Another moment of silence, as his words began to process their way through her head.
"I see…" she replied, though she didn't really see at all. "And why did you guys steal my mirror?"
"Well uh… You see…" He scratched his forehead nervously.
"And how did you guys steal my mirror? That thing is over 8 ft tall, weighs a few tons, and is impossible to move without a small army. And who are we referring to?"
"Ahh… You ask so many questions. I mean, they are good questions. But still so many." He rubbed his tense forehead.
"Let's just start with answering one of the questions first, and we will start from there." She crossed her arms and waited in anticipation. She made a mental note that dealing with Axel in the future would require her not to shoot more than one question off to him at once.
It was Axel's turn to sigh. He knew it wasn't going to be easy telling her. He wanted to curse the guys for making him responsible for it.
"Okay. Well, it was us. We stole the mirror," the War God answered her.
She waited for him to elaborate. He didn't. Her lips drew into a straight line. "Who is us?"
"It was me, Aero, and Sky," he answered. There, he did it. Axel smiled, feeling quite proud of himself. One question down, and a few hundred more to go.
Moon's heart skipped a beat as the name of the culprits sunk in. "Sky stole the mirror?"
"Aero did too," Axel replied. "See? Those guys." He pointed down the hallway.
The Goddess followed his gaze to see Sky and Aero standing there, watching them. Though Aero wore a mischievous grin on his face, the Sky God's expression was unreadable.
Her heart began to race. Why would Sky steal the Mortal Mirror? Was he trying to help her?
She turned back to Axel. "Why did you guys do it? Where is my mirror right now?"
"We brought it back to Sky's place. It's in his study. Although, I'll let you know, it was me and Sky who did most of the lifting. Aero said his back hurt. Total bull crock," the War God griped, shaking his head.
"But why?" the Goddess prodded again. Thoughts were running wild in her head. "What do you mean? Are you saying that Sky wanted to help Tuzi?"
"Of course I do," Sky said, coming up from behind them, with Aero trailing. "I consider her a good friend, you know."
But you wouldn't help her before, she wanted to say. Moon wasn't sure what to believe, in regards to his loyalty to Tuzi.
"And Sky has equal stakes in this now. He lost his captain to the Mortal Realm too, and wants to get him back," Axel added.
Ah, there it is, she thought. That was the real reason. "Your captain? The man who practiced spells with Tuzi?"
"Atlas," Sky confirmed. "He dove into the River Lethe without thinking. I'm sure he's in the Mortal Realm now. Though I do not know where, or what he was reborn as."
"We wanted to use the mirror to show us where Atlas is," Axel said. "But we couldn't figure out how to make the damn thing work for us. Only you know how." He looked almost sheepish as he was saying this.
"I see…" Again, she didn't see. "Your captain… This Atlas. He has been by your side forever now. Why would he give everything up and go to the Mortal Realm? What purpose does he have?"
"The man was in love with your pet." It was the God of Air who responded with a pleasant smile. "He was thinking with his peni–"
Sky elbowed him hard on the side. Aero let out an "Ooof!" and rubbed his rib cage, while glaring at his friend.
Well, this is interesting new information. "Your man was in love with Tuzi?" Moon asked inquisitively.
The Sky God shifted uncomfortably, where he was standing. "He wasn't thinking. When I get him back, I'll make sure he understands that Tuzi belongs to you." He was anticipating that Moon would not be taking this piece of information well, as she can usually be quite possessive of her beaus. But to his surprise, she didn't have much of a reaction to it.
Her expression was soft as she asked tenderly, "Was he trying to protect Tuzi?"
Sky let out an uneasy breath. "Atlas was quite attached to Lady Tuzi. I believe he must've thought he could help her in the Mortal Realm, so that she wouldn't be so alone by herself. I don't think his intentions were bad. Just poorly executed."
Aero scoffed, shaking his head. "Poorly executed is an understatement."
The Sky God wanted to smack his friend in the back of the head. However, he found himself trying to gauge how Moon was reacting to the news. She didn't look upset, which was a relief to say the least.
The Goddess was feeling a bit overwhelmed from all the new information she was now just learning. She woke up this morning with so much gloom, thinking about how nothing about this shitty situation could possibly change anytime soon. And yet, just less than a day, what was a still pond before, has now become a lake with waves. There was progress and she hadn't decided whether it was good or bad. But in her heart, new hope had begun to bloom.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Axel placed both hands on her shoulders and spun her around to face him. "Moon, I love you, you're a sweetheart, but you ask too many questions. We should be taking action!" Axel declared determinedly. "Can we go check the mirror out at Sky's now and answer questions later?"
"Absolutely," she said, nodding her head. A smile was beginning to form on her lips. "I'm in. Let's go!"
Axel let out a big whoop. He was so hyped, he even hopped on top of Aero, who frowned and playfully smacked him upside the head.
As the two were bickering, Moon noticed the visibly relieved look on Sky's face.
"Were you worried that I wouldn't help you?" she asked him curiously.
"A little bit," he said with a slight smile. He pulled a short strand of his silver hair behind his ear, looking a bit sheepish. "I mean, it's not like I did anything to deserve your help."
Hearing his answer triggered a wave of unexpected emotions in her. She felt a surge of overprotectiveness and tenderness, not unlike what she feels for Tuzi. Without thinking, she took his hand and held it warmly in her's. Her blue eyes looking directly at his green ones, she said with full conviction, "Sky, no matter what it is, if you ever need my help, I would never turn you away. I could never do that. Please know that. Do not ever withhold anything from me, if you know that I can help you."
The Sky God held his gaze on her steadily. The Moon Goddess would not so easily lend a hand to anyone who she felt didn't deserve it. And yet, she so readily offered to open herself to him as support. He felt very touched by this gesture. And yet, the emotion mirrored on his face showed tinges of sadness and guilt.
"Thank you," he said simply. He felt something caught in his throat, and no more words could come out of him.
Moon had known Sky since the moment she was created and presented to the Gods. She caught that flash of sadness on his face before it disappeared. There was a nagging pull in her heart that she couldn't decipher.
This was concerning. What are you hiding, Sky? she wondered with unease.
It wasn't too long later that the four alpha gods found themselves standing in Sky's study at his massive compound. The study was elegant and stylish, wallpapered in a variety of dark patterned silk wallpaper and lined with simple panels of gold gilt. There were walls and walls of books, reaching over three floors. Large curtained windows let in rays of light and strands of plant vines hung from the tall muraled ceilings.
There was much to see in Sky's beautiful study, and yet all the attention was trained on the Mortal Mirror that was leaning up against the library wall. The large artifact loomed over them as they assessed their reflection in its mirror.
It must've been quite the task to move the thing from the Senior Council Chambers to Sky's place. No doubt they must've done it in the dead of the night, to avoid the nosy gaze of others. But Moon still marveled that Axel and Sky were able to carry it on their own.
"Well," Axel started rubbing his hands together with excitement building up in the atmosphere. "Here we go. Moment of truth. Where in the world is Atlas."
It took just a second for the Goddess to activate the mirror with a flick of her wrist. "Show me Atlas," she commanded the divine object.
The surface of the mirror that displayed their reflections began to swirl, replacing it with imagery of the Earth realm.
The four huddled closely together, peering into the Mortal Mirror at the projection. Their eyes were wide with surprise at the imagery they were seeing.
Astonished, Moon let out a small gasp that echoed in this moment of humbled silence shared between the four deities.
Aero let out a low chuckle. "Well I'll be damned…" he said. "That fool is no fool at all…"