Welcome to Gaia! ::

Liv's mind raced when Lokelonni made her suggestion. That is quite the last request to drop on someone without prior knowledge.

" Uh.....okay hold on. Big thing to drop" Liv said mumbling a bit. She recalled previous conversations about Japan. Makes sense..even Freya has the whole anime ninja vibe. Mt.Fuji...

"Yeah, okay, that'll work. Alright, Time to go." Liv said, the last part to the group

With a soft golden flash, they were gone and transported to the Light Realm. Waves of golden threads, large and small, coiled and frayed extending off into infinity, all around them.

"For the first timers here...welcome to my world." Liv mentioned to everyone. Come to think of it, she only been here with Lokelonni before. Freya as well when they travelled to their home in the skies. Liv pulled a thread to her.

"Yeah that's the one. Here we go" Blinking out of existence again and back into it. They arrived at Oshino Hakkai

"This is the only thing that came to mind."

Liam looked around with wide eyes at the Light Realm. He had seen the opposite many times. The Shadow Realm. It gave him the wrong idea of how this one would look. It was...beautiful. Liam reached out to touch one of the bigger threads of light. Like water it flowed past his hand. It interacted with his presence but that was it. How curious. Part of him lamented not having the ability to use this realm as transportation.

When the golden light melted away he looked at the different surroundings. The air smelled more crisp. Clearer. Everything felt...peaceful. Where were they?

"She did the thing again huh?" Theo said and chuckled as Heather got spooked by Trinity appearing in her limo. She played the recording and he listened intently. His ears definitely caught what Roland said.

"Hmmm...you might be onto something there. They need to be getting their funds from somewhere. At least, if they want to do something big. Which...judging from his comment, they might be getting ready for. We should have someone look into his financials."

Lokelonni, Freya, and Okami immediately recognized the location.

"Mom, are we-?"

Lokelonni smiled serenely with a glint of moisture in her eyes. "Yes girls. This is where you, and your brother, were born. Well not exactly, but it's less than a two hour hike from here. It seems that I talked Liv's ear off enough that she thought of this place. Thank you, dear. Freya, if you please, would you set my head on your lap. I would like to see the mountain."

Freya nodded and set Lokelonni down gently. She sat on her legs, and rest her mother's head on her lap at they both looked at Mount Fuji. Okami then lay down next to them so that her mother could continue to pet her head. Likewise, Freya straightened out Lokelonni's hair so that it sat properly.

For a few minutes there was only silence from them. The wind blew through the tress and grass. Wind chimes echoed from a neighboring village. All was peaceful.

Lokelonni was the one to break the silence. "Liv. Though you clash with Freya more often then not, know that she is trying to push you past your perceived limits. We both see what you can achieve, and it is more than even you realize. You will be tested, but you will succeed. I know this. You are light incarnate, and there is no where you cannot reach."

"Liam. So new to this world with an eagerness to learn all there is to know. Your heart is young, and thus inherently arrogant. You will not always come out on top. As strong as you are, you cannot save everyone. Above all, learn what it is to be human. To be vulnerable. There, you will find not only knowledge, but a true sense of self."

"Kerana, Alec. What is left to say that has not already been said. Your souls have found each other again and again, in keeping with the vow you made so very long ago. Your love has withstood not only time, but existence itself. It is that everlasting bond which will surpass any threat."

"Okami. My blessed child of the new moon. Live everyday as you have been. Never lose that sense of wonder, and never let anyone make you feel bad about who you are. Your joy is contagious, so share it with the world."

"Freya. Look at me. Let your tears fall upon my brow if they must. You have suffered long enough. No, listen to me. It is done. You have more than found your absolution through those you have helped to face the coming battle. They will save everyone. Is that not enough? Must you punish yourself until the day you finally take one shot too many. Please, Freya, promise me you will let yourself be happy. Stop drowning yourself in the hopes that one day you wont make it back to the surface. Promise me."

The tears did indeed fall. Freya's bottom lip quivered as she tried to hold herself together just a bit longer. Her head hung, and her hair drew a curtain between her and her mother. She wiped the tears from Lokelonni's face and nodded silently.

"I need to hear it, Freya." Lokelonni insisted.

Freya huffed, "Hyes. I promise."

The queen raised her hand to Freya's face and place her fingers on her daughter's cheek. "I know you will stumble. As we all do. Do not hesitate to lean on those who care for you."

Freya held her mother's hand and nodded again.

Lokelonni sighed, smiled, and rest her hand upon her stomach. "Do you girls remember the song I would sing to you when you were children? Could you sing it for me now?"

Freya and Okami looked to each other, took a few breaths, and started to sing in harmony.

"Feur tour fleur mi say
Ah loora sosa pri
Mi eur contrafi
Stray leur son shati say"

Lokelonni closed her eyes and listened as her daughter's displayed their hidden talent. Their voices were like the strands of light in Liv's domain. Flowing, light, and beautiful.

"Seru mena jay
Ey blun do con ja flui
Conre jay masee ploosa quee
Melana see ey"

Alec took Kerana's hand and squeezed it. It was time. He need not do anything, though. He had arranged for someone else to lead Lokelonni to the afterlife.

"Erseeler apa cooran
Nonteni iyattonno
Plicaloo seitana pleeceur nera tatali
Contrame sarlati
Contrala soo frala conte"

The gust of wind picked up and flew past the group. The sudden stir caused Lokelonni's eyes to open. She saw a light, one that would be perceivable to both Alec and Kerana. The light started to take shape. It was a tall man in a ryokan. His hair was short but messy, and he had several scars on his face. Lokelonni's smile brightened as she began to cry tears of joy.

"Ko-tet-su!"

"Conti air peur lay
Ah flerno mon me neeay
Mondra chatasoo
Qua tu loosa me may"

She reached out for her late husband. Kotetsumaru smiled, kneeled, and took Lokelonni's hand. He stepped back, and tenderly pulled her soul from her body.

"Conte lase oh
See la feure song uh
Meeata shica plooska sa
Je tra je see ey fui"

Lokelonni's mortal body began to dissipate in a brilliant display of lights that looked like fireflies unbundling from a group. Clothes and all, the glowing fragments flowed with the wind and scattered across the world she loved so dearly.

The souls of Kotetsumaru and Lokelonni embraced, looked to their children, then to each other, and faded away.

Okami threw her head back and howled in mourning. Freya threw her arms around her sister and wept openly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rydia's laughter eventually wound down. She swept the tears from her eyes and apologized. "I am...so sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. I wanted to scream, cry, and break something all at once. It was all so much that I just started laughing."

The captain of the boat approached the girls. "We've picked up something on the sonar. I think we've found what you're looking for, Princess."

"Thank you, Captain. We'll be there shortly." she looked to Sara and chuckled, "You can put the ice wall down now. I'm alright. Let's get suited up."

Something caught her eye at that moment. A little glimmer of light. A firefly, maybe? Out this far? The little light wandered toward Rydia. She did not know why, but she held out her hands to catch the little thing. It landed on her palm as she clasped her fingers around it. With a flash, it warmed her palms and disappeared. She immediately knew what it meant. She held her clasped palms to her chest and squeezed her eyes tight. She whispered a prayer and looked to Sara and Ravan with renewed determination.

"Let's go get my father's ship."

Half an hour later, Rydia and Ravan were climbing into a deep sea submersible. Rydia looked to Sara and asked, "Will you be coming with us on the vessel, or do your powers allow you to withstand the pressure?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heather chewed her claw again. "Can we do that? I hate to say it, but something has been nagging me for a bit. Charles had what was essentially a paramilitary group at his beck and call for the purpose of destabilizing nations and getting their resources for cheep. I know your team is made for defense, Trinity, but how far is too far? Are we allowed to just peek into someone's financials without due process?"

Trinity rolled her glowing eyes in annoyance at Theonis’ comment. ’She did the thing again huh?’ Of course I did if I didn’t take this with the level of importance it need it could lead to national fubar pointing at me 'failing to do her due diligence' to protect one of Vallhalla's high profile person of interest.

She heard Heather’s concerns and questions. "It depends. If we are talking about physical financial files we would need to have a warrant and possibly go through more red tape and ask the IRS for their aid. If we were to do this online there's no jurisdiction there."

Freya and Okami cried with each other for a few minutes longer. After they wound down, Okami whispered something to Freya. She listened to her sister intently and then nodded. The wolf hung her head, as well as her tail, and then sunk into the shadows. Freya sighed, wiped her eyes, and then stood up. She faced the others and approached them.

"Thank you all for coming. Liv, you really couldn't have picked a better place. Alec, I have a feeling you had something to do with the smile on her face in the end. That was a nice touch, kid. Kerana, I know you'll use my mother's gift to it's fullest potential."

She looked at Liam for a second but said nothing.

"Okami wanted me to thank you all, too. She said she's sorry, but she'd really like to be alone right now to mourn in her own way. She'll be back around when she's feeling better, but don't expect her to be her old self for a bit. Thanks again, I'll see you back in Valhalla. Oh! Kerana, there's no cell signal in this region. There's a good chance your mom might be trying to reach you since she didn't make it before we left."

"Liam, you stay here."

Freya looked to Mount Fuji as the others left. Once they had gone, she sat down on the grass and pulled her knees to her chest. She glanced over her shoulder toward Liam, and then she pat the ground to her left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec held Kerana's shoulders with one arm as he opened a tear for them to walk through. He gave a nod to Liv and then stepped through with his girlfriend. Sure enough, her phone began to blow up with multiple notifications.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raina Carter paced back an fourth in the hallway outside of Lokelonni's room. Her husband had a guilty look in his eyes as he cast his gaze down.

>In Spanish<

"We missed them! How could you drag your feet on today of all days?" she chided.

"Raina, you know how I feel about death. Not to mention our daughter is dating him."

She whirled to him and pointed her finger in his face. "You! It's always about you! How you feel! How Alec makes you feel! What about Kerana?! When we see her she wont be our little girl anymore! You didn't see what Alec was before his change. I told you, she's going to look like she's in her twenties! She's going to have a hole in her heart where her teacher was! But no, Leander feels bad so he acts like a baby! She needs us, Leander!"

He knew she was right. They had been seeing a couples therapist since the festival. He had difficulty breaking his old habits, and so he had made little progress outside of admitting his faults. He said nothing, because there was nothing to say that could possibly justify missing a moment that Kerana had been visibly and verbally worried about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rydia nodded and replied back mentally, "Good. One less thing to worry about. I just hope Ravan is okay with the confined space. There isn't a whole lot of room in this thing."

A few moments later, the DSV was released into the ocean. Nothing could have prepared Ravan or Rydia for what they witnessed during the steady dive. Both of them had seen pictures and videos of ocean life, but neither had ventured into the depths proper. They were surrounded by marine life of every shape and color. Since they were in the middle of the triangle, there was no coral life, but it did not matter.

To the west, Rydia's ears picked up a pod of dolphins. Ravan was entranced by a large school of fish that had formed themselves into what looked like a massive tornado. Her thoughts constantly echoed out to Sara, as she wanted to share her joy with her mer-friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heather thought about it for a moment. They did not have time for red tape. They needed someone who could quickly look up what they needed while still remaining wothin the bounds of the law. There was only one person that came to mind.

"Okay. Sounds good. I'm sure Gidget wont mind considering the circumstances."

Heather added one more line to the call.

Gidget put down a screw driver and tapped her Bluetooth earpiece. "You've got Gidget." she replied with half a snickers sticking out of her mouth.

"Gidget, it's Heather. I'm sorry to bother you, but we've got a problem."

She explained the situation and the suggestions made by Theonis and Trinity.

"C'mon girl, I thought you'd have something more challenging for me."

She wheeled to the opposite end of her desk and began furiously typing. It took her less than two minutes to find everything she could on the man

"Okay, let's see here. Restaurant reservations, clothing receipts, comfirmations for major purchases, OnlyFans. Oh wow, lots of only fans, and not all to the same person. Okay, here we go. There are regularly 25,000 dollar transfers made every two weeks to a party supply store with an address that goes to an single warehouse in the outskirts of Knoxburg. Either he really likes balloons, or that's a front for Prometheus Watch. Trinity, I'm texting you the address now. I'd ask you to wait for backup, but I have a feeling you're going to ignore that."

Gidget sent a text to another party with the address. "Just in case, I'm sending in the big gun to watch your back."

Freya took a breath when Liam sat down. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. When she finally spoke, it was in a much more measured and deliberate tone than usual.

"I know this is all really new to you. That feeling of helplessness that comes with the loss of someone important to you. You can feel it in your chest, your stomach, your throat, and eyes. Your mind screams at the hurricane of what if''s and maybe's that tear across the present. You wonder how things will be without them. If that hole will ever be filled."

She turned her head toward him and blinked. "I'm no expert at dealing with grief, but I know this. You need to let it out. So...go ahead. I'll wait until you're done. I'm not going anywhere."

Alec saw the look in Kerana's eyes as she looked at the phone. He felt the tension in his body rise with his temper. Her parents knew how important that moment was for her. They dropped the ball. No, not just dropped. They let all the air out before throwing it down.

Then she wrapped her tails around herself. He took a deep breath and focused exclusively on her. He sat down next to Kerana and put his arms around her shoulders.

"I don't think you were selfish, and I know for a fact Lokelonni doesn't think so either."

Alec's use of the present tense was purposeful. He was certain that Kerana forgot what he was capable of in that moment.

"When she said she wouldn't disappear, she didn't mean her body. You saw him, right? That was Freya's father, Kotetsumaru. Her spirit will exist so long as she wishes to be with her family in paradise."

He tenderly put his fingers to her chin and drew her attention to him. He smiled sincerely and proudly to cheer her up. "Don't forget who your boyfriend is. Death isn't the end. It's just the next step in the cycle. So, don't beat yourself up."

His thumb traced the contours of her more prominent jawline. It was new to him, but his ghostly eyes showed nothing but adoration for the woman he gazed upon. In spite of his connection to death his hand was warm and gentle.

Liam blinked a few times, pushing the tears out of his eyes. He didn't look at her as he just sat there, focusing on his breathing. Her words came through loud and clear but even focusing on that seemed to be hard at the moment. It wasn't a tone he was used from of her.

He met her gaze, he was far from the normal expressionless and stoic person he normally was. Eyes a sad shade of blue. It was kind of her. A kindness he knew she possesses but not often shown. But perhaps, just not to him.

He faked a soft smile.

"Thank you. But I will be fine."
I'm not fine
"I...am here...for you"
But it hurts
"I'm fine."
I'm not
"I am sorry for your loss. I am not fi-" Liam said voice almost trembling as he caught himself mixing his thoughts with his spoken words. Unbeknownst to him he had also transmitted his thoughts to her.

"I....I'm not...it's not fair Freya..." Liam felt his voice crack as the tears started again. The words barely came out as something like had a chokehold on his throat.

"There's...nothing I can do.." He sobbed as he made himself small. His head touching the grass as his hands dig into the soil and clenched into a fist with ease. Raising one arm, he slammed it down hard as his emotion intensified. His crying turned into a loud scream before dying down into more quieter sobbing over the few minutes.
"Despite everything...nothing...I could do NOTHING to prevent this. She was my friend....And in the end...there wasn't anything I could do."

Liam slowly pushed himself off from the ground and looked at Freya. Tears still flowing freely as if it were the first time he had truly cried. And it was.

"How...how can anyone recover from this Freya? She's your mother...and yet...you're....I'm.....I'm sorry, Freya."

Freya watched silently as Liam expressed his grief. As much as she empathized with him she was actually more intrigued by how real his expression was. It was like she saw the real Liam for the first time.

When he posited his question she rested the side of her head against her knees and looked to him. "Yeah, it's...not exactly the first time for me. I thought the same thing when I was a kid."

She picked her head up and looked to the mountain. "I was twelve, and my father was taken by an old family enemy. He did it to draw me and my siblings out. He wanted to end the Soichi blood line in one fell swoop. That night, he only got one of us. My father sacrificed himself to save us. There was nothing we could do."

She rubbed her eyes and huffed. "He used to tell us stories about the significance of the mountain to our family. A history only known by those of our bloodline. So, we laid him to rest in the crater. Heh, with how peaceful her passing was, you'd think the kids had everything planned. I'm pretty sure Alec brought him back to guide Mom to the afterlife. "

The wind blew and she turned her head to face Liam again. "Some people don't recover, Liam. I used my father's death as an excuse to wage war on humanity. I saw Teshoumaru, Kaelonni, and Mom cry, but I was so steeped in sadness and anger that it felt like I was alone. I had to almost die before I realized that I was wrong."

Her lips tightened, and she turned her head away again. With a deliberate, if somewhat hesitant, motion she put her left hand on Liam's right. She did not hold it. but she did put some of her weight down on his hand.

"I know I'm not alone, now." she said, her face still turned away from him. "So...don't think you are either. Because...I'm here for you, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the DSV made it's steady journey to their goal, Rydia began to notice some peculiarities with the local ecosystem. At first she thought it was remnants of the island's surface, but she quickly realized that she did not recognize any of the flora. There were strange hybrids of tree and coral. It did not take long for strange fauna to appear as well. Fish with compound eyes, and giant squid with a visible electric current around them gave her everything she needed to deduce what had happened.

She projected her thoughts toward Sara. "Sara, I don't want to alarm you, but I'm afraid the mithril, moon stone, whatever you want to call it has begun to alter the area. I don't know exactly how it happened, but the life here has begun to change in ways similar to metahumans. Keep your eyes open. I don't know how it may affect the temperament of the local marine life."

Almost as it one cue, a voice began to reverberate to any who could hear thoughts.

"It hurts. I hunger. More. Need more."

A proximity light alerted the pilot that they were nearing their destination. He informed Rydia and Ravan verbally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Kerana entered the bathroom, Alec exhaled sharply. It took everything he had not to gawk at her like an empty headed teenaged boy. Outside of Kerana, he had never shown any interest in girls. So he never really gave much thought to what he considered "his type." He loved her smile, her laugh, her energy and enthusiasm. Now all of that was packaged in the body of a kitsune super model. He had found his type.

When she returned and asked him to take pictures, he was more than happy to oblige. From behind the viewfinder he noticed every shake and bounce that did not use to be there. He began to hear his pulse in his ears.

Then she walked up to him and asked her question. He did not speak, he only took the hand on his cheek into his own, and he returned the kiss with barely contained passion. Before he realized it, he had back her against the wall she had been posing against. His free hand made it's way to her hip and began to trail downward. Even in his fervent state, he noticed that something was amiss. There was no palpable seam line for her briefs.

Everything became very real at that moment. At least, he wanted it to be. He had to make sure his hands were not playing tricks on him. His eyes snapped open and he broke the kiss, his cheeks flushed with heat. With his nose almost touching her, he looked to Kerana and asked with a lilt of enthusiasm, "Kay? Are you, not...?"