-A few moments ago before Scarlett entered the Mystic emporium-

John was just casually walking through Eld Street with Lunar closely following beside him. He didn’t usually go for a walk at this time. John usually likes to time his walks with the Lunar when there are fewer people around, but he needed to clear his head from the conversation he just had with Onyx.

The weather was nice and thankfully not too crowded today on Eld Street. People were coming and going in and out of stores, carrying bags of goods they purchased. No one seemed to mind him any attention as he walked along.

John would go for these walks through Eld Street once in a while. It was to stretch his leg and make sure that he gave Lunar some needed exercise.

Eld Street was such a slum in the past and he didn’t feel safe walking around back then, but now it isn't like that anymore. It was now a lot more vibrant. The street and all the buildings around it were fixed up and modernized, while keeping the aesthetics of the buildings to something similar to that of Victorian architecture. The buildings were two to three stories high and packed tightly together with some of them being painted a bright color. There were also countless canted bay windows hanging from the sides, many of them around the ground level being used as a store display.

John had never been to a Victorian city before, but he imagined it would look something similar to where he was.

He continued to walk along the street until Lunar started acting out

Lunar: “Waah!” he squeaked out while tugging on John’s pants with his mouth.

John: “Whoa! What’s gotten into you?” confused by Lunar's sudden behavior.

The malamute was very docile and well-behaved. Always just quietly following John around and trying to get his attention constantly to be petted. He never acted out like this in public, so it was surprising. Lunar made a waving motion with his paw and tapped the ground with it. This caused John’s eyes to widen in surprise as he realized something.

The motion Lunar was making meant it was time to feed him.

John: “Oh! Is it feeding time?”

Lunar: “Woof.” he barked in a way that seemed to confirm what John suspected.

John: “OK. Let’s head back then,” he said while walking back to his store.

Lunar was a very smart dog. Able to make gestures and bark in a way that his intention could be understood. Lunar was so good at it, that sometimes John wondered if he was a little too smart.

He knew that this dog wasn't normal. John had lived in this world for twenty years with this malamute, which was strange in itself. Not too many big dog breeds make it to that age, and definitely not without some sort of health problem like Lunar, who never got sick or showed any signs of an aging dog.

John thought that his pet might be experiencing something similar to him, and he noticed that he didn’t seem to be aging. It was like whatever was affecting him was affecting his dog Lunar as well. At least, that’s what he hoped it was. John had one other idea in his head at what could be making Lunar like this, and it made him shudder. He buried that thought and just assumed it was the former rather than the latter.

While walking back to his store, he noticed that the number of people walking along the street seemed to have decreased significantly.

“Hmm, I would have thought it would be more busy in the afternoon. Must be a slow day.” He thought to himself.

What John didn’t notice or see was a group of gruff mutants ushering people off the street and away from him. They were going up to people and telling them to clear out in a threatening manner, or forcing them into nearby buildings. They did all this while John’s back was turned to them, and when he turned back, they would just act like regular people walking around.

There was some sort of concerted effort going on to keep people away from John. All without his knowledge.

Eventually, after walking through the now nearly abandoned street, he arrived back at his store. John was preparing to pull out his key and unlock the front door, but saw two people from the display window standing inside. Noticing that, John pushed the door only to realize that it was already open.

“I could have sworn I locked it when I left for my walk.” He thought to himself.

He entered inside, causing the two people to turn and look towards him. John recognizes both of them. They were both regulars, Scarlett and Luke.

John: “OH! Hello there. Nice to see you Scarlett, also you too Luke,” he said, surprised to see two of them at once.

Scarlett: “Um, nice to see you.”

Luke: “Hi, John.”

Both of them were still feeling a little shell-shocked about the strange thing that just happened. But, they both had enough sense to keep acting like everything was fine and normal.

John: “Sorry I wasn't here to greet you two. I was just out walking.”

“Didn’t think I actually could get inside this store without John being here. Is there no protection in this place? No, there definitely is something in this store that I can't see. Something that John wouldn’t have to worry about intruders with it here.” Scarlett thought to herself as she recalled that overwhelming amount of dread she felt.

Luke: “That’s…alright. I wasn't here for that long.”

Scarlett: “Y-yeah, same.”

John: “That’s good. Um, there is one thing I have to quickly do. I know both of you want to talk. But, do you mind waiting a few minutes?

Scarlett: “That's fine. I have time.”

Luke just nodded.

John: “Thank you. Just take a seat anywhere. I’ll be quick.”

John walked off to the kitchen with Lunar following behind, intending to feed his pet.

The man named Luke slowly turned his back to Scarlett and went back to sitting in his chair. She then walked past the man and grabbed one of the chairs sitting on the side, taking a seat in front of the table John usually sat in. Scarlett positioned herself in a way to maintain more than an arm's length in distance from Luke.

While sitting there, they both stared at each other in silence, carefully examining the other.

Scarlett didn’t know what to make of this man. Her eye ability told her that he wasn't human, but just looking at him normally, you wouldn’t be able to tell. The more she looked at Luke, the more she wondered who he was.

“Luke. I feel like I have seen someone that looks like him with that name, but where?” Scarlett thought to herself, as she started to believe that she may know this person from somewhere.

She wasn't allowed to ponder that thought, as a door swung open with John walking out of it. He walked over to the table everyone was at and took a seat across from both Scarlett and Luke.

John: “Sorry, I had to feed Lunar. Anyways, have you two introduced yourselves to each other yet?”

Scarlett: “No. I had just walked in when you showed up.”

John: “Oh, in that case. I’ll introduce you to one another. This is Luke Vaga,” he said while gesturing to the man in the fancy blue suit.

Scarlett's eyes widened as she realized who this person was.

Scarlett: “Luke Vaga, owner of Vaga Manufacturing. Is that really you?”

Luke: “Seems my reputation precedes itself.”

John: “Oh, are you famous or something,”

Luke: “Not that famous. Just built a bit of a good reputation with some folks that like what I make.”

“Not famous my ass.” Scarlett thought to herself.

Vaga Manufacturing was the third largest maker of aether-powered bikes and cars. They broke out into the market fifteen years ago. Almost a fifth of all cars on the road today are made by them. The growth and success of this company was unprecedented. Reports even say that Vaga Manufacturing is set to become the largest car maker in five to ten years.

Luke was someone who originally grew up in poverty before he found his success. It was the classic rag-to-rich story people like to tell. Said to be a genius inventor and thanks to his foresight and brilliant vehicle design, he was able to propel his company into one of the largest in the industry since its founding fifteen years ago. He was so brilliant, that it was even rumored that Luke made a deal with a demon for his success. Luke’s detractors spread that rumor, not willing to believe someone was able to create such a successful company by themselves so quickly.

“Turns out those rumors had some truth. It wasn't a demon, but John. If he got help from him, that would explain the insane success.'' Scarlett silently concluded from Luke’s presence here.

John had no knowledge of any of this. Luke never talked about that with him and John only thought of him as a quirky inventor.

John also never left the east end. So he never even had an opportunity to even see a Vaga car, since there were no cars around here. He was in a bit of a bubble. Anything outside of Eld Street and he didn’t know much about it. Including everything involving Vaga Manufacturing.

John: “Ok, and this is—” he was cut off by Luke while introducing Scarlett.

Luke: “Alexandria Scarlett. I’ve heard of you.” he said, devoid of emotion.

Scarlett: “You have, hmm.”

Luke: “Don’t worry. I don't believe those nasty rumors about you, “he said, subtly referring to what happened in the Wildlands.

Scarlett: “Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you,” she said, referring to rumors of demon involvement.

John looked back and forth between them. He could feel the tension in the air rising.

John: “Um, is there something I'm missing? Did you already know each other?”

Luke: “No. We just happen to run in similar circles and have heard of each other. Not much more to say than that.”

Scarlett: “Yeah…” she said, going along with what Luke was saying.

John: “Oh, OK…So, um, what brought you here today?” he said, not putting too much thought into what Luke said.

Luke: “It’s purely business for me I’m afraid, no time for idle chatter like we do. I came here to ask if you had any contacts who could get me some difficult-to-obtain materials. It’s for a new invention I’m working on.”

John: “Oh, OK. I might be able to help you. I’m pretty good at getting a hold of stuff,” he said, referring to his power to manifest nearly anything.

Luke: “Actually, I believe Ms Scarlett might be better suited to help me.”

Scarlett: “Excuse me?”

Luke: “I’ve seen your work before and it’s quite impressive. I would love it if you could help design a few parts that I'm desperately in need of. The aspects and qualities of your work would be perfect for what I'm building.” he said, in an unrelaxed manner.

John knew from casual conversation with Scarlett, she was apparently pretty good at enchanting. It was the other skill set she had besides archaeology. He didn’t entirely know all the intricacies of enchanting, only that involved making an object do things it otherwise couldn’t. He just categorized it as magic and didn’t put too much stock into it. Since it was impossible for him to use the magic of this world, he never put too much effort into understanding it.

John: “Are you talking about that enchantment thingy?”

Luke: “…yes? I am.” he said, not sure if he was supposed to say so.

Scarlett: “You want me to enchant something for you?”

Luke: “Not just that. Your overall skill set as an enchantress would be helpful.”

John: “Oh, well Scarlett is a very kind person. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind helping you,” he said with a smile.

“Ah, shit. I just got roped into doing more work.” she thought to herself, interpreting John's words as an order to help Luke.

In her mind, she thought that John was basically telling her in a roundabout way to help Luke with whatever he was working on. She was busy with her own stuff and didn’t want to do so, but with being asked to do so by John, meant she had no choice.

Scarlett: “Yeah… no problem.”

Luke: “Excellent. Well, let's go to my workshop right now and show you what I need.” he said, stiffly.

John: “Oh? You're leaving already, but you just got here.”

Luke: “Unfortunately, I don't have time today. So much to do. This was just a quick visit for me. But, I'll be sure to chat longer the next time we talk,” he said, standing up to leave, gesturing to Scarlett to follow.

John: “Oh, no problem. Like I said with Luke. I’m very good at getting a hold of stuff. So if you need more, don’t be afraid to ask.”

Scarlett: “Thank you, I’ll be sure to,” she said, while still wondering how John can get ahold of Yggdrasil's leaves so easily. “But, there is one thing I wanted to ask you about Cid?”

John: “Cid? What about him? He’s not causing you trouble or anything, is he?”

Scarlett: “No. Nothing like that. It's just that he told me you gave him a warning that something bad was about to happen. I just wanted to know what you meant by that.”

Despite Luke's lack of changing expression, Scarlett could tell he was nervous, or at least interested in what she was saying. As his head would constantly turn back and forth between her and John. Like he was gauging the response to what she said.

On the outside, John looked calm and collected, but on the inside was panicking.

“CRAP! I thought I was in the clear when I warned Cid and he didn’t ask anything about it, but now Scarlett is asking. What the fuck do I tell her! I can’t tell her about Onyx, and I'm not entirely sure what I am warning Cid about. I was just telling him to be careful. So what do I say? OK. Calm down, John. Just stall her and think of some bullshit to tell her.” John thought, inwardly agitated.

John: “Seems like you really took him under your wing. With you coming out here to make sure he’s OK.”

Scarlett took a moment to process that comment. Trying to interpret a deeper meaning to it.

“What does he mean by that? Is he trying to suggest something? Actually, maybe he’s right. When did I start worrying about Cid? I could have just left Cid alone and trusted John to handle it. So why did I come here to ask John about his warning?” she thought.

Scarlett had been alone since the betrayal she experienced at the Wildlands. She was not willing to trust or worry about other people since then. Any tasks she took on were done by herself while maintaining a constant indifference towards almost everyone. Only ever confiding in John and no one else. So she found her actions strange upon a moment of reflection.

“It has only been a month since Cid became my disciple. Am I starting to care already?” Scarlett thought to herself.

Scarlett: “I guess… It’s the teacher in me.”

John: “Ah yes, you used to be a teacher. Worrying about their students and wanting them to succeed are qualities of a truly great teacher. It seems you still haven’t lost that.”

Scarlett: “You're probably right. It’s been a while since I've worried about someone else.”

John: “That’s a good thing. It means you're still a compassionate person at your heart. I knew that the first time I met you all those years ago. It seems like Cid’s reminding you of that.” he said, trying to direct the conversation into a therapy session and away from talking about the warning he got from Onyx.

“So he did send Cid to help me. To remind me of what I once was.” She thought to herself, deeply moved.

Scarlett: “Yeah, and that’s why I wanna make sure nothing bad happens to him. So could you tell me what’s going on at the university that is so dangerous?”

“AAGH! WHY?! What should I say?” John inwardly panics, as he couldn’t think of a good excuse.

John: “Ummm, it’s… just something I heard through the grapevine.”

Scarlett: “A rumor?”

John: “Yup,” he said, lying.

Scarlett: “And…what was the rumor exactly?”

John: “That something bad is about to happen at the university.”

Scarlett: “OK… more specifically.”

John: “Can’t say more than that, I'm afraid. Not much more to the rumor.”

Scarlett: “Huh? Cid’s not in danger of anything is he?” she finally said, wanting to know about Cid's safety. The whole reason she came today.

John: “Oh, no. He'll be fine as long as he keeps his head down and stays out of trouble. Probably. Maybe? Actually, I don't know. Might not be a bad idea to keep an eye out for a little while,” he said, sounding unsure.

Scarlett and Luke both stared intensely at John thinking the same thing.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!!” Scarlett screamed in her head.

Scarlett had built up John as this grand being who knew just about everything. He was a source of certainty for her in an uncertain world. The lack of confidence in his answer was way more disconcerting to her than anything she’d experienced in a while.

“Are all my theories about John completely wrong, or am I missing something?” She frantically thought to herself.

John noticed that Scarlett looked more apprehensive about what he just said. Feeling bad for making her worry, John tried to calm her.

John: “Ah, it’s just what I heard. Maybe it means nothing. Um, no point in worrying about it yet. I’m sure if we both keep an eye out for Cid, he’ll be fine,” he said, not realizing that the source of Scarlett's apprehension was coming to the realization that her theories about him were wrong.

John saying “Maybe it means nothing” didn’t help calm Scarlett down. It was just more uncertainty and had the opposite effect of calming her. Any vestige of her “John manipulating fate” theory was now gone.

Luke walked up beside Scarlett.

Luke: “Sorry to interrupt this conversation, but I must be going. Miss Scarlett, what would be the most appropriate time and method to contact you. So that I may show you my workshop and make proper use of your skills.”

Scarlett: “Oh, um. We can go now. Unless there something else John wants to tell me”

John: “No. And, I'm sorry for causing you to worry. This trouble going on at the university I heard about is supposed to be resolved soon. So if we all are just a little more vigilant for a while, I'm sure Cid will be safe. So please don’t worry.”

Scarlett nodded.

Scarlett: “OK. Um, we'll talk some other time.” she said, before standing up.

Scarlett and Luke both said one last goodbye and quietly left the Mystic Emporium.