Adam stood in front of his team, hands clasped together in excitement and nervousness. Their meeting room had expanded greatly. They've set up a white board to write notes on and occasional random doodles, blacked out the huge wall length windows to hide the room from outside viewers, and had an upgraded table system. They commissioned Jason to built a table and chair set, and he presented them with a silver table curving into a 'u' shape, lights embedded into the rim of the table for when the lights of the room are turned off, and have cup holders made for each place a person sits.
There are ten spots all on the exterior of the table with only seven customized chairs facing the white board placed in those spots. Jason had also created the chairs for each person's needs and preferences, the lights embedded to it glowing with their favorite color. They also levitate using magnets attached to the bottom of the chair and a circular magnet on the floor keeping it in that particular range. Only a really strong force would be able to move the chair from its magnetic field.
In the center of the 'u' was a cylindrical projection table with a touch screen on the top face, having the ability to digitally project holograms at any size for better visualization on missions. Seto learned how to use it, specifically getting Jason to adjust it to sorcerer code for only Seto to use it. It wasn't that hard, just programing the language into the system which was easily accomplished through Seto just casting a spell on it. He enjoys setting things up on there, especially important digitalised documents. Besides, it's probably the only technology he willingly wanted to learn how to use. Anything else is just boring, unnecessary technological advancements in his eyes.
"I've called this meeting to discuss a really short little announcement in which I hope all of you will be pleased with," Adam began speaking, still playing around with his hands due to sheer worry they won't like the news. "Are we finally getting Jason to make each one of us a jet pack?!" Jerome asked, standing up enthusiastically. Everyone turned towards his direction, Adam awkwardly answering with, "No, we arent." Jerome pouted sitting back down on his chair, sinking slightly as the weight is applied on it. "It's okay buddy, maybe next time," Mitch commented on the subject. "Uh, no. I'm not doing that," Jason broke into the conversation, "We don't need them."
"Guys, back to what I was saying," Adam caught their attention once more, "I'm happy to announce that Team Crafted is getting a new member." The team lit up with joy and excitement, questioning so much about this new person. All but one person. Seto sat with his arms crossed, not very pleased with what Adam had said. "His name is Tyler Ellis, but likes to be called Ty and comes from the kingdom- hey!" Adam interrupted himself as he witnessed Seto stand up, pull his hood over his head and exit the room ominously. The room had become silent as they all watched Seto's mysterious departure. It left a very stiff tension between them and the team, especially Adam.
"Who's going for it this time?" Quentin asked, scratching his orange whiskers. Adam sighed, knowing he's the one who has to talk to him, "I'll do it, I was the one who made him feel all gloomy anyway."
"No you didn't-"
"Shut up, I know I did," Adam raised his voice at Ian, interrupting him mid sentence. He stepped out of the room and made his way down the halls of the palace till he encountered Seto's laboratory door made of obsidian stone. Knocking gently, he exclaimed, "Seto, please let me talk about it."
There was no response as the sorcerer ignored his plea's and continued brewing potions to pass the time. Adam knocked again, "Come on Seto, I just really wanted to help this guy out." The door flew open forcefully, caused by Seto's psychokinesis as he slammed his empty flasks on his busy table. "Help him out?" Seto turned around slowly, lifting his arm up so he'd drag Adam inside his room with his magic. Once he was inside, he closed the door shut with his mind once more. "Your sense of judgment has gone off its rockers!" Seto yelled, dropping him to the ground with a loud thump. Adam rubbed his bottom back as he curled his back and stood up. "No it hasn't," Adam brushed himself off, "I know exactly what I'm doing."
"You're still too juvenile to comprehend the complexity of your choices," Seto explained how he saw things, "As a king, a huge impact to the Sky Kingdoms decisions and overall outcome lay in your hands. You need to process these thing! I can't offer you any help or advice on this if you're just going to ignore it. You need to stop being childish and do what's best for your homeland. Explain to me, what good can come out of this random stranger entering Team Crafted?"
"I'm twenty-one now! I understand wrong from right Seto, and he's not a stranger to me. We can get an outsider perspective from him about our thoughts and choices. He really is a good choice of mine." Seto widened his eyes, realizing something. He thought for a moment, backing away from Adam to think better, "Where did you meet this new person?"
"When I went out to that mission at one of the neighboring kingdoms to set up that trading embargo, I met him there as I walked down the towns streets," Adam explained, not feeling ashamed of anything. "I've been keeping contact with him and have separated myself for a couple of days to hang out with him. He's a good kid, trust me." Seto gave him a crossed look that could completely block out his true emotions, not wanting to believe what he's hearing. "You sly abydocomist, leave my presence!"
Adam gasped, insulted. "Take that back."
"Are you deaf?" Seto narrowed his eyebrows, "I said, leave!
"What did you want me to do then?! Have you seen the conditions those people are forced to live in? It's terrible and him being a part of our team would bring good publicity to help out his home town." Adam snickered sinisterly, his anger overcoming his logical train of thought, "Or are you just that arrogant that you can't open up your eyes and place yourself in someone else's shoes for once in your damn life." Seto has had it at this point, "Fine, do what you please! Don't ask me for my opinion anymore if yours values higher than mine."
Adam rubbed his head with frustration as he turned back around and manually let himself out of Seto's lab. It's a very small place so he wasn't too far away from the door to begin with. As he exits and closes the door behind him, he had caught the rest of his team spying on his and Seto's conversation. They were about to run away, but were stopped by Adams visible saddened eyes. Jason proceeds to speak first, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, he's fine," Adam began explaining, "But he's most likely going to coop himself up in there for another week or two." They all gave Adam sympathetic looks and encouraging words as to relax him over the harsh conversation he just had with his guardian. Adam pushed them away, feeling too crowded and knowing the sympathy is being given to the wrong person. "Anyway, go on more about this new member," Mitch encouraged, wanting to know more. The rest agreed. "Well, he's sixteen and I've been trying to get his transfer papers arranged to make him an official citizen of this kingdom."
"I can help with that!" Ian interfered, being up for task. "That's good," Adam smiled, forgetting what he felt from his talk with Seto, "We'll be able to get him over here faster with your help."
"And someone finally beats Seto at something," Jerome pointed out before being jabbed on the side by Quentin who nodded, disapproving. Adam clamped his hand together and walked in between his team members as he exclaimed, "Everyone back to their task. Ian, follow me to my room where I have Ty's transfer papers." Everyone nodded and split up to their respected directions. Seto finished eavesdropping as they all left from in front of his door. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he continued to repeat his conversation with Adam in his head. He knew he'd need to apologize to him at some point when he decides to leave his lab. Until then, it'd be a good idea to collect his own tears to formulate some potions with.
-
After a very successful transaction of papers, Ty had been able to live in the Sky Kingdom. The paperwork took about a week to complete thanks to Ian's help with speeding up the process and the good cooperation of the other kingdom leader. Adam opened the doors to his palace home, sunlight entering the marble floors and lighting up the throne room with a more natural lighting, despite the large windows already allowing light into the castle. He took a deep breath in and out, "You smell that Ty, it smells like a welcoming party is being planned."
Adam walked in as to allow Ty to admire the interior firsthand. He stepped into the marble room, staring at everything in awe. He wore a white v-neck shirt with black rims, pressed grey jeans, and purple and black shoes. He also had on dark grey headphones with a green design on the earmuffs. Everything he wore was clean and new, all gifts from Adam to him. He pulled back his bangs to have a better look on where he stood. The throne room was marvelous, the roof reached up so high with a dangling chandelier over the marble patterned floor. The two thrones sat at the end of the room, ready for royalty to sit upon it. A very noticeable detail however had to be the excess use of gold to design every little thing. From the pillars meant to hold up the dome shaped room to the candles rimmed with gold on the chandelier.
"Wow," Ty awed, his voice sounding overwhelmed and awkward, "You live here?"
"No other place for the king to sleep," Adam exclaimed, smiling excitedly, "I've asked the servants, but apparently I'm not allowed to sleep in a garbage bin willingly. Oh, I can't wait to show you the others! They get back for dinner around five or so." Ty nodded, feeling excited as well. Adam grabbed Ty's wrist and pulled him down the multiple hallways till they arrived at Ty's designated room. "I even got your room all set up for you," Adam opened the door for him. Ty entered and was astonished once more by how spacious everything was.
His bed was a full size mattress placed in one of the corners of his room, having a dark cyan bed sheet cover over it. A personal restroom off to the side of the bed along with two dressing counters providing mirrors and drawers to store clothing and other materials. A single windo w that stretched to the ceiling, providing a nice open view of the kingdom with the drapes pulled back. He was overjoyed by the wealth, but knew this was too much for him. "N-no Adam, I can't accept this," Ty stepped back out of the room next to Adam, "I don't deserve all of this. I'm really okay with something smaller."
"Don't be modest, you deserve everything I'm giving you," Adam pushed Ty back into the room, "I'll repeat it for you. This is your room." Ty stepped deeper into the room, his feet crunching the beige carpeted floor beneath him. "T-thanks," Ty stuttered out, "But wouldn't it have been better to let me bring some personal belongings with me."
"Your drawers are already filled with clothes for when you want to change, the bathroom is stocked with everything you need, and food is there whenever you need," Adam explained, closing the door slowly, "I'll leave you to make this feel like home for a while, meet me in the kitchen before five so I can present you to the rest of the team."
"Okay, thanks Adam," Ty nodded slightly, understanding his friend is just trying to make him feel welcomed. The door clicks shut and the room is silent. Ty immediately turns and runs towards the one window occupying his room. He let's the weight of his new life sink in for a moment. It is a much better living style than what he's been presented with back at his own kingdom, but it still doesn't make him stop feeling like he left unfinished business back at home. Then again, it's a good thing to try something new. He's yet to be told what he's going to be doing to give his part in the team. Adam had told him how Mitch and Jerome--sometimes Ian--watch over the army portion of the kingdom. He'd possibly join in on that fun? Only time would tell.
Ty backs away from the window and flops on his bed, tired of the walk he and Adam had to do to get from his kingdom to the one he's in. He's surprised by how incredibly soft the mattress is. He rolls all over it, giggling joyfully to himself as he snuggles into the blanket. The bed he used to have was a lot stiffer than the cloud hes on. His tired eyes begin to flutter close as his face hits the pillow, sleep not being hard to achieve with the comfortable material.
Though his nap was rathet delightful, Ty hadn't thought of preparing a wake up call. As he arose from the the sheets, stretching his arms and back, his memories slowly drifted back as he remembered he was supposed to meet Team Crafted. He jumped out of bed and searched for the time, finding an alarm clock on the night stand right next to his bed. It read, "5:04pm."
"No, no, no, no!" Ty panicked as he ran to his door opening it up. Before he could run out and meet up with Adam, he heard voices approaching his location. He went back in and closed the door, leaving just a crack open for him to see who the voices belonged to. Two guys walked side by side together. One wore a white t-shirt with a black and red checkered patterned jacket over it, blue jeans, red shoes and a gold dog tag around his neck. He had brunette hair that barely reached his beck. The other had on a blue hoodie designed with other shades of blue, grey pants, and blue sneakers. His hair was a strawberry blonde that seemed very precisely done. Mitch and Jason.
"The recruits kicked butt today," Mitch's voice being the first to clear up. "That's nice to hear," Jason responded, "I still haven't gotten the rocket boots to work yet. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."
"Just make jet packs instead," Mitch suggested. "I already perfected jet packs, and built it into my suit," Jason explained, annoyance clearly bring projected in his tone. "Yeah, but I meant for us," Mitch explained himself a little better. Jason seemed to clearly understand Mitch's wishes, being even more annoyed by his clarification. Jason entered his room, shouting no as he closed the door. Mitch chuckled to himself, heading into his room that was next to Ty's. "Heh, one day."
Once he heard the door click shut, Ty deemed it acceptable to leave his room and find the kitchen. He ran across the hallways, ducking near corners and hiding as much as possible from any accidental encounters. It didn't help that he wasn't familiar with the palace, each hallway seeming almost the same as the last. He could stop and ask some of the guards or servants walking by, but his outsider voice would attract attention from the others. Ty hugged his back to the wall, peering through every corner carefully. He felt a hand grab his shoulder and he jolted in surprise. He turned around and saw Adam clenching onto him as he visibly told him to hush. Ty nodded and followed Adam's lead to make it into the kitchen. Once they made it, they shut the huge double doors behind him.
"I'm sorry about that," Adam apologized walking around the large rectangular table placed in the center of the huge room, "I realized I hadn't told you the way to get here, so I went to go find you."
"Yeah, no kidding," Ty admired the room. A chandelier shined above the dinning table, the marble table getting a very bright look to it. In each corner sat a plant of some sort in a circular pot to enhance the aesthetic. The table was already set up, the only thing missing being the food. "I thought you said we were meeting in the kitchen." Adam facepalmed over his own lack of detail, "I'm sorry, I meant dinning room. I'm just really excited you're here. If you must know, the kitchen is that other area on the side of the dinning room." Ty saw two doors that lead to the kitchen, each having a circular window to view out of. "Oh," Ty said as he noticed a slight mist coming from the doors. "I wanted to show you your own chair," Adam grabbed Ty by the arm and showed him a nicely crafted empty chair. It was off to the side of a bigger chair--most likely belonging to Adam--being almost right on the edge of the table. "Right next to yours I'm guessing?" Ty snickered.
Before Adam could reply, a line of chefs began coming out of the kitchen holding multiple trays of food. Each one placed them in a certain order for each to grab from. The wonderful aroma traveled to the two just standing by. It's such a familiar scent for Adam, but Ty practically turned to goop by how delicious everything smelled like. Once the chefs finished up setting everything, they entered back into the kitchen to finish up for the day. Everything was to die for: the freshly seasoned chicken, the refreshing vegetable salad, a warm mouthwatering soup, everything. Adam snapped Ty out of his food daze to tell him, "The guys will be here any minute. Hide behind my chair." Ty did as he was told and hid behind Adam's royal dinning chair.
Not a moment later did the chatter outside the door emerge. They swung open and in came in the five members of Team Crafted. They saw the food and we're immediately astonished by how much more fancy it seemed today. "Ta-da!" Adam blurted out, his arms making them focus on the food. "Oh my gosh Adam, you didn't need to be this extra," Jason ran up to his chair, admiring the choices in front of him. "Seriously!? I actually get the treats I want today?!" Jerome noticed his empty plate had a variety of different flavored dog platters surrounding it. "What did you do?" Quentin smirked, crossing his arms. Adam giggled excitedly, "I thought what better way to introduce our new member than with a good dinner. Come out Ty!"
Ty stepped out from behind the chair and stood next to Adam's side, barely reaching shoulder width. He felt the eyes of everyone in the room staring at him. "H-hi," Ty waved at them, trying to make things less awkward. The awkwardness immediately lifted away from the screams of joy and excitement. Them five ran at him, Quentin being the first to hug him before piling up the group hug. Everyone spoke at the same time, not being able to identify questions from compliments. Adam let them have at him for a little bit before splitting everyone up. "Okay guys," Adam interrupted their bonding momemt, "Let's get to know him over dinner, shall we comencé?"
"Yeah, I'm starving," Mitch headed to his designated seat, and so did everyone else. Ty sat down at his assigned seat and looked around at the table. Jason sat right next to him, and Quentin after him. On the opposite side sat Ian, Mitch, and Jerome. Odd enough, the chair right across from him seemed to be empty, but he couldn't remember who else it could possibly be. On the other hand, it was hard to choose from the food right in front of him--the variety being quite exciting to try. "It's nice to finally meet you Ty," Ian exclaimed, getting food on his plate, "I helped out with your transfer papers and am pleased that everything went smoothly."
"Oh, thank you," Ty nodded politely, adding anything he could grab onto his own plate. "What did you do in the other kingdom?" Jason questioned, curious on his past endeavors. Ty was in the process of stuffing down a bread roll when Jason asked the question. With a full mouth, he answered, "I did a lot of street music. The action, not the genre."
"Like a street performer?" Jerome helped clarify. "Yeah, that's the name for it," Ty swallowed the meshed up food in his mouth, his voice clearing up, "I taught myself how to play different instruments to spice things up and would go out on a street corner in hopes I'd make some dough."
"That doesn't seem like a very reliable hobbie to gain money from," Quentin spoke his opinion. "I get that, but I couldn't do much considering my mother wasn't dependant on herself and playing music just seemed like a fun thing to do," Ty understood. "Well isn't that depressing," Mitch blurted out. Ian wacked him over the head, hoping he'd get the memo to shut up. Ty laughed awkwardly as he continued eating. The conversation went on, getting to know Ty better as a person and become close acquaintances. Adam stayed out of majority of the chat because he already knew Ty decent enough and didn't want to brag about him. Besides, he loves seeing his friends getting along with one another. Leftovers were taken away to be given to the needy and dessert platters were brought out. Not much of it since putting on weight wouldn't be a good thing to give off in their image of the team. On the table was placed a tray of cupcakes, cheesecake, apple pie, and mints.
Before anyone began grabbing at the sweets, the doors to the dinning room swung open. Their heads all shifted towards the same direction, curious on who would be entering. In between the open space stood Seto, his body posture being to the brim perfect and his cape hood placed down. They were all surprised to see Seto back and about, no longer cooped in his small lab. Though it's only been a week, it beats Seto's earliest record of "finally leaving his lab" with just twenty-six seconds earlier--Jason keeps track of this, of course. While everyone felt happy about his uninvited appearence, Ty couldn't identify who he could be, trying to remember who else Adam had mentioned to him. Adam was the one who stood up and confronted Seto head on. "Oh my god, you're out again," Adam exclaimed sheepishly, not sure how he'd react to meeting Ty. "Before you offer me anything, I already ate," Seto lifted his hand at his face, interrupting him. "And I wanted to say I'm sorry. I over reacted to your announcement and I said terrible things to you that I didn't mean. You know how I can be sometimes, but all I ask is for you to please forgive me." Adam sighed, smiling. "Of course I forgive you. As long as you're no longer mad abou-"
"Aha! The sorcerer!" Ty exclaimed loudly, finally remembering which member of Team Crafted Seto was. Everyone turned to look at him, his voice sounding very weird when he spoke confidently. Ty noticed the eyes of everyone watching him, quickly feeling embarrassed over his out loud thinking. He got up from his seat and made his way to where Seto and Adam were standing. "You must be Seto!" Ty said with enthusiasm, placing his hand in front of him in hopes to shake hands with Seto, "Adam told me a lot about you. It's so cool to meet a real sorcerer!" Seto looked at him, confused on why this stranger was in his home greeting him like he were new to these parts. He didn't accept his hand as he scrunched his eyes, reading the oddly familiar detail on his face. Once he captured the similarity, his heart skipped a beat as he widened his eyes in shock. He couldn't believe the sight right in front of him. The resemblance was uncanny and it brought a terribly frigid shiver down his spine. The thought of it made his hands quiver, unsure what to think. Was such thing possible?
Ty noticed the surprise expression on Seto's face as he awkwardly put his hand back down, the hand shake no longer a viable option. Adam couldn't help but notice it too, waving his hand in front of his face. Ty turned to look at the others still seated at the table, "Is he normally like this?" No one had a clear response for him, most coming out as blurred um's and uh's. "I'm not sure actually," Adam responded, knowing the most about Seto. "I don't think I've ever seen him like-" Adam was cut off when Seto suddenly swooshed right in front of him and picked up Ty in the process.
Seto pinned him up against the far wall, clinging onto Ty's shirt color with shaky hands. Ty winced from the impact, not sure what's going on. "Tell me! Is it really you?!" Seto yelled at Ty's face. Ty was frightened, confused about what he's being questioned about. "Seto!" The whole team got up out of their seats and proceeded to run up to him. "I-i don't know what you're t-talking about," Ty replied truthfully, looking into Seto's pleading eyes. "Don't lie to me!" Seto yelled once more, gripping harder on Ty's shirt. "Seto, let him go!" The team yelled as they circled around him. They couldn't physically interfere knowing Seto could beat them all in an unfair match of one vs seven. They just hoped their words got to him. "He's done nothing wrong!"
"Ty is a friend, not foe!"
"Lay off him!"
"Seto! Leave him alone!" Adam blurted out, thinking on his toes as he looked for something to break him off. Then, his eyes caught the shiny reflection of the cupcake tray. "You have to listen to me!" Seto begged, shaking Ty a bit. Ty grabbed onto Seto's arms, trying to push him away. "Please, leave me alone!" Ty shouted, Seto's grip not budging a thing. "Majutsu!"
With a loud bang, Seto was hit out of the way with a metal tray. He fell on the floor, a thud echoing in the room. His hood had fallen over his head as his body laid stiff in shock from the impact. Ty slid down the wall, catching his balance once his feet touched the floor. He shifted his gaze up to see Adam holding the the tray, revealing to be the one who hit Seto. Jerome is the first to grab Ty by his arm and pull him away from the scene about to brew. The rest of the team huddled around Ty, comforting him with hugs and sympathy. Even with his buddies trying to relax him, he feared what was building up between Adam and Seto would be heart wrenching.
Adam turned his body to face Seto, throwing the tray off to the side. He watched as Seto slowly began curling up to stand back on his own two feet. Seto kept his back facing Adam, seeing no reason to look behind him for the culprit. "What's the matter with you!?" Adam began yelling at Seto, his leader voice being strong and demanding, "I don't know why you decided to change your sentiment all of a sudden, but it doesn't give you the right to disrespect others the way you did with Ty!"
Seto was finally standing, his back still arched over however. His hood prevented them from seeing his true expressions. His emotions were nonexistent while the pain from the hit still throbbed on his head. Tears welled up in his eyes, coming down rather quickly and dripping onto the ground. He was trying so hard not to show his pain, his shoulders on the verge to tremble. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Adam asked more calmer, expecting a response back. Seto said nothing, his mind still cloudy from incoherent thoughts and emotions.
"Well, do you!?" Adam raised his voice, this time forcing him to answer. Seto felt his bottom lip quiver, the salty tears beginning to fuel his taste buds. The wave of emotions are becoming too overwhelming, he needs a safe place to evacuate to. His shoulders begin to shake as he grabs the side of his cape and twirls it around himself, teleporting away to an undisclosed location. A few particles of purple take his place before disappearing as well.
The room went silent, the heavy tension still floating in the air. Ty couldn't believe what he had just witnessed, it made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't mean to cause a fuss when he arrived, but he didn't know why he felt so bad. Was it something he said? Did he offend Seto in anyway? He'd love to get some answers, though everyone seems to be frozen in time. Ty stuttered, "A-re you o..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Adam looked behind him, making eye contact with his team. His eyes were red and puffy, tears streaming down them miserably. They were giving him confused and sorrowful looks, unsure of the situation. Adam finally brought himself to look at Ty straight in the eyes and say, "Welcome home Ty, you're going to love it here."
With that, he ran off.
Ty stared blankly into nothing, recollection his thoughts. The team broke off him, going back to doing what they intended to do in the first place. Ty clinged onto his hands, loosing any appetite he had for dessert. "A-are we going to help them or not?," Ty spoke up, making his way to the exit. He walked past Mitch who had curled into a ball on the floor right next to the spilled cupcakes, and Jerome trying to pull him back up. "No," Quentin answered him, "We don't get involved when it comes to those two." Ty looked at him, concern plastered on his face, "Why not? They need some moral support from friends."
"What Quentin means is they need some alone time right now," Jason butt in, "Sometimes the best support we can do is give them their space." Ty nodded, understanding. "Well, good night I suppose," Ty exclaimed once more before leaving. He did get some replies back, but Ian responded with, "Breakfast is at six. Try your best waking up at that time."