“So, what’s the plan?” Zoey longed out at the shitty hideout these two were using.
The hideout, tucked away in a forgotten corner of the city, bore the unmistakable signs of neglect and abandonment. Its weathered exterior, clad in peeling paint and cracked bricks, told tales of years gone by. The structure stood as something forgotten in time, with each creaking beam and worn-out plank reminding those of its age. Inside, the air was thick with a musty scent, a lingering reminder of neglect and disuse. Peeling posters and graffiti remnants adorned the walls. The furnishings, if they could be called that, were a haphazard collection of mismatched items salvaged from thrift stores and curbside discards. A worn-out sofa that wasn’t comfortable in the slightest. A rickety table, which seemed like it was about to break just with her resting her feet on top of it.
The room was dimly lit, with a single flickering light bulb being the sole source of light. The windows were broken with sharp shards still below them. All in all, Zoey was incredibly unhappy and wanted to get started already. She was not staying in this place and was going to finish this job, mission, quest? As soon as possible.
“You will go to their recruitment drive they’re having. Get accepted into their group. And then act as a spy for us. Feed us information to help protect Dhara.” Peter explained.
‘Ooh! A spy mission! This sounds fun! Let me do it!’ Inner Zoey volunteered.
“Hold on. What are you going to do with the information I get anyway? Who is going to listen to us even if they really are planning bad stuff?” Zoey argued.
‘You suck at acting. I can be a good, bad guy. Trust me! Let me join the bad guy group as a spy!’ Inner Zoey continued excitedly.
“She’s right. We do need proof… besides our words.” Jelena seemed bothered about agreeing with Zoey. Her attitude was starting to piss her off.
“Zoey, we’ll need you to gather hard evidence for us.” Peter looked at her.
“I do everything, and you guys do what exactly?” Zoey wanted to be clear.
“We’ll use that hard evidence that you give us and put it into the hands of someone who can help us reveal the truth about those people. Once the truth is out there, they’ll be treated like the criminals they are.”
“Right…” Zoey muttered. “Criminals that want to do what again?” Zoey doesn’t believe she heard what they were bad guys for yet.
“They want to reveal magji to gullies and have them serve as slaves to magjistars,” Jelena explained in a simple manner.
“Really?” Zoey couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded like something straight out of an 80s superhero cartoon.
“It isn’t funny! This is serious!” Jelena felt the need to raise her voice.
“Oh.” Zoey knew it was serious, but she didn’t feel like arguing with this girl.
She kind of didn’t like her. Her attitude was bad. “Alright. I’ll go to the thing, try to get accepted, and then share any information I get with you two. Then, hopefully, before they take over the world or whatever, you two manage to get enough help to destroy them?” Zoey felt that this plan was really stupid and that was coming from her.
“More or less.” Peter nervously smiled.
“Why can’t I just beat up the guy in charge?” Zoey had to ask.
“That won’t solve the core issue…” Peter said with a resigned tone. “While beating up the leader would setback the group, the people with these thoughts won’t just disappear. They’ll just go into hiding before attempting to build up their numbers again,” he explained.
“...” Zoey realized this mission was becoming a lot harder than beating up some magjistars like she thought… “I can’t trust you two. Give me a minute.” Zoey started dialing someone on her phone.
“You can’t trust us?” Peter sounded like he was in disbelief.
“Hey, Prometheus, I need some help.” Zoey began explaining the information to the smartest person she knew.
In a matter of seconds, Prometheus advised her against involving herself in the problems of another branch of the OM. When Zoey wanted to continue regardless of his warning, he asked her why. Zoey went silent. Being honest and coming clean to Prometheus about her reason for doing all of this didn’t seem like a good idea when he could tell her all the ways it was a terrible and stupid idea. “Please be honest with me.” He requested after moments of her silence.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
So, she admitted the truth. “To help the world become a better place.” Inner Zoey burst out laughing after hearing the half-truth that came spilling out of Zoey’s mouth. ‘Instead of just lying or actually telling the truth, you fucking- hahaha!” Zoey blushed at the laughter as she heard complete silence from Prometheus on the other line.
“Didn’t I ask you to get in contact with me first before attempting to reconcile the feud between daemons and magjistars?” Prometheus sighed.
“I forgot.” Zoey somewhat told the truth.
She did forget but didn’t forget, that running all of her ideas and plans through Prometheus would be a lot better than if she just tried to think on her own. “Give me a moment…” He politely asked. Both Zoey’s could hear the frustration or irritation or tiredness in his voice. They didn’t know which emotions he was feeling, but she’d be tired of her shit, too, to be honest. She was kind of a handful.
Jelena and Peter silently listened to Zoey talking to this mysterious figure. A mysterious person she trusted enough to share everything with about the situation and ask for advice on how best to succeed. They waited for several minutes before Zoey told them to get something to write with. She then put the phone on speaker as the person on the other side began explaining a detailed step-by-step process of how they should proceed if they wished to help this Dhara and this OM branch without any loose ends. Both Jelena and Peter wrote down the instructions of the deep-voiced man.
They didn’t know who he was, but as they listened to the words coming out of his mouth, they trusted him a lot more. His plan was far better than the haphazard plan Peter and Jelena cooked up over the course of several weeks. And it didn’t even take him an hour to think of this! Whoever this man was, he had to be an amazing magjistar.
By following this plan, they could clean up the leader of this criminal group, gain the support of the magjistars in their branch, and prevent any severe damages from coming to the people of Dhara and non-magji people! Peter’s heart lightened by ten pounds. This was such a relief…
“Thank you, Zoey. I truly mean it.” Peter slightly bowed his head toward his savior.
“Thank me when it's all over.” Zoey swapped with her other self as she prepared to head to the recruitment place.
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The recruitment place, hidden in a rather open part of Dhara that led underground, pulsed with a tense atmosphere. The organizers, openly revealing their faces, observed the gathering crowd with calculating gazes. They understood the magnitude of their mission. A figure who stepped forward was one of the organizers of this recruitment drive. His dark hair was neatly styled, framing a face marked by sharp features that exuded both intelligence and intrigue. The intensity in his eyes hinted at a fervent belief in this cause.
The man wore a sleek, tailored suit. Next to the man were his two colleagues. One had electric-blue eyes, a long dress, and absolute boredom reflected in her eyes as she looked at the crowd below the stage. The other member had silver hair that shimmered like moonlight. His cunning smile looked as if he was looking forward to something.
"Welcome, everyone," his voice echoed through the air. "First, I’d like to thank you all for coming." A polite smile painted the man’s face. “Unfortunately, I must let you all know that not everyone here will be capable of joining our group. There will be a test soon to determine the valids from invalids.”
“What kind of test!?” Someone shouted.
"Before I go into that, I must explain to you what our organization is about," the figure continued with a cough. "I’m sure most of you came here to know exactly what our group is about, correct?"
“Yeah!” The same guy from before shouted.
“Our group has a straightforward purpose. All we want is to be able to use our blood-born gift of magji without having to worry about getting our magji gates sealed because some gully witnessed us using magji.” He explained. “We believe that the time of the lesser race to hold such power over us should come to an end. No longer shall magjistars and magji creatures have to hide away and restrain themselves from using what is instinctual to us. No longer will we be the ones at their mercy and control!” His voice rose in pitch near the end.
“Hell yeah!” That one guy cheered.
The diverse assembly of magjistars and magji creatures roared at his words.
"If you believe that the status quo needs to be changed like us, then please stay and participate in our test. If you think otherwise, you may leave at this time as I explain the rules of the upcoming test."
A portion of the crowd slowly shuffled their way to the back. One of the organizers nudged the other. The woman in the dress vanished from the stage with a small smile on her face as the door closed behind the people uninterested. At this time, the other organizer began to explain the rules of the test. It was quite simple and not something for most to be worried about. He explained that if they truly wished to change the rules of society, they needed to have the conviction and strength to do so. Those who are the last remaining standing out of all of those around them will be eligible to join.
All hell broke loose as the crowd erupted into action without hesitation. The sounds of physical clashes and magji echoed through the recruitment place as the brawl unfolded. As the signal to start was given, chaos erupted like a storm. Magjistars, each possessing their own unique spells, clashed in a dazzling display of magji. Magji creatures unleashed their innate strengths, and the air boomed from the conflicting forces.