Nyx checks out her new outfit, made out of black leather. If she was going to wear anything, she would ensure it looked good. She feels the pointy metal heels of her thigh-high boots and smiles with satisfaction when she pricks her finger. She grabs the scissors and sits at a vanity, cutting her hair to ankle length. She can see Nicolette staring back at her from the mirror as she does so. "You're scared, aren't you?" Nyx asks her, feeling sympathetic.
"I want to see them... my brother, sister, dad, Ein, and Natalie." Tears well up in her eyes, and Nyx reaches her hand through the glass, wiping them away.
"Right now, things seem bleak, but I promise you you will see them again someday if I have anything to say about it. I'm not going to let that man completely destroy you if i have the will to do so." Nicolette looks at Nyx with hope in her eyes.
"He's going to torture us... do you think you can handle it?" Nicolette asks.
"I have no clue," Nyx admits. "I've always been used in the past but never to the extent this man wants to. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was worried. My power, well, our power, isn't one to be taken lightly." She says as she places her elbows on the vanity table and rests her head on her hands.
"I don't want to hurt anybody, and I can't handle seeing blood... with what happened to mom, I-"
"Relax, babydoll; I have a feeling we'll get through this even if it takes a few years," Nyx assures her.
"I'm only sixteen. I'm supposed to be out there living life, and- are you wearing a black leather top that shows off my breasts? And why is there a braid on either side of my head I... what are you wearing!?"
"What do you not like it? I thought it was fitting, seeing as our hair is black and our eyes switch between gold and red, and not to mention our figure is perfect for this type of outfit-"
"Nyx!" Nicolette exclaims. "This outfit makes me look like a whore!"
"Okay, no need to use the W word. I happen to think we look great."
"Change!" Nicolette says firmly. Nyx rolls her eyes and groans.
"But I don't wanna," she whines. "I haven't been able to control this body till now. At least let me have a little fun- wait a minute. I'm the one in charge of this body right now, not you." Nicolette's jaw drops open.
"You- that's not fair, Nyx. This is my body, too!" Nicolette was not happy with Nyx at the moment.
"Listen, when you take over occasionally, which I will let you, you can dress however you like, but me? This is my outfit~" Nyx says teasingly as she gets up and walks away from the vanity.
"Nyx! Ugh!" Nicolette yells from the mirror. "Unbelievable!"
~Mexico~
Ein manages to arrive safely at the Mexico City International Airport. He waits for the others to arrive while wandering the airport. He had barely managed to escape William's guards, and he was paranoid they knew where he was. Getting to Tepito safely was his main goal, but waiting for Leroy and Charles was really starting to test his patience. Ein found himself wandering and lying across a set of chairs for what felt like hours. "How long could it possibly take them to get here?" He says out loud.
He drifts off to sleep and is woken up by loud clashing and banging, making him jump up and pull out a banana from his pocket he had gotten earlier. "Who's there!?" He says drowsily.
"Really?" He hears Charles ask. "A banana is your self-defense?"
"Huh? This isn't a- oh shit" As Ein starts to wake up more, he realizes he is indeed holding a banana like a weapon. "Listen, I was tired," he says, embarrassed, throwing the banana into a nearby trash bin. "What took you guys so long? And where's Leroy?" He asks, looking around and behind Charles.
"He had to use the bathroom. He refused to go before we got on the flight and is now suffering immensely from a full bladder, but that's what he gets for being stupid." Ein nods, readily accepting Charles's explanation. Leroy may be a great friend, but he was not the brightest guy to exist.
"How'd you manage to get him away from the ladies?"
"Ha! That's a story and a half, but long story short, I had to convince the ladies Leroy had STDs, which pretty much destroyed Leroy's reputation within the casino. A necessary sacrifice to free him from their grasp even though he's extremely unhappy with me." Charles rolls his eyes. "He's something else, and I still don't know why you invited him along."
"As stupid as he can be and as easily distracted he can get, his power of manipulating the earth is useful, especially since he has complete control of his abilities, unlike you and me." Charles sighs.
"Yeah i know, but sometimes i just want to shove him in a suitcase and send him back," he mumbles.
"Aww, thanks. I love you too so much," Leroy says sarcastically as he approaches the group, returning from the bathroom.
"Oh! You heard that!?"
"I may be dumb, but I ain't deaf, Charles!" Leroy says a bit butt hurt. "Besides, I'm not completely useless. I got some news today that I think might both worry and excite you, Ein."
"Huh? What did you find out?" Ein asks curiously.
"Well, I bugged the casino in a few different spots. Yes, I know I'm amazing, and I overheard bits of a conversation with Niko on the phone with somebody whose voice I couldn't quite make out." Ein and Charles give each other concerned looks.
"What did you hear? If you heard any of the conversation." Charles asks, wanting Leroy to get to the important bit.
"Well, I couldn't make out much, but in all honesty, I only needed to hear one part of the conversation to have a vague idea of who they were talking about," Leroy says confidently.
"Get to the point, Leroy!" Ein says anxiously. Leroy was really trying to drive him up the walls.
"She's awake, and if my assumptions are correct, they are talking about Nicolette." Ein's heart stopped and then started to beat rapidly. Could it really be Nicolette they were talking about? But why tell Niko, of all people?
"Wait, why were they telling Niko this information? Nicolette and Niko barely knew each other back when we were kids and maybe hung out twice or thrice." Something wasn't adding up, and Ein couldn't figure out why. "Does Niko have somebody on the inside working for William? Or did William just randomly decide, "Let's tell Niko!" Because that makes a lot of fucking sense." It was bugging Ein how his older brother fit into the puzzle. He was like the one piece that didn't fit in any of the spots.
Leroy and Charles shrugged, unable to provide Ein with an answer to his questions. Another plane landed outside, and Leroy didn't hesitate to build a rock wall outside one of the gates, damaging the airport flooring. "I don't like what I saw, and that plane is coming from the same location you were, Ein. We need to move." Ein wanted to sit down and put the pieces together, but seeing some of William's guards get off the plane that just landed snapped Ein back to reality. Their progress would be for nothing if they got caught.
"Let's move," Ein says firmly, and the three of them hurriedly rush outside the airport and take some bikes.
"Wait, we haven't ridden these before, and they aren't ours to take!?" Charles calls out.
"We don't have time to worry about learning to ride. I managed to access the GPS. Let's move before they figure out exactly where we've gone!" Charles hesitantly gets on the bike, trying to balance as he presses on the pedals. Leroy is a natural and follows behind Ein as they struggle to balance the bikes. Ein follows the GPS instructions to the address in Tepito, which takes them about 49 minutes with the number of times one of them fell off the bikes, and he could see Charles and Leroy starting to become tired.
"Come on, guys, we're almost there. Just a few more minutes," he encourages them, and they keep pushing forward despite their aching legs. The guards, seeing the trio rush out of the airport, were blocked off by the last-minute rock wall by Leroy. They stand outside debating on the best moves to make while some try to chip away at the wall with no luck as it's rock solid.
"Boss isn't going to be happy about this. It was easier when that kid was alone but now he has someone who can manipulate the earth. We can't break through the wall; it's like it's made out of diamonds. Unbreakable diamond." One of the guards says. The head guard kicks a nearby rock in frustration.
Every goddamn time we get close, they are one step ahead, and I'm not interested in calling our boss and being scolded again, especially now that that bitch is awake!" Nyx being awake meant William was on high alert and had plans to somehow set Niko and Nicolette up. Ein coming into the picture could ruin everything.
"If the boss knew he was such a problem, why didn't he kill the boy that day?"
"I don't know, and I don't bother to question Mr. Lyiora's decisions cause doing so could get you killed, so keep your mouth shut!" The other guard becomes quiet, not daring to say another word. "Are any of the other gates open?" He asks
"Some of the others are trying to force them open, but it's like a force is keeping them closed."
"Of course, it would be that bastard doing this. He's trying to protect them."
"Who?" The guard asks, confused. "Isn't it just those three?" The head guard shakes his head.
"Jason lives in Mexico and was most likely warned by someone that they would be arriving. He's the only one able to manipulate objects like this, and he can do it from more than three thousand miles away. He's messing with us, delaying us to buy them time, and he knows that even if we were to get inside, we wouldn't know where to start looking."
"I thought all gifted people lived inside the walls of Stitem?" This gets him smacked on the head by the head guard.
"Not all of them do. Stitem, while protecting gifted people is limiting, the outside world has much more to offer if you can find a safe haven from the Arcana Eaters."
"So each gifted person has a unique ability or gift, and because of that, we can identify them?"
"Now you're catching on, which is surprising considering how dense you were before. Jason could be doing this from just about anywhere, which causes us problems. We'll have to find another way out in order to continue." The head guard gathers up the others, and they begin finding another exit that won't take them that long so they can start their search as soon as possible. The guard stays off to the side and goes through his phone before calling someone.
Noticing this, the head guard decides not to bother him but keeps a watchful eye and listening ear on him. Nobody is supposed to know Nicolette and Nyx are awake, as that would ruin William's plans. Ein and the others make it to an old abandoned house.
"Uh, Ein, no offense, but are you sure this is the place?" Ein looks at the picture Carlile sent him.
"Yup, this is the place, and while it looks horrible on the outside, I'm guessing this is another guise like what Carlile had for his city."
"A guise? What the hell is a guise?" Leroy asks.
"A guise is basically a cloak or disguise used to hide the real form of something." An unfamiliar voice interrupts as someone approaches and stops a few feet away. "Hello boys; my name is Jason Voye."