Chapter Eleven: Allies

The crew readies for a fight as Siran takes out his pistol and points it at Laurence. "You said them again" Siran says. "So I'm going to need you to tell me what the hell is going on, and I'm going to need you to do it right now".

  "Do you think it's okay, brother?" Todd asks. "If he's not our foe, then we could use the assistance".

  "As much as I don't like to agree with... Todd" Manny says, "he's right. Except, we could use their help, but I'm not sure if we can tell them... I mean, they're still humans".

  "I've been hearing about some guy named Ishmael a lot lately" Siran says. "If somebody doesn't start explaining, it's going to drive me nuts!".

  "Yeah, and Yamamoto mentioned something about... Inari, I think was the name?" Zia asks.

  "It seems they really don't know, like you said" Aaron remarks.

  "I told you!" Laurence says. "But I'm also not sure how much help they can provide before it becomes counterproductive".

  "You're about to see counterproductive if I don't get some answers" Siran says.

  "Siran, chill!" Alex says. "They said we're not their foe".

  "Yeah, and?" Siran says. Siran points his gun directly at Laurence and says "This one stabbed me and took off with some vials of my blood".

  "That is true" Holly says. "But that brings up the question... why did you do that, Laurence?".

  "I needed to make sure it was you" Laurence says with a shrug. "I thought I saw your soul very clearly, but I had to make sure. Besides, there are memories tied to your soul... memories that are very important. Maybe not to you, but I like to know what and who I'm dealing with".

  "Is that what you had Huginn and Muninn bring to father?" Todd asks.

  "His blood contained endo directly linked to his soul" Laurence says. "He and the girl have a certain residual energy that most humans aren't born with. You know what that means, right?".

  "Then he is a reincarnation, and not just a shard" Aaron says. "But, if he's not carrying the shard, then... where did that last piece of Chronos go?".

  "Still working on that, actually" Laurence says. "But I think I have a lead".

  "How about a deal?" Zia asks. Everyone turns and looks at Zia with a surprised face. "We're all a little lost on this issue. That much is obvious. However, both sides also have information that might be handy to the other. So... information in exchange for information?".

  "The girl..." Todd says, "I like her".

  "That's my wife!" Siran declares.

  "Yeah, obviously" Laurence says. "We know that".

  "How much about us do you know?" Zia asks suspiciously.

  "And who are these... Ishmael and Inari people?" Siran asks.

  "Hm..." Laurence thinks. "Tell me what you know about these two people you encountered first. Depending on how useful the information is, I'll tell you more".

  "You sly piece of shi-" Siran begins to say.

  "One was named Dolos" Zia interrupts. "Wore thick robes, slightly tall, smug face, followed Yamamoto around like a dog".

  "And this... Yamamoto?" Laurence asks.

  "We don't know their real name" Zia says. "But we saw him shapeshift into what we think is his true form. Very tall, long red and messy hair, very buff, looks like he's ready for a fight all of the time, deep red eyes... he was tan and we saw them both use magic without a charm".

  "Hm..." Laurence thinks. "It's a very good description, but it rings more than one bell. What was he doing when you met them?".

  "He lead an attack against us" Zia says. "The people he sent after us seemed hyped up on an overdose of endo and were lazily controlled, but seemed inexperienced in a fight".

  "That's... a rather surprisingly efficient analyzation" Holly says.

  "If he's with Dolos" Laurence says, "then the only person I can think of that matches that description is Ares".

  "But those are just code names, right?" Holly asks. "I'm assuming so, since they're using names from Greek mythology. Do you know something about their organization?".

  "Codenames... yeah" Laurence says. Laurence turns to look at Siran, then says "Listen to me, this is important. I know you have ties with the being called Gaia, and I know you've been to Valhalla. Are you sure you're working for the right side here? Are you sure you can trust Gaia?".

  "Do you mean to say she's assisting these people as well?" Siran asks. "Of course I have doubts about Gaia... but who are these people that go by the codenames Ares and Dolos? Did they also enter Valhalla? Is that why they can cast magic without a charm?".

  "We still need more information to be sure" Laurence says. "As for Ishmael and Inari... you wanted to know about them?".

  "Inari is the name of a goddess from Japanese mythology" Haru says.

  "Yeah, the goddess of rice and prosperity" Mikoto says. "I thought you'd know that".

  "But they addressed Zia with that codename" Siran says, "and me with Ishmael... who is Ishmael?".

  Laurence looks at Siran with a gentle smile and says "An old friend. Ishmael was also the name of a beast-".

  "Much like Naris!?" Siran interrupts.

  Looking surprised, Laurence then says "Well... as I remember, the two of them were alike, yet very different. All I can tell you, is don't put your faith in the wrong person".

  "You mean Gaia, don't you?" Zia asks. "Because you've also been to Valhalla, haven't you?".

  "... Yes" Laurence says. "That's all I can tell you for now".

  "Wait!" Siran asks. "Who are these people, and why are they using codenames after the Olympic gods?".

  "I'm not sure" Laurence says, "I just hope it's not who I think it is. More information is needed". Laurence reaches out his hand for a handshake and says "we'll be glad to tell you more later, if we can count on you and your crew to keep us updated. Do we have a deal?".

  "A deal?" Siran asks himself. Siran reaches out his hand to shake with Laurence and says "I'm getting major deja vu right now...".

  "Then we'll consider each other as allies from now on" Laurence says as they shake. "Now, we'll be off. We shall meet again".

  As Laurence and his brothers start to vanish, Siran calls out "The name's Siran, by the way! Get it right next time!".

  As the crew analyzes the large Endo-Stream in Crater Lake, they begin to talk about what they've learned from Laurence and the others. "So, now we're looking into an organization that uses Greek god names as codenames" Holly says. "And they've also been to that place you and Zia have been to, the Theist Gate, or Valhalla as you called it".

  "Right" Siran says. "Which means these people really are dangerous. We're potentially looking at a bigger threat than The Mages here".

  "Do you think it'll be worse than Naris was?" Vivi asks.

  "... No idea" Siran replies.

  "On the bright side" Zia says, "we have four more people to help us. Valuable people, even if they seemed like our enemy at first. They also know and have been to Valhalla too. If you think about it, it's like we're building a Mages Guild of our own".

  "That's one good thing" Blake says.

  "More powerful allies will definitely be necessary if we're to face another threat like; or greater than; Naris" Ying adds.

  "Right, and I'm just nosy enough to look into such an organization" Haru says. "I still have my old habits of obsessively researching into things like these".

  "Hey, look at that, Holly!" Finn says. "You finally have your match!".

  "It's always nice to have more people to help with information logging" Holly says. "You find the sources and I'll hack into them".

  "That'll speed up the process significantly" Haru says.

  "As for now" Satomi says, "What's our next move?".

  "Return home and plan out our process?" Mikoto asks.

  "I think we'll have to stay on our toes more" Holly says as she takes out her laptop. "We can't afford to keep going back and forth, so let's take our time now to find out which military is being invaded and track that Ares person's steps".

  "Preferably somewhere that we aren't slowly getting endo poisoning?" Alex asks. "The longer we stay here, the more we risk getting sick".

  "You guys have a higher capacity for magic anyways" Siran says. "Plus, I can fix that if it happens, so don't worry".

  "Ah, I guess that's true" Finn says as he looks out towards the lake. "But these Endo-Streams make me very nervous".

  "It is rather ominous looking" Zia adds.

  "Shut it, I'm working" Holly says as she types away on her laptop. "Trying to track a history of military records isn't exactly easy, Finn... I need to focus".

  "Wait, why me?" Finn asks.

  "Have you tried any links between Japan's recent and old allies?" Haru asks. "If he were to easily move from one country to another, it'd be easier to shift between allied nations".

  Holly looks up at Haru, then says "... Thanks. It's always good to hear something intelligent from a crew member. What's the next link that Japan had recent contact with?".

  "Israel or Egypt" Haru says. "During the war, Japan and Israel made a joint effort to finally end the conflict in Egypt. Israel had a direct effort, but Japan helped with supplies and funding in an attempt to build stronger allies".

  "Then we'll start there!" Holly says as she taps away faster on her laptop.

  Meanwhile, in Seeira, Laurence and his three brothers appeared on the edge of town. They were approaching the town as they talked. "That Ishmael and Inari" Manny says, "seem to be in the middle of everything all of the time".

  "There are no bipedal foxes in this world" Todd says. "That's a sign of sadness. It means the greatest tragedy has occurred in this universe".

  "It means there's no ties to Ishmael, except for this Siran" Aaron says.

  "Indeed" Laurence says. "His family never survived in this universe. Yet, now he's a human, and has a new family. Which brings me back to my first investigation on this planet".

  "The shard of Chronos?" Manny asks. "Then those two really are the center of everything?".

  "More or less" Laurence says. "I have a lead... or rather... I've found it". As Laurence finishes talking, he approaches Vivi's front door.

  Laurence reaches up with his right hand and knocks on the door three times. When the door is opened, Ali answers the door and asks "Hello?".

  "Hello!" Laurence says cheerfully, "may I come inside?".

  "Are you a customer?" Ali asks. "The shop owner isn't in town right now, but we have a guy here who can probably help with whatever weapon you're here to make".

  "Yes, please" Laurence says. "Allow me to speak inside. May I come inside?".

  "Hm... alright" Ali says as she opens up the door. Ali then takes out a gun and says "But no funny business".

  Laurence chuckles and says "I'm all about funny business! However, that's not what I'm here for today". Laurence comes inside and sees Silas resting on the couch next to Carl and Dana. "I actually needed to speak to this child". Silas looks up in surprise at Laurence, then Laurence says "We've met before, remember?".

  "Y-Yeah" Silas says.

  "Don't worry!" Laurence says as he quickly raises his hands to show he's not hiding any weapons. "I'm here on good intentions". As Laurence looks around, he sees that Demetri, Tanya, and Ali all already had weapons drawn and pointed at him and his brothers.

  "This is where that last shard went?" Todd asks as he looks at Silas.

  "My name is Laurence" Laurence says. "What is your name, child?".

  "I'm... Silas" Silas says. "What are you here for?".

  "Closing an investigation of sorts" Laurence says. Laurence then turns to his brothers and says "Interesting, no? At least it's not in their hands".

  "Do you think we can trust the child to hold it?" Aaron asks.

  "That's all up to him" Laurence says as he turns to face Silas again. "You see, you hold something very important inside of you. We'll be here to protect your mom and dad if you can promise us that you'll keep yourself safe. Deal?".

  "Who the hell are these weirdos?" Tanya asks.

  "I don't..." Silas begins to say.

  "Well, anyways" Laurence says as he turns and begins to walk out of the door, "I'm sure it's in good hands. I just needed to check up and make sure everything on this end is secured. Call it... a free favor for your dad, Silas".

  "Uh..." Silas begins to think.

  "Until we meet again" Laurence says as he stands in the doorway and begins to vanish again, "good luck!".

  Demetri, Tanya and Ali stood still with their weapons still drawn, confused. "What and absolute creep" Tanya says.

  "A favor for his dad?" Demetri asks. "Does that mean he is ally?".

  "Whatever it means" Ali says, "I don't like the looks of his face".

  "What'd he want from Silas?" Dana asks.

  "I dunno" Silas responds. "That guy definitely seems weird, but... it could've gone worse. At least he didn't trash the place".

  "Yeah, mom would never let me hear the end of it, if he did" Carl says.