Disclaimer: Don't own Huntik: Secrets and Seekers, it's characters or the theme song. The new spells/Titans are purely made-up for this fanfiction. And for those Titans who didn't get a Holotome recording in the show proper, their stats presented here may be altered/made up in comparison to their pages on the Huntik Wiki (who have to use comic/TCG/toy stats because of this).

Rating: T (has a few suggestive M hints)

Go ahead and start reading already :P

In the shadows of the night/When you face the darkness/Call the power of the light/Let your heart be fearless
Never give it up never give it up, if you're strong enough, get the power!
Huntik, keep the faith and you'll survive/Huntik, is the seeker you're inside
Shout it out and make it loud, Everybody huntik go!

There's a secret lost in time/There's an ancient story/One for all and all for one/Fighting for the glory
Never give it up never give it up, if you're strong enough, get the power!
Huntik, keep the faith and you'll survive/Huntik, is the seeker you're inside
Shout it out and make it loud, Everybody huntik go!

Ohh Yeahhhh... Everybody

Huntik!

The world of Huntik changed radically with the arrival of the Blood Spirals, a group dedicated to eradicating all life on Earth with the return of the Nullifiers, particularly the Casterwill family. Many fierce battles were exchanged, and Sophie Casterwill, direct descendant of Lord Casterwill himself, rallied her remaining family and the Huntik Foundation for an offensive against the Blood Spiral leader, The Betrayer. After an intense battle, The Betrayer was defeated, and the return of the Nullifiers was thwarted. After their recovery, Dante accepted a place on the Huntik Council, with Lok taking his place as the leader of their finest team. But though the threat has been averted, their journey is not over.

"Mysterious Message"

Episode 53

Casterwill Townhouse

Venice, Italy

Soft music filled the room, both of it's occupants enjoying the serene feel of the Pied Piper's notes.

Sophie had done this at least a dozen times by now, so she easily let her fingers glide across the instrument, playing the song purely from memory. This allowed her to enjoy it, the same as Cherit was doing on her lap. And even as she played it, images from the first time briefly came around in her head: an entire swarm of Gremlow Titan copies had been overrunning Lok and Guggenheim, but with a few notes, she'd stopped them cold. Then simply walking and playing, had them follow her in a neat little line, right back into it's amulet on the wall.

It had been a fun mission overall. Shame she couldn't practically use it on more missions though; it sounded wonderful.

She let the last few notes play for awhile, slowly ending the song... then she took in a breath, looking at the flute.

"That was beautiful, Sophie" Cherit said, getting up off her lap and now flying beside her.

"Thanks, Cherit" she agreed, standing up. "I may have been able to draw away the Gremlow Titan with this, but it plays so beautifully, I couldn't just use it once" she continued, slowly placing it in it's case, after cleaning the tip.

"I agree!"

She turned, looking around. "Hey Cherit, have you seen Lok?" she asked.

The winged Titan shook his head. "Nope, I haven't" he said, but then he flew over to the window, pointing as he spoke: "But if you want some help searching, Zhalia and Den are out there training."

She chuckled a little. "I don't think it's that serious yet, but thanks anyway" she said, walking off.

She searched the most likely locations for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Humming slightly, finger to her chin, she wondered where else or what else he could be doing. If he was consulting his newest Holotome, he could be anywhere, which was no help. If he had to leave for something, he would have said something to her at least, or even just left a note in plain sight, but there was nothing of that sort. A little more searching, and still nothing, but she happened to run into LeBlanche... luckily he made a spectacular save with his notes.

"Wow LeBlanche, that was amazing" she said, meaning it. "Sorry that I ran into you though."

"It's okay, Lady Sophie" he said easily. "It wasn't your fault."

"But by the way, have you seen Lok?" she asked, looking to her left and right once. "I can't seem to find him anywhere."

"Actually, I ran into him an hour-and-a-half ago, on this very spot" he said, smiling. "I asked where he was going, and he merely said to think. Then, not five minutes later, I saw him on the roof from the window."

"The roof?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "Why on earth would he go up there alone?"

"Well, I would guess it was the least likely place to be disturbed" he answered, finishing reorganizing his notes. "As far as I know, he hasn't come down from there. But if you'll excuse me my lady, I must deliver these notes."

"Of course, LeBlanche" she said, watching him go. But to herself, she said, "The roof? An hour-and-a-half, Lok? By yourself?"

This she had to see.

...

"Hyperstride!"

The wind rushed through her hair and clothes as she shot upward, then she ended the spell just as she went over the roof, landing with a slight grunt. Looking around her, she didn't see Lok at first, but she had some ground to cover. So keeping a feel for her footing at all times, she moved across the uneven sections of her Townhouse's roof. "Lok?" she called out, both hands around her mouth to amplify it, but nothing answered.

Still, just being up here remained her of that other time, where they'd both lamented the coming end of summer break (after narrowing escaping Araknos at that).

"Where are you?" she wondered, moving across section even as she walked up one side... and the moment she looked down it's other side, stopped in her tracks: she'd found him, directly below her position.

Lok slowly leaned his head back, laying on his back on the slanted roof, smiling. "Hey, Sophie" he greeted.

From where she was standing, plus the angle, he was directly below her... if she were anyone else, she'd have been worried, embarrassed and infuriated by the 'view' he'd be getting. But, she already knew that was fully taken care of for her, so she hardly noticed: "Lok, what are you doing up here?" she said, exasperated, hands on her hips.

He raised an eyebrow, but he chuckled. "What, a guy can't come up here and think?" he asked, holding his arms out briefly, still laying where he was.

"Well, of course you can" she answered, walking down to his right, slowly sitting down. "I just didn't think you were the type to think seriously. At least, not too often."

Lok chuckled again, recognizing the playful comment that it was. "Well, the things I've been thinking about?" he asked, looking back up at the sky. "They needed some serious thought."

She rested her hands on her knees, noting how his tone had trailed off slightly. "Care to share those thoughts, Lok?" she asked, then added another playful edge. "Or do you need more time to think?"

"Hardly" he countered mildly, smiling. "At first, I thought about how much our team has accomplished, all the battles we've fought, and the Titans we've befriended. I've said it before, but being a Seeker is truly awesome."

"The best, Lok" she answered evenly. On the inside however, she wanted to tell him to get on with it, for the real reasons that he'd come up here in the first place... but she knew that wasn't how it worked. In these types of situations, they started with light information you pretty much already knew, but it helped them warm up to the big stuff. She just wondered what was big enough to warrant this for him - had several ideas though.

"Though I gotta admit, Sophie" he said, hands underneath his head. "A lot of that enjoyment is because we got to go on missions together."

She was struck: that was almost exactly what she'd said months ago, during the battle with The Betrayer. Was he saying what she thought he was saying...? No, wait, she couldn't let herself assume anything; let him say it. Even as her thoughts went in that direction though, her mouth moved in a similar one. "Lok, that's so sweet" she stated softly, pretty sure she was starting to blush. "I have to say I'm flattered."

"But there's more to it" he breathed, jolting her, even as he closed his eyes. "Even as I thought about that, going over my memories, I saw something else that I never dwelt on before... the way we acted around each other."

"Come again?" she asked slowly.

"Come on, Sophie" he said mildly, glancing toward her. "We've been seen hugging, looking into each other's eyes for no reason, and even holding hands... granted, some of those moments were during missions. Relief and all that, over the fact that we were okay. But the rest? Don't you think there might be, well, something there?"

She found she was momentarily speechless, and her heart pounding: he was talking about what she had assumed! But she was also slightly relieved by the subtle bits of effort in his voice, showing that he was affected underneath his (impressive) composure. "Well Lok, I'm surprised" she said, with a distinct playful tone. "I thought I'd have to explain it to you eventually, but I guess you've exceeded my expectations."

Judging from Lok's sheepish chuckle, he saw right through her comment, and she started giggling along with him.

"I don't know how or why we didn't do something sooner" he said softly. "I even said I wanted us to be together, for crying out loud!"

"Oh you did" she said playfully. "But really, how did we ever get that far with all the missions, the battles, the threats to society-"

Lok started laughing, sitting up. "Don't be over-dramatic, Sophie" he said playfully back, but looking at her. "Still, we both knew all this time, and yet, we could have been... well-"

"Then come here, Lok" she said gently, surprising him. "No more distractions."

He smiled, scooting closer after a moment, and he brushed her shoulder in the process. She glanced down at his hand - which was also scooting towards hers - and moved her fingers over his, both of them slowly interlocking even as she looked back up. Somehow managing not to look nervous (she could not understand that), Lok gently cupped her cheek with his free hand, and even that small touch made her heart race again, even as her free hand moved over his on her cheek. His smile made her do the same without thinking about it.

Then next she knew, they were leaning in.

It was just their first kiss, a simple one, and already she felt like gasping from the rush of pleasant feelings. It only lasted three seconds, then they both pulled away, staring at each other - both nervously laughing after a moment. But Sophie wanted more, so she leaned in again, much to Lok's muffled surprise. Still, he got into it as she moved herself closer, their passions slowly increasing.

Months of nearly-unspoken attraction to each other meant they were gonna be up here for awhile.

/

Around the same time

"Touchram!"

With that spell, Den deflected the blast from Gareon, but he still held himself at the ready.

"Not bad, Den" Zhalia said behind her Titan, merely observing. "You're getting better over there."

"Yeah, at single attacks" he said with satisfaction, lightly practicing his movements. "But I gotta go beyond that, and move up to multiple attacks. You never know what the Blood Spirals will try next, and I gotta be prepared."

"Well, you're pumped" Zhalia said with amusement, but she pulled out another amulet. "But you're on. Come out, Gar-Ghoul" she called, and with a roar, the stone gargoyle Titan burst onto the scene.

Den tensed, ready to begin at a moment's notice. But despite knowing better, he had to work to overcome the sudden wave of light fear/nervousness radiating from the Titan. "It's the Titan's ability, and not your fault" he thought forcefully.

"Alright Gar-Ghoul, Den wants practice dodging and blocking multiple attacks" Zhalia said behind them, but his gaze remained on the Titans. "So both of you, give him what he wants."

Gar-Ghoul growled slightly, then he blasted him with water... or he would have if Den didn't dodge, then quickly blocked Gareon's attack ("Boltflare!"), which came without verbal prompt. He quickly backed up to give himself room, but heavy breathing on the top of his head made him go "Crud", and barely avoided the claw swipe... but he laughed. "Hyperstride!" he shouted, running from Gar-Ghoul, who roared at him.

Just as he laughed again that Gar-Ghoul couldn't get him, his foot apparently bumped into something heavy, and the momentum sent him tumbling. He shook his head to clear it, then saw a shimmer where he'd tripped, which turned out to be an invisible Gareon.

"Clever" he said, quickly getting up, seeing both Gareon and Gar-Ghoul advancing on him from opposite directions. "Camoforge!" he shouted, even as Gar-Ghoul raised a claw.

With a shimmer of energy, Den vanished, causing the stone Titan to miss then hesitate slightly. Both Titans immediately set out looking for him; Gar-Ghoul's footsteps making surprisingly little noise as he swept his head, scanning the area slowly; Gareon sniffed around, his red pupils in slits as the seconds slowly passed. From the sidelines, Zhalia and Cherit - who had just arrived - remained silent, but one corner of her lip rose. This stalemate lasted for at least ten more seconds, with a slight wind blowing.

Then the slightest snap sounded, almost directly behind Gar-Ghoul.

With a stony hiss, the Titan whirled around, shooting high-pressure water at the spot. The water slammed against the ground, and Den reappeared with a shimmer, grunting as he backpedaled from the attack, which missed. Gar-Ghoul didn't let up, blasting him with high-pressure water again ("Armorbrand!"), which let up after a few seconds.

Immediately after Armorbrand dropped though, Gareon shimmered into view directly behind Den.

Den was sent sprawling forward by the attack, and he shook his head, holding his head as he realized he was standing by one of Gar-Ghoul's feet. Luckily though, the Titan understood things were over for now, so he merely looked down at him impassively. As he got up, Cherit said something to Zhalia, but he only got 'he's really been improving'.

"How long was that Zhalia?" he asked, quickly getting to his feet.

"Well, let's see" Zhalia answered, arms crossed. "Do you want to count the time spent under Camoforge?"

He chuckled a bit. "Fine, just tell me both" he said.

"Well, with it, you lasted about thirty-seven seconds" she mused. "Without it, it goes down to merely twenty-six seconds."

He sighed, glancing down at his feet for a moment, then going over to lean against the wall. "Okay, so I didn't get to thirty secs like I wanted" he said, disgruntled.

Cherit hovered by Den's shoulder. "Come on, Den, you still did well."

Zhalia looked at him, having finished recalling her Titans back to her amulets. "I wouldn't worry about it, Den" she said lightly, walking towards him. "It's true, you've improved tremendously on your 'perfect' attempts, but it isn't game over if you screw up once in awhile."

"No, but if I do screw up, what will Lok think? Or Sophie? Or you?"

Zhalia leaned against the wall beside him. "Lok wouldn't think any less of you if you screwed up" she said mildly. "None of us would" she continued, then her lip curved upward. "Then again, if you screwed up on purpose, that'd be a different story."

"Hey, be serious!" he countered, to her chuckling. Still, he ended up laughing himself, and just in time for his stomach to rumble a little.

Zhalia retained the amused look. "Well, we have been training for awhile. Now's as good a time as any for a break."

"Eh, why not?" he said after a moment, turning to walk inside, Cherit following. "Besides, I could go for a few courses."

"It must be strange, always having to eat to replenish your energy" came from Cherit. "Even after all this time, I still don't completely get it."

"Maybe you won't have to, Cherit" he said, his volume decreasing as he went further inside. "To you, it's just one of our many quirks. So relax-"

/

Half-an-hour later

Sophie finally managed to get enough, and with a breathy gasp (mirrored by Lok), she broke them apart.

In-between his breaths, Lok managed to say "Wow", chuckling.

She also giggled. "Cliche, but accurate" she breathed, holding Lok close.

He held her back, but when she looked up, his gaze was on the sky. "I'm glad I stayed up here this long" he said mildly, looking back at her, their faces inches apart again. "Being up here alone made it easier, but my heart still pounded like you wouldn't believe."

"I think I could" she thought, but she smiled anyway. "Tell me, Lok" she stated softly, looking at their joined hands. "You thinking back on our past adventures, and the hints we've shown each other; was that all you seriously thought about?"

He suddenly got more nervous, but it mostly showed in his bearing. "No, but the rest is a lot more... embarrassing" he finished, a little shy.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine" she said a little playfully, crossing her arms.

"I'm serious, Sophie" he said with the same tone, startling her slightly. "And quite a bit of it involves the now-official 'us'."

After he said that, they entered a small silence, during which time they simply looked at each other. Sophie tried to think about could be connected between 'them' and embarrassing, but so far she came up with noth- wait a minute, was he- was he really talking about she thought he meant? He really thought that far ahead!?

Wait, were they even on the same page?

"Lok" she breathed, a bit more shy than she'd planned on; her cheeks were probably burning for all she knew. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Lok's cheeks turned a little red too, but he nodded. "Yeah, Sophie" he said faintly, glancing down for a moment. "I knew that if we got together - and we did - eventually we'd have to start thinking about, well, more intimate matters. Though, there's still a lot of time before that happens, obviously."

If her cheeks weren't red, she'd be deeply surprised. But she didn't want him to stop talking; it was strangely thrilling.

"And maybe one day, far into the future" he continued, his voice shyer than she'd ever heard it. "You and I could, uh... maybe, well... b-be a- w-well I mean-"

Despite his stuttering, that one sentence sent a rush through her spine far more than the kiss had, and it showed in her gasp. She couldn't believe it; he actually did think that far ahead, and more impressively, had the courage to speak to her about it! She could only stare at him, her heart pounding.

Lok made a sound as he looked down, his entire demeanor barely-restrained shyness now. "Okay" he said weakly. "Maybe that's a little too much."

She slowly leaned forward, kissing his cheek.

He made a sound in surprise, looking up quickly, cheeks still red. "Sophie?"

She hummed slightly, still flustered. "You know, most guys can't really think that far ahead, or even acknowledge the fact" she breathed, her tone a combination of playful and soft, even as she scooted closer. "But you, Lok, just did exceptionally well in that area."

"I-" he started to say, then blinked as he got over his surprise. "I did?"

She nodded, then gently leaned in, half-closing her eyes. She kinda saw Lok doing the same, and both enjoyed their small kiss, at least before she pulled away. "And that was for having the courage to actually talk about what most guys wouldn't dare talk about."

He slowly chuckled. "That was a mouthful, but thank you" he whispered softly, putting his arm around her.

"I agree" she answered simply, looking at his arm around her, then she leaned against him slowly. "But if you'd said that to me in a normal relationship, without months of knowing each other, my reaction would have been very different."

Lok made a sheepish sound, still shyly embarrassed.

Then she slowly looked up at him, cheeks reddening slightly. "What you said though" she started faintly, "it makes my heart race. It also makes me feel uncertain, knowing that it might happen, though it's still far away."

He said nothing, merely listened, fingers slowly moving through her hair. Something she was definitely enjoying, even if it was simple.

"But still, despite all that" she whispered, smiling a bit. "I'm not adverse to the idea of it happening, not at all."

He slowly smiled back. "I'm glad to hear that" he whispered back, relieved. "I mean, I don't know exactly how thing's might start, or when, but I know it won't be tomorrow at least."

"You got that right!" she exclaimed, giving him a playful shove, to both their laughter. "But" she stated softly after this, taking his hands again as she stood up, Lok quickly following. "If one day the uh, 'right mood' strikes and we're both okay with it, why should we resist? As long as we both agree not to do too much at once, for any and all sessions."

"Well, of course" he answered quickly, still holding her hands. "One question though" he continued, looking slightly confused. "When will we discuss what's acceptable and what isn't? Will it be immediately before, or a day before instead?"

She let go of his hands, crossing her arms with an arched eyebrow. "I'd prefer it be at least several days before we begin" she started, then she glanced down. "Still, if the mood strikes us and we haven't done so... immediately before will have to suffice." She looked back at him, then smirked, "Either way, nothing can start until we've both agreed, no matter what."

He chuckled, briefly rubbing the back of his head. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me" he said with a smile.

/

"You sure that's merely lunch? Looks a little light for you."

Den turned around with an annoyed expression, a piece of leftover toast hanging from his mouth, his hands currently full. Very carefully putting the toast in his grip, and barely managing it, he looked at her. "Okay, now you're just exaggerating" he said. "I may eat a bit more than anyone else on this team, but that doesn't mean I eat everything in sight."

"I was kidding, Den" Zhalia said mildly, turning back to what she was doing, which was also getting lunch.

Den was halfway through retorting, but he heard Lok and Sophie's conversation, which also drew her's and Cherit's attention:

"I still can't believe you tripped over that rock. You lost the race without all that momentum."

"Well, these things happen, Sophie. Sure, I would have won if I hadn't tripped, but I did, so you won."

They walked in the kitchen door, Sophie looking at Lok. "I still think we should race again later, make it fair" she said mildly.

"Well well, look at what we have here" she said in amusement, glancing down briefly. "Anything you two want to say?"

Lok and Sophie jolted slightly, then looked at their joined hands, which had been that way for awhile. "There's not much to say, Zhalia" Sophie said mildly, while Lok continued after her, "We've liked each other for awhile, so it was bound to happen eventually."

"Hey, congrats man!" came from Den, who 'congratulated' Lok by putting an arm around his head, and both of them laughing the whole time.

Sophie giggled a bit, her arms crossed as she watched, with a playful expression that said a single word: Boys. Cherit secretly took this opportunity to inspect Den's currently-abandoned toast for a close look.

"I'm happy for them" Zhalia thought wryly, watching this display for a few seconds herself, then slowly looking away. Even as she looked at the wall, Sophie broke up the two, saying to let Lok breathe. "Still, it must be nice; they can simply talk about it, and it happens. For me, it's not that easy" she continued, her expression falling slightly.

"Dante... I wish you were here now" she whispered faintly. She jolted slightly in surprise, quickly looking back, and was relieved to see that neither Lok, Sophie, Den nor Cherit had heard her.

She breathed a small chuckle, glancing down for a moment- that had been close.

Huntik Foundation Council

Manhattan, New York

Dante held up the amulets of Redcap and Strix, humming slightly with a small smile, before putting them back down on the table, beside his own Springer amulet. "Perhaps it's time I find you new owners" he said softly. "You probably wouldn't be too hard" he continued, referring to Springer's amulet, then his fingers moved on. "But you two will be a little harder. Not many would be eager to have Organization Titans, but I'll find someone for all of you."

After that, he drew back, then chuckled a little. Many would see talking to yourself or inanimate objects as a sign that you were crazy, but anyone who was acquainted with him knew better.

"Now, to get on with today's report" he said, sitting down at the table and opening up his Holotome. "Let's see here" he continued easily, humming a bit. "Various sightings of Blood Spirals by the Organization; gotta send out a few scouts for that. As to where they might strike next-"

He stopped, because his Holotome started going crazy: the holographic report flickered and fizzled out like static, and a warning light lit up. "Incoming video message. Unable to override signal."

"Analyze signal and source" he said immediately. "And record entire video message."

"Analyzing" the Holotime said, even as the conflicting commands fought to get a clear image. "Unable to identify source. Source is not using conventional methods of transmission."

"You're still recording though, right?" he asked mildly.

"Yes" it answered.

Then the image started clearing up, and he leaned forward, trying to make sense of it. At first, all he could see was a swirling blur, but there did seem to be individual points with blackness blotting out the rest... space maybe? Then the image sharpened for a moment, and he could make out a red glow in the picture, bigger and brighter than everything near it. A closeup of a red star?

His eyebrows slowly furrowed together. Stars didn't leave streaking trails through space...

"The Red Comet?" he breathed, standing. "I should have known it wasn't that easy to get rid of you..."

The image flickered with static again, and he couldn't make out much more; whoever was sending this either had a really bad Holotome, or something was interfering with the transmission. Still, he stuck around, doing his best to make out details from the garbled video.

He gasped slightly when it sharpened again: two people had been shown, in rapid succession. The image lost it's sharpness on the second person, so he couldn't make out any details, save the fact that he/she was big. But the first-

"Eathon" Dante breathed.

Shortly afterward, the Holotome's message stopped entirely, and went back to normal. "Message recorded."

He didn't answer that, just considered what he'd seen... then he picked up the phone.

"Metz, it's me" he said faintly. "Gather the Huntik Council; there's something you all gotta see, immediately."

To be continued...

One reviewer said I should do a Huntik book series ;) Well, it took quite awhile, but here is my version of one, so things definitely aren't done for our Huntik team ;) They'll have much to explore... and much to fight for as well. But adventure, exploration and battle are not all they'll go through: there's a fair bit of romance as well.

Just a few notes:

* As stated, this series will include a few fairly suggestive M-rated moments, but they won't be anything truly explicit.
* This fanfiction is entirely separate from the other three I've written for this series.
* Chapter updates will be on Wednesdays (like today) and Saturdays.
* This fanfic is published on my birthday, for real (just try not to let that be the only part of your reviews)

Anyway, this isn't much plot-wise, but it starts things off :) Still, enjoy, and stay tuned!