Investigating the Assassinations [Private/Plot]

Ari’s tears and frustration at being tied down eventually led to her thinking she had drifted into a nightmare-filled sleep. Images kept filling her mind of her mother’s death, repeating over and over as she struggled each time to reach her mother before Lilly could take her life. Each time, she failed, and she spiraled further and further into despair. Slowly, the scene shifted, little by little. First, she got closer and closer to saving her mother only to fail only for it to change a tiny bit each time until, soon, she was the one murdering her mother. She saw herself chasing her mother down the tunnel as her mother cried out, begging for her to stop, to listen to reason. Soon, it was herself she saw relentlessly driving the dagger into her mother’s stomach, asking her mother if she were disappointed in her, still. Even in the visions where she was the one committing the atrocities, there were tears running down her face the whole time.

Once more, the vision changed. This time, it wasn’t her mother she was chasing, but her father. Begging him to understand why she had to do it, why she had to kill Evelyn, begging him to love her and understand. And then once more, the features shifted and it was Adius falling to her blade. Over and over again, the nightmare looped, showing her killing each of her family and her loved ones. Evelyn, then Adamus, Adius and then Azix and finally showing her massacring the Grumptoes in a senseless slaughter of madness.

Through all of it, she kept praying and begging to wake up, to escape these images. She knew she was not capable of such a thing, but the images replayed until she could feel the blade in her hand and the blood coating her arms and face. She could taste the terror in the air and see the horror in the faces of her victims. She cried and screamed out, not realizing these were not dreams but rather illusions that were taking advantage of her grief-stricken mind. If she had known, it probably still would not have mattered, the illusions were too strong for her to overcome. After the relentless attack on her mental state, her mind finally seemed to snap under the pressure and she fell unconscious, unable to take any more duress.

It was only in the sweet escape of unconsciousness that she was able to remember herself and what had actually happened, that Lilly had slaughtered her mother. It would probably not help her when she awoke, but at least she had an escape from the mental anguish.

Adamus was desperate. Ella had not been at her inn in over a week and no one had seen her since she returned from shadowing Elric. Neither of them had reported to anyone since being left at Elric’s estate and a thorough search of the house had turned up nothing of incident. Adam was beside himself with worry for his daughter. With both of them disappearing, he feared the worst. He could not afford to lose both his wife and his daughter. He would not be able to recover from such a loss. He did not know what else to do, so he left a message for Carmen, praying that the woman might have some clue as to where Ella might be.

Worry had him pacing back and forth in the stables he asked her to meet him at, his agitation riling the horses around him, but he did not notice. All he could think of was that his daughter was missing and he had no means of locating her.

Father let the illusions drop while Ariella was unconscious, carefully monitoring his own magoi levels. When she seemed to be deeply asleep, he pulled out a small vial and tilted her head back, using the dropper to place a few drops at the back of her throat, making sure she did not choke on the poison. The poison had been specially crafted to give her a fever and cause hallucinations. This made it more difficult for her to tell the difference between illusion and reality and had been keeping her mind weakened enough for her to believe his illusions as truth. Lilly tugged at his cloak and he smiled down at her.

“Father, why aren’t we just killing Miss Ari? You said no witnesses!”

Father ruffled her hair with a fond grin.

“Precious Lilly. We do not want to kill this one. We want to make her and everyone else believe that she is the one killing people. That way, they won’t suspect us. You see? We trick them into killing her for us, while making sure we don’t get caught! Do you understand?”

Lily nodded but pouted. She had wanted to play with Miss Ari. All she got to do was stab at the magician’s borg when it flared back into existence, keeping the woman defenseless. But she trusted her father to know what was best. When Father knelt before her, he had a serious look on his face.

“Now Lilly, I am going to change your appearance a little bit, okay? It won’t be forever, but we want to make sure everything thinks poor Miss Ari has completely lost her mind, okay? I am going to make your hair match mine! Think of it like dress up!”

Lilly clapped happily. While she loved her pretty pink hair, she also liked playing dress up. Father gave her a small potion and she drank it, making a face at the icky taste. The liquid felt all tingly inside of her and it made her head itch. When she reached up to scratch, she saw that the hair in her fingers was a silver shade instead of the usual pink and she giggled. Father chuckled and ruffled the newly silver hair that laid flatter than the usual pink puff of hair. The plan was nearly complete. He had no doubt they would soon be discovered, Adamus would probably have discovered his precious daughter missing by now. While the heat mage was not proficient with Life magic, he knew Evelyn had taught him enough of it for the man to manage a location spell for his daughter, if it ever came to his mind.

And when Adamus arrived, he would find quite a surprise in store for him.

Carmen had been hard at work ever since they had lost Ariella’s trail. At some point in time, after the woman and the Councilor had returned to his estate, the two of them had gone missing. She did not even have so much as an opportunity to see any odd movements in or out of the house. That pointed to one of two things; they were either infiltrated and removed from the other side of the estate, or there was magic in the works. Carmen was no professional when it came to magic, but she knew somebody who was. Adamus. Just as she thought this, Adamus had sent a request for a meeting with her, but she would not know of this request until she had gotten back to their safe-house. When she arrived and saw that letter, she immediately took off to meet him at the location he had chosen, worried about the situation that Ariella was likely in.

She hurried to the man, knowing that every second counted, and arrived to see him pacing nervously back and forth within the stables. ”Adamus, sir! I received your contact, and not a moment too soon; I needed to get into contact with you. I noted the urgency in your request to meet me; what was it you needed to know?” There seemed to be a sense of urgency within the woman, as well, as she spoke quickly in hopes of resolving any of his questions as fast as possible.

Adamus glanced up as Carmen walked in, giving a slight sigh of relief at how promptly the woman had responded, his hair frazzled from having run his hands through it countless times.

”Carmen, thank goodness. Ariella… I can’t find her. She came back from Portsmouth, the guards said Elric took her into his estate, but neither of them are there. The woman at her inn said she had not been there since before she went to shadow Elric. I… I don’t know what to do… I was hoping you might have some word. I… I….” His voice cracked and he looked on the edge of tears, hopelessness drifting in his eyes.~

Carmen approached Adamus, gritting her teeth. She had been following Ariella diligently for the past few weeks, keeping an eye on her movements and ensuring that if the woman needed help she would either be there for her or be able to contact others who could come right away. Her frustration at not being of any use to Ariella, coupled with her hopes of finding somebody who could relieve her of that frustration being dashed, caused the woman to recall the time when Azix had been acting listless for a period of time after Garret had been sent to prison. It seemed that Magicians needed a bit of tough love to get their motivation back on track. She grabbed the man’s lapel and gave him a decent slap across the face; it was not enough to cause any damage or harm, but enough to leave a sting on the contact area.

”SNAP OUT OF IT! I know your daughter went missing! I’ve been tracking her all the way up to the point that she reached Elric’s estate. They both entered, but neither ever left. There should only be two opponents. I think magic must be involved, and I was hoping to get your assistance finding them! Don’t you have anything!? Any magic that can track her?! Any friends that can help you!?” Her talking was just as quick and rushed, though at the end of it she began to choke up, if just slightly. Carmen’s frustration had reached a point where the stress was too much for her. Tears began to roll from her eyes. Though she convinced herself, professionally, that she had not grown attached to the target of her shadowing, there was a mixture of feelings that she couldn’t, or perhaps feared to, sort out.

The sharp slap made Adamus’ eyes widen in shock before Carmen’s words penetrated his thick skull. He mulled the information over in his skull, the desperate look in her eyes reminding him that as much as he wanted Ella safe, he was an Admiral and this was not the time for panic. His face slowly fell into a serious expression, hardening slightly.

”My apologies. You are right. I need to get myself together. If we are positive the last place anyone saw them was Elric’s estate, then maybe….hmmm… wait, Evelyn… she taught me a spell, for when the kids were younger. They liked to explore and we had a large estate. It was a basic life magic spell that I could use if the kids ever got lost. I just need something of Ella’s. Something with blood or spit or something on her body for an extended period of time. Perhaps there is something in her room at the inn I can use. I just need to grab my wand and then I will head over there. Meet me there and hopefully we can figure this out. Thank you for reminding me that I am not just a father, but also a magician.”

Adamus would press a quick, fatherly kiss to her forehead before rushing into the inn to retrieve his wand, not wanting to waste any time. He knew Evelyn’s spell was intended more for freshly lost individuals, but it was the only prayer he had without trying to contact a clairvoyant.

Carmen pulled herself together after he spoke up, nodding silently and preparing herself for the hunt they would soon have to perform.

Ari groggily opened her eyes, peering around her in a haze, her reality twisted as the poison worked through her body. This time when she peered around, all she saw was the twisted, bloody remains of loved ones, scattered around the room in pools of blood. In the middle of the bodies, she saw herself kneeling, bloody hands covering her face as she cried. Slowly, the tears turned to maniacal laughter and she saw the crazed gleam in her own golden eyes. The image was too much and she vomited to the side of the chair she was tied to, some tiny part of her mind trying to remind her that this was not her, she was not capable of this, but the hallucinogenic properties of the poison kept dragging her further from reason.

A sudden slash of pain tore across her stomach as, from seemingly nowhere, Lilly showed up to cut across her torso.

"Bad Ari! Now we will have to clean this up!"

The words fell on broken ears as Ari could do nothing but weep at the image of madness she still saw playing out behind the psychotic little girl. She did not notice the girl's hair was now silver and straight or see the blood pouring from the shallow wounds the girl inflicted. All she saw was her own crazed visage and all she felt was the sharp, stinging pain of punishment. To the left of her own image, she saw Azix's lifeless eyes staring back at her as though questioning how she could have done such a thing as his hand stretched out to try and grab Sophie's dead body to him. Would the nightmare never end?

Adamus wandered through Ariella’s room, poking through things to try and find something that would offer a strong enough connection to his daughter for the spell to be effective. Finally, in her trash bin, he found some bloody bandages, the remains left from when Lilly had attacked Ariella in the school. Figuring it was the best thing he could find, he snagged the bandages up and then knelt on the floor, taking a piece of chalk out as he moved all of the clothes and rugs out of the way. Directly on the floor, he began sketching what areas of Remano he knew in a rough outline, hoping that when Carmen arrived, she would be able to fill in more of the area. He had not done much exploring of the city, so what little he had down was tentative, at best.

Carmen arrived shortly after Adamus had found the bandages. Her tears were dried, and her face washed. She had found control of her emotions on her way back to the safe-house, checking to see if there was any information from Portsmouth that Azix had come back. Seeing nothing, she shook her head and looked over to the operations folder. The most recent one had the documents outlining the details of the assassinations, as well as the shadowing that had been done during them. She put a new sheet in, quickly, mentioning that Adamus and herself would be heading to Ariella’s inn with the intent of finding her via Adamus’ magical talents.

She moved quickly, heading up towards Ariella’s room and opening the door to find Adamus sketching an outline on the floor. A cursory glance allowed her the opportunity to understand what the sketch was of; a map, albeit sparse, of the city. She noted the man’s steady and professional hand, which had drawn the map, and looked up to Adamus. ”Anything I can help with?” She didn’t understand much about magic, but she had been working with Magicians for a long time now. First Garret, and then Azix. She knew they relied on her, on occasion, and that despite their vast resources available to them they were not able to do everything by themselves.

Adamus glanced up, giving her a nod down to the map and holding out the piece of chalk.

”Yes, actually. I am sure you know this city better than I do. Can you at least fill in major roads or landmarks for me? Basically, I will use the blood on her bandages as a ‘seek’ for the Rukh to go find. They will locate her and then show us on the map where she is, or has spent a great deal of time recently. It isn’t an exact magic, like clairvoyance, which would let us know the path she took or what is happening to her right now, but it can at least detect where her life signatures are heaviest. Hopefully, it will give us a starting point.”

Carmen nodded at his request, and began drawing out the city. Carmen had been a resident of Remano for as long as she could remember, and knew its streets better than anyone she knew. Though a majority of that knowledge came from her work for Kou, which was ironic if one thought about it. Her skill at drawing, while not as great as Adamus’, was nothing to laugh at. Her work often required her to draw out schematics for operations, planning out routes and the like. The city was a large one, however, and the woman would require more space. She moved with a practiced speed, completing a good portion of a sector of the city. ”Alright. This doesn’t cover the whole city, as it is just the bigger roads and important areas of the city, but could you try it now?”

Adamus watched, nodding with a small smile at her precise movements and perfunctory explanation. He knew it would not be exact, but it had enough detail to give them a pretty good idea.

”That should be perfect, now let us see if we can’t find Ella…”

He knelt back down beside the circle, murmuring to the Rukh, giving it complex directions as he held his wand against the bandages. With a scattering of tiny flickers of Rukh, they followed his instructions and swirled around the map before flying out the window. Adamus kept his eyes on the map, waiting patiently for them to scour the mapped area for any life force similar to what was in the bandages. It did not take long for the swirl of Rukh to return, circling around the map before two small glimmers would hover over the map, one in an area filled with warehouses and the other in a residential district. Adamus would look up to Carmen inquiringly.

”Do you recognize these areas?”

Carmen nodded, looking back up to Adamus. ”Yea, that looks like the warehouse district where the merchants hold their goods. Some of them have been abandoned, though recently trade is beginning to pick up again and they’re slowly being brought back into use. Only a few, in this area, are still not in use. Over here is a residential area. Any preference on which to search, first?”

Adamus would hum and nod.

“Alright, since one is in a residential area, I doubt they would be kept there. You don’t hold magicians in a residential area and hope to keep it quiet unless you have them completely disarmed. So I suggest we check the warehouse area first. And Carmen… if we find anything, I want you to go for help, immediately. Don’t try and stay to assist me, I can handle myself. I have enough experience in battle to handle myself until you return. But to take two magicians hostage… I will need back up. So find the most powerful people you can… okay?”

Carmen nodded at the words the man spoke to her. At first, in her mind, she believed that he held the same view that Ariella did; that he could handle the situation by himself. Shortly after that, however, he mentioned the need for backup. When she realized he was approaching this with that mentality, a small portion of relief spread throughout her. It was a professional assessment of the situation, and showed that he was still thinking with a clear mind. His request, however, was going to be a difficult one to fulfill. While Remano was most certainly an important region, their operatives were mostly intelligence gatherers. Only a few truly specialized in combat, and most of those worked across the field. The foremost of such operatives, the organization’s ‘Troubleshooter’, was last heard of clearing out problems north of Portsmouth. She wondered if she would have to approach King Lagi in order to obtain the assistance that would be needed to help Ariella and Adamus. ”I understand. At the first sign of danger, I will immediately leave to get reinforcements. Just be careful. As you say, two magicians were taken out, so the opponents must be tough.”

Adamus nodded before memorizing the route indicated on the map, whispering a soft thanks to the Rukh for their assistance before releasing the spell. There was no time to waste, so he quickly stood and took a deep breath. He knew he needed to keep his mind focused and not let it stray to what possibly could have happened, or he would lose what made him so valuable on the field of combat. Heat magic was not something one could afford to be careless with and he needed to stay firmly on task for this.

”Alright, let’s go.”

Another moment of consciousness led to yet another nightmare as her glazed eyes peered around her. This time, she was in the school and it was full of children. Children that looked utterly terrified and she soon saw why. In the middle of the classroom, an image of her stood, her dagger swinging above her head as she held on to the chain. She tried to close her eyes against what happened next, but at the first scream, she could not help but watch as her sharp blade sliced through so many tiny bodies. Only one had survived, a little girl with silver hair, who was crouched behind a desk, crying and whimpering for her father. She could not block out the cries or images as she saw herself approach the girl and use the ball on the chain to wrap around the girl's throat and drag her closer, the dagger finding a warm, defenseless sheath in the child's body.

Tears streamed steadily down her face and her mind seemed to have given up on convincing her this was all just a sick play being put on to break her down. She did not see Father and Lilly standing beside her, Lilly clapping gleefully at the images while Father focused on the illusion. She barely registered her head being tilted back and more poison being administered, quickly followed by a few small sips of water. She greedily sipped at the water skin, instinct pushing to the front to make sure she stayed hydrated. Father had given her the tiniest of reprieves before the illusion shifted again and she was transported to a new nightmare.

Adamus let Carmen lead the way to reduce the chance of getting lost, not wanting to waste a single precious moment in finding Ariella. Gods only knew what was happening to her, if a skilled assassin had her. If he was lucky, she would be alive. If he was not, there would be hell to pay. His wand was gripped tightly in his hand but he was keeping his breathing even as he followed the intelligence operative, giving a gentle reminder to the woman.

”Remember, at the first sign of danger, you go find help. I don’t know who you would approach for assistance, but preferably someone skilled. If all else fails, find a guard, or go to the military barracks. Political assassins aren’t known for keeping around people that are not useful, so if Ella and Elric are still alive, it is for a reason.

Adam was concerned at how any assassin had managed to disarm not only Ariella but also Elric, a man that was fearsome in his least important battles, let alone when faced with what he considered a worthy opponent. The last time he had fought with the man, they had both been forced to seek healers afterwards, and it had been a friendly fight. The thought made him grip his wand tighter, vowing that only death would rip the weapon from his hands. It was the only thing he had to save his daughter.

Ariella blinked in confusion as she felt her bindings loosen and then fall to the ground. Slowly, she tried to raise her hands, finding them numb and nearly useless after days of being contained in the same position. Her vision was blurry and she felt like she was on fire as she fell out of the chair onto the cold ground. Through distorted eyes, she saw her dagger on the ground nearby and she dragged herself over to it, barely having the strength to do that much. She coughed, she throat raspy and dry, before looking around, trying to figure out where she was and why she had been released.

All she could make out around her was a large open area and what she thought might be crates along the walls. Light filtered in through several holes in the walls, giving the entire area a haunted look of abandonment as she tried to get her bearings. She blinked several times, hoping her vision would clear, but it only sharpened slightly. Suddenly, from across the room, she saw the source of her torment. A small figure with a blur of pink was all she could make out, but after having Lilly in her nightmares for the duration of her captivity, there was no doubt in her addled mind that if she could just destroy the little girl, she would be free of the terrifying visions and horrible thoughts.

Finding a well of strength, fueled by rage and pain, she lurched forward to try and attack the girl, only to feel a slice across her back. She tried again, with the same result, another stinging pain as something cut her. She found that if she stayed still, she would not be hurt, but any attempt to approach Lilly resulted in a harsh reminder that she was still caught in a nightmare. Around her, she could hear Lilly's voice echoing.

"Come play with me, Ari!"

Adamus looked to Carmen for direction when they began seeing more warehouses, hoping the woman would be able to tell him which ones were abandoned.

Carmen was moving without wasting any time, leading them, one by one, to various locations. She explained to Adamus that the locations centralized closest to the shopping district and the main roads were prime estate, which made them thusly all used by the merchants. Their primary targets would be to the locations further in, out of sight and out of use. If they did a sweep, they would likely be able to find the location quickest if they started from the back of the warehouse district and worked their way forward. Carmen nodded to Adamus as they continued moving, getting ready to split up so that they would be in the position to start their sweep. Just as they had gotten halfway through, however, a scream was heard from not too far away.

Adamus looked sharply towards the sound of the scream, the sound filled with rage and madness and immediately began rushing towards the primal cry. Not wanting to rush in unprepared, he found a low window to try and look through, horror covering his face. He could barely make out Ariella on the floor, a knife in her hand as she crawled towards a little pink-haired girl, screaming in fury at the child. In the background, he could just barely make out his old friend Elric, looking like he was trying to calm the lightning magician. He turned to Carmen, unable to hide the look on his face.

“Go for help… NOW!”

Carmen nodded wordlessly to Adamus, hurrying back towards a messenger post that they had somewhat nearby. Though that walk would take a while, she looked up in the sky to see a strange object flying overhead.

Ari screamed out in fury as she tried to slash at the image of Lilly again, ignoring the voice of the man to her side begging her to stop. Lilly was the source of all of this, the psychotic child was dragging her into madness. She would not go without a fight. She did not hear the large door open to her other side, but she did notice the flare of sunlight that hurt her eyes. And when her father's voice came booming across the room, she looked up in innocent fear, certain the voice was another nightmare.

"Daddy?"

Adamus looked in stunned horror at the sight of Ella on the ground, looking half-mad and lost.

"Ella, baby? Are you okay?"

He was not expecting Ari to come lunging at him with the chained dagger in her hand, seemingly intent on digging the blade into his chest. His borg rebuffed her and he tightened his grip on his wand as he shot a look up to Elric.

"What is wrong with her? WHAT HAPPENED?"

He kept one eye on Ariella while glancing at Elric, stunned when Ella collapsed to the floor in tears. When Elric spoke, he could hear pain and panic in his friend's voice.

"Adamus, thank goodness you are here. She... She's mad. She took me and Lilly hostage.... she said she was going to frame us! I didn't want to hurt her, so I tried tying her up, but I couldn't find you! Adamus, she... she killed Evie... she kept saying Evelyn deserved to die, that maybe now her mother would appreciate her talents. I think she has snapped, Adam."

Adam shook his head, not wanting to believe his friend, even with the evidence in front of him. Ella was covered in blood from numerous wounds, but he could tell all of them were shallow. Elric was serious when he said he wasn't trying to hurt the girl. If he had wanted to, he could have killed her by now. And he had seen with his own eyes as Ariella tried to hurt the poor pink-haired child.

"Ella, sweetie... why? Is it true?"

Ari kept sobbing into her hands, large hiccuping cries as she heard Elric's words. Had she really said those things? From the corner of her eye, she saw Lilly with that same maniacal grin on her face from the schoolroom and something inside of her snapped. If she could just get rid of the little monster, the nightmare would go away and she would wake up with her daddy brushing her hair from her face, telling her everything would be okay. With a lunge forward, she tried to drive her blade into the girl, not noticing that her blade met no resistance. She could see blood pouring from the imaginary wound she had inflicted and she could hear Elric cry out for his daughter, but she did not care.

Adamus saw what Ella was prepared to do, saw the blade slash at the little girl. When Ari reared back to finish what she had started, Adam's heart broke and he raised his wand, tears in his eyes as he began murmuring to the rukh. He could not let the result of he and Evelyn's neglect end another child's life.

At some point during the last leg of the journey back to Reim, Azix saw Madam Trixie's ship heading towards Imuchakk, carrying the next wave of workers. He had visited with the Pirate Queen, allowing Garret, Yua, and he a chance to stretch out their legs and to stock up on food. After speaking with the workers, giving them quick instructions on what to expect and how to act, they made a hurried departure.

A few days later they arrived in Portsmouth, which was still nowhere near close enough for Azix. It seemed Carmen had left word for Garret to meet her in Remano. With that in mind, the orange magician was back on his carpet with Garret, and Yua if she went along. Traveling South-West towards Remano, Azix received a third message from Ariella in the Journey Book. Although the yellow magician had written a few short lines, Azix could tell she was either suffering from a lack of sleep, wracked nerves or a combination of the two. At least he knew she was alive, which was good news.

When they reached the Capital City, Azix angled the carpet in a descent to travel low over the city, aimed towards his house. It was good luck that had them pass flying over a warehouse district along the same path that Carmen took. It was bad luck that Azix didn't recognize her, nor was he paying much attention to the people below. His mind was preoccupied on other matters and it would be up to Garret's keen senses to point her out.

If he was alerted, Azix would direct the carpet towards her to settle a few inches off the ground. "Have you seen Ariella? Do you know what's going on?"

Garret was teaching Yua the ropes on how to handle the Magic Carpet, explaining how to make it move to their will. She managed to catch on fairly fast, and Garret mentioned as much. "You've got experience, having learned so quickly, with magic tools?" The probe was to learn a bit more about her background. He had no doubt that a thief as skilled as her had likely come across such objects in the past in her line of work, but he wondered how much of that was actually used in her line of work.

"Yup yup. Had a client, once, that gave me a magical tool in order to frame a theft on somebody else. Can't speak much on it, y'know confidential and all that, but lets just say Illusion magic is pretty nasty and leave it at that, right?" She hummed a tune in confidence as she flew their carpet forward.

Garret continued to ask her questions on what she could do, what he could expect from her, and other things along those lines. She continued to explain her skills, anything from burglary to blackmail, planting evidence and eavesdropping, as well as tailing or shadowing targets. Security breaching and security defenses. "And I'm really good at it, too, sir! You can count on me to get it done without a hitch!" She slammed her fist into her palm to accentuate her announcement.

Garret took over the flying of the carpet from Yua as she slammed her hand into her fist, letting go of it for a short moment. The two made eye contact, and Garret sighed. "You know, I've caught you twice after having made noise." Garret spoke of the time at the Villa, as well as the more recent time in the Imuchakk Village. He raised an eyebrow, awaiting for an explanation from his newest hire.

His mention of the occasions brought a blush to Yua's face. "That's... That's just a fluke! Twice! It won't happen a fourth time!" She had skipped the third time completely, as if she knew it was going to happen at least once more. From then on, however, she pretended to be asleep. No question would wake her up.

Garret simply shook his head. Once his shift was over, he went to get his own rest. A few hours after Garret had first lay down, Yua 'woke up' in order to speak to Azix. She moved across the carpet, and was about to poke Azix's shoulder to get his attention before having second thoughts. Instead, she simply stared at the water as they rushed past it.

The constant exertion from having to drive the carpet and feed it magoi would have overtaken the three quite easily, had they not been working it in shifts. Even so, the energy it took was incredible, and their food stores were dwindling quickly. Whether it was a matter of fate, or simple luck, the group had crossed over Madam Trixie's ship. Azix had them touch down upon it, giving them an opportunity to stretch out while he secured additional supplies for the final stretch of the trip.

Garret, taking him up on that offer, brought out his blade and told Yua to bring out her own weapons. She reluctantly put on a pair of 'cat's paws', claw-like weapons with braces inside the gloves to allow easy puncturing. "If you're going to work security for me, I'll need to know how reliable you really are." While that was the excuse he was giving her, he truthfully just wanted to stretch out his muscles. He had not been able to get a real workout in during their trip so far, and he was not going to waste this opportunity. The two of them fought, and though Garret seemed to be winning at first Yua began to get the upper hand. The magician was still not quite skilled with the sword in battle, and Yua's primary hesitation came from her recalling her previous fight with the magician in which she still had the scar to show for it. The return to a normal pace for the thief included the use of her Magoi Manipulation ability, boosting her speed greatly and giving Garret even further troubles.

When Garret put his blade away, however, and against common conventions, his ability to keep up with her drastically increased. They continued at their mock fight for some time while Azix caught back up with Trixie, and the fight eventually concluded with Yua being the victor due to Garret's stamina not being on par with the woman. The exertion and enjoyment the spymaster had from the training was evident on his face, with an unusual and rare grin showing itself. When Yua pointed it out, however, Garret's smile disappeared and he returned to his normal serious self. It looked as if everything was ready to go, and so the group hopped back onto the carpet and made haste to the port city of Portsmouth.


When they arrived, Azix had them check in at one of the local inns that was secretly owned by the Kou operations. It was there that they were informed, in code of course, that they needed to head towards Remano immediately, as Carmen had some important information for them that the needed to hear immediately. The message was a bit old, but they were informed that they would need to make their way over without wasting any time, regardless of how late the message reached them.

Upon exiting the establishment, Garret couldn't help but notice all the Kou ships that had come to port recently. It wasn't anything particularly large, but big enough to bring a decent sized force over. It matched the description that was given to him by Azix. Garret shook his head, wondering exactly what Sato had in mind against such odds. Those wandering thoughts were dismissed as he focused on the matter at hand; making sure Azix made it in time to save Ariella. They hopped back onto the carpet and made their way quickly towards Remano, and began to fly over the warehouse district of the city. He quickly patted Azix on the shoulder as the man flew over Carmen. "Azix! Pay attention to your surroundings! Don't forget the basics, especially during an important time like this. Carmen's right over there." He brought Azix in the correct direction, and they flew towards the regional director of Kou intelligence operations for Remano.

Carmen had a face of relief as she saw that both Azix and Garret had arrived. Skipping the inquiries in regards to who Yua was, she gave the three the information they were looking for. "Trouble, kidnapped by the assassins. Narrowed it down. Four warehouses down, that way. Adamus is there, needs help. Fast." She didn't have time to give them a full explanation, and mentioned part of it with hand signals. Garret nodded towards her, dismissing her, and braced for Azix to take off towards the aforementioned warehouse.


OOC:

Household Member Wordcount: 1175/3000

When Azix and Garret would arrive at the warehouse, they would find the door wide open with Adamus standing there, shaking with his wand in hand as he murmured to the rukh, tears streaming down his face as he struggled with what to do. He did not want to hurt Ariella, but it certainly appeared as though his daughter had lost her mind and was attempting to take the life of a small child.

What he was too caught up in the moment to noticed the faintest shimmer of rukh that indicated it was not, in fact, Lilly, but rather a very skilled illusion. He did not notice that Ariella's blade met no resistance, he saw only the blood produced by her blade. He did not notice Elric to the side with his wand discreetly directing the rukh. He had sent Lilly away long ago, wanting her as far as possible from whatever might happen. With her newly silver hair, no one would recognize her. Hopefully, he would be able to meet up with her later, once Ariella had been dealt with. So far, it looked like Adamus was buying his story - hook, line and sinker. He hid the small smirk that crossed his lips as he noted that Adamus had finally stopped murmuring to the rukh and his face had hardened into a familiar mask of the Admiral that did whatever was necessary. With any luck, soon Ariela would be in a wreathe of flame and heat that would ensure she was no longer a problem for him.

As soon as Carmen pointed out where Ariella and Adamus were, Azix used Sakeru and charged towards the warehouse, with the speed of a Fanalis. Before he entered the building, his Rod of Pestilence was in hand. A curious scene was displayed before him and he only had a few moments to analyze the situation before acting. Red Rukh fluttered around Adamus, Ariella was on the ground a ways before him, and a strange man stood to the side. Next to the yellow magician stood, at first glance a small, wounded girl, but after a double-take realized it was an illusion. While the orange magician considered himself quite adept at illusions, whoever conjured this one was beyond his skill. If it wasn't for his own proficiency in light magic, Azix wouldn't have been able to catch the tell-tale signs.

"The girl is an illusion," He shouted as he ran towards Ariella to stand in the path of whatever spell Adamus may send.

His eyes fell to Ariella and his heart broke to see her look so broken. Something inside him snapped and Azix aimed his wand towards the stranger. Out of everyone in the room, the man was the only logical choice as the culprit for the spell. Azix conjured Kage Youhiki near the illusionist, forming two large tendrils which would wrap around the man, immobilizing him.

Kneeling at her side, Azix put a hand on her shoulder, "Ari, it's ok. I'm here now. What's going on? Is that Father?" He pointed towards Elric, keeping the man within his peripheral vision. On closer look he could see the small cuts along Ariella's back and note the signs of fever. His eyes lit aflame at the sight and it took all his willpower to keep a cool head.

If Ariella affirmed that Elric was father or pointed out that he was responsible for her wounds, Azix would nod slowly and stand up. With his free hand, the orange magician would reach for his metal vessel and turn to Elric. ""O' Djinn of Plague and Pestilence, create a catalyst of change that infects corruption. Lend me the power to purify the world anew. Spread, Cimeies!"

With the chant complete, Azix's appearance would change in a flash of green light as he assumed his Djinn Equip. As the light faded, Azix flew forward with his silver sword pointed towards Elric, at the ready should the magician throw any spells his way. He would Slash at the man's Borg when he got within range, throwing another if it failed to break. Meanwhile, Azix used Crazy Horse to grow his hair, winding it along the floor, between his legs to shoot up towards Elric's gut. Azix would time his hair-spear with another Slash of his blade, this one aimed at the assassin's throat, with Pestilent Touch activated.


[190/300]

Spoiler:

As Azix ran off with his ability, Garret overtook the Magician with the Magic Carpet that he had left behind. He handed reign over to Yua, allowing her to get them into the warehouse. The Magician flew himself and Yua towards the warehouse while Garret brought out Kuroi Shimo, his wand, and held it tightly within his left hand. There was a battle ahead of them, and the Blue Magician wanted to ensure that he was prepared for it before somebody managed to get the drop on him. Extending his senses in order to take note of any opponents coming towards them before they reached their destination, Garret simultaneously took mental inventory of the rest of his equipment. Desceld, his blade, rested in its spot upon his left hip. An easy area for the man to draw it from, should he need to. The Spritely Plague Shield was fitted as comfortably upon the Magician's back as it could be, mounted on a strap that also held one of his other weapons; Marux. The umbrella rested diagonally, sitting behind the shield, with its folded canopy and tip pointing towards his left foot, and the handle ready to be grabbed by his right shoulder. The Operative had a pair of bandoliers. One of which was strapped diagonally across the front of his body, and the second of which was strapped around his waist in a similar manner as a belt. His chest bandolier held within it the Prismatic Dagger, as well as some smoke bombs and flash-bang powder bombs. His waist bandolier also held additional smoke bombs and flash-bang powder bombs.

Garret mentally nodded to himself; only a second had passed, and they were already upon the warehouse door, which was opened wide much to the Magician's amazement. The two of them moved without caution, no hesitation in moving forward, an action Garret would have disapproved of had it been under different circumstances. Yet the man had made the decision because they could not afford to lose any time. Garret soon found that it had proven to be the correct choice. Right as they reached the doorway, where the light from the sun no longer made it difficult to see the showed interior of the building, Garret witnessed a difficult situation. Time seemed to halt to an incredibly slow speed as his mind worked as fast as it could to understand the sight before him.

The first thing he noticed was Adamus. He stood firm and resolute, with his shoulders and back straightened out. The man held his wand in hand, pointing it towards his opponent and the Rukh were beginning to dance before his will. The second thing Garret noticed was Ariella. He did not see as she attempted to stab Lilly with her blade, but she did see blood on the blade and understood that the woman's target was the child. There was no time for Garret's emotions to register, though if there was it would likely have been a mixture of surprise and approval; while he did not care for executing children, in his line of work he believed that you may occasionally find yourself matched up against an opponent that you cannot go easy on. That meant one or the other would die, and if her resolve to stay alive outweighed her desire to not kill a child who could kill her, then she would most definitely be a person he could trust with Azix's life, when he was not there himself. Regardless, those thoughts did not have the opportunity to bloom yet. Due to his positioning on the carpet, he did not see Elric right away.

The slowed time began to speed up once again, as his mind finished processing what his eyes caught immediately upon arrival. Garret's feet were already pushing him off the carpet. The wand he had drawn earlier slid across the thumb of his right hand, puncturing it and drawing a drop of blood in the process. Garret's descent towards the man had just begun as Garret shouted at the same time Azix warned of the whole matter being an illusion. "Rithux! Defend Ariella!" His wand was pointed towards a spot in front of Adamus that would hopefully be able to intercept the spell he was casting. Though it was likely that Garret's descent and shout would draw the Red Magician's attention, and the Red Magician would likely react and stop him, Garret aimed a thrust of his right hand towards the man in the hopes of striking him with a River Styx Style: Deep Sea Harpoon. The Blue Magician would aim for the man's shoulder; non-lethal, if Adamus' Borg hadn't already been broken, while simultaneously threatening enough to activate the Borg and allow Garret to knock the man off balance if it had yet to be broken.

The Water Dragon quickly formed. Its ridges, contours and overall expression was well defined, and the creature immediately heeded its master's commands, making its way towards Ariella even as the Blue Magician fell towards the Red Magician. If Adamus did not somehow stop Garret from his descent, the operative's momentum would very likely knock the veteran Admiral from his standing position, and the two would fumble towards the ground with a decent amount of force.

As everything began to unfold, and Yua stepped down off of the carpet, folding it up while she simultaneously burst to the side and out of the way of the magicians. Her weapons, the Cat's Paws, were hidden within her clothes. She already watched Garret dive off of the carpet, but was not yet familiar enough with the situation to understand it fully. Also, this wasn't quite what she had in mind for work. She kept an eye out for anyone moving towards an exit, believing that at the very least she would be able to run down anyone who tried to run away. While she didn't want to fight, if it was simply hog-tying a person up, she felt fairly confident. "C'mon, this is just like that time in Balbadd..." She whispered to herself some words of encouragement, even as she knelt in a low sprinting posture in order to immediately make her move.

OOC:

Household Vessel Word Count: 1000+1175 = 2175/3000
Magoi/Stamina: 230/300

Abilities Used:

Ari shivered, upset at her inability to destroy the girl in front of her, no matter how many times she slashed weakly with her dagger. When she heard a familiar voice, she looked up with wide, bloodshot eyes. The dark smudge in front of her had Azix’ voice, but she did not trust her own mind right now. She whimpered and backed away slightly at his touch, a wracking cough making her turn to the side, blood from the large amount of poison ingested since her captivity spattering the ground. When she heard him ask about Father, she would nod absently as she backed up farther.

“Just… just stay away from me… I can’t… I don’t… am I a killer?”

She curled into a ball on the floor, unable to muster up enough energy to even try to rid herself of Lilly’s illusion, she just wanted to drift to sleep, where it didn’t hurt and she was not mad.

---

Adamus dropped his arm as Azix shouted about Lilly being an illusion, shock registering on his face that Elric would stoop to such tactics and at the sudden appearance of additional people. When he had sent Carmen for help, he had not expected such a quick response. His vision was suddenly filled with a water dragon that encircled his daughter in a wreath of water, defending her against any possible incoming attacks. He did not notice Garret until the man landed practically on top of him, knocking him to the ground with a rough ‘oomph’ as his borg broke under the pressure, but mitigated all damage he might have sustained.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

The words of anger were the first ones that had popped into his head, Adamus not appreciating having his will interrupted, but at the same time relieved that he did not have to hurt her. His gaze shot over to Elric, who was under assault by Marquis Niraj. The words about illusions made him want to tear out Elric’s throat, who was this man to try and get him to harm his own daughter? What on earth could he be thinking? He wished to join the fray, but something about Azix’ actions made him stop. The man looked much different and was exuding more power than he had seen in a very long time. Perhaps rushing in to seek his own retaliation would be unwise…

---

Elric’s face flashed with panic. Where had the additional people come from? He was so close to his goal, the girl was almost out of the picture, dammit! He had been prepared to deal with Adamus, if need be, but the interruption of the two men and a dragon was much more than he could have planned for. He had figured that other woman would return with guards or maybe an assassin, not two powerful magicians.

When Ariella nodded at the first magician’s question, he cursed under his breath as Azix seemed to transform before his eyes. Elric gave only a moment before attempting to shoot a beam of light at the man only to have it deflected by a powerful sword. When Azix came within range, he gave no thought to his borg as he pulled his katana free. When the tinkle of broken magoi ended, he met the magician’s Crazy Horse with a skillful slash of his own blade. Having only the single sword and losing his borg cost him, though, as Azix’ blade came to slash across his throat.

His hand immediately went up to cover the wound, but he could already feel the itching, burning sensation as something else infected where the cut was. He dropped his blade only to retrieve his wand once more, preparing a large spell. If he was going down, he fully intended to take every person in the warehouse with him. With a murmur to the rukh, Elric cast a 40m wide sphere of light that would grow hotter almost instantly to deal third-degree burns to anyone in the warehouse. While he was disappointed that his plan had not played out correctly, he would do everything in his power to ensure Lilly was safe, and the only way to do that would be to destroy everyone.

Garret tumbled with Adamus onto the ground, finding himself pinning the senior magician who seemed confused and simultaneously relieved as he shouted for an explanation. Before Garret could respond, it seemed as if Azix's words had reached the Red Magician. Garret hadn't realized it had all been an illusion yet, either, however that did not stop him from working towards doing what he knew their goal there was to be; rescuing Ariella from danger. Garret wasted no time getting up. He noticed Yua to the side, and simultaneously took in the sight of Azix going forth and clashing up against another individual he had not initially seen. He looked back towards Adamus, who had a visage of rage that seemed to only be held in check by a caution born from battle experience.

The exchange of blows was furious, yet short, just as most fights were. Azix's weapon strikes made it quickly apparent that it was several levels beyond what he had experienced when sparring against the Magician in a private setting just outside of the Imuchakk Village. The blows resonated with each other, and the Borg of Azix's opponent shattered beneath the man's efforts. The Assassin was able to respond to Azix's strange attack that utilized his hair, but there was another sword stroke that cut across the opponent's throat. That would certainly have ended it, by itself, but Garret knew from personal experience that, had Azix chosen to, the festering of a plague would follow the blow and infect the man. It looked as if the entire battle had been settled completely, in just those few moments. Yet it was that very decisiveness of the exchange which had only made Garret more on alert. From what he understood from the correspondence between Azix and Ariella, as well as the difficulty that his organization has had in getting any sort of information on the pair of assassins, this man was supposed to be an incredible threat who was capable of further destruction.

As the opposing magician made movement to drop his blade, Garret mentally swore. Aloud, he shouted a command while running forward and simultaneously putting away his wand, Kuroi Shimo. "YUA! THROW ME TO THEM!" His speed wasn't truly impressive. His objective was not, however, arriving to Azix and the assassin under his own power. Instead, the motivation towards his burst forward was to close that much more distance between the two in order to efficiently use his time while awaiting Yua's speed boost. The woman was very capable at using Magoi Manipulation to increase her speed; something that Garret was well aware of, having faced up against it multiple times in the past.

Taking note of his orders, Yua pushed off the ground with all of her might. She did not understand why she had been given the orders. She only knew that she was expected to follow them, and that her boss had spoken with a strong sense of urgency. Using her maximum speed from the get-go, she crossed the distance in less time than it took for the heavily wounded Light Magician to draw his wand. She grasped Garret by the lapel, the Blue Magician silently thankful that she had yet to draw her weapons, and immediately threw Garret towards the two even as the Blue Magician simultaneously reached up to his chest bandolier in order to draw his Prismatic Dagger. I hope I have the strength for this to do the trick...

Time stood still for the Magician, once again, and a voice echoed in his mind. You, who seeks strength to defend your King, I am the Household created from the Djinn Cimeies. Will you grasp my strength?

Garret recalled the haze from the old fortune teller he had met so long ago, who had explained the household system to him. He had forgotten, or perhaps it would have been better to say that it was something that sat at the back of his mind, that this was an actual thing that could happen. There was no hesitation to Garret's answer. Of course! Grant me your power, so that I may find the strength to do what must be done!

Very well.

The Blue Magician had grabbed the dagger in response to the orange Rukh that had been gathering around the man. He knew a Light spell when he saw one, having sparred and worked alongside Azix for such a long time, and this piece of equipment was particularly effective against spells of that variety. Now, with the initial power of the Household flowing through him, Garret moved forward with a renewed confidence. As the Blue Magician poured Magoi into the blade, Garret's body flowed with a formidable power that radiated through him. It was the power of Azix and Garret's first dungeon together, Bifrons, though he knew not the name of it. Though Garret had found the blade and purchased it in the port city of Narpolia, the thought that Fate had guided him to that weapon for this very moment crossed the Blue Magician's mind briefly. He had experimented with the object, and had found that it infused the wielder with the capability of deflecting all sorts of Light Magician spells, regardless of their size.

Thus, in a very nearly comical way, Garret stumbled towards Azix and the Magician, readying himself by crossing his right hand to the opposite side of his body. Just as the Magician Assassin finalized the cast of his spell, Garret let loose the power that was coursing through him and performed a technique he had learned from the martial arts that Hasan had taught him in prison. River Styx Style: Redirecting Blows was executed, his strong back-hand imbued with the crystal power of a combination magic, connected with the spell that was being formed and forced that very spell to fire upwards and away from the group. It easily blew the roof of the building apart, simultaneously causing fires to erupt on the wood that had made up the roof's materials. Even though the Operative believed that to be the man's final efforts, there was a possibility of more to come. Regardless of his intentions, the building was now falling apart and they would need to get out of there quickly. "Yua! The carpet! Gather the survivors, we're getting out of here!" With dagger still in his left hand, Garret placed his hand on Azix's shoulder, nodding towards the opponent as if to say 'you should probably finish him.'

In the meanwhile, Yua would do her best to get Ariella and Adamus onto the carpet before rushing over to Azix and Garret to get them onto the carpet as well and get them out of there...

OOC:
Household Vessel Word Count: 972 + 2175 = 3147/3000
Magoi/Stamina: 195/300

Items Used:

Abilities Used:

Azix had yet to fight a light magician, a fact that had not occurred to him as he bat aside the beam of light. His mind was intent on killing Elric for harming the woman who had taken his heart. Azix make quick work of the assassin magician dealing what appeared to be a fatal blow to the neck. That did not stop Elric from grabbing his wand to prepare a final deadly spell. Through his rage, Azix took a step back when he saw the yellow Rukh surge around Elric. A heart beat later and Garret was at the King Candidate's field of vision, moving in to deflect the spell with a dagger. A ball of light arced upwards, crashed into the ceiling and lit sections of the warehouse ablaze.

Garret's shout barely registered in Azix's mind, the orange magician was stunned at how quick the Spymaster had arrived to defend him. Azix felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Garret gesturing to the crippled Elric. The orange magician glared down at Elric slamming his sword down into the man's intestines to gut the man. Pestilent Touch would spread a plague into the surrounding organs, providing the assassin some painful last moments.

With the ceiling and walls crumbling down, Azix spit on Elric and turned, grabbing Garret's arm. Azix pulled the Spymaster along as he flew forward towards the others where the carpet was waiting. It was time to get the Fanalis outta there.

[180/300]

Spoiler:

Ari let herself be pulled onto the magic carpet, though her fingers reached out to snag the chain on her dagger first. As terrified as she was of herself, she could not leave it behind. Once Yua had her on the carpet, she huddled in the corner by herself, trying to avoid being touched as she coughed up more blood. She was drifting in and out of consciousness every few seconds, but she did not notice, as she was having difficulty telling if this was reality or a dream.

Elric sputtered as his spell was deflected, not having a chance to curse as Azix dealt vicious wounds to him that festered. As he fell, a vial of the poison he had been using rolled out of his cloak. Adamus began to move towards the carpet, waiting until Azix had dealt vicious wounds to the other light magician before raising his own wand. He would not risk the magician making it out alive. The serpent of flame he had summoned immediately moved across Elric before circling around the building. The vial of poison shattered from the heat, destroying the poison within. Knowing it was past time to leave, Adamus hopped onto the carpet, concerned eyes on Ella. When he tried to move to hug her, she shied away, so he did not push the matter, but he was concerned by the blood dribbling from her mouth.

"Let's get her someplace to heal her. Then someone can fill me in on what in gods name just happened."

Azix joined the others on the carpet, waiting for Garret to hop on before taking control of his carpet, taking them top speed away from the warehouse. As he poured magoi into the flying carpet, Azix released his Djinn Equip and assumed his normal appearance. What was once a sword was now a necklace in the palm of his hand which he slipped around his neck. Azix noted Ariella's state and the blood dribbling from her mouth with concern. The carpet ascended into the sky as Azix directed the carpet to Opportunity Hall.

Once they arrived, Azix would attempt to gather Ariella into his arms and rush her inside. The receptionist at the counter would look up in alarm as Azix charged past, headed to a back room. He would lay Ariella upon a table before taking a step back to think, rubbing his chin with an idle hand. "If I killed her I could heal her..." He muttered to himself.

Suddenly his eyes would light up, "Aha!" Azix reached into his cloak and produced a vial of liquid in his hand. He removed the cork and put it to Ariella's lips. "A potion I got from a man named Ivan Tory." The orange magician muttered to no one in particular. The effects of the potion would occur immediately, healing most of her wounds and clear up the grogginess at the very least.

Spoiler:

Garret watched as the building was engulfed in flames as the group flew out on the carpet. A warm feeling radiated against his chest, and he pulled the ring out from upon the chain that held it, noting the magical circle that had replaced the Kou seal. The spymaster narrowed his eyes, yet that did not last very long as he considered the irony of the situation and a wry grin crossed his face. His loyalty had, during the strange course of events in his life that he had experienced, shifted from Kou to Azix. He still loved his country, and wanted the best for it, but he now followed another's banner of arms. The symbolism of the Djinn's magic removing the Kou's symbol was not lost on the operative.

Garret recalled Adamus' request as they flew; the man had asked them what had just happened. He wasn't entirely certain what to say, at first. Yet that was something Garret did not immediately dwell on; their first priority was getting Ariella healed. When the group disembarked and set foot into opportunity hall, Azix carried Ariella with haste to a room he could heal her in.

Before Adamus had an opportunity to step in, Garret placed his hand on his shoulder. If he forced his way through to the same room, Garret would follow while explaining what he knew. "Sir, you asked us what happened... But you are in a better position than us to know the truth to that. All we knew was that your daughter was following assassins, and then we found out she had been kidnapped just before we entered the warehouse... To find you, pointing your wand at your daughter and readying yourself to cast a spell." Garret spoke dispassionately, almost in the clinical way a professional veteran soldier would report details in a report. Yet after he had spoken, he looked to the elder Magician and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'What was happening in there?'

Ariella coughed and sputtered as the potion was poured down her throat, shuddering as she felt it work its way through her system. The haze over her vision seemed to be fading, though, which she was thankful for. She looked around the room, confusion clear on her face as she finally looked up at Azix, tentatively reaching a hand up to touch his face as though expected her touch to meet thin air once again. Her voice was slightly slurred, but it cleaned up as she spoke and the potion did its work.

"Azzzzix? Where... where am I? Where is Father and Lilly? Am I... am I awake? Are you real?"

Her golden hues shot around the room, one completely unfamiliar to her. All of the nightmares had been in locations she was familiar with, Elric using her own mind to craft her personal hell. The fact that she had no idea where this room was located actually filled her with relief. With reality setting in, she immediately broke down in tears as the memories flooded her mind again, her strained brain trying to filter through truth and illusion.

---

Adamus paused at the door as Garret stopped him, arching a brow at the motion, but then remembered Ariella's reaction on the carpet. He continued into the room but stayed back in a corner, sighing and running a hand through black hair frustration clear on his face. His voice was tight as he tried to relay what information he had as perfunctorily as he could.

"Ella had been following the trail of the assassins and found who she believed to be responsible. I was led to believe she and Elric Stein had been kidnapped by the assassins. Carmen and I located her, only, when I arrived, she was about to kill a child, Elric's child. He said she had been... she had been trying to set them up as the assassins... that she... "

His voice cracked and he struggled to continue.

"He said she had killed her mother, snapping under the utter disdain Evelyn showed her. That our bad parenting had caused her to lose her wits and begin murdering people. She was about to kill Lilly... I couldn't... I would not allow my own failure as a parent be the reason another parent lost their child. I was already in battle mode, ready to face enemies, and my mind immediately went to the worst solution. To simply take out the problem with my wand. It was foolish. I could not understand what was going on and... Evelyn was always at my side in battle, to ensure I stayed focused on the best course of action. Without her, I... I raised my wand to my own child and I was ready to... to... k-"

He could not continue, the rush of battle having worn off allowing him to truly consider what he had been about to do. He had almost killed Ariella, over an illusion. He should have done... anything else! He should have rushed to her side, he should have looked for signs of rukh disruption, but instead, he had simply acted in the most final manner he could. He collapsed down into a  chair, covering his face as a tear leaked from his eye. He would not fall apart here. He could not let these men see his weakness. And he could not let himself think about the fact that Evelyn, his dear Evie, was dead... and he had almost killed his precious daughter.

[Household training word count: 189/3000]

Azix gave a weak smile to Ariella as the color in her cheeks came back, the potion was working. He nodded when she brushed her hand against his cheek, overlapping hers with his own. "Yes, Ari, I'm real." He sat on the table next to her and cradled her in his arms. A cold chill ran through him as she mentioned Lily's name. The young girl had been an illusion, the real girl was still on the loose. He would have to track the child assassin down before she could harm Ariella. For now though, he provided comfort to his yellow magician.

The purple in his eye shimmered with tears held back as he stared into her golden iris. "We found you just in time. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you sooner." While she cried cradled against him, Azix ran his fingers through her hair. "It's okay now." When Ariella had calmed down a bit, Azix gestured to the room, "We're here in Opportunity Hall, the workforce headquarters. It was the closet place I could think of." In truth, the Grumptoes safehouse was closer, but he had not wanted to reveal that location to Adamus or Yua. Opportunity Hall was a public place that Azix would be expected to go if anyone happened to be observing his movements.

He then turned to Adamus and saw the grief in the heat magician's posture. Azix dipped his head towards Ariella's father, "Your father is here too. He helped us rescue you." A white lie, one that Ariella might not notice at the moment, or so he hoped. The man had almost killed his own daughter from being deceived and that would haunt Adamus for a long time. If Azix could give the heat magician a few moments with a grateful daughter, he was sure Adamus would appreciate it. Also, it was in fact due to the man's involvement that they had run into Carmen. Adamus had probably distracted Elric from killing Ariella sooner for all he knew.

If Adamus approached, Azix would step away, his back towards the father and daughter, so they could share a private moment. The orange magician did stay within arm's reach of Ari, his fingers entwined with hers. For the moment, Azix didn't want to be without her touch.

Garret turned away from the sight, sparing the man's dignity from a grevious blow. Garret wanted to console the man. I may have done the same thing, in his position. If I saw a family member attempting to kill Azix, I would likely strike them down. While he believed in those thoughts, the man never knew much about his family. He had some memories, which were hard to recall, of his parents... But the only other family he truly had was his uncle... Whom he had murdered with his own hands. The experience of killing a member of one's own family was exhausting. Yet Garret had felt a short exhiliration of freedom, as well. That moment in his life was etched strongly upon his mind, though Garret was more than certain that a large reason behind his relief at the ending of his uncle's life was due to how he had been treated.

Instead of offering consoling words, Garret offered words of warning as Azix administered the potion. "You will likely have a hard time with her if she remembers what happened. But it's best not to run, though you probably already know that... You may need the reminder. Your relationship... May not be the best." Once he had finished speaking to Adamus, Garret noted that Ariella had finished her recovery. He found they were having a rather personal moment, yet the woman's father would likely find it best to speak to her sooner rather than later. Knowing that the man did not want to be seen in an emotional state, having been there himself, Garret raised his voice so he could be heard by Garret and Ariella. He walked forward, as he spoke. "Azix, do you think we could give some time alone for her and her father?" Motioning with his head towards the door, Garret left first.