"Mmmm, what a nice catnap." Lilith stretched her arms in the air and reached for the ceiling, wriggling her body around in the sterile white chair in the back of the transport shuttle.
"Welcome back, captain."
Lilith tensed instantly at the sound of dark Joon's voice. Her thoughts settled, and she recalled how close they were to their destination. Nearly there, by now, she suspected.
"So, you never really said before--we're going to Era because your book tells you that there's a lead here for this Artifact, right? What's the lead exactly?"
Joon was reclining lazily in the chair next to hers. He sounded bored when he answered, "No. I never said that, but it's a fair assumption."
Lilith's shoulders seemed to crumple into her. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah." Kim Namjoon rose from his chair and walked over to the side of the shuttle, opening one of the cabinets and pulling out a snack bar. He peeled back the packaging and started scarfing it down.
Lilith stared at him like the monster she believed he had truly become. "Then why... they hell.. are we about to land in Era?"
Joon admitted through a mouthful of food, "Well... you could say... I felt called." He swallowed. "Like a compass pulling me North."
Lilith jumped to her feet and turned to face him. "Towards what?"
He shrugged, smiling deviously. "I don't know. But it should be interesting to find out."
Lilith made a break for the pilot's chair, and the controls.
Joon was two steps ahead.
Their wrestle was brief. Instead of waiting until Lilith exhausted her strength in the struggle, Kim Namjoon's joined fists came down hard on the side of her temple and sent her reeling to the floor, instantly blacking out.
When she lay limp, he crouched down to press two fingers into her neck, checking her pulse. "Hmph." Then he scooped her up and made himself busy tucking her away into one of the sleep pods. "I'll wake you up when we've landed. So that you can show me around."
—
"Dean, why do you call it all Spirit Shit?" Jin was feeling restless in tight quarters. He needed something to distract himself from the cramp in his left leg and the feeling of being a kid on a tedious road trip.
"Hmm?"
"Like, all this... weirdness. You've seen stuff like this before haven't you?" Jin tried to lean around and get a clearer view of the front dashboard and Dean, without much success.
The rugged Dean didn't answer right away.
The shuttle's hum whirred around in Jin's brain like a mosquito.
Then, "I lost someone. She was my partner." Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't like talking about this, but something about Kim Seokjin and this situation they found themselves in felt too familiar not to. "In every sense. She and I raided plenty of tombs before we ran into any spirits. Good loot in some of them, man! But then something happened when we were tryna mine a proper tomb, miles deep with Mysterium... I got so focused on how much money we were gonna make, I didn't think about the risk."
The two sat in silence a bit, both feeling sober.
"What was her name?" Jin asked.
"Heize."
It took all of Jin's self-control not to point out how her name sounded kind of like 'sneeze.' Maybe another time, he thought.
Dean finally added, "Yeah, I didn't take spirit shit seriously back in the day. But I'll never make that mistake again."
Jin quickly changed the subject, "So just how far behind Lilith and the creep are we now?"
"Far enough to still be worried. And... it looks like they've just... landed in ERA!"
"WHAT THE --!?" Jin started clawing at the backs of Dean's shoulders like a cat clutching the armrests of a couch.
"You can say that again."
—
The glistening skyscrapers bursting through the clouds in Era's landscape had thinned out. Like trees being chopped for the kindling, Noon Mool hadn't been the only Fortress brought crumbling down in the path of Petra's peons, even with her so far removed from the scene.
One particular pillar of strength stood just a hair taller than all the rest. The spine of its crown had been modified and lengthened as if it were a radio tower trying to stretch its signal just a little further.
That open upper platform's surface was etched in its base with ancient rings, patterns and programming all in one that were prepared to cause injury to magical being invaders: programming that had been modified to accommodate the legions of Gwangju Ai Fortress leaders of Era that came and went.
One serious-looking man stood on this tallest Essem Tower, leaning over the railing and looking even smaller than he already did in a crowd.
It was Dee-Oh, and he looked positively bored as he leaned into the palm of his hand as his elbow propped up against the railing's edge. Even sunset colors in cloud-top mystery weren't much to lift the man's mood.
But then he spoke in a droll tone, "Visitors. How tedious."
The shuttle that was coasting towards the platform of Essem fortress looked worse for wear. Dee-Oh wondered to himself what careless peasant had ignored the upkeep that the rickety transport shuttle clearly needed.
The shuttle shifted and landed with an abrupt crash, the sound of metal tearing at metal causing Dee-Oh to close his eyes and swear under his breath against the incompetence of lesser beings.
The shuttle coasted to a stop. The back of the shuttle opened up, into a sloping ramp, and a tall singular figure strode down it.
Dee-Oh was not often surprised. But the sight of Kim Namjoon so altered, walking towards Dee-Oh with a sadistic smile on his face, and Dee-Oh coughed slightly to cover up a mixture of disgust and surprise.
"Surely it isn't."
In a congenial tone, a voice answered back, "Oh, but it is."
Kim Namjoon stopped right in front of Dee-Oh and gave a sweeping bow from the waste. "At your service." Then he righted himself and folded his hands in front of himself, spreading his legs and standing as if at attention in front of a superior officer.
"Yes, do be at your leisure. My people will be out here in moments, ready to swing the executioner's ax," Dee-Oh said, his dull voice almost catching a hint of amusement. Almost. "Unless there's some rational reason that a treasonous traitor to our great leader, Petra, is standing before me now."
"Rational?" Joon's smiled only widened. "Certainly not."
Dee-Oh rolled his eyes. "The stray dog speaks in riddles. How odious."
Joon only smiled wider.
Dee-Oh remained unsmiling. "I did wonder when it all was going to make your self-righteous mind crack. I guess I got my answer. Tell me, how did your Satoor Ai die then?"
"If you mean Shae, she's not dead. But I've traded her for a new toy."
"Indeed." Dee-Oh began to slowly circle Joon where he stood. The brooding young man was curious as his eyes swept up and down the changed man before him, a man whose aura felt both stronger and duller than it once was. This is a changed man. And a Marked man, but he looks far too happy about it to be properly sane. He is no Gwangju Ai. But what...?
"I really should kill you after all the trouble you've caused." Dee-Oh sounded exhausted at the thought. "I should have done it already but you've made me curious. Also, I just ate and would rather let my chicken Parmesan settle a bit longer before drawing any blood today."
"How generous."
"What are you doing here, Joon? Or whoever it is that you think you are now."
"Joon will do. And... I'm looking for something that I believe you have, old pal."
"Now you're just being sentimental. It's ghastly."
Joon's hand lashed out in an instant around Dee-Oh's throat. The knuckle tightened. He lifted Dee-Oh's choking and wriggling frame up into the air until the two of them were at proper eye-level. "I know you have the Artifact."
Dee-Oh choked on in response.
Then Joon heard the buzzing and clicking noise of blasters and padding feet. They were being surrounded by Essem fortress fighters who began to circle the two of them on top of that open glistening platform. A few of the soldiers edged their way to the rickety transport shuttle, bobbing the noses of their blasters up inside of the open ramp.
Joon released his grip. Dee-Oh hardly took in a gasp before he said, his tone steeped with the deepest offense, "How dare you threaten me."
"So you do have it. Is it on you now? Shall I gut you the length of your spine to try and find it, or shall you offer it to me on a silver platter?"
"You're just as dumb as I remember."
Kim Namjoon leaned in and whispered in Dee-Oh's ear, "Last chance, now."
Dee-Oh looked nonplussed. "Indeed. Who knows what you'll look like after an army of Gwangju Ai have put you through your paces."
Joon's eyes glazed over with liquid black. His fingertips began fritz with matching sparks. "I'll take my chances."
--
Wow, an author's note in the middle of the story! I never do these. XD
I just had to insert this. (No, it's not a spoiler.)
I actually don't know how you're supposed to pronounce 'Heize' but I always pronounce it in my brain like 'sneeze' and thus my little Jin-quip. But then I wondered if it was supposed to sound like 'haze.' If I'm miles off-base, please forgive me for my error.
The quirky song/MV 'July' that she does with Dean inspired her shoutout in this chapter, but I'm not an expert on her or anything.
Also, I actually wrote this chapter right around the time I dropped off the face of WP, so the language probably sounds about on key for the characters and tone and such. However, the next chapter may feel a little strange once I crank it out.
As it's been a LONG while, it's taking me a minute to wrap my brain around the details of this yarn again. Please have patience.
That is all. Carry on, you lovely people.
❤️ S.