Everyone seemed to stay silent and think for a while.
"What exactly are Manasie's powers?" Nemesis finally asked.
"We don't even know if they are powers. We never properly asked, so still a mystery," Magpie said.
"Yeah… maybe she's from Nightrale too or has some connection to it. You know, two mysteries," Nightrale laughed.
"Almost everyone is dead from Nightrale," Nemesis said.
"Yeah… it sucks," Nightrale said.
"No… he meant about the almost part. There are still others out there," Alias said.
"Why and where?" Nightrale asked, boldly as usual.
"Well, 'The Empire', the dragons' planet I mean. All dragons said themselves as different form of Primevels and came together as one separate race on their own planet. And people from Nightrale were one of them too, but I don't know much more than that," Nemesis said.
"Or if any are even left. Many things occured," Alias said.
"Then there is a chance of finding out… my past," Nightrale said through realisation.
"What… like other Nightrale people would know about a memory bringing back tonic?" Kara asked.
"Possible… they are weird creatures so…" Alias pointed out.
"Creatures with secrets… not so weird," Nemesis said.
"Thanks for that Nemesis," Nightrale said.
"You know, when we say the names out loud… they do sound very weird," Magpie said.
"Nah… just of these two," Nightrale said.
"What are your real names?" Magpie asked.
"Didn't we accept on one-secret contract? Varun doesn't show face and we don't say our actual names," Nemesis said.
"Well… just curious," Magpie said.
"My ladies…" Harun said approaching from a distance.
"Someday," Alias said to Magpie.
"And gentlemen," Harun said as he neared the table and spotted Nemesis and Alias.
"What is it Harun?" Kara asked.
"I might have a lead on Psycho and possibly on Lady Tacy," Harun said.
"Are you sure?" Kara asked, getting up.
"I received an open invitation… from Psycho," Harun said.
"What?" Alias asked.
"My Harun," a voice through Harun came, it was of Psycho. "You need your Princess back? There might be a way and I want you to try. Be ready for my traps and in the end you helping me out," he scoffed and laughed.
"What?" Alias asked again.
"Can we really trust this even after he JUST warned us?" Nemesis asked.
"He wants us… he gets us," Kara said.
Everyone went silent, and in deep thought.
"Or…" Harun said, raising his index finger, after snapping.
***
"An open invitation…?" Tarragon asked.
Everyone were still in the room, but joined by Edward Lispe.
"Yes sir," Edward said.
"Why would he do that though?" Varun asked.
"He wants you kids there. As you said, he needs you to open the gate, to get his unicorn," Tarragon said.
"I bet he does," Varun sighed.
"Ok… so like really just because there is no sign of anything could mean more than just him giving an open invitation to us," Jay said.
"The snow and hail could be blocking your radar," Flint said.
"Some other team could have been onto this," Maaz said.
"And could have distracted everything to a particular point," Adam added.
"Or Morpheus could be preparing one helluva battle for us all," Jiant said.
"As dark as that sounds, it is possible," Aria agreed.
"Either way it's an open road out there," Tarragon pointed.
"Now more than ever is your best chance of reaching there freely kids," Ivor said.
"Unless they all are in one place," Fara said.
"Forget the zombies… there could be even Phobetor," Jay said.
"Or Rahambose," Fara said.
"Now you believe me?" Varun asked.
"She always did, but now she just claimed it out loud," Aria said.
"Will that still stop us?" Jiant asked.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked.
"Yes, there could be all those dangers we heard of in the last two days. We heard about it and still started this journey. We faced the wolf thing, Attear I mean, even when we had no powers. We will die, but we knew that already guys," Jiant said.
"We will die…" Flint said.
Everyone got silent and stared at the ground, waiting for Flint to finish. Everyone started getting anxious but Flint didn't say a word after that.
"Yes…?" Jiant asked looking at Flint.
"I mean, there is a lot out there. And people die one or the other way in the end…" Flint said.
"You don't know where you are going do you?" Varun asked.
"No…" Flint sighed, shaking his head.
"Well, we sure are something. Individually we are crack heads. And together… we will end this Christmas and bring back the present," Varun said.
"None of that was laughable, but dumb. Maybe cool by twenty percent," Aria said.
"Worth a shot, I thought," Varun said.
"And, the conclusion is…?" Tarragon asked.
"We'll show them our imperfection," Team Anti-Christmas said together. "Nah…" they all shook their heads.
"Not so good as planned," Varun smacked his lips.
"Well, before my mind messes up by how you just messed my former team's name. Get out of here kids. Saturn organisation is coming back anytime today. And it sure may join Morpheus too," Tarragon said.
"We need one last thing," Flint said.
"What?" Tarragon asked.
"Stop calling us kids man. We are going to prevent evil and save the world, you know," Flint said.
"We'll see about that," Tarragon and Varun said, and nodded to each other.
***
Psycho-blades were in the abandoned lab going around and taking the remaining of machines from there. Psycho wasn't in the building but just the bunch (five) of them. One Psycho-blade opened the shutdown room door.
"Hey there smitey," Nightrale said to the Psycho-blade.
The Psycho-blade was shook and frozen as Nightrale's blades grasped him and threw him at two Psycho-blades who were together.
"Whoever can talk… scream," Kara said, charging in with her white outlined, but normal looking blade.
A Psycho-blade came her way as she slashed him down. Another one just froze and backed off, putting both his hands in the air, as his swords went back into his hands, leaving just openings as scars on him, with clotted blood around the wounds.
"I'll talk," the co-operative Psycho-blade said.
The other two Psycho-blades got up and charged against Kara. Alias and Nemesis came forward with their urge of lightning and paralyzed the two. Magpie entered the room just then as she signalled ice daggers around her, towards the three fallen Psycho-blades, killing them instantly.
"You seem angry," Kara said.
"They are the cause of all this. This is about my friend," Magpie said.
"Ok…" Kara said and pointed her sword towards the last Psycho-blade. "Let it all out man."
"Master Psycho… no, bastard Psycho," the guy said.
"That escalated nice," Nightrale said.
"He promised that this would work. That you would go to him as we get remaining things from the lab! I'm Anzonia," Anzonia said.
"Ok, how is your introduction related?" Kara asked.
"Well… I'll help you. I fight with you. I live longer. I can finally… be something I guess," Anzonia said, with nostalgic eyes.
"It'll all lead to death," Kara, Nightrale and Magpie said.
"Too dark," Alias and Nemesis said under their breath.
"I know… I never chose to be this… this thing I've become. He made me, and so many years of slavery… it all haunts me when I look back. I'm one of the most trained, so I can control the blades in and out. If I oppose I'll die in the hands of… my own kind? I don't know any other way to say this. But this is what I'm and also my kind… weapons," Anzonia said.
"Wow… wondered about your powers," Magpie scoffed.
"No ma'am… they are not powers. It's a sin really and literally. A curse. I lost… everything. Who am I kidding? I had nothing to start with. That is why I accepted to be experimented on," Anzonia said, with a star-dazed, sad face.
"And you want to be something now," Kara said.
"A new life," Nightrale scoffed.
"You got it… must I not?" Anzonia asked.
"You know me?" Nightrale asked looking startled.
"Little Nightrale…" Anzonia said, nodding his head. "So you really did go back to that place. Maybe you must not have."
+++
Chapter footnotes:-
1. Smitey:- A slang or officially, a cute way to call a person with suicidal thoughts or someone who has attempted suicide.
The slang arose from a Leishankan movie of the 1970s, Doctor Impersonation. Where the doctor impersonates as his patients to understand their pain better and heal them. When he meets a suicidal patient and couldn't save her, his thoughts get suicidal and after reaching home, he firmly hits his head against the wall (to attempt suicide) and faints. His wife calls him as "smitey," after he wakes up, which is where the word arises from.
(The work was never copyrighted back then by the director. Anyone who wouldn't mock the movie, are free to use details on it)
The doctor actually suffers from multiple personality disorder, which he works on slowly through the movie/ book.
Book cover:-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YD5h09L6xCqMdwUNqrygJtBVdMjfGWqT/view?usp=drivesdk