Three's A Team

Phantom was standing in front of Alice's house. He looked at a letter falling near the doorstep and mumbled, "The address is correct, but looks like nobody is in the house." He transformed into red mist and went inside the house and then again took the form of a human. He looked around the house and searched every corner of the house, but nothing interesting caught his eyes. He walked upstairs and opened each room and searched each furniture carefully, but everything seemed normal. He mumbled, "Damn. Either that girl is very clever or Assayah choosed the wrong girl." He was about to leave, when he heard the sound of the door opening. He transformed into red mist and slowly descended downstairs. He saw that a woman was putting her bags on the floor and calling Alice's name. Phantom looked carefully at the lady and said, "This woman seems familiar. But, who is she?"

Phantom started to encircle around the woman and then Phantom got a major shock. His eyes fell on the identity card which had the woman's name on it. Phantom mumbled in awe, "No, it can't be possible. Life cannot do this with me again. I have suffered enough already and yet I still have more suffering in my life." He slowly went close to Rachel and his warm breaths touched Rachel's face. Rachel looked around and then walked towards her room. Phantom followed her in her room. Rachel slowly started to undress as Phantom quietly saw his past memories float before his eyes. Phantom wanted to hug and kiss his only love, but the chains of duty stopped him. He slowly walked downstairs and went outside. Ralph looked at him and asked, "What did you find?" Phantom replied grimly, "Justice." Ralph asked puzzled, "What?" Phantom bursted out crying, "She was so near me, yet my presence was a lie, my love was an illusion and my pain was a joke." Ralph asked, "What are you saying, man? Are you in your senses?" Phantom smiled grimly, "Only if I wasn't then today I would have been a different demon." Ralph asked, "What happened?" Phantom smiled, "Tragedy." Ralph took a long breath and said, "I'm genuinely asking what happened there, buddy." Phantom sighed, "Alice is Rachel's daughter." Ralph shrieked, "WHAT??" Phantom said, "Yes. She is Alice's mother." Ralph said, "That means she is your daughter." Phantom smiled, "Nah, that can't be possible. Bacca would have killed me if it had happened." Ralph said, "But isn't she the same age of your separation from Rachel?"

Phantom looked at Ralph and said, "It doesn't matter. I'm not allowed to be someone's father or someone's husband. She would be called a 'bastard' all her life." Ralph asked, "Would you be able to kill her after the revelation?" Phantom said, "I'm not here to kill anyone. I just want the spear back and then I will spend the rest of my everlasting life in solitude." Ralph smiled, "Sometimes I think what is more painful. The good that stops you or the evil that empowers you?" Phantom smiled, "No one has the answer to this question. Not humans or gods and certainly not us demons." Ralph asked, "Now tell me what exactly did you found useful in the house, apart from your torn memories?" Phantom replied, "The spear is definitely not in the house. We have to be more precise from now on. We will first start with her college."

Alice slowly woke up from her deep slumber and slowly opened her eyes. She got down from the bed and slowly walked towards the door. She opened it and saw that Elgin and Aliyah were sitting near a bonfire toasting marshmallows on it. Alice asked slowly, "For how much time I was asleep?" Aliyah smiled, "Enough time for a person to see the sun and moon two times." Alice asked with a little fear, "For two days? My friends must be searching me after what happened at the Church." Elgin smiled, "Don't worry. We have got that covered." Aliyah created a purple smoke and Elena and Trisha emerged from the smoke. Alice asked, "What are they doing here?" Aliyah replied, "We had no choice. They were screaming like chickens and would have revealed everything that happened at the Church." Elena and Trisha slowly opened their eyes and looked at Alice and Elgin who was staring at them. Elena asked, "Is it a dream?" Alice replied, "I wish it was." Trisha asked, "Who is this guy? He's been ogling me like a creep." Elgin rose and said, "My name is Elsinore Vesarlis, but my loved ones call me Elgin." Trisha said, "You have funny ears." Elgin said with a pout, "Don't say like that. I have the prettiest ears among all the elves." Elena asked, "Elves?" Alice said grimly, "Let me explain it to you two." Alice narrated the whole story as Elena and Trisha listened to it with both awe and confusion. Trisha asked, "So, you are a witch?" Alice said sadly, "A warrior princess. But, I'm still untrained." Elena asked, "There are demons amongst us who wants to capture us and rule us?" Aliyah said, "Even worse. They want to take all the peace and goodness from our hearts and turn us into dark souls." Elena and Trisha jumped in fear. Alice said, "Don't be scared. She is the uncalled heroine of the story. Aliyah."

Trisha asked, "Then why is she not visible?" Aliyah said annoyed, "Because I'm a ghost, you dickhead." Trisha looked angry, but remained silent. Elgin said, "You two please sit down. I will bring some tea for you." Elena asked, "What happened in the Church that day?" Alice replied, "Something that shouldn't have happened. Ryder's body got hijacked by an evil assassin." Trisha asked angrily, "What do you mean by that? Is he something airplane that will get hijacked?" Alice replied calmly, "A dead man is like an empty vessel which can be filled with any soul." Elena slapped Trisha and said, "It is all because of you. If you had been loyal to Ryder, his life would have been easier and he would have been alive." Trisha had enough already and took a stone from the ground and hitted on Elena's head, "Was he your boyfriend or mine? Shameless woman, how dare you even see Ryder in a romantic way?" Aliyah pulled Trisha away and threw her on the ground and said, "Stop fighting. I had enough of you two already and I will kill both of you if you fight again." Alice said, "If we keep fighting like this and stay divided, then the demons will find it easier to defeat us." Trisha said angrily, "You expect us to fight mighty demons who can possess bodies like clothes. Are you mad?" Aliyah sighed, "Looks like this is the part where I will have to train you two too." Elena asked, "Will we have magical powers?" Aliyah said, "At a limited extent. Your bodies aren't made for soaking too much magic." Trisha said, "I know a little karate and also did swimming in my pre school. I can defend take more magic than this unfaithful whore." Elena smirked, "Yes, you have always been fond of taking "more" inside you." Alice smiled and said, "It's time to get some food."

Elgin came outside with a table full of boiled vegetables, five glasses of black water and a bottle of classic Pinot noir. Elena said suprised, "I didn't know that elves drink wine." Trisha smiled, "Elves used to eat humans earlier. Drinking wine is still a more decent adaption." Elgin said grimly, "Orcs. Orcs eat humans. Not elves. Looks like you forgot your mythological classes." Elena asked, "Are there any orcs? Since there are elves." Aliyah hummed, "Might be. I never saw any orcs but Bacca himself is like an orc." Elgin said, "Xao Chang has far more dreaded creatures in his sleeves. Orcs are still the least scary." Elena and Trisha slowly started getting scared.

Alice looked at them and said, "Don't worry. You will get accustomed with time." Aliyah said, "I will train you in the physical hand to hand combat, weapon mastery and mental strength, while Elgin will teach you basic magic and how to control the rhythm of it. The training will be lighter on the starting days and will slowly get more harder day by day and depending on the time we have in our hands, the training routine will be without any rest days. Injuries will be treated accordingly but tantrums and false alarms won't be tolerated. Elgin will look after your diet and lifestyle and I will keep an eye on your physical growth. You cannot disclose your identities to anyone and cannot show-off your skills for fun. Is it all understood?" All nodded their heads in approval. Alice asked, "What about Ryder? He certainly doesn't look someone who will take defeat easily." Aliyah said grimly, "Gongamtei is my headache. He will surely try his best tactics to take the spear, but I will try my best to stop him."

Elgin said, "I know a place where they can stay for a while if they don't mind separation." Aliyah said, "No need of that. The Church incident has already created too much turmoil and we can't afford another." Alice said, "I think his idea is good. If we have some time in our hands more than our training will surely speed up." Aliyah smiled, "There's no need. The demons are already searching for any suspicious activities and your sudden disappearance will only fuel their suspicion." Aliyah created a sphere ball and Alice, Elena and Trisha got inside it and then slowly disappeared. Elgin transformed into an eagle and flew towards the city.

Assayah was playing miniature golf in his room, when Kenchi and Kayuba appeared. Assayah smiled, "What magic brought you two together today?" Kenchi said, "The magic of time. Bacca is slowly fading into deep sleep. The meds are suspecting some interference in his medicines and now finding the spear has become much more important than ever." Assayah said grimly, "You shouldn't be afraid, Kenchi. You have send Gongamtei to snatch the spear, haven't you? He will mess the whole earth, but will find you the spear." Kenchi said angrily, "This is no time for sarcasm, Assayah. You might have forgotten about the Monastery and our motives while staying between these flithy mortals. But, I haven't forgotten it. Gongamtei may be chaotic but he reliable, unlike some who can't stop their lust."

Kayuba said angrily, "Belittling each other won't win us the war. Gongamtei is not a good person. His alliance with you is based on benefits and not loyalty. Phantom is loyal to me and knows his duties, but Gongamtei will leave us the moment he gets his body back." Kenchi waved his hand in anger and said, "I don't care about his loyalty towards us. If he does our work effectively, then a small pay won't hurt anyone. I'm not concerned about these minor casualties, I'm looking at the bigger picture." Assayah said, "These minor casualties will turn into major blunders one day. Don't forget what happened last time. Your stubbornness harmed us dearly." Kenchi said, "My stubbornness is what kept you alive to say these words. King Alacapa would have killed you that day if I hadn't stopped us from moving forward." Kayuba said grimly, "We need the spear before Xao Chang awakes and we have to do it in a subtle manner." Kenchi said, "The main reason why we came here is that we heard that Gongamtei has seen a Manacan. We need to clarify the case." Assayah said, "It is no wonder even if there is one. The spear will chose someone to be its bearer and a Manacan is the best choice." Kenchi said grimly, "But it is not possible. I personally killed the last Manacan, Aliyah with my arrow."

Assayah said, "Things have become very delicate now. Walschimdt and Watwell are soon going to be on the race towards Mayor's seat. Any unwanted disturbance will disrupt our life long plans." Kayuba said, "Keep an eye on Gongamtei and Phantom. They both are tested rebels." Kenchi took out a dagger from his robe and said, "Whoever wins the election. Kill him with this blade." Assayah said, "Your plans are always volatile." Kenchi said angrily, "Just do it. We should have a card ready in case if any emergency." Kenchi and Kayuba slowly turned into red mist and vanished.

Gongamtei stopped near Alice's house and mumbled, "This is the last house to see. I hope I find what I'm looking for." He slowly went inside the house and looked around. "Something unusual is in this house for sure. I can feel it." He was looking around, when a voice came from backside, "Do you know where Alice is? I haven't seen her the whole day and she isn't even picking up my calls." Ryder said, "No, ma'am. I haven't seen your daughter either but I would definitely like to." Rachel asked, "What?" Ryder snapped his fingers and a red smoke encircled Rachel and she fell unconscious. Gongamtei went near her and said, "Such a fine beauty. It has been ages since I saw a fine woman like her. Bad thing, I lost my manhood years ago." Gongamtei slapped himself and said, "Focus, Gongamtei." He took out his knife and sliced Rachel's toe and wrote with her blood, "If you want your mother alive, bring me back the spear within two days. Don't try to act smart, I have my eyes on you." He encircled himself and Rachel inside red mist and disappeared....