(Chapter thirty-nine: Plan in motion?)
Julia stood in that field of flowers, yellow golden, and small. Everything seemed so blurry however, she couldn't make out what they were exactly. Before she could kneel though, the world behind her seemed to… slowly vanish. Chips and cracks crawled at her like a predator hunting its prey until it started charging at her at an alarming speed.
The woman ran, everything at this point was a mess of yellowish gold and green until the inky black void was nipping at her heels. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, the only words that came out of her mouth were…
"Not again." She whined, a heartbreaking sound left her lungs as she reached out. Tipping backward due to finally losing her footing from beneath "Please, not again!"
And just when she thought she'd dream of darkness again, two pairs of hands grabbed onto each of her own. The cracks had stopped, but her world was still broken.
Julia looked up, her eyes were blurred from her tears. Zephyr and Allen were there hoisting her back up. Once she was on what they believed was sold ground, they let go of her hands.
"Very uncharacteristic of you to have a nightmare without me causing it!" Zephyr's laughter tore through the quiet, to Julia, the silence was considered deafening to her… she was somewhat thankful for the noise.
"You fool, she nearly had a panic attack and that's what you say to her?!" Allen yelled at him in a hushed tone.
She grabbed onto both of them, arms around each of their necks. Because she was slightly shorter, but not by much, she ended up staggering them downwards in an odd hug. Julia still hadn't said a word, but… she was crying. She was still crying, and she didn't know why. She didn't know anything anymore. Why are things like they are?
She doesn't know why she's acting so differently. She doesn't know why she can't just be herself again; her happy-go-lucky, loud self. Julia always hated crying, not because people personified it with the meaning of 'weak and helpless', it's because it's a way to express the loss of things she's loved over the years of her life. She misses those times.
Being angry never made sense to her, in all her years. Sadness was the thing she truly understood because that loss always held so much love.
She lost her grandfather, and that's how she understood that. She wanted to lose her memories but it only made her sad in the end because she truly lost them for a while. Julia was always torn between wanting to be blissful unaware, and keeping what she's seen and felt. She was never good at coping with these thoughts.
"Julia…?" Allen and Zephyr had been in a strange headlock hug for some time "As much as I love embracing people, my neck is starting to hurt."
The woman eased her hold but still didn't let go.
Allen and his counterpart looked at one another for a moment before the jester decided to actually accept this and hug her back. The wizard was a bit shocked at first, seeing as hugging her back only seemed to make her cry just a little bit more.
"I want to be me again..." Julia whispered, sniffing. Remembering what she had told Snatcher; it felt like a lie.
"But… you are you, Julia," Allen whispered back at her, placing a hand on her back.
She just shook her head as her words got choked in her throat.
Sometimes those nagging, overthinking feelings flood her mind, like… coming back was a mistake… like she shouldn't have left with Moonjumper in the first place. Staying in that place her parents called home.
She… she shouldn't be here.
Doesn't deserve to be here.
She was one of a couple of a million people in the world that Moon could have found.
The jester just stared at her for the longest time. He wasn't sure what he was feeling; usually seeing the diamond child so distraught brought him joy. Now? Well… it was a feeling he was all too accustomed to.
Frustration
Being powerless
Why did looking at her now make him feel like this? His mind ran a mile a minute, thinking of what to say.
Eventually he settled with "…Then start." Zephyr piped up, slowly removing her arm from his neck. "Start being you again. Crack jokes, be witty- do those things you used to do! From what I was told 'Fedora' did all those things just fine! Because she was 'you'!" He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her. Julia's face was red from crying, but talking to her seemed to be calming her down. "Remember what we said; your friends, your family… everyone is here to help you. If you wish to be you, then only you can make that final push."
Julia rubbed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. That's how all of this started in the first place. Being able to make choices on her own. To be her person, even if she succeeds or fails. If she's broken, what matters now is how she decides to pick up the broken pieces.
To her, it felt like she wasn't trying. Only repeating in circles inside her mind instead of making progress. She was spiraling. She thought making plans with Jack would make things go back to how they were, but in the end, she just kept repeating.
"I know you don't wish to worry people, and I know asking for help is hard." Allen looked at her, a hand placed on her shoulder "Believe me, I do. There are times when… things become too much and your thoughts are on fire; you feel like you should keep going, but if you stop… you may believe you can never move again if you do." Allen looked down for a moment, sighing, "But we won't let that happen, just like for me, I'll help remind you that you can still move even after everything…"
"Your world may be crumbling and cracking, but it is not over, no no, far from it! It's not the end!" Zephyr called out, helping Julia up along with Allen's assistance. "You are a stubborn child, yes, but you always use that to your advantage. You are 'you' when you get back up and fight for what you believe in!"
She took a moment and looked at both of them, then sighed "…thank you, both of you." Julia put a hand to her face, hiccuping for a moment as she inhaled a shaken-up breath. "Thank you…"
She then started to chuckle, it was still weird. Having these two here, well, one of them here being reassuring instead of being the agent of chaos and trying to kill her specifically. Zephyr is still chaotic but… in a good way now? More restraint over himself but also slacked…
"I'm not gonna get used to this." She smiled, pulling away.
"Hopefully, this won't be a reoccurring thing… but!" Allen looked at Julia with a soft, kind smile "We will be here."
"Unless you want to have my famous night terrors again!" Zephyr smiled bigger than usual, getting in the woman's face. However, she wasn't off put by it… not at all.
"…Bring it, I could do with some target practice…" Julia challenged while chuckling tiredly, yet softly smiling back at the jester.
Allen immediately stepped in between the two, planting his hands on both of their faces, and pushed them away only slightly. "AaAnd the moment is ruined." He didn't think that the two could see his small smile starting to grow "Honestly, you two."
The plan was in motion. Julia and her group stalled for a while before looking for the Time Pieces, that gave Jack's group time to hunt. As the main group wandered, Kero decided that a good shopping stroll would be nice… Even if they were cut in their pairs for less suspicion.
Julia was looking through a window thinking that perhaps her outfit should change. Sure, she's always worn her suit during missions, but seeing all these oriental, unique clothing and items piqued her curiosity.
"Mom! Let's go in here!" Kero pointed out "Let's see if we can find a couple of souvenirs here!" It wasn't even a second before the boy was dragging his mother into the store to get a closer look at everything.
"Okay, okay!" Julia chuckled, trying not to lose her balance. Was this the first time shopping for clothing that came from this world? Looking back at it, she couldn't remember if she bought that dress she wore to the movie's celebration.
That didn't happen that long ago, why wouldn't she remember that? She just hummed to herself, face creasing into a slight frown as Julia thought this over.
Taking a look around, the woman noticed this place wasn't as big, but still fairly large. Like a shop at a mall, square in size and decent enough to fit a good variety in the vicinity of said square. She then laid eyes on the most badass object she might have ever come across.
On the wall, hung a mask. Though not just any ordinary mask, an Oni mask, green in color and with large protruding forehead horns. Decorative greenish-yellow leaves hong from said horns. Julia felt a tug at her shoulder sleeve, it took her a moment to realize that it wasn't her son, but Ace.
His silhouette hustled about but only she and Kero at the moment can see. He was trying to get her attention and pointed back at the mask, Ace then walked over to it and pointed at it with even more animation in a way of saying 'Get it, Get it!'.
She didn't need to astral project to understand that the cat was screaming.
Julia had only owned one mask in her life and that was her Halloween pumpkin mask… which she no longer had with her. Why not get this one? She would prove to be even more terrifying; all eyes on her meant fewer eyes on her cat crew. With a huff of air leaving her mouth, she walked up to the mask and gently took it down. It was like the mask was giving her tunnel vision because this was the only one that caught her eye compared to the others. This one… it was like the eyes were watching her, telling her to take it.
She softly smiled to herself on that last thought. She looked around for clothing that would possibly suit the mask and herself. She also remembered how much the color green made the empress mad… waltzing around in all green would make her furious. 'Good.' She thought 'I told her I liked the color green, and I meant it.'
The woman found herself wearing all green as planned, an oriental jacket that had caught her eye just like the mask, new pants, a shirt, and surprisingly… sandals. The jacket had a lovely shade of green that faded behind a wave pattern and a back decor that can only be explained as a rope tied in a bow with bells. The bells had a very pleasant jingle to them as she moved, and sure, she could have gone with an outfit that wouldn't attract attention, but Julia couldn't help herself. She… surprisingly enjoys fashion.
Clothing wasn't the only thing they walked out with, Julia and Kero had picked out a couple of charms! Little key chains to hang on outfits or bags; she was quite happy with the ones she picked! One for herself was a cute matcha bubble tea, she had no idea what the was but it looked good. One she picked out for Father was a crescent moon with a cherry blossom tree growing on it. Next, for Kero she picked was an adorable little frog charm that he happily held onto.
Lastly, Julia had gotten Gabriele and Zephyr little playing card charms; the King of Hearts, A Joker card, and Jack of Spades, all wrapped up in a little box… Somewhere in there was secretly a Queen of Diamonds. Presents to give them later.
Julia had no idea how she ended up in the depths of the Blue Line in the metro, but both she and Kero were panicked by almost getting run over by large cats that pulled trains around every corner. The boy was on her back as she weaved and swerved out of the traffic, using indents in the wall to catch their breath and attempt to see just where they were going.
Never again.
She just wanted to go home and never be near trains for a while. As much as that would probably upset the Conductor and her Grandpap by the mere thought, they weren't the ones nearly getting run over by the blasted things! Why was the Blue Line so busy!?
"Why couldn't Zephyr have gone this way!?" Julia yelled to herself over the loud noises and large cat cries.
Her son was just covering his ears, he hated loud noises, and this was starting to become too much!
While traveling through the area she was not supposed to be in, she was attacked by several things, from cats wearing blue headbands to feral rats. Mostly rats. One would think the cats would take care of the rodents, however, not a single feline took care of the problem that lay within the line.
Jumping from train stop to train stop, the two hadn't stopped getting looks. Some looked at Julia in terror because of her Oni mask, and some were in awe because of how elegant she looked, all in all, it was a shock and awe situation. She wonders if there are going to be rumors of a green demon either on the loose or haunting the blue line.
Eventually, and thankfully, Julia was able to find a kiosk that sold a blue metro card. Heavily breathing from adrenaline the cats all shuffled away from her character, leaving behind no line.
"M-ma'am…? Are… are you okay?" The cat behind the booth asked.
In response, Julia only chuckled in a very exhausted way. That only made the cat slowly slide the card her way as it shrunk its head down; she paid for the ticket and was on her way. She looked like a madman with her hair frazzled.
"Thank you…" Kero spoke up from hanging off his mother's back as they walked away.
What got people indefinitely scared was the crazy lady wearing the oni mask suddenly bounded off one of the incoming train cars to the higher platform above them. The citizens were only left to wonder what that was about.
As they jumped, the two were immediately greeted with a shining piece of floating glass. Julia picked it up, and through the mask, she studied it. "yup, it's a Time Piece shard." She noted, feeling the energy from it. The similarities from the cruise were identical which gave her that initial confirmation.
A cat was pulling a train around the room, which mind you went nowhere fast in a circle, and blocked them for a moment. The two waited for it to pass and once an opening presented itself, Julia made haste over the tracks. The two paused for a moment, it seemed like the blue bandanna cats were fighting the red bandanna cat that went invisible. Most of the shards were in opposite hands, and by the looks of it, red was winning.
Two blue cats were taken out, one red left standing with all the shards. It turned to look at Julia and decided she was its next target. In a single moment, the lady was knocked down making Kero yelp in surprise. She on the other hand wasn't as surprised, she could hear its footsteps as to came at her after all.
Julia let the cat take it.
Why?
Because shortly after, the invisible red bandanna cat had tripped by some other unseen force. One of the green cats picked up all the shards, even the one Julia dropped, smirked, and then vanished.
"Well, that sucks." Julia stood back up, not bothered at all.
"I thought you were with the greens" the red cat groaned out, getting back up.
Julia looked over at the cat, she shook her head brushing off the dust and dirt. "No, I just like the color green- well, more specifically emerald than any other shade, but green is nice."
"Huh." The cat stated, rolling over to look at the ceiling. Pride hurt, team gone.
Julia left the cat to its own devices, she could hear the timepiece being recreated, most likely taken.
The usual cats that came by were here to take it to the head honcho. However, they didn't know what to do when Julia came up empty-handed. The cats were definitely confused, and perhaps a little fearful, whether it was by the fact Julia looked even more frightening with the addition of the oni mask or the fact they had to tell the Empress the bad news that they weren't the only ones looking for the hourglasses.
Julia walked casually into the shop alone once again, Zephyr had been close behind while the kids waited outside. Turns out, the Pink Line hourglasses were also taken by the green team. Julia couldn't help but mentally note that the small divided cat teams work fast. She guessed it helps to know the area and shortcuts better than anyone else… after all, they lived hidden from the Empress for a long time. They had to survive somehow.
The two stopped in dead silence when they realized they walked in on something.
"Are you trying to play a trick on me…?" The taller cat had a smaller one in a death grip. To say that the smaller cat was terrified was an understatement,
"No! I'm not-! I swear!" It cried out, it looked on the verge of crying. "I'd never lay a paw on your jewelry!"
"Then why… did I find your cat here on it!?" She held out a long piece of black hair next to the cat.
Julia was lost in her mind, her face looked like she was trying to solve a very hard math puzzle that had the simplest answer. The Empress's reasoning made no sense, a lot of the cats in the metro had black fur… some may not, but a vast majority of them. Holding up a single black hair with out proper proof confused Julia.
Before the human lady knew it, the tall cat threw the smaller one against the floor, bounced off the wall, and… well. The rest was history.
No more cat.
Julia and Zephyr glanced at each other very subtly. Both were in an unrecognizable state of guard as the Empress brushed herself off.
She knew the two had come in, and started to talk "And… what was this about you both coming back-" As the cat turned around fully she froze, hair standing up, she shouted at Julia "What are you wearing!?"
Julia looked down at herself, her mask was propped on her head so she could see better. Her eye patch was still secure on her messed-up eye. "…new clothes?" She knew fully well her outfit would make the Empress angry, and walked in anyways wearing it.
The Empress stalked up to her, audibly growling at Julia. The two ladies were in each other's faces, but Julia made no move to backstep. In truth, the Empress thinks the human took a slight step forward to get in hers.
Zephyr glanced back and forth at the two, unsure of what to do.
"Why… exactly." The cat wanted to know. The Empress's anger slowly went down when she realized she couldn't intimidate Julia. There was a little bit of respect for not backing off, but she was still in a horrible mood- with one of her own trying to swipe her stock and the fact the human came back wearing even more green. Also, the hidden green team decided to make a move after so long.
What could conceivably get worse…?
"Pardon the questionable wardrobe, ma'am, but I felt that if I ever saw these green-clad cats as you stated, I thought I could bring them out if a cause a commotion," Julia explained to her.
The Empress raised her brow, the human had a point. She heard about a green figure running around the blue station with an Oni mask… and then a green clan member appeared. The tall cat lady tapped on her lip in thought. Perhaps the girl wearing all green wasn't such a bad idea after all.
But it still didn't change the fact they lost not one… but two hourglasses in a single day. The Empress's headache was coming back as she sneered with closed eyes and a hand to her head.
"You have brains, I'll compliment you on that, my organization could always use more of that." She groaned, remembering how clumsy her group can sometimes be. "But no payment this time considering you both came back empty handed…"
Julia was honestly surprised Empress didn't try to slash at her or just attack in general.
"In you can capture any of those green thieves… and return the stolen hourglasses… there might just be a permanent spot for you." She turned away, the side glanced back at them "And perhaps your little group. but that's… questionable."
Julia stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "Understood, ma'am."
"You at least seem to be enjoying your stay in my metro, considering you bought a full outfit…" the Empress got back behind the stall, hands folded in each other as her elbows were propped up. "There are people here from all over, you know?" She looked Julia dead in the eyes.
Julia just tilted her head up a bit, pretending she was interested.
"It's the perfect place for a little lying, a little cheating… a little stealing." She had a mischievous grin, eyes squinting. "Keep your wits about you, and you might earn yourself a real cut of the action here. Almost."
Finally, the Empress waved them both off, signaling that she was done talking for now.
Julia nodded, and both she and Zephyr walked out. They both witnessed a murder today and yet, they didn't know how to react to it properly. Ironic really.
At least if they get the cops involved, they can say they were witnesses. She… just hoped that the children weren't watching through the window.
"Julia… what will we do?" Zephyr turned to the woman, a knowing look "We believe the lot of us got lucky today that a fight didn't break out." He whispered to her
"You're right… coming back empty-handed wasn't the best idea…" she whispered back. "We might just have to give her the timepieces to gain her trust. If we don't… we're still strangers with eyes on us…" she then looked at Zephyr fully "but something is obviously up… and we might need that trust."
"So much for the 'upper hand' plan…" Bonnie quietly said, folding her arms in a pout.
Julia just chuckled at her "Sometimes plans don't go accordingly." She smiled.
