William had never cursed his inability to flirt with beautiful woman before, until now, noticing Jill wink at him as she worked, organizing the counter, putting bottles in the rails. William himself was moving the chairs and tables, making sure that the Calming Clam was ready for its customers tonight. Orion was in the back, unpacking boxes containing a new order of liquor bottles, storing them in the storage room. All three of them had come early today, making sure all was in order for tonight, although William won't be here then, Cluadia was coming to pick him up any moment now to look for Obex, the Guardian of High Tier.
"If you were to take me out on a date," Jill said, as she cleaned the cocktail maker. "Where would you take me?"
William felt himself blush, wondering if he'd misheard. He hadn't. Jill was smiling at him, waiting for a response. He obviously liked her, would want nothing more than be with her, he just didn't know how to ask her out. Feeling to nervous to do it, for some reason. He's been out of the dating game for too long. His last girlfriend had been a friend of his sisters, Ilma, and Claudia had been the matchmaker. Now, it was all up to William.
"I... umm, If I could leave the city, I would take you to Venice." He said at last, after thinking it through. "Take you on those boat rides, you know, the ones that people ride around in the venetian canals. Forgot their what they were called."
Jill chuckled, her blonde hair loose, cascading down her side. "What, the gondolas?" She said, then taped her chin with a finger. "Hmm... yeah, sure. I can see myself riding those in the future. Never been to Italy, but I'm sure I'll like it. But no," She turned to look at William, a smile crossing her almost too perfect face. "I'm talking about here, a place in New Miami."
If William didn't know any better, he'd wager she wanted him to ask her out, which he would happily do. "Oh, then let's see..." He thought for a moment, obviously feeling a wave of happiness wash over him. "There's a really nice spot by Garden district. There's this small park with a lake. During the afternoon, you can sometimes see a rainbow. Yeah, I'd take you there... if umm, you let me." He looked at her, saw her smile. God, she was beautiful.
"Then how about we call it a date?" Jill said. "After I'm back from my vacation."
William felt his heart race, his blood pressure rise, when realization struck. He gave her a nervous nod. "A- a date it is then." He added. "Looking forward to it."
"Me too." Jill said.
"If I hadn't already fallen in love, I'd be slightly angry right now." Orion interjected, coming out from the back of the bar, after having finished storing the liquor bottles. He proceeded to prepared himself a drink, grabbing a bottle of tequila and serving himself, using a cup created by using his ability, something he started doing a lot more often since William and Natalya had repaired the bar using Natalya's ability. "You two dating..." He said. "Just keep it professional when working, yeah?"
"Sure thing boss." Jill said, then playfully punched William in the shoulder. "We'll keep it at a professional level, right Will?"
William looked at her and blinked. "R- right."
When they finished, having made sure that the bar was set and ready to proving a good time for customers and visitors, the three of them made themselves comfortable by an empty table, waiting for tonight. William took this time to tell Orion about Claudia picking him, Spectre bussiness, which Orion understood was best if he didn't know the details. Claudia's last text had said she was a few minutes from the Calming Clam. Orion, being the good friend that he was, had simply nodded and left it at that.
"By the way, Jill?" Orion said, a few minutes later. "Back then, when you met Natalya, you seem to recognize her. You two know each other or something?"
William had had the same curiosity, though to him it looked like Jill didn't want to talk about it, so he never asked.
Jill frowned. "I... prefer not to talk about it, if that's okay with you."
Orion was silent for a moment, then finally said; "Sure. Was just curious, is all."
So she does knew her, William thought. He turned to Orion. "Hey, I know you're into this Natalya chick, but I think you should be careful around that woman."
Orion raised an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean, Will? She's been nothing but help for me- us. Or did you forget how she trusted us enough to show her ability, knowing the consequences if caught by the Royals?"
William hadn't forgotten, no. How could he? It had been too strange, too coincidental, for a total stranger to reveal herself like that. No, was certain there was more to it than that, and his hunches about Natalya were correct, he would be meeting her again anyway.
"I just got bad vibes from her, is all." William shrugged, not wanting to upset his friend further and deciding to leave it at that.
Orion looked like he was about to protest further, but was interrupted by the sound of doorbells. It was Claudia, she had entered the bar, William having left the door unlocked knowingly.
"Hey." She waved, walking over to their table. She greeted Orion first, a kiss to the cheek, then turned to William for a hug.
"Hey, sis." William said, glad to see his sister safe after watching her, and Spectre, fight Mayor Beodulf and his Royal Guards at Imperial Square and not be able to do anything about it. Spectre having managed to kidnap one of the most powerful Royals in New Miami. William remembered being anxious and nervous throughout the whole experience, watching it live from his apartment T.V.
"It's really nice to finally meet you in person," Jill said, drawing their attention. "Your brother never talks about you."
"You never asked." William said quickly.
Jill shrugged, a slight smile crossing her face. "That's fair."
"Oh!" William suddenly remembered. "Almost forgot, Jill this is Claudia, my sister. Claudia, this is Jill, my..."
"Girlfriend." Jill interjected, extending a hand to Cluaida.
Claudia accepted the handshake, looking at William and raising an eyebrow. "Girlfriend?"
William felt a burning sensation in his cheek, unsure of what to say or do. He felt the silence drag, becoming awkward. Jill was looking at him, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
"Yeah, seems so." He said at last.
Jill let out a soft chuckle.
Orion broke the awkward silence that followed. He looked to Claudia. "So, William told me you were to meet someone, and that reminded me, how about you also pay a visit to the Garden Seer. I was told by a friend of mine she has the ability to see the future. Thought that'd be something... Spectre could use."
"Wait, you have a friend in Garden district?" William said, glad that awkward moment had passed.
Orion nodded. "Remember skinny Tally?"
"Holy shit, yeah." William remembered young Tally, a girl just in her womanhood, Orion had helped her out of a Royal hunt. He had brought her into the bar for a night of a protection, that's where William met the girl. "When was the last time you talked to her?"
"We best be going now," Claudia interjected. "No time for long stories. There's a lot I gotta talk to my brother about. Thanks Orion, we'll check this Garden Seer out, just send me the address through text. And Jill," Claudia turned to Jill, then smiled. "I hope my brother has been a good boyfriend to you?"
"I'm sure he will." Jill said, looking at William and winking.
"Good. Then I'd love to get to know more about you at a later time. Until then, take care." Claudia nodded then headed towards the exit, waving William over. "Let's go Will."
An hour later, they were driving down Lowtown's narrow streets, heading west. Traffic in Lowtown district, being the poorest district, wasn't as congested as High Tier, being the the richest. The streets barely fit two cars side by side, and having almost no parking spaces between buildings, people had to park their vehicles by the sidewalks, which made it more a hassle for everyone wanting a smooth ride, having to drive carefully enough to not nick a vehicle on either side of you. Luckily, Claudia was just that, a careful driver, her car also resembled a volkswagen beetle, making it slightly easier.
It was barely past noon and in Lowtown, it meant very few people found themselves walking down the sidewalks, Lowtown residents being part of the working class in New Miami. These people were the ones who worked the janitor jobs, construction jobs, garbage disposal jobs, and the like. These were the people who would benefit most by the Lord Ruler's fall. Once Spectre succeeds, the dome is destroyed, and the Royals lose all their power, they will rise.
William had thought about what would happened next, will the non-Users rise up in true rebellion and return the beatings the Royals had dished out to them? Or will, then go beyond that? Will Spectre have the influence needed to prevent the violence?
These were interesting questions to consider, but if one were to be realistic, it mattered little what the citizens of New Miami did. The World Government, comprised of leaders from every major country on Earth, will undoubtedly arrive and take back control, like they had been wanting to do since the beginning, the dome preventing their influence from having any effect inside the city. The dome had essentially made the Lord Ruler untouchable by any authority outside of New Miami. It was that main reason that had drove Claudia and William to created Spectre, with the help of Zale and Hendrick. If a rebellion needed to succeed, it needed to rise from inside the dome.
"Zale's back." Claudia said, passing under a traffic light, placed at an intersection of roads.
"What?"
"Zale's back." She repeated, eyes forwards, on the road. "Lady returned him to us, after the Lord Ruler took his ability away."
"That's great news, Claudia." William said. He liked Zale, he was a good man, but he wasn't as close to the man as his sister was. She loved him. "How is he?"
"He's... fine." Claudia said, though it was clear by her expression that Zale was not the man he once was. "He's at the base, helping Jake and Maya."
William waited for more, but Claudia said nothing more. She just kept on driving, passed another traffic light and turning right on the road, witch merged into an expressway, leading out of Lowtown district.
"...You told me you met Lady the other day." William asked, moving past the Zale bit, and from the look on his sister's face, she was glad for it.
"Here," She reached with one arm, the other on the steering wheel, and opened the glove compartment, pulling out a small vial. "Look at this."
William took the vial from her hand, it was filled with a sort of yellow liquid... no, not yellow, golden. "This looks like..."
"Liquified Aura." Claudia said, nodding. "Lady called it an Ability Serum."
William watched the vial closely, it seemed to be emitting a kind of smoke, like misted amber. The mist fell on his lap, like liquid air, evaporating. When he tried to touch it the mist, it didn't react to his touch.
"What is this mist?" He asked.
Claudia glanced at him questionably and raised an eyebrow. "What mist?"
"You don't see... oh." It dawn on him then, the amber looking mist the liquid emitted 'was' the Aura. And only he can sense and see it. "Nevermind. Where did you get this?"
"Lady gave it to me." Claudia replied. "A gift, she said. Once ingested, it should amplify your ability."
"So, it's a serum that amplifies ones ability, that's quite useful." William said.
"With this particular vial, yes." Claudia said, she drove past a large sign that signified the exit of Lowtown, then merge into another expressway road. "It contains Lady's ability."
That's right, now that he thought about it, William did remember Spectre receiving a similar similar vial, another type of this Ability Serum, from a Chinese ambassador. According to the ambassador, his serum was designed to prevent Users from activating their abilities. William took one more look at the Ability Serum in his hand, this one had a different effect, it seems.
"I thought the Chinese people were the only ones able to make those serums." William said, putting the vial back in the glove compartment, then closing it.
"We were wrong." Claudia shrugged. "According to Lady, the Lord Ruler has the same technology."
"And you trust her?" William asked.
Claudia was silent for a moment, looking thoughtful, then she said; "I trust that she wants to help her brother. And gaining Spectre's trust, my trust in particular, ensures that."
William looked at his sister. "Her brother?"
"The Lord Ruler."
William blinked, unsure if he heard right. "The... Lord Ruler is her brother?"
Claudia nodded. "Twins, according to her." There was a pause, then she added; "I trust her. She had no reason to lie about that."
"I... don't know what to say..." William said. The Lord Ruler had a sister! And she was working against him, actively aid a rebel organization intent on bringing him down. Of destroying his prized creation; the dome. It was hard to believe, at best. Unbelievable, at worst.
"I know what you're thinking, Will." Claudia said, noticing William's concern on his face. "She agreed to meet you. If she was telling the truth, then having you copy her ability could prove a massive boon to Spectre's success. To the success of Operation Overthrow."
"I..." Just then, William's phone rang, it was text message from Orion. "It's the address for that Garden Seer he spoke of."
Claudia looked at her watch, then nodded. "We have time, Obex doesn't get out of work until seven. We can pay the Garden Seer a visit. Hell, if its true that she has the ability to see the future, then maybe you can copy it and have a look into Spectre's future. See if we succeed or not."
***
Garden district will always remain the wonder of New Miami to William. The roads here were lines with trees, pedals falling and covering the roads. Almost every house here was made from wood, the residents on the district wanted mother nature to be the theme for Garden. And it was, grass grew on the sidewalks, on the front yard of people's houses were grew flowers and ferns, giving the area that forest vibe. It was beautiful.
Claudia drove past a small park atop a hill, benches and light poles placed by a long winding side walk that ran through, and by a lake. A large pavilion was built there, people rented it for birthday parties and the like, and like the rest of Garden, many trees of various types, Willow tree, Sacamore Maple tree, but it was the Gonkgo tree that outnumbered the rest. The park name was Eden Park, and it was the place William said he would take Jill on that date.
The Garden Seer's place wasn't hard to find, the house stood out like a sore thumb. "Guess this is the place." Claudia said, driving around trying to find a parking spot.
Strange, William thought, yet strange didn't begin to describe what he saw. First it was the tree, a single tree by the front yard, the leaves bore different colors, including every color known to man, even black and white. The one color missing, that William could tell, was yellow, that was the color of its trunk and branches.
Then there were the flowers, like small garden to either side of the entrance walk that lead to the main door. The floors had the shape of sunflowers, only their pedals were, again, of different colors, it's leaves were a mixture of black and white.
Claudia found a parking lot by the side of the house, every spot filled with cars.
"Guess this Seer is quite popular." William commented.
They continued searching for an empty spot, finally finding one half an hour later when a customer had left, leaving his spot open for Claudia to fill. They got off the car and walked around to the main entrance, the rainbow tree and flowers still there. Curiousity took hold of William and he walked over to the strange looking tree, plucking a leave from one of its branches believing they were carefully painted by someone who had a lot of time on their hands.
"It feels real..." Claudia said beside him, touching the tree trunk and rasping over it with her finger tips, likely having the same thought as him. "It doesn't feel like paint at all. How odd."
"Let's go inside." William said, walking up to the main door of the house. Unlike the tree and flowers, the house look ordinary enough, white roof, brown walls, as expected of a house build with wood. William rang the doorbel and after a minute of two, the door opened, a petite looking woman greeted them.
"Welcome!" She said, smiling. "To the Graden Seer's abode. Come in."
William and Claudia followed her inside, into a room filled with people, William even noticed a Royal among them, her golden bracelet visible on her wrist.
"The Madam is currently doing a readings." The petite looking woman explained. "And as you can see, she has many other customers waiting in line. I'm afraid it'll take awhile, if you don't mind waiting."
"It's no problem, we'll wait." Claudia said, though William was already feeling a level of frustation build. His patience wasn't at the same level as his sister's.
"Alrighty then." The woman bowing slightly, a wide friendly smile crossing her round face. "Then please, make yourselves comfortable."
Claudia nodded and found an empty chair by the corner near the entrance. She sat there, and pulled out her cellphone. William remained standing, finding no open seat. He looked around the room, old portraits lines the walls, the people that were there looked like they were from High Tier, wearing expesive clothes and jewelry. William kept his eye on the Royal woman while he waited.
***
Four agonizing hours later, and it took that long because, despite William's skepticism towards the Seer's power to actually see the future, a handful of more Royals had come during that time, cutting in line like spoiled brats, demanding to go first. William had had the thought of beating those fuckers down, but deciding against it. Fighting the Royals here would've put the other customers in danger. That, and Claudia was there and would've likely stopped him anyway.
After William's patience was at its limit, the last customer was called for the 'reading', it was what the poster he had read by the wall said it was called. Then finally, the last customer, a wealthy looking man, walked out of the Audiance Chamber, the room where the Seer preformed her readings. The wealthy looking man was accompanied by the young petite looking woman. When the man was gone, she turned to regard William and Claudia, an apologetic look crossing her face.
"I'm sorry we're close for the day." She said. "The Seer can't perform anymore readings for today. Sorry."
Are you fucking kidding me, William thought, frustrated. After having waited for so damn long.
"Well, can we come back another day?" Claudia asked. Apparently she wasn't as upset as him, after having their time wasted.
"I doubt she can actually see the future anyways." William said, trying hard not to sound too angry. "Let's just go, we'll wait for the Guardian at the Golden Corral."
Claudia ignored him and regarded the woman. "If we decide to return, when will it be a good time? I want to make sure she sees us then."
"Yeah, I'd say in two days." The woman said.
Claudia nodded, then turned to leave. William followed her.
"Wait!" He heard the woman yell after them. "Oh my gosh! You're them aren't you?"
William shared a look with his sister, shrugging, then turned around.
"Claudia," The woman said, pointing. "and William. Am I right?"
They shared a look. "How did you know our names?" William asked, unsure wether to be concerned or impressed. Still, he readied himself for anything.
"My master, the Garden Seer, told me about you. She knew you would come. She's been expecting you. Come, follow me. I'll show you to her." The woman waved for them to follow, leading further inside the house. "She also told me you're siblings. Is that true? You look like it."
"We... are." William said carefully.
Claudia on the other hand, didn't seem too shocked about it all, keeping calm and collected. "We read in the poster that she can see the future." She asked. "Is that true?"
"Sure is." The woman nodded. She led them through a small hallway, the walls painted purple... No, not painted, William realized much like the tree and flowers William saw outside, the wood on these walls were purple in color. This had to be some sort of ability, William guessed.
He followed the woman through a door, walking after Claudia, entering a large room decorated in variety of vibrant colors of different shades. At the far back was a wooden chair, looking it is was made of gold, and sitting on it was an old woman, looking tired and exhausted. Greying short hair, with wrinkled skin, she wore a multi colored dress.
"Ma'am, its them." The petite woman said, gesturing at William and Claudia, who stood by the door, William looking around the room, flowers, vases, portraits, all of varying colors decorated it.
"The black haired siblings." The petite woman added.
The Seer didn't look surprised to see them, more like she was expecting them. "Thank you, Tally." She said to the petite woman, who gave a curtly nod. Then the Seer regarded William and Claudia with a welcoming smile. "Hello. I've been expecting you."