Long past the time for talk. (A.G)

[Enizo]

Enzio's Life.

“ORDER, ORDER!” A yell broke through the packed hall of the mansion as servants attempted to calm the tense crowd. Some three hundred men and woman packed the massive hall in a bid to see what the Mentor and the Council was planning to announce.
The hall was so full that the servants were forced to remove the decorative knight armors and all the tables with remarkably expensive items on it.
And if you thought that was bad? Outside was worse; some two thousand more soldiers gathered on the estate it was so bad that tents were erected to accommodate the numbers for the long hours of debates that were occurring.
It was like the bulk of the Allorum Guardians had descended onto this part of the world.
The area was tense and rightly so.
In the next minutes there would be a decision that would mark the beginning.
But a beginning to what?
That questioned puzzled Enzio as he pushed and shoved his way through the sea of Guardians.
“Out of the way, move- hey, Platoon leader coming through!” Enzio was shorter and younger than most of the Guardians and that might lead to some sort of disrespect… but they were obedient men and woman and when they heard his rank they parted faster than a whore's legs.
“Enzio!” A voice caught Enzio’s attention, he turned around and was met with a face that he had not seen in forever.
“Kal!” Enzio yelled out in surprise, the older man stepped up to him. Kal placed a hand on Enzio’s shoulder and gave a soft grin.
“It’s good to see you again, friend.”
“There aren’t words to describe this, really,” Enzio replied. It meant a great deal to him, seeing his old superior again.
“Walk with me…” Kal said, assuring him through the room, “Do you know why we were all called here?”
“I have a theory…” Enzio replied grimly. Kal looked at him and shook his head.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Kal said while shoving Guardian out of the way, “I heard they’ve called him.”
Enzio stopped dead in his track, looking at Kal with a disbelieving look he particularly shouted out:
“Whoa- wait, you mean THAT guy?”
Kal rolled his eyes, remembering how loud the teenager could get. He bent lower as if it would help shield his voice, “Yeah, that guy.”
“Shit.” Enzio shook his head. His blunt wording summarized the entire situation.
They shoved and pushed a little bit more until they reached a corner of the room. Kal took a deep breath in; it was like this corner was the only source of air in this entire place. Once he brought in enough air he looked back at Enzio and spoke.
“Enzio, to get to the main point, I didn’t just seek you for greetings…”
“I’m hurt.” Enzio replied quickly, rolling his eyes at his friend’s sentence.
“You’ve been called on,” Kal continued, catching Enzio’s attention, “The Mentor wants you present in the debates.”
“He… wants me?” Enzio questioned, giving a small chuckle before shaking his head, “Should I be honored or scared?”
“Both.” Replied Kal as he pulled Enzio to the large doors to the debate hall and walked in.

[The Mentor]

The debate hall was worse than outside.
A council of over twenty-six men and woman were up from their chairs, yelling and screaming obscurities at each other, demanding that their tongs be cut out for muttering such ‘nonsense’.
You could see the council people sweating underneath their heavy white robes.
And up on a high chair, overlooking all the obscurities was a man completely covered in a armor, so skin tight that you’d think it was his skin. He was dressed in a nice black suit that came from Earth, fetching to what their currency would be thousands of dollars.
The Mentor played with a orb, shifting it right to left, causing it to change colors as it went. It was like he was playing with a toy airplane, simply ignoring the heated debate below.
When Enzio and Kal stepped in he finally and stood up, dusted off his suit, and placed his hand down on his podium.
It was like a sudden shot of sedative, causing all the council people to stop yelling, stand completely still and than sit back into their chairs.
“Thank you.” The Mentor said, his voice washing over them like a calming lullaby. It was weird, yet incredibly effective.
“Enzio and Kal, please sit, we were just about to come to a conclusion,” He waved his hands and suddenly to chair appeared to the side of Kal and Enzio.
The two men glanced at each other before simply shrugging and sitting down in the chairs.
The Mentor glanced from side to side, examining everyone in the room before finally speaking out again.
“For one year we’ve seen evidence of the return… for once year we’ve asked our Guardians to continue to gather more in hopes that we could somehow brush it under the rug…” The Mentor ‘s voice echoed throughout the entire area, reaching the ears of all the Allorum Guardians, “And even now, when the evidence is as clear as the blue sky we live under, I’ve sat here watching arguments for an entire week. But no more, we’ve seen enough… I am ready to make the conclusion…”
In that moment everyone in the room held their breath and froze in their very places. Enzio wanted to breathe, his body begged him to breath in some air, but he was afraid the very sound of him breathing would somehow shatter the fragile moment they were in.
“Duo Angelo is back.”
Those fours words… they were so hard to hear. Some of the councilors were crying, others simply sat in their chair in disbelief… but no one spoke.
“Henceforth…” the Mentor began again, “Allorum Guardians are declaring martial law on Allorum. Nobody comes and goes through the portals, nobody will make a decision without checking with us and nobody will hide the people we are looking for. This is the job we were built to do… now go do it.”
You could hear the Guardians begin to mobilize outside. Their foot steps slamming against the polished marbled flooring, yells of orders as they left the house and into the field for orders.
Everyone was beginning to leave the room when the Mentor called out to Enzio, “Enzio… wait one moment, please.”
Enzio stopped in his tracks and looked over at the Mentor. Kal gave Enzio a shoulder pat before leaving the room.
The Mentor stepped down from his podium. Even still, he so tall compared to Enzio.
The Mentor shifted his head side to side, studying Enzio before speaking, “Are you scared?”
Enzio didn’t answer at first, instead he closed his eyes, for it seemed he himself did not know the answer to the question.
“I’m not sure, Mentor…” he began, “The words you spoke… martial law, Duo Angelo… it means so much, yet, I’m not sure what it will mean.”
The Mentor looked at him with confusion, waiting for him to elaborate.
“I know the stakes and what we must do… but the sacrifices that we’ll have to make? I don’t think I understand the scale of it, just yet.”
“…” The Mentor didn’t respond at first, instead he slipped his metal hands into his suit jacket and than replied, “But you will understand soon. The sacrifices we will be forced to make for a better world… you will understand it all very soon.”
The Mentor stepped away from Enzio, placing his hand on a portrait of a fight that occurred over a thousand years ago. The fight in Crepusculum, the final fight with the Saints and Duo.
“Do you know why I have this hanging here, Enzio?” He asked while tracing his hand over one of the fallen soldiers.
“No, Mentor, I do not.”
“To remind me,” he shifted over, “The Saints made tremendous sacrifices in attempt to stop Duo. But it was not enough.”
“Not enough sacrifices?”
“Not enough calculated sacrifices.”
Enzio shifted in his spot uncomfortably, crossing his arms before speaking again, “No offense my Mentor, but is this why you asked for me?”
“No, not really…” Mentor shook his head, stepping over to his podium before calling out, “I’d like you to meet someone. You can come in now.”
They both looked over at the entrance, waiting for this person to enter.

[Kazan]

The loud creak of the doors could be heard as a shadowed figure stepped in. He was tall and muscular given the shadow of his physique, and he appeared to be carrying a large sword. As he stepped into view, more details became clear, most noticeably, the almost monkey like face and long brown hair. His outfit was flamboyant, made up of different animal pelts and furs that were draped over his body, and his weapon of choice, a large Odachi, appeared to look rather ornate and heavy. Despite all of this, he had an almost professional air about him, and he looked utmost serious... That was... Until he talked at least...

"OI! BOSS MAN! You called for me?!"[/i]

Social interaction wasn't Kazan's strongest point... Especially given that he spent most of his life just wandering. Given the volatile nature of his powers, it was rare that he was called upon by the Allorum Guardians, but he knew that if they had stooped low enough to call for him, it was serious. He flung an arm behind his head and scratched the top of his neck, grinning.

[Enizo]

That same sour face was on Enzio again, puckered and twisted.

It's... HIM!? Enzio thought with a deep, dark sigh. The Mentor was probably grinning at the face Enzio was making, you know, if you could see his face.

The Mentor stepped up to Kazan and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Peace to you my friend. How is life treating you?"

"Um, Mentor... I believe there are more pressing matters..."

"Of course, Kazan, it appears you aren't aware of what is going on yet, are you?"

[Kazan]

"It's been alright... Open Road and all that, I've definitely had my freedom, if that's what you mean. But all-in-all, I'm alive, so I guess I can't complain." He chuckled as he looked across at Enzio who appeared to be pouting like some kind of child. He pointed at the young Guardian and laughed for a moment before composing himself.

"Oi... You look like you've swallowed a lemon... Aha..." He wiped an eye as the Boss Man adressed him again. He paused for a moment and shrugged.

"Nope! Not heard a thing!"

[Enizo]

Quick, Enzio thought, I need to think of a comeback or I'll lose all respect!

"Your face looks like a butt!"

"..."

"..."

The Mentor shook his head his head and looked over at Kazan, "We've declared Martial Law, the council has decided that Duo Angelo is indeed back. Needless to say, we need to prepare for a great battle. Which is why I wish you to go with Enzio."

"Whoa, what!?" Enzio protested.

[Kazan]

"Ahh man... That does suck..." Kazan said with a small sigh as he gave a shrug. "Still, it can't be helped I suppose... I guess I'll just have to do what I do best..." He looked across at Enzio. "Not a huge fan of babysitting, but I suppose I can get over that as well..." He frowned slightly.

"Alright then, what do you need me and lemon-face here to do?"

[Enizo]

"Baby... sitter?" Enzio's eye twitched, "I'm gonna bash you in the-"

"You two will travel to Roccia... warn the Heroes and Kishu about this, they need to be ready for the approaching Fall."

"And than what do we do?" Enzio asked

"Organize and fight, Duo will make himself apparent soon and we must do all we can to stop him from getting what he wishes." The Mentor asked, glancing from back and forth between the two, "I'm sending you two because you're the best we have. Work together or you'll both end up dead."

[Kazan]

"Ahhh well, at least we're fighting, huh lemon-face?!" Kazan said with a chuckle as he patted Enzio on the back. Despite the foolishness on the surface, his mind was already working in overdrive as he desperately tried to put two and two together, trying to think of all the possibilities that could happen... Truth be told, none of them were exactly good. Still, he would have to make do with what he had. The Mentor spoke well of Enzio, so Kazan would take the old geezers word for it.

"I suppose we should set off as soon as possible, huh?! We've got quite the journey ahead of us..." He scratched the back of his head, he certainly wasn't kidding, they were on the other side of the world after all. "Anything else you want to say, Boss Man?"

[Enizo]

"Keep vigilant..." The Mentor said as he played with the glowing orb again, "We're dealing with an enemy beyond anything we've ever seen. The fact of the matter is, he probably already knows where you're going."

"That's comforting..." Enzio said with a sigh, "And it's Enzio, by the way. I don't appreciate being called 'Lemon-face'."

"I sense that you two will make good partners," the Mentor lowered his head and in that moment, he vanished.

"...That's so creepy..." Enzio blinked before turning back to Kazan, "Anything you'd like to say to me before we get going?"

[Kazan]

Kazan nodded. "The name's Kazan, you've probably heard of me considering I'm the AG's worst-kept secret... But still, there's no harm in throwing that out there. All the same, as for the lemon-face thing..?" He simply shrugged.

"I'll stop calling you it when you stop looking like you swallowed a lemon." He looked around the room for a moment, musing quietly to himself.

"Which way is Roccia..?"

[Enizo]

=_=

"This way..." Enzio pointed to the door, "We'll have to take a boat. And be quick about it, I heard there is a wedding about to start in a week or so. Let's try not to ruin it."

[Kazan]

"OI! A PARTY?! Well, now I'm in my element!"[/i]

With that, he grabbed Enzio by the sleeve and suddenly dragged him towards the door. If there was one thing that Kazan loved more than relaxing, it was relaxing with a refreshing glass of wine, and some food. Weddings had those right?! Sure they did. I mean, it was a wedding, they were those happy things with the happy people and the happy wine.

Yay!

[Enizo]

=_=

And off they went...

[The Mentor]

As the two ran off, the Mentor reappeared in the room. The mansion was so silent... so lifeless. He shuffled the orb around in his hand, watching it's captivating glow before thinking to himself.

This world will never be the same... soon they will all learn that.

He looked off in the distance, he could see the two running further and further. So he simply walked up to his podium and sat down... now it was a waiting game.

"Your move, Duo..."