Heroes Rising Fiction: The Missing Mythic Part 8

Gar sat on a stone bench in the large garden near the grand entrance of the palace. While he watched the peaceful fish in the pond as they swam under the gently falling cherry blossoms on the surface, he was a nervous wreck.

“What do I say?” He whispered.

Lady Phoenix had convinced him last night to have a walk with Chase this morning in the garden. This was all she suggested. She didn’t give him any other ideas. Should he tell Chase he had growing feelings for her? Could he bring himself to face the possibility of rejection? Why was he so scared? He looked at his hand and it was trembling. He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to wipe away the trembling.

“Morning Gar!” Chase called out.

Gar just about jumped into the little koi fish pond. He got his nerves under control and looked back at Chase. She walked down the few wooden steps. She was dressed in a red and white kimono that draped on her thin frame. Her hair fell down to her shoulders. His trembling faded as he got lost just looking at her.

She approached him, a curious look growing on her face. “Is something the matter?”

He shook this off and said, “oh, uh, no. I just have not seen you in anything but your black outfit. This is nice.”

She held up the large, loose arms of the outfit. “One of the servant doll things brought this to me. A gift from Lady Phoenix. She thought I might be more comfortable in this. She’s right. It is very nice. So soft and airy.”

Gar said, “you look nice.”

“Thanks.” She sat next to him. “So, what did you need to talk about?”

“What?”

“You said you wanted to meet this morning to talk.”

Gar nodded, “I, uh, just wanted to, um, talk. Nothing special.”

“Good. We’ve been so busy lately. It might be nice to catch up as friends.” She frowned and gave him a funny look. “Something wrong?”

Gar wanted, at this moment, to tell her everything going on inside him right now. But he couldn’t do it. “Director Nova said you learned an important story about Jinn. Can you tell me about it?”

Chase smiled, “Oh, yes. This is one heck of a story. You see, back when these people first came here...” she went on and on about the story of Jinn and how he worked with the Ottomans. They left the stone bench and strolled around the garden.

Nearby, two figures stood in a doorway, watching this silently.

Lady Phoenix said to her husband, “Aren’t they a lovely couple.”

“They have a genuine friendship.” Lord Dragon stoically stated. “However, I do not see the purpose of this.”

“If we lose sight of what is gentle and kind in this world, then why fight to save it? Without love, what purpose does life have?”

Lord Dragon actually smiled and put a caring hand around his wife’s back. Together they watched the two in the garden. “The greatest gift of life is love.”

Gar sat with Chase for two hours listening to her talk about the fantastic story of what happened to Jinn in the past.

“From what EB told me, they never expected Jinn to return to his plans since he didn’t have magic.”

“Makes sense.” Gar distantly answered.

“Did you listen? You look like you are ten thousand miles away.”

“I heard the story. It was interesting. I am just...uh...I…”

“Are you okay?”

Gar looked at her. For the first time, he understood what it meant for eyes to sparkle. He opened his mouth, then closed it, spent a long moment mulling things over. “Chase...I...I...”

“Is something wrong?”

Just then Lady Phoenix came over to them. “We need you inside, now.”

“Oh, okay.” Chase got up. “Gar, what was it you want to say?”

“Nothing. We need to get inside.” He followed Lady Phoenix inside, with Chase behind them.

They found Lord Dragon on his throne with Gamma Ray and a disheveled Krystal Fae speaking with him.

“Krystal!” Chase called out.

“Chase, Gar, I didn’t know you were here.”

Lord Dragon said, “we have distressing news.”

Chase asked, “what?”

Lord Dragon nodded to Krystal, who said, “Jinn said something about finding a pearl. With it, his plans would all come together. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.”

Gar said, “what is he talking about?”

Lord Dragon said, “my talisman is a large pearl, the Dragon Pearl. It is hidden away from here, has been since my first notion that Jinn might seek it. No one other than my wife and I know of its location. How he discovered it is highly curious.”

Gamma said, “we must go to it, move it before he finds it. We can give it to the Easter Bunny, I’m sure he’ll hide it where Jinn cannot find it.”

Lady Phoenix smiled. “A wise course of action.”

Krystal said, “I will help. I’ve been fighting him, I’ll come along and make sure I distract him while you remove this. Even if he kills me, he won’t get his hands on that pearl.”

“An admirable attitude, young lady,” Lord Dragon stated. “I can handle Jinn alone.”

Krystal seemed highly upset at this. “Sir, I don’t think...”

“Wait, we aren’t considering something,” Chase said.

“What?” Lord Dragon asked.

“What if this is a ruse? What if he planned on leading you to the Pearl?”

Krystal quickly answered, “it didn’t sound that way to me.”

Gamma said, “I’m inclined to agree with Chase. If you go running toward where you hid this pearl, then you will lead him to it... if that was his plan all along.”

Lord Dragon said, “we cannot assume this, we must still protect it in case he knows.”

Lady Phoenix said, “I will go to the Pearl and move it. Husband, you will go another direction entirely. If he follows you, then it will be pointless for him. If he follows me, then the outcome will be the same if you were to go.”

Lord Dragon spent a moment considering this and finally gave a quick nod. “This plan is acceptable. Krystal Fae, go with Lady Phoenix and ensure her protection. Gamma Ray, come with me, your ninja skills will prove useful in deception if he follows us.”

Even under his mask, they could see Gamma smiling at that compliment. “My pleasure, sir.”

Phoenix said, “we must leave immediately, there is no time to waste.”

Krystal brushed back her hair. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Lady Phoenix walked out toward the interior garden and in a blast of fire, she turned into a bird and flew away. Krystal Fae followed closely.

“What about us?” Chase asked.

Lord Dragon said, “contact BADGE and inform Nova of the situation.”

Lord Dragon left with Gamma out the front and headed in the opposite direction. Gamma doesn’t fly, but his skills give him uncanny movement in ways that few can figure out. He wouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with Lord Dragon.