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<02/10/1972 – 23:45 | Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Only minutes into the block, Jane and her friends made it into Eldora City in the night, noticing how shiny and impressive the area remained even at this hour. Rontellov already branched off to the bike shop with their broken bicycles, after which he will supposedly go into the Leray Headquarters. Jane only learned tonight thanks to the detailed map that there is actually a public place for Leray agents in this area, even though they deal more with federal cases than local types, and this was just the tip of the cake.
The lights from above pounded on their eyes from every angle, but the most impressive building so far was clearly the most visible. With filtered lights all around and on top of the structure, the site known to this place as Eldora Tower stood out with its massive size and a height of about 2,400 meters tall. Instead of having a rectangular shape, the building was cylindrical, making its design curious and impressive to their eyes. Jane however was supposed to be leading them to the nearby hotel. There are technically supposed to be several within the entire city, but Greene Hotel is the closest one nearby, and defiantly within the price range despite not being too poor for Jane to afford a few nights here.
There wasn't much to walk from here to there according to the map. Jane had to take a left turn on the road, and found the design of the ground here interesting. The solid cement is designed similar to that of a city road built for automobiles, even though Jane had no such thing to compare that to in her mind. The path intersected with other areas in multiple locations, and was obviously designed for groups of bikers. Sidewalks were of course provided, and the floor seemed clean enough to eat off of. Despite what many thought when associating vivid imaginations with a city of any kind, Eldora has a fancy appeal that is well maintained, while the use of electricity here is astonishing. Street lamps covered every corner with an attractive orange radiance of light, while the LED lights on the tops and sides of buildings provided a clear picture of the city's height from an aerial perspective.
On the block Jane turned from, there were places to stop by everywhere. Some compared this much like the same infrastructure of an outlet mall. Block by block, places like restaurants neighbored other stores such as jewelry stores, grocery stops, clothing stores of the highest expenses, and several private corporate buildings with restricted access. The sights alone were inspiring to the eyes and exciting for the senses. Plenty of people were walking around too on the sidewalks, though not nearly as many as the amount that gathers in the daytime. Big businesses create thousands of jobs here, and the living location of either houses or apartments is set somewhere away from the bustle.
Before walking much further, the sudden sound of blasting wind prompted all three of them to glare straight up into the sky, revealing an airliner passenger jet climbing for altitude. The roar of its engines slammed their vibrations into the ground below them, giving Taylor and the others a potent sense of the sound's penetration. Though Danny and Taylor have seen at least one before pass near their homeland, seeing an airplane was a moving sight soothing enough to make them pause behind Jane. It must be from the airport in Sprawn Valley just southeast of the city. The plane's flashing lights quickly revealed its visual location from the ground, and it was clear that the jet was on takeoff from the airport to go somewhere outside of the country. To Jane's knowledge, even though she had never seen an airplane before with her bare eyes, she knew of them and their existence here. Danny and Taylor on the other hand were awestruck by the surprise, asking Jane about the business of airliners in the vicinity.
After only a short distance on foot, they made it to the entrance of Greene Hotel. The interior of the building was more impressive than the exterior. The entrance was a sliding spinning door, of which Jane and her friends were totally unfamiliar with. It took all three of them at least twenty seconds to figure out how the thing works.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Magic ~ Green Sun
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Aside from entering a new place, even Jane was too curious to prevent gazing in all directions. The color of the walls and the lights together created an interesting sensation that made them feel totally at home and relaxed. The tall building even had two elevator systems each capable of going up twenty entire floors. The front counter was decorated on each side by symmetrically placed beautiful plants as tall as people, and the female sitting behind the desk gave all three of the lost kids a warm welcome.
"Welcome to Greene Hotel. Is this your first time visiting our resort?" She was wearing a very expensive and dark colored executive suit. Nothing else made her stand out more than this, but the trio in front of her paid the desk clerk a lot of attention upon introducing herself.
"That's right." Jane got closer to the counter while pulling out her Leray license and the Eldora access pass card given to all three of them by Rontellov himself. Taylor and Danny followed the same lead without saying much. After Jane handed over all of the licenses and cards to register themselves here, she elaborated on her intensions of visiting. "We plan to stay for only three nights here. I may extend that time should our business keep us here." Jane wasn't trying to sound secretive for the purpose of their stay, but this desk clerk is still just another stranger. The process of booking a hotel room is already intrusive as it is, but she didn't need to give many details in order to get the room needed.
After scanning all six items in the automated computer system, the desk clerk handed them back after making the calculations and discussing the terms of their stay. "I have suite room 1845 on floor thirteen. The cost of charge here with your Eldora pass will be 745 credits per night for each person. Would you like to make the transactions?"
"Yes please." Upon agreeing, Jane watched the lady swipe all three licenses to subtract the total amount of funds from each card. It defiantly wasn't cheap, but they needed to stay somewhere somehow. Besides, after winning the championship, credits earned from that will skyrocket to new amounts she could use later to buy things from the Leray stores.
After having their licenses handed back to them, the desk clerk gave Jane the one and only card capable of opening the door by means of swipe and scan systems. "Have a nice visit!" she called as they began heading towards the elevators.
As the automatic doors began to seal them shut in the room, Danny and Taylor nervously glanced around, trying to deduce the design of the room. "Is this where we stay?" The sudden shift in movement of the elevator heading upwards made him jump, while the continued distortion of slightly higher gravitational force from moving up quickly gave Danny a dizzy sensation. He hunched down on the floor, afraid of what would happen next.
Jane turned around to find that Danny was tripping over nothing, but even Taylor held on to the small railing bars behind her, her eyes rapidly scanning the room for answers. "Have you two never been in an elevator before?" Jane waited for a response, and based solely on how long it took either one of them to nod for a no, it was clear that they've had no exposure to a place like this at all. "Kalamo sure doesn't sound like it has much. It's a transport room!" Jane emphasized every word, which neither one of them seemed to like.
"Wha— I knew that," Danny bluffed.
Taylor glanced up at the top of the room, wondering about the design. "How long does this take?"
Jane muttered, "Uh-huh," under her breath to Danny first, barely remembering Taylor's question. Jane glanced at top at the blinking lights of numbers, all counting up from one. As soon as they hit floor twelve, the acceleration they felt became lighter, until they finally reached the thirteenth floor. There was a sudden whoosh of G-force in the reverse direction that even made Jane feel strange, but it was only momentary. "We're already here." The automatic doors began to slide open, revealing much more open space to the hallway on this level.
Taylor followed Jane out the doors, making sure Danny wasn't left behind either. In the hallway alien to them, the only noticeable pattern was the remarkable narrowness of the path in either direction, giving little room to walk straight. There were metallic doors everywhere with different handles than what was originally seen. Taylor soon noticed all of the other devices jammed inside of each door, giving off a tiny red LED light.
Jane counted the numbers on each door, going higher until she got closer to the number given to her by the desk clerk. 1845 didn't show up right away, but it wasn't much longer than a sharp turn to the right and left. Jane found the matching number, and took out the electronic card given to her. Danny and Taylor probably didn't understand how this worked either. They'd be eaten alive in this place left on their own. Jane swiped the card into the scanner, after which the red LED changed its color to green, producing the sound of something unlocking by itself. Jane then turned the handle, wondering if the other two would have been able to copy this from her if she wasn't around after tonight.
As Jane opened the door, Taylor finally recognized part of a design to a hotel room, but this was nothing like Monoc Port's rooms. The bedroom expanded into a vast area of open space between the two queen sized beds and a mounted television screen of a good size. The bathroom just on the right from here wasn't too bad either, and at the end of the room was a solid sheet of glass showing an expensive view consisting most of the entire city. Danny and Taylor both rushed to the window, excited by the view new to them. Never had they been so high up like this, not without danger and a wonderful view. All of the city lights seemed even more beautiful from here. Taylor examined the entire pane of glass, impressed by the size of a single sealed window. Falling through that would kill anyone, right? Even in Sprawn Valley, how could a fall to the ground that steep be livable even with Leray protection? She took a step back, not wanting to find out.
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Jane noticed a large closet empty of items, though immediately got to work with using it. After pulling out her supply sphere, Jane tried to locate all of her personal cosmetic products. A rather unsatisfying thought crossed her mind; she had not taken a shower since the night before heading to the Alpha Zero, after which medics only sanitized her wounds. Not wanting to imagine what kind of smells she was giving off to the others, or how terrifying her hair became in the night, Jane rushed herself to take first action in the shower. Jane got as much as she could for herself, packed since leaving her home, and took it with her into the bathroom.
Danny sat back on the bed, relaxing himself while waiting on Jane to shower, made apparent by the sound of rushing water behind the walls. After all of that walking he did today, sitting back provided an amazing feeling on his bones and limbs. "Ahhhhh... What a long day!"
For what seemed like twenty minutes, Danny and Taylor spoke mostly about little things happening in their past and in school. Such distant memories were made even more by what has happened to them so far. Just from hopping on an international cruise, all of this adventurous involvement continued. Danny thought all the way back to the beginning of finding Sprawn Valley while nearly drowning in the stormy ocean. The town of Fronas was the first civilization they stumbled upon here, and yet it changed everything. Learning about Leray magic, battles, secret crime organizations, and befriending Jane; all of this seemed so passive, yet the sensation of everything was too real to deny.
"What do you think about Leray magic?" Taylor responded to the similar topic they were already on, after Danny was silent for some time. She was sitting on the edge of the same mattress material, winding back a little to read his expression.
With a delayed answer, he sat up straight giving the matter much thought. "When I first saw those Leray agents prove to us that magic does exist in this world, I thought I had been dreaming for several long nights or something. But I quickly became obsessed with how awesome these powers are, especially when Jane got me to learn Radial Stars..." He thought back after that moment of leaving Fronas. Everything that happened since sort of revolved a lot around Jane more than it did for any other person, but even in his own perception, learning all of these new battle skills to become a better Leray fighter seemed less and less satisfying the more it happened. What was really the point of it all anymore? "But now... I just want things to go back to the way they were, or whatever passes for normal these days."
Taylor pouted in disappointment. It wasn't what Danny felt about it, but rather how true it was becoming over the days spent here. "You too, huh..."
"What's that for?" Danny tried. "Taylor, don't ever be afraid to ask me about something important if you feel a certain way about it."
Taylor swiftly denied, "I wasn't afraid of anything!" After confirming that Danny had misread her, Taylor eventually elaborated on what Danny was talking about. "I just feel the same way is all. The magic is fun to use and all, but can it actually help people?"
"I don't know that yet," he admitted. It's the question of the century. First, it seemed flawless, but if criminals can use magic and take advantage of a dark and more powerful format of energy, how could anyone be safe? Magic isn't supposed to be used to kill, but that has obviously been debunked at this rate. Uncle Nyar made well-placed concerns after all. Knowing this - eventually bugged Danny with a new question. How does Nyar know this much about magic if he has never been here himself?
"Outside of Sprawn Valley, Leray magic doesn't work anymore - I don't think. So that means you would have to live in Sprawn Valley in order to use magic."
"Well at least here you can't kill anyone or get killed from other things." Danny paused to reconsider the thought. "Actually, that isn't true. The use of dark magic, and that evil dark zone Lennith has over their head is just as dangerous as any other thing outside of the country. Plus, people here have to worry about drowning at sea, or illnesses, or starvation." The system isn't perfect at all.
"That's what I'm saying," Taylor added. "I don't know what the overall point of this is. Was Leray magic invented just to have fun in battle?"
"I don't know yet," Danny answered honestly. Kain basically pushed himself and Taylor into learning it despite being forbidden, but he had all good intentions in mind. Kain said it was a good method of self-defense, and given the results of all, Danny knew he could no longer argue with that. If he had not learned any magic, Jane would have been done for a long time ago. He along with Taylor would have been ruined! As he waited for Taylor to say something else, Jane opened the door from the bathroom, blowing a lot of warm mist into the air-conditioned room. "But there is one thing I do want to know..."
Taylor and Danny were momentarily distracted by Jane's appearance as she walked into the room. It's obvious that the reason there was an extra ten-minute wait after the water was shut down was because of how much Jane was taking care of in the meantime. She had tied her dark hair in a bun, though a lot of hair fibers poked out at random. Wearing a light tank top and comfortable looking shorts, Jane looked much different than before. Perhaps they became used to seeing her only wear the same dark black and blue battle suit all the way from Lennith City. While homing in on the conversation, Jane struggled to get any understandable words out with the toothbrush in her mouth. "Wha— would dat beur?"
Danny didn't fail to understand what Jane was asking him about, but the thought of Jane preparing for the big battle streak of the championship flooded his mind. He had no real clue what it might actually be like, but Jane was defiantly taking care of herself in a way that emphasized how important looking presentable may be. Then again, neither one of them have showered in a long time. He and Taylor had not gotten the opportunity since the eighth night in Monoc Port's hotel room, which meant it had been days since. His response was delayed by several side thought processes, including how odd it was to see Jane's bare arms and legs after an entire week or more of time. What's more incredible is that the last time they saw Jane's skin, it was all scared and bruised up from Alpha Zero, but now all of that damage was healed, all but a few faded cuts and little change in hue. Her entire face was completely without any form of visible damage whatsoever, proving to him that the so-called Starlov Boosters really work quickly on healing real time damage, faster than a person normally heals from damage outside of Sprawn Valley by natural processes. "That would be - about that guy that gave you your symbol."
After fixing the brush in her mouth, Jane popped it out to speak more clearly, though she still had a lot of saliva and paste accumulating on her tongue. "He didn't give me the symbol." While waiting on the meaning of her correction, Jane went to spit the rest out in the sink and rinse her toothbrush, taking her time to return and elaborate. "He gave me the experimental spell bomb containing the seal for the symbol, and whoever this guy was didn't tell me anything about what it was supposed to do."
"Then why did you try to use it on yourself?" Taylor probed.
Jane brought herself back to that same moment of the past, which became more clear than it had vague. "He basically gave me a vague summary of what it was designed to do, which made little sense to me at all. Suppose to make you stronger, dangerous in the wrong hands, and a lot of other stuff that made no sense to me at the time."
"Well I know that," Danny interrupted. "But who was the guy? What was he doing there? Why did he have an illegal experimental spell bomb? Why was he being chased by other people as you put it? Any why did he just give it to some random person in Blue Port like that?"
Jane announced, "You know I have no new answers to any of those. I haven't been able to learn anything new from it, but I do remember the guy's face, for whatever that's worth. His hood didn't really work to hide him as he meant it to." In truth, Jane didn't recall his face in the weeks earlier, but after having the same reoccurring nightmare of reliving that moment so many times, the clarity of her memory became stronger each moment. Still, it did so little to help her today.
"So he had a hoodie?"
Jane ignored the obvious comment from Taylor. "All I know for sure is why the guy gave it to some random person in Blue Port. Whoever was chasing him really must have been after the orb. By hiding it among the average crowd, how would the real creators of the orb find it?"
"I can understand that," Danny continued. "But then wouldn't they notice the gigantic light in the sky that literally turned day into night and warped weather itself? Or did they really have no idea what this orb was capable of?"
"I can't say. I don't think that anyone would have expected me to hide it by making use of it on myself, but whoever was after him might be after me now. That's why I have to be careful with exposing the design in my hand. I'm getting better at making it more discrete too. I didn't need that symbol for the entire time I fought Rontellov."
"Yeah," Taylor agreed. "But it's more than just that. You're going to have to hide that crest from everyone watching and taking part in the League of Elite battles. If you expose that symbol to the champion, won't this whole plan of yours about taking Brightworth down backfire?"
Jane's expression changed quickly, cringing at the very thought. It was a long moment before she was able to speak about it. "Leave the concerns about public exposure to me. I'll also need some time to train on more spells before such battles. Tomorrow morning, we register first thing."
"Aw, come on!" Danny whined. "Can't we explore some of the city first? It makes no sense to jump right into this in a place we all don't know. Do you even know where or how to register for that thing?"
Jane didn't answer him, but her expression made it clear that he was right. Jane didn't know the exact process of registering. What was the wait time? Where was the front desk for it? How would she train more before getting those fights? Still, the thought brought up by Taylor was more disturbing. That has no easy answer. Battling the entire League of Elites with the hidden assistance of a single symbol...
"Everything okay?" Taylor noticed some internal struggle about Jane. What exactly bothered her wasn't something Jane made easy to detect though.
"It's fine. You should shower now, before it gets too late and the sun comes back up. We leave here by noon tomorrow, so get enough sleep and all."
Taylor got her things ready, but focused on Jane. Jane didn't seem as if she was on par with the plan. More so was she distracted by some kind of concept or thought process. It didn't feel like Jane was ready to share either. While Taylor was about to make it to the shower, she considered whether Jane was contemplating the mystery origin of her symbol, or what would happen after destroying the dark zone. Jane stopped her by the tug of her arm, lending her a hairbrush and a few other products that Taylor did not actually pick up on the way here.
"We can go to a store tomorrow that sells these things. Danny? I think we will explore Eldora first. Might as well learn how to register in the proper way, if I'm to make sure nobody suspects that I'm marked."
Danny waited for Taylor to go ahead and take her turn in the bathroom before confirming Jane's cautions. "I'm guessing they won't be happy to just let people who are marked walk in and brawl with the champion?"
"I'm sure his name is Danton. Or that might be his last name? Anyway, you're not wrong there."
"Are people really afraid of marked ones, to the point where they imprison them?"
Jane regressed again. It's a terrifying thought, and a major risk to her entire self. If they discover she is a marked one, Jane will have no career, and she will ultimately become a fugitive. Still, one thing was for sure. No security team will hold her while that real threat just north of Lennith tries to swallow the entire nation. Something has to change in the plan, some sort of insurance policy... "Afraid so. I don't think everyone is scared to death of marked ones, but after the War of Mages two hundred years ago, people are skeptical to trust marked people for their innocence."
"Well we trust you," Danny promised. After getting Jane's attention, her sad expression was slowly lightening more. "We're with you on this Jane, all the way through."
"Thanks. I'm lucky to have friends such as yourself." Jane was sincere in her remark. Danny and Taylor have for whatever reason been totally attracted to Jane and her entire situation from day one. Doing this all by herself would be unthinkable. But even with that on mind, how much longer will they last here? Danny at least has to be getting homesick by now. Leray magic is indeed awesome, but how much does that mean to outsiders?
"Now is there anything good on TV?" Danny struggled to work a primitive remote, again reminding him how different the standard of living is back home. Jane walked in to help him, wishing the night to end more peacefully than the last.
After Taylor and Danny finished their turns showering, Jane had herself and Taylor share the large bed on the right, of which there was plenty of room. With everyone ready for the next day, the television wasn't kept on for very long. Getting to sleep would not be difficult at all with all of the physical fatigue from the battles behind them. The night remained uneventful, with tomorrow promising another kind of adventure.