Greyhorn club
Bel-Yor city, Exterior ward
Spring Court, Hidden World
Terra, Gaea solar system
Milky way Galaxy
Neutral Free zone
March 8th 2019
The Greyhorn Club building was a thing of grandeur and opulence, a beauty that spoke of the charm and eloquence that had been put into the construction of the building. It was a place where those of high class and influence could be found. And it was on the roof of this building where an airship from Golden Dawn landed on the flat roof of the club. Lance Al'Roth, the owner of the club, was waiting on the roof for the airship's occupants. He was dressed in a black suit, his silver-gray hair tied in a bun, and covering his greenish-yellow eyes were sunglasses. The door to the airship opened and walking out of it was Leonarad Haravok and his companion. Lance couldn't help but be surprised at the sight of Samantha Sinclair, the resemblance that she held with a certain acquaintance of his. Not wanting to draw attention to his curiosity about her, Lance pulled his glance towards Leon.
"Leon, so good to see you once again," Lance called out. Leon gave a curt nod to Lance, before turning his sight around. He was using his Internal sight to scan the entire building. Lance noticed Leon's action, and though to some others it might be considered rude what Leon did, Lance didn't take it that way. Emily cleared her throat bringing Lance's attention to her.
"Lance AL 'Roth, we wish to speak with you," Emily said coolly. Though she spoke with a modicum of respect, Emily's expression was still unreadable.
"Hmm, are you here on behalf of Golden Dawn," Lance said staring at the Golden Dawn airship. "I have to say I'm shocked to see Paladins from Starlight helping a foreign organization."
"My family has always had ties with Golden Dawn," Leon said. "And we're not here on behalf of Golden Dawn. We're here for something else."
"Oh!" Lance said. His eyes went over Sam and Henry who were behind Leon and Emily. "And who are these fellow ones,"
"Maybe we should go inside and discuss why we're here," Leon said.
"Sure why not," Lance said.
****
Sam and the others were seated behind a large mahogany desk, all four of them in Lance's office on the floor above where the club's events were going on. The room was large and spacious, with an upper floor that seemed to serve as some sort of living space for Lance, and the lower floor which served as his office space, filled with large shelves of drinks and a bar. There was a piano in the corner close to the balcony door where one could see the view of the city. There were also lots of paintings, beautiful artworks that caught both Sam and Henry's attention. One of this collection was Henry's work as an artist. Everything in the room spoke of Lance's taste and for someone like Henry, he admired this club guy for his taste.
"Lance, this is Samantha Mccoy and Henry Goldsman, Guardians in training for Golden Dawn," Leon said waving at Sam and Henry. "Guys, this is Lance Al'Roth, owner of the Greyhorn club,"
"This is a nice place you have," Sam said. She had tried to gauge Lance's mood or his feelings towards their presence but she noticed that she couldn't sense his emotions, which meant he had a mental ward set up. Which made him an Ascendant. Sam had learned that all races could ascend but that Pleiadians were the ones who majority of the time ascended due to their ancestry. And that all other races were the minority when it came to being an Ascendant. Sam wondered what it took for the other race to ascend beyond their mortality.
"Thank you, Lady Mccoy," Lance said. "Can I get you anything to drink? Water, Tea, Coffee...Brandy, Whiskey...Rum..." Lance said with a hand gesture.
"Nothing for me, thanks," Emily said.
"I'll have some tea, " Sam said.
"And some whiskey," Leon said. Lance smiled and snapped his fingers. A group of machine servers came from behind the bar, carrying trays of beverages. Sam watched in amazement as the droids served drinks and a couple of pastry snacks. Leon grabbed one of the whiskey bottles before the red-colored droid could serve him a glass. He popped it open and drank straight from it.
"Nice brand," Leon said. "Hidden world's version of it,"
"A little bit of grain, water, yeast, and some Erezel plant additives," Lance said as he picked up a glass of the same whiskey.
"Erezel plant," Sam said as she sipped her tea.
"Erezel plant is one of the most precious resources of the Erezel forest in the Summer continent," Lance said. "It's a good stimulant for the mind,"
"And getting wasted," Leon said as he drank more from the bottle. Lance smiled agreeing with Leon's assertion.
"Can we get to what we're here for," Emily said.
"I still do not know why Paladins and a couple of Golden Dawn trainees are here to see me," Lance said. Sam dropped her teacup, not knowing how to ask her questions about her aunt. So instead she went for the question plaguing her since she learned the truth about herself and her family.
"Do you know me," Sam said. 'I... I mean, have we met before today," Lance took his glasses off, revealing his inhuman eyes to the group. He thought momentarily about how to answer her question, whether to tell the truth or not.
"Unfortunately, Lady Mccoy, I'm afraid this is the first time I've had the pleasure to meet you," Lance said. "But...But I do know of your Aunt. Stella Mccoy was a friend of my mother, and she was one of my clients, providing me the Erezel plants in which I make my whiskey."
"Is that why she has an Exodus set to this location," Leon said lowering his bottle.
"Stella and I often made deals with the herbal resources that she had. As a witch, she was one of the best herbalists known for her skills in medicinal herbs and we often met here in my club when making deals." Lance said. Sam froze as little bits of memories began to emerge. She thought of the front yard of her home that her aunt was always particular about taking care of. The special wild plants she would always grow and take care of before she left for her day job as a Doctor. Sam had never paid attention to those plants, didn't even have many memories of them...because she had blocked her mind off those memories. It made sense that back then, Sam had felt the emotions of those wild plants. The wild emotions would have been too much for Sam to handle. Sam remembered the reason why she had been forced to drink and abuse alcohol while she had been young. The feelings of all those plants had been too much for her, and back then she had no idea what was happening. Sam's ability to feel emotions also extended to plant life. She had been able to feel the emotions of the plant life in the forest on Luna, and with that knowledge, some things began to make sense to Sam.
"Erezel plant, you say it's good for the mind right," Sam said.
"Yes, it helps to stimulate and strengthen mental conditions," Lance said.
"And also pills that can weaken one's mind," Emily said, looking through her zodiak for the information there about the Erezel plant. She had bought out her Zodiak to look into the plant when she heard that Sam's aunt was a Witch. Witches were humans who made contracts with spiritual beings such as the Elementals and through that contract, they were able to awaken and become Ascendants. There was also the fact that the Mccoy family also happened to be vassals of a Magical family. Were they or were they not one of the five Magical families of the Hidden World?
"So the pills Sam was taking, they were made by her aunt," Henry said.
"It seems like it," Leon said. "You know about the attack on Cedar Lake, do you,"
"The news has reached me," Lance said.
"And you know the last information gotten from the exodus was the coordinates that led to you," Leon said.
"What are you asking me, Leon," Lance said.
"Is my aunt here or not," Sam said. Lance turned away from Leon and gave Sam a look of pity.
"Sorry, but Stella Mccoy isn't here," Lance said. "But a friend of yours did show up at my doorstep, nearly close to death." Sam felt her heart beat faster when she thought of Rosa.
"Rosa...where is she," Sam said standing up.
"She's not here," Lance said.
"Al'Roth, stop messing around," Leon said.
"She was taken to a special facility where she's been taken care of," Lance said. "The human girl was suffering from Infernal poisoning, her soul was close to being broken down. That kind of healing requires a specialist," Sam felt her heartbeat increase, the thought of Rosa dying had sent her into a panic, and memories of her father sprung up. She felt the rise of an anxiety attack, something she had thought she had gotten rid of.
The room began to spin so she tried to steady herself by finding her balance, but she tripped and fell. Leon moved fast catching Sam by her waist before she fully fell. Sam felt Leon's breath on her, the closeness of his body against hers stopped her panic attack before it could attack her. Her heart kept beating fast, her blood rushed to her head as a new kind of feeling struck her. She felt Leon's emotions, the raw end of it as it penetrated her core. She felt his curiosity about her existence, his initial attraction to her when they first saw each other through that portal, not knowing if she was real or not. But there was more, something deeper that Leon hid, a staggering amount of pain, unlike anything she had ever felt before. She felt something within him that felt like it would break her apart, something that should not exist within any living being. The pain was too much even for Sam who had dealt with so much pain all her life that she blacked out. Sam woke up in a different room. The room was bright green with what looked like an amazon forest painted all over the wall. The room seemed like a baby room, with what looked like baby furniture littered around. The room was still being made, a baby crib in the center. There was a little boy with golden hair, bronze skin, and blue eyes in a white short-sleeved shirt and black shorts. The boy was making playful faces at the baby that was in the crib while the baby cooed with laughter at the weird expressions. Across from them sitting on a couch was a man and a woman. The woman was unfamiliar with golden brown hair and blue eyes similar to the little boy. Sam recognized the man as her father. His hair was not brown like she knew it to be but was emerald green like her current one. The stoic expression she was familiar with was on his face. The woman had a smile as she looked inside the crib.
"James, running and hiding away is not the answer." The woman said. "Your life and Samantha's life aren't here."
"My family is gone," Dad said with a cold voice. "The Sinclair family is no more. I...I failed once before...I can't afford to let Sam down."
"What about Sophia? What about your sister who is all alone in Agartha." The woman said. She was dressed in a traveling cloak like she had just popped in to visit Sam's father.
"Johanna can take care of herself, Julia," Dad said. Sam noticed he avoided answering the part about a woman called Sophia. "But I can never return to the Federation or the Order. I made a promise to give her a better life,"
"And the Crown," Julia said. "Wasn't there a better place for the Crown to be sealed than within you?"
"The Crown is safe with me," James said. "As long as I'm alive, no one will be able to track its location. You remember your oath to hide the truth, don't you,"
"I haven't forgotten," Julia said. "But you put her in danger by keeping the Crown so close,"
"Samantha is protected." A voice said. Sam turned around and in the doorway was her aunt Stella. She looked the same, dirty blonde hair laid all over her back, her light skin complimenting the hazel eyes that bore into Julia. Sam felt the room spin again and then they all vanished, Sam appeared on a bridge in the middle of the night. The sky was covered by purple clouds, no moon in sight. There were wreckages everywhere like a battle had taken place, craters with deep holes that made the place unrecognizable. But Sam recognized the bridge. This was where the accident had happened. Where Sam had lost her life. This bridge connected the little town of Cedar Lake and New York City, and it was the bridge Sam's father had been driving through when their car was thrown off into the sea below them. Appearing out of nowhere was the same woman from before. Her cloak covered her brown hair, but Sam could see her face. The woman walked up to the middle of the bridge where most of the destruction had taken place. She moved passed pools of blood and bodies, ignoring them as she approached a place where sealing marks were spreading around. Beyond the seal, within the space that was being sealed off, was a golden crown. The Crown was made of thirteen different shaped eight-pointed stars, glowing like it was the sun. But the more the sealing mark covered the space around it, the more its light dimmed. The Woman observed the sealing taking place, and then she moved her head towards Sam's direction, her blue eyes suddenly changing into bright golden colors, her sight set on Sam.
"If you want to save my son, Sam...If you truly want to save Leon's life, then you must get the Crown before they do." The woman said. Sam blinked in surprise at what she said as the woman appeared so close to her. Julia grabbed Sam's hand, and a burning sensation manifested on Sam's wrist which Julia held. "Find the Crown of Stars,"
"Leon! Sam! Leon!" Sam snapped back to the present, her consciousness waking to find Leon still holding on to her. His arm was wrapped across her waist, his chest so close to hers that she could hear his heartbeat in rhythm with hers. They were so close that Sam could admire his beautiful features that always took her breath away. From the expression on Leon's face, Sam could tell that everything she had seen, he had also seen too. Because she understood that confused expression he had. It was the same as hers. There was a clearing of throat, and Sam and Leon remembered they were not alone, moving away from each other. Sam was still dazed, still in shock at everything she had learned, but the one thing that was in her mind was what she had learned about Leon. Leon on the other hand couldn't believe that he had let his guard down and let Sam connect with his emotions. She was an Empath which means she had relieved the pain his body was going through, a pain he had subconsciously learned how to ignore for most of his life. He cleared his throat, feeling a need to get out of the room.
"Excuse me," He said. Leon turned around and went straight for the elevator. His movement was so quick, that Sam barely had time to respond when the elevator door closed.
"What happened," Henry said. The others had risen from their seats when Sam and Leon had frozen, not responding to their calls. Sam ignored Henry, going for the elevator.
-
Leon moved through the thongs of bodies that were dancing on the dance floor of the club. He had arrived in the area where the party was taking place, the sweaty scent of colognes, perfume, and body perspiration hung in the air. Flashes of neon light swirled through the space, the blast of music loud but Leon ignored all of it as he went straight for the exit. He pushed himself out of the door, ignoring the yells that came at him from those who had tried to enter the club but were hit by the door that Leon pushed open. He tried to breathe in the fresh air of Wolfshire Street, but that was when he felt the pain rising within his gut. He moved to the alley at the side of the club's building and then he threw up. Blood gushed out of Leon's mouth, loads of it sprayed on the ground as Leon experienced a coughing fit, his body spasming with pain unlike anything he had felt before. He felt a movement within his vitality as the light of it dimmed as more cracks appeared on the energy field within his body responsible for the body's health. Leon's Internal sight was drawn within himself, observing his vitality weaken as the solar disc that formed his vitality cracked. If the soul was responsible for the function of spiritual conditions, and Odic force was responsible for mental conditions, then the vitality, energy produced by one's cells were responsible for physical conditioning. All these three aspects play a part in keeping a living being alive in a symbiotic relationship. Vitality or Vital force is the energy responsible for one's lifespan, which determines how a body would be both internally and externally. It also played a part in how powerful one's ability factor can be, vitality is used alongside mana when activating a unique technique. Leon's fight with Geb had strained his vitality too much because of how much he had used his ability. His vitality was already weak from certain circumstances but him using his ability put more strain on it. Leon took out his flask and drank the special drink he had gotten from the Witch, Methos. He chugged it down as the waves of pain receded, making Leon slide his back down on the ground against the wall.
"Leon, are you there," A voice said. He looked up to see Sam turn the corner and enter the alley where he had thrown up. Leon quickly summoned a wave of heat to burn the blood away, not wanting to show any weakness to Sam. He pulled himself up from the ground, clearing his mouth and putting his flask away. Sam noticed Leon's behavior, noting that his emotions were still available to her. It was how she had found him, following the traces of dark red that hung in the air, only visible to Sam's Internal sight.
"Looks like you found me," Leon said resting on the wall. The pain was still there but he could ignore it.
"I...I wanted to apologize. I...I don't know what happened. How I...I did what I did," Sam said. "I'm sorry for invading...."
"It wasn't your fault," Leon said. He pulled his hair from his face, setting it backward as he looked up at the sky. "I...I should know better than to let my guard down around an Empath."
"Did...Did you see what I saw," Sam said.
"You mean the part where my mum and your Dad and aunt were talking about you," Leon said. "Yes, I saw it." Sam couldn't believe that Leon's family and hers had been close, that she had even met Leon before he had shown up again in her life. What did that mean exactly? Sam didn't know. She turned to look at him. Though his mental ward was back up, Sam could faintly feel some kind of bond with Leon. Like a remnant of his emotions was still tied to her mind. She could feel the pain within him, the pain he was hiding. it reminded Sam of the pain she had gone through growing up. The pain she had tried to hide from Stella by drinking.
"After my Dad's death, all I wanted was to just run away from everything. The nightmares, the shadows in my room, and the intense feelings that I could feel all around me." Sam said. "I wanted to leave it all behind. And I did so often. I ran away from home sometimes, scaring the crap out of Stella. I even dropped out of high school at one point in my life. But Stella was always there. She was always there to help me. And then I left home to go to college. To try to better my life... to see if I could have a normal life. I thought even a freak like me deserved that. I didn't expect how overwhelming it would be for me. If it hadn't been for Dr. Dingle...I would have dropped out of school again."
"Dr. Dingle," Leon said remembering the woman who had been killed. She had served as an Observer for the Golden Dawn, keeping an eye on Sam.
"And now she's dead because of me," Sam said. She tried her best not to cry, but even Sam couldn't stop the tears that slid down her eyes. "My father, Dr. Dingle, Aunt Stella, and even Rosa who's close to death." Leon's hand went up to her face and cleaned the tears away.
"It's not your fault," Leon said. "You didn't ask for them to be killed." He thought of his father who had died in the Uprising. His father who he had admired and loved so much. Who had sacrificed his life for the Federation. Thinking about his father always left a burning pit of fire within his guts, a rage so powerful that the pain would be forgotten. Sam felt the sudden shift of Leon's emotions. The emotion was not intense due to the Mental ward that weakened the bond between them.
"I know it's not my fault, but it doesn't stop me from feeling responsible," Sam said. "Even for what happened to Cedar Lake. I know you know...but I tried to kill myself a couple of months ago," Leon said nothing as the truth was he had read up on Sam's file after he had saved her from the Echo field. He had seen the notes about her suicide attempt and her stay in a psychiatric facility. A Facility run by Golden Dawn.
"I did," Leon said.
"My dad's anniversary came up four months ago," Sam said. "The day he died. I...I have never been able to face that day. Just the reminder of it reopens the wound of losing him and my guilt for surviving at the cost of his life. And not to mention that my emotions were also all over the place. I...I just wanted to stop it. To quiet the noise in my head." Sam remembered that night. The intense emotions of all the students in the dorm had mixed in with her depression and anxiety, and the only way to save herself was to stop the pain. So Sam did what she had been flirting with for most of her life. She tried to kill herself. Sam had been bleeding out in her room before her roommate found her and she had woken up in the hospital. Alive and ashamed of what she did.
"But you didn't die," Leon said. "I read the report. It says your heart stopped for more than a minute several times. And yet you're still standing before me. That's because you fought. You fought to stay alive, no matter how shitty your life was, deep down you knew that it was still worth living."
"Yes, I didn't die. And I realized that I didn't want to die." Sam said. "I guess deep down I didn't want it."
I believe the problem with your dreams lies with this deep-seated guilt and fear you have with yourself. Until you deal with it, you will never feel comfortable with the life you're trying to build. Those words were one of the few things she remembered from Dr. Dingle. And that was what Sam was trying to do. Sam was afraid of the loneliness she had growing up, afraid of making connections and only to lose that connection. She didn't want to experience a blinding loss ever again. And for that to not happen again, Sam knew she had to get stronger. Now that power was available to her, she knew she could prevent it at all costs.
"I understand," Leon said. There was a look in his eyes that made Sam feel like Leon understood her. There was understanding and familiarity within it. Like he understood where she was coming from. Sam cleared her throat. Why did she tell him all of that? For some reason, Sam felt it was normal, natural to talk to Leon. Like they've known each other for so long. Sam consciously grabbed hold of Leon's hand, snaking her fingers around his, the warmth of her body spread to his, making the cold he was feeling wash away. The pain he had subconsciously ignored with his rage was gone, a soothing feeling within his gut and vitality came forth. He felt the cracks that were spreading halt like it had been frozen. Leon had never felt so much better like the sickness plaguing him for most of his life was long gone.
'Sammy.." But then a wall of pressure descended upon Leon and Sam, interrupting the moment between them. The spiritual pressure of a Master realm expert knocked out the people within the club. Anyone who couldn't withstand the pressure fell unconscious. Even Henry back in Lance's office couldn't deal with the spiritual attack as he blacked out. Emily and Lance were the only ones left conscious. Emily sensed their arrival before they came out of the shadows, squads of men in white tactical armored suits with mana cannon guns trained at her. Lance walked backward as the squad moved past him to contain Emily.
"Lance Al'Roth! What is the meaning behind this," Emily said as she summoned her shortswords. She recognized the symbol of the Fallen star on the armor of these warriors, realizing that the Beastman before her had allied with the terrorist organization.
"Sam is our target, and knowing Leon, I know he would never let go of her. So I proposed that he should be bought in too. You two are the only ones we don't need," Lance said. "Engage." Wtih the order given, the squad of soldiers descended on Emily.