Haze & Chaos - Reunion B Part 9
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“I hope Sport’s okay without us…” Faustus stated as he checked the cards on the stone block they were sitting around. He was playing blackjack with Mira, Barry, and Vapor 6… and he was losing. To be fair so was Mira and Barry, and it did not help that his focus was thrown off by Perkele hurrying down the stairs and nearly colliding with him. “HEY, WATCH IT BUDDY–WE’RE PLAYING RIGHT HERE!” That caused Perkele to pause for a second and give them an incredulous look before he hurried on out of there.
Mira’s eyes went wide as she took a breath. “Dear… you realize who that was right?”
Barry gave off a worried hum of electricity as Perkele vanished out of sight. “Should we go after him?”
Vapor 6 glanced around, glowed a faint blue for a second, then returned his attention to the game. “Well Yale isn’t out here telling us it’s an emergency, so I’d imagine things went fine and Perkele is in full retreat…” He then tried his best to mask a smile with his poker face. “Come on, we’re almost done here, hehe…” He had got to play as the dealer and had a very good feeling… He revealed the second card and won. “YES!” he cheered as the others groaned.
“And this is why we never let Vapor be the dealer,” Barry pointed out with a chuckle as he collected his playing cards off the block. “He’s got a lucky streak just as bad as Gummi’s…”
Faustus sighed as he rested his head on his fist, sitting cross-legged to think. “You know? Allon and Abelone are criminals, but I hope they didn’t get too mangled up…”
“I’d imagine they’ll be fine once they’re back home,” Mira deduced.
“Jeez, just what is wrong with that place?” he wondered as he looked back towards the temple.
Barry stood up, walked over to the stairs, and put his foot on the first step. It reminded him of The Lost Era and filled him with a sense of nostalgia. “Technically The Lost Era had time and progression, just not like modern time–despite being eternal, things still happened and there was progress. If there was no progress, none of us would be there today, and I’d argue even The Lost Era itself recognized this…” He then climbed up the steps and hurried back down. “Inside the temple is similar to The Lost Era, which may be bringing out potential at a rate we–you guys cannot understand… Magic was weird during The Lost Era.”
Vapor 6 considered what Barry had said and thought about it for a second, nodding with a brief glow of light. “That could be the case, as I’d imagine clashing conditions for magic wouldn’t go over well unless you’re actually from The Lost Era–And lord knows realms from The Lost Era have bled into the modern era, which could mean that the conditions from the era are more prevalent than we thought. The Heaven of The Lost Era showed up in the void after all…”
Barry shuddered with an unpleasant-sounding crackle of electricity. “Please don’t bring that up, Vapor…”
“Wow, that bad, aye?” Faustus asked, receiving a nod from Barry.
Mira sighed, her breath warmer than it usually was, indicating her anxiety. “I just hope the group was okay. They just went in there like it was nobody’s business…”
Barry nodded, then noticed who was exiting the temple. “Oh hey, Will!” he said, startling the other three.
“Barry, what are you doing here?” he asked as the group walked down the stairs. Will promptly received a hug from Mira and Faustus.
“I heard through the grapevine what was going on… and was a bit late it turns out…”
Vapor 6 shook his head. “He just had to edit one of his new music tracks real quickly…” This made everyone laugh.
“Great backup…” Liss-Zael lightheartedly chided. “But better late than never I guess… even though we have things taken care of.”
Mira looked around, seemingly searching for something. “Did you guys manage to…?”
Akaya held up the fragment with a smile. “Right here, mostly without a hitch.”
“Then we should head back haste-post!” Barry declared.
“Posthaste, Barry,” Vapor 6 corrected, making the others chuckle to Barry’s mild embarrassment.
Ripsaw stretched his back and began leading his friends down the path. “Welp, we’re going to bounce, if it’s all the same…”
“You guys sure you don’t want to join M.A.I.G. or The Liger Brigade?” Vlastimir put in.
Ripsaw knew that was going to come up again, and sighed with a smile on his face. “You know what? Keep the door open for us just in case.” That made Vlastimir smile, with the rest of the group sharing the sentiment. “And Will–if you ever need help and we’re in your neck of the woods–give us a call and we’ll be there.”
“Will do, Malte–thanks,” he replied.
“You guys know how to have a good time,” Esteri complimented with a snap of her fingers… barring a certain mishap within the temple.
Ripsaw then noticed Anker looking worried as he crept off. “Anker, what’s the matter? Something wrong?”
“He’s here… there… over here?” he muttered as he nervously glanced around knowing he had caught something out of the corner of his eye.
“THERE YOU ARE, YOU LITTLE SMARTASS!” A furious man’s voice yelled as someone in a black and red bodysuit yanked Anker into what looked like a classical-styled war room. “OH BOY, ARE YOU GOING TO GET IT!” he further scolded as the portal closed in a puff of smoke and sparks.
Everyone was silent for a moment, with Ripsaw breaking that silence. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? IS HE OKAY!?”
Akaya nodded, having caught who it was that yanked Anker away. “Oh, that was–that was Animus Sicarius. You’ve crossed paths with him, haven’t you?”
Liss-Zael nodded as he stroked his chin. “So General Bellator is interested in all this? I guess that explains why Anker was here in the first place.”
Ripsaw glanced back and forth, and went over to where the portal was to look for it… even though he knew it was no longer there. “Hold up–Anker was the one insistent on us coming here in the first place! Did he–did he…?”
Esteri bubbled her lips in confusion and frustration. “Well I could go for a drink right about now…”
“You and me both…”
Just then a spectral saw cut a portal out of the air and in it was Allon and Abelone, standing in what looked like a calm, classy bar. “You kids need a lift?” Allon asked, holding a pint.
“Just get me out of here…” Ripsaw groaned as he and Esteri entered the portal. “Oh, Will–Clara says hi.” And with that the portal closed with the sound of a zipper closing.
Will sighed. “Well that’s cool–glad to know she’s doing well. Sam, I’d dare say we should get home before Orion has a conniption, ha.”
“Yeah–I hope he isn’t worrying too much…” she remarked as she reverted back to Sam.
“Vlastimir, Eka–are you heading our way or are you heading back to Romania?”
“Romania, as mom and dad probably want to know what happened,” Vlastimir answered.
Ekaterina nodded as she patted him on the shoulder. “I’d dare say that was enough fun for a couple of days…”
“A walk in the park compared to The Dark Grand Desert!”
“Oh you!” she said as she shook him by the shoulder, making them all laugh.
It was a quick trip back to Milan’s mansion for Will and company to gather any belongings and head off to Ertheval Grand Central Station. Milan and Aelia hated to see them leave, but they all had to head back home eventually–lest Orion lose his marbles over what he had most likely sensed. Akaya and Liss-Zael bid the eight farewells and hung back at the mansion as there were definitely things to discuss in regards to what had happened. In particular it was the implications and some things Liss-Zael had to get off his chest. As Famine walked into the library after having said goodbye to the group, she stopped in her tracks seeing Akaya and Liss-Zael, figuring they would have headed home too.
“Oh geez–Liss, Akaya–I’m so sorry!” she started to say.
Liss-Zael shook his head and held up his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Famine–it is what it is…” Akaya nodded along to this sentiment.
“Oh, um, okay then…” she sighed, not happy over the stress she was causing them. “Mom, Dad? I got those groceries you asked for,” Famine said as she set the brown paper bag she had been carrying on the table.
“Thank you, dear,” Aelia said as she helped get out some stones and alchemical materials wrapped in plastic.
Yale went down to the table to get a look at what had been purchased. “So I guess Will and Haze are toting around Lost Era magic…”
Milan nodded as he took one of the items he had asked for. “That’s what I had been figuring for some time, given the research Lia performed for The Homunculus Project.”
Victor rubbed his face and exhaled. “I would have preferred we tested that ability out before Will put Haze on, but too late for that now…”
“If it’s any consolation, The Mad Flame offered to tutor them,” Yale said with a chuckle.
Akaya then set the fragment down on the table, with it humming for the briefest of seconds upon touching the table. “The Mad Flame definitely had a lot of interesting things to say, but it’s Perkele’s reasons for being there that have me more concerned. Are we in agreement that he’s definitely working with Mephistopheles?”
“No two ways about it at this point,” Victor concluded. “This will either be a good thing or a bad thing for us.”
Liss-Zael groaned. “I know his type… which frustrates me because I can’t say yay or nay to this…”
Milan put his hands together and twiddled his thumbs. “Well we don’t have a reason to not trust him, but at the same time he is the kind of man always looking for an opportunity…”
“Either way we’ll just have to deal with it,” Victor dryly noted.
There was a round of nodding, whose silence was broken when Famine remembered something she had to get off of her chest. “Found out where that bogus information I got right after The Red River City Incident came from…” She waited for everyone to become curious. “That bitch Hecate…”
Everyone was a little startled by her language, with Aelia patting her on the shoulder. “Easy on the language, dear–don’t let the foul warlock get you too worked up…”
“And you want to know who told me that info was fake? Gudrun of all people. I get why Fausta hates Hecate so much now…”
Milan then got out his notebook and jotted something down. “Given how far back their conflict goes, I’m not surprised. Also don’t worry, Famine–we found the correct information too.”
Famine groaned. “It still frustrates me to no end…”
Liss-Zael chuckled as he took a seat. “Aw don’t worry about it–we all get hoodwinked at some point or another. Mto knows how you feel. So what are we going to do with this fragment?” The fragment had been glowing with a faint, red light that had grown more intense as if someone was approaching.
“I’ll take care of it for you, guys!” Nosmirc happily declared as he strolled up to the table, followed by the man in the black and red bodysuit (with a similarly colored long coat).
“Hey, everyone,” the man said. “Don’t worry about Anker–I just had to get on his case for his behaviour earlier.”
“Animus, good to see you again!” Milan welcomed. “What brings you here?”
He sighed as he took a seat, scratching his black and red hair. “I swung by Carcosa earlier–Kthulku had to deal with another moron trying to claim The King’s crown, but he was able to handle it. No signs of Surtr or The Sons of Muspel, thankfully… Of course I had to deal with those Derek and Avery goobers again… AGAIN–Good lord, they just don’t get it…”
“Goodness,” Nosmirc said with sympathy in his voice as he took the fragment and teleported it away. “Did I miss Will?”
“Just missed him,” Yale answered.
“Shoot, I wanted to say hi to him too,” Animus added.
Milan stroked his chin, a suspicion towards Nosmirc all but confirmed. “You know, Nosmirc–that fragment used to belong to The Crimson God…”
“Oh?” Nosmirc struggled to hold back his startled reaction as a tinge of adrenaline hit him. “Well, all the more reason for me to keep an eye on it given that I am the foremost expert on ol’Crimson…”
Famine nodded with a skeptical look. “Dad, how did that fragment get there in the first place?”
Milan sighed with a chuckle. “Okay, I lied by omission,” he said as he threw his hands up.
Liss-Zael was not surprised and shook his head as he summoned a peanut butter sandwich for himself. It was out of nowhere, but he needed the creamy goodness to soothe his nerves. “Speaking of all that and Will–are we really going to let him join The League? He’s got the stuff, but hum…”
“Wait, really?” Famine questioned. “Doesn’t he have a lot on his plate at the moment? Between his promotion and Orion…” She then poured Liss-Zael a glass of red wine from a bottle she conjured out of thin air as she figured he would need the drink given how thick the filling appeared, receiving a quick ‘thanks.’
“Yes, I have to agree with Famine on this one,” Aelia concurred. “And Red River was quite messy after all…”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Yale reassured. “Will’s a quick learner… despite the mishap with Eloise.”
“Don’t worry, he’s on a trial period,” Victor said with a chuckle. “He’s still a little green, but he is Professor Marcel’s reincarnation after all–and both Abraham and Kit have been insistent on getting him back. Besides, Will needs his old deck and that Azure Spider hex would fit nicely in it.”
Akaya shared the worry Famine and Aelia had, but nodded contrary to them. “Given the potential he showed back during the academy days, I could definitely see him going on the more special missions we embark on… What do you think, Yale?”
The fairy sat down, crossing his legs. “He did pretty good in the past, disregarding when Blood yelled at him. I think he could handle it if we eased him in.”
“And given some of the nonsense about to smack us head on…” Animus noted. “We should definitely have an eye on him regardless. Be weary about this year–Synthia and The Star Eater have been keen to get ahold of him through his dreams, and I have no idea when they’re going to act…”
“But you said ‘this year,’” Famine noted. “Any ETA on this strange plan of theirs?”
“No idea, as The Star Eater is being vague again…”
Nosmirc felt his worry grow and leaned on the table next to Animus. “What do you think is going to happen specifically, Animus?”
Animus sighed as he rubbed his face. “I think they’re going to hijack his void magic for some reason…”
Victor nodded, sensing a way he could help. “Would you like me and The Acid God to do some poking around–find out what the bigger issue is?”
Animus smiled with a hint of relief from that offer. “If it’s no problem for you, Victor–sure. Also we should consider getting a hold of Goolubber–I know Mads wants to handle Will’s void magic until he’s ready for Goo, but this is The Star Eater we’re talking about… He was a pain back in the fellowship days and he’s a–damn outsider…”
“He gets us results though,” Victor pointed out. “I’ll also talk to Ssindis while I’m at it and see if Goo’s available at the moment.”
Nosmirc facepalmed and shook his head. “Things just keep getting more complicated as time goes on, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed,” Milan agreed. “On the birghtside–we’re more prepared than we were for the Red River City Incident, so I think we’ll be able to handle whatever comes our way. Although I probably shouldn’t say we got this in the bag because that usually means we don’t have it in the bag…” That made everyone chuckle and set their minds at ease despite the uncertainty.
“Good lord, I hate The Void Era sometimes…” Animus groaned with a facepalm. “You guys know how me and Will like to play video games and there’s ones that do giveaways?” He waited for everyone to nod. “Well I entered this one giveaway over in Universe-X82–it’s an out of the way universe similar to this one, but has a version of that one co-op space shooter we like that tickles my fancy in particular. I wanted to try my hand at winning a deluxe skin for one of my characters… only for the damn platform–not affiliated with the game mind you–to keep DELETING MY COMMENT BECAUSE IT FELT I WAS SPAMMING FOR SOME REASON!” This caused everyone to wince in sympathy for him. “Ultimately I said screw it and gave up–it wasn’t worth the frustration. Oh sure, I can reach freaking Lost Carcosa OF ALL PLACES, but I can’t win a damn skin in a video game!”
Nosmirc felt that particularly hard, as Will had gone through similar annoyances. “Animus, are you sure you don’t want me to pull some strings for you?”
Animus waved his hand in refusal. “No, don’t bother–it’s in the past, and we’ve got bigger things to worry about…”
Next: Retaliation
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
The King in Yellow © 1895 Robert W. Chambers
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“I hope Sport’s okay without us…” Faustus stated as he checked the cards on the stone block they were sitting around. He was playing blackjack with Mira, Barry, and Vapor 6… and he was losing. To be fair so was Mira and Barry, and it did not help that his focus was thrown off by Perkele hurrying down the stairs and nearly colliding with him. “HEY, WATCH IT BUDDY–WE’RE PLAYING RIGHT HERE!” That caused Perkele to pause for a second and give them an incredulous look before he hurried on out of there.
Mira’s eyes went wide as she took a breath. “Dear… you realize who that was right?”
Barry gave off a worried hum of electricity as Perkele vanished out of sight. “Should we go after him?”
Vapor 6 glanced around, glowed a faint blue for a second, then returned his attention to the game. “Well Yale isn’t out here telling us it’s an emergency, so I’d imagine things went fine and Perkele is in full retreat…” He then tried his best to mask a smile with his poker face. “Come on, we’re almost done here, hehe…” He had got to play as the dealer and had a very good feeling… He revealed the second card and won. “YES!” he cheered as the others groaned.
“And this is why we never let Vapor be the dealer,” Barry pointed out with a chuckle as he collected his playing cards off the block. “He’s got a lucky streak just as bad as Gummi’s…”
Faustus sighed as he rested his head on his fist, sitting cross-legged to think. “You know? Allon and Abelone are criminals, but I hope they didn’t get too mangled up…”
“I’d imagine they’ll be fine once they’re back home,” Mira deduced.
“Jeez, just what is wrong with that place?” he wondered as he looked back towards the temple.
Barry stood up, walked over to the stairs, and put his foot on the first step. It reminded him of The Lost Era and filled him with a sense of nostalgia. “Technically The Lost Era had time and progression, just not like modern time–despite being eternal, things still happened and there was progress. If there was no progress, none of us would be there today, and I’d argue even The Lost Era itself recognized this…” He then climbed up the steps and hurried back down. “Inside the temple is similar to The Lost Era, which may be bringing out potential at a rate we–you guys cannot understand… Magic was weird during The Lost Era.”
Vapor 6 considered what Barry had said and thought about it for a second, nodding with a brief glow of light. “That could be the case, as I’d imagine clashing conditions for magic wouldn’t go over well unless you’re actually from The Lost Era–And lord knows realms from The Lost Era have bled into the modern era, which could mean that the conditions from the era are more prevalent than we thought. The Heaven of The Lost Era showed up in the void after all…”
Barry shuddered with an unpleasant-sounding crackle of electricity. “Please don’t bring that up, Vapor…”
“Wow, that bad, aye?” Faustus asked, receiving a nod from Barry.
Mira sighed, her breath warmer than it usually was, indicating her anxiety. “I just hope the group was okay. They just went in there like it was nobody’s business…”
Barry nodded, then noticed who was exiting the temple. “Oh hey, Will!” he said, startling the other three.
“Barry, what are you doing here?” he asked as the group walked down the stairs. Will promptly received a hug from Mira and Faustus.
“I heard through the grapevine what was going on… and was a bit late it turns out…”
Vapor 6 shook his head. “He just had to edit one of his new music tracks real quickly…” This made everyone laugh.
“Great backup…” Liss-Zael lightheartedly chided. “But better late than never I guess… even though we have things taken care of.”
Mira looked around, seemingly searching for something. “Did you guys manage to…?”
Akaya held up the fragment with a smile. “Right here, mostly without a hitch.”
“Then we should head back haste-post!” Barry declared.
“Posthaste, Barry,” Vapor 6 corrected, making the others chuckle to Barry’s mild embarrassment.
Ripsaw stretched his back and began leading his friends down the path. “Welp, we’re going to bounce, if it’s all the same…”
“You guys sure you don’t want to join M.A.I.G. or The Liger Brigade?” Vlastimir put in.
Ripsaw knew that was going to come up again, and sighed with a smile on his face. “You know what? Keep the door open for us just in case.” That made Vlastimir smile, with the rest of the group sharing the sentiment. “And Will–if you ever need help and we’re in your neck of the woods–give us a call and we’ll be there.”
“Will do, Malte–thanks,” he replied.
“You guys know how to have a good time,” Esteri complimented with a snap of her fingers… barring a certain mishap within the temple.
Ripsaw then noticed Anker looking worried as he crept off. “Anker, what’s the matter? Something wrong?”
“He’s here… there… over here?” he muttered as he nervously glanced around knowing he had caught something out of the corner of his eye.
“THERE YOU ARE, YOU LITTLE SMARTASS!” A furious man’s voice yelled as someone in a black and red bodysuit yanked Anker into what looked like a classical-styled war room. “OH BOY, ARE YOU GOING TO GET IT!” he further scolded as the portal closed in a puff of smoke and sparks.
Everyone was silent for a moment, with Ripsaw breaking that silence. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? IS HE OKAY!?”
Akaya nodded, having caught who it was that yanked Anker away. “Oh, that was–that was Animus Sicarius. You’ve crossed paths with him, haven’t you?”
Liss-Zael nodded as he stroked his chin. “So General Bellator is interested in all this? I guess that explains why Anker was here in the first place.”
Ripsaw glanced back and forth, and went over to where the portal was to look for it… even though he knew it was no longer there. “Hold up–Anker was the one insistent on us coming here in the first place! Did he–did he…?”
Esteri bubbled her lips in confusion and frustration. “Well I could go for a drink right about now…”
“You and me both…”
Just then a spectral saw cut a portal out of the air and in it was Allon and Abelone, standing in what looked like a calm, classy bar. “You kids need a lift?” Allon asked, holding a pint.
“Just get me out of here…” Ripsaw groaned as he and Esteri entered the portal. “Oh, Will–Clara says hi.” And with that the portal closed with the sound of a zipper closing.
Will sighed. “Well that’s cool–glad to know she’s doing well. Sam, I’d dare say we should get home before Orion has a conniption, ha.”
“Yeah–I hope he isn’t worrying too much…” she remarked as she reverted back to Sam.
“Vlastimir, Eka–are you heading our way or are you heading back to Romania?”
“Romania, as mom and dad probably want to know what happened,” Vlastimir answered.
Ekaterina nodded as she patted him on the shoulder. “I’d dare say that was enough fun for a couple of days…”
“A walk in the park compared to The Dark Grand Desert!”
“Oh you!” she said as she shook him by the shoulder, making them all laugh.
It was a quick trip back to Milan’s mansion for Will and company to gather any belongings and head off to Ertheval Grand Central Station. Milan and Aelia hated to see them leave, but they all had to head back home eventually–lest Orion lose his marbles over what he had most likely sensed. Akaya and Liss-Zael bid the eight farewells and hung back at the mansion as there were definitely things to discuss in regards to what had happened. In particular it was the implications and some things Liss-Zael had to get off his chest. As Famine walked into the library after having said goodbye to the group, she stopped in her tracks seeing Akaya and Liss-Zael, figuring they would have headed home too.
“Oh geez–Liss, Akaya–I’m so sorry!” she started to say.
Liss-Zael shook his head and held up his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Famine–it is what it is…” Akaya nodded along to this sentiment.
“Oh, um, okay then…” she sighed, not happy over the stress she was causing them. “Mom, Dad? I got those groceries you asked for,” Famine said as she set the brown paper bag she had been carrying on the table.
“Thank you, dear,” Aelia said as she helped get out some stones and alchemical materials wrapped in plastic.
Yale went down to the table to get a look at what had been purchased. “So I guess Will and Haze are toting around Lost Era magic…”
Milan nodded as he took one of the items he had asked for. “That’s what I had been figuring for some time, given the research Lia performed for The Homunculus Project.”
Victor rubbed his face and exhaled. “I would have preferred we tested that ability out before Will put Haze on, but too late for that now…”
“If it’s any consolation, The Mad Flame offered to tutor them,” Yale said with a chuckle.
Akaya then set the fragment down on the table, with it humming for the briefest of seconds upon touching the table. “The Mad Flame definitely had a lot of interesting things to say, but it’s Perkele’s reasons for being there that have me more concerned. Are we in agreement that he’s definitely working with Mephistopheles?”
“No two ways about it at this point,” Victor concluded. “This will either be a good thing or a bad thing for us.”
Liss-Zael groaned. “I know his type… which frustrates me because I can’t say yay or nay to this…”
Milan put his hands together and twiddled his thumbs. “Well we don’t have a reason to not trust him, but at the same time he is the kind of man always looking for an opportunity…”
“Either way we’ll just have to deal with it,” Victor dryly noted.
There was a round of nodding, whose silence was broken when Famine remembered something she had to get off of her chest. “Found out where that bogus information I got right after The Red River City Incident came from…” She waited for everyone to become curious. “That bitch Hecate…”
Everyone was a little startled by her language, with Aelia patting her on the shoulder. “Easy on the language, dear–don’t let the foul warlock get you too worked up…”
“And you want to know who told me that info was fake? Gudrun of all people. I get why Fausta hates Hecate so much now…”
Milan then got out his notebook and jotted something down. “Given how far back their conflict goes, I’m not surprised. Also don’t worry, Famine–we found the correct information too.”
Famine groaned. “It still frustrates me to no end…”
Liss-Zael chuckled as he took a seat. “Aw don’t worry about it–we all get hoodwinked at some point or another. Mto knows how you feel. So what are we going to do with this fragment?” The fragment had been glowing with a faint, red light that had grown more intense as if someone was approaching.
“I’ll take care of it for you, guys!” Nosmirc happily declared as he strolled up to the table, followed by the man in the black and red bodysuit (with a similarly colored long coat).
“Hey, everyone,” the man said. “Don’t worry about Anker–I just had to get on his case for his behaviour earlier.”
“Animus, good to see you again!” Milan welcomed. “What brings you here?”
He sighed as he took a seat, scratching his black and red hair. “I swung by Carcosa earlier–Kthulku had to deal with another moron trying to claim The King’s crown, but he was able to handle it. No signs of Surtr or The Sons of Muspel, thankfully… Of course I had to deal with those Derek and Avery goobers again… AGAIN–Good lord, they just don’t get it…”
“Goodness,” Nosmirc said with sympathy in his voice as he took the fragment and teleported it away. “Did I miss Will?”
“Just missed him,” Yale answered.
“Shoot, I wanted to say hi to him too,” Animus added.
Milan stroked his chin, a suspicion towards Nosmirc all but confirmed. “You know, Nosmirc–that fragment used to belong to The Crimson God…”
“Oh?” Nosmirc struggled to hold back his startled reaction as a tinge of adrenaline hit him. “Well, all the more reason for me to keep an eye on it given that I am the foremost expert on ol’Crimson…”
Famine nodded with a skeptical look. “Dad, how did that fragment get there in the first place?”
Milan sighed with a chuckle. “Okay, I lied by omission,” he said as he threw his hands up.
Liss-Zael was not surprised and shook his head as he summoned a peanut butter sandwich for himself. It was out of nowhere, but he needed the creamy goodness to soothe his nerves. “Speaking of all that and Will–are we really going to let him join The League? He’s got the stuff, but hum…”
“Wait, really?” Famine questioned. “Doesn’t he have a lot on his plate at the moment? Between his promotion and Orion…” She then poured Liss-Zael a glass of red wine from a bottle she conjured out of thin air as she figured he would need the drink given how thick the filling appeared, receiving a quick ‘thanks.’
“Yes, I have to agree with Famine on this one,” Aelia concurred. “And Red River was quite messy after all…”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Yale reassured. “Will’s a quick learner… despite the mishap with Eloise.”
“Don’t worry, he’s on a trial period,” Victor said with a chuckle. “He’s still a little green, but he is Professor Marcel’s reincarnation after all–and both Abraham and Kit have been insistent on getting him back. Besides, Will needs his old deck and that Azure Spider hex would fit nicely in it.”
Akaya shared the worry Famine and Aelia had, but nodded contrary to them. “Given the potential he showed back during the academy days, I could definitely see him going on the more special missions we embark on… What do you think, Yale?”
The fairy sat down, crossing his legs. “He did pretty good in the past, disregarding when Blood yelled at him. I think he could handle it if we eased him in.”
“And given some of the nonsense about to smack us head on…” Animus noted. “We should definitely have an eye on him regardless. Be weary about this year–Synthia and The Star Eater have been keen to get ahold of him through his dreams, and I have no idea when they’re going to act…”
“But you said ‘this year,’” Famine noted. “Any ETA on this strange plan of theirs?”
“No idea, as The Star Eater is being vague again…”
Nosmirc felt his worry grow and leaned on the table next to Animus. “What do you think is going to happen specifically, Animus?”
Animus sighed as he rubbed his face. “I think they’re going to hijack his void magic for some reason…”
Victor nodded, sensing a way he could help. “Would you like me and The Acid God to do some poking around–find out what the bigger issue is?”
Animus smiled with a hint of relief from that offer. “If it’s no problem for you, Victor–sure. Also we should consider getting a hold of Goolubber–I know Mads wants to handle Will’s void magic until he’s ready for Goo, but this is The Star Eater we’re talking about… He was a pain back in the fellowship days and he’s a–damn outsider…”
“He gets us results though,” Victor pointed out. “I’ll also talk to Ssindis while I’m at it and see if Goo’s available at the moment.”
Nosmirc facepalmed and shook his head. “Things just keep getting more complicated as time goes on, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed,” Milan agreed. “On the birghtside–we’re more prepared than we were for the Red River City Incident, so I think we’ll be able to handle whatever comes our way. Although I probably shouldn’t say we got this in the bag because that usually means we don’t have it in the bag…” That made everyone chuckle and set their minds at ease despite the uncertainty.
“Good lord, I hate The Void Era sometimes…” Animus groaned with a facepalm. “You guys know how me and Will like to play video games and there’s ones that do giveaways?” He waited for everyone to nod. “Well I entered this one giveaway over in Universe-X82–it’s an out of the way universe similar to this one, but has a version of that one co-op space shooter we like that tickles my fancy in particular. I wanted to try my hand at winning a deluxe skin for one of my characters… only for the damn platform–not affiliated with the game mind you–to keep DELETING MY COMMENT BECAUSE IT FELT I WAS SPAMMING FOR SOME REASON!” This caused everyone to wince in sympathy for him. “Ultimately I said screw it and gave up–it wasn’t worth the frustration. Oh sure, I can reach freaking Lost Carcosa OF ALL PLACES, but I can’t win a damn skin in a video game!”
Nosmirc felt that particularly hard, as Will had gone through similar annoyances. “Animus, are you sure you don’t want me to pull some strings for you?”
Animus waved his hand in refusal. “No, don’t bother–it’s in the past, and we’ve got bigger things to worry about…”
Next: Retaliation
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
The King in Yellow © 1895 Robert W. Chambers
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