"So this is your house!" Flamberge enthused. "Cool!"
"We would prefer you to call it our Jambandra Base." Hyness replied with a brief nod, grabbing her by the arm and taking her in. "Come along, now."
"Wait, we? Who else is here?"
"Thousands of my followers, including a little mage I found in circumstances similar to yours."
"Oh, okay then." The fiery redhead shrugged, watching as her hooded savior walked forward a bit, then raising his arms upward. The ground began to move a bit, causing Flamberge to jump in surprise.
It was now clear what they were standing on was an elevator.
She adapted quickly, looking around at her surroundings as they passed. She rested her hand on her chin. "Nice place you got here, Hyness."
"Yes."
Soon, the elevator stopped moving, and standing right there was a blue-haired girl dressed in black robes with a cyan lining, with a humongous hat of sorts atop her head, that had a strange symbol on it, not unlike the one on Hyness's hood. Her mouth was covered by some sort of veil.
"Lord Hyness! You have returned!"
The girl then turned to Flamberge, giving a confused yet happy expression (at least from what could be seen).
"Oh! Bonjam, stranger!" She greeted. "I am Francisca, a mage of ice. What is your name? Any friend of Lord Hyness is a friend of mine!"
"Name's Flamberge!" The girl replied enthusiastically in an energetic tone of voice. "I deal with fire! I'm too hot to handle, some might even say!...even though no one's ever said it, it's true, y'know..."
Francisca giggled, brushing some hair out of her face. "You're funny. How long can you stay, Miss Flamberge?"
"As long as she still wishes to join us, it could be a very long time."
The ice mage gasped, then clasping a hand to where her mouth would be (if it wasn't covered). She turned to Hyness with a shocked look.
"You mean..?"
"Yes. Our Flamberge here has requested to follow us in carrying out our mission."
"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that! She seems quite pleasant, you know!" Francisca gushed, clapping her hands together. "We need to find you some suitable robes! I'll do it, come with me, Miss Flamberge!"
She grabbed the fire girl by the hand and scurried off somewhere with her, clearly very excited about having somebody new around.
~
"I'm almost done! Oh, I can hardly wait to see you with the full ensemble!"
Flamberge looked down at herself. The robes she wore were similar to Francisca's. She had to wear a dress underneath them, so Francisca had turned around while she was changing into it.
It was a very exciting day for the ice-bender, mostly because it would be wonderful to have a new member, not to mention a new member who was a girl. She looked absolutely darling in her red-lined robes, her gloves with the signature heart design on them that didn't quite cover her hands' undersides, and as Francisca carefully covered her mouth, all there was left was the beret, with a red version of the Jambastion symbol to boot! Oh, what a lovely day.
As the ice girl placed it upon Flamberge's head, her wild hair seemed to poof down a tad, much to her amusement. She cupped a hand to her (covered) mouth and let out a giggle.
"You're all done, Miss Flamberge!" Francisca said in an enthusiastic tone, holding up a mirror for her. "You look absolutely wonderful, take a peek, won't you?"
The redhead peered at her reflection, and gave her head a tilt. "I can't say I've ever worn anything like this before."
"You'll get used to it." The blue mage replied, her eyes smiling. "I'm sure Lord Hyness would love to see you now, so we'll go at once."
She once again took the fire girl by the hand, and off they went.
~
"Oh, lovely. You've simply outdone yourself, Francisca."
"Hehe! Thank you, Lord Hyness! I knew what with her flame-like hair and fiery passion that she would look splendid in red!"
The hooded man then turned his attention to Flamberge. "Indeed. Now then...if we are ready to begin..."
"Begin...what, exactly?" The redhead questioned.
Francisca gasped. "Initiation! So that you can fully give yourself to Jambastion, and our lord and savior, Void!"
"Wait, wait, who's Void?" Flamberge inquired with a raised brow, taking a step back. "You guys didn't tell me anything about that."
"Please, do not be alarmed. Allow me to explain," Hyness insisted. "our glorious lord."
The girl felt a bit confused and nervous, but Francisca held her hand, and that made her feel a little better.
"Quite some time ago, my clan was banished to the edge of the galaxy by people we once thought to be our friends. Why? Simply because they feared our power."
"Wow. What cowardly jerks."
"Now our goal is to awaken Void, to revive my clan and achieve true paradise. You do not have to participate, however. With your new abilities, you could do almost anything you'd like to. You may leave, if that is what you'd prefer."
Flamberge looked to Francisca, saw the sad look in her eyes, and felt her heart grow heavy. Well, they weren't trying to do anything inherently bad, and Hyness and his clan had been banished by a bunch of jerkfaces! And plus, she practically owed him her life, because he had saved hers.
"No." She spoke. "I wanna stay and help you guys."
Francisca lightened up significantly, and Hyness tilted his head to the side, looking straight into the redhead's eyes. "You do? Really and truly?"
"Of course!" Flamberge yelled happily. "It won't be so bad here! And plus we got a vengeance to take! Come on! Let's get revenge by being happier in true paradise than they can ever imagine!"
Even when his face was damn-near completely obscured by his hood, the fiery girl could tell he was smiling. "Very well then. Shall we start?"
"Hell yeah!" She cheered with great enthusiasm.
Francisca squealed, jumping up and down while clapping her hands. "It's so wonderful to know you're going through with this, Miss Flamberge! I can assure you that you'll be very happy to serve our Lord Hyness!"
The ice girl gave her a great big hug, which she returned without hesitation, giving a wide grin underneath her veil.
Hyness briefly cleared his throat.
"Now that we have collected ourselves, we may begin."
They both gathered around on either side of Flamberge, Francisca holding a scepter with a red heart jewel at the end of it while squeezing her hand tightly.
Hyness put a hand on Flamberge's shoulder, looking deeply into her eyes. The girl returned her attention from Francisca back to him.
"Dear Flamberge, born of fire, with a burning passion unmatched by anyone. Do you swear your eternal loyalty to our lord and savior, Void?"
"I do swear it."
"Your fellow Jambastion bretheren. Francisca. Do you swear to protect them, no matter the cost? Even if it sacrifices your very life?"
"I swear with every fiber of my being that no matter what happens, I'll be there to protect my bretheren, or fall on my own sword!"
After a few moments, Hyness removed his hand from her shoulder.
"Your warmhearted loyalty...I can feel it. It is quite lucky that I found you today. You are precisely what we need."
Francisca slowly approached the girl. She grabbed her face, turning it towards her. She raised the scepter. "Now close your eyes, and stay as still as possible."
Flamberge obliged. She felt a strange sensation across her eyes, yet she tried not to move a muscle. It was hard since she was so excited, but she managed.
"There. Now you have your markings."
The redhead opened her eyes, feeling herself grin. "Can I see?! Can I see?! Oh, please come on, let me see!"
"You may look at Francisca's handiwork soon enough. We are not completely finished yet. There is something else I am sure she would love to show you. Francisca?"
Even through the veil, you could tell the girl was smiling extremely widely. She nodded, taking both Flamberge and Hyness's hands in hers. "I can finally sing it...yes, of course."
She took a breath.
"In spite of all, cold as ice! In spite of all, hard as stone! In spite of all, hear our plea! In spite of all, all alone!"
Her voice was as sweet as a delicious snow cone, and Flamberge was living for it. She began to sway her arms to the ice girl's beautiful voice, and that seemed to encourage her.
"In spite of all, we reconcile! In spite of all, we pass the trial!"
She gave a brief smile to Flamberge, as if telling her that particular line was for her.
"In spite of all, hear us three! We beg of thee! We beg of thee!"
She repeated the same lines one more time, and then her fiery friend erupted into loud cheers. "Whoo! Go, Francisca! Yeah!"
The ice mage blushed a little out of embarrassment and gratefulness, and Hyness gave a satisfied nod. "Yes. Now with that, you are officially a member of Jambastion."
"Glad to hear it! I promise to do the best I can for everyone! I'll burn anyone who dares to oppose! Honest!"
The others laughed, and Flamberge grinned with joy.
She was more than happy to assist the man who had so generously saved her life, and maybe get a little closer to Francisca.