Chapter 40: The Exchange Part 2
Remi followed the M'arrilllians as they reached the city. They saw the large gate that led inside Kiru City. The door opened as they prepared to enter in there.
The M'arrillians were a bit nervous. They played with their limbs a little bit. They knew it wouldn't go that smoothly inside as they tried to invade the city.
Gal'drad put everything he could to remain calm and looked calm. He glanced at his soldiers and the human, "The hard part will come. We need to get in there and not anger anyone. We will give everything Maxxor need and make sure that teleport Phelphor into the Deep Ocean," he glanced at the others.
They walked on the main street. They went toward the castle. With Remi by their side, it was a bit easier to wander in the city.
Aval'par looked around. He quickly noticed how much attention they got from the habitants and the visitors of the city. The Overworlders suspiciously looked at them. The civilians knew little of the diplomatic changes between their tribes. He ignored the more hateful glares at himself.
Remi glanced around and quietly watched the Overworlders. He hoped that nothing bad would happen. The guards were present to prevent anything bad.
Tom, Maxxor and a few guards walked outside of the prison with Phelphor following them between the group.
The M'arrillian glanced a little nervously. He wasn't use to be free for a while and had little idea what would happen now. The anticipation was pretty big. He took a deep breath and made sure to keep himself under control. He observed the creatures as a few questions where in his mind.
The main one was which M'arrillians would come. He knew Gal'drad and the M'arrillians guide would be there, but for the others, he had no idea. He guessed that would be the surprise.
"There is something else I learned on Earth and I didn't show you," Tom remembered. He showed the palm of his hand, "I learned this and so many things to explain since last time. Anyway, I can do this now," he summoned a ball of light on the palm of his hand.
That flabbergasted the pink creature. He had no idea what was that, "Okay. This is a dream. I can only be a dream. A really… realistic dream," he pinched himself. He grunted painfully. He opened his eyes and was still there.
"It's not," Tom replied. He began a short version of everything, "I learn this from the Guardians of the Cothica. Its somethings we humans could do, but was forgotten long ago, except for them. This is the opposite of the Metalist who uses the power of darkness."
"Unique elements from them. Coming from the Cothica, it's strange that they don't have the power to control the four elements," Maxxor commented. He let Tom explained a bit more. He was a bit surprised that his friend didn't mention anything about his dangerous mission that would come soon. He guessed there was too much for that.
Tom made the ball of light disappeared as if he grabbed it in his hand. He let out a small smile, "I'm getting good that this, but it's not easy to do."
"Your world is indeed the Cothica. I mean, we called Alexander the Messenger of the Cothica. It wasn't for nothing. He was literally that," Phelphor commented.
In insight, Alexander really was the Messenger. Not only that, it was the first time the Cothica made contact with Perim since a very long time.
The teenager had no idea what it might mean for the creatures, but that was the beginning of everything. Still, things weren't put in order, so he couldn't figure it out. He should talk with Alexander about what they found out.
The group walked outside of the prison and were outside. Phelphor squinted his eyes. It was the first time since he saw the sun of Perim for two solans. Maybe more, maybe less. He had no idea. Still, the warm light on his skin felt good. It gave him a bit of energy.
They wandered the street to the meeting spot, which was near the castle.
Tom noticed they were many guards present, making sure that nothing could go wrong. Not only that, but the citizens were mostly absent from the path they took. The teenager knew why and didn't question it.
The M'arrillians and Remi approached the rendezvous point of Maxxor and the others. The creatures were a bit nervous, but didn't show any sign of it. They were here for a reason and had little reason to be afraid. It was a big moment for their tribe. It was a chance to move forward. To overcome their past mistakes and their past evil.
Gal'drad, as long as he would live, would never let his tribe fell once again. He would make sure the next generation would do the same. To learn the mistakes and to never repeat them. He had faith. They had their guide to the Cothica. They will do it.
Remi looked forward and noticed a shape of pink, "I think I see them," he pointed forward.
The creatures noticed Phelphor, with his color standing out compared to everything in the city. They saw Tom, Maxxor and a few other creatures that guarded the city.
Aval'par was happy to see his friend Tom again. He talked to him when he was in Chaotic, but it had been rarer recently. He never pried into the mind of the human to figure out what was going on.
Gal'drad raised his tendril and slowly waved it, to signal that they were present.
Maxxor noticed it and waited for them to join them. They would speak officially outside, before going into the castle and concluded everything. For now, it was to make the exchange public. Intress and the guards made sure that no Underworlder spies were present to witness this event. Still, he knew he would feel the wrath of Chaor for letting Phelphor go. But it was the right thing to save Peyton.
As he thought of that, he noticed, behind the M'arrillians, the Mipedians approaching them. The king took the lead. He seemed tired, but also a bit hopeful. Maxxor could tell why.
Theb-Saar noticed the two humans who were with the creatures. He made him have bad feelings at his friend still captured by the Metalist. Not only that, but the parents of the boy were kidnapped as well. He had no idea why they took him away, except that he was their guide. As for the parents, nothing came into his mind for the reason. The only few news came from the report he got from the Marquis.
His red eyes gazed at Tom. The boy would put his life at risk and be captured by those Elementalist. Those Maxxor, Chaor, Gal'drad and a few others had to deal with. The boy decided that as he thought he could help save Peyton.
He focused on Gal'drad and saw they held the texts they translated and the documents about the Metalists. He needed all the chance to save his friend. He was near them and let out a small smile, "It is a pleasure to see you so soon Maxxor."
The green Overworlder nodded, "Likewise Theb-Saar. I hope the journey wasn't an eventful one."
"None at all. We didn't have any trouble and we didn't see any Underworlder spies or scouts," he turned his attention to Phelphor. He nodded at the M'arrillian politely, "Looks like today is your day."
"I just learned it today, so I still have trouble believing what I'm seeing," he bowed to the king.
"There is no need for etiquette right now. We came here for an important reason," he glanced at the current ruler of the M'arrillian.
Gal'drad nodded. He raised his hand and one of the creatures gave him the bag, "We made two copies of everything we could find about the Metalist as of now. We do not have everything, but it should be enough to help in the search for those kidnappers. I also came in person to form an official alliance to fight against the Metalist until Peyton is save," he wasn't the best in politics and official way of speaking, but he didn't mind. He wasn't there to sound perfect.
Maxxor and Theb-Saar nodded. The documents were put on the ground and they checked on it quickly. The two rulers didn't notice anything that might tell them that it could be a lie. They also saw the original texts in the M'arrillian writing. The way it was copied told them the creature was trustworthy. Still, further examinations would be needed. Najarin would be busy tonight and maybe for the next few days.
"I appreciate the help," the Mipedian king replied as he read it. It wasn't much at first, but the M'arrillians had more knowledge of the Metalist than the other tribes.
"The first thing I can tell you is that the Metalist doesn't live on the continent. Some of the remaining old reports explained that they came away from the continent, like the Elementalists. They were spotted even in our territory, watching us from afar. They always had a way to escape from capture by our ancestors."
"That is helpful," Maxxor grumbled. It cut a lot of territory, but it also showed that they would need to explore beyond the continent once again. He also needed to search for Tom when he would disappear, or sent someone instead of him. He glanced at the boy; a little bit worried.
Tom sighed, "I will be fine Maxxor."
Aval'par grumbled, "Remi told us what you are going through soon enough Tom," he waved his tendril when he got his attention, "And I believe that going alone on your own would be a bad idea. Even with Milla'iin, I don't think you are wise in this mission. Your tribe can defend themselves against the Elementalists."
Theb-Saar knew well what Tom planned, "What's going on?" but he didn't want to let Maxxor know that Marquis Darini spied on him at that moment.
Tom explained once again what he planned to do soon enough.
The blue Mipedian didn't like hearing it from the boy alone. He was a friend of Peyton, "Putting your life at risk to protect your world, even when you can fight back against it makes no sense."
"I have another reason," he glanced at the side, "But I can't tell any of you," he looked at Maxxor.
Remi was a bit curious what the other reason was, but put it aside, "Maybe your body guard Arias can come with you?"
The black-haired boy offered no answers.
The ruler of the Overworld changed the subject, as it wouldn't move anywhere. He hoped Arias might convinced Tom to change his mind or not go there alone. Maybe even obtained the reason why Tom other reason to go there, "We should go into the castle. We need to forge our alliance," he didn't need to explain the purpose of it. They all knew it.
"Agreed," Theb-Saar nodded.
"Indeed," Gal'drad glanced at the castle.
The creatures and the humans went inside. Remi glanced at Tom. He wondered what was the other reason he had to become a prisoner. Not only that, but he worried for him. Tom would go there, really go there and not with his code. He couldn't believe his parents would accept something like that. His own wouldn't.
Remi and Tom followed them in the castle. They realised that the negotiations of the alliance were pretty boring to witness. Still, the creatures wanted this alliance to be seen by the eyes of their guide. It was to show them how serious they were in saving their friend Peyton and protecting them. They almost felt asleep as the calm negotiations just went on and on for an hour or two. They barely remembered what was said.
Once the alliance was concluded and everything was signed on a paper. There was only one thing remaining.
"Now, we need to bring you back to the Deep Ocean Phelphor," Gal'drad said.
"That's going to be difficult. I need to hide all the way back. We need to pass through the Underworld territory and…" the pink creature noticed Aval'par showed him the Telebracer battlegear, "And…" he read the mind of the creatures before and knew what it was, "We have one?"
"Yes. The way back is quite simple for you. You will use it and teleport to the Deep Ocean. A few M'arrillians are ready to welcome you back," the mauve M'arrillian said. He chuckled a bit when he saw that Phelphor was quite surprised they thought that much ahead, or had that battlegear.
Aval'par installed the Telebracer on the M'arrillian, "Phelphor. I wish you a welcome back to the M'arrillians. I hope you will see how much we are trying to change."
"They did succeed in a few things and failed in a few others. I know some of them are pretty stubborn about it," Remi commented. He visited their tribe a few times and gave his opinion in the matter.
"Thank you," he turned his attention to Tom, "Tom. Thank you for visiting me often when I was in jail. I… I still just can't believe I am free."
"You are now Phelphor," the boy smiled at him, "After what you did, I think you deserve another chance, like the rest of your tribe."
"Maybe…" he sounded a bit uncertain. He felt a tap on his shoulders from Gal'drad.
"We will show them that we deserved it Phelphor. Do not doubt it. I will make sure our tribe goes to the right path and stay that path."
"Right…" he raised his Telebracer. He glanced at everyone. No one showed any animosity at him leaving. From the ruler of the Overworld, to the Mipedian ruler. The soldiers weren't hostile either. He had no idea what to tell them. He took a deep breath, "Farewell."
And teleported away.
The rest of the day, the three rulers began talking about the plans. Those were pushed aside when they decided to fully decipher and comprehended the texts and reports from the M'arrillians of the past first. Then, they would actually make a plan.
It was then that the two humans ported back to Chaotic. Having done little, but supporting them by their presence.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: Discussions.
Kaz talked with Chaor about a few things, while Sarah discovered who would protected her on Earth.