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Jack hadn’t had a chance, for quite some time, to catch up with Kenshiro. He used to pay the ninja visits on a regular basis between his trips to the Void, but the time got away from him in more ways than one. And after the disaster of last night, along with the admittedly quite pleasant house party that Luca had arranged, there was no time like the present to reminisce with the one person in the coven who understood the allure of inter-dimensional travel.

He set up a time to meet Kenshiro in the same park where the coven’s last meeting was held. Today, it was rather cold, so Jack threw on his usual long coat and waited for his old friend by a tree. There weren’t many people here, thanks to the cloudy weather, so they’d have some relative privacy.

For Ken, having seen Jack only briefly before he made it to the after-festival hangout. Even then, he was pretty beat and exhausted from expending all the energy and having been awake for so long. He wasn’t his best, and had simply taken to reveling in the comfort of his fellow Adepts and the alcohol they kept. Now his eyes hurt as he turned up in the chilly early morning. 

They were meeting in public, so Ken did his best to not dress like a freak from a different world. He had his usual trousers tucked into a pair of those fancy rubber hiking shoes with the toes in them. Victoria Blackmore had bought them for him, and they were sleek black with purple accents. He had a short coat covering both his gi and a fully loaded utility vest, and a toque hat pulled tight over the bun of hair underneath. 

The tree in question had been a common meeting spot back in the day, so it wasn’t hard to find Jack posted up there. Nor was it hard to know when Ken had arrived, as the loud popping noises sounded like a harrier jet was landing in the park. But he landed in a spot where people weren’t going to be looking, leaving the long-standing myth of St. Portwell’s Sky Ghosts alive for another day.

[color=7B81B3]”There he is! Well met my brother…”[/color] Ken approached Jack, arms wrapping around him as if there wasn’t a long gap of time creating a gap that yawned open and separated them. To him, it didn’t. 
It was yesterday again. He was working in the Village. Jack came from around a corner and scared the shit out of him, totally surprising him with a visit. He was excited, and he did what he always did. He hugged.


The embrace was returned without a second thought. [color=6644ff]”It is wonderful to see you alive and well again, my friend,”[/color] he said with a smile on his face. [color=6644ff]”Everything comes back to home, does it not? I should’ve visited you again sooner, but it is easy to lose track of the days in the Void.”[/color]

[color=7B81B3]”We wander for a reason, don’t we? Nobody’ll get it like I do, Brother, so spare yourself the guilt.”[/color]
Ken patted Jack’s shoulder warmly, waving his hand toward the empty pine barren ahead, which tapered off into more buildings on the other end.
[color=7B81B3]”And let’s wander. We’ll pay our Fallen the respect they deserve with our lip service.”[/color]


[color=6644ff]”That we shall,”[/color] Jack nodded, and started off in that direction. St. Portwell was always beautiful around this time of year, between the weather and the turning of the season.

[color=7B81B3]”Granted, I do wish the circumstances weren’t so grim… My heart is bleeding, Jack. It has been since my people were taken from me. Now more go, and I imagine before things are done more still will.”[/color]
He walked slowly, keeping Jack from wandering too far. It was pacing, Ken was conscious of the amount of steps he was taking and every bird noise around them. He wasn’t interested in being jumped, but he didn’t want to rush. 


[color=6644ff]”Yes…We have lost too many of our brothers and sisters once before, and we’ve begun to lose them again.”[/color] Jack walked slowly, but not too slow that they would be near their meeting point any time soon. [color=6644ff]”I mourn for them as well, and yet there is only one solution. To move forward. I have resigned to accepting the loss, and to see that it is answered for, so as to not let it consume me.”[/color]

[color=7B81B3]”We’re so easily consumed, Jack… Ninpo is reliant on our emotions. How can we not wear it so openly that it becomes what we are? Of course, you’re not so attached to these things. I do… Envy that.”[/color]
Ken’s right hand flicked, and a rock scooped up off the ground for him to carry and slowly jostle in his hand.

[color=6644ff]”I have always been attached, Kenshiro,”[/color] he said, watching the trees absentmindedly. [color=6644ff]”Though, I have always found it easier to carry the weight than others, I suppose. I am every decision that I have made in life, every friendship founded by countless reasons. That is what everyone of us is, and yet it is within our capability as human beings to be more than that.”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”And so, I choose to be more than one who simply grieves. That is your decision to make, as well.”[/color]

If Ken didn’t know Jack better, the comment would’ve felt condescending. Frankly, it was just how Jack was. Vaguely aloof. Even as he said what he said, Ken didn’t buy it completely.
[color=7B81B3]”You’re an Escape Artist. A Royal Trickster. Too slippery for me, always!”[/color] Ken replied joyfully with a wide smile creeping across his face.
[color=7B81B3]”Sometimes I wonder about why things all fell apart, but I have found, ultimately, that the house was built on shitty legs! Teenagers! [i]American[/i] Teenagers! Imagine the fate of the world in the hands of those menaces?”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”We were not meant to last, and we were only children.”[/color] Jack had spent far too much time thinking about this very thing. [color=6644ff]”We were at an age where one must consider the direction in which their life should go, and naturally, most of our friends and found family chose to explore life outside of saving the world.”[/color]

Understanding as he was, Jack always felt a pang of guilt when he thought about it. [color=6644ff]”And there is no shame in that decision. Everything has its season, that is simply the way of things.”[/color]

Ken frowned.
[color=7B81B3]”I went back home… To a life. I had become a man when I first met you all. Sixteen, they said we were allowed to begin our personal journey at Sixteen! Start taking on missions, duties, tasks, planning for a family… I think people have taken such things for granted. We waste a lot of time.”[/color]

As the two of them walked along, he began to orbit the little stone around them for something to focus on. Using Purple Lux meant anticipation; and he wasn’t ever out of that feeling. It was always anticipation of something, whether it was revenge or combat or… Anything. He was in perpetual anticipation of what was to come next, and had few reservations about what he was willing to do to make it beautiful.
[color=7B81B3]”Speaking of wasting time, that fight last night… Leon’s grown terribly sloppy; Vashti had him on the ropes. And Drake showed up [i]intoxicated.[/i] Drunk as a skunk! I’m not even sure we’d have been able to pull off Doomsday! And the earrings, he didn’t have them! There’s a difference between choosing a life outside saving the world and choosing a life where you leave yourself open as a target. Who trains harder than people like us?”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”I wouldn’t worry over those two. That was… A disaster of a night. No one would have enjoyed the outcome of the things that occurred. The only positive I can recall would be establishing some semblance of a relationship with the Greenwood Coven, after a misunderstanding.”[/color]

[color=7B81B3]”I’ll be worried, Jack. They took Her. Kari. There were people in this city who could’ve protected her, and protected Jade, and Jinhai, and a lot of others, and people like you and I get to have some kind of free pass because we were in a place that people couldn’t contact us?”[/color]
The rock flew off with a kinetic pop, knocking hard off the side of a dead tree and blowing a side of it off.
[color=7B81B3]”At least tell me the fucking cup is okay, Sully would be devistated… Or, maybe he’d be sober? God, [i]should we have got the cup back?[/i]”[/color] he grimaced.

[color=6644ff]”The Chalice is safe. It was returned to him last night,”[/color] He assured, watching Kenshiro deface a tree. [color=6644ff]”I saw to it myself, but you must understand something, my friend.”[/color]

Jack continued down their path, measuring his words carefully for a moment. [color=6644ff]”…It is cruel to hold onto guilt for that which is unavoidable. Father Wolf has taken too many of us, this is true.”[/color] He stopped, turned and locked eyes with his friend. [color=6644ff]”But every hour that we spend throwing stones at glass houses is another hour that we [i]waste.[/i] Perhaps there was a reality in which Jade, Kari, or Jinhai could have been saved. But this is not such a reality, and so all that we can change is our response. What we do now, with the time we still have, is more important than [i]guilt.”[/i][/color]

Ken’s bottom lip curled up and his brow furrowed as Jack went on with his strength of disconnection. Or, what he felt was disconnection. He wondered if his infrequent returns to St. Portwell had really made him so cold, or if he was just able to cope incredibly.
[color=7B81B3]”Then we’re done here, Jack? You just wanted to tell me not to worry? And then we just walk away?”[/color] he asked with a dejected tone in his voice.

[color=7B81B3]”Or are we here to talk about hunting instead of hiding?”[/color] his expression became grim. He wanted and needed blood. An eye for an eye.

[color=6644ff]”That is, among other reasons, [i]precisely[/i] why we are here. You are a dear friend to me, Kenshiro, and I have missed our conversations. But you and I have an affinity for something uncommon in the Sycamore: Interplanar travel.”[/color]

It didn’t take a genius to know that Kenshiro needed to see justice enacted, in the same way that someone freezing to death needed to build a fire. In the same way Jack felt he needed it. [color=6644ff]”You said that we wander for a reason. Let us wander for another this time, to turn this hunt inside out, and take power from places beyond the reach of others.”[/color]

He turned and continued walking, motioning for Kenshiro to follow. [color=6644ff]”The All-Verse is vast, to put it lightly, and there are an infinite number of powerful artifacts out there, waiting to be found. I have been thinking about this for some time now… Suppose we found them, and brought them to our coven for an advantage? We are scattered, [i]disorganized.[/i] I think we need to get creative with our approach to Father Wolf.”[/color]

Ken nodded his head. He was familiar with the old game of Artifact Gathering. It was partly the same job he had in the old Coven, and a point where he and Jack had managed to make a connection initially. Who else would’ve broken into the Clan House to try and steal their things but Jack Hawthorne and his ragtag band of Jumpers?
He didn’t want to play into it, frankly. 
[color=7B81B3]”God damn it all… More running, more avoiding under a pretense! I can’t stand it, Jack…”[/color]
He also didn’t want to take Jack too far out. He didn’t want people from the Well Traveled to associate such a noble soul as Jack’s with a vagabond like himself. He wasn’t well liked among those foreign guardians of the Well Traveled Paths.

He was a Ronin and a thief. It’s all he had left, and he knew if he wanted his own revenge, he’d need to take it from somewhere.
[color=7B81B3]”We need a solid plan. We need to know what we’re looking for, and we need hard proof that it’s where we think it’s supposed to be before we move. These aren’t six-month trips: We may only have hours to execute something that should take weeks. We’ll need some fucking help.”[/color]

Jack turned and fixed a telltale grin on Kenshiro. [color=6644ff]”That is just the thing I was about to say. I have a head start for us. In the Void, I keep plenty of information about other worlds. I’ve yet to explore any of them, but it would be a step in the right direction. I have no intention of spending weeks searching blindly- No, my hope is that we can find specific targets, track them down, travel in and travel back out with ease.”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”And,”[/color] he continued. [color=6644ff]”I’m certain some of our friends would love to join us. Sloane always had an appreciation for artifacts, for example. This is for the coven, so I want us to undertake this [i]with[/i] the coven.”[/color]

Ken nodded sincerely, a smile forming across his face.
[color=7B81B3][i]Damn him, he’s too slick for me. Too damn slick.[/i][/color]
[color=7B81B3]”We should deeply consider the choice of participants. We don’t want our actions causing friction; we know what that does. Have you consulted Auri about this plan? I won’t go without her blessing, it wouldn’t be right.”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”I’ve yet to consult anyone other than you,”[/color] he admitted. [color=6644ff]”Between our would-be lair going up in flames, Auri’s alleged lead regarding Kari, and… [i]the festival,[/i] it has been nothing short of chaos. But, I do want to communicate this with the rest of the coven. It would be unwise to form a splinter-group behind their backs.”[/color]

Kenshiro’s eyes closed and his face became quickly frustrated.
[color=7B81B3]”We can’t send out fucking fliers, Jack. Auri, and whoever needs to know. It gets approval from the top, and we move as quickly as we can until we’re in a position where we’re gathered…”[/color]

Hearing about the Kari lead reminded him that Auri had mentioned it, and that he definitely needed to be there. He’d given her something, and he wanted to make sure she was buried with it.
[color=7B81B3]”Once we’re at that point, then we can show everyone some solid, tangible results that they can get behind. Not like Britney and her work; we do it quietly, but above the board.”[/color]

He nodded. [color=6644ff]”You describe it as if we’re stealing from the government. But, I think that is wise. We [i]must[/i] be organized in this, lest we repeat decade-old mistakes. Perhaps Auri can provide some wisdom on this matter that we haven’t considered. She [i]has[/i] been finding leads for us, it is the least we could do in return.”[/color]

[color=7B81B3]”As long as we do this right, Jack… I feel good about it. It’s gonna be worth it. For now, I say we target something that can link us together. Something like a Piece-of-Eight, where we can split the object and have some people running control to monitor vital signs across the holders.”[/color]

Jack stopped walking, and thought about that for a moment.

[color=6644ff]”...[i]The[/i] Piece-of-Eight. I remember reading about it during the old coven days.”[/color]

Ken shrugged.
[color=7B81B3]”An, the, big whoop. Important part is finding it: So let’s make it happen. When I go to Kari’s, I will be there with Auri. We’ll discuss it then, when I can bend her ear. Is this acceptable?”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”By all means. I will likely be there as well. If not I’ll be doing my regular teleportation check-ins with the others who won’t join. I’ve started doing those since we noticed the pattern that Father Wolf exhibits. He only strikes when someone is alone.”[/color] 

[color=7B81B3]”Well, we’re here now. If you’d like, I can join you for the day… We should visit Drake’s home and ask him for the Earrings.”[/color] Ken took a serious glance at Jack.

Jack grinned again. [color=6644ff]”I thought they were lost… Perfect. I haven’t had a chance to pay his family a visit yet, now that you mention it.”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”You are more than welcome to join me, if you can stomach that much teleporting,”[/color] he said, half-jokingly, as he held a hand out for Kenshiro. [color=6644ff]”Shall we?”[/color]

Ken grinned, gripping up on Jack’s forearm in the full warrior’s shake. 
[color=7B81B3]”After you, Mister Noma-”[/color]

[i]Poof.[/i]

[hr]

After that disaster, the Halloween Festival, Drake reunited with the other Blackmores. After seeing the magical fuckery that was going on, Victoria decided to return to the mainland. Lest her children get caught in it. So, they returned to the Blackmore Manor; Drake took off that stupid costume, showered, and went to bed crying over a figure of him and Jade. It was a picture of Drake giving her a piggyback ride; he remembers it like it was yesterday… he remembered his lil’ bro Charles taking the photo. However, he had so much stamina and time for crying, and eventually ultimately passed out. Loudly snoring as he held the picture against his chest.

The house may have been peaceful before, but it damn sure wasn’t now. In the living room of the Blackmore house, right in front of the TV, Jack teleported himself and Ken in. When they were all kids, Jack had been at Drake’s place a few times, so this was nothing new to him. Though, his spontaneous teleportation wasn’t particularly common these days, so who could have predicted their arrival?

“... [i]AW WHAT THE [b]FUCK?![/b][/i]” Amanda shouted… as what was on the opposite side of the TV was Amanda and Nikki sitting on the sofa, [i]trying[/i] to enjoy a nice game of Nomadic Odyssey. Amanda, out of surprise, flipped backwards over the back of the sofa before ungracefully hitting the ground. However, when she hopped up, she had a fully loaded Mossberg 500, and she aimed it at the two.

Jack, being used to this type of reaction following his jumps, simply smiled as he let go of Ken. [color=6644ff]”I see you’re still as vicious as ever, Amanda.”[/color]

“Wait…” Amanda lowered the shotgun. “I recognize you, you’re that too-much-black-wearing sonnuvabitch from the Old Coven!”

Ken pulled his scarf down off his face, holding a hand up and smiling.
[color=7B81B3]“Hello ladies… Where is Drake?”[/color]

“... What is going on in here?!” Victoria shouted as she walked over, holding a knife in one hand, and Juniper in the other. Her jaw dropped when she saw Jack and Ken, “.... Jack? Ken? What are you two doing here?”

Then her eyes drifted towards Amanda, “... And where did you get that shotgun from?!”

Amanda shrugged, “It ain’t a party until you add a [i]shotgun[/i] to the equation!” She laughed.

“Um, hey,” Victoria ignored Amanda and turned towards the two, “Would you like some food? Maybe some tea? Also maybe knock on the door next time because we’re all a [i]little bit[/i] on edge.”

[color=7B81B3]“You know [i]he[/i] doesn’t work that way, Sis. I half expected to be in Drake’s bedroom, in the closet or something… This is nice.”[/color]
Ken wandered away from jack, moving toward Victoria and Juniper.
[color=7B81B3]“Ohhhhh hellooooooo! It has been too long, little one!”[/color] he began making funny faces, as was traditional. The Toad Man loved to entertain, and did so while speaking the most gothic kind of Japanese dialect one would be able to trace back. Like listening to Shakespear for the English speaking ear.

[color=6644ff]”The last time I teleported into his room, he launched me out of a window with his lightning aura spell,”[/color] Jack said, noticing the tiny child in Victoria’s arms. [color=6644ff]”Tea sounds good, thank you. I didn’t intend to startle anyone, but Ken needed to speak with Drake about something.”[/color]

Ken was reciting a nursery rhyme he used to sing to his own younger siblings when Jack brought up the [i]something[/i].
[color=7B81B3]“Oh, yes! Amanda? Do you know where Drake is keeping the special earrings? Jack and I are… Embarking. We may need all the help we can get, and we were wondering if he’d lend them to us.”[/color] 

[color=6644ff]”Not before Auri approves of it, we aren’t. Remember?”[/color]

Victoria stuck her hand out and the knife floated back to the kniferack. She smiled as she raised a finger in the air, “One, [i]I[/i] have the earrings, but if you want to ask Drake so we’re on the same page that’d be great. Two, Auri has [i]zero[/i] say in what me, my brother, my sister, and my cousin, do with artifacts that belong to us.”

“... Also, Drake is hungover as fuuuuuuuuuucked, right now!” Amanda laughed. “You can knock on his door at your own peril!”

Ken looked incredibly embarrassed.
[color=7B81B3]“Ah, I should’ve known… I’m sorry, Victoria.”[/color] he shook his head, straightening his back under her motherly gaze.
[color=7B81B3]“Now, I will say that Auri Auclair has nothing to do with our current mission. Though, we are… Well, we’re attempting to do good for the Coven. As I said, we need all the help we can get. Jack and I plan on… Doing some heisting. So, if you’re the guardian, then you’re the one who matters most.”[/color]

“Ooooh! Can I come!?” Amanda asked.

“No,” Victoria facepalmed, “You have to stay here in case Father Wolf comes around.”

“Oh, right,” Amanda shrugged, slumping back into her seat.

“But, could you get Drake for me?” Victoria asked.
“Sure thing!” Amanda hopped out of her seat, ran up the stairs, and began loudly banging on Drake’s door. “Draaaaaaake! We got guests! They wanna see you!” she said in a singsong.

[color=3874f4]”... God damn, I’m coming!”[/color] Drake slurred… climbing out of the bed, opening the door, and groggily walking down the stairs. Amanda led him to the living room, and he had a hand to his face, wiping it off, before he saw Ken and Jack. His eyes shot open, [color=3874f4]”Oh shit!”[/color]

“... Drake!” Victoria hissed, pointing at Juniper in her other arm. 

[color=3874f4]”Oh, my bad,”[/color] Drake laughed. [color=3874f4]”Didn’t expect to see ya’ll here…”[/color]

Then his eyes landed on Jack, before he crossed his arms. He sighed,

[color=3874f4]”Lemme guess, the Coven’s come for my head for what I did last week…”[/color] He closed his eyes.

[color=6644ff]”...No. Ken wanted to pay you a visit about a set of magic earrings.”[/color]

[color=7B81B3]“Yes, Brother! It was… It was good to be fighting with you again last night. I… Truly, truly missed it. But, it made me remember the earrings. And, well, Jack and I want to go hunting for artifacts. Things were misplaced, or lost to us. We should replenish in times like this. So, I wanted to see if we could borrow them. And, maybe invite you along as a fellow Murasaki.”[/color]

Drake sighed. 

[color=3874f4]”... I gave those up to Victoria,”[/color] He shrugged.

“I told them that, but I wanted to make sure that [i]you[/i] didn’t have any problems with me giving them away,” Victoria said, before glancing at Amanda and Nikki. “And that goes for you two, too. Charles is unfortunately out of town [i]and[/i] hard to get in touch with, so we’re going to count his vote out for the moment.”

[color=3874f4]”I mean…”[/color] Drake trailed off, [color=3874f4]”Long as they’re not getting used against us.”[/color] He shrugged.

“I have no objections,” Nikki spoke up.

“Make sure to clean them when you’re done!” Amanda laughed.

“And, I only ask that you return them when you’re done,” She began, “They… don’t belong to us.”
“Yeah, they belonged to our dad,” Amanda said. “They’re very special to us.”

[color=7B81B3]“I speak for the both of us, I believe, when we say that the Blackmores are just as special to us. Thank you for the vote of confidence, my dear friends… I understand the rules; and that we’re not meant to use them unless it’s absolutely necessary.”[/color] Ken intoned with a great deal of sincerity in his voice.

[color=6644ff]”Exactly. Hopefully, we won’t have to use them at all. But we are all in a desperate position right now. And personally, I don’t think we can stand up to Father Wolf in our current state as a coven [i]or[/i] not as one. So, as Ken mentioned, I’ve been planning to look for other sources of power that we can all theoretically use.”[/color]

Jack knew that Drake probably wasn’t in the mood to even [i]think[/i] about Father Wolf, but he also knew they couldn’t avoid him further. Whoever he was. [color=6644ff]”Depending on Auri’s opinion, that is.”[/color]

“Hold on…” Victoria said as she walked by the sofa, passing Juniper to Amanda before she disappeared upstairs. After a few moments, she returned with [url=https://i.imgur.com/ktnzPGj.jpeg]two earrings hanging off her index and middle fingers.[/url] She presented them to the two, “I know you two are going to take care of them, so I’ll say….”

She smiled.

“... Use them well.”

Ken felt the warm metal in his hand, the little jewel dangling at the end of it. His face turned between the siblings, and he beamed from ear to ear.
[color=7B81B3]“Arigato, dearest Blackmore Siblings. Your precious artifact is in good hands.”[/color]

“Stay safe!” Victoria said as she grabbed her child from Amanda.

[color=3874f4]”Yeah, keep Jack away from any extra-dimensional Hot-Topics…”[/color] Drake laughed.

[color=6644ff]”That one was almost clever,”[/color] Jack said, smiling back at him. [color=6644ff]”We aren’t leaving for very long, and not any time soon. Once we find something, we shouldn’t be gone for more than a day at best.”[/color]

Before they left, Jack looked over to Amanda, Nikki and Victoria. [color=6644ff]”I know you three chose not to rejoin us all, but you can always ask if you need anything. If you think you aren’t safe, find me or Ken, we want to help everyone as much as we can.”[/color]