Chapter 19: And I Think To Myself, What A Wonderful World
Helen woke with a start; something was wrong. Reaching to her throat, she felt only skin, threw the covers off, put her cloak over her long sleep tee, and put on her favorite slippers. Running through the sleeping village with quiet steps and teleports, she came to the dining table where she sat for dinner. Franticly, she searched with a glowing orb of plasma for light. Her mind raced faster and faster until the light glinted off something under the seat. With a sigh of relief, she dismissed the plasma and reached for the Ice Tear pendant Aufheben had given them after setting her free.
With a hard sigh as the adrenalin left her, she sat on the bench and watched the night sky with saddened eyes. Being away from Jack gave her time to think, and yes, she'd been clinging to him rather than loving him.
When they returned from the Omega sector, Helen helped to heal his wounds from the fight but drew him aside to talk once she was done. Jack appeared to accept the evidence she laid out for him, but his clenched fists told a different story, demanding to know what he'd done wrong for her to cast him aside. Helen brought up their disparate vocations and skill sets, fueling his rage more. Yes, he'd been trying to find some enjoyment in her studies and meditations, but he would only join Helen for a short time, if at all, in the past.
At last, Jack seemed to come to grips with what she was telling him, but he still stormed away, leaving Helen questioning whether or not she had done the right thing, especially given what happened with Aufheben. Turning the pendant in her hand, Helen shuffled back to her hut and hung it on the side of her headboard, drifting back to sleep.
Lillianne sat up, unable to sleep even after a week of avoiding Matthew. She looked at the small clock on her dresser and sighed as the red numbers glared back at her: 1:34 AM. Tired of being unable to sleep, she got up, put on her armor, and grabbed her halberd as she left for the training grounds; maybe some training would tire her out enough to finally sleep.
In the distance, she could hear someone already there; quick breaths and grunts sounded in the dark as though the night was speaking. As she approached, she saw Matthew training with a heavy-headed spear, the Redeem. He flowed through the stances as naturally as ever, the spear's chisel-like head grazing every tree at the ground's edges.
As Matthew stepped wide to thrust the spear forward, it was blocked by Lillianne's halberd, a recreation of Aran's Maha. Matthew lowered his head and looked up at her from under his eyebrows, pulling back and launching them into a heated spar. Each weapon sparked as they made contact, a breeze flowing around them with their swings.
With a final swing, the air currents and weapons collided hard, tearing the leaves from the trees as they stood with crossed weapons, breathing hard and staring into each other's eyes. Matthew was the first to break the stare, stabbing the pommel of the spear into the ground and unclasping the Mithril armor around his arms. As he pulled away the upper body armor, the breeze played with his damp hair, his skin glinting in the moonlight.
"Matthew, what won't you let go? Something is holding you back; your swings aren't as confident or forceful." Lillianne questioned as she walked up behind him and touched his bare shoulder.
"Ever since the incident with Aufheben, I get this urge to lash out and hurt you. But I want to hold you, feel you next to me." Lillianne moved before him, setting her halberd down and hugging his head to her chest.
"Then do that; I've missed your embrace for too long." She said, pulling back to look him in the eye, seeing that his face was shaking and his eyes were wide, as if in anger and horror. She turned slightly to see him holding up his Blood Katana, poised to strike. Lillianne ran her hand down his arm and pushed her fingers into his wire-tight fist, dislodging his grip where it stuck into the ground. When he finally relaxed, she laced her fingers with his and leaned down to meet his lips, bringing his hand down to the small of her back and running her fingers through his long hair, pressing the kiss even more as if desperate for his touch.
Olsen woke when he felt Jenny move under his arm wrapped around her waist, smiling when he felt Jenny place her own onto his. Physically, they were both equally strong, but there was a secret in Jenny's mind. Often, she wondered what it was like to be held by Jack or Matthew. Both of them had the strength of three of Olsens, but she quickly sighed and pushed the thought out of her mind. Lately, however, it had been gnawing at the back of her mind more and more, almost as if she wanted to cause problems for her and Olsen. She dismissed it as a curiosity when she found out Matthew had suddenly kissed Aufheben. Now, it had turned into something like an obsession. Carefully, she turned over and put her arms around Olsen, pulling herself closer to him, trying to stifle the thoughts running through her head. Maybe if she were closer to Olsen, her thoughts would fade and allow her to fall back asleep.
Dragonoir clenched his hand tighter around the end of his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose: yes, he'd gone through the Fate Alteration spell with Maya, but things were not progressing as he had hoped. They weren't going anywhere. He even made sure to weave a thought-altering spell into the Fate Alteration. His only success was making those pesky Guardians stop for some time off. If that weren't enough, all his spells were slowly extinguished as though it were a smoldering coal.
A beaker on his desk hissed and popped as the crystal inside had finally formed. This would be his sixth attempt at making the infamous Dark Crystal that greatly empowered the Black Mage. Each attempt in the past resulted in the crystal becoming one of the other four crystals. He already had dozens of the others: Ruby, Emerald, Pink Quartz, and Amethyst. Frustratingly, he couldn't produce the final crystal to complete his set.
Walking over to the beaker, he reached into the acidic solution and pulled a crystal no bigger than a quarter that radiated with a strange aura. It felt as if it were mana that had become rancid. At first, the crystal began to fade to a dark red, making Dragonoir growl angrily when the darkness returned, and the crystal became shiny. Inside, a liquid-like substance swirled back and forth within the glassy skin.
"Yes, YES! I've done it!" he shouted, walking over to a breastplate and setting the small crystal in the center. He had successfully created a set of crystals for himself and then donned the vest, covering it with his cloak.
"Master Dragonoir! You've done it! What did you do this time?" Maya asked. Dragonoir held up his hand towards a wall of his hut, smiling, as a bolt of strange-colored energy shot from his hand and left the wall melting into a slimy goop.
"My translation of the Ancient Sharenian texts was incorrect. Now, the Crystals of Minerva and Corus are MINE to command!" Dragonoir growled. Maya beamed for her master as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"With this, I can challenge the Black Mage without fear!" he shouted, thrusting his fist into the air.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your little victory speech, but in order to get to The Master, you'll need to be tested by us." A voice interrupted. Dragonoir looked back to his door, where Eleanor and Dragon stood. Dragon drew his Dume, lighting the room in blue as the mana veins within the blade screamed to life, and a seal ignited on his shoulder.
"Oh, it's only you two. This shouldn't take long, Maya. Why don't you go and wait out back with Phoenix." Maya nodded and kissed him on the cheek, her long hair flowing in the breeze as she left.
"Taking us so lightly is not wise, Dragonoir," Eleanor said smoothly. Dragonoir shook his head as a strange colored aura filled his hands, looking almost like smoke, before hurling them forward in a blast of thick black aura.
"Checky! Here's that part you were looking for." Belle called as she wiped the sweat from her face, dragging a long black grease smudge across her cheek. Checky reached for the screw and started it, quickly threading it down snugly onto the small sphere.
"There! And it only took me three days to make!" Checky said smugly as he handed it to Belle.
"Now, what exactly is this thing again?" she asked, looking over the softball-sized machine. Across the middle was a single black line wrapped around the entire sphere, while five small black dots were evenly spaced along each half of the sphere. Checky pushed his welding mask up and shrugged.
"Haven't come up with a name for it yet, but it allows you to operate a miniature arrow turret installment using mana as a medium; watch," Checky said. Leading Belle outside, he put her fingers on one of the black dots for a few seconds, then threw the sphere into the air. Instantly, the sphere glowed red as energy gathered around it in a circular motion, solidifying into the inner workings of a clock. Eight cog teeth expanded into a cannon muzzle, a black cloud of smoke pluming from each one while a fire ignited within.
A cylinder came out on either side and then flowered into another gear, which quickly began spinning counterclockwise, winding something inside. Once the machine seemed to finish assembling, Checky pointed, and the machine turned until the muzzles were facing the same direction. As if pulling the trigger on an invisible weapon, Checky curled his finger, and the machine erupted into a sputter of arrow fire, rotating the muzzles around each other with a charged set of mana arrows. When the sputter stopped, the arrows pulsed red, exploding and leaving a crater where they had been before. The machine disassembled and dropped into Checky's hand as a brass sphere soon after.
"Wow. That was cool. But it's not doing me any good if I can only use it briefly," Belle pointed out, looking over the sphere.
"Oh, don't worry, I only filled it with enough mana for one blast. If you fill it a little each day, it can work for a solid hour. I'm still working on the Exo-suit, so I'll be busy between that and these." Checky explained, handing the orb back to Belle. Black Jack, Belle's pet panther, padded up to Belle and nuzzled her arm, telling her that he wanted to be pet or have his head scratched.
"How is work going on the suit?" Claudine's voice asked as she walked into the underground garage, taking the mask from her face and adjusting the figure-hugging corset.
"It's slow since getting parts for it isn't easy. I have to use broken parts from the mining Mecha, so I have to fix them before using them. Once I have this one complete, I'll be able to make more. Where's Deren?" he asked. Claudine smiled as she pointed a delicate finger at the door. Agitatedly, Deren pulled the goggles from his eyes, leaving two perfect holes in the soot that covered his face, setting the cane-sized wand on the desk.
"Man, it would be nice to have someone to teach me how to use that stuff, maybe even that pretty mage, Helen. Half the time, it explodes in my face." Deren growled, looking through his spell book again to find out where he had gone wrong. Checky pulled a tattered red scarf from his jumpsuit and handed it to Deren.
"Here, take a break. I was about to get some lunch. You guys wanna come with?" Checky asked, looking back at Claudine. Claudine shook her head as Deren wiped his face.
"I'd have to change again. Frankly, I'd rather stay like this. It's much more fun." Claudine protested. Checky sighed as Belle giggled.
"Babe, come on. At least just for a bit? It'll do you some good to get out of this place to eat once in a while," Checky urged. Claudine sighed heavily and rocked her head around as Checky took his welding helmet off, allowing his spiky white hair to spring back into its usual spot.
"All right, fine, but only for a little while: some people want to join our cause, and I want you to make sure they have the right stuff," she said, pointing to Belle as she untied her corset.
"Claudine! We don't even have our skills perfected! And you want us to teach them?" Belle squeaked. Claudine shrugged and smiled as she straightened her white blouse and loosened her pants' belt. She wrapped a snug skirt around her hips and pulled off the pants, finally donning her eyeglasses.
"Well, at least that way, you'll learn faster. The Black Mage is gathering more of his power the longer we sit by and do nothing. It's best to get things rolling now while they don't suspect anything rather than wait until it's too late. We've already discovered that we couldn't rely on Cygnus and her knights, so it's time we took matters into our own hands! We might not even be able to count on those kids, either. " She said with a huff.
"Claud, that wasn't their fault. They were just as surprised as we were. They were on their way. Why can't you forgive them?" Deren said, closing the spell book and handing the scarf back to Checky.
"Did you forget that they are the reason my brother was killed? IF THEY WERE HERE, HE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE, AND WE WOULDN'T BE UNDER THEIR CONTROL!" Claudine shouted in his face, leaving Deren speechless.
"We can't count on anyone! We will be the ones to take Edelstein back from the Black Wings!" Claudine shouted to them, sitting down and reviewing reports from their already recruited miners.
"Just go. I'm staying here." Claudine snapped as Checky's eyes fell. He, Claudine, and her brother John had been close, but Claudine and John were even closer. He could understand her vengeance against not only the Cygnus Knights but also against the Black Wings. Slowly, he motioned for the others to follow as he threw on his brown trench coat and the red scarf around his neck. Belle and Deren changed clothes and came running after him. Claudine angrily looked over reports until her vision blurred from tears clinging to the bottom of her eyes, and she could no longer read, dropping her head to the desk, her shoulders heaving with each sob.
Nathan sidestepped Matthew as the head of his spear whistled past him. The move left an opening for Nathan to strike with the butt end of his spear. But he was blocked as Matthew raised his spear and countered. The impact made Nathan slide back from blocking one of Matthew's thunderous hits.
"Your technique is improving, Nathan. Now, show me your power swing. Split this rock here," he said, motioning to a large boulder beside him.
"There's no way I could. My spear would break!" Matthew laughed and picked up a simple wooden spear. Light gathered at his hand closest to the spearhead and then absorbed into his hands. He stabbed forward and effortlessly split a similarly sized rock.
"You could have the simplest of spears and still be able to split it. Now split that boulder!" Matthew ordered. Nathan shrugged his shoulders as he approached the bolder, and with a hard push, he drove the tip of his spear forward, only for it to spark off the surface of the rock, making Nathan stumble into it.
"Again!" Matthew called as Nathan caught himself and tried again, light gathering at his leading hand, driving forward, only to have the same result.
"Are you sure that he is using enough mana, Matthew?" Dances asked, coming to their training ground. Matthew stopped and thought for a moment. He hadn't even considered whether or not the amount of mana was the problem and not the lack of strength.
"I'm not really sure. Matt showed me how to focus the mana into something that would propel my spear, and when I did it, I figured it was enough." Nathan answered. Dances looked over at Matthew and chuckled, remembering the days he had to figure out why his own Power Swing wasn't as strong as it could have been.
"Put your palm on mine and push the same amount of mana into my hand you've used for your attack." Nathan pushed his mana into Dance's palm, making the old warrior sigh and nod as he felt the little flick of mana.
"That's what I feared. You need to use far more mana than that: almost three times that amount." Dances instructed. Nathan looked down at the ground in disappointment, not wanting to look Dances in the eye after being told he wasn't doing something right.
"Now try again." Dances encouraged as he stood back from the boulder. Nathan nodded with a sullen sigh and braced himself, taking a moment to concentrate more mana around his spear. It took much more time than he thought to focus. When the propelling shockwave hit the spear, it was driven forward so hard that Nathan nearly lost his balance as it went deep into the rock and split it down the middle. Nathan stood in awe, trying to figure out what had happened, when Jack and Aeris came trotting up.
"Hey, guys. Nathan!" Aeris called, running over to him, putting her arms around his neck, and firmly kissing him on the cheek. Nathan smiled sadly, still mulling over his mistake.
"Hey, Matt. Dances with Balrog, I've been looking for you. I have a question for you about something that happened yesterday." Jack said. Dances nodded to Matthew, who called for a break while Jack and Dances talked.
"Yes, Jack, what is it?" Dances asked, clapping a hard hand on Jack's shoulder.
"You remember me saying a new guy is running with the Black Wings? He used a weird attack that I haven't seen you teach Matt yet." Dances narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side.
"What was this power that you speak of?" Dances asked, becoming intrigued.
"He really used two. The first was a blue tiger. Its sound hit me hard and knocked me off balance." Dances nodded as he thought.
"Yes, that is an ancient warrior technique; not many warriors of this age even use it. It's called the Tiger's Roar. I have taught Matthew is the Dragon's Roar, which has a wide target area that could kill. The Tiger's Roar is far more focused and takes time to master. It isn't as powerful as the Dragon's Roar nor as broad, but it has enough force to stun your enemy and allow you to run or prepare an attack. What was the second attack that you speak of?" Dances asked. Jack shuddered as he thought back to what he had seen.
"This guy, Dragon, used something like Matthew's Solar Scythe. But it looked like a night sky and just cut through everything in its way." Dances thought about it for a long while, searching his mind for what Jack had seen.
"That is indeed sounds like a potent attack. I remember hearing legends of something like that used by a race called the Seraphim. They were a race of winged beings often mistaken for the Nymph fairies of Orbis or sometimes called angels. They never wielded a solid weapon and instead used energy as a weapon that came in one of five colors."
"Were the colors supposed to be different power levels or something?"
"I don't know. Athena may know more, but as long as I have known her, she has never mentioned them."
"Then how did Dragon use it? He's human as far as I can tell," Jack countered. Dances shook his head and pondered the thought.
"I'm not sure how Dragon was able to wield such power. It is far beyond me." Dances said, cradling his chin in thought.
"So what happened to the Seraphim? You talk as if they aren't around anymore." Jack asked as Dances shrugged his shoulders.
"No one knows. I read in a tome that one day, long before my time, they vanished, never to be heard from or seen again. What we do know of them is wrapped in myth and legend." Jack nodded, thinking about possibilities, when he heard an explosion from Jenny's training area.
"Sounds like Jenny and Antonia are getting a good day's training." Jack laughed, watching another cloud billow into the air as more explosions erupted.
Jenny sprinted to a nearby tree, knocking her bow as she backed up to it for cover. Antonia knelt in the tall grass, drawing her bomb arrow before standing and firing at the tree. The explosion did little more than dent the tree trunk, but it was enough to make Jenny roll her shoulder in a dull ache. Jenny turned out from the cover, pulling the arrow tight and letting it go.
Antonia rolled away as it hissed past her head, burying itself in a tree nearby. She rolled onto her feet, strafing while pulling arrows and firing them as fast as possible. Jenny leaned forward and ran, listening to the arrows hissing towards her, only to stick in the ground far behind her. With a skidding stop, Jenny grabbed four arrows and shot them through each of Antonia's pant legs and sleeves, pinning her to another tree.
"That's the fifth time today, Antonia. Remember, it takes time for the arrow to travel to its target, so firing at a moving target will only waste arrows. You must fire ahead of your target, and then you will hit it dead on." Jenny instructed. Antonia freed her arm and began pulling the arrows out of her clothes.
"You say that like it's something I should already know how to do." She answered with a growl. Jenny raised her eyebrow and turned her head.
"Didn't Stacy teach you how to lead a target?" Jenny asked as Antonia pulled the last arrow from her sleeve and shook her head.
"Not really. She taught me mostly how to hit the bull's eye on hay bails." Jenny rested her head in the palm of her hand.
"Oh my; it looks like you've got more training to do then."
"Why not pause for a moment with the delight of an ice cream pop," Athena called, walking up to them with a light red popsicle in each hand. Antonia's face lit up with glee as she ran to her and eagerly took the ice cream.
"Thank you, Miss Athena!" she said as she sat down and nibbled away at the icy goodness.
"Really, Mom? I was going to go through one last drill before we stopped for lunch." Jenny huffed, taking the pop, biting a chunk off, and noting what her mom was wearing: a blue blouse with a black vest, comfortable-looking jeans, and her boots. Jenny could tell that whatever Eckhart was doing had affected her. She wasn't as strict anymore and acted more and more like an average person, not the powerful archer she once was. Whether or not it was a good thing was still up for debate.
"So, will you hang out with Eckhart again today?" Jenny asked, juggling a piece of popsicle in her mouth as Athena shrugged and pulled a leg up to her chest where she sat.
"That is a possibility. But training may also happen during his patrol tonight. Eckhart and Oz have been sent on a scouting mission this morning." Jenny nodded until she felt a pair of hands slip around her waist.
"Hey Jen, how's my favorite archer doing?" Olsen asked, kissing her cheek and hugging her for a moment. He greeted Athena as Jack came into the clearing, brushing aside a low tree branch.
"Yep, thought I'd find you here. Hey Antonia, didja get pinned again?" Jack laughed when he saw the holes in Antonia's shirt. She pursed her lips in a pout.
"No, I didn't. Jenny just caught me off guard." Antonia shot back. Jack laughed and shook his head, apologizing soon after explaining that he remembered his first few days of training under his mom.
"Anyone seen Helen?" he asked. They shook their heads, making Jack hold his chin and think: Where would Helen go? Or rather, where would he go if he were a mage? It would need to be somewhere quiet and out of the way that not many knew about to meditate or practice his new spells or skills. After a few moments, he snapped his fingers.
"I know where she is. See you later, guys; don't know when I'll be back," he called as a rooster tail of dust followed after him. Athena smiled as she watched him fade away, turning back to the three behind her.
"Shall we procure some food to eat for lunch?" Athena asked. Jenny sighed but agreed as they left the training grounds for the exquisite lunch that no doubt awaited them.
Eleanor panted heavily, holding her staff ready for the next move. Dragon slumped to a knee, using the Dume for support as he tried to catch his breath. Dragonoir tried to pull himself up from the impression in the ground, struggling to free his arms, but he was too dizzy and promptly fell back to the ground. Maya bolted into the house, seeing the simple furniture strewn everywhere in hundreds of splinters with Dragonoir in the center of the room.
"Master!" she called, skidding to a stop on her knees next to him, picking up his head, unsure what else to do. Dragon took a few more hard breaths, picked up his Dume, and slid it back into the sheath as he stood again. Maya gritted her teeth as she looked up at them and set Dragonoir down, rushing at Eleanor with an attack spell she'd learned.
"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO…" Eleanor caught her wrist and squeezed hard enough to cut the mana flow off. Dragon drew a knife from his belt and held the cutting edge of it to her throat.
"Relax, honey. Save your strength for taking care of him. He's going to need it." Eleanor soothed before letting go of her wrist and hitting Maya with the same attack spell. Maya heaved as the air was forced from her body, dropping to the ground and gasping for air.
"Pitiful," Dragon said as the two of them left the house, chips of the New Crystals crunching under their shoes on their way to the skiff.
"Mistress Eleanor, what assurance do we have that he won't create another set of crystals?" Dragon asked as he helped her into the skiff, looking back at the small hut among the trees.
"Dragonoir seeks out power to overthrow The Master. With this embarrassing defeat, this avenue of power is no longer a viable pursuit for him," Eleanor smirked, walking to the helm. Dragon nodded until a thought came to mind.
"I must take a detour into Leafre to gather medicinal plants for a lesson of mine," Dragon said. Eleanor looked back at him as she typed in the startup sequence.
"Would you like me to come and get you once you are done?" she asked, tossing her cloak over the driving seat and seductively sitting down.
"No. I'll meet you at The Master's Castle once I finish." Dragon explained. Eleanor nodded and pushed a button with the tip of her black fingernail as Dragon disembarked.
"Very well. I shall be waiting for you, Dragon." Dragon nodded as he left while Eleanor guided the skiff toward the castle. She grinned as she thought about her student's swift progression in becoming one of the finest Black Wings officers they had encountered yet. But there was still that air of mystery Eleanor wanted to break through as questions mounted about him.
Questions like, who was his sword master? How old was he? How was he so gifted in mastering the magic she taught him when he was a pure swordsman? Who was his family? Why did he refuse the uniform of the Black Wings? What was that power he had? She had so many questions that she wanted answered, yet at the same time, she didn't want to know anything about him. Doing so may taint the attractive picture she held of him.
Checky came back with a bag containing a sandwich for Claudine. She still sat furiously looking over the 'applications' of people who wanted to join their movement against the Black Wings and make them leave Edelstein for good.
"Thanks, Chuck, just set it on my desk; I'll get to it later," Claudine said, taking off her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. The dim light from her desk lamp strained her eyes, giving her a headache. Checky shook his head as he set the bag down, walked behind Claudine, and put his arms around her shoulders.
"Checky, I can't work with you…"
"I'm sorry." That was all he said, making the two of them stop and enjoy the feeling of each other close to one another. Claudine relaxed as Checky gently massaged her shoulders, the tension melting away as his strong mechanic's hands squeezed. Deren and Belle walked into her office just as Black Jack padded over to Belle and pushed his head against her, purring in his throat as Belle petted his head.
"Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was just a bit frustrated. There've been a couple of techniques that I haven't been able to master from the book." Belle said as Claudine smiled and shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. Just make something up. You never know; it could be quite powerful if you put your spin on things." Claudine smiled, closed her eyes, and relaxed until the small brass bell in the corner of the room rang.
"The informant!" Deren called as Claudine stood and walked to the alley where they usually met.
"With oil and water, I will create a new beginning…"
"…And with sweat and grease, I will rise from the ashes." Came the voice of their informant, still invisible to them in the dark.
"So, what have you managed to learn?" Checky asked eagerly.
"Dragonoir had been working on making New Crystals, but these require that a Black Crystal be used as a base. It's an ancient process created in the days of the Sharenian that would destabilize the power of the True Crystals if they got close to the Guardians. They were destroyed, and that threat is no longer there." Claudine nodded as she processed the information.
"Anything else that is of any importance?"
"It's not of particular importance, but from what I've been able to watch, the Guardians are patching up their differences slowly. Also, I've heard they will soon take out another of the Mana Drill Castles. The Guardians don't have the strength to do it, but they will soon."
"Thank you, informant. I know you must be antsy to return, so you aren't missed." Claudine said, drowned out by fluttering leather and boot steps as they walked back into their secret headquarters. She shook her head inwardly, not wanting to hear about 'The Guardians'; Edelstien couldn't trust them.
"So Checky, I've been meaning to ask, how will you pilot your new mecha exo-suit once it's done?" Claudine called. Checky smiled as he put his bear-like welding gear on again.
"I've been working on nanotechnologies that will allow my body to interface with the exosuit, essentially using my body as the driving force while the engine keeps it running. I've also been working on getting other equipment into the suit for some other forms that will come in handy, I think." He smiled.
"Please tell me you haven't been secretly putting those nanites in our food," Claudine said, eyeing Checky from under her brows.
"No, no, no. I was never very good at manipulating mana, even as a kid. So nanites seem like the next logical choice." Claudine shrugged and kissed him on the cheek as she returned to her desk.
"Just don't kill yourself, babe!" she called as she walked into her office and closed the door.
In the mouth of a cave near the border of Mu Lung, Helen sat, listening to the peaceful atmosphere around her, continuously reciting spells and battle strategies now that she understood her fellow Guardians. A light shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans made her mind clear and calm while her new robes and staff sat bundled neatly behind her. When she finished, she pulled a knee up to her chest, looking around at the scenery, reminding her of the first time that Jack and her had come here. It was cloudy then, just like now, threatening to rain. She also remembered how Jack had run out and gotten some wood to make a small fire after the rain started. He also pulled her away when Tae Roon attacked.
"Jack…" she sighed under her breath, resting her head against her arms when she heard a voice at the top of the cave.
"I thought I'd find you here." She looked up to find Jack loosening the straps of his Beias as he walked over and stood beside her.
"Jack, how did you…"
"I just had to think what I would do if I were a mage. And what do you know, I found you right where we began." Helen chuckled and nodded.
"It's intriguing how we came here, even under the same conditions, barring Tae Roon's presence." Helen mused. Jack chuckled as he walked further into the cave, kicking the burnt twigs and logs within the fire pit. He knelt and traced his finger over some veins within a rock.
"Jack, why did you kiss Lillianne? You are aware that she's Matthew's love." Helen started. Jack sighed and just shook his head.
"Truth be told, if you'd gotten there a second sooner, she probably wouldn't have. It took me by surprise since the only girl I ever kissed was you," he said as she stared out into the forest. Jack walked out into the trees, picked up a few sticks, and made a small fire inside using a small plume of fire from his pistol.
"Come on back inside; it's gonna start raining soon." Jack chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets.
"How can you tell?" Helen asked, looking up at the sky, blinking as raindrops hit her face, coming down in torrents soon after. Helen summoned a fire spell to evaporate the rain around her to avoid drenching her shirt. Jack would no doubt enjoy seeing her shirt clinging to her physique, but she didn't want that. As she was about to enter the cave, she could no longer keep up the powerful spell, tripped on a rock, and fell face-first into a deep puddle that had gathered at the front of the cave.
"So much for not getting wet." Helen thought to herself as she picked herself up and saw that Jack was holding his hand out to her.
"Just don't look too hard," Helen said as Jack helped her up, her shirt clinging to every curve. Fortunately, the mud from the puddle obscured details. Jack smiled as he took a moment to hand his dry shirt to her, donning his vest.
"If you leave that shirt on too long, you'll catch a cold." Jack smiled, holding out the shirt to her.
"And where am I going to change that you won't see?" Helen asked with a playful yet agitated tone, picking up her robes and staff to bring them further inside. Jack shrugged.
"That's up to you. I could say I'll keep my eyes glued to the fire, but I doubt you'd trust me." Helen reached for the shirt and intentionally made her hand brush against his.
"I will trust you," Helen said with a smile—the kind that says, 'If you look, I will unleash all of hell on you.' Jack nodded, sitting next to the fire with his back to her, fighting with all he had to keep from turning around.
"I have finished," Helen called as he turned around and cracked his knuckles. He watched as Helen set her shirt on a rock next to the fire so that it would dry and sat down across from him.
"I've been talking to Matthew, getting everything settled; he and Lillianne think there was some kind of outside influence that made us all wierd. It makes sense since what happened is SO far from how we would normally act." Jack said, poking the fire with a nearby branch. Helen thought about it momentarily, trying to remember if she'd seen any spells in her studies that would allow the same events to happen. Absently, she patted her leg, almost as if she were going to bring out her phone and search the web for the answer.
"It is a sound theory, but it doesn't diminish the hurt," Helen sighed, turning her eyes to the ground, watching the fire light dancing on the ground.
"I know," Jack replied, looking out to the front of the cave for a while, listening to the rainfall.
"We really are done, aren't we?" Jack asked quietly, a heavy sigh escaping him as he tossed another piece of wood into the fire.
"Yes, Jack. We are. I hope you can understand my reasoning." Helen replied softly.
"I get it, but like you said, the hurt doesn't just go away. Do you think there's a chance for use further down the road? Once the fight with the Black Mage ends, do you wanna try again?"
"The journey to that point is long, Jack. And we could be very different people by then. With our disparate vocations, we're already much different than the people we were before coming here. I don't want you to hold onto hope for something that may never come, so I will say that our romantic relationship, enjoyable as it was while it lasted, will not happen again." Jack sighed with a long breath, staring into the fire until something caught Jack's eye at the entrance. He aimed his pistol to the mouth in a blur, and Helen readied a broiling lighting spell.
"Jack, Helen. What are you two doing here?" Eckhart asked as he removed his mask and brushed the rain out of his hair as Oz appeared next to him.
"Eckhart! You could've at least waited for me! Oh, hi, you two! Ugh, this rain is not good for my hair!" Oz complained as she pulled her hood off, running her fingers through it to detangle it.
"If you spent as much time meditating and training with your spells as you do curling your hair, I'm sure you'd be a far more powerful mage." Eckhart retorted as Oz stopped and looked up at him.
"Maybe if you spent less time with Athena, you could outrun Mihile," Oz laughed back as she tossed her hair behind her and shook the damp cloak from her shoulders, sitting by the fire to warm herself. As the rain continued to fall, it wasn't long until both Jack and Helen were asleep.
"Eckhart: I must admit your techniques have been slipping lately. Are you sure Athena isn't becoming a distraction?" Oz asked as she stood and approached him as he leaned against the cave entrance.
"This is a new experience for me, Oz. It's only been two weeks, so give it some time; I'll figure out how to balance myself. As with the training I had received, each new technique I learned made me slip a bit. But it would always return once I learned how to balance myself." Oz nodded as she leaned against his shoulder, crossing her arms and chuckling.
"Stubborn as always, but I wouldn't expect anything less from my older brother. You always were a bit of an overachiever." Oz chuckled, leaning against him. Eckhart laughed and nudged her.
"Thanks sis. But seriously, you don't have to spend so much time on your hair." Oz laughed and nudged back, sitting next to the fire again, waiting for the rain to pass. It would be a while before it would lift, perhaps even morning. Oz sighed as her shoulders fell: rain always made her cold, and being the Blaze Wizard of the Cygnus Knights made it worse.
Athena sat on her bed, looking through photos of her younger self and reliving memories of when she and Aran were kids. When they were young adults, she often spent time with the heroes after their guard shift or when they were on leave. She often wondered if she and Aran could have had a relationship then. She was heartbroken when Aran didn't recognize her after she asked to be trained by the elfin queen Mercedes. She closed her eyes and thought back to that day so long ago.
"Your Majesty? Are you the Archer trained by Minerva?" Helena asked timidly. The woman before her was the queen of her race, but her physique was trimmer and fiercer, not to mention that her twin crossbows gave her a stern, headmaster look.
"Why yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Young One. And please, here I am, Mercedes." She smiled, startling Helena and making her feel at ease.
"If that's the case, may I be trained by you?" Helena asked with hopeful eyes. Mercedes' gentle smile made her feel welcome at once.
"I believe that would be an excellent idea. Why don't I introduce you to leader Freud." She said, leading her through the many files and ranks of tents and training grounds. As they neared where Freud stood, Helena's heart skipped a beat when she saw her old friend standing beside him. She tried desperately to restrain her excitement.
"Freud, our first recruit wishes to be an archer. Do you approve?" Freud looked up from his report, his gentle sapphire eyes looking at her momentarily.
"An Archer? My, you've picked a strict teacher then. What is your name?" he asked, holding out his hand. Helena felt nervous and panicked under Aran's intense gaze.
"M-My name is Athena, Athena Peirce." Aran tilted his head slightly and nodded, taking her hand after Freud shook it. Helena's breath caught, and her cheeks flushed red. Aran still had his piercing blue eyes, which always felt like they could look through her. But the expression and his impersonal greeting left her reeling.
"Well, Athena, welcome to the ranks of the heroes. Mercedes is the best archer I know, so you'll be in good hands." Helena felt her heart had been crushed: Aran didn't remember her? She wanted him to remember so badly, especially because, on some level, Helena loved him beyond childhood friends. Despite that, she pushed aside her stunned silence and small tears.
Athena opened her eyes and looked down at a picture of herself looking back at the camera with a happy, innocent smile on her face as a child.
"Sometimes I envy you, Helena," she thought when she heard footsteps approaching her door in the pouring rain outside. Quickly, she closed the album and hid it under her bed as a knock came at her door.
"Coming!" she called, tucking her hair behind her ear as she approached the door where Aran stood with Maha attached to his back.
"Aran! What an unexpected surprise! Come in out of the rain." Aran chuckled and quickly brushed his hand back and forth through his short hair.
"Not really, damp maybe." He said.
"Do you require a towel?" Athena chuckled as she made her way to the closet in the back.
"That won't be necessary, Helena." Athena froze, her grip faltering on the towel, catching it before it fell. She tried to seem confused, handing Aran the towel, though unable to hide her trembling hand.
"Helena? Who is that?" She asked casually.
"Helena, stop it. I know it's you." Athena reached for her ear, rolling the lobe between her fingers nervously, went to the sink, and reached for a cup.
"Are you not confused with someone…"
"Helena!" Athena stopped, dropping her chin to her chest, then turned back to Aran.
"You have found me. Does that give you joy?" Athena said sternly. Aran smiled as he nodded.
"Actually, yes: when you first showed up with Mercedes all those years ago, I thought it was you, but you'd changed so much in the years that I hadn't seen you, I wasn't sure. So when you introduced yourself as Athena, it threw me off, and I convinced myself that you were just someone who looked like you. But as I watched you, I had doubts back then and now." Athena shook her head and crossed her arms, leaning against the sink and laughing.
"What was it that revealed my identity?" She asked.
"You always used to pull at your ear when you were nervous. That, and you crossed your legs so many times I thought you'd start a fire." Athena laughed hard as Aran joined her, talking long into the night.
The Black Mage rolled his neck, which popped several times as Eleanor glided in. A small robot with a small red eye followed her.
"Master, The final tests of the machines are complete. Everything should go smoothly." His eyes smiled and nodded to the machine, which returned to the Gauntlet Room where the infamous Oblivion Gauntlet waited.
"Now that we've taken care of Dragoinoir's little experiment, I don't think we need to worry about him anymore," Eleanor said smoothly as she leaned on her Master's throne. He shook his head with slow purpose while many whispers filled the air around them. A cloud of aura plumed in his palm with the image of the fake crystals.
"There is no need to worry: I have sent out a few Crimson and Geist looking for the fakes scattered across Ossyria. Meanwhile, I've found a solid lead on the last Crystal Husk, the Pink Quartz." Eleanor said as she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly. The eyes of The Black Mage narrowed as his eyes smiled his approval.
"It's somewhere in the Nihal Desert, but it is on the move; someone or something may have it with them." Eleanor continued while The Mage breathed a long, content, ethereal sigh, holding his hand out as a goblet with Eleanor's mana potion hovered to his hand.
"Once we retrieve it, all that will be left to do is wait for the children to fully train the power they have, and it will be yours for the taking." She smiled, turning back slightly when she heard Dragon enter the room.
"The Master seems to be in a good mood. What happened?" he asked, walking to his throne, seeing The Black Mage's smiling eyes.
"The news of Dragonoir's defeat and the location of the Pink Quartz husk would put any one of us in a good mood." Eleanor cooed. Dragon smirked, nodding slowly in agreement.