One World: Many Souls
Chapter 51: A Hesitant Decision
Angel's Point of View:
"Mom, are you okay with us going?"
"We'd have to go to the edge of the territory... isn't that very far?"
Both of my twin girls looked at each other before looking at me nervously. "We want to go... but..."
Calibi and Constantina both had their gazes on me or the floor. The two of them were always in sync no matter where they were or what they were doing. They stood before my desk while I worked on a few papers to sign that I'd already sent aside in a premade pile so I could do it rather mindlessly while speaking with them.
"You girls have a right to feel very nervous about being so far away from home, even if it is for something as amazing as this." I sighed while putting the signed papers to the side of my desk for Enya to take when she came back to my office later. Focusing then entirely on my youngest teen daughters, I waved the two of them to come around behind the desk if they wanted some physical contact. Both came around slowly and stood while I rubbed my hands over their hair and the sides of their faces. "You two have always been great at singing, and these people who want to see about signing you up for a record deal was very kind. But you would be quite a ways away from me and your Dad, and it's lined up on days where we can't get out of work."
"Should we... even go?" Both of them in unison asked me, a nervous look in their eyes.
"Well... is singing what you girls want to do?" I carefully asked them the questions I wasn't sure if they've thought about yet. "If you become singers, you would probably travel the country, if not the world. I don't know how often you'd be home. There will be people who will love and hate you. Do you love singing enough that you're willing to do that?"
"Um... Can... can we try?"
"If... if we try it..."
"We'd know if we'd want to do it again..."
"We love singing, can we at least try?"
Both girls held each other's hands as they stood there with me in the office, the sun setting in the background as I thought over the parameters of them going compared to not. It would be a good experience for them, and I wanted them to have a chance. They were scouted by a talent agency who came to the school often to find new talent as the monster people began to get settled into the world we lived in.
And the only reason I was even thinking about it was because this person worked for Wher.
I hadn't seen the feline male in many years after his career took off and he moved out of the Terians region to that of the Hanora where his acting really took off. He'd been all over the place, getting involved in so many important roles in multiple movies since we came to the surface. He even managed to find himself a lovely wife and they had a couple children together.
I was happy for him, I really was.
He was working at a lot toward the edge of the Terians territory on a new musical movie. And while Wher wasn't much of a singer, he remembered the times I sang at home. While the girls and I had been out on a trip together to visit a special clothing store they liked, that was when the girls were singing a song together and we'd been caught by Wher's agent. The agent tried going on about a pitch to get to them tryout for a studio that looks for new and upcoming talent like them, but of course I wasn't about to let that happen.
But that was when Wher came out of nowhere with his own family, and that got me to open up and say that we'd think about it.
Knowing it was someone that Wher trusted, that made me feel better. But at the same time, I didn't want to force my daughters' into something they wouldn't like.
But it was clear that they wanted to at least give it one try. They were on summer break as it was, so I saw there was no scheduling conflict other than my own.
"If you girls feel up to going, then I'll help you prepare to try. But, I will be sending at least Enya with you and I'd prefer a family member as well just in case to keep you two safe. After the fiasco with your Christmas concert half a year ago, I don't want to take any chances."
Both girls nodded easily to me, both eager and somewhat nervous that I'd said yes to them. "Yes Mom."
"Alright now, go pack for a couple of nights. I'll ask around to see who can join you."
My girls left right after that. As they left to the floors below to begin their packing, I sat alone while thinking of who I could ask to go with my daughters. It couldn't just be anyone, but most of our family members were tied up. Frisk was running a kingdom, so I couldn't ask that of her, along with her little ones that she was sticking close to. Normally when they were close to home, I'd have their older siblings go with them, but the upcoming task was a bit large for them, even at their age and strength. Of course, Sans and I were so swamped otherwise one of us would go. Alphys and Undyne were in a similar situation to what we were as their three children were starting to spread their wings and try their own hands at their talents.
It truly made me wonder who could go...
I was cut off from my internal thoughts as the phone rang. I sighed and looked to see who was on the caller ID when I blinked.
"Just the person I was actually going to talk to." I could hear the other person on the line hum in anticipation of what I was about to say. "Is there any way I could ask a selfish favor and have you look after two amazing aspiring singers?"
Third Person Point of View:
Silke sat at her desk contemplating the documents that had just made their way into her hands. She had a small agent on the inside of the Terians' head branch staff to listen for any crucial information concerning the main family. It had been hard to wait for so long, but it turned out that finally there was a chance to thin out their bloodline.
It had come to her attention that Angel was sending her younger set of twins, Calibri and Constantina, out to the edges of Terians' land to a recording studio. Apparently the girls had talent for singing, or something of the like. They would be gone for three days, and it seems an ample opportunity to go after the two of them. They would only have their mother's advisor with them. And it would see that most of their family was busy or away during the time of their trip.
It would most likely be a prime time to attack and do any damage. And while Silke knew that it would perhaps put the woman on edge should anything happen to her children, it would only be a beginning stepping stone.
Silke needed to show this woman the lengths that she would go to in order to destroy that woman's family. It had to be done.
A knock came to the door of her office. Silke gave herself precious moments to calm her internal fury before speaking to the person to come in. The woman's office was rather dilapidated compared to a normal office. While half of it looked well, composed and full of books and pictures of the family she wished to dispose of, the other half was destroyed. It was internal damage that appeared as if a fire had taken place. And if someone was to look more carefully, claws of some creature could be seen in the frames of some furniture, past the charred remains that Silke refused to have repaired.
"Ah, Silke darling, my apologies for bothering you, but it sounded as if you had a task for me?"
Mettaton strode into the room with a wave of her hips. The woman wore a rather skin tight suit that hugged all the curves of her metallic body. Showing a wild sly grin to the woman Mettaton claimed to be her boss, she carefully sat herself in the one chair that wasn't ruined in the office, crossed her legs and had to stop herself from lighting up a cigarette.
"Thank you for coming, Mettaton." Silke carefully began to pull out pictures of each person for Mettaton to be aware of as they began their meeting. "We have an upcoming chance to get back at the Terians and I would like to see about having you take the members out."
"Oh goodie! And so soon!" Mettaton eagerly noted and looked at the pictures and papers her boss left out. The identical twins of Angel and Sans Terians were on the desk in the middle of the room, along with the picture of Enya, the direct assistant to Angel Terians herself. "Oh my! I get a chance at the little gremlins of that woman?"
"You do." Silke quickly nodded before pulling out a map. "Make sure to upload this to your memory. You'll be heading to the southern coastal city of Kuste where the girls will be trying out for a record deal they've been scouted for by the record company named Lila Katze. It's on the coastal strip of the city, and it looks like their hotel they'll be staying at will be only a few blocks away."
Silke pointed to both locations, making them with a red circle so Mettaton could commit them to memory. Using the map feature upgraded into her body, Mettaton nodded to the woman.
"All uploaded, darling. Now, is there a plan of action of how you want me to approach them?"
"The best case would be either kidnapping or killing them." Silke's gaze never changed as her hand landed over that of the girl's pictures. If it wasn't for their names being written at the bottom, it would have been impossible to tell them apart. "This is the first chance that Angel has dared slip up, but I wouldn't be surprised if she has others hiding in the shadows. We can't risk using the men and women Luke has control of yet or it will raise her suspicion that he is working with us."
"Well then, darling. I have just the thing you're ordering!" Mettaton eagerly stood and connected herself to the wireless monitor hanging on the wall to the side. Silke turned her head to look at the screen as two men appeared in the picture. Both of them appeared human. "So what you see here is some die hard fans of mine who were rather perturbed when I was outed. They got in rather close to an old split group of my underground workers who never let anything stop them from obeying me. They're actually currently working security at the very hotel that the girls are staying at. It wouldn't be entirely impossible for them to say... hm... steal a master key and take them out in their sleep?"
Silke narrowed her eyes at the woman. "It sounds simple enough, however, in the chance that they are unable to complete their mission or are captured, how would we avoid them being connected back to you? Angel wouldn't hold back from digging through their private lives."
"Well darling, to start off with the captured bit. I can certainly talk to our beloved Dr. Baldeth and have him prepare something to take their lives to prevent them from spilling any information. These men are hard core and will listen to anything I say. If I tell them to take their own lives, they'll do it." There was a gleam to the metallic woman's eyes as she said those words. "Though as for them being traced back to us... They wouldn't be traced back to you at all, since no one knows I'm here. However, these two have had limited contact with me. It would be easily noticed that I spoke to them over social media about ten years ago before my most recent issues with those sisters. What I can have them do is set up written letters of suicide by each of them for others to find once combing through their things to take the blame themselves for what would be taking place. In the instance they escape, we're set. And if not-"
Mettaton made the motion of her single slender finger running along her neck like a knife. Silke hardly moved at this motion and sighed, but nodded.
"Cover all the loose ends and get them moving. I hope to hear good news by the end of their 'trip'."
"But of course, darling!" Mettaton rose from her seat, pulling out a burner phone. "I'll make sure to leave here and go to a nearby town in ghost form so no one can claim to see me, nor trace the call back to here if traced."
Silke would only nod at that point. Waving the metallic woman out of her office, Mettaton eagerly left with a little bounce to her step. That left Silke all alone once more in her office. A little sigh left her lips as she resumed looking over the papers she'd shown Mettaton before returning the map and pictures to a folder.
"Let's see about starting our adventure." She quietly said before looking out her window to the choppy waters she could see down the coastline. "Are you ready, Angel?"
Witch's Note:
(Halloween was controlling the submarine as two of their members had finally been able to meet up with their secondary location. After going through the lengthy process of validation, Chaos, Dasansi, Roland and Oscar were allowed inside with Halloween guiding them down to the near sea floor of the cavern they'd chosen. Upon surfacing, the four of them saw themselves in an underground garage of sorts with a few people at work that managed to escape the previous base. One of the workers saw the four men emerge and immediately directed them to the room at the top of the cavern, up a few flights of stairs.)
(Upon entering the room, they came face to face with the area where Halloween and Mystic had been working from. The monitors were based on the back and side wall while a large table was placed in the middle with snacks and drinks at the ready, much like a conference room. Seeing the men walk in, Halloween stepped back from the screen she was working on and hurried to them, giving them all a hug.)
Halloween Witch: I'm so thankful you all made it back safely. Please help yourselves to the food and drink we've set out for you, rest while you can, because we have a lot to discuss. (She turns away and hollers at Mystic Girl) Mystic! Chaos, Dasansi, Roland and Oscar made it!
Mystic Girl: (She jumps back from her monitor and runs up to each of them. She hugged each of them as well before showing some irritation.) I'm fucking happy as hell your here, but damn it, don't take so long next time. Now do what Halloween said, we got shit to do.
(After giving time for the others to find a seat at the table, Halloween and Mystic join them, sitting before a monitor displayed behind them in the local area. Halloween points to it, signals presented of the others not present, and begins.)
Halloween Witch: While I'm thrilled you four made it, we still have others out there that need our help. I'm going to update you on what we've gotten for messages back from the others who were able to signal us back... because we don't have much to go on.
To start with, Mystic Boy lost consciousness a while ago. Sunset was able to send out another signal that we redirected to Shadow who was in closer proximity then us. He has made the conscious effort to go help her. As far as we're aware at the moment, he's tending to her wounds out in the desert. That was the last signal we received. We're assuming she's in critical condition and will need to be brought back as soon as possible for medical care, more than what can be provided out in the field.
They were the only two we got signals from... Shady hasn't reached out yet and we assume he's hiding out in the nearby city. We have not been able to track him since the last time he pinged in. It could be that some of Silke's forces are right on his tail.
And as for River? We still haven't heard anything for a while. Two weeks ago was the last transmission we got from him. He noted he was going after Mystic Boy... but now that Shaodow has managed to find her and we're using his signal to enhance those of hers and his, it appears River is further out then we guessed... further out beyond the desert... and probably back closer to where our old base was if that pond he was by was any indication. We had one not far from the old base that was quite similar in shape and set up...
But we need to find and gather everyone fast... because time won't be on our side for much longer. I'm assuming you've all gotten the code we sent out encrypted when able yes? The one with the numbers 59, 63, 64, and 66?
That's when we start our counter attack. We've not been just trying to get back in touch with all of you for your safety and well being. We've also been trying to use some of the signal jammers you helped us craft to break into our own system at the hideout to spy on Silke, and she's none the wiser to it. The only one we need to be careful of is the doctor who seems to be sticking around the base, so he's our first target. Mettaton is punched into the old system, and Luke has taken possession of our old team. They will be next. Silke will be last, and Angel along with her family will be taking care of most of those. We'll be in charge mostly of taking out the remaining fighters working for Silke once the powerhouses are removed.
That is our current rough game plan, and with the current chapter out, we now have another seven weeks to gather the others and get ready... It's not a lot of time... and it's coming fast... Before we know it, it will be here.
So for now, we need you all to assist with getting the others back here. Someone needs to help Shadow bring back Mystic Boy for medical treatment, another needs to find Shady in the city, and then someone has to go out in the wilderness to find River. I don't know who wants to do what, so decide what you want to do among yourselves. Mystic and I can't afford to let this base be taken too, so we'll be monitoring the situation from here and helping at a distance-
Mystic Girl: Are you fucking kidding me? I want to go out there and beat some heads in! And what if I want to save Mystic Boy? Huh?! You think about that?
Halloween Witch: I have. I knew you would say that, which is why I offered for Chaos or Dasansi with his group to go first. Chaos especially has been rather close to Mystic Boy, and while I'm not saying you're not... Think about when she gets back. She's going to need a friend to help her take care of those wounds she got. Plus... what if she gets back and there's no one's here? What if Shadow has to move her and get back while you're gone? Won't she be more upset? I realize that perhaps I have a relationship with her as well, but I won't pretend to be as close as you and Chaos are to her. You two should be the ones involved, him to go out there and bring her back if he wishes, and you to help her heal. She's going to need a lot of time, and patience. And while I know you don't have that often; I'd like to think you'd at least be willing to do it for her. Traitor or not.
Mystic Girl: ... Fine...
Halloween Witch: Know I'm not trying to make you angry, Mystic, we all feel rather passionate about this, but we have to play it smart. And there are too many loose ends that we need to wrap up. Now then (Halloween will return her gaze to the four there) what will you choose, boys?
(For those that were not inside the base at the time, a message was sent out with a timer counting down. It started at seven weeks and slowly began to move for all to see.)
Please make it home to us... time is running out... we need to act...
This is all we have left to give...
Our counter attack is on its way...
