Crossing the Line

Just like that, the meeting was called and everyone was pulled from whatever else they had going on in their lives to pitch in on the search and rescue mission. Aeron seemed by far to be the most out of place. The Rune Knight was still in her uniform, having been pulled off duty by a direct order from Serilda and brought back to the island that she never thought she’d be allowed on again. She was standing around and looking like a fish out of water, shifting anxiously on her feet and doing her best not to look totally terrified about being crammed in a room with so many strangers. Of all the dozens of faces present, the only ones she recognized besides Serilda were Vandrad and Mercury, and she wasn’t exactly on their good list. The others she didn’t have any idea about, though it didn’t take much to deduce that they were powerful and influential people.

The only thing that kept her focused was the knowledge that Mythal was missing. She wasn’t sure why the field marshal had asked for Aeron to be a part of all this, but she was glad to be included all the same. All the details of the situation were soaked up by her like a waiting sponge. Lux was a creature she’d met several times by this point, of course. The Seal loved to tease her, which she found aggravating, and the knowledge that he had the hots for Thana had never set right with her. But, he and Mythal seemed to have a working relationship, and even if she didn’t trust the Seal she did trust her friend. This whole development was very surprising to her – and upsetting. She was eager to get started in any way she could to help, all she needed was for Serilda to give her orders.

Saffron shook her head after Cedric commented about his lack of shock over Lux’s bold move. “Honestly, not his smartest move. I can’t think of a worse group of people to piss off.”

Patricia and Cyrene quickly came up with a game plan of their own to work with, the two women already heading out to the labs to get started. But, as Vandrad confirmed, it was going to take more than just fancy computer work to track Lux down. A great number of them were going to have to get down and dirty in the streets putting in very literal legwork while at the same time being careful not to accidentally stir any international incidents. Saffron herself was so wrapped up in trying to brainstorm ideas that she didn’t even notice Cedric’s glance – though she did look up at him when he volunteered to do some checks in Pergrande and Bellum.

It had gotten easier to be around him without actively feeling the pain from the distance that had divided their friendship, but that was only because they still had to train together most days of the week. Every time she saw him, she had to fight to keep herself from getting too close. As much as it hurt, she knew it was best that they continue to maintain a little separation from one another for now. Saffron was still trying to piece her own heart together, and it wasn’t fair to make Cedric a part of that process. That said, if he had offered to team up for this, she wouldn’t have hesitated to agree. No matter what, the two of them worked well together, and she would have trusted in both of their abilities to stay focused on the mission at hand.

As it was, however, he made no such offer. Saffron herself was more used to receiving orders than making suggestions, particularly with a group like this that was being organized and run by individuals far more experienced and capable than she was. So off she watched Cedric go, while awaiting her own orders.

Luckily Vandrad was turning to her next. “Yeah, I should be able to pull some strings. I’ll see what I can rustle up. Merc, you mind dropping me off? Save me some travel time?”

The Xocili nodded. “No problem. You need your bike, too?”

“Yeah, probably. Just give me a moment to arrange some meet ups so I know when and where I’m headed.”

As the blonde pulled out her iLac and got to work sending messages, she was oblivious to the blue eyed stare she was receiving from a few feet away. The moment Vandrad had said Saffron’s name, Aeron couldn’t help but glance over to get a look at the woman that Xavier was so broken up over losing. The first thing she felt upon looking at Saffron was envy, her gaze roaming over the thick mass of blonde locks pulled up into a ponytail, the trendy attire, and the confident way that she carried herself. The Rune Knight couldn’t exactly claim to be an expert on what made a person attractive, but even she couldn’t deny that Saffron looked like the kind of woman that had it all, like the kind of woman that probably had men throwing themselves at her feet constantly.

Not that Aeron wanted that for herself, of course, but there was a deep, hidden part of herself that wondered what it would be like to be so wanted by someone that the very lack of her presence in their life resulted in soul shattering melancholy. Instead, the only two men she’d ever been enamored with – one of them far more than the other – were already seriously involved with other women. And while Aeron wasn’t exactly pining over Xavier like she was Mythal, she couldn’t help but look at Saffron now and know deep in her heart that she’d never compare to a woman like that.

It was only when Saffron’s eyes met hers that Aeron realized she’d been staring too long. “You good there, shorty?” She didn’t seem to know who the brunette was, nor their shared connection with Xavier.

The Knight’s gaze widened. “Y-yes, sorry. I’m good. I wasn’t– sorry,” she stammered, turning away and trying not to blush.

Saffron had no idea what that was about. Under better circumstances she might have teased the woman a bit – she was cute, and clearly easily flustered, which sounded like fun – but there were more pressing matters. She turned back to Mercury. “Alright, let’s swing by Fairy Tail real quick and then I’ll let you know where to drop me off.”

The two women left through one of Mercury’s portals, and Aeron forced herself to tune back into the rest of the proceedings, patiently waiting for her own assignment. Serilda and Vandrad each doled out missions as needed from people that had various contacts, affiliations, or skills. The number of bodies in the room steadily began to dwindle as a result, no one wasting time once they knew their jobs. Before long, there was a much smaller group of people present, including Vandrad, Mercury – who had returned not long after getting Saffron situated – Serilda, Ruman, Izrael, and a small handful of others whose names Aeron hadn’t caught.

The field marshal turned to the Trumpets. “Whatever help you can be in tracking down Lux would be great, but I also would like you two to be on standby when it’s time to confront him, if at all possible. I don’t want you to get involved unless we have no other choice. There’s no telling how Lux will react if confronted by either of you. He may resort to something desperate and rash, and we may swiftly find the situation getting beyond our control. I’d like to keep it to just Mercury, Vandrad, Cedric, and myself keeping him busy. Since we’re all mortals, I think he’d stand his ground against us, even knowing our strength and that I have Victoria with me. I trust you two to know when it would be appropriate to step in. Does that work for everyone?”

Only once the others had voiced their agreement – or alternate suggestions – did Aeron clear her throat nervously and draw attention to herself. “S-sorry, ma’am. What would you like me to do?” The Knight had yet to be given a task, and assumed that she had simply been overlooked in the hecticness of getting the search going.

She’d assumed wrong.

“Your job is the most important of all, Aeron,” the Voidwalker informed her. “While the rest of us are keeping Lux busy, I need you to rescue Mythal.”

The brunette blinked, visibly shocked. “Me..?”

“Yes, you.” Serilda’s tone was gentle but firm. “You’re my ace in the hole, Aeron. Everyone going with us to confront Lux has some kind of knowledge or ability that might help us get through to Mythal and subvert Lux’s control… but if I’m being honest, I think you stand the best chance at actually being successful with it.”

“But… but I’m not nearly as powerful as the rest of you. I lost all my power when Thana and I were separated, and had to start over from scratch. I’m still training with my new magic…”

“Darkness magic. Magic that Mythal himself has been training you in, that you stole from a powerful cursed creature that had spent gods-know-how-long soaking in residual energy from a Prime Sin. And to top it all off, you’re an Avatar of Ataxia. The rules we might otherwise need to follow to get through to Mythal might not apply to you. Not to mention your possession of Darius.”

Aeron fidgeted uncomfortably, finding it difficult to maintain eye contact. Of all the topics that existed in the world, her supposed connection to Ataxia was one of her least favorites. Part of that was simply due to the fact that Thana had been so gung ho about the situation, which was automatic grounds for Aeron to be wary of it. The rest was simply that she didn’t understand it, or fully believe it. It scared her. She reached up a hand and wrapped her fingers nervously around the purple gem around her neck as if seeking comfort, doing her best to avoid the stares from those in the room that hadn’t been aware of her link to the Divine of Entropy. “I don’t have any control over that Avatar stuff, though. Things just… happen. Not even Darius can help me understand it. And Mythal never taught me anything about connecting to the darkness in peoples’ souls.”

Serilda was quiet for only a moment before she approached the shorter woman. Slowly, she reached out and took both of Aeron’s hands in hers, forcing the Knight to look her in the eyes nervously. “I know you’re scared, Aeron. I am, too. This is a lot of pressure for me to put on you, and for that I sincerely apologize. But, I also know how much you care about Mythal.” An intense blush ran rampant across Aeron’s face, the woman visibly gulping. “If I could, I would do this myself. I want nothing more than to find a way inside to Mythal to pull him out of whatever pit Lux threw him in, but the fact remains that I am incapable of doing so. The only thing I can do is confront Lux, and hope that buys you enough time to do what I desperately wish I could.”

The former dark mage was practically frozen in place, her feet glued to the ground as she did her best to keep her composure. “B-but… what if I can’t?” she asked, her voice small and meek with uncertainty at the faith that was being put in her. Faith that she didn’t think was merited. “I just… I don’t know if I can even do what you’re asking. I don’t want to let you down…”

“You would never let Mythal or me down just for trying,” Serilda assured her, giving the other woman’s hands a squeeze. “And that’s all I’m asking you to do: try. This isn’t an order. I’m asking you, as one woman to another, for a man that’s very important to both of us. Please…”

Aeron gulped again as she looked up at her boss. Serilda was usually very cool and collected, and even now she still was for the most part. But from this close, it was impossible even for her to miss the desperation in the woman’s look. The love of her life was missing, and not only that but she was having to cope with the fact that the only thing she could do was act as a distraction while someone else saved him. Aeron could only imagine how awful that must have felt. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help. She wanted nothing more. The former dark mage simply didn’t have the confidence in herself, and was afraid of failure, of making things worse. Ultimately nodded. “Okay… I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will. Thank you…” The marshal gave her a small, grateful smile and released her hands. Turning toward the two Trumpets, she asked, “If either of you have any suggestions or tips you can give her, or are willing to spend a little time working with her to give her the best shot possible at getting though, I would really appreciate it.” Serilda wasn’t entirely sure where either Ruman or Izrael would stand on that matter, given the whole avatar thing, so she wasn’t going to make any demands of them. She could only hope that they could put aside any misgivings they might or might not have to see the goodness in Aeron’s heart, and do whatever it took to help Mythal overcome Lux’s control.

While that conversation was taking place, several hundred miles away Saffron was ripping down the streets of Bosco on her motorcycle. She’d managed to get in touch with a couple people that agreed to a last second meet up with her. Not all of them were affiliated with each other, so she’d had to arrange different locations and times to make. Very briefly she’d considered meeting up with Senna, too. If any group of people were glued to the news and keeping an eye out for weird occurrences going on in the nation, it was bound to be a gaggle of journalism nerds like Senna and her college peers. Plus, it would have been great to see her again. For now, however, she chose to leave Senna out of it. The situation was just too dangerous to put in the hands of people that were quite literally hell bent on a career that involved jumping into dangerous situations for the sake of chasing a story.

Her first meeting with her army contacts was quick and to the point. She’d given them only the most necessary of information: Keep an eye out for anything weird, and if they caught wind of or saw a man with an unnervingly realistic face-like mask, do not engage. Report it to Saffron immediately. Luckily, they were used to working off of minimal details and understanding the concept of confidential information, so they didn’t press too much for additional details. Since she didn’t know what other assignments she was going to be put on, or often she would be available, she also gave them Mercury’s number, simply citing that Mercury was a trusted contact and giving no other information about her friend’s identity.

After that she had left and started making her way to her next meeting a town or two over. Since her first meeting had been so short, she arrived at the agreed upon location fairly early: a wooded area of conservation land on the outskirts of the small city. She drove her bike directly into the woods, moving slowly and being careful not to hit any tree roots or fallen branches. After a couple minutes, she reached a distinctive landmark in the form of a large boulder. It was a common place for college students to meet up with their friends to hang out without fear of supervision, sometimes even to do drugs or other nonsense. There was graffiti all over the rock, and a couple of empty beer bottles and chip bags strewn about the place.

Parking her bike, she carefully did a perimeter check around the area to make sure it was clear of any civilians. Luckily, it seemed she was alone for the moment. With some time to kill, she leaned up against the boulder and started flicking idly through her iLac, keeping the sound off and one ear tuned to her surroundings as she waited.

Luckily, Ruman and Izrael seemed open to giving Aeron any boost they could in her magical abilities. If anyone could give her enough knowledge and training to get the needed edge to pierce through whatever enchantment Lux had on Mythal’s consciousness, Serilda was confident it was the two Trumpets. The former dark mage gulped a little at Izrael’s comment that there was likely only going to be one shot at this, but otherwise she nodded. “A-Alright. Thanks.” The small brunette took a moment to steel herself, drawing in a calming breath before regarding the two angels with determined focus. “Let’s do this.”

Serilda watched them disappear, and let out a small breath that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. She was doing her best to remain focused, but now that assignments had all been doled out and all they had to do was wait to hear back from everyone, she knew she was going to find herself with some idle time. Luckily, Vandrad seemed to sense that she needed a little encouragement. “I honestly don’t know what he was thinking,” she admitted, her expression hardening at the mention of the Lightbringer. “He knows what resources we have at our disposal, and the allies we can call on for help. He has to understand that we’ll catch up to him sooner or later. I just… don’t know what he hopes to gain from this.”

She shook her head and sighed. “All I can hope is that he doesn’t do anything too stupid with Mythal’s body. The kind of nonsense he could get up to on a personal level disguised as Mythal is bad enough, nevermind the ridiculous amount of political damage he could cause if he’s not cautious. But yes, I am sure we will find him. After that, it will just be about making sure we can get Mythal out before I have to take any drastic measures.”

There were a number of options Serilda had on the table, here. Lux was well aware that she was capable of stripping him of both the divine and demonic portions of his powers. But more than that, it had been a well established fact that Mythal’s wish to never be a hollowed out vessel for any creature, to the point that if push came to shove he’d rather be killed than allow his body to be used to destroy any portion of the world. Serilda would do everything in her power to avoid that outcome for as long as possible, but if push came to shove and they ran out of options, the Voidwalker would see it through. She’d hate herself for the rest of her long life, and probably spend the vast majority of it hunting Lux down with each of his subsequent hosts… but she’d do it.

With any luck, that wouldn’t be necessary.

Saffron’s brain took quite some time to catch up to her. One second she was leaning against the rock, minding her own business and waiting for her contact. The next several seconds after that were a blur of pain and confusion. She’d been caught completely unawares by her attacker; an astonishing feat, all things considered. It wasn’t until she was finally laying flat on the ground, a sharp vice-like grip around her neck, that she finally started to come to. Even before the rest of her senses returned, instinct kicked in, her limbs moving to provide a counter attack to her opponent.

Except something was wrong. Her strength was fading fast, like it was being siphoned out of her quicker than she could regain it. Even as her sight and hearing started to return she continued to attempt to fight, absorbing the stored up residual energy in her arm to give herself a boost. Yet just as quickly as she had done so, that power was gone, too.

Her ears started working again before her eyes did, and a sickening feeling twisted in her stomach at the sound of an all too familiar voice. It couldn’t be… How? How had he snuck up on her? Why had he tracked her here? A part of her was almost in denial of the situation, up until he finally came into focus, the Rhaegarian looming over her and extremely pleased with himself. She was scrambling to get her bearings, enough so that his words didn’t really land. She could see the blood pooled beneath his nails. Her blood. The blonde’s eyes turned a deep, fearful orange. The Myn… he’d used the Myn on her. Her magic was gone… And she was royally fucked.

Before she could even really finish processing the gravity of the situation, his fist came down and knocked her out cold.

There was no telling how long she’d been out for. The first sensation she felt that told her she was still alive was pain. If she was dead, surely it wouldn’t hurt this much. Her head was pounding with an absolutely splitting headache, and her body felt like it had been run over by a steamroller. She didn’t even hear her own groan, her ears ringing as she attempted to push through her disorientation. The ground beneath her felt cold and hard, like stone. What little light was able to filter through her eyelids was dim, a warm orange shade.

A coughing fit took over her body and she forced herself to roll onto her side, spitting up a thick wad of blood. The fit sparked some life and awareness back into her, at least. Saffron tried to prop herself up but quickly discovered she only had one hand. Her mechanical one had been removed, and a quick glance around revealed that it was nowhere in sight. As she struggled to remember what happened to her, her violet gaze panned around the room to take stock of the situation.

It was an abandoned ruin of some kind, with decaying walls and pillars around her, and a large opening in the ceiling. Lit candles were the primary source of light, the objects scattered around the room. A small flight of stairs led up to a dais of some kind that appeared to be an altar or something – not a good sign. The arm she still had was in one half of a set of cuffs that looked like the kind meant to dampen access to one’s magic, the other half of the cuffs dangling uselessly from her wrist.

Her magic.

Flashes of the attack in the woods came swimming back to her. Seberg. He had surprised her, cut off her magic, knocked her out, and dragged her here to wherever this place was. Saffron looked around with a bit more alertness, forcing herself to fight through the pain as she searched the room again, but he didn’t appear to be with her for the time being. Still, this was bad. really bad. She’d known he would come for her eventually, and truthfully she was surprised he had taken even this long to do so. But why had he thought to look for her in Bosco, of all places? Hunting her down in Fiore made so much more sense. She was hardly ever in Bosco any more, and had only been there for maybe an hour at most. How had he known she was there, and where to find her?

And more importantly: How the fuck was she going to get out when she couldn’t fight him? She tried once or twice to tap into her power, but it was futile. Her limbs felt like jello, heavy and shaking from fatigue and the loss of her strength. She was about as threatening as a newborn and she knew it.

Well, one thing was for sure: If she was going to die today, and that seemed likely… it wasn’t going to be like a pussy. Someone would come for her eventually, she hoped. All she had to do was stay alive until then, but if today was the day and Seberg had finally drawn her number, well... the least she could do was be a pain in his ass the whole way through. Her military discipline kicked in, and she forced herself to her feet, her muscles and bones screaming the whole way up. Saffron grit her teeth to keep from groaning in agony. “You know,” she called out, her voice raspy and weary. “If you wanted to say hi, all you had to do was call.”

Her legs trembled beneath her, threatening to give out. Somehow, she managed to stay on her feet. But with her blood now rushing through her body from the effort of standing, she was all the more aware of how much pain she was in. Saffron hugged her abdomen with her arm, bending over slightly with a wince and a groan. “Did you hit me with my own fucking bike?” she asked, incredulous. Another coughing fit overtook her, but she continued to talk through it. “Gods, you’re such a dick…”