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Season 1, Episode 2
Aperio Mirror

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

Buena Noches - Good night [feminine plural - meant to be used in terms of later on in the day/evening; in Spanish], Te amo - I love you {in Spanish}

Duerme bien, apá - Sleep well, dad {in Spanish}

Omi - Mom/Mother {in Arabic}

Nieta - Granddaughter {in Japanese}

Okaasan - mother {in Japanese}

Sensei - teacher in martial arts {in Japanese}

kunoichi - term meaning female ninja in Japanese

Ignis - fire {in Latin}

Aperio - to uncover, reveal, make clear {in Latin}, plebs - common people or the commoners {when used as a singular plural; in Latin}, plebeian - belonging to the common people and/ or commoner {when used as an adjective; in Latin}, imitātor - copyist, mimic {when used as a singular nominative; in Latin}

Fictional/Avalonian Language Index
Shon - son

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⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS ⚠️
Includes, but is not limited to, the following: explicit display of gore/blood {low}, explicit display of gory actions {low}, explicit display of torture {mostly medium}, explicit display of violence {medium to high}

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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"Your attempts to stop me are futile, Birsha."

Against the backdrop of a moonlit night with scattered clouds across the sky, she found herself hovering in the sky as she saw her father caught in Phantom's grasp, causing her eyes to widen at the sight.

"Dad!" she yelled, but of course, her voice went unnoticed. So, reluctantly, she could only watch as her grandmother hovered across from her father and victoriously smirked at the sight in front of her.

"Besides, shon, fighting me is pointless because I have seen what the future holds for you and destiny cannot—"

"—Be undone! So you keep saying, omi, but what about your right hand, huh?" her apá sharply deflected, breaking the latter's hold on him as he extended his arms before he turned to face Phantom, whose eyes were seen glowing a bright light blue, almost pale-like hue as Aliya saw his smile abruptly ceased.

"Is he part of your future too?" her father sharply added before he growled and swiftly landed a powerful punch in Phantom's direction. As soon as his fist landed on Phantom, she {alongside her father and her grandmother} watched as the latter rapidly descended towards the ground before a sudden crash was heard. As she {alongside her father and her grandmother} looked on, they could see a series of light blue, almost pale-like dust swirling upward above the site of where the crash took place.

Aliya grimaced at the sight before she glanced at her father. Upon looking at him, she noticed his indifferent look though for a sliver of a second, she could've sworn she saw his eyes glisten with a bit of glee from Phantom's apparent state before the look vanished from his eyes.

Unsure of what to make of it, she took her focus away from him and looked at her grandmother, who she saw retained her indifferent look. This, of course, baffled the girl because she thought her grandmother would have shown some sign of anguish for the latter but instead, she continued to look unaffected by Phantom's state when the enchantress answered her father at last.

"Actually as a matter of fact, he wasn't."

Not long after her grandmother had indifferently answered her father, she saw the enchantress look back at him with a devious gleam in her eyes before an eerie, almost smug-like smirk began to form on her grandmother's face.

"But you will be."

"Heh. We'll see about that." her father swiftly yet quite confidently countered back and when she took her focus away from her grandmother to look at him, she saw his light blue, almost teal-like eyes gain a illuminating hue with a bright silver-ish, white glowing streak surfacing just a second later.

From there, she saw her father aggressively start to charge head-on at his mother but when he was about to lunge at her grandmother, she witnessed the enchantress blocking his attack and charging at him. However, he blocked her attack and so, she mutely watched as the two began to clash with two distinctive shades of blue lights illuminating the night sky.

Teal versus pale clashed and though she tried to keep up with the ongoing fight, it seemed to be almost next to impossible as the two constantly struck with frequent speed! It was hard to really determine who was winning when they seemed to be on equal footing. At least... that had been the case until her father started to get the upper hand.

So as she saw her grandmother zoom past her and quickly create a crystallized shield to protect herself against her father's attacks, she saw her father promptly break through her defenses with ease as he broke through every shield the enchantress created. This time was no exception as he broke through the latest one and sent his omi tumbling through the sky with the way he struck her down with a upperkick upon destroying her shield.

Observing as the crystals shattered around her grandmother, she mutely saw the enchantress start to tumble before the woman caught herself from falling further. In doing so, she began to see a few cracks form on the left side of her face as Aliya mutely blinked at the sight.

"No! My magic! It's weakening!" she heard her grandmother say as the light blue, almost pale-like cracks cutting deeper in her skin. At that moment, Aliya noticed something she didn't think would be a possibility... She saw a genuine look of panic and fear surfacing on the enchantress' face and that seemed to greatly influence the woman's next words.

"I can't stop him!"

A moment later, she heard her grandmother gasp and as she glanced over from the woman, she saw her father rapidly charging at his mother's direction. In response, she saw the enchantress' face harden as the woman quickly created a crystallized barrier. However, her father was able to quickly create a considerably large hole in the barrier and as she mutely glanced inside, she saw her grandmother's genuine panic intensify further when he grabbed a hold of her. From there, she watched as he threw her across the sky before she saw her grandmother crash into the bone mech with a dust storm forming soon after the crash occurred.

Moments later, the dust settled and when it did, she saw her grandmother positioned against the head of the bone mech right as she heard a sudden thud. When she turned, Aliya saw her baba plant his feet and when he did, several cracks formed on the ground surrounding him. A second later, she watched as her baba turned his left foot ever so slightly before charging at his mother.

When he did, another dust storm formed but within a few seconds, the dust settled and cleared up in time for her to witness her father firmly pinning his mother against the bone mech with his grip centered on the woman's throat.

"Stop!"

When she heard her grandmother's voice, she glanced at the woman and listened to the way she weakly gasped for air. So as she looked at her then, she realized the enchantress didn't just look panicked but also... Fearful. As such, she couldn't help but wonder if fear motivated the woman into speaking her next set of words...

"Did you forget, Birsha? If you destroy me, you risk losing the bone mech! You will have to start all over from scratch and not just locate the new six relics but find a new furnace to store these items in! So face it, shon! You need me because without me, you'll never get your revenge!" her grandmother quickly yet frantically exclaimed, though Aliya couldn't help but hear the fear and panic in her voice despite her attempts to mask this from her shon, who cryptically chuckled at his mother before she spoke.

"Oh, omi. You can claim I need you to make my revenge come true, but the truth of the matter is I don't because I have never needed you. So while locating the furnace, the relics and reforging the bone mech from scratch is going to be tedious, I would rather go through that than stand by and let you live another day..." he slowly began before trailing off as he lifted his head up now to face his mother.

"... Not after everything you've done."

When he lifted his head, Aliya found she didn't see his light blue, almost teal-like eyes staring back at her but rather a shade of cognac brown-colored eyes as the glowing streak in his eyes changed from its bright silver-ish, white hue to a lighter shade of copper that held a shimmery afterglow. It was then she gasped while her grandmother cryptically chuckled at the sight.

"Heh. Have you become so desperate to stop me that you're willing to take after your father and end me at the expense of sacrificing the image your daughter conjured when the duchess means so much to you?" her grandmother coolly countered back and it was then that Aliya saw the way her apá's newfound eye color reverted back to his light honeysuckle eyes as he began to sharply growl at her words.

"I am not sacrificing my image! If anything, I am only helping my image in stopping you because it's apparent all that time you spent locked away, you haven't changed a bit. So, I am going to do what Aureus and his men failed to do all those years ago. I'm going to finish you and once that's done, I'm going to exact my revenge against everyone who has wronged me and my daughter by making them regret the day they ever crossed us... starting with you!"

After he spoke and aggressively pushed his mother back against the bone mech, she noticed his light honeysuckle eyes flickering before becoming replaced by the new cognac brown-colored eyes as the shimmery, light copper afterglow hue of the glowing streak surfaced soon after the color change occurred. From there, she saw her father sharply stare down at his mother before she heard him darkly chuckle.

"Heh. You know what? She was right." he briefly said, staring directly at his mother now as she saw him tightly but quite aggressively clench his fist before raising his arm up towards that of her grandmother's direction.

"You should've stayed buried." he added and after he finished, his cognac brown-colored eyes grew brighter as the shimmery, light copper afterglowing hue of the glowing streak intensified, causing her eyes to widen at the sight.

"Dad—"

"No!" her grandmother began, which made Aliya cut herself off as she saw her grandmother's eyes sharpen upon looking at her father, who seemed seconds away from finishing his mother off. "I have come too far now and I'm not going to let you, my neita or anyone else ruin this for me! Not when I am so close to achieving my destiny!" her grandmother finished and not long after she spoke, the enchantress raised her left hand and created a large pale light blue colored rune with ancient symbols.

When she saw the rune from behind her apá, she noticed that her baba became too occupied with his desire to finish off his mother to see what happened. So, having a sense of what was going to occur next, she turned to look at him as the panic of the situation glistened in her light amber eyes.

"Baba! Forget about your revenge for one second and open your eyes! If you don't move, she's going to—" she attempted to warn, but found herself cut off when a swirl of shadows abruptly surrounded her. When the shadows vanished, she found herself on the ground and far from the bone mech as her eyes widened.

"No, no, no, no! Take me back up there! Please! I have to warn my baba before it's too late!" she firmly shouted, pleading with the forces that chose to position her far from her father's ongoing battle with his mother to take her back to the fight at large when she suddenly heard the sound of manic laughter.

"Warning him won't make a difference."

"What makes you say that?" she slowly inquired as she turned to see Phantom laugh once more before he stopped and smirked.

"Because simply put, little duchess, my lady has foreseen everything and he will become hers to control. So you see, you can't change his fate nor can you save him from what's to come for he is destined to aid my lady on her quest and fulfill her aspirations. Try as you might though, you will fail for your efforts to change his fate will be for naught because in the end, her premonition will come true. So in the end, little duchess, you will lose everyone and everything you've ever loved. Including him." he forewarned before he began standing up.

As he did, she noticed the way he looked significantly different from how he normally looked as his dark ash-grey hair became messier while the right sleeve of his silver and cyan-ish blue suit seemed to be completely torn off. Furthermore, his suit collar was undone with his suit no longer buttoned but rather unbuttoned while he retained his pure white eyes. After looking at him then, it was safe to say he was, at best, an absolute disaster.

After he stood up, he maniacally laughed as she puzzledly looked at him. However, she became more puzzled when she heard eerie whispers because after the whispers surfaced, his laughter abruptly came to an end when she saw him suddenly lifted up from the ground. As he became lifted up from the ground, she saw his eyes were now glowing a light blue, almost pale-like hue.

Once that occurred, a stream of pale light blue energy started to emerge directly out of him and began making its way towards the top of the bone mech where her father and her grandmother were...

"No, no, no, no!" she frantically yelled as the realization of how what she was seeing tied into the events of the third vision dawned on her right as the shadows swirled around her. When the last of the shadows vanished, she found herself back at the top of the bone mech just in time for her to catch her grandmother channeling the stream of pale light blue energy now as it flowed into the rune, resulting in her eyes becoming more frantic with each waking second that passed by.

"No, no, no, no!" she yelled, but she was helpless to do anything as she listened to her baba start to scream from the intensity of the energy now entering his body. There within the center of the night sky, she saw her father forcibly attached to the rune and glanced at her grandmother, who now acquired deeper cracks on her face.

"Stop! Please stop!" she yelled, but her words had gone unnoticed as she observed the way her grandmother gained more cracks with her eyes now glowing with a light blue, almost pale-like hue. As the cracks intensified, she saw her grandmother pull her hand back, further adding to her panic as her eyes widened.

"No!" she yelled, rushing to stop her but when she attempted to do so, her hand went through the enchantress before she fell onto the ground and watched as the last of the energy entered into his body. Once the last of the energy went inside him, she saw her grandmother close her hand and saw the rune vanish before her father's body went momentarily motionless mid-air. When that happened, his head abruptly shot up as a bright white light arose from his eyes.

Shortly after, Aliya saw him encased in a light blue misty sphere that made eerie, low-hushed whispers as her head ached from the sound. Not long after that, a bright light erupted from the shadowy sphere as the pale light blue glow began illuminating rather intensively and quickly engulfed the entire landscape with its brightness.

As the light began to come toward her direction, she raised her arms to shield her face from the intensive brightness before she began to hear the low-hushed, eerie whispers once more. It was then her head started to ache from the whispers, but suddenly ceased when a gust of dust blew past her. Once the dust passed her, she lowered her arms in time to see the intense brightness die down before she saw her father mutely hovering in the air with the full moon behind him as her heart sank, knowing what was to come.

"No." she solemnly said right as she heard her grandmother start to giggle. Sharply turning then, she watched as her giggles gradually evolved into a rapid descent of a long never-ending string of manically, elated laughter. While the laughter persisted, she saw a few shadows zooming past her as they briefly spun Aliya over to the moon's direction right as she began to pick up on their low-hushed, eerie whispers once more.

When she turned to look, a faint light blue, almost pale-like glow started to surround her father as the rocks around them began to levitate. Once the rocks levitated, the faint light blue, almost pale-like glow gained a brighter intensity while her grandmother's laughter persistently echoed behind her.

As her grandmother continued to maintain her persistently loud, erratically maniacal laughter, panic began to set in. However when her father slowly began turning his head to them against the backdrop of the full moon, panic heightened as her heart started thumping uncomfortably against her chest. "No, no, no, no, no." she repeatedly whispered as she helplessly stared at her father's right eye suddenly opened.

For when his right eye opened, all she found staring back at her was a light blue, almost pale-like glowing eye as her eyes widened at the sight...

"Dad!"

Abruptly waking up, Aliya found herself gasping for air and coughing as she tried to process what she saw.

"Lia?"

At the sound of her nickname, she glanced over at their family friend, whose eyes groggily but worriedly stared back at her. "Hey, are you alright?" the fire faerie softly but concernedly asked as she heard the sleepiness evident in her tone, which had now made the young girl feel a bit guilty about the way she [unintentionally] managed to wake her up.

"Y... Yeah, I'm alright." she slowly assured the fire faerie, now sitting upright as she did her best to conceal the sudden fear that crept up on her, but the girl's eyes only kept staring back at her with pure worry.

"Lia—"

"Emby, I'm alright, really." she repeatedly assured her again as she saw the fire fae skeptically staring at her.

"Lia—"

"I'm okay. Just try to go back to sleep." she softly added, keeping her tone gentle as she saw the fire faerie's eyes gradually get drowsier. She knew she wanted to say more, but her exhaustion simply won out as she saw Ember groggily nodding.

"Okay..."

So as she trailed off, Aliya moved closer and draped the comforter over the girl as she saw her wrapping herself further in the blanket. Smiling gently at the sight, she then pulled her hands away from the comforter as she saw her friend drifting back to sleep.

"Goodnight, Ember."

After seeing her friend was asleep, she quietly sighed and leaned her head against the bedframe before she released another sigh.

"Well, tonight was certainly something." she lightly whispered before she quietly laughed. "Huh, apá?" she quietly added and as she turned to face the other side of the bed having expected to see her father, but found herself surprised when she didn't see him.

"Hmm. Well, he couldn't have gone far. I'm sure he's fine." she quietly told herself, but as flashes of her nightmare — vision, the voice in the back of her head corrected but she stubbornly chose to ignore said voice since she wasn't ready to admit that to herself — her heart began thumping uncomfortably against her chest. As such, she began to feel uneasy from his disappearance even though she knew there weren't many places he could have gone.

But having remembered how he had taken off on his own earlier [and in the 'nightmare' she had moments ago], she knew she couldn't put it past her father if he chose to take off in the middle of the night, especially if it meant getting a head start on locating the second relic. After all, she knew if he felt like he could do it, then he would do it — even if it meant striking out on his own. Just as he had done when it came to the primal cube after she lost it...

"Yes. Thank you for securing my boss' victory and mine." she recalled Atari cheekily stating as she (much like the others} saw a portal of light blue flames forming behind him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a primal cube to deliver." Aliya recalled Atari cheekily boasting as she and Ember angrily clenched their fists, knowing there was nothing more that could be done.

"Okay, bye!"

"No!"

In that moment, her father attempted to stop Atari from leaving right then and there but he narrowly missed the scientist, who slipped into the portal and smirked as Aliya {much like the others} saw the portal shut behind him and vanish with her father hitting the air. From there, the last fleeing flickers of the flames remained before that too dissipated. Looking at her father, she saw him angrily form a fist before his eyes fell on her.

"Dad," she recalled solemnly beginning when she saw her father turn away from her. "Dad, I'm sorry. I know how badly you wanted the relic. I do. I really do, but I— I couldn't—" she had recalled continuing as she attempted to apologize and even try to justify her decision when his bitter chuckle resulted in the girl cutting herself off as she saw his back continue to be turned to her and the others.

"You made a mistake in not choosing the primal cube."

When he spoke those words and she saw her father clenching his fist tighter, she couldn't help but feel baffled by his response. She knew the relic was important, but she didn't see the relic as being more important than that of Ember's life! She thought he would have at least acknowledged that, but in calling her decision a mistake, it seemed to imply that he would have rather she chose the relic at the expense of the fire faerie's life though imply might have not been the right word to use.

After all, he did want her to choose the relic over Ember but she refused to do so and now, she was forced to endure the aftermath of her decision.

"Dad—"

"—Maybe, there's time for me to correct the mistake you made." her father insisted and as his words swiftly cut into her skin, she felt her resolve start to crumble but refusing to give up, she continued her attempts of apologizing because she knew if she did, then she could have potentially succeeded in being able to lessen the blow of disappointing her baba.

"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 recalled saying as she attempted to apologize again but before she could finish, he interrupted her as she saw him angrily clenching his fist tighter in the process.

"—You want to help, mija? You can help me by staying out of my way before you go and make things worse!"

When he coldly looked at her and spoke in a firm but sharp tone, her eyes widened at his response as his anger towards her genuinely caught her off-guard. It was one thing to see him this upset, but it was another thing when it came to hearing the things that came out of his mouth and so, as a result, her eyes glistened then with a wounded gleam in spite of her best efforts to mask the look.

Seeing how badly she messed up, Aliya pushed on with her attempts to apologize because she had been so convinced that if she could get through to him, then maybe she could end up softening the blow of disappointing her father.

"Dad—" she attempted to begin as she tried to approach him then, but as soon as she had started, a series of light blue, almost teal-like shadows began swirling around him as her eyes widened more at the sight.

"Dad!"

After the memory finished replaying, she solemnly but quietly sighed before she glanced back at her friend and softly smiled when she saw Ember had fallen back asleep. She continued to smile for a bit before her smile fell. After which, she turned away from her friend and silently retreated from the bed. Once she got up, she got the idea to check downstairs to see if he might have been there, but right when she made her way to the door, she felt a breeze urgently blow past her as if telling her not to go there.

Ah-ah, oh-oh

Releasing her grip on the doorknob then, she turned over her attention away from the bedroom door and found herself looking toward the balcony. When she looked, she felt another breeze as she glanced at the door and quietly sighed. "You're certain he's there?" she whispered, to which she received her answer when she felt another breeze blowing in her direction.

Ah-ah, oh-oh

"Okay, thanks." she softly said, to which she received a light breeze before the voice seemingly disappeared. On her own now, she began walking away from the bedroom's door and started making her way toward the balcony. Once she was there, she quietly opened the door toward the extended area.

Once she did and she found herself outside, she quietly closed the door behind her as she took a deep breath before she began to look around.

"Baba? Are you—" she slowly began before she cut herself off when she spotted her father sitting across from the balcony's railing and near the other side of the wall. Upon spotting him, she saw his head buried into his knees which she noticed were pulled close to his chest as she solemnly frowned at the sight.

"Baba?"

As soon as Aliya called out to him, she saw her father slowly lift his head up and when he turned to see her, she noticed a look of fear and panic surfacing on his face before he quickly scrambled on his feet.

"Stay back!"

Baffled but mostly surprised by his response, she blinked before she began to speak. "Baba—" Aliya gently began, but as soon as she began taking a step toward him, she cut herself off from speaking further after he took a step back.

"Please. I don't want to hurt you, so just stay back." he pleaded, holding his hands in a defensive position. When he did this, her heart sank from his words and the gesture he did, but she simply took a deep breath before she proceeded to speak once more.

"Baba, you could never hurt me." she gently and truthfully insisted, yet to her dismay, her father only gave a dry chuckle as he lowered his hands.

"Yeah. I used to be certain of that, but now I'm not too sure." he solemnly countered back as she listened to his heavy sigh. "I'm not too sure about anything, mija, but I know that I want to keep you safe. However, I can only do that if you keep your distance from me, so please. For my sake and yours, just... just stay away from me." he heartbreakingly pleaded, adding onto his previous response before he took a shaky sigh as she solemnly sighed.

"Dad—"

"Okay? I'm dangerous and I... I—"

"Apá, you're not dangerous." she gently but firmly corrected, having interrupted him now from finishing the rest of his statement as he gave a solemn, heartbreaking laugh. "You don't know that." he sharply deflected before he turned away and kept his back to her. "I do actually." she softly said as she saw her father turn to face her again.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, puzzledly looking at her as her heart ache at his question and his look, but she pushed past it as she quietly sighed. "Simple. It's because I know you, apá, and I know you're not dangerous." she softly said as he sighed once more.

"How can you be so certain of that when my magic—"

"—Your magic doesn't make you dangerous, apá."

"But—"

"Apá, look. I know you think your magic is dangerous because that's what everyone seems to be saying, but that's not true." she countered before she sighed. "Okay? I know this because after I saw the way you changed the hockey stick I was using, I knew your magic was capable of being so much more than how we all perceived it." she softly but earnestly added as she took a deep breath and took a step forward towards him.

"So contrary to what everyone may try to tell you, your magic is capable of doing great things." she softly continued as she took another step towards him. When she did, she noticed she was closer to him, so she placed a tender touch on his right shoulder and warmly smiled. "Just like you are capable of doing great things too." she softly finished as her baba looked at her before he sighed.

"Thanks mija, but I'm not capable of doing great things." he countered, pulling away from her as her smile fell. "Baba—" she initially said as she attempted to reach out to him but when she saw him began walking away from her, she cut herself off from saying more and lowered her arm as he turned to walk toward the balcony railing. From there, she watched as he leaned his arms on the railing and looked at the city's iconic skyline in the distance.

At this, she solemnly sighed before she started making her way to the balcony railing where her father was. Once there, she quietly moved closer to him before she leaned her back against the railing and softly sighed.

"That's not true, you know."

"What's not true?"

"You not being capable of doing great things." she answered as she glanced at him. "That wasn't true." she added as he sighed before he turned to face her.

"Mija—"

"—Say what you want, baba, but you do have the makings of greatness in you. Okay? It's there, but until you learn to take the helm of your life, you are never going to know just what you are truly capable of doing so long as you continue to allow everyone else to influence the way you perceive yourself." she continued as he sighed once more.

"That's a nice speech, mija, but it doesn't change the things I did nor does it change what I said, so maybe everyone is right about me after all." he slowly but dejectedly countered as he sighed again and glanced away from her. "Maybe..." he slowly began until he trailed off as she listened to his faint, solemn chuckle.

"Baba—"

"... Maybe, I really am nothing more than a villain and a monster." he solemnly finished, laughing sorrowly as she quietly looked at him. "You only say those things because that's what everyone said, but it's not true." she softly countered, but he only laughed again as he turned to face her.

"Come on, mija. Look at me."

Looking on then, she watched as a light blue, almost teal-like misty glow began to surround him. When the misty glow faded and the mist settled, she noticed his form stayed relatively the same as he retained his warm-beige skin. However, his jet-black hair gained more white and pale light blue streaks while his eyes were light blue, almost teal-like with a bright silver-ish, white glowing streak surfacing seconds later.

"I'm a monster and the sooner you come to see me as such, the better off you'll be." he insisted, much to her dismay as she solemnly sighed. "Baba—" she attempted to say, but when he turned away, she cut herself off and silently observed the way he looked at his hands. She continued to look for a moment before she moved closer to him.

"Give me your hand." she proposed as she watched her father turn away from his hands to face her with a baffled look. "What?" he puzzledly asked as she chuckled from his confusion. "I want to do a reading." she lightly explained as she smiled. "So come on. Let's see what your palm has to offer." she followed up as she continued to hold her hand out.

"Unless you're too good for a old-fashioned palm reading that is," she casually continued as she pulled her hand back. "To which I suppose you're better off sulking instead." she added, starting to turn away from him when she heard her father's dismissive scoff. "I wasn't sulking." he stated as she turned to face him.

"You are right. You weren't sulking."

"Thank—"

"You were moping." she followed up, interrupting him as he sighed. "I wasn't moping either." he insisted as she nodded. "Of course. You weren't moping." she initially said in 'agreement' as she saw her father sigh once more before he appeared to be relieved by her response.

"Thank—"

"You were, as the knights say, brooding instead."

"I wasn't—" he initially started to say before he cut himself off as he huffed and glanced away from her. "Whatever." he quietly mumbled before he sighed. "Anyways, I never took you for a palmist." he casually added as she feigned a light chuckle, hoping he hadn't caught onto the awkward nature of her chuckle.

"Ah, well you know me, apá. Palm reading is just one of many... many secret talents that I have."

"It is?"

When he turned to face her, she blinked before she awkwardly but quietly chuckled again as she tensely grinned. "Heh, yep!" she cheekily said but her grin threatened to strain after she finished answering his question. "Huh." he mumbled as she quickly grinned, hoping it came across to her father in a natural manner in spite of the sudden forceness she applied.

Please let him buy it. Please let him buy it. Please let him—

"Well, I guess that's why they're called secret talents right?" he lightly asked as she momentarily blinked before she chuckled. "Yep!" she answered as she quietly sighed in relief the moment he hadn't been looking.

Oh thank Avalon he brought that.

When she finished sighing in relief, she resumed her focus on him in time to catch his hesitancy on the matter before he reluctantly sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she heard her father mumble, which led her to suspect he was about to give his hand over to her. As such, she held out her hand in time to hear him sigh again. "But here." he added, holding his right hand out to her. "Have at it, I guess." he concluded before he placed his right hand in her palm and turned away.

When he did, she gently grasped onto his hand and began looking at the lines etched onto said hand as she glanced at her father once more and back at his hand again.

"Hmm," she began before she paused as she slightly (and somewhat dramatically) exaggerated the 'hmm' to pique his curiosity while she continued to 'inspect' the lines etched on his hand.

"What?"

"Well, this is interesting." she simply said, ignoring his question as she pointed at the second line on his palm, which was curved. "It says here you have a long lifeline which we both know is true, given the fact you lived as long as you have." she added, now answering his question before she slightly gasped in a dramatic manner.

"Oh and would you look at that? This one here says you have a flair for being very dramatic." she added, now gesturing to the third line, which was faint as he lightly scoffed.

"Oh please. I am not dramatic." he insisted as she chuckled. "Right." she cheekily answered as he huffed. "I'm serious!" he insisted once more, to which she simply chuckled before she stopped a few moments later.

"Mhm." she simply said before she glanced down at his palm and pretended to look deep in her thoughts over the lines on his palm. She proceeded to do this for quite a bit, quietly mumbling to herself along the way to sell the 'seriousness' of her father's 'reading' before she stopped as she blinked.

"What? What do you see?" she heard her father curiously ask, but she pretended not to hear him as she began to gently tilt his right hand and look 'attentively' at his palm before she furrowed her eyebrows to truly sell the 'seriousness' of his reading in order to further pique his curiosity on the matter. "What? What is it?" he followed up as she hummed.

"Well, this is certainly something."

"What?"

"I'm looking at the lines, but I don't see any—"

"Any what?" he frantically inquired as she looked away from his palm to look at him. As she did, she gave a light chuckle before a soft smile formed on her face. "Monster lines." she answered as she gently closed his hand and looked at him once more. "Not a single one." she finished as she released his hand and started to turn away from him when she felt herself pulled into a sudden embrace.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

When the embrace ended and she looked up, she saw his jet-black hair losing some of the white and pale light blue streaks {a few remained, but she knew this was due to him being possessed by his omi} while the color in his eyes went back to being light honeysuckle again with the light blue, almost teal-like hue to his normal light honeysuckle again with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak in his eyes disappearing seconds later as she smiled.

"See? You're not a monster or a villain." she softly said as he briefly began to return her smile for a bit until he dropped it. "Somehow, I'm not entirely convinced that's true." he countered as she sighed.

"Dad, I love you but you have got to stop being so hard on yourself. Okay? I mean, come on. Two nights are not going to define your whole life now." she insisted, lightly crossing her arms as she leaned against the railing and looked at her father again.

"But—"

"—Besides, you never learned how to properly deal with your anger, so it's not surprising to see you struggle with that. I mean, you dealt with a lot and your response to everything was just to suppress the anger you felt, but now it's backfiring on you and it shows every time you let your temper get the best of you because that's when things become disastrous." she followed up as she interrupted him once more.

"Mija, I get what you're saying, but what if my anger isn't the problem? What if, instead, it was a strength?" he slowly followed up as she puzzledly blinked. "Your strength?" she questioned as he nodded. "My greatest strength to be exact." he answered as she blinked again.

"Uh... Well..." she awkwardly started to say before she trailed off as she cleared her throat and stopped leaning against the railing. "... That's a very interesting notion there, but I'm going to have to disagree with you and say anger isn't your greatest strength. Rather, I would say your anger — specifically, failing to control your anger — is your greatest weakness as it blindsides you from seeing the bigger picture." she slowly said as she sighed.

"Not only that, but every time you let your anger get the best of you by letting your rage guide you, you end up imposing limitations on yourself and allow other people to take advantage of you. So, maybe it's just me, but I don't see how anger can possibly be your greatest strength." she slowly added as he sighed before he stopped leaning against the railing and looked at her.

"Maybe, you're right but still. Giving into my anger has its benefits." he insisted as she glanced at him. "Like what?" she slowly asked, genuinely curious to know how this was possible when she didn't see how he thought so.

"Well, I would say it makes me stronger and helps fuel my ambitions." he simply said, shrugging afterwards as she blinked. "That's why I said anger could be my greatest strength because when I let the hate flow through me, I'm able to do more and use it to my advantage." he added as she puzzledly stared at him before she blinked.

"You really think anger is your greatest strength, huh apá?" she slowly asked as he blinked. "You don't?" he asked as she shook her head. "No." she answered before she sighed. "But I guess that could be the case because I'm confused as to how you perceived it as such." she followed up as she turned away. "What do you mean?" he puzzledly asked as she turned to face him.

"Well, I was under the impression your greatest strength came from here." she answered as she pointed at his chest, to which she watched him glance down before he puzzledly looked at her. "My chest? But I don't get it. What does my chest have to do with this?" he puzzledly asked as a brief chuckle came out of her before she stopped.

"Baba, it's not your actual chest I'm referring to, but rather what's in your chest as it's your heart I'm talking about." she lightly explained, answering his question. "My heart?" he slowly repeated as she nodded. "Mhm!" she lightly answered as he blinked. "What makes you say that now?" he curiously asked as she baffledly blinked before she stopped pointing at his chest and cleared her throat.

"Well, I say your heart because I like to think that your capacity for showing empathy makes you strong. Just as I think the love you harbor towards the people you care and the desire you have to protect the ones you care about fuels your ambitions." she softly said before she paused and continued. "Not your rage." she earnestly finished before she glanced away from him and lightly sighed.

"At least, that's what I think anyways." she casually added as she listened to him chuckle. "Well, thanks mija." he softly said as she nodded and turned to face him. "You're welcome." she softly said before she sighed.

"Still, it's a shame we never got the primal cube. If I hadn't messed things up, we wouldn't be in this position." she continued before she sighed. "But hey. There are still five relics left for us to collect. So as long as we're able to get at least one of the relics, then we have a shot at stopping her plans since she can't follow through on her 'destiny' if she doesn't have all six of the relics." she optimistically followed up before she sighed again.

"However, if we are to succeed and beat your omi at her own game, then our success is going to ultimately come down to how we get the remaining items going forward. That and it will come down to me not screwing up, which I'm hoping not to do this second time around. Hopefully if everything goes well and I don't screw up, then we should be able to get our hands on the next relic and not have to worry about going through this again." she added before she sighed once more as she turned away from him.

"Mija—"

"It's my fault." she stated, interrupting him as she sighed again. "I know, but I'm going to make it up to you this time. I swear. So, mark my words, baba. The second relic is going to be ours." she determinedly vowed, turning to face her baba now as she smiled before she sighed once more.

"I just wish I knew what it was." she said as her apá nodded at her words. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we can figure it out in the morning." he simply said as she nodded, even though deep down, she knew she had no intention on waiting until then to figure out what the second relic was or where the next item was located.

Not when she needed to make good on her word.

"Hey mija."

When she heard her father's voice, she snapped out of her thoughts as she glanced up to see her baba sheepishly rub the back of his neck while he looked at her. "A... About all the things I said to you earlier, I—" he attempted to continue when she interrupted him.

"—Baba, it's fine. Don't worry about it." she lightly said, brushing aside his would-be apology to her as he looked at her in disbelief. "But—" he attempted to say when she interrupted him once more. "—Besides, you were right." she said before she blinked. "Well, minus you saying I made a mistake in choosing Ember over the primal cube. That's where you were wrong, but everything else seemed pretty spot on." she casually added as he solemnly sighed at her response.

"Mija—"

"Dad, seriously, it's fine. Really."

"But—"

"Baba, I get what you're trying to do, but apologizing is not going to change all of the things you said to me because well, what's said is done. Plus, things happen and mistakes are bound to be made, but what truly matters is we keep moving forward and try to learn from our mistakes, so we don't go and end up repeating the same pitfalls that caught us the first time around. Okay?" she softly said, now interrupting her father, who reluctantly sighed at her words as he looked at her.

"Okay."

With neither of them having anything more to say now, they glanced away from each other and stared at the iconic skyline in the distance before she cleared her throat and broke their silence.

"Well, seeing how you had a very long night, I think it would be best if we—" she slowly started to say when he interrupted her. "No." he firmly insisted, which led her to take her attention off the iconic skyline as she turned to face him.

"Baba—"

"No. Okay? I'm sorry, mija, but I... I can't bring myself to go to sleep." he confessed as he heavily sighed and sat down on the ground. "Not after everything that happened." he solemnly added before she glanced away from him. When she did, she frowned as she knew what it was like to be in his position because it was one she still found herself in.

Glancing back at her father as he faced the buildings in the distance, she quietly sighed before she took a deep breath and started making her way to him. "Well since sleep isn't happening, I guess that only means one thing." she said as she sat beside him.

"Mija—"

"Hey, if you're not going to sleep apá, then neither am I because those are the terms we agreed on." she reminded him as he tiredly huffed. "If it helps, you can ask me something." she softly offered as she heard him stop huffing. "Really?" he curiously asked, turning to face her now as she nodded.

"Sure. What do you know?"

"Okay well, I got to thinking and I remembered you mentioning how you already knew about the primal cube before Phantom spoke to you about it back at the ice rink, so I'm curious as to how you came to know about the relic in the first place." he answered as she blinked before she gave a light chuckle, having recalled the way he tried to ask her earlier.

"Jumping straight out of the gate with that one, huh, baba?" she teasingly inquired as she softly giggled. "Wait what?" he puzzledly asked as she stopped. "It's a human expression." she lightly said, but to her dismay, the confusion on his face only grew. "Nevermind." she followed up then as she made a mental note to give him a crash-course on what it meant to (at least for the time being) be human.

"Anyways, to answer your question, I don't really understand how I came to know about the relic in the first place." she truthfully yet sheepishly admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck. "All I know is the primal cube's existence came to me instinctively." she added, still rubbing the back of her neck before she stopped.

"Instinctively?"

"It's the only way I could describe it, but..." she sheepishly began before she sighed and glanced away from him. "I don't know. It's just... it's weird, I guess. I mean, I wasn't even looking for the relic, but somehow I found it anyway." she sheepishly added, finishing the rest of her answer as she sighed.

"You weren't looking for the relic?"

"No. I was trying to look for you, but I guess when I got this vision—"

"Vision?"

When he repeated what she had said, she glanced back to see her father staring at her with some kind of expression that she couldn't quite read as she slowly stared at him before she cleared her throat and proceeded to answer his question.

"....Yeah. It's weird. I mean one minute, I was talking to Ember as I was just about to tell her that I haven't had any luck in finding you and the next thing I know, I'm standing at Midtown Ice Rink watching you face Atari alone as you two persist about needing the primal cube, which he held in his possession." she answered, though she selectively omitted the fact the vision first began with someone calling out to her.

"So, this vision is essentially how you found me and the relic?" he followed up as she casually nodded. "Pretty much, yeah." she simply said as he nodded. "Huh." her father said before he blinked.

"Wait, so what was the other vision you had and how did you get it?"

"Ah, that one." she lightly said as she sighed. "Well, the other vision I had dealt with Atari and the whereabouts of the primal cube. As for how I got the vision, I got that one sometime after Ember and I left the ice rink and had decided to look for you separately so we could cover more ground in our search for you." she answered as he nodded.

"Ah, well that explains what you meant when you said he shouldn't be behind." her father said before he huffed. "But it doesn't why you were so persistent in trying to find him on your own." he followed up as she shrugged. "When I got the vision, I knew where he would be but I didn't know anything more than that aside from the fact I was facing him alone." she explained as he nodded. "Ah, so that's why you were trying to get me and Ember to stay put." he simply said as she stopped shrugging.

"I mean, it's part of the reason why I was trying to get you and Ember to stay put but obviously, it didn't go to plan because well..." she said before she awkwardly trailed off and gestured with her hands. "... you know—" she said, following up on her previous response when he interrupted her. "I got it." her father said, interrupting her as she nodded. "Gotcha." she said, getting the hint now as she cleared her throat.

"Well, aside from the vision, was there anything else you wanted to ask me about?" she casually asked as he shook his head. "No," he began as she noticed the way his voice grew softer when he spoke. "But you're welcome to ask me questions if you want to know something." he finished as she slowly nodded at his suggestion.

"Well, there were some things I wanted to ask you about..." she initially began to say before she trailed off when she heard him tiredly yawn. When he did, she decided to withhold her questions as she knew he had a long night and she didn't want to make his night any longer by asking him questions that she knew could be answered in the morning.

So, instead, she offered a small smile of her own before she began moving closer to him, sensing it wouldn't be long before he fell asleep.

"... But it can wait for the morning." she finished as he groggily looked at her. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice much more softer now as she nodded, certain he would fall asleep at any given moment.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure, baba." she softly said as she lightly chuckled. "Besides, it's been a long night and I'm pretty sure you're exhausted from everything that happened. So as I said, my questions can wait." she followed up, to which he tiredly chuckled.

"Okay, but just for the record, I'm not exhausted." he playfully insisted, but in spite of his efforts to hide it, she was able to detect the tiredness in his tone as it seeped through his response. "I'm so sure of that." she sarcastically mumbled as he tiredly huffed. "I'm serious." he insisted as she dismissively nodded. "Uh-huh." she simply mumbled, looking away from him now as she sighed.

"Baba, look. You're obviously tired, so why don't you just..." she initially began, but after she felt a light thump on her right shoulder, she turned to see her father tiredly leaning against her and trailed off as she blinked. "Baba?" she quietly whispered, calling out to him before she moved a bit to see if he would react as she was unsure if he was asleep.

However when she moved a bit, she saw his head lean closer toward her. Seeing this, she lightly chuckled and began to hold him close as she came to the realization he was asleep. So after she did that, she started to softly smile before her smile fell as a frown surfaced while she continued to hold onto him and began to look away from him.

"Oh, baba. What am I going to do with you?" she quietly whispered before she solemnly sighed and glanced back at him.

"Well, come on. Off to bed you go." she quietly yet softly said, gently scooping her father into her arms as she started making her way back to the balcony door that led to the guest room, being careful not to drop him along the way. So when she reached the balcony door, she began gently removing her arm from her father for a bit before she lightly nudged the door. When she did, she became alert when she heard a light creak but thankfully, the sound didn't seem to alert him or their family friend as it had done with her just now.

As she sighed in relief, she continued to hold onto her father as she quietly closed the door from behind her before she began approaching the left side of the bed. Once she got there, she placed her father just slightly over the spot from where she had initially slept as she decided to take his spot to avoid having to deal with the possibility of mistakenly waking him up. So once he was on the bed, she began to climb onto the bed herself and sat upright as she draped the blanket over him.

"Buena noches, apá." she warmly but softly whispered as she saw her father slightly move a bit before he stopped. "Buena noches, mija." he warmly whispered in turn as she held her father close. As she did, she glanced down at him and smiled softly at the sight. "Duerme bien, apá." she softly added, whispering her response before she planted a small kiss on his forehead. "Te amo." she softly concluded before she pulled back.

After she did, she noticed an at-ease smile surface on his face as her smile grew wider from the sight, having known it wasn't often he felt that way. But when he did, she always relished those kind of smiles since it made her victories much sweeter and more rewarding for her whenever she succeeded in getting him to sleep.

So once was that was done, she turned away from him and tried to sleep then. But despite her attempts to sleep, she just kept feeling this strong, overbearing sense of restlessness. So when she assumed sleep wasn't going to happen for her, she sat upright and quietly huffed to herself before she turned to see her father and noticed his hair was slightly out of place.

Seeing this then, Aliya decided to move her father's hair over to the side a bit and smiled as she stopped and pulled her hand away from him. Afterwards, she glanced at their family friend and seeing the fire faerie still soundly asleep, she glanced back at her father again and smiled more at the sight.

Well, at least they're getting rest, she thought to herself as a smile continued to form on her face as she lightly sighed when the voice in her head chuckled at her in a taunting, almost mocking manner.

"Too bad these moments won't last forever because sooner or later, they will have to face their fate and you will be helpless to stop your grandmother from fulfilling her destiny." the voice in her head snarled as she rolled her eyes.

"I can still stop her from fulfilling her destiny and keep them safe." she quietly whispered, now protesting against the voice in her head, but that didn't stop her smile from fading. Especially when she had recalled Phantom's words from her earlier encounter with him...

"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."

After Phantom's words finished playing in her head, she recalled the way his smug grin taunted her and in doing so, she felt her anger towards him surface as she felt the growl she forcibly kept down at their encounter wanting to come out of her again. She would have likely succeeded if it weren't for the fact she was reminded of the fact her father and their family friend were soundly asleep.

Seeing this, she refrained from releasing her growl and tried to smile at the sight of them getting their well-deserved rest. However, she began feeling uneasy, so she tried stroking her dad's hair for comfort in the hopes that in doing so, the action would put her mind at ease. Unfortunately, stroking his hair did little to ease her mind, so she stopped and chose to look at him and Ember.

But looking at them only made things worse for her as she began to feel the uncertainty of their situation dawning on her.

🎶 It's dangerous, this life ain't safe 🎶

Yet, this feeling of uncertainty only grew stronger when the impact of her grandmother having the first relic begun weighing heavily on her. For she knew if they couldn't succeed in collecting the remaining relics before her first, then it would put her father's omi one step closer towards fulfilling her destiny. Something she knew she would be helpless to stop if the woman were to succeed...

🎶 And nothing's certain but the moves I make 🎶

... But that didn't mean she had to reside herself to the feeling now.

After all, there were still five items left. Five items meant they had five chances left to obtain a relic and put an end to her grandmother's destiny before she could begin to fulfill it. Just as it meant she had five golden opportunities to help her father and their family friend avoid their fate in becoming pawns in her grandmother's game of destiny.

That's why even though she knew her grandmother in the lead right now, it didn't matter for she knew if the enchantress truly wanted to see her destiny come true, then the woman would have another thing coming as she wasn't going to let her have them without a fight.

A fight she intended to win.

So if her grandmother wanted to keep playing this game of destiny, then she would keep playing too for she wasn't afraid of a little competition and she knew no matter what, she would be the one to come out on top. So, this was to be the way things were going to go, then that only meant one thing.

Game on.

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Venturing deep into the city and into the sewers now, the Ant Queen found herself marveling at Enigma's words as it meant they were starting to make some progress towards getting what she wanted.

More importantly though, it meant they were starting to get one step closer toward reaching the next phase of the plan.

But as much as she wanted to celebrate the success of obtaining the celestial primal cube, they knew she couldn't celebrate until all of the relics had been collected. So, they knew the time for celebrating would have to wait because even though she and their crew had the primal cube, it would mean nothing if her competitors got the remaining relics before she and their crew could.

Because even though they knew Atari had succeeded in stopping the father and his daughter {whose names she did not know} from getting the relic, it still made them slightly uneasy since at one point of his tale, the girl's friend had the celestial primal cube.

It had made her uneasy when they thought about it because she knew all it would take was this father, his daughter and the girl's friend to collect one item from her crew to make their destiny fall apart and have her efforts amount to nothing. After all, at one point, this could have been a very different situation given how these three strangers had a hold of the celestial primal cube.

As such, if these strangers were [at one point] close to depriving her of the destiny they had been promised... then who's to say they {the strangers — whoever these three were anyways} couldn't be successful in claiming the next relic from her and their crew?

Needless to say, the thought of having their destiny stolen from her by some nobodies terrified the royal, but the empress also knew they had one relic in her possession, so there was that but still.

If the empress wanted to see the destiny they were promised and get everything she wanted, it'd take knowing what the next relic was, so their crew could get a head start on locating the second item as she had no intention of having their destiny usurped by some nobodies.

Not if she could help it.

"Alright, so we have the celestial primal cube. That's great and all, but what's the second relic we need to collect?" she promptly inquired as they saw Enigma smirking at her question. "Ah, I'm so glad you asked, my Queen, because the next item of power we need to collect is unlike no other." the nameless girl answered as they looked at her.

"Oh yeah?" she lightly asked as they chuckled at the girl's response. "How so?" she followed up as she saw Enigma mutely hold her hand up. When she did, they watched as her smirk changed into a smile and not long after that, a flicker of light blue, almost pale-like flames began to form on the girl's palm.

Once the flame appeared, she [along with her human servants] watched as the flame morphed into a projection of a few white knotted up strings tied to a bronze-colored bagua mirror with a black-and-white yin yang in the center of the mirror. In addition, a honey golden outline circled around the mirror with a small feathered-like white tassel tied on the other end of the mirror as a series of runes [which none of them could read, much less understand] surrounded the item.

As the empress and her servants continued to look at the projection of the relic, they blinked at the sight before she chose to end the brief silence that engulfed them and her crew by speaking up.

"Wait. Are you telling me the second item that makes up part of the six powerful relics we need to collect for me to achieve my destiny... is a mirror?" she slowly asked before they gave a dry, almost disillusioned laugh from what she was seeing. "Seriously?" they followed up as the girl simply smiled.

"Ah, this might look like a normal mirror, my Queen, but do not let its unassuming and ordinary appearance fool you because this isn't just any typical mirror. No. This, my Queen, is the aperio mirror or to put it in simpler terms, a demon-revealing mirror." the girl simply answered as they puzzledly stared at her.

"A demon-revealing mirror?" she, Atari, Chasen and Ethan baffledly repeated as they collectively blinked at the girl's answer before the empress shook their head. "Okay, I could understand why we needed the primal cube since the relic contained an outline of what I'm going to need for my destiny, but... this?" the empress added as she looked at the projection of the aperio mirror and shook her head.

"... I don't get it." they truthfully admitted as she saw Ethan nodding at their words. "Yeah, I don't get it either." Ethan added in agreement as Atari nodded. "I mean, I get it's in the name because aperio is latin for reveal and all, but what does a demon-revealing mirror have to do with any of this?" Atari added, chiming into the conversation as the scientist crossed his arms.

So while she, Ethan and Atari seemed to be confused about the purpose of the aperio mirror and how it tied into the bigger picture of their destiny, Chasen only chuckled at the sight as the three collectively stared at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Watching you guys get so fixated over a mirror that isn't going to mean anything. I mean, come on. It's just a mirror." Chasen casually answered as she, Ethan and Atari baffledly stared at him.

"Just a mirror?" they {along with Ethan and Atari} collectively repeated in bewilderment, having been disillusioned by his response with the empress even shaking her head at the way she had seen their servant respond before deciding to address him at large.

"Chasen, Enigma just clearly said this relic has the ability to reveal demons, so it's obviously not just a mirror!" they insisted as Ethan and Atari silently nodded in agreement while Chasen gave another indifferent chuckle.

"Okay, and when have you — any of you, he added as he faced Ethan and Atari for a bit before he chose to direct his attention back on her — ever seen demons in New York City?" Chasen lightly countered as they saw Ethan and Atari collectively point at her, causing the latter to look at the two in an irritated manner.

"I mean besides her!" he firmly insisted as they saw Ethan and Atari shrug. "I don't know, man. As far as I'm concerned, she's the only demon I met." Ethan simply said as Atari nodded. "Well, technically speaking, they're a demi-demon mutant, but still. I suppose they count since she's a demon by all accounts." Atari added as they saw Chasen puzzledly staring at the two before he turned to face her once more.

"And you?" Chasen further added as she simply shrugged. "Eh. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the only demon that's residing here in this forsaken city, but that could also change, depending on what the relic reveals." they casually answered as she stopped shrugging afterwards in time to catch a laugh coming from their servant.

"You seriously believe that mirror is going to reveal a demon?" Chasen countered, now pointing at the projection of the relic as she looked at the projection and shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, you never know." they simply said as she observed their servant rolling his eyes at her and crossing his arms before he scoffed at their answer.

"Yeah, right."

"Hey, I get that you don't take the demon revealing mirror seriously, but as Enigma just said, you shouldn't let the relic fool you because looks can be deceiving. I mean, take Ethan. When we met him, we all thought he was just pure muscles, but beneath all that muscle, there's a brain in that head of his... somewhere." Atari suddenly chimed in as Ethan dramatically gasped.

"Hey! I can be smart!" Ethan protested as she giggled at his reaction while Atari lightly chuckled in turn. The only ones who didn't laugh then were Enigma, who looked indifferent to what was going on and Chasen, who looked annoyed by what was going on. This was evident in the way their servant rolled his eyes and shook his head at her, Atari and Ethan before they watched as he turned to face their youngest member of her crew.

"Anyways, what about you, ghost girl? Have you seen any demons here in the city?" Chasen had followed up as she puzzledly furrowed their eyebrows at her servant's nickname for the girl, but the girl seemed indifferent to what he had called her as they listened to the way the girl cleared her throat.

"No. I can't say I have seen any demons here in the city outside of the Ant Queen," the girl began, momentarily pausing to point at her before she stopped pointing at her and turned to face their servant.

"But then again, looks can be rather deceiving." the girl simply added as she noticed how the girl looked at Chasen with an expression they couldn't quite read. "Don't you think?" Enigma slowly followed up now as she saw Chasen shrug.

"Eh. I like to think that looks can be pretty straightforward." he casually answered, now earning a laugh from Atari now as she along with Ethan, Chasen and the girl turned to look at him.

"Ha! If looks are straightforward like you think they are, then tell me why I almost got killed out there trying to get the primal cube." Atari promptly countered as Chasen shrugged, so she had decided to answer him.

"Well, I mean you're the one who chose to volunteer yourself for the job, so that was just part of it." they insisted as she observed the scientist rolling his eyes. "There is that point too." Chasen simply said, agreeing with them as the scientist simply scoffed at his response.

"Well, whatever. I got the primal cube, so I guess that's the important thing," the scientist simply said before he turned to look at Chasen. "But, anyhow I bet you couldn't handle him anyways." Atari coolly followed up, now retorting his co-worker as Chasen stared at him in disbelief before he laughed. "Ha! Please. I bet I can handle the psycho father just fine." he insisted as she mutely watched the way the scientist laughed seconds later at his response.

"You think so?"

"Obviously."

"Alright. Well, if you're so certain that you can handle him, then prove it." Atari smugly followed up as Chasen lightly chuckled. "You know what? You're on. I will prove it to you and when I do, you're going to see that you had nothing to worry about." Chasen confidently retorted as they observed the way the scientist had cryptically chuckled. "Yeah. We'll see about that." Atari had simply said as she shook their head and turned to face Enigma.

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand, where can we find this mirror?" she promptly inquired as they saw the girl retain her silence. Believing she simply didn't hear what they said, she thought to repeat their question, but when she had observed the way the girl suppressed the projection of the aperio mirror with her hands, they refrained from doing so as she knew the action would lead to having her question answered.

So instead, they watched as the girl removed her right hand before she observed the girl's eyes looking back at her.

"Here."

After seeing the girl remove her right hand, they simply watched as a new projection appeared in the girl's left hand. Looking on, she saw the projection no longer displayed the aperio mirror, but rather a set of white-colored doors with a series of golden etched cloud-like swirls held together by solid rock foundation. The doors are then shown to be connected to a much larger building in scale and surrounded by a series of unassuming buildings.

"Wait. Isn't that—"

"Aureus' treasure trove?" Chasen swiftly finished, interrupting them as he nodded. "Yeah, it's his and the only reason I know this is because I tried robbing the place a few years back, but it failed because I couldn't ever figure out how to get in. Though, that was mainly due to the fact that he placed a magical barrier on his trove." he further added as she, Atari and Ethan puzzledly stared at him.

"Magical barrier?" they, Atari and Ethan repeated as he nodded. "Yeah. The magical barrier is essentially just this golden rune that appears whenever someone ends up touching the doors. However, if it finds you unworthy of entry, then the rune will just end up turning red and blast you back." Chasen simply answered before he strangely coughed.

"Not that I'm speaking from personal experience, of course." he strangely finished, to which she, Atari and Ethan skeptically stared at him as none of them believed him. "Right..." they, Atari and Ethan simply said before trailing off as the three cleared their throats and said nothing more on the matter.

"Anyways, if I can just figure out how to get past that stupid barrier of his and gain entry to his treasure trove, then the aperio mirror is as good as mine." Chasen confidently stated as Ethan cheekily nodded.

"Yeah! As long as you don't end up having to deal with Ari's murderer, then you'll get the relic in no time!" Ethan cheekily chimed as Atari cleared his throat. "Uh, attempted murderer is what I think meant to say, Ethan." Atari promptly said, correcting the latter, who only puzzledly stared at the scientist as he grinned.

"Yeah! That's what I said!" Ethan bubbly insisted as Atari simply groaned at the latter's words and face-palmed himself. "Idiots. I am surrounded by idiots." Atari mumbled as he shook his head and sighed.

"You know what? On second thought, let me tag along with you." the scientist insisted as Chasen baffledly blinked. "Wait. Who said this was a group mission now?" he promptly snarled as Ethan gasped. "We're going on a group mission?!" Ethan excitedly exclaimed as Chasen's eyes widened in disbelief at what was going on.

"Uh, hang on now. I never said that this was a—"

"Group mission!" Ethan excitedly exclaimed, swiftly interrupting the latter now as Atari laughed and joined in. "Group mission! Group mission! Group mission!" Ethan and Atari cheekily began to chant as Chasen irritatedly huffed.

"You have got to be kidding me." he irritatedly mumbled as he shook his head and sighed. "This is not a group mission. This is a solo mission. One that I called dibs on, so no. You cannot come with me," he swiftly stated, briefly pausing to look at Ethan before he looked at Atari. "And you cannot come with me." he further added, finishing his response as the scientist chuckled at his rejection.

"Trust me. You're going to need our help and not to mention, someone needs to be a witness for when you find yourself getting beaten to near death with this guy." Atari simply stated as Chasen chuckled at the scientist's response.

"Oh, trust me. I can handle myself just fine against the psycho dad because at the end of the day, the only one who is going to get beaten is him." he cockily insisted as the scientist held his hands up. "Alright. Well, don't say I didn't warn you." Atari followed up as Chasen simply rolled his eyes from what the scientist had said.

"Whatever and for the record, I most definitely do not need a witness because when I'm through with him, there won't be anything left." Chasen cockily boasted as Atari just skeptically raised his eyebrows at him.

"Right..."

"Look. Say what you want, Atari, but at the end of the day, I—"

"No."

Surprised by the unexpected firmness in the girl's tone, she watched as Chasen cut himself off and turned to look at Enigma.

"No?"

"Attacking the father will do you no good. Besides, it's better if you were to go for his daughter anyways." the girl simply answered as Chasen slowly raised his eyebrow at her. "How so?" he curiously asked as the girl chuckled.

"Easy. If you attack her, he'll snap and if he snaps, he will go into a blind fit of rage which means he will be too preoccupied by his anger towards you to focus on the actual task at hand: getting the aperio mirror. Assuming you're able to endure his rage like Atari did yesterday, then you can use his anger to your advantage as it will leave you with an opportunity to seize the mirror and go undetected." the girl simply answered when she heard a light hum from Atari.

"Yeah, she's right." Atari chimed in, crossing his arms now. "But obviously if he attacks, then you should most definitely attack back." the scientist followed up as he chuckled. "Assuming you can withstand his strength, of course." Atari coolly retorted as the empress observed Chasen rolling his eyes.

"Oh, please. This is Chasen you're talking to, Ari, and I can handle anything. Even the strength of a psycho dad." Chasen cockily boasted once more as she saw the scientist chuckling. "Uh-huh. Well, I'll be the judge of that once I see it because I'm coming with you." the scientist insistently stated as Chasen sternly glared at him while Ethan gasped.

"Hey! Well, if he's going, then I'm going too!" Ethan excitedly chimed in as Chasen took his eyes away from the scientist to look at the muscle of the group.

"No."

"Yes."

"No! This is my mission! Mine! Not yours!" Chasen firmly exclaimed as he glared at Ethan before he paused and turned to look at Atari. "Or yours for that matter!" he further added, but neither of them were paying attention to him now as the two were excitedly talking about what they'd find in Aureus' treasure trove.

"I bet he has a golden decorative plate!"

"No way! That's so lame! I bet you if anything, his staff of immortality is in there!"

"Oooh! Yeah! If it's in there, then we should definitely try to lift it!"

"Yeah!"

"Ugh, you guys are something else." she had heard Chasen lowly grumbled, knowing he couldn't talk his way out of them from being part of his mission. As such, they knew that he had no other choice but to let them tag along now.

"Ugh, fine. You two can come, I guess," he stated as she saw Ethan and Atari excitedly gasp at his response. "But I got two rules. One, don't slow me down and two, don't get in my way." he firmly added, now finishing his response as they saw Ethan and Atari lightly nudging each other.

"Oh, please. Like we could ever slow you down." Ethan and Atari cheekily said, but Chasen shook his head and sighed. "Anyways, I don't remember where I saw Aureus' treasure trove because it was a few years ago that I came across the trove, so there's that." he added as the empress gave a light nod with Ethan and Atari following suit.

"Well, we know the trove is somewhere in the city, so there's that." Ethan optimistically said as Atari laughed. "Yeah, but again, it could be anywhere in the city, so that doesn't make finding the trove any easier." he lightly reminded the latter as she nodded. "True." they simply said as she sighed.

"Yeah, it's too bad we don't know where Aureus' treasure trove is." they followed up as she saw their servants glancing at each other before looking at her and nodding to what they had said.

"Mhm."

Not long after Ethan, Atari and Chasen said that, they fell silent as she proceeded to do the same when in the midst of their silence, the girl started clearing her throat.

"Actually. The seeker's treasure trove is much closer than you all think." the girl cryptically said as the empress along with their servants turned to look at her. "How so?" she and her servants asked as they saw the girl chuckle.

With a smile on her face now, the empress and their servants watched as the girl snapped her fingers and when she did, the projection changed. Within a few seconds, the projection began switching over from the buildings that surrounded the treasure trove to a densely populated area in the city as they, Ethan and Atari blinked while Chasen gasped, causing the three to go look at him.

"What?" she, Ethan and Atari concernedly asked as Chasen lightly laughed. "I know where the treasure trove is!" he happily exclaimed as Ethan excitedly clapped his hands. "Yay!" the latter exclaimed while they and Atari simply looked at Chasen with slightly annoyed looks from the way he dramatically drew out his response.

"Seriously?" she and Atari deadpanned as Ethan quickly turned to look at them. "Shush!" Ethan swiftly ordered, which surprised them as the two promptly stopped talking at his response. Not long after, she and Atari watched as Ethan turned to Chasen.

"You said you knew where his trove is located?" Ethan followed up as Chasen nodded. "Yeah." he casually said as Ethan clapped his hands again. "That's great!" Ethan happily exclaimed as they and Atari blinked. "Yeah, that's great and all but—" the scientist had slowly countered before she interrupted him."—Where is it?" the empress finished as they watched Chasen chuckle.

"Ah, well. It's quite simple really because you see, his treasure trove is hidden in the best place in all of New York City..." Chasen proudly answered or... semi-answered anyways as he dramatically trailed off, much to her and Atari's annoyance as they sighed.

"That place being..." she and Atari slowly followed up before they trailed off as Ethan took over. "... What exactly?" he slowly added, chiming into their conversation as he finished their question while Chasen simply looked at them and smirked.

"... Chinatown."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Alright. Look. By now, I'm sure you all have an idea of what's going on here, so rather than keep boring you further, why don't we switch things up a bit and bring about some real excitement?"

"Very funny, Libs."

"What?"

"I see what you did there." Jaxon further added, ignoring their sister's question as they saw their sister innocently smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about." she sweetly deflected as they furrowed their eyebrows. "Oh, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about here, Libby." she heard her eldest sibling say but all she said nothing more about the matter.

Rather, all the co-narrator did was flash a mischievous smirk in their direction before continuing on with her narration.

"Anyways, to shake things up a bit, we're going to stray away from the villains you already know and introduce you to some new ones through the eyes of someone who works directly for them as one of their minions." Lillian further added, now resuming her narration then as a light smirk began to form on her face.

"But first, we need to switch locations as these guys do not reside themselves in the sewers. No, rather you'll find them here." she further added and after she had said that, the scenery panned over from the sewers to a decrepit old building with an in-door water tank attached.

"For it is here in this derelict place where we meet our next set of villains: a nefarious and deadly man who goes by the name Shredder—"

"Wait. His name is Shredder? As in an actual shredder?" Jaxon swiftly interrupted as they started to snicker. "Well, his actual name is Oroku Saki, but that's besides the point." Lillian simply said, answering her sibling's question right as they stopped snickering.

"Anyways, besides him, there is his equally if not more dangerous adoptive son, Oroku Jake—"

"With a name like Shredder, I can see why his kid is perceived as the bigger threat here." Jaxon lightly chimed in, snickering once more as Lillian irritatedly glared at them. "Oh my gods! Can you stop interrupting me?" she snapped, which did little to faze her eldest sibling as they had simply chuckled at her reaction before they stopped.

"Fine. I'll stop." they stated as she eyed her eldest sibling for a moment before sighing in relief. "Thank you." she stated before she cleared her throat and resumed her narration, unaware of the impish gleam in their eyes...

"Who he made as his right hand among the Foot Clan." she stated, finishing her earlier response before she continued once more."The Foot Clan is a group Shredder formed to locate the turtles and their little sister as he and his adoptive son sought to capture the purple-haired girl for their own reasons. So, they decided to do this through the use of their minions and among those who were part of this clan lies someone you wouldn't quite imagine to be there when you think of the things this group has done under Shredder and Jake's directive eye." she added, elaborating on her previous response.

When Lillian finished, the scenery stops showing the decrepit old building with an in-door water tank attached as the scenery pans over to the ground below. Showing the nightly lit streets now, a dark-skinned man of African-American descent with a black afro and a thick moustache can be seen making his way over the building as he wears a pink sweater, blue jeans and round glasses.

"Now, I know what you're thinking. What could this timid and dorky guy possibly have to do with our new set of villains and their clan? Surely, he doesn't look like the type to be associated with them and you would be correct to think so. But just as I said earlier, we would be introduced to Shredder and Jake through the eyes of someone who works directly for them and well..." Lillian added before she trailed off as she sighed. "... He's the one I was talking about when I said that." she finished right as a chuckle was heard.

"Him? Really, Libs? Come on. You can't be serious." Jaxon insisted as Lillian simply chuckled at her sibling's response before she stopped and continued her narration once more.

"Anyways, you are probably wondering who he is or maybe, you don't care to know his name. A lot of people don't care to know about him as you're going to learn soon enough... but whether you want to know who he is or not, it makes no difference because in the end, you will know all the same. So to those who care to know and to those who don't, his name is none other than..." she continued before trailing off as she smirked.

"... Baxter Stockman."

"Wait. Wasn't he a mutant fly at one point?" Jaxon puzzledly asked, interrupting their little sister only to find themselves getting hit with a book moments later. "SHUSH!" she promptly ordered, scolding her eldest sibling as she watched Jaxon start rubbing their head from the aftermath of getting hit with the book.

"Ow!"

"Keep this up and that won't be the only time you're getting hit." she firmly threatened, taking a moment to glare at her eldest sibling before she stopped as she turned her attention elsewhere. "Now, where was I?" she asked herself before she blinked. "Oh right! I was talking about Baxter." she followed up, answering her own question as she began to resume her narration.

"So, who is Baxter Stockman you ask? Well, let's just say he's not the supposed loser everyone thinks he is. But before we learn who he is, let's see how our newfound villains are faring as we venture into the Foot Clan territory. For it is here, we'll find Shredder and Jake looking on now as their minions report another failure in their attempts to capture Princess Briana and locate the turtles. Through him, we will see just how everything unfolds." Lillian continued before she took a deep breath.

"For better or worse..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Rahzar."

Looking on, he saw a eighteen-year-old extremely pale-skinned male standing in the center of the throne room with grey and pale eyes as the male wore a black ninja suit with the Foot Clan symbol on it, black jeans, and black sneakers with white laces on the shoes. There, he saw the boy address the long and very bony, skeletal 'werewolf' mutant who stood just slightly across from the boy's gaze.

As he glanced at Rahzar, he noticed that the mutant had a a slightly darker fur with more of a silver tone, a longer snout with larger teeth and hands that he saw appear to be made out of bone entirely as the boy briefly addressed him before turning to face the yellow-eyed mutant standing beside him.

"Fishface."

Turning his attention from Rahzar now, he looked at the thin stick-like arm snakehead with webs between his fingers as he has a large dorsal fin with a chunk missing from the front. His stomach area is white, his mouth full of sharp teeth, especially two large ones sticking out of it as he has a pair of silver high powered, modified legs and an orange breathing rig.

"Both of you were instructed by my father to capture my pathetic cousin and locate the turtles. Yet, you two have failed to do what my father asked of you and needless to say, I have had just enough of your shortcomings. So..."

As the boy trailed off, he saw the teen turn to face a slim but tall, muscular and toned older man with bigger and bulkier prongs on his shiny chrome-plated armor, which are accompanied with shoulder, arm, and leg gauntlets. In addition, the man's hand 'claws' are shown to be merged to the arm gauntlets while he wore a violet cape with his right eye being blood red and having just a blue iris in the middle of it.

"... How should we deal with their failure, Father?" the boy asked as a thin smirk formed on his face. "Should I make an example out of these two in front of the others by killing them where they stand?" the boy followed up as he quietly grimace at the sight in the boy's behavior, but then he reminded himself that this was the Shredder's son he was watching here...

"Master Shredder, Jake, we can—"

"—Silence!"

At the sound of Shredder's firm voice, Rahzar and Fishface fell silent as he heard a quiet chuckle beside him.

"It's about time that the incompetence of those two idiots got acknowledged because they were never capable of being Foot Clan soldiers to begin with." he heard and as he glanced over his left shoulder, he saw a older pale-skinned male wearing his black purplish regal attire, which he saw consist of a white shirt, blacken dress pants and matching shoes. Still looking on, he noticed the  male also seemed to have inquired several injuries over time, one of the most noticeable being a scar gushed across his right eye as he saw the male crossing his arms at the sight in front of him.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Soren."

Glancing over Soren now, he saw a dark-skinned woman with dark chestnut, almost brown-like eyes standing beside him as she wore a white laboratory coat over her dark burgundy shirt, light khaki slacks and black flats with her frazzled hair being held together in a loose, messy bun as a few strands of her jet-black hair with blue streaks refused to stay put. Rather, they stood out, but the woman didn't seem to care.

"After all, those two idiots had this coming, especially with the amount of times they repeatedly boasted about being able to locate the turtles and capture the princess, only for them to come up short time and time again." the woman added, smugly smirking now as Soren nodded. "You said it best, Isabella. Those two had this coming to them and now, they are getting what they so rightfully deserve." Soren swiftly countered, agreeing with the scientist as he spoke in a low but smug whisper when he heard a light sound of acknowledgement following suit.

"Mhm. You and Sparks said it best, Father. Those freaks did have this coming to them and it's only fitting they both boasted about being able to locate those four turtles scum holding my beloved princess captive, only to repeatedly fail and find themselves defeated at their hands too. Now, they also get to pay the price for their own shortcomings." he heard and as he turn past Isabella, he saw a fifteen-year-old male standing near Soren.

As he looked at the teen, he noticed the boy's pale complexion as well as his straight, short dark brown hair and — just as equally — brown eyes {that also seemed to match Soren's brown eyes} before seeing the boy wore a blue shirt with grey jeans and blue sneakers with white laces on it.

"Mhm. Your boy is right on that, Chandler." Isabella lightly said, agreeing with Soren's son on his stance towards the two mutants, though she either didn't hear or care to hear the last part when the boy referred to the purple-haired girl as 'his princess.' The boy's comment struck him in the wrong way and though he knew it wasn't his business, he thought it wasn't right for the boy to describe the girl as 'his,' as if she was some kind of property or trophy solely for his pleasure or delight.

He didn't how Soren didn't hear (or care to hear rather) what his son said either or why he felt so unbothered by the comment either. So while he might've not liked the princess, he didn't think she should be regarded as a materalistic object to be obtained.

But, was he ready to deal with Soren if he corrected the boy's response? He wasn't sure, but he knew if he kept his silence on the matter, it was going to bother him the whole night. So in spite of the fact he was not ready to deal with Soren, he thought it wouldn't be so bad if he just gently told the boy the princess was not necessarily his and he shouldn't be referring to her as such. It seemed foolproof in his head when he was mentally playing out the scenario, so he was going to go for it... At least until someone else spoke.

"Now if we can get lucky with their latest failure, then Shredder and Jake will decide to get rid of them and if they do, then this clan will finally have two less incapable soldiers to deal with. Isn't that right, Speckman?"

"It's Stockman." he begrudgingly mumbled, turning to correct the light-skinned male with dark brown eyes now as he saw the male's light beige shirt, blue ripped denim jeans and pastel blue sneakers with white laces before watching the male chuckle.

"That's what I said." the male simply said as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Tyson. Whatever you say." he begrudgingly mumbled once more, now turning away from the latter in time to catch a glimpse of Rahzar and Fishface nervously glancing at each other before slowly returning to look at Shredder who was now staring at them.

"Given both of your shortcomings in failing to locate the turtles and capture Princess Briana in addition to the inadequacy you display in unsuccessfully being able to defeat my enemy's own disciples, I have no further reason to keep you two alive." he {along with Soren, Isabella, Tyson and Cameron} heard Shredder mercilessly follow up as he picked up on the way his fellow Foot Clan members suddenly fell silent while panic surfaced for Rahzar and Fishface with what the two heard their boss tell them.

"After all, it's clear both of you have both been useless to me as of late," Shredder flatly added as he paused and turned away from them. "So do what you must, my son. Make an example out of these incompetent fools and show the others just how dire the consequences will be for any of them should they decide to follow in their comrades' path and fail us next." he {alongside Soren, Isabella, Tyson and Cameron} further heard Shredder mercilessly follow up now as they all saw a devious but almost gleeful smirk surfacing on his son's face.

"Gladly, Father."

"Wait!" Rahzar and Fishface quickly exclaimed, attempting to mask the fear that was evident in their tone as they spoke. "We would've had the princess and we would've even had the turtles too, but this girl ruined it for us!" the two quickly continued as they all saw Shredder and Jake slowly look at each other and back at the two.

"Girl?"

"Yes! The girl got in our way and prevented us from apprehending the princess and the turtles! Much less Boy Danger! She crossed our path and we were trying to get rid of her, so we could focus on the mission at hand, but when this glowing beacon appeared—"

"—the girl used the glowing beacon as an distraction to attack us and tried to run. We managed to grab a hold of her, but by the time we were done with her and the glow faded from the sky, the turtles, the princess and Boy Danger were gone!" Fishface had finished, having taken over for Rahzar as he, Soren, Isabella, Cameron and Tyson glanced at each other and back at them, similarly to how Shredder and Jake had done seconds — if not — moments ago.

"There was a beacon?" Soren, Cameron and Isabella quietly but puzzledly asked as Baxter and Tyson blinked at them. "Wait. Can we go back to the girl?" he and Tyson quietly countered when they saw Jake and Shredder glancing at each other before looking at Rahzar and Fishface once more.

"So, this girl is the reason as to why you two were unable to do as my Father asked of you?" Jake slowly asked, drawing out each word as they watched Rahzar and Fishface quickly nod at Jake's question. "Yes!" the two quickly said as they saw Shredder eyeing the mutants.

"Should you two be telling the truth about this girl, then it's possible that you both might not be entirely useless as it's possible this girl could be of some use to us." Shredder slowly countered before they saw him eyeing the two when the young boy spoke up then.

"But if this is nothing more than a lie, then you two will be silenced for good when I slice off your tongues out for giving false information and dishonoring my Father's clan with your lies. Got it?" Jake sharply added as he felt a shiver running down his spine from what his boss' son had said right when Rahzar and Fishface nodded.

"Yes, Jake."

"Good. Now that you've both heard what is at stake from my son, it is only fitting Rahzar be the one to retrieve this girl and when he returns, we'll see just how true this story of yours holds up." Shredder firmly stated and as soon as they heard him finish, everyone watched the way Rahzar left the throne room... Only to reemerge moments later with a girl who had looked to be around Cameron and Tyson's age.

When everyone saw Rahzar arriving with the girl, they could see her struggling to free herself as the skeletal werewolf-like mutant's grip on her remained firm.

"Let go of me, you mutt!"

"Who are you calling a mutt, girl?" Rahzar sharply questioned as they saw the fair-skinned, jet-black haired, midnight blue eyed girl sarcastically scoffing. "You obviously, mutt." she taunted before she blasted a ball of ice in his right eye, causing the latter to release her now as he was taken by surprise.

"Ahhh!" Rahzar now exclaimed, stumbling a bit as she flipped her hair and smirked proudly. "Ha! That's what you get, mutt!" they all heard the girl smugly taunt once more before she flatten her pastel blue dress with leggings and black combat boots to smooth out any potential creases that might have appeared on her outfit before she stopped.

"There. That's better." the girl proudly continued when they heard Jake cryptically chuckle a bit before he stopped. "So, it seems as though you and Rahzar were telling Father the truth after all. I guess it means you two will sadly be holding onto your tongues then." Jake reluctantly counter as everyone heard the boy heavily sigh.

"Well, that's unfortunate." the boy continued as they notice the way he seemed to be genuinely disappointed about not being able to cause Rahzar and Fishface to lose their tongues and inflict harm onto them. "But now it just means I have a new target." Jake followed up, no longer using a disappointed tone as he sharply eyed the girl who seemed to be mirroring the same look that he gave her.

"Touch me and so help me, I will—" the girl firmly attempted to say, raising her hands up as an attempt to defend herself when a blade had shot out from his gauntlet and landed inches from the girl's face, causing the girl to freeze and lower her hands the moment she became face-to-face with Shredder.

"—You will do no such thing or I will be the last thing you ever see." Shredder firmly threatened as the girl scoffed. "Yeah, right. You don't scare me, Scissorhands... or whoever it is that you are." the girl arrogantly countered as Shredder chuckled.

"Foolish child, I am the Shredder."

"The Shredder? As in the actual shredder?" the girl mockingly asked, laughing now as she had seen his name as a joke and not something to be feared. "Oh, yeah. I'm so scared of you now." she followed up when they saw Shredder chuckle. "Oh, trust me, girl. In just a second, you are going to see why I'm called the Shredder." his boss sharply threatened as he (like the others in the throne room) listened to the latter chuckle.

"After all, your inference not only resulted in my henchmen's failure, but it cost us Splinter and all of his disciples too. So, it's only fitting that I have you pay for their shortcomings by making you pay for your inference with your life." Shredder sharply but threateningly followed up as he knew his boss was about to make good on his word, but panic suddenly began to flow through him now and the next thing he knew...

... He found himself coming to the girl's rescue.

"Wait!"

As he moved past Soren, Isabella, Cameron and Tyson before moving directly to the girl, Jake and Shredder, he tried not to listen to the way his heart had begun pounding rapidly as he was afraid if he listened, his heart would explode from the amount of fear he felt coursing through him.

He knew all he had to do was sit back yet he (for the life of him) could not bring himself to let this matter go and so, he had no choice, but to push onwards as he ignored the way his palms begun to sweat from the sight of being so near to Shredder and Jake's proximity. He was already fearful as it was, but when Shredder and Jake took their eyes off the girl and looked at him, well he was starting to feel his fear intensifying from their stares.

Yet, he pushed on and forced himself to ignore the fact that his palms were beginning to sweat more from their directive gaze when he thought back to the way the girl used her ice magic just now to defend herself against one of Shredder's henchman...

"You said this girl could possibly be of some use to us, right? Well, she has ice magic. I mean, we all saw it when she attacked Rahzar—"

"I didn't attack him! He—"

"—and from the looks of it, she seems to be an adequate fighter too." he quickly continued, now sharply staring at the girl as she cut herself after realizing what he was trying to do.

"Yes! He's right! I am an adequate fighter and it seems to me like you both are in need of another soldier. So rather than kill me, why don't you take me in as one of your soldiers? Then I can help you and your son by using my ice magic to aid your cause and serve as an ally." the girl chimed in, now trying her best to stay calm in spite of their boss' blade being held so close to her face...

"She's right. The turtles and the princess have Boy Danger, but it won't be long before their allies strengthened." Tyson chimed in, stepping beside him now as he turned to see the boy giving him a small smile. "I hope you're right about this, Stockman." the boy quietly said and realizing that he got his name right, he couldn't help but give a small smile of his own before he processed the boy's words.

Me too, kid. Me too...

"Besides, if we don't find a way to start growing our numbers and find a way to recruit more Foot soldiers into joining our cause, then the turtles and the princess' forces will end up diminishing our strength while theirs only continues to grow from the allies they will gain." Isabella followed up, stepping beside him now as he snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see the woman at his side sharply eyeing him.

"If this backfires and they come for me, so help me, Baxter, I will be the one to ensure that you're going down first. Then, we'll see how your wife takes the news when her beloved husband winds up dead." she quietly started as she continued to eye him. "Not from Shredder and Jake's hands but mine." she bitterly hissed as she continued to threateningly whisper the words to him as he resisted the urge to laugh, having known that his chances of dying to Isabella were low because he knew his wife would easily come to his defense and take the woman down with ease. He had thought to tell her when Soren's son spoke up and prevented him from doing so.

"Mhm. Already, I've seen those turtles scum align themselves to not just Boy Danger but this red haired girl whom they call April O'Neil and this annoying city boy called Kaz who seems to think as though my princess loves him. Ha! As if she would ever love some low-leveled commoner like him." Cameron irritatedly began when everyone mutely stared at him, causing the latter to give a light blush as he feigned a cough to save himself from the growing embarrassment he must have felt in the moment now.

"Anyways, the point is if those turtle freaks have Boy Danger, April O'Neil and Kaz at their side, then how long will it be before those turtle scums continue to keep my princess hostage and make her fight their battles as if they think she's one of them?" Cameron followed up as they saw the boy pointing at the girl.

"Look. I don't agree with girls fighting, but she could be useful to us and with her ice magic, she could be a valuable asset to the Foot Clan—" he added before the boy was interrupted then by his father, who began to step beside him as the two of them stood near Tyson.

"—And why we need her to be a Foot soldier because if she can help us locate the turtles and aid us in capturing Princess Briana, then you will be that much closer to having your weapon at your disposal, Master Shredder. Just as Jake will get what he wants with his cousin once we are able to capture her." Soren concluded as they saw Shredder and Jake slowly eyeing them before the father-and-son duo glanced back at each other.

"I could finally get my hands on my greatest weapon—"

"—And with my pathetic cousin fulfilling her prophecy, I can finally make my uncle and aunt see how stupid they were for not allowing me to rule after they come to realize their oldest daughter is nothing more than a monster and a villain whose only real purpose is to bring destruction and havoc." Jake slowly finished as they noticed a smirk gradually start to surface on the sickly boy's face right when the girl tensely chuckled.

"So um..." the girl slowly began as she cleared her throat. "... Does this mean I won't die?" the girl slowly but meekly asked as she gave another tense chuckle after she made the mistake of eyeing the blade in close proximity to her face.

"No. You will live..." Shredder slowly answered before they all saw the man retracting the blade back into his gauntlet and drop the girl onto the ground. "... For I may have found some use for your powers after all." Shredder slowly finished before he turned away from the girl and began looking at them.

"Now, someone get this girl out of our sights and for the rest of you—"

"—Get back to work!" Jake sharply barked before he narrowly eyed him. "Except you. You stay as Father and I have much to discuss with you." the boy added then as shivers ran down his spine, but he only nodded before he turned to the girl and moved closer to her.

"Hey, are you alright?" he concernedly asked as the girl slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just a bit shaken." the girl quietly confessed as he gave a small chuckle. "You get used to it." he softly said before he held his hand out. In response, a small smile formed on her face as she looked at him.

"Thanks." she softly said, taking his hand now as he nodded. "You're welcome." he softly said in turn, lifting her up from the ground before he released her hand. "So, what's your name?" she asked as he smiled. "Baxter Stockman." he answered as he looked at her. "What's your name?" he added as she smiled. "Noelle Winters, though you can just call me Elle for short." she softly answered as he held his hand out to her and maintained his smile.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss Winters." he softly said as he saw the girl maintaining her smile and accept his hand again. When she did, he saw her gently grip onto his hand before she began to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Mister Stockman." she softly said as he resisted the urge not to smile wider at the way she had gotten his name right, having expected her to get his name wrong like everyone else did.

"Likewise." he softly said before Cameron and Tyson arrived. "Hey, uh we hate to break this up, but it's probably best if you came with us uh..." Cameron and Tyson initially began before they trailed off and stared at Noelle [not that they knew her name as so far, it was just him who was aware of what her name was].

"... Noelle and I'm not leaving him to deal with them, so you two can just go on ahead without me. I'll stay here with him, thanks." Noelle firmly said, crossing her arms now as they stared at her in disbelief.

"But—"

"Elle, you're better off going with Cameron and Tyson. Trust me, you do not want Shredder and Jake to change their minds, so it's best to get out of their sights now while their minds are set." he softly explained, interrupting Cameron and Tyson as he saw her midnight blue eyes falter at his words.

"But—"

"Trust me, kid. I'll be alright. Okay?" he softly assured as he flashed her a warm smile. "Okay." he heard the girl reluctantly say then as she sighed. "If you say so, Bax." she softly said as he smiled. "Good. Now, go with them and they'll give you the rundown of what to expect as a new member of the Foot Clan." he followed up as Cameron and Tyson nodded.

"Yep! You'll be learning Foot Clan 101 with me and Cam here as your instructors." Tyson cheekily said as he saw Noelle chuckling. "Alright then. Let's hope you two are good teachers then." she lightly said before her eyes drifted away from the boy and over at him. He saw a flicker of doubt surface in her midnight blue eyes as he sensed she had genuinely wanted to stay with him, but when Cameron lightly nudged her, he saw the girl's flicker of doubt fading before she looked at Soren's son and began walking with the two boys. It wasn't long then he saw that Cameron and Tyson succeed in getting the girl out of Shredder and Jake's sights as when he looked again, he noticed that none of them were anywhere to be seen.

Not long after he watched them leave, he got the idea to glance over his shoulder and when he did, he realized everyone left him to deal with his fate since there was no one left in the Throne Room. Rather, it had just been Shredder, Jake... and him.

Internally, he heavily sighed at the realization as he couldn't help but blame himself for getting himself stuck in this predicament. After all, this had been his own doing and he certainly didn't regret what he did to save the girl from meeting her demise, but still!

Baxter — or at least a part of him — had hoped with the way that they were all backing him up a few moments ago in advocating with him for the girl to be spared, one of them would've at least stuck around with him... But then again, who really wanted to face Shredder and Jake after they had all watched the way the two responded to Rahzar and Fishface's failure?

Certainly not his fellow Foot soldiers and most definitely not him, but much to his dismay, that's exactly what he found himself doing because now, he was on his own to face them. Yet, this was also particularly worse for him as he wasn't sure what his outcome would be for not only coming to the girl's defense... but successfully convincing them to spare her too.

After all, it was only through his sheer luck [and his mere wits] in remembering her ice powers he had been able to get Shredder and Jake to spare her as she held value to them. At the same time though, he was afraid the sheer luck [and wits] he possessed in using his resourcefulness to stop the girl from meeting her demise at his boss' hand might have also potentially just ran out when it came to him because now...

... He wasn't sure how he was supposed to talk himself out of whatever it was that Shredder and Jake held in store for him as the indirect consequence for the way he tricked them into doing an merciful act. So, somewhere in that mind of his, he was now trying to figure out what it was that his punishment was going to be because he knew surely, something like this couldn't have gone unnoticed by them.

So now, he found himself forced to wonder the one thing that he didn't want to know: what was his punishment going to be?

Would they threaten to put a collar infused with mutation on him to ensure he wouldn't step out of line and do something like this again or would they just skip the threat altogether and activate the collar to turn him into a mutant? Or would they let him to stay human and sever his tongue? His legs? Or worse yet... would they kill him over what he did?

The thought of not knowing terrified him so much that he wished Shredder and Jake would say something just so he could stop the endless scenarios of possibilities of his punishment over his action currently coursed through his head from all the overthinking he was doing. But when he heard Shredder start to dryly chuckle, fear had kicked in and suddenly he wasn't sure what was worse: not knowing what was to come or learning what was going to happen...

He thought he had the answer, but when he witnessed the man start to stand up from his throne and begin to make his way to him, he suddenly realized that he (in fact) did not have the answer.

"Baxter Stockman. You relied on your luck to save the girl yet your luck has just run out for while your wits are impressive, they won't be enough to save you from your fate."

After Shredder had finished and angrily growled then, he thought to run but his legs refused to do what he wanted them to do. Rather, his legs became stationary and willed to a motionless state by his own paralyzing fear and so, it wasn't a surprise then when he found himself getting grabbed by the collar of his sweater and lifted into the air by his boss. Nor was it a surprise that he yelped when he saw Shredder's blade start to emerge out of the gauntlet.

"Yes. I should make you pay with your life for the action you took and use your decapitated head as an example to the others when I display it for all to see for it. For your head will serve as a nice visual in acting as a cautionary tale for those who choose to follow in your footsteps." Shredder further added as he silently observed the way his boss' blade started moving closer to his face a moment later before he stopped just short of reaching his glasses.

"Fortunately for you though, I still have some use for your skills so see to it that the girl succeeds or else." the Shredder sharply finished as he felt the tip of the blade lingeringly touch his face for a bit before he saw his boss retract the blade back into his gauntlet and promptly drop him onto the ground afterwards. When he fell, he couldn't help but yelp as he saw his boss turn to face his adoptive son, who eyed him and his father.

"Father, perhaps you should see if Detective Carson is in a talking mood this time while I handle Stockman." Jake insisted as he saw Shredder glancing him and back at his son. "Very well then. He's all yours." Shredder simply said as he saw Jake nodding. "Thank you, Father." he heard the boy say before he and Jake saw his adoptive father leave the throne room.

Once Shredder left, he saw Jake's grey and pale eyes staring narrowly at him as the boy scoffed at the mere sight of him.

"You look pathetic just lying there on the ground, so get up." Jake sharply stated and awkwardly, he forced himself to do as the boy had said since he was his father's right hand. As such, Baxter picked himself off from the ground as the boy continued to narrowly eye him.

"You know, sometimes I can't help but wonder why Father bothers with keeping you alive when you're one of our weakest links. But as he said, he still has some use for your skills, so I suppose he has his reasons for keeping you around..." Jake slowly began before he trailed off a devious, imp-like smirk surfaced on the boy's face. "... Or maybe Father is simply keeping you around as his personal punching bag." the boy mockingly finished, concluding his initial response before he laughed and sighed moments later.

"Well, whatever it is, Father has chosen to keep you alive. So, see to it that the girl is capable of locating the turtles and capturing my pathetic cousin because there are only so many chances you can be given before your luck actually runs out and your wits leave you dry." Jake further added as he blinked since for once, he was just... baffled.

He was baffled because he couldn't understand (for the life of him) why this kid was so obsessed with his cousin. More so, he couldn't understand why this kid held such a strong grudge against the purple-haired girl when she was only fourteen-years-old or why he loathed his cousin with a burning — no — scorching passion.

"Okay... so I might be out of line for asking this, but why are you so persistent in targeting your cousin?" he slowly asked as he saw Jake mutely stare at him with his grey, pale eyes narrowly centered on him, which made him nervous now since it translated into the way he spoke next.

"I... I mean, I get w... why your father wants the princess since Shredder sees her as his weapon but I don't get why you want her too." he slowly elaborated, his tone low and meek as he saw Jake's eyes slowly morph before the boy blinked and sighed a moment later.

"Well, to answer your question, Stockman, let me first ask you this: Have you ever held a grudge against someone all because they ruined everything for you and took away everything that was meant to be yours?" Jake slowly asked as he blinked, now racking his memories in trying to see if he had ever felt that way towards someone before, but he only came up empty so he shook his head.

"No. I can't say I ever felt that particular kind of grudge before. I mean, don't get me wrong. I've certainly felt grudges before, sure, but never have I ever held a grudge against someone because they ruined everything for me and took away everything that was meant to be mine." he slowly but truthfully said, answering the boy's question now as he stopped shaking his head. When he finished speaking, he saw Jake eyeing him before he listened to the boy sighing again.

"I thought you would've said that much." Jake simply said, briefly pausing before he continued once more. "Well, the reason as to why I am so persistent in targeting Briana is because... well, she ruined everything for me." Jake further added as he saw the boy angrily clench his fist and cough before he put a napkin over his mouth to conceal the cough. Once the coughing came to an end, he saw Jake grimly looking at the napkin before folding said napkin and pocketing the napkin away seconds later.

"Back then, before I went to Tokyo proclaiming my loyalty to the man who I would refer to as my father and took on the name Oroku Jake, I used to go by a different name."

"A different name?"

"Yeah. Back then, I went by Jake Sentry." Jake answered as he dryly laughed. "A stupid name, really." the boy bitterly added before he scoffed and shook his head, a frown surfacing on his face now as he mutely looked on.

"Anyways, for as long as I could remember, I've always had this reoccurring dream where I saw myself on a throne with people bowing to me at every whim and doing my bidding. At first, its meaning was unclear to me but as I grew older, I knew it was a premonition and I knew when I achieved it, it would become the very moment in which I achieved my ambition."

"Ambition?"

"You see, Stockman, you might think that my dream is being king and while that's true, it's not just the thought of becoming king that interested me as it was also having this kind of power in which everyone feared me and knew my name too. So, it was then I knew I was destined to be king and that's my ambition." Jake proudly answered as he happily sighed. "It had become my dream ever since I was a kid. One that I have always believed in, even now as we speak, but... it was crushed when I learned my uncle and aunt were receiving their first kid." he bitterly added, dropping the happy sigh as it turned harsh and cold now.

"But that hadn't been enough. No because on top of that, my weaker and less competent father, the one whom I was bounded to by blood before I had disowned him and the rest of my simple-minded family—"

"Wait. You disowned your family?"

"You're missing the point here, Stockman, but yes. I did disown my family but that's another tale for another time." Jake dismissively said, almost irritated by the fact he was paying attention to such a insignificant detail in his story now as Baxter heard the boy sigh.

"Anyways, he told me I was going to become a personal bodyguard to my cousin. Ha! Can you believe that? Me, a bodyguard? Ha!" Jake bitterly continued as he dryly scoffed. "I knew what my worth was and I knew damn well, I was meant to be so much more than some personal bodyguard!" the boy sharply and quite aggressively added as he quietly blinked from seeing Jake's rage on full display before that rage seemed to be set on pause when the boy coughed again.

Much like last time, he had placed a napkin over his mouth to conceal the cough and once the coughing came to an end, he saw Jake grimly looking at the napkin before folding said napkin and pocketing the napkin away seconds later.

"So you see, Stockman, I am targeting her because not only did she ruin everything for me, but my pathetic cousin took away everything that was meant to be mine from her merely existing." Jake bitterly but sharply finished as he observed the way the boy's eyes glistened with anger before the look faded and the boy simply sighed again.

"That is why I won't rest till Father and I are able to capture my cousin," the boy briefly began as he paused before resuming once more. "And why I should kill you for that idiotic merciful stunt you pulled in saving the girl since she's the whole reason my pathetic cousin, Splinter and those turtles are out of our reach!" Jake angrily snapped as Baxter tensely but quite awkwardly and a bit meekly chuckled to mask the sudden fear he felt resurface.

"But seeing how Father needs you still for your skills, I suppose you will live as I can't kill you..." Jake added before he trailed off. As he did, Baxter became aware of the way his tone irritatedly dripping with annoyance but he didn't care because what mattered (to him) was how the boy couldn't kill him since his father still saw some use in him.

So, that was enough to assure him he couldn't die—

"Yet." Jake tauntingly finished, flashing a smug, almost prideful but weak smirk at him before he dropped the smirk and sternly looked at him.

"So if you decide to ever pull another merciful stunt like the one you did tonight, I'll be the one to personally kill you myself because mercy is weakness and we do not tolerate weaknesses here." Jake firmly and quite sharply added as he saw the boy's stern, cold and unforgiving eyes staring back at him. "Is that understood?" the boy firmly added as he timidly nodded.

"Yes, Jake." he found himself meekly saying as the boy nodded. "Good." Jake simply said before he saw the boy sharply staring at him once more.

"Now, get out of my sight!"

So, that was how Baxter had found himself making his way back to the first floor and exiting out from the doors to Shredder's lair now as he walked down the steps. Once he got to the last step, he made his way towards the sidewalk before he glanced back at the decrepit old building as he stared at the exterior's stained glass windows and the clock shown outside of the lair on the roof of the building.

From its exterior, one would think Shredder's lair had been a cathedral at one point and figure it must have also been seen as a holy place before his boss had gone with his son to desecrate the church with their wickedness along with their unholy actions.

Ironic then that his boss' hiding spot was nothing more than an abandoned church. He thought to linger more and ponder on the building's ties to his boss, but after he recalled how he nearly died (okay, so he technically didn't die but still), he chose to leave before they decided he was needed.

Walking through the nightly lit streets of the city then, Baxter mainly kept to himself and walked in silence until he came across a large multi-structured light beige condo apartment complex in the center of the city as restaurants were shown across from the building. Stopping in his tracks then, he made his way inside as he entered through the polished glassy, translucent doors.

Upon entering and closing the doors behind him, Baxter glanced at the light grey carpet flooring before he turned to his left and saw two light beige-colored chairs across from a small, circular-shaped translucent coffee table. In the center of the room, he saw a white leather couch adorn with a variety of small, square-shaped pillows before he glanced up and caught several views of the city from square-shaped glass windows positioned across the room. Finally, he turned to his right and as he noticed the black rectangular-shaped dining table accompained with a few light grey-colored chairs, he saw a handwritten note on the table.

Curious, he approached the dining table and as he picked up the handwritten note, he looked to see what was written and what was on the note was relatively simple. Written in black ink and in cursive writing were these words: Meet me on the rooftop.

After reading what the note said, he decided to take the small note with him as he began making his way to the rooftop as the note instructed. After walking for a bit, he reached the black framed glass, translucent door connecting to the entrance of the rooftop. Pushing the door just slightly, he watched as the door swung open. Stepping over from the entrance of his condo apartment to the rootftop, he closed the door behind him and carefully held onto the handwritten note when he heard a soft, light-hearted giggle.

"You got my note, Baxxy Darling."

"Claudia?"

Turning around then at the sound of his wife's voice, he saw a slightly dark-tanned woman with a pair of light sliver framed translucent glasses, which showed off her light brown eyes as Baxter looked at her long, dark brown (almost black) hair. The woman smiled softly at him as she wore a black and golden sequin dress-suit, which was connected by the lower black gown-like drape.

"But I—" Baxter initially began, confused by what was going on until he cut himself off when he noticed a small, circular dining table positioned just near the rooftop's railing as it was draped over with a satin black tablecloth. He noticed in the center of the table was a translucent vase filled with a mixture of red and pink roses along with a few lit candlelights as his eyes softened from the sight in front of him.

"Honeybun, you..." he softly began before he glanced at Claudia once more. "You didn't—" he attempted to follow up when he heard her softly chuckle. "Baxxy, you do so much for me and I wanted to do something for you for a change because well..." she shyly began until she trailed off and moved closer to him as she intertwined their hands together.

"... You are the best husband a woman could ever ask for, Baxxy Darling, and I love you." she had softly finished before she moved closer to plant a light kiss on his lips as he smiled. "Well, you're the best wife a guy could ever ask for, Honeybun, and I love you too." he softly said in turn before he planted a light kiss on her lips and watched as she smiled. The two slightly pulled away from each other then as he turned to look at the full moon and the few stars that were uncovered as the stars shined with all of its dazzling brightness.

"Thank you for this moonlit dinner, Claud. It's beautiful." he softly but affectionately told his wife as he turned to see her chuckling. "Well, if you think this setting is beautiful, just wait till you try the food." she gleefully but lightly replied, now tugging him along at her side as they made their way over the table. When he sat down, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"I feel bad now because you look beautiful and you put so much effort into this dinner and I'm just here in my everyday clothing. I feel underdressed and well, embarrassed for not putting in more effort with my clothing." he bashfully admitted as his wife chuckled.

"Thank you, Baxxy Darling for those kind words," she softly began before she paused as she stared at him. "But listen to me, my love. What you wear doesn't matter because to me, you always look great and besides, I didn't marry you for your looks." she softly continued as he sighed at her words.

"I know but—"

"—I married you because of who you are and that means so much more to me than your looks alone. Okay?" she softly finished, tenderly holding onto the right side of his face as he held her hand and nodded softly.

"Okay."

Smiling softly, he released his grasp on her hand as she tenderly pulled away from touching his face before she happily clapped her hands and delightfully grinned.

"Now, let's eat!"

Chuckling softly at his wife's excitement then, Baxter sat down as she placed down a porcelain white fine china plate with a seared steak, which he saw accompanied by multicolored, honey-glazed carrots and green beans almondine. After she set the plate down, he smiled at the sight.

"I see those cooking classes I assigned you are paying off because this looks amazing." he softly said as she giggled. "Yes, they have! But hopefully, everything tastes good too. I mean, I read the instructions and I follow the recipes but I'm just afraid—" she said, starting to frantically ramble when he interrupted her.

"Hey, I'm sure everything is going to taste just fine." he softly assured her as she nodded and brushed aside her hair. "Thanks." she softly but sincerely said as her smile grew before she blinked.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

Watching her take off then, he saw her leave before arriving with two translucent wine glasses, one of which she placed beside his plate before leaving once more. "Be right back!" she added before she took off once more. Moments later, she arrived with a black and dark green-tinted champagne bottle named Andre's Brut Champagne and a corkscrew as she grinned brightly at him.

"I'm back."

"And with refreshments, I see."

"Of course. I mean, you can't have a moonlit dinner without a glass of champagne. Right?" she lightly added as he chuckled. "Right." he softly answered, chuckling softly right as she opened the bottle with the corkscrew she brought with her. When that was done, he saw her begin to pour him a glass before pouring her own. Once that was done, she moved her cup just slightly over her plate [which also included a sear steak accompanied by multicolored, honey-glazed carrots and green beans almondine] before she sat down, having now been satisfied with the way things turned out.

"Now that everything for our moonlit dinner is situated, how about a toast?" she proposed as he nodded. "Sure." he said, watching as she began to pick up her glass. "A toast then to the greatest man I could've ever met. A man who saw more to me than my looks and taught me that beauty comes from within." she passionately added as her smile grew. "A toast then to the one and only Baxter Stockman himself." she concluded as he smiled.

"Thank you and now I shall give a toast of my own." he said as he began to pick up his glass and look at her. "A toast then to the greatest woman I could've ever met. A woman who recognized the value in me when I couldn't and taught me to appreciate myself for all that I am worth." he passionately continued as his smile grew. "A toast then to the one and only Claudia Antigone." he concluded as she smiled.

"I love you, Honeybun."

"And I love you, Baxxy Darling." she sincerely said as he raised his cup. "To us, my love?" he now followed up as she smiled warmly and began to raise her cup too. "To us, my love." she warmly answered as the two began to lightly clang their wine glasses against each other. "To us!" they happily added before they looked at each other and smiled brighter. "Now and forever." he said as she maintained her smile.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Bax." she sincerely continued, pulling her glass back as he did the same and maintained his smile towards her.

"Neither would I, Claud, because I am yours—"

"—As you are mine."

After they finished, the two began to eat as they began to cut into their seared steaks. When he did, he noticed the center of the steak looked completely brown with no sight of visible pink as he took a bite and gasped. As he did, he unintentionally startled his wife, who looked at him as worriness settled in her eyes.

"What? Is it bad?" she distraughtly asked as he swallowed his bite before he assuringly shook his head. "No! Honeybun, it's not bad at all!" he assuringly told her as she blinked at his words. "It's not?" she slowly asked as he nodded. "It's not. If anything, the steak is perfect." he assured her, his smile growing as he looked at her. "Just like you." he sincerely finished as she giggled at his words.

"Thank you."

"And these sides look incredible!" he followed up, now gesturing to the multicolored, honey-glazed carrots as he made note of the sliced carrots before gesturing over to the green beans almondine. As he did, he made note of the faint smell of lemon juice and the garlic herb and toasted almonds sprinkled on top.

"Thanks, but hopefully, the sides taste as good as the well-done steaks did." she confessed as he began to motion his fork over to the sides. "Hey, considering that steak dinners are your thing, I'm sure the sides will be just as good, love." he assured her, now deciding to try the green bean almondine now as he took a bite and listened to her chuckle.

"Steak dinners might be my thing, but sides are not." she lightly said right as he finished taking his bite and swallowing said bite moments later. "You might want to rethink that because this green bean almondine you made might be the best that I ever had." he sincerely told her as he stared at the multicolored, honey-glazed sliced carrots and began picking up the side using his fork.

"Yeah, right. You're just saying that to be nice, Bax."

"No, I'm not because trust me, you wouldn't think it's possible to mess up green beans but I've gone to some places where they have, in fact, messed this up." he countered as she gave a light chuckle. "Really?" she asked as he nodded. "Mhm! To this day, I'm still baffled by how it can be possible for someone to mess up a dish like this." he answered before he took a bite and happily hummed in delight.

"Okay, your green bean almondine might have some competition because these multicolored, honey-glazed carrots are delicious!" he further added as she lightly chuckled at his reaction to her cooking.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah!"

"Personally, I thought the green bean almondine was a lot better than the multicolored, honey-glazed carrots but it's nice to know you think fondly of my cooking." she lightly said, now taking a bite of the green bean almondine before she swallowed. "Oh and thanks again for assigning me those cooking classes." she followed up, now taking a bite of her well-done steak as he had simply nodded at her response and smiled brightly.

"You're welcome."

So as he ate his meal and drank his champagne alongside his wife, they talked in between and before long, the two had finished their dinner with their plates now being wiped clean with the champagne in their glasses consumed. Full from what they consumed then, he assisted his wife in cleaning up as he volunteered to wash the dishes while she dried and set the dishes on a dry rack.

As such, the clean up process didn't take a lot of time and before long, the two were back at the rooftop as they sat at the candlelit table once more.

"Thanks again for the moonlit dinner, Honeybun. It was amazing." he softly and sincerely stated as she smiled. "You're welcome, Bax," she softly said before she paused as she giggled. "Oh and thanks. I'm glad you thought tonight's dinner was amazing like I did." she softly added, right as she stopped giggling and sighed. "I just wish I had thought of something else to do besides just the dinner, especially since the moon is glowing so pretty tonight." she lightly bemoaned then, glancing away from him as she sighed.

He pondered on her response then before an idea came to mind as he chuckled.

"I might be able to fix that." he said as she glanced up and looked at him. "How so?" she asked, to which he stood up and held a cryptic smirk. "Just follow my lead, Honeybun, and I'll do the rest." he answered as she lightly giggled. "Alright, Baxxy Darling. What did you have in mind?" she followed up as he held his right hand out to her.

"Why don't I just show you?" he countered as she giggled. "Alright then. Lead the way." she softly said, taking his hand now as he gently lift her up from her seat. Twirling her around, he listened to her giggle as the two began to move away from the table and over towards the middle of the rooftop. Neither of them taking their eyes off of the other the entire time as he began to spin her around and she began to sing.

"So this is love. Mm-mm. So, this is love. So, this is what makes life so divine." she sung as he proceeded to spin her around once more before she began to turn and face him. "And now I'm all aglow." she continued as the two locked hands and began to waltz as they circled each other.

🎶 Mm-mm 🎶

"And now I know."  she sung as he parted from her and began to sing with her, briefly turning before he reconnected his hand with hers. "The key to all heaven is mine." they continued to sing as he lowered her down slightly while he kept holding onto her. With her now being lower by him, he was able to stare into her light brown eyes more clearly just as she was able to stare into his pure brown eyes more clearly when she sung again.

"My heart has wings." she sung as he began to slowly lift her up and spin her around.

🎶 Mm-mm 🎶

"And I can fly." they both sung as he twirled her around before she briefly parted from him. "I'll touch every star in the sky." they continued as he watched her briefly turn towards him before she reconnected her hand with his once more. "So, this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of." they further sung as the two twirled again before she leaned into him and he held onto her.

"So, this is love." he had sung, lifting her up now before his pure brown eyes stared at her light brown eyes and vice versa as their smiles grew. "So, this is love." she sung as they were within close proximity to each other now; their lips growing closer and closer as they leaned into each other and bridged the distance between them. When they had succeeded in bridging that small distance, it felt like time slowed for them and as their eyes gaze at each other's lips, the two had moved closer before they leaned into each other and kissed.

"So this is love..."

The next morning, he and Claudia decided to venture out of their condo apartment. So while he stuck to his usual outfit, his wife chose to embark on their journey wearing light makeup as she wore a black turtleneck with matching jeans and black flats while a layered light brown, almost copper flower-like necklace could be visibly seen on her. She also wore her light brown, almost copper dangled earrings as she cleaned her glasses before she adjusted her light silver-framed translucent glasses and put them on her face right when he finished cleaning his round glasses.

Right as he proceeded to put his glasses on, however, he had heard his wife faintly calling out to him. Confused, he puzzledly glanced up and it was only then he realized what she had meant as he glanced up in time to accidentally collide directly into a stranger as his round glasses fell out of his grasp.

"Baxter!"

After he heard his wife call out to him, he heard his wife's footsteps approaching him as she had rushed to his side. "Baxxy Darling, are you alright?" he heard his wife concernedly asked, having felt her lifting him up from the ground as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright, Honeybun. I just seem to have lost my glasses and I don't know where—" he briefly began when her light chuckle led him to cut himself off.

"I got 'em." his wife softly said, placing his round glasses on him before removing her hands from his face and releasing her grasp on him as he sighed in relief. "Thanks." he genuinely told her as she nodded and smiled. "You're welcome." she earnestly told him right as they began to hear a quiet groan.

"Ow..." the stranger said and once they had heard that, he remembered his collision with the stranger as his pure brown eyes widened. Immediately, he rushed to the stranger's side and moments later, his wife followed as they arrived at the stranger's position.

When they did, he and his caught sight of the older warm-beige man [who they estimated to be no more than forty] as he wore a light grey sweatshirt, black casual pants and plain black shoes.

"H... He looks really familiar." he quietly told his wife, who immediately nodded. "He does." she said in agreement until she abruptly gasped. "Wait. Do you think he could be..." she followed up before she trailed off as he blinked. "Wait. You think that he—" he quietly began to ask until her nod led him to cut himself off as he blinked. "But it couldn't be... Could it?" he quietly asked as she offered a soft smile. "I guess there's only one way to find out." she quietly answered right as they heard another groan from the stranger.

"Are you sure you're alright?" his wife concernedly asked as the stranger nodded. "I'm sure." the stranger answered as he quietly sighed, having felt guilty now about their accidental collision. So, having known he needed to apologize to the stranger, he took a deep breath before facing the stranger once more.

"Hey, I am so, so sorry about what happened to you. I'm usually observant when it comes to my surroundings, but I guess this time I wasn't and I—" he apologetically added, now attempting to apologize to the stranger when he became interrupted by the stranger's light chuckle.

"Hey, relax. No harm done." the stranger casually assured him (and to an extent, his wife) as they watched the stranger lowering his hand over his head. "Besides, I'm fine." the stranger added as he gave a easygoing smile in their direction. "See? Like I said, no harm done." the stranger lightly followed up but once he had finished, they saw the stranger's light honeysuckle eyes as his wife immediately gasped which led him to look at her.

"No way. It can't be..." his wife whispered in awe before she trailed off as she covered her mouth and it was only after he caught her reaction did he realize who he had bumped into now when he turned to face the stranger once again. As soon as he did, the realization dawned on him as he blinked.

"Issac?"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

After he heard his name, he slowly stared at the dark-skinned man of African-American descent with a black afro and a thick moustache. When he did, he saw the male wearing a pink sweater, blue jeans and round glasses as he blinked. He thought staring at him might trigger some sort of recognition as to who this man was (since he apparently knew him, so he must've at least meant something to him), but to his dismay, nothing came to mind and now, he felt awkward the more he kept staring at him.

"Uh..."

Unsure of what to say, he awkwardly trailed off and glanced away from the male and over to the slightly dark-tanned woman with long, dark brown (almost black) hair as she wore a pair of light sliver framed translucent glasses that showcased her light brown eyes. As he continued to stare, he noticed her light makeup complimented the black turtleneck she wore with matching jeans, black flats and the light brown, almost copper dangle earrings.

Again, he thought if he stared at her, then it might trigger some sort of recognition as to who this woman was (since she apparently knew him, so she must have meant something to him), but to his dismay, nothing came to mind until he caught a glimpse of her layered light brown, almost copper flower-like necklace. Once he noticed her necklace, he had blinked not necessarily from confusion but rather realization as he started to come to grips with who he was talking to now...

"Wait..."

Picking himself up from the ground, he proceeded to dust himself off and began to eye the two again after he finished dusting himself off from the unexpected collision.

"Baxter? Claudia?"

"Issac!"

Suddenly, without warning, he became ambushed by the two as he found himself caught up in a tight-knit embrace. Though their combined strength did little to faze him, it was the fact of them hugging him that really caught him off-guard as he couldn't recall the last time he let himself be hugged by those who weren't his daughter's friends (... or childhood best friend in Emrys' case).

So despite the slight awkwardness he initially felt when it came to the two hugging him, he came to reciprocate their embrace and eased himself into their hug. The three of them then continued to be like this before they could hear footsteps in the growing distance.

"Ike!"

"Mister Finkelstein!"

Pulling away from each other, he (along with Baxter and Claudia) turned to see his family friend and Khashi momentarily sprinting toward him until they stopped to catch their breath. When a few seconds passed after they stumbled upon him, they concernedly stared at him after the two composed themselves.

"Are you alright?" his family friend and Khashi concernedly asked as he sheepishly nodded. "I'm alright." he simply answered as he watched the two sigh in relief. "Oh, that's good to hear, Mister Finkelstein." Khashi sincerely said as his family friend nodded. "Yeah, that's a relief." she simply said before he saw the girl start to lunge toward his left shoulder. He expected her to hit his arm as he grown accustomed to this happening when it came to her, but to his surprise, she was held back by Khashi as she huffed.

"Come on!"

"Trust me, new friend. You may think that hitting Mister Finklestein will solve the problem, but in truth, it will solve nothing as acting on your anger is only going to make things worse for you in the long run, my new friend. That is why I advise you not to punch Yia's father and instead let it go." Khashi briefly began as she pouted.

"But... But—" the fire faerie persistently attempted to protest, but perhaps having saw the value in the man's words, he saw her unclench her fist and sigh as Khashi released his hold over the fire faerie. "Fine. I won't punch him." she begrudgingly grumbled as he saw her sighing again. "For now anyways." she firmly added as he and Khashi quietly sighed in relief. "Thank you." he and Khashi softly said when he saw her give a small smile in their direction. "You're welcome." she simply concluded as her smile grew a bit until it dropped.

"So... Moving on from that, let's address the next matter at hand." the fire faerie firmly followed up as he saw her start to slightly cross her arms. "Who are they?" she promptly inquired as she gestured to Baxter and Claudia.

"New allies perhaps?" Khashi brightly and quite optimistically chimed in as the fire faerie gave a dry chuckle. "Or new enemies?" she proposed, crossing her arms further as he quietly but quite awkwardly chuckled from their vastly different responses in trying to figure out just who Baxter and Claudia were... and where they stood.

At first glance, it seemed like Khashi wanted them to be allies with Ember leaning towards them being enemies, but if he was lucky, Baxter and Claudia were be neither ally or enemy because he was determined not to let them get roped into his problems unlike Khashi and Ember as he had actually wanted them to get involved. But Baxter and Claudia? No way! He just became reunited with them and he was not about to let them get involved.

Absolutely not!

"Actually, they are—"

"There you guys are!"

Cutting himself off at the sound of his daughter's voice now, he (alongside Khashi, Ember, Baxter and Claudia) looked on to see his daughter sprinting towards them as she lightly chuckled when she stopped. "I thought I had almost lost you guys back there but I'm glad I was able to catch up to you guys again!" she lightly added as Khashi nodded.

"No worries, Yia." Khashi lightly assured her, but he and Ember simply looked at her as they had furrowed their eyebrows. "Wait. Weren't you behind us?" he followed up when he noticed their family friend sharply eyeing him. "Well, them anyways." he quickly corrected, gesturing to her and Khashi. After he did so, he saw their family friend drop the intensive stare she held toward him right when he saw his daughter sheepishly start to rub the back of her neck.

"Well, I was behind them but then um—"

"Amara?"

Turning around then, he saw Baxter and Claudia's eyes widen toward his daughter, who looked to be rather confused by their response at first until the realization dawned on her. As soon as it dawned on her who they called her, he saw a flicker of pain glisten in her eyes then as Issac saw his daughter awkwardly clearing her throat.

"I... I'm not—" she slowly began as an attempt to explain the truth to them, but she suddenly cut herself off and he didn't know why until he caught the first indication of her voice cracking when it had gone unnoticed by everyone else.

"She..." he heard her attempt to say again, only to trail off as she took a deep breath and looked at Baxter and Claudia once more. "... She passed away a few years back when a fire took her life. I'm her daughter, Aaliyah, or Aliya rather since that's what I tend to go by anyways." she added, now finishing her last response as he saw Baxter and Claudia's eyes immediately falter from her words.

"Oh..." Baxter and Claudia heartbreakingly began before trailing off as he saw the realization of what his daughter said sink in for them. He knew that much, at least, when he saw the way the two began to look at him and back at her.

"I... We... We..." Baxter and Claudia further added, attempting to get their words across before he and his daughter saw the two trailing off as they looked at them with solemn looks now. "We are so sorry for you and your father's loss." they continued, but Issac wished they hadn't because as soon as they said those words, he felt as though he had been hit with a sudden wave of sadness with the way he thought back to the memories he had of his... late wife.

"We didn't... We didn't know. H... Had we known what happened, w... we wouldn't have referred to you as Amara. I... It's just you... You—"

"Hey, it's all good." he lightly said, interrupting them then as he had a sense his daughter wanted to but simply lacked the words to do it, so he chose to step up and come to her rescue. "Besides it doesn't help that she happens to like her mother, so I get the confusion." he added, flashing a bright smile in their direction. "No harm done." he added, now lightly holding onto his daughter as he pulled her close.

When he did, he noticed the way she adapted his bright smile while Baxter and Claudia sighed in relief. "Okay, good." they softly said before they looked away from him and his daughter. As soon as they did, he dropped his smile with his daughter following suit as he turned to face her.

"Hey, are you—"

"I'm fine, baba. I mean, the mishap was bound to happen, so it's no surprise they mistook me for mamá since I'm basically her spitting image." she simply stated, interrupting him as she lightly chuckled. "Besides, it's like we told them. No harm done." she cheekily added, grinning brightly as she turned to face him. "Right?" she followed up as he nodded. "Right." he lightly answered, smiling brightly now as he matched her demeanor.

But his daughter didn't seem entirely convinced by his response as she lightly crossed her arms and dropped her smile. "Are you sure?" she slowly asked as he playfully rolled his eyes and gave a light scoff. "Mija, of course I'm sure." he simply answered, yet he couldn't help but feel slightly irritated towards his daughter when she posed her question even though he knew she had been right to be suspicious of him and his response(s).

Still, he didn't like the fact she was questioning him as he didn't want her to know how he really felt about Baxter and Claudia's mishap. He felt this way about her probing because he was afraid if she were to keep asking, she would come to learn what he already knew: that he hadn't meant a word he said.

"Baba—"

"Mija, what more is there for you to know when I already answered your question?" Issac asked, trying to maintain his casual tone. In spite of his efforts to conceal his irritation though, some of his irritation slipped out and he knew she heard it from the way she quietly sighed.

"Baba, I'm aware you answered my question, but you weren't being honest." she explained, now answering his question before she sighed. "So, let's try again: are you sure you meant what you said in saying no harm was done?" she followed up as her eyes remained center on him. Huffing then, he reluctantly sighed before he spoke.

"I—"

"Wait. So, who are you two?"

Almost immediately upon hearing Ember's question, he internally sighed in relief and silently thanked the fire faerie for the much-needed distraction before he decided to interject himself into his family friend's conversation with Baxter and Claudia.

"It's not often I get someone asking who I am, but I—"

"—This is Baxter Stockman and this is his girlfriend, Claudia Antigone. They knew Aliya's mother and aunt as they were friends with them. Funnily enough, her mother and her aunt introduced them to me and we've been friends ever since." he brightly answered, distancing himself from his daughter as he moved closer to Ember, Khashi, Baxter and Claudia and proceeded to lightly pull the two to his side now.

Right as he did, he saw his daughter leave her initial spot as she stood near Ember and Khashi in time to catch his answer to their family friend's question.

"Well, all of that is almost true." Baxter briefly said as Issac puzzledly blinked. "Almost true?" he awkwardly repeated, now releasing his hold on them as Claudia lightly chuckled. "I mean, you got nearly everything right, Issac. It's just..." she slowly began, starting to answer his question before she trailed off as he saw Claudia and Baxter glancing at each other before they looked back at him.

"... Claudia isn't my girlfriend." Baxter slowly added, taking over for her now as he continued to blink; the realization not dawning on him just yet. "She's not?" Issac puzzledly asked as he saw Baxter nodding.

"No, because she's more than my girlfriend. She's my wife." Baxter happily answered and as he saw his friend grinning, he watched the way his friend looked lovingly at his wife, who brightly grinned and giggled. "Just as he's my husband." she happily added, now briefly looking at him for a bit before she proceeded to look lovingly at her husband.

The moment they did, Issac felt a ping of jealousy because his friends looked exactly like he did when he had his soulmates and seeing them together while he lost Amara and Stormy made him envy them. He couldn't understand why he had to lose his soulmates while Baxter and Claudia's love persisted. It bothered him, but when he saw how happy they were in each other's company, he forced himself to brush aside the jealousness and the small resentment he felt towards them because he didn't want to be like that.

He wanted to be there for his friends and support them, so he mustered his energy to genuinely smile at the two and lightly chuckle despite the way he felt.

"Aww, well that's great. I'm glad you two found each other." he affectionately told them only for a sudden, painful lump in his throat to emerge right as Baxter and Claudia warmly smiled at him. "Thanks, Issac. That means a lot to us." his friends appreciatively told him before they began to lean on each other. Not long after that, he felt the painful lump grow, but he fought it back as he nodded.

"Of course. I mean, that's what friends are for after all." he softly countered as his friends' smiles grew brighter at his words. "Right?" he softly added as he saw his friends lightly chuckling a bit before he saw them nodding at his question. "Right." Baxter and Claudia warmly and sincerely answered and as they continued to maintain their loving nature to each other, he felt a sudden burst of jealousy and resentment resurface while the painful lump in his throat kept growing.

Forcing the lump down and suppressing the sudden burst of emotions he felt towards them, he abruptly cleared his throat before he took his eyes off them, believing it would've been better if he simply stopped looking at them.

As such, he thought to look at his daughter but very quickly, he decided against it as he knew if he did, there would be a likely chance that she could see right through him. After all, the earlier conversation he had with his daughter told him that much. It was also why he needed to quickly remove himself from her because it was the fact she could read him that scared him as he knew if she got too close, she would pick up on things she shouldn't know about...

... So not wanting his daughter to see through his facade, he chose to settle on looking at Ember and Khashi and realized he could use them as a quick way to distract himself from the jealousy he felt along with the (small) burst of resentment he held towards Baxter and Claudia.

"Oh! Baxter, Claudia, let me introduce you to my friends." he said as he began to gesture to the fire faerie. "This is—" he continued when his family friend flashed a smile and held her hand to them.

"—Ember Lang, but you can just call me Ember." she casually finished, interrupting him as she grinned brightly. "I'm his family friend." she added before she glanced back at his daughter and sheepishly chuckled. "Oh and her family friend too. I can't leave that out." she continued as he saw the latter casually shaking her head but as he looked on, he saw a small, light smile surface on his daughter's face.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Ember." Baxter and Claudia softly stated as they took turns in shaking the fire faerie's hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Mister Stockman and Miss Antigone." his family friend said in turn as he saw his friends chuckle. "Thank you, but please. You don't have to be so formal with us. Not when we're all friends here." Baxter further followed up as his wife nodded in agreement at her husband's words.

"Yes. Like my husband said, there's no need to be formal with us. Besides, a friend of Issac is a friend of ours, so please feel free to call us Claudia and Baxter." Claudia followed up as Ember simply nodded at her words. "Okay, then. Claudia and Baxter it is." Ember casually and lightly stated, grinning brightly while Claudia and Baxter continued to maintain their smiles towards her.

Not long after that, the three all proceeded to stop shaking hands in time for him to keep going with the last of the introductions. "Well now that you two have met Ember, I want to introduce you guys to—" he attempted to add when he was promptly interrupted... again.

"—Khashi." he heard his daughter's old friend say as he watched the latter lightly chuckle. "Well, my full name is Khashi Sachan, but you two can call me Khashi." the latter added as he saw the giant hold his hand out. "As for my connection with Issac, I've only recently became acquainted with him, so I don't have much history to share about him," the giant confessed as he paused a bit before he continued. "I have, however, known his daughter for a few years and I think of her as a old friend of mine." he heard the giant softly follow up as he saw Baxter and Claudia nod at Khashi's words.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Khashi." Claudia and Baxter warmly greeted as each of them took turns in shaking his hand as he watched Khashi nod and began to shake their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you two as well, Mister Stockman and Miss Antigone." Khashi warmly greeted in turn as they softly chuckled.

"Thank you, but please. Like we told Ember just now, you don't have to be so formal with us. Not when we're all friends here." Baxter followed up as his wife nodded in agreement. "Yes. Like my husband said, there's no need to be formal with us. Besides, a friend of Issac is a friend of ours, so please feel free to call us Claudia and Baxter." Claudia followed up as Khashi simply nodded at her words. "Okay, then. Claudia and Baxter it is." Khashi casually and lightly stated, grinning brightly while Claudia and Baxter continued to maintain their smiles towards him.

Seeing this, Issac cleared his throat right as they (this being Khashi, Baxter and his wife, Claudia) stopped shaking hands in time to hear what he had to say now as he clapped his hands together.

"Right well, I'm sure you guys are busy and we have somewhere to be, so—" he attempted to say when he proceeded to find himself interrupted (once again) with his friend's light chuckles. "Oh! Actually, we're not busy at all." Claudia casually countered as he (along with Khashi, Ember and his daughter) saw her husband nodding along in agreement. "Yep." her husband casually added as he blinked while Khashi, Ember and his daughter looked on.

"You are not?" he asked in a surprised tone as he (along with Khashi, Ember and his daughter) watched the married couple chuckling at his question. "Nope." his friends lightly answered as they saw Baxter and Claudia lightly crossing their arms. "So, where are you guys going?" they curiously asked as Issac awkwardly feigned a chuckle.

"Oh, it's not—" he attempted to begin in an effort to discourage his friends' interest in where it was that they were going when he found himself interrupted once more.

"—Chinatown." Ember casually answered as he saw her cast a quick look before she turned back to face the married couple when Claudia lightly chuckled. "Chinatown, huh?" his friend's wife lightly asked as she nodded. "Yep." the fire faerie lightly answered as Baxter simply crossed his arms. "What made you guys want to go there?" her husband chimed in, posing his question as Khashi gave a light chuckle.

"Ah, well—"

"—It's not really any of their concern, so maybe you shouldn't—"

"We're looking for a relic called the aperio mirror." Ember swiftly finished, interrupting him now as she finished Khashi's response and sharply eyed him. In turn, he mirrored her look before she turned to face Baxter and Claudia with a bright smile while the married couple looked at the fire faerie in curiosity.

"Aperio Mirror?" Baxter puzzledly repeated as he watched the way Claudia started to blink as if she was remembering something now. "Wait. I've came across the word the other day. Aperio means to uncover, reveal or make clear, right?" she chimed in as Issac resisted the urge to sigh, having been aware of the fact his friend's curiosity matched that of his late wife as he knew the two women have always been curious.

Though now, it seemed his friend's curiosity was starting to match that of his daughter as he could see the similarities between the two with his daughter taking the place of her mother. Maybe, that's why Issac felt the need to answer her then since he saw that parallel between them.

"Yeah, that checks out." he answered as she excitedly grinned. "Yes! I knew studying Latin was going to pay off." she excitedly beamed as her husband chuckled. "Honeybun, you've only just recently started learning the language." her husband pointed out as Claudia playfully rolled her eyes. "I know, but a win is a win, Baxxy darling." she sassily said as Baxter chuckled. "True." her husband said as he chuckled softly once more before he stopped and turned to face him.

"Okay, but makes you all think this aperio mirror is in Chinatown?" Baxter followed up with his wife simply nodding in agreement at her husband's question.

"Well—"

"—Aliya got a vision of the mirror being there." Ember casually answered, interrupting him again as he saw their eyes widened before they turned to face his daughter. "You have visions?! When did this happen?" his friends shockingly exclaimed, having been taken aback by the fire faerie's answer as he saw his daughter sheepishly but rather awkwardly chuckle.

"Okay. Technically, I got a vision of the mirror being at Aureus' treasure trove, which is located in Chinatown," she emphasized before he saw his daughter turn to face Baxter and Claudia. "But to answer you and Claudia's question, yes. I have visions. Or... I think they're visions anyways." his daughter sheepishly added before she shook her head and proceeded to face them once more.

"Now as for how these visions came to happen, I—"

"—We can circle back to that question later because we need to focus on getting the mirror and why we should—"

"Oh! We can come with you guys!" Claudia excitedly exclaimed, now happily grabbing onto her husband and pulling Baxter close to her as Issac suddenly felt a ping of jealousy resurface from their closeness.

"No, that won't be—"

"Oh come on, Issac. Me and Bax aren't doing anything anyways." Claudia softly said, interrupting him as she proceeded to grin brighter. "Plus, we could be of help to you guys in finding this relic as you call the aperio mirror." she happily followed up as he huffed at her offer.

"Claudia, I'm sure that's great and all but—"

"Come on, Ike! We could use the extra help, so just let them tag along." Ember persistedly said, interrupting him as Khashi nodded. "Plus with more help, we can look for the mirror faster." he heard the giant follow up as Baxter nodded. "Exactly! What he said." Baxter added, chiming in their conversation now in defense for his wife's stance on them joining him, his daughter, their family friend and Khashi.

In that moment, they became too much for him to handle. So Issac thought to say something — anything — to get them to stop so he could breathe but then, his vision started to disorient with their voices fading into the background...

Moments later, he found himself surrounded in a black abyss before his eyes drifted over to the same shadowy, cloaked figure he had seen last night, having recognized the cognac-brown eyes illuminating brightly amidst the darkness.

"You again?"

"You sound surprised to see me. Why?" the shadowy, cloaked figure simply asked as he noticed the way the shadow's cognac-brown eyes continued to illuminate brightly amidst the darkness that surrounded them still.

"I just... I..." he sheepishly began before he trailed off as he huffed."Well, if I'm being honest, I... was under the impression this would be a one-time thing." he awkwardly answered, finishing his response as the shadowy, cloaked figure chuckled.

"Oh, shadowling. This won't be a one-time thing." the shadowy, cloaked figure simply answered as he blinked."This won't?" he slowly asked as the figure chuckled again. "Why would this be a one-time thing when you need someone to lead you in the right direction?" the figure casually countered, posing the question as he puzzledly stared at the cloaked shadow across from him.

"The right direction?"

"Yes. I mean, who else is going to help you realize your potential?" the cloaked, shadowy figure posed, answering his question before posing one of their own as he listened to the figure start chuckling."After all, I'm the only one capable of showing you the right path." the figure added before strangely vanishing from his sight. Confused, he turned, only to jump when he saw the cloaked, shadowy figure appear in front of him.

"Ah!"

"A path which starts with you taking control and reminding these plebs of who is the one really in charge here." the cloaked, shadowy figure added, remaining indifferent to his scream as he blinked from what the latter said before he crossed his arms and chuckled.

"My way? Heh. Okay, like what? Mind control them into listening to me or something?" he sarcastically countered, having not taken the figure's response seriously until the figure's chuckle (and their response) caught him off-guard.

"Precisely."

"Wait what?" he puzzledly asked, uncrossing his arms as he saw the figure chuckling once more at his response.

"Think about it, shadowling. You let yourself believe you were among these plebeians here and pretended to be one of them, but now that you have rediscovered your lineage, why pretend to be what you are not? Why, shadowling, should you keep pretending to be an equal to them any longer when we both know you are so much more?" the shadowy, cloaked figure continued as he saw the latter floating around him before the figure stopped and stared directly at him once more.

"You are a prince, after all, are you not?"

"I... I mean... I... I am but—"

"Then stop thinking you have to serve them, shadowling, because it should be them who should be serving you. Not the other way around."

"But—"

"Shadowling, are you not tired of repeatedly being interrupted by those who have no real power over you?"

"I am tired of being interrupted, but—"

"Then, why do you let these plebeians control you?" 

Upon hearing this, Issac suddenly found himself at a loss of words with the initial argument he planned now falling flat on his tongue. So when he turned to face the shadowy, cloaked figure again, he found himself sighing.

"I... I don't know."

"I will tell you why, shadowling. It's because you have allowed yourself to believe that they hold power over you, but this is not true."

"I... It's not?"

"No. This is not true because you are the one with power here, not them. So, quit holding back and wield the power you have." the shadowy, cloaked figure firmly said as he saw the figure's cognac-brown eyes staring directly into his eyes."Utilize the anger you harbor in your heart and tap into that raw, refined strength of yours to make them come to see it your way, shadowling or they will keep controlling you just as they always have." the shadowy, cloaked figure further added as he blinked.

"But—"

"This is the best shot you have of reminding these plebs of their place, shadowling. So if you want them to listen to you, let the hate flow through you. Only then, will they recognize their place. So, give into your rage and—"

"... Baba?"

As soon as Issac heard his daughter's voice, the series of distorted shadowy flickers of light blue, almost teal-like shadowy silhouettes that surrounded his vision vanish altogether alongside the few red splotches he saw dancing within the scope of his vision with her voice bringing him back to reality.

"Hey. Are you alright?" she concernedly asked, her eyes glistening with genuine worry for him as he feigned a smile. "I'm alright." he answered, hoping to put her worries at ease, but instead he saw she looked far from comforted as she continued to stare at him while her frown deepened, having clearly seen through his answer and his false smile.

"Dad—"

"Mija, I'm fine." he said as he feigned a smile he hoped was more genuine, but her frown only seemed to deepen further with her eyes retaining their concern towards him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but right when she opened her mouth, they heard the others' voices overlap as he sighed.

"Well, I guess I should—" he attempted to follow up, preparing to turn away from his daughter when she suddenly held onto his arm.

"Wait."

As soon as she said that, he turned to face her again as he saw his daughter sighing. "Look. You should do what you want, not what everyone else is saying. Okay?" she softly said as he looked at her and nodded. "Okay." he softly answered as she sighed in relief. "Good." she softly said as something dawned on him then.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't said anything about Baxter and Claudia tagging along with us." he noted as he saw his daughter release her grip on his arm. "I mean, it's your call, so I felt no need to throw myself into the ring and say anything on the matter because I know it's going to be your decision at the end of the day." she said as he blinked.

"I know that mija, but what do you think?" he asked as she blinked. "Baba, with all due respect, if it's your decision, why should you care about what I think?" she politely but quietly deflected as he chuckled. "Mija, I care about what you think because I trust your judgment." he sincerely said, answering her question now as he warmly smiled at her.

"You trust my judgment?" she repeated before she blinked and gave a quiet, skeptical chuckle as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, right. Why would you trust my judgment?" she followed up as he simply continued to smile at her. "I trust your judgment because I value what you have to say." he softly told her as she blinked again before skepticism set in.

"You cannot be serious." she insisted as he solemnly sighed. "I understand your doubts, but I do value what you have to say, mija. Even if I don't always show it." he slowly countered as he had begun to rub the back of his neck now and briefly glanced away before his eyes drifted back to her. "Which is why I want to know what you think I should do." he added as she rolled her eyes and lightly huffed.

"Me? Why are you asking me when Baxter, Claudia, Ember and Khashi voiced their opinions too, right?" she quietly countered as he sighed. "Mija, I know what they said, but I'm asking you and specifically you because I care about what you have to say." he quietly but firmly whispered as he stared directly at her. "Not them." he added when he noticed his daughter slowly look at him after he answered her question.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just..." she slowly began, as if speaking cautiously before she trailed off as she shook her head and smiled. "It's nothing, baba." she simply said, neglecting her previous response as he frowned, having sensed she was hiding something from him now.

"Mija—"

"—For the record, apá, I still think this should be your decision but since you asked..." she briefly began until he saw her trail off and start rubbing the back of her neck in a sheepish-like manner.

"... I think you should go with what the others said because Claudia, Baxter, Khashi and Ember have a point. We could use their help. I mean, maybe they know something we don't and if we have your friends with us, they could possibly even help us find the aperio mirror faster." Aliya slowly answered as she blinked. "But of course, it's completely up to you and I—" she quickly began to add, rapidly but frantically trying to get the words out when his light, playful chuckle caught her off-guard as she cut herself off and stopped rubbing the back of her neck to look at him.

"If you think we should bring Baxter and Claudia, then we'll take them with us." he softly said, but she skeptically raised her eyebrow. "Are you certain this is what you want to do? Because I don't want you to do it if—" she countered when he interrupted her.

"—It's what I want to do." he answered as he saw her eyes centered on him before she heavily sighed. "Well, if you are truly certain this is what you want to do, then you should go for it." she softly told him as he smiled. "Thanks." he softly said as she blinked. "For what?" she countered as he slightly chuckled. "Your words and your idea to bring Baxter and Claudia along." he said, answering her question as she blinked.

"Ah, well I'm not the one who proposed the idea, so I wouldn't say it was my idea since that was everyone else, but um..." she sheepishly but truthfully countered until she trailed off. "... you're welcome, I guess." she added, finishing her response as he lightly chuckled before he turned to face his newly reunited friends, his family friend and Khashi. When he did, he noticed the way they sheepishly looked at him before Ember and Khashi spoke up.

"Ike—"

"Mister Finkelstein—"

"We got to thinking and—"

"No, you guys were right." he slowly said, interrupting them as he saw their eyes widened. "Say what now?" Ember and Khashi asked as he chuckled. "I thought about what you guys said and everything you both said was true. We could use their help, so if Baxter and Claudia want to tag along with us, then they can." he casually added, glancing at his married friends now as he saw Baxter and Claudia glancing at each other before looking back at him.

"Wait. You're serious?" Claudia excitedly asked as he chuckled and nodded. "Of course." he said as he saw the latter excitedly squealed at his decision. "Sweet!" she excitedly added before she surprised him when she ran to him and joyfully hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she excitedly exclaimed as he chuckled. "You're welcome, Claudia." he softly said right when he heard another chuckle.

"Honeybun, I know you're grateful but if you keep hugging Issac like that, my love, you're going to eventually suffocate him." Baxter chimed in as he saw his friend's wife sheepishly chuckle at her husband's words. "Sorry!" she bashfully exclaimed, pulling away now as he only shook his head in a playful manner.

"No worries, Claud." he softly said as he saw her husband shaking his head in a similar manner he did before he watched the way Claudia went to her husband. As soon as she did, Baxter held his wife in his arms and softly plant a light kiss on her forehead while she simply giggled with a bright smile surfacing on her face.

As he silently looked at them, he felt the painful lump resurface along with the sudden burst of jealousy and resentment now.

"Issac?"

"Yeah?" he casually asked, forcing himself to shove the painful lump down as he suppressed the sudden burst of emotions he had felt towards them again in favor of continuing to maintain his easygoing tone.

After all, it was so much easier to pretend than risk letting his facade drop, so he held onto his masquerade as though it was his shield against the emotions that wanted to escape and make themselves known...

"It means a lot to Claudia and I that you said yes, so thanks for letting us join you guys." Baxter sincerely followed up as he nodded. "Of course." he perkily answered before he took his eyes away from them, not wanting to look at their closeness any longer. It was then his eyes fell on Ember and Khashi as the two smiled.

"Thanks for deciding to go with our idea, Mister Finkelstein." Khashi brightly said but Issac felt a sudden burst of irritation with the way the giant addressed him. So much so he had felt a strong urge to correct him, but afraid of what was going to come out if he said something, he refrained from doing so as he forced his smile to appear wider and brighter.

"Of course."

"Yeah. Though, I'm surprised you agreed with us. I mean for a minute there, it felt as though you were against the whole idea of Baxter and Claudia joining us."

Glancing over at Ember now, he saw the fire faerie eyeing him as he feigned a chuckle that came across as surprisingly natural. "Oh, I was against them joining us at first, but then after I thought about what you two said, I came to change my mind when I realized you and Khashi were right and I was wrong in thinking we wouldn't need their help. So, thank you for that." he had perkily answered as she blinked at his response before her eyes softened.

"Oh, well...." the fire faerie shyly began before she trailed off as she smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." she warmly said, now following up on her previous response and finishing what she said as he smiled in turn. "Of course." he simply said as he continued to smile right as they had heard Claudia clear her throat.

"Well now that we're coming with you guys, how about we make our way over to Chinatown and find Aureus' treasure trove, so we can look for the aperio mirror and retrieve it?"

Turning around, he saw Claudia determinedly facing them now with her husband at her side as he noticed his daughter standing at his side when Khashi began nodding at his friend's words. "That sounds good to me." Khashi cheekily said as Ember nodded. "Yep." she simply said as he saw his daughter nodding. "I'm in." his daughter casually said in agreement before he saw his daughter turn to face him.

"Baba?"

"Claudia, you know I'm always going to care about what you have to say, so if everyone's on-board with your plan, then I say let's do it." he followed up, facing his friend now as she had brightly grinned at his words. "Really?" she softly asked as he nodded at her question then.

"Yeah. Let's do it." he cheekily answered, making his tone sound more animated as her grin grew brighter. "Alright then! Let's do this!" Claudia excitedly exclaimed as her husband had clapped his hands together now after she finished.

"Well, what are we all waiting for then?" Baxter chimed in, placing his hand around his wife as he saw his friend brightly grinning now. "Chinatown awaits!" his friend excitedly added, answering his own question as he joined everyone in the cheers then.

"Yeah!"

So after all that was said and done, Issac saw Claudia and Baxter leading the way as Ember and Khashi followed when he saw his daughter linger, to which he chuckled.

"Scared to leave me on my own, mija?" he playfully teased as she chuckled in turn. "Something like that." she answered as he chuckled. "Well, don't worry mija. I'll meet up with everyone in a bit, so you go on without me." he softly assured her as he saw her slowly look at him before she nodded. "Okay, but don't linger too long or I will come find you." she countered in a somewhat stern tone as he chuckled again and nodded. "I got it." he simply said before he playfully nudged her.

"Now go get a move on before you get left behind too." he softly added in a somewhat stern tone of his own before he stopped nudging his daughter and began ruffling her hair, which resulted in his daughter giggling. "Okay, okay, okay!" she lightly exclaimed before she stopped giggling not long after she spoke. "I'm going." she said and it was only then he stopped ruffling her hair as he saw his daughter lightly shaking her head before she took one last look at him. Once she did, he saw his daughter walk away before she — like the others — faded out of sight.

As soon as she was out of his sight, he heard a dry and annoyed chuckle surface behind him with a scoff following suit now.

"You're an idiot for letting those plebs control you."

"Relax. I'm just simply bidding my time and besides..." Issac casually began before he trailed off and chuckled. "... Why rush things when they could be of some use to me in reforging the bone mech?" he finished, turning to face the same shadowy, cloaked cognac-brown eyed figure he saw earlier {and the previous night} in his mind. Only now, the figure was physically visible to him.

"So for now, I'll let them believe they are the ones running things. Then once the bone mech has been reforged and it becomes mine to use, I'll show them who is really in charge just as I will remind those plebeians of their place." he further added as he chuckled then and lift his head up.

When he did, a sinister smirk overcame him while his eyes, which had once been a shade of light honeysuckle, were now illuminating a shade of cognac brown-colored eyes as his eyes matched that of the shadowy, cloaked figure in front of him...

"Just you wait."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Oh, I was against them joining us at first, but then after I thought about what you two said, I came to change my mind when I realized you and Khashi were right and I was wrong in thinking we wouldn't need their help. So, thank you for that."

Even though she had initially taken Issac at his words, Ember couldn't help but think there was something amiss with what he told her now as it seemed strange to her how her friend's father wanted to go against their (this being her, Khashi, Baxter and Claudia) idea, only to suddenly go along with it.

She knew it was possible he simply noticed he was vastly outnumbered and decided to go along with the majority. But as much as she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and move on, the fire faerie knew she couldn't brush aside his response off to the side. Nor could she overlook what he said... not after what Phantom told her yesterday.

"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."

After those words replayed in her head, she start to dryly laugh as she thought back to the way her friend's daughter tried to reassure her of the doubts Phantom planted in her head when he said that.

"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."

When she said those words to her yesterday, Ember wanted to believe her in spite of the doubts she had felt. So even though she didn't feel assured by her words, the fire faerie went along with what she said anyways as she knew his friend's daughter enough to trust her judgment. Yet after what he said last night, the fire fae couldn't look at Aliya's words the same way.

Not after what Issac told his daughter when she was forced by Atari to choose between her and the primal cube...

"Mija, remember what we talked about."

At the time, she hadn't understood the meaning of his words as she thought Aliya did the right thing by choosing her so the fire faerie figured he would've at least seen her own life as being more valuable than some cube but no!

Instead, he calls his daughter's decision to choose her over a literal cube a 'mistake', claims he can 'correct' said 'mistake' before he proceeds to lash out at his daughter in front of everyone and then leave without saying where he was going (again)!

So naturally, his reaction to his daughter's decision angered her but it also confused her as she couldn't comprehend why he was so upset. As such, that confusion led her to ask Aliya what her old man meant when he said "remember what we talked about" and it was through her friend's daughter she learned what her friend's father meant when he said those words.

Just as she learned why he was so upset with Aliya for choosing her over a cube because simply put... he did want his daughter to genuinely put the primal cube over her and why he had gone out of his way to call his daughter's decision a 'mistake' because in his eyes, the relic was more important than her.

That's when she knew Phantom was right because Issac had proven his point: In trying to get Aliya to choose the relic over her, he proved he was willing to do anything to ensure his omi's defeat at her expense.

So, even though he had apologized and she (more or less) forgave him, that didn't stop her from seeing him differently. For the incident not only raised a red flag, but it also made her suspicious towards him to the point she found herself analyzing his words.

Because although Ember forgave him, that didn't mean she necessarily believed in the fact he was telling the truth when he vowed he wouldn't do anything at her expense again or hurt her. She wanted to believe him (really she did), but after Issac showed just what he was capable of doing last night, she knew she couldn't.

That's why she was having such a hard time believing him now because she found herself wary of the way he suddenly seemed on-board with her, Khashi, Baxter and Claudia's idea when he was completely against their idea moments ago. Yet in spite of how she felt, Ember desperately wanted to believe he changed his mind in good faith, but with this second relic on the line, she began to think back to Phantom's words and realized if Issac was willing to sacrifice her for the relic, then... who's to say he wouldn't do the same thing to anyone else?

"Ember?"

"Ah!"

Jumping then at the sound of her name, she found herself become startled right as she saw an apologetic look surface across her friend's face. "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" her friend apologetically exclaimed as she simply sighed. "It's fine, Aliya." she softly said as she offered a gentle smile to her friend, but to her dismay, the girl simply frowned.

"Aliya, it's really fine." she repeated, hoping the girl would come to believe her and stop frowning but still, her friend's frown persisted as another sigh followed. "Is it fine, Ember? Is it?" Aliya had countered back as she simply rolled her eyes.

"Of course, it's fine. I mean, come on. It only happened because I got lost in my thoughts, so—"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Ah!" she yelled before she huffed in annoyance when she realized it was Issac, having seen his light honeysuckle eyes. "Oh, it's just you." she added as he lightly chuckled. "Sorry." he simply said as she annoyedly huffed. "I swear that stunt of yours is going to get old really fast." the fire faerie insisted as she lightly punched his arm before she stopped.

"Anyways, I thought you were behind us but since you weren't, then what were you doing?" she added, crossing her arms as she stared at him and watched the way Issac lightly dismissed her question.

"Oh come on, Emby. You don't need to worry yourself over what I was doing." he insisted as she baffledly blinked at his response.

"Uh—"

"Oh come on, baba. Surely, you don't mind answering her question now..."

At the sound of his daughter's voice, Ember and Issac turned to see her father cryptically looking at her father. "... Do you?" his daughter finished, though she had used a tone that was strangely undetectable as she couldn't decipher the tone. Yet as she finished and crossed her arms, Ember turned to face her friend's father and realized he had decipher the tone his daughter used when addressing him as she noticed a flicker of annoyance surface across his eyes before it vanished as quickly as it came.

"No." he answered but as he did, there was a strange undertone of irritation as his daughter gave a cryptic chuckle. "Perfect. Then, I guess you shouldn't have any problems with answering her question, huh?" his daughter cryptically countered as he smiled. "Of course." he simply said, yet with his undertone of irritation and flicker of annoyance surfacing in his eyes again, she got the sense his smile toward his daughter hadn't been sincere but rather forced...

Not long after that, she saw her friends mutely stare at each other before Issac cleared his throat and turned away from his daughter to face her.

"Well, Ember, to answer your question, I was brainstorming on how we can retrieve the aperio mirror after we manage to get into Aureus' treasure trove." he stated as she blinked at what he said.

"Wait. That's it?" Ember baffledly asked as he just nodded. "Yep." he simply said as she scoffed in disbelief. "Seriously?" she followed up as she laughed. "Well if that's all you had to say, then why it take you so long to say it?" she further asked, pointing out the way he strangely prolonged his response as he shrugged off her question. "I didn't think it was really important." he simply said as she slowly stared at him.

"Uh-huh. Right." she said as he crossed his arms. "Anyways, does that answer your question?" he asked as she crossed her arms and silently stared at him while she thought of his answer to her question.

On the surface, his answer had seemed innocent enough. But if that was truly the case, then why did he take so long to say it and why was he so reluctant to answer her question in the first place if it was all he was going to say?

So even though the fire faerie wanted to believe Issac, she knew she couldn't because after what she witnessed yesterday, she had gotten suspicious of him and well, this was no different as she got the sense he was hiding something.

After all, she knew if he hadn't been hiding something, then he should have been able to answer her question with ease yet it took his daughter chiming into their conversation to get a response out of him. Though even then, she suspected his response could have been easily fabricated into something he thought could have been believable enough to fool her with the way she had seen him delay his answer to her question... for some reason.

So no, she did not believe his answer but she pretended to go along with his response as Ember knew he was bound to slip up... She just didn't know when.

"It will do." she answered as he nodded. "Good. Then in that case, I'm going to go see what the others are up to." he promptly concluded as she found herself caught off-guard from the way he became strangely eager to move on from their conversation, but she pretended not to notice as she nodded.

"Okay." she simply said and after he took one more look at her, she watched as he began to walk away without saying anything more. While he walked away from her, she saw the way he walked past his daughter and proceeded to ignore the girl without so much as casting a glance at Aliya's direction.

So while he walked away from them, she mutely observed him as she crossed her arms once more, having felt she had been right to be suspicious of him. But now, the fire faerie couldn't help but wonder one thing concerning her friend's dad: what was he hiding?

Ember wanted to know and though she suspected she hadn't been the only one, she knew how close her friend was to her old man. But with his troubling responses and his odd behavior, she thought it might have also been possible to consider that Aliya was coming around to the same idea as she had.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder if her friend truly saw things the way she did or if she'd try to downplay things if it had meant trying to preserve the image her friend viewed her father in her mind.

So knowing how much Aliya loved her father did, she thought then to keep her mouth shut on the matter as she didn't want to stir anything between the girl and her father... Though she had suspected trouble was surfacing between them too with the way they had strangely interacted with each other. Plus, it didn't help how she just witnessed Issac flat-out ignoring his daughter now with the way he walked past Aliya without even bothering to acknowledge her the way he usually would. Then given what happened last night between them...

She couldn't help but wonder whether her friends' tight-knit bond would actually survive with all of the things going on. Granted, she knew it had only been.... like what? Three days at best?

She wasn't entirely sure about the time, but she knew not a lot had passed so it was possible for her friends to maintain and maybe strengthen the familial bond of theirs through this unwanted experience.

Plus, she knew families could fight time to time. After all, she tended to fight with her family at times, but then again she had never seen Issac act the way that he has to his daughter nor has she ever seen Aliya act the way she did just now towards him. Still, Ember knew it had to pass eventually... Right?

"So..."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ember glanced over to see her friend awkwardly trail off as the girl gave a heavy sigh. "... About the way my apá answered your question just now—" the girl slowly continued when she interrupted her.

"Aliya, I'm sure he was being honest when he answered my question." the fire faerie gently said, purposely lying to her friend in an attempt to preserve her friend's image of her father when she surprisingly saw her friend bitterly scoff.

"No, he wasn't and you know that, so spare me the lies because I really don't want to endure the possibility of having more lies come from someone else I trust too."

"Aliya—"

"I'm sorry. I know you mean well. I do, but I... I just... I..." the girl attempted to say before she saw the girl trail off and heavily sigh. "... I was just hoping he would have been honest with you when he answered your question, but..." her friend attempted to continue, only to trail off again as she heavily sighed.

"He wasn't?" she finished, taking the words from her friend's mouth as she saw her friend's eyes falter before a sorrowful and dejected nod followed suit. "Yeah." her friend solemnly answered as she rubbed her face and sighed once more before she stopped.

"Aliya—"

"Ember, I just saw my baba lie to you and I want to know why." Aliya firmly stated, interrupting her now as she no longer saw her friend's frown due to the girl wanting to keep her expression neutral. A moment later, the fire faerie observed the girl crossing her arms and seeing how her friend was serious about what she said, Ember slightly smirked as she nodded.

"Well, that makes two of us then." she said in agreement and as soon as she did, Ember noticed her friend's light amber eyes glistening with determination. Seeing this, the fire faerie curiously eyed her friend.

"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. "To get us answers as to why my baba lied to you and find out what it is he's hiding." her friend determinedly answered as she saw the determination in her friend's light amber eyes glistened brighter in the moment. Seeing this, the fire faerie came to realize the girl truly was on her side as she lightly chuckled at the thought she had about Aliya not being on her side.

At ease now, she lightly shook her head and smirked then as she lightly crossed her arms at her friend's determination. "Alright. I'm in." Ember promptly said as her smirk grew. "So, what's the plan?" she followed up as Aliya smirked.

"I—"

"Mija?"

"Great. Of course, your old man would decide he wants you right as we get to planning because that would make sense." Ember irritatedly grumbled as her friend chuckled. "Well to be fair, it was bound to happen eventually." her friend pointed out as she huffed. "True." she simply said as her friend nodded.

"Yep, but I guess for now though, we can just put this conversation on hold and circle back to this later." her friend followed up as she sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." she simply said before she huffed.

"Well, now that we're on the same page, let's see what he wants because chances are if your old man wants you, then he wants me too." she concluded as the fire faerie saw Aliya nodding at her words. "Alright. Then, let's go." her friend simply said and with those words, she and Aliya began making their way towards the front of the line, where they spotted her friend's father as the two saw him crossing his arms now.

"Mi—" Issac initially began before he cut himself off the moment he turned to face his daughter and grinned. "Oh, there you are mija! I was just wondering about you." he lightly said as Ember found herself suddenly annoyed by the jarring nature of her friend's attitude towards Aliya. She thought to say something, but when she glanced at her friend, she refrained from doing so for Aliya's sake. Instead, the fire faerie watched as the girl flashed a simple but easygoing smile in her father's direction.

Upon seeing her friend smile at her dad, Ember wondered if Aliya was smiling out of the simple fact she was aware of the constrast in her father's attitude towards her and did it to prevent her old man from catching onto the fact she knew or if the girl had been smiling at him because she was genuinely unaware of the jarring nature her father showed just a few moments ago.

Either way, Ember wasn't sure what to make out of it and so, she just watched her friend as Aliya began to interact with her father.

"Oh! Well, if you were wondering about me, surely you must have also wondered about Ember too," her friend simply said when she noticed the brief pause Aliya took before she saw the girl continue. "Right?" her friend followed up as the girl crossed her arms, though she noticed the way Aliya chose to use the same strangely undetectable tone again because the fire faerie had been unable to decipher the tone her friend used towards her father.

"Right."

When she had heard Issac's response, she turned to face him as she saw her friend smiling at his daughter. "Of course." her friend continued as he chuckled. "After all..." he further added, only to trail off as he turned away from Aliya. "... How can I possibly forget about our family friend?" he  followed up, now finishing his previous response. After he was done, he turned to face her yet as soon as they made eye contact, a strange smirk surfaced on his face.

She was already feeling uneasy from the way he responded, but his persistent staring only made the feeling worse. Now with Issac's unsettling smirk, the feeling she had only grew when she felt her heart start thumping uncomfortably against her chest. However, the uneasiness she felt only began to intensify when his light honeysuckle eyes began to flicker.

At first, Ember tried to assure herself that his light blue, almost teal-like eyes weren't anything to get scared over. But then, she remembered the newfound bright silver-ish, white glowing streak he strangely acquired last night and felt her heart thumping louder against her chest. However, she pretended not to notice as she didn't want to make her newfound feeling apparent to Aliya, much less Issac.

So, Ember tried to tell herself that things would be fine yet when she found herself looking at his newfound cognac brown-colored eyes in place of the light honeysuckle eye color she had grown so accustomed to seeing in her friend, the fire fae found it harder to convince herself. Especially when she came to gradually realize this feeling was something she hadn't experienced since last night when she believed Issac was going to actually kill her, Atari and his daughter...

Fear.

When the realization dawned on her, shivers ran down her spine with her uneasiness toward her friend's father intensifying the longer he kept staring at her...

"... Baba?"

... But as soon as Aliya spoke, she noticed his cognac brown-colored eyes revert back to his light honeysuckle color. "Are you alright?" her friend's daughter slowly followed up, moving closer to them as she saw her friend's father turning away from her to face his daughter. "I'm alright." he insisted, smiling brightly as she bit back a scoff of her own while she saw her friend's daughter frowning at his words.

"Baba—"

"Guys!"

When she, Issac and Aliya heard Khashi, Baxter and Claudia call out to them, they turned to face the three as they gleefully approached them. "We're here!" the three cheekily followed up as she and her friends looked to see Khashi excitedly pointing slightly outward across from where they stopped. "Ta-da!" Khashi excitedly added right as they saw Baxter and Claudia brightly grinning at them.

"Welcome to Chinatown!"

Watching as the married couple theatrically hold their hands out to the sign above them, Ember (along with Aliya, Khashi and Issac) glanced at a set of dragon statues made of stone positioned across each other at the structural pillars holding the sign together. Looking on, they saw a few lanterns strung up before their eyes drifted to the center of the sign where they finally became aware of the fact the word Chinatown being displayed before they glanced back at the married couple as their smiles grew.

"Huh. I thought this place would've been bigger." she simply said when Baxter chuckled at her words. "Oh, it is but you've got to go past the entrance first." Baxter casually explained as she slowly nodded. "Oh, okay. That makes so much more sense than what I initially thought." the fire faerie followed up as his wife nodded at her words.

"Mhm, so come on." the woman lightly said before she felt the latter's wife gently grab her hand as her eyes widened. "Huh?" she baffledly asked, the realization of what was going on not quite dawning on her yet when Claudia playfully smirked at her.

"Let's go!"

"Wait wh— Whoa!"

Seconds later, Ember found herself caught up in Claudia's grasp as they ran past the entrance of Chinatown. After they did, the fire faerie looked around to see various vendors and shops before she noticed the bustling stream of people occupying the area as she blinked at the sight.

"Huh. It really is bigger once you get past the entrance." she noted as Claudia chuckled. "Mhm." the woman simply said as she chuckled. "Though part of the reason why it's bigger is because Chinatown is the one of the most densely populated areas in the city." the woman followed up as the fire faerie gasped. "Whoa! That's cool!" she excitedly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she saw the woman blinking before she softly chuckled.

"Heh. Well, if you think that's cool, then just wait till you see the rest of what New York City has to offer as this — my dear — is only a fraction of what makes this city so special." Claudia had passionately explained to her as she softly smiled and lightly chuckled.

"Heh. Is your way of saying you and Baxter are going to give us a tour of the city then?" the fire faerie lightly inquired as she watched the woman playfully pretended to ponder on the matter for a bit until a light smirk followed suit. "Let me ask my darling husband and if he says yes to the idea, then we'll ask Issac and see what he thinks." the woman lightly answered as the fire faerie saw her smile.

"Does that sound fair?" Claudia lightly followed up as she nodded. "Yeah, that sounds fair." she softly said right as they heard footsteps. As such, the woman released her hand as they turned around to see Baxter catching up to them.

"You know, Honeybun, a heads-up would've been nice." Claudia's husband lightly whined as he exaggeratedly huffed, earning a giggle from his wife. "Sorry, Baxxy darling. I'll try to remember that next time." she heard the woman softly said as she glanced back at Baxter, who sighed in relief.

"Thank you." Baxter lightly said as she and Claudia giggled right when they heard another set of footsteps, resulting in the three glancing at each other before they glanced over to see Khashi, Issac and Aliya catch up to them.

"Personally, we thought it was fine." Khashi, Issac and Aliya casually chimed in as Claudia lightly chuckled before she, Issac, Aliya and Khashi saw the woman turning to face her husband. "See, Baxxy darling? They're fine." she heard the woman lightly tell her husband, who simply crossed his arms as he playfully shook his head at his wife's response. "Right." Baxter simply said before he cleared his throat.

"Well, now that we made it to Chinatown—"

"—let's go find Aureus' treasure trove!" she and Claudia excitedly finished, preparing to venture off into the densely populated area of the city when Aliya cleared her throat. "Wait. Before we do anything, we should come up with a plan." the girl promptly stated as they turned to see Khashi nodding at Aliya's response. "Mhm. Yia is right. We should come up with a plan before we just go rush in there." Khashi said in agreement as he crossed his arms.

"After all—"

"—This will no doubt be our most perilous mission yet!"

When Issac interrupted Khashi and took over, she (along with Aliya, Khashi, Baxter and Claudia) looked to see her friend's father as they saw him heroically grinning.

"—A journey to the treasure trove where Aureus keeps all his stuff and it is there we will find the aperio mirror, which we shall retrieve to stop my omi from destroying the world as we know it!" he added as they watched him theatrically point towards the sky in a overly exaggerated drawn out standardized hero pose as she heard Baxter and Claudia clear their throats.

"Uh, what did he mean when he said omi?" Baxter and Claudia quietly asked, now glancing back at her and over at their newly reunited friend as she briefly took her eyes away from the latter to look at them.

"Oh, when Ike said omi, he just meant—"

"—So let's go!"

"What what?" she, Baxter, Claudia (with Khashi joining them) asked as they (excluding Khashi as he was already facing the latter) turned to face Issac right when they saw his daughter clearing her throat.

"Uh, apá, are you sure you don't want to think this one through?" his daughter slowly but gently inquired as he shook his head. "Nope." he confidently answered as they saw his daughter's eyes faltered at his answer. "Are you sure?" his daughter slowly asked, briefly pausing before they all saw the girl glancing away as she continued to address her father. "Because I believe we should think this one through before we just barge into this—" the girl continued when he proceeded to interrupt Aliya once more.

"Nah, we'll be fine." he cheekily said as they watched his daughter huff at her father's response. "But—" Aliya attempted to add on until her father interrupted her again. "Now come on." he had added before he proceeded to turn away from his daughter and turn to face her, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi instead. "Let's go find Aureus' treasure trove and get that mirror!" he determinedly added as she and Claudia cheered.

"Whoo! Let's go!" she and Claudia excitedly cheered, high-fiving each other now as they listened to her husband softly chuckle at their excitement. "Alright. Let's go do this then." Baxter chimed in as they glanced at him before the three of them looked to see Khashi nodding. "I'm in, Mister Finklestein, but don't expect me to fight." Khashi promptly chimed in as they watched Issac give a light nod. "Of course." he simply said, to which Khashi smiled. It was then all eyes went toward his daughter, who briefly glanced at them and back at her father before a light chuckle followed suit.

"For the record, I still don't think this constitutes as a plan, but... seeing how everyone else is on-board and I'm the only one who can find the former seeker's treasure trove, I say let's do it." his daughter lightly chimed in as they saw Issac excitedly clap his hands together.

"Alright then! Let's do this!" he excitedly exclaimed as she and Claudia chuckled. "Well, what are we waiting for then?" she and Claudia chimed in, grinning as they saw her husband and Khashi matched their grins not long after they had spoke. "We have a treasure trove to find!" Baxter and Khashi excitedly added, answering her and Claudia's question as everyone collectively cheered then.

"Yeah!"

After that, everyone followed Aliya as the girl began leading the way to the location of Aureus' treasure trove. As they kept walking through various shops and buildings, the fire fae noticed that they were gradually drifted further away from the brightly lit parts of Chinatown towards the darker and (more admittedly sketchy) parts of the densely populated area.

She felt certain that everyone else was gradually coming to the same realization as she did and knew she had been right when Issac cleared his throat.

"Mija? I don't mean to question your sense of direction, but are we certain that Aureus' treasure trove wasn't somewhere back there?" Issac pointed out, gesturing to the brightly lit portions of the densely populated area in the city now as she, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi nodded. "Yeah." the fire fae, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi said along in agreement as they saw Aliya briefly stop to face them.

"I get your concerns. I really do, but it should also be noted that Aureus was known for collecting a lot of valuable stuff. So, he obviously wouldn't want anyone to be aware of his treasure trove's existence, which is why it's hidden among the darker portions of Chinatown since Aureus knew the brightly lit portions of the densely populated area would keep people distracted and allow him to access his treasure trove in peace." her friend's daughter casually explained, answering his question and addressing their concerns as she, Baxter, Claudia, Khashi and Issac nodded at her words.

"Ah, okay." they said as the girl nodded. "Yep." the girl continued and so they continued to walk on for a bit longer when they heard her friend's daughter clearing her throat. "Oh and speaking of Aureus' treasure trove..." the girl briefly added before they saw her trail off and abruptly stop walking.

This sudden action had naturally confused all of them until she, Baxter, Claudia, Khashi and her friend's father until they turned to see Aliya looking back at them with a proud, delighted smirk.

"... We're here."

When they saw Aliya step to the side, she (along with Baxter, Claudia, Khashi and Issac) looked to see a set of white-colored doors with a series of golden etched cloud-like swirls that seemed to be held together by a solid rock foundation. The doors they noticed earlier were shown to be connected to a much larger building in scale as the five of them made note of the treasure trove being surrounded by a series of unassuming buildings.

"Okay, the location makes sense." she, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter said as Aliya nodded. "Mhm. That's why Aureus chose to put his treasure trove here since he didn't want anyone to know of its whereabouts..." the girl briefly explained until she trailed off as they saw her eye the ground suspiciously. "... Though, I suspect we're not the only ones who knows." the girl later mumbled as she, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter moved closer to Aliya in order to learn what the girl meant when she had said that.

"What do you mean?" she, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter asked as they saw the girl gesture to the rocks and the gravel positioned slightly to the girl's right. "When I was younger, my mamá had always said you could tell whenever someone is nearby based on how the rocks are positioned from where you are standing. In this case, these rocks and the gravel are positioned slightly to my right, which indicates that someone's just been here." the girl answered as they collectively blinked at her.

"And if it was to your left?"

"It would mean that someone has recently left the area, but since none of these rocks and the gravel aren't positioned to my left—"

"You think whoever was here before us..." Baxter and Khashi briefly began, interrupting Aliya as they trailed off when a gust of wind blowed and moved the rocks along with the gravel towards their right side. When this happened, the two men quickly glanced at her and Claudia, to which they blinked at the sight they just witnessed before they spoke. "... Could still be here." the fire faerie and Claudia finished as they looked up to see Aliya nodding.

"Yeah..."

"Well, I don't see anyone."

Upon hearing Issac's voice, she (along with Claudia, Baxter, Khashi and Aliya) turned to see her friend's father standing across from the doors as she huffed at his response. "Ike, that's because you are not looking close enough." she pointed out as he lightly rolled his eyes at her response. "No, I'm pretty sure it's because no one is here." he promptly countered as she rolled her eyes at her friend's response.

"Well, I'm also with Ember on this one as I think it's possible that someone is here with us like your daughter said." Baxter pointed out as she saw Claudia nodding at her husband's words. "Yes. I'm also with Ember here in thinking that someone could be here as Aliya pointed out." Claudia chimed in as the fire faerie saw Issac lightly shaking his head.

"Guys—"

"If someone is still here like Aliya said, then it means there's a possibility they could be after the aperio mirror too." Claudia pointed out as Baxter nodded. "Mhm and if that's the case, then it'd make sense as to why we can't see them as they don't want to be spotted." Baxter followed up, adding to what his wife said as the fire faerie and Khashi nodded while Issac sighed.

"I get what you all are saying, but that's not the case because no one is here—"

"But—"

"—Meaning we are the only ones who are after the aperio mirror and that is that." Issac promptly said, interrupting them again as he sighed. "Alright?" he followed up as she, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi glanced at each other and back at Issac before they spoke. "Alright." the four collectively said as Issac sighed in relief.

"Thank you." Issac promptly said before they saw his eyes drift over to his daughter, who they saw crossing her arms. "Don't expect me to change my stance because that's not happening." his daughter swiftly stated as they saw him huffing.

"Mija—"

"Mamá's way of knowing when someone was nearby has never failed me, so I know someone is here just like I have no doubt they're after the aperio mirror too." his daughter firmly countered as Issac shook his head.

"Mija—"

"Baba, say what you want, but I'm willing to bet that the only reason we can't see them is simply because they are just biding their time." his daughter promptly added, interrupting him as she, Baxter, Claudia, Khashi and Issac all puzzledly stared at the girl. "Biding their time... for what?" they collectively but rather baffledly asked as the girl blinked.

"For the doors to open, obviously." the girl slowly said as they stared at her and blinked. "Wait. Don't tell me you guys thought we were just going to walk in his treasure trove with ease now." his daughter playfully added, having caught their puzzled looks as they sheepishly glanced at each other and back at her friend's daughter.

"Heh..." she attempted to begin until she trailed off. "Well..." Khashi said, also attempting to add onto what she said until he trailed off in a similar manner as she did. "When you put it like that now..." Claudia and Baxter sheepishly followed up before they trailed off right as Issac cleared his throat.

"Okay, maybe we all did, but still. Aureus' treasure trove has been abandoned for a long time, so I'm sure we will have no problems trying to get inside." Issac confidently boasted as they saw his daughter awkwardly clear her throat.

"Yeah... I'm not too certain of that, baba, because I highly doubt Aureus would leave his treasure trove unprotected, especially if all the rumors of the things he collected are to be believed." his daughter slowly countered as they saw her friend's father lightly chuckle at Aliya's words. "Now, that sounds like a challenge." he mischievously but cheekily proposed and after he spoke those words, they saw his daughter's eyes widened as if she had just sensed what he was going to do.

"Baba, whatever you're thinking about doing, don't do it because it will surely backfire on you." his daughter firmly stressed but Issac simply laughed. "Mija, relax. I got this." he proudly said as they saw his daughter huff.

"Baba—"

"Mija, I get your concern, but just wait and see. Alright? I will have this door open in no time." he insisted as she chuckled. "Oh, I'm so sure of that." she sarcastically challenged as she saw Issac turn to face her and smirked. "Watch me." he confidently proclaimed before he walked away. As such, she, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi looked on with curiosity while Aliya looked on in dismay.

Looking on, everyone saw Issac make his way to the doors before he positioned himself directly in front of the doors. Once they saw him standing in front of the doors, everyone watched as her friend's father touch the doors with his right hand. As soon this happened, a bright golden rune appeared as they blinked.

"No way." everyone collectively said as Issac triumphantly laughed. "Ha! You see? I told you guys I could—" he proudly said, turning to face them when they saw the bright golden rune beginning to quickly turn red as their eyes widened, catching the latter off-guard as he puzzledly stared at them.

"What?" he asked but as soon as he did, everyone saw the (now) red rune began to turn violently brighter. "Um, you might want to look behind you." they awkwardly followed up, answering his question as they watched him slowly glance back at the doors' state regarding the rune. As soon as he looked back, a red thunderous energy bolt emerged out of the rune and seconds later, the energy bolt proceeded to blast Issac back as he screamed before he eventually crashed directly in the back of the brick wall across from Aureus' treasure trove.

"Ow..."

"Dad!"

Naturally as soon as he fell onto the ground, Aliya ran to check on him while she, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi simply looked on. "Well, she did try to warn him." she pointed out as she turned to see Baxter, Claudia and Khashi shaking their heads at her comment. "What? It's not my fault he didn't want to listen to his daughter." the fire fae defensively protested as she crossed her arms and glanced back at the doors.

"Anyways, I guess if the doors didn't open for Ike, then I suppose it's fair game for the rest of us." she followed up as she glanced back at Baxter, Claudia and Khashi. "So, who wants to go next?" she promptly proposed as Khashi quickly cleared his throat. "Heh, you know, new friend, I think Yia might need some help in tending to Mister Finkelstein actually, so..." Khashi quickly said and as soon as he trailed off, she (alongside Baxter and Claudia) watched as the giant promptly took off to see if Aliya needed help in tending to her father.

"I'll go next then. Besides, maybe I got the lucky touch and I can get the doors opened." Claudia offered as Ember saw her husband raise an eyebrow at his wife's words. "And if you can't?" he countered as his wife shrugged. "Then, I get blasted and I know not to do it again." they heard his wife simply said as she blinked while her husband sighed.

"Honeybun, I love you but I don't think you should volunteer yourself to try to open the doors because I already have a feeling that this is bound to be a terrible idea." her husband insisted while his wife chuckled at his response. "Perhaps, but then again, we won't know until I try." Claudia lightly countered, a look of curiosity surfacing in her eyes as Ember quietly looked on while Baxter huffed.

"Claud—"

"Sorry, Baxxy darling! I can't hear you over the fact I'm about to go open these doors!" Claudia playfully exclaimed in a semi-serious tone as she and Baxter watched his wife run towards the doors before positioning herself directly in front of the same doors where they had seen Issac stand moments ago.

"This is going to backfire on your wife, huh?" Ember quietly asked as Baxter nodded. "Oh, yeah. Most definitely." Baxter quietly answered as the two glanced over to his wife. As they did, they saw Claudia place her left hand on the doors and as soon as she did, they saw a bright golden rune appear for her as it did for Issac moments ago.

"Huh. Maybe, your wife was right." Ember slowly said as Baxter nodded. "Yeah. Maybe, Claud did end up having the lucky touch after all." Baxter lightly added as Claudia triumphantly laughed at her husband's response. "Ha! And you said it was a bad idea!" Claudia promptly countered, but as soon as his wife said that, they saw the bright golden rune beginning to quickly turn red just as they had seen the rune do for Issac.

As such, her and Baxter's eyes widened, catching the latter off-guard as Baxter's wife puzzledly stared at them. "What?" his wife puzzledly asked when her eyes widened as the two noticed the realization slowly dawning on the woman now. "Wait, don't tell me—" Claudia slowly added as their eyes widened from the (now) red rune began to turn violently brighter.

"Don't—" she and Baxter attempted to warn his wife, but when they saw her turn back to look at the rune's state, they cut themselves off and could only watch as a red thunderous energy bolt emerged out of the rune. From there, she and Baxter watched as the energy bolt proceeded to blast his wife, much to their dismay as their eyes widened.

"Claudia!"

Upon seeing his wife getting blasted back, Ember saw Baxter attempt to break his wife's fall but instead, Claudia crashed into him as the married couple promptly fell onto the ground while the fire faerie looked on and winced.

Yikes...

Taking her eyes away from the married couple now, Ember turned her attention back to the set of doors as she crossed her arms.

"Alright, that's it. I'm going next."

"Absolutely not!" Aliya and Baxter firmly protested as she glanced up to see them caring for their respective loved one. "Well, if it's not Issac or Claudia, then it has to be me." Ember had insisted as they frowned.

"Ember, you don't know that." Aliya firmly protested as Baxter nodded. "Yeah and besides, Claud thought she could open the doors and looked at what happened to her." Baxter added as Ember saw Claudia weakly looking up. "Hey in my defense, it sounded like a great idea." his wife faintly said as she gave a weak chuckle before she winced.

"And was it a great idea?"

"No..."

"See? Point proven." Baxter promptly said as his wife huffed. "Fine. He has a point. You shouldn't try to open the doors." Claudia chimed in as her husband gestured to his wife, to which she had looked on before she crossed her arms.

"Well, my experience is going to be different because the doors are going to open for me." Ember confidently stated as Aliya, Baxter and Claudia huffed.

"Ember—"

"—It would be wise of you not to open the set of doors as there's a chance you could also end up getting hurt like Mister Finkelstein and Claudia, new friend." Khashi concernedly cautioned as she glanced over to see the giant assisting her friend's daughter, who was still tending to her father.

"Khashi—"

"I'm sorry new friend, but I believe Yia, Baxter and Claudia are right. You shouldn't go and open the doors." Khashi countered, interrupting her once more as the fire faerie sighed and frowned at the way everyone seemed to be against her opening the doors.

"Oh come on! You guys can't—"

"Emby—"

"Let me guess, Ike: you are going to say that you are against me—"

"—Actually, I was going to say you should go for it." Issac sheepishly confessed as she saw Aliya, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi's eyes widened in shock at his response. "What?!" the four of them promptly exclaimed as she saw the latter roll his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure she can get these doors open."

"And what if she can't?" Aliya, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi promptly and quite swiftly challenged as he shrugged. "Then, we know it's not her. But still. Someone has to try and we won't know until she does it, so I say let her go at it." Issac insisted, but his stance wasn't well received by everyone.

In fact, to say well received was an understatement because everyone hated his idea, especially his daughter but he seemed to believe in her. So, that was enough to convince her to take Issac's stance as she began to open her mouth. Yet right as she was on the verge of saying something to the others, her friend (perhaps having sensed what she was going to say) had swiftly responded and essentially prevented her from speaking.

"Ember, no."

"But your dad—"

"I don't care what he said. Do not go near those doors." her friend's daughter firmly stated, now swiftly interrupting her as she saw Baxter, Claudia and Khashi nod in agreement at her friend's stance. "Yes. We'll find another way to open the doors, but for now, stay away from the doors." Baxter, Claudia and Khashi firmly protested, adding onto Aliya's response as she blinked from their united reaction to her decision.

"... You guys really don't want me to do this, huh?"

"Of course not!"

"W... Well, I guess when you guys put it like that, trying to open the set of doors after seeing two people get hurt does seem silly." she slowly but somewhat bashfully stated, having found her desire to open the doors dying down, especially since it was clear none of them wanted to see her get hurt.

"Thank you." Baxter, Claudia and Khashi promptly said as Aliya sighed in relief. "I'm glad that you were able to see things our way." her friend's daughter softly followed up right when her friend's dad scoffed at their responses.

"And how exactly will this help us get inside and locate the aperio mirror now if none of you are willing to give her a chance?" Issac asked as Baxter, Claudia and Khashi baffledly stared at him while Aliya stared at her father with a look she couldn't decipher.

"Mister Finkelstein, I know you mean well, but come on. Think about it. She's just a kid." Khashi insisted as Claudia and Baxter swiftly nodded. "Yeah and besides, the aperio mirror isn't worth the price of Ember getting hurt now." Claudia and Baxter promptly followed up as she saw her friend's daughter nodding.

"Yeah and besides, when one way doesn't work, there's another way that will. I'm sure if we all were to think of something, we could come up with a solution to get around the doors without the need to—"

"—Mija, there is no other way." Issac gently countered, interrupting his daughter from speaking further as she (along with Baxter, Claudia and Khashi) saw his daughter scoffing at her father's stance.

"Dad, come on. There is always another way and that's the one you make yourself, so we can do this without the doors. We just have to—" his daughter fiercely protested as he interrupted her once more.

"—Mija, I know you, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi really want to do this without seeing Ember get hurt, but these things just come with a risk. Not that it will matter though because I'm sure she has the lucky touch needed to get us inside." he promptly insisted as they saw him turn to face her.

"Besides, she's the Ember Lang and she can do anything that she sets her mind to but more so, I believe in her and I know she will succeed where me and Claudia did not as she will be the one to get those doors open." he added before she saw him turn away from the four to look at her.

"So go on, Emby. Go show them that you can do this." he followed up as he smiled at her, which made her feel compelled to believe him because he sounded so sincere in what he said and the smile he gave her only sealed the deal. Convinced he genuinely believed in her, that gave Ember enough confidence to restore her commitment in opening the doors in spite of what the others thought.

"Ember—"

"—Guys, Ike's right. If he believes in me, then I can do this." she promptly stated, swiftly cutting them off as she crossed her arms. "So, that's what I'm going to do." she promptly added as the four continued to look concerned at her response.

"Ember—"

"—I'm going to open those doors and you will all see that I could do it all along." the fire faerie confidently stated, interrupting them once more as she promptly turned away from them and started to make her way towards the set of doors. "Ember!" Aliya, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi collectively protest, but she pretended not to hear as she kept walking.

Upon reaching the set of doors, she placed her right hand on the doors and as soon as she did, the fire faerie saw a bright golden rune appear for her as it did for Issac and Claudia moments ago. Naturally, this made Ember excited as she turned to face Aliya, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi with a victorious grin.

"Aha! See? Ike was right! I do have the lucky touch!" she excitedly exclaimed, but as soon as she said that, she saw Issac mysteriously looked at her with a subtle, cryptic gleam in his eyes. It was then she remembered why she had been suspicious of him in the first place as she felt her heart thump uncomfortably against her chest.

Suddenly, the fire faerie regretted listening to him and knew when she saw Aliya, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi's eyes widened that she had made a mistake in letting Issac guide her decision then.

"Ember—"

She didn't need to hear their warning to know that the golden rune was now beginning to turn red because their concerned voices and Issac's cryptic look clued the fire faerie in on what was going on.

"Don't tell me. I know what's going to happen next." Ember calmly insisted and as she looked away from the others, she turned her attention back on the (now) red rune, which the fire fae noticed start to turn violently turn brighter.

"Great. This is what I get for letting Issac talk me into doing this." she bitterly grumbled as she sighed from the sight of the red thunderous energy bolt emerge out of the rune now. As such, she expected the energy bolt to charge at her and hit her like it had done for Claudia and her friend's father now...

"Ember! Look out!"

As soon as she heard that, she felt a quick but forceful shove as she briefly fell onto the ground and groaned from the impact of her fall.

"Ow..."

After she groaned, she sat up and rubbed her head in time to hear a few sharp screams that were relatively close, which caught her attention as she looked up to see her friend getting hit by the red thunderous energy bolt that would've sent the girl crashing towards the back of the bricked wall had she not seen Khashi catch the girl. As soon as he caught her, she saw her friend collide into him as she glanced back to see the red thunderous energy bolt fading along with the rune. She looked for a bit before she returned her attention over to her friend, who she heard wincing now as her eyes widened at the sight.

Standing up, she began to sprint towards them and made it just as she saw Khashi help Aliya up by steadying her. "Thanks, Ashi." she heard her friend softly tell him as she saw the latter chuckle softly at her response. "Yia, there's no need to thank me because I'm always going to have your back just as you have mine..." she heard Khashi softly start to say until he trailed off to steady her friend a bit longer before he released his hold on the girl. "... But since you already said it, you're welcome." she heard Khashi softly finish and watched as he flashed a sincere smile afterward to the girl.

"Aliya?"

"Ember?"

When the girl turned to face her, she saw the girl's light amber eyes glistening with pure concern as Aliya continued to look at her.

"Ember! Are you—" her friend attempted to ask, but she cut her off when she pulled the girl into a tight-knit hug before she broke the hug and held the girl at her shoulders. "Don't do that!" she quietly but concernedly scolded before she sighed. "You could have gotten seriously hurt!" she added, pulling away from the girl as she held her at her shoulders now before she sighed again.

"But thanks for pushing me out of the way and yes, thanks to you, I'm alright." she followed up as she released her hold on her friend. "Are you alright?" she asked as she saw her friend nod at her question. "I'm alright." her friend answered, smiling afterwards. "Thanks." her friend softly added as she returned the girl's smile and nodded.

"You're welcome."

"Aliya!"

Looking on, she saw Claudia and Baxter rushing to her friend's side now as the married couple concernedly held onto the girl's face. "Are you alright? Do you have any bruises on you? Are you in pain? Do you—" she heard Claudia and Baxter concernedly ask to the point of rambling when she interrupted them.

"Guys, I think Aliya is alright." Ember assured them as she saw her friend nodding. "I'm alright. I might have few bruises, but that's nothing my apá can't handle and I was in a bit of pain earlier, but now I'm good." her friend softly added, answering the questions the married couple asked as the girl warmly smiled at them. "Thanks." her friend softly but sincerely follow up as she saw Claudia and Baxter return Aliya's smile. "You're welcome." they softly but sincerely said in turn before they released Aliya and looked at her.

"Ember!"

As soon as they made eye contact with her and she recalled the way they panicked about Aliya, Ember thought to assure them that she was alright, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the married couple were already rushing to her side. So, it didn't surprise the fire faerie then when they began concernedly holding onto her face now as she had watched Claudia and Baxter do the same thing to her friend moments ago.

"Are you alright? Do you have any bruises on you? Are you in pain? Do you—" she heard Claudia and Baxter concernedly ask to the point of rambling when she heard Aliya clearing her throat as she, Claudia and Baxter turned to see her friend lightly crossing her arms.

"Guys, I'm pretty sure Ember is alright." Aliya assured them as she nodded. "Yes, Aliya's right. I'm alright as it's thanks to her that I don't have any bruises. Just as a few scrapes, but besides that, I'm not in pain." she softly said, answering their questions as she warmly smiled at them, having been reminded of her parents in seeing their concern for her. "That's good." the married couple said as they sighed in relief, which led her to smile more.

"Thanks for caring though. I really appreciate that." she softly continued as they warmly smiled at her direction. "Of course. After all, none of us want to see you get hurt, so just be careful next time. Okay?" Claudia and Baxter softly followed up as she nodded. "Okay." the fire faerie softly answered and not long after that, they released their hold on her.

"My turn!"

"Oh, Khashi, that's not—" she attempted to politely decline as she turned to face him, but after she saw him scoop her in his arms, she cut herself off as he excitedly grinned and happily held onto her.

"It's so good to see you, new friend!"

"I... It's good to see you too, Khashi." she found herself delightfully saying, slightly stammering from the way her bones were crushing from his raw strength in his hug. "T... Thanks." she softly added, still slightly stammering from the impact of his hug as he smiled. "You're welcome!" he said before he ended the hug as she felt Khashi put her down.

"We are obviously glad you're okay, but still. You had us worried there as we thought you were going to get hurt." Khashi concernedly followed up as she solemnly sighed from his response.

"I know and I'm really sorry for making you guys worried." she sincerely said, briefly looking at the ground before she looked up in time to see Khashi's gentle smile looking back at her. "Hey, the important thing is you're okay. But, just be careful like Claudia and Baxter said. Alright?" he softly continued as the fire faerie nodded at his words. "Alright." she softly said as he smiled at her response.

"Thank you." he warmly said as she returned his smile. "You're welcome." she softly said in turn when she overheard a slight scoff. Curious to find the source of the sound, Ember moved closer and found herself back at the set of doors where she saw Issac kicking a pebble against the set of doors.

"Well, that was a bust." she heard him cryptically mumble, a look of annoyance surfacing on his face as she awkwardly stared at him. "What was?" she casually asked as she tilted her head just in time to watch his look of annoyance vanishing when he turned to face her and smiled at her.

"Oh! Hey! I didn't see you there, but I'm glad you're alright." he promptly said, strangely dodging her question as she puzzledly stared at him before she shook her head and decided to return his smile.

"Thanks." the fire faerie simply said as he nodded. "You're welcome." he simply said in return as neither of them spoke for a bit until she broke the silence engulfing them by clearing her throat.

"Anyways, back to what I was saying: when you said that was a bust just now, you were referring to those set of doors, right?" she slowly asked as she gestured to the doors and saw him look at where she was pointing. "Naturally." he simply answered as he chuckled. "What did you think I was referring to, Emby?" he followed up, taking his attention off the set of doors as he turned to face her.

Yet as soon as he did, shivers ran down her spine as she awkwardly but rather tensely chuckled from his follow-up response. "Nothing! I was just curious." she answered, trying to sound casual but as soon as she spoke, her voice cracked and to make matters worse, the words she tried to say at a normal pace rapidly came out of her mouth. She hoped he hadn't noticed her panicky nature, but when he began to cross his arms and intensively stared at her, she knew he sensed something was off with her...

"Ember—"

"Guys?"

As they turned, they saw her friend's daughter curiously looking at them and she found the girl's arrival as her excuse to getting her friend's father to direct his focus elsewhere. "Oh, hey Ike look! It's—" she briefly began, but not long after Aliya arrived, she saw Issac rush to his daughter as he latched himself onto the girl, leading her to cut herself off.

"Mija! You're okay!" she heard him exclaim before he pulled his daughter away from the hug and tenderly held onto the girl's face. "I was so worried about you!" he followed up, briefly releasing Aliya's face before he pulled her into the hug again as she saw her friend chuckle. "—Baba, I get your concern, but one blast isn't going to kill me, you know." his daughter softly said as she saw him sighing from his daughter's words. "I know, but still! Don't scare me like that! I could've lost you and—" he insisted, only to get cut off by his daughter again.

"—Dad, you are not going to lose me. Okay?" she heard Aliya softly assured him as she saw Issac softly sighing at his daughter's response. "Okay." he said before he sighed again. "Just be careful next time, alright?" he followed up as she saw her friend's daughter nodding at his response and smile afterwards. "Alright." Aliya said as he smiled. "Thank you." he said as she saw the girl give a simple nod. "You're welcome." his daughter said in turn before she saw the girl clear her throat a bit and face her father once more.

"Now about that stunt you pulled—"

"There was no stunt, mija, and that's the end of it." Issac firmly said, now releasing his daughter as he looked away from the girl. "Now come on. Let's go join the others and try to figure out this door dilemma." he insisted before she and Aliya saw him walk off to presumably join the others like he said. After he left, the fire fae ran to join her friend, who she noticed seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she cleared her throat.

"Aliya? Is everything alright?"

Watching the girl snap out of her thoughts upon hearing her voice, she saw the girl look at her as the girl blinked. "Emby? I thought you went back to the others." her friend countered as the fire faerie shook her head. "Nope." she simply said as Aliya nodded. "Ah." the girl simply said as she cleared her throat. "Mhm. But going back on my question, is everything alright?" she softly said as she saw Aliya blink again before she nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's alright. I'm just—"

"Issac, you can't be serious!"

"What is your dad trying to do this time?" she quietly asked as she turned to her friend, who had crossed her arms and sighed. "Well judging from Claudia's reaction just now, I'm guessing my baba is trying to get her husband to be the next candidate in unlocking the doors." her friend's daughter quietly answered as she blinked.

"Seriously? If half of us couldn't open the doors, what makes him think Baxter can?" she asked as her friend sighed. "No clue, but let's go find out." her friend answered and so, after that, they walked toward the others, who were standing not far from the set of doors as they stood beside Khashi. From there, they looked on as they saw Issac huffing from Claudia's response.

"Claudia—"

"Issac, if you, me and Ember couldn't get the doors opened, what makes you think my husband can?" Claudia countered as they saw the woman gesture to her husband, who only awkwardly looked at them. "Or Khashi?" the woman added as they saw her gesture to Khashi, who simply smiled. "Or even your own daughter for that matter?" the woman concluded, now gesturing to Aliya, who stared at her father and blinked before a sigh followed.

"He's not going to stop until someone goes next, is he?" she heard Aliya quietly ask as she gave a heavy sigh. "Given how your dad has been since I went? Probably." she quietly answered. "Yeah, okay. That's what I thought." she heard the girl mumble before another sigh followed suit.

"Thanks." she heard the girl add as she nodded. "You're welcome," she said before she paused as she blinked and crossed her arms. "But why do you—" she asked, turning to face her friend, only to cut herself off when she saw Aliya walking to the set of doors.

"Aliya! Come back here!" Ember yelled, loud enough to attract the adults' attention as she heard the conversation between Issac and Claudia immediately ceased.

"Aliya, if you're thinking what I think you're doing, don't do it!" Claudia insisted as she saw her friend's daughter stop and briefly look back at the woman with a soft smile. "Claudia, it's fine." Aliya casually said as her eyes widened.

"—Aliya. Please. Just come back. None of us want to see you get hurt and as noble as your effort is, it won't change the fact that I will have to go up again." Baxter chimed in as Khashi nodded. "I agree with Baxter and Claudia here, Yia. Just come back and we will figure something else out." Khashi insisted as she nodded. "Yeah! This isn't worth you getting hurt a second time!" she had added as they saw her chuckle.

"Guys, I'll be fine, so don't worry about me." the girl lightly countered as their eyes widened by how casual she was. "Don't worry? Aliya—" she, Claudia and Baxter insisted when Khashi took over for them. "Yia, how can we not worry when there's a likely chance you will end up getting blasted again?" Khashi followed up as they saw Aliya crossing her arms.

"Well, we won't know till I try and besides, someone has to go next, so..."

"Aliya—"

"... It might as well be me."

"Aliya—"

"Besides, if it turns out I'm not the one capable of unlocking these doors, then we will know that this idea isn't working and we'll be able to come up with a different strategy." they heard her say as she puzzledly blinked.

"I don't get it." she said as she heard light hums of agreement, which led the fire faerie to glance over her shoulder as she saw Khashi, Claudia and Baxter nodding. "I mean, we all know that this idea isn't working." Khashi chimed in as she saw Claudia and Baxter crossing their arms. "Right, so why would she think that her attempt to opening the doors would change anything when we all think there should be a different strategy?" Claudia and Baxter further followed up, chiming in right as the realization dawned on her.

"She's not talking to us. She's talking to Issac."

"But she—"

"Aliya knows we are all against it, but he's the only one who is fully for this and that's who she's addressing. She just didn't want to call him out on it, so she chose to address all of us with the hopes that he would finally come to see the flaw in this strategy when he sees her get hurt." she promptly said, interrupting the three as she gestured to Issac, whose eyes widened as they saw the realization dawning on him just as it had dawned on her.

"Mija, don't—" Issac attempted to say, but his warning came too late as they already saw Aliya reaching the set of the doors and place her right hand on the doors. As soon as Aliya did, they saw a bright golden rune appear for the girl just as it had appeared for her, Issac and Claudia moments ago.

But unlike the case with her, Issac and Claudia in which they all saw the rune began to turn red after they touched the rune, they immediately noticed the same didn't occur for the girl. Rather, they saw the rune continue to retain its golden color as the set of doors gained a bright golden sparkly glow. From there, a sudden gust of wind followed suit as they quickly shield themselves from the gust of wind before it quickly died down. When this had happened, they lowered their arms and gasped at seeing the set of doors now fully opened from Aliya's touch.

"I guess Yia had the lucky touch after all." Khashi lightly stated as she blinked. "Yeah, I guess she did." she said in agreement as she lightly crossed her arms. "But the real question is—" she had added when she was promptly interrupted. "—How?" Claudia finished as she saw her husband nodding. "Mhm and more so, why?" Baxter added and after that, they glanced at each other in curiosity, wonder and slight confusion at the way they had witnessed Aliya unlocking the set of doors to Aureus' treasure trove.

For a moment, no one spoke until their prolonged silence was had been broken by Issac clearing his throat, which made everyone look at him.

"Look, I'm sure there's an answer as to why my daughter — "of all people" she had heard Issac mumble before facing them again — was able to unlock the doors to Aureus' treasure trove, but right now, we have an aperio mirror to find so let's go." he promptly insisted and not long after that, he began to walk away from them.

As soon as he did, she found herself puzzledly staring at him walk off as his comment regarding his daughter had genuinely bothered her. Yet, she pushed his strange comment regarding Aliya aside and turned her attention back to the others. Once she faced them, she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Right well..." Ember began, only to trail off as Claudia cleared her throat. "I guess we should get moving then." Claudia later finished as they saw Baxter and Khashi nodded. "Yeah." Baxter and Khashi simply finished as they began to make their way to the (now) opened doors. There, she saw Baxter, Claudia and Khashi thank Aliya before they began to go inside.

As such, she followed suit as she thanked the girl. From there, she was about to follow their lead and go inside, but right as she was about to do the same as the others, she caught Aliya turning her head and huff. This naturally caught her attention, but when she saw the girl cross her arms, her curiosity perked. However, Ember only decided to act upon her curiosity when she heard the girl sigh afterwards.

"Lia? You alright?" she asked as she saw her friend turn to face her. "Oh... Yeah, I... I'm alright. I just thought I—" her friend initially answered before cutting herself off as she shook her head. "Nevermind. It's probably nothing." her friend followed up as she puzzledly stared at the girl in front of her.

"Aliya—"

"Anyways, let's go catch up to the others." her friend said, lightly touching her shoulder as she saw the girl warmly smile at her before she stopped and removed her hand from her shoulder. "Yeah." she said and after that, she saw the girl smile at her one more time before she saw the girl head inside.

When Aliya went inside, Ember thought to do the same but after she thought about her friend's actions just now, she decided to stay outside a little bit longer as she wanted to figure out what was on her friend's mind. In that moment, she heard a slight scuffle, which led the fire faerie to turn around to see if anyone was there. However much to her dismay, she hadn't seen anyone. So, she sighed to herself and crossed her arms as she huffed.

"Emby?"

Turning around, she saw her friend peeking her head out as she saw her friend tilting her head at her. "You coming?" Aliya casually followed up as she nodded. "Yeah, I'm coming." she answered and as her friend nodded, she saw the girl turn away from her. When Aliya was gone, she turned back and took one last glance at her surroundings before she sighed.

"It's probably nothing." she mumbled, turning her attention back to the set of the (now) opened doors and began making her way inside...

"Oh come on!"

Walking inside and following the source of the sound, she saw everyone standing to the side of the entrance while Claudia gestured to the giant light brown door in front of them as she made note of the golden edges around the handles. "How did we just get past one set of doors to get stuck behind another door!" Claudia irritatedly added as she watched Baxter lightly ponder on his wife's question for a bit before he spoke.

"Honeybun, life is full of mysteries but if I had to guess—"

"—Aureus really didn't want anyone touching his things, so that's why the extra door is here." she heard her friend's father finished, now taking over for Baxter as she turned to look at him. "But have no fear. I can get this door open in no time." he confidently boasted as she scoffed. "Oh, I'm so sure of that, Ike." she sarcastically said, resulting in everyone looking at her as she saw Issac turn to face her.

"I'm just saying. You were the first one to get blasted by the rune, so it's most likely that you will end up getting blasted again if you were to try." Ember pointed out as she saw the others began to nod in agreement. "Ember has a point there, Issac." Claudia and Baxter added as Khashi gave a light hum. "Mhm. Maybe, it would be wise to let your daughter try instead, seeing how she was the one to get the doors opened." Khashi chimed in, pointing out the obvious but Issac seemed to be strangely against the idea of letting his daughter try as he chuckled.

"Nonsense. What happened with Aliya was just luck, but this time, I can get the door opened." he insisted as she, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi stared at him in disbelief. "Issac—" they attempted to say, only to cut themselves off when they saw Aliya approaching her dad. She seemed to speak in a low tone and Issac followed suit, but moments later, they saw Issac moving onwards to the door while his daughter remained in the same spot.

This initially confused Ember until she noticed a gleam of hurt and bewilderment in her friend's eyes. As soon as she saw that, the fire fae decided to approach Aliya as she ran to the girl's side.

"Hey, what happened?"

"Nothing." her friend insisted as she turned to face her. When the girl did, she noticed the gleam of hurt and bewilderment vanished. Not long after, her friend smiled at her, but she suspected there was more to the matter. However when she and Aliya heard footsteps, they turned around and saw Baxter, Claudia and Khashi moving closer to them. As such, she pretended to go along with what her friend had said (for the time being at least) as she didn't want to push her friend with the others around. Rather, she decided to ask her friend on what really happened with the conversation she had with her father later.

"So, this is going to backfire on him, right?" Claudia asked as she and Aliya glanced at each other and back at her. "Probably." the two said as Baxter shook his head. "Ah, well that's Issac for you. He's always been stubborn." Baxter chimed in, sighing afterwards before silence engulfed them. As such, no one spoke until her friend's daughter cleared her throat, breaking the silence as she and the others turned to look at Aliya now.

"So... assuming this doesn't go well in my dad's favor and his attempt of opening the giant door ends up backfiring on him, did any of you want to—"

"Oh, no thanks! I'm not trying again." she and Claudia swiftly stated, interrupting Aliya as Baxter and Khashi cleared their throats. "Right and even though we actually never attempted our luck in opening the doors back there, neither of us have any intentions on trying to open the door in front of us." Baxter and Khashi followed up as they glanced at each other and back at the girl in front of them. "So, it's all yours." she, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi collectively concluded as they saw her friend's daughter nod at their response.

"Thanks."

"Mhm. No problem."

After that, they watched as Issac positioned himself in front of the giant light brown door before he held his right hand out. As soon as he did, a bright golden rune appeared, but much like what happened last time, the rune quickly turned red. Only this time, a shock of electric energy came out of the rune and sent him back as they heard Issac scream and watched him crash toward the back of the room with a sharp thud.

"Ow..."

"Dad!"

As they watched Aliya run towards her dad, they followed after the girl and upon reaching the two, they saw the girl helping her dad up as he sighed. "Thanks." he mumbled as they saw the girl brush off some of the debris that was left on him. "You're welcome." his daughter brightly said as she cleared her throat.

"So, Issac, what happened? I thought you said you—" she initially began in a mocking tone, but when she caught everyone staring at her, she cut herself off as she huffed. "You guys know Ike had it coming." she quietly grumbled as Khashi, Baxter and Claudia sighed. "Yes, but mocking Issac over what happened isn't going to change anything. Besides, it's just spiteful and you're better than that." the three pointed out as she sighed and turned to face Issac as his daughter tended to his slight cuts on his face.

"Are you alright?" she concernedly asked, deciding to take everyone's advice as Issac sighed. "I will be fine, Emby." he insisted as she saw him turn to face her with a small smile. "But thanks." he added as she nodded. "You're welcome." she softly said as she returned his smile. After that, she saw Issac turn away from her to face his daughter again as her friends conversated for a bit until she saw her friend's daughter release her grasp on him, which naturally made her and the others uneasy when they thought back to what occurred moments ago.

"Are you sure you're able to stand on your own?" she, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi followed up as he nodded. "I'm sure." he insisted as they sighed. "Alright." they simply said as he nodded. "Yep. Now, let's go." he insisted and as he walked away from them, they all cautiously glanced at each other and back at his daughter, who offered a small smile in turn.

"Hey. He'll be fine." the girl softly assured them before she cleared her throat. "Now come on. We should probably get a move on before he realizes we're not there." her friend's daughter added as they saw the girl began walking towards her father's direction.

As such, Ember, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi followed the girl's lead. Together, the five made their way back to Issac and chose to stand over to the left side of the door, where they saw her friend's father. Once they had all been positioned, they quietly watched as his daughter walk toward the giant door before she placed her hand directly on the door. As soon as she did, they watched the door magically open a second later from the girl's touch. From there, they moved closer to Aliya as they heard the girl annoyingly sigh before she spoke.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"What?"

"Come see for yourself." Aliya simply said, not really answering their question as she stepped to the side. As such, they wanted to see what she meant, so they decided to look. As they began to look though, they immediately noticed the (seemingly) endless troves of treasure in a series of stacks as they groaned, having now understood why the girl acted the way she did towards the (undesirable) sight in front of them.

"This is going to take us hours!" she, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi collectively complained as her friend's father chuckled at their reactions.

"Well then, I guess you all better get to searching." Issac teasingly advised as he smirked at them. "After all, that aperio mirror isn't going to find itself now!" he teasingly followed up as she huffed at her friend's response. "How do we even know what the aperio mirror looks like?" she, Baxter, Claudia and Khashi asked as they looked at Issac for an answer.

"Oh." Issac sheepishly began as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and look away from them. "I guess I should have started with that first." he awkwardly added before they saw him clearing his throat. "Right," he added, briefly pausing as he clapped his hands upon turning to face them again.

"Well, the aperio mirror is—"

"—A bronze-colored bagua mirror with a black-and-white yin yang in the center with a few white knotted up strings tied to it. Once you see the knotted up strings, you should see a honey golden outline circled around the mirror. From there, you should see a small feathered-like white tassel tied on the other end of the mirror with a series of runes surrounding the item." his daughter had swiftly explained, taking over her father's would-be response as they saw Issac awkwardly stare at Aliya before he cleared his throat and looked at them once more.

"Yeah. That's essentially what the aperio mirror looks like." Issac simply said, mostly for a lack of a better response as his daughter answered their question. As such, they all began to look when Ember excitedly gasped.

"Oh! I think I found it!" she excitedly proclaimed as everyone lightly chuckled. "Ember, we love the energy, but we just got here. There's no way you could've possibly found the aperio mirror that fast now." everyone insisted as she puzzledly blinked.

"Then what's this?" the fire faerie casually asked, holding up the bronze-colored bagua mirror with a black-and-white yin yang in the center of the mirror with a few white knotted up strings tied to it. As the fire faerie continued to hold the mirror, a honey golden outline could be seen circling around the mirror with a small feathered-like white tassel tied on the other end of the mirror. Additionally, a series of runes [which Ember couldn't read, much less understand] was seen surrounding the item.

"That's—" everyone attempted to start when a cunning chuckle suddenly echoed all across the room and promptly cut them off.

"—Ours actually, firecracker, thanks."

"Uh no, I don't think so, but nice try though." she sassily responded, now turning away from her group to face Atari as she scoffed. "Oh, it's you." she said before she glanced at the two men by the scientist's side. "Who are your friends?" she followed up, gesturing to the older fair-skinned male who she saw appear to be in his mid-thirties to early forties and an athletically-built dark-skinned male who looked to be twenty-five.

"They're not—"

"The name's Ethan." the athletically-built dark-skinned male who looked to be twenty-five had answered as Ember noticed he was wearing a light magenta pastel sweater that read Free the Animals! with light beige denim jeans and black high-tops.

"Alright and you are..." Ember followed up before she trailed off as she looked at the older fair-skinned male who she saw appear to be in his mid-thirties to early forties. As the fire faerie had continued to look, she saw he was wearing a black vest over his light-beige T-shirt, khaki jeans and black combat boots as the male smirked. "Chasen." the male simply answered as the fire faerie blinked and cleared her throat.

"Right well... Atari, Ethan and Chasen, uh, I hate to disappoint you guys but we got here first and I'm currently holding the relic, so... I guess you guys are just out of luck on this one." Ember had said as she saw the three men look at each other and back at her.

"Sorry firecracker, but we're going to need that mirror." Atari promptly countered as Ember gave a dry chuckle. "I guess you guys are going to pry it out of my hands then." she lightly taunted as a dark, rugged chuckle followed suit.

"That can be arranged."

When she turned, she saw Chasen smirking as he held a light beige and silver grappling hook in his possession.

"Uh... Heh." Ember awkwardly chuckled as she tugged at her dress. "Actually..." she later added before she trailed off as the grappling hook came directly at her.

"Aliya! Issac! Someone! I don't care who! Just catch the aperio mirror!" Ember promptly yelled, tossing the aperio mirror towards her friends and their group before she promptly ducked and dodged Chasen's grappling hook from getting a hold of her.

"Got it!"

As she turned, Ember saw her friends grabbing onto the aperio mirror as her friend's father held onto the yin while her friend's daughter held onto the yang aspects of the relic. Upon touching the aperio mirror, the yin and yang aspects of the mirror began to glow as the fire faerie saw her friends' hands start glowing in respect to the side they were holding afterwards. As such, Issac's left hand began to glow a pitch-black hue while Aliya's right hand began to glow a bright golden hue.

"Um, is that supposed to be happening?" she, Baxter, Claudia, Khashi, Atari, Ethan and Chasen collectively asked as they saw Aliya and Issac look at each other and back at them.

"I don't think this is supposed to be happening so..." Aliya began to answer before she trailed off as her father took over. "... Probably not." Issac promptly followed up, finishing his daughter's response and not long after that, everyone watched as a pitch-black portal formed directly to the left side of him (which also seemed to be in accordance to the yin he was holding as yin is often associated with the left).

"Huh..." she mumbled before she trailed off when she glanced at the pitch-black portal Issac had unintentionally made as five teenagers appeared.

The first teenager they saw was 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.

The second teenager they saw was a pale complexed male with straight, short dark brown hair and brown eyes as he wore a blue shirt with grey jeans and blue sneakers with white laces on it.

The third teenager they saw was a fair-skinned, jet-black haired, midnight blue eyed girl as the girl wore a pastel blue dress with leggings and black combat boots.

The fourth teenager they saw was a light-skinned male with dark brown eyes as the male worn a light beige shirt, blue ripped denim jeans and pastel blue sneakers with white laces.

Finally the fifth teenager they saw from Issac's unintentional portal was a eighteen-year-old extremely pale-skinned male with grey and pale eyes as the male wore a black ninja suit with the Foot Clan symbol on it, black jeans, and black sneakers with white laces on the shoes.

"Okay, surely this can't—" Ember attempted to say when a bright golden portal formed at Aliya's right side of her (which also seemed to be in accordance to the yang her friend's daughter was holding as yang is often associated with the right). "Nevermind." she quietly mumbled, having now deciding to forgo her previous response when she spotted the portal.

From there, Ember (along with everyone else) saw Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Sofonisba and Captain Violet appearing from the bright golden portal her friend's daughter had created.

However, they weren't alone as a pale-skinned teenaged boy was with them and appeared to be roughly fifteen as he worn a red mask with silver lining on top, his hair slicked to the left, a blue shirt with a sliver vest with red and black lines and the Hamato Clan symbol on it. The male was also seen wearing red pants with a black utility belt with the same symbol on the belt buckle in addition to having red gloves, red and black striped elbow hands with sliver on the edges, and black boots with red stripes on the laces.

Along with the masked boy whose name she did not know, she (along with everyone else) also saw five teenagers beside him.

The first teenager was 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 as the girl wore a dark pink buttoned up dress with light pink undertones, dark pink high-top socks and matching boots.

The second teenager they saw was a light-skinned male with black, medium-length hair as his outfit consisted of a black bandana 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.

The third teenager they saw was a biracial, light skinned male of African-American and White descent with short jet-black hair and chocolate brown, almost dark brown eyes as his outfit consisted of a light gray buttoned jacket over a light bluish-gray T-shirt, darkish gray jogger pants light blue, grayish-colored sneakers while he was also seen sporting a dark brownish colored watch.

The fourth teenager they saw was a slim, fair-skinned girl with freckles on her face as the girl had possessed ocean-blue eyes with long and thin eyelashes, and shoulder-length ginger hair, which she saw was kept in a small ponytail with right-sided curved bangs.

In addition, everyone saw 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 worn over a mid-quarter-sleeved, navy-black shirt. The girl 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. Furthermore, there had also appeared to be keys around her as the girl worn 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.

Finally, the fifth teenager they saw from Aliya's unintentional portal was a fair-skinned male with dark brown hair and brown eyes as they all saw the male wearing a short-sleeve red shirt, denim jeans and black sneakers.

From there, the portals vanished as she glanced back toward her friends and saw the yin and yang sides of the aperio mirror cease their glow with her friends' hands also following suit as their hands stopped glowing. She blinked at the sight before she heard a light chuckle follow until it stopped.

"So, this looks like fun, but we're going to need that aperio mirror." Chasen promptly stated as the fire fae chuckled and turned to face him. "Well as I told you earlier, you and your crew are out of luck because they have it and you're going to have to pry it out of their hands to get it." the fire faerie smugly added, taunting the latter until she heard Chasen give his dark, rugged chuckle.

"Oh, trust me. I have no problem with that." Chasen smugly boasted in turn as the fire faerie saw him turn to face Atari and Ethan, who both looked back at him with a smug, cocky smirk of their own. "Atari, Ethan, you two know what to do." he simply added as Atari and Ethan's smirks only grew.

"Mhm. Just say the word and the mirror will be as good as ours." Atari and Ethan promptly said as she saw Chasen smirk.

"In that case..."

Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it, don't—

"Attack!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Seriously? This again?"

After yesterday's attempt in tracking down the source of the mysterious glow led her having to face down a scientist {whose name she now knew was Atari} and reuniting her with her siblings again, Sophie thought her adventure concerning magic was over because she had gotten what she wanted in reconnecting with her siblings again.

Unfortunately, today's newfound adventure proved the exact opposite because now, she (along with her siblings, a masked boy who seemed close to her siblings but someone she has actually never met up to this point and four {though she could've sworn there was one more} teenagers she assumed were friends of her youngest sister that she {again} has never met up to this point) found herself caught in some random treasure trove with a series of newfound faces.

However among these unfamiliar faces, she knew four though in truth, she wished she had only known three instead because one (in particular) seemed a bit annoying. But, she figured as long as she kept her distance, then maybe everything would be—

"Oh, it's you."

When she turned to see Issac coldly looking at her, Sophie blinked as she crossed her arms. "Uh, do we have a problem here?" she slowly asked, genuinely baffled by why this forty-year-old man was staring at her as though she was a nuisance to him.

"We do act—"

"No, we don't." his daughter sharply chimed in, interrupting her father as she saw Aliya staring at him. "Aaliyah, I don't need you getting in my way, so stay out of this. Okay? This doesn't concern you." he sharply stated as his daughter sighed.

"Dad—"

"Okay, I know what I'm doing, so stop trying to hold me back and let me do what I need to do for us." he sharply but quite aggressively insisted, interrupting Aliya again as his daughter scoffed at his response. "Right and that includes arguing with Sofonisba because... why?" Aliya slowly but somewhat bluntly asked as he rolled his eyes at his daughter's response.

"Mija—"

"She's a child, dad."

"Mija—"

"—I mean, seriously come on." his daughter insisted, cutting him off again as she sighed. "What were you even thinking when you came up with this idea?" she followed up, now scolding her father as the girl shook her head. "I mean, honestly. Can't you see how—" his daughter tried to add before they saw Aliya cut herself off when a light beige and silver grappling hook was seen wrapped around her right hand.

"Aha! That mirror is mine, girl!"

When they turned, they saw Chasen smugly smirking as Aliya scoffed. "That's what you think but we will see who's talking when the mirror leaves with us!" his daughter swiftly countered back as Chasen dryly chuckled. "So you think girl, but I'm going to pry that aperio mirror out of you soon enough! Then, we will see who's talking!" they heard Chasen promptly countered in turn when a smug smirk followed.

"Then come on. Pry it out of my hand." Aliya smugly taunted as Chasen smirked. "Gladly." he taunted, matching the girl's energy as she saw Issac's eyes widened.

"Mija—"

"—Protect the mirror and keep it safe." his daughter firmly ordered, pushing the aperio mirror towards him as she saw his eyes grow wider. "Mija—" he attempted to say but his daughter's light chuckle cut him off. "—Baba, don't worry about me." his daughter softly told him as she saw a soft smile forming on the girl's face. "Okay, I will be fine. Alright?" his daughter added, taking a deep breath as she saw the girl's father frown.

"Mija—"

"Just focus on ensuring the mirror doesn't end in the wrong hands and whatever you do, don't— Ah!"

"Mija!"

She thought to reach out to Aliya and try to grab her hand, but Issac beat her to it... Though he too missed the girl by a second and forced to watch as his daughter became pulled away out of his reach before they saw Aliya vanish from their view. As soon as that happened, she saw Issac lowering his head while he angrily clenched his left fist and held onto the aperio mirror with his right hand.

Believing he was upset over what they had saw just occur to his daughter, she thought to assure him that his daughter would be fine in the hopes of lessening the strange, unwarranted anger he harbored... for reasons unknown to the golden-masked mutant turtle.

Anyways, she had only begun to open her mouth when she heard his dark chuckle, prompting her to immediately close her mouth as she had been genuinely caught off-guard by his strange chuckle.

"You."

Upon hearing the sharp aggression in his tone, Sophie awkwardly blinked as she cleared her throat.

"Hey uh... are you good?" she slowly asked as she took a moment to pause before she went on with her response. "Like mentally? Because if you're not—" she continued when she had been promptly interrupted by the latter. "Oh, I'm good..." he cryptically began to answer before she watched him trail off as he darkly chuckled.

"... But you won't."

"Wait. What—"

Sophie had barely got the start of her words out when she saw a menacing smirk forming on his face. As soon as she saw his smirk, she caught a glimpse of a illuminating light blue, almost teal like colored eye along with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak illuminating not long after she saw his newfound eye color that surfaced in place of his light honeysuckle hue. From there, Issac proceeded to spin and turn to (presumably) uppercut her in an aggressive manner when a pair of dual twin sais swiftly blocked the latter's near-successful attack. As such, Sophie's eyes lit up the moment she saw her older brother come to her aid.

"Raph!"

"In a flash, Chompy." Raphael cheekily greeted, spinning his dual twin sais around the tips of his finger before he stopped and grabbed his sais again. "I hope we're not too late though, Chomps. We would've came sooner, but well, let's just say we had some things holding us back." her red-masked older brother added as she saw Issac staring at him in confusion.

"We?" Issac puzzlingly asked as Sophie watched her red-masked older brother simply nod at the question. "We." her older brother confidently confirmed as he tauntingly smirked at the latter's direction which initially confused Issac. However when Sophie saw the realization of Raphael's response began to dawn on him, his eyes flickered with irritation as he scoffed.

"Oh, right. I forgot there's more of you freaks, but no matter." Issac dryly stated as he gave a dry, bitter chuckle. "I'll deal with them the same way I'm going to deal with you two." he finished as they watched his menacing smirk grow.

"Starting now."

After she and Raphael heard him speak those words, Issac's light blue, almost teal-like eyes and the silver-ish, white glowing streak began illuminating brighter. Once this happened, light blue, almost pale-like crystals began to form in the palm of his left hand as he positioned his left arm to his back before he pushed his left arm forward and thrust his left palm at them, which made their eyes widened.

"Chomps—"

"Raph! Get behind me!"

"I'm not—"

"Raph!"

"Fine but I'm still going to hold onto my sais!" Raphael promptly stated before she saw her older brother get behind her. "Fine by me." she simply said before she held her hands in a heroic-like stance. "Good!" Raphael simply said right as her palms started to gain a light blue, almost pale-like hue as crystallized ice began to form shortly thereafter.

"You really think your copycat powers will be good enough to best me?" Issac bluntly snarled as she rolled her eyes. "Old man, I have ice powers and you have crystal powers! They are not the same thing!" she promptly protested as he simply scoffed. "Right. You just keep telling yourself that, copycat." he dismissively countered as she quietly groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me." she mumbled as Raphael scoffed. "That's it. If he doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that you and him have completely different powers, then I will make him understand." her older brother firmly said as her eyes widened. "Raph—" she began to say, but cut herself off the moment she watched him move from behind her as he stood beside her and sharply glared at Issac.

"Alright! Listen here, old man! As my sister just said, her powers are nothing like yours, so stop referring to her as your copycat and stop acting like your powers are better than hers because they're not!" Raphael sharply protested as the latter scoffed.

"Heh. Come to your sister's aid? How noble of you." Issac bluntly mocked as he gave a dry laugh. "Well, I expected nothing less from the spineless creampuff." they heard him add as Sophie saw her older brother's eyes widened.

"Hey! Who are you calling a spineless creampuff now?!"

"You obviously. Who else?" Issac bluntly deadpanned, laughing afterwards as she saw her older brother angrily clenching onto his left sai. "Raph—" she attempted to say, trying to warn him it was simply a tactic meant to arouse his anger, but she cut herself off the moment Raphael had looked away from her and began to face Aliya's father.

"That's it! When I'm through with you, we will see who the spineless creampuff is!" Raphael had firmly snapped as they heard Issac laughing again. "Sure, hamshake. Whatever you say." Issac added, continuing to taunt her older brother as Sophie saw Raphael angrily clenching onto his sais with a growl following suit.

"Raph—"

"You're on!" Raphael determinedly exclaimed, now charging towards Issac, who simply smirked at her older brother's stunt as he swiftly (but rather aggressively) began blasting crystals toward his direction.

"Raph!"

As soon as Issac began blasting his crystals, she began activating her ice powers and was more than prepared to come to her older brother's defense the moment she saw the crystals coming towards his direction. However right as she was about to come to Raphael's defense and block Issac's attack, Sophie saw her purple-masked older brother appear in front of them, resulting in their eyes widening when they saw him rapidly spinning his bo to deflect the crystals' direction from them.

As such, the sound of shattered crystals could be heard seconds later as Donatello spun his bo to deflect the crystals for a bit before he completed one final spin and promptly slam the end of his bo staff onto the ground with a smug smirk.

"How's that for the B-team?" Donatello cheekily but quite smugly asked, turning to face them as she rolled her eyes from his comment while Raphael chuckled. "Well, Donnie, you still need to do some improving before you can be part of the A-team, but this is a start." Raphael responded in a teasingly, playful and somewhat boasted-like manner as she saw Donatello roll his eyes and turn away from him to presumably mumble something under his breath before she saw his eyes face Issac.

"Wait. You're the guy who tried to attack Raph just now?" Donatello puzzledly asked as Raphael cleared his throat. "And Sophie!" Raphael added, causing Donatello to glance back just in time for their older brother to gesture to her as she mutely nodded. "Seriously?" Donatello followed up as they saw him turn to face the latter once more. "What is your—" he attempted to add but cut himself off when a swoosh-like sound was heard by everyone.

As such, she and her brothers looked up to see the aperio mirror tumbling through the air, which Sophie suspected must have came out of Issac's grasp the moment he attacked them (or tried to attack them anyways).

"Wait. Is that—"

"Yes, that's the aperio mirror," Issac swiftly answered, interrupting her brothers as they stared at him when he briefly paused before he continued. "But if any of you think you're getting it, that's not going to happen." Issac swiftly finished as Raphael scoffed. "And why is that, old man?" her red-masked older brother sassily challenged as she and Donatello nodded. "Yeah. Why is that?" she and Donatello promptly interjected, echoing their older brother's question as they listened to Issac dryly chuckling at their responses.

"Simple. I need it more than you lot combined but more so, I was instructed not to let the aperio mirror fall into the wrong hands such as yourselves." Issac promptly answered as she rolled her eyes from his response and deactivated her ice magic before she crossed her arms.

"That's funny considering she told you to protect the aperio mirror and keep it safe. Yet, seeing how you were too focused with trying to attack us to notice the mirror escaping your grasp, it's obvious then that you care more about getting your unwarranted revenge on us than the actual item itself. Because if you really cared about what the aperio mirror, then you would have done what your daughter had asked of you. Instead of, you know, trying to attack us for no reason!" she promptly added as her brothers nodded.

"Yeah, so it's safe to say the aperio mirror would do better in our hands than yours, old man." Raphael smugly added as he crossed his arms.

"Just for the record though, we don't want it." Donatello pointed out as Raphael nodded at his response. "Of course, we don't want it, Donnie, but surely the aperio mirror could benefit from being with someone else than opposed to being with him." Raphael pointed out as Donatello nodded at his response. "Yeah, but who?" Donatello curiously asked as she and Raphael had begun to ponder the question when the answer came to her.

"His daughter."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Surely, she would know what to do with the mirror. Besides, I bet it would be a lot safer in her hands than opposed to her father's hands." Sophie promptly answered as she saw her older brothers looking at each other before they looked at her and shrugged. "Sure. She seems more approachable than her old man." Donatello simply said in agreement as Raphael nodded. "That and his daughter seems less annoying than him and the other girl, so sure. I guess whoever gets the mirror can just get it to Aliya whenever one of us comes across her." Raphael followed up as she nodded before she and her brothers turned to face Issac.

"Alright, then we're getting that mirror. Not for us, but for your daughter so if you think you're getting the aperio mirror before any of us, then you got another thing coming." her brothers firmly told him as she nodded.

"Yeah and more importantly, the aperio mirror won't be in the wrong hands such as yourself, Atari, Ethan or Chasen." she smugly added as he dryly scoffed at their responses.

"Right well, we'll see about that because as I said, the aperio mirror is as good as mine and if you think I'm going to let any of you touch it, then all of you got another thing coming." Issac firmly boasted and after he spoke, the three siblings glanced over at each other before looking back at him with a smug, confident smirk on their faces.

"Watch us. That mirror will be as good as ours." Sophie, Raphael and Donatello had confidently boasted as Issac simply gave a cryptic smirk. "Heh," he simply said before he paused and gave a cryptic chuckle. Not long after they heard him chuckle, they saw his eyes and his eyes' glowing streak illuminating brighter as his smirk grew.

"... We'll see about that."

As soon as he said those words, the aperio mirror quietly fell among a few piled stacks of various treasure but none of them noticed. Rather, they were facing each other {Sophie and her siblings staring at him and Issac staring at them} when he abruptly vanished. As such, they huffed at the sight of him leaving.

"Great. Now, where did he go?" Raphael annoyingly asked, clearly irritated by Issac's stunt now as Donatello sighed. "Forget about him, Raph." Donatello insisted as Raphael crossed his arms and scoffed while he continued to hold onto his sais. "Oh, yeah. That's easy for you to say, but you weren't called a spineless creampuff or a hamshake, Donnie." he irritatedly countered as Donatello nodded.

"True but then again—"

"You've been called worse, Raph." Sophie pointed out as Raphael rolled his eyes. "He called me a spineless creampuff and a hamshake, Chomps!" Raphael fiercely protested as he dramatically threw his arms around. "A spineless creampuff and a hamshake, Chomps!" he repeated as they listened to him emphasizing the nicknames Issac had given him before he stopped throwing his arms around.

"I mean, who does that!"

"Hey! At least, you didn't get called his copycat!" she promptly protested as she shook her head and scoffed. "Copycat. Ha! The nerves of that guy, I swear. I mean, how stupid do you have to be to not see that crystal and ice are two different things?" she followed up as Raphael nodded at her response.

"Exactly! Okay, I mean, yes, your ice powers and his crystal powers are similar in structure, sure. But, I mean come on! You and his powers' design are completely different!" Raphael promptly followed up as she nodded at his words.

"Yes and despite the two abilities not being the same, he still had the audacity to say my powers were nothing more than a copycat version of his as though he really believes that his powers are actually better than mine!" she promptly followed up as she crossed her arms, shook her head and scoffed.

"I mean, come on! Everyone knows that ice—"

"Sophie! There are other things to worry about than debating whether ice or crystal powers are stronger!" Donatello swiftly proclaimed, now interrupting her as she dramatically gasped at his response.

"Firstly, I will have you know this is not—"

"Chompy, with all due respect, let's get back to the real matter at hand." Raphael stated as she stared at him. "Which is?" she asked as he stared at her. "Which is the nicknames he gave me!" Raphael promptly answered as she slowly raised her eyes at him. "Oh and you, of course." her red-masked older brother sheepishly added as she lightly shook her head and chuckled at his follow up response.

"Actually not to be that person, but there are actual matters to worry about than the nicknames you and Sophie were given." Donatello swiftly chimed in as she and Raphael turned to see their purple-masked brother start searching through the piles of stacked treasure near them. "Such as?" she and Raphael asked as Donatello turned to face them with a deadpan look. "The aperio mirror, obviously." their purple-masked brother simply answered as they glanced at each other before their eyes drifted back at him.

"Oh, right." Sophie said as Raphael huffed. "I forgot we're supposed to be looking for that." he added as he sighed. "I don't understand what's so important about it though. It's just a mirror. I mean, what could that tiny thing be of any importance?" Raphael followed up as they watched him shake his head. "Honestly, if you ask me, it's just junk." he continued as she and Donatello glanced at each other before looking back at him with a heavy sigh following suit.

"Yeah, well regardless of whether that tiny thing as you called it is junk or not, the aperio mirror must obviously hold significant importance because it caught several people's attention. What that importance is exactly, we don't know." Donatello promptly answered, briefly pausing for a bit before he continued once more.

"However what we do know is Atari, Ethan and Chasen are after it and Issac is also after it, so if we want to beat them and ensure that his daughter gets the aperio mirror before any of them, then I suggest we start looking to see where it landed at." Donatello further added as she and Raphael glanced over toward the stacks of piled treasure around them, which caused them to collectively groan at the sight.

"This could take a while." she and Raphael followed up as Donatello dryly chuckled. "Yeah well, we don't have a while so get to digging!" Donatello promptly ordered before they watched him turn away and dive directly into the nearest stack of piled treasure.

The moment they witnessed their purple-masked brother diving into the treasure, she and her red-masked brother briefly glanced at each other for a bit before they collectively sighed from what would now be expected of them.

"You know, I still can't believe this is all over a mirror." Raphael pointed out as Sophie nodded. "Yeah, but it is what it is." she simply said before she sighed and crossed her arms. "Well, Raph, are you ready to get started?" she simply added as he promptly laughed at her question.

"No. I am not ready to go dive into someone's junk. I mean, diving into someone's junk might be Mikey's thing, but it's not mine." Raphael swiftly answered before he paused as he sighed. "But I suppose we have to start somewhere, so this is going to be as ready as I'm going to get." Raphael followed up as she nodded.

"I get that." she said in agreement as he nodded in turn. "Yep." he simply said before he sighed and turned to face her. "So, are you ready to get started?" he followed up as she glanced back over at the piled stacks of treasure and huffed.

"No. Not really, but if we want to beat out Issac, Atari, Ethan and Chasen from getting the aperio mirror before us, then we might as well start somewhere like you said." she simply answered as he briefly nodded at her before he turned to face the piled stacks of treasure that awaited them now.

"Alright. Well then, in that case, let's get started." he lightly said as a confident smirk formed on his face. "Alright." she briefly said before she paused as she began to return the same confident smirk that formed on her older brother's face moments — if not seconds — ago. "Let's do this!" Sophie determinedly added in agreement as Raphael nodded at her response before his smirk grew.

"Yeah!"

With that, Sophie and Raphael branched off from each other and set off to search for the aperio mirror separately. So while Raphael took one corner of the place they were mysteriously sent to, Sophie proceeded to do the same as she drove through the pile of treasure she stumbled upon. In doing so, the aperio mirror had unknowingly plopped onto the ground from its initial hiding spot right as Sophie emerged from her dive.

As soon as she emerged, she started to walk around while the aperio mirror began to roll around across the floor. As it continued to roll, the aperio mirror briefly showed a glimpse of a light blue, shadowy blur form before the shadowy blur materialized and turned into Issac, who had landed stealthily onto the ground. However while he still physically retained his human form, the mirror reflected a much different image.

Because rather than reflect what he currently looked like, the mirror showed him having grey, metallic skin with his light blue, almost teal-like eyes and the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak remaining. Furthermore, the mirror showed Issac donning a dark grey crown decorated with bones above his head as he wore a black and blue tunic with a light blue {almost teal like} cloak-like robe and a teal-colored belt that was also decorated with bones rather than what he was currently wearing.

Right as the aperio mirror revealed Issac's true form, a series of low, eerie hushed whispers had followed before the mirror promptly fell on its back with a light clang. Once the mirror fell on its back, the whispers ceased and the mirror no longer showed Issac's true form. Rather, the mirror was faced upward and lied across from where Sophie was now as she began to make her way to a white and golden outlined box with a light golden top.

Upon reaching the box, she lifted the box up and as soon as she did, she saw Issac not far from her. Yet due to the distance between them, he looked relatively tiny. Nonetheless though when she lifted the box, he appeared to look a bit startled while her eyes widened at the sight.

They momentarily stared at each other  before she quickly placed the box back down, breaking their eye contact. Once she did so, she grimaced displeasedly from the short encounter before he abruptly appeared in front of her as several items became scattered. As such, she screamed, having been caught off-guard by his stunt while he continued to hover above her.

"Ahhhhh! He just looked tiny because he was far away!" Sophie frantically exclaimed right as she stopped herself from sliding further. As soon as she did, she had found herself facing Issac again when she noticed his triumphant smirk. This initially confused her until she realized why he had been smirking that way when her eyes drifted onto the aperio mirror. As soon as she spotted the mirror and noticed Issac charging towards it, she immediately activated her ice magic and when she saw him get closer to the mirror, she swiftly started to blast the ground which he noticed as he laughed.

"Ha! You missed!" he smugly boasted but right as he was about to reach the mirror, he promptly slipped on the ice she just created, causing her to laugh at his current state. "Did I miss though?" Sophie mused in a taunting tone as she snickered once more. As she did, she saw the way Issac angrily stared at her before he mutely began to send a crystal blast towards her.

Though surprised by the sudden speed of the crystal's direction, she quickly deflected his crystal blast with her ice magic as she watched the crystals shatter onto the ground. At the sight of this, Sophie chuckled as she continued to stare at the shattered crystals on the ground.

"Old man, I know you think your powers are nothing more than a mere copycat version of yours, but I think you need a reality check because as you clearly saw just now, my powers are nothing like yours." she promptly stated as she chuckled. "Oh and I do hope this will serve as a reminder for you because in the event you think your powers are better than mine, just remember that ice is the stronger power here." she further added in a light, boasting manner as she paused to turn to face Issac once more.

"Not your—" Sophie attempted to follow up before she immediately cut herself off when she saw Issac preparing to suddenly (but quite aggressively, she guessed, having seen the gleam of anger in his eyes) lunge at her.

"Double!"

As soon as she heard her nickname, Sophie watched as a light azure blue electric-charged blast struck Issac right as he was about to successfully lunge at her. As such, the electric-charged blast sent him crashing directly into the nearest pile of treasure as an outline of the old man appeared not long after.

"Sissy Twin! Are you alright!"

"Y... Yeah," she slowly said as she shook her head and chuckled. "I'm..." she slowly followed up, only to trail off when she turned to see her older twin, having expected to see his natural baby blue eyes. However when she turned to face him, she quickly discovered that his eyes weren't the natural baby blue color she had been used to seeing. Rather, a pair of light azure blue eyes stared back at her instead as she stared at the sight with a bit of wonder.

Huh. That's new.

"... Alright." she finished as he sighed in relief. "That's good! I'm glad you're alright." he sincerely said and as he smiled, she quietly watched as her twin's light azure blue eyes switched back to his natural baby blue eyes. "But why was he trying to attack you just now?" he followed up as she glanced at Issac's outline embodied in the treasure pile and sighed.

"Issac tried to attack me just now because he wants the aperio mirror. But me, Raph and Donnie all came to a consensus he shouldn't get it as he seemed to care more about getting revenge on the three of us than follow what his daughter instructed him to do."

"Which was...?"

"To protect the mirror and keep it safe."

"Ah."

"Yep. He failed to do that though, so we decided we wouldn't let him get the aperio mirror again. Rather, we would get it and give it over to Aliya instead whenever one of us came across her." she explained as she glanced over to see her twin nodding while his eyes were trained on the mirror on the ground.

"Gotcha. Well then, we will just have to stick to the plan you, Raph and Donnie made." her twin simply said as Sophie watched him pick up the aperio mirror and intensively stare at it for a bit until he furrowed his mask in bewilderment.

"What is it, Trouble?"

"I don't get it. I mean, what's so special about this mirror anyhow? Because to me, it just seems to be an ordinary mirror. Plus, this little mirror doesn't even look like it's worth the trouble of attacking someone over. Much less, a kid." he followed up as she saw a puzzled frown form on his face the longer he kept looking at the aperio mirror.

Seeing his puzzled frown made her sigh as she offered a small small and began holding her hand out to him.

"Here. Hand the mirror over to me. Maybe, we can try to figure out why the mirror is so special if I look at it." she casually offered as she saw his eyes look up at her for a bit before he nodded at her offer. "Okay. That works for me and besides, I'm sure you'll have far better luck in finding out what's so special about this mirror than I did just now." her twin and older brother casually said in agreement as he returned her small smile.

From there, he began to push the aperio mirror away from him as he started to make the gesture of passing the mirror to her. However right as he was about to pass the aperio mirror over to her though, the sound of sudden rumbling caught them off-guard. As such, she retracted her hand and took her eyes away from the aperio mirror while her twin held onto the mirror as they each began to search for the source of the unexpected noise.

She and Michelangelo searched until their eyes eventually came back to the treasure pile Issac had crashed into after her twin's newfound ability sent him there. As they looked on then, they watched several treasures start falling onto the ground now as the gigantic pile began to sway and wobble from the impact of her twin's action.

Not long after seeing this, she and her twin glanced at each other and back at the near-tumbling pile of treasure in front of them as their eyes collectively widened in sync, having finally realized what was to occur when Michelangelo awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Okay, maybe I added too much force there with that electric-charged blast of mine... Heh." her older twin awkwardly but meekly mumbled as she listened to the way he awkwardly chuckled right when they heard several clanging sounds. As such, they looked up to see the gigantic pile of treasure start wobbling towards them. As such, this had only made their eyes widened more at the sight as her twin spoke up once more.

"Oh boy."

After she heard Michelangelo say those words, the gigantic pile of treasure wobbled once more and began falling toward them. As such, she and Michelangelo came to expect the reality of the situation and braced themselves to be buried...

"Mikey! Sophie! Look out!"

As soon as she and her twin heard that, the two felt a quick but forceful shove as they briefly fell onto the ground and groaned from the impact of their fall.

"Ow..."

"Mikey! Sophie! Are you both alright?"

As they finished groaning and sat up, they briefly rubbed their heads before they stopped and at the sound of someone calling out to them again. As they looked up, they turned to see their little sister running to them, having spot the costume she donned as she held out her hands to them.

"Y... Yeah, we're alright, Vi." she and Michelangelo slowly said, answering her question before she and her twin each took their sister's hands. "Thanks." they said as their little sister gave a bright smile in their direction. "You're welcome!" Captain Violet happily perked, helping them stand up as their little sister released their hands. Once she did, she and Michelangelo returned their little sister's smile right as the three of them heard footsteps.

"Vi! Are they—"

"I just asked and I can happily say that Mikey and Sophie are alright." they heard Captain Violet tell their older brothers as they turned to see Raphael and Donatello pushing through the (now) fallen and former pile of treasure to the side to make their way to them. "Oh, that's good!" they heard Raphael and Donatello genuinely say as the two sighed in relief and briefly smiled before their smiles faded within seconds.

"Wait. Vi, did you—"

"No. I got here only after I had heard the sound of the treasure pile falling." Captain Violet simply answered as they saw their little sister blink. "Wait. If I got here just moments before you two did and—" their little sister had slowly started to say until their older brothers promptly interrupted her and essentially took over from there.

"—We just got here moments after you did, then how did..." their older brothers slowly chimed in before they trailed off as she and Michelangelo's eyes widened, having realized what they were in the midst of asking.

"Leo and Boy Danger must have pushed us out of the way to prevent the crumbling treasure pile from falling onto us." she and Michelangelo had promptly said right as she observed a distinctive gleam of recognization surfacing in Raphael, Donatello and Captain Violet's eyes. When they saw that, the twins noticed their eyes widened not long after they said that.

"Leo! Danger! We need to find them!" Captain Violet immediately exclaimed as they heard her voice laced with genuine panic and concern for them. It was then they observed Donatello as they saw him nodding at what their little sister had said before he spoke.

"Little Genius, I know you're concerned about Leo and Danger. We are too, but just look around us. It's going to take us a while to find them." Donatello gently pointed out, but their little sister only looked more determined by what he said.

"Well, there's no better time than now to get started! Besides, if we all start digging at the same time, we can find them faster." Captain Violet determinedly countered as she, her older twin and her two older brothers collectively nodded at their little sister's words. As soon as they nodded, Captain Violet proudly smirked.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find Leo and Boy Danger!"

"Yeah!"

After everyone agreed to find Leonardo and Boy Danger, they collectively began to dig through the treasure that surrounded them but of course, none of them had been successful in locating Leo and Boy Danger until they heard a sudden gasp. Curious, they took off to find the source of the sound. After some time of investigating, their search eventually led Sophie and her siblings to the upper-right corner of the strange building that they found themselves brought to earlier for reasons unknown.

Anyways, upon reaching this part of the building, they began to dig through some of the nearby 'sea' of treasure that surrounded them until they heard a sudden noise. Upon hearing the noise, everyone stopped their search and glanced at each other.

"You don't think—"

"There's only one way to find out, so come on." Captain Violet interrupted them as they turned to look at her. "Let's go see if that's Leo and Danger or if it's someone in need of help." Captain Violet determinedly followed up, briefly glancing at them before she turned away and started heading to the source of the noise they just heard. As such, they promptly followed after their little sister and began to follow her lead.

As such, Sophie and her brothers continued to walk on until they spotted Captain Violet's purple hair. As soon as they had spotted their little sister's hair, they immediately rushed to join the girl at her side and looked on the moment they reached her.

"Any luck, Vi?" they softly asked as they saw their little sister solemnly shake her head from their question and heavily sigh. "No. I haven't had any luck in..." Captain Violet initially began as they saw her looking at them before they heard a few faint forceful, gasping coughs. Once they had heard the coughs, they saw Captain Violet trail off and turn to see who was coughing when they heard her gasp.

"Leo?"

As soon as Captain Violet had said their eldest brother's name, they turned to see Leonardo grab onto a cabinet drawer of some sorts and listened to him as he gave a few more forceful, gasping coughs before he stopped. After he did, they watched as his cobalt blue eyes staring back at their youngest sister's sapphire blue eyes before his eyes drifted away from Captain Violet and over at them as Sophie, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo concernedly looked at him, matching the same look their little sister had given him moments ago.

"Guys?"

"Leo!"

As soon as they excitedly called out to him, everyone began to dive through the sea of treasure surrounding him to make things easier on not only him (and Boy Danger), but for them as well.

"Are you alright?" Sophie, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo heard Captain Violet ask their eldest brother as they turned to see their little sister offer her hand out to him. "I... I'm alright, Little Kunoichi." they heard Leonardo softly answer as he took her hand. "Thanks." they heard him add as they saw their little sister nodding at his response. "No problem." they heard their little sister say before she began to ease him out of his current spot and helped him get out of the sea of treasure that seemingly engulfed him.

Once they saw this, Sophie, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo worked with the limited time they had and did their best to quickly make a treasure-free (or mostly free) area for their eldest brother (and Boy Danger) just in time for Captain Violet and Leonardo to join them. At this, she, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo began to grin as they looked at the two (well mainly Leo, but still).

"Leo!" Sophie, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo happily exclaimed as they sprinted to hug him with Captain Violet also hugging their blue-masked eldest brother too. "Guys, I'm okay!" he insisted, so they reluctantly pulled away but not before Raphael had punched his right shoulder and made Leonardo wince from the punch.

"Ow!" Leonardo exclaimed as she saw him glaring at Raphael. "What was that for?" he followed up, now rubbing his arm now as they saw Raphael crossing his arms. "That's for nearly dying on us!" Raphael firmly answered before he sighed. "Okay? You had us all worried, so don't do that!" he sincerely added as they collectively nodded, which made Leonardo blink as he slowly stared at them.

"Guys—" Leonardo attempted to say but when they heard a few faint forceful, gasping coughs, he cut himself off and turned to see who had coughed when they heard him gasp.

"Danger?"

As soon as Leonardo had said the masked boy's name, they turned to see Boy Danger grab onto a cabinet drawer of some sorts and listened to him as he proceeded to give a few more forceful, gasping coughs before he stopped.

After he did, they all watched as his brown hazel eyes stared back at their eldest brother's cobalt blue eyes before his eyes drifted away from Leonardo and back over at them as Sophie, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and Captain Violet concernedly looked at him, matching the same look their eldest brother had given him moments ago.

"Guys?"

"Danger!"

As soon as they excitedly called out to him, they saw Boy Danger try to move on his own, but in that moment, she decided to move closer to him as she looked at him. 

"Need a hand there, Danger?" she asked as he looked at her and nodded. "Please." he said as she nodded. "Of course." she simply said as she held her hand out to him. As such, he reached out for her hand and succeeded in grabbing onto her hand as she began pulling him out from the 'sea' of treasure. Once she did, she began guiding him towards the others before she had released his hand the moment she reached her siblings right as he started to look at her.

"Thanks..."

"Sophie." she finished for him as she paused before she smiled. "Oh and you're welcome." she softly added as he returned her smile and nodded. "Sophie. Got it," he briefly said before the masked boy momentarily paused to catch his breath. Once he did, he then continued to keep speaking. "So, you must be Leo, Raph and Donnie's younger sister, Mikey's twin and Vi's older sister." he followed up as she nodded. "Yep." she simply stated as he nodded once more at her response.

"Well, it's nice to meet you after all these years, Sophie." Boy Danger softly said, holding out his hand to her as she took his hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Danger." she said, shaking his hand as he proceeded to do the same. This had occurred for a bit before they stopped and promptly released the other's hand as Captain Violet, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo all appearing with grins beginning to surface on their faces from the moment they had seen them (well mainly Boy Danger, but still).

"Danger!" Captain Violet, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo happily exclaimed as they sprinted to hug him. Sophie thought to leave, seeing how she and Boy Danger didn't know each other all too well, but Captain Violet fiercely held onto her and prevented her from leaving their group hug. As such, she ended up getting caught in the hug fest as she listened to the boy chuckle then.

"Guys, I'm okay!" he insisted, so they reluctantly pulled away as she and Michelangelo looked at Boy Danger and Leonardo. "Thanks, by the way, for what you guys did for me and Mikey." Sophie and Michelangelo softly followed up as they gave a brief nod and smiled. "You're welcome." the masked boy and Leonardo softly said as they returned the two's smile for a bit until Raphael had punched Boy Danger's right shoulder and made the masked boy wince from the punch.

"Ow! What was that for, Raph?" Boy Danger exclaimed as she saw the masked boy glaring at him and began rubbing his arm now. While he rubbed his arm, they saw Raphael crossing his arms at the masked boy. "That's for nearly dying on us!" Raphael firmly answered before he sighed and looked at him once more. "Okay? You had us all worried, so don't do that!" he sincerely added as they collectively nodded, which made Boy Danger blink similarly to how Leonardo did moments ago right down to the way the masked boy slowly stared at them in the same manner as the blue masked eldest turtle.

"Guys—"

Before Boy Danger could finish the rest of his response though, he became interrupted when a few clanging sounds suddenly followed. Confused by this, they looked up to find the source of the sounds when they saw Issac emerging in the midst of a few items, which were scattered all across from him. As such, Sophie crossed her arms while Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo huffed upon seeing him.

"Here we go again." Sophie, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo mumbled as Captain Violet, Leonardo and Boy Danger all turned to face them. "Again?" Captain Violet, Leonardo and Boy Danger swiftly asked as their eyes instantly widened from their response. "What do you mean again?" Leonardo and Boy Danger asked as Captain Violet nodded.

"Yeah, what happened?" Captain Violet curiously followed up as Sophie, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo glanced at one another and back at them before an awkward chuckle followed not long after they heard the three's question. "Heh," they slowly began as they proceeded to pause as they cleared their throats and began to answer their questions.

"Well, you see—"

"That mirror is mine!"

As soon as they heard his voice, everyone glanced up at Issac again as they saw his eyes and his eyes' glowing streak illuminating significantly brighter than the last time they had seen his eyes glow.

"Why are his eyes glowing like that?" Captain Violet, Leonardo and Boy Danger quietly asked as she sighed. "Don't know, but I don't want to stick around to find out." she answered as Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo nodded. "Agreed." Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo added as Captain Violet, Leonardo and Boy Danger briefly glanced at Issac before turning their attention back to them.

"You know, that's a good point." Leonardo and Boy Danger added as Captain Violet nodded. "I also agree, but what mirror is he talking about?" Captain Violet followed up and they were just about to answer her when they saw her eyes widened. "Oh... He means the aperio mirror that was mentioned earlier." Captain Violet added as they nodded. "Yeah." she, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo simply said, confirming her thoughts as they saw a puzzled gleam surfacing within the three's eyes.

"Wait. If he wants the mirror, then why—"

"It ties back to what we said, because part of the reason of what happened stemmed from the fact he tried to attack me." Sophie slowly answered as Raphael nodded a moment later. "Mhm. Just as what happened also stems from the way he tried to attack me after I came to Chomps' defense." Raphael followed up as Donatello nodded.

"Yep and this, I can confirm because as soon as I came to Raph and Sophie's defense, he also tried to attack me." Donatello further added as Michelangelo nodded. "Yeah and Issac tried to attack Sophie again, but I was able to counter his attack and prevent it. Luckily though, Issac never got around to attacking me..." Michelangelo promptly added before he trailed off when they saw his eyes widened.

".... Though I might have spoken too soon, dudes and dudenettes!" he frantically finished and when they looked up to see why Michelangelo's eyes widened the way they did, they saw Issac eeriely glaring at them as he landed on the ground.

As soon as he did, they all watched Issac flung his left arm 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 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 his right arm and morphed into a crystallized arm-wielding sword that seemed to aiming directly at her twin now as their eyes widened from the sight, matching Michelangelo's look now before they shook their head and regained their determined looks.

"Not if we can help it!" she, Raphael, Donatello, Captain Violet, Leonardo and Boy Danger all collectively countered in a confident, determined tone as they sharply eyed Issac. "Hey! You mess with him, you mess with all of us!" they determinedly added as Michelangelo stood by them. "Yeah! What they said, old man!" Michelangelo swiftly echoed in an attempt to sound confident but Issac simply laughed at all of their responses before he stopped and looked at them with a smug, menacing gleam in his eyes.

"Well, since you all seem to care about him so much, then you freaks can go down with him too as I have no problem disposing myself of unnecessary pawns. Plus, not to mention, all of you would be doing me a favor, so..."

As Issac trailed off, they saw his crystallized arm-wielding sword glowing a shimmery, light copper hue and when this happened, his glowing streak changed to reflect the new color. A second later, everyone watched as his light blue, almost teal-like eyes switched to display a cognac brown hue in place of the eye color they had somewhat got used to seeing since his original eye color vanished.

"... Let's see how you all fare against this." he finished as they sighed. "You've got to be kidding me." they quietly mumbled right as they observed Issac charging at them. "Guys! Get behind me!" she promptly ordered and though there was some protest, everyone listened and stood behind her. Once they did, Sophie protectively stood in front of them as she quickly began to activate her ice magic. From there, she swiftly created several light-blue, almost frost blue-like icy energy-based surges as she looked at Issac once more.

"Ha! Take that, old man!" Sophie proudly boasted, triumphantly smirking at her icy blasts now heading to Issac as her siblings cheered. "Yeah!" they excitedly followed up in support of her as Boy Danger awkwardly cleared his throat then.

"Uh, you guys might want to refrain from celebrating." Boy Danger slowly said as Sophie and her siblings turned to face him. "What makes you say that?" she and her siblings asked as they saw Boy Danger sigh. "You guys might want to look again." Boy Danger cryptically but slowly added as she and her siblings looked back at Issac to see what he had meant.

As soon as they did, Sophie and her siblings noticed that Issac's sword began to absorb all of her ice-based energy surges as the light blue, almost frost blue like icy blasts started to appear onto his crystallized sword before returning to its natural state. Once she and her siblings saw this, all of them began to tensely chuckle while Boy Danger quietly shook his head and sighed from their reactions.

"Ice projection, huh?" Issac lightly asked as they saw him glance at his sword as it took a hit from her blasts before he chuckled. "Cute, but I can better." he smugly added as Sophie scoffed at his response. "How can you possibly do better than me?" she bluntly asked as they saw his sword take the last blast projection she made. When that had happened, they saw a light blue, almost frost like glow occurring in his sword before fading as Issac looked up and deviously smirked at her.

"How about I show you instead, imitātor?"

Not long after, she, her siblings and Boy Danger observed his crystallized sword internalize the light blue, almost frost like energy blast surges, he began casting several crystallized-ice infused slash projections. From there, he fused the slashes to become a singular large slash projection that he then directly sent to her (and to an extent, her siblings and Boy Danger too).

Having now seen the projection that was coming her (plus her siblings and Boy Danger) way, her eyes widened and a few seconds later, so did the others.

"That can't be good..." her siblings and Boy Danger quietly mumbled before they all trailed off as she sighed. "Nope." she mumbled in turn as they expected the projection to charge at them and hit them now...

"Hey! You want a target so badly, old man? Fine! I will be your target, so come on! Come and get me instead!"

As soon as they heard those words, they watch Atari jump in front of them with a dark grey steel sword that he used to block the projection from hitting them and stood his ground against Issac, who laughed at his response.

"What are you trying to be? Some kind of hero?" Issac sharply snarled back in a mocking, almost taunting tone as Atari chuckled. "Nah. Heroes are overrated and besides, I'm just trying to get rid of me and my crew's competition." Atari briskly countered as they saw the projection he blocked a few moments ago become absorbed in his sword. "So, allow me to demonstrate what I mean." Atari lightly added and as they saw the latter smirk at Issac, they saw Atari aggressively slam the sword in the ground.

As soon as the sword hit the ground, they saw Atari create a explosive blast that quickly sent him backwards as they watched Issac crash towards the back of the stacks of treasure, causing more large piles of treasure to fall around Issac now and essentially engulf him while the ground soon shook from the impact of Atari's actions before it stopped.

"Like so." Atari smugly said, pulling the sword out of the ground as he tossed the sword up for a bit before it landed back in his grasp with a smug chuckle following suit now. "And that's how you rid yourself of a bully, kids." he cheekily followed up as he turned to face her and chuckled, though this one was more amusing and lighthearted.

"Now, how is it that this is my second time seeing you, Goldie, and you're causing some sort of commotion?" Atari cheekily inquired as Sophie crossed her arms and smugly smirked, having recognized part of his statement from a musical she loved.

A fan of Wicked, hm? I can vibe with that, she secretly thought to herself before her smirk began to grow.

"I don't cause commotions, I am one." she swiftly countered as he crossed his arms and smugly smirked, having now recognized her statement as he snorted at her response. "That's for sure." he simply said, the two's smirk morphing into a secret smile then upon recognizing the other's genuine interest for Wicked when Raphael and Boy Danger scoffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Raphael and Boy Danger sharply and quite defensively asked, resulting in Sophie and Atari looking at them as they saw the others looking at him with a sharp glare in their eyes. Not long after, they saw Boy Danger's eyes flicker from brown-hazel to yellow before a bit until the newfound color vanished and became replaced by his brown-hazel eyes as their eyes widened at the quick eye color switch they witnessed.

That's new.

"Guys—"

"See, I would tell you, but only a person of taste would recognize what I had just said and well, I don't need to look further to know that's what you two lack." Atari smugly taunted as their eyes widened while Captain Violet glared at him.

"Hey! I know you just saved our lives and we appreciate that, but what you had said to them was completely unnecessary!" Captain Violet swiftly countered, coming to Raphael and Boy Danger's defense as she, her twin, Donatello and Leonardo nodded. "Vi has a point, you know." she along with her twin, Donatello and Leonardo added in agreement of what their little sister said as they saw Atari rolling his eyes at their response.

"Pfft — Whatever." Atari simply said before he shook his head and leaned against the hilt of the sword. "Anyways, I'm going to need that mirror and seeing how I just saved you guys from the old man, that basically means I'm entitled to have it. So hand it over." he arrogantly ordered as he added onto his previous response while she, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo glanced back at each other and back at him before they chuckled.

"Sorry, but we can't let you have it."

"And why is that now?"

"Because we already agreed to give the aperio mirror to his daughter, so—"

"I didn't see her come save you guys from her old man just now." Atari swiftly pointed out as he chuckled. "So, if you ask me, it sounds like you lot are making a mistake in not entrusting the aperio mirror to me. After all, how can you trust her?" he added as she scoffed at his follow up response.

"Well, she saved my life yesterday—"

"Big deal. I saved you, your siblings' and Boy Danger's lives today so—" Atari attempted to then counter back when she swiftly interrupted him. "Yes, but you're also the same one who attacked us." Sophie pointed out before she paused and gave a brief chuckle. "Well, minus Boy Danger as he wasn't there yesterday." she sheepishly added before she crossed her arms further. "But still! The statement stands and we're not changing the plan just because you decided to do one nice thing for us." Sophie further added as she saw Captain Violet nod in agreement.

"Yeah and besides, it's going to take more than that to get on our good side now." Captain Violet added in agreement, chiming into her and Atari's conversation now as she saw their siblings, her twin and Boy Danger nodding in agreement from what her and their little sister had said to Atari just now. "Yeah!" Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Boy Danger added as she and Captain Violet turned to see Atari shake his head once more before he scoffed from what they all had to say.

"That's a shame. I was really hoping we could be civil about this because I really didn't want to get any more physical than I already had to, but..." Atari slowly began before he trailed off as he stopped leaning against the hilt of his sword and sharply eyed them. "... If I have to, then I will." he darkly finished and before any of them could do anything, they saw him grab onto Captain Violet as their eyes widened.

"Vi!" she, her siblings and Boy Danger exclaimed as Atari mockingly chuckled at their genuine concern for their little sister.

"Take this as your last warning, kids, because at this point, you all have two options: a, you lot do exactly what I say by handing the aperio mirror over to me and I won't have to do anything none of us will come to regret or b, I cut Captain Violet down and I finish her right here for all of you to watch." he sharply threatened before he darkly glared at them. "So, pick wisely because her life depends on it." Atari sharply snarled, adding onto his previous response now before he picked up the sword and aimed it towards their little sister's throat as their eyes widened from the sight.

"Atari—"

"Hey! Back off, goggles!"

In that moment, they saw a ice blast go towards Atari as he quickly pulled his sword away from Captain Violet and block the ice blast at the last second before they saw him turn to face a fair-skinned girl with jet-black hair and midnight blue eyes as the girl wore a pastel blue dress with leggings and black combat boots.

"Uh look, you obviously don't know who I am and I get that, but here's the thing, Frostbite: I got to her first so—"

"That's great and all, but here's the thing Goggles: I don't care about the fact you got to her first just like I don't care to know who are you, so get lost and find someone else to bother because you are wasting my time and I have better things to do than spend it dealing with you." the girl sharply countered and before Atari could say anything else, they saw the girl push her hands as they saw ice begin to form around her hands.

While this happened, ice started to form around Atari's body before they saw the girl thrust her hands forward, which later led him to promptly be sent toward the back of the building where he crashed into another stack of treasure with a outline of his body forming not too long after. Within seconds after that occurred, another stack of large treasure fell onto the ground as she chuckled at the sight.

"There. Problem solved." the girl swiftly said as they noticed the ice retracting from her hands and saw the girl pull her hands back. "So, where were we?" the girl briskly followed up, now glancing away from the location she had sent Atari before the girl turned to face them with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"Ah, that's right. I was about to claim you, you, you, you, you, you and—" the girl had initially followed up, now pointing at Captain Violet, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Boy Danger before they noticed the way the girl's index finger briefly fell on her when the girl looked at her in confusion.

"Who are you?"

"Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing." Sophie promptly asked as the girl chuckled at her response.

"Well since you're just dying to know, the name's—"

"Noelle?" Captain Violet and Boy Danger asked, interrupting the girl who sharply stared at the two as she scoffed. "Hey! She asked me, not you two! If she wanted to know from y'all, she'd have asked!" Noelle defensively snapped before she huffed. "But yes." the girl followed up as she sighed.

"I am the Noelle Winters."

"As in?"

"As in the Noelle Winters who got herself stuck in this mess, but once you all are in my grasp, this won't be my problem anymore and I can go back to the life I had before I ever crossed paths with those two idiots." Noelle swiftly answered before she eyed them. "So now, all of you are coming with me," the girl continued until she paused as she saw the girl look away from her siblings and Boy Danger to look at her and chuckled.

"And as for you—"

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere and neither are they." she swiftly countered as she activated her ice magic, which made the girl's eyes widened when she looked at her. "Huh. You have ice powers, too?" Noelle curiously asked as she saw a light smile form on her face then. "Cool." the girl said as she saw the girl activate her ice powers once more. "I guess I'm not the only one who has ice powers now." she softly said, returning the girl's smile as she saw the girl chuckle. "I guess not." Noelle lightly said as the two genuinely smiled when they heard a irritated groan.

"Great. As if dealing with one wasn't enough, there's two of them and they both got my less than superior copycat powers!"

Ignoring their banter-turned-light conversation then, she and Noelle turned to face Issac as they scoffed at his response.

"For the last time, you have crystal powers, ya old man!" she promptly snapped as Noelle had nodded. "Yeah! What she said!" Noelle swiftly added in agreement even though Sophie knew she had no idea whether this was true or not.

"Anyways, I'm actually quite busy and I already had a few setbacks already, so I'm just going to grab them and—"

"Yeah, no. They're mine. Now back off and get lost." Issac sharply stated as she, her siblings and Boy Danger cleared their throats.

"Actually—"

"See, I think you misunderstood me, old man. Because last time I checked, I—"

"I didn't ask for your input. Now get lost. I won't repeat myself twice." Issac sharply shot back as they listened to the girl cockily laugh at him. "Well then, I guess you're out of luck because I am not going anywhere without them." Noelle bluntly and quite sharply stated right as Issac gave a dry laugh.

"I'll get rid of you one way or another." Issac sharply countered and as he spoke, they heard his voice get deeper and darker before he chuckled. "Just as I'll get rid of every single one of you." he followed up, looking at her siblings and Boy Danger before his eyes fell on her. When Issac locked eyes with her then, Sophie saw a eerie, sinister smirk surface on his face while his eyes glowed brighter upon looking at her.

"Starting with you!"

"Hey! Don't touch her!" Leonardo, Boy Danger, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and Captain Violet promptly ordered, preparing to come to her aid when he darkly chuckled and held his arms up.

"Fine. I won't touch her..." Issac casually countered but upon trailing off, he began to smirk as he took a step forward. "... That is if you can catch me." he finished as he casually held his arms up right when she saw a miniature shadow portal form beneath his feet. "Guys—" she attempted to warn, but before she could, he slid into the portal and vanished as their eyes widened from the sight.

"Where did he go?" she heard her siblings and Boy Danger ask when she spotted his trail of light blue crystals. "He's—" she attempted to warn, but by the time she begun to speak, she watched as Issac sent her siblings and Boy Danger crashing towards the left side of the treasure pile now and made their weapons fall out of their hands, to which her eyes widened at the sight.

"Guys!"

"Now, where were we?" Issac casually asked, turning to face her now as Sophie sharply eyed him and activated her ice powers thereafter. "Oh, right. I was about to rid myself of my copycat." she heard him briefly say before he began to blast her when it became blocked by Noelle, who she saw sharply stard at him.

"Try getting rid of two copycats, old man." Noelle swiftly countered, proceeding to blast him as he swiftly dodged the blast and chuckled. "Gladly." he added, preparing to blast her when she came to Noelle's aid and blocked his attack on the girl.

"Thanks." Noelle softly said as she nodded. "You're welcome and thanks." she added as she saw the girl nod. "You're welcome." Noelle followed up as she saw the girl smirk then.

"Want to show him how superior our powers are to his?" Noelle slowly asked as her voice now danced on the edge of mischievous and pride as she smirked and nodded. "You know it." she cheekily answered as the two locked hands and turned to face Issac, who brushed past a cut that formed on his face as he chuckled.

"Okay, I've had enough of this—"

"So have we, which is why we're finishing this now." she and Noelle had firmly and determinedly finished as he briskly laughed at their response. "Ha! Like you and her can actually stop me." he promptly taunted as they glanced at each other and back at him and smirked. "Watch us." they confidently said and as he charged at them, Sophie and Noelle activated their ice powers in sync before they combined their icy abilities to create a massive ice wave that went directly to Issac, who they flung against a few remaining piles of treasure and listened to him crash towards the back of the building.

"Well, I think that I know which power is better."

"Which is?"

"Ice obviously." Noelle cheekily answered as she laughed. "Good answer." she lightly said as she saw Noelle chuckle. "Right, well you should go help your siblings." the girl slowly said as the two released their grip on the other. "Where are you going?" she asked as Noelle chuckled. "Probably do some scheming or something if this is my new life." Noelle lightly answered as Sophie noticed the way that the girl turned to face her and smile.

"I'll see you around—" Noelle had started to say when she interrupted her. "Sophie." she said as Noelle smiled. "I'll see you around, Sophie." the girl softly concluded as she gave a small smile of her own. "Maybe." she quietly whispered before she saw the girl walk off before Noelle became out of view. Once Noelle was no longer within her sights, Sophie immediately ran off to go help her siblings as she rushed to their side.

"Guys! Are you alright?" Sophie concernedly asked as she began to help up her siblings and Boy Danger one by one. "We're alright." her siblings and Boy Danger said as each one of them had accepted her help. "Thanks." her siblings and Boy Danger softly added as she nodded and had given a soft smile of her own. "You're welcome." she softly told them as everyone returned her smile.

"That's it! I have had it with you freaks and as soon as I find that stupid mirror, you lot are done for!" he sharply snapped, resurfacing from her and Noelle's attack on him as her eyes promptly sharpened. "Oh no, you don't!" she sharply exclaimed, now preparing to charge after him as her siblings and Boy Danger's eyes widened.

"Sophie!"

"I'll deal with him! Just go find the mirror!"

"But—"

"Go!"

After she said that, she saw her siblings and Boy Danger reluctantly looking at each other and back at her as they took a deep breath. "Okay. Just be safe." her siblings and Boy Danger had requested as she softly nodded. "I will and you guys do the same." she softly added on as her siblings and Boy Danger nodded. "Will do." her siblings and Boy Danger softly said in turn as they shared a smile before her siblings and Boy Danger take off, leaving Sophie to deal with Issac, who dryly chuckled.

"If you think them having a head start will change anything, it won't because as I told you, that mirror is as good as mine and you nor your band of freaks are going to stop me from getting it back." Issac promptly vowed as she dryly chuckled at his response. "Right, because this is all part of your elaborate scheme to get the mirror back." she sarcastically deadpanned as Issac gave a smug smirk. "Perhaps." he answered as she puzzledly stared at him.

"I'm sorry, but how exactly is harassing me going to help you get the mirror back?" she asked as he laughed at her question. "Simple. When I am through with you, copycat, I will have the clarity needed to go deal with your band of freaks and reclaim what is rightfully mine. Then once I have the mirror, I'll reclaim my hero moment after you stole it from me and fix the way you sabotaged me when you purposely embarrassed me in front of my daughter." he sharply answered, yet she had only been confused by his accusations as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Hero moment? What are you..." she slowly began before she trailed off as she laughed. "Wait. You mean what happened back at the ice rink? Seriously?" she followed up as she laughed at him again. "Look. Old man, don't hate someone for acting first. Alright? If it really mattered to you, then you should've been quicker. Just saying." she cheekily countered before she caught her breath and continued after she finished pausing.

"Oh and I didn't 'purposely' embarrass you in front of your daughter. You did that part on your own with your own stupidity, so you have no one to blame for what happened but you as you brought it upon yourself. Not me." she firmly and quite sharply added as he dryly chuckled at her.

"Oh, copycat. You can say what you want now, but at the end of the day, it is still your fault that I missed out on my hero moment just as it's your fault that you embarrassed me in front of Aliya." he firmly countered before he darkly chuckled again. "Oh, but don't worry. Once I deal with you, your band of freaks and obtain the aperio mirror again, I'll finally reclaim the hero moment you took from me and finally fix the way you sabotaged me through embarrassing me in front of my daughter." he added as she scoffed at his response.

"Dude, what point of you did this are you not comprehending? I mean come on. Let's face the facts here: You lost your hero moment because you weren't quick enough to seize it when you had every chance to claim it. You embarrassed yourself in front of your daughter because you chose to be careless just as you lost your right to the aperio mirror after you decided to act on your revenge instead of choosing to follow your daughter's words. Words that you purposely disregarded for your own agenda." she bluntly deflected as she watched his eyes glisten with anger before he angrily clenched his fists.

"I didn't—"

"Oh, but you did. You completely chose to ignore her words and neglect the task she gave you to carry out what you wanted to do. So, you can keep lying to yourself as much as you want, but it won't change the fact this is still your fault because simply put, you did this." she firmly began as she scoffed. "Not me." she added as she sharply eyed him. "You." she swiftly finished right as they heard Captain Violet excitedly cheer, catching their attention now as they turned to face her little sister.

"I got it!" Captain Violet excitedly exclaimed, now proudly holding the aperio mirror up as they noticed the mirror face the ceiling. "Not for long, you don't." he arrogantly proclaimed as her siblings and Boy Danger collectively scoffed at his words.

"Watch us." her siblings and Boy Danger boldly boasted as Captain Violet confidently nodded. "Yeah!" Captain Violet smugly chimed in, stated before she saw her little sister lock eyes with her.

"Sophie, catch!"

Not long after Captain Violet said that, everyone watched as she threw the aperio mirror in her direction and almost immediately, it became a showdown between her and Issac as they were both trying to get their hands on the aperio mirror now with the two relatively staying at each other's pace.

The two had stayed neck-to-neck until Issac got the idea to blast her with his crystals. However, she quickly caught on and blocked her blast with her ice powers. As such, her blast shattered his crystals on site and sent him crashing onto the ground as she triumphantly smirked while Issac simply glared at her in anger.

"This isn't 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 upperkicked him and watched the way he fell onto the ground. Once this had happened, her smirk towards him only grew.

"Now it is." she smugly countered, holding her hand out as the aperio mirror fell gracefully into her left hand.

"Sophie!"

Turning her attention away from Issac then when her name was called, Sophie watched as her siblings and Boy Danger cheered her on. "You took down Issac and got the aperio mirror!" her siblings and Boy Danger proudly beamed, joining her side now as she lightly tossed the aperio mirror in the air.

"Yep. Now, let's see what makes this mirror so special."

"Yeah!"

After that, her siblings decided to stand around her while Boy Danger stood directly at her side. Once they were situated, Sophie caught the aperio mirror face-forward and as soon as she did, the mirror displayed a image none of them were expecting.

Because rather than showcase her current appearance, the aperio mirror showed Sophie with a crestfallen, solemn look as her arms, legs and neck were completely shown to be wrapped up in chains while a behemoth ebony-colored ash-like giant towered over her and gripped tightly on the chains. From there, he stared directly at the mirror with a menacing gleam in his eyes as her eyes widened at the sight before fear overtook her almost immediately after she saw what was being showed to her, her siblings and Boy Danger.

"No!"

Frightened by the sight of seeing Ibeeles and his control of her, she frantically threw the aperio mirror in an attempt to rid herself of the image she, her siblings and Boy Danger had just seen.

"Sophie?"

Upon hearing her name, Sophie slowly turned to see Boy Danger concernedly looking at her as a frown surfaced on his face. "Why were you covered in chains?" he slowly but concernedly asked as her siblings collectively nodded. "Yeah and also, what was that thing towering over you and why was it holding the chains around you like it was in control of you?" her siblings concernedly but slowly followed up as she heavily sighed from their questions.

"I... I didn't want none of you to find out this way," she confessed as she sighed. "Believe me, I... I had wanted to tell you guys myself but I hadn't accounted for some mirror to—" she added until she cut herself off as her eyes widened. "The mirror!" Sophie promptly exclaimed as she heavily sighed. "Oh, how could I be so careless?" she followed up as Captain Violet sympathetically gave her a small smile.

"Soph, you were frightened by what you saw. If I was in your position, I would've done the same thing." Captain Violet softly said as she sighed. "Yeah, but we needed the mirror and now that I carelessly threw it the way I did—" she attempted to counter when a smug chuckle interrupted her.

As such, this caused them (along with their brothers and Boy Danger) to turn as they saw Issac confidently smirking.

"The mirror is mine for the taking!" he confidently proclaimed as they saw Captain Violet's eyes glisten with determination.

"Ha! Not if I have anything to say about it!" Captain Violet confidently and quite determinedly countered, much to her, their brothers and Boy Danger's shock as their eyes widened at their little sister's response.

"Vi—"

"Ha! You can't stop me."

After Issac spoke those words, they watched as Captain Violet's sapphire blue eyes glistened brighter at his words. "Watch me." Captain Violet determinedly countered and before she (or their brothers and Boy Danger for that matter) could do anything, they watched as their little sister ran off to retrieve the aperio mirror. As soon as she did, their eyes collectively widened once more at the purple-haired girl's actions.

"Vi!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Move and whatever you do, don't let him get the mirror!"

As Captain Violet quietly but urgently whispered these words, she found herself running with the sole goal of preventing him from getting the aperio mirror.

Breathing heavily as she ran, she told herself to keep looking forward and avoid looking back as the girl felt her heart thumping uncomfortably against her chest but whether it was from the fear she felt or the adrenaline pumping in her blood, she wasn't sure.

Either way, she knew she had to keep moving and that's exactly what she did while the growing uneasiness she felt of Issac potentially catching up to her strengthened in the back of her mind.

"I got a head start. There's no way that he's behind me." she quietly but confidently told herself but just to make sure, she broke her own rule and looked back to see if what she said was really true. Much to her relief, she didn't see Issac behind her which led Captain Violet to sigh in relief, having been relieved to know she was still ahead of him... At least, this had been the case until she heard a low, eerie chuckle nearby.

"You might want to think again."

As soon as she heard his voice, her heart began thumping uncomfortably against her chest while shivers ran down her spine but she brushed these things off to the side now as she slowly turned to face him. The moment she did, Captain Violet observed his cognac brown eyes switching over to a light blue, almost teal-like color while the glowing streak in his eyes had switched to a bright sliver-ish, white color before his eyes locked on her.

As soon as that happened, her sapphire blue eyes briefly gained a light blue, almost teal-like hue as she gripped onto her head and screamed. Not long after, she felt a jolt and as she opened her eyes, she noticed the background switched to a light blue, almost teal-like color before she saw a outline of the same color following suit with a few shadows surrounding them.

She blinked at this before she slowly turned to face Issac again. As she did, she saw his physical form switch over to that of a shadow-like appearance and matched the light blue, almost teal-like hue she was seeing until he vanished and emerged into his physical form again in a blink of an eye.

Then after that, he snapped his fingers and as soon as he did, she found her surroundings back to normal along with the light blue, almost teal-like outline she had seen now disappear while she held onto her head and picked herself up from the ground. Once she was standing again, a chuckle followed suit from Issac as she winced once more from the stunt he had pulled on her before she turned to face him for another time.

"Now, I suggest you take that as a warning and back off because the aperio mirror has and will never be yours to claim. Just as the mirror will never be claimed by Boy Danger and those so-called siblings of yours..." he continued before he trailed off as he chuckled. "... if you can ever refer to them as such." he simultaneously threatened and taunted, finishing his response now as she suddenly felt a surge of doubt surface from his words. Yet she forced herself to brush off his words and scoffed at his response upon removing her right hand from her head.

"They are my siblings." she swiftly but defensively protested as he simply stared at her before he chuckled. "Right." he dismissively and almost condescending countered, chuckling again just a bit longer before he stopped and sighed.

"Anyways... as fun as this has been, I have a mirror to retrieve, so—"

"Sorry, but as I told you before, I can't let you do that."

"Well, I can't let you get in my way now, so..." he slowly countered until he trailed off as she saw his light blue, almost teal-like eyes glowing brighter along with the glowing streak in his eyes. As soon as this had happened, she saw light blue, almost pale-like crystals form on his left hand as he aimed at her and deviously smirked. "... This is where you meet your end." he darkly finished, but in that moment, they suddenly heard a chuckle.

When that happened, she saw Issac clenching his fist as the crystallization in his left palm went away. From there, she saw him direct his focus away from her to face the extremely pale-skinned eighteen-year-old male, who she saw wearing a black ninja suit with the Foot Clan symbol on it, black jeans, and lastly, black sneakers with white laces on the shoes.

"If anyone's going to meet their end, it won't be her." the boy had insisted as Issac scoffed at his words. "What makes you say that?" he countered as the boy cryptically chuckled. "Because as I told you, she's not the one who's going to meet her end." the extremely pale eighteen-year-old initially began to answer in a cocky tone before he chuckled again. "You are." the extremely pale eighteen-year-old added and before Issac could think to do anything, she watched as the male swiftly round-kick him and sent the latter crashing towards the end of the building before they heard him land with a sudden thud.

A smirk formed on the male's face as he chuckled. "There. Problem solved," he said before he briefly paused as he turned to face her. When he did, she saw his eyes coldly centered on her as she noticed he was staring at her with a unhealthy amount of anger and hatred in his eyes as if she had done something wrong to him.

Needless to say, his look baffled her as the chuckle he gave a few moments later confused her as well.

"Well, hey there, cousin."

"Cousin?" she puzzledly repeated, furrowing her eyebrows at him as she laughed before she had stopped and sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but I don't have a cousin and more so, I don't even know who you are." she pointed out as he simply chuckled.

"Right. Of course, you wouldn't know who I am." he simply said, briefly pausing for a bit as he gave another chuckle before he stopped and sighed afterwards. "Ah, but I don't blame you for not knowing who I am though. After all, how could you know who I am if Hamato Yoshi didn't bother to tell you about me?" he casually followed up as her eyes sharpened the moment the boy brought up her father's name.

"How do you know his name?" she defensively asked, taking out her katana now as she tightly gripped onto her weapon and continued to stare at the boy in front of her. "Oh, how I know his name shouldn't concern you, so you can put down that katana of yours now." he simply said but she stubbornly gripped onto her katana as the boy quietly gave a dry chuckle at her decision to go against what he said. "Or not, but whatever." she heard the boy mumble before she saw the boy clear his throat.

"Anyways, I don't see why it should concern you—"

"Because he's my father." she swiftly said, interrupting him as he looked at her and chuckled at her response. "Your father? Please. He's not your father." he promptly countered as he simply chuckled at her again. "If anything, he's been lying to you your whole life, so come on, cousin. Be realistic here. I mean honestly. Did you really think that he actually cared about you when you're not even his to begin with?" he further added as she observed a smirk start forming on his face.

Frowning at the boy's words then, she quickly turned away and as she did, she completely forgot about the aperio mirror as her thoughts went back to what he said because although the purple-haired girl knew what the boy said was a lie, she also knew there was a chance he had been right since she knew how different she was compared to her siblings.

After all, she knew she wasn't a mutant so why in the world would Splinter care about her when her own parents didn't even want her? If she wasn't good enough for them, then what made her think she could actually be good enough for him? Much less her own siblings?

"Besides at the end of the day, you're nothing more than a Destroyer and a vessel."

Snapping out of her thoughts after hearing him speak, she found herself thinking about what he said as she looked at him.

Destroyer? Vessel? What is he on about?

As her confusion grew from the boy's words, she started to blink before she shook her head and turned her focus back onto the boy. "Look. I don't know who you are or what it is you're talking about, but I do know this: you're wrong." she stubbornly but firmly stated, but as he chuckled at her again.

"On the contrary, cuz, it is you who is wrong and I who is right because simply put, being both of those things are all you are ever going to be." he confidently boasted as Captain Violet saw the boy take a step closer to her and smirk. Seeing this and being frustrated from the things the boy said, she gripped tightly onto her katana and slightly growled to herself.

Having had enough, Captain Violet went in for the attack as she swung her katana at him only for him to block her attack as he laughed. "That's the best you got for me? Heh. Well, you're going to have to do a lot better than that now." he countered, knocking her katana out of her hand before he swiftly grabbed a hold of her and promptly slammed her onto the ground, causing her to give a quiet wince as he chuckled once more.

"Heh and to think the great old Destroyer and vessel to the demon spirit of darkness resides in you and yet for all that power of yours, you are still weak as ever. I mean really, it's tragic but then again, it's not really surprising once I take into account just how pathetic you really are." she heard the boy add, mockingly taunting her as she winced again and listened to the way his footsteps started to move slightly away from her.

"You keep saying I'm a Destroyer and a vessel, but I have no idea what you're talking about." she weakly countered, wincing a bit again as she attempted to stand up before the boy chuckled and swiftly threw her back onto the ground with sickening ease. "Then let me be the first to give you a crash course into your destiny." he smugly countered, holding her down as he lift her shirt up, revealing her stomach now. "Well, this is disappointing but not surprising as I had a feeling Aunt Twilight would attempt to do this but no matter." she heard the boy say before he paused as she saw him smirk.

"She thought she could hide it but luckily for us, I can easily undo what she did." the boy added and as she looked on, she saw a ball of magic appear in his hands, making her eyes widened at the sight.

"What are you—" she attempted to ask, but before she could finish asking her question to him, the boy suddenly pressed the ball of magic against her stomach and in doing so, she couldn't help but gasp sharply in pain as this wave of discomfort arose out of nowhere.

"Vi!"

Hearing her siblings call out to her then, she felt the pain linger for a bit longer before the letter U appeared on her stomach within a circle. "There. Now, you got your crash course in who you are, so you're welcome for that cuz." he tauntingly said, gleefully smirking as she continued to groan in pain from what he did to her.

"Oh and in case you're wondering what I did to you, I just revealed Unagami's demon mark to you, so now you can't escape from your destiny even if you wanted to because it's inevitable, Destroyer."

"W... Why would y... you—"

"Do what I just did?" he finished as he chuckled. "Well, that's easy, cuz. I just thought it was time for you to be aware of just how dangerous you truly are because in time, everyone will see you the way I do: a villain and a monster." he gleefully continued, having now answered her would-be question as he chuckled.

"Oh and since I'm feeling so generous, let me leave you with this tidbit before I go: my name was once Jake Sentry, but these days, I go by a different name..." he initially began before he paused as he smirked. "... Oroku Jake." he finished as Captain Violet's eyes widened once more from the relevation of his response.

"Now, I must go, but assuming that you still don't believe me, then I suggest you look into the aperio mirror." Jake continued as she rolled over in time to see him pick up the item, which made her eyes widened further the moment she remembered what her initial task had been.

"After all, the item is a demon-revealing mirror and given how you're not only a half-demon but the vessel to Unagami herself, you should be able to see the demon sprit of darkness appear in your reflection." he simply continued, tossing the mirror in the air as he chuckled. "You know, I always thought the mirror was a myth, but then again, not everything is as it seems." he added before she saw him catch the mirror and turned to face her as he smirked.

"Wouldn't you agree, cuz?" he concluded and as he promptly tossed the mirror back to her, she pulled down her shirt and stood up in time to watch him suddenly disappear. She attempted to catch the mirror then, but the moment he left, she became met with a tremendous amount of pain as the throbbing sensation she currently felt seemed to abruptly collide into her from out of... well, nowhere.

"Ahhh!"

Grabbing onto her head then as she suddenly gasped in pain, she began to hear multiple voices from inside her head as they seemed to yell all at once.

"At last! The last Destroyer has been found!"

"Embrace your fate, little one. For one day, the Dark One shall return once more."

"The battle against the Dark One will one day come."

"You're a Destroyer, Briana. This is who you are and you can't run from what destiny has in store for you for the prophecy shall come true!"

"No, no, no! Shut up!" Captain Violet had frantically but urgently mumbled to herself, having still been alone as she tightly gripped onto her head and tightly squeezed her eyes shut, believing if she asked again, the voices would simply stop so that's exactly what she did. "Please just leave me alone and stop. Please." she pleaded, but much to her dismay, her efforts to get the voices to stop altogether were in vain as the voices ignored her pleads and push onwards with what they had to say.

"You cannot turn your back on your destiny, Destroyer, for in the end, you must fulfill what the prophecy says."

"The world shall fall at your hand, so embrace your fate Destroyer and be the very monster and the very villain that parents and their children fear and are afraid of as this is who you truly are, Briana."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Captain Violet found herself frantically but urgently mumbling to herself again as she felt her sapphire blue eyes welling up with tears at what the voices were saying. "You're wrong! I'm not any of those things! Now get out of my head and leave me alone!" she yelled, having almost being on the verge of flat-out yelling the words out-loud in the open if it weren't for the fact she heard several footsteps coming towards her now.

"Vi!"

Having heard her siblings and Boy Danger's voices now, Captain Violet forced herself to blink back her tears and attempted to direct her attention elsewhere when she spotted the aperio mirror just as she heard them getting closer to her.

"Vi! Are you alright? We heard yelling and we tried to get here as soon as we could, but—"

"Oh! You probably heard me yelling when I was dealing with Issac, but he's nowhere to be seen, so it's fine."

"But—"

"Besides, I got the aperio mirror back from him so everything's all good again!" Captain Violet swiftly added, having interrupted them again as she used a perky tone and turned to face her siblings with a smile she forced herself to wear in order to prevent them from worrying about her as she refused to let any of them see her with her guard down.

After all, she was the bubbly, happy-go-lucky girl and the glue that held her family together and there was no way she was going to let any of them see her as anything less than that for the girl found it easier to keep her emotions under lock and key. Because to her, it was better to be who they wanted her to be, so she shoved down the negative emotions she had in order to continue being that bubbly girl they adored so much.

As soon as Captain Violet held the mirror though, she hadn't realized that the mirror was turned face-forward and as such, she didn't account for the mirror to display a image none of them had been expecting. That is why when their eyes had widened from the sight, she puzzledly stared at her siblings and Boy Danger, having not caught on to what it was they were seeing now.

"What?"

"You might want to take a look at your reflection." her siblings and Boy Danger slowly said and confused by their answer, she chose to do what they said to figure out what had them looking the way that they did. However when she did, she found herself caught off-guard by what she saw staring back at her.

Because rather than see her current appearance or the katana she was holding in her reflection, Captain Violet noticed a purple-skinned spirit with the same purple hair staring back at her now as the spirit possessed frighteningly evil red eyes with black pupils and black wings behind her back. Furthermore, she noticed that the spirit's outfit consisted of a red dress with a black belt around her waist and black boots before fear immediately seized the sapphire-blue eyed girl as her eyes widened at the sight now.

"No!"

Having become frightened by seeing Unagami in her reflection (and by the fact Jake had been right about her being the demon's vessel), Captain Violet frantically threw the aperio mirror in an attempt to rid herself of the image she, her siblings and Boy Danger had just seen.

"Violet?"

Upon hearing her name, Violet slowly turned to see Leonardo, Boy Danger, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo and Sophie concernedly looked at her.

"I... I—" she attempted to say until she cut herself off the moment she realized something as her eyes widened. "The mirror!" she suddenly exclaimed before she groaned. "Ugh! I can't believe I was so careless and threw the aperio mirror the way I did!" she added, sighing as her older sister sympathetically offered a small smile.

"Violet, don't be so hard on yourself. After all, you were frightened by what you saw, so what you did was reasonable. After all, I did it not too long ago, so it's all good." Sophie softly said as she nodded at her older sister's words before she sighed again. "Yeah, but we needed the mirror and now that I carelessly threw it the way I did—" she attempted to counter when a sudden, almost erratic chuckle interrupted her.

"The mirror will be mine to claim once I deal with you, Boy Danger and these so-called siblings of yours!"

The moment they heard him speak, she [along with her siblings and Boy Danger] turned to see Issac emerging from the rubble she knew Jake must have caused when he casted him aside. A moment after he emerged, they watched the way his light blue, almost teal-like eyes darkened at them as she scoffed at his response and swiftly crossed her arms.

"Hey, hey now! We did nothing to you!" she promptly countered as her siblings nodded. "Yeah! If anything, what happened to you was a consequence of everything you did and we simply acted as a means to protect ourselves." her siblings added, further expanding on her statement as she and her siblings watched the way he dryly chuckled at their responses.

"Protect yourselves? Oh, please. You all weren't protecting yourselves. If anything, you freaks are simply hindering my progress and preventing me from getting the aperio mirror back, so on the contrary to what you all might think, your responses are nothing more but mere lies you all sell yourselves to sound better than what you all really are."

"Are you serious?" she heard Leonardo and Boy Danger promptly ask as he scoffed. "Of course, I'm serious!" Issac sharply snapped as she saw Sophie and Raphael shaking their heads. "Okay. We're going to go out-right and say it: You are an idiot if you honestly thinks we're to blame for your mishaps." Sophie and Raphael promptly added as Michelangelo and Donatello nodded at their response. "Honestly. You can't blame us for things you did." Donatello and Michelangelo further added in agreement as they saw Issac bitterly scoffed at their responses.

"Yes, I can because my mishaps came because of you freaks, and I am going to do whatever it takes to get the mirror back..." Issac initially began before he trailed off as he turned to face her and her siblings. As soon as he did, they saw his light blue, almost teal-like eyes illuminating far more intensively along with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak as a menacing smirk had surfaced on his face.

"... One way or another."

As soon as Issac said these words, a ball of crystallized magic appeared in his left hand and as he held his arm back, he promptly released the ball of crystallized magic upon thrusting his left arm towards them. The moment she and her siblings observed the ball of crystallized magic heading in their direction, everyone got into a fighting stance as Sophie responded by summoning a ball of ice magic, which her older sister had planned on directing back to him when they observed a ice blast deflecting the ball of crystallized magic, which shattered almost immediately after they saw the ice blast come into direct contact with Issac's magic.

"I see you didn't get the hint last time, old man, so I'll say it again: stay away from Captain Violet, her siblings and Boy Danger as they are ours to take."

Seeing Noelle swiftly appear in front of them now, they watched as the girl blew the icy mist that formed in the aftermath of her using her ice magic.

"Yeah! So back off!"

As soon as she and her siblings heard that, they glanced up to see Tyson standing beside Noelle, whom she [in addition to the others beside Sophie, who was seeing him for the first time] having recognized the light-skinned male from his dark brown eyes along with the outfit he wore, which had consisted of a light beige shirt, blue ripped denim jeans and pastel blue sneakers with white laces.

"Or what?"

"Or you'll have another thing coming."

As soon as she and her siblings heard that, they watched as Cameron arrived and stood beside Tyson and Noelle, whom she [in addition to the others beside Sophie, who was also just seeing him for the first time] having recognized the pale complexed male from his brown eyes, straight short dark brown hair and the outfit he wore, which had consisted of a blue shirt, grey jeans and blue sneakers with white laces on it.

"Right," Issac sarcastically countered as he dryly chuckled at Cameron's response and crossed his arms. "Well, I guess you two along with the copycat there are out of luck, so—" he initially added when Noelle's dry chuckle cut him off before they heard her speak.

"—Old man, the only one out of luck here is you so, respectfully get lost and let me, Cameron and Tyson do what we need to do or else prepare to meet your end." Noelle determinedly told him as Cameron and Tyson cheered.

"Yeah!"

"Heh. Well, sorry to burst your bubble copycat, but if anyone's going to meet their end tonight, it's you and your friends." Issac promptly proclaimed and in that moment, they watched as he thrust his hand to Noelle. As soon as he did, Captain Violet and her siblings watched as a series of crystals emerged from his left hand and went towards the ice girl, who attempted to quickly block his attack but within seconds, they saw the crystals push Noelle towards the back of the building as their eyes widened along with Cameron and Tyson.

"Noelle!" she, her siblings, Cameron and Tyson exclaimed before they saw the two boys glaring at Issac in anger. "You're going to pay for that." Cameron and Tyson firmly insisted as they both began to charge at him. However, right as the two were about to lunge at him, they watched as Issac quickly summoned a ball of crystal magic and swiftly directed the blast towards Cameron and Tyson. Although the two attempted to block Issac's attack, their efforts were in vain as they observed the ball of crystal magic collide directly into them and resulted in the two boys being sent towards the back of the building alongside Noelle as their eyes widened at the sight.

"There. Three down..." they heard Issac slowly began before trailing off as their eyes gradually drifted back over towards him. "... And seven more to go." he finished as they noticed his eyes were illuminating significantly brighter than the last time they had seen his eyes and watched the way he held his left arm directly toward them. As they looked on, she and her siblings saw his left arm covered in crystals as the crystals began to illuminate in his palm. But right in that moment, she and her siblings heard a smug chuckle.

"Think again."

After those words were said, she and her siblings saw a whirl of reddish-orange flames striking Issac right as he was about to successfully execute his crystal blast and encase her, Boy Danger, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Sophie in his crystallization. Once the burst of flames collided into him, he was sent crashing directly towards the back of the building as their eyes widened at the sight.

"Guys! Are you alright!"

"Yeah, we're..." she began to initially answer, turning to face the person who posed the question to her and her sibilings until she trailed off the moment she found herself staring at Kaz, having recognized him from his outfit and his eyes as he held the pair of dreamiest brown eyes she had ever laid eyes on. In that moment, Captain Violet lacked the words to finish her response as she felt her heart skipping a beat at the sight of her crush, leaving her siblings to finish her response to the pyrokinesis boy.

"What Violet means to say is that we're alright, Kaz." she heard Boy Danger, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Sophie lightly chimed in, answering his question now before she saw her siblings smugly glancing at her before they directed their attention over to her crush. "But thanks for coming to our aid, Kaz." they sincerely added as she shyly nodded not too long after she heard her siblings give their thanks.

"Y... Yes. T... Thanks f... for coming t... to our a... aid." she shyly chimed in, stuttering over herself now as she began to blush the longer she continued to look at Kaz and his dreamy brown eyes. She knew she looked like a fool for stuttering in front of him, but Kaz didn't seem to mind as he smiled and softly chuckled. "You're welcome, m'lady." he sincerely said and at the sound of his nickname for her, she began to giddily smile from his response. Not long after that, she started to blush harder while her heart pounded against her chest, not from fear as it had once been in the case with Issac, but rather from her being nervous in front of her crush...

"But yeah. Sorry about showing up so late. We would've showed up sooner—"

"—Had Cameron, Tyson and Noelle not ambushed us earlier."

Glancing away from Kaz then, she felt her blush die down the moment she had spotted her best friend and the rest of their friends joining her crush as Mara, April, Zane, Casey and Calista stood beside him before the five stared at her and her siblings.

"Guys, I know this might seem strange—" she, Boy Danger, April and Kaz slowly began as Mara's chuckle led them to cut themselves off.

"No offense, but I think seeing five humanoid turtles is the least strangest thing to come out of this entire night." Mara casually pointed out, interrupting the three now as she observed Zane and Casey nodding on at her best friend's response. "Oh, yeah. Definitely." Zane followed up as she saw Casey crossing his arms. "For sure." Casey chimed in before he blinked.

"Hang on. You and Boy Danger's voice sounds really familiar like I know it from somewhere..." he added before he trailed off as Calista nodded. "Yeah, me too..." Calista said in agreement before she trailed off as Zane furrowed his eyebrows. "Now, that you mentioned it, Cas, Captain Violet and Boy Danger do sound awfully a lot like..." Zane followed up before he trailed off as she saw their eyes widened the moment the realization dawned on them.

"... Briana and Henry." Zane, Casey, Mara and Calista collectively finished as she and Boy Danger gave a sheepish chuckle before they awkwardly began rubbing the back of their necks from the way they came to discover the truth behind their masked identities. "Heh... Surprise?" she and Boy Danger sheepishly followed up as Casey lightly laughed.

"No way! How did we not know Briana and Henry were Captain Violet and Boy Danger?" Casey lightly asked as Zane and Mara huffed. "Right? I mean, the signs were right there! They always been in front of us, but we just—" Zane and Mara attempted to follow up when they were both promptly interrupted by her best friend's girlfriend. "—Never noticed." Calista finished, though she failed to notice the sudden dryness in the girl's tone as she cleared her throat.

"So... Your siblings are mutants?" Calista slowly asked as she happily nodded. "Yep!" she perkily answered as she saw her best friend's girlfriend clearing her throat. "And you guys are fine with this?" Calista added, turning to Boy Danger, April and Kaz as they nodded. "Pretty much." they casually answered and as Calista fell silent then, she failed to realize the way her best friend's girlfriend was suddenly staring at her, Boy Danger, April and Kaz in pure disdain and disgust for associating themselves with mutants.

Had she noticed, she would have seen that out of her, Boy Danger, April and Kaz, Calista's look of pure disdain and disgust would have been heavily centered on her the most.

"Why? Is there a problem with that?" Boy Danger slowly asked as Calista immediately laughed at his question and shook her head. "Pfft — What? No way! There's no problem with Bri's siblings being mutants nor is it a problem that you guys are all so content with hanging out with them." Calista promptly answered as she laughed again, though Captain Violet failed to pick up on the way her best friend's girlfriend suddenly seemed weirded out by the way she, Boy Danger, April and Kaz were all comfortable with the idea of being around mutants.

"But um—"

"Oh! Sorry! Me and Danger completely forgot to introduce you guys to each other." she said as she gave a light chuckle, interrupting Calista now before Boy Danger cleared his throat. "But anyways, these are me, Kaz, April and Vi's friends from school: Casey and Calista while Zane is my best friend." he initially began, now gesturing to each one when he said their name as the three nodding in turn and waved. "Hey." Casey, Calista and Zane casually greeted as Captain Violet brightly grinned.

"Yep and Mara is my best friend." Captain Violet cheekily followed up as Mara nodded. "Mhm." Mara lightly added in agreement as she too waved at her siblings the moment she had been introduced by her. "Oh, but hey." her best friend added, casually greeting her siblings before Captain Violet saw Mara fall silence right as Boy Danger began to speak again.

"But yeah. You guys have met our friends, but now it's time for them to get to meet you all." Boy Danger followed up as she excitedly grinned. "Yep!" she affectionately added, her grin growing as the purple-haired girl turned to face Mara, Zane, Casey and Calista once more. "But yeah! Let me introduce you all to my siblings," she cheekily continued, momentarily pausing to catch her breath before she proceeded to speak once more.

"Leonardo is the one wearing a blue mask, Raphael is the one wearing a red mask, Donatello is the one wearing a purple mask, Michelangelo is the one wearing a light orange mask and lastly, Sofonisba is the one wearing a golden mask." she continued while her siblings began waving at her friends the moment they had been introduced by her. "Hey." her siblings greeted whenever she got around to saying their name as her friends nodded before they continued to look at her siblings for a bit until their eyes drifted back to her with Boy Danger, Kaz and April looking on at their friends.

"So, given how there's seven of you..." Mara and Calista slowly began before trailing off as Zane and Casey took over for them. "... who's the oldest?" Zane and Casey curiously added, finishing their friends' question now as she glanced at them and over toward her siblings. "Do you guys want to answer?" she curiously asked as she watched her siblings glancing back at each other for a bit before they glanced back at her and nodded. "Sure," her siblings casually answered as Leonardo cleared his throat and turned to face her, Kaz, April and Boy Danger's friends, who all stared back at him.

"I'm the oldest. Then after me, it's Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Sophie and finally Vi." Leonardo casually answered as she saw her friends nodding. "Cool." her best friend and friends said as she smiled at them being at ease around her siblings and internally sighed in relief, though she failed to see Calista's subtle look of disgust. Had Captain Violet noticed, then she would've discovered not all of her friends were as accepting as they looked...

"Well, V, based on the way Henry, Kaz and April had all responded earlier when me, Zane, Casey, and Calista first saw your siblings, I'm guessing they knew about your siblings beforehand," Mara initially began, momentarily pausing as Boy Danger, Kaz and April nodded. "Yes. We knew about her siblings. Well, more so, her brothers. Not so much her older sister as this is the first time that we're meeting her sister." Boy Danger, Kaz, April answered as their friends nodded at the three's response.

"Gotcha." her friends simply said as she grinned. "Yep!" she happily interjected as their friends looked away from the three and back over at her. "Seeing how that's the case, it can be safe to assume you and your brothers knew Henry, Kaz and April beforehand, so—" Mara continued when their friends interrupted her.

"—How did you and your brothers first meet them?" Zane and Casey followed up, now finishing her best friend's question as she saw Calista nodding at their response though the purple-haired girl was [once again] unaware of the subtle gleam of disgust that surfaced on her friend's face....

"Well, we actually met Henry first then we met Kaz and April later on." her brothers corrected as her friends nodded. "Gotcha. Then in that case, how did you guys meet Henry and vice versa?" her friends curiously countered as Captain Violet's eyes immediately lit up with excitement the moment they asked their question.

"Oooh! Can I tell them? Please?" she excitedly pleaded, her sapphire-blue eyes glistening with a child-like wonder now as she swiftly turned to face her brothers and Boy Danger, who glanced at each other before she saw them looking back at her again. "I don't know, Vi," they gently said, to which she childishly huffed from their response. "Pleaseee?" she emphasized again, drawing out the 'e' at the end of her response in a childish manner before she innocently started batting her eyes made her signature pout to further capitalize on the adorable and bubbly-like persona she was well-known for.

Once the purple-haired girl finished, her older sister softly giggled at what she was doing before she heard Sophie speak then.

"Oh come on. Are you guys really going to say no to Violet when she's making that face?" Sophie cheekily interjected, softly grinning as she watched their brothers and Boy Danger chuckling at the golden-masked turtle's words. "Are you kidding? It's impossible to say no when Violet looks like that." their brothers and Boy Danger lightly answered as she observed Sophie lightly cross her arms and kept green {almost jade-like} eyes on them.

"So..."

"Vi can tell the story of how I first met her, Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey." Boy Danger softly said as her eyes lit up. "Really?" she excitedly asked as her brothers nodded. "Yep." her brothers said as she gleefully grinned at their response. From there, she proceeded to drop her signature pout and stopped batting her eyes as she no longer saw the need to do these things when she knew she had gotten her way just from the way they easily caved into her request by her adorableness alone.

Knowing she was still able to keep her fingers wrapped around them then, a subtle but secretive smirk surfaced on her face before it changed into a genuinely delighted smile which she chose to make visible to her siblings and Boy Danger than opposed to the smirk she made moments ago.

"Sweet!" she excitedly exclaimed as her eyes glistened from excitement at the fact she could tell Mara, Zane, Casey and Calista the truth of how she and her brothers had first met Henry {before he became Boy Danger, of course}. "Thanks! You guys are the best!" she happily and genuinely followed up as her brothers and Boy Danger chuckled at her response. "We know." her brothers and Boy Danger teasingly stated as Sophie snorted at their response.

"Vi, don't go complimenting them or else, it will just go through their heads." Sophie teasingly 'advised' as she saw their brothers and Boy Danger all exaggeratedly gasp at the golden-masked turtle's response. "Not true!" their brothers and Boy Danger dramatically protested, now faking a offended look that made the golden-masked turtle laugh.

At the sight of this, Captain Violet began to smile softly from not only her older sister bonding with their brothers but also from the possibility of a bond she thought was beginning to forge between the golden-masked turtle and Boy Danger.

Continuing to watch her older sister's shared moment with their brothers and Boy Danger from her spot, she smiled warmly to herself and lightly crossed her arms, having enjoyed the sight of her family coming together before she softly chuckled.

"Aww! That's so cute!" she happily gushed, now smiling brightly as her siblings and Boy Danger chuckled softly at her response. "Vi—" her siblings and Boy Danger initially began to say but as soon as they collectively made eye contact with her, they abruptly cut themselves off. Seconds later, their eyes widened as she concernedly looked at them.

"What?" she slowly but puzzledly asked, dropping her smile as she lowered her arms and kept her eyes centered on them. As she did, she saw their eyes widened more as a concerned gleam quickly appeared in Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Sofonisba and Boy Danger's eyes. This became more evident from the way their casual smiles ceased. Rather, concern and worry took over, which she immediately noticed in the way their facial expressions showcased these characteristics right as the six began to speak to her only seconds after she observed the shift in their demeanor.

Something that became obvious to her then when she saw the six slowly attempt to reach out by extending their arms towards her.

"Vi—"

However, her siblings and Boy Danger weren't the only ones to express their concern and worry for her as her best friend followed suit. "B—" she heard her best friend say but not even a mere second after Mara had called out to her, the purple-haired girl heard her friends doing the same thing just as her best friend did when she interrupted her siblings and Boy Danger in calling out to her.

"Bri—" Zane, Casey, Calista and April also began, expressing the same concern and worry for her as her siblings, Boy Danger and her best friend did when she saw the four getting interrupted in the similar manner that the others went through.

"—M'lady! Look out!"

As soon as she heard that, she felt a quick but forceful shove as she briefly fell onto the ground and groaned from the impact of her fall.

"Ow..."

"Vi!"

Almost immediately after she fell, she sat up in time to see her siblings and Boy Danger rushing to her side as she saw their concerned eyes linger on her. "Are you alright?" her siblings and Boy Danger concernedly asked as she rubbed her head for a bit before she stopped. After she did so, she gave a slow but reassuring nod as she faced them.

"Yeah, I'm—" she initially began to answer her siblings and Boy Danger, but when they all heard a sharp scream, she swiftly cut herself off as it caught her (and their) attention. As such, she, her siblings and Boy Danger turned to locate the source of the scream, which led them to look up in time to see Kaz getting hit with Issac's crystal blast and watched as he was sent crashing near a pile of stacked treasure, serving as the site of his landing. At the sight of this, her [along with her siblings, Boy Danger, her best friend and her friends] eyes immediately widened from what they just saw.

"Kaz!"

As soon as they collectively called out to him, they then turned to see Issac mutely staring at the direction of Kaz's crash before they heard him chuckle. "Well, isn't that just unfortunate?" Issac proposed as he turned to face them. As he did, they noticed his eyes still retained their glowing, intensified light blue, almost teal-like eyes along with the bright silver-ish, white glowing streak illuminating once more. The moment he stared back at them though, they began glaring at him in anger but it was Raphael and Casey who broke their silence.

"Alright, you're going to pay for that!" Raphael and Casey firmly proclaimed as her eyes widened at their response. "Raph, Casey—" she attempted to say, only to cut herself off when they began to charge at him. Unfortunately, right as the two were about to lunge at him, they watched as he quickly summoned a ball of crystal magic which he swiftly directed towards Raphael and Casey.

"Guys! Watch out!" she, her siblings, her best friend, Boy Danger and their friends warned, but in spite of Raphael and Casey's attempt to heed their warning, their efforts were in vain as they saw Issac's ball of crystal magic collide directly into them.

When that happened, they saw Raphael and Casey being blasted back before landing alongside Kaz's position. Upon seeing this, their eyes once again widened at the sight.

"Raph! Casey!" they promptly exclaimed before facing Issac once more. "Okay, that's it! You're going down!" they sharply exclaimed but as soon as they said this, Zane ran to pick up Casey's hockey stick with Mara following behind him as the two started to charge against Issac alone, which made their eyes widened.

"Zane! Mara!"

"M!"

Upon seeing this, they made the decision to follow and provide some backup to the two against Issac, but unlike the previous times in which Issac relied on his ball of crystal magic, he decided to do something different.

As soon as they were about to charge at him with Zane and Mara leading, Issac swiftly moved his left arm and as soon as he did, they saw a blast of crystallized magic coming straight towards the two.

"Zane! Mara!"

"M!"

"Look out!" they exclaimed and while the two attempted to heed their warning as Raphael and Casey did, the crystal blast was simply faster. So, it wasn't long before they saw Zane and Mara tumbling through the air before the two crashed into the same spot as Raphael, Casey and Kaz were in.

"Guys!"

As soon as they called out to them though, they saw Casey's hockey stick landing on the ground and that seemed to spark something in April because they noticed her eyes glistening with pure determination then.

"Okay, my turn!"

"April, wait!" they yelled, but the red-head stubbornly ignored them as they saw the girl swiftly run to grab a hold of his hockey stick. However right in that moment, Calista also proceeded to grab a hold of their friend's hockey stick as they saw April and Calista look at the hockey stick before they glanced back at each other.

"Thanks, but you can let go now since her real hero has arrived."

"Real hero? Calista, what are you on about?" April countered as they saw Calista chuckled at the girl's confusion.

"Oh come on. Don't play coy with me, April. I know you're just doing this to impress her, but in case you forgot, Mara is my girlfriend so you don't need to prove yourself to her now when it's obvious I'm the only one meant for her." Calista answered as they saw April's eyes widened at her response before the look faded.

"Alright Calista, listen. I don't know what you're trying to get at here, but this has nothing to do with impressing your girlfriend. Okay? I was just trying to—"

"Guys! Watch out!"

However this time around, their warning for April and Calista came too late and so they were all forced to watch as Issac's crystal blast swiftly collide into the two girls, who were then propelled upward into the air where they saw the girls tumbling in mid-air before the two crashed into the same spot where Raphael, Casey, Kaz, Zane and Mara were in with the hockey stick now staying at the site of the crash.

"April! Calista!" she, her siblings and Boy Danger exclaimed before they began to glare at Issac once more. "That's it! We've had enough of you!" she, her siblings and Boy Danger flatly added as he chuckled at their response. "Oh, trust me. The feeling is quite mutual." he simply said as they sharply glared at him. "It's time we finished this!" she, her siblings and Boy Danger firmly and determinedly followed up as they saw Issac chuckling again.

"Likewise." Issac said in agreement and after he said that, she, her siblings, and Boy Danger all began charging at him just as the others had done before them. However in a similar fashion, they were also met with Issac's crystal blast. As it collided directly into them, they were then propelled upward into the air where they tumbled in mid-air before they all crashed into the spot as the others.

"Guys! Are you alright?" Raphael, Kaz, Casey, Mara and their friends asked as she, her siblings and Boy Danger nodded. "Y... Yeah, we're alright." they answered right as they began to hear Issac chuckling. However, this chuckle was more sinister and deep now as they turned to see him approach them.

"There. Now, I can finish what I started." Issac stated, but much like his chuckle, his voice was a lot deeper and more sinister than they had last recalled. So as he continued to face them, they watched as his light blue, almost teal-like eyes changed to a shade of cognac brown while the glowing streak in his eyes also changed to a lighter shade of copper that held a shimmery-like afterglow in place of the bright silver-ish, white hue that they had seen earlier.

"So..."

As Issac trailed off then, they saw a spiked crystallized coat on his spreading from the right side of his face to the right side of his eye and not long after that, light blue, almost teal-like crystals began to form on his right hand. As they saw the crystals start to form, they saw the crystals in his right hand take on a jaded and sharp-like appearance as the crystals seemed to resemble a series of daggers of some sorts now as he chuckled once more.

"... Let's end this, shall we?"

After Issac posed the question and looked at them, his smirk grew and as he began to direct his crystal daggers towards them, they silently accepted their fate until they saw a miniature light blue, almost azure-like sphere suddenly surfaced as if it had been thrown by someone. So as the light blue, almost azure-like miniature sphere collided directly into the crystal daggers, a electric light blue, almost azure-like spark immediately ignited as a misty dust storm appeared seconds later, baffling them.

"Huh. How did—"

"You guys should leave while this dust storm is still in effect as I can't guarantee how long it will hold up before it dissipates." they heard his daughter urgently explain to them as they turned to see her standing in front of them. As she did, they saw her toss another light blue, almost azure-like miniature sphere in her hand before catching said sphere moments after tossing it into the air.

"But—"

"Kid, don't worry about me. I will be fine and besides, he won't hurt me." his daughter told her as she saw the girl turn to face her. "Not really, so go before this dust dissipates and leaves you all exposed." his daughter urgently added as she huffed again.

"But—"

"Violet, I know you want to stay and help but she's right." Leonardo, Raphael and Sophie said as she saw Boy Danger, Kaz and the others nodding in agreement. "We should go." Boy Danger, Kaz and the others urgently stated before Captain Violet sighed, realizing there was no other choice now.

"Okay." she said at last before she glanced back at Aliya once more. "Well, thank you for helping us, Aliya." they softly and sincerely told the girl, who initially looked baffled by the way they had seemed to know her name before the look of bewilderment faded. In its place, a soft look took over as a quick and easygoing smile followed. "You're welcome." the girl softly said before they noticed Issac's daughter dropping her smile in place of a serious composure a second after she spoke.

"Now go!"

So taking Issac's daughter at her word then, they proceeded to thank her once more before they left her behind...

Appearing outside of the building now, everyone collectively walked together with the moon lit night surrounding them before they saw people walking in and out of Chinatown. "Well as fun as this has been, me and Mar-Mar should go find our band mates since we no doubt missed out on the chance to perform." Calista briefly said, cutting through the silence as she held onto Mara's hand.

"But yeah. We will see you guys later and oh. Don't worry. We won't reveal your secret as it's safe with us." Calista followed up and before Mara could get a chance to say anything, they saw their friend take off with her girlfriend in tow as they blended in with the crowd. "Yeah, we should get going too," Zane softly said as Casey nodded. "Yeah, but hey. We won't say anything about their existence. You got our word on that, Vi." Casey followed up as Zane nodded, which made Violet smile as she faced her friends.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Zane and Casey softly said before the two took off right as April and Kaz gave a small sigh. "Yeah, we should get going too especially since we still have a long way to go from here to our homes, so we will see you guys later then." April and Kaz added as she, her siblings and Boy Danger nodded at their words.

"Of course. We will see you later then!" she, her siblings and Boy Danger said when they saw Kaz and April saying their farewells before the brown-eyed boy had turned to face her. "Till we meet again, m'lady." Kaz softly concluded, now winking at her momentarily before he and April took off.

"B... Bye," she shyly stammered as her face began to gain a light shade of pink from the way her crush made her heart skip a beat in calling him 'm'lady' again. "Aww! Little Prankster's in love!" Michelangelo lightly teased as she started to blush further from his response.

"N... No, I'm not! M... Me and K... Kaz are j... just g... good friends!" she shyly protested, blushing deeper and stuttering now as Boy Danger lightly raised a eyebrow at her words. "Sure, Vi. Keep telling yourself that." Boy Danger teasingly countered, offering a cryptic smile while her siblings continued to chuckle for a bit until Leonardo and Boy Danger cleared their throats, ceasing the end of the teasing and their chuckles.

"Anyways, we should get a move on before the misty dust Aliya made dissipates in our absence and her dad discovers we're gone and tries to find us again." Leonardo advised as Boy Danger nodded. "That and the Foot Clan, so come on. Let's go." Boy Danger followed up as she and her siblings nodded.

So after that, Captain Violet and her siblings followed Leonardo and Boy Danger's lead as they steathily relied on the rooftops to hide them from the eyes of the ordinary citizens and that of Issac [in addition to the Foot Clan].

This kept going for a bit until they leaped over the edge of the latest rooftop and came across the nearest manhole cover. Upon seeing this, they collectively ran to the nearest manhole cover and quickly entered inside as they wanted nothing more than to go put this night behind them.

So as they entered the lair and she [along with Boy Danger] detransformed back to their normal appearance, everyone did their best to keep quiet as not a single sound was heard. The lair was eeriely quiet and none of them dared to speak of the night they had all endured, especially the purple-haired girl as Briana didn't want to talk about what she saw in her reflection concerning the aperio mirror or her encounter with Jake.

"My children, I see you are all together and— Wait."

When they heard that, they collectively shared a look that said oh no as they realized the jig was up for now their sensei knew.

"Why are you all together when I specifically ordered all of you to be separated from Sofonisba?" he sharply added as they slowly turned to face him. "Sensei—" they initially began in an attempt to explain themselves when Sophie interrupted them.

"Sensei, don't get mad at them please. It's—"

"—As for you, my daughter, why are you out of your room?" their sensei added, interrupting her older sister as they watched Sophie slowly look at their sensei.

"Father, I—"

"You not only disobeyed me, but you deliberately went against the warnings I gave you. Not to mention, do you know what would've happened if you lost control and hurt your siblings? Or Henry for that matter?" their sensei continued, interrupting her older sister further before he heavily sighed a moment later.

"There's a reason I told you to stay away from them in the first place." their sensei added as they heard Raphael scoff then.

"Yes and what reason was that again, Sensei?"

"Raphael—"

"No, he's right." Leonardo and Henry swiftly chimed in, interrupting their sensei as she nodded alongside Donatello and Michelangelo. "Yeah! She didn't hurt us at all! If anything, she was the one protecting us!" Donatello and Michelangelo added, chiming into the conversation as they came to their older sister's defense before their sensei sighed again.

"My sons—"

"Sensei, with all due respect, Donnie and Mikey are right. Like they said, she never hurt us — any of us — and she never lost control either, so..." she started to say, interrupting her sensei now as she trailed off and looked him in the eyes.

"... What's the real reason you told Sophie to stay away from us?"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Splinter knew this moment would come.

He knew it from the instant his children began asking him questions and challenging his way of thinking. So he knew then their curiosity would end up overpowering his desire and willingness to keep them safe.

He knew that, but he always did his best to fight back because he wanted to shield his children from all who wanted to hurt them but mainly, it was done to protect his daughters from those who wanted to use them for they both had... things that made them special.

But being special could very well be a death sentence — a curse and Splinter didn't want anyone to know what he knew about Sofonisba and Briana because if the wrong people were to learn of what he knew, things could be disastrous.

That was why he didn't just fight back against their curious nature, but why he kept guarding his secrets of the truth surrounding his daughters to his chest and why he prevented anyone from knowing.

Splinter thought in keeping the truth from them then, they wouldn't find out. After all, with the way he spent years carefully maneuvering through his children's curiosity, he thought he would have had more time to keep it hidden from the way he did everything right.

But to think he had time was a foolish concept because for all those years he spent keeping his cards to his chest and guarding his secrets to the best of his abilities, his efforts and hard work quickly unraveled within a matter of seconds.

As such, Splinter didn't understand how his efforts and his hard work could have unraveled as easily as it did nor could he understand know how this was possible when he was so certain he had been careful.

After all, it wasn't as though he had done or said anything that could have (potentially) sparked suspicion in his children {or that of Henry, given how the young boy was here too} right?

He was certain that couldn't have been the case, but when he thought back to his talk with his sons over their sisters, he realized he might've not been as careful as he originally thought he had been that night.

So knowing he couldn't be surprised then as he knew this moment was always bound to happen {no matter how much he tried to deny it or trick himself into believing otherwise}. But, now that it was actually here, he couldn't help but be terrified because he knew against his will, change was here and with change came... Well, the truth.

The dreaded, taunting truth Splinter had spent years guarding was now coming out because he knew he couldn't hide it anymore as he knew his children and Henry were right. After all, they had a right to know... So for better or worse... He knew he needed to be the one to tell them or watch it blow up in his face when someone else told them and not wanting to deal with more than what had already surfaced, he decided to give his children and Henry what they wanted.

He was going to tell them the truth and that began with telling them with what they wanted to hear first: the real reason behind his decision to separate Sofonisba from her siblings and vice versa.

But still, a part of him wanted to run then — to lie once more to them and maybe it might have been easy but with Henry here, he didn't believe it was possible now... Especially if he was right about the young boy.

So given all of these things, he took a deep breath before he glanced at his children and Henry. The moment he did so, he felt their eyes staring at him as they eagerly awaited what he had to say. For they all wanted the truth and he couldn't deprive them of that...

Not anymore.

"The real reason I told Sophie to stay away from you all is because..." he started before he trailed off as he sighed and looked at them once more. "... There's a world-ending curse inside her and that curse has the potential to hurt not just everyone, but all of you if it's not handled properly." he added, revealing the truth as he finished his previous response.

"A world-ending curse?" his youngest daughter, his sons and Henry repeated as they glanced at him before centering their focus on Sofonisba. "Wait. Sophie, do you think the curse you have could possibly be connected to what we all saw in your reflection regarding the aperio mirror?" Splinter heard them ask as he saw Sofonisba gave a small sigh. "Maybe." she answered as he blinked at what they said.

"Aperio Mirror?" he asked, which resulted in everyone turning to look at him as they glanced at each other once more before they glanced back at him. "It's..." his older daughter, his sons and Henry began to answer until they sheepishly trailed off. "... We actually have no idea what the aperio mirror is." they all sheepishly confessed right as he heard his youngest daughter lightly giggle at their response before she turned to face him.

"I know what it is, so I can answer your question, Sensei." Briana softly said before she lightly crossed her arms. "The aperio mirror is in short a demon-revealing mirror." she followed up, answering his question as he blinked. "A demon-revealing mirror?" he hesitantly repeated as Briana nodded.

So after she confirmed her answer to him with her nod, his eyes widened from what she said, which (naturally) made his youngest daughter curious as he saw Briana's sapphire-blue eyes concernedly looked at him.

"Sensei? Does the fact of the aperio mirror being a demon-revealing mirror have anything to do with Sophie's curse?"

As soon as Briana posed her question, he saw the others turning to look at him. "Yeah. Does it?" his sons curiously followed up as Henry nodded. "Because when we saw Sophie's reflection in the aperio mirror, we saw a behemoth ebony-colored ash-like giant staring back at her instead of her usual appearance, so that's why we're asking if what we all saw could possibly have any correlation to the world-ending curse you mentioned." Henry chimed in, further expanding on what his sons asked as Splinter sighed.

"My children, if this aperio mirror is to be believed, then what you saw when Sofonisba faced the demon-revealing mirror is—"

"—Ibeeles." Sofonsiba finished then as he saw his children and Henry puzzledly glance at her. "Ibeeles?" his children and Henry slowly repeated as she nodded. "Ibeeles is—" she initially began when he interrupted her.

"—The name of the world-ending curse, but not necessarily the name of the demon inside you, my daughter." he finished, now catching Sofonisba off-guard as she mirrored the same puzzled look that her siblings and Henry gave. "Wait what?" Sofonisba puzzledly asked as she blinked at him. "Yeah, we're with Sophie on this one, so if you could explain, that would be great." he heard Sophie's siblings and Henry follow up as his older daughter nodded.

"Yes because this whole time, I was under the impression that his name was Ibeeles and now I'm finding out that this isn't true, so if you could explain, that would be great." Sofonisba added as he sighed at the seven's curious nature.

"Contrary to what you thought, my daughter, the name of the curse and the demon inside you are not the same. As such, the name of the demon is not Ibeeles, but Muspelheim." he further added before he noticed his children and Henry's puzzled looks after he had said the demon's true name to them.

"Muspelheim?"

"Yes. Muspelheim is the demon tied to not only the world-ending curse but to Sofonisba as she is his vessel." Splinter slowly answered as he saw his youngest daughter's eyes widened from what he said. "Vessel?" she repeated as he saw her glance at him before he saw her sapphire-blue glance back at her older sister.

"Muspelheim is tied to her as she is to him because if Sofonisba were to ever cry, her tears would be just what he needs to be freed. As such, if he were to ever be released, then the world as we know it will come to an end. Not only that, but everyone would get hurt... including all of you." Splinter slowly answered before he heavily sighed. "That is the real reason as to why Sofonisba was separated from all of you." he concluded as Raphael scoffed.

"Wait. So you and Sensei Thorn's grand idea was to separate Sophie from us knowing she had a demon inside her?"

"Raphael—"

"Sensei, with all due respect, did you and Sensei Thorn not think of the consequences that came with this decision?"

As he glanced at Donatello then, he saw his purple-masked son sighing as he crossed his arms. "Because if anything, I would think separating her from us would've made our sister a lot more susceptible to crying with the way you two kept her isolated." Donatello followed up before he sighed again. "Also, what was the point of her being separated anyways?" Donatello added as Splinter mentally braced himself for the backlash that would come from what he was about to say.

"The point of Sofonisba being separated from all of you was so me and Sensei Thorn could help her control her emotions."

"Well, it's a miracle that the world hasn't ended then because I can't see how isolating our sister could possibly help Sophie control her emotions." Raphael dryly countered as he saw Sofonisba sighing from her older brother's response.

"Raphie—"

"No. Raph is right, Sophie. Isolating you was the worst decision your parents could have made as the consequences not only affected you but them as well." Henry swiftly interjected, having now come to Raphael's defense as Splinter sighed once more.

"Henry—"

"Actually, Sensei, Henry has a point because as I recalled, Donnie said something about how us seeing her could've done Sophie some good since—"

"Oh! I remember that!" Donatello loudly exclaimed before they observed him clearing his throat and start chiming into the conversation.

"Yeah, I said research in social science suggests placing siblings together can result in a higher self-esteem, reduce behavioral problems and bring emotional stability." Donatello added as he saw his son chuckle. "Well, those weren't all the reasons, but they were the ones I was able to get out before Sensei interrupted me." his son casually finished as Splinter internally huffed at his son's response.

"Donatello—"

"With all due respect, Sensei, Donnie is right. I mean, we all saw Sophie in action tonight and she did pretty much all of the things he had mentioned." Briana chimed in, interrupting him now as  his youngest daughter lightly crossed her arms. "I mean I don't know what she was like during the isolation, but Sophie definitely knew how to control her emotions as she never let her own emotions get the best of her." Briana followed up as he saw her brothers collectively nodding at her words.

"Yeah! She was very grounded in her emotions..." his sons swiftly said, further adding onto what their little sister had said before they trailed off and looked at each other. "... Unlike someone we met." he overheard his sons whisper among themselves before they shared a cryptic chuckle as he blinked. He thought to ask who they were referring to when Henry's nod directed him back to the current conversation at hand.

"Yeah! Like Bri said, she was very grounded in her emotions and when she was with us, Sophie proved to be confident, headstrong, protective and caring, so it's clear to see then that she'd have greatly benefited a lot more from being surrounded by her siblings than opposed to the way she was separated from them." Henry followed up, also agreeing with Briana's stance as Splinter sighed again. He was about to say something when Michelangelo spoke up, which in turn prevented him from speaking now.

"Yeah! Not to mention, we lost time! Time that we could've spent with her had you and Sensei Thorn not been so — s... so careless with the decision you two made to separate her from us!" Michelangelo swiftly followed up, snapping at him as Splinter's eyes faltered slightly from his younger son's words before the look faded and he gave yet another sigh.

"My son, I understand your anger but your okaasan and I weren't being careless when we had made the decision to separate her from all of you." he calmly defended before he sighed once more. "We... We were just doing what we both thought was best for not only her but all of you too." he admittedly added as Michelangelo promptly crossed his arms and looked away from him while Raphael mimicked his younger brother's gestures as he too crossed his arms but at the same time, he saw his older son looking directly in his view.

"Yeah, well this wasn't it." Raphael and Michelangelo insisted as he heavily sighed at their words once more.

"My sons—"

"No. They're right, Sensei, because while you and Sensei Thorn were under the impression that what you two decided to do was best for all of us, neither of you took into consideration of how your decision affected all of us."

"Leonardo—"

"Master Splinter, because of the decision you and Sensei Thorn made to separate Sophie from us, we lost time. Time as Mikey pointed out to you not a few moments ago, we could've spent together and that's something we will never get back." Leonardo swiftly countered as he saw Raphael and Michelangelo nodding.

"So, while you can claim that you two were doing it in our best interest, Sensei, the truth of the matter is neither of you had our best interests at heart." Raphael and Michelangelo pointed out as his eyes widened at their claim.

"My sons, that is simply not true. Believe me when I say that your okaasan and I had all of your best interests at heart." Splinter earnestly insisted as they sighed at his response. "If that's true Sensei, then why did you and Sensei Thorn allow fear to cloud your judgment?" they followed up as he saw Leonardo, Donatello nodding in agreement at what their brothers said.

"Yeah because in allowing fear to cloud you and Sensei Thorn's judgment, we ended up paying the price of that decision and now, we will never get back the years we lost with her." Leonardo and Donatello further added as Sofonisba nodded.

"Yeah. Just like I will never get back the years I lost with them, so thanks for having us all pay the price on something that happened to me when I was only a child." his older daughter dryly said and after she had finished speaking, he heartbreakingly watched as his children collectively fell silent while Henry glanced at him with a gleam of disappointment in his eyes before he saw the boy go to comfort them.

As he quietly looked on, he solemnly sighed as he had been so certain that what he and Thorn were doing was right. He himself had told Thorn that in time, their children would come to see that they had been right in separating Sofonisba from her siblings. But now as he replayed his children (and Henry)'s words, he knew then time hadn't made them think that the decision he and his wife made were right.

Time, rather, had proved the opposite: that he and Thorn were wrong to separate Sofonisba from her siblings and it was because of them their children lost years to strength their bond together as a family. Deep down, he knew his children and Henry were right: the call he and Thorn made was not of their children's best interest, but one driven by fear.

Fear that ultimately clouded their judgment and led to them unintentionally inflicting lifelong consequences onto their children. Consequences that their children would have to live with... because of the decision he and his wife made.

Splinter knew he couldn't speak for his late wife nor would he attempt to do so, but he knew she would've felt the same way he did. She would've seen that they made a fatal mistake in breaking up their children and she would've wanted to make amends for the way their decision impacted them just as he wanted to do the same.

"All of you are right."

When he said these words, he saw his children and Henry turn to glance at him and silently look on as he sighed again.

"Sensei Thorn and I were driven by fear because we were scared of the Ibeeles Curse and what it entailed for not only Sofonisba, but for all of you and the world at that. So we thought that if we separated Sofonisba from all of you and teach her to control her emotions, then we could have everyone's best interests at heart. But this was a lie we told ourselves to justify the decision we made as we both believed with time, you all would come to realize that we were right." Splinter slowly added before he sighed again.

"But now I see that we were not right. We were wrong to separate Sofonisba from you guys and though I cannot speak for your okaasan, I know she would feel just as sorry as I do for the pain and the consequences that we both unintentionally inflicted onto you all." he further added as he heavily sighed again.

"I say all of this then because..." he continued before he trailed off as he felt a sudden lump in his throat surface but he fought it back right when he spoke once more. "... I'm sorry. I am so terribly sorry for what you all were forced to endure throughout these years because of the decision me and Sensei Thorn made." he truthfully continued before he sighed once more.

"I know I cannot go back in time and change the decision to allow you all the time to gain back the time you all lost with each other, but..." he further added before he trailed off as he sighed again.

"... Is there anything I can do right now to make it up for what I did in the past?" he continued as Henry raised his eyebrow at him and crossed his arms while his children retained their silence toward him, leaving the boy who he considered to be his son as their designated spokesperson then.

"Sensei, with all due respect, if this is your way of trying to garner some pity or sympathy from your kids for the decision you and their okaasan made in the past to get them to feel sorry for you, it's not—"

"—This isn't about me trying to get them to feel sorry for me, Henry." Splinter swiftly interrupted as he sighed. "This is about me trying to make amends and I don't expect them — any of them — to forgive me for what was done in the past. I just... I just wanted to fix the wrong that has been done. That's all." he sincerely followed up as he watched his children and Henry proceed to look at each other before glancing back at him.

For a moment, silence engulfed the lair and he was certain that none of them believed him until the silence became shattered when his youngest daughter cleared her throat, resulting in him as well as her siblings and Henry focusing their attention on Briana now.

"Sensei, we are all aware that the time we lost is something we can never get back, but that does not mean we can still use the time we have to work on restoring the bond we all had with Sophie now." Briana slowly said as he saw her older sister nodding after she finished. "Just as I can work toward restoring the bond I had with them too." Sofonisba followed up in agreement to what her little sister said as he glanced at his daughters and sighed.

"Briana, Sofonisba, I understand where you two are coming from but—"

"—You said you wanted to make amends with your children, right Sensei?" Henry interrupted as he saw his sons nodded. "Yeah. There's no other way to make amends with us then to end the separation rule you and Sensei Thorn enforced onto us all those years ago." his sons added as Splinter saw Briana nodding.

"Yes! Sensei, if you want to make it up to us, then please. You have to put a end to the separation rule and let Sophie become intergrated into our lives again. I mean, she already proved that she can control her emotions around us, so we will just continue to help her whenever she needs it because we're all in this together and we're not going to be separated again. Not this time." she sincerely and determinedly stated as he saw her brothers nodding. "Yeah!" his sons added as he saw his older daughter look at him.

"Father, I have proven myself more than capable of controlling my emotions and I know with the help and support from my siblings, I will continue to get better. So, if you really meant what you said in wanting to make amends, then end the separation rule once and for all." Sofonisba said as he sighed.

"Sofonisba—"

"—Sensei, everyone is right. If you truly want to make amends, then this is the best way to do it." Henry chimed in, siding with his children, who nodded. "Besides, you don't really have a reason to keep us separated." his sons added before they turned to face their sister. "Does he, Sophie?" his sons followed up as Sofonisba softly chuckled and nodded. "No, he doesn't." she answered, agreeing with her brothers as he saw her turn to face their little sister.

"What about you, Little Kunoichi?"

"No, I can't think of a reason as to why we would have to continue to be separated." his youngest daughter answered before everyone turned to face him.

"So Sensei, what is it going to be?" Henry swiftly questioned as his sons and his older daughter nodded. "Are you going to put an end to the separation rule and let us reclaim the time we lost to the decision you and Sensei Thorn made or are you going to keep breaking our hearts further by allowing this separation rule persist?" his sons and his older daughter added as he sighed at their questions.

"My children—"

"Sensei, I know you and Sensei Thorn believed you two were doing the right thing, but please. You have to see what you're trying to continue isn't going to work, so please. Put an end to the separation rule and let us be together again." his youngest daughter sincerely pleaded before she began batting her eyes at him. "Please?" she innocently followed up before she pouted at him, which led her siblings to do the exact same thing as they all mimicked their little sister's mannerisms and made Henry lightly chuckle.

"Come on now, Sensei. Are you going to enforce the separation rule and go out of your own way to continue breaking their hearts more by turning down your request to be together again when they look at this?" Henry followed up as his children nodded. "Are you?" his children asked and once they finished posing their question, he heavily sighed.

"My children, I get where you all are coming from but..." he initially began, but when he saw his youngest daughter innocently batting her eyes once again and directed her puppy-dog eyes at him, he chose to go against what he had been planning to say as he didn't have the strength to break her heart or that of her siblings. Besides, Splinter knew he didn't have any real reason to keep enforcing the separation rule and so, knowing this and confident in the belief that his late wife would've also agreed with what he was going to do next, he took a deep breath before he faced everyone and nodded.

"Okay. From this day forth, the separation rule is no more. As such, Sofonisba will train with all of you. Furthermore, you are all free to hang out with each other again." Splinter sincerely said as he saw their eyes collectively light up at what he said.

"Yay!"

As he took in their excitement, he smiled to himself because even though he knew there was still a chance his children hadn't forgiven him for what he did in the past, he knew he could live with that. After all, he never sought out their forgiveness. He just wanted to make amends and he did that when he ended the separation rule, so that was good enough for him.

"You never told her siblings and Henry about the Ignis mark Sofonisba has on her left shoulder." the voice in his head quietly reminded him as he huffed. "A story for another day." he mumbled as the voice in his head dryly chuckled."Sure. You keep telling yourself, Yoshi, but deep down, you know you won't ever tell them about her Ignis mark until it blows up in your face just like tonight." the voice in his head further added before a dry chuckle followed suit, causing him to sigh as his smile dropped.

"Thank you, Sensei!"

"You're welcome, my children." he softly said, applying his smile once more as he snapped out of his thoughts and faced his children. "I know this won't fix everything you all went through in the past though." he added as his children nodded. "True. This won't fix everything that we all went through in the past, but it's a step in the right direction, so there's that." his children said right as they heard Love Story playing.

🎶 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— 🎶

"There goes Little Warrior's Romeo again." Raphael teasingly said, causing Briana to blush as she lightly rolled her eyes. "H... He's n... not my R... Romeo!" she attempted to protest in spite of the stutter that surfaced as it only made her siblings chuckle at her more while Henry lightly nudge her right shoulder. "Sure, Bri. You keep telling yourself that." Henry teasingly but softly followed up as he saw his youngest daughter blushing more from his words when she shook her head at his response.

"W... Whatever." Briana bashfully said (mostly due to a lack of a better response), still stuttering before she placed her phone away and gave a light sigh to calm herself down as her blush died down seconds after she sighed. "Anyways, I have to go but I will be back later." she followed up as Michelangelo 'ooohed' at her response.

"Oooh and where are you going?"

"To the ice rink with Kaz." she answered as he saw his siblings teasingly glance at her and back at each other. "It's not a date." she quickly emphasized as her siblings chuckled. "We're going there to hang out. That's it." she followed up as Henry chuckled. "Sure. You two are just going there to 'hang out.'" Henry teasingly repeated before he air-quoted 'hang out' moments later, which made him chuckle before he stopped and softly smiled.

"Well, regardless of whether you're hanging out with him or going on a date with him—"

"Sensei!" Briana dramatically whined, interrupting him then as she crossed her arms and gave a light pout through the blush that resurfaced, which made her siblings and Henry chuckle at her reaction now.

"—I hope you have fun and enjoy yourself." he finished, fighting back his own urge to chuckle as he retained his smile. "Just remember to come home safely and to be careful on the way to and back from the ice rink with Kaz." he softly followed up as she promptly nodded at his words and smiled in turn.

"Of course, Sensei." she softly said before she glanced at her siblings and Henry. "I will see you guys later then." Briana lightly said as her siblings and Henry nodded. "See you later then, Bri! Have fun on your date with your Romeo!" her siblings called after her as they chuckled among themselves.

"He's not my Romeo and it's not a date!" everyone heard Briana echo back before her silhouette flickered and vanish from their view without a trace right as Splinter heard the last of Henry and his daughter's siblings' laughter die down before it came to an end altogether. "Ah, it's definitely a date." he heard Henry and Briana's siblings lightly follow up before their eyes drifted towards the ground.

"I sense there is something troubling all of you." he began as he saw their eyes gradually lift up from the ground before the six teenagers sighed. "Well... It's just..." they initially began before they collectively trailed off and sighed in sync. "Yes? What is it?" he gently asked, encouraging them to speak their thoughts as he saw the six teenagers look at each other before looking at him when Henry spoke up, becoming the group's spokesperson.

"It's just earlier Briana said that the aperio mirror was a demon-revealing mirror and well, we can't help but wonder if... if maybe she, like Sophie, has a demon inside her too." Henry slowly said as he cautiously stared at him. "What makes you say that, Henry?" he slowly asked as he saw Henry sighing once more.

"Well, I say that because—"

"—I wasn't the only one whose reflection altered because when Briana held the aperio mirror, we saw a purple-skinned spirit with the same purple hair staring back at her." his older daughter explained, having interrupted Henry now as the boy nodded. "Yeah and rather than her sapphire blue eyes, we saw a pair of frighteningly evil red eyes with black pupils instead." Henry added as Splinter saw his sons nodding.

"Mhm and she even had these black wings behind her back! Plus, rather than her typical outfit, we noticed the spirit's outfit had consisted of red dress with a black belt around her waist and black boots." his sons collectively said and after he processed everything the six teenagers all said in relation to what they saw in Briana's reflection concerning the aperio mirror, Splinter's eyes widened slightly at their words.

He might've gotten lucky had none of them noticed, but in that moment, he grew nervous and it wasn't long before they all noticed. "Sensei? Is there something we should know about Briana?" the six teenagers curiously but concernedly ask as they continued to look at him with concern in their eyes.

After they asked their question and he saw the concern in their eyes, he solemnly frowned and heavily sighed to himself as he naively believed he would have caught a break. After all, it was hard enough coming clean about one kid and even then, he hadn't gotten through everything about Sofonisba as he never told Henry or the girl's siblings about the Ignis mark. So how was he supposed to come clean about another kid?

Needless to say, the thought of having to come clean twice terrified him because he wasn't sure if he could stand the idea of telling the truth again. He knew he should, but then again, he knew it would've been so much easier for him if he just lied. After all, he knew if he did, then he would have bought himself time and suppressed their curiosity.

So knowing this then, he thought to do it and he was about to do it too... until he caught Henry's eyes, that is.

When he caught the boy's eyes, he reluctantly refrained from doing what he wanted to do out of the fact that if he had been right about him, then he knew the boy would've known he was lying because he would have been able pick up on his lie faster than his children (who wouldn't have been none the wiser as none of them would've noticed he lied) due to his senses kicking in.

So if the boy knew that, then Splinter was certain Henry would've also known he was still hiding the truth from him and his children. As such, he knew Henry would've most likely called him out on it in front of his children and if that happened to be the case, then he would end up having to deal with more trouble than what it was worth.

Given all of these things then, Splinter heavily sighed as he took a deep breath and faced the six teenagers once more.

"I think you all should know the truth." he cryptically said as he watched his children and Henry stare at each other. "The truth..." his children and Henry initially began before they trailed off as Splinter silently observed the six teenagers look at each other. "... About what exactly, Sensei?" the six teenagers slowly added, finishing their question as they collectively took their attention off each other and began looking at him.

The moment he saw the six teenagers look at him, fear seized him and for a moment, he thought to backtrack from what he was going to say as he knew if he said it, then there would be couldn't go back. At the same time though, he knew he couldn't keep the truth to himself anymore for he knew his children and Henry had — no, needed — to know.

So having known all of this, he braced himself for the reality of what was to come from what he was about to say because he knew nothing would ever be the same again for him, his children and Henry once he spoke the words into existence.

It was a consequence that he fought hard to avoid for years, but now the moment was here and he knew that he couldn't run when they deserved to know. So for better or worse, Splinter took a deep breath and said the two words that would change everything for not only him but them too.

"About Briana."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

"Well, things seem to be looking up for Sophie and her siblings."

"Yep! Her siblings (and Henry) finally got to learn the truth behind the real reason to as why their father (and their mother) decided to separate their sister from them all those years ago — with Sophie even learning some things she didn't know herself — and more so, they even convinced Splinter to put an end to the separation rule once and for all."

"Yep. But at the same time, for every secret that gets revealed, there's another that appears and this was no different."

"Mhm, because while our adoptive godfather had been mostly honest when it came to telling his kids and Henry the truth about Sophie—"

"—He still had his secrets when it came to Briana."

"Yep and though he will reveal the truth to Sophie, her brothers and Henry, this honesty will also serve as a double-edge sword for the teens because in telling them about Briana's real origins, he will—"

"Jax—"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself now." Jaxon apologetically said, interrupting their little sister in mid-narration now as they lightly held their hands up in a playful, defensive manner as Lillian stared at them before shaking her head. "Whatever." she mumbled before she continued on with her narration as though no interruption had just occurred.

"Anyways... While Sophie, her brothers and Henry were about to learn the rest of their sensei's secrets and Briana embarked on her friendly hang out with Kaz that may or may not be a date, things — for the most part, at least — continued to look... relatively bright even as our adoptive godfather's secrets continued to linger."

"Yep, but the same could not be said for our father for the shadows continued to have its hold on him. Although, our dad being driven by his revenge and his anger certainly wasn't doing him any favors either by any means whatsoever."

"No. If anything, our father being driven by his revenge and his anger only made things worse for him as he became so consumed by these two things that he not only lost sight of the actual task of hand but he also completely neglected our sister's words altogether in the process."

"Mhm. But while our dad rationalized what he was doing by insisting it was vital to his success in reclaiming the aperio mirror again, his actions couldn't have been any further from the truth as the measures he took towards getting the second relic told a different story. One that seemed be driven entirely by his anger and revenge."

"But when our sister comes to realize this, she'll point this out to him and try to get him to see clearly in an attempt to steer him in the right direction because she only wants what's best for him."

"Mhm, but he won't believe her because he will believe she is simply holding him back from his potential. So rather than try to give her a chance, he'll ignite a fight between them that will bear a unforeseen consequence. One that will come into fruition when his desire for revenge catches up to him and leaves him face-to-face with a life-and-death situation."

"Yeah and when the unforeseen consequence of his fight with our sister ripples through during the aftermath of the life-and-death situation he endured, our dad will be faced with a decision that will make him question just how far he's willing to go to reclaim the aperio mirror when he has to choose between revenge within reach and love on the cusp of meeting a tragic demise."

"Yep. But before we find out what the revenge and love aspect is and what he ends up choosing, we have to first see the events that get us there. So with all of this in mind, let's step away from the turtles' lair and go above ground again as we head back over to Aureus' treasure trove once more to observe the circumstances that ultimately led our dad to the decision he would have to make..."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Issac had them right where he wanted.

So while it took Issac having to endure his second [as if one alone hadn't been enough] pesky copycat along with her just as equally — if not more — pesky followers and him having to deal with some lackeys associated with Sofonisba, Captain Violet, their brothers and Boy Danger, it had been worth it.

Because when he finally came face-to-face with the ones who wronged him [after undergoing a series of obstacles on his journey to get to them], he had them and their lackeys beat before he cornered the teens with essentially no way out (... at the time at least).

Now even though the seven's lackeys hadn't actually done anything to attribute to his chances of getting the aperio mirror delayed, he had just simply reached the point of seeing his revenge fruition and he wasn't going to let anyone or anything get in his way.

So needless to say, the seven's lackeys were all caught up in the crossfires of his revenge and he had no intent on letting them go because as far as he was concerned, they were just as guilty as the seven who wronged him. As such, he intended on ridding them and the ones who wronged him altogether, seeing how he would have significantly less pawns to encounter if he dealt with them now than opposed to later.

So when he had his crystal daggers aimed towards the group of teens and when he directed the crystal daggers towards them, he knew he won when they seemed to have accepted their fate. It would've been the perfect finish for him then as he would've saved himself so much time from having to continue dealing with the unnecessary nuisances who had all threatened his chances of reclaiming the aperio mirror.

Needless to say then, he would have had them but no!

Leave it to a miniature light blue, almost azure-like sphere to suddenly appear out of nowhere and collide directly into his crystal daggers to go mess up his chances of achieving his revenge because as soon as the collision occurred, he saw a electric light blue, almost azure-like spark immediately ignite before a misty dust storm appeared seconds later.

When the misty dust storm appeared, he had quickly found his view on the seven teens and their lackeys momentarily blocked thanks to the idiot that somehow not only timed the release of his crystal daggers but also synchronized it perfectly to the throw of the electric sphere to align with the direction of his crystal daggers. As such, it was safe to say that these factors had contributed to creating the misty dust storm he currently found himself in.

"Of course, I would have them right in my grasp and this would happen to me. Ugh, that would just be my luck." he bitterly and irritatedly said as he sighed. "Well, that's just great. Now, how am I supposed to find them through all of this dust?" he irritatedly followed up before his eyes gradually drifted away from the dust storm that surrounded him to his hands, where he saw a few light blue, almost teal-like crystals forming.

"Wait. Couldn't I just..." he continued before he trailed off as the answer to his current dilemma finally dawned on him. "... Gods, I'm such an idiot." he mumbled, shaking his head now as he chuckled before he stopped. Once he did, he extended his arms and used the recently formed crystals in his hands to disperse the misty dust storm.

"There." he added, watching the misty dust storm disperse in front of him as he chuckled again, only this time there was a sinister undertone he hadn't noticed. Not long after he chuckled, the illuminating sheen in his cognac brown eyes along with the glowing streak intensified brighter as he looked away from his hands and chuckled once more.

"It took me a minute to realize I could disperse the soot on my own, but now with the misty dust storm out of my way, I can finally finish what I started with you freaks and—" he continued, his tone growing darker, sinister and just slightly unhinged as he glanced up and cut himself off as he irritatedly scoffed.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Looking up, Issac noticed his first, original copycat, her siblings, Boy Danger and their lackeys weren't there, so he angrily clenched his fists at the sight, which caused the crystallization in his palms to go away. After which, he sharply growled at the empty sight in front of him because he had been wanting to exact his revenge on those who wronged him.

But now instead of getting his revenge and finishing what he started, Issac found himself stuck as he faced the (now) unoccupied spot near the pile of stacked treasure where he had recalled throwing the group of teens. With a heavy sigh, he crossed his arms as he turned his attention away from the empty spot near the pile of stacked treasure.

"Well if they're not here, then where did they go?" he asked himself and as soon as he posed the question, he suddenly heard a few clanging sounds, which caught his attention as he blinked to himself. "Huh?" he asked and as he turned, he saw the gigantic pile of treasure wobble before it came crashing down within seconds.

"Oh okay. I see what's going on now." he further said before he trailed off as he glanced back at the site where the group of teens had once stood and back at the fallen pile. "You all thought you could just simply hide from me by using the misty dust storm as your cover, but now that I disperse your little cover, you all have another thing coming." he followed up as he started to summon a crystallized sword in his left hand.

The moment after the crystallized sword was summoned, he dragged the blade onto the floor as he started moving closer to the fallen pile while he gave another sinister chuckle. "Because you see, in spite of your futile attempt to distract me just now, I was able to get past that stupid dust storm. So, needless to say, it's only a matter of time before I find you and when I do, revenge will be mine." he followed up and as he did, his voice grew deeper while the sinister undertone took a greater amplitude with his voice becoming more unhinged from each word he spoke.

"Now, you lot can hide all you want, but at the end of the day, that won't be enough to save you lot because your attempts to stop me are..." he further added, still retaining the deepness of his voice and the sinister undertone that had previously surfaced when he trailed off after he heard a slight creak coming near the fallen pile.

"... Futile." he darkly and sinisterly finished as he gave a low, eerie chuckle. "Now, I have you lot." he confidently ushered and as he gripped tighter onto his crystallized sword, the illuminating sheen in his cognac brown eyes along with the glowing streak intensified further. Confident in his belief that he would find the group of teens then, he gave another low, eerie chuckle as he promptly vanished. Seconds later, he reappeared as a light blue, almost teal-like shadowy blur before resurfacing again in his physical form.

From there, he landed lightly in front of the fallen pile with his sword still in tact when he heard another creak, which resulted in a eerie, sinister smirk surfacing while the glowing streak in his eyes illuminated brighter once more.

"Ah, you all thought you could deceive me so easily, but you lot underestimated me because as you are all about to find out, I have you all right where I want you. So..." he sinisterly yet very determinedly followed up before he trailed off at the sound of another creak. Smirking eeriely then, he arrived in front of the fallen pile in lightning speed when he silently look around when he heard slight clanging sounds nearby the fallen pile.

"... Ha! I got you lot now!" he triumphantly exclaimed, now summoning crystals in his right palm as he swiftly blasted through the nearby pile, having expected to catch the group of teens red-handed now with their hiding spot coming undone. However as soon as he did that, the (once) standing treasure pile quickly collapsed into the fallen pile. As such when he looked on, he only found the fallen pile of the previously stacked treasure staring back at him, causing him to huff as he sighed.

"Or not." he disappointingly followed up, now waving his left arm aside as the crystallized sword vanished. Closing his left fist then, the crystallization that initially formed in his right palm went away as he crossed his arms and sighed once more before he puzzledly stared at the fallen pile of stacked treasure in front of him.

"Huh. I really thought that they would've been here with the way the stacked pile of treasure fell just now." he initially said to himself as he continued to look at the sight in front of him. "Well if they aren't here, then that means they weren't the ones who made the pile of stacked treasure to fall." he added before he blinked as he continued to keep his eyes fixated on the sight in front of him once more.

"So, if they aren't here... then who—"

"Behind you."

Once the shadows had said that and he heard footsteps, his eyes and the glowing streak he still had intensively glowed. As soon as that happened, he began to summon his crystallized sword once more as he dryly chuckled.

"You lot thought you could really fool me," he dryly began before he chuckled once more as he began to turn with the crystallized sword in hand, having now expected to be face-to-face with the ones who wronged him and their lackeys. "But think again as I am smarter than the likes of you lot combined because I—" he confidently continued, now beginning to cockily boast as he started to raise his crystallized sword but when he discovered a pair of light amber eyes staring back at him, he froze upon seeing who he was aiming his sword at now.

"Apá?"

"Mija?"

As soon as he called out to her, the implications of what he was going to do started to dawn on him as he felt his blood run cold before annoyance settled in and overrode the chilly sensation that he had just now.

"Gods! Mija, were you trying to scare me?"

"What? No! Baba, I wasn't trying to scare you! I was just—"

"If you weren't trying to scare me, then what were you thinking in sneaking up on me like that?!" Issac sharply but quite aggressively snapped when he saw his daughter's eyes widened before she blinked. "I... I'm sorry, dad. I... I didn't... mean to scare you like I... I did j... just now. I... I was j... just—" his daughter attempted to earnestly answer but as she began to stammer and stutter over her words, he quietly sighed and took a deep breath, having realized that he (unwittingly) made her nervous when he snapped at her moments ago.

"Mija, I... I..." he slowly began and as he cut her off, he immediately retracted the crystallized sword in his grasp before he glanced at his daughter again and heavily sighed. "... I'm sorry." Issac finished then as his daughter frowned.

"Baba, you don't—"

"Yes, I do, mija. Okay? I snapped at you when I shouldn't have and... I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to snap at you just now, so I'm sorry again for doing that to you." he countered, interrupting her before he sighed again. "Besides, I know you meant well. Really, mija, I do. It's just..." he slowly but sincerely followed up, his tone softer and tender as he trailed off. When he did, the intensity of his cognac-brown eyes and the glowing streak significantly died down.

"... I... I... I thought you... you w... were..." he continued until he trailed off whenever he began to resemble his daughter's mannerism when he started to stammer and stutter over his words with how nervous he became now.

"... Were who?"

"I... I thought y... you were..." he attempted to answer before he trailed off as he quickly shook his head, deciding it was better if she didn't know. "Nevermind, mija. It's not that important anyways." he added in a dismissive tone as he waved off his previous response and what his previous words would have entailed when she spoke once more.

"Baba—"

"—The point is I need you to be more careful next time. Okay? I mean, what if I hadn't looked up mija? Then, what would have happened to you?" he concernedly but sternly followed up, now interrupting his daughter as she heavily sighed.

"Baba—"

"Had I not looked up, you could have gotten hurt and had that happened, I... I..." he initially said in a stern tone, having interrupted her again before he trailed off and turned away from her.. "... I would've never learned how to forgive myself had I been the one to hurt you." he solemnly said, finishing his previous response before he sighed once more.

"S... So just be careful next time, okay mija?" he softly concluded and as he turned to face her, he offered a small but sincere smile to her. When he did, the cognac-brown hue in his eyes switched to his light honeysuckle hue while his glowing streak in his eyes vanished altogether right as his daughter softly nodded and returned his smile. "Okay." she softly answered as he quietly sighed in relief.

"Good."

After he spoke, neither of them said anything as silence engulfed them until his daughter cleared her throat and shattered the silence between them. "So..." she initially began until she trailed off and briefly took her eyes off of him before directing her attention back to him as she clapped her hands. "... Where is it?" she followed as he blinked. "Where is what?" he countered as she slowly looked at him.

"Dad, don't play coy with me." she firmly said as he huffed. "I'm not playing coy with you, mija." he insisted as she sighed.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"Oh, really?" she slowly countered, raising her left eyebrow as she dryly chuckled. "If you're not playing coy with me, apá, then why do you keep avoiding the question?" his daughter added as he feigned a confused chuckle and crossed his arms. "Mija, I'm not avoiding your question." he answered as she momentarily stared at him before she crossed her arms.

"Of course, baba. You're absolutely right." she said as he internally sighed in relief from the fact she believed him and his lie. "See? I knew you would see things my way, mija." he cheekily said, momentarily turning away from Aliya before he blinked, having sensed something was off from the way she suddenly agreed with him after having had just (rightfully) pointed out that he was being coy with her.

"Wait..."

As the realization of her words dawned on him as he turned to face his daughter, he sighed and crossed his arms. "... You were being sarcastic just now, weren't you?" he followed up, finishing his previous response as she laughed and waved him off.

"What? Me? Sarcastic? Just now? Pfft - No, not at all, apá." she answered as he lightly sighed at her response. "Oh okay. That's—" he initially began to say until he cut himself off but when he detected the forceness of her laugh and recalled how quickly she had waved him off just now, Issac sighed once more.

"Mija—"

"Fine. I was being sarcastic." she admitted, now interrupting him as he solemnly frowned while his daughter quietly sighed as she crossed her arms. "Oh come on, apá. Don't give me that look. Besides, it's not my fault you happen to be gullible." she insisted, expanding onto her response as he simply rolled his eyes. "Mija, I'm not gullible." he insisted, countering her response as she chuckled.

"Uh-huh. Just like you're not avoiding my question either, I bet."

"I'm not—"

"Baba, you and I know you're avoiding my question, so stop trying to lie to me and just tell me where it is." she firmly ordered, interrupting him as he sighed. "Mija, I would tell you except I don't know what you're talking about." he countered as she briefly stared at him before she dryly chuckled.

"Baba, you know exactly what I'm talking about." she swiftly countered as he tensed up then at the sudden sternness in her tone, but he still chose to maintain the facade of his stupidity as he crossed his arms again.

"I still don't know what—"

"Ugh! Why is it taking you so long to just say where the aperio mirror is?" she sharply asked as he listened to her sigh after she interrupted him. "I mean, honestly there's no reason as to why you even feel the need to drag this on, especially since you should've been able to tell me where it is by now. Unless..." she promptly continued before she trailed off as she took her focus off of him.

"... You can't."

Realizing she was catching onto him, he quietly but tensely chuckled as he cleared his throat and did his best to keep a neutral face in the hopes he could keep his daughter's suspicions at bay.

"Mija—"

"Wait." she added, interrupting him once more as she slowly turned to look at him again. "Baba, don't tell me the reason you've been avoiding my question this entire time is because you lost the relic now." his daughter followed up as he awkwardly but tensely feigned a laugh.

"Pfft — What? N... No. O... Of course n... not." he attempted to casually feign, but this did nothing to help him as his stammering gave him away. In fact when he saw his daughter slowly stare at him, he knew he just (unwittingly) cemented her suspicions because after she picked up on the way he was acting, she sighed as she crossed her arms once more.

"You lost it."

After his daughter said that, he immediately felt guilty before his guilt quickly evolved into anger when he remembered that it wasn't his fault. After all, he wasn't the one to blame so why should his daughter accuse him of something he knew wasn't true?

"I didn't lose it. Okay? If anything, I had the relic until it came loose whenever the copycat and her two meddling brothers ambushed me." he defensively but quite aggressively spoke, now protesting against his daughter's accusation as he turned away from her. As he did, he angrily clenched his fist and once he did, his eyes started to flicker as the light honeysuckle hue in his eyes changed to a light blue, almost teal-like hue.

"As soon as they ambushed me, I lost control of the relic but I wasn't going to let those freaks get the best of me. So, I patiently bided my time and when I noticed the copycat was alone, I immediately went after her as she's the reason I lost my grasp of the aperio mirror in the first place." he sharply added, expanding on his initial response as he continued to keep his back turned to his daughter.

"I nearly had her too, but then another one of her meddling brothers just had to intervene and come to his sister's rescue stop me with that electric-charged blast of his. So, naturally that was a setback but one I was able to overcome. Of course, right as I overcame that setback, the rest of them just naturally had to show up too. So now, not only did I have to face Sofonisba, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo but now I also had to face Captain Violet, Leonardo and Boy Danger too!" he continued as he sighed.

"Oh, and if that wasn't bad enough, Atari came out of nowhere and ambushed me! So, that was another setback in itself. But that wasn't even the worst part! No, the worst part is I discovered I have another copycat!" he further added as he sighed.

"I thought Sofonisba was the only one with my less than superior powers, but no. Noelle has the same abilities as her and it's annoying because after I stopped her siblings from preventing me from getting a hold of their sister, those two copycats of mine decided to team up and use their less than superior powers against me to give me yet another setback." Issac bitterly followed up before he cockily chuckled.

"But their efforts to stop me didn't last long as I recovered from their stupid stunt and found an opportunity to reclaim the relic again after my original copycat carelessly threw the mirror aside. However to my dismay, my efforts were challenged by Captain Violet, who attempted to go after the mirror herself. So naturally, I went after her." he followed up as he sighed again.

"Annoyingly though, this sickly kid came out of nowhere and set me back. I never got his name, so I don't know who did it, but nonetheless I recovered from his stunt. By then, Captain Violet had already reunited with those freaks she referred to as her siblings and Boy Danger again. On top of that, my newly found copycat decided to make yet another appearance. Unlike last time though, she wasn't alone as two lackeys accompanied her, but I dealt with those nuisances all the same. Then after I got my copycat and her lackeys out of the way, I proceeded to go do the same to the others..." he continued before he trailed off as he scoffed.

"... Or rather, I would have done the same to the others had this pyrokinesis boy not showed up out of nowhere and set me back with that stupid flame blast of his." he finished as he huffed a moment later. "So, I guess Ember isn't the only pyrokinetic around, but I'm getting off-topic. So back to the matter at hand, I was able to recover from his stunt and after I did, I found a way to deal with him when he decided to risk his life for Captain Violet." he further added and as Issac chuckled, his eyes glowed brighter.

"As such, I decided to take the opportunity that was presented to me and dealt with him just as I proceeded to deal with the five lackeys also came to their aid, though where their lackeys came from, I have no idea but that's besides the point. Anyways, after I dealt with their lackeys, I was able to confront the seven teens at last and succeeded in cornering them as they were all right where I wanted them." he further added before he chuckled again. Yet as soon as Issac did, his chuckle became dark with a sinister undertone that surfaced, which was something he himself hadn't noticed but something his daughter did.

"Dad—"

"I was going to make them — all of them — pay but before I could, someone decided to stop me by throwing this electric sphere to collide against my crystal daggers in order to create this misty dust storm. By the time I disperse the misty dust storm though, they were gone and I got robbed of my chance to finish what I started thanks to that idiot." he sharply concluded and after he did, he proceeded to angrily clench onto his fist tighter before he darkly chuckled once more. When this occurred, his eye color switched from a light blue, almost teal shade to a cognac brown hue before his eyes intensively glowed as he angrily clenched his fist.

"I swear whenever I find the one responsible for creating the dust storm that caused me to lose them, I am going to make them pay for costing me my chance."

"Ah, I see. This was never about getting about getting the mirror back, but rather your revenge." she simply said and as soon as she said that, his eyes widened from her response.

"What? No!" he immediately protested as he unclenched his fist while his eyes lost their cognac-brown sheen and the light honeysuckle color resurfaced. "Look, I don't know where you got the idea that I'm only doing this for revenge, but contrary to what you think, I'm not. Alright? This is still about the aperio mirror. I just need to get a hold of the ones that wronged me in order for us to get the relic first, that's all." he quickly but softly continued as he flashed Aliya a small smile a moment later but to his dismay, she never returned it. Rather, she only sighed once more as she continued to look at him.

"You say that, but did they even have the aperio mirror on them when you cornered them?" she asked as Issac pulled away from her and annoyingly scoffed at his daughter's question, having believed that the answer should've been obvious to her. After all, it was obvious to him and the fact she had yet to catch on only annoyed him.

So naturally, it only made sense for his newfound demeanor to end up translating into the way he viewed his daughter as he crossed his arms and began looking down at Aliya as though she asked the world's dumbest question. Regardless though, Issac decided to answer as he gave a cocky chuckle.

"Mija, when I cornered them, they..." he proceeded to say before he trailed off and it was here he knew his daughter made note of that when he saw her slowly looking at him.

"They... What?" his daughter promptly followed up before she dryly chuckled. "Did they actually have the aperio mirror on them when you cornered them or were you... perhaps too focused on obtaining your revenge against them to notice whether or not they had the relic in their grasp?" she added as he found himself tensely but very quietly chuckling from the way her eyes seemed to stay on him, having been reminded of his conversation that occurred with his mother's right-hand the previous night.

"I..." he attempted to say before he trailed off as he cleared his throat and tried again. "Well, I..." he continued before he trailed off as he awkwardly began rubbing the back of his neck while his daughter began rotating her arms in a way that seemed to be almost urging him to follow up on his response. Something he tried to do again when he stopped rubbing the back of his neck and proceeded to speak again...

"Ah, well, you see—"

"They never had the aperio mirror on them when you cornered them..." his daughter swiftly said before trailing off as she crossed her arms and continued to keep her light amber eyes centered on him. This had only made him more nervous then as she cleared her throat. "... did they?" she finished and not long after, his muscles tensed up now with his nervousness translating into the way he spoke.

"W... Well, you see, mija—"

"Baba—"

"I—"

"Apá, stop stalling." his daughter swiftly stated, now interrupting him as he awkwardly chuckled, having internally panicked from the way her authoritative voice had sounded similar to his omi's right hand when he spoke to him yesterday.

"Pfft, I'm not stalling, mija. I am just—"

"Dad."

When Aliya sternly called out to him and he saw how she slowly raised her left eyebrow at him and crossed her arms, he quietly huffed from the way she referred to him as he knew it was her way of subtly letting him know she was aware he was hiding something. So having known that then, he couldn't help but cave in to her then as he heavily sighed.

"Fine. I was stalling." he dejectedly confessed as he heavily sighed once more before he saw his daughter dropping her blank look as she nodded. "I thought so." she simply said as she gave a tiny chuckle. "Well, it would seem your stalling isn't the only thing I was right about." she then added as he feigned a dismissive scoff.

"Mija, I don't know what you're talking about." he slowly countered as he saw his daughter stare at him before she chuckled. "Oh, but I have a very strong feeling that you do, baba." she swiftly said, challenging his stance as he tensed up again, but he still decided to keep the facade of his stupidity going as he crossed his arms again in a last-ditch effort to save himself from having to be confronted with his daughter's truth.

"Mija, I still don't know what—"

"Apá, you and I know exactly what I'm talking about here, so why don't you drop the act and say what we both know is true?"

"I don't—"

"—Fine. If you won't say it, then I will."

"Mija—"

"Apá, they never had the aperio mirror when you cornered them. None of them did. So, you can try to deny it all you want, but deep down, you and I both know this was never about you trying to retrieve the relic because if that had been the case, then you would've listened to what I told you. So, it's safe to say then that this was about getting revenge more than anything else." Aliya sharply continued, interrupting him again as his eyes faltered from his daughter's words.

"Mija—"

"—What? It's true, is it not?" she sharply followed up, swiftly interrupting him once more as she sighed. "I mean, you could have just stuck with what I said, but no. Instead, you not only chose to purposely neglect my words but you also targeted Sofonisba, Captain Violet, their brothers and Boy Danger. Not only that, but you went after their allies and even the ones who opposed them such as Noelle and her two allies in spite of the fact you knew that none of them virtually played a role in the way you felt." she further added, her tone relatively stern as he huffed from her words.

"But they did. Mija, if you had only seen them, you would seen that—" he attempted to say in an effort to defend himself again when she interrupted him once more. "—No, they didn't, baba." she swiftly countered as he listened to her sigh before she continued.

"If anything, you justified your actions in targeting Sofonisba, Captain Violet, their brothers, Boy Danger, Noelle and all of their respective allies by using the aperio mirror as your own cover to disguise the fact you've been driven — if not consumed — by your revenge and your anger with the way you attacked them — all of them — with no real reason behind the attacks you took on them whatsoever." his daughter firmly added before she sighed again.

"So, I wouldn't be surprised if the reason as to why you didn't want to say who you thought I was when you first saw me with the crystallized sword in your hand is because you initially mistook me for them and had you not looked up, chances are you would have believed I was them. Or at least, one of them, anyways." his daughter concluded and it was then Issac quit trying to talk as he began to process the things his daughter said.

Initially, Issac wanted to argue with her and tell her that she had been in the wrong, but he knew he had just been lying to himself. So denying the reality of his actions wasn't going to change the fact he had let himself become driven by his revenge and his anger.

Nor was it going to change the way how he (at first glance, at least) did mistake his daughter for one of them as his revenge blinded him to the point he would've nearly hurt her if he genuinely believed he was face to face with the ones who wronged him.

As such, he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if their family friend, his kid's old friend or his previously discovered friends would've been in Aliya's position. At least when it came to her, he had been smart enough to look but what if it had been any of them instead? Is it still possible he would've looked up and recognized that they weren't the ones he was after? Or, would all of the revenge and the anger he felt towards Sofonisba, Captain Violet, their brothers, Boy Danger, Noelle and all their respective allies prevent him from being able to see/recognize that Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter weren't his enemies?

"... I mean, you're lucky it was just me who stumbled upon you in the state you were in just as I'm lucky in the sense you looked up and hadn't been too far gone to recognize me, but what if that hadn't been the case, dad? What if you hadn't recognized me and genuinely mistook me for one of them? Or more so, what if Ember, Khashi, Claudia or Baxter had stumbled upon you instead of me? What would have happened then, baba?"

Snapping out of his thoughts the moment she spoke, Issac glanced at his daughter once more as he heavily sighed. "I... I don't know." he genuinely confessed and having been afraid of what she would look like after he had answered his daughter, he decided he was better off just not looking directly at her. As such, Issac quickly turned away from her as he lowered his head in shame and embarrassment.

"I... I had a feeling you would say that, baba, but it's okay. We will figure it out. We always do. We just..." he heard her initially say before she sighed. "... We just need to find a way to harness your anger and think of better alternatives to stop you from acting on the revenge you feel every time said anger is provoked." she slowly added, finishing her response as he still kept his eyes trained onto the ground when he listened to her sigh.

"I know you said that you thought of your anger as your strength, but baba. Every time you lean into your anger, it feeds directly into your powers, which seems to be influenced from the anger you feel. That anger in turn ends up driving you into the revenge mindset you have and with the combination of these two things, your powers have rapidly grown but at the expense of causing you to do things you wouldn't have ever done before. As such, I can't help but think your anger and your revenge serve as a gateway for—"

"For what?"

"—For something darker to emerge within you." she answered before she sighed again. "I mean, think about it, apá. Yesterday, you tried convincing me to prioritize the primal cube over Ember, then you began to talk of Sofonisba, Captain Violet and her brothers as if they were a problem in spite of the fact they had helped us take Atari down and you even started to enact a fight against the scientist when none of us were capable of taking him down on our own." she added as Aliya expanded on her previous response before she sighed once more.

"Look, baba, I've known you my entire life and you never used to be the type to start fights. Just as you were never one to go attack someone on-site without having a genuine reason to do so, yet you're not only attacking Sofonisba, Captain Violet, their brothers, Boy Danger but now you are going so far as to attack Noelle and their respective allies on the account of false reasons. So while you may believe you're doing all of this for the aperio mirror, the truth is you're not. You're doing this for revenge and if you're not careful, then pretty soon, they won't be the only ones you'll go after." she followed up, momentarily pausing before she continued onwards.

"Because the thing about revenge, baba, is it never stops at the ones who 'wronged' you. Rather it keeps building until you start believing that everyone in some form or fashion wronged you. I mean already last night, it had begun with Sofonisba, Captain Violet, her brothers and Atari. But now, it grew from being them who you thought wronged you to now including them along with Boy Danger, Noelle and their respective allies — all in a day, no less." she further added, briefly pausing to sigh again before she continued.

"So, please stop it because I promise you baba, you may believe that revenge and anger are the best way to getting what you want, especially given how these things seem to go hand-in-hand in strengthening your powers. But while revenge and anger might play a hand when it comes to influencing your powers, that doesn't mean you should still be relying on them as much as you are right now. Because if you keep this up, baba, then your revenge and your anger won't stop solely at influencing your powers. They will start to influence your state of mind and warp your mindset too. So, if you think it'll stop there, it won't." his daughter further added until he heard her pause to catch her breath for a bit before she continued.

"Because you see, dad, your dependence on your anger and your revenge will consume you. Not only that but if you're not careful, then it won't stop there because before you know it..." she had added before she trailed off as she sighed. "... Your reliance on your anger and your revenge will ultimately result in corrupting you too." she finished before she fell silent and looked away from him.

When she finished, he couldn't help but think that his daughter had a point with everything she said. Maybe, he had been wrong to believe the shadowy, cloaked figure had been right in saying his anger was his greatest strength when from the looks of things, him being driven by his anger (and his revenge) was only making things worse and not necessarily better like he initially came to believe. So he couldn't help but think then there was a chance his daughter might have been right...

"She's wrong, you know."

In that moment, Issac no longer found himself staring at the ground. Rather, he found himself surrounded in a black abyss and engulfed in darkness again when his eyes drifted on the same shadowy, cloaked figure he had seen earlier during the day.

"Your reliance as well as your dependence on your anger and your revenge won't consume you nor will these things corrupt you. Rather, these things will make you stronger, shadowling, but she doesn't want you to know that, so she's trying to manipulate you into thinking these things when she couldn't be any further from the truth now." the shadowy, cloaked figure followed up as he blinked, having felt tempted to believe the unnamed figure before he shook his head and firmly took a step back.

"No. She's right about this. If I don't get a grip on myself and stop, then—" he attempted to say in an effort to deflect what the figure said when the latter interrupted him."Shadowling, she's not right about this because only I know what's right for you and besides, she's only hindering you." the figure calmly countered as Issac crossed his arms and scoffed.

"First of all, she's not hindering me and more so, I'm starting to doubt you actually know what's right for me and that she's the one who knows what's right for me instead." he firmly countered, challenging the figure's stance now as he scoffed again.

"Actually, who am I kidding? She does know what's right for me, so I don't need you as I know who is actually right and that's her, not you. So you can consider this our last meeting because you and I are through." he firmly followed up, now turning away from the figure as he intended to leave him behind.

However in that moment, he failed to notice the figure's cognac-brown eyes seething with anger due to him having turned away from the figure. As such, Issac hadn't accounted on the shadowy, cloaked figure resurfacing again nor did he expect the figure appearing in front of him now as he heard the figure speak once more.

"Now come on, shadowling. Be logical here."

"Ah!"

Jumping from the way the shadowy, cloaked figure had appeared in front of him after the latter spoke, a panicked look immediately surfaced before the look morphed to one of annoyance as Issac irritatedly huffed."Now, I can understand why Ember hates it whenever I do that." he said, quietly mumbling to himself while the figure maintained a indifferent look towards his reaction.

"Your daughter only wants to hold you back. That's why she said all those things as her intention was never to help you, but rather to prevent you from reaching your potential. She doesn't want to acknowledge or recognize the power inside you, but I do." the figure added, appearing right beside him as he found himself listening to what the figure had to say.

"Okay? I see the untapped power that you have inside you and I want you to succeed in reaching your fullest potential, which I believe can be maximized through you embracing your anger and relying on your ever-growing need for revenge for these two things are the best way to obtaining what you want most." the figure calmly but passionately continued as he found himself starting to believe the latter's words when he recalled his conversation with his daughter, which led him to dazily shake his head.

"No. If I continue to embrace my anger and rely on my need for revenge, then—"

"—You will become stronger and be a better version of yourself as you would've reached your potential with my help for your daughter could never let you grow. She would suffociate you with her beliefs and try to manipulate you into holding back from what you can do, but what your daughter fails to realize is that you were meant for so much more."

As soon as the figure said that, Issac found it harder to resist his words even though there was a part of him that urgently warned him not to believe in what the figure had to say. But at this, he shook his head before he dazily glanced at the figure, having gradually found himself believing in what the latter said.

"I am?"

"Yes because unlike your daughter, shadowling, I actually want you to succeed and I want you to reach your fullest potential."

A part of him had sensed the figure had been lying, but he found himself wrapped up in what the figure said that the voice that tried to convince him otherwise grew fainter before it disappeared altogether. This in turn made Issac become more susceptible to the figure as he dazily blinked at the figure once more.

"Y... You do?" he hesistantly asked as if unsure, but the figure nodded. "Of course, shadowling! After all, I want nothing more than to see you flourish, which is why I believe that being driven by your anger and your revenge is the optimal approach to maximizing your potential for it is how you will grow to become the best version of yourself. Though, this is only possible if I'm the one to lead you in obtaining your potential, of course, for as I told you earlier: I am the only one who can guide you in the right direction... Not your daughter." the figure insisted but he slowly shook his head, as if remembering something...

"But—"

"Shadowling, your daughter doesn't want what's best for you. She never has but unlike her, I do because I actually want what's best for you. But more so, I know how to get you there and that's just something your daughter could never do."

"But... But still. I—"

"Shadowling, people are bound to get hurt. That's just how life goes, so if you want to achieve at getting these relics and reforging the bone mech before your omi can, then you need to realize that these things will come at the expense of everyone else. Now, your daughter doesn't see the benefits for the duchess foolishly values their lives and wants you to do the same, but here's the thing: these plebeians and their lives are insignificant and worthless compared to us as we are superior to them. Besides, at the end of the day, they have one purpose and one purpose only: to serve us through any means necessary." the figure further added, swiftly interrupting him as he mutely stared at the latter.

"That is why you shouldn't let the duchess make you feel guilty for doing things at their expense because those plebeians are doing what's in their nature in sacrificing themselves to help you succeed. After all, as they say, for one to achieve progress and obtain what they want, sacrifices are a necessity for a desirable outcome to be ensured. No matter who gets hurt along the way..." the figure continued, trailing off as he observed the figure's cognac-brown eyes staring back at him.

"... Wouldn't you agree, shadowling?"

Before he could answer, the shadowy, cloaked figure abruptly vanished and seconds later, Issac found himself brought back to reality as his eyes were still centered on the ground right when he heard his daughter's footsteps growing closer to him.

"Baba? Are you still with me or—"

"I'm with you, mija..." he initially answered, interrupting his daughter now until he trailed off as he listened to the way his daughter sighed in relief.

"Well, that's—"

"... But you were wrong." he sharply finished, interrupting his daughter once more as he kept his eyes away from her while he heard her footsteps briefly halt a bit after he initially succeeded in interrupting her once more.

"Wrong about... what exactly?"

"You were wrong about saying my reliance and dependence on my anger and revenge would only consume and corrupt me the longer I remain driven towards these two things. But then again, it doesn't surprise me that you would lead me astray. After all..." he initially began to answer until he trailed off as he chuckled a bit before he proceeded to lift his eyes off of the ground to face his daughter.

"... It would be like you to hold me back from my potential." he dryly finished, his eyes no longer light honeysuckle but cognac-brown as he gave another dry chuckle. "You know, you said that last time back when I was trying to talk you out of opening the second set of doors and I really don't understand where you're getting this idea from. But look. Contrary to what you seem to think about me holding you back from your potential, I'm not. Okay? I'm just..." his daughter initially countered before she trailed off as she sighed.

"... I'm just trying to steer you in the right direction because I want what's best for you. That's all." she softly and earnestly said, finishing her previous response as she offered him a small, sincere grin but he never returned it as he simply chuckled once more.

"Oh, you want what's best for me? That's cute because last time I checked, you never did." he bluntly but sharply deflected as he saw his daughter's grin instantly falter within seconds after he finished speaking.

"Dad, of course, I want what's best for you, but you're not going to get there if you continue to be reliant and dependent on your anger and revenge. Okay? So, you can say all what you want now, but I'm serious. If we don't have a way to address these things and find an alternative outlet for you to deal with these things in a healthier, productive manner, then your ever-growing reliance and dependence on your anger and revenge will start to become a problem in the long run." she firmly insisted as he gave a small chuckle.

"Ah, I see. It's all making sense now. You're afraid of me coming into my power." he simply said as he observed his daughter's eyes widened at his response before the initial shock/confusion faded and became replaced by disbelief. "Me? Afraid of you coming into your power? Ha!" she bluntly countered as she dryly laughed before she scoffed.

"No, I'm not afraid of you coming into your power, baba. If anything, I'm concerned with the way your reliance and dependence on your anger and revenge have not only influenced your powers, but also amplifying your powers in terms of the sudden progression you've been demonstrating ever since you took up your Shadow Prince mantle." she firmly added, now moving closer to him as he scoffed.

"Yeah, right." Issac dismissively deflected and after he spoke, he watched the way his daughter began to get annoyed with him over the way he had been reacting and responding to what she had been saying.

"I — Ugh! You know what, baba? Say what you want, but I'm serious. Using that much power is bound to come with its set of repercussions, which can become a problem of itself if you're not careful." his daughter firmly cautioned before she sighed.

"So, no. Like I said, I'm not afraid of you coming into your power. If anything, I'm concerned that in coming into your power, you'll end up taking things too far, push yourself far beyond what you are capable of doing and allow your anger and revenge to take a toll on you as well as your body with how both of these things have been negatively amplifying and influencing your powers in a such short amount of time." his daughter firmly added as he angrily clenched his fist and sharply glared at her.

"You say that, mija, but here's the thing: my reliance and dependence on my anger and revenge isn't the problem here. If anything, you are the problem." he aggressively but coldly countered as her eyes hardened from his words. "I'm the problem?" she sharply but defensively asked as he dryly chuckled.

"You know for someone so smart, you sure seem surprised by something we both know is true." he mockingly taunted, his tone growing colder and harsher with each word he spoke. "After all, we wouldn't be in this mess had you not cost us the primal cube." he added, now pausing as he chose to glance away from his daughter to focus on his unclenched left hand instead.

"— And now you're trying to hold me back from my potential." he dryly continued as he gave yet another scoff. "But I shouldn't be surprised, especially since this isn't the first time you've done this." he dryly added, but as he spoke, his dryness turned into pure bitterness.

So although he hadn't been looking at his daughter (having chosen to continue looking away from her), her slight gasp led him to believe Aliya might have been looking at him in disbelief, given her reaction to his response.

"Dad, come on. That's not—"

"—True?" he sharply finished, interrupting his daughter as he dryly scoffed. "Right because it definitely wasn't you who thought I wasn't capable of retrieving the primal cube a second time." he dryly but sarcastically added with a undertone of bitterness as he listened to his daughter solemnly sigh at his words.

"Apá, I never said you weren't capable of retrieving the primal cube and you know that." Aliya gently countered, but he simply scoffed again as he continued to look away from her. "Yeah, right." he sharply deflected, listening to the way she slightly huffed and heavily sighed at his words before she spoke.

"Baba, look. Whatever you think, it's not true because as I told you, I did think you were capable of getting the primal cube. I just—" she attempted to say, but having become blinded/essentially guided by his anger now, he interrupted her as he started to shut down any notions of what she was trying to tell him.

"—If you thought I was capable, then why did you try talking me out of it just like you tried to talk me out of opening those set of doors back there?" he sharply asked, to which his daughter heavily sighed once more.

"Baba—"

"—Or better yet, why did you talk me out of forgoing my hero moment when we both knew I was capable of debugging Atari's game?" he further added, interrupting her once more as he gave a bitter scoff while she simply sighed again. "Baba—" he heard his daughter attempt to say again, but by this point, all he seemed to focus on was the gradual buildup of the growing rage he felt towards her as he angrily clenched his fist and lowered his head.

"Stop. Just stop." he sharply stated, interrupting her once more as her words fell flat on his ears. "You can claim to care about my potential, but the truth is you don't because you would rather suffocate me with your beliefs and manipulate me into holding back from what I can do than have me succeed." he sharply added as he bitterly scoffed.

"Wait what? Baba, that's not true!" she insisted but he only scoffed once more. "So you claim, mija, but I know better than to believe you. I mean, I have no reason to do so when all you've been doing is just hold me back from my potential." he swiftly countered as he listened to his daughter irritatedly sigh from his response while he continued to look away from her.

"Ugh! Why do you keep insisting that I don't care about you and your potential when I do?!" she angrily snapped, presumably having had enough of what he was telling her now as he started to bitterly chuckle.

"You want to know why I really keep insisting that you don't care about me and my potential?" he slowly countered before he dryly chuckled. "I will tell you." he added before he took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his left fist.

"It's because I think you just don't like there's someone who actually cares about me and my potential!" he answered, snapping back at his daughter as he continued to angrily tighten his grip on his left fist and turned to face her, having now lifted his head. "Oh and what? I don't?" Aliya slowly but sharply and quite defensively snapped as he simply scoffed from she asked.

"No, you don't."

"Dad—"

"So, you can continue to manipulate me all you want now, but at the end of the day, I know you have never cared about me or my potential, so stop acting like you do because you don't!" he sharply snapped, interrupting his daughter now as she momentarily fell silent and blinked before she dryly and quite bitterly scoffed at his words.

"Well if they care about you and your potential so much, then where are they? Hm?" she sharply asked as he chuckled. "It's a he for starters." he corrected as she blinked. "Oh," she initially said, awkwardly pausing for a bit before she continued. "Sorry." she followed up before she crossed her arms. "Well regardless, the question still stands." she followed up as she cleared her throat and uncrossed her arms.

"If he cares about you and your potential so much, then where is he?" his daughter repeated as she corrected herself while he dismissively scoffed. "He's—" he attempted to answer before he cut himself off as he blinked. "I..." he attempted to say again until he trailed off and huffed as he glanced at his clenched fist. "... I don't know where he is." he confessed, answering her question as he unclenched his fist and turned to face her. "But that doesn't matter. Okay, what matters is that he's there for me when I need him." he followed up as his daughter dryly laughed from his response.

"He's there for you when you need him? Ha! That's the worst lie I've heard from you yet because if anyone has been there for you when you need them, it's me. Not him." she insisted, but Issac simply scoffed as she blinked. "What? Are you going to say I'm not there for you when you need me next?" she bluntly asked as he shook his head.

"No." he said, answering her question as she puzzledly stared at him. "Wait. If you weren't going to say that, then why did you scoff just now?" she asked as he chuckled. "I scoffed because I find it amusing you think I actually need you." he insisted, answering her question as Aliya puzzledly stared at him.

"What? Are you saying you don't need me?" she slowly asked as he crossed his arms and coldly chuckled. "That's exactly what I'm saying." he simply said, answering her question as she stared at him in disbelief before she laughed. "Okay, apá. Come on. You need me." she casually said as she laughed again, having not taken his words seriously.

"You say that, but the thing is I don't need you because simply put, I have never needed you."

The moment he said those words, his daughter stopped laughing. So as silence engulfed them, he saw his daughter mutely scanning him for any signs he might have wanted to apologize and take back his words. But when it became clear he had no intention on apologizing to her as he meant every word he told her, that's when he saw her calculative, analyzing nature drop as her reaction set in.

Initially, she looked at him in disbelief before her anger set in and she opened her mouth, which led him to believe she was going to say something. But as she continued to look at him, he saw his daughter's anger faze out as a look he couldn't quite decipher surfaced in its place. The look lingered for a bit before it left as she closed her mouth. When that happened, the cryptic look in question vanished as the look she had given him now held a glaze of resignation while her light amber eyes became devoid of emotion.

Once that happened, all of what remained was the suffocating silence between them as it was clear neither of them wanted to speak then... At least, that would have been the case had they not heard the sound of footsteps approaching their direction.

"Guys!"

The moment they heard the collective voices, Issac's cognac-brown eyes immediately switched to his light honeysuckle hue right as they heard the footsteps grow nearer. When they heard the footsteps and the voices, they took the chance to mutely but swiftly look away from each other just as they began to notice Ember, Claudia and Baxter sprinting towards them.

When they did, it was then — and only then — his daughter broke her silence when he heard her wince at the sight of them.

"Yikes! You guys look like a mess." he heard her say as he made note of the various bruises and scratches the three acquired before he nodded. "Yeah, what happened?" he followed up as he saw the three glance at each other before they glanced back at him and his daughter.

"Ah, well you know, we got stuck dealing with Chasen and Ethan." Claudia and Baxter casually said as Ember nodded. "Yep. Well, we dealt with them and Khashi was more or less our pacifist who attempted to find a optimal solution to the fighting, but well..." their family friend initially added before she trailed off as they heard her sigh.

"... You guys can imagine how that went." she simply said, finishing her response now as he and his daughter saw the fire faerie gesture over to Khashi, who like the others, was also covered in various bruises and scratches.

"It didn't go well, but we did managed to slow them down for a bit when we left them. Though, I'm sure it's going to be a matter of a time before they resurface again." Khashi added, chiming into their conversation now as Ember, Claudia and Baxter gave another sigh.

"Yeah but maybe by then, we will have the aperio mirror." Claudia and Baxter followed up as he and Aliya saw the fire faerie nodding. "Mhm and then, we can be on our way." Ember added as Khashi, Claudia and Baxter nodded in turn. "Speaking of which, where is the mirror anyhow?" they curiously inquired as the three (along with their family friend) turned to face him and his daughter.

"Ah, well—"

"—The mirror was with us until I lost it." his daughter swiftly stated, interrupting him as he saw her looking directly at them. "I was being careless and the mirror slipped out of my hands, but yeah." she added as she sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lose the relic but it happened. So, I am essentially the reason we have to keep looking for the aperio mirror because if it wasn't for my carelessness, then we wouldn't be in this mess." she then concluded as Issac blinked at his daughter's response before he shook his head.

"Mija, you're not the one responsible for losing the aperio mirror." he softly insisted but she only chuckled at what he said, though he suspected her chuckle was fake as it felt too forced for his liking. "Baba, that's nice of you to say, but you don't need to be modest." she countered, never making eye contact with him as he blinked at her response.

"Mija—"

"—Aliya, your father's right." Claudia and Baxter promptly said, interrupting him as Ember and Khashi nodded. "Mhm and besides, as long as we work together, then we can reclaim the relic before Chasen, Ethan and Atari claim it." Ember and Khashi followed up as Claudia and Baxter nodded in turn. "Yeah! Isn't that right, Issac?" his friends lightly added, glancing away from his daughter to look at him as he nodded.

"Yeah..." he started to say, only to trail off as he found himself pondering why his daughter kept persistently blaming herself for the loss of the relic when they knew the truth of who truly lost the aperio mirror.

"Issac?"

"Sorry!" he exclaimed, snapping out of his thoughts as he looked at his friends once more. "I got distracted, but yes. That's right." he added, feigning a sheepish look as Claudia and Baxter just simply smiled at him before they turned to face his daughter.

"See? Even your dad agrees, so it's going to be alright." Claudia, Baxter and Khashi softly said as he saw his daughter smile at them, though he suspected this too was fake with how unnatural it looked to him (and only him as the others never caught on the way he did). "Thanks." he heard her simply say as he saw his friends and Khashi lightly nod at her. "You're welcome." his friends and Khashi had softly said right when they heard Ember clear her throat, which led to everyone looking at her now.

"Well with that out of the way now, I say let's get to looking." the fire faerie promptly stated as he nodded alongside everyone else. "That sounds like a plan." everyone collectively said and after they said that, Issac saw the others start to branch off as he saw his daughter start to follow suit not long after.

"Mija, wait!"

As he called out to her then, he gently grabbed onto her right arm. As soon as he did, he saw his daughter momentarily stop in her tracks before she turned to face him.

"Dad, what are you—"

"—Why did you do that?" he asked, swiftly interrupting her as she scoffed. "Easy. You would have blamed it on me anyways, so I thought to save you the trouble and do it myself." she simply said as his face fell at her answer.

"Mija—"

"—Now come on." she swiftly said, interrupting him as she pulled her right arm out of his grasp and promptly turned away from him.

"Let's go help the others find the aperio mirror."

After he heard his daughter finish, he noticed how she continued to have her back turned to him while the cold and emotionless tone in her voice persisted. Upon seeing this, Issac recalled the way he had seen something similar occur on the night of their escape and decided to approach his daughter in an attempt to reach out to her again in spite of their ongoing situation regarding the missing relic.

"Mija..." he attempted to say as he began to pursue his daughter, but when Aliya started walking away, he trailed off and stopped pursuing her. Rather, he silently watched the way she continued to walk away from him until he could no longer see her. Once she was gone, he lowered his right arm and proceeded to glance away from the area where he had just seen his daughter now as he quietly sighed to himself.

"... Nevermind." he mumbled, choosing to dismiss whatever he was initially going to say as he sighed again. "I guess I'll just reach out to her after we get the aperio mirror back." he added when he heard a taunting chuckle. "If you and the others get it back that is." the voice stated tauntingly as he suddenly became alert from how close the voice was to him now in terms of proximity.

Turning his head at the sound of the voice then, he quickly found himself face-to-face with Atari as he angrily clenched his fist and growled.

"You." he harshly but quite aggressively stated as he sharply continued to glare at the scientist. "You're the reason I couldn't get a hold of them." he bitterly added, having now reminded of the way Atari prevented him from being able to attack Sofonisba, Captain Violet, their brothers and Boy Danger thanks to that stupid stunt he pulled with that dark grey steel sword of his.

"Ah well, I needed to rid myself, Ethan and Chasen of our competition. After all, I couldn't let you get a hold of the aperio mirror now." Atari briskly countered as he gave another chuckle. "But I would be lying to you if I didn't say I relished the way you got what you had coming to you." the scientist added as he turned away from the latter.

"Oh trust me," he began, briefly pausing as he tightened his grip on his fist. "If anyone is getting what they have coming to them..." he added until he trailed off and darkly chuckled as he turned to face him. When he did, the light honeysuckle hue in his eyes momentarily flickered before the color vanished as the light blue, almost teal-like hue took over.

"... It's you."

After he finished his response, he saw the scientist scoff at his words. "What makes you say that, old man?" the latter countered as he cryptically chuckled, to which Atari puzzledly stared at him for a bit until the realization dawned on him.

"Ah, okay. I see where this is going now, but you forgot one thing old man." the latter followed up as he crossed his arms and scoffed. "What's that?" he asked as he saw the scientist's initial look of neutrality morphed into smugness.

"Why tell you when you can see it for yourself?" the scientist countered, now matching the initial cocky tone he originally used on him moments ago as his look mirrored the confusion that Atari momentarily held. "What do you—" he started to ask until he cut himself off when he saw a light beige and silver grappling hook wrapped around his right hand.

"You know, you could stand to expect the unexpected." the scientist smugly countered and as he turned away from the grappling hook to face Atari, he noticed the latter staring back at him with a smug smirk. When he did, Issac felt a surge of anger as he sharply stared at him.

"This isn't over." he insisted as the latter simply crossed his arms and mockingly smirked at him. "Oh, but I believe it is." Atari mockingly countered as he began to chuckle. "Now while I'd love to chat and continue entertaining your shenanigans, I have other matters to attend to and oh. What do you know?" the scientist followed up as he laughed. "From the look of things, you do too. So, I guess we're both pretty busy then." the latter added before he heard the latter lightly chuckle a moment later.

"Ah, but on that note, have fun getting eviscerated by my co-worker now while I work on locating the aperio mirror." the scientist casually taunted as he saw his smug, mocking smirk grow after a moment passed since his previous response occurred. "Okay, bye now!" Atari swiftly concluded and after the scientist had finished, he watched as the latter started turning his back to him and promptly walked away from him, much to Issac's annoyance as he sharply continued to stare at him.

"Atari! Get back— Ah!"

Forcibly pulled against his will then by Chasen's grappling hook, he found himself tugged across Aureus' treasure trove until he crashed into the back of the building.

"Ow..."

"Ike!"

"Mister Finkelstein!"

"Issac!"

Upon hearing several voices call out to him, Issac slowly sat up before he winced from the action as his body began to process the impact that the crash had on him. This occurred for a bit until he stopped and started rubbing his head as he turned to see a few silhouettes running towards him.

"Guys?" he slowly asked and as his vision began to clear up, the silhouettes he initially saw had gradually started to fade before they vanished. Once the silhouettes left and his vision cleared, Issac was able to recognize Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter. So as the four spirited towards his side then, his light blue, almost teal-colored eyes switched back to their light honeysuckle color by the time they approached him.

"Are you alright?" Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter concernedly asked as he blinked from their genuine concern for him before he nodded. "Y... Yeah, I'm alright." he answered as he started to stand up right and listened to the four sigh in relief from his response. "Oh okay." Ember briefly said as Khashi nodded. "That's good to hear, Mister Finkelstein." his daughter's old friend added as Claudia nodded in turn.

"Mhm, though I can't help but think if you have a habit of crashing into things since that seems to be a reoccurring trend with you tonight." she lightly said in a playful, teasing tone as he saw her husband lightly nudge her now. "Honeybun." Baxter cautiously said as he saw his friend's wife lightly hold her hands up in a playful manner.

"Kidding!" Claudia lightly said before she playfully chuckled and lowered her arms. "But in all seriousness, Issac, we're glad that you're alright." she sincerely added as her playful chuckles came to an end. "Yes. But seriously, you need to start being more careful, Issac. I mean if you keep getting hurt at the rate that you are, then you're going to give us a fright." Baxter added, chiming into the conversation as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck for a bit until he stopped and sighed.

"I know and I'm sorry." he sincerely said before he briefly glanced away from the four and gave another sigh. "I don't want to cause you all a fright, so I'll work on being more careful moving forward." he added as he stopped glancing away and proceeded to turn his attention back to Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter once more in time to see the four collectively sigh in relief. "Good. As long as you're careful, then that's what matters." Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter said in unison as they softly smiled at him before he blinked upon realizing that his daughter wasn't with them.

"Wait. Where's—" he began to ask until he cut himself off as he shook his head. "Nevermind. We can look for her after we find the aperio mirror." he insisted, choosing not to finish the rest of his question then as he saw Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter slowly glance at each other before they puzzledly stared at him.

"Uh, Issac, we're all aware of how badly you want to find the aperio mirror because we all want to find it too, but—" Claudia and Baxter initially said until Ember and Khashi both proceeded to interrupt the married couple. "—Don't you think we should focus on trying to find her first then pivot back to looking for the aperio mirror?" Ember and Khashi slowly said, now finishing what his friends were going to say as he sighed.

"Look, I get all of your concerns. I do. I really do, but she can take care of herself." he insisted, dismissing their jointed response(s) before he sighed. "Plus, if anything, she will find her way back to us. I mean, this place isn't entirely hard to navigate now." he added as he tried not to look at them then.

"Issac—"

"—Besides," he said, interrupting them and pausing then to take his attention away from them in an attempt to avoid whatever looks they were giving him now for the way that he was acting. "We will find her, I promise." he assured them then, though he continued to refrain himself from looking directly at them as he still wasn't mentally prepared to see their reactions in regards to what he was saying.

"But for right now, we need to focus on finding..." he further continued before he trailed off as in that moment, his eyes came across the relic he noticed was now within his reach. "... the aperio mirror." he finished, only this time around, his voice was softer as if he didn't want the others to actually know what he had just discovered.

Simply because if they knew, they would have urged him to look for his daughter thereafter and he knew if they found her, then it would only be a matter of time before she discovered a way to inevitably jinx their quest. Which he knew would cost him his chances of successfully reclaiming the aperio mirror if she were to succeed and that was something he simply did not want to risk.

Not when he was this close to succeeding.

"Issac?"

"Ike?"

"Mister Finkelstein?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Issac absentmindedly turned back to face Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter before he cleared his throat as an idea came to mind.

"You know, I've given it some thought and you guys are right. We should focus on finding Aliya first then pivot back to finding the aperio mirror." he stated, briefly pausing before he resumed once more. "So, why don't you all start look for Aliya in this direction while I look for her in that direction?" he followed up, briefly gesturing to their respective directions as he spoke before he stopped and continued.

"Then if none of us can find her, we can just come back here to regroup and go from there." he finished as he saw the four glancing at each other before they glanced at him with a sense of hesitation.

"Mister Finkelstein, are you sure you don't want one of us to go with you?" Khashi slowly asked as the latter stared at him. "I mean, you never know what could happen while you're searching for Yia and—" his daughter's old friend added when he became promptly interrupted when the fire faerie took over for him.

"—We just don't want to see you get hurt again." his family friend sincerely added as he saw his friend's wife nodding after she finished. "Especially after everything you endured tonight, I think it would be wise then if—" she further added until she cut herself when her husband interrupted her. "—You had someone go along with you as backup." Baxter finished for his wife as he sighed.

"Guys, I get your concern but—"

"—Plus, I mean, we can definitely provide backup, especially since we have an even number of people to do so." Baxter pointed out, interrupting him as Claudia nodded. "Mhm! Baxxy Darling is right. There's four of us altogether, so two of us could look for Aliya here while someone goes to accompany you on your search for her." Claudia further added, agreeing with her husband as he sighed once more.

"That's great, but it's better if all of you were together as a group while I look for her on my own. That way, none of us look like a target if someone were to come at us." he explained as he saw Claudia and Baxter slowly look at each other before they crossed their arms in sync and sighed. "I guess..." the two reluctantly said until they trailed off as they sighed once more and stopped as they faced him once more.

"But still—"

"—Even if you went alone, there's still a chance we would look like a target regardless of the fact we're separated. So if anything, it would still make sense for you to take someone with you just in case you find yourself getting ambushed while you're searching for Aliya." she added, having interrupted his married friends now as he sighed once more.

"Ember—"

"—Mister Finkelstein, with all due respect, I really think you should reconsider your stance on the matter and take someone with you as we suggested." Khashi softly but semi-firmly chimed in as he interrupted the fire faerie, who simply nodded at what the latter had said along with Claudia and her husband. "Yeah." Ember, Claudia and Baxter promptly said in agreement, to which Issac simply gave yet another sigh before he crossed his arms and spoke once more.

"Guys, I understand your concerns, but none of you have to worry about me because I got this. I can find her on my own, but if I can't, then I will come back here to regroup with you guys and we can go from there." he casually said, though his irritation threatened to come out with how they kept persisting he take someone with him when he believed he was perfectly capable of going on his own.

After all, it's not as though he needed their help anyhow.

Not really.

"Okay?"

After he said that, he saw the four slowly look at each other and back at him as they collectively sighed, most likely having realized that he wasn't going to budge on the matter now.

"Okay."

After they agreed with what he said and they were on the same page on him, the four then took off in their designated direction in search for his daughter. So once they ventured off and he was on his own once more, he glanced away from the direction where they formerly stood to face the relic within his sights. In doing so, he failed to realize the grappling hook retract itself back to its host as he began his venture towards the aperio mirror and started talking to himself.

"Alright, Issac. Your omi might have gotten a head start when it came to increasing her chances of successfully being able to forge the bone mech and seeing her destiny fulfilled, but now you have a opportunity to decrease her chances of completing both of those things. Not only that, but now you have a chance to strengthen your odds of forging the bone mech and obtain your revenge against those who wronged you. All you have to do is simply grab the relic. Then once you do, revenge will be within your reach."

So by the time Issac finished talking to himself now, he reached the aperio mirror and felt his excitement racing at the possibility of nearly having everything. So with no one around to go claim their stake and his daughter nowhere in sight to mess this up for him, he started going through the motions of picking up the relic as it was just a few inches away from being in his grasp now.

However right as he attempted to pick up the mirror, he noticed the emergence of the grappling hook as it grabbed a hold of the relic now and began pulling the aperio mirror away from him. As soon as he saw this, his eyes initially widened a bit before his eyes immediately hardened at the sight once he realized his chances of obtaining the relic once more were now at risk... along with everything else.

So upon seeing this, his light honeysuckle eyes immediately switch to his light blue, almost teal hue. From there, he flung his right arm and as he did, light blue, almost teal-like crystals started to appear on his right arm and spread towards the right side of his face now. As it did, a spiked crystallized coat appeared and 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.

Once this transformation occurred and his crystallized sword was made, he immediately raised his sword and slammed the blade down onto the rope of the grappling hook as he prevented it from taking the aperio mirror — along with his chances of success — away.

However as soon as he did and he looked away from the relic, he saw Chasen charging towards him and before he could think to do anything, the latter's swift throw caught him off-guard. Due to this, he could no longer keep his hold on his crystallized sword now as he had quickly found himself colliding towards yet another pile of stacked treasure, where a outline of him could be seen once the impact of the attack was done.

In that moment though, the pile of stacked treasure started to shake right as Chasen chuckled and briefly glanced into the mirror he had just acquired before the sound of sudden rumbling caught him off-guard. As such, he stopped chuckling as he blinked.

"Huh?" he puzzledly asked as he glanced away from the relic in his possession and back at the pile of stacked treasure he previously thrown Issac into as his eyes widened at the sight of the gigantic pile began to sway and wobble from the impact of his actions.

"Oh boy."

After Chasen said this, the gigantic pile of treasure wobbled once more and began falling toward him for a bit until it eventually collasped onto him. As soon as the pile of treasure fell onto him, a loud crash could be heard and felt by everyone in the treasure trove as the impact had launched them up into the air before placing them back down when the impact was over. But for Issac, his case was a little bit different from the rest as he emerged from the sea of treasure he got caught in.

Upon emerging, Issac latched onto a cabinet drawer of some sorts and began heavily breathing in an attempt to catch his breath now when he heard the others' voices start pouring in not long after that.

"Ike!"

"Mister Finkelstein!"

"Issac!"

"Are you alright?"

Upon hearing Ember, Khashi, Claudia and Baxter concernedly calling out to him and asking if he was alright, he started to give a few forceful coughs before he stopped. In doing so, he ceased his attempt to catch his breath along the way then as he began answering their question.

"Yeah! I'm alright!"

After answering their question, he started to lift himself up when he saw the crystallization that momentarily surrounded his right hand disappear, having most likely been shattered during the aftermath of the crash he had endured. At first, the lack of crystals initially worried him until he reminded himself that his crystals would come back in time. As such, he stopped worrying and proceeded to lift himself up using the cabinet drawer of some sorts as a lever.

Upon lifting himself up then, he stood on top of the cabinet drawer of some sorts and began to oversee the entire treasure trove right when he heard the panicked voices of his family friend, his married friends and his daughter's old friend.

"Issac! We can't find Aliya anywhere!" Ember, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi panickedly exclaimed as he rolled his eyes from their panicked nature and crossed his arms.

"Ugh. Do I have to do everything around here?" he annoyingly mumbled to himself as he began to utilize his newfound location as a way to search for his daughter. As he started to scan for her then, his search swiftly came to an end when he spotted his daughter near a stack of crates that weren't (entirely) far from where Ember, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi were at.

"There! She's not far from you guys as she's near those crates!" he loudly exclaimed, uncrossing his arms as he gestured to where he had seen his daughter. When he did, he saw the four look to where he had pointed before they collectively turned to face him as Ember, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi simply looked at him in disbelief.

"Why didn't you do that sooner!"

"Because I couldn't see where she was then! Okay?"

Right after Issac said that though, a few clanging sounds could be heard before Chasen suddenly emerged behind him in the midst of items, which had just been scattered all across him when he made his appearance.

"Hang on! We're coming to help you!" Ember, Claudia, Baxter and Khashi concernedly yelled as he briefly turned to see Chasen before he went back to facing the four.

"Wait! That's not necessary!" he yelled, but by the time he got his response out, the four were no longer within his sights as he groaned. "Ugh. Why are they so hardheaded?" he quietly mumbled before Chasen's sharp grunt reminded him of his current situation. As such, Issac quickly leaped down from where he had been previously standing while Chasen proceeded to use his grappling hook to acquire two dark grey steel swords.

Upon doing this, the latter then positioned himself back onto the ground before he extended his grappling hook to thrust the dark grey steel swords towards his direction.

Seeing this from the moment he had landed, Issac proceeded to flung his right arm once more. As soon as he did, a few light blue, almost teal-like crystals started to appear onto his right arm and spread towards the right side of his face again. As it did, a spiked crystallized coat appeared and not long after that occurred, a thin layer of the spiked crystallized coat started to form over his right eye.

Once this transformation occurred and his (new) crystallized sword was made, he immediately raised his sword and started to strike back against the two dark grey steel swords Chasen was currently using to attack him. However in doing so, Issac found himself struggling to keep up against the latter. As such, it wasn't long before one of Chasen's swords struck his sword and effectively shattered his only weapon as he listened to the latter chuckle.

"I guess you're nothing without your little crystals, huh old man?" Chasen smugly taunted as he scoffed. "Who said I was out of crystals?" he swiftly challenged, but as soon as he went to try to summon another bout of crystals, he quickly saw the crystallization surrounding his right arm vanish before the same occurred for the right side of his face, the spiked, crystallized coat and the thin layer of the spiked crystallized coat that had formed over his right eye.

With his crystals gone then, Issac's light blue, almost teal-like eyes immediately reverted back to their light honeysuckle color once more.

"Okay, so maybe I might be out of crystals..." he slowly added before he trailed off as he gave a sheepish but tense chuckle while Chasen simply chuckled in a mocking manner. "Well without your crystals then, I guess you aren't really much of a threat." the latter mockingly taunted as Issac turned away in anger before he glanced down and saw the hilt that remained in his right hand.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that now." he confidently said, chuckling once more as he turned to face the latter once more. "How so?" Chasen asked as he smirked. "Because when all of this is said and done, I'm the one whose going to leave with the aperio mirror. Not you." he triumphantly but a bit arrogantly proclaimed as the latter stared at him and chuckled.

"Heh. We'll see about that, old man."

So with only the hilt remaining, he attempted to use said hilt against the two grey steel swords that came in his direction. However, very quickly, Issac's plan backfired the moment he saw his hilt getting knocked out of his right hand by one of Chasen's swords. As soon as this happened then, he attempted to dodge another round of the latter's swords. Unfortunately though, Issac found himself struck by one of the latter's swords and crashed onto the ground just as Chasen cockily chuckled.

"Like I said, old man, without your crystals, you aren't much of a threat." he heard Chasen say as he scoffed. "Try me." he sharply challenged and as he picked himself up from the ground, Issac slid his legs back before he slightly twisted his feet. From there, he proceeded to rapidly charge at the latter, who initially used his grappling hook to spin the swords around as a shield before Chasen proceeded to strike him down all the same when one of the swords slashed him across his right cheek. 

So crashing against the ground then and coughing from the impact of the latest hit he took, he gave a few forceful coughs before he touched his face and felt the blood that started to emerge from the aftermath of the attack.

"You know, for some psycho, you sure are lacking in the area. I mean, I expected a rageful, fist-fighting monster to come at me, but instead all I'm left with is disappointment which is such a shame as I was quite looking forward to see what kind of threat you were." Chasen said as he turned to see the latter chuckling.

"Ah, but then again, I always knew you weren't a threat to begin with, so taking the aperio mirror should be easy." the latter briskly added, which resulted in him growling as he angrily clenched his fists.

"Say what you want about me, but you're not taking the aperio mirror. Not by a long shot." Issac firmly stated, lifting himself up from the ground now as he sharply eyed Chasen and continued to clench his fists. As soon as he did, he proceeded to charge at Chasen again. However right as he was about to lunge at the latter though, Atari and Ethan suddenly emerged in front of him as they swiftly round-kicked him and sent him crashing back onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Issac!"

"Ike!"

"Mister Finkelstein!"

As Claudia, Baxter, Ember and Khashi's voices rang in his head, his vision momentarily spun for a bit as he coughed and tried to stand back up, only to quickly fall back onto the ground again in a matter of seconds.

"What's wrong, old man? Can't take any more hits?" he heard Atari and Ethan snarkily asked him now as he dazily looked up to see Chasen standing beside the two. "From the looks of it, I would say he can't. If anything, he's done for." Chasen cockily mused as he angrily clenched onto both of his fists once more and gave a weak, cocky chuckle of his own.

"I'm not done." he weakly but stubbornly insisted, staggering back onto his feet now as he saw Atari, Ethan and Chasen looking at each other before they looked at him and dryly chuckled at him. "You just don't know how to quit, huh?" they mused in a somewhat annoyed tone now as he weakly chuckled at their question. "No." he answered as they glanced at each other before they looked back at him once more.

"Well, in that case..." Ethan initially begun to say before he trailed off as Atari and Chasen started to smirk at him in a taunting manner. "... Bring it on, old man." Atari and Chasen finished as Issac mirrored their smirk while continuing to keep his fists clenched.

"Gladly."

So after Issac said that, he proceeded to charge at them as they proceeded to do the same. With the three charging towards him all at once, he began to dodge their lunges before he started to throw one of his own. However, in the process of doing so, Ethan grabbed a hold of his fist as he saw the latter smirk in a taunting manner.

"I don't think so." Ethan simply mocked and before he could think to do anything then, the latter proceeded to aggressively flung him back as Issac crashed onto the ground once more within a matter of seconds.

"You can certainly try to stop us, old man, but you're nothing against the power of three." Atari and Chasen briskly boasted as Issac found himself coughing once more as he winced from the newest attack he just endured while Ethan simply crackled. "Yeah, you're powerless to stop us on your own." Ethan confidently chimed in agreement, arrogantly boasting when a few smug chuckles followed suit.

"Ah, but that's where you guys are wrong because he's not alone!"

Huh?

Slowly turning his head then, he glanced up to see Ember coming to his defense now as he saw Khashi arrive seconds later. "Yeah! So long as Mister Finkelstein has his friends by his side, then he's never alone!" Khashi confidently proclaimed right as he saw Claudia and Baxter appearing shortly thereafter. "Mhm! So if you think he's powerless, think again because with us here, you guys haven't seen anything yet." Claudia and Baxter confidently boasted, now chiming into the conversation as he saw Ember and Khashi collectively nodding. "Yeah!" Ember and Khashi said in agreement before they (along with Claudia and Baxter) started to glance at him with a small smile.

As soon as they smiled at him, Issac's eyes initially softened before the reality of what they were about to do set in for him. Once it dawned on him, the softness in his eyes vanished as his eyes widened.

"Guys—"

"No. Ike, you're not fighting on your own anymore because this time, we're fighting with you." he heard Ember firmly say as Claudia and Baxter firmly nodded. "Whether you like it or not." they firmly added as Khashi nodded in turn.

"Mhm, though I would argue that this could be—" his daughter's old friend initially began to say until he cut himself off the moment Ember, Claudia and Baxter sharply looked at him.

"Khashi—"

"—I'm just saying, some things can't be resolved with violence alone." Khashi pointed out as he interrupted them. However in that moment, Chasen, Atari and Ethan mockingly crackled at the latter's response. "Ah, well let's see how your philosophy holds up then, gentle giant." Chasen, Atari and Ethan swiftly challenged as Khashi's eyes widened before they heard the latter give a tense but awkward chuckle.

"Heh... I uh might've spoken too soon."

"Geez, you don't say?" Ember bluntly remarked, to which he saw the fire faerie start to retrieve her sword afterwards. "Anyways, just focus on helping Ike out while me, Claudia and Baxter all handle the fighting." she added as Khashi promptly nodded. "Got it." Issac heard the latter say right as he watched Ember, Claudia and Baxter's eyes linger at them one more time before the three took off, much to his dismay as his eyes widened once more.

"Guys!"

"Hey, they can handle themselves." Khashi softly said, attempting to assure him then as he was about to say something to his daughter's old friend when they heard a mocking chuckle. "Too bad neither of you can." they mockingly heard and as they turned to see who spoke, they saw Chasen standing on his own. As such, this led them to deduce that Ember, Claudia and Baxter were fighting against Atari and Ethan before he scoffed.

"Hey, I'm fully capable of handling myself." he firmly protested as Chasen crossed his arms and dismissively scoffed. "Sure you can, old man." the latter sarcastically countered as Issac angrily clenched his fist and stared at him. "Try me!" he sharply exclaimed, standing up now as he had initially began to march towards the latter when Khashi held him back.

"We can both handle ourselves. However, we prefer to solve this without having to resort to the use of violence." Khashi insisted, turning to face Chasen now while Issac simply stared at him in disbelief before he quietly scoffed, having clearly not agreed with the stance his daughter's old friend took against the matter.

"Or rather, I prefer that we did this without violence." Khashi added, perhaps having sensed the way he felt on his stance now as Chasen simply chuckled.

"Ah, so those muscles of yours are just for show then. Well, that's a shame but I bet I can get you to fight me all the same, big guy." Chasen confidently countered as he saw the latter start to eye him and cryptically chuckle. "And I know just how to do it." the latter confidently added as they saw Chasen start to charge not at Khashi... but him.

"Think again, Chasen."

"Khashi, what are you—" he attempted to ask, but before he could finish posing his question to him, he cut himself off when he saw his daughter's old friend swiftly stand in front of him. The moment that Khashi did so, Issac saw the latter taking the hit intended for him as he watched Khashi crash into the back of the building with a loud thud now.

"Khashi!" he yelled, having realized what his daughter's old friend had just done for him now as  he growled. "You'll pay for that!" he firmly snapped, glancing back at Chasen, who chuckled. "I admit I didn't count on your muscled friend to take the hit for you, but hey. It just means I have one less person to deal with now." the latter simply said before he heard Chasen chuckle.

"So where were we?" Chasen casually followed up, observing as the latter turned to face him. "Ah, right." the latter said, answering his own question now as a tauntingly smirk surfaced on Chasen's face. "I was just about to finish you off." the latter added sinisterly as he saw Chasen start to retrieve one of his dark grey steel swords.

"So, let's end this..." he heard the latter continue before he saw Chasen trail off and tauntingly chuckle at him. "... Shall we?" Chasen finished as he watched the latter aim the dark grey steel sword in his direction, to which Issac began to quietly but tensely chuckle at the sight.

I'm in trouble, he thought as Chasen started making his way to him. However right before he could lunge at the sword at him, a blast of dark reddish orange fire struck the hilt of the dark grey steel sword. When this happened, Chasen yelped as the latter immediately dropped the sword. From there, he saw the latter hold onto his hand as Chasen sharply growled.

"Alright, who did that?" he heard the latter ask, snapping from what had occurred when he and Chasen heard a smug chuckle follow suit. Upon hearing the chuckle, he and Chasen turned to see the fire faerie cockily grinning as she smirked in the latter's direction. "That would be me." she cheekily said, to which Issac's eyes began lighting up as a excited grin surfaced on his face then.

"Ember!"

"In a flash, Issac." his family friend cheekily said, swinging her gray hilt sword as the blade of her sword held a dark reddish orange glow before he and Chasen saw it revert back to the standard silver hue. "Ah, I see you got the errand girl to come to your aid, old man." Chasen taunted as he saw Ember's eyes darkened at the latter's response.

"Alright, listen. I might be a lot of things, but let's get one thing straight here: I am not his errand girl!"

"Yeah! She's not his errand girl! She's his friend!"

Upon hearing that, they turned to see Claudia and Baxter coming to his family friend's aid as the fire faerie lightly chuckled. "Heh, you two are close but I'm not his friend. I'm his family friend," she corrected, briefly pausing for a bit before she continued. "But still. The point stands." Ember added, turning to face the latter now as he saw Chasen chuckle once more.

"Heh. So it seems you didn't just acquire a errand girl, but two errand girls and a errand boy at that." Chasen further taunted, ignoring what the fire faerie said as he saw Ember and Claudia's eyes sharpened at the latter's response. "Hey! We are not his errand girls!" Ember and Claudia swiftly said as Baxter nodded. "Yeah! Just like I'm not his errand boy!" Baxter swiftly added as they continued to sharply stare at the latter.

"Okay, we are his friends!" Claudia and Baxter swiftly added as Ember cleared her throat. "Heh. Well, they're his friends and I'm his family friend but yeah!" the fire faerie chimed in, agreeing with their response as she briefly corrected them again.

"Well, say what you want, but at the end of the day, you two will always just nothing more to him than his errand girls," Chasen initially began, taunting Ember and Claudia now before he saw the latter turn his attention away from them to look at Baxter. "Just as you'll always be nothing more to him than his errand boy." Chasen then added, finishing his response as he proceeded to taunt Baxter.

Seeing this, he angrily clenched his fist as he turned his attention away from Ember, Claudia and Baxter to look at Chasen once more.

"Hey! You can say what you want about me, but let's get one thing straight: Ember, Claudia and Baxter are my friends and they will always continue to be my friends, so if you think they mean nothing more to me than a pair of errand girls and a errand boy, then think again!" Issac fiercely proclaimed as his family friend and his married friends cheered then.

"Yeah!"

So as Ember, Baxter and Claudia agreed with him, he saw Chasen cryptically chuckle before the latter turned away from him to face them.

"Heh. You three can side with him right now, but one of these days, the old man is going to slip up and when he does, you three will see what I meant." Chasen cryptically told them before he saw the latter turn to face him. "Isn't that right, old man?" the latter tauntingly followed up as Ember, Baxter and Claudia dismissively scoffed.

"You're wrong." Ember, Baxter and Claudia fiercely protested as Issac saw the latter turn to face the three once more. "Now get away from our friend or else." his friends firmly ordered as they cryptically threatened Chasen, who simply chuckled.

"Ah, the protection you three have over your friend here is so disgustingly noble, it's sickening." Chasen repulsively countered before they heard him chuckle again.

"But for all that nobility you three have towards protecting him..." the latter initially began to say until he, Ember, Claudia and Baxter all saw Chasen trail off and listened to him snicker. "... You might want to focus on yourselves." the latter continued, finishing his response then as he saw his friends puzzledly stare at him.

"Focus on ourselves?" Ember, Baxter and Claudia bafflingly asked as he saw the three glance at each other before they glanced at Chasen once more. "What do you mean by that?" they asked, adding onto their previous response as he watched the latter cryptically chuckle. "Now, I could answer your questions, but I think it will be more beneficial if you three got a demonstration of what I meant instead." Chasen cryptically stated as their confusion persisted. "Demonstration?" he heard them ask as they puzzledly looked at the latter.

"What are you—" Ember, Claudia and Baxter initially followed up, but when Issac realized what Chasen's 'demonstration' entailed, he interrupted them right then and there.

"Guys! Look out!" he yelled, but by the time they caught onto his warning, it was too late. For in that moment, Atari and Ethan swiftly lunge at them and though his friends tried to dodge their lunges after the two emerged, Chasen's co-workers were simply faster.

So as soon as the two landed their attack on his friends, he heard the three scream as they were quickly launched into the air until their screams came to an end when they swiftly crashed into the back of the wall. At this, his eyes immediately widened from the sight.

"Guys!"

After that, he angrily growled and clenched his fists before he turned to face the two responsible for his friends' crash. "You two will pay for that!" Issac firmly snapped as he saw Atari and Ethan mutely stare at the direction of Ember, Claudia and Baxter's crash before they turned to look at him and chuckled.

"Right and how exactly do you intend on doing that now?" Atari and Ethan mockingly taunted as he glared at them. "Why tell when I can just show you two what I mean?" he swiftly countered as they laughed. "What? Are you going to use your crystals on us?" they mockingly countered as he huffed. "Yes." he answered then as Atari and Ethan chuckled.

"Typical. Without those crystals of yours, you're nothing." they relentlessly taunted as he rolled his eyes and simply scoffed. "Whatever. Say what you want, but we'll see whose nothing when I get through with you two." he confidently challenged as he flung his right arm, having expected light blue, almost teal-like crysytals to start appearing on his right arm and spread towards the right side of his face.

"Right." Atari and Ethan briefly said before the two looked at each other and back at him as they chuckled. "We're just so frightened by you flexing your right arm now." they further taunted as confusion surfaced on his face. "Wait what?" he puzzledly asked, glancing at the two before he glanced at his right arm and realized why they weren't afraid of him.

For when he went to look at his right hand then, he didn't see light blue, almost teal-like crystals start to appear on his right hand. Nor did he feel the crystals spread towards the right side of his face. In fact, no crystals appeared as his eyes widened then.

"Oh come on! Not again!" he exclaimed as he heard Ethan start to snicker at his response. "Heh. Well, what do you know, Ari? We were right." Ethan said as he heard Atari start to chuckle then. "Mhm. If anything, it's just like we said. Without his crystals, the old man really is nothing." Atari followed up and it was here that Issac's eyes widened as he turned to face them.

"Hey! I am not nothing!" he swiftly protested as he sharply eyed them. "Besides, crystals aren't the only thing I can do." he added as Atari and Ethan snickered. "Uh-huh." the two simply said, to which he smugly smirked.

"You both say that, but just you wait. Because when you two see what I have up my sleeve next, you will learn to fear the son of Layla Hakimi and come to know just who Brisha Hakimi is." he confidently boasted as he retracted his right hand and snapped his fingers, having expected his umbrakinesis to activate then.

However after Issac snapped his fingers, only a few wispy shadows appeared before dissipating altogether as Atari chuckled.

"Heh. I knew you were delusional, old man, but I didn't think you were that pretentious to think of yourself as the self-proclaimed son of the Lady Bone Enchantress now." Atari snarled as Issac annoyingly huffed. "I am her son." he insisted, turning to face the scientist as Ethan laughed at his response. "Yeah, right. You can't be her son because the Shadow Prince hasn't been seen in over a thousand years now and besides, you would have to actually possess umbrakinesis but oh wait. You can't exactly do that, huh?" Ethan viciously taunted as he heard the latter laugh a bit.

"Now, I know it's my first time meeting you, old man, but honestly if my co-worker told me you were delusional, I would have learned to take you less seriously much sooner." Ethan further added as he heard him chuckle once more. "Heh, but either way, our point still stands as you aren't anything worth fretting over without those little crystals of yours." Atari had mockingly followed up, chiming into their conversation now as he angrily clenched his fist.

"I'll show you!"

After Issac said that, he proceeded to charge at them. However right as he was about to lunge at the two, Chasen suddenly emerged in front of him and grabbed onto his fist. "I don't think so." the latter promptly said and before he could think to say or do anything, Chasen promptly flung him back. When this happened, he crashed back onto the ground with a rather loud thud as he heard Atari and Ethan's laughter ringing in his ears before they stopped and sighed.

"Well, seeing how you took care of the giant and we took care of the rest of his back-up, I think it is safe to say then that none of them should pose a threat to us." he heard Atari said as he turned his head and saw Ethan nodding. "Mhm and as far as we can tell, the older man doesn't have his powers. So, I say let's leave the old man as he is, grab the aperio mirror and—" Ethan attempted to say then when Chasen interrupted him.

"No."

"Chasen, I know he did a lot of things to us, but you heard what the girl said. Attacking him won't do you — much less us — any good." Ethan had countered as Issac blinked while Chasen heavily sighed.

"Ethan, I know what she said but—"

"—Chasen, the kid has a point and besides, she said to go after his daughter. Not him." Atari had chimed in, interrupting the latter now as he heard Chasen sigh. "I know, but—" Chasen tried to say when he interrupted him.

"Look. I might not know who the girl that you guys keep mentioning is, but I can tell you all this right now. If you — any of you — go after my daughter, then you guys got another thing coming because touching her is the last thing you're going to do." he firmly said, standing up from the ground then as he saw the three looking at each other and back at him when Atari snickered at him.

"Oh, that's cute coming from the guy responsible for her drowning." Atari viciously said as Issac's eyes sharpened. "I'm not—" he insisted when the scientist interrupted him. "Save it. I dealt with your denial yesterday, old man, and I would rather not deal with it tonight." the scientist swiftly countered as he saw the latter crossing his arms.

"It's not—" he had attempted to say before he cut himself off as he annoyingly sighed. "Ugh. You know what? I don't have time for this. All I know is none of you better touch her. Because so help me if any of you touch my kid, I'll—" Issac firmly added when Atari's vicious chuckle cut him off.

"—What?" Atari tauntingly ask then as the scientist harshly snickered. "Go make things worse for her?" the latter bluntly and quite coldly added as Issac attempted to say something but he found that he lacked the words to say anything then as Atari chuckled. "Yeah. That's what I thought. So before you think to go and try to threaten us next time, how about you try to think what you've done to your kid?" Atari viciously followed up as he saw the latter uncross his arms and turn his back to him.

"Come on guys. Let's go find that demon-revealing mirror and get out of here." Atari firmly said as he saw Ethan obediently start to follow the scientist's lead while Chasen looked at him until the latter sighed and turned away from him to face his co-workers again. "Fine. Let's go. Plus, I suppose we can leave the old man with a parting gift if his daughter just so happens to cross paths with us." he heard Chasen cryptically say then and as they started to chuckle, he angrily clenched his fists.

"Fine. Since none of you want to listen, I guess we'll have to do things the hard way." Issac firmly said and as they turned to face him, he (once again) started to charge at them. However, Ethan aggressively swung at him and swiftly knocked him back onto the ground with another thud as he saw the latter shaking his right hand before he stopped.

"Yeah, okay. I thought we could just leave the old man be, but you know what? Forget what I said because this guy is annoying me." Ethan promptly said as Atari chuckled. "Well, the old man has a way of doing that. But yes. I agree. The quicker we deal with him, the sooner he can get out of our hairs." Atari followed up as he saw Chasen snicker.

"So, I can take matters into my own hands then?" Chasen slowly inquired as Issac saw Atari and Ethan look at their co-worker and back at him. "Sure. Besides, if we keep him alive, then he will just keep interfering with our chances of getting these relics and continue to be a thorn in our side. So, if we want this to end, then it's time we dealt with him here and now." they firmly said, answering the latter's question as he saw a gleam of glee glisten in Chasen's eyes.

"Luckily for you two, I know exactly how to deal with him..."

So with no powers and no backup now, he found himself at his wit's end and racing against time for a last minute miracle to get him out of the situation he was in. Taking his eyes away from his hands then, he started to feel his heart racing as the uncertainity of his situation began to dawn on him as he wasn't sure if he was going to make it out alive this time around and that made him admittedly uneasy.... But when Issac remembered the alluring stranger, he decided to reach out to him, seeing how he's been there for him when he needed him.

"Okay. I know I haven't talked to you very long and I am aware that I don't know your name, but nonetheless, I could use your help right about now. So if you could appear in front of me or just summon some shadows, that would be great." he quickly pleaded, but much to his dismay, the alluring stranger did not appear in front of him. If anything, the alluring stranger didn't show at all and to make matters worse, neither did the shadows....

"... So, let's end this."

Snapping out of his thoughts after Chasen had finished his response, Issac observed as the latter smirked before he retrieved one of his dark grey steel swords from his grappling hook. As he did, he saw Ethan and Atari start to chuckle a bit amongst themselves before they looked at him and stopped.

"Heh. Well, I guess this is the end of the road for you, old man." Ethan snarled, causing him to look at the latter as Atari snickered. "Yep, but don't worry. Your demise will be painless." the scientist said as he saw the scientist and Ethan chuckle. "Well, almost painless anyways." the two added, chuckling once more while Chasen's smirk grew.

"So now, it's finally time for you to say goodbye because today you die." Chasen tauntingly said, adding onto the conversation as the three started to laugh at what was to become of him. Now under the impression he wasn't going to survive the latter's attack, he braced himself for what was to come...

"Which brings us to one final question: Any last words before you meet your demise, old man?" Chasen, Atari and Ethan asked as he snapped out of his thoughts and blinked.

"Uh—"

"Hey! I got some words for you three!"

Upon hearing that, Issac, Chasen, Atari and Ethan glanced away from each other as they turned to see his daughter, who stood beside him and protectively placed her right arm over him as he blinked.

"Aliya?" he found himself quietly saying as he was genuinely surprised to see her come to his aid after... well, everything he said to her. "What are you—" he attempted to quietly ask when he cut himself off the moment she removed her right arm from being positioned over him.

"Back off!" she followed up and after she said that, she began to charge at the three men head-on as his eyes widened at the sight.

"Aliya!"

Observing as she charged at them then, he saw Chasen, Atari and Ethan follow suit as the three men started charging at her. As they did, he noticed the way she dodged their lunges and threw a couple of her own.

However the more he looked on, the longer he realized her plan wasn't necessarily to fight them all at once like he initially thought, but rather to reduce the majority of enemies she would end up being left with to fight as he saw this tactic apply with the way she had purposely positioned herself to be within their range of vision and waited till the last second to pull herself out of their range of vision.

This method, he realized, was incredibly risky to the point he thought about doing something to help her out or, at the very least, distract them from focusing on Aliya. But right as he was about to, Issac saw Atari and Ethan charge at her. Yet when they did, he saw his daughter cleverly slide out of their path at the last second. When she had done so, he watched then as Atari and Ethan collided into each other and fell promptly onto the ground.

Chuckling then at the sight, he watched as his daughter smirked at her sight and smugly crossed her arms. However right as she did, Issac noticed Chasen start to emerge behind her as his eyes widened. "Aliya! Look out!" he warned but by the time she got his warning, Chasen was already behind her.

So when she turned to face Chasen then, he saw the latter smirk and before his daughter could think to do anything, he could only look as Chasen swiftly swung at her. When he did, Issac saw his daughter tumble through the air for a bit before she landed near a stack of piled treasure as she fell on her right side and appeared to be limb. At the sight of her, his heart began racing as his eyes widened.

"Aliya!" he concernedly yelled and after he did, he quickly ran to her side right as he saw the way she slowly began to pick herself from the ground and start sitting up. "Mija, are you alright?" he concernedly asked as he heard his daughter groan a bit before she held onto her head.

"Y... Yeah, I'm..." she initially said, but when she turned to face him, he saw his daughter trail off as she dazedly blinked before he saw her vision clear up and she was able to see him much more clearly. She blinked for a moment then before she slowly but puzzledly nodded. "... I'm alright." she added, finishing her response and answering his question at last as he momentarily studied Aliya before he relaxed at her answer and brightly smiled in her direction. "Heh." he lightly said before three sudden dark chuckles occurred.

When he heard that, his smile dropped as he and his daughter turned away from each other just in time to see Chasen raise his sword squarely at them with Atari and Ethan standing beside him as they collectively smirked in a dark, taunting manner.

"Heh. You thought you could come to the old man's aid, but now it looks as though you're going to perish alongside him instead." they darkly told his daughter as he sharply glared at them after they finished. "Watch it." he sharply said, but they only chuckled at him and his empty threat to them as he heavily sighed, knowing it was his fault Aliya got caught up in his mess.

"Mija, I—" he initially begun to say, but as soon as he turned away from the three men to face his daughter, he cut himself off when he noticed the way she looked elsewhere. When she did, Issac curiously but puzzledly looked at her as he blinked.

What is she looking at?

He thought to ask her then, but right before he was about to, he noticed the way Chasen moved his sword to them. When he did, he saw his daughter quickly look back at the latter, who gave a sinister smirk in their direction with Atari and Ethan mirroring the look he gave them. "Any last words?" Chasen, Atari and Ethan collectively questioned in a dark, sinister tone as he frowned and glanced away from them as he quietly sighed.

However as he glanced away from them, he noticed his daughter from the corner of his eye and as he looked at her, he saw the way she silently glared at them. Upon seeing this, his frown had deepened as he continued to glance at Aliya before he glanced down at the ground, knowing he was responsible for her being caught in this position.

Having known that then, he decided to do everything in his power then to get Chasen, Atari and Ethan to spare his daughter from meeting the same demise as him because Issac knew if either of them deserved to make it out of this treasure trove alive and in one piece, it was her. After all, she was only in this mess because of him and he was in this mess as he was their target. Not her.

"All I got to do is open this bag!"

Snapping out of his thoughts after she spoke, he glanced up to see his daughter was standing as she held a small peach-colored dagger with a light golden hilt and various swirly cloud designs engraved onto the hilt of the dagger in her left hand. When she did, he watched her briefly look at Chasen, Atari and Ethan before she had turned and quickly flung the dagger out of her grasp.

As soon as she did, Issac (along with Chasen, Atari and Ethan) watched as the dagger flew in the medium sized light brown-colored bag's direction and cut through the light yellow-colored tiny string originally sealing the bag. Once that happened, his eyes widened around the exact same time that Chasen, Atari and Ethan did as they collectively turned to face his daughter before he heard them speak.

"What?!"

After they said that, he noticed several gusts of wind emerging out of the bag now as he mutely watched as the gusts of wind proceeded to blow Chasen, Atari and Ethan along with Chasen's sword (for all of them were caught in the wind's path). As such, he continued to watch as they found themselves lifted up in the air before the men screamed and quickly vanished out of his sights.

"Huh. So, that's what you were looking at. At first, I couldn't figure it out, but now I realized you were looking at the..." he initially said, turning to his daughter now before he trailed off as soon as he realized Aliya wasn't standing beside him now. "Mija?" he asked as he promptly stood up and began searching for her.

"Where did you—"

"I'm over here, dad!"

Sighing in relief at the sound of her voice, he began to run towards the direction of where he had heard his daughter and saw her positioned by the bag as she attempted to close it herself before she had glanced at him when he got near her.

"Any chance you can help me close the bag?" she slowly asked as he moved closer and blinked at her before he glanced at the bag. "Isn't it too late though?" he countered as she blinked from his question. "I mean whatever wind was left must be gone by now, no?" he slowly followed up as her eyes widened before she sighed.

"Maybe so, but if we act now, then we can save whatever wind is left to use for another day." she explained, answering his question before she glanced away from him and went back to placing her focus on the bag again. "So come on." she urgently added as he nodded and rushed to his daughter's aid then before he kneeled across from her.

Together then, they worked on closing the bag as they both began gripping onto the bag before Issac saw his daughter start to wrap the string around and pass it to him. When she did, he held the string steady while she continued to hold onto the bag. As she did, he worked diligently on wrapping the rest of the string around the bag before he proceeded to swiftly knot the bag and keep the remaining winds sealed. So after Issac succeeded in making one final knot, the winds ceased as he and Aliya heavily breath before they glanced at each other.

When they did, they briefly stopped heavy breathing from what happened before they sighed as he slightly chuckled.

"Well, that was certainly something. Huh?" he said, removing his hand from the bag as she gave a light chuckle. "Yeah. T... That sounds about right." she said in agreement as he stood up and held his hand out to her. Mutely, she took his hand as Issac proceeded to gently hold onto her hand and lifted his daughter up from the ground.

"Thanks." she softly said as he brightly grinned. "You're welcome." he softly said as he released her hand then after he saw that she was capable of standing on her own. From there, a sudden silence emerged between them as he saw his daughter briefly glance away from him as he saw his daughter start to retrieve the dagger that fell in the aftermath of her throw while he quietly proceeded to watch.

"So... You claimed a guy you barely met, much less know, was there for you and that you needed him yet when you needed him, he left you for dead." the voice in his head stated as he winced at his inner voice.

"I know what I—"

"Yet, you claimed not to need your daughter, but elements behold, she saved your life when you said you didn't need her. Hm. Do you know what that means?" the voice in his head snarled as he sighed.

"That I'm a idiot for thinking some guy I barely met to come to my aid and for saying I need him when he left me for dead?" he quietly mumbled as he listened to the voice in his head chuckle.

"Yes, but also—"

"I'm a idiot for saying she has never been there for me when she has just like she showed up for me and managed to save my life after the fact I said I didn't need her?" he quietly mumbled as Issac interrupted the voice in his head, who lightly hummed."Well you said a lot of things, but that's a start I suppose." the voice countered as he heavily but sighed.

"I know. I said a lot of things to her that I'm not proud of saying." he mumbled, now observing his daughter as she became fixated on the dagger. "I owe Aliya an apology for everything I said to her because she deserves to have one, even though I know she'll try to brush it off or tell me it's fine." he further added, quietly sighing once more. "But still. Nonetheless, I have to try and get her to hear me out..." he further mumbled until he trailed off and sighed again. "Somehow." he finished as he saw his daughter stand up and store the dagger away. After she did that, Issac watched as she proceeded to do the same for the bag before he took a deep breath and began moving to her.

"Mija, I—"

"—Whatever you have to say, dad, it can wait." she firmly insisted, storing the bag away as Issac frowned from the cold, emotionless tone in her voice resurfaced again.

"But—"

"Baba, no offense, but we got more important things to focus on. Okay? Chasen, Atari and Ethan might be gone for now, but it's only a matter of time before they resurface. So it's imperative we find the aperio mirror while they're not in our way." she firmly continued, moving her hand from her pocket before she looked as though she was going to look at him, but decided against it (for some reason) since she ended up looking elsewhere with her back facing him.

"I know that, but—"

"Not to mention, we still have to find Khashi, Ember, Claudia and Baxter, make sure they're okay and check on their condition/status." she firmly insisted, interrupting him once more before she heavily sighed. "So, forgive me if I'm not trying to entertain whatever it is you have to say to me now because chances are—" she attempted to follow up when he interrupted her, sensing what she was going to say.

"—I'm going to end up saying something that hurts you in some form or fashion?" he slowly finished as he saw his daughter turn to face him, momentarily blinking at him. "Uh, I was going to say tell me something I don't already know but uh sure." she awkwardly answered as he saw his daughter cross her arms. "What you said works too, I guess." she added, her voice a sudden whisper before she glanced away from him and cast her eyes towards the ground, causing him to sigh as he frowned at the sight.

"Mija—"

"—Anyways, we should get a move on." she insisted, lifting her eyes off of the ground as he saw his daughter turn away from him with her back facing him again. "Time is of the essence and we still got things to do, so let's go." she further added, attempting to walk away from him then but right as she was about to do so, he sprinted to her side and gently grabbed onto her left arm. As he did, he effectively stopped his daughter in her tracks before she puzzledly turned to face him before she blinked, reluctantly sighed and went back to looking away from him.

"You know, I'm probably going to regret asking, but apá, what are you—"

"Look, I know I said some—" he initially began before he cut himself off. "Okay, no. I said a lot of things to you but—" he attempted to add when he became interrupted by his daughter as Aliya heavily sighed. "Baba—" she attempted to tell him until he interrupted her, having sensed that his daughter was most likely been on the verge of turning down his attempt to apologize again.

"Mija, no." he firmly said as he watched his daughter turn to face him and huff. "Dad—" she tried to say, but he interrupted her as he released her arm and shook his head. "No. Aaliyah, you can't say I'm right or tell me not to worry about it this time because what I did was wrong and I—" he firmly attempted to add until he cut himself off when he saw his daughter's eyes widened. After he saw that, he blinked as he concernedly looked at her.

"Mija? What's—"

"Dad! Look out!"

As soon as she said that, Issac felt his daughter lean against him before she quickly pushed him away from her right as he saw the re-emergence of the two swords as they scratched against the flooring and promptly separated them. Due to the impact of the swords' and her sudden push, he found himself propelled into the air now as he tried to activate his wings... to no avail. When that failed, he tried to summon his natural flight ability, but that too was to no avail. So with no wings and no natural flight ability to delay his inevitable fall, he did the next most logical thing: he screamed.

"Ahhh!"

As Issac screamed, he continued to be in the air before his screams (and his time being in the air) came to an end when he collided into the stack of crates he previously spotted his daughter and landed on the ground with a sudden thud. "Ow..." he mumbled quietly before he trailed off as he groaned and winced from the impact of his crash.

"That's some fall you took there, shadowling."

"Ah!"

Startled, Issac quickly sat up and turned to see the same shadowy, cloaked cognac-brown eyed figure continue to stare at him. "Need a hand?" the figure asked and once he saw it was just him, his panicked nature turned into one of annoyance.

"Oh, it's you and no. I can help myself, thanks." he bitterly answered, standing up as he saw the shadowy, cloaked cognac-brown eyed figure puzzledly stare at him. "Shadowling, come on. Why the sudden hostility now?" the latter slowly asked as he scoffed again. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe, it has something to do with the fact you left me for dead when I needed you!" he said sharply, his anger gradually progressing with each word he spoke until it evolved into Issac snapping as he lashed out at the figure, who blinked a bit before he cleared his throat.

"That's on me and I'm sorry, but I'm here to make it up to you." the shadowy figure insisted as he simply scoffed. "Yeah, well it's too late for that and besides, I have to go make sure Aliya is okay." he simply said as he started to turn away from him.

"So—"

"—Leave her."

"I'm not going to leave her after she just risked her life for me!" Issac firmly protested, turning to face him again as the shadowy figure scoffed. "Now come on, shadowling. Why do you act as if she's not replaceable?" the shadowy figure calmly refuted as he puzzledly stared at him before his confusion morphed into uncertainity.

"You say that like she's going to die."

"Oh. That's because she is." the shadowy figure casually said as his eyes immediately widened from the latter's words.

"What?!"

"Now, shadowling. I know you're shocked, but don't be. After all, Chasen killing the duchess is a blessing." the shadowy figure added as Issac's eyes only widened more from the latter's words.

"A blessing?!"

"Yes, shadowling. Chasen killing your daughter is a blessing because in him doing the dirty work for you, you won't have to kill her since someone else already did it for you." the shadowy figure casually countered, though there was a undertone of irritation now when he spoke (though, this went largely unnoticed by Issac, who was still focused on what the latter said to pay attention).

"So if you let her die, then all you have to do is retrieve the aperio mirror and revenge will be in your reach." the shadowy figure added as Issac snapped out of his thoughts and blinked once more at what the latter said.

"I'm sorry. Did you say let her die?"

"Shadowling—"

"She's my kid!" he fiercely protested as he crossed his arms. "Besides, I can't just let her die at Chasen's hand! I have to do something!" he further insisted as he observed the latter heavily sigh at his response.

"Shadowling—"

"No! There has to be some way I can save Aliya and retrieve the aperio mirror." he stubbornly insisted as the latter sighed once more.

"Shadowling, that's not possible."

"And why is that?"

"Because you have to choose." the shadowy figure simply answered as he blinked. "I'm sorry. I have to do what now?" he asked as the latter sighed again. "Shadowling, you have to choose between revenge and love as the two cannot co-exist. So, it's either you go for the relic at the expense of your daughter's life or you save her at the expense of losing the aperio mirror." the shadowy figure further added as Issac felt his blood run cold when he finally realized what it was that was being asked of him now.

"Shadowling, I know you might think this is hard to do, but it's not because your daugher can be replaceable. However, the relic is not, so it would be in your best interest to focus on getting the aperio mirror and spend less time dwelling on the duchess' fate."

"But—"

"Besides, it's not as though you actually need her. Not really. So, don't throw away your chance of obtaining revenge that's very well within reach for some love that can be easily replaceable, shadowling. Okay? Be smart about this. Get the aperio mirror and leave the duchess to her fate." the shadowy figure firmly finished, interrupting him as he looked at him and blinked before he shook his head a moment later.

"No."

"No?" the shadowy figure bafflingly repeated as he stared at him with a cryptic look he couldn't decipher. "Shadowling, don't be a fool now. Be logical here." the shadowy figure advised as he scoffed.

"Oh, but I am being logical here because while I want the aperio mirror, the chance to obtain the second relic and revenge is just not worth prioritizing at the expense of my daughter's life." Issac firmly stated, interrupting the shadowy figure once more as he crossed his arms.

"So if it means I have to lose the relic and forgo my chance to obtain revenge that's within reach to ensure my daughter's safety, then so be it because I'm not about to lose her." he added as he glanced away from the latter and stared off in the nearby distance where he had last seen Aliya.

"Not when I need her." he finished before he cleared his throat and faced the latter once again. "So, if you excuse me, I need to go as I have more important things to worry about and I don't need you trying to get in my way of that." he firmly said before he turned, having been on the verge of walking away from the latter when the shadowy figure made him pause with what he had said next.

"You're making a mistake." the shadowy figure sharply claimed as he initially blinked before he turned to face him once more. "No, I'm not." he briskly countered as the latter coldly looked at him. "Oh, you are, shadowling. You just think that though because you're not seeing things as clearly as you should." the shadowy figure firmly but sharply refuted as Issac lightly chuckled.

"You say that, yet I have never seen things more clearly." he simply rebuked before he cleared his throat and stopped chuckling. "So if you excuse me, I have to go because Aliya needs me and I'm not going to let her down." he continued before he paused and turned from the shadowy figure.

Not anymore.

"Shadowling—"

"Well, seeing how my words didn't get through to you, let me make this clear: I am done dealing with you." he firmly said, snapping out of his thoughts as he interrupted the latter and turned to face the shadowy figure once more. "So farewell and I hope to see you..." he continued until he trailed off when he didn't see the latter.

"... Never." Issac slowly finished, mumbling the end of his response to himself now as he crossed his arms and found himself looking at where he had seen the shadowy figure, having pondered where he could have went. However when he glanced at the various items surrounding him, he remembered his daughter's situation as he sighed to himself before he stopped.

"Come on, Issac. Pull yourself together. Okay? Your daughter needs you, so stop focusing on him and focus on being the hero she thinks you are by finding something that can help you deal with Chasen." he firmly said to himself as he began looking at the items surrounding him. After doing his initial scanning, he proceeded to rummage several items the former seeker had in hopes he would be able to find something.

However as he looked, he quickly tossed the items aside and mumbled "not it" as each item he would find wasn't ideal. As such, this persisted for a bit while his irritation towards the things Aureus collected only grew. Yet after he tossed aside a flower-decorated vase, he had just about reached his limit. Something that became rather evident when Issac began making his feelings known...

"Ugh! Aureus collected everything in this stupid treasure trove but not one thing is useful!" he angrily snapped, to which he aggressively threw the vase in his possession before he heavily sighed.

"Okay. I know there has to be something in this treasure trove that can be useful to me." Issac insisted as he sighed. "I just have to find it." he added before his eyes fell back on the various items surrounding him. So with his determination resolved, he proceeded to go through the items once more with the same process as before until his eyes lingered on a metallic sword with two grey buttons on the lower left side of the hilt.

"Ooh!" he exclaimed as he picked up the sword. "Oh yeah." he added, holding the sword steadily as his eyes started glistening with pure excitement while a confident smirk surfaced on his face then....

"I think I can make this work."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Back at the other side of the treasure trove away from the crates, grey smoke started to surface upward as the dark grey steel swords began to dig themselves into the flooring of the treasure trove.

Right as the smoke surfaced, a scream was heard after the girl pushed her old man away from her and the swords' direction. As such, he mutely watched the way the old man became flung into the air and far from within the swords' reach until the old man became out of sight. From there, he continued to look on as the impact of the swords caused her to collide directly into a nearby pile of treasure with a swift thud.

From there, he noticed the gigantic pile of treasure wobble before it came crashing down within seconds after the girl collided into the once standing pile. Once he saw the fallen pile, he began to chuckle as he began retracting his swords and quietly held onto his grappling hook a second later. After he held onto his grappling hook, he then began making his way toward the site of the girl's crash.

"Heh. You got spunk, girl. I'll give you that, so why don't you come on out and we'll have a nice chat?" he slowly said, falsifying the welcome-like tone he used as he called out to the girl and continued to carefully tread through the fallen pile of treasure while he clutched onto his two swords attached to the grappling hook.

When he surveyed his surroundings and listened to the piercing silence, he quietly chuckled a second later.

"Ah, not much of a talker, are you now girl?" he slowly added as he continued to carefully tread around and slowly began lowering his grappling hook attached swords. "Well, that's a shame." he slowly followed up as he scanned his surroundings in search for the girl. "Because you see, my men are off searching for the aperio mirror and I find myself in need of some company, so I was hoping that you and I could talk. But seeing how you won't talk, I guess I'll have to talk to someone else." he slowly continued as he chuckled.

"But who should I talk to, you might ask? I suppose I could talk to that gentle giant of yours now, Khashi. After all, he seems pretty interesting. I mean, how does a muscular guy like him decide to turn into a pacifist just out of the blue when he was known for being a warrior and a fighter back in the day?" he added as he sighed. "I suppose I could have asked him myself but then, he took a hit that I intended for your old man, so... yeah." he continued as he chuckled.

"Nonetheless, I took care of him so talking to him isn't really an option because after he took the hit, the big guy crashed into the back of the building. So, he's out but still. I suppose I could talk to those three people who accompanied you and your old man. Ah, but what were their names? Hmm, let's see. I believe their names were..." he further added until he trailed off as he snapped his fingers and smirked. "... Oh!" he exclaimed then as he laughed.

"How could I have forgotten when your old man was the one who said their names? Yeah, thanks to him, I remembered that their names were Khashi, Ember, Claudia and Baxter. Now, I suppose I could have talked to them, but here's the thing: my men took care of them when Atari and Ethan gave them a much needed demonstration. But, as effective as their demonstration was, your old man's allies didn't seem to get it when my co-workers lunged at them. Yeah, they screamed the very moment they became launched into the air before their screams came to an end when they crashed, so they're not really much of an option now either." he continued, chuckling once more as he started to pace around the fallen pile of the treasure trove.

"Now, let's see. With Khashi, Ember, Claudia and Baxter out of the way, that leaves me with your old man." he further added as he chuckled. "Heh, well isn't that just perfect? Talking to your old man again will give me, Atari and Ethan a chance to finish what we started before you got in our way with that stunt of yours." he followed up before he dryly chuckled.

"So, I guess if I can't talk to you, then I'll just have to talk to him instead. But hey. Don't worry. I'll make sure we leave you with a parting gift after we're through with him." he further taunted as he darkly mused a chuckle before he stopped when he heard a growl occur not far from where he was currently standing. When he heard that, he began to smirk as he knew the girl was close then, even though he was not facing her when he heard her speak.

"Touch him and I'll make sure it'll be the last thing that you, Atari and Ethan do. Now stay away from him or else."

Gotcha.

"Heh. You know, your gentle giant might have not said those words, but his decision to protect your old man came at his expense. Similarly, the others said something like that, yet all of their words fell flat because in protecting him, it came at their expense. Still, you got a chance to save yourself, so why don't you just set your nobility aside and leave your old man to me and my men now? Hmm? It would certainly do you some good rather than keep wasting your time protecting someone who isn't worth saving. Plus, it would also make things easier on your end. So, put this nonsense to rest, girl, and walk away while you still got the chance now." he followed up as she chuckled.

"You know, you got a point." the girl slowly said as he simply nodded at her words and kept his back turned to her while he slowly looked at the grappling hook attached swords that were in his possession and smirked.

"Yeah..."

"But as easy as it would be to walk away, I have never been the kind of person to settle for easy. As such, I'm still going to continue doing everything within my power to keep him safe because even though he says he doesn't need me, I made a promise to myself to protect him and that's exactly what I'm going to do. So, I'll keep things simple: if you want my apá, then you got to go through me because I'm not going to leave him. Not now. Not ever."

"Heh. A hero to a fault, I see." he lightly mused as he chuckled. "How pathetic." he added before he chuckled once more. "Still, for all that nobility you have towards protecting your old man..." he further added before he trailed off as he slowly lowered his grappling hook attached swords and continued to smirk.

"... You should start to consider focusing on yourself."

"Focus on myself? What do you mean by that?" he heard the girl bafflingly ask as he cryptically chuckled. "I'm so glad you asked. But while I could answer your questions, I think it would be a lot more beneficial to you if you got a little... demonstration of what I meant instead." he added as he began gripping onto the swords.

"Demonstration? What do you—" she initially started, but when he turned to face her and began hurling his swords attached to the grappling hook towards her, he saw the girl cut herself off as she tensely chuckled.

"Ah. So, that's what you meant. Got it." she awkwardly added, having now realized what exactly his demonstration had entailed when she caught onto what he was doing as he chuckled at her realization. "Yep and now I'm going to finish you off to ensure that no one else can serve as the old man's backup." he cockily followed up as he smirked while the girl chuckled at his response.

"Ah well, I'm sorry to disappoint. But if you think your swords are going to get the job done, then you are sorely mistaken because you got another thing coming, Chasen." she briskly countered as he slightly chuckled. "Uh-huh. Sure." he dismissively said, having not taking the girl seriously.

However when she grabbed a hold of a light golden dagger jagged-edged spear with a white-colored ribbon tied to the lower end of the shaft with her right hand and began deflecting his swords by spinning the spear, he stopped chuckling as his smirk vanished a moment after he witnessed the sight.

"What were you saying again?" the girl lightly taunted, spinning the spear to deflect his attack as he gripped tighter on his grappling hook. "That I was going to finish you here and now." he said, firmly answering her question before he aggressively lunged his swords towards her. As he did, the girl deflected his swords again by proceeding to either spin or turn the spear in her hand to block his attacks.

"Uh-huh. You say that, but I'm not convinced." she casually said as he dryly chuckled when he saw the girl was in the midst of spinning the spear. "What about now?" he snarled and after he said this, the tip of his sword landed in the middle of the spear. As soon as that happened, the spear became caught in a horizonal-like position as the girl awkwardly (but tensely) chuckled from his question and the action that occurred.

"Heh... Well, I would say there's some potential behind your claim now." she answered, but after he heard the slight meekiness in her tone, he smirked. "You know, I love it whenever I can smell the fear in my prey..." he slowly said before he trailed off as his smirk grew. "... Just as I can smell your fear, girl. " he taunted, finishing his response and after he said that, he viciously yanked on the rope aspect of his grappling hook.

The moment this had occurred, the girl rapidly began getting pulled towards the ground by him as she scoffed before she became dragged face-first onto the floor until she began to stand and worked on maintaining her balance despite the spite he was relentlessly dragging her.

"That's just my conditioner!" she swiftly yelled, countering his response before she stumbled a bit and nearly slipped until she had regrounded herself right in time for him to lunge his sword at her once more.

As soon as he did, Chasen noticed the way the girl quickly centered the spear in front of her to stop him from directly stabbing her (as he tried to position the blade near her left upper-body area). However as he began applying pressure, she started to push back.

For a bit, it looked as though she was succeeding in lessening the amount of pressure he had applied, but fortunately, he proved to be stronger as he pushed the spear out of her hand. As soon as that happened, he observed the girl fall onto the ground. From there, he looked as the spear landed towards the other side of the treasure trove and (more importantly) far from the girl's reach, which made him chuckle at the sight.

"Heh. I see you're out of a weapon, girl." he mockingly noted before he smirked. "So, what are you going to do—" he further taunted, adding onto his response until Chasen cut himself off when he turned to see the girl clench her fist and began charging at him.

However before the girl could lunge at him, Ethan suddenly appeared and stood in front of him. As he did, Chasen saw the latter wearing a dark grey steel gauntlet on his left arm as he saw the latter swiftly punched the girl in the middle of her stomach. When this happened, he and Ethan watched the girl swiftly tumble through the air before she crashed into the back of the treasure trove and fell onto the ground with a swift thud.

As the two men approached the site of her crash and saw the girl fall on her side, they heard the girl weakly cough as Chasen smirked. "Nice job, kid." he noted, now turning to face the latter as Ethan delightfully grinned. "Thanks!" the latter affectionately stated as they heard the girl start to grunt.

Upon hearing this, they turned to see the girl angrily clench her fist before she picked herself up from the ground and began charging at them. However before she could lunge at them, he and Ethan noticed a clenched fist emerge from the girl's left side as the fist collided directly into the girl's face. When they saw this, they saw the girl briefly stumble before she fell onto the ground with a swift thud as she landed on her back.

"Sorry, kid. Nothing personal. We just can't have you getting in our way now."

After they heard that, they saw Atari stand beside them as they saw the latter crossing his arms and look at the girl, who began coughing a bit from the impact of the hit she endured. After the three of them heard her cough, they all watched as she rolled on her back before she started to slightly lift herself from the ground. After they saw this, they heard the girl angrily grunt a bit as she turned to face them. After she did, they saw a small peach-colored energy blaster in her left hand, which she proceeded to aim at them and began going through the motions of activating her weapon which they collectively knew she intended to do after she succeeded in setting off the trigger from the anger they saw reflecting in her light amber eyes.

Yet in that moment, Ethan swiftly stepped forward as he and Atari watched the latter knock the energy blaster out of her hand. When this happened, they all saw the girl turn to see her energy blaster land far out of her reach as they chuckled at the sight, which resulted in the girl turning to face them. When she did, they noticed the girl briefly growl at them as he simply snapped his fingers and turned to Ethan.

"Get the girl." he promptly ordered as he motioned to Ethan to retrieve the girl, which the latter proceeded to do as he and Atari watched the latter walk toward her direction before they saw the latter lift the girl up from the ground by grabbing onto her shoulders. When he did, they all heard her yelp a bit before they watched Ethan aggressively slam the girl directly into the back of the wall and listened to her groan as they saw Ethan remove his hands from her shoulders a moment later.

Moving closer then, Chasen stood across from the girl with Ethan standing at his left while Atari stood at his right as they watched the girl start to faintly laugh a bit before she began lifting her head up. After she did, they had listened to her faint, staggered laughs persist while she looked briefly distorted as her eyes appeared to be strained and perhaps even blurry from the way he, Atari and Ethan saw the girl repeatedly blink at them a few times until the blinking (along with her faint, staggered laughs) came to an end.

"Heh. You have any more stunts, wise girl? Or, are you all out of tricks?" he mused, although a undertone of annoyance surfaced when he posed his questions to the girl, who gave a impish look. "Me? Out of tricks? Never." she faintly said, answering his question as the girl faintly and exhaustively chuckle. "If anything, I'm just getting started." she added as they saw her weakly but menacing smirk in their direction.

Knowing she was serious and sensing that she really did have something up her sleeve, Chasen snapped his fingers again and turned away from her to face the two men beside him. "Restrain her." he firmly ordered, to which he saw Ethan and Atari mutely depart from his side and began approaching the girl.

In response to what he was doing, he saw the girl tightly clench both her fists as she aggressively began lunging at Ethan and Atari. However, the men quickly dodged her blows and managed to agressively throw her back directly onto the wall as he saw the girl unclench her fists before the three of them heard the girl faintly but staggeredly laugh once more.

"Y... You guys d... don't know when t... to q... quit, huh?" she faintly but annoyedly asked as they chuckled at her question. "No." they swiftly answered and after that was said, he began to move closer as he watched Atari and Ethan each grabbing a hold of her arm before they proceeded to go through the motions of restraining her against the treasure trove's wall.

"Though from the looks of it, neither do you." they mused, following up on what they previously said as he observed the girl attempt to forcibly push back against Atari and Ethan's attempts to restrain her.

"Yeah well, that's something we can agree on." she sharply said, regaining some of her energy back in her voice as she tried to free herself from Atari and Ethan's grasps with the way he saw the girl tug at her arms before she attempted to kick his men. However, his men overpowered her with ease as they succeeded in pinning her against the wall.

"Well see, now we're getting somewhere, wise girl." he simply said as she lifted her head from the wall and attempted to free herself again. However, his men were quick to stop her as they swiftly thrashed her against the wall again.

But, it was clear to them that the girl wouldn't give up for she tried to move once more. Yet when they saw the girl try to move again, Ethan quickly positioned his left arm against her throat and forcibly held the girl back as they listened to her brief, muffled cry of distress while he walked to her and started to laugh briefly at the sight in front of him.

"Unfortunately for you though, time's running out." he continued as he grabbed onto the hilt of his dark grey steel sword and pulled it from where he had initially placed it before he looked at the girl with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

"Now, you might be wondering how exactly I plan on killing you. Well, if it was up to the minds of the majority, you would've been dead from afar as a lot of people prefer to kill their victims from that angle because they are the long range type. But me?" he further added as he chuckled. "No. I don't operate that way because you see, wise girl, when it comes to dealing with my prey now, I prefer being in close proximity to my victims right before I kill them because I'm the kind of guy who likes to get real close." he followed up as he gradually moved closer to the girl and held the sword steadily at her.

"It's funnier that way, I think, to see the look of fear in their eyes before they meet their demise as I take pleasure in knowing I'll be the last thing they see." he further added and as he spoke, he gradually moved the sword closer to her until he became just inches away from aiming the sword at her heart for he intended to strike the girl there.

"Now, there's a chance for you to avoid the same outcome so many of my other prey have met if you're willing to tell me and my men two things: a, the whereabouts of your old man and b, the whereabouts of the aperio mirror. If you tell us these things, then I will only pierce that heart of yours rather than run this sword through your heart and impale you right where you stand." he followed up as he lightly swung his sword a bit around the girl before he stopped and chuckled.

"Though, I'm sure seeing you in such a state would get your old man riled up pretty quick if he were to find that as his parting gift from me and my men." he further added before he steadily held onto his sword again. "But yeah." he casually said as he went back to aiming his sword at her again. "Anyways, what is it going to be, wise girl?" he followed up as he smirked.

"Will you tell us what we need to know and make me pierce that heart of yours or will you refuse and make me run this sword through your heart instead?" he followed up as he saw glimpses of the angry, erratic nature occur in her eyes before this vanished altogether when the girl looked at him again.

"You think I know where my dad and the aperio mirror is. Cute. Well, this is going to no doubt be a disservice to you, Atari and Ethan, but I don't." she faintly answered before a unsettling smirk began to form on her face. "So, what was it you said? You'll run that sword of yours through my heart if I failed to give you and your men what you all wanted to hear?" she followed up as she chuckled. "Well if that is to be my demise, then why don't I make it easier for you?" she further added as she started moving closer to his sword and simply continued to smirk while she did so.

Eyes widening at what she was doing, he immediately retracted his sword from her heart and stopped aiming at her. When he did, she bafflingly looked at him before the confusion faded a bit later when she chuckled in a taunting manner and held a mocking look to her now.

"Well, I guess what you said was nothing more than bluff then because if you really wanted to run that pretty little sword of yours through my heart, you would have done so when I moved closer." she dryly said, taunting him further when he took a few steps back and chuckled a bit again at the sight. "So, it's safe to say then you're harmless. So harmless in fact, I'm willing to even wager with your men here by claiming you haven't taken a single life for all that talk you did about killing." she mockingly taunted, adding onto her previous response as he scoffed at her words then when he realized she was challenging his stance.

"And what? You took a life?"

"Fourteen actually." she casually said, her tone relatively calm as his eyes widened from her answer to his question. "You took fourteen lives?" he asked in disbelief, watching as the girl indifferently stared at him before she giggled.

"Surprised?" she casually inquired before she blinked and lightly chuckled. "Wait. Why am I even asking? Of course, you are surprised. After all, this is only our first time meeting, so you wouldn't have known, but still." the girl cheekily followed up as she chuckled a bit before she stopped. "As surprised as you were though, you really shouldn't be because here's the thing: it's always me." she further added, the cheekiness in her tone vanishing as a hollow, firm tone surfaced when he heard the girl speak once more.

"It's me simply because everyone who gets close to me dies." the girl sharply yet aggressively continued before her tone softened as she moved her face closer to him. "But do you want to know what the real kicker is out of all this?" the girl cryptically followed up as he saw the girl start leaning closer to him.

So close in fact that he felt her breath reaching his ears due to their close proximity to each other now.

"The real kicker is..."

Unbeknownst to him though, her light amber eyes started to switch to a light blue, almost teal-like hue when she started to speak. However even after her eyes took on this light blue, almost teal-like hue, he continued to remain unaware as he got caught up in what she was about to say to him. Just as he was also unaware of the way her eyes began glowing intensively bright when she continued to finish the rest of her response to him.

"... You're the kind of guy who likes to get in real close."

After she finished whispering these words to him, his eyes widened as he started to process what she told him. When he had done so and looked up at her, the first thing he noticed were her eyes as they weren't a light amber hue, but rather a light blue, almost teal-like hue that were glowing intensively bright. From there, he saw the girl smirking at him in a deranged, provoking manner because it was only then, he felt fear seize a hold of him. But in that moment, his fear turned to rage as he looked at the girl and darkly chuckled.

"Heh. You know, I told you beforehand your time was running out, wise girl, but now, I think you are beyond needing a time limit because your time has just expired." he sharply said, using the same demeanor he previously held before the girl left him rattled with what she said. "Which is why I think it's safe to say then that you're not just out of time, but luck too." he followed up as he began to retrieve his sword and sharply eyed her.

"So," he continued before he paused as he began raising his sword and smirked sinisterly at her while she still retained her same look towards him. "It's time to end this." he added, finishing his response right as the girl dryly snarled.

"I'll believe it when I see it." she swiftly challenged and provoked by what she said, he proceeded to snap his fingers. "Atari, Ethan, drop her." he firmly ordered and as they released their hold on the girl, he saw the latter attempt to lunge at them when Ethan swiftly swung at the girl with his gauntlet and observed the way she swiftly fell onto her back within seconds after the punch had occurred.

So after she fell, he began to move closer towards them and when the girl tried to get back up, he saw Ethan and Atari attempt to deal with her themselves when he swiftly shook his head at the two.

"No. I'll handle her." he firmly insisted, glancing at the girl before he glanced back at Ethan and Atari. "As for you two, get beside me." he firmly added and mutely, he saw the two back away from the girl before they returned to his side. Once they did, Ethan stood at his left while Atari stood at his right while he proceeded to lift the girl and hold her by her throat before he then slammed her head back onto the ground and smirked.

"How about now?" he swiftly challenged and as he continued to hold the girl by her throat, he proceeded to grab onto the hilt of his dark grey steel sword while Atari and Ethan continued to stand at his side, where they mutely observed his confrontation with her. "Not bad, but still, it could use some improvement." she simply said as he blinked before his eyes sharpened at her answer.

"Improvement?" he slowly but angrily repeated as he scoffed. "What do you mean it could use some improvement?!" he sharply snapped before he dryly chuckled. "You know what? If you want improvement so badly, then I'll give it to you!" he firmly exclaimed, raising his sword up now as he proceeded to go through the motions of running the sword through her heart with Ethan and Atari standing beside him and looking on.

However right as he was about to run the sword through her heart, a large light orange colored explosive energy-charged blast suddenly rippled between them. As such, the explosive energy-charged blast promptly separated them from the girl while it sent him, Ethan and Atari briefly upward in the air for a bit as they glanced at each other and back at the ground beneath them.

"Ahhhh!"

While they briefly hovered in the air and the explosive blast rattled the entire treasure trove, the aperio mirror immediately became thrust upward from its initial hiding spot after the explosive energy-charged blast vanished as quickly as it came. So while his sword became out of his own reach and the girl could be seen lying on the ground with her widened eyes, the aperio mirror in the air promptly to spin for a bit before landing back onto the ground as it continued to spin for a bit more while they fell back onto the ground.

"Ow..."

While Atari and Ethan groaned from the sudden fall, he was about to do the same until he heard a quick spin-like motion. Turning around, he observed the aperio mirror spin counterclockwise for a bit before the mirror swiftly fell onto its back and faced the ceiling as he mutely blinked to himself.

Huh.

"Ugh." he heard Atari and Ethan add as he felt them start to raise. "Whoever pulled that stunt on us is so going to get..." he heard Atari and Ethan initially start to continue but when they trailed off, his curiosity piqued. So wanting to know why they trailed off, Chasen turned with the intent to ask them. Yet when he did, he noticed that they were staring directly in front of them as they blinked.

"... it." they finished as Chasen glanced away from them and looked to see the old man standing in front of them with a extension of the sword in his hand. So, as they collectively stared at the sword in its extended form, they saw the sword spilt in two jointed fragments as it expanded in size (by half a length at least) while displaying four light orange, rectangular-sized glowing like beams while smoke could be seen surfacing from the circular center of the weapon before the sword suddenly made a few clicking sounds.

As soon as the sounds had occurred, they saw the old man briefly release his grip on the sword as it began to morph from its current state before switching back to its original form: a metallic sword with two grey buttons on the lower left side of the hilt.

So after the sword took its original form, the sword landed back in the old man's grasp, to which they saw the latter grab. As soon as the old man held onto the sword again, they collectively saw the sword clang onto the ground with a sudden thud while the old man's light honeysuckle eyes widened from the sword briefly dragging him down.

"How in the world did the old man — of all people — find the legendary energy-charged sword of annihilation before me? I've been looking for that sword the entire time we've been here but he somehow has it and all I got is this lousy gauntlet!" Ethan quickly but disgruntedly mumbled to him and Atari as they turned to see the latter gesturing to the gauntlet attached to his left hand.

"To be fair, it's a pretty cool gauntlet." he and Atari pointed out before they saw Ethan briefly open his mouth in disbelief before they both saw the latter stand up. "Okay, but it's still not as cool as Aureus' legendary annihilator!" Ethan swiftly exclaimed, adding to his response as the rest of them stared at him before looking at the old man, whose eyes no longer widened now.

Rather, the old man initially began to laugh a bit in excitement as he grinned. "Ah! I can't believe that worked!" they heard the old man excitedly gush before he heard Ethan irritatedly click his tongue in annoyance. "Oh come on! The uncultural old man doesn't even know anything about the sword in his hand!" Ethan angrily but quietly grumbled as he and Atari heard the latter then slightly huff.

"Ugh! If anyone should have found the sword, it's me!" he and Atari heard him add quietly as he puzzledly blinked while the scientist awkwardly patted the latter's back right when they turned to see the old man shake his head before he turned to face them.

"Uh, yeah!" the old man loudly but awkwardly said as they observed the latter raising his (now) clenched fist upward in the air and continued to look at them. "Oh and there's a lot more where that came from too!" the old man fiercely but awkwardly followed up as his light honeysuckle eyes persistently remained on them.

"Now stay away from my daughter and go before you all discover just what exactly I'm capable of doing with this sword, which trust me. None of you want to be on the other end of this sword again, so if you all know what's best for you, then you'll leave." the old man firmly continued as his tone held less awkwardness.

Rather as the old man spoke, they quickly noticed the way that his confidence surfaced through when they saw the latter's eyes began switching from the light honeysuckle hue to a light blue, almost teal-like hue. From there, they all saw a bright silver-ish, white glowing streak illuminate not long after they had saw the newfound eye color surface in place of the old man's initial eye color.

"Now." the old man had firmly but sternly concluded as he briefly glanced his eyes back towards the aperio mirror behind him while he heard Atari and Ethan irritatedly growl at the latter then.

"Old man, you—"

"— got a point." he promptly said, interrupting Atari and Ethan as he stood up and faced the old man while he heard his men momentarily gasp in disbelief. "What?!" he heard Atari and Ethan exclaim in shock and disarray, to which he ignored them as he maintained his focus on the old man.

"So, how about a truce then?" he added as he felt Ethan tug at his arms and pulled him over to the side with Atari mutely overseeing them.

"Uh, Chasen, what exactly are you doing offering that psycho there a truce?" Ethan quietly but firmly whispered as he simply smirked. "Trust me, Muscles. I got a plan." he whispered as Ethan puzzledly blinked.

"Wait. Your plan is for us to be buddy-buddy with the enemy?" Ethan quietly asked as he rolled his eyes. "No." he answered as the latter's confusion persisted. "Wait, hang on. I thought you wanted to be buddy-buddy with the old man because you literally offered a truce to him, but if that's not the case, then why—" Ethan slowly attempted to follow up when he interrupted him and sighed.

"—Ethan, you muscular half-wit, I need you to listen very carefully. Okay?" he slowly but brashly whispered as he sighed once more and crossed his arms. "I am not literally offering him a truce nor do I want us to actually become buddy-buddy with the enemy, especially him of all people." he firmly said, adding onto his previous response as he glanced away from the latter and huffed.

"Alright? I only did it in the moment so—"

"—The old man wouldn't become suspicious about Chasen finding the aperio mirror and try to take it from him, hence why he offered the truce as it's supposed to keep him distracted long enough for us to make off with the relic." Atari interrupted then as he blinked before he gave a brief nod. "Mhm. That way by the time he makes the connection we took it, we would've been long gone for him to make the distinction. Plus, he wouldn't have any clue as where to find us because by then, the relic would have already been in the Queen's possession and we would become another step ahead of the old man, the girl and their allies." he followed up as he saw Ethan stare at him and Atari before the latter's eyes widened.

"Oh..."

"You don't get it, do you?" he followed up as Ethan shook his head. "Nope." the latter simply said as he swiftly face-palmed himself. "You are such an idiot, I swear." he irritatedly mumbled before he heavily sighed and turned to face the scientist. "Atari, explain the plan to him while I work on delaying the old man's suspicions." he ordered before he glanced away from his men to restore his focus on the old man once more.

"A truce?" the old man puzzledly inquired, his eyes back to their light honeysuckle hue again as he nodded. "Yep!" he cheekily answered as he then faked a smile with the old man being none the wiser. "Just this one time?" the old man added as he nodded once more. "Yep!" he stated, answering the latter's question now as he held his arms outward. When he did, he saw the old man's eyes widened from his responses to his questions.

"What?!" the old man exclaimed in shock and disbelief as he chuckled. "What kind of villain are you?" the old man followed up as he chuckled once more.

"The kind who has bigger plans." he simply said as he bowed, using the opportunity to release his grappling hook from his left jacket sleeve as he retrieved the aperio mirror before he stored the relic inside his jacket and turned to face the old man, who hadn't noticed a thing.

"Anyways as... fun," he paused as if debating on the word as he didn't actually think 'fun' was the correct terminology to use but for the sake of time, Chasen just decided to go with it for the time being. "As this has been, we actually have to go, so..." he followed up before he trailed off as he stopped bowing. When he did, he proceeded to grab Ethan and Atari as he saw the two glancing at the old man.

"... Yeah." Atari simply finished (for a lack of a better response like him) as Ethan nodded. "Yep, but hey! Thanks for—" the latter attempted to add when Atari forcibly nudged him, to which he mutely mouthed 'thank you' to the scientist before he turned to see the latter puzzledly look at them.

"Thanks for what?"

"Proving that you're more monster than man." he and Atari cheekily taunted, covering for what it was Ethan was really going to say as they saw the old man's eyes widened. "Hey! I am not a monster!" the old man firmly insisted as they heard Ethan dryly chuckle at the latter's stance now.

"Uh-huh. Right, old man. Sure. You just keep telling yourself that now and you let us know how things work out for you." Ethan mockingly but sarcastically taunted as he and Atari collectively chuckled from the latter's response. "Yep." Atari simply added in agreement as he saw the old man huff, which made him chuckle before he proceeded to hold his right jacket sleeve upward.

When he did, he released his grappling hook and grabbed onto Atari and Ethan as it began lifting them upward. This naturally caught the attention of the old man and the girl as they collectively looked up in time to see them smirking. "So long, old man," they simply said before they began to glance away from the old man. As they did, they directed their attention onto the girl, whose light amber eyes narrowly centered on them.

"Until next time, wise girl."

After he said that and briefly saluted the girl, he stopped as he proceeded to pull himself and his men up right when they heard the old man scoff from the way he addressed the girl in disbelief while they proceeded to leave Aureus' treasure trove...

"Hey! I'll have you know that she's not a wise girl! She's a wise woman!"

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Meanwhile, a white and light blue (almost teal-like) outline of a gigantic, nearly colossal-sized skeletal-shaped bone mech projected in the middle of Ant Queen's cave-like sewer as the girl mutely observe the demi-demon empress smugly crossed her arms and looked at the mech in front of them with great delight.

It was amusing to watch the way the royal truly believed the mech was designed for her destiny, but little did they know...

"My Queen."

Snapping out of her thoughts, the girl and the Ant Queen turned to see Chasen, Atari and Ethan emerge from within the shadows as she saw the empress cross her arms. "Well, did you get it?" they promptly inquired as the girl and the empress observed Chasen stepping forward before he kneeled in front of his Queen while Atari and Ethan had stood (more or less) in the background, having decided to silently talk among themselves.

"Why, of course, My Queen." Chasen answered as she and the empress had observed a prideful, smug smirk before he reached inside his jacket and revealed the aperio mirror he extended in his left hand. "As requested, I present to you the aperio mirror." he added as she observed the empress happily clapped their hands and genuinely looked delighted with what the latter had accomplished {with help from Atari and Ethan}.

It was then she saw Chasen turn to face Atari and Ethan as he smugly winked in their direction, to which she saw Atari angrily seethe and growl under his breath from the latter's smug gesture while Ethan simply looked indifferent.

At this, she saw Chasen start chuckling before he looked away and began to lift the aperio mirror up. As soon as he did, she began to appear behind him as she started to reach out for the relic. In that moment though, the mirror started to reflect a much different image.

Because rather than reflect what she currently looked like, the mirror showed her resembling a skeletal-like appearance with her white, greyish metallic skin and jagged, almost twisted pitch-black, empty and hollow exteriors regarding her mouth as her reflection had no lips, teeth, etc., while her eyes in question held no irises. In addition, her hair was completely white and done at a semi-long length with the top half being held together with a light blue, almost pale- like} hair pin while the bottom half was presumably kept down, which was (at best) a estimate due to the extent of her reflection being limited by her distance.

Furthermore, the mirror showed her continuing to don her simple white floral-imprinted blouse, though attached to the upper left side of her blouse was a black rose pin. However, unlike most flower pins which typically depicted the flower being fully blossomed, her flower pin did not do so. Rather, the flower pin she wore depicted that of a wilting black rose with a metallic, stylized grey-colored thorn.

Right as the aperio mirror revealed her true form, a series of low, eerie hushed whispers began to emerge the moment she saw Chasen glance at her reflection. As soon as he did, she saw his demeanor immediately change in a blink of an eye as he went from being smug and cocky to completely panicked.

So panicked in fact, she saw visible sweat surface on the left side of his face whenever he turned to see her standing beside him (having not noticed she was standing behind him). As soon as he did, she cryptically smirked at him while she casually held onto the top of the aperio mirror with her left hand.

"May I?"

After she asked and Chasen mutely surrendered the aperio mirror, she started approaching the center of the sewer-like cave as she delicately held onto the aperio mirror before she proceeded to directly drop the relic into the bright, light blue, almost pale-like colored liquid in the furnace with the Ant Queen looking on from afar in glee...

After that, she stepped back from the glowing furnace as she briefly closed her eyes. However when she opened her eyes this time around, her eyes started glowing intensively as her light blue, almost pale-like illuminated brightly. From there, she pushed her arms outward as she began projecting a set of light blue, almost pale-like runes from her hands with an light blue, almost outline of a massively curved set of extended horns appeared over her head moments later.

While she continued to project her runes, the scenery panned back to the white and light blue (almost teal-like) outline of a gigantic, nearly colossal-sized skeletal-shaped bone mech. As it panned on the bone mech though, the outline started to expand massively in size with a few gasps from the others following suit. Once that happened, the center of the furnace began to illuminate a light blue, almost teal-like glow.

When the center of the furnace glowed, the scenery circled back to the bone mech as it panned over towards the lower end of the mech. Once it did, outlines of the primal cube and the aperio mirror were shown. However beside those two items were a few more outlines of the following items: a lantern, a flower and a staff.

"Well, we got the aperio mirror. Now what?"

When she heard that, she quietly chuckled as she kept her eyes centered on the runes, which she proceeded to swipe through before she expanded on a segment with the outline of the items at large. As she did, the outlines of the lantern, the flower and the staff become visible to the others than opposed to being visible only for her now.

"Now, there are three—"

"Three?"

Upon hearing this, she turned to see the Ant Queen crossing their arms while Chasen, Atari and Ethan mutely but puzzledly (though kinda curiously) looked on. "Shouldn't there be four items left?" the Ant Queen slowly added as she blinked before she chuckled from what the royal had said.

"Four?" she repeated, still keeping her tone light as she slightly giggled a bit before she stopped and gave a light sigh. "My Queen, I believe you're mistaken. There are not four, but rather three items at large that still need to be acquired before your destiny can become a reality." she said, adding onto her previous response as she maintained her light, airy tone before she sighed in a light manner again and centered her attention back to the expanded outlines once more.

"Yes. There are still three items we need to add to the furnace." she followed up as she heard the slight irritation that surfaced in the empress' voice when they spoke.

"Which are?"

"A lantern simply referred to as the Shadow Lantern, a flower which goes by the name of Kuromi Teardrop and Aureus' Staff of Immortality." she answered, keeping her tone relatively calm and indifferent to the way the royal's impatience started to emerge while she continued to keep her focus on the outline items.

"Okay. I humored this plan of yours when we acquired the primal cube, Enigma, but now that we have the aperio mirror, this feels—"

"—Boring." she heard Ethan say as she listened to the way the Ant Queen chuckled a bit from the latter's response. "My thoughts exactly, Muscles." she heard the Ant Queen add in agreement as she felt her eyes staring back at her then, making her believe that they took their attention off of one of her few human servants to look at her now.

"Now, I don't know if anyone taught you how to go about doing revenge, but I'm pretty sure this ain't it, darling." the Ant Queen insistently continued, further adding onto their response now as she listened to the way her southern accent started to emerge upon addressing her as darling.

Truth be told, she was annoyed by the pet name that the Ant Queen gave her but she refrained from saying anything as she knew she would've slipped and said something that would reveal she wasn't who they (along with her three human servants) needed her to be.

Although she knew that Chasen was aware of her true form, she didn't concern herself with the fact he knew because she knew no one would believe him for he was the only one who looked directly into the mirror's reflection before she disposed of the relic when she added the aperio mirror into the furnace. As such, she knew even if he were to say something, it was essentially her word against his and should that very well be the case, she knew she would win easily, so she had no real reason to worry then.

After all, up to that point, the rest have bought into her simple little disguise with relative ease and one insignificant hunter knowing wasn't going to bother her.

Not when she had her eyes set on bigger things.

"Now, my Queen, I understand how you feel. I truly do, but in time, destiny will reveal itself to you." she slowly said, keeping her tone formal and polite while she proceeded to roll her eyes after she finished speaking, having been thankful in the fact none of them thought to go and stand beside her.

"After all, destiny cannot be rushed and furthermore, patience must be attained if your destiny is to go according to plan." she calmly added, still maintaining the formal and polite tone that she acquired for her simple disguise since last night in the aftermath of her defeat to her neita when the girl broke the hold she had over her shon.

At the thought of her defeat, her expression soured but she quickly dropped the look when she remembered she was still in the lead for her neita, her shon, the child and their allies had been unable to collect the first two relics. So, she knew with certain that her defeat had only been a mere setback and when she faced them again, she would be ready to stake her win and see her destiny become a reality.

Something she knew none of them could stop.

Not even her neita with her heroic intentions nor her shon with his less-than-heroic intentions for when it came to him, she and Birsha were one and the same. So while her neita's intents to stop her were pure, her shon's intents were not and she found the contrast between the father-daughter duo humorous in itself for she knew in spite of her shon's efforts to be the hero Aliya saw him as her shon could never — much less even remotely live up to — be who his daughter naively viewed him.

Because simply put, being a 'hero' was something he could never be for she knew who he was really meant to be: an instrument of destruction, a weapon, a monster, a villain and perhaps a bit more importantly (given how it was — after all — his role in her overarching destiny now), her champion as her shon was destined to help her succeed.

Him along with the child her neita and her shon affectionately referred to as their family friend, a term that humored her as she knew the child was so much more than either of them could ever imagine. Though at the same time now, she has already begun to suspect her shon knew about the child's real purpose while she assumed that if anything, her neita would eventually come to figure this out on her own.

Either way though, she knew in time, they would both bend the knee and follow their roles in her destiny because it was something neither the child nor her shon could simply avoid. It was their fate, after all, to aid her on her ambitions to make her destiny come true. No matter how much her neita foolishly believed she could fight against destiny, beat her and alter their fates for the 'better.'

"Well not to rush destiny and all, but if we have to endure yet another fight against that psycho father again, I'm probably going to riot." she heard Ethan say as she listened to Atari chuckle at his response. "Well, that makes both of us then. Though, if I can make him learn a thing or two about ruthlessness before we collect the rest of the relics, then I think I might be stable enough not to throw a riot." the scientist cheekily added as she heard the latter chuckle. "Ah, but what about you, Chasen?" she heard Ethan and Atari ask then as she listened to the way Chasen had awkwardly cleared his throat, which made her subtly smirk.

"Well, we waited this long, haven't we?" she heard Chasen began and though she hadn't been looking, she suspected he was shuffling his feet with the way she detected his feet moving in a swift movement that seemed to be from side-to-side.

"Surely, we can wait longer and besides if we rush through this now, then we risk the possibility of allowing the old man, the girl and their allies to use our recklessness to their advantage and collect the relics from right under us." she heard Chasen add as she mutely turned to face him, having found him to strangely be the most logical one out of the others. "Something we can't risk if we are to see how our Queen's destiny unfolds as..." Chasen further continued until she saw him make eye contact with her, to which she observed as the latter swiftly glanced away and clear his throat. "... the girl said." he added, to which she subtly smirked from the way he was acting around him.

Amateur. He's all talk but when faced with someone of real power, he buckles. Heh. Maybe, but still. He was the only one to agree with me just now, so perhaps, I could find some way to make some use out of him...

"Right well, so you say." the Ant Queen begrudgingly said, resulting in her snapping out of her thoughts right in time to hear them scoff and cross her arms. "All I know is I was promised my destiny and I intend to get it, but my patience is running thin, Little Miss Enigma." they added, speaking in a somewhat snappy, hostile tone that only made her internally chuckle with how brash and foolish the empress was acting.

"Ah, but still. You can say these things take time, but all I know is this revenge process could be moving a lot faster, especially given how we have yet to shake off our competitors." she added before they crossed her arms and sighed. "But seeing how we can't rush things around here in the name of destiny, then the least you could do around here is lighten up a little." they further added before she saw the empress leave with only her human servants standing behind.

"You could stand to lighten up a little bit, kid. I mean, it doesn't hurt to let loose every now and then." Ethan gently told her as Atari nodded. "I agree." the scientist added before she saw Atari awkwardly clear his throat. "Also, don't take the wrong way, but—" the scientist initially added before he became interrupted by Ethan.

"—The whole whisper affair you got going on is creepy and we need you to stop because quite frankly, it's getting on our nerves." Ethan bluntly finished as she saw Atari's eyes widened from what he said.

"Ethan!"

"What? Did you want to lie to the kid and tell her it's not creepy? Because it is and it's getting on my nerves!" Ethan swiftly protested, briefly turning to face the scientist before he sighed a bit later and turned to face her. "He wants me to be nice, but I'm serious. Find a way to make the strange, creepy whispers stop or I'll stop them for you." he firmly but aggressively followed up before she saw the muscles of the group leave with only Atari and Chasen remaining.

"Sorry about him. He's had a long night, so don't mind him." Atari gently said before he simply sighed a bit until he stopped and looked at her once more. "But if you could find a way to tone down the whole weird, creepy whisper interlude you got going on, then that would be great." the scientist continued before she saw him flash a small smile in her direction. "Thanks." he lightly said, concluding his response before he took off, leaving her with only Chasen now for company.

However, her time with the last human servant that belonged to the Ant Queen's crew didn't last long. In fact, to say that her time with him lasted was a understatement of itself because it never really started. For when she glanced at his direction, she watched Chasen's panic reemerge in a matter of seconds. To which, she simply observed as he tensely but awkwardly chuckled before he swiftly sprinted out of the cave-like sewer that belonged to the Ant Queen, leaving her alone as she quietly chuckled.

"Should I deal with them, my lady?"

"No." she swiftly answered as she glanced away from where she had last seen the Ant Queen and their human servants to face her right-hand, who she saw standing across from her on the other side of the furnace. "For now, let them talk for there will come a time when their usefulness has run its course and when that happens, then you can deal with them as you see fit." she added, observing as her right-hand simply nodded at her "Understood, my lady." he simply said before he curiously stared at her.

"Well, if I am not to deal with them, then would you like me to do?" he followed up as she turned away from him to briefly ponder on what his task should be when her eyes became centered on the outline of the shadow lantern. The moment she saw the outline of the item, she smirked as she turned to face her right-hand again.

"I would like you to relay a message to an old friend. Tell him I acquire the lantern and do let him know I demand his presence." she swiftly said as she saw her right-hand nod. "And should this old friend of yours refuse?" he slowly countered as she chuckled. "Should he refuse, then you have my permission to bring him to me by force." she answered as a sinister smirk surfaced on her face then.

"Do what you feel is necessary to get the task done, but all I request is that you bring him to me alive." she added as she chuckled. "After all, he's no use to us if he's dead, so it's imperative he is alive when you bring him to me." she added as her right hand simply nodded. "Yes, my lady." he obediently said before he looked at her once more.

"As for the young Princess Briana and her friends?"

"Continue to keep an eye on them." she answered before she chuckled. "Oh and be sure to keep your watch extended to the young princess' siblings. I feel her siblings could be relevant but I'm not sure who, so I need you to keep an eye on the girl's siblings and report back to me when you find something unique about them." she followed up as she saw her right hand nod once more at her words.

"Yes, my lady, and as for your shon and the flame?"

"Engage with them if the situation calls for it, but otherwise, I just want you to keep watch over them and spare them in the event you end up finding yourself having to fight them again." she answered as he nodded. "Yes, my lady." he obediently said before he looked at her once more.

"As for your neita?"

"Ah, her." she began with a twinge of annoyance as she gave a dry chuckle. "I almost forgot." she added, but this (of course) had been a lie. "Should I—" her right hand initially began to propose when she swiftly shook her head and swiftly silenced the notions of what he was about to say by interrupting him.

"No. As I told you yesterday, I will deal with her myself when the time comes for I suspect there will come a day in which destiny reunites me with her." she said as her right hand nodded. "Of course, my lady, and how do you intend on dealing with her when that day emerges?" he asked as her sinister smirk grew when he proposed his question.

"I have some ideas..."