"I need a walk."
Christopher looked up sharply as Neo spoke. He was silent for most of the car ride, but had suddenly decided to pipe up, and that must have startled the prince. He continued to drive, darkness settling into the streets as the sky came over with stars and a rising moon. Christopher muttered something unheard as he pulled into a parking lot, right at a hotel.
"Fine," He said at last, unlocking the car. "Don't get lost. The room is C-13."
"I won't," Neo responded.
Opening the car door, he stepped out into the street lamp illuminated lot. He took a deep breath, then disappeared into the darkness of the sidewalk, leaving Christopher behind. With a sigh, he looked up to the sky, not remembering the last time he was in a stasis of freedom as such. He had always loved to take night walks in the past.
Neo continued, taking a few turns but ultimately memorising the path. He smiled, almost forgetting about his troubles from how peaceful the night in London truly was. An hour passed, maybe two… he wasn't sure. He had nothing to calculate the time with except the rising of the moon.
He came across a bench under a fancy black street lamp, sitting down upon it and leaning back. He became curious about if Christopher had followed him, since he really didn't trust him in the slightest. However, his thoughts quickly slipped to the paper still in his pocket. Reaching inside, he pulled it out and looked over the piece before unfolding it.
On the page was a small newspaper article and a picture of a collapsed cave in the midst of multiple words. Many red arrows drawn in pen point at it from all around the photo, and next to it was a stapled flap from the Obituaries. Neo narrowed his eyebrows, then proceeded to read the article.
The Nantgarw Disaster
Nantgarw in De Cymru experienced a terrible collapse of a mine. Glo Mines fell to an unknown accident that broke the support beams inside, trapping three individuals. Two were found dead while one remains missing. The Glo Factory in London will be shut down next week. The deceased are listed below, along with the missing person.
Evan Hearth (Missing)
Derick Herman (Deceased)
Borris Parish (Deceased)
Neo was interrupted when a small mewl came from below his feet. He flinched, looking down sharply, only to immediately calm. A fluffy calico stared up at him with shining blue eyes, meowing adorably. However, Neo wasn't too keen on the strange reappearance of the feline that was once in the house before. Was he hallucinating?
He stared down at the cat, reaching a hand out and touching the fluffy feline. They nuzzled and rubbed into his hand, meowing again. However, it sounded different, like… humming or murmuring. He stopped, placing the paper on the bench. In whatever mystical way the cat managed to find him again, he wasn't about to leave it there.
Neo stood, about to pick up the cat when something shifted in the blue eyes. Instead of the bright gleam, it strangely donned a yellow glint. Sparkling and dilating, it changed, making him flinch back. However, the cat hissed, its tongue lapping out into a long and forked one. The cat spread and convulsed, wisps of dusty light forming it into a somewhat large, thin, and green serpent.
It latched itself to Neo's arm, making its way around as it hissed, baring its sharp fangs. He cursed, grabbing underneath the snake's head, close enough to its face so that it couldn't whirl around and bite him. He quickly threw it to the ground, kicking it away. He knew to run, but the clue still laid on the bench, the snake separating it from him.
A series of slithering giggles could be heard from the snake before it morphed into something bigger. Something more… disfigured. Standing before Neo was a large sphinx, its head humanoid while its paws were scaly and its long, spiky lion's tail moved here and there behind it. It cackled hysterically, slow and agonising as it stared right at Neo.
His eyes locked against theirs, not once breaking the glare they held. He moved to step away from it, knowing he had to get the paper - the solitary clue. Contemplating if he could grab it and run, he also knew that the creature was probably faster than him. Instead, he decided to resort to a more hostile solution.
He moved slowly to take off his gloves, but the monster's beady eyes darted to them. It growled, clenching its humanistic features before slashing out. Neo jumped backwards, dropping his hand coverings before swiping at it. Though no contact was made, an invisible force separated from Neo's fingers and slammed against the creature.
It screamed - a horrific, ugly scream - and scrambled back. Feathers scorched and chest heaving, it seemed to smirk at Neo. It straightened itself, and as Neo waited for a retaliation so he could parry, it strangely did not attack. He waited, wondering what the shapeshifting thing wanted, or if it was just messing with him.
"Silly, silly Nathan," The cackle rose high. "Your queen thinks you're dead. I won't tell her otherwise, since it's so nice to see the guilt on her face."
The realisation came quickly. "You… you're what took her." Then the next recognition. "You're the England Ignitionist."
"So intelligent, well done," He snorted, rolling his head back. "I wonder… Can you piece it back together?"
"What?" Neo hissed. "Your body when I'm done with tearing you apart?"
He laughed. "Oh, you amuse me…" Then, he spoke menacingly. "Just a box of rocks. Then, the words all change. Punished so badly for how he talks, and the clue that's disarranged." He grinned. "Remember it well, Nathan - her life depends on it."
Its wings flared, but Neo wasn't about to let it fly off so easily. He charged forward, only to duck down and slide under the tall creature, putting his hand up and slipping it along its belly. The texture changed, a soft sizzling and seering sound coming from the fur and scales as they turned black. Neo stumbled back to his feet behind it, only to hear it hiss and smack him with its tail.
In his moment of distraction, the wings buffeted Neo's face, and the creature was gone in seconds. Leaving behind only the swirling dust which hinted that it had changed into something not so easily noticeable. Neo felt a trickle down his neck, and he touched it to find he was bleeding. His blood was always a strange sight - red, but much brighter red than it was supposed to be.
He turned, retrieving and putting on his gloves. As he stopped by the bench, he tried to remember all what the Ignitionist had said. Something about a box of rocks, and words… did it have something to do with the paper? He exhaled deeply into the night, retrieving the scrap of article and moving back towards the hotel.
(¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> 🖋 <-.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯)
Neo climbed to the second floor, the third from the ground, and found the corresponding door. He tried the handle only to find it locked, then checked a clock on the wall. One in the morning… Christopher would be pissed. Sighing, he knocked on the door like a child who had been caught out after curfew.
For a moment, there was no reply to the knock. Then a very tired Christopher opened the door and stood in the entrance. A displeased look was on his face before he saw it was Neo, and he grumbled something before letting him in. Neo walked past, looking around. A normal hotel room, but it was lavish. Two rooms and a living area, along with a bathroom to the side. A large window let in a little moonlight.
The door closed. "What happened?" Christopher demanded.
"What?" Neo glanced back. "Nothing. Nothing happened."
"Then why are you bleeding?" Christopher leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.
Neo touched his neck, sighing. "Right…" He mumbled. "Remember the cat?"
"The cat didn't scratch you, Nathan," He raised an eyebrow.
"No, he didn't, and stop calling me Nathan," Neo went on. "The cat appeared again on my walk. Turns out, not a cat - it's a shapeshifting creature who also happens to be the England Ignitionist."
Christopher squinted at him, and Neo realised how insane he sounded. The prince walked towards him, grabbing his sleeve and sniffing it. Neo pulled back, afraid he might have touched his skin, but no burning sensation was shared between them. Neo brushed his sleeve back in place.
"What was that for?" He said quizzically.
"I was seeing if you've been drinking," Christopher said flatly.
"I haven't," Neo frowned. "Alcohol doesn't affect me anyway."
"Could've fooled me," He shrugged. "Did this creature say anything?"
"Yeah. A riddle, or a poem," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Something strange, I can't remember all of it."
"How helpful," Christopher scoffed.
"Look, I'll do my best," Neo snapped, glaring at him. "But it came out of nowhere."
He shrugged. "Just get some rest, we'll figure it out in the morning." He waved carelessly before heading back to his room. "Night."
Neo didn't answer, looking back down as Christopher shut the door. A clicking sound signified he locked it, also hinting at the fact he still didn't trust him. He scoffed, glancing at the other bedroom. He grabbed a notepad off of the coffee table that the hotel provided and walked inside.
The thought of sleep wasn't appealing at all, but he sat on the bed anyway. Silence encased him, letting his mind wander from one topic to another before settling on what the sphinx had said. He scribbled on the notepad the first line, which was clear in his head. Then the next, which was harder to piece together. The third caused him to rip away the page three times before picking out what seemed to be the correct words. The final line was the one that littered the floor with crumpled paper.
"Just a box of rocks," He murmured to himself. "Then, the words all change." He wrote as he spoke them. "Punished so badly for how he talks," He said finally. "And… and…!" He groaned. "One line… One little line, and I can't bloody remember it."
And the clue that's disarranged.
It came sharply and at a random moment, making him flinch. He would have mistaken it for his own thoughts if it wasn't female. It was in his head, not spoken aloud, which made him stand up quickly. He turned around, as if expecting to find someone there, but nobody was.
"Who's there?" He demanded, both in his thoughts and out loud.
A snicker was heard echoing in his mind, making a shiver run up his spine. Terrible and hinting at a venomous tone. He looked around, gritting his teeth, but found himself alone in the room. He stayed standing even after the laughter stopped, unsure if he should run or stand his ground. Finally, after fifteen minutes, he sat. The night dwelled on, and when the morning light peeked through the curtains, he still hadn't slept.