No More

Chapter 53: Exposure Part 1

"Hello brother," greeted Jess, with a smile as she took off her grey hood and bloody bandages off her face. "It's been a while."

Everyone was silent, and wide eyes were the only way that she could tell that they were expressing some emotion. But she still couldn't help but find it funny while her giggling disturbs them.

"Seriously?" she asked though her giggles, taking off the bandages off her arms and her neck. "Nothing? No shouting, no rage, no crying?"

She let out a happy sigh. "And here I thought you wanted me to come home, brother."

But that's not the reason why. While everyone else was focused on her actually being here, Jesse was looking at her.

"What the hell happened to you?" whispered Jesse, not talking about where she has been, but her condition.

He looked the horrible burns on her neck that continued down to her left arm, and the scar under her left eye. "Jess, what happened to you? And how did you get your right arm back?" he asked, glancing at the limb.

Gill knew the answer: that's Maya's arm! Jess is still using it. He wanted to protest, yell at her even. But he was simply afraid... and really grossed out by her horrible burns.

Not to mention Jess' face was creeping him out. It was blank... and sad? Like a horrible reminder? She looked at her brother. "Ellegaard took something from me," she whispered as if reliving something painful. "something that I cherished and-!"

"Hold it!" interrupted Petra, getting over the shock of her appearance. "Why were you in the Tournament?!"

"What does Ellegaard have to do with you?!" shouted Olivia, relieved that she didn't have to ask Jess first, and curious to know why Ellegaard is involved. "And what was that stuff you said about golems?!"

"Why did you-?!" said Gill, only for Jess to give him a cold glare. Silently telling him: shut up.

"Wait a minute," shouted Axel, realizing something obvious, and drawing attention to himself. "If you were participating in the Tournament, then who's in the stands?!" He pointed to the covered girl with only a left arm, the two Hell Rings on her fingers. And with Cassie Rose petting Winslow and giving them a wave.

"So many questions, and yet so little answers." Jess replied, her smile returning. "But you'll all have to wait because someone is desperate for some answers... right Lisa?"

At that moment, everyone noticed Jesse's wife stomping her way towards Jess from behind her. Jesse saw his sister pull out a yellow orb again, threw it on the ground and summoned the air guardian.

"Let me give us a little privacy," said Jess as she willed her air guardian to manipulate the air on the boarder that the Templars are creating so no sound escapes and reaches the audience. Giving them complete privacy, much to the dismay of the announcer as no matter how much shouting he did, people in the audience didn't react.

No one else noticed, but Jesse saw that his sister didn't even use her Mana threads to control the air guardian. Does that mean she was using them in part with her disguise, or something else completely?

"Oh Lisa, it's nice to finally meet you in person!" Said Jess, turning around as Lisa grabbed her by the collar of her cloths and lifts her up... only using her right hand. Damn.

"Where is she?" Lisa growled.

"Who~?" Jess cooed, smirking as she glanced at her accomplice. She saw Templars descend the steps in the crowd, ignoring the looks of concern of the audience as they surround Cassie.

But they didn't make a move, not yet anyways. They want Jess in here, so they blocked all means of escape, and they needed answers. Since Lisa is down there with her, she's naturally disrupting everyone's Mana flow so no one can use any magic.