Tarragon

Chapter Eighteen: Enkesels

-Net

-April 18th, 2024

The basilisk dragons had told me basically everything I needed to know:

The New Order was active, and had recently framed Mantis for a mass-murder.

I returned to the hotel room with Amnoia, and saw it was five minutes past midnight. It was April 19th, now. (Writer's note: This was entirely accidental, but that's my birthday!)

I woke them up, and filled them in. It might have been midnight, but now we had work to do. We checked out of the hotel, and began looking for clues. I picked up a newspaper from a stand, and gleamed the important information from it before putting it back down.

Mantis would be playing on the 25th, in the final game of the World Colosseum. The game would be in the New York Stadium, against the Hellbent Coral. More importantly, was the New Order tip line. You could submit any information to the tip line, and if it was confirmed to be true, you would receive a reward. They had their center in the middle of Virginia, about half an hour's flight north. Amnoia and I agreed to fly north, to help them out.

We lifted off, and flew through the canopy-

Until we realized we were on the wrong side of the Forest Gate and flew over to the eastern side. Now, we lifted off, and flew through the canopy. We talked about our plans as we flew, until we landed at the tip center. Amnoia and I took the back entrance, marked, "Important Info"

We told the people at the counter everything we knew, and I suggested something, "The King wants me dead for some reason- I ruined something of his. I'm some kind of unforeseen variable. Also, I want to join you guys in dealing with the King."

The employee jotted something down, and sent us to the back, for briefing before we would actually join them. A slideshow was projected onto a wall.

Offensive Research

When fighting the New Order, it is vital to stay secret. Their military strength is unknown, but we know that the King can stand up against titans such as the Statue. Only one person has ever been able to get close to killing him: A vigilante, nicknamed the Waterline. He was an ice mage, and took the King by surprise, inflicting severe physical damage on the King before being (likely) killed by the King, and dragged away.

This rang a bell. I knew who the Waterline was.

The full reach of the New Order is unknown, though a few known organizations either under its control, or allied to it are: The Scabbard; Thorn's Empire; Artificial Morningstar; The USSR (disbanded); and Moonshell.

Only Moonshell has a physical characteristic bestowed upon its members, meaning that anyone from the other organizations could blend in with regular society. Anyone could be a member of the New Order, making it an extremely difficult group to fight.

The headquarters of the New Order is in an unknown location. However, what is known is that it looks like a medieval castle, with a moat of lava surrounding it.

"Wait, we know where it is. It's in the Western SDZ." we told the person giving the presentation.

Their eyes went wide, and they switched tabs, typing something in a document. After a moment, they switched back to the presentation.

An image came up on the presentation. Infinitely curving, bending lights of colors that didn't exist, staring not at my eyes but at my soul. It seemed to move before my eyes, making its impossible shapes even more contorted. I tried to look away, and I did, but my vision stuck. My eyes turned back into my head. An alarm went off, and I felt someone grab me. I panicked, and tried to fight it, flailing my wings and claws, but they were too strong.