"What for?" Dimas asks.
A squad of soldiers step out from the screen one by one. They form a half-circle with Alastor at the center.
[Lilee wasn't exaggerating when she said that champions get respect.]
"In regards to the abduction of a former champion." Alastor answers.
"Oh! That would be my dad." Lilee chimes in. "We kind of took care of the situation. You'd probably want to talk to him. Follow me, I'll take you to him."
With a flick of the wrist, Alastor instructs the soldiers to follow Lilee. Alastor keeps his eyes on Dimas. Lilee looks at Dimas, who simply gives her a nod, before leading the soldiers to her father.
Dimas and Alastor continue to stand there, without saying anything. The only sounds are the fading footsteps of Lilee and the soldiers. Once those are gone, Alastor begins to talk.
"You seem to be keeping yourself busy. Tell me, why is it that I keep finding you in odd situations? Unconscious on the side of the road, fighting children, and now you're at the scene of a crime." Alastor asks.
[This guy suspects something.]
"Bad timing." Dimas shrugs.
"The worst timing if you take the warning I received into consideration." Alastor begins to circle Dimas. "I mentioned it to you earlier, how a dangerous individual would be arriving in this town. Albeit, there are some details I omitted."
In the distance, Dimas can see half of the soldiers entering the forest with Lilee's father. The rest are talking with Lilee and her mother.
Alastor continues. "The warning was given to me by a fellow champion. Her Brío Arts allows her to see any danger that puts her life in peril. Ordinarily, the visions warn her of immediate threats. Yesterday however, she had a vision that warned her of a menace so great, it threatened the entire world. She described them as fierce, relentless, cold-hearted, and followed by a shadow."
[Followed by a shadow?]
"And you think that it's me? Kind of a vague description, if you ask me." Dimas says.
Alastor stops in front of Dimas. "That it is and I would be an imbecile to accuse you without any solid evidence."
[What could he possibly have?]
"You don't have any Brío." Alastor says.
Dimas hides his surprise. Luckily for him, Poker was a popular game at the orphanage. Every Halloween, Dimas would win all the other kids's candy. Only so he could sell it back to them. It was a great way to perfect his poker face.
[He's bluffing… There's no way he can know that. The only person to know is Lilee and I just told her.]
"What makes you say that?" Dimas asks.
"I can see Brío, awakened or not. It wasn't until I saw you here that I decided to examine you. I saw no trace of Brío."
"Maybe it's shy." Dimas remarks dryly.
Alastor shakes his head. "You expect me to believe that your lack of Brío coupled with the warning is a mere coincidence? You can continue this facade all you want, I won't be fooled."
"Alright." Dimas puts his hands up as if surrendering. "You got me, what now?"
Alastor furrows his brow. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He remains quiet for the moment. Unsure of Dimas's intentions.
"What's the matter? If you're so sure that I'm the danger then arrest me." Dimas challenges Alastor. After a few tense seconds, Dimas lowers his arms. "Unless you can't? I'm pretty sure you were expecting a fight. That's practically admitting guilt. I'm not stupid. As long as I play nice and follow the rules, you really can't do much."
Alastor's glare tells Dimas that he was right. Despite their high status, Champions don't hold absolute power. Nevertheless, Dimas believed this was going to be a problem.
[From what Lilee said, Alastor is not just a Champion. He's the Champion. And he sees me as a threat. Lucky me.]
One of the soldiers comes running up to Alastor. "Alastor, sir, I'm sorry to say that this may have been a waste of your time."
"What do you mean?" Alastor's eyes remain on Dimas.
"Sir, the mother has been trying to reach us for about an hour. We believe that Chris, our C-Orb handler, may have been paid off by the kidnappers to stall for time. While we were unaware of the situation, this boy along with the eldest daughter were able to defeat the kidnappers and rescue the father." The soldier turns to Dimas. "On behalf of the soldiers of Forest Edge, we thank you for being a good samaritan."
"Anything for my fellow man." Dimas says.
"The world needs more people like you." The soldier takes his leave.
"I may not know your plan but I know your intentions. I have made it my duty to protect this world and its inhabitants. Know this, I will not let you succeed." With those final words, Alastor turns and leaves. His cape lightly slapping Dimas.
[Looks like I'm eventually going to face him.]
Out of the corner of his eye, Dimas sees Alastor talking with Lilee. The two are in the area between Dimas and the cabin. Far enough to be out of earshot of both parties. Lilee's face takes on a confused expression. She glances at Dimas.
Dimas turns away.
[What are they talking about? Is he telling her about the warning and me? Would she believe it?]
Lilee and Alastor finish their conversation. Alastor continues to march towards the cabin with everyone else while Lilee walks over to Dimas.
[Is she working with him now? Keeping tabs on me? Setting me up to fail?]
"What's the matter?" Lilee places her hand on Dimas's shoulder. "You look like you're lost in your own head."
[Can I trust her?]
Dimas looks down at the blue cloth around his wrist. He remembers the last time he trusted somebody.
[No… I can't… She might be working with Alastor.]
He shrugs Lilee's hand off of his shoulder.
Dimas wrestles with the idea of asking what she and Alastor were talking about. Ultimately, deciding against it since she would likely lie if they were plotting against him.
"I'm fine." Dimas says. "Ready to go?"