Author's Note: I want to apologize a million times over. The schedule that I previously set in place has not been followed. I have not been able to put the time into the story the way that I want to. Unfortunately, for now, there will no longer be any schedule. I will, however, still release episodes, they just won't be timely or consistent. Once I get past this hurdle in my life, I will hopefully be able to do more. Thank you to all who are staying interested in what's going on in Keena.
End of author's note.
Episode 16: Hidden Members
Sitting at a huge oval table in a room on the fiftieth floor of this place called 'The Citadel' were a group of people that believed they were destined to change the world. At the table head sat Thanatos. In clockwise fashion, around the table, the order that everyone sat in was Travis, Brittany, Paisley, Liam, Raijo, Bella, Ren and then Deeno. The table was much larger than the group that currently occupied the room so there were several empty seats in between some of them. Bella was still gawking at Deeno, obviously in love in her own way, but Thanatos wasted no time getting everyone's attention as they all arrived and sat down. "Thank you all for gathering on such short notice. I want to start off by saying that, in over a hundred seventy five years, I have never had the hope that I do today. I would say all of that hope has been mostly due to one person and the effect that he has on others. Liam, I would like you to stand up for everyone to see clearly."
As Liam stood up, his iridescent hair flowed from side to side and then he grinned awkwardly, because now he was the center of attention. Everyone gave him a small round of applause which made him blush. Travis was questioning what he had just heard and couldn't really hold back from asking, "What do you mean one hundred seventy five years? Most people live to be about eighty seven statistically speaking. You're kidding about that right?" Thanatos shook his head before replying, "No, I'm not kidding even a little. In fact, keep that thought in mind for later. I will explain more about that, but first, I want to introduce you all to two people that really keep things going around here." He pressed a small button that seemed to have been built into the table itself. After releasing it, a buzzing noise sounded off and when it ended, Thanatos spoke. "Hey Marisa! Could you get Khalid and both of you come to the state one conference room? I want some new friends of mine to be able to see the irreplaceable faces behind 'The Order of the Black Dragons. You know what to do."
Thanatos looked around at all the faces in the room and wanted to praise Liam before the two he just called got there. "Liam, I know you know a man named 'J K' right?" Liam gave him a head nod and said, "Yeah, he's the one who made me strong." Thanatos stopped Liam right there. "No Liam. I can see how you would think that, but that's not the truth. In order for things to make more sense, I have something to reveal to you and your family here." He paused for dramatic effect to gain the full attention of the four he was talking to. "The man known as James Kryo was the best damned scientist that this world has ever seen. His death is an incredible tragedy to us here in the Order." Liam spoke, "Why is that? Was he really important to you?"
Thanatos looked at Liam with a smile that just refused to reach his eyes. For a moment he looked really sad, but he was trying to hide behind a fake display of emotion. "Because Liam, when he was alive, I didn't run this place by myself. James was the other leader of The Order of the Black Dragons. He was second to nobody here. His ability may not have been combat related, but his power level was equal to mine. The only way he could have been killed is if they caught him by surprise. I believe an assassin was sent after him." Hearing this brought vivid images back to Liam about his own parents assassination.
Realizing he was running off track with the conversation, Thanatos brought it back. "Liam, you were already the most powerful person on the planet when you were born. You were plenty strong. James wanted to take that special serum he gave you out of the hands of a tyrant that shed blood for fun." Just then, he whispered under his breath, "Even Rain Nisho was never like that."
Knock Knock Knock
The door slid open after the I.D. reader went off and two people came in one after the other. The strange thing was both of them had on masks that hid their faces. Before anyone could speak, Thanatos took the reins. "Alright everyone, let's sit and focus up because now we can get down to business." The woman that came in stepped forward and handed out stacks of paper to the four newcomers. Even though Brittany, Travis, Paisley and Liam had been there for a month or two now, they were still somewhat considered outsiders. "I know that you guys found this place because James led you here. Ever since then, you guys have made this your home and I'm glad that you have. If it's okay with you all, I'd like to make it official that you become a part of the Order. I have to say that due to how things are, I don't want to ask you guys to join as people under us. I want the same situation that we have right now, which is a partnership."
Brittany and Travis could be seen giving each other confused glances. Paisley and Liam just sat there, none the wiser, looking off into space. "A partnership?" Travis asked. "You mean an official partnership between us and The Order of the Black Dragons? I think we will need some type of explanation, just so we can understand exactly what you are wanting ." Thanatos knew this would be the case and already had a bit of information ready to spill. After nodding, he spoke, "The partnership I'm talking about would be different from what everyone in her is possibly thinking of. In most business dealings where people or entities come together, one usually takes advantage of the other or they both have to give up some type of freedom they had before to strengthen the new combined group. That is not what I want here at all." Thanatos paused to let them breathe. "I know Liam and Paisley are so young and I wouldn't want anyone to feel like we are taking advantage of them. My idea is to make Liam and Paisley two new leaders, on par with me, of The Order of the Black Dragons. The other part of my plan is that since they are so young, Travis, you would be interim leader in their place until all parties agree they are mature enough to assume their destined roles."
Travis and Brittany understood where Thanatos was coming from, but the only thing they could think of was that they wanted to discuss it behind closed doors before making their decision. As they looked over at Paisley and Liam, all they saw were excited puppy dog faces screaming 'please'. "Thanatos, we want to thank you for everything you are doing and have done for us. We were a big mess when we showed up at your doorstep and you helped us through the death of our loved ones. I think we need to talk about this amongst ourselves. Could we take a day or so to figure it out and read through this?" Travis picked up the stack of papers in front of him and flopped them back down. "I promise we will give you an answer soon." Travis hoped he wasn't stepping on toes, but for his kids, he wanted to think things through and not jump to the quickest conclusion that seemed like it could be right. They both wanted to be confident in their choice for the kids instead of doing guess work.
Thanatos smiled wide. Them taking time to make the right call made him even more confident that these people were perfect for The Order. He spread his arms wide as he stood, "I wouldn't have it any other way! In the meantime, as a gesture of faith and goodwill, I want you all to meet Marissa and Khalid." As he said this, both of the masked figures reached up and unmasked themselves. The attention was drawn more so to the woman in front of them. She had candy red colored hair that went down to the middle of her back and olive skin. The moment she made eye contact with them, they all felt very calm and peaceful. "Marissa here is one of the people that help run The Order. She, much like you guys, was introduced to us due to James. We had someone else that came with her, but we won't get into that for now." Thanatos let out a big sigh as if he was disappointed. "Marissa is our bookkeeper of sorts and can answer any and all of your questions. I don't want there to be any secrets from us to you all. I know that you guys probably still have your reservations about going all in here, so I want full transparency for your own comfort. I don't want anyone or anything giving you any more doubt to trust us than you may already have. Even our top secret information is yours to know. That's how much your potential trust in us means to me."
Travis looked down at the table and then back up to the two new people in the room. He knew from Thanatos's words that because of Liam, they had power. Their position in the room was high, but Travis didn't want to abuse that. He was just acknowledging the facts for later when he and Brittany came together to discuss the partnership. He reached down and held Brittany's hand softly as Thanatos moved on. "Marissa, would you like to say a few words before we introduce Khalid?" As she heard her name, Marissa stepped forward and took even more of the spotlight. "Hey everybody. It's nice to meet you all. I hope we can get to know each other well. Like T said, I'm The Order's bookkeeper. It sounds simple, but I basically keep track of the history that The Order goes through. We want an accurate account of the world events we involve ourselves in from our perspective. My goal by doing this is that one day, after we take back the world from the demon Richmond, and potentially his spawn, we will shed light on all his heinous crimes. I refuse to call him a king. On a happier note, I'll tell you a little snippet about what my ability can do." Everyone felt themselves being heavily drawn to look at her face even more now than ever. "I can calm someone down and make them have some sort of common sense and peace. If I push it further, I can attract people's attention like a magnet." After she said that, everyone shook their heads side to side. They knew that she was using her ability on them now.
Marissa turned, giggled, and walked back to her starting point. She turned back around and nodded at Thanatos. "As you all can see, we have more than just a few special people here in The Order." Thanatos said and nodded back at Marissa. He switched from her to the one standing next to her. "And last but certainly not least, I want you all to meet Khalid. As he comes forward to tell you a bit about why he's here, Travis, there was a question about my age you wanted to know about. My ability used in a special way can somewhat prolong my life, but it's not indefinite. If it weren't for Khalid, I would have long since left this world."
Not wasting time, Khalid stepped forward and admitted something that none of the Sanely's expected. "Hi, I'm Khalid. My ability is capable of allowing anyone I use my power on to extend their lifespan. If you keep coming back to me, I can keep you alive forever. One thing important to know is that I was best friends with the first king, Rain Nisho. He made me the right hand of royalty. I called all the shots for the first king and all kings up until this last one. I was a hidden weapon. At least until I opened my eyes." Everyone could see the sadness and underlying rage in his face. "All I will say right now is this king, if you want to even call him that, is a true monster. As far as I'm concerned, he was born evil. I will do anything to end his life. He is the one person in the world who truly deserves an agonizing death. Any questions?"
To the four taking in every word, it definitely seemed like Khalid was a 'to the point' kind of guy. They all shook their heads no, feeling a little nervous to speak to him. Even still, Travis now understood how one hundred seventy five years had passed and Thanatos was able to stay alive. This group that they found themselves affiliated with, had more secrets than they could have imagined. Something told them that what they have been told so far was only a drop in the ocean for all the secrets they actually were keeping.
The group discussed a bit more and then the four excused themselves to go and talk about what their decision would be. They reconvened in Travis and Brittany's room. After shutting the door, Travis turned to look at the other three getting situated comfortably on the couch and bed. "Before we can make a realistic decision, we need to read what they want us to agree to. Liam and Paisley, just relax and we will do this part and let you guys know what it says, alright?" Everyone nodded and temporarily went their own ways.
After reading the entire stack of papers that Travis and Brittany could only assume was a type of contract, they came to the conclusion that what Thanatos had said was correct. They didn't want to take any of their freedoms or use the contract to boss them around. It basically stated that Brittany, Travis, Paisley, and Liam would be under the protection of the order and would receive any and all help they needed to carry out any type of mission that needed to be done. It did also state that Liam and Paisley were to assume leadership alongside Thanatos after Brittany, Travis, and Thanatos himself believed that they were mature enough. Until then, Travis was to take that spot and after the kids took over, Travis would be considered an honorary leader that still had a say in The Order's movements. As far as either Travis or Brittany could see, there really was no ill intent here and they had been open and honest about what was in this contract from the start. This made them a bit more comfortable that they weren't being tricked.
Getting Liam and Paisley up to speed with the contract was not very hard at all. The both were intelligent young kids and caught on quickly. The next day, they went back up to the meeting room where Thanatos was and had a chat with him about their decision. "That's great! I'm so glad to hear it!" Thanatos almost shouted and was smiling from ear to ear. After signing all four contracts, Thanatos let them know that they were going to be their own division, their own squad, and because of that, they needed their own name to spread amongst The Order. "I don't wanna toot my own horn, but I came up with one I think you all will like." The new team of The Order looked at Thanatos wondering what it would be. "The Abyssal Knights. I have two more individual nicknames to give to hide the identity of you two." As Thanatos said this, he forked his fingers and pointed at Paisley and Liam. "Abyssal King and Abyssal Queen. Hiding your identity from the general population of The Order is a safer bet than just letting them know who you are. We have had traitors in the past and I don't want to risk anyone's safety, especially not either of yours."
After thinking about it for a little bit, Liam and Paisley both agreed that those names along with the name of the team was appropriate and cool sounding. With everything said and done, all that was left now was to establish a rumor within The Order of a new group at the top of the list called 'The Abyssal Knights'. Thanatos called in Deeno and told him to start the rumor amongst his group and let it branch out from there. In a week's time, the rumor will be addressed as well as a small test of strength for the people to see and hope they could get behind. It was official, Liam and Paisley were set on the path that James Kryo, Barry Gray, and Monica Gray had set out for them. Only time will tell how much influence this new group would have.
End of Episode 16: Hidden Members
Author's Name
ClodiasManga