AFTER being discharged from the clinic, Ryan went to the great library in the main hall. He had been going there for months now, reading from the expansive collection of magik tomes and notes looking for anything on lightning magik, but as Helen had told him before; it was incredibly rare.
He walked with a fresh stack of books and went to a reading corner, sitting down, he picked up the first book on the stack, Neopali's Advanced Elementalism, and cracked it open. After what felt like hours, he finally got frustrated by the lack of material, he snapped the book shut loudly, "Dammit!"
Next to him was a notebook with several pages covered in his scribbles of piecemeal magik formulas he'd been able to put together. In his time at ARGUS, he had come to learn that magik was actually another form of science and casting was a lot like calculus; every cast no matter how complex, was derived from the ten basic natures. Every magik formula ever recorded could always be modified and improved by the next generation. Even the most basic fireball cast could be reapplied any number of ways to become a whole new cast.
He had getting better at crafting magik formulas, but he knew he was a long way from mastering the discipline of elementalism, whereas lightning magik just came naturally to him.
He held out his hand and electricity started dancing between his fingertips. Ryan had discovered that his lighting magik was an innate talent, something he could do on pure instinct.
He had gone through book after book, but had found nothing definitive. Lightning magik was more akin to an expression of raw power from the Naexis than an actual nature, it fell under the umbrella of the elementalist discipline, solely because it was similar in concept.
Lightning magik was considered insanely unique, and there were a scant few documented records of it. Much of its research being restricted by the arkans, which left Ryan with little choice but to craft his own magik formulas with very little guidance save from obscure old theories.
Looking outside, he realized that it was already late, dinner at the mess would be over soon, then, it would be lights out soon after. The rumbling in his stomach told him missing dinner would be a bad thing so he got up and left the library.
After eating, Ryan went back to the residential district, after quickly stopping in his room, he went to the ranger quarters. Getting some directions, he finally got to Jasmine's room. He opened the door and walked in, just as Jasmine was coming out of the bathroom… in a towel.
"¡Ay dios mío!" Jasmine yelped in surprise as she saw Ryan, "Ryan, ¿qué carajo estás haciendo aquí?"
"I am so sorry," Ryan said. Not sure what to do, he stepped out and shut the door behind him.
"Not again." He said to himself as he banged his head on the door.
After waiting outside for a bit, the door opened and Jasmine stepped out,
"What?" she asked, her hair was still damp and she wore a large purple flannel shirt.
"Um, sorry about barging in on you earlier, I should've knocked."
"Yes, you should've." Jasmine said tersely, "What are you doing here?"
"Um, I recall a hang out between you and I, and I thought since my room was a mess, maybe we could watch a movie in yours."
"You want to watch a movie, with me?" Jasmine asked suspiciously
"I brought snacks." He held up a packet of marshmallow bombs.
"Sure, c'mon in." she said before walking in.
As he entered her room, the first thing he noticed was that it was the same size as his, but there was only one bed. To one corner, was an easel, next to it was a desk with a sketchbook, on it was a pencil drawing of a beach.
"You draw?" Ryan asked
"Yeah, when I'm free."
"You're really good."
"Thanks." She said, "So what movie did you bring?"
"Oh, I brought a few of them actually, I didn't know what you'd like. I've got Planet Z; Attack from the deep; The thing in the Attic; Up in the air, and The Mighty Men of Markash."
"The thing in the Attic, is it the 1997 original or the 2017 remake?"
"Both actually, it's a dual feature." Ryan said, slightly surprised, "You know your horror movies."
"I'm a bit of a horror buff," she shrugged
"Me too. I love a good scary story." Ryan said
"Wow," Jasmine said, "So we actually have something in common?"
"Yeah," Ryan said, "A love for horror movies."
Ryan put the DVD in the player and set it up, then, the two of them sat on Jasmine's sofa and watched the horror movie while sharing the marshmallow treats.
The next morning, a beeping woke Jasmine up. She was curled up in a blanket next to Ryan, who was still snoozing.
She got up from the couch and looked around; the beeping noise was coming from a POD –a floating spherical multipurpose drone— that hovered outside her window.
"What is it?" Jasmine asked, letting the POD in.
Recorded message from Davis Resser from the Research Department. Do you accept?
Jasmine sighed, "Fine."
The POD projected a mirage of a guy around his early twenties with stubble on his chin and thick glasses, 'Jasmine, I finished analyzing the goo you gave me, come round the lab and I'll show you the results'. End of transmission.
"Thank you." Jasmine said
The POD then flew out the window and disappeared, probably going off to wait for another task.
"Ryan," Jasmine called, nudging him not so gently, "Ryan, wake up."
He tossed and turned a bit, "Christie, it's too early." He moaned
"Ryan." Jasmine knocked him on the head, "¡Levanta el culo!"
"Ow. What's the big idea?"
"I need you to leave, right now."
"Why?"
"Because this is my room, and I said so."
"Okay."
Ryan gathered his movies and was out the door, then Jasmine went to get dressed.
Later, Jasmine went to the workshops, passing a path leading the opposite direction from the workshops, she walked to the Research Department to meet with Davis.
"Hey Davis," Jasmine said, "What can you tell me about that goo."
"H-hey, Jasmine." Davis said as he tried to clear a few papers off his desk. Jasmine and Davis had known each other for a while, they were on good terms, but she wouldn't exactly call him a friend. She suspected that Davis might have a thing for her, but she chose to not address it, something that Davis himself seemed appreciative of.
"Um, Davis," Jasmine asked, "The goo?"
"Right," Davis said, as he turned to a monitor on his desk that was little more than a pane of glass. When he tapped it, a holographic display was projected on its screen, "You were right, that didn't come from an ordinary blank, analysis says the synthetic flesh has been tampered with."
"Tampered with how?" Jasmine asked
"I discovered deteriorating traces of some sophisticated tracking bacteria in the goo. My guess is that when the substitutes were destroyed, they released the bacteria into the nearest living organisms."
"So they're tracking me?" Jasmine asked, "Can you stop it?"
"Like I said, it's pretty sophisticated," Davis said, "I can't even follow its signal back to the source, this is beyond anything we currently have,"
"But not something beyond the Scarecrows," Jasmine muttered to herself, "Okay, how long does the bacteria last?"
"The earliest I can guess is a few weeks, definitely not before New Year." he said
"Dammit,"
"I am still working on a counter-agent to decontaminate you," Davis said,
"Alright, thanks David," Jasmine said, "anything else?"
"Actually, aside from the tracking bacteria, the blank itself was pretty high-end, not a lot of places can make a model like this, even fewer could alter it. I was able to recover the psyche circuit that your attackers used to control it and am analyzing it now." Davis said, "I don't expect to get much from it, but maybe some ghost data to help you out."
Jasmine smiled, "Thanks Davis, I really appreciate this,"
As Jasmine left, Davis waved to her, "Y-yeah, sure, anytime."
The next place she went to was the Keepers office.
"So now they're tracking you and Ryan." Stephanie asked.
"Yes ma'am." Jasmine said handing Davis' report to her
"Which means that making Ryan follow us to the summit was a good move on my part; all that security in High V'hax, they'll never get in undetected. All hundred and eighty-nine Keepers will be attending."
"May I ask why Ryan's mom put a life seal on him?" Jasmine said, "It just seems like such a drastic measure, especially to put on your own…"
Stephanie gave her a sharp look, that made the white-haired ranger stop talking, then the Keeper sighed.
"Honestly I wish I knew. She'd spent months researching the secrets of the soul and fate, going to sources even I find distasteful. Whatever drove her to do this, it terrified her, and she was one of the most fearless people I knew."
"I've heard the stories," Jasmine said, "she sounded awesome."
"She was impossible to hate, literally." Stephanie reminisced, "It really drove me crazy at times; to know her was to love her."
Jasmine still didn't know how to explain that she had actually met the late Julia Reins when they went to the Necropolis, where she was the avatar of death.
"I should be going now." Jasmine said, bowing before leaving the office.
As Jasmine left the office, she went to the restroom to wash her face, she was completely alone, but when she was washing her face, she heard a voice say, "Jazz."
She turned around, but found no one there, then, when she returned her attention to the mirror, in place of her reflection, she saw the transparent visage of her sister, Rose.
"Gah!" Jasmine yelped, jumping back. she put her hand to her heart, "¿Rose? ¡Maldita sea, me asustaste muchísimo!"
"Lo siento," the ghost said, "I needed to speak with you when you're alone."
"Did Ryan's mom send you?"
"No, Lady Onruu doesn't know I'm doing this. I need to hurry; this haunting won't last long."
Jasmine didn't know how her dead sister was doing this, but she wasn't going to question it; weird stuff happened to magi all the time.
"What's happened?" Jasmine asked, "why did you need to reach me?"
"Something is happening beyond the Veil; very old things have been stirring, and it's causing all sorts of problems."
"Do you know what's behind it?" Jasmine asked
"No, no one does." Rose said, "But whatever is going on, started around the time you all came down here, and its only gotten worse. Has Ryan been okay?"
"Ryan?"
"Yes, he's somehow in the middle of all this. Lady Onruu knows how, but she can't interfere with him… not anymore."
"Ryan is more or less alright," Jasmine reported, "Is there anything I can do on my end?"
"No," her sister said, "the trouble is mainly contained on this side for now, it shouldn't concern the mortal realms."
"So why did you call to telling me this?"
"Jasmine, you're my younger sister. Even dead, I have to look out for you."
Rose looks away for a second, "It looks like Lady Onruu is looking for me. I got to go, but Jazz, keep Ryan away from the－"
Before she could finish, Rose started to fade away, Jasmine called out to her before she finally vanished, "Wait Rose… keep Ryan away from what?"
… )]≥( …
After her conversation with her dead sister, Jasmine was pretty disheveled. If she absolutely needed to reach her sister again, she could hold a séance, but she really didn't feel like seeking out another Death Gypsy, not after the last one had sold her out to her psychotic doppelganger. She went back to her room, where she did the only thing that calmed her down besides archery; art.
She grabbed her sketchbook and pencil, closed her eyes and pictured what she was going to draw, then, as if in a trance, her hand flew over the page, guiding her pencil. When she was done, she looked at what she had created and gazed in horror at an image of Ryan, he was lying dead by a wall, his blood spattered everywhere, a bloody hand reaching out from his gut, in one hand was Draxonn, in the other was a book.
There was a knock at the door, "Who is it?" she called
"Room service," Ryan called back, "I left my Planet Z here, mind if I get it back?"
"No," she said, as she went to the door, "Not at all, come in."
As Ryan enters, he sees a sheet of sketchbook paper burning in the trash bin, "What happened?" he asked, "didn't like it?"
"Something like that" Jasmine said, knowing that her latest sketch was now destroyed.
"Anyway, when are we leaving for this summit?"
"Well, I think we'll be going by warbird," Jasmine said, "So, we'll probably be leaving tomorrow."
"Great," Ryan said, "so I can give Liz Martins my room key."
"Okay, who's Liz Martins?" Jasmine asked
"Liz Martins, the girl I ask to take care of Riot when I'm away."
"Oh, the chamelyad girl that works in the Magistrate division? The one with the freckles?" Jasmine guessed
"Yeah, her."
"Y'know, she's pretty cute, why don't you ask her out?"
Ryan turned to face her, "Hey, have you seen this girl I know? Her name is Jasmine; tall, white hair, caramel skin, never acts this nice to me,"
"What, I can't be friendly to you now?"
"No it's just… it's unsettling," Ryan said, "but, I do appreciate your futile attempts at taking an interest in my life. It was appreciated."
"Ryan," Jasmine said, "no matter how many times you annoy me or how tempted I am to punch you in the face, just know that I've got your back. I have to; your life is now literally my responsibility as my protege."
"Thanks… I think." Ryan said, "Well, I need to get to my room, got to get some sleep."
"And clean your room, it's disgusting." Jasmine called out
"You're not my mother," Ryan retorted as the door closed.
… )]≥( …
Ryan found himself in an old house, it was dark and stuffy, from the window, he could see moonlight shining through the thick drapes. The wood deck floors creaked and groaned under his weight. He wandered for a while, his every step echoed through this dark empty place, as if it was massive. He had arrived at a foyer, when he heard it,
"Return" a strange voice hissed, as a strange wind blew through the strange house. [Very strange]
"What?" Ryan asked
"Return." The voice said again, louder this time, Ryan felt a tremor beneath his feet.
"What do you mean return?" Ryan said back
"Return!" the voice said more forcefully now, the entire house trembled and dust rained down on Ryan, the trembling became stronger, knocking Ryan off his feet.
"Return what? Return where?"
"RETURN!" the voice said again, this time, the floor beneath Ryan gave way and he plummeted into the darkness below.
Ryan shot awake in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. Riot lifted her head, sensing her master's distress. The schadenkhat growled, but at her young age, it sounded like only a raspy mewl.
"It's cool, girl. I'm fine." Ryan said, he reached over to his nightstand, where a small jar sat. He opened it and pulled out some dried meat treats, then, he threw it over to the great beast, who promptly snatched it out of the air and chomped it down happily before curling up and dozing off on the pile of sheets.
Ryan chuckled, "You're a barrel of laughs, Riot."
He checked the time, 4:38AM. It was too early to get up, but Ryan's dreams discouraged him from falling asleep, so he grabbed his jacket and a scarf and went out.
Ryan wandered the sanctum for a bit, it was nice at night, peaceful. Almost everyone was in the residential district, the rest were on night shift. Somehow, Ryan ended up on top of the sanctum entrance, staring down at the whole valley. All the lights and life from the sanctum, he could see it all from up there. He liked it up there; he liked feeling like he was above all of his problems.
Ryan stayed there until the sun came up, then, he started going back.
As he was walking back to his room, he ran across the very person he was looking to see, Liz Martins. She was a chamelyad, a talent of light magik that allowed one to cosmetically change their color, from their complexion, to their hair, to their eyes, even to their clothes. Currently, she had bright green hair and bright red eyes, with pale yellow skin. She was twenty, and worked in the Magistrate office as an illusionist. She was jogging passed the plaza when he bumped into her,
"Hey Ryan." She greeted, pulling out earpods that were blasting out heavy rock, "how're you doing?"
"I'm doing fine," Ryan nodded, "just up clearing my head,"
"So, to what do I owe this honor?"
"I need you to wolf-sit for me."
A wide smile stretched across her face, "Riot, how is she?"
"She's going to be old enough to start training soon." Ryan said,
"I hope she'll be okay," Liz beamed, she was one of the few strangers that Riot let anywhere near her. It was even because of Riot that Ryan met Liz.
"Yeah, me too,"
"So, I'm assuming our usual arrangement is in order?"
Ryan sighed, "Yes, you have full access to my room and my movie collection, just stay out of my drawers this time."
"I wanted to know what kind of porn you had," she shrugged, "you can learn a lot about a man by his kinks."
"You think I'd hide it there?" Ryan said with a raised eyebrow, "I left one out for you, go nuts."
She chuckled, "Gross man, I was curious, but I'm not gonna watch another man's porn. That's just bad manners."
"Right," Ryan said, "Well, I got to go. I'll leave the key under the doormat."
"Gotcha," she said, "I'll come by later." She continued her jog and Ryan went back to his room to pack.
… )]≥( …
Later that day, Ryan met with Jasmine by the Main Hall.
"Did you get any sleep?" Jasmine asked, noticing the bags under his eyes
He stifled a yawn, "Yes, a bit."
"You need eight hours of sleep otherwise you won't be at your optimal condition." Mac said walking up to them, with an away bag packed as well.
"Mac," Ryan said, "What are you doing here?"
"Stuff happened," she shrugged, "Now why aren't you getting proper sleep?"
"Bad dreams," Ryan said,
"Mac," Jasmine said, attracting the girls' attention, "why are you dressed for a trip."
"Ask her," Mac said pointing at the doors to the Main Hall
Two other people approached, both of them were rangers. One was older, mid to late twenties, he had brown hair, combed properly, his green eyes were focused, yet relaxed and his mouth was curved into a grin. He was dressed in casual wear but had a grey flak jacket with red lining. A band was tied around his right forearm, on it was a special emblem;
Next to him was a girl who looked much younger, around Ryan's age, she had the same brown hair and green eyes as the man, she even looked similar to him. They pair met up with the trio.
"This is Proctor William Peck, and his sister, Amanda." Jasmine explained to Ryan
"Nice to properly meet you," William said, shaking Ryan's hand, "Proctor Sumner told us a great deal about you, Ryan."
"Proctor Sumner?" Ryan asked, looking at Jasmine, "you're a Proctor? Since when?"
Proctors were among the highest rank for officers within ARGUS, serving as the heads of each division in the command hierarchy and are considered to be the elite among elites. Each division had 3 active proctors.
"I just got promoted recently, a few weeks ago" Jasmine said, "didn't I tell you?"
Ryan then realized that Jasmine had a Proctor's band tied around her belt. Had it been there the whole time?
Stephanie walked out of the main hall, her white Keepers' coat draped over her shoulders, held in place by a single gold chord between the lapels, the sleeves hung limp by the sides. The white coat was spotless with its high lapel and gold trimmings, gold tassels adorning each shoulder and the various medals decorating the chest. On the back was the Keepers emblem,
Under the impressive coat she wore a plain black knee length skirt with heels and a simple white blouse, by her left hip was a ceremonial saber with an ivory handle sheathed in a leather-bound scabbard.
She looked refreshed, her cool grey eyes were as bright and warm as usual, and her glossy dark hair styled and braided into a single fishtail that fell down her left shoulder.
The rangers saluted as she descended down the steps, "Good day, ma'am." They said in unison.
"Good morning, everyone," She said, beaming with a smile,
"Why is Mac here?" Ryan asked as she came down to where they were
She gave a mysterious smile, "She'll be accompanying us to the summit as well. I also have plans for her." She said it with a finality that countered the inquisitive looks coming from Ryan, Jasmine and even Mac herself, "Let's get going, shall we?"
They proceeded towards the bay, where sat an anchorage used as a landing point and hangar, waiting for them there, amid the many crafts, was their transport to the summit. The craft that was floating just above the water was like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, it was an warbird, an amphibious hovercraft mainly used by magus in place of human aircrafts. It was the size of a jet, with a long streamlined fuselage and the angular fins at each side and a large fin along the belly of the craft. At the rear of the ship were two primary engine modules at either side. It had a slate grey hull, and the ARGUS crest was painted boldly in black. Along the sides were massive tinted viewing windows. This was an executive class warbird, employed by ARGUS for transporting Keepers, high officials, and dignitaries.
"This is the Keepers' personal warbird; the Victory." Jasmine said as they walked onboard. The interior looked similar to that of a private luxury jet, with expensive furniture, and ample space.
"Captain, we're ready to take off." Stephanie said to the pilot who welcomed them.
"At once, ma'am." He saluted before he and his co-pilot briskly walked off to the cockpit.
The craft started drifting away from the jetty, staying just above the waterline. As soon as they were past the bay, the warbird started to ascend quickly until they were sailing through the clouds.
"Next stop," Jasmine said, "High V'hax."