Chapter 17: Alexander; Shauran 23rd 344SR; 13:50

"Are you sure you don't feel any pain, Sir Alexander?" A female doctor from House Pendragon asked with a confused look.

"Same as yesterday Irene... After I had awoken in Logos I was fine. In fact, I felt better if anything," Alexander sighed.

The room was lit by the sunlight that flooded through the window, one half of the room was illuminated. Alexander sat in the corner outside of the light, right next to a small bed with white sheets neatly set. Around the walls, were various posters that described medical-related concepts. One of a skeleton, each bone had a label with its respective name. Next to it was a report written by an angel by the name of Liam Fost, the large poster discussed several applications of special herbs found around Kamino. In the light of the room, the doctor sat with her back to Alexander, she wrote some notes on a piece of paper. A letter on the desk from House Lightbringer had Alexander's attention from the moment he arrived, but as the doctor turned to him he looked away.

Irene had straight brown hair down to her shoulders, and the front of her bangs was cut flat. 'That hairstyle is terrible...' She took a seat at her desk and began writing notes in regard to Alexander's recovery. She wore a white coat with the red insignia of House Pendragon on the back. Her eyes were surrounded by wrinkles despite her fair skin, 'Has she been staying up?'

"Alright... Still no changes, that's good. I'd like to do some quick tests, unbutton your shirt please," Irene asked as she stood up.

The doctor had her head turned as Alexander unbuttoned his shirt. He leaned forward to get a better view of the letter from House Lightbringer. The subject read 'Extension of Treatment.' The doctor stood with her arms crossed, she looked out the window as she held the report. Alexander saw what she had written down so far.

'Arid Lightbringer requested the treatment of Alexander be extended until the object in his chest can either be removed or confirmed to be non-threatening.' 'Non-threatening?' Alexander looked at that line closely, however, he glanced away as the doctor turned.

"Okay... If I touch the stone here, do you feel anything?" Irene tapped her pen against the green crystal under his chest.

"No."

"What about here," Irene tapped the skin around the gem.

"Yes."

"But not... This?" Irene pushed the pen into the gem.

"I know you're poking me with the pen, but I don't feel the pen."

"You weren't- near the mines, right? The thing in your chest looks like a mass of logorite, but we can't even take a sample. Try using your gift..."

Alexander raised his arm and conjured his greatsword in hand in front of Irene. She walked around him to see any change. The greatsword conjured in his palm, the stone seemed to glow the moment he did. She pressed her hand into the skin on his back, the gem didn't protrude out that side.

"You're saying... you don't feel anything different? I'll have to look into your record to see if you have a history of injuries to that area... Are you sure you don't feel any different?" Irene persisted.

"I promise you, I am fine."

"Even so, Lord Lightbringer has asked us to make sure you're in top shape. Please make sure you visit regularly so we can make sure everything's fine. We still don't know for certain what that thing is," Irene instructed.

"Right..." Alexander replied as he stood up and pulled his black coat off the backrest of the seat.

Alexander looked at her desk, and with a pen, in hand, she wrote something down on a sheet. 'No signs of increased aggression, no knowledge of the object, no physical response to the object. As per Arid Lightbringer, we will continue observing Alexander Rael for the next five weeks.'

'Five weeks?!'

"Have you had a chance to have lunch yet, Irene?" Alexander asked.

"Huh, oh... No, not yet, I'm gonna finish my report and then go."

"Alright... Don't overwork yourself, the actual medical professionals of House Pendragon are irreplaceable," Alexander walked out of the room.

"Oh... Why thank you," Irene rubbed her eye as she thanked him.

"You look tired."

"Yeah, I've been back and forth with House Lightbringer for the past two days, it's exhausting..."

"Make sure you rest. By the way, how are Vivian and Bruno?" Alexander asked.

"Vivian is doing fine, she was more worried about you. Bruno had a few fractured ribs but he should be okay by the end of the week."

"I see, thank you, Irene. I'll be leaving now," Alexander sighed.

Alexander walked out of the room, immediately took a right, and proceeded down the hall, the floor, walls, and ceiling were painted white, and on both sides of the hall were other rooms. Even more posters or signs decorated the walls, a few of them were the same as he saw in Irene's office. Alexander clenched his fist tightly as he made his way down the hall.

'Bruno encountered that man as well... But he stood no chance... Not even Rolo or Avery. I have to slay that monster. Only I could match him... Lord Lightbringer... Why are you going so far to stop me from doing what's right...' Alexander quickly walked through the hallway, focused solely on his current objective. He made it to the stairwell where he had asked Lector to wait, and to his surprise, he found Yami instead.

The blue-haired boy sat on the steps with his head rested against his right fist and his back turned to Alexander. He hadn't worn his coat, just a simple white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. As Alexander walked by, he looked up and left the dazed and bored state he was in. 'Where is Lector?'

"Sir! I'm very sorry! I should've been there for the battle! Please allow me to make up for this!" Yami stood up and shouted with his head down.

"Yes, you should've been there. If you want to make up for your failure, inform me of where that lazy fool went," Alexander asked.

"Lazy fool?" Yami replied with a confused tone. "Oh, Lector? I found him here and he told me to wait, then he followed two girls, they looked like lieutenants for House Pendragon."

"Oh, not again," Alexander kissed his teeth.

Alexander quickly walked down the flight of stairs, and Yami followed. 'If only he focused... He'd be an exemplary lieutenant and spy...' As the noble and his newest lieutenant reached the bottom of the stairs, they entered a lobby. Banners with the insignia of House Pendragon were decorated around the walls. Alexander looked up as he descended the last few stairs, the ceiling was made of glass, and the sky was blue and devoid of clouds. The Celestial could be seen through the glass, as well as the grey stone brick wall which surrounded it. Across the stairs was the front desk, the path to the left led further into the hospital, Alexander turned right and proceeded to exit the building.

The front of the hospital was a vast open courtyard, a stone path encircled by a square field of fresh green grass, its vibrant hue unparalleled amongst the scenery of white and grey stones. To the left was a large building that connected to the inner wall of Helios that surrounded the Celestial. 'This basic excuse of a building...' This was House Pendragon. Each corner of the inner wall possessed one of the four noble houses, House Rael was located on the opposite side of the city.

Alexander scanned the field from left to right, across the grass was a staircase that turned and went to the upper levels of Helios's inner city. To the right of the field, across from House Pendragon were various shops in a plaza, a bakery, and a café at the end of the plaza. Citizens of the inner city occupied the white chairs and tables that stood on elegantly curved legs. Some spent time with others, others read the daily news.

Freiya of House Pendragon was speaking with a woman who was seated, she held her black coat in her arms to cool off as she stood near the table. Her hair swayed with the wind as she let out a sigh. She looked around, said something to the other woman she was with, then looked away as she returned to waiting patiently.

Alexander suddenly felt nostalgic as he saw a familiar blonde exit the café with the same gleeful expression he always had when he was around women. 'Ugh...' Alexander cringed.

"Sorry for making you wait ladies!" said Lector.

Lector flew through the door and approached both women with three glasses of lemonade. Two in his hands, and one held between his elbow and chest. He had been wearing his coat, inside a white shirt and black pants covered his legs. Alexander couldn't tell if he was walking with his eyes closed or if he could still see as he approached the table with cold beverages.

"Oh great Celestial, why is he like this...." Alexander spoke into his hand as he covered his face. 'He's too casual after suffering a defeat like that...'

Lector hadn't noticed Yami and Alexander, he was completely unaware as he did what he loved most. He handed one to Freiya who looked at it with confusion and a hint of disgust. The other to the pink-haired woman who was seated, she thanked Lector with a bright smile.

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"Who is she?" Yami pointed at the seated woman.

"Hana Blume, a skilled warrior from House Pendragon," Alexander answered.

"Really? Wow... She must be good if you think she's skilled."

Hana had bright pink hair, her twin tails spiraled at the ends which reached past her neck, and her red eyes glowed in the shade. The buttons on her white shirt were only done up to her chest, revealing her cleavage. At her waist, a thin blade she had received from the Celestial, the guard of the sword was made of vines elegantly weaved together with pink flowers growing off of it. She sat back with her arms and legs crossed, a confident smile on her face as she basked in the light, she seemed to enjoy Lector's attention and generosity.

"Thanks, Lector, you're too kind," Hana took off the lid and sipped the lemonade.

"Too kind..." Freiya said with added emphasis as she drank the lemonade through a straw.

"Please, kindness is a blessing to the eyes," Lector replied with a smooth tone as he stared at Hana, her eyes remained closed as she sipped the lemonade.

Alexander cringed.

"This weather is awful. Lemonade really does the trick," Hana sighed.

"Awful?" Yami whispered to himself as he looked up at the clear blue skies and bright sun.

Freiya looked around as she tried to ignore the two of them. Her lazy and disappointed eyes lingered around the grass before she took notice of Alexander and Yami. She stared at Lector and then at Alexander. Then back to Lector, and then back at Alexander. Freiya pursed her lips as she looked up and turned

"I'm heading back, don't procrastinate for too long," Freiya walked away with the lemonade.

"Yami... Only take away the best from Lector... Nothing else you hear me. Nothing else," Alexander turned to him as he warned.

"Hm? We have about 20 minutes until-" Hana turned and noticed Alexander and his upset expression. "I've heard about new lieutenants in most squads, ours didn't get one until yesterday. Is he the new recruit for House Rael?" Hana asked.

"New recruit-" Lector's head shot to the left. "Oh no," he uttered at the sight of Alexander's visible disgust.

"I'll leave you to your business, thanks for offering to buy me another drink," Hana stood up and walked off with the lemonade as well.

Alexander approached the table. Lector had a frown on his face as he watched Hana walk away, his chin resting on the white table with his arms outstretched in front of him.

"Isn't the way her hair bounces with each step just nice... And that confident but compassionate smile? She really is an angel," Lector described.

"I thought I asked you to wait," Alexander asked with squinted eyes.

"But you were taking so long," Lector sobbed.

"I was in the office for 10 minutes!"

"Freiya and Hana weren't gonna be around for 10 minutes," Lector sobbed.

Alexander stood in the shade of the buildings. The scent of freshly baked bread lingered in the air, and the sound of Hana's footsteps faded against the sound of mixed conversations in the plaza. Alexander pointed at the hospital he exited.

"The head of the medical division, Irene Walker, will be sending a report to House Lightbringer today," Alexander stated.

"And?" Lector sniffled.

"Bring it to me," Alexander ordered.

"Huh?" Lector stopped sobbing and looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I'm... pretty sure that's... treason? An invasion of privacy?" Lector reasoned.

"If you are caught I'll take the blame, now go, I expect that report before the sun falls. I know you can do it,"

"Yeah but... These are the Lightbringers, and... I'm a spy, it's much worse for me to get caught even if you take the blame..." Lector pointed out.

"You won't get caught," Alexander stated.

"... Huh? How would you even know that?"

"You're an excellent spy, I wouldn't ask you unless I knew you could do it," Alexander calmly told him as he walked off towards the staircase to the upper levels.

Lector stared at Alexander with his arms crossed. He had something on his mind as he squinted.

"Dammit..." Lector stood up and scratched his head. "You just want the note?" he asked.

"If you can find more in regards to the Lightbringer's current plans, that'd be useful, but don't push yourself, I'd rather not lose a valuable member of my squad."

Alexander turned around and faced Lector, his eyebrows raised when he saw Lector with his head down. 'Is it wise for me to send him for this... he doesn't seem like he's confident.'

"If the mission is too much to handle it's-"

"No... No, I got this, I'll get you all of the Lightbringer's plans," Lector looked up at Alexander with a determined look. "But... I can't get it here," Lector put his thumb to the chin.

"Can't you just intercept the messenger?" Yami asked.

"No... It'll most likely be a low rank from House Pendragon so it's not impossible... The problem is that's too obvious," Lector looked down as he continued to plan.

"If we take the report from Yuria before the messenger gets it, the Lightbringers will know something went wrong as the Lightbringers are expecting her reports about your condition. If we take the report from the messenger, both Yuria and the Lightbringers will know something happened, and that plan is just too high variance," Lector rambled.

"High variance?" Yami scratched his head.

"Basically, we'd be depending on how dumb the messenger is, which isn't something you should depend on. The only way this'll work is if we take the message after it's been delivered, but then the Lightbringers will find out when they don't receive the report," Lector explained.

"Wait... Then how do you get the report safely?" Yami asked.

"If we had Kiril from House Rover this would be easy..." Lector pondered, "Alexander- Sir, I need you to cause a ruckus at House Lightbringer," Lector gave the noble order.

Alexander and Yami raised their eyebrows as Lector tapped Yami's shoulder, leaving a golden mark on it before lifting his hand.

"Yami I need you to track the messenger. Stay in the sky, avoid being noticed, and use the rooftops," Lector instructed.

"Got it," Yami replied

'It's strange seeing him try... He has so much potential when he does though.'

"Alexander and I will wait for the messenger to get close, that's when Alexander will enter the Lightbringer's manor and cause a ruckus. That's when I'll use the distraction to get inside and get the information."

"What about the report?" Yami asked.

"I'll handle that, we just need the words on it. We have to get to House Lightbringer before the messenger gets there. Alexander can cause a ruckus which will get me time to collect the information," Lector planned.

"We have a chance right now," Alexander nodded towards the entrance to the hospital.

Lector turned towards the entrance and noticed what Alexander was looking at. Yuria had walked out of the building. Her brown hair swayed in the light winds as she took a right towards the various shops. The path she walked led towards them.

"She hasn't had lunch yet," Alexander recalled.

A young angel with white hair exited House Pendragon's head office. He immediately turned left towards the hospital and walked straight towards it. A brown bag hung off of his shoulder, he wasn't wearing the coat of House Pendragon, 'He must be the one...'

"That would be the messenger... Irene's office is on the second floor... he'll beat us to it... Yami, find a spot out of sight and fly up, then watch the entrance, wait for the white-haired kid with a brown bag to leave," Lector ordered.

"White hair?" Alexander remembered something briefly.

"White hair?" Yami turned and squinted at the person entering the hospital.

"Forget him, we need to get over to House Lightbringer," Lector said as he hurried towards the stairs. "Yami, where are you looking? Focus!"

Yami shook his head, he looked left and right and then hurried to an alley between the buildings. Alexander and Lector quickly stepped up the stairs and turned right. Then left as the path curved.

"By the way, if you don't mind me asking, why exactly are you doing this?" Lector asked.

"I refuse to accept defeat at the hands of that off-worlder, I won't let the Lightbringers stand in my way of finding both of them and splitting their skulls."

"Both?"

"The off-worlder, and Jack, I was right to suspect that non-unified," said Alexander.

House Lightbringer was at the adjacent corner of the city so it was a long walk away. Sunlight slipped between the upper roads and illuminated some parts of the street, Alexander's skin felt cold, as it was embraced by shade instead of the sun. There were various buildings around them, most of them homes for the higher class with stores near the bottom, and a lot of startup businesses. Many stores offered to sell clothing or tools for fishing near the harbor, there were equally as many convenience stores.

"Well, you kind of have a free vacation again..." Lector murmured. "Can't you do that without the note?"

"I need to confirm if I can really trust the Lightbringers. I'd prefer it if I could, but depending on the information you pull, I'll know for sure," Alexander explained.

"It seems like you don't trust them already," Lector commented.

"Lucifer Lightbringer used me for information and then threw me to the side. I don't take kindly to that, not after the progress I've brought to this country."

"Yeah, I get it... One other question though," Lector asked.

"What is it?"

"What about that guy, Jack?" Lector asked.

"I believe he's with the off-worlder, it's just as I feared... If I had killed him before this, things would be far different."

"Uh... Huh..."

The two walked with a quick pace down the street of Inner Helios, House Lightbringer was at the end of the road. Male angels in grey, black, or blue suits walked with briefcases in hand down the urban streets of Helios. Female angels primarily wore dresses of the same color. Heels and top hats were in fashion so the streets were filled with the sounds of clicking against the stone sidewalks.

"I found this in his house," Lector pulled a book out of his pocket and handed it to Alexander.

"The Legend of Ragnarok? Isn't this a children's book?" Alexander asked.

"That's not what's important, that book is weird. That version is nowhere else, according to the librarians though, it's an extremely old copy. Why was it in Jack's living room?"

"What are you implying?"

"Well, it's unlikely that Jack came all the way to the inner wall of Helios's library just for a children's book, and I doubt that the off-worlder suddenly sought after it. The only plausible explanation is that an angel did it."

"Arthur..."

"Probably... But I don't think he's with the Lightbringers on this one, I think he may be doing this because of what happened to his father."

"The last noble of House Pendragon? He died a noble death during Arken's Crusade, why would Arthur oppose the angels for that?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie, some of the stuff from that whole ordeal afterward didn't add up, even to me... And believe me, I'm a skeptic."

"What do you mean?" Alexander asked.

"I know you hate the guy but, let's be honest, he's young but he's not an idiot. He ran the hospital after his father's death flawlessly, he's almost too perfect. It's a little creepy... I heard he used to be a pretty normal guy..."

"Creepy? More like intolerable... He's so fake..."

"And I'm not going to beat around the bush here..."

Lector stopped and looked around for anyone close by. Alexander raised an eyebrow at his discretion.

"The stuff that happened afterward to the last squad? I don't buy a lot of it... Something weird happened to them..."

"Two of them passed away shortly after returning... Yes, that was quite odd..."

"That's not all, if you look at the autopsies, it seems like both of them were killed."

"Killed? How?"

"One went missing for several days but was considered to be dead after about four months... The other was seen the day before but caused a public commotion and got arrested, when he was released the next day, he was found outside his house's doorstep. No wounds, no signs of an attack, he just, died. The autopsy later revealed he had suffered nerve damage or something and fell over, damaging an artery in his head. I don't buy that."

"This does sound like a conspiracy... Are the Lightbringers involved in this as well..."

"Who knows, he could believe the crazy conspiracies about that event, or he has a different purpose entirely. Whatever his reason, he kept you away from Jack for a year, and he let Jack get away."

"So you saw that battle as well, I figured you were unconscious."

"Was unconscious, I woke up shortly after everyone left."

"You probably waited for them to leave." Alexander corrected.

"Of course, I waited! That off-worlder is terrifying! And besides, you know me... I don't fight, the most I can do is just blast people with a really loud sound up close."

"You aren't my lieutenant to fight, I don't need my lieutenants or anyone doing my job for me. I'd be a failure of a noble if I couldn't even do that. You're the best spy in Helios, don't ever forget that."

The two of them had been walking at a similar pace but the moment Lector heard that he stopped. Alexander kept walking.

"It's weird to hear you say that," Lector mumbled, looking to the side to avoid eye contact as he continued forward.

"Not another word," Alexander calmly warned him.

"Yeah, yeah... But I need to ask," Lector's smile faded, "Didn't it seem like those non-unified who were with the off-worlder, were somehow... Different?"

"Yeah, they were stronger... We don't know what exactly we're dealing with and that's all the more reason we must crush him, Jack, and the rest of the non-unified alliance! Before they can become a greater threat to the Celestial."