Chapter 68: Revelations of the past!

Noa jogged to catch up to Settembre as speedily walked through the front entrance of the mansion. Maxwell and Axel were upstairs yet could hear three of their elder brother's friends along with him speaking from downstairs. Axel told Maxwell to shush and that they should eavesdrop on the three. Maxwell went along with his brother's idea in the hopes to cure his boredom. Noa understood why he was determined to inform the patriarchs but noticed his facial expression in the woods during viewing the creatures reenacting the reminiscing gathering and knew that he refused to speak about a shocking event that he specifically saw. She badgered and questioned him relentlessly as the three had been speedily rushing through the halls until they were put to a halt by the Williams family's youngest heir. Wilel held his devious grin proudly as he stood in the way. "The second numbskull on this hero's mind. Hanging out with the emo and your murderous friend's associate?" Wilel shouted as he held his chin up. Settembre's expression was wrathful and unchanging as he balled his fist. "Words from a villainous kidnapper like you mean nothing. Do you blab about your heroic status and that title to distract us from your crimes?!" Settembre returned with a heated voice. Wilel's face transitioned into one that conveyed his confusion as he inched closer to the three friends. "And— What exactly are you saying?!" Wilel questioned as Noa and Ansel noticed the floor and items around them dim with Wilel's angered lemon chiffon energy. Ansel called out and grew Andamooka to the height of nine feet. Settembre scowled as he inched closer at the same time Noa backed away. "Why are you accusing one of my best friends of associating with a killer?!" Settembre asked with his wrathful tone. Wilel nodded slowly as everyone agreed in their heads that Alec's little brother's eyes were creepy. "Of course it'd be for him to hide his new friends' and his crimes from you— the fool that never leaves his chair and computer to help the hero that saves the day." Wilel mocked and taunted his older brother with the grin that made him angrier, he balled his fist tighter. Settembre growled with his scowl before he returned fire. "Of course you'd need to hire deadly mercenaries for your dirty work, you're one to have the word cowardly roll off that snake tongue of yours, idiot." Settembre fired back before he moved into his younger brother's face. Settembre took the first swing after a glare off with a right hook, Wilel ducked it and followed up with a body shot then a knee that he realized his older brother still stood up on his two feet afterwards. It shocked him before he dodged Settembre's slow Incoming well formed boxing combination. Wilel found himself grinning as he created distance from his brother's flurry. "You've genuinely improved from the circus performance years ago that you called sparring with me, little brother." Wilel shouted with an excited tone. Settembre wrathfully dashed, throwing a series of jabs, hooks and uppercuts, though as he tossed out his tenth blow, Wilel slipped through and knocked him down with a liver shot. Settembre felt the wind being knocked out of him as he struggled to make it back to his feet with the only reason that his face wasn't intimate with the floor was thanks to his resilience. Maxwell and Axel sprinted downstairs, past the eyes of Wilel and the other two prepared to stand against Wilel for Settembre. Noa checks on one of her best friend's condition, Alec. Wilel slowly placed his opened palms facing upwards down at his hips as he disappeared from Ansel, Settembre and Noa's sight as if he had the power of invisibility. Wilel shoved his foot on his older brother's back, Noa noticed Settembre's eyes glowed lemon chiffon before Wilel decided to put his thought into action, though she heard Wilel's footsteps, she could only rely on her ears, she looked towards the general direction of where the heroine heard the sound and sent a blast of her power. Wilel fell to his knees holding his stomach. "Feels like the time a villain fooled me into being struck by a full speed wrecking ball." Wilel shouted with an unhinged grin before he swayed his hand and disappeared from sight once again. Noa and Ansel stood back to back over Settembre who had been floored by his brother as illusions of the villainous heir replaced items in the room that each of them vaguely remember, they heard the illusion's laughter from multiple directions. Noa held back her concussive energy in the form of miniature lemon chiffon stars floating above her fists and larger stars awaiting to be fired off above her shoulders and head. "I held back the first warning but now as soon as I hear a step taken near him, your lights are going out, disgusting little deviant!" The eldest Hayes daughter shouted angrily. Noa noticed that Andamooka hopped through the hall as if he were chasing someone. Ansel nodded her way as he gently nudged her. It was up to Noa to anticipate Wilel's location using Ansel's companion, Andamooka. She threw five of her stars, she manipulated a few that failed to hit Wilel before they touched anything else. A blast hit the Williams' youngest heir in the head which instantaneously knocked him out. Ansel crossed his arms as he stood next to his toad, Andamooka. "He didn't expect Andy to be resistant against his five senses sway. I grew my power to be able to make this toad's eyes as great as an eagle's. This toad's hearing and smell rival the breed of canine with the best. The fact that he was so heavily focused on us helped too. Andy sent him sprinting away." Ansel boasted as he patted his enlarged toad companion with its webbed hands on Settembre's defeated brother. Noa ambled to Ansel's side with her hands on her hips with a confused mein. "What do you think he was babbling about earlier when he called me a killer's associate?" Noa asked the eldest Pendold heir as he still felt gleeful from Andamooka's performance and proud of himself. Ansel held the sweater tied around his waist as his robe covered it. "He called Al clueless so it pretty much sounds to me that he was accusing Wiley of taking someone's life. I'd rather believe pigs can fly." Ansel responded before he walked away to find his younger brothers. Noa stared at Andamooka before she walked toward him and patted him. "We'll close this mystery when he wakes up and both of these two will have to answer to the Patriarchs, won't we?" Noa asked Ansel's toad companion rhetorically.

Kaden stood above his sons as he allowed his wife, their mother, to give them an earful of her disappointment and shame in their behavior over the phone as Wilel's guilt sank in from the look in his father's eye, though Settembre stood as firm eye to eye. He hated that his son looked like him and returned his expression of wrath. Kaden heard Settembre mumble something and asked him to repeat himself. Settembre looked down at his younger brother. "When Jayden left, I should have asked to go with him. The only son that you care about is the golden devil here." The Williams middle heir elaborated as he shook his head. Kaden crossed his arms as he held his firm expression but when he heard that from Alec, he slightly yet noticeably softened up. "Son— we love you, why can't you understand that the extra attention that we gave you was to motivate you?!" Kaden shot in return. Ryom, Ray, Rhett, Caleb, Cullen, Reynard made their way over from speaking to one another when they heard slight shouting. Settembre inhaled then deeply exhaled as he was determined to focus on his goal. "Your favorite son is guilty of hiring mercenaries, got the jump on Derek and I then proceeded to kidnap him!" Settembre shouted as he pointed at his younger brother with a stern finger. Wilel hopped up off his butt and approached his older brother with a scowl as he grabbed his phone and found the documents before shouting a counterargument. "Calling that idiotic accusation false would be an understatement, it's absurd, what isn't however, Reynard, Amin and Wiley killing the cult members rather than bringing them in to face justice. They played judge and executioner. That's against our ethical values. They've broken the rules of our Oath." Wilel continued his scowl afterwards as he displayed the documented proof in front of his brother. Settembre's shock and disbelief was conveyed through his expression before his counter in return. "That's absurdity, Derek's appreciation for even his enemies' lives is beyond just hearing to believe. You haven't seen it. He'd never take a life." Settembre countered with the same expression that once scared away a few of Chaelb's street thugs. The two brothers began bickering back and forth with harsh and character damaging words until their father shouted for the two to shut up, the two listened and order was brought to the chaotic moment. Kaden looked at the other Patriarchs who were listening with silence, he then turned towards the accused. "Reynard, Amin, do you deny any of these accusations that my meddlesome son has brought up?" Kaden asked the upcoming Patriarch and his sworn brother. Reynard and Amin look at one another prior to answering, Amin was talked over by the founder after he appeared abruptly and inserted himself into the commotion. The founder floated onto the ground as he held his hands behind his back. "We've got one of our own said to be kidnapped and one of our own accused of being guilty of participating in it. This takes more precedence over a villain's life taken." The founder interrupted though surprisingly calmly yet firm. Maxwell stared daggers into Wilel as he pushed through the surrounding patriarchs and approached him before angrily shouting. "Derek Wiley, the son of Mist-affliction can't be guilty of becoming no better than the villains, he taught me the importance of our code!" Maxwell responded as he held his gem in his hand. Wilel turned his way and looked down at him. "I never expected the great Rhett Pendold to be guilty of breeding such a slow little boy. Anybody's hero is capable of anything, kid." Wilel shot back which felt like a shotgun to Maxwell's feelings. Maxwell held his wrist as he walked away. The founder approached Wilel and rested his hand on his shoulder. "I don't think the young Williams son is guilty of participating in any kidnapping either. What I believe is that there's a particular villain that's manipulating strings. Care to show me the past that you saw, Mr.Williams?" Said the founder with a curious expression. Everyone followed Settembre to the Trio's reminiscence tree. Settembre couldn't detail the scene being recreated for everyone but similarly to everyone else, he learned the depths of his abilities from the founder himself and knew he saw precisely what he did, likely better. The founder declared that Settembre was innocent and that he had been set up by unfamiliar mercenaries. Settembre found himself exceptionally confused. Settembre approached the founder and slightly grinned before speaking with him. "Are you willing to help me search for Derek, sir?" Asked Settembre as he looked up toward his six-two mentor. The founder looked down at him. "No. I'd love to but I'm swamped with work and focused on solving seemingly endless problems right now but let's see what Rhett suggests?"  The founder replied with a downtrodden tone. Rhett walked forward as he thought to himself for a moment. "Right. We'll postpone the questioning until all three of the accused are present to defend themselves so our efforts will be split. There's still our cities that are left unprotected, the older heirs of the families will focus their efforts on locating our missing Derek, the rest of us will go back to defending our cities from monsters, thieves, killers, treasure gatherers and the villains that threaten our people. Alec Williams will lead this quest. Only once we've brought him back will any more accusations be spoken about." Rhett strategize before he shook Settembre's hand.