"Ah, Delphina. Come here." A young man who had been stooped over a glass desk looked up at the sound of the door clicking shut. His hair was two-toned, dyed red and blue, with a mask covering his face. He motioned to another young man with pale green skin, dark green hair, and a giant, gaping hole where his stomach should be, calling them into action.
The person who just entered–a girl with light blue skin and teal hair pulled back by a string of pearls–trotted down the steps leading to the lab. A long, dolphin-like tail stretched out behind her, wavering with each step.
Delphina nodded to the green-skinned man, who had wheeled over a chair for her. "Thank you, Frankie. You wanted to see me, Dr. Alde?"
"Yes, yes…" Dr. Alde mumbled into his right hand, which was covered in a thick, metal glove, accented by copper. His left jacket arm hung limp, uninhabited. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
"Of course. Anything for my partners in science!" Delphina winked, flashing her coral colored eyes. Dr. Alde didn't notice. Instead, he repeatedly skimmed a note that had been laid flat on his desk. After trying to edge closer to take a peek, Delphina gave up and asked aloud: "Is something wrong?"
Dr. Alde looked up, as if snapped out of a trance, his gaze settling on Delphina's. His hair covered the right side of his face, but his left eye–a deep grayish purple–carried all the intensity he needed to convey.
"Yes, well…" Dr. Alde glanced at Frankie, who had taken a seat further away and had begun helping himself to a cup of tea. "We have bad news."
"Oh…?" Delphina could feel her tongue in her mouth growing dry and thick, forming a lump in her throat. "How bad…?"
"We can't finish the rocket." Dr. Alde replied, tossing the paper he was reading to Delphina. It fluttered in the air, nearly careening off course before Delphina caught it.
Before she could look down to read what was written, Frankie piped up.
"The Queen's issued a notice that she's blocking off all the trade routes. Nothing is gonna come in, so we can't even get the materials to build it."
Delphina felt her heart sink, and forced her eyes to wander downward to confirm that what they said was indeed true.
And unfortunately, it was.
In massive, bold lettering, a note simply titled "WARNING".
The rest of it was written much smaller and plainer: "The Queen has issued an order shutting down all trade routes in and out of the Heart Kingdom effective immediately. Anyone caught trading and trading for stolen and poached goods shall be punished to the highest degree."
"That means…" Delphina began blinking back the tears forming in her eyes. "No more materials are being sent to help build the rocket?"
Dr. Alde and Frankie shook their heads in unison.
Delphina let her tears fall from her face, droplets staining the notice paper and smudging the ink. "So… that's it then…? My dreams of reaching the stars are delayed yet again?"
"Hey, we didn't say we were gonna stop."
"Huh…?" Delphina looked up, taken aback. "What… what do you mean?"
Frankie looked over at Dr. Alde, scratching at the stitches lining his neck, before holding up his palms–wrists and fingers also covered in stitches and staples–in a shrug.
"We obtain it illegally, of course."
"But won't we get caught if we trade with someone?"
Alde leaned back, crossing his arms and closing his eye triumphantly. "We're not gonna trade."
Delphina's tears were wiped away in her wave of newfound confusion. "Sir… what are you planning?"
"I enter the Outer Frontier and strip the abandoned ruins of its metal, of course." Dr. Alde nodded. Frankie nodded too, as if this was the most normal course of action.
"But. Doctor… isn't the Outer Frontier, like, super dangerous? Filled with the miasma and other monsters?" Delphina couldn't help but eye Alde's scrawny body–far skinnier and much more bony than she was, not to mention the missing left arm and his breathing problems and his short stamina and-
"Okay, Delphina, I can feel you judging my condition." Dr. Alde interrupted. "But I assure you, I won't be going alone. After all… I'm counting on you, two, as well. I will guide us to abandoned ruins in the Frontier, if you two act as my muscle and keep an eye out."
Delphina wiped the remaining tears left on her face, before crushing the paper in her hands.
"Let's do it."
─── ♡ ♢ ☀︎ ✩ ☽ ♧ ♤ ───
The warm, tepid heat was chased away by the cool, biting air blowing inside the hospital. As he stepped inside, he greeted the workers rushing back and forth. Passing by a mirror, he pushed his light blue hair back, tucking a few strands behind his demonic horns.
He strode towards a young blonde woman, who was hunched over a paper and muttering worriedly to herself.
"Bitte!" He called out cheerfully. He had a long, red tail with a feathered tip matching the color of his horns, which began to almost wag in excitement. "Good morning. How are you doing today?"
"Ah…" Bitte looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "Dr. Asmodeus, good morning…"
Asmodeus took note of her posture and slowed his approach. "What's wrong, dear?"
Bitte showed Asmodeus the paper in her hands, which he quickly scanned. He raised an eyebrow, before narrowing his eyes.
"So the queen thinks she can cut off supplies…?" his previously upbeat voice was now dripping with revile. "Does she realize how many patients we have to take care of…?"
"I'm sorry, Asmodeus, I don't know what to do."
Snapping out of his gloom, he immediately straightened up and smiled. "Not to worry, Bitte. I have an idea. Tell the hospital I must step away for a bit. I will take things into my own hands."
He immediately turned on his heels, striding back towards the door. He waved at the doctors and nurses rushing past him, before his figure disappeared through the glass doors.
Once again outside in the heat, he pulled out a small device with a teal green screen, punching in a number and raising it to his pointed ear. It rang for a few beats, before it clicked and a deep voice picked up.
"Azzy?"
"Altair! Would you be a dear and meet me near the entrance to the Outer Frontier? I need your help."
He hung up with a smile and pocketed his phone before taking off.
─── ♡ ♢ ☀︎ ✩ ☽ ♧ ♤ ───
"Get up." The bars clanged loudly, reverberating around the tiny cell. "Your breakfast is here."
A figure jolted and stirred in the dark corner, rubbing their eyes, before glaring through the darkness. He stared at the person on the other side of the bars with dripping contempt.
"Who are you?" He muttered. "Where's Kintsugi? He at least has more tact than this."
The woman on the other side of the bars didn't respond, just slid the tray under the flap near the bottom of the cell.
"Oh… it's you. And what, just one tray? No coffee?" The figure's voice was mocking now. Grating. He slid off of the tiny bed shoved into the corner, revealing another large, hulking figure still curled up in sleep. "Do you see the oaf I have to share this cell with? And surely you know I can't possibly think without proper nutrition."
The woman finally snorted in response. "You think I care what happens to livestock like you? Kintsugi is gone. He quit. I'm just here to let you know that this building is being abandoned, and you're being left to rot by him and by the Queen."
The man finally stilled, before laughing nervously. "Come on, you can't seriously expect me to believe you, right? I'm the Queen's trusted engineer, the lead inventor for the Diamanté Mafia. She uses my technology… all four kingdoms use my technology!"
Now, the woman sneered, getting close to the bars, gripping one of them in her fist. "The Queen has no more use of you. She's gotten the inventions she wants out of you, and now she doesn't care what you or even what the Mafia does. She's cut ties with the outside world. What, you thought you were entitled to an ounce of superiority? Come on, you're the one trapped in a cage here. I get to wander out, leaving you and the other rats here for the rest of your lives."
"You-!" He threw himself against the bars, reaching his arm out in a futile attempt to grapple with the woman, who moved back quickly. "Release me this instant! I can… I can improve my other inventions!"
"So long, Savant. Your inventions have greatly improved the kingdoms, so I'm sure we'll remember you even when you're dead… but you're well past your expiration date."
Savant bit his tongue back from firing another scathing remark.
"Oh, and another thing… you know too much," the woman added. "The Queen is sending someone to kill the lot of you soon."
The woman let out a loud, booming laugh before it quickly faded, signalling her departure. Savant stood for several beats, before pacing the cage.
The other figure on the bed finally stirred, turning over to look at Savant. He rubbed his eyes, groaning. "Savant…?"
"Well, look who's finally awake?" Savant snapped, before breathing deeply. "Armel. We need to get out of here."
"How? I've got the inhibitors on, and you… well…"
"Shut up! I am plenty smart without my technology. Here, give me your hands."
Armel sat up, running a hand through his fluffy hair before displaying his palms to Savant.
Savant was quick to snatch the left one and pull it closer to him, procuring a hidden screwdriver from his pocket, and tampering with the cuffs placed tightly around Armel's wrists.
"Are you sure about this?" Armel yawned. "Do you even know if you can get these off of me?"
"Quite sure," Savant mumbled back. "I made your inhibitors… I know how to unmake them."
A click, and the cuff unlatched, falling onto the floor with a dull thud. Savant quickly worked on the other cuff, until they'd both fallen off.
"Now, how are you feeling? Like you can tear the doors off this cell?"
Armel rolled his shoulders, stretching languidly. His warm-up routine was painfully slow, Savant watching him eagerly but impatiently. Finally, Armel smiled, cracking his knuckles and loosening his wrists.
"Took you long enough to remove those. I feel like I can tear down this whole building."
The rest was all a blur, with Savant riding on Armel's shoulders as they ran from the crumbling mess that used to be the once proud and brilliant headquarters of the Diamanté Mafia. Savant and Armel carried several inventions with them, all branded with Savant's logo–a sleek, simple S in the shape of a diamond.
"Wh-where to, now, Professor?"
"We need somewhere to hide…" Savant scanned the landscape, before leaning forward and patting Armel's chest. "Head towards the Outer Frontier. I have a hideout over there."
─── ♡ ♢ ☀︎ ✩ ☽ ♧ ♤ ───
"Perhaps sending the soul into a coma and tourniqueting the flow of magic could kill a curse…" The young man stood in front of a cauldron, wearing a pointed cap with two ribbons attached to the golden brooch on the front. He adjusted the cloak on his shoulders, and smoothed out the fabric of his gloves around his hands and on his arms; all four of them, to be precise.
"A compound similar to an anesthetic but enhanced with magic could start the induction into a coma." He looked around his room, tapping his foot, before opening containers.
"Out… out… out… Gods, why am I out of everything? Ginger!" He shouted.
No response.
He stepped out, the fluorescent lights in the hallways bright and blinding in comparison to the dim candles flickering away on the shelves of his room. He shut the door behind him, testing the knob several times before he was satisfied.
Trotting down the hallway, he peeked his head around corners and into rooms, before chancing upon the young girl in the kitchen, helping herself to the peanut butter and jelly jars, the contents staining her white gloves.
"Ginger," he spoke, gently. She still jumped at the sound of her name.
"Oh… uh… Ignis…" her eyes shifted down at the mess she was making. "Sorry, I'll-"
"No worries about the mess, Ginger. Just clean it up whenever you are done." Ignis waved a hand, although his tone was firm. "Now, Ginger, I thought I sent you to fetch a list of herbs from Rye's stand. Did you retrieve them?"
Ginger blinked, before jolting and rushing out of the room. Before Ignis could process her disappearance, she rushed back in.
"About that…" Ginger procured a paper, showing Ignis. He narrowed his eyes, before turning away.
"Read it to me."
Ginger nodded, adjusting her glasses, and reading the contents of the paper out loud. It was a notice and a warning, detailing the prohibition of trade.
Pacing around, Ignis sighed. "Just grand…" he muttered. "Wherever shall I get what I need now? Those plants only grow in the Clubs Kingdom or-"
His amber eyes lit up, as if ablaze with an idea. He stalked to the window, gazing out at the endless landscape before him, stretching for miles beyond the Heart Kingdom. "The Outer Frontier."
"But… Magister Ignis, that place is… dangerous. I can't-"
Ignis immediately whipped around, returning to Ginger's side and cutting her off. He knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder, his expression and voice softening. "I won't make you go out there, you're far too young for an errand like that. No… I shall see about collecting those herbs myself."
"What if you get caught?"
"I've got magic," Ignis laughed, flexing his arms. "And I'm sure I've still got some potions in storage that'll come in handy. Y'know… My master taught me chemistry and engineering. I can always figure something out."
Ginger nodded, but her worried expression was still plastered to her face. Noticing this, Ignis leaned forward once again, extending all of his arms, his pinkies outstretched with the rest of his fingers loosely curled in.
"I'll make a promise–a quadruple promise, in fact–that I swear I won't break." Ignis became serious, making sure Ginger's eyes were locked onto his as he spoke. "I swear that I will keep myself safe and not get caught, killed, or hurt in any other way."
Ginger seemed to ease up at this, extending her gloved hands–still stained with peanut butter and jelly–and linking them with Ignis', repeating the process for his second pair of arms as well.
"Ok. I accept your promise…"
"Good! Then I shall head out…" Ignis straightened up and clasped his hands together. "...now. Be a good girl and clean up after yourself and go to bed on time, yes?"
"Wait… now!?"
"Ah… and don't forget to brush your teeth. No radio or television before bed… ah, also no sugar before bed, either. There is money in the drawer if you'd like to pop on down to Branzino's and get dinner there, I'm sure he'd be happy to whip up your favorite. Ooh, or there's leftover-"
"Wait! You can't just leave now!" Ginger cried out, interrupting him.
"Ah… why not? I am in need right now. Am I forgetting anything…" Ignis turned around, burying his chin in his hand, deep in thought.
Ginger shook her head. "No… but… I'm still coming with you! I just didn't want to go alone!"
Ignis blinked, before looking away. "I don't know, Ginger… I'm afraid that it's dangerous."
"But you're willing to risk your own life?" Ginger sassed. Ignis offered a weak chuckle. "I can help! I promise! And I won't slow you down! We can even hire a bodyguard, or-"
Ginger was cut off by a sudden, abrupt knock on the door.
"I'll grab it," Ignis said, holding out his palm to keep her from running off. He straightened out his pointed cap and adjusted his cloak and gloves, before heading to the front door.
The second knock was interrupted by Ignis slowly cracking the door open, peering out to see who could possibly be knocking on the door.
In front of him stood a broad, towering man, his light pink hair tied back with shimenawa ropes, showing off his forehead and his pointed, red horns. His chest was bare, save for a dark blue ripped vest, with wide-legged pants to match that cut off just above his ankles. His feet were wide, only covered by the straps of his sandals. Most curiously about him were the golden scars snaking across his body. His face, his chest, his biceps… even down to his ankles. Golden earrings pierced his pointed ears—the left one with a triangular chunk taken out of it.
"Huge…" Ignis whispered, before he realized the word had left his lips.
"Are you gonna keep starin' at me?"
Ignis tore his gaze away from the man's body, before locking eyes with him. A piercing gold—just like the scars that decorated him. He swallowed.
"S-sorry. How may I help you?"
The man's eyes narrowed, before he folded his muscled arms across his chest. "I'm looking for the great wizard known as Ignis Volare. Know him?"
"Er… yes. That would be me."
"You?" He snorted. He let out a louder laugh when Ignis grumbled to himself. "Forgive me, I don't mean to laugh, but… you're… well… you're younger than I thought you'd be."
Ignis straightened up, adjusting his hair, his comment clearly making him ease up. "Ah… really? I'm only… let's see now, how old am I…"
"Twenty-four, sir."
Ginger appeared behind Ignis, clearly also curious about their strange visitor.
"Thank you, Ginger." Ignis nodded. "Anyways, enough about that. Who might you be? And what did you need with me?"
The man lowered himself so he could study Ignis' face. "I was looking for you because everyone says you're some sorta… magic master."
"I've heard those rumors." Ignis grew wary again.
"Then… Do you know anything about breaking curses?"
Ignis' eyes widened, before he lowered his head. "Ah… sorry, I-"
"He's actually studying that right now!" Ginger piped up. She nudged Ignis outside, causing him to stumble towards the stranger. She stepped out, too, closing the door behind her. "We need more ingredients from the Outer Frontier. If you protect us, we'll help you out."
"Ah, Ginger-"
"You're strong, right? Unless those muscles are for show?"
The man raised an eyebrow, before chuckling at Ginger's assertiveness. "I suppose that's a fair deal." He turned to Ignis, who was looking on in disbelief, and held out a hand. "Name's Kintsugi. Kintsugi Kenji. Pleasure to meet you."
Ignis nodded slowly, caught off guard by Ginger's hustling. He took Kintsugi's hand, before mumbling: "Likewise…"
─── ♡ ♢ ☀︎ ✩ ☽ ♧ ♤ ───
Golden light had filled the room for several hours now, but Gordon remained stationary in bed. A flat, off-white snake wrapped around his head, whispering near his ear: "Gordon… wake up…"
"Five more minutes, Hodie."
"You've said that for the last three hours…" A second snake piped up.
"Shut up, Hesterno…" Gordon grumbled, turning over in his sleep and curling into an even tighter ball.
"You idiots… I have the solution." A third snake appeared, sidling up Gordon's jaw and flicking its tongue in and out of his ear.
Gordon shot up, his hand shooting to his ear. "What the hell, Cras!?"
The snakes let out a mix of a hiss and a laugh, before wrapping themselves around Gordon's head, arms, and legs, taking on an appearance similar to bandages.
"Let's go, Gordon…" Hodie hissed. "There's something we need you to do for us…"
Gordon grumbled as he slid out of bed and collapsed onto the floor. "Can't it wait 'til I wake up some more?"
"No."
"Please? At least let me play a game for fifteen minutes or… two hours."
Cras snorted, and Hesterno shook its head. "Gordon, it is already two in the afternoon. Perhaps you should consider going outside."
Gordon muttered again, before finally standing up and stretching, taking his sweet time much to the annoyance of the snakes. He pulled a hoodie over his head, sweatpants over his legs, and jammed his feet into a pair of slippers.
"C'mon! Let's go get something to eat. Let's go to Branzino's!" Hesterno suggested.
"You just want Branzino to feed you all," Gordon scoffed. "I don't have the money for that right now."
Cras hissed in frustration. "If you got a job, then maybe you'd have money."
"You guys are the ones that make me play games for you!"
"There's no need to dwell on the past…" Hesterno added.
"That's literally all you do!" Gordon protested. He sighed, before exiting his apartment. "Fine… we'll get food and then we'll go do whatever it is you guys are pushing me to do."
"Fantastic!" Hesterno cried out. "Perhaps we can order the chicken strips…?"
Unfortunately, their lunch plans were shot down when they arrived at Branzino's, only to find it closed.
"What? How despicable. Go on, call up Branzino's and let him know that we will not be returning anymore!" Cras spat.
Gordon rolled his eyes. "Be quiet, Cras… Look, the Queen has simply closed off all the trade routes. They can't get any of their ingredients from the Clubs Kingdom anymore."
"Then we must simply kill the Queen so we can come back and get chicken," Hesterno interrupted.
"That's a bad idea," Gordon said. "Look, none of us even need to eat. I'm dead and you three are immortal… we don't get hungry. Why don't we just go and do what you guys wanted me to do?"
The snakes looked embarrassed, before Hodie nodded. "Fine. Gordon, you must head to the Outer Frontier."
"Okay." Gordon began mindlessly walking, before he froze. "I'm sorry… the Outer Frontier? You guys know it's illegal and also dangerous to enter without a permit, right?"
"Oh, please…" Cras lifted up their head defiantly. "We can bail you out of any jail. Even if you get sentenced for life."
"No. Why do you even want me to go there, anyways?"
Hodie looked around, before whispering, "There's a problem in the Outer Frontier. We sensed it this morning… the magic is becoming unbalanced."
Gordon sighed. "I'm just a gamer. I can't help."
"No, no! We will guide you!" Hesterno pleaded. "Plus… perhaps the imbalance is the reason the trade routes are all closed. If we solve it, we can come back and have-"
"I can cook you chicken, y'know."
Hesterno turned their head away. "Not as good as Branzino…"
Throwing up his hands, Gordon grumbled. "Fine! I'll go to the Outer Frontier and check it out. But tomorrow, I'm sleeping in until three."
The snakes seemed to be pleased with this arrangement.