Fangs of Evil

Intervention

Choices... why do they have to be so hard? Arkayna could not help but ask herself that question as soon as she exited Creed's hideout. It would be one thing to trade the old Dragon Disk for her parents, said Disk was merely a relic without the full power of the almighty Codex, a training tool to solve riddles at best. However, it was another thing to trade Zarya's life for them.

Arkayna and Zarya hadn't always gotten along, especially when they first met. Yet, over the course of their adventures, they had really hit it off as sworn sisters, even before they found out they were related by blood. Of course Arkayna wouldn't kill her. And yet, if she didn't, her still bone statues that were her parents would be nothing but dust.

What do I do? Arkayna thought to herself solemnly. What can I do? This was definitely a conundrum like no other she's ever been in. At this point, there was one thing she could do, and that was contacting the others. Considering her recent behavior, however, she wasn't sure she could do it.

Suddenly, Arkayna a faint whoosh in the air. That whoosh was layered accompanied by footsteps, running across the rooftops... coming straight for her. She heard at least three different directions in which these sounds were coming from.

"Ugh, I don't need this right now!" Arkayna hissed, she was in no mood to deal with stalkers. Deciding to fire first and ask questions later, she fired some fireballs at the sounds the stalkers, where ever she heard the sounds. Seeing a shadow, the fierce princess launched in the air and dove down, pinning one the stalkers face down on the ground.

"Ow!" Cried out a familiar voice. Upon further inspection, Arkayna realized it was Em she was pinning, and hurting too. "I'm friendly, I swear!" Almost immediately, Arkayna released the poor dwarf.

"What are you doing out here?" Arkayna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A better question is, what are you doing here?" Said another familiar voice. Out of the shadows came Zarya, narrowing her eyes at Arkayna. From above, somersaulted the ever energized Piper. When she landed though, she wasn't her usual happy self. In fact, she seemed rather mad.

"That's none of your business!" Shouted Arkayna, attempting to walk away, to which an irritated Zarya got in front of her. The other two girls followed suit, surrounding Arkayna.

"When my sister goes to the hideout of the most dangerous crime lord in the Undercity, it is my business."

"You... you spied on me? What gives you the ri-"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Piper finally snapped, catching Arkayna off guard. "You're supposed to be our leader! You're supposed to take care of us! And yet you're walking off to... to... that murderer!" Arkayna was genuinely shocked. She had never seen Piper like this angry before. Sure, the elf had her tantrums, but everything she said felt so personal. In fact, Arkayna could see a few tears come out of Piper's eyes.

"Piper? What has he done to you?" Arkayna asked cautiously. Piper's tears then grew stronger, like a fast moving river.

"He... killed my parents." Piper revealed. The young elf then tightly hugged Zarya, sobbing on her shoulder. Zarya in turn held Piper closely, all while narrowing her eyes at Arkayna.

"Piper... I had no idea..." Arkayna said with regret.

"Of course you didn't." Zarya bluntly said. "Cuz you never bothered to ask before you went out. Come to think of it, Piper's right. You haven't been much of a leader lately. Past three weeks, you've been avoiding us, getting too violent in training sessions, and don't even get me started on our fight with Kymraw. You recklessly charged in without help, and almost got killed! And now you're sneaking out and meeting crimelords behind our backs?"

"I hate to agree with Zarya here but, she's right, Arkayna." Em said. Though a hint of irritation was present, Em had a softer tone. "All we want to do help, but we can't do that if you keep closing us off." Em then moved closer to Arkayna, then held her hands. "Please, let us help. Tell us everything."

Arkayna took a deep breath. She looked back and forth between Em, her best friend in all the realm, and Zarya, her sister by blood and bond, still holding the distraught Piper, the sight of which made Arkayna feel guilty about the whole thing.

"You're right." Arkayna said, with saddness and remorse in her eyes. "Everyone gather up. I'll tell you everything."

***

All the info Arkayna shared with Piper, Zarya, and Em was slow to sink in. Perhaps none more shocked than Em, she really thought that Creed was a humble philanthropist. He certainly acted the part. Zarya knew the filthy snake was malicious, but this was unforgivable. Yet another reason for the rebel teen to hate his guts. Piper, however, seemed to have a new reason to be mad at Arkayna.

"So... are you gonna do it?" Piper said, somewhat gritting her teeth. "Are you gonna kill Zarya and give her to Creed?" She pointed her finger at Arkayna at that last sentence.

"Of course not!" Arkayna retorted. "I don't trade lives, much less friends or family. That's what makes this so hard." Arkayna then looked down in shame. Piper recoiled a little after that. Though her anger for Arkayna was still unresolved, she at least understood the situation better.

"We'll think of something." Em said, holding Arkayna close. "Like Zorlon told us, where there's a will, there's a way. We just need to find the will to find the way."

"And I think I just found a way." Zarya suddenly said with a smirk. All the other girls looked at her in confusion.

"Well, share with the class!" Piper said, the anticipation killing her.

"Creed wants me dead and the disk right? Then that's exactly what he's gonna get. Listen up girls, I've got a plan."