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*****
Raina felt that something was fundamentally wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Her brow remained furrowed in a tight knot, and she lapsed into a brooding silence.
Skye felt a flicker of pity for the woman, but she knew Feny's identity had to remain a secret, so she held her tongue. As for Cal Johnson, as long as it didn't involve Skye's safety, Feny could have dropped Raina where she stood and he wouldn't have blinked.
After Gordon's sudden intrusion, the group had lost all appetite. Feny, concerned that the teleporter might stage a second ambush, decided they needed to head back and settle the matter immediately.
However, a disagreement arose regarding exactly where "back" was.
Raina was a non-factor; she could go wherever she pleased, and no one particularly cared. Besides, she still had her role as an undercover agent to maintain. Even if Cal no longer had a use for her, she couldn't simply walk away from her post. As she departed, her expression was a mix of confusion and lingering doubt.
The real conflict was between Skye and Cal Johnson.
Skye wanted Cal to stay temporarily at her small shop in Manhattan, but Cal was adamant about taking Skye back to his old home.
Finally, Feny spoke up to settle the matter. "The Inhumans have already discovered Skye and me. With that teleporter lurking around, she isn't safe. She has to stay with me."
He looked at Cal. "You aren't an Inhuman, so he likely won't target you. And even if he does, you already know exactly who he would take you to see."
At the mention of the elusive Gordon, Cal Johnson fell silent. After a long pause, he finally exhaled. "Fine."
"But I'm not going to your place," Cal added, his stubbornness resurfacing. "I want to go back and pack some things first."
Though Cal had yielded on Skye's living arrangements, he wouldn't accept her suggestion for himself. Deep down, he still harbored the hope that one day they could return to their original home—a true reunion for him, Skye, and her mother.
Skye tried to persuade him further, but Cal remained firm. Eventually, she had no choice but to agree.
The three of them went their separate ways. Back at home, Skye felt a wave of melancholy; she had only just met her biological father that morning, and they were already parting.
Feny could only offer comfort. "It's not like you're never going to see him again. He's just going back to tidy up the house."
As he comforted her, however, a nagging thought crossed Feny's mind. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Skye... once your parents are back to normal, will you leave?"
"Leave? To go where?" Skye blinked, looking at him in confusion.
"Leave here. To go live with them," Feny said, his gaze fixed on her. This was likely the real reason he hadn't been able to find a clear path with the 'Compass'—subconsciously, he was terrified that Skye would leave this home for good.
"How is that even possible!" Skye blurted out. She paused, realizing that from a certain perspective, it was a valid question. After a moment of thought, she replied with firm conviction, "No matter what happens, I'm not leaving."
She looked at him softly. "They may be my biological parents, but Mom and Dad are my parents, too."
Hearing this, Feny felt a massive weight lift off his chest. Years of living together had made Skye an indispensable part of his life; if she were to suddenly disappear, he wasn't sure he could handle the adjustment.
Noticing the change in Feny's expression, a mischievous smile played on Skye's lips. She leaned in close, grinning. "Are you saying you'd miss me?"
"As if!"
Even though that was exactly how he felt, Feny wasn't about to admit it. "Hurry up and get moving. You eat so much every day—raising a pig would be cheaper than keeping you around!"
"Did you just call me a pig!?"
"No, I said a pig couldn't even keep up with you!"
Skye let out a cry of mock outrage and lunged forward, trying to pinch his ears. Having found her father and knowing Feny cared for her so deeply had put her in an exceptionally bright mood. Seeing her spirits lifted, Feny couldn't resist teasing her further.
After a bout of playful chaos, the two sat on the edge of the bed. Skye was breathless and flushed with sweat, while Feny looked perfectly composed, as if he hadn't moved a muscle.
Once they settled down, Feny turned to business.
"Tonight, we're heading to the Himalayas to track down that organization's location."
"How are we going to search an entire mountain range?" Skye asked curiously.
"Aerial reconnaissance," Feny replied.
In the back of his mind, he was already planning. Once they found Skye's mother, Whitehall and his Hydra faction would be useless. The question was what to do with them. As for undercover work, Sitwell was enough for now; Feny had no real intention of trying to rule Hydra.
Whitehall was easy—he could just hand him over to Cal for revenge. But there were still fifty or sixty others at the base. Was he supposed to just drop a 'Burst Magic' spell and incinerate the lot of them?
Feny wasn't that cold-blooded. While he didn't mind killing enemies in the heat of battle when they were actively trying to end him, executing dozens in cold blood went against his nature.
By the time they were ready to leave, he still hadn't found a perfect solution. He decided to put it out of his mind for the moment; perhaps a solution would present itself once the primary goal was achieved.
Evening in New York meant early morning in the Himalayas. Feny opened a portal and stepped through with Skye.
"Weren't you always curious about the Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Feny asked.
As Skye looked around, wondering how the search would begin, Feny extended his hand and summoned the card. "My turn! Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The card erupted in a blinding light, rapidly transforming into the massive form of the legendary dragon. Skye stood frozen, her mouth agape. It was the first time she had seen the dragon's actual summoning sequence.
"This... this is the white dragon?" Skye recovered and moved forward, eyes sparkling with excitement, wanting a closer look.
"ROAR!"
The dragon let out a sudden, earth-shaking bellow that made Skye jump. Looking at its towering, majestic frame and those razor-sharp fangs, she hesitated, her courage failing her.
Feny chuckled at her reaction. He walked over, took her hand, and flew them both up onto the dragon's back.
"Take flight!" Feny commanded.
With Feny beside her, Skye felt much safer. She reached out a small hand to stroke the smooth, pearlescent white scales. "How did it come out of that card?"
"Magic," Feny said with a shrug. Even with Skye, he wasn't ready to reveal the existence of the System.
"Really?"
Skye looked skeptical. She had been to Kamar-Taj; she knew about "battle mages," but she had never seen anyone summon a giant dragon out of thin air.
"Yep. Really."
Seeing Feny lie with such a straight face, Skye rolled her eyes affectionately and didn't push further. She knew Feny carried many secrets, but she trusted that if he wasn't sharing, he had his reasons.
Riding the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was a surreal experience for Skye. It lacked the raw freedom of her own flight, but it provided a different kind of thrill—the satisfaction of riding a creature of myth and legend.
Feny focused the search on the remote regions near the border. Wherever the terrain was most desolate, he directed the dragon to fly.
In less than two days, they spotted a hidden base tucked away in a deep mountain valley.
Feny didn't approach immediately. Instead, he returned home to gather the Scepter and the Tesseract. Fully armed and with Skye at his side, he prepared to go and meet her mother.
(End of Chapter)