Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🔥 Liquidation [1/8] 🔥

Marshall's POV:

Our team of five was forced to stay in the Horizon Library.

Word got out that Spiritvale was targeting both Northwynd and Baywharf, and we had to leave the kingdoms as soon as possible.

Tia was outraged; She claimed she had a job to do and that I wasn't letting her do it.

She's blissfully unaware of what I've seen from Spiritvale's brutally long list of vicious attacks.

The first attack in the Great War was initiated by that kingdom of darkness... Violently setting Birchshire up in flames without a second thought.

They didn't even declare war, they just went for it and shed innocent blood.

Even worse, Spiritvale handles black magic, which is formally called Darkness.

Yes, it's literally just Darkness. Addison told me about it, and most of the time, she tells me the truth.

And now, the reason why we were cooped indoors was because this black magic could kill us if we got hit by it.

We were aware that Addison harnessed this power, but she didn't have enough of it compared to other ancient sorcerers who possessed it.

Normally, she could simply cast a spell to shield us from being hurt, but these spells were too strong for her to fathom.

The rule is if Addison can't handle the magic, then we DEFINITELY can't.

Well, maybe Tia could use sheer force, but it's not guaranteed to work.

So to keep us all safe, I decided to lock us all up in the library to ensure our chances of survival.

"You're insane!" Tia roared, glaring me down with her piercing, icy glare. "How could you do this, Marshall?! People will get killed if I don't protect my kingdom!"

"And even more people will die if you interfere." I sighed, tugging at the chains I had forged to trap her tail in place. "There's a reason why I'm locking you up in here, okay?"

"That reason must be TERRIBLE." The captain groaned, slapping her flukes against the tiled floor of the balcony. "This is even worse than trying to fight Arthur with my bare fists... Can't you just free me and at least let me die fighting?"

"That's why we won't let you go." Sophii snorted, padding up to me and stationing herself beside my boots. "You're gonna die, and that's a guarantee. No one can fight back against Spiritvale's Darkness and live."

"Watch me become an exception." She hissed back, whirling around and launching herself at me.

With a sickeningly sharp crunch, the steel chains snapped cleanly at the base, sending tiny bits of shrapnel scattering across the floor.

"You can't keep me prisoner in here, Marshall." Tia snarled, breaking the restraints cuffed around her wrists. "Also, when you try to chain me up again, at least ask for consent first."

I felt the sickeningly familiar cold feeling of dread settle in my chest as she sprinted back down the stairs and into the library, dragging the chains behind her.

"Yeah, Marshall, consent is important." The shadowshifter yawned beside me, licking one of her broad paws.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Not funny, Sophii."

"Oh c'mon, at least compliment me on my good timing." She gave me a toothy grin, roughly rubbing her furry cheek against my knee.

"I give you credit for that." I sighed, crossing my arms. "Addison's gonna come up here, in a panic, in like-"

"MARSH!" The librarian came on cue, her hood blown back from how swiftly she was running. "Tia broke through the chains AGAIN. How did you let this happen?!"

I cocked my head to the side. "I thought you were against me keeping us in the Horizon Library. What made you change your mind?"

She gave me a frustrated look. "That doesn't matter! Tia's about to dive straight into death if she doesn't come back here right this instant!"

"You sound like an overprotective mom, my ears hurt." Sophii meowed, pressing her cat-like ears back against her head.

"I'm not being overprotective!" Addison protested, pulling her hood back over her head. "I'm just trying to keep you all safe in here, like Marshall is! You know how unpredictable Spiritvale's attacks are, especially the ones in the past... It was all genocide in every way, shape, or form."

"This next one's going to be gruesome." I recognized Edward's unusually solemn voice, a sharp contrast to his usual upbeat cheerfulness. "There have been rumors circulating around the Northwynd palace that souls are being used as soldiers to fight, and no one in Lunarift knows how to take them down other than Spiritvale's men."

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" I exclaimed, my soot-covered glasses dropping from my face. "Did you just say SOULS? Like, GHOSTS?!"

"Yes, you heard that right!" The prince cried, clearly upset. "How is this even a fair fight?! I mean, Baywharf's troops can just evacuate and sail away, but what about Northwynd?"

"They have a harbor, don't they?" Sophii chimed in, weaving between my legs. "They can sail away, too."

"This sparks another question," Addison began, eyeing Edward. "How did you know this, and when?"

"Sir Nyx," he gulped, awkwardly taking a step back. "Just a minute ago, via scroll. I don't think Tia got to read it."

I groaned, my stomach twisting into knots.

"She's going blindly into battle, and you didn't care to show her?!" I shouted frustratedly. "How dumb are you?!"

"I'm sorry!" The prince squeaked, raising his hands in surrender. "She just ran past me, I didn't have time to stop her and warn her first!"

I seized him by the shirt collar, a plume of smoke trailing out of my mouth. "If she dies out there, I will NOT hesitate to burn your face off. Do you understand me?!"

"Marshall, stop!" Addison cried, pulling me away from him. "We're all in the heat of the moment; It's hard to think rationally. Let's calm down for a bit and solve this peacefully."

After a brief moment, I felt the heat simmer down between us. "Addi, I-"

"She's not wrong." Edward sighed, dusting off his shirt and taking a few steps back. "You, me, Marsh, and Sophii. Boba in the Archives, no exceptions. We need to talk."

None of us were willing to argue.