While the rookies and their superior officers got lost in the downtown area of the city, Crisis made their way up the main road to reach the castle. They walked by the market on their right, which turned out to be bigger than the other sectors, with more people walking around a maze of small shops and stands left out in the open. The squad crossed the second street on the left to be met with more commercial buildings, restaurants, and what looked like shady, mature stores. However, they didn’t pay much attention to either side as they set their sights on the castle at the peak, which continued to be visible from every angle in the city.
–It’s been a while since I’ve seen a princess…– Nitro said playfully as he looked around the main road, but none of his teammates seemed interested in the topic and ignored him, with Frost and Indie picking up the pace to draw some distance, leaving Panda, Tricky, Candy, and Saint behind.
–That’s because none of them want to be around you…– Tricky replied in a ridiculing tone, dismissing him with a brief condescending stare to force him to drop the subject. But instead of getting embarrassed and shutting up, Nitro took her response lightly and only laughed it off.
–What do you mean? I’m a ladies’ man, they all love me. I just blow something up and they drop their panties, it’s that easy– Nitro claimed with a cocky grin, prompting Tricky to gag in disgust and even weirding Candy and Saint out, who caught up to the rest of the team to not be involved. Nitro kept laughing but started to notice everyone getting away from him, except Panda, who slowed down his pace to join in on his and Tricky’s conversation, even though the latter tried to focus on something else.
–Right, they are totally not using you. They are just trying to get to Frost… or me…– Panda responded sarcastically, nodding at Frost, who was completely unaware as Candy and Saint had caught up to him and began talking. For a moment, Nitro glanced at Frost with some hesitation, but once he turned to Tricky, he regained some of that confidence that made her blood boil.
–Well, not this one. I have a feeling we are going to get along– Nitro reassured with conviction, smiling once again, and getting both Panda and Tricky to scoff at him. But as he remained so optimistic, they began thinking of ways to put him down, and soon enough, they began nodding at his claim to get his attention.
–And what if she is a child?– Tricky asked with fake intrigue, hiding her mischief with a rather convincing look that caught Nitro off guard. But to her and Panda’s surprise, he only had to think of it once to answer with a smile.
–I don’t mind…– Nitro responded with a casual shrug before laughing, making his teammates step away from him in repulsion.
–Agh, you are just the worst…– Tricky sighed in contempt, and while Panda got a chuckle out of it, Nitro still retracted his statement upon her intense aversion.
–I’m joking, of course…– Nitro affirmed with a nervous laugh, though Panda and Tricky couldn’t take him seriously. They kept judging him from a distance as they kept walking and caught up to the rest of the group. He stayed at the very back, but despite everyone ignoring him, he found it quite amusing to admire their surroundings.
They had reached the upper half of the city, with the main road gradually becoming thinner to the point where there were barely any buildings on the rock surface. There were still lots of people around, and as they had little space to walk, the group stayed close to each other. The market extended all the way up to a big arch in the middle of the road, one that served as the entrance to another district, one that appeared to be for the upper class. While it wasn’t as crowded as on the lower levels, Crisis’s presence on the road was felt as soon as they stepped into the area. They drew attention from citizens up in the buildings on both sides, and unlike previously, it was only the main road left for them to traverse, so they had to keep walking through all the suspicious stares they received.
The perception of the people didn’t deter the team from looking around the area, though, even when it was hard to distinguish the buildings since they were all white. They did guide themselves better than in the colorful streets below, but they soon came across another crossroad with a plaza. It was a small circle, surrounded by the same-looking houses, with a statue of a spiraling city in the middle, as well as some extra lights hanging from the houses nearby.
They noticed this section was just as decorated, if not more, than the lower parts of the city, though it all followed a symbolic design that caught the squad’s eye. They couldn’t make much sense of some of the banners hanging from a few windows or the small flags hanging on the light cords connected to most of the buildings. But what they did spot was a large entrance to a church on the side of the mountain, but not laying on the surface; it was carved into the rock since a whole path was laid to reach it from the plaza. It was close enough to inspect, but as people started gathering around the entrance, Crisis didn’t get to see much of it and kept walking through the last stretch before the castle.
–You know? I take it back… I won’t date any princess. I only go for pretty, tall chicks, preferably ginger…– Nitro said jestingly as he approached Tricky from behind and gave her a subtle look. She barely noticed his gaze, but before she realized what he was implying, Panda stepped in to make him shut up as they were circling the last section of the road to the castle.
–Not even a child would give you a chance…– Panda replied mockingly, glancing at Kiwy to make fun of Nitro as well with a mindless nod since she paid more attention to the view of the city below now that they had almost looped around the entire mountain. There were no houses on either side anymore, only a thin road with an overhanging walkway to look over the rest of the city, past the walls, and even get a view of the mountain near the lake. The team got distracted for a second as they could see the two main streets below, but as Nitro’s pride was hurt, he kept gloating despite no one looking at him anymore.
–Nah. Say all you want, I’m about to prove you wrong– Nitro asserted with an arrogant grin as his gaze shifted towards the large castle in the corner. Candy, Saint, and Kiwy walked over to the edge of the mountain to get a good look at the city from the walkway, but as Indie and Frost were already reaching the entrance to the castle, they called over the rest of the squad to line up.
–Shut up, we are here– Frost announced bitterly, turning as serious as ever but keeping his voice low before approaching the castle at the end of the main road. It was a white wall completely surrounding the building, with the entrance consisting of a metal gate that Frost tried to peek through. The squad stayed back as Indie assumed control and turned to them, making sure they were evenly distributed and composed.
–Yes, we need to be incredibly respectful. Apparently, this princess is a bit… extravagant, let’s just say that– Indie added with some doubt, choosing her words carefully in order to not be heard by the guards at the gate, who saw Frost calling for them and proceeded to greet the squad.
–Better for me, I need a girl who can match my craziness…– Nitro whispered to his teammates with a playful but irritating tone, to which none of them laughed as the gate was being opened.
–Seriously, dude… Shut up…– Panda whispered back with hostility, finally stopping Nitro from saying another word. They all adopted a serious demeanor, following Indie and Frost’s lead as they were greeted by the guards before handing over the backpacks they brought to be inspected.
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–We’ve been sent to meet the princess by order of commander Snake from the sixth divis-...– Indie began informing, but she was cut short by one of the guards after they had briefly checked their bags.
–Oh yea, yea… She is already waiting for you. I hear she is very eager to meet the Crisis heroes…– one of the guards replied with a casual smile, but quite indifferent at the same time, to which Indie hesitated to respond as the guards had already cleared the way for the squad to come in. She expressed her gratitude with a polite gesture before stepping inside, with the others following shortly after and trying to mimic her.
–Looks like she is a fan of ours. I wonder who her favorite is…– Nitro whispered again playfully, but it was shut down by Panda, who immediately quieted him down with a deadly stare before putting on a fake smile as the squad walked through the entrance of the castle.
They first encountered a large, well-kept garden surrounding the building. Tall bushes, roses, and violets of different colors, and a few personalized lamp posts adorned the grass adjacent to a gravel path that led straight to another statue of a woman holding a flower to the sky. The guards escorted the squad past the statue to take them to a short set of stone stairs at the entrance of the main building. They took a moment to get a good look at the actual castle, as it stood out with its unusually bright, colorful walls. The whole building was painted white like the houses nearby, except for the blue and pink accents extending throughout the base and roof of the castle. They could spot several large, stained-glass windows on the sides and front of the entrance, which contrasted well with the huge, heavy, old-looking, and dark wood door that they all stared at.
The wait was short as the door was already being opened, and inside, the squad was met with an enormous hall that covered the entire length of the castle. They were stunned by a shiny marble floor that connected two long hallways on each side of the entrance, but they led to the wings of the centerpiece found before their eyes. In front, two sets of giant columns created a path with a fancy carpet to a double staircase that curved from both sides of a platform with one of the giant windows that they saw yesterday. It aligned with the one at the entrance, allowing natural light to fill up the room and, most importantly, highlighting the colorful throne found on the platform.
Apart from the large structures supporting the ceiling, as well as the captivating throne, the hall was mostly empty, with only a few guards on each side and the ones from outside accompanying the squad. But as the squad began looking around, they noticed someone sitting on the throne, which was difficult to make out from the distance. Crisis couldn’t be sure if they were seeing the person that they were meant to meet, but once the princess stood up and ran down the left staircase to greet them, letting out a squeal of excitement that echoed through the hall, they braced themselves for a peculiar introduction.
The princess looked tiny in comparison with the pillars and her throne. But as she approached the squad at high speed, they got a closer look at her and noticed she wasn’t small at all. She was around the same height as Tricky, a bit taller with the silver tiara adoring her long, braided hair, similar in tone to Candy’s pink highlights, but hers was brighter and closer to a blueish-purple tone that became more predominant around the tips of her braids. And somehow, that wide mix of colors wasn’t confined to her hair, as her outfit stood out the most with her white and violet dress and all sorts of accessories complementing her princess look.
She appeared thin from the sparkly lace wrapped around her waist, but her dress was so big at the bottom that they couldn’t tell where her legs were located. But as she drew more attention to the upper side of her dress, the squad got a sense of her size with the way her chest popped up and caught some of the males in the squad by surprise. Panda and Nitro seemed particularly fond of her outfit, with Saint seemingly enamored by her pretty and young-looking face as she was already smiling at them, though Frost showed little to no reaction as he kept inspecting the gigantic room they were in.
Even the girls looked pleased to see her, even when Indie was taken aback by her looks. Tricky and Kiwy got a good impression, but it was mostly Candy who showed a strong reaction, as she couldn’t take her eyes off the princess’ dress, and not in the way Panda and Nitro were staring at her. She was fascinated by her earrings, tiara, bows, and pretty much everything she was wearing, to the point she had to step forward to greet her first despite getting in Frost and Indie’s way.
-Welcome, welcome. My name is Priscilla, but you can call me Prissy or Prix, whatever you like!– Priscilla greeted the squad with a lively, hearty demeanor and a big smile that matched Candy’s, who got the honor to shake her hand first. Nitro appeared madly in love with her charming and cheerful nature, and while the rest of the squad seemed happy to see Priscilla and Candy sharing the same energy, Indie couldn’t help but become a little skeptical.
–I’m Indie, captain of the New Saviors’ main squad, Crisis…– Indie replied in an attempt to match the princess’ friendliness, but she couldn’t fake enough enthusiasm to retain her attention for more than a second. Priscilla did greet her, and as ecstatic as she seemed to meet every one of them, she quickly turned to Frost with keen interest.
–Frost…– Frost introduced himself with a bleak tone, only giving the princess a brief nod without shaking her hand to let Panda greet her as well. Instead, the princess was immediately stunned, and her stare fixed on him, prompting everyone to become quiet, with Indie trying to hold some anger upon hearing Frost’s dry response. He ignored everyone but Priscilla, who appeared to be in a trance as she tried to find some sliver of emotion behind his eyes. But as he didn’t bother to break his silence or even look away, Indie became anxious and tried to force him to talk, only to be interrupted by Priscilla, as she turned out to find his response quite charming.
–Oooh, the silent type, I like it…– Priscilla replied with a kittenish smile, staring at Frost with fond eyes for another second, long enough to get Candy to worry, but shortly after sharing a laugh with the squad. No one dared to speak after Frost, but Nitro saw this as an opportunity to introduce himself, having to push Tricky and Saint out of the way to speak directly to the princess. But just when he was about to reach for her hand, Indie stopped him and put him back in his place before resuming the conversation.
–Yea, there’s no need to introduce all of us. But it’s a pleasure meeting you. We’ll make sure to provide all the help we can to ensure your safety– Indie followed up in her usual polite manner, now taking control as Priscilla responded with a positive smile after glancing at the rest of the members that didn’t get to introduce themselves properly.
–I’m glad you came. You all seem very experienced and skilled… even the kitty and babyface there…– Priscilla responded playfully, pointing at Kiwy and Saint in the back, who seemed a bit offended but chose not to show it much, even when the princess wasn’t looking.
–What?– Saint exclaimed with a nervous laugh, being ignored by everyone but Candy, who stood next to him and cracked a laugh as she watched Frost and Indie fighting to get a word out first, with the former winning as Priscilla paid a considerably larger amount of attention to him.
–So, could you please explain the current situation? What are the potential threats the city is facing?– Frost asked in a forced cordial manner, though his impatience still shined through with his passive-aggressive smile, which got the princess to think apprehensively. He got his hopes up for a second, but as Priscilla didn’t seem too comfortable thinking at the moment, she dismissed him with a carefree giggle.
–Yea, um… I’ll tell you later. First, let me show you around the place…– Priscilla replied with a sheepish, lighthearted smile before becoming excited to give the squad a tour of the castle. They all seemed fine with it, but Frost was not one of them, as he had to take a moment to contain his frustration after being left in doubt. But while the others followed the princess, Indie noticed him standing still and stepped closer for a quick, subtle comment.
–Be nice, okay?– Indie warned in a calm, restrained manner, but also using a strict look that granted no argument from Frost, although it took him a good second to comply with a begrudging nod.
–I hate princesses…– Frost sighed in annoyance, containing his hostility as Indie chuckled and turned around to keep her polite, friendly, and easygoing demeanor. Her attitude infuriated him, but with the guards watching, he only followed the group unenthusiastically while gritting his teeth. His pessimism stuck around, but some curiosity sparked as he kept an eye out for anything of valuable significance around the castle since they got the chance to explore it a bit.
| I KNOW THE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT ME, I HEAR IT EVERY DAY
BUT I CAN PROVE YOU WRONG ‘CAUSE I’M RIGHT FIRST TIME |