Siege Mission

--Shike's Perspective--

---February 20th, 2446---

"Alright, here's my base plan. There are four of us, so we won't split any thinner than two people in each group. I'll hold close to Lily, and Boo and you won't split from each other. Sound good?" I asked Belle while we followed the path Lily led us down.

I wasn't sure where Charlie and Alex were going, other than the slight details of this Tower... apparently, it's a dangerous place, and I'm not sure that I have anything else to go off on. I know that I can't use my strands or my abilities, but I'm confident in our ability to scout out this city and find Charlie and Alex.

The dirt road continued forward for about four hours of walking. We talked, strategizing on the way, and came to one conclusion.

The mention of anything relating to Sky would be extremely dangerous, so we have to keep it under wraps. The name "Asterio" will not leave anybody's mouth, and from here on out, we don't have last names.

Belle, Alexia, and I are all technically Asterios, even if we're not related to Sky at all. I found that to be extremely weird, but I guess it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

After those four hours of walking, Belle, Boo, Lily, and I all reached the top of a massive hill... and in the distance stood a tower that looked like it scraped the clouds, followed by a ton of other buildings beside it. It was of a massive scale. The Tower was so big, it felt reminiscent of the Isle that Sky deflected back up on that Scorched Isle.

"That thing is huge! How is that even standing up?" Lily shouted out. I looked down at the walls surrounding the massive scale of the city sitting in front of us and looked for a way in.

"Hey... there's a moat surrounding everything. Belle, can you summon any ice right now?" I asked her, keeping my eyes locked on the barbed walls surrounding the city.

"Yeah, I can still summon some, why? Does that mean this technically isn't the city?" She asked me.

"I'm more thinking about what this anti-strand barrier is like. Can we not summon things within, or do all strands disappear when we're in the range? There are many things I want to test out," I commented, moving closer to the barbed walls behind the huge moat around the city.

"Why is this moat even here? Do they have Rubeki in this world too?" Boo asked next, looking all around and following my eyesight.

"Down here. Follow me," I told them, walking over to a definitive split in the grass where I could see clumps of dead grass in the patches of healthy grass all around us.

"Try to summon your ice now. If I'm right, it shouldn't work. After you do that, summon the ice behind that line, and walk in," I told Belle.

She nodded, listening to each of my suggestions. To start, the ice wouldn't appear within the line, but when she walked out and came back in after summoning the small icicle, it stayed. That meant the barrier didn't block strands, it blocked the summoning of strands. Although, there was no true difference if you couldn't use them.

"Next, I'll try this. Lily, give me your knife please," I requested, and when I held my hand out, she gave it to me without delay.

I cut a small slit on the back of my left hand with my White Stone while inside the barrier and watched it heal.

It was much slower. Usually, I could fully heal the wound within three seconds, but now it took around ten.

"Seems like it goes much slower, but I have strands in my body and I can heal. That means we'll be the first in line if we get into any conflict... but I'm thinking we might be okay. Here's my plan. We need to make a lot of noise on the opposite side of town, but enter from the same side we're at right now. What do you guys think? What's the best way to make a ton of noise?" I asked everybody.

I wasn't sure of the best plan of action, but I did know that I had three capable minds with me.

"Miss Boo, did Shike say you can move really fast?" Lily asked her.

"Miss Boo? Girl, I'm only fourteen, don't make me feel ancient. Yeah, I can move at the speed of light with my ability. What are you thinking?" Boo told her. Lily apologized and went on with her plan.

"When you move that fast, do you produce any sound?" Lily asked Boo again.

"Sometimes I do, I guess it depends on the situation. I can hit the ground while moving at the speed of light and make noise, but I can also take one step and fly while staying silent," Boo clarified.

I felt like that was wrong, considering she was moving at the speed of light, but I don't understand her ability at all, so I stopped trying to act like I did.

"Then I'll go with my second plan. Belle, how much ice can you summon?" Lily turned to Belle next, keeping her same motivated look.

"As much as you need... sort of. How much do I need to summon?" Belle asked Lily.

"Just enough to tilt into the town. I want you to sit outside of the barrier and summon a big pillar that will tip over into the city and cause a little destruction. Then, Shike and I will make our entrance over here. Boo will go with you and bring you back to us at light speed and get us all into the city. We can form a plan once we're in, and all distractions will be taken from our entry point. At least, for a long enough period of time to sneak in and act as we belong there," Lily suggested.

"That's a good plan. Any objections?" I asked, mediating the conversation for everybody.

Nobody had any objections, and we all nodded, preparing to break in.