Alex did not stop and he kept moving, moving out of the mansion. "Melody, if you stay here, there is a chance you might be hurt. There is a much larger chance, I will be hurt. I am taking you and my other girls to a friend, where you will stay while we talk to your Master. Honestly, Melody. The less you know the better. Just now, I'm helping you," he said. I hope.
If left uninterrupted, Alex led everyone to another part of town. The area was filled with high price and fancy hotels, each being a sort of home for the rich tourists or adventurer.
We're going to my Master, he mentally explained to Lillia, Sarah, and Tiff. He is the one who taught me magic, and is far more powerful than I could ever be. I want all of you on your best behavior, and don't worry. My Master is an energetic fellow, but he is in the morally correct. He should be able to help me with Arkurus.
"Understand?" he said, knowing only the three girls he spoke with would understand as they walked in front of a large hotel sweet.
((Goodnight, Maero))
They all nodded, and Melody simply whimpered and began to shake with fear as she left the mansion. "I-I-I havent been outside since...since..." Melody stuttered, shielding her eyes from the sun. In fact, she had never been outside, having been born in the mansion. She had had dreams of leaving for a moment or two, but this was far more than she bargained for.
Sarah was soon able to move without help and ran up next to Alex. "M-Master..." She asked with a small blush. "I..Um, who is your master?" She asked, more than a little curious about who this powerful mage could be. Tiff and Lillia were also curious but Tiff was to worried about her brother to ask and Lillia was busy carrying Neko.
"My Master is the original Master of Magic. You see, as far as I know, the title of Master of Magic has been around for around the last 100 years, give or take a couple of dozen years. My Master is the first, and I am the second. My Master, D, is a very powerful being, and he taught me everything I know. If there's anyone who can help me help Zane, then it is him. He is wise, and he just may be powerful enough to go one on one with Arkurus..." The statement alone showed something.
Alex was no fool, and he knew not even he could fight Arkurus and live if the spell swordsman gave it his all. If Alex thought his Master's power could rival D's, then that muty have said something.
(I dont really have anything to add, you can jump to meeting D now)
((Okay))
The group walked quite a while, soon coming to a green forest on the outskirts of town. "It should be around here somewhere...Aha!" the warlock yelled, finding the home of his master.
This home though, was...less than impressive. It was merely a small hut, made out of leaves, sticks, and the such. Alex motioned for the girls to follow him as he walked over to the 'door' of the hut. Really, this door was just a large hole that people could walk through. When they walked inside, the man suddenly said something. "Sigmac orototo gre."
Suddenly the ground beneath them disappeared, revealing a portal. The group fell down it, with Alex the first to hit the floor. He quickly cast a spell, saving the girls from a painful fall. The gently and slowly hit the ground around Alex and could hear a man screaming.
"No! Ken don't go with Jessica! Can't you see Barbie is your soulmate!? NO! Jessica will just break your heart! And does no one realize Jessica is Barbie's long lost twin sister, who just had plastic surgery and dyed her hair a different color!? AHHH! COME ON!"
The group was in a rather fancy made room, with orange walls that had flowers decorated on them, and a chandelier above them, lighting the room. The only thing else in the room was a chair, and a strange, large black box that had to be magic, as it was showing people on it's surface.
"Master?" Alex said loudly.
"AHH! Whoa! Ack! Oof!" the male voice yelled as the girls saw a man fall off the chair. "Uhh...I landed on my keys....Who's there? I'm warning you! I studied five minutes of fencing! Of course, fencing isn't very effective when I don't have sword....I can still throw a wicked punch..."
"Hello Master..."
"...Alexander? Is that you? ALEXANDER!" the voice cried. The group suddenly saw a short old man run forward, who grabbed the taller man in a fierce hug. "Well aren't you a sight for old eyes! You never visit."
"Indead...Can you release me now?"
"Sorry. Oh, who's this? You finally got yourself a wife? Good for y....You got yourself A LOT of wives...Impressive," the old man commented as he walked over.
He bowed in respect and placed a hand on his chest. "Mr. Lucifer Iblis, at your service, ladies. But please, call me D. Everyone else does."
Lillia, Tiff and and Sarah all bowed to D's master, though Melody and Neko did not, Neko being carried by Lillia and Melody simply sitting there on the ground, looking lost and scared, unsure how to react to any of this. If he moved toward her she would flinch and bite her lip before bowing and apologizing profusely. "It is an honor." Sarah said, watching him intently, as if she hoped to gleam some of his knowledge and power just by observing him. Tiff looked uneasy and anxious. Zane could be dead for all she knew.
"Master D, can I talk to you? Alone?"
"Of course. Ladies, you can stay in my reading room," D said, and led the girl's over to a white door that had seemingly just appeared. The door opened, and the girls were led into the strange room by D, with Alex behind them.
The room had white walls, and a white roof. As expected, this made it hard to know how large or how small the room was, as the girls could not tell where the walls were, and where the room ended. Books were casually floating around them, and they were the only way to see how big the room was. Judging how the books just kepy floating, it seemed this library was miles big. Perhaps bigger than Arkurus's even.
"Hoods! Hoods! Hoods are you here?"
"...NO!"
"Hoods, get out here and keep an eye on these girls. I don't want them to get themselves lost out here," D commanded and a sigh was heard as a blue glowing orb suddenly appeared before the group.
"Alex? You came back?"
"Surprising, I know."
The orb, Hoods, floated over to the girls and moved up and down. "Nice bodies. Makes me wish I still had a penis."
"Watch them, while I go speak with Alexander," D said as he and the man walked through the door, and closed it behind them.
"So...What are your names?" Hoods asked as he floated around them. "And why is Alexander back? I can sense emotions, and I know it's not good." Whether they told him or not, the glowing orb would float over to the door and asked, "Hey, wanna eavesdrop on them?" he mischievously laughed.
((Happy Thanksgiving, Maero))
(Happy thanksgiving to you to)
Melody sat there, bewildered and lost, curling up and hugging her legs to her chest as she thought of what would happen when she returned, what her master would say and do, what her life would be like, if she had one after this was all done. Lillia was stroking Neko's back and butt as the angel slept soundly in her arms, keeping her content and comfortable, and wanting no part in trouble making.
Tiff was a little different, and did want to listen in, but couldnt bring herself to do something that Alex probably didnt want her to do, and politely declined. Sarah on the other hand was very very tempted. "Um...will we get caught?" She asked Hoods. If he managed to assure her that they would be safe, then she would nod and say. "OK...just a little."
"Of course! I eavesdrop on the old coot all the time. When you're a floating ball of magic with no penis, living in an old guy's library, all you can really do is eavesdrop and read. And I've read practically every book in this place!" Hoods chuckled as a dictionary floated pass the girl. "Even the dictionaries. Now then...One portal and..." Suddenly the blue being shot out a yellow, smaller orb, which turned into a rounds window, allowing the girls' to see Alex and D talking at a table. "Bingo! Man, I am good."
The two mages were sitting at a table, directly in front of one another, cups of water before both of them.
"No," D stated.
"You have to. I cannot defeat Arkurus alone!"
"Alex, when I taught you, I taught you to stand by yourself."
"You also taught me that if I ever needed help, you would help me!"
"I changed my mind."
"D! I need your help! At least talk to Arkurus! It's the least you can do after all the bullshit you've made me gone through..."
"...Is that what you think I made you go though? Alexander, I made you go through that training to make you stronger!"
"You tortured me! You sawed off my limbs, then you cast a spell so they would grow back. You broke every bone in my body, just to heal me and do it again! For almost a hundred years, you tortured me! Everynight I awoke I saw the dead corpses of my family! The family YOU took away from me!"
"I did not kill your family! Your family died, because that was the choice of life. I took you in! I gave you a home! A purpose! I saved your life!"
"You gave me hell. Everynight, when I fell asleep, I was forced to stare into my mother's dead eyes. I was forced to sleep in the same room as their rotting corpses! I saw maggots in their bodies, I saw their bodies decompose! My family! The people who raised me! When I was hungry, you made me eat the rats and insects in the dungeon! Every bit of suffering I went through, was because of you!"
"Everything. I did. I did to make you stronger," D whispered as he rose from his seat, his smile long gone. "Every torture, mental, physical, everything. Was to make you stronger...Maybe if you can't realize this, I should try teaching that girl. I could sense some magical potential in her..."
"..." Alex took a deep breath and sighed. "This isn't about me...This is about Tiff...Please, Master," he begged, getting out of his seat and walking to his master's side. He then went on his knees, placing his forehead against the ground. "I beg of you. Help me save her brother...."
"Get up. I did not teach you to be my slave. The Master of Magic serves no one. You're the Master of Magic now...If anything, I should bow down to you...Master Alex," D sighed, and helped the warrior rise. The old man gave a gentle smile as Alex looked at him. "Very well, Alexander. I will help you. But I hope you learn to deal with your own problems, by yourself in the future."
Hoods 'looked' at the girls, wondering how they would take everything that had just happened. The amount of torture Alex went through, forced to stare at his own rotting family's corpses, and having each piece of his body tortured. The thought that D might make Sarah go through the same. The fact D was now willing to save Zane. All of this.
The reactions among the girls were almost as varied as their own personal feelings on the matter. Lillia, who had been tortured before, The almost entirely in a way that worked on her psyche and gained her no power, felt slightly sorry for Alex, but more relieved that he had been subjected to chiefly physical torture, since psychological was far far worse. Alex would probably agree that his dead parents were probably one of the most damaging tortures he suffered.
In Lillia's arms, Neko began to weep. She hardly understood a word of it, but she wasnt stupid and could tell that her papa had been hurt. So the little angel cried softly and Lillia tried to calm her down as best she could, but all Neko wanted was to hug Alex and play him music to make him feel better.
Sarah began to shake a little and had to sit down to keep from falling, hugging her knees to her chest and reminding herself of her altered body. She had no desire to go through such horrible trials! Why had D forced Alex through that?! Sarah had already learned some magic, and that had required no pain or suffering on her part.Was D just insane? Or was he even more Sadistic than Arkurus and Alex? The thought of having to suffer through such horrible tests sent dread shooting through her, and challenged her understanding of her situation.
Tiff was a mess of emotions. Anger at D for torturing her master, sorrow for her masters pain, and happiness for D's help in rescuing Zane. She did not know what to do or how to look, she had tears in her eyes and her body shook with rage, but she couldnt help but smile a little as she discovered that there was still some hope left for her captured brother. She sighed and released her breath slowly, calming down. She decided to just be happy for her master's triumphs, both over his torture and his master's reluctance to help.
Melody just sat there, hardly thinking about it. She had not listened to a word, covering her ears and humming softly when the blue ball of light began to show them things. She had no intention of getting into anymore trouble, every step she took was carefully measured, every breath she inhaled was tentatively taken.