Jasper's POV

He quickly soars over to me minutes after I screamed for him.

"I'm here! What's wro-WHY IS EVERYTHING ON FIRE WITH A METEOR SHOWER?"He asks in alarm when seeing the scene behind me.

"Yeaaah...Umm, maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring his dad along...It unfolded very quickly...He's trying to tear this place apart..."I say

"Trying? I think he has done it!"He says

"I can't find him so he must still be trying..."I say

"Where's Suave?"He asks

"He's...kind of trapped...But he is safe from the blasts at least!"I say

"Do I even want to know what the giant rainbow ball is?"He asks

"If you want to know where Suave and Encre are, yes."I say

"What happened here?"He asks, looking even more alarmed.

"Encre got sold to someone and he made some disgusting comments referring to Connerie, the last guy that owned him, and well...It pissed his dad off into doing this and caused Encre to have what looks like a breakdown. The giant ball is a barrier of paint and ink to keep the filth out. But Suave was caught in the blast so he can't get out of the barriers...I told you that it unfolded quickly!"I explain

"Let's find his father before he makes a crater out of this place or burns it away. The last thing that we need is for the barriers to break and for the blasts to harm either of them."He says, diving towards the scene.

By now, most of the crowd is gone after fleeing the scene and I see most of those at the "Dating Market" are trapped in fire or injured. I frown, passing them without a care. Such disgusting folks don't deserve my help if they cared so little about the lives they were buying. Lives shouldn't be sold to begin with. I notice my father staring at the burning sign though.

"What in the moon's name is that?"He asks

"That's where Encre was sold from. Has been sold apparently, quite a few times so I guess we have an idea about his dating experiences..."I say, then hear weeping nearby.

I check under a tent, finding Mr. Aster crying as his hands glow with blue orbs of power. His eyes are blurred as he gazes at the fires and wreckage.

He must be having flashbacks as well.

"Mr. Aster! Take my hand! We can get out of here! And get you to Encre!"I say

He glances at me and physically jolts. His eyes clear up a bit as he seems to recognize me.

"Jasper....?"He says

I'm not part of the bad memories so I must be bringing him back to reality!

I nod and he pauses. He waves his hands, dismissing his magic. The mist fades and the chaos ends, going quiet. He takes my hand, climbing out of his hidden spot. I hop up, wiping his tears. He glances to my father and seems surprised that he is here.

"I came to help. It seems like Encre got away but not that far."He says, pointing to the ball of paint.

Mr. Aster gazes at it in wonder, then grins with a nod. He walks with us over to it.

"Beaucoup plus gros que la dernière fois..."He says, gently feeling the edge of it.

(Much bigger than last time...)

Last time...?

He looks up at the sphere in awe and grins. He traces a circle on it, big enough to fit a person through as one of his wings stretches out. He seems to have an idea.

I glance at Dad and he shrugs. The strange part is that he made the circle too short for him to fit through. We watch as the traced area turns a bright blue, glowing before retreating to create an opening. An opening too small for him to fit through. It even intrudes on Encre's cocoon. He reaches in, pulling Suave out and his wing swiftly shoves my dad through the opening. The opening quickly shut behind him.

Oh...That's what he was planning.

"M'Lord!"Suave shouts at the sight.

Dad looks around in shock, then looks at Mr. Aster.

"Why did you shove me of all people in here?"He asks

Mr. Aster grins wider, saying something through his gaze. Then he nods and points to tell my father to just go.

Dad sighs, pushing through the walls of paint until he reaches the cocoon protecting Encre.

"Encre...? Are you okay..? Can you say something..?"Dad asks, clearly unsure of what to do.

I see Encre twitch for a moment, going still.

"Fallacy...?"He says softly

"I'm here...I can take you home too..."Dad says

I see the cocoon melt away as Encre sits up, glancing over. Then he hops up, hugging Fallacy the most he can with his wrists bound together.

"You're real! It's not a trick!"He cheers, sounding so relieved.

"H-How are you so happy to see me? Don't you hate me?"He asks

So Cipher's words did sting him.

"Why would I hate you? Cipher's the troublemaker! I'm just so happy that it's you and not a trick!"Encre says

"What kind of trick?"He asks

"Experiments or messing with my head....Also never know with Cipher..."Encre says

I see the relief on my dad's face. He pulls away from the hug, untying Encre's hands but Encre hops right back into the hug. The paint drops away from protecting them, showing how happy they are.

"No tricks of that kind will be used on you anymore. You're safe here. I will be sure of it."He says

Encre looks around, his eyes colorful again as his smile fades.

"What happened here?"He asks

"Your dad."Dad says

Mr. Aster waves with absolutely no shame.

"Why exactly did you push me through instead of going through yourself?"Dad asks him.

Mr. Aster whispers to me.

"He says that he wasn't sure what was used on Encre and didn't want to go if his mind was twisted against him. It may have just scared Encre more if he was seeing past memories and then got a tap on the shoulder from HIM. There haven't been concerning memories with you so he thought you'd be better suited for it."I say

"I see..."Dad says, then jolts when he feels Encre hugging his arm.

He glances at Encre who smiles up at him. I see his cheeks turn yellow and he smiles back at Encre.

"Well at least now this festival is over."Suave says

"Yep. No more honor to Connerie." I say

"Jasper!"He snaps

"What? Not my fault that a dude's got a shitty name."I say

"JASPER!"He snaps

"Okay, that one was on me."I chuckle

"Wait, someone is actually named that?"Dad asks

"Yep...The last one that had me before being sent to you...He loved experiments and violence...I used my power to merge him with the ground the first chance I got and it was winter so I assume that he is gone now."Encre says, hugging Dad's arm tighter.

"Let's just go home to a land where love isn't based on money transactions."I sigh, shaking my head.

Dad doesn't hesitate to scoop Encre up as Mr. Aster takes off with Suave. Dad takes off while I fly after them. Little did I know what we'd return home to.

TBC