~AGENT JAXSON WHITE~
One minute I was in deep concentration planning what our next steps would be, and the next, I spotted Scarlet falling backwards.
"Scarlet!" all of us shouted out as we bolted forward, trying to catch her. I knew we wouldn't make it before she hit the ground, but then something happened which made us all freeze in shock.
A portal of some kind appeared, and a man stepped out from it into the room. He was 6’8”, wearing a black outfit that looked like it was made of some type of silk.
He had black shoes and jet black hair with blue streaks through it. His cloak that rested on his shoulders was decorated with white fur, the black material fluttering behind him as he moved with such grace. He managed to reach out and catch Scarlet before she hit the ground.
I noticed the others were all frozen in shock, not because of the random appearance of a male coming through a portal and catching Scarlet in the nick of time, but because of the immense wave of power coming off him that hit us in one blow, leaving us frozen in fear.
All I knew from the way he gritted his teeth, was that something had pissed him off to the point he would rid the world of their existence at a agonizingly slow pace. I prayed they were already dead to avoid such fate.
Michael recovered first, reaching Scarlet's side as the male lowered her to the ground. I exchanged looks with the others, noticing Christian seemed to be the least shaken up by the male’s presence.
"Starlight god." Agni's calm voice entered my mind.
"Figured. Now, shouldn't you go help the Princess, who's clearly not breathing, or should I finally make a dramatic entrance?" my second spirit demanded. It took me a full two seconds before his words registered in my brain.
"Scarlet's not breathing?!" I exclaimed, before the rest of us darted over to crowd around her. Michael was already at work, pressing his hands on her chest.
"Something's wrong," Michael announced.
I huffed. "Michael, we fucking know that."
"No, something is fucking wrong with Scar's heart! There's something attached to her heart, idiot!" he snapped back.
The Starlight god who'd caught Scarlet remained crouched on her right side while Michael's hands began moving up and down, hovering just above Scarlet's body.
"Um. Maybe Nyx and my senses are wrong, but isn't the random stranger next to Scarlet a Starlight god? Can't he do something to help?" Ethan asked, panic resonating in his shaky voice. I took a quick glance over at him, noticing the fear in his eyes. We all knew it wasn’t the man he was scared of, but of Scarlet not breathing.
"What's in Scarlet's heart?" Junho asked, of no one in particular. "And I have to agree with Ethan here. You’re a god, aren't you?" Junho addressed the male.
He merely nodded, not speaking a word. Then his gaze returned to Scarlet, a hint of worry glimmering in his bright turquoise eyes, which looked like they held magic circles and tiny stars within their depths.
"There's a crystal in her heart..." Michael whispered.
"What?!" the rest of us exclaimed, shocked at his words.
"Okay, so Scarlet's not breathing. Shouldn’t we be doing CPR? Why is there a fucking crystal in her heart, and why isn't the Starlight god doing anything!" Ethan exclaimed, officially freaking out.
I wanted to answer, but I couldn't even think straight, panic settling into my very being at the thought of Scarlet dying. What if she vanished just like that? How would our team function? How would I function? There’s no way I can lose her. Not again.
"He is," Christian said calmly.
We turned to see him staring at the stranger, who sighed.
"Instead of freaking out, why don't you all use your brains and figure this out while I work on holding back time for as long as I'm allowed to?" he grumbled.
I looked at the window and noticed the sun had completely disappeared as the sky began to grow dark with grey clouds.
I looked up at the time, and saw the clock had stopped, but didn't understand how the weather could still be changing. The man must have figured out why we were all still confused.
"Risuki, God of War. Time has stopped for a moment, but the weather is out of my control when I'm upset. Now stop delaying," he ordered. We quickly recovered and turned to stare at Michael, who clearly had been tuning us out and focusing on Scarlet.
"Alright, if Risuki...uh, I hope we can call you that. If he's stopping time, Scarlet won't suffer any brain damage from the lack of oxygen, but we don't have long," Junho pointed out.
"The stone in her heart? Michael, do you have a description or an image of it?" Christian asked.
"It’s red. To be honest, it reminds me of that picture Ethan showed us a while back, and it’s inside her heart," Michael replied quickly, placing his hands directly on her chest above her heart.
"That was the Stone of Awakening. The last image anyone has of it, anyways," Ethan commented.
"Shit...Scarlet has the Stone of Awakening in her heart!" Junho exclaimed. I could see how nervous he was, the stress of the situation slowly getting to him as he ruffled his hair.
"How did the stone get into her heart?" Christian pondered.
"Wait...I think Scarlet knew about this," Ethan revealed. We turned to look at him and I noticed Michael took a quick glance at Ethan, before focusing his attention once more on Scarlet, his hands beginning to glow gently.
Risuki looked deep in concentration, his eyes on Scarlet while he clearly tuned us out.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You noticed how Scarlet grew really nervous today during our meeting when we began discussing the stone? I obviously went to check on her, knowing she might have been feeling really nervous or scared, knowing we may have to encounter Xerxes so soon after the explosion and her still recovering from everything. We had a talk and I got the impression she had something really important to tell us. She said she wanted to talk to all of us at once and that it would be nice if she could do so at her place. That's why I suggested we come here," Ethan explained.
"I bet she was going to tell us, but then Kendrick called and after that, this happened," Junho added.
I turned my attention to Michael, noticing the growing energy in the palm of his hands. "Michael, what are you planning?"
"I think this is a test," he considered.
"A test?" Christian asked.
"When hearing about the existence of these crystals, it left me thinking that if Xerxes wanted them, they had to have a strong connection with the Stone of Awakening. Maybe each crystal will have a different response to the stone. I don't know much about the background of each, but my instincts are telling me that this is something I can fix if I use the power of the crystal in the bracelet,” Michael revealed.
"What are you going to do?" Ethan asked hesitantly.
"Shock her with as much energy as I can make from the crystal," Michael confessed.
"Shock her heart, like resuscitation?" Junho confirmed.
Michael nodded, sounding a little out of breath. "I'm going to distribute it just to her heart and maybe the energy boost will restart her heart."
He looked up to Risuki, whose glowing eyes met his gaze. "What?" Risuki asked.
"You need to let go of time the moment I shock her heart. It's a risk but if it doesn't work, can you stop it again?' Michael wondered.
"No,” he replied grimly.
I noticed the others’ worried expressions, but Michael just nodded. "Okay. Ezriel has a backup plan just in case, but I think this is going to work." He spoke through pants, and I noticed sweat begin to roll down the side of his face as the gathered energy around his hands grew, little bolts of energy flaring up.
"Are you going to be okay?" Christian asked with worry.
Of course, Scarlet was our priority at the moment, but we didn't want two casualties if Michael drained himself to the point of going over his limit.
"I'll be fine. I'm not near my limit, but pulling the energy out of this thing is harder than I would have thought,” he admitted. "You guys should move back."
We nodded, moving back to give him space. Michael and Risuki exchanged looks and seemed to share a moment.
I noticed Risuki's hesitation and worry. He clearly didn't want to let go of time, which made me wonder what his role was in Scar’s life and if he was close to her in some way.
"I don't know how much Scarlet means to you, but I love her and won't allow her to die. I feel in my very core this is going to work, but I need you to believe in me, just as we believe in you as a Starlight god," Michael stated.
The room was silent for a long moment. Then Risuki took another glance at Scarlet, before he closed his eyes and nodded. "Fine."
Michael nodded and they waited one more minute as the balls of energy grew with such intense power that I didn't know if Michael could hold it back any longer, his hands trembling vigorously.
"Now," Michael announced. Risuki moved away as Michael pressed his hands on Scarlet's chest again, sending the electric balls of energy directly into her chest. Time began to move once more, the hand of the clock ticked right. I immediately looked back to Scarlet, whose body vibrated with the power. She stilled for a moment, all of us holding our breath. Then she gasped and began to cough.
We all sighed in relief and Risuki looked calmer. Michael put Scar on her side as she continued to cough; he rubbed her back to soothe her down. "You're gonna be okay, Scar. Just breathe."
After a few moments, she relaxed and moaned weakly. Michael lifted her into his arms, even though he looked completely exhausted himself. "Easy, Scar. Just relax,” he whispered.
We moved in closer, crowding around to make sure she was okay and breathing. Her skin looked just a tad pale, but her cheeks were red from the coughing and she was breathing a little rapidly, which was to be expected. Better than NOT breathing.
I looked up at Risuki, who stood quietly watching us. I wanted to say something, but then I noticed Scar open her eyes, looking at us in confusion.
"What?" she choked, looking completely delirious after what had happened. I could only imagine how she felt right now: one minute standing there listening to us talk, and in the next be on the floor surrounded by us, experiencing shortness of breath.
"It's okay, Scar. Just focus on breathing. We'll explain later," Junho soothed, reaching out to move a few strands of hair that clung to her sweaty face. I hadn't realized until then that she was sweating. She looked like she'd get a fever if we didn't do something to cool her down.
Her eyes looked around to each of us before she noticed Risuki. She didn't seem surprised to see him, and I noticed the joy that twinkled in her eyes, leaving me even more confused. When did she meet a Starlight god? How?
"Risuki,” she mumbled. We all looked up at him as he gave her a sympathetic smile, taking a step forward. He bent to one knee and laid his hand on her forehead.
"You sure cause a lot of trouble for me, Scarlet,” he mumbled, but his comment held no trace of anger. He sounded beyond relieved and his expression displayed just that.
"Oops. My bad. I'll get you catnip,” she mumbled.
I exchanged confused looks with the others. Catnip?
"You're confused, silly. Now, go rest," Risuki encouraged. Scarlet's eyes began to close, but she fought and managed to keep them partially open.
"M…Monako said sorry...for sticky...situation..." Her voice was so weak it was barely audible, making me want to hold her in my arms and do anything in my power to make her feel better. Risuki frowned at the news, but nodded and replaced his worried expression with a smile.
"I understand, Scarlet. It's not your fault. Just rest. Till next time,” he whispered, his hand that rested on her forehead glowed a light blue.
Scarlet sighed in relief and lost the battle with her eyelids as they closed. In a matter of seconds she was asleep, her head moving to rest on Michael's chest. Risuki rose up, ruffling his locks in frustration. "Damn Monako. Making my life a pain as always,” he grumbled.
"What's going on. Who's Monako?" Ethan asked.
"Maybe we should put Scar in bed first before we get into that," Christian suggested.
"And Michael, you need a damn nap for a good year. You look like shit," Junho commented.
Michael rolled his tired eyes, which he already seemed to be struggling to keep open. "Sure...maybe in two years,” he joked.
We all nodded in agreement, ready to put our plan into motion. But just then, a portal opened to our right. We all looked and saw an out of breath Cece who looked enraged as she stepped through.
"What the fuck just happened? One minute Scarlet was fine and the next, her life aura just vanished like a light bulb being turned off!" Cece exclaimed through pants.
Her eyes landed on Scarlet first before they migrated to Risuki. They shared a look before her eyes glowed bright red, her spirit taking over.
"Hmm, I don't even know what to think when my host walks in to find the Princess, who was dead for five seconds, suddenly comes back to life and in the company of her men and a Starlight god,” she commented, still looking pissed and exhausted, but a little more reserved, probably due to Risuki's calming presence.
Risuki rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "I'll only explain on Scarlet's behalf, seeing as it looks like Mother Destiny has new plans for all of us, and that's out of my control,” he vented.
"But...you're a god," I pointed out.
He looked at me and shrugged. "Mother Destiny is my creator, just as she is essentially Mother to all of you. She is the reason us Starlight gods have the power to create life and to take it away, but only with her approval. If something happens that doesn't go through us, it means she's testing us as well, which tells me something bigger is brewing in the galaxy that she is preparing us for," he revealed grimly.
We were silent, unsure how to answer. I looked back to Cece, whose spirit was still in control, looking unamused, but remained silent.
Risuki turned to look back at Cece. "Seeing as you're here Cassandra, Queen of Demons, you might as well stick around for a bit. It will be easier for you to explain to your host, who would most likely interrupt my explanation, which I don't have time for."
Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him, making me nervous. I was unsure if she understood that he WAS a Starlight god. She slowly nodded, her eyes returning to Scarlet who was sleeping quietly. "Fine. Guess it's time for storytelling,” she declared.
Time to find out what Mother Destiny had in store for us.