in the glimmer of moonlight, the trio is bathed under the moon. Chatsworth asleep while shadow collector forms a blanket on him. Stationing his face closer to chatworth's...But on frostlight's side on the couch, looking up to the sky with his eys open filled with sleepless thoughts. It all started when that out of nowhere bandit who has ties and then everything seems to bend towards THEM over the past month. The sudden interruptions when he was about talking them and multima...multima...Could he...?
for that night, frostlight determined to actively find THEM, he strognly get offs the couch and picked his axe off the ground. Quietly opening the door to activating the framed portal to the market. He wont tell chatsworth and the kid about this, this is a matter he can only solve himself and if they knew, he isnt willing to lose his crew again. Grounding his heavy steps, he checks the nearby clocks, it still 8 pm. One of the still open portals has a advertised poster right next to it
"Multima's live show! Get your tickets before 10pm! Show starts at 7 to 10 pm"
stepping from the main entry way to the inferno carnival, it was crowded with anticipated tourists and locals. Frostlight took the same route previously, from the brimstone alleyways that lead to the backdoor of the main attraction, multima himself
inside multima was prepping his cape, making sure it flaps smoothly after he does a grand fire illusion. A sudden bust of knocks can be heard from across
multima: hey hey you people wait! Can't you let a showman look good?
frostlight: it me dont you remember? The guy that nearly split your throat?
multima: *quickly turns around and backs away to his vanity mirror* Y-YOU PEOPLE AGAIN!? *points a finger at the door* I GAVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT RIGHT!?? Leave me alone!
frostlight: can you cooperate with me? I ensure you, what i am about to tell you can save yours and my life. Just trust me
hesitantly multima turns the knob, seeing frostlight again but he is alot more...sure this time and comes with a different weapon this time. Multima lets him in with some shushing and closing the door if any of his staff sees him
multima: alright spill it now! Get to the point i dont have much time!
frostlight: give me everything that you possess of the group known as the "ELITES". Everything no matter what
multima: *stares for a moment before letting out a wheeze* this is gonna save our lives!? YOUR INSANE! Those guys know everything we do! *he grips frostlight's shoulders*
frostlight: *remaining calm despite the big hands* and the next part comes in, do you have a spare dark room? Something private to discuss in?
multima: *releases his grips as he looks around in the corners of his room* fine i'll play your little game, i do have a basement, next?
frostlight: 2 days tops. 2 days to get your stuff prepare and ready
frosltight simply back off and took a swift turn from multima. Taking his leave while multima took a deep breath and steadis his cape for the show
on the couch, chatsworth was slowly rising his arms up as shadow collector sprints in long shadows to find where frostlight went. Here he is, slump on the floor by himself. Shadow collector snickers to himself before shifting his hand to a megaphone
shadow collector: HEY SLACKER WAKE UP!! YOUR GOING TO GET POOR IF YOU DONT-
a hard, squared smack from frostlight's fist
shadow collector: OOOOWwwieeee!! I WAS helping you as a roommate!
frostlight: *scratching his eyes*...kid you are NOT our roommate...in any way!
chatsworth came over to the commotion
chatsworth: hey hey! Guys! Which one of you started the fire?
shadow collector immediately pointed a enlarged finger at frostlight. Chatsworth asks for a explanation why he is on the floor in the first place
frostlight: *stands up and cleanly wipes off any dust on his clothes* sleepwalking, that it
chatsworth: wha what? Shade did you-
shadow collector: I DIDNT DO ANYTHING AT ALL LAST NIGHT! Why would i want to possess another body after last time? Even more so with that blockhead
already before chatsworth can make breakfast, frostlight was heading out at the entrance with his axe right behind him. Chatsworth was about to raise his voice but frostlight walked out
chatsworth: jeez what with the grind? It not like there's a sale going on right now
the operations in the offices went as well as it could be. To the point frostlight barely mingles with chatsworth. Deadset on the completion of the mission like throwing and swinging his axe with near perfect precision. Chatsworth stalks up to frostlight focused on scavanging the remains of a monster
chatsworth: oooo~ frosty! I found this mildly interesting stone here! It squared like you!
he waves the stone in front of frostlight, trying to ignite any words out from him or something remotely interesting to say after a few days of nothing
shadow collector: *slipping out of the bag* dad my head feel squared-
frostlight finds what he is looking for and stands up to leave chatsworth and back to the portal
chatsworth: dude what are you being lame right now!? Hello! Space to frostlight!
during night time right around 7 pm, chatsworth and shadow collector are just watching TV by themselves. Frostlight been lately busy to the point he wouldn't budge to hang out. This time, frostlight also took his golden axe despite it being night time and way past their duties after the missions
chatsworth: *flicking using the remote* are you sure you didn't freighted the man half to death? Seriously what kind of existential dread you showed him?
shadow collector: *turns around to face chatsworth with his square face* i am no flipper dad! If i really wanted to scare him where his fluids injected out, i can a whole better than him walking out of the door and back in
chatsworth: *pauses his fingers right on the buttons* what did you say? What happened 2 days ago i meant?
shadow collector: oh he looks like he wanted some sort of overtime or something you work people like to do. Is that normal?
chatsworth: hey we take any chance to peacefully sleep up those precious extra 9 hours of sleep! Me and my pal been doing that since we got this place...Is that he is grinding right now?
he grabs his backpack and the trident, going outside the usual curfew but too much of what frostlight been acting from the last few days needs to be look into. Side stepping around the curbs of the market past 8 pm. Chatsworth watches over his back, his backpack housing a small child wanting to see for himself what this thing frostlight been doing. Right around a corner, chatsworth's glasses caught him across but chatsworth halts himself. Stalking frostlight's movements before choosing the active portal leading to...multima's circus again?
chatsworth: *quickening his pace to forstlight before he enters the portal* HEY BUDDY! PAL! What in the multiverse are you doing out here!? Spill it!
frostlight barely wanted to acknowlegde chatsworth being there. He walked closer to the portal but chatsworth closes the gap between them. Gripping frostlight with a strong hold
frostlight: go back please *his tone trying to be calm*...This isn' worth your life
chatsworth: it worth my damn best friend's life! Why are you being so...so difficult again?! Is it so hard to just...talk? Just tell me...
frostlight heaves in and out. With a slow rise of his arm, he swings his axe right between him and chatsworth's hand but he made sure not to let blood out. He leaps right into the portal. Chatsworth straggers away from the swing. A shadow hand clasp his shoulder
shadow collector: look who the fabber now! C'mon we need to stop that traitor!
chatsworth: no! the frostlight i know wouldn't do that! Hey shade heads on, it bit warm over there so be careful with the lights
chatsworth rolls to the hotlands. Ignoring the civilian lines to the back entrance of the magma carnival. Passing performers in blacks and oranges. Causing a few disgruntled sighs. From a alley way, chatsworth barely peeked his ears, coming back to the same trick they did months ago now where they initially kidnapped multima. Shadow collector covered the whole of chatsworth's prescene which is unexpected. The child's justification for this is "ninja techniques"
frostlight: *securing the insides of multima's room with a chair*...Everything prepared?
multima: y- yeah *flipping through many pieces of paper both standard and finger sized* all the records i could pull from...These things are like..Years ago i'm talking. NDAs stuff. If your plan works, i am shredding these waste of trees
he reveals lines in the floorboards that cut deeper than others. Lifting the wooden hatch to darkness. Multima step himself first, gesturing forstlight along with him. Once the coast was cleared, a slim shadow hand slips under the door frame, lightly pushing the chair away from the knob but grabs the leg before it can make a noie
shadow collector: this is getting predictable! A completely simple basement door! And it like he forget i exist! But we still need to be sneaky *covering chatsworth to blend with the darkness, they both descend down stairs as quietly as they can be*
chatsworth hugs the walls. A table in the center of the grey space brigthened by a bulb. Multima carefully spread the papers on the surface
multima: transaction records....NDAs....accepting illegal mining...Look you were once a cop right? You know how these things go, even with enough traces, it will never be enough
frostlight picked up each paper but just as easily, he throws them away. Scanning each line quickly for anything
multima: if your mad at me, then it your own goddamn expectations thinking there was ANYTHING you can do-
frostlight: what this? *he picks out one slim piece of paper from the stack. It has many undecipherable characters but maybe a certain machine can understand this
multima: oh that *shrugs* you wanna use that old dingy thing? doubt it'll work out properly
frostlight: this can only mean one thing, you have a portal frame? *his gaze shifted to the walls*
multima: kay maaaybe i lied, i do use these kinds of papers but i never use this once. I'll go get it somewhere around my magic stuff
multima took another side entrance that also shares this underground space. Chatsworth was busy looking at the papers where he didnt see frostlight staring right back at him. He grabs chatsworth's by the throat before throwing him to the table and exposing shadow collector in the process
frostlight: i knew you would still follow me here
chatsworth: *coughing up air before facing him with a burrowed frown* wh- WHY!? We're meant to be in this together! No matter what!
he retaliates back with a punch to frostlight's face, knocking some of his visors away. Shadow collector also wrapped his body around frostlight to restraint him
shadow collector: that what you get for hurting papa you blockhead!
frostlight stuggled more and more until he is utterly exhausted by the strength of the kid holding him back. He falls on his knees to chatsworth, slowly opening his month
frostlight: haa...aaahh...Dont you have to...Hurt your loved ones to make them...Stay away? Is it working?
chatsworth: no?? Talk straight with me! *grasping his hands on the sides of frostlight's face towards him* I AM your loved one! And the same goes for shade here!
frostlight:...I lose the ones i care about to a case i will personally solve myself. If you drag yourself and your kid to my mess...I'll hate myself for all eternity and if you care about me, you'll leave right now!
chatsworth: but we never call quits on anything...Never when we were in the trenches of the waters or facing a chained demon in the bottom of a dungeon-
frostlight: you dont get it! These people are not like the stupid snake or that berserker! They hold nothing but power! They will come and find what i have left...just go...
a silence deafening the grey room. The bulb's light shows reflections in froslight's uncovered eyes, looking at chatsworth
shadow collector: i- if- or-...*the two men look at the child stuttering for a rare occasion*..Dad is my...Loved one too? If that how you say it...Hey for payback's sake for turning my head into a blockhead, i'll stick with dad's choice. We all...Equally blockheads right?
frostlight slips out a slow building chuckle, chatsworth and shadow collector scared what this means
frostlight: hahaaahaaa...We all idiots who dug eachother's graves so...I tell ya everything...
standing by the table, frostlight detailed everything he could recall. Once a fast rising police chief in his sector, along with his team of good working men
frostlight: and there we were, raising our coffee cups up to the highest ceiling floor. It was the weekneds between me and the boys, having our paychecks roll in, absolutely getting stupidly wasted on our asses in the bar with our good mate- wait wait i am getting off track-
chatsworth: wha- what what it fine! Frost you can tell me everything!
frostlight: unfortunately, time isnt on our side here. All you need to know right now is that their unit was compromised by this, large shadow over my sector that scattered my men and me and i am confident who it is all along. These shady bunch called the elite were the same ones who took away our lives. It why i never wanted you to be apart this
chatsworth: now you bring it up...This is also personal to me too! Accomplishing years worth of knowledge is vital to their upright standings- Oh god i must stop myself there! Ugh bad memories but still! This is OUR business!
shadow collector: yeah i like to get back at people who used you like a object! *he punches the air* And i got a good understanding how to help dad now! Trust me it wont be like last time i swear!
mulima: hey i am back, the parts for the portal frame were so dusty- WAAAAA
frostlight took a few minutes to catch mulima up to everything and why is chatsworth here along with some shadowy spirit who said shadow hastily corrects as collector. Multima and chatsworth got to work on piecing back the frame, dust getting kicked out everywhere but as the plug goes into, the lights around the rims of the frame glow red, definitely a signal crossing somewhere beyond realms
multima: whew that should do it! Okay so toss that paper slip in the center!
frostlight flings the slip to the portal with considerate accuracy. It blazes up in a heat. Swirling hues of red calling frostlight's desire to set things right but he isnt alone as chatsworth holds his hand
chatsworth: like i will keep hammering it down until my last breathe, we're in this! Me, you and shade!
shadow collector: yeah we'll beat some bad guys's arses over there no problemo with my powers of shadow kung fu!
frostlight: that is not real kid *but his tone and month sounded warm for once towards the child* but maybe after this, you'll be a good kid to teach some of what i know in stopping "bad guys"
with the collective breathes of the trio, altogether they walk into the frame. for a minute of being unafraid what awaited them at the other side. Meanwhile multima has a show to run, he quickly backs up the stairs before looking back at the portal with worry on his face