*Two weeks had passed since the battle against Silas in Carnivale and members of Shadow Eye were back in Brister performing their regular duties. Jade had officially been named an ambassador of Brister and was helping Lupin and his team talk with representatives from Carnivale. Leading the committee was Andrade who had been reinstated as the leader of Blood Moon. Some of Silas’s backers were against it, but the opposition was overruled in favor of solidarity and supplies for the city. Morgan also became an ambassador to help Jade and together the two were able to work with the king to get supplies, food, and medicine to Carnivale. The citizens of Carnivale were still wary of letting humans step into the city. However, they did allow knights who were demihumans to enter the city to treat the injured and help out. In a show of respect, the knights of Brister that were humans, elves, or mixed did not push to gain entrance into the city. Instead, they dropped off supplies and scouted the area eliminating any Eclipses they came across to keep the city safe. They knew that the road they took would be long and remembering the words of their general, they would just have to be patient. Back in Brister, Jin and Gael became official partners in Shadow Eye and were allowed to perform missions without Ryuuji, Dust, Sanada, and Raika as their handlers anymore. The two were definitely busy in the days that followed their return to Brister. Morgan had given them the order to perform and complete 50 missions a week. The good news was that they were in the Black Tortoise Order which had an abundance of everyday missions for the boys to do. Whether it be helping out at a school, picking up groceries for an elderly couple, playing with kids at an orphanage, helping out at other establishments or even escorting kids home for school. They would often do their missions separate from each other but on special occasions, they would team up to perform a mission. They were both currently on a mission escorting kids back to their neighborhood from school. They had finished dropping off the last child who was half human half cat demihuman girl with short purple hair and purple eyes. She wore a black long-sleeved sweatshirt with purple stripes, white pants, and white shoes. She lived with her grandma who gave the boys popsicles as a thank you for bringing her granddaughter home safely. The two boys were now walking down the street enjoying their popsicles*
(Jin): And with that the mission is complete. That’s mission 38 for this week. Where you at?
(Gael): I’m at 33.
(Jin): Oh man, you’re falling behind.
(Gael): I know. I’m doing some extra work as a bodyguard at Amarti’s nightclub tonight. Why does Morrison want us to do so many missions in a week anyway?
(Jin): I don’t know. I tried asking about it, but he got pulled away into a meeting before he could answer. My guess is, he wants us not to arouse suspicions about our activities with Shadow Eye.
(Gael): I suppose that makes sense. We have been lacking in that area due to everything going on these last few weeks.
(Jin): Speaking of which, I’m curious what your thoughts are on all of this? Are you okay with Brister and Carnivale forming an alliance? I mean you were a member of Blood Moon and everything.
(Gael): Hey, I was born outside the city, so whatever they do is none of my business. As for the human-hating thing goes, I never believed in the cause to begin with. Blood Moon at the time provided me food and a roof over my head and in return I became a soldier. Mutual benefit, nothing else. Let go of your grudges and get along with others.
(Jin): You make it sound so simple.
(Gael): That’s because it is, but others feel the need to make it complicated in order to excuse their past actions.
(Jin): *Chuckles* I’m starting to think we should have made you an ambassador as well.
(Gael): No thank you. Don’t know the first thing about politics, don’t want to know.
*As the two continued walking down the street and past the houses, Gael noticed something out of the corner of his right eye and stops. Gael turns his head and sees an elf with long grey hair and purple eyes wearing blue jeans, a yellow long-sleeved button shirt over a white t-shirt, and some black boots. He was breaking into a parked car that was white on the side of the road. He transformed his arm into a sword, jammed it into the door on the driver’s side to pull it open. He then proceeded to quickly hotwire the car to get it started. Jin walked a few feet before returning to Gael and seeing what he was seeing*
(Gael): Does that guy live around here?
(Jin): Never seen him before.
*Jin and Gael immediately started running toward him*
(Jin): Hey! You! Stop where you are.
*Jin’s voice managed to get the attention of the elf who saw the young knights heading toward him*
(Jin): We’re Black Knights, we want to have a word with you.
*Before Jin could get another word out, the elf pulled out a gun and fired at the two. Jin quickly ducked for cover behind a lamp post while Gael summoned his bo staff to block the bullets and ran forward towards the elf who fired a few more shots before jumping into the car and taking off down the street. Gael picked up speed with Jin far behind him. Taking out his wrist cannon, he fired at the car where he destroyed the back window. Gael managed to catch up to the car and leaped forward to latch onto the back bumper with his hands. Gael’s legs and feet were being dragged across the ground as he tried to pull himself up but once the elf made a sharp right turn, he managed to shake Gael off the car and drove onto the main road. Gael quickly got back up and went out to the main road to look for the car but couldn’t see it*
(Gael): Damn! Where’d it go?
*Jin managed to catch up to Gael where he was short of breath*
(Jin): You okay?
(Gael): Yeah, but I lost the car.
(Jin): Good thing I took precautions.
*Jin takes out his phone and shows Gael a map where there’s a red dot moving*
(Gael): You tagged the car? I was wondering why you didn’t aim for the tire.
(Jin): I’ve been hearing reports about a number of recent carjackings. The White Knights have reportedly been investigating and have been asking for help. Feel like marking down another mission for the week?
*Gael smiles*
(Gael): I would like that.
*The two begin to run down the street in the direction of the stolen vehicle*
***
*Jin and Gael spent a half hour tracking the stolen vehicle where it stopped ten minutes ago. The two found themselves in an outskirts section of the kingdom known as the Brook District. Well known for its urban landscape and small businesses belonging to metal workers. The two knights slowly crept up to the building where the stolen vehicle was in and hid behind some bushes. Using his powers, Gael’s eyes began to glow yellow and he looked at the building to concentrate on the various auras inside*
(Gael): Looks like we got about five people inside.
(Jin): Can you see what they’re doing?
(Gael): Yeah, they’re tearing the car apart.
(Jin): Oh great, it’s a chop shop. They tear apart cars and re-sell the parts for money. Still, why steal cars? That’s a little excessive for a chop shop.
(Gael): Hey wait. One of them just pulled out something from the car. Some kind of canister.
(Jin): Hmm, that’s strange. I better call the White Knights for backup.
*Just as Jin was about to call the White Knights a gun was put to the back of his head*
(Mysterious assailant): Don’t move, boy. Same goes for you unless you want your friend’s head to be blown off.
*Gael stood down and put his hands up as did Jin. The mysterious assailant grabbed the phone from Jin’s hand. He then ordered both of them to march forward into the building. Gael went first followed by Jin who the assailant shoved to move forward. Jin and Gael walked into the building getting the attention of all the workers in the chop shop. Jin and Gael recognized the elf that had stolen the vehicle while the other workers were a mix of humans, demihumans, and elves. Their clothes varied and consisted of blue overalls, gloves, blue pants, and long-sleeved shirts*
(Mysterious assailant): Look what I found snooping around outside, a bunch of kids trying to play knights.
(Elf carjacker): Hey, it’s those knights from earlier. How’d you find this place?
(Jin): Look, we don’t want any trouble. Just let us go and we’ll be on our way.
(Gorilla demihuman): To call the White Knights no doubt.
*The gorilla demihuman approached them holding a sledgehammer. He had brown eyes and a long black beard with his black hair tied into a short ponytail*
(Gorilla demihuman): Care to give us a reason why we shouldn’t dismantle you guys right here and now?
(Gael): Well I can’t speak for him but I imagine you guys would want to have a guy on the inside to look out for you.
(Jin): What? Gael you can’t be-
*Gael quickly punched Jin in the stomach and he fell to his knees clutching his stomach*
(Gael): Think about it guys, with a knight on the inside I could feed them the wrong information, destroy evidence tracing back to you, and even warn you of patrols.
(Gorilla demihuman): Hmm~, not a bad idea. What about your friend?
(Gael): What about him? Shoot him and throw him in a ditch for all I care.
(Gorilla demihuman): Ha, you’re pretty cold. Franky, take him out back and shoot him.
*The mysterious assailant goes to grab Jin and pull him up. As soon as he pulls Jin up, Jin turns his head to point his right wrist at the face of Franky and sprays him with green mist. Franky screams out in pain dropping the gun and Jin moves out of the way. Gael summons his bo staff of light and bashes Franky upside the head to knock him out. The other five workers were quick to rush the two knights. The gorilla demihuman and a dark elf with purple eyes and spikey mohawk orange hair wearing blue overalls and holding a sickle attack Gael. Jin was attacked by the elf carjacker as well as a squirrel demihuman and a human man. The squirrel demihuman had a bushy brown tail, green eyes, and short brown hair that was straight. He wore black and yellow sneakers, blue jeans, and a yellow long-sleeved shirt. He was holding a black saber made out of dark magic. The human was a short man with light blue hair that was covering his left eye. His right eye was yellow. He had on beige cargo jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. He was also holding a chain in his hand that was on fire. The carjacker elf and the squirrel demihuman slashed at Jin who blocked their attacks with his newest creation, sword tonfas. Jin’s newest weapons caught his attackers off guard and he took advantage of this distraction. He knocked the squirrel demihuman back with a thrust kick and then focused on the elf carjacker where he delivered a jumping big boot to the chest of the elf that knocked him back into a car. The short blue-haired man tried to attack Jin from behind with his chain wrapped around his hand but Jin dodged his attack, grabbed him by the arm, spun him around, and delivered a lariat to knock him to the ground back first. Gael was busy dodging the attacks of the gorilla demihuman who swung his sledgehammer with reckless abandonment at him. The sledgehammer was giving off sparks of electricity with every swing. After dodging one more swing, Gael leaped into the air and delivered five bicycle kicks to the chest of the gorilla demihuman to stun him. Gael landed on his feet and charged with an orb of light in his hand. The orb hit the chest of the gorilla demihuman and sent him flying backward into a pile of tires. The dark elf took advantage of Gael’s distraction and attacked from behind by trying to drive his sickle into Gael’s neck. Gael managed to block the attack with his bo staff and walked backward into the dark elf to slam him back first into a car. Gael delivered an elbow to the side of the dark elf’s head to free himself and walked a few steps forward. Once he felt he had enough room he stuck his bo staff into the ground, jumped up, and spun around the staff to deliver a kick to the dark elf’s face. As the dark elf staggered, Gael landed back on the ground, pulled his staff out of the ground and used one end to lift the dark elf up by the stomach and slammed him onto the hood of the car to take him out. He then looked to the side and saw Jin fighting off the squirrel demihuman and the elf carjacker by himself. He was doing a good job avoiding a two-on-one situation. Jin ducked the elf carjacker’s slash attack and brought him down with a leg sweep. While still on his hands and knees, Jin delivered a thrust kick to the side of the elf carjacker’s head before rising back to his feet. The squirrel demihuman was going to charge at Jin with his dark saber in hand and Gael grabbed a nearby tire iron*
(Gael): Duck!
*Gael’s shout got the attention of Jin who ducked and Gael threw the tire iron where it struck the head of the squirrel demihuman and knocked him out. Jin returned to his upright position where the human with the chain swung it around Jin’s left arm. Jin could feel his arm burning from the heat of the chain but ignored it and grabbed onto it with his hands. Using his strength he pulled the man toward him and delivered a jumping knee to his chin. The man fell to his knees and Jin wrapped the chain around his neck to choke him out. Once the man had fallen unconscious Jin removed the chain around his arm. Before Gael and Jin could celebrate their victory, the gorilla demihuman rose back up from the pile of tires and tried to attack Gael with his sledgehammer. Gael dodged the attack and struck the demihuman in the stomach with his bo staff. Using the bo staff, Gael picked him up and slammed him on the ground. The demihuman was getting back up and was between Gael and Jin*
(Gael): Going high.
(Jin): Going low.
*Gael delivered a jumping spin kick to the demihuman while Jin swept one of his legs. Their attacks hit the demihuman simultaneously and he flipped in the air before landing hard on the ground completely knocked out. Jin returned to his feet as Gael landed and the two high fived each other*
(Gael): That was awesome!
(Jin): Yeah! We timed it perfectly!
(Elf carjacker): Hey!
*The two knights turned their head in the direction of the voice and saw the elf standing by the cannister. He pulled out a syringe that contained bright purple liquid*
(Elf carjacker): Think your hot shit don’t cha? Well get a load of this.
*The elf injects himself with the syringe and he begins to change. His muscles bulk up tearing through his shirt, glowing purple veins are visible all over his arms and eyes glow purple. However, what really stood out was his sword arms being longer and sharper than before*
(Jin): Well this is new.
(Gael): He’s just like Brutus. Except, different.
*Gael charged at the elf determined to take him down. Gael thrust his sword forward only for the elf to dodge the attack. The elf then swung his sword hands at Gael who prepared to block it with bo staff only for the staff to get cut in half by the swords. The elf then delivered a thrust kick to Gael’s chest which sent him backward into a workbench. As the elf was preparing to charge at Gael, he got blindsided by Jin who punched him on the side of the face. The elf stumbled two steps sideways before regaining his footing and smiling at Jin sadistically. The elf then began to swing wildly at Jin who blocked all of his attacks with the sword tonfas. Gael was able to recover from the earlier attack and jumped back into the fight. Gael went for a high jump kick but the elf dodged it. After landing, Gael went for a cartwheel kick which got blocked by the elf. Jin went on the attack as well where he managed to hit the elf in the back of the knee with a kick which brought him down to one. The elf swung both of his sword hands at Jin who caught the blades with his hands which were covered in cut resistant gloves. Focusing on the blades, Jin used his metal manipulation abilities to shatter the blades. The elf screamed out in pain which was cut short by Gael delivering a punch to the side of the elf’s face followed up by Jin who slashed the back of the elf with a sword tonfa. The double assault continued with Jin and Gael going back in forth delivering punches and kicks to the elf which brought him down to his second knee. The two young knights finished off the elf by grabbing his arm sleeves and pulling him in to deliver a double knee to the face which knocked him out. The elf laid motionless on the floor with his sword hands turning back into regular hands, his pupils returning to normal, the purple veins vanishing, and his body returning to his regular size. The young knights could finally take a sigh of relief that they won*
***
*After the brawl Jin called the White Knights while Gael tied up everyone. The knights arrived onto the scene to make a proper arrest and take the men away. Leon currently was questioning the boys on what happened*
(Leon): You guys did good. These chop shop guys have been causing havoc these last few weeks. Anything else you want to add?
(Jin): Yeah, the last guy we took town pulled this canister out of the car.
*Jin and Gael showed Leon the canister they had*
(Gael): We don’t know what it is, but the guy took some of it and grew stronger.
(Jin): It was weird. Like he was a different person entirely.
*Leon looked inside the canister and when he saw the syringes his eyes went wide*
(Leon): Oh no.
*Leon then called over two more White Knights*
(Leon): You two, go to the residence of the stolen vehicle and arrest the man it belongs to immediately.
*Leon turned his attention to Jin and Gael*
(Leon): You guys come with me to the plaza. You boys just jumped into a bigger case.
*Jin and Gael get in Leon’s car and they drive to White Tiger Plaza*
***
*Minutes later Jin and Gael were in a room confused on what was going on. The door soon opened and in walked Korone, Leon, Saber, and Lukas*
(Korone): You two just can’t stay out of trouble can you?
(Gael): What can we say? We’re that good.
*Gael looks to Jin for a high five*
(Gael): Not the time? Not the time. So you mind telling us what’s going on here?
(Saber): The canister you guys found contains a very dangerous substance. Codenamed: Smile.
(Jin): Smile?
(Lukas): It’s a substance that increases the body physically as well as enhances your magic ability. Along with these factors it also makes you more resistant to attacks from other. However, it sends the user into a psychotic gleeful rage. I’m sure you experienced this firsthand when the elf injected himself with it.
(Jin): Yeah. Guy was like a completely different person.
(Gael): It was like watching someone inject themselves with magic shards.
(Leon): Oh it’s much worse than magic shards. Smile is much more potent making the user much stronger. However, it’s addictive. It causes you to lose your mind the more you use it and after overusing it. . . well. . .
*Leon hands Gael and Jin a digital pad which shows a deceased dark elf who was shirtless and had white hair. His body was shriveled up, his eyes wide open, and a contorted smile was plastered on his face.
(Gael): Eww~!
(Jin): Oh god!
(Leon): It’s not a pretty sight.
(Korone): This isn’t the first case. This drug has somehow infiltrated our kingdom and wound up in the hands of its citizens. There have been multiple people getting addicted to this drug, overdosing, and dying. I can’t even tell they were once alive when we find their bodies.
(Saber): Over the last few weeks Javan has been investigating to find the supplier and dealers and eliminate them from the kingdom. Unfortunately, our investigations have come to dead ends until now. The car that was stolen belonged to a dealer. After we raided his house he surrendered immediately when faced with the charges. However, he hasn’t given us a name on the supplier. But I’m sure Brodie and Lola can get it out of him in no time. This is the closest lead we’ve had all investigation and you have my thanks.
(Jin): We’re. . .glad we could help.
(Korone): And you’re going to keep helping. After this recent escapade, you guys are now involved in the case and thus will be assisting us in this investigation.
(Leon): Consider it a joint operation between orders.
*All of a sudden the door opens up and Dust comes busting in*
(Dust): I can get behind that.
*Everyone turns to see Dust and peeking into the room is Katherine*
(Katherine): I’m so sorry. I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t listen.
(Saber): What are you doing here?
(Dust): Well when you take our rookie and mutt in without letting us know of course we’re going to come down and see what’s up. Especially, if a witch is trying to lure them in with her siren voice.
(Saber): Stay out of this, elf. This is official White Tiger business and your knights will be assisting us in this mission.
(Dust): That’s fine. We have no problem with rookie and mutt helping out in this mission. However, they’re a package deal. You get them, you get all of Shadow Eye.
(Saber): What! No! Not happening! Javan is leading this mission. We don’t need help from any other orders.
(Dust): Really, then I suppose you know the name of the supplier and that he’s got over twenty dealers in the kingdom handing out the Smile?
(Saber): How do you know all of this?
(Dust): Shadow Eye has been doing its own investigation into the matter as well. If we had known Javan were on the case we would have delivered this information sooner. Also, Raika got the dealer in holding to talk.
***
*In the interrogation room, Raika was holding the dealer who was a dark elf with purple eyes and black hair that stood straight up down on a table by the head. She was holding a knife to his mouth threatening to cut his tongue off if he didn’t talk. Sanada was leaning against the wall observing while Brodie and Lola were on the other side of the one-way window observing*
(Elf dealer): And the supplier’s name is Creed. I don’t know much about him. He came from outside the kingdom. Said he was looking for dealers to distribute his drugs and that’s how I met him. He deposits the money directly into our accounts and he calls us one-way when he wants to meet with us.
(Raika): Anything else you want to tell me?
(Elf dealer): I spy on my neighbor’s wife whenever she takes a shower.
(Raika): Losing patience.
*Sanada stops leaning on the wall and walks over to the table where he bends down to be at eye level with the elf*
(Sanada): I can’t control my friend much longer. You better give us something valuable before an accident happens.
(Elf dealer): A meeting! He’s got a meeting happening in a few days.
(Lola): Man, impressive use of the good knight bad knight routine.
(Brodie): Sometimes the old ways work the best.
***
*Back in the conference room*
(Korone): *Chuckles* I expected nothing less from this group. Very well, this mission has now become a joint operation between Shadow Eye and Javan.
(Saber): But commander-
(Korone): I have spoken. I want this mission completed as quickly as possible and full cooperation from both sides. Understood?
(Saber): Yes ma’am!
(Dust): As clear as crystal.
*Korone walks out of the room followed by Leon. This left Saber and Lukas in the room with Dust, Jin, and Gael*
(Dust): Looking forward to working with you, sunshine.
*Dust extends his hand out for a shake but Saber swats it away*
(Saber): The commander ordered us to work together, but she didn’t say anything about us getting along. This is still a Javan led mission so follow my orders and stay out of my way.
*Saber heads for the door to leave but stops and turns around*
(Saber): And one other thing. Hephaestus, I know you’ve been working closely with this demon. Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from him as possible. Before he kills you just like he did another knight.
*Saber exits the room with Lukas leaving Dust, Jin, and Gael behind. This was the second time Jin and Gael had heard about Dust killing another knight before. They wondered if it was true. Was one of their mentors a murderer?*
Author’s Notes: The beginning of a new arc has started. We’re going to be exploring the past of Dust in this one. While Dust is the main focus I did want to give Gael and Jin a chance to shine this chapter. Their fight was heavily inspired by Cobra Kai when Johnny and Danny fought in the chop shop and the Smile drug is based off of Bane’s venom and the Joker gas from Batman. The ending with Saber and Dust was I felt the perfect spot to start exploring their relationship. I gave you a snapshot of it in the first volume. Gave hints about it in the second volume and now I’m ready to talk about it in the third volume. Given Dust’s personality and character you have to wonder if it’s true. Did he kill another knight and if so why? How will this affect and change the way Jin and Gael look at Dust? You’ll have to keep reading to find out. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.