"Who could they have that would be an ingredient to defeating us?"
Twenty minutes later, Aster had gathered all available Reapers to discuss what I had learned. Aster was very fixated on figuring out what exactly it was they had shot me with, which was fine, because it was the number one problem right now. If it was anyone else, we would walk right in and take what was ours.
But against them, there was a chance we weren't immortal. What would happen if they loaded us up, shot up every inch of our bodies with the stuff? Would we die? There was no way to know. And I know none of us were eager to find out.
"Well, what if the person isn't the ingredient, they just know it?" Nico suggested from his chair across the meeting table. He had just finished a job and had been lingering when I'd come out from talking with Jazzy, so he was one of the current Reapers in on this conversation.
"That's an option." Aster mutters, shrugging. His eyes were fixed on the table, and I could see his gears turning. I wanted in on what he was thinking. He was so old, he had to have seen and learned so much. If anyone could figure this little puzzle out from the tiny amount of information we had, it was him.
"But then we're right back to the question of what exactly is this special ingredient that makes it impossible for us to heal?" Banks asks, and Aster nods along.
"If it's true the woman is just the bearer of the knowledge, obtaining her would be a pointless plan to pursue." Aster says, leaning back in his chair. "If we were to do that, I'd rather take the risk for Henry. Still." He pauses, shaking his head. "I don't feel that's the answer."
"What do you think then?" I ask. He glances up for the first time, meeting my eyes.
He sighs, hesitating. "Well… I just… you know how human blood affects us, yes?" I nod, remembering when I'd first become a Reaper and Banks had gotten me drunk off my own blood. "Well… what if there was blood that could harm us? Your sister said they claimed to have the main ingredient now, and that they had her locked up tight? What if it was her blood that was the ingredient? If she was just the one who knew what it was, why keep her around after the fact?"
I nod, feeling like something was about to bubble to the surface. "It's a she." I say. Aster nods, and I can tell he's onto the fact I have an idea. "We know it's not a human, because we know what their blood does to us. What about a Guardian? You said they're all females, right?"
Aster's eyes widen, and he leans back in his chair, looking like he'd just had the wind knocked out of him. "That is a very reasonable conclusion, Zero." He mutters, standing up suddenly. He starts pacing, his eyes flicking everywhere. We all watched him, waiting.
"Is there a way to like… I don't know, call them? Find out if they're missing anyone?" I ask.
Aster tsks, tilting his head to the side a little as he continued his pacing. "I'm not sure. I've received correspondence from them before but never initiated contact."
"Well how did they talk to you?" York asks, leaning forward on the table.
"They send messengers. But they never speak and leave immediately through a portal. They don't even have weapons to summon the portals, so they must have quite a bit of magic power in them."
"What kind of messages do they send?" I ask.
Aster shrugs. "They update when a guardian comes or goes. I'm not sure why, maybe it's a requirement. I've only ever gotten… two messages from them. The last was over five hundred years ago, though." he says regretfully.
"I wanna know more about these messengers, personally." Midas interjects, an irritated look on his face. I hadn't seen him much since we'd fought, but he'd been lingering around all day. It was clear even the more reclusive Reapers that didn't come out to socialize were even invested in the rescue of their brother. "Whadda they look like? Are they big? Scary? Strong?" He leans forward, his fists clenching and his eyes alight. He looked like was already fantasizing about destroying someone in a fight.
Aster stops pacing to grab the back of his chair and lean over it a little. He shakes his head. "No, they were rather small. Covered in fur, with tails. They made these funny noises that vibrated their bodies when you touched them, as well."
I furrow my brow, tilting my head to the side. I look around, catching similar confused looks from the others.
"Did… did they have pointy ears?" Nico asks, holding his fingers behind his head like he was making ears. "Have slitted eyes?"
"Yes!" Aster nods, grinning and pointing.
"The messengers of the all mighty Guardians, are fucking cats." I mutter, shaking my head.
"Cats?" Aster asks.
"How do you not know what a cat is? You're like a million years old!" Midas says in exasperation, shaking his head.
"Well, I do know what it is! They're messengers!" Aster defends, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Okay, okay. So now we know cats are the messengers. But like, is it all cats? Or just some?" I ask, trying to turn the heat off of Aster a little. Funny, how earlier I had been thinking about how smart and well rounded he was.
"Can't be. No where every stray alley cat can cross dimensions." Nico says, shaking head.
"I mean, wouldn't hurt to just see." Banks suggests, shrugging and glancing around. "We wouldn't want to put in a bunch of work trying to find a special one when any ole tomcat will do."
"Guess that's fair." Nico mutters.
"Okay." Aster leans back, clapping his hands together. "Let's go get us a messenger."