Lainey and the Magicians (First Draft)

Chapter 12

 Fighting against the darkness had been a mission of Piopold's remembered life. However, he could be influenced specifically by darkness especially since he was a being constructed of light and dark energy. He was a very rare breed for his species because most of his species' members were all completely evil without any convictions. He didn't know his own origins. He didn't understand them either. Did Emerald suspect unrest inside Piopold? Inside the magicians, it was very rare that one of the top generals would take notice to a measly officer but Emerald was one of the generals who believed in an overarching system that had to be perfectly aligned.

 If this system wasn't perfectly aligned, the rest of it would eventually fall like dominoes. Piopold knew that this was important to Emerald and that their failure to capture Lainey inside the alternate Jopiline was suspicious. In the skyline of the dark night, they made their way closer and closer to the blazing sun of the city streets. It was best to keep quiet in the midst of this moment. The other magicians Emerald had assigned to this 'special objective' seemed to be nowhere in sight. Where were they? Piopold kept his eyes on the prize. He couldn't let himself give Emerald any hints to suspect him of treason. He had heard him say earlier that Lainey was one of the least of their concerns, but this couldn't have just been a simple robbery. There was more at stake here. 

 Xrious was beside Emerald. Piopold analyzed what was at stake. In Jopiline, there were many identity threats recently and identities had been stolen without a trace. Granted, it might have just been a coincidence, but it could have been inside a greater plan for the organization. They couldn't ask questions about the mission. Inside the dark night, shadows reflected off the trees and the three figures snuck into the middle of the city.

 This area of the city wasn't safe at night. Cracking buildings and apartments lined up against dilapidated old storefronts. Sidewalks and foolhardy wired fences made a perimeter for these buildings. The lights were off and the blinds were taped shut inside the apartments. The cracking buildings were surrounded by shrubbery and they had no lights. Next to the cracking buildings, fires of vagabonds and homeless people crackled under falling bridges. A hopeful hippie person with goggles and a rainbow shirt played music on his bugle for these people and Piopold could hear him offering to give them jobs at his music shop, while some of them refused the proposal. Up ahead, a group of hooded bikers were standing and joking around near the yellowish walls of an ancient library. Piopold kept himself from gasping at the sight. He couldn't believe how much the darkness was prevalent inside this perversely treated town. This used to be an up-and-coming neighborhood back in the early 1900s and now it was reduced to this. It was hard to believe that people didn't care about these poor people who were living in apartments in violent areas and barely getting by.

 Sure, there were programs to help them, but their education system was pretty bad. You could get a high school diploma without learning anything of importance and you could get a scholarship because of sympathy. The culture of these neighborhoods was a horrible culture of victimhood, which led to unrest. The dark energy inside Piopold smiled at this, but the light energy frowned at the darkness this town had flooding in the atmosphere. Overall, Piopold wasn't thrilled with the darkness and he wasn't thrilled with the beat-down that these kinds of towns were given.

 A few of the hooded bikers pulled out a few bottles of spray paint. Why would bikers choose to vandalize a library? What had books and librarians done to them? A lone thought about Lainey Paris' reckless week in Vegas entered Piopold's mind. Emerald allowed himself into the gang's vicinity. Xrious caught up with him. Piopold came forward. Some of the members kneeled before Emerald and Xrious. "We're big fans of you," one of the bikers piped up. Underneath his mask, Piopold rolled his eyes at this sheep led astray.

 "I can tell by your masks. Their designs are similar to mine," Emerald belted out. "It would be better with more jewelry," Emerald laughed. This menace was so charismatic that he dragged people under his twisting spell. Well, he was also a top general of the magicians, but not every spell was magical. It might as well have been. The bikers joined in with him. "Let's cut to the chase. We will carry the grand mission out."

 The bikers rose their fists in exultation. Piopold also rose it, but he did it to play the game. Xrious cheered. The 'Grand Mission' was the mission of Emerald's gang, the Jewels. Their mission was to make the world a chaotic wasteland, to serve in the interests of the magicians, and their final mission was to enact control over the general populace through any means necessary. Lainey used to be a member of the 'Grand mission.' Young people could be so easily manipulated by the lies they wanted to believe. Nearby, two of the bikers had finished spray painting the wall.

 Pumpkin's face had been drawn putting the entire world in his hands and sharing it with Emerald. Jewels were close by inside the picture in the vicinity of the drawn Emerald. The bikers, Xrious, and Piopold followed close to Emerald. "What shall our first orders be?" One of the bikers said, pulling out a lockpick.

 "You shall scatter across the city. Attack the I-35 entrance to Jopiline. Commander David Lars of the anti-magician hunters will be expecting magicians, but he will not be prepared for versatile biker gang members. You will be the strikers from the shadows, the ones who will allow our mission to succeed. You will be my champions," Emerald belted. Piopold knew of David Lars already. He was a mentor of many young anti-magician hunters like Codebreaker and he had people looking for Lainey many times over Jopiline.

 In that moment, the biker gang members quickly jumped onto the bikes and sped off into the distance. "What about us?" Xrious asked, turning to face Emerald.

 "I will help you unleash your power to help you fulfill the rest of the mission. You will suck the power out of what I need you to. I will not explain it here. David Lars has many ears around here. Some would say that those ears are in every time period even though our masking is hard to break," the trio walked on. Purple energy of magical origin fizzed inside of Emerald as he gazed in seemingly egotistical self-absorbed 'brilliance' back at the graffiti art on the ransacked library wall.

 How much did Emerald know? Hopefully, the biker gang members would fail in their diversion toward the real mission. In the distance, Piopold gazed up at the skyscrapers further out in the city, hoping that Lainey and Nathan could get back to the present. Piopold had a plan. That plan would be executed. Emerald wouldn't see it coming. This night would be a night that the rebellion would remember forever. Pumpkin would be undermind. Soon enough, his castle both in Minapo and inside the magician organization would fall. Why did it have to come to war?