Ain't A Hero

Season 3

Bryan Schuder

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Beta Release

Updated 01/08/2019

Ain't A Hero

Season 3

Dedications

Timeline

Episode 27

Episode 28

Episode 29

Episode 30

Episode 31

Episode 32

Episode 33

Episode 34

Episode 35

Episode 36

Episode 37

Episode 38

Episode 39

Dedications

First and foremost... A special thank you to all the crazy humanity loving folks over at /r/HFY ! Out of all the places on Reddit for writing, you all are the most accepting and welcoming bunch of them all. As long as humanity is involved some how and you want to write, /r/HFY will give you a place to call home. I was not only surprised to find people interested in this crazy tale, but people who repeatedly read episode after episode... And still wanted more. I will try to deliver more! Second season down, hopefully a third and more to go!

So, in an inconsistent arbitrary order of me looking through the series posts, thank you to these fine folks that provided commentary (both praises and criticisms) and those who subscribed. (Please let me know if I missed anyone!)

roflmaono
Attamark
Lithuse
KillerKolonelz
RougemageNick
Twister_Robotics
joe_wood
Fly18
Lurking_Reader
Waspkeeper
bontrose
carpkiller
KahnSig
Shactus
michael15286
Krynja
ProfessorVonSagan
Layxe
zarikimbo
Ryushimojii
atomic_cheese
Rand__Rahl
NinjaTurple
fatboy93
PhalanxLord
Slayalot
K2MnO4
zymurgist69
ChainsawNagitana
Eater_of_yellow_snu
Jonfirst
Nuke_the_Earth
Isitalwaysthisgood
Red-Shirt
WandererOfTheMind
ImperialForgeMaster
barely_harmless
Maxkenny09
Alphamole0
Random-Hats
Applepielord1244
Fieryfight
ccassidyx9
Ghrrum
Thatfurrykid
tipsy_topsy
DudeGuyBor
InitiativeTwentyOne
Sakul_Aubaris
antonthekiller
pie4155
ragnoraknow
nerdy_n_dirty86
RedTheReckless
Shiamu
ZeDestructor
Omega048
MavenDeviant
HardAtomicSmile
testicouille741
Deathcoolbro
SirSchmoopy111
Halefor
cochi522
Olindoga
smeik111
explosiveelephants
LIKE1OOONINJAS
Cyber_Reader
ruruwkzu
spaceminions
CSlade1
JoshXH
sic99
Leginp
Firenter
lazyviking3742
ryan_morland
SirIronTwig
ChainsawHalberd
elemental821
MaartenS16
RollSavingThrow
randommlg
GrayMatter01
Daevis43
Glaris
vittupaahan
Admiral_Sylvor
TRN42
Golddrake
Repeated_613
Voobwig
Dr_Acen
Honoris_Causa
nuacc2
sluglie
mortalnine
mheiszler
pennythoughtful
IntelligentDemise
Makyura
minkshaman
Fkn_Ra
WakelessTitan
BlessedPatrick
ikbenlike
maaghen
Shaeos
garrdor
wiggamail
allorigional64
DarkLordZargon
bracabrad
Stordabjornen
ubercaesium
kaloshade
LurchTheBastard
kumo549
splash_43
Meh12345hey
F0rg0tMy70gin
Dolduck
jaredzz
KorbenD2263
PresumedSapient
minicooper237
mudkip201
Netmantis
Kasaeru
UnholyReaver
Just_a_stae_of_mind
Khelbun
Ice_Man_Cometh
Havok707
Omenofstorms
zombieking26
Kiryln
JJdaJet
AMEFOD
TheBarbequeSteve
TW6173
_Skylos
A_Drunk_Ninja
Maravedis
Moonlitsif
vitalmoss
Brimicidal
o11c
Danr630
readcard
Deadlytower
Einhanderz
HarbringerOfMayhem
Zoutpeper
Tinkerbill93
p75369

-27-

In the ranch style house, morning sun slips around the vertical blinds concealing the sliding glass back door and flows across the floor. A few specks of dust drift up in the heat from the sun-warmed couch and tumble in the glow from the light. Shining through the glare, the morning news silently plays on the wall-mounted television, the scenes changing between different show anchors. In the middle space between the dining and living areas of the large room, Sebastian's ethereal form hovers, his translucent blue eyes darting between thoughts. Surrounding the dining table, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia idle in the chairs and quietly tend their own ideas between sips of coffee and tea. Drifting closer to the group, Sebastian twists his mouth into an uneasy frown and crosses his arms. "Okay... SO... Before everyone got started out on all the usual Monday chores, I just wanted to get everyone thinking about how we need to change our tactics with Noxian."

With a ghostly echo, he sighs against a flit of pride and scratches the back of his neck. "Any suggestions are valid at this point. Anything we've dismissed in the past, we can revisit now. I really think we need to explore all other options, since what we've been doing..."

Gritting his teeth, he averts his glance from the team and grumbles out his stale frustration. "Hasn't been working all that well. Not at all..."

Withdrawing attention away from Sebastian, the group quietly ponders. Expressions and postures shift with their thoughts, and brief moments of possible revelation wane into dissatisfied grimaces. Glancing over the assembled team, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders and leans forward upon the tabletop, resting her elbow down. "We NEED to go to the other places Noxian has been spotted at. After Orth Ridge, we have to assume he's gone to those places for a good reason. Every place he's touched is a possibility now."

With her chin resting on top of the skin patterns on the back of her hand, Sotalia exaggerates a nod and seconds the idea, turning her approving gaze to Cideeda. "OH, definitely, girl. Definitely."

She swallows a hint of pride and sighs through a flit of old embarrassment. "Sorry I doubted you on THAT one. GODS. I just didn't think that much would be out there. It's the middle of nowhere."

Cideeda grits her teeth with a tug at the corner of her mouth, and bites her lip with a humbled frown. "Well... To be honest... Me neither. At least not THAT much."

Waving her hand with the thought, she rolls her emerald green eyes and wrestles down a grimace. "I was just hoping for maybe... A shack? Campsite? Or, just an old building out in the woods. Even just a hidden stash of supplies. BUT..."

Furrowing her brow, she leans into the back of her chair and drums her claw-tipped fingers on the tabletop, her fluffy tail flicking. "A whole damned town?! Not even the ancient ruins of one, something RECENTLY abandoned."

Aristespha tightens down an uncomfortable curl at the corner of her mouth and grumbles to herself. Her crossed legs fidget more intensely and match the visible unease flowing inside her. She hisses a sharp breath through her nose and tensions her neck. "I am STILL looking into THAT. I've sent my official report to the Grand Library and a copy of the information to Nash."

Slowly exhaling a small amount of relief through clenched teeth, she uncrosses her legs and rolls her shoulders, attempting to relax the rest of body. She catches Sebastian's concerned, loving gaze at her and manages a small smile. "I apologize. He's taking a lot longer than usual to get back to me. Especially with something like this."

Sebastian focuses upon Aristespha and directs a calm, soothing tone to her. "Could he be in danger or trouble? Anything we need to do to help him, dear?"

Summoning up a smile, Aristespha fends off the tension in the air and gently shakes her head of silvery blue hair. "Oh no, Sebastian. I'm sure he's fine. It's just..."

She wanders her violet eyes inside her mind and sighs out hints of worry. "If he takes this long, then I think he found something well beyond normal expectations. I do not think it will be the best of news for us."

A comforting smile appears on Sebastian, and he nods in agreement. "Well... I hope the information he finds will give us some idea of what was going on there. And... What Noxian was doing there..."

Bach blinks his blue eyes and lifts his head back, prominent thought rising to the front of his mind. He glances around the assembled team and raises a curious eyebrow. "So... Um... Do we know Noxian's end goal? Like, what he's actually trying to pull off?"

A wave of uncertainty sweeps through the group. Collective self-doubt stymies the discussion to a tense quiet. Sebastian breaks the silence through the embarrassment bubbling up into his translucent form. "Uh... That's the one thing we haven't been able to really figure out."

He defensively raises his hands and awkwardly smirks, vainly attempting to reassure. "I mean, we have a few theories we've been operating under."

Gazing over to Bach, Dretphi furrows her brow and twists a frown on her tan face, struggling to collect the right chain of words. "We have been able to... determine what are NOT his goals. That has eliminated the common possibilities."

Cideeda idly drums clawtips upon the dining table, aimlessly directing her eyes up to the ceiling. Drooping her furry ears down, she gently shakes her head, and her tail waves with occasional twitches. "Well, it's always been like that with him. He'll go on a particular route, and you totally think you've figured out his plans. The evidence points that way, too.

Throwing her hands up in the air, she twists on a frown on her light brown face and groans into a grumble. "THEN, he- he just diverges off completely in another direction no one expected."

Sotalia leans an elbow upon the table and angles her gaze to Bach, wagging her finger in sync with her thoughts. "For example, this one NEVER hit the news. He just walked in through the front door of some secret Greater Azure Alliance missile silo. Went straight to THE ancient second period magic nuke they had somehow..."

An uneasy frown forms upon Bach, his attention jumping between Sotalia and the uncomfortable ideas in his head. Sotalia narrows her golden eyes upon Bach and points a black nailed finger at him. "You know what he did?"

The pause into silence grants Bach the freedom to ponder. The hairs on the back of his neck up, and he visibly tenses in his seat. Bach slowly shakes his head, keeping his unnerved stare upon Sotalia. "Uh... No...?"

Withdrawing from the tabletop, Sotalia eases into her chair, pressing up against the back. She dramatically puts her hands up in the air in defeat and groans out her resignation. "He drained the thing completely of elder energy and disarmed it by ripping the warhead clean from it. Just like THAT."

The tension drops completely out from Bach. Confusion and intrigue rush into the cognitive vacuum, and he cocks his head to the side in sheer belief. "Wait- What?! But? I mean- Taking the energy is one thing. But, why go through the danger of disarming it? And..."

Furrowing his brow, he blinks in a bewildered flurry, pondering out. "I mean- How would he know how to do THAT? And, if he knew enough to disarm it, he could have easily ransomed whatever else he wanted by taking it somewhere secret...

He narrows his stare at the team. "Or, something like that? I mean, if you can be THAT bold, what's stopping you?"

Nodding with her frustration, Sotalia agrees and twists a hint of dissatisfaction on her light tan face. She flips some dark red hair back over a swept-back horn and crosses her arms with a sigh. "I KNOW. Same things I thought, too. That's what he keeps on doing. He does X. We expect Y. He then does C. And, everyone is left COMPLETELY. FUCKING. CONFUSED."

Reaching underneath her long, silvery-blue hair, Aristespha fans it back over her shoulders and squirms out some nervous energy. "Indeed. Overall, it has been very difficult to predict where he is going and what exactly he is going to do. It has proven absolutely ineffective to use any historical information about past dark lords and other malcontents, who have typically been VERY predictable. He certainly has his own unique goals."

Donning a tight frown, she breathes in quickly and exhales hints of irritation. "What troubles me the most is the knowledge he has and what he does with that knowledge. I have poured over so many resources trying to find out what the common thread is to all his activities."

She interlocks fingers, stretches her arms down under the table between her knees, and leans back into her chair. "There is SOMETHING that I am missing. Despite how scattered his activities may be, there has to be purpose behind it. The amount of effort and resources he devotes to everything... That is the only reasonable conclusion we can make."

Darting her violet eyes off to the side, she narrows her frustration distantly and grumbles. "If he simply wanted to be an absolute pain in the ass and cause chaos, there are easier and less demanding ways to do it."

Contending with some residual embarrassment, Sebastian gazes at Bach and shrugs with an uncomfortable smirk. "Yeah... Unfortunately, bro, we were really focused on catching up to Noxian to stop him... Rather than figuring out what his end goals were. It was either put effort to figure out his plans, or just stop him before he can enact them. The times we tried to fully do both, we either lost track of him or made a bad prediction."

Keeping a neutral expression upon her tan face, Dretphi ponders between hints of frustration and glances over towards Bach. "Halting his progress was the priority. His activities were dangerous. Implications seemed dire. Stop him first. Ask questions later?"

Perking her furry ears, Cideeda smirks wryly and combs her fingers through her short, multi-colored hair. "Well, you know. You go into restricted zones, steal artifacts from both public and protected places, sabotage attempts to track you down, fend off the police, military, and other adventuring groups, and THEN start messing with strange magical elements..."

She narrows her stare at Bach and frowns despondently. "It usually doesn't mean anything good, for anyone."

Weighing on the information, Bach ponders quietly and furrows his brow. Nodding slowly a few times, he hums contemplatively between different points, rocking his head slowly between his shoulders. After a few moments of reflection, Sebastian sighs and shrugs his shoulders. "But... We may need to focus on that, NOW. Because, I think we genuinely threatened him being able to achieve his goal, whatever THAT is."

Each member of the group individually agrees. Sebastian pauses in thought and frowns, glancing aside. "He's only ever gotten aggressive when we've put him on the defensive..."

A stifling silence looms over the group. Summoning up determination, Dretphi straightens up her posture and addresses everyone. "We need to train intensely."

Keeping a stoic exterior, she weathers a swell of unflattering honesty from within. "Our performance was... NOT sufficient."

Sebastian nods and glances over to Bach. "Yes. I think we all need to step up our training. Sorry, bro. But you might be getting the worst of it."

A nervous smile creeps up on Bach's face, and he chuckles half-heartedly. "Oh, yeah, what ever do you mean, brother?"

An amused grin pulls across Sebastian's visage, and he perks an foreboding eyebrow at Bach. "Well, I think Dretphi needs to mix in some close quarters combat soon. Aristespha and I will start training you in sword fighting. And..."

Darting his eyes between Aristespha and Sotalia, he returns his attention back to Bach. "Whatever you are doing with magic gave you the ability to fend off Noxian's magic. So, Aristespha, Sotalia, and YOU will all probably need to amp up the magic training."

An eager, sharp smile cracks across Sotalia, and she narrows her golden stare upon Bach with a sly tone. "Yes. We are going to have to do some real combat training. I hope your mage armor barrier is in better shape now."

A grin parting her smile, she lifts an interested eyebrow. "I would hate to burn a few more holes in your clothes."

She focuses her confident gaze upon Bach. Sebastian notices his brother's discomfort. Trading glances between the others, he smirks and addresses Sotalia. "Hey, Sotalia. Thinking about it..."

Quirking his brow, he smiles slyly and leans slightly forward, settling an examination stare upon Sotalia. "When's the last time you ever did any close combat training?"

Sotalia's eyes spring open, her mouth contorts into an awkward grimace, and she blanks to a dumbfounded stupor. "Oh... Uh, um, ah... Why would I need to know anything like... THAT?"

Keeping her head facing towards Bach, she feigns ignorance of the other pairs of eyes upon her with foreboding grins.

----

Standing out in the grassy field behind the ranch style house, Bach curiously checks the area, anticipation and wariness mixing through his body. Gentle winds brush over the taller blades of grass, and ripples wash over the green. Adjusting his magical sparring gear, Bach pulls the protective vest taut, checks the straps on the leg covers over his pants, and tugs at the gloves on his hands. Pausing in thought a moment, he summons up some courage and glances over his shoulder. Sotalia taps her foot impatiently, watching Aristespha stroll up from the patio. She slowly swings her head over towards Bach and flashes a confident, playful grin. Aristespha secures her artisan sparring gloves and flexes around in the matching gear, examining Bach and Sotalia. "I think we need to change up the magical training to take advantage of recent discoveries. We will keep the basics the same. But, there is some advanced training I would like to explore."

A wicked tint colors Sotalia's grin. Her eyes light up eagerly and focus upon Aristespha. "I think I like the sound of that."

She straightens her posture and levels her stare at Bach. "Maybe... I can finally get taught THOSE spells..."

Attention fully upon Bach, a barely audible, dark chuckle slips out from her, and she rests her hands on her hips. Bach smiles halfway at Sotalia and uneasily laughs. Blinking away, he glances awkwardly at Aristespha and searches hopefully for further explanation. "Uh... Yeah... So, we're just training today?"

Aristespha shifts her foot inside her boot and nonchalantly perks her brow, nodding succinctly. "Yes. What else did you expect?"

Bach brushes his fingers through his longer brown hair, ending in a scratch of the back of his head, and curls the corner of his mouth. "Uh, huh... I figured you two would be questioning me about the whole sending Noxian's elder energy right back at him? I mean, I thought that would be important to you all?"

The inquisitive gaze from Sotalia intensifies to a stare upon Bach. Sotalia briefly seeks hints for proceeding from Aristespha, granting Bach a reprieve from the attention. Smiling kindly, Aristespha shakes her head calmly. "Oh. That can wait for later. We have other pressing tasks at hand."

Sotalia's expression pops to blank faced blinking, making way for bewilderment to overtake. She squints incredulously at Aristespha and straightens her posture. "Um... Excuse me?"

Presenting a calming smile, Aristespha crosses her arms and shrugs her shoulders. "Oh, I certainly do have questions. But, those need to be answered in a different environment than this, at a more convenient time."

She lifts an eyebrow at Bach with a quizzical tint upon her face. "Though, I will say... While I am surprised by what you did, after some thought, it makes sense you were able to do such."

Sotalia tilts her head back and perks up an incredulous eyebrow, keeping a confused stare upon Aristespha. Searching for the explanation, she crosses her arms and waits expectantly, quiet. Aristespha meets Sotalia's gaze, pauses a moment, and ponders her thoughts out loud. "With the way elder energy disrupts most spells derived from Foundation Constructs, someone who creates advanced spells without their assistance might be able to counter that disruption, possibly entirely avoiding it."

Moments later, the revelation dawns upon Sotalia, and she relaxes her stature. Her golden eyes briefly spring open, and she glances back towards Bach. "Well... THAT does make a lot of sense. And..."

An eager grin flashes up on her face. "Noxian did NOT expect that barrier to stop the blast. He was actually surprised."

Walking forward with an exaggerated sway to each step, she holds her chin contemplatively, her eyes stringing together a theory. "Now, I'm actually really curious as to how good Noxian's control of that elder energy actually is."

Nodding in agreement with Sotalia, Aristespha shifts her weight between boots thoughtfully. "That is another theory I have been reviewing."

With a long sigh, she rolls her shoulders and stretches out her arms. "BUT... To focus on the training at hand, I think one way we can prepare ourselves against Noxian is to... Harden our spells."

Bach strokes his short beard and pivots curiously towards Aristespha. Sotalia spins quickly in place with an eager smile and a golden glint in her eyes. "Okay! Now THAT actually sounds interesting! How do we do that?"

With a glow in her violet eyes, Aristespha grins and rolls her hand out at Bach. "Very simple. We craft our spells, and then let Bach attempt to disrupt them."

Bach's eyes open wide in a fit of pure surprise. Slowly tilting his head, he stares at Aristespha, a sporadic twitch of the upper cheek manifesting. "Wha- Uh... Excuse me?"

Waving her hand at the objection, Aristespha attempts to dismiss the hesitation from Bach and perks her brow. "Defensive spells only. I figured our main focus should be strengthening our barriers right now, since they were inadequate."

A long exhale of relief escapes Bach, and he nods, willingness renewing. "Okay... Yeah. Yeah. THAT, that I can definitely do."

Disappointment tugs down upon the corners of Sotalia's waning smirk, and she sighs begrudgingly. Aristespha notices the drop in mood and rolls her eyes with a laugh. "Now, now. I actually want to do some offensive spell training today, too."

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Sotalia places her hands on her hips, straightens her posture confidently, and eyes Aristespha with a playful curiosity behind a forming grin. "OH. Really?"

Briefly averting her eyes, Aristespha sighs out traces of embarrassment and rests her hands at her sides. "Well... To be completely honest, in watching you and Tassilda face off..."

She furrows her brow and contorts an awkward smirk on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face. "I realized I haven't thrown a good fireball in a long while. So, I thought it might be good exercise to do some target practice later."

A competitive aura radiates from Sotalia. A proud grin manifests fully, and Sotalia postures confidently and eagerly. "Yes. I see. It HAS been a while. Well, let's get this spell hardening training going then."

With a single nod, Aristespha signals Sotalia to prepare with a quick wave. Stretching out her body, Sotalia flexes her joints and steps off to a nice flat section of the huge field. "Alright! Give me a minute. Need to warm up and check my spot."

Biting his lip against a surge of anxiety, Bach draws a long breath and watches Sotalia prepare. Aristespha steps next to him, leaning close to his ear. Wrestling a smirk, she carefully whispers. "I think she will probably need all the target practice after you dismantle her spells a few times. Allow her to maintain some of her pride after you dash it, please."

Gradually nodding, Bach sighs out softly with a grimace, mustering his resolve. "Yeah... I'm going to have to agree with you on that one. Might need to miss on purpose a few times. Just to keep the peace."

Glancing over her shoulder, Aristespha nods in agreement and rolls her violet eyes towards Sotalia. "Thank you, Bach."

----

The half-fvalian girl holds her tan, brown striped arms out in front of her, flexing her sharp nailed fingers. She exhales a long, drawn-out sigh and blows long, bright pink hair out of her face. Her pink-pupil eyes wander around the backyard behind the two story house aimlessly. Her disinterested, bored stare hunts for anything of note, any kind of distraction, some spec entertainment to contrast the constant lecturing drone from Tassilda. Idly swaying with the tedium, she squirms within her boldly colored, tight fitting shirt and shorts.

A sharp finger snap sounds out and echoes off the exterior of the house. The half-fvalian girl's fuzzy, pointed ears perk, and her short-haired tail flicks up, hairs bristling. With a stern sneer, Tassilda steps forward and narrows her frustration at the half-fvalian girl. Squinting her light blue on black eyes, she nears a growl. "Veevi! Are you even paying attention?!"

Veevi rolls her eyes dramatically and cocks her head in huff, twisting her building annoyance out on her face. "YES."

Placing her hands on her hips, Tassilda's long, black fingernails firmly curl into fabric along her waist, with her irritation. "Then..."

Her eyes focus a stern stare upon Veevi, and she leans her upper body forward, sneering her upper lip. "What did I just say?"

A snarl curls upon Veevi's tan face, and she furrows her brow incredulously. Gritting her teeth, she reveals prominent canines and groans, casually defiant. "Blah, blah, blah, some fucking boring magic theory. Blah, blah, blah, you just like hearing your own voice-"

She slaps down her arms to her sides and glares outraged at Tassilda, leaning forward. "AND, I've been STANDING around for HOURS! Doing NOTHING MAGICAL AT ALL!"

Tassilda rears back her head, puffing up her chest. She snorts out her indignation and eyes Veevi, disgust bubbling up. "WELL! Whose FAULT is that? Maybe YOU just have NO MAGICAL ABILITY."

Crossing her arms tightly, Veevi postures boldly and smirks meanly back. "OH! Maybe YOU don't UNDERSTAND it well enough to teach it!"

The two stand in staunch opposition, each holding the ground in sheer stubborn defiance. Both bounce prickly commentary off each other, actively denying the other privilege of the last word. Camera crew exchange glances in the brief lull of conflict. The verbal battle escalates in a roar of insults and derision. Samantha blinks mildly surprised and writes down notes on her clipboard, a darkly content smile settling upon her face. Gerald wanders into the area from the neighboring house and steps next to Samantha. "Okay, so what the hell is going on here?"

Flashing an evil grin to Gerald, Samantha hugs her clipboard close to her chest with glee. "OH, just PRIME material for this week's episode!"

Gerald gazes at the deadlock of sneering, anger fueled glares between Veevi and Tassilda. "Gods... Okay, I was wondering since I heard it over in the kitchen at the crew house."

Lifting a sandwich up to his mouth, he bites into it, slowly chews watching the scene, and clears his mouth with a swallow. "Ungh... Skipped the mustard because I thought I needed to get out here."

Sniffing the air, Samantha eyes the sandwich and smirks with a pleading gaze to Gerald. "So, is there enough left to make another?"

Catching the endearing glance from Samantha, Gerald twists mouth side to side and grumbles. "Yes. No mayo, spicy brown mustard?"

Samantha nods contentedly and stares attentively at the verbal battle between Tassilda and Veevi. A series of distant booms and blasts echo out, contrasting the natural, mid-spring ambience of the surrounding neighborhood. Everyone halts, seeking the source. Veevi's fuzzy ears perk up and guide her steps. Her anger blinks from existence and excitement driven curiosity immediately replaces it. "What was that?!"

A far off cacophony of magical energies reverberates distantly into the nearby soundscape. Veevi locks onto the origin and speeds off with childish glee. "I've GOT to see this!"

Tassilda widens her eyes in shock, frowns sharply, and chases after Veevi with a hand out. "YOU! GET. BACK. HERE!"

Veevi precedes Tassilda in the charge ahead, with the camera crew rushing to catch up. Samantha and Gerald quickly organize the mass of equipment and people tailing behind. Cresting over a small hill at the corner of the property, Veevi peers out into a field behind a ranch style house and spots the flashes of magical energies forming. Delight and excitement growing, she watches a half-emin woman with dark red hair and swept back horns release a potent fireball at a boulder in the middle of the field. The fireball impacts and bursts into a brilliant explosion, engulfing the large rock and wilting the surrounding grass. Veevi's pupils enlarge, fascination overflows, and she squeals gleefully at the powerful display. With speedy gestures and expedient chants, the half-emin woman follows up with another spell materializing in the condensing energies. A bolt of lightning arcs from her hand to the large rock. The leftover plasma fades into a fine vapor around a faintly glowing scorch mark. The other hand swings forward, and a misty beam jet out towards the stone mass. Frost builds upon a spot on the boulder, pouring out a light fog upon the earth.

Hearing a low growl next to her, Veevi darts her eyes over and studies Tassilda, intrigued. She follows the ireful glare from Tassilda and connects it to the half-emin woman in the field. A sly grin creeps out upon Veevi, and she draws in a long breath, readying her defiant, smug pose. After a long pause, she hems with dramatic flair and feigns puzzling over a thought out loud. "Well! Maybe if you aren't willing, or CAPABLE, of teaching me magic..."

A sinister spark glints in her pink pupils. "I wonder if SHE could teach me? She seems to know some spells."

Absent wind and air still in the vicinity, the loose and draping features of Tassilda's draping outfit drift up, and her posture stiffens. Slowly pivoting in place, she faces Veevi, lowers her glare down, and suppresses a dark glower down to a stern stare. "COME. I have magic to TEACH you."

She spins rigidly back toward the two-story house and marches firmly down the hill, stomping into the dirt with each step. Following behind her, Veevi sneaks one last glance towards the distant group of three and mouths upon a wry smile. "We shall see."

----

Around the dining table idling, the team awaits the connection of the call with Sebastian's ghostly form hovering nearby. An audible chime sounds out from an aetherphone, and Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange expectant glances. Aristespha places her aetherphone upon the dining table in the middle of the gathering. Leaning over, she settles upon the tabletop on her arms and projects her voice down towards the device. "I have you the speakerphone, Nash. Are you there?"

Through the phone's speaker, the squeak of an office chair echoes in from the remote background noise. A long sigh escapes the man at the other end of the call. "Yes. I am. Wow... Uh, yeah, what a day it has been here."

An eyebrow lifts up on Aristespha's ivory face, and she curls her upper lip warily. "Okay. Well, did you find out anything using the information I sent you, Nash?"

A singular, understated laugh leaves Nash, and he pauses to draw an audible hissing breath. "Yes. And... Well... No."

Crossing her arms, Sotalia pulls at the corner of her mouth, briefly eyeing Aristespha. She rests her attention back upon the phone and furrows her brow, waiting. Sebastian glances over to Aristespha, gauging her reaction, and returns to watching the phone. Cideeda's furry ears flick forward, and she awaits further explanation. Dretphi cocks her head to the side quizzically. Bach leans back in his chair, examining the group overall during the silence, and freezes stiffly when the wood creaks loudly. Nash lightly whistles and eases into an explanation. "Okay. SO... Um, Good news. I checked all the database addresses you gave me. And, they all resolved to the documents you described."

The faint sound of a hand scratching the back of head of hair slips out from the other side, and Nash groans, hinting dissatisfaction. "But... I can't find anything else."

He fights to subdue a frustrated grumble. "You're right, though. Dammit, Aristespha, the things you have to be right about..."

Drawing in a long breath, he sighs sadly. "You definitely found a decatalogging. Those addresses are nowhere in the master catalog."

A tight frown weighs heavily upon Aristespha, and a mix of emotions play out on her face upon the confirmation of suspicions. "I know... And, I usually like being right."

She chuckles lightly and, noticing Sebastian's concern, struggles to a loving smile. From the other side of the call, Nash snorts and laughs. "YEAH. So, I tried my best to find ANYTHING, especially after reading the copy of the report you sent up to higher ups."

His tone shifts, and he chuckles into a humored aside. "And... just between you all, as much as I like to consider myself a brave and bold man... I'm not going to lie. From what you described of the place, it would have not only been understandable for me to shit my pants in terror, but probably expected of me. I've heard the octave I shriek when I think a spider is on me."

A few scattered snorts, chuckles, and amused smirks show up around the table. Another squeak of the office chair joins the faint sounds of movement from the other end, and Nash snorts, laughing at himself. "And THAT is why they pay you all the big paychecks. Anyway... Let me get to the STRANGE news."

The gathering around the dining table concentrates upon the aetherphone on the tabletop, ears expectant. Nash pulls in a long breath and exhales slowly. Embarrassment tinges his tone, and he struggles to roll out his thoughts initially. "Uh, yeah, so... While I can access the database node logically through various systems..."

Pride chokes him up a moment, and he relents his defeat. "I don't know where the hell it is."

Pulling back her head, blinking her violet eyes, Aristespha darts her focus between spots in her mind, trying to process the exact meaning possible. Standing next to the table, Sotalia scoffs. "Pfft-"

She sharply furrows her brow on her light tan face and drops her hands down her sides upon her hips. "Um- Wait- What do you mean?!"

Cideeda's emerald green eyes spring open, and she immediately squints at the phone with an incredulous, confused twist of her face. "Okay. I'm pretty certain those database nodes are NOT small things. I AM assuming, but..."

Tilting her head to the side, her furry ears perk against her short hair, and she lifts a curious eyebrow. "Fairly large. Power hungry. Need ample cooling. Require a physical connection to a network system. Not something that's easily moved?! Am I guessing correctly?"

With a humbled cadence, Nash grumbles. "Yep. Correct on all those things. You sound exactly how I felt when I discovered the empty spot down that node bank where it SHOULD HAVE been."

Dretphi leans forward intrigued and calmly, respectfully inquires towards the aetherphone. "Could the node have been moved? The location information not updated? Clerical error?"

Another sigh escapes, and a punctuating, implosive click of the mouth sounds out from Nash on the other end of the call. "Yeah. Yeah. I hoped for that, too. But, no move requests, no hardware change orders, and..."

He grumbles a moment and groans out his frustration. "The network pings show it is still within that particular building. I even got the network folks to check it from other locations."

Pausing a moment, a dull, wooden thud of a hand landing upon a desk resonates audibly from the background. "It's in that building. SOMEWHERE. Gods damned if I know where the fuck it is. Every trace puts it in that server room."

Aristespha rests her elbows upon the table, props her head up between her hands, and slowly shakes her head side to side. "What exactly is going on here?"

Stroking his short beard thoughtfully, Bach blinks hard and ponders out loud. "Okay. So. There's A LOT of intent behind all of this. This is just a ridiculous amount of effort. This sounds like it required some real coordination."

Nash groans, both annoyed and disgusted at the situation. "Gods, tell me about it. I mean, this is the one time I was actually hoping for some sheer incompetence to be the reason behind it all... That would have been an easy problem to solve. NOPE. Actual determination and effort."

A faint squeak of an office chair filters into the dining area from the aetherphone, and he sighs with a trailing chuckle. "So, that will unfortunately make the next steps far more difficult. I'm going to do a proper physical trace of where this thing is early tomorrow. But, I don't know how long it'll take, since any maintenance information needs to be treated as possibly wrong. Either accidentally, or more likely purposefully. Just... Great..."

A weak smile manages to appear upon Aristespha, and she nods with an appreciative tone. "Regardless, thank you, Nash. Really. As concerning as the information is, it is good to know it. And, thank you for sharing it with us."

With a chuckle, Nash snorts. "Shit. Be careful with that mentality. Well, I'll call you again if I find anything else out. You all take care. And, if you all could keep away from any more abandoned towns with questionable histories, that would really help keep me from revisiting my alcoholism research. Also, anything more exciting is liable to kill off the higher ups from panic and fright."

His voice moves closer to the microphone, and he drops to an amused whisper. "Hey, I'm not exactly a fan of the higher ups, but they're a pretty predictable bunch, and I finally have most of them figured out. Don't do anything that'll make it in a report, okay? Let them process this, first, please?"

A laugh escapes from Aristespha, and her smile widens. She exchanges amused glances with the rest of the group, and rolls her eyes. "We will certainly try. I don't know how well we'll be able to keep it that way. But, we will do our best. Good night, Nash."

With a quick hum and playful grumble Nash finishes the conversation. "Okay. I'll believe you. Talk to you all later."

----

Just out of the way of the morning light beaming through the windows, Dretphi sits on her bed. She keeps her arm out and aims the screen of her aetherphone at her face, maintaining a stoic expression. Faintly furrowing her brow, she briefly sighs and speaks long, intricate sentences in a dialect of grath. She awaits with a stare upon the aetherphone screen, fighting subconscious attempts to shamefully avert her steely gray eyes. An older grath man on the video feed gazes through to Dretphi in a calm, cool demeanor. His steely gray eyes, matching Dretphi's, search his thoughts carefully. Curling the corners of his mouth, he wrinkles his forehead, his tan skin similar to Dretphi's. Tense, quiet moments pass. He breaks the looming silence in the room, and a firm, strangely soothing voice sounds out from the aetherphone. The grath accent shares many qualities of Dretphi's.

With each of his sentences, Dretphi gradually bows her head more and aims her eyes lower, a frown hinting. Noticing the souring mood, the older grath man on the screen pauses. He glances over to the corner of his mind and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. Cracking an amused smile, he speaks endearingly in a far warmer tone. Dretphi lifts her head back up with a full smile. Gazing with pride at the older grath man, she softly states a few admissions. The man on the other side of the call chuckles through the speaker and smiles lovingly, relaying a few more tidbits of humored wisdom. Dretphi verges on a grin. From the other side of the call, a woman's voice rises up from the background loudly in grath. Dretphi rigidly freezes and her eyes widen in near fright. The older grath man nonchalantly turns his head and calls back. Listening to a response, he returns to face Dretphi through the phone. He inquires with a few sentences, and Dretphi nods vigorously and stiffly. The older man laughs lovingly and sighs with a playful shake of his head. He smiles warmly with a few final words. Loosening up from the sudden tension, she smiles warmly back and returns a similar sentiment.

The phone call ends. Closing her eyes a few seconds with the happy smile, Dretphi places her phone on top of the bed near the pillows. She leans herself forward and stands up with the momentum. Walking out through the doorway into the hallway, she moves into the living area. Spotting Bach upon the couch, she steps near the furniture and aims her gaze down. "I am ready for our training. I apologize for the delay."

Bach blinks his attention away from the television and turns his head up towards Dretphi. "Oh! Yeah. Hey. No problem. Um, yeah, let me turn this thing off."

Stretching his arm forward with remote in hand, he presses the power button and rests the remote upon the coffee table. He lifts himself off the couch, stands up straight, and navigates his way out from behind the coffee table towards the sliding glass door. "So, uh, what was the delay? Anything wrong?"

Dretphi smiles at Bach and shakes her head, following behind Bach through the sliding door. "No. My birth father contacted me. He wanted to talk to me about my..."

Pausing a moment, she orbits the subject. "Recent, publicized confrontation."

Bach awkwardly contorts his face uncertainly and quirks an eyebrow at Dretphi with a tinge of concern. "So, uh, how did he feel about that whole, well... Situation?"

Concealing a soft bite of her lip, Dretphi sways her head slowly side to side, balancing her mixed emotions. "He reminded me of his wisdom to choose the confrontations I engage in with care."

The warm smile returns to her face, and she gazes at Bach. "Shared his opinion that he saw no fault in my actions. Relayed that my two house fathers are proud of me.

A sliver of grin creeps from the corner of her mouth, and her pride slips out. "My opponent had it coming in their opinion. Their perspectives come from experience."

Bach nods with satisfaction. The two travel to a large oak tree on the side of the ranch style house, and stop in the short grass area near the shade of the fresh, filling canopy. "Well, I still don't know what that Trakenthin guy said, but I'll trust your decision was the right one."

He drops down to a louder whisper. "It really didn't sound good, like, at all."

An awareness picks at Dretphi's attitude, and her amusement struggles against a looming thought. Squinting briefly, Bach lifts an eyebrow and addresses Dretphi. "So, was there something else?"

Dretphi blinks off guard, notices Bach's examination, and sighs with a tinge of wariness. "My birth father warned me my mother will call me tonight."

Bach visibly puzzles for a moment and tilts his head to the side. "Wait. Warned?"

Her eyes hunting her mind for the correct terminology, Dretphi sighs out her vague frustration. "Warned is not accurate. The original term does not have an exact translation. It is the act of informing someone with contextual foreboding not probable enough to classify as a warning."

Bach stops walking, blinks hard, and ponders out loud. "Okay... So... There's a specific word for that type of thing?"

Dretphi succinctly nods to and plainly gazes upon Bach. "Yes. There are variations dependent upon source, target, situation."

Furrowing his brow, Bach thoughtfully cocks his head and crosses his arms, bouncing his blue eyes between parts of his mind. "I- um. Huh. Okay, you're going to have to give me some examples here. Americ has nothing like that. And, I am no expert in that even."

A warm smile grows on Dretphi's tan face, and she nods, reaching for roll out mats leaning upon the oak tree. "Indeed. Will explain during our workout."

----

Next to the sliding glass door, Deedri stands, leaning her back against the tan brick wall of the two story house. She stares out into the backyard and watches Veevi wildly swing with a padded training sword at the towering Trakenthin. Within Trakenthin's single handed grasp, a thick, straight branch effortlessly intercepts each crude swipe from Veevi, halting attack after attack. Clumsily hopping away, Veevi readies herself in a surge of arrogance masquerading as confidence. Believing her stance and form fit the situation, she charges into a sloppy flurry of overly animated, exaggerated swings. Trakenthin fights against boredom and unenthusiastically counters each strike from Veevi, casually deflecting them away with the large stick. Each contact of wooden weaponry breaks Trakenthin briefly from the ongoing tedium.

The sliding glass door opens, and Modoran peeks his head cautiously out through the gap. Noticing Deedri brushing off the apron of her usual medical mage attire, he smiles smugly with a tinge of sarcasm. "Well, I see that Trakenthin hasn't killed her yet."

A furry ear perks over to Modoran's voice, and Deedri follows through with a glance over. Tightening her lips, she sighs and fails to hold back a roll of her auburn eyes. "No. She's very lucky he hasn't put any effort into sparring."

Modoran gazes over to the match and watches another barrage from Veevi crash into deflection after deflection, nothing phasing Trakenthin. With a frown curling from the corner of his mouth, Modoran shakes his head of short, grayish white hair. "Hope she gets tired enough to realize she should quit.

He pulls a humored smirk into the corner of his dusky bluish gray face. "Or, angry enough to storm off, soon. At least before Trakenthin decides to finish it for the day."

Deedri nods uneasily and cringes briefly, contorting vaguely at the thought. She ponders for a moment and gazes over, puzzling at Modoran. "By the way, where were you yesterday? Veevi was looking EVERYWHERE for you. She even checked the garbage cans."

A snort escapes through the sly grin upon Modoran face, a hint of devious glee slips out. "OH. THAT."

He smugly quirks an eyebrow and rolls his dark blue eyes. "Well, after seeing how things between her and Tassilda went Monday... I thought I'd figure out a way to keep my distance. So, I convinced her that playing a game of hide and seek, that she couldn't win, was part of her stealth training."

Crossing her arms, Deedri momentarily musters a stern glare at Modoran. She swiftly settles to mild, general annoyance, and idly gazes out to the backyard. "That must have been NICE. Where did you end up hiding?"

Modoran steps out the rest of the way through the doorway and closes the sliding glass door behind him. Resting his back up against the brickwork near Deedri, he smirks amused. "Oh, over into the forest over there. I decided to spy on our neighbors for a while."

With a quick snap of her head, Deedri focuses her wide eyed curiosity upon Modoran and lowers her voice. "Wh- D-Did you see anything going on?!"

Modoran shrugs nonchalantly, presenting an unimpressed smile to Deedri. "Not really. The grath woman, Dretphi I think, was running laps around the house with the human... Um... Bach? Yeah, him. It was a pretty intense workout. He could barely keep up for most of it."

Sorting through recent memory, he blinks to a recollection and perks up, smiling happily. "Oh! I did find some more of those protellow seeds in the forest. They were a bit further in, but still close to the house."

Deedri's eyes brighten, and she grins excitedly and pops up on her toes, clasping her hands together. "Wow! OH! There MUST be a patch deeper in the forest. Even as far as they can launch their seeds, that still means they're pretty close by. We should be able to figure out where they are."

A shrill growl overflowing with ire bellows out from Veevi, and she steadies her training sword, pointing it at Trakenthin. "OH! Some GREAT swordsman you are! Always blocking, and on the defensive."

Veevi curls a mean smile and narrows a derisive stare up at Trakenthin. "So... Are you using the same tactics SHE DEFEATED YOU with?!"

Distractions within Trakenthin's mind fearfully leap clear from the burst of indignation and contempt jetting to the front of his consciousness. His posture shifts drastically. His stance changes. And, his grip on the wooden branch slides. Awaiting Veevi's attack, he focuses his cold glower down upon her. Summoning all the dramatic bravado possible, Veevi lunges forth into an assault towards Trakenthin. Her training blade halts early against an immovable object. Confusion erupts on her tan face. The large stick vanishes in a brief blur away from Veevi's sword, and she stumbles forward. An incredibly hard, overpowering back swing strikes Veevi's training weapon. Veevi spins around with the momentum of her sword and struggles to find her footing, awkwardly dancing upon the grassy lawn in an uncoordinated mess. She sinks her foot into a section of loose sod and tumbles over herself. Moments after crashing into the dirt, she curls up, both hands grasping around her ankle, and wails in pain.

Grimacing, Deedri sighs, her eyes glancing up in resignation. She pushes forward from the wall and jogs over to the downed half-fvalian girl. Lowering herself to her knees next to Veevi, she cautiously reaches through Veevi's frantic flails and panic, securing a safe grasp of the leg. Deedri's eyes glow light auburn, and she focuses upon Veevi's ankle. Granting a comforting smile to the worried Veevi and the ever present camera crew, she calmly explains. "You'll be fine. You only just twisted it a little. Let me address it with a quick spell."

Veevi seats herself upon the grass and props herself up with arms behind her, allowing Deedri to guide her foot onto a lap. With a series of gestures and incantations, Deedri flows waves of blue and green energies down into her palms and expertly places her hands upon Veevi's leg. The power leaves Deedri and sinks into ankle, each pulse illuminating less of the foot over time. Minutes later, the energy flow wanes, and Deedri withdraws her hands. "That should soothe the pain, combat the swelling, and speed up the healing."

She digs through the pockets of her outfit, rummaging for the right item. "But... We'll still need to provide it some support for now. I should have some compression wraps..."

Tilting her upper body forward, Veevi examines her foot. She carefully flexes the stiff ankle joint around, managing a series of small circular movements. The prior fright and nerves fade to a happy smile. Her eyes glance up to Deedri, watching Deedri inspect pocket after pocket. The happy smile mutates into a sly, seductive grin, and Veevi gazes down near her foot. Removing a roll from her pocket, Deedri locates the flexible compression bandage and pauses, blinking blankly. Her confusion leads her attention down to an odd pressure moving on top of her apron along her inner thigh. Veevi continues gently brushing her big toe upon Deedri's apron. Uncomfortable, nervous energy flows down Deedri's spine into her tail. The unsettling wave bristles the hairs down to the very tip. Slowly lifting up her head, Deedri meets Veevi's intense stare. With the bandage roll in hand, she awkwardly forces a smile upon her fair face. "I... Found the... Compression wrap."

With a flirtatious roll of the shoulders, Veevi relaxes her posture and suggestively bites her lower lip, hovering her foot up and flexing her toes. She gazes at Deedri, waiting to catch the return of Deedri's averting glance, and winks with a quick lick of the lips. Deedri's professionally stoic demeanor barely contains the internal scream resonating within through her wide-eyed shock.

----

Sitting at the dining table, Cideeda engages the last lock on the upper outer casing of her laser pistol. Angling the pistol to the side, she showcases the device to Bach and circles a claw tip over the mechanism. "And THAT is how you field strip the Arc and Spark Light Lance four fifty."

In the chair next to Cideeda, Bach nods impressed and strokes his chin in thought. "So, how many times have you done a field stripping... in the actual field?"

With a few wags of her tail, Cideeda darts her emerald green eyes through memory and pantomimes the math on her fingers. "Maybe twenty... five times? With this pistol at least."

She carefully raises the barrel of the device up to the ceiling and taps upon the casing. "So long as the laser core is in good shape and you don't break the case seal, it should work long enough to get you home. They're tough but not indestructible. A few good drops on hard ground can loosen up the casing enough to let dirt get in."

Glancing around the dining table crowded with parts containers surrounding both Cideeda and him, Bach lifts a curious eyebrow. "So, why laser pistols?"

He narrows a quick glance at Cideeda and smirks. "From personal experience, you're pretty good with a shotgun."

Cideeda flashes a toothy grin and rests the laser pistol back into its custom cutout within a protective case. "Well... As much as I love my shotgun, the recoil doesn't help when I need to be moving around and keeping my aim on something."

Shrugging, she closes the top of the weapon case. "The laser pistols have no recoil, burn lines at targets, and the energy cells weigh A LOT less."

Sliding the pistol case off the table onto the ground, she shifts her focus to a large rectangular container and securely grasps it with both hands, claw tips eagerly sinking to the cloth exterior. "Also, I usually use the shotgun for the specialty ammunition most of the time. I only use buckshot or slugs when I know I have to punch through something tough."

Bach nods a moment and cracks a grin. "So, like cyber-zombies?"

Shuddering briefly, Cideeda twists her face and flicks her furry ears back. "Yeah... Still, I would rather take something like that out from much further way with the specialty ammo I have."

She hoists the padded fabric box upon the table top, hooks a claw into the zipper handle loop, and flashes a sly grin at Bach. "NOW, along with your training today, I have a special task that's perfect for your skill set."

Cocking his head to the side, Bach gradually lifts an intrigued eyebrow, tugging a corner smirk on his mouth. He watches the container and waits expectantly. Cideeda undoes the zipper around the perimeter of the top flap's edges and deftly slips a hand inside, seeking something within. Her forearm muscles flex briefly, she withdraws her fist out of the fabric covered case and gently rests a cupped hand upon the table between her and Bach. In a dramatic flourish, she opens her grip and reveals a small plastic figurine upon a twenty five millimeter diameter base. The shiny details of the miniature glint from the natural light beaming in from the sliding glass door and artificial sources from the lamp overhead. The figure stands dramatically positioned in an action pose. Dark emerald green plate armor covers the humanoid. Wielding a large revolver pointing forward, it holds a translucent energy shield in the other gauntlet covered hand. Bach studies the intricate paint upon the plastic model and glances up, puzzling at Cideeda. "Huh. Okay. Um... Do you want me to paint them or something-?"

Shaking her head with a hard blink, Cideeda laughs, a defensive tinge slipping out. "OH! NO. Never. Only I get to paint them. Which I'm going to touch up, but..."

Her expression softens, and she dons a sweet, endearing smile. Fluttering her eyes, she gazes at Bach and coyly fidgets in her seat. "Could you change their poses for me? I'd really like them to look nice for the Legends of Nexus tournament this Saturday at the game shop."

Bach aims his scrutiny at the figurine and returns his reserved stare to Cideeda. He squirms in his seat, and she concentrates her pleading, hopeful gaze. Cracking a smile, he sighs amused and turns his head away. "Okay, I'll help. Just stop using that look on me. Gods, no wonder you get all those discounts."

The cute act disappears in a flash, and Cideeda widens a prominent, sly toothy grin. She flips over the top flap of the zipper container and proudly displays her rows of miniatures, removing tray after tray. Plucking a few choice ones out, she places them in front of Bach, and instructs him about every single aspect of the real world and in-game details. Bach listens with interest, watching Cideeda act out her desired new poses.

-28-

In the living room, the ceiling fan spins slowly and gently stirs up waves of air sifting through the sliding screen of the back door. Sitting at the dining table, Bach concentrates upon the weathered old book from the abandoned town. He briefly examines the simple necklace and decorative blue ribbon off to the side, and returns his attention back to the journal. Carefully parting the cover with faint cracks from the spine, he turns through the blank outer pages and stops upon the first handwritten paragraph.

"This is the journal of Isaac Kurt Huxley. Truth be told, I have been prompted by my wife Sylvia to record my thoughts about our new adventure here at Orth Ridge. I must say, it has been quite the trip to get here and a delightful chaos since we arrived. They are still getting the basics of the village together. The engineers have gotten power and water working just fine, but they seem to be having difficulty getting the aethernet relays online. Some strange interference source in the area from what I have gathered in assisting them. But, they have been able to get radio links functional, enough, and even managed to bounce a signal off one of the ancient satellites the Grand Library has figured out how to reprogram over the years. The fact that something that old still functions absolutely fascinates me to no end."

"Overall, we are all settling in just fine. Even little Cynthia is warming up to the place. Once she found out she would be getting her own room and a play area in the office, I think all her reservations disappeared. I can't thank Dr. Dawkins enough for putting us on this assignment. From everything the records we have found so far have implied, there is something very unique here. I can't wait until the outer area is cleared by the safety teams. I have to say, it is a bit frustrating to see such an amazing site hinted at just outside my bedroom window and know we can't go there yet. Sylvia at least has been able to put her writing and artistry skills to use in documenting the happenings of the site. If the drafts of her latest book are any indicator, they will be quite the exciting read for the higher ups."

Bach's blue eyes follow line upon line of handwritten word upon the weathered pages. Flipping through, he hovers studious gazes over each page and follows the flow of text to the next page. He spots a section of bold and large script contrasting the prior entries and focuses his gaze upon the page, squinting curiously.

"AMAZING! I cannot relay into words how excited I am! The industrial nature of the outer area was intriguing enough, and the hours of speculation about what happened here have made for truly epic and inspiring late night debates. But after so long, we finally were granted access into the circular chamber. The pictures the safety investigators brought back do not do it proper justice. Unlike the industrial warehouse before it, this chamber is magnificent with the grand circular platform, and the strange construction is baffling upon initial inspections. The safety teams have given the area a green for our exploration and have found nothing immediately dangerous. We will still take full precautions and place a number of flow monitors in the area to detect anything that may be lingering. It is not the first time ruins have sparked to life with new activity."

"I will admit I am a bit wary of crossing the bridge through that eerily dark warehouse. Thankfully, they have put up a few layers of barriers to create a protective tunnel through, and the rest of the area is a strict red zone. The most I have heard they are doing in that area is send pure electronic drones to place sensors, and they lock down the surrounding area before attempting that much. Still, my travels through there will be at a gingerly pace. They are only allowing our team to go through the space at the moment, but if that area seems dormant enough they will open it up to others. Sylvia is very eager to see the grand chamber for herself and is very keen on drawing it. I am certain a picture will do enough for the higher ups, but she so enjoys capturing such grand things upon paper herself. From the looks of it, she will have plenty of vantage points with the encircling balcony walkway."

A breath slowly escapes Bach with a trailing shudder. Recent memories rise up into his consciousness, and he vaguely contorts the flit of discomfort out. He follows the writing to the next page and the end of the entry. The handwritten installments grow longer with each chapter, and Bach sifts through the daily logs outlining the mundane. He halts himself from turning further and stares at the current page. The entry starkly contrasts many prior, shaky handwriting, less words, and dated a week late.

"I have finally gotten the presence of mind to write into this journal. Sylvia writes to help with her thoughts, and I more than ever need any help I can muster. Something happened a week ago. They are still investigating. I don't know what happened. Sylvia and Cynthia are fighting for their lives. Something exploded in the warehouse. They were bringing me lunch so we could have a picnic in the grand chamber. They were on the bridge when it happened. By the time I got to the archway, I saw them midway on the bridge trying to get their footing to run clear. That black miasma was shredding the layers of barriers. Johnathan. Gods, he tried to keep the barriers up and keep the safety doors overridden. Gods, he blames himself, even after saving me from getting hit by that black jet of energy. Why did this happen? I need to return to their sides."

Noticing odd markings upon the paper, Bach lowers his head close to the page and examines scattered water droplet stains below the trailing path of ink dried in a faint pen tip path. Rolling the page over to the next entry, his eyes trace the wavering penmanship and irregular spacing between words.

"Dr. Malkav has a plan. I always thought of him to be on the fringes of madness with his theories. Gods, I never saw eye to eye with him. But. That man cried for my Sylvia and Cynthia. When he thought no one could see, he broke down and cursed the gods like I have every day since what happened. If he is right, then this energy can be countered enough to save them. Artifacts with some ability to emit elder energy are being located and rushed out to the site as soon as possible from the Grand Library. It has to work. It makes so much sense the more I think about it. I wish I had thought of it sooner. I have to go back, I won't abandon them."

A frown upon Bach's face darkens shades grimmer, and he reads the next few shrinking entries. Pauses at a nearly empty page, he stares at the last semblance of writing, a single sentence.

"They are gone..."

A water worn trail of ink drifts aimlessly upon the bound piece of paper through a few of the many bubbles of droplet stains. The binding of the book remembers. The journal easily remains open on the moisture warped page. Bach slowly parts the stiff pages, finding many attempts to start new entries. Dates upon the header devolve into mere aimless pen marks. On top of the remaining pages, an explosion of ink and a small indentation piercing through records the final effort put into the old journal.

Releases a sigh, Bach withdraws away from the book and searches his mind, idly staring into a distance inside his head. The wooden and ceramic meeting of a mug upon the table top brings him back to awareness, and he turns his head towards Aristespha. "Oh. Hey."

He glances down at the cup next to him and watches Aristespha sit on a chair next to him with her own mug. "Thanks. I think I need the tea right now."

With a smirk, Aristespha lifts an eyebrow and shakes her head, eyeing the book in front of Bach. "If it was not midday on a Thursday, I would have put a lot more than tea in there to help you get through that journal."

Bach lifts the mug up and takes a long sip of the brew. Aristespha nods at the uneasy expression upon Bach and wrestles a flit of unease. "About the same look I had after reading it over."

Briefly eyeing the material, Bach uses a free hand to close the book up and calmly slides it away. "Yeah... It started out so nice, too. I can see why you are a little on edge lately. I just... Wow. I don't know what to think about... THAT."

Aristespha rests her head against the chair back, guides some of her silvery blue hair over her long pointed ears, and sighs with a hard blink. "Honestly, I just don't quite know, either."

The two share seconds of reflective silence. A thought surfaces in Bach's mind, and he stares at the book, squinting through a wave of intrigue tempered by fear. He gradually cocks his head to the side and slides his wary gaze to Aristespha. "You... think... that's..."

Aristespha follows the insinuation from Bach, eyes the old journal, and uncomfortably bites her lip with widened violet eyes. "I have entertained that thought, too. And..."

Briefly tensing her shoulders, she hisses out a breath through gritted teeth. "I REALLY would NOT know how to feel about THAT."

Blinking a few times, Bach pulls in a lung full of air and exhales slowly, delaying his own conclusions. He slides the book away from him a bit more and glances around for anything else. "SO... You got any more experimental materials you want to try to make today?"

A flash of interest lights up Aristespha's mood, and she smiles with an eager tone. "Oh! Yes, I do. That sounds like a great thing to do right now."

Next to the worn old journal, the plain silver traces in the simple necklace glint in the few beams of sunlight sneaking in, and the blue ribbon gently waves in the flow of air from the fan above.

----

In the dark space, a tall, large bellied man wanders in the walkways between towering rows of metal cases. A constant chorus of fan hum accompanies the low roll of air flowing in overhead ductwork hanging down from the high panel ceiling. Graying wild hairs freely follow the chaotic winds between different currents, and the middle aged man continues down the avenue of technology, orderly congregations of lights upon equipment bordering him. In the dimly lit region of the cavernous chamber, he stops, consults an old paper blueprint, and sharply turns down an intersecting path towards a heavy duty wall. Halting at the intersection, he eyes the map, stares overhead with a flashlight in hand, highlighting his wandering interest. He pivots to face a dead end and squints through the sea of green, amber, and blue status lights reflecting upon his glasses. His eyes trace a series of conduits mounted underneath the ceiling panels. The spotlight halts upon a collection of junction boxes, and he furrows his brow at the slightly newer sheen upon conduits, contrasting the piping nearby. Stepping forward in thought, he focuses upon a run of tubing leading straight into the concrete and brick wall. "Okay... That's not exactly what I'm here for..."

The flashlight searches along the merging of wall and conduit, and he mumbles to himself. "...but... ...that's pretty fuckin' weird..."

Glancing down at the worn blueprints, he holds them near the vented door of a server rack. The constant cooling fan suction slaps the paperwork securely upon the mesh surface. The man shines the flashlight upon detailed schematics, tracing a yellow highlighted path of wiring diagrams, and taps his finger upon the inconsistent section. Quickly checking the change date in the margin of notes, the man narrows his glare at the mass of junction boxes with annoyed grumble to himself. "The fuck did they put a junction down here for?"

Wrestling down an irritated frown, he sighs out his frustration. "What do you even go to?"

Crossing his arms, he studies the wall and darts his eyes to several other unique oddities, each new discovery tugging at the corners of his puzzling expression. He pinches the bridge of his nose and mumbles to himself. Reaching into his pants pocket, he retrieves his aetherphone and taps through a few menus. A call initiates and connects seconds later. Pulling in a deep breath, Nash places the phone on his ear. "Hey! Harvos! Got a question for YOU."

The proper, male voice at the other end sighs briefly. "Yes, Nash, and whatever would THAT be?"

Nash cocks his head to the side and lifts an amused eyebrow. "Okay... So, pretend you're searching for an artifact you KNOW should be in your possession. You go to the spot it should be and find out, it's gone."

Harvos's curious tone rises out from the speaker. "Okay. Following the analogy, I would check to see if it has been misplaced, loaned out, or something is wrong with the paperwork. I assume you have already done similar by now."

With an exaggerated nod, Nash paces around the dead end of the row. "Correct. Now. The weird thing is that everything shows that it is still in the room it is supposed to be in, and there are no signs that it has left that room. So, you go to manually, physically check everything in that room. Then, while tracking it down, you find the plug for some THING plugged in, but the cord runs into a wall... Where nothing needing power should be."

A brief pause later, Harvos audibly puzzles with an exhale, his voice teetering between intrigue and wariness. "THAT would certainly be concerning... And, extremely strange."

Nash places his free hand on his side and dons a tight smile with a grit of the teeth. "YEAH. That's what I thought, too. I just really wanted to confirm my suspicions with someone else, just to make sure my initial impressions were correct."

Following his curiosity, Harvos chuckles lightly from the other side of the call. "Well, not that I don't mind helping you out, BUT... I have to ask, why did you call ME?"

A sly grin parts Nash's mouth, and he chuckles, near goading in tone. "WELL, it turns out this database node I'm missing has some of your department's decataloged data on it."

A long silence resonates out from the aetherphone and briefly pushes away the ambient fan din. A singular thoughtful hum from the other side of the call breaks the tension. Sounds of movement find their way out of the speaker, and Harvos faintly chuckles in the mix of noise. "I will be right over. This sounds FAR more entertaining than this budget spreadsheet."

----

A breeze floats across the field of grass behind the ranch style house, gently pushing down the tallest blades. Aristespha inspects a practice sword, feels out the balance, and swings precisely in front of her. With a well-worn practice sword in hand, Bach stands a few meters away, bubbling with apprehension between averting glances. "So... Uh... Are we doing basic drills? Practicing footwork? Um-"

Twirling the training blade into a confident step forward, Aristespha aims the tip ahead and smiles, cracking the hint of a grin. "I thought we would spar a bit."

Bach's eyes widen briefly and search around nervously, and an awkward, weak laugh stumbles out. "Ah, heh... What?"

Sebastian floats into the space between Aristespha and Bach. "Don't play dumb, bro. I know you know most of mom's sword fighting techniques. You're not completely helpless here."

A cringe starts at Bach's cheek and creeps to the corner of his mouth. "Knowledge of... Yes. Proper application... Nooo."

Shrugging his shoulders, he loosely hangs the practice sword in hand and glances over towards Dretphi and Cideeda working through stretching routines upon mats off the patio. "You know, how about we join them. I totally need to work on my flexibility a bit and-"

Sebastian snaps his gaze to Aristespha, tilts his head towards Bach, and mouths. "Now."

Aristespha focuses her stare at Bach and lunges forward, her training blade thrusting towards his midsection. Locking onto the sudden movement, Bach's blue eyes flick to the source and assess the assault. He hops back from Aristespha's attack, swipes his sword, and deflects, readying himself to a defensive stance instinctively. Slyly grinning, Sebastian crosses his arms and perks a smug eyebrow to Aristespha's piqued amusement. "SEE. He damn well knows the moves. You're going to have to force it out of him."

Bach briefly flashes an annoyed sneer to Sebastian, keeping his wary attention split on Aristespha. "Yeah. I KNOW the moves, but I've never been able to DO anything with them..."

His sentence trails off. Aristespha steps forward with an overhead swing and drops down her sword, clashing upon Bach's raised blade. Redirecting the opposing weapon to the side, Bach backs away. "Okay, you made your point. Let's do some drills. I'm really rusty and I could really use the-"

Aristespha pushes forward in a flurry of careful strikes. Startling into the defensive, he counters each attack in a tense fervor of motion. With the final deflection, Bach distances himself further from Aristespha and points his practice weapon at her. "Good gods! Stop that! Dammit, Sebastian! What the fuck did you tell her?!"

Sebastian averts his translucent blue eyes away with a humored smile and chuckles to himself. "Oh, nothing really, bro. Just how mom would always teach us sword fighting and let us spar against each other... And..."

A devilish smirk curls upon Sebastian's translucent form. "That you are probably the best one to help her practice what I've taught her."

A twitch settles in the corner of Bach's eye, and he glares, irritation welling. "Gods damn it, man! I'm not THAT good at-"

He shifts his footing, side steps, and guides his blade, diverting Aristespha's lunging thrust. Aristespha stands back up straight, glancing towards Sebastian with a sly smile, and gazes at Bach curiously. "You have defensive maneuvers. But, I have yet to see any offensive moves."

Grinning, she poses confidently, readies her training sword, and signals Bach to attack with her curling hand. Bach sighs, drooping his shoulders. He prepares himself and launches into an attack. Aristespha counters a few well executed moves with difficulty. Performing sloppy side-stepping deflection, Bach manages to create an opening. Failing to capitalize on the opportunity, clumsiness and lack of practice completely hinder his efforts. Aristespha swiftly swings and slaps her practice blade hard. A loud smack sounds from the surface of Bach's outer thigh. Yelping, he hops awkwardly back and dramatically rubs his pants leg. "OW! Dammit! Did he tell you to hit me that hard, too?! Shit!"

Aristespha lifts her brow and ponders to herself. Her violet eyes flips through her mind upon events, and she nods with a renewed understanding. "I think I see what you were telling me, Sebastian."

Sebastian sighs ethereally, shaking the head of his ghostly form. "It's unfortunately so, dear."

Bach snaps his dubious glare between Sebastian and Aristespha, a hand still protecting the sore spot on his leg. "Okay... What else has been said about me?"

A bit of shame bubbles up into Sebastian's face, and he rubs the back of his neck with a tight smile. "Well... That you are awful at offense because I always kept you on the defensive. And, well, I'd never let you get an attack off all the way, so you don't know how to follow through properly."

After a long stare, Bach's suspicious expression softens into an agreeable series of nods. "Huh. Yeah. That... That's actually pretty much it. I mean, about the only times I won is when I used some magic-"

Narrowing his gaze, Sebastian pulls the corner of his mouth into an annoyed smirk and crosses his arms unamused. "Or threw the sword at me."

Bach closes his mouth, meets Sebastian's accusatory stare, and averts his eyes in embarrassment. Grumbling, he squints at Sebastian. "OH. Well, what the fuck else was I supposed to do?! No rules against it. We were tied. And, you won the coin flip, so a draw would go to you."

He points to himself and straightens his posture defiantly. "I HAD no other choice."

A singular cackle escapes Sebastian's stoic facade. "Bullshit! You could have fought me, normally! Like you are supposed to!"

Snorting, Bach shakes his head dismissively. "Oh yeah, and lost horribly. Hey! Mom warned the camp instructor to NOT put us in competition with each other. Everyone was warned.

A wry smile creeps up on Sebastian's face, memories fluttering in his mind. His posture loosens with a humored smile on his face. "That was still pretty funny watching him dodge your sword after I smacked it out of the way, bro."

The brothers share a few snickers and chuckles. Bach snorts and shakes his head. "He SO wanted to yell at us, too. That the-fuck-did-you-expect look from mom was amazing."

Sebastian resumes a commanding stance and instructs his brother. "Yeah. Okay. Practice some offense with Aristespha today."

He glances lovingly over to Aristespha. "Be lenient on the timing. But... Don't be afraid to let him know his mistakes, dear."

A sly grin widens upon Aristespha, and she slowly aims her violet stare at Bach. "Do not worry. I will only break what I can fix."

Bach blinks hard and fights off reluctance, readying himself. "Uh, THE HELL is THAT supposed to mean?"

Clanks and clashes of training weaponry fill the air in the following minutes, with yips, groans, and grumbles of pain, aggravation, and frustration from Bach. Off the end of the back patio, a lattice door opens on the small screened gazebo, and Sotalia struts out. Faint wafts of steam radiate off her two-tone patterned skin and two-piece bathing suit. She pats her face with a towel and drapes it across the back of neck, down over her shoulders. Guiding water slicked, dark red hair over her black swept-back horns, she stops near Cideeda and Dretphi, watching Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian. "So... How long have they been going at it?"

Cideeda inhales slowly, points her clawed toes, and flexes her legs, maintaining her full side split upon the mat. She places a hand in front and rests one behind her to steady herself, glancing up to Sotalia. "Only the last few minutes. Did you space out in the hot tub again?"

Sotalia grimaces briefly and rolls her golden eyes from her own embarrassment. "Well. Yes. Gods, I couldn't help it. It's a nice calm Friday, and it's just off the back patio.

Furrowing her brow, she rolls her eyes and sighs. "You can't put a nice thing that convenient to me and not expect me to abuse it to the fullest."

She inspects Cideeda's position on the mat and cringes with a grit of the teeth, squirming at the hips. "Girl, I do not know how you can just sit there like that. I think I'm starting to hurt just looking."

Smiling proudly, Cideeda shakes her head and snorts. "Just time and effort to get there, and little to maintain it. I could show you the exercises I did when my mom put me in gymnastics. Nothing too intense, but it's a start."

A loud smack grabs Sotalia's attention, and she watches the sparring between Aristespha and Bach. Shaking the sting out of his hand, Bach circles away from Aristespha and returns to his starting spot. He glares all his irritation at Sebastian. "Dammit! Oh, gods! It's just like fighting YOU!"

Sebastian chuckles smugly and shrugs his hands out to the side. "Hey, what can I say, bro? I taught her, and she learned quick."

Sotalia snickers to herself and shakes her head, glancing down to Cideeda. "Not today, girl. Too nice of a day to be torturing myself."

Cideeda furrows her brow up at Sotalia and motions her head over to Dretphi. "Oh. It's what everyone's doing today. Even Dretphi is doing those exercises."

Sotalia angles her head up away from Cideeda and observes Dretphi on the next mat over. Dretphi sits with her legs spread out, forming a rough ninety degree angle. Grimacing, she attempts to reach her arms out forward and touch the furthest part of the ground in front of her. A minute of struggling later, she relaxes her arms and straightens her back. Drawing her legs together, the residual cringe of pain fades upon her tan face in a slow exhale. Sotalia pivots around sharply and struts with a determined sway to each step towards the sliding glass back door. Sebastian peeks over his shoulder and quirks his brow. Coasting backwards up to a pace just in front of Sotalia, and he pries curiously. "Hey. How's your day been?"

Sotalia stops with a hand on her hip and a nonchalant smile. "Really quite wonderful. Woke up late. Nice hot tub session. And..."

She peeks around Sebastian towards the sliding glass door and smirks. "I think I'm going to read my novels in the warmth of the sun until we watch our favorite show tonight."

Adopting a sly grin, Sebastian nods expectantly. "Yeah... Sounds good. BUT, the show's not on until much later. SO, you can spare an hour, right? Plenty hours left for reading, still."

A dark red eyebrow rises upon Sotalia's light tan face, and she squints her golden eyes. "An hour for WHAT?"

With a quick glance past her, Sebastian motions Sotalia's attention towards the rest of the group and their different activities. She eyes over her shoulder and returns with a dismissive smirk on her face. "OH. I'm good. Thank you, though."

Crossing his arms, Sebastian tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes incredulously at Sotalia. "NO. I think you need to put in an hour doing something resembling exercise."

Both of Sotalia's hands firmly grasp her hips. She straightens her posture defensively and stares sternly at Sebastian. With his ethereal form returning the gesture, Sebastian calmly speaks. "I'm not asking for a lot. Just an hour or two a week doing some kind of physical training. Just to maintain yourself."

Sotalia's expression contorts towards a mild glare, and she tips her head back, her eyes keeping focus on Sebastian. "Maintain myself?"

Sebastian groans out a long sigh and shakes his head. "Yes. You do keep yourself up with your magical training. But, if your magic doesn't work, what do you have to fall back on?"

Thoughts within Sotalia's head tug at edges of her face, near the dark gray patches. With a reassuring tone, Sebastian continues. "Hey, you are the magical power house of the group. BUT... With me being practically a ghost and Noxian changing up his tactics... I'd really feel better if everyone was at least at a certain physical fitness."

Sotalia crosses her arms tightly and averts her eyes away from direct contact. Each moment Sotalia settles her gaze away from Sebastian, he shifts over for eye contact. Seconds later, Sotalia concedes when staring up into the sky provides no refuge from the hovering ethereal form of Sebastian. Leveling her head and she stares forward at Sebastian, following her eye line down. Sebastian sighs, closes the distance, and whispers pleadingly. "Come on, Sol. What's more of a hit on your pride? Being awkward and goofy in front of us with some exercises, or having a vine controlled by some bratty teenager interrupt your spell because you didn't know what to do about it?"

A snort escapes Sotalia. She bites a smile against a twist of embarrassment and shakes her head at Sebastian with an amused tone. "Oh, fuck you."

Rolling her eyes at herself, she snickers to a lighter tone. "Okay. I'll TRY."

Hovering a pointed finger in front of Sebastian's chest, she smiles softly. "But, I get to stop the routine when you are back to normal."

Sebastian nods with a happy smile. "Fine with me."

Another loud smack rings out with a yelp from Bach. Sotalia gazes over to the rest of the group. "I do hope you are not expecting me to fight in my bathing suit."

An ethereal laugh resonates from Sebastian, and he shakes his head. "NO. You're more than welcome to change clothes and do some sword training. But, I'd figured you could just join Cideeda and Dretphi, today."

He peeks over his shoulder and blinks somewhat surprised at the sparring match. "Plus... I think Aristespha is having way too much fun at the moment."

With a playfully evil tint, Sotalia grins and eyes Sebastian. "I noticed. You might need to go over there and make sure she's keeping it educational. Need to make sure she doesn't start exorcising some repressed frustrations on your brother."

Sebastian nods with an eye roll and drifts towards a zealous Aristespha and frantically defensive Bach. "Yeah... I really should have been easier when I taught her."

Taking a few steps toward the sliding glass door, Sotalia stops and glances down at herself in the bathing suit. She thinks for a moment, spins around, and watches Cideeda stretch herself. Observing Bach, she searches her mind and idly shifts her weight between her feet. A flicker of mischief lights her golden eyes, and she struts out towards Cideeda and Dretphi. A sinister influence infiltrates her smile, and she settles down upon a free mat near Aristespha and Bach sparing. Directing her voice to Cideeda, Sotalia slowly stretches her body out and grins mischievously. "So, what were those exercises, again?"

----

In a dimly lit section of a cavernous structure, Nash stands in the concrete walkway along with an emin man, between monolithic metal racks. The emin combs his short, bright brown hair back with a hand and shakes his head in disbelief, his bright brown on black eyes examining the wall ahead. "Nash, these are the times I wish you were wrong."

Nash leans his weight upon the handle top of a sledgehammer and blows air sporadically through his mouth, glancing over to the heavy brick barrier nearby. "Fuck... I know. I've been wanting to be wrong A LOT lately. Strange times, Harvos, strange times. Like the old curse..."

Harvos loosens his leather jacket off his body and hangs it on an open server rack door Nash pulls out for him. "I assume you want to take the first few swings at this wall?"

Hoisting the other end of the handle up into his free hand with a strong yank, Nash judges the weight of the sledgehammer and steps up towards the middle of the suspect wall section. "Oh, yes. Plus, I think I got an idea where to hit the thing given where all the newer concrete and mortar got put up."

Stretching his muscular arms out, Harvos checks the tips of his tall, upright horns, glancing up to the overhead conduits, and satisfaction hints into his face. "Whoever certainly took an impressive amount of effort to obscure the cut lines and blend in the new concrete. What concerns me the most is that I've seen similar from old records of scouts resealing sites to prevent thieves."

Nash lightly taps a spot upon the wall with the head of the sledge, and slowly rehearses a few swings. "Shit. I was SO hoping you wouldn't find anything yesterday. Especially, nothing that would require the both of us to be down here doing manual labor on Friday night."

Glancing behind him at Harvos, he grins sly and mischievous. "Certainly hope I didn't steal a night from you that Malva wanted."

A flush of red blends in with the light gray tones of Harvos's face, and he darts his eyes around, his proper demeanor weakening with embarrassment. "Uh. Um. No. Of course not... She asked me to go to a cultural expo... Tomorrow."

An amused chuckle leaves Nash and blends into the ambient drone of equipment. Rearing back the sledgehammer, he grins with a smug smile. "Fuckin' knew it."

Nash swings forward. A shrill voice projects down the walkway, burrowing through the din down the passage. "Chair Howard! Chair Azerios! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Nash reflexively cringes from the woman's shout and misses the wall. The sledgehammer drops down onto the paved floor, and Nash stumbles with the momentum. Awkwardly recovering his balance, he steadies himself upon his feet, slowly straightens his posture, and glances over to the surprised Harvos. "Did you?"

Shaking his head carefully, Harvos pantomimes a strong no. The woman marches up, stops right behind the two, and glares intensely with bright orange eyes. She pulls a sneer up on her patterned face, revealing sharp teeth. "What. Are. You. Doing?!"

Cringing through into a pained grimace, Nash pivots around slowly, letting the sledgehammer slide through his hands upon the floor. He projects a forced smile and shines up his tone. "Vetra! Funny to see you here, right at this very moment."

Vetra narrows her eyes, focuses her glare upon Nash, and darts her attention to the sledgehammer. "What are you doing... With that SLEDGEHAMMER?"

A glint of light from the overhead lamps reflects brightly off a property tag. She focuses her stare, reading the label. "That belongs to MY Engineering department."

Nash pulls a grin hard across his facade. "Oh! Certainly nothing of interest to you. Really."

With her glare burning upwards at Nash, Vetra stomps forward. Swiping a dark, sharp nailed hand, she snatches the sledgehammer away and drills her stare into Nash. "Explain why I had to hear from the lab assistant on duty that someone walked into my department's lab, BORROWED a sledgehammer, and dismissed any questions saying Official Library Business."

Crossing his arms, Nash grumbles out his annoyance, diverting his eyes away from Vetra. Harvos shakes his head, stepping forward, and sighs with a calming smile to Vetra. "It is a simple exploration that hopefully will not lead to any further complications. We need to get access to a section of the structure that was initially walled up after renovations for security reasons and limiting possible access..."

Perking his brow, Harvos motions towards the wall and points out the faint outline of a filled in cut into the concrete and brick wall. "But... Strangely... It has since been opened up and sealed without any known records."

The searing scowl on Vetra towards Nash pops away, and she puzzles at the suspect construction ahead. Her bewilderment grows with each step closer to the wall. Squinting, she traces the faint fill lines with a finger and cocks her head of multi-color hair. "Interesting... It has been cut and sealed."

She spots the conduit and pipes from the junction box running into the wall and suspicion drives her curiosity. "Okay... Where do those go?!"

Nash sidesteps with an evil smile and cranes his head into Vetra's view. "Well... There's only one way to find out for certain."

Bouncing an unamused stare between Nash and Harvos nearby, Vetra sighs a tentative resignation. With a growing smirk of determination, she tightens her grip on the handle of sledgehammer, muscles in her arms defining themselves. "Well. It's a sanctioned operation if I make the first swing."

Harvos grants an accepting nod, Nash grins wide and eagerly, and Vetra rears the hammer back.

----

Inside Amaranth's Wrath Game Emporium, people gather around the many tables in the open front space. Scaled down battlefields decorate the tabletops, portraying different types of scenarios from many historical and fanciful eras. A young evuukian cracks a confident grin and slides a clear plastic stand supporting a giant black four winged dragon with a gray-armed rider across the grid map. "Full power auto burst from Blaureiter's Particle Power Blaster to your Red Gear Master Mech."

The young evuukian sweeps up a number of dice, pauses in a count, and plucks nearby stragglers of the table, filling his hand with more. The human teenager across the table twists confusion upon his face and cranes his head around the miniature scenery. Squinting incredulously at the number of dice in the young evuukian's hand, he cocks his head unconvinced. "The fuck are you going to do with all those dice... Shallen?"

Shallen glances up with a playful, sneering grin towards the teenager across from him and laughs menacingly. "Shredding the armor right off that damned Master Mech of yours... Dace."

Dace alternates a glare between Shallen and the two prominent figurines on the board. "Bullshit! Fuckin' bullshit, man. There's no gods damned way you get to roll THAT many dice. You've got to be calculating something wrong. You can't possibly stack that many bonuses together like that."

Shallen grasps a packet of paper next to him and presents it over the table to Dace, smug confidence shining. "See for yourself. Third paragraph down."

Reluctantly grabbing the document, Dace's eyes follow the rules printout down the fine rows of text. Discomfort and acceptance gradually overwhelms any resistance, and growls down to a defeated sigh. "What the actual fuck? How the hell did they allow this combo?! This should cost A LOT more points to pull off. Or the bonus dice shouldn't stack with the other bonuses. This is some BULL. SHIT. Right here."

A triumphant grin beams from Shallen, and he shrugs, dice rolling out his hand into a shallow wooden, felt lined box. "They'll probably in the next errata. But... For now..."

Dace drags his hands down his face and watches Shallen count dice out of the box. Glancing over to the side, he taps through a long list of forums on an aethernet site upon his phone. "Gods dammit, there's gotta be something about this somewhere."

The shop door opens. A ring sounds from the electric chime above on the frame. And, beams of late morning light break into the store and flood into the space. Cideeda steps through and hoists up her large rectangular carrying case, gleefully scanning the tables for an opening. Bach follows behind. Sotalia and Dretphi stop after clearing the doorway, gawking in astonishment. Cideeda waves to Steve at the counter, and he looks up from studying a collection of new figurines on the counter. Waving back, he picks up a clipboard and shows Cideeda. "Hey! Sign up is right here. Just grab a table for now. Everyone is warming up with a few skirmishes and playing with some of the new units we got in. Nothing serious until later."

Zipping over to a table with space, Cideeda places her carrying case in a chair and hops off to the counter. Bach gives a quick wave and nod to Steve and wanders through the aisles between the tables, examining the various battles playing out. He pauses a moment next to the table with Shallen and Dace, and glances knowingly at the black dragon and rider figurines. Bach gives an approving nod, and Shallen grants an appreciative one in return. Dace shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "Still bullshit, man."

Shallen narrows an accusatory glare at Dace and perks an eyebrow. "Do I really need to bring up that whole transport boat landing crime against gaming you pulled?"

With a snort, Dace waves off the issue and sighs. "Nah, we're good. Just don't complain when I do... THIS."

Sotalia and Dretphi keep behind Bach, and both uncertainly survey the numerous activities and distractions around them. The trio cross over from the table filled section into the aisles of bookshelves and display stands. Bach glances over his shoulder to Sotalia and Dretphi. "Uh, the both of you should take a look around for yourselves. I mean, you've both been to a con, so you should be able to figure it out."

Dretphi nods in agreement and slowly swings her gaze out into the novels and books. Her eyes flit wide open, and a flash of joy brightens her face. She eagerly departs for that particular section of the store. Sotalia lifts a puzzled eyebrow at Dretphi walking away. Checking around, she notices Bach not nearby and pivots around, spotting him moving towards the front counter. Shrugging, her attention drifts around to the plethora of distractions packed in the area. Bach stands up next to the counter. "Hey, Steve. How's it going?"

Steve breaks from his studies of figurines and rule material and smiles at Bach. "Really good, man. Looks like you brought almost everyone from your party. Except for the evuukian medical mage, Ari- What's her name?"

Bach smirks slyly, hints of satisfaction trickling out. "Oh. Aristespha. Yeah... She didn't feel all too good this morning."

He squirms slightly against memories and cringes at stale, confirming aches. "She went all out on some sword sparring yesterday and worked a few muscles too far in the process. Needed to rest up a bit."

Steve briefly grits his teeth sympathetically and tilts his head to the side. "Man, I know that feeling. Reminds me of after my first self-defense lesson. I was sore for a week. But, can't she heal herself?"

Bach bites his lip and rolls his blue eyes. "Well... She was able to do some healing without too much trouble. But, I think it's a matter of professional pride of being the healer to not have to heal themselves too much. So..."

Steve nods and excitedly shows Bach the new figures and rule booklets nearby. Over near shelves displaying graphic novels with cover art of couples in dramatic poses upon colorful backgrounds, Dretphi collects another book and places it on the small stack in her arms. Sotalia slinks up next to Dretphi, peeks at the collection, and slides one off the top. Flipping through it, a devilish grin crosses her face. "Oh, girl. Another batch of romance books I see. Let's see what you picked out..."

Her eyes slowly shift between the cells of the graphic novel, and her grin fades to genuine interest. Dretphi leans and gazes over Sotalia's shoulder at the material. Sotalia flips to the next page and stares in surprise with wide golden eyes. She exaggeratedly lifts an eyebrow at Dretphi. A slight blush of pink colors Dretphi's cheeks. Sotalia nods slowly, understandingly. Closing the book, she places it back on the top of the stack in Drepthi's arms and leans close. "I want to read that one after you are done."

Dretphi straightens up her posture, stifles a smirk with a bite of a lip, and quietly responds. "It is an excellent series."

Sotalia winks at Dretphi and scans the display racks nearby. "Oh, I'm sure it is. Speaking of series, I wonder if-"

Kneeling down, she pulls a comic book off the shelf and stares intensely at the issue number on the cover. "Twenty eight?! But, the latest I've got is twenty five..."

She furrows her brow and glances at other issues nearby. "Cideeda said she bought the latest when she gave me the last batch."

Dretphi ponders the situation and glances down at Sotalia. "Her purchase of the latest issues. You receiving issues. They can be separate actions."

A soft growl follows Sotalia standing up. She glowers across the shop distance between her Cideeda. Tilting her head forward, her horns show prominently, and her dark red hair falls ahead to frame her narrowing golden eyes. Cideeda idly chats with Bach and Steve. Grimacing momentarily, she glances back to meet Sotalia's glare. Her furry ears flick back, confusion floods her face, and she mouths quietly. "What?!"

Sotalia lifts up the issue twenty eight off to her side, points at it stiffly, and projects a demanding stare back. Cideeda briefly squints and dismissively rolls her emerald green eyes back to the conversation with Bach and Steve. Bach squirms with a strange feeling graces his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he blinks blankly spooked and returns his head forward, directing his voice towards Cideeda. "Gods, what was THAT look for?!"

With a trailing grumble, Cideeda sighs out mild disgust. "Oh. She just found out I've been keeping her a few issues behind."

Steve scratches his head and puzzles at Cideeda. "None of my business, but, why would you do that to her?"

A sneer twitches Cideeda's upper lip, and she glances between Steve and Bach. "Okay. So... The one time she got ahead of me in Tinkering Tina..."

She strains a breath through her nose, wrestling the words in her mouth. "She spoiled... you-know-what."

Bach searches his mind for the reference. Steve gasps and covers his mouth in astonishment. "No... She didn't..."

With an agitated flick of her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda singularly nods, a canine revealing grimace twisting her mouth. "Yes."

Steve sighs solemnly and offers a sympathetic, acknowledging bow. "TOTALLY understand now. Spoiler breakers can't be trusted. Justified in my book."

He checks the clock on the wall and taps the screen on his aetherphone. "Well. Need to check the sign up sheet and get all the brackets put together. You sure you don't want to do a historic scenario? You totally got a great Perimeter Defense Force unit that’d be a tough match for half the armies here."

Shaking her head of short, multi-colored hair, Cideeda smiles and walks to her army case nearby. "No. I deal with enough history as it is. THIS is my FUN TIME."

Within the next half hour, people shuffle around tables, move packs of miniatures around, and set up scenery. A few patrol around, answering questions and settling debates between players. Bach watches from the sidelines and idly wander his mind between different clashes of wargamers. Wandering next to Bach, Sotalia taps his shoulder and gazes over to a side table. She points out two people playing a card game. "Hey, have you ever played Conclave of Mages before? It seems like... You play mages with spell cards drawing mana from lands? I saw there were A LOT of cards you could get to build a deck."

Furrowing her brow, she gazes curiously at Bach, seeking a further explanation. "And... There's a chance you could find rares that are magically enchanted in the booster packs?"

Bach's eye spring wide open in fright, recognition feeding a terrifying conclusion, and his blue eyes sort through the flurry of possibilities in his mind. Calming himself down with a swift exhale, he leads Sotalia down an aisle away from the players at that table. "I... Uh... Played it a long time ago. It's not bad, but there's a number of other games like it that are a lot better to try out."

Sotalia follows along behind, quizzing Bach suspiciously. "Better, how so?"

With an awkward smile, Bach moves down the aisle, searching the rows upon rows of gaming products stuffed in every crevice. "Um, A LOT less financial investment, habit forming, and lifestyle destroying. And, I'd be FAR more willing to play them with you."

A competitive, evil grin forms on Sotalia's face, and the two travel further into the aisles of games. At the counter, Steve idly taps upon the countertop, bewildered, focusing upon a sheet of rules next to a collection of new figurines. Glancing over to a rotund man hanging out nearby, he shakes his head in frustration. "What the hell? Commander Reti's squad seems so counterintuitive to play."

Walking up to the register, Dretphi places down her large stack of books and notices familiar logos and markings on both figurine and rules material. She studies them closely, and her steely gray eyes ignite in recognition. The tactical puzzle distracts Steve. "How do you make an assault with this squad?"

A full, proud smile graces Dretphi. "You do not."

With a curious expression, Steve glances up to Dretphi and tilts his head inquiring. "Huh. Really? Then, how do you play them? It just doesn't seem to match the usual Grath military tactics."

Nodding understandingly, Dretphi answers plainly. "Skirmish. Retreat. Draw their forces out. Ambush."

Squinting down at the page of rules in front of him, Steve nods more readily, matching up tactics and rules in his mind. "Yeah... Yeah. That might just work. The bonuses and moves seem like they would support that play style. Huh. Have you played them before?"

With a slight shrug, Dretphi shakes her head. "No."

Confusion grows on Steve, and he eyes Dretphi curiously. "Okay. Then, how do you know their tactics?"

Dretphi blinks nonchalantly and smirks confidently. "I know my birth father's tactics."

Steve reflexively nods. Seconds later, he freezes in surprise, comprehension dawning upon him, and searches for an answer up at Dretphi.

-29-

Late morning sun creeps through the blinds into the bedroom. Upon a neatly arranged desk, aged tomes lay open, dense text upon the weathered and yellowed pages, and sticky tags of hand written notes adorn the margins. Notepads and journals intermix with tablets and encircle a neatly kept laptop. On a collapsible table against the wall, an arrangement of medical equipment and magic devices sprawl out upon the smooth surface, arranged in an methodical order. In its ornate scabbard, the Sword of the Spirit Realm rests against the corner of the bed between the nightstand. Sebastian's ethereal forms crouches next to a figure underneath the layers of covers. "Morning, dear."

A slight stir accompanies a halfhearted grumble, and the mass of sheets tightens defiantly around someone within. A playful smile emerges on Sebastian, and he leans closer to the covers. "Come on. Time to get up, dear. You know if you just lay in there, sore and in pain, for much longer..."

He softly warns with a direct whisper. "I'm just going to have to get Sotalia to come in here with a potion or two for you."

The blankets retreat and reveal a disorganized mess of silvery blue hair and a pair of violet eyes peering through it. "No..."

Sebastian grins slyly and perks an eyebrow, chuckling softly. "No, what?"

An ivory hand grasps the edge of the covers tightly and pries the sheets away from Aristespha's face. "No, I am getting up, Sebastian."

A warm smile spreads on Sebastian's face, and he hovers to a seat on the bed next to the stirring Aristespha. "Well, you are moving a lot better today. No curses in Evuukian I couldn't understand..."

He slides a translucent blue glance over to Aristespha. "So far."

Aristespha gradually rises with the bundle of sheets and rights herself on top of the bed carefully, fighting a grimace. "I still can NOT believe I am this sore, STILL."

Sebastian averts his eyes away briefly with a sympathetic grit of the teeth and laughs into a sigh. "Well... You did go all out on Bach with sword fighting. And... You were really conservative with the magical healing yesterday on yourself."

With a hint of concern, he stares lovingly at Aristespha. Releasing a long embarrassed sigh, Aristespha rolls her eyes at herself. "A proper medical mage should not be their own patient. You are supposed to reserve healing magics for your party unless you are in dire circumstances-"

A hard, eye wincing cringe seizes her, and the covers slip off down of her. Feeling along the back of her nightgown, she reaches for a particular spot in the middle of her back between the shoulder blades. "Gods, of all the spots for a muscle ache... Argh..."

Placing his elbow on his knee, Sebastian props his head up on his hand, and covers a knowing smirk. "Can I at least have her get you a fresh cold pack?"

Determined defiance bolsters Aristespha's self-reliant desires, and she carefully stretches her body out from under the covers. "I can get it MYSELF. I just need to stretch out, take some regular aspirin, and tough it out for another day. It is just a few spots that are still painful. I can manage just FINE."

Working herself to a seat upon the bed, she rests her feet upon the floor and gently flexes a number of sore and stiff spots across her body between blends of grimaces, cringes, and winces. Sebastian's ghostly figure slides next to her and smiles warm, lovingly. "Okay, dear. You know I'll do what I can for you. Even when you completely overexert yourself by beating up my brother."

Aristespha playfully rolls her violet eyes and fights off a wave of embarrassment with a self-aware smirk. "Well... I could not help myself. I actually got an attack through and hit your brother, repeatedly. Unlike someone who would only let attacks go through when he felt like placating my ego..."

With a sultry smile, she eyes Sebastian and perks an amused eyebrow. "For absolutely ulterior motives."

With a dismissive sigh, Sebastian jokingly crosses his arms and shakes his head. "I would NEVER let you win for such a thing as ulterior motives."

He gazes into Aristespha's eyes with a charming smile and a soft tone. "That was just your natural talent shining through."

The two stare at each other for seconds. Aristespha laughs softly, biting her lip. "Gods, how that still works on me I will never know."

Sebastian perks a sly brow and smugly smirks at Aristespha. "How WHAT works on you?"

Aristespha snorts dismissively and rolls her eyes away from the question. A melodic digital chime rings out into the room and softly bounces off the walls. Both Sebastian and Aristespha spot the aetherphone on the desk, vibrating and flashing its screen. Sebastian's ghostly form zips over to the other side of the room and examines the phone. Aristespha leans forward and prepares to stand up, stretching a stiff back muscle. "Who is it, Sebastian?"

Sebastian snaps his head up in surprise. "OH. It's Nash, dear!"

Launching from the bed, Aristespha steps forward normally, initially. Her motions quickly stiffen and grow more awkward the further she travels across the room. The lingering sore spots stagger her progress, and she stubbornly powers through the stiffness, gritting her teeth. Grasping hold of the desk chair, she pulls it out and flops upon it. With a quick snatch of the phone, she presses the answer button and places it to her very long, pointed ear. "Nash! Grant me one moment. Please."

Aristespha taps the hold button on the phone screen and searches around the area for Sebastian. She locates him at the door, gazing at her expectantly. A pain tinged sigh escapes Aristespha, and she pushes aside her pride for a meek smile upon her ivory face. "Tell Sotalia to mix up a mild analgesic and anti-inflammatory with the weakest alchemical muscle relaxant potion. Use the topical delivery salve. Bring the adhesive gauze pads. Please?"

Sebastian nods slowly and winks at Aristespha. "Will do, dear."

He floats through the door and slips out of sight. Aristespha settles to some comfort in the desk chair and takes a calming breath, pressing the hold button off on the screen. "Sorry about that. So, how has your morning been, Nash?"

----

Thin beams of bright light weave through the thick forest canopy and surround the outlines upon the sparsely littered forest floor. Clouds pass overhead and mask out the sun from the scattered silhouettes upon the leaf and brush covered ground. Slipping between the underbrush, Deedri walks expeditiously from one large trunk to another large trunk and occasionally stops, picking up another large seed upon the ground cover. Holding her position, she surveys the area suspiciously, her furry ears flicking towards an unseen source, and waits expectantly. Modoran steps out from behind a tree and waves with a nonchalant smile to Deedri. "Do not worry. We are not being followed."

A long sigh of relief escapes Deedri. Relaxing her tense muscles, she manages a small, contented smile. "Oh, good. Thank you so much for helping me. I just need a break from..."

Furrowing her brow, her tone roughens and her furry ears droop towards her shoulders. "Well... ALL of it."

Modoran glances back down Deedri's path and nods slowly with a sympathetic eye roll. "OH. I know. Gods, I know. I have to take breaks all the time for my own sanity."

Strolling up past Deedri, he squints his dark blue eyes ahead and idly wanders his gaze through the forest. "I will admit I felt a bit bad dodging the camera crews before. But, now... Not so much. Not. At. All."

Deedri contorts the flit of irritation upon her fair face and catches up to Modoran. "Well, stealth is your profession and all, so I understand keeping out of sight. And, gods, I really can't blame you."

Narrowing a brief glare back down the path, she snarls her upper lip faintly. "Especially lately."

A thought twitches upon the dusky bluish gray skin of Modoran's face, and he turns towards Deedri with a perplexed lift of an eyebrow. "Do you mind if I ask a personal question?"

With a quick fluttering blink, Deedri perks up and carefully watches Modoran. "You may ask, but I can't say if I'll answer."

Modoran nods with a short smile and tilts his head inquisitively to the side. "Why did you ever sign up for something like this? I have to be honest, you really do not fit in with the rest of the team."

Deedri's auburn eyes briefly open wide, the statement startling her. Her expression saddens, her ears droop down, and her posture sags. Modoran swiftly summons up a comforting smile and gazes at Deedri reassuringly. "Hey! That is a GOOD thing, Deedri. The rest of the team are belligerent ASSHOLES! AND, I've worked with plenty. These are some of the most brazen ones I have encountered yet."

An uplifting spark lightens Deedri's mood, and she struggles expressing her satisfaction against cautious humility. "Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that..."

She averts her eyes away from the scrutinizing stare of Modoran. Evading for a few moments, she smiles tightly and carefully allows modest thoughts out into her reserved words. "But, they have proven... Needlessly difficult. VERY. OFTEN."

With the hint of a grin, Modoran rocks his head from shoulder to shoulder, accepting the response. "Oh, I will agree with you there. So, again, why did you sign up for this show of all things? YOU are a medical mage. Surely, there are better places for you to work than this disaster in the making?"

Deedri sighs sadly and slowly shakes her head of braided back, multicolor hair. She manages to keep a smile upon her face and summons her resolve. "I'm a medical mage, from a very low end school. The program is accredited and still very good, but..."

She wrestles against a frown and tenses her posture, her tail drooping. "The school isn't really prestigious or well known."

Lowering her head, she walks next to Modoran and clasps her hands down on her apron. "After SO MANY applications and interviews... I just couldn't manage to get hired on by any group or company after graduation."

Modoran gazes over to Deedri and furrows his brow, pondering out loud. "No one? No one wanted a medical mage? Every adventuring group I've ever heard of worth talking about has one. Wouldn't the public sector have positions, too?"

Deedri's shoulders sag low, and she shrinks her posture slightly with her thoughts. "Well... All the nice paying positions either wanted more years of experience than I could provide or a license from a top ranking school. I mean, I could always get a job via placement by the school and, EVENTUALLY, pay off my loans..."

Wrestling down the discomforting bubbling up on her fair face, she glances off to the side. "But, I..."

She swallows hard and grits her teeth momentarily. "I didn't want to think I worked so hard to not progress that much at all. Just to still be struggling to get ahead the same as I was before going to school."

Drawing in a long breath through her nose, she straightens up and puts forth a smile, glancing up to Modoran. "So... Watched the last season's finale of the show, saw the announcement for applications, and applied. I got accepted. And... Here I am. If nothing else, I'll at least pay down my loans a good deal, and my mother won't have to worry about me not having a job."

Modoran stares forward at a distant break of the treeline and chuckles to himself. "Wow. Well... I applied for very similar reasons, too. So, don't feel bad. I know how it feels when plans don't go your way."

Deedri's furry, tufted ears perk up, and she angles her head to face Modoran with a genuine inquisitiveness. "Really? I don't want to be rude and pry too much, but would you tell me your reasons?"

With a brief grin to Deedri, Modoran scratches the back of his head, tinges of embarrassment slipping out into his demeanor. "Sure. It's only fair. Um... Uh... Well, I am pretty unemployable in my homeland."

Treading cautiously, Deedri furrows her brow, blatant confusion contrasting against the sympathetic desires in her tone. "Oh... Um... Because, the demand for your skills and abilities changed and people got really superficially picky?"

Modoran laughs, shakes head of white hair, and grins slyly, crossing his arms. "Surprisingly, no. There is ALWAYS someone that wants someone to keep an eye on someone else, or acquire... Misplaced items. It's actually for more political reasons that I could not get any more work..."

Twisting away a frown, he slips a sigh under a strained breath. "... after a particular incident."

A wave of discomfort creeps across Modoran's body, and he keeps his head forward with a weakening grin. Flicking her furry ears around, Deedri studies Modoran and dons a cheerful smile, facing ahead. "Well, it's good to know that I'm not the only one that was out of work and had no great prospects. Honestly, it's actually very comforting and nice to know."

Unease fades, and Modoran smiles with an appreciative nod. "Same here. Well, the show is crazy, but..."

Lifting an eyebrow, he widens an entrepreneurial smirk. "They pay."

Leaning his head over, he inquires out of the corner of his mouth. "So, I have to ask, too. Do you really like that bell you wear around your neck?"

Deedri contorts her face, contemplating an answer. She sighs and grimaces briefly, revealing her pronounced canines. "Initially... I thought it was really cute. But, I'm a bit OVER it at this point."

Narrowing a distance glare forward, she grumbles in defeat. "Unfortunately, Samantha keeps on making me put it on when we do anything official... With the rest of the outfit."

A sinister grin creeps onto Modoran's dusky, bluish gray face, and he stares forward with a sly laugh. "Want me to relocate it for you?"

Deedri's long, fluffy tail perks up into a wag. With an intrigued gasp, she stiffens her posture and bites her lip in eager thought. "Um... I don't want to cause you any trouble..."

Narrowing an annoyed glare ahead, she flicks her furry, tufted ears back. "Unfortunately, I think the crew may have a few spares around, and I don't know where they all are."

Modoran chuckles darkly and gazes forward, furrowing his curiosity upon his brow. "I am actually curious how many spares they got. Might see how many I could displace before they start asking questions."

Squinting ahead, he scans the treeline perimeter ahead. "Huh. Looks like a clearing of sorts ahead. I am guessing, but the lighting looks off though."

Deedri focuses her auburn eyes in the direction that Modoran faces and excitedly rushes ahead. "No way! This is amazing!"

Modoran blinks in surprise and speeds up, keeping pace just behind Deedri. The two reach the forest edge and stop to survey the scene. Within a massive clearing, in the middle of a moat of tall grasses, a colony of protellow plants tower high in the air. Thick, tree trunk wide vine stalks sway with the passing breeze tugging the huge broad leaves. Atop each plant, massive circular flowers rock in the sun with their tightly packed seeds, petals full of yellow, red, blue, purple, or white shades. The protellows shift with the winds and, upon the imposing outline of the botanical monstrosities, colorful pods reveal themselves within fluffy tufts. One protellow in the middle towers above the rest surrounding. The meter thick base stays perfectly rigid against the passing gusts, and the stalk barely trembles from the force of its dozens of sun blotting leaves tugging against it. Stepping towards the sight, Deedri gazes up in joyful awe, her auburn eyes shining in delight. "I can't believe it! I knew it had to be large from a distance. But... OH, this is absolutely astounding!"

Modoran cocks his head to the side and eyes Deedri in sheer bewilderment. "Uh, what am I looking at here?"

With a near skip in each step, Deedri walks towards the huge cluster of plants through the surrounding tall grass. "It's a protellow patch! Or, technically, a colony."

Double-taking, Modoran raises a finger point toward the largest protellow and traces the up to its full height, his jaw hanging agape. "THAT is a protellow?! That thing is at least... Three... No- FOUR times the size of the thing that hit Chad's SUV!"

Carefully approaching, Deedri reaches a hand out to a much smaller protellow just over her height and examines a leaf within her claw-tipped fingers. "IT has to be very old. I wonder what variety these are? Protellow genetics are just fascinating. There is SO much variety in one ancient genetically engineered plant."

Modoran wanders forward, staring up in amazement, and trips over an exposed root. Instinctively, he balances himself upright and deftly recovers. "Whu- GODS. Look at the ROOTS on this thing! These are bigger than anything in the forest."

He blinks in surprise and leans down, squinting at the ground. "Wait... Are those... potatoes?"

Deedri snaps her wide-eyed gaze down onto the dirt and rushes over. She kneels close to the spot and digs into the dirt with her hands. Easing down to his knees, Modoran assists, clearing the dirt away, following Deedri's lead. A minute later, the two expose a large network of tubers within a patch of loose soil between pipeline roots. Examining her find, Deedri grins ear to ear, her tail wagging excitedly. She plucks a smaller tuber right out of the ground, eagerly eyes it, and halves it with a swift bite. Blinking blankly, Modoran stares in confusion and surprise. Deedri happily chews on the tuber and smiles in pure delight, swaying in giddy joy. Noticing Modoran's bewilderment, she fights the surge of embarrassment upon her fair face, a shade of faint red forming on her cheeks. Modoran glances down at the nest of tubers, pulls one from the bundle off the smaller roots, and inspects it closely. With a nonchalant shrug, he bites a chunk off and chews. Moments later, pleasure fills his face, and he nods in agreement towards Deedri. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Really surprised they have that much flavor."

Deedri renews her happy smile, reaches down, and plucks more off the clusters. "I KNOW! My mother has recipes for protellow tubers, fruits, seed pods, stalks, leaves, flower petals, and well... Just everything using the plant."

Modoran twists a few tubers out of the soil and presents them to Deedri. "How does your mother know so much about cooking these plants? I never heard of them being cooked that many ways."

Deedri briefly averts her eyes with a bite of the lip and sighs uneasily. "Well... We were pretty poor and lived really far out in the outskirts of town. So, you had to make due with what you had. Thankfully, there were a bunch of protellows in the area, and I'd always go foraging with my mother to gather up all we could."

With a gentle smile, Modoran nods and studies the growing pile of tubers resting upon Deedri's apron. "That sounds like it was fun. So, what are you going to do with all of these?"

Quickly checking one of the nearby larger plants, Deedri points a claw tip out to the colorful tufts around a collection of pods. "If we could get a few of those and one of the big leaves, I think we might have the rest of the ingredients for tuber wraps at the house."

A gleeful grin brightens up Deedri's face. Halting in thought a moment, she eyes the area and sighs with a little disappointment. "But, we really NEED to gather some of the more alchemical and medicinal components before we go back."

She stares up at a tall, nearby protellow, and squints to the highest point. Slipping off her apron with the tubers onto the ground, she stands up and walks over to the base of the plant. Flexing her clawed fingers, she digs her toe claws into the dirt through her new toed boots and aims her determination at the plant. "What we need is near the top of the vine where the leaves sprout from the stalk. There's usually a few fluid sacs that contain some useful reagents. It's been a while, but I think I can scale this one."

Modoran snaps his head to Deedri, up to the distant top of the protellow, and glances back towards Deedri. "If you need to get something from up there I can-"

Finding the spot Deedri was, he traces the length of the wide protellow stalk up and watches Deedri powering up the stretch of massive vine. With an impressed smirk, he steps up to the base and incants with a few gestures. Magical energy flowing to his hands and feet, he scales the plant slowly and trailing behind Deedri.

----

A faint drone of technology echoes in the large office. Upon shelves and desktops, bits and pieces of computing electronics liter the area and intertwine with paperwork and books. Across from a wall-mounted row of large flat panel monitors, Nash and Harvos sit opposite each other at the old, wooden desk. Nash rocks back slowly into his chair and groans in sync with the creak of his chair, idly shaking his head. Harvos props his head up with his arm, his elbow resting upon the desk. His bright brown on black eyes briefly entertain a peek at the bursts of information on the displays, and he turns his head away with a long sigh. Turning his rolling chair, he rests both elbows on the desk and grabs hold of his tall horns, defeated, frustrated. "I need a break from reading this incident report."

Wandering his focus to a computer screen on his desk, Nash taps a few buttons on a keyboard and slouches back into the squeaking office chair. "Oh gods, yes. This is just beyond fucked. And... And, we haven't even cracked open the rest of the bullshit they were trying to hide in those servers. I mean... Fuck. Tip of the iceberg shit here."

Document windows close out on the large displays and reveal a plain computer desktop upon the array. With a distant stare, Harvos shakes his head, furrowing his confused brow. "I still can NOT believe they had a server rack hidden in the old walled off stairwell. Still running, and connected to the system."

He flutters his eyes in sheer surprise and holds his hand up in disbelief. "And... it's full of decatalogged data."

Nash tilts his head forward, quirking an eyebrow. "You're amazed about a server rack and not the boxes of paperwork they had stashed in there?"

Harvos sits upright and shrugs his broad shoulders underneath his jacket. "Oh. Well. To be perfectly honest, my department is fairly desensitized when it comes to breaking into old buildings and finding dusty paperwork. THAT is almost expected. It would actually be strange if we didn't find anything. On the other hand, we typically don't find working computing equipment that contains fully detailed records of an absolute travesty. Especially, not with accounts of the following coverup operation."

Nash searches his mind in thought and nods in an unfortunate agreement. "Huh. Yeah... Point. Taken. Make sense, actually."

With a squeal of his chair, he leans forward from reclining, draws in a long breath, and grumbles. "Fuck. It's only Monday, and my week is already shot. This is going to take all my spare time to comb through these systems. There's just so much there."

Twisting his mouth, Harvos releases his horns and squints bewildered at Nash. "The sheer amount of effort they went to... They preserved the data. They took the effort to sneak it someplace they could quietly seal away. And, still kept it active enough so the database integrity checks wouldn't fire off alerts. Premeditated does not do it justice."

Shaking his head slowly, Nash blinks a few times in a daze of thought and groans. "I KNOW. The nodes were connected, so the system watchdogs could still generate all the checksums. That made sure no system degradation alerts would clue anyone into what was going on. All this hidden for over a decade. What the fuck..."

With the gradual slide of his chair, Harvos plants his feet firmly and stands up tall in a body stretch. "Have you updated Aristespha?"

Nash rolls out from under his deck, spins the chair, and throws himself forward. "Yesterday. Gave her the quick summary of what was happening. Wish I could give her more, but between this discovery and the hornets nest of higher ups her report stirred... I have to figure more of this out before I even know if I have anything that I haven't told her yet."

Finishing the last of his stretches, Harvos pauses sharply when an idea jumps to the front of his mind. He glances at Nash with an epiphany contorting his light gray face. "Ten years ago... Ten years ago... My predecessor's predecessor retired from the department abruptly a few months after a major accident. Somewhere near that area but not this site... Officially."

The two exchange long, distant stares. Nash breaks the silence and firmly palms his face, his frustration venting out. "Oh, gods DAMMIT! I bet you anything they used that to shade out this whole place. I- I- Fuck! That makes too much sense. Why does it have to make sense?!"

He rolls his eyes and mumbles to himself. "Is this how my uncle feels when he's going on with his latest conspiracy theory?"

With a grumbling groan, Harvos nods and wrestles a frown down. "And... How many have kept their silence for all these years? I believe we may need to have a nice long conversation with one particular Dr. Dawkins."

Nash blinks hard and radiates reluctant, conflicted comprehension. "Oh, shit. Well... Before we plot any more upsets in the house of The Grand Library, can we at least get some lunch, my friend?"

A few steps and quick grasp of the door handle later, Harvos opens the office door and dramatically gestures outwards to Nash. "After you, good sir."

The two exit the office, and Nash locks up behind them. Walking through the large hallways of activity, they weave between groups of students and academics migrating between classes and around the gatherings of last minute study sessions. Traveling down the main stairwell, they exit out into one of the large walkways of campus. Once Nash chooses a direction, Harvos eyes him with a knowing smirk. "Ah, yes. The good old Wall Street today?"

Glancing over, Nash shrugs nonchalantly and continues his pace. "Well, I'm buying two half liters. I was hoping you could keep me from drinking one of them."

Harvos grins with a flash of mischief in his eyes. "Oh. Just one?"

Nash returns a similar grin and laughs slyly. "Now, THAT'S the spirit."

----

Within the prep area of the kitchen, Sotalia rummages inside the refrigerator, sliding items around, and clears the path for sport drink from the very back. She quickly twists the cap off and tilts the beverage into her mouth. Releasing the handle, the refrigerator door drifts back closed. Sotalia steps out from the area next to the dining table and wipes the sweat off her forehead with the towel around her neck. "I'm STILL waiting for you to teach me THOSE spells. Bach."

Bach lifts his head off the couch seat cushion and peers over his sprawled out self, glancing at Sotalia. He settles his head back along with the rest of his body. "In time. You still haven't got that fireball optimized as much as you need to before taking on something like THOSE spells."

A brief glare narrows upon Bach, and Sotalia rolls her golden eyes with a dismissive huff. "GODS. How optimized does it have to be?! There's only so much you can do with ONE spell."

Reaching for a pillow on the back of the couch, Bach stuffs it under his head and grimaces. "Well, it's not so much optimizing the spell as it is practice for you to handle magic flow better..."

Noticing Sotalia's lift of an unamused eyebrow, Bach avert his eyes away towards the television and tenses briefly. "Listen. Before I teach anyone a spell that has the potential of slicing matter to near microscopic pieces, I just want to make sure that person is prepared. Okay?"

With a frustrated groan, Bach pulls himself up to face Sotalia, stopping abruptly the moment he meets her eyes far sooner than expected. Crossing her arms assertively, Sotalia stands defiantly next to the couch and glares down. Bach sighs into a wince with a pinch of the bridge of his nose and gazes right at Sotalia. "You have to UNDERSTAND. The regular disintegration beam is dangerous enough, and that spell keeps the destruction AWAY from you. It has protections to keep the dangers effects ahead of you. The D-Ball contains that destructive force in a carefully crafted ball that DOES NOT want to stay a ball."

A wave of honest concern fills Bach, and he stares up at Sotalia. "I don't want to haphazardly hand that knowledge off, and you get hurt because I forgot to go into some detail or didn't factor in a variable. This whole spell is something I came up with on a whim and got REALLY lucky with figuring out..."

Glancing off to the side, he contorts his face uncomfortably with a squirm down his body. "And somehow, I didn't render myself a pile of... disorientated atomic matter."

The glare fades from Sotalia, and she tugs uneasily at the corners of her mouth. Her light tan face warms up with an agreeable smile, and she uncrosses her arms slowly. Placing her hands on her hips, she sighs in a begrudging acceptance. "Fine. I understand. But, can we try optimizing some other spell?"

She glances off to the side and cocks her head. "I can't believe I'm saying this. But, I'm getting bored of fireballs."

Bach lowers his head back on the pillow and nods with a smirk. "Oh, yeah. There's a few other spells that would be good practice to optimize."

Sotalia grins slyly and struts away. "Good. I'm thinking the freeze beam next time."

A nervous chuckle manages to free itself from Bach, and he briefly arches his back. Moments later, a series of alert chimes ring out simultaneously into a rough chorus around the house. Bach and Sotalia retrieve their aetherphone and search through notifications. From the hallway, soft taps of claws and footsteps upon hardwood sound out. With aetherphone in hand, Cideeda wanders into the living area, flicking her furry ears between Sotalia and Bach. "Looks like a bounty alert for the area from the local guild."

Sotalia slowly drags her finger up her phone screen and scrolls through the alert text. "Huh, strange. That's a healthy bounty for someone not considered armed and without any kind of special precautions."

Sebastian floats into the room from the hall archway with Aristespha and Dretphi following behind. "Check out the arrest record, and you'll see why."

Everyone skips through the lists of information and arrives at the arrest section in near unison. Bach's eyes flit wide open in surprise, and he reads the charges off the list. "Holy. Shit. HOW MUCH money did this guy run off with?!"

Dretphi's stoic demeanor waivers into shock, her mind totaling the fiscal amounts her steely gray eyes perceive. Slowly shaking her head, she covers her mouth lightly. "Bounty is MINUSCULE to the funds stolen. Amazing."

With Sebastian hovering near, Aristespha stiffly walks over to the couch chair and eases herself into the seat. Reclining back with phone in constant view, she studies the text, her violet eyes narrowing. "It says he may be heading to the Amaranth Valley area or further. I guess he may be trying to run for the Perimeter Weird Zone."

Perking an eyebrow, Sotalia chuckles to herself in a snide cadence and settles herself into the stabilized magical energy chair at the end of the couch. "Ha! An illusionist! Well, THAT explains a lot. That's the only type of person I figured would be stupid enough to think they could pull this crap off."

She mutters under her breath. "And stupid enough to think going to the PWZ would be an escape plan."

Scratching her light brown chin, Cideeda nods a few times and narrows her emerald green eyes, contemplating the details on her aetherphone. "That would make SOME sense. I know a few cons and scams you could do to manage some of what he's done. But... You have to have some kind of ability or serious help to pull off anything as big as THESE."

Bach pushes himself up to a seat on the couch, tucking the pillow behind his back, and furrows a curious gaze at Sotalia. "So... Don't care much for illusionists, Sotalia?"

With a dismissive eye roll, Sotalia waves off the notion and laughs wryly. "There's nothing wrong with illusion magic. I'm sure those that focus in it and practice it exclusively find rewarding jobs in the marketplace-"

She bites down a reflexive chortle and stifles a snort. Bach slowly turns his head back towards Aristespha and Sebastian with an inquisitive eyebrow lift. Sebastian shakes his head and quietly sighs. Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and mouths to Bach. "I will tell you more later."

Placing her phone back in her shorts, Cideeda shrugs with a toothy grin. "Hey, if nothing else, it might be a good payday if we find him. We've had to hunt down worse to get far less."

Aristespha nods to that sentiment and twists the blue and gray hint on her ivory face apprehensively. "If he is an illusionist, I highly doubt he will be walking around looking like his picture in public. But..."

Furrowing her brow, she cocks her head of long, silvery blue hair. "If he goes too overboard hiding his face, he may be easily detectable with mage sight. Regardless... This is something to keep in mind."

With a spark of curiosity, Bach shifts his attention around and glances over at Cideeda. "So, you all have had to hunt down worse?"

Each tail flick ushers an old memory rising up into Cideeda's mind, and she leans against the hallway archway, ambivalent. "Oh. We've dealt with a wide range of bounties. The typical scum of the earth that makes you question why there was an Alive option. The hard luck cases. And, all in between."

Sliding her phone into her pocket, Dretphi rests her hands on her hips and smiles at Bach. "We prefer Alive only bounties. Others tend to be dangerous, morally uncomfortable. Alive bounties tend to be negotiable. Workable. Often will surrender before fighting."

Sebastian ethereally laughs and snorts with a faint echo, drifting next to Bach. "You NEVER know what you'll run into, bro. There was one that was happy to be caught. Oddly happy."

An awkward silence hangs in the room. A wave of embarrassment radiates through, highlighting uncomfortable sore spots upon egos and wounded prides. Sebastian eyes the unease playfully with a sly smirk. "Oh. Don't play dumb! None of us will ever forget Leen."

Groans of old frustrations and reflective sighs fill the living room. Blinking his confusion, Bach observes the reactions, searching for an explanation. Failing to suppress an amused smirk, Cideeda waves her hand out. "Gods. I thought it was so weird he kept mentioning how loose the restraints were and only stopped when I tightened them."

Bach's interest piques, and he wanders a gaze around the room, settling his confusion upon Sebastian. "Okay... I'm obviously missing something."

Sebastian's ghostly form shrugs his arms out to the sides with an ill-humored grin. "Well... Leen was a SPECIAL case. He was an alchemical psychedelics abuser that fried his mind a long time ago. He's a bit wild but ultimately harmless. Unfortunately, he figured out how to escape the facility that cared for him. And, well, he learned he really had fun escaping, evading, and getting captured. So, he kept on doing it and getting REALLY GOOD at it."

With a twist in the corner of her mouth, Sotalia glances over and waves her hand out. "The facility guards and the local police couldn't catch him anymore. And he refused to go back until someone caught him."

She rolls her eyes and sighs, brushing dark red hair over a horn. "So, the guild has been called multiple times over the years to send a party out to get him. We were in the area at the time he escaped a few years ago and bid on the job."

A snicker escapes Cideeda, she covers her mouth and eyes Dretphi. "I will never forget the grin on his face when you carried him over your shoulder back to the campsite after he got loose."

Crossing her muscular arms, Dretphi warps her tan face between abject bewilderment and genuine annoyance. "He kept asking... Again."

From the recliner, Aristespha leans towards Bach on the couch, smirking. "Sebastian was his favorite of our group. He liked how Sebastian wanted to talk about what he wanted to talk about."

Sebastian strains out a long groan and grumbles. "Gods forbid I decide to put those psychology classes to use and quite literally talk him down... From a tree."

Blinking a few times, Bach's brain processes the situation, imagining the antics, and bounces his surprise between the team. "WOW. That must have been something else. Whatever happened to him?"

Cideeda presents a toothy grin to Bach and chuckles. "Oh. The facility got smart. Started charging bounty hunter groups to capture Leen as a training exercise."

----

Off to a side of the backyard behind the two-story house, Veevi idly fidgets and impatiently waits, flicking her short hair tail around with her boredom. Chad walks up to her with a box behind his back. Strutting up next to her with his trademark white smile, he glances around briefly, noting where all the cameras are. "Veevi. For whatever our next mission will be, we need to have you at the ready. You are showing promise as an adventurer, and you will come into your own in time. But, I think I can provide something that will help you out more immediately."

He presents the case to Veevi, placing a hand dramatically on the latch, and opens it at a slow, purposeful pace. Off to the side, near the back sliding glass door, Modoran, Deedri, Tassilda, and Trakenthin observe from a distance. The gathering watch with a mix of neutral, unamused expressions and direct their suspicions upon the box in Chad's hand. Squinting and narrowing eyes hunt for a glimpse of what's in the box. Excitement fills Veevi, and she completely fails to contain her giddiness, grinning brightly. Chad gently motions the box to Veevi, and she reaches a sharp nailed hand inside. Moments later, she lifts up her hand, gripping a shiny new laser pistol. "YES! I've always wanted to fire one of these!"

An immediate silence flushes out the ambiance. Shock, abject terror, and absolute bewilderment compete for realty on all other faces in the area. Trakenthin's expression blanks, an eyebrow hikes up, and one eye winces into a narrowing squint. Tassilda covers the gasp from her mouth in wide-eyed horror, blinking her light blue on black eyes in sheer bewilderment. Deedri visibly pales, her fair face lightening further, and fright stiffens her posture. Modoran reflexively swears in a dialect of evuukian and frantically searches around him, struggling to form other words. "... ... Oh, fuck this..."

Swiftly reaching a hand out to the handle of the sliding glass door, he silently glides it open and slips his thin frame in partially, staring back to the rest of the group. Feeling the fast, repetitive tapping from Modoran's finger on her shoulder, Deedri snaps out of her stupor and glances over. She watches Modoran signal her and the others to follow and hesitantly motions over towards Chad and Veevi. "But... They might need me in case of-"

Two gray skinned, long nailed hands grip Deedri's shoulders firmly and rotate her abruptly towards the two-story house's back entrance. Leaning close to Deedri's furry, tufted ear, Tassilda enthusiastically propels Deedri forward. "Oh, don't worry. If they need you, we will probably just as easily hear the screams of help from inside."

Trakenthin slowly shakes his head and grumbles to himself, following Tassilda. Deedri, Tassilda, and Trakenthin file into the house, and Modoran gently slides the glass door back shut, the group retreating further inside. Samantha blinks to an astonished grin, hugs her clipboard in anticipation, and glances over to Gerald. "Are you getting this?!"

Examining the empty spot next to her, she searches the area around the perimeter of the yard. She spots Gerald taking refuge behind a large charcoal grill. Detaching the monitor display from his camera, Gerald balances the camera on top of the grill top and adjusts the aim using the viewfinder from behind cover. Samantha glances towards Chad and Veevi and revelation hits. She stares wide-eyed back at Gerald and scurries into a crawl on the ground behind a concrete planter near the grill. The rest of the camera crew swiftly adopt similar tactics and frantically duck into cover wherever it resides. Veevi nearly hops in place with the pistol in her hands. "I can't wait to shoot it!"

Chad grins boldly, nods, and points out across to the fence row on the outer edge of the yard. "I set up some cans and bottles for you to use as targets. I figured you would want to get some practice in the second you got it."

Veevi's pink pupil eyes widen in delight, and she pulls a sharp grin across her tan face. "OH, I definitely DO. What do I need to do?!"

Placing the box on the grass nearby, Chad pulls a power pack out and holds it toward Veevi. "Well, first, you'll want to load it."

Veevi removes a hand from the pistol, grasps onto the power pack, and studies it and the pistol. She cutely, coyly squirms and pleadingly eyes Chad. "Could you show me how to load it properly? It's my first time with something like this, and I don't know what to do."

Bravado emboldens Chad, and he holds his hands out with a bright smile. "Oh, not a problem. Just watch carefully, I'll demonstrate-"

An alluring gaze from Veevi meets Chad, and she softly speaks. "Well... I was hoping to do it but with a little... hands on guidance from someone... far more experienced."

A sly grin creeps across Chad's face, and he nods confidently. "Oh, I completely understand. I wouldn't want to take away from your first experience."

Wrapping his arms around either side of Veevi, he gently supports her hands and guides her through the motions. "Now, you turn the pistol this way. Line up the pack up to the bottom of the grip. And, just push it in until it clicks."

With Chad's assistance, Veevi slides the power pack in with a click, and the pistol's status lights flicker to life. Chad takes Veevi through the arming steps and lines up her first shot upon a tin can on a fence post. Removing his hands from hers around the pistol, he steps back with a grin. "Now, that should be lined up. Just gently squeeze the trigger when you are ready."

The wind dies down. Tension wafts within the stale air. Veevi holds the pistol shakily. She jerks the trigger, and a wayward green beam cuts through the air, centimeters above the tin can into the grassy hill behind. Veevi squeaks in surprise, her short-haired tail fluffing up. "OH! WOW!"

The initial flush of excitement washes over her. Glancing timidly back with a flutter of her eyes, she strokes back her pink hair. "I'm so sorry. I just got nervous and a little too excited. Could you help line up the shot again? And, show me what you meant by squeezing the trigger."

The sly grin upon Chad grows bolder, and he reaches his hands out behind Veevi's. "Of course. What leader would I be without taking time to help my team members?"

Moving behind Veevi, he lowers his head above her shoulder and eyes the sights of the laser pistol. His hands over hers, he directs the aim of the barrel and lines up a shot. "Now, look through the sights. Both the forward and the rear sights should line up and be over the tin can."

Veevi closes one eye, stares down the sights, and gradually nods. "They are."

Chad's hand grips over Veevi's hand, and he rests a finger over her trigger finger's knuckle. "Now, I'm going to help you squeeze the trigger. Just feel the pressure, and learn from how much it takes."

The trigger slowly actuates, pivoting closer to the handle. The mechanism engages with a click. A beam projects out, squarely onto a tin can. With a bright green flash, it jumps off the fence post, leaving a faint trail of smoke behind it, and drops onto the ground. Chad flashes his trademark smile and confidently speaks. "And, THAT is how it's done. I think you might have some natural talent."

A sly, sinister smile peeks out from the corner of Veevi's mouth. Slowly gazing upon Chad's muscular arms around her, she glances over a shoulder to his confident grin. With a flexing motion, she lifts her head up and back into Chad's shoulder. She rolls her shoulders onto his chest, pressing her back firmly onto his torso. With a few slow, purposeful shifts of her weight, she seductively catches his gaze. Smirking sultry, she perks her fuzzy ears and resumes her stance forward. Her tail flicks up and brushes up between Chad's legs. Donning her coy exterior, she aims the pistol at a new target. "If it's not too much trouble... Could you help me shoot a few more cans just to make sure I got the hang of it?"

Her tone softens with an eager edge, alluding to her prior demeanor. "Also, I really want to pull my weight for the next mission. So, if it's possible..."

She bites her lower lip with a subtle squirm down her body. "Could you give me lessons in tactics and other useful adventuring knowledge... later tonight?"

Blinking hard out of his stupor, Chad ponders very briefly and dons bold, ear to ear grin. "Oh! Of course, Veevi! We can practice all day with the laser pistol. And, I wouldn't be a proper leader if I didn't take time to relay vital knowledge to such a beautiful and promising adventurer like you."

Keeping her attentive stare upon Chad and Veevi, Samantha lifts herself off the ground from behind cover. She directs a loud whisper off to the side towards Gerald. "How good is the night-vision on the bedroom cameras?"

Pausing a moment in thought, Gerald's eyes mentally flip through an inventory. "High resolution with IR booster."

Eager anticipation plasters a wild grin on Samantha. "GOOD. After THIS, run a test recording and verify it works... Before tonight."

Observing through the glass of the back sliding door, Trakenthin quietly turns away. Tassilda sorts through the refrigerator and perks her brow at Trakenthin. "Anything going on?"

Trakenthin glances back and shakes his head. "No."

He halts a moment pondering. "I hope."

-30-

A pair of golden eyes scrutinizes the spectrum of colorful liquids across numerous glass vials across many tube holders on a shelf. Sotalia slowly turns her head towards the next display, pausing to examine the contents listed within upon container labels. Halting suddenly, she squints at the target ahead closely and briefly springs her eyes open with a corner grin. She carefully plucks a few vials from the shelf and rests them between other reagents in the plastic shopping basket hanging from her arm. Stepping back, she scans the front area of the shop. Jars full of dry plant specimens, bins of powders, flasks of viscous fluids, and sealed plastic bags of fresh compounds bolster the reagent stocks of the magic boutique. Sotalia hums in thought, fishes her aetherphone from her pocket, and taps through a few screens. She tugs the corner of her mouth and reads the calendar underneath a colorful "Miradia's Magic Materials" banner on her phone screen. A thick, black nail taps the Wednesday square, and the animation expands out the text.

"Wednesday: Premium Protellow Parts! Fresh from the finest forests delivered to our store by expert reagent hunters."

Sotalia glances at the tall emin woman tending the antique wooden counter with a very modern point of sale system upon it. Walking up to the counter, she places the basket of items upon the surface and waits for attention. The tall emin perks up with a smile and blinks her purple on black eyes back to awareness. "Oh! Yes! Hello, I'm Lilacia."

She furrows her brow and curiously approaches a topic. "Um... Did you find everything you were looking for?"

Sotalia lifts up her aetherphone, taps the screen, and rotates it towards Lilacia. "Almost. I was looking for some protellow anti-microbial fluid sacs. Or, at least the fluid extract. Your aethernet site said you should have had a delivery of some today, but I could not find any out on the store floor. Are they in the back, or?"

Sighing, Lilacia sags her shoulders and bows her head momentarily forward, swinging a few long, dark purple hair braids forward. "I am so sorry, ma'am. My mother was really hopeful about our delivery for today. But, it looks like it'll be next week. Our normal reagent hunters are having a very hard time getting to their normal hunting grounds..."

She wrestles a concerned hint on her purple hinted, dark gray face. "And, they haven't stopped by our town, yet."

Perking up, she smiles reassuringly at Sotalia. "Which is extremely unusual, and I assure you doesn't happen, like at all, usually..."

Spinning aetherphone back around, Sotalia eyes the device contemplatively and sorts through alternatives. "Okay... Hmm... Well, I can make do, for now. It'll be a bit more prep in the process, though."

Lilacia nods sympathetically with a gentle frown. "Oh, I understand completely. That compound works so well to cleanse reagents. Just to avoid risking potency loss from boiling alone is SO useful. I wish there were more economical alternatives, but... That fluid is the best."

Placing her phone back into her shorts pocket, Sotalia curls a tight smile in the corner of her light tan face. "Gods, you got that right. It'll be an hour or two more, at least, with each batch. I just don't know what I'm going to do until next week."

Lilacia guides a small stray braid over a small side facing, upwards curled horn. Nearly closing one eye, she scours her memory, twisting the internal debate upon her face. "Now... This is only a RUMOR... But..."

She darts a wary glance around and returns her attention to Sotalia. "I remember hearing from a friend who works at the police department about a call they answered. Turns out someone's SUV got hit by a huge protellow falling down. So, there may be plants that are old enough to have large, harvestable fluid sacs in the area!"

Sotalia's expression lights up, and she dons a presentable grin with a perk of an eyebrow. "OH. That is interesting. Any word on where THIS incident happened? For someone who might be driving around today?"

A careful bite of the lip and brief wince later, Lilacia frowns with hints of frustration slipping into her tone. "I don't know exactly. All she would tell me is that it was on the road to where certain reality show adventurers live. Gods, I don't know what street that would be. It has to be in a part of Amaranth Valley I don't go to, if, like, ever. Because I don't recognize the house or scenery on the show."

A hard eye twitch yanks Sotalia's cheek, and her intrigue deflates into a slow, quiet groan. Lilacia cocks her head to the side, focusing a long, examining gaze upon Sotalia. Recognition erupts on her face, and she reflexively covers her mouth with both hands. "Oh. My. Gods! I recognize YOU now!"

She energetically squirms and fidgets, flush with excitement. "At the Amaranth Adventure Con! You got into THAT competition with that other emin mage! OH! I was in the crowd! That was SO amazing to watch!"

Smugly grinning with poise, Sotalia inflates back up with her pride and nonchalantly checks her fingernails on a hand. "Well. Admittedly, we MAY have gotten a little carried away, but think it was an excellent demonstration of true ability by the end of it all."

Purple on black eyes check side to side and quickly glance over the shoulder towards a back room behind the counter. Lilacia leans out close to Sotalia with a hushed voice. "And... I believe she called you a... Well... THAT foul term..."

An amused chuckle sneaks out from Sotalia, and she dramatically rolls her golden eyes with a humored smile and dismissively waves. "Well, I'll have to admit, I haven't heard THAT one in a LONG time."

Covering a side of her mouth with a long nailed hand, Lilacia eyes Sotalia in a mix of surprise and intrigue. "Did you pick up on that accent she said THAT with? That almost sounded-"

Sotalia directs an amused smirk and lifts an eyebrow. "Laskian?"

Lilacia covers her mouth and nose with both hands in shock and retracts her hand away to speak softly. "YES. GODS, I'm not the only one that heard it."

A long sigh resonates from Sotalia, and she shakes her head of dark red hair. "I will tell you, I got closer to that area than I EVER wanted to. I didn't know I was in a sunset town until it was well past sunset."

Crossing her arms with a cringe, Lilacia nods her head down and unconsciously hooks a few fingers around a horn. "I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to go anywhere near that county. Gods, I don't think I'd be welcome there at all."

Puzzling a moment at Lilacia, Sotalia studies her form, confusion remaining after a swift check. "Really? Am I missing something? I think you'd pass just fine."

Lowering her arms to her sides, Lilacia sighs. "Well, it's because of my tail."

She lifts up her hand holding her long, thick short-haired tail and hugs onto it with a happy smile. "I've heard a few horrible names, too..."

Fighting down a frown, she grumbles. "That I'm not going to repeat with my mother nearby. But..."

She smirks sympathetically and sighs out her stale frustrations. "I know what it's like to be on the receiving end, too."

With an understanding nod, Sotalia smiles back and places a hand on her hip. "No need to repeat the small, insignificant words of smaller, more insignificant people."

Her tail sliding out of hands, Lilacia grins and moves her hands over the computer checkout system. "Amen to that. Now, let me total this up for you before I forget and get caught up in something else."

The shop door opens with a chime, and an average height man calmly walks in. His plain brown eyes scan over the store area, his face maintaining a neutral expression. Stepping forward towards a display, his typical length, brown hair gently shifts upon his tan face. Lilacia and Sotalia gossip at the counter, and the man passes nearby in route towards a shelf. With a subtle squirm, Sotalia momentarily breaks from listening to Lilacia and gradually angles her head to eye over at the passing man. She briefly glances over, nothing catching her immediate attention, and resumes her conversation with Lilacia.

----

Near a large central parking lot off the main road through suburbia, Bach and Cideeda stroll down the sidewalk in front of the strip mall. Opening up a paper bag with both hands, he shakes his head in disbelief and furrows his stare towards the contents. "It feels kind of strange to buy this many power packs and rounds, all at once. A few I could understand, but... Wow."

Quirking her brow, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, toting a metal ammo box at her side. "You get used to it. After a while, it feels like business as usual."

Bach closes the brown sack back up and carries it at his side with an accepting nod. "I guess. Yeah, I can see that happening. Also, they were really nice and really willing to work a deal with you."

A faint sneer parting her mouth, Cideeda's light brown face settles to an unamused frown, and she grumbles. "Not as good as I've gotten before. But... In dealing with a town shop like that one..."

She rolls her eyes with a mildly defeated sigh. "It'll have to do. A certain premium you have to pay for specialist goods."

Quickly eyeing the bag in hand, Bach chuckles with a smile. "Yeah, that's true. I doubt there's too many hunters around here hunting small game with energy weapons."

A snort escapes Cideeda, and her fluffy tail flicks. Presenting a toothy grin to Bach, she shakes her head and perks up her furry ears. "ACTUALLY, those power packs aren't that uncommon..."

She searches her shorts pocket with a free hand and grits her teeth, briefly glancing at the munition container in tow. "If you want rare, it's this damn caseless ammunition for Dretphi's submachine gun! Gods."

Furrowing her brow, she grumbles into a sigh and leans opposite to the heft of the ammo case. "Outside a few vendors, no one has it in bulk. And, they want a fucking king's ransom for whatever they have. Never mind if it has been taking up inventory space for years, they jack up the price the second anyone shows legit interest in it."

She retrieves her keys with the humvee fob from her pocket and aims the device at the humvee nearby. "Then, they have the nerve to bitch and complain about how they never can sell the stuff."

Glancing up to Bach, she smirks dryly and dismissively rolls her eyes. "Oh, I wonder why..."

Pressing a button, a series of chirps emit from the humvee along with a few light blinks. Cideeda steps up, unlocks the back hatch door, and swings it up. "Anyway, one of the nice things about being registered with the guild is that you can purchase near-military grade equipment from anyone without too much trouble. Most people figure, if you are registered with guild, you probably have a good reason to buy it."

Smirking with a sarcastic tone, Bach places the paper bag within the cargo space of the humvee. "Huh. So, what about military grade equipment?"

Cideeda hoists up the ammo box securely inside the humvee and rests a hand upon the container. Rapping claw tips on metal, she gazes at Bach with a sly, toothy smile. "Oh... A little paperwork and a few days... Maybe..."

Reaching on her tiptoes and stretching her small frame out, she firmly grips a hanging pull handle and lowers the hatch, pushing it shut with a securing click. She props herself against the back hatch door, grins, and winks at Bach. "IF we go through the official routes."

Blinking thoughtfully, Bach furrows his brow, connotations emerging in his mind. Cideeda shakes her head of short multicolored hair and idly scans the shopping mall area, crossing her arms. "I'm just saying, borderlands markets are INTERESTING places."

She perks an eyebrow and darts her stare around. "Anyway, you see any sign of Sotalia?"

Bach surveys the vicinity over the parked rows of cars and spots Sotalia exiting Miradia's Magical Materials. "Oh, yeah. Looks like she just got done."

Cideeda turns her head towards the same direction Bach faces, popping up on her toed shoes. "Good. Should be able to get back in time for lunch. I wonder what Dretphi settled on cooking today."

Glancing up into his mind, Bach hums in thought. "She said we had enough deli meat and other stuff for sub sandwiches."

Cideeda sways momentarily in delight. "Oh, nice."

A minute later, Sotalia strolls up with a smile and waves to Bach and Cideeda. "Mission accomplished. Enough. Looks like protellow sacs are hard to come by as of late. But..."

Grinning proudly, she places a hand on the hip and lifts an intrigued eyebrow, tossing her shoulder length, dark red hair back. "Heard a rumor as to where to look for some."

Cideeda crosses her arms and narrows her stare upon Sotalia. "Really?"

Sotalia recounts her recent experience in the reagents shop, and Bach idly gazes out into the distance of the surrounding strip mall. People travel between the rows of store colorful fronts, gatherings stopping and admiring products of choice behind glass display windows. Potential customers sift in and wander out towards new destinations, a few heading towards the main street sidewalk and some filtering in between the numerous cars. Passing his stare back over the entrance of Miradia's Magical Materials, Bach witnesses an average height man calmly exit the door with a branded plastic bag in hand. With Bach's attention starting to drift away, the man glances down at the sidewalk and tenses up. Momentarily focusing upon the man, Bach follows the man's gaze to the sidewalk, finds nothing on the concrete, and shifts his curiosity back up. The details of the man's face waver to a blurry haze and quickly revert back to clarity. Blinking hard, Bach leans his head towards the Cideeda and Sotalia, a suspicious eye peeking out the corner at the man. "Hey, Sotalia? Was there a man in that store with you?"

Sotalia tilts her head in thought and glances at Bach. "Um. Yes? There was this guy that came in. Nothing out of the ordinary from what I could tell. All I remember is that he asked for a reagent I've never used before."

Retrieving her aetherphone from her pocket, she quirks her intrigued brow at Bach, scrolling through on screen menus. "I was a little curious, so I messaged Aristespha to see if she knew what it was used for. I mean, I've learned most of the ones for medicinal purposes. So, I was wondering what types of potions it was used for."

Bach slowly turns his head nonchalantly and swiftly studies Sotalia's phone screen and sent message. "I know I've heard of that before. But... Dammit. It's been so long since I've done any serious potion making."

Narrowing her emerald green eyes at Bach, Cideeda flicks her furry ears with a tinge of concern. "What's going on?"

Smoothly sliding around to the obscuring side of the vehicle, Bach motions the others to follow along. "Okay, I swear I just saw that man's face phase out for a moment. Almost like an illusion resetting. It was really strange."

Adopting a more serious tone, Sotalia taps a few buttons on her phone and holds it up to her pointed ear. "You know, I thought I felt something magic wise when he walked near me."

She twists her mouth and rolls her golden eyes. "But given it's a magical material shop and all... I didn't think much of it, at the time. Shit."

The call connects with Aristespha's faint voice from the speaker, and Sotalia responds back. "Hey, girl! Did you get that message I sent you?"

Sotalia focuses upon the phone, and Bach and Cideeda split their attention between the conversation and the man walking through an aisle of cars in the parking lot. Surprise leaping up onto her face, Sotalia's eyes widen. "A component for illusion spells? So, like a potion to help change how your face looks?"

The eerie silence between Bach, Cideeda, Sotalia, and Aristsespha on the other side of the phone call looms heavily. Aristespha quietens her voice and speaks quicker. Sotalia nods and glances around. "Understood. We'll keep a watch on him and-"

Cideeda's ears perk up and lock onto the slam of a car door. Leaning out from the cover of the humvee, she spots the average man in the driver's seat of a small gray sedan. " OH. SHIT. He's leaving in a car."

Snapping her head towards the vehicle with the man inside, Sotalia grits her teeth, growling. "He's on the move. Gods damn it!"

Rushing to the driver's door, Cideeda presses a button on the key fob and slips into the driver seat. "Get in! Let's see if we can tail him."

Bach swiftly walks to the rear passenger door, opens it, and hops into his seat in one fast motion. Sotalia zips to the front passenger door, cracks the door wide enough, and slips into her seat, placing her shopping bag behind Cideeda's seat. The humvee's power plant spins up to life, and everyone inside readies themselves. Cideeda glances into the rear view mirror at Bach. "Bach, check near the back and look for a box labeled Trackers."

Nodding quickly, Bach moves through the aisle towards the back, bracing upon the nearby seats. "So, I guess a crash course in tracking devices today?"

A sinister grin flashes upon Cideeda, and she checks for clearance, backing out of the parking spot. "Exactly! I'm going to keep an eye on this guy and try to maintain a good distance behind him. But, we're going to need to plant a tracking beacon on him. Because if he wanders off too far from city traffic or we keep tailing him for too long in general, he's going to get real suspicious, fast."

Sotalia wedges her aetherphone in a cup holder and taps a speakerphone button on the screen. "Hey girl! We're in the humvee. I've got you on speakerphone."

Aristespha's voice blasts out of the phone. "Okay! So, he bought reagents for an illusion spell. What else happened?"

The vehicle rolls clear of the parking space, and Bach supports himself against the roof of the humvee with a box under arm. "As he was walking out of the shop, he dropped his head forward and his face..."

Leaning against the momentum of motion, he furrows his brow and frowns. "Um, it went out of focus separate from the rest of his body. Thinking about it more, man, it HAD to be an illusion spell refreshing."

Humming in thought, Aristespha calls out through the phone. "Bach, have you mage sighted it yet?"

The humvee turns sharply. Bach follows the inertia and flops right into his seat. "Not yet. I'll confirm here in a moment. I really didn't want to do anything too obviously magical, well, near a possible mage."

Sotalia directs her voice down, maintaining a casual gaze forward towards the gray sedan in the distance. "I felt something magical when he walked past me in the store. So, he's was using some kind of magic in there, and it must have been running weak."

Through the phone, background footstep echoes change inflections, and Aristespha moves around on the other end. She sighs affirmatively and processes out loud. "Okay. You all keep tracking him. I am going to update Dretphi and Sebastian. Tag a tracker, if you can safely. It is very likely, if he has gotten reagents, he may need to brew up another batch of whatever he is using to change his appearance. I would guess some kind of flow conductive medium to either target or assist the illusion spell."

Placing his hand on the back of Sotalia's seat, Bach gradually leans out with glowing blue eyes. He squints out ahead, searches between other cars on the road, and settles upon the gray sedan. Moments later, he nods confirming and eases back behind the headrest of the front seat. "Yeah. He's definitely got magic flow all around his head. I can see pretty clearly even from here."

Aristespha affirms through the aetherphone connection. "Good. That is confirmation enough, for now. Sotalia, message me all the info about his vehicle. If I correctly remember illusion magic and materials, it is going to take a while to process the reagents and mix them. He has to have somewhere to set up to perform everything he will need to do."

Cideeda eases through traffic and inconspicuously navigates around other vehicles, staring at the gray sedan a few cars ahead. "Just a guess, this doesn't sound like something you can brew out of your trunk in an abandoned parking lot."

Opening the metal "Trackers" box in his lap, Bach examines the collection of electronic devices inside. "Unless you're my cousin Eddie, NO. He's probably staying at some cheap motel that takes cash and asks no questions."

Pointing a finger back briefly, Cideeda nods in agreement. Aristespha sounds out from the phone. "I concur. I will start getting a map together, in case he runs off, so we can narrow down possible locations. I will call back soon, after I check some other information."

The display blinks out to a called ended screen, and Sotalia plucks out the device from the cup holder, keeping a nonchalant stare ahead and thumbs at the ready to message. Bach focuses upon the box of electronic devices and glances ahead to Cideeda peering in the rearview mirror. "Okay. So, where do I start?"

----

Vehicles burst through the busy city intersection. Stoplights alternate through methodical control programs and facilitate the passage of cars, trucks, and other means of transportation. A gray sedan slows to a stop in front of a red light. The driver searches ahead in the distance and compares the suburban scenery against a map on his phone. A few cars behind, the humvee gradually brakes to a halt, both Cideeda and Sotalia projecting a disinterested facade ahead. Bach clicks a final button on a small metal cube with a coiled wire protruding from it. Raising an uncertain eyebrow, he eyes Cideeda through the rear view mirror, reservation on his face. "Umm... Okay... Frequency set. Protocol selected. Calibrated to the local nav beacons. And... My phone is picking it up. So, uh, anything else?"

Maintaining a vigilant watch over and around the vehicles ahead, Cideeda shakes her head slightly. "No. That should be it. Write down the frequency and protocol."

She furrows her brow and twists her mouth, revealing an anxious flash of a canine. "Now... We just need an opportunity."

Squinting her golden eyes through her relaxed, carefree facade, Sotalia observes the behavior of the man in the gray sedan. "He's looking for something and checking his phone... What is he-"

The stoplight turns green, and vehicles accelerate forward through the intersection. After crossing through, the gray sedan creeps ahead of the pack, and a blinking right turn signal flashes. Sotalia's stare snaps to the blinker, and a corner grin forms on her face. Noticing the rows of fast food advertisement signs along the four lane roadway, she softly chuckles. "Oh. He's hungry. Probably going to turn into one of these places ahead, if I had to guess."

Glancing up from the device in hand, Bach scans the situation ahead with a nod. "That makes sense. Probably grabbing everything in one trip before heading back to wherever he's hiding out."

Cideeda snarls her upper lip in anticipation and flexes her claw tips into the steering wheel. "That could work for us. BUT. I bet he's going through the drive thru..."

Her voice trails off. She drifts momentarily in thought, a sly, eager smile overtaking. "OH. I got an idea. Sotalia, take the wheel and get into the driver's seat when I tell you."

A spark of surprise hitting Sotalia, she quickly nods, sneakily undoes her seatbelt, and prepares. The gray sedan slows. The front tires pivot. The vehicle coasts a right turn into the parking lot of a fantasy themed fast food restaurant, rolling past a prominent "Draco-Burger" wood and stone sign. Keeping her left hand on the steering wheel, Cideeda reaches down with her free hand, pulls the seat's adjustment bar, and slides the seat back. "NOW."

Cideeda slips out of the driver's seat into the back aisle. Sotalia grabs hold of the steering wheel, hops over into the driver seat, and assumes control of the vehicle. Adjusting the seat back up, she clicks the turn signal lever and follows the gray sedan into the entry. Cideeda gestures Bach down and out of sight. "Keep low. He shouldn't be too suspicious if it looks like only one person is in here. And, I need your help."

Bach carefully slides out of his seat and joins Cideeda in the aisle, presenting the tracking beacon to her. "Okay. Here it is. What's the plan?"

Peeking just over the dash with her furry ears low to her shoulders, Cideeda watches the gray sedan move into the drive thru lane and softly commands. "Sotalia, keep behind him, and just use the drive thru to order something. I'm going to hide under the humvee and sneak up to plant the tracker when I get the chance."

Bach blinks hard in disbelief with a brief shudder of his head. "Wait, what?! While it's moving?!"

A confident toothy grin overtakes Cideeda's light brown face, and she chuckles eagerly, wagging her hair. "Not the first time I've done it. Don't worry, the humvee is direct electric drive at the wheels. There's not that many moving parts underneath it and plenty to grab onto from all the retrofits."

Cars wrap around the castle mocked-up building within the marked off drive thru lane and periodically idle forward into the forming gaps. The gray sedan follows along the curve of the path and behind a large menu screen partially obscuring the view. Cideeda nods to herself and pats Sotalia quickly on the shoulder. She plucks the tracker from Bach's hand, summoning his attention. "Okay. I need you to open and close the door for me. Then, I need you to tap on the floorboards to warn me when you all are going to move and listen for my taps when I'm secure underneath."

Pulling the seat release bar under the rear passenger's seat, she slides it back, giving herself room. Bach scoots up to the seat, leans over the cushion, and grips onto the door handle at the ready. The humvee slows to a stop. Keeping her seemingly distant gaze forward, she calls out from the corner of her mouth with a hand casually covering. "Okay. He's still behind the menu sign. Go for it."

Cideeda nods to Bach, her long, fluffy tail reflexively coiling around her waist. Pushing the humvee door open, he steadies the gap. Cideeda gracefully zips through, gingerly swinging herself underneath the vehicle. The door closes. She latches herself to the underside, the faint clacks of claw tips hooking onto the metal chassis mixing with the idle whine of the machine's powerplant. Sliding tracker down the front of her shirt, she firmly taps the floorboard above. Reacting to the noise, Bach lowers his head down close and directs his voice to Sotalia. "Okay. She's secure underneath."

Keeping her seemingly indifferent stare ahead, Sotalia nods gradually. "Good. We're moving."

Bach firmly drops his hand on the floorboard a few times. The humvee rolls up in line, stopping just behind the gray sedan at the order kiosk. Cideeda waits, and her furry ears sift out a man's voice ahead calling out an order. Clawing and climbing underneath, she scrambles closer towards the front of the humvee. Navigating forward, she keeps herself near the center and grips onto solid supports and the edges of protective underside plating. The man stops speaking, and a voice through the intercom repeats the order in confirmation. Hanging just under the front bumper of the humvee, Cideeda judges the distance to the rear bumper of the sedan. She checks her footing and grip, extends an arm out, and barely touches the underside of the rear bumper. Narrowing her emerald green eyes along with a determined smirk, she pulls her arm back and retrieves the tracker from the front of her shirt. She readies herself, and her tail coils tightly, protectively around her midsection. Her furry ears flick to the intercom stating a price, the brakes of the sedan releasing, and a series of taps upon the floorboards. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she sighs. "Dammit."

Securing herself back into her position under the vehicle, away from the gray sedan, she lightly kicks the floorboard. The humvee creeps forward up to the ordering kiosk. A bored, completely unamused young woman's voice drones out from the speaker. "Welcome to Draco-Burger, how may I serve, your highness?"

Sotalia casually turns her head and calls out at the station. "I'll take a Lord's Meal with large fries, no onions, double pickles, and Lady's Tea to drink."

Groaning with an emerald green eye roll, Cideeda focuses upon the gray sedan ahead. The car line ahead barely shifts, affording little room for the sedan to creep forward. Cideeda grins, judges the distance, and prepares herself. The sedan starts to roll forward, securing the very little space ahead. A stubborn surge drives Cideeda, and she grins toothily. "Oh, not this time."

With both arms stretching out, she swings forward, springing herself out from underneath the humvee. She latches her clawed grip around a metal support brace under the gray sedan. Nearly flopping onto the pavement, she arches her back and tenses her legs, keeping the harsh grit of pavement upon the rubber heels of her toed-shoes. Bach lifts his ear away from the floorboard and furrows a confused brow at Sotalia. "THAT was a weird sound..."

The voice over the intercom finishes, confirming the order and stating a price. Settling her gaze forward, Sotalia's golden eyes spring wide open in surprise. She watches Cideeda cling to the underside of the gray sedan and leave faint rubber marks from her shoes onto the parking lot. Pulling herself forward, Cideeda reaches out underneath the vehicle with the tracker in hand and magnetically nestles it securely within the corner of the frame. She eases herself back out from underneath, following the movement of the ground. Releasing her grip of the sedan, she quickly signals Sotalia forward. Sotalia eases the brake off, and Bach glances over concerned. "Hey, wait! I haven't signaled Cideeda-"

With a corner smirk to Bach, Sotalia interrupts reassuringly. "OH, I know where she is. She just signaled us to move up."

Confusion seizes Bach, and he carefully sneaks a peek over the driver's seat shoulder and catches a glimpse of Cideeda upon the drive lot ahead. "OH. OKAY."

Shuffling upon the pavement, Cideeda lines herself between the wheels of the humvee and waits with open hands and readied claws. The humvee gradually creeps over and shades the bright noon sun. The middle of the vehicle coasts over Cideeda, and she latches onto familiar spots. A few dull, metallic thuds resonate from the floorboards, and Bach smiles in relief. "Okay. She's secure."

He exhales long and rests his ear on the floor of the cab. From the drive thru window ahead, the man in the sedan receives his food. Inspecting it quickly, he turns his attention ahead and drives off. Sotalia eases the humvee up to the window. A younger teenage man adjusts the shirt of his uniform, glancing unamused at the feudal servant theme print. Drained of enthusiasm, he opens the castle turret decorated window and drones the price. Handing over a company card, Sotalia waits a few seconds and receives her card back, a bag of food, and a drink. She places the food into the passenger's seat and prepares to drive off. Bach taps the floorboard and listens to the similar response from below. The humvee rolls ahead and turns into a parking spot nearby. The powerplant spins down, and Cideeda swings out from underneath the vehicle with a confident, toothy grin. She opens the front passenger's door, and Sotalia picks the bag up out of the way, inspecting the order. Plopping herself in the seat, Cideeda exhales with relief, stretching her arms and legs out, uncoiling her tail. "Wow! THAT was close! Let's head back to the house and get everyone else ready for when he settles in one place for a while."

Checking his aetherphone, Bach nods and chuckles out some residual nervousness. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm picking up the tracker and the map app is plotting the coordinates. So, we got him for now."

Examining the bag, Sotalia starts to nod. She growls and abruptly closes the bag up in frustration, grumbling. "Gods dammit. I'll be right back, they gave me a medium fry and forgot the straw."

----

Night surrounds the rural area around a small, rundown motel. Just off a worn two lane highway, a deteriorated, patchy paved lot moats in the nearly derelict building. Outshining the dim, dingy exterior lights next to the doors, a solitary large neon sign occasionally flickers to life and casts a blue hue upon the sparse collection of cars. Off beyond the wooded perimeter of the property, Dretphi scans through binoculars towards the end motel unit, a gray sedan in the parking space nearby. "Nothing. Still."

In the middle of the group, Sebastian's ghostly visage reforms next to Aristespha with cool, focused expression. "Phased in there just enough to see him when he was busy. He still definitely matches what was in the file picture. And, it looks like he's busy brewing up some potions and some kind of cream."

Nodding, Aristespha checks through the messages on her aetherphone. "That does make sense. Refreshing myself on illusion magic, there are numerous alchemical components that help the details, functionality, and longevity of illusion spells. But, it still takes significant time to prepare."

A smug grin cracks across Sotalia's face, and she stares menacingly towards the motel. "Good. Then, he's not going anywhere soon."

Cideeda stretches her arms out, pats down her bodysuit, and eyes an electronic device in an open case. "Any word from the guild yet?"

Aristespha shakes her head at her phone, squinting violet eyes hint at the building irritation. "NO. I sent our report and request an hour ago. And still..."

She clamps down upon a simmering frown. "NOTHING."

Wandering his eyes between everyone in the group, Bach scratches the back of his head. "Umm... Question. What's the proper process here? I've been trying to figure it out in all the hurry."

Sebastian drifts down next to Bach with an explanatory tone. "Well, any time you get information about a bounty, it's usually proper to report the findings. This way the guild gets more information to help everyone out, even if you aren't interested in the bounty."

Narrowing a stare at the motel, he contorts his face in frustration. "If you think you have located the bounty, you are supposed to send in a Request for Pursuit to the guild."

With a long sigh, Aristespha gazes up from her phone and brushes some of her silvery blue hair back over her long ears. "Yes. Then, the guild checks with the local authorities for any limitations and allowances. After reasonable attempts to confirm the identity of the target, they will also confirm if requested methods of capture are acceptable."

Rolling her violet eyes, a smirk forms from the corner of her ivory face. "The process helps sort out confusion between multiple groups going after the same bounty and acts as a precautionary measure against most errors."

She glances back down at her aetherphone's screen and deepens a frown into the blue and gray hints on her face, squinting in confusion. "Typically, it does NOT take this long in an area like this. Especially after an alert."

Tapping her claw-tipped fingers upon the small electronic equipment in front of her, Cideeda groans. "AND, they usually don't have any problems authorizing trackers and covertly installing remote vehicle cutoffs."

Bach quirks an eyebrow in surprise and apprehensively eyes Cideeda. "Um... Didn't we already put a tracker on there?"

A sly, toothy grin appears on Cideeda, and she playfully shrugs with a coy tinge. "Well... Yes. Sometimes you got to take the initiative and ask for forgiveness later. Anyway, most places prefer you use a tracker rather than risk provoking a high speed car chase or standoff situation. So, the lesser of the evils."

Lying prone next to Dretphi, Sotalia glances over her shoulder and draws a dry smirk. "Turns out not many places want an epic mage showdown right on main street or in downtown."

She lifts a pair of binoculars up to her eyes and stares out through them towards the motel. Carefully adjusting focus and her aim, she mumbles condescendingly, sarcasm dribbling out. "Not that an illusionist is going to put up any kind of worthwhile fight. Ooo... I make pretty pictures of stuff I can't cast..."

Dretphi rests her eyes away from the binoculars and sighs back to the subject. "For reports, we attempt to obtain photographic evidence. Helps grant us authority to approach the situation as needed."

Bach nods and briefly flickers his eyes blue towards the motel. "Yeah. That would be nice. But, I doubt he's going to show his real face out in public. He really rushed back here from what the tracker showed. I guess he was about to run out of reagents or something."

Smirking eagerly, Sotalia scans the parking lot and the single row of motel room entry doors. "Oh... He'll mess up eventually. Maybe he forgot something in the car or wants a candy bar from the snack machine."

A small, awkward smile graces Dretphi, and she lightly taps Sotalia's shoulder with a hushed tone. "THEY are back."

Both Sotalia and Dretphi aim binoculars upon an evuukian man and emin woman wandering toward the building from separate cars. They cling upon each other mid route the motel and embrace upon the wall off to the side of a room door. Sotalia snickers, fidgeting in anticipation. "I hope they got a bed without a headboard, because she might get those horns stuck if they're not careful."

In between their excitement, the frisky couple manage to fumble the door lock open and roll in together, the door securely shutting afterward. Down the nearby highway, a convoy of vehicles approach the parking lot entry. Sotalia and Dretphi perk up from the binoculars and dart their focus over to the activity through the lenses. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sebastian peek out from the cover of the forest brush and hunt for more clues. Seconds later, with headlights off, vans roll up through the poorly marked, faded lot aisles, stop, and unload equipment carrying crews. Taking positions throughout the area, the teams hide behind cars, overgrown landscaping, and battered vending machines. Cideeda's eyes fully open in shock, her jaw hanging open. "NO."

Squinting, she scrutinizes the side of a van, recognizing the painfully familiar logo. "Why the hell are THEY HERE?!"

A wave of astonishment and disbelief shakes the group to full attention. Through the parking lot entry, a lone black sports utility vehicle with partly reformed, large dents along the roof, creeps up behind the gray sedan, blocking it in. All the doors open, and Chad, Trakenthin, Tassilda, Deedri, Modoran, and Veevi exit. Chad and Trakenthin rush up to either side of the end unit's door with Veevi trailing behind Chad. Tassilda takes cover behind the doors of the SUV with Deedri, and Modoran disappears. Minutes later of hushed discussion later, Trakenthin steps in front of the door, rears back, and slams an armored boot into it. The door breaks free of its hinges and lands meters inside.

A strong eye twitch forming, Aristespha cringes with a reddening face. Bach blinks absolutely dumbfounded. Cideeda's remains agape, and her hands out, motioning to the scene in pure bewilderment. Dretphi growls and clenches tightly onto her binoculars, her arm shaking with muscles flexing. Sebastian blinks in synchronous with Bach, and the brothers struggle in vain, attempting to figure out the situation. Sotalia's wide-eye rage barely subsides with the firmly clasped hand of Dretphi keeping her prone.

----

A repetitious electronic chime blares out into the bedroom. From under the covers, a gray hand with long, thick black nails presses upon a prompt on the aetherphone screen. The alarm silences. Tassilda slowly rises from bed. Blinking the haze of slumber from her light blue on black eyes, she guides the strands of her long raven black hair off her swirling horns down upon her pajama top. Pulling a small chain, the lamp upon the nightstand illuminates the room, and she briefly shields her eyes. Minutes of idly sitting in a morning haze later, she slides on a pair of slippers and plods across the room to a satchel of toiletries and beauty supplies. Rummaging lethargically through the bag, she retrieves toothpaste and a toothbrush and wanders groggily off towards the bedroom door.

Tassilda steps slowly through the doorway into the upstairs hallway. Glancing down one path towards two doors, she listens for a few moments. In the silence, she faces ahead and stares towards the stairwell at the faint glow of morning light from downstairs. She sets off towards the open bathroom door down the opposite stretch of hall, passing a door with a brightly decorated sign stuck upon it. With a long glare, annoyance carves into each letter of the name on the sign. "Veevi Valiant."

Rolling her eyes hard with a long grumble, Tassilda shakes her head dismissively and drags her sleepy self closer to the bathroom. At the very end of the hall, the door opens. Tassilda blinks away the initial surprise and mumbles to herself. "What is he doing up?"

Her eyes widen in astonishment. Veevi slides out between the ajar door into the hallway. Stumbling around in a drowsy daze, she unconsciously slides down a Flames of the Phoenix T-shirt, too large for her. Her short hair tail wags freely in vain to maintain balance. Stretching her arms up absentmindedly, the shirt rises and reveals no other clothing beneath. A few meters later, Veevi blinks to awareness and glances over, catching the glare from Tassilda. A sly smirk creeps up on Veevi's face, and she eyes Tassilda smugly. "Well... Good morning."

Tassilda levels an accusatory stare upon Veevi and slowly crosses her arms, contempt radiating. "Morning. If I'm NOT mistaken, YOUR room is on the OTHER side of the hallway."

Straightening her posture, Veevi struts forward towards Tassilda with a defiant smile on her tan face. "OH. I'm NOT mistaken. Chad invited me over to..."

A wicked hint infiltrates Veevi stare, and she softly chuckles. "Discuss... some things. We had the most wonderful... conversation."

Placing her hands on her sides, Tassilda postures herself proudly and marches slowly forward. "Oh. I'm certain much was..."

She rolls her light blue on black eyes and dismissively shakes her head. "Talked about. Did you... secure... a reference for the next group you go off to after this SHORT TERM internship?"

A sharp toothed grin parts Veevi's mouth, and she tilts her head of pink hair slightly forward, eyeing Tassilda. "Oh, much was secured. I believe we came to an agreement about the new terms of my internship."

An eyebrow sharply hikes up on Tassilda's face, and she focuses a condescending glare upon Veevi. "Interesting. I'm sure you made use of your..."

She stifles a derisive snort. "Unique... talents. Speaking of, would any of THOSE help explain the lack of any of your own attire at the moment?"

Veevi giggles and suggestively slides her hands down the oversized Flames of the Phoenix T-shirt, pulling it down by the sides. "Oh, THIS? No. Of course not. Our discussion got a little too energetic and excited, and something got spilled. Chad was ever the gentleman and let me borrow one of his shirts for the night."

She sighs playfully, rolls her pink pupil eyes at Tassilda, and struts in front of one side of the bathroom door frame. "We were just ever so relaxed that I fell asleep and just woke up now."

Arriving at the other side of the door frame, Tassilda assertively glowers at Veevi. "Well. I hoped you enjoyed your... discussion. But, I think your focus should be upon other things. For example, what other professions you'll explore in the very NEAR FUTURE."

Veevi perks a brow, grins sharply with a glint in her eye, and flicks her tail up with a dismissive lift. "Not as near as YOU think. So, you better learn to teach better in the NEAR FUTURE."

Sidestepping swiftly through the bathroom door past Tassilda, she shuts the bathroom door tightly, a click of a lock following. A wave rage flashes upon Tassilda's gray face, and a spark of blue ignites her eyes. Grasping hold of the door knob, she attempts to torque it open from sheer aggravation. An echoing snicker from inside the bathroom audibly leaks out into the hallway. Tassilda sneers and grits her teeth, growling with boiling rage. A piece of fabric softly thumps against the wooden interior door, and faucet values squeak, ushering the flow of rushing water from a shower head inside. Moments later, the sounds of Veevi singing one of her songs drifts out from the background din. Tassilda releases the door knob and slowly exhales, wavering with spite. Stepping back, she draws in a long breath and closes her eyes with the exhale. A tentative calm grounds her demeanor. Pivoting swiftly, she walks tensely away towards the stairwell. Deedri cracks open her bedroom door. Peeking out from the other far end of the hallway, she spots Tassilda and meekly waves. "Morning."

Tassilda pauses and her frustration softens to a pleasant, neutral smile, nodding to Deedri. "Morning."

Deedri glances with concern down the hallway and leans further out her door. "Is everything okay?"

Contorting her mouth momentarily, Tassilda sighs into resignation. "Yes. It is just fine. Only a brief conversation with Veevi."

Deedri's auburn eyes widen momentarily, and she bites her lip apprehensively. "Oh. Okay. I just heard a lot going on and wanted check to make sure everything was okay."

With a nod, Tassilda turns towards the stairs, pausing a moment. She gazes at Deedri and whispers loudly. "If you need to use the bathroom soon, I would use the one downstairs for now. This floor's bathroom is presently..."

She flashes an ireful glare at the bathroom door. "UNCLEAN."

Veevi's singing peaks loudly in the song's dramatic chorus, over the watery drone of the shower. Drooping her furry ears down, Deedri frowns against the discomfort. She nods, fully understanding, to Tassilda and quietly retreats behind the bedroom door. Tassilda returns her attention ahead and marches down the stairs, muttering insults in a uniquely accented emin dialect.

-31-

With an aetherphone firmly pressing against her long, pointy ear, Aristespha paces around her bedroom, orbiting the open wooden floor from bed to desk to tables. A faint tune of a light instrumental wafts from the speaker of her phone, and she grits her teeth, curling her upper lip into an annoyed sneer. The hold music grates upon her, patience wearing thin with the seconds of loud, crisply distorted notes. The music stops abruptly, and a softer voice calls out. Blinking back to attention, Aristespha summons up the meager traces of pleasantness in his tone. "Yes. I am STILL here."

Her violet eyes wander around the room, and she idly shifts her weight between her feet, posture rigid and muscles tensing. Moments of listening to a drawn out verbiage later, she suddenly pauses and pivots slowly, wincing around her eye. Lowering her tone, she glares distantly towards the other side of the call by proxy of the wall in front of her. "What do you mean by a... Processing ERROR?"

The voice from the phone speaker maintains a polite, explanatory tone against the bubbling irritation. Boiling ire articulates Aristespha's face. Twisting her stance, she stretches out her frustration across her body. Sebastian's ghostly face phases through the bedroom door, and he presents a comforting smile towards Aristespha. Watching Aristespha's body language, he halts phasing all the way through the door and waits, cautiously observing. With angered pops of knuckles on her free hand, Aristespha's frustration slides deeper into furious. She manages a relatively neutral tone for her next statement. "I understand THAT. We SENT the information. Got a confirmation of receipt by the system. And, we were waiting for an approval RESPONSE."

Irritation condenses, and she forces out words through gritting teeth. "We were NOT denied. We received NOTHING. We STILL have NOT received ANYTHING."

With the same polite, explanatory tone, the person on the other side of the conversation drones on through the well rehearsed script, tinges of saccharine sympathy sprinkling over intention. Aristespha draws a long, slow breath in through her nose with a contorting flex of her shoulders. Sebastian's translucent blue eyes widen in dreadful anticipation, and he glances around the area, questioning the few reasons to remain as witness. Straining a painful sigh from an exhale, Aristespha rubs her forehead tightly and closes her eyes. "I think I am having difficulty expressing the situation in Americ. You wouldn't happen to have anyone fluent in any of the Evuukian dialects?"

A positive, affirmative reply chimes out from the speaker. A dark grin manifests from Aristespha's mouth and creeps along her face. A flash of violet flickers in her eyes, and an odd hint of cheer colors her voice. "Why, that is EXCELLENT to hear. I will certainly be able to express myself perfectly that way... Oh, could I request this be recorded and forwarded to the issue review department?"

With the confirmation from the representative on the other side of the call, Aristespha tilts her head forward, casting a darkening shadow upon her eyes. The evil grin spans both corners of her mouth. "Thank you."

A roll of eloquent, proper Evuukian streams from Aristespha. The tone remains polite, initially. Twists in inflection and stretches of pronunciation deviate from the surface presentation. She continues with odd spikes emphasizing parts of words and flexes in pace hinting towards contrary semantics. Sebastian stares in awkward fright, his mind piecing together excerpts he understands well between uncomfortable winces. A few very familiar terms urge his withdrawal, and he gradually pulls himself back out of the room through the door. His ghostly visage retreats from the audible barrage of uncomfortable terms, aghast.

Drifting back, he spins mid-flight and coasts down the hallway towards the living room archway. Exiting into the living room, he gazes around the large space. Bach slouches out in his stabilized magical energy chair and rests his head in the middle of the seat back. Dretphi twists her mouth and glares forward, vaguely the wall mounted television's direction. Propping her feet on the coffee table, she settles back into the cushions on her side of the couch. Cideeda's tail coils up in front of her, and she adjusts her head upon a pillow against the couch arm. From the couch recliner, Sotalia turns her head, resting upon her hand, and eyes Sebastian with a bored sigh. "So... How's it going in there?"

Sebastian tugs at the corner of his mouth and briefly grits his teeth, trying to present a positive facade. "Given what I could roughly make out..."

The front weakens, and he awkwardly chuckles, avoiding averting his eyes away. "About as good as you'd expect."

With an understanding nod, Sotalia grumbles to herself and glances over at the television. Bach tilts his head up and gazes at his brother, curiously quirking his brow. "So, I'm still new to all this. But, what the hell could have happened? I mean we were there a LONG time waiting to hear something back. I mean, we were really lucky to spot him and actually confirm who he was. I don't understand how anyone else would have been able to track him down that quickly."

Sebastian ethereally sighs with a nod and gazes ahead in thought. "Yeah, I know, bro. I really don't know how THEY of all people would have been remotely able to find him. Maybe they had some prior information? I wouldn't be surprised if a show like that had a few connections to pull for information."

Bach perks a suspicious brow and ponders out loud. "Um, maybe a mole inside the guild office?"

Sebastian's face entertains a slow grimace of intrigue, and he idly scratches his chin. "Maybe? That's not a rare thing, bro. But..."

His ethereal form crosses his arms, and he hovers contemplatively, drifting to the side. "Even if they do have someone on the inside, it's one thing to provide insider information... It's another thing entirely to interfere with guild operations. That's risking A LOT, and it'd have to be done really carefully. No one likes it when you fuck up guild processes."

Grumbling to herself, Cideeda claws out towards the remote on the coffee table in front of her. "Whatever. At least I was able to sneak over and get the tracker back. Those things are not cheap to replace. Sneaking into impound lots isn't fun either."

She grasps hold of the remote, aims it at the television, and twists her head upon the pillow between the team surrounding the couch. "Anyone against me finding a movie or something? I NEED a good distraction right now."

Reaching inside her house robe pocket, Sotalia pulls out her aetherphone and taps through a series of screens. "Sounds good, girl. Let me check the listings... Something has to be on..."

Seconds of hunting later, a devious smirk cracks her mouth, and she squirms eagerly in anticipation of the discovery. "Channel one nine dash eight two."

Flicking a furry ear away from Sotalia, Cideeda presses the sequence on the remote. She briefly eyes over towards Sotalia and notices the video on the screen. Biting her lip, she squelches a snicker. Upon the large display, a tall, muscle-bound grath man sneers defiantly into the camera. He simply grunts, hoisting up twin machine guns. The camera rockets back, blazes of muzzle fire spray lead towards countless foes leaping back from impacts upon a backdrop of explosions. Bach sits up in his chair with a spark of interest and watches the screen. "Oh, wow! Damn. I haven't seen this movie in forever. I think it was back in first year? Or second?"

Sebastian hovers down next to Bach and stares at the screen in fascination. "Yeah! It may have been during the summer break when we didn't have anything else going on. I remember one movie night where everyone brought the most ridiculous movies they could find over."

He snorts with a faint ethereal echo and shakes his head in amusement. "Damn, bro. If I remember right we watched this thing a dozen times."

Bach smiles, chuckling, and snorts with memory. "Oh yeah. There's no way you can experience all the ridiculousness in one viewing..."

His voice trails off, and he notices an odd silence next to him, slowly turning his head towards the couch. Dretphi crosses her arms defensively, focusing a highly unamused glare upon the screen. Sotalia and Cideeda snicker between themselves and barely contain snorts and giggles. Slowly drawing a long breath, Dretphi sighs equally long, her tone tinged with rippling irritation. "Change it. PLEASE."

Dismissively waving off, Sotalia finally unleashes a laugh. "Oh, come on, girl! You don't want to see a big, gruff grath mow down waves of bad guys with nothing but grunts, growls, and scowls? I wonder how many women will throw themselves at him?"

Narrowing her steely gray eyes, Dretphi rolls them away from the screen with a few phases in grath under her breath. She reaches a hand out toward the remote in Cideeda's hand. With a toothy grin at Dretphi, Cideeda snaps the device just out of reach and waggles the controller. "Aww, but I like this next part where he headbutts the head off the bad guy and attaches it to his belt as a trophy. Such a classic move."

Without any effort from her, Cideeda abruptly slides down her pillow and across the crouch, feeling Dretphi's tight, secure grip around her ankle. The remote gets within Dretphi's grasp. Cideeda tosses it over to Sotalia. "Catch!"

Sotalia fumbles around to a recovery and presses the volume up button. "Oh wait! Here's a REALLY IMPORTANT bit of dialog!"

The television showcases the aftermath of inane destruction. Bodies lay on the ground in tall heaps, and piles of rubble crumble out from the partially leveled buildings, thin trails of smoking wisping off. The grath hero stands triumphantly, shirtless, with a perfectly timed breeze blowing the smoke from his spent machine guns up and intertwining in his long hair. He pans a scowl out to the devastated landscape, and... Grunts... with the faintest hint of a lip curl. Sotalia grins mischievously, dripping with sarcasm. "Quote. Of. The. Movie."

Dretphi glares at Sotalia and huffs, settling back into her side of the couch. Releasing her hold on Cideeda's ankle, she rumbles out her agitation. "PLEASE. CHANGE."

Waving her hand in a calming motion toward Dretphi, Sotalia lowers the volume and flips through the other channels. "I know, I know. Don't worry, girl. There's a comedy just coming on."

Blinking in thought a few times, Bach glances over to Dretphi and awkwardly shrugs his shoulders. "Umm... I didn't think it was that bad of a movie. But... I'm missing something, I guess?"

Embarrassment tints Dretphi's tan face, and she settles down to her typically calm demeanor. She sighs, managing a small smile to Bach. "It is not the movie itself. It is the trend the movie inadvertently started."

She momentarily averts her eyes and shakes her head at herself. "The movie is SATIRE. Parody of glory hunting grath of the past. Many grath did not perceive the satire. They saw it as... ENCOURAGEMENT. I was in..."

Moments of mental searching later, Dretphi nods to the answer found, her mind settling on an acceptable term. "High school, when this film released. Made dealing with certain classmates..."

Furrowing her brow, she tosses a stray platinum blonde braid off to the side. "Aggravating."

Pondering the situation himself, Bach slowly nods and gradually frowns with a tug at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah... I guess I can understand that frustration. I remember a few of those trends and fads hit our hometown. Thankfully, most of those died out in a few years. Some lingered for WAY too long."

With an eye roll, Sebastian ethereally groans and glances over to Bach and Dretphi. "Gods.... I got so tired of people adopting bullshit titles for their ranks in all their cliquish clubs and expecting you to use them. It was so lame when the movie did it. So much worse when people actually did it."

Noticing the comedy start up on the television, Dretphi musters a smile and gazes at Bach. "I tolerated it. Thought I was done when I went to college. My younger brothers entered high school. They imitated that behavior."

An evil smirk emerges upon Dretphi's face. She punctuates her statement with flexing fingers and cracks of knuckles. "Behavior that ceased promptly after I returned home for summer. I will NOT suffer such anymore."

A few quick blinks, Bach grants a single tilt of the head in wide-eye agreement. "Fair. Enough."

Fading back to faint, self-reflective embarrassment, Dretphi sneaks a bite of the lip. "My response is... to a fault... in those affairs. Appropriately proportional, of course."

Aristespha steps through the archway to the hallway. Carefully rubbing the soreness out of her very long, pointed ear, she slouches her shoulders with a long, defeated sigh. "Would you all believe it was a communication systems error that coincided with a clerical mishap during a law mandated break?"

Everyone aims their confusion at Aristespha. Sebastian darts his eyes around, deciphering Aristespha's last statement. Cocking his head to the side, he stares blankly at her. "Um... The hell does that mean, dear?"

Aristespha twists her mouth and grumbles, frustration painting the pain upon her face. "It means some idiot night shift clerk highlighted the message right before he dashed off to the bathroom, which flagged it as read, and no one else noticed it."

Silence hangs over the room. The group collectively gawks, dumbfounded in utter disbelief. The movie on the television peaks in volume, and Aristespha perks up with a spark of delight. "Oh! I LOVE this movie. This is just what I need right now."

Dretphi slides the coffee table out. Cideeda scoots up into one seat. Aristespha slides through and into the middle seat on the couch. Sebastian phases behind the couch and floats near Aristespha. Both Dretphi and Cideeda pat Aristespha on the back, and Sotalia and Bach give her sympathetic gazes.

----

Crossing her legs, Samantha settles upon her bed in the modestly furnished room and hoists a laptop upon her lap. Her hazel eyes scan through different applications, menus, and messages layered and tiled upon the screen. Pivoting on the bed, she angles the display away from the fresh afternoon sun glare and leans over to the aetherphone resting upon one of her bed's fluffy pillows. "Okay, Howie, I just got confirmation from the editing team. They got a rough cut put together and are getting the effects crew to get it polished. They should be sending you the rough cut in a bit."

Resonating an air of satisfaction, Howard's voice sounds out from the speakerphone. "Good! I trust that our adventurers enjoyed the successful capture?"

Smirking vaguely dismissive, Samantha nods and rolls her eyes. "Oh... Yes. Chad was quite apt to boast all about his actions and even recognized the contributions of others for the successful capture. He also..."

A snort slips out, and she grins sinisterly. "Celebrated... with Veevi."

Delight oozes through the phone, intertwining a dark chuckle, and Howard takes a long breath in. "Excellent. I hoped those two would latch onto each other and... Share common goals."

Pausing a moment, his satisfaction wanes momentarily. "I was a little worried when she came on strong to Deedri. That was NOT my intention. Keep the crews' focus away from her for a few more days and give her a bit of reprieve. I feel like I need to make it up to her. Really don't need the medical mage to be on the edge too much."

Fingers tap upon the laptop keyboard, and Samantha flips up a few sheets of paper off her clipboard. "Will do. We got some nice footage from the house cameras of Tassilda having a tense conversation in the morning with Veevi..."

An evil smirk appears, and she chuckles, tinges of menace slipping out. "Right before Veevi stole the upstairs shower away from Tassilda."

Laughter echoes around the room on the other side of the call and filters through the aetherphone speaker. "Yes! Send me that video when you get a chance. I want to see it. See if I can get any new ideas about how to ramp that up. I wonder what else Tassilda will surprise us with... Given the proper motivation."

A sly smile graces Samantha's light face, and she flips through windows on the laptop eagerly. "I'll get it sent over to you in the next few minutes."

A progress bar springs up on the laptop display and slowly creeps across its background width. Samantha gazes outside through the window next to her bed and idly absorbs the bright late spring scenery of the world outside. She sighs, contorts her mouth, and furrows her brow in thought. "I still can't believe you found that illusionist guy and got him to set himself up."

From the other side of the call, Howard snorts and snickers to an amused chuckle. "Oh, Mack? I'm amazed he got the message I left with his sister. Totally did NOT expect him to actually respond back. That fraud has been on the run for YEARS. Ever since that one governor got caught trying to pull another Sundial Tower Scheme and exposed the money he was trying to launder through to the shell companies supposedly doing all the work and certifications."

He briefly hisses out a dismissive tone, resuming his explanation. "He sounded REALLY worn down on the phone. Guess he finally learned all that money is worthless if you can't stick around anywhere long enough to use it."

Samantha rests her laptop off her lap onto the bed top away from her and unfurls her legs into a stretch. Sliding herself down across the bed, she lets her brown, shoulder-length hair drape out, and tucks her arms between her head and a pillow. Seconds of idle silence pass, and she stares out the window into the spotted clouds in the sky. Rolling her head over, she furrows a mix of curiosity and concern at the phone. "So... What's going to happen to him now? Are you really going to pay your lawyer to represent him?"

Howard sighs out in defeat and groans. "YES. He's a short-sighted, greedy fool. But... Gods dammit... He's still a close enough cousin."

Hints of frustration color his acceptance of the situation, and he grumbles. "And... I promised my great grandmother I would do what I could to help him."

Drawing a long breath, faint sounds of an appliance door closing rise from the remote background. A few electronic beeps peak through from the side of the call, and he nonchalantly continues. "With my lawyer, returning most of the money he's hidden, and good behavior, I should have him working that illusion magic as a children's show host in a few years as part of his early release plan."

Samantha's hazel eyes widen, she covers her mouth, laughter escaping through snorts. Shifting her hand up to her forehead, she cackles loudly. A few quick breaths later, she calms herself down and sits up, directing her voice towards her aetherphone. "WOW. I was wondering how you were going to twist that one to your favor. A children's show host?"

A thought pings off the front of her mind, and she pauses, eyes widening with revelation. "Oh. Gods. You don't mean... THAT show?"

A dark, foreboding chuckle oozes out from the speakerphone, and Howard's voice fills with humored pride. "The favor to my great grandmother is granting him the opportunity to use my resources... At his expense. He WILL pay me back. With THAT show. Wearing THAT costume."

Shaking her head side to side slowly, Samantha whistles lightly in astonishment. "Wow. THAT is pretty cruel AND unusual."

Howard dismissively pops an exhale from his lips and slathers on the sarcasm. "Yeah. Wow. So terrible of me. Steer a group of relatively harmless rookies capture him when he's willing, provide legal defense resources, and secure him a job after he gets out. I'm such a cruel person. Yep, totally me."

Samantha rolls her eyes slowly, exaggerating each degree of rotation with a goofy smirk and sticks her tongue out briefly, punctuating her feelings. "Dammit, Howie. You're still pretty much taking advantage of his situation."

An unamused groan vents through the phone, and Howard sighs. "Well, you know where he was going to go if things didn't work out?"

An eyebrow perks upon Samantha's light face, and she curiously eyes her aetherphone, aiming an ear. "Hmm... We all noticed he was preparing for a longer trip and using alchemy to make a huge batch of components. So... Where was he going to go if this didn't work out?"

Howard plainly states with deadpan cadence. "The Perimeter Weird Zone."

Samantha's eyes spring open, and surprise washes over her blank face. "Okay. Wow. Never mind. You saved that idiot from himself. That idiot is very lucky to have you as a benefactor."

An appliance chime rings out from the phone, the sound of a small door resounds from the background on the other side of the conversation, and Howard sniffs the air loudly. "Ah. That he is. Which reminds me, we also got lucky, too. One of my favorite informants within the guild let me know that Sebastian's group was waiting for permission to pursue Mack."

Absolute shock overtakes Samantha, and she snatches her phone off the pillow, holding the device close to her whispering voice. "What?! How!? If it wasn't for the fake fan-submitted tip you came up with, Chad and crew would have never been able to spot him earlier without his disguise that day and file with the guild."

Maintaining an droning, explanatory tone, Howard's inflection reveals a forming scheme. "Yes. The report said they spotted a suspicious person with a high possibility of being Mack and followed him. They were waiting for permission to tag the car Mack had with a tracker and remote cutoff. Thankfully, Mack didn't show his real face to them. SO, they couldn't get photo confirmation to jump straight to capturing him."

Samantha flops back down onto the bed and groans out her frustration. "I guess I should be glad they are thorough. THAT was too close!"

A plotting cadence sneaks over from Howard's end of the call. "Or... Close enough."

Lifting up an intrigued eyebrow on her face, Samantha shifts her expectant gaze to her aetherphone. "How so?"

Wallowing in a dark satisfaction, Howard recounts his thoughts. "They would have probably been denied pursuit because our team filed first for a capture. But, a clerical error, of sorts, left them hanging... To witness those young, upstarts take what they thought was rightfully theirs... Right in front of them."

Samantha dons a plotting smile and focuses upon her phone. "OH, I think I see what you are getting at. But, whatever are YOU scheming, Howie?"

Howard chuckles and expresses a hopeful, anticipating tone. "I think we need to present an opportunity for the two parties to work nearby each other. I'll have my associate at the guild keep an eye on what missions our other team bids on and see if that... encounter can be arranged..."

Faint footsteps echo within the room at the other end of the call, and he drifts off. With a soft thud and furniture sliding across a floor, he ponders out loud. "We'll see if that happens, but for now... I've got a more immediate plan to enact upon our lovely group of fledgling adventurers."

Samantha blinks away from watching the progress bar on her laptop, returning her attention to Howard. "And, what would that be?"

The soft, barely audible sounds of Howard pulling to an ear to ear grin cross the threshold of the microphone. "Oh... Just extending a certain intern trial period to see what more can develop."

----

Inside a well decorated living room, Nash and Harvos take seats upon a finely crafted leather couch upon the direction of an elderly well-dressed man. Nash scans over the area, pausing upon the many artifacts, awards, and photographs on the walls and shelves. The elderly well-dressed man calmly walks over to his aged, leather recliner and eases his thin frame down. Harvos nods towards the man respectfully, seeking eye contact. "First of all, I want to thank you, Dr. Dawkins. I wish the situation surrounding this meeting could have been better, but I'm delighted you could meet with us."

Dr. Dawkins settles into his chair, pulling a lever on the side, and reclines back slightly. Eying over at a small table, he hovers a hand over a bottle of brown liquor and carefully grasps it. He pulls the cork out, pours the dark amber fluid into a glass, and extends his arm out with the bottle to Harvos. "You young ones help yourself and keep it away from me. I don't need temptation that close to me right now."

Taking hold of the bottle, Harvos spots two glasses upon an antique coffee table. He glances over to Nash, and eyes the glasses with a tipping gesture of the bottle. Nash squints to the read label, flits his eyes wide open, and slides his glass over under the bottle's mouth. "Well! We thank you for the hospitality, and we will do our best to keep this temptation right over here."

With a dry chuckle, Dr. Dawkins cracks a short grin and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "It is good to see they kept with tradition in picking a replacement for the computer science department chair."

Lifting his glass to his lips, he enjoys a long sip of the liquor and releases a long sigh. He sways his head and gazes at Harvos, his short white, combed hair brushing audibly against the recliner's headrest. "Despite my absence, I have kept up with my old department's progress through the years. I'm most pleased that my successor chose a proper one himself. You have handled the Archaeology department nicely so far."

Harvos bows slightly forward, keeping very aware of his tall horns and avoiding any obstacles. He pours some of the liquor bottle's contents into his glass. "I try my best. I still am trying to figure out the dark, dreadful mystery known as the annual department budget."

Dr. Dawkins smiles humored and playfully rolls his green eyes. "Oh, I wouldn't get too hung up on that one. Some mysteries are better left alone, and only subdued temporarily for another time."

Pausing a moment, he eases out a long, thoughtful exhale. With another sip from his glass, he stares forward contemplatively. "Well, on to business... I have read your message and the reports provided."

The fluid in his glass swirls around with the motions of his hand, and he gazes into the amber liquor with a mournful sigh. "I had greatly hoped I would never have to relay this information, again. But... Upon years of reflection, I have doubted much of what I did to handle the Orth Ridge disaster."

He slowly turns his age weathered face and regretfully stares upon Nash and Harvos. "I'm going to tell you everything I know and pass on the records you DON'T have... And..."

Drawing in a long breath, he wrestles with a frown and winces briefly into a tilt of his head. "I will let a generation far more current than I decide what to do with it. I don't believe we knew what to do then... Because... I still don't rightfully know today."

Harvos and Nash exchange glances, both returning their attention to the subject at hand. With a wave, Dr. Dawkins gestures towards Harvos's and Nash's glasses. "Drink up, young ones. It'll help to make this all easier to stomach."

Harvos and Nash each lift their glasses up and tip back the dark amber liquor into their mouths. Nash licks his lips and grants a very satisfied nod to Dr. Dawkins. Harvos gently blows out some relief through his mouth and briefly winces with the burn of the drink. "So... Um... Dr. Dawkins, where do you want to start?"

Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Dr. Dawkins hems and swirls his glass around. "Let us start with the information that is the most immediately useful to you right now. There's so much we can discuss after, but I don't want to overburden with irrelevant details."

Harvos and Nash indicate their agreement and wait expectantly. Dr. Dawkins draws a long breath, his eyes reading through the information in his mind. "There were some points in your report that stuck out to me. First, the Elder Energy Condenser Chamber..."

He slides his stare over to Harvos and concentrates his stern tone. "We NEVER got it working."

Harvos blinks and cocks his head to the side slightly, donning inquisitive surprise on his light gray face. "Interesting. Was it non-functional before? Incomplete?"

Dr. Dawkins perks a brow towards Harvos and strokes his trimmed, white beard. "Not that I know of. It seemed as if all the pieces were in place. We just couldn't figure out the damned thing. So, the fact that this Dark Lord Noxian was operating it is VERY worrisome."

With a long blink of bright brown on black eyes, Harvos furrows his brow and puzzles out loud. "So... Who would have had enough knowledge to even start to decipher how to use it?"

After a grimacing stare, Dr. Dawkins narrows his thoughtful gaze, tensing his shoulders. "It was a team effort to examine that artifact. I would attribute Dr. Malkav to being the most knowledgeable on the subject overall. But, his team were very skilled in their own specializations."

He lifts a finger up on his free hand and points to a framed photograph upon the wall. "On that wall is a picture of the team... when they first got there."

Dr. Dawkins pours a healthy sum of the liquor back and wrestles down a frown. Harvos motions towards the picture on the wall. "May I?"

Nodding slowly, Dr. Dawkins directs Harvos's attention towards the picture. "Yes. Dr. Malkav is the third one from the right in the bottom row."

Harvos lifts himself off the couch, walks over to the framed photograph, and examines it closely. Carefully inspecting the line up of many people, he focuses upon the man third from the right in the bottom row. The man stands proudly with a confident smile and graying hair in a professional, slightly stained lab coat. Harvos wanders his attention and notices a man and woman holding each other with a small child held between them. The man grins happily with specs of gray in his brown hair, and the woman smiles forward, long red hair flowing in a breeze at the time. Captured in the moment, with similar red hair fraying out from a blue ribbon, the little girl holds onto a bright blue scarf around her neck against the wind. Pulling his head back, Harvos turns back towards Dr. Dawkins. "Who is the couple with the girl?"

A sharp wince of long withstanding pain grips Dr. Dawkins's face. Moments later, he finally manages to allow sigh free. "That would be Isaac, Sylvia, and Cynthia Huxley. That's a tragic tale that I don't have it in me to recount, at the moment. I will say I still feel responsible for sending them on that assignment."

The old man swallows hard against a surge of regret. "Such a wonderful family..."

Harvos nods understandingly, steps back towards the couch, and seats himself back down. "That's okay. There's plenty more to cover."

Dr. Dawkins finishes another sip of his drink and eyes Harvos. "Yes. Another strange point in the report was that the description of the Formation Factory is drastically different from what I remember."

Nash furrows his brow and cocks his head. Harvos's interest piques, and he leans attentively forward. "How so?"

Experienced green eyes level a stare at Harvos, and Dr. Dawkins recounts in a calm, confused tone. "The entire floor below the walkway was filled with Nightmare Miasma. It took our best barrier teams to..."

Straining a breath through his teeth, he musters up the words. "Extract... whoever we could..."

With a wide-eyed expression, Harvos drifts back into his seat, quietly pondering in a haze of concern and worry. Nash glances over to Harvos and shifts his attention to Dr. Dawkins with a quizzical stare. "Okay. I have to say something and interrupt. You are using a lot of proper sounding terms that I've never heard of before, but you are speaking as if they were the proper names. So... I've got to ask..."

Narrowing his stare, he searches for an answer from Dr. Dawkins. "What the hell was this place for?"

Dr. Dawkins empties the last of his liquor down his throat, sighs, and levels a serious gaze at Harvos and Nash. "THAT is the most frightening thing of all of this. A fact we discovered FAR TOO LATE. Understand, we came to this site thinking the best. We initially thought the site was a magical factory of some kind. We just didn't know WHAT it was a factory FOR, at first."

Resting his empty glass upon the nearby table, he places his hands upon the arms of the recliner and tightens grips upon the worn sections. "Our first investigations showed an amazing possibility. We thought this was a fabled manufacturing lab for Elder Geists."

Shock splashes upon both Harvos's and Nash's faces, and both simultaneously reach for their drinks. After both enjoy a sip from them, Dr. Dawkins continues. "Promising signs all around. The size of the plant access, the elder energy collection and storage, and the magical structure forms seemed to fit the bill. Matched known descriptions we had compiled. It's just... Just..."

Deep sadness from the past flows over frustrations and colors every aspect of Dr. Dawkins. Manages to maintain his composure, he fights against a torrent of regret. "But... GODS. DAMN. IT. It was the exact OPPOSITE! It was a small scale factory for creation of those gods forsaken Nightmare Geists."

A long silence looms, flooding the ornate living room. Shock grips Nash and Harvos, and loss drains Dr. Dawkins. Minutes later and a generous refilling of drink glasses by Nash, Dr. Dawkins shakes his head slowly with a distant stare. "It was never our intention to dig something like that up. But... Too much was explored by the time we discovered the damning evidence. We didn't want to draw attention or cause a panic. So, we just designated the area that stored the Nightmare Miasma as a high level hazard and redirected all focus on other areas of the facility."

Pausing to collect his thoughts, Dr. Dawkins summons up further explanation, a growing frown twisting his mouth. "Gods. We should have handled it so much better. But... None of us knew how to handle it best, in the first place. We figured a little ignorance couldn't hurt. And, we took advantage of the safety protocols we already had in place and thought it should keep it relatively safe. When dealing with sites of this nature, nothing is fully safe, but you do all you can to minimize risk using the best techniques you know."

He sighs and shakes his head in puzzlement and ponders out loud. "The strange part is that it was working so well. The area seemed stable from hourly readings, and layers of protection were there. We even had our structural engineers working on an alternative entrance to the facility. It seemed like a well managed risk."

Sinking into his recliner, he tilts his head to the side with a hard frown. "But... Something happened... Something happened to the storage container and..."

He pauses, halting the sad tone slipping out, and musters up his resolve. "We lost precious lives that day. We handled it the best way we could think of. We tried to hide that place away as quietly as possible and took advantage of another incident to obscure what loose ends we could. It was not our proudest moment, but..."

Narrowing a determined stare at Harvous and Nash, he sternly states. "I couldn't in good conscience, at the time, let that place be explored any further. It NEEDED to disappear... Back into the cursed history it came from."

Struggling, Harvos searches his mind for the parts to a response. Nash blinks blankly, and his stare drifts around the room, his thoughts overtaking him. Dr. Dawkins only manages to shake his head side to side slowly, lost to the moments of the past. Lifting his head up, he gazes towards the photograph at three members of the Huxley family and mouths to himself. "Gods forgive us."

----

Cideeda, Bach, and Dretphi sit next to each other on the couch in the living space, all focusing on a hovering object upon the coffee table. With a tiny cube camera on top, the dim, blue magical orb teeters side to side and drifts around on the tabletop. Squinting his glowing blue eyes, Bach grimaces in concentration and contorts his face in thought. "Wow. This is a lot more difficult than I thought it'd be. But... I think a few adjustments should get it to work right."

The fingers on his hands twitch with slight motions, and the camera carrier orb slowly stabilizes and balances out. A magical thread faintly shimmers against the natural light from the sliding glass door, and the orb's shape warps gradually. Bach nods satisfied, smirking confidently. "Yeah, I got it now."

Pulling a toothy grin across her light brown face, Cideeda aims the remote at the television, pressing down a button with a claw tip, and watches the screen expectantly. "Good. Now, I got the receiver's video output connected to the TV, so it should be able to get a feed from the camera."

The display flickers a few moments, and a view of the screen door segment of the partly open sliding glass door blinks up onto the screen. Picking up a small control console, Cideeda examines the wiring on the connection panel. "Not bad at all. Hardly any interference."

Narrowing her emerald green eyes at the wall mounted television, she flicks her furry ears in thought and adjusts a few dials on the controller. "Still need to tweak the focus and white balance a bit."

Bach watches the screen, nods, and gestures carefully with his fingers. The camera orb hovers slowly forward, swaying and balancing sloppily. A few cautious twists and turns later, the magical creation glides with significantly more precision. Smiling with interest, Dretphi places her hand near the camera orb, providing obstacles for it to maneuver around. "This could be useful."

Aristespha steps in through the hallway archway, surveys the area, and blinks at the television screen with new interest. She locks her intrigued gaze upon the hovering, camera-laden magical orb. Stepping near the couch, she watches the energy ball cautiously move on the coffee table top. Bach perks his eyebrow, sways his head side to side, and shrugs indecisively. "Uh, I guess? I don't know. Most of the time, if you want to sneak something by a mage, you want to use a pure tech solution that they can't sense anything magical off of. Otherwise, I mean, there are remote sensing spells that do a good job already."

Bracing herself on the couch arm, Aristespha leans over above Cideeda and pays careful attention with brightly glowing violet eyes. "Yes. True. But... The magical signature is very small with this."

Cideeda's furry ears flick away from Aristespha towards the magical camera orb and track it. She grins eagerly, wagging her fluffy tail. "There's very little noise."

Sebastian's ethereal form drifts into the room from the hallway, pauses upon sighting the gathering, and hovers above to watch. Bach squints his glowing blue eyes contemplatively and tugs his mouth to a corner. "Well, I don't know how you'd test it properly. It's one thing to know it's around when to try to test to see if it's detectable. You really need a blind test to really know."

A sly smirk appears on Sebastian, and he laughs to the group. "Hey, bro. Send it over to the hot tub gazebo."

Aristespha smiles evilly and touches a finger to her lip, pondering. "OH. That is not a bad idea, Sebastian."

Standing up from the couch, Dretphi walks over to the sliding glass door and slides the screen segment wide enough for the orb. Cideeda contains a mischievous giggle and fidgets a little excitement out. "YES. Oh, I haven't seen her since breakfast. She's probably zoned out or snoozing, AGAIN."

Lifting a scheming eyebrow, Bach gestures his hands in purposeful, deft motions. The camera orb hovers off the coffee table, floats quickly down to a few centimeters above the floor, and glides out the back door, swaying with the momentum. Dretphi excitedly returns to the couch and watches the television eagerly with the rest of the team. The screen shows the outside world from a very low to the ground perspective and displays the route ahead of the camera orb. It flies just over the brick patio towards the tall lattice doors of the gazebo, coasting through taller blades on either side. Bach stares intensely at the television, hands directing flight path adjustments with finger twitches. The view gradually centers itself to a bottom opening between the wooden lattice slats, passing through into a dark room. Cideeda taps a button on her controller and precisely twists a dial, brightening up the picture. "That should get it. Let's see if the audio works."

The television speakers sound out an ambient bubbling from the remote space. The camera view pitches up and shows the profile of the hot tub and a hand with long black nails resting off the edge of the tub rim. Bach focuses his glowing blue eyes and exhales long, focusing himself. Moments later, the view from the camera rises up, slowly climbing close to the speckled patterned side panel of the hot tub. The bubbling grows louder. The group watches tensely. The camera's view crests the top of the hot tub. A loud snore cuts through the background din of the gazebo. Sotalia's head rests upon a water-proof air cushion, her dark red hair spread out damp and faintly wavy. Her arms anchor her partially submerged body and legs to the edge. Snickers and snorts fill the living room, mixing Sotalia's cutting snores from the television. Aristespha lowers herself down upon the couch arm and aims her voice down towards Cideeda. "Question. Can that camera make any..."

A mischievous grin cracks upon her ivory face. "Sudden, LOUD noises?"

Donning a wicked smirk, Cideeda glances up to Aristespha. "There IS a retrieval beeper that can get pretty loud."

The gathering exchange glances, and a silent agreement forms between all parties present. Cideeda gazes forward expectantly, her claw tip flipping up a covered button on the control box. Waiting a few moments for a quiet, nodding countdown, she presses it hard. A loud, shrill ring blasts out and bounces inside the gazebo, reverberating out from the television speakers. Sotalia's golden eyes spring open in utter shock. Her arms reflexively draw away from the edges of the hot tub. Her upper body slips unceremoniously into the bubbling water. Her legs and feet briefly pitch up into the air, splashing back down. She sits up in a state of utter bewilderment, her dark red hair drenched over her face. Her hands fumble around the outer edge of the hot tub. She blankly glances through the gaps between her soaked bangs around the area, the rest of her mind finding awareness between surprised pants. Dretphi suppresses a giggle and taps Bach on the shoulder. "Recommend escape NOW."

The camera's view back away, drifts down the side of the hot tube, and leaps through the hole in the lattice work, back towards the brightly sunlit, brick patio. Seconds later, the magical camera orb zips through the gap in the sliding glass door. Pulling herself off the couch, Dretphi closes the glass door the rest of the way and swiftly returns back to her seat. The camera orb slowly floats up from the floor and lands upon the coffee table. Sebastian works the excess humor out of his face and settles to a proud smile at Bach. "I think that was a successful first test right there, bro."

With uncertainty, Bach bites his lip and sighs, rolling his eyes. "Well, she was asleep. So, it really didn't test whether or not a mage could easily sense it part."

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly with his arms to the side and reassures with a nod to his brother. "Sotalia can feel out some really small amounts of magic. She's usually very sensitive to any magical activity. So, it's a good sign she didn't immediately wake up when it got that close to her, bro."

The back glass door slides open, and Sotalia steps through with a towel wrapped around her hair and another larger towel wrapped around her chest. Stretching out a yawn, she turns to the gathering at the coffee table. Blinking in surprise, she spots the television image and turns her full attention to the magical camera orb idly hovering on the coffee table top. Her golden eyes spring open wide along with her pupils, and she excitedly plops down to her knees next to the coffee table. Lowers her head to closely study the magical orb, she grins in delight. "OH! This is so cool! Have you tested it yet?!"

Bach tightens his lips and maintains a neutral smile. "Uh. Yes. Sort of. Tested the waters... So to speak."

The magical construct distracting Sotalia, the rest of the group fight for their outer composure. Narrowing her golden eyes, Sotalia flashes an evil grin and lifts an urging eyebrow. "So... When are we sneaking this thing over to spy on our neighbors?"

A wave of inspiration spreads through the group. Attention shifts to the magical device, and stares occasionally drift out the back window towards the two story house, just past the corner of the property.

-32-

In the large back yard behind the two-story house, a swift evuukian man, wielding dual wooden training short swords, repeatedly attacks a stoic grath man holding a large practice blade. Between quick, precise incoming strikes, Trakenthin promptly blocks each motion deftly. Modoran hops away from Trakenthin and rolls his shoulders into an exaggerated stretch. Shaking his head of short, white hair, he draws a smirk across his dusky, bluish gray skin and briefly chuckles. "Damn. You are deceptively fast."

Trakenthin cracks a confident smile and readies his wooden practice sword, a faint muffled laugh slipping out. "You are an acceptable challenge."

Rolling his dark blue eyes, Modoran brushes the hair off his long, pointed ears. "I will take that as a compliment, from you."

He changes his stance and carefully analyzes Trakenthin's body language, waiting, seeking. The two combatants maintain cautious watch of the other, searching for the opportunity. Both launch into flurries of movement. Loud, dull thunks sound out from training equipment clashing into each other. Keeping low, Modoran dashes around Trakenthin in circular motions, broken by lunges at a perceived opening. Holding his ground, Trakenthin swiftly intercepts Modoran's assaults with his practice blade and furrows his calculating brow. He tenses up, directs all his focus upon Modoran's approach, and swings out. With cunning deftness, Modoran shifts his momentum and forces his body into an evasive dodge, diving out of the way of the incoming blade. He instinctively rolls away on the ground from Trakenthin's reach and springs up back onto his feet. Brushing flecks of grass blades and leaves off his tight fitting training gear, Modoran wrestles a smirk and sighs. "Too close. I almost gave you that one."

Repeatedly drawing in long breaths of air, Trakenthin briefly removes a hand from his sword handle and wipes sweat off his dark bronze brow. "Have been training for an hour. Advisable to break. We may grow careless. Should not burden our medical mage with needless injuries."

He glances over towards the back sliding glass door of the two-story house and gives a respectful nod to Deedri. Spooking at the sudden attention, Deedri gathers her composure and awkwardly waves towards both Trakenthin and Modoran. "S-sorry. I didn't want to interrupt. I admit it was exciting to watch."

Modoran turns his head in surprise and blinks, pondering Deedri's existence near the door. "How long have you been out here watching us?"

A flash of embarrassment fills Deedri's light face, and she averts her gaze with a shy smirk. "Um... Just the last ten minutes... Maybe? I lost track watching you two."

Trakenthin grins, puffs out his chest proudly, and nonchalantly props himself up with his sword. "Fan of martial combat?"

Stepping away from the brick wall of the house, Deedri walks out towards Trakenthin and Modoran and furrows her brow contemplatively. "Well... Somewhat? I don't mind good, non-lethal competition."

Arriving near both Modoran and Trakenthin, she searches inside one of the large pockets of her apron and retrieves two plastic, flip-top containers with liquid inside. With one in each hand, she holds them out to Trakenthin and Modoran and smiles happily. "I was working on potions and medical supplies in the kitchen when I saw you two start sparring. So, while the main batch is slow cooking, I mixed up some simple stamina boosters from the leftovers."

She eyes the two vials with a tinge of uncertainty and gazes at both Trakenthin and Modoran a bit more confidently. "The orange one has a citrus flavor, and the yellow one is closer to banana. Unfortunately, protellow flower petals aren't that consistent when it comes to flavoring. What you taste might... vary? It can be really unpredictable once you mix it up."

Glancing towards Trakenthin, Modoran gestures at him and waves nonchalantly towards the vials. "I'll let you choose. Both sound good to me."

Trakenthin drifts back to a stoic presence, and his eyes momentarily scan around the area. He grasps hold of the yellow liquid filled container and nods appreciatively. "Thank you... I prefer banana."

Deedri presents a bright smile. Flicking her furry ears with the tickling of the wind, she gives the remaining container to Modoran. "Drink up! The mixture is only potent in this form for a few hours. After that, it's just flavored water made from kinda expensive ingredients."

Trakenthin and Modoran each flip the tops of the small containers and pour them back into their mouths. Trakenthin carefully closes the lid and returns the vial to Deedri. Nodding a few times, Modoran smacks his lips, ponders to himself a moment, and gives the other vial back. "That was really good. Thank you."

He slyly smirks and aims an intrigued lift of an eyebrow at Deedri. "So... Have you done any fight training before? I am sure we could show you the basics, if you want to join in."

Deedri's auburn eyes widen, her furry, tufted ears perk up, and she bites her lower lip, fighting between interest and hesitation. "Well... Any training I've ever done has been strictly for defensive purposes. Medical mages aren't exactly supposed to lead the charge into a fight. So, we are trained to avoid and evade."

Wrestling a faint frown, she sighs uneasily. "If THAT fails, we are supposed to use magic from as far as possible to disable or impede long enough to allow for our escape."

She clasps her hands in front of her upon her apron and shrugs with an innocent smile. "It's very frowned upon for a medical mage to have to heal themselves due to their own fault of endangering themselves. We're not supposed to become a patient."

Her eyes wander from the gazes of Trakenthin and Modoran, and she rocks ever so slightly to her bashful admission. "But... We do receive some very discipline specific training for strictly defensive close quarters combat."

Modoran sheaths his practice swords into the scabbards attached to his belt. Crossing his arms, he entertains a curious, interested smile upon his dusky bluish gray face. "Well, THAT is interesting. What did they teach you that's so specific?"

Her fluffy tail wagging below her skirt, a delighted smile appears on Deedri. With a chipper perk of her posture and her tufted, furry ears, she eagerly recounts, tracking bullet points on her fingers. "Oh! A lot of grappling and escaping different holds. We drilled on being grabbed and shaken, and how to react properly. So many hours of concentration training to teach us how to focus magical flow when surprised or under duress. And also, some common throws and pressure points."

Trakenthin nods plainly, stretching his back. "Sensible. Useful collection."

Cocking his head to the side, Modoran places his hands on his hips, tugging the corner of his mouth in thought. "Okay. Any examples you can show us?"

With a reserved nod, Deedri takes a step back, plants her feet, and takes a long breath. "Yes. If you could grab my shoulder, Modoran, I will demonstrate."

A few blinks processing Deedri's change in demeanor later, Modoran glances to Trakenthin, shrugs his arms out to the side, and reaches a hand out for Deedri's shoulder. "Like this-?"

His hand grabs onto Deedri's shoulder. Clamping tightly with both hands onto Modoran's forearm, Deedri swiftly spins inwards into his space. She tugs Modoran's arm forward, full force, and sharply ducks with all her might. The rest of Modoran follows his arm across Deedri's back and over her shoulder. With a loud thump, Modoran flattens the grass beneath his back. Moments of quiet pass. Modoran stares blankly at the blue sky above and the clouds conveniently obscuring the noon sun overhead. Deedri's concerned face graces Modoran's view of the world. Kneeling down next to him, Deedri quickly checks him over. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry!"

She wrestles a surge of guilt and strains an embarrassed breath in. "Gods! We always trained pretty rough to make sure we'd do it properly when we had to. And... Being classes full of medical mages, we were prepared to handle most injuries on the mats."

Wandering his focus from the skies above, Modoran gazes into Deedri's auburn eyes. Staring up at her in the lost seconds, he eventually regains his composure and gallantly grins. "I am just fine. THAT was an impressive throw that I just wasn't expecting from you. So, allow me to truly apologize for underestimating you."

A blush of color highlights Deedri's cheeks, and she quickly breaks eye contact, standing back up. Modoran sits up, brushing more grass off his sparring gear, and notices an extended hand from Deedri. He graciously accepts the assistance, and she helps pull him up. Scratching his chin, Trakenthin quirks an eyebrow with an analytical narrowing of his hazel eyes. "Good form. Good results. Needs practice."

He straightens his posture and grins smugly. Pushing his practice sword upright into the dirt, he rests his hands on his sides. "I, respectfully, doubt you could throw me. Did you receive instruction in confronting opponents of my stature?"

Deedri's furry, tufted ears perk up, and she pulls a slight grin across her face, tints of apprehension slipping out. "Well... With great size differences, we were taught to use a DIFFERENT approach. I can show you, if you want. But, it won't be as dramatic as a throw, since I don't want to harm you by accident."

Cocking his head to the side curiously, Trakenthin stares down at Deedri, his visibly puzzling out implications. "I am interested. What do you need me to do?"

Extending an arm out, Deedri demonstrates to Trakenthin. "Just hold your arm out like this."

An incredulous air obscures the honest wariness, and Trakenthin reaches his muscular, defined arm out. Holding it in place, he cautiously watches Deedri. Carefully, Deedri places the palm of her hand underneath Trakenthin's forearm, near the elbow. Moments later, a flicker of auburn lights up her eyes. Trakenthin's wrist sharply rotates inwards, his forearm muscles tense, and his lower arm seizes into shaking definition. Witnessing the spasm in wide-eyed bewilderment, he moves his arm slowly and observes the phenomena from different angles. Seconds later, the muscles relax back to normal, and he flexes his released wrist and hand. "WHAT. HAPPENED?"

Clasping her hands back together, Deedri rests them in front upon her apron and proudly smiles. "It's a use of medical magic that locks the muscles up by causing them to contract. I used a VERY LOW strength variant on you. That way it was short and painless, but hopefully demonstrated the point."

Shaking his head side to side, Modoran breaks from his gawk at Trakenthin's arm and glances to Deedri. "I have to admit... That's a bit scary. And..."

A sliver of a frown forms on Deedri. Modoran cracks a small smile and nods encouragingly. "Impressive."

Deedri perks up with a faint smile. Trakenthin finishes stretching his arm and wrist out and gazes at Deedri, with a renewed interest. "What else can be done?"

Wagging her fluffy tail with her thoughts, Deedri searches her mind and ponders out loud. "Well... The simplest measures take the least amount of energy and concentration, which is normally what you want to do. Conserve your effort for more important things, like treatments. So, targeted muscle locks and nerve signal disruptions are the first things you'd attempt. If needed, with the more advanced techniques, you can completely disable limbs, cause coordination issues, and... "

She bites her lower lip and averts her auburn gaze, wrestling a bit of embarrassment. "Invoke... Violent evacuations."

Exchanging uneasy glances, Modoran and Trakenthin return their wary gazes at Deedri, a hint of curiosity shared. With the faintest trace of an evil smirk, she sighs at the silent question. "Either AND both ends."

Modoran and Trakenthin blink long and gaze wide-eyed, silently and visibly contemplating with imaginations painting the scenes. Grimacing uncomfortably, Deedri settles to a modest frown and steadies her tone against the subject. "In very dire situations, medical mages can be extremely destructive, despite it going well against our principles. We can sever tendons, rip muscles, shatter bones, and rupture organs. Death is horrifically easy in comparison."

Trakenthin tenses his posture back straight and contorts his face gradually. "You have my sincere respect for your capabilities."

With a series of quick nods, Modoran attempts a confident smile upon the strained facade, the betrayal of his thoughts leaking through. "Please, let me know if I do anything to make you angry. I WILL absolutely apologize and dutifully correct it."

Her furry, tufted ears drooping down to her shoulders, Deedri deflates sadly. "PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I really don't want to ever use my training that way. It's not at all why I chose this career. I want people to be happy and healthy."

Perking up slightly, she eyes Trakenthin and Modoran with a shy smile. "If I'm ever going to be aggressive, I only ever want a sparring weapon in my hands."

A sly grin appears on Modoran, and he winks to Deedri. Drawing out a training short sword from a sheath on his belt, he hands the wooden practice blade handle first to Deedri and nods to Trakenthin. "I think we can help you there."

Deedri grasps hold of the training weapon and smiles bright and appreciatively to both Modoran and Trakenthin, her tail tip wagging with her perking furry ears.

----

Sitting around the dining table, Aristespha, Sebastian, Bach, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Cideeda intensely listen to Nash's voice through Aristespha's aetherphone in the middle of the tabletop. Nash echoes out into the living room and the eerie silence of the gathering. Nervous glances aimlessly seek around the area. Nash drags out a long groan. "So... That's all I got right now. Not exactly the news I really wanted to give you all on a Saturday evening. But, I figured you all needed to know what exactly was there... Despite how grim it fucking is. I'll honest, I'm still trying to comprehend it all. Just, damn."

Rubbing the temples of her head with both hands, Aristespha releases a long, dumbfounded sigh and flutters her violet eyes. "THAT was not exactly what I thought it would be. Though, I can not say it was not out of the realm of possibility."

Nash remains silent for a few moments and sounds out a similar sigh over the phone. "Yeah. I'll send you the rest of the information and documents we got as Harvos and his team puts them into the system. Unfortunately, I don't know how much more I'll be able to get you, since higher ups are getting involved."

He grumbles in defeat. "Which is never a great thing."

Sliding into a sly tone, he playfully whispers loud. "But... I'll be sure to relay what I can when they aren't paying too much attention. They're still administrators and get distracted easily enough. HOPEFULLY, something else will pop up to keep their attention."

A smile cracks on Aristespha's face, and she rolls her violet eyes with a momentary lift of the brow. "As always, thank you. I will let you go now. We all will need some time to process all of this ourselves tonight."

Nash laughs with a confirming cadence. "YEAH. Can't blame you there. I'm going to go back to researching alcoholism and archaic video games. You all take care."

Reaching her hand above the phone, Aristespha hovers a finger over the on-screen button. "You too."

With a light tap on the display, the phone ends the call to a plain icon layout. The group exchanges mixtures of uneasy, tense, and uncertain postures between themselves, a looming, silent pressure weighing down upon all. Sebastian's ghostly form drifts back from the table, through his chair, in thought, and he takes a few moments to gaze around the living room. His attention rotates around the room, settling between Bach and Cideeda. With his blue eyes sorting through his mind, Bach stares down distantly at the tabletop, his face blank. An occasional twitch of his cheek precedes a blink. Cideeda squirms in her seat with arms crossed. Her hands cover her elbows tightly, her tail subconsciously coils up defensively around her waist, and her stature shrinks, drawing her inwards. Sotalia gently rests a hand upon Cideeda's shoulder and rubs her back comfortingly, whispering. "You okay?"

Returning her awareness back to the group around the table, she nods slowly with a weak smile. "Yes. Just old, not so great memories coming back."

A wince appears upon Sebastian, and he uneasily contorts his mouth with a long ghostly sigh. He gazes upon both Cideeda and Bach with concern and dutiful resignation. "I know it's a really uncomfortable subject for the both of you... Especially, since it's come up recently. But... Is there anything you two are willing to tell us about Nightmare Geists, from experience? You are the only two people I know of that have had first hand encounters. So..."

Watching the growing discomfort on both Bach and Cideeda, he backpedals along with his hesitation. "If it's too much, I understand-"

A small, stronger smile solidifies on Cideeda, and she gazes up to Sebastian. Stretching some tension out of her body, she unfolds her arms, guides her tail onto her lap, and combs the fur with her clawed fingers. "It's FINE. I just don't know what I can really add. My encounter was over twenty years ago, and I was just six years old when it happened. So, I only remember bits and pieces, at best."

Her shoulders stiffen. Rolling them out with an uneasy exhale, she briefly, distantly stares into herself. "I remember what it looked like when it tore out part of my mother's old house and... grabbed hold of me."

She pauses for a long time. Supportive concern appears upon the rest of the group. With a considerable amount of visible effort, she navigates her emotions, pushing them out of the way, and furrows her brow. "I remember the black flaming aura it had. Its grip was cold. The dark fire felt like it sunk into your very being..."

She closes her emerald green eyes, leans into the chair back, and breathes out a shudder. "And... it tried to... negate your very essence? Existence? Gods, it's really hard to describe. It felt like something was trying to cancel out a part of your very being. So weird..."

Gripping her tail tightly, she summons up a strong, smiling exterior. "After that, all I remember is my father firing his imbued Perimeter rifle, falling into my mother's arms, and a group of adventurers firing all kinds of spells at it. Then, I must have passed out. Because, I didn't wake up until a month later."

A grimace overtakes her light brown face, and she sighs out her frustration, shaking her head. "I try to remember more each time I think about it. But... That's all I have right now. I wish it could be more useful."

Sebastian nods graciously and presents a thankful smile. "Hey, it's fine. Any details you can give will help us all."

Glancing to Bach, he waits a few seconds, watching Bach's silence. He tilts his head to the side. "No pressure, bro. If you don't feel comfortable now, we can-"

Staring distantly into his mind, Bach interrupts into a serious, explanatory tone. "Four to five meters tall. Black... Almost light absorbing, magical miasma that radiates out like fire. Two legs. Two arms. And, a mass at the top that served as a head, of sorts. It was completely featureless..."

His eyes lock forward, oblivious of the stunned stare from Cideeda across the table. "But... Something like eyes... LOOKED at me."

A few tense, strained breaths enter and leave. Bach blinks back to the current reality, noticing the attention upon him, and sighs. "It was late afternoon. Near dusk, on the fourth day of the assignment out at some old ruin that once served as a magical power collector. Condenser, maybe? Either way, nothing was supposed to be out there. I mean, it was a gift shop away from being a tourist trap at that point. It was supposed to be a local safe place to look at old ruins."

Lifting his head up, he frowns sharply, recounting the events to the rest of the group between old pains. "An hour after we set camp up, it walked right into the area. Immediately, saw us. And... ROARED."

He shudders, tension building in his body. "It sounded like bellowing, enraged, distorted static. It just charged at us. Absolutely no other warning. We scattered out in a near panic, just hoping we could keep rotating distraction spells so we all could get far from it. But..."

Furrowing his brow, he sighs sadly, a darkness coloring his words. "It didn't care."

Bach sits up straight in his dining chair, crosses his arms tightly, and shrugs up his shoulders with a cringe. "Most of our spells did absolutely nothing to it. Well... Some temporarily knocked out chunks of it. But, those reappeared back in seconds. Raw energy blasts did the most to it, but nothing really damaged it. Unless it was missing a lot of itself, it did NOT slow down for anything."

Closing his blue eyes, he solemnly draws in air, a grim cadence tinging his voice. "It knocked down my instructor and was lining up to run down the three other students. Two, who could barely walk, were trying to get another unconscious student out of the area. So..."

With a hard swallow, he tightens up his shoulders and grimaces. "I decided to give IT something else to worry about and hit it with a D-Ball."

Interest piquing, Sotalia's attention latches on. Bach opens his eyes wide and shakes his head. "THAT... was one of the dumbest things I have ever done, even with everything I've done recently. It turned out the D-Ball hurt it, deeply. It wailed out in utter, I guess, anguish? After that, it paid attention ONLY TO ME. That's also when I noticed it was missing a bigger chunk than normal."

Aristespha attentively watches Bach, and Sotalia leans slightly over the table in anticipation. Groaning from the past defeat, Bach's frustration colors his tone. "But, gods dammit. It still reformed. I literally saw the shredded magical essence that comprised it recondense back onto its body."

Hope flattens within Sotalia, and Aristespha nods solemnly, her mind processing the new information. Bach blinks, stares distantly at the scene playing back out in his mind, and harshens his grimace. "Fortunately, the other students escaped. Unfortunately, it was coming right for ME."

He furrows his brow, stiffens his posture, and tightly flexes his fingers. "I threw... D-Ball AFTER D-Ball at it... Gods, I don't even remember how many. A dozen or so? Man, I was totally freaking out. Not thinking clearly at all. I had NEVER thrown that MANY before. I don't know how it was possible even today."

Sotalia's golden eyes widen and sort through mental calculations. His distant gaze drifting towards the tabletop, Bach tensely exhales. "I got cornered eventually. And, I was completely tapped out. I'd hoped to slow it down enough to get away from it. But, very little phased it. When it stood over me, I had never been more scared in my life. It reached down for me..."

A long silence follows. Bach's blue eyes dart around the scene in his mind, and his face contorts to the internal replay. Tension shrinks his posture, and he sinks into his seat. A firm hand grasps Bach's shoulder, and Dretphi speaks calmly with concern on her tan face. "Do not stress yourself. We understand if it is difficult. Painful to recount."

Bach's reality returns to the warmth of the living room and the supportive attention around him. Attempting a smile in spite of overwhelming emotions, he shakes his head with a sigh. "It... It's okay. It's just a really hard part to remember. Because... I'm not entirely sure what exactly happened. It feels so disjointed, and I don't know how to piece it together to have it make any kind of sense."

His body language loosens up, and he vents out the tension in a long exhale. "All I'm sure of is that there was a bright flash that came from... SOMEWHERE. Next thing I can remember clearly is waking up the next early morning to the sounds of rescue teams searching the area."

Attempting levity, Bach shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly against the residual stress and unfolds his arms out with a smirk. "So, I really don't know how useful of information that all is. Well, except don't piss off a five meter tower of black fire burning magical destruction. And well... RUN AWAY, if possible."

Craning his head around, Sebastian leans forward and meets his brother's gaze, smiling. "Hey, it's good information. Thanks for telling us, bro. Really. Every bit helps."

Holding her chin by an ivory hand in thought, Aristespha glances over to Bach with a curious perk of her brow. "I remember reading reports stating that narrow spectrum, specialized energy spells do very little to a Nightmare Geist."

Turning his head towards Aristespha, Bach slowly nods to confirm. "YES. I don't think it even felt those kinds of spells that hit it. The disintegration spells and raw, broad spectrum energy attacks did the most harm. Still, kind of relatively little. And, it seemed to recover eventually."

Cideeda shakes her head in disbelief and grins in astonishment, her tail tip flicking. "I can't believe you PICKED A FIGHT with one."

Rolling his eyes at himself, Bach groans, wavering into embarrassment. "Yeah, THAT was really NOT my plan. BUT... To be honest, I really didn't have a plan at all. I mean, I just felt I had to do something and threw the most dangerous thing I could think of at it."

An amused, proud grin appears on Sebastian. With a quizzical hoist of an eyebrow, Sotalia narrows her golden eyes at Bach and raps her long, black fingernails on the table. "A dozen of those disintegration ball spells?"

Bach shrugs awkwardly and briefly grits his teeth into an uncertain grin. "Well, I guess? Maybe a little less? I was REALLY DISTRACTED while flinging one after another to keep an exact count..."

Pausing a moment, Bach's words replay internally, and he winces his resignation to the possible interpretations. A devious grin reveals itself upon Sotalia, and she sits back into an air of renewed interest. "OH. That's REALLY intriguing to hear."

Aristespha nods in thought and focuses. "From the research I have read, that makes sense. The currently held theory is that elder energy can permanently harm a Nightmare Geist, since they were designed and mass produced to neutralize Elder Geists. Accomplished by, quite literally, charging into contact with them."

Dretphi perks an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side. "They are suicide tacklers? Sacrifice themselves to destroy the target by contact?"

Resting her arms on the table, Aristespha nods slowly and idly plays with her aetherphone. "Yes. Exactly. They were an unfortunately effective solution to what was thought to be an invincible defense."

In the moments of idle thoughts, she picks up her phone from the table. Angling the screen into her view, she taps through a few menus. "So... On to other business... I know we have some food we could eat here. But, in light of recent news, I would really like to order in from that multicultural buffet place, again. A little comfort food sounds delightful, right now."

The rest of the group shelves previous topics and shifts immediate concerns towards dinner. Debates form on what to add to the quickly growing order.

----

Deedri wanders between sections of the U-shaped kitchen space. Rows of neutral toned cabinets encircle the main area. Stretches of patterned countertops line the plane beneath, breaking for appliances and the dual basin sink. Deedri's furry, tufted point ears flick behind her, tracking a sound source somewhere upstairs. Resting a pot in the larger basin, she pauses near the kitchen sink and waits. Her furry ears minutely adjust and twitch, picking out faint voices leaking into the room through the walls and sifting in from the entry. She releases a long, disappointed sigh, lifts the handle on the faucet, and guides the spout over the pot. Her toe claws pressing upon the tile floor, she quietly murmurs to herself. "...they argue so much..."

With a clawed finger hovering over a paragraph in a nearby book, she reaches out to the oven and turns the temperature dial down. The pot in the basin fills up halfway. She cuts the water off, lifts the pot, and places it on the electric stove top burner. Navigating around the surroundings of the kitchen, she sweeps up herbs into a bowl from a cutting board on an adjacent counter top and plucks a few roots from plastic bags resting on the bar joining the kitchen to the dining area. Swinging open the refrigerator door, she pulls out two glass flasks, dimly glowing blue. She slides over to the stove top, clicks the knob to the appropriate electric burner, and glances behind her, squinting at the book. With a confirming nod, she mumbles with her thoughts. "Hmm... ...might need a little more protellow fluid extract..."

Peering over the countertop bar from the other side of the dining table, Trakenthin watches attentively. With building interest, he observes, his idle hand keeping his place within a thick novel. Over the minutes, Deedri darts around the many stations of the encircling kitchen. Respectfully waiting for a lull in activity, Trakenthin inquires in genuine curiosity. "Did you not finish potion brewing yesterday?"

Standing back up with a pot lid from a shelf under the oven, Deedri places it on top of its mate. She spins around, blinks her auburn eyes in thought, and smiles with a nod. "Yes. I finished brewing potions yesterday. I'm finishing up reagents and other materials today."

Trakenthin slowly acknowledges, blinks his hazel eyes, and scratches his head of short dirty blonde hair, returning his attention to his book. "Oh. Understood."

A prominent series of muffled stomps upon the carpet covered stairs resonate through the house framework into the area. With a long, rising growl, Tassilda rounds the corner of the archway leading to the kitchen. Grimacing in a simmering, light blue on black eye twitching rage, she stands stiffly and flexes her long, black nailed hands. She exhales a shaky groan of boiling irritation. "The NERVE... of THAT... CREATURE."

Trakenthin offers a simple blank stare with a slight lift of the eyebrow toward Tassilda. Pivoting in place, Deedri glances over at Tassilda, stirring a spoon in the contents of the pot. "What's happened now?"

Slowly stepping forward, Tassilda summons up her composure and rolls the tension free from her shoulders. She readjusts her tight fitting workout pants and top with an exaggerated sigh. "SHE has Chad convinced that somehow I will be able to teach HER anything about the magical arts anytime soon. The only thing that wretched little snake is good at is finding the right beds to keep warm in at night."

Deedri frowns, shakes her head side to side, and weakly pleads, uncertainty betraying the original intent of her words. "We should, at least, try to give her a chance?"

Both Trakenthin and Tassilda stare at Deedri incredulously. Deedri's furry, tufted ears droop towards her shoulders, and she bites her lip, her eyes averting from the attention. "I'm TRYING. I like to give everyone a chance, but..."

The faintest hint of ire surfaces on Deedri's fair face. "She's really making it DIFFICULT to do."

Shaking his head respectfully, Trakenthin slightly frowns. "Noble intent. Wasted. Noble still."

Graceful, proper confidence returns to Tassilda, and she sighs out a mix of sympathy and frustration towards Deedri. "Your efforts are commendable, but I question how long you will be able to keep THAT attitude. Especially given that I suspect she is going to overstay her welcome."

Deedri blinks and winces vaguely, twisting the corner of her mouth. "OH... What do you mean?"

Turning her head, Tassilda tilts her blue on black eyes down, and lifts an eyebrow on her gray face. "Given recent... nocturnal activities... I think her internship is going to last far longer than any of us would like."

With a cringe and long grumble, Trakenthin relays his irritation. "I must concur. I have HEARD Chad's approval."

Narrowing his eyes, he snorts derisively, flips over to the next page in his book, and stares idly at it for a few moments. His upper lip curls into a sneer of disgust, and he sternly states. "I have yet to NOT hear both in recent nights."

Tassilda rests a hand upon her chest and closes her eyes, twisting her head with a visible cringe. "Oh, you have my most sincere sympathies. I can't even begin to imagine trying to sleep with THAT going on."

Contorting her face with concern, Deedri sighs and glances over to Trakenthin. "I have plenty of medical grade cotton that works well in the ears for dampening sounds. I know from personal experience..."

Glancing between Trakenthin and Tassilda, she nods into a softer tone. "You can have as much as you need."

A sly smile graces Tassilda, and she shifts her weight with sway of the hips, eyeing Deedri. "Speaking of things medical... I was curious to what the procedure would be if a member of the team was to experience discomforts of a... Social variety?"

Blanking her expression, Deedri browses her mind, briefly quiet, and recounts the protocols. "After an initial questionnaire, a visual examination. If necessary, a manual inspection. Possibly a few tests to determine more details as to the nature of the ailment. Magical remedies may be needed in extreme cases, or to alleviate severe discomfort. But, typically, a prescription antibiotic or curative compound will handle it."

She rests a curled finger upon her mouth and ponders out loud a moment. "Thankfully, there are many potions and creams that the patient can effectively self administer after initial treatment."

An evil grin overtakes Tassilda's gray face. Perking her brow at Deedri, she rests her hand upon a hip, guides her raven black hair over a swirling horn, and ices her words in heavy sarcasm. "Oh! I am so glad you are so well versed in such procedures. I feel given the interactions between our illustrious leader and our... spirited... intern... Your knowledge may be put to the test, in the near future."

Deedri pauses stirring the contents of the pot upon the stove top. Realization washes over her into a wave of discomfort down her body. Her stare grows distant, and her tufted, furry ears pull back low, pointed tips nearly touching her tensing shoulders. Fighting a chill down her figure, she visibly shudders. Moments later, she recovers and resumes mixing the boiling concoction in the pot. "Understand... It is my DUTY to the team to satisfy all medical needs to the best of my ability."

Eyeing Tassilda and Trakenthin, she sighs out her disgust. "But... I sincerely hope that certain functions of my position in the team are not put to THAT particular test. Especially when it is readily preventable..."

Deedri's furry ears flick towards the kitchen wall, and she expectantly eyes the archway, puzzling at the space between. A faint, nearly transparent, shimmering figure darts around Tassilda, swiftly moves around the side of the table opposite to Trakenthin, and reaches the sliding glass door. The door opens slightly, and the figure blurs with activity. An invisible force rolls out onto the backyard and disturbs the grass, leaving a long flattened trail. The mass of visual distortion lowers down onto the floor, lifts up the white tablecloth, and slips underneath the dining table. Deedri's furry ears twitch towards another source from the stairwell. Her auburn eyes widen, and she devotes her full apparent attention to mixing the contents of the pot.

Light, rapid steps cascade down, and Veevi rushes out into the kitchen and dining area. She glances at Trakenthin studiously reading a book, Tassilda watching over the kitchen, and Deedri preparing a mixture. Brushing her pink hair out of her pink pupil eyes, she scans the rest of the area, spotting the open sliding glass door. She puffs up her chest boldly underneath her midriff length shirt, placing her hands upon her short shorts. Swaying her hips, she proudly struts to the door with a sly, smug smirk. "If I had my guess..."

Veevi slides the door open the rest of the way, peering out into the backyard. Excitedly snickering, her eyes trace the trail in the grass. She steps outside, closes the door behind her, and eagerly follows the path of parted grass. Trakenthin slowly raises his head from his book, rests it pages down upon the tabletop, and stands up slowly. Stepping over to the sliding glass door, he inspects it, engages the lock, and conceals it, pulling the vertical blinds over. He sits down and picks his book back up, cracking a dry smirk. Tassilda grins sinisterly, pivots in place, and strides towards the front door. "Well. I'll get the other door."

With a flip of the tablecloth, the transparent visage rises out from underneath the table and grows more opaque, revealing Modoran's worried face. "GODS. I will so be glad when this internship is over. She is a persistent little pain in the ass. I can not even hang out in my own room with her pestering me to teach her how to sneak around."

Trakenthin rolls his eyes, and Deedri frowns. Returning through the archway, Tassilda furrows her brow. "OH. About THAT. We have an interesting to tell you."

----

Pulling her upper lip up into sneer, Sotalia flicks a finger across the surface of the tablet. The imagery on the display flickers light onto her light tan face, and she sprawls out in the extended recliner. She swipes through various screens of official text, the absence of satisfaction growing obvious. Let the tablet flop onto her stomach, she stretches her arms out to her sides with a defeated groan. "Gods! All these jobs are either boring, annoying, or BOTH, so far!"

She rolls her head to the side and gazes over to Cideeda and Dretphi on the living area couch. "You two find anything good?"

Pulling herself up from a slouch on her pillow upon one couch arm, Cideeda sits upright and glances over her shoulder toward Sotalia. "Meh. Found a few ruin survey and inspection jobs near that other place we had suspicions of being a Noxian hang out. Might be able to take care of a few jobs there and check out that one location at the same time."

Sotalia angles her tablet up into view and taps the on-screen map. With a vaguely interested lift of an eyebrow, she brings up a new listing upon the screen. "Okay... THESE look a bit better."

Rolling her golden eyes, she twists the corner of her mouth. "Well... Comparatively."

Sitting opposite to Cideeda on the couch with her arm propped upon her knee, Dretphi supports her head with a hand. She squints at a tablet upon the coffee table and cocks her head to the side. Puzzling at the description on the device, she furrows her brow intrigued. "There is a local whelp removal job."

Cideeda twists her mouth and briefly sticks her tongue out in disgust. "PASS. YES, I understand that they may be pests. But, I REALLY don't like killing the little guys."

Sotalia's head rocks against the cushion of the plush recliner in a rough nod of agreement. "Too cute for me to annihilate with my spells. Now give me some really nasty vermin or SLIMES, THEN we can talk."

Lifting her head up, Dretphi gazes towards Cideeda and Sotalia, honest surprise manifesting on her face. "They want them captured alive. Unharmed."

Cideeda and Sotalia exchange curious glances with Dretphi. Touching a search button on the display, Sotalia eyes over to Dretphi, her interest piquing. "Huh. Girl, what's the job number?"

Cideeda presses a few spots on her tablet and waits. Dretphi drags the document down to a large header and reads off the encoded number. "Three six one six dash eight six seven eight."

Seconds later, golden and emerald pairs of eyes scan the literature upon respective tablets. With a childish delight, Sotalia excitedly squirms in the couch chair. "OH. MY. GODS! These are fancy whelps! Oh, I SO wanted one of these when I was a teenager. I just could NEVER afford to get the one breed I wanted."

Slowly examining the documented list, Cideeda's brow furrows, and she stares at the inventory, surprise building with the individual descriptions. "Wow! I can see why whoever wants them captured unharmed. If I remember right, these are some EXPENSIVE breeds. AND, the job pays decently, too."

An amused smile seizes Dretphi, and she glances over to Cideeda and Sotalia within an air of satisfaction. "Should I bookmark the job?"

Both Sotalia and Cideeda nod in unison, and continue reading the details of the job. Across the room at the dining table, next to the kitchen bar, Aristespha, Bach, and Sebastian survey a collection of documents, maps, pictures, and other articles upon the tabletop. Aristespha hovers a pencil over a spot on the map, taps idly, and ponders, staring at a page of paperwork. "It all checks out. Though, I still can NOT believe it."

Sebastian slowly shakes his head and floats above the dining table, carefully inspecting the spread of data. "Yeah... It was a HUGE operation to create the place and almost as huge to conceal it afterwards. I don't think we would have ever found it unless we got those coordinates from that bunker computer system. I mean... There would be no reason to even stumble near the area for any other reason."

Lifting his head away from the organized chaos upon the table, Bach blinks hard, long, and rubs his eyelids free of the strain. "Man, we printed this much off, and there STILL is more coming in. I mean, it was nice they included an office printer as part of the house rental. But... I hope they don't charge per page afterwards."

Aristespha pulls back her silvery blue hair over a long, pointed ear, and sighs, playfully smiling with an eye roll to Bach. "No. Thankfully, they charge a flat rate per month."

Furrowing her brow, her violet eyes survey the layers of paper coating the dining table. "BUT. They may, justifiably, reconsider that after we are done."

The tablet near Aristespha vibrates upon the wooden table top, amplifying the rumble. Aristespha taps the screen, reads the notifications, and slides it over to Bach. Leaning back into her chair, she groans in vague defeat. "Oh gods... Another batch. Could you look through them? I need to focus on what is out here presently, for a bit."

Nodding, Bach guides the tablet over. He slides the old, necklace and blue ribbon wrapped journal off to the side, and maneuvers through a series of menus on the tablet. "Yeah. Sure. I'll see if it's anything relevant."

He sorts through the lists of document files, peeking at the contents through previews, and stops upon one large image file. He taps the preview on the screen, and it expands the image out to the borders of the screen. Bach closely examines the scanned photograph of a team of people lined up in the rows. Motioning on the display to zoom in, he scans from the top, across the rows of faces. Reaching the bottom row, he ends his search at the right corner. "Hmm. Here's a picture of one of the teams..."

His finger drifts near the close button. Recognition boils in his mind and freezes him in place. Familiarity seizes Bach's full attention, and his eyes lock onto the people in the bottom, right corner. Enlarging the section more, he stares closely, unconsciousness guiding his conscious search. His head lowers closer to the picture. He scrutinizes a man, a woman, and a child. Minutes of pondering and staring later, he slowly rotates his head and gazes upon the old, necklace and blue ribbon wrapped journal. His eyes widen. Reaching over, he lifts the blue ribbon in hand and snaps back to the blue ribbon in the little girl's hair. He squints at the woman and notices faint lines draping from her neck. Blinking hard, he feels the necklace and exhales with a stammer. His focus falls upon the child's bright blue scarf. His eyes open fully. His pupils shrink. He withdraws his head far away from the tablet. Aristespha and Sebastian observe Bach curiously, concern building between them. Sebastian sinks down lower to Bach's level and inquires. "Hey... Uh, what's wrong, bro?"

Raising the tablet display towards Aristespha and Sebastian, Bach points at the bright blue scarf. Second later, Aristespha covers her mouth in shock, and Sebastian's visage visibly pales.

-33-

The drone of light city traffic settles into the background around the tall business towers. Well marked and lighted intersections cycle through their different patterns, allowing vehicle and pedestrian traffic through. Wide sidewalks surround blocks of tightly packed structures between the streams of traffic. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk along a long row of decorative trees within huge planters next to a very tall brick building rising above the sparse urban center. The group searches around the area, bouncing between unique landmarks and the dense signage posted. Cideeda's furry ears flick towards a point in the distance and lead the rest of her along. "I think the park is over there. Sounds like a lot of activity is happening."

Aristespha nods quickly to Cideeda and shields the sunlight off her aetherphone with her hand, squinting her violet eyes. "You are most likely right. We are in front of the city hall. So, that should mean that is the right direction. Lord and Lady Valentropen said on the phone they would meet us there near the community market."

The team moves ahead down the path between other groups of people going about their days. Sotalia nearly skips with each step, excitedly fidgets, swaying, and smiles eagerly. "I can't believe this is a mission! I never thought anyone would contact the guild to find fancy whelps! Oh! Their pictures in the mission brief were so CUTE."

Sebastian's ethereal voice resonates out from the sword at Aristespha's side, reservations tempering. "REMEMBER, we have to return them to their owners."

With a grinning roll of the eyes, Sotalia sighs in mock defeat and waves a playfully dismissive hand, averting her gaze elsewhere. "I know. I know. We EVENTUALLY have to return them... But I'm certain a half hour or so with one won't be too much trouble."

A slight smile cracks upon Dretphi, and she leans over to Sotalia, pointing to a picture on her phone screen. "The Golden Gale is impressive."

Turning a picture on her aetherphone towards Dretphi, Sotalia smiles wide with a bite of the lip. "I know. BUT... I still LOVE this Nocturne Nightmare. Just look at those little horns and yellow eyes!"

Bach rolls his shoulders in a stretch and rocks his head slowly shoulder to shoulder with a nonchalant smirk. "Well, I hope I'm not too rusty at baby dragon wrangling."

With a ghostly laugh, Sebastian speaks out from the sword. "Bah, after all the times we had to catch Lagi when he got loose, I think you'll be fine, bro. Though, I remember it being a lot easier when he got bigger."

After a flash of memory crosses Bach's mind, he blinks back to awareness with a slow shake of the head. "Well, yeah... Right before his wings grew out to match his body. Then, he started maintaining level flight, and EVERYTHING got a lot more difficult."

A series of pained chuckles sound out from the sword, and Sebastian emits a distorted sigh. "Yeah... Gods... How we didn't get into any more trouble than we did, I will never know, bro. I always wondered if it was easier for the campus to pretend they didn't notice anything going on and let us clean it up out of fear of getting caught."

Bach tilts his head to the sigh, furrows his brow, and darts his blue eyes between memories. "You know... You might be right. There's no fuckin' way they didn't know about half the stuff we did... Huh."

The group approaches a street intersection, check both ways, and quickly cross to another stretch of sidewalk bordering ancient, decorative fencing. The long ironwork row twists and turns in intricate patterns, for artistic intentions and from eras of neglect. Over on the other side of the fence, tall green grass unrolls underneath the canopy of gigantic, ancient trees and supports a carpet of bright flowers and landscaping. Next to a large stonework "Centenn Park" sign, a flagstone path branches out into the natural flow of the land, partitioning large sections of stonework and alcoves of benches along the way. People travel along the walkway to and from sections the park with friends, family, and leashed pets. The group strolls along the trail and navigate closer towards the source of the growing background buzz of activity. Winds rustle untold numbers of leaves above and sway waves of sun speckled grass below. In a large open, paved area, colorful booths and tents contrast the plain civilian architecture and simple natural surroundings. Small gatherings wander through the crowds to visit the booths of artists, craftspeople, and performers. Off towards the perimeter of the fanfare, an elder evuukian couple sit on a park bench in the shade. Spotting the couple, Aristespha moves up to lead the group and glances back. "That is likely Lord and Lady Valentropen. I will lead ahead and do the formal greetings. From what I remember, they are the heads of a minor house. We will figure it out from there."

A silent acceptance spreads through the rest of the group, and they hang back. Aristespha inspects her attire and checks appearance over. Assuming a proper posture, she gracefully approaches the elder evuukian couple. She grants a small bow, pleasantly recites an elegant series of phrases in a very proper Evuukian dialect, and stands up straight awaiting a response. The elder evuukian man rises from the park bench, his commanding posture contrasting his business casual attire. Examining Aristespha carefully with a proud stature, he nods his head with a slight smile. He holds his hand out for the elder evuukian woman, and she promptly pulls herself up. She brushes her elegant sundress off, grants a slight bow to Aristespha, and smiles appreciatively. Grasping hold of Aristespha's hands, she converses quickly with a genuinely appreciative color in her voice. The elder evuukian man notices Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia nearby and lowers his head down next to the older woman. He speaks softly and eyes towards the group, motioning his head. The woman blinks to awareness, briefly covers her mouth, and waves in the rest of the group. "Oh my! Where are my manners? Please come over. I just haven't been myself lately. Forgetting my basic courtesies of all things."

Aristespha waits for the rest of the team, directing the couple's attention to each member. "Lord and Lady Valentropen, this is the rest of my team. Sotalia Feratosia, Dretphi Veranattin, Cideeda Garadra-Deeseeni, and Back Warwick."

Lord Valentropen surveys the team quietly with cool, yellow eyes and nods calm, firmly. "I would like to say that I am quite pleased that an accomplished adventuring group as yourselves bid. What was supposed to be a long weekend outing has turned into a troublesome ordeal. My wife and I were here for a local fancy whelp show. Then, some rogue group decided to release the whelps outside when we were away."

Lady Valentropen gazes excitedly across the group and enthusiastically pleads through worry and concern upon her purple tinted ivory face. "We just did not know what to do! Oh, gods! We do not know this area, and the only thing that came to mind was filing a quest with the guild... And, THAT was quite the experience in and of itself. I had to explain that I wanted my fancy whelps captured safely... not... Eliminated!"

An eye roll accompanies a muted sigh from Lord Valentropen, and he keeps his lips pressed shut, stilling his golden tinted tan face. Aristespha presents a calm smile and pats Lady Valentropen's hands in hers reassuringly. "It is not a typical request. But, we excel with such atypical quests. We will be happy to find your fancy whelps and bring them back to you safely."

Lady Valentropen smiles brightly, letting go of Aristespha's hands. She pivots towards the park bench and searches inside a large purse. "Thank you so much. Let me get my tablet. I must show you pictures of my precious little dragons."

Sotalia and Dretphi gather near, and Lady Valentropen enthusiastically showcases choice photos, taking time to happily recount traits, mannerisms, and descriptive features. Lord Valentropen sternly sighs and focuses upon Aristespha. "While my wife goes into great detail about her pets, I have taken precautions for such a situation. I paid for magical markers and electronic tracking collars. I have the relevant information for you and your group to use in finding them."

With a confident, professional smile, Aristespha nods affirmatively and gestures towards Cideeda. "I and the other mages in our group can handle the magical tracking. Cideeda is our technical specialist and should be able to use the tracker information with her equipment."

Cideeda steps up next to Aristespha and both discuss details with Lord Valentropen. With the two groups conversing about different parts of the quest, Bach drifts his gaze out into the vicinity of the park. His attention wanders over to a gathering of children sitting on the brickwork underneath the shade of a gigantic tree. He notices the elaborate booth, resembling a small stage, in front of the children. Bach reads a fancifully lettered title upon the booth top banner.

"Brento and Kayleedi's Puppets Present Our Past"

The stage curtains split apart with the sound of clacking wooden rings and a pull strings rubbing. Foreboding music fills the air, and a dark mist billows out from the backdrop, rolling over the stage, fading away. Two glowing, blood red eyes pierce through the foggy veil and a sharp, jagged edged mask slowly pushes forward past the stage. A black sleeved arm directs the menacing glare of the mask upon the audience, who react in playful fight, some failing to hide their honest flits of fear. A woman's voice dramatically announces, sinister undertones shadowing her words. "Brento and Kayleedi's Puppets Present, The Scourge of Dark Lords!"

The mask retreats back into the dispersing mist, and the curtains close. The woman's voice rises up over faint noises of activity behind the scenes. "We start back in time... To just after the Abstract Prism was created!"

With a spacey, air ambient music, the curtains part to reveal a mystical, colorful swirling background and a slowly spinning prism crystal hovering in the space. An orb of bright light glows behind the prism, and rainbows project out from the refracted light into the area to the delight of the audience. A detailed wooden puppet stands triumphantly near the base of the prism. His arms moving smoothly, he adjusts his wizardly hat and brushes off his finely tailored robes. A man's voice proudly speaks with the puppet’s motions. "It took the combined efforts of thousands of mages, an untold amount of Elder magic power, tremendous sacrifice of magical potential..."

The small mage turns aside to the audience with an exaggerated eye-rolling head gesture. "AND... A LOT of bickering about how the whole Foundation Construct thing should work. Yeesh. You would think I was trying to get them to agree upon what flavor of ice cream to get."

Children not hypnotized by the sparkling prism snicker and giggle. The puppet returns to the story proper and admires the prism, his arm unfurling out to the grand scene. "Surely, with this triumphant device we shall bring forth a new age of magic energy to everyone and no longer have to fear the terrible abuses of Elder magic that so plagued us to this point."

Another puppet hops in from the side of the stage and moves close to the other. She taps her hand to her chin in thought towards the audience. "Well, about THAT..."

Pivoting to face the mage with a flare of her elaborate sorceress dress, she leans closer. "What are we going to do about the Elder magical energy already imbued in the world, power focuses, creatures, artifacts, and well a whole lot of other things?"

The mage pauses stiffly and slowly spins in place with an arm out, gesturing to a point that never comes from his mouth. He moves his hand to roughly scratch the back of his neck, and his previous confidence wanes quickly. "Uh... We'll... Uh... Oh... Um..."

Cocking his head to the side, he plainly states. "We REALLY need to do something about that!"

The sorceress repetitively nods dramatically in return with the audience laughter. The curtains draw back together, and the female voice rises up above the sound of shuffling in the back, again. "Over the years since, many have sought out the tremendous power of Elder magic for their own reasons..."

The stage opens back up to a plain backdrop of an empty room, and a fanciful, regal puppet rises up at center focus. A small spotlight shines on him and highlights his gaudy crown and flowing robes, a kingly chorus playing. The out of sight woman narrates. "The first was a former mage king! Deposed and driven mad by what ruling power he had lost from his Elder energy being sealed away, he was the first to don the title DARK LORD! He became known as Dark Lord Hellstrom."

Dark Lord Hellstrom boldly puffs out his puppet chest, waves an arm out to the audience with a dominant, bold man's voice. "I will use my former wealth of enchanted artifacts to not only regain my kingdom... BUT... I will make THE WORLD my subjects and lead them as I feel they should!"

The behind the scenes woman speaks up in a tongue in cheek tone. "His timing wasn't the best."

Two groups of mages descend down from above, hovering from nearly invisible strings, and aim dour, stern glares upon Hellstrom. After boastfully preening himself to the audience, Hellstrom notices the gathering above and meekly admits. "Oh. Right... I totally forgot all the mages that created the Abstract Prism are still alive and... Still are REALLY POWERFUL... Uh oh."

He comically dashes around the stage in a panic, the mages flying after him, and escapes off stage. After the laughter from the children, another figure moves from off stage to the center and stands proudly. The woman behind the scenes narrates. "Seeing the failures of Dark Lord Hellstrom, Dark Lord Strad worked in the shadows... Quietly converting people to his cause. He used strange Elder magics stored in his ancestral castle in attempts to extend the lives and powers of himself and his followers... At the cost of the lives of others."

A pale skinned evuukian puppet rises to a dreary music, unfurls his cape draped arms out, and pans a hard stare out into the audience. "I and my coven will continue on FOREVER and guide this world from the shadows."

In the backdrop, pairs of small glowing eyes glimmer into existence. A few average citizenry puppets move near and dramatically fall out of view when Dark Lord Strad directs his hand to them. A faint trail of light streams from each fallen puppet and collects within Dark Lord Strad. "A few peasant lives is a small price to pay for our great future."

The narrator chimes in, her tone unamused and certainly not pleased. "The supposed peasants didn't agree on that. Neither did the many bands of adventurers hired by those peasants."

The eyes retreat away. Cardboard cutout mobs of peasants with pitchforks and torches march towards Strad and adventurer figures descend from above weapons and magic at the ready. Strad acts out a slow dramatic death, crawling for the last moments of existence slipping away, and falls out of sight with everyone else. Sounds of shuffling and scurrying sound out behind the puppet show booth. Two puppets appear in the shadows to either stage side, and the woman's voice calls out. "Many more Dark Lords would try to rise to power. BUT... Not all Dark Lords started out with evil intentions."

A small spot light shines down upon a fvalian woman puppet and the narrator elaborates. "Dark Lord Reevani wanted to help the ruined environment of her home land..."

In the surrounding, calm natural music, Dark Lord Reevani cheerfully addresses the children. "I just want to make my home pleasant and green again..."

The spotlight darkens to a dark red shade with a key change, and Dark Lord Reevani claws out her fingers with a menacing grin. "BUT! It seems I HAVE to make EVERYONE STOP DESTROYING IT..."

A manic, sharp grin forms on the figurine's face. "By destroying THEM."

Dark Lord Reevani falling out of view, the spotlight flicks back to normal hue and slides over to the other puppet. The newly lit emin woman puppet tosses her long hair back over her fanciful horns and elegantly waves a hand out to the crowd, triggering the rhythmic background beat. "I, Dark Lord Decimatala, just want to be the best mage in the world and further our understanding of magic overall."

Her eyes flash red and the puppet smiles darkly, oozing evil intent. "It is just a shame that NO ONE seems to understand that they SHOULD NOT get in MY WAY."

The spotlight dimming, the Dark Lord Decimatala puppet drops out of view. A new puppet rises up in the center, standing in the misty shade. The woman's voice puzzles out loud to the audience. "Then, there are those whose motives remain unknown to us, and they continue their work, a mystery to us all..."

A spotlight from above focuses upon the center puppet. The head lifts up to show an iconic mask bordered by a hood. The audience gasps and stir, recognition taking hold in the older children and parents. Bach freezes and his eyes widen to the full attention upon the mask. Chorused whispers emerge from the audience and declare the Dark Lord's name, Noxian. The masked puppet remains on stage, and the prism rises up into the background briefly with the bright white light behind it. The prism lowers back down out of reach for the masked figurine, and the woman narrates questions out loud. "What drives these people to seek Elder magics?"

The behind the scenes man's voice presents another query. "Did they start with evil intent?"

The woman bounces off to another query. "Does having so much power just lead people down such malicious, dark paths?"

An uneasy wave creeps through Bach, and he squirms unconsciously. Without missing a beat, the man's voice presents another theory. "OR, does Elder magic now corrupt those who wield it, so thoroughly that you eventually become a Dark Lord?"

Sifting a tense breath through gritting teeth, Bach winces and remains very quiet, his eyes staring down into himself in search for something. Adventurer puppets spring forth from all corners of the stage and charge the Dark Lord Noxian puppet. The scene pauses the moment the heroes surround Noxian, and the woman proclaims loudly, triumphantly. "Whatever may be the case, there will ALWAYS be heroic adventurers that will answer the call and defend all of us from The Scourge of the Dark Lords!"

The curtains close up. The air fills with the cheers of the children, applause of the parents nearby, and the quiet commentary of passersby joining the audience. From the sides of the booth, a man and woman fvalians hop out. Both step happily in colorful jester outfits and grin with showmanship flair. The woman perks orange-red furred, pointed ears, sways her orange, white-tipped bushy tail, and tilts her head to the side, settling her long ginger hair. "I'm Kayleedi!"

With faux dignified air about him, the man stands mockingly proper. He bows forward, letting his short, dark gray hair shift forward, wags his silvery fluffy tail, and waves his gray furred pointed ears. "I'm Brento!"

The two ready themselves, glance over at each other with a nod, and start gesturing speedy incantations. Both release magical energies simultaneously, the stage curtains swing open to the various puppets used in show taking bows, waving at the audience, and making their final presence for the show. The stage closes back up and Brento and Kayleedi take a final bow, waving to the crowd. The majority of the audience disperses. The two performers meet and greet, enthusiastically interacting with everyone. Parents and children, guided by parents, donate money into a tip box, Brento and Kayleedi excitedly demonstrating their appreciation with magic tricks and puppetry. Bach blinks back to awareness to a familiar set of claw points on his arm. Cideeda lifts an intrigued brow and releases Bach's arm. "Hey, let me see your phone for a minute. I need to get the tracker information into it."

Shaking his head back to the current reality, Bach fumbles in his pocket, retrieves his phone, and hands it to Cideeda. "Oh! Yeah. Sorry. Just spaced out there."

A sly smile graces Cideeda's light brown face, and she snorts with a shake of her head of short multicolored hair. "Don't hide it. You were watching the puppet show."

Bach shrugs with an awkward smirk and sighs in playful defeat. "Well, you got me. I was."

With a wink to Bach, Cideeda grins and taps through various menus on Bach's phone. "Hey, it was a really cute show. I caught bits of it after I got the tracker info from Lord Valentropen. It's pretty cool and amazing what they can do with magic and those puppets. I wonder what they could do with wargame figures."

Bach chuckles, glancing over to the small stage, and smirks to Cideeda. "I bet it'd save you a lot of time of having to reach over the tables to move everything into place during your turn."

Nodding with a smile, Cideeda pushes a hand on Bach's back and rotates him around towards Aristespha and Sotalia. "Yeah... Oh, you'll probably need to go over THERE. They're discussing the magic marks on the whelps. Probably something you need to be part of."

Bach nods in agreement and walks over toward Aristespha and Sotalia. Cideeda pauses from tapping settings into Bach's phone, and peeks over to the antics of Brento and Kayleedi's puppets.

----

A row of small, tall brick townhouses stretch down the wide side next to a quieter access street, opposite of a small community park. Sotalia strolls down the walkway under the shade of trimmed trees and passes planters of flowers, the wind rustling the leaves of the greenery overtaking the area. Brushing stray dark red hairs out of her face, she holds up her aetherphone and squints at a fluctuating bar display, lifting an intrigued brow. Slowing to a stop, she glances around the vicinity, eyeing the seclusive spots in the nooks of the building architecture and crannies within the trees and between the bushes. She places the phone into a pants pocket, rolls her shoulders in a stretch, and closes her eyes. Slowly, she lifts her arm up and sweeps her open palm around, scanning the area around her. Her hand aims towards an alley, and she pauses. She cocks her head to the side and cracks a confident smirk on her light tan face. Moments later, a loud metallic crash rings out, and the sounds of something scratching and digging in debris prompt Sotalia's golden eyes to open. She cautiously rushes towards the corner of a wall framing the alley and peeks down the shady corridor. In the midst of scattered piles of junk and strewn trash, a black scaled whelp perches itself upon the rim of a large dumpster and digs through the garbage. Fluttering open his meter wide wingspan, he briefly scratches at his collar and resumes his inspection of the bin. Sotalia smiles slyly, perks her brow, and mutters under her breath and the din of cans and bottles crashing upon the pavement. "Hello, Nocturne Nightmare."

The Nocturne Nightmare leans forward into the dumpster, carefully searching among the refuse. It sniffs and snorts with a narrow muzzle, occasionally grasping something within its front paws. Yellow eyes dart around and inspect a piece of garbage. A dismissive snort later, the Nocturne Nightmare flings the trash out of its way on the pavement, grumbling unsatisfied. Back claws grip the edge of the large metal dumpster tightly, and its pair of black, scaly wings stir, keeping balance between dips into the bin. Sotalia quietly slides out into the gap between the walls of the alley, raises her arms, and focuses her full attention upon the catty whelp. With graceful, purposeful gestures, she slowly mouths out incantations under her breath, flows of magical energy stirring around her body. An almost imperceptible warping of energy gradually stretches out from her hands and closes the distance between her and the whelp. The Nocturne Nightmare lifts his head up briefly, munching on a chunk of extremely stale and unusually crunchy, sponge cake. Picking off the sticky remnants of the plastic wrapper, it licks the cream filling off its lips with a long black tongue. A squeak of a belch later, it spots another target within the pile and resumes its dumpster dive. The barely visible field enveloping the black scaled, horned whelp, Sotalia grins triumphantly and narrows her eyes with a confident lift of an eyebrow. "Gotcha."

The Nocturne Nightmare's body drifts upwards, surprising the whelp. It scrambles around vainly to latch onto the dumpster rim with both pairs of paws, only managing to scrape off chips of layered paint from the smooth, rolled edges. The whelp flaps its meter wide wingspan, seeking escape. Despite valiant, feverish efforts, all propulsion efforts fail within the translucent magical mass, and it drifts down the shady alley towards the bright opening. The forces upon it rotate and right it towards facing Sotalia. She maintains concentration and gestures, motions guiding the energies and reeling the critter closer. The creature drifts towards Sotalia and stops within a meter, floating helplessly in front of her. Sotalia smiles happily at it and raises the pitch of her voice, heavily layering the sweetness. "Oh, hello, Ur-i-ven-no-trop-a-lin! That's such a really pretty name your daddy gave you. How about you be a nice little dragon and come with me back to your mommy and daddy. They are so worried about their little scaly son."

She glances around, fighting a guilty smirk, and giggles in sheer delight. "If you are REALLY GOOD, we'll stop by the market and get a bunch of treats!"

Narrowing her stare behind the whelp, she twists her mouth in disgust at the dumpster. "Truth me, it'll be FAR better than all that garbage you were eating."

Nocturne Nightmare whelp, Urivennotropalin, narrows his yellow eyes indignantly, flares up his nostrils, and snarls his upper lip. Righting his head back defiantly, he flares his wings out and reveals the intricate patterns upon the webbing. He bares the sharp teeth inside his small maw and grumbles an octave higher than intent. Tilting his head, he prominently displays his elaborate main pair of horns, and holds up his front clawed hands towards Sotalia. With a puff of the chest, he draws in lungfuls of air. He breathes out a loud growling roar, dramatically shaking his head dominantly. The higher pitch matches the small size of the whelp and completely disarms the terrifying display of tiny draconic power. Sotalia's gawks in absolute joy, cupping her hands over her mouth and nose, and gasps in pure adoration. Admiration guides her delighted gazes upon the whelp, and she squirms excitedly, eagerly reaching both hands out for the whelp. "OH. MY. GODS. You are the most adorable thing EVER! That was SO CUTE! I don't know if I'll be able to give you back!"

Lost in sheer utter confusion, Urivennotropalin blinks blankly and cocks his head to the side, failing to understand the opposite of his expectations. His awareness of the situation returns when Sotalia's long, black fingernails scratch upon the undersides of his chin. He attempts to summon a defiant growl. The effort falters away into a sputtering, bubbling purr, each delightful scratch lulling him close his eyes in simple comfort. With a slight bite of lip, Sotalia grins ear to ear, Urivennotropalin falling into her hands. "OH! Your mommy was so right. You are such a big baby when you get your scratches."

Sotalia guides Urivennotropalin onto her chest and shoulders, hugging the whelp happily. The critter melts onto her under the constant attention, laying his head next to her neck and wrapping a long fan tail around her waist. Sotalia pets and scratches the whelp to his delight, carrying him clear of alleyway back down the street of brick townhouses. "OH, I am SO spoiling you with some treats from that market."

----

In an empty, abandoned field, Bach puzzles at the readings upon his phone and slowly pivots in place, scanning around the area and bouncing his stare between the common features. He finds nothing out of place in the wide open, grassy space, shadowed by passing clouds. An overgrown treeline weaves through an ancient chain link fence on the perimeter, and a solitary, rusted metal shed stands, the tallest structure around. Bach settles his gaze upon the shed, closes his eyes, and reopens them to a blue light. Stashing his phone away, he nods his head in self agreement, eyes dimming back to normal. He walks towards the shed, avoiding the many noisy pitfalls littering the worn path along the way. Noticing the crude, old lock upon the shed door, he stops. A child's voice calls out unseen. "W-w-who are you, and why are you here?!"

Bach pauses and darts his glance around, searching for the source. Seconds later, three middle school aged children leave the concealment of the treeline underbrush and position themselves in front of Bach, guarding the door of the old shed. Bach wanders his gaze between the school children. An emin girl with small horns and short, brilliant green hair addresses Bach. "Who are you? And, why are you here?"

The tall grath boy and tall human girl summon up their resolve and stand quietly to either side of the emin girl. Bach perks a confused and puzzled eyebrow at the group, shrugs with an awkward tug to the corner of his mouth, and sighs. "I'm an adventurer hired to find some lost fancy whelps. Have you seen any colorful whelps that match these pictures?"

Bach retrieves his phone, tapping on the screen, and presents a series of whelp pictures to the children. The images of the fanciful creatures capture their attention. Upon a particular picture of green and brown scaled whelp, blatant recognition hardens their resolve, and they muster wavering, stern stares. A slight smirk cracks from the corner of Bach's face, and he peeks at the picture to confirm. "Huh... I see. I don't suppose you've seen the Viridian Forest Racer anywhere?"

The emin girl's green on black eyes glance between her two friends on either side of her, and she cautiously answers, reservation heavy in her tone. "We have... seen it... in the area."

With a growing smile, Bach nods simply and swipes through the phone gallery to show a picture of Lord and Lady Valentropen with the Viridian Forest Racer. "Well, that's great news! If you could tell me where he is I'll be able to get him back to his owners. They're really worried about him, since he's so far from home and not used to being around here."

The children each examine the picture upon the phone, and a wave of guilt washes over them, wearing through their tough exteriors. The emin girl puffs up, glares at Bach, and holds out a hand, demanding. "I want to see your guild ID! If you are a real adventurer, you should have one!"

Tilting his head to the side at the defiant outburst, Bach reaches into his pocket, pulls out his wallet, and plucks his guild ID card out. Placing it into the awaiting hand of the emin girl, he stands tall and waits expectantly. The three children draw in close, squinting and inspecting the official identification. The human girl eyes the emin girl with reluctant acceptance. "Uh... It looks legit."

The grath boy perks a brow and eyes Bach inquisitively. "Intern?"

Bach sighs with a vaguely annoyed shrug. "It's a LONG story."

The emin girl returns the ID to Bach and bites her lower lip, a mix of frustration and moral conflict manifesting. Bach shakes his head with a knowing smile. "He's in the shed, isn't he?"

Her mouth opens to contest, and she agrees with the statement in defeat. "Yes. But... How did you know?"

Bach presents his phone again and flips to a screen with a signal strength indicator. "He's got a radio collar on him."

Blinking his blue eyes bright, Bach glances over the children. "And, there's a magical mark on him, too. I saw traces of it from inside the shed."

With a heavy sigh in sync with the disappointment of the others, the emin girl pulls out a key from her shirt pocket and sadly unlocks the lock upon the door. "I guess he should go back to his home. We found him wandering around hungry and thirsty. We've been giving him water and feeding him..."

The door swings open and casts a brighter light inside the dim, rust ventilated shed. The scene before the group shocks all. Upon a bed of pellet animal feed, scattered all over the shed floor with scraps of packaging littering the area, a green and brown scaled whelp lays belly up, wings out, motionless. Fright grips the children, and guilt seizes the emin girl. "OH NO! We just got the feed because we heard that's what whelps eat, and I-I-..."

Tears well up in the distraught children's eyes. Bach steps forward, kneels down next to the whelp, and narrows a curious stare at the bloated critter. Noticing slow rhythmic motions of breathing, he perks an eyebrow and pokes the full belly of the whelp. A shrill belch escapes the little creatures, echoing between the metal walls of the shed. The whelp squirms upon the bed of feed, and nuzzles his shorter snout into the pile. His tongue lazily wanders out and drags a few more pellets into his small maw, the sounds of slow crunching following. With a shake of head, Bach rolls his blue eyes and grins over his shoulder at the bewildered children. "Don't worry. He's fine. He just over ate and fell asleep."

He lightly pats the bloated belly of the tiny beast. "Reminds me of my friend's dragon when he was little. He's just built up a bunch of gas and worn himself out eating."

The grath boy watches the whelp squirm uncomfortably upon the pellet pile and furrows the concern on his dark tan face towards Bach. "He is uncomfortable. Can we help him?"

Glancing back at the whelp, Bach nods with a reassuring smile and scoops underneath the critter. "Sure. He probably has A LOT gas trapped in his stomach. We can help him with that much."

He gently rolls the whelp over, carefully folding back his wings and guiding his idly waving legs. "So... Who wants to learn how to belch a baby dragon?"

The children gather around excitedly. Bach carefully lifts the lazy whelp up, resting his head on his shoulder, and lightly pats the lethargic whelp's tight belly. "Don't worry..."

He eyes the critter idly squirming and helplessly swimming in the air. "Everyone will get a turn. There's PLENTY of gas to get out of him."

----

Leaves upon the top most branches of dense trees rustle with the light breeze coasting over the top of the newer canopy. Hidden in the bushes along a disused, patchy gravel access road, Cideeda and Dretphi peer out and alternate stares between a partially open candy bar and a pair of whelps, intently observing the candy bar from the high safety of tree perch. A crimson scaled little dragonoid squirms in place and flexes small claws tips into the bark, long tail wagging in anticipation and wings stretching out. Cideeda leans close to Dretphi's ear and whispers cautiously. "Get ready. I think the red one is going to try for it."

Dretphi nods a confirmation, glances down at her hands, and sorts through the mesh of a throwing net, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Understood. Still curious as to why they are this cooperative. Typical whelps are competitive. Independent."

Cideeda's furry ears flick and sift through the series of sounds emanating from the tree top. "It is strange they aren't nipping at each other to figure out who gets first pick at the food."

She furrows her and squints her emerald green eyes along the whelps' perch. "And... It's really weird they haven't left that tree after we spotted them. Would have made sense to at least go to another tree."

A flash of red peeks through the gaps of the foliage, and the crimson whelp launches off the branch, diving down towards the candy bar. It flaps a meter wide wingspan hard into an air cushioned stop, landing short of the candy bar. Sweeping the area with its shiny red eyed stare, it slinks cautiously closer to the treat with each pass, the claws of each of its four paws tensing into the dirt. Seconds of approach later, it lowers its head down and contentedly sniffs the chocolate covered bar deeply. A series purring barks sound out from the woods, and the crimson whelp responds in kind with a few extra chirps. With the net draping in hand, Dretphi curls her arm around her side and focuses upon the candy bar consuming, little dragon. Cideeda vigilantly watches and waits expectantly, holding her hand up. The moment the crimson whelp turns its head away, Cideeda's hand drops. "Now."

Dretphi flings forth the net with a masterful spin at the last moment of release. The net spreads out wide, lofting upwards above the target. The crimson whelp lifts his head up, chocolate smears upon lips. Searching around horizontally at the surroundings, it fails to check directly above. The net splashes down on top of the whelp. Immediately sensing the weight of the net, it flutters around in a panicked flurry of shrieks and flops upon the dirt. Cideeda grins confidently and glances over to one of two cages. "Nice! I'll get the cage ready. You hoist and drop, I'll release and lock."

A loud shrill, angry screech bounces between the trunks of the trees and rattles through the canopy above. Glints of gold sparkle through gaps between greens of the tree top leaves. Fast rhythmic rushes of air swiftly sound out, and a four winged golden whelp jets down next to the crimson whelp, skating into position upon the gravel. Dretphi and Cideeda exchange glances, and both stare out, studying the situation in confusion. The two whelps trade chirps and purrs, investigating the net entrapping the red one. Dretphi tilts her head to the side, and her steely gray eyes watch, processing thought in her mind. "The Golden Gale came to rescue the Crimson Raider?"

Blinking in short-lived astonishment, Cideeda flashes over to irritation. "Shit! They're trying to bite through the net!"

Dretphi and Cideeda each quickly grab a cage and rush out to the two whelps. The Golden Gale hisses loudly, fans open both pairs of wings, and digs claws on four feet into the dirt, strafing to block off access to the Crimson Raider. Cideeda and Dretphi keep a reserved distance and maintain the tense standoff with the Golden Gale, the Crimson Raider gnawing on the tough fibers of the net. Flicking her fluffy tail swiftly, Cideeda eyes Dretphi and gestures with her claw tipped fingers. "I'll distract, you secure."

With a quick nod, Dretphi circles gradually away from Cideeda, orbiting the duo of whelps. The Golden Gale bounces its fierce glare between the two, snapping wings forward and pulsing gusts upon the gravel. Deftly dodging the small bits of debris from the air currents, Cideeda snatches the border of the net and tugs at it sharply. The Golden Gale bears its full attention down upon Cideeda and snaps a maw of small, sharp teeth at her swiftly dodging hands. In an unyielding barrage of attempts, Cideeda quickly reaches out to the net, avoiding the fast, furious nips of the gold-scaled whelp and gusts of dirt and gravel. During the tense seconds, the Golden Gale feverishly defends against each assault upon the net. It stops in surprise upon a firm, gentle hand preventing its mouth from opening. A strong arm wraps around, tightly pressing its wings against the torso of a tall, muscular grath woman. Dretphi hoists up the golden creature and away from the fray. It helplessly flails its paws out into the air, a great deal of shock in its golden eyes. Balancing herself, Cideeda sweeps up the ends of the net and props a cage door side up with a foot. Opening the door, she swiftly lowers the netted Crimson Raider inside and closes the cage door. She carries another cage over to Dretphi, and the two lead the uncooperative Golden Gale inside. Securing the cage door, the two breath out loud in relief and vent their tensions with laughing sighs. Cideeda double-checks the locks on the cages, avoiding the nips of small maws and scrambling of tiny, deft clawed hands, and chuckles to herself. "Well... Not exactly what I had planned. But, I'll take it!"

With a few deep, calming breaths, Dretphi glances around, concern directing her narrowing gaze to the unhappily barking whelps. "There is something wrong. I do not believe they are acting normal."

Cideeda kneels down between the two cages and observes the whelps scurrying around. Both peer out through the gaps in the carriers and scratch their cages towards their original tree. "Huh... Yeah... I have to agree. THIS isn't right."

Standing up straight, Dretphi walks over towards the base of the tree, watches the critters bark and growl louder, and squints curiously upwards. "Something is there. Could you climb up?"

With a confirming nod and a confident smile, Cideeda skips over to the awaiting Dretphi. Placing a toed boot in Dretphi's interlocked hands, Cideeda rides the boost up along the trunk of the tree and digs her claws into the bark. She climbs up the tree with both hands and feet, searching around each level of branches on her way up, and spots a collection of leaves and sticks high up upon a dense cluster of branches. After a few more pulls upwards, her head crests above the rough nest. Peeking inside, she smiles in delight and laughs down towards Dretphi. "HEY! We're going to need a rope and soft bags. We've got eggs."

----

Tall brick commercial buildings stand and border a wide walkway, the sun gleaming off the grids of tinted glass panes between decorative ledges. Aristespha strolls down past small boutique store fronts and surveys the goods arranged behind the display windows. Rounding the corner, she searches down the open avenue and focuses upon a fancifully fenced section in front of a business. Walking a few steps forward, she stops and places a hand on a hip with a smirk, narrowing her stare ahead. "Hmm. I think we found one, Sebastian."

Sebastian's ethereal voice resonates from the sword at Aristespha's side. "Really, dear? I didn't hear the phone beep. Did you sense the magical marker?"

Aristespha sways her hip to the side, glances around the empty area briefly, and taps the sword at her side. "It is clear. Pop out and see for yourself."

The ghostly visage of Sebastian forms next to Aristespha, and he traces her sight line ahead. Squinting his eyes, he reads a sign taped to a low, metal railing door, and snorts out into a chuckle. "Heh. I guess so."

A gentle gust of wind flutters the cardboard sign taped upon the fanciful fencing.

"Cafe Clarks is still OPEN! Come inside! Outside closed due to a miserable little flying beast! - Frustrated Management"

Exchanging a humored glance with Aristespha, Sebastian shakes his head, and his visage fades, drifting back into the sword. Aristespha casually steps forward and retrieves her aetherphone. Tapping up a signal indicator, she searches near the rooftops, a faint violet glow in her eyes. Reaching the entrance into Cafe Clarks, she inspects the daily specials upon a decorative chalkboard, and a mischievous grin graces her ivory face. "Ooo... They have quite the selection of teas. I wonder..."

A bell rings out from above the entry door, and an apron wearing evuukian woman server holds the door open. "Hello! Welcome to Cafe Clarks. I am afraid the patio area is closed, right now. That little sky terror is still loose."

Aristespha lifts a curious brow at the woman, navigating through a few menus on her aetherphone, and reveals a picture of sky blue scaled, white plated, whelp with a prominently pointed nose cone and peach wing membranes. "Does it look like this?"

The server's aqua eyes widen sharply, and she briefly snarls her upper lip in frustrated disgust. "YES. THAT is the little shit..."

Blinking back to awareness, she wrestles down a flush of embarrassment and gasps apologetically. "Oh! Pardon my manners. He's been terrorizing our customers relentlessly when they are trying to enjoy our wonderful pastries and fine drinks."

A man's voice from inside calls out. "And that bastard has been stealing anything magical that isn't nailed down!"

The serving woman sighs and points up to the rooftop of a nearby building. "He is up there, RIGHT NOW. Watching. Waiting. We are hoping he will move on soon..."

She pauses in thought and smiles eagerly. "Wait! Are you here to get rid of him?"

Aristespha nods, her bright violet eyes focusing upon the blue scaled whelp perched up on the decorative architecture. "Yes. There were a few that escaped, recently. This one is a Sky Lancer variety of fancy whelp. I need to capture him."

Thinking for a moment, she glances around the server and calls inside. "He has been stealing magical objects?"

A chorus of people confirm, listing many trinkets and larger items in irritated tones. Aristespha nods, motions to the server, and lifts the latch on the fence gate. "Follow me, and act like you are seating me."

With an understanding nod, the evuukian woman plays along, going through all the motions, and Aristespha responds appropriately. Aristespha sits down, and the server leaves after placing down a menu. After a moment, Aristespha calls out to the server. "Excuse me, where is your bathroom?"

The serving evuukian woman blinks in confusion and points inside. "This way."

Standing back up, Aristespha removes the sword and scabbard from her belt. She lays it down upon the table top, pulling out the blade enough to glint the sun bright up towards the attentive whelp, and concentrates her purple glowing eyes upon the creature. A devious smile draws across her face, and a low ethereal chuckle resonates from the sword. Joining the evuukian woman inside, Aristespha waits with her back against the wall near the door. "Let us see if he is... Interested."

Seconds later, wind cutting wings align and dart upon the tabletop. The whelp fully fans out his single pair of wings to their over a meter wingspan, keeping them at the ready. Stepping cautiously around on his only pair of legs, it hops gingerly around, bouncing between paranoia and plundering. Its silvery, greedy eyes focus upon the blade, and long claws clamp down upon the scabbard. Slamming down fast, powerful flaps, it barely lifts the scabbard off the table and strains to gain altitude. The Sky Lancer momentarily glances down at the lack of ascent and gazes up. Sebastian's ghostly, flaming form grins menacingly at him. "OOGITY BOOGITY!"

The whelp shrieks in terror, drops the sword in panic, and flurries its wings opposite of Sebastian, fluttering right into the path of an awaiting Aristespha. A wave of energy launches from Aristespha's hand and envelopes the critter in a thick, immobilizing field. The Sky Lancer floats nearly motionless, breathing freely with eyes darting around in sheer bewilderment. Calmly stepping up to the hovering creature, Aristespha finishes a series of incantations into a simple tap upon its bony nose cone. Long, high pitched snores rattle out from the whelp, remaining stuck in the air. Aristespha walks to her table, slides the sword fully back into the scabbard, and taps out a quick message upon her phone. Seating herself down, she opens up and nonchalantly reads the menu. Sebastian drifts down upon a seat next to her. The server cautiously steps around the sleeping, suspended whelp and bows slightly towards Aristespha and Sebastian. "So, um, Yes. I have been informed by my manager that anything you... Two want is on the house today."

In the tentative silence and customers wandering back out to the patio, Aristespha happily points out something on the menu. "Thank you, so much. While I wait for the rest of my group to secure the whelp, I would very much love to sample your Briley Black tea."

----

Dusk dims the sun's orange-red light upon closing marketplace booths and people wander out of the park. Nearby in an open grass space, an emin girl, grath boy, and human girl run happily through the maintained fields, drawing colorful trails of magical energy from their wooden wands. The team stands around park benches at the perimeter of the marketplace. Sotalia scratches under Urivennotropalin's chin one last time. "Oh, I'll miss you."

The black scaled, horned whelp settles into the cradling arms of Lord Valentropen, head upon his shoulder. A small burp slips out, and Lord Valentropen gently pats the critter's back. Lady Valentropen shakes her head at a bloated, less gassy Viridian Forest Racer squirming in disgust of itself inside his cage. She sighs in disappointment and mutters a phrase in a dialect of evuukian. Stepping up, she glares down at the Sky Lancer shamefully lowering his head. She smiles warmly at the Golden Gale and Crimson Raider together in a larger cage, both defensive over a cloth nest of eggs. Lady Valentropen graciously bows to Cideeda and Dretphi. "Oh, thank you so much for being so thorough! I knew those two have been very sweet to each other, but I did not know their relationship was that far along."

Aristespha presents a few pieces of paperwork to Lord and Lady Valentropen. "I know this is your first time using the guild system, so I will be happy to guide you through the process to close out a quest upon completion."

Bach's attention drifts away, and he spots Brento and Kayleedi closing up their stage for the night. Casually wandering over, he spots the donation box and places some money inside. Brento and Kayleedi notice the gesture. Brento bows gentlemanly. "Thank you, kind sir."

Kayleedi happily bounces and smiles brightly. "Thank you. Since you're here, we are always looking to improve our shows. Do you have any suggestions?"

Bach thinks for a moment and smiles at both Brento and Kayleedi. "Ah, not really. I mean, it was really well done. But... there's one detail you might want to update..."

Brento and Kayleedi together lean in with furry ears perking intrigued. Bach keeps his smile and lifts his eyebrow in thought. "Noxian doesn't wear the mask anymore. It's a blue scarf now."

-34-

Within the side yard of the single story ranch style house, a faint breeze barely swings a steel plate target in the makeshift training field. Standing out in a clear, grassy area under the shade of a tree, Dretphi carefully lifts a long, broad, two-handed sword up. She readies herself, and performs a series of swings, cuts, and lunges. The drills play out slow, purposeful and allowing her body to experience the entire motion of the weapon. She mentally reviews every movement between the sword and herself, occasionally pausing thoughtfully with a misstep or adjustment. Many minutes pass, and she slows her training regime to a stop, lowering the blade down to rest down on the ground. Freeing a tense, stiff hand from the handle, she wipes the beading sweat off her tan forehead and leads blonde braids back past her ears and over her shoulders. She rolls her shoulders in a stretch, and leans her upper body out forward, back, and side to side, flexing herself free of workout tension. Gazing back down at the old two-handed sword, she rolls the blade. A beam of sunlight through the tree's shading canopy highlights the many nicks, scratches, chips, and dents across the old, inscribed metal. Underneath the scars of many battles, flashes of sun reflect out from the faint series of orderly, tiny grooves layered upon the blade.

A mixture of frustration and determination flushes Dretphi's face, and she tightens her grip upon the two-handed sword's handle with both hands. Hoisting it up, she points it out in front of her, angling upwards. Straightening her posture, she closes her steely gray eyes. With flits of contortions twisting her focused grimace, she stands still and silent, attention solely somewhere within herself. Seconds of body straining concentration later, a faint trickle of red glow flows within the many small channels upon the blade. The crimson energy travels from the handle up the blade, branching light up from the central pathways and pouring out on the dull edge of the battle-worn weapon. Dretphi breathes carefully, slowly, fully lifting and lowering her chest. The red magical energy graces the middle region of the sword, and progress wanes drastically. Years of untold damage upon the physical blade hinders the flows, often halting it completely at marred junctions. Dretphi strains her grimace, gritting her teeth, and curls her upper lip in sneering fits. Frustration pushes out in grumbles, and she winces sharply against new trickles of sweat. The magical flow stymies and deadlocks against the unyielding obstacles from age and battle. Her grip fluctuates between tensing and relaxing, the strain of effort clashing with the need for calm and focus. Bach's voice sounds out behind Dretphi, apologetically. "Hey! Um, Sorry for taking so long to get out here. Sotalia had a question-"

Cocking his head to the side, his tone down shifts to curiosity. "Uh... What are you doing?"

Springing her steely gray eyes wide open in surprise, Dretphi shudders away from her prior thoughts. Crashing back to awareness of her surroundings, her posture snaps rigidly straight, and the red flow upon the blade retreats back to the hilt. Wisps of stray energy vent from the edges of the sword, dissipating into a thin haze in the air. Within the awkward silence, Bach approaches cautiously, scrutinizing the blade carefully, and meets Dretphi's glance of fading surprise. "Is that a flow blade?"

Blinking off the hints of embarrassment lingering to her normal calm facade, Dretphi smiles slightly. "Oh. Yes. An old flow blade."

Bach steps closer to the side of the blade Dretphi holds up. Examining the weapon, a grin grows with his interest. "Wow! I didn't know you had one of these. Oh, man... It's been a while since I've seen one. I mean, the last time I remember seeing one, it was way back in school."

With excitement bolstering his smirk, he glances up to Dretphi. "And, the collection they had on display was locked, sealed, and guarded by some really humorless people. I've actually never been this close to one before."

Pride widens Dretphi's smile, and she loosens her grip on the handle, moving a hand to support the end of the blade. She presents it at level and shows off the sword. Bach inspects it with respectful restraint tempering eager intrigue, and Dretphi warms her smile. She rolls, rotates, and angles the sword following cues from Bach's attention. Seconds of investigation later, Bach nods and stands back with an impressed grin. "Now THAT is a pretty amazing thing to have. Just the way they are constructed and the materials used are so fascinating. THE example of a non-magical magical weapon."

Dretphi delightfully nods and gazes upon the battle scarred, two-handed sword. "It was my mother's first flow blade. Flow weapons are her favorites. Gifted this to me to practice with."

With a mischievous smirk, Bach lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at Dretphi. "Despite the wear and tear... I bet it still could do some serious damage when charged up."

He shifts his blue eyes over towards the thick steel metal targets off to the side, hanging and chained to supporting posts. "So... I mean... could you...?"

Eyeing the sword briefly, he glances expectantly to Dretphi with an encouraging grin. "If it's not too much to ask?"

Dretphi bites her lower lip, rests an embarrassed grimace upon the sword in her hand, and sighs sadly, pride faltering. "It... Is..."

Bach blinks blankly and awkwardly stumbles upon his thoughts into a sincerely apologetic tone. "Oh! Ah- Uh- Um... I'm sorry. I didn't know, and I apologize for bringing it up and-"

Dretphi secures her grip onto the sword, lowers it out of the way, and waves a hand at Bach, pausing his rambling. "NO. It is nothing bad. It is..."

With a self-reflective roll of her steely gray eyes, she groans out her frustration and wrestles with the words. "A personal... Deficiency... of Ability."

Spotting the cautious confusion upon Bach's face, she sighs into a weak smile facade, her tall stature shrinking slightly. "I have troubles flowing the blade."

Concern giving way, Bach nods and dons a supportive smile towards Dretphi. "OH! Okay. Huh. Yeah, hey, I actually might be able to help you there. I mean... If I'm not overstepping any boundaries or anything."

Dretphi perks up, eager, and reassuringly shakes her head. "You would not! I have not explored outside help before..."

A smirk cracks from the corner of Bach's mouth, and he lifts an examining brow. "Ah, proving something to yourself?"

Grumbling against her pride, Dretphi nods slowly, acknowledging the truth. Bach rocks his head sympathetically, shrugs his shoulders, and tugs at the corner of his mouth, glancing down at ground. "Yeah... I understand THAT. I may be able to help, but..."

Furrowing his brow, he grimaces awkwardly. "I, first, need to get an idea of how you actually use a flow blade."

He lifts his head back up and notices Dretphi presenting the sword handle first to him. with both hands, Bach carefully grabs hold of the two-handed sword and hoists up the mass of the blade. His body slightly teeters, sloppily finding some kind of balance, and Dretphi readies to catch him with a guarding hand. Bach tightly smiles, chuckles at himself, and steadies himself. Standing off to Bach's side, Dretphi demonstrates a proper stance for large sword wielding. Bach roughly mimics the posture and positioning of the arms. Dretphi quickly averts her gaze, forces a humored grin off her tan face, and observes Bach with a supportive, calm smile. Drawing in a long deep breath, Bach exhales slowly and closes his eyes. Moments pass in silence. A flow of red rises up the blade. Crimson energy branches throughout the tiny channels and ducts, and wicks out towards the edges of the blade. The magical energy reaches a quarter way up, the pace drags. The flow encounters different nicks, scratches, dents, and chips, each barrier visibly impeding. Bach furrows his brow, cocks his head to the side, and contorts his light tan face. Watching wide eyed, Dretphi sways between excitement and intrigue, and squints at the struggling threads of crimson light. The red flow retracts from the edges of the sword and retreats back down the finer pathways. After a minute, the flow returns back to the hilt, and Bach relaxes with a surprised flutter of his eyes. "Okay! Wow! That was NOT easy."

Pulling her head of platinum blonde braids back slightly, Dretphi blinks in honest shock. "YOU had DIFFICULTY?"

Bach nods, collecting his thoughts, and glances up toward Dretphi, eyeing the sword briefly. "OH GODS, yes! The wear and tear makes it tricky, but..."

He shakes his head and rolls the tension out of his shoulder. "DAMN. The channel material it has is NOT the easiest to get through. I mean, the resistance isn't the worst. BUT, the capacitance you have to overcome is SIGNIFICANT. It takes a lot of raw power to fill it up."

Loosening his grip of the sword, he shifts his hands, supports it by the flat of the blade, and offers it back to Dretphi. "Your mother certainly gave you a real challenge right there. I'm certain you can do it. But... Gods... That's like teaching someone to climb with a sheer a cliff face to start with."

A strong hand grips onto the handle of the sword, and Dretphi hoists the tip upwards and narrows her eyes at the upright blade briefly with a slight sneering frown. "That is a..."

Her steely gray eyes search her mind, she settles upon the specific term. "VERY... appropriate description of her teaching style."

Studying Dretphi's expression, Bach pivots slowly towards the open backyard field, surveys the forest line bordering, and cracks a smile. "Well, there's a few things that can be done."

He turns his head towards his shoulder at Dretphi and smirks genuinely impressed. "You've done a REALLY good on your own, especially with what you have been working with."

Dretphi blinks a moment, a hint of color in her cheeks. Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach ponders out loud. "But... I think the first thing to do is to get you something that's actually approachable to train on."

Furrowing her brow, Dretphi gazes over at Bach and rests the blade flat on her shoulder. "What would that be?"

Bach glances back with an eager grin. "Oh, just a larger version of the small magical training focuses. A staff of sorts. They're sort of like magic flow puzzles and training tools that a lot of mages have to keep in practice."

A spark of excitement lights up Dretphi's eyes, and genuine interest fills her voice. "Can you create a staff?"

Pointing over to the forest, Bach rocks his head side to side, deliberating. "Well, I figured while we are doing laps, we could swing by the forest and look around for large tree branches. Those usually work pretty good."

Dretphi tilts her head to the side, puzzling, and lifts an eyebrow with a thought. "Does it need to be a branch?"

Bach shrugs his shoulders with his arms out to the side. "Well, no. Not really. So long as you can lay down some basic magically conductive material in the object and embed a few little magical augmentations, it'll work the same. But... I thought it'd feel a bit more personal using something unique. I mean I could use the broom in the hall closet, for all practical purposes."

Seconds later, a suspiciously sly smirk creeps up on Dretphi, and she grows a small grin, biting her lower lip. "Curious. Would Sotalia USE the broom to clean up after herself then?"

Opening his mouth, Bach lifts a finger up in response. His thoughts stall out the words. Closing his lips tightly, he gradually wags his finger up and down with his thoughts and entertains a reserved smile. "That... Hmm... Now, I'm tempted to actually do that."

His blue eyes meet Dretphi steely gray eyes, and he lifts an eyebrow with a mischievous grin. "So... I'll test the process out on the broom first. It has been awhile since I've made one after all. I mean, I wouldn't want to accidentally waste any choice materials we find."

Dretphi dons a tight, guilty smile, nodding in agreement. She steps over to the trunk of the shade tree, sheaths her two-handed flow sword, and leans it securely against the trunk. She signals Bach, and the two start jogging laps around the large backyard field, moving closer to the forest tree line.

----

From the high ceiling roof, bright sunlight glows through the frosted skylights and mixes with the illumination from rows of light fixtures, spanning the lengths of the support framework above. Between large, open areas littered with stalls packed full of merchandise beneath distracting advertisements, wide aisles of products and goods upon shelves link the spaces. Near the front of huge windows of the structure, long row points of sale stations flicker with idle status lights and too few employees. Customers of all kinds wander through the massive grocery market. A constant ambient music wafts around the background from above and frames the din from shopping activity below. With one hand, Sotalia pushes a wire frame shopping cart in front of her and thumbs through a scrolling list on her aetherphone. "Okay. We are looking for a VERY PARTICULAR brand of ice cream for Aristespha. She has it in bold letters on the list."

Bach and Dretphi each peek over either side of Sotalia's shoulders and study the picture on the display, an ice cream carton with fanciful Evuukian writing on it. Bach squints briefly and nods, lacking full confidence. "Okay... I'll see if I can find something that looks like it. To be honest, I can't even read Evuukian letters that well."

Perking her brow, Dretphi studies the image on Sotalia's phone. "What flavor is it?"

Bringing the phone close to her golden eyes, Sotalia takes her hand momentarily off the shopping cart handle and brushes her dark red hair out of her view. "Let's see... Coffee, green and black tea, dark chocolate... Swirled in a rich cream..."

She tilts her head to the side and cracks a sly smirk. "You know, I might have to get a carton for myself."

She guides the shopping cart around a corner into a long aisle of glass door freezer units. Down the cool aisle, a variety of frozen treats flood the icy shelves, prominently showcasing their contents to prospective buyers, colorful packaging enticing passersby. Small signs upon boom mounts on top of the freezer units display advertising bullet points in different languages, bright stickers highlighting the many specials. Near the other end of the aisle, a grath family stands around their loaded shopping cart. The two grath women stoically observe the pleads of a young grath boy and girl. The raven haired grath woman shakes her firm stare between the two, uttering a few words in grath, and glances to the other grath woman. With a simple confirming nod, the other woman resolutely agrees, shaking a few strands of chestnut hair forward, and addresses each child with a similar dialect of grath. The young girl with flowing black hair and hazel eyes gazes pitifully up towards both women. The boy with light brown hair and the similar hazel eyes glances over to the girl, ponders quietly a moment, and very nicely asks, blatantly begging in tone. Both women exchange stern glances. The dark haired woman crosses her arms, and the other places her hands on her hips. Both level their maternal stares upon the children, simultaneously shake their heads, and voice clear denial. Sotalia snickers quietly, and Dretphi cracks a humored smirk. Searching for an answer between the two of them, Bach whispers to both. "So, what's going on over there?"

Rolling her golden eyes with an amused smile, Sotalia surveys the nearby frozen treats through the freezer windows. "Oh, the kids are trying really hard to get their moms to buy something."

With a tight smile, Dretphi shakes her head slightly and scans another frosty refrigeration unit. "The dangers of venturing close to this aisle."

A grath man, carrying arms full of grocery items, rounds the corner, walking up to the two women and two children. The two mothers stare expectantly towards the grath man. The boy and girl spin around and beam up with brilliant hope and anticipation. The man blinks his hazel eyes, carefully places the cooking supplies from his arms into the cart, and awkwardly surveys the situation before him. Wandering his gaze between the mothers and the children, he furrows his brow and quietly assesses. Both children unleash a spree of pleas and latch onto the man's legs. Dretphi briefly glances over and returns her attention towards searching the frozen shelves, sneaking a bite of the lip under her reserved smile. "Unfortunate timing."

The grath man gazes down, between the children. Lifting his head up, he checks the stern expressions upon the two grath women. Each perk inquisitive eyebrows in return. The raven haired woman resets her crossed arms, and the hazelnut haired woman sways her hips, placing weight on her other foot. The grath father reluctantly sighs, gradually kneels down, and places a hand on a shoulder of each child. He explains calmly, sharing his attention between both, and presents a simple question. Both children go silent, glance over to their mothers, and return with honest shakes of their heads. The father shrugs, elaborates further, and gives an acknowledging nod to the mothers. Both women agree with a similar gesture. Grimacing faintly, the grath man watches the children lower their heads sadly and ponders to himself, his hazel eyes searching. Holding up a thought with a finger, he winks to the two grath women behind the children. Sotalia perks an intrigued eyebrow with a curious smile and lowers her voice towards Dretphi and Bach. "Oh. I think dad has an idea."

The father gets the attention of the two children and proposes a solution. The children's minds ponder the proposal, and both exchange wary, uncertain gazes between not so secretive whispers. Both mothers forcefully flatten amused smirks and present stoic fronts watching the children reservedly pivot around. Each summoning up their young composure, the boy and girl both gaze up to their mothers. The boy warily asks, and the girl waits in anticipation. The two women dramatically mull the question over, dragging out the silent debate, and a sly glint appears in their eyes. The raven-haired woman loosens her arms, leans forward to both children, and aims a judging stare at both. Stating her demand, the children fight to hide their cringes. The chestnut haired woman nods in total agreement, wags a point over to the kids, and states her own request with a firm tone. The children quietly process the terms, deliberating the pact's worth against the costs during grimaces and sighs. Seconds later, both nod resolutely to each other and determinedly announce their acceptance. The parents gesture the children away, down the aisle. Rushing down in glee past a few freezers, the boy and girl nearly skid to stop and excitedly gawk at the selection of frozen treats. With the children debating their options, the grath mothers and father share stifled snickers and humored chuckles, whispering satisfied. Sotalia grits her teeth briefly in amusement and shuffles down the aisle, checking another freezer unit. "Hmm. I don't know. Cleaning up the yard would have been a deal breaker for me. Sounds like a lot of work for just one box."

Shrugging her shoulders, Dretphi opens a windowed door and reaches inside. "Depends on the yard."

She picks up a box of frozen fruit ice cream cups and shows it quietly to Sotalia, hints of guilty pleasure sneaking out on her tan face. With a glance, Sotalia shakes her head with a sly smile. "Well, I'm certainly not going to object."

Kneeling down, Bach levels his head towards a row of frozen products and squints at the selection. He gazes up towards Sotalia. "Okay, I think I found the brand over here. What did that box look like again?"

Sotalia steps over, squats down, and taps a long, black nail on the glass. "There it is."

Cracking a smile, she narrows her gaze at Bach. "We really need to teach you some basic Evuukian and a few other languages."

Dretphi eyes Bach with a lift of an eyebrow and neutral expression. "Grath would be useful."

The children finally cease their discussion, agree upon the one item, and retrieve it from the freezer. Hurrying over, they excitedly present their choice to their awaiting parents. The mothers and father inspect the item. All permit it into the cart and usher the children quickly away from aisle's cool influence. Bach stands up, stepping clear of the opening door, and Sotalia rummages for a carton inside. Walking back to the shopping cart with a sigh, he ambivalently shrugs. "I know I should learn more languages. BUT, you have to understand. I BARELY passed every language class I took..."

Averting his face away from Dretphi and Sotalia, he grits his teeth briefly. "And, I REALLY TRIED."

Bach glances over his shoulder towards the departing grath family clearing out of view and returns his attention back to Sotalia and Dretphi. "I mean, the most I ever retained was bits and pieces of history and culture. Even then, there's still things I don't quite know. For example, is there any standard structure with Grath family houses? I never found anything official."

Dretphi eases a few stray platinum blonde braids over her shoulder and pulls her mouth to a side with a slow shake of the head. "Many tried to implement structure in early practice. No structure was agreed upon. No official structure since."

Watching Sotalia place the evuukian labeled carton of ice cream into the cart, Bach quizzically gazes over to Dretphi. "So, pretty much whatever the members of that house decide?"

Dretphi nods with a slight smile. "Houses are for flexibility. My house, Veranattin, formed between my birth mother. My birth father. My two house fathers. They served together in the military. Adventured for years. Never felt good about separating."

Sotalia grips onto the handle bar of the cart and pushes it forward down the aisle. "I always thought that was a really nice reason to stay together. You share your lives for that long and gone through so much, why stop?"

A vague twist of Dretphi's mouth that settles into a small, awkward grin, and she rolls her steely gray eyes and sighs out tinges of sarcasm. "My mother thought my house fathers would starve to death without clean clothes if they did not continue together."

Noticing Bach's blinks of thought, she tilts her head to the side and gradually shrugs the shoulders. "They concurred. A doctor. An engineer. Both intelligent, excellent fathers..."

She furrows her brow and grimaces upon the choice of words. "Unfortunately... Both require domestic guidance?"

Sotalia snorts with a smirk as she scrolls through a list mixed with pictures on her aetherphone. "Given the stories I've heard from you, that's a really nice way to put it."

Bach pulls a corner smile and quirks his brow at Dretphi. "Yeah, I remember you telling about how you nearly stabbed your house father with a sword, because he didn't listen to your birth father's warning to get back from the training area."

Dretphi sighs out some stale embarrassment and trails to a grumble. She grimaces, closing her eyes. "Such traits have presented themselves in my two brothers. Occasionally. Thankfully."

The shopping cart rolls out into one of the wide, main walkways, perpendicular to the aisle, and Sotalia turns to the right. Spotting an item on the phone list, she shows the screen to Dretphi. "I think that might be on the other side of the market."

Dretphi squints her eyes briefly and pivots around, facing down the long run, and scans the aisle signs ahead. "Believe that is correct. Want to check the vendors in the market. See which ingredients I can get fresh."

Gazing between Bach and Sotalia, she rests her hands on her hips. "Meet up near the checkout?"

Sotalia nods and drives the cart forward with a spark of determination. "Sounds good, girl. We'll try to finish the rest up quick."

With a brief wave, Dretphi departs, her pace hinting excitement. Watching Dretphi move quickly away, Bach realizes the growing distance between himself and the shopping cart and speeds over to keep up with Sotalia.

----

In the main walkway of the large grocery store, Deedri walks next to Tassilda pushing the shopping cart. She checks over the contents and idly bites a claw tip in thought, nodding slowly. "I think that's almost everything. I think a few cans of different vegetables is all that's left on the list."

Sliding her auburn eyes over towards Tassilda, her furry, tufted ears droop slightly. "And... Well, the things that Veevi wanted."

Tassilda removes her stare slowly from an advertisement display and indirectly glares towards Deedri, narrowing her light blue on black eyes and furrowing her brow incredulously. Sighing with the hint of a growl, she remains facing forward, pushing the shopping cart along. "If THAT miserable wretch of a creature wanted her pastries and sweets, she could have been dropped off with us. Instead, she's going with Chad on some errand he failed to tell us about."

She quirks her brow and flicks her eyes over to Deedri with a snide smirk framing her commentary. "If I had my guess, it would be the great quest to find the trashiest alley to explore themselves in. Her native environment, something that is most comfortable for her."

Deedri tries in vain to maintain a respectful smile. It quickly crumbles to an awkward smirk. A long sigh escapes her lungs, and she faces forward, averting her eyes away momentarily. "Well, I still think we should get what she requested. Maybe she'll be more cooperative... with a good faith... gesture?"

Catching a glimpse of the unmoved expression upon Tassilda, Deedri's tuft-tipped ears droop to the sides of her shoulders, and she stares ahead in defeat. "Oh well. I guess it's for the best then. She asked for a lot of really sugary and fat heavy things. Even if they are the light and diet versions, I don't think it really makes that much of a difference. Especially, when you eat so many of them."

Flicking up her gray brow in mild surprise, Tassilda's interest piques sharply, and a devious grin creeps out from the corner of her mouth. "REALLY? Well, in THAT case, I think a bit of goodwill MAY actually be in order. I wonder how the packaging differs between the regular versions and light versions? They may be labeled ambiguously. Mix ups do happen."

Lifting her head up, she reads an overhead sign and turns the shopping cart down the next aisle. She snaps her full attention upon the nearby shelves of canned goods. "Okay. What exactly did we need down this row, again?"

Stepping into the mouth of the aisle from the main walkway, Deedri watches Tassilda kneel down, examining an tall array of large, stacked cans. Flicking her fluffy tail, she wanders her idle stare down the aisle, searching all the way towards the other end of the shelving row. "Um, a few cans of carrots, corn, peas, and-"

Sentence trailing off, her auburn eyes spring wide open, jaw drops, and tail fur frays out. Blinking in surprise, Bach momentarily grits his teeth, locating Deedri at the opposing end of the aisle. He notices a pair of familiar, swirling horns cresting above the top handle of the loaded shopping cart, recognizes the emin woman behind attached to those horns. Bach and Deedri exchange awkward nervous stares. Unaware of her distant surroundings, Sotalia's attention remains upon a selection of canned vegetables next to her entrance of the aisle. Bach cringes towards Sotalia, and Deedri grimaces towards Tassilda. Both search frantically for a solution, silently exchanging tense, uneasy glances. Eyes dart around, and heads search the area, disaster looming and counting down.

Blinking when a thought hits the front of his mind, Bach points to Sotalia, swings a finger point out behind him, and nods with a thumbs up. Deedri shortly rocks her head affirmatively. Gesturing towards the cart, she pantomimes moving it with her hands and waves a hand in front of her eyes, tilting her head down to Tassilda. Bach quietly raises two thumbs up and focuses upon Sotalia. Deedri watches Tassilda cautiously, sliding around to the front shopping cart. Gently gripping the front lip of the cart's large, wire-frame basket, she slowly maneuvers the end and further obscures the crouched Tassilda from view. With a final inspection, Deedri positions herself and blocks line of sight, facing away from the distant end of the aisle. Bach steps out into the wide, perpendicular walkway, desperately searching the area. A hope of relief sparks in his face, and he spots Dretphi a number of aisles away contentedly carrying a few wrapped bundles. He aims his voice at Sotalia with a faint veneer of concern coloring his tone. "Oh, hey! It's Dretphi. Huh. Oh, I think she's trying to wave us to come over."

Lifting her head away from the product filled shelf, Sotalia spins herself around and walks out into the wide pathway. Finding Dretphi walking along, she chuckles to herself. "Well, looks like she found plenty. We better get the cart over to her, arms are looking full."

Bach weaves around Sotalia, firmly grasps hold of the cart, and motions Sotalia politely in the direction of Dretphi. "Well, after you. I'll push the cart for bit."

A sly smile graces Sotalia, and she graciously accepts the gesture with a small bow. Strolling forward out in lead towards Dretphi, she draws her dark red hair over her swept back horns and fans it back past her shoulders, a hip sway in each step. Bach turns his head down the aisle and directs a louder whisper towards Deedri. "Thank you."

Deedri's tufted ears flick back forward, and she hoists her hand up over her shoulder, revealing a thumbs up. She watches over Tassilda, blocking line of sight. Sotalia's playfully mocking voice calls out from the distance to Bach. "Well? Do you need my help to push it along? Hurry up."

Snapping his head forward, Bach shoves the shopping cart into motion. With the wheels coasting along, he fishes his aetherphone out of his pants pocket and struggles through menus. After a few seconds, he manages to stumble out a message and sends it. Glancing down at her shorts pocket, Dretphi balances her load of packages upon a single arm effortlessly and works her aetherphone out into view. Her steely gray eyes widen briefly, and she swiftly returns her phone to her pocket. With a smile, she locates Sotalia and waves happily at both Bach and Sotalia.

Deedri glances over her shoulder, gradually guiding the cart back into its original position. Mere moments later, Tassilda stands up with a few cans of vegetables in her hands. Grasping onto the cart handle, she pushes forward and spots mixed vegetables at the other end of the aisle. "Gods. I have never understood the logic behind how they arrange stock in these places. They must scatter everything on purpose to keep you in here for as long as possible."

Following along the side of Tassilda, Deedri eases out a long, quiet exhale of relief.

----

The garage door on the ranch style house rattles into motion and parts away from the concrete slab. The large, wide sections of the door follow along the tracks on both sides of the frame, hinging at the crest of the track. Outdoor light spreads throughout the garage, shining upon the common household cleaners and domestic tools upon shelves lining the wall. The daylight glow reflects off the dull, worn metal housing of the large plasma particle cannon and the scarred barrels of the minigun resting upon the long workbench. From each weapon, partially disassembled robotic mountings and electronic connections lay out on the wooden tabletop. In the corner of the garage, a golden magical energy barrier with rough edges faintly shimmers.

Bach kneels down and inspects the engine of his sidecar motorcycle, wiping dust and light dirt off with a rag. With a satisfied nod, he stands back up and admires the machine before him. Brushing off his armored duster, he adjusts his vest and settles his feet in his plated boots. With an eager grin, he eyes the helmet upon the motorcycle seat. Sebastian's ethereal form phases through the kitchen door, and he searches the area quickly. Snapping his gaze to Bach, he coasts over to his brother's side. "Hey, bro! What are you getting into?"

Bach glances over to this brother and shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh. Uh... I thought about riding around the back roads in the area. It seemed like a nice day to do it, and Aristespha didn't seem to have much for me to do today training wise."

Rolling his eyes towards the motorcycle with a chuckle, he shakes his head. "And honestly, brother, I'm curious if the thing is riding right. Haven't had a chance really to check it over in the last two months."

Sebastian nods in thought and drifts his attention inwards. Craning his head around to Sebastian, Bach reads his brother's mannerisms and puzzles during the wait. Sebastian's focus returns, and he meets the expectant gaze from Bach with a hopeful smirk. "You know... That gives me an idea! Bro, I need a favor from you."

Bach slowly nods his head and narrows his eyes, pulling a corner of his mouth along with the hesitant inflection in his tone. "Okay... What ever would THAT be?"

A pleading tinge colors Sebastian's ethereal sigh. "Would you let Aristespha ride along when you go out?"

Many confused blinks later, Bach cocks his head to the side and nods simply, confusion furrowing his brow. "Uh... Sure? I mean, I've got no problems with that. It's not going to be exciting or anything. Really. I'm just driving by scenery to the fuel station and taking the long way back I mapped out. Whole lot of nothing."

Sebastian smiles wide and bows his head forward in relief. "PERFECT. That's what she needs right now. Just something to take her away from her own thoughts for an hour or two would be perfect. Really, bro."

Squinting at Sebastian, Bach scours his brother's expression for more information. Sebastian frowns, tugging the corner of his mouth, and sighs to an explanation. "Okay. Listen. She’s been obsessing over the whole Noxian, Orth Ridge, and Grand Library situation the last few days. Normally, she's really good about pacing herself with heavy stuff, but... THIS... This stuff hit a bit too close to home for her."

Hints of frustration snarls Bach's upper lip, and he grumbles with vague sympathy. "Plus our... Neighbors... haven't exactly made themselves easy to ignore."

With a long groan, Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes and rubs his ethereal forehead with his hand. "No shit, bro. I've gotten pretty good at understanding evuukian, but there were things said on that phone call to the guild office that I don't think I have the capacity to fully understand."

Donning an agreeable smile, Bach motions towards the door leading to the kitchen. "Well, you should probably check with her to see if she even wants to go."

A sly grin parts Sebastian's mouth, and he floats back towards the exit. "Oh, I can convince her, bro. I have my ways."

Sebastian phases through the kitchen door into the house, and Bach searches around his mind for the context. Giving up on the venture, he shrugs and pivots towards the sidecar motorcycle. Stepping around the vehicle, he leans over, reaches inside the sidecar, and rummages around. Reaching up to the very front, he grabs hold of an object and pulls his arm out, revealing another helmet. He carefully inspects the riding helm, checks the straps, and quells some embarrassment, brushing off a layer of dust from the outer shell. A few minutes later, the door to the garage opens and an unamused, casually clothed Aristespha exits from the kitchen, moving down the few steps to the garage floor. Sebastian hovers close to her side, and she flashes a sharply narrowed glare at him. Sebastian weathers the visual onslaught firm and stern. The couple stares in deadlock for over a minute. Aristespha closes her violet eyes, sighs deeply, and softens her apparent mood drastically. "Okay... I agree, Sebastian. Maybe a distraction would help."

Sebastian smiles lovingly to Aristespha and shrugs nonchalantly. "You know Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia will keep the sword safe."

Leaning close, he squints with a hint of accusation. "And TURN OFF your phone, dear. Otherwise, you'll just obsess over stuff through it. We'll call Bach if we need to call you."

Tensing her shoulders, Aristespha flicks up a brief snarl. Drawing out her phone from her pants pocket, she exhales her irritation, holding down the power button. The device shuts down, and she nods in agreement. "Fine. I promise I will not turn it on before I get back, dear."

Granting a single proud nod, Sebastian motions towards an awaiting Bach. Aristespha follows the gesture and gazes upon the riding helmet resting upon Bach's hands. Bach smiles with blatant uncertainty. "Honestly, I got this helmet in hopes that someone else would ride with me someday... A long time ago. I mean, it should still be good."

He turns the riding helm over and inspects the interior. "And, I think it might have ear adjustments, but I'm not sure. Uh... BUT, I might be able to-"

A genuine smile graces Aristespha's ivory face, watching Bach ramble through a feasible process to accommodate her. Glancing over to Sebastian with a humored grin, she returns her attention to Bach. "I am certain it will work fine for me."

Bach blinks back to awareness, puzzling. Guiding her fingers through her long, silvery blue hair, Aristespha splits the strands into a bundle over each shoulder, lifts up both around the front of each ear, and carefully envelops the long tips in a protective, concealing layer of silvery blue. A quick, loose braid secures the fashion. Aristespha picks up the helmet, adjusts the straps, and slides it on without trouble. She gracefully walks over to the vehicle and hops into the sidecar. "Well? I'm ready."

----

Late afternoon light casts modest shadows from the trees arching over the paved two lane road. The rolling green hills smoothly pen in the vast stretches of farmland upon flatter fields, and the creeks in rocky beds break up the landscape monotony. Bach casually guides the motorcycle along the gentle curves and long inclines. He cruises through the shaded tunnels of spring canopy, rolls carefully over old bridges crossing peaceful rivers, and slows through the sparse, nearly forgotten intersections. Along the winding route, Aristespha's gaze occasionally fixates upon something of interest. Noticing the shift in weight, Bach gradually slows the pace and eases the vehicle closer to that side of the lane. Through the vacant unmarked roads, both take turns pointing out old architecture, random animals, and other curious sightings along the way. The shadows grow longer, the sun edging closer to the horizon.

Upon a long, straight stretch of road, Aristespha firmly pats Bach's side and directs his attention out to a section of the roadway shoulder. Signaling Bach to stop, she points out a location ahead, across from the target. Bach nods, eases off the throttle, and brakes to a halt, parking the motorcycle on the shoulder. The engine shuts off, and Bach peers out into the forest on the other side of the road. "Okay. So, what are we stopping for?"

Aristespha twists around and hoists herself up in the sidecar, and scans the area. "I thought I saw a protellow over in this-"

Her violet eyes spring open, and she smirks eagerly. "There it is!"

She excitedly circles her finger out towards the massive fallen plant stalk laying in the woods. "Sotalia mentioned the girl at the reagent shop had heard about protellows in the area. I think it was something about one falling on a car?"

Bach briefly squints into the distance, lifts his visor up, and scours through the layers of forest. "Huh. I think there's a few more in there. But, I can't quite make them out from here."

Settling back into her seat, Aristespha glances down over the side, and spots a partially eaten protellow seed in the mix of road grit. Sweeping her arm down, she quickly snatches it off the rock speckled dirt and holds it up for inspection. An eager grin grows across her face, and she pulls out her aetherphone from her pants pocket. She glances at the lifeless screen of the phone, lowers her finger to the power button, and freezes abruptly. With a careful exhale, she reminds herself under her breath, places the phone back in her pocket, and humbly requests. "Could you check where we are? There are probably more protellows in the area that we can look for. I would love to make note of this place."

Pulling his attention away from the treeline, Bach pulls his aetherphone out. He taps though menus and a map loads up on the screen. "Okay... It's still narrowing the fix. Let's see. We took that turn… And have passed that one access road, but haven't made our next right. Huh, close to the house, actually."

Aristespha's interest piques, and she lifts her head up, peeking up at Bach's phone. "Really? Let me see."

A flash of horror splashes over Bach's face, and memory recognizes an important detail of the area. His blue eyes focus upon a particular point on the map, the very existence dictating the next right on the charted route. "U-um- I'll mark it on the map for you. It's, uh, going to be dark soon, and we should really get going-"

Suspicion drives Aristespha, and she hoists herself up from the sidecar. From a better viewing angle of Bach's phone, her violet eyes immediately notice the route back and the unusual semicircle detour. She gradually lowers herself back into her seat and points ahead with a stern stare to Bach. "YES. It will be dark soon. Hence, we should take the most direct route home. We should skip the right turn."

Moments of uneasy pondering later, a mix of curiosity and hesitance guides Bach's nod once, staring blankly ahead. He flips a handlebar mounted switch on, drops his foot hard on the kick starter, and hits the throttle. The engine rumbles to life. Holding a finger up to Aristespha, his eyes glow blue. He lowers both his hands down each side of the motorcycle just above exhaust. Flows of blue energy spill over the exhaust piping and radiate up the muffler and manifold. The constant putter of combustion disappears from the surrounding din, allowing natural ambience to reign once more. Aristespha smiles intrigued and curiously eyes up Bach. Sighing amused with a shake of the head, Bach grasps hold of the handlebars again. "I'll just say... THAT spell exists because of my brother."

The motorcycle shifts into gear and rolls up to speed. Minutes later, the vehicle crests over a small hill, and a particular two-story house appears into view, down the street. Aristespha's eyes flicker violet, and she leans forward, meticulously scanning the yard in front of the house. A devious grin creeps ear to ear, and an evil glint sparkles in her eyes. Turning her head slightly, she directs her voice to Bach. "Stop in front of the driveway behind the black SUV. There is something I have to do."

Bach grumbles uneasily and drives the stealthy sidecar cycle closer to the two-story house. "Oh, gods dammit..."

Eyes flashing violet, Aristespha gestures out an incantation swiftly and weaves flows of magic together between her hands. Coasting the motorcycle near silently to target, Bach glances over to Aristespha. "Okay... What's the next part of the plan-"

Blinking in surprise, he leans over closer to Aristespha. "The fuck is that?!"

He gawks bewildered at the four centimeter diameter, swirling rainbow colored orb cradled in Aristespha's palm. A blue flash fills Bach's eyes, and he studies the magical ball. Aristespha proceeds with the next few gestures and incantations. Finishing off the last part, Aristespha swiftly scouts the vicinity. Launching out of the sidecar, she rushes up to the back of the black sports utility vehicle and carefully pokes the rainbow orb up a tailpipe. Checking for activity from the house, she bolts away, jumps back into her sidecar seat, and throws her arm forward. "GO!"

Gritting his teeth, Bach cranks the throttle hard and steers the lurching motorcycle down the street. Some distance later, he calls out. "Okay! What the fuck was that spell?!"

Along a straight stretch of road, he glances over long enough to narrow his eyes at Aristespha. "And, what the fuck was I just an accessory to?!"

With a sinister grin, Aristespha eases back into the sidecar seat and relaxes, waving reassuring to Bach. "OH. Don't worry. It doesn't damage anything."

Bach groans loudly and furrows his irritated brow. "Well! That's a good start. So, what does it do?"

A sinister chuckle escapes Aristespha, and she shakes her head, smirking. "Oh, you will see. We might get lucky, and see it on tomorrow night's episode! This is one of my favorites from Nash."

This fails to dismiss the unease within Bach.

-35-

Standing under the covered porch of the two story house, Deedri, Modoran, Trakenthin, and Tassilda idle and half heartedly observe. One small camera crew maintains a distance off to the side, capturing the group waiting on the wooden deck. A young fvalian man steadies a camera on his other shoulder with a shrug, and a young fvalian woman glances over with a smile on her face, adjusting levels on an audio recorder. With an amused eye roll, the older man behind and between the two aims a shotgun mic overhead on boom towards the porch area. Under the attention of the cameras, Deedri presents a cheery exterior, occasionally wavering. With hands in his pockets, Modoran leans upon the house front nonchalantly and eases a bored sigh out. Trakenthin crosses his muscular arms and stoically stares out, traces of irritation twitching his eye. Placing her hands firmly on her hips, Tassilda glares out a beam of contempt to targets in front of her. She mumbles, barely audible to the rest of the nearby team. "I do NOT like the feeling I'm getting about this."

Out in the front yard, the majority of the swarming recording crews position themselves around Chad and Veevi. Walking confidently towards the black, dented sports utility vehicle, Chad steps around the front on the driver's side and flashes a bright, signature smile at a camera with a smug flit of the brow. Veevi energetically skips over to the passenger's side of the vehicle, excitedly bouncing her long, pink hair across her tight fitting shirt. Opening the large door, she sneaks a playful wink at the nearest camera and guides the short haired tail poking out of her skin tight shorts into her hands. Hopping up into the seat, she plops down and lands with a prominent shake of the body. Settling into the driver's seat, Chad closes his door, places his keys into the ignition, and grants the rest of the awaiting team a simple acknowledging wave. Deedri and Modoran return the gesture, similar effort given. Trakenthin and Tassilda stare unmoved, leveling vague disapproval back at Chad across the yard. Veevi closes her door, and Chad starts the engine. Chad and Veevi strike up a conversation within the confines of the cab, recording crews shifting focus through the windows. Moments later, attention from all outside gradually wander towards the back of the black sports utility vehicle. Flicking her furry, tufted ears away, Deedri blinks her auburn eyes in surprise and squints curiously. "Um, does anyone else see that strange-"

With sinister amusement, Tassilda light blue on black eyes spring open, and a short, wicked grin cracks on her gray face. "I DO. Is THAT... YOUR handiwork?"

Snapping her glance over towards Tassilda, Deedri quickly shakes her head of tied back multicolor hair in wide eyed shock. "What?! OH! NO! Of course not!"

A smirk creeps from the corner of Trakenthin's mouth, and he scrutinizes Deedri expectantly. "If it is yours... Claim it."

Defiant embarrassment wells up on Deedri's fair face, and she grits her sharp teeth defensively. "I would NOT do such a thing!"

Furrowing her brow, she glances between the assembled team on the covered porch dismissively. "I wouldn't have had time anyway. I've been busy making potions and other supplies."

Deedri crosses her arms upon her apron and straightens her posture, projecting her resolve. Modoran snorts out a few fits of laughter, and his cool exterior cracks at the sight of Deedri next to him. "It's okay. I believe you. Truth be told, something like this would actually be my thing."

Tilting his head in thought, he twists on smirk on his dusky, bluish gray face. "But... I've been too busy myself."

Underneath the sports utility vehicle, a thick, glowing mist billows out from around the wheels and clouds the baseboards, forming a surrounding fluctuating rainbow mass. Just above the natural background noise, a strange, high pitch rattle replaces the anticipated low engine rumble. Chad checks his mirrors, shifts the vehicle into gear, and turns his head towards the back window. The large machine rolls back out of the driveway. The rainbow haze stirs up into the draft and blows up above the hood, swirling in the currents. Tilting her head to the side, Veevi blinks dumbfounded and stares bewildered at the strange colorful vapors coasting the breeze. Briefly shifting her pink pupil eyes Chad, she ponders a moment and remains silent, returning her stare to the fading mists. Tassilda covers her mouth around an escaping ill-humored snicker. "OH. Chad doesn't realize what's happening yet. This is TOO good."

Surrounding camera crews refocus their equipment on the billowing colors flowing out from the vehicle, the prismatic trailing dissipating quickly. Backing up fully onto the street, Chad swings his head around and pauses upon Veevi's awkward forward facing silence. Glancing over with an eager smile, Veevi flutters her eyes, squirming in her seat. "Well, let's go! I can't wait to get it!"

With a charming smile, Chad nods, returns his attention forward, and accelerates the black sports utility vehicle. Outside the cab, a sharp, shrill squeal replaces the exhaust rumble of the large engine, and a stream of rainbow clouds blast out into the draft of the speeding machine. Seconds later, a van with the "Next Adventurers of Nexus" logo follows behind, the drivers and passengers visibly laughing and pointing. In the moment free of crew attention, Modoran breaks out cackling, steps around gasping for breath, and supports his doubled over, hands on his knees. Trakenthin stifles a series of sharp snorts, his sheer amusement fighting for freedom from the stoic facade. Deedri tightly pins down an ear to ear awkward smile and firmly presses her crossed arms down upon her side, hiding her shaking giggles. Tassilda shines forth a devious grin, holds her long nailed hand in front of her mouth, and dramatically laughs, posing prominently with her other hand on a hip. With jaw agape, Samantha blinks and slowly rotates her face away from the concealment of her clipboard. She eyes the resolute Gerald, lowering his camera down in astonishment, and aims a whisper to him. "I know it's Friday, and the production teams are getting ready for the live reveal tonight... But..."

Gazing at Samantha with a wide grin, Gerald nods calmly in agreement. "Yes. I think Howard will approve a rush process of this footage for a choice clip tonight."

----

Inside the confines of the living space of the ranch style house, the wall mounted television plays back clips of a rainbow cloud trailing sports utility vehicle. Leaning forward from her side of the couch, Sotalia snickers and points towards the television. "Oh, it HAS to be Deedri. SHE did it."

Cideeda bites on a claw tip and flicks a furry ear, pondering with uncertain hums under her breath. "I don't know... She's always seemed genuinely nice, in general. To, well, everyone. Even Veevi."

Sotalia sinks back into the cushions clogging the corner of the couch, levels her confident gaze to Cideeda, and grins. "I'll agree, she is nice."

Lifting up an accusing eyebrow, she playfully chuckles. "But, THAT doesn't mean she can't get even. In fact, it'd be the perfect cover for her to do ANYTHING. No one would seriously expect her. Girl totally did it."

Weighing the possibilities between slow tilts of her head between either shoulder, Cideeda eventually shrugs it off with a satisfied smile towards Sotalia. "I still don't think she's behind it... But, if she did..."

With a flicker of evil in her emerald green eyes, she flashes a toothy grin. "I fully support her decision."

With a slow nod in agreement, Sotalia stretches her legs out, rests her feet on top of the coffee table, and folds her arms behind her head. "Always a rookie mistake to push the nice, quiet ones too far."

Across the room at the dining table, Bach lifts his head up from the project upon the tabletop, blinks confusedly a few times, and pivots an incredulous stare towards Sotalia. Hoisting a brow sharply up, he glares at her momentarily. Sotalia watches the next bits of show, oblivious of the attention. Rolling his blue eyes away with a twist at the corner of his mouth, he drifts his gaze at Aristespha. Fingertips drums against opposing hands, and Aristespha smugly settles into the recliner chair, deeper underneath a blanket cover, concealing the devious glee on her face behind her hands. Bach draws a deep breath, sighs, and returns his focus to a number of small sticks resting on the tabletop. He glances up and watches Dretphi meticulously carve out grooves into a broom handle, using a small chisel bit from a nearby set of woodworking tools. Guiding the fine blade edge, she follows inked paths in rigid, exacting precision. Inspecting Dretphi's work, Bach smiles approvingly. "That's looking really good. Once you finish that pattern, we'll do some basic flow inking. After that, you can start working on your actual staff."

Dretphi pulls a slight smile and turns her head to glance at the large, trimmed, debarked branch resting against the wall in the room corner near the dining table. "I want to practice further. Apply my best effort."

She shrugs her shoulders and focuses back on the task before her. "The branch needs to dry first."

Bach examines the large piece of wood, nods, and picks up one of the small sticks in front of him. "Understood. That was a nice find. Even the branches you cut off are good enough to make some nice practice focuses from. You can try carving one of these and practice flow inking it, too."

His eyes dimly glow blue and faint flickers of magical energy swirl around the piece of wood in his hand. Purposeful patterns draw out a few millimeters from the surface and encircle the stick completely, sparing small space at the base. Over the seconds, intricate designs shrink onto the surface, pressing tightly into the material. With a few faint sparkles, the work fades from view, and Bach's eyes return to normal. Exerting a little effort, he focuses upon the wooden stick, and the previous patterns light up, the very tip glowing out a hazy trail of magical illumination. He doodles out a few shapes and letters in the air, waits for them to fade away, and places the finished practice wand off towards the table corner. Pausing a moment, Bach lifts his head up and catches Sotalia staring over from the couch. "What?"

Sotalia rests her head upon her propped arm, cracks a sly grin, and averts her golden eyes away, pseudo innocently. "Oh... Nothing... But..."

Her eager smile widens. "If you are making another batch of those, my nieces and nephews were quite happy with the last set. So, if you got a few other effects, they would love them."

Bach briefly narrows his eyes upon Sotalia and perks an inquisitive eyebrow. "You do know you can make these yourself, right? I'm not doing anything that special."

Sotalia lifts her head off her hand, brushes some dark red hair over a horn, and winks playfully with a smile. "Yes. Of course. But, who am I to deprive you of your fun?"

With a long sigh and shrug, Bach surveys the remaining stock of wooden sticks, tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Right. Of course."

The television blares out a new jingle of music and displays some flashy graphics. The screen cuts to a shot of the Flames of the Phoenix group sitting around a table.

"Now, we bring you live inside the dining room to witness a major announcement from Chad Bosch, leader of the Flames of the Phoenix."

The voice over seizes the attention of Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia, and the team wait in expectant quiet. The scene focuses upon Chad. Standing tall at the head of the table, he overlooks Tassilda, Trakenthin, Modoran, Deedri, and Veevi. "I'm sure you've all been wondering what errands I've been running with Veevi."

Tassilda crosses her arms, Trakenthin narrows hazel eyes at Chad with a flit of a snarl, Modoran simply quirks an unamused eyebrow, and Deedri vainly maintains a calm demeanor against the awkward attentions of Veevi. Chad presents his signature, heroically bright, white smile and chuckles out loud. "Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer."

He nods to Veevi with a slight bow. "Veevi, if you'd please."

Veevi excitedly springs up from her seat, reaches into her short shorts front pocket, and pulls out a rectangular card. With dramatic fanfare and an exaggerated pose, she presents the guild identification card, waving it across the table, and winks to the camera. "Say hello to Veevi Valiant! Official Intern of The Flames of the Phoenix!"

A fvalian swear sputters out through Deedri's lips, and she quickly seals them tight under the pressure of her hand. Blinking bewildered at the announcement, Modoran eyes Deedri in guarded amusement. Trying to resume a cordial exterior, Deedri forces the facade of an innocent smile upon her fair face, posture rigid in her seat. Trakenthin grumbles to himself, retrieves his aetherphone, and taps up a paused game, letting it absorb his attention. Glowering up at Chad, Tassilda's smile fails in disguising her gritting teeth, her ire visibly radiating outwards. Veevi grins brightly against the emotional contrast of the surrounding team and flashes a seductive perk of the brow to Chad. Narrowing her pink pupil eyes, she purposefully reflects the overhead room light off the card's plastic coating into Tassilda eyes. A low growl vents through Tassilda's sneer, and she swipes her hand out at the card. "GODS! Let me SEE that fraudulent mockery! There is NO way the guild would authorize you to be a rest stop janitor, much less an intern!"

Snapping back her hand, Veevi sidesteps swiftly behind Chad with mocking fright. Tassilda tries to slide back her seat, glancing to both her sides when efforts fail. She discovers Trakenthin's foot hooked behind the front leg of the chair. She glares intensely at Trakenthin and harshly whispers. "Do you mind?"

Keeping his visible attention upon the game on his phone, Trakenthin directs a quiet, firm response back to Tassilda. "Stay seated. No victory to be had here."

Tassilda draws a loud breath through her nose and contorts out the frustration on her gray face. Releasing a long, irritated sigh, she awkwardly wrestles her expression back to a reserved, unamused state. Her short haired tail flicking, Veevi slinks back into her chair and leans well over into Deedri's personal space. One hand firmly grips Deedri's chair back, and the other shows off the card to a wary Deedri. Chad hems loudly, seeking the team's attention, and addresses the group. "I think that actually went quite well. Now, another order of business..."

Narrowing his eyes with a stern frown, he slowly sways an accusatory stare across the group at the dining table. "Who the hell put THAT spell on the SUV?"

The conversation abruptly noses dives into a furious blame game, the camera shot retracting to a wide angle upon the television screen. In the chaos of the arguments and accusations, the show transitions to other highlights of the week clips. A sinister grin creeps out upon Aristespha ivory face from the blue and gray hints at the edges. She squirms delightfully into the cushions of the recliner, a faint giggle hidden beneath the audio from the television. Hovering near, Sebastian blinks to awareness and glances over to Aristespha. He maintains a long quizzical stare upon Aristespha. Noticing the suspicion upon her, Aristespha presents a neutral front, and the two engage in a quick conversation of eyes and emotes. Aristespha sighs in vague defeat and waves off Sebastian's scrutiny. "I will tell you later, Sebastian."

Drifting his gaze back towards the antics on the television screen, Sebastian curls a curious smirk. "Okay, dear."

----

Middle of the night illumination from the moon and stars casts through the sliding glass door into the living room. Hazy reflections of the night sky glimmer in the finish of the coffee table. A dark blue hue radiates out into the room upon the walls and furnishings, contrasting the few specs of light from appliances and electronics. Light, clicking steps sound out from the hallway, and Cideeda wanders through the archway, stretching out a yawn. Rubbing her eyes, she walks around in a hazy consciousness, her long, fluffy tail swaying lazily from underneath her long, large nightshirt. She rounds the dining table, plods forward into part of the kitchen prep area, and stops in front of the refrigerator. Firmly closing her eyes, she averts her head away from the flood of light from the fridge door opening up. Reaching inside, her clawed fingers rummage around and feel out the various items inside fruitlessly. She carefully cracks open her eyelids enough, and her emerald eyes spot the target. Swiftly she removes the branded yogurt fruit cup clear of the bright box, and lets the door seal off the light. Moments later, Cideeda blinks open her eyes, inspects the package, and circles a claw tip around, slicing the foil lid off. Lifting the lid off by her claw tips, her nose sniffs near the underside of the lip. Her hand pauses briefly, her eyes refocus on yogurt speckled foil, and she quickly licks the top clean. Plucking the small plastic spoon off the side, she pushes it out of the wrapper and stirs the contents of the cup. Rolling the foil lid and plastic wrapper together, she underhand tosses the balled up mass into the garbage can across the room, sinking the shoot right in the middle. With spoonfuls of the treat in her mouth, Cideeda sates herself, smiling, and wanders along her return route back around the dining table.

Pausing for a few more scoops from the cup, her idle stare lands upon a few wooden magical practice focuses on the corner of the tabletop. Her attention diverts from the snack, and her consciousness piques with the new thoughts rising in her mind. Quickly inspecting the vacant, silent vicinity, she gently rests the yogurt treat and spoon nearby on the surface of the dining table. Her hand hovers over the sticks. Fingers wrap around one of the small rods. She lifts it up, securely wrapping her hand over the other, and focuses her gaze upon the wand. Breathing in slowly, she bites her lip uncertainly against a flush of determination and concentrates all her focus inwards. Seconds past, her light brown face twitches, and she exhales steadily, purposefully. Occasional muscle flexes move her arms. Her mouth twists and contorts between different sneers, smirks, and snarls. Her hands and arms tremble from strain, and she sharply yanks air through her nose and vents through her gritting teeth. Closing her emerald green eyes tightly, she mutters in hopeful, encouraging tones to herself over minutes, occasionally slipping out pleas in different dialects of fvalian. A few words clear the audible threshold from her. "Come on... Come on... Just once..."

Eventually, a final sigh of defeat escapes, and a cascade of tension washes away from her whole body. Old, familiar disappointment fills her face, and she straightens her posture with a simple, accepting shrug. She stares longingly at the wand, holding it above the corner of the tabletop. Her fingers pause right before releasing it. Cideeda's grip tightens back, and she rolls the training stick in hand, her eyes searching her mind. A subtle smile graces her, and she mouths to herself. "Some day..."

With a secure grasp around the practice focus, she pivots in place, sweeping up her yogurt cup with a free hand, and walks through the archway into the hallway with clicking, light steps.

----

Within the encircling kitchen of the two-story house, Deedri flips through a few pages in a book upon the counter top. Tracing a claw tip through a long series of instructions, she nods in confirmation after each bullet point and taps at the last line of the remaining step. She pivots to another section of the counter surface, picks up a glass jar, and inspects the contents. Her auburn eyes visually count the small green plant sacs and narrow carefully, performing a cautious recount. Grimacing uncertainly, Deedri swings her attention back over to her book and studies the last instruction carefully. Shifting her focus over to a collection of calculations upon a scratch piece of paper, she groans out frustration and twists her mouth with a realization. She lifts the glass container back into view and deliberates with a long stare. With a frowning shake of the head, she sighs. Deedri rolls her eyes at herself and mumbles under her breath. "No. You know better than that..."

She opens the refrigerator door and carefully places the jar inside. Pulling open a drawer, she draws out a sheet of plastic from a cardboard roll and stretches out the film tightly over a nearly full, glass bowl of blue translucent fluid. With a firm two hand heft and a swift toe claw catch of the closing door, Deedri settles the larger container inside the fridge. She seals the door back up, checks her apron, and tucks her notes inside the book on the counter. Scanning the room, she steps forward with a cautious gait around the dining table towards the back sliding glass door. Her tufted, furry ears flick and perk towards the front of the house through the dining archway. Distant voices barely rise out of the background quiet of the two-story house. A cringe flashes upon Deedri's fair face, her furry ears aiming towards the stairwell. A few moments later, she slinks next to the back door. Flipping up the lock, she gently slides the door wide enough, and squeezes herself through. With a slow, firm pull, the large glass panel seats back to the frame, and Deedri steps gingerly around the perimeter of the backyard, her gaze darting between the visible vantage points of the two-story house. Squinting cautiously to the balcony of the next door house, she swiftly weaves within the shadows of the scenery and creeps progress to the forest line.

A series of fast footsteps cascade down the stairs, and Veevi swings around the archway into the dining area. She hops energetically into the entry of the kitchen. Her disappointment shows, blinking and searching the encircling area of the kitchen. Veevi crosses her arms unsatisfied, scans the countertops with her pink pupil eyes, and blows a few stray pink hairs out of her pouting face. Wandering around the dining table, she glances out into the backyard through the sliding glass door. Her eyes snap attentively to a point within the distant treeline and narrow, focusing. Leaning closer to the glass panel, a mischievous, sharp grin creeps along her mouth, and she feels the position of the door's handle and lock lever. With a significant effort, she pulls the sliding door open, stepping through, and seals up the transparent gate behind her, slinking swiftly towards her target.

----

A gentle breeze rustles the leaves in the late spring canopy overhead. The sun projects the clouds upon the tree tops and fragments of the pattern flicker below onto the forest floor. Deedri gazes up above and catches the chorus of the forest in her fury ears, squinting her eyes at the glints of noon sun slipping by layers of leaves. A peaceful smile rests on Deedri, and she stands calmly within the moment, each second stripping away layers of stress off into the passing winds. An unfortunately familiar, dangerously enthusiastic voice shatters the sensory haven. "Hey, Deedri! Wait up!"

Deedri's furry, tufted ears droop sharply, the fluffy tips touching her shoulders. Her auburn eyes spring open with narrowing pupils, and a strong wince cinches up her upper cheek, snarling her upper lip. Her shoulders abruptly tense, her posture snaps rigid, and the fur on her tail flares out. A few terse fvalian words spit through her clenching teeth, barely muted by her tightening lips. She slowly pivots in place, her feelings fighting against the pleasant facade her face locks into. Veevi skips fast down the forest path and waves to Deedri with a wide grin. "What are YOU doing out here?"

Deedri presents a calm front, nods to Veevi with her hands held tightly upon her apron, and honestly responds. "I was short of an important reagent for a batch of wound treatment salve. So, I am going to retrieve some from a source nearby, before the batch risks spoiling."

Hopping to a stop next to Deedri with a cheery smile, Veevi cocks her head to the side with a wink. "I see..."

After a few blinks, Deedri warily returns the smile, rotates herself around, and glances down the path. "I'm afraid it's nothing exciting, really. Just need to find the right plant, and I'll be right back."

She stretches out the paces of her words. "Just a LONG... BORING... Walk in a plain, average forest..."

Veevi glints a grin at Deedri and gazes down the path. "That sounds nice and relaxing, actually. Could I come along?"

An uneasy wave radiates through Deedri, creeping down her spine with a faint squirm, and she grants Veevi a gradual nod. "Sure, I guess..."

Deedri turns forward completely and walks down the path, quiet. Veevi follows along with an initially faster gait, easing into pace at the side of Deedri. The two start down the center of the path. Deedri maintains most of her focus ahead, occasionally peeking out of the corner of her eye. Veevi stretches her arms and body out, feigning a nonchalant exterior between side eyes. Gazing out into the natural and vibrant scenery with fleeting interest, she gradually adjusts her trajectory along the trail. Within minutes of casual nature watching, the gap between Deedri and Veevi remains. Deedri's toed boots stir up the debris littering the rough shoulder of the path. Sidestepping around a small bush in the way, she promptly returns to the outer edge of the trail, restoring the buffer zone between. Veevi lifts an intrigued brow with a smirk, sighs out loud, and directs a quizzical tone to Deedri. "So? I have to ask, what do YOU do for fun?"

Recalling her desires from the distance back to her immediate surroundings, Deedri quirks a furry, tufted ear over to Veevi. "Oh. Uh. I don't know. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction books. I really enjoy a lot of the Pre-Cataclysm books they find and republish."

With a calculating furrow of the brow, Veevi draws a sly smile on her lips and concentrates a piercing gaze at Deedri. "Hmm. I kind of figured that. Okay, your turn! Ask me a question, now."

Deedri blinks a few times against her reservations, and her eyes search her mind for a few seconds. "Um... Where did you grow up?"

Veevi giggles cheerily and shaves a few centimeters off the divide between her and Deedri with a subtle overstep. "OH, no where special. I'm just a simple southern coast girl from around New Valdo. SO, where are YOU from?"

Auburn eyes sort through memories, and Deedri crosses her arms, recounting thoughts. "Well... When I was really young, I lived on the south coast, too. Actually, west of New Valdo in Dothan."

Furrowing her brow, she wrestles a grimace and sighs. "But, some monster tore through part of the town. Killed a few militia and injured a lot of people, including a girl a few years older than me."

She shrugs simply and keeps her sights forward towards a closing, familiar forest perimeter. "My mother was already thinking about moving. So all THAT made her decision really easy. Then, I grew up in a small town outside of Anta."

Silence looms above the two, quietly walking down the path with only their footsteps against the forest ambience. Veevi glances around the area, settling an expectant glance upon Deedri. "So... It's your turn to ask ME a question."

Tugging at the corner of her mouth, Deedri stumbles over the words through her indecision. "Ah... Um... Uh... Well, why did you become a pop star?"

With an excited glint in her pink pupil eyes, a proud grin parts wide on Veevi's face. With dramatic gestures of the arms, she draws an exaggerated breath in and melodically proclaims out. "Why?! Why not! I've got the body and the voice of a star. Why not perform for the world, and gift myself to adoring fans near and far..."

Another subtle slide over shrinks the gap between Veevi and Deedri. Veevi's short-haired tail wags closer to Deedri's fluffy tail with each sway. A softer tone taints Veevi's tone, and she seductively bites her lip. "Speaking of adoring... So, do you have anyone to adore you?"

Deedri's eyes spring wide open, and she immediately senses Veevi's uncomfortable proximity. The short-haired tail swings over the fluffy tail, coiling slowly around in a gradually tightening wrap. Veevi gazes with a sultry undertone to Deedri. "Boyfriend, maybe? Or... A girlfriend-"

From beyond the transition of forest in the field meters away, Bach's distant voice calls out. "So... Yeah... The fluid sacs are located near the top, underneath the big flower top?"

From another point out of immediate sight, Sotalia speaks in a loud, curious tone. "Yes. Why? Did you find some? Show me where they are at!"

Veevi halts her progress and stares forward, her fuzzy ears puzzling at the sounds ahead. She perks up, feeling a swift brush slipping from her tail's grasp. Deedri rushes ahead, snapping the fuzzy tail clear of Veevi's coiling. Hiding behind a large tree trunk, she peeks out to the side, observing the activity. She momentarily glances up to the skies above with a thankful expression and prayer under her breath.

Out in the many stalks of the massive, sprawling patch, Bach and Sotalia stand underneath the shade of a larger protellow plant. Bach circles out an area with his finger, aiming upwards into the giant flora. "I think I see a few up there."

Sotalia squints for seconds, contorts her mouth in thought, and blinks her golden eyes. She quietly recites a few incantations, gestures her hands to touch opposing finger tips, and peers through the magical energy framed within up at the protellow. A smile grows on her light tan and dark gray face, and she separates her hands, wisps of fading flow trailing from her fingertips. "OH, that's them. Matches exactly what Aristespha said. Now, we need to get up there and pick them."

Furrowing his brow, Bach slowly rotates his head and hoists a curious eyebrow towards Sotalia. "Okay. So... What? Like climb up there and pluck them off?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Sotalia flashes an unamused expression at Bach and grumbles faintly. "Yes. As much as I'd like to use magic to pull them off..."

Her eyes rolling, she groans with a trailing sigh and drones out technical from memory. "Aristespha has explicitly said to avoid using any direct magic to acquire reagents to prevent cross-contamination and avoid accidental alchemical misfires during processing."

Bach scratches the beard hairs on his chin and develops a sly smirk. "So... Indirect magic is okay?"

Sotalia sways her hips with a thought, shifts her gaze to Bach, and grins amused at the idea. From behind the clearing's edge, Deedri harshly whispers. "Where are you going?!"

Veevi boldly strolls out from the brush perimeter of the forest line, a gust of wind flaring her pink hair out. She approaches Bach and Sotalia and energetically waves with a proud tone. "Hello, fellow adventurers!"

Pulling at a corner of her mouth, Sotalia narrows an intrigued stare at Veevi and frees a hand from the hip to grant a plain wave. Bach blinks in surprise and darts his gaze side to side suspiciously around the area. Spotting nothing of interest, he responds with a simple, meek wave. With spunky energy, Veevi skips over and poses confidently in front of Sotalia. "I don't think we have officially met. I'm Veevi Valiant, rising star, AND... Newest member of the Flames of the Phoenix."

Slightly pitching her head up, Sotalia angles an examining stare carefully upon Veevi. An amused smile sliding across her mouth, she guides dark red hair over a black swept back horn, gazes at Veevi with golden eyes, and poses proudly. "So, I have heard. Sotalia Feratosia. Mage."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Bach notices Deedri cautiously walking up and waves again at her. "Um, Bach Warwick. Intern...?"

Veevi fully focuses upon Sotalia, tosses her pink hair back, and responds with a charming smile. "I actually got to witness some of your spells when I was training the other day. VERY impressive."

With a calm smile, Deedri stops in front of Bach and shuffles over, keeping at least a meter gap between her and Veevi. "Hello. I am sorry to interrupt. I was out to gather some reagents from these protellows and..."

Fighting back a reflexive grit of the teeth, she sighs with a faint droop of her furry, tufted ears. "Veevi... tagged along... for the walk."

Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach nods understandingly and points a thumb up to the large looming protellow shading the vicinity. "Well, we're gathering reagents, too. We're trying to get some of those fluid sacs from up around the top, and we were trying to figure out how to do it without harming the reagents... or ourselves."

A spark of enthusiasm lights up Deedri's fair face, and she steps forward with newfound initiative. "Oh! Perfect! That's the same thing I need. Let me climb up there, and I'll gather enough for all of us!"

Glancing up the tall plant, Bach returns a concerned gaze towards Deedri. "Um, yeah, uh, that's pretty high up there. Do you want any help?"

He spots the quick, awkward glance Deedri aims towards Veevi, passing by him on her way to the base of the large stalk. Deedri flexes her claw tipped fingers to Bach with a sharp, confident grin. "Don't worry. I've got the climbing part covered. I just need to concentrate on the task. But, if you could keep watch for wind gusts and be ready to catch anything that might fall, that would be very helpful."

Analyzing the situation between glances around at everyone present, Bach briefly motions to Deedri to wait up and steps next to Sotalia with a grin. "Hey! I have a great idea. Maybe you should share some magical education pointers with Veevi. One fellow experienced mage to another aspiring mage."

Slowly rotating her head to Bach, she narrows a dubious eye to Bach. She examines his expression, notes the subtle wink, and nurtures a devious, mischievous smile. With a proud shift of her pose, she taps a contemplative finger upon her lips and grins at Veevi. "Why, of course! If I am to assume correctly your present teacher, I do believe her distinctive emin haughtiness may be impairing her ability to properly educate you."

An intrigued smile parts upon Veevi, and she places her hands on her hips attentively, eagerly awaiting. "Why, yes! I do believe it is. She keeps telling me to go through long, pointless drills and tries my patience with trivial practice exercises."

Sotalia chuckles darkly, waves out her hand, and sprinkles a dramatic flair to her sigh. "OH. I figured. I do believe it is my duty to share some important hints and tricks to help you along your path in the magical arts. And, I'm certain if you demonstrate these proficiently to an audience, your teacher will ever be so motivated to teach once she recognizes your true potential."

Veevi's attention fully affixes on Sotalia's examples, gestures, and incantations. Sotalia demonstrates a series of small, colorful, and exceptionally flashy spells from the simplest instructions. After each quick performance, Sotalia coaches Veevi, leading her towards basic proficiency of the spells. Off to the side with Bach assisting, Deedri deftly climbs up the stalk of the towering protellow. Her finger and toe claws render the task routine, and she secures herself near the top of the stalk. With expert precision, she extracts the fluid sacs into the safety of her apron pouch. Standing by at the base, Bach keeps a vigilant watch overhead and spots other locations, calling them out to Deedri. Half hour later, Deedri's toed boots touch stable ground, and she sorts through her apron pockets. "This was a great haul. There was quite a lot on that protellow, and the sacs seem freshly formed. I have more than enough. Here."

She scoops up a double handful and presents the sacs of Bach. Retrieving a cloth bag from his pocket, Bach opens it up and ushers the contents from Deedri's hands in. "That's great! Thanks. Really. The local reagent shop was out, so we've been looking for a source and heard something like this was around."

Glances over his shoulder, he faces Deedri with a grateful smirk and softer, appreciative voice. "Hey. Um, by the way... Thanks again for the other day. Didn't think we really needed those two to throw down at the grocery store, of all places."

Deedri rolls her auburn eyes away with a sighing shake of her head. "OH. Don't worry. I understand completely."

She briefly peeks around Bach at Veevi and flicks her eyes towards Bach. "And thank you for the latest distraction."

Bach blinks blankly, quirks a brow at Deedri, and points through himself at Veevi with a light snarl. "Yeah... It really looked like you needed a break from... Uh... HER..."

Narrowing her eyes to a tired, unamused expression, Deedri sighs, slacking her shoulders. "OH. You have NO idea. It's a... challenge."

She retrieves her aetherphone from a side pocket, taps the screen, and reads the time of the clock. "Oh, good. I should actually be back in time to complete my batch of wound salve. This is actually working out nicely."

After a gracious bow, Deedri navigates the thick surface roots weaving along the ground over near Sotalia and Veevi with Bach following behind. "I really hate to leave so soon, but I must get back."

She presents a pleasant, encouraging smile. "But Veevi, you are more than welcome to continue your lessons. I wouldn't want to interrupt your progress."

Flashing a sly smile to Deedri, Veevi perks her dark pink eyebrows and sighs contentedly, stretching her arms back. "Well, they want to do video journal segments today, and I don't want to be late for mine. I have A LOT to say."

She nods to Sotalia with a hint of respect and excitedly squeals with childish glee. "AND, I can't wait to practice what you've shown me! Thank you so much!"

Sotalia crosses her arms with a smug, contented smirk. "OH, I'm certain you'll definitely impress your teacher. Don't be shy about your new spells!"

Waving to Sotalia and Bach, Veevi quickly steps towards the tree line and the forest path. Veevi swiftly slinks over to the side of Deedri, trying to close distance Deedri refuses to relinquish. Bach slides next to Sotalia and gradually angles his gaze towards her, puzzling. "So... What all did you... TEACH... Veevi?"

A sinister glint shines off Sotalia's smile, and she flexes her long, black nailed fingers on a hand in smug delight. "OH, you know... Just a few simple spells and flow techniques."

Bach's stare narrows at Sotalia, and he twists his mouth suspiciously. "Okay. AND, what would those be?"

Sotalia nonchalantly inspects her nails and fails to contain her overflowing self-satisfaction, manifesting into a wide grin on her face. "OH. Yes. Just a few of the most distracting, flashy, trashy, lowest common denominator spells you can find. Only the BEST ones to show a starting student. A few of my favorites from when I was an annoying, disruptive, attention seeking teenager."

A snort escapes Bach, and he gazes off into the forest with a slow side to side sway of his head. "Wow... Just WOW. You think she'll actually follow through and use them?"

An evil laugh slips out from Sotalia, and she reaches out for the cloth bag full of fluid sacs from Bach. "Are you kidding? A young, egotistical girl with something to prove the world? OH, trust me. She will NOT miss the opportunity to try them all."

Bach hands the fabric sack over to Sotalia, and she happily nods at the contents of the bag. She carefully wraps the end of the bag up and secures a hand around the opening. With a motions to Bach, she steps along towards another part of the forest perimeter. "Well, we better head back. I have potions to make."

Shaking his head, Bach follows along behind with a dry chuckle to himself. "Next week's episode is going to be interesting."

A wicked sparkle dances in Sotalia's golden eyes. "GODS, I do hope so."

----

With Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sitting around the dining table, Sebastian's ethereal form hovers overhead. He scrutinizes the collection of documents littering the surface of a large table covering map. Narrowing his eyes in thought, he slowly nods in agreement. "Yeah. That makes the most sense. One of Noxian's reported old hang outs is nearby, and there's a few... uh..."

Pausing moment, he contorts his mouth hesitantly against words at the front of his mind and sighs reluctantly. with a shrug, Aristespha smiles amusedly and gazes lovingly at him. "Go ahead and say it, Sebastian."

Sebastian floats over and lands down on the floor. He holds his ghostly arms out his to side and plainly states. "A few simple, routine, and easy jobs in the area."

Rolling his translucent blue eyes, he shakes his head of intangible coiffed hair. "Now that I've cursed all of us by saying that, let's look at our options."

Cideeda reaches out over the table, arranges the few quest printouts next to each other, and compares coordinate lists to the map. Dretphi peers over another row of papers, guides a finger on one hand along the text, and points out the locations on the map with another finger. Sotalia gestures quickly and taps the spots Dretphi designates, leaving a magical highlight upon the surface. Shifting his focus between the documents near Cideeda and Dretphi, Bach picks out keywords and mulls over his opinion between twists of his face. Aristespha squints over the data and turns her attention to one of her tablets. "I am going to guess that Hattan will be the best place to get rooms for a few days. I will start searching the area for good accommodations."

Perking up, Sotalia glances over to Aristespha and lifts her dark red eyebrows. "Hey! See if you can book that one place with the day spa next door. Gods, that was REALLY convenient."

With an incredulous smirk, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and scrutinizes Sotalia. "It is only going to be for a few days. I highly doubt we will really have the time for such activities."

Sotalia pouts with a sigh and mumbles. "You should still try... Please?"

Sebastian's gaze follows a road on the map, and he notices a particular location that pulls a snide grin on his ghostly face. "Hey, bro. You think we should stop by Tullachester? Stop by that old house you were in?"

Lifting his head away from the work on the desk, Bach incredulously squints at his brother, cracks a lopsided smile with a cringe, and lays down the sarcasm. "Yeah... Sure, man... We can swing by and tell the new renter that the landlady most definitely conned them. I can then regale them about all the plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical... structural... and ethical problems with that place. I'm certain they would also love to know the best places to put the pots and pans when it rains or what creatures make which noises in the attic."

Dretphi stares over to Bach with an uncertain expression, struggling for the right words. "That residence sounds... Difficult?"

Bach rubs his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of his nose with an honest smile. "Yeah. That actually sums it up best. I mean, that town has nothing going on for it. There's one decent bar in the whole area, and that only showed up in the last few years. Doubt it'll last much longer knowing that place."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach swings a gaze at everyone with a thankful chuckle. "Listen. When being abducted AWAY from the town is the highlight of your time being IN the town, it probably isn't a good place. Two months out and still NO desire in me to ever go back."

Sebastian crosses his arms and smiles with an ethereal laugh. "Okay. SO, that's a strong NO on stopping in Tullachester."

Tracing the route out on the map, Dretphi pauses at key points and plots the travel path in her mind. "The roads are serviceable from experience. Not sure if we can arrive by nightfall. Just after. Maybe."

Cideeda idly scratches her jaw line, and her emerald eyes study the map. "Worst case, we camp at a rest stop in the mountains. I remember a few of those along the way coming up from Anta."

Aristespha smirks, lifts her tablet up off the table, and angles it to Sotalia, quirking her brow slyly. "While I can not book that one place, I should be able to get..."

Shifting her attention over, Sotalia widens her golden eyes and bites her lip in gleeful anticipation. "Oh, THAT will work, girl."

Sebastian hovers up and hangs over the table, his eyes sifting through the job notices. "Okay. Let's bid on jobs, get some work lined up, and book the rooms. We'll take it easy tomorrow and set off Monday."

-36-

Sunlight shines in through the small window panes within the double doors leading out to the balcony. Inside the small bedroom, Gerald lays on the modest bed and props up a thin monitor upright on his chest. His dark brown eyes idly watch the video playback. Intermittently, his finger presses a control button, pausing the progress, spins a jog dial, reverting a few seconds prior, and taps another button, resuming. Holding the display with one hand, he brushes his hand through his short, dark blonde hair, and the hidden gray hairs glint in the reflected light. A series of wooden creaks sound out from the stairwell leading up to the bedroom door. Gerald stops the video on his monitor, aims his eyes over toward the noise, and waits expectantly. Seconds later, Samantha climbs the final step of the stairs, swings into the room by the door frame, and beams a wide grin towards Gerald almost through the open bedroom door. "How are YOU on this fine Sunday morning!?"

Quirking an intrigued brow, Gerald slowly rests the screen on the side of the bed, guiding the slack of the cable leading from a large camera over the side. "Fine...?"

Samantha walks forward, exaggerating her individual steps along the wooden floor, and hugs on to her clipboard. "Well, Good. Anything interesting on the cameras?"

With a simple shrug, Gerald tugs at the corner of his mouth and eyes over at his recording equipment upon a nearby table. "Nothing too exciting. Caught Deedri wandering off into the forest again. She was by herself this time..."

Twisting a frown on his face, he briefly rolls his eyes. "Well, until Veevi followed along after her. But, both came back. Deedri looked pretty annoyed. I noticed she was holding her tail to the side. Haven't quite figured that one out, yet."

Dropping herself to a seat upon the modest bed, Samantha turns to face Gerald and holds out her clipboard, revealing a pack of documents. "Guess where we're going."

Gerald reaches out his hand, takes hold of the clipboard, and puzzles over the paperwork clipped on the wooden plate. His eyes trace the text upon the pages, and he quickly flips over the sheets, the content surprising him. "Hattan? Really? HUH. Haven't been THERE in a while."

He squints his eyes at a long listing. "WOW. There's a bunch of jobs out there, right now."

An ear to ear grin graces Samantha's light toned face, and she chuckles darkly to herself. "Yes, but not so many that a few couldn't be sniped from a CERTAIN group."

A few pondering blinks later, Gerald returns the clipboard to Samantha and shakes his head uncertainly. "Okay... Really hope Howard isn't overusing his contact at the guild. Someone might start getting suspicious."

Searching through the pages, Samantha inspects them with a confident smile towards Gerald. "Nah. Howie said he's just getting the info and using it as an advantage when bidding through the proper systems. Oddly, there's this really simple sounding pest extermination job that's just been passed over by EVERYONE."

Gerald lifts an inquisitive eyebrow and glances over up at Samantha with curious smirk. "What's the pest?"

A few pages flop over the top of the clipboard, and Samantha tips up the documents closer for her hazel eyes. "Um... Simple, harmless slimes from the looks of it. Even our group should be able to handle THAT."

A long groan rumbles out from Gerald, and he rolls his eyes over to a collection of protective clothing hanging in the closet. "Gods... Please tell me you've at least warned the crew to pack waterproofing gear."

Samantha sighs and nods dismissively. "Yes, of course! Though..."

A sinister crook twists her smile. "I did make sure to NOT remind the team. Howie's orders. He wants to see if they'll take the proper precautions... Or, learn the hard way."

A singular laugh escapes Gerald, and he smirks knowingly to Samantha. "Right... Yeah... I'm certain he's hoping for the hard way. It ALWAYS gets better ratings when they learn the hard way."

After a sigh and snicker of agreement, Samantha flips to the last packet of paperwork between the clip and excitedly displays it to Gerald. "Did you see where Howie booked us?"

Leaning his head forward off the pillow, Gerald squints briefly, his eyes darting left and right. His eyes spring wide open, and he settles his head back down. "Wow! Not bad, Howard. Guess he was in a good mood when he made the reservations. Really fancy."

Tilting over towards Gerald, Samantha amuses herself upon a thought. "Howie found out that the owner will shill himself out to anything... So long as the hotel gets mentioned excessively in the promo materials."

She leans back to level and laughs with a short grin. "Plus, one of the researchers found out that the owner's kids LOVE the show."

Twisting a smirk, Gerald snorts and shakes his head side to side on the pillow. "Now THAT is the angle that Howard used. I'm sure of it. Everything else was just a bonus to negotiations."

He puts both his hands behind his head, relaxes his arms out, and eyes Samantha curiously. "What was it that he said? If they don't want to deal with you, see if they have children they want to deal with less?"

Drawing in lungs full of air, Samantha blinks, twisting lips, and slowly exhales out a begrudging sigh, gazing upwards. "Yes... He's said that a number of times. But... It works. And does it ever work."

She throws herself forward off the bed, stands up on her feet, and stretches her arms and back. "Well, I need to go finish up the paperwork and get copies over to the team. I think we'll be able to head out Tuesday and use tomorrow to prep."

Gerald nods, pulls his upper body up from rest, and smiles at Samantha. "Sounds good. We can get the standard mission loadout ready in no time."

Pivoting with a sly grin, Samantha lifts a bundle of paperwork upon the clipboard and reveals a section of interest towards Gerald. "We'll also need the promo equipment ready! Howie has booked one of the event rooms for a surprise fan meetup."

Curiously perking his brow, Gerald draws a sinister grin and narrows his eyes at Samantha. "Before... or after the slime stomping?"

With an evil smile, Samantha winks, entertaining a low chuckle under her breath. "Well, of course, AFTER! If at all possible. We have to try to give fans the genuine adventuring experience."

----

Two wide lanes of roughly paved road stretch out through the ongoing cleared strip between forested edges. The humvee coasts along the smooth asphalt, and the suspension occasionally shakes from the rare dip and rough patch. Along the maintained shoulder, trees pass on by with sporadic gaps between, allowing clear views of farms, open fields, access roads, and rustic houses. Within a few, hints of ancient structures appear in the distance and fade away during travel. Opposite the road border, a large, grassy median serves as a barrier from another pair of similarly wide lanes with an equivalent shoulder. From behind with a high pitched roar, a red, low profile motorcycle zips around the humvee into the opposite roadway lane. The cycle captivates Cideeda, watching it shrink into the distance. Shaking her head with an amused grin, she glances through the rear view mirror at Bach. "These roads are nice..."

Quickly flicking her emerald green eyes down at the dash, she spots the needle on the speedometer. "And to be fair, we're going a hundred kilometers per hour smoothly. But, I don't know if I'd open it up like that."

Leaning out into the aisle, Bach peers through the front windshield and snorts, settling his head back on his seat's headrest. "Yeah... That's why I stuck with my bike. Way too easy to tempt fate on those things. One bad spot of road when you aren't expecting it, and you're getting a nasty physics lesson."

Hovering in the aisle, Sebastian glances over towards Bach, cracking an amused smirk. "Remember that one guy in the dorm, bro? The one that wrecked his bike-"

Bach's blue eyes spring wide open, and he coughs out a reflexive laugh. "Up the tree! Oh, gods! I still don't know how he did it without magic. It's one of those things I still try to figure out once in a while. It was a flat stretch of road, too. How do you get that much air?"

Blinking her golden eyes, Sotalia rolls her head over on her headrest and directs her voice back. "WAIT. THAT actually happened? I always thought Sebastian was just exaggerating that part."

With a chuckle and a side to side sway of the head, Bach grits his teeth in a near smiling grimace. "No. It was UP that tree. I stood out there with everyone else trying to figure out how it happened. You should have seen the looks on the faces of emergency services crews."

Dretphi briefly gazes up from a finely carved staff in her hands, momentarily pondering the feat of physics between grimaces on her tan face and furrows of her brow. Moments later, the allure of the staff snatches back her attention, and she concentrates upon it. Seconds pass, and a glowing flow gradually creeps up the handle, navigating the grooves in the wood. Energy traveling through the pathways, the routes gradually twist and turn more complicated higher up the staff. The humvee rolls down the road, and Dretphi devotes her full focus, progressing her magical might up the wooden maze. Sebastian notices a metal road sign with a single line of text, and his ethereal form grins smugly. "Tullachester, five kilometers, bro. Still don't want to swing on by to see how things are?"

Slowly rotating his head up to his hovering ghostly brother, Bach lifts an indignant brow and slowly shakes his head side to side. "PASS. I'll just have to enjoy the sight of the off ramp disappearing behind us into the horizon."

A slight grumble from Aristespha next to him draws Sebastian's attention, and he expresses concern. Lowering his head just over Aristespha's shoulder, he peeks at her tablet's display. "What's wrong, dear?"

Aristespha brushes back a few stray, silvery blue hairs, twists her mouth with a fit of mild annoyance, and squints her frustration at the screen. "I was hoping we would win the bids on a few other small side jobs, Sebastian. But... Someone secured the bid for a few of those very quests."

Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Sebastian puzzles at the list of jobs on the tablet, granting a simple dismissive shrug. "Well... Probably a lower bid from someone else, dear. At least we secured what we really wanted. Can't fight the lowest bid on those smaller jobs. Probably some local group needing it more than we do."

His translucent blue eyes gravitate towards a job header, and he points his finger towards the particular listing. "What was this job again? I don't remember seeing a bid on that one."

Aristespha gently taps the entry, and the program interface expands the detailed information out upon the screen. An evil smirk grows on her ivory face, and Aristespha aims her narrowed eyes at Sebastian with a lift of an eyebrow. Sebastian's eyes bounce left to right with each line, and he abruptly averts his head away with an amused snort. "OH! THAT job. Wow..."

Barely holding back his ill humor, he dampens a few snickers. "Good luck to whoever bidded on THAT one. I figured THAT would stay unbid for at least a few more months."

Gently lowering the tablet down onto her lap, Aristespha stretches her arms over the back of her chair and arches her back in the seat briefly, relieving her muscles. "I would... Ah... Not be surprised if it comes back up on the guild board in a week."

With a tight smile, Sebastian nods slowly and gazes at Aristespha. "Oh, I hope they make the work comments public on THAT one."

Evil tinges the grin that splits Aristespha's mouth, and she stares into Sebastian's eyes. In the front passenger's seat, Sotalia watches the road ahead, scanning out towards the horizon. Squinting at one distant long-haul cargo truck ahead, she yawns and shifts herself around on the seat, searching for a comfortable position. Her golden eyes spring wide, and she cringes slightly, a new discomfort seizing her full attention. Nonchalantly placing her hands on her knees, she pushes her legs close together and searches the upcoming shoulder. Minutes pass. Sotalia squirms slowly and momentarily curls her upper lip, revealing gritting teeth. With an idle fidgeting tap of her finger on her knees, she focuses her attention forward, hunting for something along the far off roadside. The humvee crests the top of a hill. Sotalia's eyes open wider and lock onto a large metal road sign ahead. It passes by, and she directs her voice back towards the group with a lightly suggesting tone. "Hey, there's a rest stop ahead... Does ANYONE need to stop and... use the restroom?"

Cideeda perks an eyebrow, angles her head slightly towards the center console, and notices the empty, extra large cup of fancifully ordered coffee. Returning her head forward, she conceals a wry smirk on the side of her mouth away from Sotalia. Aristespha shakes her head dismissively and stares out her window at the midday scenery below a cloud speckled blue sky. "No. I am just fine. Remember? I only ordered the SMALL coffee and tea."

Shrugging plainly, Bach watches the forest strewn world speed on by out his window. "Not me."

Dretphi briefly diverts her attention away from the magically glowing staff, glances ahead, and shrugs, resuming her focus. "No."

Sotalia twists her mouth, noticing another road sign. Drawing in a careful breath, she exhales long, tinges of stress shuddering out. She peers back over to the shoulder of her seat and dons an uncomfortable smile, pleading hints infiltrate her voice. "Is everyone sure? No one could stand to take a break, stretch out, and enjoy the local scenery...?"

An eyebrow sharply hoists up on Bach's face, Aristespha peeks over from the corner of her violet eyes, Dretphi pauses her flow progress, and Sebastian plainly stares right at Sotalia. Grinning mischievously, Cideeda mockingly sighs and watches the exit sign draw close. "Huh. Well, I guess NO ONE needs to stop. We'll just have to see what's around in AN HOUR or so..."

She aims a toothy smile at Sotalia. Grumbling to herself, Sotalia's body language telegraphs the developing unease, and she eyes the distant exit ramp drawing closer. A long awkward silence looms inside the cab. The rest of the group collectively awaits. Sotalia growls in defeat and calmly, hesitantly pleads. "Cideeda... Could you take this next exit, PLEASE?"

Easing off the accelerator, Ciddeda gazes ahead and gently turns the steering wheel. "Why?"

Drawing in a breath through her gritting teeth, Sotalia mumbles loudly. "So... I can use the bathroom."

A snort escapes Cideeda. "Yes, we can."

She guides the humvee down the exit ramp and rolls her emerald green eyes. Aristespha rotates her gaze towards Sotalia, presents a smug, triumphant grin, and giggles to herself. "I was wondering how long before that EXTRA LARGE coffee you got... AFTER I warned you... would work its way through you."

Cideeda grins wide, Dretphi smirks shaking her head, Bach rolls his blue eyes, and Sebastian snorts ethereally. Sotalia stiffly sits in the car seat and stares ahead out the windshield, glaring an unamused grimace forward. "Oh, HUSH, girl!"

A sly smile cracks upon her mouth, and she aims a teasing tone towards Aristespha. "I especially don't need a lecture from the Queen of the Hot Wings."

Dretphi stifles a snort late and averts her gaze away. Cideeda presses her lips tightly together, keeping her view squarely on the road. Examining the expressions of Dretphi and Cideeda, Bach presents a quizzical stare up at Sebastian. "Okay. I'm missing something here."

Sebastian shrugs awkwardly and works out an ill-humored smirk from his face. "Well, bro, there was this one time-"

He halts abruptly mid-sentence, wincing his cheek. Beside Sebastian, Aristespha twists a tight grip upon the sword handle and glares bright violet at him, a distinctly reddish hue blending in the light. Sebastian closes his mouth, allowing his mind to process new, immediately pertinent information, and directs a neutral expression towards Bach with a flat tone. "...that will not be discussed at this moment..."

Moments of quiet hang in the air. The humvee rolls to a halt at a stop sign intersection. Sotalia snaps her head and peers over the shoulder of her seat, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. Her horns prominent with the downwards tilt of her head, she draws in a long breath. "So, after a LONG day of spellcasting-"

Aristespha's eyes fly open, and she grits her teeth at Sotalia into a twitching glower with the faintest growl rising up. "HUSH. YOU."

----

The humvee rolls between the nearly faded away markings of a parking spot in the patchy lot. The vehicle's powerplant spinning down, the doors spring open. Sotalia closes the glove box, tucking a roll of toilet paper under her arm, and gingerly hops out. Swiftly scanning the disused rest area, she stands tense, squirming. "OKAY! Where's the bathroom in this place?!"

Cideeda steps onto the pavement, walks to the front of the humvee, and squints her eyes towards a number of out buildings in the vicinity. Wariness and reservation rise up into Cideeda's light brown face, and she scouts the structures, frowning slightly. "Hmm. We might want to keep on driving for another place. This rest area looks..."

Flicking her furry ears back, she twists a grimace, straightening her posture with hesitance. "Under serviced?"

In the overgrown clearing before the team, a collection weathered and battered of picnic tables, stained and storm tattered shade canopies, and cracked and dusty snack machines surround a dilapidated central park building. Long, tall grasses thoroughly obscure where each structure touches the ground and hide any connecting pathways. Aristespha stands next to Cideeda, cocks her head of silvery blue hair to the side, and fights down the surge of disgust on her face. "OH... MY..."

Panning a gaze across the wildness invaded landscape, Bach simply shrugs without a hint of surprise. "We're just south of Tullachester. This is about what I expected."

Furrowing his brow, he squints at the weather grayed, cracked pavement and kicks a loose chunk into the weeds. "Huh, actually surprised they bothered to ever pave this."

Sotalia grimaces with the stain, surveying each building, and perks up. Her golden eyes settle upon the central building. "I bet they're at the big building! I'm going to go check!"

She swiftly power walks down the winding path from the parking lot up towards the large structure. Caution tempers her speed, avoiding encroaching grasses and debris. Spotting a rabbit darting away into the woods, Sebastian floats above and drifts forward uncertainly. "Hey. You want me to check that building out first?"

Sotalia tosses her voice upwards behind her and presses onward. "NO! I'll be fine."

Sighing, Aristespha glances up to Sebastian with a smile and strolls along the same direction towards Sotalia. "Don't worry, Sebastian. I will accompany her and make sure she does not fall in."

Dretphi gazes up towards the treetops, cups a hand around her ear, and furrows her brow, puzzling. She pivots around and faces the source of a faint bird song. Bach glances over, traces her line of sight, and searches the higher parts of the forest canopy. "Um. What are you looking for?"

Seconds later, Dretphi's steely gray eyes briefly widen, and she points out a large, brilliantly colorful bird preening itself upon a tree branch. "THERE. It is a... Zone Parrot? I think that is the correct term."

Following the angle of Dretphi's arm, Bach spots the animal sorting through its brightly patterned plumage. He blinks and gawks in bewilderment at the creature. "Wow... I don't ever remember seeing anything like that around here of all places. That's not native bird I know of."

Dretphi nods, lowers her hand to her hip, and thoughtfully curls the corner of her mouth. She tilts her head to the side, letting a few platinum blonde braids shift upon her shoulder. "You should not. This place is not that creature's habitat. I do not know why it is here. Strange."

Cideeda's furry ears flick around and hunt the soundscape, concentrating on specific noises mixing into the natural ambience. Seconds of sifting later, she turns her head towards Dretphi and Bach across the hood of the humvee, twisting mouth curiously. "There's at least two other birds that sound like it in the area."

Astonishment grips Dretphi, and she crosses her arms. Leaning upon the humvee's side panel, she lowers her head slightly in thought. Bach eyes over curiously at Dretphi with caution coloring his voice. "Uh... Anything we should worry about?"

Dretphi turns her head to Bach, dons a light smirk, and shakes her head confidently. "No. Zone parrots are not hostile."

Narrowing her stare off to the side, she snarls her upper lip briefly. "Annoying. Destructively curious. Do not attack people."

She lifts her head back up, stares at the leaves, the wind rustling through the canopies, and ponders out loud. "It is just... Odd. They do not migrate. Live in weird zones. No where else."

Shrugging her shoulders, she glances over to the rest of the group. "One this far away could be excused. Maybe lost. Three?"

Suspicion guides her gaze, and she searches the forest around. "There is another reason."

Sebastian's ethereal form drifts over, rises above the group, and gazes out into the area. He catches a glimpse over near the central building, spotting both Sotalia and Aristespha disappear around the corner of the large structure. Hovering back down onto his feet next to Bach, he leans close to his brother's ear. "Thirty seven."

Bach blinks hard and swings his head over, facing Sebastian dumbfounded. "Thirty what?"

Contorting his face, Sebastian fails to contain his ill amusement and sighs with a roll of his eyes. "Thirty seven hot wings. In one setting."

Cideeda's furry ear flicks over, and she presses down the smirk. Sebastian sighs through his clenched teeth. "Yeah... We got roughed up hard, bro, on one mission. And, she spent the entire day patching us up in a remote place a ways out and worked up an..."

He furrows his brow and grimaces momentarily. "Appetite... From casting so much in one day. She DEMANDED we stop at the first food place we drove pass on the way back..."

His translucent blue eyes open wide, and he hisses out. "It HAD to be a hot wing place."

Around the corner of the central building, Aristespha and Sotalia stare into the dim entryway next to a women's bathroom sign. The corridor turns sharply at a right angle into a dark, unseen room. Sotalia cringes and grumbles, peering into the shady hallway. "Okay... I think I see the light switch on the wall there."

Aristespha incants quietly, gesturing with her hand, and a small orb of light hovers above her outstretched palm. Aristespha nods to Sotalia, and the two walk reservedly through the entry, approaching the forward wall before the right angle turn. Moving next to the light switch, both turn and face down the corridor into the inky darkness filling the echoing room before them. Only the dim glows from narrow, dirty high windows provide any direct illumination into the space, the ambient glow from outside barely reflecting in around the sharp bend. Sotalia places her finger underneath the switch and flicks it up.

Overhead lights gradually flicker to light and surge a bright shine into the room. The brightness floods the tiled public restroom. Amorphous collections of loose specks retreat chaotically away. The scattered masses crawl into the darker parts under sinks and disappear into the shady nether within the row of toilet stalls. Abject horror overloads Aristespha and Sotalia. Their jaws drop agape, and the pupils of their eyes shrink to pinpoints. Covering her mouth aghast, Aristespha slides her eyes over. Sotalia meets Aristespha attention with a cheek twitching, gritting of the teeth, and slowly shakes her head resolutely. "NO."

Both take synchronous steps away and carefully retrace their paths back outside. Well in the light of day, Aristespha pivots promptly and searches the nearby treeline. Moments later, she directs Sotalia's attention towards a large, obscuring shrub and laughs out her nerves. "I-I think that one will do just fine."

Exaggerating her nod, Sotalia quickly skips over to the target brush. "I'll make it work!"

----

In the modestly decorated hotel lobby, large, ornate light fixtures hang down from the tall ceiling, illuminating the open space in a gentle glow. The dusk sky casts an orange hue through the tinted windows, mixing with the warm hue of the overhead lamps. The intricate slate floor path from the entry splits the lobby into two distinct sections. Plush cushioned, wooden frame couches form small meeting spaces, groupings scattering through the area. On the other side of the huge space, elaborate chairs surround the long tables encircling a central kitchen, chefs busily working on orders for guests in the dining area. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia sit around a table, each with menus in hand.

Past the front desk off to the side, the elevator chimes out into the lobby, and a tall man with a long black beard and shorter hair steps out. Cradling a wide brimmed hat in his cybernetic arm, he brushes some lint off his jacket and secures his Borderland Ranger badge onto his jacket's front pocket. Walking nonchalantly out upon the floor in dirt speckled boots, he nods a friendly hello to the desk staff and leads himself towards the exit. He travels the divide between the dining and meeting sections. Glancing over to one side and to the other, his pace slows to a stop. Recognition dawns upon his face, and an amused smirk graces his tanned face. With a sharp pivot, he calmly approaches the table with the sitting team, stops politely nearby, and bows slightly. "Pardon me for interrupting, but I do believe I have made all your acquaintances a few weeks back."

Aristespha gazes up from the menu, studies the man's face, and smiles pleasantly. "Yes, we have... Captain Hays, I believe?"

Captain Hays kindly nods in acknowledgment. He quickly greets and shakes everyone's hand. Glancing over everyone with a smile, he addresses the gathering. "Well. It's good to see you all are in good shape. I've heard some interesting things through the... Usual Sources."

Quirking her brow, Aristespha studies Hays carefully with a faintly intrigued grin. "Oh, really? I do hope nothing too terrible. Also, I am ever so sorry we have not gotten around to contacting you. We simply have not had the chance to wander towards the border regions."

Hearty chuckling, Hays draws in a breath and shakes his head slowly. "Understandable. I'm certain you've been quite busy. And, truthfully, for a Borderlands Ranger, I've been far away from the borderlands A LOT as of late."

Lifting an eyebrow, Dretphi angles a quizzical gaze upon Hays. "Why is that?"

With a brief snarl of the upper lip, Hays quirks his brow and works through a summary. "Well... To put it simply... We've been trying to figure out why the weird zone and borderlands critters are everywhere they shouldn't be."

Casually stroking his beard, he sighs, tinges of frustration slipping out. "It's nothing like we've seen before. It not unheard of to occasionally have a few odd migrations if a zone's energies shift around. But... THIS isn't one of those."

The group exchanges thoughtful gazes, a new light shining upon very recent memory. Glancing to Dretphi and Cideeda, Bach shifts his attention up towards Hays. "We actually saw some odd creatures today."

Hays examines the concerned expressions around the table and tilts his head curiously. "Really? So, what did you all see?"

Dretphi calmly and clearly states. "Zone Parrots."

Pausing in thought, Hays furrows his brow and meets Dretphi's steely gray eyes. "Where?"

Dretphi focuses her gaze with a serious tone. "Northwest. Up the highway."

Squinting at the memory in the front of his mind, Bach recounts. "Um, yeah... Just south of Tullachester at the old, I guess abandoned, rest stop."

A long pause later, Hays hums with his thoughts, implications processing between uneasy grimaces. "That's over a hundred kilometers from where you should even start finding them normally. Hmm."

Nodding to the team, he sighs heavily. "We should compare notes. I'm here with my two scouts trying to chart the movement of all these critters. There's been a lot of unusual movement, and we've been trying to figure out WHY."

Aristespha offers an empty seat at the table. "If no one objects, I am certain you could join us, and we would certainly discuss this further."

The rest of the group indicating their agreement, Captain Hays holds his hand up with an appreciative smile. "Thank you. I would love to oblige you, and greatly appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, I'm currently on a mission to get food for two very tired scouts and two VERY OBNOXIOUS scout whelps."

Sotalia's golden eyes light up, and she snaps a pleading stare with a bright smile towards Hays. "WELL, maybe after dinner you all could stop by so we can discuss this further..."

Suspecting eyes around the table focus upon Sotalia, and the team awaits in amusement for the rest of the statement. Sotalia flutters her eyes at Hays and colors her voice coyly. "And, you are more than welcome to bring the whelps over."

Captain Hays smiles proudly and grants Sotalia an affirmative nod. "Well, I'll just have to see what I can do. That would be up to Heccaeh, but I don't think he'd mind. It'd also give Chana a break from entertaining them, too."

Aristespha retrieves her aetherphone, tapping through a number of menus, types out a brief message, and presses firmly on the screen. "Here is my contact information and our suite number. I have sent it to your number."

With a gracious bow, Hays starts to turn away, stops, and grins at the group overall. "Before I forget, I want to thank you all for assisting Captain Hackle and capturing the thudkickers. He was doing a favor for us, since that group had left our jurisdiction without our knowledge. Thankfully, they've all been relocated to a calmer weird zone. Hopefully, they'll stay there."

His eyes narrow slightly, and he hoists an eyebrow with a hint of amused suspicion. "A few of us are a bit curious how you adjusted the attitude on that alpha male. We're certainly not complaining. That particular alpha was an absolute asshole, so humbleness didn't hurt him any."

Attention from everyone else wanders towards Bach. Chuckling, Hays smirks humored. "We just can't figure out why he's now, all of sudden, spooked by men wearing full helmets."

----

Down a fashionably decorated hotel hallway, Deedri and Tassilda both peek out around the frame of their room door and stare cautiously towards the intersection in front of the elevators. Tassilda grumbles, snorts out her irritation, and pouts wrinkling her nose. "This FIGURES. We arrive ahead of schedule to a very nice hotel next to a top rated day spa, with the rest of the day free... And, we have a camera crew stalking us..."

Paranoia furrows her gray brow. "Just waiting for us to leave."

Sighing sadly, Deedri's her furry, tufted ears droop down to her shoulders. "I know. I've heard it's really nice, too. But, I don't think I could enjoy it, being watched like that."

Her ears flick back, and her head swings the rest of her around. The next door down the hall opens into the room, and Modoran slips deftly around, carefully easing the door back shut. Scanning the area, he notices Deedri waving at him. Deedri energetically signals Modoran over. Slinking swiftly in behind Deedri and Tassilda, Modoran checks down the hallway with a quizzical perk of the eyebrow. "So, what are you two up to?"

Tassilda briefly glances back and grumbles, resuming her focus upon the bulky shadows projecting out near the elevator lobby from hallway lighting. "Just trying to determine if we could actually enjoy the next door day spa... while under surveillance."

Modoran slides out from the door alcove into the middle of the hallway and leans out carefully, peering down the way. Balancing himself back to a standing posture, he stretches his body,and presents a nonchalant, confident smile to Deedri and Tassilda. "Are you ladies ready to go?"

Tassilda and Deedri exchange glances and nod hopefully towards Modoran. Pulling out his aetherphone, Modoran holds it up briefly and taps upon the screen. "I'll send a message when it's clear. Just be ready to get to the elevator when you get it. Hide in your room for now."

Both Tassilda and Deedri excitedly dart back inside their room, and their door closes automatically behind them. Casually strolling down towards the intersection, Modoron's lips subtly move, his voice mumbles out extremely quiet incantations, and the fingers on his free hand trace out very minute gestures. His posture stiffens, and suspicious mannerisms infiltrate this body language. Quickly rounds the turn, he awkwardly spots the two cameramen sitting on lobby benches and blatantly averts his facefrom eye contact, rushing right up to the elevator call button. The two cameramen exchange glances between each other and focus fully upon Modoran. Puzzling when Modoran presses the upwards call button, both crew members stand up, ready their equipment, and pantomime an agreement to follow along.

The seconds pass, and Modoran's nervous ticks become more and more obvious, intriguing the recording duo greatly. With a chime, one of the two elevators open, and Modoran nervously darts inside, the two camera operators immediately trailing behind. Modoran checks his aetherphone briefly, hides the screen down from view, and presses the button for the next floor up. The doors slide shut, and a gentle acceleration pulls down on an extremely nervous Modoran and two very suspicious cameramen. The digital elevator display changes to the next floor, and the ring brightly fills the space along with a voice announcement. The doors part open to their widest. Modoran bolts clear of the elevator car, slides out along a sharp turn, and tears off in a full sprint down a hotel hallway. Both camera operators nearly crash into a pile out on the elevator lobby floor and scramble after Modoran.

On the elevator button panel, the previous floor's button slides in momentarily and lights up. An unseen force pushes the second floor of the basement parking garage to the illuminated selection. A finger fading back into opacity firmly presses the door close switch. The rest of Modoran's body sheds off the transparent guise, and he smirks smugly, tapping out a message on the phone. The elevator seals back up and faintly hums down a floor. The display changes, a voice announces the floor, and the doors part, revealing an eager Tassilda and antsy Deedri. Both quickly step in at the confident prompting from Modoran, and he smiles nonchalantly. "Next stop. Freedom."

The elevator car shuts back up, sealing away the ambience of the hotel floor. With a sly grin upon her gray face, Tassilda flicks her light blue on black eyes over towards Modoran. "What ever did you do? Knock them out and stuff them in a broom closet?"

Rolling his dark blue eyes with an amused sigh, Modoran casually grins. "Nah. Just had them chase my ghost for a bit. I wonder how long it'll take them to realize it was a spell."

Spotting the light for the second basement garage level on the panel, Deedri cocks her head of braided auburn hair and puzzles. "The second parking garage level?"

Modoran simply shrugs and presents a calming smile to Deedri. "Well, I figured at least one other crew is on the ground floor, since the SUV is parked on the first level of the garage. So... They're probably monitoring that."

Perking an eyebrow, he smirks confidently to Deedri. "But, we should be safe to wander over to the stairwell leading out to the street on the second level of the garage. Doubt they're paying that much attention. If not, I've got a few other tricks."

Nodding at the plan, Deedri blinks with thought crossing her mind and gazes up to Modoran. "Um, what are you going to do, now?"

A long pause holds Modoran's tongue, and he ponders the situation uncertainly. "Huh. I... I don't know, actually. I guess, probably, wander around the city until dinner? Didn't really have any plans. I just wanted to get out of the room."

Deedri entertains a genuine smile and lifts an eyebrow to Modoran. "Ever been to a day spa?"

Modoran's dusky bluish gray skin flushes with reddish undertones around the cheeks. Attempting to avert his face, he runs his fingers through his light gray hair and scratches the back of his head. "Oh. Um. I-I wouldn't want to intrude. It seems like you two had something planned out."

With a dismissive shake of the head, Tassilda rolls her eyes and smirks. "Oh, PLEASE. Do NOT play modest now. If you help get us there, you are more than welcome to join us."

The elevator doors smoothly slide apart, and Modoran leans out into the cavernous level of concrete pillars, asphalt flooring, and cars packed into painted lines. Peeking around the parking garage level, Modoran works the awkward energy out of the smile on his face. "Well... Then, I better get you two there."

Flashing a nonchalant smirk, he steps out leading Tassilda and Deedri. "Looks clear so far. Follow me."

----

Beams of light shine through ancient gaps in the tall ceiling of the solid stone structure. Faint traces of dust drift aimlessly through the huge, long hallways and barely stir to the whims of the wind outside, slipping through the thin divides between heavy blocks. A flash brightly illuminates an area immediately near Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Inspecting the fresh image on the display of her aetherphone, Aristespha shakes her head and bored sigh vents out. "I cannot discern any differences. Everything seems to be almost completely matching the old pictures."

Cideeda's furry ears flick around, and her emerald green eyes keenly inspect the nooks and crannies of the area. Sniffing the air flowing in a calm breeze, she pulls an unamused smirk into the corner of her mouth and shrugs. "Nothing. Dust, earth, some wet stone, and maybe a little mold. Still nothing out of the ordinary. I'm actually feeling a little disappointed, right now."

Kneeling down to the dirt littered stonework floor, Sotalia picks up a small, unlit magical indicator stick and rolls her eyes at herself. "Gods... I know I should be okay with this, but..."

Dretphi twists her grimace and grumbles. "This place is tediously mundane."

Staring up between the columns of light streaming from the weathered holes above, Bach's eyes wander for anything of interest. "Yeah. I'm really surprised they haven't just bulldozed this place down. I mean, there's no sealed off areas or anything hidden left. I don't think they needed adventurers for this job."

Furrowing his brow, he glances around at the layers of grime and history staining the crumbling architecture. "They really just need a building inspector to condemn it and tell them to demolish it already."

Aristespha nods in complete agreement and fights back a frown touching a gray and blue hint at the corner of her ivory face. "I know. Unfortunately, everyone is still paranoid about these old places. So, a job is a job. Also, for what they are asking of us... it is not THAT terrible of a payout. We actually have not spent that much time here, considering."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach holds his arms out to his sides, disbelief creeping upon his face. "Yes. Can't believe I'm actually wanting there to be something new or signs that something has changed. But, man, I'd even take trashy graffiti at this point. If just to have something to report."

With a glance over her shoulder, Cideeda nods in agreement at Bach and exhales out her idle frustration. "Some days, you just bring home the paycheck and wonder if they would have even known you were there at all."

Aristespha aims her aetherphone towards another marked section of wall, firmly presses an on-screen button, and a flicker of brightness erupts out from the flash. Squinting inside a shady archway next to the wall's markings, she directs everyone's attention towards it. "Quick check that room, please. It's listed as clear on the report. Just make sure nothing has changed before we move on and mark it off the list."

Acknowledging, Dretphi locks down her full face visor, lifts up her sub-machine gun, and approaches the area cautiously. Cideeda trains her laser pistol towards the archway and circles out opposite from Dretphi, gradually closing in on the target from the other side. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia ready themselves, observing Dretphi's and Cideeda's progress. With her back against the wall, Dretphi slides up to the entry point and awaits Cideeda on the other side. The two silently exchange hand signals and confirm the plan. Dretphi toggles the flashlight on her weapon. Cideeda crouches down, grabs a flashlight from her vest, and flicks it on. Dretphi sweeps the room from one direction from the archway, and Cideeda pans both her laser pistol and flashlight across the room the other direction. A few counter-balancing passes from each later, and both lower their weaponry and turn off lights. Cideeda shakes her head with an exaggerated eye roll. "We have confirmed it is still an empty room with nothing going on."

Dretphi walks away towards Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia and smirks lightly. "Additional dust. Maybe."

Following behind, Cideeda holsters her pistol and tucks away her flashlight. "Oh yeah."

Aristespha plainly nods her head, types in a few notes, and muses sarcastically. "I will certainly be sure to put THAT in the notes."

Placing her hands on her hips, Sotalia pivots around slowly in thought, her armor cloak flowing around. "Gods, I wonder what's taking Sebastian so long. He's been off scouting ahead for a long time."

With a firm grip on the sword handle at her side, Aristespha closes her eyes and lowers her head, concentrating. Seconds later, her brow furrows and contorts with the confusion playing out on her face. Sebastian's ethereal form materializes next to her, and he gazes over to everyone, gritting his teeth. "Uh... Um..."

He clasps his ethereal hands together. "I found something."

Tipping her head up, Aristespha stares at Sebastian suspiciously, searching him. "Okay, Sebastian. What would that be?"

Sebastian's ghostly visage spins gradually to face Aristespha, and he manages to muster up a weak smile. "Well, dear... It's uh... It'd be easier to show."

He points down the hallway to a nearby side branch off the main trunk. "There's a SAFE vantage point down there."

Drifting forward towards the side passage, Sebastian pinches the bridge of nose, fighting the flits of reluctant annoyance. The group follows quickly behind, down the main hallway, turns down the offshoot, and travels along to the ending archway. Cideeda's nose twitches, an odor in the air bewildering her. "What? What is this smell? It's familiar... WHY?"

The passage opens up to a walkway, above a small arena, encircling high upon the back wall. Daylight radiates a column down from a single large opening above in the center of the roof upon a strange collection of gelatinous pools of pastel colored slime. A glistening coating engulfs every surface below in a rainbow of sticky hues. With each slow, oozing pass, slime creatures refresh the layers of glossy sheen. Colorful, amorphous blobs undulate along on the floor and slop over obstacles, splatting their jiggling forms. Occasionally, a mass will stop, spray a stream of viscous liquid at a random target, and slide along. Hundreds of slimy beings navigate the ramps and steps of the arena below, with new ones sporadically congealing out from the translucent pools. Sebastian rests his face firmly in the palm of his hand, witnessing the horrific disgust upon Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Bach gawks in absolute confusion and flounders with forming a response. "Huh? Wha? The fu..."

Cideeda visibly shrinks back and hugs herself uncomfortably. Dretphi's eye winces in erratic repetition, and she stares blankly at the scene before her. Sotalia's fingers flex on each hand, and a golden glow sparks in her eyes with each tightening of her fists. Aristespha surveys the scene, and the gray and blue hints of her ivory skin pale further. A thought crosses her mind. She blinks back to awareness. Lifting up her aetherphone, she navigates through a few menus and carefully reads a section of text on a document. Her violet eyes light up, and a wicked, smug grin reaches long, pointed ear to long, pointed ear on her face. "This is an INSPECTION ONLY job."

Sebastian shakes out of the stupor and hovers next to Aristespha. Snapping back to reality, the rest of the group congregates around, and pairs of eyes eagerly all examine the same section of text upon Aristespha's aetherphone. Sebastian snorts loudly with a ghostly reverb. A chorus of laughs, chuckles, and snickers flood the air from the team. Sotalia holds back her laughter briefly, strolling out. "WELL! Consider this place fucking INSPECTED! JOB. DONE."

Leading the group out through the entry, Sebastian shakes his head. "WELL, I guess that slime extermination job just got a lot bigger."

Cideeda snorts and grins in ill-humor, leaving with a skip to her step. "Hope whoever gets a bonus for this one."

Pausing in the rush of relief, Dretphi breathes out a long sigh and rushes ahead of the group. Aristespha finishes taking the last picture of the scene on her phone and clears past the entryway with Bach. Glancing over to Bach, she motions her head back. "OH! Could you please seal that opening off, and put a manual deactivation trigger on it?"

Bach's eyes glow blue and nods with a wry smirk. "GLADLY."

He reaches out a hand within the archway, and a golden hexagonal matrix forms out, weaving towards the ancient stonework doorway. "May the gods have mercy on whoever opens THIS up."

-37-

Under the simple, inexpensive coffee maker, a faint stream of vapor wafts out the top of the half full pot of coffee. A few torn open packets of creamer and sugar rest near a short stack of foam cups upon a small table. Early morning light beams into the modest hotel room from the sliding glass door leading to the small balcony. The sun's projection creeps past the regular bed with bags of personal care items and clothes stacked upon it. The radiant glow off the bed sheets illuminates a wide brimmed hat on a nightstand near a futon bed. Farthest from the glass window, the sunlight reaches the other regular bed. With an unconscious grumble, Heccaeh rolls his head away from the imposing radiance. A curled up dark blue whelp shuffles slightly on top of Heccaeh's chest, and a slumbering brown-striped whelp rises up and down upon his stomach, in sync with slow breaths of sleep. The persistence of dawn overtakes Heccaeh's fair, tan patterned face. The subconscious perk of a brown furred ear shields his eyes from little against the overwhelming sun. Following a series of mumbles, Heccaeh yawns wide and groggily opens his hazy gaze. Turning his head towards the ceiling, he attempts to lift his upper body off the bed. He pauses at the beginning of his attempt and studies the two weights on his body. Rolling his lavender eyes, he slips his arms free from under the covers and carefully sneaks his clawed fingers underneath the dark blue whelp. Gently he slides the slumbering whelp to one side of the mattress. Exercising similar care, he relocates the brown-striped whelp next to the other. His chaotic, shoulder length, tan hair settles, and he rises to a seat upon the bed. Sliding over to the edge, he places his clawed feet on the ground and stands up, teetering for balance briefly. He narrows his eyes towards the glass sliding door, discerning the two backlit figures on the balcony. Glances over at the coffee, he pauses and longingly eyes the bed. In place of two whelps, two large lumps stir underneath the daylight shielding cover, snuggling into the warmth of Heccaeh's prior spot. Heccaeh slowly shakes his head with a smile. "Lazy little shits."

Tugging his ratty, old t-shirt straight, he plods over to the small table with coffee and cups, scratching the backside of his loose gym shorts. His medium length, thin tail limply hangs. The scent of coffee sparks up the semblance of life. With precision and coordination uncanny, Heccaeh pours out a cup of coffee, follows a rehearsed routine of creamer and sweeteners, and lifts the concoction under his nose. With a long sniff of approval, he ambles towards the sliding glass door, breathing deeply of the brew. He reaches the door and slowly slides it open, his vision adjusting to the surge of natural brightness. Captain Hays glances over his shoulder from staring out past the balcony and laughs. "Well, good morning, sunshine."

Heccaeh cracks open his wincing eyes and peeks out from behind a shielding hand against the morning light. "Morning, Captain."

A sly grin gracing the young woman nearby, she leans against the brick hotel wall. "Heh. About time you woke up."

Heccaeh eyes the woman and sighs, opening his eyes slightly more. "Oh, come on, Chana... I'm still recovering from the late watch schedule."

Chana chuckles to herself, tips back her head of shiny, coppery hair against the wall, and closes her eyes, basking in the dawn warmth. Reopening her copper eyes, she gazes over towards Heccaeh with a kinder smile. "I know. Still... You really need to get to bed sooner."

Heccaeh shrugs his shoulders, turns to face Captain Hays, and studies the expression of reserved concern before him. "Um... Is there something wrong, Captain?"

Captain Hays twists his mouth and contemplatively hums in thought. "Don't know. Not yet."

Wandering his light blue around the quiet perimeter of the city, he furrows his brow. "Tell me, what do you hear right now?"

A few groggy blinks later, Heccaeh visibly puzzles and takes a long sip of his coffee. His brown furry ears focus out to the local soundscape, rotating, panning, and twisting around for noises. Furrowing his brow, he twists a vague grimace on his face. "Well... A few of the normal city sounds. But... Nothing else..."

He halts in thought, steps up to the railing of the balcony, and closes his eyes, sweeping his head around. His furry, pointed ears aiming out into the distance, a foreboding unease bubbles up his being, and he opens his eyes towards the Captain. "Nothing else at all. I don't hear any of the wildlife sounds we heard yesterday morning."

Chana frowns sharply with a hiss and bows herself off the wall. "Gods dammit... I was hoping I was just being paranoid."

Drawing in a long breath of air, Captain Hays grumbles. He nods in commiseration and strokes his beard. "And here I was hoping age may have finally taken some of my hearing away. No such luck, of course."

Pivoting away from the balcony railing, he steps towards the sliding glass door and pauses at the threshold into the hotel room. "Both of you pack up for a perimeter sweep today, please. I get the not so great feeling we shouldn't wander too far off away from town today. And..."

Tilting his head to the side with a smile, he watches the two large lumps in Heccaeh's bed squirm further from the sun beaming in. "Get the little ones ready to do some aerial recon."

He briefly snarls his upper lip and grumbles to himself, walking through the hotel room, sights upon the coffee pot. "Gods willing, may we find nothing... Nothing at all..."

----

Down the tall, wide stonework halls of the ancient structure, Chad proudly leads Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran, with Veevi at this side. Oozing bravado from a grin, Veevi keeps a hand on her holstered laser pistol and another hand on her hip. Turning down a branch from the derelict structure's main hall, the rest of the group follows behind Chad and Veevi, and search along the surrounding dust coated and age stained walls. Delving deeper into the shady passage, an unease looms over Tassilda, Trakenthin, Deedri, and Modoran. A few members of the camera crews maintain their cautious distance from ideal angles, capturing the progression down the dark corridor. Chad directs his voice over his shoulder with a bright white smile. "Do not fret. This should be the last stop for this mission. From what the report said, it was another colony of slimes that was recently discovered, related to the main infestation. So, it shouldn't be any worse than what we have faced so far."

Fingers drumming on the chassis of the laser pistol, Veevi excitedly chimes in with a skip to her step. "YES! More target practice from the sounds of it!"

Tassilda rolls her light blue on black eyes and groans disdainfully, glaring at the back of Veevi's pink haired head. "Oh. So that's what you are calling blindly firing at anything that moves and running around scared when anything gets near you?"

A snide sneer arches Veevi's upper lip, and she snaps her head back over shoulder, narrowing a mean stare at Tassilda. "Oh, on that same thought..."

Curling a damning smirk, she smugly calls back. "What do YOU call it when you panic cast spells at point blank range and shriek like a cheerleader when you get spattered with goo?"

Veevi and Tassilda lock eyes and silently engage in a staring contest, mutual contempt fueling both. Deedri shifts her gaze away from the competition, draws in a long breath, and sighs out long, letting her shoulders slack. "I just hope it's a small group we can keep our distance from. I don't have any more clean changes of outfits with me."

She lifts a hand up, adjusting the small bell around her neck. Flicking her furry, tufted ears downwards, she notices the silence from it. With an exhale of relief escaping her, she hides the slime residue on the exterior of the bell with a quick wipe from her fingers. "This slime is really tough to clean off."

Trakenthin spots a patch of congealed muck on his armor plating, grunts out some irritation, and reaches into his pack. Retrieving a spray bottle, he holds it in front of his visor and reads over the label. He pulls the lever trigger and spritzes down the thickened patch of slime. Modoran shrugs his shoulders and casually strolls along at the back of the group, glancing behind the team. "Well, at least these aren't the corrosive variety. That stuff is nasty."

Nodding in agreement, Trakenthin tugs out a roll of paper towels from his backpack and carefully wipes the loosened ooze off his armor plating. "Indeed. Would need DAYS to repair armor from exposure."

Chad slows to a stop, lifting a hand up to motion a halt to the group. Waiting for the team to gather behind him, he squints his brown eyes at the golden barrier in front of them, at the end of the passage. "This type of barrier looks familiar... I just can't recall how."

Tassilda and Deedri peer around Chad and Veevi and exchange intrigued glances between each other. Both mirror a silent agreement upon their faces, acknowledging their shared suspicions. Veevi boldly steps up to the barrier, swaying her pink, short-haired tail. Standing in the filtered light glowing through the field, she taps a finger solidly onto the transparent golden surface and pivots around to Chad. "Well? So, how do we get it open?"

Drawing an aetherphone out of his pants pocket, Chad taps the screen, scrolls through paragraphs of text, and settles upon the last entry in the notes section of a listing. "If you want to do the honors, then..."

He furrows his brow and cocks his head. "There should be a disc in the middle that you turn clockwise three times."

Spinning back around into a dramatic pose for a nearby camera, Veevi visibly puzzles and studies the barrier. She hovers a sharp nailed finger near the magical wall, grips onto a raised energy disc in the barrier, and spins the large dial quickly. Three revolutions later, the disc disappears in a cloud of flow. The sealing field disperses into the air, and the magical miasma fades into a thinning vapor. Veevi's pink pupil eyes widen with a manic spark. Drawing her laser pistol ready, she grins eagerly and lifts an excited eyebrow towards Chad. "Ready?"

Chad dons his trademark brilliant grin, puffs up his chest under his breastplate, and strides forward. Veevi edges out in front of Chad and leads the team out of the dark passage onto the brightly lit walkway overlooking a huge, open arena. Veevi's prior eagerness shatters, her senses witnessing the horrific scene in front of her. The slime molds ooze with impunity around the entirety of the architecture, expressing an implied superiority over their small domain. Struggling to maintain a bold, willing expression, Chad settles for a false smirk, hiding the welling reluctance from the plastic wrap armored camera crew around. Recording teams cautiously spread out and hunt for ideal recording angles. Tassilda covers her mouth in shock, her light blue pupils widen, and her gray complexion pales a shade. Deedri grits her sharp teeth and reflexively winces her cheek, constant twitch manifesting. Lowering his eyelids nearly over his hazel eyes, Trakenthin angles down a completely unamused glare upon Chad. Keeping his lips tight, Modoran squelches a laugh into an awkward snort and averts his darkly humored face. Seconds of silence later, the surprise wears off, and he manages to mouth out. "Well... Fuck us..."

From the high stonework ceiling above, a pastel colored, liter-sized slime free falls. It lands semi-solidly in a wet squishing flop onto the walkway in front of Veevi. A laser pistol muzzle lowers down at the small slime mold. The pinkish, translucent blob remains still in the tense seconds, under many watchful stares. Quirking her eyebrow, Veevi blinks confused at the motionless mass and furrows her brow curiously. "Huh? I guess the fall killed it?"

The blob contracts itself tightly and ejects a stringy stream of viscous gel at Veevi. The jet of mucus splats squarely between her eyes, wanders down towards her mouth, and trails a gelatinous spew onto her chest, flowing down her tight fitting, light armor. In wide eyed shock, Veevi blinks aghast and slowly pivots around to the group, her arms rising up in sheer disgust. "Buh... Ungh... Wha..."

Out from the team's silent surprise, a malicious light ignites Tassilda's eyes. A devious grin menaces at Veevi, and Tassilda poses smug and superior. Presenting a mocking, waving motion of the hand, she scoffs derisively. "And I thought YOU... Of all people... would be used to something like THAT."

A rage boils up inside Veevi, and she spits out a wad of muck on the floor in front of Tassilda, drawing back her lips and revealing her sharp, gritting teeth. Cackling out into the echoing arena, Tassilda narrows her light blue on black eyes upon Veevi. "Well! That conveniently answers my other question."

Narrowing her ire upon Chad, she sneers her upper lip. "Right, Chad?"

Chad flashes a mean glare towards Tassilda. Veevi growls loudly and points angrily at Tassilda, sputtering out remnants of ooze between furious words. Trakenthin, Modoran, and Deedri attempt to maintain calm, neutral expressions, against the building pressure of sheer amusement.

----

Crawling upon a wood plank floor, Cideeda sweeps a flashlight underneath a simple, dusty wood-framed couch and flicks her eyes around the underside of rusting springs and flowing cobwebs. Sighing in defeat, she slides back out from under the furniture,and springs up into the rustic room, brushing the futz off her body suit. "Okay. So, he didn't hide anything under the couch."

Dretphi stands up on the toes of her boots and peers over layers of undisturbed powdery haze on the office shelving against the wall, sneering disgustedly with a twist of her lips. "Nothing found here."

With her arms crossed, Sotalia wanders around in the middle of the main section of the small office outbuilding and grumbles to herself, a frustrated frown forming. "Gods damn it... Well, it figures the one place I picked would be a bust. Shit."

Her fingers ruffling through a pile of blank, age yellowed paper, Aristespha glances over to Sotalia and smiles, granting a little reassurance. "Oh, it's not a waste. Noxian likely was here at some point in the recent months. The fact it is an archaeological site office is very interesting though, given what we have learned lately."

From the drop ceiling above, Sebastian's ghostly form phases through and floats down, hovering just above the floor. He shrugs his translucent shoulders and softens his disappointed frown for the team. "Well... Nothing up in the attic of this place. One less squirrel given how quickly it ran out the hole in the roof vent when it saw me pop in."

With floorboards creaking, heavy armored boots step slowly across the room towards the large front window. Dretphi peers out into the dirt lot, narrowing her steely gray eyes, and concentrates upon faint, water washed tire ruts in the soil. Seconds later, a frown curls upon her tan face, and she releases a long sigh. "May have been recent tracks. Can not tell. Weathered away."

A muffled flush sounds out from behind a door with a restroom sign. The bathroom door opens, and Bach steps out, furrowing his brow, and shakes his head with his thoughts. "Yeah... Checked the toilet tank, and the plumbing works perfectly fine. So, I doubt that anything was hidden in there. Nothing tucked under the sink, either."

Contorting his tanning face, he scratches the back of his head and curiously searches between the rest of the team. "Hey, wait, haven't the police and government investigators picked this place apart already?"

Uncrossing her arms, Sotalia places her hands on her hips and dismissively rolls her golden eyes with an unsatisfied huff. "Yes. Yes, they did. BUT, you never quite know if they got everything. To be fair, your average law enforcement is looking for evidence of NORMAL crimes."

She draws a long breath, gently exhales out her simmering frustration, and manages a calm smirk. "They're not expected to deal with someone like Noxian. It's a little out of their usual jurisdiction."

Twisting her mouth on her light tan face, gray bordered face, she scans her stare across the office and grumbles to herself. "I totally thought he'd at least stop by here on his way from Anta."

Dretphi pivots in place, quirks an eyebrow at Sotalia, and tilts her head of platinum blonde braids. "He may have. Lack of evidence is not lack of possibility."

Straightening her posture with a thought, she narrows her steely gray eyes upon the abandoned archaeological site, visible through the main window. Her stare searches along the aging fence encircling the area and settles upon the rusty lock on the entry gate. Turning her head slowly towards the rest of the group, she lifts an eyebrow, curiosity curling a intrigued smirk. "Did any report mention exploration of the site?"

Thoughtful silence floods the room. Everyone exchanges glances, and revelations dawn upon each. Aristespha steps over towards the large, wide office window, cocks her head to the side, and squints towards the aged worn ancient architecture. Her violet eyes flip through memories, and she furrows her brow. "Surprisingly... No."

Crossing her arms, she straightens her posture, lifts a hand up under her chin, and rests her head on top. Sebastian hovers over next to Aristespha's side, an intrigued smile forming from the corner of his mouth. "If I remember right, there was a lot about what they found in and around HERE... Where they found obvious signs of him being here. But..."

He narrows his stare out to the aging metal fence and the untouched lock on the closed gate. "Not a damn thing said about them checking in THAT site."

Donning a quizzical grimace, Bach ambles up to the front door and peeks through the smaller inset window. "Well, given our latest discoveries, I get the distinct impression that these ancient sites are not just a coincidence."

A smug grin graces Sotalia, she strolls up to the door, guiding Bach off to the side, and turns the doorknob. "So... Anyone against a little off the record exploration?"

Cideeda reaches her clawed fingers into a vest pouch, lifts out a soft, thick fabric case, and presents a toothy grin to the rest of the team. "Hey, as long as the lock goes back the way we found it, was it ever really disturbed?"

Furrowing her brow and tilting her head down, Dretphi eyes Cideeda and mumbles faintly sardonic. "Yes."

Excitement driving Cideeda's gait, she nearly skips out the opened door. She unfolds the carrier and gleefully examines an array of lockpicks within. "Details, details. It's been a while since I got to use my nice set of picks!"

----

Rolling down the Hattan city streets, a stifling, awkward quiet presses down upon the Flames of the Phoenix inside the cab of the black sports utility vehicle. Keeping his brown eyes forward with a persistent unamused scowl, Chad navigates through the busy downtown traffic. His fingers reflexively comb through his ooze slicked hair. Startling to awareness, he shakes the residue off his hand, disgust twisting his face. Behind him, Tassilda futilely towels a stubborn mass of congealed slime, trying to free it from her raven black hair. Grimacing sharply, she strains and tugs upon the glob. Many tries later, she flops the heavy towel on her lap and stares out the window in defeat, sunlight shining upon the glistening layer soaking her form fitting clothing. Sitting on the back bench seat, Trakenthin inspects an empty spray bottle of cleaner and rattles the trace specs of fluid left. Examining the dried splatter upon his armor plating, he unleashes a long, annoyed sigh, and drops the bottle on the floor of the cab, sharp resignation curling his frown. Modoran nonchalantly relaxes on the other, cleaner side of the back seat. Glancing over his shoulder into the cargo space, he eyes his slime coated short swords next to the team's ooze soaked gear and shrugs indifferently. He casually settles back comfortably within his dry and unscathed light, form fitting armor suit. In the seat ahead, Deedri momentarily loosens her strategically crossed arms, inspects the state of her outfit, and frowns in stale embarrassment. Hooking her clawtips into the fabric, she attempts to pull the damp, clingy cloth off her figure and groans quietly, dismay renewing with each adhering tug. Leering over the shoulder of the front passenger seat, Veevi eagerly gazes at Deedri with a hungry smirk and seductive lift of her eyebrow. Subconsciously sensing the pair of eyes upon her, Deedri cinches her arms back over her chest and conceals the newly revealing section of her garment. She flashes a stern glare ahead. Darkly giggling, Veevi turns herself forward in the seat and arches her back in a stretch, sliding her hands down her slime soaked shirt. "OH. Live a little! Flaunt it if you got it..."

Seconds in front of a green light later, Chad snaps back to awareness, spots the traffic signal change, and refocuses upon driving the vehicle, accelerating forward. "WELL... It's a mission accomplished. Despite the..."

He swallows hard and grumbles. "Difficulties."

Rolling her light blue on black eyes dismissively, Tassilda groans loudly with her irritation. "Difficulties?! Is THAT what we are calling THIS?"

Chad narrows his eyes down the road ahead and shakes his head in frustration, a few globules swinging from the tips of his hair. "We're almost back to the hotel and proper showers."

Discomfort radiating, Deedri secures the wrap of her arms around her upper body and shrinks into her seat. "Good. Park down stairs, run to the elevators, and go straight to the hotel room. That's the plan right?"

Chad offers only a foreboding silence in response. Leaning forward, Tassilda arches an accusatory eyebrow at Chad, through the rear view mirror. "Well? What ever is the plan, O' Great Leader?"

A forced smile shoves itself upon Chad's face, and he musters a trace of bravado in his tone. "We are to pull up to the hotel drop off and walk in through the front doors. The line for the fan meet up is queued up there."

Tassilda drills an ireful scowl through the headrest in front of her, into the back of Chad's glistening head. Drawing in a long breath, Trakenthin weakly growls another fit of resignation, shaking his head in absolute disdain. Modoran relaxes with a yawn and rolls his shoulders indifferently. A mischievous smile graces Veevi. Blinking her auburn eyes in pure shock, Deedri glances down her slime soaked wardrobe, and her fair complexion visibly pales. Tassilda gazes over in concern, picks up the small, clean towel, and offers it to Deedri. "It's, unfortunately, not much I'm afraid."

Sighing, Deedri nods appreciatively and carefully grasps onto the tiny cloth offering. "T-Thank you..."

In the back seat, Modoran's very long, pointed ears twitch with the wavering tone in Deedri's voice. His dark blue eyes search his mind, and he brushes his hand on his dry, clean light armor top. Deedri sizes up the towel reluctantly, and her furry, damp ears flick behind her towards a zipping noise. Blinking in confusion, she glances over to motion beside her and spots Modoran's outfit top. Gently waving the heavy fabric garment around, Modoran offers in a soft tone. "Here."

Hesitating for a mere moment, Deedri graciously accepts the cover and swiftly drapes the article over herself, peering over her shoulder towards Modoran. "THANK YOU so much..."

Sentence trailing off, her auburn eyes widen, and a flush of pink fills her cheeks. Modoran nonchalantly stretches out his arms and settles upon the back seat, shirtless. Granting a small wave, he casually gazes out the side window with a genuine smile. "Not a problem."

With a simple nod and a muted smile, Deedri faces forward, glances down at the jacket top, and slips it on. Tassilda sneaks a tap of the elbow onto Deedri's side and reveals a sly smirk. Deedri fails to hide her amusement, subtly biting her lip, and latches the zipper tracks of the light armor garment together. Peeking over the front passenger's seat, a pair of pink pupil eyes narrow unamused.

----

On the hood of an old, weathered jeep off on the shoulder of hillside road, Chana sits with her legs crossed, hands together, and her eyes closed. Breathing calmly and slowly, she occasionally tilts her head with a curious twinge in her face. "I can't quite put my finger on it... But, something distant feels... ODD."

Standing a few meters away next to a grass covered guardrail, Captain Hays lifts up a pair of binoculars and searches the sprawling green canopy of treetops from the vantage point of the winding hillside road edge. Heccaeh stares out into the distance, opposite of Hays. Hooding his lavender eyes with a hand, he squints out towards the horizon and sweeps the skyline. "Huh, strange. Looks like Ralli and Orrento are flying back this way."

He cocks his head to the side and grimaces. "But... It's way too early for them to return."

A puzzled eyebrow lifts up on Chana's sun-tanned face, and she blinks from her trance towards Heccaeh. "They're moving really fast! Way faster than I normally sense them flying."

Hays aims his binoculars towards the growing outlines of the whelps and tracks their swift approach in. His eyes widen from behind the lenses, and he shouts out. "Heccaeh! Get ready. They're not slowing down."

Heccaeh blinks confused and flicks his furry ears forward towards a cacophony of squawks and screeches echoing out. Bracing himself, he shifts his weight and holds his arms forward, hands open. "What the-"

The dark blue whelp pitches its wings sharply, fans out into an air brake moments before impact, and latches onto Heccaeh's shoulder. The brown-striped whelp swoops tightly around the other side of Heccaeh, claws onto his duster, and scrambles up to the top of his back. Both the creatures constantly repeat the same distinctive, crude mimicries of fvalian words, crawling around chaotically in a sheer panic. Dancing around for balance, Heccaeh struggles to secure the frightened whelps and flails about in vain. "The fuck is up with you two! Calm the hell down!"

Chana swiftly slides off the hood of the jeep, rushes over to Heccaeh, and wraps her arms around the dark blue whelp. Hays tosses the binoculars onto a nearby vehicle seat cushion, sprints over to the other side of Heccaeh, and reaches out for the brown striped whelp. His cybernetic arm clamps down upon the handle of the frightened creature's harness, and carefully pulls the critter back. Chana hoists up the dark blue whelp, freeing scrambling claws from Heccaeh coat, and rocks the critter gently, soothing some of the frantic fear. Hays secures the brown striped whelp long enough for Heccaeh to get a hold. With a loud bellow, Heccaeh yells out sternly in a dialect of fvalian and the two whelps silence immediately, staring wide eyed. Each of the subdued critters blinks anticipating, spooked gazes towards Heccaeh. Releases a long exhale, Hays furrows a concerned brow at Heccaeh. "OKAY. So, WHAT is going on?"

Rolling his duster back in place on his shoulders, Heccaeh straightens himself and collects his composure. Catching his breath, he stares down at the bright, brown eyes of the striped whelp and calmly, firmly speaks. "Orrento. What see?"

Orrento blinks thoughtfully a few moments and very roughly mimics out the same chain of fvalian words from before. Heccaeh nods to Orrento and directs his gaze to the dark blue whelp. "Ralli. What see?"

Ralli pulls her head out from hiding underneath Chana's arm and quickly repeats another vague approximation of the same fvalian words, buries her head back. Bewilderment overtakes Heccaeh, and he faces Hays worried, pondering out loud. "Well... They saw SOMETHING. They're repeating the same thing. Um... Black. Fire. Huge. Walking?"

With the last word from Heccaeh's mouth, Hays's expression crashes into solemn dread, and his posture stiffens against the severity. Slowly pivoting around, he squints into the distance and draws in a slow, wary breath. "Are. You. Sure?"

Tensing equally in the moment, Chana and Heccaeh watch Hays. Heccaeh nods and glances between the two terrified whelps. "Yes, Captain. Both have said the same thing over and over. They're too scared to say anything else right now."

Hays nods firmly and quickly steps over to the jeep, dutiful determination prominent on his weathered face. "OKAY. Load up the little ones, check their harness trackers, and figure out roughly where they encountered..."

Gritting his teeth, he hisses in a stressed breath through clenched teeth. "Whatever the hell they saw..."

He retrieves an aetherphone from his jacket pocket and taps out a number. Lifting the phone to his ear, a voice at the other end greets him, and he interrupts. "This is Captain Hays of the Borderland Rangers. I need an emergency aerial recon in the Hattan area. Who do you have in the area RIGHT NOW?"

----

Within a large hotel ballroom, a long, winding line of people splits out into different queues. Between the posts of belt barriers, loose gatherings of people wait expectantly and gradually shift towards the end of their sections, space permitting. Across the cleared carpeted floors, opposite lines taped at the mouths of each path, Chad, Veevi, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin sit at individual promotional booths, piles of The Next Adventurers of Nexus swag littering the tabletops in front of them. Beaming a brilliant, proud grin to an overflowing line, Chad poses full bravado within the flashes of multiple cameras, his trademark prideful voice cutting through the background drone. Veevi exaggeratedly proclaims her appreciation of the admiration of the crowd packing her line and rewards their attention with cute, coy poses, bordering on suggestive. With an elaborate, fanciful signature, she signs both The Next Adventurers of Nexus and her musical career promotional material, granting a little extra decoration upon her favorite products. Capturing the full focus of a fan recording video, she sings out a chorus line from one of her songs along with a few attendees.

Sitting awkwardly behind the table next to Veevi's, Deedri's smile fights to contain and obscure her wide eyed, near panic. She politely field fan after fan for pictures, the bell around her neck ringing with each new pose. She stares out into the mass people before her in line, a mixture of terror and shock competing upon her fair face. In the booth next to hers, Modoran maintains a suave and debonair exterior and entertains the many requests of the people arriving at his table. With a shorter line, he nonchalantly spends the extra time for each person. Exuding a sultry confidence, Tassilda provocatively styles her presentation with a dark, controlling charm, tossing her raven black hair over her swirling horns for cameras. During the lulls of visitors at her table, she scans the overflow waiting in queues for Veevi and Deedri. With a specific focus upon Veevi's patronage, she winks at potential detractors with an alluring curl of the finger, beckoning them over to her line.

Trakenthin idly scrolls through paragraphs of text on his aetherphone, purposefully ignoring the few stranglers that wander into his queue. Hearing the hem of a young man in front of him, Trakenthin glances up and acknowledges the existence of a stubborn, determined fan. Moments later, he narrows his hazel eyes and glares harshly at him. A minute passes, and Trakenthin slowly rises from his seat. Towering his two meter height over the young man, he leans forward and emphasizes the sheer difference in stature. He focuses a cold, stoic stare downwards and waits expectantly, darkening his glare by the second. Behind the young man, a group of his friends tap capture buttons on their phones.

"Holy shit, dude! You got him to stand up and stare you down! I'm posting this picture on the forums!"

The loose gathering of compatriots depart and leave behind an empty line. Maintaining the glare upon the group, Trakenthin catches their glances back towards the booth. He narrows his hazel eyes, furrows his brow, and coldly concentrates on the group, encouraging their exit from the ballroom. Moments later, he lowers himself back down onto the fold out metal chair, settles upon his seat, and resumes reading the text on his phone. Peacefully dragging his finger through a few more pages of text, he focuses upon the words. A young woman's voice politely addresses. "Umm... Hey. Sorry to interrupt."

A grimace forms on Trakenthin's dark bronze face, and he starts to summon up a dismissive grunt. He lifts his head up from his aetherphone, flicks his eyes upwards, and pauses, his face blanking in genuine surprise. A young, tall woman with piercing hazel eyes smiles hopefully and lifts up a book, showcasing the cover. "This is going to sound REALLY WEIRD, but..."

She wrestles down an awkward grin. "I saw you reading this book on an episode... And... I started reading it myself."

Blinking in a sudden surge of confusion, Trakenthin tilts his head to the side. He snaps his stare upon the book, and his eyes spring open with immediate recognition. The young woman subtly squirms in a fit of embarrassment and brushes back her long silvery hair over a shoulder. "Well, I just wanted to thank you for, um... I guess, reading it during the show. I've enjoyed it immensely."

Lifting his head up, Trakenthin gazes at the tall woman's tan face and smiles genuinely to her, nodding in delight. "You are welcome. I wait for the next book release."

The woman lights up and bows slightly. She lifts her hand to wave and steps back to leave. With an eagerly curious tone, Trakenthin calls out to her. "Who do you think will be the chosen?"

Stray hairs swaying with the momentum, the young, tall woman halts and swings her attention back over excitedly. "Oh! I don't know. I think it's between Caspan and Mayon. I just can't see any way that Jonas would be chosen."

Minutes passing, Trakenthin and the young woman discuss enthusiastically about the book. Between the topics, she flips open her book to particular pages and points out certain passages. Theories driving the debate, he summons up collections of paragraphs on his aetherphone and presents his explanation. Each maneuvers the debate around and presses the other's points, revealing their honest thoughts. A quarter hour late, a large group of people file into the queue leading toward Trakenthin's booth. The young, tall woman glances over her shoulder, notices the growing line with surprise, and apologizes all around. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I tend to ramble on."

Gazing out towards the exit, she waves at a group of people curiously watching both her and Trakenthin. She faces Trakenthin with an embarrassed eye roll at herself. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't take up any more of your time. Thank you, I really enjoyed talking to you!"

Watching her balance shift to walk away, panic grips Trakenthin, and he searches the table. "W-wait! I-I should sign an item for you."

Fumbling around the tabletop, he frantically flips through the scattered, cheap promo materials. Despair weighs down his frown, and he hunts in vain. The woman thrusts forth a pen and the book opened at the inner cover. Glancing up, Trakenthin watches her smile and wink and bashfully takes the pen. He signs his full name, stops, and gazes up mildly ashamed. "I apologize... What is your name?"

The young woman chimes bright and happily. "Shayuri."

Trakenthin nods graciously, finishes a message, and returns the pen. With a wave, Shayuri steps away and rushes over to her group of friends. Smiling well after Shayuri leaves with the group, Trakenthin drifts his gaze around the area. He spots the many stares upon him with each wandering pass. Modoran blinks in complete bewilderment, cocking his head of short grayish white hair, and crosses his arms in disbelief. Covering her mouth with both hands together, Tassilda's light blue on black eyes open up in sheer amusement, and she giggles quietly. "Oh, my gods... That was ever so precious."

Leaning back in his chair, Modoran calls out towards Trakenthin around Tassilda, sporting an eager, quizzical grin. "SO. You did write your phone number in her book. Right?!"

A harsh sneer arches up Trakenthin's upper lip, his hazel eyes narrow with an unamused glint, and a frown pulls back the corner mouth, revealing teeth.

"Hey, could you sign this?"

Trakenthin swings his glare over to a nearby fan thrusting a promotional group photo towards him. A marker hovers close, the odor wafting over and irritating Trakenthin nose. Indignantly sweeping his stare over the items before him, he slowly rises from his seat to his full height. Leveling a soul piercing, stoically cold glare right into the face of the fan, he grunts solidly into a trailing growl. The young man cautiously steps back a meter and stalls his retreat. Trakenthin systematically cracks each knuckle, each pop jarring the teenager further and further away. The guy reconsiders and rushes away into the back of another line.

From a raised platform in the corner of the room, Gerald smirks, chuckling to himself, and adjusts his shoulder mounted video camera. Drawing a dark grin across her face, Samantha glances over towards Gerald. "Oh, please, tell me you got THAT."

Gerald simply smiles and sets his sights upon the next shot through the viewfinder. "Every bit of it. Of course."

----

A weathered jeep with spotty, worn green paint speeds down the twisting access road, riding the edges of the banked corners. Locking her copper eyes forward on the road ahead, Chana brakes hard before the sharp turns, maintaining pace through, and opens up on the straightaways. Heccaeh sways with the forces and checks on the two whelps, Ralli and Orrento, each in a secured carrier crate. Captain Hays's cybernetic arm clamps firmly onto the overhead roll bar, preventing him from sliding with the shifts in acceleration and direction. Keeping his aetherphone to his head, he calls out in a commanding, official tone. "This is Captain Hays, who am I speaking to?"

Over the phone's loudspeaker, a man's voice responds with the hints of background wind on the other side of the call. "Kaleb Hellstrom, sir."

Hays nods to himself and scans the skies above, squinting between the clouds. "I've heard that name before. Are you the dragon rider that's done a few northern borderlands surveys?"

Kaleb sounds out promptly, a sprinkling of pride slipping out. "Yes, sir! Just flying back from a weird zone perimeter survey this morning when I got the call from the guild."

The jeep slows to a stop at an intersection connecting the access road to the main highway. Chana swiftly searches both directions for traffic and guns the vehicle down the highway towards the city, a cloud of pebbles and dust spewing out behind. Hays warily stares out into the distant hills between the trees and draws a long breath of air. "GOOD. You should have the coordinates from the guild office. I need you to do a pass over the area from HIGH UP... For your own safety."

The microphone on Kaleb's side of the call rubs against a surface, and he speaks clearly, caution tinting his cadence. "Okay. I am coming up on the coordinates... Uh, what am I exactly looking for, sir?"

With a growing roar from the engine, the jeep accelerates up to highway speeds. Hays presses his elbow against the window switch on his door armrest and triggers his window to roll up. Adjusting his voice to the lowered noise level, he sighs with traces of an unhappy grumble. "Something BIG and walking around."

Static crackles sound out from the phone, and a strange distortion adds a warping, faint echo into the background. Kaleb's voice pushes through the interference. "Okay, sir. I'll see what's there. I should be in the rough area now. Waiting for a fix on my navigational computer from the ground beacons to confirm. Wow, I'm having some really strange interference-"

He pauses mid sentence, allowing the interference to dominate the connection. Crackling seconds later, Kaleb's confusion colors his voice. "I'm seeing signs that something has happened here.... Definitely to the southwest of Hattan. Strange... I see a few trees down that look really recently cut, um, wait, pushed down?"

A sharp deep shriek funnels into the microphone from the other end of the conversation and intrigue seizes Kaleb. "Wait. Lagi senses something... Where is it, Lagi!? Okay... He's flying towards something, and it looks like the fallen trees are all along the same direction. Something big is definitely moving through, and it is big enough to knock down-"

Along a surge of static, He pauses and momentarily gasps. "Oh, WOW... Actually snapped these huge trees."

Narrowing his light blue eyes towards the southwest, Hays firmly states a warning. "Keep your altitude high. Stay way up there. While I hope it's nothing, I don't want any unnecessary risks. Just need a visual confirmation from you."

Kaleb reaffirms the mutual understanding. "Understood. Okay... Whatever it is, it's practically going in a straight path towards town. There's almost no deviation and..."

A thunderous shriek bellows out and temporarily overloads the microphone to squelched silence. Hays's body tenses, he snaps at concern, yelling out to the phone. "Come in?! Kaleb? Are you okay?!"

A cacophony of distortion, static, movement, and wind blasts out the aetherphone's speaker. The surge of audio chaos distracts both Chana and Heccaeh. A minute later, the noise calms down. Kaleb's voice rises up into the call, coherent words sound out between heavy pants. "Yes! Yes! I'm okay. Sorry, sir! Lagi and I had to- Uh- Increase our safe distance... But. We have... Something?!"

Hays brings the phone closer to his ear and speaks slow, firm. "What does it look like?"

Puzzling out loud, Kaleb audibly fumbles for the right descriptive words. "Uh, um... A giant man... Covered in... Black fire that-"

He halts mid sentence, and a horrific realization looms in the tremor of his words. "SIR. Is THIS, uh- What I think it IS?"

A long exhale escapes Hays, and he grits his teeth, sifting in a tense breath. "Send me the best picture you can."

The old jeep speeds past a Hattan city information sign off to the side of the road. Maintaining the vehicle's direction, Chana's focus drifts to the eerie dead air pouring out from the phone. Heccaeh flicks a furry ear at the phone and tends to the spooked whelps, hiding well within their cages. Captain Hays's phone chirps a notification. Holding the phone out in front him, he trains his eyes upon the display and presses his thumb on the new message. The screen renders a photograph. The whites of Hays's eyes grow, a shades of color leaves his face, and his body tenses stiffly. He resolutely calls out to Kaleb. "It, unfortunately, IS. I want you to know, you've done your job and can go home, FAR FROM HERE."

Reluctantly, Hays pushes back hesitation and pleads sincerely. "BUT, if you can, we're going to need eyes on that thing. I don't want to ask too much but-"

Kaleb interrupts with a long sigh and a nervous chuckle. "Lagi and I will do what we can, sir. It doesn't seem to even be paying any attention to us, right now. So, I think we can track it safely, for now."

A smirk parts from the corner of Hays's mouth, and he slowly nods gratefully. "EXCELLENT. Ranger Heccaeh will transmit all the official radio frequencies. Switch over to them and keep us updated. I need to make a few calls."

Kaleb confirms. "Understood, sir."

The call ends, and Captain Hays taps through a series of menus, searching through a list of contacts. He swings his glance to Chana and Heccaeh. "Heccaeh, contact Kaleb and see if you can figure out the trajectory and speed of that thing. Chana head straight to city hall. Park it in the lobby if you have to."

A progress bar appears on Captain Hays's phone, and he waits with a grimace, a solemn staring out towards the southwest. The bar finishes, and the phone remains silent. For minutes, only the wind whipping outside competes against the quiet dread filling the cab. The phone rings. Captain Hays lifts the aetherphone to his ear, attempts a smile, and settles for only halfway smirk. "Hey, Hackle. Sorry for your heart attack, but we're short on time. and Hattan is going to need anything it can get as soon as possible."

Clenching his teeth, and he solemnly grumbles. "Worst part, it doesn't even know it needs it, yet."

Nodding with Captain Hackle, Hays keeps the phone pressed against his ear and sighs, faint tracing of relief slipping out. "Thank you. If you can, let them know we are on our way. That will save us time in trying to get through the official bullshit. We'll do what we can do from there."

Glancing out to the southwest, he squints into the horizon. "Also, we've got a guild contractor in the air keeping an eye on it."

He grants a final nod and sighs. "Well. I'll let you get to it. Thanks, again."

Pulling the phone off his ear, he presses the end call button on screen and sinks back into his seat. Heccaeh blinks in thought, leans up into the space between the front driver's and passenger's seats, and uncertainly ponders out loud. "Uh, Captain. What's the plan, and how are we going to do it?"

Puffing up his chest lungfuls of air, Hays wells with determination and tilts his head to each shoulder, solid cracks of the neck sounding. "We somehow evacuate one of the largest towns in the area to get as many people clear in what little time we may have."

He stiffens his neck and hides a hard swallow. "And... Hope there's a town left to return to."

A solemn frown weighs down his tone, and Captain Hays's gaze searches in utter vain. "As for how? That's a good fucking question. The last time any major city in this part of the world tried to evacuate out of the path of a Nightmare Geist was Dothan.

He stares coldly through Chana and Heccaeh, his thoughts visibly swirling on his aged face. "May the gods have mercy on us all, if THAT is what we are having to compare to."

-38-

A small, blue, brightly glowing orb drifts up towards the tallest part of the dusty, old wall, touches the rune inscribed surface, stops in place, sticking to the smooth stone. A circular arc of illumination glows out from the point, and small shadows stretch out from the edges of finely detailed carvings, darkening the depressions. Another ball of light floats towards the engraved stone, halts upon contact, and shines out another source of light in the mix. Aristespha squints her violet eyes at the shapes and glyphs carved and studies the writing further, pointing out another spot of interest. Bach carefully aims his hand at the target and gently launches another small blue, glowing orb out. Sotalia's golden eyes scan the wall, her head stops along points, and she leans her scrutinizing stare forward, closer. She taps Aristespha's shoulder and motions towards a section of aged inscriptions. Nearby in the ancient chamber, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian cautiously examine a large, round platform in the middle of the huge space. Dretphi aims a high-powered spotlight out upon the intricate stonework and traces the outlines of the many smaller structures surrounding the platform, glints of light reflecting from the materials embedded. Cideeda deftly examines the strange, familiar console, obvious cabling leading to other equipment near the central system. Hovering around overhead, Sebastian surveys the vast interior from above and fights the building, uncomfortable recognition between grimaces. "This... This is REALLY similar to the Orth Ridge site. I can't shake that feeling any more."

Sotalia nods uncomfortably and crosses her arms tightly. Sighing, she cocks her head to the side in thought and idly drums her long nailed fingers on her arm. "Have to agree... This writing is almost the same as the bits and pieces I saw inside that damned chamber Noxian was pulling power from."

An eyebrow perks on Aristespha's ivory face, and she places her hands on her hips with a curious gaze upon the litany of engraved script on the wall. "Yes. But... The context seems... Different. I would have to sit down and decipher the proper translations."

She wanders of gaze around the dimly lit chamber and sighs. "But, I get the distinct impression that this place's purpose is not exactly the same as the Orth Ridge site. There are certain differences."

Stepping away and shaking his stare away from the inscribed stone surface, Bach scans his blue eyes across the area and ponders the situation out, twisting the corners of his mouth with his contemplation. "Well, it looks like it has a smaller version of that elder energy collector chamber? Thankfully, it doesn't have that nightmare factory attached to it. So, maybe... It's just an energy gathering site? A remote collector? Or maybe, something for a local project?"

The large spot lamp shines a huge, bright circle of light around the chamber. Dretphi pauses her sweep, gradually backtraces along the path, and focuses the beam upon a crumbling wooden pallet of canisters. partially hidden under a decay tarp. A glint from a small, dark window in the sides of the half meter tall cylindrical containers contrasts the dull sheen of faded warning labels adorning the quarter meter wide exterior. Dretphi's steely gray eyes narrow. Her attention locks onto a small detail. Approaching cautiously, her eyes spring wide open. In the moment, she confirms her suspicions and directs her voice back to the rest of the group. "Dust has been disturbed on these vessels."

Standing back from the control console, Cideeda places her hands on her hips and nods to herself, confirming her own theories. She glances over her shoulder and calls out to the team. "Same with the controls over here. Someone stood here, and worked on this system. You can see the contrast between how thick the dust buildup is."

She takes another step back, lightly scratches a toe claw tip through the layer of age upon the stonework floor, and narrows her emerald green eyes at the differences nearby. "The dirt on the platform has been stirred up, too. Nothing too recent. Still... A lot sooner than I'm happy about."

Sebastian flies down between Dretphi and Cideeda, glancing between the two. "Okay. So, any guess at how recently it was all mixed up?"

Turning her head back from Sebastian, Dretphi faces the lightly dusted hand mark in the thicker coating on many of the containers and furrows her brow thoughtfully between examinations. Squinting her emerald green eyes down, Cideeda squats down and studiously compares the different surfaces of the ancient equipment, stone platform, and recent marks. She lifts her head away and glances over to Dretphi. "Um, again, it's not recent. You don't get this much build up that quickly unless something is adding or stirring dust to the area."

Wrestling an uncertain frown, she shrugs her shoulders under her vest towards Dretphi and Sebastian. "I'd guess over a month? I don't think much more than two?"

Seconds later, Dretphi nods and sighs out her mild frustration. "Agreed. Not enough information. Hard to tell. Would need to observe the rate that dust collects."

Aristespha stares at the containers and tips her head back, recognition springing up in her mind. "Those... Those are old magical energy storage containers."

Snapping a surprised stare towards the containers, Bach steps closer and flicks his eyes to a glowing blue. "Huh. They're empty now. But, they do seem like they have some significant capacity."

Sotalia narrows her eyes, a dim golden glow flickering, and struggles to maintain the gaze, grimacing the whole time. Aristespha blinks out her violet illuminated eyes, and gazes over to Sebastian's ethereal form. "I think Noxian was certainly here, Sebastian."

An awkward smirk curls Sebastian's transparent face, and he sighs with a weak smile. "It makes sense. Given the possible time frame, where this is located, and recent information about what Noxian has knowledge of..."

He glances around the ancient chamber, lingering upon the platform, control panel, and energy vessels. "This was probably a stop for him right after we confronted him in Anta. Wouldn't be surprised if this was secret stash, or something he got working to charge himself back up a little. Shit."

A brief smile cracks upon Sotalia's light tan face and fades, the whole of the situation weighing upon her mind. "Well, he was here. And, maybe he did something similar to what he was doing at Orth Ridge. SO, what's the plan now?"

Surveying the various texts, pieces of equipment, and other items in the area closer, Sebastian shrugs his translucent shoulders and releases an ethereal grumble. "WELL... Wish I had more of a plan. But..."

He rolls his eyes at himself and sighs, motion generally over the area. "Take pictures, regroup back at the hotel, and see if we can find any more clues?"

A collective agreement passes over the group, and each pauses in the moment, idly staring out to the task at head. Various alert chimes echo out into the cavernous space from different aetherphones. Everyone, except Sebastian hovering next to Aristespha, draws out phones and examines the bright red alerts flashing on screens. Eyes widen in shock. Tremors down her hands shakes Cideeda's phone, and Bach stares in grave silence at the warning. Sebastian quickly darts towards the exit and signals the rest of the group to follow.

On the aetherphone screens, the message refreshes under a shrill chime.

"GUILD ALERT BROADCAST: Nightmare Geist confirmed heading towards Hatten. All able groups are requested to assist in evacuation efforts. DO NOT ENGAGE THE NIGHTMARE GEIST. Respond to get contact information for authorities in the area."

----

In the Hattan city downtown, another long convoy of buses, trucks, and military transports roll down one of the main streets, pushing past the town hall towards a highway onramp going a southeastern direction. Police cars ride ahead, clearing traffic and ordering people out of the way. Other groups of adventurers and emergency personnel usher people into awaiting transports. Above the chaotic din of frightened people and traffic drone, Veevi stands on top of a truck bed and yells out instructions with an animated, cutesy flair, motion onlookers towards one of many forming queues. Searching for stragglers, Chad marches and bellows out orders to half-listening crowds. Deedri assists medical professionals evacuating patients out of the hospital nearby. Trakenthin hoists up equipment and supplies into cargo vans. Off the street in a large park, at an old city perimeter wall, squads of people form on top of the raised walkway and ready mounted weaponry facing the southwest. Captain Hackle and Captain Hays examine a holographic map together and study it carefully, quietly. Hays sighs tensely with a hint of a growl and shakes his head. "Gods. Well, as destructive as that bastard thing is, it's at least consistent with its direction."

Nodding solemnly, Hackle narrows his brown eyes at the estimated path projection overlaying the three dimensional city map. "Yes. Given the information we've collected, it is on a route to cross near the center of Hattan. If it's any consolation, it seems to be the sparser northern district. That will be far less people that need to be priority evacuated."

After a long draw of air in, Hays sneers into gritting teeth and faintly hisses a slow breath out. "IF it just walks through. we may be okay... But, it could honestly go into a full rampage at any time. I'm surprised it hasn't yet. Though, it could be that the damned thing hasn't reached the spot it wants to rampage yet."

Hackle lifts his hand up and traces the route with a finger into the holographic projection. "Hopefully, we've been able to evacuate out a majority of those in the direct path. Still trying to move as many people out of the surrounding areas, but it's, unfortunately, taking longer than I'd hoped."

Glancing over to Hays with a serious tone, he fights a frown curling at the edges of his graying mustache. "I have sent a few of my scouts with your rangers and that infiltration specialist from the group on that show to double-check and make sure we don't have any stragglers. Or, gods forbid, people trying to hide out."

He furrows his aged brow with a sigh. "But, being thorough takes time."

Hays shakes his head, and his grimaces sours, the pulse of the moving target indicator closing the gap between it and the town. "Dammit. We don't have enough time to do this right. If we could just slow this thing down..."

Pulling his aetherphone out, he holds up nearby with his cybernetic arm. He taps an entry on a list and waits for the device to connect. Seconds later, Kaleb's voice calls out from the speaker. "Hello?"

Rubbing his forehead, Hays speaks firm and calm. "This is Captain Hays, again, with Captain Hackle. Question. Have you noticed anything that's slowed that geist down? Even a little?"

An awkward silence of background wind drones over the phone, and Kaleb recounts uncertainly. "Uh, well, not really. This thing just breaks through buildings like they were wet paper bags. I think about the only thing I've seen that slowed it down, even a little, was when it tore through a machine shop."

In the lull of the conversation, background wind blasts out the speaker, and Kaleb calls out over the din. "Judging from the explosion, I think some of the acetylene tanks went up."

Thoughtful moments later, Kaleb fights down hints of defeat in his voice. "I mean, if anything, it looked like chunks of it were blown off. Definitely staggered it, but... It... I guess, reformed? It's hard to say from this high up, but it's like the black fire mist just collected back on it. Then, it just moved on after that."

Crossing his arms behind his back, Captain Hackle uneasily smirks with a lift of an eyebrow at Captain Hays. "That's what I thought. About the only thing I know that significantly slows those things down is raw magical blasts, but even that is limited-"

With renewed vigor, Kaleb interrupts from the speakerphone. "Raw magic? Um, sirs? I think I might be able to help with that!"

Hackle snaps his full attention upon the aetherphone and eagerly quizzes. "How so?"

A confident tone rises in Kaleb's voice from the other end of the call. "Lagi, my dragon, has been taught a bunch of spells. A lot of raw energy attacks. We could try to see if those do anything?"

Hackle eyes Hays briefly. Hays nods in agreement. Hackle smiles keenly and calls out to a woman nearby. "Sergeant Violet? Could you please make sure Specialist Thayal has a good view of the geist?"

Turning to attention stiffly, Sergeant Violet salutes quickly, tightly grips a radio off her belt, and keys up the device. "Specialist Thayal! Do you have eyes on the target!?"

Seconds later, static fades out to a grumbling man, managing to muster a response. "Yes, Sergeant Violet... It's the only thing of interest I see from up on this hotel roof. Well, apart from the dragon that keeps flying around it."

Sergeant Violet nods, and Captain Hackle resolutely commands. "Kaleb. Proceed with caution. This is a risk, but I'd rather try it out there right now than here later."

A loud draconic roar resonates through Captain Hays's aetherphone and echoes in from the distance, chorusing together. Kaleb's voice pushes through the din of background wind. "UNDERSTOOD! We're going to build up speed for a pass and line up for a shot!"

In the clear skies above, a blue and black scaled, white plated dragon sharply dives down, the rider tucking close and secure to the saddle. Leveling off at an altitude just above the tallest buildings of the city, Lagi swings a swift, wide turn over the cityscape, wings sweeping back and trimming for speed. Bright sun shining down upon the wingspans, flows of magical energy radiate out from his wings, course up in streams throughout his body, and merge towards his mouth. The pulses speed up and glow brighter in intensity. Opening his large mouth, the flow condenses into a brilliant turquoise-white ball in front of his agape maw, billowing out plumes of stray energy. The hum of power warping with the velocity, Lagi jets high over the old city perimeter wall. A rattling draconic shriek distracts Tassilda and a number of other mages gathered upon the old perimeter wall. Cutting through the crosswind, Lagi rockets over the suburban streets and scattered greenery below and lines up an intercept course with the Nightmare Geist. Staring through goggles, Kaleb concentrates his full attention and points his particle power blaster forward. From an underside module, a bright green laser beam paints a shining mark upon the dark target ahead. Barely a kilometer separating Kaleb and Lagi from the Nightmare Geist and closing fast, Kaleb clicks a bottom trigger of his blaster. A shrill tone chimes out.

The turquoise-white ball shoots out from Lagi, a thunderous boom of energy release ripples out, and a bright, misty trail streaks behind. Kaleb ducks sharply to Lagi's right side. Wings flare out, and Lagi breaks hard to the right. The energy projectile rips through the air, arcing towards the five meter tall, humanoid, amorphous mass of black raging fire. The brilliant turquoise orb pitches low and crashes into the leg of the nightmare creation. Magical miasma erupts out in a forceful burst, and a visible shockwave rips through the nearby suburbia. Small bits of debris tumble out onto the grass and street, nearby windows shatter showers of glass, and concussion echoes into the landscape. Within the dirt clouded, magical haze, a low, unnatural growl rumbles, strange hints of strained white noise unraveling the disturbing cacophony.

The visual chaos clears in the distance, and Sergeant Violet's radio crackles to life, Special Thayal's voice rising out of the background noise. "Whatever THAT was did some damage! It stopped moving! I think there's a big chunk out of its leg missing!"

The joy from Thayal's tone sharply drops out. "Unfortunately... it's healing back up..."

Moments later, his hope pushes forth. "BUT, it's taking a LOT longer for it to reform back together, and it is still down on a knee!"

A eager, bold grin forms on Hays's face, and he calls to the aetherphone. "Kaleb! How many of those can your dragon do?"

Over the warping crackles of static, Kaleb's returns with slight embarrassment. "I don't know, sir. We've never had a chance to find out."

Hackle smiles, determination sparking his eyes. "Consider this your chance. RAIN. HELL."

----

Dust covered equipment hums out warm breezes of air from back vents, and swirls of particulate stir within the few sprays of light overhead in the dimly lit room. A large flat table display glows out colored outlines of shapes through a haze of age and neglect. Idle indicator and status sounds chirps out from worn, dull speakers and form the ambient repetitive soundscape. A bright flash fights through the obscuring funk on the large table display, and a muffled chime rings through distortion. Sitting in a chair at an old metal desk, a white haired, thin man guides down his searching gray eyes upon an old manual, dense with diagrams and instructions. He flips back the hood of his jacket and loosens his blue scarf. Keeping his focus on the material, his hand wanders off to the side, pats around on a spread of plastic wrap, and finds a sandwich. Subconsciously, the hand brings the sandwich close to the mouth, and the old man calmly takes a large bite. Seconds of chewing later, his graying beard surrounded lips twist with a roll of the eyes, and the man grumbles. "... always so stingy on the olives..."

Another loud chime crackles up through the background din, and another bright pulse backlights untold years of grime. The man pauses, swallows, and slowly rotates his head towards the large table display. Waiting patiently, he squints curiously at the dusted covered screen and cocks his head. A minute passes. Beginning to turn his head away, the man's eyes widen in surprise. Yet another glow pulses, another loud chime accompanying. Sliding back, he rises out of the chair and steps quickly over to the system. A disgusted snarl curls his upper lip, and he swiftly wipes his sleeve covered forearm across the width of the display. Through the clearing of dust, he pours his full attention upon the mapping information manifesting upon the screen.

A brilliant indicator radiates out from a point on the display, prompts of text rendering near diagrams off to the side. The pulse's wake outlines a starkly contrasting black void. Concern overwhelms the man, his eyes search his mind for an explanation, and he mumbles out nervous thoughts. Placing the sandwich in his mouth, he bites down to secure it. He swings the freed arm out and snatches up the manual on the nearby desk. Flopping the tome down, he speeds through a flutter of pages and backs up to a particular page, leaning in to focus. His free hand taps upon the on-screen interface, and he swiftly navigates through layers of menus. The imagery on the map shifts through different color schemes, diagrams morphing to the new context. Change after change sweeps over the visuals. One final mode darkens the screen. The previous black void glows a pixelated white noise.

Horror narrows the man's pupils, drawing in a sharp, reflexive gasp. The table display flickers out a chaotic light, projecting up the man's worn face. He slowly removes the sandwich from his mouth, lays it down nearby, and shakily presses down on the bright spot. An explosion of diagrams, details, and dialog cascade out onto the entire screen space. Warning indicators flash around red colored numbers, figures chaotically jump around between erroneous limits, and bright yellow messages caution the many unknown and missing details. The man's jaw drops and hangs agape. Shaking back to awareness from the gawk at the screen, he grits his teeth, determination fighting through the terror on his face. "But how?! When did it?! I- I-..."

Staring at the pixelated chaotic spot, he stiffens his upper lip. "I... I have to stop it... Before, any more damage is done..."

The man steps away from the table display, snapping his head towards the exit, and rushes over. He flips his hood up, guides his blue scarf over his mouth and nose, and slams open a metal door, harshly echoing down a dark hallway. The static spot moves along a straight path, the chaotic glow illuminating the surface underneath a stray olive slice.

----

Lagi cuts through the wind in the clear skies above the dense suburbia around Hattan. Leaning against the currents, Kaleb squints through his goggles and stares downwards, off to the side of Lagi, and searches the ground. A fresh kilometer long, straight trail of destruction scars the domestic scenery below. Repeatedly along the path of damaged streets, plowed houses, and fallen trees, a ring of scorched earth darkens an newly blasted area. Debris stirs upon the ground, scattered meters from a fresh impact point, and deep indentations mar the concrete, asphalt, and dirt. Wind whistles through blown out window panes in questionably intact buildings and stirs the waste from many shredded garbage cans.

A black fire enveloped, humanoid mass rises from the dirt plume and fresh magical residue mists. Standing just above five meters tall, a haze of loose, dark miasma condenses upon its form, manifesting the missing material from its being. The head protrusion upon its shoulders twists upwards. From the eerie, shadowy void within, it watches the dragon fly around the sky. Raising a leg up, it resumes the slow march forward towards the city center. Joining Lagi's irritated, teeth baring snorts, Kaleb shakes his head and growls in frustration. "GODS! I know! You're doing good, boy! But..."

With Lagi banking into a turn, Kaleb glances over and tensely grimaces. "This fucking thing is on a whole different level! Dammit..."

The nightmare geist stomps ahead and maintains an unyielding glare above. Stretching and warping unnaturally, the creature's long arm reaches out, and an amorphous hand clamps tightly around a nearby fire hydrant. Against unfathomable forces, the hydrant torques against its base pipe. Metal cracks and squeals. Sheared bolts rocket out, sparking off a car body, splintering through a tree, and embedding into brickwork. A geyser of water erupts out from the open pipe. From the radio system in Kaleb's headset, Specialist Thayal's voice blasts out. "LOOK OUT! It's going to throwing something AT YOU!"

Planting its feet into the dirt, the geist draws its arm back, black flames blazing out across the length. Lagi's bright green eyes snap to the hellish mass, the rest of his body tensing, anticipating. A supersonic, red blur streaks up towards Lagi and Kaleb, a thunderous boom exploding out near the ground. In the splinters of second, a protective golden bubble projects out from Lagi, and he instinctively rolls into a right angle evasive dive. The hydrant bullet plows through the prior flight path, and a torrent of air follows. Dropping altitude fast, Lagi unfolds his wings and levels out just above the treeline, powering fast away from the geist. Kaleb blinks around in a stupor and glances behind towards the monstrosity in growing distance. Scanning the sky above, he spots a red dot falling towards the horizon. "HOLY. SHIT. THAT..."

Straining a breath through his teeth, he grips the handles of the saddle tighter. "Was too close."

Lagi bellows out a confirming bark and gently gains altitude. Over the warping interference, Captain Hays's concern sounds out over Kaleb's headset. "Kaleb?! Are you okay? We saw you dive back there and lost sight of you. Do you hear me?"

Nervously laughing, Kaleb swiftly collects the pieces of his composure. "Uhh... Yes, um. We're fine! I guess it finally got tired of us slowing it down. Gods, I hope Shadeesa doesn't see that on the news before I get home."

Lagi lets out a rolling, commiserating whine. With a commanding but appreciative tone, Captain Hackle calls out. "Then, it would be best for you to head that way. We're going to fall back away from the projected path, and focus upon getting people further from the danger. Thank you for buying us all that time."

Lagi voices a series of barks, growls, and whines, glancing over his shoulder towards Kaleb. A stern and solemn frown weighs upon Kaleb's sun tanned face, and he watches growing signs of fatigue sneak into Lagi's eager gaze. Shaking his head, Kaleb pats Lagi's back and sighs long, adjusting the helmet microphone. "Understood. As much as Lagi and I want to keep going, I have to call it, too. We'll find a place to rest up nearby and keep in the area, just in case."

From the old perimeter wall, Captain Hays and Captain Hackle watch the distant outline of a dragon and rider fly away. Tipping his hat, Hays nods with smirk and directs his slight relief towards his aetherphone. "We'll be moving to the southern region of town. Keep tuned to the radio for updates. Rest up for now. Out."

Tapping the call end button on the phone's display, he lowers his cybernetic arm down and stows the phone away in a pocket. He scans the vicinity and observes the remaining evacuation vehicles loading a final few passengers and military trucks waiting to depart. Hays and Hackle quickly pack up the remaining bits of equipment, rush down old stone stairs, and jump into the bed of transport. Sergeant Violet follows suit, secures the tailgate up, and sits down near the front. With a few slaps on the cab exterior, the vehicle rolls forward into formation, joining the last convoy out. Mustache wrestling down a frown, Hackle shakes his head and sighs grimly. "Tell me... Is it bad to honestly hope that all it does is just level a few city blocks and moves on?"

Removing his wide brimmed hat off his head, Hays lowers it down onto his lap and wipes the sweat off his forehead. He eyes Hackle, shrugs his shoulders, and grimaces uncertainly. "Some would say that's awfully wishful thinking. Hopefully, clearing out the area of people will keep it focused on whatever destination it's going to. Best to not tempt the thing with whatever it deems as targets opportunity."

He rolls a low growl in a surge of frustration. "Gods damned, ancient fucking terror weapons..."

A distinct ring momentarily puzzles Hays, and he glances at his pocket. Quickly retrieving his aetherphone, he reads the identification. Interest piquing sharply, he taps the answer button on the screen and puts the phone to his ear. "Miss Aristespha. Good to hear from you."

Hackle lifts a curious eyebrow and turns his head towards Hays attentively. Nodding with the conversation, Hays chuckles in spite of the situation. "No. Thankfully, it hasn't quite made it to the town center yet. Before anything else, what direction are you approaching Hattan from?"

He glances over to Hackle and motions to equipment nearby. "Northeast? Okay. Let me get your group up to date with the situation. That area will be dangerous in the near future, but if you could check a few areas we haven't covered completely yet on your way to safety, we'd really appreciate it."

----

The humvee rolls to a stop before an empty intersection, a breeze carrying light trash across the worn asphalt. The eerie silence looms through the people devoid streets, hastily abandoned cars, and swaying open doors of buildings. Staring out from the cab of the ancient military machine, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia search the vicinity, the silence outside pressing inwards. Cideeda shifts the humvee into park, undoes her seat belt, and directs her wary, nervous voice to Aristespha. "S-so, um, where did they last say it was?"

Subduing her own anxious energy, Aristespha examines the map on her tablet and references a few lines of text on her phone. "Yes, uh... A few kilometers away from this position."

Holding a frown still, she sighs. "At least that is what they last reported when they had sighted it... Some time ago. It has drifted off the projected course, and they have not been able to maintain a constant visual of it."

Sebastian's ethereal form nods uncomfortably, and presents a reassuring smile to Cideeda. "Hang in there. This is the last area they needed us to check to see if anyone is still around."

Flicking her golden eyes over with concern, Sotalia rests a hand on Cideeda's shoulder. Cideeda summons up her drive and puts forth determination behind her smirk. "I know. We really need to make sure no one is left behind."

Drifting back in the cab, Sebastian aims his gaze at Bach with a calm smile. "Hey. Holding up, bro?"

Bach gazes up to Sebastian, exhales out some stress, and manages a few rocks of the head forward in some semblance of a nod. "Uh, um, yeah... Just feels WEIRD. I'll definitely be ready to leave once we're done here."

Sebastian checks the back row, and Dretphi holds a thumbs up. Floating up through the open top hatch of the humvee, Sebastian directs a quiet tone down towards the team. "Okay. Everyone. Hop out, quick check for any people in the area, and load back up."

Wandering a suspecting stare across the tall urban buildings, he pauses upon dark shop fronts, open apartment windows, and a silent parking lot. "Then... We drive far, far away from here."

With agreement all around, doors open in unison, and everyone exits the humvee. Sebastian flies high up into the air above the intersection, searching for activity through the windows of taller buildings. Cideeda and Dretphi rush to opposing street corners, scanning down the long city streets for signs of life. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia peer out with pairs of glowing eyes out into the area. The team spreads out slowly, cautiously, within the dead quiet. Over the tense minutes, distant sounds of destruction bounce off tall glass front buildings and echo vaguely into the space. The team pauses, waits expectantly, and resumes their work in the new wave of silence. Reaching the furthest they can remain in sight of each other, the team gradually draws back, double-checking along their routes, and gathers at the intersection. Sebastian drops down to pavement nearby the group and nods. "Okay, everyone. I don't see anything. If there's anyone still in the area, let's hope they stay hidden for a little while longer. We're pushing it close as it is."

Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia agree, walking back towards the humvee. Squinting her steely gray eyes down the long stretches of street, Dretphi scans to the horizon. She turns away and quickly steps back to the vehicle. Cideeda releases a tense breath into a wave of relief, pivoting swiftly around toward the rest of the team. Her furry ears flick back around and lock on to a distant noise. Her emerald green eyes widen, and she spins herself back around, hunting for the source. Noticing the Cideeda sudden movement, Sebastian zips his ghostly form near her. "Hey. What's up?"

Cideeda's furry ears frantically perk and twist, her eyes searching far down the street. "I heard someone! Down this way!"

With a series of waves and gestures, Sebastian signals the rest of the group to gather near. Cideeda swiftly walks down the street and carefully listens to the settling quiet. "Well... I thought I heard something..."

A few blocks down, a little girl scrambles around a building corner and topples onto the sidewalk. Lifting herself up unsteadily, she lunges forward and haphazard sprints down the intersecting street in a blind dash towards the group. Cideeda runs forward at the girl and directs a cautious shout behind. "Over here! This way!"

The rest of the group following behind, Cideeda out paces the pack and rushes on an intercept course for the child. Kneeling down in the middle of the street, she catches the blonde haired girl in her arms. The child collapses in a panicked, panting slump, exhaustion setting in fast. Sotalia slows her pace to staggering steps. A rush of unease and nervous energy wash over her. Halting, her golden eyes dart around the area, and she pants out. "OH... SHIT... What the hell is THIS feeling?!"

Repetitious, solid, low thumps emerge from the background, echoing distantly between the tall buildings. With each impact, the volume rises quickly. Wide eyed, hair raising horror paralyzes Cideeda. She stares blankly towards the rest of the group and, wordlessly, fails to hide her trembling body. Staring down the street, Bach stands rigidly and fear radiating throughout his body in fits of tensing and twitching. Riding out the wave of terror rushing through, Sebastian swiftly assesses the situation. "HUMVEE. NOW."

Dretphi sweeps the little girl up into her arms and charges forth to the humvee. A shoulder each, Sotalia and Aristespha assist Cideeda up and guide her along. Quickly regaining awareness, Cideeda's sheer, tearful fright drives her forward, subconsciously pulling both Aristespha and Sotalia along with tight grips around their forearms. Passing him, Bach bolts after the rest of the group. Sebastian flies behind and keeps a watch down toward the building corner. Within late afternoon sun from behind a building, a dark, billowing, elongated shadow stretches down the cross street. With a solid, resounding impact, the massive, black fire coated, humanoid form plants its foot. Chunks of pavement slide clean off the road, the tremendous weight sheering into the surface. The nightmare geist snaps its head, aiming down the roadway, and pauses. The shadowy void within its head stares out. Flexes its amorphous fingers out into long, sharply pointed digits, it digs its other foot into the cracking asphalt, squats down, and lunges forward. Sebastian pales and yells out. "IT'S COMING! Break right into the next alley!"

Bach checks over his shoulder and watches the nightmare geist bound forward. He glances ahead and observes the pace of the group overall. Each step from the geist shrinks the distance between it and the group, far faster than the group's approach to the alleyway. In the precious moments, Bach's blank stare barely hides the thoughts racing within. Through the chaos of hopeful possibilities and improbable plans, one option recessed far, far back glares right at him. Cutting through the mental din, it forces all other thoughts to concede and silences the competition. Bach closes his eyes hard, draws a resolute breath in, and opens his eyes to a flaming blue. Sliding to a stop along the pavement, he pivots around and faces the incoming creature, tension surging over his whole body. His right hand shakily opens. Regimented, organized flows swirl around his body into the palm of the hand. His left hand braces the other by the wrist. Passing by Bach, Sebastian abruptly halts, immediately spins around, and screams with ghostly reverberation. "BRO! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YO-"

Sebastian's ethereal visage distorts, twists to his shock, and flickers. Aristespha turns her utter confusion towards the sword shaking forcibly in the scabbard at her side.

"NEW. UNFAMILIAR. FLOW... CLOSE. BY."

The voice of the sword stuns the group still, and they all turn to stare back. Bach stands in the path of the charging, black fire bellowing, humanoid mass of terror. Every part of his body straining against pulsing energies, he shudders out a fearful chant to himself. "Just... a little... not too much... Keep it together... Focus... You can do this... Control it... Gods... Dammit..."

Where prior magical energies swirled freely, bright white threads shimmer within layers upon layers of tubular magical constructions. The thin, faint phosphorus flows stream gradually towards the palm of Bach's trembling right hand. Bright mists steadily radiate out from the ends of the conduits and condense into the ball of pure white light near Bach's clawing fingers. The orb brilliantly shines and overpowers the presence of the sun upon the pavement, projecting new shadows. The nightmare geist fades its charge and eases into cautious, calculated steps forward. It halts short of its arm's reach from Bach, focusing the shadowy void in its head protrusion upon the growing, glowing white orb. Bach slowly drags his head up. With sweat dripping all over and his face contorting in constant strained twitches, he glares up with gritting teeth and flaming blue eyes, pinpoints of white shining from in the middle of the pupils.

Raising his braced right hand up, palm forward, Bach guides the white orb ahead of himself.

Bach steps forward.

The Nightmare Geist steps back.

The two deadlock for minutes, the brilliant light contrasting the billowing shadow. The geist's flaming form waits, idly flexing its hands. Bach wills the constant flow of energy to the growing orb against blatantly mounting stresses. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, the girl, Sebastian, and Sotalia watch in absolute silent, stunned awe. Bach winces briefly. The nightmare geist's arm flames out. The creature's arm unnaturally extends out in a clawing swipe. Reflexively Bach swings his right hand towards the attack, aiming his palm at the monster's arm, and sharply flexes his fingers out.

Blinding light flooding into the area, a magical ray impacts the crude elbow of the geist and fractures white energy into the very structure of its being. The energies flood throughout the arm, and the limb fragments into a fading white vapor, disappearing completely. A thunderous, anguished scream bellows out from the geist, rattling nearby windows, and assaults the air with a cacophony of chaos, white noise, and rage. Stumbling back meters across the street, the nightmare geist falls off balance, crushes a parked cargo truck flat, and flails in agony, splintering the ground. Bach staggers back and snaps a glance back to the sheer bewilderment of everyone else. "We... Need... To... Ru-"

The loud crunching of concrete and pavement interrupts. Bach swings his terrified stare back. With its remaining hand digging deeply into the roadway, the nightmare geist contorts itself back upright. The shadowy void within its head glares right at Bach, clouds of darkness venting out. Jets of black flame erupt into a swirling maelstrom around its body, and its legs twist up. With an earth rattling roar, it flings itself forward at Bach, the massive figure blotting out the afternoon light. Horror darkening upon his face, the pinpoints of white light within Bach's eyes explode and blast out the blue. The thin threads of flow burst into torrents, shattering the containment vessels, and rush towards Bach's hand. A palm rises up to the nightmare geist, fingers flex, and a blinding light erupts between Bach and the monster. The ray of pure energy drills into the chest of the black fire terror. Contrasting cracks spider out throughout the hidden surface behind the dark flames, flushing over the warping form. The shadowy void ignites into a geyser of white phosphorous haze. Splintering form steams out billowing clouds of white miasma. The very structure of the monstrosity disintegrates, the light of the warm afternoon sun beaming through the widening divides.

The last fragments of the nightmare geist fades from existence.

Silence fills the area. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, the girl, Sotalia, and Sebastian gawk in disbelief, comprehension absent. Drops to his knees harshly upon the asphalt, Bach doubles over into a gurgling groan of pain. He tightly wraps his arms around himself, his body straining agony. Through gritting teeth, his contorting face reveals the torment within. The white light shining within the glowing blue of his eyes pulses chaotically. Chokes and coughs escape Bach, and he sways erratically. Cideeda blinks back to her senses. Searching briefly for the missing nightmare geist, she spots Bach and overwhelming concern grips her. She rushes forward with her hand out. "Bach?! Are you okay-?!"

Within Bach's eyes, the blue glow surges in defiance and crushes out the bright white. A spherical pulse of bright energy erupts out from Bach, surges outwards, and expands out into the vicinity. Cideeda freezes in place, agony silencing her and seizing her body. The wave passing through, Sebastian's ethereal form flickers. He distorts with part of swelling energy diverting abruptly into the sword. Moving through the rest of the team harmlessly, the wall of the bubble thins further with distance.

Throughout the safe zones surrounding the perimeter of Hattan, many people pause, confused and curious. Radio and aether transmissions distort and waver briefly to the surprise of civilians and military personnel. Far from the city, a car speeds along an empty back road. Behind the wheel, a thin, white haired man stares widened, gray eyes towards the city, his jaw agape under his blue scarf.

Frozen muscles releasing, Cideeda yelps, her emerald green eyes rolling back, and collapses limply backwards. Aristespha and Sotalia catch her motionless body. Sotalia hunts for a reason, panic exploding in her voice. "CIDEEDA!? What's wrong?! Speak to me, girl!?"

Sotalia's voice cuts through the haze impairing Bach, and he clumsily twists his head around and clearly witnesses Aristespha check Cideeda's vitals in a frantic hurry. Bach pales immediately, a sickening, horrific guilt overwhelms his consciousness. Through quivering lips, tears flooding his eyes and choking fright, Bach manages to shudder out a weak plea. "N-n-no..."

He flops upon the warm pavement, his body relaxing despite the shocked ethereal yells from his brother. The world shrinking away from his senses, Bach loses out to unconsciousness.

----

From the outside world, muffled sounds resonate into the cab of the humvee, and the peaks of voices leak into the still quiet of the space. Laying on the back bench seat with pillows propping his head and legs, Bach stirs underneath a thick blanket and mumbles in muted incoherence. His blue eyes flutter groggily open, and he blankly gazes up towards the ceiling. The orange cast of the setting sun beams through the windows and warms the space. Consciousness returning, Bach lightly tanned face twists with a flood of thoughts. In the passing moments, his grimace strains against each fit of guilt, misery, and despair blending together. The heat of the sunlight warming, Bach shivers under the heavy blanket and frowns, wincing with flashes of memories. Tears well up in his eyes, and his breathing shudders audibly. Dretphi's soft voice sounds out. "You are awake."

Bach stiffens sharply, startling to immediate awareness of the area, and stares frightened at Dretphi's steely gray eyes. Dretphi kneels down in the aisle, next to the bench seat, and gazes back in confusion. Brushing her darker tipped, platinum blonde braids back over her shoulder, she puzzles at Bach, concern building. Bach averts his face away and meekly mutters. "C-c-cideeda..."

Dretphi lifts her arm, gently grasps onto Bach's shoulder, and calmly states. "She is okay."

Bach's eyes widen, his face lightens, and he glances up, meeting the warm smile of Dretphi. She nods a simple confirmation and reassuringly pats Bach's arm. "She woke ten minutes after you went unconscious. Passed out from tremendous pain. Aristespha found no physical issues. Tired."

She shrugs her shoulders and tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Today has been tiring for everyone."

In a wave of relief, Bach firmly closes his eyes, and a stream of tears leak out along with a few wet sniffs. Dretphi reaches her free hand over a pile of supplies and medical equipment in a seat, grabs hold of a wash towel, and gently blots the water off of Bach's cheeks. Bach draws a shaky breath, exhales a long, relieved sigh, and sinks into the pillows supporting his head. Quiet, still seconds later, he opens his blue eyes, timidly turns his head to Dretphi, and musters his voice. "What happened after I... uh... passed out?"

Twisting her mouth, Dretphi furrows her brow with her thoughts, summarizing. "Aristespha fully focused on your care after she deemed Cideeda okay. Determined no immediate danger. We put you here. She is monitoring you."

She points out one of Aristespha's tablets upon a specialized dock nearby and lightly taps Bach's hand. "Probably knows you are awake."

With a sluggish effort, Bach moves his hand around under the blanket, feels out the monitor clips and cuff, and nods, understanding. Venting a frustrated sigh, Dretphi wrestles a frown and rolls her steely gray eyes. "Travel to proper facilities has proven... Difficult. Reversing an evacuation proving a challenge. More than the evacuation."

Weakly managing an accepting shrug, he blinks in thought and pounders out loud. "Uh... Um... What happened to the little girl?"

Warmly smiling, she motions her head briefly towards the outside. "Being delivered to her mother. Long story. She was... VERY... lucky Cideeda heard her. We would have left. She would not be..."

She quells a brief frown. "Here."

In the peaceful minute, Bach's calm fades, the full scope of the situation dawning upon him. A nervous chill sends shivers throughout his body, and he stares distantly up at the ceiling of the humvee cab. Dretphi observes her hand upon Bach's shoulder, sensing the shudder. Glancing over to the vital monitoring tablet, she focuses her genuine concern upon him. "What is wrong?"

Bach shrinks under the blanket, a frown weighs upon him, and dread taints his tone. "Explaining... Well... All that's happened..."

Patting Bach's shoulder comfortingly, Dretphi calmly reassures. "Do not worry. The truth of today will ONLY be known by US. No outsider has shown any correct knowledge of what happened today."

She leans close and gently whispers. "They will NOT learn the truth from us. Regardless of what we may tell them."

Bach nods with a smile, exhales slowly, and winces, shame long hidden, eroding the comfort Dretphi imparts. "That's... That's good to hear. But... Uh, um... THAT is, unfortunately, not the hard part..."

Lifting a curious eyebrow on her tan face, Dretphi awaits a further explanation. Bach wrestles between grimaces, fighting for the words, and remains silent. Dretphi gently pats Bach's shoulder and grants him an understanding nod.

-39-

Sitting on the hotel balcony walkway with his back against the warm brick, Bach gazes out into the Hattan cityscape from the upper story lookout. He idly taps his feet against the metal railing, attention drifting between the nearby now and recent memory. With a long sigh, he rests his head against the wall behind him and rubs his longer brown hair against the red brickwork. "Well... THIS has gone... Um, better than I expected? BUT, I really wasn't all that hopeful it would go anything other than the worst."

Working down a smirk, he rolls his blues at himself. "So... Probably not the best gauge to go on."

Hovering just above the concrete balcony floor in a sitting position, Sebastian's ethereal form shrugs, glancing over to Bach next to him. Hints of uncertainty leaks into his tone. "Well, bro... If what happened yesterday was anything like the first time you encountered a Nightmare Geist..."

He blinks blankly a few times, and grimaces between different shades of disbelief. "SHIT..."

A frown weighs upon Bach, and he cringes into introspective disappointment. "Well, the worst part about it is that I, arguably, had more control this time."

Rocking his head side to side in contemplation, he curls a faint smirk. "Well... I actually woke back up on the same day this time. So... I guess THAT'S an improvement?"

Sebastian leans forward and turns a frustrated stare at his brother. "Bro, I know you had your reasons and all... But... Seriously..."

Furrowing his translucent brow, he states harshly. "WHAT. THE. FUCK?"

A low, trailing grumble escapes Bach, and he hisses out his own irritation, trying to avert his face away. Sebastian keeps a solid, demanding glare upon him. "Why didn't you ever TELL ME, of all people?! I'm your fuckin' brother here! All the times you had my back, but you didn't trust me to do the same for you?! You damn well know I would have and would STILL do anything for YOU."

Tossing his hand up indignantly, he vents through aged pain. "But... You just ditched, and used that lame excuse that you weren't cut out for adventuring. The hell, bro?"

Gritting his teeth, Bach closes his eyes and tilts his head up against the hotel brick, up towards the noon sun overhead. "I-I-I... FUCK. I don't know, man. At the time, I was just too freaked out... I... I couldn't think straight for weeks after THAT encounter. I mean, hell, I still don't even know how I even did it. I was too scared out of my mind to commit those important details to memory. So, what could have been said, if I couldn't even explain it to myself?"

Locking eyes with Sebastian,he sharply winces with a painful sigh. "I mean, what would you do if you suddenly started spewing forth Elder energy?! And, not just when you want it. Imagine this energy creeping in when you use even a modest amount of regular, plain, prismatic energy? And, every time it does slip in... It just fucks up all the normal magic you want to do!"

He draws up his legs closer, rests his elbows on his knees, and holds his head in between hands. "GODS... I guess... It just made more sense at the time to get away from it all. Man, I- I just was so afraid to say anything about it. I mean, FUCK, the only people who use Elder energy these days like that are, like, Dark Lords, right? It just..."

Drawing in a deep breath, Bach sighs out long, sadness slipping out. "It just... It just made so much sense to not say anything. And, well, go with one of the many reasons people guessed. The theories were already there. Pick one and go with it."

His head lowers, and his fingers comb through his long brown hair, sweeping up his front white streak. He exhales another regretful breath. "Listen... I SHOULD have told you about it. I'm really sorry, brother... But... Whatever THIS is, it just feels DANGEROUS. That... I shouldn't use it at all. I mean, it REALLY doesn't help that anyone that seems to extensively use this elder energy stuff winds up becoming the next deranged Dark Lord that tries to destroy the damned world. Not the path I wanted to follow."

Seconds of stagnant silence against the Hattan background noise later, Bach rotates his head and faces Sebastian's concerned frown. "It just felt like anything about it shouldn't be known by anyone else. As if... It was simply safer for everyone else to never speak of it, again. Never touch it, again... Keep it locked away..."

Blinking through a flurry of thought, Sebastian turns his stare out towards the Hattan skyline. Breaking away from his own mind, he nods with a smirk and snorts out. "Yeah... I think I get it, bro. Thinking about it, it probably only would have been a matter of time before someone at the school would have gotten suspicious. Then, the higher ups would have gotten involved. An, eventually, the worst people would be looking for you. Gods, it would have been a real mess."

He swallows hard and furrows his brow. "Then... There's a whole bunch of other possibilities that I don't want to think about."

His smirk parts into a proud grin, and Sebastian faces Bach with a wink. "But, you couldn't just live out your life as some supposed lame mage, could you?"

Rolling his eyes away from the vague accusation, Bach groans, embarrassment slipping out. "WELL, what the fuck was I supposed to do?"

He shrugs his shoulders, stretches his arms out behind his neck, and relaxes his legs out with a weak smile. "Had A LOT of time to think about things. So, I figured out something I could do with what I could safely use. Still, it's not a lot, but I think it's worked, so far."

With a sly smile, Sebastian looses a ghostly laugh and shakes his head. "Well, bro, you've done plenty to save our collective asses. So, I'll say it's worked pretty fucking good, so far. I have no complaints about that much."

A brief grin graces Bach's face, fading with the other thoughts entering his mind. "I just hope I can smooth things out with the rest of the group. This was kind of a really shitty thing to keep from everyone. I mean, I don't think it could have been super useful, but... Gods, I really hated having to keep up the half-truths and lies."

A long ethereal sigh sounds off from Sebastian's transparent form, and he dons a supportive smile. "We'll have a good group talk tonight. Sort through everything. I think everyone will understand once you lay it out. It's not like we all don't have things we don't want everyone to know."

Uncertainty twists Bach's face, and he fights a heavy frown. "I don't know. At least Dretphi seemed supportive, so that's good. I don't know about Aristespha."

Chuckling, Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes with an amused smirk. "She'll probably just quiz you endlessly about everything for the next few weeks, and try to figure out what's going on. Honestly, bro, she's been trying to understand why you were so dedicated in learning all this low level magic stuff, when people researching that stuff specifically aren't THAT dedicated to it even.

Leaning next to Bach's ear, Sebastian drops his voice into a whisper. "I think she's happy to get an answer more than anything. She's had that figuring-it-out look since yesterday."

Bach nods briefly, slowing to a sad hang of the head. "Sotalia... Well..."

He furrows his brow and grimaces. "She seems... Um... Angry at me?"

Tugging at the corner of his mouth, Sebastian rocks his head and echoes a sigh. "Give her time. Her reasonable side will eventually win out. From experience, she can rile herself up something fierce, but she'll calm down enough to think it out. But..."

Sliding a side eye at Bach, he briefly grits his teeth. "Don't bother her until then. I've made that mistake a few times."

A watery glint outlines the bottom of Bach's eyes, and he sniffs, swallowing back the starts of tears. "And Cideeda... I don't know what to say. DAMMIT. I can only thank the gods that I didn't hurt her permanently... Or worse."

Sebastian and Bach both face out into the city, staring distantly to the urban skyline giving away to a green and blue horizon. Minutes later, Sebastian hovers up to a standing stance upon the balcony surface and glances over his shoulder into the sliding glass door to the hotel room. "Well, I'm going to see what everyone else is up to and figure a good time to get everyone together."

Nodding slowly, Bach glances up to Sebastian with a pleading frown. "Yeah... I think I'm going to stay out here for a while. See what courage I can muster up."

Sebastian presents a comforting smile to Bach. "Understand, bro. It'll be okay. Just... Give it some time."

----

Above a swaying sea of summer green tree canopies, Lagi glides through the skies with Kaleb scanning around the area. Draconic shadow coasting upon the scenery below, Lagi zips near a collection of rocky spires at the top of a hill. Kaleb acknowledges the landmark and peers out ahead, spotting a distant clearing. "Not bad! Not bad at all! We made great time. In fact, it's almost the exact time I told her we'd be back this morning."

Lagi snorts and tilts his wings, navigating up his flight path towards an open area ahead. Kaleb surveys the tree bordered field ahead. Within the confines of the forest clearing, wind rustles the leaves on rows of plants growing in a large garden. A windsock flutters on a tall mast extending up from the top ridge of a huge, age rusted hangar. Sun reflects off roof mounted solar panels upon a long brick house. Recognizing the familiar structures, delight lights up Kaleb's sun tanned face, and he chuckles in relief. Lagi purrs contentedly and lines up his final approach to a worn dirt track in the middle of the field behind the house. Joy wavering, Kaleb spots Shadeesa standing expectantly with arms crossed at the end of the landing. "Uh oh, um... I get the feeling the local news ran THAT video clip. Crap..."

The stirring breeze blows some of Shadeesa's dark green hair over her light gray, pointed ears, wrapping a few strands around her upward swept horns. Maintaining crossed arms in a rigid posture, Shadeesa glares her green on black eyes right at Kaleb and Lagi, the clear expression reaching the distance. White freckles decorate the cheeks of her stern face, and a housework stained apron waves in the wind over her pronounced belly. Tracking him during the gentle glide down landing, she affixes her irritated stare solidly upon Kaleb. With a final few flaps of both pairs of wings, Lagi secures footing upon the patchy, packed soil. Waiting quietly, he watches warily. Arms still crossed, Shadeesa calmly, purposefully strolls towards both Lagi and Kaleb. Lagi glances back to Kaleb, quietly whining with worry. Kaleb slides down off the saddle, plants his boots upon the earth, and presents a placating smile to Shadeesa. "Don't worry, boy. I'll talk to her."

Lagi scoots nervously behind Kaleb, peeking over his shoulder when Shadeesa closes in. Attempting a bashful grin, Kaleb weakly laughs. "I take it you saw the-"

With a slight tip back of her head, Shadeesa flicks up her index finger and holds it in front of Kaleb and his wide-eyed, abrupt silence. Sidestepping around Kaleb, she levels her stern stare upon the worried dragon, hanging his head low and avoiding direct eye contact. Warmth fills Shadeesa light gray face, and she reaches out, scratch underneath the chin of Lagi with her long, thick nails. With a kiss on his muzzle, she smiles at the relieved dragon and pets his head, holding him close. "You did VERY GOOD, Lagi. THANK YOU for keeping him safe and bringing YOU and HIM back home to me. I love you so much."

Lagi purrs with the affection and assumes a prouder posture, Shadeesa letting him go. A stern glare immediately overtakes Shadeesa's face, pivoting towards Kaleb. Shadeesa's green on black eyes stare through Kaleb's very being. Sheepishly searching for the words that might help for this moment, Kaleb verbally fumbles around. "Uh- I- Um- I just couldn't leave- I had to- Uh- Help...?"

He anxiously scratches the back of his head of short, blonde hair. "Yes, I know I shouldn't be taking risks like that, and I thought we were playing it safe and-"

Grasping either side of Kaleb's face, Shadeesa guides his face slightly down to her level and pulls him close. Kaleb remains quiet, and Shadeesa gazes into his eyes. Seconds of silent communication later, Shadeesa's resolve softens. Closes her eyes, she gently, firmly butts her head against Kaleb's forehead and smiles lovingly. Her hands drop down, her arms slip underneath Kaleb's shoulders, and she embraces him tightly, resting her head next to his. Kaleb wraps his arms around her, combing the stray hairs out her face and over her horns in the close moments. "I'm sorry."

Shadeesa giggles through a sigh of tension and squeezes Kaleb. "It's okay... I'd, honestly, be very disappointed if you hadn't helped out somehow."

Rolling her eyes at herself, she twists a humored smirk. "Can't rightly fault you for what I'd want to do myself. Can I?"

Kaleb chuckles and sways gently side to side with Shadeesa. "I love you."

Shadeesa loosens her hold of Kaleb and smiles back at him. "I love you, too."

The two share peaceful seconds in the field. Kaleb blinks with a realization, ponders a moment, and quizzically quirks his brow. "Hey, by the way... Have they said anything about what happened to the Nightmare Geist? Lagi and I got clear before it hit the town. And well... I haven't heard anything useful from any of the news sources. I didn't even pick up any chatter on the radio that pointed to anything."

Puzzling over the idea, Shadeesa slowly shakes her head, furrowing her brow. "It's only just speculation from what I've heard. A LOT of wild guesses. A few involving Noxian either releasing the thing or getting rid of it... Or both. No one can make sense of it."

With a short huff, she grumbles to herself. "But, THAT doesn't stop them from trying to explain it to everyone."

Kaleb groans in commiseration, shrugging his shoulders. "And the sky is still blue, too, I guess."

Craning his head around, Lagi scans the vicinity and spots a distant shrub speckled with bright berries. He wanders away from Kaleb and Shadeesa, the two debating theories.

----

Dretphi pushes open the decoratively frosted glass door and steps from the hotel hallway into the large, tall chamber housing the indoor swimming pool. Sniffing the humid air, she listens to the ambient hum of water filters operating nearby. She searches the length of the pool and finds only a horned head of dark red hair leaning against the edge of the shallow end. Approaching the steps leading into the pool, Dretphi notices Sotalia residing within her own thoughts. Sotalia stares blankly across to the other end of the pool, her arms idly waving across the water's surface. Dretphi sits down cross-legged nearby on the concrete perimeter walkway and glances over to Sotalia. "Is there something wrong?"

Sotalia startles back to awareness and reflexively splashes some water. Quickly spinning herself around, she gazes up to Dretphi with an awkward smile, her golden eyes dodging the obvious. "Oh! Uh... No. Just taking a break from swimming around this really nice pool."

Dretphi studies the mostly dry hair and swept-back horns upon Sotalia's head, and focuses an incredulous stare right at Sotalia. Sotalia contorts the corners of her mouth, struggling to remain quiet. Grumbling, she sneers with hints of irritation. "Fine. I'm thinking about... Yesterday."

Pushing easily along the shallow end's bottom with her feet, she paddles slowly with her arms to a wandering float in the pool. "A lot happened. And, I'm just trying to process it all. That's all."

A blatant lift of the eyebrow telegraphing how unconvinced she remains, Dretphi concentrates stare at Sotalia and awaits an answer. Sotalia settles upon another wall of the pool, notices the examining gaze from Dretphi, and grimaces her internal deliberation. A minute later, a low growl swells out loudly from Sotalia, and she pushes forceful waves of water out with both arms. "Okay! Gods damn it!"

Slipping her feet underneath herself, Sotalia stands up from the water, crosses her arms, and promptly sits on the pool perimeter. She grumbles out a sigh and shakes her head, the water draining off her swimsuit and wicking into the darkening concrete. "I KNOW this is probably short-sighted and childish, BUT I can't help to be..."

Furrowing her light tan brow, she wrestles down a lip curling sneer. "Well... Angry."

Dretphi nods slowly and inquisitively cocks her head to the side. "At?"

Rolling her golden eyes, she sniffs in a grimacing breath. "Bach. More specifically at the fact that he, oh I don't know."

She flicks her eyes over at Dretphi and projects out. "HID A CERTAIN THING FROM US!"

Gritting her teeth, she hisses her frustration and rolls the tension around her shoulders. "I don't know! A certain part of me just can't shake feeling disrespected and betrayed. Even though there was probably no intent to do so..."

She tightens her grips on her elbows. "It STILL would have been REALLY useful to know about THAT power before this point!"

Slowly pulling in a long breath, Dretphi brushes back some of her platinum blonde braids and ponders out loud. "Would it have?"

Sotalia opens her mouth, the words halting at the tip of her tongue. She sighs, past situations play out in her mind, and her face relays how unconvinced she remains. Dretphi speaks a single word in Grath. Blinking in thought, Sotalia quietly processes and slowly nods. "That translates roughly to... Death by remedy... Yeah. That might apply here."

Loosening her arms from around herself, she rests her hands upon the walkway and contends with a growing unease, gripping the smooth pool edge. "Okay. I'll admit... It was really spooky seeing him with that little control over his magic. I don't think he wanted to use that option."

Dretphi frowns and stares down at the water and the warping reflections of the overhead lights. "He was scared."

Sotalia perks an eyebrow and smirks uneasily. "I certainly was too with that thing charging at us-"

Glancing up from the pool, Dretphi levels direct eye contact at Sotalia. "Afterwards. When he woke up in the humvee. Fearful. I believe of... US. He was horrified of what he may have done."

Seconds of pressuring quiet later, a long sigh escapes Sotalia. She frowns sadly and relaxes her shoulders. "Gods... Well..."

The prior ire flickers out, and she slowly kicks waves with her feet under the water with a light pout. "I'm NOT going to let him off the hook. Still don't like the fact he kept quiet about THAT, among other things he has yet to tell me... But..."

A mischievous air surrounding her, a sly grins graces Sotalia, and she stretches out her figure. "I'll try to be NICE to him and alleviate his fears. Maybe he'll open up more now."

Leaning toward Dretphi, she tips her head back and smiles smugly. "After all THIS, what's a few other academic details about certain spells in comparison? Right?"

An annoyed groan echoes out from Dretphi, and she glares unamused at Sotalia with a slow side to side sway of her head. With a tilt of head, Sotalia playfully shrugs it off, shifting the curling ends of her dark red hair. "What?"

Dretphi dismissively rolls her steely gray eyes, and narrows a condemning stare at Sotalia.

----

Between the taller urban buildings in the heart of Hattan, Captain Hackle and Captain Hays walk down a blockaded section of street. In the mix of civic engineering services cleaning up, members of the Greater Azure Alliance specialists investigate the area. Sergeant Violet orders around personnel in the company and specifically focuses upon Specialist Thayal, trying to avoid harder duties. Chana and Heccaeh trail loosely behind Hays, Chana petting one of the two scout whelps clinging upon each of Heccaeh's shoulders. Hays and Hackle both stop around the perimeter of a rope barrier and stare at the encircled section of road surface, the enclosed street visually resembling the rest of the roadway. Hays furrows an inquisitive brow and glances over to Hackle. "So, your group figure anything out yet?"

Hackle draws a long breath in, puffs his thin frame's chest out, and smirks. "Apart from the obvious that initial investigations have granted us, the fading elder energy residue, notably... Not too terribly much, actually."

The wry grin pulls across his mouth and folds the lines of age on his face. "I do have my theories. And, given a certain bit of information we both know about parties possibly present in the area, I have one particular theory."

A solitary laugh escapes Hays, and he crosses his arms, drumming his fingers upon the metal of his cybernetic limb. "Well, I'd like to think we both share that theory."

Turning his head back, he examines the cordoned off pavement and directs his lowered voice to Hackle. "So... Are you going to investigate THEM further? Because, I, personally, have no professional stake in this now. Charting that nightmare's path back, with how we figured the animals were moving, it left out that weird zone roughly a week ago and headed straight here."

Quirking a brow, Hackle mulls over the information with a few twitches of his gray mustache. "Strange. What could have prompted it to travel here, so recently? It's been my experience that they tend to not move unless... Provoked?"

With a frown subtly lowering his long beard, Hays ponders and grumbles, frustrating possibilities playing out on his face. "Well, I get the feeling this one was homed in on SOMETHING, maybe not even around here specifically. Hell, this bastard may been zone hopping all the way from the Perimeter Weird Zone. Possibly, starting over a month ago. Got a bunch of vague reports to sort through on that one. Don't know if they're even related yet."

Shrugging his shoulders, he lifts his chin up, pivots around, and scans the remaining bits of destruction, pausing to admire a very flat vehicle. "But, it has ceased to be, so, again, my jurisdiction ends here."

Hackle shakes his head slowly, sneaks a smile on his face, and releases a long exhale, glancing at the tall city buildings surrounding the area. "The city still stands mostly in one piece. No reported loss of life. And, there's no longer an immediate threat. So, I believe my jurisdiction is about to end, too."

The two men idle in silence. Civic engineers and crew continue to inspect and assess the damages, taking both technological and magical measurements. Minutes later, Hackle flashes a humored grin at Hays. "You think THAT sword did it in?"

Chuckling, Hays reveals a similarly amused smile. "About the only thing I've ever known to put down one of these things is some ancient artifact. That sword is about the only one I know in the area right now. Didn't know it could do THIS..."

He tilts his head to the side. "BUT, I'm not one to complain about a gift horse."

Hackle nods in agreement and hums, his attention settling upon a thought with a furrow of his brow. "It is good to have such in capable hands. Still, I have to wonder about what attracted this geist here of all places. Even if not directly."

Reaching into his pants pocket, Hays retrieves his aetherphone and taps through a series of menus, revealing a map. He holds the device within convenient view of Hackle. "Yeah, I thought about that, too. I wondered if maybe there was something further along the path. But, about the only thing it would have run into was a bunch of random ridges over near the United Appaland States."

Studying the map, Hackle straightens his posture, crosses his arms behind his back, and dons a satisfied smirk. "Well, I guess that will have to be another mystery left unsolved... Along with what may or may not have destroyed this particular Nightmare Geist. Without proper observations to report, I can only assume it must have self-destructed or suffered a catastrophic malfunction."

A sly grin cracks on Hays, and he places his aetherphone back into his pocket. "I mean... It was ONLY just a few hundred years old. I can't imagine they were rated to last that long."

Hackle leads a healthy fit of laughter with Hays, and the two men walk away from the cordoned section of street towards the barricade exit. Hackle directs a sarcastic tone towards Hays. "I truly wonder what wild theories the local news investigators will fill their reports with. I have been running low on comedies. Might need to humor myself a little."

Hays squelches a snicker and shakes his head. "Wait a month, there'll be a movie."

----

Strolling upon patterned carpet matching the neutral tones of the walls, Samantha slowly steps through the elaborately decorated hotel hallway, studying her clipboard, and flips through a number of papers. She stops riffling, throws a bundle over the metal clip, and scribbles out notes upon the page below with a pen. "Okay... I think we can make this work still. The editing team will have a bit of extra work... BUT, a few dramatic cliffhangers between the commercial breaks should make it workable enough."

Craning his head near Samantha's shoulder, Gerald skims through the paragraphs of correction speckled literature with a dubious sneer. "Uh, I guess. Most of the shots we got of the monster were from VERY far away. And, some of the videos got slightly corrupted by that weird magical wave. Mostly recoverable, but it's patchy at parts."

Tapping the pen to her lip, Samantha lifts an intrigued eyebrow with an idea forming upon her face. "Ah... We can spin it off as footage recorded by the locals of the monster with a bit of special effects work. A short clip montage. Mix in the scenes of the team helping with the evacuation efforts..."

A satisfied smirk creeps from the corner of her mouth, and a spark of inspiration lightens her mood. "THEN, throw together a dramatic narration over a mosaic of the news broadcasts and fade into scenes of the aftermath... With... With..."

Gerald dons a sly smile, directing a suggestion into Samantha's ears. "Interleaved clips of individual video journals talking about the whole event."

A delighted glint sparkles in Samantha's eyes, and she grins wide, excitement putting pep in her step. "OH. YES."

She feverishly jots down detailed notes and sketches out a few diagrams in the empty margins of the pages. "I'll need to type this up and send it to Howie for final approval, but I like it enough that we should go ahead and get the other clips for it!"

Gerald nods, pulling out his aetherphone, and navigates through the different screens. "Send the crews out to get footage of where the team members were assisting, along with shots of the destruction?"

Tapping the pen upon her clipboard, Samantha stalls in thought on the final step of a rough outline. "Yes... Still need a closure scene to finish up on..."

Seconds of travel down the hall later, Gerald blinks along with drifting thought and glances over to Samantha. "A wide shot of the site the authorities are investigating, voice over about the strange disappearance of the monster, and some dramatic music?"

Biting her lower lip, Samantha quickly writes down the sequence of events and nearly skips along the next few meters down the carpeted hallway. "OH, I'll let the editing team go all out on that one! Hide some vague old secret society symbols faintly in the background, too! People eat that up!"

She gazes up from the clipboard at Gerald. "So, how long before you can get set up for the video journals?"

Calculating the time upon the top of his mind between flicks of his eyes, Gerald shrugs nonchalantly. "Maybe half an hour or so? We have most of the equipment nearby and ready."

The two move down the hallway further. Samantha stops outside a hotel room entry, and knocks quickly and loudly upon the door. Seconds later, the inset peephole darkens briefly and the lock unlatches. The door opens and reveals the towering frame of Trakenthin, simply staring down at Samantha and Gerald. Samantha smiles confidently and gazes up at Trakenthin. "Personal Interviews in half an hour."

Trakenthin nods slowly. The door closing, Modoran's sardonic tone slips out. "Oh, my favoritest thing to do!"

Gerald and Samantha venture down to the next door. Rapping upon the dark wooden facade, Samantha waits. The door opens. Tassilda stands at the side of the frame and crosses her arms, hints of defiance in her posture. "YES?"

Narrows her eyes at Tassilda, Samantha assumes a more assertive stance. "Personal Interviews. Half an hour."

Noticing Deedri waving in the background, she flashes a nice smile and starts to return the gesture. Tassilda firmly shuts the door. Gerald and Samantha approach the next door and slow their pace down. Tilting his head, Gerald aims his ear at the door, waits a few moments, and snorts. Samantha rolls her eyes dismissively, the unmistakable sounds of carnal gymnastics resonate faintly from inside the hotel room. She sighs, shakes her head, and directs a sarcastic tone to Gerald. "We'll come back in fifteen minutes or so."

With an ill-humored smirk, Gerald snickers back. "That long?"

Samantha blinks, tightly smiling at the situation. "Oh, really?"

With Samantha following behind, Gerald pivots and steps down the hall, derisively snickering. "Well, let's just say... I've been noting the duration of events when it comes to the time codes on the videos... And, I've noticed a CONSISTENT pattern."

----

Afternoon sun beams through the sliding glass door leading out to the balcony of the hotel room. The light shines upon the sheets of the bed nearest and barely reaches over to touch the base of the next. Cideeda steps through the doorway joining another similar hotel room and searches the area, puzzling between glances at different parts of the room. Halting her stare upon the luggage and bags laying out on a pulled out sleeper sofa, she plods over, her hands on her hips. She slides over a bag, unzips the top, and rummages through the contents, mumbling to herself frustrated. Aristespha lifts her head up from a pile of paperwork and tablets upon the room desk and glances over, noticing Cideeda. "Did you misplace something?"

Cideeda's furry ears flick back and guide the rest of her head, pausing her hunt momentarily with a grumble of frustration. "YES. I can't find my headphones. I thought I packed them, but can't remember which bag they ended up in now."

Sliding out, Aristespha stands up from her chair and steps over next to Cideeda. She leans over to another suitcase and opens up pocket. "Well, for now, you can borrow mine. The ear pieces won't be quite the best fit for you, but they might be a close enough fit for a little while."

An appreciative smile appears on Cideeda, and she nods to Aristespha, resuming her exploration of her bag's contents. "If I don't find them in this bag, I'll definitely take you up on the offer. Thank you."

Digging underneath layers of clothes and other personal items, Cideeda uncovers a magic flow practice wand. Staring at it, she frowns sadly and slowly grips onto the wooden, magically inscribed stick. Her mood sharply darkens with a depressing, audible sigh. Aristespha glances over from her luggage and observes Cideeda's longing stare upon the practice wand. A compassionate, sad smile graces her, and she states in a soft, concerned tone. "As a medical professional, I can say you are physically healthy today."

Sitting down on the bed near the sleeper sofa, she places her hands upon her knees and adopts a patient, comforting demeanor. "But, as a friend, I can tell something has been bothering you since yesterday. I want you to know, I would be happy to listen."

Cideeda glances over to Aristespha, to the practice wand, and back again. Her furry ears droop close to her shoulders, a long mournful exhale escapes her, and she steps over to a seat on the bed next to Aristespha. Rolling the magical focus in her clawed fingers, she wrestles down the words between pained winces on her light brown face. "I KNOW I shouldn't be surprised... Or, even really think about it at this point... BUT..."

She stares at the practice wand, grimaces, and focuses upon her thoughts. "I don't know. Despite there not being anything... Known... to modern magical medicine that can fix my magic issue..."

Aristespha angles her head, catching eye contact with Cideeda, and waits calmly. Silent moments later, Cideeda resumes her explanation, a slight waver in her voice. "I... I just never quite gave up on that ridiculously unlikely chance. And well, seeing... Someone..."

Pausing a moment, she communicates unspoken, and Aristespha acknowledges with a nod. Cideeda draws in a breath and sighs out. "Someone struggle pass supposed limitations on them to do amazing things, I thought that maybe there was a better chance for me than I thought? MAYBE, there was some kind of hope? MAYBE, I'm not the only one? And, SOMETHING could change?"

Her eyes close, and she sniffs, tempering the emotional welling. A small cough later, she blinks her emerald eyes open and presents a faux grin. "Well, now, it seems like that I've just been building up my hopes, AGAIN. So, you know..."

Drooping her furry ears low, she swallows hard and tenses her body. "It's just... Just facing the reality of it all, AGAIN. ESPECIALLY, after yesterday, it's... It's all the same. The same as before."

She forces a smirk, pushing for a weak smile. "But, at least, I'm still ME. Still... The same as I was before."

Her voice trails off, and she drifts a distant stare at the wand. Aristespha breathes in carefully, rests a hand upon Cideeda's slumping shoulder, and squeezes gently. "I will not tell you to hope blindly. I am not going to tell you to ignore the reality of the situation. But, I will say... You should NEVER exclude the possibility."

A sadness weighs upon her, and she musters a strong smile on her ivory face against her thoughts. "I can not say it is similar to yours, but I have had to face the reality of my own situation. And, my hopes seem to grow a little less likely with each day. While I'm not making any great future plans based on those hopes..."

Tipping her head up, she carefully sniffs in a breath. "I still consider the possibility that my hopes CAN happen. That way... I keep searching for ways to make them happen and not miss an opportunity."

Lifting her head up, Cideeda turns to Aristespha staring ahead and notices the damp glint in the corners of her eyes. She straightens her posture, pulls in a breath of air, and vents out the tension. "Well, if you keep entertaining that possibility, I'll try to do the same... Despite myself."

With an honest, toothy grin upon Cideeda, Aristespha smiles genuinely in return. Shifting her focus to the practice wand, Cideeda grips it tight with both her hands, and chuckles with a snort. Cideeda closes her eyes, concentrates, and turns her attention inwards. Moments later, she opens her eyes facing Aristespha and shrugs nonchalantly at Aristespha with a facetious laugh. Furrowing her brow at Aristespha's surprise, she gazes down at the practice wand.

From the inscriptions wrapping up the base of the stick, a green illumination pulses up into a wavering glow.

Cideeda and Aristespha stare at the wand blankly in stunned silence. Aristespha's face drops to perplexed and gives way to outright shock. Cideeda's hand trembles in the dim green light, her jaw hangs agape, and her emerald eyes widen. Astonishment barely allows her a single word. "H-H-how...?"

----

The aetherphone screen shows a man and woman sitting behind a wide desk. The woman stiffens her posture and defiantly retorts. "How can you say it ISN'T Dark Lord Noxian?! It makes perfect sense! Release this terror upon the populace, and then triumphantly show up to destroy the beast. That way he fools people into thinking he's justified! Who wields that much elder energy? A Dark Lord! What Dark Lord is out there? Noxian!"

The man narrows his eyes, and reinforces his composure. "But WHERE is Noxian? Why hasn't he revealed himself to take the credit? And Nightmare Geists have been dealt with by other means before. There is another explanation that doesn't involve the latest magical criminal that hasn't been seen or heard from in THREE MONTHS!"

The clouds glide out of the way of the late afternoon sun, and the light shines on Bach's light tan face. In a moment of shade from a passing cloud, he stares at his faint, sad reflection in the glare upon the phone screen. Firmly pressing the close button on the video stream, he puts the device away in his pocket. The sounds of Hattan fill up the background, and Bach closes his eyes tightly, winces against the internalized frustration. Resting his head back upon the balcony brick, he stares off towards the horizon and mumbles to himself. "...dammit... ...you fuckin' idiot... What did you expect was going to happen?"

A loud, swift slide of the glass door to the hotel room snaps Bach into reality from his own head space. Dretphi quickly leans out the doorway and energetically motions Bach over. "Come here."

Bach blankly stares, blinking in the confusion. Sebastian's ethereal form zips out behind Dretphi and dramatically motions at Bach. "You have to see this, bro!"

Uncertainty slows Bach's standing up, and he apprehensively approaches the sliding glass door. Following Sebastian inside, he feels the firm pressure of Dretphi's hand on his back, ushering him towards the doors joining the two hotel rooms. He moves along the route and glances over to Sebastian, searching for an answer. "So, uh, what's going on?"

Hovering next Bach, Sebastian shrugs. "Not quite sure. It's only been like, ten minutes. We're still trying to figure it out."

The trio arrive in the other hotel room. Bach stares out in utter confusion at the scene. Cideeda sits on the hotel bed with her arm extended out. Seated next to Cideeda, Sotalia holds her hand out and slowly demonstrates a series of magical gestures, clearly voicing the important parts of the incantation. Sliding the room chair up closer opposite of Cideeda, Aristespha places her hands underneath Cideeda's arm with glowing violet eyes. "Okay. Whenever you are ready."

Cocking his head to the side, Bach puzzles at the situation. Sotalia subdues her anticipation, and calmly leads with the first gesture and incantation part. Cideeda carefully mimics the motion, pronounces the sound, and visibly concentrates. Part after part, Sotalia shows the process, and Cideeda repeats as accurately as she can. A flash of recognition sparks within Bach, and he furrows his brow uncertainly. Gesturing out the final part and finishing the incantation, Cideeda strains, focusing between grimaces on her light brown face, and flexes her clawed fingers out.

A small speck of cloudy light flickers into existence above her palm, hovering very shakily for a few seconds. A second later, it dissipates into a puff of magical miasma.

With both hands, Sotalia covers her mouth and nose in awe. Aristespha moves her hands away, lifts up her head, and blinks the glow down in her eyes with a hopeful smile. "Well, you'll need many years of practice. But... That looked and felt like normal beginner's flow."

Excitement winning out against any restraint, Sotalia wraps her arms quickly around Cideeda and hugs her tightly. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! OH, I'm going to show you all the best spells! And, you'll get to practice with the rest of us!"

Flexing the claw tipped fingers of her hand, Cideeda stares blankly and watches her hand, swaying along with the enthusiastic embrace of Sotalia. A smile forms, a flow of tears roll down, and Cideeda sniffles. Trying to wipe the water off her face, she laughs awkwardly and playful struggles against Sotalia's hold. Remaining in stunned silence, Bach props himself against the nearby wall and gazes absolutely bewildered. Dretphi smiles brightly at Cideeda and rests a hand upon Bach's shoulder. Sebastian proudly grins at Bach. "Heh. Told you it'd be okay, bro."

Sotalia calms down enough, releases Cideeda, and eagerly plucks her aetherphone out. "OH! We have to take a video of all this! Give me a moment!"

With a tear soaked smile, Cideeda gazes over to Bach and watches the mix of confusion, embarrassment, and nerves play out upon his face, obviously fumbling for a response. She grins toothily to Bach and snickers. "So... How are you feeling?"

Bach stops, smiles weakly at Cideeda, and shrugs as nonchalantly as he can manage. "Well... Happy... But, very, very confused right now."

Nodding slowly, Cideeda giggles happily. "Yeah, about the same here."

----

Layers of conversation from the lunch crowd flood the background inside the sandwich shop. A middle aged woman with blonde hair, rearranges the area around the register. Moving a number of items within easy reach of her left arm, she pauses to survey the workspace and readjusts the shoulder strap of her arm sling. The phone rings, and she winces, fighting against habit to not move her right arm. With a quick pivot, she answers the phone with her left hand and pinches the handset between ear and shoulder. Exercising great care, she taps out the order on her computer screen and relays the cost. Waiting moment, she listens and presses the confirmation button. Hanging up, she smiles over to a small, blonde haired girl sitting on stool and steps over, gazing over the number of crayon drawings on paper on the counter. She kisses the top of the girl's head and hugs her tightly with her left arm. The little girl pauses from her art and happily returns the affection. "Love you, mommy."

The door opens, the chime sounds out, and a thin, older man walks into the shop. He calmly steps towards the counter, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Waiting near the register, he loosens the blue scarf around his neck and scratches his gray facial hair. The middle aged woman glances over in delight. "Isaac! Oh, I'm so glad you are okay! Gods, especially after all the chaos over the last two days."

Isaac shakes his head and laughs. "It has been quite the last few days, Lydia. I came yesterday, but your employees said you were-"

Glancing down, he notices the sling supporting Lydia's right arm, and a worried frown emerges on his face. "Oh my! What ever happened?"

Lydia glances down and sighs with a hint of exhaustion. "Well, long story short, when that monster wrecked a machine shop, some of the debris eventually crash landed through my apartment... And onto me."

Lifting some of her hair, she reveals a bandage on her head. "Broke my arm, hit the floor, and got knocked out cold."

With a wide-eyed attention, Isaac's face blends between worry, concern, and some relief. "Well... Wow... I'm extremely happy to see you standing and in one piece."

He glances over at the little girl and smiles kindly. "Well, I see that Leigh is okay. Good gods, that must have been awfully frightening for her."

Lydia draws a tense breath of air, and her posture stiffens. "Oh gods... You have no idea! After I didn't wake up for an hour, she braved out on her own to try to find some help for me. She wandered right into the path of that... THING..."

Isaac remains silent and turns his horrified, paling stare to Lydia. Rolling the unease out of her shoulders, Lydia loosely holds her hand near her mouth, looking at Leigh. "I don't know what all happened. She ran away from it. And, I thank every god out there, a wonderful group of adventurers were around the area right then and there. They swept her up, and got her to safety."

Exhaling, she rests her hand on her chest. "The poor rescue team had to nearly sedate me when I woke up and couldn't find her. But, it was less than a few minutes later she was turned in to the authorities and they located me."

She drifts off in thought watching Leigh. A moment later, She stirs back to awareness. "Oh! I'm so sorry. Let me take your order first, then we can talk our ears off. Your usual?"

Isaac confirms with a smile and holds up a finger. "Yes, but extra olives today."

With a quick nod, Lydia focuses her attention on the computerized ordering system and carefully taps the order out with her left hand, the unfamiliarity obvious. Isaac studies the nearby sheets of paper next to a large box of crayons. Happy smirking, he curiously observes Leigh coloring. "So, what are you drawing today?"

Leigh briefly glances up and taps her hand on a pile of paper. "My new friends. Look!"

Isaac chuckles to himself, and examines the drawings. Focusing more with each drawing, he studies the pictures of a green eyed fvalian, a tall woman with blonde braids, a woman with blue and gray hair, violet eyes, a horned, red haired woman, and a faintly shaded man. Blinking in thought, he furrows his brow and cocks his head, watching Leigh color in her latest drawing. "Huh... Is that another drawing of a friend?"

Shaking her head, Leigh concentrates on the picture and energetically scratches out on the page. "No. It's the monster. It's okay. The hero stopped it."

Upon the paper, a giant, solid black figure nearly fills half the page, and a solitary man with white crayon colored over him stands in the way of the dark form.

Timeline

March 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

Episode 17

Episode 18

Episode 19

Episode 20

30

31

Episode 21

Episode 22

April 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

Episode 23

Episode 24

Episode 25

Episode 26

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Episode 26

Episode 27

Episode 28

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Episode 29

Episode 30

Episode 31

Episode 32

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

Episode 32

Episode 33

Episode 34

Episode 35

27

28

29

30

Episode 36

Episode 37

Episode 38

May 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

Episode 39