Heading to Scholarville next under supervision from two Skylanders, Hot Dog as well as Gulper followed after them during this invasion, as a huge portal with tendrils of energy was in the sky.
"Oh, Skylanders and heroes from beyond! Although we have been sworn to secrecy, I must tell you...our fair city is under attack again!" a mabu said.
"Yeah, we've pretty much figured it out by now." Stealth Elf said, seeing battleships all over the place.
"Gulper can clearly see it." Gulper said, before Tanya saw Barbella continuing to lick Roman's face. "Will you pay attention? This is a warzone, not a workout session!" She snapped.
"Hey, I'm listening." Hot Dog said. "Besides, Roman needs some love too!"
"Uh huh. So, what's Aeron after here?" Neo asked.
"Well, as sworn to secrecy as I am, I can only assume to you that Aeron's after the Everlasting Thinking Cap, but I cannot confirm nor deny its existence. If it did exist though, it would be in that building over there...if it existed of course." he said.
"Well, we'll take it either way. Spyro, can you do something about these battleships?" Aura asked.
"Oh, sure. Wait, you mean right now? Right, I'm on it." Spyro said, taking flight.
"Hey, if you're done, we're off to commit assault." Drakus said, as they began to move as Hot Dog finished licking Roman's face.
"Who do you suppose is down there?" Tatsumi said, pointing to a cloaked figure with a traptanium sigil.
"It's Enigma! A magic Trap Master!" Tae Kwon Crow said.
They landed where the mysterious enigma turned to them.
"Out of sight!" Enigma said. "It is a pleasure to see you all here."
"This guy's a mystery, huh?" Roman said.
"Show us your face! Justice never hides itself!" Seryu said.
"I have reason to enclose myself. It is the way of where I am from, the realm between Skylands and the rest of the universe." Enigma said.
"Enigma was summoned by a Mystic from that world. His stories caught the attention of our greatest enemy, the Darkness, so he sealed his world off from it, knowing full well he could never return there." Sunburn said.
"He cut himself off from his world to save it?" Akamei asked.
"Sometimes, one must seal themselves off to protect somewhere else." Enigma said.
They advanced through the town and combated the invading forces, occasionally cutting into fights with the senseis of other classes before breaking off. Gulper and Barbella stayed firm to their side though, as one of the command ships fired its cannons.
"Okay, I dunno about you, but I'm already sick of cannon balls, that gives me an idea though." Stealth Elf said.
"You wanna use us as cannonballs and launch us in cannons to that command ship?" Chane asked.
"I believe I can launch something more devastating." Drakus said. 'Fire Bomb!" He said, as Terry leapt into the air with fire in his mouth, flies at the ship, and releases a fiery blast upon biting it, blowing it to bits.
"Nice!" Ladd said. "But you can only use it once?"
"Nope, if I got it, I can use it all I want." Terry said.
"Huh, that works too." Stealth Elf said.
"You said you wanted the ship destroyed, so I did." Terry said.
"Well, still works out just fine with us." Stealth Elf said.
They leaped over the falling debris of the ship and landed on the next island, they soon came across Aeron.
"Well, well, Sky-Ruiners, X-Dorks and Night Losers! I've already learned where the Thinking Cap is from these scholars' dreams. But this whole hero thing you're doing is getting really tiresome, so I think it's time I finally put an end to it! Doomlander, would you kindly?" She said, snapping her fingers as a white alicorn with a solemn look in her eyes appeared. A skeletal bazooka appeared in her arms.
Starla Shine! Bazooker Class!
"Starla Shine; ID-Code: KY1M. Who are you?" Starla said, her voice oddly soft.
Grima hesitated for a minute as she found herself lost in Starla's eyes, oddly enough, she realized she fell in love at first sight. "I'm G-Grima, the F-F-Fell D-D-D-D-Dragon. I'm, um, not like these other wo-worms." Grima stammered, internally cursing her newfound gay thoughts for giving her cold feet.
"Grima…" Starla said softly. "That's a cool name. Shame we have to fight though. Now, let's-" she started, before being hit by a disc. She turned to the left to see a monkey and a flaming unicorn.
"Monkey See, Monkey Doom." the monkey said.
'The Mane Event!" the unicorn said.
"Well I'll be. It's Fling Kong and Trailblazer!" Fist Bump said.
"They're Skylanders too, huh?" Ragatha asked.
"Yeah. Both core skylanders like me." Fist Bump said.
Trail Blazer charged into Starla and bucked her across the gut, and Fling Kong used his disks as cymbals and throwing stars while also using his carpet. As Starla recovered, she saw that Enigma was missing.
"Huh? Where'd he-"
"Right behind you." Enigma said landing the finishing blow with his sigil, knocking her out as Grima caught her, as Starla suddenly woke up, as they both blushed deeply, as Starla was given a standard issue OVDF uniform and sent to do some training with Agent Anakin Skywalker.
"Oh sunuva, fine, be that way! I'll still get the Helm first. Ta-Ta!" Aeron said as they chased her to the place where the Helm was.
"You can turn invisible?" Tatsumi asked.
"Not invisible, teleport." Enigma corrected. "And for those who died, do not worry about returning to rest after this is over. The spell that summoned you also resurrected you permanently."
"So, what you are saying is I'm stuck like this? Now I wish I was dead." Mine said.
"Hey, no sweat. Just remember, you're saving Skylands here." Fling Kong said.
"Think of it as putting your sense of justice on the right path." Trailblazer said.
"They're not wrong. We must put our first steps forward in order to protect Skylands!" Seryu said as Koro barked.
"Well, let's keep going then. Aeron shouldn't be much farther away." Trailblazer said.
They continued to the second level where they saw an executioner with a double bladed scythe fighting a clown-like hyena.
"Hood Sickle! Help's on the way!" Fling Kong said.
"Now, for you to go back to the grave!" Hood Sickle said.
'Coming back from the dead means we can go the ways we wanted to when we were alive." Chelsea said.
"You aren't the problem here, this clown is. Once he died, there wasn't supposed to be a second chance, yet this...joker...made an evil god of death laugh and gained a reprieve. He became a grim jester, whose pranks and merriment serve to entertain the god of death, yet terrify everyone else. Now he slaughters in a gruesome yet absurd manner. As long as this jester keeps the death god amused, the unlife is assured. Now, prepare to…"
"Wait… you're fighting a clown?"
"Cacklin! Get the name right!" the hyena said. "Odin's raven has come for you; the Valkyries were busy. You're dead men walking, mortals."
Cacklin! (Undead Trap)
Cacklin started tossing pineapple bombs and shot people with pies from a Glock 19.
"Okay, we're fighting a walking shit post." Drakus said.
"I think it's time we called on an undead villain." Seryu said. "I summon you to fight for justice, Mind Bite!"
Summoning….Undead!
Spookily-Dee
Gutsy Free Banshee
Sing Sing
Undead!
"Ha! Let's rock this house!" Mind Bite said.
"No way, bro. Time for some hocus pocus!" Cacklin said.
"I'm not taking no for an answer." Hood Sickle said as he teleported in many directions to slash Cacklin.
"Hey! You have summoned me yet, let me have a turn!" Sheep Mage said.
"Hood Sickle might have something planned. Keep em busy!" Akamei said.
Summoning… Magic!
Chaotic
Boom Bam La La Da Da
Blame Blam
Magic!
"Alright! FInally! Sheep, I summon thee!" Sheep Mage said as several sheep appeared and began piling up on Cacklin.
Just then, a woman in red leapt down and smirked, making a rather familiar bow, making Roman, Neo, Chuluun, Monty and Ora kinda scared.
"Yeah, about that, I'm gonna have to ask you not to kill us." Drakus said. "You see, I much prefer not to die."
He then made a surge of thunder, as the Fall Maiden did a backflip and dug her heels into the floor to slow herself to a halt. She glared at the squad with fire in her eyes.
Cinder sighed. "So, you must be the new hope that is keeping my dragon away."
"Oh, you mean lizard lips up there?" Roman asked, pointing at the Grimm dragon no longer attacking the town. "Yeah, he's scared of us alright. Can't get enough of that vibes now can ya, ash head?"
"I see. And who exactly is your new friend, Torchwick?"
Drakus balled his hands into fists and put them on his hips, puffing out his rocky chest. "The name's Drakus Hydrax, Prince of Drakonia, and I'm here to Take. Your. Trash. Ass. Down."
"Ah, I see. Well I certainly wish you luck in that endeavor. I certainly wouldn't want to be facing myself right now."
"Really? And why is that?"
"You see, I recently just acquired an immense power that was thought of to only be legend. And I have her to thank for being too scared to accept it herself."
Drakus faced Cinder again, a questioning look on his face. "...Prove it."
A sinister grin came to Cinder's face, a pair of obsidian swords appearing in her hands. "As you wish." The two charged at each other, Cinder swinging her blades down onto Drakus' sword as he blocked the strike, as he glared at Cinder's swords.
"Wait a second... are these obsidian?"
"Yes, of course they are!" Cinder yelled back.
"As in... volcanic glass?"
"Yes, now what is your point?!"
Drakus swatted the swords out of Cinder's hands effortlessly. "Just what part of my blade did you not understand?"
"Then I'll try something else!" Cinder thrust her hands forward and shot a stream of fire at Drakus, who managed to dodge it.
"Woah! Okay, new plan... interrogate and annoy." Drakus kept moonwalking, all the while asking questions. "So Miss... Oh yeah, never did catch your name!"
"Cinder Fall, enjoy it for it will be the last name you hear!" Another blast and dodge.
"Ah okay, so Drakus, question, what lead you to being here? Dreams of great power? Wealth? A retirement plan?"
"Depends, do you believe in destiny, Hydrax?" Blast and dodge.
"Ma'am, I personally think that we're free to create our own destinies. You never know what tomorrow might bring so why not make the best of it?"
"Your answer is interesting, Drakus." said Cinder. "But your idealism won't save you. You see, I have always wished for power and respect. All I needed was to meet the right person to help push me in the right direction." She began surging with a fiery aura, large flames appearing in the palms of her hands as her eyes glowed brightly. "And now that I possess the power of the Fall Maiden, I can finally thank her... by destroying YOU!" Cinder brought her hands together and sent a wall of flame straight at Drakus. But the prince didn't falter, instead deciding to just stand there as the flames enveloped him. When it stopped they could only see a billow of smoke where Drakus had been standing. Cinder smiled maliciously, convinced she had won...
"WOW! That was some blast!" Cinder's eyes widened and out stepped Drakus, not a scratch on him, as he dusted off his coat. "But I gotta say, not your smartest move."
Cinder was flabbergasted. "B-but how?! That was my strongest blast!"
"Well, other than Fire not being that effective against a literal dragon, I may have left out a little something about myself..." BlueBlaze flared to life with a complete spectrum of different colored lights spinning around the sword. "You see, BlueBlaze is a conductor of sorts, y'know, take any form of energy that's thrown at it and send it back, but more powerful. In short, watch as rubber meets glue." His goading served to make Cinder more annoyed and angry, just what he wanted. "That said, I think it's time we end this."
Cinder clenched her fists. "You think I care about what you are capable of? A Maiden's power surpasses that of anyone else! And I finally have that power! I can finally be feared like I always wanted! I have the strength I need to make entire KINGDOMS fall at my feet!" The intense fiery aura began to radiate off of her again. "I am Cinder Fall! And I will not be defeated BY THE LIKES OFF—"
"To be honest, I've heard all kinds of evil speeches before, by the way, you should go with a more silver color." Drakus fired an intense multi-colored shot from BlueBlaze and straight toward Cinder. The young woman unleashed her own blast of flame again, but the energy just cut right through the fire. She was hit in the shoulder and sent flying into Cacklin, knocking the hyena out and flying off the edge, screaming as she did. Drakus rushed to the edge and watched as Cinder...well...fell to the sky below. About half way down, she seemed to be enveloped in some sort of dark haze before disappearing all together. "Huh, weird."
Cacklin defeated!
"W-Wait! This wasn't in the SCRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPT!" Cacklin screamed, as he was sucked into the vortex, as the X-Squad ran up the stairs to the third floor, only to find a lock on the door.
"Great. We dont have any one who can open this. It's too complicated." Seryu said.
"Actually…" Tatsumi said getting Nightshades trap. "We do. Cluck, time to own up."
Summoning….Toxic!
Drink the Poison
Don't ya know
Drink the Poison
So long ago
Toxic!
"Present!" Cluck said. "Ah. So we have a difficult door, is that it? Easy for me." he said giving a simple knock as the door opened up.
"He broke the lock just like that! Are we sure he's not a thief, too?" Mine said.
"Actually, the door was already unlocked." Cluck said.
Ignoring the fact, the group went into the area with dozens of blue floating tiles in zero gravity as they all grabbed onto one while one floating perfectly was landed on by Aeron.
"So there you are, Aeron." Ridley said.
"Hah! Way too late! Now, let's cha cha!" Aeron said, as the tiles moved to make one single area.
Aeron! (Air Trap)
"Finally, a real battle." Esdeath said.
"I'll give you one all right. Prepare to see a true nightmare!" Aeron said, as several Mabu in beds came up as she summoned small hurricanes and attacked the group.
"She's using the scientists as a barrier to protect herself from damage." Dreamcatcher said. "Why didn't I think of that when I was bad?"
"Take out the source of dream energy, and she's wide open." Akamei said, smashing the beds and the group attacking her.
"Getting a little too comfy on that ground, losers? Well, I can fix that." Aeron said, as tiles pieces started to randomly fall one after the other.
"Now what?" Roman said.
"Keep moving and attacking, we'll get her then." Akamei said, as they fought Aeron to a stand still.
"What? How am I totally losing right now? Who are you guys?"
"We're Skylanders and assassins, big head." Gusto said.
"And don't you forget it!" Seryu said landing a hit.
"You want some more, eh?" Taisho just grinned, her confidence shooting through the roof as she ran for Aeron. As fast as she could, she slid on her side and slipped underneath the Night Hooligan's legs. She then pushed her hands against the ground, channelled the ethereal flames through her body, and as two more mini-explosions went off, her body was catapulted towards Aeron. Taisho flipped mid-launch and drove her boots straight into the back of the monster's neck, pinning it to the ground. She then performed a series of lightning-fast stomps with her feet, with a final overhead heel strike landing straight on the back of Aeron's head. A strike with such power that it caused cracks to appear in the road around it.
"Get off of me!" Aeron roared as she viciously pushed herself back up onto two feet again. As she swung a whirlwind into Taisho's body. "No more!" She hit the tiles to create a wall of fire travelling towards the new portal Masters, as Krell leapt in the way to deflect it.
"I may have forsaken being a Jedi, but now, I will not be undermined by some hellion plotting to send this land into oblivion!" Krell yelled.
"Whoa!" Taisho jumped out of the way and, as she did, mini-explosions went off by her feet giving her jumps much more power. With a yelp, she saw a house approaching. A last-minute flip saw her feet pressing against the walls. She jumped off of said walls as another micro-blast went off and with the same force, she flew at Aeron again. "Let's see… can I…" she thought of fireballs and as she did, purple and red fireballs appeared in both of her hands. "Oh yeah! This'll do it!" Taisho lobbed both fireballs at Sabrina, who swatted the fireballs towards Aeron; who caught them with a whirlwind. A shield that couldn't catch Megumin as she slipped past, hit Aeron's gut with her staff, pushed forward to create more mini-explosions to avoid a swift head-butting, and finished by jumping off of the ground with Ace adding a punch, his hand covered by a glowing skull, as the gangster delivered a sickeningly fast and powerful uppercut straight to Aeron's chin, launching it into the stratosphere.
"Alright! There's no way that it could come back from that! Deliver the coup de grace!" Lucifer jabbed a finger upward as Aeron crashed down into the middle of the floor; her body leaving an imprint on the ground.
"A finisher too? This stuff's pretty fun; like somethin' out of a manga." Taisho clapped her hands together and lifted them above her head. The same demonic fires from before washed over her arms and she formed a circle with said arms; making her body glisten with the same flame she was manifesting
"Infernal Ring!" Taisho, Sabrina, Megumin, Powder, Ace, Bonehead, Stiffany, Bubbles, Roxie, Tanya and Konata called, as a stream of fire akin to a rocket's engine blasted out of them. With this newfound propulsion, the eleven portal Masters flew to Aeron and dashed a lap around her, creating a purple and red demonic seal by her feet, with archaic runes running across it. When the circle was complete, Konata sped to Aeron and punched her into the air, before jetting back up to her and punching the Night Hooligan back down towards the ring while saying, "Going down!" as a barrier trapped Aeron.
Aeron defeated!
Aeron then saw the tiles floating up before seeing the vortex above her.
"W….T….F!" she cried out as she fell into the portal.
"See ya!" Chelsea said as the vortex disappeared and Aeron appeared, sitting criss cross applesauce, resting her head on her left hand glaring at the X-Squad.
"So not cool, X-Squad. I don't know how you do it, but I'll find out what makes you tick." Aeron said.
Aeron Trapped!
"This won't be so bad, I guess." Aeron said. "But good luck getting any info out of me. I don't even know what Project: Midas even does."
"Does she even know the General also specializes in torture?" Seryu asked.
"I can't really torture her inside one of those traps. And I'm not sure what sort of torture to give her." Esdeath said.
Back at the academy…..
"Okay. We were able to stop Aeron, but we still need to figure out a way to slow down progress on the weapon." Gill Grunt said, as the Eternal Water Source activates the main tower and rises it from the ground, using the water pipes hidden in the lower mechanisms that lead to the Twin Spouts of Ocea Major-Minor.
"Well, I could be of help. Venomquake has repurposed a mill for his purposes. You might be able to find some helpful hints there." Spellslamzer said.
"And fortunately, you have a capable pilot to get you there." Jet-Vac said, approaching them.
"Roman again, huh?" Tatsumi asked.
"Yep. Just say the word and we'll be at this Mystic Mill!" Roman said, as the X-Squad flinched at the thought of puking their guts out again.
After what felt like an eternity of sleep, Cinder could feel her consciousness return to her, and the first thing that she could remember was pain. Pain at being shot through a window. An energy blast had struck her and slammed her through the glass before her high velocity descent to the ground below. That was when she had lost consciousness. But now, she was awake. Her eyes snapped open and she let out a gasp, sitting up fast before taking in the fact that she was covered in sheets and in her red nightgown.
As she took steady breaths, she looked down at her shaking hands, both rapidly vibrating as the memory of her defeat came back to her. She brushed her hair away from her eyes as they darted around the room, realizing that she was back in her bedroom at Salem's castle, only with some major changes. As she collected herself, she spoke as she evened out her breathing. "What… what happened? How did I get back?"
"Ah, so you are awake, young Cinder."
Cinder's head whirled around to see her mistress, Salem, standing near the window, overlooking the lands below, which seemed more green than usual. The Fall Maiden immediately tried to stand. "Lady Salem, I—AGH!" She stumbled out of bed and fell to her knees, her legs shaking.
Salem turned around and eyed her pupil with a stern stare. "You should not have attempted that. You have been unconscious for what seems like several days. You are quite fortunate that you only sustained minor injuries from your encounter."
As Cinder struggled to get back onto the mattress, her only question was one fueled by anger and hatred. Hatred for the being that put her here in the first place. "Where… is… Hydrax?" she asked with venom dripping from her voice.
Salem raised a single eyebrow. "Hydrax?"
From the other end of the room, a new voice answered Salem's query. "Oh, she might be talking about Drakus." Cinder looked over to where the voice had come from and saw an unnaturally pale woman in winter gear. She was leaning against the dresser. "Look's like you got your ass handed to ya, Little Miss Cindy."
The rude behavior and patronizing nickname did NOT help improve Cinder's mood. "Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
Salem stepped forward and held an arm out to Cinder. "Calm yourself, Cinder. This is Kiko Yumisu. She is a skilled crime lord who will be working with us, as her master made a deal with me to do so. She hails from the same world as that conquering hero, the one who disposed of you today." Her gaze hardened. "It would seem that you weren't as powerful as you thought, my Fall Maiden."
Cinder immediately lowered her head. "Lady Salem, it was not my intent—"
"To overestimate your power, even though you knew you had not tapped into it's full potential yet?" Salem guessed. "Or perhaps it was to underestimate the power of your opponent, who, might I add, was allies with people powerful enough to kill the Grimm Dragon?"
Cinder's eyes widened. "What?! The dragon is DEAD?!"
"Indeed, exterminated in a single blast and reduced to dust by a giant whale."
Cinder was at a loss. "But if there is no dragon, then…"
"The Grimm were driven off," Salem confirmed, "and the people of Scholarville are already working on reconstruction. The cap is still somewhere in that town, and we are unable to search for it."
The realization hit Cinder like a ton of bricks as she clenched her hands into fists. 'I failed. I FAILED!' However, her own self-loathing quickly turned back on its heel as her mind came back to the one who defeated her. "That creature." She said through clenched teeth. "That wretched half-wyvern halfwit! Who is he?! He will pay for what he has done!"
From where she was propped up against the dresser, Kiko answered. "His name is Drakus Hydrax." Cinder turned around to face her as Kiko kept talking. "The kid's the prince of Drakonia, which met the same fate as Krypton. He's an odd sort of hero, and quite honestly Cindy, if there's one thing we have in common, it's a mutual want to at least see him get bent."
Cinder was appalled. "How? How can a mere dragon wield that much power?!"
Kronos shrugged as he walked in. "Honestly, I couldn't tell ya how or where he got it. All I know is that when we met the kid, he put us through the wringer, but, once you get to know him, he's actually pretty fun to hang out with."
Cinder was slightly confused at that. "And why do you like him if he ruined your plans?"
Birch chuckles. "Heh, once you fight him a couple times Cindy, you really see why he's so damn likable." And then she scoffed. "And besides, his group is a shitshow where no one could get their fuckin' act together and focus, we're a shitshow that can barely function with our leaders having a single braincell between them. But now? I think you could get used to this outfit we got goin' here."
Salem spoke up again. "Epoch summoned the whole castle here after finding out about us and those children who were once Ozpin's students. He has agreed to unite our factions so long as we provide armor and equipment, which is being worked on as we speak."
Cinder clutched the bedding and her head lowered, her brows furrowing further. "I… I see."
"I expect you and Kiko's Shadow Hunters will work together quite well given your mutual want to fight the Hydrax boy."
At her mistresses' words, Cinder's eyes widened and she looked back at Kronos and Birch, as Megafin, Calamity, Ink Blotch, Codi, Breeze, Simon, Satsuuki, Jack, Lucian, Montana, Light, Ryuk, Decay, Hargut, Marie, Circe, Darla, Max, Weevil, Rex, Princess, Vathek, Arya, Glitz, Glam, Panther, Silver Banshee, Mist, Rough House, Imshael, Donovan, Alina, Park Avenue, Zurg, Warp, NOS-4-A2, Kingpin, Smythe, Hizumi, Tsuyomi and Setsuna walked into the room. "I'll be… working with them?"
Salem looked down at her Fall Maiden and nodded. "Indeed. As the new Fall Maiden, you hold a key part in our plans for Remnant. While the operation in Vale and here did not go as well as hoped, you still strategically crippled them. And Miss Sustrai has told me that you have successfully killed Ozpin. Is this true?"
Cinder was quick to answer. "Yes, my mistress. Ozpin has been terminated. I saw to it myself."
"Hmm… I see. If that is the case then you have done well. We will simply have to employ different means of retrieving the relic from Beacon. And as for Hydrax… I have an interest in this intriguing weapon that he wields. BlueBlaze, was it? If we could harness this great power, it could be of great use to our cause."
Cinder nodded. "Yes, my mistress, we will retrieve BlueBlaze for you."
Salem narrowed her eyes. "Have you already forgotten what your hastiness rewarded you with the first time? If you are to face Drakus Hydrax in any capacity, you must train your Fall Maiden powers. Hone them to perfection so that the next time that you face the boy, it will instead be him who succumbs to your wrath."
Cinder respectfully nodded again. "Of course, Lady Salem."
Kiko put in her two cents. "Better listen to Epoch and Salem, Cindy. Besides, it's not gonna be that easy taking the X-Squad down."
"I see." Salem replied. "We will get to work on a plan as soon as possible." She faced Cinder once again. "For now, however, Miss Sustrai has requested your presence. She has wanted to speak with you on an important matter."
"Of course, Mistress." Cinder complied. "I will see Emerald shortly." But then, unexpectedly, Cinder's stomach let out a loud growl.
Birch threw her head back and let out a laugh. "Maybe after you've eaten something first, Cinds. You've been out cold for what? All afternoon? C'mon, let's get some food in ya."
Cinder glared at the teenage serial killer. "I don't need your patronage!" However, Cinder's stomach disagreed as it rumbled again, this time even louder. Cinder growled and looked away when the Shadow Hunters started laughing.
"Birch makes a valid point, young Cinder." Salem said as she made her way to the door. "If you are to wield the Maiden powers competently, your body must be in good health as well." Salem opened the door and looked back at the misfits. "It would be in your best interest to eat something before your training begins, because when it does, it will be fierce."
Cinder bowed her head. "As you wish, Mistress."
As Salem exited the room, Kronos smiled and looked back at Cinder. "Your boss is a cool lady. I like a woman who knows what she wants."
"Duly noted." Cinder said with a wave of her hand. "Now leave me be, I must get dressed."
"Sure you don't want any help?"
Cinder narrowed her eyes and made to get up. "I am perfectly capable of—AGH!" She felt her legs give out again, still not fully recovered from her days of laying still. But fortunately for her, Satsuuki caught her by the arm before she could hit the ground.
A smirk came to Birch's face again. "So, still sure that you don't need help?"
Cinder glared at the thug. "You will speak to no one about this."
Satsuuki smiles. "Cinder-chan, I think that this'll be the start of a beautiful friendship."