The dust settled and the ringing in her ears stopped. She hated to use the ygnerr; she could never get over the noise each time it fires out an air blast. The cannon was a powerful weapon to be invented in a supposedly “ peaceful ” era. Made primarily of red, one of the three nuntius elements, man made elements to act as an attempt to make irk tangible, it lets out powerful winds that are strong enough to knock down a wall of thick concrete. 

 She especially didn’t like the fact that she had to use it on her former master’s house. She respected Luke Season, she really did. He was like a big brother to her and, to her, he was like an unbreakable shield that protects her. In her eyes, he was a respectable man, favoring justice over all.

She was heartbroken when he announced his retirement from military work. He was the only mentor she trusted her life with and with him gone, she felt alone in her work. Luna was also one of the only people she truly trusted. While Luke was her shield, Luna was her sword. She often came to Luna for advice on everything. Luna was a fair and wise woman to her. She wasn’t strict and was always open minded which made her more trustworthy than Iris’s parents. She was like a big sister to Iris. To her, the Seasons were always welcoming and were respectable people.    

So when they gave her the mission briefing, she was shell shocked. The Seasons were plotting a coup d’état, they said. 

A menace, they said. 

Psychopaths, they described. 

Inventors of a weapon of mass destruction, they cried.

End of democracy, they predicted. 

They could never do something like that, Iris was sure of it, but, then, why would they order OPTY, the secret and most powerful group of agents under the government, to arrest them? The Seasons were a valuable asset. 

Luke’s strength could be classified as a natural disaster and his combat IQ was out of this world. Luna was smart and wise, a perfect advisor. The both of them were also famous in the science field for their numerous scientific breakthroughs. 

So why? Were they really plotting world domination? Were the things they said true? She refused to believe it, but, then, why? 

Nevertheless, it was her mission to find clues inside the traitors house. If she failed to do her mission, they would execute her for treason. 

Iris and her subordinates entered the penthouse, swords out. They looked down and saw the unconscious body of Winter. Blood was running down on his head, a wound from the blast. 

“ Stay with the kid”, Iris ordered to her 2 subordinates, “ Nurse him and when he regains consciousness, start interrogating him.”  

They both nodded and knell next to Winter. One of them pulled a tower out and patted the blood on his head. 

“Poor kid.”, he said, “ Such a young kid and already his life is ruined because of his family.” 

“ There’s something suspicious about this whole situation, don’t you feel?” The other agent asked, “ Teacher always had a lot of praise for Luke and Luna Season and she isn’t someone who trusts others easily.”   

“ Whatever the case, this is our mission, we can’t do it half-heartedly. Plus,”, he tapped the helmet covering every corner of his head, “ they might be listening.” 

“ You worry too much, they only listen to you when they suspect you of betrayal.”  

“ You don’t worry enough, but, hey, it's your funeral. Don’t come running to me after you get into trouble.” 

“ Didn’t I ask you guys to nurse the kid?”, asked Iris via the communication device, “ Why are you yapping so much?” 

“ Sorry Professor Redwind”, the subordinates both replied in a monotone voice.

“ Any luck at your end?”, her female subordinate asked. 

“ No, nothing yet.”, Iris replied “ And I hope it stays that way.”, she muttered. 

She did indeed find nothing. She wasn’t really looking that passionately either. She still held hope that all of this was a misunderstanding and by finding nothing inside her family’s home would prove their innocence. The girl from Redwind ransacked every room she saw. She tried to do it with as much care as possible and tried not to break anything that she knew that her friends loved. She arrived at the end of the house and in front of her was a room with a sign that read: “ Winter’s room”. She let a sigh out, there’s no way that she would find any dangerous weapon inside a child’s room, right? Right? 

Iris entered the child’s room and looked around. A small bed floated on the corner and next to it stood a drawer. On top of it was a small metal sword, the sword given by Winter’s grandparents, and a framed photo. On the other side was a bookshelf filled with children's books and there were a few posters of famous sword fighters and magic users. It looked normal, there was no way that a disaster class weapon could be hidden here, right? 

Yes, she was right: no disaster-class weapon could be found. Iris searched everywhere; she flipped the bed, made a mess out of the drawer, pulled and skimmed through every book on the bookshelf, took the sword for a swing (It was a good sword, for a child) and flipped over the bed. Iris took out her irk tracker and scanned for any strong trace of irk, but nothing. 

She felt her heart lighten. Maybe her friends could be free, maybe her nightmare could end before it started. Her blue eyes gleamed with hope. 

“yes, yes, yes”, she thought to herself. She was jumping up and down inside her head. Her twisted organs started to untwist a bit. She needs to report this, but, sadly, the chance never came. 

***