Where the mysterious Catoptrist manages to drag Geno away and lure him somewhere away from any eyes. But not for long…

No one's POV:
-

The 2 skeleton friends walked while holding hands on the streets of Vilanterna, which were again full of life and the 'citizens' were all scattered chatting, as if they didn't have a council a while ago to scheme how to stop the humans. In fact there was vividness and cheerfulness spreading around.

Despite that atmosphere, Geno couldn't help but still feel concerned and agitated. He was sure now, it wasn't from fatigue and whatever he heard today from Echo. His magic gut was telling him that something was terribly off. He just couldn't determine what. And where.

At times he was clenching Alter's hand a little tighter and relaxing his grip again. By now if the priest had understood that Geno wasn't feeling well, he hadn't say anything. He was only looking at times down at the smaller betraying concern. Eventually he braked, turned and faced Geno kneeling in front of him, placing hands on his shoulders.

"Speak." He simply commanded with a stern expression, almost strict. Geno froze by his stare, finding himself unable to look away. He tried to convince himself that it was just his imagination whatever he felt was wrong. Eventually he lowered his head but still his iris was turned at Alter.

"My slash…" He mumbled, placing his hand on his shoulder where he knew the long slash across his chest was starting. That small lie seemed to work perfectly fine as Alter's expression softened and sighed.

"How much?" He asked. Geno understood.

"Not strongly, but at times it feels as if… if…" He tried to find a way to describe what he supposedly felt. "… like I'm getting stung by thorns directly on my slash." He eventually said. Silence fell between them for a few seconds. Until the small skeleton felt the back of Alter's left hand pressing gently on his right cheek.

He looked at him a little surprised but didn't avoid his touch. Alter then placed his hand on Geno's left cheek, then on his forehead with an unreadable expression. Awkwardly Geno just stood and waited for the priest to finish 'examining' him. Eventually Alter hummed.

"You are also a little warm." He said. Geno didn't move or said anything. But when he felt Alter planting a gentle kiss on his forehead, he looked at him surprised and the very next moment the warmth not just on his cheeks and forehead but on his whole skull felt as if it had increased by 1.000.000 degrees. The small skeleton looked down indescribably embarrassed but before he could say anything Alter had stood again to his right holding his hand. He could hear him chuckling quietly. "Whenever Samael had a fever too, I would kiss his forehead. As he claimed, it was helping him to cool down. Welp, guess it does the opposite to ya. My bad." He said cheerfully.

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Geno grunted looking away and still down, all bright cyan (the magic vial was still making his magic and blood that color). Despite embarrassed, that had surprisingly taken his mind off his previous thoughts and not feeling threatened anymore.

~

He could actually feel surprised if there wasn't any type of glass around Vilanterna. But there was. A few stores with glass were more than enough to tell him he was not trapped. But this wasn't executing yet phase 2 of his plan.

If only somehow he could bring Geno closer to him. He had to think. Asking someone to bring him near wherever he wanted, would be foolish and suspicious. And he didn't want anyone else interfere. Go directly at him and ask to follow him would be even more suspicious. He wasn't showing it much.

But deep inside he knew, oh, he had done all this, he had gone so far only to find Geno. To see him. Reveal himself to him. As much as Bernard had told him otherwise and forbade him from doing so. He had said that no one must know about his catoptristic powers. And no one, except him and his advisor must know who he truly is.

Even if he wasn't understanding much yet what he was meant for, Bernard had also said to him that he might not see it by himself, but he would serve a great purpose. He didn't know what that was exactly, but he could feel its importance. If he was to go out of Bernard's house, he had to at least keep his identity hidden.

No face shall see him, for, someone could recognise him and it might be the wrong person. Or someone else who must not see him yet. As much as he wouldn't mind breaking these rules, he had kinda compromised. With most of them. He wasn't thinking of himself as careless. Just most likely impatient or curious.

And even if he was disobeying, he was still cautious to not get revealed. Most of times. Except like now. Upon his hurry get to Vilanterna he hadn't taken his mask. So, he had to trust the hood of his shirt and as much weird as it might seemed, he temporarily had untied his handkerchief, which was long enough to tie and cover half his face.

He could return to Bernard's house anytime and grab his mask, but right now it would be too risky. There were too many eyes watching. And he didn't want to show his powers immediately for no important reason. He had to find an alley, somewhere private and where no one would see. There, he would lure Geno first.

Then, he could perhaps lead him near any glass, even in front of public. It wouldn't matter much then. He could grab Geno and quickly jump in the glass which would be connected with the mirror in Bernard's office. It could work.

He wasn't wasting time to get his mask or show his powers too early also because he didn't want to loose Geno from his sight, who he was following all that time. He had to think fast, him and his guardian could be leaving any time from Vilanterna and he couldn't risk following them any further without being seen.

Suddenly he braked and discreetly hid behind a small building. Some monsters had stopped the 2 skeletons and seemed to be talking to the taller. Perfect, he had some time. But now, how to approach Geno? And how to lure him towards him? He had think of where to bring him to, but the question was how to bring him to that where.

"Hello tall mysterious sir, want a flower?" He turned and looked down.

A little human girl was holding on one hand a bouquet of flowers. In fact there was a variety of them. On the other hand, the one she had closer to him, she was holding a single flower with 6 petals. It was all cyan. He raised eyebrows as a new idea had started blossoming in his mind.

"And is there something you want in return?" He asked staring again at Geno, who seemed to just be standing awkwardly waiting for the monsters to stop talking with Alter, finish and go about their day.

"Normally nothing. But, since you asked, just 2 coppers sir." The girl said and her small adorable face had some mischief on it now.

Without caring much, the Catoptrist hurried to search his pockets and took out 3 coppers instead of 2. He still handed them to the girl, who looked at him surprised. Before she could say anything he took the flower from her hand and held it with both his hands carefully.

"Thanks gal. You're a life saver. Keep the change." He said quickly. The girl chuckled and went about her day. He looked at the flower he was holding and examined it carefully. It was an Echo flower, a very interesting one. It could repeat the last things it had been exposed to once you touched its petals. However this one had started withering.

For an Echo flower to be able repeat words perfectly, it had to still be planted on the ground. Once you were uprooting it, it was slowly loosing its power and glow. Also they were kind of turning deaf, which meant they couldn't hear and repeat words from long distances. But perhaps, that was good.

For the new idea that had planted in his mind, having the flower in perfect condition might was making things more difficult. While now that it was withered a little, it would possibly hear only what he wanted it to hear. And so, he brought the flower closer to his mouth and started whispering.

Geno was looking around awkwardly and bored. The monsters that had stopped Alter were talking nonstopping and the priest had to keep answering them. They were talking about rebellious stuff. And while with one ear hole Geno was actually listening, with the other he was hearing all other sounds of the environment.

Not like he was catching something interesting. As he looked again up to Alter, he sighed quietly. But then, something like gentle breeze stroked his nape, making him turn to look behind surprised. What he saw surprised him even more. There was just a… floating Echo flower. No wait a minute. Geno looked closer.

Something was holding the cyan blossom. It was like an almost invisible purple hand! Geno looked around, scanning the area but saw nothing suspicious then. Hesitantly he held the flower, the hand opened and allowed him to take it. Geno had heard about the powers of the Echo flower.

He remembered that at younger days he liked to touch their petals and hear messages they were holding. Around the village there weren't many. But when him and his brothers were finding them, they would say nonsense just for laughs and jokes. Peaceful times.

He had also hear they were using these flowers to pass secret messages to one another. Not sure how was that possible, since many more sounds later could cover the first message and any passenger hear it. Well, whatever. After a few seconds Geno touched the petals and brought the flower close to his ear hole.

At first it was like he heard the distant sound of crowd talking. Just that. But a few seconds later he heard clearly enough this:

I have to tell you something about your brothers. Follow the purple aura.

His iris disappeared and looked up. Now he could see a hooded person standing about 15m. away, half of them hiding behind a building. From their left hand even far away, Geno could see that the purple aura was indeed coming from there. How did they know about him and that he had brothers? Who were they?

He looked behind him at Alter. He was still talking with the monsters. He wasn't holding his hand anymore. He looked again ahead. The hooded person had started walking and the aura hand was following them. Geno started panicking. Follow or stay? He couldn't help but feel again the threat in the air he felt before.

That something wasn't right. But that mysterious person. What if they indeed knew about his brothers? What if they could tell him what happened to them? At this point Geno was tired. Sick and tired of not knowing the truth, what truly happened to Error and Fresh. He was risking following someone he didn't know.

But he had taken his decision already. After all these thoughts rushed in his head, Geno whispered something to the Echo flower and let it fall to the ground. Then, slowly and carefully he made sure Alter or the others he was talking with weren't paying much attention.

He pretended he was looking around indifferent, as if he was a random monster. Little by little he was getting away another step, until he had gotten away 5m. He knew it wasn't right. Leave Alter like that without clear warning. But if he did, his friend would whether not allow him to leave, or he would go with him.

And Geno wanted none of that. Of course and he was trusting Alter. But this time, he felt like he wanted to act by himself. He didn't want more people interfering to something like this. Not now. He looked ahead and saw the purple aura disappearing behind another building, further ahead than the one he saw the mysterious person standing near.

And he started running.

???'s POV:
-

Who am I?

No one's meant to know that yet. But deep inside, you might already know. Your instinct or your gut must already be suspecting who I am. And what do I want Geno for to be behind him as if I was his tail? You can't know that either. Yet. It would ruin the surprise I guess.

I can't wait anymore. I rarely feel impatient. But for this time, I can't stand not be able let Geno see me. He must know. There is so much to explain. But I believe there is enough time. I think…

I take a turn to the left. There seems to be dead end. Wall. I look behind me. I must hurry, Geno will come soon. If he follows me. Nah, I'm sure he's following. He definitely wants to know about his brothers. And I can answer that. Short of… I look one last time behind me and slowly pull and gather the aura in my left hand.

Ah yes, if anyone is wondering, I'm not just a Catoptrist. Apparently I'm also an aura manipulator. What does that mean? My aura somehow has more mass than normal. So it's something malleable, more visible, easy to take shape, whatever I want it to be. Something capable to even grab stuff or physically hit someone if I control it to do so.

I remember from 4 years old to have manipulated my aura for the first time. I can't remember what I felt. I am not sure. Why? I think I somehow felt angry for someone. Or something… Well. Bernard had told me that it is the strongest part of my magic.

And Catoptrism is my abstract meaning. Not many monsters have an abstract meaning in their magic powers. Guess I'm special. And in fact the combination of my Catoptrism with aura manipulation can gift me he said with more combinations, new magic powers and capabilities-.

…

I facepalm.

Why do I make my life so difficult?

Guess being intelligent means much bigger difficulty thinking simply.

Of course! My powers! If combined, I don't even need normal glass! I don't even need to make Geno move where I want him to!

…

Then again, it is risky.

I had tried to create mirrors with my aura. And while that sounds simple, keeping it unbreakable is really challenging.

If Geno tries to fight back, struggle to get away from me, having to keep the mirror open and at the same time make sure he doesn't escape will make me loose my focus.

I ain't kidding, once I had almost lost my hand when I was practicing creating mirrors and someone knocked on my door. At the very last moment I prevented to take my hand back before the mirror I created shattered.

But I'll take the risk. I don't have much time. And after all making my own mirror is much more preferable than my first kinda awkward plan.

I focus on the wall and press the tips of my fingers on it. It's time.

"Oficina de Señor Bernardo."

Geno's POV:
-

I see the hand taking a turn to the left behind a corner and dissapears. I catch my breath and when I feel relaxed again after running for about a minute I start walking slowly towards the corner. When I turn left too, I only see a dark alley. I start hesitating. Should I really trust this?

"Geno, por favor sígueme." I hear a calm voice calling me from the far end of the alley. Talking Spanish. Suddenly a purple light pushes the shadows to the corners and I take another step back. What I see makes my eyesocket widen up. There is an oval hole formed on the wall, surrounded by a purple glow.

It has a strange purple shine as if it's… glass? What the fff-? What kind of magic is that?! I can see an icon through it. I see a door. And some paintings on the wall. And in the middle there's someone standing. They are facing towards me. I take 2 small steps towards them. They are tall.

"Who are you?" I ask out loud, looking also behind me. Their face is hiding behind a mask, their head is covered with a hood. Surprisingly no one seems to be hearing or seeing anything. Also there aren't many monsters and people around. Instead of them saying anything, they stretch their hand towards me, it passes through that… strange glass.

"There is not much time. We must talk. In private. You will understand it all soon. Follow me. Now." They say and wave their stretched hand, signing me to come closer. Hopefully the message I left on the Echo flower will calm down Alter once he hears it, so he's not so worried.

2 voices inside me are fighting while approaching slowly the figure. One is telling me to run. That it's a trap. That I must not trust this person who is waiting for me with streched hand.

The other is simply telling me vamos.

No one's POV:
-

Alter felt his wrist stinging him and looked away clenching his teeth. He discreetly lifted the sleeve of his shirt and stared at the Siren Symbol. It was normal. What was going on? He looked down and near him for Geno. Only then, except from his wrist, his head started hurting him too, realising the smaller was not around.

Panic started rushing through him and his eyesockets went empty. He completely forgot his other companions and frantically started scanning even more carefully the area around him. No sign of Geno. Alter was very rarely panicking. He would face a problem with as much chill as he had in him. He was rarely ever bothered. Or worried.

But ever since Geno became part of his mission, he felt he was loosing it more easily with every trouble the small skeleton was bringing. And even before that, ever since he had gotten the Siren Symbol, he felt as if something from his inner peace had collapsed. But it was his test, to keep his emotions under control.

With whatever advantages or disadvantages this had bring him. And Geno had become one of his greatest ever responsibilities. In the moment, with the small skeleton missing and the symbol stinging him, Alter could feel his soul beating rapidly and his vision blurring more and more.

In his moment of panic, he caught a glimpse of something cyan on the ground. He looked down and the panic temporarily decreased, it let his agitated mind and body act. He kneeled and picked up the Echo flower curious. He touched the petals and brought it close to his ear hole. For a moment he heard nothing.

Better hurry old man. Your little 'daughter' is possibly getting dragged towards danger.

The sarcasm on the word daughter was clear. And then laughter, oh, immense, agonizing, maniacal laughter of what sounded like a child's. It didn't sound like Geno at all. Alter's hand opened and let the flower fall on the ground. He had started shaking. Hell, he seemed ready to start crying at any second.

He walked with fast steps towards a bunch of other monsters standing near a house. He tapped on the shoulder the nearest one.

"Guido!" Upon his panic it took a few seconds for Alter to recognise that the 'monster' he tapped their shoulder was actually Martim.

"Martim, have you've seen Ge- Eugenia?!" There he goes. Being so panicked and agitated, to the point for once almost call Geno not by his fake name. He placed his hands on the human's shoulders. "She was standing next to me, I didn't realise she had left. Did you happen to see her?" He asked, silently praying for Martim to have actually seen Geno. Luckily his prayers were heard.

"She actually walked passed from where I was standing. I didn't pay much attention to her, but then she suddenly started running ahead." Martim pointed on the road the 2 skeletons had taken, to return to the upper village before the monsters from a while ago stop them.

"Oh thank you Martim, thank you!"

"Wait, is everything alright? What's wro-?" The human tried to ask. But Alter was too far away as he was literally sprinting. Something was clenching his chest but it wasn't fatigue from running. It was panic and fear. His bottom jaw wasn't trembling from the big steps he was taking. It was from agitation.

His vision had blurred. All figures, all buildings and lights were just shades to him. His goal only one now. To find Geno before it was too late. Something like a sob seemed ready to escape his throat, threatening to be heard.

But at the end, it wasn't a sob what escaped his mouth.

It was an agonizing cry, a desperate call, a scream able to freeze the blood of anyone who heard it. And all that was inside one single word.

"EUGENIAAA!"

3600 words…