I'll See You, Again

The world continued to spin around Adelyn, as Kaos looked at the group with a smile. The darkness that once entrapped him began to circle around his palm once more.

“Teddie,” Adelyn said, raising her chainsaw. “He’s obviously going to target you. Try and keep us in the game long enough to defend.”

“I understand,” Teddie nods. Kaos rolled his eyes and the darkness he claimed from Adelyn’s spirit began to engulf him. He became no more than a line moving across the dark shadows.

Adelyn saw that line moving however, and summoned Luz, the spirit of light. It was a long shot, but if he engulfed himself in darkness then, he must certainly come back to the light.

A blinding burst of light released in the cell, completely illuminating the darkness that was contained within. The line morphed back into the jester, which gave Ed an opening to grab Kaos with a golden chain!

Edward spun around and slammed Kaos into a wall, dragging the jester across the spinning steel. Though suddenly, his chain began to glow dark, before suddenly being transformed into a shadowy serpent which bites at his arm!

“ACK-”

Ed grunted in pain, but Teddie came behind him and sang his tune. A harmonious song floated through the air, crumbling the snake into dust. The notes reached out towards Kaos himself, who suddenly vanished from his spot. Adelyn noticed the jester appeared behind Teddie once again, and she acted fast. Within a second, she summoned Glyca, the Spirit of Ice and froze the jester before he could attack.

Teddie followed suit, unleashing his song once again on the directly frozen jester. With that direct hit, the ice shattered and the boy crumbled into dust. The three of them took a moment to breathe.

“Phew,” Adelyn said. “I wonder how the others are doing.”

“It’s not over though,” Edward said.

“The show is never over!” A cheerful voice came from behind Edward. On instinct, he summoned a blade to strike at the jester. Kaos caught it in one hand, before picking up Edward by his sword and throwing him into the wall as well.

He crashed against the wall, as Adelyn revved her chainsaw in response. As she was about to strike, suddenly a massive crashing sound was heard.

“ADELYN, ED, TEDDIE! OVER HERE!”

Cozy’s voice echoed across the chamber, as attention was brought to the hole within. In the spinning space, they needed to make it to her.

Kaos smiled, and immediately dashed directly towards the hole first.

The blur headed towards Cozy faster than any of them could react, but then suddenly the blur froze. A voice called throughout the air, and a familiar sound. The song that Teddie was singing ran through the air.

“AGGHHH-” Kaos reformed before the song and covered his ears. Liana stood in front of the Cozy and pushed the jester back.

“Hurry!” Cozy shouted. The jester disintegrated into dust at Liana’s voice, and all three of the kids knew they had to move now. Adelyn and Teddie both grabbed onto Edward, who fired a blast of energy and shot them towards their escape.

Kaos reformed from the dust and attempted to reach out with his shadow tendrils, grabbing them and keeping them in place. But with his own song, harmonizing with Liana’s voice, Teddie sang and destroyed the darkness. As the three of them flew out of the cage.

They landed on the outside, with Cozy and Liana following them outwards. Custos stood next to them, his hands glowing green as a barrier formed in the escape route. He then turned to Liana and Teddie.

“One last song, the both of you.”

Teddie and Liana both nodded and sang. Their harmonious tune filled the caverns, destroying the shadows that had leaked outside. Adelyn could see the notes in the air, clearing and purifying the messy tunnels.

Custos raised his hands and took one of those notes, imbuing his barrier with it. The barrier solidified into a mass of wood, strengthened by the song.

It was over. The problem was solved.

Adelyn took a deep breath. A sigh of relief, now that everything was over. Whoever was in there was scary. She hoped she never had to see them again.

***

“I suppose I do owe you my thanks,” Custos said, as they all sat down in his office. “If this is the end of the issues of aggression.”

Custos and Liana were sitting on one side of the desk, with the kids on the other side.

“We still have some discussions to be had,” Custos said, looking at Liana. “Though, I hope that our differences will be resolved peacefully.”

“No problem!” Cozy responded, seemingly proud of herself.

“It’ll be a long path ahead,” Liana said. “But, hopefully it will work out.”

“Yes,” Custos said. “And, as thanks, I shall grant you all one request that is within my power. Though, I suspect that I already know what you four want.”

“Yes,” Adelyn nodded. “We want your approval to enter the capital of Oscur. We may only have yours, but it’s one step closer than before.”

“Ahahah, and I was right. Well, consider it done,” Custos stood up and walked to each of the kids. He reached towards Teddie’s hand, casting a small amount of magic onto it. A sigil appeared on Teddie’s hand in the shape of a green leaf, before disappearing.

“Woah…” Teddie said, looking at his hand.

“That Grimace boy is in charge of the wall, yes? He’ll know you have my approval once you come across him,” Custos said. He turned to Edward, then Cozy, applying the same marking onto their hand before it faded away.

Then, he turned to Adelyn. She was excited as she put her arm out to receive the acceptance. Custos pressed magic against her arm, and a warm feeling came about her. A sigil appeared on her arm, before fading away.

However, something strange happened to her. The book she was given by Grimace began to glow upon the sigil being applied.

“Huh?” Adelyn said, taking it out. “I wonder why it’s doing that.”

Adelyn pulled out the book and opened it, she went to the page of the Flourishing Hydra, which was glowing the brightest. Suddenly, it felt like an energy entered her body… as if something new made itself at home in her mind.

She recognized this sensation. When she first learned how to summon the Spirits, she felt as if they entered her own mind. Her imagination became truly a part of her own internal energy. She looked at the hydra, and realized what that meant.

“Wow, thank you,” Adelyn looked at her book, before closing it and floating it to the side.

“It seems like you’ve gained something else too,” Custos said. “I hope that it helps.”

“I think it will,” Adelyn responded.

She smiled. She was very happy with this. She’s gotten stronger, and become closer to the hero she’s always wanted to be.

But, there was still something missing. Something that she wanted to do. She knew exactly what that was.

“Before we leave, Mr. Custos,” Adelyn raised her hand. “Can I ask for one more favor?”

***

Adelyn looked at the blue screen that stood in the corner of Custos’ office. It had one thing on it, stated… CALLING.

“I haven’t talked with PASCAL very much, here’s hoping she picks up,” Custos said.

“I’ve never gotten used to this technology,” Liana muttered. “I should really try to understand it more.”

Adelyn had asked Custos for one thing. If he had a way to talk with Rumia. She wasn’t sure if it would lead anywhere, but luckily, it seemed like he had a solution.

The screen began to change into a girl. Pure-white, hair shaped like drills in a regal looking dress. Her yellow eyes looked at Custos.

“Thank you for calling, Custos,” she said. “What service do you request?”

“I would like to request a call to Rumia, if you may, PASCAL,” Custos responded.

“Considering your clearance,” the girl named PASCAL said. “Your request shall be granted. I will call her right now.”

The screen returned to the CALLING… message. Adelyn waited, a little bit nervous. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say to her. They’ve been apart for too long, and she hasn’t thought of how to reassure her.

She wanted Rumia to know that she was coming. She was going to save her.

Maybe she should just tell her that.

That’s what she settled on, and then the screen flashed… ANSWERED!

The screen began to show a girl. She was glowing, her hair was a little bit disheveled, and her red eyes looked at the screen. She seemed to be in a double bedroom, with the moon shining in from the window. There seemed to be another blonde girl working on something in the background.

But that wasn’t the important part. The important part is that she was able to see her again.

“Hello?” Rumia spoke on the other side of the screen. “What am I being called for?”

Adelyn was still too nervous to speak. She just looked at her over the screen, and eventually, she saw the other girl’s eyes open up wide.

“Wait a second, Adelyn?” Rumia said. “Is… is that you?”

“A-Ah, yes. It’s me!” Adelyn ran up to the screen. “Can you see me?”

“Yes! I can!” Rumia said. “Oh my god, it feels like it’s been forever!”

The two girls looked at each other. A stroke of relief went through Adelyn’s mind as she saw the girl in a seemingly safe location. She was okay.

“You’re okay, right? Nothing happened?” Adelyn said. “I know you’re stuck in the capital, but… you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I uhh… got moved to a school. They’ve been keeping me here for now… I don’t know why, but… yeah. The… the lockdown doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon, so I’m stuck here.”

“I’m coming for you, Rumia,” Adelyn assured her. “You just need to wait for me! I’ll be there.”

“Ah,” Rumia said, a small smile coming over her. “It’s good to see you still have so much spirit in these times. I bet Mr. Svector is totally worried about us right now, ahah.”

“Oh, I totally forgot!” Adelyn covered her mouth. “I… I really hope he’s not too worried about us. I think we’re both strong enough for him to trust us.”

“He’s probably still worried sick, we need to get home as soon as possible,” Rumia said. “I really miss you, though. Come quickly, okay?”

“I’ve made some great friends!” Adelyn said. “Just hang tight. I’ll be there before you know it, trust me.”

“See you, Adelyn,” Rumia said.

“I’ll see you soon, Rumia,” Adelyn responded. The call ended.

If Adelyn had to be honest, she didn’t want the call to end. She wanted to keep on talking to her for the entire day. She wanted to tell her about what she did and everything she’s been doing.

But, she was the hero here. She can’t get caught up in her own glory like that, especially with Rumia still being in a dangerous situation as is.

Rumia just needed to know that Adelyn was coming, and that they would figure out a way to get home from there.

“You satisfied?” Custos said, looking over her shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m going to be there soon, anyways,” Adelyn responded.

“Well, might as well make your job easier,” Custos walked back behind his desk. “What city are you going to next, I’ll arrange some transportation for you lot to get to the next city.”

“Woah, really?” Cozy spoke up. “Thank you very much, Governor!”

“But that leads to the question,” Edward thought aloud. “Where do we go next?”

“Well,” Adelyn opened Grimace’s book. “What sounds the best?”

They looked through the options. There were eight domains left. Ice, The Moon, Magic, Arts, Records, Dreams, Battle, and Love. Adelyn briefly flipped through the books, attempting to make a decision. The other three looked behind her, before Ed thought of something.

“We did a lot of fighting here, right?” Ed said. “I think it would be easier if we went to the City of Battle and became much stronger. That way we don’t need to worry about fighting again. Plus, I’m feeling kind of energized after dealing with Kaos. I feel like we could take on anything.”

“That’s a good idea,” Adelyn responded, flipping to the page regarding the City of Battle, also named as Pugna.

“The main military power of Lunasa,” Teddie read over Adelyn’s shoulder. “It is normally quite powerful, but times of peace have made its purpose more recreational than combative. It is the prime place for combat sporting events, and many large tournaments are held there.”

“Oh, I’d love to enter a tournament,” Ed said. “I could use some proper practice for once.”

“Well,” Cozy looked towards Custos with a smile. “We’ve settled on it! We’re going to Pugna, the City of Battle.”

“Very well,” Custos said. “By tomorrow, I’ll have a carriage for you to bring you there. Though after that, you’ll be on your own.”

“Remember to stay safe,” Liana added. “Especially you, Teddie.”

Liana addressed the boy.

“Your song was incredibly useful and powerful. I believe you can do great things in the future.”

“Really?” Teddie said. “Thank you very much, Miss Liana!”

He smiled. Adelyn was happy too at the sight. It was the first city, and she felt like she had gotten so much done.

Tomorrow, they would depart, and she’s certain they’ll find Rumia in no time.