The Chosen

Cyrus and Hannibal followed Raize back to the collapsed building. They saw the newcomer jump down a root-tube thingy.

"Well," Cyrus said, approaching the cave thing, "I'm assuming we jump down this?"

He jumped down and appeared in front of the newcomer, losing his balance and fell. Hannibal came shortly after.

"What's you name again?" Cyrus asked.

Damn, they just keep going out of no where. Least these two dodged that battle earlier...

Raize went to Link and picked him up, motioning for the others to proceed down the hole Alzack created. "Come on. It'll be a good place to hide out for the time being." This said, he stepped over the edge without hesitation. He approved of the place instantly--concealed from view; seemed hard to get to...

"Please, take Skyla and lay her down somewhere she can rest. Once she regains her energy she should be fine, but I've got to give some of the others attention." He looked at Link, his mind also wandering to Hannibal and Cyrus. Once he was finished with them, he really needed to find out what Celstine's power was. So far it seemed to be the only one, besides Alzack's and Emily's, their foes didn't know about. That could go to their advantage. Speaking of Hannibal...

He turned to the older man. "...By the way, Stark. I'd like a word with once I set Link down." He'd been the one to pull Vivien away from the palace that day, but he'd also been the one to see who killed her parents. He needed to make sure he could trust the man.

Vera looked around her room. The only thing she could really see that was able to sleep on was the bed. Vera got up and went to a closet, grabbing spare pillows and spare sheets. She plopped the pillows down after fluffing them a few times and arranged them prettily. She put the blanket down as a "bed" and then pointed at it.

"You'll sleep right there," Vera said with a grin. Like hell she was giving up her bed!

"And I dunno when you'll be able to see the Core... I think that's something I should talk to Alex about first," Vera said thoughtfully.

Venom flickered into V's eyes at Alex's name. "...In that case, never mind." She doubted that jerk would let her do anything. "I'll...Get to it on my own time." She figured she might remember some secret passages she night've discovered as a child. In truth, she was hoping Vera would led her to a different room so she could sneak out.

Then again, it shouldn't have matterd if she walked around the castle. She'd seen several men posted around the place, so she wasn't going anywhere. She only hoped Hannibal was able to help out.

"Would you care if I just walked around? Alone? If you don't trust me, give me something to put on that'll let you see where I am. Apparently this place has things like that, so..."

Alzack leaped into a nearby window and simply walked down a great hall within the tree house. This massive tree was created by his father decades ago, as well as the forest. Here Alzack could command any of these trees in the forest, even this huge one. Alzack could create trees without a source to create them, but he felt safer in such a comfortable territory. He found a room and laid the girl on the bed, the tree vines around it giving Alzack's own life force to heal her. Alzack himself sat by the windowsill, creating a wooden ring from the window frame itself.

"I'll surpass you father. One day, you'll see."

"Well then," Cyrus said. He was taken aback when the guy just ignored him and entered the tree, "I guess I'll never know his name. Oh, it's Alzack? Okay then."

"Very well," Hannibal said to Raize.

"I'll be back."

Raize entered the treehouse, though smirked at Cyrus' remark, and paused. "...Wow. Didn't think it'd be this big...Mm... Just hang on Link, I need to figure out where he's keeping things" He hated making the kid wait considering his condition, but he didn't have a choice. But after a painful six minutes, he finally found what he was looking for--medicine.

Most of it was herbs, bandages and the sort one would expect to find on this planet, but Raize had made sure to read up on them. He set the boy down on a cot set against the room's corner and combed through the material until he found what he needed.

"This is going to sting, I'm not going to lie," he told him, grabbing a cloth and dipping it in a liquid that would clean out the wounds. "Just bare with me."

That said, he cleaned out every wound he saw on the teen. Once this was done, he grimaced and as easily as he could plucked the metal embedded in his skin. After, he stitched the wounds shut, feeling terrible for Link. Finally he stepped away.

"Alright, ow you need rest, ok? I'll get Emily in here if you want, but please, rest. Call me if you need anything, understand? I'll check on you in a moment." This said, he slipped from the room.

He returned outside, where Hannibal was. There was uncertainty in his eyes. "Alright, you have some explaining to do, Hannibal." He moved the two away from Cyrus before continuing. "Back then I was head on the Royal Guard. I stayed behind until all the others had left, trying to find Vivien and make sure the others were out. But I saw what you did to her parents. I want to know what," he stepped closer, "made you change your mind so suddenly about whose side you're one. I also want to hear about what you plan to do, now that you're here. Are yougoing back to the palace or what?"

----

Skyla didn't know how long she was out, hell, could've only been ten minutes, but she could feel the energy almost seeping into her even in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned, body stiff. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, but once they had, she saw she was in a room. Though that didn't specify where exactly she was. She though tout loud.

"...Where is this...?"

The redhead was already heading over to a dresser to pull out nailpolish. How exciting! She was going to have a girl's night! They'll paint each other's nails, watch movies, cry because men are NEVER as cute or romantic as they are in those...

Vivien's wish to explore the castle made Vera break out of her happy daze. Her face fell and she sadly put away the nailpolish. Maybe another time. Hopefully before they tried to sacrifice the teens to the Core. It really wouldn't bode too well for girl's night.

Vera seemed to consider Vivien's offer for a moment. Alex never said she had to be around Vivien 24/7... only to make sure she didn't escape. And she did have very pressing, important matters to attend to shortly. Vera shrugged and picked up a compact mirror.

"This'll let me know where you are," Vera said simply, still a little crestfallen, "Go ahead and be all grown-uppy and leave me alone to wonder where the time has flown and how you grow up so quick," She sniffled a few times, "Actually, just make sure you don't try to escape or anything. I think I'd get into trouble if you did."

"...Where is this...?"

Alzack turned to the woman who woke up, some of the tree vines on her arms and legs, transferring his life force into hers. He sent the vines back into the tree and got up and waved to the girl. "Your friends are here. I saved you from the debris from the building that collapsed. I don't expect you to trust me, but I'm very glad to save you." Alzack took off his coat and set it to hang, yawning and stretching. "Rest easy, I'm using my life energy to heal you. Im Alzack Salazar."

Cel followed the new guy down the hole nodding at Raize. They got V? Now they're coming after us? What the hell. Yesterday we were normal but now, we're strange, different, unique. And if anyone found out what we could do the would test us. The thought of that happening to V, made her brain throb. Or any of her friends for that matter. "When are we going to get her?" she said looking down watching her step.

"I'm too old to remember why I took their side. I've been regretting it ever since I killed Vivien's parents." Hannibal began, "I told her I killed her parents. And I promised that I would help her. It won't be long until Deron tells them about me. They may already know.

The only reason why I will go back there, is to help you save Vivien. I know you won't trust me until I prove how sorry I am." Hannibal took out a small dagger he kept in his coat. He unbuttoned his shirt enough to relieve the gear clock that matched Cyrus's. He pressed the tip of the dagger on one corner of the mark and cut across. He made another cut to make an X. "This may be going overboard, but I swear with my blood that I will reserve the heir to the throne and the royal court."

He dropped the dagger and placed his left hand over his bloody mark. He knelt onto one knee and bowed his head. This is how the Royal Adviser bows to his higher ups. That included the head of the Royal Guard.

"And if you choose not to accept my loyalty, I will leave forever."

Hannibal was an old-fashioned old man. Whenever he made a vow, he always honored it. Even the counter-offers he gave if someone didn't agree to it. And he always listened to orders (although, I probably shouldn't be putting that in seeing as he just disobeyed Alex's saying).

He stood again and buttoned up his shirt again, not caring to wipe away the blood.

"Just give me the word, and I'll do it."

Vivien took the mirror and tucked it in her pocket. Even if she did consider just dropping once she was out of sight, it wouldn't help things. For now she'd just do what she said she was going to. Though she was a but surprised at the slight sadness she saw Vera's face.

"Not like I'm going anywhere too far," she muttered. "...Be back soon."

This said, she slipped through the door, drifting through the halls. Some of them felt familiar, some others didn't. She wasn't sure how long it was before she came across a room, the door looking as though it'd be run through with a heavy object. She nudged it open with her foot and a wave of melancholy flashed over her.

The rooms walls were painted light pink, the paint since faded to almost white and slightly yellow from discoloration. Besides some things being out of place, however...

She pulled open the drawers and saw a child's toys. Something shiny in the center caught her eye and she brushed the other stuff aside, finding the object was a jewel encrusted tiara. Had it been hers when she was smaller? Swallowing, she tucked it under her arm and continued to look through the room. She was about to leave when a second object caught her eye--a necklace. Six raven feathers were attacked to a black chain and a silver ring was hanging from it. In the center of the ring was a violet sphere, much like the crystal in the necklace she was already wearing. Had it been her father's? She slipped it over her head and pushed down emotions.

She stayed a while longer before finally exiting, not sure how long she'd been gone. But on her way, she passed by a hall that felt too familiar to pass.

Turns out, it led to the throne room. She lingered in the doorway, her eyes wide. It looked pretty much the same as it had in her dreams--and somehow, that made it even harder to look at. Before she could think about what she'd seen in her dream, she bolted, not stopping until she found her way back to Vera's room. She put the tiara down next to the makeshift bed and caught her breath, chewing on her lip. After a moment, she handed Vera her mirror back and wet her lips.

"...So what'd you look so sad about before I left?"

~

Raize paused for a moment, turning his attention away from Hannibal long enough to hear Celestine. "As soon as you all are better with your powers and we have a plan. It'd be stupid to make a move now. We just have to hope they'll leave her be. I promise, we will get her." This said, he tipped his head back to Hannibal, though directed his words to Cel. "Just try and not worry about it, as hard as it sounds."

The move definitely caught Raize's attention. He let out a slow breath and rubbed his temples. "If what he did to that building took away that much energy, you may be able to get back before he tells anyone. Chances are he might've had to go right to bed, and if that's the case, you can find someone and tell them your side of what happened first. But if you do go back, it'd be helpful if you could help V with her power. You were often beside her father as he trained the others--maybe you remember some of the advice or moves he showed them. Zaiver was always good at commentary while sword fighting. But for now, I think it'd be best if you hurry back there as quickly s you can. Act as though this didn't happen, and if you can, find a way to feed information to us. We'll need ti know when the best time to strike will be," After a pause, he held out his hand. "...For now, I believe you're being honest. Thank you for coming to your senses."

~

Skyla frowned. "Why wouldn't I trust someone that saved me? It's a little obvious you're one of them, anyway, so I'm not worried about not trusting you." She made a note of his name, though he must've been further away when the guards had taken the other children like herself and fled. She didn't remember his name. "And your life source? Hell, won't that hurt you? If it's just energy, I'll get it back naturally! ...Come to think abut it, I'm feeling kinda better now...And my friend--Raize? So they're all here then?" That made her relax, but she was still upset at what had happened. How couldn't she be?

"The life-force? Yea. But you're worth giving my life force to. It's lethal to do it, but I'd do it for anyone." Alzack got up and placed on a black t-shirt as he held out a hand for Skyla to get out of bed. He helped her up and nodded. "You're looking better now. Just be careful with that barrier thing you did. Your body doesn't respond well if it's under traumatic stress like holding up debris." Alzack yawned again. "Yep, this yawning bit? If I fall asleep after expending a lot of my life energy I'll go into shock. Gotta stay up. Say, what's your name? You're a beautiful girl, a beautiful name must fit too."

David went down into the hole, nervousness on his face.

He...had never liked spaces like that very much.

When Vivien walked into Vera's bedroom, there was a cute little jingle playing, the theme song to a TV show of one man's struggles to get out of the lower class, enjoy life, and maybe, one day, get his driver's license.

"Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!" Sang the TV show.

Vera shouted back, "Spongebob Squa--AAAH!" She jumped backwards mid dance, seeing that Vivien had walked in. She put her hand over her chest, eyes wide with fright, and scolded, "Didn't we just go over this?"

She took her mirror and set it on her dresser. Vivien asked her why she looked so sad and Vera bit her lip. It wasn't like she could actually tell the truth. It was hard enough to fit in with her cheery personality and... extreme measures, but add that to the limited numbers of females here and the odds didn't look good.

"Because I have no fr-- is that a tiara?!" Vera exclaimed, pointing at the pretty thing Vivien found. Because of Vera's strange ability to jump from topic to topic, no one usually suspected her deflections. It was genius!

Vera sat down next to Vivien. She didn't reach out and touch it like she wanted to, thinking that maybe it was pushing boundaries a bit too much. Instead, she looked between the tiara and Vivien and suddenly said, "I don't think it'll fit your head well. It looks like it was made for a little kid."

Vivien looked at it, a small smile on her face. "'Cause it was. Found it in my..old room." She turned it over in her hand, studying it. She had a faint memory of a woman's smiling face--porbably her mother--handing it to her. "Everything else in there was too small too. Kind of weird..." She glanced at Vera and held out the tiara, seeing that she wanted to see it.

"At least nothing was really damaged besides the door."

"Thank you for trusting me," Hannibal said to Raize. He turned around and walked away back to Cyrus. He put his stern look back on as he took the cane from Cyrus.

"Come with me," he said, grabbing Cyrus's arm, "Just play along."

They stepped through the portal(where ever that is) back to Valentia. Hannibal noticed as they looked for Alexander, that Cyrus now walked with a limp. Poor boy.

When Hannibal finally found Alex, he presented Cyrus to him.

"I have capture this one," Hannibal said.

Skyla was still freaking about the life-force thing, about to tell Alzack to stop since she felt better, but nevertheless she answered, blushing just slightly from his remark.

"As long as you don't kill yourself. And my name's Skyla." She looked around the room, however. "Are the others here?" she asked him. "David, Link, Celestine and the others?" They hadn't been with her, and though she trusted Raize, she was a bit paranoid/upset now that V had been taken.

~

Alex had since allowed Janko to remain by the core, just exiting the room himself. So now they had two? Better bait than just one. He smirked.

"Guess things didn't turn out as bad as I thought they did. I'd ask the others to look after him, but all of them are resting and Vera is already watching Miss. Valentine. If it's not a bother, could you make sure he doesn't try anything? I have a few things...I need to take care of."

Link grunted as Raize went to work, ears flat against his head, ignoring the pain best he could. Emily appeared soon after, and she went into a series of confused observations and curious questions as soo as she saw that Link was awake.

"Why did the cafe fall on you?!!? And are we in a tree? A FREAKING TREE LINK!" she gave a girlish squeel, before continuing excitedly, "A tree! This is so cool! It's like the treehouse grandpa built us, except, like, literal! And are you cosplaying again? Without me?!?" She was obviously referring to his ears, and before Link could shake his head and explain, she went off again, "lemme guess, some neko dude from some anime, right? Am I right? OH!" she shouted very loudly, probably so people in the next county could hear her. She quickly put her hands to her mouth in surprise, before whispering to her cousin, "I can control animals with my voice...!" before covering her mouth with her hands again, face turning a little red, dimples apparent on her face.

He shook his head, smiling sadly, "and I'm prince charming...."

This was met with another squeel, as she threw her arms around him, saying, "please tell me you're weird with me too, mister prince! We've always been weird together!" He nodded, holding up his hands, grunting from the effort, and showing his marks to her. She showed him her palm, and the treble clef that resided on it. He explained what had been going on the best he could, and she listened intently, before starting to sing. A song from one of their favorite bands, a song about wanting to escape, with a person that means a lot to you. She gazed out the nearby window, singing, sweet and loud, just as an eagle came to rest on the window sill, gazing at Emily intently. Link started to chuckle, and gasped as pain, probably from a bruised rib, shot through his chest. He gasped out, "only in america," before the eagle flew off, as Emily broke into a fit of laughter.

"You look adorable when you blush." Alzack laughed before taking her hand and lead her down to the location of the others, evident of the singing he heard. He wasn't upset that he let in strangers into his home. He was just worried that there's a good chance these new people might have enemies. And said enemies might be less friendly. "So, Skyla, a cute girl like you must have a good love life. What's it like dating?"

"Yes," Hannibal said to Alex. He lead Cyrus to his room and they entered. The first thing Cyrus noticed was a large, old-fashion grandfather clock in the far corner, pendulum swinging. Nothing else much was there other than a bed in the other corner, some drawers, a rack with several old-looking canes, and the door to the restroom to the right.

Hannibal went to the rack of canes and gave Cyrus a cane. It was light brown and had strange markings carved into it. The top of the cane was a simple curve.

"That cane has a sword in it like mine," Hannibal said, closing the door, "You just have to turned the head of it clockwise to unlock it to pull it out. No one knows it has a sword, so they shouldn't get suspicious of you having it."

"Thanks," Cyrus said.

"Come here," Hannibal walked to the bed, "There's a small box under my bed, get it for me please."

Cyrus grunted as he knelt down and looked under the bed. There was a box. He pulled it out and examined it. It was dark brown with strange markings carved into it that matched the markings on his cane. Some of the markings looked like weird gears. There was a lock on it.

Hannibal took it and put it on the shorter of the two drawers. He pulled out a key from within a coat pocket. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it.

"I want to give you something I should have given you if this all had not happened," Hannibal said, opened the box. From it, Hannibal took out a necklace. It was a silver gear about the size of Cyrus's palm. Inside of that gear, there were two clock hands that just floated in it and ticked. Within the bigger gear around the hands, was a light blue/turquoise aura. Cyrus assumed the aura was what kept the hands up and ticking.

"The sign of the Royal Adviser, is a gear clock," Hannibal explained, "This, is the Amulet of Time. It is an important heirloom passed down from Royal Adviser to Royal Adviser. Even though the Royal Adviser isn't as significant as the king or queen, we are still royalty. And now, I pass it on to you."

This seemed so cheesy to Cyrus, but he was still honored. Hannibal put it over his head around his neck.

"Thank you," Cyrus didn't want to be in this awkward after-talk, "Mind if I walk around?"

"Not at all. Just don't do anything stupid."

Cyrus exited the room and looked down the hallway.

"I wonder where Vivien is?"

Before Skyla could answer, someone else did for her. "I don't believe she's dating anyone, Alzack, and that's also not what we need to be talking about right now." He made sure everyone was near and sighed.

"Alright, so I've got some good news. Hannibal's gong to be helping us, possibly giving us information on the others. Cyrus is with him, so he'll be there with Vivien so she's not alone in that place. But for now, we need to think of a plan to resolve this. I also need to continue your training--specially with Cel since I don't know what her powers are yet. However," he looked at David, "I think you'll be extremely helpful in this since you can "turn invisible". I know they have objects that allow them to track you, but if we can find a way to disrupt or mislead the signal, it'll give us an advantage. David could locate where Cyrus and Vivien are when the time comes we're ready to leave for Valentia, but the rest of us will have to make sure he isn't missed by the villains. Though from what I've heard, he really upset one of them...He may notice your absence, but we'll do what we can to distract him. I'm not sure what else we can plan out at the moment considering what little information we have, so until then, I'll redirect focus on training. That is, once all of you are rested. Cel, for now I want you to come outside with me. I want to see what we can find out about your power. Anyone who wants to join us may; I don't think you'll have to stay in here considering how well hidden it is."

~

Miles, without the help of Vera, was left to make it to his room on his own. But he stopped when he passed Hannibal's room. He peeked his head in, a sheepish grin in tow.

"Hey, Gramps? Can I ask a favor? I know you're kinda picky about letting us near those spare canes, but uh, you think I could borrow two? To use as crutches or something? Because leaning on my sword isn't working, and my room is still all the way down the hall...I won't break, scratch or lose them, I promise!"

Vera's eyes grew big when Vivien offered her the tiara. She squeaked happily and took it. She held it up and let the light reflect off of it in different angles, "ooo"-ing and "aahh"-ing as she did so. She handed it back to Vivien after a few minutes.

"The floor?" Vera asked, "What the heck would have happened to the floor?" Her eyes widened as she reprocessed what Vivien said, letting out a long, "Oooohhh," and then nodding, "Right. The door. That makes a bit more sense."

Vera grew quiet and looked off into the corner of the room. She didn't say anything for a little while before she randomly said, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

Pretending as if she didn't say that at all, she got up, brushed her bum (even though she didn't need to), and walked over to her other dresser. She pulled out some nailpolish of various colors and asked, "Wanna do each other's nails?"

"I don't see how you could use them as crutches," Hannibal said, taking a cane from the rack. This one did not have a sword in it, nor did it have markings. "Seeing as how they wouldn't be long enough to be crutches. But you may use one for support. That's how canes are supposed to be used."

He handed the cane to Miles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Cyrus walked past a door, he could hear squealing coming from inside. He stepped away from the door and looked at it. He wondered who could be in there. Maybe Vivien. It was possible that it was Vivien. But it could also be that crazy chick from before. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Vera. That Alex guy said that Miss. Valentine was with her. He knew Valentine was Vivien's last name.

Hesitantly, he stepped up to the door. He knocked three times with the cane and said, "Hello?"

Her statement gave Vivien hope that maybe she really could get some of these members against Alexander. If she could find a different, more logical way to save the core--if she could convince them that Alex had a one sided view on this--she might give the others a chance.

But Hannibal and Vera, so far, where the only ones (that she'd encountered) that seemed even somewhat indecisive as to what was happening. She didn't know what to think of Janko; Miles she had no clue, and then that man with the scythe? She got the feeling he wasn't going to be convinced. But, the rest of them...

A very small, ghost of a smile turned her lips. Remembering how Vera had waddled like a penguin, she nodded. "Sounds fun...Haven't done that since Cel came over a few weeks ago. I can put a penguin face(as in eyes and a beak, sides black to somewhat look like wings) if you want." Despite the situation, she allowed herself to relax. Her previous thoughts, as well as the knowledge Hannibal was assisting them, gave her hope this really would work out. She looked over at a knock and immediately froze, her eyes widening.

Wait, was that Cyrus? Had they seriously let him come back here?! She looked at Vera, wondering if she would open the door being as V didn't want to without her permission. Odd, but she was still trying to win favor here.

~

"...Come on. I have an imagination--I had to try something." He took the cane, glad for the more comfortable prospect than the blade. "But you know what they say--ya learn something every day. Thanks, old man. Promise I'll give it back as soon as I can."