The Beginning

[Coolpikaaa]

"Mhm... What exactly were the terms of this agreement again?" a bodiless voice from behind Athena asked. "Was it Yen?"

A crackling bolt of lightning then found it's way towards the temporal Mage's lower back, enough of a blast to temporarily paralyze an elephant.

"I think it might have been Yen..."

Slowly but surely, the small figure of a terrifyingly familiar rodent "faded" back into existence, poised to kick that bothersome staff of Athena's away as soon as she fell.

"If so, I was thinking it may not be all that useful here... Wouldn't you rather me send some demonic logs and a mutant chicken to roast over them instead?"

[Tav]

((From here on out, anything done in 'freezetime' will be put in Purple.))
Athena-2 grabbed Athena, moving her into a different side of the cave, making an essential triangle between the electricity, Fade, and herselves.

Athena looked over towards the rodent, making sure not to keep her eye off of the assassin for too long. Things here were starting to get too hot to handle. "Yen? Really? What use is-"

"Wait." She said. "This is more than about money. This is about something that isn't physical."

Just in case, she slipped out of phase and moved somewhere else.

Then she continued. "This is about something like reputation, power, or. . .membership?"

[Swix]

Fade looked over to the pikachu as he spoke, although slightly more interested in the bolt he shot that missed as the woman disappeared again, his words were almost... annoying. "You know very well what the payment was" Fade said, not particularly wanting to discuss this right now "it has not been that long." Unless the electric rodent was going senile right now, Fade doubted he could very well forget the conversation that only they could hear.

The assassin turned to face Athena almost immediately after she'd moved each time, cold eyes trained as best as she could on the temporal woman. Though she spoke, she did not relax her stance. "I will not disclose a clients details, if Coolpikaaa wishes to tell you what this is about, that is entirely up to him"

[Coolpikaaa]

"Mhm... Details, I'm sure we cou-"

Coolpikaaa stopped, frowning at the area of dirt where he expected an unconscious woman to be. He stood up slowly, glanced at Fade, then at Athena who had managed to somehow get to the other side of the room and avoid his bolt from merely a foot away.

This was apparently going to be harder than he had originally thought...

"Okay Miss Les'pas..." CP said, taking to a wall, and sitting flat against it as to watch both women in the room. "Since you seem quite uncompromisable, even without that staff of yours, I suppose we can do it your way... You see, quite simply, we are running out of time- and no, not something I think you can fix, as the problem lies an inconceivably far distance away in another universe, so if you would kindly call those Immortal friends of yours, I'm sure I can get on my way, as my associate here put it, with 'No hard feelings.'"

[3kul]

A brilliant flash suddenly lights up the cave that Athena, Fade and Coolpikaaa are standing in, and when the light faded a rather unphazed, well-dressed gentleman was left standing in the middle of this mexican stand-off. "Forgive my interruption," he began, bowing slightly to each individual. "I note that I am standing in the presence of the Blue Lady and the Yellow Guardian, both of Blackstar legend. Although you do not know me I am quite familiar with your exploits, being well-versed in Dojodian lore. Let me assure you, the pleasure is all mine." He bowed lowly to both Fade and CP once more, one after the other, before finally introducing himself. "I am The Sommelier, and though I usually serve the finest beverages my first point of business here requires that I repay a debt to an old friend by making a delivery. I can see that you are both busy so I shall endeavour to make my interruption as brief as possible."

He retrieved a small silken handkerchief from his pocket and unwrapped it carefully in his gloved palm. It contained two pieces of what was once a whole dagger; the blade, made of ruby, and tragically snapped quite close to the hilt, and the hilt itself. "Ehem." The Sommelier cleared his throat, putting on a pair of thin rimmed reading glasses and procuring a small card, placing the wine bottle that he had been holding firmly underneath his arm so that he did not have to put it done.

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>The Sommelier reads the card...</dt><dd>&nbsp;</dd></dl><div>"To my trusted ally Fade; though I could not always see you you were the one person I could always count on to be there at the exact moment that I required you. I deeply regret that I cannot offer you more than this, a small token of my appreciation; the original Ruby Dagger. It is now powerless, and sadly broken, but still nonetheless exquisite... like the Dojo itself, in many ways. I trust that you will find some use for it, be it as a simple reminder of the past or something else entirely."[/quote]
"... Touching." The Sommelier noted, folding the card and placing it back in his pocket. He then turned his attention to Fade. "I believe that you know who wrote this message and the personal significance of this object far better than I do. As the note suggests, outside of the realm it originates from the Ruby Dagger is sadly without any of the fantastic powers it once possessed. Please accept it so that I may continue with my second delivery - to you, Yellow Guardian - then I can leave you to your business with this third party..." He turned his gaze to Athena, but could not put a name to her face. "Erm, my apologies miss, but I do not recognize you, and alas, I have no delivery for you. I promise that I shall not take up too much more of your most valuable time."

[Tav]

"No need to give me a delivery of any sort." Athena said. "I am not offended, and in fact, I was just leaving." She nodded to the stranger who had suddenly appeared, and she left the cave. Then she took that note out of her pocket; She would have to do all of these things just right. . .

[Coolpikaaa]

Coolpikaaa cringed, shielding himself from the burst of light that had taken on their small earthen room. Was this Athena's attack?&#33; He hadn't had any clue as to how to prepare...

But then, as suddenly as it had started, the burst had ended and a peculiar being had taken it's place. Despite his intrusion into their standoff, looking at the man made the electric mouse feel as if he was the awkward one out... And at the same time... Horribly underdressed.

Not wishing to spoil the mystery with a speech, CP watched as the new entry read from A card, and presented the Ruby Dagger to Fade. He gave a short intake of breath... Not only at the sight of the relic... But at it's apparent damage. He wasn't sure Relics even *could* break... And found himself wondering what could have possibly caused such a thing.

Staring at the interesting wine bottle and head full of thoughts of terribly strong beasts, CP only snapped out of his daze when The Sommelier mentioned a second delivery,...to him? Had he heard right? Holloweyes and Coolpikaaa had never really had a strong relationship... And what the Alien could possibly have for him was baffling in the least... If it even was Holloweyes presenting the gifts. (Although it seemed a safe bet)

CP just found himself intently watching Fade and her reaction... Even too much to note that Athena had slipped away in the meantime.

[Swix]

Fade blinked the spots out of her eyes after the rather well dressed man interrupted them with the bright blue flash that had appeared right in the middle-and thus right where she'd been staring at Athena. Fade lowered her Sapphire blade to regard the newcomer as coldly as she would anyone, despite his politeness to them all, although she did of course offer her usual small bow when meeting someone new. Fade would have sighed, or made a comment, but she was caught entirely off guard by the Sommeliers unwrapping of the broken Ruby Dagger relic-and even more so by his reading of the card.

There really was only one person she could think of that this could've come from-and her conclusion was the same one that CP had come up with-HollowEyes must have been behind the deliveries that the Sommelier was currently giving out. Even so, she was still... a little surprised. This would be the first time that anyone had left her anything after their death, and she hadn't really expected anything off the Parasitian, least of all even a broken Relic. She had just been doing what she believed she should, by being around to help him out when he needed it.

Fade had put her Sapphire Dagger away when the Sommelier turned around to talk to Athena, who quickly took the opportunity to leave them to it. That was fine, this seemed, somehow, more important.

"Excuse me, Sommelier" she said, watery grey eyes now trained on the man "I will accept your delivery as I'm fairly sure I do know who sent it, and he was a very valuable ally to me. One whom I would have considered a friend-although I do not believe I ever told him that. Then you can continue with your second delivery"

Fade held out her hand for the relic, although she was currently at a loss as to what to do afterwards.

[3kul]

"You are most fortunate, it seems." The Sommelier replied to Fade, gently handing her the Ruby Dagger in his handkerchief, taking great care not to drop or damage it. "Judging from his last words to you it would appear that he too considered you as such without you ever telling him explicitly."

"The next card, as I recall, is not quite so pleasant. I wish that I could do it justice but alas, I doubt that I shall be able to convey it in the manner that it was intended." The Sommelier continued, pulling out a different card from his pocket along with a tattered strip of paper. The paper was instantly recognizable as a charm, HollowEyes' craft and weapon of choice, though unlike his usual charms, which were made of white paper with black ink, this one was made of black paper with white ink. It seemed far more sinister than HollowEyes' normal charms, as though it's mere presence exerted a subtle pressure on the minds of all present. The Sommelier held it carefully between two fingers in his gloved hand, cleared his throat and began to read the contents of the card.

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>The Sommelier reads the card</dt><dd>&nbsp;</dd></dl><div>"To Coolpikaaa, last of the Guardians and eternal thorn in my side. I have deemed you to be the last true enemy of the Council, and as such I bequeath to you my last charm, and the following warning:
Death takes me now
But my legacy survives
Vengeance awaits
Signalled by waking eyes."[/quote]
The Sommelier paused for a moment, then continued. "... That is all that is written. It is unusually cryptic, even for him." The Sommelier handed Coolpikaaa the card so that he may see for himself that nothing else was there. Indeed, the card was quite brief, and contained nothing more than what The Sommelier had read. "It is possible that this may make more sense to you than I, for though I considered him a friend in truth I did not know him very well."

"That said, I would like to offer you my own analysis of the message, and the gift." He held the black charm carefully with both hands, turning it sideways so that Coolpikaaa could view it from a different angle. "Unfortunately charm magic is not my area of expertise, so I cannot tell you too much about the charm itself, but if you direct your attention to the centre of the charm you will see what appears to be three closed eyes." Indeed, situated in the middle of the white symbols scrawled around the outer edges were three white eyes, two horizontal and one vertical, and all were closed. "I suspect that these are the eyes meant to signal the promised vengeance mentioned in the message... As such, when the time comes, they shall open, as though waking from their slumber. The charm appears to have no other functions, however once again I am no expect in such magicks, so please be careful when handling it."

The Sommelier went to hand the charm to Coolpikaaa, but hesitated. He was a very difficult man to read for he did not show much in the way of emotion, but his body language suggested that something was wrong. "It is probably nothing, but there is something else that bothers me about this particular delivery. Please keep in mind that I am speaking as somebody who does not know the sender particularly well, and as such you may feel that there is nothing unusual about this..." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, then continued. "It is important that you both know that I did not receive either of these deliveries from the sender in person, and that I received them both at different times. The first delivery, the dagger meant for the Blue Lady, was brought to me by somebody else, a colleague who knew that I would soon be travelling to this realm. The second however, the charm meant for the Yellow Guardian, I found in my quarters when I was packing. I do not recall having ever seen it prior to this, and I have an exceptional memory for details."

"I cannot speak with any degree of certainty about the origins of the charm. The message, however, does not match up with what little I know about the sender. His 'death' was not a passive one, so to describe it in such a way seems odd, and as far as I know he had nothing in the way of a 'legacy' - his sister, who was his only living relative that I knew of, died together with him, and until I received this charm I had been under the impression that he had destroyed everything that he created shortly before his death."

He paused once again, taking a moment to reflect upon all that he'd said. "Of course, it could just be that I did not know him all that well. I hope that you can forgive me for presuming so much, especially when I know so little of your relationship with him." He bowed lowly once more, then offered the charm to Coolpikaaa once more. "I will be happy to answer any questions that either of you may have, or if you would prefer, I can leave you in peace."

[Coolpikaaa]

Coolpikaaa bristled, his daydream shattered by the words "not quite so pleasant". An overwhelming sense of dread took him at that moment, only intensified by the reveal of his gift and it's attached notice. CP stared, looking uncomfortable, at the charm while The Sommelier read the note, each line somehow more sinister than the last.

So Holloweyes still considered him an enemy? Not only to the Parasitian, but to the whole council? Coolpikaaa glanced up at Fade, then back to his previous focus. That was certainly... interesting information.

Yet it continued, referencing things such as a legacy, and a warning and... a return? From beyond the grave? Certainly Holloweyes would be the most likely of anyone he knew to pull such a stunt. But... why was he telling his "enemy" this? Did... he want him to stop this? Coolpikaaa repeated the note over and over in his mind, taking it when offered, trying to make since of it.

Luckily, the Sommelier stepped in again, offering his own analysis, and pointing out the three eyes on the charm. When they "opened" revenge would be enacted right? That seemed right... but once again... Why&#33;? Because CP had been annoying?

He probably should feel... honoured?

When the Sommelier offered, CP reached for the charm, but lowered it when man showed apprehension. His explanation about the means of delivery only seemed to add to the mystery of it all though. Someone dropping off the Dagger made since, as Holloweyes would have been dead by the point, but the letter and the charm magically appearing... To Coolpikaaa at least, that seemed more like something Holloweyes would have done himself. This, coupled with the wording of the poem, gave the impression that the Council-er had planned, and included, the electric mouse in his plans in the afterlife....

Eventually, the charm was offered to it's new owner, along with the Sommelier's thoughts on "legacy". Coolpikaaa had to agree, not one bit of this seemed to make sense. Why give his very last charm to his enemy? What did the message mean? And what did the revenge mentioned entail?

Thinking ahead, the electric mouse folded the note and used it to handle the charm, careful not to let it touch his body. He might be an annoyance, but he wasn't an idiot, and he knew enough about charms to know some worked by touch, and he certainly wasn't going to activate it the first second it came into his possession. Even through his improvised tongs, CP instantly became aware of a power pushing into his mind. It was disturbing to say the least, and did nothing to clear head for serious thought.

Was he supposed to try and use the charm? That seemed horrifyingly stupid. But maybe that was the point? Had Holloweyes plan relied on a predictable reaction, and using it would be the "right" thing to do? Coolpikaaa surely didn't want to unleash this "vengeance" on himself on others...

But maybe, on a completely different track, the charm was nothing more than a reminder of Holloweyes "legacy" as he had put it. Using it, or not, had no effect on the eventual outcome.

...and that was a horrible thought.

Coolpikaaa realized he needed to clear his mind, and come back to this puzzle later, and luckily, The Sommelier still seemed open for conversation, asking if they had any questions.

"Uh, yeah actually..." The electric mouse said, trying to shake off the ominous buzz in his head. "What's that you've got in the bottle?"

[3kul]

"Ah, I am so pleased that you asked." The Sommelier replied, displaying the bottle in a proper manner so that Coolpikaaa may see it properly. "This is a remarkably good vintage, almost 20 years old today. 'Young Joy On 6th Birthday', a most refreshing beverage guaranteed to take you back to a simpler time, and one of the most popular drinks I serve. I thought to bring it as a tribute to those who govern this new world since I plan to live here, and to demonstrate what I can contribute to their society... Though I have plenty of others to offer them, should you be interested in trying some."

From within his jacket he procured a pair of what appeared to be two tiny glass plates, but when The Sommelier pressed a small indentation on them they grew into wine glasses. "Nanotechnology is such a marvel, don't you think so? I used to have a devil of a time carrying whole glasses with me wherever I went." The two glasses were obviously meant for Swix and Coolpikaaa, though The Sommelier would not force his beverage upon them. Whether or not they would partake in the drink was entirely up to them, and so The Sommelier waited patiently to see if either of them were interested.

[Swix]

Fades hand, or rather both hands clutched both pieces of the Ruby Dagger firmly but gently as she'd brought her other over to prevent it from slipping away. She didn't quite expect she could cause much more damage by dropping it but at the same time, she really didn't want that to happen. Palms held upwards whilst digits held said pieces delicately, the 'Blue Lady' stared at them for long moments. She didn't acknowledge anyone in the room for that short time, just stood there, lost in apparent thought.

The assassin covered the still exquisite Ruby Dagger with the cloth and looked up however at hearing the second message meant for CP-she couldn't exactly help but hear it of course, that was the great benefit of having supersensitive ears. Fade's watery grey eyes briefly caught the electric mouses glance up at her, her own look intent as a blue eyebrow shot up. So... he was still considered an enemy of the Council, that was very interesting. Although she wouldn't be one to get in the way of another's promised vengeance, there was the worry that this might happen before the plans were realised. On the other hand, the electric mouse wouldn't be getting any help from her either. Fade had three levels of loyalty-first to the Council, then herself, then the highest bidder. Currently, CP was on this third level... although whether he realised this or not she didn't know-or care, for that matter.

The rodent had looked away already, towards the unusually sinister charm that was exerting some sort of pressure on the minds of all present, and Fade's eye twitched slightly. She had this sudden... odd... urge to point and laugh at CP and his look of shock and dread but... wait... urge to laugh? That was brought on by feelings... oh dear.

Fade had been through too much today, even for her, and she'd been interrupted during her meditation session&#33; Her mental block on her emotions appeared to be starting to fail-and the fact that she didn't particularly think that facing Athena or the others topside would be a particularly good idea at this point in time meant that she was stuck down here for the moment-with a man whom seemed very polite and probably wouldn't mind leaving her be for a while but the Pikachu, she was sure, was more than likely to take the opportunity to be annoying. Maybe she should start laughing at him... that way he might be too disturbed to realise what was happening to her. On the other hand, she didn't particularly see the point of freaking out a stranger who considered HollowEyes a friend-even if he admitted to not knowing the Parasitian all that well. At least the Sapphire Dagger was tucked away in one of her pockets not touching her, it shouldn't prove a problem so long as it stayed that way.

Literally lost for what to do and fighting a lifelong internal conflict that gave her a slightly out of focus look Fade sat down heavily on the earthen floor, holding the Ruby Daggers pieces very close to her torso with an out of place half smile on her face and an unpleasant glint in her eyes. "Did you say that bottle of yours has 'Joy' in it? Is that just a name, or something more literal?" she asked, grasping onto that particular curiousity in an attempt to stop herself from thinking of anything that would cause more of an emotional response.

[3kul]

"Ah, very astute of you, Blue Lady." The Sommelier said, nodding. "Yes, the name is quite literal, the contents are the liquid form of joy that I have extracted from a 6 year old on their birthday. I didn't take it all, of course - I'm not so heartless - but there was plenty to spare."

"I specialize in the extracting, containing and preservation of emotions and other matters of the heart, altering their form into something tangible. In this case, a fine beverage." He held up the bottle once more. "Once I've transmuted it these emotions can be consumed by others, and by consuming them they can then experience these emotions for themselves. The effects are near instant, and how long they last depends on how much you drink. A glass will last you around 5 - 10 minutes, depending upon your size... although, if the Yellow Guardian were to drink I suspect one glass might last him around 15 minutes. Consuming the entire bottle would last you approximately one hour."

[Coolpikaaa]

"Young joy on 6th Birthday? Is that the name of the win-" CP stopped, rubbing his head, and letting Fade finish. Apparently they had come to the exact same question.

Wait... was she... smiling?&#33;

The electric mouse did a double take, staring at the Blue clad woman, mouth agape. He only just barely tore his eyes away when The Sommelier explained his "drink" was the actual bottled emotion of a 6 year old on their birthday. This day just kept getting weirder and weirder....

And to think, they weren't on Blackstar anymore.

But, The Sommelier had offered them a drink, and seemed quite proud of his collection. Not wanting to upset his new acquaintance, he should probably try...

Yet on the other hand... Ewww... Drinking someone else's emotions ? But one look at the blackened charm, and the intensely creepy stare on Fade's face made up his mind for him.

"Yeah... It'd probably be best to try... something."

[Raven]

Night, when the moon eclipses the sun, allowing the stars to shine through, softly illuminating the world in an ethereal light. It is a time for mischief, darkness, and other acts. When all creatures somehow feel safe to do things they wouldn’t dream of during the day, as they’re covered by the blanket of darkness. One such reveller of one such night, was enjoying her own nightly activities in her chambers of the long-abandoned Corrupted Cave.

However her activities were to be interrupted, when suddenly her eyes were blinded by a great flash, her body became weightless, and then: THUMP&#33;

“WHAT THE F-“ Raven’s outburst halted, her eye twitched in a mixture of irritation and possibly, maybe a pinch of embarrassment. Somehow, she had gone from her silken, luxurious chambers... to being dumped unceremoniously on the floor or some cave somewhere. In the middle of a group of people. In her nightdress.

‘Bloody wonderful.’

Luckily, she was still clutching the black material of her duvet – somewhat alleviating her predicament. However, as she glanced around, her ire grew. Seeing Fade, a man she didn’t recognise but dressed rather sharply (much to her approval) and... CoolPikka.

“YOU&#33;†Raven shouted, leaping up from her seat on the ground. Thank god she’d worn a non-see through nightdress tonight. “YOU LITTLE, UNGRATEFUL, ANNOYING RODENT&#33;†Shrieking at the top of her voice, Raven stomped over to CoolPikka, towering over him. “What the HELL did you do&#33;?†She accused as she grabbed the rodent by the scruff of his neck to try and lift him.

Blame is a wonderful thing.

((Ahoy hoy&#33;))