Whispers of Nowhere

Chapter Seven: Part One

Forneus placed his hand on top of hers, offering her a reassuring smile as he did. "It's quite all right. After all, we were 'holding a conference in your room', as you so aptly put it." His eyes seemed to dance as he said this, crinkling at the corners in a way she was becoming accustomed to. "In truth, I was just coming to check on you when Phenex arrived with information from the council."

Though warmed by his concern for her, Gwen couldn't help but glance Phenex's way when he said this, noticing his thunderous expression. For once, though, his agitation didn't appear to be directed at her. Instead, he stared at the wall opposite, pointedly ignoring them both.

Giving herself a mental shake, Gwen turned back to Forneus, absently grabbing a sesame-seed bagel from the tray as she asked, "So...what's the news?"

Forneus leaned forward, his expression grave. "We now know the identity of at least one of the beings trying to impede our mission." Having just taken a large bite out of her bagel, Gwen simply nodded, encouraging him to go on.

Forneus obliged. "However, this specific entity isn't the only one hindering our progress. There are many others running amok, creating disturbances across the globe. Some, like the trio we faced back in the Colosseum, come after us with the sole purpose of stealing the artifacts, while others are merely content to cause havoc. Of course, all of this spells trouble for the Regulations Force, regardless." He paused, brow furrowed. "Furthermore, we suspect that 'the Akuma trio', as we've come to call them, are either working for—or with—the entity in question. There may be others, as well. Admittedly, most of this is simply conjecture on our part, but we are also trying to ascertain if there might be more to their agenda than preventing the seals' restoration."

Gwen took a quick sip of water to help wash down the piece of bagel that had gotten lodged in her throat, gasping, "What other reason could there be?" As far as she could see, whatever plan the 'bad guys' were concocting seemed fairly straight-forward. Prevent the High Council and the Regulations Force from restoring the artifacts' seals, and they would never have to worry about being trapped within their hellish prison again.

"As far as we can tell, there isn't really anything to support our theory...except for one thing." Forneus twisted the ring on his right thumb, a gesture Gwen was beginning to recognize as a sign of his unease. "If they simply meant to prevent their return to Nowhere, all they would need to do is destroy the artifacts. And yet from what we've observed, they seem interested in claiming them for themselves—though to what end, we don't know."

Between the pensive expression on his face and Phenex's palpable agitation, Gwen suddenly found she'd lost her appetite. Setting the bagel down, she stared at the clean, white comforter still covering her from the waist down, pondering over what the escapees of Nowhere could possibly want the artifacts for. No answer came to her, though this didn't really come as a surprise given how very little she knew about the artifacts and their powers to begin with.

Gwen excused herself and headed for the bathroom, taking her time as she brushed her teeth and doing her best to ignore the shadows under her eyes when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Not a word was spoken even when she returned, Gwen suddenly conscientious of her every movement, the soft slap of her bare feet as she padded across the smoky tile seeming loud in the otherwise quiet room. She settled back down onto the bed, cringing when it groaned under her weight. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and looked first at Phenex, then Forneus.

When it seemed neither was inclined to speak, she broke the silence. "So, this entity you mentioned...I'm guessing it's that Reeves guy you were talking about earlier?"

From the glance Forneus threw Phenex's way, she got the sinking feeling there was a lot more to Reeves than just being some ordinary, run-of-the-mill 'bad guy' from the movies. It was almost like...