Ch 24: A New Light

Seeming almost like a new person, Grey moves about using his new powers, taking care of business and setting in motion many things both related and unrelated to the coming battle.

            Finished with his part of the announcement, Grey stepped out of the camera’s view with Rufus as the Head of the Guild Council, Felix, began backing their story as fact before moving on to a discussion of safety measures. Rufus’ feline companion Ian, still holding claim to his place upon the top of his hat, was snoozing peacefully. As he and Grey watched the rest of the announcement, Rufus looked at Grey, having noticed he was dressed much differently than when he’d seen him last, having traded in his black clothes for a long white coat with black trim, dark grey pants and boots, and white metallic gauntlets. Noticing him staring rather intently, Grey looked over at Rufus and asked, “What’s up Rufus?” Caught red handed, Rufus jumped somewhat dramatically, and then laughed nervously as he said, “Ah, sorry… You just seem a little different Grey. Not just your clothes, but it’s like you’re a different person from before. The way you just popped out of a mirror in the Tentrion’s restroom was pretty surprising too… Just what kinda crazy training were you doing with this master person?” Less than enthusiastic to explain right now, knowing full well he’d just have to go through it all over again with the others, Grey tried to casually put his worries to rest as he grinned and said, “C’mon Rufus, I just learned a few things, it’s not like I’m not still me, right?” Looking unsatisfied, Rufus took hold of his trusty camera and scrutinized Grey with it through the viewfinder as he said, “No, you can’t fool the trained eye of an Ace Reporter that easily Grey! Something about you has really changed, I’m sure of it!” Stifling a laugh, Grey reluctantly said, “Well, maybe just a little. I really am still me on the inside Rufus, so don’t worry about it.”

            As he finished up his announcement, Felix waved away the cameramen and reporters from TINN and the Bastion Milestone. A man with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes hidden behind rectangular sunglasses who wore a half gray, half black coat, black pants with gray stripes, and black shoes and gloves, Felix looked uncharacteristically concerned as he approached Grey and Rufus and said, “Even if what you’ve told me is true, are we sure this is really the correct course of action? I admit we’re facing desperate times, but the last thing we need is to cause a panic.” Motioning for him to calm down, Grey said, “You’re right, we don’t need a panic. Still, if we don’t tell them now, then what’s coming will just be more sudden. Also, if you ally the Special Forces together with the united forces from Gaia we’ve been gathering without anyone knowing beforehand, how’s it gonna look to people? You might even lose quite a bit of face with a good number of the nobles and officials just because they’d misunderstand the whole thing, thinking you’d been dealing with the people of the other world the whole time and were just leaving them out of the loop.”

            With a sigh, Felix begrudgingly replied, “I suppose it’s a valid concern. Still, not all of that was absolutely necessary, even to that end. While we’re on the subject, I’m still not all that pleased with all this religious nonsense. Calling yourselves Angelorum Lux and having me back it… Whatever ploy you mentioned earlier had better be worth it for all the trouble I’m going to go through with fanatics.” With a triumphant grin, Grey said, “Ploy? Ah, sorry but that was actually all true. I just knew you wouldn’t work it into everything unless I made up an excuse.” Standing there staring in slight shock for a moment, Felix finally said, “Excuse me?” His grin fading to a serious expression, Grey said, “You’ll find out soon enough how much influence I hold in the other world, but if I’m gonna really fix things after Alastor is dealt with, smoothing things out and making sure I establish the same influence here will be a big help. I know you’re not a bad person Felix, but I’m not satisfied with how you’ve been just sitting around letting the world function on bad policies. When everything is said and done, I’m still the son of Jonathan Greyson, and I still dream of a world where everyone accepts each other.”

            Clutching his forehead in frustration a moment, Felix said, “Just a moment now, you’re having me back such obvious lies just to further your own goals?! Mr. Greyson, I can hardly approve of this…” Forming his floating silver framed mirror, Grey merely replied, “I told you it was true, not a lie. Still, even if you take it all back right now, you’ll just cause more trouble for yourself. Even more so when you have the people of Gaia backing my story as well. Anyways, I can’t stick around much longer. I still have to bring Rufus back and take care of some things.” Glaring at Grey, Felix simply sputtered incoherently for a moment, and then someone called out, “Going back already are you?” His hair blonde and his eyes blue, King Daniel Alucard Walker wore elegant robes of red and gold and upon his head was a golden crown studded with red gems, and he beamed at Grey as he approached. With a grin and a wave, Grey replied, “Yeah, things are getting busy. Sorry I can’t stay and chat your majesty.” Laughing merrily, the King replied, “No worries my friend. I’m well aware that a busy man can’t always indulge in idle chit chat.” Turning to the King suddenly, Felix said, “King Walker, I wouldn’t put too much trust in this man. We’ve both quite clearly misjudged him, and although I don’t know how claiming to be Angelorum Lux will aid his agenda, we’re going to have to be the ones to put a stop to it.” Turning to Felix in surprise, the King said, “You just let them announce it yourself Felix, don’t tell me you still have any doubt? I’ve known for quite a while now who they really are, and to be honest I think it’s all quite fascinating.” As Felix simply stood there looking like his jaw might hit the floor, Grey waved again as he said, “Really gotta go guys. Catch you later!” Helping Rufus through the mirror, Grey quickly stepped through it as well, and both he and the mirror disappeared.

            Aboard the Audentia, which had departed from the Tentrion to head out to Xandaris in support of the demonfolk, Mythra was still secluded in her room, looking at her black hair, halman cat ears, and different colored eyes critically in a medium sized mirror she had taken out of her magic suitcase and propped up on her nightstand. A disheartened look on her face, she thought back to the long talk she’d had with Marcyl, her words ringing in her ears, saying, “So you really just like Alexander a whole lot?! Mythra, I’m sure he likes you a lot too!” Clutching her sides fearfully as thoughts of what Alexander would say to her ran through her mind, Mythra quietly said, “It’s not that simple! It’s too late, and what would he like about a half breed like me, who’s lied to him all this time?! I even toyed around with his son…” Suddenly sticking his head through the mirror, Grey said, “Yeah, you should really stop messing with your friends like that.” Backing away from him with a yelp, Mythra finally stumbled and fell on her behind as, with some difficulty due to the fact that the mirror was barely big enough, Grey pulled himself through. Sitting there at a loss, so shocked that she was trembling a bit, Mythra simply stared at him as he tumbled onto the floor in front of her and rolled to his feet, and she squeaked, “G-Grey?!”

            Cracking his neck and flexing his shoulders a bit, Grey muttered, “Geez that was a tight fit. Guess I could’ve looked for another one, but I wanted to talk to you for a moment.” Pulling herself together and getting to her feet, wondering just how much he heard before coming through the mirror, Mythra nervously said, “I… I can explain, you see… It’s not that I didn’t like you, it’s just…” Donning an understanding smile, Grey said, “But the one you really like is Alexander, right?” Her eyes going wide in shock, her face turning red as her feline ears furled down in embarrassment, Mythra was too surprised to speak properly and merely choked, “No… I… How…?” With a smug grin, Grey replied, “I’ve picked up a few things while I was away. One ability allows me to check in on the people close to my heart, and while I was watching everyone right after leaving with Alastor, I noticed you were acting pretty weird. I didn’t really want to pry, but I decided to take a peek inside your heart and find out why you acted that way.”

            The fact dawning on her that he’d found out everything about her deepest, darkest secret, Mythra donned a tearful yet angry expression as she exclaimed, “How could you?! You of all people should know that’s not right, I wasn’t lying when I said I was drawn to you because of how similar we are! We both have wounds in our hearts that we’re ashamed of, and that’s why you should have known not to look!” As she covered her face in shame and began sobbing, Grey moved over to her and knelt down to put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her apologetically as he said, “I’m sorry, you’re completely right. I never intended to see something like this, but I should’ve known that it’d hurt you no matter what I saw. I’m really sorry Mythra, but even so, I want to help you! This isn’t right, I kind of understand the reason you thought you had to do what you did, but you’re only hurting yourself!”

            Latching onto his coat and burying her face in his chest, Mythra sobbed, “No, the ones I’m hurting are the people I’m lying to! Even if you and Amanus didn’t care at all, I’ve caused Amy so much grief! Our rivalry may have been special to me, but it was nothing but a nuisance for her!” Shaking his head as he held her gently, Grey said, “It’s nothing compared to what you must’ve gone through. You’ve had trouble interacting with others because of how you were treated in the past, so when you couldn’t figure out how to make him like you, you just tried to make him jealous.” Sobbing harder, Mythra said, “If he can see me from the other side, Amanus must think I’m so shallow! I said all those things to him, but they weren’t sincere at all, and when he died I found myself so relieved that Alexander had lived, it was like I hadn’t cared about him at all! I hated myself so much I exiled myself, pretending to blame Alexander the whole time, but it can’t even begin to excuse what I did next! I knew I sensed Alexander there in the forest with you, I knew you had to be his new pupil, but even a thousand years after Amanus died, I still didn’t learn my lesson!”

            As Mythra continued to hold onto him, sobbing away in regret, Grey suddenly said, “Mythra, you have to tell him.” Her eyes going wide, Mythra pulled away from him as she said, “No, I can’t!” Trying to reason with her, Grey held fast to her as he insisted, “Nothing will change if you don’t!” With certainty in her voice, Mythra retorted, “Nothing will change even if I do! He already found someone after I ran away, and even if she’s gone now, he’s never forgotten about her! Love doesn’t always work out as simple and easy as it did for you and Amy, I know he’s never looked at me that way, not even once!” Not giving up, Grey sternly said, “Isn’t that why you decided you’d make him look at you?! You obviously care about him Mythra, even after a thousand years you couldn’t give up! You have to stop being afraid of what people think about you! You’re a great person, and even though I can’t say it’ll be easy, I know Alexander certainly isn’t about to scorn you for loving him! He’ll think about it seriously, and give you a proper response! Whatever happens from there…” Smiling at Mythra as she silently stared back at him through her tears in realization, Grey finished, “Is a future you’ll only see if you make an effort.”

            Finished encouraging Mythra, Grey left her to dry her tears and calm down a bit. As he stepped out the door into the hallway of the crew’s quarters, he’d barely closed the door before a familiar voice exclaimed, “Grey?!” Turning to look down the hall, he laid eyes on Alexander, his black cape trailing behind him as he made his way over to Grey. Coming to stand before him, Alexander looked at the door to Mythra’s room in bewilderment for a moment, and then turned back to Grey as he said, “Not that I’m unhappy to see you safe and sound, but why on earth did you suddenly come out of there? Have you been on the ship this whole time?” Feeling a bit worried about his presence here as well, Grey simply said, “Actually I just got here. I’ll make sure to explain, but were you going somewhere?” Looking at the door to Mythra’s room again, Alexander hesitantly replied, “I was just about to try and speak with Mythra. We had a bit of a disagreement, although I’m still not sure what about. Is she alright in there? I don’t know if she’s come out since.”

            Thanking his lucky stars that they had finished when they did, Grey realized he should’ve kept an eye on Alexander’s whereabouts as he replied, “Yeah, she’s ok. She says she’s gonna talk to you about it later. For right now, why don’t we go let everyone know I’m ok? Amy’s alright too, I let her go visit Celestis for a bit.” Eyeing Mythra’s door with a bit of impatience for a moment, Alexander finally adjusted his shades and turned back down the hall as he said, “Alright… As long as we straighten this out, I don’t mind giving her some more time alone.” As Grey followed after him, Alexander looked over at him and commented, “That new outfit really suits you. Where did you get it?” With a chuckle, Grey replied, “It’s a kind of armor I created with the Phoenix stone. I guess we really do have similar tastes, just like Alastor said.” Looking over at Grey somewhat hopefully at this comment, Alexander said, “About that, Amy said you and Alastor were ‘talking’?” A bittersweet smile on his face, Grey said, “Yeah, I think I’ve finally figured him out. Still, I don’t know if it’ll really change anything. He’s too convinced his way is the only way.”

            The door of one of the rooms opening as they made their way down the hall, they were spotted by Erika Faelen, better known as Pyro, and her eyes lit up as she called out, “Hey man! You made it back, we heard they’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Coming up behind her, Johnny Spark looked out into the hall as he said, “What’s all the noise about?” Spotting Grey as well, Johnny quickly donned his cocky grin and said, “Well fancy meeting you here!” With a wave, Grey shot them both a sly grin as he said, “Hey guys. I see you two are getting along.” Turning somewhat red, Pyro loudly exclaimed, “Hey, don’t get the wrong idea! I was just asked by Professor Richter to wake him up!” Shaking his head in frustration, Johnny merely commented, “Jeez, he just had to pick you. Now my fated rival totally thinks I’m into ironing boards!” Whirling around and grabbing him by the collar, Pyro gave him a seething glare as she roared, “You wanna repeat that?!”

            A door a few rooms down opening suddenly, Marcyl rubbed her eyes sleepily and said, “What’s wrong Pyro? You’re yelling really loud.” Letting Johnny go and turning to her with an apologetic look, Pyro said, “Sorry Marcyl, did I wake you up?” Her drowsiness clearly indicated that was the case, but Marcyl merely put on a cheery smile and replied, “Uh-uh, it’s ok. I must’ve just woke up at the same time.” Then seeing Grey standing there with Alexander, Marcyl’s tiredness seemed to melt away as her face lit up with a beaming smile, and she quickly rushed at him as she exclaimed, “Grey! Welcome home!” As she latched onto him with one of her patented bear hugs, Grey chuckled and said, “Yep, I’m back. You seem like you need to get more sleep Marcyl. Why don’t you get some rest and I’ll come see you later?” Looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, Marcyl whined, “Aww, I’m fine! Things got so boring at Rusfa Isles before Pyro and Johnny showed up! I wanna hang out!” Adjusting his signature shades, Alexander sternly said, “From what I hear you most definitely should get some rest. I’m told Rusfa Isles was quite an adventure for you, and you didn’t even get to sleep much at all after that because most of our people were injured and we needed healers.” Nodding, Pyro chimed in, “Yeah, c’mon Marcyl! Elizabeth said not to wake you up because you seemed really worn out.”

            Seeing she was outnumbered, Marcyl let go of Grey and didn’t put up much more of a fight, merely saying, “Ok…” Then remembering her talk with Mythra before she went to bed, Marcyl turned to Alexander and said, “Hey, Mr. Alexander? Did you and Mythra make up yet?” Slightly surprised, Alexander averted his gaze as he reluctantly said, “Well, not yet, but she says she’ll talk it over with me after she has some time to think. I apologize if it’s been worrying you.” With a relieved, joyful expression, Marcyl said, “That’s great! I still don’t understand what it means to be a halfbreed, but no one should have to be scared to reach out to people!” Turning back to her instantly, Alexander said, “What? Don’t tell me that’s what this is about?!” Frustrated that Marcyl had let such a thoughtless comment slip, Grey quickly said, “Alexander, it’s probably better if you just wait…” Shaking his head, Alexander turned back in the direction of Mythra’s room as he said, “No, it’s completely ridiculous! If she’s going to shut herself away over this-”

            Turning around as well, Grey grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him, and as Alexander looked back at him in surprise, Grey looked at him with a serious and imploring expression as he said, “Please Alexander. Let her come to you, and tell you herself.” Shaken by his demeanor, Alexander turned around once more with a sigh, walking off down the hall by himself as he muttered, “She should know better than to think I’d look down on her like that…” Grey and Marcyl both exchanged brief smiles, and as Johnny and Pyro bid Marcyl farewell and left as well, Grey turned to Marcyl and said, “I’d better go too. Get some rest, I’ll be back to see you later. I have something I need your help with.” Stars in her eyes, Marcyl excitedly said, “Huh, really?! What is it?! What, what, what?!” Laughing at her enthusiasm, Grey just patted her on the head and gave a wink as he said, “Just look forward to it, ok?” Watching him leave, Marcyl tilted her head thoughtfully as she thought to herself, “Grey seems different somehow… It’s like he found something he was missing.”

            Catching up with Alexander, who had waited for him outside the door to the crew’s quarters, Grey headed to the bridge with him only to find quite a gathering outside the bridge door. Giselle stood there next to Saria, glaring at Elizabeth as she was replying to her outbursts, saying, “Ms. Giselle, please understand that we have other priorities at the moment.” Scoffing, Giselle exclaimed, “What other priorities should Angelorum Lux have other than chasing down Alastor Bastille?!” Struggling to calm her down, Saria pleaded, “Giselle, calm down! I know you’re mad, but we promised to help the demonfolk!” Then the bridge door opened and Richter stepped out, fixing his gaze on Giselle as he said, “Honestly, it’s bad enough I had to chase you out of the bridge! Stop causing a scene already, I think we’ve been accommodating enough considering you’re a former enemy. I’ve told you our destination, and it’s not going to change.” Grumbling in frustration, Giselle said, “I don’t know why I’m bothering with a no name like you… I demand to speak with Gabriel the Immortal!” Sighing as he approached the group with Grey, Alexander called out, “If you’d turn around, you might have seen me coming. Also, his name happens to be Jack Richter, the Energist of Prisms, and he is quite a distinguished member of the new Angelorum Lux.” Not having noticed him coming either, Richter looked past Giselle to Alexander and said, “Thank heaven! Please do something about this one, she’s absolutely unreasonable!”

            Whirling about to face Alexander, Giselle said, “Gabriel the Immortal, I know not what promises you’ve made with the demonfolk, but I have pressing business with your brother. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten your son has been spirited away by him as well, I strongly suggest you-” Raising his hand, Grey cleared his throat and said, “Umm, for the record I was just chatting with him for a while.” Not having realized Grey’s presence either, Giselle merely clicked her tongue in frustration. Also frustrated, Alexander said, “Giselle, I’ve only heard a small bit about what transpired with your sister, but please understand that running headlong into Alastor’s stronghold and ignoring due process and responsibility is neither our preferred method of doing things nor a wise practice in general. I am grateful for your help thus far and hope that you’ll be able to work with us in the future, but for now I think you need to find a room in the crew’s quarters and cool down.” Scowling, Giselle stormed past him as she said, “Do whatever you like! Just know that I do not intend to leave my sister in such a state for long…” Looking back at her as she passed them, Grey said, “Three days. If you can wait that long, you’ll have a spot in the final showdown.”

            Everyone looked at Grey in surprise, and glancing back at him as well, Giselle grinned wickedly and said, “Chatting were you? I see… Count me in!” With that she hurried off to the crew’s quarters. As Grey turned back to them all, Richter asked, “Three days? What’s happening in three days, and just when did you get back Grey?” Grinning nonchalantly, Grey replied, “I just negotiated a bit with Alastor. Congrats on your new job by the way, Professor Richter!” Caught off guard, Richter’s face turned slightly red as he felt a strange mix of pride and embarrassment, and with a chuckle he replied, “Well, it’s not like I’ve become a teacher just yet. We still have some things to take care of.” Adjusting her glasses with a smirk, Elizabeth said, “We’ll have you in the classroom soon enough. Sooner than expected if I’m hearing correctly. I’d like to hear more about these negotiations you’ve made.” Looking to Grey expectantly, Alexander chimed in, “As would I.” Nodding, Grey said, “I’ll catch you guys up on everything. Go join the others on the bridge, I’ll be there in a sec. I wanna talk to Saria for a bit.”

            Everyone else heading onto the bridge, Grey and Saria were left alone in the hallway. Wondering what it was he wanted to talk about, Saria waited nervously for him to speak. Looking at her with a serious expression, Grey said, “Saria, do you want to fight alongside us?” Greatly surprised, Saria stammered, “W-what?!” Not having forgotten their argument before, Grey said, “You told me you were scared, that you wanted us to stop fighting and run away. Even though you said that though, it feels like something’s changed. I won’t force you to fight Saria, but if you want to become strong, if you want to protect what’s important, I’ll help you.” Staring at him in disbelief, Saria thought, “Me? Can someone like me do such a thing? I don’t even have mom’s bow anymore, and there are only three days left, but if I can become strong enough to help Dad and Grey…” Mustering her courage, Saria determinedly said, “I’ll do it. I’ll fight!” With an impressed grin, Grey nodded and said, “Alright. Meet me down in the cargo hold once we’re done talking with the others on the bridge. I’ll teach you how to fight personally.”

            Sitting in the pilot’s seat flying the stalwart command ship as he listened to Grey explain what had transpired during his trip to Noctivagus, Schmitt said, “Three days huh? Sounds like we’re cuttin’ this a bit close, but guess that ain’t really nothin’ new. I’m gettin’ used to life on the edge!” Cutting straight to the part that Grey had intentionally left out, Serius leaned against the left bridge window as he expectantly asked, “Grey, just what did you offer Alastor to garner such a favor?” Slightly displeased to be found out so easily, Grey laughed nervously as he replied, “Well, I didn’t really have a lot else to offer, so I kinda broke the Master Seal for him…” Standing next to him, Alexander turned to look at him in shock as he exclaimed, “You did WHAT?!” Cringing slightly at his outburst, Grey quickly explained, “I’ve gotten a lot stronger, I can handle him. Besides, I’ve gotten some information out of all this as well that I probably would’ve had a lot of trouble figuring out otherwise, and this way when I beat him, he’ll know he was beaten at his best. All in all, I think it was worth it.”

            Sitting in one of the chairs set up for passengers and off duty crew members, Fox pumped a fist in the air with a grin as he said, “I’m all for it! You’re really speaking my language today hotshot! Just like they say, no guts, no glory!” Standing with Elizabeth and his students who had come to the bridge during Giselle’s rampage, Professor Cortez asked in curiosity, “Might I inquire on the nature of this Master Seal? It sounds like a rather interesting piece of magic.” A rather dire expression on his usually serious enough face, Serius explained, “The Master Seal is a sealing magic we derived from the information Alexander could remember about the original Seventh Seal that was used to bind the Nameless One. Now that it’s been broken, Alastor’s power will have increased substantially…” Clutching his head in frustration, Alexander muttered, “Grey, did you really have to go and…? Ahh… no, nevermind. There’s no point arguing about it now. For the time being, we need to focus on sorting things out between the demonfolk and the halmans, as well as banding together all the forces of Gaia to join the battle.” Nodding in agreement, Serius said, “Indeed. We may not have time to work things out with the mautauians, who provided a good number of the airships we used in the past, but it sounds as though we’ll have a chance as long as the humans support the rest of our forces with their own airship fleet.”  Chiming in, Fox said, “None of the races we’ve gathered together are a force to take lightly. Some of them may be a bit rusty here and there, but they’ll pull through for us. Alastor’s days are numbered!”

            Still debating exactly how to say it to them all, Grey finally made up his mind and spoke up, saying, “Everyone, I’m not saying I won’t do everything I can to stop him, but Alastor isn’t the true enemy I’m after anymore. In reality, he’s a victim to in a way, and I want to try one last time to save him.” Tense silence falling over the bridge, most looked at Grey in shock or surprise, but Alexander merely turned to Grey with a sad expression as he said, “Grey… I truly wish for nothing else, but you said it yourself. He believes his way is the only way, and we can never agree with what he intends to do. We have no choice but to fight, and if we hold back…” Shaking his head, Grey raised a hand up and clenched it into a fist determinedly as he said, “I won’t hold a damn thing back. That b*****d let himself be steered down such a ridiculous path, taking on everything himself while thinking he had no other choice but to cast away everyone he cared about. I’m gonna beat some sense into him one way or another!”

            Eyeing him skeptically, Serius asked, “And if you can’t reach him? If you can’t make him repent, will you finish him before you end up like Amanus?” Closing his eyes solemnly, Grey said without hesitation, “Yeah, I will.” Staring at Grey a moment as though trying to estimate the true level of his conviction, Serius finally said, “Very well. I have no objection then.” Breaking up the discussion, from where she sat quietly listening to everyone in the navigator’s seat, Bella looked back up at them all with her usual calm yet somehow antisocial expression and said, “Xandaris showing on radar. Estimated thirty minutes until arrival. Daemonholm forces are already present outside the city.” Shooting her a nod in acknowledgement, Schmitt said, “Gotcha. Thanks for takin’ over for a spell Bella, hopefully the admiral will make his return soon enough.” Meeting Schmitt’s gaze, Bella seemed uncharacteristically enthusiastic as she flashed the peace sign and spoke in her quiet yet beautiful and soothing voice once more, saying, “Roger roger.”