"And that's what happened. Says Rose as she sits back in her chair. She had just finished explaining the events that lead up to Hiro's injury to Rex and Helen, who was healing Hiro. Rex, upon hearing this, begins to pace back and forth across Helen's bedroom, fuming at the thought of assassins targeting his brother. "Well, at least Hiro will be fine after all this." Helen says with both hands pressed against Hiro's wounded shoulder.
"My question is how did they get in here? You said they just 'appeared' above him, but that doesn't make sense. You're our teleporter, aren't you?" Rex asks, now looking towards Rose.
"I think I am. At least, that's what I was told." Rose says while shrugging her shoulders.
"At this point, I'm pretty sure you aren't." Hiro says, sitting up in bed. "I had a hunch that you weren't it when I recruited you."
"What are you talking about?" Rose and Rex say in unison with mutual confusion. "I thought you recruited me because I was the teleporter of Rahu. If that wasn't the reason, why did you recruit me?" Says Rose.
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"This explanation starts prior to your arrest and my ascension to the throne. Back when Rex and I were just 'Vanessa's Boys', we were asked to stop an underground fight club by Vanessa." Hiro begins to explain. "I remember that mission. You and I infiltrated disguised as a better and a fighter, respectively, but I don't remember hearing anything about a teleporter, let alone two of them." Rex chimes in, still confused as to what this has to do with their current predicament.
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"Seeing as you were fighting, you probably didn't hear any of the conversations going around the room. The most intriguing one by far was the one about a teleporter who had just arrived in the capital. They said he'd come from a small village on the outskirts of Rahu. Most people there mentioned that they were adept in assassination and theft, with connections in the industry at that. They never mentioned a name or any other defining traits, but knowing that prominent underworld figures were talking about this person gave me enough confidence to believe the rumor." Says Hiro as he sits up to look at Rose.
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"I did think you were the teleporter I had heard about previously, but once I saw your skills firsthand, I figured you weren't the one from the rumor. You're talented, but you lack the skill, finesse, and more importantly, the mindset of an assassin." After hearing this, Rose feels a bit insulted by Hiro saying she lacked the skill to be an assassin Hiro continues to explain. "Once that was settled, I figured I could have you help me catch the other one. Any questions?" He asks nonchalantly. "Everything you said makes sense to me. The only question I have is, what exactly is my ability? How can I teleport if my ability isn't teleportation?" Rose asks. The entire room goes silent for a moment before Helen gives her input on the situation. "Firstly, if you knew about this for so long, you should've said something to someone earlier!" She says as she swats Hiro's injured shoulder. "OW! It wasn't a problem before because Vanessa was still in power and I figured no one would actually come after her." Hiro jumps as she attacks him. "It doesn't matter if you 'figured' that she was safe, you still should have told someone. I swear all you two think about is each other and your mother."
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"How did I get brought into this? I didn't even hear the rumor during that mission." Rex retorts. "And if you did you wouldn't have told anyone either and you know it!" She says now beaming at him. "Maybe I would've…" Whispers Rex under his breath. Rose chuckles at their back and forth banter for a moment, before Helen looks over to her and continues speaking. "Ahem. Back to our previous conversation. As for your question Rose, I genuinely don't know what it could be. My guess is to try thinking more fundamentally. Try asking yourself what causes you to teleport. Let's use Rex and Hiro for example. I'm not sure you know this, but they have the same ability, but they simply use it in different ways."
She could see the gears turning in Rose's head once she said that. To stop her from getting too lost in thought, she resumes speaking.
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"They share the ability to freely manipulate water. Rex uses it to create water replicas of animals to aid him in battle while Hiro uses it to create a fog that boosts his physical capabilities. In your case, your ability likely allows you to control something, and you are simply using that something to teleport. As for what that something is, that's something for you to figure out." Helen says while wrapping up Hiro's shoulder. "All better."
"That's a lot to think about, but it'd probably be better to figure that out after we deal with the assassins. After all, I at least have a grasp on what I can do with my ability as it is." Rose says, pushing off the thought. "So how do we find them?"
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"That's a good question. For once, I don't have a hunch, let alone an entire plan for you to catch them. I can tell you this much however: Outside of general observation, I can't really help you find them. The only way I could try to find them is with fog the way I did to you when we first met. The problem with that is that they know how my ability works, hence their reaction to the bottle. They'd likely flee to another country on sight."
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"If it helps, I have the ether signature of the one who shot you." Rex interjects. "Ether signature? Can you break that down for me?" Rose asks, as if she is tired of hearing new information.
"It's like a fingerprint for unique abilities. If you focus your ether into your eyes you should be able see ether highlighted by a certain color. Everyone's ether color is determined by their ability. Basic elemental abilities are red, blue, brown, and green for fire, water, earth, and wind respectively, while any unique ability has a different shade of a color that is tied to that person. I can tell that the assassin who shot Hiro has a unique ability since the color of ether on the arrow was one I hadn't seen before." Rex explains.
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"Got it. Like… This?" She says as she closes her eyes and attempts to focus her ether into her eyes, just as Rex did earlier. When she opens them, she sees the rest of the room in a darkened state with ether being highlighted. Looking around at her surroundings, she sees both Hiro and Rex are highlighted in blue, and Helen is highlighted in yellow. "Blue, blue, and… Yellow? What's your ability Helen?" Rose says, getting the bearings on ether signatures.
"My ability is simply a healing ability. It allows me to heal injuries ranging from minor cuts to gashes like Hiro's wound." Helen states.
"Looks like you're taking to it well. Rex, show her the arrow and you two can look for them in the morning."
Hiro says as he stands up and walks to the door.
"Yes Sir, but umm… where are you going?"
Rose says curiously.
"To bed. Where else? I'm exhausted since I haven't slept and had to fight for my life against assassins. Not to mention I still have work to do in the morning." Hiro says as he opens the door.
"But what about the assassins? You seem too relaxed despite almost dying an hour ago. I mean this as respectfully as possible, but are you okay?" Rose asks.
"Yes I'm perfectly fine. I'll sleep well because I know that I have two of my most trusted and capable aids protecting me." He says as he walks out of the door and off to his bedroom.
"On that note, I think it's time for you two to leave my room as well. You both have a big day tomorrow, and one of you still has to watch over Hiro for the rest of the night."
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“Rex, you can take care of watching Hiro. I feel like I’ll fall asleep if I sit still any longer.”
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“I did actually get some sleep prior to all this so I guess that makes sense, but what are you going to do in the meantime? By the sound of it, you seem like you’re going out to find them tonight.”. Says Rex as Rose gets up and heads towards the door.
“Of course I am. What kind of aide would I be if I didn’t? She says while giving them both a big smile. Rex gives a slight grin and motions for her to come over to him. When she does, he grabs the back of neck and pulls her in close and touches their foreheads together. Her big confident smile is replaced by an awkward grin and a slight blush on her cheeks. “Listen. This isn’t training with me, nor is it a game of tag with Hiro. This is serious and your targets are deadly. They will not hesitate to end your life and you shouldn’t hesitate to end theirs. You are to track them down and eliminate them. Am I understood?” Rex says in a forceful tone.
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“Yes Sir!” Says Rose as her awkwardness fades and she walks out the door to prepare for her mission.
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