Chapter 33: 34. Welcome To The Rings

Yessica caught her breath. What was Special Agent Petticoat doing here?

"Cut the crap, Leo." growled Petticoat, his eyes sweeping across the room and resting once on the officer laying in the corner, then on Zayn, surprise showing clear on his face, and then again on Yessica. His brow furrowed and his eyes gleamed ominously as he saw the blood staining her mouth and chin and her severed tongue on full display on the floor. "What the h*ll is going on?!" He demanded, lowering himself into a defensive position. "I thought you saved us but now—"

Leo cleared his throat, "Don't worry, Florian. Officer Juarez is perfectly fine thanks to our comrade here—" he gestured toward Matea who nodded in greeting. "I was only taken some disciplinary measures with her."

"Disciplinary measures? This looks like torture to me… You told me your organization was different…" As he spoke, his eyes began to glimmer yet again.

Leo, however, did not skip a beat and remained perfectly calm. "We are, friend. I saved you from the police didn't I? After you mercilessly killed all those cops? Wouldn't you be labeled a criminal, forced into a life on the run for the rest of your life"

At that Petticoat flinched noticeably, his shoulder relaxed, and his eyes ceased their shining.

"In our organization, we care about one thing, and one thing only: Power. Juarez here, a G.I. on our payroll, stepped out of line and committed a dire mistake, displaying her powerlessness. For that—"

"Disciplinary measures…" Completed Petticoat.

"Indeed. Power means everything to us. And, as you saw earlier this morning, Matea-here can patch up anyone." Leo apparently reminded Petticoat who raised a concerned eyebrow.

Yessica looked across the room at Zayn who looked to be more hurt than she was at hearing those words. 'What in the world happened on the bridge after I left, that would force Leo to heal an outsider? He must be like me. A plant.'

"And Storm?" Petticoat inquired directing his attention towards Officer Davion Storm laying unconscious in the far corner. "Am I going to find his tongue laying around here somewhere, too…?"

"Fear not, friend. He will be perfectly fine. I will merely… persuade him to tell the authorities that you perished on that bridge. He should be waking up soon, and we will deposit him on a the lake's bank with his mission. "

"Your going to 'make' him say I died… And how will that help me?"

"Death exonerates all men." crooned Leo with a smirk.

"So—" Began Petticoat, visibly put off by Leo and now directing his attention towards Yessica. "You're a G.I. too? And you were working undercover." The last part wasn't a question, but rather a sad realization.

Yessica was taken aback. She didn't know what to think. When he had first walked into the room, she had initially assumed that perhaps he had been a part of the plan to kill Zeff and Sylvan from the beginning and was an undercover G.I. working for the Rings just like her.

But, based on the way Leo was talking, and, more tellingly, the way Petticoat was addressing Leo. That certainly couldn't be the case…

She decided it would be best not to tell the whole truth and said, "I-I am. Sorry, I had to keep my identity a secret." It was better to play it safe. She had failed two missions in a row and had, by some miracle, been spared a gruesome death. Now, was not the time to guess or gamble.

Zayn finally spoke up. "What exactly did Leo tell you we do?"

Petticoat raised an eyebrow, thrown off by the sudden question. "I'm glad to see you're… all healed up, *Zayn Leanders*." He emphasized the name while wearing an expression that seemed both hurt and disappointed. "I liked Poopenheimer better, by the way."

Zayn didn't react, but waited patiently for his question to be answered.

Petticoat sighed, "You guys are apparently a part of a group that tries to catch rouge G.I.s that escape from some place called the Underworld?" As he spoke, he raised an eyebrow skeptically as if he couldn't believe what he was saying. Nevertheless, he continued, "Sylvan escaped from the Underworld with a dangerous weapon that he gave to Corad and you guys are trying to retrieve the weapon, or something like that."

Yessica didn't have to be in the inner Ring to know that Petticoat had been told a complete lie. The Rings, as Leo had said, only cared about Power. Which was why, for the last several decades they had been embroiled in conflict and infighting. Everyone had a different idea of what power means and everyone was struggling for the top spot to impose their view on the others. That was the extent of her knowledge, and she had gained that from her Abuelita, not Leo or anyone else.

"Exactly right." Lied Leo with a convincing smile. "And this is why we need you. You can help us catch these two criminals and bring them to justice. In exchange, we can offer you asylum and safety."

Petticoat sighed. "Do you think I was born yesterday, kid? There's no way you, a twenty something year old boy, has any kind of authority in an organization that has the power to plant agents within law enforcement unnoticed and run covert ops… You're writing checks you can't cash. I appreciate you savin—"

"Dance." Commanded Leo with a loud voice.

At once, everyone around the room besides Petticoat, Mattea and the sleeping police officer began to dance uncontrollably. Even Yessica, who was still practically sitting on the floor, began to gyrate her hips to silent music. Rendall, in particular, looked most ridiculous. Though his body moved with the grace and freedom of a prepubescent school girl, his face was stern and focused, as though this was just another day for him.

"Okay… So they listen to you… Big deal."

"Stopping exhaling." Commanded Leo again.

Suddenly Yessica literally caught her breath. She could only take air in! She gasped and gasped, her lungs only expanding, but no matter how hard she tried she could not exhale.

Each person that had been dancing (Zayn, Yessica, Rendall) suddenly fell to the floor, gasping and holding their throats.

No one, however, was as shocked as Petticoat. He almost instantly understood that Leo was not merely commanding them. He was forcing them to do what he wanted. "H-hey! Stop it, Leo!" He rushed to Rendall's side as his face began to turn an odd shade of blue. "What are you doing to them?!"

One moment, everyone in the room was struggling to breath, and the next, they all simultaneously gave a long and loud exhale.

"How did you—?"

"The thing you need to understand, Florian, is this: In The Rings, only power matters. Authority? Influence? Those are given to those with the power to affect change. And no one, does that better than me. The power to bend people to my will. That is *my* power. The power of the House of Leanders."

There was a madness in his eyes that was both inspiring and unsettling.

"S-so… Why do you need me? With your gift you could easily do—"

"It's because he can't control everyone, obviously." Injected Zayn exasperatedly. He was already standing back on his feet though he still rubbed his neck, annoyed.

Petticoat looked at Leo with a curious expression as Leo clicked his tongue in frustration while staring daggers at Zayn.

"Did you not notice?" Zayn continued on, ignoring his brother. "Everyone was gasping for air accept you, Matea-there, and the unconscious idiot."

"And what's so special about us?" Petticoat asked, gesturing at himself and Matea.

"Your aura, that's what." Replied Leo matter-of-factly.

"Aura?"

"Yes, aura. What you used on the bridge yesterday."

"Wait, what? Am I not a G.I.?" asked Petticoat confused. Though his face was concerned, there was the slightest hint of a desperate and hopeful smile touching the edge of his lips.

"No. You are not." Responded Leo.

Petticoat's smirk deepened ever so slightly, and he gave a sigh of relief which he tried, unsuccessfully, to mask as an exasperated huff.

Leo went on, "What makes me and Juarez and Zayn and even Rendall-there G.I.s is something that we inherited. Something we were born with that has been passed down through blood. An organ that we call: a shard." He poked himself in the center of his chest as he said the word. "You have no shard. Therefore, you are not, nor will you ever be, a G.I."

Petticoat scratched his chin thoughtfully. "So I and Matea have… Aura? And that's why you couldn't control us?"

Matea finally spoke up in response. "Not exactly. Master Leo has aura as well." Then for the briefest of moments, and rather curiously, her eyes shot in Yessica's direction. "There are only three basic kinds of aura. I possess a mixture of two of those kinds, yellow and cyan. Master Leo, while also being a G.I., uses magenta aura. You, on the other hand, possess purely 'yellow' aura."

There was stunning silence for a long moment as all eyes focused on Petticoat. Yessica couldn't say why everyone seemed suddenly on edge, even Leo.

"So?" Piped Petticoat, noticeably uncomfortable with the stares he was getting. "Leo can't control anyone with yellow 'aura'? What's the big deal…? Why are you all staring at me like that?"

"Well, while it's true that Master Leo can't…" began Rendall nervously before falling silent again until he finally said, "Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. These are the three basic colors of aura. However, more than 95 percent of people with aura have a mixture of two of these. Of the remaining 5 percent, which accounts for, perhaps, less than one hundred thousand people, more than 99 percent of those are either pure cyan or pure magenta…"

Petticoat swallowed hard as realization began to sink in. "So I have a rare—"

"Rare?" Scoffed Rendall with a touch of anger. "'Rare' is winning the lottery twice in one lifetime. I was not only referring to the people presently alive. Less than one percent of five percent of ALL people who have EVER had aura were pure-yellow users. That's less than one thousand people and never once has a yellow user been an Overworlder."

"Overworlder?"

"That's hardly the point you should be focusing on!" insisted Rendall with a frustrated huff. "You unlocking aura on that bridge… It's nothing short of a miracle. A mathematical impossibility."

There was another long pause as everyone stood silent, allowing Petticoat to process the information. Yessica, at least, understood a bit better why Petticoat was here. Something so rare had to be useful. She had never heard about aura before today, but she could remember vaguely that her Abuelita had at times mentioned something called 'esencia'.

"So, Leo. What is it that you really want from me?" puzzled Petticoat.

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"What do you mean, friend." questioned Leo, feigning innocence.

"C'mon! You have the power to control anyone you want. A powerful organization filled with G.I.s behind you. What could I possibly give you?"

"I already told you. I—"

"Cut the sh*t!" roared Petticoat, aura suddenly exploding from his body, making Yessica's head swim and her stomach twist in knots. "I have no doubt you could have caught Corad and Sylvan at any moment! The next words that come out of your mouth had better be the truth, or I walk." Then his voice fell an octave so that he was almost growling. "And you and I both know, no one in this room can stop me…"

Leo was wide-eyed with disbelief, which seemed to Yessica at first to be a strange emotion for such a man to display. Even Zayn seemed dumb-struck. She couldn't have known, as Leo and Zayn did, what Petticoat was thinking. She couldn't have known his dark hope and what question Petticoat really wanted to.

'What can you do for me?'

"I see I have underestimated you, Florian." Leo admitted with a surprised smirk. He looked across the room, first at Petticoat, then Zayn and then finally contemptuously at Yessica, where he hesitated the longest until, finally, he spoke. "From this moment forward, Zayn, Yessica, Petticoat, you are members of the Inner Ring."

Yessica's heart skipped a beat.

"W-what!?" rasped Rendall in disbelief, almost choking on his own saliva. "Master Leo. This is—unprecedented! Not only a member jumping from the Outer Ring all the way to the Inner ring… But an outsider moving *directly* into the Inner Ring?!"

"Silence Rendall. It will be as I command."

Rendall fell instantly silent and Yessica could not be sure if it was by choice or by force. She, herself, was still reeling but no one, not even Rendall, seemed to be as shaken as Matea, who was doing her best to control herself. Beads of cold sweat were appearing on her forehead. Yessica didn't pay it too much attention, however. Rendall was right, after all. This was indeed unprecedented. Even Zayn looked a bit confused.

"Before I can give you any more information, you must all agree to join the Inner Ring.

Yessica couldn't accept fast enough. She nodded vigorously and nearly screamed, "I accept!" Zayn and Petticoat, on the other hand, took a bit longer to answer and it was, surprisingly, Petticoat who was the first to agree to join. "I don't even know what that is… But I'm in as long as—…" He trailed off, a stern yet thoughtful look on his face.

After several more seconds of brooding, Zayn finally said a curt, "Okay."

Leo went on. "Florian. I will be honest with you… Zeff and Sylvan are not from the underworld. But they do have a weapon. A weapon more powerful than any ever created. A weapon that was in my care… You saw the devastation it can wreak first hand on the bridge."

"Are you saying—!"

"Zephaniah is not a G.I.. In actuality, he got his hands on a weapon that has been nearly forty years in the making."

"And you lost it." supposed Petticoat tersely.

"Indeed, I did…" Admitted Leo, rather uncharacteristically admitting his fault.

"Then, why didn't you just—"

"After the weapon was taken, after Zeff used it, I thought to seize the opportunity. I wanted my brother, Zayn—" He gestured toward Zayn without looking while Petticoat's eyes grew to the size of golf balls. "—to retrieve the ring."

"Why?" This time it was Zayn who spoke. "Why specifically me?"

Leo fidgeted with a black ring on his finger as he searched for the words to say. When he finally did speak, he addressed Petticoat. "Within the Inner Ring, there are eight seats designated to the strongest individuals within the organization, one of which currently belongs to me. And once every 10 years on January 1st, the leadership of my organization holds something of an election to decide who will sit in one of those eight seats of power, who will be a member of the Dragon's Council."

At hearing that, Zayn mouthed the words 'Dragon's Council', noticeably impressed by the way it sounded.

"To qualify to sit in one of those seats, you must first be a member of the Rings. You must have the endorsement of two or more of the member's of the Dragon's Council, and though it's something of an unwritten rule you must have some sort of achievement and strength to match your station."

Many seconds passed before anyone spoke.

"So, you lost the ring… And perhaps… *your* seat was one of the spots that was up for grabs…?"

Leo only nodded in response.

"And having your own brother and subordinate retrieve the ring would not only take you off the chopping block but also—"

"Allow me to nominate my brother in the next election." Across the room, Zayn raised a conspicuous, disapproving eyebrow. "But that plan, as you well know, ended in failure…" With that, Leo looked distastefully at his brother. "But not a complete failure."

Petticoat rolled his eyes in frustration. "Tell me clearly what you want from me, Leo!"

"I want to nominate you AND my brother, instead. We lost track of Zeff last night somehow, but we think we know where he's going. I have a plan that could get both of you a seat on the Council beside me. And together we can achieve my greatest ambition."

"And what is that?" asked Petticoat curtly.

Leo paused for a moment then finally replied. "To see true power rule over this world."

More silence followed.

"Okay." answered Petticoat. "I'm not sure if I believe all of that but I don't care what you're planning. I don't care if you're the devil himself. If you can do one thing for me… I will follow you to Hades and back."

At once, Leo wore such a devilish smile that Yessica thought perhaps he was indeed Lucifer incarnate. "I can tell you where you can find the blue-eyed man with the dreadlocks…" he mused.

"H-How do you—"

"Information is only another form of power, friend. I do not know where that man is, but I know where we can find someone who does."

At once, Petticoat seemed faint, as though the mere mention of finding this 'blue-eyed man' was enough to take his energy away. But, what seemed at first to be an onset of sudden weakness or even confusion, Yessica soon realized with a mounting sense of horror, was in fact elation. Petticoat was brimming with joyous rage as a sadistic smile, that would be consider unfit for any man who had ever upheld the law, crossed his lips. "I won't ask how you got that information… I'll only ask; When do we start?"

"Now." Leo assured. "Rendall. Bring them out."

Rendall had sat by long enough, silently obeying his master. But now, at this command, he seemed to forget who he was talking to. "Leo! You cannot be serious! You don't mean—" At that moment he suddenly remembered his place and, embarrassed, he composed himself. "Ahem—!"

"Rendall. You have served me faithfully for 30 years… So I will let that outburst slide."

As Petticoat heard 'thirty years' he arced his neck backwards incredulously and raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Before Petticoat could comment Rendall went on his voice low, submissive and even, "And I have enjoyed every moment, Master Leo. But what you're suggesting will get us all killed… If Mistress Ranga finds out—"

"—By the time she realizes, it will already be too late. Now, go."

Again, whether Rendall obeyed by force or by choice, Yessica couldn't say, as he swiftly left the room like a man on a mission.

"And there's no way your a day over twenty-one…" insisted Petticoat, addressing Leo.

"But I am, indeed. I am, in fact, 43 years old…"

Petticoat laughed.

Even Yessica let out an innocent titter at hearing that.

Zayn, on the other hand, only stood there, as serious and stern as a grave procession, making Yessica feel instantly a bit on edge despite the obvious joke from Leo… 'It has to be a joke… right?' she thought to herself.

"I know it seems unbelievable—" At that exact moment Rendall returned with a small wooden tray in his hand. "—but you'll just have to see for yourselves… Welcome, my friends, to the Inner Ring. To commemorate this momentous occasion, I present to each of you a gift."

Yessica couldn't say why, perhaps it was her position in the room, or perhaps it was simply coincidence, but she looked at Matea's face in that moment instead of at the wooden tray in Rendall's hand.

Matea wore such a look of shock and disbelief that Yessica thought that she had seen a vision of her own death. As Rendall walked to the center of the room, Matea suddenly composed herself, bowed quickly, and left the room in a hurry, moving faster than Yessica had ever seen her move.

Confused, Yessica then looked over at Zayn to see if he had noticed. Much to her surprise, however, he was looking after Matea with a cunning smile until he and his brother shared a knowing glance.

'What is going on here?!' she thought to herself. 'What's on the tray that would make Matea, of all people, act like that?' But as soon as the thought crossed he mind she looked at the tray in Rendall's hand and instantly knew the answer.

Atop the tray which Rendall held were three small black rings.

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