The next morning, I was up at 0630 as usual, and Ophelia lay naked in my bed. She had come in through the walls and into my room late last night to fuck and, as usual, had stayed until morning.
"Good morning, Greedy," she said groggily, her eyes still closed, sleeping comfortably as I sat at the edge of the bed getting dressed.
I didn't reply until I was done getting ready and almost out the door of my quarters.
"I need you here tonight," I said, slightly looking back at her as she still lay in my bed, facing the other way toward the windows and balcony. Sunlight dripping in.
She responded sleepily, amused, "Ooo, for round two?"
"No, I meant here at the Den. Just in case. So, whatever plans you have, cancel them. At least just for tonight," I said to her calmly, "And Ophelia. You know I wasn't talking to you," I added, finally turning my eyes away from her smooth porcelain back as she positioned herself to lay on her side, exposed and facing me.
"I know, Greedy… She heard you."
Ophelia fell back asleep after that. So I walked out, shutting the door behind me.
I walked down the hallway and down the grand staircase, where it connected at a landing with another flight of stairs that was going up. Usually, Code and I woke up and were ready around the same time, so often I would see him opposite that flight of stairs most mornings. He wasn't there today. Nor do I think he even came back home last night.
It didn't matter to me, though. I knew the drill.
Out of the ten of us, excluding Asura, only Ace Member ranks and up were allowed to go on missions solo or leave the Den and not come back. That list consisted of: Code, Ophelia, Nash—who was our Ace Member 2, our other Ace Member 1—who was away, 1st Exec—who was also away, and me. The only time the others could do that was if one of us was with them.
I didn't know what was going to happen from here on, but I had made plans with Ryo today to see if I could fill him in. I tried to contact Snow too, but it seems he went off on a mission last night. That's fine. Ryo alone is enough in most cases.
I worked out at our home gym that morning and then went on a jog outside with Havoc and Brand around the Den. We each split off afterward to do some of our daily chores and routines, and when we finished, we had breakfast at the usual time. I wasn't as great a chef as Code, but I still cooked for everyone. Breakfast was the only meal I could prepare effortlessly. After that, I spent a good hour and a half trying to catch Star, who unironically was running around nude throughout the Den. She, in turn, was trying to catch Yuna, who was refusing a bath.
I then did some gardening and home maintenance. While in the garden behind the Den, I noticed a faint shadow in the sky in the far distance. It looked almost like a serpent as it continued to fly into the clouds. When it disappeared within them, I turned away from it, and a muffled boom sounded in that same direction. When I looked back, the sky had parted where the "serpent" had flown. I observed it for the next minute or two, but went back to my duties. Whatever had been going on was too far for our concern.
I was finally done with everything, and it was time to meet with Ryo in the evening for dinner at the Kingdom. We met at an old noodle bar that had been in the city for decades, one of my favorites. It was located in a back alley in the southeast part of the Kingdom. And this was often the place Ryo and I and sometimes my crew would meet to enjoy some good food and good company. This was our spot.
I was almost there when I got a message notification from Ryo on the comm. ETA? I'm at the bar. I already got our order going.
Around the corner. See you in 2. (˶˃ᆺ˂˶) I typed back with one hand, the other in my pocket. It was only after that I noticed… Fucking Keeper, Star.
Ryo messaged back a little too quickly… Hahaha what is that? A face? Didn't know you messaged like that…
Shut up, Ryo. Star had my comm last. Leave it alone. (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)
Damn it. How do you get rid of this thing… (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)
(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Don't even start with me man… (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)
I gave up. I was already here anyway.
The place was mildly packed. There was seating outside, and there were no doors to this place. The seating inside was simply the bar, and across from it, low-level tables with pillows for seats. It gave off a homey vibe that I was very much attracted to. As previously agreed upon, Ryo and I met at the bar to grab drinks and eat.
The aroma of the place was always my favorite, as you heard and saw the chefs cooking right in front of everyone. The delicious smell traveled all throughout the alleyways and onto the main streets. Which acted as the restaurant's guide for new customers—its own and best form of advertisement. Not that the place needed any new customers. Any more packed than it was right now, and I'd eventually end up hating to come here.
I saw Ryo's cheerful face as he waved his hand to me. Instead of his fancy cloak that he often wore, he was instead wearing a white bomber jacket with a dragon logo in the back—his Guild's logo. The sleeves were embroidered flames on the whole forearm parts that ended right before the elbow and had a collar that was colored red. White shirt underneath, beige pants, and belted boots. He only dressed casually like this when he met with friends, but personally, this should have been the Crimson Dragon's uniform from the start.
"There's Mr. Emoticon!" he said with two fingers in a peace sign to his face.
"Can it," I replied swiftly, sitting down next to him at the bar. "You should dress like this more often, or at least make this your Guild's new uniform. This outfit is actually pretty cool."
I poked at him as I sat down, and we both received our orders. Right on time.
He simply gave a big laugh and said, "I've thought about it. I was inspired by your guy's uniform. Out of the other Guilds in the Kingdom, the Black Wolves have the most lax attire. I often think how it would be if all the Guilds were like that instead of being so proper. Our uniforms feel… stuffy at times."
We bantered a bit and shared some laughs over drinks and food before catching him up on the hourglass incident we had just yesterday. Ryo was shocked.
"What the hell… I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. Why didn't you report the occurrence to the Kingdom patrols once you got back?" He asked worriedly.
"Because that info would have gone to all the Guilds. And we suspect one of the Guilds was behind it. We don't want them making a move before our case is built," I said in a lower tone, even though the place was loud and was fairly busy.
"I suspected as much…" Ryo pondered. "I was given, by Sirus, a secret task when he had called me into the main castle the other day. My duty, along with keeping the peace"—he nudged me—"was to keep watch over a certain Guild in the meeting that had finally taken part in the Kingdom's Guild meeting."
"Who, us?" I joked. Though it would make sense, I suppose.
"No." Ryo gulped down his soup. "I was tasked to watch the Blue Phoenix Knights."
"So, our suspicions on them were not just our own," I added, "I currently have Code looking into it as we speak."
I proceeded to tell Ryo what we had deduced when we were in the hourglass, what the hourglass was, and the fake Black Wolves that we encountered after breaking free, and Henza's strange appearance afterward.
"Ah, that part's connecting now." He assessed, "During your and Captain Tubult's quarrel, I noticed Captain Syemore of the Blue Phoenix Knights dismiss Vice Captain Henza, only for him to be instantly replaced by another masked Blue Phoenix member that I did not see prior to everyone else who had entered that meeting room."
Interesting.
"I get it now," I replied as I also gulped down the rest of my soup and gestured for seconds to the chef. "But who was that other Blue Phoenix member?"
"I don't know. I was watching the whole time, and his movements seemed… stiff. For lack of a better word. It almost seemed like he wasn't real… but he was also wearing a hood along with that mask, so it was a bit hard to tell," Ryo recalled.
"Isn't the second Vice Captain's magic Puppet magic?" I asked him, wanting to confirm Code's speculations.
"Yes, it is. Vice Captain Terek. I don't know too much about him personally, but are you suggesting that 'fill in' for Henza was a puppet?" he asked, trying to clarify.
"I mean, it would make sense if you take into consideration the mecha-like monster that kidnapped us. And I also think that puppet somehow got Syemore's magic infused with it." I replied, thinking to myself at the same time.
"Well, Henza's magic also has different properties to it," he threw in, gesturing to the chef for seconds as well. "His magic is Bonding magic. Not only does it grant him the ability to bond things and people in place, he can also bond magic abilities to non-living things. It's a trained skill, only a few mages with his same typing can manage."
Everything was starting to piece together finally. The puppet monster that kidnapped us, Syemore's Compression ability trapping us in that hourglass, and Henza's appearance at the abandoned church… It was too closely tied to be a coincidence.
The only thing now was the relation to the fake Black Wolves at the church.
But before I could get a word out to talk about it, a young girl's scream pierced through the restaurant, silencing the once bustling area to a state of confusion and small panic.
"What was that?" Ryo asked, concerned.
"I don't know, but we have to go!" I hurried.
We both bolted out of the restaurant, Ryo throwing down a good chunk of eterna at the bar before we left.
When we stepped out, it was almost dusk, and we heard the screams continue. We followed the sound until we were deep in the alleyways of the southeast side of the Valley Kingdom. The screams seemed like they were getting farther and farther away the closer we got.
When we turned a corner, just as quickly, we saw it. A big mechanical figure, six arms, floating, humanoid head, and monster-like face on its chest. And in one of its huge hands, a young blonde girl, probably in her teens, being held captive.