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Season 1, Episode 1
Primal Cube

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Real Language Index
Baba- Dad {in Arabic}, Apá - Dad {in Spanish}
Mija - Daughter {in Spanish}

Omi - Mom/Mother {in Arabic}

Nieta - Granddaughter {in Japanese}
Okaasan - mother {in Japanese}, Otōsan - father {in Japanese}

Sensei - teacher in martial arts {in Japanese}

Hai, Sensei - Yes, Sensei {in Japanese}

Arigatō sensei - Thank you, Sensei {in Japanese}

kunoichi - term meaning female ninja in Japanese

Ignis - fire {in Latin}

au revoir - goodbye until we meet again {in French}

Aperio - to uncover, reveal, make clear {in Latin}

Fictional/Avalonian Language Index
Shiszi - traitor, Shon - son

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⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️
Includes, but is not limited to, the following: explict display of violence {medium}, explicit display of murder attempt(s) {medium} and explicit display of torture {medium}

Quick Author's Note: These are all of the trigger warnings I could think of based on all that occurs in the first episode, but if you see something that is potentially triggering, then let me know and I'll be more than happy to include it here. Thanks!

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"While the infamous Ant Queen and her three human servants got help from a unlikely source, it turned out they weren't the only ones."

"Right, but before we talk about how our sister, our dad and their family friend met the unsung heroes of New York City and formed a partnership with them, we need to go explore who these heroes are by taking a journey back to the past..."

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"My sons and daughters, bedtime soon!"

"Aw, but Sensei, we were just getting to the good part!"

As he listened to his kids bemoan his response, a mutant rat with black, brown and white fur, a droopy white beard, whiskers, a pink tail and a pink nose entered a room with one large bed that had enough space to fit all of the kids.

As he did, he was seen wearing a red kimoto with the Hamato Clan symbol on it and walked barefoot with bandages wrapped around his arms and legs.

"Oh and what part is that, my children?" he lightly inquired, glancing at the middle of the room where he observed a four-year-old purple haired and sapphire blue-eyed girl wearing a teal blue pajama set with white flowers sitting in between a five-year-old baby blue-eyed round humanoid male turtle and another humanoid turtle of the same age with cobalt blue eyes; their eyes excitedly lighting up at the question.

"Lady Equinox, Turtle Titan, the Siren Siblings and Timekeeper are just about to save everyone from the Snow Queen's evil spell!" the three excitedly answered when a low chuckle was heard.

"At least, they would come to their rescue... if it weren't for them being surrounded by the Snow Queen's icy wind sprites!"

"No!"

Not long after that, he glanced over to see a five-year-old green [almost jade-like] eyed female humanoid turtle's hand {which consisted of two fingers and a thumb} briefly flickered as swirls of light blue flurry, ice magic came out of her hand.

From there, a series of snow sprites with miniature translucent light blue dagger-like wings formed from her hand when a gasp was heard.

"Oh and a snow dragon!" a five-year-old emerald-green eyed humanoid turtle had excitedly chimed in, joining the four now as he sat down in time for a light, skeptical chuckle followed. "Dragons, Raph? Really?" a hazel-eyed humanoid turtle of the same age countered, joining the five now as he sat down.

"Yes, really. Besides, I'm not the one who wants a snow dragon, Donnie. It's Spike who does." Raph promptly answered before he held his olive-skinned tortoise with a brown carapace and limeade eyes. As he did, Spike was seen munching on a lettuce leaf while his limeade eyes slowly blinked.

"And us!"

"You see? Leo, Mikey and Bri get it." Raph followed up, now gesturing to the three as a light chuckle followed.

"Well, I, for one, happen to love dragons and I think Spike is very smart for wanting to have one, so we shall have a dragon join the icy wind sprites on their quest to stop our heroes from saving everyone."

"Yay!"

"Ha! See? Even Eclipse agrees!"

So not long after that, Eclipse made another swirl with her hand and as she did, he {in addition to her siblings} looked on as she created a light blue snow dragon with white, icy scales and icy, dagger-like spikes at the end of its medium-length tail, now causing her siblings to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the sight in wonder.

"With the Snow Queen's dragon now freed and joining her icy sprites, our heroes are surrounded but after using their powers, they all manage to break her spell and free everyone!"

"Yeah and they all live happily ever after!" Bri happily proclaimed, collecting the snow structured figurines of the five heroes, causing everyone to chuckle. After a bit, he and her siblings all stopped as he glanced at the snowy lavishly structured trees and some hilltops near the landscape as he softly smiled.

"What are you all playing?"

"Enchanted Forest." the six promptly answer as he observes the youngest placing the snowy figurines down before she holds one out to him. "Did you want to play with us too, Sensei?" she happily asked as he stared at her and softly smiled.

"Thank you, my daughter, but I am okay." he politely declined as he saw her simply shrug in a light manner. "That's alright. Maybe, next time you'll want to join us in the enchanted forest and be part of our next adventures." she brightly offered as he had given another light chuckle.

"Maybe, but that's like no enchanted forest I've seen." he slowly said, walking away from them as he began moving closer to their beds, now hiding a small smile as he heard a few gasps.

"You've seen an enchanted forest?" Bri, Mikey and Eclipse asked in awe as Donnie, Leo and Raph gave a light chuckle.

"Yeah, right." Raph dismissively stated. "Besides, Sensei is just teasing us, you guys." Leo added right as he heard Donnie lightly hum. "Mhm and besides, everyone knows enchanted forests don't exist." Donnie followed up as he turned his head to look at his kids.

"I thought the same thing as well, my sons. I didn't think enchanted forests could be a thing as they just seemed too mythical to be true until I got to witness it for myself." he slowly countered as he saw Bri, Mikey and Eclipse gasping.

"Guys, come on. Master Splinter is just kidding and besides, this is just like the stories Sensei Thorn tells us about that one wingless faerie." Donnie, Leo and Raph countered but their younger siblings promptly stood up and stared at him.

"Wait! You're telling us that there's an enchanted forest and you never thought to tell us this before?" Bri, Mikey and Eclipse all promptly asked, now crossing their arms and staring at him in disbelief as he gave a light chuckle.

"Well, I could tell you all now if you—" he attempted to follow up when he cut himself off at the sight of his younger kids climbing onto their shared bed.

"Okay, okay tell us now!" Bri, Mikey and Eclipse energetically interjected, looking at him with eagerness and excitement then.

"Wait. We want to hear too..." Donnie, Leo and Raph promptly followed up as Splinter turned to face his older kids, who bashfully cleared their throats.

"... Just to... You know, see if this has any scientific merit." Donnie slowly finished as he saw Raph and Leo chime in. "Spike wants to know if you're telling the truth." Raph and Leo added on as the two promptly pointed at the non-mutant tortoise, who nibbled on his lettuce leaf before looking back at him.

"Well, if you all decide to join your siblings, then—" he attempted to begin when he had cut himself off again at the sight of his older siblings rushing towards the bed now in a similar manner to their younger siblings.

"Ready!" the three promptly followed up, each one positioning themselves beside their younger siblings with Raph holding onto his pet tortoise.

"Are you sure about this?"

When Splinter looked up, he saw his grey and peachy tanned mutant rat wife dressed in a dark purple kimono with cherry blossoms positioned on the right sleeve as she looked at him with her jade eyes cautiously staring back at him.

"It's time they knew..." he softly told her before he glanced at his kids as they all started to excitedly whisper amongst themselves.

"... If they can all settle down." he slowly and lightly finished, resulting in the six ceasing their conversations as they turned to look at him. Chuckling, he then positioned himself closer on the bed near the kids with his wife positioning herself on the other side of the bed and quietly looking on.

"As far as the night eclipses the sky, there is a set of twinkling stars that align west of our horizon and every so often, the stars align to create a bright light. With this light, a series of portals appear and it was through this portal that I found myself in a realm of the unknown as it seemed to be unlike our world." he began as he saw his kids quietly look on.

"It was here that I stumbled across a very ancient and very spellbinding forest, but there were no evil snow queens or dragons or icy wind sprites. Rather, this forest relied upon a different kind of magic. Magic which stemmed from the five elemental guardians of the forest.... water, fire, air, earth and ice."

As he spoke, the scenery shifted from them to the elemental guardians of the enchanted forest as their animal form was accompanied by their respective stone and crafted in a statue that held their stone over their heads.

"Together, these elemental guardians made up the five pillars of harmony and oversaw the protection of not just the forest itself, but the entire realm that the forest resided in too as the realm was also home to the mythical but mysterious Avalonians."

With each stone connected to each other and the guardians in sync, their stone reflected a bright light that connected to each other before switching over to the outskirts of the forest where faeries and fairies adorning dark blue amulets were seen flying throughout the skies and chatting amongst themselves.

"Were the Avalonians magical like Clips?"

"Yes, in a way they were magical like your sister, but they had possessed a vastly unique range of magic and her abilities were not one that they wield." he answered as he briefly paused before he continued.

"The portals had been opened by the King and Queen of Fairytopia as part of their quest to create a bridge between their world and ours. So, they hosted a carnival designed to commemorate the celebration of a newfound friendship between the two, but what was meant to be a joyous occasion quickly turned for the worse, because before me and the others knew it.... we were being attacked by the same ones who welcomed us into their world."

Panning back from Splinter reciting a story from his past, the focus then shifted over to a fight between the Avalonians and the humans, one that was arguably leaning towards the Avalonians as they caught the humans off-guard with their swift magical attacks as well as attacks stemming from the swords of the higher-ranked Avalonians.

"Before long though, the fighting had enraged the elemental guardians and they struck back against all of us. But, I got lucky when I was saved by a voice. From there, I am told by those who were lucky enough to survive the attack that the pillars of harmony broke, which resulted in the guardians vanishing with their respective stones scattered and lost to the wind."

Still focusing on the enchanted forest, the stony pillars of harmony are revealed to be in a crumbling state with their respective stones now no longer visible as a large reddish-orange flame was seen overcasted over the horizon of the enchanted forest and the sky.

"It is then said that after the pillars of harmony broke and the five elemental guardians vanished, a powerful mist was casted and no one has been allowed to enter the realm or the forest ever since..."

As he trailed off, a large light golden translucent mist was seen covering the entire area and reaching the pillars of harmony before the mist engulfed the forest and the entirety of the realm.

From there, the focus shifted back to Splinter's kids as he saw Leo, Donnie and Raph all looking at him with skepticism while Bri, Mikey and Eclipse had looked enthralled with his story.

"Whoa! Sensei, that was epic!" Bri, Mikey and Eclipse all excitedly exclaimed while Leo, Donnie and Raph shook their heads.

"We still think it's not true, but did you ever find out who saved you?" Donnie, Leo and Raph curiously asked, looking at him now as Bri and Mikey nodded. "Yeah! Did you get to meet the voice who saved you?" Bri and Mikey had followed up as Splinter momentarily glanced at his wife before he shook his head.

"No, but I wish I knew who it was." he answered, now looking back at their kids as he saw their dismayed looks.

"What happened to the guardians and what's in the forest now?"

When he heard Sophie speak, he turned to face her as he gave a brief sigh. "I wish I had the answers to your questions, but in truth, I don't know. All I do know is that the mist still stands and no one has been able to go in or out of the realm." he truthfully told her as he saw his wife nod.

"So, we're safe and on that note, I believe that's enough storytelling for one night as it's time for all of you to go to sleep." his wife chimed in, resulting in Bri and Mikey huffing at their mother's response.

"Aw! But, we still have so many questions!" Mikey and Bri insisted as he and his wife chuckled at their response. "Save them for another night, my son and daughter." they softly told them as the two huffed.

"Okay..." Bri reluctantly began before trailing off as she gasped. "Oh! Maybe, I can come up with more questions to add on in the meantime while we wait!" she excitedly added on while Mikey crossed his arms.

"Senseis, how could you two do this to me when we all know I don't have that kind of patience?"

"Well, that's what your ninjutsu lessons are for, Michelangelo." he softly answered as he smiled. "After all, your lessons are designed to help you build your patience along with your strength, character and confidence to face challenges that come in your way." his wife softly added on as she warmly smiled at their son.

"Right. As if Mikey can actually master that. He can barely stand still as it is and that's just from our training." Raph, Donnie and Leo had mumbled as he saw Bri crossing her arms at their response.

"Hey, he's improving and with time, Mikey will get there." Bri pointed out, coming to her older brother's defense as Eclipse nodded. "Yeah. Plus, it's a lot better than before the training began, so that has to mean something." Eclipse followed up, adding onto her sister's response as he and his wife nodded.

"Yes. Briana and Eclipse are right. With time and practice, Mikey will get there. After all, patience is not something that can be achieved in a day now, though we wish it was so. No, patience is something that takes time and years to master... something I had to often learn the hard way at times." his wife interjected, softly chuckling now as he had nodded.

"Yes and as for you, Donatello, and Leonardo, you three still have a lot to learn too, so be nice." he followed up, observing as his three older sons huffed. "Hai, Sensei..." the three promptly said before trailing off as neither of them had anything more to say on the matter.

"But still, I don't understand!"

When Briana spoke up, he and his wife turned to face her as they saw her huff. "Why would the Avalonians attack anyways when the humans didn't do anything? I mean, who just goes around attacking for no reason?" she promptly followed up as he gave another sigh.

"I don't know."

"Do you think the forest will awaken and the realm will open again?" Eclipse and Mikey curiously followed up as he glanced at the twins. However before he could speak, it was his wife who took over as she gave a small smile.

"Only Apollonian knows."

"Huh? Apollo what now?" Briana, Eclipse and Mikey puzzlingly asked, looking on with confusion as he observed his wife softly giggling.

"Apollonian." she repeated again as her smile grew. "It's the name of a magical river that is said to have the answers of the past and remind you of what you are a part of." she added as a soft chuckle followed.

"At least, that's what my mother always taught me every time she sang me the song about the river." she softly followed up as they saw Briana, Eclipse and Mikey's eyes widen in shock while Donnie, Leo and Raph held a dismissive look and Spike...

Well, Spike continued to be his normal self.

"Guys, there's no such thing as a magical river." their older brothers promptly pointed out, but the younger siblings were hooked on their mother's words as they looked at her with an excited and eager look.

"Can you sing it to us?" Mikey excitedly asked as Briana and Eclipse nodded. "Please?" the girls politely followed up, ignoring what their older brothers had said as he saw his wife chuckle at their response.

"Alright, my children. I'll sing it to you." she softly complied before she chuckled again. "Now get close." she softly added as he saw Briana, Eclipse and Mikey get closer to her while their older brothers moved somewhat closer to them as well.

Though they had not seen the truth in their mother's words, they couldn't help but be slightly interested in their mother's song as they looked on in curiosity too.

🎶 Where the West wind meets the sea
There's a river full of memory
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound
For in this river, all is found 🎶

As Splinter silently watched his wife sing to their kids, he saw her lightly stroking Briana's nose and stroked Mikey's upper face area near the lip/mouth area before proceeding to do the same to Raph, Donnie and Leo. As she did and gradually reached the end of the first set of notes in her song, he saw the older siblings sleeping beside each other while Briana and Mikey were asleep on his wife's left side.

🎶 In her waters, deep and true 🎶

Softly smiling at the sight, Splinter proceeded to tuck his three older sons in bed while his wife had gently picked Briana and Mikey up and gently placed them onto the bed beside their older brothers. As she did, he had watched as she proceeded to tuck the two in before she turned to Eclipse, who was still awake.

🎶 Lie the answers and a path for you 🎶

From there, he watched as his wife proceeded to lift Eclipse from the bed and hold her in her arms as she stood up with their second youngest in tow.

🎶 Dive down deep into her sound
But not too far or you'll be drowned 🎶

As she reached the end of the note and lightly leaned her daughter's head against her own, he saw Eclipse giggling softly when her mother had began lightly stroking her upper face near the lip/mouth area.

🎶 Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear
And in her song, all magic flows
But can you brave what you most fear?
Can you face what the river knows? 🎶

As she finished reaching the end of the third set of notes, he saw Eclipse's eyes gradually start to grow heavy as a smile formed on their faces.

🎶 Where the West wind meets the sea
There's a mother full of memory 🎶

When she reached the end of her notes, he and his wife saw their daughter gradually becoming more sleepier.

🎶 Come, my darling, homeward bound 🎶

It was here that he saw her mother start to make her way to the children's shared bed as Splinter watched as his wife gently placed their daughter onto the bed beside her siblings. Once that was done, he silently observed as she tucked their daughter into bed and softly smiled at Eclipse.

🎶 When all is lost, then all is found.... 🎶

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"Aww! This is so cute and wholesome!"

As they saw their sister happily gushing at the cute moment, they gave a light chuckle as they crossed their arms and lightly shook their head.

"Libby, do you know this is the calm before the storm, right?" they gently pointed out as they saw their sister's eyes widen at their response.

"What?!" she exclaimed, now earning a chuckle out of them as she continued to look at them in disbelief. "What do you mean this is the calm before the storm? You mean to tell me they don't get to stay this happy forever?" she further added as they gave a heavy sigh.

"Unfortunately, no. They don't get to stay this happy forever because like many things, all good things have to come to an end..." they solemnly and almost wistfully answered, trailing off when they saw their sister scoffing in disbelief.

"Oh come on, Jaxon! That's not fair!"

"I know, but that's just how life goes, Libs." Jaxon countered before they sighed. "Sometimes, things happen and when they do, they end up defining a person and sometimes, those things tend to cause people to act in certain ways." they further added as they briefly paused before another sigh followed.

"Ways that you don't always get to take back... no matter how much you wish you could." they solemnly added as a flicker of remorse and regret linger in their eyes, resulting in their sister's eyes faltering from their response.

"Jax—"

"Sometimes, we think we're making the best decision but a lot of times, we don't factor in how our decision ends up impacting those we care about or the consequences that end up following in the long run." they added, interrupting their sister, who huffed and shook her head as a sigh followed suit.

"So even though the decision we thought was the right one at the time, we end up learning later on what the reality of our decision really entailed and well, this was no different, I'm assuming?" she chimed in, earning a nod from them now.

"Yep! You are correct, Libs, because even though this decision will end up being made with the purest intent—" they began to answer when Lillian interrupted them.

"—Even the purest intents can go astray because as we will all come to learn, this life-changing decision would end up bearing consequences for years to follow." Lillian promptly followed up, interrupting them as they nodded.

"Yep! Once again, you are correct as everything would go downhill after the decision was made, but we're getting ahead of ourselves now. Because to learn how the decision came about, dear readers, we need to go a few weeks after the wholesome moment occur when Eclipse made a simple request that would tragically end up altering her and her siblings' life forever."

"Right, but you forget, dear sib. Before she made her request, she and her siblings had to first endure training in their lair's dōjō." Lillian lightly pointed out as Jaxon nodded along to show their agreement in response to what their sister said.

"Mhm, that is true as it is inside there where the next flashback in our heroes' past takes place..."

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Connected to the rest of the lair by the living room separated from the concrete ledge above the "moat" in the living room with green folding partitions and faced directly in the kitchen's entry was a main entrance to a dōjō adorn in traditional Japanese decor as a large tree can be found in the center of the room under a skylight grate.

It was here where the sensei stood as she faced her six kids, who were all standing beside each other in a line as she proceeded to give her command.

"Again!"

"Hai, Sensei!"

After they spoke, she silently watched as her kids held their fists together and stood in a hands up stance before they gave a sharp jab and crossed. From there, they perform an angle cross as they turn before giving another sharp jab as they punch the air.

"Good. Now again."

"Hai, Sensei!"

Again, her kids held their fists together and stood in a hands up stance before they gave a sharp jab and crossed. From there, they proceeded to perform an angle cross as they all turned before giving another sharp jab as they punched the air.

"Again."

"Hai, Sensei!"

Watching on for the third time, she observed as their kids held their fists together and stood in a hands up stance before they gave a sharp jab and briefly crossed. From there, they performed an angle cross and turned before they each gave another sharp jab and punched the air. Once they were done, she gave a swift nod as a small smile formed on her face.

"Good."

"Arigatō sensei." her kids all said in turn, briefly bowing to her until they stopped and resumed their initial stance when they glanced at each other and back at her in a hesitant manner which led their sensei to look at them.

"My children, is something the matter?" she asked and it was then that she saw Leonardo and Briana speak up.

"Sensei Thorn, all of us really appreciate the training." Leonardo and Briana softly began as the two sighed. "We really do, but—" they attempted to say when they were interrupted by the two twins.

"—When do we get to actually test out our skills and venture above ground for once?" Eclipse and Michelangelo excitedly asked as Thorn solemnly sighed at their question. "My children, I know you all want to venture above ground, but now isn't the right time for you all to do so." Thorn slowly but wistfully answered when she saw their faces fall.

"But—"

"Your okaasan is right, my children."

As she and their children turned to look at their father [and her husband], they looked as he had emerged out of his bedroom as he closed the doors connected to the dōjō before he proceeded to face their children, who frowned at his response.

"But—"

"When you have proven yourselves, then we can reconsider the matter but as of now, none of you are ready, so it is best you all stay here and keep working on your training." he followed up as he proceeded to interrupt their kids.

"But Sensei, we've all been working really hard and even if we're not ready, we all deserve to at least see what's up there." Leonardo and Eclipse had protested as she and her husband saw Briana nodding.

"At least for just a few minutes." Briana softly requested when Michelangelo chimed in. "Yeah! It won't be long. We just want to see what else is there." Michelangelo added as Donatello nodded and chimed in.

"Plus, it's not like we would be venturing blindly. It would be an educational experience since if we could just see what was out there, then we would all have a better idea of what to expect with our newfound exposure to the real world and that can help us improve further in terms of our training." Donatello further added as she saw the others nodding in agreement.

"Yeah and besides, we are ready!"

"Raphael, you and your siblings are not ready. None of you know what dangers lie up there—"

"Only because we are all stuck down here!" Eclipse sharply protested, interrupting her father now as Raphael nodded. "Yeah! Clips is right! If all we do is stay down here, then what is the point of training when we can't even venture outside of the lair to see all these dangers for ourselves and explore what more is out there?" Raphael added on, following up on Eclipse's response as the others mumbled in agreement when she sighed again.

"My children, I know you may not see the point in this but—"

"—These trainings are meant to prepare you and your siblings for the challenges that may come your way, so you will all perform the combination strike again as repetition is key to learning." he finished, interrupting her now as she glanced at their kids, who dejectedly and solemnly sighed at their father's response.

"Hai, Sensei..."

When she heard the dejection in their voices and saw the look of defeat in their eyes, her face fell as she glanced at them once more before she sighed again and cleared her throat.

"Actually, why don't we call it a night?" she interjected, stopping their children from proceeding to follow through with their father's request as she saw their confusion. "Really?" the six asked as she nodded, though their father shook his head, to which she sighed.

"Honey, I know you want our children to keep training, but I think we should let them have this. Besides, they've been working hard all day. The least we could do is let them have the evening to relax." she softly protested when she saw his hesitant sigh.

"But my blossom—"

"Please? For me, my love?"

When he looked at her and back at their kids, who all banded together to mimic Mikey's puppy-dog like eyes in an attempt to get their father to agree, he then turned to face her again and after she batted her eyes, she listened to his reluctant sigh before he complied and nodded.

"Okay." he said at last as he turned to face their children. "Your okaasan is right. All of you have been working hard all day, so we'll end your training session here and we'll pick back up in the morning. So go enjoy the rest of your evening and get ready to resume training tomorrow." he further added as they saw their kids nodding.

"Hai, Sensei."

After they all said that, they listened to Leonardo gasp. "Bri, we can go catch an episode of Space Heroes now if we make it to the living room in time!" Leonardo excitedly announced as Briana's eyes lit up while Raphael chuckled.

"I still don't see how you two can get into that."

"Because it's amazing, Raph, but you wouldn't know that since you never bother to watch it." Leonardo counters as Raphael scoffs. "Ha! I don't need to when you cover the lame hero talk for me." Raphael swiftly countered as a chuckle followed. "Besides, I'm going to go feed Spike and hang out with him." Raphael followed up as Leonardo rolled his eyes while Briana giggled.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, Raphie, you're more than welcome to watch Space Heroes with us." Briana happily offered as Raphael nodded before he took off. "Clips, did you want to watch Space Heroes with us?" she further offered, turning to Eclipse now as the latter politely shook her head.

"Usually I would say yes, but no, not today. I appreciate the offer though, so thank you." Eclipse softly said as Briana slowly nodded.

"That's okay, Clipsy Cakes!" Briana perkily counters as a bright smile formed on her face. "Maybe next time, you can join us." she happily added as Eclipse gave a small smile.

"Maybe."

"Donnie, Mikey, did you guys want to watch Space Heroes with us?"

"Sorry dudenette, but I think I'll pass. Besides, I need to see what's the new thing that Donnie is working on."

"Yeah, Little Genius. I think I'm going to have to pass as well and hey!" Donatello promptly said as he turned to face his younger brother. "Mikey! You better not go and touch my stuff!" he had warned as the latter chuckled.

"Too late!" Mikey mischievously exclaimed before he promptly ran off while she softly shook her head. "Mikey! Get back here!" Donatello yelled before he ran off his younger brother as they all chuckled amongst themselves before Briana stopped.

"Should we—"

"Nah, Mikey and Donnie can handle themselves." Leonardo insisted, now lightly brushing off his sister's concern to help Donnie out as he chuckled. "Now come on! The episode is going to start any minute and we still have to turn on the tv!" he further exclaimed as Briana giggled from her brother's excitement.

"Okay, okay, let's go."

Once Briana and Leonardo left to go head to the living room, she glanced at her husband, who glanced at the spot where their sons once stood.

"I'll go and see if I can stop them from getting into trouble." he insisted before he left the dōjō in search of Michelangelo and Donatello. Once her husband left, she realized everyone else had all gone their separate ways until her eyes lingered on second younger daughter, who she noticed was still in the dōjō with her.

"My daughter? Is everything okay?" she concernedly asked as she saw Eclipse glancing at her before she slowly nodded. "I'm okay, Sensei." Eclipse plainly answered, but as her daughter smiled afterwards, she saw the forced structure of the grin and solemnly sighed at the sight.

So, it was then that she moved closer to her daughter and lightly placed her arms tenderly on her shoulders.

"My daughter, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know, Sensei, but I'm okay. Really."

"My child, I can sense that you are troubled and I want to help, but I can only do so if you give me a chance to understand what the root of the matter is." she softly countered and once she spoke, she saw her daughter sighing.

"It's just... I know we have to stay down here for our protection and that we have to train to be prepared for what lies ahead, but I... I just need a moment to get out of the lair." her daughter confessed as she blinked. "I know you and Master Splinter said no to venturing outside of the lair, but I'll only be outside for a little bit." her daughter insisted before she continued.

"I promise. I just need some fresh air to clear my mind, but I swear once I get what I need, I will be right back and I'll make sure that no one ends up seeing me." Eclipse followed up before a heavy sigh followed afterwards. "But if you still say no, I can understand..." her daughter then concluded as she trailed off.

After seeing the sorrowful look in her daughter's eyes and seeing how she could use some new scenery, she chose to give into Eclipse's request as she nodded. "Okay, my child. You can venture outside to get some fresh air on one condition." she promptly began, resulting in her daughter looking at her as her eyes glistened with excitement.

"Mhm! Anything!"

"You can go... as long as I can come with you."

"Sure!"

So a few moments later, Thorn found herself accompanying her daughter as the two stood on a rooftop. With everyone doing their own thing and Splinter preoccupied with Donnie and Mikey, she didn't think anyone would know that she and Eclipse were gone and if she was being fully honest, she thought they would be back before anyone noticed.

After all, her daughter was just trying to get some fresh air and surely, nothing could go wrong, so when she saw Eclipse leaning against the rails and taking in the fresh air, she smiled softly to herself until she noticed that her daughter was beginning to lean too far on the rooftop now as her smile fell.

"My daughter, you're going to—" Thorn cautiously forewarn in an attempt to get her daughter to heed her warning in time, but the green [almost jade-like] eyed humanoid female turtle was too fascinated by she was seeing to pay her any attention. So when her daughter mistakenly tripped over herself and began to slip from the rooftop, her eyes widened in horror as her heart instantly sank at the sight.

"ECLIPSE!"

Leaning against the rooftop now, she watched in horror as her daughter promptly fell and as she saw her daughter close her eyes, she saw the girl landing into the water as she heard the sound of waves crashing against one another. As soon as she heard the waves, her sunken heart began to thump rapidly against her chest as the fear and uncertainty over what occurred and the panic of the situation started to set in for the mother.

"No, no, no, no!"

Immediately, Thorn leaped down from the rooftop and once she had landed gracefully, she had began to sprint as fast as inhumanly possible in an attempt to save her daughter. But just as she reached the waves and was about to jump in for her daughter, she froze when she saw someone surfacing from the water. So as the mutant mouse quickly hid behind a tree, she carefully poked her head out and when she did, she noticed someone held her daughter in their arms.

She couldn't quite make out who had saved her daughter, but when she saw the stranger move closer to the land, Thorn noticed the moonlight and a few post-lamps shining on her daughter's rescuer.

With the combined lights and the moonlight shining on her daughter's rescuer, Thorn was able to get a better look at the one who came to the girl's aid now and as she did, she saw a caramel-skinned girl [who appeared to be nineteen] with blackish-brown short curly hair that seemed to be growing toward a medium length now as she worn a light-grey short-sleeve sweatshirt, black casual pants and black short-heeled boots.

As she quietly moved closer, she noticed that the girl's hair and clothes were drenched from the water but that didn't bother the girl as her focus seemed to be on her daughter, who she noticed was still unconscious.

"Hey, hey. You're going to be okay. I got you." she heard the girl quietly assure her daughter and as she did, Thorn noticed that the girl turned just briefly enough for the mutant mouse to catch a glimpse of the girl's light amber eyes. As soon as she noticed her eyes, she quietly gasped as she realized who had saved her daughter now.

"Aliya..." she quietly whispered before she trailed off from shock as the full impact of her niece's [and goddaughter... not that the girl knew] action caught off-guard because while she had fully intended to come to her daughter's rescue, she hadn't expected anyone else to beat her to the save first...

"Alright? Everything is going to be okay."

... But as she saw her niece protectively tend to her god-cousin [not that the girl knew] and saw the way she rushed to save her daughter without realizing the relation the two had, a smile had began to surface at the sight of the girl's selfless act. A soft chuckle wanted to follow suit, but it was quickly suppressed as she didn't want to risk startling the girl she had once cared for and see her run off.

Well at least, Aliya still remained the same after all these years, so, I guess some things hadn't changed after all.

As her smile grew from the thought, she then watched as the girl slowly lowered herself and her daughter onto the ground. As soon as she did, she observed the girl quietly singing a serenade similarly matching her own when she saved her [would-be] husband from the events occurring years ago.

Not long after, she saw a glimpse of a light orange glow radiating from her niece's hands and transfer onto Eclipse, who just started to cough from the aftermath of her god-cousin [not that her daughter knew]'s serenade.

She saw her niece puzzlingly glance at the glow that briefly radiated from her hands and onto the girl in front of her when she made the mistake of breaking a fragile twig. As soon as Thorn did, she saw her niece abruptly take her focus away from her hands and at her daughter as she looked at her.

However, she seemed a bit confused [which made sense as Thorn knew the girl wouldn't have been able to recognize her in this state] so she offered a small smile. Her niece seemingly return the smile, but the confusion still lingered, so she had the thought to say something or even say thank you to the girl....

"Sensei?"

But as soon as they heard someone call out to her, she saw the girl abruptly take her focus away from her as she dove back into the water and seemingly vanished out of sight just in time for her to see her eldest son moving closer now. As he did, she realized that he hadn't seen Aliya and as his sister was still unconscious during the time, the truth lied solely with her, but it was one that she could never tell.

At least, not now.

"Clips?"

So when her daughter started coughing again, she saw her eldest son's eyes widen at the sound as he gasped.

"Clips!"

As soon as she saw her oldest son rushing to his younger sister's side, she saw him gently kneeling beside her just as her daughter started lifting her head up and coughed again.

"Eclipse! Are you okay?"

As soon as she saw her daughter stop coughing and turn to face her oldest brother, she saw her daughter slowly nod as a smile formed.

"Yeah, I... I'm okay." her daughter faintly began, briefly coughing again as she saw Leonardo sigh in relief.

"Okay, that's good."

"H... How did you know I... I would be out here?"

"Oh, when me and Bri noticed that you and Sensei Thorn were leaving, I uh I decided to follow you two to make sure nothing happen." she heard her eldest meekly but quite bashfully admit before a frown followed suit. "But I guess I got here too late..." he solemnly added when Thorn saw her daughter shake her head.

"N... No way! I... If it weren't for you saving me, then I would've surely drowned, so thank you." Thorn heard her daughter softly followed up as she saw her son slowly blink as a initial look of confusion surfaced on his face then. "But I—" he attempted to say, but knowing what he was about to say, she decided to interject as she cleared her throat.

"My daughter?"

As she stepped out of her hiding spot, she saw her two children slowly stare at her, but it was her daughter who spoke as she saw Eclipse's eyes widen.

"S... Sensei?"

"Eclipse!"

Running to her now, she immediately held the girl in her arms as she softly looked at the green eyed [almost jade like] humanoid turtle in front of her.

"My daughter, I thought I almost lost you!"

"I... I thought I was a goner there too, but luckily, Leo followed us and he ended up saving me from drowning!" she heard her daughter happily announce as she and her daughter glanced over to see Leo politely shaking his head.

"Clips, I wish I could say it was me, but I—"

"Leonardo, don't be modest now. You saved your sister's life and you should be extremely proud of it." Thorn promptly interrupted, pushing past the initial guilt she felt of having to masquerade her niece's selfless act and pass it off as her eldest son's instead, but the mutant mouse had told herself it was for the best.

"But Sensei, I—"

"Now come on." she promptly said, interrupting her son once more in an attempt to prevent him from saying the truth as she proceeded to carry Eclipse in her arms.

"But Sensei, I..." she heard Leonardo quietly begin, but when she looked at him and noticed how his sister looked at him, he proceeded to quietly sigh, having realized that he could never come clean about an act he didn't commit. But again, Thorn told herself it was for the best....

"... You're right, Sensei." he added, never choosing to finish his previous response as he took a deep breath. "Plus, I'm sure we could all use the rest after what happened here anyways." he added as she nodded at his words.

"Yes. I think we've all dealt with enough for one night..." she began before trailing off as her eyes began to drift towards the waves where she saw her niece leave before she took a deep breath.

"... So on that note, let's go home." she softly concluded, finishing her previous response now as she turned to face her children, who nodded at her words.

"Hai, Sensei."

But as they arrived home and she proceeded to tuck Eclipse into bed [she would've done the others, but when she got there, she noticed Raph, Donnie, Mikey and Bri were already tucked in and asleep], she couldn't help but get the strange sense that something had changed, but she tried to tell herself that it was a drowning incident and nothing more.

"Sensei?"

"Yes, my son?" she softly asked, turning her attention away from her [now] sleeping daughter as she faced Leonardo, who looked at her with a conflicting look. "Is there something that troubles you, my child?" she softly asked as she saw his mouth open as if he wanted to tell her the truth.

A truth she already knew, but when she saw his eyes drifting to his sister, that's the moment she saw him sighing again as he shook his head.

"No, Sensei." he promptly said before he took his attention away from Eclipse as his eyes fell to her. "I just wanted to tell you good night." he softly added as she smiled and proceeded to tuck him into bed.

"Well, good night, my son and thank you again for being there to save your sister. I'm very proud of your heroics, my child, and I'm sure it is one that Eclipse will remember well, but if anything ends up troubling you, my son, you know you can tell me, right?" she gently followed up as she observed his nod.

"I know, Sensei, but I'm okay."

"Okay... Well, good night then."

"Good night."

As she left their children's shared room and closed the door behind her, she thought back to the orange glow that radiated from her niece's hands and passed onto her daughter but she tried to tell herself there was nothing to worry about.

She just drowned and Aliya saved her. That was it and there's nothing more to it.

But unknown to her, it wouldn't be long before she came to find out that there was more to the glow because she would, in fact, learn what the glow held the next morning.

Because as she and Splinter entered her children's shared room to wake them up and get them ready for training in the dōjō, they initially began to approach Leonardo as they usually went in order, but when they had noticed a light orange glow occurring from Eclipse's left deltoid [also known as the upper shoulder area], they began to quickly switch direction and approached her instead.

As soon as they reached her, they saw the glow fading in time to reveal a light orange outline of a behemoth ebony-colored ash-like giant with two ebony grey large horns as various flame-like cracks formed across the giant. As they looked, they noticed that the giant's chest held a flame symbol-like outline as a few outlines of flames surrounded the giant.

Once they saw the mark clearly, Splinter's eyes appeared to be puzzled by the sight but Thorn's eyes widened in fear as panic began to set in.

"No, no, no, no, no." Thorn immediately whispered, the panic evident in her tone as she saw her husband concernedly look at her.

"My Blossom, what's wrong?"

"The curse. I... It found me."

"The curse?"

"The Ibeeles Curse." she solemnly answered as she sighed. "Before I was exiled from my home, they chose to banish me with the curse as it was meant to be a reminder that my actions would be the cause of the end of the world." she briefly explained as she sighed again.

"Well, after my banishment took place, I thought I was free from the curse, but instead... it found its way to our daughter and now, she's a vessel to the Ibeeles demon and has the world-ending curse inside of her. If Eclipse ends up crying, then he can break out and if he's freed, then..." she further explained before trailing off as she sighed.

"Hey, we'll keep her safe. As long as we teach her to control her emotions, she'll be okay and this Ibeeles demon will never get out. So if we can do that, then the world doesn't come to an end and everything will be alright. Okay, my blossom? We can do this." he softly assured her as she slowly nodded.

"Yeah."

"We can do what?"

When they heard their daughter's voice, they turned to see Eclipse puzzlingly glancing at them now before she noticed their sorrowful looks as her confusion turned into worry.

"Sensei Thorn? Master Splinter? Is everything okay?" their daughter concernedly asked, glancing at them now as they looked at each other and back at her as they quietly sighed.

"Eclipse... Can we talk to you?"

Although their daughter was confused, Eclipse slowly nodded as she continued to look at them. "Of course." their daughter softly answer as she climbed out of the bed. "Let's um... talk outside, so we don't disturb your siblings." the two slowly said as their daughter nodded once more. So, a few moments later, Thorn and her husband were outside of their children's shared room with their second younger daughter who slowly looked at them.

"What did you and Master Splinter want to talk to me about?"

As soon as their daughter posed the question, she glanced hesitantly at her husband, but when he assuringly nodded, Thorn gave another nod and took a deep breath before she approached their daughter. Once she did, she gave a small but soft smile to Eclipse before she finally found the courage to speak.

"My daughter," she began, briefly pausing to allow herself to breathe before she continued. "Are you willing to do anything for your siblings?" she slowly followed up with her husband quietly looking on as they saw their daughter quickly nodding.

"Of course! I'll do anything for my siblings, even if it means protecting them from something as I'm willing to do it in a heartbeat!" their daughter innocently answered in a determined tone as they saw a bright smile surface on her face before the smile gradually faded when she saw that their looks hadn't changed.

"But, what do they have to do with this?" their daughter slowly followed up as they solemnly sighed. It was then that their daughter's concern grew into worry as they saw her eyes widen.

"Wait. Is this my ice powers because if so, I can—"

"No, my daughter. This has nothing to do with your ice powers." they softly interrupted, assuring her as they saw her sighing in relief. "Okay, that's good." they heard her softly said before Eclipse stopped sighing and looked at them.

"Wait. If this isn't about my ice powers... then, what is this about?"

As their daughter posed the question, Thorn once again held a hesitant look and as she glanced at her husband for guidance, who assuringly gave her another nod, she found the courage then to answer her daughter's question.

"My daughter, you are incredibly bright and creative and we all love for you that, but..."

"... There is something you should know." her husband slowly finished for her, interjecting into the conversation now as she saw their daughter cautiously glance at him and back at her as a few sighs proceeded to follow when she saw their daughter's eyes land on her.

"Does it have to do with this?" their daughter slowly asked, gesturing to the light orange outline of a behemoth ebony-colored ash-like giant on her left deltoid as they slowly nodded. "Yes." she and her husband answered as they saw her confusion grow.

"What is it?" their daughter curiously asked as she sighed. "It's the Ignis Mark." she answered as she saw her daughter's confusion persisting.

"The Ignis Mark?"

"It's a mark used to identify the vessel of Ibeeles, but it's cursed because the mark contains the soul of the demon, who is capable of bringing about the end of the world if he is freed." Thorn gradually said and as soon as she got the words out, she quickly loathed the fact her daughter was whom the curse — and essentially the demon — chose to attach itself to Eclipse.

"The end of the world?"

"If the Flames of Disaster is awaken, he will destroy everything and everyone that we all love and care about..." Thorn slowly began before trailing off as her husband took over. "... Including your siblings." her husband solemnly finished as they saw their daughter's eyes widen.

"How does he get out?"

"With you as his vessel, he can be awaken with your tears."

"My tears?"

"Yes, my daughter." Thorn solemnly answered as she sighed. "Your tears will call forth the flames that lie inside of you, which is why you mustn't ever cry, no matter how hard things get because the moment you begin to shed tears..." she continued only to trail off when she saw Eclipse start to slowly nod, having realized what was at stake if she let her guard down.

"... He'll come out and hurt everyone I love..." their daughter solemnly answered before trailing off as she looked away from them and casted her head onto the ground.

"Yes. He will but we can help you control your emotions, so he can never come out." Splinter had assured their daughter, who slowly raised her head as she blinked.

"Really?"

"Yes, my daughter."

"That's awesome! If I can control my emotions, then my siblings can't get hurt and I will be able to protect them from what's inside of me!" their daughter happily exclaimed as her smile began to grow.

"Yes, but for us to do that, my daughter..." Splinter slowly began before trailing off as he glanced at her and as soon as they made eye contact, they knew what had to done. Just as Thorn knew the decision would cause her daughter a lot of heartbreak, but they both knew that Eclipse was willing to do anything for her siblings, so they knew she would do what they asked of her. They just hoped that their decision wouldn't backfire in the long run...

"... We have to separate you from your siblings." she solemnly said, finishing what her husband previously said as they saw their daughter's smile falter.

"S... So I can't train with them?"

"No. I'm sorry, my daughter, but you won't be able to go anywhere near them. Your training will be done alone by either me or your father while your siblings train with whoever isn't training you. We will alternate between you and your father, but furthermore..."

"... You won't have any contact with your siblings. You will stay isolated from them as we work on controlling your emotions. This is to ensure that we can help you in the best way possible and I know this is not what you wanted just as neither of us wanted this to happen to you, but—"

"Okay." Eclipse promptly stated, interrupting her father as they saw their daughter take a deep breath. "If doing this means I can keep my siblings safe and protect them from what's inside of me, then okay. I'm willing to stay separated from them to ensure their safety." they heard their daughter further add as Eclipse took a deep breath.

"When does the separation begin?"

"Today." they solemnly said as they heavily sighed. "From this point onwards, you will no longer be able to train or be seen by your siblings and most importantly, you must keep your mark and the truth of the world-ending demon inside you a secret because if it were to come out, people are going to want to capture you in order to free the Flames of Disaster inside of you and if they succeed in freeing him..." she further continued, taking over from her husband before trailing off as he proceeded to pick up where she left off.

"... it will be disastrous for all parties involved and they will most likely want to use your siblings against you to try to bait you into crying, so you can free him, which is why you can never allow people to know because if the wrong person knows, their lives will be on the line too." Splinter further added as they sighed again.

"My daughter, your Otōsan and I know that this is a lot for someone to shoulder at your age and we never wanted you to deal with so much so soon, but we know how incredibly brave you are and we know you will prevail because at the end of the day, you are driven by the love you have for your family and we know you will do anything to keep them safe. Just as you are doing right now." Thorn softly finished, now gently holding her daughter's face as she gave her a soft smile, though her heart ached at the sight of separating their daughter from her siblings as they were both aware of how family-oriented she was.

As soon as she finished, the three heard the sound of a door creaking as they turned to see her three older brothers, her older twin [though technically, it could be said that he was her fourth older brother] and her youngest sister looking at them as their smiles brightened at the sight of the girl beside them.

"Clips! Are you ready for today's training?" their daughter's siblings excitedly asked, but when her five siblings all saw their sister mutely stare at them, their smiles fell as they concernedly looked at her. "Clips?" they concernedly followed up when she and their father solemnly sigh from their worrisome nature toward their sister.

"I'm sorry, my children, but starting now Eclipse will no longer train with all of you." she and her husband said as they saw their eyes widened.

"What?!" Eclipse's siblings all exclaimed in shock and disbelief as they looked at their sister and back at them. "Will she be able to hang out with us at least and be able to watch Space Heroes with me and Leo?" Briana softly asked as they sighed.

"No, my child. She will not be able to hang out with all of you or watch Space Heroes with you and Leo because as of this moment, you are all going to be separated from your sister just as Eclipse is going to be separated from all of you moving forward." Splinter answered as Thorn quietly saw Briana's face fall at his response.

"B... But that's not fair. Why do we have to be separated from our sister?"

"My child, I know the situation is not ideal, but just know it is in everyone's best interest if you and your brothers remain separated from your sister." Thorn slowly added, trying to keep her voice from cracking when she saw her daughter's eyes continue to falter at her response.

"Best interest? How is this in anyone's best interest, Senseis?" Raphael sharply snapped as her eyes widened from the sharpness in his tone.

"Raphael—"

"No! None of this is okay! Eclipse shouldn't have to be separated from us just as we shouldn't be separated from her!" Raphael promptly snapped as they saw the others nodding in agreement.

"Yeah! This is totally not cool, Senseis!" Michelangelo promptly added, chiming in now as they solemnly sighed at his words.

"I know you are all dismayed, but the decision has been made."

"But we should get a say in this!" Leonardo promptly snapped as Donatello nodded.

"Yeah! Besides, we all work better together and if Eclipse gets separated from us, then how can we learn how to improve together as a family when our own sister has to train separately from us?" Donatello promptly followed up as the others began to cry out in agreement, which then ultimately led to them snapping.

"This is not up for discussion! You five will train together and remain separated from your sister from this day onwards and that is final! Are we understood?" the two promptly snapped and it was then that they saw their dejected looks as they sighed.

"Hai, Senseis..."

So as they directed Eclipse to another room, the two saw their kids silently watching with confusion and hurt as Eclipse glanced at them and silently looked away before closing the door behind her.

After she did, they saw their daughter's siblings silently glance at each other and mutely began making their way to the dōjō, never quite looking at them as the five proceeded to leave. As they watched their kids leave their sights, Thorn gave a heavy sigh as Splinter comforted her.

"My Blossom, I know our kids are upset right now, but in time, they will see that this is for the best." he softly assured her as he gave her a light peck on her forehead. "You'll see." he softly followed up as she gave a small smile.

"Yeah..." she began before trailing off as she saw her husband proceed to leave her to go begin their children's training and once he was gone, she promptly dropped her smile as she sighed before she recalled his words as she nodded.

"... This is for the best." she quietly told herself, reminding herself of what her husband had said before she looked up with a confident resolve in her eyes and a strong belief that this was truly the best decision for their daughter and her siblings as she took a deep breath, nodding once more.

"They'll see."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Yes, our adoptive godparents thought they were making the best decision as it was made with the pure intent to keep everyone they loved safe, but unfortunately neither of them seemed to be aware of the consequences that would follow..."

After their senseis implemented the decision to separate them from their sister, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and Briana were all struggling to get accustomed to their newfound reality.

Because while they were all in the same place, the distance they felt from Eclipse only left a void in their hearts as they all longed to see their sister again as the girl felt close yet so incredibly far from them.

So as the five collectively lied down on the flooring of their shared room, the siblings glanced at each other as Michelangelo groaned.

"Ugh! This is so lame and boring!" Michelangelo dramatically whined as he huffed. "If Sissy Twin was here, we could be playing with her ice magic and she'd have us go on another adventure in the enchanted forest battling wicked sorcerers and saving the world from evil." he added as he began to hear collective sighs.

"Yeah..."

"Or, me and her would be playing pranks on y'all, but no. Thanks to the separation, I'm just solo trouble instead of double trouble. Okay? Even pranking isn't the same without her and to make matters worse, we're stuck down here with nothing to do!" he followed up, now sitting up as the others proceeded to follow his lead and do the same thing as he did when they heard Leonardo clearing his throat.

"Well, we could always—"

"No one wants to do training when we're not required to, Leo!" Raphael promptly snapped as he sensed what his eldest brother was going to say. "Besides, even that hasn't even been the same ever since Sensei Thorn and Master Splinter separated us from Clips." he followed up as he saw Leonardo sighing.

"Yeah and as much as I love watching Space Heroes, it's just not the same when Clips isn't there to watch it with me and Bri." Leonardo followed up as Briana nodded. "Yeah. When we watched the show with Clipsy Cakes, she always made it funnier when she made the sound effects and now that's not even the same because Leo and I don't have the heart to try to do the effects in her place." Briana interjected as she sighed.

"I hate this. Why did they even decide to separate us from her anyways?" Briana followed up as she watched Leonardo and Michelangelo sigh.

"I don't know."

"Yeah. I wish I knew, dudenette, but it's a mystery."

"An annoying mystery, at that." Donatello chimed in as he huffed at the matter.

"Well of course, none of us know and we are all never going to know because Sensei Thorn and Master Splinter are never going to tell us!"

"Hey, that's not true, Raphie. Maybe, they're just waiting for the right time to tell us." Briana had softly objected as Donatello nodded. "Yeah. Plus, I mean it doesn't help that we're only five and Bri is four, so they most likely want to tell us when we're older." Donatello followed up, chiming in to back up his youngest sister as Leonardo nodded.

"Maybe..."

"Well, while you guys wait for something that is never going to happen, I'm going to go try to see if I can get Eclipse to budge because this is so stupid." Raphael abruptly stated as he proceeded to stand up.

"Raph, you know what our Senseis said about—"

"Yes, Leo, I am aware of what they said, but it doesn't mean that we still can't try to knock some sense into our sister and get her to see how incredibly stupid this whole thing is!" Raphael had promptly exclaimed as he crossed his arms.

"So if anyone wants to join me, be my guest. Otherwise, I'm going to strike out on my own." he followed up, now facing them when Briana raised her hand.

"Wait. I'm coming with you." she chimed in, standing up now as Michelangelo nodded. "Yeah, so count me in too! I need double trouble to be a thing again and I can't do that without Sissy Twin as she's my double and it's just not the same without her." Michelangelo promptly added as he began to stand up too.

"You guys do know that our Senseis will be upset when they find out what you're all trying to do, right?" Leonardo pointed out as Michelangelo laughed. "Come on, dude. Live a little! Rules were meant to be broken and besides, this is our sister we are talking about here, bro!" Michelangelo promptly insisted, chuckling once more before he stopped as Donatello nodded.

"Mikey has a point. I mean, this is our sister we're talking about here and I need my second lab partner as me, Bri and Clips were the perfect trio but now, ever since the separation happened, working at the garage hasn't been the same without having her there to help me and Bri out." Donatello interjected as he stood up.

"So come on. We might as well go ahead and try getting into trouble collectively because if we do, then maybe they'll start taking us seriously about this. Plus, it's only fitting if we go as a group. I mean, we are all in this together." Donatello added as Briana excitedly nodded at his words.

"Yeah!"

"I second that, dude."

"Hmm... I don't know about this, you guys." Leonardo hesitantly began as he sighed. "I mean, I know we all mean well, but Sensei Thorn and Master Splinter did say that—" he attempted to add on when he was promptly interrupted by a dismissive scoff.

"Ah, you see. Leo isn't going to do it." Raphael bluntly interrupted as Leonardo scoffed in turn before he huffed.

"No, that's not what I said. I just think we should think this through and try to come up with a plan before we just—" Leonardo attempted to say, only to cut himself off when he heard his younger brothers laughing.

"Sorry! Can't hear you over the fact we're going to go talk to our sister!" his younger brothers all cheekily exclaimed before dashing off while only Briana remained as she gave a small smile to him. Shaking his head and sighing, Leonardo stood up as he turned to face his youngest sister.

"Well, at least someone listens to me."

"Clips listens too."

"Well, let's just hope that she'll listen to us." he softly said as he returned the smile. "Now come on. Let's go catch up to your brothers and try to make sure none of them draw any unwanted attention to themselves..." he followed up before trailing off as a chuckle came out. "... Namely, Mikey." he finished as he saw his youngest sister giggle at his response.

"Sounds like a plan."

So once Leonardo and Briana made their way to join their brothers, the two stood alongside the three as they all collectively stared at the closed door where they knew their sister resided in the aftermath of their parents' decision to separate her from them.

"Guys, are we sure about this? I mean, what if she's not even done with her training and we are just getting in the way?" Leonardo had pointed out as Michelangelo scoffed. "Come on, dude! There's no way she can be training at this hour." Michelangelo insisted as the others nodded in agreement.

"Besides, Sensei Thorn let us finish early, so it should be the same case for her too." the others pointed out as Leonardo sighed before he slowly nodded. "You guys are right. She should most likely be done by now with her training, but I guess there's only one way to find out if that's the case and if she wants to hang out with us." Leonardo followed up as he sighed once more as he glanced at the intimidating door in front of them and back at his siblings.

"So... Who's going to—"

"Clipsy Cakes?"

"Sissy Twin?"

When he turned back at the door staring back at them, he saw Briana and Michelangelo moving closer to the door before the two lightly knocked.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Come on, let's go and play."

As Briana and Michelangelo separately sang, the others began to join in as well as they began to move closer to them.

"We never see you anymore."

"Come out the door."

"It's like you've gone away."

After Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo separately sang after Briana and Michelangelo, the five siblings decided to band together in the hopes that their combined voices would be enough to sway Eclipse to hang out with them and essentially let them in.

"We used to be best buddies and now we're not and we wish you would tell us why."  the five collectively sang before they all sighed as Briana and Michelangelo took over.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

"It doesn't have to be a snowman."

"Go away!"

When the five had heard Eclipse's sharp response, they all collectively glanced at each other and gave a heavy sigh from the fact they were rejected by their sister.

"Clips—"

"Clipsy Cakes—"

"Forget it, you guys." Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello solemnly began as they heavily sighed. "Let's just go." they followed up as Briana and Michelangelo dejectedly glanced away from the three and back at the door that seemingly taunted them as they sighed.

"Okay, bye..."

Meanwhile with Eclipse, she was seen with her father as she looked dejectedly at the door and solemnly sighed.

"My daughter, I know it is hard for you to deal with, but this is for the best." he softly offered as he gave a small smile. "I promise." he softly followed up as she slowly nodded at his words.

"I know, Sensei." she began before her smile fell as she sighed. "I know, but..." she added before trailing off as she sighed again. "It's just they're my family and I... I... just feel so alone without them at my side." she followed up, her eyes returning back to the door when Splinter solemnly sighed.

"My daughter, I understand that the loneliness of not being near your loved ones weighs heavily on your soul, but if you are to control your emotions, then you need to learn how to conceal the way you feel or else, they will not only be your enemy but your undoing too." he gently advised before he sighed again.

"Conceal my emotions?"

"If you don't, then everyone is going to get hurt and that includes your loved ones and you don't want that to happen, do you?"

"No..."

"And here is where our adoptive godfather proceeds to give out the worst advice in all of history as these next words would end up impacting our very own reincarnated heroine, who would go carry out her father's advice for the rest of her life."

"Then conceal it, don't feel it and don't let it show." he briefly began as he momentarily paused when Eclipse spoke.

"But—"

"If you follow through on my advice, then you will be able to deal with not only the loneliness of not having your loved ones near you, but you will also be able to manage your emotions better and if you can do that, then no one has to get hurt. Okay?" he followed up as she blinked before she took a deep breath and confidently nodded, having been unaware of the consequences his advice would entail for her in the following years to come...

"Okay."

"Good. Now repeat after me." he began as he took a deep breath.

"Conceal it."

"Don't feel it." she said as they looked at each other and smiled.

"Don't let it show."

"You know, I still can't believe he thought that this was some great advice to tell a five-year-old, but to think he actually thought this advice was so good that he would end up repeating these same words again to—"

"Libby! We're not there yet!"

"Oops! Sorry! My bad, Jax!"

"Anyways..."

Three years passed and a seven-year-old Briana was seen standing outside of her sister's door as her purple hair grew longer while she was seen wearing a teal blue shirt and black leggings while she was barefoot as she didn't see the point in wearing shoes when she was at home.

Beside her were her eight-year-old brothers as Michelangelo stood beside her while Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello stood near them.

"You guys really think this is going to work?" Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello curiously asked as Briana and Michelangelo glanced at each other and back at their brothers as they shrugged.

"I guess there's only one way to find out..." Briana and Michelangelo promptly answered before trailing off as the two turned their attention back to their sister's door and took a deep breath.

"Clipsy Cakes?"

"Sissy Twin?"

Once that was done, Briana and Michelangelo then proceeded to glance at each other as they gave each other a encouraging nod as the youngest daughter turned her attention back to her older sister's door and knocked.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

"Or pull some pranks around the lair?"

After Briana and Michelangelo separately sung, their older brothers proceeded to join in as they moved closer to them.

"We think some company is overdue."

"No really, the company is really overdue. I mean, Mikey has started talking to his comic books, Clips! His comic books! The situation is dire!" his brothers promptly exclaimed, breaking out of song as Briana giggled while Mikey's eyes widened.

"Hey!" Mikey promptly exclaimed as Briana giggled. "Sissy Twin, ignore them! That part is not true!" he followed up as the others snickered while Briana proceeded to giggle once more as Michelangelo huffed before shaking his head as he turned his direction back to the door and resumed singing.

"It gets a little lonely."

After he sang, his youngest sister and his older brothers proceeded to join in as they jumped in on the singing once more.

"All this empty space."

"Just watching the hours tick by..."

After Briana sang, she proceeded to emulate the tick-tock with her tongue as the scene switched from the youngest Hamato and her older brothers to Eclipse, who [much like her older brothers] was also eight-years-old.

"Meanwhile, you can see the reincarnated heroine of Lady Equinox having a hard time dealing with the current demon curse inside of her while her parents looked on in dismay."

"Senseis, I'm scared! The visions are getting stronger! I can see everything in flames and—"

"My daughter, we know that you are scared, but getting upset is only going to make it worse." her parents gently but somewhat sternly told her as they sighed. "Just calm down." the two softly added, now attempting to take a step towards Eclipse when she fearfully pulled away.

"No! Don't touch me!"

As soon as Eclipse said that, she held her hands up and once she did, a light orange force field illuminated from her hands as her parents' eyes widened in shock and dismay.

"Please. I... I don't want to hurt you." Eclipse pleaded as her parents solemnly glanced at her and back at each other in sadness for their daughter as they never wanted her to deal with so much at her age. But they were certain that she would be able to control her emotions...

She just needed time.

A few more years passed and this time, a eleven-year-old Briana is seen wearing a teal blue shirt, black leggings and a black leather jacket as she was joined by her older brothers, who were now twelve-years-old.

She was accompanied by Michelangelo while Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello stood near them and hesitantly looked on.

"Bri, Mikey, are you two sure about this?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's been years now and every time we attempt to get her to open up, Clips just shuts us out."

"Yeah and not to mention, it's been the same rejection every time. So, do you two really think it's going to change this time?"

At their brothers' responses, Briana and Michelangelo glanced at each other and back at their brothers as they sighed.

"I guess there's only one way to find out..." Briana and Michelangelo slowly countered before they trailed off as the two turned their attention back to their sister's door and took a deep breath.

"Clipsy Cakes?"

"Sissy Twin?"

The two were right about to knock then, but when they heard no response and thought back to their brothers' statements, the two hesitated before they stopped and solemnly sighed as they pulled their hands back.

"Maybe, next year will be different?" Briana and Michelangelo optimistically offered, turning away from the door as they faced their older brothers, who sighed.

"Maybe..."

As their older brothers trailed off, the five then raced down the lair in time to catch their parents in their bedroom that was jointly connected to the dōjō as their father was seen assisting their mother with the last of her packing.

It was then that Briana and her older brothers ran to hug her as they excitedly grinned.

"See you in two weeks, Sensei Thorn!"

Not long after that, the scene shifted to Eclipse, who hesitantly looked at her mother as she solemnly frowned.

"Do you have to go?"

"You'll be fine, my daughter and besides, I'll be back before you know it. Okay? Two weeks might seem like a lot of time, but watch. Before you know it, time will fly by and I'll be back here in a blink of an eye." her mother softly said as Eclipse attempted to smile before she sighed at her mother's words.

"I know, but what if—"

"Hey, you'll be okay. Alright?"

"Okay..."

"That's a good girl, Eclipse. Now remember. No matter how hard the world pushes back against you, I want you to always be brave. Okay? Be brave, my child, and no matter what, don't allow anyone to give you the opportunity to let you cry because if you do—"

"— My tears will call forth the flames inside me and he will be freed." Eclipse finished, referring to the world-ending demon inside of her as her mother nodded.

"Yes, but I know you can do this. Okay?"

"Okay."

"So promise me that while I'm gone, you'll continue to train with your father at becoming the strong kunoichi who doesn't cry no matter what happens to her and that you'll try to live out your life happily just as your father and I both want for you." her mother softly followed up as she warmly smiled at her.

"Okay? Can you do that for me, my child?" she softly followed up as Eclipse mutely nodded at her mother's words, which got a brighten smile from her.

"Thank you."

Not long after that, the scene switched as Thorn was seen leaving the lair, but unfortunately, she wouldn't fare long in her journey as the mutant mouse would find herself caught in a raging fire that would tragically claim her life....

After a small funeral was held for their mother by their father, Briana and her older brothers all began to approach their sister's room as the five solemnly sighed before the youngest child of the Hamato clan lightly knocked on Eclipse's door.

"Eclipse?" Briana began before she took a deep breath as she and Michelangelo began to sing.

"Please. We all know you're in there."

After Briana and Michelangelo sang, their older brothers proceeded to jump in as they began to sing.

"Sensei tells us to 'have courage' and we're trying to."

"We're right out here for you."

"Just let us in."

After Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello each separately sang, the five decided to collectively sing as they thought their sister would get the message better if they all sang in sync rather than opposed to singing separately.

"We only have each other. It's just us and Sensei. What are we gonna do?" the five siblings collectively sang before they all solemnly leaned against her door and the wall surrounding Eclipse's door as they solemnly sighed.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

As the scene shifts away from Briana and her older brothers, the focus is placed on Eclipse, who was shown in the same exact position as her siblings, who had began to shed a few tears while she solemnly leaned her head against the door and painfully listened as she wished she could open up to her siblings but knew it was better if she kept her distance.

After all, it was safer this way if she wasn't near them and as though her siblings didn't know it, she was just trying to protect all of them from the world-ending demon inside of her. "They will come to see that this is for the best." she quietly said as she began to hug herself and solemnly sighed.

"They will see..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Yes. Thorn and Splinter truly believed that they were doing the right thing, but in reality—"

"It was the worst decision that they could've ever made!" Lillian promptly exclaimed, having now interrupted her sibling, who was pulled out of their narrating state as they turned to see their sister huffing in annoyance.

"I mean seriously, how could've they have honestly thought that this was a good idea?" their sister followed up as Jaxon bluntly blinked at her question.

"... Libs, we just went through two flashbacks that covered the reason as to why they thought it was a good idea." they deadpanned as she rolled her eyes at their response. "I know that, Jax, but still! It's all just so... so—" she attempted to say when they decided to interject.

"Frustrating?"

"Yes!"

Chuckling at their sister's response, Jaxon proceeded to stop then as they sighed. "I get it. It is pretty frustrating when parents think they know what's best, but in truth they're just as flawed as their kids and sometimes, the decisions that they think is the right choice could not be any further from the truth." they promptly stated as they listened to their sister sighing.

"Yeah and their decision to separate Eclipse from her siblings would come to backfire on them... or rather, Splinter, since he's the one who ends up bearing the burden of their decision after his wife's passing."

"Yeah. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves because before we come to understand how their decision backfired, we need to go three years after the Hamato family endured the tragic loss first occurred." Jaxon briefly stated as Lillian nodded.

"Right. I guess it's time for us to leave the past and venture back into the present then, huh?" she followed up as they nodded.

"Yep! Because even though their separation was still enforced and Splinter endured that Eclipse and her siblings could never interact with each other, he couldn't have ever anticipated that the appearance of a relic would kick off the unraveling of his hard work." Jaxon promptly answered as their sister nodded.

"Right, right but before a glow from the primal cube resulted in Eclipse and her siblings' reunion and the six's eventual team up with not only each other but our sister, our dad and their family friend too, we have to go back a few moments before the glow occurred." she cheekily pointed out as they nodded.

"Mhm, which leads us back to our adoptive godfather's bedroom in the infamous dōjō where we would soon come to learn that Eclipse was not the only one that they kept their kids in the dark about because in truth, she was just part of the many secrets that he and Thorn guarded." they followed up as she nodded.

"Yep, but after her passing, he became solely responsible for bearing the weight that came from keeping these secrets from coming out and being known by his loved ones." Lillian chimed in as they nodded at their sister's words.

"Yes, but in spite of his best efforts to keep the secrets from surfacing, the crushing weight he felt from shouldering the burden on his own would only continue to grow as he finds himself faced with the ever-growing curiosity of his sons, especially that of his youngest daughter." Jaxon said as Lillian nodded once more.

"Yep! But before Splinter became faced with the curiosity of his sons and his youngest daughter, he needed to first go through a one-on-one session with his younger daughter."

"Mhm. Sometimes, these sessions meant training her to ensure she didn't fall behind and other times, it was meant to help 'control' her emotions, which was what their latest session happen to be the the center of today's focus as she seemed to be currently having a hard time dealing with the current demon curse inside her again while he couldn't help but look on in dismay..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"My daughter—"

"Sensei, I don't know what to do." she promptly spoke, now interrupting him as he heard his daughter's panic becoming evident in her tone as her back was toward her bedroom wall. "It's like with every passing day, I can see the flames just keep rising higher and higher and—" she added and as she spoke, he saw a light orange force field start to illuminate from her hands as he frowned at the sight and promptly stepped in to interrupt her.

"Sofonisba."

***

"Now, you might be wondering why the name changed. Well, fear not, dear readers because this will be explained in time..."

"... Just not from us."

***

As soon as he had said her name and succeeded in interrupting her [as she did to him just a few seconds ago], he saw her quickly silence herself as her green [almost jade-like] eyes stared back at him. As she looked at him, the light orange force field she initially made from her panic ceased to exist as the magic quickly died down at the sound of his voice. As such, it also resulting in his daughter's hands no longer glowing a light orange hue as he began to quietly sigh in relief at the sight before he proceeded to look at his daughter once more.

"There was a Japanese proverb I had come across when I was your age and it said fear is only as deep as your mind allows it to be." he further added as he took a deep breath. "So, to overcome this fear, you must—" he attempted to follow up when she interrupted him.

"Conceal it, don't feel it and don't let it show?" she presumed, but he failed to hear the dullness in her voice as he nodded.

"That and practicing the art of meditation."

"Oh come on, Sensei! There has to be something else for me to do besides meditating!" she had promptly protested as she gave an annoyed huff. "My daughter, I know you feel, but contrast to what you believe, mediating can be beneficial to you as it can be a excellent tool in helping you combat against the images you see." he softly pointed out, now preparing to leave her alone as she sighed, causing him to stop right as he reached the door connected to her room.

"I know, but why do I have to meditate on this when I don't see a point in it?" she pointed out as he listened to her sigh again.

"My daughter," he paused then and there to face her as he proceeded to turn to the fifteen-year-old humanoid golden-masked turtle in front of him. "I know you don't see a point in doing this, but I promise it will help you. Okay?" he softly followed up, now lightly placing a gentle grip on her left deltoid where the Ignis Mark resided.

"You just have to trust in the process like you trusted in my advice all those years ago. Alright?" he softly added on as he saw his daughter sighing before she took a deep breath and nodded at his words. "Alright." she said at last as he smiled.

"Good."

Not long after he said that, he proceeded to release his grip on her left deltoid, where he saw the Ignis Mark staring back at him. Dismayed at the sight of the marking, he quickly chose to switch his focus onto his daughter once more.

"Now, I want you to practice meditating while I go train your siblings and after I'm done training them, I'll come back to check how you are doing, see how you're faring with the meditation and we'll go from there." he proceeded to explain, regaining his smile as he looked at her. "Alright?" he followed up, to which he saw her slowly look at him.

She looked as though she wanted to say something, but she seemingly refrained herself from doing so as she simply decided on a compliant nod. "Hai, Sensei." she said at last as his smile grew.

"Good." he softly said before he continued. "Then on that note, I'll see you soon, my daughter." he added, opening the door now as he glanced back to see her nodding. "Okay." she said as he saw a small smile on her face.

"I'll see you soon then."

So after he returned the smile, Splinter then closed the door behind him before he had released the door knob connected to his daughter's room. After he did, he quietly sighed before he started to make his way towards the common area of the lair.

As soon as he did, he could hear the sound of consistent pinging as he looked over to see his children surrounding an arcade machine called Atomic Robo-X as he saw the five of them attempting to out-beat the other to come up on top.

"Aha! Yes! In just a few moments, victory will be mine."

"Little Kunoichi, I hate to break the news to you, but I'm actually the closest one here to winning this."

"Well, based on my calculations, I'm the one who is close to winning. Not you or Little Genius."

"Actually, dudes and dudette, I hate to break it to y'all but it's clearly obvious the great Mike-anator is coming out on top."

"Ha! You guys think you are close, but..."

As the sound of more pinging followed suit, a slight buzzing sound was heard from the machine followed by a confident chuckle.

"... I believe that's another flawless victory for me and oh? What's this now? Another loss for you guys?"

As the red-masked humanoid turtle turned away from the arcade machine and gave a smug smirk, he listened to the sounds of the dejected groans from the blue, orange, and purple-masked humanoid turtles and a slight huff from his youngest daughter, who he saw wearing a teal blue shirt, black leggings and a black leather jacket.

"Man! What is this now? The sixth time this week that I come out victorious against all of you?"

"Raph, the only reason you keep winning is because Sissy Twin isn't here to beat you."

"Yeah, Mikey has a point there. We all know that if there's anyone who can beat you, it's her." Leonardo followed up as Donatello gave a light hum of agreement.

"Yep, because based on all of my calculations I've performed in relation to the chances of winning, she out-ranked you by seventeen percent from the last time we played together. So chances are if Sensei allowed her to join us, there's a very strong chance she could easily beat you still since your chances back then were only five percent." Donnie further added as Raphael scoffed when it came to the blue and purple-masked turtles' responses.

"You seriously calculated that?"

"Naturally. Besides, I only did it because I wanted to see if what my chances were for beating Eclipse in Atomic Robo-X since she was the one to beat back..."

"... Before Sensei Thorn and Master Splinter made the decision to separate her from us." Briana slowly finished for the purple-masked turtle, who nodded then as a sigh followed suit.

"Yeah."

He noticed then that the atmosphere shifted as everyone distanced themselves from the arcade machine and collectively sighed.

"You know, while I still believe I can beat out Clips the same way I've been beating all of you, I will admit that the excitement of playing Atomic Robo-X has certainly lessen with Clips no longer around." Raphael followed up as Briana and Leo nodded at the red-masked humanoid turtle's response.

"Mhm and the same goes for the Space Heroes' pinball machine." Leonardo followed up as Briana solemnly sighed.

"Yeah. We can't even go and touch it. I mean, playing against one another is fun and all, but..."

"... Playing the pinball machine is better when Clips is around since she always kept you on your toes." Leonardo finished for her as Briana nodded.

"Yeah and whenever she played, she made the game more exciting. You know?" the youngest followed up as the others collectively sighed at her reponse and nodded. "Yeah..." the others mumbled when she suddenly perked up right then and there.

"But hey! Maybe now, he will come around and let us see her." Briana optimistically added on as her older brothers looked doubtful about her response... all except one.

"Yeah, dudenette! I'm sure of it! All we have to do is band together and if we do that, then Master Splinter will surely—"

"Michelangelo, Briana, you two know the rules."

Making himself known to his children as he moved out of the shadows now and into the lights of the common area, Splinter saw their faces faltered from his response as the two frowned almost immediately.

"But, Sensei—"

"—You all are to be separated from your sister just as she is to be separated from all of you." he promptly added, interrupting the two once more before he sighed and spoke once more.

"My children, I know the loneliness of not being near your sister still weighs heavily on your souls after being separated from her for so long now, but this decision is for the best." he further continued, his tone softer when a scoff followed directly after he had finished addressing the two.

"You know, you keep saying that but it's pointless because how is this in anyone's best interest, Sensei?" Raphael sharply snapped as his eyes widened from the sharpness in his son's tone.

"Raphael—"

"No! It's been ten years since you and Sensei Thorn first made the decision to separate Eclipse and had us all believe that it's for the best, but it's not! It wasn't for the best then and it's not for the best now!" his son firmly snapped once more as he saw the others all nod in agreement.

"Yeah! The decision wasn't cool then and it's still not cool now, Sensei!" Michelangelo promptly added, chiming in as he solemnly sighed at his words.

"Plus surely, you can bend the rules. At least just a little bit." Leonardo slowly followed up as Briana nodded. "Yeah! It wouldn't be for long. Maybe, we can see her for like five minutes or something." Briana chimed in right as Donatello nodded.

"Also, seeing how you're out here, that means Eclipse has to be done with her training, so if we go see her now, we wouldn't be interrupting anything. Not to mention, we'd actually be doing her some good since research in social science suggests that placing siblings together can result in a higher self-esteem, reduce behavioral problems, bring emotional stability and—"

"The decision still stands and the rules will continue to be enforced as such." he firmly stated, now dropping the softness in his tone as he took on a more stern stance on the matter and proceeded to interrupt the purple-masked humanoid turtle in the midst of his statement.

"Sensei, with all due respect, you shouldn't get to be the one who makes the decision for us when we should all get a say in this." Leonardo promptly countered, chiming in the conversation now as Donatello nodded.

"Yeah! Besides, we all worked better together and since you and our okaasan first made the decision to separate our sister from us, we haven't been able to improve together as a real family and that has hurt our ability to grow since we all feel incomplete with her not being at our side." Donatello promptly followed up as the others began to cry out in agreement, which led to their voices overlapping with one another and ultimately led to him snapping.

"This is not up for discussion!" he began, promptly silencing his children as he stared at his fifteen-year-old sons and his fourteen-year-old daughter, who all stared back at him.

"You five will continue to train together and remain separated from your sister and that is final!" he sternly added, maintaining the firmness in his tone. "Am I understood?" he promptly snapped as he saw their dejected looks as they sighed.

"Hai, Sensei..."

So as he directed his children to the dōjō, he saw the five silently glance at each other and mutely began making their way to the dōjō, never quite looking at him as the five proceeded to leave. As he watched, he gave a heavy sigh as he took in the silence that followed when the five were no longer within his sights.

Even though they are all still upset from having to be separated from their sister, deep down you know enforcing this decision is for the best and in time, they will come to see it that way too.

So with his confidence resolved and his belief that he was making the right decision for his loved ones renewed, he took a deep breath before he proceeded to join his children in the dōjō.

As soon as he barely entered the dōjō, he heard the five converse among themselves when their notifications seemingly went off in sync, causing all of them to pull out their devices as they each held a turtle-shell shaped phone that matched their specific color scheme.

"Freeze Bug! Download it now from the App Store!"

"Freeze Bug?" he heard all of them curiously ask as Michelangelo and Briana excitedly gasped a few seconds later, causing their older siblings to look at them as their eyes lit up.

"Ooh! Maybe, we should—"

"Mikey, Bri, no."

"But—"

"Look, as cool as it would be to see what this new game is all about, we need to be ready for anything that Sensei may throw at us in today's training session." Leonardo advised, turning off his blue shell-cased T-phone as Michelangelo and Briana childishly huffed at their eldest sibling before they glanced at their respective T-Phone and sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right..." Michelangelo and Briana simply said before trailing off as they proceeded to turn off their respective phones [Mikey held a orange shell-cased T-Phone while Briana held a teal-blue shell-cased T-Phone] and pocketed said devices out of sight.

"... Still, it's a shame Clips still can't join us for training." Michelangelo and Briana followed up, finishing their previous response as Leonardo nodded. 

"Yeah. If she could have joined us for training, then she definitely would've made this feel more complete." Leonardo chimed in, earning nods of agreement from Michelangelo as well as Briana before they sighed again.

"Yeah..."

"You know, I wonder... why does Master Splinter still feel the need to separate us from her?" Donatello curiously interjected, now turning off placing his purple shell-cased T-Phone and storing his device away right as Leonardo, Michelangelo and Briana glanced at each other and back at their brother before they sighed once more.

"I don't know."

"Yeah. I wish I knew, dude, but even after all these years, it's still remains a mystery."

"An annoying mystery, at that." Briana promptly chimed in as she huffed at the matter.

"Well, considering how he hasn't told us why Eclipse still has to be separated from us after all of these years, it's safe to say none of us will ever know the root of the matter because he's never going to tell us!"

"Hey, that's not true, Raphie. Maybe, he's still waiting for the right moment to tell us." Briana softly objected as Donatello, Leonardo and Michelangelo nodded along to their sister's words while Raphael gave a quiet sigh.

"Little Warrior, I applaud your optimism, but at the end of the day, Sensei is never going to tell us because he's—"

"I'm what?"

Choosing to interject himself into his children's conversation then and there, he moved closer to the five as he was now centered in the middle of the dōjō where his children were currently at as they promptly turned to face him.

"Sensei!"

When their surprise and shock dialed down, he then glanced at the five before his eyes fell onto the red-masked emerald-green eyed humanoid turtle.

"Raphael, is there something you would like to share?"

As the dōjō fell eerily quiet then, all eyes went to Raphael, who looked at him. When they made eye contact, he looked as though he wanted to say something, but when the teenage turtle had glanced back at his siblings and back at him, he seemingly refrained himself from doing so as a heavy sigh followed suit.

"No, Sensei." his older son answered, but Splinter felt the response was rather begrudging as his son spoke with an almost sharp manner. He raised his eyebrow then and when Raphael shot him a cold look, he seemed rather convinced that his older son did in fact have something to say.

However, before he could try to pry the answer out of his son, the others interjected in their conversation.

"We didn't hear you come in."

"If you could not hear me, then chances are you won't be able to hear your enemies and that is a problem in itself."

"Why would we need to hear our enemies when we already know their intent, Sensei?" Raphael interjected, the cold look fading away in his son's eyes now as he internally sighed in relief from the sight. "Because hearing your enemies allows you to anticipate their moves before they can strike." he promptly answered when his son casually scoffed.

"Sensei, I can anticipate their moves by simply punching my way to victory." his son confidently stated, smugly crossing his arms now as he slowly raised his left eyebrow.

"Oh. Is that so?"

When he posed the question in a bemusing manner, he saw his son's siblings slowly glanced at them and back at each other while Raphael maintained his confidence. "Pfft — Obviously." his son further added as a laugh followed suit. It was then that Splinter knew what he was going to teach his kids and saw Raphael as the perfect example for today's training session.

"Then allow me to demonstrate."

Not long after Splinter said this, he saw Raphael preparing to strike but he proceeded to grab his son's right arm and promptly flipped him over, causing the latter to land on his shell as he heard his son's siblings silently wincing at the sight before the orange-masked turtle spoke up.

"He should've gone for a backflip."

"Mikey, you think everything can be done with a backflip." Leonardo and Donatello pointed out when Briana spoke up. "Hey. In Mikey's defense, backflips are cool." she lightly chimed in as he saw Mikey nodding. "Yeah, see? Little Prankster gets it!" the orange-masked turtle cheekily said as a low groan was heard from the red-masked turtle.

"Ow..."

"See? Stealth is the key to winning against your opponent." he said, releasing his grasp on his son before turning to face the rest of his children, who puzzlingly looked at him.

"But Sensei... we can all see you."

"Yes, but none of you ever actually heard me and that is where stealth lies as it can also come by concealing your movements to throw your enemy off-guard." he slowly countered as they slowly nodded before Michelangelo's eyes widen.

"Ohh... Like this?"

As soon as Michelangelo said that, Splinter detected his son's sharp shift in his movement and as a chuckle quietly followed, he raised his arm in time to catch his son mid-air into his backflip and proceeded to catch the latter off-guard by flinging him onto the ground near Raphael. As soon as he did, the orange-masked turtle quietly groaned before a huff followed.

"So much for the backflip."

Not long after, he heard footsteps and as he turned, he saw Donatello sliding past him now as he blocked a few of his strikes. But similar to his brothers, he proceeded to grab onto his right arm as the purple-masked give a sheepish smile and an awkward chuckle.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Donatello sheepishly asked as he nodded. "Mhm." he said as he huffed at his response. Not long after that, he proceeded to fling him in a similar manner as he done to his older brothers. As he did, he saw him landing near his brothers as he quietly groaned before a huff followed.

"So much for the uke."

Moments later, he heard footsteps and as he turned, he saw Leonardo charging at him but as he swung at his son's legs, he proceeded to flip his son around before throwing him back as he fell near his siblings.

"You too, huh?" Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo asked as the blue-masked turtle gave a huff of his own and nodded at their question.

"Yep."

From there, he turned in time to see Briana dodging his attack as the two proceeded to block each other's counter-attacks. After performing a few ukes, he prepared to strike at his youngest daughter, but when she grabbed onto his left arm and flung him down, an apologetic look had instantly surfaced on her face.

"Sensei!"

Almost immediately, she ran to help him up as she continued to maintain the apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry! I—" she attempted to apologetically add when he promptly grabbed on her left arm and proceeded to flip her over. This caused the youngest Hamato to cut herself off as she fell onto the ground with him holding onto her arm. He proceeded to hold this stance for a few more moments before a smile formed.

"Very impressive, my daughter. You managed to execute your stealth quite well, but that alone is not enough." he began as he released his hold on her. "No, you must also learn when to properly act and restrain yourself and while you knew when to act, it was your hesistation that made you susceptible to an attack as you incorrectly restrained yourself." he followed up as he released his hold on his daughter now.

"Knowing when to correctly act and restrain yourself during a moment of battle is critical to your outcome of the fight as it can mean the difference between victory and defeat, so I hope moving forward, you will follow more on your instincts and hesitate less." he added as his daughter now slowly rose to her feet and nodded.

"Hai, Sensei."

"As for the rest of you, I hope you all learned the importance of stealth and how you can utilize it in more ways than one." he said, turning away from his youngest daughter as he faced his older sons, who also rose to their feet as they nodded. "Hai, Sensei." his sons said in turn as he gave a light nod before he turned his back away from them.

"Now, that is all for today..." he began before trailing off as a subtle smirk formed. "... Unless any of you care for a rematch." he followed up, briefly turning as he observed the five's quick head shakes.

"Oh, thank you for the offer, Sensei but I think we will all pass." Briana politely declined right as Leonardo chimed in.

"Yeah, I'm with Little Kunoichi here in that we're all pretty good here." Leonardo further added as his eldest son glanced at his younger brothers. "Right, guys?" he followed up as he saw the three frequently nodding on.

"Mhm." Donatello promptly said as Michelangelo cleared his throat. "Yep! We got the message loud and clear!" the orange-masked turtle promptly added as Raphael also chimed in. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we are all set here." the red-masked turtle promptly added on as a light smirk formed on his face.

"Are you sure, my children?" he asked, masking his smirk now as he properly turned to face his four older sons and his youngest daughter.

"I'm sure I could—"

"Hey, would you look at that?" Donatello quickly interrupted as he proceeded to mimic a few ringing-like sounds. "Oh wow. I think April's calling, so I should um I should take it." he then added, taking out his phone and continued to mimic the ringing sound before proceeding to sprint out of the dōjō.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of that, uh, I think Spike needs to be fed so I'm going to go do that... now!" Raphael promptly announced before he too proceeded to follow Donatello's lead and chose to sprint out of the dōjō moments after the purple-masked turtle did.

"Oh, I uh I actually need to go retrieve my Space Heroes comic book from Leo's room, so I am going to do that... now!" Michelangelo promptly announced as he and Briana saw Leonardo's puzzled face.

"But you don't..." Leonardo puzzlingly began before he trailed off at the sight of his younger brother's mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Mikey, you better not go touch my vintage comic book!"

"Too late!"

"Mikey—"

"Sorry! Can't hear you over the vintage comic book I'm about to touch!" Michelangelo promptly proclaimed, interrupting the latter before he proceeded to follow in his older brothers' lead and promptly sprinted out of the dōjō.

"Mikey! Get back here!" Leonardo then yelled before he followed in the footsteps of his younger brothers and sprinted out of the dōjō in his pursuit for Michelangelo. Not long after they left, he and Briana chuckled amongst themselves before his youngest daughter stopped.

"Should we—"

"I believe your brothers can handle themselves." he softly said, interrupting his daughter now as he lightly brushed off Briana's concern. "Okay." she simply said and not long after, he heard his daughter's T-phone began to lightly ring to Love Story by Taylor Swift.

🎶 Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the— 🎶

"Oh! That must be Kaz." she said as she began retrieving her phone from her pocket, ending the notification ring tone that played moments ago. After she mutely skimmed her T-phone, he saw Briana momentarily typing before she presumably pressed send. After that, she proceeded to turn off her device before she glanced back at him.

"Sorry, Sensei. Kaz just said he got to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant we found a few weeks ago called Jiahao's Noodles. We are meeting there to discuss our group project over the aspects of the Crystal Empire and we chose to do our presentation over the myth of the lost princess." she casually explained now as Splinter did his best to keep a neutral look.

"Oh... That's interesting, my daughter." he said, attempting to sound genuinely excited for his daughter, but it was clear that he sounded less-than-thrilled about it. In fact, some could say that he even sounded a bit hesitant on the matter, but luckily for him, his daughter failed to notice the sudden shift in his tone.

"It is, but it's a bit strange because she bares the same name as me." she slowly countered as he continued to maintain his neutrality. "That is just a coincidence." he assured her, looking away from Briana now as he proceeded to make his way towards the sliding doors connected to the dōjō.

"Maybe, but still. Is there a chance that maybe... I'm the princess in the myth?"

"My daughter—"

"I mean, she seems to possess the same physical features as me and—"

"My daughter, you are not a princess." he promptly interrupted, now turning around to face her. When he did, he proceeded to move closer to her as he placed a gentle hold on her shoulders.

"I know, but still. I mean, between us having the same hair color and the same name, I can't help but wonder if maybe—"

"My daughter, you are a Hamato and that's all."

"But—"

"It is nothing more than a mere coincidence that you share the same name and the same hair color as this so-called lost princess. Okay?" he softly followed up, interrupting her again as he saw Briana looking at him before she nodded. "Okay, Sensei." she said at last as she brightly smiled. "If you say so." she softly added when her T-phone proceeded to ring again with Love Story playing once more.

🎶 Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the— 🎶

"Oh! That must be Kaz again." Briana said as she began retrieving her phone from her pocket, ending the notification ring tone that played. After she mutely skimmed her T-phone, he saw her typing before she presumably pressed send once more. After that, she proceeded to turn off her device before she glanced back at him.

"That was Kaz again. He just said that April showed up and it won't be long before the others show up too. So, I should probably get a move on." she followed up as he simply gave a light nod.

"Of course." he said, flashing her a warm smile as she returned the gesture and brightly grinned at him.

"Then in that case, I'll see you later, Sensei, and I'll bring back pizza gyōza from Mr. Murakami!" she happily followed up before she proceeded to slide her black boots on. From there, he saw her flash him a easygoing smile before she too proceeded to leave the dōjō.

After waiting for some time and convincing that she left the lair, he proceeded to glance outside of the dōjō. There, he proceeded to wait and after he was certain that none of his sons would be in the way, he then turned his focus back to the sliding doors connected to the dōjō. As soon as he did, he opened the doors and as he did, a small basket with a note attached silently stared at him.

"You can't keep hiding the truth of what and who she is from her forever now. Eventually, you're going to have to tell her and her siblings just as you're going to have to tell them about the real reason you and Thorn separated them from Sofonisba."  the voice in his head urgently told him as he sighed.

"It's too soon for them to know about Briana's origins or the real reason she and her brothers were separated from their sister." he began before he heavily sighed. "Besides, if any of them were to know—" he added, now mumbling to himself once more when he was unexpectedly interrupted in the moment.

"—Know what, Sensei?"

"Ah!"

At the sound of voices, Splinter promptly closed the doors to his bedroom as fast as inhumanly possible before he turned to face his four sons and awkwardly chuckled, internally hoping they hadn't heard him or seen the basket because if they did, it meant having to tell them the truth and he just... he wasn't ready to release his secrets. As to him, it would always feel too soon for them to know and he knew once they were aware of the truth, there would be no going back...

"My sons, I didn't hear any of you come in."

"I guess that stealth lesson had its benefits after all." his four sons cheekily began as they looked at him. "But um, what was behind your bedroom's doors just now?" they curiously asked as he kept a indifferent look on his face.

"Nothing."

"But—"

"My sons, there's nothing behind the doors to my bedroom." Splinter firmly stated as he began to clear his throat. "If you're looking for your sister, she went to join her friends to go work on a group project. But she'll be back later with pizza gyōza from Mr. Murakami, so all of you can go back to doing your own thing until then." he continued, assuming that was the main reason for their unexpected arrival.

"Ah, okay. Well, since Briana is off working on school, is there a chance that we could perhaps go and—"

"—No."

"But—"

"—My sons, we've been through this conversation countless times now. Besides, I've already told you all that none of you can interact with your sister." he promptly finished, interrupting them once more as he saw their dejected sighs.

"We know Sensei, but—"

"—The answer is and will always continue to remain the same, so please do me a favor and stop asking because it's never going to change." he gently but almost somewhat firmly stated as he interrupted them once more.

"Well since you won't let any of us talk to Eclipse, much less even see her, then what's the deal with you still feeling the need to keep her separated from all of us and Bri?" Raphael promptly countered as his brothers nodded beside him.

"Yeah, dude. I think it's time we all knew the truth."

"Mikey's right."

"Mhm and not to mention, you still have yet to give us a straight answer for the separation still needing to be enforced."

"Leo and Donnie are being nice here, considering that you haven't given us any answer behind the reason for the separation in years now." Raphael further followed up as the others nodded once more.

"Yeah, and what's the thing you said about Bri's real origins, Sensei?" Michelangelo followed up as the nodding persisted. "Is there more to how she ended up here than you're letting on?" Leo promptly added on as Donnie nodded. "Yeah, what is it that you're not telling us here, Sensei?" Donatello followed up and as their voices began to pile up, Splinter began to feel the pressures of his secrets start to surface.

Despite this, he tried [in vain] to maintain his indifference nature, but it was getting hard to do when he felt as though he was essentially backed against the corner in the sense that his sons were inquiring about their sisters and their persistence wasn't helping...

"What is it you're so afraid of that we can't know why Eclipse still has to be separated from us or what you meant by Briana's—"

"That's enough!" he began, promptly silencing his sons now as they abruptly fell silent at the sound of his commanding voice. "I know you all want answers, but all of you are just going to have to trust me when I say that you have to continue remaining separated from Eclipse." he further added as he saw their frowns persist.

"That shouldn't be your decision to make!"

"Well, the last time I checked, I don't think it was ever up to discussion, so the decision is still mine." he firmly countered before he sighed.

"As for your little sister's real origins, it is the same as I've told you all before. Okay? Nothing has changed." he firmly continued, his voice growing stricter as he saw his sons puzzlingly blinking.

"Master Splinter, with all due respect, we all know the story but what we don't know is why—"

"Your four and Eclipse found her outside our lair. Your okaasan and I took Briana in and that's all there is to it. Okay? That's how we found her and it is always going to remain as such." he firmly added, silencing his sons once again as he interrupted them. "Am I understood?" he promptly snapped as he saw their dejected looks and listened to their sighs.

"Hai, Sensei..."

"Good. Now if you all don't mind, I need to train your sister, so—"

"Don't worry, Sensei. We were... We were just leaving anyways." Leonardo promptly countered, interrupting him now as he glanced at his younger brothers. "Right, guys?" the eldest followed up as he saw Donnie and Mikey's reluctant nods while Raphael mutely stared at him; the cold look resurfacing once more.

"Yeah." Raphael coldly answered, his emerald-green eyes lingering on him before he heard his son scoff with his eldest sighing. "Come on, guys. Let's go." Leonardo added and after that, he saw his eldest walking away with the others mutely beginning to follow him and making their way out of the dōjō.

As they did, no one made any attempts to look at him with Raphael being the only exception as he saw him flash another cold look before he looked away. Not long after that, he and his three brothers proceeded to leave him.

With the four no longer in the dōjō or anywhere within his sights, he took in the silence that had followed him once more. Pushing back the cold stares he received from Raphael and the solemn looks he saw reoccurring from the rest of his sons and at one point, even his youngest daughter, Splinter proceeded to turn his direction back to his bedroom's doors.

With a heavy sigh, he then slid the doors opened before he entered his bedroom and closed the doors behind him. Once he did that, he was greeted with the light emerging from the ranma in a otherwise dark bedroom. As he walked across the seemingly empty bedroom, he glanced at his futon lying directly on top of the mat [as was Japanese custom] and at the illustrations gracing both sides of the fusuma before he eventually made his way over to the corner of his bedroom.

As he did, his eyes landed on the basket that his five children found their youngest sister in all of those years ago when she was still just a baby.

Oh, how times have changed since then... he thought to himself before the thought trailed off as a deep frown surfaced on his face. Not long after, a heavy sigh followed up as flashes of his own past from when he was once human began to surface. As these flashes began to play out in the back of his mind, he saw glimpses of the times he shared with one of his best friends.

In these glimpses of Splinter's past, a curled blue-haired man with blue eyes could be seen as this man worn a white shirt, a black leather jacket, black jeans and black sneakers with white laces on them. Not long after, this man would be joined by another for while this man was his best friend, he wasn't the only one whom Splinter held a close bond with.

For though he was only friends with this person and not best friends like the man, he had still considered himself to be close to the purple-haired woman with violet eyes in the glimpses of his past as she worn a long violet dress with short sleeves on them. Her look was followed by a gold crown with a violet crystal star in the middle of it on her head and finished with high heel boots.

These glimpses would linger before vanishing as he was only left with the echoes of a past that seemed so much like a painful memory to him now in spite of all the good that came from it as he was soon reminded of the first love he lost in a tragic fire along with their only child. It was a devastating loss and one he didn't think he would ever move on from because it scarred him so deeply.

He always thought this would be the case until by some happenstance [or perhaps by luck or a supernatural force outside of his reach], he had found his first love again in the reincarnation of another woman. At least, that's what he always believed until he actually got to know her as in time, his perception of his second lover would shift as he gradually came to see this woman not as another reincarnation of his deceased first lover, but as the woman she was.

The stubborn, fiercely loyal and no-nonsense woman whom he would call not only his beloved wife, but also the mother to their five adoptive children. Though eventually, that number would soon grow after the youngest addition of their family joined the picture and became their sixth adoptive child.

For awhile, it seemed as though the past had finally been laid to rest and he was free to embrace his present and look towards the future with his second wife and their adoptive children. But as much as he wanted to do so, secrets would weigh heavily on his and his wife's souls and history [it would seem] had a way of repeating itself.

Because although the fire hadn't seemed to be the work of an old enemy of his, it would be the ever-burning flames that claimed the life of his second wife, leaving him alone once more as he was left to raise their six adoptive children.

It was hard, yes, but Splinter made it work. He did his best to give their children what they had needed and he did his best to keep them safe above all else. But much like the way that he had felt the secrets weighing heavily on him and his wife, the secrets he desperately cling onto only grew heavier as they seemed to almost drag him down at times.

Because while he fought to keep these secrets hidden in the shadows and prevent them from coming out into the light, he found this increasingly harder to do on his own. After all, he knew there was only so much borrowed time he could rely on before his kids found out the truth of the secrets he hid and everything came crashing down on him.

"You know, they're right. You know, they deserve to know the truth, so why don't you just tell them? Haven't they and Briana been kept in the dark long enough?"

Already, he had the voice in his head begging him to cleanse himself of these secrets and lay the truth bare to them, but he only shook his head once more as another heavy sigh followed suit. A bit longer after that, Splinter's eyes fell onto a photograph of his best friend and the friend of his past as another sigh followed.

"Old friends, I know you entrusted me to keep the truth hidden from her..." he began before he trailed off as his eyes drifted towards another photograph. This time, it was of his second [late] wife as yet another heavy sigh followed suit.

"... Just as you have entrusted me to continue to shield the truth of her older sister from her youngest sister and their brothers, but I don't know how long I can keep this up." he quietly confessed then as he solemnly sighed.

"Old friends, I try to keep the truth hidden from her, but Briana grows curious about where she came from and about her past." he further added, momentarily pausing before yet another sigh followed. "And she, much like her brothers, long to know the truth of why they must continue to maintain their separation from their sister." he followed up, now taking his focus away from the photograph of his friends before drifting back to the photograph of his second late wife.

"Their curiosity grows and though I can get by with each passing day and convince them to stop, I fear it won't be long before my words hold no effect on them. I fear it won't be long before all these secrets are released and picked up by Briana and her older siblings as they come to learn about the truth of her past and the truth of their separation from Sofonisba." he further added, glancing back and forth at the photographs before he took a deep breath.

"But I know I must try to continue to keep these secrets from emerging out into the light. I know what is at stake if I fail, so I will continue to let myself sink in the weight of the burden that I bare to guard these secrets from Briana and her siblings..." he further added before trailing off as he glanced at the photographs all at once with a determined resolve.

"... No matter what."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

🎶 Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the— 🎶

With Love Story playing once again, the purple-haired girl began retrieving her T-phone from her pocket, ending the notification ring tone that played. As soon as she did that, she noticed she had gotten another text message from Kaz as the girl clicked on the notification to see what he said.

Kaz:
Hey, just letting you know that Zane and Casey arrived.
No sign of Mara, Calista and Henry though but if I see them, I'll definitely let you know!

Briana:
Thanks! 💖
Also, just left now so I should be there soon.

Kaz:
No problem and sweet!
Can't wait to see you then, m'lady! 😁

After reading Kaz's latest text and giggling at his nickname for her, a bright giddy smile began to form on her face as she genuinely felt her world lighting up whenever it came to him. She didn't know how to describe the way she felt around the boy; only that whenever she was around him, it was like she had found her missing half.

So although this feeling was raw and new as she had never felt this way around any boy before, it was one that she found herself enjoying because she genuinely liked the way she felt around him. She just wished that she had the ability to not stutter so much when she was around him...

🎶 Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the— 🎶

With Love Story playing once again, the purple-haired girl began retrieving her T-phone from her pocket, ending the notification ring tone that played. As soon as she did that, she noticed she had gotten another text message from Kaz as the girl clicked on the notification to see what he said.

Kaz:
Oh! Still no sign of Henry, but Mara and Calista arrived just now.
Also, just a heads-up: there's a likely chance that Mara is going to text you, so be on the lookout for that. ^^

Briana:
Thanks for the heads-up! 💖
Also, I'm not far from Jiahao's Noodles, so I should be there in like the next three minutes.

Kaz:
Awesome!
Also, we just ordered some baozi for the table now, so it should come out by the time you get here. ^^

Briana:
Sweet!
Can't wait to see you then, Kaz! 😁

Not long after she pressed send and sent her message to Kaz, she was greeted with Speed Drive by Charli XCX playing as she received an notification.

🎶 She my best friend in the whole world
On the mood board, she's the inspo
And she dressed in really cute clothes 🎶

She was about to stop it when the ringtone to the notification ended on its own. So once it was done, she noticed she received a text message as the girl clicked on the notification to see what Mara said.

Mara:
Hey B! Me and Cali just made it and we're saving you a seat next to Kaz since we all know how much you love being next to your boyfriend. Hehe. 😉
Anyways, try to get here soon before Casey ends up eating all of the baozis for himself! ^^

Briana:
M! He's not my boyfriend! 
Me and Kaz are just good friends, that's all.
Haha, alright. Well, it's a good thing I'm almost there then, so I should be arriving within the next minute. ^^

Mara:
Lol, sure B. Whatever you say, girlie. XD
Sweet! Me and Kaz will hold down the fort in the mean time and make sure you have a few baozis to eat by the time you get here then. :D

Briana:
Haha, thanks girl! I owe you one for saving me some baozis! :D
Oh! I'll have to be sure to thank Kaz too and tell him that I owe him one for saving me some baozis. ^^

Mara:
Anytime, girl and lol, no favor required but since you are so inclined, then I'll hold you to it. ^^
Hehe, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to cash in on that favor one day, though if we are both being honest here, I'm pretty sure he'll try to deny it and tell you that he did it because he simply wanted to. Ah, but either way, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. ^^
Regardless, can't wait to see you girlie! ^^

Briana:
Haha, alright. :D
True. ^^
I can't wait to see you too bestie! 💕

Mara:
Hehe, same here! I'll see you then bestie! 💕

Briana:
See you then! 💕

Not long after she pressed send and sent her message to her best friend, she proceeded to turn off her device before she glanced up in time to accidentally collide directly into a stranger as her teal-colored T-Phone fell out of her grasp.

"Ow..."

As she and the stranger promptly fell against the pavement of the sidewalk, she rubbed her head and quietly groaned before she remembered she had collided with a stranger. As soon as Briana became aware of her mistake, her sapphire blue eyes immediately widened.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed and almost at once, she began standing up as she promptly ran to see the condition of the stranger she had the unfortunate luck of bumping into. "I am so, so, so sorry!" she apolgetically added as she looked rather panicked now.

"I thought I was looking where I was going, but obviously I wasn't and I—"

"Hey, relax. No harm done." the stranger began as he chuckled. "I'm alright." the stranger further added before he proceeded to stop. "Oh and I believe this is yours...." the stranger followed up before trailing off as he stood up and presented her teal-colored T-Phone back to her.

"Oh! Thank you!"

"... Your Highness." the stranger finished right as she was about to retrieve her T-Phone from him, to which she puzzlingly glanced up to see a older light-skinned male with purely white eyes and dark ash-grey hair wearing a sliver and cyan-ish blue suit.

"I'm sorry?" she slowly asked as the male chuckled. "You're a princess, are you not?" he lightly countered as she proceeded to blink once more.

"I think you have me confused with someone else, because I'm not a princess." she insisted as the girl crossed her arms. In response, he gave her a cryptic chuckle as she saw a smile eerily plastered on his face.

"Oh, you might dress and act the part of a normal teenager now, little princess, but not even the most powerful magic in the world can keep concealing you from who you really are." he added as he gave a light chuckle. "At least, not when destiny calls." the male further added, tossing her T-Phone back to her as she caught her device.

As soon as she caught her T-phone, another set of chuckles followed and when she had looked up again, the mysterious male was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh." she mumbled, glancing over her shoulders again to see if she could spot him, but after doing that and over at her surroundings, it became clear that he was just... gone. So as she blinked, the young girl chose to brush the mysterious male's words off as she proceeded to resume her walking once more.

Within a few moments, she came across a bright light orange neon sign displayed across from the building. On the sign, it showcased a white spray painted outline of a fox circling a bowl of noodles with the words "One of a kind experience" below the art before a line was drawn just beneath it now as Briana saw the words "Numerous options to suit your needs!" and "25% off Take-Out Orders!" directly below the line.

From there, she glanced over from the neon sign to the light beige stools positioned outside the hole-in-the-wall restaurant. As she did, she saw a few customers chatting amongst themselves and eating their food in peace. Not long after, a subtle frown formed as she quietly sighed at the sight, having wanted her siblings to be able to do the same but knowing none of them couldn't as the people's fear and prejudice outweighed the chances of normalcy and peace her siblings could have.

With another heavy sigh, she took her eyes away from the sight as she briefly pushed the glass door opened. Once she did that, she stepped inside and tried to focus on spotting her friends, even as the thought of her siblings not being able to do any of the same things she could over the people's fear and prejudice lingered in the back of her mind.

As her eyes scanned through the relatively small wave of people inside, she stared at the aquatic light blue colored walls and the various decorations around the building when she had abruptly spotted a shadow emerging on the walls with a pair of light blue, almost arctic-like eyes staring back at her as she puzzlingly blinked at the sight. However when she blinked again, the shadow and its eyes vanished as she found herself becoming more baffled.

Huh...

"B!"

Snapping out of her thoughts at the sound of her best friend's voice, she turned to see a dark-skinned girl of African-American descent with dark hazel eyes and wavy, medium-length hair which she noticed was dyed dark purple with the top half resembling bangs.

"Over here!" her best friend excitedly added, standing up now and waving her arms around as she saw the girl wearing a dark pink buttoned up dress with light pink undertones, dark pink high-top socks and matching boots.

Giggling at the sight, she dismissed the strange shadow she saw and began making her way over to her best friend as she grinned.

"M!"

As she got closer and made her way to the group, the girl moved to greet her and upon arriving, she saw her best friend making a fist bump as she grinned and proceeded to do the same thing. Once her fist bump was made, the two then pushed their fists together and said "Pound it!" in unison.

"Mara, babe, I love you but you two always have to fist-bump each other and say pound it every single time you guys meet up?"

As they stopped [as their fist-bump had came to an end anyways], she and Mara both turned to see a light-skinned {almost pale} girl of Hispanic descent with dark coffee-brown eyes and light blonde hair, which the two saw the girl wearing in a fishtail braid with the lower half of her hair dyed in a light pinkish color as she worn a light pink and white pastel dress with pastel pink flats, a rose-gold star-themed charm bracelet, rose-gold floral earrings and a rose-golden star-shaped necklace.

"Well, someone sounds jealous that they didn't get a special handshake with their girlfriend." they heard one of their friends snicker and as they glanced over to see who said it, they saw a light-skinned male with black, medium-length hair and as he spoke, two front teeth and the left lateral incisor of his upper jaw are seen being missing, which he had explained to them [at one point] were accidentally knocked out by what was then his best friend. His outfit consisted of a black tied around his head, a messy, maroon elbow-length shirt with a short-sleeve gray shirt and a sleeveless black hoodie over it, grayish-blue jeans, black finger gloves that stopped at the forearms, and black sneakers.

"Casey, I am not jealous!"

"Hehe, sure Calista. That's definitely not what a jealous person would say." Casey lightheartedly teased now as they saw the boy being lightly punched on his right shoulder now.

"Hey." Casey said then as he turned to see a biracial, light skinned male of African-American and White descent with short jet-black hair and chocolate brown, almost dark brown eyes. "Come on, Cy. Be nice." the boy lightly said as they noticed he was wearing a light gray buttoned jacket over a light bluish-gray T-shirt, darkish gray jogger pants light blue, grayish-colored sneakers while also sporting a dark brownish colored watch originally belonging to his father before the disappearance occurred.

"Oh come on, Zane. I am being nice."

"Casey, don't go telling lies now."

As they heard another chuckle, they glanced over to see a slim, fair-skinned girl with freckles on her face as she possessed ocean-blue eyes with long and thin eyelashes, and shoulder-length ginger hair, which she kept in a small ponytail with right-sided curved bangs. Furthermore, she worn a yellow headband and a yellow sports shirt, with the shirt sporting multiple white stripes and the number "5" printed on the front, which is also colored white, and it is worn over a mid-quarter-sleeved, navy-black shirt. She wore navy-black leggings under blue denim short-shorts with a noticeable patch on the right back pocket of her shorts, resembling Pixar's Luxo Jr. Ball: A round yellow patch with a blue outer ring and a red star in the middle.

In addition, there also appears to be keys that everyone collectively assumed to be her house keys. April also wore thick, calf-length white socks with two blue stripes around the top, large metal-like black boots, and dark brown wraps around both of her wrists, implying to be sports tape.

"April! How dare you accuse me of not being nice." Casey sarcastically but playfully objected as he dramatically crossed his arms. "If anyone should be accused of not being nice, it should be Miss Former Ice Queen over there, considering she used to be real notorious back in her day for being Roosevelt High's mean girl." he added, now gesturing to her best friend as Briana lightly crossed her arms and stared at her friend.

"Hey, people change."

"Thank you!" Mara proudly said as she crossed her arms. "See? Bri has my back." her best friend added as Briana happily grinned. "Of course! I'm always going to have your back just like you'll always have mine." she happily countered as the two girls brightly smiled.

"If she was smart, she would cut you off before you get her hurt." Calista begrudgingly mumbled, a hint of bitterness coming across her tone but this had gone unnoticed by Briana, who simply turned to look at her friend.

"Hm?"

"Oh! I said I'm happy that you two have such a close bond." Calista cheekily said, adapting a half hearted smile that appeared to be genuine as she smiled, unaware of the girl's two-faced nature or the sudden lie she had just conjured to save herself from enduring her girlfriend's backlash.

"Anyways, where is Henry? I thought he would've been here by now." the girl followed up, oddly eager to change the subject now as everyone glanced at her with puzzled looks when Zane was the first to speak up.

"I don't know, but I'll call him and see if he'll respond."

"Yeah. Good idea. In the meantime, we can spam him with messages until he decides to answer." Mara pitched in as her response earned a few chuckles.

"Ara, I don't think spamming him is going to get the point across." a fair-skinned male with dark brown hair and the dreamiest brown eyes she had ever laid eyes on said as she saw him wearing a short-sleeve red shirt, denim jeans and black sneakers.

"Kaz, trust me. When it comes to spamming, you can always get your point across."

"Or, you can get blocked." Kaz casually pointed out as Mara dramatically flipped her hair. "That's why you need to get your point through before the block happens. Duh!" her best friend lightly countered, earning some chuckles among their peers as they proceeded to sit down now while Zane worked on trying to call their friend.

While that was going on and the others began to conversate among themselves, Briana felt a light tap on her shoulder as she turned to see Kaz holding a small plate to her as he brightly grinned.

"As promised, m'lady, I managed to save you a few baozis." he proudly said as she took in his warm, kindhearted smile and felt her heart fluttering as she returned the smile; her heart now beating rapidly in her chest as she continued to stare into those dreamy brown eyes of his that she sworn she could never get tired of staring at.

"T... Thanks." she shyly stammered, mentally scolding herself for stuttering in front of her crush as he simply smiled. "You're welcome, m'lady." he happily stated, his smile growing brighter as the two continued to look into each other's eyes. Her sapphire blue eyes staring into his brown eyes and vice versa. To Briana and Kaz, it seemed as though time had slowed as if there was no one else, but them and them alone...

"Well. I tried calling him, but he didn't pick up."

... Until it wasn't.

"So, we execute my plan and we start spamming him until—"

"M, I love your persistence. I really do, but he's probably just busy." she gently said, interrupting her best friend, who looked to be in the midst of executing her plan when Mara heard what she had said and glanced down at her phone before she sighed.

"Yeah. You're right. He's most likely taking care of his little sister since his dad is usually working while his mom is who knows where at times, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's with Piper." Mara promptly added as Briana nodded.

"True, but still. Should we just plan to meet up again later when he's free so he's not missing out on anything?" Briana suggested as everyone seemed to be on board with rescheduling for later to include Henry when Calista cleared her throat, causing everyone to stop as they all looked at her.

"You know, I would love to do that..." Calista briefly began before trailing off as she wrapped her right arm around her girlfriend and seamlessly pulled her closer to her side. "...but me and Mar-Mar are supposed to meet up with our bandmates later for rehearsal, so we wouldn't be able to make it." the girl added, finishing her response as Mara gave her a puzzled look.

"Uh Blondie, what are you talking about? Of course we can make it. I mean, our band rehearsal isn't even meant to be scheduled until tomorrow night since that's when we're supposed to go meet with the rest of the Starlets at the venue across the street from Chinatown. Remember?"

"Mar—"

"Besides, Amelia just sent us a text this morning and reminded us not to forget we were going to meet up tomorrow." Mara swiftly pointed out as Calista tensely chuckled.

"Mar—"

"Who's Amelia?" she curiously asked as Mara looked at her now and brightly grinned. "Oh. She's our band manager. She's really cool and very passionate about helping us become the next best thing, so performing at the venue is the first step towards us and the rest of the Starlets making it big..." her best friend happily continued before trailing off as she gave a sheepish chuckle. "... But, of course, we'll have to rehearse there first to get a feel of the place and what we should be expecting. It's a tomorrow thing though, so we can definitely come back later and regroup with everyone again since Henry should be free by then." the girl further added in a casual manner as she chuckled. "Assuming that everyone else is free too." the girl concluded as everyone began to collectively nod at Mara's response.

"No, yeah I'm free later on tonight."

"Yeah, me too."

"Mhm, I shouldn't have a problem with meeting up later on tonight."

"Same here."

"Mhm, count me in."

As everyone seemed to be in agreeance, no one seemed to notice Calista's annoyed look or the flickers of irritation lingering in her eyes. In fact, no one seemed to even be aware of the fact she was the only one who didn't have a desire to meet up with them later on tonight, but as their friends agreed with the newfound change, it became clear that Calista's indesire to meet with them was vastly overpowered by the group's desire not to leave out their friend.

"So since everyone—"

No one seemed to notice Calista's disgruntled cough of protest that surfaced when Briana had spoke as she kept going.

"— Is in agreeance with regrouping later once Henry comes, then we can just arrange a time that works with everyone and meet up later." Briana finished as the others [excluding Calista as she looked more and more peeved, but again, no one had noticed the way her face shifted toward a different demeanor] began to collectively nod.

"Yeah, that works." Casey chimed in as Kaz nodded. "Yep. Plus, hopefully by then, Henry should be free." he casually added on as Zane nodded. "Mhm and this way, we are not excluding him or having him miss out on anything." he chimed in as Briana nodded.

"Yeah and if he has any ideas on how we should go about exploring the aspects of the Crystal Empire regarding the myth of the lost princess, then he can have a chance to contribute and voice his thoughts."

"Yeah!"

So as everyone began to discuss a time and Zane proposing the time change to Henry through a text message, she smiled at the sight and nearly began to take a bite of the baozis Kaz had been nice enough to save her when she found herself making eye contact with the same older light-skinned male with purely white eyes and dark ash-grey hair she had unintentionally bumped into as she recognized his sliver and cyan-ish blue suit.

"It's him." she mumbled, having finished taking a bite of her baozi now as she saw Kaz flashing her a concerned look. "Who?" Kaz concernedly asked as she blushed at the boy's immediate concern. "O... Oh, it's nothing." she attempted to downplay, now glancing away when she saw Kaz's concern for her deepened.

"Hey, you can tell me." he softly assured her and when she stared into his comforting [and still] dreamy brown eyes of his, she felt she could believe him as she sighed.

"E... Earlier today when I was making my way over here, I... I had bumped into a guy and well, he's—"

"Oh! Hello!"

As the older light-skinned male with purely white eyes and dark ash-grey hair abruptly turned his head and began to face her from across the restaurant, he began to wave at her [and Kaz to an extent, her friends] as he gave a few, off-putting laughs which made them somewhat uneasy while the others glanced to see what was going on when she heard their friends grimace at the sight.

"Well, that's not creepy at all." Mara, Calista, Zane, Casey, April collectively deadpanned as they peered over her and Kaz' shoulders while the male continued to wave at them. As he did, they noticed his smile never falter, which only made them become more uneasy at the sight as she attempted to return the wave when Kaz lowered her arm.

"He could be a friend."

"Or a creep." Kaz and the others reminded her as she thought of her strange conversation with the guy she bumped into, but she still believed [in spite of the odd turn of events] he could end up becoming a potential friend to them.

"I don't think so and I'm going to prove it by—" Briana confidently attempted to start as she had briefly stood up, only to turn back towards the last sighting of the male she and her friends saw and puzzlingly blinked, having now cut herself off.

"Huh." she said as she heard a series of gasps from Kaz and her friends, who were presumably seeing the same thing as she did as they began to talk amongst themselves about the strange sighting.

"Wasn't he just there?"

"Yeah..."

While Kaz and her friends tried to make sense of what they saw, she continued to linger back at the place where the male last appeared as she puzzlingly furrowed her eyes at the way the male had suddenly disappeared...

"Well, that was odd," Kaz pointed out as Briana turned to face her crush. "Yeah, but now I guess the next question is..." her friends followed up before trailing off as she continued to glance at them for a bit before her eyes glance over at the male's last sighting once more. As she did, her puzzled look began to morph into one of curiosity.

"... Where did he go?"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Switching from Briana and her friends in Jiahao's Noodles, the scenery changed to the back of the restaurant, where a portal of light blue flames appeared. As the portal appeared, the older light-skinned male who bumped into the purple-haired girl earlier could be seen emerging out of the portal as his dark ash-grey hair remained unaffected by the flames. In addition, his sliver and cyan-ish blue suit was also unaffected by the flames as he stepped out.

Stepping out from the portal, his eyes had momentarily retained their light blue, almost arctic-like color before the portal behind him promptly vanished. As soon as the portals of light blue flames disappeared, the hue in his eyes reverted back to their purely white color and not long after that, he was greeted by a warm-beige skinned girl who looked no more than fifteen as she simply worn a white floral-imprinted blouse with a dark blue, almost black flowing, long skirt.

Furthermore, the child's jet-black hair was done in a braided updo, her hair held together by a light blue, almost pale-like colored bun holder that seemingly looked normal. But upon closer inspection, he noticed the bun holder depicted a skeletal-like appearance, but it had made no difference to him as she spoke then and there.

"Phantom."

"My lady." he greeted as he briefly bowed to the girl before he stopped when she began to look at him. "Did you encounter the princess?" she asked as he nodded.

"Yes. I encountered the princess when she thought she had mistakenly bumped into me. She did not seem to be aware that I had staged the motion, so I could see her better."

"Interesting tactic and were you able to sense her magic upon closer inspection?" she followed up as he shook his head. "No, my lady. Try as I might, I was unsuccessful in sensing her magic, so it seems highly unlikely that there's a powerful demon in her." he answered as he heard the girl lightly chuckled. As she did, a playful smile began to dance on the tips of her lips when he saw her light green, almost lime-like eyes linger back on him.

"Ah, so it would seem as though her mother found a way to keep her hidden from unsuspecting eyes or why else would her grandmother choose to cast a protective seal over her to prevent the princess' magic from being detected by the normal eye?" the girl lightly added as she started to amusingly hum.

"Hmm... no matter! My shon and my neita will come paths with the young princess soon enough and we'll see if they have better luck in sensing her magic." she further added as her smile only grew. "If so, then we know that only demons and half-demons alike can detect the girl's magic." she continued as he blinked.

"And if they can't?"

"Then, we know that you were right and there will be no further attempts to pursue the girl since the young Princess Briana will no longer be of interest to me." she promptly answered as he had simply nodded before he cleared his throat.

"Have you found any allies, my lady, to help you with the first half of your plan?"

"I did, actually, but gaining their help required me to take the form of a innocent, unsuspecting teenager and so, I have found myself in this new appearance in order to acquire their trust and keep them from suspecting anything." she promptly answered as he nodded again. "Mhm and who exactly are these newfound allies of yours, my lady?" he followed up as she began to grin.

"I have allied myself to a demi-demon mutant who calls themself the Ant Queen along with her three human servants, though I only know one of the servants is named Atari and he is who you will be helping to ensure he is able to retrieve the first relic from Midtown Ice Rink as the primal cube is among the six relics necessary for me to achieve my ambitons." she answered when her grin promptly dropped.

As soon as her grin dropped, a serious expression took over he noticed a series of light blue, almost pale-like shadows swirling around his lady, who stared at the shadows as she nodded.

"Thank you." she said before the shadows flickered and began to promptly vanish. Once that happened, she gave a light, amused chuckle.

"Well, it seems as if my neita has chosen to ignore my warnings and decided to cement her place as a hindrance to my plans. But it seems she is not alone, so you should be expecting company from her, my shon and the child who accompanies them shortly." she promptly followed up as he nodded.

"Yes, my lady."

"Not in that order, of course. My shon will greet you first, then the girl, then finally my neita." she briefly added, now clarifying the order of the trio's appearance to him as he nodded once more.

"Ah, okay. Well, no matter, my lady. I will deal with them accordingly and ensure that none of them are a threat to your plans." he passionately said, but she simply shook her head at his response then.

"No. We both know I need my shon and the girl for my plans, so it would be wise to spare them, even if they are being a threat to my plans." his lady swiftly and quite firmly reminded him now as he nodded.

"Okay. Well, since your shon and the little flame are to be spared, then I will—"

"—No." she firmly interjected, silencing him now as she continued to look at his direction. "I will deal with my neita. As for you, you will continue to focus on keeping an close eye on the young Princess Briana, her friends, my shon, the child and ensure that my allies are able to obtain the first of six relics needed for me to forge the bone mech." she instructed, reminding him of what his tasks were as he nodded again at her words.

"Yes, my lady." he obediently stated and not long after he said that, the two began to hear a few quicken footsteps as a smile surfaced on his lady's face.

"Well, it seems as though my shon has chosen to face you alone. This is a very peculiar move as I had expected him to face you and me later as destiny foretold, but no matter. He believes he will be able to stop me, but he nor his daughter and the child who accompanies them will be able to do so because in the end, he and the child will both succumb to their role in my destiny and aid me in my quest to perfect these imperfect worlds just as their fates intended." she further said as the footsteps grew closer and more rapid.

"I suppose he will be here any moment, so this is where you and I part ways as I am to be needed elsewhere." she added as he nodded. "Do you know what your tasks are?" she followed up as he nodded once more.

"Of course, my lady. I am to engage with your shon and the little flame while sparing them and keep an eye on them as well as the young Princess Briana and her friends." he obediently said, taking a brief pause before he continued. "I am also meant to ensure your allies are able to get the first of six relics needed for you to forge the bone mech." he followed up, to which a smile grew on her face at his response.

"Good." she stated as right as the footsteps grew ever so closer. "In that case, I shall leave you to complete your tasks." she promptly added as he nodded. When he did, he began to notice the shadows swirling around his lady.

"Good luck." she concluded as the shadows dissipated behind her and not soon after, so did she as he stood in the wake of her absence when his lady's shon finally surfaced from the shadows.

"Phantom!"

As he saw the prince charging at him, Phantom's eyes widened before his eyes sharpened as he launched himself in the air and narrowly missed the prince's punch, which notably left a series of massive cracks on the ground. Briefly looking on, he began to subtly chuckle at the sight as Phantom's eerie smirk grew.

"I see ever since you gained your Shadow Prince mantle and restored your strength to the way it was before, you have wasted no time in using it again."

"Yeah, well it helps that I actually have a reason to use it now, especially when my target is you!"

As he saw the prince pushing his hind legs from the wall and effectively launching himself into the air, he saw the prince attempting to upper kick him but he narrowly dodged the prince's attack by blocking the kick with his arms before the two separated from each other briefly.

"Too early to be this aggressive, don't you think?"

"Ha! When it comes to you? No way! If anything, I don't think I'm being aggressive enough!"

Not long after the prince answered, he saw the prince tightening his fists before he proceeded to swing at him. Once he did, Phantom noticed the prince's eyes glowing intensively brighter as he continued to charge at him with each swift block he gave to deflect the prince's quick attacks to him. This seemed to go on between them for a bit before the prince promptly shifted to his black translucent shadowy form and vanished.

When he no longer saw the prince, Phantom turned his back as he kept his eyes trained on the night skies as he took a moment to reflect on the prince's stance against him.

He's leaning into his powers. That's good. Maybe, in time, he'll come to quit holding back from what he can do once he is able to release the shadow within him and embrace what he's meant to become.

It didn't dawn on him that he made a mistake in turning his back until he started to sense a light blue, shadowy blur forming behind him as the shadowy blur materialized. Instinctively, he knew it was his lady's shon as he could feel the latter hovering behind him. Naturally, he turned back with the intent to block whatever the prince had planned next when a sudden lunge caught him off-guard and promptly sent him plummeting onto the ground. As he crashed onto the ground, cracks began to form from the impact of the prince's enhanced strength before a large dust-like storm followed.

The dust storm remained before passing through a few moments later. After he saw the dust storm pass, he began to stand up and as soon as he did, he was promptly shoved to the back wall, where he was 'greeted' by the prince whose right hand he felt being pressed against his neck and whose light blue, almost teal-like eyes continued to intensively glow as he stared at him now.

"Where is it?"

As he stared at the prince, he noticed Birsha continued to retain his warm-beige skin complexity while his hair held white and pale light blue streaks as he saw the prince wearing a light blue and silver armored suit with spiked shoulder pads, completing the look with black combat boots.

"Where is what?"

"Don't play coy with me, Phantom! You and I both know she's looking for the Celestial primal cube since it's the first of six relics she needs to forge the bone mech so where is it?"

As he felt the prince tightening his grip on him and shoving him harder against the wall, a manic chuckle came out of Phantom then as he smirked.

"Well, this is certainly interesting."

"What is?"

"I didn't expect you to be trying to get to the relics, so you can forge the bone mech for your own intentions now." he casually answered as he saw the prince's eyes widened at his response.

"What? No!" the prince sharply exclaimed, now dropping him as his eyes lost their light blue, almost teal-like sheen and resurfaced to their light honeysuckle color though his outfit still remained.  "I don't want to forge the bone mech for my own intentions! I just want to—" the prince continued, attempting [in vain] to justify himself when he chuckled and promptly cut Birsha off.

"Little Prince, come on. Let's be real here. Why else would you be so persistent to stop her if not to take the bone mech for yourself and go about charting your own revenge?" he indifferently asked as he saw the prince's eyes only widen more at his words. "No! I'm not like that. I'm not like her. She gave into her thirst for revenge and lost herself to her vengeful quest, but I—" the prince defensively answered, trying [in vain again] to justify himself when he chuckled at the prince once more and promptly cut his lady's shon off.

"Little Prince, deny it all you want but you are of your mother's blood and she made you to be an instrument of destruction. A weapon. A mon—"

"I am not a monster!" the prince firmly snapped, but as Birsha spoke these words and he saw the prince's eyes regaining their light blue, almost teal-like hue, he felt the prince pinning him against the wall again as light blue, almost teal-like crystals began to appear on his right arm and spread towards the right side of his face, creating a spiked crystallized coat.

Not long after he saw the spiked crystallized coat forming over the right side of Birsha's face, he saw a thin layer of the spiked crystallized coat forming over his right eye. From here, he saw the light blue, almost teal-like crystals spread to the prince's right arm and morph into a crystallized arm-wielding sword, which he saw the prince positioning near his throat when they both heard footsteps growing closer to them.

"Fine. You don't want to tell me? Cool. Don't tell me." the prince began as he saw Birsha start to move his crystallized, arm-wielding sword ever so closer to his throat.

"I'll just pry the answer out of—"

"Careful there, little prince. I would hate for your family friend to see you like this." he slowly interrupted as he heard Birsha dismissively scoff. "I can live with Ember seeing me like this." the prince firmly insisted, moving his crystallized arm-wielding sword to his throat once more as a chuckle escaped him then.

"Perhaps... but what about your daughter?" he challenged and it was then that they heard yet another set of footsteps.

"Baba!"

"Aliya! You found him?"

"No! Not yet! But I'm going to keep looking! He couldn't have gone far!"

At the sound of the little shadow's voice, he saw the prince tensing up as his crystallized arm-wielding sword froze in place. It was then he snickered as he had a feeling something like this would have happened due to the prince's daughter being his last source of humanity. He knew that much from the way Birsha retracted the crystals and reverted back to his false form as he snickered then.

"What's wrong, Your Highness? Couldn't come to grips with the fact she could have discovered her precious hero being nothing more than a villain and a monster at any moment?" he bluntly taunted as he saw the prince's eyes flickering with anger before he angrily clenched his fists.

"I am not—"

"Any luck, Emby?"

"No. Not—" they heard Ember begin before she abruptly cut herself off. "Oh! Hang on! I found him!" the little flame proudly added and as it was then that he saw Birsha glaring at him now after the girl spoke.

"Whatever. I'll find the primal cube, stop her from collecting the relics and ensure the bone mech doesn't fall in her hands. Then, I'll show you I am my daughter's hero when I fix this whole mess and help Aliya clear her name." Birsha promptly vowed before the prince proceeded to drop him and vanish right as he saw Ember surfacing at last.

"I could've sworn I heard his voice just now, so where could he have possibly..." he heard the little flame start to say until she trailed off when their eyes met. "... Gone?" she awkwardly finished as he began to promptly smirk.

"Hello, little flame. We meet again."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Not long after he spoke, she instinctively clenched her fists as her awkward stance shifted to one of annoyance.

"Phantom. I should've known you would have had something up your sleeve again." she sharply greeted as she coldly stared at him. "After all, it's only fitting Issac isn't here and his absence has to be your doing, so where is he?" she followed up as he gave a light chuckle.

"Believe me, I wish I could claim credit for his sudden absence, but I can't because he willingly left the moment he heard your voice." he answered as she began to scoff at his response, not believing him since she felt he was simply lying to cover up the fact he had done something to her family friend.

"Please. I highly doubt that and even if what you are saying is true, he wouldn't have a reason to leave at the sound of my voice—"

"—Unless he didn't want to be found." he promptly interrupted, causing Ember to cut herself off as she slowly looked in his direction. "Of course, he wants to be found, so what are you talking about?" she bluntly countered as he gave another chuckle.

"Little Flame, it should be very apparent to you from the way he's acting that he is clearly hiding something."

"He's not—"

"—Then why would he strike out on his own if not to settle things alone and prevent you and his daughter from finding out?" he casually countered as she (once again) stared at him, unable to respond to his question. As such, she had no choice but to endure another chuckle as he looked at her once more.

"Here. I'll tell you. He chose to strike out on his own to prevent you and his daughter from both finding out because he knows more about the situation than what he lets on." he answered as she fiercely shook her head at his response.

"No. He's just as clueless as we are. There's no way he would—"

"Little Flame, be realistic here. Do you honestly think Birsha would tell you and his daughter the truth about the situation?" he swiftly countered, interrupting her again as she sighed, knowing he was right... on that account, at least.

"No. Issac wouldn't tell me and Aliya the truth about the situation so, I guess you have a point there. After all, he couldn't even tell us the truth about him being the self-proclaimed Shadow Prince. It took him being exposed for us to find out the truth." she answered, but as she spoke, there was a hint of bitterness in her tone before she shook her head and huffed, brushing aside the initial bitterness she felt as there were more pressing matters at hand.

"But that doesn't matter. I don't need the truth and neither does Aliya. We'll stick by his side no matter what because me and Aliya aren't going to let you and the Lady Bone Enchantress win." she stubbornly added as the bitterness shifted to that of determination. "So, I'll tell Issac about your return and—" she further added in a determined tone when Ember became interrupted by Phantom once more as he snapped his fingers, abruptly cutting her off.

When he did, she saw a light blue, almost arctic-like and white outline start to form around them and not long after that, she saw Phantom's purely white eyes gain a bright arctic-like light blue glow. When that happened and their eyes met, she began gripping on her head and screaming, falling onto the ground as he chuckled at the sight.

"Birsha?" he followed up as he chuckled once more. "Oh, little flame, that's cute but do you not think he doesn't already know all about me?" he prompted as an eerie smirk formed on his face.

"By all means though, feel free to tell him, but I assure you, he already knows about my return. I, however, should not be your concern because if anything, you should be worried about yourself. After all, he is in every way like his mother." he further added as she began gritting her teeth from the sudden pain she felt.

"He's not like her!" she weakly protested when she saw Phantom bend down and grip onto her chin, forcing her to look at him as she saw his eyes glistening with mischief before he proceeded to chuckle once more.

"Hmm... We will see, little flame, but either way, this situation isn't the only thing he's hiding from you and his daughter." he simply countered and it was only then her flicker of denial and disbelief shifted to one of curiosity as she couldn't help but wonder what he meant.

"W... What are you talking about?" she weakly (but slowly and quite hesitantly) asked as his eerie smirk grew from the moment she posed the question.

"Let's just say he knows more about you than he lets on. After all, when it comes to my lady, he's willing to do anything to ensure her defeat, even if it comes at the expense of others and those who he 'claims' to care about." he briefly answered as she scoffed at his response.

"Say what you want, but Issac wouldn't let me and Aliya get hurt."

"Ah and see that's where you are wrong because while he certainly wouldn't let his daughter get hurt, the same cannot be said for you. Not when the prince can easily sacrifice you at any given moment to aid his cause in stopping her." he tauntingly countered, releasing his grip on her chin as he snapped his fingers, resulting in the light blue, arctic-like and white outline vanishing from view.

As such, everything was rightfully restored back to its natural hue with no outline in sight as she and Phantom heard footsteps in the nearby distance. Footsteps she knew only belonged to one person who would be trying to look for her now with Issac being out of the picture as he was (no doubt) doing his own thing....

"Ah, that must be his daughter no doubt." he presumed, glancing back to the fire faerie still lying on the ground as his eerie smirk turned into an impish grin. "Well, this was a nice chat, but I have more pressing matters to prepare for and the duchess is among those pressing matters, so I am going to have to cut this short." he added as her eyes darkened.

"Till next time, little flame." he concluded as she saw his purely white-slit eyes start to turn to a light blue, almost arctic-like color, having recognized the hue when he possessed Issac. As soon as that happened, a series of light blue flames appeared behind him as her eyes widened at the sight.

"Hey!" she sharply protested, now scrambling to stand on her feet when she got up in time to see the flames swirling around him. "Phantom! Get back here!" she firmly yelled, but right as she was about to grab him, he vanished alongside the flames, leaving her alone as she angrily clenched her fists.

"This isn't over, Phantom. Mark my words. We will catch you and when we do, you'll wish that you and the Lady Bone Enchantress had never messed with us." she quietly but determinedly vowed, still clenching her fists when she heard the footsteps growing closer.

"Emby?" she heard and at the sound of her nickname, she turned in time to see her other family friend as she blinked.

"Aliya?"

"I heard you screaming, so I tried to come as fast as I could, but—" Ember heard her other family friend quickly start to tell her when she approached the girl and promptly interrupted her as she gave her a warm smile.

"Hey, it's okay. What matters is that you're safe and away from Phantom's clutches." she softly said as she saw the girl puzzlingly blinking before her eyes widened in realization. "Phantom. Of course. That must have been who the shadows were referring to just before he took off. They must have known he was near and alerted him, so that's why he took off the way that he did." she heard her other family friend promptly explain as Ember sighed at Aliya's response.

So, Phantom was right after all. Issac did know of his return, so there really isn't a point in me telling him when he already knows....

"Emby?"

"Yeah?" she asked, snapping out of her thoughts as she blinked. "Are you alright?" she heard her other family friend concernedly ask as she gave a quiet sigh. "Yeah. I'm alright." she swiftly lied, not wanting to bother her other family friend with unimportant matters as the girl looked at her and crossed her arms.

"Ember—"

"Aliya, I'm alright. Really." she insisted, but her other family friend had remained unfazed by her response as she saw the latter raising her left eyebrow.

"You encountered Phantom, didn't you?" she abruptly asked as Ember gave an awkward, but tense chuckle at the girl's question. "What? No. I didn't—" the fire faerie attempted to lie then and there, but she was interrupted by the latter once more.

"Emby—"

"Fine. I did encounter Phantom, but how did you know?"

"The shadows told me and I can kinda sense that he was here." the girl casually answered as she puzzlingly blinked. "I know. It sounds weird saying it out-loud too, so I guess that's why my dad never said anything about his connection to the shadows." she heard her friend sheepishly add as she lightly crossed her arms.

"You never did tell him that you can understand them too." she pointed out as her friend huffed at her response. "I uh... I haven't quite found the right time to let him know. Besides, I don't really want to bother him when he seems determined to stop his omi." her friend simply countered as Ember saw the girl stop rubbing the back of her neck now at the same time she thought back to what Phantom had said...

"Let's just say he knows more about you than he lets on. After all, when it comes to my lady, he's willing to do anything to ensure her defeat, even if it comes at the expense of others and those who he 'claims' to care about."

"Ah and see that's where you are wrong because while he certainly wouldn't let his daughter get hurt, the same cannot be said for you. Not when the prince can easily sacrifice you at any given moment to aid his cause in stopping her."

"Hey uh, I know Ike is determined to stop her and all, but you uh... you don't think he would go overboard with trying to stop your grandmother at our — or rather — my expense... would he?" she found herself asking as she saw her friend fiercely shaking her head.

"No way! Okay? Yes, my baba might be determined to stop his omi, sure, but I highly doubt he would go so far as to let his victory come at your expense. Okay? He's not like that." she heard her friend softly assure her, but although Ember had felt anything but assured, she still decided to go with what her friend said as she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right." she told the girl, but she sensed her response must have not been super convincing because she saw her friend's light amber eyes glistening with concern, which only made her feel worse, but she brushed the feeling aside as she decided to change the topic in order to steer them in the right direction before her encounter with Phantom happened.

"Emby—"

"Come on. I'm sure we have to go find Ike before he manages to rope himself into more trouble that we will no doubt have to get him out of because we are the only sensible ones he has and besides, the sooner we can find out what your dad is looking for, the faster we can—" she had tried to say and began taking a step forward towards Aliya when she was promptly interrupted by the latter.

"Don't—" she heard her friend abruptly warn, but when she took that step, a light blue, almost arctic-like shadow portal began to form beneath her right foot. Not long after, a chain wrapped around her right ankle and began to rapidly pull her down as her eyes widened at the sight. This naturally led to her screaming as she saw the latter trying to delay the chain from continuing to pull her down by attempting to grab onto the chain.

But her friend was (unfortunately) no match for the chain's strong grip on her and so, at the last second, she felt the girl grabbing onto her arm in a last-ditch effort to ensure her safety and stop the chain from pulling her fully into the shadow portal.

"Hang on!" she heard the girl firmly order as she saw Aliya attempting to pull her up, but when they saw another light blue, almost arctic-like chain wrap around her left ankle, she screamed and unintentionally released her friend's hand as she became pulled into the shadow portal against her will....

"Ember!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Aliya!"

She tried to catch her family friend before the shadow portal claimed her, but she tragically had no such luck as she had narrowly missed her friend's hand and as such, she was forced to watch as the fire faerie became fully submerged into the shadow portal of flames before the light blue, almost arctic-like flames vanished from view...

Almost immediately, she knew who was behind her friend's sudden disappearance as she began clenching her fist and stood up in time to see a series of light blue, almost teal-like shadows start to swirl around her and confirmed her suspicions with only two words.

"He's here." the shadows cryptically whispered as she nodded. "Thank you." she said before the shadows flickered and began to promptly vanish. Once that happened, he heard a light, amused chuckle that she knew all too well as she clenched her fist.

"Phantom."

"Little Shadow." he greeted in turn and after he spoke, she turned to face him as he proceeded to chuckle once more. "My apologies to your friend, but I had to get you alone and trapping her in the shadow portal was the best thing I could think of." he added, but his never-faltering grin told her otherwise as she didn't actually believe he was truly empathetic for what he did to her family friend. Then again, she didn't think he was capable of displaying such a thing either...

"Uh-huh." she simply said (mostly due to a lack of a better response) as she unclenched her fist and crossed her arms. "Right..." she added (again mostly due to a lack of a better response) as she trailed off and cleared her throat.

"Anyways, I thought she was off-limits since I figured my omi wouldn't want her getting hurt." she followed up as he chuckled once more. "Oh, she is but my lady never said I couldn't have some fun with her like I had my fun with your father, who before you ask, is also off-limits since my lady doesn't want him getting hurt too." he casually countered, causing her to uncross her arms as she sharply stared at him.

"Well now, that brings me to my next question: what exactly did you do to them?" she asked as he chuckled once more. "Ah, I figured you would ask, but rest assure, they were fine when I left them." he cheekily answered as she sharply stared at him.

"Phantom—"

"Well when it came to the little flame, all I did was talk to her, taunt her a bit and I'm sure you are no doubt aware of the portal trap I made to go ensure she couldn't get between us." he initially continued, interrupting her now as he briefly paused before he continued to speak once more.

"Oh and as for your father, believe it or not, I didn't do anything to him." he casually added on as she scoffed.

"Well, I find it hard to believe you didn't do anything to him, given all that you did to him so far." she sharply and quite bluntly shot back but he only maintained his casual demeanor towards her, much to her annoyance since she found his indifference to her responses to be rather off-putting.

"Ah, but it is the truth because you see, he attacked the very moment he made eye contact with me." he casually told her as she scoffed at his response once more. "Please. You probably said something to provoke him into attacking you." she insisted but he simply chuckled at her again, much to her ever-growing annoyance.

"You know, little shadow, it's funny how your genuine love for him has blinded you from seeing your father for who he really is and what he's capable of doing because believe it or not, I didn't say anything to provoke him into attacking me." he promptly countered, briefly chuckling until he stopped and sighed.

"Well, not right away, at least. I mean, we exchanged words while we were fighting until after he disappeared. When he did, I made a mistake in turning my back to him since it was only then I sensed a light blue, shadowy blur forming behind me as I knew it was him from the way I could feel him hovering behind me after he materalized from his form. From there, he proceeded to catch me off-guard with a sudden lunge which sent me plummeting onto the ground, where I crashed as a dust storm followed. When it passed, I began to stand up and as soon as I did, that was went I felt your father promptly shoving me to the back of the wall as he began asking me about—"

"—The whereabouts of the celestial primal cube." she finished, unsure of how she knew about the item when no one told her about it as he chuckled. "Ah, I see he told you." he followed up as she scoffed, because they both knew her dad didn't tell her and this was just his way of trying to get under her skin.

"He didn't, but I'm sure you knew that." she lightly said, having to downplay how she really felt on the matter as he chuckled once more, which only irritated her more as he smirked. "Yes, but seeing how you know of the relic's existence, I can safely assume you know of its purpose too, no?" he followed up as she glanced back at him and scrambled to figure out just what he meant before it became painfully obvious that she didn't know the primal cube's purpose.

Purpose? What purpose? Come on, think! Why would Phantom and your dad both be interested in the relic if not... she intitially thought before she trailed off when she thought back to what her omi told her moments into their conversation.

"Oh, nieta, there are so many moves that I have yet to play."

"I know she must be looking for it since I'm assuming it's part of the next phase of her plan for—" she attempted to answer when she found herself vividly recalling the first two visions from her encounter with her grandmother.

The first vision she saw was a gigantic light grey, almost sliver-like mech standing in the middle of New York City as it oversaw the buildings of New York City. As she had observed the mech closer, she noticed a bright blue flame illuminating in the center of the mech. From there, she glanced at the buildings, most of which had either burnt to the ground or were in the process of burning down as she observed a series of light blue, almost teal-like flames igniting throughout the city that continued to get its fair share of destruction.

From there, Aliya saw the vision switch from the overview of the gigantic mech as a second vision came into sight as she saw the center of the mech. There, standing in the center of the mech, she saw her grandmother as she possessed grey, metallic-like skin and raven hair holding a few white streaks as she looked at the ongoing destruction in her mech in her silk ebony long gown with light blue ruffles shown on the cuffs of her shoulder sleeves and black high heels....

"—The bone mech. That's what she's trying to forge as part of her plan to achieve her destiny of perfecting these imperfect worlds." she finished, having now recalled the first vision concerning the bone mech and the second vision that involved her grandmother with said mech. "So, what? Is the cube just one of the relics she needs to forge the bone mech?" she followed up as she saw Phantom nodding.

"You catch on quickly, little duchess."

"So, if she's trying to forge the bone mech, then he's trying to beat her to get the relic in order to stop her from completing the first half of her plan and to ensure her destiny doesn't come true." she insisted, paying no mind to the (genuine) compliment as he chuckled once more, puzzling her now with the way he laughed.

"What?"

"You thinking he's so noble because you see him as your precious hero, but you fail to see just how corrupt he really is." he insisted as she slowly raised her left eyebrow and looked at him. "What are you talking about?" she countered, genuinely curious to know what he meant as he chuckled once more at her question.

"Well, who's to say he isn't trying to forge the bone mech too?" he slowly inquired as she crossed her arms. "He wouldn't." she firmly insisted, but he only chuckled once more at her as she grew more and more irritated by him and his constant chuckles.

"Ah, but he would because in spite of what he may tell you and your family friend, little shadow, he wants to forge the bone mech for his own intentions." he countered as she further crossed her arms and stared at him.

"He doesn't have any intentions on forging the bone mech for himself because he's persistent in stopping her—"

"—Little Duchess, why else would he be so persistent to stop my lady if not to take the bone mech for himself and go about charting his own revenge?" he simply interrupted as her eyes darkened at his response.

"He's not like his omi. Okay? She gave into her thirst for revenge and lost herself to her vengeful quest, but he's—" she defensively attempted to answer when he chuckled at her once more and promptly cut her off.

"Little Duchess, when it comes to my lady, he will do anything to ensure her defeat..." he told her, now interrupting her again as he trailed off and chuckled. "... Even if it came at the expense of others and those he 'claims' to care about." he finished as she scoffed.

"Say what you want, but he does cares about me and Ember. He wouldn't let anything happen to me or her and he certainly wouldn't go so far as to ensure her defeat at our expense because he's not like her." Aliya firmly countered when she noticed a cryptic, almost taunting-like eerie grin forming on his face.

"That statement is true but only when it comes to you because when it comes to the little flame, well..." he countered before trailing off as he chuckled once more. "... she's a different story." he finished as she crossed her arms and sharply glared at him.

"That's not true."

"Ah, but believe it or not, little shadow, it is true because the prince can easily sacrifice the little flame at any given moment to aid his cause in stopping her because he is of his mother's blood and he will be exactly as she designed him to be by fulfilling his purposes." he added as he had countered her response and eeriely grinned at her once more.

"Your father is meant to become an instrument of destruction. A weapon. A monster and a villain as these are all of his purposes and he will fulfill every single one of them in order to achieve his over-arching destiny." he further added as she observed his eerie grin grow wider.

"One in which you can't prevent from occurring because no matter how much you try to stop the shadows from consuming him, the darkness will always prevail, so the sooner you come to see this, the faster you will come to see your father is truly a lost cause." he further continued as she uncrossed her arms and angrily clenched her fist once more.

"You're wrong, you know. My apá is not a lost cause nor is he going to achieve what you perceive to be his overarching destiny because him becoming an instrument of destruction, a weapon, a monster and a villain is not who he really is. So, you can say the darkness prevail, but the light is always going to come out on top." she fiercely stated as he only chuckled... again.

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong because the light can only remain on top for so long before it becomes eclipsed by the darkness and it's only a matter of time until your father succumbs to the shadow within him in order to embrace what he is and who he is meant to become." he had confidently taunted as she forced herself to bite back a growl that threatened to surface, having sensed he would have only laughed more if he realized he found a way to get under her skin and succeeded in doing so.

"After all, your father has already begun to show signs of his darkness emerging when he was on the verge of finishing me off when we heard the little flame's voice. But when we heard you after she spoke, he tensed up and couldn't bring himself to commit anymore." he further added as he sighed before he continued.

"It's tragic, really, but I can accept it, because sooner or later, you won't be enough to bring him back to his senses and retain his humanity. He will break and when he does, he will be able to fulfill the first part of his overarching destiny by becoming the villain." he smugly added as she sharply clenched her fist, having snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Phantom's voice after hearing what he had to say.

"He's not—"

"—Yes, he is." he swiftly countered, interrupting her again as he chuckled. "So, whether you like it or not, it's going to happen, but for now, he and the flame will both aid my lady in her destiny. Something you won't be able to stop because in the end, destiny is always going to prevail and more so, you will come to learn that there is no choice when it comes to dealing with fate, so the sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be in the long run because in the end, not even you can save him from his own fate nor can you save him from the darkness that claimed its stake on him long ago." he further added as his smug grin taunted her, resulting in making her angrier as she forcibly bit down on another growl threatening to escape her now....

"But hey. As fun as this chat has been, I have other matters to attend to and I have a primal cube to help my lady secure before your father gets his hands on it first." he cheekily added, snapping his fingers now as a light blue, almost arctic-like portal of flames surfaced beside her. When she saw the portal, she heard a series of screams as she glanced over to see Ember tumbling into the air before she landed onto the ground and quietly groaned before she observed the girl rubbing her head.

"So, au revoir, little shadow. Till destiny reunites us once more!" he concluded, causing Aliya to turn her head away from the fire faerie as she observed his white-slit eyes turn into a light blue, almost arctic-like hue. As soon as that happened, a portal of light blue flames appeared behind him as she realized what was at stake if he got out of her grasp.

"Hey! Now, hang on just a minute! This isn't over!" she fiercely yelled, now rushing to prevent him from stepping into the portal, but right as she was about to grab him, she was only met by taunting chuckles since it was only then he succeeded in stepping inside. After he did, Aliya saw him vanishing with the portal no longer in sight as she barely reached the spot where the portal once resided in, resulting in her only hitting the air of where the portal (and Phantom) formerly stood.

"Phantom!" she angrily called out, but it was no use as she knew he was long gone by now and (no doubt) going to track down her father in order to prevent him from retrieving the first relic.

The thought nearly consumed her until she heard the fire faerie's groans persist, causing her to snap out of her thoughts when she realized her father wasn't Phantom's only victim as she ran to check on her family friend.

"Uugh..."

"Ember! Are you alright?" she concernedly asked, now kneeling by her friend, who slowly began to sit upright as she nodded.

"Y... Yeah, I'm alright." her friend slowly answered, slightly stammering as she saw her friend holding onto her head. "I just wasn't expecting the portal to drop me the way that it did. I mean, if that was going to end up being the case, then I could've used my wings, so my fall could have at least been more graceful." she heard her friend continue as she listened to the fire faerie sigh again.

"Any luck in finding Ike?" she heard the fire faerie follow up as she slowly shook her head at the girl's question.

"No. I haven't had any luck in finding—"

"Aliya!"

Not long after she heard her name, she turned to see who said her name, but instead she found herself staring back at a black abyss for a bit until she abruptly slipped, falling onto the ground now as she rubbed her head and winced.

"Ow..." she initially began, only to trail off when she found herself in the middle of a ice rink that felt strangely familiar to her. So as she began to look around, the realization of where she was dawned on her at last as she quietly gasped.

"Midtown Ice Rink. Of course. Now, I remember. I came here with Jaxon and Lillian during my 'on the run from Avalon' ordeal as I wanted to teach them something about the surface realm and I thought getting them to learn how to ice skate would be a good start." she quietly said before a chuckle followed until she heavily sighed as a frown promptly set in. The look had lasted for a bit until her frown evolved into a look of confusion.

But before she could voice her confusion as to why she was in the Midtown Ice Rink and what it was that she was doing there, someone else chose to make their presence known.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this interesting?"

Standing up at the sound of the voice, she attempted to balance herself on the ice rink {having now realized that she lacked a pair of ice skates} right as the latter began to speak once more.

"I don't think we've met."

When she turned to see who was speaking, she found a light-skinned male with jet-black hair who seemed to be in his mid-twenties to early thirties as he worn a scientist lab coat over his reddish and light brown shirt with black pants along with a mechanical set of ice skates and a pair of light brown frame glasses.

As she continued to look on, she saw two side boards having the words RUN, JUMP and KICKS written across the boards with some sort of goal positioned across from her while she saw a few banners hanging above her.

"Uh, no. I don't think we have..."

When she glanced over to see who responded, she saw her father standing across from the male wearing a set of light blue, almost teal-like crystallized ice skates {how those skates came about, she wasn't sure but she assumed it had something to do with his powers as crystallokinesis was (more or less) his thing} before he sheepishly trailed off.

She wondered why he was facing this guy alone, but then stopped wondering on the matter as she knew he would have wanted to pursue the guy on his own, which led her to shake her head as she huffed.

"Well, clearly someone didn't pick up on last night's lesson like I had hoped." she started as she sighed. "Apparently, it's going to take him longer to understand that he doesn't have to shoulder everything on his own and feel as though he has to go and do things by himself." she mumbled as she sighed again, though it didn't seem to matter as neither of them seemed to hear her or at the very least, seem to acknowledge her presence.

As a result, she assumed this was meant to be a future vision that she would come to witness at any given moment...

"Ah, I see. Well, anyhow I suppose it doesn't matter, especially since you should be crystallized." the male casually followed up as she mirrored the same puzzled look as her apá, who looked at him and awkwardly chuckled.

"Wait, um... why should I be crystallized?"

"Uh, because of my Freeze Bug game that you know, left the whole city being crystallized." the male casually deadpanned as she blinked while her father's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait. You did that on purpose?" her father asked as she facepalmed herself. "Obviously." she mumbled as the male smugly chuckled at her father's response.

"Naturally. Now, did I have to go and crystallize the whole city just to apprehend the keepers of this relic? No, not really but then again, it's like I always say: when there's a will, there's a way." the male casually answered as he gave another chuckle.

"It might be overkill, I admit now, but how else was I supposed to get this?" the male promptly added and as soon as he finished, he revealed what he was hiding behind his back as he held a blue, almost pale-like cube with a series of runes in the left palm of his hand.

As soon as they saw the item in the guy's grasp, her and her apá's eyes widened. "You have the celestial primal cube." they said as they saw the guy nodding on.

"Ah, so you know about the primal cube too."

"Sure. You could say something like that." her father casually said as he chuckled. "But I'm going to need that primal cube now, so—" he followed up when the latter interrupted him.

"Ah, I'm afraid not because you see, my boss needs the primal cube, so you can see where the conflict lies now." the male cheekily counter with a undertone of sarcasm as she saw her apá chuckle then.

"Right, but seeing how I also need the primal cube, it's safe to say that I'm getting it from you, so you might as well call your boss now and tell them that you'll be coming back empty-handed." she observed her father confidently proclaim, determinedly staring at the male now as she saw the latter give a light, but very smug-like chuckle.

"Ah, you can try to take it from me all you want now, but I intent on leaving with the primal cube because you don't have the adroitness needed to stop me." the male confidently boast in turn as he smirked and move closer, as if trying to size her father up as she saw her father give a dry but almost malicious chuckle.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that now." her father slowly challenged and cryptically counter as not long after he spoke, she saw his light honeysuckle eyes briefly flicker to a light blue, almost teal-like hue before he gave another malicious chuckle...

"Aliya!"

Abruptly gasping, Aliya found herself sitting upright now as she saw Ember concernedly looking at her.

"Hey, hey you're alright." she heard the fire faerie assure her, but she only scrambled to stand on her feet as she saw her family friend continue to puzzlingly stare at her.

"Aliya, what are you—"

"—I know where my dad is!" she had abruptly exclaimed, now standing up at last as she became taken back by the sudden burst of tiredness in her own tone, but she brushed it aside as she saw Ember's eyes widened at her response.

"You know where Ike is? But how?"

"I uh... I'll circle back to that second question, but right now, we have got to go because I have a feeling my dad is either going to do something incredibly stupid or he's going to land himself in more trouble if we don't go and catch him in time!" she promptly answered, hastily rushing her words now as she tugged at her family friend's arm.

"Now come on! We got a ice rink to go find!" she urgently added, now pulling on Ember's arm as Aliya began dragging the latter through the streets of New York City in their journey to go locate the Midtown Ice Rink.

"Aliya, there has to be like countless ice rinks in the city. How do you possibly know which one of those ice rinks is the one that we—"

"There!"

As she abruptly stopped and steadied her family friend from crashing into her, the two stopped to stand in front of a ice rink near a subway station in the city as she began to sigh in relief at the sight.

"We found it!"

"We found... the ice rink?"

"Yes, but not just any ice rink. We found the Midtown Ice Rink."

"... And that's good because... why?"

"Because this is where we're going to find my dad if we haven't already beat him here first! Now come on!" she promptly answered as she began grabbing onto her friend's arm once again and dragged her inside the ice rink. When they entered, the two were greeted by two side boards as they both had the words RUN, JUMP and KICKS written all across the boards with some sort of goal positioned across from her while they saw a few banners hanging above them when Aliya saw the light blue, almost teal-like shadows swirling around her again.

"He's here along with the scientist, though Phantom isn't far behind." the shadows whispered as she nodded. "Thank you." she said before the shadows flickered and began to promptly vanish. Once that happened, she turned to Ember, who only blinked as the fire faerie puzzlingly stared at her.

"What did the shadows tell you?"

"They told me that he's here along with some unnamed scientist. Oh and they also told me that Phantom isn't far behind, so come on." she answered, glancing at where they could hide when she spotted the side boards. So, instinctively, she tugged on her friend's arm as she dragged them to the boards and hid them outside of the ice rink just in time for the start of her vision to play out.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this interesting?"

At the sound of the voice she had heard moments ago, she knew what she saw had to be a vision right as the latter began to speak once more.

"I don't think we've met." they heard as they steathily peeked their heads above the side boards and saw a light-skinned male with jet-black hair who seemed to be in his mid-twenties to early thirties as he worn a scientist lab coat over his reddish and light brown shirt with black pants along with a mechanical set of ice skates and a pair of light brown frame glasses.

"Uh, no. I don't think we have..."

When they glanced over, they saw her father standing across from the male wearing a set of light blue, almost teal-like crystallized ice skates, puzzling her friend, who blinked. "How did Ike get a hold of those?" she heard the latter ask as she shrugged. "No clue. I just assumed it had to deal with his powers since crystallokinesis is his thing." she quietly answered right as they heard him sheepishly trail off.

"So, Phantom was right. He really did go and ditch us just to go and face this guy alone and for what?" she heard her friend quietly but somewhat irritatedly ask as she briefly took her focus away from her father and the mystery male to stare at the fire faerie.

"Well, I wouldn't say he—"

"Aliya, your dad made us run across this entire city like maniacs trying to locate him because he didn't think to let us know where he was going before he took off the way that he did, so yeah. I would say that he definitely ditched us." she heard her friend fiercely but quietly whisper back, now interrupting her as she quietly huffed at the fire faerie's response.

"Maybe so, but it's just going to take him longer to understand that he doesn't have to shoulder everything on his own and feel as though he has to go and do things by himself." she mumbled as she heard her friend scoffing at her response.

"Yeah, right. Given his record? I doubt he'll actually come to grips with that. If anything, I bet you he's still going to keep pulling stunts like this because he doesn't—"

"Ah, I see."

When the male spoke, she saw Ember cut herself off as the two redirected their attention onto the male and her father, though a part of her wondered what the latter was going to say if the interruption hadn't occurred just now...

"Well, anyhow I suppose it doesn't matter, especially since you should be crystallized." the male casually followed up as she saw Ember mirroring the same puzzled look as her apá, who looked at him and awkwardly chuckled.

"Wait, um... why should I be crystallized?"

"Yeah, I'm with Ike on this one. Why should he be crystallized?" she heard the latter quietly ask right as the male promptly answered.

"Uh, because of my Freeze Bug game that you know, left the whole city being crystallized." the male casually deadpanned as she saw Ember blinking while her father's eyes widen in disbelief.

"Wait. You did that on purpose?" her father asked as their family friend turned to face her. "He really did that on purpose?" she heard Ember ask as she resisted the urge to facepalm herself like she did in the vision. Instead, she only nodded as the male smugly chuckled at her father's response.

"Naturally. Now, did I have to go and crystallize the whole city just to apprehend the keepers of this relic? No, not really but then again, it's like I always say: when there's a will, there's a way." the male casually answered as she saw the fire faerie's confusion.

"Relic? What relic?" she heard Ember puzzlingly ask as she sighed. "It's a long story, but my dad is trying to track down an item that my grandmother needs to forge this large bone mech for the first half of her plan." she quietly answered just as they heard the male gave another chuckle.

"It might be overkill, I admit now, but how else was I supposed to get this?" the male promptly added and as soon as he finished, he revealed what he was hiding behind his back as he held a blue, almost pale-like cube with a series of runes in the left palm of his hand. When he did, she saw Ember puzzlingly stare at the cube while she gasped and her apá's eyes widened from the sight of the relic.

"So, it's true. He really did have the celestial primal cube after all." she whispered, right as they heard her father say "You have the celestial primal cube." while Ember's confusion persisted at their responses.

"I'm sorry. He has the what now?" she heard her friend ask, but before she could answer, that's when the male responded.

"Ah, so you know about the primal cube too."

"Sure. You could say something like that." her father casually said as she heard Ember clicked her tongue in irritation. "Of course, he would know about it and not tell us because why not?" she heard their family friend bitterly mumble as she kept her mouth shut, having been unsure of what to say as Aliya felt torn between continuing to defend her apá or stop and side with the fire faerie...

Luckily, she didn't have to say anything because in that moment, they saw her father chuckle. "But, I'm going to need that primal cube now, so—" they heard her father followed up, adding onto his previous response when the scientist interrupted him.

"Ah, I'm afraid not because you see, my boss needs the primal cube, so you can see where the conflict lies now." the male cheekily countered with a undertone of sarcasm when she noticed Ember's confusion growing.

"Boss? Is he talking about your grandmother and Ike's mother?" she heard the girl quietly ask as she saw the latter blinking. "If so, that would explain why Phantom would make an appearance soon." she heard the girl add on right as they heard her apá chuckle then.

"Right, but seeing how I also need the primal cube, it's safe to say that I'm getting it from you, so you might as well call your boss now and tell them that you'll be coming back empty-handed." they heard her father confidently proclaim as they observed the way he determinedly stared at the male now with Ember puzzlingly blinking once more.

"Actually... now I don't know because Issac doesn't really seem aware of this guy being part of your grandmother's lackeys like Phantom, so—" she heard the fire faerie chime in when they heard the latter give a light, but very smug-like chuckle and promptly interrupt her friend as both of them listened in once more.

"Ah, you can try to take it from me all you want now, but I intent on leaving with the primal cube because you don't have the adroitness needed to stop me." the male confidently boast in turn as he smirked and move closer, as if trying to size her father up now.

Seeing it in a vision had been one thing, but now seeing the act physically play out was another so having seen it playing out, she was no longer capable of restraining her anger because in that moment, the rage she felt far outweighed the need for her and Ember to remain inconspicuous.

But when she (and Ember) heard her apá give a dry but almost malicious chuckle, her own rage immediately subsided as the concern she felt for her father greatly outweighed the rage that she initially felt towards the scientist since Aliya was now aware of the fact the end of her vision was approaching...

"Oh, I wouldn't say that now." her father slowly challenged and cryptically counter as not long after he spoke, she saw his light honeysuckle eyes briefly flicker to a light blue, almost teal-like hue before he gave another malicious chuckle. With that chuckle, everything she saw prior to the vision came to an end as she was entering new territory. Territory she wasn't sure she was ready to venture into...

"—An instrument of destruction. A weapon. A monster and a villain because these are all of his purposes and he will fulfill every single one of them in order to achieve his overarching destiny. One in which you can't prevent from occurring because no matter how much you try to stop the shadows from consuming him, the darkness will always prevail, so the sooner you come to see this, the faster you will come to see that your father is truly a lost cause."

... Yet when Phantom's words replayed in her head, she knew she had no choice but to venture into the new territory (whether she was ready or not) since she couldn't let her father's powers get the best of him. More so, she couldn't let her apá lose himself to the darker intentions he felt alongside the years' worth of overwhelming pented-up rage Aliya knew threatened to consume him.

Not if she could help it.

"Oh, yeah? How so?"

"Easy. I'm getting that cube... one way or another." her father vowed, but as he spoke, his initial determined tone became deeper and sinister. "So, you can handle over the primal cube now or I can pry it out of you using force." he firmly added, still retaining his deeper and sinister tone as the male chuckled.

"You can try to pry the cube out of me using your brute force all you want, but you see, I've been rather fond of... outsourcing."

As soon as he said that, they saw the male pulling up a holographic console and after he pressed some buttons and as he did, they saw several crystallized citizens appear to surround her apá as they abruptly gasped. Once they did, the girls quickly ducked to avoid being seen by her apá and the male as the two took a small peek from the small gap in between the two side boards of the ice rink.

"They have him surrounded." she heard Ember quietly whisper as her light amber eyes drifted to the holographic console. "True, but not for long." she determinedly countered as she turned to face the fire faerie. As soon as she did, her light amber eyes began to glisten with determination as she saw her family friend lightly looking at her.

"You got that look in your eye, so what are you planning?" Ember curiously asked as a light but simple grin formed on her face.

"Use the console to debug his game, free everyone who got crystallized, retrieve the primal cube, stop my dad from doing anything stupid and get out before anyone knows we are even here." she answered when the girl saw the latter's eyes lightly glistened.

"In that order?"

"Eh. We can move things around if needed. Why?"

"Because I got an idea on how we can retrieve the primal cube from him, but as for the console, I'm not sure." Ember promptly answered as her light but simple smile grew into a imp-like grin before she spoke. "You just leave the console to me and I'll leave the relic to you." she stated as she saw the fire faerie promptly nodding.

"Got it."

"So, what's your idea for retrieving the primal cube?" she curiously inquired, but the fire faerie held a cryptic gleam in her eyes as she saw Ember lightly smirking. "You'll just have to wait and see, but in the meantime, just keep him busy." the fire faerie answered as she lightly crossed her arms at the request.

"Okay... But what do I keep him busy with?"

"Hold that thought." Ember said and before she could ask, she saw the fire faerie activating her wings as a light shimmer formed and not long after, she saw the girl start to morph into a ball of reddish-orange flames. Not long after, she vanished... and resurfaced moments later with a few black pucks and a wooden hockey stick.

"Here you go. I thought this could be of use to you." the fire faerie softly said, lightly tossing the hockey stick to her as Aliya caught the item and obtained the pucks from the girl. "Thanks." she said as Ember grinned. "You're welcome." the fire faerie warmly said in turn right as they heard the male chuckling once more.

"Well, are you ready?" she asked as she saw Ember nodding. "Ready as I'll ever be." the fire fae answered as she gave a light grin. "See you on the other side?" her family friend followed up as she nodded. "You know it." she softly answered and as the two grinned before she saw the fire faerie activating her wings again as a light shimmer formed and not long after, she saw the girl start to morph into a ball of reddish-orange flames once more. From there, Ember vanished as her family friend left, leaving Aliya alone right as she heard the male speak.

"While I would love to chat, I have other matters to attend to and as for you, well," they heard the male pausing as he chuckled. "You are about to be obliterated by my crystal army, so I would say you are going to be busy and what do you know? From the looks of things, I would even say you got no backup too." the male cheekily followed up as she saw her father's light blue, almost teal-like eyes glowing brighter.

"I don't need backup." he insisted, but as Aliya watched, he saw the scientist's crystallized army start to overpower him. As such, she chose to come to her apá's rescue before his stubbornness made him do something stupid, or worse, got him killed.

"Oh, really? Are you so sure about that?" she asked and after posing the question, she placed her puck onto the ice and gave an aggressively strong swung with the hockey stick. When she did, she observed the puck struck a few of the crystallized soldiers, who crashed into each other and landed around her apá as she triumphantly smirked at the sight.

"Because from the looks of things, I would say you do." she smugly added as she saw her father glancing at the fallen soldiers surrounding him before his eyes drifted to her.

"Aliya?"

When he said her name, she didn't hear a ounce of the dark, sinister tone he had used toward the male. Rather, his tone was soft and genuine as she watched his light blue, almost teal-like eyes reverting back to his natural light honeysuckle eyes.

"The one and only." she cheekily answered, lightly saluting him and flashing him a toothy grin as she attempted to meet him by hopping over the side board. But as soon as she stepped onto the ice, she immediately began to lose her balance.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" she cried out, now scrambling to retain her balance but when she glanced down at her feet and realized she wasn't wearing any ice skates, she knew her fall was bound to be inevitable, especially after she made a wrong move and began to slip on her right foot, tumbling faster onto the icy pavement of the rink.

"Aliya!"

She expected to hit the ground, but when she didn't, she found herself confused as to why she didn't until she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her.

"I got you."

Glancing up, she saw her father tenderly looking at her as she softly smiled. "Thanks." she softly said, flashing him a sincere smile as he helped steady her... or rather, tried to help her as Aliya began losing her balance again and found herself grabbing onto her father's arms more often than not.

"Hang on. I think I know how to fix this." she heard him say and before she could ask what he had meant, she saw his eyes regain their light blue, almost teal-like hue again. However, this time he swirled light blue crystals towards her and as the crystals made their way to her, she observed the crystals start to swirl around her shoes before transforming into butterfly-like designed light blue ice skates with little white hearts.

Glancing at the sight of her newfound crystallized skates, she felt her father steadying her once more and whenever she felt slightly off-balance, he never quite took his focus away from her as she smiled brightly.

"Thanks." she sincerely told him, observing as he returned the smile. "You're welcome." he softly began before he paused. "Oh and I think this is yours." he added on, now picking up her hockey stick from the ground as he handed the item back to her. But when he did, she noticed the stick take on a new form as it gained light crystallizations of light blue butterflies held together with little white hearts spelling out her name around the shaft area of the hockey stick.

"I hope you don't mind the—"

"It's perfect, baba." she sincerely told him, interrupting him now as her smile grew. "Thanks." she happily followed up before she threw her arms around her apá and held him in a tender, warm embrace. "You're welcome." he softly told her and for a moment, they seemed to have achieved some degree of peace, but when they began to a unsettling chuckle, the two were promptly reminded of their situation as they ended the hug and turned to face the scientist.

"Well as painfully obnoxious it was to watch.... that, I will be taking my leave now with the primal cube while you two get to deal with my crystal soldiers." the male smugly and quite confidently boasted when a light chuckle echoed across the ice rink.

"Not on my watch."

When she and her father turned and glanced up, they saw a ball of reddish-orange flames start to swirl around the scientist before they saw her materalizing as she regained her physical form and smirked. "Also, I will be taking this, thanks." their family friend smugly added, grabbing the primal cube out of the male's possession before she turned to face them.

"I got it!" they heard her happily cheered, now holding the relic up proudly when they noticed the male moving closer to her. "And I got you!" the male announced, grabbing onto the fire fae and forcibly holding her as their eyes widened.

"Ember!"

"Ah, so they know you too. Well, this should be fun then." they heard the male mused before the two saw the fire faerie trying to free herself from his grasp. "Let her go!" they firmly yelled, but when they attempted to approach him, they were promptly surrounded by the male's crystal army as the male chuckled.

"See, I would, but I'm sure my boss would just love to have another ant worker on their crew, especially one with powers like hers." the male countered as they glanced at each other and back at him with Ember doing the same as they blinked.

"Ant worker? What is your boss? Some kind of ant?" they (along with Ember) asked as they saw the male lightly grin.

"Close. She's a mutant ant." they heard him initially answer as he blinked. "Well, a demi-demon mutant ant, but still." he followed up, seemingly correcting himself before he shook his head a moment later and blinked. "Either way, it doesn't matter but I'll be sure to send the Ant Queen your regards after I leave with your fiery friend here." they heard him cockily taunting as Aliya turned to face her father.

"What do we do?" she asked, looking to him for guidance as she saw him glancing at the crystal army surrounding them. "You're quicker on your feet than I am, so I'll try to get you an opening to help you retrieve the primal cube." he briefly answered as she gave him a puzzled look.

"Um, I actually meant what do we do about Ember, but uh thanks for that." she awkwardly said before she cleared her throat. "Anyways since we have the primal cube figured out, what is the plan for trying to get Emby back?" she asked and it was only then she noticed how he suddenly became very reluctant to look at her.

But more so, it was his sudden silence that caught her off-guard after she noticed the way he turned away from her to deal with the crystallized soldiers caught up in the scientist's twisted game...

Believing that he was strategizing how to get Ember, she chose not to push him as she began dealing with a few of the crystallized soldiers in her path. But after swinging her hockey stick around and bashing the crystallized soldiers into that of the ones surrounding her dad, Aliya then lightly leaned on her hockey stick before she glanced at her father, whose back was still turned against her strangely enough as his unusual behavior began to make her curious but cautious as well.

"Baba—"

"You should focus on getting the relic, not Ember." he told her, a sudden coldness in his tone as she blinked.

"Baba, you can't be serious." she followed up, now hoping for a last minute punchline or a laugh or something to indicate he wasn't actually expecting her to go through with this, but when his silence persisted, she couldn't stop herself from thinking back to what he had said earlier....

"Aaliyah, the primal cube holds more significance—"

"Not if you couldn't bother to tell me and Ember about it." she sharply deflected and it was then that she saw her father's eyes falter at her response. "Mija—" he began before his eyes widened as he cut himself off and looked at her with curiosity. "Wait. If I didn't tell you, then how do you know about it?" he followed up, rapidly dropping the solemn look in his eyes as she blinked at him before she simply shrugged.

"Eh. Phantom talked about it a bit, but even then, I already knew about it." she casually stated as she shrugged again. "Not sure though." she followed up as he saw his eyes sharpened. "You spoke to Phantom?" he asked in a tone she couldn't quite decipher as she blinked.

"Kinda had to, well considering he held Ember hostage for a bit, but then again, I'm sure it would have never happened had someone decided not to run off by himself." she followed up as she saw him sighing before he blinked.

"Wait. So, if you already knew about the primal cube before Phantom spoke to you about it, then how did you come to know about the relic and how did you know where to find me?"

"That's besides the point."

"Mija—"

"Stop trying to switch the topic." she firmly interjected, interrupting him once more as he heavily sighed.

"Look, switching the topic isn't going to change the fact this is Ember we're talking about here." she firmly protested as he sighed. "She will be fine and besides, I need the relic more." he firmly countered as she gave a puzzled stare.

"Well, I would argue that our family friend holds more significance, seeing how she's part of the reason we were able to even leave Avalon in the first place, but why do you need it?" Aliya simply asked, having had expected him to laugh and tell her that it was to stop his omi, but when he fell abruptly silent, she cautiously stared at him as the uneasiness [from the silence between them] grew.

"Dad?"

"To stop your grandmother. You know that, mija. I only want to put an end to her plans before she has a chance to complete her destiny." he answered, but something in his response felt off.

She wasn't sure if it was from the unnecessary delay or the fact he couldn't still face her, but it just felt unnatural to her and she couldn't figure out why when he had said those words (or at least something similar to those words) only a night ago.

"That's why I need the relic and why nothing comes before it." he followed up as she glanced up to see his back was still turned to her. "Nothing comes before the relic?" Aliya slowly repeated as she watched him shake his head. "No." he firmly answered as she glanced at their family friend and back at him.

"Not even Ember?" she slowly followed up as he (once again) shook his head at her question to him. "No." he firmly answered as she stared at him in disbelief because just a few moments ago, he ordered the male to let Ember go alongside her so she couldn't help but wonder what made him change his mind...

"But—"

"Aaliyah, nothing comes before the relic. Okay? The relic comes first. Always." he firmly told her, interrupting her and slightly turning his head as she saw his light blue, almost teal-like sheen in his right eye resurface once more as a unsettlingly coldness surfaced.

"But—"

"Aaliyah, there is nothing more important than the relic and that's final." he firmly concluded as she saw a few crystallized soldiers approaching him.

"Look out!" she exclaimed and as he materalized into a shadowy blur, she proceeded to swing the toe area of the hockey stick into a couple of the crystallized soldiers, knocking them into each other right as her baba resurfaced in time to see the fallen soldiers at her feet.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." she said before promptly taking off once she saw the scientist trying to leave, so she swung a puck in his direction but he caught the puck as he smirked, resulting in her now huffing at the sight.

Should've aimed lower.

"Alright, this has been fun but I really have to go, so... bye!" the scientist added as she glanced at the hockey stick in her grasp, the puck she retrieved out of her right pocket and back to the male scientist attempting to execute his getaway with the relic now.

In response, she mutely proceeded to swung another puck at his directon and as expected, she saw him catch the puck as he looked at her in a unamused manner. "Really? That's your best move?" he taunted as she chuckles.

"You know, you could stand to expect the unexpected." she countered and before he could ask what she meant by that, she chose to utilize her poor balance on the ice rink in using the toe of her acquired hockey stick to crash into the scientist, allowing Ember to be free from his grasp as they both fell before they spotted the primal cube near the fire faerie, who also noticed the relic as they eyed each other.

"I'm getting that cube." they firmly said as they both began scrambling to stand up. But while he was able to retain his balance, she was not as Aliya kept slipping and sliding on her skates which the male took advantage of when he proceeded to knock her down. As a result, it didn't take her long to fall down as he chuckled. "Talk about a icy wipeout." he amusedly taunted as she mutely glared at him, unable to think of anything to say when she noticed her hockey stick was within a short distance of her.

So right as he was able to leave to go retrieve the primal cube, she grabbed her hockey stick and used the toe to make the scientist fall as she chuckled. "Now, that's a wipeout." she taunted as he mutely glared at her while she stood up. "Hey, don't give me the cold shoulder when I'm just returning the favor." she further taunted in the same amused tone he used on her moments ago when he attempted to leave.

"Well, this has been fun but I have a relic to retrieve and places to be. I, however, will be taking this." she added, taking the holographic console from his right wrist as she grinned. "Thanks." she continued as his eyes widened. "Oh, I don't think so!" he firmly countered and as soon as she saw him standing up, she started to take off. Well, she attempted to take off when she had began to slip and slide again.

Great. she thought before she managed to stop herself from falling in time to spot Ember get to her feet.

"Ember! Incoming!"

Throwing the holographic console over in her direction, she watched as the fire faerie flew into the air to catch the console right as she saw her family friend's eyes widened. "Aliya! Look out!" the fire faerie warned, but in spite of the warning, she still found herself crashing with the male as they fell once more before he promptly stood up and resumed his course. She attempted to do the same, but she fell back down as she huffed.

"Aliya!"

"Forget about me! Grab the cube before he does and try to debug his game before he ends up getting his hands on the console again!" she ordered, attempting to stand on her own again when she abruptly tripped over her left skate and fell onto the ground once more in time to witness the scientist and Ember battle it out.

The two seemed to be on equal footing until he twirled on his skates and knocked the fire faerie down, causing her to drop the console and the primal cube as Aliya's eyes widened at the sight.

"Ember!"

"I will be taking this..." the scientist proudly boasted, reclaiming his holographic console as he victoriously smirked. "... And that." the scientist finished, attempting to grab the primal cube when she saw the fire faerie tauntingly laughing.

"Oh, I don't think so." she heard the fire faerie smugly countered when she saw the girl promptly stand up and knock the latter down before retrieving the cube.

"Aliya! Incoming!"

After that, she saw the fire faerie attempting to throw the cube in her direction when the male knocked her down, affecting the throw as the relic was far within her reach now, but she didn't care because her focus was on her family friend.

"Ember!"

"Forget about me! Grab the cube before he does!" Ember firmly yelled right as she saw the male smirking. "Oh no, you don't! Crystal soldiers! After her!" the scientist firmly yelled, now pressing a few buttons on his console right as she managed to stand up.

When she did, she saw the crystal soldiers divert their attention from her baba as they looked at her and began making their way to her. "Great." she sarcastically mumbled when she noticed a few light blue, almost teal-like shadow portals forming beneath their feet as the soldiers fell in. She knew it was her apá's doing but she couldn't spot him until she noticed a light blue, almost teal-like shadowy blur forming in front of her before materializing.

"Need a hand?"

"Always." she answered, taking her father's left hand as he helped her up. "Thanks." she softly said as he smiled. "You're welcome." he said when their eyes drifted towards the crystallized soldiers and over at the scientist, who was trying to claim the relic before any of them could.

"I'll deal with the soldiers. You get the relic." he firmly ordered as she saw his light blue, almost teal-like eyes glowing brighter. "Now go." he firmly followed up before she saw him take off to deal with the crystallized soldiers. When he left, she proceeded to do the same as she went to stop the scientist from claiming the relic.

It took trial and error as she kept slipping and sliding her way through, but eventually she got a hang of skating on the ice rink as she decently made her way across where she had spotted the primal cube near the right end of the side boards with her hockey stick in tow.

"Aha! Found you."

"Ha! We will see about that!"

After she saw the scientist attempting to skate ahead to the relic, she began to pick up the pace as the two were moving roughly about the same speed with the primal cube within their reach.

"I'm getting that cube!" the male insisted and as he proceeded to knock her down, she saw him about to retrieve the cube when she used her hockey stick to knock him down. "Yeah, I can't let you do that." she said, standing up now as she observed him crashing directly into the right side board near the non-crystallized goal line.

"But hey, nice try." she further taunted, casually gliding through the ice rink now. "It's not over!" he stubbornly insisted and as he scrambled to get on his feet, she saw him start to charge at her. As such, she began to pick up the pace and right as he was about to grab onto her, she narrowly dodged the scientist and watched him fall nearby her.

"Now it is." she smugly countered, retrieving the primal cube from the ground as she victoriously smirked. However as soon as her hands made contact with the celestial artifact, the relic began to glow a light blue, almost pale-like hue right as the scientist stood up. "Is that supposed to be happening?" the male asked as she awkwardly chuckled.

"I don't think so." she awkwardly confessed and not long after she answered his question, they were joined by her baba and her family friend right as the runes on the primal cube started to simultaneously light up. Shortly thereafter, the lights on the runes began to intensify and not long after, aligned to become one before the singular glow began to engulf the entire ice rink and shot upward into the sky, casting a light blue, almost teal-like glowing beacon across the entire night sky of New York City.

After a bit of time passed, the glow abruptly died down as she puzzlingly stared at the relic and back at her father, who was suspiciously quiet as she blinked. But right as she was about to ask her question, Ember took the words out of her mouth.

"Um, what was all that about?" Ember promptly asked as Aliya blinked once more. "Um... I uh I don't really know." she awkwardly confessed, glancing at the non-glowing relic before she had glanced back at her family friend once more. "But I do know—" she followed up until she was promptly interrupted by the scientist.

"—The relic is mine!" the scientist confidently proclaimed, interrupting her now and before she (or her apá and Ember) could do anything, she was promptly knocked down as she crashed onto the ice rink and lost possession of the relic.

"Aliya!"

When Aliya sat up, she saw her apá and Ember attempting to come to her aid when the scientist pressed a few buttons on his console. When he did, she observed her apá and their family friend become surrounded by the male's crystallized soldiers as her eyes widened.

"Guys!"

"Well, this has annoyingly taken longer than I anticipated, but it was worth it because now, I got the primal cube in my possession once more." he proudly proclaimed as she saw the relic in his grasp again. "So now, I will be on my way to deliver the item to my boss while you are going to become obliterated by my crystal army alongside your companions." he followed up, but right as he was about to make good on his word and leave, a chuckle followed.

"You are not going anywhere."

After the mysterious voice spoke, she saw a sudden blast aimed at the scientist, who abruptly fell and dropped the primal cube when she saw the blast struck him at his right foot. Inspecting the blast on his right foot, she initially thought it was her apá's crystallokinesis at play again, but when she noticed the little thin-like crystals that surfaced, she realized the blast was just similar to her baba's crystallokinesis.

She wasn't sure what had exactly hit the scientist though until she noticed little snowflake-like crystals within the blast itself and glancing down at what they were all standing on, she blinked as the realization dawned on her.

Ice? But that shouldn't be possible. I mean, the last one to wield such an element was— she had thought, but stopped when she saw a golden-masked turtle with green, almost jade-like eyes appearing as she flick her right wrist and the icy swirls vanished.

As she stared at her though, she also got a glimpse of a magenta-spandex heroine with green, almost jade-like eyes before she saw the flickering remnants of the fallen heroine vanished and Aliya became left with the golden-masked turtle once more as she blinked.

"Lady Equinox?"

Almost immediately after she had said the fallen heroine's name, confusion set in as she found herself puzzled by the way she sounded so immensely confident in what she said, which didn't make any sense to Aliya whatsoever. But if it didn't make sense to her, then it obviously didn't make sense to the golden-masked turtle as she caught the turtle's puzzled look.

"Look, I don't know who you are or why you called me Lady Equinox, but that's not my name." the golden-masked turtle firmly answered as Aliya saw the latter cross her arms at her. "Okay? My name is—" she saw the golden-masked turtle attempt to follow up when she was promptly interrupted.

"Clipsy cakes?"

When she and the golden-masked turtle turned and glanced up, their eyes landed on a girl with purple hair and sapphire-blue eyes as she wore a teal blue suit with black lining and the Hamato Clan symbol on her chest and a teal blue mask with black lining on the top over her face. As they looked on, they noticed the girl was wearing a black utility belt with the same symbol on the belt buckle along with teal blue gloves with black lining on top, and black and teal blue boots with purple stripes on the laces.

"Sissy twin?"

Joining the masked girl then was a orange-masked turtle with baby blue eyes before they were joined by a blue-masked turtle with cobalt blue eyes, a red-masked turtle with emerald-green eyes and a purple-masked turtle with hazel eyes as they looked at the golden-masked turtle in awe and genuine shock.

Looks that had aligned with the way the masked girl and the orange-masked turtle looked at the golden-masked turtle as the new arrivals spoke.

"Clips?" the blue, red and purple-masked turtles collectively followed up as they [along with the orange-masked turtle and the masked girl] continued to look at the golden-masked turtle and as they retained their awe and genuine shocked looks.

"Is it really you? After all these years?" the four masked turtles and the masked girl followed up and as she saw the longing and genuine joy surface in their eyes in facing the golden-masked turtle, she realized she didn't just get caught up in any reunion. She got caught up in a family reunion and from the looks of things... A rather interesting one at that as she saw the golden-masked turtle looking at the five with the same sense of longing, though she appeared to be reserved too.

"Actually, it's—"

"Seriously! What kind of luck do I have with this! You were all supposed to be crystallized! All of you!" the scientist angrily protested, glaring at the four masked turtles and the masked girl now as he grabbed onto her hockey stick and broke free from his icy entrapment before he glanced at them with a livid look.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You will all be obliterated soon enough and then, I will have the proud privilege of being the one responsible for getting rid of the four turtles, Captain Violet and the newest four newcomers at that! Ha!" the scientist now proudly proclaimed and as he pressed a few buttons, he saw the crystal soldiers retracting from her apá and their family friend as they along with her and the golden-masked turtle looked at the scientist, who reclaimed the celestial primal cube as she, her apá and their family friend sharply stared at him until they blinked.

"Wait." she, her apá, their family friend and the golden-masked turtle began as they blinked at the scientist. "Newcomers? Do you mean—" they collectively followed up when he interrupted them as he stood up before proceeding to point at her, her apá, their family friend, the golden-masked turtle alongside the four masked turtles and the masked girl.

"After them!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Seriously?"

When Sofonisba saw the beacon lighting up the night sky, she didn't think tracking down the source of the mysterious glow would lead her into an ice rink being surrounded by crystallized soldiers being controlled by some scientist with a grudge against her siblings!

Nor did she really expect to be reunited with her siblings after being separated from them for so long or meet new faces for that matter...

"Ugh. This guy is such a buzzkill."

Snapping out of her thoughts, she glanced at Mikey crossing his arms as she saw Briana — or rather, Captain Violet — nodding alongside him.

"Mhm and he's almost as annoying as Baxter Stockman." Captain Violet followed up as she saw Leonardo chuckling. "Well, this is Atari we're talking about and he's about as annoying as they come." Leonardo simply countered as she blinked alongside the three other newcomers she heard the scientist mention when one of them cleared their throat and spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt y'all's conversation now, but um who's Baxter Stockman?"

As she glanced to see who spoke, she found herself staring at a older warm-beige man [who she estimated to be no more than forty-years-old] with white and pale light blue streaked hair as the older man worn a light blue and silver armored suit with spiked shoulder pads, completing the look with light blue, almost teal-like crystallized ice skates.

"Forget the Stockman guy."

Glancing over from the older man now, her eyes drifted to a older dark-skinned woman [who she estimated to be no more than twenty-one] with ebony, dark orange highlighted hair as she wore a scarlet red-colored dress beneath her black leggings along with reddish-orange dragon-scaled like designed ice skates.

"You need to tell me that guy could've had any name and his parents chose to name him Atari?" the woman followed up as she heard the woman give a chuckle of disbelief. "Of all things?" the woman added as she saw Mikey chuckling.

"Right? We said the same thing when we met him." Mikey and Captain Violet cheekily countered, the three of them now chuckling amongst themselves when she decided to interject herself into their conversation.

"Okay, but really though, who is this Atari guy?"

"Yeah and given how you all must've dealt with him before, what are his weaknesses and how do we beat him?"

Glancing over to see who followed up after she spoke, the young kunoichi glanced over her left shoulder and saw it was the one who mistakenly referred to her as 'Lady Equinox' [whoever she was anyways].

Brushing off the strange name, she recalled seeing the caramel-skinned woman [who she had estimated, like the other woman, couldn't have been no more than twenty-one] with blackish-brown medium-length curly hair and light amber eyes. In addition, the woman's outfit consisted of a light-grey short-sleeve sweatshirt, black casual pants and butterfly-like designed light blue ice skates with little white hearts that she saw the woman wearing from the brief talk they had.

"He uh—" she heard her siblings attempt to answer her [and the other girl's] question(s) when they were interrupted by said scientist trying to obliterate them.

"I have no weaknesses, so good luck trying to beat me!" he confidently boasted, having clearly overheard their conversation as she stared at him in disbelief and disgust while everyone else had either matched her look or gave one that was similar to hers.

The audacity of this guy. Who is he trying to be anyhow? Dr. Smolder Bravestone from Jumanji?

"Dude, everyone has a weakness." Mikey promptly interjected as Captain Violet and the others nodded. "Yeah, I mean come on now. Even the Shredder has a weakness, so you can't be that immune." her sister followed up as she nodded.

"Yeah and to add onto what Captain Vi said, you would have to be like super overpowered in order to not have a weakness and uh..." she paused here to take a closer look at Atari as she stared at his outfit, which she saw consisted of a scientist lab coat over his reddish and light brown shirt with black pants, a mechanical set of ice skates and a pair of light brown frame glasses.

"... no offense, but you're not exactly the overpowered type." she bluntly finished, earning a few snickers from the group. "Hey! I might not be overpowered, but I am powerful! More powerful than even the Shredder himself!" Atari defensively and quite stubbornly protested as she saw her little sister and her brothers look at each other and back at him while she stared at him in disbelief once more.

This guy cannot be serious.

"Uh... No, you're not." Captain Violet collectively pointed out as she saw her sister keeping her focus on him when Leo chimed into the conversation. "You are, if anything, maybe just maybe a inch over Baxter when it comes to determining your level of power but you know—" Leo had interjected when he was interrupted by Donnie.

"—That's really up to debate." Donnie finished, interjecting into the conversation now as she saw Raph nodding. "Mhm and honestly, it doesn't really say much unless this was like the battle of the nerds or something, to which he can beat you and Baxter out any day because he's like the biggest nerd out of all you lot combined." Raph followed up as she saw Donnie eagerly begin to nod.

"Yeah!" Donnie happily exclaimed before she saw the realization dawning on him as his hazel eyes widened. "Wait what!" her older brother followed up, having exclaimed his response as chuckles followed suit among the group before she, Leo and the woman who mistook her for Lady Equinox spoke up.

"Anyways," she, Leo and the caramel-skinned woman followed up, briefly pausing now as the three saw everyone quiet down before they directed their attention to Atari once more. "The point is, you and your crystal army is going down." she and Leo firmly stated as they saw the caramel-skinned woman nodding along.

"Yeah. Well, after we debug your game, that is." the caramel-skinned woman followed up as she, Leo and her siblings looked at her.

"His game?"

"Mhm. It's how he even got his crystal army to begin with because he had bugged the release of Freeze Bug to where anyone who intended to engage with the game and downloaded it became crystallized and became part of his army." the caramel-skinned woman answered as she and her siblings gasped at the news, but she, Mikey and Captain Violet were (essentially) the main ones who took great offense to what he had done since they were the main gamers. Well, before she got separated from them anyways...

Wait! Now, he's out here bugging people's phones like Professor Bug from Robot Rampage?! Who is this man really trying to be now?

"You monster! How dare you turn a source of joy into a trap!" Mikey dramatically exclaimed as Captain Violet nodded, causing her to snap out of her thoughts as she tuned back into what was going on in time to catch her sister's response. "Yeah! Games are meant to be enjoyed, not used for bait to lure people and trick them into becoming part of your twisted humor!" Captain Violet followed up as she nodded.

"Mhm and what you did was even worse than the way companies inflict their ads in the game just to ensure they're making revenue at the expense of the consumer's joy of the game." she followed up as Captain Violet nodded. "Oh and the pay walls. We can't forget those." Captain Violet chimed in as Mikey nodded. "Mhm and those free to play games that are really nothing more than a pay-to-win type of game, but you don't realize it till you're already into the game with the way these greedy corporations operate behind the shadows." Mikey further stated as she and Captain Violet nodded in agreement before the caramel-skinned woman and her two companions cleared their throats and spoke up then.

"Anyways, we're going to take that cube just as we're going to debug this twisted game of yours and decrystallize everyone."

"Yeah!" she and her siblings said in agreement until they turned to the caramel-skinned woman and her two companions as they all blinked in confusion. "Uh, what's the ordeal with the cube now?" she and her siblings followed up as they saw the caramel-skinned woman and the dark-skinned woman briefly humming among themselves before glancing at them.

"Ah, well it's—"

"—Not really any of their concern, so maybe we should put a pin in that and refrain from talking about it in front of them." the older man swiftly stated, interrupting the two and though he was calm when he spoke, everyone couldn't help but pick up on the hint of irritation that slipped out after they heard him speak.

"Well, Issac, maybe it should be their concern considering it was your daughter's connection to said cube that led to them being here with the way the cube glowed." the dark-skinned woman sharply followed up, glaring at the older man now as the two intensely stared off. "After all, her touching the relic is the reason why they're all here in the first place, so perhaps we should tell them, seeing how we are responsible for them being here." the woman further followed up as they saw the caramel-skinned woman awkwardly glancing at the two.

"Uh, guys. Maybe, we can—" the caramel-skinned woman awkwardly and quite timidly began to chime in when she and her siblings gasped, unintentionally interrupting her attempt to calm her two companions down in the process.

"Wait! The beacon in the sky came from a cube?" she and her siblings curiously followed up as the caramel-skinned woman turned her attention away from her companions to face them and proceeded to nod.

"Yeah. I touched the cube and when I did, I made it glow and must have created the beacon you all saw while I was still touching it, so my bad." the caramel-skinned woman casually answered as she flashed her and her siblings a sheepish smile before she sighed and huffed. "Still. I don't know what it was about me touching the cube that made it glow but—" the woman followed up when she was promptly interrupted.

"—I'm sure your dad here would love to explain to you, me and everyone here as to why you made the primal cube glow since I'm almost certain he knows, given how Ike seems to know about everything else." the dark-skinned woman sharply chimed in, interrupting the latter as they saw her turning to face the older man when they witnessed the caramel-skinned woman clearing her throat and stepping in.

"Uh, guys—"

"Isn't that right, Issac?" the woman further added using the same sharp tone as before. After she did, they all saw the older man initially appear to be perplexed by her behavior before his light honeysuckle eyes darkened as he stared at her while the caramel-skinned woman glanced at them.

"Guys, we don't really need to be doing this right now... and perferably for everyone to see, so why don't we all—" the caramel-skinned woman calmly attempted to point out when she had became interrupted once more by the older man, now named Issac.

"Ember—"

"—Or is it Birsha?" the dark-skinned woman — now named Ember — sarcastically followed up in a blunt tone as she and her siblings all saw the caramel-skinned woman attempting to act as the mediator in the group. "Guys—" the woman attempted to follow up when she was interrupted once more by her father.

"Ember—"

"Sorry, I can't seem to remember with all the lies you tell, so you know, bear with me if I make a mistake." Ember condescendingly stated, interrupting Issac now as she spoke in a bitter, blunt manner as he sharply stared at her.

"Ember—"

It was possible he would have likely continued to said something had his daughter not gotten fed up by their behavior by this point and interject herself much more aggressively into their budding feud as they saw her speak up... again.

"Guys!"

When they heard his daughter speak, they saw Issac effectively silencing himself as he and the other woman, Ember, began to look at her.

"Look, I don't know what's up between you two, but now is not the time to be fighting like this, especially when there are larger matters at stake here!" his daughter quite firmly followed up and as if to prove her point, that was when they were all reminded of Atari's presence again.

"Ah, you can all certainly try, but rest assure, I intent on leaving with the primal cube and as for you all debugging my game, well, that is never going to happen because none of you have the adroitness to debug my game." he confidently countered as they all turned to see him smugly smirking in their direction.

"So like I was saying, you two need to save the arguing for after all of this is said and done since we have other, more important, things to worry about here." they heard Issac's daughter quietly but firmly follow up before they heard her sigh. "Got it?" they heard her firmly add as they saw her father and Ember glancing at each other before looking at her as they nodded.

"We got it." the two answered, though it was quite in a begrudgingly mumbling tone but that didn't really matter to the latter as she sighed in relief at the sight of their brief truce. "Thank you." his daughter stated right as they had proceeded to process Atari's response, but it was Mikey who spoke up.

"Wait, what?" Mikey puzzlingly interjected as everyone saw him scratching his head. "What is he talking about with the uh adriot something word?" he further inquired as she, Leo, Donnie and Captain Violet cleared their throats.

"You mean adroitness?" they asked as he nodded. "Yeah! That word!" he answered as they had nodded. "Ah, okay. Well, adroitness means—" she, Leo, Donnie and Captain Violet attempted to answer when they were promptly interrupted by the scientist.

"—Cleverness or skill, both of which you seem to lack." Atari sharply but quite condescendingly interrupted as she, Leo, Donnie and Captain Violet sharply stared at him. "Hey! No one talks to our brother like that!" she, Leo, Donnie and Captain Violet firmly stated as they saw Raph start nodding in agreement.

"Yeah! Only I do!"

"Yeah!" Mikey happily added before the realization dawned on him as they saw Mikey turning to face his red-masked older brother. "Wait what?" Mikey puzzlingly followed up as they saw him continue to stare at Raph when Atari chimed in once more.

"As I was saying, none of you will succeed at defeating me because you are all nothing more than motherboards with decent GPU and no central processing units." Atari condescendingly said as she, Donnie and Captain Violet sharply glared at him while Leo, Raph, Mikey puzzlingly glanced at each other and back at him with Ember, Issac and his daughter all mirroring similar — if not — identical looks as the ones Leo, Raph and Mikey made just now.

"Uh, sorry. None of us mean to be rude, but—" Leo, Issac and his daughter politely attempted to begin when they were promptly interrupted. "We need you to speak English to us, dude." Mikey followed up, finishing their response as Raph nodded. "Yeah. After all, not all of us speak nerd." Raph later chimed in, now earning a laugh out of Ember before she stopped and nodded.

"Yeah! What Red said!" Ember promptly exclaimed when they saw Raph turning to face the dark-skinned woman. "Uh, red has a name, you know." he bluntly pointed out as they saw the dark-skinned woman chuckling.

"True, but until he decides to tell me his name, red is all that he is going to keep getting called because I don't exactly go about reading minds now to know his name right off the bat." Ember fiercely responded as they all saw Raph blinking before he stopped to stare at her in disbelief, having been unable to say anything right so she, Donnie and Captain Violet decided to chime in to answer their question.

"GPU stands for graphic processing unit and what Atari here is basically saying is that—" she, Donnie and Captain Violet attempted to answer when they were promptly interrupted again.

"—You look good and are well animated, but lack brains, which you all seem to be faring at quite well except for surprisingly those three as they seem to be the only ones who aren't completely stupid." Atari promptly finished, answering their question as he complimented her, Donnie and Captain Violet on their intelligence since they knew what he was talking about.

At the same time, he also managed to also find a way to simultaneously insult Leo, Raph, Mikey, Ember, Issac and his daughter on their 'lack' of intelligence since they failed to understand what he was talking about. As such, it was only fitting that they were the ones who took great offense to that as they all stared at him while she, Donnie and Captain Violet came to their defense now.

"Hey! They're not stupid!" she, Donnie and Captain Violet firmly countered as Atari glanced at Leo, Raph, Mikey, Ember, Issac and his daughter before looking back at them.

"You're right." he briefly began as Captain Violet sighed in relief. "Thank you!" her sister said, but she and Donnie held their breath as they suspected he had something more to say, which would end up being the case when his condescending look resurfaced.

"I was mistaken. They're not stupid. They're all actually idiots and it's a shame that we intellects have to be surrounded by their ignorance." Atari promptly stated as she, Donnie and her sister's eyes widened while Leo, Raph, Mikey, Ember, Issac and his daughter took offense to his words once more.

"Hey!"

"I knew he was going to say something like that." she and Donnie mumbled as Captain Violet huffed. "I can't believe he got my hopes up, especially since I really thought he meant what he said about being right." their sister insisted before she and Donnie saw the purple-haired girl began to pout and cross her arms.

"I know. I get that, Vi, but still. Some people are two-faced like that, sadly." she gently stated as she saw Donnie nodding. "Yeah but sadly, not everyone means what they say, Little Genius." Donnie softly followed up as they saw their sister solemnly sighing. "I know, but still. It would have been nice had he actually meant it though." their sister quietly mumbled right as Ember and Raph began to interject themselves into the conversation regarding the scientist at large.

"Hey! Look nerd! We obviously have no idea what you're talking about, but are we going to fight or what? 'Cause it's about time that one of us bashed your head into something." Raph firmly said as Ember nodded. "Yeah! But before we bash your head, we're taking that primal cube in your hands because we need it and honestly, you're quite annoying as it is, so I won't feel bad for what happens to you when we win." Ember confidently followed up as Raph nodded then.

"Yeah! What she said!" Raph promptly exclaimed when they saw Ember turning to face him as she crossed her arms and blinked. "Uh, she has a name, you know." she bluntly pointed out as they saw him chuckling.

"Oh, I know. Trust me, I am aware of what her name is, but until she decides to quit acting as if she's better than me and asks for my name, then she is all she's going to be referred to because I don't exactly go about reading minds now." he fiercely responded as they saw Ember blinking before she stopped to stare at him in disbelief, having been unable to say anything right as they heard Issac trying not to laugh but failing miserably as a few chuckles escaped anyways, which led to his daughter lightly nudging him.

"Apá, come on. She's already embarrassed. I'm sure she doesn't need you adding onto that level of embarrassment too." his daughter gently said as they saw Ember's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "Hey! I am not embarrassed!" Ember firmly protested, to which Issac laughed again at her once more, causing his daughter to send him a stern look.

"Apá—"

"Hey, it's okay to be embarrassed, Ember. I mean, it's not exactly everyday that everyone get insulted by a talking tortoise." Issac lightly teased, but there was a undertone of a smug and almost condescending-like mockery in his voice that couldn't be denied when everyone had heard him talk.

"Apá—" his daughter attempted to say when she was interrupted by Raph, who chose to jump into their conversation right then and there.

"Hey! Who are you calling a tortoise, old man! I am a turtle!" Raph firmly and quite defensively countered as they saw Issac turn to face him and blink. Initially, the older man looked unsure of how to react, but he eventually settled for a light chuckle as they saw him crossing his arms in a unbothered manner.

"Same thing." Issac casually said, brushing the latter off now as they saw Raph becoming more livid by the second. "They are not the—" Raph angrily chimed in when Captain Violet chose to step in. "Hey, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." their sister gently pointed out, perhaps in a effort to put the potential feud at rest, but it wasn't looking to be possible... especially when Issac started to laugh again.

"Oh, I totally meant it." Issac smugly stated, now laughing once more as Raph's emerald-green eyes became heated. "What? Are you going to do something about it?" he taunted as they saw Raph's eyes darkened. "If you keep testing me, I might." Raph firmly stated, trying [in vain] to keep his anger in check, but Issac oddly enough felt the need to keep going... for some reason unknown to her or anyone else on that matter.

"Oh please. I would like to see—" he began and it's very likely that he would have continued had his daughter not stepped in then and there.

"Baba!"

Something about the way his daughter called out to him seemed to make Issac come to his senses then as he crossed his arms and sighed. "Fine. I'll stop." he said at last, to which his daughter began to sigh in relief as she proceeded to uncross her arms. "Thank you." they all heard his daughter say right as Atari reminded them of his existence once more.

"You know, I got to thinking and uh, hmm... how about no?" Atari promptly answered as they all saw Raph and Ember both looking at him in disbelief. "No?" Raph and Ember promptly followed up as she and everyone else looked on.

"You see, you brutes might have dealt with others who fought you, but I for one prefer to take another route as I've been rather fond of outsourcing, which you can tell from my beautiful crystal army." Atari followed up as they glanced at the crystal army he initially called on to go and attack them at the start, but were now standing stationary as she and the others began to blink in disbelief.

"So while I take off with my lovely prize, you all are going to become obliterated. So, let's try this again. Shall we?" he smugly followed up as everyone collectively sighed at the scientist's smug response while she grew (more or less) annoyed at Atari's antics.

Here we go...

"After them... again!"

Once Atari said those words, she observed the scientist pressing a few buttons on his console and when he did, that's when she saw the crystallized army snap out of their stationary form before they proceeded to charge at her, her siblings, Ember, Issac and his daughter.

"So, that's how he is able to control his crystal army." she mumbled, crossing her arms now as she chuckled in slight awe. "He does it from his—" she further added, attempting to finish her sentence when she became interrupted by her sister and her purple-masked older brother at that moment.

"Console." Captain Violet and Donnie chimed in, having come to the same realization she did as they finished her sentence and essentially took the word out of her mouth. She was about to say something then when Issac's daughter decided to interject herself into their conversation now.

"The console is how he's been doing it, so if we can just find a way to grab a hold of his console, then we can debug the game and return everyone back to normal." Issac's daughter promptly explained as she sighed. "The only problem is the three of us," she paused then to gesture to Ember, her father and herself before she continued.

"Haven't been able to get far enough into the debugging process because all we've managed to do is grab a hold of it before Atari took it back, so we've been essentially stuck ever since then and the reason we only got that far was because of her." Issac's daughter concluded as she had gestured to Ember after she finished speaking.

"So, essentially speaking, if we get a hold of his console, then all we have to do is debug it and everyone returns to normal?" she, Donnie and Captain Violet summarized as they saw Ember nodding before she jumped into the conversation then.

"Yep! We just need someone to get close enough to do it."

"I can—"

"No."

"But—"

"No! Okay? Issac, I get that you want to do it. I do, but we need someone other than you to get close enough to do it." Ember firmly pointed out, interrupting the latter now as they saw him crossing his arms in disbelief. "Hey! I can totally do it!" he protested as they saw his daughter turn to face him.

"Baba, I love you but with all due respect, you cannot be the one debugging it." his daughter promptly followed up as he deeply frowned, which resulted in his daughter sighing not long afterwards.

"Baba, look. I'm sure you could do it, but going based on what me and Ember have seen so far, chances are you will most likely snap somewhere along the line and then, end up losing focus of the actual task at hand." his daughter gently added as Ember nodded and chose to chime into their conversation.

"Yeah. Oh and not to mention, you will somehow make this ordeal become longer than what it actually needs to be and given how it's already long enough as it is, I would rather someone else do it, so we can all go home because my feet are killing me after me and her had to run around this entire city looking for you as we both looked like a bunch of maniacs doing it." Ember flatly stated as everyone heard the dripping irritation in her tone, which they all noticed made Issac's daughter tense up as she glanced at her father and back at her.

"Ember—"

"So for all intent and purposes, you are not doing the debugging." Ember promptly followed up as they heard Issac's daughter sighing.

"Ember—"

"Okay, if anyone is doing the debugging, I would rather it be one of them." Ember firmly stated as everyone saw her interrupting his daughter and gesturing to her, Donnie and Captain Violet for a bit until she stopped to face Issac once more.

"Not—"

"—Ember, I think he gets the point." his daughter firmly interjected, interrupting the latter now as they saw her sigh. "You can stop now." his daughter followed up as Ember scoffed then. "Are we sure that he got the point? Because to me, it looks like—" Ember attempted to counter then when she was interrupted once more. "Ember." his daughter firmly repeated, her voice stern as they saw the latter sighing now.

"Fine. I'll stop." Ember said at last, holding her hands up in a truce-like manner as they heard his daughter sighing once more. "Thank you." his daughter promptly said and it was then that they saw Ember lowering her arms as she sighed. "You're welcome." the latter mumbled, though the begrudging tone could not be ignored as everyone could pick up on it. It was then that Leo had cleared his throat in order to get everyone back on track.

"So, since we're all pretty much agree with Eclipse—"

"Sofonisba." she corrected, observing as her eldest brother and the rest of their siblings looked at her in shock at her answer. "Sofonisba?" her siblings repeated as they proceeded to stare at her with the same shocked look.

"Yeah. I um..." she timidly began before she took a deep breath as she sighed. "I actually go by my real name now." she followed up and when she saw the confusion on their faces, she had a strong suspicion that they were going to ask why until they all glanced at Ember, Issac and his daughter and back at her. So even though her siblings didn't say anything, she knew they were going to wait until Ember, Issac and his daughter left to bring up why she had decided to go by her real name again since they didn't really want the three to know, seeing how it was a family matter.

"Okay. So, instead of Clips, can we call you Sophie?" her siblings followed up as she nodded at their question. "Sure." she softly said and after she said that, she saw her siblings glancing at each other before looking at her as they nodded. "Okay! Then, Sophie it is!" her siblings had perkily said as she softly smiled at how they seamlessly accepted her decision to use her real name rather than the nickname given to her by her mother in the past.

"Alright, so now that we got the name change down, we can go back to addressing the matter at hand." Leo promptly said as everyone nodded. "So as I was saying before that happened, since we all seem to be in agreement with Sophie," he paused then to make note of her name change as she softly smiled before he continued.

"Donnie and Captain Violet being the ones to debug Atari's console—"

"—Uh, holographic console, actually." Issac's daughter sheepishly corrected, interrupting Leo as he gave her a stern look. "—But you know, it's not like that important to make note of, so um you know, you can continue. Sorry." they heard his daughter sheepishly adding before she fell silent, giving the focus back to her eldest brother, who retained his stare at Issac's daughter before Leo looked away and took a deep breath.

"Anyways, as I was saying before someone interrupted me," Leonardo had paused again as he glanced at Issac's daughter, who flashed an embarrassed smile and mouthed "sorry" before he shook his head and turned away from her again. "We need to decide who among those three are going to be the one to—" he then proceeded to continue when she chose to interrupt him before anyone else could.

"I will do it." she firmly said, her voice full of confidence and certainty as she saw everyone's eyes turn on her then, but it was Leo who spoke once he heard what she said.

"You'll do it? But—"

"He knows Donnie and he knows Captain Violet, so chances are, he already knows their moves so they don't have the advantage of surprising him. I, on the other hand, do because as he said himself, I'm just a newcomer so he doesn't expect anything from me and that is where I can go and catch him off-guard because he will never see me coming." she firmly stated, interrupting Leo when she saw him hesitating at her response.

"Sophie—"

"Leo, Chompy is right." Raph slowly said, interrupting Leo as he sighed. "He knows Donnie and Captain Vi's moves just like he knows ours. If we send either one of them to grab the console to debug the game, he will see them coming from a mile away. But if we send in Sophie, he won't know what to do because he will be exposed to her fighting technique for the first time and he won't be able to defend himself as well as he would if he was fighting them or one of us." Raph added as she saw Donnie nodding.

"As much as it pains me to say this—"

"—Raphie is right. Atari knows our moves and—"

"—If one of us tries to debug the game from that holographic console of his, he will stop us before we can even get a hold of it." Donnie promptly finished as Captain Violet nodded. "So, if we want to stop Atari's army and reverse what he did, then we have to let Sophie be the one to retrieve the console and debug his game." Captain Violet further added as Donnie nodded at her words.

"It's the only way we can catch him by surprise." Donnie further continued as she saw Raph and Mikey nodding in agreement when Issac cleared his throat and promptly raised his hand.... for some reason.

"Or—" Issac slyly began, trying [in vain] to advocate for himself when he became interrupted by Ember. "Issac, for the last time, you are not—" Ember firmly countered before she had become interrupted by his daughter, who gently lowered his hand now.

"Apá, I think what Emby meant to say is if Sofonisba is the one keeping Atari busy, then that will leave us with an opening to reclaim the primal cube while he's distracted." his daughter softly finished as Issac nodded.

"Okay. Well with Sofonisba keeping him busy and working on retrieving the holographic console to debug the game, we can focus on retrieving the primal cube from Atari while—" Issac briefly began before he was promptly interrupted by her siblings. "—We provide her backup and ensure there are no obstacles standing in her way." Leo and her siblings finished as they took the words out of his mouth before Ember glanced at everyone and brightly grinned.

"Well, I believe that's everything." Ember cheekily said as she nodded. "Yep, so now that we got our roles established and everyone know their parts, I think it's time we kicked this plan in high gear because we have a game to debug!" she happily followed up as everyone cheered.

"Yeah!"

So as Atari's crystallized army started coming towards them, everyone began to fulfill their role as her siblings began to deal with the soldiers. As such, she began to take off as she went to go fulfill her role by making her way to him.

However not long after she began her journey, she heard a strangely eerie chuckle in the ice rink as she retrieved her steel kamas from the back of her turtle shell and began to grip tightly on her kamas as she braced herself for what was to come when she heard another eerie chuckle follow suit.

"Might I have this dance, Little Equinox?"

Wait... What?

Confused, she looked up to see an older light-skinned male with dark ash-grey hair wearing a silver and cyan-ish blue suit as his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes stared down on her. Yet it was only when he began to maniacally laugh did she finally processed what he called her right as he began tumbling down towards her.

"Okay! First of all, how dare you call me little! Second of all, how dare you call me equinox when that's not even my name! Oh and thirdly, how dare you ask me to dance with you when I do not even know you!" she sharply and quite aggressively snapped, positioning her kamas above her to block the male's upper-kick before attacking her right kama onto his leg as she promptly had begun to throw him down when he suddenly dissipated in front of her!

"Great! Now, where did you go!" she snapped again, still retaining her sharp and very aggressive tone as she adjusted her kamas once more and kept her eyes focused for the mysterious male... when she observed a light blue, almost arctic-like shadowy blur surfacing before it materialized into the mysterious male again as he began to suddenly strike at her once more.

In response, she proceeded to block his attacks using her kamas and this went on for quite a bit until he managed to upper-cut her kamas and forcibly knocked her weapons across the ice rink as she angrily clenched her fist and turned her focus back to the mysterious male.

"I see you're weaponless now. How unfortunate for you." he tauntingly mocked as she scoffed at his response. "Heh. Who said I needed a weapon to take you down?" she smugly taunted and as soon as she asked that, Sophie began to aggressively lunge at him with all that she had, but the mysterious male proceeded to block every single hit she was throwing at him... much to her own dismay.

As such, the lunge and block went on for quite some time until he managed to strike her down onto the ground, thus causing a separation between them. As soon as she crashed onto the ice, she lifted her head in time for her to see the mysterious male hovering above her now before he proceeded to begin rapidly descending towards her with his left knee raised high.

Eyes widened, Sophie immediately began to utilize her cryokinesis abilities as she began to blast him with her ice magic, but he simply dissipated every time she used it! So, not only did he find a way to effectively stay clear of her icy blasts, but he also found a way to maintain his pace as she realized he was showing no signs of stopping.

Having realized that her ice powers were pointless against him and with her weapons out of her reach, she thought to tap into her other magic and create a force field to shield herself from the male's latest attack, but Sophie decided against it because she was supposed to keep that side of her magic concealed for everyone's safety.

So knowing better than to tap into that side of her magic, she now found herself out of options and as she watched the male descending faster towards her, out of time too.

However, right as he was about to land a blow on her, she saw his attack blocked when she saw Issac's daughter arriving to her rescue with a hockey stick depicting light crystallizations of light blue butterflies being held together with little white hearts that spelt out her name around the shaft area of the hockey stick. She tried to get a good reading of the girl's name since it dawned on her that none of them actually got her name, but the girl's tight grip on the hockey stick had essentially prevented her from being able to make out the girl's name.

"I—"

"Don't worry! I got him from here!" Issac's daughter had hastily but somehow calmly managed to assure her when the male began to chuckle.

"Oh, little shadow, we'll see about that." he taunted and it was then she observed the woman's knees buckle a bit but to her surprise, the woman continued to hold her ground as her eyes had widened at the sight.

"Are you—"

"I'll be fine!" Issac's daughter promptly answered as she saw the woman continue to keep her hockey stick raised above her, having been the thing standing between him from finishing his blow on her.

"But—"

"Kid, don't worry about me!"

"But—"

"Focus on sticking to the plan and get to Atari, so you can retrieve his holographic console and debug his game before all of New York City ends up being his avatars to control." his daughter firmly stated as Sophie saw the woman turned to face her.

"Trust me, I will be fine. Okay? I got this. I can handle him." the woman softly followed up and it was then that Sophie gave an affirmative but determined nod of her own, deciding to take the woman at her word.

"Okay." she softly said as the woman flashed her a quick and easygoing smile then. "Good." the woman warmly added before she saw Issac's daughter dropping her smile in place of a serious composure.

"Now go!"

So taking Issac's daughter at her word once more, Sophie gave the woman one more nod before she stood up and proceeded to leave the woman behind to deal with the mysterious male as she continued to work on fulfilling her role in stopping Atari. As such, part of that meant going to go retrieve her kamas from the spot the mysterious male flung her weapons from, but right as she did, she sensed someone was near.

Naturally, she swiftly picked up her kamas and began to turn, utilizing her weapon again as she sensed Atari appearing from behind her, so she reacted by deflecting her kamas towards him. As she did, she caught him off-guard as he narrowly managed to miss her lunge and stared at her in disbelief before his eyes widened.

"You are not who I was expecting."

"Good. Then, this should be quick." she cheekily boasted and right as she was about to wrap her right kama onto his left arm, he grabbed onto the right handle of her weapon and smirked. "Are you sure about that, Goldie?" he taunted, preparing to land a blow on her when she proceeded to block his blow as she confidently smirked.

"Oh, trust me. I'm sure." she confidently stated before she promptly swung her kamas at him, to which he proceeded to block [if only briefly]. This went on for quite some time, before Atari had managed to deliver a upper-cut to her left side, knocking her down as her kamas clanged onto the icy pavement.

After she fell, she heard a condescending chuckle as she looked up to see Atari cockily staring at her.

"Well, that was short-lived for someone who wanted to end things quickly." he taunted before he began to laugh again. "Huh. I guess, in the end, I was just better than you." he further added as she saw her kamas within reach. Glancing up, she saw him begin to laugh victoriously now and briefly take his eyes away from her as she smirked.

Idiot. He should've never made the mistake of taking his eyes away from me because now, I have the element of surprise again.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, keeping her tone light and made careful strides to avoid making any loud sounds that would cause Atari to reset his focus onto her. "Well, you can claim that you're better than me, but..." she further added, before trailing off as she steathily grabbed onto her kamas at last before her smirk grew.

"... You need a reality check because you're going to have to guess again." she finished and once she did, she quickly picked herself up and stood up as she slid her right foot. When she did, she began to strike and as expected, he attempted to block but his late timing prevented him from doing so as she wrapped his left arm around her kama and flung him onto the ground.

As soon as she flung him onto the ground, she watched the scientist fall with a swift thud as she smirked at the sight and continued to aim her kamas at him to keep him from moving while he glared at her with bitterness and annoyance.

"Also, I will be taking this. Thanks." she added in a smug, condescending tone of her own as she pulled Atari's holographic console from his right arm and retracted one of her kamas back onto her turtle shell before she began to chuckle.

"You know, it's funny. You claim to have no weaknesses like your Dr. Smolder Bravestone from Jumanji," she briefly began before she paused as she glanced up from the console to look at him.

"The one with Dwayne Johnson, not the one with Robin Williams." she clarified before directing her focus onto the scientist's holographic console and began speedily pressing a few buttons on the device.

"But even then, he had weaknesses in the second film and yet strangely enough, you also have a way of operating on bugging peoples' phones as if you're Professor Bug from Robot Rampage, so your actions leave me with just one question..." she further added before she proceeded to trail off when she heard a light ticking sound. As a result when she looked once more, that was when she noticed a miniature light blue, almost pale-like pixelized ant-designed virus dancing around the console before she pressed a few more buttons on the device.

When she pressed the last button, she saw the virus swallow itself and abruptly vanish out of her sight. Once the virus had left, Atari's holographic console began making a shortened electronic buzzing noise and as a light blue, almost pale-like glow illuminated from the console and began to surround the entire Midtown ice rink. However not long after that occurred, she saw the light expand upward as it began to engulf that of New York City too.

When that happened, she turned and saw Atari's crystallized soldiers abruptly drop onto the ground and turn stationary before cracks in the crystallization began to occur as she began to smirk as she moved back from him and retracted her kamas, which she slid behind her turtle shell now.

"... Who are you trying to be?" she finished as she crossed her arms and observed him chuckle at her question.

"Who am I trying to be, you ask? Well, that depends, don't you think?" he casually countered as he chuckled once more. "I could just be Dr. Smolder Bravestone from Jumanji or I could simply be Professor Bug from Robot Rampage, but at the end of the day, the answer to your question comes down to one thing and one thing only," he further added before he paused as he started to smirk.

"Perspective and if it is perspective that shapes the answer to your question, then I am neither one or the other. I am both Dr. Smolder Bravestone and Professor Bug. I am a man who has no weaknesses just as I am a man who operates on bugging peoples' phones." he continued, to which she blinked as she sighed in annoyance.

"Dude, I literally just told you that Bravestone had—"

"The point of the matter is I am both of these men and more because I am also a man who—"

"—Lost."

When she and Atari turned, they saw Captain Violet, Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey reuniting with her as they stood beside her and smugly looked at the scientist in his current state as it was clear he was surrounded and he had lost, but oddly enough, she and her siblings saw him chuckling.

"No. See, contrast to what you and the turtles may think, Captain Violet, I have not lost because even though, you all had your sister here to debug my game and restore the people of this city back to normal, I still won." he calmly answered, his smirk growing while their confusion only grew upon hearing his response.

"But, that's impossible." Captain Violet promptly countered as she saw their brothers nodding at their youngest sister's stance on the matter at large. "Yeah. I mean, you even said it yourself. Our sister debugged your game and restore the people of this city back to normal, so you still end up losing because you gained nothing. You have no army to control, your little virus is now deleted and the people are safe from Ant Queen, so..." their brothers collectively followed up before the four trailed off as she flashed a cocky smirk of her own. "... You still lost." she proudly finished as her cocky smirk turned into one of triumph.

After all, she and her siblings had clearly won, but Atari's little bursts of chuckles only made the six Hamato siblings become perplexed by the matter. Something that wasn't helped when Atari proceeded to shake his head once more and chuckle.

"You think you've all won, but none of you realize something big is coming and that none of you are even remotely prepared for what's to come." he cryptically countered as they all puzzlingly looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" she and her siblings asked as he only chuckled once more at their collective question.

"I praised you, Purple and Captain Violet on not being complete idiots, but I see I might have too quick-spoken with my compliment because I see you three are just as slow as your brothers." he slowly countered as he shook his head. "A tragedy, really, since I genuinely thought I found a few people to match my intellect at last, but alas. Such a thing is not meant to be shared, I suppose." he followed up before he stopped shaking his head and chuckled once more.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyhow because the point still stands. You are all fools for not seeing the larger picture here because this was never about Freeze Bug nor was it about helping my boss reclaim control of the city again or even my short-lived army." he further added on, maniacally crackling at them then as his smirk grew wider.

"Okay, well if this wasn't about Freeze Bug or—" she and Mikey followed up when they were cut off by their older brothers. "—Reclaiming control of the city again and your short-lived army—" Leo, Raph and Donnie further added when they were interrupted by their youngest sister, who crossed her arms as she stared at him. "—Then, what was this all really about?" Captain Violet promptly asked, finishing their question as she and her siblings also proceeded to stare at him and listened to his cryptic chuckles.

"You will all find out soon enough, but until then I'm off to rejoin my boss with my prize." he cryptically followed up as they puzzlingly stared at him once more. "But, you never gained anything." they pointed out as he only shook his head and chuckled once more at their ever growing confusion.

"Oh, really?" he lightly inquired as he chuckled. "Well, if that's what you all really believe..." he slowly began, only to trail off as they saw another smirk follow up. "... You might want to think again." he cryptically finished as he stood up. "But for now, enjoy your victory because pretty soon..." he followed up before trailing off again as a light blue portal of flames formed behind him.

"... It might be one of the last wins you all ever get." he finished and it was only when he began walking away did they realize he was hiding something behind his back the entire time right as they saw two pucks coming towards him in his path, to which he caught with both his hands as he puzzlingly blinked at the sight before he shook his head.

"You really need to start aiming lower." he pointed out, glancing at Issac's daughter as they saw the woman huffing. "Yeah. I'm starting to realize that, but then again, you could learn to expect the unexpected." they heard her say as he chuckled.

"How so, kid?" he followed up, moving the two pucks over to his left hand and lightly crossing his arms now as the woman chuckled. "Why tell you when you can see it for yourself?" they all heard Issac's daughter say and not long after she posed the question, they saw a ball of reddish-orange flames begin swirling around the scientist before they all saw Ember materalizing as she regained her physical form and smirked.

"What do you—"

"I will be taking this, thanks!" Ember promptly exclaimed, grabbing the primal cube out of the scientist's possession as his eyes widened. "I got it!" she cheered as Atari's eyes darkened, to which their eyes widened right as Issac's daughter eyes had widened too.

"Ember—" she, her siblings and Issac's daughter attempted to warn, but before any of them could get the rest of their warning out, Atari beat them to it. "And I got you!" Atari promptly exclaimed, grabbing the woman as she, her siblings and Issac's daughter gasped.

"Ember!" she, her siblings and Issac's daughter cried out when they saw Issac's daughter start to angrily clench her fists and look at the scientist. "Let her go!" the caramel-skinned woman firmly ordered as she and her siblings nodded. "Yeah! Let her go!" they echoed but he only laughed at them before his eyes fell on the caramel-skinned woman once more.

"I can't do that because you have to choose." Atari taunted as they saw Issac's daughter stare at him in disbelief.

"You can't be serious." the caramel-skinned woman firmly insisted as he laughed. "Oh, but I am." he insisted in turn as he held Ember by her throat, preventing her from saying anything now as his eyes darkened. "So now, you get to choose: are you going to save your friend at the expense of losing the cube or are you going to grab the cube at the expense of your friend?" he added as they saw the caramel-skinned woman angrily turned and clenched her fist before she sighed at the situation.

"I—"

"Mija, remember what we talked about." Sophie and her siblings heard and when they looked, they saw Issac appearing beside her now as they saw his daughter looking at him before she glanced at Atari holding Ember and sighed when she turned to face the scientist.

"You can keep the cube."

"Mija—"

"Just give me back my friend..." they heard her firmly continue before she trailed off as they saw her sighing. "... Please." they heard his daughter plead as they saw Atari chuckling. "Done." he stated as they saw him releasing Ember, who was joined by Issac's daughter as they saw the latter start to hug her now.

"Are you alright?"

"My throat is a bit bruised, but I'll be fine." they heard Ember softly said as they saw the woman flashing a smile at Issac's daughter. "Thanks." Ember softly said right as a chuckle followed suit.

"Yes. Thank you for securing my boss' victory and mine." Atari cheekily stated as they turned to see a flame of light blue portals forming behind him. "Now, if you all excuse me, I have a primal cube to deliver." he cheekily boasted as they saw Ember and Issac's daughter angrily clenching their fists.

"Okay, bye!"

"No!"

Issac, to their credit, attempted to stop Atari from leaving right then and there but he narrowly missed the scientist, who slipped into a portal of light blue flames and smirked as they all saw the portal shut behind him and vanish with the latter hitting the air and the last fleeing flickers of the flames that remained before that too dissipated. They saw him angrily forming a fist out of the rage he felt before his eyes fell on his daughter, who spoke then.

"Dad," his daughter solemnly began as they saw him turn away from her. "Dad, I'm sorry. I know how badly you wanted the relic, but I— I couldn't—" they saw her attempting to apologize when they heard him give a bitter chuckle.

"You made a mistake in not choosing the primal cube." he firmly stated as he clenched his fist tighter while keeping his back towards them.

"Dad—"

"—Maybe, there's time for me to correct the mistake you made." he insisted as Sophie and her siblings' eyes widened while Ember's eyes darkened and his daughter held a look that none of them could read.

"Dad, look. I'm sorry. I really, really am and I... I know it looks bad, b... but I can fix this. I can get the primal cube back. I swear. Just let me—"

"—You want to help, mija? You can help me by staying out of my way before you go and make things worse!" he firmly but sharply stated, coldly looking at his daughter now as they saw her eyes widened.

"Dad—" they heard her initially begin, now trying to approach him when a swirl of light blue, almost teal-like shadows swirled around him before he and the shadows abruptly vanished as they saw her eyes widened more.

"Dad!" his daughter exclaimed before she solemnly sighed. "Great. Now, he's gone and it's my fault!" his daughter solemnly followed up as they heard her sigh again when they glanced at each other and cleared their throats.

"Hey, don't listen to what he said." she and her brothers softly said as her sister nodded. "Yeah! It's not your fault. Besides, you were just looking out for your friend and I'm sure he'll come to understand that you meant well." her sister softly said as they saw Issac's daughter sighing at her response.

"Somehow, I'm not so sure about that." his daughter skeptically mumbled before she sighed. "But it doesn't matter because me and Ember can deal with what was said later. Right now, the two of us have to find him before something happens, so come on." the woman followed up as they all saw her glancing at Ember. "We got a lot of ground to cover and not enough time, but I think I have a idea of where he could be going, so let's go." his daughter followed up before her eyes fell on them.

"It was nice meeting all of you and um, sorry again, for unwittingly getting you guys involved in our mess." she briefly said before she chuckled. "Well, my mess anyways." the caramel-skinned woman continued, much to Ember's dismay as her eyes widened.

"Hey, this isn't your—" Ember had attempted to say but the latter ran off now as they saw her ice skates replaced by black short-heeled boots and her hockey stick no where to be found. Once it was apparent she left, they saw Ember snapping her fingers as her ice skates switched to a pair of flats before she sighed.

"Well, it was nice to meet all of you, but if you excuse me, I have to go catch up to my friend as we go and look for her dad and hope that he comes to his senses soon because if he doesn't, then I might really go and snap at him." Ember followed up as she took a deep breath.

"So, yeah! Maybe, we'll cross paths, maybe we won't but regardless, I hope you all get home safely and yeah." she further added before she saluted to them. "Alright, bye!" she concluded before they saw her turn to face the direction that Issac's daughter took off in.

"Aliya! Wait for me!"

When Sophie and her siblings heard the name of Issac's daughter at last, their eyes widened as they glanced at each other and back at Ember, who took off now as she left them behind. When she left and they were left alone, Sophie finished processing the name as she turned to her five siblings.

"Wait. Do you guys think that the Aliya she was talking to is also—"

"—the same one from Sensei Thorn's stories?" Mikey finished, taking the words out of her mouth as she smiled, having missed how in sync they were as the two twins saw Captain Violet blinking at them. "Wait. Are you two talking about—" Captain Violet followed up when their three older brothers interrupted her.

"—That one wingless faerie?" Leo, Raph and Donnie chimed in as she and Mikey nodded. "Yeah, I mean it can't just be a coincidence that—" she and Mikey attempted to follow up when the two were interrupted by their older brothers, who shook their heads as they heavily sighed at their response.

"Guys, it was just a story when we were kids." Leo gently said as Captain Violet nodded. "Yeah. I know it would be nice if Avalon did exist, but it's not a real place." Captain Violet gently said as Donnie and Raph nodded.

"Mhm and Aliya is nothing more than a character she made up to get us to fall asleep. That's it." Donnie and Raph concluded right as they began to hear the sound of shattered crystals. When they looked, they began to see the cracks surrounding the crystallized victims become wider as their eyes widened.

As Sophie and her siblings watched, they all wanted to stay and check on them, but they knew if they stayed and got spotted, it would mean risking the chance of getting exposed and ending up on the news.

However if she ended up on the news, then she would end up in a unwanted situation because she was doing something she wasn't already supposed to be doing. As such, she did not want to risk getting lectured by their father and though their situation wasn't like hers, her siblings also did not want to get lectured.

"We should go before they emerge out of their crystallized shells and we end up being spotted." Leonardo firmly said as everyone nodded then.

"Yeah."

So, she, Captain Violet and their brothers took off and left Midtown Ice Rink behind them as they collectively chose to reside on top of one of the nearby rooftops where they sat down and took a breather after tonight's events. There, Sophie and her siblings basked in their silence before the silence between them was broken by Leo, who cleared his throat.

"Well, guys, that was certainly something. Wasn't it?" Leo followed up, turning to face them as everyone mutely nodded when Captain Violet spoke up. "Yeah, but hey! We became reunited with Clipsy Cakes!" Captain Violet happily exclaimed before she stopped as a sheepish laugh followed.

"Though, I suppose with you going back to using your real name again, I might have to tweak my nickname for you to better align with the new nickname we made for you." Captain Violet softly said as Raph chuckled. "Luckily, Little Warrior, my nickname is unique so I don't have to go and change Chompy, which is great because I didn't really want to change it in the first place." Raph cheekily added as she and Captain Violet chuckled while Mikey began to pout.

"Hey! You are not the only one who can come up with unique nicknames. Okay? Sissy Twin is a great nickname, but now that we're reunited, Sophie and I can finally start going back to being called Double Trouble again and we—"

"—Mikey. I know you want to go back to our old nickname and believe me, I would love to more than anything, but... Master Splinter still has us separated, remember?" she solemnly stated as she interrupted her twin brother before she sighed. "Besides, I'm not even supposed to be out, much less talking to you guys, so this—" she followed up when she was promptly interrupted.

"No, no, no, no! Don't do that!" Mikey promptly protested as she puzzledly blinked and turned to face her twin.

"Don't do what?"

"That!" Leo, Raph and Donnie firmly snapped as she turned to see her three older brothers who all began to solemnly sigh. "Don't go and say this is nothing more than a one time thing because none of us are going to stand for it." her three older brothers followed up as they sighed again at their response before they turned to look at her. "Okay? Not anymore." her three older brothers further added as Captain Violet firmly nodded.

"Yeah! You're not leaving us, so don't go and make it sound like a goodbye now." Captain Violet firmly followed up as she solemnly sighed at her siblings' responses.

"Look. I know you all missed me and believe me, I missed you guys too. Okay? I want nothing more than for all of us to hang out again like the way we used to as kids, but..." she sincerely began before she heavily sighed. "... It's not just possible." she solemnly finished, ending her response on a dejected note that none of her siblings could stand for.

"No!"

"Guys—"

"No! Look, it's already bad enough that Splinter has us following his stupid rule him and Sensei Thorn enforced when we were kids, but we're not losing contact with you! Not after we just met for the first time in years!" Captain Violet and her older brothers firmly protested as she sighed again.

"Look, I'm sorry but the rule that him and Sensei Thorn enforced all those years ago is meant to protect you guys—"

"Protect us?" Captain Violet and Mikey puzzlingly asked as her three older brothers nodded in agreement at their younger siblings' responses. "Yeah! Protect us from what?" Leo, Raph and Donnie firmly followed up as she heavily sighed, having already regretted the words that had came out of her mouth.

"Forget it, guys. It's nothing." she insisted, but her siblings weren't fooled by her response as they concernedly looked at her.

"Sophie—"

"I shouldn't have it said anything anyways, but really, it's nothing." she emphasized, having now interrupting them once more but her siblings (once again) remained unfazed by her response as they glanced at each other and back at her as they took a deep breath.

"Sophie, look. You can keep saying that it's nothing all you want, but we all know it's clearly not nothing, because we had to do endure years of our sister being under the same roof and never being able to talk to her or hang out with or train with her and it just... we're miserable without you, okay, and we are not... we're not trying to lose you again."

"Guys—"

"We just... We just need to know why we were separated from you that day, so we can at least try to understand what it is that we are dealing with."

"We? Guys, there is no—"

"Yes, there is a we because we are not going to let you face whatever it is that led to you being separated from us alone. Okay? We are in this together." Captain Violet firmly but determinedly stated as her little sister looked at her and smiled.

"Vi—"

"Sophie, I never turn my back on my word. Okay? That's my ninja way, so when I say that we are not letting you go through this alone, I mean it, because you are family and family always comes first, no matter what!" Captain Violet determinedly followed up, interrupting her once more as she stood up and when she did, she saw her brothers nodding before they also stood by their little sister.

"Yeah! Whatever it is, we can face it together!" her brothers determinedly chimed in and as she began to genuinely look at her siblings, she almost felt the urge to tear up then, but she forced herself not to as she simply smiled at their words and nodded.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." her siblings happily chirped before they looked at her. "So... This is probably none of our business, but..." her brothers followed up when they trailed off as Captain Violet began clearing her throat and looking at her once more.

"... How come you chose to go by your real name again?" Captain Violet curiously finished as she sighed, knowing the question was bound to make an appearance somewhere along the way. It was one she knew was coming, but one she still dreaded nonetheless.

Still, given how she couldn't tell them about the reason for their separation from her, she knew the least she could do was tell them the truth of her name change.

"I chose to go by my real name again, because... Well everything that happened in the past and Sensei Thorn's death, I... I couldn't really bring myself to continue going by Eclipse. So that was when I decided to make Eclipse a dead name and go back to my real name since my real name isn't attached to any of the tragic things that occurred back then and I really just wanted to not be reminded of the past." she softly confessed as she sighed.

"You know? So... yeah. That... That's why I chose to go by Sofonisba again." she concluded as she looked up to see her sister and her brothers nodding.

"That's fair." they sincerely told her as they looked at her. "Well, it might take some getting used to, but we will come around to it, Sofonisba." her siblings softly followed up as she gave a soft, sincere smile. "Thanks." she softly said as they brightly smiled. "You're welcome!" her siblings brightly said before Mikey and Captain Violet gasped.

"Wait!" Mikey and Captain Violet abruptly exclaimed as she and her three older brothers gave a puzzled look in their direction.

"What?"

"Okay! So, you know we have to stay separated, right? Because of that stupid rule from all of those years ago?" Mikey promptly began as she slowly nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Well, whenever one of us need to keep in touch with each other, we use our T-Phones—"

"T-Phones?" Sophie puzzledly inquired when Leo, Mikey and Raph nodded. "Yep! We have Vi and Donnie to thank for that." they said as she looked at Captain Violet and Donnie, who nodded as the two of them brightly grinned.

"Yep! Little Genius and I made them and we even named them!" Donnie proudly explained as Mikey pouted. "I was going to come up with the name first." he insisted as Captain Violet softly chuckled and comforted him before her little sister turned to face her.

"Me and Mikey got to thinking and—"

"Wait, Mikey thinks?" Leo, Raph and Donnie jokingly chimed as Mikey's eyes widened. "Hey! I know I don't look like much, but there is a brain in here!" Mikey protested as her and Captain Violet crossed their arms. "Yeah and besides, he's just as smart as the rest of us." she and her little sister promptly countered as Mikey nodded and gestured to them.

"Thank you!" he said before clearing his throat as he looked back at her. "Anyways, we thought what if we used it to communicate with you?" Mikey proudly finished as he brightly smile at her.

"I mean, technically, Sensei said we had to stay separated, but he never did said anything about communicating through our T-Phones, so it can our own personal loophole." Mikey followed up and it was then that Leo and Raph gasp [since Donnie had made the connection earlier when he and Vi began to talk about the device they made] as the realization finally dawned on them.

"Mikey, that's... actually really smart." Leo followed up as Raph nodded. "Yeah! You're a genius for that one!" Raph followed up as well as Mikey proudly grinned. "See? I can be smart! Oh! Well if we're saying I'm smart now, then that has to mean anchovies on pizza is a great topping after all!" Mikey excitedly added as Leo and Raph shook their head in disappointment.

".... And you ruined the moment." Leo and Raph jokingly said, earning some chuckles out of her, Donnie and Captain Violet as Mikey playfully crossed his arms. "Whatever, dudes! Say what you want, but it will catch on!" Mikey playfully protested before he presented the T-Phone to her as he grinned.

"Anyways, this is for you." Mikey followed up as Captain Violet nodded. "Yep! You can use it to communicate with us over long distances, but they also have extra features such as games, a camera, and a tracking app." Captain Violet added as Donnie nodded.

"Yep and oh! In case of an emergency, the T-phones are programmed to self-destruct." Donnie further explained as she blinked.

"Wait. You and Vi made a phone... that's programmed to self-destruct?"

"Trust me, Soph. You don't want to overthink it." Leo and Raph whispered as she blinked, but nodded nonetheless at their words.

"Yeah, as long as you don't say the phrase—"

"Mikey, don't—"

"—T-Phone, self-destruct—" Mikey promptly finished but as soon as he got to the phrase, the T-phone blew up as Captain Violet lightly shook her head while Leo, Raph and Donnie face-palmed themselves while her twin sheepishly smiled. "... Then, you're fine." he finished as she chuckled.

"Well, I appreciate the demonstration of what not to do."

"That's why we always carry extras." Captain Violet softly said, handing her another T-Phone as she brightly grinned. "Our numbers are already in there, and we have yours added to ours, so whenever you need to reach out—" her little sister further continued, only to get cut off when she became interrupted.

"Or just want to chat, don't hesitate to talk to us." her older brothers sincerely interjected as they brightly grinned at her. "Okay?" her siblings collectively followed up as she nodded. "Okay." she sincerely said as they brightly grinned at her response.

"Yay!"

So as time passed and Sophie found herself back in her room undetected, she found herself thinking back to the time she spent with her siblings and in reflecting on the connection she shared with them after spending so many years apart from them, she realized just how much she had truly missed them.

So as she stared at her newly acquired T-phone with her siblings' contacts, a smile started to surface on her face and though they were still separated, she didn't find it as suffociating as it felt for her in the past because now, she had a way to keep in touch with them.

But right as she began to smile, it began to drop as she caught a glimpse of her Ignis Mark and frowned, knowing she couldn't get close to them because of her mark and the demon inside of her and—

"We just... We just need to know why we were separated from you that day, so we can at least try to understand what it is that we are dealing with."

"We? Guys, there is no—"

"Yes, there is a we because we are not going to let you face whatever it is that led to you being separated from us alone. Okay? We are in this together."

"Vi—"

"Sophie, I never turn my back on my word. Okay? That's my ninja way, so when I say that we are not letting you go through this alone, I mean it because you are family and family always comes first, no matter what!"

"Yeah! Whatever it is, we can face it together!"

After replaying her conversation with her siblings in her head, she began to retrieve her T-Phone again as a soft smile formed on her face again. "We can face it together." she quietly repeated as she felt optimistic then and decided she was going to do it.

So while Sophie wasn't sure when or how she was going to do it, but she was determined to let her siblings in and relieve herself of this burden she held under lock and key for years by telling them the truth because she knew she could depend on them just like they could always depend on her. After all, they were family and in their household, family always came first....

No matter what.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Well, for Sophie, the future looked bright with her unexpected reunion of her siblings that they kept secret from their father, who would have surely panicked and frowned upon the ordeal if he were to ever found out that the six broke his rule."

"Mhm, for sure but none of that seemed to matter to Sophie or her siblings because they knew they had each other and they were never going to lose sight of that again."

"Yep, but the same couldn't be said for our dad as he (more or less) still blamed and had maybe even resented our sister for her decision in choosing their family friend over that of the primal cube since he saw the relic as being more important with its high-stake consequences and he believed our sister would have acknowledged the significance of the primal cube over that of Ember, who he viewed as being less significant to the matter."

"This, however, didn't become the case and so, now our dad found himself racing against time to 'correct' our sister's 'mistake' and reclaim possession of the primal cube once more before Atari could go and deliver the relic to his boss."

"Right well, if there's one thing to know about our dad, it's that he had a particular way of doing things, which is to go and say that he liked it when things essentially went his way and if things didn't go his way, then he tended to blame whoever was responsible for derailing his plans and vocalized his frustration towards whoever strayed from his way of doing things."

"Mhm. So even though he genuinely loved our sister, not even she could escape the brunt of his fury as she happened to be the one whom he casted the blame on while he continued searching for Atari and began to vocalize his frustrations with our sister's decision along the way..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"All she had was one job! One! Grab the primal cube! That's it! That's all she had to do and yet, she couldn't even manage to do that!"

As Issac continued his search for the scientist, he felt his anger towards his daughter's decision grow then as he continued to voice his frustrations with no one around to hear him.

"I even went out of my own way to emphasize the primal cube's significance to her and told her to put the relic first above everything else but did she listen to me? No! And what does she end up doing instead of listening to me? She ends up giving up the primal cube for Ember and now because of her, I have to try to fix her screw up!" he angrily followed up before he sighed.

"Then again, I shouldn't really be surprised." he briefly continued as he bitterly chuckled. "After all, it's only fitting that she would mess this up since she was never really capable of getting anything right to begin with." he dryly followed up as his tone turned venomous towards the end.

The sudden yet subtle shift in his tone was something that should have bothered him right then and there since he had never actually gotten that angry with her before, but he was too fixated on the rage he felt toward his daughter's careless decision to think about the sudden shift in his tone or even pay attention to the way he suddenly berated her just now for that matter.

So stopping then to land on top of a unoccupied rooftop now, he uncrossed his arms and began scanning his surroundings in hopes of locating Atari with the relic that should have never been in his hands in the first place as he recalled the scientist's chuckle with his mind replaying the aftermath of his daughter's decision now with Aliya giving up the primal cube for Ember...

"Yes. Thank you for securing my boss' victory and mine." he recalled Atari cheekily stating as he saw a portal of light blue flames forming behind him; the scientist's smirk taunting him then.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a primal cube to deliver." he recalled Atari cheekily boasting as the scientist's smirk grew when he heard him speak again.

"Okay, bye!"

"No!"

He recalled attempting to stop Atari from leaving right then and there but he had narrowly missed the scientist, who managed to slip into a portal of light blue flames and smirked as the portal closed behind him and vanish with him hitting the air and the last fleeing flickers of the flames that remained before that too dissipated. He recalled the way he had angrily formed a fist out of the rage he felt before his eyes eventually fell on his daughter then as she spoke.

"Dad," he heard her solemnly begin, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her as he turned away from her while she continued to speak. "Dad, I'm sorry. I know how badly you wanted the relic. I really do, but I— I couldn't—" she continued as he recalled the way Aliya tried to apologize and try to justify her decision to him when he proceeded to interrupt her with a bitter chuckle while his back continued to be turned to her and the others.

"You made a mistake in not choosing the primal cube." he firmly stated as he clenched his fist tighter as he felt everyone's stares on him but he hadn't [and still didn't] care because as far as he was concerned, the way they perceived him and his words didn't matter as his daughter began to speak again.

"Dad—"

"—Maybe, there's time for me to correct the mistake you made." he insisted and though he still refrained himself from looking at her and the others, he knew his response would have likely caught Sophie and her siblings off-guard. Just like he knew Ember would have likely taken great offense to his response with the way he had implicitly taken a shot at her while he made his daughter's decision sound worse than what it really was, but again, he hadn't [and admittedly still didn't] care as his daughter spoke once more. 

"Dad, look. I'm sorry. I really, really am and I... I know it looks bad, b... but I can fix this. I can get the primal cube back. I swear. Just let me—" she attempted to apologize again as he recalled the way she was genuinely attempting to fix the wrong she caused, but all he seemed to [and admittedly still] focus on was the gradual buildup of the growing rage he felt as he recalled the way he angrily clenched his fist tighter before he proceeded to cut Aliya off, no longer being capable of hearing what else she had said at this point since his daughter's words had fell flat on his ears now.

"—You want to help, mija? You can help me by staying out of my way before you go and make things worse!" he firmly but sharply stated, coldly looking at his daughter now as Aliya's eyes widened at his response. It was then that he saw her eyes glistening with a wounded gleam and he knew he went too far with what he said once that look surfaced.

For a moment, he felt guilty for what he said as he felt the urge to apologize to her and he would have done so right then and there.

Yet when he remembered that their chances of staying a step ahead of his omi were tainted because of her, his guilt immediately vanished as his anger resurfaced and he continued to remain resolve in his stance, even as he made note of the way everyone else was looking at him as though he was the one in the wrong when Issac knew they failed to realize that this was clearly her fault and her fault alone.

So as he dismissed their looks, he kept his eyes centered on his daughter as he saw Aliya try [in vain] to talk to him again in a desperate attempt to reach out to him as though she really believed her words could somehow magically fix the damage she caused to their situation.

"Dad—" she attempted to begin, but when he saw her start trying to approach him now, he quickly summoned the shadows to make his escape as his patience and tolerance towards his daughter had finally reached its end as he had more important things to focus on than to stay there and continue wasting his time listening to her furtive attempts of apologizing.

So it was then that a series of light blue, almost teal-like shadows swirling around him now as his daughter's eyes widened more with her voice being the last thing he heard before he and the shadows abruptly vanished...

"Dad!"

After replaying the moment that essentially led him to this point, Issac angrily clenched his fist then as his eyes unknowingly began to switch from his light honeysuckle color to his light blue, almost teal-like hue with his rage having now been rekindled once more by the recollection he played out in his head. As such, it only made sense then that the anger he had felt towards his kid and her decision starting to die down would be ignited again as he began to clench his fist tighter in a more aggressive manner.

"If Aaliyah had just listened to me and did exactly what I told her to do, none of this would be happening!" he aggressively snapped and once he said that, his light blue, almost teal-like eyes began glowing brighter and intensively as he continued to fixate on his anger.

However, while Issac was aware of his anger influencing his powers surfacing, he failed to realize that his powers weren't the only thing being influenced as he didn't realize then just how deep his voice became then. Nor did he realize the sinister undertone that began to surface now with the next words he spoke while he continued clenching his fist.

"I swear the next time I see her, I'm going to—"

"—Hurt her?" a familiar voice finished and in that moment, a sudden chill spread through him. Not long after he heard that and the chill occurred, the ever-growing intensity in his light blue, almost teal-like hue died down significantly with the aggressively tight grip he had placed over his clenched fist lessening.

"Or perhaps, you were thinking about doing more than just simply hurting her..." the familiar voice followed up before trailing off as a smug but almost taunting-like chuckle followed suit, resulting in another sudden chill spreading through him.

Not long after that occurred, he lost the rest of the light blue, almost teal-like sheen in his eyes as he regained the light honeysuckle color in his eyes. So after the color switch in his eyes occurred, the familiar voice proceeded to make their identity known to him now with the next words that were spoken then.

"... Little Prince."

In that moment, Issac's anger resurfaced but now, it was no longer directed toward his daughter or the decision she made as it was directed toward his mother's right-hand, who he had sharply turned to face as he proceeded to retighten the grip on his clenched fist again.

"Look, let me get one straight with you here, Phantom. I might be upset, but even in spite of the anger I feel towards her, I would never go as far as to hurt my own daughter." Issac firmly said as he proceeded to unclench his fist and aggressively slid his right hand over before he stepped forward and began bridging the gap between them.

However, in spite of the assertiveness that he displayed, this did little to faze Phantom as Issac observed the latter chuckling now as he saw his mother's purely white eyes staring back at him.

"Oh come on, little prince. You can try to lie now, but deep down, you and I both know that was where you were heading before I came in to interrupt now, so why try to deny it?" his mother's right-hand casually countered as he sharply eyed Phantom.

"I'm not denying anything because it's exactly how I told you!" he firmly protested, answering Phantom's question and continuing to stay by his stance when the latter chuckled once more.

"Little Prince, come on. Let's be real here. Had I not interrupted you just now, you would have certainly gone in that direction." Phantom indifferently answered as his eyes sharpened more then as he further tightened the grip of his clenched fist.

"No, I wouldn't have because I was going in a different direction before you interrupted me!" he firmly but quite defensively protested, countering the latter's response and his stance on what he was going to say when Phantom chuckled at him again.

"Well, if you are so convinced you weren't going in that direction, then answer me this: What were you going to say just now before I interrupted you?" Phantom casually inquired as Issac unclenched his fist and annoyingly scoffed.

As such, it only made sense that his annoyed-like demeanor would translate into the way he began crossing his arms and looking down on his mother's right-hand now as though he had just been asked the world's most dumbest question. Regardless of the annoyance he had felt though, Issac proceeded to answer the question as he felt certain he could prove him wrong.

"Well," he confidently began as he chuckled and uncrossed his arms. "Had you not interrupted me just now, I was going to say that I was going to..." he proceeded to follow up, but it was also here where he trailed off and he knew Phantom had made note of that when he saw the latter slowly looking at him.

"... To do what exactly?" Phantom promptly followed up, briefly rotating his hands now in a way that seemed to be urging him to follow up on his response now as Issac found himself tensely but very quietly chuckling from the way Phantom's eyes seemed to stay on him.

"I..." Issac attempted to begin before he trailed off as he cleared his throat and proceeded to try again. "Well, I..." he followed up before he trailed off as he awkwardly chuckled. Not long after, he nervously tugged against the collarbone of his light blue and silver armored suit as he saw Phantom blankly staring at him.

However, Issac knew his mother's right-hand wasn't truly as indifferent as he appeared to be as his eyes told a different story in the sense that he could see a gleam of subtle smugness, which only made the prince more nervous then with his muscles tensing up now and this translated in the way he spoke.

"W... Well, you see, I... I was going to say that I uh... I—"

"Little Prince—"

"I—"

"Little Prince, stop stalling." his mother's right-hand swiftly stated, now interrupting him as Issac awkwardly chuckled. "Pfft, I'm not stalling." he promptly feigned as he stopped tugging against the collarbone of his armored suit. "I am just—" he attempted to add, but then he was promptly interrupted.

"Little Prince." Phantom sternly countered in a way that was similar — if not, downright identical — to the way his daughter would refer to him when she knew he was hiding something from her that he couldn't help but cave in to Phantom then as he heavily sighed.

"Fine. I was stalling." he stated then as he heavily sighed once more and could only watch the way Phantom dropped his blank look as he appeared to look subtly smug now before he had listened to the latter chuckle.

"Ah, so it would seem that your stalling wasn't the only thing I was right about." Phantom had slowly but cryptically countered as Issac feigned a dismissive scoff. "I don't know what you're talking about." he countered as he heard the latter chuckle once more. "Oh, but I have a very strong feeling that you do." Phantom promptly taunted as he tensed up then, but he still kept the facade of his stupidity going as he crossed his arms again.

"I still don't know what—"

"Birsha, you and I know exactly what I'm talking about here, so don't be coy with me now."

"I don't—"

"Little Prince, you can deny it all you want, but deep down, you and I both know you were going to say you wanted to hurt her." his mother's right-hand firmly interrupted and it was then Issac quit trying to talk because deep down, he knew Phantom was right.

Just like he knew lying to himself and denying the reality of his decision wasn't going to change the fact that he thought it. Nor would it change the fact that he was nearly going to verbalize it into existence had Phantom not interrupted him.

So he knew what Phantom said was true, but it wasn't just enough that he was going to say it as it was more than the fact he felt the urge of wanting to inflict harm onto her because it was the way he genuinely wanted to act on the urge too. So knowing he wanted to intentionally hurt Aliya then didn't just scare him.

It terrified him.

"Well, judging from your silence, I can tell you didn't really think it was possible to harbor such thoughts towards the girl because she's your daughter, but even the genuine love you feel for her can wither away and die with enough anger and rage."

Snapping out of his thoughts after Phantom spoke, his eyes widened as he uncrossed his arms and stared at the latter in disbelief.

"But hey, that's good because all it means is it just means you will come to embrace who you were meant to become when you learn to finally stop letting the little duchess hold you back from achieving your fullest potential." his mother's right-hand casually added as he darkly glared at Phantom now.

"I told you, I'm not—"

"—An instrument of destruction, a weapon and a monster." Phantom dully interrupted, his tone now dripping in boredom as he saw the latter scoffing at his response. "Don't worry. I know all about the things you claim you're not and to an extent, you are right." the latter followed up as his eyes widened more in disbelief.

"I am?" Issac dumbfoundedly asked as he lightly laughed. "Ha! I knew it! I knew I wasn't—" he excitedly attempted to follow up when he was promptly interrupted by his mother's right hand now.

"—Yes, you are not an instrument of destruction, a weapon or a monster, but this is only because that's not what your destiny has asked of you right now." Phantom promptly followed up as his eyes faltered with his excitement now cut short at the latter's response.

"In time though, you will become these things and fulfill your overarching destiny, but for now, the first step toward achieving that begins when you become a villain and so it is a villain you'll become as it's what fate has demanded of you." his mother's right hand further added as Issac sharply stared at him.

"I told you, I'm not a villain." he firmly protested, but Phantom only snickered then as he saw the latter lightly sighing at his response now.

"You say that now, but you only think you're not a villain because you're too busy pretending to be a hero for your kid to see the truth." Phantom bluntly taunted as Issac maintained his sharp stare towards his mother's right hand.

"Say what you want, but I'm not pretending to be my daughter's hero because I am her hero." he firmly countered as Phantom laughed.

"Well, for someone trying to be her hero, you wanting to hurt her isn't exactly heroic now, is it?" his mother's right hand smugly shot back as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms before he began to scoff.

"Whatever. It was just a heat of the moment thing. That's all." Issac dismissively stated as his mother's right hand skeptically raised his right eyebrow and crossed his arms in the same manner.

"Uh-huh." Phantom initially began as he mockingly snickered. "Sure, little prince. Whatever you say." his mother's right hand added, causing Issac to irritatedly growl now as he proceeded to lash out at him.

"Look! Say what you want, but I'm going to do everything in my power to protect her because I am not only her father, but I'm also her hero and that's what heroes do.They protect just as I'm willing to protect my daughter from all who want to hurt her, which includes you and my omi." he firmly continued as Phantom snickered again.

"That sounds very heroic, little prince, but then again, sooner or later, you're going to learn all of the time you spent trying to protect her and pretending to be her hero were efforts made in vain because while me, my lady and everyone else might want to hurt her, we aren't exactly the ones you should be trying to protect her from now." Phantom promptly countered as he unclenched his fist and crossed his arms before he raised his left eyebrow in curiosity.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, you know what they say, little prince: a stab wound from a blade of an enemy's sword can inflict pain, but a stab wound from a blade of a loved one's sword can inflict far worse pain than a stab wound from an enemy's sword since it takes really knowing someone to truly hurt them and that's something only a loved one could do. Not an enemy."

After Phantom finished speaking, he had found himself pondering over his response now as he mentally raked over all of whom his daughter knew in an effort to figure out who could possibly be a potential threat to her.

Almost right away, he knew it couldn't be Rhys or Emrys that Phantom was talking about since they were his daughter's lifelong childhood friends [with Emrys being his daughter's childhood best friend, of course], so Issac knew he didn't have to worry about them as he didn't see either of them hurting her.

Then there was Iris, but given how her dad hated them, he wouldn't have been surprised if she turned against him and his daughter, especially since she had been Aliya's old enemy in the past. So, he knew to worry about her, but that was pretty much a given and from what Phantom had said, it was someone who was genuinely close to his daughter, which the prince knew couldn't have fit her since it was possible that she could turn on Aliya again.

There was Crystallia too, but he knew she wasn't as close to his daughter in the same sense that he had seen with the others, so he knew that she also couldn't have fit with what Phantom had said.

He also knew Nancy was closer to his daughter than opposed to Crystallia but not to the extent that Phantom was talking about, so he knew that she couldn't have fit either.

So with him having mentally gone through the majority of his daughter's friends now [as Aliya didn't really have a lot of friends going for her, given the kingdom's perception of her and the reputation that preceded her for as long as he could remember], Issac found himself left with only one name, but knowing the girl's connection with his daughter, it only puzzled him as he blinked.

"Ember? But she—" he briefly began until Phantom proceeded to interrupt him. "She's not who I'm referring to." his mother's right hand swiftly stated as he puzzledly looked at his omi's right hand.

"If you're not referring to Ember, then I should be trying to protect her from you, my omi and all of her other enemies since you guys are obviously her greatest threat." he countered as he saw his mother's right hand sighing. "Little Prince, as logical as that may sound to you, none of us are her greatest threat." Phantom promptly answered as Issac rolled his eyes.

"Well, I find that hard to believe, given what's occurred so far, but assuming you are somehow telling the truth and you, her grandmother and all of my daughter's other enemies aren't her greatest threat.... then who is?" he slowly inquired as Phantom's relatively smug grin turned towards that of an eerie smile now.

"You."

Immediately, his blood ran cold, his heart plummeted, his mouth abruptly turned dry [with a metallic taste beginning to form] and he lost feeling in his body after he had heard Phantom's answer. So even after his body had gradually recovered and he regained feeling in his body, the shock factor still remained as he lacked the words to say anything, which seemed to humor his mother's right hand since he saw him chuckling once more.

"Judging from your silence, I know it must be quite the relevation for you to hear such a thing, but it really shouldn't be a surprise to you since out of everyone she knows, you are the closest one to her. I mean, you're the one who raised her as her father, so it would only be fitting then that you would also serve as your daughter's greatest threat, given the bond Aliya shares with you." Phantom briefly stated, now cutting through the silence that engulfed them as he mutely stared at him, still having lacked the words to say anything.

"After all, is there anything so undoing than a parent?" his mother's right hand lightly finished before Issac heard him lightly sigh.

"Well as fun as this conversation has been, I should be going as I am needed elsewhere and I can only presume that you need to recover from learning you are your daughter's greatest threat, so this is where you and I shall part ways." Phantom promptly followed up, his tone now casual as he heard the latter chuckle once more. "For now, of course." his mother's right hand added and it was only after he said that did Issac see the latter's white-slit eyes turn into a light blue, almost arctic-like hue.

As soon as Phantom's eyes changed, he saw a portal of light blue flames appearing behind him as he recalled the portal Atari used in his escape. Having seen the portal, he knew then that his mother's right hand was responsible for letting the scientist escape with the primal cube... not Aliya.

Even though to some extent [at least], he still thought it was her fault since it was her decision that essentially led Atari to getting his hands on the primal cube again, not Phantom. But Issac knew he didn't really have time to continue pinning the blame on his daughter when he had a golden opportunity to correct her mistake and still even get a head start against his omi in the race to collect the relics now.

However, it meant getting Phantom's cooperation, which he knew would be challenging [at best] with him being so loyal to his omi but seeing how he was his best lead to staying a step ahead of his omi, he knew he had to try anyways and so he did.

"You helped him escape with the primal cube, so you know where he is and if you know where he is, then you can take me to him." he slowly followed up as Phantom lightly chuckled then at his response, briefly turning to look at him now.

"Ah, I can see where you are heading with this, little prince, but I'm afraid you are out of luck as my lady has given me very specific tasks to follow. None of which involve me helping you." his mother's right hand briefly countered as Issac's eyes faltered from the rejection.

"But—"

"Plus, even if I wanted to help — which I don't — I wouldn't because I align with my lady and her cause, not yours. Besides, you had your chance to get the primal cube, but if I'm not mistaken, it was your daughter who willingly gave it to Atari." his mother's right hand slowly continued as he sighed.

"She did, but—"

"—Ah, then there goes your answer. Rather than waste your time trying to ask me, have the kid locate Atari for you. Since it's her screw up that led you into this mess, it's only fitting she be the one to fix it, seeing how she's the one who got you into the situation in the first place." Phantom further added, interrupting him again as Issac irritatedly sighed at the way he kept blaming his daughter for Atari having the primal cube.

"Look, what she did doesn't matter. Right now, what matters is getting the primal cube back and I would really appreciate it if you—" he attempted to say, but he was once again interrupted by Phantom, who chuckled once more. "—Helped with retrieving the primal cube." Phantom had finished then as he sighed.

"Little Prince, I know what you're going to ask, but my answer still stands. Still, if you want my advice on what to do, I say just get the duchess to do it. That way, she can redeem herself from her costly failure and learn to stay out of your way before she goes and makes things worse for you like the jinx she is." his mother's right hand had briskly added, now following up on his previous response as Issac heard him chuckling once more.

As he did, the latter's laughter became distorted with the way he was reminded of what he had said to his daughter from the words that were spoken by his mother's right hand...

"—You want to help, mija? You can help me by staying out of my way before you go and make things worse!"

As he thought back to what he said and recalled the wounded gleam in his daughter's eyes, he found his vision distorting while Phantom's laughter rang louder in his ears...

In that moment, he found himself surrounded in a black abyss with Phantom's laughter still in the back of his mind and surrounded in darkness before his eyes drifted on a shadowy, cloaked figure whose brown eyes illuminated brightly amidst the darkness.

"Do it."

"What?"

"He called your daughter a screwup, a failure and a jinx. So, use that rage you have towards him insulting your kid and get him to do what you want. If you let the hate course through you, then you can show him who is really in control by using your powers to make him take you to Atari." the shadowy, cloaked figure answered as he tensely chuckled.

"See, I'm trying not to let my anger get the best of me since that seems to be causing a lot of my problems, so—"

"Your anger isn't the problem, shadowling, because anger is your greatest strength. Hate makes you strong and rage fuels your ambitions, so if you want to have a fighting chance of reclaiming the primal cube, then you have to tap into that burning rage of yours and let the hate you have flow through you."

"But—"

"Your anger, shadowling, is the best chance you have, so if you want him to help him, then you need to force him to do so. Only then, you will have a fighting chance, so give into your anger and do it."

After his brief talk with the (rather) strange shadowy, cloaked figure, Issac saw the same figure dissipating and seconds later, he found himself back at the rooftop with Phantom, who he saw about to step inside the portal of flames. It was then that his vision became distorted again as the shadows began to echo the words Phantom called his daughter.

"Screwup..."

"Failure..."

"Jinx..."

It was then he found himself lowering his head and as the words continued to echo in his head, he began to tighten his fist once more as his vision blurred and he started to see flickers of light blue, almost teal-like shadowy silhouettes with a few red splotches dancing within the scope of his vision before he heard the shadows echo the same two words he had heard from the figure.

"Do it."

Once he heard that, he began to darkly chuckle as something within him had internally snapped when it came to the way he heard his daughter being talked about. So as the red splotches and the shadowy silhouettes grew within the scopes of his vision, so too did his anger with the way the shadowy silhouettes consumed him and the darkness engulfed him...

"Well, it's a good thing I wasn't asking for your advice then." he slowly started and as he spoke, his voice became significantly deeper as he darkly chuckled again. "So, let's start over. You are going to take me to Atari's location, take back the words you spoke of my daughter and you are going to do these things..." he added before trailing off as he chuckled once more and began to lift his head up.

As soon as he lifted his head, his light honeysuckle eyes were nowhere to be found. Rather, the color became replaced by a illuminating light blue, almost teal-like hue with a bright silver-ish, white glowing streak in his eyes.

"... Now."

So as he and Phantom locked eyes, his illuminating light blue, almost teal-like eyes began to brightly glow and when that happened, a light blue, almost teal like and white outline began surrounding the latter, who abruptly screamed as a deviously wicked smirk began to emerge from the corners of his lips, having liked the sound of his screams.

As his smirk grew, Phantom fell onto his knees and gripped onto the head before the latter's screams stopped with his light blue, almost arctic-like eyes switching to reflect his light blue, almost teal-like eyes now as he saw his mother's right hand mutely stand up and turn to the portal he had previously created.

As he saw Phantom touching the portal of flames, Issac began to move closer as he began to see the location changing from whatever the latter had previously set the portal to go to now reveal the back area of a random building of as he blinked.

"He's there?" he promptly asked, now turning to face the latter as he saw him nodding. "He's within the area, but yes. Essentially, the scientist is there and you'll find the primal cube with him." Phantom answered, but as he did, his voice was significantly monotonous, though the unsettling smile still persisted as he nodded.

"Thank you. I can take it from here." he concluded and as he snapped his fingers, Phantom's light blue, almost teal-like eyes vanished and reverted back to his purely white eyes as Issac entered the portal. After he did, the prince proceeded to leave the latter behind as he quickly vanished with his mother's right hand realizing what happened too late as he had only lunge where the portal (and he) now formerly stood...

"Birsha!"

Surfacing in the back area of some random building, Issac abruptly crashed onto the pavement of the ground and watched the light blue flames dissipated before the last remnants of flames now vanished too. Once the flames were gone, he felt a sharp throbbing pain in his head as he immediately winced and gripped onto his head.

"Uugh... Okay. So, maybe this is what I get for tapping into my powers and controlling his mind." Issac quietly but faintly mumbled, wincing again as he began rubbing his head. After a few more winces and some more throbbing, the pain seemed to settle down just enough for him to stand up. So right as he did, Issac began hearing footsteps before a voice in the nearby distance follow suit.

"... Ugh! I thought we would have surely found him by now, but no!" the voice sharply began as he began to move closer, blending in with the shadows to avoid being seen. "No, he just had to take off by himself and make us look for him again!" the voice continued as he heard the voice's footsteps get closer when they stopped.

"My feet ache! It's late! I'm tired and I have just about had it up to here with this man! From his secrecy to him making us look like maniacs a second time now and him having the audacity to treat us the way he did after all we did for him and ooh! He better hope that she finds him first before I do because I swear, if I end up finding him first, I'm going to—"

"Ember?"

As he stepped out of the shadows and the back of the building now, Issac stood beside the wall and near the backdrop of a flickering and very faintly lit post-lamp as he saw the fire faerie stop in her tracks to look at him. When she did, she appeared to be taken aback [which he assumed had to be because of his eyes] as she blinked.

"Issac? What happened to you and is... that a glowing streak in your eyes?" Ember asked as she puzzledly stared at him. "How in Avalon did you even manage to gain that?" she asked before she shook her head.

"Whatever. We can talk about your new glowing streak later. The point is where have you been?" she followed up as he simply sighed at her questions. "It's a long story." he simply answered, but he suspected he might have said something wrong because he saw a flash of anger surfacing on her face now as she angrily clenched her fist.

"Me and Aliya have been looking for you nonstop for the past two hours now after you took off the way you did back in the ice rink that it had took us splitting up in an attempt to cover more ground just so we could try to find you and the best you got to say is it's a long story?!" Ember sharply lashed out as he blinked.

"Emby—"

"Oh, don't you go and 'Emby' me now, Issac! Okay? You don't get to go and act like you didn't do anything to me when you were just trying to get Aliya to give me up for that stupid primal cube back there at the ice rink, so don't even try to lie and deny it to me either because she told me all about it!" the fire faerie sharply snapped as he sighed.

"I knew I should've had her keep her mouth shut." he mumbled, but apparently not as low as he thought he did because it wasn't long before Ember heard him.

"You should have had her do what?!"

Eyes widening at the fact she heard him, he quickly glanced back at her and tensely chuckled at her. "Nothing. I didn't say anything." he promptly feigned, attempting to sound casual when he saw her eyes twitching while her fist seemed to be visibly shaking from the rage she felt toward him.

"You know what, Issac? I've tried my hardest to be patient with you all day from the moment you took off the first time." she angrily began as she took a shaky breath.

"Okay? I put with your secrecy, your lies, your really weird persistence in trying to debug Atari's game and I even put up with the way you took a shot at me after Aliya chose me over that stupid primal cube, but given the way you've been acting tonight and the way you blamed Aliya for the primal cube situation, you should consider yourself fortunate if you even manage to get back to her in—" she continued, having him backed against the wall now as she aggressively pointed at his chest when the two heard footsteps.

"Emby?"

When they heard his daughter's voice, his illuminating light blue, almost teal-like hue with a bright silver-ish, white glowing streak vanished and in their place, his light honeysuckle eyes resurfaced as he and Ember turned to see her.

When he and Ember looked up and saw Aliya, he noticed the fire faerie switching her demeanor as she turned and cheekily waved at his daughter. "Oh, hey girl!" Ember affectionately greeted, quickly ditching her aggression towards him as he saw the girl brightly grinning. "Look at who I just so happen to randomly stumble upon now!" she added, never looking at him as she began shoving him (rather roughly, he thought) from the wall and towards his daughter, whose eyes in the moment lit up as she lightly gasped.

"You found him!" he heard her happily exclaimed as he saw her run to excitedly hug the fire fae now. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he heard his daughter affectionately add before Aliya pulled away from the latter, who sheepishly grinned. "You're welcome." he heard the fire faerie softly tell her before turning to cast him a surprisingly cold look in his direction when she knew his daughter wasn't looking.

"At least, we can be done with the search for your old man. Though, I'm guessing we still have to tackle the other search with the whole primal cube now, huh?" Ember added, looking away from him and losing the cold look in her eyes as he saw her facing his daughter, who nodded.

"Yeah, but we still got time to deal with that and besides, he shouldn't be far behind." she lightly answered before she sighed. "At least, he shouldn't be that far behind if my recollection of the vision serves me right..." he heard her mumble now and trailing off to ponder on the matter as he blinked.

"Vision? What vision?"

When he spoke, he saw Aliya snapping out of her thoughts now as she chuckled. "It's a bit of a long story. I'll have to tell you later when all of this is situated and I'm able to make up for my mistake by getting you the primal cube." he heard her answer, flashing him a soft smile as he recalled what he said to her.

"Maybe, there's time for me to correct the mistake you made."

"Mija, I—"

"Girl, we talked about this. You didn't make a mistake." Ember insisted as they saw his daughter sighing. "Not with you, but I did make a mistake in not being fast enough. He was right there and if I had been faster, then you would never been put in that situation and I would have never had to choose between you and the relic in the first place." his daughter firmly protested as she gave a heavy sigh.

"If I had just been faster, we wouldn't be in this mess and now we're racing against time in trying to retrieve the relic from Atari because of me. So yes, Ember. I did make a mistake, just not with you." his daughter firmly concluded but right before he or their family friend could say anything, the two heard footsteps right as they saw Aliya's light amber eyes switching to a bright golden honey color.

"That's him." she firmly said before her eyes reverted back to her natural light amber color as he and Ember glanced at each other and back at her before they shook their heads and blinked at her once more. "Okay, so what's the plan?" he and Ember followed up as she glanced at them.

"Ember, you are keeping an eye on him—"

"Girl, I'm usually down for your plans. Okay, almost all of your plans with last night being a semi exception, but this one is a definite no go for me, Lia. Alright? I am not dad-sitting." Ember firmly protested as he nodded.

"Yeah and I don't need her to watch me because I can take care of myself." he firmly protested in turn as the fire faerie scoffed. "Oh, yeah because you definitely didn't need our help last night or tonight for this matter." the fire faerie sarcastically stated in a dry, blunt tone when he saw Aliya shooting her a stern look.

"Ember—"

"What? If he can do this by himself, then why doesn't he have the primal cube by now? Hm? I'm just saying for someone who can supposedly handle himself, he's doing a lousy job at it." Ember sharply countered as he sharply glared at her. He tried to tell himself to be civil, but his anger in the moment got the best of him and he couldn't bring himself to refrain from speaking the next set of words.

"Well, I would have had the primal cube had she not messed up." he sharply shot back when he saw their family friend's eyes darkened.

"She didn't—"

"He's right."

When they turned, they saw Aliya sighing. "He would have had the primal cube had I not messed up." she stated in agreement with his statement as Ember's face fell.

"Aliya—"

"Look, I know both of you don't like the plan but this isn't your mess to solve. It's mine so I'm taking full accountability for what I did by getting the primal cube back. That's why I have you watching him," she paused to point at their family friend before she sighed. "and why you are staying put." she finished, now looking at him as they blinked.

"So, I'll be back. In the meantime, just stay put and don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." she sternly added as she pointed at them. "That goes to both of you, but mainly just you." she finished, now turning to face him as he crossed his arms. "Ouch." he simply said as he saw his daughter's face falter as she heavily sighed.

"Baba, don't take it the wrong way. It's just neither of us have the energy to look for you a third time, so if you could just stay by Ember and not move, that would be great and we would really appreciate that." she softly said before she sighed.

"Okay. Well, I should be back with the primal cube. Uh, wish me luck and let's hope that I don't screw this up a second time, so yeah. I guess I'll see you guys soon. Bye." she followed up and began walking off as their eyes widened, but it was Ember who spoke up.

"Lia!"

After calling out to her, he saw Ember about to reach out to her but he was faster as he beat her to it and grabbed onto her left arm, stopping her in her tracks now. When he did, he saw Aliya puzzledly turn to face him as she blinked.

"Apá, what are you—"

"Look, I know I said some things but—"

"Baba, don't worry about it. Besides, you were right."

"Mija—"

"I mean, not about you wanting me to choose the primal cube over Ember, of course, but about me messing up your chances of retrieving the primal cube." she followed up, interrupting him as she clarified the matter and she briefly sighed. "I knew how badly we needed it and I still messed up your chances of getting the relic anyways, so it's on me." Aliya added as his face faltered more at her response.

"Mija—"

"But it's okay, because I'm going to make it up to you by getting the primal cube back from Atari, so it doesn't fall into his boss' hands or your omi's hands for that matter now." she determinedly followed up, interrupting him once more as he blinked.

"Mija—"

"Besides, this is the only chance that we are going to get, so I need to act on it before I lose this opportunity."

"Mija—"

"Dad, I lost the primal cube once when I let him escape with it and I'm not going to make the same mistake and let him get away a second time now." she finished, pulling away from him now as she sighed.

"I know you hate the plan, but I promise. I'm going to make it up to you. I disappointed you once before and I'm not about to disappoint you a second time, so I'm going to deliver the relic back to you and things will be okay." she added as his face fell.

"Mija—"

"You'll see." she added, interrupting him once more as she planted a kiss on his left cheek. "Now, I'm going to go get the relic and I need you to stay with Ember. Oh and try not to get into a fight with her while I'm gone. Okay? Because after me, she's all you have left and she did a lot to get us to safety, so try not to provoke her so much. Alright?" she followed up, now pulling away as he looked at her once more.

"Mija—"

"Thank you. Now on that note, I will—"

"Mija—"

"Baba, I know you're concerned about the primal cube, but relax. Alright? I'll get it back for you. Okay? I promise. I am going to ensure the primal cube is rightfully back in your hands because it's like you said: there is nothing more important than the relic." she followed up, preparing to go when he grabbed on her hand again.

"Mija—"

"So, I'm going to get the primal cube back and this time, I won't let you down. Okay? I'm going to make things right and maybe by then, I'll learn to stop acting like a jinx and hopefully, I can stop making things worse for you." she followed up, now pulling away from him once more as his eyes widened.

"Mija—"

"I'll be back." she concluded, interrupting him now as she pulled him into a quick hug, pulled away and gave him another kiss on his left cheek before she smiled and took off, leaving him alone as his eyes widened.

"Aliya!"

After she was no longer in his sights, he heard footsteps and light panting as he turned to see the fire faerie heavily breathing. "D... Did you s... stop her?" she tiredly asked as he sighed. "No." he exhaustively answered as she sighed.

"Issac, you had one job." she deadpanned as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well it's not my fault that she left." he sharply snapped as she crossed her arms. "I would beg to differ because in spite of you may think, it is your fault she left." she sharply shot back, now matching his energy as Issac mimicked her look and sharply crossed his arms.

"Well, in spite of what you may think, this is not my fault." he sharply protested once more as he saw Ember's eyes twitching, but he saw the latter taking a deep breath with her eyes no longer twitching.

"Huh. Well, call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the one who put the idea of Atari escaping with the primal cube being her mistake in her head. Just like I'm pretty sure I'm not the one who essentially told her to 'stay out of my way before you go and make things worse.' Oh and I'm not the one who said that she messed up just now so..."

"Ember—"

"Oh and how could I forget? I'm not the one who made her feel terrible for not getting the relic, so no matter how you might go and look at things, Issac, this is still your fault. Because if you hadn't placed the blame on her and made her feel like she had to essentially redeem herself to you, then she wouldn't have taken off the way she did just now." she bluntly followed up, now causing him to uncross his arms in time for his family friend to aggressively point at his chest after she finished interrupting him.

As he looked at Ember, his eyes initially widened before his eyes quickly faltered as he sighed. "Yeah. You're right. This is my fault." he quietly said in agreement before he proceeded to cast his eyes onto the ground. He remained that way for a bit when the latter heavily sighed before he felt the fire faerie begin removing her finger from his chest and proceed to stop pointing at him now.

"Issac—"

"Let's just focus on trying to find my daughter." he tiredly said, looking up to meet Ember's eyes as he exhaustively sighed. "Okay?" he followed up and maybe, it might have just been the way he looked and [genuinely] sounded tired, but not long after he spoke, he saw her anger morph into sympathy as she slowly nodded.

"Okay."

So with the two on the same page, they began to take off in the direction she went and started searching for his daughter when he heard a series of mumbled 'ow', causing him to turn as he saw the fire faerie shaking her foot.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not used to walking for this long. That's all, but I should be ready to start again now." she tiredly answered, placing her foot down as he blinked. "You know, if you're tired of walking, I could carry you." he offered as she blinked.

"Ike, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not a little changeling and besides, I can—" she countered as she attempted to decline his offer when he snapped his fingers, causing her to briefly scream as a series of light blue, almost teal-like shadows began to surround her before teleporting her to him as he caught the girl in his arms. "There. Problem solved." he insisted right as she finished screaming and looked at him with a flicker of annoyance before the look softened. When it did, she lightly rolled her eyes as she settled into his arms and looked at him again with a soft grin.

"Well, thanks, but don't think this means you're off the hook for what you tried to get Aliya to do now because it doesn't." she promptly said, dropping her soft grin as he solemnly huffed at her response. "Yeah, I thought so." he mumbled right as he heard Ember abruptly gasp.

"Issac! I see her!" she exclaimed, causing him to sigh since he figured she was probably trying to mess with him and get payback on him for trying to get Aliya to obtain the relic at her expense by leaning on his gullible nature. He, however, was not in the mood to deal with Ember's games, so Issac simply sighed once more.

"Ember, I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry. I really am, but now is not the time to be—"

"No! I'm serious!"

"Ember—"

"Look!"

So as he looked at her and where she saw pointing at, he saw her pointing at his daughter, who they saw entering a building as he briefly blinked. "Huh. Well, what do you know? For once, you tell the truth." he lightly said as she rolled her eyes. "Ike, I always tell the truth." she defensively said as he glared at her.

"You know, I would beg to differ considering how you lied about how long I was unconscious last night." he promptly said as she scoffed. "Yeah, but that's different because it was funny!" Ember lightly protested as he blankly stared at her. "Funny for you maybe." he simply deadpanned as she giggled at him, which made him feel a bit relieved as she seemed to be warming up to him again.

"Hey, I'm just saying: If you weren't so gullible all the time, then I wouldn't feel the need to pick on you so much." she lightly teased as he playfully rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I get the feeling even if I wasn't so gullible, you were still feel the need to pick on me." he lightly said as Ember opened her mouth for a bit until she closed her mouth, pondered a bit and nodded.

"Yeah, okay. That's fair. I would probably still find a way to pick on you even if you weren't super gullible." she simply said as he dramatically gasped. "I knew it." he playfully said as she lightly giggled. "Aw, Ike. It's all in good fun now." she lightly said as he lightly shook his head. "Uh huh. Fun for you maybe." he mumbled, but even he couldn't help but smile a bit before they became reminded of his daughter and the primal cube as they stopped smiling with Ember speaking up now.

"Anyways, we should go catch up to Aliya before—"

"—She catches up to Atari and the primal cube." he finished, interrupting his family friend as he chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm already ahead of you." he added and he snapped his fingers, a series of shadows began swirling around them. As soon as the shadows swirled around them, he and Ember saw the shadows lift them up before spinning them around and promptly teleport them on top of the rooftop to the building they saw Aliya entering.

As the shadows placed them on the ground, they saw the shadows vanishing right as Aliya made it on the rooftop and looked at them before she began to tiredly sigh.

"You two don't listen very well."

"Nope!" he and Ember cheekily answered as they saw his daughter shaking her head at him and their family friend. "Go figure." she said as he saw Ember rolling her eyes. "Oh come on, Lia. You should've known better than to have me dad-sitting and besides, we couldn't just let you have all the fun now." their family friend cheekily countered while he saw his daughter face-palming herself and mumble something under her breath as he glanced at her and back at their family friend.

"Do you mind if I—"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks."

So after he gently placed Ember down and she went back to standing on her own again, he then proceeded to teleport himself to his daughter as he quietly leaned towards her.

"Hey."

"Ah!"

Startled from his sudden arrival, he saw his daughter jump and nearly trip over herself when he quickly came to his daughter's aid and caught her from falling as he saw her tiredly huff before she began to look at him.

"Thanks..."

"You're welcome." he softly said, steadying her and briefly releasing his hold on her as he saw his daughter sighing and rubbing her eyelids. "Well, so much for that. If I would've known that both of you would've beat me up here, I could've just joined y'all instead of wasting my time walking all the way here." she mumbled as he flashed her a sympathetic smile.

"Well, you couldn't have known that we would've beat you up here. Besides, you technically did beat us when we saw you entering. I just cheated and used magic to get to the rooftop." he had softly confessed as she sighed.

"Mija, look. I'm sorry. I know you wanted me and Ember to stay put, but neither of us could just sit back and let you handle getting the relic from Atari on your own." he gently followed up as he saw his daughter tiredly chuckling.

"I don't see why considering you were trying to do it earlier." she pointed out as he huffed. "Yes, but that's because I wasn't thinking and now, I see that going on my own was... perhaps not the smartest thing to do." he sincerely deflected as she skeptically raised her right eyebrow.

"Perhaps?"

"Okay, wrong wording. I meant to say that going on my own wasn't the smartest thing to do." he answered, correcting his previous response as he sighed. "Is that better?" he followed up as she nodded. "It will do, but the real test is seeing if you actually learn from this and apply it or if this is going to be one of those 'you telling me what I want to hear and never actually applying what you learned' kind of moments." she promptly answered, crossing her arms now as he huffed at her response.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you never want to heed my advice." she promptly said as he sighed at her response. "That's not true, mija. I do heed your advice." he insisted as she dryly laughed at his response. "Really? Because I would beg to differ." she firmly said as he heavily sighed now at her response.

"Mija—"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

As they looked up, they saw Atari with the primal cube as he saw his daughter tauntingly smirk at the scientist.

"Oh, hey bud! Did you miss us?" she cheekily inquired as he puzzlingly stared at her. "Bud? Since when you start saying that?" he quietly whispered as she shrugged. "Since right now, I guess." he heard her simply say as he blinked.

Hmm. It sounds too much like what he would say, he bitterly thought and once that happened, a subtle frown began to form on his face. This was something that caught his daughter's attention as he saw her concernedly looking at him.

"Hey, are you—"

"I am not your bud!"

"Eh. Maybe not, but nonetheless, I hope you didn't think you could get rid of us that easily now, did you? Because if you did, I feel sorry for you if you did because you have something we want and we're going to need it, so it was only a matter of time before we became reunited." Ember chimed in as he saw her joining him and his daughter now with the three of them looking at the scientist, who sighed.

"Look. I need this primal cube more than you lot do, so if you could stay out of my way and let me do this one thing, that would be great." Atari promptly stated as he, his daughter and their family friend glanced at each other and back at him before his daughter chuckled.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, bud, because we need the primal cube more so if you could just kindly hand over the cube, we can all go our separate ways because it's been a long night and I'm sure you don't honestly want to be doing this." his daughter further added as he saw their family friend nodding.

"Yeah and believe me, none of us want to be here doing this but—"

"We really need that relic and we're not leaving without it." he finished, interrupting their family friend as they watched Atari chuckling.

"Ah, well. See, now there's a matter of conflict because we all need it but your daughter had her chance to get it and she chose to save the firecracker over there, so technically, this shouldn't even be a discussion since by all accounts, the relic is rightfully mine with the kid stating I keep the primal cube." Atari promptly stated as he saw his daughter huffing now. "Yeah, okay. He has us there. I did say that he could keep the primal cube." his daughter pointed out as he scoffed.

"Even so, who said this had to be a discussion now?" he brashly asked as he smirked. "Come on. I say, let's shake things up and start a new contract by making this one physical with the winner taking the primal cube and the loser walking away empty-handed." he confidently followed up as he heard their family friend lightly chuckling.

"Whoa, Ike. I never took you as the type to start fights now."

"That's because he's not." his daughter firmly said, countering Ember's response before he felt her tug at his arm and pull him to the side. "Dad, what are you doing? Why are you trying to get us into a fight with him when we couldn't even beat the scientist on our own last time?" she had quietly but hastily added as he chuckled. "Because I know we can win this time." he insisted as she sighed.

"Apá, I get what you're saying and I love how you believe in us, but just in case you forget, it took Sofonisba, Captain Violet and their brothers helping us for Atari to go down." she quietly added, reminding him of how they were able to really defeat the scientist as he lightly scoffed.

"Mija, Sofonisba, Captain Violet and their brothers were just kids and besides, they got lucky. He was most likely going easy on them anyways since they were kids." he quietly countered as she scoffed. "I highly doubt that's the case, baba." she deadpanned as he chuckled.

"Trust me. The three of us can handle him. Okay? We certainly don't need four talking tortoises, some human girl who is clearly adopted and another tortoise with a knockoff replication of my ability to help us." Issac promptly stated, but he spoke with a condescending tone now as Aliya puzzlingly blinked.

"Um, okay. I'm not sure what your problem is with Sofonisba and her siblings, considering that they helped us, but Sofonisba and her brothers are turtles, not tortoises." she protested as he lightly scoffed. "Pfft — Same thing." he insisted as she blinked.

"They are not the same thi—" she attempted to say before she cut herself off as she sighed. "You know what? I'm not about to stand here and argue with you over turtles and tortoises not being the same thing, so it's honestly whatever." she followed up before she sighed again.

"Anyways as for Captain Violet's case with her relation to the five turtles and whether or not she is actually adopted, the fact of the matter is that's not really for you to say and finally regarding the case with Sofonisba's magic, it isn't a knockoff replication of yours since she has cryokinesis and you have crystallokinesis." she followed up as he rolled his eyes at her response.

"They're similar, but you know, mine is better." he condescendingly (and maybe even somewhat arrogantly) stated, failing to see his daughter become more perplexed by the responses he had been giving her.

"Um, okay. Maybe at the surface level, they're similar because of the structures but she controls ice and you control crystals, making them two completely different powers that you can't really say which one is better due to their differences." she gently pointed out, but he coldly looked at his daughter, who puzzledly looked at him as she blinked.

"Um, why are you giving me that look like I just offended you?" she puzzledly asked as he rolled his eyes. "It's because you did offend me and honestly, I'm a bit hurt." he insisted as she grew to be more perplexed. "H... How in Avalon did I offend you?" she asked as he sighed. "Because you sided with them. I mean, honestly, mija, you don't even know them and you're taking their side as if I mean nothing to you." he followed up as her eyes widened in disbelief.

"What? No! That's not true. Of course, you mean everything to me. I just—" she attempted to say, trying to justify herself in her stance when she became interrupted by the scientist, who he and the girls heard chuckling.

"Well, I was hoping I could avoid fighting you lot because I honestly hate getting my hands dirty, but seeing how you are a stubborn brute, fine. I accept this new contract you made, so come on. Let's get physical." Atari promptly said as they turned to see Ember's eyes glisten with mischief.

"Ooh, I like where this is going!" the fire faerie gleefully proclaimed as she began activating her pyrokinesis while he turned to face the scientist. "Honestly? That's the best thing I've heard all night." he followed up as he started to chuckle, but as he did, it became more sinister and a bit dark but while this newfound shift had gone unnoticed by him, Atari and Ember, it hadn't gone unnoticed by his daughter, who subtly began to frown [though no one seemed to notice as the attention went towards the scientist with the scientist looking at him].

"So come on..." he promptly followed up, before trailing off as he began chuckling once more with the same sinister mannerism as before and as he did, his light honeysuckle eyes began to switch to his light blue, almost teal-like eyes. As such, what was once his arrogant but mostly determined tone had turned much deeper and [much like his chuckles] carried a sinister-like undertone with the next words he would speak.

"... Let's get physical."

Once he said that, he acquired his bright silver-ish, white glowing streak in his light blue, almost teal-like eyes as he heard his daughter quietly gasped [as this was her first time seeing his eyes like this since he managed to hide it from her after her voice grounded him to the point he didn't need to show the eye color anymore].

"How in Avalon did you manage to gain a glowing streak in your eyes?" he heard his daughter ask as he turned to see her puzzled but curious look before she blinked and shook her head a few seconds later. "Whatever. We can talk about the glowing streak in your eyes ordeal later because right now, we need to—" she attempted to follow up when he promptly interrupted Aliya.

"—Get the primal cube." he finished, clenching his fist now as he smirked. "Don't worry, mija. I'm on it." he firmly added, which led to his daughter puzzledly looking at him before he saw Aliya's eyes widened.

"Dad, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What? You don't believe I'm capable of doing this too now?" he sharply asked, utilizing a bitter tone as he saw her widened eyes morph to one of shock before her eyes faltered, as though she had just taken great offense at his question now.

"Baba, what are you talking about? Of course, I think you are capable of doing this. I just think—" she attempted to gently protest, but he [being blinded/essentially guided by his anger now] had interrupted her as he began to shut down any notions of what she was trying to tell him.

"Well, don't." he sharply countered, effectively silencing his daughter, who found herself caught off-guard by the sudden harshness in his tone. "Because seeing how you couldn't think to heed my sound advice and get the primal cube the first time around, I need you to not think this time around and let me retrieve the primal cube since I don't need you messing this up for me like some sort of jinx!" he further said, his sharp but relatively harsh demeanor dominating now as he aggressively pulled his right arm from his daughter, whose light amber eyes widened again.

It was then he saw her eyes glistening with a wounded gleam and for a moment, the intensity in his illuminating light blue, almost teal-like eyes significantly dialed down as he started to come to the realization that he was going too far with what he said now.

Okay, Issac, calm down. You're going to make this look like the ice rink all over again and Aliya doesn't need you to be acting this way to her again. Especially not in the same night, so let's just take a moment to step back, calm down and re-evaluate the situation because you're starting to act really inconsiderate and well, downright mean. So stop it! 

Deciding he wasn't going to let this be another repeat of the ice rink, he took a deep breath and as he did, his eyes reversed back to his light honeysuckle color with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak no longer evident since his illuminating light blue, almost teal-like eyes became replaced by his natural eye color now.

"Mija, I... I—"

"Baba, it's fine. Really. I didn't want to be a jinx to you, but I guess it doesn't really matter since I already jinxed everything else. So, why would you be any different? I mean, it would be fitting if I were a jinx to you too, right?" she quietly asked, her voice now low and her tone soft as she tried to suppress the wounded look in her eyes, but it only grew as his heart sank with a knot forming in his stomach now.

"Mija, that's not true. Okay? You're not a ji—" he attempted to counter back as he tried to assure her how she wasn't a jinx to him and that he was being stupid, but before he could get the rest of his response out, a faint eerie chuckle echoed in the back of his head before the chuckle started to become sinister.

"Oh, but she is a jinx, shadowling. I mean, don't you remember the way she prioritized the vessel over the primal cube and effectively cost you your chances of getting the relic? Who's to say she won't go and mess anything else up for you? So, you can try to deny it all you want, shadow, but a jinx is what she is and a jinx is all she is ever going to be because she's bound to ruination and destruction as the next harbinger of chaos. The duchess is destined for chaos and the sooner she knows this, the easier it will be for the young girl to accept her role in her destiny when the time comes."

"... Dad?"

With his daughter's voice now bringing him back to the reality of the situation, Issac saw Aliya concernedly looking at him as she lowered her hand now and frowned. "Hey. Are you alright?" she concernedly asked, her eyes glistening with genuine worry for him as he wanted to tell her something, but afraid of what would come out, he simply pulled away from her in an effort to create distance between them. This, of course, naturally made his daughter's eyes falter as she looked at him with the same concerning manner.

"Dad—"

"Later." he firmly countered, turning his back to her now as he didn't want her to see the way that his light honeysuckle eyes were beginning to be replaced by his illuminating light blue, almost teal like eyes with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak resurfacing.

"Baba—" he heard her attempt to follow up, but not trusting himself to be around her and given the whole primal cube ordeal they had going on right now, he forced himself to ignore her as he quickly summoned the shadows to provide him with a escape away from his daughter. As such, it wasn't long before a series of light blue, almost teal-like shadows began swirling around him now with her voice (once again) being the last thing he heard before he and the shadows both abruptly vanished...

"Dad!"

Moments later, he had resurfaced near the other side of the rooftop and landed promptly on the ground with the shadows dissipating as he found himself faced with Atari, who blinked from the sight of him, causing him to darkly chuckle before a deviously mocking smirk lightly danced on the corners of his lips.

"What's wrong? Is your fighting expertise only limited to children now?"

"Okay, hold up now. Time out. I will not let some rando have the audacity to insult my level of fighting expertise, so let's get this straight: I might fight teenagers, but I can very certainly bring you down a notch, so don't go and underestimate me old man because when all of this is said and done, I'm the one walking out of here with the primal cube, not you!" Atari sharply snapped as he casually chuckled while the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak in his light blue, almost teal-like eyes glowed brighter.

"Oh, please. I would love to see you try." he mockingly taunted and it was then he succeeded in making Atari break as he chuckled. "Okay, old man. You're on!" the scientist had determinedly boasted, to which Issac casually raised his hands up and manically chuckled before a twisted smirk formed on his face. When this happened, the scientist began to lunge at him, but he had simply switched to his shadow form and dissipated in time for the scientist to punch the air of where he had (now) formerly stood...

Moments later, he appeared as a light blue, shadowy blur forming behind the scientist before he materialized and hovered in time to catch Atari's response to his disappearance.

"Ha! Already quitting so soon, old man?" Atari taunted as he mutely saw the scientist gripping onto his fists now and searching from his left and right sides in search for him, but the latter in pursue for him never quite got the idea to look behind him and this made the prince smirk as Issac menacingly chuckled.

"Actually, I'm just getting started."

When the scientist had heard his response and lowered his fists upon turning to face him now, a menacing smirk formed on his face as the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak in his eyes had illuminated before he proceeded to spin before he faced the scientist and aggressively uppercut Atari with his leg. In doing so, he knocked the primal cube out of the scientist's reach as the relic drifted slightly towards the edge of the rooftop.

As he landed on the ground then, he saw the scientist stumbling slightly but still somehow able to maintain his ability to stand, so bothered by this, he proceeded to charge at the latter but he managed to spot him and had succeeded in narrowly dodging the attack as his eyes widened at the sight of how he was to being knocked down by him.

"Old man! What are you trying to do? Kill me?!" the scientist exclaimed in panic as he saw Atari's eyes widened more. "I just thought you were after the primal cube, not trying to execute my own murder too now!" the scientist further added, the fear surfacing in his eyes now as he found his smirk growing while his dark chuckle evolved into a sinister giggle.

"Well, I did say I was getting started." he tauntingly answered and as the scientist's eyes widened more at his response, he decided to take advantage of the scientist's genuine shock by using the same move as before in the sense he proceeded to turn and aggressively lunge at him. Yet at the last second, he saw the latter dodge the attack and attempt to lunge at him. But he only used the moment to aggressively punch the scientist and landed a blow towards the scientist's lower-left abdomen, sending him crashing near the edge of the rooftop, where a massive dent now formed on the concrete, almost brick-like pavement.

As the scientist promptly fell, he heard the latter groaning and weakly coughing as he snickered at the sight of Atari's weakened state. So he chose to approach the scientist then and as he had stood near Atari, Issac's light blue, almost teal-like eyes and his bright silver-ish, white glowing streak illuminated brightly as he began mutely staring at the scientist in a menacingly manner.

As he did, he had found himself heavily breathing now when he began to see a series of distorted shadowy flickers of light blue, almost teal-like shadowy silhouettes surrounding his vision with a few red splotches dancing within the scope of his vision now before a calm, light chuckle echoed in his mind.

"Now you see. This is what you were meant to do. You were meant to become an instrument of destruction, a weapon and a monster, but first you are meant to be a villain, so go on. Finish the job and end this."

Issac, don't do this. Come on. He's already down. Don't—

"Do it."

Once those two words were spoke, the red splotches and the shadowy silhouettes grew within the scopes of his vision, so too did his anger with the way the shadowy silhouettes consumed him and the darkness engulfed him once more...

In that moment, he mutely flung his right arm and as he did, light blue, almost teal-like crystals began to appear on his right arm and spread towards the right side of his face, creating a spiked crystallized coat. Not long after the spiked crystallized coat formed over the right side of his face, a thin layer of the spiked crystallized coat formed over his right eye.

From here, the light blue, almost teal-like crystals spread to the prince's right arm and morphed into a crystallized arm-wielding sword as he mutely began to approach the scientist when Issac heard the sound of light fluttering, almost as if they were coming from a set of wings now, which made him turn to see the fire faerie with the primal cube in her possession now.

"Issac! We got the primal cube! So let's go and—" he initially heard before the fire faerie abruptly cut herself off as she dropped the primal cube and blinked. "Issac?" she slowly asked as he only kept his silence, puzzlingly the latter who blinked again. "Issac, drop the crystallized sword and come on. Okay? We got what we came here for, so let's—" she attempted to follow up, retracting her wings now when he gave a dark chuckle.

"This isn't finished."

"Issac, forget about Atari and let's just go! Okay! We have the primal cube and he looks pretty beat up to me, so you don't need to do..." he heard Ember promptly begin before he heard her trail off when he saw her spotting his crystallized sword and the spiked crystallized coat on his spreading from the right side of his face to the right side of his eye. "... whatever it is that you're thinking about doing." the fire faerie slowly finished, now glancing at him and over to Atari (as she stood near him) before looking at him once more.

"Issac... You're not seriously thinking of... of—" he heard the fire faerie slowly stammer from the shock and disbelief when he mutely walked past her and began raising his crystallized sword to Atari, whose eyes widened with fear as he darkly chuckled at the sight.

Perfect.

He was going to throw his crystallized sword down and end the scientist then when he caught a glimpse of a blurred fist coming towards him. In response, Issac retracted his crystallized sword before he turned in time to grab Ember's left fist as she meekly but tensely chuckled at the way he caught her in the act of protecting the scientist from him.

"Issac—" she attempted to say, but he simply twisted his grip on her fist before he slammed her onto the pavement, causing her to fall onto her back as he chuckled at the sight of the fire faerie until she weakly stood up. As she did, he saw her weakly grabbing onto her fist as she positioned herself in front of the scientist now.

"I... Issac—" she attempted to say again, but in her moment of trying to reach out to him, he had simply proceeded to lunge at her as she narrowly dodged his hit. "I... Issac stop!" she yelled, now approaching him as she sighed. "Please stop." she insistedly pleaded when he held his hands up and looked at her with a neutral look, to which she sighed in relief.

"Thank—" Ember sincerely attempted to genuinely follow up before he saw her cut herself off at the sound of his menacing giggles, causing her to look at him as she sighed. "Okay. Fine. If you won't snap out of it, then I'll make you snap out of it." she firmly stated and she raised her fists, she proceeded to continue to stand in the path of the scientist as she began to charge at him, to which he simply narrowly dodge. This went on for a bit until he grabbed her arm and chuckled.

"I don't think so." he promptly stated and after he said that, he proceeded to aggressively spin the fire faerie around before he released her as she promptly flew before she eventually crash near the scientist as the fire faerie sunk to the ground and tiredly winced with the two victims groaning now. It was then he chose to reactivate his crystallized sword and started to walk in their direction when her eyes had faintly met his.

"I... Issac—" Ember attempted to say then when the sight of him raising the sword effectively silenced her as he began to lower his crystallized sword down, he saw the latter close her eyes. He looked at her for a bit before proceeding forward as he was close to ending the two when—

"Baba, wait!"

Squarely placing herself in his direct path now, he saw Aliya pushing her arms outward as she {presumably} act as a barrier for the scientist and their family friend, whom she now stood in front of while she actively prevented him from reaching them.

As soon as she did that, he promptly raised his crystallized sword to her face, but upon hearing her speak, he narrowly froze mid-way into completing the move as the sword was only inches away from coming into full contact with her. Not long after, a gust of wind briefly began to now form onto his daughter before the wind had moved past her and created a gust of dust with the cracks starting to form around them. When the dust settled at last, he lowered the sword away from his daughter's face before he momentarily froze.

When Issac froze, he found himself breathing somewhat lighter now while the series of distorted shadowy flickers of light blue, almost teal-like shadowy silhouettes that surrounded his vision beginning to dissipate along with the few red splotches he saw dancing within the scope of his vision before a seemingly light but somewhat annoyed chuckle echoed in his mind.

"Shadowling, you hesitate but now is the perfect time for you to go through with this because in order to be who you were meant to become, you need to discard yourself of the past. Of all of the things that makes you weak and the duchess represents all that you are not, so if you are to reach your fullest potential, then you need to sever ties with the girl and end her before she can end you. So go on. Finish the job."

Issac, don't do this. Come on. This is your daughter! The one you swore you would never hurt so please snap out of it and don't—

"Do it."

After hearing those two words (again), Issac mutely began picking up the crystallized sword he had previously held in his possession and as he did, he heard Ember and Atari abruptly gasp at his daughter's decision to act as a barrier for them since she still continued to stand in front of them in spite of the fact of what was to come.

"Aliya!"

"Kid!"

"What are you doing!" Ember and Atari promptly exclaimed with panic as he saw their genuine looks of concern. "Get back here!" Atari added as he saw Ember nodding. "Yeah! Aliya, fall back! Alright? You don't need to be a hero because if you keep trying to protect us, then you're going to get hurt!" Ember concernedly followed up as the panic became more apparent in her tone.

"Yeah or worse, killed by your old man!" Atari brashly but concernedly interjected, but as he only silently looked on, he heard his daughter lightly sigh at their concern. "I get where you and Atari are coming from, but none of those things are going to happen." he heard his daughter proclaim with a rather unhealthy amount of confident now as he observed her facing the two, whose eyes widened at her response in regard to what he was about to do to her.

"Kid, I'm sorry. Look, I get that I barely know you and all, but are you crazy? Because I believe you are genuinely crazy for the mindset you have since that kind of thinking is dangerous and downright insane at best." Atari sharply exclaimed as he mutely observed Ember clearing her throat.

"Well, I wouldn't have said it like that now, but look. I get why you think that's the case, but Issac is not there. Okay? I hate to break this to you, girl. I really do, but the man who raised you and the man who was my family friend is gone. So, while he may look like his father now—" Ember followed up before the scientist chose to interject himself once more. 

"—The old man is certainly going to kill you." the scientist followed up as he continued to mutely listen because well... What could he say when he [plus Ember and the scientist] knew what was going to happen?

He could have spoke, but he had nothing to say because he knew what he had to do. He knew she had to go and he knew he had to expel the weakness that was his daughter because if he failed to do so, then he risked losing his life to her and he had a destiny to fulfill.

So, it seemed obvious to him [plus Ember and the scientist] that he was going to kill her, but for odd reason, his daughter didn't seem to catch on.

In fact, she only continued to look unfazed by their [Ember plus the scientist] words and simply maintained her unhealthy amount of confident, which baffled him because he couldn't seem to understand why when she had plenty of hints that seemed to indicate what he was going to do to her and yet... She only continued to chuckle as though she was certain nothing was going to happen to her.

"Look. You and Atari can say what you want, but I'm tellng you. Nothing is going to happen." she lightly told their family friend and the scientist as he puzzledly blinked, the sword still gripped in his hands.

Why is she so confident that I won't kill her where she stands?

"Aliya."

"Kid."

"—How can possibly be so sure of that when he's literally holding the sword!" Ember and Atari firmly followed up and to prove their point, he raised his sword but she only chuckled. "He won't hurt me and besides..." he heard her earnestly and calmly begin to answer before she trailed off as he saw his daughter turning away from the two to meet his eyes now as she warmly smiled at him.

"... I trust him, so he can certainly try, but I know the love he has for me is enough to overpower what he thinks he's about to do, because there is nothing more undoing to a parent than a love of a child." Aliya softly and earnestly finished as she continued to smile brightly at him, paying no mind to the sword in his grasp.

When he saw her smile, his breathing became lighter as the series of distorted shadowy flickers of light blue, almost teal-like shadowy silhouettes that had surrounded his vision continued to dissipate alongside the few red splotches he saw dancing within the scope of his vision before a seemingly light but somewhat annoyed chuckle echoed in his mind.

"She distracts you from the task at hand, but don't be fooled by her words, shadowling. Do what is expected of you and rid yourself of your weakness."

So while Ember looked at her with a skeptical sense of awe and Atari looked at her as though she was delusional, he proceeded to harden his own look towards her now. As he did, he tightly grip onto the crystallized sword again as he previously felt the sword slipping out of his grasp merely moments ago when he heard what she said.

Not long after, he saw the fear, shock and disbelief presented on Ember and the scientist's faces as though [despite talking about it] neither of them really thought he would go through with it. By now, he expected his daughter would resemble their look of fear, but to his surprise, she did not.

Rather, she simply looked unfazed and annoyed by this now, he begun lunging at her, but she simply held Ember and Atari back while she kept her eyes on him and stayed relatively still as though she truly believed he wouldn't hurt her. However, he thought her kind of thinking was foolish when he knew better and her staying still was only just going to make things easier for him.

After all, he knew she was (perhaps) the easiest target he was ever going to get [given the way his daughter refused to move], so he knew finishing her off wouldn't take long now. Yet in the midst of actually going through with what he had set out to do, he found himself tensing up as he got near his daughter and when he began to lower the blade at her to slain the girl where she stood, he froze as he glanced at the sword and back at her.

When he looked at her, he felt something — or maybe someone — urging him to do something to his daughter, but as he kept his eyes on her, he had felt the urge of whatever he was trying to do significantly lessen now as he began retracting his crystallized sword and looked at his daughter again.

As he did, he saw the series of distorted shadowy flickers of light blue, almost teal-like shadowy silhouettes that had surrounded his vision vanish altogether alongside the few red splotches he saw dancing within the scope of his vision. As such, his vision completely returned to normal as if Issac had just essentially found himself being brought out of the darkness that threatened to pull him under now with him looking at his daughter as he blinked.

"Mija?"

As soon as he called out to her, his voice he heard vanished as his illuminating light blue, almost teal like eyes immediately reverted back to his light honeysuckle eyes with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak no longer visible with the light honeysuckle color dominating his eyes now.

"Baba! You're back!"

Before he could think to ask what she meant by that, she excitedly sprinted to him and latched herself onto him as she earnestly but passionately held onto him with the hug she gave him in the moment.

"I'm so, so, so happy you're back!" she happily followed up, her voice just low enough for him to hear as he softly chuckled. "Of course, I'm back. Why do you say that?" he lightly but curiously inquired as she simply smiled. "No reason. I just... I guess I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. That's all." she shyly confessed before she pulled away from the hug.

When she did, he softly sighed and gently held onto his daughter's shoulders as he softly looked at Aliya. "Hey. You're never going to lose me. Okay?" he softly but earnestly began as he warmly smiled. "I'm always going to be here." he sincerely followed up as he saw her slowly looking up to meet his eye. "Always?" she quietly asked as he nodded. "Always." he softly answered as she shyly looked at him.

"No matter what?" she slowly inquired as he earnestly nodded. "No matter what, mija, because well..." he softly began to answer before trailing off as he chuckled. "... Us weirdos have to stick together, you know, and not to mention, I certainly can't see myself without you around when you're the light of my life. So trust me, mija. I'm not going anywhere and that's a promise." he sincerely added, finishing the rest of his answer as he softly looked at her.

"Okay?" he followed up as she slowly nodded and brightly smiled. "Okay." she softly answered and with them on the same page now, he proceeded to softly ruffle her hair while she playfully giggled and looked at him. "Dad! It took me all morning to fix it!" she childishly protested in a light tone as he chuckled. "Well, it's a good thing you can fix it again." he cheekily countered, adapting the same tone as she did now.

So as they stared at each other, a small, serene smile formed on their faces and for a moment, he and his daughter seemed to have achieved some degree of peace... until they became reminded by the fact they weren't alone when they heard Ember excitedly gasp.

"Issac!"

Distancing herself from him now, Issac saw his daughter take a step back right as Ember stepped in and flew towards him. As she did, he caught her and the two briefly spun before it came to an end and she latch herself onto him. When she did, she earnestly but passionately held onto him with the hug she gave him in the moment.

"Ike! Oh, I was worried that you were really gone, but you're not and I'm so glad that you're back to being yourself again!" she happily followed up, her voice just low enough for him to hear as he softly chuckled. "Well, of course, I'm back... but why do you say that though?" he lightly but curiously inquired as she simply smiled. "No reason. I uh... I guess just wanted to make sure that nothing had changed between us ... That's all." she softly confused as she pulled away from the hug. When she did, he softly sighed and held onto her shoulders as he softly looked at his family friend.

"Hey, I know there's been some strange things going on between us, but while we may fight at times and those strange things might occur, nothing is ever going to change between us." he softly but earnestly began as Ember warmly smiled.

"Like me picking on you for your gullible nature?" she lightly asked as he chuckled and smiled. "Yes. Like you picking on me for my gullible nature." he lightly answered, agreeing with the fire faerie before he saw her start to slightly frown.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he softly but concernedly asked as he saw her sigh. "It's nothing." Ember softly downplayed, causing him to frown since he knew this wasn't the case. "Hey, you can talk to me, remember? So, what's on your mind?" he softly followed up as he saw Ember sighing a moment later.

"I know you said nothing is going to change between us, but what if you're wrong and things do change and it's not the same like before? What if things happen and we—" Ember attempted to follow up when he softly sighed and had gently held onto the fire faerie's shoulders now as he warmly looked at her.

"Hey. Things are going to happen and things may change. That much is true but even though the future may remain unknown, some things — like my gullible nature and your fierce loyalty to me and Aliya — will never change because we all have certain certainities that we rely on." he softly countered, interrupting her now as she looked at him. "Like us?" she slowly asked as he warmly smiled. "Like us." he softly answered as she shyly looked at her now.

"You promise nothing will change between us?" she quietly asked as he nodded. "Emby, I might not always say or do the right thing at times when it comes to you now, but the fact of the matter is nothing will change between us because I genuinely care about you and I would never let you get hurt." he softly answered as she slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. Starting now, I would never let you get hurt." he sheepishly added before he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed. "I really am sorry about what I had Aliya almost do, you know. It was wrong and it was stupid of me to put your life on the line like that." he added, sighing again as he turned to look at her. "Do you think you could ever forgive me for treating you that way?" he shyly asked as he saw her softly sigh.

"You might be stupid and secretive at times, but at the end of the day, you're my friend, Issac and that is never going to change so yes. I'll forgive you for the way you treated me, Ike. Just promise me, you doing something at my expense will never happen again. Okay?" she softly answered as he nodded. "Of course!" he answered as she smiled. "Good." she softly added.

So as they stared at each other, a small, serene smile formed on their faces and for a moment, he and Ember seemed to have achieved some degree of peace until they became reminded by the reality of their situation when they heard Atari clearing his throat.

"Well... As interesting as this has been, I believe I am entitled to a primal cube so I shall go and collect my prize, then be on my merry way to deliver the relic to my boss, so—" Atari promptly attempted to say, now standing up when he and Ember heard a smug, confident laugh cut in and interrupt the scientist.

"Who said you won?"

"Uh me, didn't you hear?"

"Yeah, well you can say what you want now, bud, but if you think you're getting the primal cube, then you might want to think again because if anyone is getting the cube, it's him," his daughter had briefly paused to point at him. "and I'm going to be the one to deliver it to him, so ha. Good luck trying to deliver the primal cube to your boss because as soon as I get my hands on it, that will be nothing more but a distant memory for you." his daughter cheekily and smugly added as the scientist laughed.

"Ha! You say that, but we both know the primal cube is just going to end up in my hands again." the scientist bluntly taunted before he and Ember saw Aliya subtly chuckle. "Not if I'm the one who gets it first." his daughter confidently boasted as Atari dryly chuckled. "Oh and how do you plan on getting the primal cube first now?" the scientist smugly asked as she chuckled at Atari before she subtly smirked.

"Why, by giving a head start, of course."

"Not if I beat you to it first."

"We'll see about that now."

"I suppose so."

So after they said that, he and Ember saw Aliya and Atari take off as they saw the two relatively staying at each other's pace until his daughter got the idea to slide and claim the primal cube just before the scientist could grab it. When she got the primal cube, they saw her stand up as Aliya stood near the edge of the rooftop with a proud grin.

"Dad! Ember! Look! I got it!" Aliya excitedly yelled as they watched her hold the relic victoriously when they heard a sharp chuckle from the scientist.

"Oh, not for long, you don't!"

Before he and Ember could even think to do anything, they saw Atari pin his daughter against the railing of the rooftop as their eyes widened.

"Lia!"

"Mija!"

After they separatedly called out to her, they saw the scientist proceeding to grab onto her light-grey short-sleeve sweatshirt and lift her up. As he did, they saw his daughter thrashing her feet now, to which their eyes widened as they quickly moved closer in an effort to come to the girl's defense now.

"Hey! That's my friend and his daughter you're holding and we are going to get you to—" Ember firmly added when he chose to jump into the conversation. "—Let her go now!" he firmly added, chiming into Ember's stance against the scientist as they saw Atari glancing at them and gave a smug smile. "Of course. I'll let her go now..." the scientist briefly began before trailing off as they saw him smirking.

"... Right after I grab this." Atari smugly boasted, retrieving the primal cube from Aliya's grasp as he saw his daughter's eyes widened. "No!" she yelled as he chuckled. "Oh trust me, kid. Losing the primal cube will be the least of your worries when I'm through with you now." the scientist darkly added as he and Ember's eyes widened.

"Hey! You got what you wanted!"

"Yeah! Now, let her go!"

"You see, I would gladly let her go..." Atari slowly followed up before they saw the scientist's eyes fall on him. "... had someone not tried to kill me moments ago." the scientist finished as Issac's blood ran cold.

"You know, I can't help but feel bad for doing this. I mean, you raised a good kid in the sense she saved my life and for that, I am truly in her debt." the scientist sincerely said before they saw him heavily sigh. "But still, my life would have never had to be saved in the first place if it was never put in jeopardy to begin it, so now I'm afraid I got to make you pay." the scientist finished as he felt his heart thumping uncomfortably against his chest.

"Please—"

"—Don't do this! Punish him a different way if you want, but not like this and certainly don't go and make her get caught in the crossfires for what he did to you!" Ember sharply protested as she began pointing at him, much to his annoyance. "Besides, how could you do this to her? I mean you said it yourself: she saved your life! So, she should be spared!" she followed up, no longer pointing at him now as they saw Atari sighing.

"Alas, if I could punish him a different way, I would but if you want to hurt someone, you aim for the heart and I have a feeling based on what I saw a few moments that the kid is his heart, so in spite of her saving my life, she has to suffer too." the scientist further added as he sighed. "But look. For what it's worth, I really am sorry for what I am about to do your friend here." Atari had added before he sighed again.

"I really am sorry for this, kid, but before I part with y'all and take the primal cube, I need to make your friend learn that ruthlessness is mercy by showing him what happens when one chooses to play with lives and puts them at stake..." Atari further added before they saw him trailing off as he chuckled.

"... Unless of course, he ends up apologizing for what he did to me. Then, I might consider sparing the kid." Atari slowly finished, now looking directly at him as he glanced back at his daughter and back at him.

"Atari, I meant no harm for what I did to you. I only wanted to startled you a bit, but I took no pleasure in your pain. I only wanted to spook you and I can see that I went too far now and so I'm sorry for trying to kill you." Issac hastily apologized, but after he had finished, he saw the scientist sighing as he shook his head.

"That was a really horrible apology and I hope in the future, you actually learn how to apologize because that was just wow. That was horrendous." Atari bluntly mocked as he ignored the way Ember seemed to sharply [and quite] coldly staring at him now.

"Anyways, even if you were being genuine, which you weren't, I wasn't really going to follow up on what I said because just needed to see how you responded and well, you responded exactly like I figured you would." 

"How so?" Ember countered as the scientist chuckled once more.

"Well, if there's one thing you should know, it's that the line between naïveté and hopefulness is almost invisible and he demonstrated that when he bought into the notion that if he apologized, then everything would be fine. But for every action, there's a consequence that follows as Issac is about to find out." the scientist added as he felt Ember stop staring at him and turned to face Atari.

"But—" the fire faerie attempted to protest when the scientist's chuckle interrupted his family friend now.

"He tried to kill me, so now, I got to make him pay and I got to make him bleed," Atari had slowly said, briefly pausing as he and Ember saw the scientist's eyes drift back onto Aliya, who seemed to have silently come to terms with what was about to happen with the way she maintained her silence on the matter.

"Which I plan on doing—" Atari briefly began, following up on his previous response when he and Ember's eyes grew wider from what the scientist was about to do regarding Aliya.

"—Wait!"

"Don't!"

"—Now."

As soon as Atari said that and finished his response, the scientist began releasing Aliya before he promptly shoved her over the railing of the rooftop as he and Ember's eyes widened in horror at the outcome with his heart instantly sinking at the sight.

"NO!"

"AALIYAH!"

Rushing to the edge of the rooftop and leaning against said rooftop now, he and Ember watched as Aliya proceeded to fall before she landed into the water with the sound of waves crashing up against one another. As soon as he heard the waves, his sunken heart began to thump rapidly against his chest as the fear and uncertainty over what occurred and the panic of the situation started to set in for him.

"No, no, no, no! Lia!" Ember immediately cried out, her voice laced with panic and heartbreak as he turned to spot the scientist grabbing the primal cube and proceeding to take off. So while his family friend kept looking on and (perhaps) began thinking of a plan to get her friend, Issac proceeded to confront the scientist.

"Hey!" Issac attempted to angrily yell, but his voice was only graced with sadness now as he saw the scientist turn to face him. "What have you done?" he heart-wrenching asked, following up on his response as he saw the latter sighing.

"Look, I know I pushed her and made her fall into the water, but don't think for a second you are innocent because you sealed her fate when you attempted to kill me. So, rather than go ask me what I have done, ask yourself what you have done instead because you have just as much — if not more — blame in the matter of her outcome as I do." Atari sharply but mockingly answered as he began angrily clenching his fist now.

"Don't you dare blame this on me when I'm not the one who pushed her into the water!"

"True, but then again, you are the one who set up the consequence for Aliya to get pushed into the water when you attempted to kill me, so while you might have not been the one to push her into the water now... you might as well have been." the scientist tauntingly finished and it was then Issac mutely turned away from him as he angrily clenched tighter onto his fist.

"Hey, don't take this the wrong way. Obviously, I didn't want to do it, but you left me no choice. I needed to make you pay for what you did and all I had on hand was two people: your daughter and the family friend. Between the two, you looked closer to your daughter, so I went with her." the scientist followed up as he bitterly scoffed.

"You're a monster." he sharply snapped as Atari chuckled. "Maybe, but then again... it seems like I'm not the only one." the scientist lightly but cryptically countered as he unclenched his fist and crossed his arms. "I'm not a monster." he sharply snapped again as the latter chuckled. "You say that. However, given what I saw and endured tonight, I can't help but feel the real monster here isn't me but rather..." the scientist slowly followed up before he trailed off as he chuckled again and looked at him with a taunting smile.

"... You."

After the scientist said that and chuckled at him, he tried to mentally tell himself to be civil, that he didn't need to get worked up again but with Atari being the latest one to call him a monster now and the scientist being the one with the audacity to blame him — him of all people! — for his daughter's drowning...

... Well, it wasn't surprisingly then how all of the progress he made crumbled because now, his anger was ignited again and this time, he had his fury set on Atari.

"I am not the monster because the only monster I see here is you!"

Angrily growling after he said those words, Issac tightly clenched both of his fists and as his light honeysuckle eyes switched (again) to his illuminating light blue, almost teal like eyes with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak returning once more with the light honeysuckle color no longer dominating his eyes. So as he slid his legs back and small dents began to form beneath his feet, he saw Atari's eyes widened.

"Okay. I can see that I aggravated you again, so I'm going to just take the primal cube and go..." Atari tensely said, trailing off as he proceeded to hold onto the primal cube and looked at him now as he awkwardly chuckled. "... Okay, bye!" the scientist quickly announced, now sprinting away from him as Issac sharply growled and darkly crackled.

"Oh, you are not going anywhere!"

After slightly twisting his left foot now, he rapidly began charging towards the scientist, who had visibly panicked at the sight of his sudden speed as he saw the latter gasping now before he saw Atari's body backed against a wall connected to the building of the rooftop they were occupying with the primal cube in hand. Seeing the relic still in his possession, he growled once more and began to charge faster towards him.

However when Atari touched the back of the wall, he saw a light blue portal of flames forming behind the latter as he angrily clenched his fist tighter.

Phantom!

As soon as the portal of flames formed and he saw Atari falling into the portal with the primal cube in hand, but he reached the latter just in time to add more cracks to the wall as he forcibly grabbed onto Atari's scientist lab coat [along with his reddish and light brown shirt] and pulled him just a bit slightly out of the portal, so that his face was still visible with the scientist's light brown frame glasses tilt towards the left side of his face now.

Upon grabbing him with his right hand, Issac saw the scientist's face initially looking at him with fear before that fear shifted to smugness as he chuckled.

"You know for someone who claims not to be a monster, you sure know how to act like one." the scientist cheekily taunted as he heard the latter lightly chuckle now. "But you know, as annoying as you are, old man, maybe you can be the one to help me with this thing I've always wondered about since I apparently still have your attention." the latter followed up as he blinked.

"Oh yeah and what's that?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just some questions."

"Which are?"

"Ah, the burning questions I have are these: when does a man become a monster? Is it when he reaches his breaking point? When the man loses sight of his humanity and the person he once was? When a selfless intent to protect the ones he loves goes astray? Or, is it when the man just reaches a point in his life where he realizes he truly has nothing to lose?" the scientist followed up as he blinked. "Why are you asking me these things?" he curiously but skeptically asked as the scientist had chuckled.

"Because even though you insist you're not a monster, I can't help but wonder: are you the man you think you are or are you perhaps the monster simply pretending to be the man you think you are?" Atari casually but (almost) mockingly taunted as he sharply growled at the question and now proceeded to tighten his grip on the scientist's lab coat [as well as his reddish and light brown shirt] before he sharply glared at him.

"I already told you. I'm not a monster and if anything, it seems like something that you should be asking yourself!" he angrily snapped as he began making a clenched fist with his left hand and was about to raise his clenched fist toward him when the latter's chuckle had caught him off-guard as he froze and blinked.

"Ah, yet you see, you never answered the question. But then again, I forgot you lack a decent GPU so let me simplify it down for you and ask again: are you a man or a monster?" the latter added as he growled again.

"I already told you, I'm not—" he angrily snapped once more as he began making a clenched fist with his left hand and was about to raise his clenched fist toward him when the latter's chuckle caught him off-guard as he froze and blinked.

"Don't worry. I suspect that you're going to stick to your claim of not being a monster, so there's no need for you to tell me right now because I suspect in time, you'll come to learn the answers to my questions, but in the meantime—"

"Issac!"

When he turned at the sound of his name, he lessened his grip on Atari and didn't realize he had done so as he heard the latter chuckling behind him now.

"— just think about it."

Feeling the weightlessness of his hand now, he turned to see the scientist start to emerge back into the portal of flames once more as his eyes widened while Atari smugly grinned.

"So, I have to go and places to be, but hey! Thanks again for the primal cube and ensuring the victory of me and my boss! I really appreciate it!" Atari cheekily taunted, wiggling the relic in front of him as Issac silently growled at the sight and sharply clenched his fist before he had heard the scientist chuckling now. "Okay, bye!" the scientist concluded as his eyes widened more, having remembered (perhaps too late now) what would be at stake if the scientist got away with the primal cube.

"No!"

Finding himself in the same position as before now, he attempted to stop Atari from leaving right and there. But (much like before) he had narrowly missed the scientist, who (this time) became fully emerged into the portal and before he could think to pull Atari out again to take the primal cube back, the portal closed behind the scientist and promptly vanished.

"Ugh! Not again!" he annoyedly yelled, now hitting the air and the last fleeing flickers of the light blue flames that remained before that too dissipated. Much like before, he angrily formed a fist from the rage he felt. Only this time, a heavy sigh followed suit as he heard footsteps coming to him now.

"Issac?"

Great. Of course, she would show up now and right after I lose Atari and the primal cube at that too...

Upon hearing Ember's voice, his illuminating light blue, almost teal like eyes switched back to his light honeysuckle eyes with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak no longer visible with the illuminating light blue, almost teal like color no longer dominating his eyes.

"Oh, hey Ember." he said, unclenching his fist and turning to face the fire faerie, who looked a bit annoyed as she crossed her arms. "Issac, I'm going to need you to quit taking off without saying anything because this is going to get old really fast if you keep this up." she firmly said before he saw her sighing.

"Anyways, now that I found you, I'm assuming that you essentially ditching me and ignoring me call out to you the first time meant you were trying to get the primal cube from Atari, so..." she added before she trailed off as he saw her staring him down. "... Where is it?" she concluded as he awkwardly began rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ah, well, you see—"

"Wait. Did you lose it?"

"Pfft — N... No." he attempted to casually feign, but he stammered a bit and when he struggled to keep his attention on her, Ember laughed as he knew that she knew he was lying.

"You did. You lost the primal cube and I bet it was because you were so heated with him that you completely forget about the relic and only remembered right before he escaped." she deflected, resulting in Issac feeling a wave of embarrassment crash into him now as he knew she was right, but he was willing to deny it as he didn't want her to know that she guessed correctly.

"I didn't—"

"—And you had the audacity to blame your daughter for losing the primal cube too?" she added, now interrupting him once more as she smugly chuckled. "Oh, just keeps getting better because I am so telling her about your screw up!" she smugly taunted as his eyes widened.

"We don't have to—"

"Oh, but we do because if you had the nerves to blame your daughter for losing the same primal cube and ended up being the same one who lost it, then it's only fitting she knows since I had to witness you blame Aliya and make her feel bad to the point where she felt as though that stupid cube was her only way of redeeming herself all so it could be in vain thanks to you losing it." she flatly told him, interrupting him again as she began laughing at him now, much to his annoyance as he annoyedly huffed.

"Ember—" he attempted to say, but she only clapped her hands and mischievously grinned as the smugness glistened in her eyes. "Oh, I can't wait to tell her!" she gleefully exclaimed, now interrupting him once more as he huffed.

"Ember—"

"Nope! It's already been decided and I am never going to let you live this down, so ha!" Ember cheekily taunted now before she ran off, causing him to sigh as he ran after her.

"Ember!"

Upon finally catching up to her, he came across the land near the waves where he saw the fire faerie kneeling beside his daughter as he made note of her drenched (and unconscious) state in contrast to their family friend (who was relatively dry as he figured this was due, in part, to her pyrokinesis in her being water resistant). When he did, his heart ached at the sight as he quietly sighed.

This was never supposed to happen.

"Yeah, well it did and there's nothing you can do about it." the voice in his head countered as he heard a light chuckle. "Plus, maybe now, Aliya drowning will motivate you to keep that rage of yours in check so nothing like this happens again." the voice in his head added as he scoffed at the suggestion and annoyedly crossed his arms now. "My rage has nothing to do with this." he quietly mumbled as the voice in his head sighed at his response.

"Issac—"

"Okay? I'm not the one who drowned her." he sharply but quietly interrupted as the voice in his head sighed again.

"Issac—"

"He did, not me!" he sharply but quietly followed up as he angrily clenched his fist. "So, my rage isn't the problem here because it has nothing to do with her drowning." he added, maintaining the sharp but quiet tone as he began to tighten the grip of his clenched fist while the voice in his head began to sigh.

"Okay? So, if anyone's the problem here, it's him! He's the problem! He's responsible for my kid drowning and my mistake was letting him escape out of my grasp!" Issac followed up but as he spoke, the light honeysuckle color in his eyes had unknowingly began to flicker and fade out as the light blue, almost teal like color resurfacing.

"If I had held onto him longer, I could have—"

"Aliya?"

Cutting himself off from finishing the rest of his response after he heard Ember's voice now, the light honeysuckle color in his eyes immediately began to resurface and overpowered the light blue, almost teal like color as he immediately teleported over to the fire faerie and stood near her with the shadows dissipating.

"Is she awake?"

"Ah!"

Glancing over, he saw the fire faerie becoming visibly startled by the sound of his voice as she looked frightened until the reality set in. Once that happened, he saw her fright turning into irritation as she annoyedly huffed.

"That's going to get annoying really fast, but no." she irritatedly stated before she sighed. "She's not awake. I thought she was when I heard her coughing just now, but—" she solemnly added, only to cut herself off when they heard a faint forceful, gasping cough as they looked on to see her giving another bout of coughs when he felt Ember nudging him.

"You know, we should probably give her some space." he heard the fire faerie quietly suggest as he saw her gesturing to how close they were to his daughter.

"Oh! Right. We shouldn't crowd her." he quietly added, agreeing with Ember now as they moved in time for his daughter to slowly rise as she continued to get out the last of her coughs before they heard her weakly groaning.

"Uugh..."

"Lia?"

"Mija?"

When they saw her slowly sitting up and holding onto her head, they heard her groan one more time before her light amber eyes fell on them as she dazedly, almost groggily blinked. "Ember? Baba?" she dazedly asked, her voice soft as he and their family friend gasped at the sight of her standing up now.

"Aliya!"

"Mija!"

After they separately called out to her, Ember ran to greet his daughter first as he saw the fire fae concernedly look at her. "Aliya, are you alright?" he heard her concernedly asked as he saw Aliya slowly nodding. "I'm alright." she softly but faintly answered as he saw Ember sighing in relief at her answer. "Good." the fire faerie softly said before she proceeded to punch his daughter's left shoulder as he shot the girl a look [not that she or Aliya had noticed as they were focused on the other to notice].

"Ow!" his daughter exclaimed as she glared at the fire faerie. "What was that for?" his daughter followed up, now rubbing her arm now as they saw Ember crossing her arms. "That's for nearly dying on me and your dad!" she firmly answered before she sighed. "Okay? You had us worried, so don't do that!" the fire faerie sincerely added as he dropped the look at the sound of the fire faerie's genuine worriness for his daughter, which made him sigh not long after.

"That and we thought we lost you." he sincerely chimed in, now moving closer to them as he saw Aliya lightly chuckling.

"Guys..." she initially began in a lightheartedly whimsical tone, but when she saw their genuine concerned looks, she trailed off as they saw her blinking before a bashful look surfaced on her face now.

"Baba... Ember... I... I..." she slowly began, stuttering over her words before she trailed off as she sighed and looked up to see their soft and genuine smiles. It was then that they saw her bashful look return.

"I... Uh..."

As she continued to struggle with what to say, he and Ember glanced at each other and as they gave a light nod, they went to approach her before they proceeded to affectionately hug her as she spoke again.

"Heh." they heard her softly begin before she returned the hug. "Thanks guys." she appreciatedly finished as they pulled her away and released their hold on her, ending the hug now as Issac saw Ember lightly grinning before she playfully nudged his daughter's right arm.

"Don't get too sentimental on me now, Lia. I'm still getting fond of you, so don't think of going anywhere now." the fire faerie lightly but softly scolded as he saw his daughter lightly giggling from her response. "I wouldn't dream of it, Emby." his daughter softly said before she stopped giggling.

"Besides, I can't have you, my dad and the rest of our friends picking out curtains for me now." his daughter added as the fire faerie softly grinning. "That would be nice, considering I'm still kind of getting fond of you now." Ember earnestly added as his daughter lightly punched her right arm.

"Hey, don't go and get all sentimental on me now, girl." his daughter lightly but softly scolded as he saw Ember giggling after Aliya stopped punching her arm. "Alright. I'll stop, but only because I know you have to endure your old man here with all his sappiness." the fire faerie cheekily said as he rolled his eyes.

"It's not sappy if it's done in good faith." he protested as their family friend chuckled. "Sure, old man. Whatever you say." she countered as he thought to say something, but when he heard his daughter start giggling, he changed his mind. As such, he decided to let the matter go as a soft but secretive smile surfaced when he saw his daughter illuminating like the light he saw her as because she was his shining light in this seemingly dark world and he never wanted to see this world dim her shine.

So he was going to do everything in his power to ensure her light never burned out because he never wanted to lose her.

Not when she was his everything.

"But yes. I did believe I was going to lose you." he followed up, now turning to face his daughter, who stopped giggling now as she lightly punched his left shoulder. "Oh come on, apá. It's going to take more than some tidal waves to lose me now." she lightly teased, brightly grinning as he tried to match her smile, but in the end he could only give a half-hearted grin before it dropped.

Almost immediately, his daughter's smile faded as she concernedly looked at him. "Hey. You're not going to lose me like we lost everyone else. Okay? I'm not going anywhere." she quietly but sincerely vowed as he quietly sighed. "You promise?" he softly asked as she brightly grinned at his question. "I promise. Besides, us weirdos got to stay together, right?" she cheekily asked as he smiled.

"Right."

So with them on the same page now, she proceeded to softly ruffle his hair while he playfully giggled and looked at her. "Hey! I'm going to have to fix this in the morning and I was actually kinda liking the look!" he childishly whined in a light tone as she giggled while Ember lightly chuckled at them.

"I take it back. I think she might be as sappy as you are." the fire faerie chimed in as he saw his daughter turning to face her. "Say what you want, but someone's just jealous they didn't get their hair ruffled. Still. Em, all you got to do is ask and I'll ruffle your hair." his daughter lightly teased as he heard Ember lightly scoff.

"Oh and have you ruin these beautiful lockets now? Ha! No thanks! I'll leave the hair ruffling to you and your old man." the fire faerie lightly but playfully boasted as he and his daughter had chuckled at her answer. "Fair enough." his daughter simply concluded before he saw her hold onto her head now as she winced, resulting in the two concernedly looking at her.

"Mija? Are you alright?" he softly asked as she slowly nodded and lowered her hand now. "Y... Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a minor throb. That's all." his daughter softly answered, but moments later, she proceeded to wince again and hold onto her head once more as the concern began surfacing once more.

"Mija—"

"—Are you sure you're feeling fine?" Ember concernedly interjected, interrupting him now as he and the fire faerie saw his daughter removing her hand from her head now before she looked at them.

"Guys, come on." his daughter began as she gave a light chuckle. "I told you, I'm..." his daughter persistedly added in her attempt to assure them before she trailed off as they saw Aliya holding onto her head and wincing once more, which made them concernedly look at her again.

"Lia?"

"Mija?"

When they looked at his daughter, they saw Aliya quietly wincing before she began swaying, as though Aliya was unable to maintain her balance. Not long after, her eyes began to close before she abruptly began to fall, causing their eyes to widen at the sight.

"Aliya!"

After they had both called out to her, he proceeded to catch his daughter from falling onto the ground as she tiredly crashed into his arms. When she did, he saw Ember rushing to them and solemnly sigh. "Oh, Lia..." the fire faerie solemnly began before she heavily sighed. "... What are we going to do with you?" Ember finished as he saw his daughter faintly but almost sheepishly give a light chuckle.

"S... Sorry."

"Lia, you don't need to apologize, okay?" Ember softly countered as she sighed, which he saw as a invitation to jump into the conversation now. "Yeah. Emby's right and besides, it's been a long night, mija, so don't apologize. Okay?" he softly followed up as he saw his daughter tiredly nod at his response. "Okay." she softly answered, her voice barely a whisper now as he began to help her stand up again.

"Besides, your old man is right. It's late and I'm sure we're all exhausted because I know for sure that I am." Ember followed up as he chuckled. "Speak for yourself. I feel fine." he insisted, but as when he saw Ember frowning, he knew she heard the exhaustion in his tone. "Yeah and besides, we're... we're..." his daughter attempted to add but when they saw her trailing off, they saw her gradually swaying again as he quietly sighed.

Here we go again.

Not long after, they saw his daughter's eyes start to close before she abruptly began to fall into his arms as he caught her. When he did, he felt her body go limp as he gently placed her on the ground. From there, he began checking her pulse as he heard Ember's footsteps quicken in his and Aliya's direction.

"Is Aliya going to be okay?" he heard the fire fae concernedly asked as he began checking on his daughter's breathing before he lift his head up and turned to his family friend.

"She'll be fine. It's just been a long day and her exhaustion simply got the best of her with all she went through. All she needs is rest and by tomorrow morning, she'll be back on her feet again." he softly assured the girl as Issac saw the fire faerie sighing in relief.

Not long after, he began picking his daughter up and holding her in his arms, careful not to drop her as he saw her friend concernedly but very hesitantly looking at his daughter and back at him now.

"Well, seeing as she's not the only one who overexerted herself, should I—" he heard Ember start to slowly began, but he interrupted her as he shook his head, sensing what she was about to ask when he began looking at his family friend.

"No, Emby. I'm fine." he softly answered, but to his dismay, her frown persisted. "Somehow, I doubt that, given the way you've using a lot of your magic, so I can't help but wonder if—" he heard her counter before he interrupted her again.

"Ember, I'm fine."

"Mhm. Right, right and I totally hear what you are saying. I really do but as you and I just saw, your daughter said that and she fainted, so—" she attempted to counter when he interrupted her again. "Emby, I am fine. Really. Besides, I'm pretty sure I have enough magic and energy inside me to get us to—" he attempted to follow up when she interrupted him.

"Oh no, no, no. You've used enough magic for one night now. Okay? If you use any more tonight, you will surely faint and I don't have the mental capability to be carrying you and her now." she swiftly stated as he rolled his eyes at her response.

"Emby—"

"Plus, I would have to tell your kid that you fainted from overexerting yourself and she would be devastated, so you know. Pick your poison. Do you want to use your magic and faint, knowing it will freak your kid out or just walk and be awake to greet your kid again for when she wakes up now?"

"Emby—" he attempted to say but when he glanced back at her and saw the girl's stern but still genuine concern look, he sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'll walk." he began before he sighed again. "I guess go lead the way and I'll follow with Aliya in tow." he relented as he saw Ember sighing in relief, which made him softly grin at the sight of her relief before she stopped and looked at him once more.

"Now if memory serves me right and I remember Aliya's directions correctly, then we're not far from his place, so come on." she promptly answered, leading the way as he began walking by her side with his daughter in his arms.

"You know, this would be faster if I just used my magic." he insisted as she chuckled. "Right, but then you would faint afterwards and I can't handle both of you passing out on me now. So, this is the best option for us, even if it is admittedly slow." she simply countered as he huffed before he sighed and stopped.

"So, how did you and Aliya end up coming across this guy again?"

"We didn't come across him, Ike. She said she just knew a guy and the next thing I know, she's leading us to the guy she claimed was the most 'toughest,' the 'deadliest' and the most 'rage-filled' warrior I would ever meet."

"And? Is he?"

"Pfft," she began, briefly pausing as she chuckled a bit before she stopped. "No, because despite his appearance, he's actually harmless." Ember added, answering his question as he puzzledly blinked.

"Huh."

"Yeah. You're telling me." she cheekily but lightly followed up, walking through the back streets of the city as he maintained her pace with his daughter still in his arms. "But anyways, his place shouldn't be that much further now." she added on as he heard the fire faerie lightly hummed.

So as the two continued walking past several houses and a few townhouses, he noticed she kept her eyes peeled on a particular building as he listened to her huff. "Where is it? I know his place has got to be around here somewhere." she quietly mumbled when he saw her eyes falling on a light reddish brick building as Ember spotted the familiar black latch on the dark reddish-brown front door, causing the fire faerie to excitedly gasp.

"There! That's it! That's Khashi's house."

As they reached the steps of Khashi's house, he continued to hold onto his daughter and watch as Ember dashed off to the front door, where she lightly thumped the latch against the door. He and his family friend mutely looked on, but when nothing happened, he proceeded to break the silence.

"So anything?"

"Not yet." she said, now turning to face him and her unconscious family friend when a small slot rattled at the sound the fire faerie had made from using the latch.

"Who is it?" a a voice deeply answered, sliding a small slot over as he saw Ember turning to face the small slot and grin, which led to a subtle gasp. "Oh!" the voice added and not long after he heard that, he watched as the slot close up. From there, he saw the fire faerie turning to him as she held a excited grin on her face.

"Alright, Ike, get ready to have your mind blown because in just a few moments, you are about to formally meet—" she excitedly (but also quite theatrically) followed up when he had promptly interrupted her.

"Wait. I met him?"

"Well, technically speaking, you kinda did last night when you were unconscious but now, that you are conscious, this will be your second but formal introduction with him since you're fully awake and not you know, looking like a corpse." she answered, dropping the excited, theatric tone she had just used moments ago as they heard the locks on the door coming undone with the door slowly beginning to open up.

"Ember! It's so good to see you again, new friend!"

Not long after, he saw Ember getting scooped into the 'giant's [in the sense that the guy was just really tall] arms as he observed him excitingly grinning when he had happily held onto his family friend. As he watched, he felt a ping of annoyance, but brushed it off while he continued to look on.

"Hehe. Hey, Khashi. It's good to see you too, new friend." she happily greeted in turn but when he felt the ping of annoyance surfacing again at the sight of their interaction, he couldn't help but purposely feigned a cough then to get them to end their fond reunion.

When he did, he saw Ember and the relatively tall and athletically muscular dark skinned friend who appeared to be in his mid-three hundreds — mid-thirties, he mentally reminded himself as he knew he had to get his mind accustomed to using the mortals numerical way of aging again — as he saw the fire faerie grinning.

"Khashi, this is Aliya's father, Issac." she formally told the giant, pointing to him now as he made note of the giant's rugged jet-black beard as he worn a plain light pink short sleeve shirt, pastel pink sweatpants with bunny slippers.

Well, that's definitely not a weird fit for someone like him, he had thought as he observed Ember stop pointing at him now when she spoke once more. "Issac, this is Aliya's old friend, Khashi." he heard her follow up, now pointing at the giant, who brightly grinned at him.

Issac tried to return the smile, but it was only half-heartedly done as he didn't have the heart to meet the latter all the way through when he felt a bit of irritation towards him. Either way, Issac knew he had to say something, so he took a deep breath and did his best to be civil towards the man his daughter saw as a friend [for some reason].

"Uh, hey. I would greet you, but um—" he attempted to begin when he saw the giant's eyes dart to his daughter and quickly gasp at the sight of her unconscious state. "Oh no! Yia!" Khashi had concernedly bemoaned, interrupting him now as he puzzledly blinked.

"Yia?"

"It's a nickname he gave your daughter. Why or how it came about, I don't know." the fire faerie quietly answered, which made him turn as he saw Ember approaching him and standing at his side now. "Ah. Thanks." he mumbled [mostly for a lack of a better response... or at least, that's what he told himself] as he turned to see the giant solemnly sigh at his daughter's state before he looked at them.

"Well, say no more. Come in and I'll get you all situated." the giant promptly said before they had watched as Khashi turned around and guided them inside his house.

As they entered, Issac stared at the wooden flooring and glanced at the remodeled bright blue painted walls before he glanced over his shoulder. When he did, he saw the walls decorated with various wood cravings of animals and observe the wooden ducks on his countertops when they noticed him arranging his ducks in a row before he darted off.

"This is the guy that Aliya said—"

"—Was the most 'toughest,' the 'deadliest' and the most 'rage-filled' warrior I would ever meet?" she quietly finished as he turned to face her. "Yes and as expected, she spent the whole night in vain trying to stubbornly prove her point but in the end, I won and she accepted her defeat with grace when she said I was right." his family friend cheekily but quietly boasted as he saw a soft but prideful smile form on her face now.

"Ah." he quietly answered [this time it was genuinely out of the fact he truly did not have a better response] right as they saw Khashi resurfacing with a towel.

"I noticed that she looked damp and—"

"Oh. Thanks, but she doesn't need it. She'll be fine." he politely declined, but there was a subtle sharpness in the way he had swiftly interrupted the giant now. It was a sharpness that had went unnoticed by the giant, but one that was noticed by the fire faerie who puzzledly looked at him. However, he had failed to notice her look as he was busy looking at the giant, who looked a bit perplexed himself now.

"Oh. I mean, if you're—"

"I'm sure." he answered and though he was trying to be polite, this time around, the sharpness in his tone became much more evident as there was a moment of awkward silence that trailed soon after with him eyeing the giant when Ember cleared her throat.

"I think what he meant to say is that if we need the towel, one of us will let you know." Ember gently chimed in, now briefly flashing him a sharp look before turning back to Khashi, who looked at him and back at the fire faerie. When he did, he saw the giant nodding as he had continued to hold onto the towel.

"Of course. Well, I'll let you two take her upstairs to the guest room and seeing how you two must be exhausted, I'll make us some food while we talk." the giant lightly offered as he saw Ember's eyes light up.

"Oh, that would be—" she excitedly began and when he felt that ping of annoyance start to resurface once more, he promptly interrupted the fire faerie. "Great, but we—" he started, attempting to decline the giant's (genuine) offer of hospitality when the fire faerie begun to interrupt him in turn [perhaps having sensed/seen what he was about to do now].

"—Will gladly take you up on your offer because we are exhausted and we could stand to talk things out to clear our heads." Ember finished and though she was smiling warmly at Khashi, that smile quickly dropped the moment Issac saw her glancing at him.

Because when she did, he noticed she was looking at him with the same sharpness he had seen Ember use earlier in the back area of some random building when it was moments before Aliya had found them.

"Of course. Well, I will be down here when you two are ready." Khashi simply said, which led the fire faerie brightly grinning at the giant now. "Of course. Thanks Khashi!" Ember cheerily stated and before Issac could get his protest in, the latter walked off now as they saw him going to the kitchen. As soon as he left, he saw Ember drop the cheery demeanor as she sternly turned and looked at him.

"Ike. What was that about?" she quietly but hastily asked, now proceeding to climb the stairs to the guest room as he followed while ensuring not to drop his daughter on the way up. "I don't know what you're talking about." he insisted, quietly countered as he saw Ember reaching the top of the stairs.

"Ike, you know exactly what I'm talking about so don't play coy with me." she insisted in turn as she opened the door to the guest room. When she did, she held the door open for him to enter as he feigned a genuine ponder. "Hmm, still don't know what you're talking about, Emby, but thanks for holding the door." he countered in turn as he saw the fire faerie rolling her eyes and cross her arms, leaning against the wall down.

"You know, I thought I had you figured out, but now I'm realizing there are some things I'm still learning about you." she briefly began as she sighed. "But you are welcome." she added before he heard her sighing again.

"Anyways, I'm too exhausted to handle your weirdness, so I'm going to head downstairs and let you situate your daughter." she followed up before she sighed.

"Anyhow, I hope to see you there... hopefully, a more civil you." she added, proceeding to turn to face him before she quietly closed the guest bedroom door behind her, leaving him alone while he listened to her footsteps descending down the stairs now. When she left and Issac found his company in the form of the eerie silence that surrounded him, he only scoffed as he shook his head at her response.

"Civil? I am civil. Pfft — Ember doesn't know what she's talking about." he had mumbled, quietly protesting against what the fire faerie had said about him and brushed off the girl's words before he sighed. 

Once he did, he proceeded to gently place his daughter down on the bed. After he laid her down, he draped the comforter over Aliya and watched as she turned a bit. As she did, he saw her face still facing him as he listened to her slow, regular breathing.

Softly smiling then, he began to gently stroke her hair back and moved a bit of her hair to the left as he noticed the way some of her hair was covering her face, namely her eyes. When he finished stroking her hair and pulled his hand back, he saw his daughter slightly turning a bit in her sleep again before she stopped. After she did, he listened to her slow, regular breathing continue as he looked away and quietly sighed.

"I still don't know how I ever ended up having you for this long, given all we endured, but I am so glad I did." he sincerely but quietly told her in a soft tone, now turning to face his daughter once again as he listened to her slow, regular breathing. It was then his soft smile grew at the sight of his daughter as he continued to keep a loving, affectionate eye on her now before he spoke and cut through the comforting silence once more.

"I love you, mija."

After he said those words to her and turned away from her, he then quietly pushed himself off of the bed and began making his way to the door. When he did, he quietly began opening the door before he turned to take one more look. As he did, he saw his daughter continue to stay soundly asleep and listened to Aliya lightly sighing. Smiling softly further at the sight, he then proceeded to turn away from his daughter as he quietly stepped out and closed the door behind him.

When he released his hand from the door knob, he began heading down the stairs and made his way towards the living room, where he saw Khashi arriving with three sandwiches and observed as he placed the plate down on the coffee table near the light green velvet couch. It was there he saw Ember becoming delighted by the sight as she grinned.

"Well, thank you so much for the food!" Ember gleefully said as he saw his family friend happily partake in a sandwich. "You're welcome!" Khashi happily beamed and he saw that, he thought to leave but then, he realized he must've been spotted when he heard the fire faerie's excited gasp. Knowing he couldn't leave now, Issac awkwardly observed Khashi looking at him now as he brightly smiled in his direction.

"Hey, buddy!" Khashi warmly greeted as he saw the giant's grin grow. "Care for a sandwich?" the giant followed up, gesturing to the plate as he blinked, realizing that Khashi was the first actual person he would interact with outside his daughter and their friends. When the realization had dawned on him, he suddenly felt small and sheepish, as though he felt he made a mistake now in doing this. A mistake that he could technically prevent if he chose to leave...

I should leave. This could backfire and he seems too nice for me to go and ruin a good thing he has with the girls. I should just keep my distance and—

"Issac, go take him on his offer, sit down with Ember and try to socialize. Okay?" the voice in his head insisted as he internally sighed.

But—

"Issac, I know you think you might mess this up like you did with your other friends now, but you don't know how things are actually going to turn out unless you try. Besides, if your daughter was awake, she would tell you to go make friends, so go do this. If not for yourself, then at least go and take that leap of faith of venturing into the unknown for her."

So while Issac felt the urge to run and retreat against any attempts of forging a new friendship as he had [admittedly] a bad history when it came to the ones he lost in the past, he forced himself to resist the sudden urge to flee because he knew Aliya would have wanted him to branch out of what he knew and have a life outside of simply caring for her.

So it was for her sake that he mustered up his courage to stay and took a deep breath as he gave a light nod.

"Sure."

Taking Khashi on his offer then, he proceeded to walk towards him as he accepted the food and genuinely smiled. "Thanks for the food and for letting us stay here." he graciously added as he saw the giant nod.

"Of course. It was, after all, the least I could do after what your daughter and her siblings did for me back in the ring." the giant softly said as he blinked, vaguely recalling the way he [along his wives... when they were alive then] his kids had talked about someone letting them stay at their place after they had done something at the ring with some other guy... whose name he couldn't think of the top of his head right now.

If the ring he's referring to is the wrestling ring, then... could this really be the guy who they were telling me and their moms about when Aliya had go on the run for allegedly kidnapping Shiron's kid?

He thought to ask, but before he could, Ember chose to chime into the conversation then as they heard her delightfully gasp.

"But yes! Thank you so much for the food again." Ember happily said as he chuckled, deciding to ask his question later. So, it was then that he nodded and retained his smile as he simply gave a 'mhm' and sat beside the fire faerie. After he did, they observed as the giant nodding before the giant grinned.

"You're welcome. I figured you two would probably be exhausted from the journey you endured, given the state that my old friend was in." Khashi slowly followed up as he and Ember sighed at the giant's response.

"Yeah. You could say something like that." they simply said before they each took a bite of their sandwiches while Khashi nodded. "So, I can assume that, like yesterday, this is also a long night for all of you?" the giant slowly inquired as they swallowed their bite and nodded.

"Yes. You could say this is also a long night for all of us, but him especially." he heard his family friend answer before she took another bite of her sandwich. "Ah, well I wouldn't say that now." he modestly protested right as Ember finished her bite, swallowed and looked at him. "Issac, don't lie to the poor man. Alright? It was obviously a long night for you, considering how you tried to get the primal cube and lost it in the same night." his friend casually said until toward the end of her response when she spoke in a bit of a mocking tone.

"The primal cube?"

"It's—" Ember had attempted to answer before she stopped and looked at him as he took a bite of his sandwich, sensing what she was going to ask. "—What is it?" she followed up, now facing him as he (regrettably) finished his bite in time to answer her question. But not wanting to tell them [the fire faerie and the giant], he proceeded to opt in for a lie, hoping neither one would push him on it.

"It's nothing." he answered, taking a bite of his sandwich when he heard Ember lightly scoff. "It can't just be nothing if you had to go out of your way to hide it from us." she shot back, resulting in him nearly choking on his bite until he recovered and swallowed the bite before he turned to face the fire faerie.

"Ah, well—" he attempted to protest, but when he saw Ember sternly looking at him, he relented as he heavily sighed.

"Fine. The celestial primal cube, or the primal cube essentially, is one of the six relics of powers that my omi needs to forge the first half of her destiny." he slowly confessed as he saw Khashi puzzledly look at him.

"Your omi?"

When he asked, Issac glanced at Ember who held a sympathetic but assuring look as he blinked at her look. "You and Aliya didn't—" he quietly began to ask when he cut himself off at the sight of the girl shaking her head. "No. We both came to the realization that it would be up to you, so we only told him what we felt was necessary for him to know." she quietly answered, before he saw her going back to eating her sandwich as he softly smiled. "Thanks." he softly whispered as she swallowed and nodded. "You're welcome." she softly added before she went back to taking another bite now as he turned to face Khashi.

"She's... She's someone who once believed that she could make a difference in her home. That if she allied with the people from our home and be a guide to them, she could allieve the suffering she saw and bring about a new era, you could say." he began before he sighed.

"But as time went on, she began to see the people whom she was giving her council to neglected her advice and only cared about themselves, not the people whom she was trying to help. She tried to get them to change course, to change their mind, but she was seen speaking against the royals, so the King and Queen of that time retaliated by having my mother's people killed... with me being the only survivor." he slowly continued as he saw Ember and Khashi solemnly looking at him.

When he saw their looks, a part of him was almost glad then that his daughter wasn't awake to hear this because he thought her look would make this more painful for him to cite.

"Ike—"

"—Anyways, she knew they wouldn't change and having seen all that they had done, she chose to get even and exact her revenge against the royals but she went too far. She went about trying to destroy everything and everyone... and she did this by using—"

"—The Great Beast. Her monster. It is said that when she made her beast, it has black shadowy beast with its razor-sharp claws, piercing but intensively white glowing set of eyes and dagger-like fangs for teeth!" Ember dramatically interrupted as he found himself tensing up when she used the words 'monster' and 'beast' [though no one noticed].

"But of course, that could just be a exaggeration." he chimed in as he saw Ember turning to face him and chuckle. "Yeah, but still. If that's really how your omi's monster looked, it would really be something, huh?" she lightly asked as he blinked before he tensely but quietly chuckled at her response. "Yeah, it would really be something." he answered, taking a bite of his sandwich now as Ember nodded.

"But then again, maybe the monster itself really isn't the beast but the people." Khashi followed up as he blinked while he saw Ember shaking her head. "No way! The beast is the monster. After all, it went on a rampage and went about attacking everything in its sights." Ember firmly stated as he frowned at her response, though his look went unnoticed with Khashi and Ember looking at each other.

"Maybe, the beast didn't have a choice." Issac quietly mumbled, but his response [much like the frown he gave] had too gone unnoticed. "If anyone's the monster, it's the beast and its master," Ember added before she paused to turn to him. "No offense, of course." she finished as he had simply shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich.

"Perhaps, but then again, it could also be part of the story. Like Issac said, it was the people she counciled who made her become the woman his omi is today, so maybe it's the people who are the monsters too." Khashi casually countered as he saw Ember childishly huffing. "Perhaps, but still. Until I see proof that says the beast is innocent, I'm still going to say that the beast makes up one of the two monsters for the terrible events occurring that day." she stubbornly insisted, to which he took another bite when they turned to look back at him.

"Anyways, what happened after your omi used the Great Beast against the people of Fairytopia and the Avalonian realm?"

"I—"

"I can answer this one, Ike." Ember confidently said as she turned to Khashi and grinned. "Well, for awhile it looked like the Lady Bone Enchantress was going to get her revenge against King Esteban and Queen Adelaide but then the great Thena sent Magnus Braveheart and his shon, Aureus Braveheart to vanquish the great evil from our home. In doing so though, Magnus had defeated the monster at the expense of his life. However, his shon had carried on his father's legacy and went to set about imprisoning his omi. But—" she theatrically continued, but her mannerism was too much like how Jaxon would tell their stories and he took over simply to avoid having to see their kid in her.

"—Just before he succeeded in imprisoning her, my omi vowed to return a thousand years after the events of the First War when her shon surfaced to free her and uh... well..." he slowly stated, interrupting Ember as he awkwardly began rubbing the back of his neck. "... She wasn't wrong when she said she would resurfaced since it's uh... my fault that she came about and uh is now freed from her imprisonment." he awkwardly confessed, finishing the last of his sandwich as he saw Ember frowning.

"Ike, come on. Me and Aliya have said that it's not your fault." Ember softly insisted, but he only sighed all the same. "That's nice of you to say, Emby, but—" he attempted to protest when the fire fae proceeded to cut him off. "No, Issac. I'm serious. What happened last night is not your fault." she firmly insisted as he sighed.

"Ember—"

"No! Okay? Listen to me and listen well because I'm only saying this to you one time: You were manipulated into freeing your omi just as your daughter was manipulated into guiding you to her grandmother's cryptic tomb. Alright? Your omi and Phantom used you like they used your daughter to get what they wanted." she firmly protested as he simply sighed.

"I guess..." he mumbled, still not entirely convinced by what Ember was saying before he trailed off as he sighed. "Anyways, what's done is done. My omi is freed and now, she wants to go about finishing what she started all those years ago by using the relics of power to shape the first half of her destiny." he followed up as he saw Khashi looking at him.

"Which is?"

"Reforging this world, ours and the rest of the realms in her image."

"Her image?"

"She wants everything freed from imperfections that she felt plagued her inability to truly make a difference in her time, so she believes in wiping out everyone and everything, she can use the blank canvas of her destruction to start over by making the world anew. That is essentially her image." he answered as he heard Ember gasp, which made him and Khashi go turn to face her.

"What?"

"Aliya mentioned something like that yesterday when she was explaining why we couldn't let you — well, mind controlled by Phantom you —"

"Wait. I was possessed by Phantom?" he puzzledly asked as he saw her sheepish look. "Uh, yes, but um... it was twice." she meekly confessed as his eyes widened. "What! You and Aliya never mentioned that part! This whole time, I thought I was only possessed once!" he followed up as she tensedly chuckled.

"... Oops?"

"Ember—"

"—Look, you only seemed to recall her being the one who possessed you, so we were going to let you think that and try telling you what happened this morning, but you ran off in a hurry so we never got around to it. If you had just stayed though, we would've told you everything." she began before she sighed.

"Besides, it's not like I could've lied to you even if I wanted to because Aliya was really adamant about telling you as soon as possible since she didn't want to keep it a secret from you. She felt you deserved to know what happened last night and we made a vow to tell you today, but then you randomly ran off and threw off our attempts of confessing." she followed up before she had sighed again.

"Ike, neither of us meant to hide it from you. Okay? We had every intention to tell you, but last night was just not a good night to tell you. You had gone through so many things, we felt it was best to wait till the morning. Plus, we were exhausted and we thought the morning would fit us better since we would be wide awake to answer your questions... had you again not darted off the way that you did earlier."

When she finished, he blinked as he heard the fire faerie sighing.

"Look. For what it's worth, Ike, I'm sorry and I know I can't speak for Aliya, but I know she's just as sorry as I am since neither of us meant to hurt you or make it look as though we were being secretive behind your back. Okay? You might be like that because that's you, but we are not as we both wanted to be honest. Though now looking back, I don't know why we felt the need to be honest with you when you couldn't even bother to be honest with us."

"Ember," he began before he paused as he sighed. "I—" he attempted to follow up, but she only sighed. "Forget it, Ike. What's done is done and there's nothing we can do about it now. So, have your secrets should you feel entitled, but keep this in mind: while you think you may be slick now with your secretive nature, secrets always have a way of surfacing whether you want your secrets to come out into the light or not." she firmly cautioned him as he simply sighed at her response.

"Anyways, before you interrupted me, I was going to say that Aliya mentioned something similar to what you said when we were trying to stop you from getting the Ossis Key." she followed up, brushing past his sigh now as he blinked.

"How—"

"I don't know how, so don't ask. All I know is when we were dealing with mind-controlled you under Phantom's control, we crashed into her cryptic tomb and when Lia had went to touch it, she saw things and whatever she saw, it dealt with us stopping mind controlled you using the Ossis Key, but well... we both know how that went." she finished, interrupting him now as she heavily sighed and finished the last of her sandwich.

"And the second time?"

"Phantom made you touch your omi's bones because you were the one who was directly related to her and from what Aliya told me, she enchanted the bones so that only someone of her pure blood and it essentially resulted in him manipulating you into freeing your omi." she promptly answered as he frowned. "Well, I guess that's that I suppose." he mumbled for a lack of a better response as he heavily sighed.

"Ike—"

"—I can't do anything about that, so I guess that's it." he dejectedly followed up, interrupting his family friend now as he sighed again.

"That's not true, Ike."

"Yes, it—"

"No. Ember is right."

When Khashi interjected himself into the conversation, they saw him standing up as he crossed his arms. "You still have the items." Khashi pointed out as Ember gasped. "Oh hey! You still have the items!" she excitedly added, now standing up as he blinked, realizing that they were right in the sense that there were still five more items to collect.

So even if his omi had the primal cube in her possession, they could still come out on top if they collect the other five relics of powers and if they stopped her—

"We can collect the rest of the items and ensure her destiny never comes true by destroying—"

"No. I need the items." Issac firmly interjected, observing how Ember blinked. "Wait, but why do you need them?" she puzzledly asked as Khashi nodded. "Yeah. I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to collect the remaining relics then destroy them to ensure your omi and Phantom don't succeed?" Khashi further added as he sighed.

"No. Destroying them will only make things worse. If we want to win, then we need to focus on collecting the relics of power instead because..."

"Little Prince, come on. Let's be real here. Why else would you be so persistent to stop her if not to take the bone mech for yourself and go about charting your own revenge?"

"Ike?"

"... Collecting the relics is the only way we can stop her." he answered, shrugging off Phantom's words and though he saw Ember and Khashi nodding, neither of them thought to be suspicious of his delayed response because they had believed him.

They both genuinely believed he wanted to collect the relics to stop his omi when in reality, he wanted to collect the relics—

"—so you can forge the bone mech for your own intentions now."

In that moment, he heard Phantom's condescending chuckle ringing in his head because he had knew his mother's right hand was right: He wanted the items to forge the bone mech for his own intentions but just because Phantom knew that... didn't mean the others had to know.

"Okay. Well, if collecting the relics is truly the best way to stop your omi—"

"—Then, what's the next item?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked at Ember and Khashi determinedly glancing at him as he saw how eager they were to help him.

"They want to help because they're under the belief you genuinely want to stop your omi, not that you—"

"The next item," he paused, adjusting the volume of his tone as he had to ensure the voice in his head couldn't distract him from what he needed to do. He thought he could do this alone, but the prince knew it just wasn't possible because if he was to get the bone mech, then he knew their help was essential to retrieving the remaining relics.

He would just have to make sure he didn't do (or say) anything that would make them suspect he wasn't as 'devoted' to the task of defeating his omi because his chances of getting the bone mech rested on them not knowing what he really intended to do...

"Is the Aperio Mirror." he finished as he saw Khashi and Ember's puzzled looks. "The what now?" Khashi and Ember baffledly asked as he chuckled. "The Aperio Mirror." he repeated before the prince gave another chuckle.

"It's a demon-revealing mirror and the next relic of power my omi needs to collect." he added, explaining what the item was as they nodded. "Okay. Well, where can we find this mirror that you're speaking of?" Ember and Khashi followed up as he sighed. "That's the thing. I... I don't really know." he sheepishly confessed as Ember blinked.

"But you—"

"—Me finding the primal cube was by luck. I just happened to stumble upon Atari having it, but I didn't actually know of its whereabouts." he explained, interrupting the fire faerie, who blinked now as she lightly hummed. "Huh. I thought you knew too, given how Aliya knew." she casually stated as he blinked.

"How did she know?"

"Eh." Ember answered as she shrugged. "She wouldn't say. Even then, she wasn't focused on the item. She was just focused on finding you. Either way, she just said we needed to go to Midtown Ice Rink and that's where we found you, the scientist and the primal cube." she further added as he blinked again.

"You know, now that I think about it, she's kinda getting good at that. I mean, think about it. She found her grandmother's cryptic tomb and knew exactly where to guide you last night, then she knew where to find you when I couldn't and she knew about the primal cube too, but since you never told her, either someone else did or she just..."

If she knew about the primal cube before Phantom talked about it, then is it possible that she'd know about the remaining items too? Would she know about the Aperio Mirror too and where to find it?

"... simply knew."

When Issac heard the rest of Ember's response, then he knew for certain that his daughter would know about the whereabouts of the Aperio Mirror and the rest of the other relics of power. Even though he didn't know how she knew, the fact that she did meant he possibly had some kind of advantage over his omi and if he wanted to beat her to activating the bone mech, then he knew he needed to utilize his daughter's foresight. It was, at best, the only real chance he had against his omi...

... Even though, it meant he was (to some extent) going to have to use Aliya to further advance his agenda.

The thought of doing such a thing made him sick to his stomach, yet he told himself he wasn't really using her if she believed he was truly trying to stop his omi and continued to see him as the hero she thought he was, then she would fall in line with them and all would be good. If it was only as easy as he was making it out to be though...

Because although he had tried to get her to get the relic beforehand, she had (very well) defied him by choosing Ember over the primal cube. So, he knew then, that there was a chance his kid could do something similar and cost him the remaining items. Then, there was that notion too with the way Aliya looked at him with caution when he delayed his response in answering why he needed the relic.

Even knew he had given her the same answer (or something similar) from last night, he knew there was a chance Aliya might've suspected his response being off and if that was true, then how long would it be before she figured out he wasn't being truthful about his intentions he gave for acquiring the relics?

He wasn't sure when or how she would find out (if ever), but he didn't want to find out because he knew once she caught on and knew the truth—

"Ike?"

Relieved to have Ember pulling him out of his thoughts then, he pushed the previous thought he held regarding his daughter far in the back of his mind because he didn't want to deal with the kind of thinking that would bring about.

"Are you alright?"

As he looked at Ember and Khashi, he feigned a laugh as he nodded. "I'm alright. I guess I'm just tired from all—" he began to answer, only to get cut off as he saw Ember nodding. "—That we all went through." Ember finished as she nodded. 

"That can explain why you kept spacing out just now. Maybe, you're just too tired to keep up with what we have to say and honestly, I get it. Plus, if I'm being honest, I'm pretty exhausted myself too." Ember followed up as he nodded, seeing how he didn't need to 'explain' himself when the fire faerie had it covered.

"Well, if you two are exhausted, then I should let you two rest, especially if we are supposed to go about looking for the Aperio Mirror tomorrow." Khashi followed up, collecting their plates now as Ember blinked.

"You would really help us?"

"Of course. Aliya is my friend and if this means a lot to her father, then I'm more than happy to tag along and do my part to help Issac collect the relics. I uh just got to give her the heads-up first." Khashi answered, lightly chuckling and as he did, a subtle frown began to surface on his face now when Issac realized why the giant would help him.

Because it wasn't anything he had said, but rather his daughter.

She was the reason the giant advocated himself to his cause, just as he knew she had been the reason for Ember helping them.

In that moment, he felt the same bitter, angry feeling he had felt towards his daughter when she cost him the primal cube, but when he reminded himself why he loved her, that seemed to help cease the feeling he had as he quietly sighed in relief before he looked at the two.

"Oh well, I'm sure she won't mind." he countered as he stood up now. "Besides as my daughter always said, the more help we can get, the better." he added as he smiled, though the two failed to catch the forced strain of the smile. Instead, Ember only nodded before she turned to face the giant now. 

"Yeah. Ike's right. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Especially if you and her are both old friends." she softly added as he nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Well, if you two insist—"

"Trust me. It's fine. She'll accept your help to the cause." he swiftly said, adjusting his grin to be brighter now as he saw Khashi nodding. "Well, alright. If you say so. I mean, you are her pops, after all." the giant slowly added before he gripped onto the plates. "I guess we should all get some rest then." the giant added, before he went to the kitchen as he blinked, wondering the thing he had wanted to ask him about.

"Ike? Were you thinking about asking him something?"

Turning, he saw Ember curiously looking at him as he glanced at the giant washing the plates before he looked back at the fire faerie and shook his head.

"No. I thought I did, but it must've not been important." he casually answered as he yawned then. "Besides, it's been a long night and we could use the rest." he added as she nodded a moment later. "Yeah, but uh, do you think we could talk? Preferably outside?" Ember shyly asked as he nodded.

"Sure."

So as he and Ember made their way upstairs and left Khashi behind, they quietly entered the guest bedroom before they closed the door. From there, they quietly made their way to the balcony as he quietly opened the door toward the extended area of the room. Ushering her outside, he then quietly closed the door before they began to approach the railing. When the two did, he leaned his arms against the railing and stared at the city's iconic skyline before he turned to look at Ember.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" he curiously asked as he saw the fire faerie start to awkwardly fidget with her hands. "Well, I don't really know how much of last night you actually remember, but back at the foundry, after Phantom finished his first possession, you were about to walk to me and Aliya but you started to—" she attempted to explain when he interrupted her as he had a vague idea of what she was referring to.

"—Stumble, but you caught me from falling."

"Yeah but after I caught you from falling, I helped you up and steadied you, so you wouldn't risk falling again. When I did that, you flashed me a small smile and I grinned in your direction. Well, you told me thanks yet when you did, you placed a light touch on my shoulder and as soon as you went to touch me..." she began to add and not long after she did, he found himself tuning out as he began recalling what he saw after he touched her and a outline formed around them...

Not long after he touched her and the outline formed, Issac found himself in a black abyss until the landscape changed to reveal a hazy, sunset sky with scattered clouds across the sky before he saw someone hunched over.

As he stared at the hunched over individual, he blinked and a second later, he saw three different-colored flames {orange, purple and red specifically} surrounding the hunched down individual as the three flames all seemed to resemble some sort of ring.

It was only then as the flames grew, did the imagery change. So very quickly, he found himself face-to-face with a dark electrifying blue flamed silhouette of...

"Ember?"

When Issac looked on and saw the dark blue flamed silhouette of their family friend turn to him at the sound of her name, he noticed a pair of large-white glowing eyes staring back at him for a moment before the silhouette gave a screeching shriek.

As the silhouette screeched, the flames expanded as he was only met with the expansion of the large-white glowing eyes and the equally large-white glowing mouth before he was consumed by the shriek of the silhouette version of the fire faerie...

"... and I was just wondering if you knew what it meant."

Tuning back in to what she was saying, Issac briefly blinked before he gave an awkward but uncertain chuckle. "Emby, I don't think I understand." he briefly countered as he saw Ember slowly looking at him before she blinked.

"Oh. I just thought maybe you had an idea of what the images meant because of the way you had acted afterwards." she slowly followed up as he blinked. "How did I act?" he asked as he noticed the fire faerie sighing at his response.

"Well, you started saying things like 'what the' then you said 'wait, no, it can't be' and you gave me this haunting gleam in your eyes, so I just thought maybe you—"

"Emby, I was just in shock from what I saw. That's all." he softly answered as he saw her start to slowly raise her eyebrows. "So, there was nothing more to it?" she slowly asked as he nodded.

"Yep! There was nothing more to it. Just good ole shock from what we saw." he lightly answered as she continued to eye him. As he did, he began to see the skepticism evident in her eyes now, as though she didn't believe what he was saying...

"And you don't know anything about it?" she slowly asked as he shook his head. "No." he simply answered as she huffed. "Not even how it could potentially tie into why your omi wants me? Or why Lia's grandmother insists that I'm so valuable to her plans?" she persisted as he only shook his head again.

"No."

"Not even a little bit?"

"No."

"Issac—"

"Ember, if I knew anything, believe me you would be the first to know." he swiftly deflected, now interrupting the fire faerie, who crossed her arms. "That's the thing. You wouldn't tell me." she firmly protested as he sighed. "But I would if it meant helping to ensure your safety because it's like I said: I genuinely care about you and I would never let you get hurt." he softly answered as she slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. Starting now, I would never let you get hurt." he sheepishly added before he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed.

"You really mean that?" she slowly asked as he turned to face the fire fae and nodded, no longer rubbing the back of his neck now. "Of course!" he assured her as he smiled. "Your friendship is everything to me and I wouldn't want to go risk jeopardizing the bond we have like I almost did tonight in trying to get Aliya to obtain the primal cube at your expense." he further added as he saw Ember slowly looking at him.

"You really meant it when you said you weren't going to try to do anything at my expense?" she countered as he nodded once more. "Of course! Emby, look. I get that I may not always tell you the truth about everything now, but keeping you safe and honoring our friendship are things I would never lie to you about you." he told her as he warmly smiled at her direction. "Okay? Not when you mean everything to me and Aliya." he concluded as he saw the skepticism in her eyes finally die down.

"Okay, Ike. I trust you." she softly and sincerely stated and when she said that, his smile began to grow. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" he followed up as he saw the fire fae yawning now. "I did, but..." she began but when she trailed, he dropped his smile when he saw the girl start to stumble.

"Ember!"

Catching Ember from falling, he saw the fire faerie tiredly open her eyes as she sighed. "Issac, I'm fine..." she tiredly protested, but her voice grew softer now as the drowsiness in her eyes persisted. "Ember, I know that you're fine. I just..." Issac softly began, only to trail off when he saw her eyes eventually close and felt her head gently lean against his chest.

Never finishing the rest of his response then, he softly sighed as he began to gently scoop the girl into his arms. Once he made sure that she was secured in his arms, he made his way back to the balcony door that led to the guest room. Gently removing his arm from his family friend for a bit, he lightly nudged the door and heard a light creak that [thankfully] didn't alert the fire fae or his daughter as it had alert him just now.

Sighing in relief, Issac continued to hold onto his family friend and quietly closed the door from behind him before he began approaching the other side of the bed. Moving the blanket over, he gently placed Ember down on the bed before he draped the blanket over the girl, now covering her as he quietly smiled.

"Goodnight, Ember." he softly whispered, walking away from the fire faerie now as he caught a glimpse of his daughter sleeping. As he did, he was afraid he would feel some bitterness to his daughter, but none of that seemed to surface as he stared at her, so he quietly sighed in relief and began to softly smile at the sight of her. He thought to approach her, but stopped when he saw a glimpse of her damp hair and began to recall his conversation with the scientist now....

"What have you done?" he recalled heart-wrenchingly asking, following up on his response now when he saw the latter sighing.

"Look, I know I pushed her and made her fall into the water, but don't think for a second you are innocent because you sealed her fate when you attempted to kill me. So, rather than go ask me what I have done, ask yourself what you have done instead because you have just as much — if not more — blame in the matter of her outcome as I do." he recalled Atari sharply but mockingly answering as he recalled the way he began angrily clenching his fist now.

"Don't you dare blame this on me when I'm not the one who pushed her into the water!"

"True, but then again, you are the one who set up the consequence for Aliya to get pushed into the water when you attempted to kill me, so while you might have not been the one to push her into the water now... you might as well have been."

Angrily clenching his fist now, he felt the urge to growl when he recalled what the scientist had said but when he caught a glimpse of the girls soundly asleep, he mutely turned and began to approach the balcony door again as he didn't want to risk waking them up with his anger now rising...

So unclenching his fist then, he began to quietly open the door and left the guest room before he quietly closed the door behind him. As soon as he ensured that the balcony door was closed and fully confident they couldn't hear him, he backed away from the door and proceeded to release the growl he managed to hold back.

"I can't believe he had the audacity to blame me — me! — for my daughter's drowning as if I'm like some kind of great threat to her!" he angrily snapped, now clenching his fist again when he began to recall Phantom's sigh and the conversation he had with his omi's right hand...

"Little Prince, as logical as that may sound to you, none of us are her greatest threat." he recalled Phantom promptly answering as he recalled the way he rolled his eyes from his response.

"Well, I find that hard to believe, given what's occurred so far, but assuming you are somehow telling the truth and you, her grandmother and all of my daughter's other enemies aren't her greatest threat.... then who is?"

In recalling the way he had slowly inquired about the question, he also began to recall the way Phantom's relatively smug grin turned towards that of an eerie smile now before he answered...

"You."

In remembering Phantom's answer to him being his daughter's greatest threat, he felt his blood run cold again as his heart plummet and his mouth turned dry with the metallic taste somehow becoming stronger the second time around than he last remembered. Not long after that, Issac briefly lost feeling in his body before he gradually recovered and regained feeling in his body. As soon as he did, he began to recall Phantom chuckling once more and it was then that he began to recall the rest of what he said in the aftermath of him revealing the answer...

"Judging from your silence, I know it must be quite the relevation for you to hear such a thing, but it really shouldn't be a surprise to you since out of everyone she knows, you are the closest one to her. I mean, you're the one who raised her as her father, so it would only be fitting then that you would also serve as your daughter's greatest threat, given the bond Aliya shares with you." he recalled Phantom briefly stating as he remembered the way his mother's right hand cut through the silence that had engulfed them.

However he never said anything as he recalled the way he mutely stared at him, still having lacked the words to say anything before Phantom proceeded to speak in spite of his state...

"After all, is there anything so undoing than a parent?"

When his recollection of his conversation with Phantom ended and he heard the question echo in the back of his head, Issac began shakily laughing as the relevation he might've had a played a role in his daughter's drowning now as it started to slowly dawn on him while his denial of his role in it grew ever so stronger. Though it was on shaky grounds now...

"N... No. I didn't... I couldn't... I..." he shakily stammered before his knees sunk to the ground as he glanced at his clenched fist. "I... I wouldn't hurt Aliya like that." he quietly but shakily added, forcing himself to breathe now before he continued. "I... I mean only a m... monster would h... hurt their own kid and I... I'm not a monster." he further added, but as soon as he finished, he started to hear Atari's chuckling echo in the back of his head which lead him to recall a part of their conversation now...

"You say that. However, given what I saw and endured tonight, I can't help but feel the real monster here isn't me but rather..." he recalled the scientist slowly following up before he saw him trailing off as the scientist chuckled again. After which, Atari looked at him with a taunting smile.

"... You."

"No... No... No..." Issac found himself repeatedly mumbling as he frantically shook his head with the word 'monster' growing louder in his head. "I... I can't be... I... I'm not... I'm not a monster." he insisted, but he was choking on the words and he was almost certain that his voice cracked, as if he was struggling to come to grips with what he was telling himself now.

Tears threatened to fall then, but he forced them back as he shakily made himself breathe in an effort to calm himself down by giving himself a pep talk of sorts. "Y... You're not a monster, Ike. Okay? You're just a man—" Issac attempted to begin, but not long after he said that, he heard Atari's chuckling echo in his head as he began to recall (yet) another part of their conversation now...

"Because even though you insist you're not a monster, I can't help but wonder: are you the man you think you are or are you perhaps the monster who is simply pretending to be the man?" 

As he found the scientist's question echoing in his head, he shut his eyes tight, thinking he could block the voices out, but this would do him little help...

🎶 When you close your eyes, what do you see?
Do you hold the light or is darkness underneath? 🎶

... Because when he closed his eyes, he found himself falling from the sky until he landed in the sea of a black abyss. Once he landed in the sea, he felt cold, undead hands wrap around him — almost forcibly trying to suffocate him. 

Seeing this, he pulled against the hands as he tried in vain to free himself from the abyss, but having relived this nightmare for the past two hundred years now, Issac knew his efforts were pointless because the darkness always got its way.

So it wasn't surprising that the cold, undead hands found their grip on him and in spite of his best efforts to fight back, the cold, undead hands succeeded in pulling him under before he found himself becoming submerged in the black, ink-like sea...

Opening his eyes, Issac immediately gave a series of forceful, gasping coughs before he stopped as he solemnly sighed. "Great." he solemnly mumbled as he covered his face with his hands now and sighed again. "I had the same stupid nightmare again." he irritatedly mumbled, pulling his hands away from his face now as he sighed. "Same nightmare, same result." he further added as he sighed.

"No matter what I do, it's always the same thing. The darkness always wins." he bitterly stated as he sighed once more. Glancing at his surroundings, Issac realized he was still outside and on the balcony [closer to the door that led to the guest bedroom] before his eyes gradually drifted to his hands.

🎶 In your hands, there's a touch that can heal 🎶

"I never meant for you to get hit. I only intended for Slivanus to get hit because I was targeting him out of the rage I felt for all the things he did to you, but in the end, I couldn't even get that. Instead, you got hurt in his place because of me and I'm so sorry, mija. I'm so, so sorry..." Issac solemnly and heartbreakingly told her as his eyes welled with tears.

Holding her close, Issac kneeled his head over hers and as he did, a single teardrop fell from his eyes and fell on her. As soon as the teardrop fell on her, a light golden-colored lotus flower-like symbol formed over her before the symbol disperse and became light golden dust that scatter across her body. As the dust fell on her, a light golden glow blanketed her as Issac looked up to see the dust transparently fusing into her.

Not long after that, the glow around her vanished as he began to hear a series of faint coughs, causing him to look up as his eyes widened at the sight of her eyes fluttering as her eyes had briefly flickered from her natural light amber hue to a light blue, almost teal-like hue.

Issac initially began to panic at the sight, but when he saw her eyes revert back to their natural light amber color, he began to relax just as he heard his daughter groan and slowly begin to sit up as he saw her hold onto her head and wince.

"Uugh..."

"Mija?"

He [admittedly] didn't think she would've actually hear him since he had spoke so softly [as if he was afraid to think she was really there], but when he saw her stop rubbing her head and turn to face him, he knew the gods [and even the fates for that matter] weren't playing with a cruel trick on him, especially when she spoke.

"Apá?"

 🎶 But in those same hands, is the power to kill 🎶

"Actually, I'm just getting started."

When the scientist had heard his response and lowered his fists upon turning to face him now, a menacing smirk formed on his face as the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak in his eyes had illuminated before he proceeded to spin before he faced the scientist and aggressively uppercut Atari with his leg. In doing so, he knocked the primal cube out of the scientist's reach as the relic drifted slightly towards the edge of the rooftop.

As he landed on the ground then, he saw the scientist stumbling slightly but still somehow able to maintain his ability to stand, so bothered by this, he proceeded to charge at the latter but he managed to spot him and had succeeded in narrowly dodging the attack as his eyes widened at the sight of how he was to being knocked down by him.

"Old man! What are you trying to do? Kill me?!" the scientist exclaimed in panic as he saw Atari's eyes widened more. "I just thought you were after the primal cube, not trying to execute my own murder too now!" the scientist further added, the fear surfacing in his eyes now as he found his smirk growing while his dark chuckle evolved into a sinister giggle.

"Well, I did say I was getting started." 

As he pulled his eyes away from his hands, Issac heavily sighed before a deep, unsettling look of doubt surfaced on his face. 

He thought for certain that he was nothing more than his daughter's hero, but when he recalled having the urge to intentionally hurt her for the first time, he started to doubt that he could be a hero to her. Because when he thought back to the way he felt the urge to intentionally hurt Aliya, Issac was starting to think there might have been some merit to Phantom's words when he said he was the girl's greatest threat.

He wish with all his heart that wasn't truly the case, but when her drowning played in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that there might have been some merit to Atari's words when he said that he might've been the one to drown her. He didn't want to think of it as so, but his decision to try to kill the scientist had came back to haunt him and it nearly led Aliya paying the price of his decision with her life...

All he wanted was nothing more than to keep her safe and protect her, but all it seemed like he was doing so far was just endangering her and the more he heard the words 'greatest threat' in his head, the harder Issac found it to truly call himself his daughter's hero because heroes were meant to protect. But so far... It seemed like he was destined to hurt Aliya instead with the way things were going. 

Worse though, he felt like he was starting to lose a grip on himself and who he was in favor of the thing he feared he would become and that scared him as much as hurting Aliya did because he knew. He knew he was saying things that was normally unlike him, he was aware of the things he was doing and while he could (kinda) catch it and stop (ish), Issac couldn't help but wonder just how long he had to catch himself before it just... stopped.

How long could he keep saying "I love you" to his kid before he stopped meaning it? How long could he keep holding her and loving her and treating her as his everything before the genuine love Issac felt toward her crumbled and he treated her as though she was his greatest threat?

How long could he keep anyone close before the darkness consumed him and made him think that everyone was nothing more than a enemy to him? How long could he keep apologizing for hurting the ones he loved until it become obvious that he meant to inflict harm onto them in a similar fashion as his daughter? How long could he keep his relationships from going astray and crumbling before his darkness got the best of him and he felt the need to burn down the bridges of the relationships he held with the ones he loved? How long before he began loathing not just his daughter but everyone else whom he loved too?

How long then did Issac have before he changed and became the very thing he feared and fully despised?

He didn't know the answer to any of his questions and while that had scared him, what scared him even more was the way he started to become unsure of who he was!

That in itself scared him because he had always been certain that he was a man. 

A man trying to move on from the tragedies and hardships he endured. A man trying to be there for his daughter while he tried [in vain] to hide his secrets from her. A man who was just trying to keep the darkness and the shadows from drowning him as he kept his demons at bay.

But now?

Now, he struggled to grip with the tragedies and hardships he endured. Now, he was lashing out at his daughter, blaming her and resenting her while he continued to hide his secrets from Aliya [.... for now at least]. Now, he was a man struggling to keep the darkness and the shadows from drowning him with his demons trying to take control of him.

The worse part, perhaps, was that this wasn't happening six years from now. This wasn't even happening months or weeks from now. Heck, it hadn't even been days!

This was all happening one day after he made the decision to take up his Shadow Prince mantle!

One day. 

That was all it took for Issac's life to get flipped upside down and now, he was stuck wondering just who he really was because he knew it was only a matter of time before one side won out and he wanted to just know who he was before that decision was made for him. So as he sat there alone on that balcony, he couldn't help but wonder...

Was he still a man? A man who was still able to be a friend and a father? A man who could keep his relationships and not burn down his bridges with the ones he loved and cherish with all his heart? A man who was capable of being his daughter's hero and being who she saw him as? Or was he perhaps nothing more than the thing he truly feared and despised he would become...

A monster?

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Meanwhile, deep in the city and into the sewers resided the Ant Queen in her sewer cave-like lair as they were surrounded with her two human servants and the newest addition of their team: a fifteen-year-old nameless girl.

Together, the four of them stood in front of a semi-cracked computer with a series of black wires shown stretching throughout the cave-like sewer that operated as the Queen's lab. Below the computer was a magnenta-colored holographical circle that held some technological purpose yet to be seen.

Anyhow while everyone waited on the fifth member of her crew to arrive, the Ant Queen's two human servants went about talking among themselves and while the Ant Queen quietly went about their mental observation of her crew.

It might have seemed strange to some to keep a mental observation of their team, but she didn't want the unlikely chance of being betrayed by those they were supposed to trust. So, you know, in her eyes, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Especially since with them being a empress and a royal, trust was downright fatal since placing it in the wrong individual could very well spell the end of her demise and bring about the final part of their reign...

Not that she, of course, had a 'true' reign since it essentially only lasted about a day till the four turtles, Boy Danger and Captain Violet ended their control over New York City and sent her back down to the sewers, where they spent the remainder of the night sulking her loss against those pesky heroes until they [alongside Atari and her two human servants] were joined by the arrival of a fifteen-year-old nameless girl.

From the moment she became face-to-face with the child, the Ant Queen knew the nameless girl was different from all those they ever met before because the girl was unlike anyone she met as the girl was essentially a puzzle.

On the surface, the girl appeared to be innocent, well-mannered, polite [perhaps overly polite] and spoke with a sweet, honey-dripped tone that would make anyone believe she was simply a unassuming child.

But in spite of the girl's appearance, the Ant Queen felt something off with the child when they first met [which had only been last night] as the girl's unnatural grin made the royal wary. Plus, the way the girl spoke made them uneasy as she had a way of speaking too sweetly and at one point, too formal for a teen her age.

However, it was the way that the girl knew of her desire to get her revenge on the former seeker, Aureus Braveheart, truly put her on edge because while they suspected the girl knew of the four turtles, Boy Danger and Captain Violet from her wailing [the sewers weren't exactly soundproof now], they could not offer a explanation for the way the child knew about her deepest desire to rid herself of the former seeker because they knew for a fact that she never brought him up till she did!

Then, there was that light blue, almost pale-colored skeletal head vial the girl held in her hands too. How a mortal girl [of all people] got her hands on such a item made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever, but in spite of her suspicions, the girl had value.

Value that she couldn't deny.

So in spite of her reservations toward the girl, the empress decided to place her trust in the child and let the teenager serve her since that seemed to be the girl's only interest... Still, they couldn't go and ignore the girl's mysterious nature either.

So, in spite of the girl's nameless nature, she couldn't help but refer to the nameless teenaged girl as 'Enigma' since the girl was [and still] a complicated puzzle they couldn't quite seem to crack....

"My Queen."

As the sound of her title being called, the Ant Queen snapped out of their thoughts and turned to see a light blue portal of flames start to appear on the other side of the cave. There, she [in addition to her two human servants and the nameless child/Enigma] observed Atari stepping out from the portal with a prideful smirk and the primal cube as they lightly gasped while her two human servants' eyes widened in disbelief.

"No way! You actually got it?!"

"How?"

"Well, if you brutes must know, it was a long, exhausting process and I think I nearly died trying to get this because a insanely powerful psycho of a father tried to kill me." Atari dryly answered as they [alongside their human servants] listened to him sigh.

"Then again, I did also push his kid over the rooftop and made her fall in the water, so you know, I suppose him trying to kill me is justified, but honestly, it's her fault! I mean, the kid shouldn't have gotten in my way in the first place! Besides, that girl had her chance to get the cube, but she didn't. No, she chose to save her friend instead, so—"

"This girl who tried to get the cube... Do you have any idea what she looked like?"

As they turned to see Enigma genuinely interested in Atari's recollection of his events, she and her two human servants blinked before they looked back at Atari, who nodded.

"Yeah. She's like... uh, I don't know, maybe 5'8 and looks to be twenty-one? Anyhow, she has caramel-colored skin, blackish-brown medium-length curly hair and light amber eyes." Atari casually answered as they saw Enigma nodding.

"And her father?"

"Uh, he appeared to be around 6'3 and looked to be forty, but anyhow, he has warm-beige skin, white and pale light blue streaked hair though his eyes were... strange. For a few moments, he has these light honeysuckle colored eyes and moments later, they would change to these light blue, almost teal-like color. The change only seemed to come whenever he got angry or spoke sinisterly, but it seemed more apparent after I pushed his kid over the rooftop and uh made her fall in the water..."

"And you said she tried to get the cube before?"

"Mhm. Well, technically her friend had it, so I used the girl's friend as bait and made her choose between her friend and the cube. I guess her old man really wanted her to pick the cube, but she went with her friend instead. Eh, I mean who can blame her? Kid had her priorities straight and I guess her dad seemed to care more about this than his daughter's friend, which if you ask me, is messed up." Atari promptly answered, gesturing to the primal cube before he awkwardly sighed.

"Still, I can't really be talking because I used her friend as bait, made her choose between the two and then I proceeded to hurt her, so you know, I'm not that better either..." Atari further added before he trailed off as he sighed.

"I should've gone with a different tactic. I mean, it's not like the kid deserved to get pushed off a rooftop and into the water. Not really." Atari remorsefully concluded when a snicker came from one of her human servants.

"Aww, someone's going soft." one of their human servants lightly mocked as Atari sharply glared at the one who made the comment, which led him staring at the athletically-built dark-skinned male who looked to be twenty-five as he worn a light magenta pastel sweater that read Free the Animals! with light beige denim jeans and black high-tops.

"Ethan, I know you cannot be talking while you are over there knitting sweaters for squirrels, so who are you calling soft?" Atari promptly countered as Ethan dramatically gasped.

"Hey! You can't see the value in what I do, but they need sweaters too, okay! Winter's coming soon and they need to be cozy. Plus, who doesn't like seeing a squirrel wearing a tiny knitted hat!" Ethan promptly defended, showcasing his mint-green knitted hat that did (in fact) look small enough to fit a squirrel as Atari annoyingly rolled his eyes.

"Either way, Muscles, over there has a point." the last of their human servants said when Atari took his focus away from Ethan and looked at a older fair-skinned male who appeared to be in his mid-thirties to early forties as he worn a black vest over his light-beige T-shirt, khaki jeans and black combat boots while he was shown sharpening the blade of his dagger.

"Chasen, stick to sharpening that blade of yours and shut up."

"Heh. Say what you want, but if you're feeling sorry for some kid, then you're going soft. I mean, it's a kid for crying out loud and he can replace her all the same. Besides, if she got in your way like you said she did, then that's her problem, not yours." Chasen briefly began, glancing at him before his focus went back to the blade.

"Plus, it's like you said, Ari. The kid had her chance, but she wanted to be noble and protect her friend. Well, she should have been aware that being noble would have came with a price when she made her decision with her losing the cube to you being that price." Chasen indifferently continued, his eyes still focused on the blade of the dagger he was sharpening as he spoke with a deep, rugged voice.

"Anyways, did you happen to catch the father's reaction to his daughter's decision before you left the ice rink?"

"All he held was denial mainly, like he knew she would do it, but he kept trying to talk out of her decision. At some point, he tried to stop me from leaving the Midtown Ice Rink, but I managed to escape with the primal cube anyways, so I know he must been spiteful towards her over the fact she let me essentially keep the cube in exchange for her friend's safety. I wouldn't be surprised if he blamed the whole thing on her. I mean, he seemed pretty livid, so I wouldn't put it past him."

"And the girl?"

"Eh. She seemed angry I was leaving with the primal cube like her dad, but it wasn't spiteful or vengeful like his. If anything, she mainly seemed angry towards herself, like she knew she was screwed no matter what she did and that she couldn't do anything about it." he casually said before the Ant Queen saw him turning to face Enigma, who simply nodded and proceeded to mumble something to the extent of "interesting," which caught her attention now as they had turned to look the girl once more.

"Why?" he followed up, unknowingly taking the word out of her mouth as they continued to mutely observe the interaction between Atari and Enigma, who she saw simply smiling now when the girl made eye contact with him. "Oh, no reason. I was just curious." the girl simply answered as they saw the girl's smile unnaturally grow. "That's all." the girl then concluded before she saw the child clearing her throat once more as they saw the child's eyes drifting towards the primal cube.

"But may I?" Enigma spoke in the same overly formal tone that made the Ant Queen get on-edge, but she forcibly pushed it aside as they proceeded to watch the confusion surface on Atari's face.

"Uh... sure?" he puzzledly responded, having also been taken aback by her formality as the girl nodded. "Thanks." she formally said as she saw Enigma begin to make her way to him with the skeletal key in her grasp. After she approached the scientist, they witnessed him briefly turning the primal cube to reveal a slightly twisted key-hole.

Mutely, she observed the child lifting the key up as a series of light blue, almost pale-like runes [that were unreadable to her, Atari, Ethan and Chasen] before the key began to briefly shift and change form to match the key-hole on the cube.

After the key made its adjustments, they saw the key's eyes glowing in a similar manner as she saw the girl release her grip on the key. After she did that, they saw the key hover to the slightly twisted key-hole before inserting itself directly inside the cube.

When that happened and the key was successfully inside, the Ant Queen noticed a light blue, almost pale-like glow engulf the entire cube right as a white-and-light blue, almost pale-like outline of a two drawn circles aligning above each other begin to form around Atari and the child.

It was here the child stepped back with a indifferent, almost cryptic-like look right as a series of buzzing static noises were made. As the noises grew louder, she saw Ethan and Chasen looking up from their respective activity to see what they were seeing now as the two men collectively went to drop their hobby and proceeded to stand beside her as the three of them mutely kept looking on.

As she, Ethan and Chasen all looked on, they noticed the rune that initially appeared began to expand and glowed brighter before turning counter-clockwise. When the three of them saw the rune turning then, the diamond-shaped center of the primal cube opened up before suddenly cracking as fragments of the cube started to scatter throughout the entire sewer cave-lair that also operated as a functioning laboratory.

The impact of the (now) fragmented primal cube resulted in a large gust of wind forming as the wind began blowing directly in the trio's direction as the Ant Queen and Chasen attempted to steady themselves but the wind ultimately overpowered the two with the current tumbling the duo towards the back of the sewer cave-lair now.

"Ahhhh!"

"Don't worry! I got ya!"

When the Ant Queen and Chasen heard Ethan's response, they were promptly swooped into his strong arms as the duo saw him remain unaffected by the strong currents, which they knew had to be the case due to his unwavering inability to be moved.

"Thanks Muscles." she and Chasen softly said as they saw Ethan brightly grin. "You're welcome!" he happily chirped, right as they saw the glow abruptly die down and the strong wind currents ceased to no longer exist. Puzzled, the three began to look to see what would have made these changes when they turned and gasped with Ethan placing them back onto the ground as Atari resurfaced to stand with them before he too gasped by what they saw.

"Huh. I've seen a lot of things, but uh this... this is new." Atari slowly stated, breaking the silence now as she, Chasen and Ethan nodded. "Mhm. You can say that again." Chasen briefly added as Ethan grinned.

"You can say that again!"

"Not literally, Ethan!"

While Atari smugly grinned and began to laugh with Ethan innocently looking on and Chasen rubbing his head in annoyance, the Ant Queen simply kept their focus on what was in front of her now as she found herself looking directly at a white and light blue (almost teal-like) outline of a gigantic, nearly colossal-sized skeletal-shaped mech with several ant-shaped legs formed together to create a sheath [which they noticed seem to be made out of ant bones] behind the back of the mech that carried two large blades.

"What is this?" she slowly asked, stepping closer now they observed the rune from earlier in a compressed, miniature form as it circled the outline of the mech now.

"This, My Queen, is a guide." the girl proudly answered, now facing her as they saw the girl give a slightly more than unusual smile then. "A guide?" she puzzlingly asked, glancing at the mech for a bit before they looked at the girl once more.

"A guide to what?"

"Why, it's a guide to your path of greatness, of course!" the girl perkily answered, though her voice might have been too perky for their liking, but again the Ant Queen forcibly ignored her bout of suspicion as they kept their eyes focused on the girl, whose unusual smile only grew wider then.

"My path of greatness?"

"Precisely!" the girl gleefully answered as she saw the girl turning to face the outline of the mech in awe.

"With this outline to aid you on the journey to fulfilling your destiny, you will finally have a way of obtaining what you want once and for all." the girl added as they raised their right eyebrow at the child's response before she crossed her arms.

"How so?"

"You are going to be building your revenge one piece at a time and with the primal cube already in your possession, that's one less thing to worry about." the girl formally answered, the hint of her gleeful demeanor still present as she and the child glanced back at the outline of the mech once more.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, because now only five more relics of power are required to be collected and then once you have those items, we can work on the next phase of the plan." the girl formally answered as they lightly chuckled at her response.

"Alright, Little Miss Enigma, what exactly is this next phase anyhow?" they lightly inquired as she heard the child chuckle in turn. As soon as they heard the girl chuckle, she looked away from the outline of the mech and back at the girl. As soon as they did this, the lights behind her began to flicker.

In that moment, the girl's eyes began to gain a light blue, almost pale-like color but had the Ant Queen looked closer, they would've noticed that a flickering fragment of a skull glistened in the child's irises while the backdrop of the sewer-lair cave gained a darker shade of the light blue, almost pale-like color as the child smirked while she spoke....

"Forging your destiny."