~ "So we narrowed it down to two now?" Flint asked as he along with Zephyr and Meeka were huddled around Ion's desk at the Fangenclaw Guildhouse, "Possibly so, three at the most but while there are some weird readings coming out of the Star Sea Plane, it is nothing compared to what I am seeing coming out of the Neon Night Plane or Misty Skies Plane" Ion answered as he was looking over data type models made from casted Æther. "That one is more like so of the others, false leads where those Ætheral created clones of me have been creating diversions for the Travelers involved in this plot or" Ion started saying, "where another Traveler is or has had an interaction with one of your copies" Flint cut in with a laugh as Ion sighed. "I am hoping not to have another visit" Ion said in an annoyed tone, "I don't want to have any other Travelers breaking in my Guildhouse door and trying to pick a fight over me 'meddling', it gets annoying" Ion continued rather distressfully, "but why you? Why impersonate you?" Meeka asked, "probably because he is the newest one" Zephyr interjected, "well that is not true, isn't Flint here the newest Traveler?" Meeka questioned back, "no, not really" Ion cut in, "he has been awakened far longer then I have, mostly thanks to the actions of our own Flint within me and severed his worldly strings not long after, well before I was able to make my own first PlaneShift." "It's true" Flint said entering the conversation, "though it was an accident I never intended but I crossed over into the Worlds Between, the Æther, though for only a few moments, I didn't realized what had happened as I thought it was nothing but a dream, until Ion here came to my Plane and I was able to put the pieces together, it was not until after that I made my first real trip outside the LGP (Looking Glass Plane) here to the VDP (Void's Depths Plane), so in that way you could say I am the newest Traveler, but again it was not the first time I have more or less done so, even if the first time I never actually entered a different Pane of Existence." "Whatever the case we don't know why but they are licking a fight with Ion for some reason and it is fairly serious enough we have to get to the bottom of this" Zephyr said as he looked over to Ion, "I hope I am not out of place saying that as I am not a Planar Psynergist, at least not yet if I can ever become one but still" Zephyr continued as Ion held up his hand. "No, you are correct this is something we must take care of, well at least me" Ion started saying, "well you can count me in, I am a Planar Psynergist too and having more then one helps even the odds as we don't know how many rogues we are dealing with" Flint cut in as Ion cracked a smile. "I figured so, that actually helps with my plan as I saw we do a two pronged attack" Ion said as he stood up, "I will take one companion to one of the planes and you take another to the other, stay at least a week, maybe two, investigate and take down whoever is causing all of this, we will communicate each day our findings or lack there of using the 'normal' means" Ion continued, eyeing Flint with that last part as something only he would probably know, "yes sir!" Flint said with a playful salute, though mocking any official manner. "Ok great, well then you take Zephyr and..." Ion started saying as both Flint and Zephyr slammed a hand down on Ion's desk.
"Work alone with him?!" both said in unison, pointing at each other with their free hand, "why can't I take Meeka?" Flint snorted as Zephyr growled, "see he is always like this when it comes to me, nothing good will come to it if we are together as he acts too childishly" Zephyr countered which made Flint give him an angry glare, Meeka took a step back as to stay out of the way if any fists went flying. "Meeka is my apprentice and she is new at this so it is my responsibility to look after her" Ion answered back in a bit of an angry tone, "you both are veterans and well versed in the Hunter art of Adventuring so I expect you both to behave yourselves!" Ion continued as both Flint and Zephyr softened their stance but looked away from each other, "besides your skillsets match together greatly when in a pair, at least when we have to split up in this sort of way and Meeka matches mine, so this is the way we have to do it" "Alright fine then" Flint said as he turned back towards Ion, "but if I have to take him with me, then I get to choose which plane I want to investigate, you take the other one" Flint continued as Ion sighed, "that's fine, so which one do you want?" Ion asked as Flint looked over the known data in Ion's Æther models, "the Misty Skies Plane" Flint answered as Ion took a spell card out of his pocket and with a flick of his hand, the Ætheral model of the Misty Skies Plane transferred into it, giving the card a bit of an azure glow. "ok here you go" Ion said handing Flint the card in which he took, "I assume you remember how to activate it?" Ion asked as Flint gave a nod, "good, then that just leaves this one for us" Ion said taking another spell card out of his pocket and placing the model of the Neon Night Plane within it. "Alright like I said, this will be about a two week mission for now, Flint we will communicate each day by the normal means, wait for my message before sending yours and if in distress, snap back your Compagne and PlaneShift to a safety, do the same if twenty-four hours pass by and you receive no message from me as I will if I don't hear a response from you within two hours, understand?" Ion asked as Flint nodded once more. "Good and Zephyr, please try to get along with Flint, he is your gateway so he is in charge of the operation and can snap you back to our home plane at anytime, so don't make him have to do such a thing" Ion continued, this time eyeing Zephyr as he nodded while Flint gave a grin which Ion noticed. "that also means you don't go abusing that power, so no snapping him back or threating to snap him back for any little disagreement, remember the Travelers code, abide by it" Ion finished as Flint gave his fake salute again as they all went to the armoury to gear up, when finished both Ion and Flint took their respective spell cards with essences of their selective planes within them in one hand while holding the hand of their Compagne in the other as both said in unison "PlaneShift!"
A light flashed as a loud swoosh would be heard, the world around contorted as from Ion and Meeka's vantage, Flint and Zephyr disappeared and the world righted itself once more both Ion and Meeka were standing in a night city with a neon lit sky. "Watch out!" Ion said as he grabbed Meeka and forcefully pulled her to the side as a vehicle speed by with a horn blaring, "seams when we shifted we landed on some sort of Autoroute" Ion said as he landed over the barrier and took a look around, "one raised quite a bit into the sky" Ion added as Meeka took in her surroundings, having never left her home plane of existence before as Ion gave a bit of a smile as the autos kept on speeding by behind them. "The Neon Night Plane, a world where the advancement of technology overcame and suspended the use of Psynergy" Ion started saying, "I am surprise Flint didn't pick this one for his investigation as it seams to be up his alley." "It really is magnificent but at the same time feels really... really..." Meeka started saying taking in the wonders before her eyes but not being able to put into words the part she felt was off, "feels really cold?" Ion answered as he stood beside her overlooking the neon lit city skyline from their vantage on the skyway, as one of the trams darted past on the tracks above. "Maybe that is the word for it, it does seam a bit lifeless, I can't even sense any Æther in the ground we walk on" Meeka said as Ion gave a bit of a chuckle, "I am not surprised, this Plane abandoned Psynergy long ago, so too it's gates to the Æther of the Worlds Between have been shuttered for that time" Ion started explaining, "I am sure it is the same for the people here, their own gateways to Æther are also closed off, the knowledge of Psynergy fully lost as none of them will be able to use it's power at all." "But would that even mean us?" Meeka asked, "we are in this Plane now and if there is no gateway to Æther, wouldn't our Psynergy be cut off, or at least mine since I am not a Traveler?" Meeka continued but Ion shook his head, "no you should be able to use it fine, as an Compagne you are tied to me and as a Traveler, I am a gateway myself so the Æther that flows through me can be fully accessed by you, no limits" Ion answered. "But wouldn't that limit your usage of Psynergy? As I drain your reserves?" Meeka asked but once again Ion shook his head.
"Think of me as a gateway or let me rephase that, think like we are back in our own plane, like how you feel the Æther flow through the ground and into your body, it is the same but instead of from the ground it is just emanating from me, I have my own storage is also drawing from that gateway separately and that is where I cast from" Ion continued, "as an Compagne that is how your like works no matter what, even if this plane did have it's gates open to the Æther that is not where you would get your Aura from while away from your own plane, it is always through the Traveler you are accompanying with as that is your only connection to another plane, it is a reason why you have a exact copy of my Traveler's mark on your body while away from our Plane, we are connected, if I leave, you leave, where I go, you always follow, and if I die while outside our world, you get snapped back there in an instant as your connection is broken, much like I can force anytime as I am the gateway" Ion finished explaining as Meeka took in all this new information. "Hope you were paying attention as there will be a test on this my apprentice" Ion said after a moment of silence with a chuckle as Meeka rolled her eyes, "what, you always use to say that to me after explaining things while I was training as your surgical nurse, though it would be a good time to bring it back now that you are studying under me." "Just seams a bit off coming from you" Meeka retorted as Ion's ears twitched, "well that is not the only thing that is off" Ion said in a more concerning tone as he surveyed his surroundings carefully, "what do you mean by that?" Meeka asked as Ion made a small grin, "well you tell me, think of this as a test" Ion said as he turned around and leaned against the skyway barrier, "well for one thing it is a bit... quiet" Meeka started saying, "and?" Ion interjected expecting her to say more, "and it is... completely deserted" Meeka said as she turned around to find the skyway they are on now completely abandoned, "indeed, it was bustling with vehicles no more then a few minutes ago, and now not a single sign of movement, beside the trains" Ion added as another tram passed by on the nearby tracks. "Think someone is on to us?" Meeka asked, "I would discount it" Ion answered as both drew their blades. "Libra active, scanning desolates" a voice cracked in the distance, that Ion picked up in a murmur, "someone's coming, are you ready for this?" Ion said as he formed a swirl of lightning his hand and gazing over towards Meeka, "more then ready!" Meeka retorted meeting Ion's gaze as frosted ice started forming in her's, both their swords now also coated in their respective element, "well then lets give them a nice cold welcome!" ~
