“Stephan Marquis and Zen Armargarita are to come with us to see the Jefe,” one said while the others planted the butt of their metal staffs on the floor.

Stephan nodded and handed a sleepy Edline to Isaias while Zen stood. The minute they both turned to the guards, a set of handcuffs was placed over their hands.

Isaias stood. “Wait what the hell is this!”

Edline watched with big eyes beginning to spark again.

“By order of the Jefe, these two are under arrest.”

“On what charge?”

“For assaulting Palomera and Mira.”

Zen rolled her eyes. “I should have guessed.”

The guards marched Zen and Stephan straight to Rafael’s office where Mira was crying.

“You don’t know when to quit do you?” Zen muttered as she came to stand in front of Rafael.

“Mira tells me you’ve assaulted her, and her mother is this true?”

“Of course, it is look at my neck,” she screamed baring her bruised neck for her father to see.

Rafael scowled when he saw the bruises. “I see. Then I have no choice but to…”

“Hold on! That is not all that happened, sir,” Zen said glaring at Mira.

“What do you mean?” Rafael asked.

Zen recounted the events for Rafael.

Rafael turned to Mira. “Is this true Mira?”

Mira bit her lip. “I only arrived after mother was unconscious father, so I have no idea, but they assaulted me!”

“You saw the state Stephan was in! His sister was almost turned into a metal sculpture and his adrenaline was high! You saw me trying to calm him and yet you just had to bring up a hurtful past. He was at his limit. What did you think was going to happen? A romantic sweep off your feet?”

Stephan nudged Zen and shook his head before turning to Rafael. “What I did to your daughter was wrong, deserved, but wrong and I am willing to pay restitution for it but don’t punish Zen for protecting Edline. If she hadn’t stopped that metal, I wouldn’t have a sister. I held Palomera till she lost consciousness and I aggravated your daughter. Let Zen go and I’ll take her place.”

Zen nudged him. “I can take my punishment Stephan, undeserved as it is.”

Mira grinned. “Trouble in paradise so soon?”

“Hey! I don’t have to agree with everything he says. That’s not how it works besides arguments are healthy,” said Zen.

Stephan grinned. “You don’t?”

Zen nudged him. “No, I don’t so don’t think I will mister.”

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“And here I thought you were just a wallflower.”

Zen grinned and turned her attention to Rafael who was looking at Mira and seemed deep in thought. He turned to Stephan and Zen. “You’ll both spend a night in the containment rooms after that you will publicly apologize to my daughter Stephan.”

Stephan nodded and Mira scowled.

“That’s all! After everything they put me through, that’s all they are going through!”

“Yes, Mira. You have been a sore in my backside long enough. Tomorrow you are to join the regimen for soldier training.”

Mira took a step back. “But I’m a beauty!”

“With an offensive gift. Your mother has ruined you but there might be time to set you straight. We leave at five.”

“In the morning!”

“Yes. You are commanded to be there as a beauty with offensive abilities.”

Zen sniggered and Ishevara slid from her hiding place to be visible. The moment she was, Mira threw herself at Zen.

“Give it to me,” she screamed grabbing the chain and trying to hoist Ishevara up strangling Zen.

Zen struggled to breathe. “G..e...t…h...e...r..off me be...fore Ishe...vara strik...es her!”

Ishevara was growing hotter against her skin.

Just a little longer Vara! They’ll get her off me. We don’t have to hurt anyone! Please!

If she is not off you in a minute I will beam her for all she’s worth, which isn’t much.

Stephan hauled Mira off Zen and trapped her in a water shield.

“Stephan! Let Mira go,” commanded Rafael as his daughter struggled to breathe in the water.

“Have some guards ready then. She’ll try to attack Zen again if I let her go!”

Rafael nodded and several guards grabbed the struggling girl once she was freed from the water shield. She tried to get up and lunge at Zen again, but the guards were faster and pinned her down on the floor with their staffs of metal.

“This is what happened to Palomera,” Zen gasped standing and leaning against Stephan. “She is so corrupt one glance at Ishevara and she loses it. She wasn’t like this before though. Something caused her corruption to deepen to this degree.”

Stephan held Zen to him, one arm around her waist. “Her obsession with me couldn’t have caused such a shift could it?”

Zen looked at the fallen girl. “I don’t know.”

Rafael smoothed his hair back and sighed looking at his progeny sadly. Then he faced Stephan and Zen. “Take these two for a night in the containment rooms. Treat them as you would a guest. It is a simple punishment. I have to uphold something of the law here in this mess.”

Zen and Stephan nodded, and both were led to the containment rooms. Zen looked at the damp moldy cells.

Here I am again.

###

D’Angelo smiled politely at Cecil as the plane entered the deadlands.

“Como la encontraste?” (How did you find her?)

“Un mago no revela sus trucos, Cecil,”(A wizard doesn’t reveal his tricks, Cecile.) he said staring out the window. He grinned. In a little over a few hours Zen would be his and the crystal would be the GAA’s. He just had to wait patiently for them to land. I’m lucky I found a Galactical and they were willing to help me track the crystal. He twirled the drink in his wine glass and took a sip. If only I didn’t have to bring Cecil this would be so much easier! He stared at the barren wasteland and scoffed. He’d found Zen now he had to keep Cecil from killing her. Well, accidents did happen in these lands and Cecil was old. He grinned and took another sip of his cold drink.

His ear buzzed and a familiar click was heard. “D’ Angelo, I have picked up crystal readings deep in the earth near Kuja.”

“I’ll tell the pilot to head for that area now.”

“Kuja exploded suddenly and for no reason which leads me to believe that they landed somewhere near as metal elementals are said to have some connection with volcanos.”

D’ Angelo nodded as he stood and headed for the cockpit to tell the pilot of their change in trajectory.

Just a little longer

Behind their plane were several more armed with several brigades. This time there was no escaping the Dons.