Chương 88: Chapter 84-Chosen Research

I've… lost one of the most important things that I own. I'm saddened and honestly distraught. How could this happen to me? I mean, it's been with me through thick and thin. Mostly thin, but that's beside the point. How will I go on without you, Baggy?

"Are you still sulking?" Penelope asks as she places another stack of books on the table.

"I wouldn't be if someone remembered to bring Baggy back," I say as I flip through a symbology book. Hopper sighs as his face sinks into a book.

"We already said sorry. Isn't that enough?"

"Hah, let me take your glasses and grind them into a fine dust. Do you think sorry will cut it?" I ask dramatically. Penelope sighs.

"For the love of the Gods. Next time you pass out, we'll make sure to prioritize your stuff instead of actually getting you some help. That sound good, Charlatan?"

"Sounds lovely, Penelope," I say as we stare each other down. Hopper peeks at us from under his book.

"You know this is why people think you're courting, right?"

"We are not courting. He's a charlatan after all," Penelope says bluntly.

"Not like you're a peach either, Ms. Arsonist," I remark as I look back at my book. Hopper groans as the hum of the library weakens. The sight of bookcases fills my sight, along with the smell of old wood. I didn't notice the last time I was in here, but they really did a good job of fixing the place up. The wonders of money. I reach for Baggy, but find nothing. It really is a shame I lost that bag. It was a gift after all. One of the few things I actually own, and it wasn't even stolen. We got it the 'lawful' way.

Sure, it was getting a bit old, but it had memories. A lot of them. Ah, Baggy, where are you? Penelope plops her book down abruptly.

"This is of no use. We already checked all these books before. Not even a trace of the symbol that we've been seeing all over the place."

"Could there be anywhere else we could look?" I ask.

"The royal library, but I would have to go to the palace for that," she says with a hint of annoyance. Spinning a quill in my hand, I yawn.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not really, but… my mother is back from negotiating with the Dwarves. Which means my sister is also back."

"Sister? How many siblings do you have?" I ask as Hopper's bunny ears perk up.

"Three annoying ones."

"We have company," Hopper says as he gestures over by the bookshelf. Rounding the corner is Muriel, the librarian.

"Ah, apologies for the inconvenience, but could I ask you all to begin to return your books. The library will be closing soon," she says as her voice barely hovers over a whisper.

"Of course, Muriel. Thank you for letting us know," I say with a smile.

"It's not a bother at all, Chosen One. I'm glad to see you well. There was a nasty rumor going around that you had died," she says with a hint of relief.

"Rumors, am I right?" Penelope gets up with a stack of books.

"Muriel, could you tell me where to put these?" Penelope asks with a sweet smile.

"Gladly, Princess. Please follow me," Muriel says as Penelope follows her. As soon as they leave, I feel a piercing pain through my head. This feeling… it's the same as earlier. I thought I got better. What in the hells is happening? Hopper leans over.

"CJ, you're not looking so hot. Are you sure you should've left the infirmary so early?" The pain fades.

"Yeah. They said they couldn't find exactly what was wrong with me, and not to mention, I almost got killed there. At least out here, I have you guys to help me."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. We tried to stay, but they don't allow visitors to stay," he says for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, yeah. I said it's all good."

"What does it feel like?" he asks.

"I'm not entirely sure. I feel weak in some ways, but in others I feel strong. It's like a weird contradiction that's fucking me up," I explain to the best of my abilities. Hopper gives me an odd expression.

"When did your symptoms clear up?"

"When I woke up. Although it seems like that was temporary," I say as the pain drones on in my head.

"Hmm. Are you up for a midnight excursion?" he asks.

"Always. What are we doing?"

"We're going to visit a friend who might have an idea of what's happening to you," he says as Penelope comes back without Muriel.

"You lose Muriel?" I ask.

"She's sorting the books. I may have a lead on the symbol. I'll get back to you guys in the morning. Try not to get killed while I'm gone. Do you hear me, Charlatan?" she asks.

"Yes, yes. I'll try not to die. Try not to burn anything down," I tease.

"I really shouldn't have told you about that," she says with more than a hint of annoyance.

"Yet you did, Ms. Arsonist," I say with a devilish smile. Penelope leaves in a huff, leaving Hopper and me with multiple stacks of books. Did that asshole leave us to clean up? She'd better find something out, or else I'm dubbing her the Queen of Arsonry. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Something jostles me.

"Leave me alone," I groan in my half-asleep state. Another jostle. I shove the hand away. The hand jostles me again. I give it a slap. It slaps me back. A slap fight breaks out. Eventually, the hand gives me a good slap across the head.

"What in the hells is your problem?" I ask as I look at Hopper.

"You slapped me," Hopper says.

"You slapped me!" I retort.

"You wouldn't wake up!" he yells back.

"You slapped me!" A loud thump emanates from the wall next to my bed. Seems we woke our neighbor. Taking a deep breath, I let go of the fact that Hopper just slapped the shit out of me. Yeah, I'm going to be the bigger person. I'm just a good guy like that.

"We're going to go see a friend. Remember?" he whispers.

"Yeah. I remember now. Let's go," I say as the pain suddenly returns. Walking through the hall, we eventually make it outside. It's still cold. I guess winter still hasn't ended. I hope it ends soon. I'd rather not be freezing my ass off all the time.

"So, why did we have to see your friend in the middle of the night?" I ask as I let out a monstrous yawn.

"The conversation we're going to have is… private. Also, I thought it best if we weren't seen in public talking about this. After all, Princ- Penelope said we should be wary," he says as he leads me to the Second Year dorms, Dianthus Hall.

"Is this friend Luna?" I ask, now suspicious of the fact that he didn't tell me who exactly we were going to meet.

"What? No."

"Oh, good." Luna still scares me. I would rather not be caught alone with her, even if Hopper is with us. Sure, I've met her once or twice, but that's about it, and the few times I have met her… Let's just say the resemblance between her and Lupin goes deeper than skin deep.

"We're going to see Lu," he says.

"Why did you hide this from me?" I ask as I begin to turn around. Hopper grabs me by my arm.

"Because you might run away, like now. He's not that bad," Hopper says.

"Maybe for you, but I've barely met the guy, and the few times I have… Haven't been pleasant. Listen, I know he's not a bad dude. I would just rather not be stuck in the same room as him," I say as I remember the fight Lupin and Hopper had. Hopper sighs.

"Do you trust me?" he asks. I click my tongue.

"Yeah. Which room is his?" I ask as I look up at the windows.

"That one," Hopper points to the top floor.

"..."

"Ready?" he says as he stretches.

"Yeah. I'll be right there," I say as I watch him hop up to the top floor. Nodding, I walk into the nearby entrance. Take the stairs to the top floor. Walk to the door and knock. Hopper opens the door with a somewhat confused look.

"I took the stairs," I say as I enter the room. Hopper nods. Lupin sits in the middle of the room with a piercing yellow gaze. Still looks terrifying. Especially in the low light. Can't we get some light in here?

"You come? Good, I've been waiting," he says dramatically.

"In the dark? Why?" I ask.

"... For secrecy," he answers.

"What?"

"Don't you have questions t-" Lupin says as Hopper comes up behind him and gives him a slap to the back.

"Cut that out. Are you trying to scare him? Also, turn on a light," Hopper says as he switches one of the crystals on.

"I was trying to get into character, Hop. Gods. Now it's bright and no longer mysterious," Lupin whines.

"Just tell him about the feeling," Hopper orders. Lupin groans.

"Sorry about that, Chosen One. So, I've heard from Hop that you've been dealing with some sickness. Mind telling me about it?" Confused at what's happening, I nod. Turns out Hop was right. He isn't as scary as you might think. In fact, he's somewhat awkward. Not in a bad way or anything, more like in a social way.

"I've been having these splitting headaches along with bouts of blurred vision and weakness," I list off my symptoms. Lupin looks over at Hopper with worry.

"Anything else?" I think back on the last day or so.

"I feel irritable, a bit down, and…"

"Violent?" Lupin asks with a knowing look.

"Yeah. I hadn't been able to put my finger on it, but violent seems about right. Do you know what it is?" I ask.

"Not exactly, but I've gone through the same thing before," Lupin says.

"When?"

"The day I almost died in the mountains." Hopper winces as he turns to the window.

"You said not exactly. What do you know?" I ask as the pain returns.

"I know that the feeling is only going to grow stronger. It'll grow to the point that it'll be overpowering. When I was under the influence of it, I found myself doing things that I never imagined myself ever doing," he says with a solemn voice.

"Is that why-""No! I may have been under the influence of whatever this is, but I won't allow myself that easy an out. My actions are my actions. I have to take responsibility for them. After all, the emotions behind them were still mine, just amplified to an unhealthy degree," Lupin cuts me off.

"How did you break from it?" I ask, as what I now recognize as rage pulses through me.

"Hop. He pulled me out of it. I guess I just needed a good thrashing, but I'm not sure that's going to work with you. I think it had to do more with the emotional shock than the physical. Sorry, Hop," Lupin says with a smile.

"No worries. I still won," Hopper says as he looks out the window. Emotional? Where in the hells am I going to get a shock like that?

"Do you have any idea where this came from?" I ask.

"One, but I'm not entirely sure if it's real. After all, the blood loss made my memories a bit hazy. The day I almost died on the mountains, we… saw something," Lupin says as he looks at Hopper.

"I didn't get a good look, but Lu definitely did. Whatever it was drove those Blood Wolves and us into a sort of fear-like state," Hopper says as he scratches his bunny ear.

"What I saw… was wings. Large purple wings. So large they could only belong to one thing. A Dragon." My eyes dart to Hopper, who looks equally surprised.

"A purple Dragon?" I ask, hoping I misheard.

"That's right." Hopper shakes his head.

"That's impossible. The only purple Dragon is-""Tyranus, The Slumbering Disaster," I say. The light from the crystals flickers as Lupin stares me down.

"That's exactly what I saw. Whether it was real or a hallucination brought about by the blood loss is for you to decide, but I believe you should err on the side of caution, Chosen One."

"Thank you for your help, Lupin. I'm going to consider what you said. Hopper, I'm going to head back," I say as I get up and leave. Tyranus and rage. What a lovely combo. Taking a deep breath, I trace the bite scar on my wrist. The rage lessens. Now that I know what it is, I can deal with it. After all, I'm no stranger to rage. I can deal with rage. Now, how in the hells am I going to deal with a Dragon?