-based farming. Their crops seemed mostly of rice fields and aquaculture.
"So this is the Oceanis Kingdom," Weiss placed her hand on her hip and tilted slightly, "I thought it would be bigger."
Oscar looked at her dryly, "The castle seems pretty big enough," he jabbed a thumb in the direction of Castle Seastone.
Hex bounded up to the front of their group and clapped twice, "Are we doing disguises again? I have extras if we need to blend in."
They all looked at each other for a response then back to Nova and Ruby.
Nova cleared his throat, "If Nitro is here then maybe the Queen can help us locate him, that is given she's a reasonable person. Keep the disguises for now at least, humans might still raise alarm."
"We would have to meet with her anyway, right?" Luna asked looking out to the ocean.
"Yeah, kill two birds with one stone I guess, unless anyone had any better ideas."
No one raised any further questions as they all put back on the chokers that gave them holographic animal ears and tails. Ruby was about to grab her wolf choker when she had an idea. Why wear the choker with fake ears when she could make her own Faunus traits?
Concentrating really hard, she latched onto that part of Nova's soul entwined with her own and drew out a small fraction of the latent power. This managed to manifest in her eyes, turning them draconic, as small silver horns grew from the top of her head.
"How do I look?" she asked beaming a smile which displayed set of fangs where her canines would be.
Nova almost choked as a furious blush rose to his face, there was something about his fiance's transformation that triggered a primal instinct he had to bury quickly to maintain professionalism, "I'm not going to get used to this."
That was all the response Ruby needed from him to walk up and kiss his cheek.
The others were standing around gaping, "W-W-WHAT?!"
Ruby blinked and made a blep sound while knocking on her head, "Long story short, I can do this now because of the soul bond. Don't think about it too hard."
"Damn girl, the primal look is... phew!" Hex began fanning herself making the red leader giggle.
"Man, what a sight to see right? Sun? Blake?" That's when Yang glanced around, "Wait... where's Blake...?"
"GUYS! A LITTLE HELP PLEASE?!" It was Sun yelling in panic from far away. They all turned to find Sun trying his best to grab hold of Blake only to be dragged by her ribbon while the cat Faunus was racing toward the fishing district with a crazed look in her eyes.
"OH NO, SHE'S SMELLED THE FISH! WE NEED TO CATCH HER BEFORE SHE RUINS THE LOCAL ECONOMY BY CREATING A HOLE IN THEIR SUPPLY FORCING AN IMBALANCE!" Oscar yelped surprising everyone. He looked at them dryly, "What? I know how these things work... Shut up, Ozpin made me read like four textbooks last night!"
Having finally caught up with Blake and stopped her from raiding an entire fishing boat. The poor fisherman was left shivering in fear from the black cat demon that tried to rob him of a hard-earned harvest. Normally Blake was much more contained than this but it seemed that it was far too much sensory overload for her poor feline brain.
After traversing the sea-stone walkways between the blocks of housing and commercial areas, they made it to the grand gates of Castle Seastone. The grandiose structure was nestled on its own small island connected by a long bridge to the mainland.
By now, Nova knew what procedures to follow in order to speed things up. No more dancing in the shadows.
"Someone is tailing us," Blake pointed out as she finally sobered up and regained her senses, "They have been for a while now."
Everyone simultaneously understood to act natural, and never let the person tailing you know you were being tailed. "Is it a local?" Ruby asked without looking back.
Blake nodded, "I think so, but they stopped at the beginning of the bridge. I didn't sense any hostile intent."
"No matter, we'll handle it when it gets to that point," Nova said as he approached the guards in front of the castle gates, "It's show time."
"We would like an audience with Queen Marina," he said with a tone of authority as he recalled the names Aurelios and Hadar had told him off, "I am Nova Flareheart, heir to the Grand Imperial Throne, and I am here with my sister Luna Flareheart and our comrades."
The guards who were standing at the gates looked at them with annoyance at first and would have probably told them to get lost had the prince not announced himself. All at once they stood at attention and saluted him, "The Queen is in the throne room, simply head through those doors, your Highness."
Ruby looked at him, "Wow, really embracing it now aren't we?"
"I might as well," he said dryly before stepping through the grand doors.
Meanwhile, outside Sami was watching them enter, from the moment he spotted them in the town to when they got to the bridge he'd silently followed them, moving as stealthily as he could, which wasn't a whole lot. He was pretty sure he tripped over a loose brick in the road which tipped off the cat Faunus but they didn't react so he figured he was in the clear.
Now he had to wait for them to come out of the castle.
Queen Marina sat on her sea stone throne dressed in a dark blue glittering dress that accented her delicate beauty. For a woman who was supposedly in her mid-fifties, she looked not a day over thirty, with glowing skin and silken hair. The only thing that was uncharacteristic was her sunken eyes.
There were dark bags under her eyes like someone had purposely used extra eyeliner, and despite the shimmer of her looks, there was a severe lack of energy behind her frame. On the contrary, to her right and sitting upon a smaller throne that was seemingly placed there recently was Morgan, who was extra glowing today.
The team all bowed before the Queen, giving their respects, "House Flareheart greets her majesty the Queen of Oceanis, Marina Prismafinn." Nova was the one to handle the formalities. One thing that stuck out to him was that the Queen looked rather... familiar.
Morgan eyed the party, taking note of every face present. "What an interesting group," she thought amused. Morgan was inherently quite vain, the sight of a group of individuals whose beauty dared to rival hers was... irritating. The princess, the woman with the cold stare and white hair, the purple-haired vixen, the blonde whose chest was much larger than her own, and the short-haired girl standing next to the prince. They were all of a near-unparalleled beauty... she had to put that aside, for now as she believed they were in reality nowhere near her own beauty.
"Ah the infamous prince," Marina spoke up, "Morgan told me you'd be visiting soon, still, I had not expected it to be quite this early."
"Indeed," Morgan said curtly, "It should have taken you several weeks at least to get here. How did it only take you a few days?"
The early appearance of the prince was a stab in her plans. The first time his presence was made known and the word spread, she estimated a few weeks would be enough to poison the mind of the queen and the kingdom until it was so deeply rooted in her clutches that the prince wouldn't matter.
They were far too early.
Nova cast a quick glance at Morgan, "Whom may I ask are you? We have introduced ourselves, yet the first thing you say to me is questioning why I arrived sooner than expected. I don't believe we sent out a formal notice prior to our arrival, nor was I under the impression it was necessary."
Something was off about this woman, the gaze she cast on them was scrutinizing as if she was screening them all. It would be one thing if the queen was casting judgment, but this Morgan was off-putting. She was fishy, and not just in the literal sense.
"Morgan Tidefinn, counsel to the queen," she said without getting up from her seat, a dark smile played on her lips as she truly gazed upon Nova's frame. He was a feast for the eyes and had the guts to call her out. "In accordance with Pandorian law, when it comes to matters of political nature, should an emissary be sent between kingdoms then a formal notice is deigned to be issued at least one week prior to expected arrival."
"Yet I believe my speech at Luxalia should have served as an official form of notice to all kingdoms, the only thing is we arrived earlier than expected. There are no laws reprimanding an unexpected and early arrival." He looked at her challengingly and silently hoping his bluff would work.
Morgan smirked devilishly, "You would be correct on that part," folding her legs she leaned on one hand, "Well played prince."
All the while Ruby was observing the interaction with an unsettling feeling twisting in her gut. Morgan had her eyes fixated on Nova the moment he started talking, they were practically devouring him. She wanted to chalk it up to paranoia but something about Morgan was even alluring her senses and she didn't understand it.
Queen Marina cleared her throat, "We can debate Pandorian law all day but it matters not. I assume you wish to attain my kingdom's rite of passage. I've heard the tales about you wanting to ascend to the throne but if you want my approval, you're going to have to earn it."
"How might I earn your trust, your majesty?"
"Nova Flareheart, you might be prince by birthright, and while you may look the part, you are a stranger to me and to these people. If you wish to undertake my challenge, you must first prove you are capable..." she was about to list off some tasks when Morgan interjected.
"Allow me to test him, your majesty. I can put him through a series of tests to determine his qualifications, then we can have him take the final test of endurance." Morgan spoke up with a smile playing on her lips.
Queen Marina didn't even think about it, "I'll allow it. Morgan, you are my most trusted advisor, and if you deem him worthy then surely he should be," she turned to the group, "As you know each kingdom has a specific rite of passage to determine a future king. Castle Lightmane challenged your strength, Castle Seastone shall challenge your endurance... but before all of that, I suggest you take some time and learn about our town."
"I'll be testing the prince personally here in the castle," she looked at Nova with hungry eyes.
She was used to being unchallenged in this throne room, no one usually had the spine to.
She wanted him...
"The rest of you," Morgan looked at them almost distastefully, "We can arrange rooms for you in the castle, and a feast at dinner time tonight."
Nova looked at his team, by now he knew how to read their expressions, "I think we'll find lodging in the city. It would do us some good to interact with the locals directly, help us... learn more about this place."
Morgan grit her teeth but let her anger dissipate quickly, "Fine, then at least stay for dinner, it is a custom for the royal family to host its guests."
The prince looked at her warily, Morgan was one thing but if he wanted to make a good impression on the queen then maybe he needed to abide by these 'customs'. "Then we shall see you for dinner." he caught himself, "Oh, and before we leave... a friend of ours is supposed to already be in the city. His name is Nitro, red hair, taller than me, green eyes?"
Queen Marina tilted her head in confusion, "Sorry your Highness, I haven't seen anyone by that description. We would know, after all, red isn't a common colour here in Oceanis."
Hex eyed them and caught Morgan stiffening at the sound of Nitro's name, but it was gone as fast as it came. Suspicion began to form.
As they left Morgan's mind was racing a mile a minute, hatching up a new scheme.
Salem wanted the prince dealt with, if they came over for dinner then she could spike the food with her potion of suggestion. Not only would she not have to kill them, but she could have them all under her control... she would become unstoppable, if the prince did ascend to the throne then not only would Morgan have control over one kingdom... she'd have all three!
As soon as they exited the castle gates, Nova let out a shudder of disgust, shaking himself off as if Morgan's gaze clung to him like oil on his skin.
"That Morgan woman is unsettling," Ruby said, voicing his thoughts.
Yang folded her arms, "Didn't you see the way she was looking at us? Like we were a stain on the floor. I don't like her..."
Sun scratched his head, "She seemed okay to me? Though it was a little weird how she was only really focusing on Nova."
"And did anyone else get the feeling that she was the one in control of that conversation? Like the Queen was agreeing with her on... well everything." Weiss pointed out.
"The throne room should be reserved for the one in charge and their significant other, yet Morgan was sitting beside the Queen..." it was Luna who made that observation. She was more versed in Pandorian law than Nova since she had spent more time in the library.
Blake's ears flickered as she twitched her nose, "I couldn't get a proper read on her, normally I can gauge people just by reading their body language but she's... obscure."
"And she knows about Nitro," Hex said glaring holes into the floor.
"How'd you figure? They said they didn't see him..." Sun countered absently, but genuinely curious.
Hex folded her arms and looked at the sky, "Not completely sure but I saw her flinch when we mentioned Nitro. She knows something..."
They crossed the bridge and made it out into the town, and right on time, Blake spotted Sami hiding behind a pair of barrels on the docks, "Looks like our stalker didn't leave," she pointed out, "Want me to grab him from behind?"
Nova chuckled and shook his head, "Nah," he then waved toward the boy, "HEY! Friend! We see you over there!"
"EH?!"
Sami almost fell over, stumbling and crashing through the wooden barrels, spilling their contents of fish onto the floor. Sun quickly grabbed hold of Blake's hand before she could lose her cool... only to find that Luna had lost herself to instinct and was already holding three fish in her mouth. He had forgotten that the dragons were fish crazy as well.
"Hehehe... you caught me huh...?" Sami said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Who are you?" Blake demanded, glaring at him. She didn't need to draw a weapon as per her shadow powers.
"M-My name's Sami," he stammered out while facing down Blake's intense gaze, "I-I know Nitro!" he held up his hands defensively.
The team relaxed and looked at each other warily, "Tell us everything Sami." Hex stepped forward.
He led them back to his small house, the wooden building barely fitting everyone in the living room. Neo was admiring the decor as she found the simplistic design and lack of grandiose displays and portraits quite welcoming.
"So... Sami," Nova began as he leaned against the wall while the others found places on the limited furnishings. "How exactly do you know Nitro?"
"Sorry, I'm not used to having this many guests," he apologized. "I... know Nitro because I was the one who rescued him after his shipwreck."
Hex was on edge, "H-He shipwrecked? I mean... fuck we all did but was he hurt?!"
Sami nodded, "Y-Yeah, a few broken ribs, bruising, concussion... broken arm... I patched him up and he stayed with me for a while," telling the story made Sami feel irritated as he looked at the team, "Which begs the question, why are you only here now?! Your friend was in pain and you take two weeks to show up!"
Hex glared at him, "That wasn't up to us...!"
Nova stopped her, "That fault lies with me. We didn't know where he was or what happened to him. We were just as lost as he was so I decided to play our cards as they fell."
"What do you mean you?" Ruby elbowed him, "That was a collective decision."
"Yeah, we all share that blame, stop trying to pin it on yourself," it was Weiss who was getting annoyed at Nova.
He raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, fine, we all suck equally. Now back to the topic at hand," he looked at Sami, "Where is he?"
Sami cooled down, "Nitro always said you guys would come looking for him. He was holding up here with me, day by day he was stuffed in this house because he couldn't go outside, but you came too late."
"What do you mean...?" Hex heard his undertone of regret.
"Nitro... got taken by the Oceanis royal guard four days ago..."
Hex's eyes went wide with horror. Something had happened to her little brother, her only little brother. Her fears were right, she had hoped to the gods that she wouldn't be right, that Nitro was fine, but he wasn't... and three days.
That was the total time it took for them to spend in Castle Lightmane, then travel to Castle Firestone and spend the day there... was this... their fault?! If they had just been there sooner...
"I KNEW IT! SOMETHING WAS WRONG, I FELT IT IN MY BONES!" Hex flared up and turned on Nova, "I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD'VE COME HERE THE MINUTE WE FOUND OUT!".
The dragon recoiled but held his gaze with hers, his eyes were trembling but now was not the time for excuses.
"Hex!" Ruby snapped, "Don't blame this on Nova, he was just trying his best to handle the situation! We're all confused and in a strange country, so you can't expect Nova to predict the fucking future!"
The girl in question was red with rage, "HE SHOULD HAVE ACTED WITH MORE URGENCY!"
Everyone else in the room was shaken, this was the first time Hex had outright argued with Nova, and the first time Ruby had exploded in a while. She'd always trusted his judgement unconditionally...
Ruby was about to counter when Nova held her back, "No, she's right. If Nitro's in danger then it's my fault for not acting sooner," he looked at Hex earnestly, "I'm sorry, Hex."
The tech master spun on Sami, "HOW?! HE WAS IN YOUR CARE SO YOU JUST LET THEM TAKE HIM?!"
Sami flinched, "YOU THINK I WANTED THAT TO HAPPEN?! FUCK... I wasn't even at home when they came. I was out on orders by the queen and when I came back he was gone! If I hadn't listened... if I had been more careful I...!"
It was then Hex got a good look at everyone in the room and realized she'd scared everyone. Ruby was looking at her defensively and Nova was baring a guilty expression. Her anger all at once died down when she saw their faces. This wasn't her, she was just as much to blame. If she had insisted to Nova to go along with her gut feeling then maybe...
No...
She redid the math in her head.
Even if they hadn't spent the extra days at Castle Firestone and Castle Lightmane, Nitro was already taken by that time. None of them could have stopped this unless they'd known where to go from the start.
"Shit!" she cursed, "Sorry guys, it's none of your fault, oh gods I'm so sorry..." she fell back onto a wooden chair.
Ruby's expression softened and Yang moved to aide her girlfriend, "Hey, it's okay... at the very least he's not dead right?"
Hex sniffled and nudged her with a smile, "You suck at pick-me-ups," this caused Yang to stroke Hex's hair gently. "Shit, Sorry Nova, Ruby, Sami, I didn't mean to just explode like that."
"We get it, Hex, you're just panicking. we'd be the same if it were any of you," Nova and Ruby said simultaneously.
Now that the emotions were calming down, Nova's brow furrowed in confusion, "Wait, you said the royal guard? That doesn't make any sense. We asked the queen about Nitro and she said she didn't know anything about it."
Sami tensed up, "Was my sister there?"
"Your sister?"
"Morgan, advisor to the queen. Was she there?" he asked again.
Nova nodded slowly, "Yes, she was. What does she have to do with this?"
Sami rubbed his head and began pacing back and forth, "Fuck, fuck fuck fuck... if the queen doesn't know and given everything then..."
"Slow down, Sami, you're not making any sense. Calm down and explain it to us from the beginning. What's going on?" Ruby appealed.
The mermaid Faunus ran his hands through his hair and went to the cabinet where he brought out a large bottle of brown liquid and poured out a glass for himself. Nova caught a whiff of the stuff and it didn't smell like alcohol. It smelled more like a cold brew tea.
It seemed to calm Sami down as he slowly sipped the liquid, "My sister was the one who took Nitro. I don't know why, all I know is that she's behind it."
"How do you know?" Hex found her voice.
"The coincidences just add up too perfectly. First, she comes to visit, which she rarely does, by the way, sends me on a mission for the queen. That very night Nitro goes missing while I'm not home and my sister claims he ran away, said she saw someone with red hair leaving the village. A couple days later the Queen starts acting strangely, approving things she doesn't normally allow and making questionable decisions... I confronted Morgan about it but then she straight up tried to gaslight me into believing her lies."
"On top of that, they claimed not to know anything about him," Hex narrowed her eyes, "At least the queen responded in earnest, but Morgan said nothing about it."
"Something's fishy," Sun said, "No offence."
"None taken," Sami replied, "And you're right. I think my sister took Nitro and did something to him but I don't know what. I don't think he's dead, my sister is a lot of things but she's not a murder, at least I hope not..." he took another sip from the glass.
Weiss snapped her fingers, "Don't castles have a dungeon? Like where they throw prisoners and criminals?"
Sami's eyes widened, "YOU'RE RIGHT! Maybe they threw him in the castle dungeons!"
'Why didn't you think of that before?' Neo signed, only for Sami to look confused so she rolled her eyes and tapped out on her scroll and showed him the message.
"Well, we don't usually make people do hard times for crimes. The only sort of crime we get around here is petty theft, so people usually are put to work hard labour without pay for a period of time as punishment," Sami said frankly.
It was true, Neo noted, they hadn't passed a single thing that looked like a jail cell and the only sort of police they encountered were the castle guards.
'What an unrealistically peaceful place you got here,' Neo tapped out, 'Sounds boring.'
"Thank you...?" he wasn't sure if that was a compliment.
Nova began to formulate a plan, "We have to go to the castle for dinner tonight, maybe we can use that to scope out a route to the dungeons. If it's anything like Castle Firestone, then the jails would be underground. We can't all go, too big of a party and it'll just warrant more watchful eyes, but too little and it'll be tough to disappear unnoticed. Luna and I have to attend, that's a given, what about the rest of you?"
"How about Blake, Neo and I go with you guys? Standard infiltration party," Hex prompted.
"I'm coming with you," Ruby wasn't going to let that Morgan character anywhere near her Nova.
Sami nursed his glass a little more, "My sister is cunning and a pathological liar. There's no doubt she'll try to pull something over on you guys, so be careful. I'd accompany you, but I'm not invited, and I'm not a fighter either."
Nova placed a firm hand on his shoulder, "We'll be careful. We might not look like it, but we're pretty strong!" he gave him a reassuring smile.
-Castle Seastone Dungeons-
Nitro sat on the cold cell floor, weakened and exhausted. The walls felt like they were constantly closing in around him and the bedding had worn out its comfort. What he wouldn't give for a hot shower, a cheeseburger and an ice-cold beer right now. He'd avoided food since his first meal here, and after passing out upon eating the bread and cheese they'd given him, he realized the food was laced with sleeping powder.
"Wakey wakey~" it was Morgan's sing-song voice echoing through the depths of the otherwise unoccupied rooms.
When she came into view, he spat in her general direction, having it land by the floor, "So uncivilized, quite unlike your friends from earlier."
His eyes widened in shock, "My friends?! They're here?!"
Morgan giggled, "Yeah~ Why didn't you tell me the prince was such a delectable-looking man? I'd have prepared a batch of elixir just for him~"
Nitro launched himself at the grates only for the kinetic force to rebound and send him crashing against the back wall, "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!"
"You're not exactly in a position to make demands," she said while checking her nails, "Do you think I look good enough? Oh what am I saying, of course I do."
Nitro clenched his fists but had a smug look, "You want to win over Nova with your looks? Sorry lady but that'll never happen."
She frowned, "Why? Is he not interested in women?"
Nitro rolled his eyes, "Not that you idiot."
"There doesn't exist a man in this world who would not fall for my charms, except those who have other tastes of course," she said quite arrogantly. "Still, maybe I should prepare some insurance," she ran her long nails across the bars.
"Hmph, preparing another potion? Just so you know, if you open this cage I will bite." Nitro warned.
Morgan rolled her eyes, "Oh please, you couldn't hurt a fly in your current state, or haven't you figured out I've been drugging?"
Nitro spat on the ground, "Of course, that's why I've been avoiding the food," he'd been tossing the stuff down the toilet every time she brought in a new batch.
She chuckled darkly, "Oh, I only needed to drug your food the first time to get my first samples of blood, since then, I've put my potion in your water, oh don't even think about staying away from it. It's already been in your system for three days..."
"W-What?! When did you...?!"
"Now, be a good little pet and sit quietly while I do my work."
His entire body stiffened against his will, as he sat cross-legged on the floor while Morgan opened the cage. The door wasn't locked... how did he not notice that the door was unlocked the entire time?! Why wouldn't his body move?!
She took out a syringe and began extracting blood from his arm, once the bag was full, she casually exited the cage and closed the door.
"You'll forget this ever happened, all you'll remember is that I came to give you drugged food, but the water is fine. The cage is locked, and I have the key on me at all times." she smiled at him once more before waltzing out.
Will this be a repeat of Castle Lightmane? Hell no, a bit more to this than you might think.
Also here's to hoping I can keep a solid schedule again and not contract a debilitating virus.