“That was incredible!” Lucas excitedly commented as Iris shook the hands of the thankful citizens of Azure.
“We can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done!” one man told her.
“I must admit, I never intended to fight,” Iris humbly replied. “I was only defending my friend.” She turned to Lucas, the grateful crowd continuing to shower her with praise. “I still do not approve of the action you took,” she asserted. “However... I suppose the outcome negates my opinion on the matter. That being said, I would advise that you work on your aim and conjuring speed before rushing into any more battles.”
Before Lucas could reply they heard a familiar voice approaching from the western road. “What happened?!” The two turned their heads to see Hagan quickly making his way through the crowd toward them.
“We’re not entirely sure ourselves,” Iris told him. “Lucas and I heard the explosions while we were practicing conjuring. We arrived to find five mysterious men terrorizing the city. Despite my insistence to the contrary, Lucas attempted to attack the group, leaving me no choice but to fight. It appears today was my lucky day, as I somehow managed to defeat all of them without taking any damage myself.”
“Damn,” Hagan remarked. He observed the corpses and ruined buildings in the surrounding area. “Any idea who they were or why they were doing this?”
“Unfortunately not,” Iris responded.
“Actually,” Lucas interjected, “I heard the big guy screaming, ‘Where’s the disk fragment’ before he threw that last fireball.”
Hagan was perplexed. “Disk fragment?”
Lucas nodded as Iris quickly interrupted, “Pardon my suspicion, but I believe this may be another manifestation of your delusion.”
“No, he really said it!” Lucas replied with obvious frustration. “Ask any of these people!”
Hagan scratched his head. “Wait, wait... back up a bit. What’s this disk fragment?”
Focused on proving his story, Lucas turned to a nearby man. “Excuse me, sir,” he began, “Did you hear what that large man was yelling as he rampaged through town?”
The man nodded. “Yeah... something about a disk. I was just coming out of the barbershop when I saw him and his cronies beating up a Knowm. That’s when the big guy started throwing those huge fireballs at buildings and killing anyone who got in his way.”
“Thanks,” said Lucas, quickly turning back to Iris who was clearly surprised by what the man had to say. “Believe me now?” Iris was speechless.
Still quite confused with the situation, Hagan blurted out, “Are you gonna let me in on this or what?!”
Iris thought for a moment. “Let’s return to my house and discuss this further.” She looked at Hagan. “Lucas can provide details along the way.”
As the three walked back to Iris’s house, Lucas told Hagan about his encounter with the old man on the outskirts of Cymbeline. He carefully explained all of the events which occurred afterward, eventually leading up to when he awoke on Iris’s couch. Hagan seemed just as baffled by the story as Iris had when she initially heard it. Yet he appeared to be a bit more open-minded about it, likely from hearing what the man in downtown Azure had said.
They soon arrived at Iris’s house. As they each took a seat at the kitchen table, Iris spoke. “From what I’ve gathered, we’re to assume that today’s attack on Azure was related to this disk fragment.” Lucas gave a nod.
“Wait,” Hagan interrupted, “didn’t that guy say that they were beating up a Knowm? I thought the Knowms were the ones who were trying to find the disk... so what’s the deal with the guys that were in town today?”
Lucas shrugged. “Maybe they were part of some third group we’re not aware of.”
“It’s possible,” said Iris. “However, that explanation is based solely on speculation.”
Hagan took out his flask and removed the lid. “Well, do you have a better theory, science queen?”
There was a pause. “No... not particularly.” Iris replied sheepishly.
Hagan took a swig. “So what’s the plan, Lucas?”
“I’m not really sure,” Lucas responded. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do.”
“Well we have to do something,” Hagan told him. “From what we saw today, things are about to start heating up. It sounds like an awful lot of people want to get their hands on both of those fragments. We know this much, so we can’t just kick back and let the world fall apart in front of our faces. Someone’s going to end up with that ‘Damiano’s Disk’ thing eventually, and if what Lucas said is true, whoever gets this source of unstoppable power is going to be calling the shots from now on. Do you want it to be Lord Quinn or some shadowy guild?”
“Are you implying that we hunt the fragments for ourselves?” Iris inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Hagan shrugged. “All I’m saying is that if we had that power, we’d be able to toast all of the remaining monsters and restore Aria to the way it was before all of this crazy crap started happening.”
“That’s a good point,” Lucas answered. “But how are we going to do that? Lord Quinn has way too many people on his side and I doubt I’ll ever run across the Spades again. Plus, Zoe said that the Spades were only protecting the fragment from the Knowms; she didn’t say anything about them trying to get the power from the temple.”
“Of course she didn’t,” Hagan argued. “You wouldn’t have handed it over if she would have told you they want it for the same reason as the Knowms, now would you?”
Lucas’s expression went blank. He’s right... I never thought about it that way.
After taking another swig, Hagan went on. “I’m willing to bet whoever’s on the top rung in the Spades would do the same thing Lord Quinn’s planning to do if they had both of those fragments. I mean, who wouldn’t want a shot at ruling the universe? Even if that girl you spoke to thinks they’re the good guys, I doubt whoever’s in charge is much different than Quinn.”
“Pardon me,” Iris interrupted, “but I simply don’t have the time to participate in this suggested endeavor. I’m certain a phenomenal number of injuries have occurred from the attack downtown. My presence as an alchemist is greatly needed.”
“You’re not the only one in town,” Hagan argued. “Besides, we know that the whole thing has something to do with Damiano’s Disk. Do you really want to risk letting something like that happen again?”
The room was quiet for a short period as they each went over the situation in their heads. Breaking the silence, Iris spoke. “Very well. I suppose I can’t merely ignore it.”
“So you’re on board?” Hagan requested. She responded with a single nod. Hagan smiled. “Good. Now all we need is a plan of action.”
Iris thought for a moment. “Lucas, you had mentioned previously that you wished for us to revisit the gateway located in the cave near the area in which Hagan found you. Perhaps we could start by exploring this ‘In Between.’ I’m quite curious to know what it’s like in another dimension.”
“There’s an idea,” Hagan remarked. “I say we go for it.”
Lucas looked toward the window. I don’t know about this. I need to get home to Grandpa as soon as possible. But on the other hand, this could be my only chance at stopping these monsters for good.
It was then that his grandfather’s words echoed in his head: “I’m a grown man. I don’t need protecting.”
Lucas got up from the table. “Alright, let’s do it. I’ll need you to show me where you found me, Hagan. I’ll try to find the cave from there.”
“Hold on,” Iris interrupted. “We’re not ready to leave quite yet. I suggest that we wait until tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow morning?!” Hagan exclaimed. “Why?!”
“It’s highly probable that we will encounter monsters along the way,” Iris explained. “Lucas requires further training before he is ready for combat. With his remaining injuries, he will need to be fully capable of defending himself in the event that we are somehow separated. This will also allow time for me to pack some essential items.”
Hagan rolled his eyes. “Please, I go out there all the time by myself with nothing but a flask and my trusty bow. We’ll be fine.”
“Perhaps in the forest,” Iris replied, “but there’s no way for us to know the dangers which lurk in the In Between. We will need to be fully rested and prepared for anything we may encounter. Traveling to another dimension is not a decision to be taken lightly.”
Hagan put the lid back on his flask. “Yeah, I guess...” He looked at Lucas. “If that’s the plan, you’d better get practicing.”