Masks of the Soul » Places

         

Lucas Toland | Throme

If someone asked Lucas exactly how long he stood at the bus stop, confused and speechless, he wouldn’t have had an answer. In fact, his only response would probably have been, “Too long,” – at least, that was how it seemed to him. He would, however, be able to elaborate on the things that ran through his head during the duration of time he stood there like the indecisive idiot he was.

‘Great. What do I do now?’ was his last coherent thought. The things that followed couldn’t quite be called coherent, and they were more a coalescence of feelings and impulse than anything even reminiscent of rational thought. He was torn between confusion and frustration, but his immediate and most prominent emotion was simply concern. Perhaps paranoia might have been the better word. Now Throme may have been one of the safer cities in the world, but that meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Especially with Itex around.

There was a reason they were supposed to travel as a group after all! Although they knew near nothing about the illusive organization, it was evident that Itex was powerful and deeply involved in the workings of the city. That was made abundantly clear when Mr. Torrings… passed away. He knew that, and the others should have known that too! It was clear that they didn’t because otherwise the girls wouldn’t have bickered and split up over… over transportation. The destination was the same place anyway!

… He just didn’t understand girls.

He sighed at the thought, kicking his bag. It scuffed across the sidewalk, hitting the metal pole that held up the universal bus sign. No, that wasn’t it – he just didn’t understand people in general. It was times like this that he missed Gage or Coraline. Either of them would have been able to prevent this situation. Either of them would have been so much more of an asset to this team. Always levelheaded, the former Jack was always ready for anything. The former Queen was a far more sensitive person than he ever was, and she always resolved conflict when it arose. This line of thought was depressing. “Why did you both have to leave?” Lucas muttered under his breath, before something caught his eye.

A large blue bus was coming down the road.

Immediately his hands flew for his cell phone – had it really been so long already? He’d been standing there long enough for the next bus to pull up? As if to prove that yes, he had, the bus ambled along the sidewalk before heaving itself to a stop by the sign and the boy. Lucas stared for a moment at the vehicle, wide-eyed, phone in one hand with the other tucked in his pocket… before reaching down and grabbing his bag. He’d wasted enough time thinking, reminiscing… whatever he was doing.

He claimed a seat near the back – fortunately the bus was empty enough that he had a free space next to him for his bag. However, unconsciously, Lucas tucked his bag into the corner, trying to keep it from sight. After all, due to his lack of good judgement before, he had something dangerous in that bag… No one could see him with that mask. His hand immediately reached for his throat, touching the cord that slipped under his shirt. He knew it was a risk to wear that stone around his neck as well… but that was the start of everything. He wasn’t willing to give it up.

He spent the first few minutes of the bus ride in silence, pondering, staring out the window. The city of Throme was deceptively peaceful. “It’s wearing its own mask,” he murmured with a wry smile. That was a terrible pun, but it was also true… and only those with masks themselves could see what lied beneath the cover of the city. And these thoughts brought him in a complete circle back to his initial thoughts.

Vera – the subway could be dangerous with all those people… but she was smart. Lucas probably didn’t have to worry, but that didn’t mean that he could stop. As for Amara with the taxis, it wouldn’t be the first time someone he knew was swindled out of their money…

Finally, he gave in and did something he probably should have done a long time ago.

He called Vera first, solely because she was closer to the top of his call log.

And now he waited.

         

Kaden Jannsen; Brio

A long walk later, Kaden stepped into the hustle and bustle of Brio. Despite the dying down of tourists and natives populating the shops of Maybelle Avenue, Brio had managed to retain most of its members, with the few gone likely replaced by others. Surely a testament to Brio's management, marketing, and food, it allowed the cover that Brio provided to continue. And sure enough, like normal, Brio was crowded, filled with a variety of people. For whatever reason, Rie was gone, so Gwen was rushing to and fro, overworked as usual but even more so. Ren was at the counter, smiling his usual smile and making concoctions. As Kaden walked through to the back, he passed by a booth where a familiar face sat: Aki Evedane. Why was he here? Oh well, he looked busy with the person... wait, that was a counselor, wasn't it? That explained some things...

Putting that out of his mind for now, Kaden moved to the back, caught Ren's eye, and gestured to the door, continuing at Ren's nod of affirmation. Pulling open the door, he went where they always met, every Friday since that first meeting. Judgement was going to be there, or so he assumed, and maybe some other people had decided to arrive early as well. He'd see when he arrived. In the meantime, he brought out a notepad and began sketching while walking. The varied drinks and snacks carried around by waiters made him feel in the mood to create one of his own. Maybe he'd see if they could replicate his drawings?

He only got finished with the beginnings of the first drawing during his walk. It was chocolate. Pure, utter chocolate. Well, a mix of many different types, but it was all there. A small, cubic section of cake, cut to show the many different layers, each one different from the rest - the standard milk, dark, white, along with mint, peanut butter, hazelnut, cherry, strawberry, blueberry, lemon, cream, vanilla, ground nuts, assorted candies, and probably more left unnamed or to be added, each swirled within its own grade of chocolate to create a rainbow of colors rooted in the foundation of rich brown chocolate. It would be interesting to see what they made of it, even if he wouldn't eat it. Oh, but he had arrived now. Opening the door and walking in, Kaden went to the nearest available seat to await orders. And continued drawing...

         

Amy Calen; Cenriel Academy - English Class -> Greenhouse

"So, in conclusion, we have three types of conditionals: potential, theoretical, and impossible. The difference between them is which tense of verb is used: present, perfect, and pluperfect, respectively. They also use a type of future verb, with the theoretical and impossible conditionals using words of doubt or uncertainty like 'would,' 'could,' 'might,' 'may,' and many more. We'll conclude this lesson on Monday with the placement of conditionals, real and unreal ones, and combining tenses within them..."

Mrs. Lengley had taken to teaching them about grammar lately, as she felt their writing needed more structure. Amy could hardly complain; she knew most of the material anyway, and she was making an A in this class, unlike most of her classmates (there may have been another skilled one or two in there). What really surprised her was how far below the Valencia students Cenriel students were. If she had no other reason to be here, there would be no way at all that she would have transferred. But she was curious, and she felt drawn here, by some sort of mystery hanging around, pervading the school.

The mask was the centerpiece, revolving around the Student Council. While there had been one in Valencia, it had been well-founded and strong. People knew and confided in it, and there had been elections. It wasn't made only a few years prior. It wasn't run by a woman from outside the school. It wasn't made of those people who simply wanted to be in it and who were accepted by the other members. But there was one key thing that it also didn't have: the masks. It seemed a unifying factor, like the masks chose who should be in the Student Council. Every member appeared to have one, and Amy had received one soon after transferring to Cenriel.

It was a strange thing, and she still had yet to test what it did. It made little difference; she'd find out eventually, when she needed to. For now, as the bell rang (It had already, hadn't it? The classroom was already mostly empty, with the final few trickling out.), she figured she should head out to the Greenhouse, where they were all supposed to meet. She had nothing else to do until then, so why not make sure she was on time?

She wandered over to the Greenhouse, opening it to emptiness and wandering to the back of it, passing by and through begonias, primroses, some newly added roses, petunias, daffodils, cinerarias, amaryllis, forget-me-nots, tulips, and peonies. Somehow they were taken care of, by gardeners never seen, never acknowledged. Maybe if she stayed long enough, she'd see them, maybe she wouldn't. Maybe they only came in when no one was around? What did they look like? Were they old, young? Female, male? Many, few? Like they belonged? Like they were skilled? How long would she have to stay to see them, to meet them? The curiosities of the school were many and diverse. Including the Student Council.

Yes, she was now in that group. Well, in a way, of course. Not that she was fully accepted, not that she likely would be soon. Not that she knew much of what they did, of what they battled, of whom they worked for. But she was finding out little by little and growing to like working with them against this big organization, this Itex, whatever it was. Some organization, a big one that seemed to be omnipresent. One that used the same masks that did... whatever they did.

And why the masks? Who made them? Who decided who was given them? Who decided what they did, how they worked? Was there more behind them than just masks created by a genius? Were they even created at all? What was the point, the use, the reason behind their existence? Was there something much bigger behind all this? The questions kept pouring out, and none were answered. Or, when they were, they raised even more questions to be left unanswered. Many mysteries, curiosities, many indeed...

The Student Council. Run by a Liesel Moringmer. Whoever that may be. A person not connected to the school and yet it seemed like she was fully accepted here, like she belonged and didn't need to worry about anything. And she somehow had a group of followers whom she had found... some way. These people, some were better than others of course, but they seemed to have as little of an idea of what was going on as she. And that gave Amy little confidence in this group, even if she had longed to be in the Council. But she'd last through this, get some questions answered before leaving, if she so decided. They- *slam*

A door closed, the entrance to the greenhouse, and Amy figured she should check out who it was. There was supposed to be a meeting today, right? Yes, yes... and so it was, as she walked out from the flowers - pollen, leaves, and petals down her uniform and throughout her hair, for some reason lacking a tie - to see Vera and Liesel. Maybe there was something new, maybe there wasn't, but there was one thing to be sure of: she would find out soon enough.

         

Peddler speech written by Witless.

Vera Chung | Goatstone Bridge -> Maybelle -> Greenhouse

It was a beautiful afternoon. Not only was the sky a cloudless blue, but the sun shone down with just enough intensity. While the world was not the brilliant, sparkling sculpture it was during the winter, it was getting to just the right temperature. The wind gusted again, and Vera frowned when her black skirt whipped around her knees. With a sigh, she got on the balls of her foot, thrusting her head over the top of the rough, stone wall that made up the bridge. She was only a few feet away from the statue that stood in the center of the old structure. That ugly-looking troll, though incontestably an important part of the Throme scene, was getting on her nerves with its disquieting grimace.

Vera looked down at the sparkling, dancing surface of Liron River and with a sigh, realized that it was already September 27th. The day that the letter had marked with almost torturous implications. Now that Liesel’s information had been proven without a doubt - they showed up, didn’t they? - Vera couldn’t help but believe that she should have left when she had the chance. Gage and Coraline had the right idea when they abandoned them, but now… even if she wanted to, she was sucked into the problems of Itex. But, there was no sense in fretting over this. There was no doubt that they wouldn’t win. They were on the side of justice after all, and heroes always beat villains. It was the way that the world worked. This was just a period of problems, that’s all.

Her heart calm for the moment, she turned back to the shore on her right. Maybelle Avenue, with its new reputation of hidden gangs and murderers. Perhaps… it had something to do with that Aki Evedane, but Vera would not hold her breath. Anyways - it was time for her to get back to the school greenhouse. With almost halting, stumbling footsteps, she grounded her back in reality and stepped off towards the shopping district. While it wasn’t exactly on the way to Cenriel Academy, she needed to do something to calm her nerves. It was lacking even the smallest semblance of the bustling region it had been in the past, with the shop owners calling at her vainly. Customers were few and far in between.

She flashed a smile before going to a familiar stall. “Excuse me, how much is that?” she asked, looking at a set of porcelain tea cups. While Liesel had broken them, she hadn’t gotten to the point of replacing them - plus, she had gotten used to having a cup of green tea during each meeting. The man, with dark black hair and sunglasses, was smoking, and observing one of his wares. The Peddler. While Vera wasn’t quite a repeat customer of his, she, at the very least, recognized his slouching form. He ignored her, continuing to observe something.

“How much are the tea cups?” she asked again, this time exasperated.

“Hm? What? Oh, you’re buying something, huh… Hmmph, interested in those? Suit yourself, then. You do know how rare those are? Not too many to be found.” Vera couldn’t quite understand why a tea set would be rare, but shrugged anyways. Maybe it was the design - they seemed to be quite pretty after all. “But hey, you want them, I’ll sell. At a bargain: 57 argen. Per item. You have the cash, right? If not, get lost. I have other customers…”

Vera dug through her pocket, before pulling out a black wallet. She’d buy the pot for sure, and maybe the cups… as many as she could afford. She could wait to buy the tray… if she managed to find the Peddler before they were bought. Thumbing through her wallet, she realized she had a total of 200 argen. While she would normally carry less than this, her parents were suffering under the misconception that she was going out to dinner with her friends. Handing him 171 argen, she bought three pieces from the set, out of the seven total. “Thanks, Peddler!” she called out, with a smile, before returning to her previous path. Off to Cenriel Academy~

A few minutes later, she had arrived at the welcoming gates of Cenriel Academy - none too early either. Vera waved towards the security guards, before crossing campus to get to the meeting place. The greenhouse. It was normally such a bright and cheery structure, if not a little too colorful, this time she couldn’t help but feel a sense of nervousness. Pushing open the doors to the warm room, she noticed that, just as she had expected, Liesel was already there. The woman was busy smoking a cigarette, but looked just as murderous as usual.

         

Kaden Jannsen; Sagaro Mall Floor 6 - Nebula Ice Rink (??? - 3:55 pm)

It was a warm day outside, fitting for the shorts and t-shirt that Kaden wore. A calm breeze struck up every now and then, a reminder that summer had ended to bring in the beginning of fall, only to die down quickly. The latter half of classes had been skipped over, forsaken in order to spend time writing, doing something relatively important to real life. And so Kaden had somehow ended up at Sagaro after wandering the town on this gorgeous day. And from there, the next seemingly logical place to go was the Ice Rink, on the sixth floor.

Kaden had started a new book, or at least had a few ideas for it. There was no name yet, and the main character was simply a young woman, with some power yet-to-be-determined. It took place in a strange world, on a southern continent, filled with ice and snow. It had previously stayed separate from the rest of its world, with the natives calmly going about their lives, doing what they always did. Until recently, when explorers happened across it and reported the strange powers they witnessed there. Thus started the main storyline, the interactions between the outside and inside world, between this young woman and an interested adventurer.

So the Ice Rink was of course where he needed to go, in summer clothes, no less. Not for skating, no. He'd surely fail at that. He'd tried a few times before, somehow always ending up ble- staining the ice. It was unlikely he would try again in the near future. He was still not quite over what had happened with Lucas. It's not like Kaden was avoiding him or anything, but they just happened to never meet, not since the last time Judgement had given them a mission... It was just coincidence, them never being at the same place at the same time. And he wasn't the reason Kaden had taken to skipping the latter parts of school, no. He simply saw no use for the classes. The fact that Lucas was in one of those classes hadn't even begun to register in his mind.

But yes, back on the topic of missions, Oskana and Treia had failed. Treia was punished somehow, and Oskana was taken for someone's servant, taken away from school and every aspect of her previous life. Little was accurately revealed about what had happened to her; a cover story made that said little. And they weren't the only people who had disappeared from the school recently. Coraline had been showing up less and less as her condition, whatever it was, worsened. Victor Grayson had also been sick recently, or so it was reported. At any rate, he had been absent from school for a few weeks now, and no one had heard anything from him. Gage Vandergear had moved away, to another town, leaving his friends and school behind. Many people gone in a short time, and only the beginning of school.

Oh, yes. The Ice Rink. It made sense: getting a feel of the cold, of how a newcomer would feel when experiencing this environment which he'd never before known (did I mention the newcomer came from a continent near the equator of the world? an extremely hot, desert- and volcano-filled place?). From hot to cold, suddenly in the unknown, completely unprepared for what he'd experience. And contrast that to those people who had lived there for eternities, believing it to be normal, the complete opposite of the abnormality that this explorer believed it to be. It was hard to get the full experience, but this was the closest he could think of wi-

BEEP! BEEeeEEeeEEP! Beepbeep! Beepbeep! BEEEEEEEE- *click*

It was time. He'd bought a watch, an ornate one from a strange peddler on Maybelle Avenue. It had many knobs, some which didn't seem to do anything, and it was extremely hard to read. But the alarm worked very well, and it never seemed to run slow (or fast for that matter). The key selling point had actually been the obnoxious alarm... It could actually break him out of his reveries, if at the cost of angry glances from onlookers (in this case, the ice skating class). He generally just ignored them, rushing away on to his destination, to wherever he needed to be reminded to go. Sure, the watch cost him an arm and a leg, but it was definitely worth it to not anger Itex any more than necessary (read: at all). He could always get the money back somehow.

3:55, time to start heading to Brio. Judgement would be waiting, as usual. There may be a job, there may not, but it was always best to be on the safe side and not be late. Not like the first time... He had somehow come out of that with little repercussions... Somehow... But he knew better now, for sure. Kaden Jannsen packed his bags and began the long trek to Brio and Judgement.

         

Amara "Amy" Calen; The Roof

They had gotten to the Rose Garden, and there weren't too many people around. Vera was asking questions to a random stranger, the suspicious one Amy had remarked upon earlier. It seemed like something to do with roses? What in the world was she doing? Oh well, the man left, and the only other people in sight were a man and a woman, obviously a couple enjoying their walk in the Garden. Vera seemed to be thinking, considering something before she spoke.

"So… I guess that Liesel was wrong then? Like usual? I can’t personally see anyone else that’d be doing anything that we could check out." Wait, this Liesel person was normally wrong? Then why in the world did they listen to her? Hmm... well, if that was the case, then it would make some sense as to why there was no one here. Though, in that case, this entire trip would be a waste. And she hadn't even gotten to go into the Observatory! On such a clear night, too! Well, that would have to change...

"Unless you can see something that I’ve missed that is?" Oh, that was Vera again, to her. Well, it deserved a response at the very least. Something to get her out of this and on her own, so she could go to the Observatory. If this was going to be a waste of time, it was not going to be a complete waste... Head turned to Vera, she pushed aside some stray hairs before responding.

"No, if Liesel's normally wrong, she's likely wrong now. If she said Rose Gardens, I don't see anyone here? Probably misinformation or something like that. So, if we're done here, I'll-" She cut off, a ruckus from behind startling her into turning. Startled murmurs were growing, and a young man covered in drying blood burst into the Garden running toward them. "Vera!" Lucas. Blood? Ah well, there wasn't anyone else around bleeding, but it did appear to be someone else's blood. Well, it was taken care of, whether the person was saved or not. And for some reason Mr. Student Council President didn't have the decency (or maybe it was the brains? but he did seem conscientious of it, so...) to cover it up and to stop from causing a distraction. "I’m sorry I’m so late. Did I miss anything?" Nope, but we did, apparently. Someone's blood... Not out loud of course. Now that she was facing Vera again, she continued what she was saying.

"Ah, well as I was saying, Liesel's probably wrong, and I see nothing. If you need me, I'll be in the Observatory. I'm not going to waste such a beautiful night just standing around here waiting for nothing. See you later!" Turning briskly, she rushed out of the Gardens, crossing the crowded roof, intently focused on the Observatory, where the line had diminished greatly by now. And for some reason Suna was not at her usual spot? Confused, Amara made a scan of the crowd to see if she was out recruiting potential star-viewers. Not there, not there, not there... Ah! There she was! Talking to Oskana and Treia! Well, Amara wasn't going to- A sudden gust of wind blew her hair once again into her mouth. Spitting it out, she tried to catch her train of thought again.

She turned: the Observatory. From there, Suna. And then... Following the same path, she got back to Oskana and Treia where Suna was. Oh! That's what she was going to do! Amara ran, pushing through the crowd until she got back to Oskana and Treia. "Hey guys, it doesn't seem like it was a big deal, and I got out of it! Now, let's go to the-" She turned, as if just catching sight of Suna. "Oh! Suna! It's a beautiful night, isn't it? We were just about to go to the Observatory, but I was pulled away. Did you finally buy that telescope you've had your eye on? I hope you can get it delivered soon!"

         

Damien Braveheart, Cherry Grove Park, 8:30 pm

Damien closed his eyes as he felt the night gale blew his hair. He really should hurry up and go home...maybe his Mother was worrying...Normally, Damien wouldn't even care what his parents were doing but after the long mission, he didn't feel the need to be fussed because of a tiny thing that called 'go home late'. He picked up his pace.

Ring...ring...ring...

His cellphone gave a long, shrilling noise that nearly made Damien drop his backpack and cover his ears in pain. As the music stopped for a second, the teenager quickly pulled out the cellphone and looked at the strange number, his ears were still ringing because of the music. He flipped the phone and put it near his ears.

"Hello, this is Itex. Magician, correct?"

Damien's body stiffened as he listened to the strange voice...so, Itex had already known that he had come back...their information was surely fast...He took a deep breath and nodded his head slightly even though the voice couldn't probably see it and he answered in an soft, barely noticeable voice.

"Yes, master...It is I, the Magician, your faithful servant...even though at the moment, I am not wearing the gift you have bestowed upon me...I have come back from the one-month mission...and have written my report...do you wish for me to report to you right now, Master? or is it your wish to read the report that has been written by me?"

His throat felt slightly dry as he finished his short speech...He was not used to talking so much after all. Running a hand through his hair, Damien waited patiently for the speaker to speak again. He crossed a street, the cellphone held tightly in his hand.

"Very well, Magician. I'd like you to report immediately - this information is vital to the Itex cause..."

There was a short pause and the teenager closed his eyes as he stopped suddenly, staring at the empty park with emotionless eyes. Why didn't his Master finish talking? What's wrong?

"...And I prefer mistress, not master...."

Oh...that was the reason...Damien took several steps forward again, pondering about how he should ask for forgiveness. At last, he settled in a simple speech he made up on the spot.

"Yes, Mistress...forgive me for my unthoughtfulness...I shall report right away...It is my greatest regret. The mission is not successful. In the time when I spent there, I discovered that the piece of Grace Stone is only a faked one. The owner of said faked piece has been eliminated to prevent further threat for the organization...In normal term, I believe humans will often say 'I have been sent on a wild goose chase'...however, this mission is not futile...As the mission proceeded, I have made a list of legends about a magical stone and have crossed out the ones that I am strongly certain that it is not about the Grace Stone...I shall send you the list the next Friday or tonight if you want me to, Mistress..."

"Very well, the sooner the better. Is there anything else that you may want to report?"

" I do believe this is it...for now, Mistress...I will send you a detailed report the next time I come and receive a mission...are there any new missions you wish for me to take?"

The phone-call ended abruptly without any warnings and Damien looked at it carefully to see if he had pressed any wrong buttons or said anything that might offend his Mistress...Frowning slightly, Damien tucked the phone back to his pocket. He could not think of anything he said that might do this to his Mistress...It was clearly as day that Damien Braveheart had tried very hard and chosen his words so very carefully in order to please Itex. Maybe...she didn't have anything to say anymore. He began walking again as he held his backpack a little tighter than normal. He couldn't even walk for 10 minutes as the phone rang again and this time, Damien did drop his pack in surprise. Quickly picked up his things, Damien flipped his phone opened again and listened to the voice with some uncertainty. What did the Mistress want? Had he done something that displeased her?

"There was a small distraction that I had to deal with. On that note, there is nothing that Itex needs you to do - be sure to meet up with Judgement at Brio next week at the regular time. Don't be late. I suppose you shouldn't need the reminder."

Damien nodded his head again, quickly walked passed several people as they stared at him, his face was still as emotional as a wooden board could get. He spoke again and waited for the call to end.

"As you wish, Mistress...I will not be late for the mission assignment.."

"Very well. You had better not fail Itex this time."

The woman said and ended the phone call finally. Damien felt his body relaxed slightly. No matter how loyal he was to the Itex or how many times he had met them, he would always feel uncomfortable when he forced to talk so much and for so long. Snapping the phone closed with a flick of his wrist, Damien bit his bottom lip as he finally arrived to his 'home sweet home'. Sighing softly, the teenager raised his hand and knocked the door. There was no point in standing here all night...he might as well get over with the fussing...

         

Kaden Jannsen; Sagaro Basement

"Ah, I... Sorry. I'll just, um... I'll be going then." Ah, Lucas sounded so concerned, startled, confused... This seemed like a blow to him, something that he had no idea to handle. It left a bad feeling in Kaden's heart, in his chest. But he had had to do it; there was no other choice. The bl- not-paint was disorienting, making him want to flee in terror. But he couldn't, at least not physically. And if it had lasted much longer, he surely would have fled behind the mask, no matter the consequences. So he had saved Lucas, right? It was better in the long run, and his task could be completed, finally. He could smooth things over, explain himself to Lucas, later, much later. Once Lucas had a clean shirt and Kaden had calmed down...

The pounding in his head, the ringing in his ears, they were slowing down, calming. He just sat there, sure that Lucas was gone, but still unable to lift his head to check, to guarantee. A draft in the parking garage flipped his sketchpad to the next page, fully revealing the license drawing, visible even between Kaden's legs. It was confusing, straight black and white, lines drawn onto a page, patterns going every which way. The letters J and S were visible, along with F, i, h, v, y, U, f, A, P, g, t, E, W, R, m, I, and maybe even a few more. And numbers were visible too, 8 and 7 of course, but the other digits existed as well. Lines, patterns, shapes, numbers, letters, words, punctuation, symbols, ordered, randomly placed, grouped, scattered, empty spaces, places filled with so many things they turn black and unreadable. It was chaotic and jumbled, but the only thing out of place was the hyphen, hidden in the black lines. The only hyphen in the picture, marking the license plate as the real hidden message in an otherwise abstract, intricate, intriguing piece of art. But only he would recognize it, at least without spending too much time studying the drawing. It was well done if he said so himself.

Above Kaden, the clock tolled again, this time at the forty-five. 9:45, only a quarter hour until the deadline. He reached into his bag and pulled out the box, finally standing and walking over to the car next to him, the destination, the final stop of his job. Opening the trunk, he deposited the sleek, black box, wanting nothing to do with it anymore this night. Slamming the trunk, he turned around and walked to the escalator, going up and striding out the door, headed home.

It was a long walk home, but that was okay. He had a lot to think about. The Itex job, the flying woman and Judgement, the other people in Itex and whatever their jobs had been. Had the Chariot gone and given her mask away? What was the Tower's job? How did the Star and Hermit fare? And what was with Coraline? She had freaked out and needed his help, and Lucas'. And why did Lucas have so much... well, blood, on his shirt? Someone had to have been hurt in order for that to happen, but who? And by whom? What would his next task be? Did the mask really do as they said, as he believed? He hoped he didn't have to find out, and if he did, he hoped it wouldn't be soon...

He snuck into his room, climbing through the window into his room. Whether his parents cared or not didn't bother him, but he wasn't going to enter the front entrance and listen to their admonishing. He just wanted peace and quiet, sleep, hopefully restless today? Though likely not... He figured he'd see dreams about today's happenings, about the events in his book, but they were simply dreams, and they would be gone by the next morning. He lay down, closed his eyes, and waited to drift off to sleep, happy to sleep in, if he could, on the next day, the weekend.

         

Deus ex Kaos - Liron River Pier

Dek meandered along the pier by the light of the moon. There was a spring to his step of one who was incredibly happy-go-lucky but it seemed disturbing to see a man like Dek walk that way. To any observer who would even think twice about looking at him more than once, he appeared to be a careless man strolling around at night. On a pier. With a massive hammer. And a disturbing mask. You would never have guessed that he had just committed murder in cold blood. Given the opportunity, he would do the same act again and again and again. Luckily for the general populace, no soul was even relatively near Dek at that time.

Dek suddenly froze. He could hear a faint buzzing noise. A light vibration accompanied the buzzing noises which now came in triplets. Reaching into the back pocket of his pants, Dek pulled out a mobile phone. The small screen on the lid displayed a string of numbers that were foreign to him. Behind the mask, an evil gleam shone in his eyes. Another potential victim? Fantastic! And they even came to me instead of me paying them a visit! How delightful! He was about to flip open the phone when something stirred within him. The phone fell to the pier as a pale silvery light shone from behind the mask. ..on't... hurt... -ra... Dek howled in fury as he was being forcibly separated from Zensa's body.

Zensa Valobo - Liron River Pier

It took a prodigious amount of mental focus to take control of his own arms again. The battle of wills between himself and Dek seemed to drag on for an eternity. With a final burst of will, Zensa forced his arms to reach up and take the mask off. The shadowy clothing that had covered Dek disappeared in wisps of blackness, leaving only Zensa's street clothes behind. The hammer itself seemed to melt into the dark spaces between the boards of the pier. He stooped to pick up his phone, wincing slightly as he felt the gash in his chest twinge. In one motion he flipped the phone open and put it to his ear.

"Hello? This is Zensa, how can I help ya on this fine evening?"

         

Aki Evedane; Floor 1 [Sagaro Mall]

Ignoring Vault’s strange fixation on handing him a ostentatiously colored hammer, Aki brushed past him before collapsing on the bright orange armchair in the center of the room. He winced slightly - he had forgotten all about the wound on his back. Gingerly sitting back up, he looked at the boy who had helped him. This Kingpin continued to stand in the doorway, his blank eyes taking in the strangeness of the pharmacist in Sog - Sagaro.

It was true that Aki would rather have someone else in charge of this pharmacy, but it was the only place in Throme with the cherry-flavored pills that he so favored. Plus, strangely enough, Vault served his purpose in getting him to ignore the pain and aches that came with his injuries. Vault turned around and started to fiddle through one of his cabinets, this time pulling out a large cooking pan. The strange old man turned to Aki, before shoving the hammer back in his direction, and the pan held loosely in one hand.

Thankfully, Lucas stopped him from launching into some convoluted statement by speaking. “Excuse me, could you please give him some medical attention? You said this was a pharmacy right? If you need money for the supplies, I can pay at least part of i-” The Kingpin started to dig through his pocket, when he took out a cell phone. Looking at the screen for a few moments, he then gave them a small smile. “I’ll just take this call.” Aki wondered what exactly could have prompted such a reaction, but decided to ignore it. It must be student council duties or the like - everyone knew how Lucas was ever so busy. Anyways, it was better for him that he left, dealing with Lucas’ clingy attitude was so much of an annoyance. The call couldn’t have picked a better time to come in, as without it, Lucas would have insisted on staying for quite some time.

“Vault,” he called out, taking the offered hammer with one hand. It was awfully heavy for his weakened state, and with a muffled curse, he dropped it on the ground. The old man shot him a glower, before picking up the garish object with one hand. “I might need some help with the treatment. So there’s no point in any more of your pointless idiocy.” He figured that since he was already seen traipsing around Sagaro on the shoulder of the Kingpin, his pride may as well go and disappear into a hole: for now. “The highest quality bandages, and the cherry painkillers. You know I have the cash for it, so no complaints.”

Vault gave a smile, ignoring the comments. “Zombies don’t need to get medicine.” He tossed the heavy bat in one hand, catching it neatly. Aki frowned slightly - somehow, being with this man was akin to being tortured... he lacked any self control or even a mild sense of decorum.

“Vault,” Aki’s voice was cold in annoyance. It was just like the old man to do such an act when time was of the essence. At times, he couldn’t tell if Vault’s strangeness was an act or his real personality. “just get on with it.”

Vault gave a loud, and overly dramatic sigh. “What do you mean ‘get on with it.’? And if you’re turning into a vampire, could you please send me a picture of your fangs? That one forum…”

This is when Aki’s finely-held temper finally snapped. “I’m warning you. I need to get patched up, and immediately. I don’t care about your little forums or your strange taste in accessories. Just give me what I need, and then, I’ll leave and stop intruding on your Arturia.” His voice, while not necessarily loud, was firm, and with a burst of willpower and energy, he stood up, albeit a little shakily, and strode towards the closest shelf, and attempted to pick up a roll of bandages.

When his fingers slipped, Vault was immediately there with a mocking look shining through his dark eyes. “Now, that was the Achy that I was looking for,” he muttered, before picking up the bandages for him. “Get back to the couch - I don’t have time to be helping little kids who can’t even pick up objects properly.”

Aki sighed once again, but remained standing there. “I’ll be needing a few more of those for personal use, and painkillers.” His hand swept to the left, to the large pile of pills. “And of course, you’ll have to disinfect the wounds and everything.”

Vault frowned in his direction. “Now, now, Achy. I can realize that even when you’re so useless, you don’t want to admit it, but I’m too kind.” He gave a cheery, wide smile that stretched until it almost didn’t fit on his face. “You don’t know what I should do. So just go back to the couch and rest up. Let the intelligent people deal with the thinking. Humans know how to do stuff, you werewolf.”

“I thought I was a zombie.”

He flapped one hand nonchalantly in Aki’s direction. “Same thing, same thing.” Grabbing a mountain of objects and strange boxes with one hand, he grabbed Aki from his less-injured arm and almost forcibly dragged him into the back, where a large room, with a medical table stood in the middle. Far from the sterile appearance of hospitals, there were mountains of pans and boxes everywhere, even piled into the smaller sink on the opposite side of the room.

Aki untangled himself from Vault’s grasp and walked over to the medical table, before sitting on it with a sigh. “Glad to know that you’re still on Earth, Vault.” Casting an askance look at the mess, he muttered under his breath, “I thought the authorities told you to clean your storage area a while ago.”

Vault turned and looked at the full sink with a sigh. Placing the objects he was carrying on a small cart next to them, he started to work on cleaning it up, somewhat. ‘Achy would make such a big fit if he didn’t see me watching my hands.’ He stuck two calloused hands into the mess, and picked up a large dented pot. Frowning at himself, he dropped the objects in the sink, three pots, two pans, a fake sword, and a dented pail, on the ground, and proceeded to turn on the water. Now, where had the soap gone…

Ah, over there. He strode, as quickly as he could, across the room, and pulled the bottle of liquid soap from on top of an empty flower pot. He peered into the transparent plastic bottle, before smiling again. “Hey, Achy, it seems like I’m out of soap.”

“… Don’t tell me you’re serious.” Aki sat up even straighter, and started to peer at the near-empty clear bottle with worried eyes. “You’re not touching me with dirty hands. Who knows what you do in your free time.”

“Hm. Maybe there’s still a little bit left?” He shook it up and down, before peering at it some more. The minute bit of soap was a milky white, and difficult to see.

“Go and get more - and a brain, while you’re at it,” retorted Aki, irritated at the delay.

Vault pursed his lips in irritation, but continued to peer at the soap. “Nope, nope, it appears I spoke too soon. Some pixie or whatever must have borrowed it, and decided to return it just at this minute. There’ll be enough~.” Walking slowly back to the sink, he ran his hands under the still-running tap, before applying a small dash soap to them, lathering for a few moments, and then rinsing them again. “Now my hands are all clean, where shall we start?” Picking up a washcloth from the cart, he dried his hands fastidiously.

“You clean the wound.” Aki continued to watch Vault’s preparations with unflinching blue eyes. There was no knowing what the strange old man would try to do while his back was turned.

“What does a banshee know about healing people anyways? Achy, you need to get some friends,” he stated in a matter-of-fact manner, but with a grin plastered all over his face. He turned around, before picking up a plastic bottle and another clean cloth.

“Excuse me?” Aki could do little more than stare at the man with confusion in his eyes. Friends had nothing to do with anything - and they weren’t even necessary in the least.

“If you had friends, you wouldn’t have gotten beat up so badly.” Vault walked closer to the black-haired boy, before pushing him down on his back. Picking up the bottle, he uncapped it, and dropped the white cap on the ground. Aki gave a start towards the lid, before Vault used his now-free hand to push him back to a reclining position. “Stop moving, Achy.” Placing the cloth tightly over the opening of the bottle, he turned it upside-down. As the liquid soaked through the bottle, he tilted it back right-side up, and placed it on the ground, carefully so as to prevent spills.

Then, folding the white cloth into fourths, he rolled up Aki’s tattered clothing with a sigh, before unravelling the now red-bandage from the wound. Even though he had treated Aki before in the past, he sucked in his breath when seeing the wound itself. “Achy, I thought I told you that I wanted a zombie that wasn’t injured. What did you do to my wish?”

There was a period of irritated silence, before Aki finally deigned to shrug. “Whatever.”

Taking the cloth in one hand, Vault frowned irritated. “Now get yourself over here. I can’t simply wipe such a large injury. I would have expected better from you, Achy, even though you’re this zombie.” He pulled Aki up, a little roughly, before walking to the other side of the room, and picking up a pot, and putting it under the faucet… which was still running.

Aki stumbled closer, before standing halfway between the bed and the sink, balanced awkwardly on one leg. When the pot was full, Vault picked it up, strong, despite his age, and sloshed it over Aki’s leg. Aki winced when the cold, almost freezing water, hit his leg and soaked his pants as well. Vault then looked more closely at the injuries, and unravelled the other bandage, on Aki’s upper arm. He walked back to the sink to refill the pot, before heading to his little cart with a few more objects laying around on it.

“Do you want stitches or not?” he called, over his shoulder. “Zombies look better with stitches… so you’d better want them.”

Aki shook his head. “I’ll be fine without them.” He looked down - although severe, it wasn’t as bad as to necessitate stitches. Maybe. He didn’t think that Vault had the necessary training to do so either.

Vault pouted, before walking back over to the overflowing pot, and carried it over to Aki. This time he remembered to turn off the water. “Hold out your arm, Achy,” he grumbled, before pouring the water over the wound. “Now that everything’s all clean…” His voice trailed off as he dropped the pot on the ground behind him, and continued to manhandle Aki back to his medical bed.

Then, as Aki laid down, Vault took a look at the various wounds all over his body. Smirking slightly, he picked up yet another washcloth - this one was pink, and then started to pat Aki dry. After a few minutes of this painstaking action, he took out a few strips of sticky skin-closure tape and secured them firmly on the edges of the leg wound to keep it closed. Vault’s dark eyes narrowed in concentration before he turned his attention to the wound on the arm. All of the other wounds could wait until later. Repeating the same action, he, then, reached out with one hand and lifted Aki up from his prone state. “Achy - anywhere else that aches?”

Aki nodded, before turning to lay on his stomach. “Back,” he murmured, as Vault’s hands pulled up his shirt. Taking the white cloth that he had wet with the saline solution, he ran it over the blotchy skin there. Taking more of the skin-closure tape, he taped over the wound, almost with a hesitancy in his action. Then, leaving Aki alone on the bed, he left the storage room for a few minutes. His hands reached into his pockets, there had to be enough money to pay for Vault. His searching fingers met nothing but air and water, and he mumbled some irritated words under his breath.

When Vault returned, holding a roll of bandages, Aki opened his mouth to speak. “Forget this, Vault.” His cold smile showed a certain bit of pride, before he made ready to leave.

To his greatest shock, Vault simply gave a smile. “Are you an idiot, Achy? If you don’t have enough money now, I’ll just charge interest~ Plus, your little friend offered to pay for the supplies. I’ll just ask my pixie friends to collect it for me later.”

There was yet another awkward pause as Aki debated how exactly to answer this man. In his confusion, the old pharmacist managed to cross the distance between them, and tossed the roll of bandages towards Aki. It hit him squarely on the chest, and rolled off the bed, unravelling as it went. Picking it up, he started to roll it around his leg, winding it around and around…

         

Kaden Jannsen, Aven Lengell; Sagaro Mall Floor 5 -> Basement

*tap* *tap* *tap* Rhythmically pressing the button, Aven shot his missiles toward the enemy aliens. This was a much better game, and having an audience somehow helped. It calmed him down, pushed him to show off and do more than he ever could have expected. He was already past his previous score, and he had more lives than would be shown on screen. Sure, it was mean to not die, to not let his student have a chance, but there was no way he was giving up his streak simply to be nice to someone. Anyway, he had been nice; he had shown the student (he couldn't waste the energy searching for a name) some tricks: the timing of the waves, the different types of enemies and how points worked for them, the usage of the tractor beam to get a double ship. Wasn't it worth it simply to sit there and watch a master at work? He'd get his chance, and until then, he'd be entranced by Aven's prowess at the game. Sure, Aven couldn't look over now, but he was sure that student was already sitting mesmerized. It made perfect sense. He was already nearing a million, and there was no sign of him faltering any time soon. This would be the day he beat the high score, even if ACE had beaten him by over two million... He'd show him not to mess with AWL anymore... *tap* *tap* *tap*

Kaden watched as Aven flew through the game, killing enemy after enemy, missing few if any of his shots, each attack going where it was supposed to, each enemy dying soon after arriving on screen, the timing perfected to make getting maximum points easy. This was truly a master at work. Kaden was getting drawn into the game just by watching, and ideas kept flowing into his head. Why not make a character so entranced by a game that he was eventually absorbed into it, became a part of the world, began to live in the world he was so enamored of? Why not make a futuristic world where gaming was just a part of everyday life, maybe where everyday life took place, a virtual reality world that had replaced the Earth when it had gone to ruin? Why not make a book about space battles, about a man saving his planet, the galaxy even, from hostile alien invasion? Or even just document the travels of a character traveling through space? And with space comes the connected idea of time. So time travel? That could be very fun to write, and would it be backward or forward? Where would the character be going and why? How would changes in the normal order of things affect the "present day" time? Would things be automatically corrected? Would it just be impossible? Would it be as if in the history that we know it, the time-travel person was already there, even if he himself didn't know it? Or would the changes actually affect things? And how greatly? Would there be some measures to stop people from changing the future, or some way the fix the changes? Hmm... that could be an interesting thing to do, making it so- Suddenly, he was drawn from his reverie by a loud noise, a bell tolling repeatedly, sounding throughout the entire mall. He glanced at the game, surprised that it was already over a million, but it made sense, since he hadn't been bothered by Aven to go and take his turn. He felt bad about missing out on finishing the game, but he had a job to do, and he wasn't going to be late to this one.

Glancing at the clock to make sure it truly read 9:00 pm, Kaden got up from his seat. "I'm truly sorry, but I have to go now. There's something that I need to buy, and then I need to go home. Maybe we can do this game another day? Good luck!" Aven didn't so much as glance at him, but it seemed like he gave a slight nod. At any rate, Kaden simply walked quickly out of the arcade and walked toward the escalator. Remembering a few hours ago, he changed his mind and took the long way to the basement: the elevator. He pressed the button and waited, watching as the number slid down to the basement (down? Yes, it truly was going down...) and then paused before going up, stopping at 3 and then stopping again at 5. There was another person on the elevator, and he was still going up, it seemed. The elevator went up two floors and stopped at the seventh, letting the man off. In the meantime, Kaden continued sketching in his sketchpad and waited for the elevator to begin its plunge to the bottom. There seemed to be stops on every floor now, but Kaden stepped out finally into the basement along with a few others, checking the number he was searching for once more before closing his pad: JS-878.

As he was about to go searching the cars, he noticed a boy standing in the lot on his phone, looking confused and for some reason slightly out of place. It was Lucas, the student council president, and luckily he hadn't seen him yet. How would Kaden explain what he was doing here? What could he use as a cover before the car left? As he searched around for a suitable hiding place, he noticed a familiar-sounding license plate: JS-878, between 8ST-3N0 and Y6-84Z. Luckily, it was behind Lucas, so he wouldn't see him if he went there, but it was safest to wait until he was gone. An idea popped into his head, and he moved to 8ST-3N0 and sat down in front of the dark green convertible, leaning back against it as he opened his sketchpad and began drawing while paying close attention to the movements of Lucas. And from here, he could hear the last few words said over the phone. "...in the parking lot." So he was here for a reason? Kaden continued to listen to the conversation as he drew absentmindedly, building his alibi for being here and keeping watch on his target at the same time. He would find a time to slip in the package if at all possible, but he would not fail this mission, no matter what. Now he just had to wait for Lucas to go away and do whatever he needed to do...

         

Aven Lengell, Kaden Jannsen; Sagaro Mall 5th Floor

Things were not starting out well. Sure, he had double ships. Sure, he had five hundred thousand points already. Sure, this could be considered a good game. By some people. But Aven was on his last ship. Where had his touch gone? By now he would have at least five ships though normally more. Something was bothering him... He let the ship die and turned around, ready to take a break, calm down, get back into the rhythm of the game. But he was stopped by a remark.

“Wow, you’re awesome! I’ve never seen anyone play like this before!” There was a kid (his student?) in front of him, a red-haired boy with sketchpad in hand who seemed entranced by the game he had just finished playing. That horrible game... How could he think it was actually any good? Oh well, he could humor him for a while, maybe get his touch back. In response, “Thanks... Kaden!” (The name had finally come to him after a brief pause. This was the new transfer student at Cenriel.) “If you’d like, you could play with me? Two-player has its charms. And it does look like you want to play, correct? Come, sit down for a while and play against me!”

Kaden looked startled, surprised, and then worried. He glanced behind him at something outside the Arcade. However, he looked back almost immediately and responded, “Sure, I have a little time, why not? You’re definitely skilled; there’s a lot I could learn. I just hope I don’t lose too horribly...”

Aven laughed in response, “Don’t worry, there’s nothing competitive about this game. You win some, you lose some, the world goes on anyway. Just have fun in the meantime, enjoy yourself, lose yourself in the game! Here, I’ll even pay for you!” He slid two argen into the machine and pressed 2-player. His hand on the joystick, a finger on the button, he entered the game and started the lesson. “You’ll be second player, so watch me for now. One trick is to get a second ship early on. There will be a Boss that tries to get your ship...” He continued to explain a few of the tricks he’d learned, eager to teach his new pupil. Maybe this would be a better game after all...