Chapter 9: Balance.
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“Hmm…” Isaac sat in the middle of the junkyard, observing and fidgeting around on his screen.
Artemis was watching him, interested, asking: “What if you set up an upward motion for starting force?”
“How much force should I set though?”
“That depends on how fast you're falling.”
“That's kinda my point.”
“Hey, Star Seeker, Artemis!” Dex yelled, entering the area.
The human and feline both looked to the side, Isaac greeting: “Hey, Star Guide!”
“Hey Dex!” Artemis waved.
Dex knelt beside them, looking at the screen, “How’s fiddling?”
With a sigh, Isaac responded: “Not well,” He pointed at the command he was making, “I found out I can make an Auto Command.”
“Auto Command?”
“Usually,” Artemis wanted to answer, “Isaac has to say something to activate his abilities, but with this, it can come out itself when certain conditions are set.”
“Convenient. What are the conditions you can set?”
Isaac answered with: “Well I can set defense kinds, like if I'm being attacked or ones coming near me, attack kinds like increase my empowerment if I stack a Zodiac or call upon a Construct, and some miscellaneous things like if I fall.”
“Doesn't sound too complex.”
“You'd think but there's also these parameters I gotta set, like those…variables or whatever for distance, force, where to have the construct appear, how I should have it appear, all that. I gotta put the numbers in and everything, no visual aids to help me make adjustments, just pure if thens and that.”
“And that's confusing you?”
“Yep. You know how bad at coding I am.”
“I remember, that's why I’M the Star Guide.”
“Heh,” Isaac smirked, “and that's why I’M in good hands.”
“Better not forget it. Alright, let me see what you’re trying to do. I may not be able to touch the screen but I can at least guide ya.”
“That makes you the code guide now?” Artemis joked, which gave them a chuckle.
“In this case, or the Star Mask Guide. Now what you trying to do?”
“Well,” Isaac explained, “know my Flutter Blades?”
“Realization.”
Once he said it, a large blade appeared next to him. Its shape was similar to the shield of the scissor guard with the back edge of it having ribbon like blade shaped twin tails. “Sunnuva, Dismiss,” Annoyed, he dismissed the construct, “That thing.”
“If only the glove could realize when you don't want to make it,” Artemis commented.
“So what about that?” Dex questioned.
Isaac answered: “As I was saying, Artemis had the idea that maybe I could fly on it like a hoverboard and surprisingly I could.”
“So you can fly now?”
“Basically air surfing, and that gave him another idea, an emergency catch.”
“Emergency catch?”
Artemis decided to answer this one, “The idea is, there could be times we’ll be fighting on rooftops or somewhere high up, and if he gets knocked off somehow, the Flutter Blade activates and catches him, letting him fly back into the fight.”
With a nod, Dex was intrigued, stating: “That’s actually a good idea. So what ya struggling with?”
“Parameters,” Isaac told him, “I'm trying to set when it should activate, where, and how and then there's other variables like position and force.”
“Let me see.”
“Here,” He positioned the screen over to let him see.
Dex examined what he was tinkering with, “Hm….Huh this is more accurate than I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“What you can set I mean, and how it's constructed,” Looking at the screen, Dex noted how it was set up. On one side was the new command and the other had blocks, each with specific purposes, like X values, if then statements, and other things. It reminded him of those online Java script training sites, “Alright first off lets change thi-” Reaching over he tried to tap a block but his finger went through, “Oh right.”
“Just tell me what to change.”
“Be his Code Guide,” Artemis said.
“Alright,” Dex started to guide, “Tap that.”
“Ok,” Isaac followed. He didn't question Dex on what he said or told to do, following all that he said.
“And that should do it,” Dex patted, looking at the completed command.
“Sweet.”
“Now for a test run.”
“Huh?”
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“I'm not sure about this!” Isaac shouted from atop the roof of his apartment. The place was five stories high so he was up there.
Dex and an unsealed Artemis were on the floor in the parking lot, with Stein’s eye being right next to Isaac.
“It's fine, I already set my Illusion so no one's gonna see you.” Stein assured.
“And if all else fails, I’ll catch you, Master!” Artemis added.
Isaac sighed, “Well that is reassuring.”
“Cmon,” Dex replied, “It's just like when you crashed us through the floor at the museum!”
“This is higher compared to then! Wait, you're still mad about that?”
“A little.”
“Course. Welp,” He climbed up on the rails, holding onto it for balance, slowly standing atop, “Here…” He took a gulp and jumped, “we go!” He jumped off, tense but keeping his composure. As he fell about two stories the construct appeared below, pushing up against him, slowing his descent, stopping him right as he got to floor four. “Sweet!”
“Success!” Dex cheered.
Stein's eye nodded, “Impressive!” He turned to Dex, “You are one good programmer.”
“Heh, gotta be with him,” Dex smirked.
“Yeah, since I'm the one that has to do the driving,” Isaac retorted, landing right in front of him, dismissing the Flutter Blade.
Dex scrunched at the notion, “Touche.”
“Master,” Artemis approached, “Seeing how well this worked, I believe it best to leave any future programming to Dex.”
Isaac nodded, “I can agree with that. With that I should seal you now,” He reached out to Artemis attempting to place the seal until he paused, “Actually, this is a good time to bring something up. The only person that can unseal and place your seal is me, right?”
“Correct. I also unseal when you are being attacked or under threat.”
Dex gazed curiously, “What are you trying to get at here?”
“When we were first at the museum,” Isaac answered, “after that fight with Jink, he placed the seal back on himself, that's how I found out about the Control Arts, he said he'd place it back himself.”
Artemis explained: “That was due to the seal being emergency released. When that happens and the threat is determined to be gone, the seal will be placed back, unless you say otherwise.”
“Huh, so if you were emergency unsealed and I got knocked out, you'd seal yourself?”
“Only if you were safe. If you happen to lose consciousness I’d have to move you to a safe environment before the seal can be auto-placed.”
“Alright, good to know. Ill be careful of that,” He reached out, “Seal Control Art Two.”
Artemis blinked a few times, returning to normal, “So how'd it go?”
“Went great, the program worked flawlessly!”
“Great! We're gonna make some more?”
“You got any more ideas?”
“A few actually!” Artemis said with some excitement.
“He’s excited about this,” Stein laughed.
“Well,” Dex said, “your next recording isn’t till six right?”
Isaac nodded, “Sofi gets off around five so she’ll be here by then.”
“Then we got all day. Let's get to coding!...Well let ME get to coding,” He smirked.
“Yeah, and afterwards maybe we can squeeze in some driving practice for you,” Isaac counter smirked.
Dex’s face twitched, “M-maybe not.”
Stein came next to Dex, saying: “You’ll never get your license with that attitude!”
Dex took a step back, “Well I-”
Artemis joined in: “Yeah, don’t you wanna get over your fear and anxiety! Gain some independence!”
“I mean I do b-”
Isaac stepped in: “You know Dixon’s willing to lend his car to help you and with our powers we can easily clear a course in the junkyard!”
“Wh-what's with this pile on!?”
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Dex sat behind the wheel of Dixons car, which was a standard red truck, gripping the wheel tight and sweating profusely.
“You’re really nervous,” Stein’s eye stated inside the vehicle.
“Hrmmm,” Dex groaned. Artemis and Isaac were outside, using the Flutter Blades and Artemis’s strength to push the junk away and make a path.
“For someone so good with codes, why does driving make you so scared?”
“Driving and coding are two seperate things, you know.”
“I suppose that is true but they do have some similarities. Like for turns or some trying to pass you could apply an If Then statement.”
“Not when I don't know the other persons If Then statement.”
“How do you mean?”
“My statement could be different from theirs and that could lead to a crash.”
“Aren’t the rules of the road universal?”
“You don't drive much do you?”
“Not really, I use delivery to get what I need and if I want to go out, I just walk.”
“I see, do you follow traffic much in the news and such?”
“No, doesn’t interest me.”
“Well let me explain to you, there are people who are idiots that don't deserve a license, and sadly they aren’t as few as you wish.”
“I see.”
Isaac and Artemis returned, the feline in the back seat with the human in the passenger , asking: “You ready?”
Dex shook his head, “Nope!”
“Ok, let's start. Turn on the engine.”
Dex remained stiff, hands staying on the wheel.
Isaac deadpanned, reaching over and turning the key, his friend “Alright cars on. Now place your foot on the stop pedal and put it in drive...Dex, put it in drive…Dex…” He looked over at his friend, annoyed.
“Hmmm.”
“Dex…” He glared.
“HMMMMM!!” Dex’s eyes flinched, but he stubbornly stayed still.
“Dex we gotta get through this hurdle.”
“I refuse…”
“Well he’s stubborn.” Stein said with awed and unsettled.
Artemis nervously laughs: “Were gonna be here for a bit, huh?”
Isaac groaned, pleading: “C'mon dude, the quicker we get through this the better!”
“The quickest way through this would be me getting out of this car!” Dex retaliated.
“You’re not getting out of this car!”
“Watch me!” With a swift turn, Dex grabbed the door handle, threatening to open it until Isaac stopped him.
“Dex you leave this car, I’m telling everyone, while recording for the youtube channel, about the Bee proposal!”
Eye gaping, swiveling back to face Isaac, he gasped with dread: “You wouldn't dare!!”
“Bee proposal?” Stein tilted his eye.
“Krk!” Artemis cheeks puffed for a second, his lips curving in that moment.
“We agreed to take that to our grave!” Dex shouted.
“No, we agreed I’d keep the video to myself!” Isaac retorted.
“We did!?”
“Yep! So if you don't want me talking about it, stay in the car!”
“Grrrr!” He grit his teeth, reluctantly letting go of the knob and turning, placing his hands back on the wheel.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Now, foot on break, gear in drive.”
“Hrrg,” Hesitant, he applied pressure to the break, taking the stick shift and moving it slowly into drive.
“Ok good. Now ease of the break and the car will slowly move....” Dex didn't respond. “My sweet flower.”
“Pft!” Artemis’s cheeks puffed once again.
Dex jolted, “Ok ok!” His foot came off the stop, pausing when there was a slight jiggle, tightening up and continuing, the vehicle starting to move slowly.
“Good good. Now gently press onto the gas,” Isaac instructed.
Following, albeit reluctantly, he moved his foot over and softly applied pressure, moving the vehicle a tad faster.
“Alright a little more.”
“Hmmm,” Shaking, Dex stepped on the gas some more, the speed going a little higher than walking speed.
“Ok, we’ll stick to this speed for now.”
“For now!?”
“Gotta ease you into it.” He smiled. “Now, you see the path right?”
Looking forward, he could see the trials in the ground that was made, nodding. The path before curved around in some wide strides. “I see it.”
“That's our first hurdle, just a few wide turns.”
“Those piles won't fall right?”
“We made sure of it.”
“How sure?”
“Ugh, here,” Isaac rolled down the window and stuck his hand out, “Flutter Blade times three,” Three Flutter Blades appeared before and he maneuvered them above, “There.”
“What about the front?” Dex adamantly asked.
“Drive,” Isaac deadpanned.
“Hrrrrg,” Dex kept his eyes forward, dismayed that that didn't work. He got to the start of the path, needing to do a left first, shakily turning the wheel that way. The curve was wide enough that he didn't need to turn the other way just yet, but he was nervous as he didnt know when to turn.
Thankfully he has Isaac to guide him, “Ok, now ease right…there we go…now ease it back…good…another left…ease it, doing great,” He calmly spoke to his friend.
Stein looked impressed, saying to Artemis: “He’s a good driving instructor.”
Artemis nodded: “He really is!”
“How come he rides a bike then? He has a license right?”
“He does. He told me he had two reasons, one being he liked the exercise, the other well…” He looked down solemnly, “he said he was waiting till his dad returned.”
“Oh…”
“When his dad left…it was around the time he got his license and he said that he’d help him get a car…so he’s…waiting on that.”
“I see…” Glancing at Isaac, he couldn't help but gaze at him with pity yet compassion, thinking: ‘Noone wants to accept a loss.’
“Ok now realign it forward,” Isaac told Dex. They just made it at the end of the curves, back on a straight path. There were a few lines sectioned off going forward, Isaac explaining: “So now we're gonna practice slowing and stopping.”
“...” Taking a deep breath, Dex went, “Ok.”
“Gaining some confidence?” He asked hopefully.
“No, just resigning to my fate.”
“Oh. Well anyways, what you gotta do here is slow down before you reach the line to stop at it. We're going pretty slow so it should be easy.”
“Right…” Even if they were going just a little over walking speed, Dex was still unsure.
Noticing this, Isaac offered: “Want me to guide you on when to slow down?”
“I'd like that,” The offer loosened him up somewhat.
“Alright,” He moved one Flutter Blade forward, stopping it a little bit before the line, “When the hood passes the blade, lift slowly off the gas and press the brakes.”
“Got it.”
“Hm?” Steins eye fluttered for a moment.
“Ok…” Breathing calmly, Dex let go of the gas at the marker, slowly stopping at the line, albeit a little off.
With a nod, Isaac stated: “That was pretty good. Now for the-”
Stein jumped in between them, “Sorry to interrupt, but…Aldins is under attack.”
“...” After a slight pause, the three gawked at the eye, “Huh!?”
“News just came out. There’s a whole group of Automatons attacking the construction crew.”
“They’re attacking the crew!?” Dex repeated with shock and dread, “Gramps is there!”
Hearing that, Isaac asked: “You're grandpa!?”
“The crew found some items in the rubble so he went in to do inventory!”
“Shit,” He looked over to his Familiar, “Artemis!”
With a determined nod, Artemis answered: “Let's go!”
Once he got the nod he rushed out the door with his Familiar, bringing his Flutter Blades to him while Artemis mounted on his shoulders.
“I'm coming too!” Stein exited.
“Wait!” Dex put the car in park, getting out, “Isaac, Artemis!”
“Yeah?” The two looked his way.
“...Be careful!”
Giving a reassuring smile, Isaac thumbed up and looked to Artemis, “You ready?”
“I'm ready!” Artemis confirmed.
“Then Release Control Art Two and Let's align the stars!”
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A construction worker screamed, running from the Automatons. They had large hands with claws and skinny purple bodies, and they had no feet, the lower half of their legs being sharp spikes. Their jaws were rigid with flat blocky chins and they had no teeth with blank white eyes. They wore silver chest armor with shoulder guards, a helmet, and gauntlets that only covered the knuckles of their hands. They filled the lot, smashing the construction vehicles and destroying their progress.
“Why are they attacking the construction?” Said a worker in hiding.
An elderly but fit man beside him answered: “Don’t quite know.” The man looked to be in his early sixties, his skin well kept with not many wrinkles, and his body nicely built and sturdy. He had had a grayish black beard and a short ponytail, standing to be around six feet with light green eyes and a very thin mustache. Currently he wore a plain blue shirt with Aldin’s logo and khaki shorts. He was hiding behind some rubble with two of the construction workers.
“Hey,” Said one of them, “I think the ones by the door are gone!”
“Let's go!” The old man softly yelled. All of them carefully got away from their spot, moving as quiet as they could to the door. Luckily, the ones inside were too busy ruining progress to notice them, allowing them to get out with ease. Unluckily, the Automaton by the door hadn’t fully left. “Oh crap!” He quickly swerved back and pulled the workers back before they were noticed. Peaking out, he kept track of the current Automaton. “It still has its back to us.”
“I say we book it on three,” Suggested a worker, pointing out to the lot to an open space that was mostly untouched, “I see a clear path through there. Since they’re ignoring the regular cars I think we can make it through there.”
“Or we can wait here for the Guardians,” Suggested another.
“That's even more of a reason not to be here! We’d only be in the w-” A crash interrupted him. Looking out they saw that the Automaton by the door had crashed into the wall. In its spot stood an armored cat with a bow spear in his mouth.
“The Moon Familiar!?”
Turning to the group's direction, the Familiar asked: “Are you all ok?”
“Uh…” Easing out, the elderly man replied with: “We're fine, thanks.”
“Shard Blitz!” Star Mask yelled, he was in the parking lot, shooting at the machines.
The crew looked in his way, one saying: “Star Mask is here too!”
The cat approached them, “Follow me, I'll get you to safety.”
“Thanks!” The man nodded with the group. They followed the feline's lead, escaping from the area.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Everyone was getting the last of the rubble and I was coming to do some inventory, that's when this group came to the area.”
“Group?” Getting them across way and then some, he looked over at them curiously.
“A large group at that. We thought they were just people or protesters walking in and disregarding the perimeter, going past the tape and everything. We asked them to leave but then they…turned into those things.”
“Turned into…did it look like they broke out of their skin?”
“Y-yeah, how'd you know?” The man asked, surprised.
“Hm… You should be safe here, I’m going to return to my Master!” Equipping his sword, the Moon Familiar ran back to Star Mask.
“Um ok, thank you!”
From nearby, observing him from across the street, stood Shenia and Liza, the cat looking up at Shenia aggravated.
“Are we still just gonna watch!?” Liza asked.
“Yes,” Shenia nodded, “They seem to be handling this well anyways, they don't need back up.”
“I know that but why are you still so suspicious of them?”
“We still don’t know where they got these powers nor their motives, and since Lyla doesn’t wish to help, we have to figure it out ourselves.”
“Even if she was lying about that being Isaac and Artemis, you still have to remember that they were friends for a long time. We should trust her judgment.”
“If that was the case she wouldn't lie about it. If she did, it means she doesn't understand or know anything either.”
Shaking her head, Liza retorted: “Maybe she doesn’t but that doesn't change the fact that even now, they’re protecting people and fighting the bad guys. I think we should take this chance to ask them to help with the next Dark Beast.”
Undeterred, Shenia elaborated: “For all we know this could be an act, a way to lure us into thinking they are an ally,” Her brow furrowed, “before stabbing us in the back.”
“...” An allure of sympathy came over Liza’s gaze, “You still think about that?”
“Hrm…” Her grip tightened.
“Shenia, I know I wasnt there bu-” A loud boom echoed from above, taking their attention, “What was that?” She questioned, both of them looking up.
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While they were talking the Moon Familiar approached Star Mask, telling him: “Master, the workers are safe!”
“Thanks!” Star Mask told him, thrusting his spear into the chest of an Automaton.
“Have you noticed these look familiar?” He asked while engaging incoming enemies.
“I have. They're those Knights that we fought in the museum. Coincidence?”
“Not likely. While faint I sense a commanding wavelength and it feels like Jink’s.”
Star Mask switched to using two Flutter Blades, groaning out: “Great. Where is he?”
“He’s not nearby. The energy is faint so he's commanding them from far away.”
“Ok…” Surveying the area, he counted who was left, breaking down, “Any inside?”
“I sense about five inside.”
“That's about seven,” Readying his blades, he assured: “I can at least handle that much on my own. Think you can track him down?”
The familiar nodded, “Just b-”
A loud boom from above cut them off, both gazing at the origin.
“What was that?” Star Mask asked.
“It sounded like a sonic boom,” The Moon Familiar noted.
“Something cra- Ah!” Before he could question more, the Knights started to attack them, “Hya!” He sent out his Flutter blades, nearly cutting the arms of one but knocking it back into another, using the chance to slam both blades down into their chests. “Well figure that out later! Go for Jink, I’ll handle this!”
“...Master, that's no longer an option,” Keeping his gaze up, The Moon Familiar he switched back to his bow, aiming up.
“What are you doing?” Quickly looking back up while keeping the Automatons at bay, he noticed what looked like nearly a dozen cards coming down, “Cards?” Once they got a certain distance away, they glowed and transformed into more Knights, “Oh crap!”
“I got this!” As they fell, he fired his arrows upon them, nailing a good amount before more appeared in free fall. He wasn’t able to get them all, a group crash landing onto their surroundings, “Damn!” He was about to switch configurations but Star Mask stopped him.
“Times three! Zodiac Infusion!” He added a third copy of his contract, infusing his Zodiac. The tail of the Construct turned blue and twisted together like a ribbon spiral, the blades turning red, slimming and getting longer with a much sharper edge. “I'll get the ground!” He reassured, thrusting his weapons to the assailants, the creations moving much faster and cutting through them much easier.
“Understood!” Refocusing on the sky, he kept firing his arrows. Many were falling at a time and his arrows didn’t pierce that deep so he tried for headshots. The distance and the size of their faces made it difficult for him to connect, more collecting on the ground.
“Damnit!” Cursing, Star Mask tried to keep up but their quantity increased faster than he could decrease. “Gotta move faster!” He kept himself near his familiar, keeping them away so he could focus on anti air, trying to increase the blades speed in slicing through them.
Even though he was doing better, he could barely keep up and the feline noticed, placing his ax on his tail. ‘I know I was told to hold back to not cause damage to the area,’ He gathered power into his weapon, ‘But this is getting bad!’ Crouching, he got ready to attack, “Master, move ba-”
“Sin slash!” Closing in on the horde on the before, Silvet released a dark cutting wave, pushing them back.
“Silvet!” Star Mask said in shock.
Jumping beside the Moon Familiar, Selma held her spear, “I'm here too!” Energy gathered into the tip of her weapon, “I’ll provide support,” She winked, “Moonie!”
“Mmph!” Surprised by the wink, the Moon Familiar lighty blushed, “Th-thanks.”
Seeing that, Star Mask shockingly thought: ‘Even this side of him can get flustered?’
“Eyes sharp!” Silvet yelled, slashing at The knights.
“R-right!” With her fighting them in closer range, he didn't want to attack her by accident so he switched constructs to be the midranger, “Shard Blitz! Zodiac Infusion!” Aiming his hand out, he used the blue homing shots on the Automaton around the Guardian, they weren't very deep but they at least held them back and left openings for Silvet. A few did whizz past her, startling the guardian. “Oh, sorry!” She gave a glare but continued the fight.
The power thrust of Selma’s spear and the arrows of the Moon Familiar handled the free fallers while Star Mask and Selvet handled the ones on the ground. Working together, they managed to whittle down their quantity at a faster pace.
“Infusion break.”
The Shard Blitz reverted back to normal, “Infusion Break? Now!?” Star Mask groaned. Thankfully there weren't many more to deal with so he summoned his bow, aiming for the heads.
As the two cats were dealing with the air, they noticed that no more were appearing.
“Master, this is the final batch!” The Moon Familiar announced.
“Ok! Let's clear them out!” Jumping high, the masked hero readied an arrow, “Silvet jump back!” She took a quick glance at him before moving away.
“Pardon me miss!” He ushered Selma to move aside, following his master's lead.
Selma chuckled, “Such a gentleman.”
Blushing but keeping attention, he activated his spells.
“Impact spreader!” Both Familiar and Star mask activated their spells in unison, firing their arrows. A barrage of impactful projectiles rained down and raised into the sky, taking out the remaining Automatons.
Landing, Star Mask bent forward, letting out an exhausted sigh, “Is it over?”
Approaching him, his familiar answered: “I'm not sensing anymore, so that was the last of them.”
“Good.”
“Are you alright, Master?”
“I'm fine. That was tiring,” He faced Selma and Silvet, “Glad you two showed up, if not,” He pointed to his cat, “he would’ve wrecked the whole area.”
“It would've been a situational thing, Master, plus I needed to protect you.”
“I appreciate it.” He smiled.
“I'm just glad we jumped in on time,” Selma commented.
“Yes,” Silvet nodded, “you fought well,” With a stoic face, she walked towards the man, “You also arrived pretty quickly.”
“Oh boy…”
“Uh,” Feeling nervous under her gaze, Star mask stiffened, “Yeah we were in the area thankfully.”
Eyeing him suspiciously, Silvet continued: “You were, were you? Just happened to see what was going on?”
“Y-yep, and speaking off, I should get back to where I was,” He quickly reached into his space, preparing a quick get away, with his Familiar about to assist.
About to try and catch him, Silvet was going to jump, “Ho-”
“Hold it!” Said someone nearby.
“Huh?” They looked that way, spotting Lele.
“Lele! What are you doing here?” Selma asked.
“We told you, we had this.” Silvet chastised.
Walking to the group, Lele told them: “It looks like you’re trying to get something else.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Silvet, you're scaring our Guests.”
“Guests?” The man and feline questioned.
“Yes,” Clearing her throat, she faced the two, addressing them as such: “Star Mask and The Moon Familiar.”
“Um, yes?” Star Mask nodded while his Familiar kept his guard up.
“We’ve taken notice of your actions these past weeks and… we would like to have a talk with you two.”
“A talk?”
Silvet, curious and confused, asked: “This is the first I’ve heard of this.”
Selma was equally as curious, “Why weren't we informed?”
Lele explained, “I came by just in case and was watching you two work together. I talked to Nishi and Moon and I suggested, based on our working together last time too, a partnership.”
“Partnership!?” Selma, Silvet, and Star Mask exclaimed in shock, The Moon Familiar only showing surprise.
“Yes. They thought it was a good idea but wanted to converse about this with the two in person.”
Star Mask, trying to process, stuttered: “R-really?”
Lele took out a slip of paper, handing it Star Mask, “In three weeks meet us here at this place. We’ll be there at the time shown, all of us.”
He took the slip, it showed an address, a date, and a time, “Hm. Alright.”
“That mean you’ll come?”
“I…” He looked over at his Familiar, his eyes saying I leave it to you, “Let us talk about it.”
“Ok,” She nodded, turning to her companions, “Hope to see you there.” She waved, “Leave the clean up to us.”
“Thanks…Ready to go?” He asked his familiar, getting a nod, “Alright,” Taking out a flash seed he uttered: “Stars out!” and disappeared in a flash.
Silvet approached Lele and declared: “I don’t agree with this.”
Lele addressed: “I understand, but still, those two are quite capable, they could be a great asset.”
“Or liability.”
“Why are you so gung ho about this?”
“We know little to anything about them, especially where they came from and how they got such powers.”
“Yet we know they're good people.”
“We THINK we know that.”
Selma interjected: “Then see this as an opportunity.”
“How so?”
“Since we’re gonna meet together, this could be a chance to question them. It'll be different from your previous, invasive attempts, so you’ll be able to ask everything you need…just take it easy.”
“Hm…” She was reserved to the idea.
“Uh…excuse me?” A police officer cautiously approached along with news people.
“Hm?” Turning to him, Lele noticed that the authorities had arrived earlier and were waiting for them, “Oh, sorry. We’ll get the Automatons, mind helping us get them together? There's,” She waved over to the vast amount of mechs, “quite a bit to get.”
“Understood!”
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“Hmmm.” Isaac murmerd.
“Hmmm.” Artemis hummed.
They were currently in the living room, looking at the slip Lele gave them placed on the coffee table.
Dex was next to Isaac, asking the two: “So…any thoughts yet?”
“Well…” Isaac sighed, “What do you think, Artemis?”
“Honestly?” Artemis muddled for a moment, “I was surprised when you told me. While I like the idea I have some…questions about the partnership.”
“Huh. That's what other you said too.”
“Really?”
“You stated you had some reservations as you don't know what kind of partnership this would entail. Honestly I agree along with the fact that we don't know how this will affect our lives, especially while looking for the box pieces.”
Dex chimed in, “Maybe they can help with that.”
“Maybe but, thing is, finding the pieces was a challenge given to me and Artemis so I don’t think we’re allowed to include others in it.”
“It's not like we can ask the guy either. Anything else you’re reserved about?”
“I wanna say Identity but it's not like they'll plaster who we are to everyone, so I'm not bothered by it as long as we get to know them too,” He looked forward to his cat, “You Artemis?”
Artemis answered with: “Well…part of me is afraid of rogue Guardians but there hasn’t been any of those has there?”
“Nah,” Dex shook his head, “they're all pretty much the good guys, no bad eggs among them, quirky ones? Yeah. Bad ones? Notta.”
“Wanna say I’m afraid of information getting leaked, but then Stein would’ve found something if info got easily leaked…plus who knows maybe someone will know me.”
“So far only one possible negative here.”
“There's another,” Isaac spoke.
“What’s up?” Dex raised his brow.
“Im…worried about how they'll treat us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Few things. One being…the seal.”
“The seal?”
“Is it…” Artemis spoke, “cause of the whole Master thing?”
Isaac nodded, “I'm not so worried about how I’ll be seen as much as you’ll be seen. I don't want them to get the impression that you're some slave or servant. If anything, you're my partner.”
A grin came across his face, “I appreciate that. Maybe if we explain the glove and seals they won't see it as such.”
“That could just make them pity you,” Stein’s eye theorized, sliding in out of nowhere.
“AH!” Dex, Isaac, and Artemis jumped, startled.
“Though that could be the better option to be pitied in this case.”
“Stein!” The three yelled.
“What?”
Isaac exhumed, “Can you atleast knock before coming out of nowhere?”
“How do you even open the window!?” Dex asked.
A holographic hand appeared next to the eye, “With this.”
“You're illusions?”
“Remember how I said they're like a holo field? Well it's physical, made from light particles that I can emit and the more I concentrate the more solid it can be.”
Isaac surmised: “Meaning you can touch stuff with it.”
“Correct. Though it is a tad fragile and hard to keep solid so I have to be careful.”
Looking at the hand, Artemis realized they looked humanoid but with only three fingers and thumb, the digits a bit thin and long, prompting him to ask: “So…is that what your actual hands look like?”
“Maybe,” Stein faded the hand away, “So, what are you all thinking?”
The group looked among themselves before Isaac answered: “We're working through pros and cons.”
“A pro being having their help in finding the box pieces,” Dex elaborated, “the cons being if Siran will let them and how the Guardians will view their relationship considering the master seal on Isaac’s glove.”
“One to two,” Stein understood, “I can think of another pro.”
“What's that?”
“Information. I'm sure they could inquire at Guardian HQ on a few things, especially Familiar related or about recent transports.”
They perked up at that.
“Ymean they could lead to a clue about me?” Artemis asked.
“It's highly possible.”
“Actually, speaking on this now,” Isaac spoke up, “I'm curious, where is Guardian HQ located?”
“Remember how I said there are multiple galaxies and stuff?”
“Yeah?”
Using his powers, Stein created a ring of five orbs in different elevation and distance, elaborating: “Ysee, this ring here is the Galaxies, each one having one planet among them that have Guardians.”
“Only one?”
“Yes. Each galaxy has a different number of planets but at least one has intelligent life upon them, and on those is where the Black Monsters and Black Guardians appear the most.”
“Huh. Who sends them?” Dex asked.
Stein shook his eye, “That can only be surmised to be the evil the Guardians fight. No specifics. Anyways, their HQ is thought to be somewhere in the middle, exact location, well that information is not privy to me or much of anyone.”
“Being in the middle of all this…”
“Could mean they pick up on alot of things especially with such a vast amount of Guardians everywhere,” Isaac finished.
Dissipating his Illusion, Stein continued: “Yes with unwillingness to share, especially among the public..Which leads to a new con.”
“That is?”
“Well…” Looking down, he looked reclusive.
“Stein?” Dex called out.
“...I'm going to be honest about something. You know how I mentioned Black Guardians? The evil variant of Guardians?”
“What about them?”
“Information about the existence of them…is more like a conspiracy theory.”
“Huh?” Isaac was a tad confused, “what do you mean?”
“The Guardians know how to keep information tight lipped about them and I don't know how. It’s like any inkling of them only exists if they want it to and they surely don't want it to.”
“So then how do you know they exist then?”
“I saw one,” He shocked them, “Some time before I came to this planet, I was preparing to leave for a neighboring planet until an incident occurred, one that caused me to see things and in that moment I saw Guardians fighting other Guardians. I was confused but I heard things too, while faint, picking up the words Black Guardians. That's how I know they exist.”
“Uh…that sounds like a hallucination.”
“I would agree, except I am unable to hallucinate.”
Rolling his eyes, Dex stated: “Lemme guess, your mind’s too strong.”
“No…there’s an issue with my brain. Some things…missing or miswired so to speak. It prevents me from ever having hallucinations…or dreams.”
Sorrowfully putting his ears down, Artemis replied: “You can’t dream?”
“Mhm. Whenever I sleep, I see nothing, just a black void.”
“Thats…” Isaac looked at the eyeball sympathetically, “I'm sorry.”
“Y-yeah, me too. I didn't mean to sound rude,” Dex said embarrassed.
Stein shook his eye, “It's fine, you didn't know. Back on point. Being that I’m unable to hallucinate, I asked the Guardian group in that region about it, getting them before they dispersed after some trouble. They denied what I said and played it off like I was seeing things, but I noticed a change in their demeanor, like they were trying not to seem surprised.”
“Are you the only one that knows?” Artemis asked.
“No. I often thought that maybe the accident wired my brain right but I wasn't the only one in it. A friend of mine was there too and he fell into a short coma. When he woke up, however, he told me he saw the same thing. That's how I knew what I saw was true. We had to keep it between us though.”
“Why?”
“We were being watched closely,” That news unsettled them, “Couldn’t really tell by who though, but I knew eyes were on us and something tells me it was related to the Guardians so he played it off that what we saw was some sort of dream. That shook them off.”
“The Guardians were…watching you?”
“Don't doubt it. Really don’t want that info leaking out. Which leads to our con; Gags.”
“Gags?” Dex scrunched, “Ew.”
Isaac chuckled, “Not those kinds Dex.”
“Yeah I know, it was a joke.”
Curiously, Artemis tilted his head and asked: “Those kinds?”
“Anyways,” Isaac shifted back before things got weird, “Are you implying they're gonna have us stay quiet on a few things?”
Stein answered: “Yes. Information concerning Artificial Familiars is scarce, and the reason being is unknown. HQ could be the reason but even so, asking for this might put you on their radar, making sure you don’t even tell close friends.”
“You make it sound like they’ll do something to us if we don't keep quiet.”
“Information can be a powerful weapon and there are some that keep tight locks to their weapon chest.”
Artemis shivered: “Scary.”
“While there's a Pro of gaining information, there's a Con of how far they’ll go to keep it secret.”
“Hm…” This only complicated their thoughts.
Stein felt the tense atmosphere and sighed, saying: “It's not like you have to make a decision tomorrow or anything. You have three weeks to decide about this so try not to overthink it.”
Leaning back, Isaac agreed, “He’s right. We’ll drive ourselves crazy over it.”
“Yeah.” Artemis nodded, “...Speaking of drive, we didn't finish Dex’s course.”
“Hrk!!” Dex jostled and stiffened.
“Oh yeah we didn't.” Isaac realized.
“There was that emergency that called for your help so it had to be paused.” Stein recalled, turning to Dex, “But now…” Isaac and Artemis followed.
Sweating bullets, Dex kept a flat twitchy face, “Y-you got Lyla and Sofi coming soon so we can’t.”
“We got tomorrow,” Isaac argued, “Dixon said we could return his truck tomorrow so after it we can squeeze in some practice.”
“I-I can’t wake up that early.”
“Who said it was early? Dixon said we can return it at noon so you can come by and do some practice before dropping it off.”
Secreting more sweat, Dex stuttered: “I-I…don't you um…want to take a day to relax? You and Artemis had a pretty tedious fight didn't ya?”
“It was tedious yeah, but thanks Silvet and Selma’s help we managed to get through without much problem.”
“Yeah,” Artemis chimed in, jumping up, “I don't remember it, but I still feel energetic!”
‘Shit!’ Dex cursed in his mind. His phone buzzed and he quickly swiped it out. “Gotta take this!” Seeing the screen showed a picture of Isaac and Artemis as Star Mask and The Moon Familiar fighting the Automatons. “Hey,” He calmed down, showing the picture, “check yall out.”
“Huh? Did your Grandpa take this?” Isaac asked.
“Oh this is a good one!” Stein giddily stated. “Can I get a copy?”
“Sure,” Dex nodded, returning his phone, reading the follow up message. “He says you two really saved them.”
“Hehe.” Isaac nervously chuckled.
“If only he knew it was you too.”
“His jaw would drop!” He laughed.
“Seriously, I'm glad you went there. You didn't have to but I appreciate it.”
He was taken slightly aback but smiled anyways, “You're welcome.”
“You too, Artemis.” Dex petted the cat.
“Hehehehe.” Artemis giggled.
“You’re still driving tomorrow,” Stated Isaac.
“Shit…” Dex sulked.
Stein leaned in, “I still want that photo.”
“Yeah yeah…where do you post your stories?”
“Oh!” The pupil widened in joy, “Curious are you!”
“A-a little.”
“I don't think you told us either,” Said Isaac.
Floating up and letting out a boisterous laugh, Stein excitedly said, “I was hoping you'd ask! It's time to reveal my journalistic prowess to you humans!”
“I'm scared.” Dex deflated.
“You see!” Closing in on Dex, he startled the man, “There exists a network! One outside the realm of this earth!” Then he went up to Isaac, slightly fazing him, “One that connects to species of other Galaxies especially those involved in intergalactic travel or planning on it!” Next came Artemis, who just stared at the eye curiously, “It's used to seeing news and such to keep up with current events!” He went back up in the middle, “However! The news stations on the planet aren’t the only source especially on planets such as these that are not yet ready for the discovery of life outside their own planet! What do I mean, you ask!? Simple!”
“He’s enjoying this…” Isaac muttered.
“Alien journalists! We provide a secondary source, a fresh one in the perspective of an outworlder! And not to brag,” He spun, “You are looking,” Using his powers, he created a light firework illusion, “at a top and well known Journalist!! Back in my hometown on my planet there was hardly anyone that didn’t know who I was!”
“I see,” Dex flatly followed along.
Once again Stein came to his face. “I don't think you quite do! There’s only a handful of aliens on this planet as the secrecy factor is quite a big deal, so only a certain few are allowed a pass to this world by the ones controlling the gateways, including journalists!” Getting closer, he threatened to couch eye to face, “You can't just be some small time, you have to be big to be able to atleast have a chance and seeing as I’m here, I am big time!” Pulling back and regulating the size of his pupil, Stein calmly stated: “Not to brag of course.”
“Of…course.” Dex awkwardly smiled.
“Still, it was quite the fortune. I'm sure plenty of Journo’s that wish they were so lucky to be able to report on you two.” He said while facing Isaac and Artemis.
Raising a brow, Isaac asked: “What makes you say that?”
“Because you are two men who can fight on par with the Guardians! It's nothing short of inspirational I’d say, along with exciting!”
“Inspirational?”
“Well yes, to men who lose courage to fight due to Dusk Energy not being as powerful or versatile as Star Energy.”
“So we're like…” Artemis surmised, “an Icon?”
“Something like that, yes. Now to view my page, I’ll have to look into getting you a phone attachment to connect to the outer world network, one for Dixon of course, I'm sure he’d love to see something from aliens.”
“He would,” Both Isaac and Dex nodded.
“I’ll go ahead and do that now, seeing as it's soon for the ladies to appear. Speaking off, do try to make progress with Sofi. We don’t know when the expo will come back and you need to be prepared to stop her then.”
With a serious but reluctant look, Isaac gave a nod, “Right.”
“Hm…” Artemis had an unsure gaze, looking down uncomfortably.
“Oh also, I left a new spell on your bed, check it out later.” Stein bid his goodbye and left the room and apartment.
Now that he was gone, Dex exhaled. “Man is quite the enthusiastic journalist.”
“I'll say,” Isaac agreed.
“I'm gonna go ahead and head home myself. Check on my grandpa.”
“Sure thing. See you tomorrow?”
He twitched his eyebrow annoyingly. “Yeah I guess.” Getting up, he waved goodbye, “Seeya Star Seeker, Artemis.”
“Bye.” Artemis waved.
“Seeya.” Isaac bidded. He took the invite from the table and asked: “Wanna go see that spell real quick before the girls get here?”
“Sure.” Hopping off the couch, Artemis followed Isaac, “By the way, can I get a nickname like Star Seeker and Star Guide?”
“Got one in mind?”
“Seeker's partner!” He proudly said.
“...Need to workshop that.”
----------------------------------------
End.
Next Chapter: Bonding.