"Did you hear that?" he asked looking at the door. Syaoran closed his eyes and listened carefully. "It's a strange sound. Not something you'd pick up straight away."
Chibi peeked in and looked around the room. "You haven't seen Rue have you? He's probably hungry by now."
"Who's Rue?" Lack asked confused. Something furry tickled his leg. Looking down, he found a Lunatic with two paws on his leg. "Is this Rue? I never knew you had a pet."
"Rue is actually one of the mascots for the Alchemist Society," she crouched down and gave Rue a carrot. "There's two more and they're all fond of coming in here and making a mess. Should of given you some warning."
"So then what are the other two?" Syaoran asked curious.
"One is an Alice…" Chibi paused and gave a little laugh. "Called Alice. The other is a Bapho Jr called Scythe." She picked Rue up and pet him causing his ears to stand on end. "I don't know where the other two are but if you see them…" She left a pot of honey and a white potion. "I've already sent the letters. Every Alchemist and Creator in Rune-Midgard will be here tomorrow." Lack stopped reading and paid full attention to her. "I'm…" she paused and took a deep breath. "I'm going to..." Chibi's voice caught in her throat.
Syaoran looked at Lack then at Chibi. Lack kept his composure and said "Keep going. Unless you say it I can't do anything about it."
Chibi hugged Rue and closed her eyes. "I'm going to need help switching them from the old system to the new and taking down all the names of those who came. Also chasing up on those who are avoiding the Society for whatever reason." She said quickly before sitting down hard in nearby armchair. Rue jumped out of her arms and onto the back of the chair.
Lack got up and gave her a little pat on the shoulder. "Thankyou for telling me. I'll arrange something to help you." Chibi didn't look up at him. He ruffled her hair and knelt down. "You're changing. It's impressive but you don't need to force it. Even if you didn't say anything I would of arrange things for you." Chibi gave him a dirty look and left the room.
"That… Was evil Lack," Syaoran said after a while. "What are you trying to do? Or is it payback for her outburst earlier?"
"I want her to change. I want her to tell me things and not hide them," he gave Syaoran a smile. "Yeah, part of that was payback also."
Chibi peeked in at that exact moment and said "I heard that. Glad you aren't trivial Lack."
~~~
Chibi stood near the largest orb with a clipboard in her hand. Minna and brighteyes were taking the names of the Alchemists and sent them on to Yukiko and Mazenda who, in turn, renewed their insignia and sent them on to take a seat in front of Chibi. Phenomenon, Syaoran, Lack and Tadakono did the same for the Creators.
Her eyes surveyed the scene before her. The numbers she tallied up in her head upset her. Glancing at Lack, she twitched her nose. Lack nodded and took a deep breath. "Everyone Shut Up!" The noise in the room died completely. Lack swept his hand towards Chibi with a small bow.
"Not exactly what I was expecting…" Chibi said giving him a little nod. "But thank you."
"My pleasure," he replied causing Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon look quizzically at each other.
Tadakono leaned back against the two and whispered "They're fighting again aren't they." Syaoran and Phenomenon nodded in agreement. "I wonder what it's about this time."
"Chibi heard Lack say he was paying her back for blowing up about him using Asura Strike," Syaoran whispered back noticing Lack watching them. "They're on the 'I'll be sweet but I won't say sorry' phase of the argument."
Chibi coughed and glared at the three of them. Yukiko cleared her voice and began. "A lot of you don't know," She placed a hand on Chibi's shoulder. "Since many graduated during the time of your disappearance." Yukiko side glanced at Chibi, who glanced back. "This is the High Seat of the Alchemist Society, Chibi Lilica, or Chibi for short. We thank you all for coming here at such short notice. Now that all your insignias have been switched over to the new system, we'll be better able to keep track of all of you."
Chibi raised her hand to stop Yukiko from talking. She looked out into the crowd. She could hear the whispers about her dual colored eyes, about the new system, and about her inability to lead. "Do you think I like being here?" she asked them in a low but firm voice. "Do you think all of you can do what I do every day? Can any of you be able to face what is happening to our Society and not break down from the strain then I'd gladly give this position to you." Her words were greeted by silence. "I thought so. The new system tracks you even if you lose a piece of your humanity…" Lack narrowed his eyes at her. Chibi glanced at him before continuing "Basically you don't need to come in to renew your data so we can still track you."
Mazenda gave Chibi a quill. "We need to take any information you know about the current situation." This caused the noise level in the room to increase. Mazenda and Yukiko took the opportunity to attempt to ask Chibi a few questions.
Chibi slammed her fist against the wall. Silence spread through the room. "None of you have been paying attention to the Harpy letters Yukiko and Mazenda send monthly." She pressed her fingers against her forehead. "Then listen properly now or I won't be there to save your sorry asses later on."
Tadakono sighed and listened to her speak. Syaoran leaned forwards and whispered "She's really angry. I wonder what's set her off now."
"It's because of her position," Lack said coming close to them. "I can't help her in this and the strain of it is really frustrating her. Either she's going to lose it completely at them or she'll keep her cool and blow up at me later as a release. I wonder which will happen."
"That was out of line," Syaoran said glaring at Lack. "You're also really mad at her aren't you. It's becoming very tedious this little rift between you two." Lack gave him a smile. Syaoran looked at Tadakono and Phenomenon then back at Lack. "You feeling alright?"
~~~
Kakaxi walked through the ice cave. She knew something here had called her. The Fight Club symbol on her shoulder glowed. FerrariSin and Furama followed her, their symbols also glowing.
"Something's happening," Kakaxi said, her voice echoing through the cavern. "Something big…"
"Kakaxi," Furama said looking at three large ice blocks. "You should look at this…"
"Oh my god," Kakaxi stared at the blocks. "It's the missing Mediators."
"That's not all," FerrariSin called from behind the large block of ice. "Lack…" Kakaxi and Furama ran to his side. Kakaxi covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. "We've got to tell Chibi."
"Not possible," Furama said looking around. "We're in big trouble." In the cavern around them, sealed in ice were Lack, Chibi, Izual, Kchan, MikeRex and the Mediators. "Three Guild Masters… Two Second in Command… Three Hidden Gods."
~~~
"The disappearances are happening more frequently now," Yukiko said looking through the file. Chibi sat at her desk twirling her quill. "Chibi? You listening?"
"I am," Chibi replied putting her feet up on the table. Yukiko's eyes widened. "I'm just not in a caring mood at the moment."
Yukiko paused then walked out only looking back briefly. "Something is seriously wrong with you."
~~~
"Lack! We need help over here!" Tadakono yelled furiously casting Storm Gust. "Lack?"
Lack sat back watching the guild battle with an almost perfect smile on his face. "I'm here. Don't worry."
"I am worried," Syaoran said catching his opponent unexpectedly with his sword. "Every battle we've had, every challenge, all you've done is sit there and smile."
"Everything is just so tedious," Lack replied playing with one of his summoned spheres. "Fighting… Everything. Just bores me so much now."
~~~
"Wait," Tadakono said taking a hold of Kakaxi's arm. "They're in ice cave? Then who's…"
"Another doppelganger?" Syaoran asked watching Lack in the Training Room. "Or something else entirely?"
"We don't have Chibi to ask either," Phenomenon said noticing Yukiko and Mazenda. "But then again, if the thing in Chibi's place is a doppelganger, those two would notice wouldn't they."
"She's human," Yukiko said handing Tadakono the clipboard she was holding. "She has the memories Chibi had before you all went to Loki's castle. She even has all of Chibi's strength, skill and abilities." She glanced at Lack. "He's human as well. I can see it. It will be safe to assume that everyone else in the ice cave who have a copy here are human. The only thing that confuses me is that there is no copy of the Mediators."
"Maybe whoever did this," Syaoran said leaning against the door frame. "They couldn't make copies of the Mediators because they aren't 100% human."
"Chibi isn't 100% human and neither is Lack," Phenomenon pointed out. "Chibi has Thanatos pieces in her Spiritual Power and Lack is dual class. Your theory doesn't fit."
"Let's go see Rena," FerrariSin said suddenly. "There has to be some logical reason why this is happening and who is behind it." They left Lack to his training.
~~~
"If there's a logical reason," Rena said leafing through papers in her lap. "I don't see it. The only person who we could get answers from is Loki. But I doubt that we'd be able to."
"What about one of the Gods?" Tadakono asked thinking out loud. "But Eir didn't say anything when she spoke to Chibi. Actually now that I think about it," He glanced at Phenomenon. "Tyr didn't react either to Lack."
"So what now," Ara asked. "We can't just sit here incase those copies actually do something."
"But what can we do?" Kakaxi leaned against a wall. "We could ask the Gods themselves."
"Not possible," Tadakono replied opening his eyes. "Eir says that Chibi is the real Chibi. She just went and saw her just now."
"Then what is going on?" FerrariSin pressed his fingers against his forehead. "If the Gods think that the copies… Who were are assuming are copies… are real then either a God of a higher order is fooling them or…"
"Or…?" Syaoran prompted after a long silence. "Is there an 'or' option or just threw it out there because you want something manageable?"
"Let's test FerrariSin's theory," Rena said causing Syaoran to pause mid-rant. "If it is a God of higher rank than Tyr, Eir and Forseti, it would have to be Odin. Unless anyone can think of any others?"
"Why did you add Forseti?" Phenomenon asked a little confused. "Who's patron is he?"
"Izual's," Rena replied stretching. "Any ideas?"
"What about Hel?," Alastor asked. "According to you two," He nodded his head towards Tadakono and Phenomenon. "Hel was at Loki's castle but after it was stormed and searched, she wasn't there anymore. Add to the fact that she is a Goddess of the Underworld which is a bigger role than the other three…"
"Makes sense," Rena replied noticing Furama shredding paper in a corner. "What are you doing?"
"Hel is the most likely candidate," he replied making a mountain of paper. "Being a Goddess of the Underworld, she could easily freeze them and draw out their dark sides to be 'copies' while she plots her new plan. Creators disappearing was part of Loki's original plan but if we add Hel to the mix… She's taken her father's plan and warped it so she can manage it herself." He looked up at all of them. "These copies aren't copies which is why the Gods don't react and why they have memories that we wouldn't expect them to. These copies are shadows of the original. I'm pretty sure you all have one too, a dark side that you suppress because you're either ashamed of it or feel it is wrong to act that way."
Rena nodded listening carefully. "Makes the most sense so far. But that also means we can't carelessly thaw them out. If it is Hel, she's either already killed them and froze them or froze them when they weren't expecting her. We have no way to know which is which."
"They aren't dead," Kakaxi said suddenly. "Or at least Lack isn't dead. Our symbol glowed, which was how we found them in the first place. Lack can only do that if he is alive and conscious."
Rena thought carefully. "We can't afford to experiment though. If Lack was conscious, would he be able to reach the Emergency System? Chibi was able to when Loki trapped her."
"But Chibi was within her own mind," Tadakono pointed out. "Lack, as far as we know, isn't. He could be fully there but not able to move due to being in a block of ice."
"Doesn't stop him from thinking though," Phenomenon said moving his head back to rest against the wall. His headache was bothering him a little. "In theory, he should be able to reach the Emergency System if he's able to make our symbols glow."
"Frostbite..." Furama said softly. "Hypothermia… Slowed processes. It's possible given their current environment. We don't know exactly how long they've been there. What interests me is that those who disappeared through the doorways at Loki's castle are now frozen in ice."
"They're also people who are either High Seats, Guild Masters, or both," Kakaxi said slowly. "Slowed processes due to the cold is possible." She rested her head on FerrariSin's shoulder, her eyes closed shutting out light to dull pain from her headache. "Rena, you have anything for a headache?"
All the Fight Club members in the room looked at her. Rena smiled. "We have our answer. It's safe to assume all of you have a headache. It could be one of two things: a huge coincidence or Lack's slowly trying to grasp the Emergency System and because of that it's pulling on all of you." She rested her head in her hands and said softly. "You guys have two choices. Neither of which are good. Either you wait to defrost Lack incase the headache is a coincidence, or you defrost him now and if he is dead… Well… Resurrect won't revive him."
"In any case," Phenomenon said standing and swaying slightly. "We should go to the ice cave. If it's Lack trying to contact us, we can thaw him out on the spot. If not… Then we'll figure out what to do from there." The Fight Club members agreed.
"I'll come with you," Alastor said looking at Rena for approval. "While I can't link unless I have physical contact, I can be acting support."
Rena nodded and then added. "Another alternative is defrosting a piece of Lack's arm so Alastor can use Spirit of Monk to assess him. But then again, that exposed piece could die. It's less riskier though than fully defrosting him. Take Haru with you also."
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