//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 - Missing // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Early the next morning before dawn Ember slowly opens her eyes. She looks up to see Arc’s sleeping next to her and gently puts a hand to his face. “What am I…?” Arc opens his own eyes and bolts upright. “CHERRY!!!” “Arc?! What’s gotten into…?!” “I have to…!” As he puts weight on his legs, Arc quickly finds them unable to hold him. He crashes to the floor. Ember rolls over to the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong?!” “I… Cherry! She’s…!” Ember holds out a hand to him. “Talk to me, Arc. Something’s happened to Cherry?” Arc takes Ember’s hand and hefts himself up onto the bed. “Y-yes!” “Cherry? Can you hear me?” The air is silent. Arc shakes his head. “She isn’t here.” Ember frowns. “Then where is she?!” Arc flops back down on his back. “I don’t know!” Ember lies back down next to him. “Start from the beginning, Arc. What happened after I… you know.” Arc brings Ember up to speed on rest of the battle. “That sounds like it was a hard fight!” “It was, yes. We won, but I lost my helmet.” “And Cherry was in it?” Arc nods sadly. “Yes. Sereb and I took Bloodletter to the hospital before coming home.” “And Cherry?” “Xenos helped me to bed and took the Jeep to join the others in searching for her.” He sighs. “I wish I could have gone with him. But I was almost asleep on my feet.” Ember puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve seen what happens when you push yourself too far.” Arc nods. “Yes, well… I’m sure they’ve found her by now.” Ember looks around the room. “While I’m sure you’re right, I don’t see your helmet anywhere in here.” Arc frowns. “Sereb either.” “He was here?” “Yes. But it’s not like him to leave without saying something.” Ember sits up. “I’ll see if I can…” As she tries to stand Ember finds herself on the floor. Arc looks over to her. “You can’t get up either?” “Doesn’t look like it, no.” Arc reaches out and extends a hand. “Come on back up then.” Ember looks worried as Arc pulls her back into bed. “This is kinda creepy. Neither of us has the strength to get up!” Arc sighs as he looks out the window. The cold rain from the previous night continues to fall. “Cherry…” Ember takes his hand. “She’ll be fine. Cherry’s a tough mare.” She gently pushes him back down onto his pillow. “I think we both need some more rest, Arc.” “But…!” “It’s still pretty early. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone’s still asleep.” She sniffs the air. “That and I don’t smell breakfast cooking.” “My guys are pretty good at making us something bright and early.” Ember points toward the window. “It’s certainly a bit early for that though. We should probably get some more rest for now.” “But, Cherry…!” “Is fine, I’m sure.” Ember snuggles up next to him. “Just rest. Cherry would say the same if she were here.” Arc sighs. “I suppose you’re right, Ember. Um… but tell me something. How do you feel?” “Truthfully, a bit tired and achy. And you?” “Pretty much the same.” “Kinda reminds me of that time back in Tartarus. You don’t suppose I’m having a relapse, do you?” Arc shakes his head. “No, Ember. Humans don’t have the same immune systems as dragons do though. I think we’re just regular sick.” “Wha-what do we do?!” Arc puts his arm around her. “Rest for now.” Ember lays her head on Arc’s chest and smiles. “That makes the pounding in my head bearable.” Arc puts a hand on her forehead. “Your forehead is kinda warm.” “Really? I feel cold.” Arc pulls the blankets over them as he coughs. “Let’s try and get some more sleep. I don’t feel too good either.” “Y-yeah. Good night. Morning? Whatever.” Arc nods as he and Ember drift off to sleep. Meanwhile across town a car pulls into an underground parking ramp. Minerva steps out and wearily grabs her bag off the passenger seat before she heads for the elevator. Riding it to the top floor she walks down the hall toward her apartment and yawns as she pulls out her keys. “What a story!” Unlocking her apartment door, she steps inside and flips on a light before walking over to her couch. She plops down as she drops the bag next to herself and sighs contentedly. “I just love shooting on location. What a RUSH!” Grinning, she reaches into her bag and pulls out the helmet. “You, my heroic metal meal ticket, are my way to the top of the charts!” She studies the helmet more closely. “Now then, what is this thing made of? It’s so light!” Minerva puts the helmet on her head and looks out her window over the city. “Hmmm… who was that robed figure earlier? Did I really see them? I was certainly excited enough to misinterpret…” A visage of a seething Cherry flashes before her eyes. Minerva quickly removes the helmet and throws it across the room. “Woah! What was that?!” She slowly walks toward the helmet lying on the floor and picks it up. Looking it over again she frowns. “How could I have seen… whatever that was?” Minerva walks toward her bedroom with the helmet under her arm. She sets it on her nightstand and lies down. “I must’ve imagined it. While the craftsmanship certainly makes it a sight to behold, it’s still just a helmet.” Turning off her bedside lamp and rolling over Minerva falls asleep. Sometime later the sun rises and shines murkily through the clouds, but Arc and Ember sleep through it. Mid-morning arrives and the sounds of footsteps slowly ascending the stairs rings out. Max stops outside Arc’s door on Sereb’s back. He pauses to take a deep breath before knocking lightly. Quietly entering the room he turns to the bed. “S-sir?” Arc slowly opens his eyes and looks over. “Max?” Ember sits up from her place on Arc’s chest, sniffling. “What… what’s going on?” Arc coughs. “Max? Why are you and Sereb all wet?” “We… we were out searching for Miss Cherry last night.” Ember looks out the window. “Last… night?” Arc looks at Max nervously. “Where… where is she?!” Max hangs his head. “I… I’m sorry, sir.” Ember frowns. “That doesn’t answer the question.” Sereb sighs. “We failed, Arc.” Max nods, not looking up. “Yes. We were unable to find your helmet.” There is a stunned silence during which something inside Arc breaks. His pupils shrink and his breathing increases. “W-WHA-WHAT?!” “The five of us were looking all night.” “Five?” Sereb nods. “Yes, Arc. Xenos returned late last night to get me. I too lent my nose to the search.” Arc jumps out of bed and attempts to get to his closet, but falls to his knees. Ember shakily stands and hobbles over to him. “A-Arc!” “Help me over to the dresser, Ember!” Sereb frowns. “You are unwell, Arc.” “I don’t care! Cherry’s out there, and I have to find her!” He takes a step, but falls again with Ember. She appears frightened. “Arc? What’s wrong with us?!” Max coughs. “You don’t look too good, sir.” Arc nods, breathing heavily. “Yeah?! Well I don’t feel too good! But Cherry’s out there somewhere!” He looks to Max. “Now get off Sereb and let me get to finding her!” “Y-yes sir.” Max slides off Sereb’s back and crashes to the floor. Ember gasps. “Max?” Sereb walks over and sighs. “He and the others are all the same. I had to carry Max upstairs on my back.” “So all of you are sick too?!” Max nods weakly. “Yes sir. Please forgive us for failing you.” Arc sighs and nods. Ember helps him stand. “Max, this wasn’t your fault.” Arc nods. “She’s right. You four did your absolute best for me and I appreciate that! However, I need to find Cherry! Sereb take Max downstairs and see to it he and the others get some rest.” “Very well.” Sereb puts his head down and helps Max onto his back. The pair leave the room as Arc weakly heads for the bed with Ember. “We have to lie down, Arc.” “What about Cherry?! I need to find her!” “Maybe someone else can take care of that.” Arc frowns as he lies down. “Who?!” Ember sighs as she lies down next to him. “Well, Sereb is fine.” “I could send him out to look, yes. But where should he start?” “Probably where this mess began. At that hospital.” Arc thinks for a moment as Sereb returns. “They already looked that place over pretty thoroughly though.” “Yes, we did.” Ember turns to Sereb. “Were there any clues? Anything at all?” “We… found some tracks in the foliage near where the battle took place.” “Could they be from The Riders?” “Perhaps. However, as they regained consciousness most of them ran off in the opposite direction.” Ember gasps. “So someone was watching us the whole time?!” “Unknown.” “Could you pick up any scents?” Sereb shakes his head. “Assuming someone really was there, I could not. The rain deterred me in that regard.” Arc sighs. “Great. Now what do we do?” Ember turns to Arc. “What if Sereb and I went there together? Maybe would could…?” She suddenly bursts into a fit of sneezes. Sereb sighs. “It does not sound like you are in any condition to do such a thing, Ember.” Ember flops back onto the pillows. “ARGH! I hate this human sickness!” Arc snaps his fingers. “That might be an idea!” Sereb raises an eyebrow. “Eh?” Ember frowns. “I don’t see how me being sick is going to help anyone!” “But what if you weren’t?” “That would be wonderful right now.” “If you turned back into a dragon for a little bit, would your body be able to hold back the illness?” Ember shrugs. “I don’t know. Other than that time in Tartarus, I’ve never been sick before.” Sereb smiles. “It is worth a try.” Arc nods. “Do it, Sereb.” His horn aglow, Sereb casts the counter spell on Ember. In a few moments she returns to her dragon form. Arc looks her up and down. “How do you feel?” Ember sniffs. “I can smell again!” Sereb nods approvingly. “That is good.” Ember stands up slowly and carefully. “Feeling good. No weakness.” Arc coughs. “Great.” Ember turns back to Arc and pushes him back down. “Lie back, Arc. You still need to rest.” “You’re right.” Ember soberly takes Arc’s hand in her claws. “Sereb and I are going to find her, Arc.” “Thanks. But not like that you can’t.” “What are you…?” Arc reaches into his ring and pulls out a magic cloak. “Take this and stay hidden.” Sereb looks confused. “Hidden?” “Ember’s identity at least. If the government were to find out there was a real live dragon running around, they would certainly come for you. Keep your armor on too.” Ember takes the robe and turns to leave. “I… fine.” As she turns Arc grabs her claw. “Ember?” “Yes?” “Thanks for doing this.” “No problem. You just take it easy, okay?” Sereb nods. “We will let you know what we find.” Arc coughs and lays back. Ember and Sereb leave the room shutting the door behind them. He stares up at the ceiling. “I’m counting on you two.” Meanwhile, Ember and Sereb head downstairs. Passing the Living Room couch they see Rose lying down. “Is she… sleeping?” Sereb shrugs. “I believe it is more along the lines of repairing. She certainly needed it after last night.” “Why? What happened? “We can talk about it later. Rose told me she would be fine, and I believe her.” Nodding, Ember follows Sereb through the Kitchen and down the basement steps. They find Arc’s squad lying on their bunks. Viktor is wrapped up in a blanket in front of his computer. Ember looks around. “You guys look terrible.” Viktor blows his nose. “We FEEL terrible!” Hugh rolls over nervously. “How’s the commander?” Sereb sighs. “He is in a similar condition.” Max grimaces as he coughs. “Great. I just hope nothing big comes over the police scanner.” Xenos takes a drink of water to counter his own coughs. “Yeah. We’re in no condition to do much of anything.” “Well, Sereb and I are heading out to look for Cherry. You guys going to be okay over here?” Max nods. “Yes. Just please find her.” Hugh hacks into a tissue. “The commander needs Miss Cherry.” Xenos sighs. “We’d help if we could, but…” Viktor swivels around and tosses Ember a radio. “Call me on this if you need anything, okay?” “Thanks. We’ll do our best.” They head upstairs as the squad goes back to resting. Sereb turns to Ember. “Shall we start at the hospital?” Ember nods as she puts the radio in Sereb’s saddlebag. “Might as well. It all started there anyways.” They step out the back door as Ember calls forth her armor, cloaks, and hops up into the saddle. “You know the way?” “I do.” Ember breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. Because I have no clue.” Sereb looks around as he runs down the street. “At least the rain stopped.” “Yeah. It’s a lot warmer now too.” “Arc says spring is coming.” “Good! I’m so over this cold weather!” Half an hour later the pair arrive at the abandoned hospital. Ember hops off Sereb and looks around at the damage to the yard as she decloaks “This must’ve been quite the battle!” “It was.” “Did we win?” “Yes, Ember.” “How?” “By tiring our opponent out.” “Did it go well?” “Not really. But it did work… eventually.” Ember scans her surroundings. “Maybe there’ll be something on the news about this.” “We’ll have to talk to Viktor about that when we return.” “Yeah. But let’s get to work.” They look around. Ember spots the discharged grenade. She walks over and picks it up. “This thing started the whole mess!” “Eh?” “Don’t you remember?! Everything was going our way until Hammer tossed this crazy thing!” Sereb sighs. “I suppose. The battle was all but won at that point.” Ember nods as she looks it over. “Where do you suppose she got this thing?” “The Shards are a crafty and sinister lot.” Ember nods as she puts the canister in Sereb’s saddlebag. “Let’s take it with us. Maybe it’ll lead to something.” “Very well.” “Now then, how did Arc lose his helmet?” “His opponent grabbed him and tossed the helmet over there.” He points with a paw. “Into the woods?” “Yes, Ember. It must’ve rolled quite a ways, as we couldn’t find it.” “Did you try calling out to her?” Sereb nods. “Eventually, yes. The others didn’t want to, but I convinced them we had no choice.” The pair walk toward the woods and look around. Ember points. “There! Footprints!” “We saw them earlier.” “Someone WAS over here!” “That is the logical conclusion, yes.” “Then why didn’t you SAY anything back in Arc’s room?!” Sereb sighs. “I… couldn’t.” “What?” “Believe me, I was going to tell him. But when I saw the condition he was in, I knew I not only couldn’t, but shouldn’t.” Ember nods. “Yeah. He would’ve come out here himself. Sick or not.” “I was very surprised that he did not put up more of a fuss to you and I handling this.” “Why do you suppose that was?” “He trusts you very much, Ember. Arc knows you will not let him down.” Sereb sighs and looks down. “…as I and the others did.” “Hey now! You guys didn’t fail! Cherry’s not here to find!” “It was a very difficult thing to do. Returning empty-pawed.” “Then we’ll have to make that right! Come on! Let’s try and figure out where these tracks go.” Sereb sighs. “Follow me.” He leads Ember deeper into the woods. In a few minutes they arrive at an old two-track road. “The tracks end here.” Ember looks around. “Where… is this place?” “Unknown.” Ember mounts Sereb. “Let’s follow this path and see where it leads.” “I did that last night.” “Maybe you missed something. I mean, no one’s perfect.” Sereb sighs. “Very well.” He runs down the path. About ten minutes later they arrive at the main road. “This is where we lost the trail.” “Lost it?” Sereb points a paw at the pavement. “This path is very hard. Impossible to follow and track on it.” “Anything you can tell me about the trail? Anything at all!” “The rain has washed it away now, but there were muddy tire tracks leading this way.” He points a paw to the left. “So, let’s follow it!” “I… I did, Ember.” “Where did it lead you?” Sereb looks down sadly. “Back to Angel Grove.” “Wait, what?!” “Yes. This is where the trail ends, I’m afraid.” “I… I don’t… but…” Ember runs down the road on foot. Sereb chases after her. “Ember? What is it?” “I have to see for myself!” “But…?” “No matter what, I can’t let Arc down!” They come to the top of a hill. As they crest it Ember looks off in the distance to Angel Grove. She falls to her knees in the middle of the road. “I… we… but Cherry…” Sereb puts a paw on her shoulder. “We will find her, Ember.” A voice rings out behind them. “I really don’t see how.” Ember and Sereb quickly turn to see Wiseman standing before them. Ember frowns. “You again?!” Wiseman nods silently as Sereb growls. “What… are you? I cannot smell you.” “Just a man who keeps an eye open.” “Did you see who took… our friend?” “Cherry?” Sereb narrows his eyes. “How do you know that name?!” “Easy there, Sereb. He’s a friend… I think.” She turns back to Wiseman. “Look, all I want to do is find her and bring her back to Arc. Can you help me?” “With what?” “Something tells me you know EXACTLY where Cherry is!” “I do.” Sereb glares at him. “Where?!” “She is… where she needs to be right now.” Ember frowns. “I don’t understand. Cherry isn’t with Arc, so that can’t be right!” Wisemans shrugs. “Is your own perception of normalcy and order the same as everyone’s?” “In this case, yes!” “Can you tell us anything or not, stranger?!” “I can. But for the sake of all, I will not say.” Sereb seethes. “Why you…?!” He lunges at Wiseman. The robed figure moves like lightning to avoid the attack. Sereb lands and quickly recovers. He swings a mighty paw at Wiseman who puts out a hand to effortlessly stop it. The figure before him holds back the paw as Sereb presses his attack. “You and I could trade blows all day, my friend. But it would bring you no closer to your goal.” “Easy there, Sereb!” Sereb steps back. “But he knows where she is!” “I know. But I also understand that this human is not what he seems.” Wiseman nods. “Very good, Ember. Now you’re looking beyond what you see.” Ember takes a deep breath. “You have something to tell Arc?” “I do. But I can see he isn’t here. Would you deliver a message for me please?” “Okay. What is it?” “Tell him to watch the news.” Wiseman points toward Angel Grove. “Also tell him that Cherry has not, and will not, leave Angel Grove.” Sereb narrows his eyes. “How do you know that?! Unless you were the one whom took her!” The wolf prepares to attack again but Ember steps in front of him. “Will she and Arc find one another?!” Wiseman nods as he walks toward the woods. “Yes. That much I can assure you.” He steps behind a tree. Sereb runs around Ember and gives chase. “COME BACK HERE!!!” Rounding the tree Sereb comes face to face with nothing but bark and mud. He looks around as he calls out to Ember. “He’s gone!” Ember nods as she walks over. “I figured as much.” “Arc told me about him. Can this one be trusted?” “I don’t know. Arc sort of seems to think so.” “Sort of?” “Well, he DID help us get out of the burning apartment building and escape the southern temple. But I can’t help but shake the feeling he’s toying with us.” “Agreed! He knows where Miss Cherry is! Why not just tell us?!” Ember sighs as she gets back up into the saddle. “I can’t answer that. But we should probably get back home and tell Arc about this.”