Episode 24: The Blood Witch
"Yeah, that guy is definitely going away for a while." Ken says as they watch the Rune Knights take the accounts of no less than fifty hostages the other Mages rescued from within the Skarsguard's building.
"You mean Jelly?" Rina asks.
Ken nods. "As it turns out, his real name is Klaw Clears and he has several outstanding warrants for his arrest." he explains. "His warrants are all for minor things so he's not a completely bad guy. If he'd completed this job without us interfering, though, he clearly would've had a charge of human trafficking once they found out his involvement."
Rina blinks. "Klaw Clears?" she repeats. "I never would've guessed. That name sounds so…intimidating." Rina says, thinking back to how Jelly - now, Klaw, acted around Akane.
Ken shrugs, "Whatever the case, Klaw agreed to testify against the Skarsguards and because of his minor charges, he's getting a reduced sentence. He should be out within months." he says. "The Skarsguards on the other hand…" Ken trails off and smiles kindly at Rina. "They'll never bother you again, Miss Rina."
Rina smiles, having felt a weight lifted off her shoulders ever since the Rune Knights showed up and took custody of the family. Fortunately, the Skarsguard heirs were still unconscious (Ken suspects that Klaw and his hammer had a little something to do with that) so Rina doesn't have to hear anything else Marcel has to say ever again.
Fortunately, a majority of the hostages only had minor injuries and no one was hurt during Ken's destruction of the building. And, fortunately or unfortunately, Ken's transformation destroyed the integrity of the building like he initially expected it would and once everyone is safely evacuated from the area, the building is going to be torn down and rebuilt anew.
As for everyone else, Akane, Mana, and Alistair are being set up for medically-assisted transport back to Zaflior under the supervision of Master Nadine. Their allies, Victoria and Yuki, have yet to be seen again after helping evacuate the hostages and giving their reports to the Rune Knights.
That leaves Ken and Rina.
"Are you sure you can carry all of our bags by yourself, Ken?" Rina asks. "I don't mind staying behind with you to help." she offers.
Ken smiles and waves her off. "No, no," he says. "Go, go back home with Master Nadine and the others. Relax, Miss Rina, you may not have been injured but after having to deal with that horrid family again, you definitely deserve the rest. I can take care of this." Ken says confidently as he adjusts his new, clean tie. "I've been working on my Teleportation Magic. And I would also like to thank Miss Victoria and Mister Yuki for their help - if they haven't left already, that is."
(As seen when he first met Mana, Ken may not be the best at teleporting himself but he's fairly talented at teleporting objects and the like. That's how he managed to get a new not-bloodstained suit from his closet back in Zaflior. It's not quite Requip Magic because he can't magic the suit onto his body and replace it with his previous outfit [yet. He's working on it.].)
After asking if he was sure he didn't want Rina's help a few more times, Rina bids him farewell and goes to where Nadine and her unconscious guildmates are.
Ken hums and turns on his heel, searching through the crowd of Mages still lingering around for Victoria and Yuki. A good ten minutes of searching and he can't find them - no one still loitering around has seen them.
Ken sighs to himself, What a shame…maybe they went to their hotel? Surely they must've booked a room in town - the photoshoot was expected to last for a few days, so…
Ken nods, thinking that must be it, and starts the long walk back to the only hotel in town.
By the time Ken makes it back to the hotel, it's already dark outside.
"Ah, well." Ken yawns as he reaches for the handle of the door.
…
…
…
Huh…?
A shiver goes down Ken's spine when he touches the door handle.
What's this?
A cold, dark feeling washes over Ken.
Someone inside has a terrifyingly powerful presence.
…
…
…
Ken loosens his tie, undoes the first few buttons of his dress shirt, and pops its collar, hiding the Phoenix Fire mark on his neck.
Better safe than sorry.
And he opens the door.
Ken walks into the lobby of the hotel and is joyfully underwhelmed. The only people in the lobby are an old couple reading magazines, the receptionist, and what looks to be a rather pretty woman with long, wavy dark blue hair chatting with the receptionist.
How strange. Ken thinks to himself, keeping his guard up. I know I felt something…
He shakes his head and lines up behind the woman.
"...don't know where they went." Ken hears the woman say as he approaches.
The receptionist gives the woman their best customer service smile, "I'm sorry, ma'am." they apologize. "I've been working all day, I don't know anything about the incident."
The woman sighs dramatically. "Oh, woe is me." she says. "I suppose it can't be helped, I'll continue looking on my own."
Ken perks up.
'Incident'?
When the woman turns around, Ken's knees start to shake for half a second before he steels himself and puts on a polite smile. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but the incident the receptionist was referring to, are you referring to the situation with the fake modeling gig?" he asks.
The woman raises an eyebrow, looking Ken up and down. "That I am." she says, studying him with intense dark blue eyes. "Does the name Kumar-Thorne mean anything to you?" she asks.
"Kumar-Thorne?" Ken repeats, thinking. "No," he says honestly. "Why?"
The woman smiles sweetly and shakes her head. "If it doesn't mean anything to you then don't mind it." she says. "If not that, then do you know what happened to the masterminds behind the ruse?"
Ken tilts his head to the side, confused. "They were taken by the Rune Knights, of course."
"Mmm…of course…" the woman says, an unreadable look on her face. She smiles again and pats Ken on the shoulder. "Thank you for your time. I'll see you around, Ken." the woman says and walks off, leaving the building.
Ken lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
That woman was…the mere presence of her…
It shook Ken to his core.
Ken gulps, loosening his tie even more.
Best…best not to think of her for now. Ken thinks and puts on his best smile, approaching the receptionist.
"Hello! How can I help you this evening?" they ask.
Ken asks them about Victoria and Yuki, readjusting the collar of his shirt to show his guildmark.
The receptionist gasps, "Oh! Miss Victoria left this note for you, said to give it to one of the Phoenix Fire Mages when they came to check out." they say, opening one of the drawers on their desk. "But, since you're here now, I'll just give it to you!" the receptionist says, pulling out an envelope and handing it to Ken.
Oh?
Ken smiles again and thanks the receptionist as he heads to the rooms he and his guildmates rented together.
When he gets to his room, Ken ever so gracefully flops down on one of the beds and tears open the envelope.
Dear Phoenix Fire friends and Alistair,
Ken snickers.
Yuki and I spoke with a journalist. They're going to write about how Phoenix Fire was the one to lead the charge against the Skarsguards.
You're welcome.
See you around.
Victoria
…
…
…
Ken bursts out laughing and keeps laughing until he can barely breathe.
Who knew such a simple note could erase the sheer terror he was feeling before?
And a guild like Aberrant Hydra vouching for the good deeds of Phoenix Fire Mages? It's a small step but it's a step towards getting Phoenix Fire's name back to what it once was.
Who knows? Maybe after word gets around about what they did, Phoenix Fire will start to get more missions outside of Zaflior.
Ken smiles.
I'm sure that'll make Master Nadine happy.
On the train towards Zaflior…
Nadine and Rina sit in an emergency train car with doctors and nurses attending to Akane, Mana, and Alistair. Alistair, who'd been conscious when they first boarded the train, has long since succumbed to his fatigue and the medical staff and two Phoenix Fire Mages are the only ones that remain awake.
For the now couple of hours that they've been on the train, Rina has been catching Master Nadine up to speed with the entire Skarsguard situation.
"...I see." Nadine says when Rina finishes. "So this all happened because of a game of hide and seek?" she asks with an unimpressed frown.
Rina smiles awkwardly. "Well, during the game Marcel already started to make his move." she reminds her. "He stole the clothes I gave to Mana because I gave them to her which means he was already in town." Rina says and sighs. "The more I think about it the more I believe that if we'd stayed in Zaflior any longer, I would've been taken when no one was looking and then this whole thing would've turned out much worse."
"So all in all, it was a good thing this happened, is what you're saying." Nadine says thoughtfully. "Not only did we apprehend your stalkers, but you guys rescued all of those hostages too." she says with a proud smile. "You did good, Rina."
Rina gives her a small smile, "Ah, well, I didn't really do anything…" she says, blushing embarrassedly.
"I told you before and I'll tell you again," Nadine says wisely. "You have no reason to feel guilty, everyone agreed to help you of their own free will. And it's like you said, were it not for Danate sending you here, those hostages and eventually you would've been lost for good-"
"Ehhhhhhhhh…?"
Everyone in the train car screams when Mana suddenly sits up straight, a drowsy and dazed look on her face.
"M-?" Nadine starts.
Mana passes out again.
Rina and Nadine sigh, the latter telling the medical staff to continue as they were.
Several hours later…
Zaflior | Phoenix Fire Guildhall
Nadine nonchalantly strolls into her guildhall like she hasn't been gone for a month, directing the nurses with the stretchers holding Akane, Mana, and Alistair towards the infirmary.
Everyone stares at them in shocked silence for a moment.
And then, chaos.
Nadine and Rina and the nurses with the stretchers are both surrounded in seconds: panicked comments about their injured guildmates, shock at Nadine's return with their injured guildmates, questions about what happened to Rina, and questions about their missing guildmate, Ken, fill the guildhall.
Veiss surrounds the poor nurses with the stretchers, "You guys!? What happened!?" he asks with a mixture of anger and panic.
Emile surrounds the other side, standing across from Veiss. "It was just a modeling thing! What the hell!?"
The S-Class Mages are the first ones to push through the large crowd of Phoenix Fire (and three Silver Sabelum) Mages:
Acro and Marcus have to hold back Cooley from jumping Mana's stretcher as he screams every single thought that comes to his head: "MANA!? MARY!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!? ARE YOU DEAD? IS MARY DEAD? WHO DID THIS? I'LL KILL THEM! GIVE ME MANA'S STRETCHER!"
Acro whines, "C'mon, Cooley, back off them!"
"Old man you're not going to help the situation by knocking the stretcher out of their hands!" Marcus grits his teeth.
Myling pulls at her blonde hair, panicking. "Y-You guys? Alistair? Akane? Mana? Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no - I can - I can fix this! I think I read a book about - s-something; or maybe Madelaine can - she reads a wider variety of things than me - M-Maddy? Maddy, where are you!" she cries.
Madelaine plugs her ears. "I'm right here…please stop screaming." she sighs.
Danate grabs Rina and hoists her up in the air like a trophy, guilty tears in his eyes. "RINA! Are you okay? What happened? I'm so sorry, I thought it was just a normal modeling job! I thought you'd have fun! Are the others hurt badly? I'm sorry again, I'll never send you on a mission without me agaaaaaaain!" he wails.
(Nadine is starting to wonder if she promoted the wrong people.)
Akito shimmies away from Master Nadine when he sees Danate holding Rina up like a baby. "That woman…" he shivers and pushes through the crowd surrounding the injured. He looks down at the three unconscious Phoenix Fire Mages. "Hm. They don't seem hurt too bad…" he says and starts mumbling to himself.
"Koz - Koz c'mon, I can't see!" Kyza whines as he climbs on his guildmate's shoulders.
Koz deadpans. "How tragic."
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Kyza apologizes quickly, blushing embarrasedly. "I just - look, I'll tell you what I see, okay?" he says as he peers down at the Phoenix Fire Mages from atop Koz's shoulders. "Didn't Danate send them on an easy mission or something?" he wonders aloud.
Nelio frowns as he looks between Akane, Mana, and Alistair; his frown deepening as he stares down at his partner for the past month. "...I'm glad you're all okay." he says quietly.
The chaos of questions and panicked screams continue to fill the guildhall for a minute until Nadine finally snaps, "Oh for Soasis' sake - all of you, SHUT UP! Where the hell is my mother!?" she demands.
Zaflior | ? ? ?
Midas grits her teeth as she pulls out her new Communications Lacrima Crystal. "Come on, Devlio…" she whispers, panicked.
She breathes a sigh of relief when her friend's face fills the sphere of the Lacrima. "D-Devlio!" she beams, her happy expression dropping a second later. Midas' face fills with dread, "I can't stay here anymore," she says. "Their Guild Master is back."
Devlio pulls his mask down, revealing his confused expression. "Nadine Septim? Why does her presence influence the plan?" he asks.
"The whole reason we enacted the plan in the first place was because we got word she went to Era, remember?" Midas says and smiles awkwardly. "Aaaand I may or may not have been involved in a mission she undertook a year or two ago and I may or may not have barely escaped with my life after taunting her the entire time." she says.
Devlio facepalms. "Oh my dear Queen Midas…" he sighs and shakes his head. "Okay. I'll come for you myself as soon as I can. Just sit tight and don't worry about snatching the girls back. If we get them, great. If not, well," Devlio stares at her. "Master Raoul finally gave permission to Yutsuko to try and bring them back herself."
Meanwhile, at an unknown location…
Marcel jolts awake when the containment carriage holding himself and his family members comes to a rough halt.
In the darkness, Marcel looks around to see the silhouettes of Eva and Nicholas moving around - they're awake too. Their parents, old as they are, are still asleep.
"Marcy…" Eva says worriedly. "What was that?"
Before Marcel can answer, an odd, strangled noise comes from the front of the carriage where the two Rune Knights driving their carriage sit. And then, silence.
Marcel, Eva, and Nicholas exchange a worried look but they have no choice but to sit and wait to see what happens; the Magic Sealing Stones embedded into their handcuffs and shackles render them immobile and defenseless.
After another beat of silence, the door to their containment carriage starts shaking and seconds later, the Skarsguard heirs are blinded by a combination of moonlight and torchlight.
As their eyes adjust to the light, Marcel starts to make out the features and shape of a woman with an unreadable look in her dark blue eyes, torch in hand. She has matching dark blue eyes and tanned skin. The woman wears a hooded black cloak, the only part of her that's visible being the arm holding the torch.
The woman smiles, "Hello, Skarsguard family." she says. "Which one of you is Marcel?"
Marcel exchanges another look with his siblings before clearing his throat. "That would be me," he says. "Who are you? What happened to the Rune Knights?" Marcel asks.
The woman ignores his questions and asks one of her own, "Do you love your family, Marcel Skarsguard?" she asks, revealing her thigh from beneath her cloak. She has a strap on her left thigh with about eight or so tubes full of some kind of liquid attached to it. The woman uncaps one of them.
Marcel frowns, confused, and doesn't hesitate: "Of course-"
"Bloody Needles."
Marcel snaps his gaze towards his family when they all start coughing.
"Y-You guys?" Marcel blinks, confused and worried.
The woman smiles again and approaches with the torch outstretched. "Here, can you see better now?"
Marcel's eyes widen in horror when the woman's touch illuminates the multitude of red needles sticking out of his family member's necks, blood coming out of each of their mouths with every cough.
Eva looks at Marcel, scared. "M-Marcy?" she coughs.
Nicholas stares at Marcel with pale cheeks and wide eyes, having already realized their fates.
Mr. and Mrs. Skarsguard stopped coughing and stopped moving.
Marcel turns to stare at the woman in fear. "Y-You - you're the Blood Witch." he gasps.
The woman's sweet smile drops. "I don't care about the plans you had for that Rina Dawnstone girl. However," she hisses, grabbing Marcel by his neck. "You interfered with my getting back what belongs to me. Were it not for you, I would've had my plaything back by now and we would've been long gone from Zaflior before those filthy guild Mages even realized one of their own was dead and another was missing." the woman snaps. "Because of you, I have to wait for another opportunity. Because of you, I don't have her back yet. Because of you," she forces Marcel to look at his unmoving parents and his panicked siblings. "Your parents are dead and your siblings are going to join them."
"N-No-"
The sickening sounds of bones cracking fill the containment carriage and Marcel screams.
The woman laughs. "And guess what?" she grins madly. "You have to live with it because I'm not going to kill you and you're too much of a coward to join them yourself."
Zaflior | Phoenix Fire Guildhall - Infirmary
"You know what," Alistair says. "she's actually kind of cute when she's sleeping and not screaming at everything that moves." he muses.
Mana scoffs. "Wrong, she's cute all the time." she says and wags her finger at Alistair, "And it doesn't have to be moving, she also screams at door knobs." Mana says matter-of-factly.
"No, you just have some weird fascination with her." Alistair says, narrowing his eyes at Mana. "And that's weird."
"Wh-What? No I-!"
"If neither of you shut up I'm going back to sleep and never waking up."
At the sudden addition of Akane's voice, Mana jumps, startled, and Alistair rolls his eyes. They both look down at her, Akane laying on a bed with Alistair and Mana sitting in wheelchairs positioned on either side of her.
All three of them are covered in bandages from head to toe, Alistair and Mana having the worst of it since the attack Blood Aria used on Akane was mainly to drain her of her power. Her injuries are more internal than anything.
As Akane struggles to open her eyes, Emile and Veiss walk into the infirmary, Novem bouncing on the former's head.
Emile beams when he sees Akane moving. "Finally! We've been waiting for you to wake up." he says.
Veiss crosses his arms, "You've been asleep for two days, Kumiko. It's been peacefully quiet without you."
Akane chucks him a bandaged middle finger and Veiss gives her one right back.
"Anyways," Emile says, smiling brightly at the three Mages. "You woke up at the perfect time!" he says. "Ken returned last night and since Mana didn't get to see what he can actually do with his Magic, he volunteered to put on a show!"
Mana gasps, "Really?"
"Really! But, um," Emile exchanges a look with Veiss. "Afterwards we have to talk about something…important, I guess." he says.
Veiss glares at him but doesn't say anything.
Akane and Alistair look at them strangely while Mana remains blissfully unaware. She stands up on shaky legs, "Come on, one of you help me get Akane on this thing, so we can all watch!"
PF x AH x SS
A/N the end of rina's arc and a spotlight on ken bc it's his creator's birthday :catch:
happy birthday :bobdace: